Disclaimer: Zelda and all characters are property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo. Although...if I did have the Triforce with me, I'd change that little fact, heh.

Time

Link wasn't sure what to expect when he had arrived at what the King of Red Lions had claimed was Hyrule Castle. The place was out in the middle of nowhere, and stormy weather surrounded it at all times. What was even worse was that after he had gone through that wild goose chase to get the three pearls of the Goddesses, he then had to fight some floating relic called Gohdan in order to prove his worth as the Hero of Winds, or whatever title he was being given.

After descending down into the ancient castle, which was underwater, Link found himself in a central hall with hordes of various enemies. The strange thing was that they seemed to be frozen in place, and solid as rock, like statues.

Link had managed to find the secret passageway to the basement where he believed the 'Blade of Evil's Bane' was supposedly being held. Link reached the end of the stairs, and was surprised with what he saw.

The small chamber gave Link a rather peaceful feeling. It felt almost nostalgic, really. Continuing towards the center of the chamber, he saw what he had been searching for; the Master Sword.

Link walked to the legendary blade that supposedly defeated the Great King of Evil ages ago, and held it firm in his hands. It...didn't feel much different from a normal sword. Maybe a bit larger, sure, but he wasn't sure what made this blade so special. However, the King of Red Lions has said that the sword was the only way to defeat Ganondorf once more.

Link gripped the handle of the sword, and gave it a might heave, surprised by how little resistance it actually gave as he pulled it out from the pedestal. He held it in the air, watching the light shine on it from the stained windows in the chamber.

Link tested the sword out, swinging it a few times and smiling. He could feel it now; this blade was much greater than he had first perceived. He spun it around once more before putting it in his sheath. He turned around to head back up to the surface and speak with the King of Red Lions when he stopped upon seeing a figure standing before him.

"Yah!!!" the young Hero cried out, stumbling back and reaching for his blade. He held his weapon and shield at ready, watching the unknown figure as they stood before him.

"Whoa, easy there kid, I'm not the enemy here." spoke the voice, which was definitely male. The light made him a silhouette to Link, so his face remained hidden. The figure walked down the steps, and spoke calmly, "So...the Master Sword has been removed, huh?"

For some reason or another, Link felt that he could trust this person, whoever they were, "Yes. I have to stop some evil king or whatever before he tries to take over the Great Sea."

The person gave a sigh before stepping out of the light that obscured his appearance, and Link gasped a bit as he saw the man standing before him, "I figured that bastard was going to come back someday..."

Link took a step back, his knees feeling weak. This...person, he suddenly noticed something. This man was almost transparent...almost. Link held his blade out again, looking at the newcomer with wary eyes.

The taller man looked at Link before looking at himself and noticing the boy's trouble, "Oh, heh, sorry about that. Kind of a side-effect of being a spirit. Like I said, I'm not going to harm you."

Link decided he could risk trusting this man, or spirit, or whatever he was, and again put his sword away, "A spirit? Of what?"

The man face split into a grin, "The Spirit of Courage, to be exact." The man's features became more visible as he approached Link. He wore a tunic that spoke of a time long ago. His boots looked worn, and his hair was long and untamed. The funny thing was, Link felt like he was looking at an older version of himself, "You're the next Hero of Time, I'm assuming."

Then it clicked. Link's eyes went wide, and he spoke in a quiet voice, "Y-you're..."

The spirit gave a nod, "Yeah, the first Hero of Time."

Link felt his heartbeat quicken. He was standing before a legend! A man who could take down the Evil King! Wait...wasn't the Hero of Time a boy though?

"I thought the Hero of Time was a boy...not a man."

The older, deceased Link gave a chuckle, "The stories really are losing their truth, aren't they? The reality is that I actually was asleep in the Sacred Realm for almost seven years before I awoke to defeat Ganondorf. I had to go through hell and high water to gather enough power from the seven sages," Link made a gesture to the windows with images of said sages, "and then I had to fight the so called 'Great King of Evil' in his tower. Not only that, but after I thought I beat him, he went and used the Triforce of Power to become a beast of sorts."

The younger hero blinked in awe, "I...I was told that after you defeated him that you left Hyrule, and when Ganondorf broke free and attacked Hyrule, you never returned. Why?"

The dead Hero sighed, "I left Hyrule. Went to look for a friend I lost. I kind of got lost after I saved some parallel world called Termina. I...I returned to Hyrule once, but left after realizing that things weren't the same."

