Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

     Deep within the wood a shadow lurked. A lone silhouette moved silently between the ancient trees that loomed over head. Gnarled wooden fingers snagging and ripping at the edged of the material of a dark cloak. The moon hidden away behind the mountains. Soft laughter echoed on all sides, like that of a child playing a game. The shadow passed through the building fog, quietly glancing at the savage trees.

     A moment later, as if stepping through a wall, the fog cleared. The forest grew eerily silent as the stranger stood waiting. Minuets past with no action until a second shadow appeared beside the first, then a third. Until six stood silently waiting on the hidden path. They waited, not one uttering a sound, hardly breathing.

     A light in the distance suddenly appeared from the path they had yet to tred. It was a small pink fairy and as it drew close to them a seventh shadow flowed after it. The seventh lifted their left hand and gestured them forward as they turned back the way they came. All obeyed the silent order, keeping an eye on the fairy guild lighting their way. It wasn't long till they came upon a clearing of soft field grass and flowers. Tree roots as large as a wagons stretched across the space. Pink flower petals fell softly in the wind.

     A grinding sound drew the six shadows attention from the peaceful scene A round wooden door rolled away at the base of an angled root at the massive trees base. The door revealed a large space behind it and a warm glow lit the clearing. The seventh entered the small space and the rest hesitantly followed.

     Inside two hooded people sat on a bed of leaves watching a pot over a warm hearth. One of the two pulled out a medallion as they stepped fully in and it glowed a bright white light. At the display the six newcomers retrieved similar medallions and each glowed in response to the first. Red, green, orange, blue, purple and finally yellow. The two on the floor nodded their hooded heads and the hooded guild with the fairy leaned against the wall behind the two.

     Soon all eight sat in a circle ready for their meeting to commence.

     “Time is running short.” A low toned voice started them off. “Though the Calamity was stopped four years ago, our goal was not complete. In fact, it was foiled to a degree that great sacrifices had to be made to keep any hope alive. Ending the cycle was the goal, but it looks like it will not happen in our lifetime or any time soon.” The newcomers were silent, allowing the other to continue. “We have the Queens hero to thank for that.”

     The air grew heavy as the word was laced with frustration. The second hooded figure spoke up.” Many of the tests are nearly complete. Soon it will be time to begin the final stage and hide the islands and anything that remains. This needs to be done before more needlessly die for a false belief. The kingdom has lost its way and we are not going prevent disaster by doing nothing.”

     “What of the Princess? Who does she support? She was barely old enough to remember what happened let alone understand the situation we're in,” one of the six softly spoke.

     The second individual answered. “The princess is an ally, but she would be easily swayed. She is still so young and has little contact with the outside world. She was only nine when the Calamity began. The only other that she will likely trust would be the Hero. Only Hylia knows when they are to meet again. However, at the moment that is not our role. We have our own assignments to complete.” At that, they concluded and the first two stood, the rest following. They bowed and six fairies flew to each, leading them outside. “Follow the fairies to your finale location and wait there. When the time is right you shall preform your test and your duty will be complete. May the Goddess keep you in the times to come.”After a finale bow, the six they left. The three others watched as their ally's left into the fog filled wood.

     Once gone two of them removed their hoods. One a hylian male with light brown hair and deep green eyes. The other other was a sheikah female, white hair reflecting the moon. Her red eyes gleamed like a raging fire. The both of them turned to the third hooded among them. They stepped out of the tree and stood half a head taller than the two. After a moment of looking into the small grove the shadow proceeded forward.

     “Is this truly a wise idea?” the women questioned as she went to follow behind. “We could use all the help we can get.”

     The hylian stopped her from following. “Impa, it was discussed and decided.”

     “But Satori..”

     “She is so tired”. Impa shut her mouth as their hooded companion spoke their quiet words. The shroud individual looked back over their shoulder at the two arguing at the trees base. Though they could not see the face hidden beneath the hood, they knew what kind of weary look they were receiving.

     “She is not like she once was. If she is to be able to help the future, she needs every moment she can get. So please… let us be.” At those soft words the hooded one stepped forward onto a hidden platform within the grass.

     A beam of natural moonlight lit the triangular stone platform, casting a divine like glow. They stood before its center in silence. In one quick motion, a sword seemed to come into being with a pure ring in the air. Light flared and refracted off its blade as the hooded one held it outstretched in the air single handily. The sound was like a song, peaceful and wholly good. They stood still till the ringing died out. A slow moving cloud hid the light of the moon, allowing the others to see the treasured Blade of Evils Bane. Ever so slowly and carefully did its wielder lower the blade down towards the pedestal. Before placing it in its proper place, a low whisper could be heard, but buy only the small woodland beings surrounding the swordsman. That only they were aware of.

     “Rest easy, old friend. May we meet again in another lifetime.”

     The sword chirped in response and even if it was hidden, the Hero smiled.

     A sad, pained smile, but a smile nonetheless.

     And then they put the Master Sword to rest.

Chapter Text

     They really should be used to this. What was the point of expecting anything different. When things get quiet, something was bound to happen. One minute they were casually resting by the fire, ready for a well deserved rest, the next the chain find themselves in the middle of a large fountain.

     Time, who had been previously sitting on a log for first watch, now found himself sitting on the edge of the stone fountain. His feet were the only thing in the water, which he promptly removed. He observed the position of the others as he stepped out. Wind was propped upside down on the centerpiece, his foot pined between the neck and wing of a stone bird that looked to be in mid-flight. A string of sailor expletives smoothly flowed out of his mouth as Wild helped him free his ankle. Legend stood knee deep in the first water ring as he rung out his blue cap, a deep scowl on his face. Twilight was shaking his hair of the loose water droplets. Sky sat in the second water ring, feet dangling while he held a nearly unconscious Four out of the water. Hyrule busied himself with collecting their items in the first level and sighed at how soaked through everything was. His next comment hit the situation on the nose.

     “Well, so much for getting any rest any time soon. Everything is soiled through“.

     “Not like we were in need of it or anything. Na, sleep is for the weak according to the Goddess.” Legend grumbled as he stepped out. The dark circles under his eyes seemed to deepen in the soft day light.

     Twilight lifted Four from Sky's arms and placed him in Legends, much to both grumblings. “We’ll find an inn in a second. This town looks big enough to have a few.”

     By now Wild had freed Wind and passed the hero to the skyloftian and then jumped down to the bottom ring, splashing water on some of the others. Twilight sent him a look as he grabbed the sailor and set him on the edge of the fountain near Time. Hyrule quickly stepped up to the small hero and inspected his ankle. Four was also placed near the healer for inspection. After a minute the traveler gave his nod of approval. “Your ankle is fine. Just don’t do any quick turns for now while you run.”

     Hyrule moved to Four, but the smallest hero pushed him away. “Just a headache now. I’m fine. I just need to dry off.” A long blue cloth was suddenly placed in his hands. Four looked up to see Warriors unwinding the rest of the dry scarf and placed the other end on Winds damp head. The boy quickly shoved it off, embarrassed at the attention. Four had no qualms about it though and proceeded to pat his face and hair dry, being careful with the beloved scarf.

     “So where are we? Anything look familiar?” A completely dry Warriors questioned. Everyone observed their surroundings. Each looked intently but didn't find anything familiar right away.

     “Looks like Castle town, but brand new. The pave stones hardly look a few years old.” Four pointed out as he looked at the stone under their feet. “Looks like we are near the market square if those shops are to go by.”

     Everyone looked to see what Four pointed to and saw some locals setting up their wares, Wild looked up to the sun and observed the suns location. “Looks to be morning then. At least that means our clothes will dry sooner rather than later.”

     “Well I don't care where we've landed. This fountain owes me compensation.” The other Links turned to find Wind pulling out a handful of rupees and stuffing them into his bag. Warriors immediately plucked the hero up by the back of the shirt as he went for more. “Hey! Put me down!” the sailor squirmed in this hold.

     “Leave the fountain alone.”

     “But Legend is doing it, too!”

     Warriors head snapped to said hero and said hero froze mid-grab, a large gold rupee in his hand. The scowl on the knights face could curdle milk. Legend ignored it. “Hey, my funds are low.”

     As an argument started Wild caught sight of something familiar across the square. A Sheikah woman with a large round straw hat strapped to her back. She was browsing the shops observing the fruit. Her hair was up in the traditional fashion he was custom to seeing or at least it looked familiar. Long strands of wight hair reached nearly to her knees. She wore a modest robe with red accents and a thick red belt secured by a golden band of rope. A white sheikah eye was painted across her forehead. Gold rings were decorating her wrists. At a sudden loud yelp from Wind the Shiekah glanced at the group. Her red eyes widened after a moment of observing them. Her shock was quickly replaced with a calm curiosity as she tilted her head. She payed for her items and turned away from the group down a side street.

     “Wild!”

     Wild was attention was drawn back to the group at Times voice. Time placed a hand on his shoulder with a question in hes eyes.

     “Recognize anything?”

     Wild shrugged before looking back the way the Shiekah left. “Not sure. This place seems a bit familiar, but I don’t remember where. The architecture doesn't feel the same as my time. The castle behind us seams smaller that the one I'm familiar with.”

     “Could it be from before you fell asleep?” Four questioned. “I mean, we don’t have much to reference from.”

     Wild shook his head. “My memories are mostly based in the castle or out in the lands of Hyrule. I don’t remember anything from Castle Town or anything close to the settlements.” Wild looked downward in disappointment at this fact. Time gave his shoulder a pat before releasing him. “Any way, the Shiekah I saw was wearing somethings I'm familiar with. I've only seen my Impa wear such a large round hat.“

     “So its safe to say we are close to your time then. Though how much before or after your adventure is the question.” Warriors crossed his arms.

     “Well it could be after mine.” Wind chirped. “I mean, me and Tetra are trying to establish a new Hyrule Kingdom.”

     “I can’t believe you just said such a sophisticated word after saying me and Tetra. Its Tetra and I, dork.” Legend proceeded to smack Wind in the back of the head. The sailor responded by sticking his tongue out at the veteran.

     “Couldn't we just ask the locals then.” Hyrule nervously asked, eyeing the growing crowd. “We need supplies anyways.”

     “Twilight and Wild, go refile our food stock. Wind, Four and I will search for an inn, while Hyrule and Legend will search for a potion shop.”

     “Sky and I will look for further information of this Hyrule. Who knows, might find out why we are here in the first place.” Time agreed with Warriors suggestion.

     At that, they split up.

~~~~~

     It took some time for Hyrule and Legend to find what they were looking for. It turned out that potion shops were not as in abundance here as other Hyrules. According to the shop owner it was due to the fact that the supply for ingredients were waning over the years. They were not cheep either. Hyrule was secretly thankful Legend took those rupees from the fountain, not that he would say that out loud. The two barely had enough to get the four health potions and the stamina vile available in the shop.

     “Well that was easy. Looks like there is not to much monster activity in the area either.” Legend mumbled as they made their way back to the fountain.

     “How do you figure that?”

     “You've seen what Wild puts in his potions. If this is close to Wilds time line then they need monster parts to make it. If there are no ingredients then they cant supply the shop.”

     “Couldn't that mean that the monsters are too powerful to take on in the first place.”

      “It could, but do you see anyone worried about that. I haven't heard a word from any of the passing conversations about trouble in the area. If there are monsters in abundance then they are not in the near by region.”

     “So it seems to be a peaceful era then, right?”

     “Maybe.” was all Legend answered his friend before a pair of soldiers running past them caught his eye. There armor were clanking loudly and nearby pedestrians stepped out of there way. “Lets follow those guards and see what their up to.”

     The two hero's then proceeded to tail the men further into the city.

~~~~~

     Finding food was easy in the market. Getting it was a different story for Wild and Twilight. They moved from stall to stall trying to fill up their inventory. Each item slipping into the shiekah slate in a blue light. The first shop owner did not seemed concerned at the item. In fact they hardly looked at it. Not the usual response the that the hero of the wild would get from the strange Hyrules they visited.

     This discovery was put to the back of the two heroes minds when a different reaction was pulled out of the shop owner. The man was looking down and only at Wild the entire time they were bargaining. Not once did he engage with Twilight. Not that the hero didn't try. Each time he asked for something, the shop owner ignored him. This irritated both him and Wild.

     By the time they were done the man was almost openly frustrated at the attempts of conversation. When they left Twilight glanced at the man and caught him side glaring at his back. He looked away when catching Twilight's eye.

     “That was strange. “the ordonian mumbled to his protege.

     “Could be the fact that you’re wearing a wolf pelt on your back. That's not normally seen in most places we've stopped by.”

     “True. He didn’t have to be so rude about it though.”

     Wild shrugged at his friends comment. The two continued on their mini side quest to the other stalls. Each having different but similar reactions to the Wolf like hero. It wasn't until their last stall did they get some form of answer, not that it helped solve the confusion. It was an old lady who finally said something about it.

     “Don’t mind those fools, young ones. Their views on outsiders are flawed and stupid. Just because your from the Faron region does not make you less of a person in the kingdom of Hyrule.”
The woman passes them a basket of eggs. “They just don’t get the differences between the peoples.”

     “Differences? Isn't Faron apart of Hyrule kingdom?” The old woman raised an eyebrow at Wild.

     “Just because the Queen wants it to be does not make it so. The Zoni would have something to say about that. Wouldn’t you? “She looked at Twilight expectantly.

     “Um… I’m from Ordon Village?”

     “Isn’t that the same thing?” The woman replied knowingly.

     The two left that stall more confused than before.

~~~~~

      Warriors and Sky were having a grand old time gathering information in the town square. It didn’t take much prompt for the people to show their love for their prosperous Kingdom. Telling how the last four years were full of wealth and good fortune. Mentions of a Hero defending the kingdom against the beasts of the east popped up every so often, but not much was said of where he was currently. Wars pinched the bridge of his nose wanting their latest conversation topic.

     “And then the hero slue the king of beasts in one fell swoop and banished his soul to the underworld. It is said his queens wail of agony could be heard throughout the land and th…”

     Warriors put up his hand to stop the child they found from continuing his fifth overly exited tale. “Thanks kid. I think we get the gist, but we got to go now.” Warriors practically dragged a drowsy Sky away from the kid.

     “Wait that wasn’t even the best part. The hero had to fight a tribe of Zoni barbarians just to get to them! Hey!”

     “So long kid.” Warriors dipped into the crowd to escape the rambling child, but they got away quickly enough.

     “You could have waited until he finished you know.” mumbled Sky.

     Wars gave him a look that said,’ You were falling asleep and you know it.’

     The two walked further into the square and found themselves at the foot of a different fountain. This fountain was much larger than the one they were dropped into. There were stairs up the sides leading towards the castle. The fountain top piece was the Royal family crest. The area was crawling with people. Some goron, a few zora and even a large rito were thrown into the mix.

     “Definitely a Wild kind of timeline.” the knight pointed out.

     Suddenly, a burst of red smoke blurs their vision. The surrounding area was covered in red dust. People turned at the clouds of dust surrounding the fountain. When their eyes cleared, they counted twelve Yiga lookalikes standing on the platforms surrounding the fountain.

     The leader of them stepped forward and announced to the crowed.” Kingdom of Hyrule listen to my words or your peace will come to an end!”

     An uneasy energy filtered through the crowd. With hands on the hilts of their swords, Warriors and Sky had front row seats of what was about to happen.

~~~~~

Chapter Text

     “This is not good.” mumbled Four.

     “I’ll say!” Wind accorded “Not a decent inn anywhere in this town. Not any that could hold all of us at least. No room for whatever reason.” The sailor crossed his arms in a huff. “Did you see how they were looking at Time? They were staring all bug-eyed and stuff. Rude!”

