Leo never imagined that he could feel so uneasy in such a picturesque wood.

He and Natey had been walking for a long time, and they didn't seem to be getting anywhere. Once they had passed seemingly the same

rock for the fourth time, he began to theorize.

"Natey?" he wondered aloud. "When you said that we're near the Great Deku Tree, how did you know?"

"Well," he replied, surprisingly thoughtful, "King told me that I'm one of the fairies that used to be around here, so I guess this is like my

home." Leo nodded, and was about to ask another question when the boy continued, "Oh, and this is the Lost Woods."

That was what the older boy expected. Although, he had remembered it being more straightforward in the videogame. All you had to know

was right right left right left left. Or something like that. Leo didn't remember.

"How can you be sure?" he pressed further.

Natey looked up at him with big eyes which had seemed so sad lately. It appeared that he had matured since they were on the plane flying

to China.

"Can't you hear it, Leo?" he asked. "There's such a pretty song, on an ocarina. She's not here anymore, but it is the song Saria played."

Remembering the tragic young Kokiri, Leo frowned and put his arm on Natey's shoulder. This place truly was his ancestral home, and it was

destroyed.

Still, he couldn't hear the song the little boy talked about.

Natey looked up suddenly, eyes alert. He went off running.

"Hey!" Leo called after him. "Natey! Wait up! Where're you going!"

He had to run after him.

The colors turned into a dark blur around him, and now he saw how an impressionist artist could have interpreted this forest as deep and

ominous. But he had no time to enjoy the scenery.

This little boy was very light on his feet. Leo had to go his fastest just to keep him in his sight.

Eventually, Leo found him, and so unpredictably that he ran into Natey. He was stopped in front of a stone circle embedded in the ground,

with an insignia that resembled the biohazard symbol. Natey was crying, in a very little-boy-like way, with loud sniffles and pink eyes. His

lower lip trembled. That was when Leo looked up.

Columns and random pieces of white stone stood jagged in the ground, covered in moss and young vines. There was a very large area

behind it that had been cleared. Leo then realized: the Forest Temple that Saria lived in and that was so close to the fairies' home had been

leveled, and he knew who did it.

He also knew why the circle in front of them was left. There was a very strong magic reading there, that had to been a sign of one of the

Sages, namely Saria. It would probably be very difficult to remove, even by Ganon.

Leo knew the kind of thing to say in this situation. He felt like he was reliving Ariel's lonely childhood again.

"It's okay, Natey!" he said, trying to be upbeat. "Do you know where Saria is right now?"

The boy shook his head.

"She is right over you, watching."

"No she isn't!" he argued. "I can't sense her!"

"That's the thing about Sages," Leo explained, crouching next to him. "Their magic is so strong that you don't even know when they're

there."

"Then how do you know she's there?" Natey said morosely.

Leo paused for a moment, unprepared.

"Because where else would she be? I'm sure that she would only want to watch her brave little fairy help save Hylia."

Natey finally accepted this, hugging Leo tightly. The tears stopped flowing, but he still sniffed noisily.

"No more being sad," said Leo over the boy's shoulder. "Look around! The forest is protected by Saria's magic. It's all okay. But we have to

keep going if we're going to get anywhere."

"Where are we going, Leo?" asked Natey, agreeably walking alongside him.

"Well, I don't see a way to get back on Earth and find King, so let's… why don't we try to find Hylia?"

He didn't find any solutions in this situation, but getting back to Earth was the most far-fetched option. And they certainly weren't ready to

confront Ganon, or anyone, for that matter.

"Most of our stories began in the forest," said a deep voice on his left side.

Leo looked over there, but no one stood beside him but Natey.

"Yeah, mine began right in this forest," said a different voice wistfully.

Still, no one else was walking with them.

"Didn't you get run over by a boulder before you found your first sword?" laughed yet another voice.

"Come on, it was coming around the corner!" said the second defensively.

"Give him some credit," said a fourth.

The first sighed. "Just because you're the oldest doesn't mean you can boss us around."

"Um, actually, since I was the first Hero, it kind of does."

"You know, for a Hero, you really are self-centered."

"It takes one to know one!"

