#animated link

Courage was almost the exact opposite of Hyrule. A funny thing, really, as the man in question was supposed to be the first game boy himself, yet he differed from your fairy boy so much it was almost comedic: Hyrule was sheepish, Courage was brash, Hyrule was moulded to be sneaky and Courage was close to a barbarian in imposing figure- Courage was almost an oxymoron to all that Hyrule was made to be.

Almost. That was the keyword here. Almost- Courage was almost the complete opposite of Hyrule, but that didn’t mean there weren’t those similarities.

That sense of adventure ran strong through Courage’s veins, that spark that would dance in the eye of the traveller at the mere thought of an escapade whether it be some offroad path or a gruelling dungeon cruel, you could really see that brave young man within Courage as he walked with confidence towards any sign of a quest. 

Their looks also didn’t stray far, their builds were different but you could see the specs of green buried in rivers of forest brown when you stared into Courage’s gaze a moment too long. Ran your hands through the chestnut brown ruffles that were the man’s hair when you pulled out a leaf or helped to brush the mess every morning so Wisdom would stop demanding that Courage look “more presentable!” almost every day. No, they didn’t look the same, long lost brothers would probably be the closest Hyrule and Courage could ever be, but it didn’t stop you from catching glimpses of your fairy boy every now and again.

It brought a sense of…melancholy. You missed him so, your nicknamed Prince of the fae, and longed for him during those harder days, your heart calling out to him. Of course, this feeling wasn’t just reserved for Hyrule, you missed Wild, you missed Wind, hell, you even missed that grump Legend (Koridai certainly wasn’t helping with that) but with Courage right here, it was hard to not think of your Hero of Hyrule.

“I’m way better than him!”

Courage had approached you. 

Inevitable really, with how you were drawing yourself away from the duo heroes wanting to deal with the heartache away from the comfort of others seeing as it had the opposite effect- you only craved the Chain more the longer you spent around those damn idiots.

And, of course, they had noticed.

“This isn’t a pissing contest, Link.” You sassed, washing your face in the basin that a maid had brought you, dressed for bed after a long day of patrolling for the black-blooded. “I just said you remind me of him, I didn’t say he was better.”

Courage huffed, collapsing back into your bed and spreading himself out to take as much space as humanly possible, also dressed for bed in his light blue gown. “But he’s ‘all you can think about’.”

“Does one thing go through your ear and out the fucking other? Man alive.”

The Hero of Courage had somehow coaxed the truth out of you, well, coaxed was too soft of a word- he had dragged the information from you in the form of nagging, his voice practically grating your ear canals until finally, you broke and spoke about the feelings currently raging within you like a mutated storm. Then Courage proceeded to do what he did best.

Miss the point and whine about it.

“But that’s what you said!”

“I said that I’ve been thinking about him!”

“Because he’s just like me!”

“Link-”

“But I’m certainly better-”

“Oh my god, you’re bloody impossible!” The brunette’s mouth had snapped shut at your cry, your hands slamming down on your lap in frustration. “If you’re just gonna moan then shut up or get out!”

A familiar mutter of ‘well excuseeeee me, sunshine.’ caught your ear but you ignored it for your own sanity.

When nothing came from him the following minute you sighed, patting your face dry with a washcloth and setting it aside for the maids the next morning. 

Blowing out the lantern at your desk allowed the moon’s faint glow to shine through the stained glass of your room’s window, plastering a beautiful mosaic of pale colours throughout the space and highlighting the pillowing of your bed as you pattered over to it with heavy feet-

Seeing Courage still settled in it, still taking up the entire thing.

You glared. “Aren’t you supposed to be protecting the triforce?”

He grinned something cheeky, “The fisherman offered to take my place.”

“Koridai offered to take care of the triforce? Nah, he definitely lost a bet.”

Because there was no way would offer to do such a thing.

“He offered!”

“He’d offer when he saw a pig fly.”

“Maybe he did.” His arms moved under his head, muscles defining at the stretch and Courage sent you a teasing grin. “Guess you and me are sharing tonight~”

In any other instance, this wouldn’t be the case. You weren’t one to take his arrogance lying down, that was for sure. You would have stormed out of the room to join Koridai instead, or maybe move to sleep on the floor, not caring for the cold or the dust, just maybe you would have grabbed at his leg and dragged him right off then leave him on the floor as you made yourself comfortable- but you were too tired for that, both physically and mentally, your brain working overtime to keep you in that state of exhaustion as you weighed your options for that point. You didn’t want to deal with his stupidity at that moment.

