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Chapter Text

Without the influence of Ganon, what would moblins do with their lives? Twilight has spent hours of his life watching them from afar, observing their behavior. When moblins weren't busy patrolling their camps, they acted like any other creature. They ate, they slept, they laughed at stupid things. But goddess have mercy on anyone, be it human or animal, who dare step into their camp. Twilight once watched a group of moblins tear a boar apart for no other reason than to laugh about it.

"Fifty-eight... fifty-nine... sixty," Wind concluded. He collapsed his telescope and turned to the others. "I counted sixty moblins, twenty bokoblins. They're all fully armed, and many of them have explosive barrels near their camps."

"That's practically a small army," said Hyrule. "What are they all doing here?"

Question of the day. Twilight and the others overheard from the locals complaining about monster troubles and offered their help. They were told a group of moblins were blocking off a major road, forcing merchants and vendors to turn back. If they didn't clear the road, many small villages in the surrounding area would eventually starve to death.

Wild held up a hand. "Can't we just toss a flaming arrow into their camps? If they have that many explosives-"

"What is with you and blowing stuff up?" Warriors said.

"We're not blowing up anything," said Time. "This is still a major road, and we need to keep damages to a minimum. We do this quickly and quietly. The plan is simple: We split off into groups, take a camp each, and destroy them. Remember, no bombs, no explosions. Wind, you go with Legend. Hyrule with Warriors. Sky with Swords. Twilight with Wild."

Legend raised an eyebrow. "And what about you, old man? You're not pairing off?"

Time unsheathed his Biggoron sword. In all the decades he's own it, not a single scratch or blemish was to be seen. He smirked. "I'll be fine."

From behind a gaggle of trees, Twilight and Wild quietly assessed their objective. Seven moblins, three bokoblins. Certainly not the worst they've gone up against, but Twilight didn't like that this group had an unnecessary amount of explosive barrels. Unlike Hylian-made barrels, these fucking things set off by the lightest touch. One time Twilight watched a moblin accidentally kick one and the resulting explosion made a crater nearly twenty feet wide.

"I'm going to go in as a wolf," Twilight whispered to Wild. "I'll make them follow me, bring them to you. You should be able to take at least three by surprise and I-"

"I want to try something," said Wild.

"We are not blowing them up."

"Why does everyone think-? No! Look..." Wild unclipped that fancy Sheikah do-dah from his hip. He tapped the screen. "If you go in as a wolf, there's still a chance they'll throw those barrels at you anyways. However, I have a mask I can use to lure them away from camp without tipping them off. Ah-ha, here we go..."

He summoned something from his slate. It appeared in his hand and immediately Twilight grimaced at the sight of it.

It was ugliest thing he has ever seen. If the large, yellow, blood-shot eyes weren't disturbing enough, the overall design and shape was off-putting. It had sharp horns on the side of its face, no nose or mouth to be seen, and the multi-color palate made it hard to look at directly. This did not look like a mask. It looked like something a witch doctor would wear while putting leeches on a cholera victim.

"What the hell is that?" Twilight asked, curling his body away from it.

"I don't know," said Wild. He smiled down upon it. "I found it. Monsters seem really fascinated with it. When I put it on, they follow. No aggression, no weapons. Like bees to honey."

"I don't like it. Put it away."

"Hey... trust me?"

Twilight stared unhappily at his protégé. He's always telling Wild to be more assertive in his decisions. It wasn't easy, trying to bring up the confidence in a person who believed their past actions may have caused the deaths of thousands of people. Of course now would be the time Wild decided to try new things.

After a moment, Twilight sighed and said, "Just be careful."

Wild slipped on the ugly, heart-shaped mask. The sun shining down upon it made the eyes look like they were glowing. "Watch and be amazed."

Chapter Text

The battle was over before it begun.

Twilight wiped down his sword as the bodies littering the grass disintegrated before his very eyes, leaving behind nothing but the base materials that made them. Teeth and claws were there for the taking, but Twilight was in no mood for scavenging. He tossed aside his soiled piece of fabric and turned to Wild.

