Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The twinkling sound rose higher in the chamber until it faded into a soft nothing.

A child stood, looking up at the window his companion had disappeared through. Tears began to form in the corners of his eyes before he turned back and ran.

And run he did, vision growing more blurry with each step. The cobbled steps were soon replaced with dirt as he continued down the path.

Out the gate and over the moat he collapsed. He shook back and forth, knees brought up to hide his face. His wet expression was held together by pain. Sobs shook the small frame, unable to produce any more sound.

In front of this child, a soft chiming echoed.

His eyes remained firmly pressed into his knees for a few more minutes before he finally looked up.

A swirling shadow loomed in front of him. His head tilted to the side as he considered the strange object, ultimately deciding to stand up and observe this new fixture.

The purple darkness spun in a hypnotizing wheel. Walking around, it was largely flat, extending double the child’s height.

When he reached forward to touch it, the surface rippled, clearing for a moment then returning to its original pattern.

The child wiped his face and placed his hand more firmly in what stood before him.

His hand broke the tranquility it had achieved.

With a resolute face, the child stepped forward into darkness.

Chapter Text

The sun shone from high above, filtering through the trees framing the clearing. The air was crisp, a soft breeze imitating the ocean with the trees. Birds were singing out their melodies and fluttering about.

The empty air was quickly replaced with nine portals arranged in a circle. From each, emerged a hero, all armed and wary of what may lay on the other side.

Swords were drawn as heads turned from side to side, hoping for a recognizable face.

“Wind!” came the shout from the man with a blue scarf draped around his shoulders and to the ground.

A teenager with bright blond hair and a deep blue coat shot up at being addressed. A face of confusion turned to excitement as the two ran to each other and met in a quick but tight hug.

“Captain! It’s been too long!” said who was assumed to be Wind. The blue scarfed man took a step back and properly looked over the younger.

“Look who’s grown! Is that a new coat I see?”

“Yeah, actually. I went on another adventure after I left and got this at the end of it.”

“I don’t mean to interrupt this touching reunion,” interrupted a voice dripping with sarcasm, “but who are all of you?” The one asking had a streak of pink hair framing the left side of his face and noticeably left out his own name.

“Oh, my name is Link, but I go by Wind around the Captain since we both have the same name,” Wind easily explained. The Captain nodded along to the explanation while everyone else froze.

He continued looking at the others before his gaze landed upon the shortest of the group, eyes puffy and red.

“Mask! How ya doing Sprite? What’s wrong?”

The kid, who could be no older than 10 looked up, no recognition for the man who just addressed him.

He began to notice small differences in this hero: no masks adorning his hip and head, his sword, far smaller than the one he carried before, and the colorful markings that would stay for hours after wearing a certain mask were completely gone.

When the Captain tried to approach he took a step back. He stopped in his tracks when his greeting wasn’t well received. Wind looked on at this interaction, wanting to jump in but recognizing that he should stay out.

This snapped those remaining out of their stupor as the teen from earlier muttered curses about adventures and dragged his hands down his face. “So, is anyone else here named Link?” he asked, though he seemed to already know the answer.

Six hands weakly went into the air, including the kid who had been called Mask.

“Great, just fucking great.”

“If ya don’t mind me askin’, what do you know that we don’t?” questioned a taller teen bordering on adult. A black wolf pelt covered his shoulders and his voice indicated a lifetime spent on a ranch, or at least nearby.

“Well, those three have met before, even if the kid can’t remember. They mentioned being on adventures and having the same name. Add onto that the random portals that brought us all here, it’s almost guaranteed we’ll be traveling together on another goddess damned adventure.”

A short teen in a multicolored tunic spoke up next. “If that’s really the case, then we will need nicknames. We can’t all go by Link.” This was met with affirmations from everyone, though how they would go about it was uncertain. None knew what they would request as a nickname.

A quiet teen with a face hidden by a dark cloak and a rough voice spoke up next. “Wind, how did you get your name?”

“Oh! I just used my hero title, the Hero of Winds,” he said, the obvious answer to their dilemma now making itself visible.

The Captain spoke up, “Then that means I’m Warriors. What about the rest of you?”

“I’m the Hero of the Four Sword, or Minish I guess, but you can just call me Four,” started the teen with the colorful tunic. Four colors exactly, thus aptly named.

Next came the rancher. “Well I guess that makes me Twilight then.”

Faces turned to the teen with pink hair. “I don’t even know at this point. I’ve been called the Hero of Ages, Seasons, Worlds, Heroes, Awakening, and so much more that I’ve forgotten most of them.”

The brunet with a splattering of freckles across his face leapt up at this information. “I’ve heard of you! You’re the Hero of Legend!” This shocked the newly dubbed Legend, his face dusted with a light shade of pink.

The same teen continued, “I don’t really know my title, but I’ve been called the Hero of Hyrule.”

The next Link to speak wore a long white cloak, the Master Sword strapped to his back. “I am Sky, the Hero of the Skies.”

Eyes glanced at the penultimate member of the group, face still covered in shadows. Realizing they were going to be with the others for a while, they decided to pull down the hood. The left side of their face was covered in burn scars, twisting and pulling the skin tight around their eye and mouth. “I am known as Wild,” is all they said.

Warriors looked back at the youngest of the group. “So if you don’t know me, what would you like to be called kid?”

Wide eyes flitted around the clearing, finding no ill intent. He pulled up his arms and tapped his right hand against his left wrist, signing one simple word.

“Time.”

Chapter Text

The path before them was shaded by an extended archway of trees. Green was peaking through the branches as spring brought back the long-forgotten leaves. A few trees had patches of pink along their limbs, flowers buzzing with activity.

The dirt was firm, held together by the rain that had fallen the previous night. Puddles of water were sprinkled about, occasionally splashing up and out when a stray footstep landed in one.

Despite the serene setting, Warriors’ head was overflowing with thought. He stared ahead watching Mask- no, Time- as they searched for a town to get information as to why they had all been gathered together. Twilight had taken to leading the group for the moment, Time and Wild keeping pace a few feet behind.

The resident Captain kept thinking back to when he first met the little Sprite, barely older than he was now.

The once barren field was now covered with corpses. The pungent smell of blood, both Hylian and monster, filled the air. Piles of bokoblins, lizalfos, bulbins, and numerous other varieties stretched above Link’s head, threatening to collapse should another body be added.

He continued searching for any fallen Hylian soldiers, Proxi ready to get the necessary assistance, whether that be a healer or a knight. More often than not, groups of knights would be brought in, tears streaming down their faces though they tried to pretend otherwise, carrying fallen comrades away for their final rest.

As Link continued on, the mountains of monster bodies impossibly grew in size. Eventually, the grass and dirt below was no longer visible, covered by rapidly decaying carcasses and oceans of blood.

Atop a decently sized pile stood a child. The sword strapped to his back easily weighed twice that of the kid, almost certainly taller than him. It was gleaming with blood from blade tip to hilt, slowly dripping off the end. With the kid’s back to him, Link couldn’t see much else, save a mask with white hair and colorful markings below the eyes and on the forehead.

A sad tune came from this child, rising up and down in a repeating motif. The clear sound beckoning for an answer, yet receiving none.

This pulled Link out of his head and he ran up to this child. The battlefield was no place for someone so young. His scrambling and Proxi’s panicked shouting cut the music short as he turned around.

Another mask was held onto his head, this one yellow with black slits for eyes. His green tunic had been stained maroon, parts of his light hair receiving the same treatment. In his hands, a blue ocarina was held, surprisingly clean given the rest of this child’s appearance.

Despite standing on multiple lifeless bodies, his eyes shone with excitement, pushing Link faster. His voice yelled out a greeting, “Hey, Captain!” with a large wave, arm shifting his whole body.

This almost got Link to stop. How did this kid, whom he had never met, know who he was? Whatever the reason was, he had finally reached the kid, and with Proxi acting as his voice, began fretting over him.

“Hey, what’s your name? And what are you doing out here?” she asked while Link checked him over for injury.

Hurt quickly flashed through his eyes before understanding settled on his face. His mouth twitched into a small smile before responding, “My name is Link, but you can call me Mask, and I’ve come to help.”

The Captain actually paused at this. He wondered why a kid, with his name, was here to help. Proxi seemed to understand this and verbalized the confusion.

“I’m the hero where I come from and was brought here to help in the war,” he said with such confidence, Link almost believed him.

A child? The hero? Then again, the Captain himself was only 18, perhaps he didn’t have much room to talk. Regardless, he guided Mask (and wasn’t that a strange name) back to camp, hoping to get him cleaned off and to get more answers.

While Warriors had been stuck in the past, Wild tried to start a conversation with Time through sign, but didn’t know how to begin. Luckily for them, Time decided to take pity on Wild and asked the first question.

“So you’re the Hero of the Wild?”

They nodded their head and shook their fist in affirmation, not sure what more was to be said. They were the Hero of the Wild.

“That’s cool. How did you get that title?”

They took a moment to respond, not sure of themself. “I don’t know. After I had completed part of my adventure, I was gifted clothes calling me so,” they finished signing, hoping that answer would suffice.

It seemed to, as Time nodded his head and looked forward once more. He was about to raise his hands, another question ready when a shrill horn filled the air.

Moblins had blocked their path, the surrounding forest filled with lizals and bokoblins.

Slipping into fighting stances, backs all facing each other, the Chain prepared for their first battle.

Chapter Text

The roars of monsters and the echoes of horns filled the air.

Moblins came rushing in fast, swords swinging in wide circles around their heads. A few elected to dash forward with spears, shields held firm to prevent a counter attack.

Hylian yells joined the mix as the heroes ran to meet the incoming foes.

The air went rushing past them and enemies stumbled when their weapons didn’t connect with flesh. A retaliation was quickly made, shallow gashes oozing black blood had appeared on the arms and torsos of the moblins.

Four and Wind had teamed up to strike a heavy blow on a moblin, only to feel a shaking reverberation in their arms that sent both of them back a few feet.

In their hasty attempt to make this attack, their own swords collided, leaving the moblin unharmed.

“Hey, watch what you’re doin’!” screamed Wind, dodging the returning swipe of the beast.

“Speak for yourself!”

Annoyance built up between the two until the monster could no longer return to its feet.

Wild had cut a quick line through some bokoblins, scampering up the nearest tree to get a better look around the clearing.

Their eyes flew from monster to monster, releasing a volley of arrows. Many found a home in a head or chest, black blood pouring from the wounds, but not slowing them down.

They continued to fire arrow after arrow, only causing a few lizals to fall.

Wood flew by Legend’s ear, cutting part of his hair. He turned to Wild, chastising curses coming to his tongue, but falling away when he saw the moblin running at him, spear pointed forward, moving up and down with each step the monster took.

A quick side step and a backwards stab got Legend out of the way, finishing off another one of the moblins.

