A/N: Okay look I know I keep having long, obnoxious, annoying absences where I just vanish for months and no one knows why and you all trust me (thank you) to come back and stuff. No yeah actually that's it. That's what I do. See ya later. I'm here for like three chapters and then I sike outta here.
Twilight Princess Link's perspective.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Din's Fire
The Hero of Twilight had to admit that he kind of liked the Bottom of the Well. What he didn't like was having to force himself through two tunnels, jump onto two ledges, and transform back to his Hylian form so he could scramble up the bars and out of the well before his friend caught up with him. He would have stuck around in the dungeon and let the little Hero depart first, if it weren't for the fact that the creepy place wasn't exactly the kind of location he fancied a game of hide-and-seek.
Most of the dungeon had been fairly decent once the Hero of Time had decided to ally with him. Midna had snuck back to him via the fun-sized Hero's shadow, where she had apparently decided to spend her time since she had followed him down into the basement. She wouldn't admit she pursued him out of concern; apparently her excuse was that she went after him to see how dumb he looked sitting down there by himself. The results were dissatisfactory, she had decided. She did admit to helping him find his way out simply by staring at him from the distance, since her single visible eye wasn't menacing enough to scare him away.
"Unfortunately," she had told Link.
The pair had gotten into a squabble about her departure anyway, which ended with her throwing Link's acquired Small Key at his head to shut him up and leave her alone about her decisions. She only seemed to lose her sharp attitude when the Hero of Time chose to give Link's beast form a name.
"Did Snugglewugglecutiekins enjoy his time down in the well?" Midna asked, watching the Hero of Twilight aggravate a Cucco: his fake excuse that he had been in the village the entire time.
Link didn't answer her as he chased the bird in circles near the staircase leading to the Windmill. He remained just within sight of the well so he could see if his friend had followed him yet. Unfortunately, the little Hero seemed to have not pursued him. As much as the curiosity of what the runt was up to was eating away at him, he didn't dare go to investigate the well. Knowing his luck, the Hero of Time would choose that precise moment to climb out, and Link would have to pretend that the coincidental timing was just him thinking his friend was taking too long. While that was partially true—the other Hero was taking too long—Link wasn't supposed to know anything about that dungeon's size; he would have no way of knowing how long was "too long".
"Ignore me to your heart's content," Midna began, disturbing Link from planning his lies. "But I'm never going to stop calling you that name."
The Hero of Twilight frowned with displeasure and sighed through his nose. He slowed down his pursuit of the innocent Cucco, looking up at his shadow friend as she floated off to his left.
Seeing his irritation, Midna just grinned at him.
"It's not amusing enough to completely cease using my real name," Link told her in a low voice.
"Whatever you say, Cutiekins," Midna agreed, before giggling as he turned away from her disgustedly.
Link shot a glance at the well to make sure the Hero of Time was still down there somewhere. What was taking the shrimp so long?
"You know, it was super boring in that dungeon," Midna decided, yawning and stretching to emphasize her point. "I had to give up my mount for the other Link. I had to stay in both of your shadows. And then you fought that Dead Hand guy and I didn't even get to show him my hand."
"Well Midna, if you are ever interested in fighting bosses with Link and myself, you are more than invited." Link resumed following the Cucco, occasionally prodding it on with his sword.
"I'm just saying my hand is better," Midna responded. "I was tempted to crush you with it for your stupidity quite frequently, too."
"How considerate." Link glanced up at the well again, watching a small glowing orb flit out of the entrance. "Anything else before we stop talking for an indefinite amount of time?"
"Yes," Midna decided as she ducked into Link's shadow. "How does the wolf Cutiekins expect to get away with not being seven years younger?"
Link paled as he realized that she had a really good point. He pretended not to have noticed the green hat poking out from the entrance of the well as he turned around and resumed bothering the Cucco. Even so, his eyes were wide and his mind was racing as he realized the consequences for revealing his bestial form would be far more severe than the initial catastrophes it had caused while in the well.
"Link!" he heard the little Hero call out.
The Hero of Twilight froze. Time's up. He watched the Cucco scurry away from him to enjoy some peace once again. He tried to relax, despite being completely unprepared to scheme up a new lie to pass off his wolf form's presence.
The pair reached Link just as he managed to chase away his distress and face them, smiling innocently. Although he was expecting a pleasant greeting, an accusation, or an inquiry, the first thing his friend chose to do was whip out the Lantern and hold it out for him. Surprised, he received his tool and returned it to his inventory without a word, his mind racing as he tried to understand why the first thing on the Hero of Time's mind was a lantern. He almost preferred a complaint; it was easier to comprehend.
