Recovery & Research

Young Link wheezed as he was slammed against the sandstone walls of the Yiga Hideout by none other than Sooga. His laughter was hoarse and wicked, "I love that crack I put in your mask! You're asking for more, aren't you?" The henchman yelled belligerent things he couldn't understand, all the while the large hand around his neck squeezed tighter and tighter. He'd been stuck in this looping nightmare and decided he might as well have fun with it the seventh time around.

Or he was.

He was until he could make out a specific phrase.

"How dare you! Insolent weakling!" His words ricocheted off the walls.

"Excuse me?"

"Disgusting lapdog of the Goddess!" His raging continued, "By pure luck you managed to lay a finger on me!"

"LUCK!?" Time's voice echoed around the clearing, "WEAK?!" His heart pounded so fast it could have broke his ribs. The fierce anger that boiled inside of him—the urge to paint the floor crimson grew with each puff of air he took. He no longer felt the hand around his neck. His threat started as a whisper, "I'll kill you."

Then grew louder, "I'll kill you!" He was slowly changing form. He could taste the Yiga's fear in the air.

And louder, "I'll kill you!" Now he loomed over his sweating assailant.

Until…

The Hero shot awake, shouting, "I'LL KILL YOU!" at the top of his lungs. A peal of thunder followed the slew of Old Hylian, shaking the inn . Meanwhile Time continued to fume in anger as his chest rose with each breath, ignoring the simmering pain it caused. Without thinking, he zipped out of bed and up to the overhang just outside, heading into the rain his mood promptly called forth. His fists clenched as he began to pace his irritation away, listening to the hiss of the droplets evaporating off him. Time went from pissed, to annoyed, to perhaps regretful for subjecting those around him not only to a product from his nightmare, but now the weather.

'Though…this does feel nice,' He thought, opening his palm to catch a few drops. They might vaporize at his touch, but the sensation and coolness from being hit with water was still there. He blinked, 'So why isn't it getting me wet, then? Because it's mine? I thought it was because I was so mad, my body temperature was that of fire or something.' His brows furrowed, "…Stupid dreams…stupid Sooga…' Now his ear flicked, his gaze turning toward the clouds, 'Alright. That's enough. Leave me please.'

Time hunched forward, staggering from the ungodly pain radiating from his chest, 'D-Dammit! Dear Goddesses!' He winced, 'I forgot I wasn't moving around so fast for a reason!' Once again, his heart began to pick up speed, only this time in reaction to electrifying pain that brought him down on all fours and sucked the breath out of him. The taste of warm blood filled his mouth as it drooled past his lips.

Step.

"I'm fine…" he gasped before sputtering. The rain still held against his wishes.

"Are you?" Came Link's concerned but soft voice.

Fingers cautiously touched down before proceeding to rub his upper back.

"You're obviously hurting if you've got blood coming out your mouth, Time." Still, his sigh suggested that he digressed. Onto what he really wanted to say, "A nightmare?"

"Yes…it pissed me off," Time sat back on his legs, wiping his jaw and watching the rain clean the red from his arm. Only now did the drops soak his clothes and skin, "And now everything hurts. Hmph, noble. There's nothing noble about this. Nearly nothing at all."

"You'd think I'd know some of the words you're saying by now," Link cocked his head, "But nope. Still clueless as ever…except for that beamos-thingy you say when you're talking about the guardians. You said that enough times at the citadel for it to stick."

Time searched his expression, finding compassion in his eyes as well as curiosity. It wrung a smile from his lips, "Alright alright, I feel better now, ya damn bastard.' He paused, "I didn't scare too many people, right? At least not the Princess?"

"Oh absolutely not." The champion flatly shook his head, sounding nonchalant, "I think everyone is looking for a change of pants thanks to whatever awful thing you screamed. It was already dreary this morning, and we could tell a storm was on its way. A little off-putting for a canyon right next to the desert, but the clerk mentioned it was far overdue and should have happened weeks ago." He smirked, "Though, of course there had to be nasty thunder as soon as you woke up. Zelda ran her pen off her paper and got ink on the table. Meanwhile, I actually had a hard time telling where you went. You don't even leave any footprints when you do that, y'know."

Time frowned as his descendant took it upon himself to use his wet hand to wipe away whatever blood he missed, "Dears Gods, you're not my mother."

"Well for being a god, let alone a legend, you're not as picky about your appearance as you once seemed to be."

"Link don't call me that, seriously." His pain had become more manageable over the course of their conversation, allowing him to stand, "I don't care about the legend crap, but I'm not—" he sighed, "Just don't feed into that." Truth be told, there was something in him that felt egged on whenever someone else, besides Hylia, acknowledged him in this way. He didn't need moments like the prior morning to become a norm.

This turned some gears in his golden blonde head, but he respected his wishes, "I won't, my bad." He put his hands on his hips, "In the meantime, I dunno about you, but I don't wanna keep standing in the rain. Really, I have no idea why I'm more drenched than you, but c'mon, let's get inside."

As they walked back down the sloping land, Young Link realized his bandages must be soaked with blood, for the front of his tunic had started to grow into that muddy brown color resulting from red mixing with green. The rain had already darkened his clothes, making it easier to hide, but it was going to dry eventually. 'Hopefully eventually isn't very soon…'

Before he knew it, he was apologizing as he held the Princess's hands, "I'm terribly sorry Zelda! Ah…my nightmares do that to me sometimes."

