The Hyrulian Valhalla Saga
By Queenie Z

With Apologies To Akira Himekawa

Many of the Heroes had a natural toughness to their features. Time had a maturity in his eyes and a confidence in his smile that far surpassed his teenaged appearance. Twilight had an intimidating, piercing gaze that could strike terror into the hearts of evil men. Even Green, though physically younger, could allow Blue's ferocity to show itself in his face when he wanted to. They had been qualities that did not go unnoticed in life, commanding respect and attracting attention from women and men alike during their lives.

Sky, however, did not quite possess that same quality. Oh, sure, he had been popular with girls - quite popular, in fact - but it was mostly because of his boyish appearance and polite mannerisms. Though he was still a brave Hero in his own right, and the first in a long line of successors to boot, he was far more "cute" than "tough", and he felt that sometimes it made the others respect him less.

So, one day, he broke down and tried out a change of wardrobe, just to see if maybe he could roughen up his image, so to speak. Although he kept the traditional green tunic and hat, he made a few major additions. First of all, he put on some armor; a set of golden shoulder plates engraved with an ancient Hylian crest. He fastened a long, red mantle to them, making sure that it had more than enough room to flap around dramatically in the wind. He also donned some sturdier gauntlets, the plating on them red like his cape. His final touch was a set of long underwear resembling the kind that Time wore - hey, might as well take tips from the others, right? Now, finally, he was ready to show the others and, hopefully, inspire a bit more respect from them.

"Sky..." Engie said, tilting his head, "what the heck are you wearing?"

Or, not. Sky frowned sadly. "What? ...You don't think it's cool?"

"No, no! It's cool, but - "

Green chimed in. "What Engie means to say is that it doesn't really suit you very well."

"Yeah," agreed Light, rubbing his chin with his thumb and forefinger, "it looks more like something Twilight would wear, actually."

Twilight's face twisted in an attempt to suppress his amusement. "I, uh... I think I'll pass," he said. "Shoulder plates aren't really my thing."

Sky sulked. "Damn! ...I just wanted to look tougher!" He looked at the group pathetically. "So it's not working at all?"

"Not with that face it won't!" Green stared sternly at the sullen Hero. "The reason it's not working is because of that baby face of yours!"

"B-Baby face!?"

Twilight turned and snorted into his hand. Meanwhile, Engie gave Sky a sad smile.

"Sorry Sky, but I agree with Green. You've just got a cute face - not that it's a bad thing!"

"Yeah, I mean, you said it yourself, Sky," Light said, "that cute face of yours broke quite a few hearts back in your day. So it's not terrible or anything!"

"But being 'cute' doesn't command any respect..."

"We respect you plenty! You're the first, right? That's reason enough for us to respect you!" Looking to his right and crossing his arms, Light paused in thought. "...Although, if you really wanted to try and look tougher, I'd try looking a bit angrier."

Green snickered. "You could try making the face Twilight does when you wake him up too early. Then you'd be really scary!"

Twilight tried to object, but honestly, he found the whole situation too funny to do much, so he let it slide.

"Angrier, huh..." Sky pondered. He shut his eyes, trying to think of a time when he got really angry. Though there weren't many of those times, he managed to remember a few. Suddenly, without warning, his face contorted into a terrifying scowl before he spoke.

"Hear my name and tremble!" he bellowed with the edge of a most fearsome warrior, "I am Link, Chosen Hero of the Goddess Hylia...!"

The others froze in terror at this sudden change. For a moment, they could only look at each other, then back to their predecessor, their mouths agape.

"I don't believe it," Engie muttered, "that... that is Sky, right?"

Sky beamed brightly, his cute features once again shining through. "So? How was that?"

The others smiled and laughed nervously, although Twilight, thoroughly impressed and slightly fearful of the elder Hero, took the opportunity to applaud for him.