Link stepped out of the shrine and promptly cursed. The sun was hanging just above the mountains and would soon disappear from sight, which meant that he had been in the shrine for far longer than it had actually felt. After a few moments, Link sighed. While he had wanted to get to Kakariko tonight, it didn't look like that was going to happen now. Midoriya and All Might must still be waiting for him.

With another sigh, he slipped through the small village of odd cube-shaped buildings and shortly arrived at the stable. It seemed like most of the work was done for the day, as most of the workers—their uniforms looked vaguely familiar, so he assumed that they were the stablehands—seemed to be in the middle of making meals over the cooking pots outside. He looked around outside the building, but didn't see either of the others. 'Maybe they went on without me? They do have their own friends that they needed to find.'

Link wandered toward the stable's entrance, lost in thought. As he started to walk through, he bumped into someone and knocked the person over. "Oh, I'm sorry," Link apologized, shaking his head clear of his thoughts. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking."

"There you are, Link!" the person on the ground said. When he finally focused, Link was surprised to see Midoriya sitting on the floor. "We've been waiting for you for hours." The boy picked himself up and dusted himself off. "All Might's just back there. I'll be back in just a moment."

Izuku slipped past Link, leaving him standing in the entryway alone. 'I wonder where he's off to?' He watched his traveling companion disappear around the side of the stable before shrugging and stepping through the doorway into the joint sleeping and dining room. As his eyes adjusted to the relative darkness, he was able to pick out All Might quickly. Even in the small crowd that bustled about the room, the skeletal man and his interesting hairstyle stood out. He slipped his way through the crowd, and All Might's sunken eyes seemed to brighten when he sat down.

"Ah, there you are, Young Link," the older man said, sliding a mug across the table. "We were beginning to wonder if we'd need to stay the night waiting for you."

Link shrugged. "We might still need to stay the night. I don't know how far it is to Kakariko from here, and it's getting late."

Midoriya's mentor grinned. "It's not actually all that far. It's about half a day on foot, maybe a quarter by horse." His grin faded a little. "Of course, we don't have any horses, and we can't afford to buy any, even with what we made today."

"What you made? What were you doing while I was gone?"

"Oh, not all that much. We just explained that we were from far off and weren't familiar with Hyrule's economy and that we wouldn't mind offering our services while waiting for you. The people found different tasks that we could do and have given us a bit of money—rupees, I think they were called—as compensation." All Might chuckled softly. "That's actually where Young Midoriya went; he's helping out with the dinner, using some of what he learned at the training camp he recently attended. The stable workers were happy for his help and provided a meal and drinks on the house."

Link picked up the wooden mug and tasted the contents—and couldn't quite stop his eyebrows from rising. "This is quite good."

"Drink up. It's on the house. Once Young Midoriya returns, we can discuss what our next move should be."

The warrior followed All Might's advice, nursing his drink as he observed the people bustling through the room. It really was an odd-looking group. Besides the men and women dressed in the stable's livery, he spotted a couple of travelers who were talking in low voices a few tables over and a man with a red moon on his tunic who seemed to be muttering to himself and poring over some books in the corner of the room. He also had to include himself and All Might, whose curious hairstyle and skeletal appearance had drawn more than a few glances.

After a few minutes and still no Midoriya, Link sighed and turned to look toward the door—and stared. Sitting by the door behind him was the most curious-looking man he could ever remember seeing. His long face was framed by a mop of brown hair, his nose was large and very red, and his eyebrows were twisted in such a way that gave the man a permanent worried look. The man's small shirt and shorts, while not something that Link would choose to wear himself, were admittedly better clothing choices than his heavy tunic, which was tied around his waist.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about him, however, was the massive bag that was strapped to his back. Shaped like a large beetle, the bag towered over the skinny man and was covered in a wild variety of items. Small sacks and bundles of herbs hung from various tassels and ropes. The tops of jars and bottles stuck out of myriad pockets, and a small awning draped over the man's head.

'I have to meet this man.' Link quickly slipped out of his seat and walked over to the giant bag. The man must have heard him, as he turned to look at Link as he approached. "Oh, I don't think I've met you before! The name's Beedle, but you can call me—actually, let's stick with Beedle."

