Worlds Collide Chapter 1: Where am I?, a Legend of Zelda + Fire Emblem Crossover fanfic

Chapter 1: Where am I?

Valentia, the morning hours.

It had been two years since the union of the lands of Zofia and Rigel into the One Kingdom of Valentia. The war between the two lands had been an arduous one, but under this unification, they both could finally move past it and look toward a future shaped by the people and not by the age of the Gods.

In the Castle of Valentia, on a balcony overlooking the land, the young king Albein Alm Rudolf II (Otherwise known as Alm) stares out towards the horizon. Despite his status as king of Valentia, he still keeps his green hair parted and the left half covering part of his forehead instead of slicked back like your typical royal; he still sees himself as the young man from Ram Village after all. Instead of wearing royal garb, he opts to wear the blue armor he used to start his journey through Zofia all the way to Rigel, as a reminder of his successes…and his regrets. As he continues his peaceful relaxation, a guard knocks on his door.

"Come in."

"Good morning, my king. I am here to inform you that you have a visitor; the lord of Zofia."

Smiling, Alm turns around to face the door to his office. "Send him in."

The guard opens the door and a man in white armor and cape with black and white clothing underneath and messy red hair walks in as the guard takes his leave. Finally alone, the serious faced man smiles upon seeing his brother-in-law. "It's been a while, Alm."

"Conrad! This is a pleasant surprise." Alm happily takes his hand and welcomes him gladly. "To what do I owe this visit?"

"I haven't come to visit in a while and thought I should. Besides, Lukas has things taken care of in my stead. Also, where's Celica?"

"Ah, she left on an expedition with Clive and Mathilda three days ago to a neighboring town that needed some help with a bandit problem." Alm says as he points to the location on a map behind his desk. "Lucky for us, they should be back here in a few hours. Think you can wait?"

"I'd be a sorry excuse for a big brother if I couldn't." Conrad jovially says as he joins Alm in the balcony to catch up on things. However, their conversation is cut off by a panicked Pegasus knight that flies up to address Alm.

"My king, we have an emergency! Rigel Village is under attack, we need reinforcements!"

"Do you know who the responsible party is?" Alm asks with worry.

"No, my king; they came out of nowhere. Please, we must hurry!"

Not wanting to waste time, Alm asks Conrad to assemble a squadron of mounted troops and meet him at the entrance, to which he acknowledges before running off. After the Pegasus knight flies back to the village, Alm grabs the royal sword (a silvery blade that has a golden cross guard with a ruby in the center and a long brown handle which only those of royal bloodline may wield) from his chair and runs to join his men, but not before taking one last look at a portrait of an older man in royal armor. "Grandfather, watch over us."

Rigel Village-45 minutes earlier

The people of Rigel Village started their day like any other, peacefully and without a care in the world; the fathers heading off to work, the mothers tending to their homes with the children, the merchants arriving to sell their wares, etc. One such shopkeeper sweeps off the dirt on his front porch with a broom until his attention is drawn to what he believes are dark clouds covering the sun, only to see that they are actually four large necro dragons which drop off several skeletal and reptilian monsters; one of which cuts him down before he can get away. The monsters begin to rampage, slaughtering the terrified villagers. Some try their hardest to fight back, with little to no results; a larger man swings at several skeletal monsters with an axe, only to be overwhelmed and hacked away by five lizard monsters with swords. Another villager tries to ride off on a horse, but is tackled to the ground by another lizard monster and devoured. A young girl escapes into a small alleyway to hide from the chaos, only to be frozen in place by a shrill scream from the left; in which a ghoulishly emaciated figure slinks towards her. She desperately tries to regain control of herself, until the creature bites down on her throat and her scream is lost among the carnage.

The Land of Hyrule

It had been, ironically, seven years since Hyrule was saved before it was ever in danger. The Gerudo had long since excommunicated Ganondorf and he was sent to a prison far away from Hyrule and even out of this plane of existence; the sages had sealed him in a different dimension, preventing him from misusing the Triforce of Power ever again. Now, the land of Hyrule continued thriving in peace under the rule of the Royal Family. One particular settlement, namely Kakariko Village, had seen a bit of growth thanks to Mutoh, a master craftsman and his group of (bumbling) carpenters. Mutoh, out of generosity and gratitude, gave a certain young man a job as one of his carpenters.