     “I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the reason we were turned down so many times.” Fours eyes seemed to shine with a purple hue while the two hero's pondered.

     “Why?! He’s not even that scary!”

     Four raised an eyebrow at the sailor. The smithy had to remember that Wind was well versed in the things that would terrify any normal person. But the boy was also young and had no care for what others would see on the outside. How many people would dictate a predetermine judgment based off of an individuals appearance. Not on who they were as a whole. Winds outlook makes sense. He was friends with pirates after all.

     Four glanced at their leader, who stood just off to the side of them. Passersby were giving the armor clad hero a wide berth and seemed to avoid looking at him. In other Hyrules Time and even Twilight would get the occasional strange or curious look from locals, but nothing as blatant as what the people here were doing. The small hero wondered if Twilight was having similar reactions from the people. Time no doubt noticed the peoples response to him.

     “It looks like we will have to camp outside the gate for the night.” Time said.

     “Is that wise. We have no idea what part of the timeline we are in. What if we are on the apex of a major event in the past that could alter something?” Four questioned.

     “That hasn’t stopped us before. If that were to be then it would have happened in any of the other Hyrules we’ve been to. What would make this one so different than the others.” Time looked at the surrounding area. “Besides, each Hyrule we’ve visited has been after the completion of the hero’s adventure. Why would it switch so suddenly. Not that is not possible, it just doesn’t seem to be the Goddesses MO.”

     “That is a good point. So we need to find this eras hero?” Four added.

     “That is a possibility. We’ll have to find him first.”

     “HEY Look!” Winds voice interrupted them. “There's Legend and Hyrule!” The three heroes watched their two other companions run through the square in pursuit of something in the distance. Time looked ahead and spotted the two hurrying soldiers heading towards the main square. “I wonder where their going in such a hurry.” Wind asked.

    “We need to meet up with them anyway and update everyone on our sleeping arrangements.” At that Time started to follow after the others across the road. The three caught up in short order and even bumped into Wild and Twilight as they converged. As the group drew closer to the square they could see that a large crowd seemed to have gathered. They all stopped at the edge of people and found Hyrule and Legend standing wide eyed ahead. The others looked and several things caught Times eye instantly.

     First; were the soldiers pushing past the crowd towards a large fountain in the square. The people were stepping out of their way when they noticed them. Second; was Warriors long blue scarf out in the middle of the crowd. Both he and Sky looked tensely at the people on the fountain. And finally, Time spotted the familiar looking red garb of the Yiga that plagued Wilds Hyrule.

     He did notice something off about them though. He put his hand out to stop the rest of the Links from advancing as he analyzed them. Wild looked ready to press forward anyway, but Twilight held him back. Wild looked frustrated and confused, wanting to remove the threat.

     The Yiga lookalikes stood tall above the people, no masks adorning their heads. Each had some form of weapon hooked to their hip or back, range or otherwise. Each had their hair up and out of their faced. Some had white hair like the Sheikah, but a number of them were brown and black. All had vibrant red eyes, sharp and cunning looking ahead of them. Their suit had a similar style to Wilds Sheikah set. Only the leader at the front of the group stood out from the rest. He wore a wrap that draped over one arm and around his waist. It was cream in color with dark red trim and zig zaging patterns. The traditional red Sheikah eye was painted over his left eye.

     “Listen people of Hyrule! Do not be deceived by the lies of the royal family. For four years we have had a false peace. The Calamity we experienced is destined to revive and we must be prepared for its return.” There was a soft murmuring in the crowd.

     ”The threat is not what you have been told. It lies in front of you at this moment. I am imploring you to consider my words. We must not put away the only tools we have that will save us from the inevitable repeat of history. True justice must be given and the royal family must pay for their falsehoods. Our Lord was prepared to defend you against their deceit, but you turn your back on him. Instead falling back on tradition. Do not follow a queen who…”

     Before the speaker could finish a rock was thrown at his head and struck true. “Heretic!” Someone screamed. As the Yiga staggered back in apparent pain the rest of his people pulled out their weapons in retaliation. The crowd surged at the action and more rocks were thrown and shouts of disapproval were screamed.

     “Liar!”

     “Sheikah Traitor!”

     “Ganon worshiper!”

     The crowed surged forward at the people clad in red. Warriors was pushed forward and in that moment a number of knights surged into the mob to control the fight. People pushed and shoved to get out of the way. Swords were drawn and the chain found themselves in the middle of it all. Chaos ensued.

     Hylian knights pushed through and stood against the Yiga, who were now off the fountain and among the crowd. The sound of steel against steel sounded through the air. Warriors ducked through the people to reach the rest of the grope when he came face to face with one of the Yiga. The warriors eyes widened for a second then became a glare before striking out with their blade. Wars caught the blade with his own and fought him off. It was difficult to properly defend with the civilians bumping past the two of them, but as a seasoned warrior, he managed.

     Unexpectedly Warriors foot caught in a loose cobble stone and he tripped.’Fuck’ screamed through his mind. ‘So much for fancy foot work’ The Yiga stood over him, red in the face with rage as he poised to strike the fallen hero. Wars thinks he hears Time shout his name, but his thoughts are instantly pulled to a second Yiga appearing besides the first. It was their leader,‘Double Fuck’.

     The Yiga leader, however did not attack and instead held back the Yiga foot soldier by the arm. Blood dripped down his face, covering the lighter red eye paint. He shook his head at his ally and pulled him away from Warriors. The younger Yiga hesitated and glanced at the hero before calming and decided to follow the other back into the crowd.

     This threw Warriors in for a loop as the two vanished.

     “Wild, over there!”

     Warriors turned to Times voice and found his brother pushing his way next to him. Wild bolted past them chasing after the two Yiga. There was a poof of red cloud and any trace of the two were gone. Wars stood with Times assistance and observed the square. The crowd was dispersed and near the base of the fountain a group of soldiers stood guard over several of the Yiga that had been captured. Those captured were young, barely adults in the ways of the world, but each had the look of hardened warriors.

     One of the guards were speaking to them, but none looked willing to talk, instead glaring at the armored men. Wars counted four out of the twelve being restrained while the fifth was still struggling agents two guardsmen.

     “Let us go. You know we are right. Stop listening to the crap that's being fed to you. You’ll end up dying for someone who doesn't even care for you or the kingdom you serve!” The Yiga’s statement set one of the guards off and he punched the boy in the gut. This toppled the boy almost instantly, but he continued to struggle against them. He was subdued shortly and was gagged.

     A guard sighed in pity at the prisoners as they were taken away. “I just don’t understand these Sheikah usurpers. More and more of them have been appearing lately.” The links watched as the hylian spoke wit his subordinate. The chain heard the man guard instruct the men to tighten security in the area. When he finished he spotted the heroes and walked over.

     “Greetings I am Captain Corvo. I noticed you and your group help with protecting the crowd from the attack. I wish to thank you for the assistance. “This was directed to Warriors, not Time, surprising most of the Links for a moment.

     Wars was quick to respond,”No problem, it was the least we could do. Can’t be to careful in times like these.” Wars stayed neutral in his response.

     “Given by your armor, you must be a knight from the border lands. Using such an old style seems to be the norm there. I swear the lack of funding will make us look bad to our neighbors. I haven't heard of there being any reports from the east, so its about time they sent someone. I am curious to why they sent so many with you. Are things that active out there? You and your troop must be needing a place to stay. Come with me to the barracks and we can set you up with something.”

     Warriors bristled at the Carvo’s remark to his armor.’ It was best of his Hyrules armory. The finest materials!’ He let it go and instead, intruded himself and the others. He also took the opportunity to ask him a request.

     “You wish to meet with the queen?” Carvo question.

     “Yes, our report is classified. For her ears only.” War usually didn’t like lying, but the quicker they spoke to Zelda the better.

     “The Queen would have to be the judge of that, but I’ll inform her majesty of your request. First you should take some leave. And find something to eat.” The man looked the other heroes critically. “And maybe some fresh clothes.”

     Legend huffed as he pulled at his tunic. It was mostly dry, but there were now some obvious dirt marks from the activity at the fountain.

     “We would appreciate it. We have been on the road for quite some time.” Time thanked the man, who responded with a simple nod of his head. The Captain lead the chain across a bridge at the base of the castle.”

     “Is this your first time in Castle Town?” Carvo asked the hero's after a moment of silence.

     “No, but it was some time ago.” Wind hid his a laugh behind a hand at Times comment. “Many things are different than the last time.”

     “The city has expanded quite a bit the last few years. With the advancements in technology and such we have been able to extend our reach to the near by kingdoms. Everyone wants to share in Hyrules prosperity.” At these words the group rounded a corner and all the heroes leaped back at the sight of a large and very active guardian stalker.

    Its eye immediately narrowed on the group. Every one of them pulled out their weapons, but before they could attack Carvo began to laugh.

     “I see you haven't had the pleasure of seeing one of these technological marvels up close. No worries. These are only set to defend against monsters. They wont harm you.” The man pat one of the destructive machines legs. “I call this one Blinky. This one has a temper Id say, but she wouldn't hurt a fly.”

     All the heroes slowly relaxed but one. Wild was locked into place, hand gripping his slate. Instinct was screaming for him to destroy this enemy, but a hand held him back. Wild turned to the owner of said hand and was met with his mentors grey blue eyes. Twilight's look of worry and concern jarred the scared hero enough to take in the situation better. He saw the stalker at rest, eye looking at them but not signaling its targeting system. Instead of purple red malice running through its inner core it was a warm orange yellow. Instead of rusted grey its outer shell had an almost bronze shine to it. It looked like it was made that day. Up close the detail was strangely beautiful.
Wild and the others gave the machine a wide girth as they passed. They gave the other guardians they ran into equally large space as they followed the Captain. Carvo didn’t seem at all confused at their reactions and continued to lead the group to the castle barracks. He did continue to explain that the terrifying devices were meant to guard the castle and surrounding city when the Calamity struck. How due to them, the loss of life was much less than predicted.

     Every ones attention perked at this first mention of the Calamity.

     Ever curious, Wind threw the man question after question. They learned the Queen officially gave it the name three years ago after the one year anniversary of their victory. How the creature came about when the reincarnation of their long past enemy, Ganon, became malice incarnate.

     It wasn't long after this statement when the Captain entered the barracks. He showed them to a room that had twelve stacked beds. Wind instantly claimed a top bunk and dragged Four with him to inspect the room. The others began placing their thing down to rest.

     “There is a shared bath house down the hall to the left. I will inform the staff to prep some food for you and a guild if you need to go anywhere.” Carvo said. Wars nodded and thanked him.

     With that the Captain left the heroes to themselves and their thoughts.

Chapter Text

     “So, are we going to address the elephant in the room.” Legend started them off, arms crossed.

     “Whats an elephant?” Wind quipped. Hyrule, Sky and Four shrugged their shoulders in unison.

     Twilight rolled his eyes. “If by elephant you mean that this is sometime before Wilds. Then yes, but there isn't much to address.

     “Ok, let me rephrase my statement.” Legend brought his hands up to his face in a prayer like gesture before leaning them forward in slight dramatics. “So, are we going to address the elephants in the room.”

     Time held his chin in thought as Wind argued in the background that adding an s to one word didn’t count as rephrasing a sentence.”It seems my earlier prediction was true. Wars’ quick thinking will hopefully help us in meeting Zelda soon. She should be able to help us in finding this eras Hero. What do you think Wild?” At his name, the others looked to wild.

     Said hero jerked his head up in surprise.”Huh?”

     “This is era is closest to yours as far as we know and until we know more about this era and its hero we kind of have nothing to go off of. Do you have any record of the time before yours?” Time asked.

     “Only what we have from Impas tapestry and the Prophesy that the king gave me.” Wild shook his head. “Anything else was lost or I cant remember. My Zelda would probably know more”. The champion shook his head in disappointment at his lack of memory on the matter.

     Twilight gave some comfort by side hugging the boy. “It’ not your fault. Remember that Cub. Besides 10,000 years is an awfully long time to keep records. I’m not surprised that there is a lack of detail. Heck, Some of our Hyrules don’t remember Fours adventures.”

     “Geez thanks.” Mumbled the smithy.

     Twi winced apologetically at the grumbling hero. “My point is, history is constantly lost through the ages, so don’t be too worried.” The Ordonian grinned at his protege. “Take the opportunity to learn more bout this era and take it back with you. “Wild nodded, feeling a little better than before.

     “So were doing this by ear then.” Legend continued.

     “We have been doing it all by ear, Legend.” Warriors added. “Just going through the basic plan since the beginning. Taken to a Hyrule, find the hero, kill some monsters and poof on tho the next one. Nothing wrong with using a plan that works.”

     “Well, what ever the plan is, I don’t want to be around the castle with active guardians around. I don’t think I could ever trust them. Now or ever. Not with how I know what they will do in the future.” The champion looked back the way they came nervelessly. The others nodded in agreement.

     “We do have to take that into account. Lets avoid them when we can. For now we need to get some rest.” Time ended the discussion and everyone settled in to get some sleep before dinner was brought to them.

     After a moment of silence Wind chirped. “No seriously, what the hell is an elephant.” The sailor squealed when the vet tossed a pillow onto his face and the others began to laugh.

~~~~~

     After the majority of the hero's fell asleep Legend sat in dry clothes he'd found in a crate watching the door. His mind was elsewhere in thought, regarding the events of the day. His silent pondering didn’t go unnoticed.

     “You out of all of us need sleep Vet. Those dark circles make you look like a redead.”

     Legend mildly glared at Time as the old man of the group sat near him.“Pot calling the kettle black.” The hero making room for the older of them but not saying anything further.

     It was quiet for a few minutes before Time spoke up. “Rupee for your thoughts?”

     Legend sighed, “We haven't even touched the other metaphorical elephant in the room.”

     Time looked at Legend. “And that would be?”

     “Come on old man. I know your not senile. You've must have noticed how strange the Yiga were in the square. Though they seem similar they are not like the ones in Wilds time. Are they even Yiga? We don’t know much about them in the first place other than that they are worshipers of Ganon and that they are out to kill Wild.”

     “Actually, I have some further information on that.” He pulled out a dark leather bound book and opened it.

     Legend snickered. “Didn’t think you kept a diary old timer.”

     Time shook his head in amusement. “Its my time journal. It holds thing worthy of note about those I meet.” He flipped through half the boot looking for a certain page.

     “Anything in there about us?” the vet questioned, a little suspicious.

     “Of course.” Was all the man said before stopping at a random page to Legend. “Here it is. He showed the page to his friend. At the top of the page it had the name of one of Wilds friend.

                    Purah:

              According to Purah, the Sheikah and the Yiga were once one clan. The people feared the technological advancement of the Sheikah and viewed it as a threat to Hyrule. The king of the time exiled the group altogether. Over a period of time the Sheikah chose to leave there advancement behind and retreated to the old ways while some chose not to and instead turned to following Ganon. It wasn't until later the second group was called the Yiga Clan.”

     Legend put the book down, puzzled. “I don’t think these guys are Yiga. Things don’t quite match to her historical rendition.”

     “I concur, though some things are seem to be contradicting in what was said in the square. These Sheikah at the very least still believe that they are Sheikah. They are not yet the Yiga we are more familiar with. We have to be careful. Weather or not they are, we have no doubt caught some form of attention. If it is true that they are traitors then we have to be even more aware of their presence.” Time sighed “We should keep up a watch even in the castle. I don’t want to be caught off guard.”

     Legend agreed and was prepared to take the first watch but was prevented by the older hylian. Time had to argue a bit, but he convinced the vet to get some sleep. The two didn’t seem to notice that another on of their number was awake and had listened on everything that was said.

