Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

One second Link was in the middle of a seastorm. 

The waves crashed and roared furiously from all around the boat, which at present was struggling to keep from being tossed about like a ragdoll in a child’s hand. He yanked tight once more the running line he’d been stationed at, Tetra’s commands to ‘slacken that’ and ‘man your stations’ flying clear and sharp over the howling rainy gale with a captain’s authority. Link followed his friend without hesitation, making sure to keep his rope exactly where it needed to be so that the ship wouldn’t roll over. The crew ran about, some dumping water overboard and all working their hardest. 

To anyone else, it might’ve seemeds like chaos. Smattering rain, screaming winds, roaring seas, and shouting shipmates. Even if a little chaotic, it was all organized. It paid off because the whole crew moved like clockwork despite the raging winds and temperamental waters, despite the rain slicking the deck and the looming threat of lightning. Anything less might end in the ship capsizing, storms in the middle of the ocean were no joke.

Which is why it was very alarming when the preventer, that rope keeping the sail’s lower spar from swinging about, did not do its job. An unnaturally strong gust from the storm snapped the sun-worn fibers. All it would take to cause chaos was-

The winds bucked wildly and smacked the sail a new direction, Link even have time to shout a warning as the hefty wooden beam whipped around and crashed right into him.

He thought he heard Tetra yell his name above the clamor, but all he could feel was the wind being knocked out of him like a Moblin had smacked him across the gut with its club. His lips opened in a shout, to say ‘Hey! I’m kinda falling!”

He prepared to reach out and grab a rope tossed overboard, he prepared to feel the cold of the ocean seize his body and fill his mouth with its salty tang. He prepared to hop right on out of the raging waters and help his crew get out of this freak storm.

That never really happened, because all he saw was darkness, and all he felt was nothingness. The sudden absolute lack of light was both confining and infinite, claustrophobic and so vast he could’ve gotten lost in it. Cold seized his limbs, but it wasn’t like the shock of water, it was an absence of warmth, of feeling. Somewhere in his mind he knew this was only a single moment, a pinprick on a timeline, but it stretched out forever. His stomach dropped suddenly within him as the feeling of falling pulled at his bones. A wind he couldn’t find the source for pulled at his har, gravity yanked him downwards once more. He expected the ocean.

But he was very certain that the ocean wasn’t supposed to whip his back like a switch as he plummeted. He was convinced it wasn’t the ocean as his body thudded harshley to the ground with an ‘oof’, the jarring impact echoing through his vertebrae right up to his head and ow .

The wind was cold and actually not unpleasant, Link found it was helping to sharpen his senses a bit. Birds chirped distantly and docily- birds? Birds in the middle of the sea? Oh wait- what?

Link’s vision was swimming, and he wasn’t. This seemed like a problem. But it was the kind of problem so big and important he couldn’t even fully grasp yet what had just happened. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to yet. He closed his eyes to shut out the myriad of swirling shadows and pinpricks of night flaring across his vision as he stumbled to stand up, small calloused hands finding a rough mast, no a tree, to lean against. Someone was talking, the words sounding foreign and unfamiliar. Had he somehow… teleported? That was new. Very new, nothing like the cyclone he’d use to ride quickly across the sea. Maybe that’s why he couldn’t hear people properly. He should open his eyes.

Link backed away from the figures surrounding him, thoroughly startled and vaguely miffed because who on earth just stands that close to a person when they’ve clearly just been whacked overboard then teleported to wherever this was? His feet registered that the ground here was very different from the other islands somehow, it was all squishy and slippy. 

His vision finally cleared to find four blondes of varying shades with blue eyes staring down at him. One wore armor, a scar over one eye that was lit vaguely by something orangey from behind the strangers. The man as he patted the back of a darker blonde. The pelt wearing one batted his hand away and seemed to mumble something embarrassedly. 

His eyes worked fine, he could see that this was not the ship and he was in fact in a… forest? There are places with actual forests ? The tang of salt was entirely absent from the air, replaced by a cool chorus of earthy, leafy scents that made Link want to sneeze. 

The closest to him of the four, he wore a white cape, tilted his head as if concerned and opened his mouth to talk. “Ah kanar webu?” A pale hand extended out to him, Link took a step back.

The boy simply stared, his light blue eyes wide and probably very confused looking. He furrowed his brow, lip pulling up into that trademark pout he made for feelings like ‘excuse me?’ and ‘who are you and what do you want?’ and ‘now holdup .’ He could hear the crackling of fire from behind the four men, the hum of cicadas and brittle chirping of crickets. No ocean. No distant crash of waves, no chittering of seabirds settling in for the night. Not the ocean, definitely NOT the ocean, so where? Where was he?

The shortest of them, an older teen with poofy hair and freckles gestured for his companions to move away. “Argu kaneh skeikar…” The rest of the quiet sentence faded off as the four men backed away and returned to their little fire close by. Not that it mattered much, since the soaked boy was most definitely sure that he couldn’t understand a lick of what they were saying.

Link let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

His chest ached something fierce, every breath pained and strained against what was probably a fantastically bruised ribcage. Darn preventer, he’d had a feeling it should’ve been inspected. Was Tetra okay? The crew? Had they ended up wearing ship and pivoting across the waves? He hoped not.

That long breath he was letting out caught in his throat as the man with the white cape turned around, and he saw it.

Okay, so HOW did they get the Master Sword? It’s at the bottom of the ocean, as far as he knew. The bottom of an ocean he couldn’t hear, or smell, or taste on the wind. That pressing question bubbled up: where am I? The leaf that the wind had courteously blown right into his eye seemed to answer ‘not the ocean!’ Okay, okay. He knows, he gets it. But no more leaves in the face, please? 

His eyes bored still into the blade. Who were they? Heroes? Some sort of underwater adventurers who didn’t need air? Because there was no other way they could have gotten that blade from its place lodged deep within Ganondorf’s forehead under miles of water and darkness. 

He looked up to the strange people once more, meeting eyes with the oldest, the armor-clad one. Link stared for a moment at the Triforce imprinted upon a piece of his armor. “Balar teshli chon.” His indecipherable voice said, carrying a lilt of what Link perceived to be amusement. The man gestured for him to come closer to the blaze.

Oh absolutely.

Link practically skipped over to that wonderful warmth, even if his ribs protest sharply as he plopped himself down atop the log with a barely perceivable wince. Though, one hand never strayed from the blade sheathed at his side. Can’t be too reckless, y’know?

He thought as he warmed his hands with a faint hum of contentment. He’d love to ask them who they are, where he was, how they had that sword. He’d love to ask them why they had marks on their face and the Triforce on their armor. Too bad they probably wouldn't understand anything he was saying. 

Heroes. His mind whispered. As he glanced about the campfire, he tried to compare them to the Hero of Time.

Only two of them were wearing green, and they didn’t even have that long hat. None of them did, actually. Though, he himself was definitely a hero. And he’d gladly wear his blue tunic and lose the hat any day. They were armed, clearly. Although, there were several more spoil bags next to where the white-cape man sat. It must suck to have to carry that much stuff. Did they carry all that stuff? Or did they live here? 

They did have the hero’s hair… more or less. But Freckles over there had it way too poofy and-

Lips twisting into a pout he could feel, Link stared at the fire. No, now was not the time to use hair as a means for assuming they were heroes. What was he even basing this off of, a feeling?

Yup! He answered himself rather cheerily, pout softening into his resting face, a soft barely-smile. It was a weird place with way too many trees and four very-armed people who had the Master Sword.

Aannd the frown was back. He thought over that sentence again. I’m in a weird dark place with too many trees and four armed adults who have the Master Sword.

Well, this was concerning.

The cape-man turned towards him, gesturing habitually with his hands as he spoke. “Ko, wara kanarei mepar Link?”

Link.

That one familiar word cut through a sea of nonsense like a blade and had him sitting up straight as he could. They knew his name. They knew his name? They knew his name but not the world’s official language?

What Link assumed was a question came again. More deliberate this time. “Kanarei mepar, wara mo Link?”

Well if he had ever been at a loss for words with people who spoke his own language (save for his vast swearing vocabulary but that’s not important now), the boy sure was out of words now.

What was he even supposed to say? They wouldn’t understand him. What if he said something and it sounded all wrong to these people, or worse, offensive? Oh, that would be bad. If he offended four people with swords that would be very bad. He quite liked sitting by the fires and would prefer not to be kicked out. He quite enjoyed that they weren’t attacking him, and would very much prefer to keep it that way. But yeah, he could take ‘em. Although.. They did have the Master Sword. If they had the skills or resources to retrieve that then there’s no telling what could be up their sleeves. 

Grandma had said he was quiet as a younger child, despite what an absolute chatterbox he’d grown up to be. He did, after all, consider himself quite grown up. 

He could do that, he could be quiet. And now, it offered opportunities. He could watch and listen. He’d figure this out. He’d figure out why they had the sword and why they carried the mark of the goddesses. He’d find the ocean and sail right on back home, and then have Tetra yell at him for disappearing in the middle of a sea storm. Solid plan. Absolutely foolproof. And if need be, he could definitely take these four guys.

He felt a pinprick of concern poke at his backup plan as four more people came stumbling into the camp from the underbrush and into the light of the orange blaze. Clothing singed, weapons on their backs, and smiles on their faces. 

They began to exclaim what Link assumed were greetings at each other. The armored one stood up, Link tightened his grip on the Phantom Sword.

Yeah. Suuuuuure. He could take on eight swordsmen if he needed. Yeah. This is fine. 

Chapter Text

Time sighed contentedly, leaning forward to warm his hands by the crackling, popping fire. “That’s nice after a long day.”

From across the fire, Twilight scoffed at him, a familiar and well intentioned smirk sliding across his features. “Finally feeling your age, old man?”

“Hey now, don’t even think about getting used to calling me old.” He replied with a deadpan voice, though the edges of his good eye crinkled slightly in humor. “It is nice to have a quiet camp though, yes.”

It was a nice little forested spot. On a hill, so they could see enemies approaching. Not too hot in the day, a little nippy at night. But that wasn’t anything a fire and a bedroll couldn’t fix. Crickets chirped docile tones into the cooling night air, their songs echoing near and far into the night sky. A clear, fine night, in Time’s opinion.

Sky nodded quickly in agreement, not glancing up from the stick he had been whittling at since they’d set up camp. “Though, I wouldn't be surprised if we start hearing explosions… again. That Champion is certainly unpredictable.”

One of their newer recruits, Hyrule, paled a little at this and fiddled with the edges of his fraying tunic. Time had quickly noticed the kid had quite a few nervous habits, but was also the most attentive of everyone insofar. The freckled traveler seemed to realize that Sky meant this jokingly, and allowed himself a faintly dimpled smile. “It’s nice.” He said simply. 

Twilight clicked his tongue softly, indication he wanted to say something. “Do you think we’ll find any more of, well, us? Eight is quite a few as is. Just how many heroes does Hylia need for whatever this is?” 

Time responded with a shrug and a smirk. “Who knows? That lady’s unpredictable.” Yeah, definitely unpredictable, if his experience on having to fight the moon was of any testament. 

Sky looked up and continued on talking, his hands not pausing from nimbly carving sharp lines and little shapes that stood out on the wood in the firelight. “I don’t think we’ll find anyone else. We’ve already been in the Champion’s Hyrule for what, two weeks?”

“Two and three quarters.” Hyrule corrected softly, bright, dusty blue eyes glancing from Sky to the fire and back to Sky. 

“Two and three quarters,” Sky amended, “Even if we don’t find anyone, we’ll probably be shifting worlds soon.”

Twilight gave him a nod of affirmation. “Makes sense. If we were going to find someone else, I figured it would’ve been last week.” He paused to chuckle. “I don’t think we could deal with another one of us. ”

“You mean I couldn’t deal with another one of us.” Time corrected with a raised eyebrow and mock-displeasure painted across his stern features. “You seem to forget that I’ve been voted the local parental figure, especially by one in particular.”

That one in particular caught on immediately and muffled his incoherent reply in the side of his black furry hood, turning to find a sword to sharpen.

“Eights a good number.” Hyrule chimed in with a nod and a small smile.

“Eight is a good number.” Twilight affirmed, swinging his sword up from behind him in it’s sheath, a whetstone in one hand.

A small, soaking wet, blue-clad figure figure crashed abruptly through the trees and landed square on his behind with a noticeably audible ‘oof’ ten paces from camp. It took a moment for Time to register in the dim reaches of the firelight that he was a young boy and not the chaotic Champion of the Wild. The boy rubbed his head and stumbled to stand up. 

Time and Twilight locked eyes. 

Time couldn’t hold back his absolutely cackling laughter.

Twilight crossed his arms and groaned, throwing his head back to the sky in exasperation. “The MOMENT I say something. The VERY moment.” The younger warrior shouted up at the sky, probably up at the goddesses if his ‘I cannot believe this’ face was anything to go by. 

Time let his cackles subside, though chuckles still rumbled through his chest. “Oh cub, never tempt The Ladies.”

“Duly noted.” Twilight groaned, rubbing his temples with his fingers. “Hopefully he’s calm.”

The hero of Time was suddenly aware of a very sour look being tossed their way, surprisingly, or rather, unsurprisingly, from Sky. “Are you two going to sit there and talk or..?”

Time dismissed the young man’s scrutiny with the wave of his hand and walked over to their new dripping wet friend. The boy was still coming to his senses, rubbing his eyes and butt spectacularly muddy from his fall. Had Hylia dropped him from the sky ? Oh that was new. New and only vaguely hilarious because Time knew it was not proper to find humor in the goddesses’s horrible shenanigans. He was a very wise hero, no tomfoolery here. 

He clapped a hand on Twilight’s shoulder, sending the younger a small chuckle. “That was so ironic that I feel as if you owe me.”

Twilight bristled under his touch, looking not unlike an angry puppy. “We didn’t even bet!” But the man began to turn away anyways as if to grab his wallet.

Oh, Time had forgotten how much power his resting mad face had. He’d have to work on that. “Relax, I’m joking. Keep your rupees, kid.” 

“Are you okay?” Sky asked gently, extending his hand to the kid. He was very short, and very young, closer to Time’s stomach than his head. Light blue eyes stared up at them as the boy’s lips twisted into a pouty frown.

Time held back a snort and kept up his well-practiced poker face. It was not polite to laugh at one’s comedically adorable pout when they were likely a noble carrier of the Hero’s Spirit. He couldn’t, however, hide the brief frown that twitched at his lips. He didn’t like how young the hero was.

The boy took a stumbling step back and Hyrule leaned forward to pull Sky back by the collar, gesturing for them to back away. “Give him space, he’s probably very confused.” The traveller advised. 

As Sky turned around, the boy gasped slightly, and Time saw what his eyes were fixed upon: the Master Sword. Yeah, that bit had come as a bit of a surprise to everyone the first time.

The boy continued to stare as they walked back towards the warmth of the campfire, though his gaze was broken momentarily as he turned in surprise at a leaf that smacked him in the face. He looked quite offended at it. 

Time took his seat on a log by the fire, gesturing for the boy to come join them by the warmth. “We don’t bite.” He offered.

After a moment of mulling something over, the boy gave them a silent nod and bounced on over, eagerly taking a place by the fire. Cold, wet hands stretched towards the flames, and the boy seemed to relax at the warmth. 

He simply sat there, eyes occasionally looking up to Hyrule, over to Sky, skimming over Twilight and Time, then back to the flickering blaze again. His face went over several opposing expressions very quickly. Pout, smile, pout. That was quite the expressive little friend they had made. 

Though, Time was very much beginning to wonder when the boy would start asking questions. He knew that he himself had, when the Hero of Warrior came strolling almost casually through a portal on the edges of Castle Town. He knew Legend, even for all his snarkiness and secrecy had an abundance of queries, usually in the form of quips. 

This boy was just silent.

Twilight nudged Sky, who in turn put down the stick he was working on and tucked the knife back into his boot. He turned towards the kid, a question forming. “So, is your name Link?”

That had perked him up. At the mention of the hero’s name, the boy had sat up stiff as a board and tilted his head slightly, as if asking, ‘what?’ It vaguely reminded Time of a squirrel, they way his eyes widened slightly and his body poised in straight-backed curiosity. 

But he didn’t answer the question. Sky repeated it, a little clearer and a little slower. “Your name, is it Link?”

No response. The boy just sat and stared, hand on the handle of his sword. Time hadn’t noticed it before now. 

He rubbed his chin in thought, taking a moment to meet the gazes of everyone else here. So, he was not a talker. It wasn’t uncommon. They could all be quiet, though it tended to dissipate after time in good company. Hyrule was recently phasing out of monosyllabic responses, Warrior could crack jokes at everyone instead of simply making tactical observations now, and Wild was a little gremlin who found joy in announcing his antics loudly before doing something stupid. 

Before he could attempt to ask some questions of his own, four chaotic little gremlins marched back into camp, clothing singed and three out of the four wearing manure-eating grins. Only Legend did not look very pleased.

Time stood. “What did you do.”

“Good to see you too, Old Man!” Barked Warrior with a laugh. 

The pink-haired hero dusted ash grumpily off the shoulder of his tunic and immediately stalked off to his bag.

“What… happened?” Hyrule asked tentatively, given Legend a fleeting glance as the hero walked by.

“Ask the three pyromaniacs over there.” He snarked in return, pulling a box from his bag and rummaging through it.

Wild grinned and held up his tablet, swiping to the left. Likely pictographs of whatever disastrous hijinks had just ensued. “Found some monsters.”

“But you all need not worry about them, you’re welcome.” Warrior finished, adjusting his royal blue and miraculously unsinged scarf.

Four’s eyes were practically aglow with a dark, amber burning. It struck Time as undoubtedly pyromaniacal. “It turns out lots of bombs and an exploding barrel makes for a most entertaining time slaying monsters.”

Twilight sighed loudly, obviously, and buried his eyes in one hand. “You’re all going to burn down all the forests someday.”

“Just this one.” Wild chirped in return, immediately earning a sharp look from both Time and the rancher. His brilliant blue gaze fell upon the quickly drying kid who sat beside Time. Warriors did much the same and grinned, gesturing over to the kid, who in turn stared up at them both with wide blue eyes. As the amber glow of the fire shone on the boy’s face, Time noticed a smattering of freckles.

“Ah, and who might this be?” The Captain asked.

“A Link… we think.” Twilight answered, giving the kid a glance and a small wave.

“We think? ” The Hero of Legend called dubiously from where he was closing up whatever box he’d rummaged through. 

Much to Time’s surprise, the blue-clad boy waved back. He watched as the kid, how old was he, thirteen? Fourteen? He watched as those wide eyes darted back and forth between all eight of them there, one hand resting still on the hilt of his sword. Time brought his attention back to the returning heroes who were settling in by the fire. “He hasn’t spoken at all.”

“Mute?” Warrior asked with a now interested gaze. He gestured to his own throat. “It’s not an uncommon motif here.”

Hyrule and Legend both nodded in agreement.

Four took a seat next to Sky on the log. “Has anyone tried sign language?”

Oh, well where was that idea when they had needed it? Time tuned to the boy, moving both hands from side to side, pointing towards the young hero, then twirling his fingers about each other. ‘Do you know sign language?’ The boy looked at his hands, then back up at him, cocking an eyebrow. Patiently, Time tried again, mouthing the words along with the motions of his hands. The kid looked at his pointer fingers splayed outwards in the sign for ‘language’, a questioning and curious look heavy upon his furrowed brow. 

