A/N: most chapters won't be updated this close together, but I was basically done with this chapter when the last one was published. I should have an update for this story every week or so (unless life/school/writer's block gets in the way).

Also, thanks to Elon Musk for the review, it made me ridiculously happy.


"Open your eyes… wake up, Link"

Her voice brought him out of a deep slumber, he was met with a bright blue light as he opened his eyes. He sat up when the water surrounding him was drained away. He felt new and old all at the same time, seeing the countless scars that adorned his body. There was only one question in his mind, 'what happened to me?'

"You have been asleep for the past 100 years."

She answered his unspoken question as he stood atop the tower that had just emerged from the ground. He realized then where her voice was coming from. The castle. Did he even know what that was? He does now. The ground shakes and he emerges.

"The beast"

That is what she calls the swirling monster that circles the castle.

"You must hurry, Link. Before it's too late."

And he did, to some extent. He was given tasks, first by the King of Hyrule, then by Impa. Conquer the shrines, free the Divine Beasts, and regain his memories. While given these tasks he learns the names of both the voice and the beast. Princess Zelda and Ganon. He does not know much about them at the moment, except that he must save one and defeat the other.

After recovering his first memory of the Princess, Impa gives him a relic of the past. His Champion's Tunic. Strange, he didn't remember wearing blue much, but then again he didn't remember a lot.

He journeys across the land called Hyrule, meeting the people, the Champions, and learning who he truly is. The Hero. The Chosen Hero. He does as he was tasked to do, he learns of the Princess's struggles, of his death, of their failure. They will not fail this time.

"It is now time for you to defeat Ganon."

He goes to Hyrule Castle, ready as he'll ever be, with Master Sword in hand. He knows he must save her, save Hyrule, avenge his fallen friends and kingdom, it is his destiny.

When he delivers the final below after hours of fighting, she arrives. Emerging from the core of Ganon's being, bathed in golden divine light, yet still wearing the same tethered prayer dress from 100 years ago. She seals Ganon away with the power she worked so hard to unlock and he disappears into a ball of glowing light. With the beast gone, Hyrule is at peace once again. The golden light that surrounded her moments ago fades, leaving just the princess. Although to him, she is much more than just the princess.

"May I ask, do you really remember me?"


Varian's eyes flew open as he shot up from his bed, panting and sweating as he finds himself unable to focus. He takes a deep, shaky breath to calm his nerves and collect his thoughts. This wasn't the first time he had a dream like this.

For years now he'd dreamt that he was not himself, but someone by the name of Link. In each dream, Link was tasked to be the Hero, to save the land he called home and the people in it. Every time he looked slightly different than before. Maybe his hair a bit lighter, his clothes a tad baggier, his nose a little pointer. He always had blue eyes, he always carried a powerful sword, and was always called a hero.

There was also a girl in these dreams with a great power named Zelda. She looked different every time, yet he always found himself able to recognize her. Zelda. More often than not, she was his guide, his motivator, his friend. At the end of it all, after he had delivered the final blow, she was the one to seal away whatever great evil they faced.

The great evil… this was a part of the dreams he had a problem with.

"Are you still asleep, Varian?" his brother asked as he walked into doorway. "Good, you're awake, don't forget there is a meeting today. Father wants us to look our best."

"I'll be right out, Phoenix," his brother nodded and left him to get dressed.

Varian stared at the sandy wall of his room with a sigh before shuffling out of bed. He grabbed his red and black jumpsuit from the end of his bed and changed into the form-fighting outfit. He fussed with his dark blonde hair as he tied it up into a less than neat ponytail on top of his head. Despite having been left to style his own hair for 13 years now, he never was quite able to grasp how to do it properly.

"Guess I'll have Phoenix fix it up a bit," he muttered to himself.

Normally he would not put so much care into his appearance, but considering that he was required to stand in front of a crowd of people, he knew he had to try his best to look as he should. Unless he wanted to be looked down upon and receive another lecture about 'proper presentation' from his father.

"I see you still haven't learned how to do your hair," his brother commented as Varian walked out of his room.

