Work Text:
Link wasn’t stupid, contrary to popular misconception. He had eyes and he had ears and he didn’t have to use either of them to know exactly what his friends were up to, and it was this:
No Good.
The opposite of good things, in fact. Not-so-secret plots against him, even. Bullying him into taking breaks under the guise of a different task? Not subtle at all.
Yes, he was sad. Yes, he sometimes fixated when he was sad. He missed Fi, ok? And maybe he could even admit that he’d been pushing himself a bit hard with constructing their new surface settlement to avoid thinking about it, but it wasn’t his fault that everyone always needed help with something.
Groose and Zelda weren’t even a little bit subtle when they’d asked him to help with some “research” into the time shift stone quarry to get him away. Next they were probably going to want him to talk about his feelings or something. There was a 100% chance of that being awful.
So here he was, crouched in the Lanayru desert and poking at dumb rocks to make them glow. The one in front of him was activated, and he was considering getting comfy in the cool circle of grass.
Then something scuffed behind him. He was going to scream if it was Groose trying to corner him to talk again.
“Don’t move,” a distinctly not-Groose voice commanded when Link tried to turn. He flinched as something pricked at his neck, but otherwise held still, heart racing. He should have been able to hear them coming with all the loose sand and gravel around.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?” The voice growled. They sounded hylian, though their (his?) accent was strange.
Link swallowed, eyes flicking to the time shift stone. “I’m a student,” he replied past the tenseness in his throat. “‘I’m just looking at these rocks.”
“A student, all alone, here?” The voice replied, almost mockingly. “It must have been quite the journey.”
Link almost laughed at that, despite the sword at his neck. “You could say that.”
The voice was silent for a long moment, then pulled away slightly. It was all the opportunity Link needed, throwing himself into a roll to the right and away from the stranger danger. He felt himself pass across the plush grass that sprung up within the time shift stones area of effect and back into the rough sand and stone of the Lanayru desert. He whipped around, sword drawn, but paused as he took in the stranger.
It was a man, his hair white-blonde and tucked back into a cap not unlike Link’s own. A red cape fluttered at his shoulder as he turned, eyes widening in surprise as he scanned the room and Holy Hylia was that the Master Sword in his hand???!
Link watched as the man looked right through him, turning in a defensive circle as though he couldn’t even see— wait, hold up. Link waved his hand past the man’s face, still outside of the circle. There was no response.
Yeah, the guy couldn’t see him. He was from the past.
Link hadn’t heard the man walking up behind him because it had happened a thousand years before Link was even born. Neither of them would be able to see or hear anything that happened outside of the time shift threshold, their paths only able to intersect within the limited circle around the stone. Link had literally rolled away into the next millennium, leaving the caped stranger to spin in baffled circles.
Link eyed the sword, scratching his head as he thought it through. Master sword look-alike. Blonde guy from the past wearing a green outfit eerily similar to his own school uniform…
Weird coincidence. Link shrugged. Maybe the man had more information on the mines though? Either way, it wasn’t every day you got to talk to someone from the past (Impa didn’t count because he hadn’t known).
Link stepped back up to the circle, passing his head just over the threshold. “Hey, nice cape.” He ducked back out of the circle to narrowly avoid having his face sliced off. He smirked to himself. Maybe this would be fun.
He walked to a different spot and tried again. “What are all of these for anyway? Were— are you building something with them?”
“Why would I tell you?” The stranger asked as he whipped around, eyes narrowed.
“Because… same hat?”
Why did they have the same hat? Were their uniforms that outdated? Link hadn’t really put much thought into his interactions with past-constructs, but now that he had actively changed pieces of history (thankfully for the better (it seemed to be for the better at least??(hopefully))) the fact that there could be consequences from this sort of interaction began to creep across his mind.
Maybe he shouldn’t say too much after all.
The stranger's eyes flicked up at his hat, and the full weight of the situation finally hit Link.
He could make a difference here, one that really mattered.
“Wait, is your hat fashionable where you’re from?” He asked carefully, stepping forward.
Impossibly, the man frowned even harder.
“Not particularly.”
“You should stop wearing it then,” Link nodded sagely. “I can tell you from experience that they are the worst. You should discourage others from wearing them, too.”
The man snorted, then glanced at Link’s hat again, confusion coloring his features. “Why are you wearing one then?”
Link rolled his eyes. “Standard issue. It’s a uniform. They expect us to wear these while we fly,” he gestured wildly up at the sky. “Do you know how many pins I have to use to keep this thing on when I hit 200 kilometers per hour? And then it hurts when things yank on it.” It was the worst. Groose had figured that one out early on, and there was a good reason the redhead didn’t wear his hat anymore.
“You fly?”
Link closed his mouth with an audible click. Was flying not normal for hylians in the past? Maybe he was saying too much after all. Yeah. Maybe he shouldn’t have slept through history lessons.
“Uh, nevermind,” he said, backing away to the edge of the circle. “Just… tell everyone that beanies are way better. Less drag. Spread the word.”
Link backed out of the circle and turned away, his message delivered to the past. Mission accomplished.
Well, maybe not quite yet. He still needed at least a little info on the stones first or Zelda might be sad. If it was important to her, it was important to him. Even if it was given with ulterior motives.