 It was worth a try. 

“Not a talker, not a signer. That’s… manageable.” Legend commented. “Though, if he has any useful information, we’ll need to get him to talk somehow.”

Hyrule gave the kid a small smile. “He’ll talk when ready.” The kid gave him a bright but awkward smile in return. He hadn’t taken his hand off his sword.

Standing and stretching briefly, Twilight sheathed the sword he had started sharpening and turned to pack it back up into his bag. “Well we’re not doing anything about it now. It’s late, and we should try to get to Hateno by tomorrow.” 

The Links all agreed and began to turn in for the night, but Time kept one eye on the boy who had crashed down from the trees. Whilst everyone else moved about to settle in, he’d just sat by the fire. Staring when questions were asked, remaining unresponsive when Wild inquired if he was hungry. 

Sky had set up his own bedroll, then turned about very quickly. “Where will uh… Link? The new one, sleep?”

Questioning glances were passed back and forth between the eight of them before Time gave an amused chuckle, unrolling his own bedroll. “I’ve got first watch tonight, he can take my place.”

Twilight mentioned something about fatherly instincts. Time threatened to ground him.

Oh, no wonder they kept on prodding him about that.

But he did have to admit that there was something about how quiet the kid was that had Time feeling just a bit protective over him. Only a little bit, though. The kid had a sword and calloused hands, no doubt a warrior of some degree, and more than likely one chosen by the goddesses. He could probably handle himself. Though, it would be easier to ascertain that had the kid responded to any of their questions. 

It took a couple minutes of coaxing, on Time’s part, but the boy had unstrapped his sword, still keeping it close by, and climbed awkwardly into Time’s bedroll, watching the man the whole while. 

The world slowed down and the fire began to die with no one to tend it, everyone tucked in soundly for the night. Time kept his sword nearby and ears alert. He did, after all, have one more person to protect now.

Chapter Text

It had seemed everyone was settling in for the night, each blond-haired blue-eyed individual shuffling off to their mat-things. Link watched curiously as the white-cape man unrolled his mat thing before abruptly turning around. “Malai mo, uhm, Link? Hen rari wuleh, dakeino?”

Turns out hearing your name and not knowing what people are saying about you is just as perplexing and annoying in a foreign language as it is in one you know. Still even more perplexing was how they knew his name. 

Link’s hand fidgeted slightly over the hilt of the Phantom Sword, his index finger lightly drumming its familiar surface. The curiosity of wanting to know what they were saying was going to drive him absolutely insane . Well, it was either the curiosity or the forceful nerves he got from being in a camp full of people he couldn’t understand. No, no, that wouldn’t do. He’d have to keep his head if he was going to complete this weird quest thing properly. Keep calm, do your thing.

Seven and a half pairs of eyes glinted with an unspoken something in the flickering, crackling firelight. Link’s eyes were dodging back and forth between so many faces he couldn’t register what they were all silently sharing amongst each other. The first bit of explicitly non-verbal communication and he couldn’t even decipher it? Nice, okay, fine. 

After a moment, the man with the armor chuckled dryly and turned about, pulling a mat-thing from a bag behind the log Link was sitting upon. “Ma’ra wu seita bareh noyuweh, ka beila argumo mabar skei.” 

Link bit the inside of his cheek softly as the rest of the group nodded in some kind of affirmation to whatever the man had just said. He couldn’t help the way his brow furrowed at their speech. It wasn’t his fault their words sounded funny, and he wasn’t about to let them know they sounded funny either. He found his eyes trailing towards Armor Man’s massive sword.

Unexpectedly enough, the man knelt by the log (which Link had grown quite fond of, given its proximity to the warm fire) and started talking to him. It was more of those mumbly, ‘r sound’ heavy words that he couldn’t decipher in the slightest. Although, he was repeating the words ‘dasevu’ and ‘genba’ a lot, if that’s even how those were supposed to be pronounced. Complete and absolute gibberish, that’s what Link registered it as. Although, it sounded familiar for some reason. And to his frustration, he couldn’t place it. 

Mind whirling from trying to decipher what his strange yet familiar words might mean, he focused instead on the man’s vague gestures and facial expression. It was oddly.. gentle? Well, that was just weird. Uncomfortable, even. Don’t make that ‘i’m talking to a lost puppy’ face, please. Besides, Link didn’t think it worked well with the man’s natural frown and intimidating stature. Not that he was intimidated, of course.

Armor man’s hands gestured vaguely to him, then swept back to direct Link’s attention to the mat-thing, the genba? Is that what that was? Or maybe genba was an insult and this stranger had been toying with him for the past five minutes. Or maybe not, genba didn’t read as innately offensive. Besides, Link knew he had a large enough vocabulary to swear this man to an early grave. His face fell slightly, lips tucking into a small frown. If one of these strangers did something extremely stupid or rude, he wouldn’t even be able to give them a good and proper cuss-out.

Hey, priorities, self! His common sense reminded him sharply. Right, right. Lack of communication was the least of his problems right now.

After about a minute more of confused looks from Link and slow, uncomfortably gentle speech from the man, the boy sort of gathered that the man wanted him to… sit on the mat? Weird, but okay, he didn’t see why not.

Link stood from the log, knees popping faintly as he did, and walked over to the mat-thing, keeping half an eye on Armor Man all the while. He’d forgotten how much his chest ached until every uncertain step sent reminders of pain ricocheting through his lithe torso. Darn sail. He really should’ve checked over that preventer. Then he’d be home instead of here, in a dark strange place full of dark tall trees. 

Upon sitting down sloppily on the mat-thing, Link noticed no one else was doing that. Instead, they’d pulled the blanket- oh, did the man want Link to sleep in his weird mat-thing? It smelled funny, sort of like dry grass and dirt. Not tangy salt, not sun-warmed wood and cotton. 

Armor Man gave him a nod and a small smile, seeming to approve as the boy awkwardly shuffled himself under the blanket, boots still on.

Link hadn’t gone to bed a day in his life without the crash of ocean waves and the vague warmth that was always lingering in the night after a long, hot day. Here it smelled weird and grassy, and cold nipped at the back of his neck as he settled into the bed-mat-thing, facing towards the slowly dwindling fire. Yeah, he was pretty sure he wasn’t falling asleep quickly tonight. He swatted somewhat clumsily at a bug that had decided the back of his neck was a good place to bite. Link’s fingers tangled in his sunbleached, fluffy hair as he attempted to remove his hand from his neck. Right, standing in sea-spray during a thunderstorm for an hour would do that to you.

He wasn’t sure he’d want to sleep, anyways, lying down in a camp full of armed strangers. Heroes or not, several alarms were going off in the back of his mind. He may be carefree and come off as a bit lazy sometimes, but it wasn’t as if he had zero common sense. Most of those alarms were partially soothed by the fact that his sword was well close enough to draw, may there come monsters or cranky armed campers who were all older and taller than him, save for that short one with the weird tunic.

But monsters and strangers weren’t the main thing on the young hero’s mind. His thoughts, no matter how they circled, seemed to slam forcefully like current-swept driftwood into an island's shore back to a single subject.

Link was worried about Tetra. Yeah yeah, he knew she was a tough girl. The very toughest! She could take care of herself, no question... but what about the few and disastrous times when she’d really needed him? Like, kidnapped by a bird or turned into a statue sort of needed him? What about the crew and the ship? It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her abilities as a sailor and a pirate, no. Link had absolute faith in her. But, that didn’t change the fact that they had been in the middle of the sea, stuck under a ferocious band of thunder clouds.

There wasn’t anything he could do about it now, as much as Link hated thinking that and knowing it was true. He was here, wherever here was, and she was there, where he needed to be. 

Needless to say, he didn’t fall asleep until much, much later. His tired eyes stared hazily at the fire, which had reduced to crackling lines of red under a thick crust of flaky black char, the orange light long gone from the clearing. Toes cold, head sticky, behind and chest aching, and hand on his sword, Link finally drifted off.

He’d awoken very abruptly. Not abruptly like something was wrong, or something was attacking. More like holy heck what is that smell because it’s amazing .

Morning sunlight didn’t beam down harshly from a cloudless, endless sky. Seagulls weren’t squawking their good mornings with raucous cries being carried on a cool ocean breeze. Though, as Link sat up and got his bearings, he immediately decided that this wasn’t all that bad.

Leafy oaks and other smaller trees he couldn’t identify stretched into the air, towering majestically and casting a cool shadow over the camp. Light streamed between dark, healthy leaves, lighting up blades of grass that sprung up defiantly from betwixt tree roots. It had looked much more menacing at night, but now, all Link wanted to do was look at everything. 

The sky was lighter here, greyer, but also brighter. Like someone had put a white film over the usual cerulean canvas that stretched high above the sea. Even with trees and underbrush and little things and plants everywhere, everything still had the impression of being so big.

He found that the forest faded off into what looked like an endless expanse of grass, stretching so far that he couldn’t make out the end of it. Countless motes of dust and airborne plant debris floated delicately in the cool, still air, all vaguely aglow. The bright sky was streaked with very, very distant wispy, windswept clouds. It made Link feel very small, very minuscule, to see them so far away. 

Something chirped loudly from above him. Somewhat startled, though mostly intrigued, he craned his neck up until the muscles of his throat stretched taut, staring into the leaves. A little red bird flitted about, staring with an equally curious, beady-eyed look at Link before springing away and taking flight. 

And on the subject of feeling small, he’d forgotten he was currently the second shortest person here. All those who had several inches on him were already awake and at it. Everyone gathered close to the fire where that amazing smell was coming from, exchanging quiet chatter whilst sliding on gloves and strapping up boots. Link decided he should do much the same.

He tossed the strange-smelling, cottony blanket off himself, taking care to place it neatly back atop the bedroll before moving on. One hand swept downwards to snatch up his belt and sheath, the other dusting off gritty particulates of dirt that clung to the sheath’s underside. Instinct carried his hands to graze over the wind waker’s smooth handle, where it was tucked securely in his belt. He let his fingers linger over its familiar etchings and curves, then trace down its elegant stem. The previous night’s wonderings eddied up in his mind like a rising tide. 

Wind, winds, thunderstorms, Tetra.

Shaking a head full of fluffy hair as if to clear his thoughts, Link finished making sure his sheath was properly fastened to his belt. He’d focus on the things he could do. 

But looking over to the eight men all sitting around a cooking pot, Link wasn’t sure quite what to do. What he had was a hunch, that they could be warriors? Maybe heroes, but probably travelers? But he’d never ever heard of there being more than one hero, much less eight. Besides, he was the land’s hero. Were they wannabes? Heck, he hadn’t even identified any innately evil threats yet. Whatever this was and whoever they were, Link didn’t know if he was supposed to stay here, walk off and try to figure something out, or edge his way closer to the morning fireside chatter.

The long, wild-haired one, who’s blue tunic was still vaguely ashen and sooty from yesterday, smacked Armor Man’s hand away from where he had tried to snatch something out of the pot. The company laughed, chuckles filling the otherwise very still morning air. Link took a step forward, someone turned around.

This was one of the men who’d come later last night, the Blue Scarf Man. Link decided that aside from Armor Man, he looked the most heroic. A chiseled jawline, shining pauldron, and dark blue eyes flickering with an attentive intelligence as he scanned Link over. He felt himself shrink somewhat awkwardly under the gaze, what was the man thinking?

Notions of any hostile intentions began to fade as a charismatic and regal smile flashed over the man’s features. “Wubeito, seka. Ama mabain.” He lifted his arm and gestured for Link to come over. 

Hand on the hilt of his sword, Link padded silently over to the fire.

Warrior’s initial impression of the kid was, well, exactly that. That he was a kid. He had a feeling that some of the others had started their adventures young, but that young? How old was he, twelve?

Upon watching a little more, he’d noticed a few things. He’d noticed how one hand stayed obediently upon the handle of the boy’s interesting sword. He’d noticed his watchful gaze and the way his pointed ears pricked attentively when someone spoke. There was a sort of well-balanced and silent gait to his steps that one only gains from experience in a proper fighting stance, or moving on a battlefield. 

 And then there was that extremely obvious lack of verbal communication, which as the veteran had pointed out, could be handled. They’d wait and see.

“Morning, kid. Come on over.” Warrior greeted with a friendly grin, upon catching some movement from his peripheral vision. He waved for the kid to come to take a spot around the smoky morning fire. Last night’s chill still lingered in the air, though was quickly being overridden by the smell of warm char and amazing breakfast omelets (Thank Hylia for Wild). But they’d need to get moving eventually, and it’d probably be good to get their newest addition some food. Wild had assured him that there wasn’t too big a hurry, seeing as the sun stuck around for a leisurely sixteen hours in his Hyrule. That was almost twice the time they’d need to make it to Hateno.

The kid gave him a small nod and walked silently over, plopping himself down upon the rightmost edge of the fireside log. The very edge, as if he wasn’t sure he’d like to get too close to Warrior.

Sky offered one of those characteristic, warm, inviting smiles from across the fire to the kid as he looked up from his breakfast. Warrior wondered how he always managed to look so approachable when he smiled as opposed to vaguely proud and perhaps a bit smug. “That was quite the fall last night, how are you feeling?”

There was a beat. The scraping of wooden forks against plates paused.

A bird chirped from it’s lofty roost as if to accentuate the silence that followed.

Warriors watched Sky shuffle somewhat awkwardly, taking a hasty bite of omelet. Hyrule picked up the conversation.

“We’re going to fill him in now, right?” He asked, mostly at Time. Everyone’s heads swiveled towards the man, who’d been quite effectively dubbed as the group’s leader. Warriors figured he could lead just as well, no problem. But he didn’t let it rub him the wrong way. Besides, the man was more than capable of fulfilling the role.

Twilight gave a nod, glancing back towards the new Link who watched on with wide, observant eyes. “That would be best.”

Time turned his attention to the young boy, who’s eyes darted up to momentarily meet the gaze of the man. He seemed shifty, restless, maybe even bouncy as his line of sight flickered over all eight of them there. That gaze finally rested upon Time and stayed there as he began to speak. “I’ll preface this by saying, it sounds absurd, but it’s true. We’re all carriers of the Hero’s Spirit, but all from different eras, all brought together by the same portals.”

Legend cut in. “We also all have the same name and dumb haircut-”

Wild and Four frowned, the latter subconsciously reaching one hand up to tug lightly at his blunt-cut hair. Warrior knew he probably looked very offended. His hair was dashing and not dumb, mind you.

“-for the most part.” The veteran amended with a slight scoff. “Because Hylia just loves a good historical motif.”

“Right!” Sky suddenly chirped, having finished up his breakfast. “We’ve been using our hero titles to refer to each other since it’s not convenient to just say ‘Link’.”

Upon hearing their shared name, the boy’s attention jerked up to Sky. Warrior noticed his eyes gradually trailing down then seeming to stare off into space. Was he even paying attention? At all? Good goddesses. He was about on par with a dead-eyed rookie military draftee at their first war meeting.

Hyrule and Four shared a mischievous grin, the former and quieter of the two speaking up with a lilt of amusement on his words. “But, it’s pretty funny when you yell ‘Link’ and everyone turns around.”

Scoffing, though clearly trying to hide his own chuckles of amusement behind an overly-serious furrowing of his brow, Twilight stared the two down. “That’s the most evil thing you two have done to date, seriously.”

Alright, as entertaining as this was, the conversation was spinning off and lacking all priority. Warrior cleared his throat, raising his eyebrows at all present (save for Time, because he would get grounded). “I believe we’re running down a rabbit hole, here.”

Hyrule’s brow furrowed. “No? We’re sitting around the-”

“ Similes , ‘Rule.” Legend chided, though his glare at the younger held more amusement and affection than it did actual annoyance.

“Actually, that was a metaphor.” Four corrected, casually brushing a bit of dust from his trousers and not bothering to meet Legend’s vaguely offended sputtering with his dark, violet gaze. Warrior snorted a quick laugh, muffling it behind a raised hand and deep frown to keep from further derailing the conversation.

“ Anyways .” Time started rather pointedly, narrowing his eye and tossing everyone one of those ‘dad is not pleased’ looks that had all involved in shenanigans immediately shutting their traps. Wild and Twilight barely suppressed their cackling, which didn’t really help Warrior from not finding humor in the whole situation. He tried to remember to appear regal and captainly. He was, after all, a regal captain. “We’ve been brought together in order to fight some sort of threat. What it is exactly, we have no clue. However, it seems that you are the newest hero we were meant to find.”

Everyone seemed to wait for him to respond. But instead, the new Link stared at the campfire, brow furrowing every now and then and lips pulling into a straight-lined, more thoughtful look every other second or so. Warrior could practically see his mind working. But what exactly it was working on was a mystery to him.

Brilliant blue eyes widening, Wild looked to the kid, then back to the food pot, then back to the kid. “Oh!” The kid straightened up at the sudden exclamation. “You haven’t eaten, hungry? There’s plenty.” Without even waiting for an answer from the kid, Wild summoned a plate from seemingly nowhere, again, and deftly delivered an omelet onto its wooden surface. Warrior didn't know if he’d ever get used to the young, wild hero’s strange slate-magic. 

Face hospitable and lips still pulled into that smile the teen got whenever he was cooking, Wild leaned over and offered the kid the plate. The boy’s hand reached over slowly to grasp the plate, and upon receiving it, Wild gave him a very approving series of nods. He seemed to be waiting to watch the kid react to his cooking. The Link scratched his head of fluffy hair, stabbed a bit of fluffy, steaming, omelet with the fork, and raised it to his mouth.

The absolute grin that quickly flashed upon the kid’s sun-tanned and faintly freckled features rivaled the sun. That settled it for Warrior. The kid would be protected at any and all costs. Oh my goddesses that smile. 

“You’re taking this all rather… calmly.” Four remarked leaning his elbows to rest on his knees, and in turn his chin upon his upturned palms. If their young new comrade was going to reply, he didn’t, being far too busy inhaling his breakfast. 

The kid froze and looked up from his already mostly-devoured omelet, the beginnings of a sheepish grin pulling at the corners of his now messy mouth. Legend snickered, Sky chortled, Twilight was vaguely unimpressed, and Wild was ecstatic that his cooking had been well received. Warrior motioned for him to wipe his mouth, pantomiming the action as to not draw so much attention to his greasy face. After a moment, the kid promptly scrubbed over his mouth with the backside of his sleeve.

Time continued once more. “Thus far we’ve been moving from west to east and tackling whatever problems or threats we find along the way. We’ll be heading out to Hateno today, it’s a village in this Hyrule, and gather what information we can.”

“And bash some monster skulls along the way.” Warrior decided to add, sharing a smirk with Wild, who’s eyes reflected Warrior’s own thoughts. Thoughts that mainly consisted of ‘I want Legend’s fire rod’ and ‘how many monsters can we blow up at once?’

“So, any questions? Comments? Concerns-?” Sky began.

“Insults? Grievances? Curses for the goddesses?” Legend finished, that last bit of his sentence throwing Sky’s face into an extremely unimpressed, disapproving frown. Warrior was glad he was not on the receiving end of the Skyloftian’s rare looks of disappointment. Seriously, Sky didn’t do it often, but the immediate guilt one felt from one of those looks was enough to give even Time a run for his rupees. 

