The Legend of Zelda: A Clash of Ages

by Ninmast

Frightening dreams haunt a young girl in the present while the ultimate battle to save all time begins. When Ganondorf uses the Triforce to invade the Present Day, will Link be able to stop him alone, or will he need to recruit the help of two teenagers?

3. In Hyrule

Author's Note: Certain people have been urging me to hurry up and get this story to Hyrule, so here it is. Hope you all enjoy it! Don't forget to read and review!

Chapter 3: In Hyrule, …

When Zelda looked up again, Link wasn't standing in front of her anymore. She turned around when she heard him yell, and watched as the Master Sword slid through the last Moblin. She sat there for a moment, unsure of what had happened. She had been so sure that he was attacking her, but why would she have had that idea?

He walked over as he sheathed the sword, then reached down to help her up. "You okay, Princess?" For a moment, though, she only stared at his hand, not moving. He gave her a questioning look, then smiled brightly. "Don't worry, I'm not going to bite! Come on, we need to get out of here. The whole marketplace is going up!" Finally, she snapped out of it and allowed him to help her up.

He led her back the way he had come to a dark corner by the town walls. He whistled once, quietly, then watched as Epona trotted out of the shadows. The horse looked at them both, then nudged Zelda gently with her nose.

"Don't worry, Epona," she laughed quietly. "I'm fine. Let's just get out of here. Too much has happened lately, and I'm exhausted."

"You got it," Link said cheerfully, surprising her as he lifted her up and put her on the horse, then jumped on in front of her.

"Link! You jerk! Why did you have to go and startle me like that?"

He turned around as he gave her another dazzling smile. "Aw, Zelda, I was just trying to get you to lighten up, that's all!"

"Yeah, well, why don't you startle me, and let the whole of Ganondorf's forces know where we are?"

"Sorry," he apologized, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I didn't stop to think."

Suddenly, Epona turned around, neighing wildly at shadows that were flickering back in the street.

"Uh, Link," Navi said, panicking as she flew out from under his hat and up in the air, "I think we'd better get going!"

"What's up," he asked. "What is it?"

"Another squad of Moblins, and they're heading this way pretty fast. I think they heard us!" Suddenly, she let out a high shriek before darting back down behind Link. "There's several Stalfos with them, too, Link!"

Zelda looked at him with fear in her eyes. "I think Navi's right, Link. We need to be going, now!"

"Well, since they already know we're here," he said, spurring Epona with the back of his boots, "no sense in being quiet about it. Hold on, Princess. Head for the gates, Epona! As fast as those legs of yours can carry us!"

Epona let out a loud neigh as she reared back on her back feet, kicking out in front, then, in the next instant, they were off, leaving Navi in the dust.

She coughed as she fluttered around, then looked back as the squad neared the corner. "Hey, guys! Wait for me!"

Epona dashed down the roads, taking one turn after another, ultimately leading toward the front of the town. Link couldn't help but admire the horse. Most would shy from the flames, unable to do anything out of fear, but not Epona, no! He doubted if she even gave them a second thought.

"Um, Link," Zelda said from behind, catching his attention. "I think they took control of the guardhouses."

"Why's that?" he asked, not really worried.

Then she pointed ahead. "Because the drawbridge is closing!"

Link looked up to see the drawbridge already halfway closed, and still going up. "Oh, shit!" He bent down to Epona. "Can you make it, girl?"

The horse shook her head, then Link felt his stomach lurch as the horse put on even more speed. It was two-thirds of the way up by the time they hit it, but that didn't seem to slow Epona down in the least. She hit it at full throttle, and didn't lose any of it on the way up. Her hooves landed on the end, and she pushed off of it, sailing over the moat, and in the next instant, they were sailing off over Hyrule Field as the drawbridge to the town slammed shut behind them.

They didn't slow down until they were halfway to Gerudo Valley, when they finally stopped at a small stream under a glade of trees.

"Well, that was fun," Link sighed as he half fell off of Epona. He patted her on the neck. "Good job back there, Epona." She neighed and nudged him back. He went over and helped Zelda down, who was looking at him in shock.

"That's your idea of fun?"

He shrugged. "Well, when you grow up doing it …" He threw his arms up as her look sharpened. "What? I was being sarcastic!"

She turned away from him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well, you could try taking things a little more seriously next time. You almost got us caught with your little antic of startling me!"

