Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Four... Well, he had a tendency to just disappear at times, much like Twilight. One moment he was in the camp, and in the other he was gone. Unlike Twilight he never vanished while they were in the middle of travelling. No, it was rather when they had settled for the day, either in an inn in some town or after making camp in the wild. He might whisper it to Twilight and the other would give him a knowing look, and then he was gone for a few hours at a time. Twilight never slipped exactly where Four had disappeared to, or why he only confided in Twilight, only that he could handle himself and that he would be back in time for dinner. Legend and Warriors had made it a game between themselves to track Four down during one of these sessions if they were bored, but to their astonishment neither had ever caught as much as a glimpse of him. It was like he had turned to thin air. But in the end, although Wind wanted to disagree, it wasn't a huge deal, and when Four reappeared he always had a grin on his face and a knack for finding treasure-chests filled with rupees shortly after. Ultimately they let him be, trusting him to speak up if there was something they should know.

Fast forward a couple of months after being on the road together. They had been in Wind's Hyrule for a week or so, having had another run-in with infected monsters shortly beforehand. Currently they were located at an inn on Windfall Island, a bit unsure what their next move would be but nevertheless thankful for some rest. No one was all that surprised when Four once again excused himself, and Legend and Warriors were too tired to chase after him. None of the other had much energy to spare, even Wind said he was drained so they opted to stay and relax with bellies full from Wild's fried fish and rice.

"Man, where does Four even get all that energy from? He's so small, where is it all stored?" Hyrule wondered, falling back on a bed. "I don't get it!"

Legend was face down in another, face pressed into the soft pillows, his words muffled as he spoke. "It's not natural, I'm telling you. He has some kind of magic too, I'm sure."

Time couldn't help but chuckle from where he was sat by the table, polishing his sword when the inevitable happened. A weird static in the air, hairs raising up on their arms-

"We're being teleported!"

It was all the warning they got before the air shifted around them, swirling and swirling all around. The feeling of hardwood beneath their feet shifted to something softer, to grass, and the quiet murmur of the city was replaced by chirping birds and yowling foxes. The world finally came to a stop. Time looked around, doing a headcount when he stiffened.

"Where's Four?"

~*~*~

Four was screwed. He was about to be outed by the goddesses themselves, and that was if he made it that far. The only way to save this situation was if he could find a portal, a mere treestub or cracked stone, but to no ones surprise there wasn't any in sight, and he couldn't feel the faint pull of a distant one either. Only tall trees all around and a clearing some meters away where the rest of the company was dumped.

He was so screwed.

Four groaned, tugging at his hair. He should have accounted for this! He should have known that they were about to be teleported soon after accomplishing their goal in Wind's time! But noo! He couldn't resist shrinking when he saw that cracked pot, wanting to meet with the isle minish of Windfall Island so bad. And now he was nothing but the size of his thumb, with no sign of a portal in sight! He hadn't wanted to out this ability just yet- heck, they still had no idea he could split into four although he had seen both Legend and Time eye his sword a couple of times. Only Twilight knew he could shrink, thanks to his heightened senses as a wolf, and he had wanted to keep it as such.

Screw it all.

He supposed there was nothing he could do about it now. He could see the others through the clearing, and could almost hear their panic at his absence. It wouldn't do. He made for the clearing, though that was easier said than done. He wasn't sure which Hyrule this was, but it was full of insects and animals behind every stone. He was humoring the thought that perhaps he could ask the fox to carry him to the others when he realised they had Wild with them who would probably kill it, and in extend, kill him.

He dropped the thought.

It was tiresome work, having to fight off a couple ants that charged at him with no mercy and avoiding puddles of water that could easily have drowned him, but in the end he made it with the aid of his own Pegasus' Boots. Legend still had no idea he possessed a pair of those too, and he sometimes tried to picture his reaction for fun. Four eventually walked into the clearing, jumping out of the way when Warriors was close to crushing him with his foot, and he encountered a new problem.

"Hey! I'm down here! Hey!"

They couldn't hear him from the ground. He jumped around, waiving his arms, but he was obviously no more than a mouse to them. He came to a standstill, dragging a hand over his face. "Oh, for crying out loud."

On the other hand, however, he could hear them perfectly fine.

"What if something has happened to him? There could be enemies nearby! What if he dropped straight into a pile of them?" Even from his perspective Four could easily catch the worried look on Sky's face. He was frantically scanning the woods, as if someone would jump them any second. Four in the meantime scattered around, trying to climb up the rocks in the hope they might see him then.

Time crossed his arms. "It's hard to say what is the best course of action, but I would rather have us stay here. It would be easier for Four to find us if we didn't move. Although, sending out a few scouts wouldn't be a bad idea, both to get an overlook of the area and see if Four is in need of help. If there aren't any enemy bases close by I say we best set up camp here too. It's a good spot."

Twilight stood up. "Then I'll go. I'm the best tracker among us, I'll find him."

Legend and Warriors exchanged looks, before standing up too with smirks on their faces. "We'll also go, we can take a direction each. That's more coverage, right?"

"Yeah, sounds good."

Well that was humiliating. They were going to look for him, like he was in need of help. Which he kind of was, but not in that sense. He was, after all, right in front of them.

Then his eyes light up. If Twilight was going to search, then that meant he would change into Wolfie, who would be able to easily hear him! Four slid down the rock and chased after Twilight into the woods. It was tough, keeping up with him, but he made it work... Somehow. He was incredibly thankful for his boots. Deeper and deeper into the forest they went, Four's legs aching, his energy level all but depleted. In the end he was granted mercy, and Twilight stopped to change into Wolfie. Four breathed out, relieved, before he cupped his hands around his mouth, shouting out.

"Twilight! Hey, Twilight, over here!"

It worked. Thank the goddesses, it worked! Twilight sharply turned his head towards him, ears twitching. He trotted over.

"Four! I figured something like this might happen. Are you alright?"

Four nodded. "I'm fine, but I couldn't get you to notice me in the camp, not for the lack of trying."

"Yeah, not many would expect to see you in this size."

"And I really wanted it to stay that way, but there's no portals nearby that I can see. I guess cat's out of the bag, huh?"

"Seems so. Alright, hang on a sec."

Twilight transformed once more, dusting off his tunic before leaning down, stretching out a hand. Four jumped into it after a bit of hesitation, and Twilight placed him on his shoulder.

"This is going to cause quite the ruckus," Twilight grinned as he walked back to the clearing. "Maybe I could ask Wild for that slate of his and take a few pictures?"

Four groaned, burrowing his head in the fur on Twilight's shoulder. "Oh goddesses, no. Then I need to remember this. I just want to get over with it."

Twilight shrugged, making Four yelp and cling tightly onto the fur. "As you wish."

He walked back into the clearing as Four hid in the fur on Twilight's shoulders. The others looked up at him with arched brows. "That was quick, Legend and Warriors are still searching. Did you find any sign of him?"

"As a matter of fact I did. Wind, can you call the others back?"

Wind did as he asked, holding up his necklace. They could easily hear Legend's disgruntled reply, "What do you mean Twilight found something? And so soon? It was supposed to be me!", and Warriors' groan. It didn't take long before the two made their way back, frowns on their faces as they once more hadn't been able to track Four.

"Okay, so where is the little guy? Is he captured by bokoblins or something?"

"Actually, he's right here."

Wild looked at Twilight with a frown before bending to the side to look behind him. "Is that a joke?"

"No, he's right here. He's, uh, a little bit tinier than you remember?" Twilight pointed at his shoulder as Four crawled out from the fur, wincing at the looks of disbelief flashing across their faces.

"Okay, you're definitely joking," Hyrule said, voice flat.

"I'm not."

"He's not," Four confirmed. He guessed only the three closest heard him, Twilight included. Warriors looked at Four, then Twilight, then Four, then back to Twilight.

"If you don't mind me asking... Why the heck is he so tiny?"

Legend crossed his arms. "Yeah, I know I said 'little guy' but this is taking the cake."

Four sighed. This would take quite some explaining. And shouting.

~*~*~

"Okay, so in the end it boils down to this; for Four to transform back he needs a portal, and he might not find one until after we teleport again?"

Four nodded, wincing as his throat was sore from having to scream out every word. "If this is Wild's Hyrule as I suspect, I've got plenty of reasons to believe that the minish are extinct at this point, so that probably means no portals. I'm going to be this size for quite a few days."

Legend walked over to Twilight, delicately plucking Four up and putting him in his hand as the latter squirmed around.

"Hey! What are you doing!? I'm not a toy!?" Legend clicked his tongue, lifting his hand up and studying him. Four peered over the edge of Legend's hand, looking down. "Don't you dare drop me."

Legend grinned. "This is gonna be interesting. We'll have to take care of you now, huh? This does explain why Warriors and I never could find you." Legend looked up at the others. "Well, now that we're all gathered I guess it's time we get a move on. Are we going to camp here? I don't know about you but I'm drop dead tired."

Time blinked before he looked around, thinking. "It depends. Did you guys find anything else when you were searching? Anything that can help us pinpoint our location?"

Warriors nodded. "Yeah, I found a road just down that hill. Dunno where it leads, though."

Wild had in the meantime taken up his slate. He tapped a bit on it, furrowing his brows before his eyes lit up. "Guys, this is my Hyrule! And we're in luck, too. Hateno village is just around the corner, it'd take us less than an hour to walk. Of course, I could always just teleport us-"

Twilight cut him off, despair in his eyes like recalled a deeply repressed memory. "NO! No teleporting. Alright, pack up. We're walking."

They all packed up, and Legend put Four on his shoulder while Wind pouted. "I wanna carry him!"

"Wind, please. I'm not a toy!"

They started walking, Wild and Warriors in the lead while Twilight and Time made rear guard, all deciding Four would be safer somewhere in the middle. Wind eventually struck up a conversation with Sky while Legend and Hyrule started questioning Four, thankfully close enough that he could talk normally.

"So, what does these portals look like? It wouldn't hurt looking for them."

"Well, they can take many forms. In my time they were mostly stubs of trees, cracked stones or upside down pots, but in other times I've seen them in any shape. They've been old barrels overgrown with plants, abandoned treasure chests, sometimes nothing more than a hole on a hill. I usually feel their presence when I'm nearby, so I'll tell you if I feel their pull."

Hyrule nodded. "Alright."

Legend grinned. "Hey, I remember you talking about fighting an octorock the size of a mountain. It wouldn't happen to be that you took it on in this size?"

Four flushed, looking away from Legend. "Perhaps," he mumbled, suddenly regretting everything. Legend cackled and Hyrule couldn't help but chuckle.

"You guys are the wo-"

"Watch out!"

They spun around, seeing a group of five bokoblins charging at Twilight and Time, three red and two white. An arrow whizzed past them, hitting a red one in the head and sending it flying backwards. "Be careful!" Wild yelled, readying a new arrow. "The silver ones are tough!"

Legend growled, plucking up Four and handing him to Hyrule. Then he charged forward with his pegasus boots, sword raised and barreling into a white bokoblin. Sky and Wind joined the fray too, with Wild supporting with archery. It looked like they were winning when the red bokoblins stood up again, angry shrieks filling the air. Twilight jumped back, calling out "They're infected!".

Hyrule looked down at Four, then spotted a rock to the side of the road where he sat him down. "Wait here!" he said before running to the battle, Warriors hot on his heels.

Four stared after them, his brain running at full speed. They needed help, that much was obvious. One of them would normally be able to take down a red bokoblin, but these guys were infected. Time and Hyrule was battling a silver one together, Wind was up against one of the red ones, with Sky and Twilight on the second and third with Wild aiding them with archery, and Legend and Warriors were taking on the last together.

And they were struggling to win the battle. Four needed to help. He knew he could.

He climbed down the stone, not giving himself time to think stuff through before he ran straight into the battle, activating his boots. He had to be smart with his moves, knowing one misplaced step might crush him. He looked around. The others hadn't noticed him, but that was to be expected. What was better was that none of the bokoblins had noticed him either, which gave him an advantage. He braced himself before throwing himself onto the foot of the 'blin Sky was locked in combat with. It was tough to hold on, even tougher to climb, but he made it work somehow. He eventually made it to the bokoblin's shoulder, and he briefly humoured the idea of splitting into four. He shook his head. Way too risky. He took a deep breath before climbing onto the 'blin's face who now was becoming aware of him. Four pulled out his sword and drove it into the creature's eye.

It's scream was deafening. Four held tightly onto his sword, pulling it out, and the bokoblin flicked him off. He was soaring through the air, and couldn't help panicking. Was this it? Was this his end, his body breaking when he hit the ground?

Something closed around him, stopping his fall. He looked up to see Sky's worried face, his hand being the ground beneath Four's feet. "You nearly gave me a heart attack," he chided. Then he smiled. "Thanks though." The bokoblin was now on the ground, unmoving, Sky's sword through its chest. The two other red ones were also defeated, leaving only the silver ones. Legend and Warriors were close to finishing off theirs. Time and Hyrule was struggling with theirs, so Wild knocked on another arrow, taking aim. It was always hard to support with archery in these situations as a misplaced aim could take down one of their own, but Wild was exceptionally skilled, so a few seconds after releasing the arrow it was burrowed deep in the bokoblin's head, Hyrule giving it a final blow.

They all breathed out, and Time inspected the corpse, Hyrule cleaning the infected blood from his sword.

Twilight turned to Sky, eyebrow arched. "What happened with the one you fought? One moment it looked like you were struggling, and the next the bokoblin flinched and screamed?"

Sky raised his hand, spreading his fingers to reveal Four. "It was thanks to him. He pierced its eye and gave me the opportunity I needed."

Warriors' eyes widened. "Wait, you fought it too?"

Four shrugged. "Well, yeah? It barely noticed me, so I had an advantage."

"How? You're so tiny!"

"And that hasn't stopped me before, has it?"

Legend crossed his arms. "You're like a bee. Keep 'em in a bottle and launch them at an enemy, fierce stingers as they are."

"Ah, well, sure? I'd prefer it if you didn't keep me in a bottle, though."

"Alright, let's get moving!"

~*~*~

"Here we are," Wild announced, opening the door to his house. They all stumbled in after him, exhausted groans escaping their lips. The day had been way longer than they thought it would be, and they were famished.

"There's not too much space but I think we'll manage, although there is an inn a little bit inside the town but I don't know if we have any rupees left..."

Time put a hand on Wild's shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. "It's fine, we've dealt with worse."

"Yeah, we're one less person to worry about too!" Legend chimed in, a grin on his face.

"Hey, what am I, dead!?"

"Oh no, I'm losing it, I think I still can hear Four's voice!" Legend cried, dramatically wiping a hand across his face. Four pressed his head into Sky's shoulder with a groan, and the rest of them couldn't help but break into laughter and smiles.

"Okay, make yourself home at home, I'll get some dinner started."

"I'll help you," Twilight offered, following Wild to the kitchenette. Sky put Four down on the table before joining the others in laying down bedrolls and changing into more comfortable wear. Hyrule got the fire starting in the fireplace, and Time helped setting the table with Warriors. Loud yawns filled the room, and Wind almost fell asleep the moment he sat down on a chair.

Four couldn't help but feel a bit useless. There wasn't really anything he could do but watch the others.

"Um, I'm afraid I don't have any cutlery tiny enough for you to use, but since we're having mushroom stew I thought that perhaps I could sauté a few mushrooms for you instead? If you don't mind using your hands, I mean."

He hadn't thought about that. When he was this size it usually wasn't long enough for him to eat, and the rare instances he did it was in a minish village, with food downsized enough that it wasn't a problem. "It's fine Wild, I didn't really consider that at all. Thank you."

Eventually dinner was served. Four concluded that half a mushroom would have been far more than enough, and it was a really bizarre experience to dig into it with his hands. Hyrule noticed this and helped him cut them into smaller pieces, and Legend caught onto it which caused him to snort in laughter. Four flushed, the whole experience being a bit embarrassing. There wasn't much he could do on his own like this, although Warriors whacked Legend on the head and reminded him that Four had managed to help in the battle where it counted the most.

With dinner over with and many tired eyes barely open they decided to finally hit the hay. Warriors was actually considerate enough to put his scarf on the table after they had cleared it, telling Four he could use it as a replacement for his bedroll. Although it was large in area the fabric was quite thin so Four wouldn't be crushed by the weight, so he smiled and thanked him, nestling down in the fabric and immediately falling asleep after the day's ordeal.

Chapter Text

Legend was surprised to find himself as one of the earlier risers the next day. Usually he slept quite long, if not the longest, the rest of the company already on their feet and ready to go. Instead he found only Twilight's bedroll abandoned and Time and Wild by the table, quietly chatting. Legend stretched, getting up to join them.

Four was still asleep on the table, curled up in the massive sea of blue that was Warriors' scarf.

"Morning," Legend yawned, sitting down next to Wild. They both greeted him, voices still quiet, most likely to avoid disturbing the others. "Where's Twilight? Stretching his legs again?"

Time nodded. "Yeah, he wanted to take a look at Hateno, and perhaps acquire some hints as to where our next destination might be."

"Personally I think we might be going towards Kakariko. There's some fields and forests between there and here where there might be more infected enemies, and more clues as to what caused it," Wild added, a thoughtful look on his face. "We could find Zelda there too, she's likely able help us."

Legend cocked an eyebrow. "Didn't Four say that the minish was a secret kept within the royal family? It wouldn't hurt to ask her about it, maybe she even knows the location of a still working portal?"

Time cast a glance at Four before looking back at him. "She might do. Well, until the others awaken and Twilight returns we can't make a final decision yet."

As time passed and the early dawn eventually faded into later morning one by one the others awakened, lured by the smell of fried bread and omelettes that Wild set to make with the aid of Legend and, a little later, Hyrule. Noticing that Four still was lost to the world Wind couldn't help but poke at him, giggling as Four jumped up, grabbing his sword and pointing it at him although it was the size of a needle.

"Oh, it's just you," Four said when the sleep cleared from his eyes.

"Morning!"

Twilight returned not long after, his face thoughtful as he pulled Warriors and Time aside, quietly discussing something with them.

The others dove into the breakfast. "Wild, I can't stress this enough, you're a godsend and I'm ever grateful for you," Hyrule said, mouth full of food.

Wild smiled at him. "I know, you've said that multiple times just this week."

"It's important that you know it!" Hyrule argued as he reached for another toast.

Shortly after their three leaders came over and joined them. As they helped themselves to the food Twilight spoke up. "According to the people I've talked to, there's a rather large group of moblins and lizalfos between Camphor Pond and Fir River. They have mostly kept to themselves but will attack anyone trying to pass, so travelling from here and out has been hard to do for the residents. We've decided that we will use today to rest up, and then tomorrow we will take our leave for Kakariko, and attacking the group when we get to them."

"Do you have an estimate on how large of a group it is?" Sky asked. "It'd be easier to form some type of strategy if we at least knew that."

"It could be anyone's guess, but I heard anything from three to five lizalfos and four to six moblins, so it is a uncannily large group. If there's any infected ones there too we'd better not rush in unprepared."

"I could go take a look on the group, I'll teleport there and snag a few pictures," Wild offered. "They won't even notice me."

"As long as you're certain you're not putting yourself in unnecessary danger," Time said, voice stern. "We won't have you do anything reckless."

Wild waved his hand. "I'll be fine, don't worry. I know this place like the back of my hand, and the closest point I can teleport to is a tower. From there I'll have a perfect view, and they won't even see me. Of course, you can tag along with you want to?"

Warriors crossed his arms. "I'll go with you. Can't send any of you anywhere alone, that's not okay. We'll go after breakfast."

Time nodded. "Then the rest of us will stay in the village and prepare."