"I don't see why father feels the need to worry about something as small as whether or not my hair is neat."

"Well, as the Yiga Clan Master, he wants his sons to look the best at all times," Phoenix moved to tidy up his brother's hair, "besides, it distracts from the fact that your hair isn't the right color."

Varian looked up at his brother's own jet black hair, "not my fault I got all of mother's looks."

"Well, when you put it that way…" Phoenix finished fixing his messy hair and gave Varian a small shove, "come on, father is waiting."

"What is this meeting about again?" Varain asked as he and his brother walked to the main chamber of the hideout.

Phoenix shrugged, "not sure, I just know it's very important and it has something to do with what the castle spies told father yesterday."

"Must be important if he wants the whole clan to hear."

They arrived at the main chamber of the Yiga hideout and took their places on either side of their unusually giddy father. There had only been a few members when the brothers first got there, but as time went by the room was nearly at full capacity. Varian figured his father hadn't sent anyone out on patrols today, which meant that whatever he needed to tell was of higher importance than he first thought. He cast a glance at his brother, but Phoenix simply shrugged,showing he was just as clueless as Varian.

"Brothers and sisters," his father bellowed once the whole clan had gathered, "I have received the most wonderful news. Right from our King of Darkness himself."

Varian's eyes widened and an unusual feeling of dread filled his stomach. He hadn't heard anything about his father receiving divine news. Only that the castle guards had spoken to him the other day…

"Calamity Ganon is to make his return," his father announced, jolting Varian out of his train of thought.

The room broke out into cheers, but it didn't last long as Varian's father quieted them down with a raise of his hand. "I am just as excited as you are, but now we must prepare for our true King's return. I will be doubling our patrols from this day forth. Hyrule must know of his return."

Everyone in the room murmured in agreement before he continued, "today, however, we will celebrate!" As he spoke a group of Yiga soldiers came into the room with platefuls of mighty bananas and banana related meals and desserts. "Mighty bananas for everyone!"

Everyone cheered once again and rushed to get their treats, the Master cast both his sons a knowing smile before going to join the celebrations.

Phoenix went to follow, but Varian stopped him by grabbing his arm. "Father lied," he said as his brother turned to him.

His brother smirked, "what makes you say that?"

Varian huffed, "you and I both know that father has never received any sort of prophecies. If he had, he would have told you first and you would've told me."

"Perhaps that is true, but I'll tell you now that father wasn't lying about anything else."

"I know, but how do we know the castle spies weren't lying to him, he's getting older now-"

"I know because I was one of them," Phoenix interrupted, causing Varian to drop his brother's arm in surprise.

"You- but-"

"I'm sorry, Varian, I just wanted to surprise you," his brother chuckled, but he personally didn't find it all that funny.

"How did I not find out?" was all he could manage to ask. Usually he could figure out when Phoenix was doing something behind his back, especially something this big.

His brother chuckled once again, "perhaps you're as Hylian as you look, brother."

Varian scowled, since he was a child he been mocked for his looks. While the others-his brother included- had the usual black hair and red eyes of pure blooded Yigas, he had a the blonde hair and blue eyes of most Hylian aristocrats. For all his life he had to deal with being seen as less competent, as well as listening to his father mock the modern Sheikah for their lack for pure blood. Despite the fact that he himself had married a Hylian and had 'half-breed' children.

As a boy he often found solace with the other half-Hylian children who had adapted similar, deviant traits, and in his brother. However, by 16, all the the half-Hylians had left the clan they lacked kinship with due to the years mockery, while Varian remained.

Phoenix must have noticed his mood sour, "I'm kidding," he amended as he placed his hands on his shoulders, "father's just been showing me some new things, that's probably why-"

Varian frowned, "new things?"

"Uh, yes, just simple things though, like…"

"Disappearing out of thin air? Making yourself unseen to the naked eye?" Varian listed common Yiga moves he had yet to learn, even though he was well past the age to learn them. Typically the parents of Yiga children would teach them once they had reached a certain age, but Varian's father had yet to even mention it to him.