The warrior couldn't help but chuckle to himself at the enthusiastic greeting. "Good to meet you, Beedle. I'm Link. Tell me, what do you need such a large backpack for?"

The man smiled, and his entire demeanor seemed to change, going from worried to shrewd. "I'm a traveling merchant. I travel all around Hyrule with my wares, visiting stables and villages alike. My trusty backpack carries all of the goods I trade—and helps people identify Beedle since no one else has a backpack like mine." Beedle's eyes narrowed as he looked up at Link. "Are you looking to buy something? Or do you have something to sell?"

Link shook his head. "No, I don't have anything to sell. I just saw your bag and was curious and wanted to meet you."

Beedle laughed. "Well, it has been nice. I'm sure we'll run into each other again. I frequent the stables and villages and occasionally make my way into Hateno Town, so odds are high that you'll see Beedle again."

Before Link could respond, Midoriya hurried back into the stable and almost crashed into him again, swerving at the last moment to save the tray of fish he was carrying. Link reached out a hand to help, but his green friend quickly rebalanced. "Sorry, Link! Give me just a moment to drop this off."

Link lowered his hand and watched Midoriya hurry away before turning back to Beedle. The merchant didn't seem to notice, his eyes also on Midoriya. "Who is that boy?" he asked.

"That's one of my traveling companions," Link said. He looked back and saw that Midoriya was making his way back through the crowd, his hands now empty. "He and his mentor were separated from their friends and are searching for them."

"Are they now?" Beedle murmured. Link glanced sharply at the man, but he didn't seem to notice. As Midoriya rejoined them, Beedle raised a hand in greeting. "Hello there, young man! Link here tells me that you've lost some of your friends; is that right?"

The hero-in-training's eyebrows rose. "Y-yes, we did. Why do you ask?"

Beedle grinned. "As I was telling your knight here, Beedle happens to be a traveling merchant. If you give me your friends' descriptions, I should be able to keep an eye out for them."

A smile quickly spread across Midoriya's face. "Y-you will? Thank you!"

Link frowned. "You're a merchant, though. I imagine that you don't do anything for free. What's your price?"

The eccentric man clutched at his chest. "Oh, you wound Beedle so. You don't think I would do this from the goodness of my heart?" Link shook his head, and he chuckled. "Well, you're shrewd. As you might have surmised from my name and my pack, I have a thing for beetles. Hyrule has many rare and beautiful varieties. If you collect any you encounter on your travels for me, I will watch for your friends. In fact," he said, his face lighting up, "I might be able to direct them to meet you somewhere. Maybe here, or perhaps Hateno Town?"

"That would be wonderful!" Midoriya said, smiling widely. "I will try to hold up my end of the bargain as well."

"Good, that's settled then. If you could give me the descriptions of your friends, I can keep an eye out for them."

Midoriya enthusiastically started to describe his friends, and Link couldn't help but be surprised. While they sounded mostly normal, each had some feature or trait that made sure that they would stand out in a crowd of Hylians. He was sure that Beedle wouldn't have any issues finding the girls, Ashido and Yaoyorozu, and Todoroki's scar and hair might make him an easier target as well. The others might be a bit harder since it sounded like they were mostly normal looking.

It was a bit odd, now that he thought about it, that he hadn't heard Midoriya describe his friends before. He'd only heard about the one who had been captured, Kacchan, and then not much other than he could apparently create explosions. 'I guess I really have been caught up in trying to piece together my past and keeping us alive,' he realized. 'And while we're still obviously alive, I wish I could remember what happened… and I need to get to know these two more.'

After a few minutes, Beedle sat back and made a noise of satisfaction. "Thank you! That should be more than enough to help me locate your friends." He hesitated, as if he wasn't sure what to say, but then continued. "Incidentally, where do you and your friends come from, young man? Your friends' names are unusual, and you are clearly not a Hylian, not with your green hair."

Midoriya blushed. "Oh, w-we're from an island called Japan. It's far away from here."