She almost appeared flustered but concerned all the same, "No need to worry about me! Are you alright? Whatever you said sounded awful!"

He could see the stable hands behind her bobbing their heads in agreement, "I'm fine, I'm fine. Really. It was just because of an awful dream." Time looked toward the doors, "Um, anyways, I assume we're going to leave soon? The rain seems to be clearing up." 'Finally! I can't believe I can barely control that! I think I wouldn't mind it so much if it weren't so obvious!'

Link's eyebrow raised, "The stable hands were going to make oatmeal afterwards."

Zelda agreed with where he was going, "Yes, no need to leave on an empty stomach. Especially after all that. It'll give you both time to dry as well."

Time shifted his weight, "Oh, good point." The thought of food made him feel rosy. "I wonder if they'll spice it the way the castle does, hehe.~" He grinned.

His change of attitude intrigued the Princess, but she was curious as well, "I suppose we'll have to see!"

They all had their answer a couple of hours later: it could have been sweeter, honestly. Zelda thanked them for keeping their horses fed and groomed while they were gone, and then they were back on the road home.

The Gerudo Canyons still maintained the oddly cold wind chill despite generally being a warm province. 'Though,' Young Link thought, glancing at the red rocks, 'Unless they're volcanic, rocks have next to zero ability to maintain heat. Not to mention all the shade that's cast too. Combined with the wind, it's enough to make me wish I was wearing a shirt with my tunic…pants too.' He rode atop Twilight, half sitting in Link's lap since he had to take the front part of the saddle. Zelda rode beside them of course.

He'd seen all of this before, so there wasn't much to talk about. Their travel didn't experience many interruptions either. There were hardly any monsters, and if there were, it wasn't worth the trouble to kill them and risk getting hurt. They stopped to break and eat at the Outskirt Stables.

"Wait, so you're saying that just over the hill is a huge arena?" Link had pointed it out to him. However, he could only see the stony top of it from where he stood.

"A coliseum." He corrected.

"You're not gonna let me stand on your shoulders so I can see?"

The champion nudged his shoulder, whispering, "I'm already gonna have to wash this when I get back! I don't want to get more dirt on it from your shoes!"

He jokingly shook his head, "Woooow, not even going to let your ancestor see the cool col-ith-theeum. For shame, Link. For shame."

"I'm pretty sure you just got onto me yesterday for putting 'some legend' over the Princess," Link quipped, "Speaking of which, I'm gonna go do my job."

"Right, well if she's writing, it's gonna feel like you're snooping." They both looked over their shoulders, finding Zelda peacefully scribing in her journal at the base of a tree. They looked back at each other, "So can I see it now?"

He crossed his arms, "You don't need to see it that bad."

…

Before long they were crossing into the southern part of Hyrule Field, and, not long after that, they found themselves under siege by a nasty group of moblins. There were six to be exact: two red, one blue, two black, and one that was…a darker red?

"Okay that one's weird for sure, but I get the feeling they can come in just about any color at this point!" Time called as they got to work. 'It feels so nice to have my sword! Oh, and my boomerang!'

"I dunno," Link was skeptical as he drew the Master Sword, "Keep an eye on it."

Time went after the blue moblin wielding a makeshift bow. His wounds told him he shouldn't be fighting, but there's no way he was going to let Link take them out all by himself. 'Ugh, I do feel slower than usual. Very annoying.' As he went to slash at its legs, it nimbly hopped away. Yes, this was a minor setback but, 'Why do I feel myself getting…mad? It's just a monster. Chill.' Trying to shake off the offense he felt, he took out the deadly boomerang and slung it at the moblin before it could fire an arrow.

Blood spurt from the monster's split skull as it fell to the ground with a roar.

Link was occupied with taking on the black moblins. They'd tried to make a run for the Princess! She remained a safe distance away from the fight, but they were no match for the sword of evil's bane. Their life was decided on a spin attack that cut them in two. Now only the red ones were left.

"Whoa!" Young Link rolled away from the dark red one, "Where the hell did it get a battle axe!? Dear Goddesses!" 'Did it kill some guards somewhere? He must have stole it! I doubt these monsters have the intelligence to—' He frowned, 'Well, there was that time they dropped bombs on us back in the Breach of Demise…maybe they are smart enough to smith their own tools!' That wasn't important though, it was more pertinent that the moblin was actually decent at wielding it! 'Calculated moves too?!' he performed an aerial to dodge another swing, 'That would have killed me!'

The monster had enough of the Hero's agile antics. It began to huff and puff in fury.

"Hero!" Came Zelda's cry, "I think it's going to—"

The Princess's speech warped as time began to tick at a snail's pace. Time's eyes captured sparks flaring from the moblin's mouth, and they pointed to a sole outcome: 'This thing breathes fire!?' Not wasting another second, he slammed his sword into its scabbard and shoved his hands into the air. His index fingers and thumbs made the shape of a diamond, blue magic shined within the shape as he became engulfed in flames.

"What!? No!" Link howled.

"Hero!" Zelda's shriek echoed off the plains.

But the Hero of Time stood his ground as he took the moblin by surprise once the fire barrage ended, "Phew! I'm really sweating now!" 'And a tad charred on the edges, but I'll be fine!' His adrenaline soared from using the spell gifted by the Great Fairy of Wisdom.