On the other side of the path turned battlefield, Sky and Hyrule fought back to back, only knocking each other off balance occasionally.

The Master Sword sang in Sky’s grasp, its soft light causing the monsters to hesitate before committing to an attack.

Cutting cleanly through the air before finding its target, the Magical Sword thrummed with energy. Hyrule let magic flow through, projections and beams slowing the enemies before him.

During a brief pause when Hyrule had pushed back the monsters, static filled the air. Holding his hand up high, thumb held to middle finger, the released snap was drowned out by the crashing thunder.

Sky’s body tensed and jerked, shifting him forward. Sparks went up and down his sword. Even when they had dissipated, the knight did not move. Though Hyrule could not see it, fear flashed in his eyes. Flaming hair and dark scales filled his mind, arm raising his sword on instinct.

It quickly filled with energy that Sky launched forward, burning the still falling corpses and leaving a scar in the tree ahead.

His eyes cleared and he returned to the battle at hand, taking heavy breaths as he ran to the closest enemy. He chose to leave Hyrule to fend off monsters in the other direction, not wanting to get struck again.

Though the traveler’s magic had cleared just less than half the battlefield, clanging swords and whooshing arrows still filled the air.

Twilight had taken out his crossbow, firing shots between slices of his sword. His feet danced across the ground, almost floating as he moved; he jumped around shields and cut into the backs of the few remaining moblins.

He rolled to avoid a club that dug into the ground where he had just been standing. He came to a stop, taking a moment to aim, and released a bolt into the moblin's eye. Its heavy legs were barely able to catch its weight. With a final blow from his sword, the moblin went down. Blood filled the air as Twilight turned to find his next target.

He saw Hyrule fighting a group of bokoblins and went to offer support. After reloading and pulling up his crossbow, he fired it again.

A shocked Hylian scream cut out of Hyrule’s mouth, one of Twilight’s bolt sticking out of his shoulder. Blood spilled forth, Hyrule holding up his right hand to try and slow it, still fighting the horde with his left.

Time and Wars were battling the remaining lizals. The Captain kept stopping to watch Time fight, noticing the difference between now and then. They were subtle, a less precise swing here, more hesitance in a jab there, yet he noticed them all.

Time’s small face kept scrunching up in anger. Wars had paused yet again and was remembering a time yet to come for the young hero. He pushed forward, determined to end this fight before something caught the Captain off guard and got him injured.

Monsters screamed in rage as more were cut down. Weapons fell to the ground, closely followed by those previously carrying them.

Eventually, the only sound to be heard was the ragged breathing of our heroes, all carefully scanning the area to ensure the battle had truly ended.

Wind chose to break the silence first. “Well that was a shitshow.”

Tensions still high from the battle, multiple voices worked over each other, yelling at those who had gotten in their way during battle. Guilt filled all of them for what they had done, but the boiling anger prevented it from seeing light.

Faces twisted with anger, all words meant to inflict pain. Hands flew from sign to sign, no pauses given for explanation.

As voices grew louder, Wild’s patience grew thinner. “ALRIGHT! That is ENOUGH!” Eight pairs of owlish eyes, still brimming with anger, stared back at them. Their mouths hung open and hands stayed in the air before Warriors took the attention away and started talking.

“We have not fought together as a team before, there were bound to be mistakes. None of us have conducted ourselves properly. We will make a plan for next time. For now, we need to check for injuries.”

Hyrule awkwardly shuffled back at this, hand still pressed against his shoulder. Sky took notice and pulled a red potion from his pouch, handing it over.

“I can take it out, if you want,” the Skyloftian offered.

Hyrule only shook his head and ripped the bolt from his shoulder. Blood began flowing freely down his arm and tunic. It only stopped once he had downed the red potion he had been given.

He gently touched the wound, fully healed but still tender.

Twilight held his head down during this exchange, carefully fiddling with his crossbow before strapping it to his back.

Water skins were passed around and they all started to cool off. No conversations were started, everyone in silent agreement to prevent further arguments.

Legend softly broke the relative silence, a bare whisper aimed toward Wild. “That was some impressive shooting. Care to show me some of your tricks?”

Wild eyed him skeptically, not really sure where this had come from. They pondered it for a moment, mulling over the complement. Cautiously, they nodded yes.

Legend seemed to perk up at this, intrigued by what he had to learn and pleased that his attempt to help the younger teen had been well received.

Voices remained calm as they started down the path again, everyone eager for the night’s rest.

Chapter Text

The winding path soon straightened out and led across the flat plain of grass into a small village, the castle looming far in the background. Deep reds and oranges filled the sky, fading into blue.

“My feet are going numb,” Wind started, “when can I sleep?”

With a roll of his eyes, Legend responded, “While it was a bit further than I would have liked, it could have easily been worse. Never had to travel far on your adventures?”

“Sure, laugh it up! I’d like to see how well you do on a boat for weeks at a time!” Legend paled at this comment, but the fading light of sunset let it go by unnoticed.

The sailor took his silence as a win, trying to push the others towards a quicker slumber. He grabbed Four’s hand, trying to pull him forward, but snapped back when the smith held firm and stopped moving altogether.

Concerned looks were sent his way when he started talking. “I know where we are. The village ahead should have an inn we can stay at, though we’ll probably have to split into groups.

Their footsteps grew louder as they passed the entrance into the village. Walking for a few more minutes led them to the aforementioned inn, the sun finally falling below the horizon.

Light chatter filled the central room as the door opened to let stiff air flow out. Dark brown stairs led up to the rooms meant for guests. A couple of tables sat in the center of the room, chairs arranged in circles around them. One bar was close to the door, a Hylian standing behind it. The bar at the other end of the room held food and drinks for customers, the smell drifting over to the heroes. Some shuffling was heard as the patrons tried to identify the incoming group.

Many froze after seeing multiple heavily-armed Hylians enter the establishment. Wandering eyes flicked across the room, both groups trying to analyze the other.

“Link, is that you?” came the voice from behind the counter, the first person to notice Four.

He turned his head and broke out into a small smile. “Well it sure is good to see you again, Amleht. Do you have rooms available for the night? My friends and I are on our way to meet up with the princess,” he explained.

“Oh, sure Link! Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. Think you can squeeze into the triples?”

The room relaxed at this exchange, more strangers recognizing Four and praising him for his heroics and their weapons. Not too long after getting a warm meal, the Chain split into groups to go into the offered rooms. Wild, Time and Sky entered the first room up the stairs with Legend, Hyrule, and Wind taking the one adjacent. Directly across from them, Warriors, Twilight, and Four occupied the final room. Awkward shuffling and halted goodnights filled the air before doors closed behind them.

Looking around the room, Time saw one bed lining the left wall while the other two stuck out from the right, a side table placed in between. A drawer and chest were positioned under the windows, a table filling the center of the room with three chairs framing it.

Large weapons were gently placed upon the table by Wild and Sky, Time opting to place his near the left-hand bed that he claimed for himself.

Moonlight shone through the window before Sky moved to close the thick curtains. All that illuminated the room were the lanterns recently lit by Wild, the hanging candles being left out.

With the Master Sword resting on the table, Time paused to consider the weapon. He no longer knew what to think. That blade had made him the hero, but at what cost?

Sky and Wild had been removing their bulky layers, the Skyloftian taking significantly longer. Wild had removed their gloves. Harsh scars running across their palms.

Sky only caught them for an instant when Wild moved to untie their hair and unclasp their earrings. He let out a soft squeak, catching the attention of the others.

“Oh, sorry! I was just surprised by the scars on your hands. I didn’t realize they went down that far.”

Wild’s gaze hardened as they held up their hands. The burns crossed back and forth, matching exactly with the hilt of the nearby blade.

Time’s eyes jumped between the two, quickly putting the pieces together. Based on the audible gulp from the other side of the room, Sky had figured it out too.

“Do not confuse these burns,” Wild said, voice held steady, “I did not get them all the same way.” They turned, leaving a crestfallen Sky and an understanding Time.

The room next door held similar lodgings, not that Wind knew the similarities.

Hyrule looked around confused, as if not sure how to hold himself in this situation. Hesitatingly, the magic sword was beside the far bed he had claimed, though he only stood in front of it, arms held around his chest and feet rocking him back and forth.

Legend took notice and tried to silently prompt him into a sitting position, but was unsuccessful.

“You planning on standing there all night, or do you want to lay down and sleep?”

The Traveller was confused at this but sat down, looking over at Wind for help, only to find his back turned as he shrugged off his long, dark blue coat. He laid down stiffly, earning a scoff from the veteran, who was bent over removing his red tunic.

At the noise, Wind turned to see Hyrule straight as a board, boots and tunics still on. “We can relax for the night,” the sailor explained, “and sleepin’ like that can’t be comfortable.”

A muffled “understatement” was covered by a cough from Legend who had started to remove his own boots. This earned him a sharp glare from Wind, who turned back to Hyrule as he began removing his own boots and braces.

What little of his outfit that was removed was gently folded and placed on the table between his and the veteran’s beds, ready to be put back on in a moment's notice.

Wind and Legend sighed before turning and blowing out the lanterns.

In the final room, Twilight mechanically removed his gear, giving short responses to any questions asked by Warriors or Four.

The Captain was trying to find a way to ease his guilt, and despite similar experiences, did not know what to say. Four was having the same luck.

They all fell quiet as Four and Warriors gave Twilight looks of concern. Looking up at them, the rancher only saw pity and firmly asked them to stop.

Their faces hardened for a moment before the smith began talking. “It’s not pity, we’re worried. You haven’t said or done much of anything since this afternoon.”

And why should I? he thought, I shot one of our own.

As if the Captain could hear his thoughts, he started, “Most of us haven’t fought in a group in a while if at all. We’ll figure this out, but worrying about a mistake, that has been fixed, won’t prepare us for the future. You weren’t the only one who-”

“But I’m the only one who hurt someone!” he interrupted, voice trailing off by the end.

Seeing that they wouldn’t get through to him, Four tried a different approach. “You’re right. You hurt Hyrule. But I almost got Wind and myself killed by not paying proper attention to what I was doing. Hyrule could have easily struck all of us with lightning, I know he barely missed me.” He paused thinking back to when lightning struck his shadow earlier. “All that matters now is that we prepare to make sure it never happens again. We all know this wouldn’t happen on purpose.”

Though no closer to easing his guilt, it did give Twilight time to think how he might approach battles in the future.

With this, all members of the Chain had settled down into a night’s rest.

The sun rose and woke about half of the heroes. The fresh morning air was clear as Hylians across the village began going about their days.

After a filling breakfast and promises from Four to meet up again, the Chain was off to Hyrule Castle.

Chapter Text

“Link, what the fuck kind of letter is this?!”

