Archive of Our Own ^beta

Link really needed to stop and think about how he got himself into situations like these. Somehow, somehow I always end up in situations like these, he thought to himself as he took in the situations at hand. Currently, he stood in a horrendously dark, eerie castle that frankly didn’t really phase him after Lorule Castle and the Palace of the Four Sword. At least this place has significantly less monsters, he thought to himself as he pointedly ignored the obviously evil looking hylian man monolouging to him in the center of the room. Ravio was very obviously trembling as he held onto him like a lifeline, and though he griped about his freeloading roommate, he certainly wouldn’t allow him to get hurt.

The aside from Mr. Monologue in the center of the room, there were a few others, they all reminded him of the shadows in the Palace of the Four Sword. One, however, looked almost exactly like those shadows. In a way, despite how he seemed to be floating, he seemed far more tangible than the other shadows. Without really paying attention, he got the gist of what was happening. Blah, blah, evil plan, yada, yada, kill the heroes. Same shit as always. He was almost surprised that he was here in the first place, they were probably only after Ravio, but he really only had himself to blame for ending up here. 

Link had been enjoying his Princess sanctioned vacation, in hindsight he should really see about getting his vacations goddess sanctioned, when he heard rumors about a group of men looking for the hero. He knew what would happen next, his vacation would be thrown out the window to save the world… again. He was really getting tired of the gods fucking up his vacations. So, he concocted what he thought was a brilliant, simple plan. In hindsight, he should’ve thought through the plan a little bit more.

He had slammed open the door to his house, muttering a rushed apology for scaring Ravio, before digging into his hair dye from Hytopia. He was more than familiar than dying his hair, he had dyed it black when traveling to Holodrum and Labrynna, and then Hytopia happened. He gave a brief explanation to Ravio and soon enough his hair was a shade of purple slightly darker than Ravio’s, but due to Ravio’s insistence the pink streak in his hair stayed. Then, just as he was going to hatch his master plan of avoiding the group of men looking for the hero, both he and Ravio were thrown through a portal.

So it was that he, the hero who had defeated Ganon three times, was being lumped in with a group of dark copies of various heroes. As much as he really despised the thought of everything that was going on at the moment, his thought of stabbing the resident monologuer would likely put Ravio at risk. Plus, he was supposed to be on VACATION, so maybe, maybe, he could just play along for now to fuck around with these shitheads’ plans for now. Well, if there was one thing that he’d gotten used to over the years, it was bullshitting his way through most things. 

“So, what hero are you the shadows of?” Did this asshole really summon them without any background information? Did he actually plan any of this out, or was he just figuring this out as he went, hoping for the best on summoning random reflections of heroes? Unfortunately, they all had already seen Ravio’s face before he hid himself behind his hood, so they already knew that they looked eerily alike. However, considering the Palace had four shadows, maybe it wasn’t too far-fetched that he would have two shadows. Even if he believed that those shadows had more to do with the Four Sword itself than Ganon hating one hero in particular. 

“Oh, don’t you know?” He started, he might as well play into this. Confidence is key to getting them to believe his bullshit. The one that looked like the heroes of the Four Sword looked particularly intrigued. Judging by his smirk, he likely lauded a similar form of haughtiness. “We’re both shadows of the same hero,” they all looked stunned by that remark, but he didn’t give them time for questions. He made a grand gesture to Ravio, causing him to squeak. Hylia help his timid reflection. “He was made as a shadow of our hero first, when he was still a child, before that hero had a chance to beat Ganon. Obviously, when he failed to stop the hero, he was tossed aside like most of Ganon’s allies that fail to meet his standard. I was made as a shadow of our hero after he managed to best Ganon twice,” the other shadows seemed stunned by that fact, their leader seemed shaken at the thought of facing a hero like him. Good, he better remain afraid. 

“I slowed him down here and there, but honestly, what was the point. The hero had beating Ganon at his own game twice before, what difference would the third time make. And as far as Ganon cared, I was just another stepping stone in his take-over of Hyrule. So, I got wise and left, I was better off doing things without that stupid pig’s opinion. One day, I found my counterpart, and though he’s not a useful fighter, he has been useful in other way.” When he’s not being a greedy freeloader, Link internally added. 

