Chapter Text
Screw it, I’ve already fallen down the rabbit hole. Let’s write this.
DISCLAIMERS:
- ChillifyVilify in no way owns Undertale or Zelda. Stop thinking that.
- No animals or people were harmed in the making of this fic.
- No money was made from the production of this fic.
- The author does not endorse any of the actions taken in this fic. Do not try this at home. Or anywhere.
- The author does not necessarily share the views expressed in this story.
- The author is not being forced into writing these disclaimers.
- Please review.
Prologue
The path was thin and nearly unintelligible from the thick woods surrounding it, but the youth on his horse still managed to follow it faithfully. The Hylian sighed, worn out from his long and arduous journeys across the land, searching desperately for the one person who understood.
Navi.
Even nearly a year later, he was still confused as to the reasons for her departure. She hadn’t said anything, hadn’t explained where she was going or why. Instead, his beloved companion had simply flown away, out the window of the Temple of Time, without so much as a passing ‘goodbye’. He’d resolved to find her no matter what, leading him deep into the Lost Woods where he got mugged by a wood midget with a demon mask. Said imp then led him down a hole and into an alternate universe that stole the faces of nearly everyone Link knew and then populated a starkly different world with them. Link had been forced to save them by constantly sending everyone back in time via a magical wind instrument that also conveniently eradicated everyone’s memories of him.
He’d made few friends along the way, and it was likely that none of them even remembered who he was. Obviously nobody in Termina saw him as more than just a random child with a weird hat, except maybe Anju, Kafei, and possibly Cremia. In Hyrule… well, even fewer people probably knew him. Zelda did, of course, but she was also the only one to whom Link had explained the events of his first adventure. The other six Sages, alas, could not help him.
That left Navi.
The swordsman let a tired grin surface on his face as he pictured her in his mind. It looked unnatural there; Link often had his features set into a near-permanent scowl. Genuine emotion, and not some facsimile that he felt obligated to show whenever he thought the situation required it, was something that the ex-Hero didn’t really have much of anymore. Not to say that he didn’t, of course; rather, it was often easier to lock up feelings behind the fleshy facade of his own face. Such displays of candidness were often the things that nearly got him killed by anyone who could read his expression. This often led to a successful and brutal attack, due to his opponent’s ability to tell what Link was doing.
Epona snorted beneath him, and Link was roused from his musings to hear the soft gurgling of a nearby brook. The youth deftly maneuvered his steed to the sounds of the water, where they could both take a well-deserved break. The pair had covered a large distance that day.
As the Hylian partook in the fresh water from the stream and filled his canteen, a near-imperceptible rustling sound caught his attention. He immediately drew his short Kokiri Sword and unslung his shield from its place on his back, fervently staring every which way in search of the noise. It was only after a few seconds of exaggerated watchfulness that the Hylian noticed a squirrel step out of the underbrush, nose twitching inquisitively. Sighing exasperatedly, he sheathed his blade and instead drew his bow, loosing an arrow and shooting the squirrel smack-dab in between the eyes. The Hylian then waded through the thigh-deep grasses by the river’s edge and extricated the now-deceased squirrel, collecting several rocks and twigs along the way for a campfire. Any opportunity to save his actual rations and Rupees was something he’d take. It was just as well; the sun was setting over the colorful trees surrounding the mountain on which Link now found himself. It was quite the spectacular view, really, even with the massive, gaping cave entrance just by the river the youth had camped out at. Interestingly, the cave opened straight down instead of parallel with the mountainside, giving Link an eerie reminder of the tunnel he’d fallen down to get to Termina. He shuddered, and set about making a fire.
!0*0!
