Familiar Faces

The Legend of Zelda and all related media are property of Nintendo.

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Link blinked, turning around to find himself in a white void. Usually, when he dreamed, he was either fighting some imaginary opponent, or reliving the carefree days of his childhood, lying down in a field and staring up at the sky or running around with the Bazz Brigade. This…this was weird.

At least he was wearing his sleepwear.

When nothing changed, he shrugged, walking forward. After a few steps, a wooden door formed from the ground.

This was really weird.

He stopped in front of the door, tilting his head. It was a bare, plain, wooden door. He leaned to the left, looking around the door—to find there was only the door. He knocked on the door—no answer. Finally, he grabbed the handle, pushing it open.

"Surprise!"

Link fell back at the cacophonous cry, eyes going wide. Somehow, the door lead to some sort of island. An island populated by a lot of Hylians. A lot of Hylians that looked a lot like him. Surrounding a giant cake with the words 'Our Condolences' on it.

One of his doppelgangers, wearing a pair of tan pants and a blue shirt emblazoned with a white lobster, walked forward, face split into a wide grin as he said, "Ha! He fell on his ass! Pay me bitches!"

"Damn it!" someone shouted from the sea of blondes.

The first double snickered, holding a hand out, "Hey Link, nice to meet you! I'm Link!" Link stared at the offered hand. The other Link grunted, "Not a talker, huh? You'll get over it!" He grabbed Link's arm, hoisting him up and dragging him through the door. "Hope you like the location—last time we were in a treehouse and, let me tell you, it smelled."

"Ah, fuck you."

"He's right, it was rank."

"Fuck you!"

"W-What the hell is this?" Link gasped, staring out into the sea of blonde Hylian.

"Hey!" the lobster-shirted doppelganger laughed, "He does speak!"

"This," a double—wearing a green tunic over a long-sleeved brown shirt—broke out from the crowd, "is a party in your honor."

"…Am I dying?"

"At the moment? No," the double shook his head. "And for the next few months, at minimum, you won't be at risk of doing so…Probably."

"Probably?!" Link parroted.

"Ah, don't worry about it—although if you do die, it'll probably wreck space-time. We're hardcore like that."

"…What?"

"It's like this," the double stepped beside Link, draping an arm over his shoulders and leading him forward, "You, my friend, are the current era's Chosen Hero. Our latest reincarnation."

"Me?!" At his double's nod, Link asked, "Why?"

"Because Hylia is a thirsty bitch with a very specific type."

"Hylia…the goddess, Hylia?" That raised a whole host of questions, but his double barreled on.

"Yup!" the double cheered. But when they arrived at the cake, he lost his happy guise, "Look, you know about, what are they calling it now, the Calamity?" Link nodded. "Well, that's has been going on for a long time."

"Ten thousand years, right?"

The double huffed, "Try since the beginning of creation."

Link stepped back, eyes wide, "Wha—no…no th-this is crazy!" He looked out at the sea of doubles. They were all somber as they stared back at him.

Another double stepped forward—this one wearing a white shirt under his green tunic. "The stars have aligned in a very specific way—one that demands a Hero rise up and combat the forces of evil. That you," he placed a hand on Link's shoulder, "rise up and combat the forces of evil."

Link shook his head, "B-But I'm not—"

"None of us were," the man said with a gentle smile. "But we all rose to the occasion regardless. And so shall you."

Link stepped away, "How?"

"By being yourself and believing in your strengths."

Link still felt lost, but the warm smiles sent his way—smiles that weren't just empty gestures or confused politeness—eased his thundering heart. There was true empathy in their eyes. He was lost, but for the first time in a long while, he wasn't alone. He ran a hand through his hair, "So…what? Are you all here to teach me?"

"If only," the double chuckled. "Yours is a long, arduous road. We," he spread his arms wide, "are here as a bit of…mercy, I suppose. To show that you are not alone. That you are another member of a long and proud legacy. The latest link in the chain." Link sent his double a flat stare.

"Booooo!"

"That was terrible!"

At least he wasn't alone in his thoughts. The benefits of reincarnation, he supposed.

"I don't hear any of you coming up with anything better!" the double shouted back at the crowd, eliciting a round of laughter. "Ah, enough of this melancholy! This is a party! Let's eat!"

"Finally!"

"Thought he'd never shut up!"

"Get on with it!"