Link glared back at her. "Take things more seriously? I almost got us caught? My little antic?"

"Exactly," she cried, spinning back around toward him. "In case you haven't noticed, the whole world is in danger of falling under Ganondorf! Now is not the time to be making jokes of any kind!"

"Jokes," he demanded furiously. "The only joke here is the way you 'warned' me about that gate! Next time, you could cut to the chase and just say it, instead of saying, 'Um, Link, I think they took control of the guardhouses.'"

"Well, if you were paying attention, I wouldn't have had …" She didn't get to finish. Suddenly, they felt a fire burning in their hands, and they clasped the other one over it, screaming as they went down on their knees in pain. As it faded, their eyes opened, blank until they saw the other. Something passed between the two of them for an instant, then they fainted, falling face-forward into the grass.

"Link?" Navi asked, fluttering over them as Epona nudged both of them with her nose. "Princess?" But neither of them answered.

The first thing Link felt when he started to wake up was his throbbing skull. It felt like someone had gotten inside and started swinging around the Megaton Hammer. Then his memory caught up with him, and he shot up in the bed.

"Princess Zelda!" he shouted, but before he could even take in his surroundings, the throbbing multiplied, and he fell back to the pillow, barely able to stay conscious.

"That's right, fairy boy! No sudden movements for you just yet, or, if you'd listen to reason, not for another week, either. Of course, anyone who's ever met you knows how that goes, huh?"

Link tilted his head over on its side, and saw Malon's red head bobbing as she shuffled through a cabinet, finally coming back out with a cloth. She wet it in a basin before coming over to him and putting it on his forehead. He sighed as the warm cloth seemed to drain the pain out of his head.

"Of course," she said, pulling up a chair next to him, "the first question out of your mouth is going to be …"

"Where's Zelda?" he asked, cutting her off, just as she had expected him to do.

"I knew it! No, 'Hello, Malon!' or, 'Nice to see you! How have you been, Malon?' Not even a, 'Thanks for nursing me back to consciousness, Malon!'"

"Malon," Link responded firmly, grabbing hold of her wrist with his closest hand. "The princess?"

"In the other bedroom," she answered, feigning hurt in her voice. "Still out like a rock."

Link, however, saw right through it. "As anyone ever told you, Malon, that you're a fiery red head?"

"No! Really?" she asked sarcastically, giving him an overly astonished look. "When I looked in the mirror this morning, I could have sworn I was a brunette!"

Navi flew in through the window. "Is Link up? I was sure I heard him scream!" She looked down at her partner. "Hey, Sleepyhead! Welcome back to the land of the living!"

Link groaned as he tried to sit up again, but gave up as the pain came back. "What happened? I feel like a rat that just got ran over by a herd of horses."

Navi shrugged her tiny shoulders. "Don't know. You and Zelda were arguing, then suddenly, you two acted like your hands were on fire. Then, you just passed out."

Link was about to ask another question, but suddenly, from across the house, he heard Zelda scream as she snapped awake, then groan as she, too, was forced to lay back down.

Malon straightened her dress out as she stood up. "Well, it sounds like the princess is up, too. I'd better go see what I can do to help her."

As the day crawled on, Link was finally able to force himself out of bed, and, by evening, managed to make it downstairs and into the kitchen. Talon and Ingo were sitting at the table, discussing the chores on the ranch that would need to be done the next day. Malon was in front of the fire, listening carefully as she stirred the contents of a large pot.

Talon looked up as Link stumbled down the stairs. "Ah, Link! You're up!" He turned toward Malon. "Malon, he's up! Isn't that great?"

Malon, however, was less enthusiastic. She turned around to face him, scowling as she put her hands on her hips. "No, it's not. He shouldn't be up yet, and he knows it! I've told him that already!"

Link grinned weakly as he shrugged. "What can I say? I just can't stand to stay in bed all day."

Malon huffed as she went over to him and ushered him over to the table. "Well if you're going to be out of bed, then you're still going to be sitting down!" With that, she forced him down into a chair, glared at him, then went back over to the pot. She dipped the ladle in and blew on it. "Daddy, come over here and taste this, and tell me what you think."

Talon went over and sipped from the ladle, then promptly spit it back out.

Malon looked at him in concern. "Is something wrong? Is it too hot?"

"It's fine, dear, really," he coughed, clapping her on the shoulder. "Let's just take it off the fire and let it cool for a bit, okay?"

