Work Text:
The group of eight heroes stumbled over their own and each other's feet as they went through the portal. Some of their armor clanking as they did so. Wind was the first to steady himself and took stock of their surroundings. Trees. Lots and lots of trees. He couldn't be sure where they were given that these were pretty generic looking trees.
Twilight shook his head roughly, making him dizzy but succeeding in firmly planting his consciousness in his body. Portals always made him lightheaded and made him feel disconnected from his body. Hyrule had a similar issue. Time always came through the other side with his eyes tightly closed and it looked like he was riding the feeling out.
They all experienced some side effects from the portals, although they were lessening the more they travelled. Either they were getting used to it or Hylia was getting better with her portals.
"Alright, we all know the drill. Walk until someone recognizes something." Twilight said, spinning around to survey the trees around them. It was dark but what slivers of moonlight passed through the branches helped them make out their vague surroundings. They had come from early morning Wind's time but who's to say how late into the night they actually were here.
Hyrule picked a direction and they all started walking.
"Doesn't someone usually get a feeling that we're in their Hyrule? Has anybody yet?" Legend asked with his arms crossed, throwing one out to smack away a bug and barely missing Warriors. With a general hum of negatives back Legend's scowl deepened.
"A new one then?" Four asked, turning to look back at Legend.
Time frowned in thought. "We met one another no more than a week apart. It's been nearly two now."
The group fell quiet as they thought about this. Some came to the conclusion that it was too late to add another hero and that they just had to find a landmark someone recognized.
After walking vigilantly for another half an hour Twilight squinted at something in the distance between the trees. "I think I see a fire up ahead." They approached quietly but making enough noise that, if anybody was awake, they would hear them coming.
They came to a small clearing, where a small fire and two people sat. The group of heroes came into view on the people's right side. The man closest to them had his head cocked as though to hear their progress through the forest. The woman next to him was dabbing gently at a wound on his left forearm.
The man tensed as he cataloged their armor and weapons. The woman looked up, a faint frown on her face.
"Hello, travellers. What brings you to walk through the night?" She asked, looking at all of them before returning to her task of cleaning the man's wound. Her head was still tilted up even as her eyes were down to indicate she was listening. The man's eyes were obscured by his hood but they could feel his eyes on them.
"We're sorry to intrude. We got a little turned around and we wanted to see if we could find a point we recognized before night fell. As you can see we were unsuccessful." Time explained patiently.
The hopes dwindled that this was someone's Hyrule as they were all sure they were speaking to a version of Zelda and no one spoke up with familiarity. Some of them suspected the man with her was this world's Link.
Zelda gave a low hum, the man's head turning to her slightly. She ducked her head slightly to make eye contact with him. Whatever silent communication they just had ended with her sitting up and reaching for bandages. "You're welcome to rest here with us. I know there's not a lot of good clearings in this area for setting up camp." She gestured to the other side of the fire. "You can use the fire if you need to cook food."
"Thank you," Time dipped his head and ignored the fact he counted the others as they passed by him to settle on the ground, only following once he reached seven.
The only sound among them was the fire between them and the rustling of their things. They didn't want to set up full bedrolls yet so settled for merely brushing away debris to sit down. Time sat close to where they entered, leaning against a tree, giving him a good view of their small little camp. Twilight was opposite of him, sandwiching the rest of their little family between them. Legend took up a third guard position between them. Between the three of them and the tense man next to Zelda, they had all points covered.
"So what brings you to this neck of the woods?"
"You called us travellers but we're really more wanderers than anything," Hyrule answered. Without knowing the geography of this Hyrule they didn't want to make themselves look suspicious by naming a place nowhere near where they currently were. Or naming a place that didn't exist period. Although it seemed everyone had a Kakariko Village so that could be a safe bet if pressed.
Zelda had finished tending to the man and was now facing them fully. The man had relaxed marginally when everyone sat down.
She studied the strange men in front of her. All of them looked like Link to some degree.