"Weren't the same?" Link repeated, "What do you mean?"

The dead Hero of Time gave a laugh, "After I defeated Ganondorf, Princess Zelda, the Princess of Destiny, sent me back to my original time seven years ago. She blamed herself for taking away those seven years of my life that she believed were a crucial part I should not have missed..." Link gave the original Hero of Time a confused look, and the older Link decided to clarify, "Zelda and I were in love, I guess you could say. The moment after I came back to my own time, a friend I had been with all that time left. She was a fairy named Navi, and she told me her destiny was fulfilled...something like that. I think she was sad about something...I'm not sure, but she left. I wanted her to stay, but Hylians aren't meant to be with fairies. I was an exception."

"What happened then?"

The spirit of Link nodded, "Heh, right, sorry about that. I guess I haven't spoken to anyone in a long time. Well, after Navi left, I tried to find some way to continue my life after living seven years that never happened. I went to Zelda, and...she recognized me right off the bat. It's funny, really. She always was smarter than she should be for her age, but after the alternate timeline was saved...well, she looked like she had lived a lifetime, much like I did. We talked, and I offered to become one of her knights, servants, anything so I could be with her."

"It didn't work out, did it?"

The dead Hero gave a bittersweet smile, "Nope...well, actually, it never happened. Zelda wanted to be with me, believe me. Unfortunately, she had been told by the sages that if we were ever united together, we'd seal Hyrule with a doomed fate. I left after that, telling Zelda maybe I'd see her again. She knew that would never happen though. She gave me her Ocarina of Time, telling me to remember her with it."

Link gave a frown as he watched the spirit sit on a downed pillar, "So...was that the reason you never came back to Hyrule?"

"Partly, yes. The other reason was because I died. I was around the age you see me at, and I died because some damn band of Moblins managed to catch me off guard and killed me. I took down almost all of them though, I can say that much." He looked to the younger incarnation of the Hero of Time, and grinned, "Pretty embarrassing way for a legend to die, huh?"

The younger Link shook his head, "I don't think any less of you."

The former Hero gave Link an amused grin, "Really?"

"No, I think you were a great hero. My grandma used to tell me and my sister stories she heard about you long time ago."

The spirit laughed, "Well, in all honesty, it's only been one-hundred years since all that happened."

Link gave a nod to the spirit, "So...why are you here?"

The deceased Link nodded, "Right. Truth is, I'm a messenger of Farore as well. She wanted me to tell you something."

Link was yet again wide-eyed and shocked, "F-Farore? You mean the Farore?!"

"Yep, and don't feel so scared about it. She took a special interest in you, after all. She tends to favor those she chooses as her avatar in this world. Just like she did me, hence me being her messenger."

Link was at full attention, "What does she want of me?"

The older Link stooped down to the younger hero's level, and placed either of his ghostly hands on the boy's shoulders, "Have faith in your self. Don't fear what comes before you, and trust in your abilities."

"Is that all?" Link felt bad about being disappointed; he knew that anything from one of the three goddesses was always something to take with the highest degree of respect, yet he had been expecting maybe some words that would lead him to help defeat Ganondorf, or maybe how to restore Hyrule.

The spirit laughed, "Heheheh, pretty much. She's a rather free-spirited one, and loves all life. She knows you're smart enough to do what is right, but wanted me to tell you that anyway."

Link gave the former Hero a nod, "Alright. I'll do as she asks."

The Spirit of Courage nodded as he stood up, "Well, you better get going. Remember now, you're the representation of Farore. Courage is your weapon."

Link gave a grin to the former hero, and started towards the steps. Right before he began up the steps, he turned towards the place where the deceased Hero of Time was, only to find the place empty. Link blinked several times, and gave a small grin before heading upwards.

As he reached the castle's main hall, he was met with the enemies that had been frozen before, now moving around and fully alert. He pulled out his new blade and shield when the armored foes approached him. Link was heavily outnumbered, but he felt something stir within him.

"Don't worry kid, you're the Hero now. You know what to do."

Link gave a nod to the deceased Hero's voice, and with a battle cry, charged towards his foes, a new sense of determination rising up within him.

A/N- Well, it's been awhile since I put any new chapters on this little miniseries, but I figured it was about time. This idea's been swimming in my head for close to a year and a half now, but I just never got around to doing it, heh. I always thought it would have been neat if one of the Link's from one of the games met the original Hero of Time. It'd be interesting to see how they would have reacted their similarities, that's for sure, heh. Anyway, thanks for reading!