Link watched as Talon lifted it off of the fire, and Malon dipped it into bowls. She brought one over to him.

"You want some, Link?" she asked, holding the bowl out. "It's my specialty, Chicken and Keese Stew!"

Now, he knew why Talon had spit it out. Keese was awful meat. There had been times when he had been forced to eat it on long journeys, and even he could barely keep it down. "Uh, no thanks, Malon. I'm going to have to pass. I think I still feel a bit nauseous, just yet."

"Oh, Link," Talon said as he sat back down. "I was out delivering some milk today, and I heard some news that you might find interesting."

"What is it?" Link asked, instantly alert. If it was something that he would find interesting, then it was something about what Ganon had been doing.

"Well, it seems that Hyrule Castle is still under the control of Ganondorf's forces, but there's rumors about that the King of Evil, himself, is actually gone."

"Gone? Gone where?"

Talon shrugged. "No one knows. All that I could find out is that he has left Hyrule. Beyond that, nobody knows."

Link scratched his chin as he tried to think. "But where in the world would he go?"

Promptly, Zelda stumbled down the stairs, bracing herself on the wall. "Not in the world, Link. He's completely gone, and the Triforce of Power with him!"

Link was up and over by her in an instant, and he helped her over to the chair that he had been sitting in. "What do you mean?"

She put her hand out, palm down, to show him her Triforce mark. But there were only two triangles, the Triforce of Courage and the Triforce of Wisdom, represented there. The top one was gone.

Link ripped off his gauntlet to stare at the back of his own hand. Sure enough, there were only two marks. "What's going on?"

Zelda shook her head. "I'm not sure, but I can't sense him here at all. Perhaps it's possible that he has gone to a different time."

Link's mind was whirling. "But this didn't happen when I went through time. The marks stayed where they were, and it didn't hurt!"

"That's because the other two pieces were still there," Zelda answered. "When you went back and forth through time, the other two pieces were still in their proper places. They weren't separated by the shift in time, so they were still in touch with each other. Besides, only your spirit traveled. Your body remained in the Temple of Light. That's why you were able to age. But if Ganondorf could transport his entire being, body and soul, through time, then he could very well take the Triforce of Power with him, leaving only two pieces here."

He shook his head in a vain effort to clear the confusion from his head. "So that's what the burning was? It was his piece of the Triforce being taken from the others?"

"Sounds like, 'ripped from the others,' would be a better description," Malon said, coming over to set bowls in front of her father and Ingo. She offered Zelda one, but Link was behind her, holding his throat and gesturing for her not to accept.

"Um, no thanks, Malon. I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass."

Malon heard Link's clothes rustling and spun around to catch him in the middle of the gesture. "Oh, I get it now, Link! You don't think I can cook!"

Link's hands went from his throat to out in front of him in an instant. "No, Malon! It's not that, honest! You're a wonderful cook! Really, you are!"

"Uh huh. Well, you wouldn't mind eating a bowl of my Chicken and Keese Stew, then, would you?" It wasn't a choice. She backed him into a chair, then slammed a bowl of it in front of him. She got a big spoonful of it, then shoved it into his mouth. "Eat!"

As soon as her back turned, he turned his head to spit it out, but she caught him before he could.

"Oh, and don't try getting rid of it, Link," she said without turning around. "You're going to eat every last bite of it!"

Zelda looked at the bowl for a moment before turning back to Malon. "Did you say Chicken and Keese?"

Malon turned back to her in surprise. "Yes, Princess, I did. Would you like some, after all?"

Zelda actually looked enthusiastic. "Yes, I'd love some!"

Talon, Ingo and Link all stared at her, gaping. "Zelda," Link whispered to her, "you do know what Keese is, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Zelda answered at a normal volume, earning Link a glare from Malon. "I developed a taste for it when I was staying with the Sheikah."

By the next morning, Zelda was ready to go. Link, however, was sick to his stomach, and couldn't do anything without groaning and holding his gut.

"Come on, Link," Zelda urged as she ushered him out of the ranch. "We have to find out what happened to Ganondorf!" She looked over at him from the horse that Talon loaned her. "Oh, stop being such a baby, will you? The stew wasn't that bad!"

"That's easy for you to say," Link muttered as he leaned over Epona. "She didn't make you eat ten bowls of the stuff."

"Well, you shouldn't have insulted her cooking!"