~*~*~

After breakfast Wild and Warriors readied themselves for the departure. Warriors grabbed his scarf from the table before they walked outside. Despite being so early the village had already awakened, and the town just over the bridge was already bustling with noise, drowning out the chirping of birds and squeaking of small forest mice. Warriors grabbed onto Wild's arm, and after a few taps on the slate they were off.

The sensation of teleportation was weird, but not too unlike how it was when they were transferred from one time to another. Either way, Warriors didn't buckle under the force, and it didn't take long until they were stood on a tower, the ground far below.

"Warriors!"

He startled at the sharp voice close to his ear. He looked down on his shoulder, bewildered, and saw Four clutching on his scarf, an unamused look on his face.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was still on the scarf when you grabbed it from the table, and I tried to get your attention before you teleported but you didn't hear me, so now I'm here." Four huffed, crossing his arms. 

"Oh, sorry about that."

Four let his tense shoulders drop, and gave a small smile instead. "It's fine."

Wild had in the meantime taken out his slate, zooming in on the cluster of enemies that had gathered just beside the road, taking pictures. "I can see three lizalfos and five moblins, but there could be someone hiding in the trees. I'm just going to go down and get some more pictures, don't go anywhere."

Before Warriors could stop him Wild already leaped off the tower, opening his paraglider and floating down. 

"Wild! You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days!" he yelled after the younger. He then scratched his head. "Well, there's not much for us to do here, I guess we're stuck until he gets back."

Four hummed, taking in the sight. Although they were pretty high in the air the Tower of Winds had been even taller than this, but even so it was quite the view, and he looked around, taking in all in. "Hey, there's the village!"

The village of Hateno was settled nicely in the hills, and they noted with relief that they wouldn't have to walk a lot the next day before they could take on the monsters. It was always better to go into a fight with strength to spare. Since they had an overview of the upcoming battlefield, Warriors began to plan their attack.

~*~*~

They later found themselves back in the village, unharmed and miraculously not suffering from any heart attacks. When they made it to the house they found it empty save for a note with Hyrule's crude writing on it; We're out gathering supplies, be back later!

Warriors suggested that they could go out too and help, but Wild shook his head. "Nah. Go if you want to, but I thought I could use this time to clean up a bit and get away some shores while I'm here."

"Then let me help!"

So they set to work. Four mostly sat close by and watched them, sometimes hitching a ride on a shoulder when they moved outside. He once again felt a bit useless, but there wasn't much he could do. It was also nice to sit among the critter in the grass, relaxing in the sun as the two others removed weeds from the area closest to the house. Warriors took a break to get some water, eyeing the shed that he never had seen open. Logically, wouldn't gardening supplies be kept there instead of outside the house?

"Hey Wild, what's in your shed? You didn't get these hoes from there."

Wild looked up from his own work, shrugging. "I, uh, I actually don't know? I can't get the lock to open, and I haven't been curious enough to destroy it. It could be anything, really."

"Isn't that a bit sketchy?" Warriors asked, brow raised. "What if it's a corpse inside?"

Wild frowned. "Why on earth would there be  a corpse inside? That would reek, and if anything I think it smells good when I'm close to it."

"I could go inside and check? Maybe the lock is jammed from inside. I could pry it open," Four shot in, looking up from petting the mice he had run a light conversation with.

"You don't have to," Wild said, "It's not really bugging me."

"But it's bugging me!" Warriors exclaimed, spreading his arms wide. "This is an unsolved mystery! A big question mark that screams at us from afar! I have to know now!"

Four sighed, a small smile on his face as he stood up, saying goodbye to the mouse. "Relax, I'll check it out. I'm a bit curious myself, and I don't have anything else to do."

Warriors grinned. "Alright!" He held his hand out and Four stepped on it. They went to the shed, and started scanning the small appendix for an opening large enough, Wild just shaking his head, letting them be.

"There! At the bottom of the row of painted trees. I can get inside there." Warriors sat him down, and Four gave him a thumbs up before walking through the opening. It was perfectly minish sized, so he got in without problems, a bit surprised at how clean the place appeared to be. Shouldn't it be dusty and moldy? And why was a soft light greeting him when he walked into the room? 

Four hadn't been expecting much from the place. Maybe some more gardening hoes and axes, perhaps even an odd sword or bow and a stack of arrows. That was what usually would be placed in a shed, right? A dark, dusty room with a rusted lock that wouldn't be much of a challenge from the inside.

What he hadn't expected was what he saw when he looked around. 

Small creatures all around him, and they were all looking at him with curious faces.

~*~*~

"Hey Wild, could you come over here real quick?"

Wild looked up at Warriors question. He was starting to wonder if he might not be able to weed out the small garden he had fixed up before this whole time-travelling thing. "What's wrong?"

"Four hasn't come out yet, and I'm starting to get a bit worried. I kind of want to break open the door with force, but I'm afraid that if I do the whole thing might come crashing down and crush Four, and I obviously don't want that." Warriors was frowning, his eyes going back and forth between Wild and the shed, tripping on his feet as he oozed of anxiousness. 

"Well, what do you want me to do? There's not much else for us to do than wa-"

A creaking sound came from the shed. The two of them stopped talking, and Warriors ceased his moving in favour of standing completely still, listening. Was Four finally getting the lock open?

Another creak sounded, this time far sharper and louder, and way too much for Four to make in his current predicament. A whining noise followed with the scraping of a rusted lock turning, and Warriors and Wild slowly turned around, their hands automatically finding their swords. What was inside the shed? Could it be that someone was hidden inside there? Had Four succumbed to a zombie who had been awakened from its slumber, or perhaps something more sinister like a redead? 

Warriors swallowed as the lock was unhinged. He drew his sword and readied his stance, noticing that Wild did the same. The door trembled from the pressure of someone (or something) trying to shove it open, and a few more thuds followed. Warriors' heart was in his throat. Was Four dead? Had he unknowingly sent one of their own straight into the clutches of death? What if-

A final thud sounded as the door finally gave way, slamming open. They both raised their swords and charged forward-

Only to stop dead in their tracks when their eyes made sense of what they saw.

"FOUR!?"

The short hero was sporting a wide grin and a rusty key in his hand, but the baffling thing was that he was regular-sized. As in, not a tiny minish. 

"I've got some great news," Four declared, stepping forward, revealing a soft light coming from the shed. "The minish aren't extinct after all!"

Chapter Text

"Wh-what?"

Wild lowered his sword. Of everything that could have been hidden in his shed, he hadn't expected minish, of all things. Even Warriors' theory of a dead body had been more likely, yet here they were. Four stood in the doorway, a grin on his face, obviously quite pleased with himself.

"It is what it is. Oh, and don't move the stuff here around, alright? Those old shoes on the floor are housing some of them, and the barrel in the corner is a portal. There's quite a few of them living here, in fact."

"But- but I can't see any?" Warriors stuttered, still not quite processing what he was witnessing. Four crossed his arms, raising a brow.

"Yeah, and I've told you why. Only children and a few others, such as myself, can see them. Remember?"

Warriors stood up in a flash, composing himself. He cleared his throat, giving a sharp nod, looking a bit flustered that he had forgotten. "Of course, that's true. Alright then. Now that this mystery is solved I guess we're going back to the garden, eh?"

Wild stood still a second, still baffled. "Oh, uh, yeah. Let's go. Want to help out?" he asked, directing the question at Four who grinned once more.

"Of course!"

A little later they stood in the garden, the sunlight fading in and out due to the passing clouds. Four was full of energy, glad to be able to take a part in helping out again. The garden was really coming along nicely. Despite Wild having been away from it for who knows how long the vegetables were large and bountiful, with a few pumpkins, a handful of carrots, a cluster of ripe tomatoes and various types of cabbage and salad growing in the field, all practically glowing with life. They looked delicious, and Wild harvested some for their dinner.

Four stretched, basking in the sunlight that had appeared from behind a cloud. He was pretty happy with the day so far, he decided, taking a hold on the shovel once more. Although unexpected the trip to the tower had been fun, and figuring out that the minish still lived on in Wild's time was-

"Boo!"

Four yelped, dropping his shovel at the voice that cut through his string of thought. He spun around, seeing the rest of their company crossing the bridge. Twilight had sneaked up on him, and Four hadn't heard heard a sound before he was basically right behind him. It was uncanny how good he was at stealth.

"Oh, it's just you." Four breathed out in relief. "Welcome back."

Legend scoffed, coming up beside Twilight. "'Welcome back'," he mimicked. "Why are you back to normal? I thought there weren't any portals here?"

Four shrugged, leaning down to pick up the shovel. "I was wrong."

"Aww," Wind whined, also making his way over, "You were so cute when you were small!"

Time chuckled, putting a hand on Wind's shoulder as Four felt his face heat up. "Now now, we're all glad you were able to change back. I assume the scouting went well?" He directed the question at Wild who had been watching in amusement. He had seen Twilight sneak up on Four, but decided not to say anything for the sake of some fun, slate in his hands, taking pictures.

The hero of the wild nodded, looking up from his slate.

"No complications on my part. There's a total of four lizalfos and five moblins, so in that sense we're the same number. A few of them are stronger than the others, though, so we should try to take out a few of the weaker with archery before we advance on them. Well, Warriors has already more or less laid down the outline of a strategy, and I have a few pictures of the place. We can discuss more when we're done here."

The rest of the day went by quickly after that. This time it was Wind and Four who helped Wild with dinner, chopping up the newly harvested vegetables and cooking up a proper dish as Warriors, Twilight and Time were leaned over the sheikah slate, discussing their plan of attack. Wild occasionally shot in a word or two over his shoulder, and Legend, Sky and Hyrule were sat on the floor, going through their newly acquired materials and dividing the arrows between them all.

Over dinner they revised their final plan, a few tweaks thrown in from the rest. After that they took their mind off the battle, relishing in the otherwise peaceful evening. It was hard to say when they next would get a moment of rest again, so they made sure to appreciate it.

Nighttime came around as the sun dipped below the horizon. Legend looked around on their sleeping arrangements before giving Four a pointed look. "I think it's better if you shrink again, it's a tight enough fit as it is."

Four looked at him, giving his best try at copying Time's legendary disapproving glare. "Is that how it's gonna be? You know what, why don't you take off your cap? Put this on instead." He pulled out a red hat from his inventory, throwing it at Legend who caught it with a raised eyebrow.

"What's it gonna do?"

"Give us some extra space."

Wind and Warriors watched Legend curiously as the hero removed his blue cap. He dragged his fingers through his messy hair before he drew a breath, holding it as he put on the cap and just... disappeared. Wind jumped up, looking around. "Where'd he go??"

Four laughed. "Relax, he's fine, give him a few seconds. Oh, and don't step on that spot," he added, pointing to where Legend had been.

True to Four's words, Legend reappeared not long after, hat in his hand and an amused look on his face. "Really?"

Four grinned back at him. "It's only fair, if I need to be minish-sized tonight, then you get to be gnat-sized! It gives everyone a lot of extra space!"

Legend threw the cap back at him with a chuckle, and turned around to his cot. "Point taken."

In the end they all slept together in the cramped house that night, although Warriors wouldn't stop bothering about how he had not one, but two ways to shrink.

"I mean, aren't you small enough already?"

Warriors might have gotten a kick in his shin for that, not that Four had anything to do with it.

Chapter Text

The next day came around with them rising early, having a considerably lighter breakfast, packing up and eventually leaving the house. The air was filled with melancholy. The two days they spent in the house had been relaxing, and who knew when they next would catch a break again? Wild looked back at his home with a small sigh, and Twilight came over to him, slinging an arm around his shoulders.

"Don't worry, you'll be back here again before you know it."

"I know, but it doesn't make this any easier." Wild sighed, readjusting his cloak before sharply turning around, Twilight's arm falling. "Well, let's get back on the road, shall we?"

It didn't take them long to reach the enemy camp, only around two hours, but they still managed to run into a Yiga Footsoilder on the way. Wild warned them not to talk to the seemingly crying lady, but Sky still did, unable to leave her alone. Either way, it hadn't taken them long to finish off the Yiga, although Sky now sported a broken wrist, making it difficult for him to use the sword. Hyrule offered to heal it but Time shook his head.

"Remember the plan. You're gonna need all your magic."

So instead Wild had given him a toasted hearty truffle which healed the fracture but still left the wrist sprained, and Sky was frantically apologizing as they kept going despite Twilight telling him not to be sorry. "You have a good heart, never apologize for that."

They altered their plan of attack slightly due to that, but it hadn't been a major change. If everything went according to plan they would all get away mostly unscathed.

"They're past those trees," Wild whispered, pointing towards a cluster of oaks. "We've gotta be careful, the moblins usually patrols in a wide area."

"Got it." Warriors turned to the group. "Sky, stay here and be alert in case we need you. Legend, Four, get ready. Wild, Twilight, and Wind, you're up."

The three nodded, pulling out their bows. Wild equipped ice arrows, Twilight took out bomb arrows, whereas Wind got ready with his light arrows. They sneaked forward in different directions, careful not to make much noise. Wind and Wild would be taking care of the scouts, whereas Twilight would start their ambush on the camp.

When the three had vanished from their sight Warriors gave a nod to Legend, Four and Hyrule, with the two former wearing their pegasus boots and readying their fire rods. They set off towards the base too, and Warriors turned to Time.

"You ready, old man?" he jokingly asked. Time curled his lips upwards, unsheating the biggoron sword.

"More than you'll ever be, kid."

"Wait!" Sky exclaimed, voice hushed. "Warriors, take this!" He tipped the master sword towards the captain. Warriors hesitated, remembering last time he had used it. His overconfidence at handling such a great blade, how it became his downfall.

"You'll be fine," Time promised, a hand lightly placed on Warriors shoulder, ignoring his own distaste of the blade. "Accept it."

Warriors took a deep breath, reaching out and closing his fingers around the hilt. The way it fit perfectly was welcome, and he drew the faintly glowing sword out of the scabbard Sky was holding. "Thanks," he said, trying to smile. "You'll get it back before you know it."

An explosion sounded not too far away. That was their cue. The two leaders exchanged a glance, before taking off, leaving Sky behind.

A bit further forward Four and Legend was running into the smoke of Twilight's bomb arrow that had exploded in the center of the camp, startling their enemies. Their fire rods were raised and they brought upon the camp large eruption of flames, surrounding the camp, flickering fire soaring high in the sky and turning the whole place to an uncontrollable disaster. The monsters screamed in pain as the flames licked their skin, burning, etching as they ran around in frenzy, trying to put it out. Before the lizalfos and moblins got back their senses the two activated their pegasus boots, barreling out of the camp.

"Hyrule, now!!"

Hyrule stepped out in the clearing with raised arms, the smoke and blaze shielding him from their view. He turned his palms outward, focused his magic, and called upon the thunder. It was quite a sight with his eyes glowing golden, sudden wind whipping his hair around. Electricity soared from his hands through every limb of the creatures that was in the range of his magic, and all the lizafalos dropped to the ground, leaving only three silver moblins standing in the base, writhing in pain.

Their attack was absolutely ruthless, devoid of mercy, giving their enemies little time to counter.

Time and Warriors rushed past Hyrule, swords raised. They took on a moblin each, their fighting looking likd complex dancing with the way they were parrying and striking their opponent. The third moblin looked at Hyrule, and with an enraged snarl it charged forward, grabbing a wayward spear from the ground. Hyrule gathered up what was left of his magic, casting the shield spell when it threw its spear towards him, effectively blocking the attack. The hero drew his own sword, swinging it in a large arc and casting flames at his foe. The fire distracted the moblin enough that it didn't see Twilight approaching from behind, and within the blink of an eye the moblin was on the ground, lifeless, the Ordonian sword piercing its chest. Time and Warriors had also finished off their own opponents, and after making sure none of the monsters were alive they gathered in the middle of the camp they laid waste too.

They were only missing Wind, Wild and Sky. "I'll go get Sky," Warriors informed, "Legend, Four, go see if Wind and Wild needs any help."

"Gotcha!"

As the three disappeared back into the forest Time took a proper look at the corpses of their enemies. He counted the three moblins, deducing that the two others were probably patrolling. Hopefully Wind and Wild had dealt with those. But there was something bothering him- there were only three lifeless lizalfos' on the ground. Wild had told them there were four, the pictures on his slate confirming his words, and that lizalfos usually left patrolling to bokoblins and moblins. They rarely left camp unless they were on their own, camouflaging themselves and ambushing any unlucky soul that passed close by.

A yell sounded in the distance, and Time's blood ran cold. They all recognized that voice it. Time didn't hesitate and took off after Warriors.

"Sky!"

Hyrule was about to run too but Twilight grabbed him by the shoulder, stopping him. "I think we should go see if the others need help, Time and Warriors together will be more than enough to bring down one lizalfos. I'll go after Legend, you track Four. Okay?"

Hyrule took a second to think before nodding. "Okay."

~*~*~

Sky was in so much trouble.

Not only was his wrist strained, he also had no sword. He had his bow, but he wouldn't be able to draw the arrow fast enough to hit the lizalfos who obviously didn't give him the courtesy of handing him a weapon. He had no bombs left, so that left him with his whip and his clawshot. He pulled out the latter, holding it with his good hand while his bad held the shield in a weak grip.

Sky gritted his teeth. The lizalfos charged at him just as he released the claw in its direction. The claw buried into the lizalfos that screeched in pain and jumped back. The claw returned to Sky, dyed red and black.

"That's all you got!?"

"Sky!" The hero looked up at the calling if his name, spotting Warriors running towards him with the Master Sword raised. The captain brought it down, sending a massive blur of sharpened Wind at the lizalfos, striking it in its chest. The monster screeched, before it stood up in a concentrated stance. The two heroes could only look at it in confusion before a massive force field of electricity surrounded them, making them drop their weapons and rendering them paralyzed as the electricity crackled through their bodies.

The lizalfos used the opportunity to whack Sky in the chest with its tail, sending him flying and crumbling on the ground. Warriors couldn't do anything but watch as the lizalfos charged at him next, sharp teeth gleaming in the light before they sunk into his unarmored shoulder. He yelled out in pain as the electricity wore off, and it let go of him, mouth dripping with crimson.

It's victory was short-lived as Time suddenly came barreling into it with the Biggoron Sword, killing it before it got the chance to do anything back. The elder stood up and looked at him, an unsaid question in his eyes.

Warriors nodded, pressing his hand against the wound, wincing. "I'll manage, check on Sky."

The skyloftian hadn't been as lucky, and was currently breathing haphazardly. "I think I broke a few ribs," he answered Time. "Or they are at the very least bruised."

Time nodded. "Can you stand? Wild have the most of our healing stuff."

Sky nodded, getting up on his feet. Time slung an arm around his waist, helping him along.

"What was up with the lizalfos? I thought Wild said there weren't any electric in this area?"

"That's what I heard too. We'll have to ask him when we get back to him."

~*~*~

When Legend got past the cluster of bushes and trees he found a moblin frozen in its tracks. Wild was lowering his bow, switching it out for a sword.

"Wait!" Legend called out, brushing off leaves when he stepped through the shrubbery. "I'll give you a hand with him."

Not long after the two were positioned on either side of the unmoving moblin, swords in hand.

"On three. One, two, three!" They struck the moblin with all their might, shattering the ice. The impact sent it falling to the ground but the monster was fast on its feet, and shot up before they could react. It swung it's arm in their direction, and Wild managed to duck away. Legend was not so lucky and it hit him straight in his head, effectively knocking him unconscious.

Before more harm could be done a growl was heard, and that was all the warning the moblin got before it was jumped by a beast-like wolf. It roared in pain, reaching out with a hand and grabbing the chain surrounding its paw. With a hard tug on it something cracked, and with a whimper Wolfie jumped back, keeping the now deformed paw in the air, not laying pressure on it. The moblin wasn't dead yet but the distraction had been enough for Wild, who had sneaked up behind the monster, hitting it in a weak spot and effectively killing it.