"Alright, we're ready kiddo!" Jiro, one of the carpenters along with his associate Saburo, calls out to the person up above from a ledge near the center of the village. Lowering a long wooden beam with a rope, the two carpenters catch it before untying it. "Thanks!"

"No problem!" The young man says as he flexes his hands from the brief strain of the rope. This is Link, the once hailed Hero of Time from another age, now living life as a simple carpenter in Kakariko Village. It had been thanks to his knowledge of seven years into the future that helped the king of Hyrule open his eyes to the traitor that Ganondorf always was. After spending some time in Hyrule, he went off on a personal journey that became so much more than he could have ever imagined. After finally returning from the land of Termina, he realized that in searching for his friend, he missed a certain someone so much more.

"Link, we're getting ready to set the beams! Hurry on up!" One of the carpenters calls out.

"Alright, I'm coming!" Link says as he runs down the stairs from the north of the center. He had opted to wear an off white shirt along with dark green pants, brown deer skin boots and brown fingerless gloves for his work. After about 30 minutes of setting up the beams to lay down the bricks later, the carpenters wait for the others to bring them down from Death Mountain while sitting at the steps of the building in progress.

"Aw man, nothing like a flask of Lon Lon milk to cool you down." Jiro happily says as he opens his flask.

"You said it, fella." Saburo answers as he clanks Jiro's flask with his own. "And you, Link?"

"I'll refresh when the work is done. Thanks." Link answers while stretching. "So, this is gonna be a shooting gallery, right?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Jiro asks in surprise.

"Oh, just a lucky guess."

"Well, I wonder how much we can get done in about three hours." Saburo asks while looking at the structure, to which peaks Link's curiosity.

"What happens in three hours?"

"Oh, you didn't know? Lady Impa is coming to visit. I hear the princess is coming with her."

"Oh really?" Link's eyes light up upon hearing this.

"Hey, didn't the two of you play around a lot when you were kids?" Jiro asked and he was right; after returning to Hyrule, Link went straight to the castle and bypassed the guards to reach the then child princess Zelda. As soon as she saw him in the courtyard, she gleefully hugged her dear friend and he told her about all of the events in the land of Termina, much to her astonishment. From that day forward, the two always found the time to sneak Zelda out of the castle so they could do fun things in the marketplace and even head off to Lake Hylia. They spent many happy years in each other's company, until…. "So, why'd you stop seeing each other?"

"Oh, that; She just had her duties that she couldn't ignore. That's all." Link says in a dismissive tone, not entirely convincing his associates. About half an hour later, the other carpenters descend the mountain with a cart full of bricks. Two hours later, they've managed to cover three of the four walls. Seeing that it's almost time for the guests to arrive, Link hurries to get the rest of the bricks laid down, until Jiro stops him and gestures him to head on home with a smile, knowing exactly why Link is hurrying. Thanking his friend, Link rushes home (A/N: The house that would've been the potion shop in OoT), nearly running into a lovey dovey couple before apologizing and runs inside. After washing himself, Link decides to wear his familiar green tunic for when they arrive. Taking the time to look at some of the items he collected from Termina and across the land, Link reminisces about how he remembers so much, yet everyone else is none the wiser. This was decreed by the Royal Family as being for the best; all but a select few (in particular, those who would become the sages) were not allowed to know the truth. After a few minutes, the sound of horses hooves catch Link's attention and his heart beats rapidly, knowing exactly who has arrived. Breathing deeply, Link exits his home and heads to the center of the village where everyone has gathered; he sees six royal guards armed with spears and hylian shields. What really catches his attention are the two white stallions riders; one being Impa and the other being the reason for his fidgety behavior, princess Zelda. After one of the guards helps Zelda off of her horse, Impa follows suit and stands next to her.

"Home sweet home." Impa nostalgically comments.

"It has been a while since you last came back, isn't it?" Zelda adds.

"Yes. It is good to see that it is thriving. Now, I do believe that I see the real reason for our visit."

Zelda tenses up and sees Link among the crowd, who also looks just as anxious. Zelda immediately looks to one of the guards, who understands the silent command and walks over to Link with a long wooden box.

