MindTrap

Chapter 10: Now Is Forever

Alena paused for a moment, and watched Link sleeping. Strange. For once, he didn't seem so - so fierce. Just the person she loved. "You'll get through this," she whispered. "I know you can." Shaking her head, she turned to leave him behind. Malon must have found a splint for that broken arm by now.
But it was his broken soul she worried about. What had driven him to the edge like that? Why that sudden quest for vengeance? She couldn't imagine what had started it off.
Malon knocked at the door. "Can I come in?"
"Sure. Sure. He's asleep."
She walked over. "Hope this does the trick," Malon remarked, strapping the bandages down. Already, some of Link's injuries were beginning to fade away.
"I don't think we need to worry about fixing his injuries outside, somehow..." murmured Alena, pensive. "And we can't do anything about the others than what we already have." Together, they walked away.
"What happened out there, anyway?" Malon asked. "I'd have thought it would have been..."
"Suicide to fight him. It was." Catching a shocked look, Alena smiled back. "I'll explain everything - as far as I understand it, anyway - downstairs."

The battle took some explaining. No-one could quite believe Alena's account.
More than that, they couldn't believe what she was implying.
"They're gone?" Zelda asked. "No - I thought it might be that. But it's... it's strange, thinking..."
"That the only real god left in the world is currently asleep upstairs, and even he's still human in some way."
There was silence for a moment. "And the..."
"I don't know what happened there. The pieces seemed attracted to his sword, somehow - wait!" Alena snapped her fingers. "That's still outside, where - we left it."
"There's some sort of a connection there? Is that what you're saying?"
"There must be. I'm going to see. Anyone else coming?" Everyone waiting nodded and headed away.

Link couldn't rest so easily as Alena had hoped for him. Even if his body slept, his mind was still alert inside. His memories - whether of two thousand years, or twenty-four - collided and confused each other.
Clarity came slowly.
The only things I cared about... it took me a new life to realise what love was again.
Before that... what was I? Just... rage, terror, chaos...
But it's done now. Another chance, Oni'kara, Link.
Let the past go. Make a fresh start.
The worlds need you more than ever now.
Just... let it go...
He drifted away beyond dreams.

The night air was cold, but the moon was full, casting its silver light over the fields. It wasn't hard to see where the battle had been. The land was scorched and damaged, a long trail leading back across the ground to where the wall had collapsed as Oni Link had crashed into it. As Alena had mentioned, his sword was still there. Somehow, away from its bearer, it looked different - almost spectral, not really of this world. Is it, anyway? Alena thought. She looked over. "I think... I'll be able to carry this. Just for long enough." She paused. "What are you looking at?"
Her parallel glanced across, and put her finger to her lips before waving her over.
"Who... no! They can't be..."

In the shade of the wall, three young girls - seemingly around eight or nine years old - huddled together asleep. To Alena, they looked almost familiar. "They survived... they gave up everything, but they still survived," she whispered.
"Wouldn't think they could be - who they must be," Impa remarked quietly. "They remind me so much of you when you were that age." The comment was aimed at Zelda, but Alena's heart jumped on hearing it. She quickly had to remind herself that the Sheikah woman could not be her mother, despite everything. She sighed, and shook her head.
"Wake up," she whispered to one of the sleeping children. "Come on. Time to..."
The girl slowly stirred, blinking brilliant emerald-green eyes. "What - who? Who're..." she started.
You don't remember me? "My name's Alena. I'm guessing you're ...Farore, right?"
"Yeah, but how do you know my name?"
"...We've met before."
"Before? Before when?"
The adults exchanged glances. This was going to take some working out. "Not so long ago. Come with me. Your sisters, too."
Farore glanced around at the other sleepers, as if remembering them for a first time. "Oh, yeah."

