I was taken off guard seeing Link, the Hero of Time, in chains. Even though I knew he'd been captured, it was still a shock to see the young man I'd seen so often tearing through enemies in video games in a state such as this. Zelda instantaneously reacted, rushing over to his side, pulling out the ring of keys. As she fumbled with it, I heard a young male voice – it could be no one else's but Link's – say, in an injured mumble, "Ze…Shiek?"

I was puzzled both by his hesitation, and the name he called Zelda. I walked over, hoping to see what was affecting him. To my shock, I saw that he had been beaten quite soundly, perhaps multiple times. The front of his tunic was torn nearly to shreds, and long, heavy red welts crisscrossed his chest and abdomen. There were a few scabbed-over cuts on his face, and there was a black-and-blue ring around one of his sky-blue eyes – his left eye.

Ruto, Impa, and Nabooru had run up after I had, and the five of us stood there shocked for a moment. Then Zelda removed her cap and mask, before unlocking the chains that held Link's ankles. As she began to unlock the chain around his left wrist, he said, in a more coherent voice, "Zelda, you have to get out of here. He has it. He has the Triforce of Courage."

"Actually, he doesn't," I said in return, stepping into his field of view. I showed him the back of my right hand. The Triforce symbol on it was glowing and pulsating from proximity to Zelda's Triforce.

His eyes went wide as he saw this, and he turned back to Zelda, asking, "Who is this?"

"This is Brian Glenn," Zelda replied, finishing up the first wrist chain. "He has been instrumental for us in rescuing you." Then she unlocked the last wrist chain. Link dropped six inches to the floor. Staying on his feet, however, seemed to be too hard a task for his legs, and he collapsed backwards. Ruto stepped in and caught him, gently letting him down, and sitting on the floor herself, one arm wrapped around his shoulders, her other hand pillowing his skull.

Neither of them said a word, but Link reached up with both arms and returned the embrace he was given. He and his bride sat there in each other's arms for a good minute. I could see Link was making no effort to hold back tears – Ruto's shoulder was wet with them.

Ruto helped him up after a while, and Zelda and Impa, by turns, gave him a hug of their own. He then let go of Ruto and tried to stand on his own – successfully – before offering Nabooru and shake of the hand. Nabooru – the tough warrior type as she was – rejected this in favor of another embrace.

And then he looked at me, offering a handshake. I readily accepted this, glad to finally meet the hero I had been sent here to rescue. It was as we shook hands that I realized just how short Link was. He exceeded five feet by maybe an inch or two; Zelda and I both dwarfed him (Impa and Nabooru even more so), and even Ruto was a bit taller than him as well. But as I looked Link in the eye, I saw the gaze of someone who had known struggle and prevailed. His small stature made him no less a hero.

It was then that Impa broke in. "We'd better head back. Ganon may wonder why his transfer party has not returned with Link yet."

As we began to exit the Temple of Spirit, Link asked, "Transfer party? What else were they planning to do to me?"

I, who was supporting him as he tried to walk, was reluctant to answer. Zelda did so, though: "Let's just say that you would've had a lot of kids, and none of them would've looked like Ruto."

Link blanched. Then he nearly collapsed. I immediately picked him up and started to fireman-carry him up the slopes of the temple basin.

…

Link was ambulatory again when we reached the plains. He appeared to be recuperating well on the march, as he walked hand-in-hand with Ruto. As we crossed the plain, Impa and I both kept looking over our shoulders to make sure there were no Gerudo coming out of the valley after us. Thankfully, none appeared; Ganon either wasn't missing Link yet, or he thought Link was still in the desert.

We arrived back at the ranch just as the sun was setting; we'd been on the mission for a full twenty-four hours. The first person to meet us as we stepped through the gate was Malon, who ran up to Link and gave him the biggest bear hug I had ever seen anyone in Hyrule give.

Her record was quickly broken as Darunia came rolling up and, to all of our wincing, wrapped Link up in a bone-crushing embrace; I could actually hear the wind being pushed out of Link's lungs and several of his vertebrae popping loudly.

We heard Saria before we saw her. "Link!" she shouted, running up as fast as her small child legs could carry her. She jumped into the air, and Link caught her in his arms; they were both laughing for joy.

Zelda, who was standing next to me, leaned over and whispered, "Those two have been best friends since Link was a child. He grew up among the Kokiri."

The last to appear was Rauru. Link smiled brightly as he saw him walk over, dignified and fatherly as always. I almost thought they were father and son, the way Link ran up and hugged him.

There was not a single blank look in the whole gathering – even Impa, who was always calm and unfazed, was chuckling heartily with the rest of us. Zelda and Ruto looked the most relieved out of all of us, though. And that, I reasoned, was perfectly logical; Zelda because her hero and comrade was free, and Ruto because her husband was with her again.

At length, Link turned to all of us and said, "Well, as we probably all know, Ganon is back. He's after the
Triforce, as usual, so we'll need to put an end to his evil once and for all."

Caught up in the moment, I drew my sword and raised it aloft. "Let's do it!" I called out. Those who had gathered there nodded in assent, and Darunia punched his palm with his fist.

"You know what this means, though, don't you Link?" called Rauru from slightly behind Link.

We all looked at him to see what he was going to say next.

He looked at Link and said, "You'll need the Blade of Evil's Bane. You need to take up the Master Sword."