ALERT: MAJOR CANON DEVIATION AHEAD. THE CHARACTER INVOLVED PROBABLY DID SOMETHING SIMILAR, BUT AN ALTERNATE "WHAT IF" SCENARIO VERSION MIGHT HAVE DONE THE SAME THING. THAT'S... THAT'S MY THING.

Beacon

The day had arrived: the first day of most classes. Not for Link, though. Combat classes were a week away. Why, then, was the avid hater of mornings awake at 6:00 AM, walking to Ozpin's tower while sipping on coffee? The answer was simple: he had to prepare. The first thing on the itinerary was to compile a list of the best and worst students of the first year. The other years had been done, so he only had one to worry about. He had done that last night, though, so all he had to do was submit it for review.

The second item on Link's to-do list was to submit a special request. He wanted the worst students in the class to have mandatory one-on-one time with a professor, hopefully getting them to a point where they no longer needed that extra help. While the idea came from altruism, he really wanted to get partnered with Jaune. Regular time with him would be hard to come by otherwise.

Upon arriving in Ozpin's room, Link found it empty. Rather than do some snooping, Link decided to patiently wait. Breaching trust so early would be a bad move, and besides, his computer would likely be password protected. Therefore, searching would be all risk, no reward.

Half an hour later, Ozpin arrived to see Link sitting in a chair waiting for him. He sipped his coffee and walked to his chair. "So," he said, sitting down, "What brings you here, Professor Hyrule?"

"I have completed the lists that you have asked for," said Link, handing them to Ozpin. "I also have a request."

"Go on," prompted the headmaster.

"I suggest that the worst students in the class receive one-on-one time with a professor to improve their standing," stated Link. "It will eventually improve their standing to the point where they no longer need the extra help, allowing us to move on to other students. One day, they may even stand with the best students as equals."

Ozpin seemed to consider the offer. He checked his computer to see what Link had done in his office and found half an hour's worth of footage of Link just sitting there, sipping coffee. Presented with no breach of trust and a logical idea, Ozpin really had only one option.

"Okay," answered the headmaster. "I will notify the other professors and let them know their assignments. In the meantime, since nobody else will take him seriously, I trust you will not object to Jaune."

"I have no objections," said Link, smiling a little. "Thank you for listening."

And with that, he left to construct a lesson plan.

Later

Link stood in his classroom, staring down his student. Jaune was wildly rushing in, paying no attention to Link's words. Inevitably, Jaune's Aura hit red, prompting a break from the one-on-one training session. Since training against him wasn't working, he decided to switch to a dummy. The catch? He would block every strike with bad form.

"Are you sure that didn't count?" groaned the blond, tired of relentless attacks being blocked.

"I am sure. You must not strike so wildly, or you will be punished for it. Now, again!" Jaune began to swing, but Link said, "Stop! Now move your arms like this..." He moved Jaune's body as he spoke. "Legs go here... now, continue!"

Jaune swung, but Link made no move to stop him. Rather, he let Jaune swing with his good form all the way through. When Jaune stopped, Link said, "Good. Now, keep going."

And so, the hour went, with Link often correcting his student's form. It was clear, however, that the boy was improving. Eventually, though, they had to stop and sleep.

Unfortunately, it was not to be a restful night for one of them.

Wind Fish's Egg

Link stood in the depths of the dream world, groaning. If his dream was here, it was going to be a long night. From his experience, he would have one of two nightmares. Either he would defeat the nightmare and witness the destruction of Koholint, seeing everyone scream in terror before they were wiped from existence, or he would surrender, seeing visions of Ganon or, more recently, Yuga, destroying Hyrule. Either way, he would wake around midnight, screaming and in tears.

You see, a long time ago, when Link was young, he had slain Ganon and botched his resurrection, only to slay him again. That's the part everyone in Hyrule knew. What he hadn't told anyone was what he did on his third quest. In fact, he hadn't told anyone he went on it. Why? Because he had destroyed a world to do it.

The Past

Once upon a time, a great hero, The Hero of Legend, sailed the seas. He was young, but he had seen much. Knowing of the great evils in the world, he sought to help people by shortening the list. His first challenge, the one that made him a hero, had proven he was strong - strong enough to start at the top of his list of evil beings.

So, upon the seas he sailed, headed for that evil. While a powerful foe, they did not possess ultimate power, and thus, they would never hold a candle to Ganon. Eventually, though, the seas grew stormy, and while he certainly could swim from the middle of the ocean to home, he did not want to. As he tried to keep control of his ship, he saw a flash of white before the world turned dark. He had survived a strike of lightning, but it had put him out cold.

Mabe Village was the place he awoke. In a bed, he bolted upright, remembering what had happened. As he reached into his pouch, he found... nothing. His pouch of holding was empty! None of his stuff was there! He looked upon himself and saw an even stranger sight. He was in his green mail. That wasn't even on his ship! He was concerned he had fallen into a parallel reality... again. He was given a strange shield that somehow bore his name and was pointed toward the beach where he had arrived on Koholint Island, where his sword still lay.

Upon reaching the beach, he expected to find a sword, but not his sword. Yet, laying there in the sand was the Golden Sword. He picked up his trusty blade, recalling his former adventures with it. He was interrupted from his musings, however, when a nearby owl spoke.

The owl said that Link had arrived to wake the Wind Fish, the deity of the island. According to him, it would be impossible to leave without doing so. He directed Link to the first Instrument of the Sirens, the Full Moon Cello, and flew off.