So, with a heavy sigh, you clambered into bed, making sure to push your weight into his stomach to hear him wheeze then collapsed next to him, back to him as he coughed for his stolen breath.

“Jeez, sunshine.” He hacked, “Way to steal my breath away.”

Your groan of annoyance had his cackling through coughs.

The bed shifted when silence had fallen back over the room, Courage turning your way with his eyes rolling over your curled-up form in a way that had you holding back shivers from the sheer intensity. You felt his finger gently run over your arm, a calming gesture, a kind one, a silent request to move closer that you didn’t turn down, his index trailing down the length of your arm, dipping your wrist then curling around your finger until you let him move to intertwine your hand with his.

“You don’t need to think about him-” His voice was a whisper, holding a stillness similar to that of the bedroom. “-not when you have me, I’m all the hero you need, sunshine.”

You hummed quietly, eyes closed but still alert. “Yeah? Then what does that make Koridai?”

“My sidekick, of course.”

Courage smiled at your tired snort, his head falling to rest against your nape and smile pulling at his lips the more he felt you relax, your body slotted against him like a perfect puzzle piece.

In his eyes, you were perfect, just perfect. Hard to come across these days, your personality was unmatched and your spirit strong, the connection he felt for you was undeniable. Yes, Wisdom was someone he cherished but you had climbed the tower holding his heart and stole it away with a quick quip and smirk- he liked that about you, he liked everything about you, even to him the sadness over your face held a perfection that the goddess herself would come to envy.

It didn’t mean he wanted it to stay though, no, as your hero it was his duty to return that smile to your face so hearing your tired breathless giggle when he gently kissed the back of your neck, lips tickling the skin was enough for him, moving to rest his chin atop your head as he closed his own eyes.

The quiet lasted about a minute when he muttered.

“He’s not that special anyway, I can turn into a fairy too.”

Your eyes snapped open.

“Not with that shadow still lurking around” Koridai grunted, arms crossing over themselves with a fierce look growing on his handsome features “If your reports are correct, more of those black-blooded monsters are popping up closer and closer to the castle”

Courage huffed “I still don’t understand how a shadow version of us is causing so much trouble! How could a monster be so slippery and annoying!? It feels like every time we corner the sucker he just slips away like a stick of butter! It’s really starting to piss me off!”

“Li- I mean, Courage! Don’t use such language in public!” The Princess sent an apologetic smile towards the clerk at the stall nearby, the older woman shaking her head in disappointment before returning to her work, Wisdom sending her Link a steeled look “Look- I know you’re worried but you can’t go and talk like that with people around! Not only will people worry but it could bring rumours about the royal army not being efficient”

“Well, excussseee me, Princess, for thinking about more important things than self-image-”

“Oh! You are so frustrating!”

…You wondered how the Chain was. Did they miss you as much as you did them? Were they looking for you like you wished to look for them? It plagued your dreams, finally reuniting them and introducing your two new boys to the group. It would probably take a little bit to get them settled but you knew eventually they would blend right in, Courage with Wild and Hyrule’s sense of adventure, Koridai with Wind’s sense of humour and both of them with Warrior’s flirty antics- yes, they’d be friends in no time.

A hand was quick to intertwine with your own, Koridai’s concerned smirk pulling you from your reminiscent daze “Everything okay there, cutie?”

You nodded “Yup! Just caught up in my own thoughts”

“Really? And here I was thinking you were exhausted” At your questioning brow, he winked “From running through my thoughts all day long”

“Pfft- Stop that, you sap”

“Why should I?” Koridai seemed to pick up when angst clouds rained on your happy parade, ready with a joke or a flirt to send you back to your usual self. It was nice, having him in your corner to support you every step of the way, a constant reminder that you weren’t alone with what you were going through "I only speak the truth, after all"

You laughed.

And the sound of a choked gasp caught your attention.

"(Name)...?"

You felt as if the air had been sucked out of you.

You knew that voice…. -

Despite the hardened look on Koridai's and Courage's face at the sound, you spun so fast you almost got whiplash, your eyes staring down between the aisles of market stalls to where the voice had come from, a familiar set of warm brown eyes wide with a clear elation and relief.