Eventually the others’ shock subsided, the four sword shadow was smirking. He really needed nicknames for these guys, he would probably end up giving them nicknames like all the people in Kakariko that never bothered to introduce themselves to him, though. Dark would probably suit their little ring leader, but the rest were like blank slates. Like Ganon didn’t bother to give them any purpose beside killing the hero, which by all accounts wouldn’t be surprising. So, he would likely only really have to worry about two shadows in particular, and Ravio’s innate clumsiness. He really didn’t want to think about the Lorulian’s habit of calling him Mr. Hero all the time.

After, being left to their own devices by their impromptu “leader,” Link decided to get some things in order. First of which would be food, which he explained to Ravio easily. He also went over the fact that Ravio would have to stop calling him Mr. Hero all the time, and perhaps it was best not to call him Ravio either. He was mentally mapping his way through the rundown castle, while they tried to find an exit, when his shadow warped. He stopped on instinct, putting an arm out to stop Ravio, as the shade of the four sword rose from his the shadows. He had a Cheshire grin on his face, not the slightest bit surprised to have been caught.

“I’m Shadow.” Link was surprised he had a name, even their leader had been surprised when he mentioned the name thing. “You certainly aren’t like the others.” Well, so much for that, he definitely saw through him to some extent, maybe when they found town they could get the hell out of this shitty situation. “You know,” Shadow paused thoughtfully, glancing at Ravio with an expression he couldn’t really read, “I didn’t shatter the source of my own power so that Link could beat Vaati, I didn’t want to be revived for this.” Link blinked at that, before the realization settled in. He had betrayed his master, so that the hero could succeed. Now that Link could see him up close, his gray skin was riddled with cracks.

“Mr. Hero.” Ravio whispered meekly at his side, and Shadow definitely heard that, judging by his face. He cursed his own bleeding heart, but whatever. Like always, this might as well happen. 

He slumped back into Ravio slightly, dragging his hands down his face, “I’m supposed to be on vacation.” He groaned, as miserably as possible. Inevitably, he heaved a loud sigh, “first, food. Then, you, are helping us figure out how to fuck with the others as much as possible.” Shadow grinned cheekily, but saluted before shrinking back into the shadows. That was certainly a useful skill, almost like turning into a painting, but less restricted. He could already tell that Ravio was mentally going over the ways to study his magic, and items to make for him. He pushed the hood down on Ravio’s head before reminding him, “food, first.”

There was thankfully a town nearby, which also wasn’t being threatened by monsters. Despite their appearances, Link knew that people wouldn’t bat an eye at them. Though judging by the state of his wallet, and the fact that he probably wouldn’t get many rupees out of Ravio, he would have to haggle his way through the markets. It was going relatively smoothly until Link’s instincts made him aware of a threat. He pretended to turn casually to Ravio, not to alert the potential thief that he was aware of their intent. But, the person staring at them was a blonde guy with long hair that look like he lost a fight with a shrub. 

He squinted when Link’s gaze passed over him, so he had good instincts too. Ravio had also caught onto the man’s intense gaze and was flusteredly shrinking by the second. So, Link raised an eyebrow at the man, he knew his body language would only give away sass, as Zelda like to refer to it, but he could at least let the guy know he was stumped. Literally, what could two people shopping for groceries have done to get on this one guy’s nerves.

The guy pulled a block off the side of his belt, his movement stilted, but loaded with a tension that Link knew screamed to attack at any moment. Maybe this guy was just a bozo, or a knight with too much arrogance in his skills. He certainly moved like someone with the training, but his appearance made him look like he crawled out of the woods for the first time in years. He tapped at something at the block, and his clothes, shimmered as they changed. That was neat.

“Oh, he’s Link.” Ravio, whispered as his shirt was replaced with a familiar looking green tunic. Did every hero just come with a green tunic, what the hell? He liked the color green, it had its relations to Farore, but it wasn’t his favorite color, it had been his Uncle’s.

“He’s one of the heroes, Link” He hissed back to Ravio, as the man pulled out a green cap. Great, they all had caps, too. He was doomed to unoriginality. He wished he had his Princess attire from Hytopia with him, maybe that would save him. Though, his priority right now should be, not getting stabbed. At least, this hero had the sense not to stab him in a crowded marketplace. You know what, he wasn’t paid enough for this, he wasn’t being paid at all. His wallet was drying up while he was shopping, and Ravio was not helping. So, he might as well get something out of this.

