Chapter 8 - Arrival in The Past
Summary: Link arrives in the past, and Princess Zelda convenes a meeting of all the Champions to discuss what to do in light of this startling turn of events. Mipha struggles with her feelings as she realizes the Link she knew and loved is gone, replaced by a Link who remembers very little of her.
As planned Link arrived in the past late in the evening at the Temple of Time. He assumed his alter ego had just vanished from Hyrule. It was quiet, and no one saw him, so he lit a fire and camped for the rest of the night.
The next morning, he managed to capture a horse, then rode to Hyrule Castle. He asked to speak privately with Princess Zelda and was taken to her study. When he entered, Zelda stood and greeted him.
"Link! This is a pleasant surprise! I thought I told you to take some time off, and I would not need your assistance until later this week when I plan to ride to Sanidin Park," said Zelda.
He stared at her for a moment, for she was the sixteen-year-old girl again he used to travel with. He should have expected that, of course, but it took him by surprise. He quickly composed himself, however.
"I'm sorry, but I urgently need to speak to you about our plan to defeat Calamity Ganon. And please hear me out. I know this will be challenging for you to accept, but I am not the same Link you know. I have traveled back in time from over one hundred years in the future, a future in which our plan failed," said Link.
"Is this some kind of joke?" said Zelda. "What are you talking about?"
"No. It's not a joke. Our plan to defeat Calamity Ganon is flawed. With the knowledge gained from the Yiga Clan, Ganon intends to take over the Divine Beasts and Guardians. He will turn these machines against us and kill all the Champions. We need to revise our plan. I can try to convince you I am from the future by telling you some things I couldn't otherwise know. For example, I can quote some parts of your diary. You know I could not have gained access to it, given that it's kept in your room and I am not permitted access. I can also quote parts of the Champions' diaries as well."
He then quoted a section of her diary. Zelda turned red, and he sensed she was trying hard to control her feelings: something he sincerely hoped she would succeed in doing. Eventually, she must have realized the matter at hand outweighed her embarrassment. She began to accept what he said must be true.
"Alright, Link," she said. "I assume I still call you that, right?"
"Of course, Your Highness," said Link. "I am actually the same person, but it's a long story."
"You can call me Zelda when we're alone," she said. "Did I ever tell you that? Alright, I need to convene a meeting of the four Champions as soon as possible. I also need to discuss this with my father. You should stay here in the Castle until then. Please keep this information to yourself for now."
Zelda arranged for an emergency meeting of the Champions, and two days later, they were all assembled at the Castle. Link was seated next to Zelda in a circle with the four Champions. Zelda had kept Link away from them so everyone could hear his story at the same time. So, he had not had an opportunity to speak with Mipha.
Zelda began the meeting. "I have called us all together for this urgent meeting because something extraordinary has occurred. In a moment, I will ask Link to explain, but I must warn you first that what he is going to tell us will be difficult to believe. So, I ask that you please let him fully explain and not interrupt. Link, please go ahead."
He stood up and looked around the room at the four Champions: Daruk, Urbosa, Revali, and Mipha, his friends and colleagues from his past. He was by no means a gifted public speaker but knew he needed to convince all of them of the truth of what he was about to say.
"As Princess Zelda said, what I am about to tell you will be difficult for you to believe. I am not the same Link you know, though I am the same person. I have used the Temple of Time to return here from over one hundred years in the future after being in a state of healing slumber for one hundred years in the Shrine of Resurrection."
There was some murmuring from the group, but Zelda quieted the room by repeating her request to please hear him out, and Link continued.
"I will attempt to prove that to you in a few minutes, but first, let me explain what will happen if we do not alter our plans. Calamity Ganon will emerge in five days. However, he has found the ability to infect the Guardians and Divine Beasts with his malice and take control of them. He has also prepared powerful mutations of himself to take control of the Divine Beasts. What happened in the timeline I came from is that Ganon initially succeeded. His mutations infected the Divine Beasts and killed each of you. I was also dying from battling Guardians while trying to protect Princess Zelda. Fortunately, at the last minute, Princess Zelda was able to achieve her power and destroy the field of Guardians. Purah and Robbie then took me to the Shrine of Resurrection, where I lay for one hundred years before awakening. All this time, Princess Zelda was able to seal herself and Ganon in Hyrule Castle. I was eventually able to recover the Master Sword and free the Divine Beasts and your spirits trapped within them by destroying Ganon's mutations. Finally, Zelda and I finished Calamity Ganon's destruction in Hyrule Field. However, many parts of Hyrule were destroyed, and many lives were lost in the meantime. With this knowledge, and possibly an experimental process invented by Dr. Purah and Dr. Robbie to prevent losing control of the Divine Beasts, we can thwart Ganon's plans and save Hyrule."
Revali had been shifting in his seat all this time, looking away and smirking through most of Link's speech. Finally, sensing Link had come to a stopping point, he stood up and spoke.
"So, in the future you describe all of us Champions are going to be utter failures, and you alone emerge as the great hero! I don't believe this and have never heard such nonsense in my life! I, for one, would never be defeated, even by Ganon himself, let alone one of his minions. What proof do you have of this fairy tale?" Revali said and then stared at Link.
Link knew something like this was coming.
"It's difficult for me to prove this directly since what I am telling you hasn't happened yet from your perspective. So, I need to share information about something that has already occurred, and you know about it, but I couldn't know about it unless I came from the future. The other problem, which some of you may say sounds too convenient (at this, he glanced back at Revali), is that when I awoke from the Shrine of Resurrection, I had complete amnesia. I have been struggling ever since to recover my memories but am still missing most of them. So, the only thing we thought might help convince you is my knowledge of your diaries, or in Daruk's case, what he likes to call his training manual. As you know, the Link you knew would never have had a chance to read those documents, but I can quote some passages from them."