~~~~~

     A few hours later the heroes find themselves being escorted down long decorative halls. Food had been taken to them not long after they settled down and each had there fill, much to Wilds disappointment. He grumbled at the lack of treating the team to one of his many recipes. Twilight was grinning in amusement at his protege predicament.

     His sadness did not last long when they entered the main halls in the castle. The architecture drew the heroes awe. Both Wild and Wind pulled out their pictographs and snapped some photos. Wild wanted to compare and contrast this times history with what he knew. He knew Flora would loose her mind at the opportunity to see it.

     The layout was similar but not as large. The castle in future had been extended and enlarged, but the basic floor plan was the same. There were decorative tapestries on the walls between the windows, each of bright colors. Several looked similar to the style hanging in his Impas sanctuary. There were warriors stitched in mid battle fighting monsters in multiple scenarios. Older tapestries were showing their age the more they walked. Every so often the group would stop and observe one they found interesting. It wasn't until they stopped at the foot of one that got all their attention.

     The tapestry itself was mostly dark greys, swamp greens, and oranges. What it showed made one hero in particular freeze recognizing the images in its stitches. A shadowed castle stood in the background, a haunting twilight covering the land. Monsters like the other links had never seen seemed to dot the landscape, each giving a foreboding feeling. A large grey wolf stood boldly on the scene. Its eyes were a strikingly bright blue. It eyes seemed to follow anyone who stood in the hall. Beneath the wolf was a faded suit of armor that at first glance looked empty, but if one stared long enough could see a faded silhouette of a person, a red eye glaring within the helm. A faded mint green grid pattern decorated the bottom border.

     “Hey look! Its Wolfi! That's so cool.” Wind sprinted to the plaque that happened to be framed at the base of the cloth. He squinted at the words “Damn I can’t read it.”

     Wild stepped beside the sailor and looked at the inscription,” Father of divine Beasts. Hero of the realm of shadows”

     Time looked at his pup secretively. Twilight was in shock a his skin seemed a bit pale. He covered his reaction before the others noticed but he still looked uncomfortable.

     “That awesome! That means Wolfi is a hero too! How dope is that!” Wind proceeded to grab Four and body shake him, who's head bobbed wildly. The sailor glanced across the hall mid shake and froze.

     Everyone followed his line of sight and saw a second tapestry. It was the opposite in color compared to the last. Bright blues, soft whites and warm reds. Massive waves crashed against a small but noble looking ship. The figure head on the bow of the ship was a block shaped lion head with two long horns. A white and blue sail full of wind seemed to propel the ship onward on the wide open sea.

     Wind looked in an almost reverent was as he stepped closer. Wild went to read the inscription bellow the cloth.” It says..”

     He was interrupted by Wind who hadn't taken off his eyes from the image, “The King of Red Lions.” Wind pressed a hand on the bow of the ship that he could reach, eyes dull and sad. The others remember of what Wind told of his adventure. Of what the king sacrificed for his people. Sky stepped forward and knelt to one knee opening his arms, giving Wind the option for comfort. Wind leaned in at the opportunity. No one could resist the Chosen Heroes hugs. The sailor didn’t cry, but he was not happy of being reminded of what was lost on his first adventure.

     The boy looked up again with a critical eye this time. “What is this even doing here? Isn't this suppose to be Wilds time line? I thought ours were separate.” Wind looked at their leader.

     Time simply sighed. “Time is not as solid as one would seem. A number of us have used it to our advantage in different ways. We are currently jumping through it as we go through the portals. I wouldn’t be surprised if some things slipped through.”

     “I know for a fact that I've met a number of people from different timelines in mine.” Warriors added.

      “Your time is a cluster fuck, Wars.” Legend earned a smack to the back of the head from Twilight for the comment.

     Four looked further down the hall. “What about the other tapestries. Can we recognize any of the others. At the question Time asked their guild to wait for them a bit longer as the others explored the halls. What they ended up finding was a number of their adventures on the walls. Each had an inscription about them. There was even a hall of Forgotten Heroes. Some had great detail while others were a simple image of a hero or of something they did. By the time they were finished each were fighting through conflicting emotions. Legend looked pale, while Hyrule was jittery. Sky was contemplative and Four stoic. The heroes started down the hall finished with their observations. As they walked Time fell further back until he stopped at a large tapestry. Wars noticed and held back.

     The image was that of a warrior that Wars recognized instantly. The hylian had grey armor with a number of colored accents. The long silver cap sitting on his silver hair swayed in an invisible wind A large double helix sward was drawn in the man hand. His back was facing the viewer seaming to advance towards a small town. A terrifying full moon seemed to hover over the town emitting a red like light on the landscape.

     Wars did not know the meaning of the image but he did know of the  being in it. He remembered the terrifying power that was unleashed during the war. He did not need to see the face of the one holding the blade. It was nearly the same as the face of the man standing next to him. Wars looked to his left and saw the marks on Times skin. Wars worried that it was his fault that his little brother now had the permanent reminder etched on his face.

     It took longer than he would like to admit for Wars to realize that Time was indeed his little gremlin of a brother from before. In the beginning he was conflicted. The personalities didn't seem to align, but Time began pranking the others, subtly of course, but Wars noticed. When he met Malon, that was all that he really needed to prove it was indeed Mask. Wars was glad to see the kid doing well after so long.

     Times face was carefully neutral at the moment.

     The quiet was disturbed by Wind shouting from down the hall

     “Hey slowpokes. That captain guy said we can go see the queen now!”
Wars winced at the lack of decorum but followed Time as the man left the tapestry hanging alone in the now shadowed hall.

Chapter Text

    The doors to the throne room were large and elegant. Intricate carvings of the three Goddesses were etched and inlaid with gold. Blue, red and green gems were perfectly placed in the positions of each corresponding goddess hand. Their guild and the servant pushed open the double doors to allow the heroes through.

    Like most throne rooms this one was wide and open. Tall lime stone colored pillars reached above their heads supporting an oval shaped glass roof. Light from the outside encompassed, temporarily blinding the group as they stepped in. Blue flags draped from the top of the walls stretching to the floor, each having the Triforce stitched on the bottom edge. Two guards in full armor stood between each set of pillars. Wind counted twelve altogether. Dark blue carpet inlaid with gold threaded flowers stretched from the door to the stairs leading to the throne. Wild discreetly snapped a picture.

    Upon the throne sat the queen, dressed in a gown befitting a royal. Cuts of red cloth draped over her like a wave. Soft pinks filled in the undercuts and flowers embroidered in gold covered the sleeves and trim of the gown. Each sleeve were long and bell shaped, reaching down to the floor. An elegant crown not much different than Wars Zelda sat softly on her dark golden hair, studded with red and yellow precious stones. Her golden brown eyes watched the heroes as they advanced towards the stone steps.

    As they reached the foot of the steps the Links familiar with court proceeding bent a knee. Those who did not mimicked the others, albeit less polished.

    “I see that you are not from the border lands.” the queens voice was elegant and clear. Years of dealing with court showed through her blunt statement.

    The heads of the younger members of the chain jerked up instantly in surprise. The others also looked up, though more respectfully to the royal before them. The guards in the room took a step forward prepared to defend their queen against any threat. The links looked a bit off balanced on what to do with the advancement of the guards, each preparing to defend themselves. Being attacked before telling the queen about their quest was not the best outcome in their minds.

    The queen stopped her guards with a wave of her hand before the they could advance further, her eyes showing little concern. “No simple patrol guard or postman would be wielding the master sword.” She rose an eyebrow at said hero possessing the sword in question. Her men stepped away. “It does bring to question who you really are and what your purposes is in my kingdom. No ordinary Hylian can handle the blade.” The way she said it was more of a command than a question. Sky inwardly blistered at the mention of handling his friend as if she wasn't more than just a piece of forged metal. He was used to others not fully understanding the spirit within the blade.

    The tone in the queens voice triggered Wars into report mode. He described themselves as heroes of other times and Hyrules brought together to fight an elusive evil. How, over their travels they have been placed together by the will of Hylia and that each Link encountered have been tasked to travel with them until their quest was complete. The queen listened patiently at the tale and asked only a few questions.

    “As it is we need to find the hero of this era and find the source of the problem that brought us to this time. Afterward I have no doubt that Hylia will have him accompany us on our journey.“

    The queen leaned back on her throne, eyes calculating and thoughtful,“Unfortunately that is not possible at this time.” The one you seek is currently on a mission outside the city. His exact location is not known, but he will be reporting in in a few days. At the end of the week at most. You are welcome to stay here during that time, but until then we can house you in a few guest rooms.” She waved her hand and servant stepped out from behind a banner and came forward. “This is Maggie, my personal aid. Direct any questions and request to her and she will accommodate you.”

