A/N: I do not own Assassin's Creed or Legend of Zelda. Enjoy Link's story. It'll be the base of Hylian Creed, so get comfy. My original plan was to sum up one sequence into one chapter, but because it's taking WAY too long than I normally thought, I thought I'd just do it a few memories at a time. One more thing, reviews are greatly appreciated. Just keep that in mind.
Story so far: Desmond stumbled across a certain fragment of memory in the Animus Database. Upon returning to fight Cesare Borgia, he heard a voice that told him to meet him in Rome. Desmond, as Ezio, of course, finds the man and goes back to the hideout, where the man tells his story.
Memory Sequence 1: Reunions
[Castle Town: Seven years after the events of Majora's Mask]
Link approached the gates of the large city of Castle Town. Since he had been gone, Castle Town had grown into more of a city than a town. The Castle was way off in the distance, towards the north district. To the East District, there was the residential area, plus the Castle Town Gardens, where locals were known to visit. In the West was the market district, where people could shop for their everyday needs. Further down the district was the 'Bad Side of Town,' closed off to the public. Guards patrolled many of the streets around the bad district.
Link stepped off of his horse and left her outside. As he passed by the citizens, they all stood in awe at the sight of him. Link had not been wearing his usual green tunic, but instead, he wore a rather worn out golden armor, with a peculiar insignia on the breastplate. His armor consisted of many things, including golden gauntlets, leather gloves, steel chain-mail and golden boots. On his back was the Hylian Shield, and with it was a fine sword, forged of strong steel with a leather grip hilt. Despite not being able to wear his favorite green tunic, he still looked magnificent as the rays of the setting sun made his armor shine, as if he was an angel sent by the goddesses themselves.
A scruffy looking peasant approached him. He looked miserable, but had a surprisingly positive attitude. "Welcome, traveler, to the fair city of Castle Town." Link smiled warmly. "Thank you, but I've been here before. What is your name?" The peasant shook Link's hand. "My name is Ivan. I'm the local doctor. And your name, sir?" "Link." Ivan bowed before Link, showing how humble he was. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance. So, what brings you to town, Sir Link?"
"I'm here to see Princess Zelda." Ivan's eyes widened. "The princess? I wish you the best of luck, sir..." Link raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Is something wrong?" Ivan's voice seemed to tremble as he spoke. "Those who step near the castle are sentenced to either life in the dungeon or death." Link was even more confused. "That doesn't sound like a rule Zelda would enforce." Ivan shook his head. "Oh, no sir. Princess Zelda is not the ruler of Castle Town. King Abbas holds the throne."
"King Abbas? Who is he," Link asked. "King Abbas is the heir to the throne after the passing of King Daphnes Nohanssen Hyrule," Ivan explained. "He is the King's brother, and Princess Zelda's Uncle." "I see... Thank you, Ivan," Link said, bidding him farewell. "If I need any more information or am in need of treatment, I'll look for you." Ivan said goodbye and Link continued his walk to Castle Town Square.
Central Castle Town was in much of an uproar. Many of the kids were running about, playing 'Hide and Seek' or 'Save the Princess.' Ah, the nostalgia. Link remembered when he used to play the same games with his friends when he was younger. He would always play the hero and thwart the villain, saving the princess in the process. Now, seven years later, he's played the hero twice, saving Zelda and Hyrule from Ganondorf and saving the land of Termina from being obliterated by the moon. It was a lot of pressure on him, especially the fact that he was just a kid when he discovered his destiny. Link sat on the edge of the fountain and reminisced about the past. All the monsters he'd slain. All the friends he made along the way. All the difficulties he had to face. They had all payed off in the end.
"Link? Is that you?" Link's thoughts were interrupted by a voice calling his name. He opened his eyes and looked up to find a woman standing in front of him. She had long, fiery red hair, pointed ears and ocean blue eyes, just like him. She wore a white blouse along with a purple dress. A yellow neckerchief was wrapped around her neck followed by a special pendant. Link recognized her instantly.
"Malon..." The woman smiled and hugged Link. "You do remember me." Link slightly chuckled. "It's hard to forget the person who called you fairy boy for his entire childhood." Malon let out a giggle. Malon let him go and Link stood up. "The years have been good to you," Link said. Malon blushed a bit. "Thank you. You haven't changed a bit, Link." Link smiled. "What took you so long to get back?" she asked. "Maybe I can tell you later," he replied. "Over dinner?" Malon let out a small giggle. "You always were the charmer..."