"Wha'... who are these people?" a confused Talon asked, as the group arrived back inside the warmth of the ranch house. "All these strangers turnin' up all of a sudden..."
Malon smiled. "May I introduce her highness, Zelda..." The rancher started on hearing the name. "But she's not here on official business, so there's no need for formalities. This is Impa, and the three children are Din, Farore and Nayru."
Hearing he had a royal visitor was shock enough. But this... "You're tellin' me that these kids are s'posed to be the..."
She quickly stopped him. "Please, Dad - don't say it. I'll explain. And - uh - we've got another visitor."
"Do I know'm?"
"Yes... and no. He's kind of ill - he's sleeping it off upstairs. It's Li..." She stopped suddenly. Dad doesn't know. He won't recognise him... I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to lie to you. Okay, it's not quite a lie, but... Her words tasted bitter. "Our last guest's Lord Oni'kara." You just called him that? Title and all?
Before Talon could react to the news, the still sleepy trio picked it up. "You mean he's here too?" an innocent voice asked.
Alena crouched down to talk, while Malon tried to help her father understand. "You... remember him?"
"Can't forget my big brother, can I?" Nayru giggled. Her sisters shrugged.
"You're... not angry at him?"
"Should I be? What did he do?"
You don't remember? Perhaps it's best this way... She shook her head. "You're... too young to understand."

It was slow, but Link recovered steadily. That one assault had almost totally drained him of energy - although his powers remained, as he was, they were unusable. He spent a lot of time asleep, dreaming restlessly, unaware of the numbers of visitors he was getting. Zelda had left for the castle early, but her companion had stayed for some time. She had been glad to help with the three apparent youngsters who were getting under Talon's feet.
Their brother didn't even know that they still existed, as he slept on.

Leaving a red healing potion on the bedside table, Alena turned away to leave Link rest. Pushing the door open, she heard a yelp - someone was there, trying to seem inconspicuous. Her messy red hair was tied back roughly out of her deep ruby eyes.
"Is he... going to be alright?"
She smiled back. "You keep asking me, kid." Kid? You just called one of the Three a kid? Well... she is, anyway... "He'll be fine. Just let him get some sleep."
"He's been asleep for ages! Longer than Mr. Talon does! Why can't I see him... I drew this for him, see?"
Despite herself, Alena laughed as Din passed her a picture. It wasn't too bad a resemblance. The only thing she had made a mistake on was the eyes. "Okay. Just be quiet." She paused. "Wait. What's that in the corner, there?"
"I dunno," Din shrugged. "I just thought I had to draw it. I think I used to know what it is, but I forgot."
Uncomfortably, Alena remembered that the child she was talking to was more than just a little girl. She wouldn't have unknowingly put a Triforce symbol in her picture otherwise. What does she remember, really, deep inside? For a second, the power she had been lent burnt in her fingers. This is yours, kid, not mine. But I daren't...

No, wait.
I know whose this is.
Followed by an anxious Din, Alena walked back in to Link's bedroom. Gently, she laid a hand across his forehead.
I've got a gift for you, this time.

The next day, Alena rolled over in bed, loath to open her eyes to the morning light. Something was wrong, though, she realised slowly. Quickly, she ran next door, careful not to disturb anyone else. The room was empty. Link had gone.
She jerked fully awake. He hasn't left already, has he? I didn't even say goodbye...
Don't say... he's gone...
She got to her feet and dressed quickly, preparing to look. One thing caught her eyes quickly. A smile burst across her face.
A set of black and silver armour was piled against the wall.

The early autumn dawn was crisp and clear, an amber sun rising in a crimson-striped sky, as he walked alone to the scene of the battle. The dawn of the first day of the rest of forever, he thought. And a perfect day, at that. He could hear a horse whickering gently in the distance, and the first birds' songs carried through the air. Otherwise, it was silent of all human sounds.
Only the sounds of his own heartbeat and the thoughts in his head could disturb him.
Who am I?
It's all become so hazy... I knew, not so long ago. I remembered everything.
But even now, it's becoming hazy, and I don't know why... Did I choose to forget? I've forgotten even that...
Surely, it's better this way. I won't let the past torment me.
I can't let it.
Someone else's past - my future.

Calming his thoughts, almost meditatively, he began to flick his sword from hand to hand. The only enemy he had here was his memory, and he was winning that battle already. It just felt good to be out of bed and on his feet. Alive, again.
Life wasn't so bad, after all.

Silently, Link continued his shadow-fighting, trying to decide who he was. Most of that past which had been unlocked in his mind had faded into the unconscious background. One thing remained, however.
The Fierce Deity could hardly forget what he had put his sisters through. He felt more alone than ever, somehow. Even though he knew he could count on his human adopted sister and the woman he loved, he had seen the fear and distance in the others' eyes.

