Loops

Link opens his eyes, he appears to be in a dim lighted room, the origin for the source of light is unclear, but at least it allows him to see in front of him, the floor seems to be flooded, making it seem like he is standing on water.

I cannot believe this, everything I have done up to this point was for nothing? I mean come on, I killed a giant spider, I roosted an angry lizard on steroids, and was eaten by a whale that had an intestinal parasite, ALL THAT FOR THIS? So that red head motherfucker could follow me inside the sacred realm and put me out of the game indefinitely… fuck, now what?

[flash of a very angry Saria crossing her arms]

"Seriously? I was NOT speaking, I was thinking, am I not allowed to think cuss words either? You know… I never told you, but that shit you used to tell me: ¨if you have nothing good to say don't say anything at all¨ IS BULLSHIT. Now all the Kokiri think I am mute, because I never found anything nice to say to them or about them, and how could there be? they treated me like a slaughter animal just because I had no fairy"

Breathes deeply and continues to rant, "yes, I am angry, I was put in a hard situation and I have no say about any of this… I can't just back out of it either because that would mean the death of thousands, and you know what? YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER, I am not obligated to follow your teachings… SO I CAN SAY WHATEVER THE FUCK I WANNA SAY, besides it is not like anybody is going to hear me here…"

"I would not be so sure about that" says a shadow that starts taking human form in front of him.

All right… now I am going looney, because fuck me, right? am I scared? YES, I ALWAYS AM, but I push through it.

"What the…?" Link asks to himself

"Listen, I need to discuss something important with you and we don't have much time"

"WHO THE FRICKING FUCK ARE YOU? WHY ARE YOU HERE? W-" Link asks irate

The figure took a deep breath massaging his temples, anything to keep himself from beating the boy for wasting their limited time.

"LISTEN HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT, we barely have enough time to waste it like this, so pay attention, I am… no, WE all here are you"

Suddenly more figures start materializing on the background, 10? No, there were many more approaching him, they all looked strong and capable, a few of them had a dangerous vibe around them. Every single one of the figures were different, but oddly similar at the same time, all except one.

Is… all this happening in my head? It must be, there is NO WAY people who resemble me are spawning into existence out of the shadows.

"Wow…" Link starts clapping "nice job casting people for the joke, except for that one over there" points at a heavily armored Stalfos, "what happened? Ran out of budget?"

Everyone turns to stare at Link, they were very angry, but they don't resort to act on it by yelling or some more extreme measures, and for some reason that fact unnerved Link, watching all eyes on him he notices differences between them, in age, size, even eye and hair color, yet all of them looked tired and sad… suddenly all eyes shift to the same color, a grey tone with a splash of azure blue mixed in it. Intimidated, Link gives a step back.

"I… must be delirious, or Ganondorf actually killed me."

"No, of course not, it may have been better though…" answers one of the figures while receiving a punch in the gut from another one, Link just stares at them in shock at what he just heard.

Me, better off DEAD? Why? I have done EVERYTHING that was asked of me, the civilians needed extra hands, I was there; the Princess needed a crazy kid to play hero, I WAS THERE. I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING…

"I thought you were on my side, why do you wish for my demise?" Link asks genuinely

"We DON'T" another figure says, and glares at the figure that spoke before, "he meant it would have been better because it would save us all a lot of suffering, but dying is not an option." breathes deeply "Look… all of us here are what happens after your adventure, multiple versions of you, different time lines but the same soul."

"Time… lines?"

"Its… hard to explain, but don't focus on that now, the knowledge you need about it will come to you in due time" an adult version of himself says, he looked feral, reminded Link of a caged wolf

"Ok, but how can all of you be me?" he asks glaring at the Stalfos

"Hehe, you are curious about him… why don't you talk to him?" The wolf Link says grinning knowingly.

Link just starts to open his mouth looking at the Stalfos, but nothing comes out, the Stalfos approaches Link, "I am you," it says

Link exhales frustrated "I KNOW, I got that part, you all are me"

"No you don't…THIS," signaling his decadent body, "is going to be you in a few years… you turn into me if you follow Zelda´s lead blindly."

The fuck, no… if there is someone I can trust completely and blindly, its her.

"That CAN NOT be true"

The Stalfos proceeds to prove he IS who he says, he removes his right shoulder armor, and with a light pull he dislocates the shoulder showing a worn out and partly fractured humerus, that is and old lesion caused by Mido.

