Chapter 1

Link’s hand shot into the air and intersected with Zelda’s and Ganondorf’s. He was not the real Ganondorf, that man having been killed by Link three years before. No, this was an actor with the same height and build as the evil man.
The cameras whirred. “Okay, you can put your hands down now,” said the supervising director for the Legend of Zelda studio. Link flexed his hand and swung his arms. Zelda brought her arm down and stood motionless, picture perfect, the Triforce of Wisdom gleaming on the back of her right hand.
“I’m hungry,” announced Benny, the Ganondorf actor.
“Well, you’re lucky, because it’s lunchtime,” said Jim, the director.
“Yahoo!” yelled Benny, running out the door. Link shook his head.
“For all that he’s two years older than I am, he still acts like Rana at ten.”
Zelda grinned. “You can’t deny he’s nicer than Ganondorf.”
“No, I couldn’t. It’s not possible to be meaner than Ganondorf.”
“What’s that about Ganondorf?” A brown haired woman stood in the door. “And why did Benny almost run me over? Honestly, it’s worse than Fox McCloud almost taking the roof off the house.” Link went over to her and guided her gently out of the doorway.
“Benny’s just excited because it’s lunchtime. Who’s Fox McCloud? I’ve only met Mario, Princess Peach, Bowser, though he doesn’t talk a lot, Donkey King, or is it Kong, Yoshi, and a kid called Ness.”
“Fox McCloud is a fox with a weird, hi-tech headset. I think he’s from one of those futuristic games. He’s flying low over the apartments in a plane sort of thing. I can’t remember what he called it. I haven’t met Yoshi or Ness yet. Remember, this is only our first day. However, I saw a yellow animal called a Pikachu by the black-haired kid who owned it.”
“Yoshi is a sort of lizard with a funny grin, and Ness is a little kid with a yo-yo. I’m having lunch in the cafeteria today; are you coming, Rana?”
“No,” Rana said. “You can socialize if you like, and maybe invite some folks over for supper, though please invite a human if you can. I have to clean the house.”
“Clean the house?” Link asked incredulously. “We only got here yesterday, and it looked fine to me.”
Rana shook her head. “You didn’t look close enough. It’s obviously been built in…”
“Gangway! Yoshi filming area!” Link and Rana jumped out of the way of a gigantic herd of little multicoloured dinosaurs, charging along the big, open plain behind the studios. The ground shook beneath their tread.
“As I was saying,” continued Rana as Link ducked into the cafeteria door, “our house was probably built in less than two weeks. It’s filthy. See you later!”
“See you, Rana,” answered Link. He grabbed a tray, filled it with food, and sat down near Benny.