He waltzed boldly up to the hero, quickly blocking him from reaching for his weapon with a firm grip. “Tell you what, Mr. Hero, if you give me 300 rupees, I will pretend like I never saw you here and no one here will get hurt.”

Oh, the poor guy looked downright baffled, “What?”

“Listen pal, I just found out about the “kill all heroes,” with a side of potential “world domination” thing today, and as far as I’m concerned I currently have no incentive to follow through with those plans at the moment, so I am willing to let you off for the day for a small price.” Legend bartered, Ravio ever the wealth motivated idiot, leaned into the conversation at the potential of monetary gain.

“Wait! It should be 600 rupees, there are two of us, after all, Mr.-” Link cut him off by covering his mouth.

“I already gave him a price, you greedy idiot, Rav.” Link hissed at his doppelgänger. Unexpectedly, the hero took their momentary argument, not to attack, but to place two solid gold rupees in Link’s hand. He only had a moment to be shocked, before one of the rupees was snatched out of his hands by Ravio, who quickly scuttled out of reach.

He caulked a brow at the hero, “I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but it doesn’t seem like you were causing any trouble before I saw you guys.” The hero said with a shrug, and Link scoffed. “Hopefully you won’t cause trouble for the others as well.”

“Buddy, I don’t even know what your friends look like.” He could probably get a vague idea if he paid attention to their shadows’ appearances, but that was a problem for future Link. “Well, you’ve already paid me more than, my apparent leader, so whatever. Can’t say I’ll offer the same deal again, I have some reputation to uphold.” Link then thought for a moment, before gesturing to Ravio, “he can always be persuaded by rupees, but he’ll be more likely to turn tail and run it you try attacking him.” Link hoped that the hero would at least get his hidden message of ‘go easy on him.’ The hero seemed surprised, but nodded. “Good, now back to getting food.”

“You eat?” The hero questioned.

Ah, he didn’t know if the shadows needed to eat, he and Ravio certainly did, even if they could survive with less… He decided to gesture vaguely, “I like to.”

“What’s your favorite?” The hero questioned, and Link looked at him like he grew a second head. Sure, they had a treaty, for now, but that didn’t mean they were friends. The hero didn’t get the exact meaning of his confusion though, “I mean, what’s your favorite food?”

“I got that. Why-you know what? Never mind, apples.” Link answered, completely ready to turn around, grab Ravio, and drag him to get what the needed to be done, and get the hell out of town. He didn’t get very far, before the hero grabbed his arm, and dropped five apples in his basket. To his surprise, they looked like they were solid gold, he pulled one out of the basket to get a better look at it. “What the hell?”

The hero chuckled, “They’re the best kind, but they’re hard to find.” Oh, Link had to test that statement, because there was no way that was true. Link bit into it, and was practically assaulted by how sweet it was. It was good, but too sweet for his personal preference.

“Hmmm, not bad. The green ones are better, though.” Judging by the look on the hero’s face, you would think that he just incited cursed knowledge on the man. He supposed that could be his evil deed for the day. He snorted at the man’s expression before leaving him with a few final word, “I suppose, I’ll leave you without the knowledge of what those taste like.” As he wandered off to find Ravio, he heard the hero call after him, but he didn’t turn back.

The next few weeks were uneventful, he took full priority on his lost vacationing, to lounge around in the dilapidated castle that was their “home base”. Occasionally, he would trip one of the blank shadows with the ends of his staffs as they walked by. Once, he “accidentally” hit Dark on the head with a shovel, when he was about to walk through a portal. Ravio spent his time puttering around with creating some new items, occasionally asking for his input or for him to test them.

That was until Shadow, went to attack the heroes and, apparently, stabbed his light half in the gut. Link almost questioned, if he actually was going to be a help at all, by judging by the little guy’s shit eating grin it was planned. Later, without the presence of potential listeners, Shadow elaborated. Which, only made things more confusing, because apparently his hero had played the villain card, faked his own death, and Shadow thought fake stabbing him would get the memo across to the hero. He was still trying to wrap his head around how Shadow, seemed to describe the hero being in more than one place at the same time, but then he remembered the shades of the Palace of the Four Sword. He was mildly grateful to himself for not being dumb enough to mess with that sword too much after receiving it, he was however rethinking its current placement hanging on the wall of his house. Another problem for his future self. 

