Hello guys, here is another episode, please enjoy yourself !
Where was he ?
That was the question he asked himself for a million times now. Everywhere is engulfed in darkness, loneliness used to haunt him like a curse even when he was a child in Kokiri Forest. It reminded him of the time when he was stuck in a hole in the lost wood or the time he hid himself from Mido and his gang but every time that girl saved him. It was coming back to him again, and again, pursuing him where ever he fled to.
He tried to call but in vain, as the echo ring through his mind his despair was looming even closer. He wanted to go back home, to the Kokiri forest where he used to live but he failed to the duty that was given to him thus knowing there won't be any ways home anymore.
He tried to sleep, hoping all his experience was only a nightmare and someone would help him. Suddenly he felt space shift back and forth, knocking him out cold for a minute before waking up again. This time, he saw someone beside him and hope made his heart jump in joy the moment he laid his eyes on green hair.
"You... Are you...?" He stopped himself when he recognized the person wasn't a girl.
" No, you aren't her, who are you ?"
Before the mysterious man had the time to answer, Link felt like he was sucked into a typhoon then he woke up in a bed... in a very dark room. He nearly freaked out when he thought that he was still in the dark space until he saw morning rays of sun leaked in to a window.
His eyes adapted easily to the darkness, forged from the multitude of dark places in his experience. The room was fairly old since the walls were damaged and breached from many places and an unexplainable "ancient" smell hanged in the air. However he could also tell that there was some form of entertainment because the breaches were patched by wooden plates and there wasn't a SINGLE amount of dust in all the corners.
"Whoever has been living in here must be quite the hygiene maniac" He mumbled to himself.
He struggled to get out of the bed when his rib made him flinch. Yet he still forced himself to stand up.
"Whe...Where am I ?"
At that time, he noticed a young boy who reminded of himself at the other side of his bed. Then he stopped.
" What the..." He didn't finish his sentence when realization struck him as clear as possible. That was him as a young boy and what he saw was his reflection on the mirror. He began gaping his mouth in disbelief for a long moment. Many questions were running in his head as humanly possible, still shocked of what he has just learned.
"Why, when, what, how is this possible ?! Did Zelda send me back into the past ?"
He opened his adventurer pouch to find the object he searched for thus confirming his doubts.
"No, the ocarina of time is still here, she couldn't send me into the past without it then maybe..."
All of a sudden, he heard someone humming from the window. He swiftly hid himself at the side of the window, peeking slightly at the outside to see a man, whistling joyfully while gardening. His face was covered by a straw hat so Link couldn't determine more about him.
"Time to get myself some answers" He said as he quit the room.
In the burning sun at this season of the year, the crops were growing wonderfully fast. Gino thought as he watered the tomato plants.
"Look at these tomatoes, aren't they great?" He declared proudly.
Indeed tomatoes which were this red and well-rounded could make other drooling. Nonetheless it was also thanks to the environments, first of all the soils on this land is richer than the other country, however it was not that surprising because Gallia was rarely inhabited by humans, the fear of the laguz usually drove them away and laguz didn't know how to plant. Second the water was easily one of the best quality he has ever seen.
"Where do I get it though..." He finished his thought by admiring the landscape in his favourite spot on a flat rock. Far away stood a great mountain, it was so big that he couldn't see the tip of it, clouded by the mist. From there flowed a river directly near where he lived, up in a hill.
He stared before realising it was nearly time for dinner. He packed his tools away in a corner of the house. Strangely enough, when he thought on it, laguz didn't bother him at all except for that one time. Maybe they didn't come because he didn't do anything but that naïve thinking was sweep away when he opened the door to witness a big mess. Drawers were drawn out, objects and tools lied on the floor and the paintings hanged on the walls formed a big pile in front of him. Needless to say, it was quite a shock.
"What the...Who did this after my efforts of clearing things up this afternoon?!"
He entered in the kitchen to find a boy who was eating stocked fruits in the fridge (I'll explain later). Surprised the boy backed away, taking with him stolen apples. He was quite fast on his feet, taking the escape immediately through the window to leave a gaping mouth on Gino's face.