Four winced as Zelda looked down at him with righteous fury. Eyes shot wide open as the princess continued to yell and curse, only Wind, Legend, and Warriors unfazed by this development.

“Found a strange portal, going to walk through. Will tell you more if I get back.

“If! Fucking IF Link!”

“I thought it would be bes-”

“You THOUGHT! That’s news to me!”

“I thought it would be better to be honest. I didn’t know-”

“YOU’RE FINALLY RIGHT! YOU DIDN’T FUCKING KNOW, ASSHOLE!” She took a moment and held in a breath before continuing. “Do you have any fucking idea how worried I’ve been?! I sent knights to the smith, Link! Knights! To the smith! Your grandfather is beside himself with worry!”

Four mumbled, dangerously so, “I left him a letter too.”

Eyes opening more and head tilting with every word, Zelda threatened, “That’s. Not. Fucking. Good enough!”

Four at least had the decency to look ashamed as Zelda continued to yell at him for another half an hour, at minimum. All the other Links looked down and shifted their weight from side to side, none daring to intervene.

Eventually she was able to calm down and seemed to realize that they had an audience far greater than usual.

“Link, who are they?”

It is important to step aside and note that despite being yelled at for over 30 minutes straight, Four is, fundamentally, a Link. Thus, he is fueled by chaos and chooses to use it to dispel the tension.

“Well Zelda, don’t you know? These fine Hylians are Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, Link, and Link.”

Her mouth dropped open, unsure of how to respond. A few muffled laughs were heard behind him, though after turning to look, all Four could see were straight faces. He smirked and went to address Zelda again. “Through the portal I found these heroes. We have been brought together for some reason unknown to us and we were hoping that you might know.”

She continued to stare owlishly for a few more seconds before anger grew on her face once more.

“Wait, so did my current yelling session mean nothing to you? I don’t fucking know!”

Warriors decided he would try a calmer, less chaotic approach. “While we are all Link, we actually go by Four, Sky, Wild, Legend, Wind, Time, Twilight, Hyrule, and I myself am Warriors.” A hand raise or a head nod came with each introduction. “If you don’t mind, perhaps you could tell us if there had been any large monster attacks? We might as well help out while we are here.”

Zelda calmed down a bit with the more placating approach, but sent one final glare at Four.

“There have been reports of increased monster activity in the west. If you leave now, you should make it about half way by nightfall.”

With a curt nod, Warriors pivoted on his heel and went to prepare the group for travel once more. A few stayed behind to awkwardly bow to the princess. Before long, Four led the way to where the monsters were said to be.

They left through the front gate of the castle, the sun leading the way to their destination.

Night had fallen and the moon had risen. Its illuminated face cast light shadows on the ground and stars shied away from its edge. The rest of the sky held patterns of light tracing invisible arcs as the night continued on.

Smoke floated out of a clearing, leading down to the campsite where the Chain had stopped when the sky began to darken. Everyone ate the food they had brought with them, only a few willing to take from the others. Time had cautiously sat near Wild, taking the apple he offered to the youngest.

After the apple had materialized from the Sheikah Slate, Time stared at it with awe, not looking away to bite into his snack. He slid closer as Wild turned the slate to better see the screen.

He scrolled through his inventory, going slowly from section to section. Time’s eyes widened with each new page that was shown to him. As Wild went through the clothing, Time’s gaze became glued to one of the masks.

“May I try that one on?” he signed, pointing at the mask in question.

Wild let out a small smile and nodded, selecting the mask the kid wanted to try on.

It appeared in his hands, the green fabric settling into the Champion’s lap. He carefully handed it over to Time, who gave Wild a red and white mask in return.

After placing it upon his head, the rest of the group could clearly see the inspiration for the mask. With a curly tongue poking from the mouth, a long horn resting along the snout, and eyes placed on either side of its head, there was no question that the mask was meant to be a lizal of some variety.

Time jumped up, arms hunched on either side of his body. He crouched and let out various sounds, eerily mimicking those of the enemy whose mask he donned.

Warriors looked on his antics fondly, thinking back to when something similar had happened during the war.

Wind, Mask, and the Captain had gathered together in the tent, ready to turn in for the night but no one was moving to go to sleep.

Link kept glancing over at the masks adorning the aptly named hero, wondering why he carried such breakable items onto the battlefield.

He raised his hands and posed the question, something Wind seemed to want to know as well.

Mask just smirked and placed the yellow mask on his face properly. “Well you’re about to find out,” he said, his mischievousness audible.

From his bag, the hero pulled out a round, wooden mask, small leaves sticking out from the top and a round snout-like feature coming from the front. He gently set down the yellow mask and placed this one on his face.

A scream escaped his mouth as he leaned back and his body began to shrink. Limbs turned to twigs, his skin matching the wooden color and texture of the mask. His face contorted and seamlessly expanded to fill the previously empty area behind the mask. His hat appeared to grow as his tunic and boots shrunk to fit the new body. Eyes opened to reveal an orange glow, both held down by a deep sadness.

Wind jumped back in shock, quietly muttering “What the fuck” over and over again. The Captain sat back, tense and unable to close his eyes.

The hero-turned-deku scrub spun around the tent, the air moving around him as he glided over the tarp held to the ground.

After this brief demonstration, he came to a stop. A voice echoed from their friend, much higher and almost grainy in texture. “Don’t ask if you don’t want to know.” Despite not having a mouth that could smile, amusement was clear in his tone.

Mask reached his hands back and pulled at an invisible seam in his now wooden skin. The skin stretched for a moment before snapping free, another scream getting let out and his body growing upwards as he returned to his Hylian form.

The smirk that was previously present in his voice was now shown on his face. “Do you wanna see another one?” he asked, tossing a blue zora masked from hand to hand.

Wind shouted “No!” as the Captain frantically signed the same response. Mask only laughed.

Wild carefully examined the mask that had been placed in his hands. It was mostly white, with red markings clearly displaying the crest of the Sheikah and an open mouth at the bottom. He turned it over, looking at the inside before bringing the mask to his face, only pausing as it hovered in front of him.

He glanced around the clearing, not noticing any changes around him. A bat flew over head, its echoing chirps leading the way. Wild glanced up at this and heard a shrieking “Ahhh” from above.

The Champion jumped at the noise, still looking at the animal. He snatched the mask from his face and the screaming ceased. The hero grew more confused at this, pondering the mask with confusion.

Haltingly, he put it back on, searching for the bat again, but it had flown away. A silent shadow zoomed through the sky, one word repeating itself as Wild recognized an owl.

“Food, food, food, food!”

Before the owl could get out of Wild’s sight, he took the mask off and put it on again, the chant for food only stopping when not being worn properly. Huh, Wild thought, weird. He decided to keep it off for the night and test it again in the morning.

While this was happening, Time continued to bounce around the clearing, Hyrule jokingly chasing him with a stick. Quiet laughter could be heard from the heroes running around.

“Hey, don’t y’all think we should be quietin’ down? We really don’t wanna get the ‘tention of monsters,” Twilight questioned, trying to be the voice of reason.

This caught the attention of Sky, who agreed with this assessment.

Masks were returned to their original owners and the lull in conversation started again.

This time it was broken by Hyrule, “Wild, how’d you get those burns? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything that can cause burns so big.” The question, though innocent in nature, made many heads snap up. While the others were curious as to what happened, none dared to bring it up until now.

Wild froze for a second, shrinking into his cloak before responding in sign. He twisted the first two fingers of his right hand around those of his left twice before crossing his hands over each other and wiggling his fingers.

“Mechanical spider?” Four asked before Wild had the chance to fingerspell the name.

“G-U-A-R-D-I-A-N,” he finished, leaving his hand in the air for a few seconds after he had spelled the word.

Sky became still at this, but was also confused, the two emotions at war on his face. The Champion held up his slate, showing a picture of the beast.

Multiple white, spindly legs stretched from the main body. It was covered in swirls of pink and brown, starting with a large base and thinning at the top, almost like an upside down pot. A single blue eye stared from the image, a red line stretching just below the frame of the camera.

He swiped to the side to show a similar creature, this time as viewed from a distance, the eye no longer starting the image down. The red light had been replaced by a white beam, the ground it touched erupting in flames.

Understanding horror dawned on all of their faces upon seeing the destruction one of those machines could cause. Guts twisted as they thought about the scars covering the Champion.

Hyrule knew it was not the same, but felt the need to share his own worst scar, if only to get some attention off of Wild. “I was impaled by a shadow in my likeness. Everything I gave he returned right back.”

Upon lifting his tunic, a blotch of scarred tissue sat above his waist, successfully turning the heads of the others.

Legend pulled down his own right sleeve to reveal a mangled line going from wrist to elbow. “Arm got caught on a piece of wood during a shipwreck,” came his response in a clipped tone.

Warriors had been able to pull off his brace in this time, burns covering his hand and forearm. He continued to fidget with the other arm, promising a matching set.

“This was a gift from the knight Volga. Though he was a dragon that took the form of a man, he could still breathe the fires of Death Mountain.”

“Ah yes, that motherfucker. I’ve got a few knicks here and there, but nothing too big, though I’m sure it’s only a matter of time,” the sailor responded.

The remaining members sat unsure of how to answer, most of their stories lining up with Wind: some small ones, but nothing big with a tale behind it.

This seemed to pull them out of the trance they entered, as Twilight let out a yawn. Hearing this, the Chain finally began to settle into bed rolls, Sky staying up for the first watch.

The moon had almost reached the zenith as the first of the Chain succumbed to sleep.

Chapter Text

”Now we really should finish up this ritual,” Zelda says, calmly walking forward. “You…do know what happens at the end, right?”

Link could only stand there, hand rubbing at the back of his head as he gave a sheepish nod, not fully sure what Zelda could be referring to.

Zelda took another step forward, causing Link to take a step back in shock before returning to his original position. She stood there for a few moments, her warm smile all Link could focus on as it filled his chest with happiness.

With a playful laugh and a light shove, she turned Link around and began talking. “You have to jump off the statue!”

Link peered over the edge, suddenly remembering how the ceremony was meant to come to a close. His eyes widened as his gaze was aimed down, fingers clenching at his recently earned Sailcloth.

“Look down. See that big, round design on the courtyard below? To finish the ceremony, you need to drop down right into the center of it!

“Just how brave are you? If you were really fearless, you’d wait until the last second to use your Sailcloth. So, ready to jump?”

With no more preamble, Link felt two hands give his back a firm shove. He feebly tried to regain his balance, ultimately failing and descending toward the ground below.

He rotated through the air to get one final look at Zelda.

Her normally caring eyes were cold as stone when he looked up. Her smile twisted her face beyond recognition as one hand raised to give a small, condescending wave.

Was I never good enough for her? Link wondered as he reached for Zelda.

His back crashed into the ground, but before he could feel any pain, Link went through and continued falling.