"How…how was your travel…?" Link asked tentatively, trying not to reveal how much he knew. He struggled to regain his poker face and control his voice, but managed to correct himself once again. "Did everything go well? You don't seem hurt."
"It was miserable!" the Hero of Time decided, his tone revealing that it was only slightly miserable. "I fell into a pit, fought a bunch of monsters and Redeads by myself, and even got separated from Navi."
"It was disastrous," Navi affirmed.
"Well I'm pleased to see you're both in good health," Link decided. That seemed like a safe sentence.
"Did anything happen here in our absence?" Navi inquired.
Link shook his head, recognizing immediately why she would ask such a thing: the wolf was going to come up soon. "I patrolled the well for a short while before I grew restless, so then I went and spoke to the residents of Kakariko. Since you still had not returned—" he gestured with his sword at the Cucco, "—I got up to mischief and annoyed this bird."
"Don't make them mad," the Hero of Time said with a hint of fear in his voice. However, before the conversation could be diverted to something more innocuous, he managed to redirect his hyperactive thoughts to the issue at hand. "When you were patrolling the well, did you see anything strange?"
"I wasn't near it for long, so no, I'm afraid not."
The Hero of Time exchanged glances with Navi before finally springing what Link had feared.
"We met the wolf again."
Link had to force himself to feign surprise. "All the way in the past?"
"Suspicious, I know," Navi agreed. "He tried to eat me."
"He…" That seemed to be news to the little Hero of Time, who rounded on his fairy. "He tried to eat you?!"
"To get my attention," she assured. "Anyway, so since we saw him again and you're the only one who knows anything about him, what can you tell us?"
Link racked his brain to think of something that wouldn't get him in trouble. "Not very much, actually. I only see him stalking the Ordon goats sometimes, or wandering through Castle Town. But seven years ago, I don't think I ever encountered him. Perhaps he prowled Kakariko before ever coming to my own village."
"How long do wolves live?" Navi asked.
"I have no idea," Link decided, probably too quickly to avoid raising a hint of suspicion. However, it was true; he didn't know anything about wolves. The golden wolf was the only one he had ever encountered, and that unfortunate beast was dead. The only other wolves he had met were Wolfos, and they were twice his size, making them a completely unknown and indeterminable age.
"Are you sure you don't know?" Navi asked.
"It's not as if I know the creature personally," Link argued.
"Earlier, you suggested that he was bothering us because he was following your scent," Navi reminded him. "This time, he found us first and completely ignored you. Do you know why?"
"Perhaps he wasn't hungry, and therefore didn't need to pursue my scent," Link offered.
Navi wasn't buying it. The Hero of Time didn't seem to be either.
"I can't pretend to know why the wolf behaves in such a strange manner. I can only provide hypotheses."
"You know, you're never around when he is," the Hero of Time recognized.
I wish we could be, Link thought as he said, "What does that have to do with anything? Do you honestly still want to call me a wolf in disguise?"
"He kind of acted like you," Navi suggested.
"He was cuter though," the Hero of Time added. "And more helpful."
"Thanks," Link said flatly, before he proceeded with, "So I could most certainly be a wolf because he and I are never present together, but if I'm a wolf, I'm more useful than myself."
"Do you have proof that you are not the same? That wolf shows up wherever we go, and you're always absent when he shows up," Navi said.
"You know who else follows you around wherever you go and is never present when the wolf is?" Link began. "Sheik. I bet he's the wolf."
It was a slightly offhanded comment, but Link almost thought he saw a look of contemplation flash across his friend's expression, mirrored by Navi's silence. Perhaps they were both starting to realize that, with their logic, anyone who wasn't present could be the wolf. Maybe now they would finally stop believing Hylians could be wolves and allow Link to peacefully continue questing, without having to explain himself.
Unfortunately, it looked like the game of Guess-the-wolf would continue a little while longer.
"His eyes are red, and yours are blue," the Hero of Time explained.
"Very unfortunate," Link decided. "But beside the point. I am not the wolf. I don't know anything about him."
"Are you certain?" Navi asked, adopting that familiar accusatory tone that indicated she was about to provide a slew of evidence on why Link was wrong about that. "If you're not the wolf, why does he act like you? Why does he have a health meter? If he's supposedly a few steps behind you because he's scavenging for food, why was he ahead of you and wandering in dungeon with no food in it? Why was he looking after Link?"
Link was about to be short with her and just tell her that he didn't know, but she cut him off with the exact sentence he was dreading.
"And why is it that he and you are the only ones who haven't gotten seven years younger?"
