The Legend of Zelda: Restoration Age

Overworld Chapter 5 - Call to Action

 ...tuning out the world around him as a sort of resolute numbness slipped over him. He wanted to believe in this relative safety, this moment of reprieve from what he knew he was about to face, yet the dread hung over him like a fog. True escape nowhere in sight. The Restoration had already spread across the nation, how did that make this place safe?

His parents were finally let in to visit. They came alone, no twins. They were probably at school, not pulled out to keep them from worrying. His mother douted on him, repeatedly asking if he was alright, and then turning her furious questions on the nurse, who eventually left to get the doctor to properly answer their questions. His father was silent, and by the look on his face, likely holding back some kind of "What kind of idiot" speech. To the man's credit though, he reserved the comments, either because Link was in the hospital or because Link was a grown man and didn't need to be lectured anymore. The capable of making his own choices was still difficult, particularly with the van. He supposed that was long gone from his current loans.

"Why is he being held still then?" his mother demanded for the fourth or so time; Link genuinely had failed to listen to the conversation. "If he's fine, can we take him home?"

"Eventually, yes, though since he is over 18 and conscious, the discharge will be his choice. At the moment, we'd like to keep here for observation. I'm not a psychiatrist, but I do believe your son is displaying some traits of PTSD, complied with some mild anxieties," the doctor answered, standing at the foot of Link's hospital bed. "I've asked for a doctor in that field to come in and speak with Link, and once we have a better idea mentally what he's working through, we can suggest a treatment and discharging him from the hospital."

Link watched the doctor, the elder meeting Link's gaze even if he was answering Link's mother. His mother pressed, "But physically he is fine?"

"Uncharacteristically so, yes. I can imagine that you're active in your free time, yes?" Finally, the questions pointed to Link, like he was in the room instead of being a bystander. To be fair, he hadn't been paying attention before.

"I ride, work around the local barn," Link answered, adjusting himself in the bed. His mother turned back to face him, surprised that he had finally spoken up. Link had barely said hello when she had walked in.

"I don't doubt you were in a fairly healthy state before all this, Link; your last physical suggests as much from your records," the doctor replied, flipping through his clipboard. "However, you've had a, uh, a sort of reset. We don't know what it is exactly, but you're healthy. Perfectly healthy. Cholesterol levels, heart rate, blood pressure, metabolism, hormones even, operating at exactly a clinically recommended level for a man your age and height. Based on your last files, these improvements would mark a considerable amount of dietary control and regular exercise, but also several production levels that should not be biologically possible for you to change."

Link spread a hand over his chest, no one in the room unaware of that particular truth. When the doctor nodded, Link let out a long breath and shook his head. What had that machine done to him? What had that magic done to him?

"Now, not everything seems to be altered. Your production of most mood shifting hormones are the same, most, not all, though recent events are likely causing a good deal of stress which would have those fluctuating. What you went through would more than qualify as a traumatic event. The alterations currently going on elsewhere in your body may be only damaging those more chemical mental reactions, furthering a sense of anxiety while your brain tries to work through the sudden physical changes," the doctor stated. "Without undergoing further testing though, this is largely conjecture. And I'm not sure that further testing would help with your mental state."