"It was Keese!"

"So?"

Link sighed in defeat. "Never mind."

They headed back to Hyrule Town first, and, surprisingly, found the drawbridge sitting open. They dismounted and tied the horses to a tree where they could reach the water in the moat, then crept inside as soon as Zelda had transformed into her alter ego.

"I don't believe it," Sheik said sadly as his uncovered red eye looked around what was left of the marketplace. "There's nothing left." And there wasn't. The entire place had been burnt to the ground. Here and there, the remainders of a few charred beams could be seen leaning against what was left of stone walls, but besides that, there was nothing. The air was still thick with smoke and the smell of smoldering remains.

"After they torched the place, they must not have seen any reason to stay here," Link reasoned. "I don't hear anything."

Sheik walked over to the smashed remains of the fountain in the center of the square, resting his hand on its cracked and shattered rim. "It doesn't make any sense. He conquered Hyrule Castle. Why would he leave it in ruin? There's no point in it."

Link had been looking at the place where his favorite place in the Marketplace had been, the Bombchu Bowling Alley. There was nothing left of it except the foundation. Apparently, all of the explosives had gone up in the fire. He looked up as an idea occurred to him. "Unless he didn't plan on staying here."

Sheik moved his gaze from the fountain to Link. His eyes narrowed as he tried to think. "What are you talking about, Link?"

Link looked toward Hyrule Castle, and he thought his eyes caught a glimpse of something glimmering for an instant. "Think about it. Is there anything here that he would want that fits in to what we already know?" He sidestepped to get a better view, trying to see it again.

Sheik lowered his head in thought. "No, not that I can think of."

Something clattered in an alley. In an instant, they were at attention. Link had his sword and shield in hand, and Sheik was up and had a dagger ready in his hand. They watched as a metal can rolled out and in front of them.

Link stared at it for a moment before stepping forward, glaring into the shadows of the alleyway. "Whoever's in there, come out! Come out here and reveal yourself, or I'm coming in and throwing your corpse out here, instead!"

Slowly, a darker shadow against the darkness became visible, and limped out into the open.

Sheik's visible eye went wide in recognition. "Impa!" He ran over to her, then helped her over to the fountain, easing her down to sit on the edge. "Impa, what happened?"

"He came for the ocarina, your Highness," Impa coughed, holding her hand on her side. "I couldn't stop him."

"Impa, hold on. I'm going to heal you."

But Impa waved him off. "Don't waste your energy. I'm fine. It's just a scratch."

Sheik's face was clearly unbelieving. "Let me see it, Impa. That's an order."

Impa sighed as she reluctantly lifted her shirt up to reveal a deep gash in her side. It had been bandaged roughly, probably by herself, and the wrap had slipped down.

"This is your idea of a scratch?" he demanded angrily. "You're worse than Link! You shouldn't even be up! Heck, you shouldn't even be alive a day after getting a wound like that!" He moved to heal it, but Impa brushed his hand away again.

Link came over and pushed Sheik to the side as he pulled a glass bottle filled with a blue liquid out of his pouch. "Fine, if you're not going to let Sheik heal you, then at least drink this. That way, you don't need to worry about draining anyone's magic, and, before you say anything, I still have several more, so you don't have an excuse."

Impa looked at the potion distastefully, but took it and drained it in one draught. By the time she handed the bottle back to Link, the wound was almost completely sealed up again.

"That's better," Sheik praised as he backed off. "Now, would you show us what happened?"

Impa nodded as she stood. "Follow me."

Sheik and Link walked behind her. As they left the square, Sheik leaned over toward Link. "Do you really have more of those?"

Link shook his head. "No, that was my last one."

"That's what I thought."

If anything, the destruction inside the castle was worse than what had happened in the marketplace. There wasn't a room where all of the furniture hadn't been shattered and tossed in the middle to torch. Even some of the great stone walls that had stood for centuries had been knocked through in Ganondorf's search for what he was after, and, after that, no doubt raiders had finished up whatever he had started.

Sheik had requested to go into the Princess's room alone, but emerged after only a few moments, his head hung low. He went over to Impa. "The King didn't survive," he said simply, his voice hitching.

Impa probably guessed why, but she held him close to her and asked anyway. "Why? What happened?"

"He's hanging from the middle of my room."

