Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He wakes up choking. 

Liquid flows down his throat, covering his body and head, and he coughs and gasps for air as it finally recedes. He sits up, and feels around him with his hands, and then notices the aching pain in his left arm. It doesn’t lessen, even as he carefully rests it by his side. 

What happened to this body? Why does it ache so much?

Why was it put here? And why am I in it? It doesn’t feel like this is my body. 

He continues to feel around with his right hand. The thing he’s sitting in feels like a coffin. Did he die? Or did this body die?

Turning sideways, he lowered his feet to the floor. It was cold, and he almost fell several times before he could stand and slowly walk around. He couldn’t see anything except for strange blue lights above the coffin tub. As he walked a new light appeared. 

It was a pedestal, and upon it lay an odd stone. He grabbed it, and then dropped it when it lit up blue. Picking it up, he felt several buttons on the side of it. None of them did anything, except for the one on the far left. That one changed the screen to a blank one. The only thing on it was a glowing blue icon labeled “Shrine of Resurrection” and a yellow triangle that moved when he did. 

Noticing another pedestal, he shuffled over to it. As he did, a voice spoke. “ Hold the Sheikah Slate up to the pedestal. That will open the door.” Startled, Link did as instructed. There was a sound like large stones sliding against each other, and a warm puff of air blanketed him. He heard the voice again. 

“ This tunnel leads outside, but there’s another door up ahead. Hold the slate up to that pedestal.” He did, and as this door opened, a warm breeze circled around him.

He continued moving, stopping when he stepped in a puddle. He was surprised, and scared at first, but relaxed when he realized that it wasn’t the same liquid that was in the coffin tub. Just past the puddle was a rock, which he had to climb. This proved to be a challenge, as his arm burned when he put his weight on it. 

Once he was on top of it though, he ran forwards, stopping at the end of a cliff. 

Looking out over the land, he could only see two anomalies. The larger one was a dark mass, swirling around the other light. In the mass he could see flashes of red. Something told him that this light was nothing but pure evil. The other light, however, was almost soothing. It was the brightest he had seen so far, a golden beacon in the darkness of evil. 

“That is Calamity Ganon.” A new voice spoke from behind him. 

Turning, he saw four beings next to him. A tall, muscular woman with flaming red hair and beautiful dark skin, next to someone who appeared to be a large bird-like figure with dark blue feathers, and a small girl with red skin? Scales? And a fish tail on her head. The last figure was the largest, a bulky man who looked to be made of rock, with white hair and a beard. They all held weapons and looked like they knew how to use them.

The tall woman stepped forwards. “I am Urbosa, Champion of the Gerudo. These are the other Champions. Daruk of the Gorons, Mipha of the Zora, and Revali of the Rito. We know that you have lost your memory, but you are Link, Champion of Hyrule. We will answer your questions later, but first you need to eat.” 

He found some mushrooms that quickly filled his stomach. After eating, they all sat on the grass. 

“A hundred years ago, we learned that Calamity Ganon was returning. Knowing this, four champions were chosen, one to control each of the Divine Beasts. They were supposed to help us fight against Ganon, but he somehow took control of them, and his Blights managed to kill us. Oh, don’t look at us like that, we’ve had a hundred years to accept our deaths. We have no regrets anymore. You had become Princess Zelda’s guard. You were very young for a royal guard, but you had pulled the Sword that Seals the Darkness, so that’s what happened. After Ganon took over, you and Zelda fled to Fort Hateno. Unfortunately, Ancient Shiekah tech called guardians that had been corrupted by malice swarmed the fort. You fell. We don’t know if you actually died or not, but you were brought here, to the Shrine of Resurrection, to heal. Zelda went to fight Ganon and has been trapped with him in the castle for a hundred years. I’m sorry, you deserve peace after everything that’s happened, but you are the only one who can help defeat Ganon. But you won’t be alone, I promise you." She gave him a few moments to process before continuing, "Come, let’s go back into the Shrine so that we aren’t here in the dark.”

When they went inside, they headed straight to the back of the room. They settled in a circle, Link against the wall, with Urbosa on his left and Daruk to his right. Revali sat next to Urbosa, with Mipha leaning on Daruk’s side. 

It was comforting, being near them. Safe, and Link hadn't realized he had been tense since he woke up until he finally relaxed, slumped against the wall. He was asleep before he knew it. Upon waking, he found that the Champions were still next to him, except Mipha was laying with her head on Urbosa’s lap, and Revali was sprawled next to them. Daruk had shifted so that his shoulder had become Link’s pillow, and it continued to be his pillow for a while after. 