All eyes trained on the young Link, whose hand had returned to its dutiful place upon the dark indigo handle of his sword. He looked about for a moment, and with great hesitance, simply shrugged. All the while his gaze darted between Legend and Sky, as if waiting for their reactions. Warrior couldn’t identify that look on his face. It wasn’t fearful, but it wasn’t entirely off-edge either. He didn’t seem too surprised at the multiple paradigm twisting bombs that had been dropped, which Warrior found interesting. However, they’d all seen, as Legend liked to put it, ‘some strange, messed up bulls***.’ 

Standing and passing Wild his empty plate, Time addressed them. “We best get on the road. Even if the day is long, we’ve much ground to cover. Pack it up, boys.” 

Dutifully, all passed Wild their plates, which disappeared one by one with a cerulean flash into his strange tablet. As Warrior passed the younger hero his plate, he noticed the kid was watching Wild from his place on the log, eyes stretched wide in disbelief and flickering with curiosity. Warrior chuckled heartily, clapping a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You get used to it.” 

Wild held out one hand towards the kid while fiddling with his Sheikah Slate in the other. “Plate, please.”

The boy stared, tilting his head slightly. 

Warrior went ahead and took his plate from him, passing it to Wild, who in turn said a quick thank you and stood to begin breaking camp. He marched on over to his bedroll and looked over his shoulder to find the kid standing up and looking around somewhat confusedly. “Pack up, kid. We’ll be hitting the road very soon.”

“I don’t think he has anything to pack up.” Legend added snarkily, giving Warrior a narrow-eyed look that just screamed ‘you absolute fool, can’t you see the obvious?’

“We can get him a bedroll at Hateno.” Wild said, looking over at the kid. “Would you like that?”

The kid turned to the person addressing him, one hand fiddling with the side of his blue tunic and giving that same silent shrug again. The way his shoulders hunched slightly and his lips pursed into an awkward frown was enough to tell everyone that he’d rather not be talked to so much. 

Well, no matter. They needed to begin the day’s long walk.

Chapter Text

Link just really wished everyone would stop asking him questions because Holy Hylia what the he**  was he supposed to do about those? it was to be expected to say something when no one could understand and it just kept happening and he had no idea what to do about it and-

Chill, chill. He chided himself gently, slinking to the corners of camp as everyone packed up. But in all honesty, questions were the worst . Did they want information? Or was it a yes or no question? He had a feeling there’d come a time where a yes-nod or a no-shake or an I-don’t-know/maybe-shrug wouldn’t suffice, but that was an issue for later. He looked up from his thoughts for a moment to notice the one with a bit of pink hair, the one wearing a...dress? Pink Hair Dress Man was watching him with a raised brow, which probably meant Link was making those ‘I’m thinking’ faces again. 

Heyy, I can’t help it! The face does what the face wants.

Maybe he’d piece enough of their language together to form some sort of basis of communication. Maybe. He’d figure it out eventually, but for now...

Goddesses, not being able to talk was going to suck. Link considered himself a fairly talkative person when he wanted to be, and a good talker at that. But there wasn’t really anyone to talk to. And therefore, no reason to talk. 

Someone laughed, and he jerked to attention. Scarf Man seemed to be poking fun at Dress Man. The group had begun picking their way out of the forest, and now he supposed it was time to follow them to… wherever they were going?

Why am I even following them? He thought as he trailed along behind them, though another glance towards that endless field gave him his answer. There wasn’t really anywhere else to go. Not a trading outpost in sight, not a glimmer of sparkling sea in the distance. For all his navigational skills, it wasn’t smart to wander off in a place like this. 

The shadowy forest quickly thinned and opened up to- Woah. Woah woah woah.

Fortified, stone walls stretched high into the air, carved into grandiose arches and ending in shining, dew-slicked ramparts that Link was certain must brush the clouds. The masonry was cracked and crumbling, spotted with twisting vines, old mosses, and stubborn grasses that took root in the stone, but that didn’t change the fact that it was incredible. Did someone build this? How? 

Mouth agape and spinning himself dizzy trying to look around and take everything in, Link knew he was beginning to lag behind the strangers. He didn’t really care right now, because this, this was incredible . Nothing looked carved.

Every wind-smoothed stone and cathedral arch were made from individual bricks, pieces of some elaborate puzzle. Where did they get all the stone to make this? They must’ve torn an island apart. 

What looked like gigantic ship's masts loomed above his head, faded banners an infinity above him waving and snapping like tattered canvas sails in the cold, damp morning wind. They flanked the stone pathway like giant grey trees, and though clearly wrecked by the passing of time and seasons, Link felt wordless awe filling his ever-widening gaze at the sheer size of everything. It all had to be around twenty times his height, probably more? Wow. Just wow . He wondered how high he could climb. Those vines looked a lot like ships’ rigging, and he could scale that quicker than a cyclone could warp you to another island. 

Someone laughed, and he reluctantly tore his gaze away from the sights above to meet the very amused chuckles of Cape Man and Ponytail Guy. He was at least a ship’s length away from them at this point, better catch up before he got left behind in this vast world. 

Jogging with silent footfalls atop the crumbling stone path, he cast another glance over his shoulder at the Hylian-made majesty behind him. This has to be some new land, another island! Some long-forgotten place that was so high up it survived the flood. That explains the ruins, people have had to re-settle. That also explains the languages, our societies must have developed differently or something. Link felt quite smart to have figured that out, a clever and warm feeling tickling at his chest. Though still entirely dumbfounded as to exactly how he’d gotten here, he was glad he did. It wasn’t every day you discovered a new continent. 

Link glanced over his shoulder back at the looming cliffs of masonry. The vines were still visible, but only just, nothing but hair-thin lines that faded slightly with distance. He figured they must be around one nautical mile away from it by now. They’d been walking for what, how long? He turned around and held his hand up to the sky. The sun’s only moved one finger or so... Twentyish minutes? Yeah.

And that’s when the ruins came into sight. These weren’t like the archaic grandeur that was the giant wall and towering flagpoles, these were lonely, desolate structures. Buildings composed of two walls instead of four, smashed battlements, and tired old wagon spokes. Okay, sure people had re-settled after the flood, but why abandon this place? Maybe some time ago, it still could’ve been preserved, remained livable. Had something happened on this island? He turned as something jutting up from the earth caught his eye.

Quiet feet pattered over damp soil as Link broke trail to investigate. It was metal, or so it seemed. It was honestly hard to tell under all that grime and moss. Metallic, cone-ish shaped, and very mechanical looking, but also really old? He brushed a hand experimentally across it’s dark, cold surface. There were a couple up ahead as well, and those ones had strange, segmented things attached to them. It vaguely reminded Link of a Bokoblin’s devilish tail, but with grabby feet things at the end of it. What were they? He’d never heard about something like this in any of the-

A foreign shout cut the morning stillness like a cannon shot. “Seka! Venli kanar!”

Link’s feet propelled him forwards into a roll out of instinct as his peripheral vision caught the notion of something moving fast towards him. He’d barely even had the time to register what was going on. There was a metallic clang and a ferocious snarl as something collided with the metal thing he’d just been inspecting, where his head had been one second ago. 

Battle cries and the crash of weapons clashing filled the world, accompanied by the occasional whizz of arrows streaking through the air. It was an ambush. 

He jumped to his feet, drawing his sword to face whatever had just tried to kill him. A creature, blue-skinned and with large ears, raised its club and charged him again to smash down at his skull. Link simply sidestepped, leaning his weight to one foot then flinging it back in rebound as he flipped his sword from an upright to backhand grip. 

It cried out in rage and pain as the Phantom Sword’s sharp blade flew upwards and cut through grotesque forearm muscle with a generous spray of pungent blood. Link’s feet easily found themselves in a fighting stance, lithe form perfectly balanced as he flipped his bloodied blade back into an upright grip. The creature he faced was.. A bokoblin? That’s what it looked like, at least. But its ears were too big, skin too blue, nose too bulbous, and where were it’s raggedy clothes? Haha he’s naked- his mind whispered which it should STOP doing because hey this is sort of a battle not the time-

His legs folded downwards into a crouch, then he sprung up with his weapon raised high, blades of grass kicking up in his wake. Now to bring the blade crashing down and fell his opponent. One hefty downward strike should be more than enough to- 

A strangled sort of half-choked cry left his lips along with all the air in his body as the creature’s club slammed into his ribs. He felt his chest constrict as sharp, throbbing pain shot through his already bruised ribs and muscles, and his grip on the Phantom Sword slackened for one moment too long as he was knocked backward by the blin’s vicious strike.

He gasped for air that wouldn’t fill his too-tight lungs and scampered to his feet. Grimy dirt stuck to his palms and knees. The bokoblin snarled with an almost pleased glint in its eye as he smashed the club downwards and only missed the sailor by an oar’s width, wish swishing in the weapon’s wake. It was okay though. Now what Link had found his footing-

Apparently, there wasn’t time to think, either, as the club was heaved upwards and right into the Phantom Sword’s blade. The bones of his arm protested at the sudden impact, and he watched the sword spin away from his grasp and into the grass six pigs’ lengths behind him. “Sh**-!” He started, turning around to lunge for his weapon. Cold dew soaked straight through his shoes and the knees of his trousers, the feeling almost as sharp as the wide-eyed urgency to get the sword get the sword- A shadow loomed from over him just as calloused fingers brushed the handle. There wasn’t going to be enough time to block it well. He’d have to do something else, he’d have to-

The moment he’d turned about to scramble to his feet and try to handle this unnaturally persistent bokoblin, a blaze of royal blue and bright blonde hair cut in front of him, scarf waving in the wind and trailing after the man’s quick movement. He heard a sword crash harshly against a club. The bokoblin snarled in rage.

“Seka! Armov ei!” Scarf Man barked, he’d put himself between Link and the bokoblin. With a grunt, Scarf Man kicked the bokoblin away. The horde of snarls had lessened, the strangers must be winning.

Link didn’t waste any time. He darted quickly past Scarf Man, sword in hand, and deftly gave a horizontal slash to the creature’s throat. For good measure, he stabbed it right up below the ribcage, driving his blade as deep as he could because ohh boy I’m not making that mistake ever again hOlY sH** that was tOO cLoSE-

The bokoblin dissolved into purple smog with a strangled cry, it’s remains dissipating like sea mist as Link kicked the limp body from his blade. He turned to find Scarf Man giving him the same vaguely concerned look that Armor Man had presented him the previous night. The same vaguely furrowed brow and lips moving in words Link couldn’t understand. He had a feeling he wouldn’t want to understand, even if this man had just saved his hide. 

Doesn’t matter what language you speak. The ‘I’m treating this person like a child’ face never changes. Oh for f***s sake- I just killed a thing! Yes, thank you for the help but I still ran it through!

Link felt determination setting heavily upon his shoulders, buzzing under his feet, and pulling his brow into a battle-ready glare. He was more than capable. 

The poofy haired, green tuniced one, Freckles, was currently holding his own against two of the creatures who’d decided to gang up on him. His wild sword strokes seemed to be effective, but lacked all coordination as if no one had ever told him how to swing a sword.

His feet were silent even as he ran across the stone path to rush to Freckle’s side. Pushing off from the ground, he jumped up towards a crumbling, nearby wall. Link launched off of the wall sword-first right into the back of the Bokoblin. Freckles gave him a grin and finished off the other with a well-timed jab straight to the throat. Both creatures shrieked in indignation and faded into mist, leaving nothing but some weird cone-shaped bones behind. 

Ponytail guy whizzed past them in a blue blur, picking up the bone things as he went. “Bukeiya!” He shouted, smiling cheekily as the bones dissipated into ribbons of blue energy.

Weird, but neat.

A red creature now charged, weapon raised high. It moved with less the self-assuredness and cunning of the blue one. Link ducked beneath its swing and allowed his momentum to push him into a slide, the blade of his sword catching the back of the creature’s legs as he did. In a single strike, he plunged his blade down into its collapsing form. 

The thrum of feet approaching from behind matched the thumping of his battle-envigorated heart. Link didn’t miss a single beat as he sprang forward into a roll and gained some distance. Two red-fletched arrows whizzed in succession so close to his face he could feel the swirling wind riding their wake. With a double thunk , the arrows embedded themselves deep into the face of the bokoblin, immediately earning a shriek of rage from their target. Link whipped around to find Shorty, the one with the patchwork tunic, atop one of the crumbling walls and firing off arrows into the fray. 

Sparing half a moment to give Shorty a quick nod of thanks, he got a run-up on the currently arrow-struck and enraged opponent- oh the little f***er had another bokoblin running to his aid. Could bokoblins even comprehend the idea of giving aid? Or did they just charge towards the closest opponent? Link halted his approach just long enough to poise his form and release the potential energy in a spin attack. To his satisfaction, both bokos had been knocked back and he lunged forward to stab the arrow-struck one. 

His blade sunk into it, the creature immediately snarling its last and collapsing into smoke. It sure was handy that they did that, it meant LInk could swipe his sword through where their bodies used to be instead of lugging his sword out of a limp hunk of really gross flesh. And that’s exactly what he did as his blade whipped around and caught the second bokoblin square across its face, flinging back to where it came to deliver a second lower slash. One last arrow from Shorty had it stumbling over itself and dissolving into smog. 

The battle ended shortly thereafter, and all the heroes began to pick their way back to the center of the ruins and regroup. Save for Ponytail, of course, who was busy darting about and picking up those cone-shaped bone bits and what the f*** what does he need intestines for???

Cape man twirled his sword, the Master Sword, and sheathed it with a flourish. Was it just Link, or was the man murmuring to the blade whilst he did so? Regardless, Link watched with wide and very impressed eyes at the skilled deftness with which the man wielded his blade. He’d need to learn how to twirl a sword all fancy-like, but now probably wasn’t the time. They’d spent a good few minutes dispatching all those monsters, and Armor Man was announcing something loudly. He guessed it was time to head out as Freckles, Shorty, and Dress Man jogged past him. Link bent down to wipe blood and bits of Boko from the Phantom Sword’s silvery blade on the grass.

He couldn’t help but startle slightly as someone unexpectedly clapped a hand on his shoulder. Craning his neck around, Link found Scarf Man smiling at him and speaking in words he couldn’t understand. “Wuben amelar, seka.” The man’s baritone voice carried something akin to what Link perceived to be… well he actually couldn’t tell in the slightest. But it wasn’t bad if that smile was anything to go by. Link simply returned the smile, sheathing his sword and taking care to not stab Scarf Man as he did. After all, Scarf Man had very much helped him out earlier.

Giving his shoulder one last pat, Scarf Man began to walk towards the rest of the group, Link close at his heels. He didn’t know who they were, where he was, or what they were doing, but he knew that if not for Scarf Man, he’d probably have a considerable headache compliments of a bokoblin’s club.

Whether aware of it or not, as morning sun arced across the sky and everyone got back to walking along the pathway in this vast world, Link decided he trusted Scarf Man the most. 

Link could be sneaky, and he was very good at it.

It was second nature for him to touch the blade of his foot onto the ground first, followed quickly by the balls of his feet and then his heels. It was the quietest way to walk, and he could be entirely soundless even across the testiest of terrain. When sneaking, one relied on their feet to feel the ground beneath them, while one’s eyes scanned their surroundings. Being able to feel under your feet was very important, which is why Link chose to wear shoes with thin soles.

That was probably a mistake because all he could feel right now was pain. 

Freckles gave him a look as he squirmed on the seat of the bed, mumbling instructions or insults or whatever that Link couldn’t make out as the older teen inspected his tender, bloodied feet.

HIs feet had started to protest about forty-five minutes after the battle, or three finger-widths of the sun’s slow movement across the sky. It had started as the feeling of chafing skin against the canvas insides of his shoes, growing ever dirty and ever sweaty as they just kept on walking. Link didn’t think he’d ever walked this long before. Though, he could put up with the sour scraping feeling against the sides of his feet and the back of his heels because wow this island is amazing.

The distant peaks that had seemed unreachable when they’d first exited the forest had gradually drawn closer, becoming less figures on the horizon and more towering landmasses that Link couldn’t comprehend the size of. Their twin structures stretched high into the air, fading with the distance and cut harshly by a dark gorge right down the middle. It was like the goddesses had taken a sword and lopped the mountain in half. Link started to feel like someone had been rubbing sharp gravel under his toes for the past half hour.

He busied himself with darting distractedly leftward and rightward in zigzags behind the group as they had neared a long, rather regal looking stone bridge. Being curious was much more fun than thinking about sore feet! He had noticed Freckles and Ponytail were always darting about up ahead, looking at a little something here or dashing over to point out something there. Every time they did, Dress Man would say something along the lines of ‘Hyrule, teshli…’ or ‘Hyrule, maven vui-something’. Judging by how Freckles whipped around with a sheepish grin every time Dress Man said something, Link guessed that he might be called ‘Hyrule’. Must be pretty dope to be named after a long-lost country, kinda bada**, actually. Hyrule: a sprawling realm submerged underwater and lost to the ages. Yeah that’s just cool. 

Link had also realized that following in their wake was really, really fun. He’d already had the pleasure of meeting the acquaintance of two Koroks and discovered some weird yellow thing in a tree with striped bugs buzzing all around it. But on approach, Cape Man had rushed over and pulled him away by the back of his collar. He sounded a little alarmed, which meant Link would definitely go poke it later.

He couldn’t help but be amazed at the river when they had crossed the bridge. Not even Forest Haven had this much freshwater, where did it all come from? It seemed to stretch off into the distance for miles.

When they had gotten off the bridge, Link had paused awkwardly with one foot in the air to fiddle friction-scraped feet, one finger stuck down the side of his shoe. And then again five minutes later. And then again after a couple of steps because why are my feet so… just.. ow? Why do they hurt? It vaguely reminded him of how his hands had been sore from constantly swinging a sword when he first started, except he had to walk on these. He’d taken one step and decided to poke at the other foot, then decidedly stopped as the sweat of his hand made sharp and loud contact with a scrape on the back of his heel, the salt of it making the welt smart all the more. Dress Man gave him a look, and Armor Man raised a questioning eyebrow.

They’re going to stop soon. Aaany minute now. He had been thinking that for a while, and the sun had moved two and a half finger-widths since his feet first started hurting. They’d been walking for six whole fingers and then some, well over an hour. His hands had started to feel warm and clumsy, and he could feel every heartbeat pulse through his tingling digits. He found out it got better if he held his hands up. Link’s fingertips looked like they were blushing.

Eventually, Link stopped caring about counting time. His feet felt hot and sticky in their canvas confines, and each step sent pangs of ow ow oW tender jolting up the back of his calves. He tried to walk more gingerly, not that he could avoid anything, each step had Link biting his lower lip out of reflex and he was just trying his best to keep up with the strangers (who apparently didn’t feel stabbing pain on the balls of their feet and the back of their heel and the tops of their toes).

He had tried walking heel-to-toe like everyone else was, but couldn’t help but slip back into fox-walking a few steps later. The bottoms of his feet screamed at him to stop. He couldn’t and he wouldn’t. He was a hero and he was on a quest. He’d slain Ganon! He could slay foot pain, too. 

He’d only noticed how close they were to the mountain when they were finally under it. Sheer, stone cliffs shot up high into the air, the sky only a crack of light between two twin mountainsides. The ground was rockier here, more uneven, and he unintentionally tread on a bit of stone. Needless to say that hurt and he found himself hopping away from the offensive object, only to tense as a sharp, sour pain throbbed through his swollen, uncomfortable feet. Note to self, no jumping that hurts a lot worse-

The younger one with face markings, Fur Man, had given him a look. “Kanar webu?”

