Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Link had never thought of himself as a material person.

Oh, there were a few things he wouldn’t give up for his life, such as the ocarina Zelda has entrusted to him or the enchanted map his late mother had left him when she entrusted him to the Guardian of the Forest, or perhaps the bottomless pouch Saria had made for him with forest magic.

But giving away his masks... that was hard. The postman’s hat. The bremen mask. He didn’t want to give them up!

All night mask. Couples mask. Don Gero’s mask. Mask of Truth. He had worked so hard for them!

Kafei’s mask. Kamaro's mask. Mask of Scents. Great Fairy’s mask. Romani’s mask. Blast mast. He felt like he was losing pieces of himself with every mask taken.

Gibdo mask. Garo mask. Captain’s hat. Troupe Leader’s mask. Keaton mask. Stone mask. Bunny hood. Giant’s mask.
He couldn’t stop himself though, as he handed each and every one over.

The only masks not lost to the games of the children on the moon were the masks that contained the souls of his friends.

Each child vanished once they played their games and said their piece. Their words stung, but Link had no time for pain. He had a job to do.

He made for the child wearing Majora’s mask, sitting at the foot of the tree, Tatl fluttering nervously beside him.

“Oh. Everyone’s left.” Majora spoke, standing up, “No one is here to play. Will you play?”

Link squeezed his eyes shut and nodded before he could talk himself out of it.

“Good. Let’s play bad guys and good guys. And, when you’re the bad guy, you just run.” Majora held something out to him, and against his better judgement, he took it.

It was a mask. It looked identical to Link’s own face, save for the war paint splashed across its forehead and under the eyes. The other difference was the mask’s hair was white, instead of Link’s golden. It was less unsettling that way.

Link was shaken out of his reverie when the world shook, then changed all around him. Link drew his sword and Tatl flitted forward to size up their opponents.

The battle for Termina had begun.

———-

Three grueling and terrifying fights later, Link found himself on top of the clock tower again, with the four giants seemingly making amends with the Skull Kid. He watched as Skull Kid followed after them when they waved him after them.

He hadn’t used the mask Majora had given him. He didn’t trust it. Majora lives tricking people. He didn’t like to think what it could’ve done to him...

“Look!” Tatl said right next to his ear, making him jump.

On the floor in front of him was Majora’s mask, suspiciously docile. “Is it-?” He asked, prodding it with his sword as Tael hid behind his sister.

“I don’t sense any evil entities in it,” Tatl replied, shoving Tael away.

Link took a cleaning rag from his pouch, and picked up the mask, not trusting it with his bare skin.

“I guess we take it back to the salesman now,” Link said. He felt- well. Nothing really. He was just so tired. He should be triumphant that he managed to free the land from evil after countless three day cycles, but he just- didn’t. He frowned. It could be a problem, he did know that Majora could feed on emotion. He would have to deal with it later, right now he had to pay off a debt to the Happy Mask Salesman, which he was pretty sure would kill him if he didn’t.

———-

The room under the clock tower was always peaceful, in a way Link could never explain (though he couldn’t feel it now), something to do with the sound of rushing water and turning cogs that reverberated through his bones. He almost could hear music in the background, but he just blamed it on his lack of sleep.

The salesman was waiting for him, as he held the mask out in front of him. “Here’s your mask. I got it back,” Link told him.

“Ohohohoho! So you have! Let me see...” the salesman took the mask with his ever present grin widening, running his fingers up and down the grooves.

“Finally,” Tatl sighed, “That took way too long. But hey, at least there’s a carnival. You’re coming with, right kid?”

“Maybe. I had thought you’d want to spend time with your brother though. These kind of things are for families, right?.”

“Who’s to say I won’t be? Plus after being stuck with you for so long, you’d be absolutely hopeless without me.”

Did- did Tatl want to stay with him? She wasn’t going to leave like Nav-

“YOU CHEATED!” The salesman shrieked and Link instinctively dodged a red mask that came flying towards him, spinning to look at its source.

He was wearing Majora’s mask. Black spiderwebs crawled down his throat. His hands grew enormous blade like claws and whips. Pointed horns sprouted from his head and his mask bag burst revealing black shadowy tendrils that undaluated back and forth.

Link stared, “I thought you said there was no more evil energy in the mask?!”

“There wasn’t! Majora must’ve stuck some of their power in this guy for a failsafe! That’s a thing demons do!”

Link dodged a whip strike, then rolled under slashing claws. “Is that why he wanted it back so bad?!”

“Maybe! I don’t know, I don’t make deals with demons!”

I dozen of the shadowy ribbons lash out toward Link. He ducks and slides under them. Maybe now he can get behind the man and-

Stars danced in his eyes as he was slammed against the wall by a shadow that was waiting for him to dodge its friends. How had he fallen for that? It was one of the easiest tricks there was! He’s used it before! The haze of exhaustion isn’t an excuse. He has to be fighting fit at all times.

The tendril had him by the throat, and held him above the ground. Link kicked his legs and clawed at the shadow rope. Tatl screeched something that he couldn’t make out.

“YOU CHEATED! YOU RUINED THE GAME!” Majora- the salesman?- shook Link violently, “THE GOOD GUYS ARE SUPPOSED TO WIN!”

Tatl was beating at the man’s masked face, and Tael was shivering in the corner.

Five more tendrils snaked forward, snatching away the transformation masks clipped to Link’s belt, and the one Majora had given him.

Numb with horror, he watched the demon smash each mask to pieces as his air started to run out and the world looked cloudy around the edges.

“We will play again, and this time, no cheating. This time, let’s play hide and seek,” Majora said through the mask man, and dissolved into shadow, dropping Link to the floor and rushing away into the Lost Woods.

Only dazed for a moment, Link dragged himself to the shattered pieces of his friends.

“No. Nonononono....” he tried piecing them back together desperately, with Tatl looking down with her hands over her mouth.

“Darmani? Mikau? Leif? Kallah? Please. Please don’t be gone... I’m so sorry...”

Tears splashed against the floor.

How could he have been so careless? He had held their souls in his hands, carried their loves and regrets, and now they were smashed to bits.

“Oh, little brother...” before he could look up, there was a large hand in his hair, a small one on his cheek, feathers around his back and scales on his shoulder.

He lifted his eyes. Five glowing figures were in front of him. Lief, the Deku butler’s son, glowing green, had a hand on his cheek. Darmani, the Goron warrior, ruffled his hair, glowing red. Mikau, the Zora musician patted his shoulder, glowing blue. Kallah the Rito blacksmith had an arm around his back, glowing yellow.

The fifth, he didn’t recognize. They were tall, glowing violet, with scaled armor over their torso, symbols of a triangle and crescent moon on either side of their chest. Pale hair poked out of a hat styled exactly like his, and war paint was streaked under their pupil less eyes and on their forehead. They seemed almost familiar somehow, though.

“Y-you’re still here?” He croaked out hoarsely, teaching up to touch his bruised neck.

“We would never leave you, you saved us,” Leif chirped fondly.

“But- your masks...”

“We’ve got a stronger connection to you then to the masks, little dude,” Mikau said, with Kallah nodding his agreement.

“Who’s that though?” Link pointed to the fifth figure.

“We’re... not sure. He must be the same as us though, if he’s like this.” Darmani responded with a shrug.

The fifth stepped forward silently, kneeling down in front of Link, making him start. The violet figure held a hand out to Link.

He looked nervously to his mask-friends, to Tatl, who just shrugged. He reached out and took the outstretched hand.

The figure lit up like a lamp, then disappeared and violet lightning snaked up Link’s skin into his chest, making him gasp.

It didn’t feel bad. It felt- right almost. Like he could see and feel and hear better than before.

“Tatl- What was that?”

“I think... whatever it was bound itself to you,”

“Is that bad?”

Tael spoke up, “Only if it asked for something. It probably was just giving you a gift, like part of its power or something,”

Link considered this for a moment, until Kallah’s voice rang out, surprisingly melodic for someone perpetually surrounded by smoke, “Forgive me if I’m being too forward, but I would like to continue with you. I still have so much to learn that I could never dream of, locked away at my forge as I was. Will you carry me with you again?”

Link looked at Kallah in shock. “I-I would love to have any of you with me,”

Darmani threw back his head and laughed, “Well, that’s good then. I wanted to ask the same thing. You do good things, little brother, and through you, I’ve done good things. I would like to join you as well,”

Link opened his mouth, but was cut off by Mikau, “I still have songs to sing, please-“

Mikau was interrupted by Leif, “I wanted to see outside Termina. Majora didn’t let me. I want to make sure it never happens again.”

