The most adult thing Link had done in his young adult life thus far was trade in his 1985 Yamaha VMAX. He loved that bike- truly, he did. His dad had bought him that bike. The front end was just never the same after he plowed the poor thing through the front window of his dad's arcade. It carried him where he needed to go, sure, but it needed to either go to someone with the drive to repair it, or be put out of its misery.

Arn had been in shock and awe when Link came home with a shiny, new, and all around good ol' fat boy. 1994, the newest vehicle in their household by a long shot. Link never thought he'd get his hands on a Harley with his own cash, and the second he saw the name (FLSTF Fat Boy) he was sold. Perks of having a job where the owners love you.

Speaking of- that was Link's job experience. Since he turned 18, he had worked at that little mom and pop sub shop that his highschool baseball coach would take the team to after a successful game. A little place called Recall Diner. Link's initial plan was to work there until he could land a spot shadowing Mr. Revali as a student baseball coach, but to be honest, he quickly felt at home at that little diner. It was still chock full of kitschy decorations and sports memorabilia- but Link was pretty sure said sports memorabilia was from, like… the 60's. Maybe the 50s? Whatever- it was old. That probably explained the name. He wasn't much of a cook, but he had learned to pitch together a mean meatball sub- which was about all anyone ever ordered anyways.

The owners were really nice; an old couple named Sonia and… Rory? No- Raru. Roaru. Rauru. It's Rauru. Link always had a hard time signing his name. The gentleman was always patient when the topic of spelling his name came up. At the old man's request, Link usually just signed 'grandad' to him, which was fitting because he was the notorious "pop". They paid him well, treated him well, understood him when he used sign language, and now he knew all their secret recipes. Win win win win.

Zelda was accepted into Hyrule University immediately upon graduating highschool, diving headfirst into studying for her degree in whatever earth sciences she decided to major in. Link had a pretty good idea that whatever they had experienced in their junior year had been a push for her to study their world just a bit more. Though he was pretty sure the esteemed Hyrule University wouldn't be teaching a crash course on haunted gameboy cartridges.

To Link's initial dismay, these classes of Zelda's pulled her away from his grasp a smidge at the start. She still lived with her father, as the uni was only a 30 minute drive from there, but she'd spent most of her waking hours in class. This gave Link only a small window to see her during the week; the second she got out of class, Link was usually heading into work himself. Her schedule was much less demanding now, having been there for upwards of 4 years, and she probably spent more time at Link and his dad's house than she did at her own.

Tired of playing catch-up, yet? Well, just you wait! There's more. Teba and Saki had their kid, a little boy named Tulin who was nearing five and finally starting to learn how to interact with Link whenever Link would visit. Be it learning to write, learning sign language, or learning context clues in general. Teba was still the old man of the group- but the second his kid was born, it was like he flipped a switch. Some might even call him a rad dad.

Bazz moved off to Akkala with his football scholarship, leaving everyone in the dust to go play football in the rainiest city possible. He visited Hyrule every first weekend of the month, though, so everyone got their Bazz time in.

Sidon had been the most devastated about his best buddy leaving- but it was still Sidon. He waved the guy off with the biggest smile on his face, then, with that same smile, ate away his feelings at the Recall Diner far past closing. Link happily supplied those meatball subs and also happily agreed to never signing a word of that night to anyone outside the two of them.

Since then, Sidon had separated himself slightly from the sports scene, instead taking up a student teacher position under Ms. Mipha to teach swimming. He honestly seemed much happier to be doing that and spending time with his sister. Perhaps he never liked generalized sports to begin with, only sticking with any one he could get his hands on because his bestest buddy enjoyed football so much? He never spoke about it aloud, but they knew about all of the scholarships that he'd been offered as a result of said sports. Why he so desperately wanted to stay behind in their town and decline each college begging for him was beyond them. Link didn't know and Link wouldn't ask. He'd already tested his luck witnessing the guy wasting away into a bolognese soaked hoagie.

Link wasn't very close with Mr. Daruk's nephew, Yunobo, until the end of their senior years. But now, Link would consider the gentle giant to be one of his closest friends. Yunobo had started his life outside of highschool working for Mr. Daruk's original turned side gig- a jewelry and gem shop that he owned prior to becoming a science teacher. Apparently the man used to mine on site back in his prime, using his own spoils to make beautiful jewelry. Beautiful chunky jewelry. Like- Italian Uncle style chunky jewelry. You know the type. Now that Mr. Daruk only managed the company from afar, Yunobo had gotten a swell taste for wearing gold in an attempt to showcase watches, bracelets, rings, and necklaces to possible customers. Yunobo was now the coolest, most blinged out, bowling alley attendant ever.

