FicWad

Escaping the shouts from the crowd was comforting as I went backstage. I received several high-fives from the crew working behind the scenes at Medio Stadium, but I hurried through them to make my way up to the commons. I was sure that Red, maybe even Blue, had just witnessed my victory on one of the huge televisions in the big room meant for competitors. Seeing how we were the only three left, it wouldn't be as busy as it was when this whole competition first started.
As I walked up the spiral staircase to get to the lodging area, I was welcomed with this feeling of unease. It suddenly dawned on me that, since I defeated Lance, I would be pitted against Red, who was really the only best friend I had made since Hyrule. I mean, Fox was pretty cool, but he was...well, a fox. And Falco was alright at the end, but he would suddenly decide to be a jerk at times. Red, and even sometimes Blue, were the closest people I had to friends my age; they both were only a year younger than me.
I felt grief for Red as well. Blue was his hometown rival and an exceptional Pokemon trainer to boot. It probably didn't help Red at all, seeing how Blue's grandfather was the renowned Professor Oak. But it was definite that the semi-final battle would take place with Red and I going head-to-head. If I won, I would get a chance at beating Blue. If he won, he would regain the opportunity to show that even a small town kid could achieve his dreams.
At the top of the staircase I came to a small balcony and saw the door to the commons. The door was rather big and had a Masterball on the front. I scrambled in my sock to find my key code that was needed to unlock the door. My socks came a little below my knees, so I dug deep. I finally felt the little slip and pulled it out. Adjusting my hat, I put the code into a little box right beside the door. Each trainer got a code when they entered the competition. Once they lost, they were immediately taken to their room by an official and had their key code terminated.
I watched the screen above the keyboard on the device. As it scanned my number, little Voltorbs rolled in a line. Once it was validated, a happy Electrobuzz gave me the thumbs up and I heard the door unlock.
As expected, the commons were barren, except for Red. He didn't greet me however and was watching the network's replay of his last match with Blue. He kept rewinding and playing sequences all over again.
"I'm back," I said, which seemed to startle Red. He his head around to see me and then jumped right up and over the couch to give me a big hug.
"That was amazing Ash," Red said to me. "I was breathless the entire battle."
To ruin the moment of course, I heard Blue's input. "You should have had another Pokemon on your team rather than the Sneazel. It's what killed you."
Red broke the embrace and I looked over at Blue who got up from the fireplace. The light from the fireplace gave Blue this creepy, almost evil look. As always, he had this uninterested look on his face and his hands in his pockets. His golden brown hair was messy and parted to the left, which always drove his sister nuts.
"I'm fully confident in Cotton Candy's abilities," I said and put my hands on my hips.
"Your funeral, then," Blue said and whisked his hair to the side. He tilted his head up and gave me a nasty look. "It'll take more than that to defeat me." And with that, Blue walked up to his room with his hands in his pockets. Trailing behind him was his Jolteon who followed him wherever he went. Blue had always been a quiet and reserved genius, but from the two years I had spent traveling with him and Red, I knew he had a heart of gold.
The television next caught my attention when the announcer said, "And join as tomorrow at ten for the semi-final match featuring Red from Pallet and Ash from Ohio. So long." Immediately, the network cut to a commercial and a sort of tension filled the room.
Red was fiddling with his hat to pause the awkward moment and I was just staring at the commercial that featured a Machamp holding up a car above his head with his back two hands and eating a bowl of cereal with his front.
"Well, I guess I'm going to hit the hay," I said after the commercial. "We both have a long day tomorrow."
"Indeed," Red said with a frown.
I walked to the staircase leading to the ladies quarter. I got up about three steps before Red said, "Wait." I stopped at his command and turned. "No matter what happens tomorrow," he said, "I hope it won't hinder our friendship in any way. And I also want you to know that it will be a honor battling you tomorrow."
