Monster Base

Young Link quickly followed suit, ignoring the tense feeling between him and the others. 'Thank goodness Theo put an end to that. I was starting to get worried it would turn into something else.' The Mess Hall was serving sausage, eggs, and toast that morning. While the toast and sausage were a little too done, you'd be caught dead complaining.

A realization hit Link has he took a bite of his eggs, "Right, I should tell you guys about the monster base. I was able to gather more about specifically where it is. They said it was at Batrea Lake and that it wasn't an ordinary base. Unfortunately, the group that found it didn't want to investigate any further, so I'm assuming there are more than just bokoblins. Either way, it's worth our time."

Godric chugged a mug of water, "Sounds like my kind of party! Just wait 'til they get a taste my trusty blade! Hahaha!"

The co-captain's mood put them in good spirit. Theo's eyebrows raised, "Just remember that we'll need to plan if it's quite serious. Don't go in swinging, that's how people get hurt."

"And die." Roe added.

Anthony scratched his head, "You're a damn downer sometimes, know that?"

He smirked, "Well aware."

Link gestured to the young hero, "If it is anything super concerning, make sure you stay out of it. I doubt the doctor wants to see you so soon."

Young Link rolled his eyes, "Doubt I'll gain much experience just by watching, I'll pick off the distracted ones." 'Pfft, as if. It feels like it's been forever since I've done anything challenging…even if that Hinox fight was several days ago…if I could call it a fight.' The others started to leave the table to get to their horses. He stopped Link before he could go, dubiously grinning.

"What is it?" A look washed over his eyes, "That's right, sorr—"

He stopped him there, "Wait what? What happened earlier was fine. I'm talking about the second part that you promised me in the hospital. I just remembered."

"Huh? I got you the quiver, though."

"Nooo! You're gonna show me your flashy sword skills!" His excitement could hardly be contained as he bounced on his heels.

Link looked hesitant, "I mean, from the sound of this base, I'm not sure this a good time to do that."

"C'mooon , you know you want to see if I'm actually better than you in that regard."

"Sure, but a captain of the elite squadron shouldn't abandon what little sense of safety we possess to show off for a kid." His tone and face were serious.

He crossed his arms and cocked his head, 'I'm waiting for the correct response.'

Within a few moments, he softened and sighed, "Okay fine, but only a little. That means you should be paying more attention than fighting, alright?"

"Hm, not sure how you'll see my fighting style if I do that."

"Hey now, don't push your luck." He pointed to the door, "We're holding them up, let's go."

They soon were on their horses and heading toward the lake. The closer they got, the more electric the young hero's excitement was.

Once they crossed the bridge, they got off their horses to survey the base from a distance. Young Link heard the clanking of their armor as he watched them group up. Now that they needed to be stealthy, his ears were keen to pick up any sound that didn't come from the group, 'Though,' he thought as joined them, 'They're pretty loud, and—' he glanced down at his tunic, 'I happen to be wearing better camouflage too.'

Link looked around, "We need to get a bit closer. This isn't a bad view, but it doesn't tell us enough about what we're up against."

"I could go," the young hero suggested, "The sound of your metal armor would give you away, and I would blend in." He shrugged, "I'm pretty familiar with wooded areas too, but I get it if one of you should go instead." 'To be frank, I grew up in a forest and was a master at playing hide and seek with the Kokiri children. If anyone should do this, it should be me.'

Link looked very convinced, but Theodore spoke before he could, "You have a point, but I think we'd all feel better if Roe went instead. And, not to be rude, but he would be better at using what he found and applying it to the group."

He nodded in response, keeping his face neutral, 'Okay, that's fair. I'm used to being a loner, I guess.' He realized that the past universe he came from literally was at war and he had helped command troops, 'Wait no! I actually would know! Ugh whatever, it's fine.'

While they waited for Roe to come back, they were making sure their equipment was in order. Young Link finished counting his arrows, "Hm, thirty-five. Not bad." He gazed at the others.

Link was adjusting the strap to his shield, Theodore was simply watching for Roe's return, and Godric was stretching his muscly arms. It made sense, he needed to swing around that heavy sword somehow.

He quietly sighed and sat in the grass, 'Part of me wants to rush in and figure it out as I go, just like every other time I've been in this situation, but that would be a death sentence in this world.' He took out his sword, 'Interesting how this was a two-handed sword in the other universe and now it's a one-handed sword, not that I'm complaining. A two-handed sword would have kept me from using a shield, which is incredibly important when you have no idea what kind of enemies you're up against.'