Damn it, he IS me. I feel like shit now, I just trashed Saria and her teachings, all she ever did was try to keep me safe, she used every resource she had to fix what that bastard had done to me and stop my shoulder pain. Truth is, Mido is an animal who abused every Kokiri, I was not a Kokiri according to him so my punishments were on a whole other level. He did it again of course, hoping to cause permanent damage by hurting the already damaged shoulder, sadly for him that 2nd time didn't hurt me, I was able to place it back myself, that angered him so he grabbed me trying to throw me off the bridge… I bit his finger off, because why not? it was in self-defense besides… We all are animals anyway, and I refuse to be the sheep.

"Ok, you have my attention now, how did… Zelda caused this?" Link asks the Stalfos "I am sure she had no idea this was going to happen" Link says confidently

"She did not know? JAJAJAJAJAJA… don't lie to yourself, she is the carrier of Nayru's triforce fragment, the withholder of wisdom and knowledge, of course she knew"

"She carries WHAT?" Link asks perplexed

"The Triforce split, she now carries a fragment, Ganondorf another, and you carry one too" says another figure.

Damn, I am deserving of one? Zelda is an obvious choice for Nayru's since she is an educated royal, I guess Ganondorf has Din's since he is power hungry, but what do I have to make me deserving of Farore's fragment? Courage? I would call it an unhealthy knack for vengeance and recklessness but ok, I have courage.

"Sadly, you… US being the holder of a piece means our soul is not allowed rest, it will keep coming back time after time to fight… to watch people suffer or die, to force us to make choices thinking of a future that DOES NOT include us in it. The trauma of the fight makes us a danger to the people and ourselves, forcing us to ALLWAYS leave everything and everyone behind, in a way we are forced to live in solitude" says the Stalfos with a sadness that infects everyone, even Link.

The figures shift unsettled, "time is running out, what we came here to ask of you is to obtain what Ganondorf wants, get all the pieces of the triforce and use your wish to change our… YOUR destiny, end this suffering for all of us"

The Stalfos opens his skeletal arms insinuating that he is speaking the desire of EVERYONE there. He then takes a deep breath "make it so that all our stories cease to exist, we are really tired…"

They'd rather die? Disappear? If they are me, does it mean I'd rather die? this is a BIG statement, one I can't ignore, but…

"But how? I can obtain Ganondorf's piece if I defeat him, but I can't murder Zelda, I don't have it in me"

"You don't have to, just hold her hand where her shard is, the piece will migrate to you, Nayru values knowledge and wisdom, Zelda has a lot of that because of books… but you" The Stalfos looks him up and down with a grin "you will know more about the Hylians and their history not by reading a book, but by field experience, and not just Hylians, you will know about the other races that inhabit this land, you will have the blessing and wisdom of 6 sages and… you will also know pain and struggle… she can't compete with that"

Well, if you put it like that, I guess it sounds like it could happen, like choosing between a kitty and a tiger, but something still does not feel right, or maybe I am too stupid to think clearly.

"It does sound possible, but I am no thief, besides I am sure she has seen something we are not capable of grasping, that is why she chooses this course of action" Link says, but his confidence was wavering.

"She chooses the best option FOR HER, not for Hyrule and definitely not for you, she does not really care about throwing you in the gutter, if it means she remains sheltered from harm and maintains the privileges of her title" says another of the doppelgangers.

"But…" Link says in doubt.

"STOP JUSTIFYING HER!!! what did you expect? For a girl that has never needed to brush her own hair to choose what's best for all of us? She is only thinking of the easiest course of action that can benefit HER" says the Stalfos.

"We cannot be talking about the same person; she cares about me"

The Stalfos sighs "you still… fair, put her to the test. I won't tell you what to say or what to ask when you meet her, I… WE won't influence you anymore, but do please ask her anything you still have doubts about, she will fail your test… everyone here knows it but you, when she does… honor your piece of the triforce and have the courage to end all of this"

"AHHGHH!!! AHHHHHH!!!" Link screams.

The figures transform into rays of light and start entering Link's body one by one. One of them, an older version of himself clad in knight armor, approaches him smiling "I know, not a pleasant feeling, it hurts us too, but we want to honor our name you know, LINK… that is like the loop of a chain, let all the loops come together to form a strong, unbreakable chain to stand against this torture cycle… DO NOT FAIL" the doppelganger says before entering Links body, the pain is so much that Link faints.