See, Nayru's Love is a magic protection spell, all it does is protect him from elemental attacks. With that said, it very well is not a physical protection spell, so while he won't catch fire from a fireball, the force of being hit with it would still knock him back several feet.

"That's amazing!" Zelda ogled, clearly in research mode now that she could see he was beyond fine. She took out her journal and began furiously writing down her observations. "I must document this!"

'Ha!' He dodged another swing, 'She might have been worried about me, but she's truly fearless when it comes to her research!' He couldn't help his winning smile, 'That's badass! Haha!' The next time the moblin swung its axe, his parry gave him a vital opening, allowing him to take out one of its legs before leaping into the air to perform an ending blow straight into its head. Afterwards, Time retrieved his boomerang and slung it into the chest of the other red moblin, catching sight of Link picking up his sword. Again, time slowed as he thought to himself, 'Dear Gods that's right, his hands must've gone numb because of the spell! It's crazy to see how fast that affects him in real time…'

Nevertheless, Link shoved the blade into the moblin's neck before plunging it through the last moblin that came up behind him. Soon after, they all turned into dust and faded into the breeze. The champion ran up to his ancestor, "Wha—How are you okay? I could've sworn you were just torched to death!"

Time panted, his hands occupying his hips, "That was another one of my spells! Specifically a…" A feeling of faintness fogged his head, "a um…" He pulled at the collar of his tunic, not only finding that it was soaking wet, but that it was soaking wet from his own blood. The bandages had done all they could, but after fighting it now allowed the crimson to seep and stain his tunic once more. His knees buckled as Link caught him by the shoulders.

"Princess!" He looked at her from over his shoulders.

She sounded fervent, "Yes, let's hurry back!"

The Hero could eventually feel the saddle beneath him as he wavered in and out of consciousness. One moment there was grass getting trampled beneath Twi's feet. Another filled with shouting as he could see the feet of villagers scattering to the sides of the road. And another occupied with nervous murmurs as the gate to Castle Town had yet to be opened. He came to enough to watch the large doors reveal the crowd of people awaiting whoever it was.

Time had kept a hold of the saddle horn but now gripped it as their cheering for their champion and Princess began to echo something fierce in his head. Developing a splitting headache in a matter of minutes set off a spark of irritation in him. It was becoming far too much for his expanded hearing to handle. Their cheers…their hearts…His hands clapped over his ears as he began to shake his head. He could just barely make out the Princess pleading with them to make way. Another minute in and he could feel Twilight jolt and stall.

Their cheers had turned into cries of terror.

This was understandable seeing as the legend had blood running down his leg through a drenched tunic. It had begun to drip a trail, staining Twi's white socks red. "I can't…" He gurgled. His will to keep himself in the saddle was ferociously losing. "A-All this noise…" His eyes rolled back into his head as he began to slip.

The last thing he could remember was his chin hitting his chest and seeing the color drain from a guard's face.

…

A couple days later, the deity now bitterly sat at the edge of a hospital bed, waiting for the doctor to return so he could replace his bandages once more. Despite coming in with such dire conditions, he was able to be partially readmitted, which allowed him to do as he pleased—so long as it wasn't physical activity. This was fine. It permitted him to take a second to brush up on the language again, at least as far as his reading ability could go…because it was getting sorry. Could he understand the Princess's scholarly jargon? Not really. No. However, he could make more intelligent conversation with her to say the least.

This inadvertently meant that he got to spend more time with her as well. His suspicions were too high to return to her tutor, so he searched for a reason—one that specifically didn't make him look stupid—to get her to help him study. He found a large book with a reasonable collection of wives' tales and went knocking on her door, asking her to read them to him. She would commit to finding answers to the Sheikah slate in the day and read him a story in the evening. Seeing as Link was still her personal knight, it let the Hero continue to be around him too.

The doctor returned, "I must admit, after I was made aware of your natural abilities, it clicked for me why you were able to heal so fast. Yet," his eyes glanced over the little progress his chest made, "I must say I'm surprised."

"Hmph, then I'm surprised that you haven't come to the conclusion that I can't control it. Even the weakest of potions would be better than nothing." This wasn't the first time he brought it up after he'd been periodically stopping by…as was required.

"You may be a legend with supernatural abilities, but that does not change the physiology in front of my eyes. The studies we conducted made the cautions very clear."

"Have you ever considered that your reasoning is too…straightforward?" The light cast from the windows that lit the room started to grow dim. A cloud must have been passing by. "I believe in your knowledge, but I am not a child." As his phrase ended, a soft rumble projected from above, threatening the possibility of a storm.

The physician sighed; this conversation always appeared to test his patience, if not ever so slightly. He gestured forward, unraveling the roll of bandages.

The air between them grew prickly as Time lifted his arms. Reserved silence in response to his justifications irritated him.

A crack of thunder erupted from the clouds.

'Ugh, I shouldn't have to put up with this nonsense!' The bandages touching his chest instinctively produced a growl that shook the floor. His added resentment called forth the marks on his face as well.

This foreseeably spooked the doctor as he jumped at the sound, "Dear Hylia! What was—ah! Your face!"