His eyebrow raised, 'Speaking of enemies, I haven't encountered a single one that uses magic. I haven't even seen a person use magic in this world yet. It was everywhere in the last one. I suppose the Yiga and Sheikah possess some kind of magic-type ability, but also not really. They're all ninjas that protect royalty.' He thought of spells like Farore's Wind and Din's Fire, a small smile appearing, "Ah, if only those existed here."

"Whatcha mean?" Came Godric's voice, slightly catching him off guard.

He blinked, attempting to hide his surprise, "U-uh, actually I've been meaning to ask about something." He put his sword away, "Are there people like mages here? Or like magic in general? I'm just curious."

"Mages…" Theo pondered, "Well to my knowledge, no. Things such as spells and wizardry are possibilities of the past. To simply put it, aside from those involved in the prophecy, there aren't others that can do magic except for certain zoras. Otherwise, Hylians that could wield magic probably died out several hundreds or thousands of years ago."

Hearing that made his eyes widen and turned his ears red, "Wow, t-that long ago?" 'How old am I?!'

"That's right," Theo nodded, "Spells and magic only exist now in stories. Well, I say that, but there is certainly 'magic' per se in potions, but that could also be the chemistry of the ingredients that are used to make potions reacting a certain way to our bodies."

Godric frowned, "You're forgettin' about the Great Fairies!"

'They exist here!? ' He gulped, "Really?"

The big man smiled, "That's right! Some say they're a myth, but I know in my heart that it's true. There are a few fountains scattered around Hyrule that contain some of the most beautiful women you'll ever meet. They're magical o' course, and they've got tiny fairies floating around 'em too."

Young Link slowly nodded, "Interesting, what kind of magic do they do?"

He shrugged, "Hell if I know. All I care about is that they're beautiful beyond anything that can compare." Theo was subtly agreeing.

Link spoke, "There are, however, some monsters that do magic. We call them wizrobes. Though, they're usually not a problem since they're very rare nowadays. The easiest thing to do is shoot them from afar under cover."

"Well thanks for telling me. I'll be sure to keep all that stuff in mind." 'Hearing this makes me want to try one of those spells from my world for myself. Though, really the Great Fairy granted me the ability to use magic in the first place, so I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't work since I haven't met any of them.' If he were to try one, it would be Din's Fire and he'd hope for the best that it didn't catch too many things on fire. The issue with the other two would be that Farore's Wind doesn't make a lot of sense to use since he doesn't constantly leave the castle or have a place to instantly return to, and for Nayru's Love he'd have to actually get hurt by something to see if it worked. On the contrary, fire is fairly obvious.

Roe was back a few moments later with a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his face.

"How does it look? Might need back up?" Link asked.

He shook his head, "I think with our skillset, we'll be enough to get rid of them. We just need to be cautious." He gestured for them to follow.

As they got closer and the brush increased and the grass got taller, Young Link spied a red-maned lynel bullying a couple of bokoblins. His eyes narrowed once he took in the entirety of the base.

They had made it on a large tree, there being two levels of platforms that branched out. Surrounding the tree was a waist-deep, large pool of water, hence why it's called a lake, which for Young Link meant that it come up to about his chest. There were monsters all over the place, and no doubt in the water as well. A nudge from his descendant brought him back to what Roe was saying.

"—and there are about six moblins. I'm pretty sure there's only that lynel over there. Something tells me that two in one place wouldn't get along."

Godric nastily grinned, "Unless they're makin' babies." He received a light smack on the shoulder from Theo.

"What's our best course of action, captain?"

Young Link saw him quickly glance his way before speaking, "Well one thing is for sure: don't engage the lynel by yourself. Otherwise, you and Theo should pick the bokoblins off first, quickly and quietly if possible." He pointed to the co-captain, "Godric, on my signal, you take this first moblin here by surprise and end it quickly. Go after the one that's nearest next." He gestured between him and the young hero, "Openly going after it is going to sound the alarm, so me and him will keep you covered as you make your way around."

"What about all the water?" Roe asked, "Surely we should stay out of it."