The silence was broken. A voice called out to him.
He snapped round, putting his sword down. "Alena?"
"Of course, Link. Who were you expecting?"
"To be honest, I wasn't expecting anyone." He paused. "And I wasn't expecting anyone to care for me after I got... got caught up in my own past. Strange, that. I don't even remember what I was fighting about - it's all gone. Like the memory of a dream. Perhaps that's the best way, really. I don't want to be tied to that sort of a past. I know what I am, who I am. But that doesn't mean I have to live the same life that was lost twenty-four years ago."
"You're right. It's gone, now. And the impression I get is that you've got a pretty good life coming, if you can hold on to that."

"I can only hope so. And it'll be better for knowing you're here." Softly, he half-lifted Alena from the ground. She returned his strangely gentle grip and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, lifting herself the rest of the way to plant a tender kiss on his lips. For a moment, time was forgotten.

The spell was all too brief, however, as Link lowered Alena to the floor again. "Two thousand years..." he murmured. "In two thousand years, I'll still remember what that was like."
"I'll remind you any time," she laughed, affectionately pulling on his hair.
"Hey, watch it!" he laughed. "That hurt! I'm going to have to get a replacement for that hat..."
"What, hurt you, now?" she grinned in return. "Big, strong Oni'kara?"
"That's always 'Link' to you. You know that," the warrior replied, a soft smile on his face. Not that he cared what Alena called him - but coming from her, his other name sounded artificial.
"Of course. But you know I care no matter what you call yourself." She paused. "But that reminds me. It's... it's about your sisters."
A lump formed in his throat. "Why? What's happened to them? I thought... I thought I... they were gone..."
"No. They've survived - despite everything, they survived. Don't worry. It's just that..."

Alena was interrupted by what almost looked like a small, green-haired missile divebombing Link. He stepped back, shocked, as a young girl of apparently eight years old threw her arms around him. "What... what's..." he started.
The girl laughed. "You're alright, Oni! We were all..."
He exchanged glances with Alena, about to ask who the child was - but suddenly realised he didn't have to. He could see it in her mind. The name she had used helped to confirm it. No-one else he knew would say it without fear in their voice. "Farore? That's... you?"
"Silly brother! Who else would I be?"
Gently, Link disentangled himself from her grip, and gestured to Alena. "They're children?" he whispered.
"That's what I was going to tell you. Kids. No memory of... what they were before. Only of you, their big brother."

Tears refracted rainbows in his softly glowing eyes as he reached down and scooped the young Farore up. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing's wrong," he replied, half-lying. "I'm just... happy to see you." But... why did it have to be like this? I never wanted this to happen to you...
Liar! You did...
That's in the past - someone else's past. Oh... my sisters... I'm glad you're safe... but this was never meant to happen...
"I'm glad to see you too," she laughed. "Everyone didn't think you were going to be okay. But you are..."
"Better now I know you are too," Link nearly choked.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
Because of me. If you could only remember what I nearly did to you... but perhaps it's best this way.
But... if you can't remember who you are... were?...
That means...
"Do you mind?" he asked, still slightly overcome. He could face monsters without flinching - but not good news. "I've got to have a word with Alena."
"Okay," Farore shrugged, as her brother turned aside.

"'Lena - " he began. "After we..."
"After we fought, do you mean?"
Link nodded, a little reluctant to mention the battle himself. The thought of losing had had an impact on the Fierce Deity's feelings, and he found it hard to admit to. "After that happened... you didn't return their power, did you? Otherwise they wouldn't still be children..."
"No. You're right there." She looked into his diamond eyes, unafraid. "I gave them to you when you slept. Who else?..."
"What?!" For a moment, he was speechless. "You're telling me - Alena, you must be joking! - that you actually surrendered that sort of power to someone who could have used it to..."
"I knew you weren't going to, oh, destroy the worlds with it or anything. I trust you, Oni Link. You were the only one who could have handled them. I'm just human. I couldn't."
"...I'm not sure I trust myself," he replied in an undertone. "And as soon as I can, I'm going to do something about this. This sort of power..." Almost idly, he span a ball of light on the tip of his finger. "It belongs in the hands of its owners."
But as he watched Farore out of the corner of his eye, sitting on the corner of a fence, he knew that wasn't the way. They were children, he thought. They deserved the chance to grow up that he had never had. Unless...
"I think... I've got an idea. ...Farore?" he called, feeling a little strange about yelling the name. "Could you come here a moment? No, wait... get the others..."
"Sure!" she yelled, dropping down and racing off.
"What are you thinking?"
"I can't restore their full power. It would destroy them as it almost did me. But if I was to let them have it, little by little..."
Alena nodded. She could see what he was thinking. "Then maybe by the time they're old enough to understand what they are, they'll be ready."
Link smiled faintly. "That's it. I don't want them to have to go through what I did." Almost silently, he ran after his little sister -
- but as he did so, a strange, giddy feeling came over him. It wasn't that he still felt unwell. Even his broken arm had healed perfectly.