"It will be an honor for me as well," I said with a smile, which in turn made Red smile and loosen up. "Of course we'll still be friends, no matter what. Now stop worrying and get some rest. I want to be battling you at your best."
"Goodnight," Red said and put his hat back on, "and don't worry. I'll give it my all tomorrow." I gave him a little wave and made my way back up to my room with Lux following me every step of the way.

Tap tap tap...
"Quit it Lux," I said in my tired stupor.
Tap tap tap tap tap...
"Lux," I said angrily.
Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap...
"Stop it," I said and immediately removed myself from the bed which knocked Lux over in the process. That's when I realized that Lux wasn't doing the tapping.
I used the increasingly loud sound of the tapping to deduce that it was coming from my window. I opened the curtains only to see a giant brown owl sitting on the ledge.
"Kaepora Gaebora!" I shouted aloud and immediately opened the window. It had been two years since I last seen this wise owl who helped Link and I several times back in Hyrule. But I couldn't help wondering why he was here...
Kaepora Gaebora flew right into the room and perched on a chair I had sitting by a desk. With him came a rush of smells which, while being mostly unpleasant, reminded me of Hyrule. He was barely able to fit on the small desk chair.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"I come baring a request from the King Hyrule and Princess Zelda," Kaepora said. For a bird, his voice carried well.
"Well," I began and started to scratch my head, "I have a semi-final to compete in tomorrow and-"
"Link has gone missing," the owl said abruptly which caused my brain lose the ability to pronounce words. "The Royal Family has asked me to personally find and contact you. This is of much urgency. If a carrier of one of the Triforce pieces leaves the land of Hyrule for a certain period of time, it will shatter. He needs to be found immediately."
"Then why didn't you search for him instead of me?" I asked.
"I have been for a couple weeks now and have lost all trace of his presence. I fear that something has happened to him, which calls for you, the other Hero of Time, to save him."
Without a thought I rushed to my drawer and pulled out a change of clothes. I had to get there as soon as I could.
"I take it that I shall see you in Hyrule soon, then?" he asked me as I ran around frantically.
"Yes," I said. "Let the Royal Family know that I will be there as soon as I can."
"Good luck," Kaepora said and he took off out my window.
I quickly switched my pajamas to the clothes that I had worn just hours before. I quickly brushed my teeth and released Pasta outside my window. Lux jumped on his back using the ledge as support and I almost did the same, but I knew I was forgetting something. I quickly ran to the desk and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. I scribbled down a note which stated I had to leave and forfeit my title to Red and Blue, who would automatically match off with me out of the picture. I then made my leave on Pasta.


It was a three hour ride to Hyrule from Kanto and I travelled directly to the west. After an hour and a half of riding Pasta, I would switch to surfing on the sea using my Kingdra. That gave Pasta a break and my thighs a break from his tough scales.
When I arrived in Hyrule, dawn was just breaking. I flew over Death Mountain, which looked pretty much the same as always and Kakariko Village seemed to have expanded. From what I could see, more buildings were present than before. I could also see a cow or two below in a pen with the chickens. It was a little depressing seeing what I had missed.
I flew directly over the castle town to see it empty of all human life. It was still early so the little stray dogs were still running the town like they always did. I knew they would all disappear after the marketplace started to become alive again.
I didn't really feel like flying straight on top of the castle without informing the guards of my arrival, so I landed Pasta just before the entrance gate. As always, there was a guard standing before it holding a huge spear. It looked like he had been taking a nice nap before I made my noisy landing.
"Halt," he said with a serious tone, "who goes there?"
I returned Pasta into his Pokeball and approached the guard. He became a little tense for some reason, so I assumed he was new at the job. Kaepora didn't really give me an official note from the Royal Family, but I figured showing him the back of my right hand would suffice.