The guy was impressively shy back in school, and he still was, but not to the same extent. He was much more comfortable being the "cool big bro" to all the kids who came around the bowling alley, but he only started to become more personable once he reached his final year of highschool. Yunobo was actually the one to approach Link for the first time in hopes of becoming friends.

Link wouldn't ever forget it; their first one on one interaction, besides seeing each other in passing in the school halls, Yunobo had greeted Link in sign language. It was cool of him, honestly, but then his next statement had proved that he was under the impression that Link had been deaf, not mute. Link silently laughing his ass off was the water for their budding buddyship. Yunobo was welcomed into their friend group with open arms and not an ounce of hesitation.

If he was being truthful, Link never would have spoken to Yunobo first. Not because Yunobo wasn't his type, but because the only reason Link had made any friends past Zelda was because of Zelda. But the guy was cooler than Link had thought. He liked video games, killed at bowling, and had a hot sports car. A 1977 Corvette stingray- something Link had only spotted in car magazines growing up.

A bright, cherry red, '77 Corvette was not exactly the type of car anyone expected Yunobo to drive. No one expected a big guy to exit out of a squat sports car. He apparently had it since his sophomore year; once he got his license, his uncle passed it down to him. In school, Yunobo cared for the classic by taking the bus daily. Kept those miles low while it mattered.

Speaking of bright cherry red. Link found himself snapping out of his 'previously on,' internal monologue as his father dropped a box onto the dining room table. A black box with a bright red... thing on the front. Arn had the tendency to do that with whatever new item he got. He still worked for that weird video game company. As much as he worried about repeating the past, no such thing had happened since. No weird grimey demo cartridges, no weird monsters… the world was normal again. As normal as it could be. Arn was really starting to pick up his mojo once again, having finally developed the second half of Breath of the Wild for the SNES, so that anyone without a local arcade (or with severe social anxiety) could finish the game from the comfort of their own home. Now he was onto his next game in the storyline.

'What on earth is that?' Link signed to him, a grimace on his face. The image on the box didn't look like any video game system he'd ever seen before.

"It's the newest Nintendo system," Arn said, carefully opening the box to pull its innards out. Innards being what looked like an oversized egg carton. On top was a surplus of shiny papers covered in warnings and advertisements. "Well- pretty new. It's been out for a few months, but they just released it nationwide along with my game. Is Zelda almost here? I know she wanted to see the unboxing of it."

'She knows about this thing?' Link asked, then added, 'She should be here any minute.'

Which led perfectly into Zelda letting herself in the front door- as she had done for years now. Arn had given her permission (and a key).

"I'd say I'm here this minute," Zelda said, having seen the tail end of Link's sentence through the front window. She set her bag on the console by the door, then joined the two at the table, bouncing her knees excitedly.

"I can't believe it's finally out here!" She exclaimed. Of course Zelda would know about that weird contraption of a video game. As much of a science geek as she was, she was probably the biggest video game fan out of anyone they knew. Probably even more so than Bazz.

'So we aren't testing this thing for them, right?' Link asked, and Arn shook his head.

"Oh, no. I don't do that anymore. I test my own games through the computer now. The only thing I let Nintendo send me is the finished games in their final boxes," he said, moving the empty box to the side so he could push the carton to the center of the table. "I bought this on my own accord."

With a slight dad-like flourish, he swiped the slips of paper away, revealing the device tucked into some clear plastic. Was it a camera? Link found himself cocking his head at it.

"It's called a Virtual Boy," Arn said, taking the pieces out and connecting them together. Oh, good. It was binoculars on a tripod. What every little boy and girl wants for Christmas. Or, y'know. Every Zelda.

"It's even better than I thought it would be!" She crooned, watching with her chin in her hands. Arn hurried to pop the batteries into a really funky looking controller, slipped a thin floppy disk looking thing into the bottom, then pushed it towards the two of them.

"There- give it a go."

With Link's gesture to go ahead, Zelda pushed her face up to the mask, taking the controller in her hand. Link could hear the startup tune from the system as it booted up, and boy was it… well, it was a startup tune. He crossed his arms on the table so he could lean forward and get a good look at her with the weird red and black facehugger, watching her smile immediately widen at the sound of a game's opening. It had a similar theme song to Arn's first game, but this one was a bit different. Refined, perhaps? It had a bit more pep to it. Zelda tapped her finger tips against the bumper buttons along with the music excitedly.