Wild slipped the mask off. "What did I say?" He said smugly.

"Alright, alright, no need to let it get to your head. I'll admit, that is one insanely useful mask."

"I want to show the others. I know it'll come useful to them one day. Do you want to give it a try?"

He held it out for Twilight to take.

Twilight considered it, his mouth twisting in response. Though he just witnessed first-hand the mask being used as any other tool in their disposal, the mere sight of it raised his hackles.

"No," he said. "It's... ugly."

Wild smirked. "I thought Warriors was the vain one."

"C'mon, let's go help the others."

"I think that's the last of them."

Twilight bloody well hoped so. He bent over, his breathing ragged, sweat pouring down his cheeks. He hasn't worked this hard since his early days as the newly chosen hero. He didn't have time to rest. As soon as he felled one moblin, there were two more to take its place. Up until five seconds ago, he literally did not stop moving.

He wasn't alone. His companions were just as exhausted. They fell back onto their bums, their faces scrunching as they struggled to get their breathing under control. Even Warriors, who was used to these type of battles and had endless stamina for days, had to lean against his sword for support. As sweat rolled off his nose, he smiled in satisfaction. He laughed.

"What is that mask?" He said to Wild. "God, if it wasn't for that thing, I think we would've set off a barrel eventually. Boom. Monster guts everywhere."

"I knew you'd like it," said Wild. He pulled off the mask. His entire face was swathed in sweat. He took the collar of his shirt, lifted it up and wiped down the front of his face. Twilight cringed at the sight of it. He needed to teach his protégé better hygiene.

From the pile of bodies collected to the side, a three-fingered hand suddenly reached out. Like a stalkoblin rising from the dead, with a gasp, a moblin pulled himself out of the corpses. He looked around bewildered, noticed the heroes, and with a scream like a dying pig, pulled himself out and took off running back towards the monster camp.

"Missed one," said Sky.

Wild slipped back on the mask. "I'll go after it. Make sure it's not planning revenge."

He took off running after the moblin.

"Well..." Hyrule began, catching his second wind. He moved his head side to side, cracking the bones in his neck. His beloved blue scarf was slicked with sweat. "We're not done here yet, we still have to help Time. He's handling ten moblins by himself."

Twilight didn't have the energy to laugh at that statement. "Did you forget who you're talking about?"

Warriors paused. "Huh, good point."

Just as the others were shrugging off their exhaustion, Time came over the hill. The sun hit him just right, bouncing off of his armor, making him look like a shining, walking god. Not a single hair was out of place, not a single stain on his Biggorn sword. He wasn't even breathing hard.

"Show off!" Twilight called out.

"I see you're all finished as well," Time said. He looked over the untouched grounds, nodding in approval. "Good job, all of you. We managed to clear the area without setting off any of the barrels."

"It wasn't just us," said Sky. "Wild has this unique mask that makes the monsters docile when they see it. It really came in handy."

"A mask? Now my curiosity is peaked. Where is he?"

"He was chasing off a moblin. He should be back... well, speak of the devil."

Twilight looked over to Wild and grimaced. Apparently ridding the last moblin wasn't an easy one. Wild's ugly mask was soaked in blood. Streaks of crimson colored its already yellow eyes into an unsettling vomit-hue. Thankfully Wild himself didn't appear hurt. He was busy sheathing a small dagger back into his holster. He gave a thumbs-up to the group.

"Well, there it is," Twilight said, turning back. "Don't let the appearance get to you. It's actually..."

He trailed off, seeing Time's face.

As heroes of the goddess, they've all seen their fair share of death. Monsters, humans, innocents and sinners- everyone eventually shares the same fate. But dying, Twilight learned very quickly, was not terrible. He thought about the people of Hyrule, whose souls were ripped out of them by Zant's black magic. He thought about Ilia, whom to this day refused to regale what happened to her when she was kidnapped.

There were fates worse than death.

The expression on Time's face was almost indescribable. His single eye widened to an impossible size. His skin had gone deadly white. His mouth twisted in a manner that didn't seem human.

