End of Legend of FIVE #2-Legend of FIVE #3

“TREVOR!” Navi was a fairy, small in her stature, and sometimes hard to see, especially in daylight. Kakariko Village’s afternoon had just begun, but Navi madesureto be seen at this very moment. Her voice was the best way to be noticed–it always had a strength to it. Her voice cut through the noise of a possible fight. It was louder than the gasps that emerged from the onlooking crowd. Link landed on the ground with widened eyes. He favored the corner of his mouth where Trevor punched him. Everything fell silent in Kakariko. Everything except for Navi’s angry shout and Trevor. “A**hole.” Trevor glared down at Link with gritted teeth. Both his hands were balled up into fists. He shook fiercely whilst stomping towards Link. Jerome quickly blocked his path, holding his best friend back. Jerome’s face washed over with pure confusion. Sheila also placed a hand on Trevor—a gentle kind of touch, like she always had, something meant to keep the peace. “A**hole,” Trevor repeated. “You–A**HOLE!This isyourfault!” He gestured around at the village after brushing away from his friends. His eyes grew wild with rage he kept to himself for seven years. “That’s unfair!” Navi shouted. She hovered between Trevor and Link. Her own hands tightened into fists with a glower of her own that rivaled Trevor’s. “What’s this about?” Jerome murmured, disappointed at his friend’s rage. “Trevor…” Sheila whispered. Trevor pointed at Link. The Hero of Time stayed on the ground. A thin red line seeped from the corner of his mouth. He didn’t even try to wipe the blood away. Link looked up at Trevor with no expression. Trevor’s chest tightened even more. “You had to go into business that wasn’t yours,” Trevor said. “You just had to go around pulling us into your life and making us follow you around on some dumba** fetch quest. To save what?” Trevor looked around as if the answer would appear. “A land we didn’t know anything about? A pretty princess only you were able to talk to? So you can go back to your woods? Well hey, congratulations!” Trevor threw his arms up in the air as he raised his voice. “Welcome back. Hyrule’s been taken over, by the way. By the very guy who we—no, the very guy that you—were supposed to stop. A**HOLE! All because of that stupid a** sword!” Navi shook her head while flying closer to Link’s face. “He had no idea what was going to happen when he pulled the Master Sword,” she pointed out. Trevor turned his glare to Navi. “But he could have walked away.” “What would that have done? He would have died at Ganondorf’s hands.” “Maybe that would have been better.” “Would you have rather died, Trevor? That’s just sick…” “Honestly…the way things turned out, yeah.” An unsettling quiet swept over the group at that moment. Members of the crowd didn’t seem keen on looking on anymore. They slowly dispersed, realizing their day of triumph was now tainted by this conflict. A few villagers tended to the business of disposing of the red clad soldiers. Others retreated back into their homes, glad they didn’t have to deal with trouble for another day. The issue in the town square continued on. “You were supposed to send us home,” Trevor said, turning back to Link. “Get the Triforce. Protect it. Make a godd**n wish–sending us home.” Trevor’s shoulders sagged and suddenly it showed—his weariness, his anger, his hurt at the loneliness he felt after all this time. “Now Ganondorf has it all. And we’re stuck here. Probably forever. Where are we now, Link? Hm?” Navi covered her eyes with her hand. “Ganondorf is the one to blame, Trevor. Not Link.” “Bulls**t.” Link pushed himself off the ground. He rose to his feet like vapor, standing tall on his two feet in an instant. The hero from the woods stepped forward. He went up to Trevor. The others looked at one another with unease. Trevor’s expression didn’t change. “You know…you really found a great way to screw everything up. I can’t remember my parent’s faces, bro.” Trevor shed tears as his lips trembled. Even his own friends seemed hurt being reminded of this reality—that the lives they led back in Illinois could never be given back to them, that it was over when it came to their coming back to the world they knew. “Mom and Dad,” Trevor continued. “They’re not even memories. I don’t even know if they’re real. Seven years, man. We might as well be dead, since our folks think we are. Why did we go on that adventure? Why?” Link held his gaze on Trevor. “We had a purpose,” he answered. Dark tones dripped out in his voice. “That’s the problem,” said Trevor. “Again, you have a purpose.You.You get to save Hyrule, not us. We weren’t supposed to be in the d**n picture. Want to save the world? Go ahead. Meanwhile, I’ll do what I want. Without you. Have fun saving the world. Do it right this time. And leave me out of your problems.” Trevor looked at his friends with returned warmth in his eyes. “I’m glad to see you’re OK. Even Tinkerbell being back makes me happy. Just tell Mr. Hero to screw off. He messed up our lives enough.” Trevor brushed past Link and stormed off into the house where Talon stayed. Despite all that happened, the former farmer stayed inside. Trevor yanked the door open and slammed it shut behind him. The crack shot around the air. Navi fumed at the door where Trevor exited. “The nerve of him,” she muttered before getting loud again. “I swear, he always has to think about himself.” Navi looked over at Link. “Are you alright?” Link stared off into the distance. “I haven’t been alright since I woke up in the Sacred Realm,” he said. “I…need to go to the graveyard. It’s part of the quest. Jerome and Sheila, you can stay here. Trevor needs you.” Jerome stepped forward, reaching out with a hand. “Link,” he said. “We can—” “I’ll go there by myself. Please.” Link looked Jerome in the eyes and they didn’t say anything to each other. Jerome’s lips parted, as if he wished to push Link again…but then he sealed his lips and let Link go. Link sulked away. He dragged himself to one of the village’s back corners. There, a natural archway beckoned visitors onto a path to the place where fallen souls rested. The journey would continue there and Link figured he’d be able to clear his mind doing the next part of the adventure he never wanted.