With that Wolfie changed back to Twilight, cradling his arm that was clearly broken. Wild looked between him and the unconscious Legend, and with a sigh he bends down to pick up Legend, grunting a bit under the weight. He nodded at Twilight.

"Let's get back."

~*~*~

When Wind found the scouting moblin he realised he had only enough magic in him for two light arrows. He shrugged, readying one on his bow and taking aim at the black monster. One should be more than enough to finish it off.

Expect that it didn't.

The arrow hit the monster clear in it's back, but instead of instantly vaporizing like monsters usually did when being hit by a divine creation like that it instead gave a loud outcry, spinning around and running towards him. Wind felt himself panic, and held up his bow once more, using up his last bit of magic at another light arrow. This time it burrowed itself deep into the moblin's shoulder, but all that happened was that it slowed down slightly.

What the hell!?

Now Wind was screwed. He had no magic left, so he pulled out a regular one, taking aim for a third time. Just as he was about to release the moblin leaped at him so Wind released it, but it only soared past the moblin,  missing completely. To save himself Wind threw away the bow, rolling between the creature's legs. Standing up behind it he unsheathed his Phantom Sword, striking it in the back. It only served to enrage the monster and it turned around, throwing his arm along the ground in a fast sweeping motion, hitting Wind square in the chest and sending him flying. He soared through the air before hitting a tree with his back, and he gasped as his head knocked back.

Everything turned hazy, the edges of his vision blurred. He could barely focus his eyes on the fast approaching moblin, and any attempt at standing up was futile. What was he going to do??

Suddenly the creature crumbled to the ground, something multi-coloured emerging from behind it. Was that Four? He supposed it was, so his heart leaped in his chest as the hero collapsed on the ground next to the mobllin with no warning. The moblin stood up and took advantage of the situation, raising one of its massive feet, ready to stomp on Four.

Wind barely had enough time to panic about it when a strange aura surrounded the moblin, morphing it into a jelly like creature. Another person -Hyrule, he decided, squinting his eyes- showed up from behind a tree. He struck the bot, easily killing the weak creature before leaning down beside Four.

With his vision slowly clearing Wind finally managed to stand up, stumbling his way over to the two, side-stepping the remains of the jelly-creature. He fastened his eyes on Four, wondering why he had just collapsed like that, and he almost screamed out.

There, burrowed into Four's chest was an arrow-

His arrow. The one he had missed the creature with.

~*~*~

When Wild, Twilight and Legend entered the camp again they find it empty.

Well, not empty, the bodies of their fallen enemies were there still with all the charred items scattered about, but it was devoid of the rest of their company. Wild slowly eased Legend down on the cot Twilight had managed to roll out, draping his cloak over the hero. He heard a rustle among the trees and both he and Twilight tensed, Wild picking up a dragonbone club from the ground.

Time, Sky and Warriors entered the clearing, and Wild and Twilight dropped their defensive stances. "Glad to see you're still alive," Wild said, before scanning over them with his eyes. Time looked fine, but Sky was holding an arm around his chest, his breath staggering, and Warriors' unprotected shoulder was oozing blood from beneath the hand he had pressed over the wound, jaw clenched.

"I see you got unlucky to," Time stated, having taken the time to look over them to. "Did Legend hit his head?"

Wild nodded. "Yes. I hate to say it, but I think we might have to stay here for a while. Twilight also broke-"

"Someone! Help!" Hyrule ran into the clearing, eyes wide. "It's Four! I need to heal him! Please, tell me any of you got a potion for magic!?"

Time was quick to pull one out of his pocket, holding it out to Hyrule who snatched it up and chugged it down before running back from where he came. Time cast a glance at the group, telling them to stay put, before chasing after the other hero. It didn't take long before he found him and Wind, the latter obviously distraught as they were both knelt beside Four, who had an arrow pointing straight up from his chest. Time didn't do anything but watch as Hyrule nodded to Wind, who proceeded to remove the arrow. Blood started pouring out, and Hyrule quickly called upon his magic, closing his eyes as the golden glow surrounding his hands got absorbed into Four's body. The wound closed up, and the blood ceased to flow, but the hero of the Four Sword remained unconscious.

"I'll have to carry him back to the others," Hyrule muttered, before looking up at Wind. "Can you walk on your own?"

Time stepped forward, alerting them of his presence. "I can carry Four," he said when they turned around. "That way Wind can lean against you."

Hyrule gave a grateful smile. "Thanks." As Time proceeded to do exactly that Hyrule turned to the youngest who was holding the arrow in his hands, stained with red blood, already spiraling down.

Hyrule reached out, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Don't do this to yourself," he pleaded, heart clenching as Wind looked up at him with teary eyes.

"But I did this to him," Wind whispered. "If I hadn't shot that arrow then-"

"Wind. It wasn't your fault. You've got to believe me. Four -and the others- need us both. Don't make it worse by blaming yourself for something you couldn't have predicted. Please."

Wind nodded, looking up at Hyrule with a watery smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Okay."

When the four of them made it back Wild had already tended to the others. He had given out a toasted hearty truffle each to Warriors, Sky and Twilight. Warriors' shoulder was now bandaged, as was Twilight's arm. Wild was in the middle of wrapping Sky's chest, and only gave them a brief nod in acknowledgement when he saw them.

"There's some more truffles by Legend, take one if you need it."

Hyrule helped Wind sit down and handed him a truffle before laying out his bedroll not too far away from Legend. Time gingerly put Four down on it, and set to cleaning the closed wound. "I'm sure you've all guessed it already, but we're staying here for the night. It's no use to keep going with two unconscious."

Twilight looked around at the charred camp. "I'll go see if I can find a better spot to set up camp. This place isn't exactly welcoming."

As he left into the now silent forest Warriors sunk together on the ground. "I guess our plan didn't really work out, huh?"

Chapter Text

Twilight returned to a somber company. The day was still young, it was barely past noon, and even in such a short span of time so much had gone wrong. Warriors was blaming himself for the plan that went awry, and Wind was sitting in silence close to Four, his fingers weakly clutched around the arrow he still hadn't let go off. Twilight made his way to the younger first, laying his bow down next to him.

"I thought you might want this back," he said, voice soft. Wind looked up at him with a weak smile. It didn't reach his eyes.

"Thanks."

Twilight ruffled his hair before straightening his back and turning around. He cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention.

"I've scouted around the area, and there's a better spot to at up camp a bit further down the road. I think we should go there if we're to stay."

Time seemed to consider it but Wild was looking down at his slate with furrowed brows. He sighed, shaking his head before looking up.

"I don't think it's a good idea to linger. In a few hours a storm is coming, complete with a downpour and lightening. And even if we somehow make it through that there's still the moon to worry about. Of course I can't say I know it for sure, but I have a feeling it will turn red tonight. You all remember why that is bad news?"

"The monsters will be revived." Time pressed his lips together as Wild gave a sharp nod.

Warriors looked up from the ground, trying to pull himself together. "What do you suggest we do then? We can't go far with the team like this."

"There's a way." Wild held up his slate, the screen glowing with an eerie light. "I can teleport us to Kakariko."

Twilight paled, hands clenched. "No. You know I hate that."

"It's the only way," Wild insisted. "I know you don't like this technology but is there anything else we can do? It'll only be this once, and there's a fairy fountain close by to the shrine. We can find some fairies there, and even if there isn't enough for everyone we can still get some time to heal up in the village."

Twilight looked around at the scorched clearing. Warriors was still somber, a hand pressed against his healed shoulder. Sky and Hyrule were sat close to Four and Legend, keeping an eye on them, Sky trying hard to sit still as to not jostle his ribs. Wind was quite obviously blaming himself still for Four's wound if his red-rimmed eyes were anything to go by, and after counting the injuries only three of them were mostly unscathed.

Twilight closed his eyes, already regretting what he was about to say. "Okay. But only this one time."

Without further ado they grabbed their stuff and huddled together around the unconscious ones, making sure everyone was connected with touches. Wild made a few taps on his slate and then they were wisked away, a blue light enveloping them.

When the world stopped spinning and started making sense around them again Twilight stumbled a bit, bending down with his hands on his knees, fighting off a wave of sudden nausea. By Hylia, he truly hated teleporting. Something about it didn't feel right, and it messed him up for a while after

A hand was placed on his shoulder. Twilight looked up after a while when the dizzying feeling was gone.

They were stood upon a hill, overlooking a small town located between the mountains, hidden from plain sight. It was bustling with life, farmers tending to what looked like carrots and pumpkins, children running around laughing, soldiers standing outside the largest building, nestled in front of a few pouring waterfalls.

"Well guys," Wild said, being the owner of the hand on Twilight's shoulder, "Welcome to Kakariko Village. With that said, the fountain is that way."

Wild pointed behind them, up a small slope. Time straightened his back.

"I'll go get the fairies. It's not far away, right?"

"Right, I'll come with you. The rest of you can wait here. Don't worry about enemies, they never come this close."

With that the two set off, hurrying along the path. It didn't take long before they returned, and Time knelt down beside Four, uncorking a bottle and letting the fairy fly over the small hero, having it work it's magic. Some more colour returned to Four's cheeks, and he slowly blinked his eyes open. He looked around in silence before pushing himself up into a sitting position, taking in the new landscape around them.

"When'd we get here?" he asked, sparing a glance at the elder as he let another fairy fly over Legend, prompting him to groan and return to consciousness.

"Just now," Twilight answered in Time's stead. "Wild teleported us. Don't worry, you didn't miss anything."

Wind tackled Four with a hug, burrowing his face inbetween Four's shoulder and neck. "I'm so sorry!!"

"Hey now, that was an accident, and accidents happens in battles. I'm just happy you're okay."

Wind sniffed, but eventually leanead back, and Time let a fairy fly over him too, healing the last of his concussion.

"Alright." Twilight gave Four a hand and he stood up, legs a bit shaky but still stable enough for him to stand.

Sky's ribs got healed with the last fairy. With most of their company fixed up they started the small trek down to Kakariko Village.

They got a few looks as they entered the small town, likely due to the size of their group and their tattered and bloodied clothes, but they were instantly more welcomed when the villagers recognized Wild.

"Link! Welcome back! Zelda is in the village, she's inside with Paya and Impa," a solider, introduced as Durian, informed. Wild instantly brightened, lips parting in a grin.

"That's perfect! Alright, the inn is in that building over there. Get settled, I'll come find you after I've met up with her."

With that Wild parted from the group, making his way up the stairs to the large house, lightly knocking on the door and entering.

"Welcome back, young man," a rough voice greeted. Wild grinned and bowed down lightly at the sight of her, offering his respect to the wise woman sitting in the middle of the room.

"Thank you Impa, it's good seeing you. Durian mentioned that Zelda was here?"

"That is correct. She is upstairs with Paya. Trouble have been brewing, and they're trying to figure out a solution." The sheikah lightly shook her head. "They haven't gotten far."

Wild grimaced. "Tell me about it. We -the group I'm travelling with and I- had a bad run-in earlier with a group of monsters far stronger than they should have been. Unusually large in number, and they had an electric lizalfos. They're not even native to the area."

"That is worrisome indeed. Go up now, the Princess might want to hear about this."

Wild gave Impa a sharp nod before rushing up the stairs, being welcomed to the sight of Zelda and Paya leaned over a table full of papers, notes and maps.

"Zelda?"

The Princess straightened her back, casting a glance over her shoulder before her lips widened into a grin.

"Link!"

Zelda let go of the map in her hands, spinning around and beaming at Wild, rushing over to give him a light hug as Paya stood by the table, blushing. She excused herself, leaving for the first floor.

Zelda leaned back from the hug, putting a few steps between them. "I hope your quest is going well so far?" she asked, the grin fading to something more serious.

Wild shrugged. "It's both ways. We've been fighting off monsters in the different timelines that have no business being in the different Hyrules, but we've not gotten closer to an answer. But what about here? We're supposed to do something here, and we've just arrived from fighting an uncannily strong group of monsters. They even had an electric lizalfos, and this was just outside of Hateno. They're not even supposed to be there."

Zelda crossed her arms, leaning her back against the wall, brows furrowed as her voice dropped a notch.

"There's trouble brewing for sure. The monsters have gotten way stronger, as you stated. Monsters have appeared where they shouldn't, somehow the frost-breath lizalfos are thriving in the desert and vice-versa. None of that makes sense, but that's not out biggest problem. There's something else. I haven't told you about this before, it's a secret well kept within the royal family but..." She glanced around before stepping towards him, leaning in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "There's these creatures called Picori. They're-"

"Smaller than your thumb and only show themselves to good children?" Wild replied with a grin, voice hushed. Zelda looked at him, astonished.

"How did you know?"

Wild shrugged. "Four -one of those I'm travelling with, the smallest one if you remember- has met them several times. It turns out I've got minish hiding in my shed back in Hateno. But enough of that, what's up with them?"

Zelda rid herself of her surprise, continuing.

"Monsters has broken into their hidden Kingdom and wrecked havoc. I've learned that from the children in the village. The Picori are crying out for our help. It also might be tied to why the monsters has been acting so unpredictable lately. Either way, they need our help. Problem is, we can't figure out where their Kingdom is. Even worse, none of us can see or even converse with them. That's why Paya and I've been pouring over these maps, trying to pinpoint the location. We think it's close to the village, but that's about how far we've gotten."

Wild nodded, scrunching his brow in thought. "Well, Four is the only one who knows their language and one of the few who can see them. He can shrink down to their size too. I think we should bring this up with him, I know he would want to help."

Chapter Text

"The minish are in danger!?"

Wild and Zelda had left for the inn shortly after their talk, quickly explaining their plan to Impa and Paya before rushing over to where the rest were waiting. After heading inside Zelda got properly introduced to the company, having only barely seen them the last time before they got wisked away to another age, and was now making light conversation with them, asking questions about their own times.

In the meantime Wild had cornered Four, bringing him over to the farthest area of the room, explaining the situation. Needless to say, the small hero wasn't happy to hear the news.

"Yeah, they are. We were hoping you might want to try and figure out where their kingdom is, and from there figure out what's wrong? If you feel you've healed up enough, that is."

Four nodded, straightening his back. "Of course. I just need to find a portal."

Wild got a thoughtful look on his face. "I've been meaning to ask actually, why don't you just use the gnat hat? Wouldn't that be easier, so you needn’t be dependent on a portal?" 

Four shook his head. "The gnat hat turns me into the size of a gnat. If you compare that to the size I was when I was stuck as a minish, you would see the difference in size. Being as small as a minish is already tough enough, anything smaller is only useful in certain situation which, for the record, this isn't. I will probably need to make my way through grass and whatnot."

"Alright then. Should we help you locate a portal?"

Four thought a little bit, humming. "Seeing as you know this place best I think it would help me if you came along, or maybe just show me around first, but it's easier to feel the proximity of a portal with fewer around. I think that's why I couldn't feel the portal in your shed. Maybe some of the others could talk to the children, asking them if they have any idea where the kingdom might be? Even the smallest indication might help."

And such the search for the minish started. Zelda headed back to Impa and Paya, while Wind, Legend and Hyrule set out to ask the children, the rest getting a look on the area. Wild took Four with him outside, showing him around. They looked around for a good while, scrutinizing every pot and shrub, with no luck. Wild eventually brought him to the outskirts of the hidden town, taking him up the hillside.

"We're back at the shrine now. Just up that hill is the fairy fountain. Feel anything yet?"

Four shook his head. "Not yet. I-" He suddenly stiffened, ears twitching. A smile spread across his lips.

"Never mind, there's definitely something not too far away from here."

After walking a while, past the fairy fountain and up a peak, they were finally looking at a stump of a tree, a crack in the middle. "Is this it?" Wild asked.

"This is it," Four confirmed, feeling the way the magic pulled at him. "I'll get back in a few hours, alright?"

"Gotcha. Good luck."

With that the two parted ways, Four stepping up at the stub, closing his eyes in concentration. Wild lingered, watching his transformation with fascination. Four was whispering something beneath his breath, words not bearing any sort of resemblance to languages Wild knew of. A soft, blue haze surrounded him, sharp runes sort of floating around as a soft breeze caught Four, lifting his hair and tunic slightly. And with a blink of Wild’s eyes, Four was gone. He stood there a bit, confused, before a much smaller Four emerged from a hole at the bottom of the stub. The teeny tiny hero waved his arm at him, and Wild gave him a thumbs up in response before he turned around, making his way back to the village.

This was Four’s area of expertise. And so the small hero got to work. 

With Wild gone, Four was on his own. He sighed, crossing his arms. During their search for a portal Wind had passed by them, mentioning that several of the kids said they usually saw or heard the minish in the small forest at the hill overlooking Kakariko. It was definitely a good place to start. 

He turned to the bird in the grass beside him, grinning at it. “Can I hitch a ride?” 

It didn’t take long before he was airborne, the bird easily carrying him down to the forest. It landed on the ground, and Four thanked it before it flew off. The bird must have had some intuition, because after looking around Four quickly found a itsy bitsy road, just perfect for his current size. The path was lined with flowers and cleared of debris, winding around and under roots and stones. Four followed it deeper into the forest, getting into creaks he never could have when normal sized, eventually making his way into a hole, the ground above him, opening up in cracks and tears, letting sunlight through. He couldn’t help but grin as a cluster of small houses came into view, scattered among the roots and plants. 

He had found the hidden minish kingdom.

Four easily got the attention from the minish rushing around, looking visibly distraught. One caught sight of him first, yelling out “It's a human!". It acted as a catalyst, and the rest turned around to look at him, running over and cornering him. It immediately brought Four back to when he first entered the minish town back in his timeline, the curious minish effectively surrounding him. There was one major difference though- this time Four understood them right off the bat.

"Hey human, help us!"

“Can you help us?”

“What’s wrong?” Four asked in return. One minish that looked like she was one of the elder stepped forward, shaking her head in defeat.

"The evil stole the Light Force.”

Chapter Text

"Four has been gone for an awfully long time," Warriors stated, shifting the weight from one foot to another as he stood close to the door inside Impa's house, unable to sit down and relax with one from their group still unaccounted for. This was reflected in the restlessness of Time and Twilight too, the eldest of their company always taking on responsibility for everyone's safety despite numerous attempts at getting them to avoid doing exactly that. 

Four had indeed been gone for quite a while. Their company had gotten to Kakariko a little while past noon the same day, and then spent an hour or so healing up while Wild caught up with his Zelda. It hadn't taken them long to start the search for the hidden kingdom after Zelda explained the situation. Now the clock was closing in on six in the afternoon, and it had been way over an hour since Wild last saw the small hero. 

"What if something has happened to him?" Hyrule got up to his feet, wringing his hands in a display of nervousness. "What if he got lost?" 

Legend placed a hand on Hyrule's shoulder, giving his own head a light shake. "Relax, would you? He's not you." Hyrule glared at his fellow timeline hero, pressing his lips together to a fine line, holding back a few choice words. 

"Four's fine," Wind insisted from where he sat on the floor, not far away from Impa herself. "You know he's tough, just like the rest of us. We're all successful heroes, you know? It isn't like we had a clear clue as to where the kingdom is either, I'm sure it must take a while to find it. I mean, it's called the 'hidden kingdom' for a reason, right?" 

Zelda nodded, directing a soft smile towards the young hero. "Absolutely. Paya and I have been searching through every map and every book in the village with little fruit for our efforts. In fact, Four might not even be able to find the place today." 

"If it's that hard to find maybe he should wait til the 'morrow instead?" Twilight asked, looking out. "It's been a long day for us all, and the sky is already darken-"

The rest of the ranch hand's sentence got drowned out by the door slamming open, a grimy Four standing in the doorway, huffing with a hand on his chest, easily catching the attention of the room. He forced himself to draw in a deep breath before scanning over the room, settling on Zelda and looking in her eyes. "We have a huge problem, princess."