"No wait ! The forest is dangerous at night!" He warned a little too late.
Wasting no time, he sprinted at the back of the house, where he put his tools, to take an Elwind tome and a sharp dagger. The weapon was light and it's edge sharpened, on the handle bore the crest of a dark feather. The house where he used to serve insisted that everyone need to master the dagger including the master of the house , Gino was simply better than his comrades in the art of dagger topped by the knowledge of wind magic. Then he ran back where the green-clothed boy took his leave, tracking his footprints on the ground.
"This way" On that note he dashed through the now silent forest.
It was advised for strangers to not travel Gallia forest but it was even more to not travel it at night. The forest was terribly silent, not a single chirping from a bird can be heard since the animals retired to their nest or dent. Some trees bend itself near the ground, trying to touch the ground with its grim branches but Link ignored his surroundings, charging head on near a river then he decided to stop to rest.
"Hah...hah... I am quite far away now"
He remembered the man to be flustered by his little mischief. At first he wanted to find a weapon to set out and sneak away without alerting the house's owner but his stomach wouldn't stopped to protest. Therefore he followed where his nose guided him to stumble in front of a sturdy, rectangular-shaped box. He didn't know how to deal with it so he gave a blind try by pulling on the metallic handle. As the door opened, he was welcomed by a cold air, escaping slowly from the inside of the box where food was abundant. Fruits, vegetables, meat, nearly anything caught his rolled eyes.
"How does this thing work exactly ?" He wondered as his hand put as many apples in his pocket until a cry caught him off guard from behind. He backed away to see the man in straw hat, his eyes widened in surprise. The owner was young, he must be around his twenties years, with his brown hair carefully laid back, blue eyes and his simple but perfectly cleaned outfit, consisting of a white shirt and black pants, he looked like a normal person.
Fearing he would be punished like the times he broke the pots to pick up hidden rupees, he did what many thieves do when they were caught in their act, he ran away. Now he was regretting his decision, he has just get out of bed, his rib hurt and despite he has eaten the apples, he was still hungry. His experience of near-death situation kept his conscience awake but he was too tired to continue.
His legs has managed to bring him near a river. So far everything was okay, he didn't met any aggressive beasts yet but he couldn't drop his guard, it reminded him the time when a wolf appeared out of nowhere when he tempted to access to the forest temple. As time went on, he became more and more anxious. He didn't notice before but the forest was really menacing at night. There was presence in every little corner and sometimes a rustling sound came out from the nearby bushes made him alert immediately, the only thing which managed to keep his cool was the sound of the streaming water. Thirsty, he went near the river to drink when suddenly a powerful voice came from behind.
"Well,well, what do we have here ?, look like a lamb is lost in the forest"
Link quickly turned around, in front of him stood a man with long, red hair and rough features. He wore a black shirt which emphasize on his large chest, black short, another white piece of clothing covers his upper body with violet flame design at each side of his arm, green gauntlets as his unique protection and sandals. The man's looks and aura was literally like a lion incarnated with an arrogant smirk on his face.
Link immediately stood back, preparing himself for battle.
"If I face him head on with literally nothing and in this weaken state, I stand absolutely no chance" He though as a sweat run down his face, even if he had his equipments and full health, the man in front of him wouldn't be easy to defeat.
He stared at Link for a long time before he decided to speak up.
"I know a warrior's eyes when I see them and you seem to have them as well. You are not an ordinary human so I'll ask, who are you ?"
In the mean time, Link's mind was searching for a way to escape. His back was facing the river so he get rid of the idea of crossing it but the red hair man seems pretty fast and stealthy on his feet since Link didn't notice him approaching so running away wasn't a good idea either.
"So can you speak or not, human ?" The man asked again, this time with a tone of impatience.
"Damn it , he covered all of the possibilities of escaping if only I..." He stopped thinking when he reached something he recognized in his pouch, a smile crept on his face as an idea struck him.
"Maybe this will work..."
As the man prepared to say something, Link threw deku nuts to blind him. Taking advantage of the chance, he ran back at the way he had run from the house's owner.
