So, I've been doing some thinking. Mainly that being of alternate universes. Alternate universes are fun to think about, especially when you get an idea stuck in your brain. I've had an idea stuck in my brain thanks to an AU Game of Thrones fic where a modern 21st-century soldier gets thrown in a place where he doesn't belong. And so, I had a very odd idea: what if the Link seen in the Breath of the Wild was, pre-Calamity, a designated marksman in the US Army who got a little lost? Ok, more than a little, but still.

This was one of those ideas that sort of ate at me until I started to address it. It's got an interesting concept with some interesting worldbuilding, well at least when it concerns our world and how Link gets to Hyrule. This will be a writing exercise to experiment with mixed 3rd and 1st person perspectives. Mainly 1st with Link, and 3rd with everyone else. I don't have much else in regards to preamble about here, so let's just get right into it.

Title: [undecided]

Rating: T?

Pairing: Eventual Link x Zelda. A classic video game couple staple.

Summary: Lincoln "Link" Weston always knew that the old adage "may you live in interesting times" would come back to bite him. He joined the Army at the worst possible time and somehow is in the middle of a snowy mountain range with nothing more than an M110 rifle, an M9, a combat knife, and a combined amount of less than a hundred rounds of ammo. Fingers crossed that the locals will at least point him in the right direction.

Disclaimer: I own nothing other than my copy of MS Word and my desktop. The Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo, I only own this idea; this really insane idea.

XxXxXxX

There was a flash of light as I felt the harsh, bitterly cold wind blowing in my face. I blinked to see a mountain range coming up quickly beneath me and quickly checked to see if I still had a parachute on me. Luckily, I did. I would not become a Ranger pancake today. But I wasn't out of the woods yet. There was still the threat of crosswinds ready to either send me up and over the mountain or downwind of it depending on how the winds were blowing today. And so, I established that I would need to do something that I'd really prefer not to do at this altitude.

I held the rip-cord and right as I reached the absolute minimum safe altitude for a landing, I ripped the cord. The parachute opened up and I lurched from terminal velocity to a safe landing speed. Doesn't mean that I won't be injured if I don't land correctly, though. There was one saving grace, there was snow on the ground. I just had to hope it was a deep snow bank. I rolled as soon as I landed to avoid breaking bones and immediately cut my chute to keep myself from being dragged off. I was right, it was a not-shallow snow bank. I gathered the chute itself as it was a resource I could use.

One might think, 'why would you need it?' Well, a few minutes ago I was above a forested area allegedly above the Washington state area in the late fall, but now I was in the mountains in snow. In the far-off distance, I could see more forested areas that didn't have snow. For now, I had to do recon and figure out where I was before I could act.

I took out my binoculars and started to scan the area seeing what looked like a quaint little village off in the distance; maybe an afternoon's walk taking the snow into consideration. I bundled up the parachute and threw it over my shoulder. It was not ideal, but I'd rather have the paracord and chute itself just in case rather than not have it at all. And so, I started my trek towards the village. The only consolation was that I had warm clothing to keep myself from getting frostbite and just freezing to death from exposure.

XxXxXxX

To say Zelda was concerned would be an understatement. She had found all of the Champions for the Divine Beasts, but yet no hero had been found to wield the Bane of Darkness – more commonly known as the Master Sword. The retainers of the royal family – the Sheikah tribe headed by her own personal bodyguard Impa – searched far and wide on top of the actual royal guards attempting to find those who fit the criteria. But no one was found. In all of the literature that Zelda looked into, she saw that the signs of the Calamity known as Ganon would once more come soon. The Sheikah tribe's cousins and antithesis, the Yiga, were active more than ever. They had always been a whisper in the back of people's heads. A rumor that those spoke of in hushed voices. A veiled threat that children were told by mothers if they misbehaved. 'Behave yourself or the Yiga will take you away in the dead of night,' that sort of thing.

"Your Grace," Impa greeted formally as she entered the room.

"Impa, what news do you bring?" Zelda asked as she turned to see her friend and bodyguard. She was never this formal if it was involving 'business' as opposed to them being in private together. To specify, she was on one knee with her head bowed to avoid her eyes.

"Our men have heard rumors of a mercenary in the Tabantha region helping the villagers for coin."

"A mercenary?" Zelda asked, bewildered at why this specifically was brought to her attention. She wasn't a prude nor was above her own people. But this much pomp and circumstance for a report so... anticlimactic? Impa could have reported this to her in passing. There had to be something more to this, right?

"Yes. He uses weapons and tactics not seen by us before. Even our top infiltrators have had issues tracking him at times."

"That's... certainly interesting," Zelda commented.

"There were even rumors in the village tavern that he took down two Lyonels with just a dagger, rode them, even."

"That's... quite impressive."

"And brave," Impa added.

Zelda immediately caught on to what Impa was saying. "Are you suggesting we see if this mercenary is the Chosen Hero destined to wield the Master Sword?"

"I am not suggesting anything to Her Grace. But I am saying that we have exhausted all known avenues of searching and selection. I do wonder aloud what harm is there in having this random mercenary attempt the same test? If he fails, he fails and we move on."