Link.
After he defeated Ganon she was ecstatic to see her knight again. She had stepped forward to hug him but she stopped at the awed look on his face and the lack of personal recognition. Oh, he knew who she was, Princess Zelda, the woman he was to protect. But there was no spark in his eye, just a professional relief that she was safe (well most of that relief was because Ganon was now gone but she liked to think some of it was for her).
The stranger inhabiting her friend's body was kind enough to her and she had been getting to know him as they travelled away from the castle. He spoke through vague hand gestures that had been increasingly turning into true signs, facial expressions, and sometimes she would hear soft words. She had yet to decipher whether his silence was leftover from his voluntary vow of silence from a hundred years past or whether the scars across his neck prevented him from speaking normally (she itched to know why the Shrine of Resurrection left scars. Did they misunderstand its purpose? Had they wrongly assumed it also healed as it resurrected? Had Link been dying and coming back until he was healed enough? Did it put him in stasis as it waited for his body to be in good enough condition?).
She studied the edge of his hood sadly as she got lost in thought. He had put a hand gently on hers to quiet her humming as he tilted his head to the trees to his right. He had lifted his hood and with his right hand made a bobbing sign for 'people'. She stayed quiet to let him listen to their surroundings and wasn't surprised by the additional people. Well, a little surprised at the amount of them. People usually only travelled in smaller groups.
There was some shuffling on the opposite side of the fire and she caught the men, mostly boys really, glancing at one another.
"Excuse me," the one wearing a blue tunic fidgeted, "Are you Princess Zelda?"
Link tensed next to her. He certainly has gotten more suspicious of people.
"I suppose Queen now, not that it really matters. I don't think there's much use for a monarch nowadays." She wasn't as sad about it as she thought she should be. Link gently touched her shoulder. "But yes, I'm Zelda. Who are you all?"
"Are you Link?" The one with the fur pelt asked. Link moved his left leg out of his criss-cross, planting it on the ground, ready to stand. Zelda grabbed his wrist gently but firmly. He sat stiffly but nodded.
"Who are you?" She demanded, her voice firmer. The thought of the Yiga crossed her mind but this would be so out of their norm. They travelled alone, waiting for Link to come across them. Maybe they were getting smarter and figured eight of them could take the champion down.
The oldest of the bunch raised his hands in surrender. "It may be hard to believe but we're also Link. Links from across different times and Hyrules."
Her Link lifted his head in a way to say 'prove it'. The oldest nodded assent to the one with the light-colored cloth around his shoulders. He slowly picked up his wrapped sword, letting the fabric fall away. It was the Master Sword. Her eyes went wide and she heard Link's surprised breath. He slowly moved his hand to the slate, tapping without seeing until another Master Sword appeared in the clearing.
Theirs was far more damaged and dull. Link lowered his leg and laid the sword across his lap. He beckoned the other sword wielder. The other cautiously stood up to come closer. Link had his sword out but if it came to blows than his sword was far more likely to break based on appearance. Zelda nervously clutched the knife Link had given her to hide in her sleeve. In her hands, it probably wouldn't do much but it would be a distraction, long enough for her swift-footed knight to grab another weapon.
The other Link stopped and knelt, holding the sword out like an offering. Her Link seemed to study it before giving a curt, jerky sign for 'explain'. Some of the others appeared confused but the oldest started talking.
He explained what they knew so far, which wasn't much. But it sounded like another journey for her Link. Her heart ached for him. He had gone through so much and here these people were asking for more. She had already asked so much of him.
It was quiet after his explanation as she and Link tried to process it. The walls that had softened after Ganon's defeat hardened before her eyes. His posture growing stiff and resigned. She mourned for him once again. She swallowed the tears and spoke through the tightness in her throat.
"What do you call each other, if you all are Link?" She asked in a poor attempt at a distraction. She rapidly blinked, hoping they didn't see the shine in her eyes.
