Chapter Text
Link ran and ran and ran, fleeing the monsters behind him. Hadn't he done enough? He'd defeated Ganon, rescued Zelda, and then rescued the sleeping Zelda just the same. Still he was chased, on and on, the followers of Ganon desperate to use his blood to resurrect their foul lord.
Left and right and left again, until even he had no idea where he was. His pursuers shot him with arrows, even as he ran - with his magic he healed his flesh before a drop of blood could fall. It hurt, it left some arrowheads embedded in his skin, it shredded his ankles and tendons, but Hyrule had to be safe. And so on he stumbled, and on he ran.
Just one more corner, he kept promising himself. Just one more.
For years he had used the method to push himself onwards in such times. Somehow it still worked, no matter how often he broke the promises to himself. No matter the injuries, no matter how tired he was.
Just one more corner. Then, surely, he would lose them. No? Another corner, then. Just one more corner…
But, Link could not run forever. Exhausted and injured, Link found himself at a dead end. He was backed into the wall, with nothing but his sword and shield between the world and doom. He had been trapped before, but never had he been so completely run dry when it did.
The cultists, realising his predicament, ran forwards.
Link raised his shield, cowering behind it. There was nothing else he could do, not as he was. He still tried to curl magic around his fingers, but nothing came. Not even hopeless flickers of sparks that might startle the beasts.
The leader of his pursuers cackled, raising the blade and slamming it on his shield - once, twice. Even if it did not crack, the other cultists were using the distraction to fire on him once more.
This time at least they were using fireballs not arrows - burns did not bleed, not at first at least.
Hiding a whimper of pain in his throat, Link looked around again, desperate simply to live. Surely, surely, there had to be something. He had tried so hard, done so much, was this how it ended? Why was the world like this? Why was it never fair?
He just wanted to LIVE .
With the desperate scream he finally noticed it. Some sort of black glow, a little off to one side. Link could taste the magic from it. It was not an entirely familiar sort of magic - it tasted bitter and dark and foul - but it was a portal. He was certain of that. A tear in space.
A chance.
The sword came down on his shield once again. Link heard it crack. It did not shatter, not yet, but one more hit and the years of abuse would finally take their dues.
There was no decision to be made. All he could hope for was that the portal killed him far enough away that they never gained his blood. If it were not as evil as it appeared… Link seriously doubted that. But, if he were lucky, it would at least be an evil that wouldn’t destroy the world as well.
And so, with the last of his strength, the last of his consciousness even, Link threw himself through the wretched portal.
To his surprise, Link awoke. Exhausted, sore, but distinctly alive . There was sunlight dappling across his face, in the strange way it did from shuttered windows. The ground was soft - not ground at all but a bed, with blankets and pillows and a glass of water beside it. Every part of Link hurt in an indescribable manner, and yet it was dulled. His clothes were missing, but he was still covered by more than blankets. It took him a moment to work out just what had happened.
Bandages. Someone had found and bandaged him.
If they weren't- If they-
Link burst into tears.
He was safe, safe, safe.
Such a little thing, but how long had it been? He could barely remember what kindness was, let alone ever expect it.
It was just some bandages, and yet it felt like someone had handed him the world.
Either he was not known, or whomever was on the other side of the portal did not care that he was Link. The lightness of the air meant he could no longer be in Hyrule - an evil thing the portal may have been, but it took him far enough away to both be safe, and to no longer be a threat.
Safe, safe, safe.
He let the word chant in his mind as he sobbed, barely able to comprehend anything beyond it and the wondrous novelty of the feeling.
How long had it been? He did not remember, thread-bare and run dry. Pain swirled, but with it a hope that he had thought was crushed.
Against all the odds, Link was alive.
Busy with his exhausted relief, Link did not notice anyone coming up the stairs. Nor did he notice them coming through the door - only the tapping of an absentmindedly impatient foot on the floorboards caught his attention. Panic built for a moment, but a quick scan over him showed no threat. The man was scowling, dressed in green and red and blue. Blue eyes, yellow hair tinged in pink. Carrying a tray smelling suspiciously of food. His rescuer? It had to be his rescuer. Or a friend of his rescuer. Not a threat - not when he had waited so far away.
Link was uncertain just what compelled him to trust this man, but his soul screamed for him too. Displeasure evident on his face, and yet still he remained at a polite distance. And, somehow, the disdain seemed not directed at Link, but rather at the world as a while.
Link loved the world, personally, but he could easily see how someone would grow to hate it. A man who wore his hatred of the world on his sleeve, but still had the kindness to treat a stranger’s wounds and bring him food? That was someone who Link could trust, far more than any honey-sweet words. It was in people like this that hope for the future could yet be found.
And so Link did his best to dry his eyes, failed as more tears spilt out, and tried some more.
Eventually, he made eye contact with the man, who took it as permission to approach.
"Alright," the man set the tray to one side as he spoke. "What is going on? If you're here with some desperate quest, I'm sorry, I'm retired."
Despite the snipped words, the man handed Link a bowl of soup from the tray. Readily - how long had it been since he'd eaten? - Link sipped it. It tasted different. Good-different. Fresh. Link loved his world, but the corruption seeped into everything. The soup, however? It tasted clean.