    The queens aid bowed low and then motioned them to follow. The heroes thanked the queen for her her generous hospitality as the stepped out. Maggie led them back through the doors and down a different set off halls than the ones they passed through previously. As they passed the doors, a flurry of movement from behind a banner caught Winds sharp eye. The sailor stalled in his step as he tried to discern what it was. Wind peeked behind the cloth but found nothing of interest. Passing it off as just the wind (lol wind) the small hero ran to catch up with the others, missing the pair of eyes watching the heroes retreat.

~~~~~

    The heroes were given three rooms, each split evenly. Hyrule, Legend and Wind bunked together while Wild, Twilight and Sky were placed in the second room. Time, Warriors and Four set their items in the last room. Wild immediately wanted to find the kitchen to cook something up while Wind grabbed Hyrule to find the castle library. The boy was determined to find something about elephants, preferably a picture of some kind. Legend smirked at the distressed traveler as he was dragged out by the smaller hero. Time chose to stay and ‘rest his old bones’.

    Four left the others to explore the castles small hidden places in hopes of finding anything interesting. His feet lead him to the royal gardens. Flowers of every kind were in bloom, filling the nearby courtyard with their powerful scents. Paths of soft milk white round pebbles divided the garden boxes. Four began looking through some of the bushes and grass for anything of interest to him when he felt a presence behind him.

    Soft footsteps approached him slowly, each step trying to poorly to stay concealed. Four stood cautiously and turned towards them. As he moved there was a shuffle of movement. Out of the corner of is eye he saw a blur of light purple dash behind a tall weeping willow. Its branches were well pruned and could hide someone within a curtain of leaves almost completely. His stalker would have been perfectly hidden if it weren't for the large purple bell skirt poking out from both sides of the trunk.

    Four slowly made his way around the tree. He was sure to not let his feet make any noise, as to not alert the person of his location. As he rounded the trunk he saw that the person was short. Nearly as short as him in fact. When he came up behind them he discovered that they were a young girl. Her back was facing him, but he could tell that she was maybe 12 or 13.

    The girl was leaning around the tree, daring to see where Four had been moments before. When she found that he was no longer there she stepped out from her hiding spot. She huffed out an irritated sigh. “Where did he go?” she mumbled.

    Confirming that she as not a threat he spoke up. “No idea. Maybe he’s hiding behind a tree.” At his voice the girl leaped a foot in the air letting out a shriek of fright.

    She spun on him and waved her arms in a mock fighting stance. Her honey golden hair whipped across her face “Watch it! I know Sheikah-wondo.” Four tried not to laugh, but his face made a weird scrunchy shape anyway. The fear in her blue green eyes left and was replaced with outrage. “Hey, stop laughing! My godmother taught me these moves. You should be terrified. Tremble in fear intruder.”

    She dramatically pointed a finger at him and moved the strands of hair away from her face with her other hand. “What are you and those other weirdos doing in the castle? Why did you need to talk to the queen? She never talks to anybody? Did godmother send you? Are you a kid? Why are you dressed like that? Are you Poor? Why are you in the bushes? Are you looking for Koroks?” After each question the girl grew even more excited and less hostile.

    Four was trying to keep track of each question she was throwing at him. “We are visiting. We are on a quest. We needed the queens help. I don’t know your godmother. I’m not a kid. I’m NOT poor. No I am not looking for Koroks. I'm looking for some other friends of mine.” That last bit slipped out. Blue cursed inwardly.

    The girl froze at what he said. She eyed him suspiciously, gaze narrowing. Her eyes drifted to his ear and they widened. She leaned close, almost nose to nose. “Do you mean the Mini Men?” Her words a breathy whisper, as if someone would overhear.

    Fours eye widened in surprise. Did this girl know of the Minish? Before he could ask, the girl grabbed his hand and dragged him away from under the willow. Her smile was wide and almost blinding. She pulled him to a secluded corner of the garden. This area was filled with trees and small wild flowers. Some large red mushrooms grew in the shade. This corner of the garden looked more like a small forest that a royal garden. There was an old worn stone bench in the shaded corner. The backboard of the bench was decorated with carvings. A small town was carved into the stone withch included small villagers and gardens.

    The girl let go of his hand and got to her hands and knees, not caring for the dirt getting on her fancy dress. Four crouched with her, hope starting to build in his chest. The girl stuck her head under the bench and whispered. “Mimi, come out and play.”

    For a moment nothing happened, but as the smith watched a wave of familiar magic rolled through the air. It was followed by a quiet grinding sound. A small stone by the rear leg of the bench was moving into the earth. The small head of a Minish poked though and stared at the two hylians. The silence lasted only a moment before a small flood of the creatures filed out of the small hole and crawled all over the girl. They were chirping with happiness. The girl laughed and held one in her hand. She looked to Four for a moment and slowly offered him the mouse like being.

    Palm out, Four let the Minish come to him. With a quick sniff, the tinny being looked at hero and gave him a huge grin. The smith chirped in the language of the Picori and all the little people began to reply in excitement. Some of her inflections were different, but the language was generally the same to what he knew. The girls jaw dropped.

    “You can understand them!?”

    Four nodded. “Yes, I had to learn for an adventure of mine.” He let the town Minish crawl onto his head and she settled in his hair.

    “Godmother would tell me stories of the Picori. She said that they show themselves to good children. She said they helped her save my life once. They are my secret guardians when she is away.” The girl pulls at the grass as a sad look crept onto her soft face. “She’s been gone for a while.” The Minish around her began to comfort her and she smiled even though she didn’t understand them. Four couldn't help overhearing.

    “Don’t worry little princess. You’ll see her again. We’re sure of it.” One of Minish looked at Four and then back at the now identified princess. He pointed at Four. “You can help her, can’t you. You know some of the old magic. We can smell it on you.”

    Four looked at the princess as a Minish messed with the Picori feather on his ear.”What happened to your godmother?”

    The princess shook her head. “I don’t know. Ever since the Calamity, she’s been growing distant. The last time I saw her was at the beginning of the year. She could be back home, but I haven't been there in a long time.” Her back suddenly shot up strait. “Oh, maybe she’s at the tree house? Before she left she said she needed to visit there soon.”

    ‘Tree house?’ Red echoed in their mind curious,’Sounds like a fun place’. “Where is this tree house?”

    The princess held her chin in thought, then snapped, “The Lost Woods.”

    Four inwardly groaned. The lost woods was almost always guaranteed to have infected monsters if experience on this adventure said anything. “I’ll see what I can do”. He was carfule to not make any promises.

    The girl griped Four in a tight embrace. “Thank you, Mister.”

    “Four. Call my Four.”

    She grinned, “Well Four, My name is...”.

    “Zelda! Where are you!” A voice said in distress. A tall woman ran around the corner they were hidden beside. She was dressed in a simple brown skirt with a red bodice. White puffy sleeves covered her arms, but leaving the shoulders exposed. A gold decorative cuff was clamped over her left wrist. Brown hair was wrapped in a messy bun and she looked distressed. The woman skidded to a stop as she spotted the to sitting by the bench, eyes wide. Four could see her eye him suspiciously. Then what she said hit him.

    “Wait, your Zelda?” he turned his gaze back to the princess. “I thought the quee..”

    The now dubbed Zelda ignored him and leapt up. “Impa! This boy can see the Mini Men too! Just like Godmother! He also said he would help me find her.”

    “Princess.” The word was harsh and clipped.“You know the queens rules. You are to have no communication with outsiders. Also you are suppose to use my designated name.” Impa stepped between Four and Zelda. Four felt like he was being eyed by a bird of prey. He made no move to get up as the two spoke.

    “Aww, aunties rules a ridiculous and Alec is not a cool name. Your real name is from someone awesome in our history, like mine. I want to live with Godmother instead. She’s way more fun and actually wants to spend time with me. She would let me have friends.” Zelda dusted the dirt off her dress. “She doesn't make me wear all these extra layers either.”

    Finally, Impas dark copper eyes left Four and took in the Princess. “I’m sure she will come in time.”

    Zelda rolled her eyes. “You said that before, but don’t worry. Four said he will look for her.” She gave the woman a smile.

    Impa sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “You still need to be careful Princess. Not everyone has good intentions.” She gently grabbed he girls hand. “It is time to go. You have lessons.” Zelda groaned as they walked away. When they rounded the corner Impa threw Four one more look. This look was not as hostile and was more cautious.

    Fours brain was buzzing with conversation.

    “Soooo. She is actually Zelda.”

    “But she’s just a kid!”

    “Wind would kick your butt if he heard you say something like that, Blue.”

     “Impa is undercover.”

    . . .

     “Why do you say that, Vio?” Red asked.

    “When have we ever seen a sheikah not look like a sheikah. Plus, her real name is Impa. Every Impa we’ve encountered has been a sheikah.”

    “Well, there are those weirdos in Wilds era who disguise themselves. They are really good at hiding themselves.” Green added.

    Blue snickered,”Yah, but their horrible actors.”

     “But why is she undercover?”

     “Maybe this era is not as peaceful as we originally thought.”

     “We haven't been here very long in the first place to determine even that."

     “We should tell the others what we found.”

    "But first lets visit with the Minish. Its been so long since we’ve seen them outside of our own time.”

     “Okay, but not for too long.” They all agreed.

    Four then sat on the bench and spent a few hours with Mimi and her friends.

Chapter Text

     “Elephants. Elephants. Elephants.” For hours Wind busied himself in his search for the answers. He was currently leaning precariously on a ladder rail near the top of a tall bookshelf. Hyrule stood at the bottom, keeping the sailors perch as stable as possible. Sweat beaded on his brow as he watched his friend stretch on one leg towards a set of books that looked promising.

     “You know, this would be a lot easier if we could find someone who actually understands the language of this era. “The traveler commented nervously. “You know, like that librarian on the ground floor. He would have a better idea of where to look. He works here after all.”

     “He was irritated the moment we stepped through the door. Probably got his job just to sit around and not be bothered by anybody.” A book caught Winds eye as he spoke. It had a number of animals painted in the leather spine. An owl, a boar and some kind of lizard. The book was just out of reach so Wind leaned even further. His longest finger just touched the edge when some movement behind the book distracted him. Wind glanced at it and was met with a pair of bright teal eyes boring into his. In his shock, he began to unconsciously lean back.

     “Careful, Win…” Hyrule was unable to finish.

     Winds foot slipped and he found himself falling. Both his and the strangers eyes widened as he whipped out a hand to grab hold of anything that could stop his descent. Unfortunately his hand grabbed a set of books and not the more stable shelf. Several books hit the hero in the face and Wind swore as Hyrule watched the boy fall. The healer stretched out his arms, preparing to catch him.

     Suddenly, a lower shelf seemed to explode outwards, sending books and paper everywhere. Time seemed to grow sluggish as he passed the shelf. Winds body jerked to an instant stop, wrist protesting at the sudden pressure griping him. With his back pressed against the shelf, Wind looked pup and saw a long slender hand holding his. As he dangled in the air he turned to face his rescuer.

     It was a young girl and with half of her body sticking out of the shelf. Wind could see her much clearer than before. She had a head of untamed red hair that faded to gold. Small braids were weaved throughout its strands each decorated with green beads. A sprinkling of freckles dotted the bridge of her nose and tan cheeks. Two blue strips of paint went from her bottom lip towards the center of her chin. A third line met the other two, making it look like an inverted triangle. The light green shirt she wore had frayed cropped sleeves that left her toned shoulders exposed. The style reminded Wind of Wilds mountain climbing set. She was wearing worn cuffs made from soft leather. Her other hand was griping the shelf above them. She definitely did not look like she was there to read a book.

     She blew some hair out of her face. “That was close.” Though she only mumbled the words Wind could tell she was older than him by several years. Possibly eighteen if he guessed correctly. She was not looking at him, but instead at the floor. They were about half way between the bookshelf and Hyrule, who was still trying to doge falling books. Though he seemed to move slower than usual.

     “Uhhh, thanks for the help.” The girl jerked her head back to Wind at his voice, her sharp teal eyes even wider than before. Fear was evident on her face. Wind waved awkwardly,” Uh, Hi”.

     She dropped him.

     The book wizard dropped him.

     Wind yelped at the lack of support and braced for the inevitable impact. He was caught in the arms of Hyrule before he could hit the floor. “Wind are you okay? Are you hurt?” The healer looked over the sailor for any injuries after putting him back on solid ground.

     Wind pushed him off after letting the adrenaline run its course.” I’m fine Rule. Just a fall. No biggie. I’ve been shot out of a cannon before, remember.”

     Hyrule grabbed his face and looked over his left eye. He must have noticed where the book had decided to give him a high-five to the face. “That's going to bruise” His hands began to glow pink. “Here let me.”

     Wind again pushed him off with a light grumble and quickly got to his feet. He ran off towards the end of the isle and rounded the corner searching for the girl. He turned the bend and stopped, surprised at finding nobody there. Not even a ladder for someone to reach the upper shelves. He walked to the spot on the opposite side from where he fell and found no sign of the girl. The books that had been displaced by the stranger were back on the shelves as if they had never moved. Hyrule stood behind him confused.

     “Whats wrong Wind? He asked.

     “Where did she go?”

     “Who?”

     “The girl who caught me.” Wind looked at Hyryle. “She was on the other side of the shelf when I fell and she caught me halfway down. Didn’t you see her?”

     Hyrule looked dumbfounded and shook is head. “No, just the books you knocked over. I looked away for a second to avoid getting hit. I almost didn’t catch you in time.”

     “How could you not have seen her? She was hanging half way out of the shelf. I was hanging there for a few seconds!” Wind waved his hands wide in exasperation.

     “I only saw you falling. I didn’t see anyone catch you.” Hyrule looked at Wind with concern. “Are you sure you didn’t hit your head on the way down. “

     Wind was about to tell Hyrule off, but was stopped buy a yell on the other side of the shelves.”What the!? What Happened here!?” It was the librarian. The hero's froze at the despair and anger in his voice. The man turned the corner and spotted them. Anger flashed across his face. “When I get my hands on you!”

     Wind didn’t need to hear more to recognize the threat in the mans tone. He grabbed Hyrules hand and ran in the opposite direction. “Whelp, that's our cue to leave.”

     “Shouldn't we help clean up?!” Hyrule whisper-yelled.

     “No way am I dealing with a little enraged librarian! Id rather wrestle a boar.”

     At that, the sailor dragged his friend to safety, out of the library and away from the enraged hylian librarian.

~~~~~

     On the other side of the castle, Wild was busing himself with exploring the royal kitchens. He took note of all the unique utensils hanging on the walls and watched the cooks and servants organize the shelves. At first the head royal cook was peeved at the presence of the hero, but was soon sedated with the opportunity of looking at an unusual cake recipe that the hero had from his adventure. The thought briefly crossed Wilds mind that this might throw off the future, but he couldn’t find it within himself to regret it. It was one cake recipe. Its not like it was going to destroy the fabric of reality.

     After the cook was successfully bribed, Wild had free rain of the room setup, so long that he wasn't in the way of their duty's. The wild-ling immediately set to work on making the group a descent meal. Not that the food they had earlier was bad, Wild jut wanted to keep his mind and hands busy and cooking help with that. Soon the cooks noticed the difference in his style and were sneaking glances at how he was preparing the meal. One or two offered him to try several new ingredients that he hadn’t been available to him before, such as onion, corn and something called cinnamon. Wild immediately regretting eating a spoonful of the dry brown powder as he hacked and coughed, trying to chug a cup of water in desperation. A cook softly patted his back to comfort him through the pain.

     When recovered, Wild was then instructed on what cinnamon was used for and the smell of several different pies began to fill the halls. Other foods were shown to him and he set out to make a stew. One ingredient in the stew did confuse him and a cook described that it has been an acquired taste for most people.

     “My family has been making this stew with okra for generations. It looks like a green pepper and has little round seeds, but has the texture like a banana when you eat it.” She showed him the pepper shaped vegetable. “Many people don’t like it for that reason, but if its in a stew, the water dilutes the slimy feeling. I have been able to get several okra haters to enjoy it.” The assistant cook glanced at her head chef and Wild caught the lead cook rolled his eyes. “I personalty love them in the stew or fried with flour. Its a festival snack where I live.” The cook gave him the uncooked okra and Wild placed in his slate.

     “Speaking of bananas.” The cook turned around to start with the next dessert. Wild froze at the sight at the bunch of bananas. The cook directed her attention to the head royal cook. “Zelda has been begging for banana bread for several days now. Do you think it will cheer her up. I know I don’t cook it like her godmother, but I think it will make her happy.”

     The head cook nodded his head. “It has been a while since she’s had it. I’ll check the back storage for more bananas to make more in the week. We don’t want them to rot and our supply's are getting low. The princess might not get any more for a while after this since the revolt in the south has blocked the trade rout.” The cook left the room to find the needed ingredients. Wild looked at the assistant cook.

     “Revolt?”

     “Well, some would call it a revolt. Others would call it a separation of state. There is a group of hylians who prefer to rule themselves than by the queen. Generations ago they had paid tribute to stay separate from the kingdom, but tensions have been rising lately. To the point that they renamed themselves and prefer to keep to their own when they can.

     “Who are these hylians and why would they separate themselves?” Wild was not liking the idea of a large group of people revolting from the kingdom. Wild thought of his own time. The yiga separated themselves from the Shikah and have been nothing but trouble since. He couldn’t imagine what the state of hyrule would be if the people were in conflict while he was trying to stop the Calamity.

     The cook looked around her cautiously as if someone would hear what she was about to say next. “Well, they were their own kingdom once upon a time, so why not. Sadly, many in the kingdom believe the rumors told about them, but I have a cousin who is one and he’s one of the kindest people in the world. They just don’t agree with the queens decisions. Many of them still go by as Ordonians, but for the last few centuries they have been known as the Zoni.”

     Wilds mind screeched to a halt. His and Twilight's conversation with the old woman in the market came back to mind. The woman had asked them if the Zoni would have something to say about the Faron region being apart of the Hyrule kingdom. If Wild remembered Twi’s Hyrule correctly, Ordon Village was near the Faron region. If the people of Ordon are some how the predecessors of the Zoni then why is there tension between the peoples. Wild has met Twilights family. Knows that Ordon and Hyrule were on friendly terms. What could have happened from that time till now that would change a friendship to something less. Dangerous even.

     Wild remembered the looks the people of Castle town were giving his mentor. Even Time was getting a few side eyes. Most of the chain only had theories that the two were related in some way, but Twilight is the one actually raised in Ordon village. Was it something they wore that some how identified them as such. The only thing the two had in common that the other Links didn’t have were the facial markings. But ordonians don’t have any markings like that as far as he could tell.

     All this was running through Wilds head at rapid speed so he was not paying attention to what was going on around him. A loud pounding sound interrupted his thoughts as a rushing Wind and Hyrule bolted through the kitchen, running like a mob of Cuccos’s were on their tail. A broom was knocked over and it fell across Winds feet, tripping him. The handle locked his legs in place and he fell against the assistant cook. She lost her balance and fell backward. Right into the open flame heating the pot of cooking stew.

     Her body hit the steel and the liquid sloshed out and onto the cooks arm. Her scream of pain was agonizing and ear splitting. Wind shot up, trying to move the woman away from the fire and hot pot. Wild activated his slate and stabilized the large metal cauldron, preventing any more from spilling. Hyrule stepped in as soon as the woman was clear and began to remove her soaked outer apron and cut the soaked sleeve.

     Wind was panicky muttering apologies as he helped set the woman down on the floor and rushing to get cold water for the burn. The cool flinched as Hyrule lightly griped her arm.

     “Easy, I’ll take care of your arm. Just hold still for me, alright.” he soothed.

     The cook hissed through her teeth in pain. “Oh, darling, this is a kitchen. Burns are to be expected.” Her voice was lit with light sarcasm. Her face winced and tears began to form on her eyes.

     Wind returned with a damp cloth and passed it to Hyule. Griping the cloth, the healer pulled out a red potion from his bag and soaked the material. He then pressed it onto the burn wound.

     “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Wind continued to freak out.

     The woman grabbed the boy’s shoulder and gave him a firm look. “No worries. I am not mad for the mistake. Just slow down in the kitchen. Lots of things can get you hurt if you aren't careful.” Even as she spoke the pain in her face eased as the potion worked its magic. With her head turned away, Hyrule gave a little boost with his own magic to prevent any scarring. When she looked back the healing was done and the cloth was pulled away. She marveled at the lack of sever injury. “Wow. That was some elixir. Didn't know they were made to be that strong.”

      Hyrule blushed lightly in embarrassment. “Its a special batch. You should be fine in a day if you keep it covered.” The girl nodded and tried to get to her feet. Wind helped, still ashamed of his clumsiness. The cook must have seen this, because what she did next seemed to lift his spirit. “Well, now I am in need of a hero or something. How am I to finish my work? I am down an arm.”

     Winds ears perked up and he instantly insisted that he help with the cooking preparations. The cook looked at the other heroes. Her smile and eyes encouraged them to join the two. Wind began to chat with the cook and pain from before seemed to leave the kitchen faster than it had entered. When the Head royal cook returned it was to his subordinate and three boys singing sea shanties in loud ridiculous voices over several loves of freshly baked banana bread.

Chapter Text

     While waiting over the next few days for the Heroes return, Time found himself wandering into one of the side halls decorated with tapestry's. He studied each as he slowly walked passed them. Some many years old, the frayed edges loose and faded while others looked newer and had a similar style to several others indicating they were made by the same craftsmen. He recognized several from the times his fellow Links would sit around a camp fire and tell of their experiences and adventures.

     Today, Time found Legend looking at one of the older faded pieces in a side room full of lands far different than Hyrule. This one in particular was an island. A large spotted egg rested on the top of the protruding mountain. The browning colors did not mute the lush forests and soft sandy beaches stitched into the cloth. The plaque, like the others, were unreadable, but Legend seemed to recognize it.

    The face of the younger hero was neutral, maybe even soft compared to how he usually was with the others. Legends eyes were dull, as if a cloud had crept over them and hid the brightness of the sun from the world. Time silently stood behind him as he seemed lost in his own thoughts.

    “This one familiar to you?”

     Legend startled at Times voice. He shook head as if to clear it and looked at him, brows bowing into his normal scowl. He stepped away and turned to the doorway. “That's none of your concern.”

     As he passed Time sighed softly,” You are not alone in this, you know. Any one of us are willing to listen.”

     Legend paused in his step and half glared at the old man. “No one needs to hear about dreams.”

     Before Legend could step forward, a shadow filled the doorway. Both looked at the newcomer and were surprised at the sight of the queen, flanked by two guards. She wore a similar outfit to what she had when they first met her, only the bell sleeves were replaced by simple long tight sleeves. The two heroes bowed their heads in respect.

