Chapter 20: Even Heroes Fail Sometimes

When I finally opened my eyes, I wished I hadn't. I was falling, falling for seemingly no end as reality seemed to bend around me. Then it shimmered to reveal a scene right out of a nightmare, Ganon was on top of a castle laughing in triumph as he stood over the obviously dead body of a young Hylian in a familiar green tunic. No, no! After the vison faded, I fell faster, losing consciousness once more. I awoke to on my back in a hammock to Ocarina music as my eyes opened slowly. I turned to the source to see a young Hylian boy in a green tunic sitting on a rail and playing the song of healing on an Ocarina of Time I assumed the Ocarina of Time as another similarly dressed but clearly older Hylian watched him. This one turned and noticed me with a smile.

"You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"

There was something familiar about him. I swore I had seen him before.

"Are you one of my…?"

He nodded.

"I am Link, the Hero of Hyrule. And this is Link, the Hero of Time."

The Boy took the Ocarina from his lips. "Pleasure to meet you."

I looked around at my surroundings, it was Hyrule, and yet something was off, way off.

"Where am I?"

"Welcome to Termina," the Hero of Time answered, "It takes a different form for all who visit it."

"Am I…?"

"Dead? No, not yet. But if you choose to stay here, you won't be returning to Hyrule."

He hopped down from the railing.

"If I were you though, I would head back, there is still much more you can do. And trust me, this place is not as good as Hyrule."

I watched as he simply vanished as he walked away out of the room, then I turned to the Hero of Hyrule.

"What am I doing here?"

He looked into the distance.

"You think you're the first hero to ever fail?"

I wasn't sure how to answer, the question caught me off guard. So, I just said nothing.

"You aren't. As a result of the use of the Ocarina of Time, the timeline split into 3, one where The Hero of Time went back to his childhood and prevented Ganon's rising, the one he left behind without a hero, and one where Ganon was victorious despite the Hero's best efforts. The vison you saw before coming here was that timeline coming to be, the timeline where I come from."

He turned to me as he continued.

"Even when Ganon succeeded, he was sealed away and a hero rose to stop him. As you did from your slumber after the great calamity. As long as Ganon or other evil is around, so will we be, ready to wield a sword against him. No matter what timeline, no matter what outcome. We will always be there ready to wield The Blade of Evil's Bane to save Hyrule."

My head lowered; at the moment, I didn't feel ready.

"If you think you are among some of the worst heroes, no! Some say you are among the best. I agree, and I am a reliable source, as I was the one to use the Triforce to unite the timelines, I have seen them all from the beginning to the end."

I looked at him in shock, he…? He was the one to unite the timelines? And he did it through the Triforce? He continued.

"The Goddesses at this time believe you deserve a second chance."

I hopped down from the hammock that I was lying in as he produced a familiar blade in its scabbard and held it out to me.

"You have two choices. You can either rest, and no longer need to worry about Hyrule. You will go down in history as a great hero, and another hero will take up the blade to fight Ganon. Or, you can take up the blade yourself, return to Hyrule, and prevent Ganon's return under the light of the next blood moon."

I thought about it, it was true that I had failed, but I had also done my best. But a chance to try again? Who would pass that up? I took the sword in its scabbard as he held it out in front of him. I slung it over my back, drew the sword, and held it in front of me. Its familiar blue glow made me smile.

"The spirit of the Hero is forever connected to the spirit of the sword, as it was he in the form of The Hero of the Sky who forged this blade into its true form." The Hero of Hyrule said.

I put the sword back in its scabbard, smiling at having it on my back and what's more, it no longer felt like a burden, but rather, a part of me, an extension of my being and a symbol of my destiny.

"Now Link, Hero of the Wild. It is time to open your eyes. Believe in your strengths and remember your courage."

As the world around me faded away, I smiled and said a few words of my own, "A wise person once told me that courage need not be remembered, for it is never forgotten."

He looked at me with a smile when I said this, then the rest of the world faded to white.

The white cut to the black of my closed eyelids as sounds around me gradually came into focus. Ahh…! As did my pain. I winced as I opened my eyes, I was in a small wooden building, a cabin of some sort. Was I at… Impa's? My sounds of pain and movement instantly caught the peoples in the room's attention.

"He's awake!" someone who sounded like Paya said.

Revali's face filled my vision, "Rise and shine hero. You've been asleep for 3 days. To be honest, we were wondering if you were going to wake up. And I know you're going to ask, so I'll just tell you, the Princess is safe. We took her to The Shrine of Resurrection, she should be fine, given enough time to heal."

I tried to sit up further, wincing as pain shot through my bare, bandaged, chest. Revali immediately tried to stop me.

"Whoa, easy there! I know you don't like to stay down for long, but Impa and I think you should get some rest. You shouldn't do any more hero work until you've recovered. Unless you have a death wish"

As much as I hated it, he was right. As he had stopped me from sitting up, he helped me ease back down.

"You should be happy to have such a brother, Master Link. It's been 3 days and he's hardly left your side." Paya said.

I looked at Revali in surprise, who turned to Paya.

"Could you go get some soup and water for Link please?"

The look he gave her made it clear he wanted to be alone with me, so without a word, Paya went down the stairs, Revali followed her with his eyes to make sure she actually left, then looked back at me.

"Do you honestly believe I would have left you for dead? Or abandoned you when you needed me?"

His words cut like a knife; this was the most serious I had ever seen him. His eyes alone could pierce a guardian's armor. I shook my head in absolute sincerity.

He sat next to me, "I still am and always will be your brother Link. Even when that rift existed between us, no matter how angry or jealous I go with you, I never hated you. I just couldn't bring myself to."

I was shocked, our past rivalry had hurt him as much as me. I guess I should have asked why he allowed it to continue, but I decided not to. It wasn't my right to know and I didn't want another argument. Paya re-entered the room holding a waterskin and a steaming wooden bowl of soup. By the smell I was pretty sure it was Hearty Radish Soup. Revali got up and took them both with a small nod of gratitude and acknowledgement. He walked back over to the bed I was recovering on and sat down next to it once more. He set the soup aside and put the waterskin to my beak which I drank from gratefully. After I was done, he set it aside and picked the soup back up, stirring it with the spoon. After he was satisfied with how it was mixed, he filled a spoon and fed it to me after giving me a small moment to blow on the hot liquid. Eating after this many days made the food taste heavenly, as well as the fact that it was well made.

"Did you make this?"

He smiled.

"No."

"Right, I forgot that if you made it, it wouldn't be edible."

The spoon clattered against the bowl in annoyance as I smiled mischievously.

"Or do I need to remind you of "The Black Salmon Incident"?"

"Just eat your soup." He said as he fed me another spoonful.

After Revali fed me the rest of the bowl, he left me to get some rest as the sun began to set. I closed my eyes for some much-needed relaxation. My job wasn't over yet, that much I knew. But for now, it felt good to lay back and rest in preparation for what the future held. Be it Ganon or Worse.