"Of course. Once we take out the ones surrounding the tree, if our ranged guys haven't gotten the ones in the tree, we'll try our best to lure them out, but whatever you do, don't fall in. The water looks pretty murky so there's no telling how deep it is except around the edge and the base of the tree." He looked at them, "We ready?"

They unanimously nodded.

"Let's get to work."

Theodore and Roe crept away while Godric readied his blade and awaited his call to go. Link and Young Link positioned themselves back in the brush so that their arrival would be as sudden as Godric's.

After a few moments, there were bokoblins falling one by one across the clearing in front of the base. If there were two next to each other, the second went as fast as the first before it could react and cause trouble. So far, none of the other monsters had noticed anything.

As this was happening, the Hero of Time looked over and saw Link preparing to signal Godric. Before he started to raise his hand, he grabbed it and squeezed it, or rather he squeezed his fingers since they weren't protected by a hard, metal plate. The knight leaned his ear toward him, "Go crazy and flashy for me, okay?" He whispered, briefly pausing, "Well not crazy enough to where you'll get in trouble, of course."

His descendant's courageous blue eyes met his own. His voice was barely audible, "Likewise…but seriously don't get hurt." He looked back at Godric, raised his hand, signaled him forward.

'It's go time.' The air felt different as their assault began. While Young Link's excitement was through the roof, there was something calm yet energized in the air. Everything felt right , like this was how taking on a large group of monsters was meant to be. This feeling only strengthened his resolve as he honed the memory of his fighting style from the previous universe. It was by far his most entertaining style for both himself and those that watched. With that in mind, his focus turned to Link.

His descendant was closest to Godric as the moblin was dismembered, him taking on the several bokoblins that ran in their direction. His moves were quick and precise with the intent on killing instantly. Three out of seven bokoblins down, he got a look in his eye, and, to the young hero's delight, did a spin-attack into several diagonal slashes, ending by dodging a swinging club with a backflip and rolling forward to stab his sword through the chin of the last bokoblin.

Godric wore a look of surprise that quickly turned to one of valor as he witnessed that last move, "That's what I'm talking about! I like your style, cap'n!"

The compliment appeared to go right over his head as he barreled toward the red-maned lynel, swiftly dodging a pre-emptive strike by it's sharp, jagged spear.

Young Link took cover in a tree, wanting to stay out of the way, 'I'm not about to find out if lynels switch up who they're targeting.' His plan was to stay there and shoot enemies that got in his way from afar, 'Like this pesky lizalfo I see…' It quickly fell after he planted an arrow between its eyes.

Meanwhile, the lynel snorted in frustration, trying once again to grab at Link who simply backflipped out of his reach. Roaring, it was met with a flurry of slashes from Link, though they only left minor cuts.

'That's concerning, I didn't know that they had such tough skin! Must be like a chainmail of its own.'

The knight did a spin attack, the monstrous centaur hopping back and dashing toward him. He parried the spear, but unlike other monsters, parrying attacks didn't stun lynels. Time appeared to slow down as the lynel retaliated with a swing that was aimed right at his head.

Within a blink of an eye, Young Link was jumping up toward the monster and leaving a nasty gash across it's face, blinding it in one eye and creating an opening for Link. Looking stunned for half a second, his descendent quickly acted and stabbed his sword with all his might through the chest of the lynel, puncturing its heart. Unfortunately for the lynel, it was not a particularly quick death. It hacked up blood and violently convulsed as it crumbled to its knees and fell forward.

"That was almost a little too close!" He said as he landed. Another lizalfo dove out of the water, but it was fileted open before it could hit the ground.

Link couldn't seem to let any words leave his mouth. He instead nodded and gestured to the other monsters.

Roe and Theo appeared to have killed the majority of the bokoblins that they could see from the front of the base, and Anthony had just pierced the guts out of another moblin. It started to look safe to storm the tree and get rid of the monsters that resided in it. Godric and Anthony rushed it, arrows flying at the lizalfoes that swam toward them.

The two Links ran around to the back side of the lake, finding even more enemies that quickly went on alert and began attacking them. Young Link was performing vaults into his lethal, yet flashy attacks. Link was putting effort into attempting to show off as well, though, in comparison to the Hero of Time, unfortunately there wasn't much to compare.

'I don't blame him,' The younger hero thought as he gouged his sword through a lizalfo's chest, 'He'd probably get in trouble back at the castle for practicing things like that, and it's making him a tad reckless out here trying to come up with it on the fly.'

