Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

68th of Summer, 1331

A boy named Link paused between two dusty, dim bookshelves, noticing another section labeled with something interesting. He paused, looking at the stack of books already in his arms. Then he made an executive decision and decided to add just one more. 

That required him to set what he had down on the floor, avoiding one of the tracks that the bookshelves slid on. He picked one of the books out—a record of historical oral poetry, of just the sort that he enjoyed. While he usually attempted to restrict his extracurricular reading, since he couldn't waste his scholarship here, he often failed. This looked worth it, though. 

What Link really wanted to study was literature. Classic books, poetry, songs, maybe he would branch out and get some art history in there. He loved the twists of words and the song of language. Unfortunately, his current high school education major was pushing it enough already. A pure, abstract literature degree did not feed directly into a career, and while the education field wasn't lucrative, Link was mostly certain he would be able to stand it. He had to be self-sufficient in every possible way, especially with hostilities across the borders increasing and the constant economic issues of Hyrule putting on the heat. 

With a somewhat bitter smile, Link put the poetry book on top of his stack and—

Oh.

The section itself had caught his eye, labeled Historical Apocrypha, which didn't even sound like a real section, but that book… oh, that book. 

The golden geometric foil on the spine was pristine, though the book itself looked very old. The cover, when Link pulled it out carefully, bore no author's name, or even a publisher, but the elegant serif font of the title piqued his interest: Historic Hyrule. 

Unable to contain his curiosity, and unsure why he would anyway, Link lifted the cover. He flipped past the title page, found no credits page, and stared at the ink illustration that preceded the first chapter. 

A castle, tall and proud, shining in the light. Banners waving in the wind. Clouds illuminated by a bright noon sun, blowing to the east. Despite the illustration's simple black-and-white nature, Link felt as if he could see the blue of the flags. The cobblestones made the ground textured, but not as unsteady as he would have thought—

The library and his books had disappeared. In its place was the castle, bright and loud and real above him. 

---

68th of Summer, 1331

A boy named Link stumbled through his morning routine, his headache barely more than a minor annoyance. While his coffee maker processed, filling the flat with a lovely smell, Link washed his face, following his usual five-step process. The water didn't help his headache, but it didn't hurt. He felt better as he dried his face off. 

The coffee maker pinged, finishing up, and Link wandered into the kitchen. He pointedly ignored the stack of textbooks on the table, freshly straightened thanks to the maid service, and poured himself a mug. He used only the best quality creamer, the hazelnut and cinnamon of a very particular imported brand. 

Good in, good out, that was what he lived by. He followed it in everything he could control—food, exercise, media, friends. Well, he couldn't control what friends he had, not all the time, but he tried. He could limit their damage, anyway. 

General studies credits at a university, even a prestigious one like Eldin University, did not really count as good, which bothered him. He wanted to be out in the world, doing something. What, he didn't really know, but he was sure he'd think of something if he actually got out of the trap of school. 

Link pulled out his phone as he sipped his coffee, which was perfect this morning. He liked his nice coffee maker. The Today Cafe sounded like a good place for breakfast once he got dressed, and then he could worry about homework. 

The Lucky Clover Gazette site loaded up with a few lazy, automatic taps. Link scrolled through a few rather boring articles, mostly about the rising tensions and potential war on the horizon, until a picture in the RECOMMENDED FOR YOU section caught his attention. A castle? It looked like an old black-and-white drawing of Hyrule Castle, but before it had been turned into offices and remodeled a few decades ago. Had something happened to it to make it appear in the news?

Link tapped on that picture, and stared at it, not registering the headline of the article it accompanied. 

Beautiful. Honestly. Link was lucky, with the money from his family, and he liked his modern apartment, but a castle? In another era, Link might have been nobility. He might have lived in a castle, one like this, all bright in a flat field… 

Link couldn't exit out of the article. There was no article anymore, no phone, no coffee. Just the subtle taste remained on his tongue. 

He stood in front of the castle in the photograph, colorful and windy and real. 

---

68th of Summer, 1331

A boy named Link moved into the dim closet, closed the door behind him, and closed his eyes. He consciously fixed his posture. It was hectic out there. He felt a little guilty, but he needed thirty seconds to recalibrate. He peeled off his blue gloves and dumped them in the trash. 

It smelled like rubbing alcohol in here. Link pulled his notepad from his scrubs pocket and crossed out a few items, either complete or irrelevant. He scribbled a couple more things onto the end of the list. He didn't really follow his list, but it gave him an excuse to pull away for a moment, and writing it all down helped him to remember things. 

Well, break over. Link put the notebook away, plucked two more gloves his size from the boxes hung on the wall, and returned to the busy, bright Domain General Hospital. As a student, most of his work here was repetitive, though occasionally he got interesting things to do. He didn't really think that cleaning up after a couple sick kids in one of the waiting rooms counted as interesting , but at least it wasn't more paperwork for other nurses.

As Link set up the yellow caution sign, one of the magazines dropped haphazardly on a table nearby caught his eye. He spared a moment to stare at the pretty illustration of a castle, gleaming even in the black-and-white. He sort of wished he could be there, by the fountain, in the sun… 

But he had work to do. Link turned back to the mess, then paused. The cobblestones were dusty, but not messy the way he'd expected to see them. He frowned, then shaded his eyes against the bright sun that bore down on him. 

There was the castle, warm and pretty and real. 

---

68th of Summer, 1331

A boy named Link readjusted the straps of his backpack, stalking through the wide hallways of Kakariko Valley University. He was trying to not be late to his accounting class, but as the weeks wore on, it just got harder and harder to care. He shouldn't have taken that business management class just before, it was way too far away on campus to be consistently on time to accounting.

But he'd make it. And he'd get a good grade. College was a scam, but Link knew that he really did need to know a lot of this stuff. He liked the chances to socialize, too, not that he did much of that right now. He had to get through generals, and then he'd do the whole college experience thing. If he had time. If the world settled down and wasn't on the brink of war. 

Distracted, Link dropped his metal water bottle, and it clanged loudly against the floor. It rolled, and Link swore quietly, chasing it. When he finally caught up to the thing, it had managed to get all the way to the wall, just under one of the TVs that the school used to broadcast announcements like events and fundraisers. 

The TV currently displayed an old drawing without any text, which was a bit unusual. Link picked up his water bottle, hooked his fingers back around the handle, and tilted his head to watch the screen. That was a nice picture. He was going to work there someday, in Hyrule Castle, though nowadays it had larger glass windows and a more convenient layout for offices. The foundations were the same. Hyrule Castle still stood, and it still served its function as the heart of the nation. 

Wait, was that wind? Had someone opened a door somewhere? Link looked to the side, but he did not see an open door. Grassy fields stretched out to the side, hemmed in by forests, crowned with low hills, and dotted with small groups of homes. 

He looked up. There was the castle, unmoving and solid and real. 

And next to him—

"What just happened?" the boy to his left said, far calmer than Link felt. 

The boy to Link's right swore and looked down at his hands. "Where's my phone?" 

To that boy's right, a fourth boy in nurse's scrubs of a very pleasant red color looked up at the castle with wide eyes. "Uh, I have a lot of things to do…" 

"There are… four of you," a girl's voice said in clear surprise, and Link whipped around to see her standing behind the line, staring at them. A golden tiara winked with rubies atop her gingery hair. She was vaguely familiar. "This is quite the omen…" One of the girl's gloved hands rose to touch her lips, as if in thought. 

"All right, what's going on?" the phoneless boy demanded, turning to look at the girl. "I was just getting ready to go!"

Link glanced at the boy's blue sweatpants, mentally remarking that those looked nicer than even Link's own, and he shopped at nice places. Okay, nice outlets with deals and coupons, but still. That boy did not have cheap clothes. 

"My sincerest apologies," the girl said. "I did not anticipate four of you. In times past, only one hero has appeared."

The boy to Link's left, now right, raised his hands to rub at his forehead. "This cannot be happening. I must've had one too many Red Lynels."

"This is no dream," the girl insisted. She put one hand over her heart and bowed shallowly to them. "I am Princess Zelda the Eighth, and it is a true pleasure to make your acquaintances. I understand that this must be confusing, but rest assured that all will be explained in time."

Princess Zelda… the Eighth. Link narrowed his eyes. 

The Hylian monarchy was not exactly functional as a governing entity, these days… or the days in which Link had been born… mostly serving as wealthy celebrities and keeping traditions alive. The Princess Zelda that Link had known for years, the enthusiastic, curious girl he'd been looking forward to working with, was the Sixteenth in name. 

"The Eighth?" phoneless boy said. "Don't tell me—"

"The legends of heroes are really true?" scrubs boy asked in wonder. "Summoned by princesses in times of peril? Wait. I can't be a hero. I don't know how to use a sword! I took an oath— "

"Calm down!" Link interrupted. "Everyone. Look, let's get some more information, and then we can freak out. Okay?" 

"That sounds reasonable," scrubs boy said with a high, tense tone. 

Phoneless boy scrubbed his hands through his perfect haircut. "I think now is a really good time to freak out, actually."

"In recorded history, only one out of twelve heroes died," the quieter boy said. "If our records are accurate, most of them were summoned from later times, and they all had the time to become proficient in combat, before returning to their time at the moment they left. If this is real, and not just a fever dream, then we can likely expect the same pattern. I never heard of more than one being summoned at a time, however."

"So I'm not going to lose my job because I disappeared for several months?" scrubs boy said. "Phew."

Link sighed. "I'm still gonna be late for class."

An armored man approached from the side, regal and exuding an aura of competence. Link felt intimidated by that trimmed beard and beautiful cape. 

"Ah, Captain Marks," Princess Zelda said, smiling. "These are our heroes."

Captain Marks stared at them for a long moment, his eyes moving from boy to boy and turning misty. He swallowed hard, then smiled tightly. "You all remind me of my son. It is a pleasure to have you here…"

Zelda sucked in a breath. "Ah… I never did ask your names, forgive me for my blunder."

"Oh!" Scrubs boy stepped forward first, pulling off blue medical gloves to offer his hand to shake. Marks took it. "Link Flannery, second-year at Domain Medical College." 

Link, huh? Link raised an eyebrow. 

"Medical? Your knowledge will be valuable." The captain let him go and looked expectantly at the next boy in line. 

Phoneless boy crossed his arms. "Don't we get a say in this?"

"It won't hurt to be polite," Link muttered. "It sounds like we have the time."

"I didn't agree to this."

"Give the nice man something to call you." Link let some frustration bleed into his voice, and phoneless boy uncrossed his arms to shake Marks's hand. 

"Link Odell," he said with a set jaw. "I study at Eldin."

Link again, paired with a surname that Link recognized. The Odells were a wealthy family out of the celebrity spotlight with ties to the old Hylian throne. And Eldin University was not known for being cheap, or easy to get into. 

"Nice to meet you," Marks said, then offered his hand to Link himself. 

Link sighed and shook the hand after shifting his water bottle. "Link Ashmore. I'm a business major."

"We're very glad to have you."

The last boy matched Link's sigh and shook Marks's hand last. "Link Van Tonder. Shocking, I know. I'm studying to be a teacher." 

"We have a pretty wide variety of majors here," Link said. He glanced at Odell. "What were you studying?" 

"Having a life." 

"...Right."

"We're all named Link!" Link Flannery said with a smile. "That'll get confusing pretty quickly. We can use last names. Or does anyone have a nickname they'd prefer? You can call me Red, it's my favorite color and my name on some social media." He shrugged and gestured to his very red scrubs. "You?" 

