Submitted for Masa's review

Addendum: Link’s later years

Sometime between Majora’s Mask and Link to the Past, Tingle came across the Four Sword. He used it and split into four Tingles. They remained separated and kept the Four Sword, calling themselves the Tingle brothers (Tingle, Ankle, Knuckle, and David Jr.). They toured Hyrule, annoying Link at every opportunity until sometime between FSA and LoZ. During this time period, Tingle and his brothers died inside the Pyramid of Power in the Dark World. It may have been due to old age, but seppuku is an equally likely cause of death.

But Tingle did not entirely die. Since he was still split, the Magic of the Four Sword kept his spirit alive. His ghost(s) remained in Hyrule (and reverted his younger appearance).

They remained in the Pyramid of Power until the time of LttP GBA. When Link entered the sanctuary, Tingle realized that he wouldn’t be trapped as a ghost if he died before he ever back Tingle. So the Tingle Brothers tried to kill Link as a final attempt to defeat fate.

Fate would not be cheated, however, and Link defeated the Four Tingles, finally laying his own spirit to rest.

Meanwhile, Link took the pieces of the Four Sword to the Dwarven Smithies, the Picori Brothers. The Picoris repaired the sword and gave it to Hyrule’s royal family, who called it the Picori blade. Link then acquired it during The Minish Cap.

(Note: The Four Sword, like Link, has a lifespan which spans more than a single iteration of the timeline.)

Very good work, sah.

If I may make a point.

Tingle should only go around the TToTT once (instead of one-and-a-third). Say, sometime after MM, the Picoris grant Tingle with the Picori Blade in the TMC backstory (no one wanted to admit that Tingle saved them with it, so they made the stained-glass windows in the image of the Hero of Time), then he takes up residence on Tingle Island. Proceed to TWW.

When the goddesses deus ex machina the Great Flood, Tingle ends up in the Palace of the Four Sword. Link fights him there during LttP (the power of the Dark World exposes Tingle's younger form), then takes the Picori Blade and gives it to the Royal Family, while Tingle and co. go on their Kinstone fury.

Proceed through the timeline all the way to LoZ. After Ganon is killed, his minions require Link's blood to revive him, yes? Since they obviously don't get Link's blood, they can instead kill Tingle and use his blood to revive Ganon (coincidentally at the same time as the present Link becomes Tingle, and the new Link is born).

Very interesting....

I will have to digest this.

Here would be a specific write-up:

Tingle ran screaming out of Hyrule when he realized what had happened. In denial, he moved into a simple home and tried to live a simple life. However, this life proved too boring for the former Hero of Time. It was at this time that he heard the Rupee Master's call, summoning him to a better life in Rupee Land. (Tingle RPG)

Presumably he reached it.

However, it wasn't long before the Minish came to him. With Link missing in Termina, they pleaded with Tingle to take the golden light and the Picori Blade and save Hyrule from an evil invasion. Tingle grudgingly accepted, though in doing so he could not even deny the freakish nature of his life. (TMC backstory) Unfortunately for Tingle, no one would credit him for this act, and instead made their savior's image that of the Hero of Time (unaware of Tingle's true identity).

Even worse, Tingle realized, was that he would not be traveling through time as he did previously, meaning that he would have to live out the thousands of years that constitute the Triforce of Time ONE DAY AT A TIME. Separated into four by the Picori Blade, Tingle and his "brothers" vowed to stop Link from bending the timeline.

He promptly failed in TWW after Link spotted the cash for map deciphering. When the Triforce then prevented the Great Flood, Tingle went to the Sacred Realm (returning to his young appearance as a result) and killed monsters in the Palace of the Four Sword for practice. Those monsters were placed in a large chest.

Fate would call Link to Tingle again, where Tingle attempted in desperation to kill himself and failed. Link took the chest and Picori Blade to the Royal Family, though Tingle's extended time in the Palace of the Four Sword was enough to keep him separated. He went back to Hyrule and attempted to distract Link with Kinstone Fusions in TMC, but it proved futile.

Tingle moved to Labyrrna in his depression, though seeing Link there possibly revived his hope. He returned to Hyrule once more and started stealing Force Gems from Link during FSA, as well as calling on his brothers to distract Link at the Tingle Tower. Link was unwavered.

In a last desperate move, Tingle freed Ganon from the Four Sword, also using it to put himself back together. When Ganon failed to conquer Hyrule and was killed, his minions discovered that Tingle WAS Link. Unable to get the present Link's blood, they instead killed Tingle once and for all, using his blood to ressurrect the Evil King.

That works well, but I must admit I was rather fond of the idea that Tingle's final fate was in the Palace of the Four Swords in ALttP GBA as undead doppelganger... ghost things.

Obviously that's what happens to Termina's Tingle.

I feel like we should find a way to work in Link taking a vow of silence.

Or maybe Link Sr.'s first attempt to kill his offspring/self resulted in a maiming of the vocal chords.

BTW

LoS totally requested the TToTT for use on ZL. So I guess we need to make this thing work, eh?

I do enjoy reading these theories, mainly because it's interesting as to how you guys fill in the blanks. All in all, I wonder if Nintendo could actually pull off a plot like like, let alone a plot hole. Maybe they are saving it for a future Zelda title? Either way, when I try to make sense out of the Zelda series I get a headache, much like the Megaman X series.

All right! Can't keep Zelda Legends waiting, what with the...server...prob...lems

Oh, nevermind.

Here's the most recent draft.