A/N: Well. Been a while since I've posted anything.
Whether you read any of my old stories from back in 2016, or, more than likely, you're just now find this story, welcome. Twin Blades has been in the works for about a year now, with myself and another author, tatetitotu, bouncing ideas back and forth to the point where neither he nor myself can remember who came up with what (go check out his crossover btw, Beyond Hyrule: Hero's Redemption. So far it's looking like a really, really good story, and the man honestly came up with 80% of the ideas between us. The man's creative as hell, and I know his story is going to be one to remember).
All in all, the strictly necessary information is as follows.
You don't need to have fully completed both games, however it is highly recommended that you've atleast finished both of their stories and their DLC, just so you know what I'm talking about when I bring up information related to the DLC, like the Master Cycle Zero or the Ashen Wolves.
Link, in this story, has effectively fully completed Breath of the Wild and both DLC's in the span of a year. Not only has he grown a few inches (from his canon height of 169cm to 173cm, or about 5'6" to 5'8" for my fellow Americans), he is fully stocked with basically every item in the game, with the Sheikah Slate acting as a bottomless well for storage purposes (honestly what the 900 korok seed reward should have been). He also has limited photo capacity, but the limit is like, ten thousand pictures instead of thirty or so, so he never gets close to it.
He usually prefers wearing his champion's outfit and the Hylian trousers, along with the Master Sword, but when in battle also brings out the Hylian Shield and a Royal Bow (if necessary). He also has much finer control over the Champion's Abilities, able to use them in ways that are impossible within the confines of BotW. The abilities in particular will act more like JoJo Stands than the limited-use skills they are in the game, but just how freeform his use of them actually is, I'll leave for their reveal. There's also no cooldown, but that doesn't mean there's no drawbacks to using the abilities. What they are will be revealed when he first starts using them.
As for the pairing… well, I won't spoil the surprise. Just remember that plot twists are going to be a thing here, and what may seem obvious at first could be misleading. :)
As for basic information for ease of reading, "this" denotes normal speech, "this" denotes either telepathy, emphasis on normal speech, or another language (you'll be able to tell which is which), this denotes a character's internal thoughts, and finally "this" is just used for typical emphasis, or speech charged with divine power (won't really play a role until much, much later).
Finally, sometimes text like this: [Now Playing: Lost Woods], [Music Paused], [Music Resumed] will appear. This is for pure immersion; I wrote several scenes with specific music in mind as background music, and this denotes where I personally started the tracks while writing. It's not necessary to listen to the music while reading, however good background music always helped me get fully immersed in reading a story. Eventually, I might make a playlist on either YouTube or SoundCloud with all of the tracks added. If I do make it, I'll link it in an AN, but there's a full chance I won't, so don't hold your breath.
Lastly, again, please go read tatetitotu's story. The first chapter of Beyond Hyrule is going up the day after mine (Feb 28th, 2022 for mine; March 1st 2022 for his) so his won't be available the first day this is live. Twin Blades will be on a monthly schedule, with the next chapter being uploaded on the last day of every month. What time of day, I don't know, but more than likely around 4am EST the day of.
Well, with all of that out of the way, I hope you enjoy this story. Future AN's will be relegated to the end of the chapter, and will just include thoughts I had while writing it, or changes I made during the writing process, like things I've removed or added in. They'll be fully skippable. Afterwards, if you have any questions, please, post them as a review. I might answer them, but no promises. Anyways, I've been truly excited to write this, and I hope it's enjoyed by others as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Without further ado, please, enjoy the story.
The Legend of Zelda: Twin Blades
Chapter 1
First Day in a New Land
Enbarr, Seat of the Empire
7th of the Great Tree Moon (April), Imperial Year 1179
One Year before Byleth's first term
[Now Playing: Heavenly Spirit: Full Metal Alchemist OST]
Link stepped off his boat, and looked out towards the sea he had just traveled. While the journey had been quiet, it had been quite startling to see other, much larger ships out on the waters, trawling heavy nets in the water. When he had pulled alongside one, a man in worn sailor's clothing had called out to him, but he was difficult to understand. Several words sounded familiar to Link, so they were able to communicate, but it was a slow and somewhat frustrating process for both sides.
In the end, Link had negotiated the sale of his boat to the captain. He knew he wasn't going to return to Hyrule anytime soon, and considering rupees were no more than rare gems here, he could always sell a few to buy another, better boat when the time came (no offense to Lurelin, but their simple tools were no competition against the crews of experienced shipwrights that called this city home).
After walking around the city for a moment, thankfully unbothered by many of the layabouts he spotted, he had found a shop in the upper districts of town, denoted by the nicer buildings and finer clothes of the citizens. Despite the roadworn clothes he still wore, he walked unbothered through the streets, although he did still get some dirty looks every now and then. He wasn't sure if it was the sword, his ears, his clothes, or all three, but either way it was starting to get on his nerves.