"Hyrule…?"

The smile on your face mirrored his and you didn't even hesitate to sprint towards him. "LINK!!!"

The two other boys plus princess watched silently as you both rushed towards each other, happiness of reuniting strong on your faces when you finally collided into one another, the brunette lifting you in a spinning hug while you laughed jovially, bringing him closer to press kisses against his cheek them embrace him as tight as you could.

"I thought I lost you"

"No, never- I'd never let that damn shadow take me away from you guys"

Another call of your name had pain brimming on your mouth from how hard you were grinning, Hyrule taking a step back to allow Wild to almost tackle you, holding you with the grip summoned from a Moblin, whispering thanks to the Goddess above.

"We chased the thing for ages but we couldn't find you, we- we thought-"

Wisdom glanced over to Courage and Koridai, cringing at the sight of their soured faces. Her Link's face was downright scowling, arms crossed over one another as he watched you, eyes clouded over with certain annoyance at the scene. The blonde wasn't much different, but it was tamer than the other's, brows pinched with his lips sealed into a straight line, hands resting on his hips.

Jealousy was a prominent emotion on these boys, that was for certain.

"Let's go back to the camp" Wild pulled away, his hands still on your shoulders when Hyrule continued.

"Everyone's been worried sick: even the Vet"

Your eyes bulged "Legend? There's no way"

The Wild Hero grinned "You'd be surprised"

"I already am" Grabbing their hands, you tugged them back towards your other friends "But first I gotta introduce you to the other boys"

Looks of confusion quickly turned into surprise when their gazes fell upon the other two boys, you jogging up to them and wrapping your arms around theirs, linking elbows. "Link and Link, meet Link and Link, plus Zelda"

Wild blinked "Wait, you mean-"

"These are other heroes" You pointed to them accordingly "This is Koridai, this is Courage and this is Courage’s Zelda, Wisdom. Boys, this is Wild and Hyrule"

Both looked at each other "We were unaware that there were more heroes so this is indeed a surprise”

Wisdom reached out her hand politely “Even so, it is a pleasure to meet some of (Name)’s travelling companions.”

“Yeah” Courage huffed, brows furrowing “A pleasure”

Koridai just hummed in agreement.

Wild raised a brow while Hyrule narrowed his eyes.

The silence was almost deafening.

“I think we should go meet the others!” You called, letting go of the boys and trudging forward, an awkward grin on your features “I’d love to go see how everyone’s doing! We should go- right now!”

Wisdom caught on to your attitude, sending a more perfected smile “I would certainly love to meet the other heroes who have saved our Kingdom of Hyrule”

“Of course, princess” Hyrule smiled, sending a look towards the brooding heroes “Follow us, our camp doesn’t stray far”

Koridai and Courage hung back, an air of brooding a barrier between them and the many civilians trying to calmly shop on the beautiful sunny day when they sent a knowing glance to each other, an agreement coming between them.

Koridai held out his hand “Allies?”

Courage shook on it “Allies”

Then they jogged after the group.

-----

“Boys” Time head raised from its downward position, standing to his full height when Wild and Hyrule came treading through the undergrowth of the clearing they had placed their camp, large smiles on their faces despite the gloom that settled over the other heroes of the team “Did something happen?”

It was dull without you there. Quieter but not the good kind of quiet, they begged the goddesses above for your safe return but after a month passing, the hope that burned bright in their hearts simmered down to a spark that flickered within the wind.

Time had to act a rock, his position steeled despite the ache in his chest without you there. Twilight and Warriors were the same, acting strong as the oldest but feeling the pain when they were alone. Four missed his apprentice, your offers to help as he crafted another weapon or welded another trinket silent save for the sound of metal. Sky played melancholic tunes not just for his home, but for his friend who was torn away from them, your voice in song missed dearly by his ears. Wind was silent, no chipper words, no jolly steps- just a quiet boy with a quiet face as he sat just off from the group, knees to his chest and chin resting upon them with dull eyes. Even the Veteran, face constantly sour at your presence only seemed to wish it, usual sass died down in the lack of your quick quips to defend your honour from his taunts.

Wild and Hyrule were the angriest among them all, Hyrule at the world around him and Wild at himself for not being able to grab you in time when the Shadow tore your unconscious body from the ground and ran off with you into another wretched portal.