They spent the day talking, except for mealtimes, each of the Champions telling him about themselves. He learned that Mipha had healing powers, but even without them she was an exceptional healer. She was a princess, like Zelda. Urbosa was Chieftain of the Gerudo, and had actually helped Zelda with politics. She was a great warrior. Daruk loved rock roasts, almost as much as he loved the Champions, and although he was incredibly courageous, he was terrified of dogs. Revali had earned his title of Champion of the Rito through blood and sweat, and was scared of what the current Rito thought of him, as he was very obnoxious in the past. 

Link learned the names of their families, if they had one, their favorite memories, their likes, dislikes, everything. By the next day, it was like he had known them forever. He also learned how their group worked. Urbosa was the unofficial leader, as she was knowledgeable in politics and strategies, and she really cared about the rest of them like an older sister. Daruk was the older brother, always ready to shield them with either his power or his body. Revali was the lookout and would grudgingly admit that he felt like a younger brother to the rest of them (except for Link). Mipha was the healer, and the youngest sister, although it seemed that all of them saw Link as the youngest. Link didn’t want these days to end.

One day, Revali startled them all by smacking his head with a wing. “We’re so stupid. We all forgot about the chests we buried, didn’t we?”

“Shit. You’re right.” Urbosa cursed. “C’mon, let’s grab them real quick.” 

The chests turned out to be ‘buried’ right outside the Shrine (they were covered in dirt, but it was loose enough that Link was able to brush it off of the chests that stuck out of the ground), and contained several types of clothes, weapons, shields, bows, arrows, and food. The Champions explained what everything was to him. 

“We put these here so you wouldn’t be unprepared and unarmed when you woke up. For the next couple of months, we’ll train you in our weapons, after we get your strength and endurance up first. We’ll also teach you to talk and sign, and if you’re ready after that, we’ll head down to see the rest of the Great Plateau.” Mipha told him. 

And that’s what they did. He spent the mornings, when it was cool out, exercising and training. He started off small, but eventually was able to last for a few minutes against Urbosa in a fight. It really helped his endurance, and Link was happy to find that as he used it, his arm stopped aching. He had made a point of not moving it while they talked those first couple of days, but that just made it stiff. Now his arm moved smoothly and painlessly. 

The hardest part of those months was learning to talk. He picked up sign language easily, as it seemed like his body remembered how to move. This actually carried over into his training, and he was able to learn much quicker than he would have otherwise. 

Talking out loud was a different matter. The Champions decided that he only needed to speak one language, Common. Everyone in Hyrule, regardless of race, knew both sign and Common, as well as their own languages, in order to communicate more easily. They all chipped in to teach him, which meant his Common ended up being a hodge-podge of odd tones and sounds, but it was still understandable, so they didn’t worry much about it. 

Some of Link’s letters were said more heavily than others, thanks to Daruk, while others were said sharply, like Urbosa’s. Revali and Mipha had smaller effects on his speech, but his ‘I’s always sounded more like long ‘E’s, and he put some unneeded emphasis on vowels and the occasional consonant. His ‘R’s were really weak, and there was an odd tilt to his ‘L’s. All of this made for an interesting speech pattern. One of the first sentences they taught him was “I am Link, Champion of Hyrule”, which came out as “Ei am Lin-k (with a sharp ‘K’), Champ-ion (emphasis on the ‘Ch’) of Hy-wull (the ‘Hy’ said more like a sigh). 

Eventually he was able to speak fluently in sign and more smoothly in Common, and could understand the languages of the Rito, Gerudo, Goron, and Zora. Urbosa told him that there were two other known languages. Ancient Sheikah, which was no longer spoken or written, and was almost a dead language, and Upper Hylian, which was spoken by royalty and nobles, but none of the Champions were fluent in it, so Link didn’t know what it sounded like. Once he could talk smoothly, he and the Champions had an emotional conversation about death and the Calamity, which ended in a bunch of hugs and a snuggle pile that night. 

He also learned a lot about the world. He learned about Blood Moons, monsters like moblins and bokoblins and lynels, and the Yiga, who were apparently assassins out for him. They taught him about the Sheikah, and the guardians, as well as the stables that were scattered around Hyrule. He learned to cook, and how to wear all of the different clothes he had gotten. There were Gerudo vai clothes, as well as voe armor. There was fire-resistant armor, a snowquill outfit, Zora armor, a Sheikah stealth set, and climbing clothes. That’s another neat thing Link learned. He could put things in the Sheikah slate! All he had to do was tap the item to the slate, and it disappeared. Pressing the buttons on the right side of the slate let him scroll through all of his items, and pull them out whenever he needed. It was incredibly useful. 