Time noticed the brightness in her eyes but answered her question. "We go by our hero titles. My name is Time."
The one with the Master Sword spoke softly as to be non-threatening while so close to this world's Link. "I go by Sky."
"I'm Twilight." And so the rest of the heroes introduced themselves. Her mouth quirked at Hyrule's name.
Sky had sat down from his kneeling position. "What's your title?"
Link shrugged and lifted his head a little more, shifting his hood a little further back on his head. He swallowed, "I was usually just called the Hylian Champion or Zelda's knight." His voice was light and rough. He swallowed again and cleared his throat. Zelda couldn't tell if it caused him pain.
"Champion? Knight?" Hyrule proposed.
Zelda giggled at Link's displeased nose scrunch. He mock glared at her and the uplift at the corner of his mouth gave him away. This was something she liked about this version of Link. He was more expressive at times instead of the constant blank face of before.
Sky placed a deliberate hand on the blade of his Master Sword. Link put his back into the slate. "She says that you're the Hero of the Wild. How about Wild?"
Link-Wild smiled genuinely. It felt right. He nodded his assent.
The group talked a little, retelling stories that the others had heard but wanted Wild to know. Before long Zelda couldn't keep her eyes open. Wild shuffled closer, putting a hand on her back. When he had her attention he passed his right hand down his face while closing his hand, 'sleep'.
She nodded and took the folded shirt he handed her. He had never acquired a bedroll during his journey and they hadn't reached a town yet for Zelda to get one. They made do so far with the extra clothes Wild had with him. He laid another one of his warmer shirts over her as a blanket. With the strangers around she wasn't sure if he would sleep even if the strangers were various versions of himself.
When they had travelled before she always fell asleep before him and he was always already awake when she woke up. Sometimes even with breakfast ready. She had no idea how much he actually slept.
She woke up to the familiar sight of Li-Wild standing over the fire cooking, his back partially to her. Some of the other Links were awake as well, most still huddled on their side of the fire. Hyrule was watching intently from across Wild. And Twilight was closer to Wild than he was to Hyrule. She wondered what allowed the closeness.
His ear twitched as she sat up and he turned to look at her. She will always be amazed at his hearing. When travelling with the other champions she had never realized how he noticed certain things by hearing. She had assumed he just saw whatever danger or landmark.
He signed a one-handed 'good morning' while stirring the pot. She smiled back and gave a nod in greeting. She stood on the opposite side of him from Twilight.
"Why do you sign?" Wind asked curiously as he glanced between the two natives of this Hyrule.
Wild shrugged. "Guess I'm not used to talking." He paused, his brow furrowed. "How many of you know sign?"
"I do. Time does too, although I'm not sure to what extent. I imagine since our spoken languages are similar that our signed language would be too."
"I only really know military hand signals with a smattering of other signs," Warriors admitted from his place farther back against a tree.
The question was repeated to the others over breakfast as they had still been asleep the first go around. Twilight, Time, Warriors, Hyrule, and Sky had at least some understanding of sign. Hyrule, for some reason, only knew the alphabet but at least Wild would be able to fingerspell at him. Warriors didn't and Sky mainly knew generic/common phrases. Time was the most fluent it seemed followed by Twilight. Wind, Four, and Legend would need someone to translate for them.
"So what's next?" Zelda asked and everyone turned to her except Wild. "You said you were wanderers. And it doesn't sound like you have any control over the portals that transport you. What do you do in the meantime? How do you go about finding out who's behind it?"
"I suppose we wait," Time said, lowering his bowl to his lap. "So far our goal in each Hyrule had been almost immediate. We were dropped here and it didn't take long to stumble across you two."
"Well, if you have no objective then we'll carry on our own course."
"What do you need to do?" Four asked.
"Return the Master Sword to the Korok Forest," Wild said quietly. "It's where it should be."
