Chapter 2
You want us to go where!?
Great Deku Forest
The cocoon of light shattered, finally revealing the figure within. A boy of about 11-12 years old, with fair skin, handsome, if a bit chubby, facial features and windswept blonde hair. He wore a blue tunic with gold around the edges of the cloth, brown boots edged in armor, and had a plain sword at his waist. He opened his eyes and looked around the clearing in wonder.
"Whoa, I'm actually here. I mean, when the circle lit up obviously that meant it was real, but man, who could've imagined? Wait. Why do I sound like this?" he started off excited, then, hearing the pitch of his voice, startled and ran to a puddle of water nearby to look at himself, "Oh. Nope, you know what? I'm exhausted with surprises. I'm done. At this point, I'm not gonna let anything faze me. So I'm a kid again. Gotta fit in with the storyline, right? So that means I'm right at the start. Good. Which means Link should be here soon." He gasped in horror at the sight before schooling his features into a deadpan as he muttered to himself.
"Hero…I would speak with you…" The Great Deku Tree started, his voice rumbling through the clearing.
"Yeah, hang on. Inner dialogue and stuff over here." Arthur muttered, completely disregarding the Tree. "Ok so, I'm here, in Ocarina of Time, in the Deku Forest, wearing what looks to be a fancy squire's outfit. Huh. You know, I don't feel any different, just smaller. All those stories about things like this include a lot of pain and getting used to-"
"GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!" an angry shout interrupted Arthur's musings as a green-clad figure chased an orb of blue light into the clearing. Arthur froze, his head slowly and mechanically turning toward the source of the noise with an even more deadpan expression. As he beheld the figure of who he had thought would be Link, he smirked.
"Right. Yup. Not gonna let it-" he was interrupted again by the sensation of his head splitting open and decades of information being unceremoniously shoved inside, "get to me…" he managed to utter before his eyes rolled back and he fainted.
"Uh…is he going to be okay?" the newcomer asked, a girl of about the same age as Arthur, with blonde hair tied into twin braids, bright blue eyes and an adorable round face, "He fainted as soon as he saw me, what a wimp. Who is he, anyway?" she wondered to herself.
"Young Linkle…" the Tree rumbled, gaining her attention, "This is Arthur Pendragon…one who was summoned to aid you in your quest…" he said, getting a raised eyebrow in return.
"Aid me? Can he even help himself? He fainted at the first look at me, you think he's scared of girls or something?" Linkle asked bluntly, completely misunderstanding the circumstance, "If he's like this, I might be better off without him. Already have to deal with this fairy, damn thing hasn't shut up even once since she came to me." She continued, showing visible irritation at the end.
"You misunderstand, young Linkle…this is a Hero, summoned by the Goddesses…they had said the process would take an hour yet only half has passed…oh…this must be the reason…" The Tree mused aloud, "The process of summoning him must not be complete…we must wait until he awakens…"
"Ugh, I suppose. Still think he looks like a wimp…" Linkle mumbled with a pout.
Dreamscape
He was soaring over green fields, small villages, battlefields with knights in armor of various colors clashing blades…he walked amongst the people, seeing their suffering, feeling the despair that Britain without a King was steeped in…he saw HIM…a boy of 10, obsessively swinging a wooden sword, kingship lessons with that damn Merlin while he restlessly slept…he watched as with every setback, every tragic moment that would've caused anyone else to abandon their course…HE refused…he didn't pull the Sword because he wanted to…he pulled the Sword, Caliburn, because he was MEANT to…he was told he would not longer be human, that his kingdom was doomed for ruin…he still pulled the Sword…if he could put smiles on the faces of the People…even for a little while…then…wouldn't it all be worth it?