Link thought he saw Beedle's eyes widen, but the man shook his head, making it hard for him to tell. "I don't know that I've heard about Japan before, but I'm sure it's nice," Beedle said. As Midoriya tried to stammer out a reply, the merchant hoisted himself to his feet and pulled his backpack up. He shifted it around a bit before flipping an awning out from the top to cover his head. "Well, it has been a pleasure getting to know you two," he said, "but I must be off to the next stable. Don't worry; Beedle will keep an eye out for your friends."

The man waved and ducked out the door, leaving the two alone. Link watched the man take one plodding step after another before turning to Midoriya. "Well, that was interesting. Are you done with your job?" he asked. When his friend didn't respond, he gently nudged him. "Midoriya? Have you finished?"

The green hero shook his head and tore his eyes away from the merchant's retreating form. "Just about. I just need to get our food now. If you help me, we can get all three of the plates in one go."

Link nodded and followed Midoriya out to the fire, where a few stablehands were tending a large pot of stew and several skewers of roasting fish. The savory smell from the stew combined with the tangy scent of the fish, creating a mouthwatering aroma that seemed to drift through the small hamlet. As Link watched, a couple of kids ran up to the cooks with empty bowls, and he couldn't help but chuckle as he recognized the ravenous look in their eyes. 'It's always nice to see others who appreciate food.'

One of the cooks looked up at the two travelers as another ladled soup into the children's bowls. "Ah, you're back, Midoriya. Is this the friend you mentioned? Good. You can each take a bowl of soup and a fish skewer, and make sure that your master gets some as well."

Midoriya nodded and quickly helped get three platters ready, one of which he handed to Link. Link could feel his mouth start to water as he looked at the flaking skin of the fish and vibrant colors of the vegetables floating in the broth. He checked to see if his friend needed help, and when he saw that he had the other two platters easily in hand, led the way back inside to their table.

"Well, that both looks and smells tasty," All Might said as the two sat down. Link just nodded before he tucked into his food, tearing into the fish and slurping down a bit of the soup. He couldn't help but be impressed. The fish had an earthy taste, one that whatever spices had been used really brought out. The stew, in comparison, was quite savory, and complimented the skewer well.

"Looks like someone's hungry," All Might laughed.

Link forcefully swallowed. "I really like food."

"I'd noticed," Midoriya said, chuckling as he stirred his stew. "It's why we went all out. We'll need the energy for the rest of our trip, anyways."

All Might took a small bite of his fish. "Speaking of our trip," he said, "how do we want to proceed?"

Link took another bite and chewed thoughtfully, trying not to focus on just how well the fish had been cooked. "Erm, well—wait, you said that Kakariko is a half-day's journey from here?" When All Might nodded, he continued, "Then we might be able to make it there tonight. It would be late, but I'm sure that they have an inn that we could stay at. You said that you two had earned some rupees; that should cover any costs we encounter."

"Why not just stay the night here?" Midoriya said, gesturing with his fork. "They said they'd let us stay the night."

Link shook his head. The idea of staying put when he could be moving toward his goal didn't sit well with him, especially when he could be at his destination with a little extra effort. "I feel this sense of urgency about moving on. I don't know why, but I think we need to keep moving. If we could get horses, that would be ideal, but catching some might take too much time."

The other two looked at each for a moment before All Might nodded. "We'll follow you, Young Link. We're still strangers in your world, and don't know the best place to begin looking for our comrades."

Midoriya choked and banged a fist into his chest a couple of times before finally speaking. "I-I think we might have an easier time with that, All Might." He quickly went on to explain their encounter with the merchant and the deal that he had made. "I figured that we could use some help, and a traveling merchant seemed like the kind of person to ask."

The perpetual shadows over All Might's eyes deepened, and he responded in a low voice. "You're probably right, but I can't help but wonder if this decision will have further-reaching consequences than we intended."

The three lapsed into silence, brooding over the hero's words. Link remembered the look of surprise that he'd seen when Beedle had heard about Japan. 'Did I just imagine it? There's no way that he could have heard about a country from another world, right? I mean, travel between worlds can't be that common.' Lost in his thoughts, he was surprised to feel the scraping of wood against wood and looked down to find that his bowl was empty and his fish gone. When he looked up, both of the others weren't all that close to finishing. 'Well, I guess I'll just need to keep an eye on our merchant friend the next time we see him.'

