LEGEND OF ZELDA TIME LOOPS: ACTIVATE!

Author Note: This story is a Time Loop story in the style of Innortal's original Infinite Time Loops, based on the continuations made by Saphroneth.

The divine computer-tree Yggdrasil, which underlies all of creation, is damaged. The various universes have been put into time loops to stabilize them. A single person from each Loop is chosen to be the Anchor, always aware of the Time Loops each time they Loop around. Other may Loop as well, but only the Anchor is always awake. On occasion, two people may act as Anchors, but in most cases, there is only one.

In the Legend of Zelda Universe, however, things are slightly different.

1.1

Epona smacked her head into her desk. Behind her, Susanoo looked over from where he was casually juggling swords, letting the blades fall and stab into the desk and floor around him.

"mrghn stpd tfrc lnsd dupi"

Susanoo leaned forward. "What was that, your desk is in the way."

Epona whirled around, her hair askew. "It's the stupid Triforce! Every projection says that if I try to loop one of the bearers, the other two will get dragged in and the Loops will crash prematurely. The only Anchor candidate who won't get caught up in all of that is this weird, fairy man who dresses in green."

Susanoo blinked, then looked at her. "You know, fairy isn't really a nice thing to call someone. If he is attracted..."

Epona cut him off. "He is a middle-aged man, who dresses in tight green clothes, and wants to be a fairy. An actual, insect wings, glitter dust, fairy."

Susanoo paused. "Huh, that is weird." Epona's eye twitched and Susanoo looked at her more closely. "You know, you shouldn't frown so much. It might give you wrinkles."

"AUUGGHH!"

In between dodging staplers, swords, and whatever other items Epona could grab to throw at him, Susanoo thoughtfully examined the code on Epona's screen. "Ya know, maybe you could make that Triforce thing the Anchor. It's in most of the universes code, and then those other Anchor candidates will start Looping super quick."

Epona paused in the midst of hefting one of the filing cabinets along the wall, before looking at her screen again. Slowly, she slumped over, her head banging down again. Susanoo watched her for a moment, then nodded. "I'll take that as a yes." Humming happily, he left to go grab a sandwich.

1.2

Link sighed as he listened to Ganon ranting once again about how he was just a boy, how he couldn't possibly defeated Agahnim, and how he would definitely conquer both the Light and Dark Worlds.

Link still wasn't entirely sure what was going on. He appeared to be living multiple different lives, most of which ended shortly after he beat Ganon, or Ganondorf, or whatever his name was at that point, at which point Link would wake up in a whole new life. He had repeated some of them (the lifetime where he was raised in Kokiri Forest seemed to be the most popular), and sometimes things were different, but for the most part, he just went along and saved the world...again.

Finally, Ganon stopped his monologue and started throwing his trident around. Link ducked and dodged, sidestepping easily, until Ganon's body started to shift. Only this time, he didn't burst into a swarm of bats.

The side of the pyramid burst open as Link hit it several dozen times with the Magic Hammer, barely slowing as he raced away from the Pyramid, while Ganon, the sentient Cucco Swarm, chased after him.

1.3 (Mivichi)

The princess of Hyrule frowned as she stared at the dungeon around her. Slightly disoriented, Zelda judged that her Triforce of Wisdom had just activated, giving her memories of past-and-maybe-future lives as it sometimes did, but this time something was odd. She could not be completely certain, but had she not lived this life before?

Something was happening; something other than reincarnation. What she had thought was knowledge from the Triforce could be something else entirely.

It was not the time to think about it. Zelda had more immediate issues to solve.

If she had remembered, she should mentally call Link for help to get her out of the dungeon. Though he would suffer setbacks, Link would eventually save the day, and her kingdom would prosper.

However, in one of her other lives, she had been a swashbuckling pirate. In another, she possessed great skill with stealth and various weapons. Not being the true hero, the Master Sword required another wielder, but Zelda refused to think that required her to always depend on someone else to rescue her.

Clasping her hands together, she concentrated on sorting through her memories and abilities. Archery could be useful. Magic definitely was. In some lives, she learned through the study of scrolls and tomes. In others, the fairies had granted her knowledge if she impressed them or if they needed her help. And in her last life she had introduced one Great Fairy to the concept of a bomb.

The dungeon satisfyingly turned out not to be constructed to withstand explosions. The noise attracted unwanted attention, but she had planned for it: Agahnim found himself the test subject of an experiment in imbuing any kind of projectile with the properties of the Light Arrow.

Her trial succeeded. The startled and injured sorcerer retreated, promising that Zelda had not seen the last of him. She already knew that. He also said that she would not be able to stop him. She had to disagree.

With a serene smile, Zelda gathered her skirts and exited the dungeon, stepping carefully over the scattered rubble. "This time, I will save Hyrule myself," she promised the world.

She still needed Link to earn the Master Sword, but she could tell him that in person. She looked forward to surprising him.