Chapter 2

Link couldn’t help looking at the fellow sitting with his back to him at the next table. He had thick blue hair, with a golden crown nestled in it close to his head, a blue cloak, and a long sword at his side. He ate unconcernedly, evidently quite at his ease in the noisy atmosphere.
A young man with messy red hair, purple cloak, and another sword turned away from the serving counter and stared at the blue-haired guy in surprise, and, Link thought, awe. He approached the man quickly.
“Excuse me,” asked the red-head in a surprisingly deep voice, “but are you from Elibe?”
“Pardon?” answered the blue-haired man, who had a soft tenor. “No, I’m from Altea.” He made a slight grimace which Link could barely see. “What’s left of it, anyway.” The red-head gasped.
“What!? Then, you’re not Marth? The Prince Marth?” He gaped and sat down across from the prince quickly.
“Yes, I’m Marth,” answered Marth casually. “Who are you? You must be from Elibe.”
“I’m Roy. My father is Eliwood, Marquess Pherae.”
“Marquess… Oh. The ruler of the territory of Pherae? In Lycia?”
“Correct.”
“I’m sorry. I’m not familiar with your continent.”
“That’s okay. Father always told me stories of you, when I was smaller. I always thought you were really cool.”
“So are you,” said Marth warmly, and Roy turned as red as his hair. He might have turned purple with embarrassment and pleasure, but Link came to his rescue.
“So, Altea and Lycia are places where swords are not yet outdated, too?” he commented, sitting beside Marth with his tray. “I come from Hyrule. My name’s Link. Almost everybody I’ve met today has no weapon at all, or one of those things they call guns.”
Roy looked at Link suspiciously, as if to tell him off for eavesdropping, but Marth turned to him with a smile. “Yes, swords are still in common use. So are bows, spears, lances, axes, and so on. I had a really nice one a couple of years ago, a legendary sword.”
“Mine’s not legendary, I think, but it’s magical,” said Link.
“Father used one, too, on his quest before he married Mother,” contributed Roy.
“I’ve never used a lance or an axe, but I’m a good hit with a bow, too,” added Link.
“So, where is Hyrule?” asked Roy.
“I couldn’t tell you from here, but you could ask Zelda. She’s the princess, but they wanted her for this production, so the four of us came.”
“Four?”
“Zelda, Benny, standing in for Ganondorf, an evil usurper I defeated about three years ago, and my wife Rana and me. They’re not using Rana, but they’re using the drawings she did of me as a twelve-year-old.”
“What for?” asked Marth, confused.
“To make a computer-generated model of me. I did some quest things when I was twelve and thirteen. Saved Termina and helped Hyrule.”
“Who’s Termina?” asked Roy. His earlier hesitance had disappeared, and now he was an eager listener.
“It’s a country. The moon was going to fall on it in three days. I had to time-travel to fix it. Tatl and I slept for a month after that,” and Link chuckled reminiscently.
“That’s interesting,” said Marth. “I wasn’t going until I was eighteen. I had…”
“He had to save his sister from a dragon twice!” interjected Roy. “Father took ill last year right at the worst possible time, so he put me in charge of the army. I was seventeen. How did you start at twelve?”
“I had help,” said Link uncomfortably. He noticed the other two were done eating. “Let’s talk outside, where it’s quieter.”
As they nodded and stood, he noticed that both had blue chest and shoulder armour. Roy wore a blue and yellow headband that did nothing to keep his hair out of his face, and Marth had a red jewel broach fastened to his cloak. Both cloaks swirled as they followed him out of the cafeteria and onto the lawn.
“Yoshi should be done filming now. Have you done any yet?”
Marth and Roy looked at each other. “Not yet, but I’m due to start this afternoon,” said Marth. Roy looked a little unhappy. “I don’t start until tomorrow,” he said.
“I seem to be popular,” muttered Link as they sat down on the grass on top of a hill.
“What was that?” asked Marth curiously.
