Author's Disclaimer: I do not own Super Smash Bros or any of the characters involved in it. I am earning no profit from this story, other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others! I hope you all enjoy reading it!
Zelda held Link tightly as they travelled through the portal. It felt like being forced through a burning current of water, without being able to move at all. All around the princess and the knight was just the color white. They couldn't see anything, and were only a little sure they were still moving. Then, just as abruptly as it had begun, the whiteness and the burning ended. Both Hylians were thrust out of the portal and straight into the hard ground beneath it.
Zelda stood up and brushed herself off. She gently laid Link on the ground. He had been rendered unconscious. It seemed that the effort of travelling between worlds proved to be too much for the already injured knight. He would need medical attention, but he wasn't dying. For now, Zelda simply looked around her new surroundings, a smile spreading across her face. She was home. Hyrule Castle stood before her, just as she remembered. The moat ran underneath the wooden drawbridge, leading up to the imposing white and blue castle.
"Z-Zelda?" someone called curiously. "Is...is that you?"
Zelda spun around, and laughed. The Link from her world rushed up to her. He was wearing green royal robes, that he obviously wasn't quite sure how to run in, but besides that he seemed unchanged. A little older, yes. But so was the princess. Zelda perfectly recognized the bright, happy, blue eyed, blonde haired Hero of Hyrule. Following behind him was a legion of soldiers, all hefting spears. Link, of course, kept the Master Sword sheathed on his back.
"Link!" Zelda exclaimed. She happily accepted the embrace he offered her. Before the whole mess with Master Hand, the two of them had been close friends. They had spent much time together, and both of them honestly enjoyed the other's company. Even so, it had never been much more than a friendship. Neither had ever really felt any strong attraction towards the other, even though people had bothered them about that all the time.
For a moment, the hero and the princess hugged each other, relishing their long awaited reunion. Then Link pulled away. "Where were you all these years? What happened?"
Zelda smiled softly. "It's a very, very long story."
"And who's that?" Link asked, gesturing to the other Link.
Zelda knelt down beside the knight, clutching his hand. "Part of that long story. I promise I'll explain. But can we get him a doctor first? He's terribly wounded."
Link studied the stranger before him, who he could tell meant a lot to the princess, and nodded. "Of course. I've got a long story to tell you too." He turned to the soldiers following him. "Help the princess carry this man to the infirmary."
"Yes, Your Highness!" the soldiers complied. They immediately rushed to the unconscious Link and hoisted him over their shoulders. They began marching towards the castle, Link and Zelda following behind.
"'Your Highness'?'" Zelda questioned.
Link cringed. "Please no. I've been...running the kingdom, while you were gone. Well, I played the role of king. Mostly it was Impa who made decisions and told me what to do."
"And you didn't like it, did you?" Zelda questioned. She could see that he resented being addressed as 'Your Highness.' He had winced when the soldiers called him that. He was also clearly uncomfortable wearing the thick cloak and ornate armor customary for a king.
Link shook his head. "I hated it! All these people, depending on me! And calling me these silly names! Almost worse than being called 'hero' all the time! Not to mention how terrible all the outfits I have to wear are! I don't know how you do it!"
Zelda giggled. "Well, I appreciate you ensuring the kingdom's survival during my... er, absence."
Link smiled. "Yeah, no problem. Now that you're home, I don't have to do this anymore! I can go home and have a normal life. No more of this crazy stuff with running kingdoms or being a hero or dealing with alternate worlds."
Zelda snickered. She glanced at the unconscious Link being carried by the soldiers. "Well...not exactly…"
…
Queen Zelda tumbled out of her portal. She was a little sore. The portal's interior hadn't exactly been a calm ride, but it had done the job. She had landed in her castle's sanctum, where she had held Calamity Ganon for 100 years. The room had since been restored and cleaned out, but the queen still preferred to spend as little time as possible there. Too many bad memories. Queen Zelda picked herself up off the floor and turned to face the portal. For several minutes, she simply stared at it sadly. Eventually, it collapsed on itself, and Zelda dropped her gaze to the ground.
That was it. Link was lost to her forever now. She would never be able to get enough power to open another portal. And it wasn't like he'd want to come home anyways. He'd made his decision. She had encouraged it, but only because she knew he'd never do what he truly wanted without express permission.
A few minutes ago, that had felt like the right thing to do. Sending Link with the love of his life, even if it meant she'd never see him again. He had seemed so happy with that other Zelda. And Queen Zelda had wanted Link to have that happiness for the rest of his life.