"Yeah, yeah," the third double rolled his eyes. He pat Link's chest, "Hold out your hand." Link arched a brow but raised his left arm.

"Ha! A lefty!"

"Oh, enough with that!"

"Ah, is the righty gonna cry?"

Link stared out as the beginnings of a brawl rumbled through the crowd. "Uh…I'm ambidextrous."

"We all are," the second double popped up beside Link, "they're just idiots. Focus on your hand." Link opened his mouth to speak but thought better of it.

He stared at his left hand. A blue orb of light formed at his fingertips, and Link stared wide-eyed as it spread out in the shape of a sword. He recognized it—it was the Sword that Seals the Darkness.

"Ha! The Master Sword! Pay me bitches!"

"Damn it!"

"Why do we take bets with you!"

"Cause you're all a bunch of idiots!"

Link ignored the budding argument—were they (he?) always so argumentative?—staring at the mystical blade. He looked back up to the two doubles, who were smiling at him, gesturing for the cake. Link gawked, "Wait—you want me to cut a cake with the Sword that Seals the Darkness?!"

"It's completely disrespectful!" a voice shouted from the crowd.

"It's not like it's the real thing," the taller double shouted back.

"Although," the shorter one rubbed his chin, "the real thing would probably love being surrounded by us and covered in cream."

Link and the taller double stared at him, though while the former was confused, the latter looked disturbed. "…You're disgusting," the other double groaned.

"Yeah, well, I'm also you," he sneered, "so what does that say?"

"Can one of you fuckers cut the cake?! We're starving here!"

"Better do it," the tall double said, "You do not want them to riot."

All Link could do was chuckle, perhaps a bit hysterically, stepping forward to the cheers of the crowd.

/+/+/+/+/

Link let out a sigh, "I can't believe there's still some cake left—we all had thirds!" Most of his past lives had left to…wherever they usually were when they weren't celebrating the rise of darkness. He'd exchanged at least the bare minimum pleasantries with all of them, but the first three he'd talked to—who, for ease of use, told him to call them, in order, Wind, Legend, and Time—stuck close to him.

"It's not real man," Wind said, lying down on the sand, "the lines between reality and dream blur within this place. Real, and unreal. Truth, and lie. All mixed together in the grand joke we call life."

Link and the other two stared down at Wind. Finally, Legend asked, "Are you high?"

Wind let out a bark of laughter, "You think if I had any drugs, I'd waste them with you fuckers?"

"True."

"You know," Link ran a hand through his hair, "for heroes of old you're all a lot more…spirited than I'd imagined."

"Aw," Legend cooed, "are we crushing your childhood dreams?" Link nodded a bit, and Legend clicked his tongue, staring out at the sea. "…Well, I suppose that once you stare true evil in the face, and process it all, things like propriety and censorship…stop mattering."

Link hummed, staring down at his hands. "I…I can't really imagine that."

"You don't have to," Time chimed in, "You'll live it."

Link nodded, "…I don't suppose I'll remember any of this when I wake up."

"You will not," Time shook his head. "Not consciously, at least. But this lightness you feel within your breast will linger within you. And when the darkness reaches its zenith, when you are alone, when it feels as if the entire world seeks to destroy you," he pressed a hand against his chest, lips spreading into a soft smile, "that light within you shall burst to life, and carry you forward."

Link blushed, managing a sheepish smile back.

Legend and Wind were much less subdued. And polite.

"Listen to this fancy fuck!"

"Throwing around words like 'zenith'."

"Well," Time shrugged, "I was raised by a god."

Link drew back, eyes wide. Wind blew a raspberry, "Don't throw your fucking pedigree at us!"

"Look at him," Legend huffed, "thinking he's better than us."

"So long as we're all in agreement."

"I will shove a fire rod so far up your ass flames will spew out of your nose!"

"I'm sorry," Link cut in with a breathless laugh, "what was that about a god?"

"Hey look," Wind sat up, "it's your exit." Link, despite his (in his opinion) pressing questions, turned around. Indeed, the same door that brought him to this strange place had reappeared.

He rose to his feet with a sigh, "Guess it's time for to go, huh?"

"Yes," Time nodded. "I suppose that you could stay, if you wanted. But we have our own afterlives to get back to, and while I'm sure you appreciate your privacy, being stranded on a barren extra-dimensional island doesn't sound very appealing."