Zelda was now below him, fear gripping her as both fell with no safe way to land. Link straightened his body to increase his speed and slowly made his way to her.

He finally reached her, holding her hand in his. Link was about to call for his loftwing when Zelda’s other hand came up and pushed him away, her face looking at him with pity and disgust.

The wind somehow managed to pick up and a tornado pulled the two apart, leaving Link’s face raw from the ceaseless wind and his tears.

He did not stop falling, the sky around him becoming brighter. To his right, he noticed another Hylian making their way to an invisible surface. He angled his body to get closer, hoping to save at least one person.

Once he reached the other, he recognized the Hylian as Time. Panic attempted to seize him as he tried to grasp the falling child.

Link passed through the other hero, watching his arms flail as he uselessly reached for something to grab.

The echoing of a ticking clock filled his ears and light started to escape his eyes. A hole opened for Time to go through, yet Link continued to fall.

Link could soon see the ground beneath him once again. As he fumbled for his Sailcloth, a dark-scaled lizalfos caught his eye, temporarily stopping his movements. Red eyes bore into his reflecting blue and a loud screech came when the monster opened its mouth.

This shocked Link to the point where he no longer had the time to have a safe landing. He pulled his hands to his face as he finally connected with the solid ground.

Sky shot up, breathing heavily as he got a look at his surroundings.

The campfire had gone out, cooling embers still glowing a slight orange. Only a couple other bed rolls remained occupied, most of the others moving around the camp and fidgeting with their packs.

Warriors caught the sky knight’s attention and gestured off to his left, revealing a swirling purple portal, a spitting image of the one that brought him to the other heroes.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Sky thought back on the… dream? nightmare? vision? he had woken from. He’d been seeing that lizalfos for a week or two now and still had no idea what it could mean. More concerningly, he had yet to run across it in his waking hours, perhaps it was just a bad dream. But what if…

After another hour had passed, the remaining members of the Chain had woken up. Having eaten breakfast from their own provisions and getting everything packed, they all faced the portal, walking in one by one.

They emerged through the portal, the scene shifting from a tranquil forest to outside a bustling town. Carts were pushed across the cobbled road as horses guided the carriages they held behind them. Shouts seeking the attention of potential customers filled the air, each vendor doing their best to sell their product.

A wistful simple found its way to the Captain’s face. He took a few steps forward and turned to face the group, arms spread wide as he announced, “Welcome to Castletown!”

They only made it a few minutes in, not even getting out of the crowds before a bright light slammed into Warriors’ face.

“Link, you’ve been missing for days, where have you been?!” The fairy was frantic as she checked him over for injuries. She flew from side to side, front to back, barely moving slow enough to track her movement.

“Proxi, relax, I’m fine. I just found some old friends and new… acquaintances.”

Wind took this as his cue, taking a step forward and giving Proxi a small, awkward wave. She stilled upon seeing him and asked a hesitant, “Wind?”

He smiled and nodded an affirmative, quickly being given the best hug a fairy of her size could give. She nuzzled into his chest before flying back to get a proper look at the hero. She zoomed about, looking for other familiar faces among the Chain.

“Mask!”

Time froze as he was approached by the fairy, being called the same odd name as before. His eyes filled with tears, none spilling over onto his cheeks yet. Proxi saw the lack of movement and turned to Wars, asking him what was wrong.

This question pushed Time over the edge. He ran, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands, his feet digging into the stone below.

The heroes stared at him confused. The Captain was about to make a move to follow him, only able to take half a step when a hand was held up and stopped him.

“Let me,” Wild said, following after the youngest at a light jog.

Time took many twists and turns throughout the maze of a town. Wild kept up, doing his best to keep a few steps behind.

Eventually, Castletown broke into a clearing walled by the backs of buildings and the nearby forest. The sounds of busy Hylians faded and bird song lingered in the air.

Wild waited, watching as Time kicked and punched at a nearby tree. He ripped his hat off of his head and threw it to the ground, its end getting caught in a bush. With heavy sobs, he dragged his fists across the rough bark. He turned his back to the tree and slid down, hands now pulling at his hair.

The Champion carefully approached, gently removing Time’s hands from his head. He looked up in shock, tears making the image of Wild offering a comforting smile blurry. His face broke down even more as he shoved it into the blue tunic.

Tears soaked their tunic, Wild rubbing his back and giving him soft hushes. This continued until Time was only letting out silent whimpers and was able to keep his face mostly dry, though it was still red and a single noise could shatter this façade of calm.

“Would you like to talk about it?” he gently asked, pulling out his water skin and a hearty elixir, offering them to the young hero.

Time considered the question as he took a slow sip of both. The cuts on his hands slowly closed up, the blood staying back to stain his skin. Cautiously, he nodded, giving back the borrowed water skin and bottle to properly sign.

“My friend, she left me. She was a fairy too.” Time clearly wanted to tell Wild more, but was unsure of how to continue.

“What was her name?”

“N-A-V-I,” he spelled, transition into her sign name. Holding a fist forward, thumb held under his first two fingers before moving both hands to his shoulders then off again, waving them up and down.

With her name out in the open, the fact that she left settled into Time. He wanted to start crying again, but found he had no more tears left to cry.

“Do you want to keep talking or do you want a distraction?”

Unsure as to what a distraction would mean, curiosity won over and Time signed for the latter.

Wild showed him the slate, pointing out the different runes it held.

Time asked about the third option, an idea forming in his mind.

Time approached the group, Wild noticeably absent. He appeared to be in a better mood, much to the relief of the others.

Proxi was gone as well, which would make for what the duo had planned work even better.

“Het kid, ya feelin’ any better?” Twilight asked, looking hopeful at the potential answer.

“Yes,” he started as he raised his hands, a small smile playing with his face, “Wild really helped, he even taught me how to walk upside down so they could follow me more easily in the future.”

Looks of skepticism were thrown his way, mostly by Legend, who, in all of his years of adventuring, had not heard of such an item or ability.

Sky was the first to verbalize the confusion. “That’s not possible, Time.”

“I’ll show you!” he signed with a full grin.

He impossibly pulled a pair of iron boots from his pouch, easily 10 sizes too big for the youngest hero. This only caused the others to doubt him more, though none wanted to bring down his mood again. He tightened them as much as possible before climbing onto a nearby crate.

His boots almost moving without him, Time walked up into the air, his body getting pulled back to the ground. After a few steps, his head was pointed directly downward, much to the bafflement of all those who questioned his abilities.

Wild struggled to not bend over in laughter from his vantage point on the roof. He pulled the boots forward more, giving Time the chance to mimic walking.

He soon broke into a sprint, jumping across the rooftops, Time following behind. Faces gawked at the heroes and were soon pushed aside once the rest of the Chain snapped into motion.

Laughter drifted in the street as the heroes raced to the castle.

Chapter Text

The Four Sword cut cleanly through the attacking gibdo, bandages flopping onto the ground revealing the rotten flesh hidden beneath. Four continued to weaken it as black blood oozed from any wounds it sustained. The gibdo staggered forward as Four plunged his sword into its chest for the final time, the corpse returning to its un-animated status.

Fading light was cast over the battlefield, stars hidden by the incoming clouds. The moon was about to set, only hours after the sun, though it would not have helped much with the approaching storm. A dark, and if they didn’t hurry wet, return to the castle was promised.

Wild, Legend, and Time were spread out around the battlefield, knocking back stray enemies with their arrows to be finished off with strong slices by the other’s swords. Only a few arrows went stray, causing a few nicks on the arms of other links. Headshots brought down some of the monsters, but given the quick pace of the fighting, only Wild was consistently hitting them.

Twilight and Wars danced around a large bulbin, swords masterfully striking where it would bring the beast down the fastest.

The dark knut leading the monsters was being handled by Sky, everyone avoided getting caught in that battle, heroes and enemies alike. Both combatants moved with unparalleled precision, the heavy armor barely slowing the dark knut down.

Hyrule and Wind fought back to back, fending off the incoming poes and stal children. Holding a sword in one hand and a lantern in the other, Hyrule did his best to hold them back with burning light. Using a fire rod borrowed from Legend, Wind used a similar tactic, only giving the others minor burns and setting a couple nearby trees ablaze.

A rogue arrow from Time embedded itself into the bulbin’s head, freezing it long enough for Warriors to strike it with a finishing blow.

Twilight looked at the dwindling monsters in search of what to fight next. Gripping his sword tightly, he ran behind some trees (not the ones Wind had set on fire) and brought his hand to his shadow crystal.

Encased in Twili shadows, fur grew over the rancher’s body, limbs shrinking and twisting into that of a wolf. His face elongated into a snout, the dark markings on his forehead getting covered in white fur.

Shaking himself off from the transformation, he leapt back into the battle, focusing on the poes that would leave the others’ vision before sneaking up on them and getting in a few lucky swipes.

One had been creeping up behind Wild for some time, toying with the sense of dread he got before it backed away and began its approach once more. As the poe made its way to Wild, it briefly entered the realm of visibility, lantern held high and ready to strike.

With a deep fowl coming from Twilight’s throat, he ran and jumped onto the poe, jaws biting into the poe’s face and claws digging into its cloak.

The poe let out a shout of alarm as Twilight continued to attack it, teeth ripping away cloth and flesh-like goo. Wild turned at the sudden commotion, eyes widening.

“Wolfie?” he asked, almost scared of the answer.

Twilight dealt the final attack on the poe; now falling limp on the ground, cloak steadily flattening as the phantom inside disappeared. It left behind a single glowing orb surrounded by burning fabric as Twilight turned the next one, leaving behind a confused Champion, leaving him open to a brief attack by the ignored tektite.

Sky was still fighting the dark knut, only a few pieces of its armor strewn upon the ground. He had a few knicks and scratches from the fight on his arms and torso, but kept pushing through, refusing to be slowed down.

Feet gliding over the ground, the Skyloftian found an opening to jump behind the imposing fighter, and with a single upward strike, removed the chestplate straps, the metal clanging onto the ground.

Frustration emanated from the dark knut as it threw its heavy blade to the side, impaling the gibdo Wind had been fighting. It drew thin twin blades from the sheaths adorning its hips.

Thunder cracked in the distance as the two swords hammered down toward Sky, who easily caught and redirected the blades, sending the dark knut off balance. With the given opportunity, the Chosen Hero raised the Master Sword to the sky and brought it down on the dark knut’s chest.

A scarring line burned through the enemy, causing it to stumble and legs to buckle, a knee crashing into the ground. A hand resting on one of the blades shoved it into the ground to push the dark knut back into a standing position.

Sky thrust his sword through its chest, finishing off the last of the monsters.

Heavy breathing was all that could be heard after Sky pulled his blade from the enemy, immediately collapsing from a lack of support. The heroes looked at each other, small smiles coming to their faces at the much better outcome of the battle.