Link put a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. For obvious reasons, he had difficulty treating Sheik and Zelda as the same person, even in his own thoughts, and if it had been Zelda in front of him, he would have embraced her, hugging her tightly. Of course, if it had been Zelda in front of him, she would have broken down and started crying her eyes out.

Sheik, however, forced his emotions aside for the moment. "We have to get to the top of the castle. If Ganondorf was going to warp to another time, that's where he'd go to do it.

Link nodded. "Right." He started forward, but stopped when he realized that he didn't know where he was going. "Um," he said, turning around and rubbing the back of his head, "why don't you two lead the way?"

They reached the top of the castle, which looked like it had been leveled by a mighty blast. Rubble covered the area as the sun shown down on the wind-blown remains of the top of what was once the pride of all of Hyrule.

As Link walked into the middle, the back of his hand started to tickle. He reached down to scratch it as he turned back to Sheik. "Hey, Sheik! Come over here and tell me if your piece is picking up anything."

Sheik looked at him for a moment before coming over. Almost immediately, he, too, reached down to rub the back of his hand. "Yes, something is here. There is a lot of magical residue. Someone was using a lot of magical energy."

Link glared up at the clear sky. "I don't think it's much of a mystery who that someone was, do you?"

Impa came up behind them. "No, you are correct. It was Ganondorf. He used the Ocarina of Time and the Triforce of Power to open up a portal."

Sheik rubbed his chin in thought. "But where would he go? He's always been after the other two Triforce pieces, and those are here."

Impa shook her head. "Not necessarily. It is reasonable to assume that, because the Triforce will always exist, if he went far enough into the future, he could go to a time when it is not possessed by anyone, and, in fact, it is not even remembered at all, concealed in the mists of Time, the very element that protects it."

Sheik's eye darkened in worry. "But if the time he went to knows nothing of the Triforce, then they wouldn't have any defense against his onslaught."

"Those were probably his thoughts, as well," Impa answered. "And I fear that you both may be correct.

"Well, then there's only one thing for us to do," Link exclaimed as he lowered his gaze from the sky and drew the Master Sword in one smooth movement. "If he's too much of a coward to come and face us, then we'll just have to go to him!"

Sheik nodded and pulled out his harp as Link drew his wooden Fairy Ocarina. They closed their eyes as they focused on their Triforce pieces. As they did, a melody filled their head, and they played it on their instruments.

v A v A A v

As they opened their eyes, a yellow portal opened in front of them, and the air seemed to be filled with static. The light reflected in Impa's eyes. "Go, both of you! And don't fail!"

They looked back at her for an instant, nodded quickly, and jumped through.

They fell through onto a hard, tiled floor, Link first, then Zelda fell on top of him. He pushed her off of him as he looked at her in surprise. "Zelda, you changed back!"

She looked down at her gloved hands. "It must have been from going through the portal. Something about it must revert travelers from alternate forms."

Link shook his head as he stood and held his hand out for her. That was too far above him. Magic and its effects wasn't his specialty. "Forget it. Let's just find Ganondorf and stop him before he can cause any trouble."

Zelda nodded as she took his hand, but he almost dropped her as they heard a sudden scream. They walked silently up to a big set of doors and peeked through as a warm feeling flowed through their hands. They didn't have to look down to know that their pieces were glowing. Inside was a big room, with lots of ribbons and decorations. It must have been for some sort of celebration. Judging from the mess all over the floor, the said event had just been rudely interrupted. The cause was right in the middle of the room, grinning like a shark at a boy and a skeleton that stood in front of him, a girl behind them. They gasped at the sight. The boy didn't have a hat, and his hair was brown, but other than that, he looked exactly like Link, and the girl on the ground was a mirror image of Zelda.

Link was going into his battle mindset automatically, and was sizing up the skeleton, Ganondorf, and the room around them, trying to think of the best way to charge in and take them both out quickly. Zelda, however, caught sight of something else.

"Link, look at that boy's sword! Do you recognize it?"

Link's eyes went wide. "The Master Sword!" His hand went to his own scabbard automatically, as if to reassure himself that it was still there.

Zelda nodded. "So this time isn't without some line of defense, after all!"

Link noticed a bad wound on the boy's back. "Not for long," he said, pointing to it. "It looks like he's already met the wrong end of one of Ganondorf's attacks. We have to help them somehow!"