"Secret Sheik style technique" He grinned as he run for dear life.
Recovering his sight back, the man grunted before mumbling.
"Heh interesting, it is not everyday to see someone like that" He said as he slowly transformed into a mighty red lion before launching himself at the kid's pursuit.
"Hah...hah..." Link panted as he continued to run
"What is it today? I ran from a house then I ran again from another guy ? My poor body won't be able to keep up at this rate"
He ran in the darkness but as I said before, he could see through it. Because of his keen senses, he recognized his footprints he has left on the ground so the only thing to do was to reach that house on the hill again before the other man caught up.
"There's no way I'm gonna die today, not before knowing what's going on and vanquishing Ganondorf" He reassured himself.
Suddenly he feel tackled hardly to the ground from behind, the pain was great like a goron has decided to personally body slam you.
"ARGH!" He groaned in pain then something turned him on the side.
Link couldn't believe what he saw, a frightening crimson lion with its bared teeth has turned all of his attention on him, its size was easily as big as a full-grown dodongo and its eyes, brimming with confidence, reminded him of the man he met earlier.
"So not feeling that confident anymore eh ?" the lion spoke, its voice which reminded Link of that man with a little more depth.
"Ah let me... go!" Link struggled to break free but in vain. All of a sudden, a gust of wind in the form of an edge almost struck the lion but he dodged it to the side then he get back , allowing Link to stand up.
"Please don't hurt the child, he hasn't completely recovered from his wounds" A familiar voice rose up, Link turned back to see the house's owner with a book in his hand.
Then the lion suddenly was covered in light, he slowly morphed back as the red hair man Link remembered. At this point Link was completely fazed by everything in front him to the point he's just stood there.
The other man smirked as if he has recognized the house's owner.
"You, you are the one from last time, is he another one you know ?"
"My master simply desired him to stay in one piece, that's why he bring the boy back to treat his wounds. My master's wishes are my wishes" He replied coldly, his voice could certainly chill an octorok in the water.
Ignoring the house's owner tone, he warned him.
" Then the next time, don't let him wander too close to our territory, who knows what I or WE will do to him if that happens" Then the man shifted back at his lion's form before taking off, the lion was really fast, in a second he was already far away.
"To think I try to run away from him but who knows what will happen to me if he isn't here"
Link relaxed before falling on the hard ground from fatigue. The last thing he heard was the house's owner voice before he faded into unconsciousness.
Darkness
"hey"
Then darkness again, how many time has he seen it ?
"Hey"
He was tired of it, if only he could...
"HEY, WAKE UP!"
huh ?
Link woke up in the dark space where he once was now he was back here again but this time he wasn't alone.
"Rise and shine sleepy head, I swear I need a thousand trumpets to wake you up !" scolded a voice like the first time he met Navi.
This time Link could see more clearly the man who appeared in his dream. His green hair was so long that it reached his waist and his left eye was hidden by his hair. He wore a coat and black pants, the design though was unknown to Link. His face bore a sarcastic smile but his right eye seem to have a certain hidden wisdom.
" So mister hero, how are you feeling now ?"
"hero ?" Link was taken aback by the word. "Does this man know me?"
As if he has read through his mind, the man smiled even more.
"Oh don't worry, I know you and this world from a certain thing in my world but that's not important"
"He can read my mind ?" Link asked himself the question only to be answer by the other.
"Oh yes certainly you can't read my mind because you are a little dizzy right now. Oh and this isn't a dream so I'm not a fictional character from your mind, we are in your spirit's realm and since we share the same place, I can do this for example"
As he finished he snapped his finger in the air, the environments were beginning to change. The darkness left its place to soft blue light, trees were growing from the ground and mist, which came out of nowhere, wrapped the place with a comforting presence like a protecting mother. Soon the landscape was absolutely astounding, Link was alone (but not really) but he didn't feel alone which he didn't think possible. Plus the music in the background ( how is that possible ?) bring out a hidden beauty of the area.
"Yeah I know right ? I was bored and I tried a few things, it turned out pretty well after all"
" Hah you're a genius" Link complimented him but he couldn't help to notice that the man's mouth didn't budge at all when he was "speaking".