Red potions and water skins were passed around as the heroes wound down to their normal states of alertness. Wild walked around, Time diligently trailing behind and picking up arrows, pulling many from the skulls of the defeated stal children. Swords were hastily wiped off, a more thorough job to be done at the castle.

A flash of light filled the sky, the rumble of thunder following a few seconds after. Sky flinched at the noise, Four narrowing his eyes at the reaction. Only about an hour from the castle, the heroes were ready to start on their way back, eager to avoid the approaching storm.

It was at this moment that Hyrule recognized they were missing a member of their group.

“Where’s Twilight?”

The wolf perks up at this and runs into the forest. Wild instinctively chases after Twilight, the others looking for clues as to the ranchers whereabouts, knowing they could not keep up with the pair.

Despite running unpredictably from side to side, jumping over bushes, and leaping under tree limbs, Twilight was unable to shake Wild.

In a final, desperate attempt to lose the Champion and keep his secret, the rancher bolted into a cave and ducked behind a rock, transforming back into a hylian at the earliest moment.

With only a second to catch his breath, Twilight turned to face Wild, who had finally caught up with him.

Eyes wide and breathing deep, Wild questioned in sign, “Where’s the wolf?”

“Oh, it just ran by me in the cave. I couldn’t tell where it was goin’ and I fin’lly found my way out to catch back up with y’all.”

“Why are you in this cave?” Wild squinted at the other as his hands formed the question.

With a small gulp, the rancher took his time to respond. “Well, uh, ya see, one of the monsters was runnin’ away an’ I wanted to make sure it wasn’t gettin’ back up.”

The Champion hesitated to believe this response, but nodded anyway, turning to lead the way back to the group, barely able to hear the sigh of relief that passed Twilight’s lips.

As the Chain made their way back to the castle, the winds had picked up, violently rusting the trees and pushing at the smallest heroes.

Legend moved with a straight back and eyes flickering back and forth. His head turned toward trees half bent over, only shifting forward when they had gone long past.

Thunder shook the ground and every flash in the sky caused the Chosen Hero to pause, the lengths of these freezes growing longer as the frequency increased.

The bombarding rain had plastered hair to foreheads and clothes to skin, any bit of loose material flapping madly in the wind.

The heroes could only hope to make it back soon.

With dry clothes and warm fires surrounding the Chain, they slowly settled into the chambers they had been given in the castle. The stone walls block out all but the claps of thunder and calamitous wind.

Legend and Sky both sat tense at opposite sides of the room, the distance from the others staggering. The remaining members of the group stayed close to fire.

With fish roasting over red-hot stones, Wild was guiding Time through the process of properly cooking the meat, brief whispers of advice being passed to the younger hero. The enticing aroma brought forth the other links, cautiously reaching out and receiving a welcoming smile from the Champion.

The Captain smiled at their antics and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

"Reports came in that another portal like the ones we traveled through has appeared just outside the castle gates, so prepare to pack up and leave," came the command from the Captain, fixing his arm bracers as he walked in to meet with the others.

"Since when do we listen to what you say, pretty boy," Legend argued, despite doing exactly what Warriors had said.

"Oh, you don't have to," the Captain smirked, "we'll just leave you behind to fend for yourself in an unfamiliar Hyrule and no way to get back home!"

A few snickers rang out as the shuffling to leave continued. After a few minutes of packing, the Chain was walking out the door and down the streets of Castletown once more.

As the sounds of a waking city met their ears, a sense of calm washed over the heroes, despite the challenges they had recently faced.

THWACK!

Flying by Warriors' head, an arrow clatters on the street. Swords are drawn as the heroes turn to find a young man with disheveled hair and clothes, now still aimed for the Captain's head.

Before the archer could fire a second arrow, Sky cut the bow from his hands, kicking the man in the stomach and sending him flying to the ground. When he turns to get up, he waivers, looking at the two swords and twin faces of rage pointed at him by Sky and Wind.

The tip of the Master Sword presses into his chest, the sharp blade threatening to cut through the layers of clothing. The Phantom Sword slicing a thin line along his neck, a few drops of blood trickling across his skin.

"Give us one good reason why we shouldn't let our blades slip." demanded the Skyloftian, a barely contained rage dripping venom into his calculated words.

"Woah, woah, woah! Wait up!" interrupts Twilight. "He's been takin' care of. Let's wait for the guards to take him to the dungeons."

A glance is thrown to the Captain, who nods in agreement as he sheaths his sword. All of them watch as the man gets pulled away, his lashing out ending quickly as he is dragged away to face his punishment.

The grass was swaying beneath their feet, but from the wind or nausea of going through a portal, the heroes did not know. As they looked up to a pristine sky, the figure of a castle rose in the nearby hills.

"Hey, what're y'all doin' here?"

Nine heads turned in shock at the girl who was unbothered by so many people appearing out of nowhere, though only once face lit up with recognition.

No one else had moved to stand up, but in the blink of an eye, Time was hugging the mystery girl, who finally had a look of surprise on her face.

"Fairy boy? Now what are ya doin' out here?"

He kept his face as compared as he could without bawling into her dress. Carefully, he leaned back and brought up his hands to answer. His hands stopped midair, a look of consideration on his face before getting interrupted by a cough from Warriors.

"Sorry about the intrusion, we don't mean any harm. We're on our way to the castle to talk about recent monster activity."

Time's head snapped up at this, freezing for a moment before bolting off. Everyone else could only stare for a few seconds before they realized they should try to catch up with him.

Twisting and turning down the streets of Castletown, Time led the way to the castle, narrowly avoiding the people and carts that stood in his way.

The castle guards could only let out a half-hearted yell to get the young hero to stop, but he kept pushing through, arms pounding as he raced up the final steps of the castle.

With those left behind finally catching up, they stood before the princess of the land, many dropping to a knee and pulling those still standing down with them.

The princess brought up a hand to her mouth, shocked by all of the newcomers as the guards rushed in with halberds aimed toward the intruders' backs.

Time continued standing, hands raised to prepare an explanation, but found no words. Wild looked on at the situation as their eyes glazed over and they cleared their throat, preparing to speak. With the noise, the princess nodded and granted them permission to speak.

"Your majesty, we come as heroes from across time, brought together to fight evil. We request an audience with those who may be knowledgeable on any increase in monster activity in recent months. Please, forgive our intrusion."

With their heads angled downward, no one could see the other's surprise at this situation. Time looked at the Champion with relief and sadness. He took this chance to explain his part.

"Princess Zelda, I come with information about the future of the kingdom and the evil intentions of Ganondorf."

Splutters came from Twilight, Wind, and Warriors, as all had looked up to continue the conversation.

Zelda finally took the moment to speak up, eyes shining with anticipation. "You know of the man with the evil eyes? And you really know of the events to come? Hurry, we must bring this to my father at once."

"So where did y'all say you came from again?" asked Talon, hesitant of the nine armed guests he had received, but was unable to deny due to his daughter.

They were all spread around the house, selling in for the night. Wild, Malon, and Time had gone off to the kitchen to finish cooking dinner while the others prepared the table and made sleeping arrangements for the night. Twilight was the only one left around to answer the question.

"Well, we come from all 'round Hyrule, but none of us have been to these parts. Save the youngest, but ya probably knew that," Twilight finished, the end of his sentence drifting off, hand coming up to rub the back of his head. Talon scrutinized him for a moment before breaking into a wide smile.

"Well, we're sure glad y'all are here! If my Malon can trust y'all, I see no reason not to!" Twilight could only grimace at this statement despite the relief that washed over him.

Laughter came from the kitchen as Time had knocked over bottles of spices, spilling their contents across the counter.

"See! I told ya that ya shouldn't be in here if ya don't know what yer doin'!" Malon called out, moving to clean up the mess.

Wild hummed at what she said before asking a question in return. "If he can't come in cause he doesn't know what to do, how will he learn what to do?"

This stumped the young girl as Time stuck his tongue out at her, eyes closed. Not wasting a second to retaliate, Malon threw the mixed spices from the counter onto his tongue. His face scrunched up with disgust, hand reaching for the offending mixture only to be stopped by an amused Wild, we offered a while and asked the pair to make sure the others hadn't messed up the table.

They ran out, pushing past Wind who had watched it all go down with a memory playing before his eyes.

"Oh, come on Captain, you clearly want to ask him out, go for it!" the soldiers kept repeating, deepening the scarlet shade Link's face had recently taken.

With a nudge from Wind beside him, Link decided to bury his face in his hands, no longer wanting to address anyone in his company.

Proxi hovered nearby, ready to fly off on Link's behalf, only held in place by the Captain's ever crumbling glare. Mask sat nearby, drinking his milk and watching the Captain with amusement playing on his face.

Before Mask got the chance to speak up, Link held up his hand and signed a sharp no, keeping it aimed at the younger heroes as he hid his face in his other arm.

"Oh, come on Captain, what's the worst that can happen?" asked Wind, though he already knew what his response would be.

"He could say no! Or worse yet, he could be a spy from Cia who'll poison my drink and leave me foaming at the mouth, dead on the floor of a tavern I should never have brought you to!" His frantic signing made it hard to pick out all the words, but it still sent the others spiraling into laughter.

"Yeah, laugh it up. I'd like to see how you'd go about it!"

With a smile fighting the solemn expression on his face, Wind advised, "And this is why I never tell people I like someone!"

"So you do admit to liking someone then, Sailor?" came the cutting question from Mask, savoring the curses sworn under Wind's breath.

Having a vengeful look on his face, Link turned to the younger hero. "No shit, the sailor's got a crush! Well now you got to tell me about them!"

"I don't owe you shit," he spat, his face coming to match that of the Captain.

"Now what was her name?" Mask mockingly asked. "That pirate, am I right? Tat, no tet, maybe with an r? I know it started with a t, but what could it be? Tatl, Terry, something along those lines ri-"

"If you aren't gonna shut up about it, at least get her fucking name right!" Wind calmed down for a moment before whispering, "Her name is Tetra."

Link pat him on the back, before the Captain and Wind, with evil grins twisting on their faces, turned to Mask.

"Ah, you think I have a crush on someone? Or that if I did I'd be stupid enough to tell you?" His face began to turn red though it went unnoticed by the others.

"Well Wind was, you can't be too far behind!" An indignant shout came from Wind as the Captain signed this.

With a calculated look at the youngest hero, the Captain fought to keep his face neutral as he went to propose an agreement. "How about you admit you have a crush on that girl you've mentioned before and I go ask that guy out?"

Mask jumped at this, face turning red, confirming Link's suspicions. Loud laughter echoed from the Sailor as the night went on, all faces flush from embarrassment and joy.

Chapter Text

Heavy feet getting dragged along the floor and hair angled in all directions followed each of the heroes as they got up in the morning.

Only two cheery faces met the new day, as Wild gave the other heroes plates piled high with food and Twilight finished setting the table.