Ganondorf, watching the ensuing fight with great glee, suddenly felt his hand warm. His grin disappeared as he looked to the boy and girl's hands. "Could it be? Is the Triforce already claimed, even here?" Suddenly, it clicked, and he bowed his head as he chuckled. "No, of course not! I would have felt it immediately!" He looked out at nothing in particular and yelled out, "Come out, you two, wherever you are! I know you're here! I know you've followed me! You might as well show yourselves now, and save me the trouble of blowing this place to ruins." His grin returned as his voice lowered. "Like the castle."

Zelda clenched her fists as tears rolled down her cheeks. She started glowing as she screamed, already transforming into her alter ego again. "You monster," Sheik yelled, bursting forward. "You murdered my father! I'll kill you!" A dagger was in his hand in an instant, and he charged, aiming for Ganondorf's throat.

"Sheik, no! Get back!" Link yelled in response, bursting from his hiding place as well, and charging forward to stop him.

Ganondorf's Gerudo reflexes were too fast, though, and he grabbed Sheik by the wrist, and threw him to the ground. His sword appeared in a flare of dark fire, and he reared back to strike, but as he swung down, Link was there to intercept the attack with the Master Sword.

Ganondorf growled. "You are a real pest, boy! Why don't you ever stay gone?"

Link growled back as he tried to fight the Gerudo King's bulk, the energy from the two swords crackling. "For the same reason you never stay dead, Ganon dork! My job isn't finished yet!" He let the Master Sword slide down Ganon's dark blade, and he thrust forward with his shoulder, sending the Gerudo off-balance.

Ganondorf staggered back, regaining his footing as he took a moment to plan his attack.

Paul and the skeleton had both turned at the interruption, surprised at the sudden entrance of Sheik and Link. Paul didn't know if there was enough brain matter left for the boy's skeleton to recognize them, but he did, and he was in shock.

As Ganondorf staggered back, the skeleton shifted, unsure of what to do. It didn't know whether it was supposed to continue to face Paul, or to attack the person who looked like him in defense of its master. Paul noticed, and was determined to take advantage of the situation.

He ran forward, sword pulled back. He swung down hard, and the sword seemed to burn through the charred remains like a flame through paper. No sooner had the sword exited the other side than the skeleton collapsed, engulfed in flames as it turned to dust.

He looked down at the blade in surprise, and noticed it glowing with a blue light. Paul looked over at the Master Sword in Link's hand, and saw that it, too, was glowing. It was then that he really realized why the sword he found in the forest so long ago looked just like the Master Sword.

He got one word out as it hit him. "Holy …"

But Andi interrupted him. "Paul!"

"Huh?" He spun around in surprise, only to clash blades with a Gerudo that jumped down at him. A side-glance to Link and Sheik showed him that they, too, were being held back.

Ganondorf chuckled as he backed off. "So sorry to disappoint you, Link, but I'm not quite ready to deal with two of you just yet. Besides, I have other matters to attend to." With that, he walked out.

Link broke away from the Gerudo attacking him, then sent her back with a kick. "Get back here and fight, Ganondorf!" He started to chase after him, but the Gerudo got back up and threw her scythe after him, laying his back open, and he fell to the ground in pain. The Gerudo jumped at him, but he stuck his sword up, and she landed on it. He rolled over and pulled his sword out as he stood. He went over to help Sheik.

"You know what I wish, Sheik?" he asked as he knocked the Gerudo's blades away.

"What?" he asked as his spin kick sent the Gerudo back into the wall.

Link dashed forward, and hit her across the head with the handle of his sword, knocking her out. "That I hadn't given Impa that blasted potion!"

The last Gerudo, realizing that it had suddenly became three-on-one, was quick to break away from Paul and ran out after Ganondorf.

Sheik changed back into Zelda and ushered Link over to a bench. "Sit down and let me see what I can do about it."

Andi led Paul over to her, as well. "Can you take a look at Paul, as well? I'll go find a first aid kit."

The two of them stared at each other, each of them seeming to be looking into a mirror. Finally, Zelda broke Andi's gaze. "Don't worry about it. That isn't necessary." She put her hands to Link's back, and her hands glowed for a moment as the wound sealed over, healing itself.

Andi gasped in surprise. Paul, too, was taken aback. He knew Zelda could do that, but seeing it done in front of him was another thing entirely.

Zelda looked up at them questioningly. "What? Don't you have any magic in this time at all?"

Paul shook his head. "No, no magic at all. Of course, Hylians don't exist here, either."