“Nothing,” said Link quickly. “I had no idea I had to save Hyrule until I was twelve. On that day, Navi came to me and told me the Great Deku Tree needed to talk to me. I ended up fighting a giant spider with a sword and a shield and Rana. She was there too, you see. That afternoon, we crossed Hyrule Plain and went to see Zelda the next day. In a week and a half, I think, no, more like two and a half, I pulled the Master Sword out of the Pedestal of Time.” He paused. “I’m sorry if most of this sounds like gibberish and gobbledegook, but Hyrule is very…”
“Localized?” suggested Roy. Link nodded. “That’s the word. So with Navi and the Master Sword and my Hylian Shield - this thing –“ he pulled it off his back “- and, um, the Ocarina of Time and the Seven Sages, I defeated Ganondorf in two months; actually I forgot to mention I was nineteen. I warped through seven years so I could use the Master Sword properly. Then I watched Rana die, and warped back seven years, so I was twelve. I went to Termina, and turned thirteen, and sailed to Koholint, which turned out to be a dream, returned home and had to save it from Ganondorf again, and the Goddesses restored Rana to life a year ago.” Link ran out of breath. “That’s my life story. How about you?”
Marth looked at Roy. “You first,” he said
Roy turned red again and began. “Well, it really starts with Father. He helped Aunt – I mean, Lady Lyndis rejoin her grandfather, and met Mother while he was at it. Next year, he was twenty-one, and he set out to look for Grandfather Elbert. He left Pherae with old Marcus and met Lilina’s father, I mean Lord Hector, the next day. They met up with Lady Lyndis and sailed to Valor, the Dread Isle, on a hint. They found Lord Elbert, but found out there was a huge evil plot behind his disappearance. Lord Elbert was murdered almost the same minute they found him, and Mother almost opened the Dragon’s Gate, but Uncle came in time and stopped her.”
“The Dragon’s Gate,” muttered Marth darkly. “I wonder…”
“They left Valor and met with Lord Uther, Lord Hector’s older brother, who was Marquess Ostia at that time. He told them to go to Nabata, the desert. I’m mentioning this because this is where they met Lord Pent and Lady Louise of Etruria. They’re good friends of the family. They went to Bern and saved the Fire Emblem from the Black Fang, and then they saved King Zephial, who was the prince then, and basically went around fixing things until they defeated Nergal. You know, it’s odd, and rather ironic, that the tactician Ceniro was the first to die. In the last battle, Father told me he was shot by an arrow. It devastated Lady Lyndis, who was the first to meet him. I wish I had known him. Then Father and Mother got married after and had me some years later. When I was seventeen, as I said, Father became ill and I had to investigate the rumours that King Zephial had taken over Etruria and Ilia. I couldn’t believe it at first, because Lord Pent and Lady Louise are amazing fighters, and the Pegasus Sisters’ homeland – Ilia – has lots of good knights, but Bern has a huge military. Anyhow, it was up to me and Lilina, my best friend since we were six, to find out was was going on and stop it; and we did. Contrary to rumours and even ‘eye-witnesses’, Lord Hector, Lilina’s father, wasn’t killed. He was wounded, but just went back to Ostia and recuperated under a different name. It really annoyed him that the war was over before he could use that axe of his.”
“The Fire Emblem,” said Marth thoughtfully. “I think that’s the sword I used to defeat Medeus… No, no, mine was called the Falchion. Anyway, my story’s already been told… Oh, all right. My sister disappeared, and I found out a dark dragon called Medeus kidnapped her. After I killed him with the… sword, he actually came back and took her again. I found out that the sword wasn’t at full power when I got him the first time, so I had to waste a whole lot of time finding the stuff to do it with. And then I killed him again.”
The clock chimed one o’clock. Link rose.
“That was fascinating,” he said. “Would you like to come over to my place for dinner? Rana said I could invite someone. I’ll meet you after work.”
“Sure thing,” said Marth.
“I can definitely come,” added Roy. “Where will you meet us?”
“How about right here?” asked Link. The two swordsmen nodded and the trio parted.