Link was in awe. “I-thank you. That’s- the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, I think. Please come with me,”

Four multicolored flashes of lightning later, and Link could feel them around and within.

He stood. He had a demon to hunt-

“Where do you think you’re going, short stuff?”

“I have to find Majora, Tatl,”

“Sorry, nope. You need to take a break, kiddo,” Tatl buzzed in front of him.

“But-“

“Link.” His name made him pause. “You’re shaking. Please, you can’t go up against that demon like this, you’ll-“

She choked on her words. “Listen. You can sleep in Kafei’s hideout. He wouldn’t mind. And then, we’ll go to his wedding. They’ll probably give you a new mask, one to make up for what you lost. And then we can talk to the Great Fairy, and ask her if she can help us track down Majora,”

Link blinked. That was more thought out than he normally expected from Tatl.

“Please, Link. We haven’t slept in days. I know you’re hurting. I know I’m hurting. Please don’t make me spill my emotions everywhere for nothing,”

Link deflated, and nodded.

——-

Sleeping on the couch in Kafei’s hideout is one of the more comfortable places Link has slept-

(A rotting clammy hand grabbed his ankle- a knife at his throat- shivering from the pouring rain-)

“Keep an eye on Link, okay, Tael? I’ve gotta go ask the Great Fairy for a favor,”

“But the Great Fairy-“

“Hates me. I know. She’ll agree to this. Link’s gotta learn more magic, if he’s ever gonna stand a chance against Majora again. He barely made it the first time. I get the Great Fairy to teach me, then I teach him. Please, Tael, you know I wouldn’t ask if-“

“O-okay. Just be careful, sis. This must be important...”

Link drifted off before he could catch the end of the conversation.

Chapter Text

“You getting anything, kid?” Tatl asked, looking over Link’s shoulder.

“Just as much as the last time you asked me,” Link sniped back. Awww, she knew she’d rub off on him eventually.

“Why are you two always fighting?” Tael groaned, from his spot on Link’s head, poking out from under his weird hat.

“We’re not fighting,” She and Link said at the same time.

Tael grumpily mumbled something under his breath, then sighed, “I had thought that dowsing would be more effective than this,”

“It’s not that mask you’re wearing, right? I don’t understand how you see through that thing,” Tatl flicked the side of the mask.

It had been surprisingly easy to wheedle Link into going to Anju and Kafei’s wedding, once she reminded him that he had promised the pair he’d show. Termina traditions demanded that each guest be provided with a mask during the ceremony. Typically, the more wealthy the families being married were, the more elaborate and fancy the masks ended up being.

Kafei was the son of the mayor and the woman who had revolutionized the postal system.

Yeah. The masks were enchanted. Tatl had absolutely no idea how they’d managed that, but somehow every guest had been gifted with a Mask of Cat’s Eye.

It had been hilarious to see dozens of people in their most formal attire wearing cat masks of various colors. It had been even funnier when Link’s mask had been a shade of yellow that was very much not his color.

The masks were useful though, she couldn’t deny that, granting the night vision of a cat to the wearer.

Link just had refused to take his off the second it was given to him.

“Are you sure you’re doing it right?” Tael pulled himself out from under Link’s hat, and landed on top of one of the cat mask’s pointed ears.

“Yes,” Link huffed, one of his ears flicking in annoyance. (His normal ears, not the cat ears.)

Tatl wasn’t sure who raised Link, seeing as in most societies she had been to, the habit of moving one’s ears was trained out from a young age. Something about it being ‘too beast-like for civilization’. Link however, seemed to have never had one of those lessons, and it was a good thing too. How many times would they have been ambushed if his ear’s hadn’t been scanning their surroundings at all times.

His sense of smell and magic left much to be desired though. You couldn’t have it all, she supposed.

“Just run it by us one more time, alright? Stuff like this is always super finicky and particular,” she gently tugged his bangs out of his face. Using his hunting knife for a haircut really hadn’t fixed the hair in his face problem at all. She had no idea how he had survived this long without a pair of fairies to keep an eye on him.

“Fine,” he sighed, then acted out the directions as he spoke. “First, find the energy ‘scent’ you’re looking for, in this case, the piece of the mask man’s bag,”

He gestured to the torn fabric on the ground in front of him. “Second, find something to focus the search through, something preferably long and thin,” he held up his Gilded Sword.

“Third, use the focus to direct you to the source of the ‘scent’.” His sword glowed softly as he shut his eyes, moving his sword from side to side like a swaying tree.

He frowned. “It’s not that I don’t sense anything, it’s that I sense too much. There’s malice and fear everywhere here,”

Tatl tried focusing on the auras around this part of the forest and... wow. He was right. This forest was noisier than the cuccos when the Skull Kid three a rubber snake into their pen.

If all the cuccos were plotting to murder an entire community of people and then burn down the town.

“Maybe we should get out of here,” Tael said nervously, having obviously done his own aura check.

Link sheathed his sword and returned the piece of cloth to his freaky pouch. “I really thought we were on the trail this time,” his ears drooped, and Tatl could see his frustration through the eye holes of his mask.

“Hey, we want that demon gone as much as you do,” she floated right in front of his nose, and he crossed his eyes to look at her.

“In fact, I have an-“

CRACK

An enormous fist smashed Link right on the head, and he pitched forward dazed. Tatl and Tael both flashed their lights brighter to see what had hit their kid.

What in the name of the Compass was THAT?

It was huge, with muscle rippling up and down its body. It’s mouth groaned soundlessly like a redead’s. It had multiple arms twisting out of its back into claws and blades and hammers and- and it’s head was open, revealing five eyeballs rolling around in its exposed brain.

It used one of its enormous hands to pluck Link off the ground, one of his mask’s ears breaking off and falling to the ground.

It began stomping off back where it had come from, taking her kid with it.

“Oh no you don’t!” She screeched, and tore after it. She tried using her magic to sting the beast, the same way she had spooked Link’s horse all that time ago, but nothing. Happened.

“Tael! Get help! I’ll follow it! You know how to find us!”

As twin fairies, Tatl and Tael has a... connection of sorts. They always had a general idea of where the other was. It was terrifying when Tael was stuck with Majora, as she couldn’t feel him at all.

She grasped Link’s ear, and tried not to think about how he’d normally immediately flick her off.

And just in time too, as the thing picked up the pace, dashing through a swirling circle of purple mist.

————

The forest was on fire and it wasn’t Tael’s fault.

He carried the cat ear that had broken off Link’s mask as he zipped between trees. He thought that maybe they could fix it once they got him back, he’d be so sad once he found out it was broken.

A burning tree branch nearly hit him as it fell from above, and he yelped.
“Find help. Find help. Find help.”
He muttered. Where was he supposed to get help from?! The only person crazy enough to fight a monster like that was Link, and Link had been taken by said monster.

He figured that if anyone actually was out here, they’d be fleeing the blue flames in the trees, so he headed that way too.

Oh! Is that shouting? Maybe whoever it is can help! He flew as fast as he could towards the noise, only stopping when he saw the source.

A woman, wearing a yellow cat mask, pawlike gloves and a tailed skirt is attempting to fight off another woman, who has a knife and a insane look on her face.

The cat woman appeared to be trying to protect two young looking girls.

Tael hadn’t seen Link fight as much as Tatl had, so he wasn’t super sure who was winning, but the woman with the knife screamed bad news if she won.

Tael steeled himself, prepping his magic like the Great Fairy taught him. He remembered what Link said about fights like this, that one wrong move, one distraction and it was over.

He could be a distraction.

He dimmed his glow as much as he could, then zipped forward, between blows, and stung the knife woman on the back of the neck.

The woman reacted as expected, dropping her knife to grasp at her neck, and that split second was what Yellow Cat needed.

Yellow Cat pulled off some impressive moves, (Tael would have to tell Link about them,) and the knife woman was dazed and restrained.

Tael took that opportunity to make his entrance.

“Help! Please! My friend- he was taken by a monster!”

———-

The place Tatl found herself in was extremely creepy. And that was saying something, considering the places Tatl had been with Link during their loop-de-loops.

But this place... it was cold. And dark. And smelled so so wrong.

She only barely managed to launch herself away as the monster shoved Link into a glass cage, and then turned and entered into one of its own.

“Oh, Link...” she whispered, touching the glass gently.

A door creaked open, and she dove into hiding.