Entirely clueless and absolutely in pain, Link gave a hearty smile and simply continued along his way- eexxcceeppt Fur Man stepped in front of him, crossing his arms. “Seka, kan’ah weotei. Lei maneh shen kanarei neva.”

Link shuffled awkwardly on his feet to try and find a position that wasn’t killing him. The he** 'm I supposed to say to that?

“Muya sen eili, ama.” Fur Man had seemed to want something from him, gesturing vaguely to the side of the path.

After an uncomfortable minute of blank stares from Link and increasingly exasperated sighs from Fur Man, Link was led over to sit on the ground. Armor Man and Scarf Man had come over too, the rest had continued ahead. Link wasn’t sure what was going on and he wasn’t sure he liked it. 

“Seka, lei maneh shen kanarei neva.” He repeated once more. Link decided to offer him a nod and another small smile as if he was politely maintaining a one-sided conversation. In a way, he was. 

Fur Man gave a nod in return then reached for his shoes, so Link jerked away and gave him a pouty frown. Really? Stealing shoes right off someone’s feet? Stealing shoes ? First off, Fur Man couldn’t wear them anyways, he was too big. Second off, really, that was horrible technique, he couldn't’ve been more obvious about it. Fur Man would make a terrible pirate. 

Scarf Man and Fur Man exchanged words. More words he couldn’t understand and couldn’t respond to. 

Looking him in the eye, Fur Man mumbled something incoherent and slowly reached for Link’s feet again. Link quickly decided that because Fur Man was such a terrible pirate, he could take his shoes back any time he wanted. This quest was weird enough already. Maybe shoes had something to do with it? What? No, that’s dumb. But at this point he was out of ideas. F*** it maybe I’m the Hero of Shoes now.

Link couldn’t keep back a hiss of pain as wet, sticky canvas peeled gratingly from his stinging, chafing skin, the motion sending stabs of pain darting over his skin and up through the bones of his feet. He curled his toes in reflex but tried to stop immediately as that only made the pain worse. 

His feet were swollen, sticky with a red film of blood. The topskin nearest to the blade of his feet was torn and pale and looked like it continued down under the balls of his feet. Upon drawing his feet a little closer to inspect, he was right. Bulbous blisters had ruptured under his big toe from walking on them, still leaking blood and some clear fluid. The exposed skin underneath the layer of pale, torn topskin was red and angry. 

So that’s probably why he found himself forcefully coerced into being carried by Scarf Man. Which was, by the way, was embarrassing and absolutely horrible for multiple reasons. He was not a child, and he could walk! He was a hero and heroes could learn to handle anything. Scarf Man had also already saved him once this morning, and now he was getting ‘saved’ again. Link would rather not make a habit out of this.

Well, it was nice to not have stabbing pain every time he took a step, and there was something to be relished about being so tall while carried on someone’s back- but still . He’d much rather be the one doing the carrying. He was a big brother, after all.

It had taken a long time to trek through the gash in the mountains, and the sun had disappeared all the while, hidden behind those almost clean-cut stone cliffs. Link couldn’t mark the time but it felt like forever. 

They’d crossed a bridge, walked a bit, then gone into some weird hut thing with a strange creature’s head replicated atop it. The closest Link could get to identifying it was a dragon, but that notion was immediately overruled by the presence of three great beasts confined to wooden stalls on the side of the tent. The same flared nostrils, the same wild ridge of fur along its neck. They huffed and snorted as the group had walked past to enter the tent. Link briefly huffed back.

Ponytail was talking to a man with a funny hat, and Scarf Man let Link slip off of his back and onto a bed. Was this someone’s house? Whose house was it? Weird house, with five beds, no doors, and zero neighbors. Must get lonely. 

Freckles- Hyrule gave him a look as he squirmed on the seat of the bed, mumbling instructions or insults or whatever that Link couldn’t make out as the older teen inspected his tender, bloodied feet. After a moment, the boy rummaged about his spoils bag and produced bandages and a cloth. Link tried very hard not to kick out in reflex as Hyrule gently wiped blood and sticky fluid from his sorely protesting feet. Whilst the green-clad boy was working, Armor Man walked over from where he had been in conversation with the others of the group.

“Hyrule, balar lura wu nal shai balar vei noreh muya. Enemo?” Hyrule gave a small nod, and Armor Man gave his shoulder a brief pat. His eyes lingered on Link’s feet for a second before a shout from Ponytail drew his attention. It looked like Ponytail was riding one of those-

Oh. That’s where Link had seen those before! It was a- it was a-! 

Actually, he had no idea what it was called , only that it had appeared in depictions of the ancient legends. Exhaling slowly through his nose, Link closed his eyes and tried to picture it.

A green-clad boy with a legendary sword raised high, riding away on a something with a kingdom behind him. This boy, who traveled through time to save the land, was known as the Hero of Time. It must have been a mighty and terrible beast, to be worthy of being taken into battle by the Hero of Time himself.

Wind opened his eyes and looked at Fur Man as Ponytail hopped off the beast, and Fur Man easily sat himself atop the tall creature. Green clad, and he did carry a sword. Could he be- No, no, that’s silly. Anyone can wear green. Boys everywhere wear green. His mind harkened back to other passages of ancient text. 

It was a prosperous land, blessed with green forests, tall mountains, and peace.  

Link froze. He stared at the base of the mountain visible from through the entrance of the canvas tent. He thought about towering trees packed with lush green leaves and populated by thriving birds’ nests. Still! It’s impossible, right? The legends referred to Hyrule, not the islands. And Hyrule is flooded. But maybe this island is truest to how it used to be. The last surviving place that’s truly like the legends.  

The thought filled him with awe, and a sort of giddy realization, that warm bubbly feeling of cleverness similar to when he’d guessed about the reason everyone spoke differently. 

Hyrule stood, pulling Link from his awe-struck wonderings. His feet had been wrapped neatly with cloth bandages and Hyrule was tucking the unused bandages back into his puch. As he began to slip off the bed, Freckles put a hand on his shoulder and kept him from going any further. He offered a small, almost skittish smile as his dusty blue eyes darted from Link’s feet back to his face. “Maven laiko, kanarei neva vei dasev.”

Welp, Link had zero clue what that meant. He brushed Hyrule’s hand aside and touched one foot to the floor. The freckled boy seemed a little distressed at this and ushered him back onto the bed with mumbled chastisement and vague gesticulating. Link complied and stared down at his feet… right. That’s probably what he was getting told off about.

Hyrule crossed his arms and looked like he was trying to make one of Armor Man’s serious faces. It wasn’t really working that well, and he looked more flustered than commanding. “Laiko, bukeiya.” With a resolute nod and a final glance at Link’s feet, sat himself on the floor and began absentmindedly rummaging through his bag.

Sighing softly, Link flopped backward on the bed. Was this their destination? That seemed sort of anticlimactic. There wasn’t any indication of horrible, looming threats or tell-tale signs that the goddess wanted him to pick up a Wisdom-this or a Power-that or a Courage-something-or-other. Not yet, anyway. Link decided that sitting on this strange-smelling bed was the most he could do for-

Wait, he’d been told to stay put, hadn’t he! 

Link sat bolt upright and simply stared at Hyrule. Did this f***er just GROUND ME??!

Chapter Text

“Hyrule, we have one hour then we have to go. Got it?” 

That’s what Time had said, and Hyrule was entirely okay with that. Maybe he’d even get to poke around the field and get some exploring in. After all, it was an open field, so he wouldn’t get too lost, right? He rummaged through his bag and tucked the bandages into a neat corner, pressing them as squished as he could and sliding some potions to rest atop them. One could only reorganize their bag so many times before one realized there was no way they could sit there and do that for a whole hour. Yes, it was important that they let the kid rest his feet. Hyrule was actually quite appalled they hadn’t done something sooner and had winced internally every time the kid tensed up when he was dabbing blood away from very sore feet. But he had no idea what he was supposed to do for an hour. Sit on the floor? Walk around? Get lost?

You know what? It’d be impressive if he could manage to get lost in that open field, though, no one would let him hear the end of it. Hyrule wondered how mad they would be if he accidentally busied himself with catching crickets for an hour or three. Upon further thought, he decided he’d very much rather not test that, Time was scary enough even when he wasn’t miffed.

If Hyrule was having trouble doing nothing for an hour, he could hardly imagine how impatient their newest companion was going to get very, very soon. Hyrule had told him to stay put because his feet needed rest. What did the kid do? He started trying to walk away why would he do that?? Nono- you’re going to hurt yourself, stay on the bed!

Even now he could feel the kid’s energetic blue gaze boring into the back of his head, and the hairs of his neck pricked and raised out of instinct. The vague drumming of fingers on knees started up as the kid simply sat there and fidgeted, plopping back onto the bed after a moment. Hyrule began to tie his bag shut, when the faintest of noises caught his ever-listening, ever-diligent ears. 

Swiveling his head about to get a better look, Hyrule saw that the kid was now flopped stomach-down atop the bed, his chin situated atop his hands, lips moving vaguely in the murmurings of a song Hyrule couldn’t make out. It reminded him a bit of that ‘100 bottles of milk’ song Time had started up one time, and that had ended up being pretty entertaining. A small smile flickered over the traveler’s lips as he finished securing his bag. Maybe the kid would be okay for an hour after all. 

He pulled a dull needle and some fraying thread from his bag, setting to work at patching the jagged briar rips in his spare set of trousers. It was easy, rhythmic work, and he found himself able to listen around whilst his hands went through the unskilled, somewhat clumsy movements of stitching fabric together. The sheep in the back bleated occasionally, and after what he guessed was ten minutes, Legend and Wild started laughing about Sky. Apparently he had fallen asleep? That’s what Hyrule could gather from snippets of cackling banter. The kid had been humming his song for quite some time now, and switched to a different tune not long after Hyrule finally finished his first set of stitches. 

The gentle chatter outside escalated to some sort of mild argument, loud words drifting over the chuffing of horses and the occasional bleating of sheep out back. 

“I’m not doing this.”

“Why not?!”

“Y’all gon’ be angry when you lose.”

Laughter erupted outside, though Hyrule wondered what a “yall” was as he tied off his second set of stitches, giving his messy handiwork a quick look over before shoving the trousers into his bag. He picked out Legend’s distinct cackle and Time’s hearty chuckles, and maybe some sniggering from Four as well. Footsteps approached rapidly, and it was probably-

“Hyrule! Ref for us!” Yup. Wild. Wild came crashing into the stable like a horde of monsters was at his heels, boots skidding roughly on the wooden floors and startling the stable hand behind the front desk half out of his skin. Hyrule watched on from his little spot by the bed, a little frozen in surprise, as Wild hopped over to him, gesticulating as he spoke. “We’re catching horses and I’m gonna beat Twilight.” 

 Warriors coolly walked past the stable’s threshold and leaned against a wood column, crossing his arms as he did. “I don’t know about that, Champion. I’m quite good with horses myself.” Wild shot him a questionably friendly glare, the air crackling between their two gazes like static before a lightning strike. 

Uh oh, smells like competition in here. Which probably meant Legend was betting on someone. Hyrule smiled, tossed his bag in the corner, and gave a nod. “I’ll ref. But- uh, how do I do it? And why me?”

Legend smirked from where he was leaning against a tree outside, a small bag of rupees in hand. “You’re the only one who hasn’t placed bets, it’s only fair the ref is unbiased, or so I’ve been told.”

Warriors grinned as he started out of the tent. “I wouldn’t put it past you to shove me under the wagon if we tie.”

“I am not a cheater!” Legend hissed.

He took a couple of steps to follow Warriors out the stable, then felt a wide, blue stare boring into the back of his neck. Oh! Right right, the kid. Hyrule quickly turned about and glanced at the kid and back at the door and then back to the kid again. He was now sitting up attentively, ears pricked for Hyrule to say something and looking behind the traveler at every other spike in banter. “Link, stay here, please?”

The young Link just stared silently as he normally did, eyes shifting to Hyrule’s hands for a moment before flitting back up to meet his eyes. He didn’t move from the bed, so maybe that meant something?

Hyrule offered a small smile. “Thank you.” With a polite nod of his head, he grinned and raced outside, followed by nearly silent footfalls. But only nearly. Ah, of course he didn’t stay put. Hyrule didn’t blame the kid, he didn’t think he himself would either. 

The traveler stopped in his tracks and turned around once more, only to find that-? Oh. There wasn’t anyone behind him. Nothing but a smoky cooking fire to his right, a sunlit field of horses to his left, and a neat semicircle of four empty beds in the cozy stable before him. 

The realization hit him like an ill-timed bowstring to the forearm, sharp and urgent. Where did he go-?  

“Hyrule, come on!” Warriors called, beginning to sound a little impatient, likely itching to compete against his comrades. 

Hyrule was not going to ‘come on’ just yet, because he’d lost the kid. Ohh oh boy, I had one job. Where’d he go- is this how everyone else feels when I wander off? His well-worn boots scuffed dusty footprints and kicked up little pebbles as he paces around in the same sort of general circle, eyes darted to the stable- no, no he’s not there, it’s empty. Did he take his shoes? His bandages could get dirty, his feet could get infected, and Hyrule would have to wrap them all over again. The medic in him groaned in exasperation.

“‘Rule, you looking for something?” Legend seemed to appear out of nowhere, though, he probably didn’t. Hyrule was probably just a little too busy looking for the Link he’d just misplaced. The back of his mind chided him not to worry so much. That was Twilight’s job. 

“Hyrule, are you looking for something?” Legend asked again, raising one characteristically annoyed eyebrow, probably because Hyrule forgot to answer his question-

“A-ah nope, no not looking for anyone.” Crap. Oh crap crap crap.

Legend’s face cracked into a half-smirk half-smile, and Hyrule couldn’t tell if the pink-haired hero genuinely found something funny or if Hyrule was getting laughed at. Perhaps a little bit of both. “Kid’s fine, ‘Rule.” Legend took his shoulder with one hand and turned him about, gesturing vaguely at the tall stableside tree. 

His eyes caught sight of something blue poking out between great oaken branches and a thick quilt of leaves, and it wasn’t the sky. There the kid sat, comfortably straddling a thick, gnarled branch of the oak adjacent to the stable. Shoes on, thankfully. He seemed quite pleased with himself, eyes wide and gaze darting about, simply looking around. His line of sight seemed especially drawn to the peacefully grazing horses in the distance. Well, as long as he didn’t use his feet too much for the rest of the hour...

“The first one past that line-” Hyrule looked back attentively to Warriors, who had wrapped the excess of his scarf a couple of times around his neck, probably to keep it clean. Wild was busily scoring a smoldering line into the earth with the Flame Blade, with Twilight telling him off about starting wildfires. “-with a horse wins. Easy enough. We’ll start on your mark.” 

The three lined up behind the line, sharp determination settling behind their gazes. Hyrule didn’t miss how Warriors’ darting gaze strategically sized up the gently sloping field as he toed the line. He didn’t miss how Wild was already hyper-fixating on his target, electric blue eyes focused as they’ve ever been. He didn’t miss the almost tangible confidence Twilight’s farm-muscled form was exuding. The air felt like a tense bowstring ready to loose.

So, that’s what happens when you let the Hero’s Spirit compete with itself.

“Go!” He shouted, a little startled by the fact he was capable of being so loud (it was sort of fun). The moment the syllables had formed on his lips, the three raced off. Twilight and Wild kept to much the same direction, while Warriors veered off to the right into the stony ruins that jutted from the earth. Hyrule turned to face the remaining heroes, who watched on with interested eyes and one hand each on their wallets. “Who bet on who?”

Legend smirked. “Wild, because Hylia knows I’m not betting on Wars.”

Time elbowed him playfully, looking back to the field where all three were now sneaking up on horses of their own. “Twilight’s got those boys beat by miles. Prepare to pay up, you two.”

Four sighed exasperatedly, gaze flickering red in the late-morning sunlight. “I just bet on Warriors because I felt bad.”

Warriors had reached some horses first, no doubt something he’d carefully planned out. Upon getting close to a pair of docile-looking creatures, he dropped into a crouch and began carefully picking his way across the grass. Hyrule hadn’t seen horses before they’d arrived in Wild’s era, and he was willing to bet that the newest Link hadn’t either, judging by the way he’d stared at the creatures.

Looking up to the tree, the kid was excitedly swaying his feet, watching attentively as Wild and Twilight got to horses of their own near the leftmost corner of the field. Suddenly, Warriors vaulted up and launched himself upon his target’s back, the horse immediately rearing with a startled whinny and hooves crashing to the ground with a thundering sort of noise Hyrule could hear clearly even from where he stood as it bucked and thrashed. The kid was on the edge of his seat, well, his branch, mouth slightly agape as Warriors regally held tight to the fiercely thrashing horse.

Twilight and Wild mounted their steeds at near the same time, Wild holding one hand out in a showman-like display. It was probably just for balance, but it sure looked cool. Legend tapped Hyrule on the shoulder, eyes glancing at the tree. “Look.”

The young hero had his left hand extended, leaning forward slightly, and right hand grasping an imaginary mare’s mane in imitation of the three heroes currently fighting to stay atop their horses. He mimicked the way Warriors shifted his balance atop the horse slightly, though he probably should've done that on a horse’s wide, muscular back and not a tree branch the width of his shoulders, because for a moment he almost slipped and tumbled out of the tree, fumbling for balance momentarily before righting himself. Hyrule suppressed a snort of laughter that Legend failed to hide. 

The thundering of hooves caught his ears. It was a close call, between Warriors and Wild at least. Twilight had his horse calmed long before the other two, and came barreling in on his black, bareback steed. Hooves skidded softly on the packed dirt as the ranchhand skillfully slowed her to a trot after passing the line, whispering praises into her ear. He dismounted with a grin of triumph and met eyes with Time, practically glowing under the nod of approval the older man gave him before Time turned to collect his winnings. 

Legend grumbled and shoved his dues into Time’s expectantly waiting hand, Four mumbling discontentedly to himself as he did the same. 

Hyrule was a little surprised to see Warriors beating out Wild by a couple of horse-lengths, quickly dismounting his steed to march over to Twilight and clap him on the shoulder. “You’re quite the horseman, my friend.”

Even the humble rancher couldn’t hide his proud smile. “I’m quite the farmboy, nothing special. I’ve got all y’all beat on horses, but y’all ain’t bad either.” 

Wild grinned and leaned forward precariously towards the head of his grey-dappled horse, letting him take a bit of apple from his hand. “You gotta teach me some tricks. Then after that, we’ll rematch.”

Hyrule liked it when the banter was easy and smiles were being passed around. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the kid definitely wasn’t in the tree anymore. He turned about in circles, wandering a few paces away from the group as he did.

Oh, I’ve lost him again but now we’re about to leave. He stared up at the tree for a couple of moments, unsure what to make of the situation. 

A pleased laugh bordering on a giggle wafted from behind the stable, cutting through the bleating of sheep and faint tread of hooves on the grass. Curious as ever, the wandering hero silently hurried around the curve of the stable’s tent. He wouldn't have seen the kid behind the fluffy cloud of a sheep if it wasn’t for that shock of sun-bleached blonde hair, a grin twitched at Hyrule’s lips as he saw what their newest companion had gotten himself up to.