Chapter 3

Link was tired. He had been working hard at his scenes in the opening movie, and wanted to sit down for a while. Benny was lucky; he had finished just after lunch. He didn’t need to do anything for about a week. Link jogged to the hill where he had talked to Marth and Roy.
They were waiting for him. Marth was sitting on the grass, and Roy was looking at the forests and mountains in the distance.
“Hi,” called Link, waving. They waved back, and Marth got up and went to meet him.
“So, where do you live?”
“In the Hyrule block, naturally. Our house looks like it’s just out of Kakariko Village.”
“Is the Hyrule block the place with the sign with the three yellow triangles on it?” asked Roy.
“Yes. That’s our symbol, the Triforce. It’s a symbol of the three goddesses who created Hyrule: Din, Nayru, and Farore.”
“It’s on your shield,” noted Marth.
“I know. And look at my left hand.” Link held it up, and pulled off his glove so as to make the glowing crest more visible. Marth and Roy were surprised.
“I’m not sure exactly how it got there, but it’s the Triforce of Courage. There are also the Triforces of Wisdom and the Triforce of Power. Zelda has the Wisdom one.”
“Hyrulians are very interesting,” commented Roy.
“Yes… actually I’m a Hylian, that’s a Hyrulian noble. We’re considered peculiar by most people. It’s nice to talk to you, because you don’t have any prejudices.”
“Why should we?” asked Marth.
“How many people do you know with… oh, we’re here.” They had walked to the Hyrule block, which had three houses on it. Roy looked around.
“My house is right down there,” he said, pointing to the block across the street.
“I think mine is too,” said Marth. Link peered at the sign in front of the houses.
“The sign has a nice looking sword on it.”
“That’s us, then,” said Marth. “We’re the only other people here with swords, and your symbol is the… Triforce.” Link nodded and pushed open his door.
“Rana?” he called. Rana came immediately.
“I wasn’t expecting you so soon,” she said softly. “I haven’t started supper yet.”
“That’s okay. Our guests are very interesting.”
“All right.”
Link went back outside. “She hasn’t started supper,” he told them.
“That’s okay,” said Marth. “Hey, want to try a match?”
“Sure,” said Link. He was tired, but not too tired to fight well.
“Well, then,” said Marth, drawing his sword. Link drew his, and at the first clash of metal, Rana’s head appeared at the window.
“Link? Oh, be careful, guys! Are you sure you don’t want to use something a little less lethal?”
“Well…” hesitated Marth, “it wouldn’t do any good for someone to get injured right before we do anything…”
“There are some wooden swords at my house,” volunteered Roy. “Lilina sent them so I could train without hacking the garden to pieces. I do, sometimes, by accident.”
“I would hope you didn’t on purpose,” laughed Link. “We’ll take the offer, I think.” Rana smiled happily and pulled back inside. Roy took off at a run and darted inside his home.
He came back with two very nice wooden swords. They were identical to those of steel, but they were quite blunt. Link hefted his, and crossed with Marth.
Fifteen minutes later, they had both won once, and decided to let Roy have a turn. Link had gotten Marth in the stomach, and Marth feinted and pretended to wallop Link’s head off.
Roy took his sword and started with a low, fast swing that thudded into the corner of the house. Link ran inside hurriedly. Marth counterattacked with a vertical chop. Roy blocked and stabbed; Marth ducked. Then he gave his sword a twirl and sent Roy onto his back. Quickly, Roy struck up. Marth slid out of the way, but tripped.
“Slick boots,” he panted, climbing halfway up, to meet Roy’s slash, on his knees. But, Roy got the top of his head.
“Argh!” cried Marth. “Twice in half an hour. That’s a new record. This is fun.”
“I’m sorry,” panted Roy, “I never expected to get you this soon. Ack!” Marth had hit his ribs.
Rana came out. “Time for supper!” The three men trooped into the little house. Link pointed at the chandelier in the dining room.
“That’s crystal,” he said proudly. “Navi wouldn’t sit on anything less.”
Marth’s curiosity got the better of him. “Who, or what, is Navi?” He started as one of the lights in the chandelier jumped up and flew in his face.
“I’m Navi!” squeaked the fairy. “I’m Link’s Kokiri fairy. I was helping Rana today, as they don’t need me at the studio. I don’t know why not. Anyway, who are you?”
“Um, my name’s Marth and this is Roy. We’re from Fire Emblem; I’m from Altea and Roy’s from Lycia.”
“Pleased to meet you!” chirped Navi. “I’ll get back to my job now.” Marth blinked at the little fairy. Link laughed.
“She’s always like that,” he said. “The other one is Naeri, who doesn’t talk much. She helps Rana. Come on, let’s eat.”
“I’m still curious,” Roy said as they sat down to eat Rana’s good salmon cakes, “how did you survive at twelve? We all had private armies of about forty or fifty people. And you did it with just your friend Rana?”
“Well,” said Link slowly, “it could be because I never had to face more than three or four enemies at once.”
“True,” said Marth. “We often had to face a whole field of enemies.”
“And they were all human, weren’t they?” asked Rana.
“Of course, why?”
“Well, Link fought 99% monsters and mutants and things.”
“Oh.” Roy shuddered. “Any dragons?”
Link thought for a moment. “One official dragon, Volvagia, and… let’s see… Not the Dodongo… Not anything else, I think.”
“Lucky,” said Roy.

Chapter 4

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrgh!!!” Roy screamed. He was hanging by ropes attached to his waist, spinning and flailing, clutching his sword with his right hand.
Abruptly, the spinning stopped and lowered him to the ground. Roy breathed a huge sigh of relief and ran a hand through his hair. Unfastening the harness, he shook his head to get the dizziness out of it and ran to a chair to sit down.
“Great!” commented his director. “First time’s a go. Marth?”
Marth sighed and walked over to the harness. Fastening himself in, he adjusted it slightly.
“Okay, go!” called the director.
“Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!” yelled Marth. The director shook his head.
“More fear, less air.” Marth stopped.
“I’m just not afraid enough,” he complained. Link, waiting his turn, grinned at the sight of Marth, upside down, pleading with the director with his hands outstretched. The prince sighed again.
“This is the third time today. Okay, okay, I’ll try again.”
Roy shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re not afraid. I was terrified.” Marth shuddered.
“If you were picked up by a dragon, and only succeeded in killing him the half-second before he bit your head off, you would think anything was fine after that. This is ta-waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!” The spin had started up again in the middle of his sentence.
“Perfect!” called the director. Marth took a deep breath as he landed.
“That really startled me,” he said as he handed the straps to Link. Link buckled up and got ready.
“Hwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”