They didn't speak much even as they finished breakfast and packed to move on. They entered the Lost Woods and their silence felt imposed rather than voluntary. It was like the air itself taunted them with the silence.
"Do you have to do this every time you want to enter the Korok Forest?" Time asked lowly, voice as loud as he dared to make it in that moment.
Wild shook his head signing his answer to Time, 'There's a place I can teleport to inside the forest. I've never done so with other people, let alone a group this big. Besides, I know how to get through easily.' Time wondered at the teleportation detail but he didn't want to ask right then. They'd probably find out eventually.
They came to a point where Wild pulled out a torch, lighting it in one of the braziers before leading them further, making it safely to the forest.
The eight of them stood back respectfully as the two returned the sword. The koroks tittered around them, keeping quiet in deference to Wild and Zelda.
There was a light happiness around the fire that night. Four let the koroks play on him and Time watched with amusement.
"What's next?" Twilight asked Wild. "We're stuck here until we're transported to another Hyrule."
"We were planning on heading to Hateno Village, stopping by Kakariko on the way to talk to Impa," Wild's voice started off strong but he lowered it to reduce the strain. He wanted to try and talk more, now there were people around to talk to regularly.
"How far is that?"
Wild tilted his head in thought. He never really kept track of how long it took him to get to places. There was only ever the vague anxiety that he had to move quickly in order to save Zelda. He almost never walked anywhere (not when teleportation worked so much faster once he found the most convenient shrines and horseback for anywhere slightly farther from shrines) so any estimation would be under what it would take for a group this size to walk to the villages.
He shrugged, 'I'm not completely sure. Days, at least, to Kakariko.' Twilight nodded, assuming the unfamiliar sign was the name of the village.
Their journey was rather uneventful and the other Links felt like it was just the thing they needed to catch their breath after dimension-hopping so quickly before. Was that why they were still here after finding this Hyrule's Link or was there something else they had to do? Maybe at one of the villages they were about to enter?
Wild and Zelda led the group. Sometimes Wild peeled off from the group with a wave towards Zelda that the others took to mean 'keep following her'.
"He do that often?" Legend asked.
Zelda shrugged a shoulder, "Sometimes." She thought back to when they had been travelling with the other champions. He would wander off out of sight for a bit and return. He didn't really when it was just the two of them though.
Wild appeared not long after, signing to Zelda. They eventually made it to Kakariko where they were eyed warily but left alone. The other Links waited outside as they talked to Impa and they were off again.
They had decided that could probably make it to Hateno by nightfall so they trudged on after lunch and a quick restock.
They made it, later than they thought but not too long after sunset. The Links were surprised that Wild had an entire house. Even Zelda seemed shocked as Wild led them in.
Despite being late they still gathered around the cooking fire in front of his house, Wild making them dinner.
It was Sky's quiet voice that interrupted a round of laughter. "Uh, hey guys?" Not that far away was a portal. The first eight Links straightened up, gathering their things. Wild seemed to brace himself as he sized up the magical passage.
Zelda crumbled, the reality of what the other Links' presence meant settling around her. She was losing him again. Before she even got the chance to know him.
She gave a quiet, dry sniff and her knight, her knight with his exceptional hearing, turned towards her. His brave face dropping into one of concern. The others shuffled a little, knowing they had to go but unwilling to rush this goodbye.
"You'll come back?" Her voice wavered slightly.
Wild glanced at the others from the corner of his eye. He didn't know what he was getting into. He didn't know his chance of survival. But when he turned back to Zelda he had to comfort her somehow.
"I'll try my hardest to come back to you," his voice was low and gentle. Zelda thought that the wind would snatch away his words, making them untrue.
"Please don't die. Not again," She felt herself begin to tremble.
"I came back then and I'll do so again," He turned more fully towards her where they were still seated on the ground.
"We haven't even had time to get to know one another," she refused to blink to let the tears win.
