Chapter Text
Five months. It had been five months since they had seen Wild last, with no results.
Five months of daily searches, only stopping to rest when the last of them couldn’t take it anymore. Five months of waking up from a nightmare of their friend’s fate, blank-eyed and pale. Five months of leaving one more place at the table just in case he came back. He never did.
Twilight had taken it the hardest. He was always the last to collapse, the last to fall asleep, the last to eat. It worried all of them to the point that they had to sedate him just to get him to sleep. Several times, Malon would wake up to hear him howling mournfully outside, sad notes in the air pleading for their lost member to just come home, please, we miss you.
Time took it nearly as bad as Twilight, but Malon was able to knock some sense in him. Warriors and Legend had taken to sparring daily to get the anger out of their systems, anger at whoever had caused this to happen. Wind, Sky, and Hyrule often went on searches when Twilight couldn’t to provide him some peace of mind, however much it actually amounted to. Four would stay with Twilight, keeping him company when he was out or stuck in bed. At one point, all of them thought of giving up their hope, of piling some dirt in an empty lot and wishing desperately they could’ve seen him one last time.
And then he came back.
It was night when it happened, another one of the nights when the only one up was Twilight. He had been outside howling again, those sorrowful notes tinging the air when he saw a brief flash of light in the distance. Immediately, he stopped lamenting to the moon and took off toward the light, some base instinct staving away the tiredness. When he finally got there and transformed back, what he saw made him stop.
Wild was on the ground, curled around something protectively. His skin was pale, just as they had feared, but his chest was rising up and down, so he was fine. His once luscious, long blonde hair was cut short to just below the tops of his shoulders, greasy and matted. His clothing had new additions to it, thick winter clothes underneath his tunic and a prominent leather strap covering his chest. His visible body was covered in bruises and new scars, all trailing down to his right arm that was currently… glowing?
Twilight shook his head, rolling his cub away from what he was protecting until they were barely touching. Wild resisted, even unconscious he was protective of what was his. The thing- or rather, the one - was a girl slightly shorter than the man covering her, with short, bobbed blonde hair and delicate skin covered similarly to Wild. She was clutching the Master Sword to her chest harshly, unwavering in her belief to defend it.
Is this… his Zelda? Twilight thought to himself with surprise, Why is she here? He glanced up at the moon, only to see it slowly start its descent toward the ground. I have to help them, his thoughts were scattered as he transformed and started barking, I have to save them.
Fortunately, Malon had gotten up as she usually did when he was outside. She was puzzled slightly when she couldn’t hear him, but shrugged it off in case he had made the right decision to sleep. That was proven wrong when he showed up at the door, barking madly and gesturing with his head toward a lump in the middle of her field.
“What…” She said with confusion. Twilight eventually grew tired of her taking so long and bit into her dress gently, pulling her along. “Whoa!”
She slapped Twilight’s muzzle gently, “I’m coming! Just let me get Time!” Sensing his reluctant acceptance, she rushed back into the house, shouting, “Dear! I need your help!”
Time awoke with a start at his wife’s call, “Yes?”
“Get outside! Wolfie wants us to see something!”
“Do you know what it is?”
“No, but he’s not letting me leave! Hurry up!”
Time sighed, “Coming!” He got out of bed with a groan and walked toward his wife, shooing the others away when they sleepily came out of their rooms, “What’s going on?”
Twilight simply barked in response, zooming off toward the lump Malon had seen earlier. Time stared after with a frown, “I’ve never seen him act like this before. Guess we should go after him.”
The two followed the wolf, pausing when they reached his location. When they saw who it was, they gasped and hurried to lift them up, only to drop them when the two started struggling. Noticing how they were reaching for each other, Time quickly put Wild’s hand into Zelda’s, causing them to stop convulsing. The couple looked at each other, concerned, then rushed toward the house, making sure their charges were touching at all times.
Twilight burst into the house, morphing back into a human right as he got into the kitchen. He shoved everything off the table, sprinting back and forth between rooms to find their medical supplies. Meanwhile, Time and Malon had come in after their descendant and laid their loads safe and close to each other. Malon went to put some light on in the house, leaving Time alone to care for Wild and Zelda.
“Time? What’s going on?” The other Links had not gone back to sleep and were gathered at the door to the kitchen, each one straining over each other to look at what was happening. Wind was able to get through the crowd and, once seeing who was on the table, he gasped, “Is that Wild?”
Time’s eyes softened as he gazed at Wind, who looked so happy to see his friend again, “Yes, it is.”
Wind slowly crept up to the unconscious man, who had once again curled around his Zelda, “What happened to him?”
Twilight pushed through the crowd, a grim expression on his face, “That’s what I’d like to know.” He jerked his head towards Wild’s right arm, “Especially that. Why’s it glowing?”
“Do you think he got sent on another adventure?” Hyrule spoke up softly from behind them.
Time sighed, “I don’t know, but we don’t have time to worry about it right now. Twilight, hand me some bandages. Wind, get me some water.”
The two scrambled into action, gathering materials. Fruitlessly, Time and Malon tried to separate the duo on the table, giving up when they started to thrash and kick at the offending hands harder. All the while, the others looked on, helpless.
Malon saw the worry in their eyes, walking over to them with a kind smile. “Don’t worry, boys,” she spoke quietly, “We’ll have this all figured out by tomorrow. For now, get some rest.”
“Will they be okay, Miss Malon?” Sky asked.
Malon’s smile dimmed a little as she turned back to their charges, “If I’m being entirely honest, I don’t know. But,” the fire returned to her eyes, “I do know that you boys are one hardy bunch. Something like this won’t keep him down for long, and you know your princesses. Go back to sleep. We’ll see what happens in the morning, okay?”
A few of them nodded, yawning as they went back to their rooms. The woman watched as they left, turning back to her husband once she couldn’t see them anymore. “How are they?”
Time shrugged, “Beyond superficial wounds, I’m not seeing anything too concerning. However, I can’t test for things like broken ribs without moving and waking them, and judging by how deeply they’re sleeping, I doubt they’ve had a good night’s rest for a long time.”
“What should we do then?” Wind said.
“We can only wait and see.” Twilight answered, “I’ll stay up with them in case something happens. You guys can go back to sleep.”
“Alright,” Malon agreed, “Wake us up if anything happens.” She took Wind by the shoulder and led him out of the room. She paused at the doorway, “Join me when you’re ready, dear.”
“I will.” Time turned toward Twilight as the two left the room. “Will you be okay by yourself?”
Twilight frowned, “I’ll be fine, old man, don’t worry.”
Time raised his hands to placate the younger man, “I’m just making sure. Remember to reapply their dressings and call me if anything odd happens. We don’t know where they’ve been, so treat them with caution.” He sighed heavily, “I’ll be going to bed now. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Time. And… thank you.”
Time smiled gently at Twilight, “It was no problem. I’ll see you in the morning.” The older man left, plunging the kitchen into silence.
Twilight sat down in a chair like a sack of rocks and sighed, “Always causing trouble, Wild. What am I gonna do with you?” He chuckled and raised his eyes to the ceiling. “What have you been up to, cub?”
Wild slept on.