Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A young boy, no older than two years old runs through the castle halls, his eyes light up like the glowing embers of the twilight realm, amazed by the sheer scope of the castle. The royal red carpet with the emblem of three triangles beneath his feet feels soft to the touch. The stone pillars as monuments to past knights tower over the young boy. The past heroes of Hyrule. Link’s mouth opens to create a stream of unintelligible baby talk. 

His soft, infant hand rests on the stone soldier's foot. “Bah!” he exclaims. He slaps his other hand on the pillar and he begins to roll around on the silky-smooth carpet. 

“Link!” a man calls from behind the infant. “What do you think you’re doing?”

The child sticks his tongue out at the man, which causes the man to chuckle, “Alright, come on, it’s time to go. King Rhoam doesn’t like children messing with his things.” he walks over to the small child and scoops him up in his arms. “Wanna go see mama?”

Link’s face lights up once more, smiling and wiggling around at the thought of seeing his mother.

Faint laughter can be heard from behind the man as he turns to leave, and the young boy waves at the three figures. 

“He’s quite the adorable child, don’t you guys agree?” The Hero of The Sky asks, waving goodbye to the boy.

The Hero of Twilight chuckles and puts a hand on his head. “I’ll admit, you’re correct. Now I must say my Hyrule Castle didn’t look nearly as beautiful as this one does. The architecture is like I’ve never seen before! To be fair, that was…many, many years ago.”

The Hero of Time gives no response, but instead, he stands there, watching the young boy being carried off by his father.

“Time? You okay?” The Hero of The Sky asked, concerningly, “You’re not usually this quiet.”

“What if he doesn’t become the hero he’s destined to become?” the Hero of Time whispered, “What if…we’re all of what remains?”

The Hero of Twilight put a hand on the Hero of Time’s shoulder, “Time, trust me, it will work out. I trust that the gods will lead the Hero of The Wild to fulfill his destiny, whatever that may be. We all defeated Ganon, but before that, I was a simple farmer. You were a child of the Kokori, and Sky was a Knight. This child we see before us is no different. He may be a baby now, but I sense great strength in him. He will be a knight like so many others. I trust that he will do as all other Link’s before us have done. 

Time gives a long, saddened sigh, “You’re right. But hopefully, he will be…different. The best of all of us. I hope that the Hero of The Wild will be the one to finally finish what was started all those years ago.”

Sky and Twilight nod in agreement and they walk in silence, following the young child to his home in Hateno Village. It’s their duty to protect this child and by the Gods they will fulfill their duty, just as they always have.

Chapter Text

Link walks outside to the garden surrounding the outside of the house and picks up a ripe tomato. The innocent child’s eyes light up seeing the bright and vibrant red.

“Link, don’t do it.” The Hero of The Sky calls out while he sits on the porch next to the other two.

The child spews out a string of baby talk, babbling as he cradles the tomato in his arms, and flops onto the dirt, letting out a loud shriek of laughter. 

The Hero of Twilight and Time gives Sky a judgmental glare. 

“What? I thought he was gonna eat it.” He states, throwing his arms up.

“M-hm.” Time mumbles while sipping on his milk. “He’s one of us, Sky. He’s smarter than that.”

Sky crosses his legs and stares at the child who is still rolling around in the dirt after just being bathed. 

Link drops the tomato and picks up a stick, using it as a makeshift sword. “Ha!” 

Twilight smirks and looks at Time. “And here you were, worrying he wouldn’t become the Hero.”

“Heh, I guess I have nothing to worry about.” He chuckles and places his milk down and grabs his sword “Anyone up for a spar?” 

“You’re on!” Twilight exclaims with Sky nodding his head. 

Link turns towards the three figures as they begin to spar. “Ba buh? Hewwo!” he calls out to them.

The three heroes wave at the young boy and he laughs.

Sky, Twilight, and Time all go into a battle stance, their weapons ready and they begin to spar and as Link watches on, he's amazed by what he’s witnessing. He looks down at his stick and grips it as hard as his baby hands will allow him to, and he begins to mimic the three heroes, watching them jump around and parry each other's attacks. 

The three heroes have sparred many times in the past while Link has been growing up, Sometimes Sky won, sometimes Twilight, and sometimes Time. Each Link is skilled in their own unique way. They know this. Any one of them could win, and that’s the best part. 