The kid was face-deep in a billowy cloud of sheep fluff, gently hugging the skittish creature as it ate something off the ground. His cheeks pressed his eyes into a very happy shape as he smiled, fingers gently feeling through the woolen fluff. He released the little embrace and let his hand drag over it’s cloud-like back as the animal tottered away, offering a little ‘baa’ in some semblance of either ‘goodbye’ or ‘finally, he stopped petting me.’

Hyrule hadn’t seen sheep before they found themselves in Wild’s time, but he’d not gone up and said hello yet, something about them being skittish. Now that he was closer, he was acutely aware that these sheep were much bigger than he’d thought. The tops of its horns cleared him by a whole head, and the newest Link was only a set of eyes peeking over its fluffy back. If it wasn’t for how absolutely fluffy it was, Hyrule might be a little intimidated.

He was told it was best to politely let them enjoy their day, and not to startle them. This was true if the mountain goats and other hoofed animals they’d encountered were of any comparison. But maybe these were people-friendly? After all, they did live behind a stable. Stables have people. 

Hyrule knew in the back of his mind he just wanted to justify the insane urge to pet that sheep.

A grin breaking over his features, he gingerly and slowly climbed over the fence, as not to startle any of the fluffy creatures, and carefully moved towards the kid and the sheep he was currently stroking.

Tentatively, he let his fingertips brush the tips of its coat, almost freezing up because ohhohohohoho that is soft woah . More confidently, he stroked the sheep once more, the thick fleece tickling warmly at the palms of his hands. The kid and he met eyes, exchanging an outrageously pleased smile. 

Hyrule knelt beside the gentle creature as the younger Link patted it’s back, carefully minding its thick, curling horns. It had the eyes of a prey animal and the build of one too. Incredibly gentle and maybe a little skittish, but here it was, happily living its life behind a little stable and letting two strangers marvel at its fluff. Hyrule decided he liked sheep very much. And if the kid’s pleased smile was anything to go by, he liked sheep very much too. 

A sharp noise between a click and a snap sounded from the edge of the pen, and Hyrule jerked his gaze up from the sheep to find Wild grinning and holding up his sheikah slate. “Aw, look at you guys. ”

Legend quickly filed behind him from around the corner and looked away from the current sheep-snuggling scene, stifling what Hyrule guessed with steadily increasing suspicion was a smile. “Uh- if the kid can pet a sheep he can walk. Sky’s awake so we’re heading out now.” 

Hyrule nodded and stood to his feet, giving the sheep one last pat and a fond look as he did. Upon taking a few steps, he noticed the kid hadn’t followed yet. He didn’t blame him. Sheep were the best. “Hey, gotta go.” He said, hands moving habitually. The shorter boy frowned, gave one last head pat to the sheep, and followed Hyrule out of the pen.

Link was going to steal politely borrow one of those fluffy pig-dragons and he was going to do it well. That was the very first thought he had upon laying eyes on those immensely soft and cloudlike creatures. 

They had wicked curling horns and feet like pigs, which could probably do quite a bit of damage if the creature decided it didn’t like something. They were also somewhat similar to the hooved creatures out front, but smaller and maybe a little more dangerous. Of course, this was entirely offset by their surprisingly gentle mannerisms and the extreme softness of their thick pelts. He loved it, and he wondered if he could ride one. 

Link took the liberty to wonder for a moment.

He absolutely had to ride one. 

It turned out that whatever this thing was loved All-Purpose Bait just as much as pigs and rats. It snuffled up the pellets Link had tossed on the ground and was soon nosing Link for more, nuzzling his hands and whatever was close to his hands as if asking for seconds. Link laughed. “Stop that- it tickles!” He chided softly and gently, putting some more pellets on the ground. Good, the fluffy pig was busy. Link carefully and slowly moved behind it, readying to jump. 

He was in the middle of sizing up the best way to hop atop the creature, preparing to conquer and settle it, just as Scarf Man had done with the larger creatures in the field, when Freckles came around the bend and spotted him excitedly peeking over that mass of woolen softness. Quartermaster Fluffyback, the respectable terror of all lands and seas (as Link had so aptly named him five seconds ago), tottered away and offered one of his little ‘aa’ing noises, still chewing the remains of his Bait. Before he could fetch his mount, Hyrule took up to quietly petting a beast beside him, kneeling down to stroke it’s flank. Link followed suit and gave it a gentle hug, a pleased grin flashing over his face. That didn’t last for too long, though. Ponytail and Dress Man came, calling for Hyrule, Hyrule gestured for him to follow. 

A frown tucking the corners of his lips and giving a little pat to Mr.Fluffyback, Link waved goodbye and padded gingerly after Hyrule. His feet were still sore and ached with each step, but taking a stop seemed to have done some good. 

The sun was now arcing higher towards the sky, probably just an hour or two shy of noon. The group he’d been tagging along with was not gathered by the packed-earth pathway, and Link cringed internally at the thought of walking for so long again with his feet the way they were. He simply squared his shoulders and walked besides Hyrule as they joined back with the group. He’d just have to manage.

Cape Man looked like he’d just woken up and gave a huge yawn, stopping halfway now that he’d noticed Ponytail, Dress Man, and Hyrule. “Ey seka, shah eis kanar neva?” He greeted, though to Link it sounded much more like a question. Hyrule turned and gave him a somewhat expectant look.

Oh- it was a question, okay. Pressed for time and needing some sort of answer, his face moved of its own accord and offered its usual amiable grin. Cape Man’s gaze darted away somewhat awkwardly. Shhhh*t wrong answer then.

Armor Man beckoned them all forward, saying something quickly that everyone seemed to agree with in a chorus on nodding heads and what sounded like an affirmation. 

However, Freckles hesitated, and spoke up after a moment of turning something over in his mind. Or, at least that’s what Link thought he was doing. He’d found it’d been easier to read someone’s body language than their tone of voice, and it was probably going to be his saving grace in any social situation. “Ka tain lar haid seva, kanbar neva vei dasev.” 

Link nodded studiously as if he knew what was going on. Scarf Man was talking to Ponytail and Hyrule, but the shift of his shoulders and the turn of his feet was directed towards Link. Not to mention that he kept throwing him swift glances. Wait- were they talking about him? What were they talking about? Screw body language- actual language would probably be kinda nice right now.

Link turned sharply as Ponytail gave a series of whistles, and turned sharply once more as one of the great creatures did that weird scream-huff thing and came barreling over. Very respectfully, Link got the heck out of the way so it wouldn’t pummel him into the dust with its oversized pig trotters, but Ponytail let it thunder all the way up to him and even gave its graceful snout a friendly pat. Ponytail skillfully jumped up, hooking one foot in a loopy leather thing and swinging his other leg overtop so he was seated upon the white creature’s back. Suddenly, he looked down at Link with a wide smile. “Omei, yeo ban-” His eyes locked on something behind Link, raising an eyebrow. “Hen kein?”

Link near jumped out of his skin as something a little wet and a little warm snorted against his shoulder. Cape Man and Scarf Man chuckled, and Link’s face lit up in a smile at the sight of that familiar woolen fluff and thick curling horns. Aww, he followed me! Yes! I tamed it! I conquered the mighty beast! 

Quartermaster Fluffyback had done such a good job that Link decided he’d give him a couple of pellets of bait right then and now. With an assumedly grateful flick of his ears, Fluffyback leaned his great head down and accepted his reward. People were talking behind him, mostly Fur Man and Armor Man with the Ponytail’s voice chiming in here and there. 

Quartermaster Fluffyback nosed Link’s shoulder for more, and the boy had to duck away from the pointy tips of it’s thick, curling horns. Was he being threatened? No, bad Fluffyback. Link resolutely shook his head no, he was the captain here. Yummy treats had to be earned or fairly stolen and that was final. 

Fur Man’s heavy footsteps caught his ear, and he turned as the pelt-wearing man gave the sheep an amused smile before reaching one hand under Fluffyback’s jaw and the other on his.. butt? Weird. Is that how you pet the fluffy pig things? Then slowly and gently, he turned Fluffyback around and- wait, are they going back? Noo, Quartermaster Fluffyback!

He began to follow, very intent of bringing his new fluffy friend with him. Here Fur Man was again, being really really bad at stealing things. If Link ever figured out how to talk, he’d teach Fur Man how to get better at it. Really, it was kind of sad. He was stopped in his tracks by a firm hand on his shoulder. It was Scarf Man, who looked down at him with a somewhat wry-seeming smile. “Kela eis lar marneh nu veladar. Lan muya.” He said rather assertively, perhaps even curtly. The group’s feet were angled more to the road than the stable, Scarf Man included. Ponytail’s great white creature shuffled its hooves atop the dusty dirt pathway. Fur Man came hurrying back to the road. 

Ok, they wanted to get moving. And they didn't want him to bring the fluffy guy. Link felt a wry smile twitching at his own lips.

He turned about as they set back out to wherever it was they were supposed to be heading. Ponytail and Fur Man took the lead, with Hyrule close beside them. Cape Man and Shorty seemed to be avidly discussing something, probably pertaining to the Master Sword on Cape Man’s back judging by the way Shorty kept darting around to inspect its perfect indigo and gold sheath. That was definitely something he’d have to figure out. Maybe he’d steal it. 

Everyone was enveloped in some sort of interaction, save for him, of course. Link let himself trail behind the group, immediately pulling the bait bag out once he was out of sight and discreetly tossing bits of food onto the road, making sure to leave not too much space, but not too little either between pellets. If luck had it, Mr. Fluffyback would return for more snacks. He didn’t try to hide the grin that pushed at his eyes. 

Instead of sticking to the path as they had done, the group had veered off the dusty trail, over a couple of rickety wooden bridges straddling gurgling creeks, and into a lush expanse of terrain dotted with warm green forests and thick grasses that hummed with the promise of bugs and little things close to the ground. The trees weren’t as tall as they had been in the last forest, but everything was fascinating nevertheless. Link found that the weird, fresh, grass-dirt smell was beginning to grow on him. That would’ve been great if his feet hadn't started hurting again. 

Though still in the back for the practical reason of leaving a cleverly crafted bait trail for Quartermaster Fluffyback (who wasn’t in sight, much to Link’s disappointment), he was finding that he began to trail farther and farther behind, only to put on a burst of speed that had his bandaged feet throbbing all over again. After his second little run-up, Shorty said something and the group came to a halt. 

“Ey, Link, tan noreh eidah ban tala?” Ponytail asked, pulling the small ropes attached to something on his creature’s head and turning it about so he could see and talk to the people behind him. 

Well, they were definitely addressing him so if this was to go anything like last time a smile wouldn’t cut it. Yes or no was the next most likely thing. But which one?

Link played the quickest game of ‘eeny-meeny-miny-moe’ he’d ever managed and decided on nodding yes. Ponytail let his creature trot over with a huff, the sunlight that streamed through the leafy canopy lighting its hide like the brightest snow glare off of Ice Ring Isle. He must’ve just stayed still and stared for too long, because Fur Man reached up behind him- hey! Don’t grab there that fEeLs wEiRD- and hefted him up with ease to be more level with the brown floormat looking object on its back. 

Link entirely forgot how surprising and vaguely offending it was to be picked up like a child as he realized that they were letting him ride the creature? They were letting him ride it, the same kind of creature that the Hero of Time had ridden into battle uncountable years ago. Oh H*LL YEAH! He enthusiastically sat himself on it’s back- aanndd then realized Ponytail was steering. Actually, that was probably for the best. Ponytail seemed to know his legend-creatures pretty well, and Link had only met them like, this morning. And it was still morning. 

They began to move again, and it was much bumpier than Link had initially anticipated. Nothing a seasoned sailor couldn’t handle, however. He could keep his balance on a canoe in rough chop. Maybe big white creatures were slightly different, because the seasoned sailor noticed he was beginning to slide to one side- sh*t what do I grab onto-?! As he prepared to either fall and meet the creature’s powerful hooves or the grassy forest floor below, Ponytail shifted about in his seat and quickly caught him by the arm, jolting slightly from the sudden stop in motion and causing the creature to shake its head, clearly displeased. He found his balance once more and hauled himself upright with the shared awkward efforts of himself and Ponytail, who guided the hand he was holding Link by to rest at the side of his tunic. “Dulo laiko.” He said quickly, giving Link a small smile and pulling Link’s hand back to his side as he pulled away. The sailor returned the smile. 

He found himself grasping Ponytail’s tunic with two hands as he grinned down at the tops of peoples’ heads below him. Haha YEAH I’m so TALL!! It was even better than riding on Scarf Man’s back and was much easier to enjoy the sweeping view of a waving ocean of sunlit grass dotted with the cooler greens of shaded scatterings of woodland. He quickly marked out his landmarks for navigation purposes, the mountain was a big one, obviously, and the tower spire far up ahead in the direction of sunrise, barely visible through the perpetual haze that seemed to sit in the distance. It reminded him of Hyrule Castle, except the colors and curving top were all wrong. 

Everyone was talking as they continued to push eastward, and it seemed they’d fallen into what Link assumed was their usual pattern. Hyrule and Ponytail at the front, Shorty, Dress Man, and the one who held the Master Sword in the middle, with Armor Man, Fur Man, and Scarf Man taking up the back. Despite not walking side by side, Scarf Man and Dress Man talked a lot. Mostly jokes if Shorty and Armor Man’s snorts of laughter were anything to go by, and maybe insults based on Dress Man’s smug disposition and Scarf Man’s sputtering. Link smiled. 

He found himself watching little things like that as they trekked through the sect of sparsely wooded field, and forgot to mark what time it was. Freckles treaded with a certain lightfootedness as he walked, gait careful but curious all the same as he scanned the terrain. It was fun to watch him as he’d run up ahead to inspect a plant then begin to meander off-trail. He’d always come bounding back once Dress Man called his name. It usually sounded like “Hyrule, ama tuwar.” 

Scarf Man also liked scanning the terrain, cobalt eyes darting about, and occasionally flashing over each member of the party. He seemed much less careful than Freckles, more watchful than anything. Like he was manning lookout for a ship that needed to dock in heavy fog, looking out for the band of strange strangers from behind. 

Shorty would frequently keep his eyes fixed on a certain something in the grass as they walked, head turning back to face forward once they’d passed it. He also mumbled to himself sometimes, mostly when no one was looking. Link wondered what he was seeing in the grass, and decided he’d keep an eye on Shory. He wanted to see too. 

The forested area gradually dissolved away, opening up into a dusty expanse of grass cut down the middle by a winding sandy pathway. It was framed by jutting cliffs and a single half crumbled wall topped by wooden spikes, magnificent in that ancient-feeling way that everything was on this continent. But that’s not what Link was focusing on.

This place looked like a graveyard. 

The dull metal husks of countless lifeless creatures were strewn throughout the field like Stalfos waiting to awaken.They were in the same condition as the couple he’d seen earlier, with moss-encrusted heads, dull, tarnished bodies, and mostly intact tentacles that were oddly octo-like, but Link never knew any Octos made of metal. Some were tipped over, half-buried in the field like the land was trying to swallow up and erase whatever had happened here. Some were stuck halfway-in and halfway-out the deteriorated wall that barely strained between the jutting cliffs encircling the field. Link knew close to nothing, but it looked like they were trying to claw their way past the wall. Not just the two actually through the structure, but all of the rest of the empty husks, fallen tilted towards the crumbling structure and forever frozen in their last act. He imagined a swarm of them rushing towards the wall, and immediately hoped that they’d been the good guys and not the bad. He silently let fall a couple more bait pellets from his hand, eyes never straying from the scene.

The others seemed just as taken aback as he was, staring out at the field with varying expressions of fascination (Scarf Man), awe (Shorty), and what Link vaguely guessed was remorse (Mr. Master Sword). Ponytail nudged his horse forward with a gentle tug of the ropes and shift of his heels, the rest following suit, and chatter beginning to pick up again after that moment of silence.

Scarf Man and Ponytail exchanged a few lines of conversation that Link didn’t care to try and understand, though at some point Scarf Man might’ve been insulted, he started sputtering like how when he and Dress Man were talking earlier.

The wicked spiked ends of a raised gate and the grim brick wall all seemed immensely out of place compared to the peaceful sun-dappled forest that lay beyond. Wildflowers brushed against the beast’s hooves as a breeze swept dry umber leaves along the footpath, skittering lightly across the dusty ground. A cool haze hung loftily in the air, echoing faintly with the whistle of the breeze and the babbling, rushing sound of water somewhere ahead. It seemed like such a peaceful place, despite the occasional monster. Link could hardly imagine what he could possibly have to save the land from, if that was why he was here. But he was here and so was the Master Sword, it meant something was going to happen, probably soon. He eyed the blade from where it rested in it’s sheath upon Cape Man’s back. 

Conversation was just another noise of nature at this point, and he stopped jerking to attention every time he heard a vaguely familiar word or something that sounded similar to his own tongue. It was a sort of din and background hum just like the rustle of bushes and the ever-loudening rush of whatever water source they were getting close to. The trees cleared, giving way to bright midday sun that caught spectacularly on the eddying flow of the river cutting around the cliff’s corner. Link squinted up at the looming shadowy structure they’d come upon, blinking as his eyes adjusted.

Great bridges of solid stone were held aloft by weather-worn columns of water-smoothed rock, topped with a generous helping of overspilling grasses. The structures twisted and curved, making their own pathways and bridges to travel safely above the rushing river below. There was a stony outcropping of a platform across the river, where lay an abandoned… camp? It was little more than a shoddy wooden tower and the old charred remains of firewood. It struck Link as distinctly primitive.

As cool as the horse was, he was itching to get off and follow in Hyrule’s wake as the wanderer darted ahead and up the gentle slope of grass that led to the stone bridges. The warm sun cut through the cool haze that hung about the land and made Link’s cheeks tickle pleasantly. They started up the incline, Link holding tighter to Ponytail so he wouldn't slide right off their mount’s butt. 

Freckles was standing some ways ahead on the first stone bridge, accompanied by... Some woman? Perhaps a traveler. Her long, curly hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, dark skin only visible at her face beneath the typical traveler's layers of boots, trousers, undershirt, and armguard. Or, at least Link supposed that was the normal dress for this island. Anywhere else it'd be way too hot to wear that.

Whoever she was, she was definitely distressed. Her pleading voice devoid of any word meaning carried clearly and loudly, spiking with worry. She must really be in trouble. Hyrule had his hands up as if trying to settle her and frequently snapped his eyes back from the woman to the group, then back to the woman again.

Ponytail turned and addressed the group, bringing them to a slower pace, nudging his great white creature into a trot then halting it right next to the edge of the stone bridge. The river rushed far below, the height nearly dizzying to stare down from. 

He dismounted, leaving Link to slide forward into the warm spot atop the creature’s great, wide back. Link threw one glance over the edge again, hoping this creature of legend was wise enough to not let them both fall. Though, he’d probably be fine. He was a good strong swimmer, and it would be fun to let the water’s current carry him. How far out did it go? Water flows downhill, so eventually, it would go to an ocean, right? Yeah, right! That’s how he could get to the water, find out what was going on! Perfect!

And then he realized they’d been traveling against the current, in the direction of its source, not its destination. Link shot an exasperated glance up at the sky. Literally EVERY quest has something to do with the ocean. Isn’t this a little too off-brand?