A deeper lynel roar sent a vibration through their bodies, the both of them turning around and seeing a blue-maned lynel with the thickest, meanest club Young Link had ever witnessed. Compared to the red-maned lynel, it had thicker, more bulging biceps and wore plenty of scars over its ripped body.

Before he knew it, Link was all over the monster, his slashes landing every time. Naturally that pissed the lynel off, but no matter what it did, it couldn't seem to catch him.

'Dear Goddesses!? He's RIDING IT!? " His mouth hit the soggy grass as he watched Link sling himself onto the lynel's back. The raging monster howled and took off toward the tree in the water. The young hero tried his best to keep up and not trip over his agape jaw or any snagging brambles.

Now he had his entire team's attention as the blue lynel began to try to fiercely buck him off, the knight clinging onto its long hair and ferociously slashing at its back, making it growl and groan in pain. Heck, even the monsters appeared to be watching them and ignoring the other knights.

To finish it off, he let the lynel buck him into the air, a loud, heart-wrenching crunch crackling through the clearing following his descent. The monster audibly gasped as it quickly fell to its knees and its life left its body. The sound of leaves and rustling brush drew their attention to the trees, the few remaining monsters were scampering away at their strongest falling in battle.

"Dear Hylia, Link! Your sword!" Came Anthony, in awe of what he just saw transpire.

His descendant looked down at his blade, his eyes widening at how it had completely broken off a few inches past the hilt, "Oh…it broke."

Young Link tackled him into the water, his eyes absolutely beaming with courage, "That, was so AWESOME ! Incredible! Amazing! " He playfully waved his finger, "I knew you had it in you, and you clearly delivered!" A dramatic sigh slipped as he brought his hands to his face, "Haaa, if only I could see moves like that every day."

Link scratched his head, a clear smile appearing, "Hey it wasn't that great. It barely brushed the surface of what you were doing the whole time." He flicked a few droplets of water at him, "Also you couldn't have waited to do that when I got out of the water? I'm practically holding you so you don't sink…and you made me drop what was left of my sword."

"Oops," He shrugged, putting his index fingers together, "That means…you can carry me back…? Please?"

"Seriously, what will I ever do with you giving me orders all the time? I oughta drown you."

He yelped at the threat, clutching himself to his torso, "Only if you go down with me dammit! And after I complimented y—!" They were back on dry land before he could finish his sentence, "…Guys I don't like him anymore. He's mean." He dropped from his grasp and began to ring out of the water from his skirt as he heard Link softly chuckling.

Roe and Theodore arrived a few seconds later, the splashing of the other two returning accompanying it. "I don't know whether to be impressed that you took down that beast by yourself or surprised that I saw you smile." Theo commented, his eyes being wide.

Roe nodded, looking at the water dripping from the armor, "Captain, he didn't get you too wet by tackling you right?"

Link's stoic face had returned, though it was more relaxed than usual, "No I'm fine. A little water never hurt anybody, plus I think we're pretty even, no?"

Young Link playfully shook his fist at him, "I'll do it again! Especially after that drowning comment!"

Their expressions were perplexed as Link received a big pat on the shoulder by Godric, "If that wasn't the most amazin' skills I ain't ever seen, I don't know what is! We need to report of this as soon as we get back, and then celebrate o' course! Maybe they'll let us drink on this one!"

"In your dreams, Godric!" Anthony panted, shaking the water from his hands. The two of them were as wet as the Links were from running through the water. "You know they only save that for special occasions! Honestly Link, I don't think they can promote you anymore without make you one of the King's personal guards."

The knight waved away their praises, "Well I personally think that any one of us could have taken it down. I think I got lucky."

They all laughed.

"Riiiiight. Keep thinkin' like that, buddy," Godric said, patting his back. "C'mon, let's go saddle up and get back. I think the rest of our dear monster friends pissed themselves and cried home to their mami."

The elite squad were back on the road in the next twenty or so minutes. The castle wasn't too far and luckily their battle had ended around midday. It wasn't as windy as the day before, but the breeze kept reminding Young Link that he'd jumped into the lake, sending a slight shiver down his spine each time.

Link trotted close to him, a moderately concerned look on his face, "I've got a spare blanket in my saddle bag if you want it."