By the time he and the Champions were ready to leave the area by the Shrine, he was proficient in the bow, the scimitar, the spear, the sword, and the shield. He could easily hold his own against any of his friends, and they had spent long afternoons sparring out on the cliff. 

When they did leave, Urbosa gave him a warning. “There’s another spirit out there. He will pretend to be an old man, but he is really King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule, Zelda’s father. We didn’t tell you before as he always avoids us, but he will approach you no matter if we are nearby or not. Do not let him fool you, he is a bastard.” 

“Urbosa!” Mipha scolded. “He may not be a good man but do watch your language!”

“Fine. The king has a paraglider, which is the only way to get off of the plateau. I don’t know what his plan is, but he’ll definitely ask you to do something in return.”

Revali spoke up, “Make sure you only sign to him. Like Urbosa said, he’s a bas- bad person. He’s very snobby. I just know that if he hears you speak Common he’ll throw a fit. Oh, you wouldn’t know, but the king only speaks Upper Hylian. Apparently only the middle and lower class speak Common, according to him. Just be careful around him, okay? We’ll still be by your side, but I think it’s best if we don’t talk to him.”

Link nodded his understanding and headed down the cliff. Just as they said, an old man floated to his side, hanging from a piece of cloth connected to sticks. Honestly, Link just zoned out most of what the man said, only picking up that he needed to head to an odd shaped rock formation. He nodded politely to him, and then left. It was difficult to get to the rocks, and he easily killed the two bokoblins in front of it. He was surprised to see that inside the rocks was a stone and pedestal similar to the ones in the Shrine. After holding the slate up to it, he was knocked to the floor as the floor lifted from the ground. It appeared that he was on a tower, made of the same Ancient Sheikah Technology as the Shrine. In the distance he could see other towers erupt from the ground, as well as smaller buildings, which were apparently shrines. Mipha drew his attention to the slate. It seemed like the tower added more onto his map, and he could now see all of the Great Plateau. The old king was suddenly behind him, and Link resisted the urge to push him off the tower. Wait, could he do that? He could touch the Champions, maybe he could also push the king? 

As if reading his mind, Urbosa shook her head at him, a silent warning not to do anything. The king went on and on about something, but as soon as he pointed towards the closest shrine, Link jumped down to the nearest platform on the side of the tower. He again made his way over, and this time the entrance to the shrine had a glowing blue circle, like the one he had just seen on the tower. He also noticed that the shrine was also added onto his map. He went inside and got a ‘rune’ on the Sheikah slate, Magnesis. There was also a monk inside the shrine, called Oman Au, who gave him a ‘Spirit Orb’. He went outside, only to find the king, again. This time he told Link that he had to get the spirit orbs from the other three shrines on the plateau. 

“Seriously?” He asked once the man was gone. 

“Well, we might as well get at it. The sooner we get the paraglider the sooner we can say goodbye to that assh- absolutely not good guy.” Revali said, trying, and failing, to cover up the fact that he almost cussed after Mipha shot him a dark look. 

Link did the other three shrines, finding the snowquill outfit and climbing clothes very useful. 

The king appeared again . Seriously, what was with this guy? And Link had to go to the top of the Temple of Time to get the paraglider?! Why couldn’t the man just give it to him now? If Mipha wasn’t in hearing range, he would have let out some of the cuss words Urbosa taught him. But he just made his way to the temple, deciding to stop by the statue of Hylia first. Hylia wasn’t actually there, just a small piece of her that took his spirit orbs in return for an endurance boost. With that, he was able to easily climb the old building. When he got there the old man ‘revealed’ himself to be the king, and told Link the story of the Calamity. Not for the first time, Link tuned him out. Finally, he got the paraglider, and the king disappeared, with one last instruction for Link, to go past the Dueling Peaks to Kakariko Village and to find Impa. 

Chapter Text

Well, that was what he was supposed to do. Since the king was the one who told him to find Impa, Link immediately didn’t want to. From what the Champions had told him, the whole deal with the Calamity was Rhoam’s fault. If he wasn’t such an asshole, Zelda probably could have unlocked her powers earlier.

 Urbosa and Mipha had to convince him that Impa was nothing like the king, but even then, he didn’t want to head there right away. After all, there was so much to see and explore!

He managed to convince the Champions to let him visit more shrines and the towers first, as they had discovered that he can teleport from shrines and towers to other shrines and towers. Teleporting was an odd thing. If he clicked a shrine or tower on his map, he would start glowing blue, and suddenly he was at that location. None of them were sure how it worked exactly. He reasoned that getting all of the towers activated, and filling out his map in the process, would make their journey much easier. So that’s what they did.

Link headed to the two towers closest to the plateau, Dueling Peaks Tower first, and then Central Tower. That tower was surrounded by guardians. Link got as close as he dared and decided to take out the guardians one by one. The Champions had told him that guardians took the most damage on their eyes, so that’s where he would aim.