Twilight uses his swiftness to his advantage and sweeps Sky off his feet and onto the ground. “I’ve been telling you to watch your legs.” 

Sky rolls his eyes and quickly gets up, “Yeah yeah I know.”

Time kicks himself off the nearby tree and knocks over Twilight, pinning him to the ground. “Watch your back.” 

Twilight sighs, “Okay, you win this time.”

“Link? Are you out here?” a voice calls out from the doorframe.

“Mama!” Link runs to his mother's arms. His safeplace. 

“Aww hey there, it's time for lunch!” she claims as she picks up the tiny child and cradles him.

“Otay!” he claims

A bright smile crosses the three Link’s faces.

“I look forward to seeing how he grows up.” Twilight sighs, “It’s weird to think how our original purpose has been finished, and now we have a new purpose. But the weird thing is, I never had a Link watching over me.”

“Hmm, me neither. Maybe this Link truly is special.” Time states.

And with that, Link’s mother shuts the door behind her, leaving the three Link's outside to gaze upon the village. A wave of peace washes over them. And excitement too.  “If they’re truly the ones picked to protect this Link, then we need to all agree to help him to become the best hero he possibly can be.” Twilight said

Time and Sky nod their heads and in sync, they say, “Agreed.”

Chapter Text

Twilight, Sky, and Time all gather around the small kitchen table inside the house. In the middle of the table lies a cake decorated in beautiful green, blues, and yellows. A giant number three is gently placed in the middle of the cake.

“Link, are you ready?” his mother's soft, comforting voice asks.

“Yeah!” He squeals. 

“Okay!” she looks over to her husband as he holds a piece of iron and flint. “Go on, light the candle.”

He aims it at the candle and strikes it, causing a bright orange flame to erupt.

“Woah!” Link says, staring at the fire.

Sky chuckles as he watches the still young boy wiggle around in his seat, amazed by the fire before him. “He’s not seen anything yet.”

Link squints his eyes and looks past the fire, directly at Sky. He points at Sky and calls him, “Sky! Sky!” 

Sky sticks his tongue out at the child, causing him to giggle.

Link’s mother and father look at where the child is pointing, only to see…nothing. “What is it, buddy?” his mother asks

“He better blow out the candle before it gets onto the cake!” his father claims.

“Oh! I suppose you would be right. Linky, it's time to sing happy birthday!” she says lovingly.

As his parents begin to sing to Link, Sky sings with them. Twilight hums the melody, and Time does nothing, but instead, the Hero of Time crosses his arms and leans onto the wall with his head hanging low.

As Sky and Twilight watch Link blow out his candle, they look over at Time. Twilight asks, “Time?”

“Hmm?”

“You okay?”

“Fine.”

Twilight rolls his eyes. “Sure you are. What's wrong with you? You’ve looked like this the past two birthdays.”

Time sighs and looks at Twilight. “I never celebrated my birthday. I hardly remember when it is. I honestly didn’t have half the things that this Link has.”

“Well, when is your birthday?” Sky chimes in.

“November 21st…”

“Really?” both Sky and Twilight ask

“Mine is November 18th!” Sky claims.

“Mine’s March 4th Come to think of it, that’s tomorrow,” Twilight adds.

“Nice. I know what you guys are thinking, but don’t bother. It’s not worth it. What we need to do is start this Link’s training.”

“Time…”

“If he’s going to be a reincarnation of us then he needs to know how to fight.”

Twilight begins to step towards the door. “Listen, I know that you trained me, and I'm thankful for that, but don’t treat this Link like something that can fix your past mistakes.”

With that, he walks through the door, with Sky following closely behind him, leaving only Time inside.

Chapter Text

“Link, duck!” The Hero of Time calls out.

The Hero of The Wild ducks under the incoming sword and swiftly returns to his defensive position. 

“Good job.” The Hero of Twilight says.

Wild looks at Twilight and gives him a big grin, showing his pearly white teeth. 

Time takes his sword and swiftly positions it to Wild’s neck, stopping inches away. 

Wild jumps back in fear and Time says, “Never, ever take your eyes off your opponent.” 

Twilight puts a hand on his chin and asks, “Say, did you happen to lose a tooth? You’re not supposed to be losing teeth yet, what happened?” Twilight asked, concerned.

