*Just a forewarning: I'm not sure if my updating will be as quickly as it was since I started. It's not Father's Day weekend anymore, so I won't have as much free time. Then again, I am homeschooled, so I have too much free time as it is. ;) Now it is the chapter you all (or at least one of you e_e) have been waiting for! Also, we'll be getting a little insight into how all this rebirth in the Zelda universe works. :)*
"Sit tight now," Cia told Link sweetly. She showed him to a bench in the center room of the temple. "I'll introduce you to the others once I get them. Volga!"
She called out to her general. He appeared instantly in his usual show of flames. Link flinched a bit at his overblown entrance.
"Volga, this is Link," Cia introduced. "Link, this is the general of our small army."
Link bowed his head politely under Volga's judging gaze. "Nice to meet you."
To Cia's surprise, a faint smile crossed Volga's lips. "At least this one is polite. Nothing like that other kid." His rare smile instantly turned into a frown.
"Oh, stop your whining," Cia huffed. "Go get the one from the sky. I'll get the other one." She and Volga went their separate ways to retrieve the others.
Link gripped the edge of the bench nervously. Did he fully think this through? Would the others be wondering where he was? He'd left a note that said he'd be gone for a while on Epona's saddle. Shouldn't that be enough? Anyway, he was more than happy to help a girl in trouble. Okay, maybe "happy" wasn't the right word, but he couldn't just leave her to her battle alone.
He straightened up when he heard footsteps from both sides of the hall. He quickly leapt to his feet, standing tall and attempting to make himself look presentable. He was sure these were fierce and high-ranked warriors. Link himself was covered in dirt and cuts from his little adventures, so his posture could be his only saving grace. However, once the first new recruit approached with Volga, their eyes met in shock and awe.
This "warrior" was not only a teenager like Link, but he also wore the extremely similar clothes, right down to his floppy green hat. And there was one very appalling, even creepy difference.
They both had the exact same eyes.
Link had always been complemented on how unique his eyes were, so seeing them on another person was just off-putting.
"Who are you?" the boy asked Link defensively. He placed a hand on the sword he wore on his back. "Are you some monster trying to imitate me?"
"I could ask you the same thing!" Link unsheathed his own weapon as Volga looked on, apparently entertained by all this. "Are you one of Ganondorf's minions?"
Link's lookalike took his hand off his own sword, his expression softening slightly. "I don't know anyone with that name. Are you with Demise?"
"What kind of a name is 'Demise?'" Link scoffed. "At least my enemy has a better name."
"At least my enemy's name isn't stupid!"
"Boys!" Cia shouted as she approached them. "What's all the fighting about? You two aren't against each other. You're part of my team!"
Link and his copy blinked stupidly. "But, he looks just like me…" Link pointed out defensively. "How is that even possible?"
Just as Link was finishing his statement, a small child peeked out from behind Cia. Although he bore a strong resemblance to Link himself, he was a child.
"It's kind of obvious what Cia did," the kid said with a smug grin. "She just took different versions of me from different dimensions and brought us together. It's not that complicated." He framed his dumbfounded counterparts with his thumbs and index fingers. "It's nice to know that my good looks were carried across worlds, even is my smarts weren't."
"Okay, okay," Cia said loudly, waving her hands to gain everyone's attention. "Let me be perfectly clear: none of you are right. I'll explain everything." She ushered all the Links into a line in front of her. "It's quite a lengthy story. Would you like me to put it bluntly for the sake of time?"
Link's older doppelgänger nodded. "Yeah. I think I can take it." The other two nodded in agreement.
"Alright then," Cia began slowly. "Here it is in one sentence: You are all the same person."
Child Link shrugged a shoulder. "Isn't that what I just said? The same guy from across dimensions. Simple."
"I suppose I'll have to explain further," Cia sighed, shaking her head. She conjured a glass sphere in her hand and held it up for the Links to see. "Once upon a time there was a man who was a knight of the Goddess. He was sent to prison, framed for the murder of his captain. However, this was all a plan of the Goddesses themselves to strengthen his soul." As she said this, a pale green fog filled the ball. "Four years later, he fought an evil threatening the land he held dear. The people freed him and he fought well for them and the Goddess. But he was struck down near the end."
