I looked around the main room of Lillis Hall on the U of O campus, reaching around to scratch the back of my neck. The tables and chairs that normally were situated throughout the room had been cleared away for the comic convention that Kaylee and I were currently attending. Despite my old aversion to cosplaying, it had been easy for Kaylee to convince me to go to the convention dressed up in a pretty convincing Link costume; she had dressed up as Malon.

I smirked as I thought about how much my trip to Hyrule had affected me. I had spent the first few months after returning to Oregon in telling Kaylee and some other Zelda fans at the Onyx House all about the adventure I'd had and all I had discovered. Kaylee had been a bit weirded out when I told her of Link and Ruto's marriage; as evidenced by the costume she wore today, she had always wanted Malon to get Link in the end. But she was quick to geek out over all the cell phone pictures I had taken.

But after those first few months, the reality of what had happened to me began to set in. In the nearly three months I'd spent in Hyrule, I had seen and done things which I never would have anticipated doing. There were the happy memories, of course; those of riding with Link around Lon-Lon Ranch, sword training with Nabooru, and laughing and joking with Zelda came quickly to mind. But there were also ill memories. During my time in Hyrule, I had seen young men fall with horrific injuries, countless beasts, frightening as they were, being cut down by swords and arrows, a young lady cleaved apart in the midst of a desperate battle, and a young adult broken and bruised from multiple beatings.

I had left Hyrule as a changed man, and I knew it.

At first, the changes were mostly positive. I began to get interested in cosplaying as a way to revisit my old adventures. Having taken a particular fancy to sword combat during my journey, I joined a swordfighting club on campus; some of the friends I made there, I suspected, I would keep for the better part of my life.

Once the bad memories started to flow, though, I began to try and put my experience behind me. The mark of the Triforce on my right hand never went away, even though it faded and began to resemble a scar from branding. After some time (and countless questions from classmates), I finally decided to have a crucifix tattooed over it. That made it look like a random burn scar from a hot piece of metal.

Now, two years after my return, I looked around uncomfortably. Dressing up as Link brought all those memories back. Especially the painful ones. I honestly hadn't thought about that when I'd agreed to cosplay with Kaylee for this convention. It didn't help that there were other Zelda cosplayers in the giant room at Lillis, outfitted as characters I'd met and associated with.

Kaylee, standing next to me as we looked for a booth to check out, noticed my discomfort. "You alright, Brian?" she asked.

I couldn't tell her what I was thinking, I just couldn't. So I replied, "Yeah. It's just this costume. It's kinda scratchy around the neck." That was actually true. The collar of the green tunic I'd made for the cosplay was rather rough, and chafed at my neck.

As I scratched my neck again, I was aware that Kaylee was looking behind us. Then I heard her say, "Oh, Brian, look at those cosplayers! They really know how to dr...What the...Brian, you might want to see this."

Intrigued by her reaction, I looked in the direction Kaylee was gazing. And then I saw them: Link, Ruto, and Zelda, side-by-side in the main room, the very same ones I had interacted with in Hyrule. They appeared to be two years older, and Ruto now held the hand of a very wobbly toddler (who looked, predictably, like a cross between her and Link), but they were definitely the same exact people. And standing next to Zelda, hand-in-hand with her was…

I immediately speed-walked over to the group, Kaylee close behind me. Link saw me coming and called out, "Brian! How are you?" When I reached him, I wrapped him up in the biggest bear hug I had ever given anyone since Kaylee had picked me up from Spencer Butte. When the other three people with him saw this, I heard a hearty round of chuckles. When I finally let go of Link, I turned to Kaylee and said, "I think I'd better introduce you to these people. This is Link, Ruto, and Zelda." The three of them shook hands with Kaylee, who looked quite stunned indeed.

Then I indicated the fourth member of the group and said to my friend, "And this is me."

...

Well, that's all, folks! Thank you all for your kindness in taking a look at this story. This will be my final author's note, so let me just cover everything that needs to be covered. First of all, many thanks to Shigeru Miyamoto and the fine folks at Nintendo for coming up with a great game and a compelling story for all of us fan fic writers to write about! My next thanks goes to my housemates at the Onyx House for allowing me to mention the House in this story. Third, thanks to Kaylee Ervin for her support from day one. Next, an especially big thank-you to my fellow writer FriedCuccoLady for her constant feedback, without which I doubt the story would have done well without. Another thank-you to my very good friend and fellow writer Lisa Enman (fan fiction username: KitteWolf) for getting me interested in fan fiction. My final acknowledgement goes to all of you who have read this story! I sincerely hope you have all enjoyed it! To close this out, I have posted a behind-the-scenes look at this story on my profile, if anyone is interested. Once again, thank you all for taking the time to read this tale!