Chapter Text

"So," Warriors said, looking around at the rather desolate area, noting nothing but a small field of mostly alive grass and some rocks sheltering them from the area around. "Should we place bets on where we ended up this time around?"

Chapter Text

Wind was exhausted. Everything ached, and he was so relieved to see the town of Nabooru appearing in front of them that he almost collapsed on the spot from the solace that made his body sluggish. But then Time placed a hand on his shoulder so Wind steeled himself, bringing pure determination up front so he could make himself walk the short distance that was left.

During the tiny trek his thoughts kept wandering to what had transpired upon the mountain not even an hour ago. Honestly, he had never even seen a moon pearl before, but he could still tell that the size of it was quite obviously bothering the two in their company that had. Four and Legend had looked like they were just about to start a discussion in the rapidly falling dusk about it when Sky had lifted his hand, gesturing towards the downward slope of the mountain, the weariness making his usual soft demeanor harsh. "Inn first. Talk later."

And so Four had shoved the pearl into his bag before they started walking once more, thankfully not running into more monsters on the way as they one after another lit lantern as the night settled upon them, bringing darkness with.

Nabooru wasn't the largest town Wind had been in by far. A cluster of no more than perhaps twenty buildings sat in the middle of a sullen landscape, barely sheltered from unwelcome weather by a rock formation along the outskirts. It seemed cozy enough though, a certain kind of closeness only achieved with everyone knowing everyone.

Their company must've caused quite a sight but Hyrule led them forward still, the lantern he had lit lighting up their path as he took them to the inn. The building had seen better days, with peeling paint and a broken window or two, but it was a place to sleep and eat so no one complained. It beat camping in the wilderness. It wasn't too expensive either, nothing like the rooms at the inn at Windfall Island. Time and Warriors payed for the rooms and for food to be brought to them later, and finally, finally they could all collapse on the beds and furniture inside, wriggling off soaked shoes. Wind shared a room with Legend, Four and Hyrule, while Twilight and Time was in the room next door and Wild, Sky and Warriors in the one across the hall. Sometime later, after they all had gotten the chance to clean up, hot, bland stew with dry bread on the side arrived and they all gathered in the largest room, viciously devouring their food between planning for the next day.

"The first thing to discuss on our list is clearly the moon pearl," Warriors stated after swallowing a mouthful, looking over at Four and Legend who both seemed vaguely distracted. "What is it? And what does it do?"

Legend and Four exchanged a glance before the latter dug the pearl out of his inventory, placing it on the nightstand next to the bed he sat on. It still looked the same, a whole starry sky caught beneath the glass, pulsating and alive as it glowed softly of pinks and purples.

At the same time Legend had looked around in his own items, pulling out a necklace with a marble-sized stone on the end. It glowed a muted red, and lacked the artistic view of the night sky that was trapped in the other.

"This is a moon pearl," he explained, gesturing to the crimson orb. "It was a vital part during one of my own adventures. There was a time when portals to the dark world appeared all over Hyrule, and you had to be careful to not get trapped in there."

"Wait, that's not how it works," Four interrupted, confusion on his face. "You can't just go into-"

"Are you accusing me of lying?" Legend turned towards Four, crossing his arms. "I remember perfectly fine what happened, thank you very much. You'll get your chance of telling about your own experience later." He looked back at the others as Four leaned backwards, hands raised in surrender. "Where was I..? Oh, yeah. If you entered the dark world without a moon pearl, you would take the shape of something that reflects your inner self. In my case, it was an animal."

"Oh? What kind?" Twilight asked, perked out. This was the first time hearing about someone else having a counterpart like his.

A flush suddenly tinted Legend's cheeks a light pink. "That's not important."

"Aww, say it!" Wind whined. "Say it! Say it! Say i-"

"Fine!" Legend groaned, tilting his head backwards, tightly closing his eyes as a barely audible mutter left his lips. "I turned into a rabbit."

Warriors broke out laughing, Wild snickering a bit across the room. Legend whipped his head towards the former, furious. "Shut you mouth," he hissed, reaching for something in his bag. Sky saw the small motion and elbowed Warriors, albeit with a small smile flickering across his own lips.

"Shush, let him finish."

Warriors wiped the grin of his face, falling back into serious demeanor. He nodded towards Legend, who had pulled out a slingshot. "Continue."

Legend still looked like he was contemplating using the weapon on the captain, but a firm shake from Time had him putting it away. For another time then. "Anyway," he drawled, dragging out the words as if daring anyone to interrupt him again with his eyes scouring the room, "You took a shape of your inner self when you entered the dark world. However, once you got your hands on one of these neat pearls," he held up the necklace, "you would retain your own body whenever you stepped through a portal. So in other words, it was helpful, but didn't do much more than that. I don't understand why the one we found is so large, though. It seems unconventional. Oh, and also, the dark world was originally the sacred realm thrown into chaos by Ganon. At the end of that adventure I used the Triforce to wish everything back to how things were before Ganon's attack, restoring the sacred realm. If the dark world has returned, then something must be really wrong." He nodded to Four. "Your turn."

The small hero looked uncertain. He fiddled around in his pockets. "We've got quite different experiences with both the moon pearls and the dark world," he decided as his hand closed around something. "First of all, the pearls I have is a single use only." He opened his palm, revealing several orbs of the size of pebbles, dark blue in colour, but just as devoid of life as Legend's had been. "Entering the dark world isn't something you can just do on a whim back in my era. You need a moon gate, and a new moon pearl for every time you want to enter. When you enter you needed to smash a pearl, which will activate the portal so you can step through it. There is a few exceptions, though. I recall falling through a pit once only to emerge in the dark world, and there were also a few times a floormaster would pull me under." He tilted his head towards Legend, a bewildered look on his face. "I never turned into an animal when I entered, though. And the dark world is the dark world, not the sacred realm, still standing even if I haven't gone inside for a long time. From what we've both said, I think it's two completely different places," he concluded.

Chapter Text

Morning came around, bringing with it dark, towering clouds and the promise of rain. Time didn't pay the gray sky much attention, though. He had traveled in far worse weather, and he was sure the others had too. It would be the least of their concerns.

The clock had just barely passed sunrise, but after the way the day had dragged on and on yesterday he decided to let everyone sleep a little longer. Hylia knows they deserved that. But the ranch hand he shared the room with was a worker to the bone and rose from the bed only a couple minutes after he did, greeting him with a tired smile. 

"Morning."

The two of them effectively prepared for the day, and met Warriors in the washrooms. They exchanged a few words, deciding how to approach the day. "This is a small town," Warriors mused. "Everyone knows everyone, and words travel fast. I think we're better off with only a few questioning around. I certainly wouldn't mind doing so before breakfast, and then we'll be ready to go. I know how to get the information I want." He winked at them, and Time caught the way Twilight rolled his eyes.

"Let's do this then," Time said, considering their situation, "You and I will go around town for questioning as the rest get ready. I'll take west, you go east. Then we'll relay the information to the rest over breakfast and decide how to go from there."

"Alright."

It didn't take long before the three of them parted ways, and Time made his way back the same road they had arrived on yesterday. He looked around as he walked, taking in the sight of the town in the gray light on a cloudy morning. 

Hyrule's era was truly barren. The landscape outside the partly broken stonewalls provided little shelter, and there were only a few patches growing wheat and vegetables. He could also spot a lone farm a little away from the settlement of Nabooru, with a couple cows and sheep grazing. The town itself was quite rundown too, and maintenance of the buildings could've been handled better. And yet it didn't seem like the townspeople minded. The early workers were already up an about, greeting everyone like they were all a big, extended family. He spotted a baker through a stained window, placing rolls of dough inside an oven of stone. He saw a young boy placing bottles of milk outside all the doors. He stopped for a lady to help her with a couple heavy bags of flour to deliver to the aforementioned baker, fresh from her cart led by a dappled grey horse. She took two of her own and Time mirrored that, surprised at the weight of the sacks but carrying them inside non-the-less. When he had helped her heft all the bags inside she smiled at him, tossing him a blue rupee.

"For your troubles," she said, letting her hair down from the bun she had tied it up in. Her red hair wasn't quite the same golden sunset-red that his wife sported, but the dark maroon strands still reminded him of Malon. He couldn't help but smile a bit, handing her the rupee back.

"I don't need it," he assured, and she took it back after a moment of hesitation. "Instead, I would love to ask you a question or two."

The lady -Mary, her name was Mary- raised a brow. "I'm not the most knowledgeable around, only the daughter of the mill on the other side of the mountain, but go ahead."

"You see, I'm with a group of travelers, and we're doing our best to take out monsters, both for the benefit of the commoners and for the reward we reap. Have you heard of any sightings of a larger group?"

"That's quite the question," Mary said. "I do hear quite a bit when I'm out delivering flour. There's always a lot of creatures through the mountain pass, but only the usual amount. I'm not quite sure I know of anywhere else, I'm afraid."

Time was about to thank her for her time, a bit disappointed, when the baker leaned across the counter, the smell of yeast and baked bread wafting through the air. "Monsters, you say? Shoot, you should head down to the ghost-town that is Kasuto. It's south from here, 'bout half-a-day's trek. I hear the abandoned settlement is a base for a group of creatures now, and they're always harassing any travelers that pass by."

"That certainly doesn't sound good, we'll see if we can't put an end to it. While I have you here, have either of you ever been exposed to, well, a portal of sorts? Or a gate? We've heard some rumors that the dark world might've opened up to our world, just like in the old legends."

The baker and Mary exchanged a glance. "The dark world you say? That sounds troubling. Can't say I every heard any of the sorts, no."

Time nodded. "Then I can only take it as a good sign. Thank you," he said, purchasing a couple loaves of newly baked bread, relishing in the smell and feeling the crackle of the crust beneath his fingers. "May Hylia be with you."

"And to you too. Good luck on your journey!"

Time asked around a bit more, but the only information he got was confirming what he had already learned. No sightings of a potential portal to the dark world. He guessed the mystery of the moon pearl had to wait for now, even if he had to admit he was curious. He walked back to the inn as light rain started drizzling down, which didn't bode well for them. Walking back inside the run-down building he was greeted by many tired faces, but they were all cleaned up and dressed for the day, Wild having recruited Sky and Twilight for breakfast preparations.

Warriors hadn't come back yet.

"Did you learn anything?" Twilight asked as Time placed the bread on the table they had claimed, finding a knife to cut it up. 

"Some. We have a potential target at least, but I'll fill you in with the rest later. For now let's get breakfast started, Warriors will be back any minute now."

Shortly after they all sat down, digging into a hearty breakfast. Time couldn't help but wonder of the slate of Wild managed to store all the food for days and sometimes week, and still keeping it fresh. Did it somehow work as a cold cellar? The technology the kids possessed these days- or well, the future days. It was well beyond comprehension.

Time caught the way Wind kept looking at Four, a curious glint in his eyes. Four himself looked distracted, barely eating the food before him as he was lost in thought, which wasn't too uncommon among them these days, but Time knew for certain that the short hero had a fondness for baked goods. Freshly baked bread was a rare treat these days, so he had expected him to tear into the bread.

He was considering taking him aside and asking what was wrong when the door opened, Warriors entering with a smug smile on his face. "What, did you start without me?" he playfully jabbed, easily drawing their attention as the room had been quite silent before his arrival.

"Yeah, 'cause you're such a drama queen you always have to make an entrance," Legend called back, grumpy in the mornings as ever.

"Whatever," Warriors said, removing his cloak that was quite more damp than what Time's had been. "Be prepared for a wet day, by the way. It doesn't look like the rain is going to let up anytime soon."

"Fantastic." 

"Cheer up, I do have some juicy gossip to share," he assured, sitting down beside Sky and heaping food on his plate. "But first, fuel. Time, did you find anything?"

Time looked around the table, all eyes fastened at him. Most had already finished eating, and only the sounds of the utensils clanking against Warriors' and Sky's plates could be heard. He cleared his throat, relaying the information he had learned about the ghost-town of Kasuto.

Hyrule's eyes widened. "Oh, good 'ol Kasuto! That's quite the place. I learned one of my most powerful spells there," he told them, a small smile on his face. "But," he added, smile dropping, "That town is also home to a group of invisible monsters. Moas, I've come to call them. I found a cross that makes them visible to me, but only the holder of the cross can see them, so they might be a hindrance. They do a lot of damage, too."

"Then we'll keep that in mind. Warriors?"

The captain swallowed the last mouthful of food he had secured, washing it down with some milk. He straightened his back, a knowing glint in his eyes as he looked at them. "For starters, I learned about Kasuto too. Moreover, I also came by a piece of information that could be tied to what we came across yesterday."

They all perked up at that, Four and Legend looking especially curious, and it was obvious that Warriors was soaking up the attention.

"That's right. I came across a source of information regarding a certain... Disturbance. I headed east, down the road that lead to the gate towards the ocean. A fisherman heading out to the waters let me know about chaos farther out in the sea. There's this place known as the Ocean Palace, and usually that's the best place to fish seeing as large schools usually swim around there. The fishermen has avoided it the last few days though, seeing as the waters around have been quite turbulent lately, and they've also seen shadows of something not hylian going in and out. The fisherman I talked to told me of his fellow fisher friend Mino, who had braved the entrance to the Palace. He hadn't stayed long, but he had caught glimpse of something quite abnormal. It looked like a doorway, but it was in the middle of the room, completely empty."

"A moon gate," Four realized, an unreadable look on his face. "There's really a portal here."

Warriors nodded, leaning back in his seat. "The fisherman said he had an old boat that we could use if we wanted. He hopes we'll be able to calm the water. The waters around the Ocean Palace seems to be their biggest income, so they're quite desperate to get it back."

"The Ocean Palace," Hyrule stated, looking down on his empty plate. "It's quite the place, but it's been empty after my adventure. I didn't think there would be any monsters lurking around there, it seems... Unconventional."

"So, what's our plan?" Wild asked. "Do we go to the Ocean Palace, or to the abandoned town? Both sound great."

 Twilight crossed his arms. "If I may? I actually think we should go to both."

Sky grimaced. "Oh, I don't know about that. Splitting up doesn't always end great."

"But it is a way to cover more ground," Hyrule chipped in. "Besides, if all goes well, we can all rendezvous in New Kasuto. It's a hidden settlement east of the old village, and south of the Palace."

"You want to swear on that?" Legend asked. Hyrule shrugged.

"I'm pretty confident about it?"

"Yeah, that sounds absolutely great."

"Don't worry, we can just double-check with the villagers before we head out," Time assured. "And for what it's worth, it does sound like the best course of action. We can't be too sure what path Hylia has set out for us. Us finding the moon pearl doesn't seem like a coincidence by a long shot, but we also can't let the monsters in Kasuto harass the travelers. What we need to figure out is who goes where."

"I'll go to the Ocean Palace!" Wind exclaimed, raising his hand. "I am the sailor here, I know how to navigate tricky water."

"Can't argue with that," Warriors grinned, reaching over the table to ruffle the youngest hair. "The boat is quite small according to the fisherman, though, and I doubt we'll be able to find anything larger. I think no more than three people would fit if we want space to move."

"Then the choice is easy. Four, Legend, you two will also go."

Four voiced his agreement, but Legend looked aghast. "What? Why me!?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Wild asked, tilting his head. "You have experience with the dark world, and most experience overall. With a limited amount of space you are the best candidate."

But Legend didn't seem satisfied. "Have you seen the weather outside? The water will be turbulent as all hell, we'll be thrown around like sacks of potatoes!"

"Hey! Are you doubting my skills!?" Wind yelled, standing up from his seat as he quite obviously took personal offense. "I won't stand for it!"

Sky put his hands up. "Why don't we all calm down? I'm sure the storm won't be all that bad. It's mostly raining, not much wind, and Wind is an excellent navigator, we all know that. He won't let anything happen to you, I'm sure."

Legend huffed. "Fine. But if a lightning strikes our boat, then I won't say anything but called it."

Wind sat down, a frown on his face. Time sighed. He was too old for this. "Well, at least that's decided then. The rest of us will travel down south to Kasuto. Let's get prepared for the journey before us."

Not even an hour later they all stood outside the inn, rough maps secured with each group. "Alright, safe travels you three. I won't hear a word of any drowned rat when we meet up again," Warriors proclaimed, a hand on his hip. 

Legend snorted. "And you better not get stricken down by a lonesome stalfos."

Four rolled his eyes, but he smiled at the other group. "We'll see you later. Don't stray from the path, no matter how much Wild and Hyrule tries to convince you 'it's a shortcut'."

Twilight chuckled. "We have them under control. May the goddesses watch over you."

"And you too!"

The two groups parted way, their footsteps muted in the rain that was now pouring down on them.

Chapter Text

They had barely laid the quiet town of Nabooru behind them, having just passed the lone farm when a couple of dirty travelers almost ran into their group that was now reduced to six, the pair before them soaked to the bone and clearly out of breath.

"Whoa there, what have gotten you so rallied?" Warriors asked, taking a step back to avoid crashing into the strangers. Sky took the time to look around and scrutinize the landscape, but he couldn't see much except for the long stretch of road and the ever pouring rain over them. None of which invoked enough terror to run away, although the latter could be reason to hurry home.

"A monster," one of them gasped, a hand placed over her chest. "The River Devil has returned, and it attacked us when we tried to cross the bridge over the Oni river!"

Warriors frowned, casting a glance over at Hyrule who looked quite perplexed, before he placed a hand over his heart, giving the strangers a charming smile. "Don't worry, we'll deal with it. I can assure you that it won't cause you further harm."

The pair didn't look convinced, but eventually they let their shoulders slump as they took a few steps away. "Alright, we'll trust you. All of you look quite experienced. Be aware of this though; the Devil gets quite aggressive with no former warning. Be careful."

They parted ways with the pair, and Hyrule cleared his throat as they started walking anew, speaking up to be heard over the thundering rain. "Listen. I've-I've actually dealt with this creature before, but what the two of them said just... I just don't think it makes sense." Sky cast a glance sideways to the traveling hero, noting the way he wrung his hands together and the way his brows furrowed. "First of all, while it looks quite... intimidating, it has never gone out of it's way to cause harm as long as you don't attack it first. It was more of a hindrance to me back in the days, it refused to let me pass over the bridge even if I said please. Secondly, I chased it off a long time ago." Hyrule had quite an unhappy look on his face by now. "I found this flute at the Ocean Palace, and it makes a horrendous sound. The Devil hated it, so it fled the bridge when I blew it there. I haven't heard of it since, so I can't make sense of it returning now."

Sky hummed. "Well, that's how our lives usually goes, right? Stuff that doesn't add up is often on our daily schedule. I'm sure there's a reason for it, but for now let's just make our way to the bridge and hope it's not too aggressive."

"I don't know..."

Wild gave Hyrule a pat on his back. "It'll be fine. 'sides, we're six against one. What could go wrong?"

"Please don't say that."

The day seemed to go by pretty slowly in Sky's humble opinion. Hardly anything changed in the scenery around them. The road they followed winded slowly through the never-ending plains of dead patches of grass and the occasional rock. To his right the plains seemed to go on and on forever before they faded into the screen of white caused by the weather, save for the patch of forest that was coming up ahead in the distance, tall mountains barely visible behind it, far more towering than the one they had crossed the previous day. The constant downpour weighed them down, turning the dirt beneath their feet to slippery mud and drenched their clothes. They had all thrown on thick cloaks to prevent the water from soaking them to the bone, but the cold rain still made them shiver and put a clear damper on what could've been a nice trek.