Within a few moments, though, she shut the game off. When she pulled her face away, her eyebrows were high and her eyes were wide.

"Link. You have to try it out," she said, then pushed the system towards him. Link obliged her, scooting his chair closer so he could get a better angle. He tucked his face into the mask, then turned the system on. It was pitch black, then suddenly a bright red logo appeared mid screen. And then more red text, red swirls, red characters-

'Does it only play in red…?' Link asked in confusion, feeling his eyes cross at the movements. It was like a 3D movie but inside of his head. He gave it his best shot for a few moments, before pulling away at the sharp feeling of a headache blossoming between his eyes. Needless to say, he was never a fan of 3D movies either. He didn't have to say anything when he sat back in his chair; the disappointed look on his face said it all.

"You don't like it," Arn said, sounding more entertained than let down. Link shook his hands in front of him defensively.

'No, it's not that I don't like it,' he said, pausing his words to use his hands to rub at his eyes. 'I think it makes me carsick.'

"It's okay- it's definitely no tv screen. I had a feeling you wouldn't be too thrilled about it," Arn said. "It's why I only bought one instead of one for each of us."

"I'll be picking mine up on my way home," Zelda said, obviously over the moon. Arn gestured for her to wait as he disappeared for a moment, coming back with an unopened copy of his game. Like the first game's blue theme, the box he passed to Zelda was a light teal color with a metallic silver border. The front text read, in fancy font, "Tears of the Kingdom". Zelda took the game giddily, flipping it over in her hands to view every angle. She might have been more of a fan of Link's dad's work then Link was. (She wasn't. But she could try.)

Link eyeballed his fancy new(ish) SNES that sat atop the media console next to their also fancy and new(ish) rear projection tv. Thing was nearly as tall as Link was. Playing video games on it was like renting out a whole movie theater room; why on earth would his dad put a game out for a glorified View-Master? The SNES was right there!

"Don't worry, Link," Arn said, catching his son's wandering eye. "If the Virtual Boy fails, I'll program the game for a normal system."

'When you say "if"…' Link signed lazily. It wasn't often that a gaming system failed as a whole- and Link didn't necessarily want to wish for it's failure. He would probably just give in and play it regardless of the migraine it would give him. And by probably, he meant definitely.

"Well. Knowing you, I went into making this game understanding that the Virtual Boy's graphics wouldn't be for everyone. It might take me a bit, but I am working on a port for the SNES already," Arn explained. "There's a lot of 3D effects that need to be changed and programmed, lots of recoloring, you know the drill."

Link scrunched his shoulders up to display his excitement at his father's news. Now the question he had to ask himself was… could he wait that long? Was he willing to risk barfing to get that sweet sci-fi storyline? Actually, yes. He already knew Zelda was going to be raving about it so hard that Link wouldn't be able to hold back.

"I better head off to pick mine up before I go crazy," Zelda said. Link knew she wouldn't stop by for long; his house was the midway point between her university and her own home. She often stopped by after class if she was able. Perfect enough timing for her, it was her last day of classes before she took time off for the summer. Now she could waste said summer away earning herself kyphosis.

Zelda squeezed the game to her chest with a last squeal of excitement. She gave Arn a hug of gratitude, ruffled her hand through Link's hair, then gave him a peck on the head as she held him in a (somewhat) loose chokehold. Ah- cute aggression. Zelda was famous for it. She could noogie Link into the floor like a drywall screw if she wanted to. But she released him, grabbing her bag at the door and bidding the two adieu.

When Link turned back to the table after watching her go, an array of game boxes had been meticulously arranged in front of him.

"I got a bunch with the system. Didn't have to pay anything either," he said with a smirk. The perks of working for a video game company. "Maybe you can play through a few of them and see if any of them are easier on your eyes."

Link nodded, fully knowing in his heart that he would rather sit and play the same mini games over and over on the tiny game and watch systems his dad had helped produce than play test more Virtual Boy games. He really didn't care much for those little things either. He was way too hyperactive to play a game with no story to it. (Though he also knew full well that that same hyperactivity could slip his mind into a daze and force him to play the same single mini game for hours on end without even noticing he'd done so. At least, not until he snapped out of it realizing the sun had set and risen.) He didn't play his gameboy all that much anymore for similar reasons. Perhaps the truly poor part about getting older was coming to terms with the fact that Link may need glasses.