"Huh?" He wasn't expecting the gesture, "No that's okay. I need this tunic to dry somehow. It's not the first time I've been wet and cold anyways," he laughed, thinking back to Zora's Domain from his world and how it was in a damp cave hidden behind a waterfall. Sometimes he'd spend upwards of ten minutes warming up by one of the torches after swimming around and trying to catch fish in a bottle.

That only made his descendant look more concerned, but he nodded and continued looking ahead.

'Okay, well I suppose when I say it like that , it doesn't sound quite right.' His thoughts flickered back to how he'd plunged his sword through that lynels back. 'That really was a sight to behold! I simply don't have the strength or weight to do that kind of thing, haha. One day I will!' Now he was thinking of birthdays, "Oh, Link, I just thought of this: when's your birthday?"

"Ah, well I can tell you it already passed. I turned seventeen about six months before you showed up." He looked his way, curiosity sitting at his raised brow, "When's yours?"

'Oh crap, I don't actually know. Well not in this world anyways,' He made an oddly confused face, "I um, don't know." That caught the attention of the other knights, "What I know for sure is that I'm ten, but pretty close to being eleven. It's not any day now, but, I dunno, it's not too far off if that makes sense."

"How does one not know their own birthday?" Theo asked, bewildered, "I've never heard of that before."

Roe seemed to relate, "I don't blame him. One time, I forgot it was my birthday until you guys threw me a small surprise party, and it was genuinely a surprise."

The co-captain smiled, "Hey, well yer too young for years to go flyin' by like they do for us, kiddo."

"Do you really not know?" Anthony asked, coming up on his left.

All he could do was shrug, "Yeah? I mean, I could simply pick a day if I wanted to, but…no. That makes me feel…weird." 'I feel an existential crisis coming on, which isn't new, but it's annoying. I've been ten for what feels like too long. It's not like I had a birthday in the previous universe despite the fact that I spent at least a year there.' He shook his head, feeling Link's gaze on him, "Who knows, maybe one day I'll wake up and it would feel right to say I'm a year older."

"Hm, well I was unfortunately born in the winter," Anthony said with a sigh.

"Right, what was so bad about that again?" Roe asked, looking back at him.

"Isn't it obvious!?" He suddenly looked struck with grief, "People only give me one gift since they combine it with the winter celebration! It's awful! "

"Awww, don't worry Anthony. I'll get ya two acorns this year since it bothers ya so much." Came the hefty knight's voice.

He fake sniffled and looked up, "You mean that, Godric? Really?"

"O' course ya big baby! It'll be three if I've got extra rupees on me."

Theodore continued the conversation, "Well I was born in autumn. There's really nothing notable about that, spring children get all the love anyways."

"Yer damn right! In fact I'm the biggest of all my brothers despite being a middle child. I personally think that kids born then get kissed by one of the Great Fairies."

Roe shook his head, smirking, "Now you're just saying things. That's not true at all. Spring children are just brats, and you don't want to admit it."

That made Young Link laugh, "What's all this with being born in certain seasons?"

Link had a hand on his hip, "People, well Hylians, assume that kids that are born in the spring are healthier, I guess. I'm of the opinion that it doesn't matter because there are plenty of people that are perfectly fine despite being born in a different season." He looked to the rest of them, "I mean, you're all examples of that since you're the elite squad, so I don't get why you're complaining."

He had a point. "Okay but getting one gift sucks! And it's perfectly fine to be mad about that!" Anthony pouted.

The young hero giggled, "How old are you again? Like twenty-two?"

"Pfft, no, I'm twenty- three thank you." He pointed to Roe, "He and Link are the youngest of us, with Roe being nineteen and Link being a newborn. Then Godric has a foot in the grave at thirty and Theo is twenty-seven."

"Wow ." He was surprised, "You're all way older than I thought you were."

Godric combed his beard with a grin, "Awww shucks, kiddo! You're too kind. I sure wish I was back in my twenties, though I've got some wisdom now."

Theodore rolled his eyes, "Right."

Soon they were passing through the gates, only this time their return was met with the people clapping for them. Young Link searched for the knights' reactions to see if this was a normal occurrence, and based off them waving back, all except for Link of course, it seemed it was. 'Interesting,' He thought as he slowly brought his hand barely past his hip to do the same, 'I suppose they're all decently known in town.'