"We call that telepathy and I said to you before that we share the same mind so it's natural that you can read mine too, I've just took advantage of it" He explained.
At his words, Link was sincerely surprised by this man's intelligence, he wouldn't mind to call this man a genius again but he would feel embarrassed to say so. That's why he purposely thought of it for the other to read his mind.
"Aww, thanks buddy and don't feel embarrassed when you're complimenting someone, I did that a lot with girls"
"You're a philanderer ?"
" What an ugly word "philanderer" but whatever, what's wrong with flirting with girls , it's Hylian nature to do so right ?"
At this point, Link's opinions of him has considerably changed. The "genius man" changed into "genius pervert man".
"Hey ! I like girls but it doesn't mean I'm a pervert ! Besides you're not the best person to scold me on that subject"
As much as Link wanted to believe that the man is wrong but when you see his past records with girls, you'll be surprise as well. The worst thing is he did it WITHOUT knowing.
"AHEM! Aaaaaanyway I've never had the chance to ask before but who are you ?" Link asked with a questioning look, changing the subject.
At that question the other froze. There was an awkward silence for a few moments however Link knew that the other man didn't try to avoid the question but rather how to answer it since he didn't look that worried. Finally the green hair man broke the silence.
" We can talk about that later but for now, you need to wake up in the real world, you can only have access to the spirit's realm when your body needs to sleep"
When he finished his explanation, Link felt the space around him begin to shift slightly then he understood immediately.
"So in other words when my body doesn't need sleep anymore, I'll be automatically kick out here"
"Yup so see ya when you sleep again"
After the man's goodbye, the feeling was like the last time, his vision turned at 360°, everything was so fast then Link disappeared into thin air. Where he once stood, hanged a dark vortex which was gone as fast as it came.
It was night, Gino has just finished eating. What an eventful day it was, first the awakening of the boy next his encounter with one of the most powerful laguz in Gallia. After he has fallen unconscious again, he has put him on bed with a plate of food on his side, in case if he's hungry when he will wake up. After he finished cleaning the dishes, he put off the fire at the fireplace and head to his room with a candle on his hand.
"Oh I almost forget to check on him before I go to sleep"
There was only two rooms in the house and they were next to each other. When master Sephiran come, he prepared the room next to his along with a couch for master Zelgius as well since they often travelled together. Now the boy rested where his master was supposed to sleep. The funny thing was the time when he didn't have a couch (it was only one time) master Sephiran insisted that he slept on the ground to leave the bed to master Zelgius but then of course, the latter refused ( Gino also had volunteer to sleep on the ground but they didn't listen to him). The other reason was he was needed in the capital for an urgent affair, which the butler didn't know about so he was gone as fast as he came here.
Coming back to the story, when he opened the door to the guest's room he was surprised that the boys was already awoken and the more surprising thing was the empty plate of food next to him. What shocked him the most though (this is different) was the fact he didn't use the fork and the knife to eat since these were still clean but he decided to let it slipped... for now.
"So was the food good ?" Gino asked with a smile.
The boy had just responded with a positive shook, he probably felt awkward around new people.
"I'm...sorry that I stole your food and for the mess in the house too" He excused with his head down in shame.
Gino was surprised. To be honest he was always a good-natured man, despite sometimes he complained a lot about his luck but he had already forgot about it. He couldn't hold a grudge and he tended to forgive people before he knew about it.
"Oh please don't worry, it was only apples and messes could be clear easily. No it was rather my fault to not anticipated for your awakening when you were hungry. I should have prepare something."
Now the boy was utterly silent, he was probably embarrassed by the situation.
" So what is your name, may I ask ?" Gino felt the need to ask to distract the boy.
He woke up from his reveries before answering.
"Oh my name is Link, it's a pleasure to meet you"
"The pleasure is mine too now what were you doing in the middle of the forest ?"
He perked his eyes up in surprise.
"Excuse me ?"
"This land is very dangerous as you saw before, it isn't advised to venture in Gallia for a long time because of the conflict between the races. If not for my master, you would be long dead right now"
Now the boy was literally speechless.
