Time's Moving Faster Than I Can Count

It's Time to Talk

Time indulged them a little longer, detailing very few things, but enough to satisfy them. He told them how Zelda had disguised herself to aid him without getting caught, brief summaries of the sages, and Ganon. He didn't spare any details on Ganon, knowing each of them could use any and all information in different ways. He told them about the after effects of the time he knew, and he turned to speak to four of them.

"Rancher, I'm sorry you had to deal with Ganon after the sealing failed. He should have been dealt with properly, not sent to the damn Twilight Realm. I did what I could, but it wasn't enough. They didn't believe me. No matter what I said, they told me they couldn't justify getting rid of him. Instead, they tried to seal him. It was never going to work, it never has. The sage of water died that day, and yet they still didn't believe me."

"Sailor, I'm sorry you had to take up the role of hero because your sister got stolen. Had I not been sent back, you wouldn't have had to do my dirty work. She shouldn't have sent me back, but she wouldn't listen to me. I wanted to stay, to help rebuild, but she sent me back to relive a childhood I never had a chance at having."

"Veteran, Traveler, I'm sorry you boys have to live in a world torn to pieces because I failed. I'm sorry you both have to live in a world that is full of hatred and distrust, all because I couldn't do my job. I'm sorry you have to clean up after me. I'm sorry I doomed you boys to such a horrible place."

Before any of them could respond or protest, he turned to one more.

"Champion, I'm sorry you have to deal with all of it in your own way. I'm sorry you faced a threat so strong it tore Hyrule in half, killed your friends, and killed you. I'm sorry you don't have your memories because of it. You didn't fail, Champion, you did what you could. All of you did. You rose again and sent him back to hell, for now. I don't doubt you'll have to do it again, but you're ready this time."

He looked at all five of them.

"Each one of you deserved better, and you would have had it if I hadn't failed three times over. Not one of you should have had to take up that damn sword, not one of you should have has to fight for something I should have been able to give you."

---

"Three times?" Shad almost dropped his pen. "What did he mean by that?"
"We figured out that the timeline split after him." Link answered him quietly. "The time he was sent back from, where he had originally been, was flooded. That one led to Sailor, and he became the hero through his own courage. He wasn't born to be one, he became one. The time he went back to, that one led here, to me. He didn't want to get sent back, he wanted to stay. There was a lot of things that made him want that, and I'll get into that later. At least, what he told us. And then... then..." Link took a moment, remembering the grief on his ancestor's face. "There was... the first time. The first time he had to fight as the hero, he didn't remember it, but we figured out that... he died there, fighting Ganon. That one led to Veteran, where Hyrule was in decline and ruin, slowly going up, then going back down by the time it got to Traveler."
"No wonder he was angry at the gods." Ashei sat back in her seat, shaking her head. She crossed her arms, looking angry. "I'd be angry too."