Link Odell sighed. "I've been known to go by Blue."

Link narrowed his eyes. "I'm Green, thanks to an incident with green paint in middle school."

"Fancy that," Link Van Tonder said. "I'm often Vio, not Violet, due to a birth certificate mix-up when I was small."

"This is creepy," now-Blue said. 

"This is destiny," Princess Zelda responded. "It must be."

Captain Marks stepped back and gestured. "Shall we head to the castle to discuss this further?"

---

68th of Summer, 1331?

Evening

"I can't believe this," Link, now Blue, muttered, pacing in front of the large hearth. It burned low, pleasantly warm. It took him three and a half steps to cross it one way, which was a little awkward. "I mean, it's not like we were asked . I have important things to do at home." Not really, but none of the others would know that. 

"We all do," Vio sighed, sitting at the desk in the room they would apparently all share. The castle had been prepared for a single hero, not four, so scrambling for extras of everything had taken an hour or two. Luckily, the room was not cramped. 

Vio had figured out the pen and ink and was writing. "If we can count on the patterns of previous heroes,” he said, "we will return home when we're done here, right at the moment we left. The faster we defeat this evil, the faster we get back. Besides, we know history. Every hero has succeeded, except one, and we're not that one. We will be fine."

Green finished poking through one of the chests of drawers and came over to pull a notebook from the backpack he'd brought along, the most any of them had from modern times. "I don't know, I'm kind of looking forward to forgetting about homework for a little while. I've always wanted to go to the gym more often, and I'll have the chance here. Well, maybe not literally the gym.’

"They barely have indoor plumbing," Blue said, to be contrary. Green had a good point. Blue just didn't like people telling him what to do, and this was a pretty big deal. 

"Stop griping," Green said. He offered his notebook and a ballpoint pen out at Blue. "Write down the things you need to remember, because if it'll be a few months, you'll forget."

That was a good point, too. Blue narrowed his eyes at Green, but took the notebook and sat down in one of the chairs to write about the things he was worried about—texting his sister back, that email from the scholarship office…

"What are you doing over there?" Green asked Vio, who sighed as if horribly put-upon. 

"I’m starting a journal. Time travel is awfully rare, and our records of this time are all right, but personally, I'd like to remember this. Speaking of which—Green, when were you born?" 

"Sixteenth of summer, thirteen-twelve," Green said, and Blue almost snapped the pen in his fingers. 

Vio rubbed at his head. "Oh, Farore . Blue?" 

"Yep. Same. Yours?" 

"Unfortunately." 

"Mine too!" Red appeared from behind the changing screen, now wearing an era-appropriate crimson tunic with leggings instead of his scrubs. He fastened a belt on top. "What an insane coincidence."

"It's suspicious," Blue muttered. He wrote down a few more things, then tore the page out and handed the notebook back to Green. 

“At least we're from the same era,” Vio said, writing. 

Green flipped the cover back to the front, thoughtful. "It's interesting that we make a perfect adventuring party, too."

Blue made a face. "Excuse me?" 

"Wait, you're right," Vio said, turning back around. "We do."

"Healer," Green said, gesturing to Red. "Wizard, or scholar in this case"—Vio nodded—"Warrior, since you clearly work out more than the rest of us do"—Blue scowled again, though that was perfectly true—"and… me? I guess I count as the rogue."

Red pulled a hat onto his head, one that hung down to a point like every depiction of a hero that Blue had ever seen. He looked at himself in the mirror and pushed a curl back. "Or the leader! The charismatic one?" 

Well, that was offensive. Blue stood up and started to pace again. "We are not a team, and he is not our leader."

"Let's just do our jobs as efficiently as possible, okay?" Green said, though he frowned. "Then we can all go home and move on with our lives."

"Fine by me," Vio muttered, turning back to his journal. 

Blue crossed his arms and watched the rug where he stepped. The colorful stripes ran along the same direction he walked, so he tried to step only on the red stripe under his feet. "Whatever."

Chapter Text

69th of Summer, 1331?

"Aren't you worried?" Green said quietly, settling down on the bench next to Red with a plate stuffed full of eggs and potatoes. He wore a green tunic of his own, and had agreed when Red observed earlier that these clothes were far more comfortable than they looked. Around them, the dining hall bustled with people and dogs, the air heavy with the smell of breakfast. 

"Worri' bout wha'?" Red asked with a mouth full of the same. Blue could say what he wanted, but Red liked this place so far. He liked having food available without him having to think too hard about making it. 

Green exhaled and started to eat. "Being here. All of it. Wow, this is good."

"Isn't it? And nah, I'm not worried at all." Red swallowed his food to speak a little more clearly. "I'm not missing any time at home, if Vio is right. No point stressing out. I don't have anything to worry about there, except maybe I'm a little concerned about forgetting everything from chemistry." 

"That's true." Green smiled. "I guess I feel the same about accounting."

Red wrinkled his nose. "Ew, right. Math." He hesitated, a wooden cup in his hand. He was going to be spending a lot of time with the other three Links, the other three heroes (he still couldn't believe that he had been chosen as one), so getting to know them was a good idea. He had taught himself over the course of his studies so far to refrain from asking too many personal questions, as he had done as a teenager, so choosing questions now was a conscious decision.

"You said you're a business major? Where do you study?" 

"Kakariko Valley. My granddad passed a few years ago, and he left a lot of his estate to me, on the stipulation that I get a good, practical degree," Green explained. He shrugged. "I'm doing my best." 

"I'm sure you're making him proud." Red drank from his cup, choked, and almost spit it back out. He managed to swallow, then coughed at the taste and the liquid still in his throat. Green reached over and pounded his back carefully a few times. 

Red waved him down. "I'm— kagh —okay. Promise. That is not water."

"I'm not all that surprised." Green picked up his own cup and brought it to his nose. "Beer or something?" 

"Not like I'd know, I'm too young to drink. Bleh." Red stuck his tongue out, then ate some more potatoes to cover up the taste. He wished he had more salt, but that was apparently a fairly expensive commodity here. 

Blue sat across from them, his expression more open than it had been most of yesterday. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say that coffee isn't available."

"I don't think so," Green agreed. "Shame. Most hotels have coffee and breakfast."

Red snorted. "Three out of five stars. No waffles."

"This isn't a vacation," Blue said. He looked at both of them with a brow like a thunderhead, his blue eyes intense. 

Green shook his head and continued shoveling potatoes into his mouth. "No, but… it almost is. A vacation from our normal lives, at least."

"Look, if we're the heroes, we'll have to train. Hard." Blue stabbed an egg with his fork and watched the yolk bleed over the other eggs on his plate. He didn't have any potatoes. "It can take years to become proficient in something like swordplay, never mind a master. If we're going to go home in any sort of good time, we need to work. And it's going to suck." 

Red bit his lip. He'd always wanted to be better at exercising, but his job was plenty strenuous, and he only found time maybe once a month to do some running. It was hard, though, and Red often ignored exercise to fall facefirst on his bed and sleep instead. The idea of being a hero was cool and all, but could Red actually do it? He didn't know. He almost didn't want to try and risk real failure.

"We don't have much of a choice," Green said, sounding more confident than Red felt. "Besides, these people need our help. We'll do it.” He inelegantly pivoted to a new subject. “You seem pretty fit, Blue, what do you do? You said you study at Eldin?" 

"Yeah. Eldin. Nothing specific yet." 

"Eldin's a nice school," Red ventured. That was an understatement. Eldin was the nice school, the one that only the wealthy graduated from. Blue held himself in a specific way, and he ate carefully. He'd be one of the wealthy, then. Was that why he was a little aloof and mean? 

Blue shrugged. "It's all right. The rock climbing in the area is good, at least. Some nice places to get food, too." He sighed down at his eggs. "I'm going to miss those, until I get back."

"Well—" Green began, but cut off when Vio arrived, slapping his hands down on the table. His hair was a mess, and the dark circles under his eyes had only grown more pronounced, emphasizing the way he held them wide open. 

"You guys," Vio began, hushed. "I have news. This—this is—I can't—one second."

Red eyed him for signs of hyperventilating. "Take your time. Did you sleep? What's up?" 

Vio took a deep breath and sat on the bench next to Blue, giving them both a fair amount of space across from Green and Red. He laced his fingers together on top of the table and stared at them, trying to put words together. 

"What?" Blue prompted. "Don't waste time."

"I'm thinking," Vio said. 

"Give him a second," Red added, shooting a scolding look at Blue, who just rolled his eyes. 

Vio took another loud breath and spoke. "We aren't in the past."

A chill ran down Red's spine, and his fingers curled tighter around his fork. "What do you mean?" 

"This is Hyrule Castle before renovations," Green said. He gestured to the stone around them. "Where else could we be?" 

"This is the past, yes, like that," Vio said, to a scoff from Blue, "but it isn't our past. I studied the hero cycle extensively last year, and it was pretty clear that only one hero existed at a time. Four of us? Literally unheard of."

"So we don't exist in the history books," Blue said. "Big deal. You might've remembered it wrong."

"I don't remember anything wrong." Vio gave Blue a side-eyed look, but continued. "Other evidence includes several key details in our histories being different, as well as the actual existence of magic. Not just vague glyphs and forces, either, actual magic that people can cast, spells and hexes and everything."

Red and Blue exchanged a look, confused and shocked and encouraged all at once. What did that mean? Magic? Red knew that their own world had some magic,things like protection glyphs and a few laborious rituals to clean houses or embalm bodies. A few people had even managed to fly or time travel a little, and of course there was the ritual to summon a hero. But more concrete magic like Vio described… it was the stuff of fantasy. Learning to cast a fireball was impossible.

"You're saying that we're in some… alternate dimension?" Green said. "Spells? Really? Are you sure?" 

"As sure as I can possibly be," Vio answered with a nod. "This means that we can't be sure about how this turns out. It isn't our history, so the hero—or heroes, as the case may be—might not win. It isn't a given, like we assumed."

Blue swore. Again. 

---

71st of Summer, 1331

"You four," Captain Marks said, looking at them, "will be helping our army face down a large force of monsters."

Vio nodded. That was standard for the hero thing. He stood next to Blue with his arms folded. It was day three, and even just after breakfast felt too early to be out here in a sandy training field, but he wouldn't lie to himself. He was excited, if he was honest with himself—not so much to be a hero, but to receive training and be recognized, to have opportunities that very, very few people ever had. 

"The enemy is currently threatening our northern border, which is why we called you here. They are led by the Wind Mage Vaati, a sorcerer so powerful he has shrouded his fortress in a neverending blizzard."

Hold on.  

Vio raised his hand. "You said Vaati? Not an incarnation of Ganon?" 

"Of what?" Captain Marks asked. 

"Ganon, he's supposed to—" Right. Different timeline. This was confusing. "Never mind. Vaati, I understand. Please continue."

Blue frowned next to him, but didn't say anything. He seemed to know about the hero cycle as well, and noticed the major departures from the "rules." They didn't have any guarantees, now. Anything at all could be different. 

"Right." Captain Marks pulled out a chalkboard, on which someone had written out a very neat timetable. "We do not have much time until their force becomes overwhelming, less than a year, so I have come up with a training program to get you all the necessary information and practice as quickly as possible."

Vio did not like how the schedule began at dawn every day.

---

84th of Summer, 1331?