Within the Tail Cave, Link found Roc's Feather, and upon slaying Moldorm for the third time, he was rewarded with his prize. And so it went, with the owl guiding Link to the labyrinths and Link venturing through them to find the relics and his gear. That is, until he found the key to the Face Shrine, for behind it was a mural depicting the true nature of this place.

Koholint was a dream world created by the Wind Fish, and only by waking him and destroying the island could one escape. What was just as bad, though, was the true nature of the monsters of this place. Rather than the soulless constructs he had faced in the past, these monsters were truly alive in every sense of the word. They knew the true nature of this place and simply sought to defend their home.

Link was devastated. His purpose in life was to defend the innocent from those who would spill their blood, not do it himself! Worse still, he now had to make a choice. Did he save Koholint, letting his body and the Golden Sword sink to the bottom of the ocean, thus dooming all of Hyrule? Or did he wake the Wind Fish, return to the real world, and keep it safe, dooming Koholint? He sat by the mural for hours, grappling with his decision. Eventually, his choice made, he set off for the Face Shrine.

Upon leaving the eighth labyrinth, Turtle Rock, Link took one final moment to reflect. This was it. He either ventured to the Wind Fish and woke him, or he returned the instruments. He was truly distraught over this. After all, he had realized something. Koholint held his literal dream girl, Marin. She was an adventurous girl, whose wish was to leave the island and see what lay beyond. She would never have been able to, but she still dreamed. Unfortunately for her, Link made his decision once more.

He woke the Wind Fish, slaying the nightmare that kept him asleep...

And woke on a piece of driftwood, the only one to remember the events that had transpired.

And his memory would be ensured by the nightmares that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Now

Link stared at the all-too-familiar scene before him, as the True Nightmare formed. What would his choice be this time? He sighed, put down his weapons, and sat down, waiting for the inevitable. He was tired of fighting. After all, he had failed the island not once, but twice.

The Past

Once Link had arrived at his destination and slain the first foe on his list, Bellum, he didn't head to the next. Instead, he spoke to the one he had saved, the Ocean King.

"Oh, great Ocean King," he said, "I have made a grave error. As a result, an island full of innocents was wiped from existence. Please, tell me, is there any way to correct my mistake?" He was not asking, but begging.

Seeing the despair in his eyes, the Ocean King decided to tell Link a secret lost to the ages. "Yes, there is," he said. Link listened well, for he would need this knowledge to restore Koholint.

And so, Link learned of Force, a power which manifested as gratitude crystals, the Sand of Hours, and Force Gems. It was concentrated life energy, and it was given off during times of intense gratitude and joy. The largest, most concentrated store of this power was one Link knew well. It was the Triforce.

In large enough quantities, it could power magic, summon constructs, or even grant wishes! The only problem was scale. Link would need a small hill's size in gratitude crystals to grant his wish.

Link returned to his list, seeing it as not only a way to help others, but also as a way to generate Force. He saved a lot of lives, generating a lot of crystals. His store grew. He learned to teach and helped the Hyrulean Royal Guard train. His store grew further. He combed the fields at night, collecting the crystals overlooked by those who generated them. His store grew ever more.

One day, though, he grew old. Too old to hunt for more. He offered money and favors for the crystals instead, being rich from his adventures. Eventually, he found his successor, and trained him in return for the crystals Mother Maiamai had given him. In the end, his store was... not enough. He got so close, but death came for everyone in the end. He died about 60 crystals away from what he needed. And so, Koholint would forever be gone, with no trace left behind, not even a single memory.

Now

"Surrendering tonight, hmm?" spoke the Nightmare. "Well, that certainly makes my job easier." His shadowy arms reached for the hero, enveloping him in darkness...

...and giving him visions of a Hyrule where Yuga was unopposed, stealing the full Triforce, and bending both Hyrule and Lorule to his will.

Beacon

Screaming and in tears, Link bolted upright. He checked his scroll, which told him that it was 12:30 a.m. Knowing that he wouldn't be getting any more sleep, he decided to grab some coffee and take a walk.

Pretty soon, Link reached the balcony. According to Professor Port, he and Weiss had spoken here, since she was clearly upset about not being team leader. He had given her some advice, which she thanked him for, before she left. Link doubted that she was being sincere. At least, he doubted it until now, because sitting on the ground was a cluster of 5 gratitude crystals. She must have been incredibly grateful to produce these. He picked up the crystals and headed back to his room, ready to try collecting them again. He figured that a second chance at life should have some personal value to him.

Upon returning to his room, he sighed. He would have to check his store of Force if he wanted to know how far away he was from success. He opened a window for some fresh air, turned to his pouch of Force, and furrowed his brow. Either he had forgotten how to sense Force, or...

Gasping in realization, he opened the pouch. A tiny amount of Sand of Hours was carried away by the breeze, but Link didn't notice or care. He dropped Weiss's crystals into the bag, along with the five he had produced. Why did he produce them? Well, he had been given everything he gathered over his past life, whether it was his favorite items, ones he rarely used...

Or even his supply of Force, now 50 crystals away from success.

He was crying again, but these were not tears of sorrow. They were tears of joy. Getting 50 crystals wasn't just possible, it was easy, especially now that he had a whole life ahead of him. It would take a week at most. He shut his window and left his room, knowing that he wouldn't be getting any more sleep. Instead, he went to the library. He wanted to find a good place to put Koholint, so he would study maps and ask Doctor Oobleck about where an undiscovered island might be located. Yes, things were looking up!

Emerald Forest

Sand of Hours. Within, lies the essence of the being it came from, be it man or monster. Little did he know, but Link had just released the essence of two terrible evils onto the world. Falling into a Grimm Pool, they would soon be free to wreak their havoc upon the lands of Remnant.