Link stepped through the portal, instantly soaking his boots through. He pulled his hood up almost immediately and waited for Ashei to don hers. The portal shut with a fae snap.They plodded through the knee-deep snow, and Link felt all of the wind chill. It was as if his heavy woolen cloak didn't exist, had never existed. He saw through the snowy fog a narrow closed-in path leading to a raised butte-like formation. He turned to Ashei. "Are we goin' there?" he shouted over the banshee-like gusts of wind.

"No," came her muffled reply. "over there." She pointed, but all Link could see was white. She set off in the direction she had pointed, motioning for him to follow. 'She must know this area; nothing but a hawk or a wolf could see in all this shit.' He thought. His limbs shook as he followed her to what looked like the edge of an unexpected ravine. She raised her heavily layered leg and stepped out in a random spot before he could stop her.

But she wasn't tumbling off the edge. She stood firm on something, and Link then realized that it was a white slope.

"Midna and Zelda came up with the idea of an invisible bridge to the Sacred Grove instead of a crazy-ass jumping path. Eh, kinda defeats the purpose of it when it's snowin', yeah?" She shrugged, planting another foot on the stark platform and inviting him to come. "Gave me the creeps when it was invisible, though." She said, shaking her head.

They advanced, and Link could tell they were on solid ground from the feel of the soil beneath his boots. He followed her to another huge gorge spanned by two bridges which led to a cave. It was dim, somehow even colder than the outside, and held two empty golden torch sconces.

Ashei ignored them and trudged further, through an enormous hollow log that opened up to three more, pointed in the remaining cardinal directions. Their crunching footsteps echoed eerily as Ashei led Link through a path that seemed chosen at random. Left here, straight here, right there, left again, left again, head back the same way. The air smelled of nothing but ice despite the forest that had once stood, green and proud, guarding the Master Sword.

The vagrant thought spoke a bit louder. Master Sword. Not just a name, either. A sword bearing a blade with a tri-polygonal symbol graven on both sides. A flared guard of deep purple, the hilt inlaid with a dusting of gilt. A divine sword crafted by forces unknown. This thicket of memories struck him like quarrels from dozens of crossbows. He exhaled for the first time in what seemed a year.

"Ashei…?" she glanced back at him, stopping halfway through another passageway.

"What's the Master Sword? I mean, I know it's an important magical sword, from what Zelda said, but… is that all it is?"

She frowned, sighing. "Who knows? Not even Zelda. Or you. It's an enigma, yeah?"

He crossed his arms. "Did I carry it?" He thought that he knew the answer, but he needed to hear her say it.

"Yeah. Didn't just wield it, either. The thing chose you. Sword itself selected you as one of the most important people in the entire world; Hero of Twilight, people call you. But you're a lot more than that. You're the hero chosen by the Goddesses."

He chuckled at how cliché it sounded, but she might have misunderstood. "I'm being serious, Link! Damn you!"

"I'm not laughing at you. It's just… in the future, you hear that sorta thing on TV all the time."

She wore an incredulous expression. "The hell is that?"

"Okay, it's like…. Have you ever seen a play?"

"'Course I have."

"Alright, so imagine thousands of different plays, all different types, except you can see all of them on one electronic screen."

"Electronic… screen." She looked doubtful. "Are you being serious? People come to ya where ya live and act out plays whenever ya want?"

"No… It's…" Link shook his head with a smile. "We should get back to wherever we're going. I'll try to explain better later."

"Right through here."

The final entranceway opened to an arena-like area. He nearly walked off the edge, and lurched back, clutched at Ashei's waist to steady himself, trying to ignore the soft sound she made.

"Hmm," he said, extricating himself from Ashei's armor. "how do we get down without breaking our ankles?"

She snorted. "Over there." she pointed to the left side of the platform where the top of a ladder could be seen. "Put that in, too, after ya killed Ganondorf."

"Ganondorf?" he arched an eyebrow.

"Storytime can come later, yeah?" she said, climbing down.

They found their way into the Sacred Grove. Snow obscured two statues, Link guessed. Their hammers were uncovered, though, and the stone they were made of seemed familiar. Everything seemed familiar. The falling snow had nearly ceased here, granting a view of benevolent, if pregnant clouds looming over them.

"Well, sword's through the doorway between these guys." Ashei said. She walked through, leaving him to catch up after lingering awhile. He thought that he smelled something strange.

'Smell? What am I, a wolf?' he chuckled, following Ashei.