"It is quite dangerous, trusting someone who is not loyal to the Crown with knowledge of the Master Sword's existence," Zelda pondered aloud. Zelda saw the look in Impa's eye. "I know you can and I hope it won't be needed."

There was a silence as the two thought this over. "What are your orders, Your Grace?"

"Gather the rest of the Champions. If this person is a threat, then they will be dealt with. If they are not, and they are the Chosen Hero, then we will have gained a new ally." Impa bowed her head once more and disappeared from the room to start her task.

It didn't take long to gather the Champions, they were in Hyrule Castle for an event anyway which made it trivial. The part that took the longest was outfitting the proper equipment for the journey ahead. Fall and spring in Tabantha was quite cold, and winter especially could be brutal. Those who chose to live there were the heartiest men and women in the kingdom. Once they were prepared, alongside a small contingent of the Royal Guard, they started the long, almost week-long journey to Tabantha.

XxXxXxX

So, it turns out I've been hoodwinked. Shanghaied. Use whatever other turn of phrase to describe my situation. For some godforsaken reason, I've ended up in a medieval country where the inhabitants are humans with pointy ears (basically elves at this point), fish people, rock people, bird people, and tanned Amazonian women. Not to mention I was still stuck in the most remote, coldest area in the entire country. I guess the coolest – boo, bad joke – thing about the area is the hole in the mountain where the rock was turned to a glassy substance. Made a trip up there, took a small shard as a souvenir.

It's been a couple of months, or at least I'd consider it a couple of months, since I arrived here. That village I had spotted allowed me to trade with them, though it wasn't much when I started. I did find an abandoned cabin that no one claimed so I called dibs on it. It was technically a three-room place. One bedroom/great room, kitchen area, and an area for storage. Though the divider for the kitchen was little more than a waist-high wall. I took up bounties for monsters that they called moblins and bobokins. I guess the best way to describe them is to think of goblins but not green and tall goblins with elephant noses that do little more than droop. They were both stupid and intelligent at the same time. Smart enough to plan ambushes on weary, unsuspecting travelers; stupid enough to fall for a basic tripwire trap attached to food. Then there were the lizalfos, basically chameleon-looking fuckers that lie in ambush. Not too difficult to kill one-on-one, but an annoyance if you have more than three and a GTFO over five unless you're ambushing them. Then there were lyonels. I... prefer not to talk about them. The only consolation is that I was able to tame what they call a wolfos and turned him into the most dangerous doggo you could imagine. At least I have a canine companion to keep me slightly sane. Reject modernity, return to caveman.

I'd take the proof of my kills and take them to the local tavern for payment. Sometimes I'd take miscellaneous things that they'd consider scrap or garbage as payment. Because of that, I was able to jury-rig up some modern conveniences of home such as a generator that ran off of... something. I'm actually not quite sure how it works. A guy had some object that zapped him and he didn't want it, I took it. It provided enough power for the Toughbook I had with my kit, a jury-rigged projector I made from a couple of lenses and a lamp of some kind, and heaters. I contracted a local blacksmith to build me the components for a reloading station that I'd put together (said put-together reloading station was in the corner). All the other components I'd need to manufacture myself or reuse. It was quite difficult to explain why I needed certain things. I didn't like it, it made me stand out. Graymanning, those in the Intelligence community called it, was being violated all over the place but it wasn't like I had any other choice.

The saving grace of this entire place was that they all spoke English. Granted it was 'British' English, but at least I could talk to people and get what I needed to be addressed. Their lettering, on the other hand, looked like complete gibberish. Couldn't read a lick of it. Instead of reading the bounties, I'd ask what needed to be done and for how much. It was a workaround, but someone was bound to say 'read it for yourself' at some point. But I had at least a small home base here and was working on an antenna to broadcast my beacon, though that may need to wait until spring to actually build it.

I pulled up to the tavern and dropped off my horse to hitch it to the post outside before grabbing scavenged bag I had been using for the 'proof of death' trophies for bounties. I slung my marksman rifle, an M110 over my shoulder to keep anyone from taking it. Beside me the wolfos who I had dubbed Sir Sillymuffin during a weaker moment tailed slightly behind me. I pushed my way through the double doors and made my way to the barkeep who noticed me but didn't say anything. I snapped my free hand's fingers and did a short whistle and Sillymuffin sat patiently at the door.

"You have that wolfos well trained, young man," the barkeep commented.

"Show him you're the better alpha and give him meat and he's just like any other domesticated dog," I reply.

"With much more pointed teeth," he added.

"Yes," I agreed. "I have the bounty for the bobokins harassing the Wilkins farm," I say as I heft the bag on the counter and let the contents spill-free. Inside were two dozen fangs, one from each bobokin I took out. The suppressed M110 made quick work and 7.62 NATO was not a cartridge to be underestimated, especially against unarmored targets.

"Two dozen?"

"Yes. I took out a small band harassing the camp last night except for one and trailed it back to its friends. Took out the rest with some trade secrets."

"Trade secrets? Certainly, something like that would come in handy when dealing with these monsters."

