C-Support

Gerome: …

Link: Hmm... No matter where we travel, this world doesn't have any goodies to find.

Gerome: ...Why are you here?

Link: Oh, hey... It's you... Is this the first time we've spoken?

Gerome: That's irrelevant. Answer the question.

Link: I'm... not doing anything important... Just looking around in the wild for stuff.

Gerome: ...

Link: I should give it up already, though... I've been fighting with the Shepherds for a few years now, and I still waste time breaking rocks and cutting tall grass... I've never found even a single rupee, bomb, or arrow... It's pretty disappointing...

Gerome: I don't care about your pointless meandering. I only want to know why you've forced yourself into our affairs.

Link: ...Is it so hard to believe that I'm just here to help you guys win this war?

Gerome: Yes.

Link: Well... That's all there is to it... Believe what you want.

Gerome: Regardless of your reasoning, I advise that you leave. This is not your fight, and I do not wish to see an outsider throw his life away for a senseless cause.

Link: ...A senseless cause?... How could any of this be senseless?

Gerome: Tch... A righteous soul like yourself will never see eye to eye with me. To explain my thoughts would be a waste of time.

Link: If you won't explain yourself, then I'm definitely not leaving.

Gerome: ...Do you have nothing waiting for you back home? You are the sole protector of that land, are you not?... You risked your life and surely suffered greatly during your trials. You did so with very little help, I hear... As a fellow lone wolf, I admire your achievements.

Link: Oh... Well, thank y-

Gerome: It is because I admire what you have done that I cannot see the sense in what you aim to do now... Your fight is over, Link. Enjoy the peace you have won. Go be with your loved ones... You sacrificed everything for them, and now you put your life on the line again? To fight in this godforsaken struggle that we have no chance of emerging alive from?... It's a pathetic joke.

Link: I can't deny... that I've had similar thoughts at times... but I've already committed, and I won't back down... I'm not the kind of person to abandon you all.

Gerome: Hmph... I wish you would abandon us... and one day, when the people of Hyrule realize that you aren't coming back, they'll be wishing you had, too.

Link: …

Gerome: Pah... It's as I've said; we will to fail to reach an agreement. We are polar opposites, you and I... You are the type to never give up. You will always help those in need if doing so is within your power, but you won't stop to ask if you should... I am not so generous, nor am I so foolish.

Link: ...I'm confident in my decision, Gerome. Fool or not, the Shepherds need me, so I'll fight for them.

Gerome: Then there is no point in us talking further...

B-Support

Link: …

Gerome: …

Link: Gerome... I've got a question.

Gerome: …

Link: This is Minerva, right?... Your mother's wyvern from the future?

Gerome: ...What of her?

Link: She doesn't go after my hat like the Minerva of this time does... I wonder why?

Gerome: My partner has simply grown older. She is more mature... Perhaps losing her original master has also dulled her penchant for fun and games.

Link: I see...

Gerome: Hmph... And here you remain, inquiring into our lives, fighting our battles... I've warned you multiple times that you will forfeit your life by staying here, yet you continue to stick your nose where it doesn't belong.

Link: ...You think I'm going to die here?... It's obviously a possibility, but do you have no faith in my skill?

Gerome: You have shown time and time again that you are an elite warrior. It is not an issue of skill, and I have never once thought it so... However, this war we have waged was decided from the start. You have everything to lose from remaining here and nothing to gain.

Link: ...There's no way you really think that... Why would you travel back in time to also fight here, then?

Gerome: …

Link: You want me to save myself? Fine, I can understand that... but if you think this is an unwinnable fight, then I can't understand why you wouldn't leave, too.

Gerome: I realize that there is no hope of victory here... yet, I clutch weakly to that dream. I will never stop striving toward a world where the fell dragon's influence has been wiped out completely. I am a complete fool, just the same as everyone else here.

Link: Heh... Well, I wouldn't call you that... You have a practical, and strategic mind... A realistic outlook can be a valuable... but I will say that you aren't making much sense right now.

Gerome: With my home and family hanging in the balance, rational thought escapes me. I have accepted that I will fight against the odds, no matter how slim... You, on the other hand, have no such ties to this land. You have no reason to follow this army of idiots to their deaths.

Link: ...You guys are my family now, too... So, yeah, I do have a reason.

Gerome: ...Hmph...

Link: Hey... Does all of this have to do with 'fate'?... I've heard you mention it before, but I didn't know if you were serious about it.

Gerome: You would do well to take fate seriously... It is rigid, absolute, and overwhelming... To understand the power of fate yet still attempt to change it? Perhaps I am the biggest fool of all.

Link: But things are already different compared to your era, right?... You and the other time travelers are here... I'm here... Fate has already changed, and with us around, it'll continue to change... I'm sure of it.