"Now, now, Varian. You know I'm the eldest. Father just wants to make sure I know these tricks for when he's passed on and I have to take over. I'm sure he'll teach you eventually."

"He won't, he'll probably die before he even thinks about it."

Phoenix cupped Varian's face in his reassuring hands, "if that happens, then I'll teach you." He released him then turned to the party, "Let's stop talking about this trick nonsense and celebrate."

Varian grimaced and the feeling of dread from earlier returned tenfold, "I think I'll pass."

His brother looked back at him in disbelief, "you don't want to celebrate the return of our true King?"

Varian resisted the urge to wince, "I do," he lied, "but I'm… I'm not feeling very well."

Phoenix frowned, "you know I didn't mean the Hylian thing, right? I was just teasing."

"Yes, I know, I just need to rest."

To his relief, his brother simply nodded and went to join the others. He watched for a moment as they welcomed him with a jubilant cheer. He smiled sadly and returned to his room, knowing he wouldn't be nearly as well received as Phoenix. Varian may be the one with the golden hair, but Phoenix was the golden child.

When he entered his room, he picked up an old sickle that sat on his chair and started mimicking attacks and swings. What would this prophecy mean for him? He wondered as he absentmindedly twirled the sickle in his hand. If he was being honest, he did not like the idea of Ganon returning. For many years, he had learned to serve the King of Evil without question and he'd done just that. However, there were many factors that caused him to start questioning his loyalty to this supposed 'King'.

For one, he had grown incredibly close to the land of Hyrule and its people. The Yiga were taught to not engage with anyone they didn't intend to kill while out on patrols, Varian did not follow that rule. He never told anyone he talked to who he was, often just calling himself a traveler if they ever asked, and never told anyone in the clan that he did this. Even so, he felt a stronger bond with every outsider he'd talked to than any member of his clan, excluding his brother.

The other, more recent reason was the dreams he'd been having. Every dream left him with a negative impress of the Dark Overlord he was meant to worship. He learned that Ganon meant destruction, harming the land and its inhabitants while he put it into a seemingly inescapable state of terror. That was, until the Princess and Hero stopped him.

At this thought, Varian stopped his practicing and stared down at himself. Was this really the life he wanted? Did he really want to serve some evil 'King' that would only destroy what he cared so deeply for? The others who had been like him had left… should he do the same? Also, what exactly did the prophecy from the castle say? Surely it mentioned the Princess and the Hero…

"So much for needing to rest."

Varian jumped and quickly raised his sickle in alarm, but he lowered it when he saw that the speaker was only his brother. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

"What? Did I scare you?" Phoenix teased and Varian only glared at him. "I was just wondering if you wanted to do some archery practice, but since you're more worried about combat…"

"No, I think I'd rather do that," he replied as he threw the sickle to the ground. He'd have time to think to himself later.


"Do you remember exactly what the prophecy was?" Varian asked his brother as Phoenix aimed his Duplex Bow at an apple resting on a rock.

"Um, yeah, some of it," Phoenix replied distractedly, more focused on aiming than answering his brother's pressing question.

"Well what was it?"

Phoenix loosed his two arrows, one striking the apple and the other hitting the ground behind the rock. He huffed and swore a little under his breath before turning to Varian, "what does it matter to you?"

He was a little startled by his reply, but Varian simply straightened himself up and cleared his throat. "Just curious is all."

Phoenix shifted on his feet and looked up thoughtfully at one of the flag lines that stretched over the canyon. "Something along the lines of… 'the returning Calamity' and… a princess? And something about 'a Hero from the shadows'. Obviously the most important part is about Ganon, don't know about the other nonsense."

Something clicked in Varian's mind, "The Great Calamity is to make his return, he will bring absolute destruction to the Kingdom of Hyrule. The Hero wielding the Blade of Evil's Bane can stop him, but he hides in the shadows. Only to be uncovered by the Princess with the Goddess' divine power."

Phoenix looked at him with a bewildered expression, "that's sound exactly right! Where did you get all of that?"

He blinked, shaking his head, "I'm… not sure."