And a man with no face strode forward.

Chapter Text

The aura coming off that horror show of a man was suffocating. It was cold, it was angry, it was old, and it was dark.

He was followed by a shorter man, who had a ridiculously bushy mustache, bug like glasses and a clipboard which he was clutching to his chest. His aura was... like a throw rug. Useful sure, but everyone just walked all over him.

“I didn't expect the Nomu to bring Ragdoll so fast,” Mustache said, closing the door behind them.

No-face’s reply was breathy and hoarse, but still as terrifying as the rest of him. “We must not question good luck, Doctor. It appears Tomura’s plan is proceeding well,” Mustache- the doctor?- nodded in response, which was kinda useless, with No-face’s lack of eyes.

Tatl vaguely wondered what strategies Link would use on these creeps. Link didn’t like hurting anything other than monsters, but he was very much willing to at least scare or incapacitate people who were clearly menacing others. Case in point- Sakon.

Maybe he’d stun them with a seed flash... no, that didn’t work on the blind.... ice arrows, maybe?

He still had his sword and shield, and all the other tricks up his sleeve, but Tatl was still anxious as the two creeps strode toward his strange glass cage. It was cylindrical, and it reminded her of the bottles that the Bombers had caught Tael in those years back. She’d taught them a lesson, of course. It was amazing, the results one could get by convincing every rat in town to sleep in each one of their bedrooms. Good times.

Not like she could employ that tactic here. Even rats wouldn’t come near this place.

No-face and his doctor stopped in front of Link’s cage. They didn’t move or say anything, and Tatl felt a cold hard pit in her stomach. What were they going to do to him?

“That isn’t Ragdoll, Doctor,” No-face said calmly, but Tatl could feel the malice leaking off him.

“I- I instructed the Nomu to bring back the person with yellow cat ears! How was I supposed to know someone else would be there?!” Mustache sputtered. “You know that they can’t handle instructions that are too complex,”

“Perhaps something should be done about that, correct?” No-face said lightly, eyelessly inspecting Link through the glass like he was some exotic fish.

“Prep him for probing. I would like to see if he has a useful quirk. If he does not... well, you wanted to test a child Nomu again, correct, Doctor?” No-face turned and made his way back to the door, “I need to tell Tomura to call off the mission. If Ragdoll is still in commission, she can track Katsuki Bakugou to the ends of the earth,”

Tatl had absolutely no idea what any of that meant at all, or who they were talking about, but she didn’t like any of it anyway.

Dr. Mustache nodded nervously, then began fiddling with a box that was attached to Link’s cage. It lit up with strange lights and began filling up with amber liquid, and Tatl panicked. She zipped to the wires poking out of the box, and tugged them with all her strength.

Tael- TUG

Better- PULL

Bring- PULL

Help- PULL

Soon! She ripped the wires out of the box, and with an enormous spark of lightning, the entire room went dark.

Luckily she managed to get back to her hiding spot before her glow was noticed.

“Oh Tael,” she whispered, “please hurry,”

————

Tael wasn’t sure how he ended up here.

It seemed like one second he was begging for help in a burning forest, the next he was in a meeting room surrounded by people asking him questions.

He wasn’t quite sure why the scary people had suddenly left, but he wasn’t going to question it. From what he could tell, a school had been attacked during a kind of training camp.

He had followed Yellow Cat- who introduced herself as ‘Ragdoll’- as she tracked down injured children. He had felt a shaky kind of pride that his glow had been helpful to her.

It was still very scary, though, with the forest on fire, and how many kids were hurt.

After everyone was sure that the villians(?) had gone, Tael was caught in a whirlwind of movement, bringing him to now.

The people in the room were a man with the head of a dog, three more cat-themed people added to Miss Ragdoll, a white rat (or dog? Or bear?), a very tall very muscular man with a smile that looked painful, a tired looking man with a scarf and lastly, a man who introduced himself as a detective.

They had introduced themselves as the head of police, The Wild, Wild Pussycats (Miss Ragdoll, Miss Mandalay, Miss Pixiebob and Mr. Tiger), Principal Nezu, Mr. All Might, Mr Eraser, and Detective Tsukauchi.

Tael just hoped he’d be able to keep track of all of them. Their auras were all very strong and overlapping.

The most prominent ones came off of Mr. All Might and Mr. Eraser.

Mr. All Might’s aura was strong and bright, like a pillar holding up the room. He still had a sort of pain within him though, that Tael couldn’t really place.

Mr. Eraser radiated tiredness. And anger. And concern. He reminded Tael of the Snapper turtles in Woodfall. They were very hard and spiky outside, but once they were flipped, they had a very soft underbelly.

The Pussycats all had similar auras, congealing down into a want to do good.

Mr. Detective radiated honesty. He felt like the kind of person you could always tell the truth.

Tael really couldn’t read the auras of Mr. Police Head and Mr. Principal.

Maybe it had something to do with all the noise in the room?

Right now they were all talking at the same time, and Tael had no idea where to look, or what to do.

Finally, Mr. Eraser stood up and shouted for them all to be quiet, before turning to Tael, “Explain from the beginning, we’ll ask questions after,”

Tael closed his eyes in relief, and then began.

“We- me, my sister and our friend- we were... well... I’m sorry if we weren’t supposed to be there, we didn’t know-“

Miss Ragdoll smiled, “Calm down, you helped a lot during the attack. You don’t have to worry about getting in trouble. It was a good thing you were there to lend a paw,”

Tael blushed, and Mr. Eraser waved for him to keep going.

“We were looking for something. We couldn’t find anything, so we were planning to try again later, but then-“

Tael shuddered.

“A monster came out of nowhere and stole our friend! He took him away, through a swirly gate!”

Mr. All Might leaned forward, “What did the monster look like?”

“It was- it was really scary! It was so big- and it had lots of arms- and it’s head was open and-“

Mr. Detective inhaled sharply, “Nomu,”

Mr. Principal Nezu spoke up, “what is your friend like? Do you have any idea why he was taken?”

Tael dropped to the table below and paced. “I- he’s- I don’t know why the monster took him! He’s so nice, and strong and helpful- and he saved me. He saved me when I was scared and alone and-“

Tael shivered, took a breath, hugging the broken mask ear to his chest, then fixed the room with his best glare.

“My sister is with him. I can find them,
But I can’t help by myself. Please, help me get my friend back!”

Chapter Text

After Tael’s plea, the room goes quiet, everyone looking to Mr. Detective, who leans back in his chair, and places a hand on his forehead.

“He’s not lying. His friend really was taken by the League.”

And just like that, the clamor came back, and Tael shrunk back, trying to hide behind the mask ear.

It was a real relief when Mr. Eraser made them all be quiet again.

“You said you know how to find them? Tell us how.” Mr. Eraser’s bloodshot eyes were fixed at Tael again.

“Ummmm... me and my sister... we’re twins. We’ve always been able to tell where the other is, like a kind of rope that’s tying us together. I can lead you to where they’re hiding.”

Tael hesitated for a moment, then spoke again. “Does this mean you’ll help? Because even though Link is amazing he’s still just one kid-“

Mr. All Might interrupted with concern, “your friend is a child?”

Tael blinked. “Well yes... I think so. He looks like a kid, and sounds like a kid. Sometimes he acts real old, but I’m pretty sure he’s a kid. He’s really good at fighting, though, he takes down all kinds of monsters by himself! That one just caught him by surprise.”

The room went quiet, and Tael wasn’t sure what he had said wrong. He buzzes his wings and lifts up off the table. “Is- is something wrong?”

Miss Mandalay speaks up, slowly, with a strange look on her face, “Why did he need to fight monsters? What do you mean by monsters?”

Tael isn’t sure what she means, but he figures answering is the best way to get help for Link. “Umm... you know... monsters. Creatures made of Malice and dark magic. Super dangerous curses on animals and objects. Sometimes it’s reanimated dead people. Really big spiders and carnivorous plants. He fights ‘em ‘cause no one else will, and because they’ll hurt people.”

The way everyone was staring at him made him nervous. He gripped the ear tighter.

Tael broke the silence, “I can tell you all about monsters later. Right now, my friend needs help! We have to save him before it eats him!”

Mr. All Might stood up. “I don’t know why you’re all just standing around there, we have a child to rescue!”

————

Tael was taking way too long.

Oh sure, nothing completely terrible had happened to their charge yet, but he was still out cold. In a new cage.

