Entry Four

New Acquaintances

I jumped a little at the sudden noise and whirled around to see a pair of giant… floating… hands. The hands' audience seemed so taken aback by the unexpected sight, that we all just stared as the disembodied voice continued, "You are the finest of the finest and to have been hand-picked by us." The right one 'said.' The other hand seemingly laughed at the apparent joke, but none of us found it funny. I wrung my hands nervously, yet they no longer hurt from the shock I had received. The right hand continued, "I know many of you are confused, but I promise my brother and I will explain along the way. My name is Master hand, and this is Crazy hand." The left hand waved sarcastically, chuckling maniacally. "Don't mind him either. I call him 'Crazy' for a purpose. For now, before we get into the details, I would like to make you feel comfortable first. Go socialize for a while and then we'll bring in the rest of our members and have circle time. Just know that this is not a dangerous place, and any offenders who attempt to destroy our peace will be dealt with, severely. However, worry not, for damage done unto you is rather… ineffective. We'll explain later." And with that, the hands ushered us all into the mansion for the real party and disappeared.

My mind was racing. I glanced back and forth, trying to make sense of anything, but my vision was beginning to blur, hands shaking. I saw from humanoid animals wielding weapons unknown to me to an actual dog with a duck on his back. There were tall humans and small humans and reptilian figures and a… yellow, walking circle? The silence was broken by a near roar of voices, some shouts of anger and confusion, some trying to calm the situation, others actually introducing themselves to one another.

My eyes continued to blur until colors were blended and shapes weren't shapes anymore. Silently, a tear slipped away moments before I understood that I had started to cry. A princess wasn't supposed to show too much emotion, for a level head balances a kingdom much more proficiently.

I felt my hand subconsciously rush to my cheek, but before it could reach its destination, Link snatched it. I turned to face him, trying to wipe the fear away, yet I knew his icy gaze could still see it lingering in mine. He lowered my hand so I would be forced to wear the mark of emotion I had tried to wipe away. I was caught, and embarrassment accompanied my stress, yet I couldn't look away from his eyes.

He took a step closer and muttered, "Take a breath and focus on me for a while, okay?"

I nodded, and with his other hand, he wiped away the tear I had let loose, a soft blush settling on his cheeks. I was mildly surprised by his actions, yet he didn't seem to notice how bold of a move he was actually taking on his nation's princess, but I didn't mind as long as he stayed by my side.

Suddenly, there was a tugging on my skirt that broke our eye contact as I looked down to find Pichu trying to worm his way underfoot, obviously frightened by something. I scanned the crowd for a source, but I couldn't even locate Red amongst the people. Link squeezed my hand in warning, but something told me it would be better for everyone if I at least tried to comfort the little thing.

"Hey, little thing," I cooed, letting go of Link's hand and holding out both arms gently.

"Princess, that 'little thing' harmed you," Link protested.

"I know, I know, but he did not mean to. Look at him! Pichu is just afraid and stressed out… like me."

At my soft words, Pichu carefully stepped into my arms and nuzzled against my chest, whimpering. -I feel the same way, little one,- I thought.

Link reached out towards Pichu's head, and at first, the imp shrank away, but then he sensed the same gentility coming from the knight as he did me and allowed us both to comfort.

"Hey, is this yours?"

I looked up to find a tall, blond woman in a skin-tight, sky-blue suit wandering towards me with Pikachu in her arms. Her presence was intimidating, yet she seemed friendly enough. Pikachu nuzzled into her, making happy squeaks,

"No, this one is not even mine. He just found us," I responded, motioning to Pichu who was cuddling me as well.

"Well then. I don't know what to do with it," she snorted. I expected her to look uncomfortable holding Pikachu, but she nearly cradled him. "The name's Samus, by the way. Do you have the slightest clue as to what's going on here?"

I shook my head, glancing downward.

"Well? What are your names?"

I looked at her again. "Oh! Excuse my rudeness. My name is Zelda and this is Link."

"Huh. Never heard names like those before."

I just smiled awkwardly and asked, "Where are you from?"

Samus answered, "K-2L originally, but Zebes is where I've spent most of my time growing up."

I didn't really know what to say except, "Well, um, Link and I are from the Kingdom of Hyrule, and I am its leader."

"Just one leader huh? Well that's interesting as well. I'm no leader. Just a bounty hunter. Also what's with the get-up?"

"The what?"

She laughed, "Nevermind. I should know better than to ask such a question to someone who seems at least human compared to some of these things…" I saw her eye the yellow circle thing. "Or at least I'm being led to believe you're human." Samus then was staring at our Hylian ears.

I just looked at Link and we nodded in sync.

"Doesn't he say anything?" She was still looking at Link and I saw a flush of red in his face.

"Sometimes," I snickered.

"Oh there you are!" a familiar voice made me jump a little. Princess Peach had found us again, but Mario was no where to be seen.