Link was frankly enjoying the whole pretending to be a villain thing, though lazing around got boring after a while. His attitude and snark, paired with Shadow’s misdirection, had caused Ravio to almost disappear in the eyes of the other shadows. Dark hadn’t bothered to send them after the heroes, seeming to think that his random, semi-helpful input, made him better suited to be a tactician of sorts. 

Apparently, he got slightly too comfortably being lazy, because he was slightly shock when Dark sent him and Ravio after the heroes. He didn’t really argue because, as Ravio put it, he was getting stir-crazy. That was the only mild problem with vacations, at least if he were at home he could spend time taking care of his orchard, or maybe working at the forge, without causing Zelda to get mad. She knew he couldn’t get him to sit around doing nothing for too long, because without anything else better to do, he would eventually go monster hunting. Maybe, he could convince one of the heroes onto a semi-friendly spar. The long haired one or Shadow’s mirror might be convinced into it, but the others he wasn’t sure on. 

He at least knew more about the others now. So, he and Ravio wandered through the woods, vaguely discussing their plans for meeting the heroes. He wasn’t really up to the idea of harming any of them, but he figured that somehow Dark would keep an eye on them. If there was one benefit the two of them did have, it was Link horde of magic items, a number of which could easily cause enough environmental damage to make it look like he did a preverbal number on the heroes. The main problem he had, as Ravio put, he had too many items. 

Link had handed over the items that Ravio had sold off to him, with the explicit verification that he wanted them back. He had bought the damn things, he wanted them back, even if he didn’t use Ravio’s swindler rental methods of loaning them out. Unfortunately, he doubted he could bribe Sheerow into returning his items to him anyway. Link was about to turn to Ravio to further discuss finding the heroes, only to turn and see that Ravio was gone and a guy with a cape holding the master sword was where he had been. If he had to hazard a guess, Ravio fled the moment he caught wind of this guy following them and hadn’t bothered to warn him. 

Usually he would notice, but apparently this guy just didn’t trigger his usual instincts. He also doubted the master sword would actually harm him, magic blades were finicky like that. The hero did not know that, though. The only thought that ran through his head as the hero charged him was, ‘well, fuck.’ Then he cursed himself for pulling the Cane of Somaria out of his bag, out of all the items he could have grabbed. Maybe, Ravio did have a point, he does have too many items. 

Ravio felt a little bad for running away from Mr. Hero, when he heard someone approaching through the bushes. He did know that if anyone could defend themselves, it was Link. Sure, Ravio may have been dropped into a war across time a year or so ago, but they were more than happy to allow him to provide support from the sidelines. That’s where he worked the best, sure he hadn’t been much help to Hilda when Yuga had been whispering in her ears, but he’d certainly helped his fair share in the slow restoration of Lorule. He really wasn’t cut out for fighting, and he certainly wasn’t cut out for villainy. At least Link and Shadow’s acting meant that he hadn’t had much attention drawn to himself.

Ravio didn’t have much time to think about what to do next, because when he scrambled out of the brush, he tripped over a rock. When he fell, his items flew out of his bag, and his hood failed to cover his face. He stiffened when he heard the distinct sound of a sword being unsheathed, and hesitantly looked up. He jolted in fear when he saw, Mr. Captain Hero standing over him, with the distinct expression on his face whenever his dark clones had been involved. He wasn’t the only one, either, Ravio had basically tripped right into the heroes’ camp. Oh, how he wished that he hadn’t left Mr. Hero, he really felt like crying. 

In a habitual motion to hide his feelings and his fear, he shoved his hood down over his face, and reached for his nearest item. Which happened to be his ice rod. Oddly enough, the sight of his hood caused hesitation for Mr. Captain Hero and two others.

“Ravio?!” Piped up, a familiar voice. Tune shoved the captain, and hugged him. Yep, he was definitely crying as he hugged the boy who hadn’t changed much since the War of Eras. He had been attached to the three heroes during the war, they had reminded him a lot of his own hero. He had been particularly fond of little Mask, who also had a fondness for him due to his rabbit hood. He had never shown them his face, mainly to prevent the captain from walking on eggshells around him. None of them really had to grasp the idea of what Lorule was.