As with the other three who owned pieces of the Triforce, I had a mark on my hand that signified me as a chosen one by the goddesses. Before I showed up, there was only thought to be three pieces, Power, Wisdom, and Courage. However, I was the owner of the middle piece, which was called the Triforce of Balance. Link owned the Triforce of Courage, Zelda owned Wisdom, and the Dark Lord Ganondorf owned Power. Why the goddesses gave a man with the title of 'Dark Lord' a piece of the Triforce was beyond me, but he was imprisoned now in the Chamber of Sages and was being punished, so no one had to worry about him again.
While the guard obviously didn't know who I was, he knew the sacred symbol on my right hand was ligit. He straightened himself up nervously and hit the spear on the dirt road. The men who handled the gate opened it up for me and I was given clearance to go down the dirt path that lead to the castle of Hyrule.
The castle was a beautiful as ever. It was still the glistening white color that I remembered it being two years previous. The amount of guards present was as small as it always was. Hyrule wasn't known for being a violent kingdom nor was it known for having much crime. It must have been incredibly boring being a guard of Hyrule, though ridding the world of Ganondorf at least spared all of their lives (though they didn't know that).
As I got toward the final gate before the drawbridge to the main courtyard, I was greeted by salutes from four guards. Though they didn't know I was the Hero of Time, they at least knew of was honored by the Princess and the bearer of one of the Triforce pieces. I didn't really have enough time to stay and become a celebrity after the whole incident two years ago, but I was still a living legend.
The main courtyard was fairly the same. A three story guardhouse was off to the side with a small training area right beside it. Even as the sun lingered behind the hills, the high ups were already drilling the lower guards. Some were doing basic sword drills while others were left to do the archery drills.
The left side contained the horse stables which featured the best horses Hyrule had to offer. The Royal Family's white steed was given a cozy little stable and was already being groomed that morning. The other horses either belonged to servants or high ranked guards. It was then that I noticed an empty stable and right next to that was a stable containing my pony, Lightning. I rushed over to him and it seemed he recognized Lux and I immediately. It was a little taller than before and seemed a bit stronger, but it baffled me that he was two years old and still the size of a pony. That would be expected however, as I had heard the Hylian horses aged slower than other breeds.
After reuniting with my horse, I went to the front entrance of the castle to make my way in. The huge double doors were opened up by two guards just for me and the glamour that was Hyrule castle was revealed to me again. Just as the outside, the inside was white. It always creeped me out a little at how pure the place looked. There was no stain or track of mud in sight. The double staircase also looked as beautiful as ever.
"Ashley, Lux!" I heard from the top and looked up to see Zelda waving. Rather than her wearing that god awful hat, she had her hair free and down by her shoulders. I thought this made her look more youthful, rather than two years older. She rushed down the stairs and opened to me in a huge embrace. Unlike me she seemed to be the huggy type, which I always found annoying. It always seemed weird to me that Princess Zelda was someone that I would have naturally hated, but I could be annoyed or angry at her, even though Link favored her over me.
She knelt down to give Lux an even warmer embrace as she picked him up off the ground and swung him around. Lux cried out in a gleeful expression and I could see him smiling when she stopped and look at him. "And you're as cute as ever," she said with her squeaky, girly voice. She promptly sat him down and turned to face me.
"Honestly, I'm surprised she even showed up this early," I heard a man say. He was a skinny, snobby looking young man, with his black hair greased back to show his pretty boy face.
"And who are you?" I snapped. I already didn't like this guy.
"Oh, this is Oscar, my royal assistant," Zelda said.
Since Impa was technically a sage and didn't exist in this realm anymore, she wasn't there to take care of Zelda. Oscar was the new assistant that I didn't get to meet before I departed. Though Impa was serious and hard to talk to, I already hated this man's guts.
"He may seem a little meaner than Impa," Zelda whispered, "but he really is nice after you get to know him. Besides, Impa is still around anyway."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, you've met that big owl, Kaepora Gaebora, right? He's actually Rauru!"
"So all the sages became birds?" I whispered in excitement, which was rather difficult.