He stood from the bed, "I know." The deity's eyes flit around the room as time began to slow. 'They're somewhere.' His vision flickered at him something similar to Hylia's gaze at the Spring of Power, allowing his eyes to settle on a tall, wooden cabinet. It was normally closed, but it appears it was storage for healing potions. He could tell by their red color—that much was at least universal knowledge. While the man's initial reaction continued to occur at a snail's pace, Time zipped over to the cabinet, giving the door a tug. 'It's locked. Smart.'

If he'd done that when he was initially admitted, blood would be spurting from his chest in protest. And while the healing process still dragged on for far longer than he thought it should, at least the skin had become more resilient to his faster mode of transportation.

He spied the physician's neck for keys, and while he could simply snap the lock—that's not very civil, is it? Now in front of his office door, he smiled at the doorknob turning, granting himself access to the room. The keys sat atop of a stack of papers. Eyeballing them didn't give him an immediate sense of which would open the lock, 'I'll just try them all, I suppose.' Out of six, the fifth one worked.

Taking in the array of potions, Time could make out the label for one of moderate healing. After grabbing it, he cordially locked the cabinet, replaced the keys, and sat on the edge of the bed. He chugged the potion before time resumed as normal.

"—!" The doctor had finished his reaction before his face became mortified.

The Hero thoughtfully blinked as he sat the empty bottle on the bedside table. His tone was polite, "Thank you." He watched the wounds inflicted on his chest begin to close up.

"Y-You…How did—" His eyes wanted to pop out of his head as they flicked between the bottle and locked cabinet, "I can't believe you—aargh!" Fed up with trying to come up with an answer, his arms hastened to his sides as he puffed out a sigh. Like before, he appeared to be showing a later stage of having his patience tested. Only this must have struck a particular chord with him because his right eye began to unnervingly twitch, "Alright...as much as I am outrageously curious at how you managed to grab and drink the potion before I could finish just…reacting to you growling at me! I—" He gestured to the Hero's chest before throwing his arms out to the side, "I suppose what's been done is done! You're formally discharged from the hospital wing's services."

The annoyance he felt radiated off his being like heat from a fire, "While it wasn't for long, I still appreciate what you've done for me. You'll also come to find that potions simply don't affect me the same way they would an actual child." He hopped off bed, wanting to roll his eyes at the other flinching. He grabbed his tunic and slid it back on, "I'll be sure to not get hurt again." The deity waved a finger, "But no promises!" His original green tunic was far from being saved after being stained a second time, so now he wore the green one Zelda had made for him for the Champion's Ceremony—which means he had to wear pants…he picked his battles.

A new thought occupied his mind once the door to the hospital wing closed behind him, 'I want to read about the Hero of the Sky again. Well…just the ending.' When Link came to visit him a couple of times, he found himself staring at the sacred sword as he left. Now that his New Hylian was back up to speed, perhaps he'd be able to understand it better as well.

But first he wanted to find a mirror.

'That should be easy enough.' Just around the corner was a large metal statue that had a shield at its feet. He peered into his own eyes as he strolled toward it, 'I'm curious what my eyes looked like when I could see into that cabinet…C'mon, I know I can make it happen again.' Time thought of seeing what exactly the statue was made of when he witnessed his pupils stretching into the shape of a red, diamond slit. He internally gasped, 'It's just like the Lens of Truth, no way!' After turning his head this way and that, he blinked once and they were gone. 'Very interesting! Who'd have thought! Though,' He fanned at his face. His curiosity deepened the color of his markings, 'I need these to fade by the time I get to the library.'

They seemed to sit just below the surface of his skin when he greeted the librarian behind the desk, "Hi! Can you help me find the Book of Legends?"

It was an older Sheikah woman who wore bright purple glasses. The symbol of the clan occupied both of her eyes. A first for the Hero, "Ah of course, oh Hero of Time."

He smiled as he began to follow her, "I guess I'm not surprised you know that. Really I forgot that it was spread to nearly everyone else."

She had a classic old woman chuckle, "Well, I'd say it's more obvious than some would think."

"How so?"

"Just by looking at you, dearie. The way you carry yourself is a start. Other's at your physical age would still be astounded by the vastness of this room, but there's wisdom in your eyes, and it tells me you're on your own mission. Even amuck this Calamity Ganon ruckus."

Interesting, it'd been a while since he'd heard anyone bring it up, "Of course you're insightful. What do you think about the prophecy, ma'am?" They strolled onto the first step of a staircase.

Her eyes smiled as she looked back at him, "I think I should be learning what to think from you, Hero of Time. What do you see?"

"To boil it down, victory in one way or another. Believe me, the world could be on fire, reduced to ashes and dust, and there's a victory somewhere in all of that." It made him think of his Castle Town when he'd left the Temple of Time.

They'd made it to the top where she pointed to a familiar book, "I expected nothing less, dearie. It should be just there."

"Thank you!" He simply hopped into the air to retrieve it, sitting on a cushioned bench nearby. 'Okaaaay,' His finger ran over the words, 'Where is it…where is it…' "Aha!"

The Hero of the Skies...page 135

Young Link flipped to the page before skipping to the end.

Their battle was glorious. Truly a spectacle that could will valor into even the most timid of hearts. Demise called forth a storm, and with its bolts he was slain with a charged blow to end it all. The Hero of Sky removed his sacred blade and it was said that the Demon King had compliments to spare for such a magnificent fight. While impressed, he still cursed the Goddess Hylia's blood and the spirit of the Hero, binding them to be chased by his own incarnation for all of time to come. As he faded away, the Servant of the Goddess within the sword sealed the remainder of his consciousness into the blade. The Goddess and the Hero's fight had been won.