Distant rumbling of thunder occasionally broke the silence between them aside from the ever-cascading pitter-patter of the unfortunate weather, and Sky couldn't help the concern in the back of his head regarding the three that had taken to the sea. He looked to his left, where the ocean on a good day could supposedly barely be glimpsed according to Hyrule, but was as of now hidden behind the thick blanket of the rain all around. Hopefully the three of them had made it safely to the Ocean Palace by now.

Wind was a skilled sailor. He would bring them all safely across the waters. Worrying would do no good.

The agonizingly long journey eventually led them to a path through the overgrown forest that still offered little shelter from the rain, and the slope that led them downwards wasn't welcome at all. They had to be careful with their steps to avoid slipping and slide all the way to the bottom, although it seemed that Wild thought that exact situation would be a great idea.

"Let's all just shield-surf!" he declared, getting out a shield that looked pretty run down. "It's so much faster!"

He wasn't quick enough though. Before he could position the shield Twilight had already grabbed his tunic, a glare in his eyes as he looked at the champion. "Put that away."

"But-"

"Now."

Wild huffed but did as asked, and their slow trek down resumed once more. No more than half an hour later the road eventually flattened, and the distance between the trees became longer. The rushing of water could be faintly heard, and Sky stopped in his tracks at the sight before them.

"Oh Din's fire," Warriors whispered, his eyes locked on the creature standing on the only bridge that crossed the river.

The first thing Sky noticed was that it was huge. It was perhaps a fourth of the size of the goddess statue back at Skyloft, which meant the monster towered above them, five-six times taller than himself. The other thing he noticed was that almost the entire thing was black like onyx, a colour so dark it was hard to wrap his head around what exactly it was he was looking at. Only the giant horns of ivory and the eyes burning in crimson was distinguishable. The final thing he took note of was that the creature was standing on two legs the diameter of trunks from decent-sized trees, and that it had seemingly four wispy arms, the ends faded like smoke.

"That's... That's quite a formidable foe," Time commented quietly, his hands already resting at the hilt of his sword. "This is the Devil you scared away with nothing but a flute?"

"To be fair, the flute makes a horrible, screeching noise, but yeah. This is the one." Hyrule searched his pockets for the object, but the look on his face when he came up short was far from reassuring. "Oh no," he whispered, looking up at them, "I've lost the flute."

Warriors had a bewildered look on his face as he turned around to the traveling hero. "What do you mean you've lost it!?"

Hyrule threw his hands in the air. "Exactly that! I don't have it with me! I-" A look of realization seemed to dawn upon the green clad hero. "It must've been shuffled around when we first got to my time, we were all tired and a bit out of it back then. Search your inventories please, maybe one of you took it by mistake?"

Spoiler alert; the flute wasn't to be found anywhere. Sky did notice that his gust bellows had been exchanged for a smaller one, white in colour, decorated with an intricate blue pattern. Somehow he and Four hadn't paid enough attention when they had arrived in Hyrule's era and exchanged them on mistake. It could've been worse though, at least the items worked pretty much the same.

Hyrule groaned. "Legend must've taken it, that damned hoarder."

"What now?" Sky asked. Why couldn't these types of things go their way for once?

Twilight had a curious glint in his eyes, looking over at the River Devil with a thoughtful look. "Maybe I could try to communicate with it? If it's anything like a wild animal it might be protecting something, or perhaps it's hurt?"

Time shook his head. "I somehow doubt that it would be a good idea."

"Ah!" Hyrule suddenly exclaimed, stepping over to Wild. "Maybe you can scare it away?"

Wild frowned. "What? Me? ...How?"

"I don't know, you probably have something that makes a lot of noise, right? Or maybe, if you just distract it, then the rest of us will be able to attack it!"

Time didn't have the most convincing look on his face, but Warriors seemed to like the idea. "That could work, you do have an uncanny ability to cause chaos. It's worth a shot, I'd say. Are you up for it, champion?"

Wild hummed, before a sly smile widened across his lips, a sight Sky didn't associate with anything good. He already knew the blue-clad hero's answer before it even left his lips. "Definitely."

They came up with a quick strategy together, but with the monster's unknown reach and abilities they decided acting on the go would be best course of action. Wild took up his slate, a round bomb appearing in his hands. He threw the thing as far as he could, landing only a couple meters away from the monster that whipped it's head around, the flaming red eyes wide as it moved down to touch it.

With a tap on the slate the bomb exploded, and part of the arm faded away, black matter flying in the air. It returned soon enough though, the arm growing back the missing part in a matter of seconds. This battle might turn out even tougher than anticipated.

A new sound roared among them. Sky turned his head around, and he was greeted by Wild atop the horse-like contraption he referred to as 'the master cycle'. He had a wide grin on his face, and the motor revved into action, and Wild sped towards the monster, mud splattering all over their clothes. Warriors grimaced at that, before he shook it off.

"Let's go!"

They all charged at the monster, and Sky muttered a quick prayer to Hylia before he rushed forward with the rest, master sword pulled and ready by his side.

Things did definitely not go smoothly.

When Wild had spun into sight atop his cycle the creature had roared in anger, the sound loud and jarring and Sky would have loved to cover his ears.

If this was what the monster sounded like, then he couldn't help but wonder what goddess-forsaken noise the flute made in order to get this humongous monster to flee.

The devil locked onto Wild, not noticing the five of them as it leaped from it's place on the bridge, three of it's arms melting away as the last one extended, effectively securing a hold on Wild, lifting him off the cycle that skidded around and crashed, disappearing in a small blue explosion.

Of course the monster had to be of the shape-shifting kind.

"Wild!"

Twilight charged forward, the double clawshot in his hands aimed at the monster, sending himself flying through the air. He landed atop the River Devil, pulling out his sword as he discarded the clawshots, slicing at the monster. It didn't seem like he caused a lot of damage to the creature, but at least the surprise was enough to drop Wild. The champion rolled a few times across the ground from the force of the fall, getting up to his knees while coughing and wheezing. 

The rest of them made their way to the creature too, and chaos unfolded. The monster was screeching and roaring, constantly changing shape as they kept attacking it with bombs and swords. For a while they were in a locked stand-off, neither side showing signs of weakness. Sky maneuvered the master sword with the steadfast finesse he had acquired through his own adventure, moving around the creature in quick motions. The problem with being so large was that it was way harder to keep up with smaller foes, which Sky used to his advantage. 

He didn't see the wisp of solid smoke that had slid up behind him, complete with jagged shapes that resembled sharp fangs. Time had, though, and the elder hero was suddenly grabbing him, dragging him away from the tendril. Sky saw the shadow slam through the place he had been occupying only a second earlier, paling at the way the fangs tore up the muddy ground, deep jagged scars in the earth beneath.

He barely managed to mumble 'thanks' when another solidified arm was brought upon them, slamming into Time and sending him flying. The hero of time slammed into a tree, and he collapsed on the ground, eyes closed in pain.

Sky drew in a sharp breath before he ran over to the hero, the monster thankfully occupied with the three other heroes. The eldest of their company opened his eyes, forcing a smile to take over his quivering lips. "I'll be f-fine, don't worry," he assured, sitting up. He gasped as he did, pressing his hand against his chest.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you've broken a couple ribs," Sky frowned, noticing the dent in the tree. "Just wait this one out, and we'll get you a potion."

Thankfully the elder wasn't as stubborn as certain other people among them, and he gave a sharp nod as he leaned back. Sky turned around, looking at the monster. Wild was making his way over to the pair, stuffing a truffle into his mouth.

"I figured it out!" he proclaimed when he was withing hearing distance. "The creature is made of water!"

Sky frowned, looking over at the creature. It most certainly didn't look like water, what with being pitch-black. "I don't know, those fangs it almost got me with seemed pretty solid, and it looks more like smoke than running water."

Wild shook his head. "Nope, it's water. I think it can solidify the water to ice and turn it to mist at will. That's how it can change shape."

He couldn't argue with that.

"So what do you propose?"

Wild grinned. "We attack with the element water is weak against." He pulled out a quiver, arrows with yellow jagged tips filling it to the brim. "Use these, I'll get up close."

"Gotcha. Just- try to be careful." Sky eyed the scrapes and bruises on Wild's face, undoubtedly a product of him tumbling across the rocky ground. The young hero flashed him a grin, pulling out long spear, electricity sparking from the flashy, lightning-shaped blade at the end.

"C'mon Sky! When am I not?"

"You don't want me to answer that," Sky muttered, well aware that the other was already out of hearing distance. Time did though, and chuckled from his place on the ground.

"Ah, youth these days."

Sky pulled out his sacred bow. It was a recurved bow, light blue and decorated with gold. It was sturdy and powerful, capable of a long range and powerful shots. Ha reached into the quiver he had fastened around his hips, pulling out one of Wild's curious arrow, nocking it on the string.

Here goes nothing, he thought, aiming for the heart of the creature, releasing the sparking arrow.

For a second, Sky felt like he had called down lightning from the heavens just like Hyrule had done the previous day with his magic. Electricity crackled all over the monster, lighting it up for a second before the lightning faded away. And then Wild was stabbing it with his spear, sending a smaller but more potent flare of lightning crackling through the now screeching monster.

Sky nocked another arrow on his bow, releasing it at the creature. And one another. And one more.

And between his arrows, Wild's spear and the three others' relentless attacks, the giant of a monster eventually stilled, crumpling to a heap and fading away, leaving only the spoils of battle behind that Warriors dutifully collected.

 "Oh thank Hylia," Sky sighed. "See, old man? We managed just fine." He tilted his head to look back at Time, flashing a grin as he packed the bow away. 

"There wasn't a doubt in my mind."

Sky looked through his belongings, frowning. "I'll be right back, I'll see if any of the others have any potions to spare." He jogged down to the river where the other had gathered, only now noticing how Twilight was crouched down next to a very panicked-looking Hyrule, Warriors and Wild looking on with worry.

"What's wrong?" he asked, stopping just a couple meters short of Hyrule, unwilling to stress him out more.

"He got cut by one of the fangs," Warriors filled in, pointing at the blood running down Hyrule's head. "And, we're uh... Well, we're in his era."

"Oh, right." Sky recalled the first time Hyrule had gotten hurt while in their company. The traveling hero had freaked out, clutching at his wounded arm, looking at the blood running down it with huge eyes. Later he had told them about how the monsters in his era wanted to use his blood to resurrect none other than Ganon himself. Such a threat was enough to understand his panic.

They eventually managed to calm Hyrule down, healing his wounds and using the water of the river to wash away what remained of blood. The young hero breathed out a 'thanks', and Twilight laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't mention it."

Sky eventually managed to secure a potion, and scurried back over to Time with it. Soon enough they all gathered in front of the bridge. The rain was slowly letting up, but by now they were so all muddied, thoroughly wet and cold that it didn't matter much.

"At least now that monster shouldn't attack anyone else," Warriors stated. "Only smooth sailing from now, right 'rule?"

Hyrule shrugged. "Hopefully. At least until we reach Kasuto."

The six of them crossed the bridge, and through the heavy blanket of clouds above them, a ray of sun broke through.

Chapter Text

"This is fucking bullshit."

Shortly after parting ways with the other six the three of them had made their way east, past the gates of the town and down to the water where their promised ride was awaiting them.

Needless to say, Wind didn't seem very impressed with what he saw. The boat the fisherman had offered to lend them was a pretty run-down hull, and Four was almost surprised that there was no leaks in the old thing. Of course they had thanked the man, even offered a few rupees he had refused in hopes they would be able to give them back the Ocean Palace, but as soon as they had parted ways and the set to preparing for taking on the stormy sea that awaited them Wind had at once let them know what he thought of the banged-up boat.

"I won't call this a boat. I refuse to. It might have been once but for fuck's sake, look at it. The thing obviously doesn't know what maintenance is, it has never seen a swamp, I'm sure! Yeah, I'll get us across the sea, but this poor thing doesn't deserve this kind of treatment!"

Legend rolled his eyes, wary eyes never leaving the horizon where the dark gray sky crashed together with turbulent waters. "Look at the bright side, would you? At least it's not a raft. Hyrule would've offered us one hadn't this one showed up."

Wind shuddered. "Thank Nayru for that." He shook his head, looking up at the sailcloth bound to the mast. A grimace passed his face. "Right. First order as captain of S.V. 'Barely Keeping it Together', we remove that rag. It won't get us through this storm. It'll make us capsize at best."

Legend nodded sharply, setting to untying the cloth with the steadfast surety of someone who had at least done so twice before, mumbling about 'what kind of stupid-ass name is that'. Wind seemed satisfied at his unexpected skills, joining in. "It looks like you're not as much of a land-crab as I thought!"

Four felt pretty much... helpless. Before this cross-eras adventure of theirs he hadn't even seen the ocean. He stepped onto the deck too, the stormy waters ever so gently rocking the boat beneath his feet making him feel a bit queasy. A great start. "Uh... What do I do?"

Honestly, neither of his companions were the best teachers. Wind lacked patience, and Legend...

Well. He was Legend.

Still the two of them managed to point him to some knots that needed untying, showing him the best way to open a sailor's knot, and Four gladly set to it. Anything to keep his mind occupied from what may await them in the Ocean Palace, as long as they got unscathed across the waters first.

The downpour was merciless, and kept raining down on them. His fingers soon got cold and slippery, and the already tight knots got harder to remove than they would have been in dry weather, the rough material putting on a great show of refusing to untie. But that was nothing against their own stubbornness, and some time later the soaked sail was taken down completely, rolled up and stashed beneath the lone seat on the sloop. Wind proceeded to remove a cloth from his inventory, white in colour, a green symbol decorating the triangle-shaped fabric. He fastened it to the mast and the boom with experienced hands, Legend occasionally stepping in while Four just watched.

Removing a sailcloth was one thing. Fastening it was something completely else, and if they were going to sail through this storm they would rather be safe than having him do it without knowing quite how. It was likely quicker like this anyway.

It didn't take long before the sailcloth was fastened, the pristine colour a stark contrast to the run-down hull. Wind jumped from one side of the boat to the other, checking all the ropes and fastening the loose ones. When he found it all satisfactory he clapped his hands together, a wide grin across his face.

"All aboard!"

Four clambered back aboard from the dock he has occupied the last few minutes, sitting down in the foremost part of the boat where Wind directed him. Legend removed the rope tying them to the dock, jumping into the hull. He had been exceptionally quiet since they parted ways with the others an hour or so earlier, but sitting in the boat, looking ahead at the cascading waves and hearing the distant rumbling of thunder he seemed even paler. Four narrow his eyes. Legend was definitely hiding something from them.

Four let his own eyes scour the rocky waters, a pit appearing in his stomach. Would they really be okay sailing through this? Wouldn't the harsh winds knock the boat over? The boat was small, barely enough room for the three of them. How likely was it that a bit-bigger-than-average wave would swallow them completely?

"Hey Wind-"

He stilled his words, eyes wide as he looked at the youngest hero. He had his eyes closed, a gentle smile across his mouth as he held the silver-coloured baton in the air, both hands raised. He waved them around in gentle flowing circles, the softest glow surrounding him, a trail of glittering light following the tips of the instrument.

He had always wondered what the Wind Waker did.

Four felt the shift more than he saw it. The strong wind that had been blowing against them from the side suddenly moved around, coming up from behind them. He gasped in wonder, being dragged down to the deck of the boat by Legend, the boom swerving above him in a sharp arc that would've knocked him senseless. When he gathered the courage to sit up again even Legend seemed calmer, clearly impressed by Wind's apparent mastery of the weather. Said teen grinned widely as he opened his eyes, taking a hold of the ropes to the sail.

"Onward!"

Despite the stormy still raging around them (Four was absolutely soaked) the ride went surprisingly... Smooth. He kept mostly to the hull, not moving unless asked too. He also kept an eye on the rough map they were given (just go East and you'll find it!) but other than that he sat still on the wet woodwork, water sloshing around his bottom half. It wasn't pleasant in any way, but when had their journeying ever been?

He also had an eye on Legend. The hero clad in red had once more taken on an expression of tight-lipped worry, his eyes darting around at every flash of lightning, his body freezing up at every rumble of thunder. It was almost painful to watch, but asking about it now would probably do no good.

Wind was the most steadfast of the three. He commanded the boat like it was an extension of himself, maneuvering the tricky water with the ease only an experienced sailor could possess. He knew which waves the hull could take straight on, and he knew which one to take on sideways. He didn't ever lose his calm, and his grin was wide in excitement.

The young hero was loving the storm.

"It's a challenge!" he hollered through his namesake at Four's question. "Anyone could sail this boat on a calmer day, but in weather like this!? Hardly. I'm awesome and I know it!"

Four had to give him that. The kid was awesome.

Lightning suddenly struck the surface of the water a little too close for comfort, and the rope Legend had been clutching at slipped through his fingers, the electricity crackling all over dancing in his wide eyes. Wind cursed, but Legend remained stubbornly still, pale as snow, only staring with clouded eyes at the raging ocean.

"Four! Grab the rope!"

He throws himself towards the dangling rope, crashing into Legend as he clings onto it with all his might. A throw of wind sends the rig steering sideways, and the look on Wind was not a great one.

"Duck!" he screamed as the boom came swinging over them once more, and Four barely manages to hook his leg around Legend, sending them both crashing. Somehow he managed to keep his grip on the rope that was now caught around the boom, although his hands were burning from the way the rough material had torn his eyes open.

At least the sudden fall had knocked some sense back into Legend, and as the boat rocked dangerously on the waves he took the rope back from him, and with his and Wind's combined expertise they got the boat straightened, not longer on the verge of capsizing.

"That," he stated, "was the worst thing I've ever experienced."

Wind had a wide grin plastered on his face once more though, and was bouncing on his feet from the thrill. "Yeah but we kept her stable! Great teamwork everyone!"

A faint cry of a seagull sounded somewhere far above, and the rain that had been decreasing for sometime let completely up. The darkest clouds vanished with the strongest winds, and somewhere far above a lone ray of sun be seen. 

It seemed Hylia was somewhat watching over them still.

Legend whispered something that sounded like 'thank you', but from the distant look in his eyes Four was sure it wasn't meant for either of them. He only got the time to ponder who it could be for so long when Wind shouted "Land ahoy!"

And sure enough, somewhere in the distance, the shape of a palace could be seen. Four clenched his blistered hands, steeling himself. His pouch suddenly seemed heavy, the moon pearl calling to him in a way he wasn't quite sure he liked.

What awaited them inside the isolated palace?

"There's more," Legend grumbled, eyes narrow. It was like someone had flicked a switch; all the stark silence and paleness had left him completely, leaving them with their good 'ol pissed-off veteran who would fight Ganon before breakfast if he had to. "Get ready for some company."

"Pirate 'blins," Wind hissed. "They're the worst, keep spoiling our good name."

Four might feel like a drowned rat, he might be aching and shivering a bit in the cold, but he had a flame inside that burned bright at the prospect of battle. He fished out his bow, rolling his shoulders. "Then we fight."

The other two grinned at that, dipping their heads in agreement. "We fight."

The rickety yawl that sailed towards them was filled to the brim by bokoblins, all screeching and yelling and throwing rocks of all things. Four was just happy they didn't have a large enough boat to fit it with a canon; that might've been more of a disaster. 

He quickly brought down a couple of the monsters with some quick-paced arrows, although the rocking off the waves were throwing him off quite a bit combined with having to kneel in the boat in order to not fall over board. The third arrow soared past the 'blin he had been aiming for, but then it teared through one of the sails so it hadn't been a complete waste, the yawl leering a bit starboard.

Wind had taken a more... violent approach. He had slapped on a power bracelet, digging out his bombs, and had set to chucking a couple of them at the yawl like a humanoid canon. Whatever the bokoblins' had been expecting of them Four very much doubted it'd be that, and he almost winced in sympathy at the monsters that jumped off the boat in a frenzy, trying to run away from the yawl that exploded in two pieces, slowly sinking. Legend picked off the strays, and soon enough the way to the palace was cleared out for them.