The woman seemed much more... Insistent now. That’s what drew Link’s attention back to where Scarf Man, Freckles, and Ponytail were busily chatting it up with her. Not really chatting, though? More like the lady would spill forth a long string of foreign syllables that ran all over each other, then one of the three travelers would chime in with some sort of remark or question. Something must be really, really wrong. Just looking at her, the insistent way her entire body was postured towards them, the fervor in her voice, the bright worry in her eyes and dark furrow of her brow. It was a lot.

It was too much.

Link knew he was staring. Link knew he was probably making funny "I’m concentrating" faces with his lips drawn into a pout and eyes narrowed. But that didn’t matter. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. The hairs of his neck raised for a reason he couldn’t name, other than the feeling- no, the fact that something was very very very wrong. He looked closer. The woman’s eyes darted from face to face of their party, lingering on the handle of Ponytail’s sheathed sword. Her knees were bent slightly and her weight on her toes, like she was ready to run. It made Link antsy. He couldn’t understand a lick of what she was speaking, but she was putting him on edge. The furrow of brows too concerned for a day that radiated peace, the way her fingers twitched slightly like they were reaching for a phantom something-or-other that wasn’t currently there. His eyes darted quickly over Armor Man, Scarf Man, Freckles. None seemed bothered. 

His feet itched with a hot, urgent discomfort, and not the kind that came from burst blisters and sore feet. It fizzed and bubbled beneath his soles and in the palms of his hands, telling him he needed to move. And he needed to move now.

The beast chuffed and bucked surprisedly from under him, voices of alarm erupting from behind him as he pushed off the creatures back, drawing his sword the moment his feet touched the grass, and darting towards the woman the moment he’d drawn his sword.

Something was wrong.

Chapter Text

“I don’t know where they’ve gone and- and I really must find them before nightfall- I don’t- I don’t think they could fend for themselves without me-!”

Warriors kept up a calm and composed face, anything else would probably send this already frantic woman into a flat out frenzy. “Ma’am, I’m sure you’ve nothing to worry about. Where did you see them last?”

“I said I don’t know where they’ve gone!” The woman shouted shrilly, eyes darting all about. 

Hyrule was starting to look a little antsy beside him, though was doing an exceptional job keeping a level voice and unbothered face. “We know you don’t know where they are, but where did you see them last?”

“I don’t know!!”

Time sighed heavily from behind him. “Goddesses… NPCs..”

“Tell me about it.” Sky chuckled exasperatedly. “We should start looking for the friend, right?”

The woman seemed to grow even more worked up at that. “No!” She demanded, the sudden urgent sharpness in her voice tickling the memory of something… off, in the back of Warriors’ mind. He couldn’t place it yet, but it put him on edge. If Wild felt it too, the Champion wasn’t showing it. “These woods are terribly dangerous!”

Wild had his hands raised as if trying to calm a spooked animal. “These woods should be monster-free for the entire month. I’ve made sure of it.” The traveling woman’s face changed, the slightest of shifts from near maniacal frenzy to something darker and colder. Wild tensed out of the corner of Warriors’ eye. 

“I wasn’t talking about the monsters, hero.” 

It happened quickly. Wild’s horse whinnied ferociously and bucked from behind him. There was a puff of blinding red smoke that smelled of stifling hot smog and burning paper, the whoosh of a weapon cutting through the air. Warriors half jumped and half scrambled backward in an attempt to dodge the sudden attack. 

A little blue figure topped with sun-bleached blonde hair crashed in out of nowhere and straight on tackled the hostile with a ferocious battle cry. The two of them stumbled out precariously onto the stone bridge, the kid halfway on his back as he twisted around to block the vicious swing of a shining sickle. The traitor cackled from behind its single-eyed mask.

“Yiga!” Wild shouted, whirling around to shield a blow from another one of the gangly, masked traitors who’d seemingly appeared from nowhere.

“Really? We didn’t notice!” Legend retorted hotly, cursing again as the arrow he’d fired disappeared through the trailing smoke remains of a hostile’s teleportation sigil. 

Warriors drew his sword with the satisfying grate of blade against sheath as all around did much the same. The kid had scrambled to his feet and was holding his own against the darting, weaving footsoldier who occasionally disappeared in a puff of smoke, only to appear seconds later in another wave of hot magic and swinging at the kid with its sickle. There was barely enough room to find footing on the stone bridge, and the cold river, swollen with springtime snowmelt, rushed and roared furiously below. Warriors was so fixed upon trying to find some way to come to the kid’s aid that he hadn’t leapt into the fray. Naturally, the fray leapt at him. 

“Cap’!” Warriors whipped around as someone shouted from behind, barely dodging out of the path of a double set of arrows that clattered against the opposite wall of the gorge, lost to the river. Legend shot him a look. “The kid will be fine!” 

Said kid proceeded to dodge another jagged swipe of the Yiga soldier’s sickle and score a blow across his opponent’s midsection, filaments of dark smoke wicking from the wound and trailing in wake of the hourglass-hilted blade. 

Warriors decided he’d at least stay nearby, to cover against incoming arrows. The newest hero was in no position to effectively defend against incoming projectiles with such little room to maneuver on.

Four was keeping the attention of one assassin while Hyrule darted up from behind, sword swinging in a wide arc and cutting through the hostile’s back with a spray of dark, twisting smoke as opposed to blood. The soldier seemed to fade away into the smog trail following Hyrule’s sword, manifesting closely to Warriors with another pop of scarlet, smoldering magic. He didn’t hesitate to bash it strongly in the back of its head with the flat of his blade the moment it reappeared. Four and Hyrule cheered in triumph as the footsoldier stumbled, dropped its bow, folded its hands, and disappeared in a flash of smog. Wild appeared out of nowhere to collect the loot into his Sheikah slate. Soon upon finishing that, the chaotic hero darted off again, this time straight at the enemy. 

“Back up!” Wild shouted, hefting a glowing blue sphere over his head and chucking it at the Yiga soldier poised mid-air to fire off arrows. Twilight and Time shouted in alarm but ducked away in time before Wild detonated the explosive with a tap of his Sheikah slate. 

Warriors would have to talk to him about endangering fellow troops later. Regardless, the group had finished off two of the Yiga, soon to be three now that Time and Sky had one cornered against a cliff wall. That left one particularly troublesome archer somewhere around them and the assassin the youngest Link was fighting on the bridge. 

It was less actual combat and more a battle for balance and ground, Warriors didn’t know how he could come to help in an area with such little space. The Yiga soldier was doing an effective job of keeping the kid cornered to the bridge, teleporting every which way to box him in. Arrows were out of the question. There was too high a risk of hitting the kid. 

One of the remaining Yiga soldiers backflipped away from the powerful arc of Time’s sword with a rolling cackle, hands folding in some sort of sign and disappearing into nothingness. Twilight and Wild were there to cover, unless it teleported out of their range, in which case Warriors would need to-

The Captain froze and whipped around as the kid yelped in alarm, the scuffing of boots on turf reaching his ears. The Yiga soldier swept downwards with its sickle, the blade glinting wickedly in the sun. The kid barely dodged, sidestepping and readying to counter. Except he never did, a swift roundhouse kick followed the blade’s arcing path right into the young hero’s shoulder, the impact sending him tumbling over the edge. 

“Link!” Warriors shouted, brain moving a million miles a second to try and figure some sort of plan. Hookshot? No too late- they need to converge downriver-

The kid grunted midfall, swinging his arm up and something similar to the Hookshot shooting away from his hand and catching on the ledge. His body continued to drop, jerking as he hit the end of the rope and legs swinging to propel himself forwards. Warriors watched as the kid swung under the bridge, popped up the other side, twisted his body around to right himself at the peak of his momentum, and kicked the Yiga assassin right off into the gorge. 

Wild whooped in triumph from somewhere behind, the battle was likely over.

Warriors took an instinctual step forward as Link wobbled for balance for a moment, before righting himself, staring down at the Yiga being swept rather unceremoniously down the river in a tangle of flailing arms and bananas, then looking over to Warriors with the beginnings of a grin tugging at his sweaty features.

The Captain gave their short companion some semblance of a salute. “Well done, Link.”

“A little extra.” Legend added as he sheathed his sword.

“But well done.” Four mended hastily from beside the snarky Veteran.  

“When did I ever say extra was a bad thing?”

“Baa!” Said the sheep.

Wait, what-

The kid’s face lit up with a barely audible gasp, and Warriors turned around to look at the- oh yeah, there was definitely a sheep there. First off, how? When? Why? Regardless, the Captain could have sworn that the sheep’s ears flicked upwards in something akin to happiness as it tottered over to where Link hurried back over the stone bridge and was fumbling with some sort of pouch.

Everything started making a lot more sense as their youngest gave the sheep a gentle nose pat, then took a couple of pellets from his pouch to let the animal snack on. 

Warriors looked to the sheep, looked to everyone else, then back to the sheep, a pinprick of amusement sparking in his chest as the large animal nosed the kid almost affectionately. “Can anyone explain how we can kill monsters, slay evil, but can’t tell when we’re being followed by a sheep?”

No one really cared to explain.

Twilight had a thoughtful sort of look on his face, running a hand through his hair like Warriors noticed he did in situations such as losing track of Wild, or in this case, inadvertently stealing livestock. The ranch hand sighed. “Sheep are almost entirely helpless, a lot more helpless than goats. We can’t just leave it here, but a sheep will slow us down.”

Wild flipped through his sheikah slate for a moment before producing a bundle of leafy greens, which the sheep happily began nibbling on. “I know a shepherd in Hateno, she could take the fluffy guy for a little bit once we arrive. But getting him there could be a problem, aannd the kid should probably stop leaving a food trail behind us.”

Time smiled for a reason Warriors couldn’t place. “If only we had a sheepdog.”

Twilight gave him an oddly sour look before walking over and giving the sheep a pat. Warriors sort of wanted to try it now, it looked soft. “I could lead him like from earlier back at the stable, but it would be slow going. Sheep can be a little scatterbrained.”

With a resolute nod, their youngest patted the sheep once more before crouching down, hopping up, and clambering onto its back. The gentle creature shuffled its hooves uncertainly with a hesitant ‘baa?’ and swiveled its great horned head back and forth to try and get a peek at the boy mounting it. Warriors chuckled. “Well, that’s certainly one way to do it.”

Wild let out a small gasp. “Oh! Does anyone have a fishing rod?”

“What for?” Sky asked inquisitively. “Strange time for some fishing, if you ask me.”

“Nono I saw this in Minecraft one time!”

Warriors squinted habitually at the party’s most chaotic and oftentimes confusing member, even though he knew that no amount of pondering could ever make sense of such things. “Mine what?”

“Minecraft. Fishing rod, let’s go people.” Wild ushered, giving Twilight an insistent look. His mentor sighed for a moment before producing a rod. As soon as he did that, Wild procured a purplish flower from his Sheikah slate and began tying it to the end of the line. Actually, that was rather clever.

Wild handed the flower-on-a-stick to the kid, who looked a little confused. That is until the sheep started moving towards the dangling flower. He seemed ecstatic at this, a wide grin splitting his face as he nodded what Warriors presumed was thanks towards Wild.

The Champion had one of those mischievous looks on his face. “So, now that we have proof of concept, I’d just like to suggest something. And Twilight, stop giving me the ‘oh no’ face. So, what if you found a Lynel and-”

Time cut him effectively by walking through the middle of the group and gesturing for everyone else to follow. “We’ve got a few more miles yet, it’s best we keep moving.”

“He’s right.” Warriors added. “The woods could still hold traitors, the longer we stay here the more vulnerable we are. And the kid’s already way ahead of us, I’m not sure he knows how to stop the sheep.”

Their youngest’s fluffy mount spun in a tottering circle some several horse-lengths ahead of them as Link attempted to move the rod out of its sight. His wide blue gaze whipped back to the group and he gave them a quick thumbs-up. Warriors snorted in amusement, this was likely one of the many reasons why they rode horses into war and not sheep. 

The group quickly caught up to the kid and his new steed, doing rushed injuries check before continuing. An arrow had scored a good mark down Twilight’s upper arm. Hyrule, Four, and Wild were a bit bruised up, and the kid’s shoulder was probably sore from the blow he took. However, he wasn’t exactly making it easy to let them check. After all, it was quite hard to inspect someone’s shoulder while they were riding a sheep.

As they got moving once more, Warriors didn’t miss how Hyrule ran to catch up to Wild, now mounted on his horse. The single sentence he caught was: “What was that about the Lynel?”

Wild grinned dangerously as the two fell into quiet and likely extremely chaotic conversation. Warriors would be lying if he said that he wasn’t interested in whatever the two were planning. 

It had taken thirty minutes before the village was in sight, and the nine heroes now found themselves at the base of the hill that led up to Hateno, dense woodland flanking the left and steep hillside to the right. A cool breeze swept gently down the hill and through the trees, branches rustling. Warriors did a quick check of the path behind, eyes staring down the path then flickering over to survey the woods, just in case anything was downwind them and picking up their scent. Strategically, it wasn’t a good spot. In between thick woods and the hills, not to mention the way wind funneled scent behind them, the only advantage was the closeness of the town, which likely kept most monsters from venturing this far out. The wind smelled faintly of salt, sulfur, and brine, carrying with it the distant cry of seagulls that alerted him of how close they were to the edge of the continent. 

The closer the village got, the more excited Link seemed. The boy kept fidgeting, looking around and steering his sheep slightly one way or slightly the other as he zig-zagged about to investigate their surroundings. He was probably ecstatic to get to some sort of town, having thoroughly blistered his feet, taken multiple hits in battle, and been traveling all day. Despite the constant wonder and excitement their quiet companion exuded (wonder and excitement that apparently extended to bees nests, thank goodness Sky was watching), Warriors was sure he was tired. And if the kid wasn’t feeling it now, he was going to feel it later. 

Getting to town would be advantageous on multiple accounts. It would be a good time to rest, resupply, and become better acquainted with this Hyrule. Not only that, but Wild had spoken of a scientist friend here, someone who could perhaps help them decipher the mystery of the dark portals that had brought them all together. Though, Warriors became a bit more skeptical when he had mentioned something about her being six years old. Eh, it was probably fine. 

It was a nice little village, smoke drifting up from chimneys and a homey looking inn perched on a hill farther down the path. However, Wild turned them to the side, towards a couple of strange, colorful, cubic homes. He spun about on his heel with a grin, gesturing past a small bridge and to the house beyond it. “Here’s the house. Plenty of space for everyone to crash for the night, we’ll just have to move the table. The shepherd lives up ahead, some ways up the hill going to the lab.”

Warriors nodded. “Right. We’ll drop the sheep off on our way up then.”

“After a break?” Sky ventured hopefully, relaxing in relief as Time nodded an affirmative. That was good. Plenty of time to address everyone’s injuries for the day, and perhaps fit some errands in before meeting with the scientist. 

Wild led his horse by the reigns, followed closely by Link atop his sheep mount, with the rest trailing behind him. It was a nice house, in Warriors’ opinion. Young trees, spry flowers, and right near the coast. It was hard to imagine this place had ever seen war, a sign of the land’s recovery, he mused. 

Their youngest party member slid off the side of the sheep, giving the large animal an affectionate rub between its great curling horns and still keeping that proud look on his face. Everyone else had already gone inside. The Captain waited just under the doorframe. “Kid, let’s regroup in the house.”

It took a moment, but the kid looked up from where he was murmuring quiet praise to the sheep, taking a step towards the house as Warriors gestured again for him to file along inside. The boy paused, glancing at the sheep over his shoulder, who had taken to munching on a clump of grass. Warriors chuckled, beginning to turn back to the house. “The sheep will be fine, come on.” 

Wild haphazardly tossed his things in the nearest corner, Hyrule and Legend following his lead. Warriors considered himself a bit more regal than that, and set his bag and sword down gently against the wall. The kid followed him inside, looking about the house for several moments before scurrying over to the kitchen, poking around a cabinet, then looking over to inspect a window. Sky flopped on the floor immediately, leaning back against a wall. “Man, that’s nice. It’s too hot outside.”

Wild gave him a strange look, brow furrowed. “Sky, it’s spring.”

Sky gave him a similar look. “No? It’s Hyrule-” The traveling hero perked up instinctually at his nickname, though looked away awkwardly upon realizing he wasn’t being addressed. “-and Hyrule’s a whole lot hotter than Skyloft, air’s far thicker too.”

Warriors snorted a laugh from where he was peering up the stairs, trying to make out the details of a framed pictograph from where he was at the base. “What, do you not have seasons on your floating island?”

“If you mean seasoning, like the kind that goes on food, yes. Not sure what spices have to do with temperature, though.”

Legend turned around from fiddling with his bag with a start. “There’s an oracle of seasons- I have a rod of seasons in my bag.”

Sky just gave him a blank look, mulling over his words for a second. “Uh, so, what flavor is your rod?”

Time snorted and Four chuckled, their small smithy rummaging about in his bag for a moment. He pulled a bundle of bandages from his bag and marched over to Twilight. “I’ll explain seasons if you help me bandage the rancher. He squirms like a child.”

The ranch hand’s face twisted into a frown as he began to take off his tunic, the sleeve dark with an ugly splotch of blood. “No I don’t.”

“Yeah you do.” Wild and Time responded instinctually in union. 

“While we’re here,” Warriors began, making sure he had everyone’s attention before continuing, “We’re in need of some supplies. Potions would be good, arrows too. The kid needs a bedroll and some socks, and any information on this Hyrule’s land and layout would be quite useful. Those who aren’t busy or in need of rest can help manage errands, and we can reconvene here for dinner.”

Wild had disappeared into the kitchen area under the loft, already beginning to run through his sheikah slate for ingredients. “About the potions, they don’t sell any here. Or in Kakariko. Or anywhere, really. We have elixirs, which I can make, but no potions for sale. I’ll have to find the things for hearty elixirs, I typically just use food instead.”

Warriors raised an eyebrow. “How have you managed to survive for so long between your crazy stunts and total lack of potions?”

“Apples.”

With that said (and much unsaid, like how Wild was able to heal himself with food and how Warriors could do it too), the Captain set off to the town’s shops, accompanied by Legend. The veteran claimed he was the only one with enough sense to shop smartly and not waste money. Everyone knew that was a lie, of course. Their esteemed hoarder likely just wanted to see what he could purchase, stash away into his clutter of a house, and forget about weeks later. 

Warriors stood in the middle of the town’s dirt pathway, looking about at all the different shops and buildings. “Now.. which one is weapons..”

With a scoff, Legend elbowed him lightly and began stalking off to a stone building with ivy clawing it’s way up the porch’s lattice overhang. “See? You need me after all. You’d be marching around in circles trying to figure out the shop signs. Let’s go.”

The Captain offered his companion a hearty chuckle. “Someone’s in a rush, anxious to add yet another item to your collection.. of… everything..?” He trailed off, turning about as a flash of sunlit blue caught his peripheral vision.

Legend turned about abruptly, crossing his arms. “What are you doing out here? Don’t your feet need rest?”

The kid halted very abruptly in his tracks, doing a prompt about-spin to look both Legend in the eye, then Warriors. After a moment of silence, he gave them a quick, small grin and turned around to walk off to wherever he was going.

“Well if you’re already out and about,” Warriors began, waiting for the kid to turn around again before continuing, “Might as well come with us. You still need a bedroll and socks, right?” 