The next thing he knew, he felt his hand getting yanked, and while it normally would have caused him some concern, the thing that grabbed it felt tiny. He recognized the petite, freckled face and halted his horse, "Piper?!" He looked down, seeing that her older brother was carrying her on his shoulders, 'What is she doing?!'

Tears started pricking at her green eyes as she held onto his hand, "I-I never got the chance t-to thank you!" He heard her brother groan at the exchange, "I haven't forgotten that you saved me from that awful monster!"

The area had grown quiet, and the other knights had stopped to watch. Young Link's cheeks and ears grew uncomfortably warm as he blinked at her, "Well I'm glad I was able to get you before it hurt you. I-I appreciate the thanks." 'Dear goddesses could I be more awkward !? This usually doesn't happen!' He glanced back at the rest of the squad, seeing a mix of holding back laughter and surprise, which only made his ears more red. "I've, er, got to get back to the castle now. I hope you and your family are doing well."

Before she could say anything else, her brother had plucked her off his shoulders and set her back on the ground, "Okay you said what you wanted to say, now c'mon before mom kills us!" he hissed.

There was a small applause that followed their brief conversation as he and others continued back to the castle gates. Theo turned to him, "I didn't know you had saved that girl, that's very noble of you."

His ears still felt hot, "Thanks, it was nothing really. Though it was nice to see she was okay after all this time."

"Well yer face is so red, I figured you might have liked her." Godric slyly commented.

He was flabbergasted, "Dear goddesses no! That's just plain weird! I am far too old and not interested in the slightest!" 'Ew ew EW! How can he even think of something like that!?' They were now inside the castle gates.

His reaction made Anthony chuckle, "Not interested in girls yet are we?" He did a shimmy with his shoulders.

"Gah!" Young Link cupped his burning face in his hands, "Link save me from this torture!" He could tell that bastard was trying to hide a smile.

His voice was calm, "Guys please. I don't get why you think boys are always interested in girls anyways. You ask like they've got time for things like that at the academy to begin with. Plus, it's not like he's twelve or thirteen, and that girl back there was probably seven at most. Don't be weird." He shrugged, "Besides half of you are single anyways. Worry about yourselves."

They turned on him for that last remark, "Oh yeah! Well you're just as single as the rest of us Link!" Anthony retorted, "It's not fair that Godric has a wife to begin with!"

"Tsk,' Roe rolled his eyes, "Women are too complex in general, not sure why anyone bothers."

"Hey you're too young to talk like that, you've still got plenty of chances!" The spearman had balled his fist and curled forward in his saddle, "I mean, just how the hell are you engaged Theo! How!? "

He folded his arms, "I knew telling you was a mistake. Your jealousy proves itself every time." With a sigh he threw his arms apart, "It was going to be a surprise , but yes, I am engaged." Now that he mentioned it, he was wearing a silver ring on the ring finger of his left hand.

Godric rode closer to look at it, "Aww, that's perdy. What's your girl's look like?"

Theo smiled, "Well, her favorite color is red, so naturally it has a ruby gem on it. Not too big, though, we like to be simple about those kinds of things."

'This is cute,' Young Link thought, no longer flustered from their pestering, "When will you guys get married?"

He thought about it, "Well, we're not sure yet, but I think next fall would be a perfect time. That way the heat of the summer will be gone and things would have cooled off."

They were now at the Guards' Chamber. Some of the knights that were inside greeted them as they came in, while Young Link sent Grace back with the other horses and instead headed to his room. The odd looks he was getting from some of the castle staff and residents had prominently disappeared, perhaps his absence gave them something else to worry about.

When he opened the door, he found a letter from Zelda on his vanity. He quickly snatched it and sat on the bed to read it:

Dear Young One,

Despite my efforts and the free-time I've had between my training, unfortunately I have not been successful in finding anything related to the missing story from the book. Later this week, I plan to visit the castle historian regarding this issue. If you'd like to join me, meet me at my study in the morning, a few days from now.

Also, if you're reading this, it means your journey with elite guard went well, and for that I'm very happy for you. You haven't ceased to surprise me since we found you. Perhaps you could tell me about what happened or what the guards are like.

Until we see each other again,

Princess Zelda

'Hopefully she doesn't feel too bad about not being able to find anything. If my suspicions are correct and it really is someone from the Yiga, I wouldn't blame her for not being able to.' He put the letter along with his mask in the drawer of his nightstand. Beginning to hum the Song of Time, he changed into the night gown the castle provided him and took a long nap.