Soon after that…

He nodded to himself, feeling enlightened, 'Ahh, so that could be why I kept eyeing the sword!' When he looked up from the book, the librarian warped in front of him, giving him a start.

She had her hand held out, "Since you're done, might I hold onto this?"

"S-Sure." His ears were telling him to feel suspicious of her, "I can put it up for you, if that's what you're going to do."

Once more, her eyes smiled at him, "No dearie, that's alright." She flipped through the pages, "Say, would I possibly find you in here? I should, shouldn't I?"

"Didn't you hear? My legend had been stolen by the Yiga, ma'am. It's no longer in the book." 'Okay seriously!? I figured the entire Sheikah clan would know about this by now! How are there people with her kind of job that still have no idea that happened!?' He felt his nose get booped.

"Ah, but your eyes tell me you've seen it, Hero."

Now it was his turn to smirk, "I have, but what happened next is a secret." Time winked at her as he stood, "Have a pleasant day." He waved before zipping down the stairs and exiting the library. Once in the corridors, he checked the time, 'Two o' five, huh? Hm, I'm pretty sure Zelda is in her room by now. Maybe she wouldn't mind me stopping by...'

When he initially returned to the castle covered in blood and hardly conscious, from his understanding the castle had become enveloped in a short-lived chaos until his conditions returned to normal. It was strange to hear his descendant recount how many times other guards had come up to him asking about how the Hero was doing. It was strange to know an entire community of people cared that much about him in the first place. After all, it wasn't as if he really interacted with them all that much. Aside from the occasional greeting, nothing had exactly changed compared to how things were before everyone found out who he really was. 'Though, I guess I was too busy attending to Zelda that I never had the time to pay attention to that sort of thing. At least enough to notice a difference anyway.'

Paying no mind to the guards outside her door, he knocked, "Zelda? Are you there?" He could hear her muffled sound of surprise.

"Hero?" In the next moment her head popped between her doors. She looked overjoyed, "Ah it is you! Please, come in."

It was worth mentioning that Zelda took her research over the guardians and ancient relics very seriously after they returned. He had watched her desk turn into more and more of a conspiracy board by the night. By the looks of it, she'd strung up yet another thesis regarding her string of theories. Link was there too, of course. He often situated himself by the end of her bed, near either of her doors, or stayed at her side when she left to go to her study. He gave him a small wave when he walked in. Today he was by her bed.

"How are you doing Princess?" He asked.

She'd taken his hand and led him over to the chairs in her room, "Why you stole the question right from my mouth. You first. How are you? How are your wounds healing?"

His eyebrows raised as he took a seat, "Great news actually! I was discharged from the hospital wing today!"

Zelda mini-clapped her hands in celebration, "That's wonderful!" A look crossed her eyes, "But wait, just yesterday you were talking about how slow the process was. Did something change? You made it seem as though it would be a while until they were completely gone."

Young Link couldn't help his shit-eating grin, snickering, "Well I might have snagged a healing potion—or so the legend goes!~" It tickled him to say. "And before you get worried about me, Princess, I'll just remind you that you've clearly seen what I looked like when I'm my actual age. I doubt I'll look any different because of one potion. Which is a crazy notion in the first place since I used to drink them all the time!"

Her waving hand gave away that was the exact path she was going to go down, "Concerns aside, I'm just happy you don't have to worry about it anymore. I can't imagine how awful that whole ordeal was."

'No shit. Not to mention it went on for longer just because of that doctor's stupid research! That is torture in of itself dammit!' He sighed, "No kidding. In any case, that's how I'm doing, what about you? Any new findings today?"

She sank into her chair, "Not exactly, unfortunately. I thought I'd come close to figuring out another possible rune that exists on the Sheikah slate but…that couldn't be further from the truth."

Time recalled when he last handled the tablet long ago. Given his situation now, he'd be damned before he touched it again, "I'm sorry to hear that, Zelda. What were your ideas, though?"

"Are they worth mentioning, Hero?"

Link butted in for a second, pointing to the clock on the mantle of her fireplace, "Sorry to interrupt, but I have a meeting with the Head of Command soon." He bowed to Zelda, "I shouldn't be gone for long."

The Princess waited until her door closed before she resumed talking, sounding bitter as her eyes cast to the floor, "Good riddance…"

This was a first.

"Wait huh?" He looked between her and the door, shocked, "Did…did something happen?"

"Isn't it obvious? Here I am toiling away everyday with research my own father doesn't believe in, praying relentlessly for years for a power that refuses my efforts…" Her eyebrows furrowed as her cheeks started to flush, "He's everything I wish I was, Hero! The Master Sword easily chose him. He's a fantastic fighter, the same as you. That's not to say he hasn't worked hard for it, but I've been hearing his name discussed amongst my father and the others for years now! The court has always had it's eyes on him!" She began to choke on her words, "What do I have to show for everything I've done? Nothing!"

He gestured to her wall, feeling heat starting to rise in his own face, "But still! Princess, nearly every time we've spoke, you always seem to have a new angle on your own theories, both to support them and to find if there are any holes. You're genuinely the smartest person I know when it comes to this stuff."