Tune helped him to his feet, and one of the heroes he didn’t recognize started to pick up his items, while the captain looked at him puzzled. He sheepishly lifted his hood, to wipe away some of the tears that had escaped his eyes. When an older hero made his way forward, his heavy armor and large blade gave Ravio pause, but his stiff face and the familiar markings on it made him hopeful. 

“Mask?!” Ravio shouted in surprise, and the older man nodded, his face unchanging. Ravio peaked closer at him, “you’re so old now.” Tune snorted, and the captain’s shoulders lifted as he fought laughter. The other heroes he didn’t recognize, now he noticed that one looked like Shadow, failed to prevent themselves from laughing. Mask, himself, paused, his face twitching slightly before he started laughing, too. Maybe, things wouldn’t turn out so bad for him.

“What in Hylia’s name are you doing here, Ravio?” The captain finally questioned, and Ravio wilted. He really wanted to complain, would they be upset if he did? They hadn’t in the past. Mr. Hero did complain, but never stopped him. That was just how things worked out with them, but then again, dramatics always seemed to be beneficial in some way. It would make sure the other heroes knew not to take him seriously.

“Mr. Captain Hero, you wouldn’t believe what I’ve gone through,” Ravio began, practically tackling the taller man, as he clutched his scarf, and lightly shook him. The captain looked exasperated, but the tension from before left him. “I was safe at home, and then suddenly I’m in an old creepy castle, and I’m being told by Dark that I need to take revenge against the heroes. ME?! I don’t stand a chance fighting Mr. Hero, at all! Why would I even fight him, I live in his house?!” Ravio complained, and he could tell that he was raising a few questions among the heroes.

“Mr. Hero? I don’t think we crossed paths with him yet, what should we look out for.” Mask questioned, and Ravio shrank a bit. There was no way they would believe that Mr. Hero was helping out the villains right now, even if he was making himself a hindrance more than anything. 

“Ah, well…” Ravio started nervously, “he’ll probably avoid you like the plague, he really doesn’t want to go on another adventure.” The heroes looked at him in confusion and Ravio continued nervously, “he’s supposed to be on vacation… The princess got really mad at him after his returning from his… fifth adventure? But! At least, he didn’t have to worry about Ganon for a fourth time!” Ravio finish only to meet the shocked and concerned expressions of the other heroes. Right, he really shouldn’t forget that Link wasn’t really normal, even among heroes it seemed. No wonder he was always so tired. 

“Wait, you know the Hero of Legend?” The boy who spoke up reminded Ravio of Link in a way, they were very similar in appearance and even had their hair parted in the same way. Though, the boy had fluffy brown hair, and looked a little more wild than Link usually looked. Ravio thought for a moment on what he said, but honestly he didn’t have an answer. Link never really talked about his adventure or saving the world, neither did the people of Hyrule. It was as if everything he had accomplished was swept under the rug, but this boy was likely from a different time. After, Link from the sound of it, he would not be happy about that idea. 

“Is that what they call him in your time?” Ravio questioned, he really couldn’t keep the concern out of his voice. The boy seemed nervous at the question, but nodded. Oh boy, Link would personally bring Ganon back himself just to fight him again, if it would mean preventing another hero from needing to fight him. 

Link was going to take back his personal gripes about the Cane of Somaria, especially after he’d stopped the hero attacking him, with a summoned block. Somehow, he’d managed to trip the sucker up, tie him up, and suspend him in a tree. He brushed his hands clean, as he stared at the guy hanging in the tree. The master sword was laying on the ground, but he couldn’t just pick it up, he had to play a part after all. But, what to do now.

He should really find Ravio, but he couldn’t just walk off leaving this guy hanging, literally, without pulling some villain shit out of his ass. He was too tired for this shit. “Do you really try to stab everyone you meet for the first time?” Link asked, unable to keep the exhaustion from his voice. The hero looked a little confused by that, but still looked to be determined, despite the situation he was in. Ah, the goddesses really had a type when picking their heroes, didn’t they?