Four winced a bit as he stored the bow, the burn-marks on his hands stinging. The salty waters all around didn't help, and when he by accident touched the soaked bottom of the sloop he hissed at the stinging pain.

Legend turned to him with narrow eyes, and Four held out his hands. It was no point in hiding the pain, it would only serve as a hindrance later on. "These look like they hurt," he said, taking a hold of his hands and inspecting them. He then reached into his own inventory, getting out the thick cream they used for minor wounds where a full health potion would be a waste. He dabbed the moisture over the marks, and Four couldn't help but sigh in delight as the stinging pain ebbed away, the wounds closing.

"Thanks," he said, gently rubbing his hands together to get rid of the excess substance. Legend shook his head, turning a bit so he could face both of them.

"No. It's... I'm sorry. About freezing up back then. It's not a lot that faces me anymore, Hylia knows I've been through a lot, but the one thing that always get me is thunderstorms combined with water. It's a story I'm not going to share with you," he gave Wind a sharp look as he whined at that, "but I've should've let you know regardless. Things could've gotten far more uglier, and for the record, I never doubted your skills as a sailor. I doubted my own."

Wind grinned, leaping forward and dragging Legend into a hug, lifting him off the floor of the boat thanks to the power bracelet he had yet to take off, sending the boat rocking dangerously to the side and causing the forgotten nausea to rise in Four once more.

"Aww, 's okay! We shouldn't have forced you either, but all's well that ends well, eh, me heartie?"

Legend frowned when Wind put him down, the latter running back to the sails to steer the sloop to the palace. "'Heartie'? What does that even mean?"

Wind cast him a look, his mouth smiling as his eyes did the same. "It means 'fellow sailor', and 'a close friend'."

Four would treasure the look on Legend's face for a long time to come. He would probably tease him about it later, but the soft blush colouring his cheeks and the tips of his ears red combined with the gentle realization of how Wind viewed him was endearing.

Wind turned to Four, a bright grin decorating his face once more. "Fear not, scallywag, you're my friend too!"

Four shook his head, a slight smile on his lips. Wind's pirate lingo was quite something, and it made everything seem lighter, a tad bit easier. He was happy the young pirate had been dragged on this adventure too.

As the sky above changed from 'clouded' to 'clouded with a chance of sun' with the sudden rays of said celestial object warming the napes of their necks, the hull sailed to the dock waiting for them at the Ocean Palace. Legend jumped across the rim to fasten the boat, actually taking the time to properly show Four how to do it. Wind removed his sail from the boat, shrugging at their questioning looks. 

"It's a great sail. Who knows what'll happen when we go inside the dungeon? I don't want to lose it."

They couldn't argue with that, and soon after the sloop was neatly tied to the dock, looking quite naked and forgotten with no sail fastened to it's mast. Wind laid a hand on it's broadside. "So long, S.V. 'Barely Keeping It Together." Then he stood up, a determined look on his face. "Alright. Let's take on this ol' place."

Four turned around, finally letting his eyes rest on the sight before them. The palace didn't look like a regular palace, supported by tons upon tons of pillars, towering above them. Instead it looked quite small, the area above the water nothing large than the size of Wild's house back in Hateno. 

But that didn't mean the palace was small. The entrance to the palace was the gaping mouth of a shark, sharp teeth inviting them to what looked like certain doom, the steep slope widening drastically further down. Legend pushed up his sleeves, Wind rolled his neck and Four stretched his legs.

"Ready?" Wind asked, staring ahead into the abyss as his hands dug out a torch and lightening it. Four shared a look with Legend, and with their teeth bared in wide grins they answered the young hero.

"Aye, captain."

Wind startled a bit at that, but his ever present grin never faded and together they entered the Ocean Palace.

Chapter Text

By the time to clock struck twelve midday, the storm had completely cleared up, only a couple puffy clouds obscuring the harsh rays of the sun. The muddy road they were traversing was rapidly drying up, though the more sheltered parts of it remained grimy, shadowed by the looming trees all around the bumpy road. A small mercy came in the form of the one-way path, Twilight mused. There were no crossroads, no trails leading off the track, and there was no way for Wild and Hyrule to convince them to stray off-roads for once.

Chapter Text

“Aight, this place is downright creepy.”

Legend had been to many locations in his lifetime, and experienced a lot of downright unhinged stuff, so if anyone had the right to deem a place ‘creepy’, it had to be him.

It wasn’t determined on the visuals of the ocean palace, because it was actually quite beautiful and otherworldly. But the walls that gleamed of inlaid mother-of-pearl, the impeccable stairs that lead down of almost iridescently glowing marble flickering in torchlight of blue, green and purple that seemed to be burning forever, it was all a tad bit too perfect. A tad bit too clean. Nothing like regular dungeons and palaces that more often than not swarmed of monsters, grimy floor covered with the tell-tale rusty red of long dried blood, remains of slain creatures dotting the place.

“I think it’s cool!” Wind quipped, his steps a bit bouncy as he kept twisting his body around to better look at the colourful flames they passed, the smell of salty water in the otherwise stale air, the distant rush of the ocean barely heard through the walls of the palace.

Legend was ever grateful he didn’t suffer from claustrophobia, because the palace was definitely crammed. Four seemed a little more quiet than usual, though, although it could in theory be chalked up to the moon pearl. He hadn’t quite been himself since yesterday.

They kept descending, Legend keeping an ear out for potential enemies. He didn’t trust this place at all. Where were the monsters? Who kept the place so spotless, so clean?

The stairs eventually flattened out, and at the end of the now horizontal hallway a bright light could be seen. The three of them sped up a little, all eager to get out of the monotonous hallway. They had barely cleared the open doors when Wind was yanked away from them, back into the passage they just had escaped.

“Woah!”

Four reacted the fastest, his sword already pulled, charging at the floormaster that had seemly snuck up on them from behind. He hacked at the veiny black hand with the sharp blade, but it didn’t seem to do any damage, it’s grip around Wind still tight. The teen in question was fighting tooth and nail against it, but still the floormaster pulled him downwards, slowly sinking in the circle of shifting black waters that had appeared with it.

Legend took out his ice rod, hoping that freezing the monster would give them more time, but the magic simply bounced off, and Wind was now torso deep, trapped in the floor.

“We’ll come find you!” Four shouted as he kept on attacking the giant hand with the desperate manner of someone who knew he already had lost the fight. “Just stay safe!”

Through his suffocating struggles Wind managed to wrangle his lips into a grin just before he disappeared below the surface. “I’m counting on you!”

And then he was gone, the floor rippling and fading back to the wondrous, horrendous iridescent marble, all traces of the floormaster and Wind wiped away. Legend stared at the spot for a second before whipping his head towards Four, who had frozen in a stance with his sword readied for attack, but paused mid-air.

“What do you mean we’ll find him? Isn’t he just gonna be placed back at the entrance? He can just walk back down and find us.”

A shudder ran through Four, and he dropped the sword, sheathing it. “I’ve already told you, haven’t I? That wasn’t a floormaster of the kind you’ve dealt with. That was a floormaster rooted in the Dark World, which is also the place it’s gonna drop Wind off. Our sailor is already in that wretched place. Now we just gotta find our way there too.”

Legend really wanted to argue. What if the floormaster did drop the little maestro off at the entrance, running back down to find them? And what if they already had crossed into the Dark World by them? There was too many possibilities, too many ways it all could go wrong but then again it was Four he was talking to. The little guy had eyes a bit too keen, and the floormaster looked slightly different from the ones he had encountered himself.

He had never been dragged down through the floor like that either.

So he cast his doubts aside, and released a deep breath. “Alright. Fine. Then let’s just- let’s just find the way over there.”

Four rewarded him with a weak smile, and together the two of them stepped back into the open room.

The hall was gigantic, pillars going several meters high in the air, and when they tipped their heads back they could barely see the glass-roof far above among the beams supporting it, the surface of the ocean just a bit above, and rays of light penetrated the water, casting an aqua-tinted hue all over the room, the glow spilling and receding in tact with the motion of the waves.

Iridescent white gave way for mahogany wooden floor, perfectly polished. The pillars were made of smoothed limestone, intricate designs of gold and navy blue winding all around them looking like curled waves. But all of this fell short at the sight that greeted them in the middle of the room, the place where the fewest pillars were clustered.

In the middle of the room an archway greeted them, black obsidian twinkling in the spilled light, beckoning them closer.

As the two of them hesitantly walked closer Legend took a better look at the thing. The arc was all jagged, sharp edges, polished to perfection. The inner curve was inlaid with bones, the white showing the barest hint of the yellow that came with aging. And at the very top the skull of a lynel or something similar gazed down at them, eyes glimmering in a deep royal purple, shining amethysts.

But the one thing that stood out the most was that that was it. It was just an arc, firmly planted in the floor, a simple, bowed shape that showed nothing on the other side except for more of the hall, more of the ornate pillars.

“So, like, is this a moon gate?” he asked, turning around to Four when the two of them had stopped in front of the gate, the top of it hovering a couple meters above them.

“I think so?”

“Ya think?”

Four kept his gaze at the tall gate, shoulders shrugging helplessly. “It looks nothing like the gates I passed through. When I had to travel back and forth between them they were more like a slightly elevated platforms, and when w- I crushed the moonpearls they would let a blue light glow above it, kind of shimmering. Stepping into that light was what let me travel to the other world.” Four’s eyes slid over to him, an eyebrow arced. “What about with you?”

Legend scoffed, arms crossed. “Nothing of the elaborate sort. There were simple blue tiles on the ground wherever, and when I stepped on one I turned up in the dark world.”

Four frowned, reaching into his inventory, pulling out the large moon pearl. It was always entrancing to look at the thing what with the way the galaxy inside it twinkled and glowed with pinks and purples, but somehow, coupled with the light-spill from the ocean far above it looked even more vibrant, even more alive. The small hero gasped, and extended his hands towards Legend.

“Touch it!”

Legend arced an eyebrow, not seeing the point. “Why?”

“Just do it.”

Hesitantly he reached out, softly placing his hand atop the smooth curve of the pearl. A crackle of pleasant electricity buzzed through his body, loosing tense muscles. The orb was warm to the touch too, nothing like the coldness that usually grazed it. What was going on?

A pair of violet rays zoomed in on the pearl, and Legend removed his hand from the ball, the buzzing sensation disappearing. He cast a glance upwards, a sudden chill going through his body as the smoothed amethysts with spots of three white crossed lines in the middle set into the skull had seemingly directed their gazes towards the pearl. Slowly, ever so slowly the rays turned away from the pearl, instead locking down on a point right in front of the gate. Four’s hands shook a little, but his voice was steady as he spoke.

“We’re gonna have to shatter it.”

Legend spun around, his whole body facing Four this time. “What!?”

“I just know we have to.”

“But-”

But it was too beautiful to break. But it was too wonderful to let go of. His words effectively faded away, himself surprised by the sudden selfish desires.

That wouldn’t help them get to Wind.

“Nevermind. Just- just do it.”

Four nodded. He braced himself, positioning himself, aiming the pearl at the glowing purple spot on the wooden floor. With a surprising amount of force he sent the orb flying down, and as it shattered on impact an entire galaxy spilled around them.

The world around them faded away as dark mist surrounded them, dashes of purple and pink here and there, the gas sparkling like white and yellow stars surrounding them. Four reached out for him, grabbing his hand, and Legend tightened his grip in return, unwilling to be separated from him too. Pale blue and yellow lightning set the mist alight here and there, and if Legend’s grip tightened a little at that Four didn’t mention it. Instead they directed their gazes to the direction of the portal, and Legend felt a pit drop in his stomach. The purple amethysts previously set into the skull had transformed into glowing burgundy, the stylished white pupils remaining the same, all of it telltale signs of star rubies, if said rubies had a tendency to viciously glow.

They stepped a bit closer to the gate, and through the mist that mimicked a starry night sky they saw a swirling mound of colours. The moon gate had opened. Without further ado the two walked forward, embracing the odd sensation buzzing all through their bodies as they got teleported to the Dark World that awaited them.

Legend blinked once, and the starry mist and the creepy, too-perfect palace had disappeared, replaced by sandy dunes, a towering, way too familiar pyramid in close proximity, shielding them from the pale, cold sun.

His stomach dropped, recalling a certain detour of his first adventure, a memory so far suppressed he had mostly forgotten about it.

“Looks like we made it,” Four said, looking all around, releasing his hold on Legend’s hand. “But I don’t recognize this place. What about you?”

“I- uh- I’ve been here. That is the Pyramid of Power, sort of the sacred-realm-turned-dark’s equivalent of the Castle. The triforce was hidden inside there during my adventure, so maybe we should go and take a look?”

“Sounds good. Hopefully Wind is close by somewhere.”

So they traversed the beige dunes the short distance it took them to reach the pyramid, the building made of sanded stone imposing in front of them. They ascended the first steps of stairs, senses heightened with hands slightly elevated, ready to grab for a weapon at a moment’s notice.

Legend’s plan had been walking to the top, entering the room where he previously found the Triforce, evading a certain place completely.

He hadn’t counted on their way being blocked by statues that had been shuffled around since his last visit, the desired path completely shut off while another laid bare open. Leading straight to a familiar, cracked wall on the eastern side of the pyramid.

And Four made his way straight towards it.

“Wait!”

The shorter hero halted in his tracks, twisting his torso to look back at him, eyebrows drawn together in a frown. “What?”

Legend paused, sorting his thoughts. What indeed? Sure, he had faced something he’d rather forget in that room, but he had dealt with the, ah, problem a long time ago. The stuff he was afraid of Four finding didn’t even exist anymore, and he’d likely be more awed than anything else as long as Legend didn’t let anything unfortunate slip.

They’d be fine.

“Uhm… There might be a Gatekeeper there, he made me pay 20 rupees the last time to get inside.”

Four’s face eased into a slight smile. “Oh! That’s okay, I’ve got plenty. I can cover you too if you need?”

Legend let his rigid shoulders sink, stepping forward once more. “Nah, I’m good. We could ask him if he’s seen Wind though.”

The other nodded. “Yeah, sounds good.”

They headed towards the jagged opening, flickering light of torches greeting them outside the entrance, along with a fox-like pikku who’s lips widened into a wicked grin.

“Hello there! What can I do for you gentlemen on this fine day?”

Legend took a step forward. “Hello. I’d like to ask you a question; have you by chance see a child around here? About ye high,” he held a hand up a bit over Four, “wearing a striking blue tunic and the most hideous combination of orange pants and sandals you’ve ever seen.”

He heard how Four slightly failed at biting back a laugh as the Keeper raised a hand to his chin, rubbing his thumb along it. “Hmm, no, can’t say I have. Anything else?”

His hope fell a little, but Legend pushed that away for now. The sailor would manage to handle himself a little longer. “Yeah. We’d like to gain entrance.”

The grin returned “If you wish to pass into the Palace of the Four Sword the entrance fee is 30 rupees per hero.”

Legend and Four both talked over each other after that.

“30?? It was fucking 20 the last time I was here!”

“The Palace of the Four Sword!?”

The pikku raised a bushy brow over his sleek feline eye. “Ever since I took over as the Keeper the price has always been 30 rupees, I have to make a living ya know? And ay, the Four Sword. What’re ye, deaf? The Four Sword belonged to a hero that lived several millennia ago; in fact, the sword matches the one at your hip down to the very bandaged hilt! I thought for sure you were an avid fan or something.”

Legend calmed himself, reaching into his wallet, getting out one purple and two blue rupees, slapping them into the outstretched paw of the pikku. “That will be all, thank you and goodbye.” He grabbed Four by the arm, showing by the satisfied fox-creature (“I’m in no way responsible for any collateral damage you may take!”), only stopping when they were well into the large hall with six doors altogether.

Four wrangled himself out of Legend’s grip, though he didn’t seem mad, just overall… Confused.

“What’s going on?”

“Uh, surprise!” Legend exclaimed, holding his hands out on either side. “I wanted to surprise you with a, um, surprise… Were you surprised?”

Four crossed his arms, although a smile threatened to take over his lips. “I would’ve appreciated you telling me earlier, but yeah, I’m surprised. I had no idea the palace got relocated to the Dark World, that certainly startled me.”

Legend raised a brow. “You mean the Sacred Realm turned dark? This place is from my adventure, after all.”

Four hummed. “That’s true, but it also carries some of the elements from the true Dark World. I wonder if-”

Whatever the smith was trying to say was drowned out by an ear-piercing shriek, the jarring sound sending shivers all over his spine, leaving him frozen in place for a couple of seconds. When he gained control over his body he spun around. “Fuckin’ Redeads.”

Four shook his head, getting out his lantern. “Nope. Gibdos.”

It was true. Two bandaged mummies were walking towards them with slow, dragging steps, hands stretched outwards in their direction. Legend cursed, shifting his sword for a fire rod, aiming at the first one while Four ran forward towards the second, lantern aflame and held in front.

Their flames easily caught on the dry wrapping, burning away the crispy paper and leaving them with…

“Hah! Told you!”

The gibdos turned out to be redead’s after all, slightly more terrifying with the bandages burnt to ashes falling all over the floor, revealing skeletal creatures with ashen skin stretched thin over jutting bones, a red wooden mask across their faces covering everything but rotten teeth drawn in a grimacing grin and hollow eye sockets.

The redead next to Four let out yet another high-pitched screech, paralyzing Four on the spot. Legend cursed, shooting a ball of fire at the creature before it could even lay as much as a bony finger on the hero. The monster yowled in pain, but thankfully not in the way that petrified a person. Four shot him a quick thumbs up before switching the lantern in his hands to his own fire rod, and Legend turned to the creature that was looming over him. He eyed the stream of light that came from a crack in the wall. He quickly stepped a bit backward, laying down the rod and bringing his mirror shield upfront. He positioned it so that the sun blazed off the shiny surface, piercing the chest of the redead. Said creature hissed, and the vicious ray of the sun brought it to it’s knees, and it more or less evaporated on the spot, turning into a pile of ashes.

The redead Four had been fighting was also nothing more than dust on the floor now, and they both breathed out in relief.

“Redeads are the absolute worst.”

“I have never related so much to anything before in my entire life.”

They cracked a smile at each other, before turning around to look at the ornate gate the redeads had arrived from, the large doorway emblazoned with intricate designs of the four elements, a single triangle almost glowing from the top. Legend walked over to Four, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Let’s go see your legacy, eh?”

“Lead the way!”

They entered the door, showing open the heavy wooden doors made with pale birch. They walked side by side down the hallway, and Four’s gaze kept sliding over to the walls decorated with stained glass showing several tales, from the Hero of Men to the last adventure of the Four Sword. Legend didn’t say anything, letting the smith marvel in peace as they finally entered the open hall.

The room that greeted them was made of walls of stone, moss overgrowing the place, beams of golden light streaming through the overgrown wisteria that grew all over the walls, the lilac flowers swinging gently in a breeze that shouldn’t exist in the first place. Not that these types of plants really belonged in a desert either, but something about stepping into this room made Legend feel as if he had teleported once more to another place completely.

Their eyes were drawn to the middle of the room. A slightly elevated pedestal stood in front of a wall decorated with an symbol deciphering an eye below a blazing sun. And embedded into the stone of the pedestal stood a sword, the handle wrapped in white bandages, a glowing, multicoloured gem at the top of the hilt.

“I can’t believe it,” Four breathed, walking up to the pedestal. “It really is my old sword.”

Legend kept a little distance from Four, allowing him time to take it all in, but he couldn’t help the confused sound that escaped him. “What? Your old sword? Isn’t that the same as the one you carry?”