But now…

“Something amazing” Wild grinned, stepping back with his hand out “Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

Everyone perked up when you finally stepped through the bushes, beaming at them with that cheeky smile they had all came to love.

“Heya boys!”

“(NAME)!”

Wind had already collided into your open arms, face shoved into your shoulder while laughing a laugh of pure excitement while the others gathered around, more arms wrapping around you with different multiple voices trying to share their ease at once. There wasn’t any room for a coherent thought it seemed.

“We’re grateful for your safe return” Time finally uttered, placing a hand onto your shoulder only to chuckle when you threw yourself at him, tightening your arms around his middle which he returned without hesitance. “But how did you escape the Shadow? You were unconscious when it grabbed you”

A throat was cleared from behind you “That’s because I saved them”

“Must you always bring that up?”

The heroes you had come to know froze at the sight of Koridai, Courage and Wisdom, the princess sighing in frustration as the two heroes began to squabble, your laughter muffled against Time’s tunic as you pulled yourself away and introduced your friends once again to the rest of the Chain.

“It seems you have a clone, Vet” Warriors snickered, nudging the smaller hero with his elbow he was still focused solely on Koridai, the other new snapping to attention at the sound of Legend’s nickname “Who would have known you were a twin?”

Legend growled “Shut it, Captain”

“You must be Legend, correct?” Koridai asked, humming something mischievous when the pink-streaked man straightened in surprise, narrowing his eyes at the cheeky smirk that grew on his face “I must say, you’re much smaller than I expected”

“WHAT!?”

Courage chuckled from beside Hyrule, the other hero’s brows furrowing in frustration at the sound “Sunshine knows how to pick their allies, it seems”

“Do you need to call them Sunshine, constantly? They have a name!”

“Well excuseeee me, hero-”

“What is with that damn phrase of yours!”

You snorted but covered your mouth with a hand, siding up to Wisdom’s side who watched the scene in amusement. “It seems that they are already getting along quite well”

As chaos began to unfold around you a smile broke out on your face, turning to face the princess as their arguing became shouting, drowning out the earlier sounds of the forest with a familiar entropy that you had come to miss without.

“It’s sure gonna be fun once they join the group, huh?”

They were way more chaotic compared to the other boys and if you had to be honest, you weren’t exactly surprised. The Media CDI and Animated- No, Koridai and Courage, which you had so carefully dubbed, had hailed from had to be some of the….wackiest content you had ever absorbed from the franchise. They were odd, differed from the other Links (Not as if the boys were identical, they were all unique in their own ways but these two were like no other) and no matter how much they downright infuriated you, you couldn’t find yourself to hate them.

That, of course, didn’t mean they didn’t piss you off.

“Koridai” You hissed, slightly tugging at his hair when his head limbered to the side once more, face buried into the meat of your thigh only to yelp at the pain of his locks being yanked “If you keep trying to put your face in my thigh I’m going to rip out a huge chunk of your precious locks”

Koridai was sat between your legs, you on the bed while he was on the floor to make it easier for you to reach his hair. He’d been complaining about how it kept getting in the way of sparring, having to blow it away from his face while still trying to knock back Courage was a complete pain, so you offered to help him with his problem and doing it up in a nice braid.

And now here you were, back in your shared quarters with Courage waiting (im)patiently for you to finish and continue their training for that day.

“Okay, okay!” He laughed, leaning back into the bed as you continued with his braid, twisting his long, blonde hair carefully “Sorry, it’s just relaxing”

A snort came from your side, Courage laid out beside you with a knowing smirk on his face, hand resting on his hand leaned into the mess of pillows “Sure, no other reasons at all”

Koridai glared at him only to snap back into position at your frustrated growl.

“Though, I can’t really blame you” The brunette went to lay on his back, hands moving behind his head and sending you that all-too-familiar damned smirk of his “I wouldn’t mind being your position right now”

You didn’t even turn when your hand moved to pinch his ear once again, grinning evilly as he whimpered out in pain and begged for mercy, Koridai’s snickers catching your ears.

Cheeky bastards.

“I’m done” You declared finally after a few moments, tying off the faux fishtail braid with a hairband you had borrowed from Zelda (Or Wisdom, as you decided to name her) and grabbing the hand mirror by your leg, letting the man study himself “You like? Or want me to redo it?”