Green opened the door to their bedroom, ignored Blue's somewhat snappish greeting, and fell down on the rug, facing the ceiling. His arms felt like gummy worms, and his legs weren't much better. His bones were tired. He didn't know if he could get up if he tried, now that he was laying down for the night. 

"Green," Blue said. He appeared in Green's field of vision. He waited for a response, but Green just groaned loudly. "Get up. Moron.” Blue poked him with his toe. “Get up before the entire room starts stinking with your awful BO."

"Don't wanna."

"It's been two weeks. Don't tell me you've given up."

"Just giving up for the day. It's nighttime. I'll sleep right here."

Red approached, smelling like plain soap. He crouched down by Green and smiled, tired himself. "The bath will help you recover. All those oats and soap will feel good. I promise."

"Laying here feels good."

"Vio already took a bath and is in bed," Red answered. "One good thing about this brutal pace is that he can't even stay up until the second watch reading! He liked the bath."

Green narrowed his eyes at Red, who smiled innocently. If even Vio had gotten up to take a bath… Blue did the best in physical training, followed by Red and Green, and Vio trailed behind—but Vio did leagues better than them all in the information-based segments, so it balanced out. Still, he required the most recovery time most days. 

Red knew exactly what he was doing, mentioning Vio like that. They were all competitive.

"Fine," Green said. He sat up, feeling his arms shake a bit at the strain.

Blue grabbed his arm and hauled him to standing. Even he smelled like soap. "Good?" 

"Thanks." Green sighed. He was the last one to finish, huh? He needed to step up. If he was, as Red had pointed out that first day, the group's face, then he couldn't be sloppy. "This sucks."

"At the risk of sounding cliche," Blue said with a smirk, "I told you so."

---

82nd of Autumn, 1331?

Honestly? This was glorious. 

Blue focused on his breath, pumping it in and out of his lungs steadily. The cool morning air bit at his ears, and each footfall on the dirt path sounded soft. He hardly got tired from these early-morning runs, now, and it felt really good. 

After three months, Blue could say that he was truly enjoying his time here in old, alternate-universe Hyrule. He had decided to embrace this dedicated training time to get the sort of muscle tone he'd always wanted, and it was going well so far. He'd caught up physically to the elite castle guards, so he joined in on their runs and drills and tried to not resent their friendly corrections to his weaponwork. 

And if Blue was being honest… this was perhaps the first time he'd ever had real friends, ones who didn't just want to be close because his family was rich, or because they wanted to shoot their shot and see if they could break his straight-laced reputation. Here, he wasn't Link Odell, the younger, less-impressive brother of the heir to the Odell fortune, but just Blue. He loved his sister, but had always compared himself, unsuccessfully, to her. 

Taking the nickname she'd given him and making it mean more than just Little Brother felt good. It meant Hero, now. Friend. Blue enjoyed the company of the guards, of course, but he'd also inexplicably bonded with the other three heroes. He'd never pick them out of a lineup as potential good friends, but there it was. 

Red cared more than anyone Blue had ever met. Blue had heard that the medical field made it hard to care so deeply, but either Red hadn't hit that point yet, or he was immune to that challenge. Red urged them all to drink water, take breaks, work hard, and be kind. He'd slapped the back of Blue's head several times for being rude. His compassion had already rubbed off on the others a bit.

Green had confidence that Blue could only wish for, and skill with people. He knew what words to choose and how to present himself so that people trusted him and liked him, apparently without actually thinking about it. Even Blue trusted him… and liked him, too, he admitted it. Green was friendly and impossible to not get along with. 

Vio was very smart. Blue would have thought that it would be a roadblock to friendship, since in his experience, people that smart were either bad with others or arrogant. Vio was both, yet in such unassuming ways that either Blue was laughing at something snarky Vio had said, or laughing at Vio himself. Blue and Vio pushed each other's buttons harder than the other two dared to try, but never came out of it with bad feelings. 

It was easy to see why the other three had been chosen as heroes. Blue ran and pushed himself, only hoping that he could ever become as obviously good as the others were. 

"Falling behind, Blue?" Bossuk asked, jogging ahead of Blue on the trail and turning around to go backwards. He laughed, and his voice startled Blue from his thoughts. "Come on, Hero, don't you want to beat us all?"

Blue grinned meanly. He picked up his pace a little, aiming his feet just right to make Bossuk shy away to avoid a collision. Bossuk's heel caught on the weeds lining the trail, and he tripped, falling with a crash and a rustle. 

Laughter exploded from behind, the other guards on this run joking at Bossuk's expense. Bossuk picked his head up and spit out a leaf.

"Falling behind?" Blue called, laughing as his breath came shorter. 

---

90th of Winter, 1331?

Swords were heavier and harder to use than they looked. After three seasons, however, Green had grown used to their weight and balance. 

He stepped into the next move of the advanced sword kata he was working on, correcting the angle of his blade as it carved through the air. Long grass bent under his foot as he planted it exactly where it needed to go. Something in his heart sang as his body flowed through the next few forms without his conscious command. 

Green had taken quickly to the sword, which surprised him. Captain Marks and his subordinates said that it was only natural for a summoned hero to prefer the sword, but for Green, who'd never so much as touched more than a steak knife, this was a momentous realization. He was good at something—better than good, really, he was of a level with people who had been training for years. He had to work for it, no skill came for free, but he’d lived a lot of his life assuming he had no real natural skills. 

Crickets chirped in the cool night around him, the noise pressing comfortably up against his eardrums. Campfires crackled behind him, most burned down to embers as the night wore on. He focused on moving, drilling, letting the movements sink into his bones. 

They would be arriving at the warfront tomorrow. The four of them weren't expected to fight or lead, but they needed this experience. They had only seen real combat during the occasional monster camp raid. Visiting the war zone was Red's idea, and though Blue took his usual contrary position of devil's advocate, they argued it out, and Green took the job of insisting on it to Captain Marks and Princess Zelda.

Those two were good people. Green finished out his kata, felt sweat on his back, and started the flow again. He'd made a few mistakes. He wanted to iron those out.

Princess Zelda carried herself with grace and authority. Green liked her, especially when she joined them for casual dinners or outings. She clearly loved her land and her people. She'd apologized to the four heroes twice for taking them out of their homes, but she didn't regret it, and Captain Marks backed her up in everything. Green did his best to follow the Captain's example, backing up and supporting Blue, Red, and Vio in every way he felt he could.

The three of them were like brothers to Green, now, even Vio, who'd taken a while to warm up to all of the physical training. Red didn't do anything halfway, and though Blue griped and groaned, he worked with dignity and aided the rest of them without being asked.

Hopefully tomorrow would be a learning experience for them all, instead of simply traumatizing. 

After Green completed a third kata, he deemed that quite enough for the night. He took a moment to catch his breath, absently pleased to note that it didn't take very long for his body to settle. Those first few weeks of training had been hell, as Blue had warned them, but that effort paid off. Green couldn't help but be proud of himself. He never thought he would actually be in good shape. 

Red poked his head out of the tent, and Green waved to him with the sword-free hand. He started to head over before Red could chew him out for staying up too late.

---

91st of Winter, 1331?

Red felt Blue touch his arm. 

When he didn't react, Blue wrapped his hand around Red's elbow a little more firmly. 

"Come on," he said. "Please." 

Blue didn't really say please. His voice didn't go this soft. Not without reason. 

"I want to help, Blue." The monster horde below the hill was… terrifying. Huge. Not all of it was attacking at the moment, but it was still a seething mass of darkness and snarling. People were dying down there. 

Red’s heart ached. Of course he'd seen death, and injury, and suffering. But he'd never seen widespread battle and destruction… He'd never seen men and women fighting for their border and their lives. They weren't mindless, but they were desperate. 

He knew what Nurse Peri meant a little more, now. She'd been injured in the war and returned to the castle both to recover and to teach a few of the trainees. Red attended her workshop on triage, a concept he was familiar with, but he felt he needed more instruction for a world where magical injuries and monsters were more common than stab wounds or simple broken bones. 

She'd said that they wouldn't truly understand. And Red, swallowing against the tang of coppery and acidic blood in the frozen air, hadn't. He still didn't. But he was beginning to. 

“I need to help,” he added. 

"You're not helping by just staring down at it all. We are helping by being heroes and defeating this Vaati guy. Come on."

Red swallowed hard and, with the ease of practice, shut out the smell of blood. He turned away from the battlefield below the hill and let Blue pull him back down to the small camp. It was cold here, so the four of them wore heavy, velvet-lined winter cloaks that were just as good as, if not better than, Red's ski coat back in the modern day, if he remembered correctly. 

…When had he stopped thinking of it as home? 

Princess Zelda looked pale in the early moonlight. Her lips pressed together, and her six bodyguards and servants—the Maidens—stood behind her, muttering and just as anxious. 

"What's going on?" Red asked. He brushed Blue's hand off of him and swept up to where Green and Vio stood with several of the military leaders. Captain Marks had gone on to confer with other leaders while they were here. It wouldn't be a very long visit, if all went well. 

Princess Zelda looked at him, her gloved hands fighting to remain still. "The fighting is far too close to the Sanctuary. We need to go check on it."

"Isn't that a little dangerous?" Red asked. 

Blue nodded. "Can't you let someone else check on it? How important is this Sanctuary?" 

"Very," Princess Zelda answered, with nods and murmurs of agreement from the Maidens. 

Green glanced over at Red and Blue, then at Vio. He rubbed his chin in thought, then nodded. "We'll take your word for it. We'll come with you." 

Although Vio's eyebrows lowered and Blue wore his controlled expression, they didn't protest. Green spoke for all of them. The four of them and the Maidens would be enough to keep the princess safe. Hopefully. Red found himself gripping the handle of his sword as they crunched through the frosty grass. His shoulders tensed in a shiver as a stray breeze blew snow into his face.  

He'd pledged to never do any harm, but he personally felt that in wartime, he would need to make a few concessions. The other three heroes and the Princess were his priority, and he'd defend them from monsters and Hylian alike. Still, he hoped he wouldn't have to face any Hylians across the field of battle. He cringed at the noise that made its way across the frozen field to his ears. The walk didn't take long. 

They approached the Sanctuary with haste, a little building made of stone. A bubble of something shimmery surrounded it, creating a perfect circle of happy grass in the frozen landscape. Ivy and flowers grew inside the bubble, and as Princess Zelda and the Maidens let them in, Red felt a distinct change in temperature. Somehow, the Sanctuary was warm.

As they climbed the steps into the Sanctuary, Red noticed Vio reach out to touch one of the rose vines climbing the pillars, no doubt curious. He hissed hissed and pulled back a moment later, a drop of blood on his finger. 

"Let me," Red whispered, feeling the need to be quiet as they entered the little place. He offered his hand out, and though Vio hesitated for a moment, he let Red take his arm when they stopped in the central chamber of the Sanctuary. 

Red briefly closed his eyes, focusing on the flow of magic that he'd been training to detect. Each person here had some in their body, even the four of them, and Red could use that to direct the body's healing efforts. To heal a tiny pinprick like this took basically no time or effort at all. Red was practicing with professional healers to get better, trading medical knowledge and procedures. What he knew worked for now. 

Vio took his hand back when Red finished and wiped the drop of blood on the edge of his cloak. "Thanks."

"Anytime."

The Princess and the Maidens spread out to surround the inner chamber of the Sanctuary. It barely fit the seven of them plus the four heroes. Someone had carved a sword-shaped glyph artfully into the stone at the center of the single-room temple, and Red couldn't read the symbols. He didn't know why this Sanctuary was so important, but if the Princess was so insistent, he would trust her. 