Deciding it would be better to blend in, he stepped into an alleyway, and pulled out the Sheikah Slate. He resisted the urge to scroll through the photos he had taken in Hyrule, and instead navigated to its inventory. Tapping a couple select pieces, and with a glow of blue light, he changed into a uniform he had once sworn to never wear outside of necessity. A black coat, white socks and boots, various symbols of the royal family…
He had once been forced to wear this uniform, that of the royal guards, but upon his appointment as Zelda's bodyguard, and by extension, the Champions, it would be decided his champion's tunic would serve as his personal uniform. At the time, he was thankful for the change, as despite Zelda's disdain for him upon his appointment, she had made it incredibly comfortable.
He was still incredibly thankful that she had full repaired it after the Calamity, and that it was as comfy as it used to be.
Shaking off the thoughts of the princess, he adjusted his uniform, which ended up being much more in line with the fanciful clothes of the nobility in the upper districts. Exchanging the Master Sword for a royal guard's sword, which he wore on his hip, he once again stepped out from the alleyway and continued on his way.
After ducking into several jewelry stores, who were more than happy to purchase a dozen green rupees from him at what he felt were incredibly high prices, he began to leave the upper districts. With currency in hand, he could at least purchase a horse for his travels, maybe some more local clothes, and more food supplies. While he had plenty stored away in the Sheikah Slate, he figured eating some strange foreign food would stand out to the locals, and he very much didn't want that, not that his ears were helping. At least they were a part of him; walking around with food they had never seen before might draw one too many questions for his liking.
I guess the wheat will be fine to use, and the meat is generic enough to not stand out, but… Link stopped for a second and pinched the bridge of his nose. Can't exactly set down a cooking pot in the middle of the street and whip up a meal anymore, not in a populated city anyways. At least everyone in Hyrule knew I was always on the move and stopped looking at me funny… after a while. Link's ears burned in embarrassment as he remembered the first time he had pulled out his cooking pot in Zora's Domain, accidentally plopping it down on someone's foot.
Yep, not doing that anymore. He looked up and quickly scanned the area. Deciding anything in this upper district was a bit much, Link made his way back towards the poorer part of town, ducking back into an alleyway and changing into regular traveling clothes, complete with a woolen cloak. He stored away the royal guards broadsword and pulled out a soldier's broadsword instead, fastening it to his back like always.
It didn't take long to find a tavern, but once he stepped inside he realized something very quickly.
Wait… I don't speak their language. Maybe I can play mute… Link sat down at a table and looked over the menu, filled with unfamiliar characters. I think this says 'egg'…
When the waitress came by, Link looked up and motioned to his throat, closing his fist before tapping it.
"Oh, wait, are you mute?" Link hesitated for a moment, then gave her a small nod. "Oh, okay, just point to what you want then, I'll take care of it." Link nodded again and pointed to what he hoped were eggs. "Sunny-side up eggs? Sure, anything else?" Can't believe I was right. This one vaguely looks like 'water'… C'mon, two for two. Link pointed again. "Water, got it." Hey, this might not be so difficult after all. Long as I can sort of read this, anyways. Link handed her the menu and waited patiently for his meal, quietly scanning the tavern from his corner seat.
There weren't many people in right now, most of them out working the docks, but there were a few people still. A young man with green hair and an open book sat snoring at a table, drool leaking out onto the tabletop. Another young man with light blue hair grumbled nearby, likely annoyed at his sleeping friend. Strange place to take a nap… and a set of strange hair colors to boot. Seems like that's unusual for the area, as well. Is it maybe dyed?
Besides them, and a few sailor types, the only ones left were a set of thuggish looking men in a different corner, drinking beer and talking loudly. They had heavily scarred faces and were heavyset with muscles. Honestly kind of stereotypical. Shouldn't judge on first appearances, though.
Link watched as one slammed his mug against the table, breaking the corner off before laughing with his mates. Still, I'll keep an eye on them, just in case.
"Here's your meal!" Link looked up as the waitress set his eggs and water down, nodding thankfully to her. As he began to dig into the eggs, quickly putting them away, he saw the waitress walk up to the men.
"Leeroy, again with the table! I'm gonna kick you out if this keeps happening!"
Gonna go ahead and guess she's upset with them over the table. Link watched as the burly man, Leeroy he thinks, stood up and started yelling. And, he's getting mad when she asserts he's in the wrong. Typical.
He can tell the woman is telling him to sit back down by her gesturing at least, but it isn't until she says a word similar to 'gold' that the man reaches for her. Okay, that's enough of that.
[Music Paused]
Before he was even thinking about it, Link was standing in front of the woman, holding onto the man's wrist. He glared at the man and gestured to his seat.
"What's that? Can't even speak at the sight of me?" Link just kept glaring, not knowing what was said but figuring it for an insult.
"Leeroy, leave him alone, he's mute!" Link glanced at the woman, shook his head slightly, then adjusted his grip. With a grip like iron, Link squeezed down on the man's wrist, using his involuntary flinch to force the man back into his chair. Link let go of him, glaring at him for another second, before turning to go back to his seat.