The Hero of Twilight stared blankly for a few seconds, trying to come up with an answer, but all his mind supplied was, "The wolf is the same age now as he was in the future?"
"Don't act surprised," Navi told him. "You knew that, I know you knew that."
Link looked to the Hero of Time, searching for some sort of understanding from his friend that would help him get out of this. Surely the other Hero wasn't going to completely side with Navi. They had already been through the discussion, again and again, and Link had managed to keep it quelled without raising a horribly unbearable level of suspicion. But as usual, the new evidences had to make life difficult.
"Now that she mentions it," the Hero of Time began. "The wolf really is the same age now as he is in the future."
"Is that not how all monsters are?" Link shot back, thinking quickly. "Show me a young Keese. Show me a young Wolfos."
"Animals are different," Navi argued. "Just look at Epona!"
"But the cows are all adults!" Link retorted. "Now and seven years later, those cows are the same. We are not aware of the lifespan of wolves, so how can you reason that he hasn't aged?"
"You become incredibly defensive on this topic, Link," the Hero of Time noted quietly.
Link turned to him and stated in his most professional and collected tone, "I am an adventurer—a Hero—not a monster." He would have continued, but the look on his friend's face made him decide against it.
The Hero of Time and his fairy seemed to consider his statement. It appeared that they had recognized a meaning behind his words that Link hadn't fully intentionally conveyed: to call him the wolf would mean that he was but a mere animal, a beast who had no business as a Hero. If he really was the wolf, he would no longer be able to quest with them, because he would no longer be a companion. He would simply be a monster.
Which was exactly why he could never let them learn that he was.
The Hero of Time whirled around and began to march to the entrance of Kakariko Village, an action that surprised both his fairy and Link. The Hero of Twilight hesitantly followed after him with a surprised expression, only to correct his countenance as Navi flitted past and returned to her Hylian's shoulder.
Is it over? Link wondered, risking a glance at his shadow to see if Midna had finally mastered telepathy so they could discuss this new and sudden development. She seemed to still be working on it, because he heard and saw nothing from his shadow.
The accusation had apparently reached a temporary conclusion, because the adventurers remained in uncomfortable silence all the way down the steps exiting Kakariko Village, before the little Hero finally initiated conversation again.
"I have a theory that the wolf is actually interested in following me, rather than you."
Link looked over at him, not daring to interject in case he might reinitiate the more dangerous discussion on the beast.
"He's chased me everywhere," the younger Hylian supported. "He guided me and fended off monsters for me. I think he may have started off by following you for your smell, but along the way he decided he wasn't interested in food. So now he pursues me instead."
"Are you okay with him accompanying you?"
"I like him a lot," the Hero of Time answered enthusiastically. "I named him something amazing. I bet you'll never guess."
Link almost grunted in distaste about his title, before realizing that that would be a bad decision and immediately correcting it to a cough. "Is it a fitting name?"
"Oh definitely," Navi agreed. "Link is a master at naming things."
It appeared the harsher element of the discussion had been suppressed once again. Although the Hero of Twilight was pleased with this development, he had a feeling that the implications of his statement were going to be costly eventually. He decided he would worry about them later.
"Let's hear this fitting name then," Link decided, knowing that he was going to regret ever having to deal with the title again.
"Snugglewugglecutiekins," the Hero of Time declared proudly. "The biggest and most fearsome wolf in all of Hyrule!"
Link allowed himself to finally display the irritation that the name had filled him with when he first had been cursed with its knowledge. He made the most disapproving expression he could possibly conceptualize, which unfortunately only made the little Hero snicker evilly. The kid had no shame.
"You were presented with the opportunity to name a magnificent and imposing creature, and that is what you chose?" Link inquired in a biting tone.
"Absolutely!" the little Hero responded.
"What about giving it a name that you would want? What if you were a wolf? What would you like to be called?"
"Oh I would name myself something better for sure."
Navi seemed interested in hearing this one, a sentiment which Link was very distinctly displaying as well, in the hope of coaxing it out of the little Hero.
In a very mischievous tone, the Hylian Hero finally provided, "King Sir Angelfloof III."
While Link was about to express that that was even more ridiculous than the last title, Navi had the audacity to ask who King Sir Angelfloof I and II had been. The predecessors were apparently shrouded in such mystery that the little Link could never tell anyone, which just sounded to the Hero of Twilight like he didn't know. However, the conversation somehow managed to drag on until they reached Castle Town once again.
