Chapter Seventeen
"Are we sure he's telling the truth?" Ashei whispered, glancing over her shoulder at the sleeping form at the edge of the room.
Auru poked one of the logs on the fire, moving it into a better position, "Why would he lie?"
Ashei rolled her eyes at him. Currently all of the Resistence members were sitting around the cookfire in Renado's hut. It was the middle of the night and Link and the children had gone to bed hours ago. The rest of them had stayed up to discuss the situation without anyone eavesdropping.
"I can think of a hundred reasons why he would lie." She frowned at him, "The better question is how do we know that he's telling the truth?"
"If he is telling the truth then that would explain what happened to the others." Telma frowned at the thought.
Rusl shook his head, "That doesn't help us get them home. If they are really lost in time, the best thing we may be able to do is help this Link with his mission."
"I only wish that we could ask the Light Spirits ourselves." Renado sighed.
"Perhaps we could send Darbus to the hidden village again?" Gor Coron spoke up. He and Darbus stood nearby and Darbus nodded eagerly at the suggestion. "If there is another traveler there then that will confirm his story."
"And what do we do until Darbus returns?" Telma asked, "Little Link plans to leave in the morning."
"We go with him." Auru said firmly. The others looked at him in shock, but he just nodded, "Darbus will stay here and we'll go instead. We'll be able to see for ourselves if there is another person lost in time at the village. Once we do, Rusl can send his hawk back to you with confirmation."
"It could be a trap." Ashei warned, looking at him intently.
Auru just shrugged and looked back at the sleeping hero, "It could be, but I don't believe so. My instincts tell me that he's being truthful."
"Your instincts might end up getting us killed." she almost growled at him.
He smirked at her, "They were right about you, remember?"
Ashei huffed and turned away, refusing to meet his eyes.
"I agree with Auru's plan." Rusl said, "This will be the fastest way for us to try to help find our friends."
"It doesn't seem we have very many other options." Renado mused, mostly to himself, "But you should act with caution. If even half of what this Link has said is true then this could be far more dangerous than dealing with Ganondorf."
"We'll be careful." Rusl assured him.
"I'll stay here while you lot go with him then. I can help Renado out with things around town." Telma said, sending a wink towards the shaman.
Renado winced at her words, not looking forward to spending more time with the flirtatious bar owner, especially without the others to be there as a buffer.
"That settles it then." Auru said, standing up, "We should get some rest. We'll be up early in the morning."
Link waved goodbye to Telma and Renado as best he could, one hand up in a wave as the other clutched tightly onto Rusl. They waved back, smiling as the group rode away. Link tried to keep watching them as they left, but the horse underneath him lurched forward, navigating its way around the rocky ground, and Link immediately latched both hands around Rusl, practically burying his face in the man's tunic.
Rusl just laughed, "Never been on a horse before?"
Link shook his head quickly, too nervous to speak. He'd heard of horses before, but he'd never seen one much less actually ridden them. It was very different from being on a boat. The relaxing rhythm of the waves and the billowing sail as opposed to the clunky gait of the horse and the completely random movements it made; all of it set him on edge. With a boat he was in charge, he was the one sailing. Even the King of the Red Lions had let him take the helm, trusting Link completely. The horse was different. It was a living, breathing creature, and there was no guarantee that you could make it listen to you like a boat could. The horse had its own mind and Link found it hard to believe that it would just obey whoever was riding it with just a tap of their heels against the horse's body and some guidance from the reins, no matter what Rusl said.
"Relax." Rusl said, still smiling, "Old Callie here wouldn't harm a fly."
He reached forward and patted his horse's neck affectionately, sending Link into a panic at all of the movement.
"I really don't mind walking!" Link cried out. He was currently riding double with Rusl on a large spotted horse and really didn't enjoy it. "It might be easier!"
"And slower." Auru called out from in front of them, chuckling, "Even a slow walk for a horse is twice as fast as your own walking speed."
Link risked another glance behind them to see how much distance they had traveled and groaned to himself. Auru was right. The gate to Kakariko was already in the far distance.
"Relax." Ashei spoke up. She was riding next to Rusl and Link and seemed completely at home on her own horse, "Callie can feel you tensing up and that's causing her to be on edge."
Link grumbled to himself and tried to force himself to relax. He wasn't sure that it was working very well. Just as he started to get used to riding, Callie would make an unexpected movement or Rusl would steer her around something and Link would immediately clench up again.
He sighed to himself, this was going to be a very long trip.
It took a little over three days to reach the Hidden Village, as Rusl had told him it was named.