He didn’t really have time to hear what the hero had to say before Ravio came rushing out of the bushes, flailing wildly. “Mister-” he barely managed to get out, before he tripped, cutting the rope keeping the hero hanging, as he fell. Well, so much for that, he thought, as both the hero and Ravio fell. He sighed as he looked down at Ravio, he frankly didn’t care if the hero got away, it would mean he could go back to being lazy sooner. “Sorry,” Ravio apologized meekly.

To his surprise, the hero wasn’t attempting to escape. He had gotten a hold of the master sword from where Link had left it, and cut himself loose, but remained sitting on the ground looking at them with concern. Legend raised a brow at him, and he raised an arm to scratch the back of his head, “I felt kinda bad for you guys.” Ravio squeaked, and he just sighed.

He walked over to the guy, crouching down on his level, and patting him on the shoulders in a friendly manner. He knew the smile on his face was tense because he was angry, not at this guy or Ravio. No, he wanted to be at home, laying on his couch, worrying about picking his apples at the right time. “Let me tell you a little secret, pal.” He could tell the guy was slightly intimidated by his expression, but Link wasn’t about to let up. “I’m supposed to be on vacation right now,” his smile tensed further, “which as you can see, I’m not. So, if you just got up and walked away right now. I. Really. Don’t. Care.”

The hero looked downright shocked at that admission, but Link just pat his shoulders again and smiled a little softer, before standing up to walk away. “You could’ve been a little nicer about that, Mr.-” Link gave him a look to stop him from talking further, before grabbing the back of his robe to drag him along. Consequences, be damned, he was done with this shit.

Upon their return to evil castle central, as it turns out Ravio had, not really, caused a kerfuffle at the heroes camp. And rented out HIS, fire rod and ice rod to the heroes. It wasn’t Ravio’s fault that the little shits he’d loaned them to nearly blew up their own camp. Link wanted to laugh at the irony of him, being the incompetent one for once. 

Things remained relatively slow until the heroes barged into their home base. Shadow was hard to keep track of, but Link was sure he was fine. Ravio was causing chaos in a way that was both helpful and a hindrance. The heroes seemed to be aware of Ravio’s intentions and mostly ignored him, which Link was grateful. He was in the middle of fighting the guy with the wolf pelt, when Dark knocked the master sword away from the hero he caught before. That guy really needed to get his shit together. 

One misplaced bomb from Ravio, distracted Dark, and saved the hero from his next attack. Dark, however, was tired of Ravio’s haphazardous attacks, and went after Ravio for his interference. Link felt rage boil under his skin, fuck the act, he wasn’t losing anyone else. He ducked under the taller hero’s swing, sprinted up to reach Dark, picking up the Master sword on the way. He ignored the hero’s startled expression when he picked up the blade without anything happening to him, he didn’t care. He wasn’t letting anyone hurt Ravio. 

Without any hesitation, he dug the sword he was all too familiar with into Dark’s back. “How dare you!” The dick had the audacity to shout, as he twisted the blessed blade into his back.

“You know, you should really check who you’re summoning before you start assuming who they are, you may surprise yourself by picking up a hero with personality problems.” Link mocked, as he pulled the sword from his back, and swiftly went for the killing blow. There was a long moment of silence as Dark faded from existence, the other husks following him. The group of heroes were stunned as Link ruffled out his hair to show the growing in blonde roots. “All this shit for dying my hair.” 

Shadow rose from the ground behind Ravio, helping him to his feet, and Link was grateful to the little bastard for keeping him safe. Ravio quivered in place as he stood, likely still shaken from what had just happened. “Mr. Hero, I don’t think the princess will be happy about you saving the day again.” No, no, she really wouldn’t. He sighed, especially because getting back home sounded like it would be a bitch to figure out. He had no doubt he would figure out, but he really didn’t want to. 

“Shadow, please tell me you figured out Dark’s evil teleportation bullshit.” Link practically pleaded.

Shadow gasped in offense, “you've known me for like two months now, who do you think I am?” The short hero, who looked like Shadow, snorted at that. 

And so, Link found himself lounging in an old wicker chair on his porch, sipping on a drink Wild had given him, watching as the other heroes explored his orchard. He was fully enjoying his relaxation when Zelda arrived, observing the scene before her, before turning to him with a tense smile. “What’ve you got there?”

Link knew what she was referring to, but he felt like being a little shit about the situation. “A smoothie.” He stated, unhelpfully. He kinda deserved the smack on the back of the head he got for that answer.