He crept next to the nearest one, and managed to dodge a laser that shot at him. Leaping forwards, he stabbed a sword into the eye of the machine, putting so much strength into it that his left arm started to ache again. But instead of the guardian sparking or exploding, like they’re supposed to, the red lights glowing on its body faded, replaced by a cool blue, identical to the lights of towers and shrines he had visited. Its eye no longer focused on him, but instead on the other nearby guardians. It fired, causing sparks to fly. Link, while being incredibly confused, took the opportunity to run towards the distracted machine and stabbed it in the eye, and like a replica of the first one, it too changed colors and Link was no longer its target. This repeated with the others, and Link was able to safely climb the tower. 

After that he noticed Urbosa staring at the machines, a thoughtful look on her face. When asked, she refused to say anything. So they kept moving.

The group decided to head back to the southernmost part of the Great Plateau, and then west to the Gerudo desert. Revali spotted two towers in the mountains surrounding the desert, so Link headed down the road that, according to Urbosa, led to Gerudo town. On the journey there, they met more guardians, but Link, no longer as scared of them, just shot them in the eyes with arrows, and as soon as an arrow, of any type, hit the machine, the malice in them disappeared. The Champions were still weary of them, but Link felt drawn to them, but he couldn’t explain why. 

It was on that road that he went to his first stable. He had seen them before of course, but didn’t have time to stop by since they were out of his way. It was really nice, and the giant horse head on top of the building made Link smile. It turns out that he had a gift with animals. The wild horses he had come across all let him close by, and gladly took his apples, as did the ones at the stable. There was also an incident with a bear, but the Champions didn't like to talk about that. 

He quite liked the stable, and found the Hylians there to be quite friendly. They did comment on his accent, as it wasn’t recognized as being from a specific dialect. 

Luckily the Wasteland Tower was right next to the stable, so Link was able to head over to it in the morning and then return at night to sleep. While sleeping in a bed was nice, it didn’t compare to snuggling up to Revali or Daruk, or sometimes Urbosa. They were more comfortable than the beds in the stable, surprisingly. None of them knew why Link could touch them, but there wasn’t anyone they could ask, so they let it be. 

After that he decided to head into the desert. Urbosa had mentioned wanting to see Gerudo town again, so Link was determined to help her. After all, she had done so much for him, and was his older sister in all but blood, so if he could make her happy, he would.

 As they walked, Urbosa told all of them more about the town itself. 

“Only vai are allowed inside, so you’ll have to wear your vai clothes, Link. There are several traders in the village, so we should also pick up some more supplies.” 

If the guards outside the town walls noticed that he wasn’t a vai, they didn’t say anything. The Champions all agreed that Link was androgynous enough that no one could tell his gender at first glance, which made him oddly happy. The town itself was very nice, and had a pleasant air. He met several different Gerudo women, all of whom were pleased with his understanding of their native tongue. After he got more supplies, he headed up the steps to the throne room, where he met Riju and Buliara. Riju recognized him as a man, but promised not to tell. She then told him about Vah Naboris, and despite Urbosa’s warnings, they decided to take on the Divine Beast. He and Riju got there using sand seals, and managed to get onboard the giant machine. 

Once they were there, however, Link turned to Riju, handed her his bow, quiver, and Urbosa’s shield and scimitar. 

“You should be the one to control the beast.” His voice was soft, but she suddenly felt an ethereal presence around him. “It needs a master, and you are perfect for it. I believe in you, and so does Urbosa.”

Riju, more determined than ever, took the offered weapons and headed inside the beast. 

Hours later, the beast shook, and Link could see the malice fall away from it. Riju came out, and told him of the Blight. He was glad, as it didn’t feel right to free the beast without giving it a new master. 

All of a sudden, Riju gasped, looking to Link’s left. 

“Lady Urbosa? H-how are you here?”

“You can see her?” Link asked. 

"You can too?!" 

"I’m not sure why you can see me now, but we can just add that to our growing list of questions.” The ex-chieftain sighed. “Riju, as Vah Naboris is now yours, it is only right that I give you Urbosa's Fury." Lightning sparked around her, before transferring to Riju via Urbosa's hand, which she placed on her successor's head. 

"I name you Riju, Champion of the Gerudo. Do your people proud, like you have been."

After they returned to town, they discovered that only Riju could see Urbosa. They had an emotional goodbye, which greatly confused Link, and when asked why he was confused, he asked, “But won’t you see each other again when we visit?”

Apparently neither of them thought that Link would come back to the town of warrior women, which was weird because who wouldn’t want to visit warrior women?