Link quoted a passage or two from each of their diaries. The room was quiet at first, and then Urbosa was the first to speak.
"Those are the very words I wrote, and I don't see how you could know that unless you are telling the truth. I, for one, believe you," said Urbosa.
Daruk agreed with her. Mipha lowered her head, looking somewhat sad and embarrassed. Then she quietly said, "I believe you as well."
Revali then spoke up again. "Well, you may be right about the other three, but I never wrote any of the things you mentioned, so someone has misrepresented me. However, I never placed a lot of confidence in those mechanical devices to defend us anyway, so I agree it would be wise to consider updating our plans."
"Alright," said Zelda. "It's getting late, and we need fresh minds. Let's adjourn our meeting until tomorrow morning."
Revali immediately left for his room, but Daruk and Urbosa came over to speak with Link. He said how happy he was to see them both again, but his mind was elsewhere. He kept glancing around the room as they spoke, unsuccessfully looking for Mipha. He needed to talk to her.
"Urbosa and Daruk, I'm sorry, I do want to speak with you further, but right now, I need to talk with Mipha if I can find her," said Link.
Urbosa smiled at him, saying, "Yes, that might be a good idea, Link. Especially after that diary revelation. Good luck!"
He went outside and finally found Mipha walking alone near one of the fountains in the courtyard. She looked up to see him but said nothing.
"Mipha, can I speak with you? I'm sorry I read your diary and embarrassed you. You have to understand that at the time that happened, you were gone, and I had lost almost all memory of you. In fact, much of my memory of our time together is still gone. I wanted to learn anything I could about you. Your father permitted me to read it and thought you would forgive me. I hope he was right."
"I'm embarrassed, but I'm sure I'll get over it. We all have bigger things to worry about right now. Anyway, that's not what's bothering me," Mipha said.
She paused for a moment and looked him in the eyes.
"My meeting a few days ago at Ruta was with you, wasn't it?" said Mipha.
"Yes," said Link. "I couldn't tell you then. I used a Timeshift Stone to travel back in time. At that point, we weren't sure Purah and Robbie could get the Temple of Time to work again, and using a Timeshift Stone was part of their research. I was forbidden to discuss anything about the future with you. The chance to be with you again after almost three years of having lost you meant everything to me. I'm sorry I couldn't be fully truthful with you about it."
"I sensed something was wrong," said Mipha. "My feelings are a little confused right now. I am in love with the Link I knew, but are you truly the same person? You don't even remember much of me or our time together. I need some time to deal with this."
"Mipha, I hope I am, or can come to be, the Link you love. But I can promise you that I am the Link who loves you," said Link. "My feelings for you are as strong as ever."
"I'm sorry, I need some time. Good night," said Mipha.
She walked off to return to her room at the Castle.
The next morning Mipha took Zelda aside before the meeting started.
"Princess?" said Mipha, "May I have a word?"
"Of course, Mipha," said Zelda.
"I don't know if this will help you access your power," said Mipha, "but I access mine by imagining I am saving a person I love. I have been shy about telling you this because, well, because the person I think about is Link. I thought perhaps we might be competing for Link's affections at one time, but I no longer feel that way."
"Thank you for telling me," said Zelda. "I know that wasn't easy for you. You know that Link and I are together so much, and I understand what you must have felt. I will try what you suggested."
Zelda concentrated and thought back to the time Link saved her from a Yiga Clan ambush. She was overcome with feelings for him then. She wasn't sure it was love exactly, but it was close enough. She could feel a power rising within her. She raised her right hand, and the golden image of the Triforce glowed clearly on the back of her palm. If she didn't stop, she would release a burst of energy. This was the power she had been praying for! She lowered her hand. Her power would work when needed.
"Thank you, Mipha," said Zelda. "You may have just saved us all."
The meeting resumed, and there was agreement that they should accept Link's information as accurate. Therefore the topic of today's discussion would be implementing a revised plan that did not count on controlling the Guardians and Divine Beasts upon Ganon's attack.
As a first step, the Sheikah staff would be ordered to deactivate and disable all the Guardians. While the original plan was to use the Guardians to defend against Ganon, it was too risky now to leave them in working order.
"That is a wise precaution," said Link. "But Ganon was able to control other Guardians that emerged from beneath Hyrule Castle, so we need to be aware of that risk as well."
Secondly, they would evacuate Hyrule Castle and the nearby area so Ganon would end up attacking an empty building.
The next step needed to happen quickly, but they would enter each Divine Beast and reprogram the main control unit using Dr. Purah's defense rune. Then they would leave the Divine Beast empty, and each Champion would wait nearby. Link would remain with the appointed Champion of one of the Divine Beasts. They chose Vah Ruta as the first one, which made Link happy since saving Mipha was his primary personal objective. They would then wait for Ganon's attack.
If the Champions saw that Purah's defense worked, then they could safely enter their Divine Beast and use it to destroy the creature Ganon had sent to occupy it. If Purah's defense did not work, then Link and Mipha would enter Vah Ruta and together take control of it. When they accomplished this, Mipha would remain with Vah Ruta. Link would then travel to the other three Divine Beasts as quickly as possible and repeat the process. Revali needed some convincing, but in the end, Zelda was firm, reminding him that her father had appointed her the leader of the Champions: if Purah's defense failed, no Champion was to enter their Divine Beast until Link arrived. In the meantime, Zelda would wait near Hyrule Castle to be ready when it was time to use her power to seal him. Once all the Divine Beasts were under their control, Link would join Zelda in confronting Ganon at Hyrule Castle. The Divine Beasts would aid in the attack from a distance. Then they would all finally put an end to Ganon.
The meeting adjourned, and everyone got busy. There was a lot to do and only four days to do it in.