"Why you little punk, I'll-" Link heard the rush of wind from him moving before he heard him speak. Feeling time slow down around him, Link leaned to the side, watching as the man's fist slowly passed his head. Waiting for the perfect moment, Link grabbed his wrist and forced it down, twisting his body to flip the man over him. He watched in perfect slow-motion as the man, his eyes wide, came crashing back-first into the floor.
Link let go as he felt time speed up again, and wiped his hands free of sweat before walking back to his seat. He sat back down and continued eating, and once he was finished he left a small stack of gold coins on the table. When he had risen from his table, the two children with strangely-colored hair were staring at him, and Leeroy was nursing his wrist and back. Link made sure to send one last glare his way before exiting.
Okay, not the quietest breakfast, but… at least no one got hurt. He glanced behind him at Leeroy, who was now holding a cold beer against his wrist ...Seriously hurt, anyways.
[Music Resumed]
Thankfully, the rest of his day was much quieter, spent exploring the city and listening in on conversations at the docks so he could, at least partially, learn the language. Purchasing supplies was pretty easy as well; he'd simply point at something and hand them coins, and they didn't ask too many questions. At most, they'd tell him it wasn't enough (or something along those lines, anyways), and he'd just pull out more.
Sometimes, they'd give him back the extra when he overpaid.
By the time dinner had rolled around, Link was as fully stocked as he could get, the Slate holding dozens of new types of fish, fruit, vegetables, and spices that he had never heard of. Thankfully, the Slate was able to translate the names, and after a while had shown a new rune, one that was, according to the Slate, 'unavailable until enough linguistic information had been acquired'. Apparently just wandering the city had done that, though it wasn't like he could pull the Slate out to translate mid-conversation.
As it was, he was able to find a quiet corner and make his own dinner in peace, using the translation app to learn various words in this new language. Things like 'inn', 'bed', and 'price' were at the top of his list of words to learn, but he eventually got lost in the process and learned quite a few of them.
He wasn't conversational, not by any means, but at least he could get a meal and a room in an inn.
And that's exactly what he did once he finished his meal (and his study session). It didn't take long to find a relatively quiet inn, despite how busy the town was.
One small bag of coins later, he was standing alone in a small room, finally in some peace and quiet.
He removed his sword and cloak, replacing them in the Slate, before switching his outfit into a set of cotton pajamas Paya had made for him and laying down.
With the moon looking down at him, Link closed his eyes, and started to dream.
He didn't dream for long, before he heard a quiet, feminine voice call out. Link… Link, can you hear me?
Zelda? Is that you?
Link, please, help me! I need your help!
Zelda, what, where are you-
Please, it hurts, I can't breathe-
Zelda?! Where are you?! Zelda?! ZELDA!
"AH!" Link sat bolt upright, his body slicked with sweat. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, looking up at the moon. "Couple hours… haven't gotten that much in a while." He rolled over in bed and pulled the blanket back up, quietly trying to empty his mind of her so he would be able to get some sleep.
It didn't work.
That same night, far in the upper districts, two boys sat around a table within a great library.
"Linhardt, did you see that guy earlier?!" Caspar nearly shook from excitement in his seat, while Linhardt yawned loudly.
"What, the thug accosting the waitress?"
"No, the guy that took him down! He practically teleported over to him, and flipped him like wapow!" Caspar mimicked the throwing motion he had seen, almost falling over.
"It was very strange… I could just barely feel something akin to magic right as he dodged. Very curious indeed."
"What are you talking about, you were asleep!"
Linhardt ignored him, and held his chin with one hand while he thought. It could have been teleportation magic, but I've felt spells like Warp and Rescue before. It wasn't that. There was only one source of the spell, and it was the man. Maybe time manipulation magic? But I thought such spells had long been forgotten… This requires a night of research.
Elsewhere in Enbarr, a young lady sat by her window, looking up at the full moon. She looked down at the letter in her hand and tossed it into her fireplace, looking away once it caught alight. Just once, I would like to meet a truly interesting man, she thought. One that sees me for who I am, and not just some diva to claim as his own. I've had enough of those lately.
She looked back up at the moon. I wonder if such a man is looking at the moon as well? Oh, Dorothea, listen to yourself, you hopeless romantic. You're not going to just bump into such a man by accident. You'll have to go and find him yourself.
Next Chapter March 31st, 2022.
AN: Hello again. So, a little fun fact for you: I actually had a prologue I was going to put up in February, but felt it disclosed too much information to really aid the mood I wanted to set. It's cut from the main story, but I have a document which contains all of the cut content (that I still think works, anyways). For now, it's lost to the ether, but once the story is complete I'll upload a Cutting Room Floor chapter with all of the cut content as an epilogue. It'll be a while before that comes out, but it'll be uploaded like any other chapter.