     “Your majesty.” Time greeted.

     She nodded in acknowledgment and stepped in the room. Legend moved away from the guards that followed. “I see that you have wandered into the hall of Forgotten Legends.” Her voice was soft and not quite as harsh as in the throne room, but it was to the point. She stepped passed them both and looked at the hanging cloth.

     “Not so forgotten if their hanging here.” Legend snapped back, though he was quick to calm himself when the queens guard gave him a narrow glare.

     “True. We had no way of knowing if some are just fables. However now that your here, care to confirm if some of the stories are true.” The queen turned to face Legend and her stare threw him off. Legend never really liked nobles. They always seemed to want something from him and the look the queen was giving him held the same kind of weight to it. Except Fable, but she didn’t count.

     Legend grunted in irritation, “Id rather not.”

     “I see” Was all she said before turning back to the wall. “I suppose we are to keep them as simple legends then.” After the comment she turned to Time. “When we first met I had questions for you and your group that you answered. Now that you've settled in for the time being do you have any questions for me?”

     Time nodded and asked about the hero and the events during the Calamity.

     “All I can say is it’s like any of the other stories. The reincarnation of evil manifested itself in the form of a man seeking to rule all of Hyrule and then the world. We were fortunate to be prepared with advancements from our ally's, the Sheikah. Their technology saved many lives and minimized the damage.”

     Legend didn’t care to hear more and slipped out at the soonest opportunity, leaving Time to deal with the royal.

~~~~~

     When Legend stepped out he spotted two more of the queens personal guard on each side of the door. He walked pass them the with no issue, but he still felt their eyes on his back until he turned the corner. Whatever their problem was as long, as they left him alone he didn’t care. What he really wanted was some descent sleep. The castle walls seem to radiate a coldness in a way only a stone castle could. It made his bones ache.

     The vet turned towards the rooms they were given. He walked in the room fully prepared to pass out on one of the feather beds when he saw a hooded stranger standing over the unaware sleeping form of Hyrule. Their hand was hovering over the boys own, pinned underneath his head, almost touching. Legend watched the hand descending slowly towards the slumbering healer.

     Legends sword was out in an instant and he swung at the intruder, a heated anger sparked within him like a fire, wiping away all the ache he previously had to complain about. They dodged his first strike expertly and leaped away from the bed towards the wall at his second swing. Legend leaped onto the mattress and stood over his defenseless brother. Hyrule jerked sleepily awake at the disturbance, but Legend was focused on his target.

     “Who are you?” Legend demanded, rage radiating off him in waves.

     The words were barely out before the intruder picked up a pot and tossed it at him. Legend blocked it and it shattered, pelting his face and Hyrule with dust and clay shards. His opponent was already on the move, running for the door. Half blind, Legend ran after them.

     The two opponents tore down the hall, each avoiding obstacles decorating the halls. His target was fast, but the hero had an advantage and equipped his pegasus boots. The the burst of speed that came after sent him flying past his target. The intruder slowed their pace as he turned around to come at them in a low charge. As he closed in they grabbed a suit of armor from off the side wall and with a yak, the armor fell between them. They leaped off it onto a near by roof to floor curtain to avoid falling along with it. Legend was just quick enough to avoid the obstacle and grab their shoe, pulling them back. They fell, back hitting the ground with a solid thud. Legend scrambled to pull them into an arm-lock, but they slipped out of his hold like a snake and instead locked their knees around his head and flipped him into the wall.

     Legend stumbled upward and glared at the individual before an idea came to him. Seeing a large tapestry next to him he slipped behind it. He heard his opponent almost silent steps rush forward to continue the fight, but he was already one step ahead. Slipping on a bracelet, he placed his hands and back against the wall, letting its magic do its work.

     Merging into the wall always gave him an unsettling feeling, though it would quickly fade with the change in dimensions. Fully fused to the wall, Legend moved out of sight just as the cloth was moved. The stranger was startled at the lack their sudden lack of target, but Legend used the distraction to leap from the wall behind his enemy and elbowed them in the face. This forced them back to the middle of the hall. He pursued, punching them in the gut before they could recover. They groaned in pain as they struggled to hold themselves up. Legend ran past and re-fused with the wall as they tried to orient themselves. With their back turned he leapt out at them a second time, quickly followed by a third. On the fourth hit, their hood fell back reveling the face of a sheikah woman. Her red eyes glared at the hero as he over swung and missed in startled surprise. That half step was all she needed.

     Her hand whipped to her hip and Legend caught sight of something horrifyingly familiar. His body was locked in place mid swing by large gold chains as his eyes were locked on to the bright glowing blue eye of a sheikah slate. He knew he was screwed when he heard the slow beep of the devices timer. He’d seen how Wild used this move in several situations tight spots. 'This was going to hurt like a bitch' was all that came to his mind at the moment. On cue, the sheikah punched him in numerous places adding to the inertia of his inevitable release. Legend couldn’t feel the blows, but he had no doubt that it wouldn't stay that way. At the last second she kicked him in the gut and the lock released. In an instant all the well places strikes seemed to merge into one and he felt his body launch towards the end of the hall.

     The wall he hit was unforgiving. Legends vision blurred and his body screamed at him in agony as stones pelted his head. Struggling to sit up, the hero tried to reorient himself when a foot on his chest forced him back down in the ruble. He winced as several sharp pieces of rock pressed into his back, but the pain seemed to help his focus as he found the sheikah looming over him with a sneer on her face. Her face was red in the places where he had landed a few good blows. Blood seeped from her nose and she wiped it away with the back of her hand. The hero met her sourer expression with his own. She pressed her foot harder as he tried to move out from under her, causing pain to spike up his side. Legend concluded that he may have a few broken ribs.

     “LEGEND!!”

     Hyrule yelled as he sent a burst of fire in woman's face. She yelped, more in surprise than pain at the surprise attack. She leapt back from both heroes and landed in a crouch her gaze oozing frustration. The woman performed a series of quick movements and a second later she vanished in a cloud of red smoke, leaving the two alone in the hall.

     Hyrule ran to his friends side and immediately began to heal him. Legend only let him heal a portion of it before he started to get to his feet. Hyrule, of course protested, but the vet insisted.

     “We need to inform the old man.” He ground as he struggled to stand. “Help me up.”

     The healer did so and supported him as they walked down the hall.

     “What was that about?” Hyrule questioned worriedly.

     “I don’t know.” Legend huffed in pain. “But its clear to me that it’s not safe to be alone.”

     The two silently limped their way to find their leader.

~~~~~

     Time was in the middle of asking the queen a question when he caught sight of Hyrule half carrying, half dragging Legend back into the Hall of Legends. Instantly alert, Time stopped speaking and moved forward to assist the two, ignoring the Queen. Legend of course grumbled as he was placed on a cushioned bench.

     “What happened.”

     “Some kind of sheikah spy or something. Walked in to them standing over Hyrule while he was sleeping.” Hyrule visibly shivered the thought of being watched while he was unaware and stepped closer to his brothers and away from the doorway. “Time, she had a sheikah slate.”

     Time and Hyrule froze at that. “Are you positive?” Legend nodded grimly.

     The Queen stood by quietly, but at the mention of the sheikah slate her demeanor instantly changed to one of rage. “Those damn rouges.” She spun on her heal. “Guards!” Two of her men stepped through the door in a hurry. “Search the castle for any unregistered sheika. We have a spy within the walls. “The two bowed and then ran out in a hurry.

     The queen turned to the heroes, and they could see a stony look in her eyes. “Our enemy must have learned of your presence in the kingdom.” The queen sighed in mild disappointment and frustration. “I was hopeing to give him a day to rest before introducing you all to him but.” she paused,” I suppose we can’t always get what we want.” She began to step out of the room. “Have you and your men meet with me in the thrown room in an hour. In the mean time get your friend some medical attention.” The Queen left without another word.

     With her gone Hyrule turned to Legend,” Will you let me heal you now?”

     The vet rolled his eyes but nodded in agreement spotting Times one eyed glare. When the wounds were healed they all left to find the others.

Chapter Text

      Everyone filed into the throne room in record time. The heroes talked quietly among themselves, updating each other on what happened less than an hour ago. Four was in deep thought after asking for details on the Sheikahs description. The smith frowned when what Legend recounted didn’t match what he was expecting.

     The conversations stopped when the queen entered the room with a lone guard in full armor. She approached them, serious and ready to get to the point of the meeting. “Hero’s from times known and unknown. Let me introduce you to the hero of this era.” The queen motioned with her hand for the knight to step forward and they complied. The knight bowed in the stiff fashion that was associated with formal training. Legend crossed his armed in mild frustration at the idea of their being another hero that was a literal knight in shining armor. The knight wore a well polished set of armor decorated with red clothe and soft copper chain mail. Thick red gloves covered their hands. “This is Link, the Hero who helped prevented the Great Calamity.”

     At the name, the knight remove his helm exposing his face. He shook his head to clear his dark blond hair from his face. The others took him in, a little surprised at what they saw. His skin was soft tan, as if he spent many hours in the sun. He had dark grey eyes that seemed to resembled storm clouds. He looked physically well and looked ready for the front lines. What drew the Links attention the most though was his scar.

     Across the left side of his face was a hand print many shades lighter than the rest of his skin. The palm of the hand was on the back of the jaw and neck while the thumb stretched up to the bridge of his nose, under the left eye. The fingers were spread up to his hairline. The strands of hair where the fingers touched were bleached white. The hand was in great detail, to the point where you could see the sharp fingernail marks on his nose and ear. The mark looked like it could have been a form of brand if there had been any raised scaring, but the skin itself looked smooth to the touch. This Link observed the group in turn. He seemed to pause in his observations when he spotted Sky, but moved on shortly after before anyone could make serious note of it. His eyes did widen when he saw Wild’s severe scaring, though he didn’t say anything.

     He addressed them as a whole. “The Queen has informed me of your quest and of our unwelcome guest. I will aid you in your quest if you’ll have me.”

     Wind Jumped excitedly,”Yay! The group is even now.” The sailor seemed to vibrate like a kid on coffee. The boy leapt forward and grabbed the new Links hand, surprising the newcomer and shook it enthusiastically. “Hi! I’m Link, but I’m known as Wind with these weirdos.” The knights arm moved uncontrollably at Winds wild handshake. He turned to face the others and pointed each of them out. “That's Time, Twilight, Warriors, Legend, Hyrule, Wild, Four and Sky.” The sailor spun around and faced Link, “Now we get to learn your nickname.” Wind looked at him with eyes that lit up with excitement.

     “Nickname?” The new link looked slightly confused.

     Sky stepped forward, puling the Master Sword from its sheath.” He means Fi will tell us your hero title and we’ll figure out your name from that. “

     As Sky stepped forward Link hesitated, gloved fist clenching in stress. It was subtle but the chosen hero looked at the sword with slight discomfort. It was a look that Sky had see before on some of the others, Time and Legend coming to the forefront of his mind. Link looked at his hand for a moment before grabbing the hilt and held the blade carefully. They all were watching the sword closely its reaction. For a moment the blade was quiet and it had no reaction. Sky waited for a for his old friend and after a tense moment the blade blinked for a moment before changing. It rapidly aged. The handle faded and the sharp edges slowly wore out. The luster of its gem dimmed and looked lightly scratched. The steel seemed to darkened a shade. For a moment the spirit within the sword was silent, but a second later it gave a faint tired glow. Sky was not expecting to hear what she said next.

     “...steerr….. ttttt Heee….Eeero... sktttt…. Losttttt….ho….”

     Sky’s brow creased in surprise at Fi’s struggle to say the words. The blade lost it’s holy glow and said no more, its energy fading. Link passed her back to Sky, who held her reverently and worried. With her back in his hands she went back to normal and remained quiet. For a brief moment she still felt frail and worn in his hands. A feeling he never wanted to feel again. Sky tried to ask her on what it could mean, but was interrupted by a hand on his shoulder.

     “Hey, are you alright?” Sky was shaken out of his deep thought by Twilight. Sky nodded his head, a bit hesitant as he looked back at the team.

     “So whats his title?” Wind asked excitedly, though it was more subdued than before.

     The chosen hero looked back at Fi. “I'm… not sure.”

     This confused everybody.

     “What? Didn’t she say anything?”Legend crossed his arms, brow raised. “It looked like she did.”

     “The sword did look weaker than we've seen it, other than when Wild held her.” Twilight glanced to his protegee. “No offense, cub.” Wild shrugged in understanding.

     “It could be due to the battle four years ago.” The queen stepped in. “The sword looked exactly how I remember seeing it during that time.”

     “I could only make out two words. Hero and lost. The rest was unintelligible.” Sky’s demeanor dampened at the thought of his friend being in such duress as to not even be able to communicate the new heroes name.

     At the two words Link froze and glanced at the queen. She noticed and the two seemed to have a silent conversation. After a moment the two seemed to come to a silent agreement. “That could also have something to do with what happened four years ago.” The Queen looked uncomfortable even mentioning it. Everyone's eyes were on her in an instant. “First, I have a question.” She looked to Sky. “Is it possible that your Master Sword is connected to the one of this era?”

     “As far as we know, yes. The sword takes on the form it would with the hero it belongs to. Or in regards to the hero that holds her. Four and Hyrule have never touched the sword. Most of us have returned the Master Sword to its resting place after our adventure so we haven't tested it out.” Sky has wondered how Fi could tell the condition of each eras blade. Most looked and felt the same from time to time. Wild was the first major change in the condition of the blade and that one threw him for a loop.

     The queen nodded. “If so then I believe your sword is reacting to a curse.”

     The chain gawked. “Impossible. The sword is literally Evils Bane. It can’t be cursed.” Twilight said disbelievingly and Legend nodded in agreement.

     “To which I have no doubt, but I wasn't referring to the sword itself but to that of Link.” The others looked at the hero as he stood a bit awkwardly to the side. He looked away from the others as the queen continued. “Four years ago there was a witch. She goes by many names. The ones she’s known for are Zefra, Yaga and has a more widely known title, the Queen of Beasts.

     Warriors perked up at the last one. “Wait, that last one. Is that also related to the King of Beasts?” The queens eye twitched.

     “Yes. The King and Queen of Beasts are a pair. You all should know him. His name was Ganon the most resent reincarnation of the Gerudo king.” The chain’s eyes widened at that, but the queen moved on. “Zefra was his wife.” Wind made a gagging face at that statement. "They had the ability to control both people and monsters. They used them to attack Hyrule in the mist of our battle against the Calamity.

     “I heard that Link killed him.” Wars fallowed up.

     The royal nodded, “Unfortunately, we were not able to stop the witch. She tried to prevent Link from ending Calamity Ganon by putting a curse o him. That,” The queen pointed to the mark of Links face,” Is one of the results of the curse.” She looked ashamedly to Sky. “The other was that it allowed her to steal the Master Sword and disappear completely. We have not been able to locate it since.”

     Sky paled at hearing that the sword was missing. Link was still looking away, ears a little drooped in what appeared to be shame. “My mission has been to locate Zefra and recover the blade at all costs. It has only been recently that we've found a lead on her. A loyalist of hers slipped up and we know where some of her people are going to be in a few days. We were planning on setting out later in the week, but with the intruder here it may be wise to leave sooner and try to recover the sword before I join you on your mission.”

     “We are on Hylia’s time unfortunately, so if we are swept away before then, then it is what it is. You may not have a choice in the matter.” Time turned to the queen. “Is there any information you can give us on the sheikah rouges you mentioned before?”

     The queen sighed. “We have many things to thank the Sheikah for, but some of them did not fight along side us against the Calamity. In fact, they did the opposite. A number of them were turned to Ganons side and supported his goals. They took some of the technology and used it against us. Those who choose to fight with us are registered to the castle and their posts to keep track of who is our ally and who is not.”