Princess Zelda clapped her hands together over her heart to channel power, and Red let out a breath as he felt the magic in the room shift, like the weather did just before a lightning strike. The Maidens copied her, and the sword glyph on the ground began to glow with a warm light that made Red feel… safe. 

"Woah," Green muttered. He hadn't seen much magic, unlike Red and Vio, since he hadn't chosen to study it in addition to his weapons. 

The sword glyph's glow shifted from yellow to blue, and an actual sword hilt rose from the stone, shrouded in brightness, as if it had been hiding beneath the surface of a pond. The thick crossguard shone with engraved gold, decorated but very practical, and polished leather wrapped around the hilt. At the top, an opaline gem glimmered above the leather. It stuck out of the stone, only about a foot of the sharpened blade visible. Red couldn't make out a hole. 

Princess Zelda let out a breath. "The sword is safe," she said, then paused. She turned to the four heroes standing around her. "For now. Perhaps it is fortuitous that you are here today. This is the sword of the hero, and… I believe it is time for you to obtain it. I would not put it past our enemies to somehow find a way around these ancient protections. It is a powerful weapon that is meant to amplify your abilities. You are destined to wield it."

"Destiny," Blue grumbled under his breath. 

"There's only one sword," Green said, somewhat hesitant. "And four of us."

"It will only come free at the hero's touch," Princess Zelda explained. "I would wager that it takes all four of you.”

"...We'll try it."

Red and Vio looked at each other, but a few moments after Green's agreement, all four of them stepped forward into the glowing glyph together. 

Hisssss

Red felt like his skin would explode into sparks as he passed the border. Magic whipped around the space, making him stumble, but he kept his balance and shut out the whispers of magic words in his ears. 

Vio, on the other hand, who'd been praised by the teachers as extremely magically sensitive, dropped to a knee, his eyes squeezed shut. Blue grabbed him by the shoulder to pull him up, and Red hurried to get on his other side. 

"You okay?" Red asked, hearing his voice come out warped, like they were underwater. The sound didn't quite reach his ears. 

"Fine," Vio answered. He shifted so he carried more of his own weight. "I just didn't expect that."

Blue stepped them forward. "I feel it, too. Not much, but it's there."

"I have a feeling that we shouldn't dawdle," Green told them as they approached. He held a hand out over the sword, sunk halfway into the stone like something from legends. 

And, Red supposed, it was. They were living a legend, even if this was a strange alternate universe. 

Vio let go of Red and Blue to stand up straight again. The four of them reached out together, and the magic rushed over them at a higher frequency. This time, both Red and Vio kept their feet, though Red winced and Vio swayed. When all four of their hands touched the sword, making contact with the hilt or the crossguard, it rose as if pulled by a string in the ceiling. 

A flash of light filled the room, and Red held a magic sword of his very own. 

---

91st of Winter, 1331?

The weight of the magic sword in Vio's hand almost distracted him from the flow of magic warping and twisting in a way that it wasn't supposed to do. He looked up sharply, and saw the Yellow Maiden's lips forming a word in shock, half a moment before the magic popped. 

The Yellow Maiden disappeared, along with a portion of the magic sustaining the ritual. Green shouted, his voice too warped to understand. Vio adjusted his grip on the hilt of his sword, feeling the blade adjust itself slightly to match his strength and balance. He would normally be watching it carefully to find out just what it did, but…

The Blue Maiden disappeared in the same shattering of magic. Princess Zelda's face went stony as she concentrated harder, the glow from her hands increasing as she clearly did her best to stop it. 

This was beyond Vio’s pay grade and experience. He half-wanted to reach out and help, lending what magic he had, too, but he was too afraid of messing it up. 

The Green Maiden vanished. The glow of the magic faltered, and Zelda almost looked nauseous. 

Screw it, Vio thought. If this was happening anyway, maybe he could help. He couldn't make things worse. So with his teeth grit tightly and one hand clutching the friendly hilt of his sword, Vio closed his eyes and concentrated. 

During the conversations they had on the topic, Red said that tapping into magic felt like holding his hands into a fire: dangerous, but safe if you knew what you were doing, and controllable. Vio always thought that the flow of magic felt more like a witch’s garden, all chaotic and messy and safe. This ritual, to him, was a web of flowers, stems connecting the girls, leaves curling off. He could tell how much power emanated from each of them, and that Zelda was the backbone beneath it all—the lattice, in his analogy. 

Something lurked in the emptiness beneath the lattice. Pests chewed away at the leaves, and then the stems, focused on one bloom, one Maiden, at a time. Right now, the pests strained the Red Maiden’s hold on the spell. Her lips pulled back in a grimace. 

Vio knew that if they dropped the spell now, they would save themselves, but this excess energy could wreak havoc. Rituals like those from his own world were weak and could fizzle without warning. One would be lucky, however, if a spell of this magnitude simply exploded. It needed to be channeled and wound down. Zelda was trying to do that, but the pests in the weave were actively damaging her ability to do so. 

Even as the Red Maiden disappeared—using her own power to teleport her at the lurking thing’s will—Vio tried to pick up her strands and twist them into something manageable. He knew the theory, but he'd never done this. He kept hold, but the White Maiden, the last of them, vanished too quickly, and the spell threatened to burst containment entirely. 

Vio opened his eyes to meet Zelda’s gaze, and she nodded, their intentions synced over the tenuous connection. Together, they let go, directing the energy up. 

The glow from the glyphs faded entirely, and the top of the Sanctuary disintegrated, turning to dust that fell over everything like snow. 

Princess Zelda’s mouth sagged open in both relief and horror. That was the last Vio felt from her as the vine between them snapped. He vaguely felt Blue holding onto him to keep him up. The world swam, turned to sand, though he tried to pay attention. He'd never handled that much magic before. 

Green acted first, running for the Princess, with Red close behind. Vio kept an eye on the glyph as things around him solidified. He stood up straight again, trembling slightly. 

He was right to watch. Black smoke bled up from the thick glyph lines in a mockery of the glow from earlier. It twisted toward the space where the sword had been, forming a silhouette that coalesced into the shape of a person.

A boy stood there, his eyes blank, his black tunic and hero's hat trailing smoke. 

He smiled. 

Vio raised his sword, the sounds in the Sanctuary clear again as Green pulled Zelda away from her place. Blue and Red also held their swords in a ready guard. This couldn't be anything good. 

"Hello," the dark boy said. His face… Vio couldn't tell, exactly, but that face was uncanny, as if it was made of clay that hadn't solidified yet. 

"Who are you?" Blue asked, snapping. "Where did the Maidens go?" 

"They're safe. I'm—" He blinked, and his eyes took on a blue color, as natural as anything. The color, Vio noticed, was much the same as Green's. And then it darkened to Red's, brightened to Blue's, lightened to Vio's. His face seemed to clear, his features becoming sharper and more distinct. "There really are four of you, aren't there?” 

Blue ran forward with a shout, already swinging a sword that had broadened to match Blue's preference. Vio stepped once, intending to join him, but Blue's sword simply didn't touch the boy. It passed right through, leaving a misty trail that snapped easily back into the shape of a neck and shoulder.

"Can't touch me," the boy sang, stepping away lightly. His lips twisted in a smile that showed sharpened teeth. 

Although Blue kept trying, his sword kept passing through the boy, who yawned to show just how much Blue’s sword affected him. Vio narrowed his eyes, thinking instead of acting. This reminded him of the dark sort of magic. Perhaps, then, he could counter it with light. 

Vio had seen a lot of success in his training with magic. The teachers at the castle had been consistently impressed with his quick progress and his creative applications of basic spells, as well as his ability to sense the flow. It was a fairly simple matter to call a bit of magical light to his fingertips, though urging it bright enough to shine like a weapon took a bit more effort. 

When the light hit the phantom boy's skin, he pulled back with a rather satisfying snarl. He ducked away from Blue's next wild swing and bared his teeth at Vio, shielding his eyes with a hand. So light could hurt him, though it didn't seem to make him solid. Good to know. 

"Keep that up, Vio!" Red said, coming forward to help. "We can hit him now!" 

"Wait, that's not what it's—" Vio began. His frustration made the light in his palm sputter and wink out, and the boy straightened again, regaining his composure.

"Aw, stupid heroes." He smiled with a mocking twist, then fell into a scowl when he looked beyond Red coming forward to help. "No!"

Vio chanced a glance behind him to see Green guiding Zelda out of the Sanctuary, protecting her back, and missed the moment that the boy surged forward like a phantom. He passed right through Red, who cried out and dropped his sword at the shock. 

Vio stepped forward, more light ready to spill out of his skin, but was too late to stop the phantom from scooping up Red's spiraling, delicate sword with one hand and Zelda's waist with the other. 

The boy made a mock salute with the sword. "See you all at Death Mountain," he said, then more darkness seeped from the corners of the room to bleed up Zelda's pink skirt. 

That magic… Vio could feel it almost without trying. It was like a blackened iris, promising galaxies inside its soft petals. He reached out, but his fingers glanced off of the energy, touching nothing but air. He couldn't stop this. He couldn't do anything. As much as he still resented the princess and her actions that removed his agency, he liked this place, and he liked her. He didn't want to not try at all. 

"Princess!" Blue yelled. 

Green's sword slashed through the tip of the boy's curling hat, not quite in danger of hitting Zelda, but not doing any damage anyway. "Zelda!" 

Zelda herself clawed at the arm holding her hostage, enraged more and more by the second as the darkness covered her. One of her gloved hands reached for Green, the nearest of them. 

"This is your beginning—" she got out, before the darkness swallowed her and the boy whole. 

The Sanctuary rang with silence. 

"She's—gone?" Red said, halting. "It's—He took my sword."

Blue swore and looked like he wanted to throw his own sword across the room. His fingers worked around it. "And we couldn't even do anything. What good is a magic sword, huh? It couldn't touch that—that thing! Was that Vaati?" 

"No." The coldness and steadiness of Vio's voice almost surprised himself. "Vaati is, by most accounts, a large monster with wings, tentacles, and a large red eye. That boy had blue eyes, like all of us. He was not exactly surprised to see that there were four of us, and he took the Maidens, the Princess, and a magical sword. I imagine that was his goal in the first place."

"It doesn't really matter what his goal was." Green inspected his sword, which had become narrower but not lost any weight. He ran his hand down the blade. "He has Princess Zelda, and is clearly an enemy. We're Heroes. This is what we need to do."

Red hugged himself, biting his cheek. "We aren't ready."

"That doesn't matter, either," Blue said. He sighed. "Do what we gotta do. Let's get out of here before something else happens. It's cold.”

Chapter Text

19th of Spring, 1332?

"So we need to gather energy from using the swords," Green said thoughtfully, inspecting the way that his blade had gone iridescent, light playing off of it in rainbows as if it had been coated in lime-colored oil. 

He didn't know if it was luck that the first town they'd encountered had Vaati-related problems, or if the Vaati-related problems happened because they had visited. Either way, the four of them had faced their first trial as a team of heroes, and they came out stronger for it. He thought. He hoped. 

"Seems to be," Blue agreed. He pointed his broad sword at Green with a cocky smirk. "Fight with me."

"Don't hurt yourselves!" Red sat near the campfire, portioning out the food that the villagers had given to them and sold to them. Green had suggested that they each carry some of it, just in case. He didn't want all their food to disappear if one backpack got caught by a monster's claws. They'd lost Blue's winter cloak that way already. He wore long sleeves, but that wasn't quite enough against some of these nights, even in the balmier weather outside the war zone. 