Just then, someone ran past her, knocking her over. When she got back up, she shouted at the man. "Hey, watch where you're going!" She stood back up and looked behind her. Her eyes widened and she called back out to the man. "Thief! Come back with my milk!" Like a thief normally would, he ignored her cries and kept running. Malon attempted to run after him, but Link stopped her. "Stay here. I'll deal with him" Link took off and full speed in pursuit of the thief.
"Looks like he ran into the gardens." Link approached the gate to the Castle Town Gardens. Stepping into the gardens, he was greeted by a guard who was positioned there. "Good morrow, sir. Welcome to the Public Gardens of Castle Town." Link gave him a confused look. "Public? What do you mean?" The guard cleared his throat. "The Castle Town Gardens are separated into two parts: Public and Private. The public gardens are, of course, open to everyone. The Private Gardens are only open to the rich and to the royal family." Link nodded. "I see... Thank you." Link walked off and searched through the gardens.
Link walked around the gardens in search of the thief. Not a single clue as to where the thief could have gone. That's when he came to a horrible realization. He hadn't gotten a good look at the man. Scolding himself, he wandered around and began asking a few of the other people there some questions.
The first person he approached was a rather scruffy looking man, leaning against a wall. His clothes were dirty, his hair was oily and messy and the foul stench of alcohol clung to his breath. Link kneeled down and tapped him on his shoulder. The man looked at Link and held out his hand. "Spare some rupees," he asked rather roughly.
Link pulled out ten rupees and gave it to the man. He stared the man straight in the eye. "I'm looking for a thief. He's run into these very gardens. Have you seen him?" The man shook his head. "I'm sorry. I haven't seen anybody. I've been asleep most of the time." Link stood up and walked off.
The second person he came across was a young woman who looked very... uneasy. Link approached her with caution. "Excuse me, ma'am, I'm looking for someone who ran in here with a handful of mi-"
"I'm not crazy!" the woman blurted out, which caught Link off guard. "I... never said you were, ma'am. But can you help me? I'm looking for-"
"The end is near... King Abbas... he'll destroy us all... with an army of superbeings..." Link slowly stepped away. "Nevermind."
The last person Link came up to was a young lady, no more than sixteen years old. She had long red hair, like Malon, except she wore a white silk dress that reached to her knees. She was kneeling over a patch of flowers, intoxicated by their aroma. Link tapped her on the shoulder. "Excuse me, ma'am," Link spoke up. "I'm looking for a certain person. Have you seen-"
The girl turned around. Her eyes brightened as soon as she saw him. "Link! It's you!" she screamed in excitement. "What're you doing here?" Link raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You...know who I am?" The girl nodded her head frantically. "Of course I do! You remember me, right?" Link searched the deep corners of his mind for a clue on who she was. He thought back to a year ago. Two years. Three years. Five years. Seven years. Finally, he remembered.
"...Romani?"
The girl gave Link a hug that could crush a moblin. "You DO remember!" Link worked his way out of Romani's grasp. "What are you doing here?" Link asked. "Shouldn't you be back in Termina?" Romani shook her head. "Nope. Cremia sent me here to stay with my uncle Talon and my cousin Malon." Link ignored that last part. "Nevermind. Romani, I'm looking for someone, can you help me?" She nodded. "Of course! I've seen everybody that's come into these gardens! Who are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for a thief. He had an armful of milk. I saw him run into here, but I can't find him. Do you know anything?" Romani put her finger on her chin. "Does he look like that guy over there?" Romani pointed to the man who was messing with something in the corner of the gardens. "I'll go check it out. Thank you, Romani." Link ran towards the man, while Romani waved after him. "Bye, Grasshopper!"
Link approached the sketchy man, very cautiously. "Ahem..." The man froze. He slowly turned around to find the sea blue eyes of the green clad hero staring at him with much disapproval. "May I ask you where you got that milk, sir?" Link said to him. The man slowly reached for his pouch. Link caught this. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Return what you have stolen and I will gladly be on my way."