The young child swayes back and forth, putting his hands together. “Well, I kwinda wost a twooth wen I fell out da bed.” 

“What happened? Did Wild get hurt?” Sky asked, running from around the corner. 

“Where were you?” Time questioned.

“I was...busy”

“With?” 

“Nothing.” Sky responds.

“Okay.” 

“Anyways,” Sky quickly blurted, walking over to Wild and crouching down, “what happened, little guy?” 

“He lost his tooth when he fell out of bed,” Twilight stated. 

Three hours earlier. 

“Link! Time to wake up!” his mother called.

Link’s eyes shot open and he immediately got out of bed, forgetting that he didn’t remove the covers.

THUMP

Link lands face down on the hardwood flooring, watching as a small, white object shoots across the room.

“Link? What was that?”

“Nophing. I’m Otay!” 

Link’s mother walks into the room and sees her child, covered in blankets, lying on the floor. “Aww, how cute,” she says, picking him up. “come on, breakfast is ready!” 

“YAAAY!”

Sky lets out a long, concerned sigh. “Link, what did I tell you about being careful?” 

“Being cawful is A vewy impotant twait of a hewo!” 

“Correct!”

Twilight walks over to Time and they both look at each other, and Twilight whispers to him, “Is it just me or is Sky more of a parent than I thought he would be.”

Time replied, “It’s not just you. I’ve noticed Sky and Wild have taken a liking to each other, even since Wild was born.” 

“Link? Who are you talking to?” his mother asks, crossing the bridge connecting their house to the village. 

The child looks at his mother, and then at Sky, and back to his mother. “My imaginawwy fwends.” 

She laughs and walks over to pick him up, placing down her groceries. “My my, you have quite the imagination.” 

The child shows her a big, teeth-filled grin which causes her to laugh more. 

“Oh no! What happened to your tooth?” she questioned. 

As he was explaining the story to his mother, Sky went back to where he came from. He climbed up the mountain and rested upon a peak, facing Mount Lanayru. Sky closes his eyes, and breathes. In. And out. In. And out. The crickets quickly fade from his ears and the light begins to dim, being replaced with a girl. A beautiful girl, her eyes were as blue as the sky, her hair was golden yellow, green wraps encased the bottom of her hair, and the blue diamond stood out amongst the pink. Sky begins to shed a tear, his heart yearning for just one more chance. One more encounter. 

Goddess, please. Why did you take me from…everyone? I wasn’t ready, I had so much more to do. Did I…did I die? No, that’s insane. I would've known if I died. But, what’s my purpose? Why am I here? Am I supposed to be helping this new hero? It feels like I was just asleep, and then I end up here. It makes no sen–

“Sky?” 

Sky opens one eye and sees Time standing in front of him. “Time.” 

“You okay?” 

He nods his head subtly and scratches his head. “So, what do you need?” 

“Nothing. What’s your problem?” 

Sky does not respond, but instead stares at the ground. 

“I miss my Zelda too, you know. She may have sent me back in time…I think, but even though we were only friends, I had feelings for her. I never expressed them to her because, simply, I was too scared. Ganon? Not a problem, but telling the girl how I feel? Pass. What I’m trying to say i–” 

“Why are we here, Time? How did we get here? I’m the first hero, but I don’t know how long I've been here, is this just a loop? Are we stuck training the next Link for eternity? What is our purpose?” 

Time sighs, “I…don’t know. But, maybe we could find out together.” 

Sky nods in agreement and picks himself up off the ground. “I think I know where to start.”

Chapter Text

The Hero of the Wild brings his sword into an offensive position and strikes. A loud SHINK is heard throughout the battlegrounds as Link hits his opponent's shield. He draws his sword back and launches himself off of the ground, leaping over the man and kicking him from behind. The man fumbles forwards and turns to face Link. “That was a cheap shot,” he said, sending his sword towards Link’s face, only to be blocked mere inches away. 

Link once again sends himself into the air and suddenly, everything stops. The movement of the wind has ceased and the man is standing still. Link uses this opportunity to grab onto the man’s back and he puts his sword against his neck. Once time resumes, the man Link had been sparring with is speechless. “Wha– How? You were just…”

“He may be four years old, but man can he fight,” Twilight said to himself. 