Once again she appeared downtrodden, "Truth be told, I have my theories but it's as if technology is outright ignoring me…and it angers me more that maybe things would be different if Link were the one doing all of this. Those stupid shrines are meant for him after all…somehow."

Time threw his hands up, "But what of Purah and Robbie? What about their progress?" 'Surely there's no way they're farther ahead than you!'

"Well, it's really about the same as mine, but still…that shouldn't be an excuse. There's just no other way we'll beat…the…"

He watched her shoulders slump as her eyes slowly met his. He'd cocked his head at what she was inferring, "Is that true, Princess? Oh wonderful goddess incarnate?" (He was happy to have finally learnt that word.)

She bit her lip, "Don't…don't be foolish."

"We haven't even gone to the other springs yet! We can't knock all of our options before we've tried them!" He tried to encourage her, though his words appeared to be amiss.

This made her stand from her chair. "Link, I've been training this so-called power for nine years now and soon it's going to be ten! I'm being realistic!" Zelda snapped, tears running down her cheeks. She plopped onto the foot of her bed, cradling her face in her hands as quiet sobs filled the tense silence.

Time's heart felt heavy as he scanned the room for peeping guards before trudging over to her. Despite the natural light coming in through the windows, it was dim enough for him to be able to tell that his fierce markings had appeared on his face as he drew closer to her. He had an idea.

"Please…calm down…" The deity whispered, "It hurts me to see you this way, Princess."

Zelda briefly removed her hands covering her forehead as she looked at him. Her gasp was cut off as he got on his toes to kiss her forehead from where he stood. He hugged her, letting out a sigh of relief as he felt her shoulders become less tense and heard her heart begin to slow to a calmer pace "How do you feel?" He asked.

"What was I crying about?" She wiped the tears from her cheeks.

Time shrugged, "Beats me, but we all get frustrated at things every once in a while. Do you feel any better?"

The Princess blinked, looking this way and that. A smile was beginning to form on her face, "I-I do, yes. Can I have another hug?"

"Of course!" He obliged.

"You're a very cuddly person, did you know that?"

'Ooooooookay.'

He made a face, 'And this is how I figure out the catch to that ability, huh. They feel better but get unfortunately honest. Is that it?' He didn't know what to say, better yet someone was bound to walk in on the two of them like this. Time tried to pull away, 'She—She's not letting go!'

Zelda had wrapped her arms around him and smushed her cheek into the top of his head.

"Uh well…what makes you say that, Your Highness?"

"I'm not sure actually. It just felt right to say." She let out a short yawn, "Mmm…I feel like I've been working for a long time. I think I'll take a nap."

'Why isn't her hold on me getting any looser?' "There ya go! There's nothing like a midday nap! I agree! Now if you'll just," He tried to wiggle a bit, "Uh—let me go. I'll let you get settled and," He tried again, "leave! How's that sound, Princess?"

"But I want you to stay with me, Link."

His heart beat faster, 'Help.'

From outside her doors, you could hear there was a commotion going on inside. Although muffled, you could just barely understand what was being said.

"Zelda please!" Time begged, "You—We can't do this!" He scooted toward her headboard as she tried to tackle him again.

She hadn't lost her argumentative side to his ability, "But you started this in the first place!"

"That's because you were crying!" His back touched the wooden board, 'Ah! There's nowhere left for me to go!'

The Princess managed to snag him back into a cuddle, albeit gently. Her head rested on his abdomen, "There. Now let me go to sleep, hm?"

He mumbled in defeat, "But I don't wanna be castrated…" Another word he was glad to learn.

Her heart already plummeted to a sleeping pace, murmuring, "Nonsense…"

As she fell deeper into her slumber, Time ran his fingers through his bangs. 'This is it…' He mentally moped, 'This is how I die…I'll never get back to my own world. I'll never have any children…if I can even have any. This is like having a butterfly land on you: you can't move a muscle until it flies away! It's too precious otherwise!'

Young Link was mainly being sarcastic, though he did fear messing up his relations with the King…and therefore the knights and therefore everyone else. 'Or at least that's how I've summed it up in my head.' He bit the inside of his lip as his eyes swept over to the Princess's head. One part of his mind said this was the perfect way to get her back for the times she pet him. Another part of his mind imagined his head getting chopped into a basket.

'Meh,' He yawned, 'whatever.' The Hero decided against it as he let himself drift asleep. He next awoke to something grabbing his foot. Blinking awake, his initial frown softened once he recognized his descendant, "Why are you messing with my—"

"Sshhhhhh!" Link hissed, jabbing a finger at the Princess, "What the heck happened!? Why are you in your true form!?"

Now that he mentioned it, Time looked at himself and found the Princess fast asleep on his black-clad chest while his huge body took up her bed and left his shins hanging off the end. A mega-sized yikes. A voice in his head fervently agreed with the brash attitude the knight had, but the louder voice didn't see the issue. He tried to speak softly, but his voice made tremors no matter his volume, "Why the Princess was upset earlier, so I tried to calm her down. Once she felt better, she insisted she take a nap…with me."

"Huuuuuh?" His descendant was flabbergasted, "That doesn't—why did she?" He shook his head, "Just change back before she wakes up!"