This cage was a more traditional barred cage, and it was barely big enough for Link. He looked so... wrong, just laying there like that, with his hat and boots gone and tunic soiled with amber liquid.

Tatl didn’t know how long she could keep stalling the weirdos that had kidnapped them, as fast as she ripped out wires, and broke lights and cracked pipes, Dr Mustache seemed to fix them just as fast.

Grabbing something from Link’s bag was a no go, as it had been placed in plain sight on a table, and Tatl didn’t want to risk it.

She just sat in her spot, and watched No-face watch a bunch of other nutcases through a.... magic mirror?

She put her head in her hands.

She heard a quiet knock from a room she hadn’t seen, and someone said in a muffled voice, “your pizza delivery is here,”

She looked up and-

“SMAAAAAAAAAAASHHH!!!”

——————-

Link wasn’t sure where he was. Everything was dark and cold and quiet and-

He wasn’t still sleeping, right?! He had escaped from the sword sleep years ago, and hadn’t even been put under in this timeline....

-“Hey-“

“.....kid, c’mon....”

“Y...... ot..... pen.... eyes....”

He bolts upright.

“Rise And shine, little brother!”

In front of him, all sitting in a circle, are his mask-friends. They are each sitting cross legged, glowing their respective colors, with their homes behind them. Woodfall for Leif, Snowhead for Darmani, Great Bay for Mikau, and what looked like Ikana in its prime behind Kallah.

“Technically, he’s not quite awake yet,” Kallah says, gesturing at Link.

“Eh. You know what I mean.”

Link gaped like a fish.

Mikau laughed, “C’mon, dude, you didn’t think we’d up and abandoned you? We’ve been here this whole time, waiting for you to call our names and ask for help!”

“It has been a bit awkward though, since HE never talks,” Leif gestured behind Link.

Link turned around to look at the spot seemingly assigned to him.

It was black and empty, except for the tall violet figure from before, looking just as mysterious and scary.

Link stumbled backwards into Darmani.

“Woah there! I’m pretty sure he doesn’t mean us any harm. He just sorta... stands there.” Darmani picked Link up and placed him back on his feet.

“That’s not our main problem right now, though. You’re currently stuck unconscious in a cage. What are you gonna do about it?”

Link tilted his head, considering his options, “I’m going to politely ask a goron for help.”

Darmani guffawed.

————

The cage exploded.

A goron stepped out.

Chapter Text

“Uhhhh Tatl?”

“Yeah?”

“What exactly am I looking at here?”

Unfortunately, after breaking free of his cage and grabbing his adventure pouch, Link had to shed Darmani’s form, as goron eyesight wasn’t exactly the best.

He did so with a mental apology, that Darmani laughed off, with the other spirits clamoring that their power was his now, to use as needed.

He still felt a bit guilty though. There wasn’t time for that though.

Peeking through an enormous crack in the wall of the strange building he had found himself staring at the wreckage surrounding two figures, one faceless and levitating, and the other larger than life with blue, gold and red twisting over his form.

There were smaller figures sprawled out all over the ground, obviously injured.

Beyond that though, were the largest buildings Link had ever seen. They stretched up to rake the sky, shimmering with mirrors and steel.

That wasn’t even getting into the objects resembling mechanical peahats twirling blades and flying across the sky.

It all made his jaw drop.

“Sorry kid, I have no clue either,
but that faceless guy is the one who kidnapped you. You should give him what for,”

Link frowned. “Do I really have to?”

He really, really didn’t want-

(A squelch as his sword bit flesh- “these toys are too much for children like you”- screams of pain and dying eyes-)

“Oi! Snap out of it!” Tatl bounced off his face. “Just take one look at his aura and you’ll want to put that freak show in the ground.”

Link sighed, then reached out a probing strand of his own aura, closer, closer...

He was slammed with anger and pain. A spider weaving an elaborate web, the darkest part of the caves under Great Bay. Darkness and injustice just like loud organ music in a tower-

He yanked his aura back gasping. He looked up at Tatl, who nodded as sympathetic as she got.

“Never felt anything that similar to a redead from something alive either, huh?”

He shook his head, looking back out.

He was going to have to do something, wasn’t he?

“How are we supposed to get the injured out of there?”

Tatl tapped her chin, as the red-gold-blue man threw a piece of rubble at the faceless man.

“I’d say use your teleportation spell, but I don’t know if you’d be able to do all of them.”

Link frowned at her. Farore’s wind didn't work like that, right?

“I thought I could only do myself with that one though, not other people?”

“Who taught you magic, kid? The basics are just there for you to break! So long as you’ve got the channels open, all you need is magic reserves and imagination.” Tatl folded her arms and muttered something he couldn’t hear.

“Even if I can get that to work, I’d also have to put up a barrier, to stop him from causing further damage, plus getting up to his height...”

He stopped. He had a plan. It had a lot of moving pieces, and it would make Tatl yell at him, but it would work. And maybe he wouldn’t even need that barrier...

It just started with a drink he wasn’t supposed to have.

He drags a reserve bottle of Chateau Romani out of his bag, and, while Tatl is preoccupied with watching the fight, knocks it back in one gulp.

He knows it’s hit when he can’t feel his heartbeat anymore, and when his reflection in his sword shows him that his pupils are shot.

He then counts out five arrows, a bomb, and moves his shield to his arm. With a bit more thought, adds a Deku Nut to the arsenal.

He cups three of the arrows in his hand, channeling energy into them, until blue cold crystallizes around them, doing the same with the other two arrows, only yellow energy surrounded those. He doesn’t think he’ll miss, but it’s always good to be prepared.

He stashes the arrows behind his ears, pulls off the fuse line with his teeth, then rolls the bomb out of his hidey hole. With three ticks before detonation, he takes a few steps back, then sprints foreward, leaping.

Landing shield first on top of the bomb.

BOOOOM!!!

The explosion drew the attention of everyone on the battlefield, which was exactly what he needed for his his plan.

The blast sends him flying, and on the way up he nocks both an ice and light arrow to his bow, flinging the natural flash bomb right at the faceless man.

Contrary to popular belief, Deku Nuts had an, albeit lessened effect on the blind, as Link had learned when he accidentally fed one to a Deku Baba. He figured it was some kind of magic effect as well as the light flash.

At the peak of his ascent, he wraps green energy around all of the injured on the ground, and sends them as far from here as he can.

On the way down, he fired both arrows at once, before tugging Kallah’s energy forward.

He beat his now winged arms, and sent an enormous gust of wind straight into the frozen man’s form, sending him crashing into the ground.

He dives down, landing next to the red-gold-blue man, who gaped at him.

“Sir, do you think that will hold him? Or is more necessary?”

As if to answer his question, the ice shatters, a hand on the edge of the crater on the other side of the battleground.

The faceless man dragged himself out of the pit, coughing and wheezing, but somehow pouring off even more malice than before.

Link internally winces, malice was always sticky and cloying, and it reminded him of rotting meat. He wondered how many monsters could come from this much malice...

“STAY BACK, YOUNG MAN! I GOT THIS!” The smiling man grabs him and hurls him away from the fight, then barrels toward the faceless man.

Link misses some of the exchange, as he’s trying to right himself as he is currently hurtling through the air.

He beats his wings helplessly, sending a few large gusts out, and accidentally screeching a couple of words that would make Navi pinch him, and make Tatl laugh.

The mask spirits of Darmani and Mikau are laughing, while Leif is confused and Kallah is exasperated. The fifth is just as silent as always.

When he’s finally in control, which is halfway across the city, he speeds back to the fight, to see a very skinny and sickly man in gold-red-blue man’s clothes standing over the faceless man.

When Link landed next to him, the man collapsed, and Link caught him.

“Oh no...”

He shifts into Darmani’s form, and hefts the man up, as Tatl finally catches up.

“What, did, you, do,” she pants, and Link growls a ‘not now’.

And then, they’re being swarmed.

Flashing lights and pictoboxes are shoved into his face and he resists the urge to bolt.

“Tatl, what do I do?” He asks helplessly, looking around frantically-

Oh. The Chateau crash. He could feel it...

He was...

Why couldn’t he...

Stand up...

...why... did everything hurt all of a sudden?

He had to...

Everything was.... going .... black.....

Chapter Text

Tatl was gonna give Link a piece of her mind once he woke up.

He had lost his goron form when he passed out, and after a whole lot of shouting, he was carried with the smiling man into the back of a.... horseless carriage? It had red and blue symbols on it, along with bright flashing lights on top.