The area was covered in a thin sheet of white, but Link could clearly make out something erect in the center. Ashei stood beside it, clearly impatient.

Link jogged over, and at a nod, planted his feet in front of the pedestal that encased the shining sword. It was almost exactly how he had envisioned it previously, like he had retained that memory somehow, but seemed even more deadly and beautiful in person. It seemed nearly alive before his eyes.

"… Not to ruin an intense reunion, but are ya gonna stare at it all day or are ya gonna pull it?" Ashei interrupted.

He jerked, coming out of his reverie. "… yeh… here goes…"

He pulled the sword.

Colors became more vivid; the scent of snow and- he had not been aware of this before -of Ashei's perfume sharpened; it was as if he had been seeing the world through a single cataract eye, and now both were restored; his body even felt stronger, and he saw entire systems of thought return to his consciousness. His instincts were back.

The choker restricting his memories split like a rotted melon, allowing his memories to rush back to him in a deluge. His new and old memories melded together, mixing things like playing Battlefield 4 with Sheik and Darunia with things like bareback horse-riding with Colin and Talon. The children! How were they all? Were they all okay? And Ilia! How could he forget Ilia, his best friend from home? Okay, the children were doing just fine, last he had checked. The memories would gradually return, he knew, now that the barriers were dispelled.

Link glowed as the Master Sword purged him of the malignant magic. He reclaimed his title as Link, Hero of Twilight, bearer of the Triforce of Courage. No, not a title. He recovered himself.

'Well,' He thought. 'I can't believe I was that foolish.'

"Link?" Ashei's voice held wonder.

He turned, standing straight and tall, holding the Master Sword with familiarity. When he didn't slouch, he was taller than her. He smiled at her. "It wasn't your fault, Ashei." At her surprised look, he wrapped his free hand around her neck and pulled her into a kiss. A kiss to warm, to nurture, to feed and to take. She burst out of it some time later, breathing hard and clutching his abdomen for support.

"Link… is it you? Are you… back?" her eyes shone with a thin layer of tears.

"Yeah, Ashei. I'm back." He laughed earnestly. "Now I remember why we get along so well."

"Hmmm, yeah." She laughed with him, still leaning on him for support and smiling while tears rolled down her cheeks. "Think we might just have to celebrate your remembrance tonight, yeah?" Her voice held a sinister edge.

Link chuckled. "It's strange; I still have memories from the future, but my old, real ones are back, now. It's like I'm two people."

"Link, whoever you are, I don't care. Just as long as ya love me."

"Whoever I am a thousand years from now, I'll still love you-"

Their romantic clichés were cut short at something slicing the air. They turned with taut nerves, and Link raised his sword.

It was just a portal, the Gorons' meeting chamber resplendent on the other side. The green-black outline shimmered in the air, making it stomach-turning to look at for too long. They looked at each other, and at the Sacred Grove.

"How'd they know we were here? And that we're here now?" Link asked, then grimaced. The first question's answer was simple, and the second's was probably 'luck.'

She gave him a wry look, and almost those exact answers as she sauntered over to the portal, ignoring the cold. 'Goddesses, I'm slipping. I've been more or less out of commission for three or so weeks, so it might be 'cause of that.'

They passed through the portal, Link now recognizing the familiar snap of it closing. He smiled at Midna, and Zelda, taking in their slightly bemused expressions while maintaining his trademark grin. The next person waiting, apparently for his return, would have passed from his mind had she not been there right then.

Saria. Link felt as if the floor had dropped out from under him. 'I forgot her. I never said goodbye to her.' Link was sure his heart lay with Ashei, but he still felt a deep sense of regret and strangely, loss. Link couldn't explain it, but he felt something. And it wasn't just loss. Link felt something strange in the room. Something profoundly not right.

The metallic sound of the Master Sword striking the floor roused him. He hastily scooped it up, ignoring concerned looks from the four women in the room. The back of his left hand burned, numbing his wrist.

"Uh… I need to rest. I'm not feeling well at all." He nearly ran from the hall. Voices pursued him, but not their owners.

Minutes later, he propped the Master Sword upright in the corner, checked his room for intruders, and found none. He sat firmly on his bed, peeling back his coats, for he had not removed them yet. His Triforce mark, one of the two remaining in the world, nearly blinded him.

He gasped as the Master Sword began to glow as well. The bluish steel glowed golden, as the Triforce did.

"What the fuck is going on?!" he cursed.


Hello there. I promised this a bit ago, but it's here now. I've got a clear picture of the next chapter already, so prepare yourselves, Zeldonians.