Link heard from one Gerudo that there was a giant skeleton to the southwest, and he immediately set off for it. Once there, he found another shrine and a giant plant. There were several small lights, identified as fairies, floating around. When he walked up to the plant, it burst open, and a giant fairy popped out. 

“Oh! That feels good! I’m Tera, the Great Fairy.... and who might you be? You’re an odd one, aren’t you? No rupees, but somehow you gave me my power back. Hmm…it seems like you’ve been Claimed. But by who? Very curious indeed. As are the spirits around you, all marked by the same being, but not Claimed. Well, you should visit my sisters, and see what they think. They might know more than me.” 

‘ Great. More questions. Can I go just one day without adding another question to our list of things to ask someone we don’t even know exists?” Link grumbled to himself.

The next thing Link wanted to do was go to the Yiga base. He hadn’t met a Yiga clan member yet, but he heard stories at the stable, and Riju mentioned that their base was north of the town, so he set off in that direction. 

Revali scouted ahead, as usual, and told him that Gerudo Tower was right next to the base, so Link went there first. He had to climb up the cliffs, and then jump off with the paraglider in order to land on one of the platforms of the tower. From there Revali showed him where to go on the map. Before heading there, Mipha insisted that he sleep first, as it was almost night. They found a small area, protected by cliffs, and bunkered down for the night, Link’s head on Urbosa’a lap, and the others curled around them. 

The next morning, they continued on, finding a bunch of frog-like statues. As he continued on, Link was met with several Yiga assassins. This was his first time fighting something that wasn’t a machine or a beast, and he found it to be quite fun. Of course with all of his training, which continued whenever they had time, the assassins were no match for him. He put the supplies he had taken off their bodies into the Sheikah slate. 

From there it was simple to enter the base, although he did have to sneak past some blademasters, but they weren’t the most observant. And of course, he pocketed all of the treasures he found. Who wouldn’t?

Past a hidden wall, Link was met with the leader of the Yiga, Master Kohga. He gave Link a good fight, but was eventually defeated by his own weapons. 

He got the Thunderhelm, which Urbosa told him belonged to the Gerudo, so they headed back there. Riju was pleasantly surprised by the visit, and more so by the return of the helm.

To everyone’s surprise, it was Revali who suggested where Link should go next: Rito Village. The archer had broached the topic as they all sat around one evening, waiting for sunrise. He explained that seeing Urbosa and Gerudo Town made him think of his own birthplace, and although he was nervous to go there, he felt that he must. 

Chapter Text

They headed north, taking a rest at Tabantha Stable, before crossing the canyon, where Link met two guardians, and once again, they returned to their original mission after he struck them. Urbosa was under the impression that something larger was at play, but even if there was, they weren’t in danger, so she let it go for now. 

Link took a detour off the road to visit a Great Fairy. Kaysa, as she introduced herself, was quite similar to her sister, finding it quite odd that Link was able to awaken them with rupees. But she didn’t have any answers for them, so they continued on to Tabantha Tower. From there it wasn’t long before they made it to Rito Village. 

As he climbed up to the top of the village, Link noticed that Revali was acting odd. Odd in the sense that he was extremely happy. Link had seen him smile and laugh before, but never had he been so joyous as he was in this moment, looking at the Rito going about their lives. Although Revali never said it, Link thought it would be quite depressing to be in his shoes. The Rito was only three years older than him but hadn’t been back to his home in over a century. Unlike Link, he actually remembered his family and friends, and his life before the Calamity. 

They didn’t spend long in the village, although the other spirits tried to subtly encourage Revali to stay behind for a while. They headed to meet Teba, and quickly made their way up to Vah Medoh. There, Link once again stayed behind and let Teba avenge his predecessor. Like Riju, it didn’t take him long to exit the Divine Beast, albeit quite exhausted and bruised. 

Urbosa pushed Revali forwards, and he stumbled to Teba, who was shocked at the sudden appearance of the younger? older? Rito. 

“Teba.” Revali took a deep breath, “You were able to do what I could not. You are more than worthy of controlling the Divine Beast Vah Medoh. As such; I, Champion Revali, name you, Teba, my successor. I know you will make all of us proud, and to help you, I will give you Revali’s Gale!” 

Wind started blowing around the newest Champion, lifting him into the air before he landed with a bow. 

“Thank you, Revali. I will not let you down.”

They returned to the village to spend the night before heading towards Hebra Tower. There weren't any problems on their journey there, so they made quick time.