“It’s perfect!” A breakneck speed he stood back to his full height and spun around to face you, leaning down to your height with his hands on either side of you, grinning mischieviously“I think you deserve a payment; will a kiss suffice?”

You binked, unimpressed and a shout came from behind you.

“Hey!-” A hand pushed Koridai away, Courage’s own envious pout catching your gaze as he barged his way into your space “No fair! Why do you get all the attention?! I’m here too!”

“Sorry, it’s just so easy to forget someone so insignificant”

“Why you-”

You ducked out of the brawl quickly, crossing your arms over your chest as you watched from your spot near the door as they wrestled, throwing boyish insults and threats at one another like they always seemed to do when fighting for you attention. You weren’t afraid to admit it did boost you ego, having two very handsome men fight for your affection but at this point it was getting old having to deal with a “brawl for your love!” nearly everytime the three of you shared a room.

Wisdom may have found it entertaining but you sure as hell didn’t.

“Alright, alright- both of you get off your arses” Amusement on your face as they jumped up almost immediately, you sauntering up to them and patting their shoulders. “I think enough is enough”

“What do you-”

Yanking Koridai down, you twisted your body into a dip, a smirk on your own face at his dazed expression before pressing your lips against his, holding back a giggle at his squawk of surprise. It wasn’t for long, about five seconds as least but the hero melted into it.

“Hey! What about-”

Koridai was dropped on his arse and you spun back around to face Courage, grasping at his reddening cheeks and sharing a kiss with him also, the same amount of time as the last then pushed him into the bed, laughing as he fell back without much fight too dazed.

“Well,” You laughed, hands moving to your hips “I think that settles that. I’m going to go horseback riding with Zelda now, see you simps later”

Then you ran off, cackling a gremlin cackle all the way down the tower steps. “Take that Tumblr fanfiction!”

“Huh?”

Sprite watched you run past her in confusion, her little fairy wings beating harder to hurry up the tower corridor into the shared room, looking upon the heroes with her arms crossed quizzically “What happened here?”

Courage shoved his face into a pillow “Something amazing”

A right turn, a left turn and another right again. The guards were hot on your heels, you could almost feel their breaths on the back of your neck and you cursed yourself for not being so fast.

The Shadow had tried to jump you both as you slept. It had been doing it a lot. You guessed it was due to the fact you weren't with the Chain anymore, only a lone hero who seemed hellbent on making sure you were safe, which you highly appreciated him for.

Anywho, it had tried to go for you, but once again CDI had intervened, brandishing his fire sword and attacking with no mercy. It wasn't a surprise that it didn't like fire, so it bolted.

But so did your hero.

"Link! Hey- Stop!"

"No, I'm putting an end to this!"

How sweet of a thought.

But it wasn't as you were hurrying to pack up your shared belongings and sprint after him.

Like a coward, the Shadow summoned another portal, disappearing into the unknown and leaving CDI to slide to a stop, looking up into the darkness of the magic in awe.

The sight made you nauseous, memories of the first time stumbling through Dink's wretched portals making you tense up but you shook it off, a look of determination crossing your face.

"Well, if we're putting an end to it, there's only one thing to do"

You hesitated, of course, you did, but a hand appearing in front of you made you relax, the blonde sending you a cheeky wink and smirk "Don't worry, I'll protect you"

Always so shameless, but you took his hand gratefully and the two of you walked through.

And that's what led you here, appearing in some random castle, in some random kingdom with some random guards chasing after you, CDI's hand still tightly wrapped around your own.

But hearing the word "Triforce" you guessed you were probably in another Hyrule.

You glanced back at the guards, noticing the distance between your duo and their group was getting larger when you were yanked around another corner, then into a room, the door being shut as soft as can be before you were pushed against it, hand over your mouth to keep you quiet.

"Huh- Where did they go!?"

"Keep searching! We cannot lose them!"

Seriously? You were literally right there. Did they not think to check the only possible door in that hallway?

Footsteps echoed off into the distance when CDI spoke up, looking down at you from your spot between him and the door. "There's a spell cast over this place"

You raised a brow and he continued "I've travelled all over the world, cutie, I know when there's magic being used. There's probably something important in here and they don't want anyone to find it"

"The Triforce?" You guessed his hand muffling your voice.