His ears perked, '…wakes up…' The end of Link's phrase began to echo in his head '…wakes up…' The marks on his face along with his eyes brightly shined as his brows came together. 'That's right…something is here. It's sleeping, just as Hylia said.' He was filled with sharp determination as the next tremor that shook the room didn't come from his voice. The deity felt as though he had a distant memory of what—or maybe who—it was. He began to move to sit up when Hylia's kind but stern voice echoed around his head.

Don't, my sweet.

His eyes and marks quickly dimmed down to their normal levels as his gaze flicked back to his descendant. She had a point. 'Huh? What's that face for?' Empathy washed over him as he took in an expression of fear, one that was accompanied by a fluttering heart. In a flash, his form returned to normal as he grabbed the knight's hands, leaving the Princess to slowly wake, "My most heartfelt apologies! By no means was that because of you, descendant. Your words, they reminded me of something. Truly that's all it was." Despite retaking his noble form, his sclera remained white, "I would nail my hands to the floor before the thought of truly doing you harm could cross my mind."

Now his descendant appeared disturbed, "Dear Hylia…that's…" he was clearly picturing it in his head, "I understand weren't mad at me, but don't talk like that! You just looked, well, really scary for a moment."

His eyebrow raised in interest, "Hmm…strange, I wouldn't call that scary, dearest."

Link's head recoiled in confusion before it started to shake as he held up a finger, "Wai-wai-wai-wait. You called me what now?"

"Ah, but it's the same with you calling me 'Time' instead of the 'Hero of Time,' is it not?" The god mused, "It's much shorter and—" His corporeality hit him like a boulder smacking into the ground, making him hunch over and wheeze. He hobbled away from the knight's helpful gesture to steady him, "I-I'm sorry…I'll just…go throw myself off a balcony. Don't mind me." His face turned bright red along with his ears.

"Young one?" Came Zelda's drowsy voice.

He froze, 'Dear Goddesses, how long has she been awake!?'

"Did something happen? What's—" She paused, now sounding a tad curt, "Link? What are you doing in here?"

The champion bowed, "I simply returned after my meeting with the Head of Command, Your Highness. I found you asleep with Ti—the Hero."

That appeared to ring a bell, "Oh right, I…I WHAT?!" She immediately looked back to Time, "Wait why is your face red? What happened!?"

Young Link had made it over to her armchairs as he tried to fan at his face, but it was to no avail. His embarrassment at himself continued to eat him alive to the point where his own disdain made his voice wobble, "I…It has nothing to do w-with you. I'm just—I'm fine, but I—" His voice cracked as it cut off, leaving him to yank off his cap and bury his face in it. 'Gods above!' He internally wailed in shame, 'Why are those my honest colors dammit! Gah, I can't believe I said that! I can't believe I transformed in my sleep—again! I thought I would gain more control over these powers, not lose it! At some point I'll just have to explain myself because I've become so out of touch only a divine reason could possibly explain why!' He momentarily wished he could fade away into his own cloud plain or at least yell his self-inflicted frustrations into a void. That would probably make him feel better.

Heaving a sigh into his cap, he began to regain bits and pieces of his composure, 'Okay…just don't say rash things. Just be partially honest as per usual. Help.' He tuned back into his surroundings, surprised to find himself in the middle of an argument.

"Link what are you saying?!" Zelda fumed, "What do you mean!?"

Link looked to have a firm grasp on his patience, "My Princess, I wasn't here when all of this happened. I don't understand why you can't remember that I told you I was leaving because the Head of Command wanted to see me. I swear it. I would never lie to you."

"I. Am not. Stupid! Are you to tell me that my memory is incorrect!? I clearly recall you standing just there while I was talking to the Hero. And then the young one was just over there as well. From my understanding, I got tired and fell asleep, so—"

'Oh no…' Time blinked, fighting his hand wanting to cover his mouth. 'She…she really was asking what she was crying about. I…that kiss must have erased her memory from when she had started to get upset! Perhaps her trying to wrestle me into a cuddle was lost to her sleep. Dammit, that is a terrible catch for the price of soothing someone!'

"Um, Zelda?"

"What!?" She snapped. Her cheeks were red with frustration.

'What all am I gonna say?~ What all am I gonna say?~' "Link truly did leave to see the Head of Command. Then it was just you and me, we started talking, and your research came up." His voice produced a slight echo in the tense air as he purposefully skipped other parts of their conversation, "As we spoke, you'd become upset and worried over the Calamity. Remember?"

Her redness remained as it was joined by her eyes becoming glossy, "But that…all of that happened in my dream…"

'Okay…I'll take turning someone into a dreamlike state over completely erasing whatever momentary thing was making them upset.' "And then you started to cry?"

"And then you came over, speaking the old tongue, and kissed my forehead. Then I—" Her hand raced to her mouth as her eyes widened in disbelief, "I really did that!?"

Young Link nodded, "Yeeaaahhh…it's okay. At least we both slept, right? Then Link came back and woke me up." Glancing at him showed the knight was relieved their argument didn't carry on.

"Dear Hylia…" Zelda's gaze trailed to the floor before meeting with her knight's. "Link…I apologize for being a fool and not believing you." She lamely chuckled, "Maybe I should sleep for a bit longer."

Link's stoic face didn't help get his message across, "No worries, Your Highness. I've done something similar before."

"Right…" Then she cocked her head, looking quizzical, "Right. Why was the Hero's face red when I came to?"

"Zelda please," Time drooped where he sat, "Thank you for caring, but you don't need to know everything. It was just…a distant memory I'm not proud of. That's all," He lied.

