A.N.: Whew. Okay, this may or may not be the last of the speedy daily updates. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: see previous disclaimer.

Chapter 8: Vaati's a clown, Link has amnesia

When Link arrived at the gates of Hyrule, he had expected some form of appreciative welcome from the citizens. He had, after all, managed to single-handedly recapture Vaati. Instead, all he received was a curt nod from the guards posted by the southern entrance and a few curious glances from the townspeople as he made his way towards the central plaza. Not a single person threw a remotely worried glance at the unconscious villain he carried on his shoulders.

What disturbed him even more was that he couldn't recognize anybody in the streets, not even the soldiers who were approaching him now, adorned with the insignia of the Royal Guard.

"Why, hello Link! Are you enjoying your day off today?" one of the soldiers asked. Link was caught off guard. Day off? That's what I was GOING to enjoy until we were sent out to search for Vaati and Opal.

"Erm, I didn't have a day off today." Now the soldier looked surprised. "Do you know where I can find Sir Gregory?' Link asked, eager to see someone he recognized.

"Sir Gregory?" The soldier rubbed his chin, "I know several Gregories, but none with the title of Sir." Several of his men nodded in agreement. Link's feeling of foreboding increased. Sir Gregory had been one of the most conspicuous men in the Royal Guard, he wasn't easily missed. The soldier continued laughing heartily, "But to not have a day off, Link! You shouldn't work yourself too hard; you deserve a vacation after the rough adventure you went through, and boy, what a story that was." Link began to feel worse; the soldier didn't notice and went on, "Nothing goes on around here anymore. We're practically unemployed! But you can't have a proper castle without the Royal Guards."

"No, I guess not…………OW!"

"Arrgh FOOL, let go of me, DON'T TOUCH ME!" Vaati kicked himself off of Link and landed on the ground with a loud whack.

"Ah, so your friend has woken up. May I inquire who this may be?" The soldier asked, watching with interest as the mage brushed himself off and unleashed a string of indistinguishable curses.

Vaati stopped and stood speechless. Link had the same reaction.

"How can you not know?" The words barely made it coherently out of Link's lips.

"I'm sorry, are you a celebrity? Forgive me but I'm not too familiar with the popular culture. My children make fun of me for it all the time." The soldier shook his head sadly.

"But he's…he's Vaati, the Sorcerer of Winds! He tried to take over Hyrule and he, and he…" Link stuttered, and then fell quiet when all the soldiers began to laugh. Vaati laughed with them; this was great.

"Link, do you mean the Vaati from the old Hyrule legends? It's questionable he even existed," he chuckled, but then a look of concern appeared. "I know you had a rough time when you went out alone to defeat Ganon, goddesses know what you saw. I suggest you take it easy and rest. These nightmares will leave you soon enough." He turned to Vaati, "did something happen to him Mr.…?"

"…coincidentally, my name is Vaati. I guess poor Link here made the wrong connections when I introduced myself." Vaati tried his best to look serious. He continued as solemnly as possible, "I'm afraid he's also been suffering from a type of amnesia. It appears he was zapped by a yellow Chu; an unfortunate accident." Link gave Vaati a cold glare, but said nothing.

The soldier nodded gravely. "Then please take care of him, he's gone through more than a boy his age should go through, as you may have already heard." He was about to leave when he brightened up and addressed Vaati, "The markings under your eyes…are you possibly employed under 'Fyer and Falbi's Watertop Land of Fantastication' at Lake Hylia?"

Vaati began to frown.

The soldier made an effort to explain, "You know, the two clowns that work the amusement park. I heard they're popular with the kids during the summer. My son absolutely loves it. Do you work there?"

"……he'd better shut up now," Vaati said under his breath, his good humor leaving him.

Link hastily began moving Vaati away from the group of soldiers, repressing a snigger, "I think we'd best be on our way."

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"Would you stop laughing?!"

"Fyer and Falbi's Watertop Land of Fantastication?" Link fell into a new fit of laughter. "I think I'm going to forgive the 'Link was zapped by a Chu' story."

Vaati stormed past the market place, angrily shouldering his way past the evening crowd.