Vio sat against a tree, reading one of the books he'd traded for with a villager. He turned a page and didn't look up. "Let them wear each other out. Maybe they'll actually sleep tonight."

Green nodded at Blue and tossed aside the ill-fitting scabbard he'd found for his own sword. 

"That nightmare of a Wonderland is going to be giving me bad dreams for a while, I don't know if I'll sleep," he told Vio as he and Blue kicked rocks to make a sufficient sparring ring. 

"All the more reason to wear yourself out," Vio said. His own sword rested under the raised crook of his knees, shorter than Green's, but wider, too. Red's, of course, was missing. Green had barely caught a glimpse of it. "We don't know what's next."

Blue stood on one side of the circle. "I do. Vaati. Go right for the head. We should go back to the blizzard.”

"We're going to Death Mountain," Green argued, nodding to the side where he could barely see the tip of the volcano past the trees. "That's where the shadow said he'd be. With Zelda." He took his stance. 

"If we kill Vaati first, everything else will be weaker," Blue said. He charged forward, and Green met his sword with his own angled just right to make it slide off. Sparks flew. 

They didn't have the energy to keep arguing as they did as Vio suggested, and wore themselves out enough to hopefully avoid more nightmares about the twisted world of darkness and the hail of meteors there. 

---

25th of Spring, 1332?

The world spun end-over-end, each revolution chilling Blue to the bone. He couldn't tell where the sky should be, or where the water came from. Cool droplets soaked his hair and spotted his tunic. In an effort to avoid injury, Blue pulled his head down and covered his neck with his hands. His elbow scraped against something and stung with heat. 

Luckily, the fall ended quickly and with a distinct lack of splatter. Blue grimaced at the shock of pain that radiated from his side where he landed, but he stood up as soon as he could deal with it. He sucked a trembling breath through his teeth. 

Snow surrounded him. 

Where was the river? Hadn't they fallen over a waterfall? Blue turned in a circle, swallowing down his panicked reaction. He stood on the side of a mountain, high above the valley. Bright gray clouds approached from the distance, hopefully not heralding a snowstorm.  The mountain range stretched out to either side, and far, far below, Blue saw the castle.

Okay, so he'd fallen out of the boat and somehow teleported. Maybe the waterfall was magical. Blue wasn't fond of magic so far, it made everything so confusing. It looked like none of the other three had made it. He wrapped his arms around himself in an effort to keep warm. 

Warm er. 

"Red!" Blue shouted into the cold wind, feeling as if his voice traveled both miles and mere inches. "Vio! Green!" 

Nobody answered. 

Blue shivered. He needed to find shelter, his winter cloak was gone and these were dangerous conditions. Once he was sure he wouldn't die of frostbite, then he could look for the others or see about making his way off this mountain. 

That patch of darkness up ahead looked promising. He trudged that way, trying to step on top of the snow rather than crunch through it. Despite his efforts, every step let snow into his boots. He was soaked. Snow caked on his eyelashes and stung his elbow. 

Bad, bad, bad. 

The cave wasn't much better, though at least it was out of the wind. The chill scraped at Blue's ears, nose, cheeks, and throat. His fingers ached, and he couldn't feel his feet anymore. It hurt when he stomped them in an effort to warm them up. 

Blue took off his backpack with curled fingers that refused to open, intending to pull out the gas lamp he kept there, but a clatter from further inside the cave made him hesitate. He put his backpack aside and slowly drew his sword from the scabbard strapped to his back. 

"Hello?" His voice echoed down the cave, wobbling but strong. "Is someone here?" He hoped it wasn't monsters. With careful, shivering steps, Blue inched forward, relying on the soft light from the cave's mouth to light his way. 

He stopped behind a large stalagmite, squinting into the oppressive darkness. Something beyond glinted—water? Ice? Eyes? He pointed his sword that way, ready to fight. 

"Gha jiffiken!" An unfamiliar voice in an unfamiliar language screeched out, echoing much the same way Blue's had. This voice reeked of power and snow. 

Freezing wind, colder even than outside, burst from the back of the cave like a blizzard, so immediate and intense that Blue couldn't do anything but lift his shoulders and turn his head to try and protect his face. 

And then he couldn't move at all. Darkness pressed in on his vision until it took him over entirely, muscles locked. 

---

25th of Spring, 1332?

When the boat fell down the waterfall, Red's stomach rose into his throat. For one heart-stopping moment, he hung in the air, an immeasurably terrifying drop into a lake below him. The canoe tipped. He sucked a breath into his emptied lungs, ready to scream. 

His fall crested, and—

Red landed on tough, grassy ground. He tried to control his roll, but he hadn't expected landing so soon, much less on something solid. He banged and crashed like a rag doll. 

When things settled around him, Red took a moment to breathe, his mouth open in a scream that had never emerged. He whined instead, his breath catching, but stayed still to catalog his injuries. Scrapes, dirt, grass, potentially something sprained or fractured in his shoulder. He hurt, but he didn't think he was injured too much to move. 

With a hiss, Red uncurled and sat up. His shoulder twinged, which didn't really bode well. He was alone in the middle of darkened woods. No river. No friends. 

Well… at least he had his backpack. He still didn't have his magic sword, which totally didn't make him feel useless, not at all , but he did have the normal sword he'd trained with. 

He didn't need it right now, though. Red got to his feet slowly and frowned. The trees broke not far away, and the evening glowed bright out there with—

Fire. Too much of it. 

Red ran toward the town, toward the house that burned. Flames crackled in the windows, and black smoke billowed up from the roof. He wasn't a firefighter, but he had served some time as an EMT, back in the modern world, and had seen several house fires. This one hadn't been burning for long, and he heard someone screaming. 

He wove down the dirt road and hopped a short fence, then shoved past villagers standing around in a panic, perhaps twenty of them. "Excuse me. Excuse me! Let me through—I'm a healer, is anyone hurt? Who's screaming?" 

"The house was abandoned," someone said to him, a woman twisting her hands in her apron. "But I don't know how the fire started!" 

"That kid's inside!" a teenage boy shouted out. "He started it, I saw! The one kid what hangs around the blacksmith!" 

Red felt his blood drain down to his feet in horror. "There's a kid inside?" He looked up. 

There was a kid inside, one arm waving out a window as he shouted. He didn't have a way to climb down, and the fire only burned hotter. Nobody would be getting there from inside. 

The woman with the apron exchanged a look with another villager, and Red saw all he needed to in that look. 

He scowled. "It doesn't matter if you know the kid or not, or even if he started it, we do our best to save him. I'm a hero, and beyond that, I'm a healer, and we need to prioritize life."

"What can we even do?" the teenager asked, and a few other villagers echoed the sentiment. 

Red unhooked his winter cloak and swung it off his back. He pointed at a few of the teenagers. "You four surround the house, make sure the fire doesn't spread. You, you, and you"—he pointed at three of the biggest villagers immediately nearby—"help me hold this out so he can jump safely.”

These situations always felt like they lasted hours, but it only took perhaps half a minute for Red to convince the kid to jump, to catch him in the cloak, and to push away as a support structure in the house collapsed. Sparks joined the stars far above. The kid trembled in Red’s arms, tangled in his cloak. 

Red took a deep breath, and let someone else take over for a few minutes, grappling with his own shock. He took water from his backpack and sipped at it as the town returned to its evening activities. Someone gave him some beer and a warmer place to sit while things wound down, the fire burning down and doused until all that was left of the abandoned house was a pile of wet wood and ash.

Once the kid that Red helped to save had been fed, washed, and given a place to stay at one of the village family's homes, Red crouched down next to him amid all the adults dealing with the repercussions of the unexpected fire. 

"Hey," he said. 

The kid glared at him. 

"Hi," Red tried again. "I'm glad you're okay. Were you hurt at all?" 

Suspiciously, eyes narrowed, the kid shook his head. 

"Good. That's good. I like your hat."

The kid pulled his knit hat further over his ears, hunched a little, and finally spoke. "Thanks. Mom made it."

"Where is she?" Red asked carefully. 

"...not here." 

That could mean any number of things. Hopefully, the villagers would be able to figure out where this kid came from and what he needed. Red just wanted to make sure that he was okay for now, because he had other things to worry about, as much as he wished he could stay. 

"It's a good thing that nobody was hurt today," Red said. "But I've seen a couple other big fires like that, and people are often hurt. So next time you want a fire, maybe do it in the fireplace where an adult can watch? They know things about setting fires that can keep it from hurting people."

The kid eyed him. Then his lip stuck out, and tears filled his eyes. "I didn't mean to. It was an accident." 

"I know." Red reached a hand out, and when the kid didn't push him away, Red patted his shoulder. 

The kid sniffed, wiped his nose on his sleeve, and reached under his baggy sweater. He pulled out a shining metal rod topped with a cut ruby, perhaps a foot long. "I don't want this anymore."

Red's eyes widened. That looked like a fire rod, a rather rare kind of wand. Even the royal military only had perhaps three of these. "Where did you get that?" 

"I didn't steal it!" 

"I don't think you did," Red said quickly. "Where did you find it?" 

The kid offered it out. "Some guy gave it to me. He kinda looked like you, but meaner."

Red hesitated, but took the fire rod. The magic sang beneath his fingers. "Like a meaner me?" That could have been the phantom, the shadow. Could this be his fault, indirectly? 

"Yeah, he told me to have fun with it. But that wasn't… that wasn't very fun." 

"I can imagine that it wasn't. Thank you for this. Hey, do you know which way Death Mountain is?" 

---

25th of Spring, 1332?

Green fell in a spray of water and landed in a spray of sand. He rolled a little distance, but the sand absorbed a lot of the impact. He pushed himself up the moment he could, staring wide-eyed at the sinking sun. 

He had definitely just been in a boat with the other three heroes. And now he was in a desert, mountains visible in the faded distance and dust in the air. It felt like an oven here. 

What?

Green swore and got to his feet, brushing sand from his hair and removing his winter cloak. The day had begun to cool, but he still felt his back and neck turn damp with sweat. 

"Red?" he called. "Blue? Vio? Anyone?" 

The wind whistling and tossing particles of sand was the only answer he got. 

Okay, so he'd been teleported somewhere very far away from where he wanted to go. A year ago, Green would have been panicking. Now he just sighed in resignation, shaded his eyes against the sun, and started off in the direction of the mountains. He could survive a day or two in the desert, probably, provided he rationed the water he had in his pack, and ideally found somewhere to refill it. 

He wouldn't give up, at the very least. He didn't know what or who had shoved him all the way out here, but he still had a princess to save. 

Despite Green's grand aspirations, not even an hour passed before he lost his balance on the sand. It kept shifting beneath his feet, sucking on his boots and making it so difficult to walk. He fell backwards, the cloak over his arm wrapping around him as he tried to keep his balance. That just made it worse, and he landed hard.  

Something beneath him clicked, reverberating up through the sand. 

"Uh oh," Green said to nobody, and then he fell again, this time into cold darkness. "Aah!"

Sand filled the air, and Green brought the cloak in his hands up to his face to try and keep it clean. He landed on firmer sand, definitely bruising something. Ugh. When the sand mostly settled, Green peeked up around his cloak. 