To his surprise, she backed off, "Oh goodness, you're right! I, well, thought it pertained to me and so…I apologize to you as well," She sighed, now scooting to the edge of her lavish bed, "I think I need some fresh air."

When the door to the bridge closed, Link whipped around to face him. His expression showed that he now had a broader understanding of what likely happened, "You kissed her forehead?" His tone indicated his suspicions quite loudly.

"I wasn't thinking! You know how that is!"

He agreed, "Uh-huh. Something like it being me calling you 'Time' instead of 'Hero of Time,' was it?"

Time crossed his arms, "Ugh, honestly I don't understand what you get off to by teasing me with my own actions! Yes, I know! I'm aware of what I said and am uncomfortable with it!"

Link put his hands up, "Sorry sorry, you're right. If I may, y'know, what side of you am I seeing?" He chuckled, "And why are you so embarrassed by it?" His innocent fascination might have been endearing if it weren't annoying first.

"I'll put it simply and then you would be doing me a favor by not bringing it up again." He huffed, "I'm sure it's obvious by now, but I care about you. There. That's it." Still, he went on anyway, "Really, when I think about it, I haven't exactly been afforded the opportunity to grow close to anyone." He clicked his tongue, a particular fairy coming to mind, "Well, except her, but it's been so long I'm not sure she counts. In any case, I said it in the desert but I'll say it again: I've been around long enough to know that you cannot simply be so open about those you care about. If we wore our hearts on our sleeves, there'd be plenty more dead. Get what I mean?"

Interest lit his gaze as he nodded, "Yeah I do. I guess it's my understanding then that I'm seeing your true form who doesn't have to worry about showing who he cares about?"

"Who forgets why he shouldn't…is how I'd put it," Time corrected. "There are other factors to it too, but I guess it's trivial at best and—as much as I care about you—none of your business."

Link warmly smiled, "Ha, I should have made you study those harder words far sooner."

"Impressed with my wit?"

"More like glad you can express and speak it."

"Hmph, kind bastard," He smirked, "I'll leave you and the Princess be. I think I should go catch up with my old teammates. See if there's something I can do."

Author's Note:

Hi y'all! Hope you're enjoying the story as always! I thought I'd offer up some explanation to my interpretation of Nayru's Love. Y'know, kinda let you all into my mind for a second.

I like to be careful about what all Time can and can't do so that it mostly aligns with what he's willing to do and not do. I decided on making it an elemental protection spell rather than the outright blue-diamond-shield it normally is because:

1. While yes, Time in general is technically OP, an energy shield he can use to become invincible to anything is even more OP.

2. Thinking about how the other characters would react to learning this would have them questioning why he's never used it before. It would spark the interest of a certain couple of Sheikah once it reached their ears, but it would ultimately lead nowhere because it's just a spell. It would also be something he could only use on himself. I would disagree with the idea that he could extend it to encompass even those standing next to him. He would dislike looking "selfish" in that sense too.

3. If I left it the same, I feel like Time wouldn't use it in the first place. This relates back to what he's willing to do, following his own personal motivations, morals, and sense of pride. He would love to fight an enemy with an energy shield and think of ways he could break it or outsmart the user into lowering it. He would never use one himself because he enjoys being in the fray. Using one is "cheating." If he's so capable, using Nayru's Love like the og game intended would (to him) say he's lacking somewhere.

Meanwhile, a spell he can use on a dime to offer just elemental protection is totally something he'd use. It takes away part of the threat, but not all of it. Plus, if your characters can get hit by a fireball raining down from a volcano and not die/get injured, that would strike me as an issue. Using the same example, if Time were hit by a fireball raining down from a volcano and he used Nayru's love, he wouldn't be on fire, but damn would he be beyond recovery lmao. I think making him such a tangible character to outside forces and enemies tames his OP-ness, aside from the fact that he sorta doesn't want to come off that way to the characters. "With power comes people fearing your power," he would think.

Then, as for what he says at the end of the chapter here, I'm thinking about all the scenarios he's been through at this point, and even though he spent a year in the previous world, it was war time. I'm sure he made acquaintances and had respect among the troops, clearly he and Queen Zelda often talked to some extent, but everyday was a battle in my interpretation. Lol more like me trying to take that game's crazy af plot and make it something believably grounded and serious. Anyways, my point is that coming here to BotW's world is a change of pace for plenty of reasons. Last time, the warrior Link was busy being a martyr for Zelda and the Kingdom against Cia, and then ultimately against Ganon. This time, this incarnation can actually be a goofball when he's not being stoic, and Time can see the effect he's had on Link's personality too. Speaking of which, it's my opinion that the sassier, more expressive Link we get in BotW doesn't come from his amnesia. I like to think that he's always had that side to him, but it was chained back by his strong sense of duty (which he seems to waiver between with a soft spot for Time based on how I write him). I'll note as well that I think it's funny how Time can come off a little "tsundere" at times toward Link. Of course that's not the archetype I'm going for, hell, I think it's safe to say that I don't really write with an archetype in mind for any of the characters...except for side characters (Purah, Robbie, the knights, etc.).

I dunno, feel free to tell me what you think of my interpretations. Of course, everyone is free to have their own, but this is the basis I'm working off of for this story. I hope you can tell how much brain power this thing makes me use XD