Breakfast was slowly eaten, each bite increasing the alertness of the Chain and their hosts.

As the meal continued, Malon kept sneaking not-so-subtle glances at Wild, who didn't know how to receive the attention and continued to awkwardly eat. Eventually, Malon asked the question burning in her mind. "Why are you wearing a girl's shirt.?"

Looking at Wild's clothes, a beautifully embroidered Gerudo top decorated with golden bracelets and bands wrapped around her arms adorned her torso. This was notably paired with traveling pants and opal earrings.

"I am one," Wild said with an amused smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"I thought you were a boy?" Malon continued to question.

"Sometimes I am, though usually I'm both or neither. Today though, I'm a girl. And it's a nice day out, so I thought I'd wear this. Do you like it?"

Eyes glistening, Malon nodded enthusiastically. "It's very pretty. I want one."

With a friendly chuckle, Wild agreed. "I have an extra, so I'll see what I can do."

Malon let out a happy squeal and began excitedly talking to Wild and Time, who could barely follow along, about how she wanted hers to look.

Hyrule sat nearby, listening to the conversation as he ate his meal, considering Wild's words.

A rising growl and stomping feet were soon heard to be coming from outside. When Talon came back from looking out the window, his face lost all color and he could only whisper, "There's a horde of monsters out there."

Faces hardening, the Captain turned to Talon. "Don't worry, we'll take care of this. Just make sure you and your daughter stay in here." He nodded shakily and moved to guide Malon to her room, confused by the sudden turn of events. Weapons were grabbed as the heroes stepped out the door.

Hissing and buzzing grew louder as they left the house to find the ranch surrounded by an assortment of lizalfos, peahats, and tektites. Deku babas kept sprouting from the grass, snapping at anything that got too close. The monsters continued to drift closer, sure to rush forward once they noticed the heroes.

In careful sign, the Captain detailed the plan of attack. "Wild, Twilight, and Wind, you take out the flying enemies."

"P-E-A-H-A-T-S," Time interrupted, precisely spelling the name.

"Yes, thank you," Warriors signed, acknowledging the information with a nod. "Anyway, I doubt I need to tell you to use ranged attacks?" Wild and Wind nodded firmly, preparing their bows and quivers. Warriors continued to explain the plan as Twilight fiddled with his hands, making no move to get out his crossbow.

When the Captain turned back to the Rancher, he was cut off before he had a chance to ask a question.

"Can I be on the grounded enemies instead? I think my sword abilities are much better than my crossbow anyway." His hands rushed through the signs, words blurring together, his face pulled tight with worry, eyes aimed at the ground.

Getting his attention by tapping his shoulder, Warriors explained, "You're one of the best shots we have. I get why you haven't been using your crossbow, but these enemies are flying overhead and we have no other way to knock them down. Once they've been grounded, you can switch to your sword, we'll need the extra support then."

A shaky nod of understanding came from Twilight, who haltingly pulled out his crossbow and bolts, preparing the first bolt.

Three clean shots flew through the air, finding their homes in the flying peahats, sending them careening into the monsters below. The commotion sent the enemies into a frenzy, looking for the attackers and only finding the song of a blade as it cut into them.

Tektite bodies began to litter the ground as the lizalfos swarmed inward, trying to get a hit on the heroes. Peahats continued to fall from the sky, smashing the enemies below.

Before long, the sky was clear and the horde began to thin, lizalfos falling where they stood and deku babas twitching as their severed stems began to shrivel, acidic venom making the ground steam.

Watching the final monsters meet their end from a nearby patch of trees, a black lizalfos scowled. Red eyes narrowing on the exploits of the heroes, a scaly hand was held up, echoing out a single snap. The lone figure walked back into a portal, not waiting to watch what would follow.

As deep breaths filled the plain, the heroes looked at each other in relief of the short, simple battle.

"Is it just me, or was that too easy?" asked the ever-skeptical Veteran.

No one had the chance to chastise him as the ground began to rumble.

Hands rose from the grass, breaking the surface, their pale-gray color alerting the youngest hero of what was to come, his face turning white.

As he stood there only able to watch, one hand's spindly claws firmly cut into the Rancher's shoulder, a shocked scream escaping his lips.

Rising from below a pile of lizalfos, thin arms throwing the corpses aside, came three heads, deep black eyes reflecting no light bore into the heroes. The mouths hung open, blood and flesh dripping between the large, flat teeth. It continued to claw itself from the ground, dozens more hands extending from its back, with two arm numbs stained red pulling the front of the monster from the dirt. A low growl came from the monster as its flesh squelched, pushing itself forward to the Chain.

A head bent to Twilight, still caught in the sharp hand digging further into his shoulder. With a desperate swipe, he cut a gash into the face, sending it reeling back gushing black blood.

Another head came down to try to bite the Rancher, an arrow finding its home between the coal eyes. Wind's face was slack with shock, eyes darting among the heads and hands.

Coming from behind, Legend finally cut the arm from Twilight, the limb immediately shriveling when severed.

Despite checking for hands as she moved around, strong fingers wrapped over Wild's face, covering her eyes and pulling the skin on her neck tight.

As the unmarred head bent down to face the Champion, an animalistic growl accompanied the strong sword swing that nearly removed one of the heads from the body.

Getting sprayed with thick, black blood, Time pulled his sword out and repeatedly hacks at the neck until he stands over the slack-jawed head before moving to the hand holding Wild.

The Master Sword glowing a brilliant blue, Sky cleanly cuts through the head still holding an arrow. Four danced around the hands, cutting them off before they could reach him. Hyrule and the Captain worked to distract the final head and hands, letting the others get in undeterred.

Anger the only emotion left on his face, Sky brought his sword up, charging it with energy. With a decisive horizontal cut through the air, light swung to the final head, burning the wound closed as it joined the other two on the ground.

The hands continued to reach for the heroes. The body lay limp as the hands tugged it forward before slowly coming to a stop.

The Rancher kneeled in the ground as blood continued to fall, no longer getting absorbed in his clothes. Rushing over with a red potion, Hyrule tended to Twilight. Wild sat nearby, Time firmly holding onto her, only moving enough to let her drink her own hearty elixir.

The heroes trudged into the house, the Captain only giving a small glance to the plain stained with blood and riddled with bodies. The door closes with a soft thud.

Emerging from the trees once more, the black lizalfos brought out a glass vial, tipping it into the pool of blood on the grass.

Chapter Text

A few days were spent recovering from the battle against the newly dubbed “fuckin’ nightmare fuel” or “dead hand gleeok.” The heroes helped around the ranch where they could, Talon begging some of them to stay before they inevitably left. They began to relax as much as this brief respite would allow, staying vigilant should another horde of monsters come to attack.

At some point, a portal opened up, staring the heroes down as they ate their breakfast. The Captain began explaining how they would enter the portal in groups to better keep everyone together. Clamoring voices rose as the heroes began to playfully fight over who they would go through with. Wild watched with amusement and felt a gentle tug on their tunic’s sleeve. Looking down, they saw Time playing with his fingers and avoiding eye contact.

In a voice so small, Wild scarcely heard it, they listened to the youngest hero ask, “Can I go through with you?”

Wild broke out into a wide grin, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Of course, any time!” Tension fell from Time’s body as he turned back to his meal with renowned vigor.

After finishing a few chores, packing up, and giving Malon her new Gerudo top, the heroes walked through the portal, one group at a time.

The portal opened up to a picturesque apple orchard, the trees full of life and the fruit. Colors ranged from a deep, candy red to a bright, crisp green to a clear, golden shine. Below one of the trees, with a basket in her hand, stood a figure in an ocean blue dress with red hair as bright as flames.

With the commotion of nine heroes appearing, she turned to the noise and locked eyes with the Veteran. The two ran to each other, falling into the grass with a bone-shattering hug. Both names were called out, but indistinguishable as they buried their faces into the others’ shoulder.

The shouting opened the door of the nearby house. Taking in the scene before him, the purple cloaked figure watched the two clinging to each other on the ground for only a moment before dashing to join them.

The fierce hug only grew stronger, all of their heads angled inwards, foreheads resting against one another, their whispers unable to reach the ears of the heroes.

A loud cough from Warriors reluctantly forced them apart, though they still held hands and sat in each other’s laps. Shock could not describe the emotion on the other heroes’ faces as they watched Legend turn red with the two new individuals.

“Marin?! Ravio?!” called out Wind, finally recognizing the faces before him.

After a brief moment of confusion, the two glanced between the Sailor and the Captain.

“Oh, Link. What did you get yourself into this time?” asked Marin.

Explanations and introductions were made as the group settled into the house, about half of them preparing sleep arrangements while the others were caught up on the monster situation.

“There’s been a few more monsters than usual,” Ravio explained, “but nothing that hasn’t been taken care of, Mr. Hero! Especially at the level you’re describing.” Legend sighed as he pulled up his legs and leaned into Ravio’s side, arm coming to rest around his waist. Marin sat on the Merchant’s other side, reaching her own arm over to Legend.

Wind could only watch in awe as the standoffish hero sought the comfort of his partners. He remembered hearing about their partner, the hero of their time, during the war-which had only just ended for them- and how they talked about him with such worry and fondness. Never would he have imagined Legend to fit in with them, yet watching the three of them together showed that there was no other possible option.

Light conversation continued before a sharp knock rapped at the door, yells coming from the other side. “We know you’re in there hero,” they spat, anger showing on all faces except Legend, who carefully showed only annoyance and resignation. The taunts continued, but none of the residents of the household moved, knowing they would leave if left unanswered.

Unfortunately, not all of the heroes seemed to understand this, as Wind stormed to the front door. He flung it open, sword already drawn and aimed at the guard’s neck. His eyes widened before narrowing, though unable to get a word in as Wind pushed forward.

“Why are you here?” Wind asked with ferocity, forcing the Phantom sword closer to the guard’s neck, the two behind backing up further.

Apparently not recognizing the threat, the guard smirked as he began talking. “Nothing he doesn’t deserve. Kidnapped the princess a few years back, still hasn’t paid time for that. Add onto that the fact he’s attacked the guard numerous times, and I’m sure if we got a look in that house we’d find more!”

Finally drawing blood from his neck, Wind took another practiced step forward. “Does him saving the world mean fuckin’ nothing to you? Are you really that annoyed a kid could beat you in battle?”

Anger flashed through the guard’s eyes, Wind having successfully figured out his petty need for revenge. When he tried to pull his weapon on the sailor, his hand was cut, sword falling to the ground with a thump and blood coating the edge of Wind’s blade.

A cry came from the guard, hunched over and holding his half-attached hand to his chest. The other two came forward with apprehension, wisely retreating with a blood stained trail marking their path.

Wind glared at them as he watched the trio scamper off, only turning when he heard Legend yell, “What the fuck was that?!”

