I brought Falco to the infirmary, and he recovered from there. He seemed to be fine: his wrists were healing, leaving a few scars on them, his feathers were growing back, and almost all of the areas where he was beaten were healed. Besides a few broken ribs, he was back to normal…

Except for his personality. He hadn't been the same after the incident. He now had low self-esteem and he also had low confidence about himself. Whenever he screwed up, he began to beat himself up emotionally, saying that he's not good enough. He also hadn't been training lately; he's usually enthusiastic about it, but now…he just doesn't want to. He also began to grow more irritated and hateful: he even yelled at Nana and Popo, when normally he was like a father figure to them. All of us were worried about him...me especially. I wanted the old Falco back...but I don't know how to get him back.

I decided to talk about Falco's condition with Dr. Mario. I went to the infirmary, where he was putting some medicine in order.

"Hey Dr. Mario," I greeted.

The doctor stopped what he was doing and he looked at me and smiled. "Hello, Link. How-a are you today?"

"I just wanted to talk to you about Falco."

Dr. Mario perked up. "Ah, Falco…is-a something wrong with-a him?"

I nodded. "He's been acting strange after what happened a week ago. He's been angrier; he had low self-esteem and confidence and he no longer trains…"

Dr. Mario nodded to every word I said, and he wrote it down. Looking at his notes, he said, "Hmm…it seemed that he has post-traumatic stress disorder."

"Wait, what?"

"Post-traumatic stress disorder. His anger and the fact that he's no longer interested in training are signs that he has it. As for the self-esteem and confidence problem…you did say that his captors called him weak and a wuss, right?"

I nodded.

"Maybe during the torture, they began to emotionally beat him down when he's vulnerable…you know how someone is when they are close to breaking."

I nodded to everything he said. "I see now…thanks for helping, doctor…but what should I do to help him?"

"Some therapy...though talking to a loved one would help…he might not recover right away, but it could ease it."

I nodded and I shook his hand. "All right. Thanks doctor. I'll go talk to him."

I went out of the infirmary and went to find Falco's room. I managed to find it, and I rapped the door loudly.

"Hey Falco?" I called.

No answer.

I knocked on the door again. "Falco. It's me, Link. I want to talk to you…"

I then heard mumbling. I put my ear on the door, and I heard Falco's low voice.

"N-no…please…l-let me go…please…"

I opened the door, and I saw Falco tossing and turning in his bed. Obviously, he's having a nightmare. I ran to him and I tried to shake him awake.

"Falco," I said softly, "wake up. Wake up."

Falco's eyes shot open and he quickly sat up. Cold sweat was running down his face. He glanced around, then at me.

"Are you O—" Before I said another word, Falco hugged me, crying on my shoulder.

"L-Link!" He sobbed. This sight made my heart break. He was usually a tough guy who never showed his emotions, but here he was, crying on my shoulder.

I held him back and I whispered, "Hey, it's OK…it's only a nightmare."

He let me go and he wiped away his tears.

"Are you OK now?" I asked. Falco nodded.

"Wh—what do you want anyway…?"

I sat beside him on the bed. "I just wanted to talk to you…you know, after the incident, you've been acting strange."

Falco cringed when I said "incident", and he looked away. "Ya gonna make it worse when ya talk about it…"

That was a mistake I made there. "I'm sorry…I forgot that you're still traumatized."

"Look, if ya gonna say any more about it, then leave."

I shook my head. "I won't talk about it when you don't feel like it. I talked to the doctor about you…"

"Talkin' about me being weak and useless, huh?"

"No. Not like that. I'm concerned about you…we all are. Nana and Popo don't understand what was wrong with you, and I'm feeling guilty about what happened…"

I looked down, and I heard my voice breaking, "Falco…I'm so sorry that I let that happen to you…if I found out sooner…" I sighed.

Falco stared at me with worry. "It's not your fault, Link. I should've been stronger to fend for myself…I'm just weak…"

I grabbed him by the shoulders, which surprised him. "Falco, you're not weak, let alone useless. You're a great fighter. I watch you fight in the tournament, and I saw how powerful you are. The children even looked up to you, and they are motivated to fight to win. You're their idol, Falco. In fact, you impressed even me. Don't say stuff like that; you're more powerful than you think." I placed my hand on his face. "If you feel like you need to talk to someone about what happened, talk to me. I'll be here for you whenever you need someone."

Falco listened to all of this, and a smile began to form on his face. I mentally sighed in relief that he got the message.

He embraced me, crying. This time, however, he was crying tears of joy. "Th-thank you Link…you're a true friend..."

I held him back, and we held each other for a long time.

I got back to training and fighting after what Link had told me, my self-esteem and confidence growing back to normal. Every day I think of his words, and it motivated me to keep on going no matter what anyone told me. I still insult him, but this time it's in jest.

Although I was still traumatized by the incident, it somehow made me and Link closer without us noticing. He was there for me, and I learned thanks to him that I don't have to be all tough just to be strong. I pretty much became more mellow thanks to him.

Even though I'll never forget the torture, the pain, and the nightmare, I'll never forget my best friend's kindness and concern.

I'm no longer a caged bird, but I am now a free bird.

Phew, what a story! Wait…for once, I finished a CHAPTERED story?! :O

So I hope you like it. Falco may be OOC, but hey, having his character change after a traumatizing incident is what I was aiming for.

Hope you enjoyed the story, and look forward to more Falco x Link friendship/fluff.

Comment/review please!