Link flopped on the grass beside Rana. “It’s hot in there,” he said.
Marth knelt beside him. “That’s very true.”
Roy jogged out of the film room and came over to them. “Isn’t it hot out? Hey, they’re playing our music over in the orchestra studio. Want to go listen?” Rana sprang up.
“Music? Sure! Lead on!” Link pulled himself up and gave Marth a hand.
As they drew nearer, they heard a mysterious, lonely tune, which resolved into a pretty, heroic march.
“Ah, we missed the first bit,” said Roy. “The first section is actually a song called Together We Ride. It’s rather rock-like.”
“This part is simply called Fire Emblem Theme,” Marth told the other two. “Even I know it. I haven’t heard Together We Ride, at least not under that name.”
“We call it Wil’s Theme in my family. It’s for Lilina’s mother’s friend, the captain of the Caelin-Ostia archers division. His son was my tactician.”
“Wow,” said Link. Rana said nothing, but her eyes glowed with pleasure.
There was a pause, and then Rana began talking again.
“I’ll never forget the first time I saw Benny with his makeup on. Did you know he really has blue eyes? And he’s not Gerudo, but he had red hair anyway, and kind of pink skin… but he’s the closest living person to Ganondorf, in looks.”
“What’s Gerudo, again?”
“They’re exotic women whose main passions include horseback archery and keeping the guys out of their camp,” joked Link.
“Sounds like Sue, my Sacaen nomad,” commented Roy.

Fox and Falco hurried past, late, engaged in a heated debate over the merits of the Landrover. The five up on the hill took no notice.
“Well, none of us know the same songs, do we? So…”
“I can improvise,” said Zelda quickly. “Just sing it through once, and then I’ll be able to help.”
“All right,” said Marth. “But you can play for a bit first, since you’re obviously used to doing so.”
“Okay. What would you like to play, Link?”
“The Kokiri Song, into Saria’s,” answered Link instantly. Zelda nodded three times, and the two ocarinas and the harp sang out from the hilltop. It was impossible to keep Roy from tapping his foot. Eventually he jumped up and began to dance.
When the song ended: “You’re a good dancer, Roy,” said Zelda.
“I learned from my mother. I’m better at that than singing.”
“So! What shall we do?”
“How about… Friendship and Adventure?”
“Sure, I know that one.” Marth too had a harp, and was as skilful as Zelda. The two swordsmen sang in thirds, Marth above Roy. The song was obviously not for voice, but the added melody and words fit well and both were excellent singers.
After that, the Hylians played the New Wave Bossa Nova and the Bolero of Fire, and Marth and Roy sang some more traditional Fire Emblem songs. Marth played Going My Way, and set Rana giggling unstoppably.
“We call that one Serra’s Theme,” Roy nodded and grinned at the Hylian’s reaction. “She’s a healer girl who never stops talking! She really bugged the life out of Uncle Hector’s friends. I think she’s nuts,” in a whisper.

    -Roy gets a letter:
“’Dear Roy’,” read Roy, “’We received your letters and the pictures. Erk paid a visit, and wants to know what the pictures are made of. Your life sounds pretty exciting! Lilina wants to pay a visit, to you, and, truth be told, so does your mother. Things get a bit rowdy sometimes, don’t they?’” Roy made a face. “I go to bed on time,” he complained to the letter. “’I think Ninian will come and stay for a couple of months. Lilina and her family may visit for a few days, but not very long – Lyn’s got some paperwork to do to sign over Ostia to the steward. Again. Kent and Fiora showed up to volunteer, and they brought young Ceniro, too. Personally, I don’t know if a tactician… but I digress. Your pictures are wonderful; I feel as if I am right there with you, watching you. But, please, label them… I still don’t know who the fellow in the green shirt is!’” Roy groaned. “’Your loving father, Eliwood.’”
“Yep, that sounds like Father,” he mumbled. Marth peered over his shoulder.
“Remind me again who Kent is?”
“Um… one of Lady Lyn’s knights from Caelin. He resigned to marry Fiora, a Pegasus knight from Ilia. Their son’s Lance, one of my knights. Ceniro is my tactician. Fiora’s little sister Florina is his mother, and he’s named for Father’s tactician.”
“Neat,” said Link.
“Confusing,” sighed Marth.
“Who’s the guy in the green shirt?” teased Rana.