A few hours later, he awoke to the sound of people arguing outside his door. He couldn't discern whose voices they were. "What the?" He hobbled to the door and peaked at what was happening outside.

It was Kevin and Lucas. Their faces were inches apart from each other as they pointed and yammered. "Kevin, just wait for him to wake up! You can ask him later!"

"It's been hours man! A guy only has so much patience!"

"You're telling me that you're gonna walk in there, shake the kid awake, and demand that he tells you about what happened?! You're being an asshole!"

"I'm not gonna do that, idiot! I was just going t—"

"What do you guys want?" He mumbled. Young Link couldn't listen to any more of that, it reminded him too much of Anthony between two people.

Kevin's nostrils flared in excitement. He slid in front of him on his knees, "Kid! You NEED to tell me about the elite squad. You MUST!"

Lucas dragged him back, "Don't listen to him, and we're sorry we woke you up. He's just a massive fanboy who needs a time-out."

The orange-haired knight pushed his teammate away, sending him onto the ground, "Nonono! No! Don't listen to him !" He tried appealing to the young hero, "What if I…uh..! What if I run down to the Dining Hall, get you whatever you want, and then you tell me. Every. Single. Detail you can remember about the elite squad? Sound good?"

Young Link admittedly didn't like begging, and Kevin was being more desperate than he thought was possible…but he couldn't pass on someone else bringing him food. He held back a smirk, still sounding groggy, "Sure."

He gasped, "Really!? Thank Hylia!" The knight scrambled to his feet, "What do you want?"

"Just bring me whatever they're serving for dinner and two rolls."

Kevin fervently nodded his head, running and pushing Lucas yet again, "MOVE! Can't you see I'm trying to do something important!"

That time he didn't end up on the floor and quickly walked over to him, "I swear to Hylia I'm gonna kick his ass during sparring tomorrow morning."

He gestured for him to come inside and sit, "I'm just sorry you practically got knocked over twice to his antics. I've never seen him this way before." He plopped on his bed, "I mean, didn't he know Link from the academy? He could already say that he grew up with one of the best swordsmen in Hyrule."

Lucas shrugged, he sat on the chair that went to the vanity, "You'd think, but remember Link graduated when he was fourteen and Kevin is sixteen right now. He idolizes everyone that makes up the elite squad. Just breathing in their air is a dream come true for him." He chuckled.

"Interesting, at least I'm getting food out of this." He shifted to find a more comfortable spot, "How have you guys been? I heard I might have made you guys look bad with that Hinox stuff, sorry about that."

"Really? Well as far as I'm concerned, we all just hoped you recovered okay. Clearly you did, so I'll be sure to tell Charlie in case he doesn't know yet."

They heard frantic stomping up the stairs, Kevin bursting through the door with a tray of food, "Here you are, Your Majesty! Now spill!"

Young Link first looked at what was on the tray that was promptly sat on his lap. 'Looks like chicken soup and a baked potato. He really did deliver on those rolls and even gave me butter, that's nice of him.' "Okay okay, what all do you want to know?"

"What kind of question is that?! I want to know their fighting styles, how they work together, their personality, hell even what side they sleep on! Tell me all of it! All of it! "

The young hero started with their fighting styles, not forgetting to tell them how Roe was able to specialize in his weapon class. Then, he highlighted their personalities, but left out how they nearly argued over Link. In hindsight, he understood why they would get slightly jealous, considering they'd been working together for at least a couple of years. Then their stoic captain is suddenly open with some kid, and all his excuses for why are admittedly pretty lame.

Finally, he told them about the monster base they destroyed and how Link took down a blue-maned lynel entirely by himself. He had the two knights on the edge of their seats, though he couldn't keep himself from gushing about the final move.

"Dear Hylia! After hearing that I feel like I can take on a small army of bokoblins!" Kevin beamed, looking confident.

Lucas smiled from ear to ear, "Gosh, I'll be surprised if the King himself doesn't give him at least something ! That's a huge deal!" He sat back in the chair, "Man, I knew I'd hear about all this eventually, but I'm really glad I was able to hear it from you. That whole expedition sounds crazy in a good way."

Between telling him about their adventure, he'd manage to finish his soup and half of the potato, saving the rolls for last. He took a hefty bite out of the dinner roll, "Mm, well I'm glad! It was super fun being around them."