"You were looking for us?" I pondered.

"I suppose. They said to socialize," she stated. Samus and I just held the pokemon and Link shuffled awkwardly. Introductions are hard.

Our odd silence didn't last long however, as Peach brought up something that drastically changed the situation. "Oh, hey, Link. I part of the reason I came to find you two was to ask if you were missing anyone."

"What do you mean?" He inquired quickly, making Samus almost jump at his sudden voice in which she hadn't heard yet.

"We there two… mini yous," she said, scratching her head.

"What?" I asked.

Peach sighed, "Follow me then."

I looked to Samus and held out Pichu. "Could you take him for me?"

"I suppose. Let's count how many yellow rats Samus can hold," The bounty hunter retorted.

"Thank you."

Link and I ran after Peach as she pushed through the crowd in attempts to locate the people she had spoken of. Sure enough, right where she led us, there were two little figures seemingly locked in conversation, dressed in green with swords slung on their backs.

"Well? Do they belong to you?" Peach asked, and at the sound of her voice, the two little 'Links' turned around and we all fell dead silent, observing each other. One looked very cutesy and small, like a caricature, and the other was simply a kid version of my Link.

The young one broke the silence, "Hey, Mister! Is your name Link too?"

I gasped a little. Link stood frozen and unsure at first, but then nodded slowly. He knelt down so that their gazes could meet and gently, my Link inquired, "Who are you? Where are you from?"

"Well I just sorta told you… I'm Link, and well, this is Link too," the young one said, motioning to the other one who was somehow even shorter. "I'm from the Kokiri forest and he is from… Where did you say it was?"

A sweet little voice muttered, his big eyes darting around, "Outset Island."

"Yeah!"

Something rang a bell in my mind. "Kokiri forest?" I uttered to myself. That was a place in the time of… "The Hero of Time!"

The young one turned to me. "Yeah? That's me I guess."

My Link looked to me, wide-eyed and even more shocked. The spirits we had spoken to just hours before… one of them stood before us in a most humble presence.

"Hey! Well I'm the Hero of Winds!" The toony one protested, trying to stand as tall as his friend. -To specify, I have decided to call them Young Link and Toon Link so not to confuse myself or anyone else for that matter.-

I walked over to kneel next to Link, leaving Peach to her own devices. I felt a surge of motherly emotion flow over me as I looked into their eyes; they seemed just as nervous as I felt. "The Hero of Time and the Hero of Winds, huh? Well Mr. Winds, I have not heard of your legend. Would you mind telling me sometime? I have a feeling we are all going to be here for a while." His big eyes widened at my words and he nodded vigorously.

Young Link spoke next, "Are… Are you a princess? You sort of look like the princess where I come from… but not really." He studied my face thoroughly, trying to make sense of everything.

"Yes. I am Princess Zelda of Hyrule, but not from your time. Believe it or not, young one, but you happen to be MY ancestor," I said softly. I could see the wheels of his mind turning as he tried to process my statement. I regarded, "Not to worry. We will figure all of this out later. For now, I must ask, will you both accompany us in this mess?"

Glancing at each other first, they looked to me and nodded.

Link stood and helped me to my feet as well. Young Link hung around my side and Toon link wandered aimlessly behind us as we entered back into the crowd. There was a constant buzz of conversation. Peach was no where to be found, so I figured she ran off to meet other people as the three Links and I were getting acquainted.

Suddenly, a gush of wind silenced the party. The hands floated through the doors of the mansion once more, a dark crowd of strangers standing behind. "Smashers! Before you get too comfortable, we have one more wave of fighters to introduce to you, and better yet, the assistants will be coming shortly after. Now, do no be alarmed, for we have made… adjustments… for each and every baddie so that everyone gets along. If there is any issue, fear not for your safety. No one can actually be harmed in our special place," Master Hand announced.

His brother was getting fidgety. "Come on Master! Let's just let them in and see how it goes."

"Crazy, we should approach this gently."

"But why? You just said yourself how safe is it," Crazy Hand pleaded.

"Oh… fine. I suppose a bit of a brawl would be a good way to introduce everyone to each other. Come on in, villains across the universe."

The hoard stepped inside. Proud, harsh gazes took in the crowd of heroes.

Link took my hand and pulled me forward to the front as if he had spotted something, leaving the smaller Links behind. What I saw before me once more caused a shattering within. My heart beated faster than a horse's hooves at full speed. I covered my mouth with one hand to keep me from screaming, and clenched Link's hand with my other as the tears returned to my eyes.

A/N: Hey all! This one is a bit shorter. Sorry I've been so busy. I know my updates will be farther apart from now on but I shall try my best to post. Leave a review if you feel like it! I like to know how it's going. 3 The pre-edited versions are posted to Zelda - Holder of Wisdom on FB. Have a fantastic day! Love you all!