Link scooted himself away from the table and stood. "I'm going to go stretch my legs after that delicious meal. I'll be just outside when the two of you are done." The two continued eating, and All Might nodded at him as he left. He didn't doubt that All Might—'I should really ask if that's his actual name or a title'—had some things that he wanted to say about the deal or the other missing students, and Link didn't want him to feel pressured. Best for him to wait outside while they conferred. He stepped into the evening sunlight and stretched. If the evening stayed as pleasant as it was, then they would have a nice, relaxed walk ahead of them. He might as well explore a bit while waiting.

He looked around, trying to decide where to go first. Maybe he could scout out the road to Kakariko a bit. He set out, trying to get an idea of what the road might be like, but only got to the edge of the hamlet before he pulled up short, studying the mountains. Something about them seemed familiar. He squinted, trying to make them out a bit more clearly. As he stared, the sun was briefly covered by a cloud, sending shadows across the distant mountain peaks. In the artificial darkness, he recognized them, and with the recognition came the crushing weight of memory.

Pain.

The rain poured through the canyon, drenching everything. Trees covered both banks, though he had no doubt in his mind that Guardians would uproot them. Theoretically, both the rain and the trees would make it more difficult for the Guardians to pursue them, but he knew better than to hope for such luck. The possessed machines were relentless and destroyed all in their sight. It would only be a matter of time before they caught up again.

Pain.

He glanced behind him as he ran, making sure that the princess was still with him. The rain had long since washed away the tear stains from her face, but it had yet to fully rinse the soot from her once-white dress. He couldn't help but admire her. Here she was, exhausted physically, mentally, and spiritually, and yet she still led her people. She had refused to leave the vicinity of Castle Town until all of the survivors had escaped, which made them the last of the refugees fleeing Ganon's wrath.

Pain.

He winced as he stumbled over a small rock. While little, it added to the aches and pains that he felt all over his body. Several of the robots had gotten a bit closer than he had liked, and he had burns all across his body from his first few unsuccessful attempts to dodge their lasers. While that seemed to be their preferred method of attack, they also liked to lash out with their legs and clawed feet, which were sharper than some of the finer swords he'd had.

He'd lost track of the number of enemies he'd fought during their escape. The Guardians were bad enough, but they'd eventually been reinforced by monsters. Bokoblins had ambushed the last few groups of refugees, and it had taken everything he had to defeat them while protecting those who were left. Most of the remaining guards had gone with the first wave to clear the way. There were a few who had remained to go with each group, but those had either been old men or young boys. He snorted; too much experience and too little. Neither would help them if the Guardians caught up.

Pain.

He clambered over a boulder and started to continue before freezing. There had been a sound from somewhere in the forest to his left. He eyed the area carefully, gesturing for the princess to stay behind him. When nothing appeared, the two of them started to run again, though he kept his eyes on the left bank. Just ahead of them was the final bend in the canyon that would take them to the field and village outside of Fort Hateno. He just hoped that everyone had already fled.

As they approached the corner, he froze again as the sound he had heard earlier repeated itself. This time, he recognized it for what it was; the screech of metal scraping against stone. He searched the left side of the river again, but didn't see anything. He frowned. If the machines weren't on the bank…

Almost against his will, dreading what he might find, he started to scan the face of the cliff opposite them—and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't find anything. He was about to start for the canyon exit again when the sound repeated itself. He glanced up again in time to see a clawed leg appear over the edge of the cliff.

"Run, princess!" he cried, pulling out his shield. She did as he said, darting forward immediately with him close behind. The screeching sound behind him increased as the thing drew nearer, heralding the sound that came a few moments later.

Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep.

He stopped in his tracks and turned to face the Guardian, which had now lodged itself on the cliff wall like some metallic insect. Its single eye was trained on him, the red tracking dot darting around him as it tried to get a lock. He hid behind his shield and braced himself.

PSSHEWWWW!

PAIN.

"Link, are you all right? Link!"

Link yelped and shook himself, blinking his eyes rapidly and staring around in confusion. Where was the murder machine? What had happened to the rain? And the princess? He had to find her immediately. She had to survive!

"Easy there, Young Link. Take a couple of deep breaths."