Four turned his head, looking over his shoulders to Legend, lips twitching into a smile. “What, this thing? No, it’s just a replica. I couldn’t use the real thing after my adventures were over. The demon Vaati is sealed inside. Should be, unless the magic finally made him perish for good.”

Legend hummed, finally walking over. The sword looked just like how it did the last time he had stepped into the palace, even the slight angle he had placed the sword at. If there had been a demon sealed inside it had vanished a long time ago. A shudder ran through his body. When he had entered the first time the different parts of the sword had been scattered all over. Had the demon escaped? If that was the case, was he planning an attack on his era?

Oh dear Hylia, please no.

He didn’t care for another adventure atop their current one. Nope, no thanks.

Regardless of a potential crisis building up in his own world Legend was absolutely certain no such thing was contained in the sword in front of them. He cleared his throat, Four turning slightly his way.

“Why don’t you claim it back? I’m sure that demon of yours isn’t contained in that sword anymore.”

Four barked out a surprised laugh. “What? You really expect me to believe that? Absolutely not. We can’t have another annoying villain atop the chaos we’ve found ourselves in. ‘sides, drawing the sword comes with some… side effects.”

Legend raised a brow. “Could those effects possibly be you splitting into four?”

“What, how’d you know?”

“Hey, you did read those glass windows back there, right? They do decipher your adventures down to the dot; of course I knew of the swords powers.”

Four let rigid shoulders fall, a brow raised. “And yet you’ve never mentioned it before.”

Legend shrugged. “I had kind of forgotten about it. It wasn’t my secret to spill either.”

A small smile returned to Four’s lips. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“You know that this doesn’t change the fact that I’m not gonna draw the sword, right?”

Legend groaned. The small guy could be insufferable sometimes. “Are you for real? Listen, us entering the Dark World was no coincidence. Us getting into this palace wasn’t one either. The path up the pyramid had been completely altered. Someone wanted us to go here. And there’s literally nothing else for us to do here except drawing that goddess damned sword. If I didn’t already have so much going on already I would draw it myself. So for the love of Din and Naryu and Faroe too, just draw the fuckin’ sword!”

As a grand period to his irritated speech, the doors slammed shut, and a cold wind blew through the room, far stronger than the previously gently breeze, snuffing out all candles and torches that were lined all along the walls. The room darkened drastically, ominous shadows scattering all over the room from the one chandelier of blue flames, dangling above their heads.

The sword in the pedestal rattled in its entrapment, and Four hissed as he dropped his own sword to the floor, eyes wide in surprise as it shattered on impact, essentially fading away.

A moment of silence.

“Well, it looks like you’re gonna have to draw that sword now.”

Legend couldn’t help the smug grin that overtook his face at the look Four sent him. “Sometimes you’re so easy to hate, you know that right?”

He scoffed in return, sticking his nose up. “Please. I hear it all the time. Get over yourself already.”

Four huffed. “Alright. Alright, I’m gonna draw it, and I’m gonna split into four, and then we leave this place. Got it?”

“Down to perfection.”

The smith closed his eyes, huffing out a breath, reaching out for the sword. Legend held his breath as Four’s hands closed around the hilt, a shiver running through his small body. The wind stopped blowing, and he drew the sword.

A dazzling light pierced his eyes, and Legend shut them tightly until the glow beneath his eyelids faded away. He squinted his eyes open, curious to see what four different parts of Four personified would look like. Instead he was met with a whole Four, as in only one person, with eyes so wide Legend was almost afraid they would pop out of his head, the sword clutched tightly in his hands, the blade digging into one of them and drawing blood, although he didn’t seem to notice. Legend arched a brow, turning to whatever had startled Four so bad, immediately dropping into a defensive position.

There, among the flickering shadows stood a person, with eyes gleaming in dark pinkish-red, streaked in white.

Just like the star rubies.

The black hair shone with dark blue and purple, around the same length as Four’s, although except for the ruffled bangs and the strands framing his hair it was all pulled back in a ponytail, tied with a white cloth, much like Four’s headband. All across the dark tan of his skin freckles were spilled, ivory in colour, just like small stars. From his right air the black scale of a dragon hung, dangling in a way so like Four’s feather.

His tunic mirrored Four’s in the way it was cut and draped across his body, although the hood lacked the yellow ornament, instead giving way to wispy moving shapes. The whole thing was black in colour, although it bore the decorations embroided into Four’s tunic with golden thread, although the elements were coloured in their respective colours.

A wicked grin spread across his face, revealing a row of pearly whites.

“Long time no see, or what, Link?”

Chapter Text

Hyurle had to admit that he was kind of nervous. Ever since leaving Nabooru it had naturally fallen on him to lead the way. Of course it was normal procedure as it was his era, but he was in no way all that comfortable with it. It wasn’t that he thought he was leading them the wrong way, because he was really sure this was right. There weren’t any paths leading away from the main road either, so venturing down the wrong one was really hard to do. His insecurities came more from the possibility that they might find nothing at their destination. Which wouldn’t be his sole fault, he was in no way responsible for what they all had decided on together, but still. What if he had missed a big clue somewhere? What if their trip to Old Kasuto ended up being nothing but a failure? It was his era, shouldn’t he get some big epiphany on where to go? Their current journey was nothing more than a half-certain guess at this point, really, mostly guided by fleeting rumors that could be weeks old considering the nature of the residents.

Even worse was something they slowly but surely closed in on; what if he couldn’t guide them all past the moas? They were vicious creatures, and it would probably be hard for the others to rely on his sight alone admit the usual chaos of fights. What if he ended up injuring someone by carelessness or oversight? That wasn’t a burden he wanted to bear.

And last, but certainly not least; what if they couldn’t meet up with the dark world trio again? Had they been sent on a wild goose-chase that led nowhere? What if they capsized in the storm? What if-

Hyrule huffed a breath. He didn’t have time to worry so much about it all. They’d be fine.

They’d be fine.

Yet somehow his own silent pep-talk did little to calm his flaring nerves, so when a hand came down on his shoulder out of the blue the small yelp that left him wasn’t too much of a surprise.

He spun around to look up at Warriors who quickly let go of him in favour of holding his hands up in a placating manner. “Woah there, didn’t mean to startle you! You just seemed a bit lost in thoughts.”

Hyrule closed his eyes a bit, breathing deeply as he kicked himself. He couldn’t afford to get so out of touch with his surroundings right now. He opened them again, giving Warriors what he assumed was a pretty shaky smile. “No, it’s fine. I shouldn’t have been so distracted. Th… Thanks.”

Warriors sharply nodded. “Of course. Also, I have a few questions for you if you don’t mind. You’ve got a double set of Zeldas, right? How does that work? Who is in the position of power? And…”

Hyrule was immensely grateful for Warriors. Although Hyrule couldn’t answer all of his musings he relished in having someone to talk to as they walked, taking his mind off all the uncertainties and what-ifs swirling all around inside him. Walking with Warriors, his steps were far lighter.

The curving road before them slowly broadened, letting three and soon four of them walk side-by-side as they continued down the still muddy path. The undergrowth was also drastically thinning out, making the forest look far brighter and open even if the trees stood just as close to each other still.

That meant they would soon happen upon the beach, he recalled, only a small trek away from Kasuto and the moas. The invisible, dangerous moas…

Hyrule shook his head; they’d be fine.

He had been worrying about every possible outcome of their current journey, but even with all of his multitude concerns he never considered the possibility of the situation they almost walked straight into.

Just a little away from the edge of the forest down on the dead, gray beach towered a building ravaged with age and neglected care. It was a deserted palace, once hidden beneath the dunes a long time ago before his shrill flute-playing caused the humongous structure to rise to the surface.

The Three-Eye Rock palace waited by the ocean, close to their set path towards Old Kasuto. And when their fellowship of six people closed in on the clearing to the beach from the forest they were immediately greeted by noise and screeches and horribly gruff voices chattering with each other.

The Three-Eye Rock was now a swarming hotspot of monsters.

“Oh dear Hylia,” came a soft gasp from Hyrule’s left. He cast a glance that direction to see Sky rooted in place, eyes wide as he took in the cluster of monsters not too far from them. His hands twitched like he wanted to reach for the sword, but hesitant in a way that told him Sky doubted the possibility of coming out of the fray unscathed and alive.

“This is… Certainly a surprise,” Time said, scouring over the monsters with his eye. “Even between the six of us there’s just too many here for us to take on.”

“I- this doesn’t make sense,” Hyrule whispered, breathing perhaps a little fast. “We never heard any rumours of the palace being swarmed, right Time? Warriors? Only about Kasuto, right?”

The captain furrowed his brow. “Correct.”

Time hummed. “Well, it matters not. What we need to do is decide our course of action. We… we can’t go charging into that fray, at least not right now. It’d be plain stupid, so put those arrows away, Wild.”

The champion huffed, replacing the bomb-arrows back into his inventory. “Fine, but we came all this way to fight, didn’t we? Let’s just keep to the shadows of the forest and get into the town then! There must be something waiting for us there, right? I doubt we’d be sent here if there was nothing to find.”

Time turned around to Hyurle, raising an eyebrow, and the chill returned to his stomach. How he loathed having to decide anything; he’d much rather they’d be in another era where he could tag along with whatever they felt like doing. Less pressure on him that way. His voice was rather meek as he voiced his thoughts. “I-I agree with Wild, I guess? Like you said we can’t do much of anything here, and the only other place around is New Kasuto which is so shielded from everything that I doubt we’re going to find anything there. The abandoned town is really our best shot, I’d say.”

Twilight nodded, a soft, encouraging smile on his lips. “Then that’s where we’re gonna go.”

And so Hyrule was once again put in the lead as they kept close to the looming shadows of the trees, making their way around the palace in a wide curve, the monsters unaware of their presence. But even with their silhouettes slowly fading away in the distance Hyrule knew it was only a matter of time before they would have to get back to that hoard of enemies and fight them head on.

“Oh what sight blesses my eyes? A bridge! Beautiful, marvelous, what a divine creation!”

Hyrule couldn’t help but crack a smile at Warriors ridiculous exclamation when they were well out of the monsters hearing range, looking forward to the rushing river they had crossed earlier. This time a wooden construction arched over the harsh stream below, promising a… safer crossing, though just how much could be debated on. Still, rickety and neglected as it was, it’s mere existence seemed to make Warriors grateful, at least.

His smile faded away shortly though, as he took in the overgrown buildings awaiting them just past it, ruined by weather and lack of hylians living there. Hyrule reached into his inventory, pulling out a familiar wooden cross which he fastened around his neck. Looking up again, he saw the abandoned streets now filled with giant eyeballs surrounded by flickering violet flames, gently drifting all over the place. The destructive moas, invisible to all but him. The souls of the dead roaming a deserted town, searching for the answer to move on to the afterlife.

Where they souls of hylians? Or of monsters? Hyrule didn’t know, no one did, but he didn’t want to find out either.

“Wait,” he said as Warriors was about to step onto the creaking bridge swaying lightly in the wind. “The moment we cross over we are going to be attacked. By- by the moas. If one sees you the rest will come flocking. And they are invisible for the record, unless you’ve got the cross.” Hyrule pointed to the wooden pendant resting on his collarbones. “They shouldn’t be underestimated. Not only are they incredibly potent attackers; they also have a tendency to- to get into your head if you’re not careful. It will take hold of your body, and burn you from the inside as it whispers poison in your head. It’s not a nice experience by far, I can assure you.” He swallowed down a memory of one of the purple-flamed eyeballs sneaking in close to him, whispering horrible stuff that left him shaken for a long time afterwards. He could still recall it’s close-hitting words down to a perfection, he could still recall the feeling of complete hopelessness and defeat. Could still remember the feeling of being burned from the inside.

Forgotten scars on his back suddenly ached.

Warriors grimaced, retreating his feet that had been suspended in the air just above the bridge. “Oh.”

“Invisible you say?”

They all turned to Time, catching him searching around in his inventory, shortly after pulling up what looked like a magnifying glass in a pinkish-purple colour, the middle looking like an eye startlingly familiar to the appearance of the moas. The three red spikes jutting up from the upper part of the glass told him it was more associated with the sheikah tribe than anything else, though. “Why, I should be able to help guide you around some then,” he promised, holding the lens up to his eye, looking across the river. “Ah, now that’s a sight entirely unpleasant. I think it’s for the better they remain invisible to certain eyes.”

In hindsight, that hadn’t been the best way to phrase it. Wild’s mouth immediately widened in a gleeful smile. “Oh? Let me see!” he exclaimed, reaching out for the lens which Time was quick to pull up and away from his reach. Twilight reached forward, harshly pulling Wild back by his shoulders.

“Not now, Wild.”

“Aww.”

Hyrule and Time made quick work of describing the general (and downplayed) appearance of the moas before the former went on to explain how they fought and about their weaknesses. The other four soaked up the information, and together they formed a strategy.

And so with Time in the lead and Hyrule bringing up the back (which he was immensely grateful for, even if he felt a little guilty), they crossed the shaking bridge.

The moas were quick to sense their presence, and Hyrule couldn’t quite help but shrinking as tens and tens of giant eyes directed their gazes straight at them (him), hovering closer and closer as they slowly formed a circle around them, tightening erratically until there was no way past, mocking them (him) with no sound.

Here comes the hero, the weak, brittle hero, they seemed to sing. Hiding behind someone else, covering at the sight of his own blood!

Hyrule swallowed. It was far too early to be dragged down by the moas. He heard Time inform the group of their current situation, describing with an immaculate precision Hyrule never could have mimicked. Twilight nodded, and out of his inventory he raised a boomerang, the first step of their plan as the moas floated closer and closer.

This boomerang wasn’t just any boomerang, though.

It was the Gale Boomerang, much larger than a regular one with the end feathered. The Fairy of Winds resided inside the weapon, and Hyrule had talked to her some times, though she preferred to sleep when the boomerang wasn’t in use. She was powerful, possessing great magic, and if she had wanted to Hyrule knew she could do far more, be it good or evil deeds. She didn’t particularly care though, and that might be for the best in all honesty.

Her powers made their presence known when Twilight threw the tool in a calculated curve around them. The weapon struck down five of the moas, and in the aftermath of the boomerang a strong cyclone whipped up, following the path of the boomerang and snuffing out several purple flames.

Hyrule’s breathing eased a little at the display of power. Maybe they really would be fine, after all.

Yet, more eyeball-souls appeared, filling in the gaps left by the fallen moas. And with the initial contact served, the battle began.

Now, fighting against invisible enemies is certainly no easy feat, that much is obvious. But how easy would it be to fight monsters you couldn’t see but knew the general position off by having someone hastily shouting out directions admits the chaos and noise that came with battle?

Hyrule didn’t know.

“Sky, straight ahead of you!”

The chosen hero pulled up the white gust jar he had switched with Four on accident, aiming in front of himself as well as he could. Activating it, the jar sucked in a bewildered moa, and with a light tap on the side it shot it out again, sliding straight past another with only a hair-width between.

Hyrule cursed silently, his directing being more off than he would like. The moas generally swept from side to side in an easy pattern, but once they came close enough to an unfortunate soul their paths grew more erratically and unpredictable, sharply turning another direction with no warning. He shook his head; this wasn’t the time.

“A little to your left! It moves southward!”

As he kept guiding Sky around he also took care of the ones that strayed closest, using the downward trusts as the magic sword had the flames fizzle out, the eyeballs exploding into fine, purple dust. It wasn’t easy directing Sky at the same time, but he made due somehow, although he couldn’t help but wince every time a moa came close enough to the sailclad hero to singe and burn him.

He spared little thought to the battle around them to avoid unnecessary distraction, but every now and then when there was a lull in the fighting he let his eyes cast glances all around the cracked, overgrown cobblestone that served as a make-shift battlefield.

Twilight still had the Gale Boomerang in action, and although Time now and then yelled out the placements of moas to him it seemed more often than not thrown at random. The strong winds that followed made up for the poorly aimed path of the boomerang though, as the cyclone drastically widened the range of impact, weakening the moas by snuffing out their flames and means of attack. Occasional bomblings was also set out, blowing up every now and then, serving as both a distraction for the moas and a hindrance for their shouted directions.

Time did his best to guide Wild around. The champion didn’t seem awfully deterred by fighting something he couldn’t see, and Hyrule was pretty sure Time were having a harder time keeping up with his sharp movements. The young knight was happily jumping around in the invisible fray, swinging a club around in large, circling motions, rarely letting any of the monsters come close enough to even singe his hair. The hero of time had taken up more of a defensive position, but grudgingly wielded the master sword he had hesitantly borrowed from Sky with one hand, sending out the occasional arc of divine light.

Hyrule had no eyes on Warriors as he was fighting directly behind his back, but by the dying screeches of the moas he judged the captain to be doing just fine, his instincts in battle surpassing everyone else in their ragtag group of heroes, enough to let him fight against the monsters on his own.

With six experienced heroes between them the battle slowly died out. Sky sucked in a moa and sent it flying at another with Hyrule’s directions which had grown more confident as the battle went on, and Hyrule stabbed one of the monsters that had floated disturbingly close from behind. He had first felt it when the freezing flames started slicking at his back, the long faded burns resting on his shoulder-blades flaring up in pain, and he spun around with the sword ready, piercing the monster with perhaps a tiny bit of panic. The moa had been terrifyingly close to taking over his mind.

Lifting his gaze a bit, he saw someone that had fallen prey to it. Hyrule’s breath hitched, and he sprung forward, his feet tearing into the ground as he ran towards the hunched over hero just a little down the pathway, a flickering eyeball ghost sinking into the body.

“Warriors!”

He had his sword raised, ready to strike once more, but he wasn’t fast enough. With Warriors was just out of reach the monster flickered and faded, becoming one with Warriors' body, and with dread settling into Hyrule’s stomach he watched as the captain fell to his knees.

The always polished knight’s sword clattered to the ground, making a hollow sound against the cracked cobblestone.

Clang.

The world came to a stop as Hyrule fell down beside the captain, blurring away as everything centered on the hero with the blue scarf. He swallowed, taking in the distraught expression on Warriors face.

“You mustn’t listen to it,” Hyrule told him, his own voice sounding somewhat off to his own ears. A muted thumping could be heard, speeding up a little as he realized his own heartbeat had risen to his ears. “Whatever it’s saying, don’t let it get to you!”

Hyrule grabbed Warriors by his shoulder, dully noting the charred edges of his tunic. The beautiful, blue, emblazoned scarf had been singed too, a couple burnt holes showing the stone below them from where the ends were spread out. One of the holes had almost burned away the bottom-right piece of the triforce.

Courage was pierced.

“But it’s true,” Warriors whispered, voice shaky and gruff, nothing at all like his usual strong confidence. “I don’t deserve to be a captain. Because of me-” He choked up, voice dying away.

“That’s not true!” Hyrule insisted, lightly shaking Warriors in an attempt to bring him back to him. “I don’t know what it has told you, but you need to know all the moa does is lie in an attempt to forgive itself for the unjust actions it has taken in a previous life!”

But Warriors didn’t listen. He furrowed his eyebrows together, and Hyrule observed with dread how the captain’s blue eyes started flickering a deep, reddish purple. The moa had burrowed deep inside the other, his skin charring and cracking up like burnt paper.

“What’s happening to him!?” Sky was suddenly beside him, desperation in his voice, and Hyrule realized the sounds of fighting had disappeared. He cast a short glance around, and realized he saw no more moas. All in their group had been singed and burnt to various degrees, but thankfully only Warriors had fallen victim to the horror of the eyeball ghosts.

He shuddered. They shouldn’t have let Warriors fight on his own against something invisible, even with the experience he had.