Kevin pointed to his comrade, "Lucas, we should go spar!"

"Um, you definitely don't want to spar me after all that pushing you did to me earlier." He sassed, standing, "I'll whoop your ass like Link whooped that lynel."

He shrieked at the threat, stumbling toward the door, "C-can I at least apologize for my sins?"

Lucas taunted him by acting like he was gonna swing at him, "Not a chance." Kevin was out the door before he could even finish. The darker-toned knight waved and walked out as well, "I'll make sure to tell you whenever we're going on another expedition, okay?"

"Sounds good, see ya." The young hero finished his beloved bread and set the tray on his vanity so he didn't forget to bring it down the next morning. After sleeping and talking, it was now late in the evening.

'Part of me wants to try looking through the library for that missing story in case they got careless and left it laying around. Another part of me wants to just wants to go back to bed, even though I'm not all that tired.' He flopped back onto his sheets, his head hitting something hard that was underneath the blankets. Frowning, he sat up and removed the covers.

It was a scythe .

He immediately rolled out of bed and grabbed his sword, his eyes frantically searching the room. 'H-how long was that there!? Did they put it there while I was gone? Is this some kind of warning? Can they hear me?' His eyes turned to his window, 'Can they see me? '

After a few seconds, the scythe remained laying in his bed. Even so, his faith in this room was lost. He scrambled to put on his gloves along with taking his bow, quiver, ocarina, shield, and Fierce Deity mask. He could come back to move the rest of his clothes along with the other mask later, but he could not allow them to take his weapons.

He left his room with his back toward the hallway, looking around before rushing down the stairs. 'I don't know how safe of an idea this is, but I can't go find Zelda, nor the King. I'll have to let them know tomorrow. I think my best bet is…well, Link.' Young Link wanted to have some time away from his descendant after their journey, mainly to see about the spells he knew from his original universe, and while surely the Princess or the King would have shared their room, if the Yiga were to try and attack him in the night, they would have come across prime targets when they found him.

The moon sat high in the sky once he was outside the castle and heading toward the Guards' Chamber, 'This is why I'm not sure if this is a safe idea. It's hard to tell if it's a better idea to stay inside or risk going outside to get to a safer place.' His ears and eyes never strained so hard to catch onto anything that sounded or looked off.

It was a long jog there, but a stick that fell from a tree spooked him and sent him running as fast as he could. Trying to keep his huffing and puffing quiet, he opened the door and peeked in. From what he could see, there were very few lanterns to keep the room barely lit. He let himself in and shut the door, he could vaguely see Link's light-colored hair poking out from his covers and almost catching the lantern light.

'I just can't get a break from this Yiga stuff, can I?' He thought in frustration as he carefully made his way over. He took off his things as quietly as he could and set them all underneath the cot. Wincing, he slowly pulled back his covers, a pair of blue eyes quickly opening in response. Young Link sharply inhaled, his hand going to his chest. Not even he could understand why he didn't react loudly at the suddenness at which those eyes flit up to investigate his.

Link looked concerned as he sat up, even though his fatigue clearly wanted to pull his shirtless-self back under the covers, "Is something wrong?" He whispered.

"I—I found one of the Yiga's weapons underneath the blankets in my room." He looked to the floor, "I just can't sleep in there anymore after that, so I came here for the night before I tell Zelda tomorrow and switch rooms. Sorry."

If humans could bristle, that's what Link did. He briefly looked annoyed that the young hero told him that had happened. "That's…really bad. Of course you can stay with me, no apology needed." He scooted over and lifted the covers more, "Though, obviously this will be a squeeze, not that you mind I suppose."

He climbed in, "I figured as much." But to his dismay, after his head hit the other half of the pillow, an arm wrapped around him. "What are you doing?"

Link had closed his eyes, "Protecting you."

His eye twitched, "No, you're cuddling me. We've talked about this before." He could have imagined it, but he thought he felt his grip get tighter.

"My cot…my rules." Came the drifting response. Soon his breathing indicated that he returned to his deep slumber.

'Tch, whatever, I guess. It's certainly drafty in here so maybe I can appreciate the extra warmth.' After a couple of minutes of trying not to shift around enough to wake Link, he was more comfortable underneath his hefty arm and found his mind plunging him into a dream.