Daylight filtered in from above, getting dimmer by the moment, and lit up the cut stone blocks that formed the passage around him. Something close rumbled loudly, like machinery grinding, and a shadow fell across the opening that Green had fallen through. More sand fell through, maybe enough that he could climb out of here on it. He rose to his feet and looked up through the hole—a pyramid now rose above the desert floor. 

As it turned out, the pile of sand was not high enough or stable enough to climb out on. He couldn't see anything solid to attach a rope to up there. At least the space down here was out of the direct, punishing sunlight, a welcome change. Green lit his gas lamp and hesitantly started down one the cold, dark hallway, taking left turns every time he came to an intersection. 

This place made him think about all the stories of heroes he'd heard as a kid. He remembered one storybook about the Princess of Twilight in particular, where the hero had delved into a dungeon much like this one. Green hoped he wouldn't find anything undead down here. It was creepy enough with carvings and chains on the walls. 

Dungeons, however, were the keys to adventure, everyone knew that. Heroes had to defeat monsters inside dungeons, get keys, and find artifacts that would help them along their journeys. So that's what he had to do: solve this puzzle, fight the monsters, and get the thing.

Easy. 

The monsters that filled this place, uncomfortably Hylian-shaped, weren't hard to defeat, once Green knew the trick, that they needed to be caught in a burst of fire before becoming vulnerable. It took a while to figure out, though. The claws of those things were sharp. 

Green got the hang of reading the symbols on the wall to know where to go next, and while the whole "collect the key" thing was annoying, he got there. He just wished the monsters wouldn't respawn so quickly. 

The last monster, the penultimate challenge, looked like his grandpa, if his grandpa were an evil ghost with fangs and a terrifying power to teleport. 

By the end of it, Green climbed back out into the welcome hot sun, trembling. Had that really taken all night? He held an old, chipped ocarina in one hand and carried his magic sword in the other. His winter cloak hung ragged from his shoulders, though most of his cuts had stopped bleeding with a bit of pressure, time, and ointment.

The portal to the dungeon behind him slid closed with another rumble, and the pyramid sank back into the sand as if it had never been there. 

Green took a deep breath. He needed to find the others, so he'd start at the beginning. 

It took him a few tries to get the ocarina to work again, but eventually, a few shrill notes hissed out, a specific pattern he'd learned by necessity during the night. It was less of a song and more of a spell—he wouldn't be winning any competitions with how broken the notes sounded. Green squeezed his eyes shut as the world deconstructed down into nothing around him, then reformed into a forest with a river and a waterfall crashing below. 

---

25th of Spring, 1332?

Vio mentally added "deku scrubs chanting about Ganon" to the list of things that unnerved him. 

He'd wasted too much time trying to talk to those things. They were barely intelligent enough to speak, and couldn't understand his questions beyond key words. At least he knew what direction Death Mountain was, now. To think, he wanted to go to a volcano and was actively going there. 

Well, that was what it meant to be a hero: to do things you didn't want to do because you knew they needed to be done. And he would do what needed to be done. He still wished that he'd gotten a choice whether to come here or not, but if he was here, he might as well make the most of it. 

Vio held his sword out in front of him and walked down the path that twisted between trees, wary of every dark shadow out of the moonlight's reach. He thought could hear someone following him, footsteps crunching on the dirt, though every time he turned to look, he just saw darkness and waving weeds. It put him on edge. First he'd gone over a waterfall thanks to the others not getting along or listening to him, and then he'd found himself in a strange forest with little talking plant creatures. That didn't exactly inspire confidence in his surroundings. 

The footsteps behind him got louder, and Vio's neck prickled. He waited for a moment, until the footsteps approached, then whipped around. The point of his sword stopped an inch away from the neck of the phantom who'd kidnapped Zelda, whose eyebrows shot up. 

Vio narrowed his eyes, sword steady. This boy again. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, hello to you, too," the shadow said with a smile, unconcerned. He'd been untouchable, that first time. But Vio knew how to charge his sword up now. He had a feeling that would change the game. 

"Who are you?" Vio didn't move. He held his free hand to the side, prepared to summon more magical light if necessary. 

"I guess I can answer that one. I'm the Shadow of the Hero, so you can call me Shadow." He started to walk, circling Vio, who kept the sword trained on him, turning. "There was only supposed to be one of you, but I'm not too mad about there being four. It means I don't have to try to be a perfect reflection of any one person. Can you tell?" 

Vio watched the Shadow's face, noticing how the shape of his eyes recalled Green's, the angle of his nose looked like Blue's, the smiling mouth was like Red's with a hint of Vio in the chin. Despite some individual similarities, Shadow's was a new face. He was something— someone —else.

"You're our… evil reflection," he said incredulously. 

"Oh, yes. I am. That's me. But, Purple Link, I have to admit that I've been taking a lot of cues from you in particular, in the time I've been watching you."

"Cues from me?" 

"You aren't like the others," Shadow said, and that was true. "They think you need to be stronger, maybe less smart. They don't like it when you make them feel dumb, which clearly isn't very hard."

Shadow kept pacing in a circle, talking with his hands and his expressive, curling hat, and Vio kept moving with him, curious. 

"That one monster camp with the two big hinoxes would've gone so much better if they'd just listened to you and actually followed  your plan. And that point you made about magic education the other day? Even the Princess doesn't listen to you, does she?” 

…that was also true. Vio kept quiet, eyes fixed on Shadow. He could see what Shadow was trying to do, so he began to think. He could use this, if he could figure out how to press Shadow's buttons while Shadow thought he was pressing Vio's buttons. 

"You know what?" When Shadow stopped, he used one finger to push Vio's sword aside. Vio let him, briefly enthralled by the way the moonlight cut a silvery path across Shadow’s dark, dark eyes, only discernible as blue because of the direct light. "I'd listen to you. I know you're smart. Come on, you'd have so much more freedom with me."

"You mean with Vaati," Vio said. 

Shadow snorted. He stepped in closer. "Sure, with Vaati, for a bit, but I don't plan on letting him lead forever."

"You mean you'd like me to join with you, help push Vaati away, and rule Hyrule? Ourselves?" Vio asked. "Properly?" 

"That's exactly what I mean. You and me, together. We don't need anyone else. We can be friends." Shadow held out his hand. "We're so similar, both of us held back by people who think they should be in charge. What do you say?"

Vio hesitated. His goal was to find Princess Zelda, reunite with the heroes, and eventually get back home. But… maybe, in the meantime, he could get some good information. An “evil reflection” had to have something interesting happening with his magic, and… there was a hint. A possibility. The vaguest, tiniest hope that… Maybe Shadow could be…

Well. He needed more information. That was that. 

He took Shadow's hand, a private thrill spiraling up through his sternum, and the feeling of teleportation tugged at his skin again. 

Chapter Text

26th of Spring, 1332?

Red somehow got very, very turned around. He wasn't sure what path he'd taken, but instead of a volcano, he'd found a very snowy, very cold mountain. He wrapped his thick cloak tighter around himself and considered just turning around. Of course, turning around had gotten him up here in the first place. Maybe if he turned around again…? That didn't make any sense.

A particularly chill wind skittered across Red's face, and he hunched his shoulders, fire rod in hand. It gave off some heat and light, but he wasn't prepared for a jaunt across the snowy mountains. He really just needed a path down, and then he could make it to Death Mountain. That's where they had been going. That's where everyone would be. 

Red all but stumbled into the cave. He blinked the snow from his eyelashes, surprised to see that his boots scuffed on stone now, rather than sinking into even more snow. If he didn't know better, he would say that something was teleporting him around. Well… something definitely had, back at the river, but he wasn't sure if this was the same thing. 

Maybe it was a good idea to take a bit of a break. Red stepped forward, looking around the cave floor for somewhere to sit, maybe a pit to throw some fire around. He had a log or two in his bag to burn, he'd made sure to grab them after leaving the village this morning. 

That was a familiar backpack on the ground, canvas and worn on the corners, with the ties pulled out of their very particular knots. Blue's.

Red jerked his head upward. "Blue?" he called. "Blue!" 

He didn't get an answer, so he kept advancing. The light was dim, but… a shape rose ahead of him, not quite a stalagmite. The closer Red got, the lighter his stomach felt, until it was pressing up on his heart and lungs. He almost couldn't breathe, his eyes wide and nausea threatening to distract him. 

"...Blue?" Red reached out, his fingers brushing nothing but cold. 

Facing the back of the cave, sword extended, face twisted—Blue had been encased in ice. It looked like it had been done quickly, which was good. Cryogenics wasn't proven for human use, but in a land of magic… he'd be okay. He had to be. 

When a crackling voice began some sort of incantation, echoing from back in the cave, Red startled enough that the fire rod went off. A ball of bright flame engulfed his surroundings in orange light, and it bounced back into the cave. Whatever had spoken choked and fell with a clatter, and when Red ran to check, fire rod at the ready, he only found a puddle of water and bones. 

Creepy. 

Red turned back to the Blue statue, weighing the fire rod in his hand. He had the capability to save his friend. He just had to get through his fear of messing up and do what he could. Luckily, he'd been trained for this. Well, not literally this, but for acting despite his fear or personal shortcomings. Any vaguely helpful action at all was better than staying silent and still, even if it just ended up being for Red’s own mental health. He wouldn't be able to cope with knowing he could have tried but didn't. 

So he set his hand on the ice over Blue’s shoulder and decided. 

"Blue," Red began tightly, as if Blue could hear him, "I'm going to try to melt you out. It'll probably work, but it might not. I really don't know. I hope it does. So, um. Prepare yourself." 

With both hands, Red held the fire rod out in front of him. He'd been experimenting, and he knew how to use it—mostly. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and turned on the fire. 

Carefully , he told himself. He leashed the fire rod's power, pulling it back like it was an eager, leaping dog. He did his absolute best to melt the ice without burning Blue underneath it all. 

It took effort and a long time, but eventually, Blue fell. Red caught him, and settled them both on the ground, beneath the steamy clouds that gathered in the stalactites above them. He pulled Blue's wet clothes off and wrapped his own winter cloak around him, deciding to treat this like hypothermia and frostbite. If Blue only had hypothermia, Red would convert to the Church of the Triforce. 

Blue's lips had turned, well, blue. Red had two gas lamps, so he lit them both. They didn't give off much heat, but the small, single-log fire he started was much better. With Blue wrapped up as much as possible and a safe distance from the fire, Red spread out Blue's clothes, then used the fire rod to dry them. His tunic only got a little singed, so Red counted it as a win. 

He sat down to hold onto Blue and try to keep him a little warmer. Blue shivered, which was a good sign. He was alive, if not conscious yet. Alive was all Red dared hope for. 

Red settled down, Blue’s head against his chest. He really hoped that Green and Vio were okay. If they'd gotten into situations like this, too… Red chewed on his lip and watched the fire. He had one more log. That'd have to be enough. 

---

28th of Spring, 1332?

"I can try," the Yellow Maiden said, touching her cool fingers to Green's forehead. Her magic pushed into his mind, foreign but not invasive, carrying words and images. "Did that work?" 

Green inhaled slowly. He took hold of it, focusing as he would on a memory, and… "Yes. I know where they are. I think.”

"Good." The Yellow Maiden stepped back to join the Blue Maiden behind the cluttered worktable. The two of them were the only ones who had managed to free themselves, so far. They were working to help the others, and had refused every offer Green had made to help. "Go get the heroes, Green. Find our Princess, and don't lose sight of our goal.”