But now, her heart felt like it was being torn apart. Because she'd always thought he could find that kind of happiness with her. That was all she'd ever wanted. But Link clearly did not feel the same way. Before the Great Calamity, Zelda used to fantasize that Link followed her around so doggedly because he couldn't bear to be away from her. But it was now clear that wasn't true. He'd followed her because his honor meant more to him than his own life did. Because he was following orders from the king himself. Not because he loved her.
The queen fell to her knees. She put her head in her hands, and began to cry. She had lost Link again. First the Great Calamity, watching him collapse from exhaustion and pain onto the ground, an ancient and untested piece of technology his only hope for survival. Then, Master Hand had captured him, and Zelda had pronounced him dead, forcing herself to move on. But now that she knew he was alive...it was almost worse. He had chosen to leave her for someone else. That choice would forever leave a hole in Zelda's heart.
For a while, Zelda remained on the ground, sobbing softly to herself. She knew she needed to make her presence known, to relieve her people, but for the moment all Zelda wanted to do was cry. No one knew she was back yet, and therefore she didn't have to be strong. Once her kingdom was aware she had returned, there would be no more quiet moments like this. Zelda would have no time to mourn her loss.
Finally, a pair of quick footsteps shook Zelda out of her sorrowful thoughts. She looked up, to see Prince Sidon standing on the edge of the staircase on the far side of the room. He looked stunned. "...Zelda?" he asked.
The queen wiped her eyes and stood up. "It's me, Sidon."
The Zora prince laughed before running to Zelda. He embraced her tightly. "You're alive! Everyone's been so terribly worried! We've looked all over Hyrule for you! I was checking the castle again today because...well, I just refused to accept that you were dead! So, tell me, where were you?"
"Sidon, please," Zelda whispered quietly, effectively ending the prince's interrogation.
Sidon finally noticed the sorry state his queen was in. "Good heavens! What happened to you? You look pretty banged up! And you're crying! What's wrong? Certainly, you should be happy! You're back home now!"
Zelda laughed hollowly. "Yes, I'm home. But today is not a day for celebration."
"Why ever not?" Sidon questioned. He seemed genuinely perplexed.
Zelda sighed. "It's… a long story."
"Might as well get started now," Sidon suggested.
Zelda nodded. "Very well. Let me start here. Link...isn't dead…"
…
Young Link fell from his portal with a loud cry. He landed on his back, staring up in annoyance at the clouds above him. What kind of a portal dumps you on the ground like that? Then he realized that the clouds were above him, not below. He couldn't help but smile smugly. He was back in Hyrule! He'd never have to fight for someone else again! He'd never have to return to the stupid torture room! Never again would he have to be addressed as 'Young Link.' He could have his own name back now!
Link picked himself up off the floor and spun around in a circle happily. He was in Hyrule Field, one of his favorite places in the kingdom. The rolling green hills that carried on as far as the eye could see, interrupted only by Hyrule Castle on the horizon, always made Link feel at home. He'd grown up in Kokiri Forest, but he didn't really belong there. He wasn't a Kokiri. But he didn't feel like he belonged in the bustling city streets of Hyrule Castle Town or even the slightly less busy Kakariko Village either. He wasn't used to that many people being around. No, he liked the quiet emptiness of Hyrule Field. Not to mention that he could do whatever he wanted out there and not get in trouble, since no one was out there to say 'no.'
"L-Link?" a young, female voice called shakily.
Link spun around, a bright smile on his face. "Malon!"
Malon studied Link closely from where she was standing, about twenty feet away from him. "Is...is that you?" Her blue eyes were filled with hope. As usual, her red hair was dirty and poorly combed, from her constant work on the ranch her father, Talon, owned.
"It's me!" Link confirmed.
Malon laughed, and rushed up to the Hero of Time to embrace him. Link accepted it awkwardly, still not quite sure how he felt about the young ranch girl. She was the only one in any world who could make him nervous, for reasons that Link couldn't even begin to fathom.
When Malon pulled away from him, she cocked her head. "Where were you? It's been years since anyone's seen you! Father was so worried when you didn't return from delivering the milk to the castle! He even went to the castle and asked the princess if she'd seen you. She hadn't! No one had! We've been looking everywhere for you!"
Link rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Sorry I worried you. I was alright. Kind of. It's a long story."
"Well, we better get back to the ranch!" Malon decided, grabbing Link's arm and dragging him towards the wooden structure. "Father's going to be so happy! And Epona missed you so much! I just didn't know what to tell her when you went missing! She's been so sad lately!" She smiled. "But now everything will be alright! You're home now, Link!"