“What do you mean, I took care of your problem?” Wind threw back, emotions still running high.

“No, you didn’t!” Legend stomped toward him, arms raised with exasperation. “Every few months they come by, demanding me to turn myself in, but if we ignore it they just leave! Don’t you think I want to teach them a lesson?! But if I do that, they’ll just come back with more guards! And if I’m not there for that? If something happens to Ravio or Marin…” His angry rant trailed off as tears filled his eyes. He rubbed at his face as his partners came to reassure him and lead him back to the house.

Before they entered, Legend turned, and with defeat in his voice, said, “I don’t care that they come. Zelda’s tried to stop it, but nothing works. But if one of them got hurt? There’d be no more guards.”

The gentle thud of the door left Wind outside, sulking off to a nearby tree.

“If he wants them gone, why doesn’t he just do it?! They’ll never listen, even if the princess is blue in the fucking face! Those motherfuckers, maybe I ought to-”

“Wind?”

The Sailor jumped at being suddenly addressed from behind. Sky stood there, silently asking to sit beside him. Coming up with no reason to say no, he gestured at the mangled roots of the tree he was sitting under, picking up a leaf to mess with as he waited for further admonishment.

“You were right.” The leaf snapped in his hands. This statement coming from the Chosen Hero caused Wind to do a double take, unsure if he had heard the words correctly.

“Things like- People like that only respond to power and fear. If you want them to respect you, you have to make them. I know I would.”

Satisfied he was finally told to be in the right, Wind listened as Sky continued. “While that might be the best way to get the most results, we do need to respect Legend’s wishes, even if we don’t agree with them. In the end, this is his world and he’ll have to live with the consequences, not us.”

Wind deflated a bit at this, starting to see this line of reasoning, though still eager to teach the guards a lesson.

The two sat there until sunset, contemplating the events of the day. They eventually made their way back inside, ready for a full night’s rest.

The heavy rain poured onto his house, wind howling through the trees and clouds so dark no light had a chance to shine through. Legend hesitatingly made his way through the house, flinching at the branches scratching against the walls.

He made his way to the back end of the house, grabbing a few extra blankets and candles, ready to go back to the living room to pass through the storm with Marin and Ravio. With supplies in hand, he worked his way back down the hallway, stopping every few steps as the wind grew louder.

The tearing of wood and a crash barely gave any warning as a tree fell through the house.

He fell back, barely missing the outer branches of the tree. His heart hammered in his chest. Eyes widening in panic, he noticed the trunk splitting through the living room.

Legend scrambled over branches, the wind pushing his hair into his face, the rain plastering it over his eyes. Though he had only been screaming their names for a little bit, his throat already felt raw as he cried out for his partners.

His eyes grew strained and red, though no tear tracks fell down his face. He kept screaming as he finally made it to the living room. Legend only looked around for a moment, finding nothing, before another tree fell, crushing him and sending him

down

do
wn

d

o
w

n

.

.

.

THUD!

Light cleared around him, the cold stone stealing whatever warmth remained. Across the hall through a forest of bars, he saw Marin and Ravio, covered in blood, unmoving.

He grabbed at the cells bars and shook them, unable to make a dent. His hollow cries brought forth the guards, taunting and laughing at the hero of the land.

Legend fell to his knees, screaming out as the guards opened his partners’ cell. He could only watch as the sword sank into their guts, one after another.

Marin. Ravio. And two invisible stabs for himself.

Numbness was all he felt as the guards shook him and shook him and sh-

“LINK WAKE UP!”

With a sharp intake of breath, Legend’s eyes snapped open to the concerned faces of Ravio and Marin. He sat up shakily, tears pouring down his face. They all held each other as he cried, Legend explaining his dream through broken hiccups. When he got to their deaths, he only cried harder, unable to articulate the pain.

After minutes or seconds or hours or years, Legend’s breathing grew more even, his tears slowing and hands never pulling away from his sides. He curled into Marin, Ravio wrapping himself around the two, all of them tired from the night’s events.

“After I-after I went through the portal, I realized I’d been thrown into another goddess damned adventure and I, I-I never got to say goodbye.” Legend paused, staring at his hands as he thought back on everything that had happened. “Then, we-well, we got caught in a storm and didn’t have you and I guess, it just, I-” he sighed before continuing, “I realized you weren’t there and all I could think about was how everything started and you weren’t there and I couldn’t know if you were safe.

“Then I finally come back to hear you got thrown into another time, not just that but a war, and I couldn’t be there for you, and then the guards showed up and I, I guess it brought up all the memories is all.”

“Link,” started Marin, “we’re here, all of us, and we’re okay. And when you get to come back for good, we’ll be here. As long as our hearts keep beating we will always find each other.”

“Yeah, and we’ll all stay in bed for a week! No hero business, no going into town to sell anything, be it pastries or apples or weapons, nothing! Just the three of us.” Ravio promised, carefully rubbing his hand up and down Legend’s arm.

The Veteran sniffled, everything finally catching up to him as his eyes drifted to a close. “Yeah, just… just the three of us.” After a few more minutes, all were resting soundly once again.

Time and Wild sat at the table, both having caught the other when they each snuck out being unable to sleep. Wild only laughed and nodded to the dining room where the two flipped through the pages of Wild’s cookbook, searching for a meal to have for breakfast in the morning.

Wild was reading over the recipe for apple fritters when Time signed, “Why did Wind try to cut the guard’s hand off? He wasn’t a monster.” The usual playfulness with the final sign was lost in a face of confusion.

They froze, hands coming up and down but forming no words as the Champion considered the question. “Sometimes,” Wild signed carefully, “hylians can act just as much a monster and need to be stopped. Wind was trying to do that, but didn’t stop to listen to how Legend wanted the problem dealt with. There’s nothing wrong in defending yourself or others from monsters, hylian or otherwise, you just need to remember how it will affect who you’re saving.”

“Does that make Wind a monster?”

“No, no, no!” Wild’s first two fingers frantically pushed into his thumb multiple times, his face holding the same desperate energy. “He just made a mistake, and he’ll do better in the future, right?”

“Right.”

As soon as Warriors saw Time and Wild talking about Wind in the dining room, he slowly backed away and slipped out the backdoor, unwilling to interrupt the two.

The events of the afternoon continued to play through his head as he thought back to the first time Wind was with him to deal with a turncoat.

Blood poured from the Captain’s nose as the soldier in front of him sneered, hands tied behind his back. Wind and Mask stood nearby, watching everything play out with rapt attention.

The man kept growling curses at Link, talking about how quickly he rose through the ranks, faster than anyone else was able, as Proxi tried to get more information out of him. The Captain’s face fell slack, but was still held guarded and letting no emotion through.

“It’s no use, Proxi,” Link signed. “He isn’t going to tell us anything. Mask, Wind, you should leave now.”

Confusion was clear on Wind’s face as Mask nodded with acknowledgment, trying to tug the slightly older hero along with him. “Wait, why can’t we help you haul this ass off to jail? We know where it is, we can help!”

A mournful expression crossed Link’s face, understanding dawning on Wind. “But- but, he can’t be that bad! Sure, he’s said some things and lead a few monsters to us, but that- that doesn’t mean-”

“We know he’s been working for Cia,” interrupted Proxi, “and we can’t risk her getting any more information.”

Mask continued to try to get Wind to come with him, but the Sailor wouldn’t budge. “Those like Ganondorf or-or-or Volga, or Cia I get, but this? Isn’t it a bit extreme?”

The Captain looked down, wishing he could agree with the hero. Instead of waiting for the other two to leave, Link slowly pulled the turncoat further into the forest, emerging minutes later, alone, with a maroon sword.

Chapter Text

Weeks turned into months of traveling among the different Hyrules. Each new time brought awe to the heroes' faces as they got to see a land both familiar and foreign. The Captain’s suggestion to go through portals in groups was quickly proven to be helpful as the portals would occasionally spit out the group in varying locations.

After leaving Grandpa Smith, groups were chosen once more as they walked through the newest portal. Instantly, each group knew they were nowhere near the others.

Time, Twilight, and Warriors found themselves face to face with the blades of Tetra’s crew, who quickly retracted them once they recognized the figures that appeared on deck. Wind, Four, and Sky were thrust in the middle of a market, the noise prompting Wind to grab the others by their hands and lead the way to a quieter area to try and find the rest of the Chain. Wild, Legend, and Hyrule fell onto a small island with a dock holding multiple ships and everything being run by monsters.

“What’re ya bilge rats doin’ here? An’ where’s Link?” Though her sword was no longer pointed at them, Tetra’s glare held the three in place, still sprawled out on the deck.

The Captain was the first to regain his composure to respond. “We just entered a portal and got split up. Our plan if we ever got lost here was to meet up on Outset. If you’re heading that direction, do you mind dropping us off?” Wars asked hopefully, unsure of how she would respond.

Tetra looked the three over, examining the Captain’s carefully neutral face and the sheepish expressions Twilight and Time haven’t been able to shake off. While her eyes scanned for some hidden criteria to keep them aboard, Time began to squirm, causing a smirk to make its was onto Tetra’s face.

She turned her back to them and put her hands on her hips. “Ya just happen to be in luck. We were on our way to check on things down there. Course, you’ll have to help on the ship. Can’t have ya sittin’ about like a bunch a lazy landlubbers, now can I?” Her face angled back toward them, revealing a sly smirk and the promise of trouble in her eyes.

Time eagerly nodded his head, getting up on his knees ready to help. Twilight silently acknowledged the agreement as well as he stood up, and Warriors sighed, fixing his twisted armor to get ready for whatever the Sea Captain threw at them.

The growling and hissing of monsters was only disrupted by the scratching of crates against the stone floor. Wild, Legend, and Hyrule kneeled behind a ledge, only taking careful peeks at the courtyard behind them every few minutes. Stalfos were carrying smaller boxes and barrels aboard the ships, moblins lifting and dragging larger crates up the ramps following the stalfos.

After taking another quick look at the monsters, Wild turned back to the other two and gave a quick rundown of what they saw. “Most of the monsters are transporting the cargo. A few are practicing with weapons, but all of them are answering to this black lizalfos, probably the leader,” they rapidly signed, making extra effort to stay quiet.

“Well, what should we do next? Even with my thunder spell I don’t think we could take on all of them without a couple of the others. We don’t even know if we can see all of them.” Hyrule’s question had Legend and Wild looking around, glancing at the moving searchlights and the imposing stone tower that cast the island in shadow.

“Our first priority should be getting off this island and finding the others so we can stop this before they set sail. You don’t happen to have anything in that slate of yours we can use as a boat, do you?” Legend asked.

Holding up their hand and pushing their first two fingers against their thumb, Wild signed a quick no and dared another glance at the docked ships.

