A/N: I apologize to my readers. It was incredibly impulsive of me to start a story such as Hero of Our Time. In truth, I was trying to write something to get back into writing, and it came out as a bit of an epic. Though I have all of it planned out, actually writing it all will take more time than I have. So instead of writing an epic, I am now focused on shorter stories.

This will be a collection of short stories detailing the thoughts of Links from certain points of their games. Things probably won't be exactly canon, but you can see where they might fit in. Each chapter will be from a different game and feature a different Link. Of course, I do not own the Legend of Zelda.

Game Universe: Ocarina of Time.

Spoilers: Most of the Game.

The Hero of Time. They called him the Hero of Time. The one destined to restore peace to Hyrule. The one destined to awaken the sages to counter the magic of the Evil King. The one destined to rally Hyrule's scattered hope and warriors to mount an attack. The one destined to save the Sacred Realm from attack by the evil that had conquered Hyrule. The one destined to defeat the Evil King Ganondorf.

In his mind, Link was none of these things. He was only the one destined to fail.

Link had taken the Master Sword in order to open the door for the Triforce. He wanted to open the door to the power that would stop Ganondorf's assault upon the land. He wanted to open the door to the power that could avenge the death of the Deku Tree. He wanted to open the door to the power that would save the citizens in Castle Town. He wanted to open the door to the power that would bring justice for the Zora and Gorons.

But things did not go according to his plans.

He had opened the door for the Evil King. He had opened the door for eternal darkness. He had opened the door to the reign of Ganondorf. He had opened the door to the fall of the Kokiri people. He had opened the door to the death of many in Castle Town. He had opened the door to the imprisoning of the Gorons, and the freezing of the Zora. He had opened the door to this world he now surveyed.

Link exited the Temple of Time expecting to see the people enslaved by the Gerudo. Based on what Sheik and Rauru had said, and his knowledge of the ambitions of Ganondorf, Link thought he would see a Castle Town in slavery. He saw instead a Castle Town in ruins. A people in ruins. A country in ruins. The houses, stores and stalls were unrecognizable, decayed, and broken. ReDeads roamed the street. There was little doubt of where they came from. ReDeads were zombies, and zombies came from people. Judging from the dozens of them roaming the streets, most of the people off Castle Town had been murdered.

Link felt rage overcome him at the sight. He drew the Master Sword and charged at the nearest ReDead and chopped its head clean off its shoulders. He moved to another. And another. ReDeads fell left and right as the Master Sword moved in a flurry of stabs, slashes, and cuts. Yet more and more came.

Navi realized the danger and screeched in Link's ear, "LINK! We can't stay here! We have to keep moving! There's a path open to the door! Run for it!"

Link acted as if he hadn't even heard the fairy. He continued his onslaught of blows against the incoming zombies. The hero's rage was unbreakable and total. Suddenly, he heard another voice in his head. It was unintelligible, but something to it comforted Link. He sheathed his blade and sprinted towards the drawbridge, praying it wasn't locked. His fears disappeared when he saw it was broken into pieces and floating in the moat.

Though the ReDeads stopped following him at the gate, Link ran on. Though Navi shouted in his ear, Link ran on. Though he became short of breath, Link ran on. Though he was being chased by a Poe, Link ran on. Though the human soldier that stood guard at the entrance to Kakariko Village told him to stop and identify himself, Link ran on.

Link was somewhat relieved when he came into Kakariko and there were no signs of monsters. In fact, the town was larger than he remembered it, and he recognized plenty of faces from Castle Town. Hope was beginning to come back to the young man, but it was quickly dashed when he overheard a conversation from the central plaza. A Zora, a Goron, a Gerudo, two Hylians, a Sheikah and Mido were present. Before he even heard what they were saying, Link's hopes took a blow. Things must be horrible if Mido left the Kokiri Forest. The conversation confirmed his fears.

"We need help in the mountains. Ganondorf has taken most of us hostage and imprisoned my kin in the Fire Temple. In one week's time they are scheduled to be fed to the dragon Volvagia. My father Darunia escaped and plans to try to free the rest of our kin, but he alone is no match for the powers of Ganondorf. We need some soldiers to assist us," explained the worried Goron.

"We need help in the rivers. Ganondorf has frozen all of my people in ice. The only way to free all of my kin is to defeat the monster that lives in the Water Temple. But to do so will be very difficult. I expect there to be dozens of troops inside of it, as well as fiendish traps. I need people to watch my back when I go in. I alone am no match for the might of Ganondorf. I need some soldiers to assist me," explained the worried Zora.

"We need help in the forest. Ganondorf killed our guardian, the Great Deku Tree, and has invaded. All of my friends are locked in their houses, too afraid to come out. Except for Saria. Saria went to the sacred Forest Temple to pray, but has not come out. I went to look to see what could have happened, but the place is swarming with Moblins. She must have been kidnapped. I need help to rescue her and get rid of the monsters in my village," explained the worried Kokiri.