The thing that felt wrong was with the structure of the world.
What's happening now?
...This shouldn't be...

"Steady on! You're going to break the floorboards..." Alena almost smiled, but she could see just how serious - and worried - Link was.
"It's no good, though! They can't stay here, I can't stay here... but I don't know what would be best for them... and for us."
"Link... Oni'kara. " Alena felt sure she should be trying to get used to the other version of his name. "What options do you think there are?"
"Someone's got to look after my... little sisters... and I'm the only one who can. I'm the only one who understands their powers - our powers. But it's not that simple! I can feel it... history's in chaos. This timeline shouldn't even exist. Although I don't regret one second of the time we've spent together - it should never have happened, the history that has gone on is the wrong one! You should be back in Termina, the past should remember King Ganondorf not Lord Oni'kara as its destroyer... that's not just vanity, it's true..."
"Then... you've got to leave. It's obvious."
"Too obvious." He paused for a moment. "I think I know what I've got to do. But I don't like the sound of it. I've got to... send them into the future. Just far enough that the world's still familiar, but so far that they'll be safe from what I have to do here to heal the timelines. I don't know what effect that will have - but they could easily be in danger. Say, I'll send them on about five hundred years. Then - I'll meet them there, again. When history's calm." Link was silent for a moment. He could feel that trouble lay ahead. "I know it sounds selfish, I don't know - cruel, maybe - but it's the only way."
"I don't think it sounds selfish at all. As you said, it's your only choice."

"You're going to leave us alone?" Din whispered, frightened. She had no idea why her brother had brought her, Farore and Nayru to this place. She hadn't been here before as far as she could remember - in fact, she couldn't clearly remember anything but the ranch. The only assumption she could have made was that she was born there. In a way, that wasn't too far from the truth. And now they'd all been taken to this unfamiliar village, through a strange gateway, for reasons she couldn't guess.
"It won't be long. Only a couple of days. You'll all be perfectly safe. Don't... don't worry." Link tried to speak calmly, but he was just as worried as any of them. What if something went wrong? Nothing will go wrong... he told himself. There's no other way to do this.
"I'm scared..." Farore looked up, her green eyes meeting his white. "But you'll be there soon enough, so I'll be okay."
Courage... yes. That's right. "I'll... be there for you. Just remember that." Getting caught up in uncharacteristic emotion, he knelt down and wrapped his arms around his sisters. "Remember."
Silent, now, he walked away. A faint tune caught his ears. Glancing back quickly, he caught sight of Nayru playing on her harp - a present he'd given her, spotting a musical talent during the brief days they had spent together. You'll be alright.
(I just hope I will.)

When he was sure they were out of sight, he opened the portal back to the past, back to the Hyrule he knew. Alena was there, waiting. "You did it?"
"...They're safe. I left them in a town - I think its name was Lynna. There were enough people there to watch them..."

He paused. His memory flared up, treacherously.
"...Another timeline... another date... ah, yes! Two hundred years should do it, do you think?"
I sent them forwards to Twinrova's exile... what if they meet each other?
...I'll just have to get there first, won't I? Protect them as long as I can.

"What's wrong?" Alena asked.
"...Nothing." Link stopped. "Damn it, it's not nothing! I've got to leave... got to leave you... and I know there's no chance I'll see you again!"
"You didn't think you'd be coming back when you did this time..."
"That's true. But it won't even be possible for me to come back. This timeline's not even going to exist any more..."
Alena looked at him in shock. "What do you mean?" she asked, uncertain.
"What I said. This history... it's going to fade into the one that should have existed. I'll promise you this, though - promise everyone. This way, things will be better."
"How's it going to be better? When you're gone... I'll miss you so much! Here... take this." She unclipped a pendant in the shape of the Sheikah eye that hung round her neck and passed it over. "A little memory... of what used to be. But... it's going to be so different without you here..."
Gently, Link wrapped his arms around her, and held her tight for a moment. "You're right there. But you'll never know how..." he whispered tenderly.