Two days of pure torture, being forced to ride a giant animal that Link was sure hated him. Despite everything that Rusl said about Callie not harming anyone and being the sweetest horse in the world, Link was certain that she hated him. He'd caught her trying to eat his hat twice by now and he just knew that she had bucked him off yesterday.
Rusl's impromptu horse lesson had not ended well. He couldn't get Callie to do anything but turn in a left circle and then it felt like she was trying to jump. Before he knew it he was lying on the ground spitting out bits of grass with Auru laughing at him. Rusl insisted that Callie hadn't bucked him off, but Link knew better.
Link couldn't wait until they arrived at the Hidden Village, sliding off the monstrous beast in relief as soon as he could.
This village was somehow even more dilapidated than Kakariko had been. The buildings looked like they would topple over in the slightest breeze, the wood rotting away. Cats covered every spare surface of the village, seemingly to be the only living creatures there.
Link made a face, scrunching his nose at the sight, "I can't imagine anyone staying here for very long."
"Link, well, our Link, said that a woman lived here, Impaz." Rusl said, looking around curiously, "I don't know if she is still here though…"
"Only one way to find out." Ashei huffed and started forward, tying her horse to a nearby post. The others followed her lead and they began walking through the village.
Link still looked around critically. If someone had been here, and if they had been as injured as the Light Spirits said, what kind of shape would they be in now? There wouldn't be a lot of health potions nearby, at least as far as he could tell.
There was one house that seemed to be in better shape at the far end of the village. Auru approached it cautiously, reaching out to knock.
It was a long moment before the door creaked open. A very short old woman peeked out from behind it, surprised.
"Hello there." she greeted them, looking at each one in turn. When her eyes landed on Link, they grew even wider, "Wh-What? How did you-but you were just-"
She quickly turned around, looking at something behind her, "Are you his brother?"
Link raised an eyebrow, "Who's brother?"
She swung the door open, looking in amazement towards the far corner.
Link stepped inside eagerly, but almost stumbled to the floor when he saw who was in there.
"How is that possible?" Rusl whispered.
"I found him in the town. He hasn't woken up yet." the woman answered, then directed her next question to Link, "Is he your brother?"
Link barely heard her and didn't respond. He just rubbed his eyes as if that would clear up the sight in front of him.
It was him.
Literally him.
He'd known to expect other heroes, other Links, but he hadn't been expecting himself. He'd thought that they would all look at least a little different. Everyone had told him that the Link from this time was much older.
Yet there he was, lying unconscious on the small bed in the corner.
"Excuse us, we're friends of Link, I believe you met him?" Auru asked as Link knelt down next to this other version of himself, trying to get a closer look.
The woman nodded, "Yes, I met him. He helped get rid of the bulblins that infested the town. I'm Impaz."
They were exactly the same. The same clothes, the same pack lying next to the bed, the way his hair fell in front of his eyes.
"We actually came looking for, well, him." Auru said awkwardly. Link could only assume that he had pointed to the Link on the bed.
Faron had said one of the travelers was much closer to him than he realized. Could this be what he meant, Link wondered. Could this be him from somewhere in his own timeline? He didn't remember anything about this, so what if this was a version of himself from his future?
"Why is he unconscious?" Rusl asked.
"He was severely injured when I found him." Impaz told them, "I used the last of my health potions to stabilize him, but he lost quite a bit of blood. I haven't been able to get any more, so I've just been waiting for him to wake up. I hope it was enough."
"You've done everything you can." Auru said reassuringly. Link was barely keeping track of the conversation at this point. "We have some potions ourselves."
Rusl moved next to Link, grabbing his shoulder gently.
Link started, not expecting it. He moved out of the way as Rusl lifted the bottle to the other Link's lips, slowly pouring the red liquid out.
"What exactly is going on here?" Impaz asked.
"It's…complicated." Auru sighed.
"You said he was injured." Link said quickly, getting Impaz's attention, "Was there any sign of what hurt him?"
She shook her head, "Nothing. His bag is there, but I put his sword and shield over there." Impaz gestured to the table.
Link rushed towards it eagerly. The shield wasn't his mirror one, it was just a plain wooden shield. What drew his eyes though was the sword. It was the same blue hilt as the Master Sword and Link drew it now, laying both of the weapons next to each other. Similar lengths, but instead of a gem in the hilt, there was a golden hourglass, filled with glowing sand. The Triforce symbol that was etched into the blade was also gone, replaced by what looked like a flame? A drop of water? He had a hard time telling, but it was obvious that they were different swords.
"What is it?" Ashei asked, having come to look at the swords as well.