" I'm sorry but where is Gallia in Hyrule ? I've never heard of it before"
For a moment Gino was silent.
" I've never heard of Hyrule either, Gallia is one of the many lands in Tellius and you are in Gallia"
The surprise expression on the boy now leave its place to horror. He gathered the courage to ask the most obvious question possible.
" So I'm not in Hyrule ?"
Gino shook his head reluctantly "I'm afraid so even if I don't know about Hyrule, you are definitely on Tellius at the moment"
After that answer, the boy simply stared at his reflection on the mirror in front of him. Gino tried to call for him but he knew that the boy was still shocked at the news so the latter won't listen to a word he said.
He got up at the door, bidding goodnight at Link knowing that those words will never reach him.
Now Link didn't know how to think anymore, he was on a totally stranger land where he didn't know a single thing about it, that was the truth.
"What of Zelda? What of Ganondorf? What of Hyrule?" He wondered constantly about everything, worried to the point he didn't notice that Gino had already left the room.
"Keep calm Link it doesn't mean that there's no way home" He tried to convince himself but it was pointless then he remembered something someone said earlier.
Flashback
" We can talk about that later but for now, you need to wake up in the real world, you can only have access to the spirit's realm when your body needs to sleep"
Flashback end
"That's right maybe he know something about it, now I need to sleep"
Another advantage Link's got is to be able to sleep anywhere at anytime. Even if it's the end of the world, he would still be able to sleep. Don't ask him why, sometimes he wondered about it too. Heck there was a time he has slept for 7 years but that's not important. He closed his eyes for a moment before he drift away in the land of dream.
When Link opened his eyes, he was greeted by a friendly voice.
"Hey, what's news sleeping hero ? Okay I asked but I've already know about it"
This time he didn't know how to react anymore, to be surprised at the changed landscape or the sudden confession.
"You knew ?"
"Yeah you can't come to me every time but I can come to you anytime I want, I was curious how your discussion would end up. I could have intervene too but let's say that it was like a cinema and I preferred to stay silent with popcorn in hands"
" Now you know, do you know anyway to..."
Link didn't finish when the other cut him straight.
"Nope"
"What ?"
" I was send here too without knowing anything. To top it all, I have even forget about my previous identity. All I can remember is my previous life but not my name, my age, my job. All of that, pouf, gone, nada"
Now Link felt bad for the man. He, at least, has retained his memories but not this man.
"Aww don't worry besides memories only serve to tighten your attachment to the previous world. In case that I have to stay here forever then I won't have any regrets."
Even if the man didn't seem to care in his happy-go-lucky attitude, Link could feel a certain sadness in his voice when he mentioned his previous world.
"Anyway if you want to go home that badly then I'll help you"
At those words Link couldn't stop but to stare at him.
"Really ?"
"Yeah really"
Afterwards, he felt his mood lighten a little.
" By the way now you know why I hesitated when you asked for my name"
"Yeah you probably felt sad about it"
" Actually no"
Then Link stopped smiling, only to stare questioningly at the other.
" Oh why then ?"
" I didn't know which name to choose man. I had many ideas but now I have one so let's get to the introductions"
This time Link couldn't hold it back anymore, he rolled on the ground while laughing for few minutes. He actually need help to stand from laughing so much.
"All that for that ?!"
" Hey ! Name is an important matter"
" Yeah so let's get to it then"
Link let out a cough before stretching his hand for a handshake.
" My name is Link, former hero of Hyrule, what is your name ?"
The other man stared at the hand before returning the handshake.
"My name is Green Wolf, nice to meet you"
This is how these two have met each other, but they didn't know at the time that destiny prepared something especially for these two and for the other chosen they'll met on their adventure. Now may the true tale begins.
Bonus :
Far far away, in an unknown wood. A hooded man stared down at the water, a smile forming on his face.
"So they've met at last, my two ultimate pawns now let's create a destiny to my liking"
Please don't forget to review guys, I need you to know how to improve my stories.
Also, no more story for now, I'm out.