Daruk yanked open the Goron door of the Hateno Tech Lab, nearly ripping it off its hinges. Link was draped over his shoulder, barely breathing and dripping blood on the hardwood floor.
"What in the name of Hylia are you doing?" a white-haired man in Sheikha garb yelled as Urbosa swiped everything off of the table in one motion so Daruk could lay down the unconscious Hylian on the table.
"Please! He's dying; you have to help him!" Mipha pleaded. She had tried to heal him but to no avail, her powers were just too weak at the moment to take care of the larger and more life-threatening wounds.
"I-I don't know anything about medicine; I'm just an intern," he said, raising his hands up in defense.
"Then move out of the way," a new voice chimed in.
Standing at four-foot-seven and with the face of a child, Purah hopped up on a stool and waved everybody away from the table. "I can't fix him with all of you breathing down my neck."
Purah snapped her fingers and the intern pulled a lever on the floor, causing a curtain to drop down around her and the table.
Revali watched Mipha slowly sink down into a corner and drop her face into her arms. He nervously tapped his feathered fingers against his legs before going over and dropping to the floor next to the Zora princess.
"Thank you... for not letting him be killed," Mipha sniffed.
"You needn't thank me for that; I wouldn't let him die," Revali muttered.
Mipha shrugged sadly before burying her face back into her arms.
"Do you mind if I ask a question? You seem to be much more... aggressive as of late. Why?" Revali asked.
"...He doesn't remember me, Revali. We've been friends since we were children. I love him, but he refused to let me even touch him," Mipha sobbed quietly.
Oh, that was certainly new information.
Now that he thought about it however, it was somewhat obvious. The way they'd always hang back a couple feet when they all traveled together, how they spent almost all of their free time together, or how they'd laugh at every single one of each other's, quite frankly, terrible 'jokes' without fail.
Revali honestly felt like a bit of an idiot for failing to notice it sooner.
Slowly and after a few minutes of hesitation, Revali wrapped his arm around Mipha, letting her cry silently into his shoulder.
Paya sighed as she stood away from everybody else, keeping her eyes glued to her feet. She still didn't look up when she felt someone lean against the wall next to her.
Urbosa placed a single finger under Paya's chin and lifted her head up to stare into the Gerudo's eyes.
"Tell me what is on your mind, little Vai," Urbosa gently commanded.
Paya knew that Urbosa would see through any lie she told in a split-second, so with a sigh, she simply told the truth.
"This is all my fault," Paya mumbled. "If I had just told you where he was, maybe this wouldn't have happened."
"So why didn't you?" Urbosa asked
Paya blushed at that question because she knew why, but it was far too embarrassing to say out loud.
"Why did you choose to say nothing?" Urbosa asked again.
"...Because when he remembers that he's a hero of legend, meant to seal away the darkness, he's not going to want to come and see the nobody girl from the tiny village in the middle of nowhere. I just... wanted to spend as much time with him as I could," Paya explained in a hushed tone
Urbosa crouched down a bit to get on eye level with Paya. "Let me tell you something; any Voe would have to be without his brain to pass you up," she said.
As the other Champions spoke amongst themselves, Daruk stood quietly by the curtain, wringing his hands together. He had seen Link take a lot of abuse before, and he had to admit that he hadn't ever seen the little guy look this bad. He jumped as the curtains whisked back just enough to reveal Purah on her stool. The Sheikah researcher looked exhausted, and Daruk waved her over.
"So what's up with him?" Daruk asked as Purah hopped up on the stool next to him.
"He just needs rest and a lot of stitches," Purah answered in a reassuring tone.
"That's good. I was worried we didn't make it in time," Daruk admitted.
"You almost didn't," Purah sighed.
"So uh, what happened here?" Daruk gestured to the woman's much younger form.
"An experiment gone wrong. Now I've been reverted back to a child." Purah shrugged, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Let me ask ya' one last thing; if he doesn't remember anything, why's he still not talkin'? Shouldn't he have forgotten about his vow of silence?" the Goron Champion asked.
Purah lifted her finger to her chin. "Most likely something akin to muscle memory; his brain just knows that he doesn't speak often, even if he doesn't remember why."
Their conversation was interrupted when the curtain surrounding the table in the middle parted, and Link hobbled off of it with almost his entire body wrapped in bandages.
Purah grabbed a large wooden cane and hooked it around Link's neck, yanking him back into a sitting position. "You're gonna tear your stitches if you try to move this soon," she warned.
"Link!" Mipha cried as she ran up to him, almost hugging him before she was stopped by a glare from Purah.
Link sighed and rolled his eyes, looking around the room for his shirt and hood only to find them in the garbage bin.
'I appreciate you saving me. I don't, however, appreciate you following me.'
"Link, you need to listen to us. You are not some dirty homeless vagrant; you are a hero, you and the princess alone can stop this calamity," Urbosa said.
'So I've heard,' Link signed.
"Wait, you know?" Revali asked indignantly. "Have you just been stringing us along with an act?"
'Oh I know, I just don't believe it," Link signed before shrugging.
"Link, please just hear them out," Paya begged.
Link frowned. 'I'm no hero, Paya. They have the wrong Hylian.'
Daruk opened up a pouch on his left hip and tossed its contents at Link. The blond caught the rolled up piece of cloth and let it unfurl on his hands, his eyes glued to the light blue garb.