It was only as they passed the stairs that would lead them to the entrance of the Temple of Time that some part of Link remembered that they were there to find Din's Fire, rather than to just return to the future. He accompanied the younger Hero down a different path, beyond which lay a giant castle looming in the distance. He found it a little strange that they would need to visit Hyrule Castle in order to find the Great Fairy; couldn't they just go back to Death Mountain Crater and learn it there?
Because life could never be simple, the pair instead had to climb up a wall of ivy to their right and run along a wide natural path in the side of a steep hill, only to jump down on the other side of a guarded gate. The soldier was either completely deaf to both of them noisily hitting the ground or he couldn't be bother to care, because he made no motion to stop either of the conspicuous sneaks as they stole across a wide path in plain sight. Although the road led all the way to what seemed to be the entrance of Hyrule Castle, the little Hero steered Link towards a branching path to the right.
They were greeted by a natural wall webbed with cracks and bearing a massive hole, big enough for the Hero of Twilight to fit through even with his human form. He wasn't too keen on the idea of meeting another one of the shrieking Great Fairies, especially when he had to crawl through a tunnel to access them. Why were all these Great Fairies hiding in secret passages and holes in the first place?
As if I can complain, Link thought with a chuckle as he crawled through the tunnel. I live in a treehouse. He got to his feet and began to march through a wide room of white bricks. He heard the Hero of Time crawl through the tunnel behind him as he scanned the environment. This place looked exactly like the last Fairy's Fountain, except that the fiery braziers burned green, yet their light was reflected red by the waterfalls glistening on the walls.
"Do you want to play Zelda's Lullaby, or should I?" the little Hero inquired as the pair approached the pool of water at the far end of the room.
Link retrieved his borrowed Ocarina from his inventory, thinking back on the melody he had heard his friend play in front of the stone door in Goron City. He had hummed it back then, already knowing the tune by heart because he had howled it in the Sacred Grove.
It felt like so long ago since Link had seen his own time. He had only completed two dungeons out of Sheik's projected five; he still had a long way to go before he could complete his own quest. But at least now the topic of his wolf form had been abandoned. As long as that remained unmentioned, he might actually complete the whole quest and return to his own time without much of a hassle.
Just be a touch more careful, Link told himself as he played the melody apparently referred to as Zelda's Lullaby. I actually enjoy adventuring here. I would hate to never be able to finish saving Hyrule from Ganondorf's clutches with the other Link.
A condescending giggle distracted the Hero of Twilight from his thoughts; the accompanying shrieking laugh as the Great Fairy exited her Fountain disposed of them entirely.
"Welcome Link!" she called out to no specific Link in particular. "I am the Great Fairy of Magic!"
Link said nothing. The Hero of Time beside him just waved at her enthusiastically.
"I will give you a magic spell. Please take it." Straight to the point, how delightful.
The Hero of Twilight almost thought she blew a kiss, but he couldn't be entirely sure. He was too focused on the red light glowing brilliantly between her hands as she reached out in front of her. The world around him flashed with a blinding white, and he felt something glassy in his hands. He found himself holding a diamond-shaped transparent crystal, a sphere of fire burning hotly within it.
I got Din's Fire! Link thought with excitement. Its fireball engulfs everything! Finally I can get my revenge on Link for setting me on fire with it.
"You can use Din's Fire not only to attack but also to burn things!" the Great Fairy explained, as if Link was unaware of the surprising reality that fire burned stuff. "When battle has made you weary, come back to see me." With a final cackle, she raised her arms above her head, spun in a circle, and disappeared back into the pool she had come from.
"Thank you," Link told her, knowing that she could probably still hear him even after the departure of her physical presence.
"Why are you thanking her now? She's gone," the Hero of Time stated plainly. He turned back to the entrance, ready to leave.
"She was still speaking earlier; it's rude to interrupt," Link explained as he followed his friend back through the tunnel and into the light of day once again. He squinted in an attempt to adjust his eyes to the sunlight, before pursuing the little Hero to the guarded gate they had snuck over on their way in.
"No, what's rude is that she never addressed me at all. I was standing right there," the Hero of Time said under his breath as he ascended the ladder mounted to the wall of the gate.
"Did you want to get Din's Fire a second time?" Link inquired, climbing up behind him before leaping off the bricks in pursuit of the kid without a second thought.
All the intelligence in Hyrule that the two possessed, yet they had apparently lost all of it at that moment. They landed in front of the guard.
Link was prepared to sprint as fast as he could and roll right out of there, dragging his friend the whole way if necessary. However, the Hero of Time didn't even bat an eye as he continued his stroll back down the path, not even giving a backward glance at the soldier to whom they had just outed themselves.
"I absolutely wanted a second Din's Fire; who wouldn't want to cause double the explosions?" the little Hero said, continuing the conversation as if nothing had happened. Nothing fazed him.