<there>

She barely slept that night. Her dreams were full of the last vision she had seen as Link had left. He had been silhouetted against the sunset, a strong and silent figure, and one she doubted she could forget. His last enigmatic remarks had flooded her head at the same time.

"Link..." she whispered. "Come back..."
"What do you mean, come back?" a familiar and welcome voice responded. "I've been here all along..."
She bolted awake, and looked around.
This wasn't the ranch house where she had lived the past three months. This was the wood panelled walls of her own home. Back in Termina.
Beside her lay... She almost screamed. For a second, it seemed to be a stranger. But the golden-haired man who was still half asleep could only be one person. "That's you?" she whispered, all too aware of how stupid the question sounded.
"Who were you expecting? The Fierce Deity?" he asked with a wry smile.
"Exactly..." she murmured. "What's happening here?" Uncertain, she got out of bed and tried to adjust to her new surroundings. Now she understood how Link had felt being catapulted between timelines...
But he's there, how he used to be, and he doesn't seem to remember...
This is too strange...
She spotted a book lying on the windowsill. A title was on the front - in her own handwriting. My diary. Almost feeling like an intruder, Alena opened it to the last written page.

September 5. "That's yesterday," she muttered. I think I have just been made the happiest person in the whole world - or any other. Link proposed! Of course, I said yes - that's obvious. The day's been settled for the carnival next year. He doesn't like the idea of swapping masks, but I guess that's just after what happened as a kid...

She flipped further and further back through the book. The diary seemed to go back at least two years. Some of the things recorded here, in the early pages, were familiar.

May 24. I think I'm in love... I know. I know it's stupid to fall in love at a first sight. But he's unlike anyone I've met before. His name's Link. If I'm to believe everything he told me, he's from another world - one he saved from an evil king! Says he came here because he's an explorer... Maybe he's making it up. But even if he is, I don't care. I'm seeing him again tomorrow. We'll see then.

She remembered writing that, too. With one difference. Alena recalled that in her diary it had said ...Says he came here to escape a war. That must have been the difference. This was the timeline that she had been told about - the one that should have happened, not the one that did.
Other entries were not so familiar - after all, she had not even lived here for months. One entry she clearly remembered writing wasn't there. The day that Link had revealed his fierce past to her on the beach was totally absent - any reference to the Fierce Deity was gone from the pages. She had a faint suspicion that if she was to mention the name Oni'kara to the sleeping Link he would just shrug and remark "isn't that Sheikah for something?".

This had to be a dream. But not like any dream she remembered. And what sort of a dream started from asleep, anyway? So. That left one obvious option. This was real.
"Link..." she started, a little uncertain. "I'm going for a walk, okay?"
He sat up slightly and opened his eyes. Alena had forgotten just how piercing a blue they had been. "Sure."

Clock Town felt unfamiliar, for all it had been her home so long. The very air seemed to taste different. The sounds, the smells - alien, yet comforting. And more than anything, real. Already, this felt like reality, and Hyrule the dream.
Maybe I did dream it, she thought. I mean, the three goddesses as children, the Triforce of Courage, could all that have really happened? As she thought, she glanced down at her hand. There was a faint mark there, but no clear golden triangle.
It must be... but gods, I'm so confused... why can't I remember anything of what really happened, then? Have I got amnesia, or something?

Still thinking, she wandered to the tower in the south of the town, built for the carnival the year before and never dismantled. It had been her favourite spot since then. From here, she could see for miles on a clear day - and this was particularly clear.
This is my home.
I'm back. If I ever left.
Her glance traced around Clock Town. Something caught her eye. A motion in the square to the north-west.

Her breath caught.

It was real, after all!
Who else... it was real, I lived it, and he's real...
What did I expect? I don't know how he got there that fast, but then again, I don't know how I got here...
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but for a second, she saw him look in her direction. He can't have seen me, surely....

Alena laughed quietly. "Don't worry... Oni Link. I'll remember you." Even if I'm moving on, I'll remember you.
All things change - perhaps this is for the best...

Don't worry, Alena. I saw you. And I'll remember you, too.
But these are our lives now. Our destinies.
This is the way it should be...
This is the way it is. We must both accept that.
You have this world where you are loved.
(Home... where you are supposed to be... the way you are supposed to be...)

Whereas I...
I've got more than this world to explore.
I'll remember you - but it was never destiny for us to be together.
I can only hope you are happy now...

Farewell. And thank you.
For everything.

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