"We need help in Castle Town. As the citizens of Kakariko know, Castle Town has been overrun by monsters. Many of our citizens were turned into ReDeads. We had to leave all of our possessions behind to get away in time. We are very thankful for Kakariko's hospitality, but we desire to return home. Besides, our welcome here is wearing thin. Arguments and squabbles are breaking out. Soon there may be large scale fighting. We need help defeating the ReDeads and recolonizing Castle Town," explained the worried elder of Castle Town.

"We need help in Lon Lon Ranch. Ganondorf gave control of the ranch to my former employee Ingo. He has hurt many of the animals there, but that's not what worries me. He has made my daughter Malon stay there as his slave! I don't want to think of what harm has come to my innocent little girl… I need soldiers to reclaim my ranch," explained the worried Talon.

"We need help in the desert. Ganondorf promised the Gerudo people the world in our role in your suffering, but he has betrayed us. We remain locked in the sweltering desert, dying of heat and starvation as we always have. We tried to speak out, to remind the evil one of his promises, but he merely imprisoned Nabooru, our leader. He has monsters roaming the desert and two witches to rule us. We need soldiers to help us defeat the Evil King of traitors," explained the worried Gerudo.

"We citizens of Kakariko hear your pleas. However, there is nothing we can do. We can not stand up to the might of Ganondorf. All of our soldiers are occupied keeping our borders safe, and we doubt that will last for long. Ganondorf's troops get closer and closer to their goals with every raid. The Great Monster of the Shadow Temple is almost free of its bonds. Soon, there will be that threat to deal with as well. You may need soldiers, but we need a hero. We apologize, but we can not help you," explained the worried Impa, founder of Kakariko.

At Impa's words, chaos broke loose. The Goron rose to his feet and began shouting while Mido dropped to his knees and began to cry. The Zora drew a blade and began waving it manically while Talon rose to his feet and started spewing curses. The last hope of resistance against Ganondorf turned into a bitter argument.

Game over.

Link watched it all from the shadows. Instead of going in and breaking things up, he dropped to his knees and began to cry. Tears dripped down the hero's cheek as his breaths were reduced to mournful sobs.

"This is all my fault! I opened the door for Ganondorf! I let this all happen! Some hero I turned out to be," Link cried. He ignored the reassurances of Navi. He ignored the melee around him. Time seemed to slow, and there was only Link and his sorrows. The world was ending, and Link could not stop it.

"But you can stop it," spoke the voice in his head, "You wield the Master Sword. You are trusted by the Gorons, Zora, and the Hylians because of those same past efforts. You are the one who can end this argument and take the fight to Ganondorf."

Link replied, "This mess is my fault. I collected the three keys and went along with what the others wanted. I played right into Ganondorf's hand. I was strong enough to be a hero. But everything I did turned out wrong. If I fight now, I'll destroy the very thing I'm fighting for. How can these people trust me if I don't trust myself?"

The mysterious voice considered Link's answer and then replied, "Was Zelda not also to blame? She was the one who set you on your quest and guided you all along. She has fallen from royalty to poverty, has become the most hunted person in the world, yet she still helps her people in anyway she can. She remains strong in her exile. Yet Zelda can not win this war alone. The assistance of a hero is needed. You are needed."

"I am no hero. I have done more harm then well. If I make more of a mess of things…"

"If you do, it will just take more effort to clean up. Remember, to be a hero is not to perform great deeds. To be a hero is to fight against the odds and to fix what one breaks. To be a hero is to act from a selfless viewpoint and dedicate oneself to helping others. To be a hero is to fight for what is right. You must not doubt yourself. Rise now and fulfill your destiny."

"Things are already too far out of hand. No one man can stop them."

"You are not a man. You are the Hero of Time. Remember how you battled Gohma? Remember the fight against King Dodongo? How could you trust yourself against such great monsters? Somehow, you did. You believed that you can beat them and make things right, and that is what happened. How is Ganondorf any different? He is not even a monster… he is merely a man from the desert. Remember, your body was weak during your past adventures, but your spirit persevered regardless. Now your body is strong as well. The sky is no limit as to what you can do."

"Who are you? Why are you inside of my head?" asked Link.

The voice replied, "I am you. I am the hero who defeated Demise, defeated Ghirahim, defeated Vaati, defeated death, and defeated hopelessness. I am the hero who has saved many a man and defeated evils the world has long forgotten. I am you."

With those words, Link pushed back the dark shroud of doubt that had covered his mind. Self doubt was a plague, he realized. He could only defeat Ganondorf if he believed he could. Link was confident that he could do it, or at least die trying. As he came to this conclusion, a golden triangle began to glow on the back of his left hand. In defeating his own mind he had earned the Triforce of Courage.

Link rose from the shadows, all signs of his tears replaced with a look of determination. He strode with an air of confidence into the center of the turmoil and shouted, "I will help you. I will help you all. I am the Hero of Time, come from the very depths of the Sacred Realm itself. I have been sent to destroy Ganondorf. It will start in the forest!"

The elders responded with lackluster enthusiasm and little support. They did not recognize him as the Hero of Time. But Link needed no support, and no recognition. He now knew he was the Hero of Time. His mind was a clear and calm as the surface of Lake Hylia. He didn't have to worry about fighting Ganondorf. Link had fought the terrors of his own mind and won. Now, nothing could stop him.