"I..I don't know." he said honestly, "None of this makes any sense. The Light Spirits said that other heroes got lost in time, but I didn't know there would be another 'me'."
"Are there any other differences?" Auru asked.
Link pressed his lips together tightly and went back to the bed. Rusl was on the second health potion now and the other Link seemed to have a bit more color in his cheeks.
Link picked up the bag, sorting through the items. It was the same bag he carried now, but there were some items that he definitely didn't have, that he had never seen before. He'd never carried a shovel before and he owned the Skull Hammer, not the one in the bag. And what was this slate for?
Could he be wrong? Was this not him? What if there was just another Link who looked exactly like him? Considering everything else that had been going on, it wouldn't be the most impossible thing to happen.
The Link on the bed groaned as Rusl poured the last of the second potion into his mouth. Everyone watched eagerly as he blinked, slowly waking up.
"Careful now." Rusl said softly, already holding a third potion, "You were really hurt."
"No." his voice was hoarse and he tried to sit up, gesturing around wildly, "Tetra, Linebeck. They need help more than me, help them."
The Resistence exchanged confused looks, but Link's jaw dropped in amazement and he rushed forward before he knew what he was doing, "Tetra, you know Tetra?!"
The other Link wore a mirrored look of shock, just now seeing him, "Who-what-how-"
"Do you know Tetra?!" Link asked again, "Please, do you know her?!"
"Yes, of course!" he yelled back before being overtaken by a series of coughs. Rusl moved forward and Link let himself be pushed out of the way, the other Link's words sinking in.
He knew Tetra. This had to be him, at some other point in his life.
"Are you ok?" Auru whispered in his ear. Link shook his head, dumbfounded.
He wasn't supposed to find himself, not like this! What did he do now?!
"Who are all of you?" the other Link asked warily, mostly watching Link. He seemed almost as shaken as Link did.
"It's a long story." Rusl said gently, offering the third bottle to him, "Let's finish getting you healed and then we'll answer all your questions, I promise."
"No." He insisted, forcing himself into a sitting position. It obviously pained him to move, but he pushed away Rusl's help, "What's going on here? Where am I?"
"You're in the Hidden Village in Hyrule." Auru said, "Impaz found you, injured, and took you in."
The other Link was already shaking his head, "That's not possible. Hyrule is-"
"At the bottom of the ocean." Link finished grimly.
The other Link whipped his head around to look at him, "...Yeah. It is."
Link nodded, continuing, "The King of Red Lions washed it away. It started to flood as we killed Ganondorf."
He nodded cautiously, "What do you mean by 'we'?"
Link took a deep breath, "I'm…you. Literally, you, from another point in time. At least, I'm fairly sure."
"H-How is that possible?" The other Link asked, voice barely above a whisper.
"Someone's attacked time. That's what I was told." he whispered back, "For me it happened right after we killed Ganondorf. He turned to smoke and then Tetra and I started being pulled away, but then we started falling instead, through this strange water. We got separated, the Triforce broke back into the three pieces, and I ended up in this time, in a spring."
"I…remember fighting Ganondorf." the other Link mumbled, "I remember the King washing away the last of Hyrule…but I don't remember anything else you said."
"What do you remember?" Rusl asked.
"I killed Ganondorf, but he turned to stone." his eyebrows furrowed in confusion and Link adopted the same expression. The others did a double take at the mirrored look. "Yeah, he turned to stone, the Master Sword was stuck in his head when that happened. Tetra and I did start to get pulled away, but we made it to the surface. Her crew met us there and the Triforce never broke, it stayed in Hyrule."
Link shook his head and held up his hand, showing everyone the Triforce there. Like before, the two pieces he didn't have were faded, barely noticeable, but the Triforce of Courage stood out against his skin, shining proudly.
The other Link looked at it in amazement before hurriedly showing his own hand. The skin was completely clear, not even a scar.
"How can we be the same…if we remember different things?" Link wondered.
The other Link shrugged, "I don't know."
He leaned forward, getting a closer look at the Triforce on Link's hand, which Link still held out for everyone to see.
"None of this should be possible," the other Link muttered.
"Tell me about it." Link huffed.
The other Link reached forward gently for Link's hand, his fingers barely brushing the outline of the Triforce.
The second his hand touched Link's own, the world shifted. It didn't just shift, it tilted, it stretched, it shrunk. Pain bloomed behind Link's eyes and he shut them tightly, trying to block out the overwhelming sensation. It didn't work and he grew nauseous as he felt the world continue to move around him. Someone yelled, but he couldn't tell who. He felt like he was melting and his chest grew tight. He couldn't breathe.
Link fell to the floor, unconscious.