Link was staring at the soldier with a bewildered expression as he walked behind his friend, absolutely stupefied that they were not being pursued. They had just broken into the guarded entrance, and then meandered back out. For all the guard knew, they could have just smuggled out the best loot in all of Hyrule. Why wasn't he chasing them?
"They don't care," the Hero of Time explained, having glanced at Link to see why he wasn't responding and noticing that he was preoccupied with the soldier. "I was in the courtyard leading to the place where Zelda was, and every time they caught me, they just tossed me right back outside the door. They didn't care that I had already snuck in the front gate. They didn't care that I strolled past the second gate. They just tossed me out the third and called it a day. That guard right there will let me bribe him for ten Rupees to open the gate."
The soldiers in Old Hyrule are even more incompetent than the soldiers in my Hyrule, Link thought, shaking his head. And I've shamelessly spent a significant amount of time terrorizing the cowards in mine. I'm no longer surprised about the total absence of militia seven years from now.
"So now shall we return to the Temple of Time?" Navi asked them.
"Definitely!" the little Hero replied, springing down the path and darting up the stairs to the Temple. His fairy decided to land on his shoulder and allow him to carry her the whole way, all too familiar with the boundless energy he possessed and recognizing that it would be a waste of her own to chase him.
Link sprinted after them, still relishing the fact that he was slightly faster than his friend. He shot up the stairs leading into the Temple and passed the Hero of Time, racing across the red carpet with the smaller Hero yelling after him, "Snugglewugglecutiekins is faster!"
Duly noted that although I cannot be better than myself, I can definitely be faster than myself, Link thought as he slid to a halt at the steps leading up to the Master Sword. The other Hero entered only a few seconds later, not even panting but instead marching proudly over to the steps.
"Why do you look so smug? I won," Link told him.
The Hero of Time strutted wordlessly up the stairs, still looking extremely pleased with himself. He didn't break eye contact with Link as he reached out and touched the handle of his weapon.
"I reached base first."
Link shot him a dirty look before adopting his own mischievous expression. He pulled out his own Master Sword and spun it on his fingers. "Pfft, please. You have to run to base? I carry mine with me wherever I go."
"It's only base when it's in the Pedestal of Time," the little Hero explained, his hand still resting on the pommel of his sword.
"You're making up rules at your own convenience," Link snorted, walking up the steps and joining the other Hero.
"He made up the rule that it was base in the first place and you went with it," Navi commented. "You could have said base was the stairs."
Link just snorted. "Disregarding such, are we ready?"
The Hero of Time nodded. He stepped onto the pedestal, locking his hands around the handle of his weapon and lifting it free.
The Triforce began to glow a familiar blue, and light erupted around the Pedestal, racing into the sky just as it had before. The world flashed with white, before slowly fading to a total black.
Link opened his eyes, unsure of when he had closed them. He looked to the pedestal, spotting the Hero of Time standing there with the Master Sword held high. His friend cast a glance at the weapon and swung it to the side as he raised his Hylian Shield.
He turned to Link, a confident look in his eyes as the two now stood at almost the same height. He had regained his adult body once again, and Link couldn't help but consider how much his friend truly did look like a Hero.
The Hero of Time turned back to the entrance of the Temple.
"Let's go save Hyrule."
. . . . .
A/N: I mean, technically TP Link could claim that there's no wolf at all, and that the Hero of Time is making it all up, just to turn the tables on things. It kinda makes me feel bad that I have to craft these intricate lies for him, as I don't picture him as a liar. But there is a segment of dialogue in Twilight Princess where, if you talk to a specific Cucco while you're meandering through Ordon to steal the sword and shield, it says, "Whoa, you stink like the guy from the ranch! You didn't...EAT him did you? Huh, you're friends?" And that's such a strange conclusion to reach that it makes me think that Link actually suggested that his wolf form is friends with his human form. So I'm not sure of the extent to which he would fabricate a lie to protect his secret.
12-9-2020. I haven't forgotten this fanfiction exists. I do intend to come back to it, I've meant for months to write the next chapter. But I guess because I was dissatisfied with the way I wrote this one, I haven't been able to come back because I want to reread everything so I can make all the chapters match tonally (because long absences makes it easy to forget the tone, and so then my chapters look messy and poorly connected). I got up to like, chapter five or something, a couple of months back, but then got busy with work tasks, and have to reread everything all over again. I just wanted to let anyone who sees this know, this is not discontinued, I really do want to come back. Sorry for the long wait. I hope you're all doing well in the meantime. I'll try and get back to this when I can.