The Links exchanged confused glances, wondering what any of this had to do with them.
"The Goddess had fought with him and was also mortally wounded by the dark force's sword," Cia continued. "She had never seen before a human of such bravery and strength, so she decided that they would be reborn together as simple humans."
"That's nice and all," Young Link groaned impatiently. "But what does this have to do with me?"
Cia held up her index finger. "I'm getting there. Just before the hero fell, he took his sacred sword and sent a large chunk of land up to the sky, carrying the citizens of the land."
"The sky?" Young Link snickered. "You're trying to tell me humans live on a mass of land up there? That's ridiculous! Even to me! And I'm engaged to a Zora!" Wolf Link quirked an eyebrow at the statement. Young Link's smile faded. "…I don't want to talk about it."
"Well, it's not that impossible," Wolf Link argued. "I've visited the sky once. There weren't any humans there, though. Only birds called Oocca. It looked abandoned when I found it."
"Abandoned?!" The older Link turned to him, clearly in a panic. "That's not right. There should be a town up there!"
"A town?" Young Link repeated. "There's a town up there?" He folded his arms over his chest, obviously not believing his story.
"Let me finish," Cia interrupted sternly. "The hero was reincarnated with in Goddess in what was once Skyloft. Although he did not recall his time as a knight of the Goddess, he relived his role as the hero and was reunited with his Goddess once more. They permanently descended to the surface, where they lived a long, happy life together."
"Wait," Sky Link cut in, his eyes wide in realization. "You mean me, don't you?"
"Indeed I do," Cia answered. "Your Goddess never told you because she could not remember herself. She only gained vague details of her previous life, nothing specific. Now that we have that clear, may I continue?"
He nodded slowly, blankly staring at the ground with shock. Young Link turned to Wolf Link and jabbed a finger at their lookalike.
"What's that guy's problem?" he asked with a light tone. "He probably banged a Goddess sometime in that life! He should be happy!"
Wolf Link was taken aback at the shamelessness of the child, but kept his mouth shut so Cia could keep going.
Cia's mouth was thin line, showing her frustration clearly. "This cycle would continue again and again. Some time after the hero passed away, he would always return to save the world. The hero, in case you haven't guessed, is you. Thousands and thousands of years after the Hero of the Sky died, he came back as the Hero of Time. Centuries later, the Hero of Twilight emerged. Do you understand now?"
All three Links stared at her, their expressions blank, still processing the information that was brought to their attention. Young Link, unsurprisingly, was the first to speak.
"So you mean," he began carefully. "We're all the same person? Just in a different life?"
"Let me put it this way," Cia said. "When you are living your current life, your mind becomes filled with memories." The sphere instantly filled with yellow fog that mixed in with the green still inside. "However, once you are reborn, these memories are no longer needed, and might even cause you to become tired of your destiny and rebel. Thus, they are discarded." The yellow smoke vanished from the ball as the green fog glowed. "But your heroic and unbreakable spirit remains, strengthened by your quest. Thus, in each life, your spirit is a bit stronger than the last."
"So," Young Link spoke up after taking a minute to evaluate the situation. "You're telling me that we're all the same person, just with our memories erased, right? But shouldn't we act a little more similar if we are the same?"
"Not necessarily," Cia explained. "One's personality is affected by the way they are raised. Needless to say, you were all raised in different settings. Your adventures have also shaped you since before."
"I think I understand now," Wolf Link said. "Even though our thoughts are different, we should be on par in terms of sword skills."
"Oh, I get it now!" Young Link hit his fist on his palm. "So we've always been together, we just never knew it. So that's what Cia meant by I'll never have to feel alone. Whose better company for me than me? Genius, Cia!"
Cia giggled and waved her hand playfully. "Please, you're making me blush. But there's more to the bond between you and your reincarnation." She pointed to Wolf Link. "Hero of Twilight, tell me something. Where did you learn some of your skills during your quest?"
"That?" Wolf Link rubbed the back of his neck. "You'd never believe me if I told you. The spirit of my ancestor came to me a few times. He told me I had the blood of the hero of old and then he taught me a few things. He said he was full of regrets since he couldn't pass any of his skills on to his children, so he came to me. What about it?"
Although he didn't catch on, Young Link certainly did. "That was me, wasn't it? That's what Cia meant! You're my grandson!"