…Okay fine- Link would admit. (Not about the glasses.) He was maybe just a touch paranoid. That whole gameboy incident really set his mind on edge. Every new game and system released had to basically earn Link's trust- even the SNES. The game and watches were awesome, and he knew it. Well. Kinda. They were awesome in the sense that they didn't grow legs of any sort and try to run off and kill the entire town. That Virtual Boy though… how could he be so sure it wouldn't start running around on that weird tripod? It looked like whoever designed it was way too into the War of the Worlds.

Link spent the hour leading up to dinner giving a couple of the games a fair shake. Galactic pinball made his eyes spin, Waterworld made him seasick, and Vertical Force made him want to horizontal hurl. Link could only offer Nester's Funky Bowling a dizzy glance after pushing the system aside. Yunobo would probably like that one. Hell- Yunobo was probably already playing it. He'd drive over and see what the big guy was up to after dinner.

He waited until the sun had set halfway before mounting his bike to head to the bowling alley. It was an old alley souped up into a new alley; the original lanes were gutted out and replaced with new ones, and the old wooden flooring hadn't even been ripped up before they slathered the neon glowy carpet down on top. Meaning that if you took a tumble, it was still not nearly as bad as cracking a kneecap on a concrete base. The bowling alley in its heyday had also been one of those… Moose lodges? Deer lodge? …antelope lodge? Whatever. Used to have a bingo hall and some office spaces or something.

Now the bingo hall was remodeled to have more bowling lanes, usually reserved for big private parties, and the office space had been reconstructed and locked off to be an apartment space. That's where Yunobo lived. Whenever Link joked that Yunobo ate, drank, and slept bowling, he wasn't usually kidding.

Link parked his bike next to (but not close to) Yunobo's vette, plunking the antennae on it affectionately as he passed the backside. After pushing through the front door, Link jammed his hands into his pockets and took a sharp right turn up the 'NO ENTRY' steps. He always felt like he was being a little rebellious by disobeying the sign, but in reality Yunobo had just plastered it on the railing so people stopped meandering up there looking for the bathrooms.

Usually, Yunobo would be downstairs working the lanes until closing at midnight. But it was Tuesday and Link knew better. Link thrummed his knuckles over the door methodically, and though it took a second, Yunobo opened the door with a grin on his face.

"I knew you'd be around!" Yunobo exclaimed humorously, swiping the door shut once Link had fully stepped inside. "Bludo's got the floor covered tonight. I couldn't wait another second to open this bad boy up!"

Yunobo patted his hand behind him on the countertop of the kitchen island, his rings clanking against the linoleum covered wood. It was big enough to have two barstools seated at it, which were two of the barstools from the original interior of the alley. One stool was pushed away from the counter to sit at the backside of his couch, so that the remaining chair and the middle of the island could be utilized for the VIP- the Virtual Boy that sat atop it. Like a little trophy.

'What game are you playing on it? Nester's Funky Bowling-'

"Nester's Funky Bowling- hey! Why'd you ask if you already knew the answer?" Yunobo hawed at Link as he signed the name of the game in perfect tandem with Yunobo's voice. Link shrugged, laughing silently as Yunobo gave him a gentle shove.

"I'm not very good at it yet. Everything moves so fast and I've never played a 3D game before. But I'm getting the hang of it," Yunobo said, powering up the system. It went headfirst into a blotchy sounding tune; it was obvious that the developers aimed for a groovy 70's sound to it. They had succeeded enough for Link to get the jist.

"I haven't even made it onto the league leaders board yet," Yunobo mumbled, leaning over to look through the headset. Link looked over the empty box for the system that sat on his table, the box for Nester's funky bowling sitting opened next to two other unopened games- Tetris and… another bowling game. They really released two bowling games? Link picked up the box and whapped it against Yunobo's back, forcing the guy to pull back and burst into laughter when he saw the game in Link's judgemental hand.

"They were sold out of your dad's game! I had to get what I had to get!" Yunobo defended himself, and Link tucked the box under his arm.

'And the replacement for not getting my dads game was Tetris, wasn't it? Not the second bowling game.'

Yunobo grinned at him, his smile the only answer Link needed. Link shook his head in mock disappointment.

"Hey, you know Sidon and Zelda aren't much better than me. Zelda's going to play the bejesus out of Tears of the Kingdom- and Tears of the Kingdom only- and Sidon got Tears of the kingdom and Virtual Fishing."

Link cringed, but then recoiled in confusion. 'Wait, Sidon got a Virtual Boy?'

"Yeah. Weird, right? Kinda unlike Sidon."

'I thought he wasn't into video games.'