She zipped in after him, as people wearing white uniforms laid him on a stretcher.

By the Compass, he looked bad. The rush people got from Chateau Romani made it easy to go and go and go for days, with terrible wounds, and as much as she hates it, they’d needed it during the cycles.

He probably hadn’t even noticed that he had gotten injured. It wasn’t as bad as some of the things he dealt with , but his bare feet all the way up to his knee was burned as the bomb’s heat traveled through his shield. He had scrapes and gashes and his shoulder was hanging out of its socket.

The worst though, was the way his aura was pulsing erratically, like a moth with a broken wing spinning itself in circles.

She alighted on his forehead and wrapped her aura around his. “Shhhh... it’s alright...” she whispered to him, trying to remember that old lullaby he played for her once, that he said helped a friend of his sleep since she was born.

The people she assumed were healers, began patching him up, and she sang quietly to him, the notes falling less like Link’s perfect time and rhythm, but she poured herself into it, and his aura calmed, the roiling waves slowing to gentle crests.

“What am I going to do with you?” She sighed, and brushed his uneven bangs out of his face.

———

Izuku had never regretted breaking his arms more in his life.

If he hadn’t, he could’ve been taking notes on what he was seeing on the news instead of just sitting there with clunky casts spread on a hospital bed.

Okay, he didn’t regret saving Kota, he’d never not want to save someone but... maybe everyone had a point when they lectured him about damaging himself.

The newscasters were discussing a whole number of things, from the reveal of All Might’s true form, to the villain in question.

The main question that everyone was really focused on though, was the identity and motives of the mystery person who shot out of nowhere and smashed All For One into the ground.

The newscasters seemed to think them a new vigilante, but the way they seemed to have multiple quirks was... disconcerting.

Were they a new form of Nomu? No... probably not, a Nomu wouldn’t dare attack its creator unless something went very wrong during the process.

The scene cut to the ground where reporters and EMTs were flooding the area.

The newcomer had landed just in time to catch All Might’s skeletal form before he hit the ground, somehow changing from a form of a humanoid bird with black and white feathers, a vibrant crest and piercing orange eyes to a living boulder in a flash of orange light.

Izuku gasped in concern as the vigilante(?) swayed, then collapsed, form shattering in red light to reveal a young looking boy with unevenly cut hair (wow, and Izuku’s friends said his hair was messy) long pointed ears, and a very strange looking outfit. The boy and All Might were both caught by paramedics, and Izuku noticed the wicked looking sword sheathed at his back and a reflective shield with an unsettling face.

Izuku leaned back against the pillows. Once he got out of here, he was going to have to do some research.

———-

Shouta was having one of the worst days of his life.

Well, he said that every day was the worst day of his life, but he was losing a lot of sleep-and patience- listening to a pair of individuals with some of the strangest quirks he’d ever encountered, have a tearful reunion.

Tatl and Tael were their names, apparently, and they were self-proclaimed guardians of the kid they’d pulled out of the rubble of the worst villain fight all year.

He rubbed a hand against his eyes, and silently begged Detective Tsukauchi to make them get to the point.

He cleared his throat rather loudly, and looked imploringly at the man.

“Oh right, you two wanted to ask us some questions. You got us out of that cesspit, and while I don’t like being separated from Link, you deserve at least something,” the yellow one, Tatl said with an arm around her brother.

“How did you find the training camp?” Shouta asked, unprompted.

“Oh is that what that was? We didn’t mean to go there honestly. Link was tracking something and we ended up there.”

Tsukauchi marked something in his notebook, “Link is the boy, right? What can you tell me about him?”

Tatl untangled herself from Tael, who was still clutching something obnoxiously yellow.

“Hmmm... what do you wanna know?”

“Oh, age, personality, how long you’ve known each other, potential abilities... that sort of thing.”

“Huh. We don’t know his age. He’s a kid though, I think,” she paused for a moment, before continuing. “He’s a real goody-goody you know? Always wanting to help everyone at once. Super brave too. Although, deep down, I think he’s really sad and scared. He’s a bit paranoid too. We met a couple months ago, it’s a funny story actually, tell ‘em Tael!”

Tael mumbled something incoherent.

“Speak up.” Shouta said with impatience.

“W-we mugged him in the forest!” Tael, the purple one burst out, than covered his mouth.

Tatl cackled. “Yeah, I know, terrible first impression. Then a locked door and a total catastrophe forced us together and well... he’s grown on me.”

She landed on the table and paced a bit. “What was the last question? Oh yeah. Abilities. Link is a walking weapons locker, lemme tell you.”

What proceeded from her mouth was an alarming list of things Link was apparently completely proficient at.

Explosives. Swordplay. Archery. Bareback riding. Tracking and hunting. Throwing knives. Grave robbing. Stealth. Rock climbing.

The only thing in the list of the not-super human abilities was playing music, but Tatl wasn’t done.

“He’s got some talent with magic as well. He can toss a mean fire spell, and throw up a nearly indestructible barrier. And then there’s...”

She kept taking, but Shouta wasn’t listening anymore.

A child was what she was talking about. Somehow, for some reason a child had needed to learn these dangerous skills, and apparently use them multiple times.

He’d also apparently been led to believe that quirks were magic. This was... concerning.

“Why?” He interrupted.

Tatl blinked, pausing in the middle of a reenactment of one of Link’s fights with something called an ‘Iron Knuckle’.

“Why what?”

Shouta gritted his teeth. “Why does a child know all of these things? And also, how does he have multiple quirks?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. If you want mine, I’m pretty sure his parents abandoned him and he’s had to fend for himself his whole life.” Not seeming to notice how disturbing that statement was, she launched into the next, “I’m not exactly sure what you mean by quirks. I mean sure, his ears twitch all the time and he knows way too much about time travel-“

One extremely exasperated explanation of quirks later Tael spoke up.

“Umm, sir, the thing is, it really is magic. We come from somewhere else.”

Shouta was about to say something when Tatl derailed his thought process.

“Ohhh.. that’s the problem. We ended up in a world where magic is super wonky. That makes sense.”

What.

———-

A door creaked loudly, shocking Izuku out of his haze of boredom.

A nurse stepped in, and wow her quirk was interesting what kinds of things could she do with it maybe-

“Excuse me? Mr. Midoriya?”

“Oh! Sorry, zoned out for a bit. What is it?”

“Unfortunately, with the attack we just witnessed, the hospital is too crowded for everyone to have a separate room. We were wondering if it would be alright to pair you with a... more difficult case.”

Izuku tilted his head to the side, “difficult how?”

“He’s rather jumpy. His injuries aren’t the problem. He woke up two minutes after treatment, almost stabbed the doctor with a hidden weapon and bolted down the hallway. We thought that perhaps putting him with someone closer to his age might help him calm down.”

Oh. That sounded.... bad... but wasn’t it the duty of a hero do help people in whatever way he could?

“Yes! I don’t mind at all!”

——

When his temporary roommate was wheeled into the room with bandaged legs and a glower on his face Izuku’s jaw dropped. It was the kid from Kamino!

Oh! This was amazing! He had so many questions to ask!

The kid eyed him warily, as if sizing him up.

And then, Izuku felt it. Something brushed up against... not the back of his mind, something much older, that he had forgotten he’d had, something deep inside-

“Will- will they give me my things back?”

Izuku jumped. He’d apparently passed whatever test he’d hadn’t been aware he was taking, and the kid looked uneasy but less like he was going to stab Izuku.

“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask.”

The kid looked down, obviously upset, so Izuku stumbled out of bed and sat on the edge of the other medical bed.

“My name’s Midoriya! I want to be a hero! What’s your name?”

The kid slowly lifted his head, with a look of horror in his sky blue, sad eyes.

“Why would anyone ever want to be a hero?”

Chapter Text

Link did his best to block out the chattering of the other person in the room.

It wasn’t that Midoriya was annoying or anything, Link was just.... tired. He really didn’t want to explain how he felt about his role. That no, he didn’t hate Heroes, he just didn’t want to be one anymore. Not that he counted as a hero, anyway.

(-you should feel honored, young man- you can’t run from it- child of destiny-)

Because Heroes don’t get to be happy. Once the Golden Three and Her Grace didn’t need them anymore, they were thrown away and expected to return to their old lives.

Except, what can a person do when all they’ve lived for months is limping through the dark with clenched teeth and a too tight grip on a bloody sword?

There was nothing to go back to. He was a puzzle piece from a riddle that didn’t exist anymore, and he’d never fit where he’d come from anyway.