After a moment, the kid looked in the strange purple bag tied to his belt, looked over Warriors' shoulder and through the open shop door Legend had disappeared behind, then bustled over to accompany the Captain. Captain, Veteran, Champion, Traveler, they all had nicknames insofar, and it would only be fitting to eventually find something to call their newest companion besides ‘Link.’ Using that name was very confusing in a group of identically named individuals.

A young lady with a broom out front grinned at them, tucking a tuft of short, brown hair behind one pointed ear. “Hullo! I haven’t seen you all around before, are you travelers?”

“Something like that.” Warriors replied with a courteous smile and nod of his head. “I presume we can acquire arrows here?”

She paused her sweeping of the shop’s porch stones and gave a shy nod. “Mmhm! That’s right. East Wind General Store should have most everything you need.” She smiled down at the youngest Link, who seemed to be very anxious for Warriors to move out of the way and let him into the shop. Even with sore feet, he seemed to bounce about on his toes. “Your younger brother? He’s very cute.”

Warriors glanced at his comrade, surprised to see that he had barely even reacted to being called ‘cute.’ Were Warriors a twelve-year-old Hero chosen by the gods, he’d have resented any such descriptors.

“I made some candy the other day for some of the village kids, but made too much. Would you like some?” She asked quite politely with a gracious smile befitting of a storefront greeter. “Free of charge, since we don’t typically sell candy and, well, it’d be a bit awkward to figure out prices so quickly.”

Per usual, Link was unresponsive, even acting as if he hadn’t heard her at all. Instead, he nosed his way rather impatiently past Warriors and hurried into the store, immediately flocking over to where Legend was inspecting arrows. Quite the rude response, in the Captain’s eyes. Warriors gave the rather surprised lady a small smile and quick nod of apology. “He’s very quiet, apologies m’ lady.”

She blushed slightly at the last word of his sentence and busily returned to sweeping every last speck of dirt from the porch. “Oh, it’s no problem! But if you think he’d like some anyways I’d be happy to fetch it from upstairs.” 

“Thank you, that’d be nice.” He held the door open for her as she set the broom to lean against the shop’s doorframe, closing it gently behind as they entered. 

Legend was already taking care of arrows, it seemed. The kid, instead of looking over things clearly marked for sale, was discreetly nosing through vases and baskets packed snugly into a series of shelves nestled under the stairs of the store. Warriors walked up to the front counter, receiving a friendly wave from the store owner.

“Hey! What can I get for ya?”

“Do you sell bedrolls here? Or socks?” Warriors questioned, eyeing the jars of milk on the front counter. He wondered if Time would appreciate some. 

“Socks, no. You could get those over at the clothing store across the street. Bedrolls.. Hm..” He paused for a moment, glancing over his shoulder towards the cluttered shelves in back. “I’ll take a look for ya. Wait here a moment.”

The storefront greeter slipped downstairs quickly, a small paper, string tied pouch in hand. “Here! Hope he likes it. The other village kids said it was good, hopefully the recipe’s a keeper.”

Warriors gave her a smile. “Thank you, Ms…?

The woman giggled, and Warriors scoffed quietly as Legend jokingly mouthed the words, ‘oh so formal’ at him from behind the woman’s back. 

“Oh! No ‘Ms’, please- uhm- just Ivee is alright.” She answered hurriedly before smiling at the kid and opening the door to exit to her job as storefront greeter. “Enjoy!” Link looked up for a moment before looking back at the containers he was going through, not giving any other acknowledgment than that.

Warriors figured he’d try to teach the young hero some common courtesy later, his current responses simply wouldn’t do, even if he didn’t talk. Even a polite nod would be better. 

The store owner returned, a bedroll tucked under his arm. “Took a bit of rummaging, but here ya are! This work alright?”

Warriors turned to their youngest Link. “Kid, you gonna take a look?” He didn’t look up. “Link.” the Captain paused for a brief moment, allowed the exasperation to exit his voice in a quick exhale. Link paused, gaze flickering up hesitantly to meet the captain’s eyes. He looked uneasy for a moment before scrunching his nose briefly, the expression sliding off his features, and turning back around, now looking over the various mushrooms set on out on the back table.

Warriors almost reached for his wallet then remembered he was broke most of the time. That, and Legend had basically offered to pay for things, and he wasn’t going to let him squirm out of it. “Yes, that will do nicely. Thank you. Veteran, come pay for this.”

Legend gave a brief squawk of surprised indignation before walking over, a few bundles of arrows tucked safely under one arm. He placed the arrows on the counter and began to count out the proper number of rupees to pay.

The store owner leaned his elbows on the counter, running one hand briefly over his balding head. “I know a guy named Link too, real nice fellow, always boosts business around here.” Warriors couldn’t help but smile. He was sure Wild had made more than enough rupees off of his seemingly endless supplies of monster loot and meat. And he was sure by the Champion’s well-stocked kitchen that he bought often as well. “Anyways, kids at that age are always difficult, I’d know.” He said with a chuckle, giving a quick ‘thank you’ as Legend slid some rupees over the counter. “Come back anytime!”

Legend tucked the arrows into his bag, and Warriors held the bedroll under one arm. Before they could leave, however, Link walked over to the store owner with a couple of orangeish mushrooms, haphazardly putting a few rupees on the counter. Perplexed, the store owner looked at the money, then back to Link. “This is ten too much, and I’m sure you’d rather save money.”

Almost hesitantly, Link took his mushrooms from the counter, watching the man all the while he filed the purchase into his purple bag, then skipped past Warriors and hurried out the door. Warriors chuckled somewhat awkwardly. “I suppose you can keep the change then?”

“Don’t gotta tell me twice!”

Legend raised an eyebrow at where the kid was standing in the middle of the wide town path, turning about for a moment and crossing his arms, expressive brow furrowed in thought. Not that Warriors could ever tell what he was thinking, of course. His actions seemed to become more and more random the longer he was with them.

“Hey kid, do you want socks, or not? Actually, you should probably come with us anyway. Time would ground us if we left without buying you a pair.” The kid was a bit too preoccupied with.. Whatever it was he was doing to respond. He had his eyes set on the distant hill where Hateno’s laboratory perched, gaze flickering to the hilltop then back to somewhere Warriors couldn’t distinguish. Honestly, what was the kid doing?

Link had no idea what the absolute goddess darned heck he was doing. But he did know the air smelled like salt and brine and vaguely like home. Not all the way like home, the wind was a bit too nippy and almost a bit too fishy. But this continent was probably just colder and fishier. Yeah, that made sense. 

He had intended to make a beeline for the beach, except said beeline involved crossing a village, scaling what was practically a mountain, and then whatever lay beyond that. He knew which way to go, but with his feet the way they were, protesting at every step and sourly reminding him with a throbbing pulse how sore and tired they were, he wasn’t sure if that was a today sort of thing. Maybe a tomorrow sort of thing. 

No, no I can’t do that. I need to find where I am, find a ship, find Tetra, and tell Aryll all about it when I get back. Priorities priorities, c’mon. He tried to remind himself of priorities when he realized Dress Man and Scarf Man were entering a shop, but really, wasn’t it advantageous to stock up on supplies? More bait pellets would be good. Turns out they didn’t have bait pellets, which was to be expected, only Beedle had those, but they did have some bait pellet colored things? He grabbed a few just in case.

Right, and Scarf Man was not happy with him for some reason. He didn’t know much, heck he didn’t know anything, but the way he’d said ‘Link’ in the shop didn’t sound very happy. Link just hoped he hadn’t done something entirely and horribly offensive, that definitely wouldn’t be good. 

Link darted out of the shop quickly, if it had turned out he hadn’t paid the right amount for those weird reddish objects then that was fine. First off, he was good at being sneaky and a fast runner, they’d never catch him. Second off, he was sure the people would be willing to forgive any and all accidental thievery once he found a way to communicate that he was the world’s hero. Not that he wanted to abuse his title, of course. It would just be much preferable to not have shopkeepers angry with him.

He stood in the street, thinking hard and feeling the wind. What was the best way to get to that beach? He’d already come out all this way, so it wouldn’t hurt to do some scouting. Maybe he wouldn’t have to get all the way to the beach, the top of that hill should be a good enough vantage point, and had the added bonus of letting him see farther out at the rest of the continent. Maybe he could even-

“ Link , eis kanar ama?” Dress Man had one eyebrow raised and was tapping his foot impatiently as if waiting for something. For what? What was Link even supposed to do? Scarf Man gave him a wry sort of smile and began to handle the object tucked under his arm like he was going to throw it. Was he going to throw it? Why?

With a soft yelp of alarm, Link deftly caught the rolled mat-thing tossed at him- why was he being thrown a bedroll? Did Scarf Man not want to carry it anymore? Why did Link have to carry it? Scarf Man walked over while Dress Man continued on into the other shop, from the glimpse Link got as he walked in, it was some clothing. 

Scarf Man had apparently been saying something, and may have even asked Link a question, but he of course didn’t catch a single word of it and instead nodded with alert eyes and the vague hint of a smile, because yeahh yup he absolutely understood that definitely yeah. He soon found himself being handed a strange little paper pouch, tied up with twine. The sailor knew he probably looked very confused, he couldn’t exactly do much about his reactive facial expressions. But he nodded his thanks anyways and tucked the little parcel away into his bag. He’d look at it later, but for now it seemed like Scarf Man and Dress Man really wanted Link to follow them into another shop. 

Link wondered what on the high seas could be so important that the gods seemingly wanted him to take every possible detour before getting back to the ocean again. Yet again, it’d only been a night and a day. A very cold, awkward night, and a very long, awkward day, but still just that. There was plenty of time yet to figure out the ins and outs of this new adventure. 

And plenty of time to figure out why doesn’t Dress Man wear pants?

It was clearly not an issue of whether or not there were pants. Everyone else wore pants. This shop sold pants! There was no reason to not have pants, so where were Dress Man’s pants? How many time can I think the word ‘pants’ in a single minute? Well I dunno. How many times could Dress Man have snagged a pants but didn’t? Link decided that he was going to fix Dress Man’s lack of pants. 

There was a pair of trousers on display, but those looked kinda important so he didn’t pay any mind. Scarf Man, Dress Man, and some lady were talking away in the corner, for some reason. Dress Man gestured at him, what were they talking about? Regardless, he was gonna get this guy some pants.

He picked out a pair similar to the ones on display from a little shelf by the door, holding it up to inspect the length. They were a little long for Link himself, but probably alright for Dress Man. Actually, now that Link had them side by side, it was very noticeable that Scarf Man was taller than Dress Man. Dress Man must have a strong personality to make up for the power imbalance. Sort of like how Tetra could be on an equal playing field with a pirate twice her size.

Link tapped Dress Man’s shoulder, holding out the pants to him as he turned around. He was silent for a moment, so Link looked very pointedly at his bare legs then very pointedly at the pants, then right back up to look Dress Man in the eyes, who looked like he was having a hard time finding a way to respond.

Scarf Man burst into laughter, playfully elbowing Dress Man. Link grinned but almost wistfully wished whatever was so hilarious was in a language he could understand. Dress Man grumbled for a moment before rolling his eyes. “Oh, kenaf kanar.”

The bob-haired woman in the corner gasped quietly, eyes widened slightly. Was what Dress Man had said offensive?

Link felt a sly grin pulling at his lips.

Scarf Man gasped over exaggeratedly and gestured to Link for a moment. 

After about a minute or so of banter that flew over his head like an Octorok’s poorly aimed rock projectile, Dress Man put the pants back where they had come from. That was too bad. Dress Man really could’ve used them. He shelled out a few rupees on some socks, which were promptly given to Link. Link had never quite needed socks before, it was much too hot for that back on Outset. Though, this place had proven to be colder than his home, so socks would be good. He wondered how he was supposed to pay these strangers back. 

Another thing, Link was starting to notice a pattern in this foreign language as he followed the two travelers back to the house they had overtaken. Scarf Man would say something, then Dress Man would say something, usually involving the word ‘kenaf.’ Only Dress Man used it so far, and only used it with Scar Man. Was it a nickname? Or maybe a joke of some sort, seeing how Scarf Man seemed to roll his eyes with a mockingly sour expression each time. He remembered how the lady at the store had seemed appalled at whatever Dress Man’s word choice, or perhaps, choice words.

Link couldn’t help but grin as he followed behind the two. After all, he’d just discovered his first swear word, hadn’t he? Kenaf, kenaf, doesn’t really have as much as a bite as b*tch, sh*t, or f*ck. It probably sounds better if you know the language. He experimentally mouthed the word, ever curious as to how it sounded. “..Kenaf.”

“I’ll say what I want when I want to say it, Cap.” Legend remarked snarkily, a smirk lilting the end of his sentence upwards.

“Oh but Veteran! The kid’s innocent ears!”

“Eh, f*ck that.”

Warriors waggled one finger and tried to put on his best ‘Time does not approve’ face. “C’mon, think about how Sky would reprimand you for that.”

Although a joke, Legend genuinely seemed a little concerned about the notion. “Yeah, you’re right. Man’s f*ckin terrifying when he wants to be.”

The banter that had been sparked by the kid offering Legend pants (which, by the way, was a golden moment and Warriors only wished Wild had been there to record with his Sheikah Slate), died down as they neared the bridge to Wild’s house. The sun toed the line between afternoon and evening, it’s hazy glow lighting the Champion’s house in a pleasantly warm way that cut the normal springtime nip. And then, out of the beat of silence:

“..fuck.”

Warriors whipped around with wide eyes because Holy Hylia he spoke and not only did he speak but what he had said, what he had FINALLY said after blatant and obvious silence was just-

“F*ck.” The kid said again, but louder and with more of a gremlin grin on his face that sharply reminded Warriors of Wild, or on occasion, Four. 

With a wheeze of laughter, Legend bent over and put his hands on his knees. “Sky’s gonna flip out when we tell him.”

“F*ck.” Link said rather sagely, nodding seriously. Warriors snorted loudly and soon dissolved into cackling alongside the Veteran, who was far too pleased with this revelation. Oh gods, Time was going to love this. Either that or Legend would never see the light of day again. Honestly, it was hard to tell whether the Old Man was in the mood for letting Wild commit arson or scolding the group for every hint of a shenanigan. 

The three heroes entered Wild’s house, where the air was laden with the savory scent of a thick stew and warm from ovenfire and cooking. Wild turned to glance at them from where he was tending the stew. “Hey, find everything?”

“Yup.” Legend answered nonchalantly, plopping his bag down. “Arrows, bedroll, socks. We’re all good here.” The Veteran glanced at Warriors, the two locking blue stares in a knowing gaze. Amusement bubbled between them almost palpably, even though neither hero had quite let a smile crack across their features yet.

Four leaned over the loft’s banister, giving them a long and curios look before speaking. “Uh, anything else?”

“Well, the kid spoke.” Warriors started. Hyrule and Sky jerked to attention, the latter smiling broadly. Wild was clearly surprised but couldn’t show it at the moment, head buried in his spice cabinet. 

Time gave the kid, who was busy inspecting the candy, a small smile. “Ah, and what did the lad say?”

“F*ck.” Warriors and Legend supplied casually in unison.

Time wheezed, Sky choked on his water, Hyrule’s eyes widened before dissolving into quiet chuckles, Four gave the kid a solid thumbs-up, Wild put a little too much spice in the stew as he whipped around with a small but sharp laugh. Twilight simply stared at Legend, and very knowingly at that.

The kid didn’t seem to be paying any mind to the conversation around him, instead poking at his bedroll, entirely oblivious to banter. Half the time when he looked up, it wasn't even at whoever was speaking.

Wild had cooked up some sort of reddish stew for dinner, and they all soon discovered its dangerous tint was a byproduct of the excess spice he’d spilled in. It wasn’t as horrible as having the entire bottle dumped in (a sore reminder to never, ever touch Wild’s things), but it was still hot. Legend gave his portion and long, dubious look before taking a spoonful and washing it down with a swig of water. Twilight was busy trying to pretend his nose wasn’t running and his eyes weren’t watering.

Wild chuckled nervously. “Aw, it’s still good though? Right?”

“Good but we’re suffering for it.” Four responded without missing a beat. 

“Don’t worry, the food’s normally this spicy in the Gerudo region, and they do just fine.”

Time set down his spoon with a raised brow. “You’re comparing nine short Hylians to the culinary toughness of tall buff women? That’s entirely unfair. Where’s your milk.”

While Time went up to get milk, Warriors slid their expressive little comrade the water pitcher, who currently had a running nose and was poking incredulously at the stew as if trying to find what on Hyrule could possibly be so spicy in it. He nodded thankfully to Warriors and poured himself a glass. 

Dinner passed in an hour of quips and banter, mainly centered around the spice of the evening’s stew and Legend’s lack of pants. 

The sun finally began to tip below the sprawling westward horizon, casting the land in it’s fading fiery glow. Crickets offered their nighttime song high into the vast sky, the darkening expanse beginning to hint at the coming of stars. Four and Wild were on dish duty, washing out bowls in a basin in companionable silence. Twilight sat by the loft’s window, looking out at the sunset. Sky was already fast asleep atop his bedroll beside Wild’s bed, though he had at least managed to remove his arm guards and boots before passing out for the night. Hyrule, Four, and the kid were going to sleep horizontal-wise on Wild’s bed for the night. Yes, there was enough room for nine bedrolls, but if anyone actually wanted to walk on the floor to get anywhere, they’d need three in a bed.

Warriors had removed his pauldron, arm guards, boots, and overtunic, stretching his arms lightly over his head. Light spilled lazily through the window, casting the house in a warm, woodish, reflective haze. Time fiddled softly on his ocarina, accompanied by the occasional correctional hum from Legend, who was doing one last inventory check before settling in.

Just as Warriors expected, the kid was definitely tired. He sat at the footmost end of Wild’s bed, leaning back on his hands and eyes drooping slightly. It wasn’t long before he curled up almost reluctantly, using his bedroll as a blanket. Though trying to keep his eyes open for a while, between the slow atmosphere of the house, the soft music, and a long day of walking, he soon closed his eyes and fell into sleep.

“It’s interesting, you know.” Time began quietly, as not to disturb those already asleep. “You said he cursed? For someone who doesn’t talk, for whatever reason, that seems like an odd first choice for first words.”

Warriors simply shrugged. “At the time, we were joking about Legend ruining his innocence. Perhaps he was playing along…” The captain trailed off, thinking about all those times the kid would barely acknowledge when someone was speaking to him, or otherwise downright ignore them. 

“Something else?” Their leader prompted, setting down his ocarina from where he’d been gently fingering notes and melodies.

Warriors let his gaze drift over to their young sleeping companion. He didn’t seem particularly unfriendly or reserved insofar, aside from the obvious lack of verbal communication. His facial expressions had been genuinely easy to read, and he’d proven himself adventurous and brazen even after a day. Warriors simply shrugged. “I'm not sure.”

Chapter Text

Dawn came grey, early, and cold. The night’s inky darkness now lightened around the horizon’s edges with the coming of sunrise. It was quiet, the only sound being the distant chirp of early-rising birds and the faint creak of wooden rafters every time the breeze picked up. 

Link sat up in bed, the blanket he’d acquired yesterday sliding from about his chest and pooling around his waist. It seemed he was the only one awake, with the other travelers, save for the two in the bed alongside him, sprawled about in various places on the floor. Normally he’d be the type to sleep in, but Link had found that wasn’t the case on nights in a new place. 