"So did I. But he called me about it earlier; he seemed pretty excited, actually. I bet he's the one who took the last copy of your dad's game," he snickered.

'Let's go raid his place,' Link suggested, and Yunobo immediately shrugged, powering his system down and slipping his keys off of a hanger by the door. Link was always ready at the drop of a dime to make an excuse to take a ride in Yunobo's car.

"You can bring your bike around to the side if you want-" Yunobo started once they stepped outside, but Link had already bolted to his bike to park it beside the building, hurrying back to Yunobo's little red Corvette in record time. "Y'know, sometimes I think you like Vetty more than you like me!"

Link sarcastically and dramatically signed 'D-U-H' to him, before burying his fingers into the door handle the second it unlocked. He was always somewhat surprised that Yunobo's head didn't press against the top of the T-top roof. It was bigger on the inside then the outside looked. If Link wasn't a motorcycle guy, this car would be top of his list. Well- top of his vehicle list. It was already the top of his car list. Link's steady flow of thoughts were always drowned out by the sound of a good engine, so he barely even noticed they'd arrived in the driveway of Sidon's townhouse until suddenly the engine cut.

Sidon was already standing in his open doorway when they exited the car. He was in his pajamas and glasses, a sight only few were blessed to behold. Most people didn't even know Mr. 20/20 Personality wore contacts for his 20/200 vision. He had a sideways grin on his face as he watched them approach.

'Expecting us?' Link asked, and Sidon laughed.

"Of course. Since the second I heard the car coming from a mile away!" He stepped to the side of the porch to welcome the two inside. The inside of his home was warm and inviting, comfortable against the ending summer's cool breeze. Sidon's place always smelled like visiting family for the holidays.

"I assume you two came for… a reason, hm?" He asked, leaning against his counter, purposefully next to the still closed Virtual Boy box. It had been opened, but Link couldn't tell if it had not been unpacked, or if it went straight back into the box after testing. He wouldn't judge for either.

'Yeah- we came to question you,' Link said, and Sidon raised his brows, planting his open palm on his chest.

"Question me? How come?"

Link simply gestured a hand out towards the game, then back towards Sidon, before shrugging with both hands.

"We wouldn't've predicted that you'd get one of these," Yunobo said, and Sidon propped his hands on his hips, narrowing his eyes.

"What, am I not allowed to get into a new hobby?"

'Is it because Bazz can't have video games in his dorm?' Link asked, and Sidon dropped his hands to his sides, pursing his lips blankly.

"…Perhaps," he muttered, then dropped the act. "Zelda also suggested I give it a shot. In all honesty, I pulled the tray out to look at it… then was immediately overwhelmed. I don't even know where to start!"

He picked up the box and brought it over to his round dining table, waiting to sit until Yunobo and Link had done so first.

"I'm glad you two showed up; I could definitely use a bit of help."

Link was at a stalemate with Sidon on the subject, but Yunobo seemed comfortable enough to go at it a second time. He pulled it out of the box, neatly setting the warning papers to the side (of which Sidon glanced over with a concerned grimace on his face), then connected all the pieces. After flinging the scammy battery voucher aside, Sidon stood back up to retrieve the packet of batteries that he was forced to buy alongside the game as well. In only a few moments total, Yunobo had the system set up for Sidon.

"Well, would you look at that! Thank you, my friend," Sidon said, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked at the system. Stared at the system. For a bit too long he stared at it, before sheepishly looking back up at them. "…Now what?"

And Link thought Teba had been bad.

"Sidon, is this… your first gaming console ever?" Yunobo asked incredulously, and Sidon shot him a grimacing smile.

"I never had any interest before! It's completely new to me."

'Quick, we've gotta call Zelda. She'll love to hear his first crack at it,' Link said, standing to pull the phone off the wall. Its coily cord stretched nice and long to reach the table, where Link sat back down with it.

"Hello…?" Came Zelda's voice, and Link knocked out the tune on the table that he usually did to let her know he was the one who called. There was silence over the line for a bit too long.

"Link?" She asked quietly after the silence, her tone uncharacteristically dry. "I can't talk right now."

Click.

She hung up. Zelda just hung up. On Link. Not that she'd never had to hang up a call on him before- but she'd never hung up on him like that. It was like he'd called the wrong person. Even Yunobo and Sidon looked completely and utterly taken aback. Link sat in hurt confusion for a moment, before slowly clambering back to his feet to hang the phone back up on the dock.

'Yunobo, can you drive me back to my bike? I need to go see Zelda."