The Hyrulian Valhalla Saga
By Queenie Z

Got Amnesia? (Part 1)

The Heroes were typically fairly intelligent, perhaps not so much in the way of book smarts, but more in the way of common sense and practical knowledge. Because of this, they usually learned quickly from their mistakes; when an idea of theirs doesn't go as planned, they would most of the time discard the faulty idea and think of something else to try.

Today, however, was not one of those times.

"I got it, I got it!" cried Wind as he leapt up to grab the bright orange block that was flying straight towards him. He caught it successfully, stumbled backwards a bit at its weight, then showed it off with a grin and a wink. "Heheh! Not too shabby, huh, you guys?"

Twilight laughed, waving the Cane of Somaria a little and causing the block Wind caught to disappear - even with his almost non-existent magical ability, he could still summon enough energy to make use of the item. "You're stronger than you look, Wind!" He turned to his left and handed the cane back to its original owner. "Here, Light, it's your turn."

He took it with a broad smirk. "You guys hit like wusses," he said, backing up a good four or five yards. "Let me show you how a real caneball player does it!"

"Is that really what you're calling it?" asked Wind, amused.

"Hey, it's a good name!" Light braced himself, held the cane up, and called over to Twilight. "Your ball, Twilight! Go long!" He then formed a new block in midair and smacked it as hard as his arms would allow him to.

The eldest of the three gaped at the block went soaring over his head. He tried to catch up to it, but it had flown too far and too high for him to reach. He froze when the block arced over a hilltop and out of sight; he then cringed when he heard it land with a sickening crunch.

After a short moment of shocked silence, Light lowered the cane. "What," he asked nervously, "was that?"

"Sounds like it hit something," answered Wind, "or... someone."

Being the closest to the source of the noise, Twilight swore under his breath and rushed over to where he guessed the block had landed. The other Links noticed and followed suit.

"Twilight!" called Light, "Did you find - "

"Oh, Goddesses," cried Twilight's panicked voice, "it's Time! He's not moving...!"

When Wind and Light caught up with their elder, he was already kneeling over Time, who laid motionless face-down in the grass with his hat and the orange block scattered on the ground nearby. Frantically, Twilight placed his hands on Time's back and began to shake him.

"Time!" he yelled, "Time, wake up!"

Wind shot a glare at Light. "I thought you said playing out in the field wouldn't hurt anybody!"

"H-How was I supposed to know he'd be out here!?" Light shoved the cane back into his pouch, flustered. "And, besides, he can't be hurt too bad - that's how this place works, right?"

They froze when they heard a soft groan from Time, watching as his eyes flickered open. For a few seconds, he stared blankly at the grass, but his awakening was enough to elicit a relieved sigh from Twilight.

"You idiot," he scolded, "don't scare us like that, Time! I almost thought you'd died again!"

Time sat up, his eyes readjusting to the world around him as he looked around for the source of the voice. Disturbed by the lack of a response, Twilight spoke again.

"...Time? Time, you in there?"

Finally, Time acknowledged Twilight's presence. He stared at him, blinking a few times and rubbing at his head before opening his mouth. "...Are you talking to me...?" But before the other had time to answer, Time let out a loud gasp of realization. "Wait, where's Navi?" He turned to and fro, calling his former partner's name. "Navi! Navi, where are you!?"

"Geez, Time, will you calm down!?" bellowed Twilight as he grabbed his predecessor's upper arms. "Navi's not even visiting today!"

"Why are you calling me that!?" asked Time, struggling weakly against his grip, "My name's Link!"

At that, the other three Heroes' eyes went wide in horror. Twilight's hands slipped off of the confused Link's arms, then Wind approached, bending over slightly so that he was at eye level with Time.

"Time - uh, I mean, Link," he began, his voice laced with dread, "what's the last thing you remember doing?"

"Um..." Time rubbed his head again, struggling to think in his dazed state. "Lake... Lake Hylia. Navi said the Water Temple was underwater, and I was going to... to..."

He was interrupted when Twilight stood, yanking the clearly very confused Hero up with him and dragging him away by the wrist.

"W-Wait!" Time said, "Where are you taking me!? I have to find Navi...!"

"To somebody who'll know what to do with you!" He turned to the other two. "Don't just stand there - help me get him to Sky's house!"

Regaining their composure, Light and Wind nodded and followed them.

"Amnesia?" asked Light incredulously, "How the hell can he get amnesia? I thought we couldn't get injured or sick in this place!"

"Not permanently," Sky answered as he looked at his successor sternly. "You can still feel pain and get sick momentarily - you know that."

"That doesn't explain why Time suddenly thinks he's running around Hyrule with Navi!"