Images flowed, one after another, until finally, he saw the Hill of Camlann…the battlefield littered with the corpses of hundreds of British Knights…HE fought against a knight in red and silver armor, being matched blow for blow, until finally, the enemy lowered his sword and removed his helmet, showing a face nearly identical to HIS…
HE was now resting against a tree…mortally wounded, the last remnant of Camelot ready to fade into legend, ready to face the end…
Suddenly, HE looked up, straight into the invisible eyes of his watching descendant…
"Camelot…Britain…those are the biggest sources of my regret, my descendant. Don't misunderstand me, I would never regret becoming King…but the way I ruled…raised from childhood into the 'Perfect King' as described by a being who couldn't understand humanity at its core…I gave Britain what it needed at the time…a King of Knights, who could lead his men to Victory…but when Victory came…the Perfect King faltered…I couldn't understand the hearts of my people, Arthur. I could fight any enemy, I could navigate politics and inspire the people…but I couldn't understand them…that was my biggest failing…in becoming an essentially untouchable figure in the eyes of the people, a distance grew between myself and the rest of the Kingdom, even my Knights…my pursuit of the Perfect King…just a foolish ideal…perfection doesn't exist, my descendant…instead of the Perfect King, I should've first endeavored to be a Good Man…then, a Good Knight…and eventually…a Good King…because…maybe the idea of the Perfect King didn't have to be so literal…maybe the Perfect King was simply a Good Man who did his best for everyone around him…who knew the people as well as he knew war…spent less time in fruitless pursuit of Perfection, only to watch Perfection slip further away the more he chased it…my son…Mordred…simply wanted acknowledgement…he simply wanted to be my son…in my ignorance I flatly rejected him…assuming he only wanted MY throne…heh…how ignorant I was…how arrogant…I forgot what it meant to feel human, Arthur….I couldn't even recognize the desperate need of a child seeking simple approval from his father…I am giving you everything, Arthur…I'm giving you my memories and, sorry, my regrets as well…they may be painful…but I want you to learn and understand…never abandon your humanity…never forget the hearts of man…though you now have the heart of a dragon…at your core, you will always be human…don't forget like I did…goodbye, Arthur…I know that you will make us all proud…"
Great Deku Forest
Arthur groaned as his eyes fluttered open, squinting as rays of light pierced his eyes, "Ugh, my head. Talk about a headrush…man. Guy sure could talk, huh?"
"Uh, hey! You okay, wimp?" Arthur jolted upright at the sound of a loud, cheerful voice nearby.
"Whoa, what? Ugh, oh man…shouldn't have sat up so quickly…oh hey, who might…you…be…" he grabbed his head as he sat upright, the headache getting worse from the sudden movement, trailing off while speaking as he looked to the source of the voice.
She was a girl of a similar age to himself in his current body, with bright blue eyes, blonde hair in twin braids, a cute round face with a small button nose, wearing a green tunic with leaf patterns and brown boots. She had a small sword and a wooden shield on her back.
"I'm Linkle! Nice to meet you!" she said, smiling brightly, "What's your name, wimp?" she asked, smirking slightly as she saw the indignant expression on his face after being called a 'wimp' several times now.
"I'm Arthur! Not wimp. You just met me, how can I be a wimp already?" he retorted angrily, standing up to face her directly, "You don't look like much yourself, you think you have what it takes to use that thing on your back?" he continued with a cheerful smile and a tilt of his head, clearly provoking a reaction. 'Already decided I'm done being shocked, genderbent Link is now par for the course. She is kinda cute though…and if this is OOT…Oknewplangottagogetthemasterswordforsupermegawaifutimeskip! Also, to save the world, of course. UMU.' Arthur thought to himself as he enjoyed the reversal of the situation as Linkle's face turned red in anger. Just as she was about to retort, she was interrupted by the Great Deku Tree.
"Children…let us get to the purpose for your being here…my time is limited…" he rumbled, getting the attention of the two.
""Fine."" They spoke in unison, glancing at each other and sticking their tongues out in a mature manner as they both stepped forward in front of the huge Tree.
"Arthur…Linkle…as you know, a great darkness has swept across all of Hyrule…you are both needed in order to combat its forces…"
"Okay, just tell us what we have to do!" Linkle said earnestly, earning a raised eyebrow from Arthur, who was a bit surprised at her sudden acceptance of the situation, but he nodded along anyway.
"You must travel to the domains of the Goron and the Zora…they will each give you the KEYS to your quest…but first…you must clear the taint that affects these woods…" he said, his voice sounding slightly strained at the end, "Once the taint is cleared, I shall provide the first KEY and information on where you shall go next…"
"Clear the taint from the forest…why am I getting a weird feeling from this? Oh…wait…" Arthur muttered to himself, paling as he remembers exactly what that means, "I remember now, he's really going to ask us…" he trailed off.
"What, Arthur? He's going to ask us to do what? Shouldn't we help however we can? Hmph! Some Hero you are. Fine. Whatever it is, I'll do it mys-"
"Go inside, young Arthur, Linkle…" the Huge Tree opened its gaping maw, revealing a dark, cave like entrance, "You shall find the source of the taint within…"
Arthur deadpanned.
Linkle blinked. Then she blinked again. She then turned to Arthur, opening her mouth to say something, ANYTHING, until she saw his absolute 'done with this shit ten minutes ago' deadpan, she then turned back to the Tree and, mustering all of her brainpower, said, "Huh?"
"Yeah, you heard him. So listen, before we get into this, I have a few things I need to explain to you. It'd be a pain otherwise." Arthur said in his bored, dead tone. He then turned to her as he finished.
He then explained the circumstances of his summoning, how different worlds existed and how he knew the basics of Hyrule's circumstances because of stories from his own world. He figured that considering all he just learned of the multiverse, someone from a parallel Hyrule somehow traveled to Earth and told the stories from his home, eventually leading to the media he knows.
