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Link woke up in the middle of the night, hearing some strange music. He sat up blearily and looked out the window, rubbing a hand over his eyes, searching for some clue as to who would be making such a racket at this hour.
Seeing nothing of significance, it was apparent that he would have to go hunting for the source himself. With a sigh, he slid out of bed and stretched, then padded towards the kitchen, scooping up his sword along the way.
The music grew louder as he stepped through the kitchen and out into the yard. More alert now, his adventurer’s instincts started to kick in, and he was a bit more cautious in his approach. Glancing around, he listened closely to the music, seeing if he could pinpoint the direction it was coming from.
Suddenly, a small fox darted out into his yard, rising to its feet and brandishing a tiny little sword and shield.
It was around this point that Link realized that the music seemed to be coming from…himself?
The fox spoke. “Alright, you fiendish…fiend! Have at ye!”
Link blinked. Blinked again. The talking fox was still there. It raised its sword and ran towards him, its gait strange and unnatural as it ran on two legs. Link rolled his eyes and dodged with ease.
”Ah, yer not gonna be so easy to put down, are yeh? Take that!- and that-!” The clashing and clanging of blade on blade echoed through Link’s front yard, drawing the attention of his nearest neighbors. A crowd of people slowly gathered along the pathway to the front of his house, some calling out encouragement to the fox, others calling encouragement to Link. That infernal music echoed through his ears all the while, loud enough to nearly drown them out, but still he pressed on. The fox fought rather valiantly (for a fox), and while Link had little trouble defending himself, he couldn’t help but be a little impressed by its fortitude.
This was not what he’d been expecting when he walked out that door, but honestly, if he wasn’t fighting for his life? He’d be having a lot of fun right now. It wasn’t every day he met a creature like this that could hold its own against the Hero of Hyrule.
He was just about to deliver a finishing blow against the fox (not enough to kill the poor thing, just enough to teach it a lesson about attacking unsuspecting heroes in the middle of the night for no reason) when a bright light suddenly shone through his bedroom window, waking him up. He blinked up at his bedroom ceiling. Was it all just a dream?
But no…the music was still playing, though it was softer, as if it were only just starting rather than picking up from the middle. He rose from his bed with a frown, stepping out through the kitchen once more and out into the morning sunlight. The music grew louder and louder, until as he approached the spot where he’d been fighting with the fox in his front pathway, it was nearly as loud as it had been before he awakened. He looked around, wondering if there was a reason for the music this time as well, and sure enough—a moment later, from the depths of the woods came forth a blue wolf.
As with the fox, the wolf stood on its hind legs and drew a broadsword. However, this one didn’t bother with any sort of dramatics; it simply gave Link a solemn nod, one warrior to another albeit fighting for the other side, and raised its sword in greeting. It advanced, and Link deflected, and already he could tell that this fight would be more difficult than the one before it.
Several minutes later, as before, a crowd of people gathered around him, cheering for one side or the other. The wolf held its own, and Link had a more difficult time fighting it to a standstill.
”More difficult than a fox” does not mean it was actually difficult, however, and it wasn’t long before Link had the wolf disarmed and at swordpoint. It locked eyes with him as he raised his sword, and its canine mouth seemed to turn up in a fierce grin as his sword came down for the final blow—
Link woke up in his bed to the bright light of noon. He didn’t hear anything, and when he glanced out the window, he saw nothing but the hot sun overhead and heard nothing but the sounds of villagers going about their days. Were both of those fights part of the same dream? he wondered.
How lazy of him, not waking up ‘til noon. He sighed to himself and rolled out of bed onto the floor. And then he heard it.
The music was starting again.
Groaning as he realized this might actually be some sort of Hero training or challenge, he hoisted himself up with the edge of his bedframe, and staggered back down to the kitchen, absentmindedly snatching up both his sword and his pack this time. If it was some form of Goddess-sent Hero training, he’d best come to it fully prepared.
He strolled languidly down the front path, stretching a bit as he did. When he reached the spot that seemed to be the makeshift battleground, he stopped and stood with his arms crossed. “Alright, what is it this time? A bear? An eagle? A flock of crows?”
”Nope, just me.” A mellow-sounding voice lowed from behind him. Startled, he spun around and saw a large water buffalo brandishing a hammer.
Link blinked.
Okay, the fox and the wolf he could understand; those were widely known for being predatory, and it made sense that they could feasibly try and fight you sometime. But a water buffalo?
-YIKES! He just barely dodged out of the way as the buffalo charged, hammer swinging wildly as it passed. Link gulped when the buffalo turned back around, its eyes gleaming with battle lust and its nostrils flaring as it geared itself up for another pass.
Maybe he should save the introspection for later. When he wasn’t stuck in some freaky dream where he was forced to battle a bunch of animals in the middle of the road with only short breaks inbetween.
When he got to the leopard and the tiger, he had decided that this was, in fact, some sort of Hero training.
Once he hit the giant alligator, he had started to wonder whether this was a bizarre form of torture.
By the time the swarm of bees showed up, he had begun to forget that there was anything other than this after all. Eventually, all he could really remember was his name, and the beat of his blood as he fought with the music.
And then, finally…
Link…
He paused in the middle of a difficult battle with a giant scorpion. Huh?
Link!
A light shone from above him, blazing into his eyes through his closed eyelids. Wha-?
You have been asleep for one hundred years.
He…he what?!
Who did that voice belong to, anyway? Why did it sound so familiar?
Who…who am I, again?