Sky frowned. "Do you know how heavy the blocks the Cane of Somaria makes are?" He crossed his arms. "With the way you hit it, Light, it would have killed Time if he wasn't already dead. It's no wonder his memories are scrambled!"

"He said playing in the open field wouldn't hurt anybody!" spat Wind, who also gave Light an angry stare.

"Don't start; you're just as much to blame as Light!" Sky sighed and sulked deeply. "...His head will sort everything out again soon; I'd say after a few hours, or a day at most." He pointed an authoritative finger at the two. "But just because this isn't permanent doesn't mean you all shouldn't learn from this! No more caneball, got that?"

Light lowered his head, with Wind following shortly after. "Yeah," said Light guiltily, "no more caneball."

Wind looked back up. "A-Anyway... you think Twilight's really going to help him remember something?"

"If anybody can jog his memory," said Sky, leaning against the wall and looking at the door to the room Time and Twilight were in, "it's his own protégé. At the very least, he can keep Time calm until he's better."

"Let's hope."

Light keep looking down at his boots. Then, he sighed - who knew his innocent little game of catch could have gone so wrong?

Time slowly sipped his glass of milk, a token of good will from Twilight to prove that he meant the amnesiac Hero no harm. "So," he said, a little unsure, "Navi's here, too? And she's going to come back?"

"Yeah," said Twilight with a nod, "as soon as we can find her, we'll bring her right to you, okay?"

With a relieved sigh, Time smiled slightly. "Good," he said, "I can't go back to Hyrule without her." He looked out the window in nervous wonder. "...Where is this place, anyway?"

"It's, uh..." Twilight gulped - how was he going to explain everything? Time was mentally just a child at the moment, with no knowledge that he had lived, died, and resided here for eons. How would he tell a little kid that he was already dead, and before he thought his journey was done, at that? "...It's a, um, parallel world to Hyrule." That answer wasn't a complete lie at least, he thought.

"Parallel?"

"It means it exists side by side with Hyrule," explained Twilight, "you just can't see it from there."

"Oh." Time turned back and tilted his head. "And... you said your name is Link, too?"

"Uh-huh. You can call me Twilight, though - it's what everybody else calls me."

"And how come you're wearing Kokiri clothes?"

"N-No, no, these aren't Kokiri clothes," Twilight said, waving his hands and shaking his head, "they're, um... hand-me-downs!"

Time lifted an eyebrow in confusion. This caused the younger Hero to place his palm over his face and sigh.

"...Look, time and space are kind of weird here." He lowered his hand and attempted to make up a suitable explanation to him on the spot. "See... I'm from the future."

"You are?" asked Time, his expression quickly transforming from suspicious bewilderment into amazement.

Twilight nodded. "In fact," he said with a small grin, "I'm your descendent, and that's why I'm named after you. It's why I look like you, too."

"Descendent? What's that mean?"

"It means you had kids," Twilight explained, "and then those kids had kids, and then those kids had more kids, and so on and so on, until I was born." Content that his explanation seemed to satisfy Time's curiosity, he relaxed a little. "So you're basically my distant grandfather, and I'm your distant grandson. Got that?"

The other Hero's eyes widened as he listened. "So, you're saying..." he quickly began turning red, "...I'm gonna have a baby one day?"

"Y...Yes...?"

"B-But that means - " he gasped and placed a hand on one burning hot cheek, " - that means I'm gonna get married, right!? Navi said that when people get married they have babies!"

Unsure as to where this line of conversation was going, Twilight gulped. "Y-Yeah, that's basically how it works - "

Suddenly, Time shot up, slamming his hands on the table and staring down the younger Link. "Th-Then," he stammered, "who is it!? Who am I gonna marry and have the baby with, huh!?"

"Huh!?" Twilight recoiled and shook his head. "I, uh, I don't think I should be - "

"Don't tell me it's Ruto!" he said, "Th-that engagement thing was a mistake!"

"Look, Link, I'm not - "

"But, wait," Time turned away slightly and began speaking more to himself, "Navi joked about Princess Zelda being my girlfriend... could it be her?" He turned an even brighter red as he ran through all of the possibilities. "A-And Talon asked if I wanted to marry Malon, too... and Saria - no, Saria's a Kokiri, and Kokiri can't have babies like Hylians do..." He lowered his voice a little. "Maybe it's Sheik...?"

"Of course it's not Sheik!" said Twilight, flustered, "You can't have babies with other men!"

Time turned back, looking genuinely shocked at that information. "I can't?"

This time Twilight slapped both palms to his face. "Sweet Golden Goddesses," he groaned to himself, "help me."

Indeed, until Time's memory came back, it was going to be a long, rough day of babysitting his ancestor.