     “Well I guess that means Impa is apart of some kind of undercover task force to protect the princess then? Makes sense to have someone loyal to Zelda be the one to keep an eye on her.”. Everyone was quiet after Four mumbled his thoughts out loud. He noticed everyone looking at him. The queens eyes were wide with almost concealed horror. “I said that out loud didn’t I” Sheepishly he ducked his head.

     “Yes. How did you discover this?the queen urged Four.”

     “Zelda mentioned her name. I’m guessing no one was supposed to know that, right”

     The queen recovered herself. “Yes, well that is something I will have to have corrected. It was a well guarded secret. Hopefully there isn’t too much trouble with the discovery.”

     Something went off in the back of Fours mind, but he ignored it in favor of paying attention to what the queen said next.

     “I have a feeling that I may need some assistance with the security of the castle while we have an investigation for the rouge Sheikah. Would some of you be willing to stay behind for the time being?” The queen requested.

     Winds hand shot up.”Me. Me, me. I’ll stay. Please.”

     “Wind I don’t thin..” Twilight was interrupted by the queen.

     “Actually, that might work. Having the smallest two of you here might give use the opportunity to use the intruders ignorance to our advantage. Big threats come in small packages as the saying go’s. “She looked to Four and Wind, hand on her chin in contemplation.” But just the two would be unwise. Would another other be willing to stay. Safety in numbers.”

     After a moment of silence Hyrule hesitantly raised his hand. “I can stay.”

     Legend did not like that. “Nope. Not happening. You are not staying. That chick was standing over you while you were sleeping. You could be a target.”

     “All the more reason for me to stay here and draw them out.” Hyrule argued back.

     “You’ll no doubt wonder off somewhere and find yourself caught with your pants down.”

     Hyrule argued back a bit miffed. “And you wouldn’t?”

     “Duh, I don’t where any pants.” Wind snorted at the vets response and the others hid their smirks.

     Before legend could say anything further, Time stepped in” Legend. Hyrule Wind and four will stay behind.” Legend grumbled quietly for a moment but the old man wasn’t done. “You, will keep an eye on all of them. The rest of us will go with Link to retrieve the Master Sword.”

     Legend reluctantly agreed to this compromise as Wind groaned at the thought of being babysat.

     The queen clapped her hands together pleased at the results. “Very well then. Lets prep the rest of you for the long journey. You can depart tomorrow morning at dawn. Everything should be ready by then.” She nodded her head in farewell and motioned for her knight to follow her out of the room, leaving the others behind.

     There was a moment of silence before. Wild spoke up. “So… are we just going to call him Link for now.

Chapter Text

     A thick fog filled the air as he wandered through the dense wood. Brambly trees towered over him the forest too still. Too quiet. Too… dead. Each step in the grass was muffled in the dense and oppressive air of the forest. The Link walked cautiously observing his surroundings, not wanting to be caught by surprise by any enemies in this unfamiliar wooded biome. Link could hear the soft sound of breathing from behind him. A shadow caught his eye as it moved at the fogs border. Link drew the Master Sword and held it in the preparation of possible battle. He felt their eyes on him. A faint laughter caught his ear.

     “Who are you?” For some reason he could not hear his own voice.

     Suddenly the weight of the sword in his hand vanished, throwing him off balance. Looking flabbergasted at his empty hand he re directed his attention up the shadow and saw the blade in griped their hand. It looked worn like in the throne room and dimly glowed. Their hand was thin and almost claw like. Light reflected off golden bands wrapping around the exposed arm.

     “Lost, lost lost.” a voice echoed in the wood softly. Like a wisp in the wind.

     The shadow leaned out of the fog and sharp tooth smile was revealed under a hooded cloak.

     “Little hero lost in the woods.” They began to retreat into the treeline. As they did so, a red light illuminated the fog and the shadow of a horned beast towered over them. A roar sounded and a harsh wind blew, whipping at his sailcloth. Link braced himself against it and stepped into the fog after Fi.

     It felt like he wandered through it for a few minuets before the fog suddenly turned into a storm of sand, the small grains biting into his skin. He struggled against it but a moment later the sand storm faded away revealing a woman with red thick braided hair in strange tribal looking clothes. (The clothes seemed familiar but he didn't know why.) The forest behind him burned away and was replaced by large dunes of sand, red with the setting sun. She sat overlooking a cliff, relaxed and uncaring of his presence. Her head turned towards him and he saw that she wore a horned skull of some kind of an unidentifiable animal. Blue paint decorated her limbs in strange patterns. A blue stripe crossed the bridge of her nose and cheek bones. Battle scars marked her where armor and paint did not hide. Sharp blue eyes seemed to bore into his soul.

     Master Sword resting against her shoulder.

     She slowly stood and loomed above him. She gave off a sense of power that he had never felt before in another Hylian. As she stood over him, Link felt he should be concerned, but for some reason he was not.

     “Little hero, sand falls through the hourglass.” Her voice was soft, but rich and warm.

     “Who are you,” he whispered. She blinked as if comprehending his words. The two stood there silent for what it felt like several minuets.

Suddenly her gaze looked beyond his back and her blue eyes sharpened with an intense anger. She stepped around Link and held a protective hand in front of him, stance firm. A laugh filled with malicious glee sounded in the distance. She passed the Master Sword to him startling the hero. He looked up and caught her eyes softening when she glanced back at him. As he took it she stepped forward and a metal club the size of himself manifested in her hand. A roar sounded in the distance and the woman lifted her club and smashed it into the earth. The cliff side shook and the ground crumbled beneath his feet, sending him over the edge. His voice was stuck in his throat as the wind whipped passed him. Before he he hit the ground he felt his shoulder shake.

     “Sky, you awake?”

     Sky blinked his eyes open and took in a sharp startled breath. He sat there for a moment wondering where he was. It took him a minuet for him to remember.

     It had been two days since the team split up. One group Links at the castle, the other off towards the Faron province in search of the witch who took Master Sword of this era. Link or ‘Hero’ now dubbed by the chain led the others to a small settlement. There was no inn but there had been a wide tent set up for a festival days prior that had yet been remove. The owner let the group settle underneath it while they were in the area. A storm was heading their way and having a dry spot to sleep was a blessing even if a few in the group would have something to say against the Goddess.

     As the others set themselves to looking through their inventory, Sky sat himself down to rest for a moment after their long days travel. A headache had been building for the last two days with no relief. He dozed off leaning against a tree, hoping it would relieve some of the pain. As he blinked to clear his vision he caught sight of Wild squatting next to him. He must have been the one to wake him up.

     Wild looked him over, “You alright?” The champions hand was still hovering over his shoulder.

     Sky nodded his head, “Yah, just a dream.” He ache in his head seemed to subside a bit as he sat up. He pulled his sailcloth closer for warmth as he got to his feet. The air smelt crisp and electrified. A thunder storm then, he figured.

     Wild nodded and stood. “Dinners ready”. The two joined the others by the fire and the others conversation. The others were in the middle of questioning Hero about his adventure. They were careful not to push too just in case Hero was uncomfortable. He took in stride, not seemingly bothered at all. He did seem a bit stand offish, but the others expected that. Most of them were willing to tell about themselves when first meeting the others at first. Wind was the most willing out of them all. He would tell about his experience with gusto.

     Hero just finished comparing differences in battle strategies with Warriors when Wild and Sky sat down.

     “I’m glad to see that some of the tactics I'm familiar with are in use in this era.”

     “Speaking of what’s familiar.” Wild spoke up. “I have been meaning to ask since we've been able to see more of the surrounding countryside. Where are the Sheikah Towers and the Divine Beasts?”

     Hero looked up at Wild, “You're the one from the future, right?” Wild nodded. “I suppose since you already know of them I can tell you. Only highly ranked officials are supposed to have access to them in this time. However, since some of the Sheikah turned on us during and after the Calamity we have had to decommission them.”

     This confused Wild,” Why would you need to do that? Its not like the Sheikah could actively use them. Only those with the Sheikah slate could.”

     Hero looked a Wild for a moment with a slightly raised eyebrow,” How many slates are you aware of?” He asked simply.

     Wild looked even more confused and a bit unsure as he held up his slate. “Isn’t there only one?”

     Hero shook his head. “No, there are five.” Wild’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked at the slate in his hands. “Well three now. Two were destroyed during the Calamity. Each are capable of teleporting many people at a time. The reason we don’t use the towers or any of the tech is because we can’t. The rogues have the other three slates and actively use the towers to their advantage. We’ve shut down the towers in our reach to prevent them from gaining the upper hand in the regions we control.”

     “So there is active conflict in the kingdom then?” Warriors asked.

     Hero confirmed with a single nod. “Things have calmed down over the last year, but as you saw in the market and in the castle, they are still active. Just a bit more secretive and their goals are not as easy to pinpoint.”

     “If I were to guess. Their after the resurrection of Ganon.” Wild mumbled angrily.

     Hero payed close attention to this comment. “That's a new one, but I’m not surprised that they would try that.” Hero crossed his arms before continuing, “Actually them having the Master sword would make it more difficult for us to defeat him if they were to succeed. With the technology they took on top of that it would make it more difficult to defend against them. We are fortunate that our Guardian Stalkers are under our control and that the Divine Beasts are designed to kill only one thing. The Calamity Ganon.”

     Wild winced at the fact that that wasn’t always going to be true. He was going to mention about it but Time caught his eye. The old man was shaking his head slowly as to not draw attention while looking at him. So Wild thought of something else to ask Hero and question the old man later. “What about the Witch? I’ve never encountered one before. What are we to expect?” There was a collective groan.

     “They are usually old crones with magic ability's that try to kill you.” Wars huffed.

     Time sighed. “I had to fight two of them on my first adventure. However not all of the witches that I've encountered have wanted to kill me. Some like to live mostly normal lives running potion shops or are secluded in the woods, out of peoples way.”

     “Still wouldn't trust them. Any I’ve encountered give me the heebie-jeebies”. The captain rubbed away the slight chill that went up his arms.

     I’m not surprised Ganon found a witch to join him. Ganon of my era had two ants that were witches. One could manipulate ice while the other had fire. Similar to Wilds wizzrobes in elemental abilities., Time pinched his nose. “They had a nasty ability to fuse into a, albeit more tolerable, larger form.”

     “I am finding it hard to believe that Ganon in any era could convince anyone to marry him at all.” Wars looked a little grossed out. “Guess he could only get some wrinkly old witch.”

     “Anybody could find love. Even someone like Ganon.” Sky quietly added.

     “Says the romantic.” Wars wiggle his eyebrows at the chosen hero. Sky tried to hid his embarrassment behind his plate of food. “But seriously, the pig probably paid the witch to marry him if anything.”

     “Does this really matter. Ganon was defeated. This witch is still trying to continue where he left off. What do we need to know about her so were prepared if we run into her.” Twilight moved the questioning forward.

     “Pray that you never do.” Hero warned. “I’ve gone up against her and barely came out with my life.”

     “You have us on your side now.” Wars gave the newest link a hard pat on the back. “She’s not likely going to get the best of us.”

     A small grin grew on the hylians face at the encouragement. “

     “So what are we looking for if we see her?” Time inquired.

     “She specializes in blending in so I doubt you’ll recognize her when you see her. You can tell its her by how she feels. She seems to emit an aurora that promises death. It’s difficult to explain. Some would say she was the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. Hair gold like the rays of the sun. Others could say she is like a feral monster. Hair red like fire. Skin covered in blood.”

     “Since you've fought her, which one is true.”

     Hero looked at Time before giving an answer.

     “She is both. Like I said, she is a master of disguise, so be on guard.” He stood after that and set up his bed roll. "But know that any form she takes, no mater how feeble looking, can easily spell your quick death." With that Hero turned in for the night.

     The links went to bed that night with images of random women transforming into old hags. Who would laugh their croaking laugh hoping for them to fall into some kind of trap. Long spidery fingers dragging them down into a pit of shadow.

     Time and the chosen hero kept watch as the others tried to sleep. One by one they drifted off, leaving only him and Sky. A noise pulled him out of his quiet musings and the man looked up. A large white feathered Tyto owl rested on a branch in a nearby tree. Its golden eyes glisten as it cocked its head in the way owls do. Time sat still observing it, not having seen an owl of its size in a long time. It brought back faint memories that he thought were long buried. It blinked at him before cooing softly. With a shake of its feathers it took flight leaving them alone to their watch.

     “I am still amazed at how small birds are on the surface. That was one of the larger ones I’ve seen but, the scale is so different. What kind is it?”

     That is typically known as a barn owl. There one similar to that one in the stable at Lon Lon. It keeps the mice away. Most people associate them wisdom.” Mild irritation filtered through Time response.

     Sky noticed,” Not you?”

     “Owls I've seen have always been followed closely by trouble.” Nothing was said after that for the rest of the watch.

Chapter Text

     The castle was quiet over the last two days and Wind was bored out of his mind. Normally, there was plenty to do in a castle and the surrounding grounds. The problem was the other hero's. Every time he tried to go and explore one of the others would hold him back. ‘Don’t wonder off Wind... Got to stick together Wind… Put that back where it belongs Wind.’ How the heck were they supposed to find anything useful in this place if they don’t actually look for it.

     They kept a close eye out for any suspicious activity within the walls of the palace, it was their main goal, but nothing has brought any suspicion. Legend and Hyrule went off in search of the Shika rouges that were arrested in the square days before.

     Four wanted to look for the princess to see if he could learn anything more on this worlds Impa, but had no luck on that front. Both seemed to have found a way to allude him. Or they may have even left the castle entirely. The Hero of swords was mumbling to himself in deep thought with Wind dragging his feet behind. The sailor wounded up kicking a pebble as they walked the hallway showing his lack of interest. He got so bored in fact he began to mimic Four talking to himself with his hands. Over their time together, Wind noticed that the smaller hero would seem to retreat into himself for whatever reason and was mostly oblivious to what was around him. When this happened, Wind had a habit to cover his brothers back. Not that he would tell anyone.

     When they wandered into the library, and Four perked up and searched through several books, Wind huffed in frustration. “What are we even doing? Why are we even in here?”

     “Standing out.” was Fours reply. “We are trying to draw out the rouge shika. We’re the bait, remember?” The shorter heroes eyes widened as he looked at one of the books in his hands. “Hey I can actually read this.”

     “Really? Let me see!” Wind practically skipped to Fours side and looked over his shoulder. A moment later he sighed. He couldn’t read it. Wind grumpily sat on a random reading cushion and observed the library. Links were not known for patients and not five minutes later Wind leapt with a hup. “Whelp, I’m going to look around.” And began to walk off.

     “Don’t leave the Library” Wind rolled his eyes and wave in agreement, but Fours nose was deep in his book.

     Wind kept clear of the main book hall that had the librarian, not wanting to cause trouble and instead, kept to the outer rows. There where a number of books and chairs that looked untouched, covered in a layer of dust from years of being unused. He found a book that had detailed drawings of lots of strange machines. Walking with his head down a row with less lighting a sudden chill passed through. It felt strangely familiar and he immediately looked up and behind where he just passed.

     There, not six inches behind him was that girl that he’d seen before. What he hadn’t notice the first time was the faint teal hue to her skin and hair that now seemed to radiate from her body in the shadowed hallway. Her hair seemed to lightly float behind her as she gaped in shock at him. In her had was a leather bound book open to the middle pages.

     Winds jaw dropped as he pointed at her as he blurted. “Your dead!”