~*~

Trevor’s rage radiated. He sat down by Talon’s bed, fuming on the stool he planted beside it. Trevor hunched his back and stared at the home’s floorboards. His nostrils flared with furious exhales. Talon sat up. He said he heard the problems outside and thought Trevor had gotten killed. He seemed relieved that this wasn’t the case, but the Lon Lon Ranch owner knew Trevor still had a heavy issue on his mind, a problem that wouldn’t go away. Even in the silence, something spoke to everything at hand. Seven years. Seven years away from home and thinking my friends were dead. Trevor should have been happy. Two of his closest friends came back to him. Kaepora Gaebora must have known they’d reunite and meet again. Why would he sully such a great reunion with anger? Especially considering that Rebecca— He caught himself thinking about her. Trevor closed his eyes. He didn’t want to think about Rebecca. It didn’t seem like he wanted to move forward from the past either. He was caught in a trap that his heart couldn’t break free from. The small house’s door creaked open. Trevor saw daylight seep in from the corner of his eye but didn’t turn to see who came in. Talon, on the other hand, had no qualms looking that way. “Well then,” Talon murmured. “Ain’t it good to see you two? I thought there was another one—a boy in green from the forest. With the fairy.” “He’s…somewhere else,” Trevor heard Sheila say. “It’s good seeing you again sir,” said Jerome. Talon smiled. “And you as well. You two sure have grown, my my…” “Where’s your daughter?” Sheila asked. “She’s always so kind to everyone.” Talon’s eyes watered. “She’s…at the ranch. I guess Trevor didn’t tell you about them kicking me out. No matter. It sounded like a lot was going on out there.” “We took care of it,” said Jerome. “Everyone’s safe now.” “Thank you for it,” said Talon. “Need to borrow your old buddy for a minute?” “If that’s alright with you,” Jerome said back. “Be my guest.” Talon looked at Trevor. “Trevor…you have to take care of whatever’s going on with you. Whether it’s with your friends, with me, with Malon or the rest of the world. You have to take of it, alright? Promise me that.” Trevor didn’t look at Talon nor his friends. He just sat on the stool for a moment longer before barely nodding his head. It took him longer to stand up. When he did, Trevor walked out of the house with his two friends and they walked out into the village. Everything began calming down in the village when the three of them came out. They walked until they reached a tall tree planted in the middle of the town square. Its branches and thick leaves offered shade to them as the sun continued beaming down from the sky above. The villagers cleared out the red clad soldiers and it was hard to imagine that around an hour ago any lives were in danger. “Trevor,” Jerome said. “You shouldn’t have hit Link.” His steady voice reminded Trevor of their younger years. Younger years. That was a strange thought to have. Though they weren’t eighteen yet, they lost their childhood. Sheila and Jerome vanished and suddenly got older. He recognized their faces and the way they spoke and even the way they moved…but they couldn’t be the same as before. Not ever again. “I guess I shouldn’t have,” Trevor muttered, looking away from his best friend. “We really missed seeing you,” Sheila added. “We…heard from Ganondorf that he killed you and Rebecca.” Sheila’s voice broke. It brought a pit to Trevor’s stomach. Rebecca’s name made a chill shoot down his spine. He braced himself a bit. He knew Sheila was constantly looking around, hoping for good news. “It’s so good to see it’s not true,” Sheila said. “At least…do…do you know where Rebecca is?” Trevor made sure to look Sheila in the eyes. His heart pounded as he looked at his friend’s red eyes glistening. Her mouth hung open in anticipation of what Trevor had to say. “When the…problem in the temple happened,” Trevor said. “We both ran away. Then we split up. I didn’t see her after that. But don’t worry. I have a feeling she’s alive. I don’t think she thought I lived after all that. But we escaped the temple by some miracle.” Sheila exhaled. A tear ran down her cheek and she wiped it away, nodding her head. “I’m sure she’s out there,” Sheila said. “I believe it.” Jerome put an arm on Sheila’s shoulder and held her close. The time they all lost…instead of going to high school to play sports and participate in dances, every single one of them were part of another world. They had to save this strange place they found themselves in. Trevor’s heart ached at having to take care of matters but he was glad to have his friends. “What do you want me to do with Link?” Trevor asked. “He…he made a decision for you all and I don’t know what happened to you afterwards. What went on?” “We slept in the Sacred Realm for seven years,” Jerome said. “Link wasn’t old enough to hold the Master Sword. So, the sword put him to sleep. We happened to be next to him. He didn’t know, man. How could he? We were all kids. I bet Rebecca is out there understanding that as well.” Trevor had a hard time believing what he heard. Seven years of involuntary sleep? That sounded too unbelievable, even in a place like Hyrule. Oak Shire was clearly “normal” compared to this land; there weren’t giant dinosaurs on mountains or large whale bellies to explore. Talking owls didn’t give you a ride to a lake with fish people around. Destiny didn’t control how life went for you. One often decided how to do that on their own. “I’m glad you’re out,” Trevor said. “I’m…sorry I got mad and ruined the moment.” “It’s cool, but you have to talk to Link, bro. You can’t be hitting our friends—yourfriends. He’s your friend and he’d die for you if he had to. Same as us. Same as we hope you would. Same as Rebecca would want.” Trevor hung his head. He still fumed thinking about Link…and then wondered if he did blame him. He saw Link as a representation of everything he wasn’t; responsible for a heavy duty but ready for it. Trevor always wanted to shy away from his strangeness. He always felt a need to run from the tasks that came his way and fought back against destiny so constantly. It brought a lot upon his heart. “I can’t make promises,” Trevor said. Jerome shrugged. “You don’t have to make a promise. Just do what’s right.” Trevor wondered if anything was ever going to be right ever again.