The sun had just set, sending the mountainside awash with shadows. The only source of light was the crescent moon and throbbing stars above, alongside the small campfire illuminating Link’s gaunt features. The Hylian in question was staring at the clear water’s unbroken surface, examining himself in the mirror. It has been… what was it… eleven years since he was born? That sounded right. Regardless, whatever age he was physically did not allow for any sort of facial hair to begin to sprout on his chin, but all the childish baby fat on his cheeks had wholly evaporated, leaving him appearing like a shorter version of the adult Link that had walked the Hyrule of the decayed timeline. His bright blue eyes didn’t translate very well to his mirror reflection, making them appear a misty gray. His nose, however, full of the scent of roasting squirrel, was just as long and pointy on the water’s surface as it probably was in real life. But other than that, everything appeared normal, if ‘normal’ included massive bags under his eyes and hair streaked with dust and sweat. Link sniffed the air, presuming that his dinner was done cooking, and shuffled back to the small flame.
Wait a minute.
Wasting no time, Link drew his sword and twisted around to greet the hungry symphony of crimson eyes lurking in the darkness. It looked like a full Wolfos pack. Link thanked his paranoia for picking up on their scent beyond the reek of the cooking squirrel meat.
Link backed up towards Epona, knowing that he’d have to make a gamble. He couldn’t take all the Wolfos on his own, and there was a risk that at least one would go for his horse. The Hero couldn’t risk abandoning his faithful steed, though… what was he to do?
It seemed he only had one choice.
“Epona! Go back to Lon Lon! Hyah!” Link ordered, rousing his companion to wakefulness. Thankfully following his commands, the rust-colored filly darted back down the path towards-- presumably-- Lon Lon Ranch. Actually, was he even still in Hyrule anymore? He thought so. In fact, if he squinted, he could just barely make out the candlelights of a hopefully Hylian village miles and miles away.
But that could wait. Right now, he had to deal with the Wolfos that wanted to tear him to little bite-sized bits. His fire went out, sputtering to a halt as the Wolfos came closer. Link could now only make out the wolf monsters’ indistinct shapes, barring their glowing eyes. Swiftly and silently, one of them pounced. Link eagerly slashed at their exposed midsection with his blade, dealing damage, but not enough to secure a kill. Howling in pain, the aggressor lurked back into the group, which only seemed to be getting larger by the instant. Link was relieved that he’d sent Epona away; there was no chance that he’d be able to protect her and kill the Wolfos at the same time.
The Hero of Time backed away from the clearing, causing a rustling sound in the grasses. In the corner of his vision, he could see yet more Wolfos trying to encircle him, and so he backed up more. The wolves continued to attack him one by one, but each was met with a blade in the darkness that forced them to retreat. Knowing that he couldn’t afford to be surrounded if he wanted to survive, Link continued to back away, inching closer and closer to the mountainside. Eventually, the Wolfos decided that enough was enough and began to charge at him through the unbearable darkness. Panicking and fearing for his own safety, Link took one last step backwards… and went sailing into the strange cave, tumbling end over end as he hurtled into the abyss. He could vaguely hear the Wolfos above howling in anger at their lost prey, and turn from the cave entrance in search of easier targets.
This didn’t change the fact that he was hurtling head over heels into a dark abyss at extremely high speeds, unfortunately.
Thinking that his time may be short, Link cursed at himself internally while screaming Navi’s name, begging her to come to him during his final moments.
But nobody came.
!0*0!
Link awoke resting on a bed of flowers, splinters of his Deku Shield scattered around him. Groaning and nursing a major headache, the Hylian stumbled to his feet, noting the Wolfos blood splattered onto his forest-green tunic, before deftly taking it off and checking himself for injuries in the daylight streaming down from the cave entrance far above him. Miraculously, he’d escaped the fall with only a scant few nasty bruises and a pounding migraine. Considering the circumstances, this was ideal.
The swordsman put his tunic back on and, seeing that there was nowhere else to go, tiptoed into the darkness, where a grand and sculpted entryway loomed.
He got hit with a nauseating sense of deja vu on the way through. His mind was going haywire at the nauseating, unsupported sense of danger permeating the whole place. The Hylian began to sweat profusely, desperately attempting to quell his sense of fear and paranoia before they took control of his actions.
He’d met with a terrible fate by falling down here, hadn’t he?
And that’s a wrap. Pretty short, but don’t worry. Ensuing chapters should be longer.
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