"For you, sir Link." The guard says as he stretches his hands out with the box, to which Link takes with surprise. What really catches Link's attention is the almost spiteful way of addressing him, as well as the cold stares from the other guards. Catching this, Impa clears her throat, which puts the guards back in their place and finally speaks to the villagers.

"Thank you all for your warm welcome." Impa proudly says. "The village has grown exactly as I had hoped it would have. You have all made me very proud." The villagers cheer in gratitude and happiness over these declarations.

"I, too, share Lady Impa's sentiment." Zelda comments. "It pleases me greatly to know that Hyrule is thriving and this village is a testament to it." The villagers clap in response. Link, however, can't help but look at Zelda, her words completely lost on him and only take in the features of her face; her flawless skin, light pink lipstick, light lavender eye shadow, bright blue eyes and golden blonde hair. Beneath those physical aspects is also a kind soul who always puts others before herself. Yes, to Link, she was perfect in every way.

"…and I hope we all continue to grow stronger than we are now." Zelda finishes her speech, to which Link missed all of, and the crowd cheers once again. Later on in the evening, Impa spends most of her time mingling with the villagers while the guards stand at both entrances and within range of both her and the princess. Zelda, meanwhile, tends to her horse, until she receives a visitor.

"Hello Ze- Princess." Zelda turns around and sees Link smiling at her, equipped with a hylian shield and his new sword (blue and gold handle, light blue cross guard with a circle on each end and yellow gem in the center and a white blade with a blue interior) on his back. "I came to thank you for the sword. I really appreciate it."

"Oh, it was Lady Impa's idea. You should thank her instead." Zelda briefly says before turning back to attend her horse.

"Oh, I-I'll be sure to do that then." Link says in a crestfallen tone. "I'm...really happy to see you again."

Zelda stops her motions before responding. "Yes, it's nice to see you too."

Still unsatisfied with her responses, Link continues to try and make small talk. "I'd hoped that-"

"Enough." Zelda says in an authoritative tone, surprising Link. "What are you doing?"

"I…just wanted to talk to you."

"Why? Haven't we both done enough to your reputation already? Why do you insist on this?"

"Who cares about that? You know who I am."

"I care!" Zelda quietly shouts so as not catch the guard's attention. "We both made a mistake that day. Had I known what was going to happen, I never would've gone to the lake with you."

Link, in a bold move, walks up from behind Zelda and grabs her hand, uncaring that a guard might see them and their respective Triforce's gently glow. "I don't regret that day. If I had a do over, I'd do the same thing all over again. We did nothing wrong, it was our first ki-"

Zelda pulls her hand away and silently cries. "I wish that day never happened. Because of it, you're now hated by everyone in the castle,; I won't allow you to be shunned even further by being near me."

Fearing what she will say next, Link reaches out and shakily addresses her. "Zelda, I…"

Zelda wraps her hands around her waist and shuts her eyes as the tears flow out and she whispers: "Just go away…"

Heartbroken, Link heavily sighs and respects her request. Mutoh and the carpenters see Link and call out to him to celebrate a job well done. Link, however, just walks past them and heads home, much to their confusion. As he enters, he is greeted by none other than Impa.

"Long time no see, Hero." Impa says in a casual tone.

"Hi Impa." Sighing, Link closes the door behind him and takes a seat. "Is this the third or fourth time you've snuck into my house?"

"Well, just like all the times you've absconded with the princess in the past, who's keeping count?"

"Heheh, touché."

"Well, I take it you've talked to her?"

"Yeah, I did…" Link says with the memory still fresh in his mind.

"Link, I am sorry about all that happened. I really am." Impa says in a sympathetic tone. "If it's any consolation, I know that everything they said isn't true."

"Thanks Impa. It does help, really." Link says, trying his best to smile. "Just promise to keep her safe, even if I'm not around."

Impa walks up and places a hand on Link's shoulder. "You have my word as the chief of the Sheikah. But, I also want you to know that you mean a great deal to her. The day will come when you can walk on the same path again, I have faith in that." Impa stands up straight and walks toward one of the windows. "I've raised her since she was a baby, so I know her manner of thinking. I know that she only does this because she cares for you, even if her methods are a tad misguided. Please, find it in your heart to forgive her slight coldness towards you."

Link, hearing Impa's account, smiles softly and nods. However, her attention is then drawn outside as she senses a dark power.