The man didn't even wait for Link to finish. He withdrew his knife and swung at him. Link dodged and grabbed his wrist. "I don't wish to hurt you, sir... but that doesn't mean I'll shrink away from an attack like that." Link elbowed the thief in the face, disarmed him and slammed him into a nearby wall. "Now... return the milk or it will be more than just your face that hurts." The thief caught Link off guard with a jab to the mouth and ran off as soon as he had lost his grip. Link wiped his mouth off. "Coward..."
He bent down and picked up the milk bottles, carrying them out of the gardens and towards the water fountain.
Malon sat with her back against the water fountain, watching the clouds roll by as she waited for her friend to come back. She had no idea why, but staring skyward made her feel calm. It could be the soothing light blue color of the brightly lit sky or the fluffiness of the clouds, which looked like if you even touched them, they would feel soft and light, like a piece of cotton. Or maybe it was because, somewhere out there, her mother was looking down at her with kind eyes, watching over her little girl and doing what she can to protect her, though her options were limited. Malon breathed a sigh and relaxed as the soothing sounds of the fountain lulled her to sleep.
Not a moment later, she heard footsteps approaching her.
"Are you missing something, miss?"
Malon slowly opened her eyes to find her friend staring back at her with the milk that the thief had stolen. She gave a small smile, stood up and took the milk from him, putting it back in the crate before she turned back to him. "Thank you so much, Link," she muttered, tiredly. "I really appreciate you going through so much trouble." Link shook his head. "It's no trouble at all, Malon. Although, I do have a question for you." She rubbed her eyes and stood up, meeting Link face to face. "Ask away."
Link pointed to the milk crate. "Where were you on your way to deliver this?" Malon pointed to the pathway that led to the castle. "I was supposed to make a delivery today to the castle. Princess Zelda and King Abbas really do love Lon Lon Milk. Which reminds me..." She reached into the crate and pulled out a bottle of said milk, then handed it to Link. "I'm sure they won't mind missing one bottle." He happily took the bottle and stored it in his pouch. "I've always remembered how much you loved my milk." He gave her a slight smile. "And you know how much I love your sugar..." he muttered as he slowly leaned in. Malon pushed him away. "Behave, Link. We're in public." He let out a slight groan.
"So, why did you want to know?" she asked. "I'm on my way to the castle to meet the princess... and I need a way in." Malon crossed her arms and put a look of deep thought on. "Well, I'm sorry, Link," she said. "I mean, I'd let you deliver the milk for me, but they're expecting to see me. My dad tried delivering the milk once and I had to pay a two hundred rupee fine to get him out." Link shrugged. "I give my sympathy to your father. I hope he's made a recovery." She nodded. "Oh, of course. He may be a lazy man, but he always bounces back."
Malon put her finger to her chin. "Well... I think I may know of one way, but I'm not sure it will work."
"I'll take what I can get," he responded. She pulled out a map from her pouch and unrolled it. "I found this map earlier. See where the X is?" Getting a closer look at the map, Link could see that there was an X right next to the walls of Hyrule Castle. "I'm not sure what it is, but there might be something there that can help you. Think of this as a little reward for helping me out today." Link took the map and put it in his pouch. "I'll look into it. Thank you, Malon." He bowed to her. "And I will see you later on tonight." With a wink, he took his leave in the other direction.
And thus ends the first memory fragment.
I want to apologize about the long wait. Writer's block got the best of me and so did the stress of feeling like I abandoned this story. Yes, I have a lot to do. No, I can't promise a lot of new chapters for the other stories in the near future. But I CAN promise that I have a bunch of chapters (not finished, mind you) that WILL be released soon. (I swear to god, I hope I didn't contradict myself in that sentence.) Anyways, thank you to all the reviewers for this story. I promise I'll try my best to work harder on Hylian Creed.
Review Corner:
Toothless Killer: Thanks for the offer. I'll keep it in mind.
94GuitarLord: Okay, first of all, thank you. That has to be the single most awesomest review I have ever gotten. Second, I was trying to go for what you were saying. Y'know, the 'game in the series' thing. That's what I was really going for, and (hopefully) I'd like to see a hack of Assassin's Creed for something like this. Not in the near future, but at some point in time.
LeviathanTamer: I'm not sure what you mean by 'stay this way' in terms of good or bad. Were you referring to how Link and Ezio are both in the story? I'd like to get a clear analysis, if you don't mind. But, go ahead and stay quiet for now. Just review when you'd like to.
And now, we bring this chapter to a close. I'll see you in the next chapter. Whenever it may be...