Link looked up in surprise. "You mean, there aren't any Hylians left anywhere?"

Paul shook his head again. "No, none whatsoever. If you ever did exist here, you've long since gone extinct."

Link looked away as he tried to absorb that. "Well, that's one heck of a cold revelation! We've come here to save the future, and we don't even have a single descendant!"

Zelda spoke again as another thought came to her. "If there aren't any Hylians, how did you know that's what we are?"

Paul grinned widely. "Because you're famous! A company called Nintendo made games where you two were the central characters, and it became a hit. Half the world knows about your fights against Ganondorf!"

Link looked at them with wide eyes as he and Paul switched places. "I'm in a game?" He stopped for a moment, then asked, "Who plays me?"

Paul looked up at him in surprise, then laughed. "No one but whoever's playing the game! It's a video game, displayed on a television."

Zelda looked over at him curiously as she healed his injuries. "Video game? Television?"

Andi shook her head as she pulled Paul over and whispered in his ear. "Paul, they're from the past, right? They don't know anything about modern technology."

Paul grinned sheepishly. "Oh, yeah. That's right." He turned back to Link and Zelda. "Well, come on, I'll show you! We need to go back to our apartment and change into some normal clothes, anyway. These costumes are kinda stuffy. It might be a good idea if you do the same, so you blend in better. While you're changing, I'll show you what I mean!"

"Normal clothes?" Link asked, plucking at his own outfit. "What's wrong with my Kokiri Tunic?"

"Nothing," Andi answered. "It's just that it's about 500 years out of style, and Paul's right. You'll both stick out like sore thumbs if you go around dressed like that."

Navi picked that time to pop out from under Link's hat. "Hey, Link, are we there yet? When you went through the portal, I think I got knocked out, and …" She found herself looking at Paul, and suddenly looked down at Link to make sure she was under the right hat. She shook her head as she hung upside-down over his eyes. "Nope, you're really Link. Who's the other guy?"

Andi's eyes went wide at the sight. "A fairy?"

Navi looked up at her. "Princess? What's wrong with you?"

Zelda smiled lightly as she waved. "I'm over here, Navi."

Navi looked over, looked back, and then over at Zelda again, and almost fell off of Link's head in shock. "What's going on here?"

"We're not sure just yet, Navi," Link explained as he gingerly plucked her loose from his hair, "but I think that these might be our future counterparts."

She flew up in their faces, looking from one to the other. She took a moment to stare into Paul's eyes, then went back to Link, landing on his shoulder and leaning against him like a wall. "Yeah, I could see how that would work. Especially the guy. He doesn't have your hair, but he's definitely got your eyes. The girl, well, she looks so much like Zelda it's just creepy!"

Link laughed as Paul and Andi just stared.

Suddenly, Zelda's ears pricked. "What's that sound? It sounds like one of our hand-cranked emergency sirens, but different."

Paul strained to hear something, but couldn't. After a few minutes, however, he heard what she was talking about. "That's a police siren!"

While Paul was worried, Zelda was suddenly ecstatic. "Good! They can bring us to your king, and we can present our case to him!"

Paul shook his head. "No, you don't understand! There hasn't been a king in this country for 300 years! We run under a government called a Republic. But that's not the point! We have to get out of here!"

Zelda looked at him suspiciously. "You aren't an outlaw, are you?"

"What?" Paul looked at her in surprise, but then shook his head again. "No, I'm not. But look around you! This place looks like Armageddon hit early! There's a couple of dead and unconscious bodies, and Link and I are standing here with swords! How do you think that will look? And the fact that you guys aren't human won't exactly make things look much better!"

Link caught on to Paul's worries. He grabbed Zelda's arms. "He's right, Princess. We'd better just get out of here. We don't want any trouble that might keep us from tracking Ganondorf down."

Zelda nodded. "Very well. Let's go."

They started off, but Paul held back. "Hey, wait! We almost forgot …" He turned around toward where Darunia had been, but he was gone.

"What?" Link turned around, too, though he was tensed, obviously eager to get out of there.

Paul just shook his head. "Darunia was here, but it's like he's disappeared!"

Link grinned. "Don't worry! If there's a guy that can take care of himself, it's Darunia! Besides, he probably just used his abilities as a sage to pop in and back out."

Paul nodded in understanding, and they ran out the back just as the police cars pulled up in front.