"Bingo" A familiar smirk grew on his face as he looked down at you, your eyes once again rolling in exasperation "You look adorable like this, short stuff"

Finally, you pulled his hand away "Not the time, Link"

"Fine, fine"

There were stairs behind you and that was all. You guessed the idea CDI had was to wait for the guards to disappear but the reveal to a secret room had you both intrigued, trudging up the (annoyingly) long set of stairs to reveal another door, opening to a bedroom.

"Princess bedroom?" You guessed, glancing over the room to a pedestal situated in the middle. "Or...not?"

A pyramid: floating, glowing a luminescent blue and humming with great power.

"Looks important"

It looked familiar.

Your companion wandered over to it and you moved to follow, only for a blade to be pressed against your neck, body tensing in surprise with an almost inaudible noise of surprise.

"Step away from the triforce-" Your captor warned, CDI spinning around with sword at the ready within a second "And your little friend here won't get hurt"

Why did that voice sound familiar??

"Hurt them and you'll regret it" Your friend snarled, sparing the guy behind you a face that you hadn't experienced; rage "We don't want- whatever this is- let them go and we'll leave"

The guy huffed.

"Well exuseeeee me-"

Your eyes bugged out of your head.

No...

"-Beanstalk, but I make the decisions here-"

"Link?" You asked and your friend glanced at you in concern, movement behind you suggesting the other man looked down at your curiously.

"Yeah-"

CDI looked behind you in confusion and you finally understood.

"Are just who are you?"

"I could ask you the same thing"

You sighed "Link- Uh, my friend, show your hand, the one with you know what"

He raised a brow in curiosity but you nodded, your captor silent as CDI pulled off his right glove, raising his hand to show off the Triforce of Courage burned into the back of his hand.

"What...?"

"Listen, to me, buddy" You started, "That guy over there? Also Link, the Hero of Hyrule. We stumbled through this portal into a different timeline because of this shadow monster and we're just trying to track it down, we're not trying to steal the Triforce of Wisdom and we certainly don't work for Ganon"

"You could be tricking me"

"We could. But I think you know that we wouldn't in this situation" Meeting the eyes of CDI, you smiled "I mean, my friend is too selfless to be a follower of Ganon"

CDI grinned a shit-eating grin "And you're way too cute"

"Christ almighty"

You were finally released after that, spinning around almost instantly with a smile on your face. Taller than CDI, a bit more built, tanned skin, brown hair, brown eyes-

Animated!Link

You successfully held back a scream of pure anguish and instead offered him a smile.

"Nice to meet you, Link" You offered your hand "My name's (Name)"

The Cartoon boyo's face was quick to morph into something that made your stomach drop, a sultry smirk pulling at his lips, eyes narrowing playfully- his hand engulfed your own.

"Nice to meet you, sunshine"

For the love of the Goddesses, not another one.

Koridai:

He was originally born in a fishing village just a few miles away from Castle Town and Hyrule Castle. 

Father was once a nobleman who married Koridai's mother and joined her in the fishing village, later becoming a fisherman while his mother worked as a fish butcher, selling any and all that the father brought it

Actually had quite a good family, lived a stable life with good people. His parents had more children, twin siblings, a girl and boy (Lorley and Alan) and they lived a fun life. 

However, he lost his father in a bad storm and his mother was too distraught to carry on the business. Luckily enough for the family, his father’s noble connections reached all the way to the King of Hyrule, being friends when they were younger, so they were all invited to live within the Castle at the word of the Kori’s father’s passing.

Koridai only ever ended up getting one friend: His Zelda, Gamelon. Mostly being shunned by the higher society as a street rat, even when he was placed into higher schooling, raised above everyone in royal guard training, got a position in the army at 14- they blamed his connections and he was shunned from everyone, the only people he was able to rely on being the King, the Princess and his own family.

The revival of Ganon hit when he was 16. The sorcerer sent a plague over the land of Hyrule that killed well into the millions, the Sinister Demise it was called, torturing the victim with constant pain until their body finally gave in and they died.

Panic rose within the kingdom, houses were boarded up, villages abdanonded people were fighting to leave Hyrule, even though borders to prevent the spread of the plague. The King ordered for alchemists to make a cure, sent of foot soldiers in search of legendary herbs in hopes it would help aid them.

It didn’t

And the spread even reached the castle walls.

His sister was the one that caught it first.