This wasn't just fear. This was pure, unadulterated horror. It was as if Time stared into the void and saw what was on the other side, waiting for him.

"No..." He whispered.

Before Twilight could even ask the obviously dumb question of what's wrong? Time moved.

He was standing with the group in one breath, and in the next he was gone, crossing the field at speeds no other hero could ever dream of mustering. He slammed into Wild with the force of a hinox punch, knocking him back. Wild's body crashed against a large rock and bounced off of it. He gave out a breathless gasp, and before he could even keel over in pain, Time was on him again, this time slamming his forearm against Wild's throat, holding him there.

With an animalistic snarl, Time grabbed the mask, ripping it violently off of Wild's face.

Time held the heart-shaped mask up to the sky as if offering it to the sun and with a cry, crushed the mask between his fingers.

Blood and wood splinters rained to the ground.

Time tossed the remains away like it burned him. He turned his attention back to Wild.

"You stupid, fucking child," Time spat at him. He pressed his arm in deeper, making Wild gasp. "Do you think this is a game? You're playing with magic beyond your mortal comprehension. Do you have any fucking clue what you were doing-?"

His rant was cut short when a sword was suddenly shoved beneath his chin, pressing in firmly against his flesh. Time slowly turned his gaze from the struggling Wild to the sword wielder.

"Drop him," Twilight said in a tone that left no room for negotiation. "Or I'll drop you."

For a long second it looked like Time wasn't going to comply. Around him the other heroes moved in close, their hands on their weapons, unease written in their stances. None of them wanted to fight.

There was a beat, and Time loosened his hold and stepped back, allowing Wild to fall to his knees, gasping and coughing for air.

Twilight kept the sword raised, positioning himself in between the old man and his protégé.

"Are you alright?" He asked Wild over his shoulder.

Wild continued to cough. "Give... give me... a second..."

Apparently disgusted by the scene, Time huffed, turned and started walking away, not bothering to give the other heroes a second look.

"Don't you turn your back on me, old man!" Twilight yelled at him. "You got to answer for what you've done!"

Everyone had their own secrets. Their own traumas. But this was the first time in Twilight's memory he's ever seen Time react like this. He didn't understand what happened. It was just a mask.

"Your protégé is going to get you killed one day," Time warned darkly. "You better hope that's all he does."

Chapter Text

Dinner that night was a quiet affair.

Nobody knew what to say. They went through the motions of setting up camp, gathering wood and starting a fire. When it was time to make dinner, Wild got up from his resting position, and Warriors put a hand on his shoulder, gently guiding him back down.

"I can make it," he said. "Even I can handle that much."

The only thing Wild did for himself was make a cup of tea. He sat and slowly sipped at the steaming cup, watching the campfire wordlessly.

Finally, Legend couldn't take it anymore. He put down his flavorless bowl of soup, turned to Twilight and Wild, and said, "What the hell was that?"

"Leave it," said Twilight.

"Leave it?" Legend repeated. "One of our own attacked without prompt, and something tells me you two know more than you're letting on."

"And what, you think you're privy to our secrets?"

"I think I'm entitled to some answers, yes! I am not going to sit here with my thumb up my ass waiting till you deem fit to explain!"

Twilight dropped his barely touched bowl and stood up, towering over Legend, staring him down. Despite the height difference, Legend was not at all intimidated, staring up at him with equal force. Neither showed signs of going to blows, but also showed no signs of backing down.

"Alright, that's enough!" Sky forced his way in between the two. He used his elbows to force them to step back. "We already got one hero MIA, we don't need anymore in-fighting!"

"He started it!" Said Legend.

"I literally did not!" Said Twilight.

He raised his arms, ready to continue arguing, when he visibly deflated like a octorok, the fight leaving him. His shoulders slumped, and with a roll of his eyes he stepped back.

"I'm going to go cool off," he said. He turned towards the forest. "I'll be back."

Into the darkness he walked, his hands clenched as fists at his side. There was a roaring in his ears, and he didn't know where he was going or why. Once the light of the camp behind him dimmed to nothing more than a long distance point, he stopped.