     Her eyes widened like dinner plates. She threw her book at him and it caught him by surprise.. Just chucked a 5 pound book at his face. Well she seemed corporeal enough to toss a real book at him. Wind was lucky to block it with his own. “Hey!” He couldn’t get more out after that due to her tossing a smaller book at his head and running away. It smacked him by his ear. It hurt, but he didn’t’ let it distract him as she tried to escape. The girl grabbed a shelf and tosses it in his path and he easily jumped over it. She went for a second shelf, but Wind was quicker. As her hand touched the wooden surface he tackled her back.

     She yelped as she fell and hit the floor. The two of them rolled a few feet before coming to a stop. Wind got off her quickly with his hand on his phantom sword but not drawing it, not knowing if this was an enemy or not. The girl did not move for a for a number of seconds, witch caused some concern and confusion. Knowing it was probably a bad idea, Wind poked her side with his shoe. That did cause a reaction, but not one that he was expecting.

     “No, Stop, that tickles.” She pulled her arms in to protect her ribs from the sensation. “That's mean. Torturing a girl while she’s down. Not very noble of ya.” Her speech an unusual tilt to it, similar to the country folk the links would encounter in other Hyrules. Like Twi’s.

     “I’m not a noble”.

     The girl looked at him for a second. “I suppose not. A noble wouldn't be caught dead not in his finest frills.”

     The girl, maybe spirit rolled over onto her back and preformed a well practice flip and was on her feet in an instant. She landed in a crouch and her ghostly teal eyes locked onto the small hero. She cocked her head to the side and placed her hand on her chin as if trying to decipher a puzzle. “Weird one. Ain’t ya. Shouldn't be able to see me, but ya can. Unless ya have magic.” She stood and leaned over him eyes squinted in deep thought. Wind stepped back as her tall frame drew close. Her eyes scan him over and landed on his sword. “Ahh, so ya have magic items at least. Never seen one like that before.”

     Before Wind could say anything his phantom sword was in her hand. She puled the blade up to her face and picked at the metal. She hummed in approval. “Not bad. A finely made blade. The enchantments are excellent too.”

     Wind shook himself out of his surprised stupor and reached for the blade. She saw him and held it above his head. Wind tried a different tactic, one that worked before. He went to tackled her again, but she responded by tossing the sword into the air. He reached for her but on contact he fell right through her body. He landed on the floor and a sandaled foot pressed into his back stopped him from getting back to his feet. He turned his head and watched the spirit catch the sword and flipped it around in her hand expertly. She looked at him in his plight with a raised eyebrow. Looking him over as if searching for something before shrugging her shoulders. She tossed the weapon at him and the blade embedded itself into the not punctured carpet floor, an inch from his nose. Even at the awkward angle Wind saw a wide smile break out on her face.

     “I like yur spirit litte warrior.” She stepped off of him. “Got a name?” She offered a hand to him. After a moment of hesitation he took it. Her grip was firm though it did have a unnatural give to it that Wind contributed to her being a spirit.

     “Wind.”

     “Wind eh. Freedom and playfulness. Seems right.” She pulled him up and shook his hand. “I’m Rayla. Scout of the Zoni Eastern Front.” She removed her hand and brought it to her chest, fist closed and bowed her head. “Its nice to learn that someone can see me after all this time.” The newly dubbed Rayla tilted her head again. “Ya don’t look like ya belong here. Where are ya from?”

     “Just from out of town. How did you guess that I’m not from here.” Wind asked, curious at how she came to that conclusion.

     She lifted her hand up and counted on her fingers. “One: ya got an accent that is different than any I've heard. Two: not many people feel like a magic power house. And third: ya would have been running for the hills if you recognized me as a Zoni warrior.” Her face grew more serious at this last part. “The fact that ya aren't scared of me or even recognize that I am one tells me yur not from around these parts. Yur shirt looks familiar though. Are ya from across the Great Sea?”

     Wind froze at the mention of the Great Sea. “How do you know of the Great Sea?”

     “Any one who can read a history book can learn about the Great Sea. Its one of the few things that survived the Convergence.” She looked at the shelves around her then back at him. “Follow me.” She spun on her heel and left the row of books to the hall. Wind trailed behind. As he walked he caught sight of Four still reading not seemingly to have moved.

     Rayla led him to another row of books in the upper floor. And climbed up to the top and grabbed a navy blue book. She passed it to him and encouraged him to open in. He did so and was met with a form of Hylian that he recognized. He read it out loud as it described many of the island he himself explored during his adventures. After scanning the book he closed it and looked at the cover and saw the familiar lobster print that also decorated his shirt. The title of the book simply said ‘Mapping the great Sea’. He looked up at Rayla who simply grinned.

     “I am surprised ya can read that so well. That form of Hylian hasn’t been used for many centuries.” She put a hand on his shoulder her grin growing mischievous. “So who are ya really. “Her hand suddenly shot out and grabbed his left hand and pointed at the faint marking of the Triforce of Courage that he use to posses. “No normal person can wield this and I know for a fact that this belongs to one type of person. So.” Rayla’s eyes pined him to the spot. Where are you from?”

     The hand that griped him started to grow hot and his wrist began to ache. Wind tried to pull away and in response her grip grew tighter. He went for his sword with his other hand but Rayla grabbed that wrist as well and pined it behind his back and forced him to the ground. Time seemed to slow as she forced him still. Wind shouted for Four but the Zoni simply laughed.

     “No one can hear ya litte warrior. Not till ya tell me the truth. Who did ya steal the Triforce of Courage from? Are ya working for that blasted witch?” She venomously spat. “And don’t lie to me. I can tell when someone’s telling a falsehood.”

     Wind again was going to shout for Four, but something caught his eye. A moth was frozen mid flight. The wind seemed to beholding its breath. Time seemed frozen. Just like before when he fell off the bookshelf. He looked at Raylas eyes and they were glowing with magic. She must have been the cause of the pause in time and he was stuck within the distortion and no one to hear him. But even as he looked at her his fear soon bled away. Her eyes expressed anger and concern and a touch of fear. But out of all that, something spoke out more to him. Her eyes gave off kindness and her spirit was radiating compassion. Rayla wasn’t a vengeful ghost. His gut told him to trust her.

     “My name is Link. I am the Hero of Winds. I am from a different timeline than yours and was brought here. I had found the pieces of the Triforce or courage on my adventure. I have traveled the Great Sea and am currently with several other Hero's of the Past and future on a quest through time.” He kept himself calm as he gave her his answer.

     For a moment nothing happened. She simply looked at him with no expression. Then she jumped up off of him and smiled. “Okay. I believe ya” Time seemed to resume its normal pace as she helped him up.”

     “Wait really? Just like that? “Wind dusted himself off.

     “Just like that. I told ya Id know if ya said a falsehood. Yur story is believable.”

     “B..but time travel. Wouldn't that at least sound far fetched to the average person?”

     “Ahh, but ya see. I’ve been around the unusual for most of my life. So its not that crazy. Not including my own magic, time manipulation has been done in the past. The Convergence is proof of that as well. And if I've guessed right you are from before the Convergence, but after your second adventure Hero of Winds.” She gave a bow similar to how a shika would.

     “You guessed that quickly. But maybe it shouldn't be much of a surprise. Whats this Convergence you keep mentioning.”

     “The Convergence is the merger of the timelines or at least its our explanation to the extra history Hyrule has. It happened a little after the War of Eras. Time isn't meant to be pulled taunt in the way it has been and the war ended up redirecting the timelines back to their correct pathway. The fact was that the primary timelines still existed. So the Convergence is the event of the fusing history's. From that day the royal family had dedicated its self to rebuilding and logging in as much history between the timelines as to not lose the rich history and to not forget the people that have existed in their respective timelines. Its why we believe this resulting Hyrule is so big. There are salt deposits all over the land because one of the Hyrule’s were beneath the sea, but others were not. It is assumed that the three similar kingdoms simply became one. It was an event in history that brought terror for a number of years after.

     “Ahh, ok that's a lot to absorb. I kind of wish the others could see you. Four would love to hear about this.”

     “Four” Rayla tilted her head in thought as if trying to remember something. She snapped her fingers in success a moment later. “The Hero of the Four Sword. The Divided hero. I’m impressed. He’s whey back there in the history of the timeline. Who else is here?”

     Her question distracted him just enough not to focus on the Divided Hero part of her statement. He noted to himself to think on that later. “We have Sky, the first of us. The Hero of Time, The hero of Legend, Twilight, Hyrule, Warriors, Wild and me.” He did a pose and smiled proudly.

     “Never heard of the Hero of the Wild?”

     “Hes from the future. Well yours specifically.”

     “That sounds mighty fine.”

     “Well any way, what about you? Why are you here? How did you die if you don’t mind me asking?.”

     Rayla shrugged her shoulders. “Oh nothing special. Just got stabbed in the back buy the Queen”.

     “WHAT!”

Chapter Text

The chain, accompanied by a small platoon just crossed Lake Hylia and stood at the edge of what Wild thought could be a younger version of Faron forest. The beginnings of jungle like foliage could be see between the dense trees. A low fog clouded the forest floor and muffled the natural sounds of the local wild life.

Wars turned to Hero, who was just ahead of the group. “So how much further do we need to go before we reach your informant?”

“This is our rendezvous. He should be here any moment.” As if summoned a young Sheikah in dark garb stepped from the shaded wood. He greeted Hero with a traditional greeting. “How far are they from the scouted location?” Hero questioned.

The assassin gave a few hand motions directing them deeper in the woods.

“Hmm, seems they are not as far as we predicted. How many are there?”
The Sheikah gave several signs and Hero nodded.” Eleven Sheiksh escorts and three wagons. Not too bad. We can handle that.” He then turned the chain. “In the past the Zoni and their allies would use small caravans to hide some of their military supplies or move some of their important members of the clan. If we can get a hold of one of their leaders I am confidant we could get information on where they are hiding the witch. From there, the sword.”

“Since we are ahead of schedule we’ll be able to set of the ambush more thoroughly.”

“Its not often we get to partake in an ambush of our own making. Usually we’re on the receiving end. Fro monsters and Yiga alike.” Wars looked eager to get started. “So, reviewing the goal of the plan. After they settle for the night we will subdue the escorts, confiscate their goods, then take everything back to the military camp just north-west from here for interrogation. These are Sheikah we’re dealing with and there experts at detection. What how are we going to get around their abilities?”

“We have some equipment that can help conceal our locations and muffle any noise that we could make. Its not much, but it should help in giving us an element of surprise. Also, according to previous reports some of the escorts are younger than average and not as experienced in the field while on the other hand all of us, I assume have a number of battles under our belts.”

Wild huffed. “A Sheikah is a deadly warrior, even a young age. Lack of experience isn't going to stop them much.” the boy scowled. “And if they are the predecessors of the Yiga then they wont hesitate at the thought of killing us.”

Hero raises an eyebrow at this, but said nothing. Soon after polishing their battle plan the group stepped into the shaded wood. The overhang quickly blocked the last ray’s of the evening sun. After some time Hero chose to strike up a conversation with Wild.

“So, your from the future. How far and what’s it like?”

Wild thought over carefully on what to say not wanting to give to much information, but was there really any harm. Since Hero already completed his journey, nothing would change. Right?

“I’m from over ten thousand years in this Hyrul’s feature. We were warned of the return of The calamity and rushed to prepare for it. A few things did not work out as planed, but in the end, the threat was neutralized.”

“Fascinating. Back at the castle your group spoke of how different the sword looked in comparison to the past. If so, then I can assume that our mission will be a success. If not now then in the feature. The sword is a key part in defending against our ancient enemy. Tell me, how well is the monster population control. Is there still enough for potions and the like.”

Wilds response was interrupted by Time. “Wild I need to speak with you for a moment.” It was more of an instruction than a request and Hero nodded, ending their conversation. As Wild stepped away Heros gaze followed the two before being re-directed towards Sky, who was further up ahead in the group. His eyes focused in on something before leaving two hero’s alone to catch up with Sky.

Time looked after him for a moment before focusing on Wild. “Any thing here look familiar to you?”

Wild raised a brow at this. Something was on Times mind for him to suddenly pull Wild away from the previous conversation. The old man just seemed to not want to bring it up just yet. This didn’t stop the champion from answering. Turning to their surroundings he tried to make out anything through the fog riddled trees. Not making anything he pulled out his slate and checked the map. It came up with no trouble, but their was a strange notification on the upper right hand corner. The map still gave him their location though so it wasn't much of a problem.

“Huh, looks like we coming close to the Pumaag Nitae shrine. Though my map seems to be throwing me an error of some sorts. An update request or something.”

“Any idea what that could mean?”

“It’s possible that I need to visit the Faron Tower and let it download new information. If not that, its possible that I need to get to someone like my Impa or a scientist like Robby to look at it. Someone in this era would likely know what it means.”

“Unfortunately that may be more difficult than the first option. Hero seemed to infer that the witch is the only one to have access to this kind of equipment.” Time looked to the rest of the chain currently with them, each observing their surroundings or conversing with their newest member. Wild fallowed his elders line of sight. Wild slowed down a step letting the soldiers near by pass before speaking up again.

“What is this conversation really about, Time. You've been acting guarded since we left the castle. You stopped me last night from saying anything about what happens in the future. Is there a reason we’re not saying anything?”

Time shrugged his shoulders.”Oh you know, just the usual tyme-wimee stuff. Can’t give too many details about the days to come. Don’t want to change the flow of time and cause any issues later in the time line.”

Wild let his frustration show. “That's a load of crap coming from the fact that we’re all from different eras. This whole quest is making a mess of things time wise, isn’t it. How is this any different from Legend and Hyrule or you and Twy.” Wild stopped walking. “What is stopping us from giving them information of what is to come?”

Time stood beside Wild silently for a moment before looking further up the path.” Something feels off about this place.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know what it is, but my gut is telling me something is different about this Hyrule. Like something important could change if we meddle too much.”

“Then why are we even bothering to do anything in this timeline at all? Our presence is affecting everything already.” Wilds anger was increasing “Would it be such a big deal to tell them what will happen. It could save so many lives. Prevent so many needless deaths from happening.”

Time's eye narrowed in on Wild, “Or kill you in the processes”.

This stopped Wilds rant cold.”Wha..”

“Time is not an easy thing to control. It is not predictable. Think, if we did as you propose, what will happen to the history that already was. We know that time has a way of not working out the way you want it. The timeline split due to my actions and caused so many problems that were not expected. Fate has a way of balancing itself out one way or another. We do not have divine knowledge in how thing could go, we only have what we already experienced. If we try to divert the flow of history to much and so far in the past for you, it could result in loosing you all together. I don’t want to risk it.”

Wild did see a bit of what Time meant but he was not ready to let this go. Not yet. The younger hero griped his fist in frustration. “But what makes your actions in your adventure different than this? Why cant we try? Why can’t I..I?”

Wild suddenly choked up. Tears threatened to spill and it made Wild more frustrated. Time put his hand in the boys shoulder. “I know its hard to see the reason in it all. The want to fix everything before the problem happens. To save the people you love. However, whenever time was changed, it was done by the hero of that time. Not by outsiders passing through. If it is meant to be changeable then it will be, but not with our help. That would put us in a place of power over fate that we have no right to control. We are not meant to be gods, Wild. And I don’t think you want to be one either.”

Wild closed his eyes inwardly admitting that Time was right. He was not a divine being like the three or Hylia. So much could change from now to ten-thousand years in the future. Times logic was sound. It wouldn’t be till later that Wild would think that his own Zelda and found family could be erased from any possible future.

“Then what about us helping find this eras Master sword. Wont that change the future?”

Time sighed, “We’re helping them because we need to see if this eras monsters have black blood. The fact that we were sent here has something to do with our goal and involves the Shadow. Everything else should be left alone.”