(-regain your lost time!-)

He adjusted the strips of cloth he kept wrapped around his left hand, then flicked his ears forward to listen to the kid in the room.

Midoriya’s hair reminded him of gentle hands covering his on the holes of an ocarina and ‘you're still Kokiri through and through! Your fairy will come someday’.

Oh, his fairy had come all right. And taken everything when she’d left.

“-I was just trying to find things we both liked so we could talk andmaybebecomefriends-“

Link blinked. This guy talked way too fast. He was asking... for his name? What he liked to do?

The kid who reminded him of the forest looked at him expectantly, and Link gave in.

“Link. My name is Link. I like horses and music.”

————-

If Tatl had to listen to one more second of Tael trying to explain the specifics behind using the Lost Woods to go between worlds, she was going to rip her own wings off.

It was way too complicated for this pair who didn’t even know what magic was.

She slapped a hand over Taels mouth, and provided her own explanation.

“It’s kinda like... an island. The island is surrounded by water on all sides, but if someone knows how to swim and avoid all the skullfish, like-likes and sharks, that person can get to another island. The ‘Woods are the ocean and the worlds are the island. ‘Course the ocean won’t strip the flesh from your bones and curse you to wander until the end of time looking for the exit, but that’s just if you get lost.”

Detective What’s-his-name looked vaguely ill at that.

The guy with the weird scarf’s face was unreadable, and he dragged his hand down over his eyes. “That still doesn’t explain magic.”

Tatl scoffed. “I’m getting there!”

“It’s really simple, actually!” Tael interjected, wrestling away from Tatl.

“See, in every living thing, and in all of reality there’s a sorta... energy, or pulse-“

“We’re just gonna call it aura ‘cause every other name for it is basically unpronounceable-“ Tatl shot in.

Tael pushed her away and continued. “Our teacher described it like the universe breathing, within every branch, rock, and person. It holds everything together.”

Slowly, Tael let go of the piece of Link’s mask, and he levitated it there, before catching it again.

“If a person can feel the pulse, they can change it. Use its energy to make fire, or fly or- well anything really.”

There was more, so Tatl chimed in, “A person can use the energy outside in their surroundings, or they can draw it from within. Drawing from within makes for both easier and more potent castings, but it’s also dangerous. Using outside energy is more unpredictable, and harder to control, but there’s less of a chance of maiming or death. The best users use outside energy tempered and controlled by a little of their own.”

The detective opened his mouth, but Tatl wasn’t done. “Whoever taught Link magic did a terrible job. Why would someone start with a spell that coats weapons in magical energy instead of something like, I don’t know... HOW TO SENSE AURA IN THE FIRST PLACE?!”

The tired man narrowed his eyes at her. “And what makes you think that you and your brother are suitable replacements?”

She took a deep breath, and held herself back from flying into a rage at what he was insinuating. “He was drawing it straight from himself. He could have incinerated himself. Since it was me who taught him how to not do that, yeah, I think I am.”

She flew right into his face. “You’d better listen to me, Scarf Boy, enough people have abandoned that kid and I’d sooner fly into a dodongo’s mouth than add to that count.”

While she and the man glared at each other, Tael whispered to the detective that dodongos were aggressive fire-breathing lizards that could grow to the size of a small city and bred like rabbits.

She sighed. “We’ve answered your questions. Can we please go see Link? If he wakes up somewhere he doesn’t recognize...”

“What do you mean?” The detective asked unhelpfully.

“I mean, that he once stabbed a guy who was trying to slit his throat while he was sleeping. He’s not gonna do well alone with your healers, with all their weird thingamabobs.”

All the color drained from their faces.

———-

Finally they were being led towards Link, through shiny, checkered corridors. Tatl seriously questioned the interior designer who approved this.

Link would hate being here. She had to think of a way to cheer him up...

“Hey Tael! Once Link gets better, we should go grave robbing again!”

“Grave robbing is only fun when the stuff people buried stays dead.”

“I guess you’re right... but last time we found that set of engraved daggers!”

“Those were trapped. We were running from gibdos for hours.”

The tired man’s hand was twitching from where Tatl could see. She wondered why.
She supported it could have something to do with the word ‘robbing’. But it wasn’t really stealing.
It wasn’t like anyone was using the daggers. Whoever owned them was dead.

“Does Link even like grave robbing?” Tael asked.

“Who doesn’t like grave robbing?” Tatl scoffed.

Scarf man gave a long suffering sigh.
———

Once they got to the room Link was in, the door was opened with little fanfare.

Link reacted accordingly.

Brandishing an engraved dagger he had hidden up the sleeve of his hospital gown.

Chapter Text

A new hiding place! A new place on an ambitious man’s face!

The mask man was an okay place, for a time, but he just wasn’t interesting.

Leaving him behind in the river was smart, smart, smart.

Hide and seek was so fun! Hiding was fun, but seeking was more fun! It would be the cheater’s turn to hide hide hide next, but he would be found fast, and then they would play another fun game.

It was good that the cheater had been taught a lesson, games were all about fun, and cheating took all the fun away.

Games were supposed be like...

Like how the people all cheered and waved and fell to the ground in awe when the moon was falling, that was fun for everyone, it would give pretty fireworks and change the town to something new.

It was giving the wedding man more time to play games.

It was teaching the giants how to play in the old old temples.

It was giving the cheater a new body to play with when they’d first met.

When they’d first met, who’d have known that he’d be a cheater?

This new man was a good pick. Malice rolled off him in waves.

It was sad, that people forgot that malice is what made the most beautiful creatures, like the skull spiders in the caves, or the seas of infinite hands or the mounds of flesh that loved to eat, eat eat.

They would remember. This man could help them, with the power now given to him.

The man had been wearing a mask when he’d been chosen. It was a nice nice mask. A hand mask. The man had given it up for a new mask almost immediately.

The man needed to teach a cheater too. A large, Golden smiling cheater who never played by the rules.

They would teach both cheaters. This game of hide and seek would do.

Soon, soon, soon it would be their turn to seek.

And then the cheaters would be sorry.

Chapter Text

“WAIT!” Tatl rushed at Link, twining her aura around his, which was sparking with alarm. “It’s okay, these guys aren’t a threat.”

Link lowered his dagger suspiciously, and the kid with weird green hair and bulky arm casts sighed in relief.

Link didn’t look too bad, all things considered. He had bandages running up his legs, some gauze under his eye, and a few other miscellaneous medical supplies on his person. All and all, the freaky ghost thingies at Romani Ranch had done more damage to him. He did look really weird in white, without his hat.

He twirled his dagger in his hand as the others stepped further into the room. Scarf man and Detective What’s-his-face, followed by Tael, who barreled straight at Link, hugging his face. Link cupped his hand around Tael, returning the hug, and scanned the two new people.

The silence was really starting to get awkward, so Tael apparently caved and broke it.

“Link, why are you using your second-best dagger? Shouldn’t you use your best one?”

He really was forgetful wasn’t he? What would these two do without her. “Don’t you remember? Link broke the blade off in a lynel’s face. Apparently fire breathing lion-horse-men don’t take kindly to being stabbed in the eye and buck when it happens. Who knew? So really, that dagger is his best dagger now. But really, he should be using his third-best or seventeenth-best dagger just in case another gets broken.”

The other people in the room were projecting so much confusion that Tatl didn’t even need to scan their auras. Well, confusion and... something else? It was all mixed up so she couldn’t really tell.

Scarf man approached Link, stretching out a hand. “Give me your weapon.”

Link glared and tightened his hold. “No.”

“Now.”

“No.”

Scarf man’s eyes flashed red and his hair began floating like it was underwater. “I’m going to count to three, and by then, you’d better have handed it over.”

Link dropped into a battle stance and readied his weapon.

“One. Two.....”

Detective whatever chose that moment to intervene. “It’s hospital rules that ban weapons. We promise that you won’t need them while you’re here, and they will be taken care of.”

Link didn’t look like he was gonna relent, and the detective looked pleadingly in Tatl’s direction. She briefly entertained the idea of ignoring him, but eventually ended up zipping in front of Link.

“I’m sure they’ll give ‘em back later. ‘Sides, there’s plenty of stuff in this room you could use, like that table leg, or the glass from that window. Or you could, you know, just set the threats on fire.”
She looked smugly at scarf man. See? She was responsible enough to take care of Link.

He frowned, looking at his dagger. Slowly, he looked the detective in the eye. “If... if I give you this, will you bring me my other things?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t allow you to have a sword in a hospital.”