“Good job, Link!” his father called out. “King Rhoam could use a knight like you,” he said, smiling as he picked up his child, and carrying him to the castle.

                                                                                                          ~~~

Time and Sky enter the oldest library in Hyrule, also known as The Triforce of Knowledge. The inside of it contains a coffee shop, and a forest-like setup.

“Sky.”

“Yes?”

“Why is it called the Triforce of Knowledge when it’s only Power, Wisdom, and Courage.”

“Hmmmmm, it’s probably just referring to the Triforce of Wisdom honestly.”

The Hero of Time rolls his eyes and walks into the library. “What are we looking for?”

“Answers. I’m looking for answers concerning our existence.”

“Shouldn’t be too hard,” Time says sarcastically, looking at 9 rows of bookcases. 

“Well, it’s not like we don't have time, plus the process should be all in one section. But we can’t ask anybody either and Twilight will be wondering where we are before too long.”

“Two hours. Then we’re out. Got it?” 

Sky nods his head and they begin the grueling process.

                                                                                                      ~~~

“Your Majesty, I have a report regarding the people of Zora.” the knight says, bowing before his King.

“You do? Great! Tell me.” King Rhoam says with a loud, booming voice.

“Well…they’re willing to start war with the Rito…” 

“Why?” 

“That's just it sir, they wouldn’t tell us. They kicked us out when we asked.” 

The King sighed and lowered his head. “Of course they did. Thank you very much, you are dismissed.” 

“Daddy, what does that mean?” his daughter asked. Her golden hair flowed beneath her shoulders and she was wearing the finest gold Hyrule royalty can offer.

“It’s not important sweetie, shall we go watch the knights train?” 

“Yes please!” 

King Rhoam and Zelda walk down the hall, and a boy with his father passes by. They look at each other for a long minute, the boy stares at her with his bright blue eyes, and his long golden hair blocks his vision. Zelda trips on the carpet. Her heart had begun to pace and her stomach felt like it had butterflies in it. She picked herself up and watched as the boy reluctantly left. They had not even exchanged conversations and Zelda felt as if he was her best friend.   She doesn't know what the future holds in store, but she hopes that the boy will be in it.

Chapter Text

Sky rummages through thousands of books, some dating back thousands of years before even Skyloft was created. He picks up a book and examines it thoroughly, flipping through the thin, worn-out pages. The dust creates a cloud around his face, passing through him. “Hey, Time.” 

“Yeah?”

“Don’t you think it’s weird that we can interact with the physical world?” Sky asked, waving the dust away from his face.

“Hmm, I mean, kind of. I mean, we are kind of ghosts in a sense,” Time responded, sounding unsure of his answer. “So, have you found anything yet?”

“A whole lot of nothing. There's some junk about the Sword and the Four Heroes, The Hero of…Trains? And the…” Sky’s face conformed into a mixture of disgust and confusion.

“What? What is it?”

“The CDI Hero. I’ve heard of this ‘hero’ before. But that’s not the point.” Sky placed the book back onto the shelf and grabbed another book, the cover shows a clock, Skyloft, and a portal of some sort. “I think I got it.”

“Already?” Time asks, confused.

“I guess so,” Sky replies, opening the book to see…nothing. “Are you kidding?!” 

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s nothing!” 

“Give it to me, I have an idea,” Time states, grabbing a flint, steel, and a small torch out of his bag.

As Sky gives Time the book, Time flicks the flint and steel onto the torch, starting a fire. He picks up the torch and holds it close to the page. “Aha!” 

“What? Did it work?” Sky asks, immediately hovering over Time’s shoulder. 

“Yes"  

Time hands the torch to Sky and they both sit down. “This is hopefully what we’re looking for,” he says, noticeably more excited than he had previously been.

Long ago, there was a Hero. The Hero of the Sky. He was the first. He was the one who would defeat evil, and restore order to the world, but that’s not how it happened. The hero died by the same sword he carried. This caused the imbalance. With the Triforce of Courage losing its host, all that remained was Power and Wisdom. But there is another reality, one where the hero defeated evil. Princess Zelda managed to use the Triforce of Wisdom to defeat Demise, but before he died, he cursed them all, declaring evil to be reincarnated until the end of time, tormenting the reincarnations of Zelda and Link, and he did just that. I, Goddess Hylia, will do whatever it takes to restore peace. I will bring together Links from different times and places who have seen the strongest evils, and help them train one Link that will surpass all others, and defeat the deadliest form of evil Hyrule has seen. The Hero of Time. The Hero of Twilight. The Hero of the Sky. If you’re reading this, train him until he can no longer see or feel your appearance. For Hyrule, and for me. Good luck.