A hand settled firmly on his shoulder, and he tried to heed the deep voice's advice. After a few moments, his vision cleared, and he could see Midoriya and All Might, now in his muscular form, standing next to him. All Might's hand was clamped firmly on his shoulder, preventing him from moving anywhere. He glanced back and forth between the two of them in confusion. "Where did you two come from? Where's the Guardian?"

All Might frowned, a facial expression that seemed inherently wrong to Link. "What Guardians are you talking about, Young Link? We've not seen any of those, not since your encounter on The Plateau."

"Are you all right, Link?" Midoriya asked, his eyes wide in concern. "We finished dinner and found you just standing here, staring at the mountain. You didn't answer or say anything when we tried talking to you, and then you went super pale and—"

Link held up a hand to cut him off. "I'm… okay. I think some of my memories have come back." He shook his head as they started to ask questions. "I don't know anymore than you do. I was looking at those mountains over there when it dawned on me that they looked familiar. Next thing I know, I'm reliving the past."

All Might looked thoughtful. "Even in our time, Amnesia is a tricky condition. Of those who suffer from it, very few of them have full memory loss as you do. From what I recall, a common theme among those that do manage to recover their memories is that something usually triggers it. I assume that those mountains served as the trigger point for that memory."

"But if that's the case, why do I only remember a little bit?" Link cried in frustration.

"I think I remember reading something about that," Midoriya said, brow furrowed. "In some cases, the amnesiac gets all of his memories back. In others, they get them back in spurts. It sounds like you might be one of the latter ones."

Link opened his mouth to protest, but stopped as something tickled his memory. He turned and stared out toward the field to the east of the stable, the field that he now knew had been guarded by Fort Hateno a hundred years ago. Almost automatically, his feet started to move in the direction of the field, slowly at first, but quickly picking up speed. He heard the others call out to him in surprise, but he ignored them, following the pull of his returning memory into the field, startling several wild horses in the process. He wished he had an answer for them, but he had the feeling that he was about to find out that answer himself.

After ten or so minutes of running, he finally stopped as he stumbled across the ruins of a building that had clearly been blown apart. He heard Midoriya and All Might come to a stop behind him, but he ignored them again for the moment. He studied the blacked stones, but this didn't seem to be what he was being pulled towards, so he continued walking, much more slowly as he tried to take things in.

His companions silently followed him in, and after a few minutes, he started to speak. "I saw myself and Princess Zelda running through the canyon. We were on our way to Hateno with plans to double-back to Kakariko, since we needed to talk to… someone. We were ambushed by a Guardian. It was painful, but we survived."

He paused to investigate a blackened Guardian that seemed to have fallen into a wall. Dozens more dotted the landscape and stuck out from the destroyed village. "When we got to this village, those who had gone ahead of us had already warned them, so they had managed to escape. Unfortunately, Ganon's corrupted machines caught up as well. Most of them ignored us, but we had to fight a running battle as we all surged toward Fort Hateno."

He stepped around a boulder and saw three of the robots piled up on top of each other. He shuddered as he approached, scanning the spot. "By that point, I was beat up pretty bad. I was barely functioning, but I had somehow managed to keep Zelda and myself alive. But here," he said, stepping up in front of the metal corpses, "was where the tide changed. I had killed the bottom two when the one on top clambered over their husks and locked on to me. I tried to raise my shield and my sword, but I just couldn't get them up." He paused, staring up at the dead eye of the Guardian in question. He tasted bile, and hastily fought to swallow it back down as his remembered pain echoed in his head. "It was on this spot that I ultimately failed my oaths and my princess.

"It was on this spot that I died."

Got another chapter out, and it only took me two or three weeks this time, haha. I've been looking forward to writing that memory scene for days and finally just sat down last night and pounded it out until I was happy with it.

On the note of the memory, any of you who have played the game will know that this memory is only accessible after you gather all others. While I could have gone that route, I didn't see any reason for that to actually happen here. You may also notice some other minor differences.

Thank you all for your comments, guesses, and ideas. I seriously love seeing what you all have to say and hope that the story continues to be enjoyable. Next chapter we'll be checking in on some of the others, which gives Link some time to come to terms with his memory. Also, shout out to Revion and Stress on Discord for looking over the chapter and catching the things I missed. I'll see you all next time!