Ocean . Right, that was the priority. Take a look at the ocean, find out where he is, and figure out this whole quest thing. He gingerly slid out from under the blanket and quietly tip-toed onto the floor, wouldn’t want to wake Hyrule or Shorty.

Link winced the moment his toes touched down on the floorboards, partly because wow that is ice cold, and partly because his feet weren’t done complaining about the obscene amount of walking everyone had done yesterday. He stole a quick glance at Cape Man’s feet, confirming his suspicion that no one else had gotten their feet all bloodied up. 

Pausing for a moment before adventuring down the inevitably cold stairs into an inevitably cold outdoors, he turned about to grab his blanket, wrapping it about his shoulders and tying the corners around his neck like a cloak. The stealthy pirate quickly slipped downstairs, entirely silent over the floorboards. Fur Man’s fishing rod was leaned in the corner alongside the party’s bags and gear. Link quickly slipped on his socks and shoes. 

As he secured one of the weird red things he’d purchased yesterday to the end of the rod’s line, careful not to catch his fingers on the hook, Link wondered what Fur Man could possibly have needed a fishing rod for. The ocean was dead, after all, unless he wanted to catch some Fish Men, which seemed cruel. Yet again, a Fish Man had once asked him to perform acupuncture using a bow and arrow, so they must be pretty tough. 

Link shook his head resolutely as he cracked open the front door and quietly padded outside, closing the door softly behind himself. Fur Man may be a sorry pirate who tried to steal shoes, but he hadn’t done anything obviously evil or mean yet. Link was going to hold him to it. 

Quartermaster Fluffyback tottered over, greeting the young hero with a soft ‘baa.’ Link beamed at his fluffy friend.

“Good morning Quartermaster, you ready to set sail?” The sailor asked quietly, giving his steed an affectionate rub between his great, black horns. 

“Baa.” Fluffyback replied nonchalantly, snuffling curiously in the direction of the bait at the end of Link’s rod. 

“Let’s go.”

The town, bumbling and bustling yesterday, was calm and still under the morning’s cold grey skies that hadn’t yet taken on the golden tints of sunrise. It was still an early morning’s twilight. A cold breeze nipped at Link’s nose and ears, he hoped Fluffyback wasn’t too cold. Link’s mount likely wasn’t with that thick coat from which the creature got its name. Link brushed his fingers over the fluff for a moment before going back to holding the rod with two hands. 

Fluffyback brought them over the bridge in from of the house they’d stayed in as Link ran over an imaginary map of the town in his head, yesterday had given him plenty of time to build one. Getting to the tallest hill would be cool, but it’s farther away. There should be a knoll somewhere southwards of that which should work alright as a vantage point. Fluffyback navigated easily down a steep slope, delivering both of them onto the town’s main road. Link murmured praise and slipped his loyal Quartermaster a bait pellet for his accomplishment. The still and quiet reminded the hero of calm mornings when the ocean was gentle and tired, when Outset was still blinking awake and the low tide lapped softly at the coarse, sandy shores. Those mornings gave Link time to think. 

Knowing the general trend of quests, there was probably an item he needed, somewhere. Maybe in some temple? But he hadn’t seen anything that looked like a temple yet. Besides, those were usually their own islands. Though, he supposed a place this big could hold a temple or two. It could be those strange metallic structures, like the one near the house Ponytail had brought the party to, but they were very small for a Temple and Link had seen a few of those already, so it probably wasn’t a temple.

Items and specifics could wait until after he figured out where he was. It was very possible he wouldn’t be able to see any landmarks at all. Oh. 

Link frowned as Fluffyback continued onward, and he nudged the fishing pole left as they came to a slight bend in the dusty town path. Right, the ocean was big, and there might not be any landmarks at all. That was alright. He’d manage, a sailor always did.

A woman opened the door to a big building, letting out a little ‘Oh?’ of surprise upon seeing Link waltzing through the town on a sheep. She gave him a friendly wave, Link adjusted the blanket around his shoulders before returning it with a smile.

The houses and buildings quickly opened up to steep rolling hills plateaued with patches of wheat and pens for animals. Link grinned up at the nearest pen, nudging Fluffyback and pointing up at it. “Hey, look! More fluffy pig-dragons. You wanna go say hi later?”

“Baa?”

Wind nodded conversationally. “Good point.” He chirped. “I might lose you. In that case, you’ll just need something distinguishing, like a bandana or something. Then I can tell you apart from the other pig-dragons, and bandanas are very pirate-like. It’ll suit you.”

“Baa.” 

“Red? Red sounds good. Did you know Tetra wears a red one? Though, you should really consider blue or green. Green’s the hero’s color and blue is just cool.” Fluffyback didn’t respond to that bit, so Link decided his Quartermaster was set on red. Yet again, Link had been deciding everything, hadn’t he? After all, he was talking to an animal, one that he really couldn’t understand and was now upholding one-sided conversation with. Weird? Possibly. Fun? Yes. Fluffyback made for a great conversation partner, however one-sided those conversations ended up being. 

Link thought for a moment, his face lighting up in epiphany. “Oh! I almost forgot about this. You can have it.” He began to untuck something from the back of his belt, a simple piece of red fabric, square in shape, folded like a triangle. The wrinkled bandana flapped amiably in the breeze. “Tetra gave it to me, but I don’t think she’d mind if you borrowed it. What do you think?”

“ Baa. ”

“Yeah, I know, it smells like someone keelhauled a week-old sandwich. That's what happens when you live on a ship for some time and run into smelly ocean water a lot. I don’t think it’s as bad as it was though. Here.” Link leaned forward, securely tying the bandana about one of Fluffyback’s horns. “There we go! You look very nice.”

The path began to wind tighter and steeper up the grassy hill, and Link caught sight of sheer, greyish cliffs where the hillside suddenly dropped away to an alcove of grass and trees. He twisted about atop Fluffyback, trying to get a glimpse at the island that stretched out behind him. It’d be good to know just how big it-

Link abruptly pulled the fishing rod up and out of Fluffyback’s line of sight, bait swinging at the end of the line, and halting the animal. He craned his neck around, mouth agape, staring out at the scene that lay behind him. 

The island was truly endless.

No sea glittered with the reflection of grey twilight in the distance, instead rolling hills and mountains stretched out for as far as the eye could see, fading into cloud-covered and mist-shrouded land instead of ocean. It gave the impression that the vast terrain dropped off into the sky rather than the sea. The double-peaks of the mountain Link and the rest of the party had traveled under stood proud and strong countless fathoms away. Another suspicion confirmed, this was definitely not an island.  

But aren’t all continents actually islands? Just, really, really big ones? Technical definitions were not something he’d rather get into at the moment, so he lowered the rod’s line and nudged Fluffyback onwards, continuing up the hill.

Just as he’d thought, a stony knoll, overlaid with stubborn moss and infringed by a frayed carpet of scrappy grasses poked out of the jutting hill, with what was definitely a clear view of the ocean beyond. Link grinned, lifting the rod and sliding off the side of Fluffyback, careful not to let the blanket catch under his mount’s hooves. He began to deftly unhook the red bait-thing he’d bought yesterday from the end of the line. “Don’t get into too much trouble, got it, Quartermaster?” 

Fluffyback was much more interested in his treat, which he gladly began munching on once Link got it off the fishing rod. The sailor gave his friend one last pat before turning around to survey the ocean before him.

They were facing east, with the light greys of the sky brightening and stretching up from the horizon, distant clouds beginning to catch hints of gold and rose from a sun on the cusp of peeping over the horizon. 

Straight ahead was an island. Small, but still an island. It was green with growth and trees near the bottom, with a lone rock formation jutting out the top. Not too far away, and Link probably could’ve swum there if he tried, it all depended on the currents, really. It looked like the whole stretch of sea between the mainland and the island was some kind of extended sandbar, with the real drop in depth occurring after the island, Link could tell by the water’s color, which deepened and darkened significantly past the sandbar. So the dangerous waters were right past the island, with everything docile up until then. 

Still, that didn’t give him any clues as to where he was. The seas here weren’t clear from horizon to horizon like they usually were on Outset. Fog and mist encroached on the edges of the visible world, like an infinite barrier that lay far off in the distance. 

The cold wind picked up again, buffering Link’s ears and making him wrap the blanket tighter around himself. Now that he was so close, close enough to hear the crash of waves below, it was certain, the ocean, though familiar, smelled way different here.

What even was that? That smell? It was almost… almost… Almost what? What is that smell? It’s so.. Not musty and not flat, it’s sharp? What’s even the word for that, pungent? What does pungent even mean? It sounds like the name of someone’s weird uncle. Link knew close to nothing, so he gathered what he did know. Different language, infinite continent, no landmarks, sandbar, different smell- His body shivered involuntarily, and he wrapped the blanket a little tighter about himself. -and cold. Am I near the Ice Ring Isles? No, no. The ocean didn’t smell like that there. And I definitely would’ve seen this place if I was close before.

A little idea bubbled to the surface of his mind, which Link immediately rejected. Because, why? It was at least a good fifteen minute’s trek from the hill to the house, which would be fifteen minutes without water, and he’d not brought a waterskin with him. Was it even necessary?

It would be one more piece of information, and it’s the only constant I’ve got right now.

Link was an island boy, grew up alongside and in the ocean waves. And no matter where he swam, where he fell into the water, no matter where he got tossed out of the sky and into the ocean below, one thing always stayed the same. The ocean always tasted the same. 

Link shook his head to clear the hair from his eyes as he pulled out the Deku Leaf, letting its veins unfurl before jumping up and launching off the cliffside. Quartermaster Fluffyback let out a noise of what Link perceived to be alarm. 

Why was he going to do a taste test of the ocean anyway? Just because everything insofar was different didn’t mean anything. Islands varied a lot, that’s just how it goes. Right? I’m just checking my bases, starting from the bottom and working my way up. Checking off every factor until there’s enough information to pinpoint a location. He told himself, bracing for landing. His feet kicked softly against the sand, the fine, soft sand, as he touched down.

Link tucked away the Deku leaf, standing still for a moment in the familiar roar and ebb of ocean waves and the feeling of sand shifting under his feet. The hero closed his eyes, it almost felt like home if he tried imagining away the chill. Right, gotta check everything out.

He knelt down, running a hand through the sand. It’s very soft.. Link thought to himself, picking up a handful and letting the fine grains run ticklishly between his fingers. Did sand grains get smaller? Or was he imagining things? It was soft, that was for sure. Too soft, in his opinion. Yet again, some islands got more ferocious waves than others and thus softer sand. 

He stood, brushing the lingering grains from his trousers and tossing some of the excess blanket up around his shoulders. Great. Taste test time.

Link dipped a finger tentatively into the cold surf, burying the deep-seated instinct of ‘don’t drink seawater’ before hesitantly licking it with the tip of his tongue. Pale blue eyes widened in surprise. Oh that’s not right. Was that- what? What? No, hold on.

That, that didn’t taste like the ocean at all. What? Link’s brow furrowed, staring incredulously at the expanse of water before him. He dipped a finger in again as the surf eddied up the shore, doing a full double-take as he processed what exactly was going on atop his taste buds. It’s so… not.. Salty? Why isn’t it as salty? What? And it..? Ew it tastes like week-old kelp that beached itself under the dank underside of someone’s porch. But also not? 

Link did a full third-take. It’s sour and kinda bitter, weird. Weird and gross. That’s not seawater. But it sort of is? Is this a lake? A really big, really nasty, really out of place lake?

Link did a full fourth-take, was that even a thing? Tastes like metal.. Kinda sharp. It’s sharp and not as salty- doesn’t matter how it tastes, it tastes different and that’s not something the ocean just does. 

Link plopped down on his butt right there, the carelessness of his landing jarring momentarily up his spine. He crossed his legs as he watched the surf wash right up, almost touching his toes before scurrying back with the bubbling ebb of water across the shoreline. Nothing made sense. Why did the ocean taste different? That never changes. Ever. And as far as he knew that wasn’t supposed to change. Until right now, of course, but still.

If the ocean doesn’t taste the same it’s like it isn’t even made of the same stuff, but that’s impossible. Link crossed his arms and leaned back somewhat, tossing his head backward to look up at the faintly bluish, grey skies. Absolutely impossible for it to be different. Saying that the ocean is different means it’s a whole different ocean! Which is impossible because the ocean covers the whole world and that’d be like saying that… that- oh.

Link’s gaze blanked out as he stopped staring at the sky to instead plop his head forward, chin knocking against his collarbone as he stared dumbly down at the wet sand, still shifty and soupish from the tide. “Oh.” That’d be like saying it wasn't… wasn’t my world. Oh. OH. Oh sh*t. The sailor leaned forward, planting calloused hands in the sand and letting the tide wash over them, gradually and slowly sinking further down with each wash of the tide. 

Sh*t now holdup- There was no way. Was this the denial phase or whatever of getting a total reality check? Maybe it’s whatever. No just- what? Link prepared to do a full fifth take and lifted up one dripping hand.

“Uhh, seika?” Link turned around with one wet hand still poised to be licked. Scarf man stood behind him, one brow arched confusedly. “Maro ah kanar pei?”

Not breaking eye contact, Link licked his hand. Oh, yep. This is still happening. I’m 96% sure that I’m 86% sure that this isn’t my ocean. I’m also 96% sure I don’t really know what percentages are supposed to mean all the way. But yeah I’m sure. Link, still holding Scarf Man’s gaze, spat out the remainder of the too-bitter and not salty enough water mixed with a few spots of gritty sand, attempting to clear the taste from off his tongue. 

“Uh, ko..” Scarf man stared in silence for a moment before awkwardly turning to gesture at the lighthouse-like building atop the hill. “Balar eisa muya noreh hen nekpei e marleh noreh hen verlea…” 

Link’s gaze drifted back to the grey oceans, which now glimmered intermittently with the sun’s yellowish light, just broken over the horizon. Are the colors even the same? Link found himself asking, eyes darting from horizon’s end to horizon’s end in search of something similar to the pinkish-orange blooms of light caught on early morning mist as the sun would rise over Outset. All his eyes found were ever-lightening greys that were quickly turning blue, bleeding with yellows and golds in between cracks in the dense fog cover. It was cold, and it was different, and it wasn’t his. 

Something in the back of his mind wanted to hold onto the notion that this was still his world. Maybe it had something to do with not wanting to let go of the idea of a new continent, a new Hyrule. That maybe-something would have to wait because Scarf Man had finished speaking at least thirty seconds ago and was expectantly waiting for Link to follow him back up. Link silently obliged, feet sinking slightly into the too-soft sand with each step.

The back of his throat was sour with the remaining taste of salt, tongue abuzz from the strong and foreign flavors, and lips dried with ocean water. Link didn’t pay it any mind, his thoughts were needed elsewhere anyway. Things made sense now. Things make so much sense now holy Hylia. But what am I supposed to-?

Sense- things make sense now but not really at all-? I don’t know. How do I get out of here? What if the goddesses don’t exist here-? Wait but if that’s the case how do these guys have the master sword? Wait how DO they have the master sword?! This isn’t my world so where did it come from? Did it come here with me? 

He couldn’t help the way his stomach dropped at the thought, or maybe that was the aftereffects of ingesting seawater, he didn’t really care at the moment. Oh gods what if it came here with me. Is that a bad thing? It’s not like Ganon can come back if it’s gone, right? Because he’s super dead at the bottom of the ocean, right? The seal thing doesn’t apply because he’s super dead because I super killed him and I’m using the word super too much but that doesn’t matter where was I going with this-?

Fluffyback ‘baa’ed from up ahead, jolting Link from his thoughts as the fluffy creature began to totter towards him and Scarf Man down the path. Link absentmindedly patted his Quartermaster’s head, his running thoughts ebbing quickly back to their earlier area of focus. He vaguely registered Scarf Man’s gaze lingering on him for a moment as they worked their way up the hill. 

This world is so big, how do I find what I need to do? It’s like navigating the World of the Ocean King all over again. All over again. The taste of foreign saltwater sat sour upon his tongue, a metallic tang constricting the back of his throat. Link retrieved the fishing rod from where it was leaned against the sheer, stony side of the hill. Fluffyback followed behind him.

All over again. Is this a dream? Am I dreaming? Am I gonna wake up and realize only ten minutes went by? He sighed internally, and maybe externally too. He wasn’t quite sure, lost in his racing thoughts. It was awfully unsatisfying to do so much only to walk away with a single sword and memories of a place that shouldn’t exist as far as all natural laws are concerned. 

Stubborn, wind-stiffened grass gave way to hard-packed dirt pavement. It looks real. Specklings of forest transitioned to closely-nestled buildings beginning to take on the characteristic morning bustle of a village. Shops opened, people greeted one another. It all looked real last time- but it was real last time. I’ve got the sword. Link had a hand on Fluffyback as they walked on, gently stroking the rare and foreign softness as his brow furrowed and mouth twisted into a frown. It better be real or I’m fighting the gods. I would be sad if Fluffyback wasn’t real. 

The woman from the store from yesterday waved hello, Link waved back on instinct. Okay okay okay. Square one. What the heck even IS square one? I guess square one would be waking up somewhere, and then finding a fairy and an old man who’s actually an ocean god.

Link gave Scarf Man a good long look as they approached the hill before the bridge, the colorful, cubic homes jutting awkwardly up from the ground. Welp I found 8 traveling dudes, none of which really have ‘ocean god’ or fairy vibes but that’s fine, so maybe that’s that box checked.. Sort of. But I can’t understand them. So is that back a square? Or maybe half a square. 

Scarf Man said something, probably pertaining to Quartermaster Fluffyback if his body language and hand gestures towards the creature were anything to go by. What else- Tetra was here last time. This time? No idea. The bridge’s planks creaked softly under the trio’s feet. Shorty cracked open the front door, waving to them with a short greeting before disappearing back inside. 

Okay okay cool just work with what you got. Link told himself, rummaging through his bait bag to get a treat for Fluffyback. Second step would be finding some spirits to power up a sword so a big ocean monster doesn’t drain the life from my body while I fight him, or collecting the wisdomcouragepower something or other. Is it the Master Sword this time, or the Phantom Sword again? Do spirits even exist here? How am I supposed to find them? Or do I have to make another sword entirely? Is there even an ocean monster? Is there even a GANON? What if there’s nothing? Am I just here now? What does it even mean? How do I get back? Can I get back? I’m pretty sure this is a different world but it could also not be because this is totally insane I mean maybe the ocean just tastes different in some places and I didn't know about it which is realy unlikely but all that aside I-

Link looked up and blinked dumbly for a moment as Fluffyback nosed at his hands, gently snuffling up the crumbs of bait pellet. Looking around, it seemed Scarf Man had already gone inside, and warm, inviting scents of food wafted from the house. Link’s stomach grumbled mal-temperedly with hunger, so the hero gave Fluffyback a pat before turning to follow suite and enter the house.

It could be none of these. I could be wrong about everything. This isn’t even square one-half, this is square zero! The eight other travelers were up and about, exchanging garbled greetings and indecipherable nonsense. Link shrugged the blanket from over his shoulders as he padded back upstairs to the loft, tossing it onto the foot of the bed. He squared his shoulders resolutely. Square zero it is, then. I’ll just have to work with it… somehow.

Scarf Man exclaimed something from downstairs, and Link could catch glimpses of expressions ranging from nervous to exasperated through the gaps in the loft’s banister, accentuated with the occasional peal of laughter. Square zero would be a lot easier without a language barrier.