Time closes the book and lets out a heavy sigh. 

Sky puts a hand on his head and stares at the book. “Wow. That’s…a lot to take in. So you, me, and Twilight have to train this new Link to defeat a greater evil than any of us have ever seen, and we probably have about fourteen more years to do it? I mean how will w–”

“We might have failed to defeat our evil, but this is our chance. This is how we redeem ourselves. This…is our purpose. Our mission. We can’t dare fail. We have to tell Twilight.”

With a nod of agreement from Sky, they leave the library to tell Twilight what they have learned.

Chapter Text

“What?!” Twilight exclaimed, grabbing the book from out of Sky’s hands.

“Yeah…”

“Why did nobody tell me you guys were going there?” Twilight asked, staring at Time as he leans against the nearby piller.

“Well, we didn’t think it was necessary,” Time responded.

“Not necessary?!” Twilight shouted, giving the two green-clad heroes a stern look. “Time, this isn’t just related to us. If we fail, this Link won’t be able to defeat the oncoming danger, and who knows when he won’t be able to see us!” 

The three Links all direct their attention toward the child, watching as he glares at the tree, dressed up as a villain of sorts. 

“Twilight, listen, we knew what we were doing. One of us needed to stay here and we didn’t think you’d comply if we had told you,” the Hero of Time informed him, crossing his arms as he re-directs his attention. 

“Of course! The great Hero of Time can do whatever he wants! He doesn’t need to tell anyone what he’s doing or how potentially important it might be!” Twilight sarcastically responds, rolling his eyes.

“Guys-” Sky attempted

“Oh sure, blame me for all I care! At least I’m trying to help. What are you doing? Standing there doing absolutely nothing?!”

“Guys-” 

Flustered, Twilight marched directly in front of Time, coming within a few inches of his face, grabbing his collar. “Excuse me?! So help me I will slap that smug look of your face so hard that a cucoo won't even know who you a-”

“GUYS!” Sky yelled, getting in between the two heroes. “Come on, we shouldn’t be fighting. Twilight, you would’ve done the same thing if you were us…which you kinda are, but not the point. The point is, the reason the three of us are here is because we’re all the best candidates to train this new hero. Our skills and experiences all show that together, we can train this new Link to become the best version of all of us. So we need to get our crap together and do the best we can to train him, okay?” 

“Fine,” Time and Twilight both grumbled.

“See? We’re all getting along already!”

~~~

“But mother! I want to play with the other children, it’s not fair!” the little girl insisted, stomping her feet in dismay.

“Honey, I’m sorry, but your father insists you stay within the castle walls. It’s too dangerous out there for a girl like you to be fooling around.” 

“You always say that!” the little girl fussed, “Father never lets me do anything. He wants me to end up like him!” 

The woman kneels down to look eye to eye with the golden haired girl, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “My dear, sweet princess. I know it seems unfair, but it’s for your protection. There’s too much going on outside for you to be out there. I promise, as soon as its all over, we can do whatever you want,” she claimed, whispering.

The little girl embraced herself into her mother’s arms, saying nothing.

“I love you, my dear Zelda.”

“I love you too.” 

From the distance, the King of Hyrule watched in both sadness and pride. He had come with the intention of talking to his daughter, but it seems that that has already been taken care of. 

A Royal Knight swiftly kneeled beneath the kings feet, clad with a Broadsword on his back and the colors of the kingdom across his armor. In his hands contained a scroll with the marking of the Zora.

“My King, there is an urgent message that you must see,” he states, quickly handing King Rhoam the scroll.

Rhoam unties the scroll and watches as the message unravels itself, coming down to his waist. His eyes dart across the page, his emotions shifting from worry, to surprise, coming to rest at a stern, serious look. 

“Tell your men to report back to the Zora king. Tell him I’m coming to visit him.”