All four of them began arguing uncontrollably, rapidly pressing on a headache. He had to stop walking to keep from going faint. The colors

of the forest changed and the Hero dug his fingers into a nearby tree.

"Leo?" asked Natey, but he could barely hear the boy over the other voices.

"Shut up!" cried Leo, pressing his hands to his ears.

The voices died down after that. Natey looked consternated.

"Not you, Natey," the older boy assured him.

"He's right," the fourth voice in Leo's head sighed. "This is his mind, not our clubhouse."

"You started it," the third voice coughed.

"But Leo, we've come to talk to you," continued the first voice.

"Who are you?" asked Leo loudly.

"We're you," all four said in unison.

"Link, all of us, and Heroes too," explained the second.

"We've gathered in your head, on orders of Hylia, to guide you," the fourth told him. "I'm the first Hero, who descended from Skyloft to

save the Princess. Gathered here also are the Hero who entered the Twilight Realm; the original Hero of Time, who lived near here; and he

who traveled across the former Great Sea and awakened Princess Zelda, and together they made New Hyrule. All the work we did together

and separately has been destroyed by Ganon, who, as he has done so many times, has gained strength again and come to conquer us. By

the blunders of another Link, we are nothing more than spirits and everything is gone."

Leo let a silence pass, out of respect, recognition, and too much puzzlement to possibly continue. Natey still looked befuddled.

"So," the newest Hero continued, "Any suggestions on what to do first?"

"Go back to Earth," the Links answered at once.

"What? Why?" responded Leo.

"The Princess is on Earth, and protecting her is the Hero's goal. Why stick around here?" answered the third Link.

"Um, to save Hylia," justified Leo.

"You've got to be the craziest one yet," grumbled the second Link.

"I think he's right," intervened the fourth Link. "Since Zelda's safe, the Hero's other, less important goal is to protect the planet from

Ganon. And Hylia knows we need a Hero right now."

"Come on," objected the third Link, "he doesn't even have a sword."

"Then let's give him one," said the fourth Link. The air around him suddenly was saturated.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said the first Link, "What are you doing?"

Before any of the rest could answer, an object vaguely materialized into the air above Leo's head. It bent and shifted quite a bit until it

settled on a single shape: a sword. It was pretty, but not particularly orthodox. A tinny fanfare played in Leo's head as it gently came to

rest in his hands. His hands dropped under the unanticipated weight.

"Nice," commended Leo to the voices in his head. Natey nodded.

"I didn't know we could do that…" mumbled the first Link, and the other two concurred in awe.

"Leo," said the fourth Link, more confidently, "this sword is made of our power. It's fueled by our magic, allotted to us by Hylia, and also

your Courage. However, since this magic is directly tied to Hylia, you won't be able to take this sword back to Earth. It should help on this

planet, though."

"Thanks," Leo said, not sure what else to say about something so unexpected.

"How'd you do that, Leo?" asked Natey, reaching out to touch it.

Leo shooed his hand away and took the sword by the hilt. It was far heavier than the games made it out to be. Lifting it was one task by

itself, and he had no idea how he would be able to wield it.

"The more confident you are," the fourth Link hinted, "the easier the sword will be to manage."

"Confident?" Leo muttered. "I'm on another planet by myself surrounded by deadly aliens with a little boy to take care of beside myself. Oh

yeah, I'm completely confident."

"Leo?" Natey persisted. "Hey! Listen! I want to know who you're talking to!"

Remembering the boy was standing there, Leo explained, "Apparently, four of the Heroes are living in my head now. They're paying rent

with magical weapons."

Natey didn't catch onto the joke, of course, but he smiled anyway.

The uncertain Hero felt the sword become lighter as he took Natey's hand and said, "Let's go obliterate some Bokoblins."

A/N- Reason No. 201 That It Sucks to Be Link: There are little voices in your head all the time, telling you what to do.

The idea for integrating the past Links came from the dear friend for whom I write this story, so I credit that idea to her.

Leo and Natey are mine, but all the Links are not. Their involvement with Leo and the current state of Hylia are NOT part of Nintendo canon.

Well, that is all for tonight. Good night!

I own nothing but Kirkland brand peanut butter cups. (Who knew they made peanut butter cups?)

- Rajeela