What had actually been said registered only a moment or two after. Desperate quest? It would be, Link supposed, if he had a goal. But now the princesses were saved… He would not mind travelling in this other realm. Getting back to Hyrule was on his list - corrupted as it was, he loved it so much - but… It could wait. He… probably did owe his rescuer an explanation, though.
"I don't mean to cause trouble! I was just being chased... And then there was a portal" Link promised, trying to make contact with the other man's eyes. His voice was maybe a little higher than intended, but hopefully it only made him less a threat.
"The portal wasn't your doing?" the man's eyes furrowed.
Link shook his head, and immediately regretted it, "no...? It wasn't yours?"
Silence stretched for a moment, before the man swore. Link would have been a little worried, stressed even, by the failed conversation. He was, however, too busy trying to still his spinning head.
"Great, just great. New magical phenomena in town. I'm going to have to fix it, aren't I?"
"... I could do it?" Link offered.
He wasn’t really sure how, but he knew magic, and he did rather owe the stranger. Fixing it could not be harder than many of the things he’d done.
"I've seen the state of your legs," the man frowned. Link doubted it was his favourite impression, but it seemed the man’s most common. "And your shield. You're not leaving that bed until everything is healed and repaired."
The man was clearly uncomfortable, but that fact was almost comforting to Hyrule. When was the last time anyone had been so concerned? He didn't remember. He wasn't sure anyone ever had been.
And so he merely hung his head, and accepted the scolding.
His gesture must have been interpreted as something other than simple acceptance, for the man groaned.
“I'm sorry, I didn't mean- Look, kid, whoever's after you? Are they going to cause me problems? I can fight, but I want to know beforehand."
"Maybe?" Link thought for a moment. He didn’t want them to cause the man problems, but he certainly couldn’t promise they wouldn’t. He daren’t lie about that, not to someone who had been so kind. "I think they can track me somehow... But where-ever this is, it's a long way from Hyrule, right? They don't operate beyond there."
The man pulled a face, "... no, this is Hyrule."
Link squinted through a gap in the shutters. He knew this could not possibly be Hyrule - if he were, he would be dead, and the air would still taste of suffering - but he checked nonetheless. Not a single thing was familiar, not even in the ways unfamiliar parts of the wilderness were to him. The man had sounded certain, though. Confusion flittered all through Link’s mind, but he had nothing to pin it to. "Its... Not?"
"I can promise you it is." The man scowled, though it didn't seem to be entirely in disbelief. Whatever he was thinking, he did not tell Link. "So, firm maybe. Assassins? Cultists? Guards? What am I dealing with?"
Still stuck on the confusion from before, Link merely held up one finger, and then a second.
"Cultist assassins. Joy. Just my luck," the man sighed. But! He had worked out what Link meant. It was unusual, but a happy unusual. "Alright, give me your name. And then something else to call you if anyone comes asking."
"Oh! Sorry! I'm Link," Link suddenly realised how rude he was being, eating the man's soup, taking his bed, and not offering even the most basic of details. The startlement of the realisation was enough to scoop words back into his brain. "I guess... I don't know what else to call me."
The man froze, and looked at him long and hard.
Link shifted, uncomfortable under the man's gaze.
He knew the man was well intentioned - he had to be, to have been so gentle and kind to Link - but it still looked like his soul was being carefully carved up.
"That's funny," the man finally said. "Because I'm pretty sure I'm the only Link in Hyrule."
Well.
Link ran through everything he knew once more. His experience was limited, but unless the man was fucking with him - and he clearly wasn't... It was also clearly not his dark counterpart, either.
Link was not a common name. It was uncommon enough that even just whispering it made people know exactly who he was - a fake name like other Link had suggested maybe was a wise idea to borrow for his return. So, Link doubted it was just happenstance. Especially as the portal had lead him here. But how did that work, how was it possible?
Unless…
Oh.
This was Hyrule, this was Link. But it wasn’t a Hyrule he knew, and he was the only Link.
And other Link was the only Link in Hyrule, too.
There was only one solution, and it made Link dizzy and sick to the stomach. He reached up a hand to his head, even as other Link gently places one on his arm to steady him.
"I think..." Link eventually whispered. "I might be further away than I thought."
"You think," other Link deadpanned. It was followed by a sigh, and him running his free hand through his hair, before his voice softened. "Look, kid, Link, whatever... Just heal up for now. We'll work it out when you're feeling better. As I said, no going anywhere 'til your shield's fixed whatever."
Link nodded, putting down the soup to turn away and curl up. The loss of the hand felt cold, but laying down at least helped with the dizziness.
Other Link reached out a hand. Fear pooled in Link's throat, ceasing it up and cutting off his breath.
A hand touched his hair, swished it a bit from side to side, and then withdrew.
And then there was the sounds of the tray being collected, and Other Link walking away. Back downstairs.
Once he was sure he was gone, Link raised a hand up to his head. Gently, he pressed his hand to where other Link's had been just moment's before. Warmth lingered in his hair, and somehow traced a line slowly towards his heart.
Link had not even realised he was cold, before.
But now he had warmth... How could he let it go?