"What's wrong?"

"Someone is coming…"

From the entrance to the village, a hooded figure walks up. The guards halt the stranger's progression and ask that they state their business, until this person teleports over to them and slits their throats with blades made of dark magic. With the guards slain, the stranger makes their way to the center where everyone is until being stopped by Impa.

"Halt." Impa commands while conjuring a naginata, catching everyone's attention. "What are you doing here?"

The stranger doesn't answer, but has purple flames burn off their cloak, revealing them as a young woman with a red and grey dress that exposes partial cleavage, black and yellow boots with grey stockings and matching gloves, black flaring shoulder guards, an operatic mask with glowing purple eyes, red hair and sickly grey skin. Saying nothing, the woman attacks with dark magic blades and Impa blocks her. Shouting for the villagers to get back in their homes immediately before smacking her away with the bottom of her naginata. The woman recovers and recites an incantation which provokes a dark blast that knocks her to the ground before looming over Impa.

"Impa!" Zelda shouts in desperation as she runs off to help Impa, only to be stopped by the surviving guards.

"Your Highness, stay away!" Impa shouts as she prepares for what comes next as the woman charges a spell from her left hand. Out of nowhere, Link swings in on his hookshot and kicks her off of Impa. Landing on his feet, Link helps Impa up off the ground and they both ready themselves as the woman returns fire with her spells. Impa conjures flames with her naginata and swings them at the woman, who blocks them with a barrier and just narrowly misses Links horizontal slash. The woman makes another barrier surrounding her, protecting her from Links slashes. Impa uses this as the opportunity to send fire down a into the ground and up inside the barrier, much to the woman's shock. Burned and in distress, she dispels her barrier and Impa rushes in to deliver a deep vertical slash on the woman and Link follows up by bashing her with his shield, knocking her down and thrusts his sword downward on her heart. Gasping for breath, the woman's eyes lose their glow and she becomes unresponsive.

"Thank you, Link." Impa says in relief as she dispels her naginata.

"Don't worry about it." Link answers as he puts away his sword and shield. They pair rush over to Zelda and the guards to check on them (the villagers peek out from their windows and doors after noticing the silence). The guards put themselves between Link and Zelda, only for Impa to shoot them a threatening glare to back off. The guards reluctantly stand down as Link and Zelda finally make eye contact. Unbeknownst to everyone, the dying woman uses the last of her strength to dig her palm into the ground and send a ripple towards the others.

"Are you alright?" Link quietly asks.

"Yes." Zelda meekly answers. "Th-thank you."

Link only nods in response. "I'm glad."

"Listen, we should return to the castle. The King needs to know about this intruder. "Impa commands before looking at Link. "You're coming too,; he needs to hear your account."

"I…I don't think that's a good idea." Link reluctantly answers.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll tell him you're in my custody." Impa retorts before smirking. "I've got your back."

Mulling it over for a second, Link nods in agreement as he moves to leave with them. However, his attention is drawn to the woman who maliciously smiles while looking at their feet. Link looks down and, to his shock, sees light beginning to erupt beneath them.

"GET BACK!" Link pushes Zelda and Impa away as the light erupts and surrounds him in a sphere that hits him with electricity and he shouts in pain.

"LINK!" Zelda shouts in horror as Impa restrains her from touching the sphere. "NO!"

The sphere briefly expands (with a sound similar to an explosion) before imploding, taking Link with it. The guards stare in complete shock and the confused villagers exit their homes. Meanwhile, the woman succumbs to her injuries and crumbles to dust.

"Oh no…" A distraught Zelda says, reflecting on the last things she said to Link before dropping to her knees and crying. Impa kneels down and embraces Zelda to try and comfort her. "This can't be happening…"

Rigel Village

As per Alm's orders, Conrad evacuates the surviving villagers and swears to him that he'll return momentarily after getting them far away from the fighting as he leaves with a small brigade of soldiers. Acknowledging this, Alm has his troops fight back the monsters. A few minutes into the fight, the eight soldiers (sans Alm) had been reduced to two from the monsters onslaught.

"Damn monsters!" Alm angrily shouts before cutting down two lizard monsters.