"Unless you're a chemist, someone's likely to blow themselves up trying to follow the recipe," I counter. Thank you, Anarchist's Cookbook. "The entire band was wiped out. Unless another one moves in, they should be bi-pedal pest-free for a long time."

"Here's your payment," the barkeep said as he pulled out a bag of rupees, the local currency that were gems. I proceed to hand him a piece of paper. "This week's order?" I nod. "I'll make sure it gets to the right place." He handed me the bag itself, "Nice doing business with you."

"Same," I say as I grab the bag, tie it off, and put it in my pack before leaving. Out of the corner of my eye I could see several travelers in the corner of the tavern watching me. Four women, two men. Oddly enough, they were an entire table made up of all the species I mentioned earlier. Never seen them before. Must be passing through. Though, the girl looked to be well off as the clothes she wore looked expensive. And, if I were being honest, she was kind of cute. I snapped my fingers again and Sillymuffin was right at my side once again following me. Smart doggo. Good doggo. I mounted my horse and made my way back to the cabin. But I had a feeling that my night wasn't quite done yet.

XxXxXxX

"That's him?!" Revali asked in a hushed voice. "He looks no different than any other ruffian."

"Yet he took out an entire band of bobokins without a scratch," Daruk countered just as quietly.

"Both of us could have done that easily."

"What was that weapon on his back? I've never seen anything like it," Zelda commented.

"It sort of looks like a really long crossbow," Urbosa observed, "but there's no bow."

"He has two other weapons," Impa added. "One on his right hip and a knife on his chest."

"He's a warrior, alright," Urbosa concluded.

"But he did wipe out those bobokins for a family's farm," Mipha added more context.

"It was for coin," Revali countered. "He's no different than any other sword for hire."

"Perhaps, perhaps not," Zelda countered the counter. "Regardless, he is leaving and we need to follow him."

The party stood up and left a set amount of rupees on the table before leaving. "I'll follow him from above," Revali announced as he flew up into the sky.

The rest of them gathered their mounts, with the exception of Daruk due to obvious reasons, and started to follow the mercenary's trail through the snow at a distance. He eventually stopped at a cabin and lashed his horse's reigns to a covered post before going inside where lights immediately came on. This raised a few eyebrows.

Revali landed beside them. "That's him," he confirmed.

"How do you want to proceed?" Impa asked Zelda.

"We knock on his door and just... ask?" Zelda replied unsurely. She was surprised that they even found the man that Impa's men had been watching.

"Do you think it will be that simple?" Daruk asked aloud.

"It would certainly be better than threatening him."

"Yes, it would," a new voice added with what sounded like a clicking noise. They all turned around to see the man they had been watching before somehow behind them with that wolfos of his holding one of those alleged crossbows at them.

"How did-?" Impa asked. Shocked that she somehow didn't even sense the two beings behind them. She was the infiltration expert.

"Trade secret," the man simply replied. "I saw you watching me at the tavern. If you wanted to hire me for a job, you could have approached me there as opposed to following me home."

"The proposition that I have for you requires the utmost secrecy," Zelda explained.

The man was silent for a few moments before putting away his weapon in the holster on his thigh. "Utmost secrecy usually comes with a premium. In order to start this transaction, we'll exchange names. I am Lincoln Weston, United States Army Rangers." He reached out with a hand.

"Princess Zelda of Hyrule," Zelda introduced herself and shook his hand.

To be continued...?

XxXxXxX

And with that, another story idea done. My God, I'm cranking these out. This one has been floating around for a while, since 2019 specifically which was during my Breath of the Wild craze given the fact I was playing the game at that time. I think I have a few other stragglers from that timeframe but I might be mistaken. I know there was a strange one, that I don't know if I'll proceed with that was a sort of soft crossover with CSI and Legend of Zelda inspired by an actual CSI/FMA crossover I thought was pretty good to run with the same concept with it. I'll look over that one again and see if it's something worth continuing or throwing into the Scrapyard in the next story purge I do. I don't have much in the way of notes for this one. I don't know if this will be an idea that will exist outside of a pilot either.

Other story news. I have one idea I'm re-reviewing that involves Harry Potter and High School of the Dead; I'm basically rewriting the original idea I did because I didn't like it. Or, to be more specific, looking back on it now I don't like the way I did it. So, I can definitely say that's something you guys can look forward to in the near future. I am still working on the last "Flowerpot" idea that I currently have for the Potterheads in my readership, I'm just looking for an episode of NCIS that I like that I think will work for the specific idea that I have in mind, so keep looking forward to that one, it'll come eventually. As for already existing stories or stories that have great potential, I'll get there eventually. I'm just trying to finish hashing out these ideas first so I have fewer stray thoughts to distract me from working on those longer-form fics when I get to them. I know that some may consider this to be a copout, but I'd prefer experimenting with ideas before getting too far in-depth with them, don't know where I'm going with it, and end up abandoning it or rushing it to completion. I'd prefer, you know, not doing that. Usually, there'd be another section on real-life stuff. Again, since the last idea went live, I don't really have anything new to add.

Let me know what you thought about the idea in the usual places. Tip jar addresses are in my profile. I'll see you in whatever I put out next.