Gerome: Lucina once thought so. However, the Exalt's death was a rude awakening. It was unmistakable evidence that, try as we might, fate will correct itself. It may diverge for a time, taking short lines off the intended path, but it will arrive at its destination all the same.

Link: Eh... I don't buy it.

Gerome: Hmm?

Link: Hyrule has its own dealings with this stuff, y'know... Like me, for example... According to the legends of my world, heroes have stepped up to defeat evil all throughout Hyrule's existence... These heroes are chosen by the goddess herself, and I'm apparently one of them.

Gerome: But you were successful in saving your homeland. Your destiny unfolded exactly as was planned by your goddess, did it not?

Link: Mine did... but there are also legends told of heroes who failed, as well... Despite them having the goddess' blessing, the forces of evil were able to claim victory in some time periods.

Gerome: …

Link: So I don't bother with that sort of thinking... If the goddess can't even ensure that I prevail, then that's proof that my actions matter... I saved Hyrule thanks to my efforts and the support given to me from friends and allies along the way... That's it... And we can save this world, too, through sheer will and effort... We don't need something baseless like fate to favor us.

Gerome: ...If only I could believe the same...

A-Support

Link: ...I've got a bite... Give me a second...

Gerome: …

Link: ...Aaaand... Got 'em.

Gerome: ...Mmm...

Link: Eh... Well, it's not as big as I'd hoped, but...

Gerome: An Ylissian Trout. A common freshwater fish found across the halidom.

Link: It's something... but it's no Hylian Loach, that's for sure.

Gerome: …

Link: You, uh... enjoying yourself at all?... If this is boring, you don't need to stick around.

Gerome: I do not mind fishing. It's an agreeable method for passing time... I simply prefer to do so alone.

Link: ...I think you prefer to do everything alone.

Gerome: Most likely, but despite knowing this, I accepted your invitation... I am not entirely sure why.

Link: ...Maybe we're starting to become friends?

Gerome: *sigh*... Loath as I am to admit it, I fear there is truth in that... Even though I intended on distancing myself from others that live in this time period, you have wormed your way into my good graces, it appears.

Link: ...So you aren't just someone who likes their solitude... You're actively avoiding others and avoiding friendship in general?

Gerome: Correct.

Link: ...That seems like a depressing way to live.

Gerome: I disagree. I have had friendships and bonds severed by the cruel hand of fate repeatedly. 'Depressing' would not even begin to describe how that feels.

Link: ...So to escape that feeling, you just don't bond with people anymore?

Gerome: Yes.

Link: Gerome, I don't agree with that at all... It's like you're saying that the pain of losing a friend outweighs the joy of knowing them and living life with them.

Gerome: …Perhaps I am.

Link: My father, The Great Deku Tree, died when I was young... It was one of the most difficult times in my life... but that pain is nothing compared to the impact he's left on me... You can see his influence and teachings living on through me, every single day.

Gerome: …

Link: I doubt I'll be able to change your mind, but making a friend is never something you should regret... You think this war is pointless because we won't win? Well, I'd only think it pointless if I had no friends to share in the victory with... Without friends, what do you even have to fight for?

Gerome: Hah... That's rich coming from you. Do you forget that you had no friends in this realm before coming here? Even so, that didn't stop you.

Link: ...Ahhh... Well... I'm a bit of a hopeless case when it comes to that stuff...

Gerome: Despite our differing viewpoints, you've managed to form a bond between us, insignificant though it may be.

Link: Good... You need more friends... And even if you're worried, don't be... I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm not gonna die in this world... I've got things to do, and people to see back home... Some fell dragon won't be getting in the way of that.

Gerome: Against my better judgment, I actually believe you... You are an unusual man, Link.

Link: Hey... If you don't mind spending time with me, do you wanna try something other than silently fishing together?

Gerome: If you must find another activity for us, then I am... receptive... to alternatives.

Link: I was thinking... you always wear that mask, right? Well, I've got a whole collection of masks, actually... Care to check them out? Maybe I could get your opinion on them.

Gerome: ...I'm interested.

A/N:

My knowledge of Zelda lore is probably incorrect in this one. I know that the soul of the hero (Link's incarnations) will rise up against the various forms that Demise's incarnation will take (mostly Ganon/Ganondorf). As this power struggle repeats throughout time never-ending, I assume there are many of these struggles between good and evil that are not covered in the games, but fill in the gaps that separate these games. My (mis)understanding is that sometimes the hero loses, and the world is taken over by darkness for a time, but I can't find anything on that being true. Link is defeated for sure in one of OoT's three possible timelines, but that obviously is not the timeline that this fic takes place in, so that's not what Link would be referring to in the B-Support. If I'm totally off base with this, just pretend that I'm taking an artistic liberty with the lore.