"My king, get back! Argh!" One of the remaining soldiers shouts before being stabbed from behind by a skeletal monster, killing him. Alm notices too late and destroys the monster in retaliation, leaving it down to just him and a mortally wounded soldier on his shoulder. Not wanting to abandon him, Alm fights off his attackers with all his might.

From behind one of the houses, a sphere of light appears which then expands and drops Link on the ground. The sphere disappears and Link gets up off the ground, still in brief pain from the electricity. Leaning on one of the houses, Link tries to catch his breath until he realizes that he's not in Kakariko Village anymore.

"Where…is this?" Link moves away and stumbles into the village. "Zelda? Impa? Where are you?" Link calls out to no avail. Just then, two skeletal monsters catch his attention as they zero in on something. "Stalfos?! What are they doing here?"

Alm finally buckles from the pressure and kneels down with the soldier as two stalfos close in on them.

"My king, run…" The soldier breaks away and makes one final attempt to kill the stalfos, only to be cut down himself.

"No!" Alm shouts in both anger and desperation upon realizing that he's the only one left. In an act of defiance, he points his sword at the stalfos and prepares to fight through his exhaustion. "Come on!"

The stalfos charge at Alm, only to be eliminated by the arriving in the nick of time Link. Alm stares in complete shock at Link, wondering where he came from. "Who are you?"

Link turns around and enters a defensive pose. "Where is this? What part of Hyrule am I in?"

"Hyrule?" Alm asks in confusion. "I've never heard of it."

"How have you not heard of it? The Royal Family of Hyrule is known to all."

"Not in Valentia I bet." Alm answers.

"Valentia?" Link wonders aloud; is he in another kingdom? Why has he never heard of Valentia? What in the world is going on? Trying to make sense of his situation, Link sits on a nearby fence.

Alm, taking pity on the confused stranger, offers his assistance. "Listen, maybe I can help you somehow. Come on back with me- huh?" Alm looks down and a familiar light envelops him. Link notices the sphere and panics upon seeing Alm In the same situation and pain he was in. Unfortunately, he arrives too late as the sphere implodes and disappears with Alm in it. Exclaiming in frustration, Link stops himself as he sees a pendant on the ground, likely dropped by Alm. After picking it up, Link decides to enter one of the house's (albeit uncomfortable with all of the deceased on the ground). After spending 7 minutes searching, he sees what he believes he was looking for; a map. To his shock, he is in fact in a land known as Valentia. He looks through the other regions and finds that none of them are Hyrule, concluding that he's probably in another side of the world. His only chance at finding his bearings would be to locate another village and start from there. His plans, unfortunately, are cut short; as he opens the door to leave, three arrows strike it and he looks to their origin in alarm. He sees four people on horseback; three soldiers and a young woman that catches his attention, wearing white dress-armor that cuts off at her collarbone, black thigh high stockings with white metallic boots, black fingerless gloves with white metallic gauntlets, a white cape with gold trim and tassels on the bottom, red hair going past her shoulders, amber eyes and a circlet on her head. He knew that she was royalty and that maybe she could help him.

"It's a serious crime to steal from the dead, young man." One of the soldiers comments while aiming his bow.

"Wait, this is just a misunderstanding." Link calmly says while slowly moving forward. "I'm just lost,; I was hoping you could tell me about where I am. Miss, I need your help-"

"Hey, freeze!" The soldier readies an arrow and the others follow his lead. "Not one step closer!"

"Calm yourself, Captain." The young woman holds up her right hand to ease him and the others before addressing Link. "I am Anthiese Lima, Queen of Valentia. Who might you be?"

Clearing his throat, Link answers. "Your highness, my name is Link. I'm…I'm just a simple traveler who lost his way." Link decided to leave out who he is in actuality to avoid any unnecessary confusion. Before Anthiese can say anything else, the Captain cuts in.

"First things first; if you want our help, relinquish your weapon." The Captain orders as the other soldiers keep their arrows pointed at Link. Complying, Link removes his sheathed sword from his back. "Good, now put it on the ground and kick it towards me." Once again complying, Link kicks his sword to the captain and Anthiese becomes visibly frustrated and says in her mind: "Is this really necessary? He just needs help, for heavens sake!"

"Very well, now Captain; take your men and search for survivors, I will speak with our wanderer."

"But, my queen." The Captain moves to protest, only for Anthiese to stop him.