The two were about to catch up with the rest when Wild stopped and a second later so did Time eyes wide. Something well concealed to their left moved. For the two hylians use to the deep woods and its sounds, it was just enough of a tell to warn their scenes that they were not as alone as they thought they were. Wild looked ahead of the path and saw how the plant growth was far dense than the average. A glint of something sharp reflected off a stray beam of moon light just behind a large trunk of a tree. The warning was out faster than Wild could think of it, bow in his hand and aim ready.

“Ambush!” He let his arrow fly just at the attacker raised their weapon to swing down on an unsuspecting Sky.

~~~~~~

To say Sky was surprised to see the arrow flying past his ear would have been an understatement if he wasn’t equally shocked to see a long blade start to swing at him from his left. Sky was quietly conversing with Twilight when the warning came and the enemy struck. The arrow hit it its mark and the attacker stumbled back with a screeching yelp.

Swords were out and orders were given to file in a protective formation.

“Hold your ground! This is a scare tactic! DO not loose formation!” Hero ordered. “Don’t let them break the circle!”

After a minuet, the throng of sound suddenly cut off. The last drum beat leaving a heavy echo. The silence after was deafening.

With a shrieking war cry a cluster of enemies rushed out of the dense fog from all sides. Several of the knights stepped back in fright at what came at them. Each attacker that Sky could see had a strange mask. Some out of wood, some out of bone but most of them wore Sheikah garb similar to Wild silent set. Each attempted to break their formation and pull the group apart. Time and Wild caught movement in the trees as they rushed to get back to the chain and unleashed a number of arrows. They fought off the few that came for them. Wild showed little mercy as he pushed them back into the treeline.

“Men, formation Y!” Hero shouted and his men instantly obeyed. Half of the men angled their shields to allow the second half to brandish their spears in a flower like formation. Their attackers aimed to slip through the gaps, but were met with both spear and sword. Warriors was impressed at the execution.

As silent as quick as they came, the rogue sheikah slipped back into the trees.

Wild and Time rushed to rejoin the group, the knights quickly letting them in. The wood were eerily silent as they all searched for any sign of a second attack. Suddenly a drum beat echoed through the forest, slow and deep. A second and third joined on opposite side of the road way effectively surrounding them with harsh sound. Smaller thuds fallowed the war drums and Hero swore under his breath. Loud shouts from the trees merged with the concussion of sound, some screeching others whooping. Like a throng of wild animals ready for the kill.

“SHIELDS!” Hero ordered. Instantly the spear men lowered their spears and raised their shields above their heads as a rain of arrows fell upon them. Wild returned fire and was sure he hit one of the hidden archers. Wars looked for any weak spots in their formation and directed the others of the chain to reinforce the gaps.

Suddenly, all noise from the enemy stopped. A lone individual stepped out from the fog. Sky gasped at the sight of him. He was tall, almost Garuto tall and equally muscular. Dark skin decorated in markings of different styles almost seem to glow blue in the night. A skull covered the upper portion of his face and a plum of colorful feathers and beaded braids protruded from the back of the bone. What little armor he had covered only the essentials, everything was lined with furs or bare skin. He held an enormous spear loosely in his hand but was no doubt ready to move at a seconds notice. If not for the obvious differences, Sky would have to say that he looked a lot like the woman in his dream the night before. To Wild, it looked almost exactly like his barbarian armor set.

Hero stood at the appearance of the man. The warrior shook his head fiercely at them and the beads rattled at the motion. “Leave this place. These lands are not yurs to claim nor yurs to trespass.”
His voice was deep and clear, leaving no room for misunderstanding. “Yur kind is not welcome.”

Hero smirked, confidence oozing from his voice, “I would normally leave you alone. But in this case that is not possible. We know you've been in contact with the traitors of Hyrule. You see, something was taken from us and we’re here to get it back.”

“What ya seek is not for ya to take. Leave now or death may find ya sooner than ya wish.” At that, the stranger turned to leave. However, before he could, Hero ran forward and engaged him. Quick on his feet the warrior blocked him and in an instant dozens of similarly dressed warriors fell from the trees enraged. This sent the rest of the knights into motion.

The chain was caught off guard at the sudden change in plan and tried to reorganize themselves. More and more of these Barbarian looking warriors dropped from the towering trees and the rouge sheikah joined in with their archery skills. Every one was trying to cover each others back, but it was getting increasingly difficult. Sky was busy trying to block a swing from a club aimed for Twilight's head when something latched onto his wrist. A claw like contraption like he’d never seen before clamped onto his sword hand. A moment later his feet were off the ground and was being dragged through several unforgiving branches. His arm twisted incorrectly and sharp pain flashed through his shoulder.

“SKY!” he saw Twi shout after him as he was pulled away into the darkened woods.

Sky tried to wiggle his wrist free, but the metal was unrelenting. Instead he tried to twist in the direction he was being pulled to see where he was going o try and avoid smashing into a random tree. His destination reached him far quicker than expected as a large hand from the shadows suddenly griped him by the back of his neck. This barbarian warrior was a woman and she had a half mask made of wood covering one side of her face, paint on the other. Sky’s eyes widened as he was forced to crane his head as the moonlight revealed the sharp gleeful grin on her face. Sky kicked his dangling feet at her, but her reach was too far and his neck protested when she squeezed at his resistance.

“Now, now, little one. No need to fight. Can’t have ya complicating things for us.” She chuckled. Sky grunted at the lack of air. The woman's free hand grabbed his trapped in the strange claw-shot pinning the Master Sword to his hand and pinched hard. His grip released unwillingly released and the claw continued upwards, taking away his beloved weapon. The Sheikah who had met them at the entrance of the forest stood in the branches above them with both the claw and the sword. He was being careful not to touch the blade itself and viewed Sky with narrowed eyes.

“Fi.” was all he could croak out before a cloth was firmly pressed to his face and held there. Something foul hit his senses, but soon after the world around him began to fading into darkness, his body suddenly too weak to fight. His felt his body relax into some kind of paralysis and he could partially feel himself get tossed over the warriors shoulder like a bag of potatoes. The sheika joined the other on the branch. His mind was becoming more muddled and the last thing he heard was.

“Sleep tight, hero. We’ll see ya on the other side.”

Then he faded into an unwilling sleep.

Chapter Text

Sky was gone.

Yanked from among of them and pulled into the trees in a flash like a fish on a line. Twilight went to follow after the Chosen, but two warriors bared in his way. An animalistic growl loosened from his chest as he tried to push through.

“I suggest you get out of my way” he readied himself. “Or you're not going to like what happens next.” One of his opponents, head decorated by a rams skull the other a stone mask in the shape of a bird, bashed their swords against their shields. Before anyone could make further action a horn was sounded in the distant trees. All enemies turned and retreated into the woods. A few lingered to cover the rest of their peoples retreat. On Twilights left, a rouge Sheika tripped and fell, the cause being one of Wilds arrows in their calf. A Zoni turned to assist, but was shouted back by the Sheika.

“Vash- vole!”

The Zoni stopped and retreated back with a nod, then disappeared. Knights swarmed the Sheika and restrained them. They tried to put up a fight, but the men surrounding them stopped the resistance with a few swift punches.

“Get the Sheika back to camp” Hero barked to his men. “Get any information you can and report to me what you find.” He was angry and his men could feel it. The soldiers snapped to it, grabbing the prisoner and dragging them away.

Twilight ignored group and rushed to the rest of the chain. The others were taking note of the injuries that they received. All of them were thankfully light, nothing of major consequence. Time looked up as he approached.

“We need to go after Sky. Now”

“We will, but we need a plan.” Time observed their surroundings. “This is unfamiliar territory. Wars.”

“Yes?” Wars looked up from patching up a cut on a nearby knights hand.

“See what you information you can get from Hero on any locations the Zoni would take Sky.” Wars nodded and rushed off to speak with said hero.

“Time, let me sniff them out.”

“No, not yet. We need information. We are in enemy territory and we can’t jump in blind.”

“I can go with him.” Wild stepped up. I’m familiar with the area and can get information from Faron tower.”

Time did not look pleased, but he relented. “Alright, see if you can get a trace on them, but do not engage. These aren't like the monsters we fight.”

“Yah, I kind of have experience with that.” Wild lightly grumbled. His mentor elbowed him and he whined in slight pain.

Time eyed them both before finally sighing. “Just be back at dawn. We will form a plan then with the information we get from Hero and you.” The two agreed and rushed off in pursuit of Sky. Wars came up as they left.

“You let them go? Is that wise?” Wars did not like splitting the group anymore than it already was. Neither did Time.

“The two of them shouldn't get into too much trouble. I trust them to make the better choice if things get out of hand.” Time faced his brother. “Get anything from Hero?”

Wars shook his head.” He was quite incensed over the battle. He pushed passed me before I could ask anything. He and the rest are heading back to our previous camp sight. I assume to interrogate the Sheika rouge.”

“Then lets see what we can learn. This fight was obviously a trap. Hero’s Sheika informant is most likely the cause of it. And they escaped during the battle. Our only lead is the one we caught.”

The two followed the rest of the knights to the camp that was set up earlier in the day. As they came upon one of the tents loud shouts of anger could be heard. Hero’s voice was like a viper to whoever he was lashing at.

“Why was that Sheika not under proper surveillance! How did they slip past our ranks to this degree?!”

“We aren't sure, sir. They must have spent years undercover to get this far.” A hesitant voice replied.

There was a loud crash that sounded like a table being tossed over. There was a moment of silence before Hero spoke in a dangerously calm voice in comparison to the rest of the conversation.

“Send a message to the capital that all Sheika are to be considered compromised and need to be locked down for an evaluation. Any resistance will trigger swift punishment. Go!”

A young squire rushed out of the tent to do as ordered. Time and Wars side eyed each other before entering.

Pulling back the tent flap they could see Hero leaning over a table observing a map of Hyrule. An overturned table was confirmed to be the source of the previous crash. As the two prepared to approach they could hear him mumbling to himself.

“You out smarted me this time, you self-righteous bitch.” Time was taken aback from the sharp bight in Hero’s voice. He almost sounded manic. “You have all your spies so deep within our people you think you can get away with anything, don’t you? Well think again. All your allies will have nowhere to go. Your not going to escape this time. Whatever your planning is not going to work.” Time then watched Hero grabbed a knife and stab it down onto the map before turning to exit the tent. As soon as hero caught sight of his silent audience all the rage on his face vanished and his shoulders relaxed.

“Oh, hello. Didn’t see you there. Need anything?”

It was like whiplash, the way he seemed to quickly control his anger.

Wars spoke up, his voice carefully neutral. Something was going off in the back of his head. “We were just hoping to get any information on our next move. Wild and Twilight are trying to track down Sky. Or at least get a better location on where the enemy could have taken him.”

A thought seemed to flash in Hero’s eyes before he nodded. “Good idea. Though, I personally would have waited till we got further information from our prisoner.”

“Speaking of which. Can We..”

Wars was cut off. “Interrogations will be observed by someone we can trust. Any information relevant to our mission will be relayed to you as soon as it is revealed.” Hero crossed his hands behind his back in a resting position. “Sheika however are quiet resilient and don’t volunteer information easily.” He reached them and gave them an easy smile, placing a hand on Wars shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll no doubt get what we need to recover the Master Sword and save Sky. Just wait for your boys to return from their side quest and then we can make a plan that can finally put this rebellion to an end.” He gave Wars pauldron a reassuring before exiting the tent with a soft hum.

The two stood there a moment in silence. Time looked at his brother, a look saying a thousand words. “Something is definitely off.”

“I don’t like the feeling I’m getting from that whole scene.” Time nodded in agreement with Warriors.

“Lets keep our ears open and be ready for anything. I have a feeling things are going to get strange.” The two hero's then stepped out of the tent to follow their new member of the chain.

~~~~~~~~

“The Queen stabbed you in the back!?” Wind did not get why Rayla was being so calm about this.

“I mean, yah.”The spirit crossed her arms non-nonchalantly. “We weren't on the best of terms.”

Wind looked at her carefully. “But your so nice. Why would the Queen do that to you?”

The Zoni sighed” Not every one can get along little hero. I only knew her through ma sister and her husband. Not that they liked her much either. I personally think they simply tolerated her before the war started. Speaking of which. Who won?” Rayla eagerly looked at Wind.

“The Hero did of course.” Sailor said with the confidence of a true hero.

Her face brightened with relief. “Well ain't that a blessing. I would hate to see the kingdom in the wrong hands. It had been quite chaotic fir a bit there.” Rayla began floating through the neighboring bookshelves. “I’m assuming there is a temporary authority in control while little Zelda grows up, yes? How is she doing?”

“Oh, Four has met Princess Zelda. She seems well as far as we can tell. Impa and the Queen are watching out for her.

“Wait.” Rayla turned sharply on Wind from behind a shelf. “The Queen is still in power? I thought ya said the Hero won!?”

Wind watched with confusion as the spirit began to grow frantic in her questions. “He did!”

At his answer Rayla’s eyes widen in shock and growing horror. Her chest heaved rapidly even though she had no need for air. “Crap! Wind ya and the others need to get out of here now.” For a moment, her form became corporeal and she roughly grabbed his wrist to drag him away towards the nearest library stairs.

Wind was able to rip his hand free. “What are you talking about? What is wrong?”

Rayla looked at Wind and for a split second he thought he saw tears in her eyes. They were the last of his concerns as she gave her reasoning.” We lost, Wind. The Hero did not win and y'all are deep behind enemy lines and don’t even know it.”

“How is that possible? The queen…?”

“Don’t trust anything that witch says.” she yelled with venom. “Shes hurt more innocent people than I can count. Myself included.” She reached for him again but he avoided her this time.

“Explain.”

“I can’t” the Zoni sighed. “Ya need to get away from here and we don’t have time.”

“I’m not a child. I can take care of myself. Make the time.”

Rayla bit her lip in frustration. With a resigned look she nodded to Wind. “I’ll tell you what I know, but not now.” She cut off Wind before he could interrupt. “We need to warn the others and get ya out of this castle. Come with me.”

Wind followed the Zoni as she traversed thought he long rows of bookshelves. Left, right, left, left, right, left, left, right. It was a maze to the point that Wind would have had a hard time finding his way back. The halls suddenly got dark and only the glow from Raylas form lit the way ahead.

The Zoni stopped at a blank wall and pointed at a random group of stones in the wall. “Push these stones.” She showed him the correct pattern. He did as instructed and the wall opened up, reveling a darkened room. The room smelled of dust and mold. As Wind leaned in he could feel a wave of old dark magic and a hint of death. Shelf's and chests lined the walls. Worn scrolls and potion bottles were decorated randomly around the room.

Rayla crossed the threshold but as soon as she did her form seemed to gain color and her feet touched the ground. Immediately she walked to a dark wooden chest and attempted to open it. A wave of dark magic lashed out and She ripped her hand away, frustration on her face. “I’m sill not strong enough.” she looked to Wind, “but you are.”

Wind stepped up carefully. “What’s in there?”

She scowled at the chest. “My prison”

Confused Wind grabbed at the lid of the chest and again, shadowy magic reached out in a threatening manner. Rayla stepped in between him and it as he opened it.

“Grab what’s inside and lets go.” she grunted in pain as she blocked the shadows.

Wind reached in and grabbed something long and slender and icy cold. “Got it.” They both rushed out of the room. Once they were far enough away Wind inspected his spoils. In his hand was a dagger long and slender. The mettle was oily dark and had a lavender stone embedded in the hilt.

The magic radiating off of it was horrible and seemed to dig at ones soul.

Wind looked up at Rayla’s back. “What is this?”

“That is a soul stone.” She paused. At that moment Wind saw a large purple glow coming from the Zoni’s back. It was in the same shape as the blade in the boys hand. “And that is the knife that stabbed me in the back."