His brother huffed, "maybe you should by Hyrule's High Priest." He then raised his bow once again to prepare for his next shot.

Varian looked down at his feet, alarmed with himself. The words had come so naturally to him, as if he'd heard the prophecy many times before than. Though, to be fair, he'd heard many like them in his dreams.

"Damn!" Phoenix exclaimed, once again tearing Varian from his thoughts. He looked to where his brother was directing his frustration and saw that he'd completely missed the apple this time. "I'm no good at this, you wanna give it a shot?"

He nodded and walked over, taking the bow his brother held out for him. His brother took his place as Varian moved to a spot where he could get good aim. He adjusted his stance, raised his bow, and aimed to one of the apples sitting on a rock a few feet away. He took a deep breath and loosed his arrows, both of which struck the apple. He heard his brother huff again and looked to him, smirking when he say that his brother wore an impressed, yet jealous expression.

"I don't know how you could complain about father not teaching you Yiga tricks when you've got aim like that."

Varian shrugged, "it's the principle."

Phoenix chuckled at that, "it was probably just a lucky shot. Bet you won't get the next one."

"What do you bet?"

His brother considered this for a moment, "I'll let you sleep in for a week."

"Will you cover me if father gets upset?"

Phoenix sighed, "yes."

"I'll take it then," Varian turned to his next target and nocked two more arrows. He focus his gaze on the apple, took a deep breath and loosed the arrows. They glided through the air and both struck the second apple. He turned back to his brother with a smile.

Phoenix scoffed, "have fun sleeping more, I know it's your favorite thing."

"Guess that gives me more time to think about my dreams."

"What was that?" Phoenix asked and Varian paled as he realized he'd said the words out loud.

"Er, nothing. Just, talking to myself."

His brother scoffed before reaching out his head, "give me that bow, I probably just missed because you were distracting me with all your questions."

He rolled his eyes and handed over the bow, "whatever you say."

As Phoenix started to aim at the last apple, Varian sat himself on the ground, deciding he'd been on his feet for too long. He watched as his brother nocked another two arrows, though he was barely aware of it as his mind started to wander.

"Ah! There must be something wrong with this damn bow!" Phoenix shouted and Varian laughed, which earned him a nasty glare.

"I think this target practice is stressing you out, maybe we should find something else to do."

His brother looked like he was ready to protest, but then he thought otherwise. "Fine, it's starting to get dark anyways."

Varian looked up at the sky, "has the day already gone?"

It was Phoenix's turn to laugh, "time flies when you're daydreaming."

He gave his brother a hard frown before standing himself up and moving to gather the arrows they'd used. Phoenix went to pick up the apples and dispose of them since no one they knew would really be interested in eating them.

"Brother," Varian started as they finished up and Phoenix turned to look at him, "do you… do you ever wonder what it'd be like if you hadn't grown up in the clan?"

"My life would be meaningless. I'd have nothing important to do," his brother replied without a second thought.

"Well, you could be a farmer… manage an inn-"

"Like I said, meaningless."

"I guess that's easy for you to say," Varian replied in a hostile tone, "your future is set."

"And yours isn't?" Phoenix asked with a tilt of his head.

"Of course not, everyone in this clan just sees me as a some half-breed."

His brother placed a hand on his shoulder, "well they shouldn't. If they can see past my impurity, they can see past yours."

"I look too much like mother," Varian retorted as he brushed off Phoenix's hand dismissively.

"That's not all bad, maybe there's someone in the clan who doesn't mind it. Father certainly didn't."

Varian ignored his brother's remark, "I wonder where she is now…"

Phoenix gave him a empathetic look, "I find it's best not to think about it."

"I wish we could find her… mother has to be out there somewhere."

His brother gave him a stern look, "now don't go running off on some hunch. Your place is here, Varian, you need to let the past go."

Varina didn't reply, casting his eyes downward. He felt his brother's hand go to his shoulder once again. "Let's just go back in," he muttered as he guided him back to the hideout and Varian made no move to argue.

Right now, more than anything, he just wanted to figure out who he was meant to be.