Link squinted at the shirt, running his fingers along the white lines decorating it. They felt familiar, and he could feel something tugging on the back of his mind. His eyes suddenly flew wide open as he remembered.
"You wished to see me, your highness?" Link asked as he dropped to one knee and bowed his head to King Rhoam.
King Rhoam was a boisterous and heavy set man with a thick, white beard and balding head and was wearing a regal dark blue and gold coat.
"Yes, my boy. I have important things to speak with you about. You may stand," King Rhoam commanded.
Link did as he was told, but kept his hands glued to his side.
"Come with me, my boy; there is something I must tell you." King Rhoam stood up from his throne and motioned for Link to come up to him.
The fifteen-year-old knight ran up the steps to join the King, who gestured towards his large metal throne.
"Would you mind moving this my boy? My strength isn't what it used to be," King Rhoam chuckled.
Link nodded as he placed his hands onto the armrest and began shoving it to the side, revealing a dim stone hallway, lit by a torch or two every few feet.
King Rhoam led the young boy through the passage, until they came across a circular stone room. Lining the walls was a tapestry depicting a great war, one that all the races fought in. They were united against a single great foe, not only with each other, but with synthetic creatures of unimaginable power.
"It is time, my boy," Rhoam began, clasping his hands onto Link's shoulder, "to learn of your one true purpose."
Link let out a sigh of realization as he let the light blue tunic fall into his lap, before signing to the Champions, 'I remembered now.'
"So you know who we are?" Mipha asked hopefully.
Link guiltily shook his head. 'I'm sorry, but no, all I remember is King Rhoam telling me that I was meant to kill Calamity Ganon,' he explained.
Mipha felt her entire being fall a little bit.
"Well, at least you remember what you're good for," Revali muttered before groaning as Urbosa jabbed her elbow into his stomach.
'It's late, we should get some rest,' Link signed as he hopped off of the table, pulled his Champion's tunic on, and walked out of the tech lab.
While the others chased after him, Purah pulled Paya to the side and handed her Link's Sheikha slate.
"When he reclaims the Divine Beasts, take him to these locations," Purah ordered, showing Paya twelve pictures of locations around Hyrule.
"W-why, aunt Purah?" Paya asked.
"You'll see; just trust me," Purah said. "Now go get lost. I've got to figure out how to get out of this stupid body."
Link lit the final candle in his new house. It was a small place, probably too small to be worth three thousand rupees and thirty bundles of firewood, but he was also relatively small, so it should be fine.
"So, do you want to explain how you got three thousand rupees just stashed away in your pocket?" Urbosa asked.
Link flicked his wrist back and forth a few times, putting out the match as he thought about his answer.
'A gentlemen's duel.'
Link downed his fifth mug of beer that night. His last one, too, considering he was now out of rupees.
He had been awake for a week now, but he was still in Hateno. The short scientist lady had told him to stay here until she was done modifying his Sheikha Slate.
He tossed his last few rupees to the barkeep and went to leave when his eyes turned to the large hardwood floor, where citizens of Hateno were joyfully dancing.
Except for two.
One was a bald man with a gruff five o'clock shadow. He wore loose, dirty clothing and a sword hilted on his hip. The second was a woman in a dark purple dress, her auburn hair rested in a braid over her left shoulder.
The woman was currently trying to wrestle herself away from the man. Link sighed; he really didn't want to fight tonight, but he shouldn't ignore this.
He was walking towards the two when the woman smashed her knee into the man's crotch and then punched him in the face. She turned her head up to him and stomped away. Link just couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips at the sight.
"What are you laughing at, tiny?" the assaulter yelled.
The man reeked of beer, although Link probably did too. the man reached for his sword, but Link grabbed it first and flung it aside.
Link's smug smirk was wiped off of his face when the man punched him straight across the face. Due to the amount of alcohol in his system, Link quickly lost balance and fell into the railing of the upper level
With an enraged grunt, Link grabbed onto two wooden poles that held the railing up and ripped them off of their posts before spinning around quickly and bludgeoning the man in the side of the head.
With one last thwack to the side of the head, the man was knocked unconscious. Noticing a lumpy burlap bouch on his hip, Link ripped it from the man's belt and wormed it open with his fingers, revealing hundreds of multi-colored rupees.
"Hey, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" a new voice yelled.
About four men broke through the crowd and drew their swords at Link, who just smirked as he noticed the same burlap pouches on their hips.
"It's dark out; we should rest," Urbosa suggested. "Link, you can take the bed. The rest of us can take the floor."
"Why can't I come inside?" Daruk pouted from an open window.
"Because you don't fit through the door frame?" Revali chuckled.
"You'll be fine, Daruk; you have your camping equipment and it's the middle of spring," Mipha reassured him.
Daruk audibly whined from outside, causing Revali to roll his eyes.
"I guess I've gotta keep the big lug company," the Rito groaned as he pushed open the door.
"I'll wake you two up at five o'clock in the morning," Urbosa said to Link and Mipha.
'Why so early?' Link asked.
"Because you need a headstart on getting to the Zora domain."
I know that I uploaded this only nineteen days ago, leave me alone. Anyway, Discord links:
Epsi's Hoard: https/discord.gg/zQ6rDfuuA9
LoM: https/discord.gg/a26mhzhsHf
That's it for now, Peace.