"Girls, it isn't polite to whisper," Oscar said and he was finally down on our level. Seeing how he was 'elegant,' he had to walk elegantly down the stairs, which took awhile. "Now I suggest that this...thing sees your father immediately. They have business to attend to, as do you."
Oscar clapped and a servant of the castle showed up. "Please escort this guest to the King," he said and looked at me with his nose in the air.
"See you later, Ash," Zelda said as Oscar pushed her along.
I quietly followed the servant down a long hall that was forward underneath the double staircases. It led to a waiting room of sorts that was kept for the King's appointments. There were already several people in there, even Talon, the owner of Lon Lon Ranch. With him was a chicken that was donning a blue ribbon. I just assumed it was a prized winning chicken waiting to be honored by the king.
The servant led me to a door that she had to unlock herself. We traversed up two sets of grey, gloomy stairs and came to a wooden door with two guards posted there.
The servant bowed before the two and said, "I have with me Ashley Brandt, one of the Knights of Hyrule by request of King Daphnes Nohanson Hyrule."
The guards gave a salute, so I awkwardly saluted back. The servant bowed to me as the guards opened the door and made her exit. I walked in to what seemed to be a war room.
"I want to place it here," I heard the king say. His back was turned to me, but he seemed to be showing some guards and a noble something on a table.
The noble quickly opened up a map and looked for a second. "There is nothing there," he said and nodded. "We could definitely start building there immediately."
"Sir," a guard beside me cut in, "Ms. Brandt is here, per your request."
The King of Hyrule turned around and his robe made a dramatic flush to the side. He was still built tall and hadn't lost that gut he had before. He still had a warming twinkle in his eye and a short, white beard.
"Ash!" he said and came right over to me. He grabbed my hand and made me come over to the table. "We were just discussing where to build the new castle."
"You're building a new castle?" I asked.
"Yes of course. It's over two hundred years old." I perceived that to be a lie. There was no way that a castle that old could stay so white and eerily pure. "I'm thinking about shooting for a grey color next time, but not too grey. I still want it to be a glistening sight across the land."
"Yeah, that's something," I said, but I really wanted to get on task. "So why did you call me here?"
"Right to the point, huh?" the King said with a chuckle. "As you were no doubt told, Link has gone missing and I know all that you two had done for this kingdom." I gave him a little head turn, but I knew that speaking of the Hero of Time incident in front of other people wasn't right. He simply said: "Let's just say a rather big bird told me."
I nodded and he continued.
"We suspect that Link ran off to the land of Termina, which is just east of here. It'll take you five hours or so on horseback to even get close to the place. While I would say you could fly there on your Charizard, it's surrounded completely by forests. so it will be really hard to find."
"Why do you think Link left to go there?" I said.
"He left us a note that he went out to find an old friend," the King said. "At first we thought that you might have been there, but then we received word from the Mushroom Kingdom that you were participating in a tournament overseas. To be honest, we really don't know why he went to Termina, but he said in his note that that was where he was going to. That or he was just trying to take a vacation."
"Why would he take a vacation in Termina?"
"Termina, while not a huge province, is known very well for its festivals, beaches, boat tours, mountain get-a-ways, Goron races, and tons of other festivities. It's especially busy this time of year. I just assume that maybe he became bored and wanted to go on an adventure. Since Hyrule has been peaceful the last two or three years, we haven't had a huge demand for heroes."
"So you want me to travel to Termina and find Link? Then what?"
"Bring him back, of course," the King said. "If he's gone from Hyrule for too long, I'm afraid he might lose his Triforce of Courage and it might split into pieces."
"But I've been gone for two years and I still have mine," I said. The whole Triforce business was so bizarre and started to make my head hurt.
"Yours must be different then," the King said. "Seeing how you weren't even born in this dimension, I don't know how you got it in the first place. Anyway, I could be wrong. Many have translated the Hylian text and have different views on what it means. Some theories are that if one changes their form, their pieces will be split. Then there's the theory I believe in. Regardless, I'd like to play it safe and get him back."