It was nice, traveling with his family. When exactly he started to think of the others as family he didn’t know, but he knew it was what felt right. And the spirits reciprocated. They spent long nights huddled together, playing games and telling stories. Hours of walking blurred as Link practiced speaking and signing, until they couldn’t teach him any more. In the evening he trained with them until they all fell to the ground, exhausted. Urbosa taught them politics and war strategies while they walked, and soon they had gotten to Ridgeland Tower, and from there, they went back to the Great Plateau.

They didn’t find much in the Faron region, but they visited the Lake Tower and Faron Tower before Link once again took off. This time he found a spring. The Spring of Courage, to be exact. As he knelt before the statue of Hylia, he heard a voice speaking to him. 

“Dear Link, please raise your head. You are no longer my Champion, and I have no right to ask you to kneel before me.” A warm glow settled over him. “Hahaha. I can see your confusion, little one. The statues of me you have been to previously have only been small pieces of my power. I could not speak to you through them. I am glad to finally talk to you, but we do not have time to chat now. I regret asking you to do this, but you must hurry and free the last two Divine Beasts and activate the remaining towers. Then you must go to Akkala and Hateno, and activate the furnaces at the tech labs. I think that will be enough to help him regain some of his power. I must go now, Link, but I will be able to talk to again at my other shrines. Go, quickly!” Distress filled her tone as her aura faded from the statue. In the far distance, Link could hear Calamity Ganon roar. 

“Link, we must go. It seems that we are running out of time.” Mipha urged him.

They didn’t waste time as they headed past the Dueling Peaks to Lanayru Tower, and then to Zora’s Domain. Link noticed that the Zora had less of an accent than the Rito or Gerudo, sounding quite similar to the Hylians he had met at the stables. 

Mipha’s brother, Sidon, towered over him, but was kind enough to give him a ride to the domain on his back. Link wasn’t ashamed to admit that he froze in awe at the architecture of Mipha’s home. It was stunning. 

They hurried through their talk with the king, and only rested for a couple hours before joining Sidon by Vah Ruta. Link helped Sidon get on the Divine Beast and settled down for a nap while Sidon went inside.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t a spirit who woke him up later. It was a large stream of water falling down on him. 

He shot up, sputtering, to see Sidon and Mipha standing over him, laughing at his plight. 

“It’s about time you woke up, Link. I know you haven’t gotten much sleep lately, but you slept through Revali screaming in your ear, and you didn’t even move when Urbosa kicked you!” She cried.

“So that’s why my side hurts?” Link signed, water dripping from his hair. “How did that go, Sidon?”

“It went well my friend! Waterblight Ganon was a tough opponent, but I beat him! Mipha has named me her successor and given me her healing powers! We tried to wake you for that, but we failed.”

Link rose, still soaked to the bone, and told Sidon that he would be taking him back to the domain and letting him sleep until morning. Sidon agreed, of course, not wanting to bear the wrath of the tiny, dripping wet, pouting blond teenager.

After a restful night, Link made his way back to Lanayru Tower, and then went north to Eldin Tower. He met a few more guardians on his way to Goron City, but they were easily taken care of. 

Link was very grateful that he got heat resistance armor beforehand, as it was unbearably hot. The Gorons were very friendly though. He met Yunobo, and set out for Vah Rudania. He wasn’t eager to jump into the volcano just to sit for a few hours, so he opted to stay on the path and wait. 

Yunobo came out from the center of Death Mountain a little before dusk, covered in ash. Daruk named him as his successor, but that was a quick process as Yunobo already had Daruk’s Protection. 

Link went back to Eldin Tower after spending a day stocking up on supplies, and then made his way to Akkala Tower. If he wasn’t able to make guardians revert to their original forms, he would have been terrified to climb the ruins of the citadel.

He noticed another Great Fairy, and immediately headed towards them.

Mija, as he learned, wasn’t as welcoming as her sisters. She probably would have dismissed him sooner if he hadn’t told her about what her sisters said. But once again, there were no answers for him. 

Mija did tell him that there was a spring nearby, so headed in the direction she pointed out. 

The Spring of Power was very pretty, and this time Link didn’t kneel in front of the statue. Instead, he simply bowed his head. 

“I am glad you made it here safely, Link. The Divine Beasts are back in his control, and there are only a couple towers left to be activated. You are headed to the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab, yes? Good. That will help a lot. Hmm? Oh, that’s right, you haven’t met him yet. Well, as much fun as it would be to tell you embarrassing stories about him, he would make a huge fuss, so it will have to remain a secret for now. But don’t worry, you’ll meet him very soon.” Hylia told him, her aura once again fading, leaving behind an echo of laughter. 

Chapter Text

The Akkala Tech Lab was quite interesting, and its owner even more so. Robbie, who Link found hilarious as he didn’t even reach Urbosa’s hip, was an eccentric man, but obviously meant well. 