Lorley died within the week.

His mother entered a vegetated state dealing with the grief from only her husband, but now her child, silent and still within her room, only ever reacting to the sound of her two boy’s voices.

Zelda caught the Sinister Demise next and the kingdom blew up in chaos, worry, fear, anger- all feelings that one could feel at the reveal of Zelda’s gave illness.

The King sent out the entire army for a cure- Link included.

Koridai only discovered his affiliation to the hero’s spirit when he discovered the Master Sword when patrolling the Lost Forest for a potential cure for the Sinister Demise, seeing as it was home to many magical creatures so there had to be some sort of potential root, mushroom, tree- anything that could stop the plague.

He was ecstatic when he removed the sword from it’s pedestal, realising that he was not only the Hero, but he now had the weapon that was able to defeat Ganon.

Returning to the Castle proved what he believed, when the King handed him the Hero’s descended outfit and sent Link on his way to defeat the Demon King

Koridai set out on the journey, battling Ganon’s many hoards, saving many villages, town, cities, etc. and being hailed a Hero through the entire kingdom until he finally reached Ganon’s domain

Their fight was deadly, Link didn’t hold back with his sister’s death still on his mind and Ganon refused to fall to the Hero’s strength.

It was only before Link sent the final strike that the monster growled out his curse.

Ganon divided his soul into three pieces, declaring he would remain until his entire soul was completely destroyed and cause havoc to not only Hyrule, but the entire world.

Koridai in his rage stabbed Ganon in the chest, the monster’s screams of pain only lightly easing his anger as he burst into ashes, the purity of the blade shattering the first soul piece.

Koridai retired the Master Sword back into it’s pedestal within the Lost Woods, deeming himself a failure despite his victory and believing himself to not be a hero anymore.

Koridai returned to Hyrule Castle believing to be a failure, only to be welcomed with open arms, cheers of his name echoing the streets.

Words spread of his victory very quickly, especially with those infected with the plague recovering quickly overnight and he was celebrated for weeks to come.

Koridai only revealed the truth to the King and Zelda that yes, while he did kill Ganon, there was still some of his soul remaining, lost to the world and unable to track down

The King assured him, when the time came and Ganon revealed himself once again, that he would be ready and that he believed in him.

Link promised the King he would end Ganon’s terror, once and for all.

The country fell into peace once more.

Then enter in the revival of Ganon within the land of Koridai

He knew what he had to do

Courage:

Link was born to a family in a neighbouring country called Calatia. They were farmers, living a peaceful life far away from any major cities and acting as the main foodsource for a village just a mile or so away from their farm

Unfortunately for Courage, his mother had complications during his birth which resulted in her death a few hours later.

While his father never hated him, he did hold a slight anger towards him, as did Courage’s older brother, Izan, and the boy was ignored for a majority of his life, only majorly being taken care of by his grandfather, an old and frail man bound to a chair within their shared home.

The man shared many stories to the younger Link, explaining how the elderly man used to travel all over the world until settling down at the farm, encouraging the boy that he could follow in those footsteps too, he wasn’t nailed down to the farm like the older man was (His grandfather really only wanted him to experience freedom, as he was lonely at the farm, being neglected by his other family members and the old man could see it)

Courage brought it up to the others during dinner, explaining that he wanted to be an adventurer when he grew up and his father flipped, shouting, screaming, condemning the idea and asking his son “How he could be so stupid?!” to do something as riduclous as to become a traveller, finally sending him to his bed alone.

Courage threw the idea out the window, distracting himself by helping around the farm, delivering goods to the town with Izan, flirting with the village girls- putting up a facade for years that he would continue to live as a farmer in this quaint little village with his quaint (broken) little family.

His grandfather presented the idea of adventuring to Link one final time during their nightly games of Chess (Something his grandfather had learned during his adventuring then passed down to Courage who struggled for a bit but got used to it after enough games)

Link wanted to brush it off, but he felt like he shouldn’t, promising his grandfather that he would indeed become an adventurer and leave this lonesome farm

His grandfather passed away that night with a smile on his face

Courage set off the next day after his funeral, his father cursing his name with Izan watching as Link grew farther and farther from the farm, finally releasing a sigh when he couldn’t hear the screams of his name any longer

He travelled for years all over the world, meeting amazing people, doing amazing things, reaching amazing achievements that he did all in the name of his grandfather

Then he landed himself in Hyrule.