"Alright then," I said with confidence. "Is there anyone I need to speak to when I get there?"
"The truth is, I really don't know who lives there. I don't even know what kind of government they have there, to be honest. I do know that Clock Town, which is right in the middle of Termina, is where humans reside. The swamp contains Deku race, the mountains have the Gorons, and the beach has Zoras."
"So all Dekus aren't raging, nut spitting lunatics then?" I asked because I knew far too well that the Deku race here in Hyrule would attack you on the spot. Some would fight you to the death and others would surrender and set up a shop for you.
"They have their own kingdom, so I suppose they are a little more civilized there," he said to me. "But, if you would rather visit another race, it is rumored that the canyon there contains the remains of the ancient dead."
I furrowed my brow in confusion and spoke. "So what you're telling me is that there are dead people living in a part of Termina; being regarded as citizens?"
The King bellowed his joyful laugh. It took him awhile to contain his amusement, but when he did he had this to say: "No, no, the undead probably don't even exist! There are just tons of ruins there from an empire that existed long ago. Most lore says the kingdom was cursed, but archaeologists beg to differ. But, I suppose you will find out more when you get there of course."
"Right, then," I said. "What do I need to take?"
"Since you will be representing Hyrule, my men have gotten you three tunics," the King told me and he clapped. Soon after, servants entered the room, each carrying a tunic that I would wear.
Ugh, I thought, not these again. Unfortunately for me, it seemed that the fashion in Hyrule had not changed since I left. All three tunics looked the same, but they were all different colors.
"Each race here in Hyrule have provided you with their fabric to make your garb," the King boasted. "The Kokiri thought you would appreciate the green tunic, seeing how Link always wore his. The Gorons fashioned you a red tunic, which could stand the temperatures of even hell itself. And lastly, the Zora people have given you a blue tunic which will help you breathe underwater like you were one of them."
I grabbed all three tunics in my arms, but noticed something was missing.
"Oh, and don't forget the cute hats, of course," the King said and he threw three hats at me that were green, red, and blue to match the tunics I had. I personally could have been grateful just wearing the tunic, but the hat was always the dumbest part.
There was a pause. "As much as I love the new wardrobe," I began, "what about the weapons?"
"Well, the best blacksmith in Hyrule created this tiny sword for you," the King said as his servant handed him the sheathed blade. "I figured you'd probably want a bigger size, but hopefully you won't be cutting down huge monsters while you're away." He sat the small sword on my pile of clothes and continued. "Of course, we have the Hero's Shield. It's a bit smaller than the Hylian Shield so it will be more comfortable for someone your size to wield."
The King held up the shield so I could see its design. As far as art style goes, the Hero's Shield was more of a minimalist's Hylian Shield. The only thing I could really make out was the bird that always held up the Triforce. This time however, the bird was actually flying above the Triforce. It wasn't as pretty as the adult shield, but the King was right. Even though I had grown since I last been to Hyrule, I was still small and wouldn't have been able to carry the Hylian Shield effectively.
The King promptly sat the shield down on my quest pile that I juggled in my hands. I was still a little unsatisfied with what I was given. "Do you guys have a bow lying around that I could borrow? Or a slingshot, perhaps?"
The King looked over to the side. "I really didn't think of that," he said rather bluntly. "I mean, this is what standard heroes get when they first begin a quest. Half of the adventure is finding the necessities yourself."
"I really hope I'm not gone for too long," I said with a tad bit of annoyance.
"I'm sure you won't be," the King assured me. "Anyway, if you find yourself there longer than you hoped, just take a break and relax now and then. They don't call Termina a vacation destination for nothing, my girl."
Of course, I thought as the King turned me around and walked me to the door.
"Now get dressed and pack your bags," he said behind me. "My servants will help you hoist your luggage on Lightning and we'll send you off."
"Thank you," I said as I struggled to walk and juggle the various objects I had in my hands. I heard the King shut the door behind me and I began my trek to an empty guest room.