He told Link where to get the flame needed to activate the lab, and sent him on his way. The monsters along the path weren’t too challenging to fight, but the rain was a nightmare. When he finally reached it, the blue flame caught his attention. 

He reached out one hand towards it, sticking his arm through the fire until Mipha pulled him back. 

“Link! What are you doing?” She exclaimed, checking him over for burns. 

“Not hot.” He signed one-handed, brows furrowed. 

“What do you mean? It’s fire.” Revali said. He was standing back, still cautius around fire, even as a ghost. 

“Not hot. Doesn’t feel like fire.”

Urbosa stepped closer to the flame, examining it. “Hmm. Let’s take it back, and ask Robbie if he knows what’s going on.”

The journey back was even longer, Link running for cover everytime the rain started. Eventually though they made it, and the tech lab was activated.

“Thanks a lot, Link! Now Cherry is working again. You can get ancient gear and weapons from her, they’ll help you against guardians-”

“No need. Normal weapons work fine. The guardians go back to normal after I hit them.”

“...Go back to normal?”

“Yes. They turn blue and stop attacking people.”

“HOW? How is that possible? Tell me everything, right now!”

A few hours later Robbie finally released him, having no idea how he was able to fix the corrupted Sheikah tech, nor why the blue flame didn’t hurt him. They left, teleporting to the Dueling Peaks Tower. From there they headed to Hateno. 

At Fort Hateno the Champions started acting odd, worried that Link would remember how he fell a hundred years ago. But he didn’t. He stared around, but gave no sign if he did remember anything. 

He activated Hateno Tower and headed into the town. Once again the tech lab was up on a hill, which he was not happy about. But he did find the blue flame beforehand, and had already lit the furnace before Purah could even open the door. When she did however, everyone was shocked. 

“L-Link?! You’re awake- and here! What’s going on?”

“You’re a child.” He signed, confused. “They said you were an adult.”

“Well, I am, I was. I de-aged myself! But let’s talk about you, Linky. Tell. Me. Everything.”

Once again caught by an eccentric scientist, Link resigned himself to his fate. Again, Purah didn’t know anything either. So he headed back north, to Kakariko.

He stopped at the last Great Fairy beforehand. Cotera was as interesting as her sisters, but had no more advice for him. She did leave a few enchantments on his clothes for him though.

The village was nice and welcoming, but eventually Urbosa had enough of his shit (her words) and dragged him into Impa’s house, startling a young lady that was outside. 

Link fell onto the floor after a shove from Revali, and looked up, grinning, at a shocked Impa. 

“W-well hello, Link. This is not exactly how I imagined us meeting again. I heard that you had already freed the Divine Beasts? Good. Then I believe that the last thing to do is to get the Master Sword.”

“You know where it is?” He asked.

“I do. After you collapsed at Fort Hateno, Princess Zelda took it to the Lost Woods. I don’t know the state of it, but it should be safe. I recommend that you go there before fighting Ganon.”

Link nodded, already plotting his route, and quickly said goodbye before leaving. 

He journeyed to Woodland Tower, and then headed into the woods. The mist turned him around a few times but eventually he managed to reach the middle of the forest. They all stopped and stared in awe at all the koroks that were running around. But Link’s attention was quickly taken by the sword standing in front of him. He reached towards it, but before his hand touched its hilt a voice stopped him. 

“Link. I am pleased that you have made it here, but are you prepared to pull the Sword that Seals the Darkness? If you are not ready, you will be hurt.” The voice came from a giant tree, which had a face, which, odd, but whatever. 

Wordlessly, Link nodded, and grabbed the sword. To his surprise, the sword pulled out effortlessly, and he could feel power flowing through him. 

“Well that was anticlimactic.” 

“Thank you Revali, for ruining that moment.” Urbosa told him.

Ignoring their bickering, Link swung the sword a few times, testing its weight. It felt so natural in his hand, like a piece of him that had been missing. 

“Link. There is a presence around you, one I do not recognize. Who has claimed you so?”

“I do not know. Hylia won’t say.”

“I see. I’m sure you are ready to fight the Calamity, but I recommend that you go to the Forgotten Temple first. There are two statues there, one of Hylia, one of another person, that might help you. The other statue is a mystery, but Hylia should be able to help.”

Another place to go before he got any answers? This was getting annoying. But he went anyways. The temple, after he took care of the guardians, was quiet. Nothing moved inside except for him and the Champions. As the giant tree said, there were two statues inside. One was a giant Hylia statue, and the other was of a man, standing tall, without a face. This was the only statue of this deity that any of them had seen. 

Link approached the Hylia statue, head bowed. 