Link shook his head. “No.. I know that, I want my supply pouch. It’s brown with leaves stitched into the side?”

The detective mulled this over, before nodding. “It’s a deal.” Link cautiously handed his dagger over, when scarf guy spoke up.

“All of them.”

All eyes fell on him. Link looked innocently at him. “What do you mean?”

“You have more, Don’t you? Hand those over too.”

Link scowled, but apparently decided that his pouch was better than what he had now, and Tatl agreed. After all, he kept his bomb bag in there.

He reached behind his ear and removed another knife, then up his sleeve, and finally pulled his boomerang out of the bandages on his leg.

“This one’s a bit touchy,” he said as he extended the boomerang to scarf man.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Tatl shrugged. “Just give it a toss. From hand to hand.”

He looked suspicious but he complied, apparently thinking it wasn’t a trap. The boomerang stopped between his hands, floating and spinning, before smacking him right between the eyes and flying back to Link who caught it with practiced ease and placed it in the detective man’s hand.

“Acid damage, made the enchantment grumpy. ” he explained helpfully while scarf man clutched his face and shouted things Tatl didn’t think made him someone who could judge her for her responsibility.

“Is this everything?” The detective asked while trying to check if scarf man had broken his nose.

Link shrugged, “I think so. Tatl, do grappling hooks count as weapons?”

——-

After confiscating a ludicrously impossible amount of concealed weapons off Link, Naomasa finally had the kid to himself for an interview.

Tatl and Tael were bothering Eraserhead as he went to the station to pick up Link’s pouch, and Midoriya was having a mandatory physical.

“First, you don’t mind if I record this conversation?”

Link shrugged and grunted noncommittally. His ears twitched, and he rubbed at a bandage wrapped around his left hand. He seemed a bit more... uneasy then he had been before.

“Okay then, we already asked your... guardians these questions, but we’d like your side as well, so answer as thoroughly as you can.”

Link nodded, and the interview began.

“Why were you in the forest where the U.A. training camp was being held.”

“Accident. Was tracking something.”

“Why were you kidnapped by the Nomu?”

A shrug. “Dunno. Woke up in a cage.”

“How’d you get out? Did you have help?”

“Tatl was there. My friend Darmani helped break the bars.”

Hmmmm... there were no reports of another person there, but his quirk told him it wasn’t a lie...

“Why did you attack the villain at Kamino Ward?”

Link looked to the side. “People were getting hurt. Someone had to help. I could help, so I had to.”

“You displayed several abilities during that fight. Will you tell me about them?”

He shifted, looking a bit uncomfortable. “Which one?”

“How about say, the green light that took the injured civilians off the field?”

“Farore’s Wind. Teleportation magic.”

“What launched you into the sky?”

“A bomb.”

That. That was concerning. Tatl had said he was proficient at using explosives but there was something about a child who couldn’t be older than twelve at the youngest saying with a completely deadpan face that he launched himself into the sky with a bomb.

“Where’d you get the bomb?”

“The bomb shop.”

What? There was a shop that sold bombs to children?! The other world explanation was seeming more and more likely. Not that he hadn’t believed it before... it was just a lot to swallow.

“The bomb shop.” He said slowly.

Link tilted his head. “I got a discount for helping apprehend the thief when the owner got mugged. They do have really good prices, even without. Better than the magic carpet scammer anyway. Over a hundred for one bombchu? That’s a crime.”

There was so much to unpack in that one statement that Naomasa didn’t even know where to start.

“I had to buy back my sword from the curiosity shop once or twice. I don’t know why the guards haven’t investigated that place yet. The ghost hunter’s shop is also a place I don’t recommend, but I guess it doesn’t exist yet.”

Naomasa blinked. He decided to drop it for now because he didn’t want to deal with this right now. Nothing was a lie.

“Errmmm...” he searched his mind for an appropriate question now that the conversation was thoroughly derailed.

“Who taught you all these skills.”

Link’s eyes grew serious and he stared at clenched hands.

“Experience.”

———

Nedzu hummed as he signed the necessary documents to allow a non-student into campus.

It all made sense, did it not? His school had the best resources in the country to protect from prying eyes. It was equipped with enough teachers to wrangle over a thousand super powered teens and it would now have a dorm system.

Why couldn’t he allow young Link and his two companions a place in the world.

Nedzu has empathy for those who the world had, for lack of a better term, screwed over, time and time again and kept trying.

And if he found the idea of multiple worlds fascinating? Well. No one had to know.

Chapter Text

It felt like the detective man had been asking him questions for hours. What did you use to do this? Why did you do that? Where did you get your supplies? Honestly, Link was getting tired of it. If the man wanted the stuff for himself Link could give him a referral if that would make him stop asking questions.

But, at last, the questions were over. Link leaned back against the pillows on the bed they had stuck him on, and massaged his sore shoulder as he watched the detective leave the room. He wasn’t entirely sure what the man wanted his answers for, but it didn’t really matter in the end. As soon as he tracked down and destroyed Majora, he was going to leave this place behind. He would go back to Hyrule, see how Zelda and the Royal Family were handling their allegations against Gannondorf, maybe see if Princess Ruto had finally gotten over her crush on him, say hello to Darunia... and maybe see how his spirit companions liked his homeland.

He knew that Darmani would like Darunia and Goron City, it was one of the more impressive cave dwellings Link had seen in his time, and the heat radiating from under Death Mountain kept it quite cozy. His other friends... He’d just have to find out, he supposed.

Lief wondered in the back of their shared mind how Link would find his way back through the Woods. They did have their reputation for a reason. Link sighed. He never really needed to worry about going back to Hyrule. Even now, he could feel the anchor that was the Sword that Seals the darkness tugging on his heart, calling to its Master. It’s siren’s song had always drew him to the Temple of Time before he had unlocked all its secrets. He remembered closing his eyes with his hands pressed against the great stone Door of Time, being so close, but not close enough. If he followed the string that pulled taut against his ribs, he would always make his way back. Most days he could ignore it, but on the days where his patience and resilience was worn thin, he found himself drawn in the direction of the Sword. His first night in Castletown he had fallen asleep in one of the town’s trees, and woken up against the Door. He wondered if the Sword knew that he had wielded her once before, in a time that had never been.

His head lolled to the side, giving him a view of his roommate’s bed. Link wasn’t sure what to make of the boy yet. He seemed kind enough, with determination in spades, but... He wanted to be... a hero, of all things. Link sorta understood it, a bit. When he was a child, he remembered playing all sorts of games with the other Forest Children. The ones who weren’t bothered by his lack of a fairy, anyway. They’d play ‘keepers of the forest’ and ‘chase the stalkin’. They were heroes in their young minds, keeping their homes safe and winning honor and glory. It was all a game back then. But now... Link knew what the price was. He wasn’t so sure if Midoriya understood. Heroes didn’t get to be happy, that was a fact. That was just the way it was. Heroes had to never stop, never cry, never rest, because how could they? Evil was still there to be slain, and it was a hero’s duty to eliminate evil.

Link liked helping people. It made him feel like there was something left inside him, and he liked seeing people’s smiles, but... he was just so tired. Sometimes he wondered, if it was too much to ask for someone to help him too.

------

His roommate had returned by the time that Mr. Scarf came with Tatl, Tael and Link’s supply pouch, minus enormous arm braces. Rather than hold a conversation, Link was content to just listen to Midoriya ramble, occasionally giving a grunt to let him know that Link was, in fact, still listening.

When Mr. Scarf came in, Midoriya stopped talking and sat up in bed. Tatl and Tael were both singing, which sounded a bit like small bells tolling, and Mr. Scarf’s left eye was twitching. He thrust the pouch at Link, then stormed out of the room, muttering under his breath. Tael landed on his head, but not before dropping a yellow piece of wood into Link’s lap, while Tatl took Link’s shoulder, whispering to him that the pair had stalked his currently confiscated items and would help him get them back whenever they weren’t being watched.

“Do you think we can fix your mask?” Tael asked timidly, gesturing to the ear-shaped piece of wood. Tatl fluttered her wings a bit, and replied “Probably. You do still have the rest of the mask, right?”

Oh, he should check, shouldn’t he? He pressed his thumbs into the leaves stitched into his pouch and closed his eyes, allowing the magic woven into the fabric to show him what was in the pouch.