“Ugh,” I said to Lux as I put the Kokiri tunic’s hat piece on. “I don’t care how many times I’ve told you, I hate the hat the most.”
After two years, I still wasn’t sure if Lux knew human language besides obvious attack commands, but he was still nice to talk to. He nodded his head with a smile on his face. He must have known we were going to start an adventure of some kind.
I pulled up my skirt and latched on a brown belt. Surprisingly, my old tunic was a little too big. Two years of training and getting fit had really paid off. My hips were still too big in my opinion, but I tried not to let that bother me too much. I had already decided I just wanted to be a hero, rather than a sex symbol.
I buckled my new tiny sword around my body and placed my shield behind me. It gave me some trouble, but eventually I felt the shield mount onto my sheath. I was going to have to get used to unsheathing and sheathing my sword on my back again as well. I also took extra precaution and retied my boots. I didn’t want to make any rest stops on the way to Termina and I definitely didn’t want to have one of my boots fall off during the ride.
I looked at myself in the mirror before I left. I realized that I had been in this room two years prior. I felt disgusted looking at my dirty, tired face. I was definitely weak back then and terrified, but I persevered. Now I was stronger and more confident, although I still doubted myself a lot. But I was still growing and learning.
I was getting ready to leave, but I heard loud chirping which caught my attention. I turned around to see three little birds that had a small, burlap sack lying in front of them on the window sill. One of the birds was a green oriole, another was a blue Steller’s jay, and the other was a purple starling. I began to walk over carefully so I wouldn’t scare the birds away.
“We know who you are silly,” the Steller’s jay said. “You don’t have to walk all weird like that, Ash.”
I stood straight up and was shocked. “How do you know my name?”
“Didn’t Zelda tell you that all sages were reincarnated in this world into birds?” the purple starling asked.
I recognized the voice and immediately said, “Are you Impa?”
The purple bird nodded as the green one jumped up in the air and shouted, “And I’m Saria.”
I pointed to the blue bird and said, “So you must be Princess Ruto then?” She gave a little weird bird bow. Since I knew who they were, I approached them more loosely. “So, what’s in the bag?”
“The Princess has instructed us to return to you your Ocarina of Time,” Impa said and she used her beak to uncover the object underneath. The glossy blue ocarina glowed in the light of the afternoon sun and I just stared with awe. It had been a long time since I last saw the Ocarina of Time and, while I didn’t know how to play it, I realized that I missed it and all its beauty.
I gently picked it up and held it in my hands. It was so light and fragile for such an important instrument. “Thank you,” I said and shoved it in my tunic pocket. “Do you guys know for sure that Link is in Termina?”
“Rauru said that he is,” Impa said. “He followed him since he left, but lost track of him. He came back here and waited a couple days, then contacted you. He then headed back to Termina with Nabooru and Darunia to do some more searching.”
“We are actually instructed to take our leave to Termina as well,” Ruto said. “We all want to be there to help you find Link.”
“Well, then I think it’s time for me to get out of here,” I said and the three birds began to fly in the air.
“Bye Ash,” they all said in unison. I watched them until I could see them no longer and hurried out of the room with Lux. I was really eager to get to Termina now, seeing how the sages would be there to make the journey a little easier. I hustled down the stairs and burst right out the front door to find Princess Zelda and the King waiting for me. Lightning had a small saddle on his back that had a bag hitched to the side and a little seat made for Lux.
“We went ahead and got you some potions for the road,” the King told me with a bright smile. “Zelda also prepared some roasted Deku Nuts for you if you become hungry.”
“Thank you,” I said and bowed. They both gave me a bow in return.
“Be careful, Ms. Brandt,” the King said as I mounted Lightning. “We’re proud of you.”
“And please bring Link back safe and sound,” Zelda pleaded right after I took off. I held up the ‘O.K.’ sign with my right hand and began my journey to the east.