1.4

Ganondorf sat on a dusty chair in his Forbidden Fortress. It just couldn't be a coincidence. Not minutes before, a young boy, wearing green, had snuck into his fortress to free the girls that he had captured while searching for the Princess Zelda. Ganondorf had had the Helmaroc King throw him out into the ocean, but the sight of the boy was nagging at his head.

In these odd 'not-memories' that filled his head, he saw countless boys in green, thwarting plans and getting him sealed away. Only in a few of his memories did he actually kill the boy in green and...wait. Why hadn't he just killed him right off? Why wait for him to gain power and skill?

Slowly, Ganondorf stood, an evil smirk on his face.

Link charged forward, the Master Sword bravely clutched in his hands. He had arrived at the Forsaken Fortress, only to find the dark figure from the tower waiting for him in the middle of the courtyard. Ganondorf, if what Link had been told was true, and the blade in his hands was the only thing that could kill him.

Ganondorf grinned, before catching the blade in his hand. Link was stopped cold, struggling to pull the sword free, when Ganondorf grabbed him by the shirt, wrenching the Master Sword from his grip. Ganondorf then whistled, loudly, and the giant bird that had kidnapped his sister dropped down from the sky. Ganondorf leapt, Link still clutched in his hands, and landed on the leg of the bird, which took off into the sky.

Once they reached the level of the clouds, Ganondorf looked at Link. "No speeches, no final struggles. Just...die". And then...he paused, then quickly turned the struggling hero upside down. Several items fell out of his pockets as Ganondorf shook him, including a Hook, Sail, and a Large Leaf. Ganondorf turned him over. "Sorry about that, just had to be sure you couldn't pull a win out of your hat. Speaking of which," Ganondorf quickly pulled the hat off of Link's head, then held him out, and let him fall.

Ganondorf looked down, and then grinned. No pesky hero to...

Out of nowhere, a massive cyclone of wind whipped up, striking the underbelly of the Helmaroc King and knocking Ganondorf free from his perch. As Ganondorf fell wildly, he was past by Link, who was waving a tiny baton, of all things, which appeared to be directing the Tornado he was riding.

"Oh come on!" Ganondorf spun over, and viewed the rapidly approaching sea. "This is going to hurt."

1.5 (NMS)

The current Loop had just taken a turn for the strange.

Up until this point, it had been a fairly standard loop. He had just gotten the third Spiritual Stone and was on his way to the Temple of Time to reclaim the Master Sword. Just like usual, Zelda was fleeing the city with Ganondorf hot on her heels.

Except, Ganondorf wasn't the one chasing her.

"Hey, kid! You see a princess come through here?" The man asked as he ran a hand through his pompadour.

Link could only stare in horrified awe.

"Look, kid. I know Zelda has a pretty face, but a wimpy kid like you has no shot. There is only one man worthy of such a beauty!" The man exclaimed as he flex his muscles. "Sure she's a little young right know, but she's going to be a really cutie when she gets older. I can wait 'till then"

Link replied with silence as his mind tried to reboot.

"The silent treatment, aye?" The man asked as he walked closer to Link. "Looks like I'm going to have ta get a little rough with ya. And when you go crying back ta your mama, you can tell her that the one that made ya black and blue was...

The Mighty Groosendorf!"

1.6 - (Aubergine)

Admittedly it took several loops to pull it off.

There were certain challenges along the way that he just couldn't accomplish without the right gear.

Yet.

Despite that, his adventure had finally proven to be a challenge after who knows how many loops, and as he strode casually through the door at the top of Ganondorf's castle, he couldn't help but feel a surge of satisfaction. There'd be more time in the future to perfect the art, but for now he'd savor the look on his mortal enemy's face as he faced his final challenge.

"So... You've finally arrived..." The redheaded desert dweller rose from his organ, turning around with a sweep of his cloak. "The final battle begins... Draw your... Sword?"

Link said nothing, only continued to walk forward at a casual stroll. He was dressed in the same green tunic he'd always worn, but beyond that... No shield sat on his back, wooden or otherwise. No

sword either. No hook-shot on his belt, no pouch of bombs or even money. No bow or quiver of arrows. No special boots.

"Is this a joke? You seek to defeat me... Me! The master of the Triforce of Power!" Ganondorf roared, filling the air with enough power to break the windows of the tower. Link merely took another step forward and drew a single deku stick from its spot on his back. "With! A! STICK?!"

The hero of time said nothing, merely held out a hand and made a single taunting gesture.

(1.1) - Epona: The Patron Goddess of Over-Worked Assistants everywhere.

(1.2) - Fear The Cucco. Resistance is futile.

(1.3) - Your princess is no longer in any castle.

(1.4) - Didn't I ever tell you about Ganondorfs? Ganondorfs Bounce!

(1.5) - Whose idea was it to make a Zelda villain based on the 50's?

(1.6) - The Deku is strong with this one.