"Thank you. I won't." Green gave them both a short bow, then excused himself from their lab in the castle. He hurried to the room he shared with the others, depressingly empty right now, and snatched up his bag. It had only been two days, but he knew that things could go very wrong in two days. 

Green muttered to himself under his breath, making sure he remembered what the Yellow Maiden's magic had shown him. Blue and Red were together inside a cave, on a mountain to the north. Vio was at Death Mountain already, hopefully okay. Green got the vague sense that they were all alive, at least. 

He opened the window in their room, pushing aside the curtains, pictured Blue and Red's location, and lifted the old ocarina. He played a short tune, now familiar to his fingers and his lips, igniting the magic that transported him across space. 

The temperature around him dropped significantly, and Green almost dropped the ocarina, but Red's exhausted cry of surprise and relief distracted him immediately. 

---

35th of Spring, 1332?

Vio caught the eyes of his reflection in the mirror ahead, the one he'd charmed to copy the real Dark Mirror. He liked the lighting in this place. It made him look ethereal, with the warm red lava far below the balcony outside and the cool glowing gems that held the atmospheric spells in place. His own little witchlight, a glowing ball of soft yellow that he'd managed to alter to not hurt Shadow, lit his books. It was quite dramatic. 

The volcano seethed around them, a constant, comforting low rumble, rather like the ocean. Vio could get very used to this. 

"I think this will work," Vio muttered to the curled-up black cat on his lap, his right hand absently rubbing its soft ears. He scribbled a note in the book sitting on the desk in front of him, altering a word on the rune circle there. "We just have to time it right. And then we can go back to reading every day."

The black cat, Shadow, who had decided to not deal with the world tonight by shapeshifting, purred like a motor on Vio’s lap. He wasn't asleep, but it was just a matter of time. 

Vio smiled and picked up his half-full glass of chilled root beer. "Vaati won't know what hit him, will he?" 

Shadow's ear flicked in acknowledgement. 

It had just been a few days, no more than two weeks, but Vio felt like he knew Shadow very well already. He'd started out intending to manipulate him for information, but that was before Vio had discovered how much Shadow wanted to know things. As a reflection who had only been conscious for a few months, there was a lot that Shadow didn't know. He didn't get annoyed when Vio went rambly about something or other, and in return, Vio willingly offered Shadow the affection they both craved. There were no losers in their deepening relationship.

They made a good team. Shadow actually listened, and Vio quickly discovered which parts of his plans were best to leave open for Shadow's particular brand of improvisation. Their low-stakes pranks on Vaati in the snow fields went well, and Vio was sure that he could smoothly scale up their plans. 

When Vio found out about the Dark Mirror, the thing that powered both Vaati's magic and Shadow's existence, he'd been tempted to destroy it. Very tempted. He could have. He knew his goal was to free Zelda and kill Vaati, but… 

Well. 

Shadow's own ambitions aligned with one of those goals outright. Vio didn't think that working with Shadow and fulfilling his quest had to be two separate things. He could have both. 

He just had to somehow get Shadow to understand that he didn't need the power of authority, anything external, to be happy. Shadow wanted to be in charge, and yet he let Vio do the granular planning. He thought he hid it, but he desperately sought praise and approval from those above him, too. 

Even if… even if they couldn't work, Shadow could be happy. Vio was at the point now that he cared, with or without the possibility of something more. He cared a lot. 

"I've been thinking," he said to Shadow. "I don't know if I want to rule the world."

Under Vio's hand, Shadow's head rose. He meowed loudly, blue eyes staring up. 

"I know, I know. It just sounds like a lot of work. I like ordering people around as much as you do, but when I look into the future… all I want are quiet nights with books and you, not meetings about sanitation, or whatever." 

Shadow eyed him, but settled back down, his claws only slightly digging into Vio's leg. 

"What if we just let other people do all that boring work?" Vio continued, then paused. "I mean you. Not we. I don't know how long I'll be able to be here. I have to go back to my world at some point." More and more, the thought of that depressed him. 

Once again, Shadow meowed his displeasure. 

"I've been working on it, but it isn't magic so much as a cosmic force of some kind. The summoning circle doesn't even specify if the one it summons is human. I don't think there's anything I can do about it if it decides to rip me away, as much as I wish there was. I don't know if you would be able to go with me, either. You come from here. I don't."

Shadow the cat pushed Vio's hand away and started to climb up his tunic, aiming for his shoulders. His claws dug in through the fabric. 

"Ow—ow—Shadow—Din's— ow!" Vio tried to push Shadow off, but was unsuccessful. Shadow settled happily around his shoulders and meowed loudly again, this time right into Vio's ear. 

"You're lucky I like you," Vio told him flatly, but let him stay. He turned back to his books and started another rune circle, this one drawn with the intention of carving it into glass. 

---

37th of Spring, 1332?

"I'm fine," Blue insisted as Red poked at him. They sat in a corner of the garden, their patched cloaks in a heap by the stone bench, ready to be thrown on. Only the birds and a few bugs watched them from the bare winter bushes. Blue felt… peaceful, all things considered. Determined and mad as hell, but this, right here? He could let himself enjoy a bit of time sitting down with Red. 

Red frowned. "You lost two fingers and have fairly severe nerve damage."

"It's just a little spot! I don't need to feel my elbow anyway. I feel like I got off pretty easy, considering," Blue shrugged. Sure, he felt a sharp sting of loss when he let himself think about it, but they were just fingers on his non-dominant hand. He'd be okay. The spot just throbbed, even after several days in recovery with the help of magic. 

Red shook his head, but stood up. "I still don't think you're completely recovered, but we can't wait here much longer. I'm worried about Vio."

Blue stood up from the bench and grabbed Red's arm with his good hand as he tried to move away. Even he noticed the purposeful change of subject. "Red. My injuries aren't your fault."

The look Red gave him made it clear what he thought about that. 

"I'm serious," Blue insisted. They had a few minutes until Green came back with all their things, fresh bags and provisions. They'd leave soon. "You found me. You helped me. I know I haven't had as much recovery time as you wanted, but you've been here the whole time.”

Red started to wince and say something, but Blue interrupted to continue, urgency in his heart. 

“You know what you didn't do? Freeze me. It's thanks to you that I'm still alive, all right?" 

"What?" Red said with a surprised laugh, sounding sad. "It's thanks to you that I'm still alive. Those monsters on the way back…"

"Quid pro quo. We're a team, Red. Stop giving me that kicked-puppy look."

Red paused, then smiled, unshed tears glimmering in his eyes. He wrapped his arms around Blue and hugged him tight. "I'm glad you're okay," he said, muffled. 

Blue hesitated, but patted Red's back. He was warm, and Blue felt his face turning pink. Red stayed latched on until Green found them and tossed them their bags. 

"Let's go get Vio," Green said. "And if we're lucky, we'll find the Princess, too."

"We're never lucky," Blue muttered, slinging his pack on over his shoulder. 

---

38th of Spring, 1332

Green led the way into the Fire Temple, his sword unsheathed and gleaming in the low, oppressive orange light of the volcano. 

The entrance of the temple looked like the craggy maw of a cave, but the farther they walked, the more castle-like the corridors became. He was confident that there was some sort of building above them, which probably meant that this would be a fight upward. It was hot, but not as hot as it should probably have been, considering all the lava that lit up the world. 

The first large chamber the three of them emerged into was bisected by a wide river of lava, with irregular cave formations and decorative carvings ringing the walls. Green squinted through the sudden burst of smoke that rose from the river, and his grip on his sword tightened. 

"Is that—" Red began.

From the other side of the river, up on a dais and an intricately carved stone throne, next to the shadow that had kidnapped Zelda, Vio called down to them. 

"Welcome, friends," he said, his voice spreading through the cavern like ripples from a stone thrown into water, "to my kingdom of fire."

"Vio!" Green called, wary. "What are you doing?" 

The shadow laughed from his place sitting on the arm of Vio's throne. He gestured widely.  "Isn't it obvious?" 

"Shush, Shadow," Vio said, though he smirked. "They'll get the wrong idea."

Blue pulled his sword out. "Looks to me like you've betrayed us."

"No, no, no. Not at all. True, Shadow and I have joined forces, but our goals and yours are not… at odds." Vio stood up and descended to the floor of the cavern, stopping just before the river of lava. Shadow floated behind him, resting his chin and his hands on Vio's shoulder.

Green scowled, unsure what to think. Was Vio turning to the dark side? Or was there something more going on? “Our goals? As if yours are different?” 

Vio spread his hands again, dramatic. "We want you to help us to kill Vaati."

…But that was what they were going to do anyway. 

"What's he doing here?" Red asked, pointing at Shadow. "He took Zelda! Where is she?" 

The end of Shadow's hat whipped around faster, not unlike a curling cat's tail. He looked pleased. "You can have her back, safe and sound, if you're useful. I need someone to do all the boring ruling stuff when Vaati's gone and I'm in charge—it can be her. If you want."

Green met Vio's eyes. "So we help you kill Vaati… and you'll allow Zelda to resume her duties as Princess?" 

"Exactly," Vio said. He looked very, very smug. "It sounds like you can't lose, doesn't it?" 

Shadow made a sniffing noise that reminded Green of a cat. He floated down until he stood on two feet. "I'm still not convinced they can help."

"Right." Vio reached to his belt, where he had two swords buckled. He detached one, and Green heard Red suck in a breath beside him. Vio used both hands to levitate the sword over the river of lava, letting it settle safely in Red's grasp. It was his magic sword, the one Shadow had stolen.

"That is proof of our goodwill. But to prove your own dedication and capability, we've set up this temple as… an obstacle course, of sorts. Find us at the top, and we'll know you can handle our plan to defeat Vaati."

"You're testing us?!" Blue said, offended. "But we trained together! We're better than you!” 

Vio put a hand on his chest. "At some things, maybe. I know you can do it. That's why I suggested joining forces in the first place. But you have to prove yourselves to Shadow, he's the one really calling the shots."

Blue grumbled. "I don't believe this."

"Let's go wait for them," Shadow said to Vio with a humming smile. He swept his arms under Vio's knees, picking him up, and hovered. 

"Good luck," Vio said, looking right at Green. He winked. He seemed very comfortable in Shadow’s arms. "You'll need it." 

And then they were gone. 

"This… is a good thing, right?" Red said, looking down at his sword. Its blade twisted around twice in a spiral. "Shadow will be our ally, and I bet he knows how to defeat Vaati."

"Can we even trust him?" Blue asked. 

Green sighed and put his sword away. He pulled out a rope, then looked around the cave for a way to get over the river. "I guess we just have to trust that Vio knows what he's doing. How do we get up to the top?” 

---

38th of Spring, 1332?

Red made it to the room at the top of the temple ahead of the others, barely singed. He smiled widely and ran over to the desk where Vio sat, grabbing him in a tight hug around the shoulders. "Vio! I'm so, so glad you're okay! When Green said you were at Death Mountain already—Well, I'm happy you're okay. You are okay, right?” 

Vio returned his hug somewhat awkwardly. "I am. I  didn't mean to worry you."

"That's all right. So, you have a plan to kill Vaati?" Red let Vio go. He looked around the chamber, noting the books, papers, and a few dirty dishes sprinkled around. It looked like Vio had been living here during their separation. He didn't see Shadow anywhere. 

"Most of one." Vio started to clean off the desk as Blue and Green arrived. 

Blue slapped his sleeve, putting out the last flame as he walked over. "Did you have to put those flame geysers there?" he snapped at Vio. 

"Yes."