Wild heard a confused 'what?' from one of the others. From what they had heard, Wild and Zelda had worked together before Ganon. What did she mean about getting to know each other? And wouldn't they have had the time since Link defeated Ganon?
Twilight's conclusion made him feel like he had been dunked in a frozen lake. "How long ago did you defeat Ganon?" He asked as loudly as he dared in the silent night.
"Two days before you all appeared." Twilight's heart broke when Zelda made teary eye contact with him as Wild answered.
Wild slouched as the others reacted in shocked horror.
"W-what?" Wind stuttered out, eyes wide. "We all-we all had time after our journeys."
Wild bowed his head, letting his bangs hide his face as he turned it away.
Why is he different? Time thought to himself with a frown. Not only was Wild added to their group far later than anyone he also had no time to rest it seemed.
"We need to get going," Legend said firmly. A wind had picked up and, through an experience none of them wanted to repeat, they knew they had to walk through or be yanked.
The others pretended to be checking their things in order to give the illusion of privacy to the two teens.
"I'll be back," Wild reached for the slate without breaking eye contact with Zelda. "If all those guardians couldn't keep one of me down, then nothing can stop nine of me." He smiled, prompting Zelda's own little smile. "When I get back I'll help any way I can," he paused, bringing his hand up, holding a cap, "Princess."
With a choked back sob she hugged him. In the days immediately following Ganon's defeat Link had revealed that he didn't remember much from a hundred years before. That the pieces he did pick up felt like an entirely different person. She would miss the man he used to be but had been coming to terms with the idea of relearning him. As he would have to do with her.
A part of her clung to who he used to be. She selfishly wanted him to stay with her, after everything they had gone through. They defeated Ganon together and he was a stabilizing force as she faced rejoining the world a century removed from her time. She had been hoping he would teach her of this new era. Show her any spots he favored during his time preparing to help her. She wanted him to be her guide to get her reacquainted with Hyrule.
He hugged her back, placing a hand on her head. She pulled back after a short moment and took the cap from his hand. It was the cap worn by the Royal Guards. Link had been the Captain of her guard detail. The pressure to fight Ganon was impressed upon them at a young age but there had been times, early on, where it hadn't been as real or urgent. Where they didn't truly understand the danger they were being trained to face. Before he had become silent in order to bear the responsibility.
"I'm here to protect and serve any way I can," he had swept the cap off his head and went into a bow. Amusement in his grin and sparkling in his eyes.
The cap was a symbol of his loyalty to the royal family. In giving her the cap he handed over a token of the past that wasn't shrouded in rushed anxiety. He had stopped wearing the uniform when he became the Hylian Champion and started wearing the tunic he did now. It gave her hope that if-when he returned they could heal and put the Calamity behind them as they rebuilt Hyrule.
They stood as the other Links started side-stepping to the portal that had been gradually kicking up the wind. Wild started to turn away but hesitated. A flash of blue produced something else from the slate. She gasped. In his hand was a Silent Princess.
"They're flourishing, and soon so will Hyrule. Don't wait for me to rebuild. I'll catch up." He smiled, glad his voice had stayed with him for everything he wanted to say. He hugged her once more, thumbing away her tears before turning to the portal where only four other Links remained. Time and Twilight were both turned partially towards them, Wind and Warriors stepping through the portal as Wild approached.
Time stepped through as Twilight placed a light hand on Wild's back. Wild glanced back as he stepped through with the other. The image of Zelda clutching his gifts burned into his mind.
Once they were through and the portal closed, Zelda fell to her knees as she suddenly felt very alone. She faced the task of uniting the people of Hyrule and building from the ground up. And she had to do it without her supportive shadow. She felt too exposed.
Picking herself up she slowly made her way back to his house, intent on trying to sleep and ignoring what just happened for a little while longer. Her heart ached as she passed by an old picture of her and the champions. She tore her eyes away and made for the bed, her feet dragging.
She hoped for a dreamless night, a night, unlike the ones she knew in this new century.
She wasn't that lucky.