Link smirked, "Not really." He walked over to the door, but before he opened it, looked over his shoulder, and said, "Thanks for this."

Legend shrugged, "Thank the guys that fucked Hylia until she finally broke down and agreed to do this—well, asked the Golden Goddesses to do this. Why couldn't we just do that ourselves?"

"As if Hylia would let an opportunity to live out her deepest fantasies pass through her fingers." Wind scoffed. "Hey, is she still trying to get in your pants?" Link blinked, eyes darting between the three.

"Trying and failing," Time replied.

"Redheads for life!" Legend cheered, fistbumping Time.

Link chuckled, "Is it weird that I both want your help and can't wait to get away from you people."

"It's a common thought among you first-timers," Wind replied.

"And if we could do more than this," Legend sent him a soft smile, "trust me, we would."

Link smiled back, sending them all one final wave before walking through the door, blinded by a sharp golden light.

/+/+/+/+/

Link awoke with a jolt. He hated the travel back to the afterlife. It was always so violent and sudden. He assumed it was because Hylia was still miffed that he thoroughly rejected her in favor of a woman that, technically, never existed. Greedy bitch.

Ah, but speaking of.

He rolled over in his bed, "Hey, Love. Missed yo—woah fuck!" He shouted as he rolled clear off his bed, which was a lot smaller than it should have been, and onto the ground.

"What the—!"

"Who was that?!"

Link's pain and bewilderment vanished at the unfamiliar voices. He shot up to his feet, eyes wide upon seeing that wasn't in a straw hut, but some sort of barracks, bleary-eyed men and women staring at him.

"…What the fuck?" he whispered with a trembling voice.

/+/+/+/+/

"Thank you escorting me, Zelda, but it really isn't necessary."

Zelda smiled, "Oh, it's quite alright, Mipha. I've been needing a break today." She looked over her shoulder with a playful smirk, "And walking is much better than just sitting around."

Impax's lips quirked up, "Meditation is not just 'sitting around', Princess. It is a means of centering yourself amidst the chaos of life. Calming down and finding peace within yourself"

"Oh, of course!" Zelda bowed her head, "Do forgive my presumptions." Impa preened. It almost made Zelda feel bad for adding, "It's more like sleeping." Mipha giggled at Impa's indignant huff—not that she could hide he mirth in her eyes.

Zelda turned back around with a fond sigh. This…This was nice. With Impa around, she'd never wanted for a confidant, but Mipha was the only other person in Hyrule that she could empathize with her life. With them she could, if only for brief moments, pretend that she was just a normal girl, unburdened by a destiny she could not hope to live up to.

"Princess Mipha," Impa said after a few moments of silence, "remind me, how do you know this Knight…Link, was it?"

Mipha nodded, "We met years ago—his father was also a knight and was stationed at Zora's Domain for a time." She turned her head skyward, scales glittering in the sun, lips spread into a fond, wistful smile, "He was a fairly rambunctious and, frankly, irreverent child. Always getting into trouble. We became fast friends. He had to leave with his father, but we kept in touch through letters, and if possible, he would visit Zora's Domain when his training and duties allowed. I figured it was high time I returned the gesture."

Zelda nodded, "I'm certain he shall appreciate your visit."

"Waking up to a Princess wanting to see him? He better appreciate it."

"Impa!" Zelda whirled around with a gasp. Mipha just looked down at her webbed feet, a blush on her face to match the rest of her body. The Sheikah just shrugged, and Zelda could only hope, for Mipha's sake, that this Link's irreverence was much less pronounced than her own friend's.

"Hey there!" The three young women turned to find the other three Champions—Daruk, Urbosa, and even Revali—just ahead of them. The other three approached them, Daruk saying, "King Rhoam has asked to meet with us."

Zelda hoped she didn't outwardly grimace, "All of us?"

Urbosa smiled gently at her, "Yes, Zelda." The smile faltered a touch, "I believe he may have some…ideas as to how you may reach your full potential."

Revali huffed, crossing his arms, "Don't see why he has to drag us into it."

Zelda tried and failed to hide her grimace. Urbosa and Impa, she was sure, were glaring daggers at the surly Rito. Mipha wore a polite smile on her face, but Daruk let loose a gruff grunt, "Ah, it's not like that!" He pat Revali on the back, nearly knocking him over (Zelda chose to believe that was on purpose), "We're all in this together now! We need to support each other the best we can!"