A loud shout came from the lizalfos, prompting the other monsters to get out of the way and clear the path to the ship, all leaving through the door leading into the island. The lizalfos approached the ship and walked on it, the plank quickly retracting as soon as its foot was on deck. It wasted no time going below decks, out of sight of the heroes.

“We need to board that ship,” Wild signed, determination on his face.

Hyrule and Legend stared at him with wide eyes, neither making a move to follow when ready.

“We need to get off this island and find out what they are up to. This is our best chance.” They paused and pushed a few buttons on their slate, three purple liquids in bottles appealing in their hands. “These are stealth elixirs, they should make sneaking aboard easier. Come on.”

Glancing at one another, Legend and Hyrule both halted part way to grabbing the elixirs, Wild forcing the two into their hands and downed his own. After another second, Legend, followed closely behind by Hyrule, drank their own concoctions.

Leading the way, Wild ducked behind abandoned crates and carefully made his way down to the docks. He jumped down and over the last board connecting the ship to land, running in and finding no monsters had made their way down yet. With Hyrule and Legend aboard, the three began investigating below deck.

“Now I asked ya lily-livered landlubbers to swab the deck! It should be shinin’ by now!” Tetra yelled, far too pleased with herself.

Time immediately began scrubbing harder and faster, while Twilight and Warriors both let out sighs before going back to work. Tetra’s laugh echoed over the seas.

Hidden behind a wall overlooking the vast ocean, Four turned to Wind and asked where they were.

“We’re on Windfall Island. Lately it’s grown more into a trading center for all kinds a goods, regardless of origin. We’re a ways away from Outset, so I need to see if anyone on port can take us down there. You can come with, but it might be easier to convince someone if I go alone.”

Four shook his head. “We’re already split up from the others, we should stick together until we find the others.”

Wind nodded and led them down the winding path that led to the docks, freezing when his eyes landed on an ornate ship. It had a large sail with a green pattern decorating it, an intricate carving of an animal adorning the figurehead.

He relaxed slightly as they wove through the crowd, his eyes scanning over the faces of everyone they passed, apparently not finding what he was looking for.

He turned to the edge of the dock and ran face first into someone facing the ocean. She turned and looked down at Wind, smirking.

“Well, if it isn’t Linebeck’s little friend.” She looked at the two standing behind him, and took careful examination of the coat Wind was wearing. Her face turned sour, the smirk turning into a grimace. “Say, Link, why don’t we show your friends here to my ship. Maybe we can help each other.” With a firm look in his eyes, Wind turned toward the ship he had been avoiding.

Sneaking around the ship, Wild, Legend, and Hyrule were all on edge. They carefully pried open a few crates to find them filled with food and weapons, the two mostly sorted. One crate was notably filled with bombs that Wild carefully stored in their slate.

The few times a stray stalfos or bokoblin would wander down, the three would hide before ambushing the monster. They worked their way up, stopping outside the door leading to the deck. Before going to open the door, it slammed open, revealing the imposing shadow of the black lizalfos.

“So, Link, what have you been up to? It’s been a while since you’ve stumbled across me.” Jolene turned to face Wind, whose arms sat crossed over his chest. “When did you last run across that coward anyway?”

“We traveled together for a few months defeating monsters if you must know,” Wind answered shortly.

She assessed him carefully, resting her hand on her sword. “I’m sure you don’t need to tell me how that ended, given my last run-in with him. We both ended up on this island infested with miniblins. No problem, we started killing them. Then, a dark knut shows up. Normally, a problem, but with the two of us, I’m sure we can handle it. I turn to him to tell him this and he’s already hightailin’ it back to the row boat, and he abandoned me to fight it by myself! Luckily, I manage to fight it off with minimal injuries, but by the time I make it to shore, he’s already half-way back to the ship! As soon as he rows back to shore to pick me up, he runs off again, chasing down a boat that had been passing by!

“Since he’s not here, you’ll have to do. You are wearing his coat after all. I used to like you, you know, helping me and my sister. But your unwavering loyalty to that spineless toad is grating. Now face me!” Jolene pulled her sword, face grimacing. Sky and Four put their hands on the hilts of their swords, ready to jump in.

“No!” Wind shouted, waving his arm back at them. “This is my fight, you two stay out of it!” Cautiously, they backed up, still ready to step in if necessary.

Jolene ran at Wind when his sword was in his hand, barely giving him enough time to block the strike. The two circled around each other, Jolene jumping forward swiping at him again. Wind backflipped out of the way, getting ready to retaliate.

Jolene gave him no such time to improve his footing, rushing toward him again once his feet hit the ground, forcing Wind to pull his shield up to avoid her blow.

Hiding underneath his shield, Wind swiped at her feet, forcing her back and giving him the chance to fix his stance.

He swung at her, the blow glancing off her blade and pressuring her backward. After taking a few quick steps forward, he struck again, hitting her back with the hilt of his sword and knocking her to the ground.

She stumbled, turning around and dragging her sword along the floor, digging it into the wood, glaring at Wind. Running with a scream, she swiped again and again, leaving two quick cuts in Wind’s arm, who hissed on the contact.

Fighting the urge to clamp down on his arm and drop his shield, Wind grimaced and pulled his sword through the air in front of him, cutting her leg.

Both backed away from the other, circling the deck once more. Wind rushed forward, pushing his blade against Jolene’s, the two struggling to see who would push the other away first. Sparks flew as the two swords scraped against the other.

With a final push, Wind thrust the sword from Jolene’s hands, sinking it into the deck near Four and Sky. The force knocked her back, hands thudding behind her to catch the fall.

She chuckled lightly, Wind throwing knives from his eyes and holding his sword close to her chest.

“Heh. You win once more, but for what? You can’t stop me from going after the coward you call a friend. And when we meet again, we’ll fight again, the same story playing out! On and on this endless cy-”

The Phantom Sword slid into her body with practiced ease, blood staining her clothes. She looked up at him with wide eyes, confusion stretching her features. The now crimson blade returned to its master’s side.

Clothes a shade darker than when the battle began, the Sailor turned to leave, not sparing a glance at those he left behind.

Chapter Text

Ch. 12
In this chapter, it would have picked off right at the end of the previous one, with Four yelling at Wind for killing Jolene. In this argument Sky would have defended him. Wild, Legend, and Hyrule were going to get caught after they learned a bit about what Dark Link was planning and get thrown overboard. They would be rescued by Tetra and “have a lighthearted moment.” All of the groups would then meet together on Outset Island, where we would learn that Four has been forced to keep quiet about the events he witnessed. I wrote down reveal black lizalfos but I don’t remember what I meant by that, but Sky was worried about his dreams. Aryll would have been there being “just a wonderful sister.”

Ch. 13
They were to meet with King Bulbin in Twilight's time where he would reveal information on Dark Link before he dies. There would have been hints to Twilight’s wolf form as they go to meet up with Yeto and Yeta. Chilfos and wolfos were going to attack them and hint at a plan involving reviving old enemies. 6-7 vials of the heroes’ blood would have now been collected.

Ch. 14
Now they are in Hyrule’s time. They face a small horde of enemies (fotkera+helmethead?) that would be defeated with lightning. Sky would be scared and in awe of this power. (Begins to want it) With the words of King Bulbin in mind, they head to the secret Moblin for leads. When leaving, they would fight a group of ropes, wizzrobes, floormasters, and leevers.

Ch. 15
They are now in Skyloft where they meet Sun and Groose. These two notice the differences in Sky (anger, violence, etc) and they all head to the surface. They would fight farnax(?), hardhats, and something else that I cannot read because my handwriting is shit. Dink now has eight vials of blood and they notice Dink going after them and they fight, but he is not dead, only injured.

Ch. 16
Now in Wild’s Hyrule (specifically Hyrule Field), which is burned with large hoof prints from the fight with Dark Beast Ganon. Dink is in the center of the field surrounded by a force field. Wild has a firework(?) to call for aid while Dink is trying to harness the power of Demise. Multiple bosses appear to fight the heroes: Thunderbird, Ghirahim, Argorok, a warship in the nearby river, and Trinexx. The heroes would divide themselves and with aid from the various kingdoms of Hyrule, defeat all of them. Sky, Hyrule, and the Gerudo would face Thunderbird; Wind would fight Ghirahim (he would say Wind is just like him to which he doesn’t respond, Wind is covered in blood); Twilight, Legend, and the Rito were facing off against Argorok; Wild, Time, and the Zora would take care of the warship; and lastly, Four, Warriors, and the Gorons would fight Trinexx.

Ch. 17
They would then fight with Dink, who has been powered up by Demise and they win (I know, so descriptive). The portals taking all of them back home would open. Everyone is crying and it is very sad.

Epilogue
Time going into Majora’s Mask

This was all of the basic plot planning I had done. As I was writing the chapters I would adjust things, change or add details to make it more connected. There definitely would have been more flashbacks thrown in there, but I didn’t notice any in my notes (or I just couldn’t read them). Here were my plans for all of the character arcs within this story.

Time: Positive arc. Making new connections, learning how to say goodbye, but also not giving up on friends.

Wind: Negative arc. Leading, grows into the more negative parts of piracy, ruthless.

Wild: Positive arc. Learning how to work with a group and how to be a leader.

Legend: Neutral arc. Letting people in, hurt and angry at the end when separated (most affected)

Warriors: Positive arc. Mostly told through flashbacks. Listening to others, leading, etc.

Hyrule: Negative arc. Closes off from others until breakdown. Unrelenting, survivor’s guilt/”i had it easy”

Sky: Negative arc. Fiercely loyal, will kill for others. Line between needing to kill and being angry blurred.

Four: Positive arc. Listening to the ideas of others. And leading a little bit.

Twilight: Neutral arc. Opening up to others more. More use of the crystal, more animalistic tendencies come out.

And some miscellaneous notes I took about the story.

Will end with the defeat of Dink by Time’s hand.

To show sky’s negative arc, make him use lightning/thunder to kill, no longer scared (one of legend’s medallions or items?). Split up group once or twice to give wild and wind (maybe four) chances to lead a group (knock people out) (same for wars in flashbacks) in flashbacks, use comparison for wars/time end with time leaving war of ages a few chapters/scenes before dink killed. Have them learn bits of everyone's journeys for *trauma*. Multiple fight scenes, make twi more wolf like as battles continue. In war of ages, show wind scared of killing again (hylains) use as contrast for end of story where he will kill.

Enemies to use at one point: chilfos, deadhand, floormaster, fokkera, furnix, gleeok, hardhats, helmet head, jolene, king bulbin, leevers, like likes(cut), mazaal, pirate ship, ropes, wizzrobe, wolfos

I know i definitely wrote more notes for this story on my old phone, but i dont want to get that out right now to copy them onto here so we shall leave it as is. While i wont be finishing this story, it was still fun. I hope everyone has a wonderful day!