"Actually, he's a distant descendant-"
"No, Cia, he's my grandson!" Young Link grabbed a flustered Wolf Link's hands excitedly. "You're my family! Right? I have family now!"
"Family?" Wolf Link repeated sorrowfully. "You don't have any either?"
"Neither do I," Sky Link said, finally over his shock. "My mother died at childbirth."
"So did mine," Wolf Link sighed.
"Mine saved me from a war and gave me to giant talking tree to be raised by a bunch of kids who stayed young forever," Young Link shared, ignoring the odd stares he was being given. "Then she died.""
"That's, uh, nice," Sky Link said awkwardly.
"I'll allow you three to get acquainted alone," Cia told them. "Come on, Volga."
Volga gave Young Link one last death stare as he and Cia left the room. Once alone, the Links looked from one to the other, not sure how to deal with themselves. Only Young Link bore a smile.
"Isn't this cool?" he asked happily. "I have a family now! It may be small, but we're family! By the way, how is the world, Sky? Pretty big, huh? Must be a lot bigger than that stupid bunch of sky rock you had."
"Sky? Are you talking to me?" Sky Link asked slowly.
"Of course!" Young Link answered as if it were obvious. "We can't all be called Link. I'll be Young Link 'cause I'm younger. And you, uh…" He turned to Wolf Link. "What about you?"
"Um," he started shyly. "I can turn into a wolf…"
"Wolf Link!" Young Link announced, unfazed. "You'll be Wolf Link! Now, then, how is the world, Sky Link?"
Sky Link rolled his eyes. "I've been living on the world for a few months now with my friend."
"Is this friend a girl?" Young Link asked.
"…Yes."
"Are you the only two on the planet?"
"…The only two humans we know of."
"Oh, then I guess we are distantly related," Young Link grinned. "That's great! This is like a little family reunion we're having here."
"What?" Sky Link raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, if all the people got sent up to the sky and you two are the only ones on the earth, then…" Young Link grabbed Sky Link's collar and pulled him down roughly. "That means you had to repopulate."
Sky Link's face burned as he recoiled. "N-No, that's-"
"It does seem logical," Wolf Link noted logically.
"Ugh. You two really are related," Sky Link groaned. "Whatever."
"You know," Young Link said. "I think we should share our adventures together. You know, hear what we've done, what we're going to do…"
The two other Links exchanged questioning looks before nodding in agreement.
"Fine," Wolf Link sighed. "But let's make it quick."
*Geez! That was long! 0_0 I would've had this out yesterday, but my mom and I had to drive around to six stores to get a stupid Link amiibo. I don't get you Nintendo! Why would you let Target and Gamestop pull your most successful amiibo from the shelves?! Whatever, I finally got one. The only reason it didn't sell was because the packaging wouldn't close right.
TP Zelda: As long as you got your spinner for Hyrule Warriors, it's all good. :)
Yeah! Speaking of Link, where is he?
TP Zelda: I pushed him off a cliff. *^^*
WHAT?! Why would you push my future husband off a cliff?!
TP Zelda: To tell him how much I love him. ^^
…Okay. Fun fact about TP Link. He's voiced by Akira Sasanuma, one of my FAVORITE VAs, who also plays Austria in Hetalia. But he ALSO voices Takaba Akihito from the You're my Loveprize in Viewfinder Drama CD. The Finder Series, as I call it, is a yaoi, but it's pretty hardcore compared to some other BLs. I checked out the manga just because I love Sasanuma. Let's just say that…uh…Akihito is the "bottom" of the duo. The "uke," if you will. And for you Link fangirls, the Drama CD is juuuuuuust the audio. So use your imagination.
But if you feel you can handle it, the manga itself is actually pretty funny! Yeah, the author/artist herself is known for her humor. Takaba is surprisingly sweet, although I guess it can be a little offensive how submissive he can be. It you can handle yaoi or you're just interested, go check it out on Mangahere. It's the only yaoi I can really recommend. Just be careful of its content. ^^ Next chapter, the Links talk about Zelda and their feeling towards her. Oh, this'll be good…
P.S. Sorry I couldn't have those ten chapters for you, Just-AWESOME-old-me. :(
K bye.*