Shattering the Stars

Reflect

Ok, the jig is up. This is a crossover story! More specifically, one dealing with the Multiverse! I know the multiverse is a tired concept in movies nowadays, but I still wanna do this! It's been a dream of mine to bring together characters for something fun! Enjoy!
-Jooostan

Shattering the Stars
Chapter 1: Reflect

The wounded Link slowly grew aware of his surroundings. His sight was deeply blurred, his eyes struggling to work from the loss of blood. All he could do was breathe, but even then, just barely. When vision returned to him at last, he found himself lying in a bed he didn't recognize.

The room, however, seemed eerily familiar. His weary brain worked to connect with the images he saw, but nothing came to mind. Everything was foreign to him, as was the scent of the room. It felt different, yet the same to his own home of Hyrule in many regards. Sounds of crackling embers populated the soft, dim air, aiding in relieving the tension in his muscles.

Then, Link noticed that he wasn't alone. There was slender man leaning against the side of the fireplace, wearing a white shirt and red bandana, with a sword and shield on his back. He had his arms crossed and was staring at the floor, seemingly lost in thought. It wasn't long before he noticed the one in bed was looking at him.

"Hey Link! Guys, he's awake!" The fellow hollered. The sound of rushing footsteps could be heard before the door burst open. There, the wounded man was stricken with shock.

The two Links locked eyes with each other, both astonished. Though the one at the door was less surprised than he had been yesterday, he still couldn't quite comprehend what was before him. A similar, but not exact copy of himself. He noted that his variant didn't have the silver portion in his hair that he received from Bellum a couple years ago, nor did he seem to have the Gilded Sword. Instead it was an odd form of the old Kokiri Sword and another sword he didn't recognize.

There were dozens more differences Link could point out, but he brushed those pointless thoughts away and focused on the real dilemma. The fact that something had happened to this version of himself. Something horrendous. He was enervated by some unknown attacker and left in this broken state.

"Link? Is he awake? Is everything alright?" The former hero heard the distinct voice of his surrogate mother, and he quickly shut the door so no one else could disturb the wounded man.

"Okay, okay, let's not get too excited, alright, mom?" Link did his best to keep his own voice down, unsure about how sensitive his other self was. Anju, along with Kafei, Romani, Jim, and the recently arrived Tatl, Tael, and Navi, all garnered around the bedroom door.

Anju, still the keeper of the Stock Pot Inn, was arguably the most baffled by the unexpected news when her son came to visit town the other day. The idea of another version of him, in a horrifyingly wounded state, reminded her of that dreadful evening when her boy returned to the inn unconscious and on horseback, bleeding profusely after suffering a beating in Ikana Canyon. It'd been so long since that incident, yet the memories flooded back like a river during a downpour.

The fairies, Tatl, her brother Tael, and her partner, Navi, all rushed from their humble hut just outside of the Southern Swamp to see if it the letter deemed urgent held any truth. Tatl and Navi's relationship in particular had grown considerably in the past year and a half, with them finally tying the knot just a month prior.

"Ya know, Link, if I had a rupee for every time we had to rush to down because of some emergency, I'd be a rich fairy!" Tatl was easily the most furious of the bunch, having been taken away from a nice retreat with her beloved.

"Sorry, you two. I know I interrupted something special, but this couldn't really wait," Link explained himself, the sound of his soft but prolific voice somewhat soothing the person in the other room.

"Nonsense, Link! Tatl's just being a bit dramatic," Navi elbowed her wife in the side as she spoke. "Whatever happened, we're sure it's important!"

"Yeah, that's one way of saying it," Link rubbed the back of his neck like he used to do when he was younger.

"Just a warning, it's a little... intense..." Kafei chimed in, his words of warning making Tael sweat a little. It wasn't often that the purple-haired innkeeper spoke esoterically.

"Okay, just you three, join me in the room," Link said, Tatl, Tael, and Navi gathering by his shoulders, like old times. "Only us, because I don't want him to get too alarmed."

As he stepped to the door, the former hero looked to his own wife and smiled worriedly, mouthing the words 'I love you'. She did the same as he turned to knob to the bedroom and walked in.

The fairy trio stifled their gasps as they looked upon the wounded Link, who had closed his eyes to try and sleep. He was aware of the visitors, but too bothered to acknowledge them. His own misery was far too overwhelming to power through it. Navi, especially, saw so much of the hero she had fought the great King of Evil within the man that all the color drained from her face. It was as if the man she gazed upon had never been returned to his childhood courtesy of the princess of Hyrule.

When the fairies flew in closer to see the battered and bruised man, his ears shot up. It would be a cold day in Death Mountain before he failed to recognize the sound of his oldest companion. He forced his eyes open and his head to turn, all so he could see her again.

"N-Navi?" The man sounded gruff, and particularly older than the Link that the fairies knew. They flew back at the unsightly scene of his damaged face, but the subtle warmth of his newfound smile brought them forward.

"You... You know me?" Navi said, letting go of Tatl's hand, which she didn't even realize she was holding, to land on the nightstand just next to the bed.

"How-" The Link tried to sit up on the sheets, but a scorching pain in his hip forced him back down. "H-How could I ever forget that blue glow?"

Navi's mouth went agape, a stream of thoughts exploding through her head as countless questions festered at the surface. She kept her mouth shut, however, knowing that it'd be a terrible idea to ask him anything at the moment. She simply flew back over to Tatl and took hold of her hand again.

"B-But what are you doing here? I thought you were..." The Link in bed paused when he realized what he was saying. He retreated into himself and leaned back in the bed. "I-I'm sorry."

"For what?" Navi tilted her head.

"I j-just realized... you're not my Navi," said the damaged fellow dejectedly.

"What do you mean, 'not your Navi'?" Tatl looked almost defensive at the man's statement. To her, there was only one Navi.

"Well, you see, it's a bit-" Before he could finish, he started coughing. Drips of red were flung from his lips and onto the blanket that covered him, but he thought nothing of the sight. "...a bit complicated. The fellow that did this to me... he and his lackeys came from another realm, I think."

"Wait a moment, someone did this to you?" Link pulled up one of the chairs that was nestled by the table near the fireplace and sat down. Tael hovered beside him, still a bit offput by the whole situation.

"Yes, it was Sha-" The wounded man held his tongue, not daring to deem the moniker of that monster a slice of verbal dignity. The cutoff left Link confused, with an eyebrow raised and thoughts provoked.

After a minute of silence, and careful thinking, Link made a decision. "Alright, I think you guys should go. I'll stay with him so he's comfortable," Link said, standing back up.

"Sure," Navi said, breaking out of her own little trance.

All three fairies got up and left the room, with a small commotion erupting just beyond the door when Link shut it without joining them. The boy could faintly hear his mother asking for him, along with a bit of Romani sounding worried. For a moment he stared at the floor, thinking about just what to say.

"So, who are you?" Link turned to face his wounded reflection.

"You already know the answer to that question," The man replied. He knew he and his other self were about to engage in a lengthy conversation.