"I have his sword,; he won't think to attack me. Besides, I am not defenseless at all. Do you remember?"

"…Very well. Men, search for survivors!" The Captain and his two troops dismount and scour the area, leaving Anthiese and Link alone, the latter of whom watches them leave. Before anything else, Anthiese notices the pendant hanging from Link's hip and takes it off of him.

"Whoa, what's wrong?" Link asks, surprised by her actions.

"Where did you get this?" Anthiese asks, the anxiety present in her voice while she grasps the pendant.

"A…a man dropped it."

"What man?"

"He had blue armor, green hair and a fancy looking sword. I think he was with those other soldiers."

"Alm…" Anthiese quietly says in disbelief. "Where is he?!"

"I don't know. He disappeared in a sphere of light like me when I got here." Link quickly answers before covering his mouth in shock over realizing what he just said.

"Like you? You're not a simple traveler at all, are you?" Anthiese angrily questions.

"Alright, I can explain." Link holds up his hands to calm her down, but she'll have none of it.

"Enough!" Anthiese unsheathes her sword (a rapier like sword with a gold cross guard, red handle, golden pommel and a ring guard going from said pommel to hilt) and points it at Link. "No more lies, tell me the truth!"

"Please, calm down." Link worriedly says. "I don't exactly know what's going on."

"Where's Alm?" Anthiese asks, to which Link shakes his head in uncertainty and she begins to panic. "Where is my husband?!"

The interrogation is cut off as Anthiese hears the screams of her soldiers. Abandoning Link, she runs off to aid them, allowing Link the chance to take his sword off of her horse and take one of them to run away. However, before he mounts one, he takes one look at the direction Anthiese ran towards and sighs in resignation.

Reaching the village center where she heard the screams, Anthiese stands in horror at the sight of her dead soldiers. Wondering what did this, she slowly approaches them and becomes startled by the Captain's sudden coughing. Running to him slumped by a well, Anthiese asks him who did this. The Captain weakly points behind her; as she turns around, a lizalfos just barely misses her and she succeeds in hitting it with a fire spell just as another one tries to blindside her from the left. The partially burnt lizalfos charges at her and, with a mighty swing of its tail, hits Anthiese on the stomach and sends her flying towards a house. She exclaims in pain before falling to the ground unconscious and the lizalfos move in to finish her off, until…

"Queen Anthiese!" Link shouts, catching the lizalfos attention, as he runs towards her location. Realizing the situation, Link engages the now alert lizalfos by making the first move with a vertical slash which they dodge. Trying to rush him at the same time, the lizalfos charge and Link bashes one away with his shield and blocks the others attack with his sword. Hitting it again with his shield, Link follows up with a swift thrust through its heart. As it croaks before it dies, the other jumps on Link's back and tries to bite him, but he shoves the shield in its mouth and throws the lizalfos off. Just as it recovers and spits out the shield, Link performs a devastating swing on its neck, decapitating it. With both monsters dead, Link sheaths his sword and retrieves his shield before going to check on the Captain. Sadly, he did not survive his wounds and Link curses himself for not getting there in time. He then notices the still unconscious Anthiese and, relieved that she's still alive, carries her back to one of the houses near the horses and sets her down on one of the beds inside. Closing the door, Link sits on a chair next to her and waits for her to wake up. Still anxious, Link removes his hat and walks over to the window and looks out towards the sky, wondering how he'll return home.

Marketplace, back alley.

The sphere materializes, drops off Alm and disappears once again, leaving him in partial pain from the ordeal. Stumbling to find his footing, Alm gets up and takes in his surroundings, completely at a loss on where he is. Walking out of the alley, he witnesses a large group of people panicking over something that has happened recently and the guards doing their best to regain control of the situation. In spite of all this disarray, only one thought crosses through the young king's mind:

"Where am I?"

To Be Continued…

Authors note: Aaaaaaand here's a new one. Well, my time in quarantine (Bolivia) has let my mind wander and I came up with this. Out of all the FE games I've played, Shadows of Valentia is probably my favorite (next to Three Houses) one and my most recognized Zelda game is Ocarina of Time (my first one after all), so I thought I'd make another crossover story involving the two. Well, let me know what you think of the first chapter and I'll see you soon. Take care and stay healthy.