He could just go find a different time shift stone. One that didn’t have angry sword guys hanging around it.
He turned and walked away, left, right, left, left, shimmied through a crack and then ducked under an arch before arriving at a different time shift stone about five minutes away. Perfect.
He pinged it gently with his sword, a circle of plant life blooming around it. He tiptoed up to the crystal, furtively looking around before tapping the tip with his sword. It pinged, a clear note ringing out. He paused. That might actually be something. He tapped it again lower down. Another note rang out with the first, the harmonization buzzing pleasantly in his chest.
He tapped even lower down and a full minor triad echoed through the room, the other crystals glowing faintly as they resonated to the harmony.
Like music, he realized, thinking of the goddess harp. He moved on to another crystal, tapping the top, middle, and bottom again. The same three notes sang out, the other crystals growing even brighter in response, the air warping around them as they partially activated.
He pulled out his harp and pulled a few strings until he matched the notes, then wrote down the exact chord for later reference.
“You’re actually studying them.”
Link almost dropped the harp as he whipped around, hand on the hilt of his sword. The man leaned against a wall at the other end of the room, frowning, but his own sword remained sheathed. Another crystal resonated at his feet.
“You’re from the future, aren’t you?” The stranger asked.
“No.”
The stranger raised an eyebrow.
“Maybe.” Link said. The timeline would be fine. Probably.
The man hummed, giving Link a once over.
“Nice sword,” Link said, so casually that it wasn’t casual anymore. “Is it, uh… special?”
“I feel like you already know the answer to that,” The man replied, unimpressed.
Link worried his lip for a moment. “Does she speak to you?”
The stranger's other eyebrow raised to join the first, then both dipped back down. “She? Who?”
“Never mind, dumb question,” Link waved and laughed it off, trying not to let the disappointment show on his face.
“What did— do— you guys need these for anyway?” Link gestured to the stones, flailing for a subject change now that the stranger was being less stabby. “They seem weirdly specific.”
The man bit at his lip, eyes distant.
“They say the sheikah used them to build gates, though I’ve never seen them myself.”
The color. The time travel.
Oh.
Oh.
“Oh.” Link said as a few gears clicked together in his head. “I went through those, I think. Kind of a bad time.” Heh, time.
The stranger did a double take, opened his mouth, then closed it again.
“Best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago or something, right?” Link scratched the back of his neck, finally lowering his harp.
The man did a double take at the harp, surprise flashing over his face before he could smooth it back into a contemplative frown.
“It’s my turn to ask questions,” he declared, pushing away from the wall. “Where did you get that instrument?”
“This?” Link lifted it up to show the stranger. “I borrowed it from a friend.” It was sentimental, ok?
“Is your friend— powerful?”
Link laughed. “I feel like you already know the answer to that.”
The stranger smirked, finally relaxing all the way.
“We win, then,” the stranger said, folding his arms. “Good enough for me.”
“Yeah, hahah,” Link said, not really sure what he was talking about.
“Well, I have people waiting on me,” the stranger said, brushing the ridiculous red cape back over his shoulders. “Send Hylia my regards.”
“Sure thing.” Link waved, screaming internally at the revelation that the man had been on first name terms with the goddess herself, pre-whatever made her mortal. Zelda would probably just laugh. Oooo Zelda, maybe she would know this guy??
“Don’t forget the beanies!” He called.
The man smirked, then turned and disappeared into history.
Link waited several long moments, then reached up and felt his hat. Still pointy and long and ridiculous. Bummer.
He turned back to the room full of glowing stones, tapping at the harp strings to cover up how quiet and still his sword was. What else could the stones be used for?
He plucked the three notes he’d discovered earlier, causing the entire room to resonate even further, the time shift spreading wider than it had ever been before. That gave him an idea.
If music was a magic of it’s own, imagine what someone could do with an equally magical instrument.
He grabbed a smaller chunk of the ore and hop skipped his way back outside. He had a few things to discuss with Zelda.
Link walked back to camp, lost in thought.
He had gone walking, unable to sleep. The final battle loomed ahead, and it was hard, knowing that the entire future rested on whatever happened the next day. His thoughts had turned dark.
Then he’d met the student from the future, wearing a hat just like his, who knew his goddess and his sword.
Maybe things would be ok after all.
“Sir!” Orville's voice rang out, breaking him from his thoughts.
“Orville” Link greeted, smiling softly.
“You alright?” His friend asked, worry creasing between his eyes.
“Yes,” Link slapped his shoulder. “Just went for a quick walk to clear my thoughts.”
Orville nodded.
They stood in silence, watching the stars.
“Let’s open a school when this is through.”
“…Sir?” Orville raised an eyebrow, barely visible in the distant torchlight.
“An academy of some sort,” Link continued.
“…What will be taught?”
Link thought it over. “History,” he said with a smirk. “And whatever else might be useful to a young hylian, when this is over.”
“It’s… good, to invest in the future.” Orville supplied, nodding along hesitantly.
“Something like that,” Link agreed, then smirked, tugging on the tip of his pointed hat. “I have an idea for the uniforms, too.”