"Goddamn it!" He cried out. He slammed his fist against the nearest tree, hitting it hard enough for leaves to be shaken loose.

He didn't want to admit it, but Legend was right. The group needed answers and Twilight had none. Should he tell the truth about his and Time's actual relationship to each other? Oh hey, we're actually related. Surprise! But what good would come of that? It's not like it would explain why Time reacted the way he did.

Or how close Twilight got to killing him.

Twilight hugged himself as if a cold entered his body. Had Time not let go of Wild, Twilight would have pulled back his arm and cut the old man's throat without hesitation. He never thought he could kill another human being, let alone the person he came to look up at as a father.

He was startled out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps coming up from behind. He looked and saw Wild.

"What are you doing here?" Twilight snapped at him, suddenly angry. "You should be back at camp, resting!"

"I wanted to make sure you were fine," Wild said. His voice was rough and he spoke barely above a whisper.

"Me? I'm not the one who nearly got their throat ripped out today!"

"He was never going to go that far."

"And how do you know?"

"Because he was just as scared as you are now."

That shut him up.

Wild stepped closer, his hand unconsciously reaching up and rubbing the bruises on his neck. "Did you know... in the few memories I have, I know all the legends surrounding the heroes? The princess had an extensive library and was an avid reader. She told me many things. She told me of the hero of the Sky, who rode on a crimson bird. She told me of the hero of the Wind, who sailed across the great seas in a scared vessel. She even spoke of the hero of Twilight... whose companion was a princess of shadows."

No. Twilight was not going to talk about Midna. Not here, not now.

"What are you trying to get at?" He asked.

"There were legends of Time as well," Wild continued. "He once faced a great evil who wore a mask made out of horns and fire."

"And you think your mask reminded him of that? That's not an excuse for his reaction against you."

"No, but I don't hold it against him."

"It's not that easy. He attacked you. I thought he was going to kill you. If a fuckin' mask is enough to set him off like that, how I can trust him not to do this again?"

Wild pulled up his Sheikah slate from his hip. He tapped it, and as the item materialized in his hand, he said, "Empathy."

Twilight took in a sharp painful breath. It was Midna's mask- the fused shadow.

He felt like he was struck by lightening. He stared at the mask, his mouth gaped opened. He reached up and grasped the amulet around his neck and took a step back as if the sight of the mask offended him.

"Where did you get that?" He demanded.

"You're scared," Wild said. He held out the mask for him to take. "Do you understand now?"

No, not really. Twilight kept staring, but slowly he inched towards it, unsure if this was a dream or not. It looked so real. If Wild had this mask, did that mean the mirror was restored? Did that mean he could see Midna again? Was she ...here?

With a shaking hand, he touched the mask, resting only a single finger on it. He frowned.

"This... this is a fake," he declared. He grabbed the mask out of Wild's hands, turning it over again and again, suddenly seeing all the blemishes and soddy work. It was so obviously fake, it was almost insulting how easy Twilight was tricked by it. In disgust, he tossed it down. "Who did this?"

"I don't know," said Wild. He rapped his knuckles against his skull. "Shitty memories, remember? I found them. I found all of them, including the mask Time was afraid of. But do you see my point? For a second there, you looked like you were about shit yourself. And this is just a replica from a friend of yours. How do you think you would've reacted if I brought up something more sinister from your past?"

Twilight thought about Zant's fused shadow. His eyes narrowed at Wild. "Do you have something in your inventory I should know about?"

"I think I'm going to keep my inventory to myself from now on, thanks."

Twilight ran a hand over his face. God, everything hurt. "What do you want me to do?"

"I don't want to lose anymore friends over this. So please... go find Time. Bring him back. Let's talk about this."

"...Alright... I'll go and look for him. I can't guarantee I can get him to come back but... I'll look for him."

Chapter Text

When TWilight found the old man, he was nearly five miles away. Time was sitting by the edge of a lake on a fallen log, watching the moonlight reflecting off of the water. He had a small fire going, but that was it. No food or tent was present.