“Link. I see you have the Master Sword now, good. As I thought, activating all the towers and the tech labs helped him a lot. I think he’s about to wake up soon, if you want to watch.”

“Who?”

“Oh you’ll see.” Even without being there, Hylia’s smirk could be felt by all of them. Link sat down, deciding to wait for whoever this person is.

A few moments later the temple started to rumble. Clouds of dust fell down, and Link scrambled to his feet.

The statue of the man cracked, splitting apart in the middle. From within the statue a pair of brilliant blue eyes glowed. A figure stumbled out of the dust, and as he came into the light, Revali wolf-whistled. The man was stunning, with tanned skin and the white hair of the Sheikah. He was a good foot taller than Link, and matched Urbosa in terms of muscle. He was wearing a plain black shirt and pants, and a sword on his hip gleamed. It was black too, and a near replica of the one on Link’s back. 

“About time, you lazy ass.”

Mipha gasped, as Revali and Urbosa burst out laughing. Link and Daruk just stood, jaws almost to the floor. 

“The Goddess just- wheeze - called him a- wheeze- lazy ass!” Urbosa snorted. 

“Yes, I did. Because he is one. You’ve been asleep for 10,000 years, Akh Vek’ta. Really, you just told me ‘Watch over him’ and collapsed on the floor!” Hylia’s indignant voice echoed throughout the room. 

The man, Akh Vek’ta, winced. He shuffled around, edging closer to the giant statue. “Sorry about that, Hylia. But really it wasn’t my fault. I was so tired! I gave all of my energy to those Sheikah to make their technology!”

Urbosa stepped forwards, drawing his attention. “You’re the power source behind the ancient tech? How?”

“Oh! You guys are the pilots of the Divine Beasts, aren’t you? Well, you know how Hylia’s power is scattered between her statues, and inside Zelda? My power’s similar. It fuels the technology, although it’s stronger in some places,” he shrugged, “honestly most of it is the Sheikah, I have no idea how their technology works beyond my part in it.” 

“I told you to pay more attention when they asked you!” Hylia chimed in. 

“Well I’m sorry, Goddess. I thought that they weren’t saying anything important. Whoops!” His voice dripped with sarcasm. “Of course I paid attention! It was just confusing.”

A noise behind Akh Vek’ta caught his attention, stopping the bickering. “Link! I'm so glad to finally meet you in person! I was worried when they brought you to the Shrine of Resurrection, but luckily I was able to fix you up some! How are you doing?”

Revali paced back and forth, wing waving as he spoke. “So you’re telling me that you gave the Sheikah your power to make their technology, and after the fight you deactivated all of it, sending yourself into a coma, and then when Calamity Ganon attacked the second time, he managed to overpower your power and took control of the Divine Beasts and guardians. Which weakened you, but you were able to pour the last of your power into the Shrine of Resurrection, where this idiot,” here he stopped to point at Link, who looked around cluelessly, “absorbed that power. Then when he woke up you were able to sense him, faintly, and helped him reactivate the shrines and towers to help him regain his strength, which Hylia also helped with. And then using Link as a channel for your power, you retook control of the ancient technology, regaining energy, which allowed you to awaken from your sleep. Did I get all of that right?”

“Yeah, that’s what happened.” Akh Vek’ta confirmed, trying to ignore the Rito’s glare. 

“Tell me, Link, what is it about you that attracts all the weird ones?”

A small giggle and a louder snort confirmed that Mipha and Urbosa were laughing behind the Hylian Champion’s back, and when he looked, Daruk, on his left, was trying to hide his smile. “Would you believe me if I said I don’t know?” He signed.

“ Ahem . Who are you calling weird? I know Akh Vek’ta is, but me? I am the epitome of lovely, I’ll have you know.”

“I’m sure you are, Goddess Hylia, but really? He’s attracted so many random people. You two, the four of us, Zelda, those loud Sheikah? The new Champions, the Great Fairies?! Even Ganon is obsessed with this idiot!”

Urbosa, unfortunately, had noticed the same thing. “He’s not wrong. It is odd how many people Link has interactions with that are, well, unique. ”

“Gee, thanks,” the boy in question signed, deadpan. 

Akh Vek’ta was a nice inclusion to their group. He definitely helped with all the fighting, even if Urbosa had to drag him into a couple of fights. The man? God? added a lot of humor and answers to their journey, and they were all glad for his presence when the time came to fight Calamity Ganon. 

Before they stepped into the Sanctum, however, Link stopped, turning to face Akh Vek’ta.

“You know Zelda’s gonna question you for the next year, right?”

“Oh, I know. But I have questions for her too, so it’ll even itself out. Now c’mon, I have some issues to work out with the ugly thing waiting for us.”