“It’s the work of a moa. It has entered his body, and it works from the inside, filling his head with- with dark thoughts and emotions. The more Warriors gives in the more it will destroy him and in the end-”

He choked up. He couldn’t continue. He had never seen the dreaded outcome happen to anyone, and though he still bore burned scars on his body he had never fallen deep enough for that to happen. Hyrule pressed his lips together. He had to help the only way he knew how to.

He clenched his hands, tightly gripping Warriors shoulders, and called upon his magic as he tried to ignore the way Warriors hair slowly shriveled up, the way his fingers had started to turn black. Instead he closed his eyes, and let the power of healing stream from him and into Warriors, taking up a battle against the moa inside.

“Hyrule!”

He ignored the calls of the others. The moa pressed against his power something fierce, and Hyrule felt sweat forming on his brow. A dull headache appeared. His limbs slowly grew weaker. But still he kept pushing.

Warriors had helped them, him, a lot. He had been the first to puzzle the pieces together when they first met up, had been the one to start shaping them into a strong battle force after their first few clumsy, uncoordinated battles. The captain knew how to lift them up when they failed to save hylians, when battles gone awry led to them fleeing, unable to accomplish goals Hylia had given them. Warriors had often been the one to help Hyrule get back on track when he let himself fall apart, just a little.

So he wasn’t about to let him down now.

Yet his body started aching, the thumping of his heart grew louder as he started to exhaust his magic reserve, the moa trashing harshly against the invisible weapon, it’s scathing words screaming terror at him.

And then the moa screeched and disappeared in a flash, and Hyrule slumped against Warriors at the sudden retreat of the monster. He opened his eyes, and was greeted by someone familiar, clad in a deep red cloak. The hylian let his outstretched arm fall, and Hyrule saw traces of magic flickering away, trails of smoke fading just above it. He had been the one to drive the moa out from Warriors, had been the one to save him.

“We meet again, Link.”

Chapter Text

“Fuckin’ floormaster.”

Honestly? Being involuntary grabbed by a giant veiny hand with skin dryer than Tetra wasn’t exactly pleasant or welcomed (spending years on a ship constantly exposed to saltwater was apparently not the best beauty routine, not that the princess really cared.) This was nothing but an annoying interruption to their mission. Wind hadn’t even been allowed to see the giant hall before he had been snatched up! Talk about rude much? Just because he wasn't grown up yet it didn't mean anyone could just pick him up when they wanted to! 'sides, Four had been there too, he was even easier to carry around!

Wind groaned in the silence, getting up from the ground where he had been unceremoniously dropped off by the hand that was a couple sizes too large to find a glove that fit it (seeing as it had ripped him away from the other two it didn’t really deserve a glove anyway). And after leaving him in a shady desert of all places the damned monster hadn’t even given him the courtesy of staying so he could kill it! How fuckin’ gentlemanly of it!

He huffed. Were the others panicking now? Neither of them had looked especially calm when he had been dragged beneath in the bubbling, liquefied stone that had given him the uncanny sensation of drowning. Wind shuddered, doing his best to forget the taste of watery marble. It wasn’t something he really wanted to remember.

Four had told him they would find him, so he held onto those words. Either way, the two of them better not be losing their minds now, Wind knew how to handle himself, thank you very much.

He dusted some sand of his tunic as he looked around, curious as to why he heard no noises around. Where had he ended up? They had been on the search for the Dark World, could this be it? He wasn’t the best judge, but he was doubting it a little. All he saw was the faded beige colour of sand, sand and some more sand swallowing most of the world around him, and Wind caught himself looking for water, for the ocean, like this place somehow was just one gigantic stretch of beach. But nothing blue caught his eye, aside from a glimpse of the sky burrowed by wispy trails of ivory and ashen clouds, a dark area somewhere just above the horizon warning him of a coming storm.

Was the Dark World really so… empty?

Wind turned around instead when nothing met his eyes besides the horizon far away, and he gasped in delight. The sight that greeted him was perhaps not the sea, but he considered it forgiven. Instead of rushing waves lapping at rocky formations he was greeted by a huge structure looming above him. Baring his teeth in a wide grin, he picked up his fallen sword and made for the great pyramid.

The place seemed pretty much deserted (haha get it, deserted because he was in a desert right,) and though he knew better than to yell out in hopes of someone that wasn’t a monster might answer in return him he still wanted to see someone. Maybe he could get a few pointers as to where the nearest portal back to the overworld was. That’d be nice. He would’ve really loved it if he could sneak up on Four and Legend and gloat over finding them instead of the other way around.

Yeah. That’d be real nice alright. He should make that his temporary goal. Better have his picto box ready for the occasion.

Speaking of, this right here was something worth remembering. He slowed his light jog to a walk, fumbling around in his multiple bags until his hand caught on a deformed box. He grinned to himself as he pulled it up and held it before his eyes, his walking coming to a halt, looking into the device to capture a perfect memory of the pyramid. He leaned a bit backwards, almost stumbling in an attempt to have the whole thing inside the tiny square. Almost, almost…

There!

He snapped a pictograph, and took a few seconds to admire the small copy of the real thing. It wasn’t much, just a giant sand coloured triangle made of four blocks placed atop each other, greatly contrasting the clear sky above.

Wait.

Clear sky?

Wind angled his head upwards, taking his eyes off the device in his hands, and frowned. The sky was indeed clear, and he could feel the warmth of the sun on the back of his neck.

He turned around, and couldn’t help but tilt his head, confusion taking hold.

Where had the storm gone? The sight that met his eyes now where nothing but pale blue and pale beige, stretching on and on forever. The place was still completely silent too, no rushing wind blowing past that could’ve herded the clouds away that quickly.

Now that was definitely weird.

He was no weather expert though, and definitely not a potential-dark-world master either, so maybe that just was the way this place operated? He had, admittedly, seen far weirder stuff.

Shrugging, he turned back around and made once more for the pyramid, stuffing the picto box back into his box, not knowing he had overlooked a certain detail on the picture, a dark shadow in the corner.

There wasn’t much to see on the pyramid on the side he had arrived on, so he trekked through the sand past the impossibly smooth walls, making his way around until he arrived on the opposite side, stepping into the shadow of the structure.

Score!

On this side the pyramid had more to it, such as several flight of stairs making different paths up to the very top, the road already chosen for him by all the suspicious statues placed here and there on all the levels, blocking some of the paths.

Wind quickly ascended the first flight of stairs, the broadest of them, enough to fit at least ten full-grown hylians walking side-by-side. A thinner set of stairs was to his left, so he headed towards it, his sword resting lightly in his hand, just in case. Right before the stairs his eyes caught sight on needle-thin cracks on the wall, crisscrossing all over, the stone slightly mismatched with the rest of the pyramid's exterior.

A broken wall greeted him, poorly patched up, more or less screaming at him to blow it up. Wind stopped before it, curiosity oozing of him. What could be inside? He was reaching for his bag of bombs when something flew past him, ruffling his clothes and causing the hair on his body to rise up as goosebumps spread all over, his hero's instincts screaming at him that something was wrong. He spun around, sword tilted upwards, eyes frantically searching for the source.

Nothing unusual met his eyes.

Could it be that he had just imagined it? Was he really that much on the edge?

He cast a glance back at the patched up wall before mentally shaking his head. This was probably not the best time to be distracted. The floormaster dragged him down here, and familiar the way Hylia operated, he was meant to find something inside this pyramid. And it didn't reside within the first cracked wall he came across.

So instead of satisfying his curiosity Wind continued up the pyramid, his path laid before him as large statues of snarling monsters otherwise blocked astray roads, crossroads so blocked they didn't even have to be one. He made it to the top of the structure not much later, sweat trickling down his brow as the sun was now glaring down on him from above, and was greeted by a broken roof before his feet. A gentle light came from within the hole, illuminating the jagged, sand-smoothed edges of the used-to-be roof.

There was only one way to go from here. Fastening his hookshot to one of the statues with a knot Tetra would be proud of, he used it as a rope to hold onto, easing himself down into the unknown, thrilled at the excitement of not knowing what laid beneath his dangling legs.

Unbeknownst to him, the shadow from before followed closely behind, but not before carefully rearranging some of the statues, effectively blocking the path that led down the pyramid- and up it too. In the distance, two figures tumbled out from a swirling mass of colours.

Wind dared a glance down as he made his way down the wire, clutching at the handle of his hookshot, currently the only thing keeping him from falling. The room below seemed pretty empty from his birds-eye-view, shrouded in shadows aside from the gentle glow from an opening in the wall, three doors on the other walls sort of symbolizing the four cardinal directions.

His feet soon hit cobblestone-floor, the thud of his sandals sending echoes through the empty room. The walls and floor down here were made of likely the darkest stone he had ever seen, specks of white twinkling like a million stars.

For a while Wind stood there in awed silence, slowly turning around as he greedily drunk in the place with his eyes. The white specks glowed gently, and it truly looked like he had stepped right into the night sky despite the sun still glaring down at him from the cracked roof. Speaking of, the hole seemed to grow smaller and smaller the longer he looked, or somehow the walls seemed to grow taller around him, the room almost swallowing him whole. Wind shuddered a bit, looking at the three doors, walking over to them all and trying to pry them open.

None of them relented, all sealed and locked up properly. If Wind wanted out of this place, he would have to get back up through the roof. At least that was his plan of escape for the next few seconds until the rays of the sun vanished, the darkness becoming more absolute save from the gentle glow from the last way out.

Looking up, Wind saw nothing.

Wait, that was a lie. He saw something. He saw the same black cobblestone, even more of the dazzling white specks, and a shadow flying around just beneath the roof, far above his head.

Wind couldn't help the coldness that crept upon him, and quickly making up his mind he ran into the arched pathway before him, towards the gentle glow.

He momentarily forgot all about the shadow at the sight he saw before him.

If he thought the previous room had been a huge, this room was massive. The roof soared high above him, so far up he could hardly see it, giant pillars rising all around him. The sheer size of it didn't make sense. The room was larger than the pyramid by far.

The root of it might be the artifact that rested on an ornate pedestal towards the back of the room, a crimson carpet lining the path towards it.

A piece of the triforce twinkled at him, beckoning him closer, it's triangular shape teasing and taunting him, as if daring him to reach out to it, to touch it and absorb the unlimited power that resided within. Wind walked forward with slow steps, his mind not quite processing what was happening, a million questions popping up in his head which each step that brought him closer to the priceless artifact that laid before him.

Why would a piece of the triforce be in the dark world? Was this place the dark world at all? Where was he, and how come the floormaster had dumped him so close to it? Nothing made sense. Where were the other two? Where was the shadow?

Wind suddenly froze. The shadow. He had completely forgotten about it, the shock of seeing a piece of the triforce lying unguarded emptying his mind for far too long. As if his mind had called on it something swooped past him, a touch of ice on his shoulders sending him straight into fight or flight mode.

And Wind never fled from monsters.

He clenched his fingers around the hilt of his Phantom Sword, unsheathing it and pointing the blade towards the shadow. It danced around the raised platform where the force resided, raising a barrier of flickering blackness. He stepped closer, squinting his eyes, trying to focus on the creature but much like a distant shadow he saw nothing but a blurry outline of… something.

A creaky, echoing voice filled the room, sending shivers up his spine. “You cannot see who I am,” the voice sang, the shadow gone in his few moments of distraction. “For I am your shadow!"

Something slashed across his back, and Wind hissed as he spun around. The shadow had crept upon him from behind, taking on a wicked physical form of a crooked old lady with skin as dark as the shadow she just had been, hair like withered straws drawn into a ponytail on the top of her head, clothes made of dancing darkness hanging from her limbs. He couldn’t make out her face except for two eyes, glowing golden, fixated on him.

Wind slashed out with his sword, expecting to cut into the monster. Instead his sword hit nothing, going straight through the creature. The creature cackled at him, and as he watched it melted into a black goop on the floor, splitting into four. The shadows started circling him, dancing around him as he could do nothing but watch. He tried to stab them with his sword, tried to shoot them with arrows, even the elemental ones, but nothing made an impact on the shadows. He had half a mind to reach for a light arrow but in frustration he recalled using the last one three eras ago, and he hadn’t been able to restock since. The only thing he could do was keep on his feet, moving around as the shadows did the same.

It didn’t take long before the shadows moved closer to each other, and Wind watched in morbid fascination as the shadows merged into one.

And at the same time moths emerged from seemingly nowhere, bright red and lusting for blood. They dived down on him in groups of three, scratching at his skin. They clouded his line of sight, and he had lost tabs on the monster. In frustration he brought out his Skull Hammer, swinging it in circles above his head like he had seen the bokoblins in Wild’s era do.

Something sharp dug into his back. He couldn’t help the whimper that escaped him at the feeling of numbing pain sinking into his skin, the hammer falling from his hand and sending a shock-wave around him. The claws stiffened, and Wind used to moment to escape from the clutches of the monster, picking up the hammer and swinging it down at her, but much like the sword it didn’t harm her, didn’t even flatten the stupid straw-tail on the top of her head. Once more the creature split into four shadows on the ground.

Wind was running out of ideas.

His legs were shaking beneath him as he tried to avoid the shadows, and fuck, had there been poison in her claws? The open wound on his back stung, and he could feel the warm trickle of blood running down from it.

He slowly stepped backwards, his useless hammer held in a white-knuckled grip in front of him. His eyes landed on the flickering darkness in the distance. Oh, right. The barrier. The wall that separated him from the triforce. If only he could make his way to it, if only he could get through and grab the piece, then perhaps he would be able to defeat the monster. If only he could stall the hag while he-

Wind sucked in a gasp. How could he have forgotten?

His eyes zoomed around the room, refocusing once more on the shadows. They were once again reforming the monster. Another wall of moths burst out from nowhere, but this time Wind was prepared, and had a better line of sight with the distance between him and the monster. He swung his hammer around, quickly taking care of the insects. With the distraction gone he stuffed away the hammer in favour of a delicate ivory staff- his baton.

The Wind Waker.

The creature was closing in on him, and he could hear the way his heart picked up speed, but he forced himself to stay calm as he waved the baton left, pointed it forward, fuck the creature is almost here, waved it right and pointed it forward once more, straight at the monster that was centimetres away from him.

And with a small flick of his wrist the monster froze, her claws touching the skin on his face, barely breaking through and drawing droplets of blood from his cheek.

Wind breathed out in relief. It had been a guess at his part, but thankfully the command melody worked on creatures of shadows too. He stepped past the monster, walking backwards, never once taking his eyes off her, keeping the baton elevated.

Every step felt excruciatingly slow; his heart had risen to his head, thumping in ears with every painstaking step. The wound on his back felt too exposed, too open, and even the small prickled on his face smarted. Wind hated this, hated feeling so vulnerable. He stumbled a little, his baton pointing treacherously down before he fixed it’s position, the monster still frozen.

He hated feeling so weak, damnit!

Just when he thought he couldn’t go on, when he was certain his legs were going to give his heel hit something cold.

He dared a glance behind. The shadow barrier.

He whipped his head back forward, but the tiny moment had cost him too much. The monster had escaped her bindings, and Wind couldn’t pinpoint her location anymore. The wicked laughter from before rose all around him, criss-crossing and echoing and shit.

He was running out of time.

He slipped the baton inside his bag before turning his focus on the barrier that separated him from great powers. He pressed against the wall of darkness, screaming in pain as his body slowly sunk into it, the ice numbing his fingers, sending bursts of pain up his limbs. He heard nothing but his own heartbeat and the faint cackles of the- the witch. He could feel nothing but ice and pain. He could see nothing but darkness and the distant glow of the triforce.

His strength was leaving him, little by little. Was this it? Was this how it was going to end? He screamed in rage, in agony, tears of frustration running down his face as he pressed on, slowly, oh so slowly sinking into the shadows-

An explosion sounded in the distance, muted to his ears. Someone yelled his name.

“Wind!”

The laughter of the monster cut out, replaced by her screaming… in pain?

Wind turned his head around, his arms suspended in the shadows, and he almost fell down in relief. A blinding light in the distance, two silhouettes standing in front of it-

Four and Legend had found him. And he didn’t mind one bit.

The monster’s attention wasn’t focused on him anymore. Instead it was on the three heroes in the hallway-

Wait, three? That didn’t make sense. Was the poison in his wounds and the exhaustion making him see double? The barrier wasn’t helping either, and with the promise of the others presence he wrestled free from the shadow’s hold, collapsing on the floor as he couldn’t do anything but watch the battle unfold in front of him.

Legend (if the shape of his hat was anything to go by) had stepped to the frontline, and Wind could just barely make out the odd device in his hands. He had never seen it before; it was long and thin and angular. It wasn’t a weapon for sure as it lacked sharp edges or spikes or anything that could be used to take down the monster.

“Leave the sailor alone, Shadow Hag,” Legend hissed, and a quiet 'bang' sounded, somewhat similar to the sound Tetra’s magic pistol made when shooting, though more muted.

And the creature, the Shadow Hag, actually screeched in pain. Whatever it was Legend was doing, it actually hurt her. The bubble of panic in his chest eased up; The hag wasn’t invincible after all.

His eyes wandered over to the two others, squinting and focusing. One of them was definitely Four, but what about the other one? It stood at the same height as Four, and looked quite similar too-

With a start Wind realized it was a shadow. He was about to yell out to the smaller hero to watch out when the oddest thing happened. Four turned around to the shadow, and then it looked like they were... conversing?

A burst of crimson appeared in the room. While Wind had kept his focus on Four and the shadow Legend had taken up the fight against the hag, said creature having split and merged once again. The moths rose to the occasion, and instead of getting distracted by them like Wind had Legend only kept his focus on the hag.

Four and the shadow jumped into the fray, taking care of the moths for him, the two fighting as one.

Wind’s jaw dropped. It was downright thrilling to watch the shadow fight. Where Four mostly used his sword to cut down the insects the shadow danced around them instead, his arms raised as he weaved through the shadows, making them fight for him, swallowing the moths in darkness.

It was uncanny and disturbing in every way.

Wind was in love.

Another muted bang sounded, and something hit the floor in front of his feet. He reached out for the small thing, pinching the lumpy object between his fingers, holding it up in the dim light.

Wait, what? Was Legend fighting the hag with seeds!? What the actual fuck.

His thoughts were dragged away from the seed when something stepped up in front of him.

“Found you!”

He looked up, greeted by Four, a smile across his face. Wind only grinned in return.

Four cast a glance over his shoulder. “Looks like the fight’s over.”

Wind leaned to the side, looking past him. All the moths were gone, and the Shadow Hag had shrunken to a mass on the floor. Legend raised the thing in his hands, the damned seed shooter, getting ready for the final hit when the shadow swooped past, flicking his wrist and making the monster vanish completely. He laughed openly at Legend’s annoyance, but Wind couldn’t care less about the veteran’s anger.

“He’s so cool!”

“Dear Hylia, don’t ever let him hear you say that, it’ll go straight to his head,” Four groaned. Then he shook his head, hair falling like a curtain around his face, kneeling down beside him as he held up a bottle. “Here. I think you’re gonna need this.”

Wind took the potion, uncorking it with shaking hands and downing it. He winced at the feeling of his wounds mending unnaturally fast, the poison forced out of his system. The injury in his back would definitely leave a scar. Awesome.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“I found a piece of the triforce by the way,” he gloated, pointing towards it. “Am I amazing or what?”

Four let his eyes wander from him and up at the force, eyebrows drawn together. “That’s not a piece of the triforce,” he said, standing up. “That’s the light force.”

“It is? But it’s triangular and-”

“Upside down.” Wind turned his back around, startled by the new voice that had interrupted. The fight was over, and Legend had made his way over along with the shadow. Wind finally got a proper look on him; dark skin, hair pulled up in a messy ponytail, white freckles like stars spilled all over him-

He grinned, teeth like canines greeting him.

“Hi there. You can call me Shadow.”

Wind finally understood the meaning of being star-struck.