"All right, all right I'll stop," Link wheezed. He tried to catch up to Vaati as he was jostled by the people. He observed Vaati being bumped as he tried to push pass; it was still odd how nobody seemed to recognize him. "Where are you going?"

"If you haven't noticed, dimwit, this Hyrule isn't our Hyrule," Vaati was still angry. "I'm going to the library to check something."

"Why the library?" Link was somewhat surprised, "If you want information, we can just ask the locals. And seeing how nobody runs and screams at the sight of you, that would probably be faster and more up-to-date."

Vaati let out an impatient sigh. "The more people we talk to, the more attention we'll get. And seeing how you still hold the hero status and seeing you'll make at least one stupid remark, becoming gossip material would be way too easy." He turned a corner and narrowly missed crashing into a couple.

"…made even easier with a member from the Land of Fantastication."

"Did you say something just now?"

"No."

The crowd thinned as they made their way to the block that held the library. Only a few people remained at this time of day. The library itself appeared more impressive than Link had last remembered. It seemed there were more books on the shelves, it seemed there was more dust, it seemed older, and it seemed…

"It seems more…3D."

"Link, just shut up. I don't need your dumb comments to throw off my concentration," Vaati glanced at a notice lying on the reception desk, threw it towards Link, and asked the receptionist for a certain book. Link made out "Section H14, row 22," and wondered what the mage was looking for when something on the notice caught his eye.

His head went numb when he saw the date.

XXXXXXXXXX

"What did you just do?" Ganon seethed at Opal after he had recovered from the initial shock of finding himself…changed.

"…"

"I ordered you to fill the land of Hyrule with monsters nobody had ever set eyes on before. What," he whispered, "is this?"

"…I filled the land of Hyrule with monsters nobody had ever set eyes on before, Lord Ganon. You did not specify how I should do it."

Ganon angrily punched a wall. "And how, pray tell, did you do it?"

"I opened a portal between a future Hyrule and the Hyrule we used to be in. I think I couldn't quite control it and accidentally created a portal so large it engulfed our Hyrule."

"So what you're saying is you changed the old Hyrule into a future Hyrule."

"Yes, Lord Ganon."

Ganon watched her thoughtfully. "Now, answer the next question carefully. If I don't like it, you're going to die." The possessed girl stared forward, unfazed. "How will this affect the Hero of Time?"

Opal answered. Ganon closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, he was grinning. "Good girl. He's bound to figure out I'm free sooner or later. I'll give him a break; this time, he can come to me when he's ready…if he even manages to survive until then."

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Half-an-hour later, Vaati came back to find Link staring at his hands looking depressed. Vaati couldn't really understand how finding one in the future would be troublesome; it happened to him whenever he escaped the Four Sword, and really, Hyrule never changed much however many years had progressed. Link noticed Vaati.

"What happened? We're not really in the future, are we?" Link looked like someone who was trying to laugh at a bad joke.

Vaati ignored him and thumbed through the book he had brought with him. The title was Monster Hunter's Field Guide: Hyrule's dungeons.

"I mean, if I'm in the future and people recognize me," Link continued, obviously panic-stricken, "then there must be two me-s, and therefore two Triforces. Two Triforces of Courage can't exist in the same time period. That would mess things up too much. Therefore, we cannot possibly be in the future." Link's expression relaxed as he marveled at his own logic. That's right. I can't be in the future. It wouldn't make sense.

Vaati kept his gaze on the book, "Mmhmm, we probably won't be meeting another you. Though if we did, I'd be able to use one of you take out my frustrations and the other as my body guard."

"So…we're not in the future, right? Tell me I missed something. Tell me I really was shocked into amnesia by a yellow Chu."

"You were shocked into amnesia by a yellow Chu."

"…You're not very helpful."

Vaati slammed his book shut. "Are you done moping yet? I gave you a good thirty minutes to take this all in. I come back, and you're still moping!" He glared, "Face it Link, we're in the damn future. Now straighten up and stop whining like a baby!"

"Vaati……what happened?"

Vaati looked away. "I'm not sure, but I have…ideas."

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