Revali dusted off his feathers, casting a critical eye at Zelda, "Be that as it may, I imagine that the King has been giving you direction your entire life. It might be time to follow a different jetstream."

Zelda clasped her hands together, looking down at her feet. Oh, if only such a thing were possible. She'd love nothing more than to abandon her doomed path and follow her scholarly pursuits. But she couldn't—so many people were counting on her. So many lives depended on her. She couldn't just leave them to the wind, to die in the face of the Calamity.

She took a deep breath, "Very well." She turned to Mipha, "The eastern barracks are just down that way," she gestured to the nearest rampart, "just head right once you exit the stairs, you can't miss it."

Mipha looked down the way. She pursed her lips, before turning back with a nod, "Thank you. I'll visit him later today." Zelda managed a shaky smile, grateful for her support, turning around to lead the Champions to the throne room.

Only for a series of panicked shouts and doors slamming open from below to catch their attention.

Mipha, surmising the noises came from her friend's barracks, rushed over the edge of the pathway, staring down. The others followed at a much more sedate pace.

"Gee, what's all the commotion?" Daruk asked.

"Perhaps some sort of emergency drill?" Urbosa replied, leaning on the stone railing.

"I…I don't think so," Zelda said, staring down at the barracks. "In all my years, I've never heard a commotion as raucous as this." At that moment, the most likely source of the commotion burst out into the open. A young Hylian man with long, dark blonde hair stumbled forward, holding a steel shield close to him, his fellows both giving him a wide berth, and following closely.

"Oh my, Link?!" Mipha cried. She clasped her hands over her mouth, eyes growing wide as he stumbled into the field. Zelda blinked, staring down at the famous Link—he was rather young for a Knight.

"Looks like someone had a bit too much fun," Daruk chuckled.

"How unsightly," Revali sneered.

Zelda frowned at Revali's words but couldn't help but agree. Hylian Knights had standards to uphold.

"No," Impa peered down at the young man, "that's not it."

"You see it too?" Urbosa replied.

"See what?" Zelda asked, looking between the two.

"Link…he's not drunk or anything, he's distressed." Zelda blinked, staring down at Link. Indeed, now that he was in the light, she could see that he wasn't moving like a drunkard. He was coherent enough to shove off his fellow knights when they tried to grab him. He eventually stopped in the middle of the field, kneeling down and stabbing the shield into the dirt.

He leaned down, no doubt observing his reflection. He ran his hands all over his face, through his hair. He pat down his body—Zelda couldn't help the surprised yelp that burst through her lips when he tore off his shirt and ran his hands over his bare torso.

"Yeesh," Daruk grimaced, "what happened to him?"

"Some kind of nightmare?" Impa queried.

"If so," Mipha said, eyes glued on her friend, "this is much worse than anything he's ever mentioned."

Link eventually stopped moving, staring down at his hands. The men and women surrounding him started muttering, pushing each other forward. When one finally advanced—not by choice, given his glare at his peers—Link moved once more.

He shot to his feet, lifted his head to the sky, and bellowed, "FUCK!"

The air seemed to still, the soldiers surrounding Link rearing back, and Mipha let out a high-pitched gasp. Link clenched his fists, shaking them in the air, "I was just being nice you Great Golden Assholes!" He dropped his hands to his side, turning around and shoving past his stunned audience, slamming the door to the barracks shut behind him.

Zelda, Impa, and the Champions stared after the young Hylian, only returning to life when the other soldiers tried, and failed, to open the door after him.

Revali broke the silence first, "Well…that was a fun little diversion." He clapped his wings together, "But as fun as watching Hylians devolve to madness is, I suppose we should—where'd Mipha go?"

Zelda turned, blinking at the empty space where Mipha once stood. "Woah," Impa said from beside her, "didn't think Zora could reach those speeds on land." Zelda looked down, shocked to see that Mipha was steadily pushing her way through the mass of people crowding around the locked barracks.

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A/N: This isn't compliant with Age of Calamity. Nothing against the game, but I don't want to deal with it (well, most of it). Just know that in this story, the Champions have been informally selected, but Link as not yet been singled out at the Hero. Also, drawing some inspiration from the Linked Universe AU for names and some personality traits, but not much. Anyway, be sure to leave a review. Later.