Twilight rehearsed what he wanted to say to Time. He wanted to be calm. He wanted to be rational. He'd promised Wild he would do his best to bring Time back. He had his goals clearly in his mind as he walked into the meager camp. But as soon as Time turned his head over to him with that damn disapproving look on his face, Twilight's composure dismantled faster than a house of cards.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Twilight demanded.

Time turned back towards the lake. "Go back to the others, pup."

The once-affectionate nickname spoken so condescending towards him had Twilight seething. "You don't get to dismiss me like I am a child-"

"But don't you see? That's the problem with all of you. You're all children. You're all naïve and foolish, playing with objects with no idea how it works-"

"Oh my god! Are you actually going to sit there and lecture me over this? You act as if you're the only one who has never fucked up before. And unlike you, none of us had a magical ocarina to undo our mistakes. How dare you have the audacity to look at us, the heroes chosen by the goddess herself, and think somehow you're better than us!"

Time said nothing to that.

"Goddamn it," Twilight continued. "Damn it, I did not come here to yell at you. I came because Wild asked me to find you."

"Wild?" Time said, genuinely confused. "Why-?"

"That's what I asked him. He said he understood why you did it. Because you were scared."

"I wasn't-"

"I saw that look on your face. We all saw that look."

Twilight huffed and walked over. With a grunt, he took a seat next to Time, forcing the old man to make room for him.

"Tell me about the mask," he said. "And don't give me any vagueness, just tell me."

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I want to understand. Because Wild, goddess bless that kid, forgives you. But I am still deciding if I do."

For a long second it looked as if Time was going to keep his silence. Twilight didn't know what he would do if Time refused to compromise. As much as Twilight wanted everything to go back to normal, he could not in good conscience welcome Time back with open arms knowing there was a chance the old man could harm and/or kill one of them without prompt.

Time looked up to the moon. He spoke.

He told Twilight about everything. About the demon residing in the mask, about the three day time loop, about the moon. He told Twilight how he was forced to allow other people to suffer in order to achieve his goals. He even told Twilight about the aliens.

"What's an alien?" Twilight asked.

"Well, it's a... I honestly don't know."

By the time he finished speaking, his voice was sore and quiet. He looked so tired. He slumped forward, his hair falling over his face.

"How..." Twilight started. "How many times did you repeat those three days?"

Time shrugged. "It probably wasn't as much as I thought it was... but I got to know everything those townfolk did. What time they used the bathroom, what their favorite foods were, the names of their pets, their childhood crushes, their parents' occupations, everything. But by the end of it all, none of them remembered who I was. They went off with their own lives and I... had to act as if everything was fine."

"I'm sorry."

"I know. You're too empathetic. That will hurt you in the long run. You're too close to that kid."

"You do realize he's just like you, right?"

"If he's anything like me, then he shouldn't forgive what I've done to him."

"Goddess. Both of you, so dramatic. If you're done feeling sorry for yourself..." Twilight stood up. "Let's go back."

Chapter Text

By the time they got back to camp, the sun had already risen. The others mingled around the fire, with their plates in their hands, watching Wild make pancakes for breakfast.

Warriors noticed them first. "Look at that, the drama llamas came back."

Twilight made a face. "Drama llamas...?"

Wild didn't react right away. He was busy pouring batter onto the hot flat rock. He didn't even look up as Time walked over to him.

"Wild," Time started. "... what happened last night... I-"

"I want to use your Biggoron sword."

Time startled. "What?"

"Let me use your Biggoron sword and I'll forgive you."

Time's left eye twitched. "I think I'd rather apologize."

Wild flipped the pancakes over, a sly grin playing on his lips. "Can it be both?"

Another twitch.

"Oh my god!" Legend suddenly groaned out loud. "Will you just get this over with? I swear you two will drag this out all morning if we let you!"

"Alright, yes, fine! Wild, if you really want to-"

Wild piled a stack of steaming pancakes onto a plate, stood up, and shoved them into Time's hands.

"This afternoon," Wild said. "I want sword lessons. And the story behind that mask. Now, pass these out before they get cold."

Time looked over his shoulder to Twilight. "You're wrong, you know. He's a lot like you."

Twilight grinned proudly.