He was a skilled adventurer by that time, knew his way around many weapons, how to traverse any environment- he knew how to protect himself and others.

Those skills helped him save a carriage raided by monsters, fighting them all off before bringing those inside to safety, grinning about his victory the whole time

The carriage belonged to the royal family and within it was Zelda (Wisdom) and her father, King Harkinian who had been returning from a banquet held within another kingdom.

They offered him shelter during his stay within their kingdom and he gladly accepted, relieved to not have to sleep in the dirt for one night and excited to experience the royal treatment.

A few days later Ganon returned. Vengeful and angry, he came to retrieve what he deemed his- the triforce with a army of monsters at his disposal he attacked the castle.

Panic arose in castle town, people screaming for the knights and royal guard, the monsters invading the castle taking no prisoners only to meet the wrath of Courage, skilled way beyond what these creatures had experienced and creating a war path to the room containing the 2 triforce pieces, where Ganon had stormed into with a screaming Zedla in his grip.

Ganon had only gotten the Triforce of Power when Courage had stormed in, brandishing a sword and demanding that he surrender or die

Their fight was visicous, Courage violently attacking Ganon will everything he had, even with in the triforce in his possession until Ganon finally yelled, enraged and bloody

“I know that gleam in your eye” He growled, his own eyes burning a red filled with hatred “The previous hero looked upon me with the same spark of courage- you must be Hylia’s new pest”

The monster disappeared with a final threat before Courage could even get a word in, the Triforce of Power still in his hands “I’ll get you, hero, and I’ll get my revenge for what you did to me!”

Silence finally hung in the castle once it was over.

The King declared Courage the new hero after that, asking him to defend the remaining Triforce of Wisdom from Ganon’s hands and to stay in Hyrule. Ganon’s return sparked fear everywhere and the King only wished that there could he someone to ease the hearts of the citizens.

Courage agreed and he became the guard of the Triforce of Wisdom, also becoming great friends with the Princess of Hyrule alongside it.

(It was late that night, settled into the secret room within the castle where he slept and the Triforce of Wisdom stayed, did the Triforce of Courage reveal itself to him. The hero deciding to keep the mark a secret until they day came where he couldn’t keep it any longer)

General headcanons:

Koridai's games Ganon is trapped in the book of Koridai. When both soul pieces are trapped within the book, Gamelon suggests that they destroy the book (maybe burning it) but Koridai stops that idea, saying that it might free Ganon to destroy the book, even when Gamelon points out he can just destroy the next soul pieces with the Master Sword but Koridai comes up with another option: Let Ganon rot in the book. Constantly aware, he can't escape and killing him would only bring forth the next reincarnation, so keeping him could possibly stop the reincarnation, no new Ganon, no new Zelda, no new Link- They would be the last. Gamelon hesitates but finally agrees, sending the book into the deepest dungeon they can find with most cursed artefacts and Ganon sure does rot down there....for a few centuries that is. A follower of Ganon is the one that gets him out, retrieving the book during Courage's era when the next hero was yet to be discovered. Ganon's soul pieces were torn from the book, reformed into one and thus came Courage's Ganon

Koridai has freckles! :D He also has claw scars through his eyebrow from fighting Ganon

Courage is missing part of his ear from fighting Ganon! He can still hear, as it was only the lobe but he likes to show it with pride, feeling like a true warrior with it

Courage has stubble (Or he’s the only one that can grow a beard amongst the Links other than Hyrule) he likes to flaunt it

Koridai is slimmer than muscular from training while Courage has muscle from working on a farm and adventuring

Koridai is both street smart and academically smart, he went through royal schooling and understands a lot more compared to the other Links. He just puts on the goofy front for show to trick people into thinking he’s stupid so that he can fool them later on. It’s protected him quite a lot.

Courage is street smart but not academically. He was raised on a farm during medieval times after all. Wisdom tries to teach him but he doesn’t really have an interest in it. (However, he’s very good at chess from years of playing with his Grandfather, Wisdom was indeed very surprised when he kept beating her at every turn and at how quiet he got while they played- Wisdom realised he actually used those skills constantly when fighting, thinking of strategies before fighting)

Courage holds a deep resentment for his father and Izan and hasn’t returned home in many years after finally leaving