Saria had designed it well. The pouch held all sorts of items, from seeds to the time he stuck an entire cucco in there. Link could see all of the things he put in there, organized into their own little slot. Of course, there were rules. Link had to be able to pick something up and place it into the pouch, and there was a limit on certain items, based on their complexity (which was why couldn’t just pour rupees in there, as gemstones composed partially of magic, they would interfere with the enchantment on the rest of the items.) He could also sort his items, and set them to a fast summon mode, where he didn’t have to dig through the entire bag to find something.

Everything appeared to be in place, and Link made a mental note to be sure to steal back the things that the detective had taken in the future, before removing the Mask of Cat’s Eye. Tatl and Tael both alighted on his crossed legs and began appraising the job before them

He’d let Tatl and Tael fix it up. They were better at this type of magic anyway. Midoriya was watching with fascination from across the room.

The moment was interrupted by a short, chubby, dark-haired woman bursting through the door with tears in her eyes and a loud cry of ‘IZUKU!”

----

Watching the mother and child reunite made something stir inside Link. It was something both happy, and something... ugly. Their aura of happiness, relief and care was almost overwhelming, and yet a sting of something stung at Link’s heart. He turned his gaze away, and focused on Tatl and Tael’s attempt to fix his mask.

That moment wasn’t for him.

Chapter Text

Link bolted upright with a gasp, sweat running down his back and his heart pounding. He grabbed for his sword, but it wasn’t there. Where was it?! He needed it! He had to stop the monster or it would destroy.... everything?

He blinked and suddenly the previous days slammed back into his memory. Slumping back with a sigh, he finally could hear the voices of his soul-friends trying to hush and tell him all was well. Yeah. He realized that now. He hadn’t had a nightmare this bad in a while. Usually they were scary and painful, but once he woke up he was able to remember it was all a dream.

This one though. Monsters and undead rampaged with numbers higher than he’d ever seen. People screaming as fire and buildings collapsed. He couldn’t sense Tatl or Tael anywhere, their comforting lights absent in a way that he never had been able to get used to, even when Navi left. An enormous shape screeched toward him, with glowing yellow red eyes and thousands of hands reaching toward him.

And... those words. They still made him shiver. “You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you?”

He frowned and looked at Tatl and Tael where they slept on a pillow placed on a chair by his bed. The way they pulsed with their soft breathing was comforting, and he found himself reaching out with his aura for them, when a sound made him pause, ears immediately turning towards it.

It was a low moan, full of pain. He swiveled and saw that his roommate seemed to be caught up in his own nightmare. Link paused, then pulled his aura back and tentatively touched Midoriya’s.

He reeled back almost immediately. The boy was having a bad one, full of fear and pain and helplessness, and Link just couldn’t stand it. He dug through his pouch, and pulled out his ocarina.

He raised the instrument to his lips, and began to play, softly. It was an old song, one that Navi sang to him when he was upset, or couldn’t sleep.

She said that the Great Deku Tree himself taught it to her, and even though she didn’t remember the words perfectly, the song still resonated and soothed something inside him.

Oh youth, guided by, the servant of the goddess...
He reached out again, trying to pull up the feelings from his best memories. Playing with Saria, Darunia naming him Sworn Brother to the gorons...

Cremia holding him close after they brought the milk cart safely to Clock Town.

As he wrapped his favorite feelings around Midoriya’s aura, he realized something.
He... actually couldn’t name how the last one felt. Warm and quiet, he supposed,
Like... a blanket? Or a fire? He remembers touching the places her arms had held, trying to recreate the feeling. He’s ashamed to admit that he tried to find excuses during every loop to see if she could do it again. Most of the time she just paid him a whole lot of money, which left him with a sorta hollow feeling.

But when she did hold him? It felt better than anything he thinks he’s ever felt before, and knocked him out of whatever funk he was in. It made him want to be a hero again, and save the world.

He wonders if Midoriyas felt the same way when his mother was holding him.

He’s shaken out of his reverie when Kallah asks from within his heart, [Who is it? The one in the song?]

“The first Hero.” Link whispers, holding his ocarina close, and noticing that Midoriya is much calmer now, with a small smile across his face.

Link... doesn’t want to talk about the first Hero. Thinking about him just frustrates him, because, surely, the first Hero would have known what to do about Majora, and how to... fit back into everyone else’s puzzle after his duty was fulfilled.

Kallah was silent for a moment, and Link was afraid that he’d left until a soft glowing yellow silhouette appeared in front of him.

Link’s eyes widened as Kallah sat in front of him. Kallah gave a small smile. “The others helped pool their energy to send me out. We.. thought that you shouldn’t be alone right now.”
Before Link could worriedly ask about what that would do to them, Kallah held up his wing-hand?- and cut him off.

“They'll be fine. As soon as I join them again, their energy will come back.” Oh. That was relieving. He didn’t know what he would have done if they had gotten hurt or sick. They had trusted him with their power and he couldn’t let them down.

“You’re spiraling.” Kallah said, and Link looked up at him.

He sighed, then moved forward and embraced Link. “I know it’s not the same, but, maybe this will help just a little.” Kallah was right. Since he had no real form, it was only a slight impression of warmth where they touched, but... it did help.

“You remind me of my daughter, you know.” Huh?

“I didn’t know you had a daughter.”

“Yes. Well. She died some time before me.”

“Oh I- I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t fret over it. I see her when I look at you sometimes. She had a strong will and lots of courage. I only wish she could have outlived her dear old father.” Kallah sighed. “It was those- those cultists. They ripped her from the sky and offered her to that unspeakable demon. The demon took her lively soul and razed my home to the ground. I was away at the time and came back to fire and smoke.”

Link met his gaze, and there was something shiny in the avian’s eyes.
“I tried to reach them... but...” He chuckled bitterly. “You found my skeleton. At the foot of the cliffs of Ikana.”

Kallah placed his feathered hand on Link’s cheek. “ You’ve given all of us another chance, healed our souls. It’s now our duty to help you heal yours.”

---------

Why. Why. Why did the police have to chose him as the chauffeur for this stupid outing? ‘But Eraser! You seem to be the only adult he respects! But Eraser, You’re a teacher! You know how to wrangle teenagers with overpowered abilities!’

Bah. This was karma, wasn’t it, for all of the classes he’d expelled. That little rat had to go and accept the Interdimensional Problem Child as a ward of UA, which made him all the teachers’ problem.

On his own, the kid might’ve been fine, sure, but not only did Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum the ‘fairies’ tag along, the Actually From This Dimension Problem Child did as well. Shouta could feel his blood pressure rising as Midoriya insisted on dragging Link around the whole entire mall.

Why were they doing this again? Oh right. Something about ‘wards of UA requiring the best supplies we can offer them’. Couldn’t they have chosen a smaller, nondescript store? His- THOSE- not his- kids would be mobbed if anyone realized who they were. He knew Midoriya didn’t do well in crowds, but Link? Who even knew how that one would react.

He dragged the kids out of a store that was selling premium knives. Nope. The Interdimensional Problem Child (abbreviated to IDPC) did not need any more sharp things. He’d only agreed to look with them for the necessities.

“Knives are totally necessary!” The yellow one piped up, and Shouta’s eye twitched.

-----------------------

When the day was done, the ragtag group ended up not only buying clothes and toiletries, but Midoriya had insisted that they also buy the IDPC the plush horse that he seemed fascinated by, an MP3 Player, and a large blanket. Link didn’t even seem to realize that the stuff was for him, but he still cooperated and carried his bag all the same.

Shouta had only lost sight of the kid once, and that was only because he had spotted some good samaritan playing piano for the mall goers. Within two seconds, Link had convinced them to let him play, and the whole thing devolved from there.

Ahead of them, Link paused, ears twitching before he bolted down an alley. Shouta cursed as he chased after him, with Midoriya at his heels. The IDPC was kneeling in front of a overturned trash can, eventually pulling away holding a kitten the size of one of the fairies, the tiniest little thing he’d ever seen. Link held the kitten to his chest. “She’s sad and all alone. I’m keeping her.”

........Why couldn’t he ever say no?

---------

The meeting with the principal was... strange. Link had never met a principal before. He wondered if all principals kept their fur as clean as this one did. He was... Nice enough. Offering Link a place to stay and all.

Link just wasn’t sure what the catch was. He knew that sticking around was a good idea for now, to keep a safe base until he found the demon, but he wasn’t so sure that he’d be able to search if he stayed.

But... as he watched Tatl and Tael bicker with Mr. Eraser, he thought it couldn’t hurt to just stay a little longer.