'All those stories I've read where the main character has to hide his identity as an otherworlder from everyone so they don't figure out that he knows them from some anime or something…how else is he going to explain what he knows? Considering different worlds exist, same goes for parallel worlds and world travel, right? And just because he might know their characters from media, doesn't mean their circumstances will always be the same. I mean, the proof is right next to me.' He thought as he explained everything to Linkle.
"So yeah, basically there may be moments where I know things it seems like I shouldn't, there may be times where I seem extremely confused, who knows? Like, you got a green-haired friend named Saria?" he finished explaining, then asked a question as an example.
"Huh? Yeah! Wow, I guess this could really come in handy! I'm really glad you took the five minutes to explain that to me, Arthur! That'll really help to avoid confusion between us in the future!" Linkle said, smiling brightly.
"Yeah, it was even easier than I expected. I'm so glad I did this. Now I also have someone with me who can corroborate my story, making future interactions more seamless." He looked up into the sky, "I've done it, I've broken into the top 1% of Isekai protagonists." His hair shaded his eyes as a tear sparkled its way down his cheek.
"You wanna talk about it?"
"No. Sorry, felt like being overly dramatic for a second. Live with mer-…huh? Ok, that's gonna take some getting used to." He smiled at her, which turned to a confused frown as he muttered to himself.
"What is? Why do you look so confused?" Linkle tilted her head cutely at his constantly changing expressions.
"The memories," Arthur explained, "My ancestor gave me all of his memories, and it seems like his personality is rubbing off on me. So, if I say something weird then daze off for a second, that'll be why." He finished with a thoughtful look on his face.
"Oh, I understand! Just try not to lose focus when we're in a fight, okay?" she said with an understanding smile, then a joking tone at the end.
"Heh, you got it! I've got your back, my lady!" he answered, facing her with a bright smile.
As he smiled, a beam of sunlight fell directly on his head, illuminating his hair, making it glow with an otherworldly light. His smile seemed to emit a light of its own as his bright green eyes met hers.
Linkle's eyes widened as her face exploded in red. She quickly shut them as if the ward off an illusion. 'What was that? How the hell did he do that? Why does he sparkle like that? Wh-'
Her thoughts were cut off as she felt something on her forehead. She opened her eyes only to see his bright green orbs directly in front of her and his forehead touching hers.
"Hmmmm. No, you don't feel too warm. Are you feeling okay, Linkle?"
*thump*
"I suppose we must wait for young Linkle to regain consciousness…*sigh*" the Great Tree sighed out in exasperation.
"Was it something I said?" Arthur asked in genuine confusion. He decided to sit on the ground next to Linkle's prone form.
To be continued…
Omake
Arthur Speedruns the Dungeon
*five minutes after Arthur and Linkle enter the Deku Tree*
"I wonder how the two young heroes fare? That darkness shouldn't be too difficu-" the Tree mused to himself only to be interrupted permanently as a pillar of golden light erupted from the center of his being, spearing into the sky an d eliminating any trace of clouds in the sky.
With a loud *thunk!*, a large emerald set in gold fell to the ground from the Great Tree's branches, while two figures could be seen limping out of the smoking maw.
Linkle, with wide eyes, trembled as she walked while Arthur tried to comfort her.
"S-s-spiders!!! So many spiders!" she stuttered, shuddering at the memory.
"Shhhhh, it's okay, I took care of them. Excalibur didn't let anything of them get away. They got swept away by the holy light of fuck that shit." He said, while wrapping his arms around her and rocking her in place.
"You promise?" she asked, looking up at him with puppy eyes.
"Gah! Don't do that! Yes, of course they're gone. And any other spider shall face the same fate in front of me!" he declared, clutching his chest at the puppy-eyes attack that unexpectedly came from Linkle. "Oh hey look, the key thingy!" Arthur said as he noticed the green gem on the ground. "Weird, the Deku Tree was supposed to talk to us before he gave it to us. Oh well, I'm pretty sure I know where we need to go. Come on, Linkle! On to Hyrule!" he said as he picked up the gem and walked towards the exit of the clearing.
"Uh…sure…yeah…" Linkle said as she looked up and noticed the gaping hole in the forest canopy, "I think it'd be a good idea if we left…"
Omake end.
R&R, let me know what you like and don't like. I'm not going to move overly fast, pacing wise. Not gonna linger long in the dungeons, mostly for interesting moments that'll move personal plots along. Next up, the duo will dive into the Deku's depths. And yes, I'm making this Linkle afraid of spiders. Considering there aren't many spiders based enemies in OOT, I figured it was a safe enough quirk to add some levity in certain situations.