Link returned her eager grin. "Yeah. I guess I am!"
…
Toon Link fell out of his portal and landed on the wooden deck of a boat. Almost instantaneously, a young girl with tanned skin and her hair combed up onto her head in a bun leaned into Toon Link's field of vision. She had a scowl on her face. "Crazy things always happen to me. All that garbage about Hyrule and destiny, then Link being taken by that weird hand, and now some portal opening over my ship! I just-" she abruptly cut off, finally noticing exactly what the portal had spit out for her. "Link? Is that you?" She kept her hand on the hilt of her short sword, staring at Toon Link suspiciously.
Toon Link raised his arms in surrender. "It's me, Tetra! It's me!"
Still not totally convinced, Tetra kicked the hilt of the Master Sword strapped on Toon Link's back. "Oh really? The Link I know left this old blade at the bottom of the ocean trapped in an evil guy's head!"
"No, it's me!" Toon Link insisted. "I got this back! Just trust me! Please, Tetra? I...I missed you so much…"
Tetra hesitated. Then she sighed, and released her hold on her blade. She offered Link a hand, and helped him stand up. "Alright, whatever. I doubt any mirage could be so sappy."
Link accepted her hand, and got up off the floor. He smiled brightly at Tetra and the ring of middle-aged men surrounding her- the crew of Tetra's ship, and some of Link's best friends. They cheered as Link stood up, chanting things like 'He's back!' or 'We missed you!' or other things like that.
Tetra gestured for silence, and they shut up immediately. "Stop being softies!" She returned her attention to Link. A small smile crept its way onto her lips. "Even though...I missed you too. I'm glad you're okay."
Link smiled.
Tetra cleared her throat. "In any case, I believe you owe us all an explanation! Where did you run off to with that crazy thing?"
Link nodded. "Well...it's a very, very long story. And it's kind of confusing…"
"Just get on with it!" Tetra snapped. "If my life's been anything, it's confusing. Oh, and Gonzo? Set a course for Outset Island. We need to let Link's grandma and sister know he's alive and all that. They've been driving me nuts. Every time I go to that island, it's all about you. 'Any news about Link?' 'Have you learned anything about Link?' Honestly. It's enough to make a pirate go mad!"
Link smiled, happy his grandma and his sister had been worried about him. Then he began the tale of his absence, just happy to be back on board Tetra's ship.
…
Link slowly opened his eyes, the agony from before only feeling a little better. He had been knocked unconscious whilst travelling through the portal with Zelda, despite his best efforts to remain awake. Seated on the edge of the bed he was lying on now was, of course, Zelda. She was speaking to someone who bore a striking resemblance to himself. He was obviously much younger than the 117 year old hero. He looked to be about 14 or 15, but his blonde hair and blue eyes looked disturbingly similar to Link's own. Link assumed this was the version of Link from Zelda's world. But his expression was not guarded and closed off the way the knight's always was. He nodded along with whatever Zelda said, occasionally adding on with his own comment or laughing at something funny. Suddenly, Zelda noticed Link's opened eyes. She smiled brightly, and clutched Link's hand tightly.
"How are you feeling?" she asked gently.
"Fine," Link answered simply.
"Does it still hurt?" Zelda questioned, clearly concerned. "Be honest."
"Yes. It does," Link admitted reluctantly.
The other Link cleared his throat awkwardly. "So. You're me...but from a different world. Is that right?"
"That is correct," Link confirmed.
The other Link laughed. "Wow. I mean, not my first time with alternate worlds and versions of me, but still. It never gets any less crazy."
"The alternate world you are referring to is Lorule, yes?" Link questioned. He vaguely remembered Zelda mentioning that back in the mansion. Apparently in Lorule, the alternate version of this Hyrule, there were different versions of people from Hyrule. But they had different names and different personalities. Zelda's other version was named Hilda. Link's was named Ravio. It seemed kind of similar to Young Link's Temina. The people there had looked like people he'd met before in Hyrule, but they went by different names and also had different personalities. However, he hadn't met a different version of Zelda, Ganondorf, or himself. Termina was a weird place.
"Did Zelda tell you about it?" the other Link asked.
"We told each other everything," Zelda answered. "And not just because we're together and all that. After spending several straight months with the same people, you get to know them pretty well."
The other Link nodded. "I'm just glad you're home now. Both of you."
"That's right," Zelda agreed. "This is where you're going to live now, Link. Do you feel well enough to walk? I'd love to show you around the castle!"
Link smiled. "I most certainly feel well enough."
Author's Note: I've still got a chapter or two left. Happy ending kind of thing. Enjoy!