"What have you been doing this whole time?" Green asked, looking around too. "How did you even get here?" 

"I've been planning," Vio answered. "Obviously. What have you been doing?" 

"Fighting zombies and trying to figure out what our next move is."

Vio snorted. "Lucky for you, I've figured it out already. Blue, you look sick.”

Blue gave him a flat look, then held up his right hand—two fingers missing, the hand bandaged, the skin still red and swollen. “Stuff happened.”

“Oh.” Vio paused, caught just a little off-guard. His face went pale, and his lips pressed together. Red stayed close, ready to offer support if necessary. But Vio didn't need it. He pulled himself together. “Other than the fingers, are you all right? All of you?” He glanced at Red and Green, too. 

“Only Blue got hurt,” Red said in a small voice. “Frozen solid.”

Blue crossed his arms, hiding his hand with the tiniest grimace. “I’d rather it be me than you. But I am not willingly going anywhere snowy ever again.”

Red gave him a sympathetic smile, and Blue’s expression just darkened. 

“I… I understand.” Vio nodded, then stood up from his chair and pushed some papers together. “Well, my plan—wait, no, first, we have to—Shadow!” He decided, calling. “Come say hello to our new team."

Red heard a very cat-like sound from behind one of the heavy curtains by the balcony. He covered his smile as Vio sighed and went to push the curtain aside. 

"You can't hide forever, kitten. Come on." He bent down, and when he stood, he held a rather small black cat by the scruff. 

"Aww," Red said before he could help himself. The cat was just so cute, even though it snarled and glared. 

The cat's shape expanded into darkness and solidified again into a petulant Shadow, held by the back of his tunic. He slapped Vio's hand away. "Don't do that!" 

"If you're going to act like a cat, I'm going to treat you like a cat," Vio told him. He put an arm around Shadow's waist and pulled him over to where Red and the other two stood. Red watched the familiar touch with interest. Huh. "That's Green, the nice one, Red, the nicest one, and Blue, the grumpy one. You three, this is Shadow Link, the hero's dark reflection."

"You kidnapped the Princess," Blue said, arms crossed. 

Shadow sneered. "So? What are you going to do about it?" 

Red stepped between them and smiled. Vio was smart, wasn't he? "We're going to kill Vaati together, that's all. Vio, what's your plan so far?" 

---

39th of Spring, 1332?

until

67th of Spring, 1332?

Green had to admit that things were going well with Shadow on their side. Or, well, them on Shadow's side, however it worked out. Sure, the guy was a little unhinged, but he listened to Vio, and he was sweet… in his own way. That dead mouse under Green's blanket after the second day of planning still haunted his dreams. 

Shadow went ahead on the day of their plans to weaken Vaati's army's defenses with a few well-timed “pranks,” and Green led the others into the Tower of Winds. They fought their way up, and when they arrived at the very top, Shadow turned on Vaati with a properly dramatic speech. He had managed to get past the security and enchantments, so he smashed the original Dark Mirror as the four heroes distracted Vaati with arrows and blades. 

Due to Vio and Red's preparations with the mirror in the Fire Temple, this Dark Mirror was no longer Shadow's source of life, just Vaati’s. The storms whipping around the Tower died as Vaati did, the huge batlike sorcerer falling to the ground. His body shook the earth, then dissolved into dust.  

Of course that wasn't the end, though. When Vaati went down, Ganon rose. 

After another tiring, unexpected, battle, Green, Blue, Red, and Vio used the bright magic inside their swords, combined with power from a recently returned Princess Zelda, to remove Ganon from the picture once and for all. It was both harder and easier than Green had anticipated. Well, maybe he should say that it was just as difficult as he'd thought, but the simplicity of the plan was relieving. The light made things simple. Really, he was just glad that they'd all gotten out of it alive and… relatively unharmed. They'd have scars, but none of them were maimed. Thank the Triforce. 

"Heroes," Princess Zelda said. With her dress torn, hair tangled, and tears and ash streaked across her face, she looked less like a noble princess and more like a normal Hylian. "You've done it. Hyrule— I cannot thank you enough."

Green supported her on one side, holding her elbow. He knew he smeared more soot on her silk gloves, but he couldn't care. "No. Thank you . That wouldn't have worked without you, and we wouldn't be here at all if it weren't for you. And I think I speak for us all when I say that we're glad to have come.”

She smiled back at him, tired. 

"Does this mean we're leaving?" Red asked, his voice small. He stood off to the side, holding his sword in one hand and the fire rod in another. "The bad guy is dead. Hyrule's saved. Isn't that the end?"

Green's smile slid off his face. He wasn't ready to leave. "We leave when we're finished."

"And we aren't gone. Which means," Vio said, standing with Shadow's help, "that something isn't finished."

"The army." Blue looked down over the side of the Tower. "All those monsters. We aren't finished because the war is still happening."

"I can stop it," Shadow said. He hesitated, looking at Vio. "But does that mean you'll be gone?" 

Zelda leaned in to whisper to Green. "Isn't that a monster?" 

"No, that's Shadow. He's our friend now," Green whispered back. "He doesn't quite get how to be a person, but we're working on it."

Vio and Shadow held a short conversation, ending in Shadow giving Vio a clinging hug, though he avoided the long cuts on Vio's arm. Green watched as Shadow made his way over to them. 

"Your Highness," Shadow said through gritted teeth. He didn't exactly look up at her, and he definitely didn't bow. He crossed his arms stiffly. 

"Shadow," Zelda replied, her tone hesitant but warm. "You took me hostage, and yet—you helped the heroes save Hyrule. Why the change of heart?" 

Shadow scowled. " They helped me. I always wanted to kill Vaati, but I figured out that I couldn't do it alone. Look, what's left of Vaati's army will listen to me, probably. I planned on taking them and conquering the rest of Hyrule myself, but… Vio's right, it sounds really boring and like a lot of work. You can do it."

Green could see Zelda bite her cheek to stop herself from smiling. Instead, she nodded gracefully. "Thank you. The Kingdom of Hyrule shall hail you as a hero."

"Good," Shadow said. "Because I am. You couldn't have done it without me."

"Nope," Green agreed, smiling. 

"We're glad you're here!" Red lunged up to throw his arms around Shadow—they'd all been a little surprised to realize that Shadow adored that kind of physical affection, most of the time. This was one of those times. Shadow looked up at them, and smiled. 

---

68th of Spring, 1332?

until

66th of Summer, 1336?

The ritual that summoned a hero was supposed to send them back right at the end of the adventure, but a lot of time passed… and they didn't go. 

Shadow spent the first few weeks terrified that Vio and the others would just disappear. He clung to Vio every night, unwilling to be separated then, and made sure they saw each other as much as possible during the day. As the Kingdom of Hyrule recovered from the war, the four— five —heroes had a lot on their plates, and Shadow was happy with the work, if on edge. 

Eventually, the weeks turned to months, and Shadow calmed down. If his friends hadn't disappeared when the war stopped, when the Hylian army finally went home, or when Zelda reunited the Maidens, then perhaps they never would. 

Vio remained at the castle, doing a lot of theoretical magic work and studying history. Green worked with Captain Marks to reinforce the kingdom’s defenses and led groups of soldiers and the heroes on missions to root out more monster cells. Red and Blue traveled together, seeing a lot of Hyrule and helping people. Shadow joined them sometimes for the fun of it, but for the most part, he found that he enjoyed following Zelda around after she became Queen, learning about what she did and being glad that he didn't have to do it. 

She eventually got him to help with some paperwork. He didn't mind nearly as much as he thought he would, especially when she gave him a title and the ability to boss around a few of the obnoxious cabinet members. 

The weeks turned to years. 

Giving into encouragement and pressure, Green finally asked Zelda out, and after a little while, they began to officially court. He scared them all when he returned after a bandit hunt with crimson-stained bandages wrapped around half his head, but with Red helping and the expertise of the castle physicians, Green adjusted to the loss of one eye. Shadow thought the patch made him look rather distinguished, actually, an impression that only deepened when Green decided to grow a short blond beard. He grew taller, broader, and sharper. 

After returning from their tour of Hyrule, Red settled into the cabal of mages employed by the crown, though he took frequent trips around the country. He took an unofficial apprentice—a kid Shadow didn't quite recognize—and worked on mastering his own healing magic. Red remained kind and optimistic, and somehow got roped into teaching entry-level courses about medicine at the university. 

Blue never settled on anything. He spent some time doing sport combat, rescue operations, and blacksmithing. He worked for a time at a cattle ranch, which Shadow liked, because Blue learned to cook meat really well. He got bigger than Green, always doing something physical. He seemed happy, helping people in whatever way he could. 

Shadow and Zelda gossiped a lot about Red and Blue—they clearly liked each other, but they needed time to grow into being their own people. The tension got unbearable sometimes, though, those casual nights when the six of them were in the same place, whether it was at the castle, Vio and Shadow's rooms at the university, or wherever Blue had decided to live for the year. Shadow wanted to lock the two of them in a closet or something.

Of course, he couldn't talk too much. He'd taken a while to realize that he liked Vio that way. But he’d realized it, and things couldn't be better between them, much to the chagrin of everyone else. But that first kiss… and all the ones after that… Well. Shadow could never say no. 

As the years stretched on, Vio got sucked into bigger and bigger libraries, eventually winding up teaching magic theory classes. Shadow liked to tease that Vio grew a link on his braid for every degree he earned at the university—four or five by now. 

"Vi-i," Shadow sang, sauntering into the office to see Vio scowling at an open book in his hands, glasses on his nose. Vio didn't react. "You're late for class. Your students are getting antsy."

"They can wait," Vio muttered. He turned a page and wrote something down. 

"If you make them wait too long, they'll leave. You made that rule." 

"Then I hope they make the best of their unexpected study hour."

Shadow smiled, then rounded the desk. He moved Vio's elbow aside and perched himself on the arm of Vio's chair, draping over the back until his head rested on Vio's shoulder and he could see the pages of the book. "What did you find?" 

Vio brought the book a little closer. "Gerudo oral poetry. This stuff is fascinating. They don't use the typical Hylian modes or metaphors at all. Like this line, about the water in the desert, is quite innocent to Hylians, but it really means romantic connection, and that flower… perhaps a hint of sexuality, as well. No, it's definitely there. 

"You know, I used to study at a school in the Gerudo Desert, before all of this, partly because they gave me the best scholarship, and partly because I was hoping I'd get to visit some historical sites. Never did.”

"Hmm. I don't read that language, but it's pretty. Like you." Shadow kissed Vio's cheek. "Are you really not planning to go teach this class?” 

"I should…" Vio said with a distracted tone. "I'll be there soon."

"Excellent." Shadow tugged at Vio's braid one more time and stood up. "I'll go start the lecture."

"You don't know anything about light magic physics, idiot."

"Who said I'd talk about that? See you soon." Shadow smiled, blew a kiss at Vio, and left the office. He flew down the hallways of the university, a few different plans for class rolling through his head. How could he cause the most chaos for Vio when he arrived— if he arrived? 

Shadow grinned to himself as the perfect plan occurred to him. He shoved into the lecture room and took a spot hovering over the instructor's desk. The students quieted a little at his arrival. 

"Looks like Professor Van Tonder is distracted with spicy Gerudo poetry," he said, to snickering from the students. "He might show up. So you're free to go, unless you want to stick around. For anyone who does, I'll be answering questions."

A few students put their things away to leave, but the majority hesitated, unsure. One girl raised her hand. "What kind of questions?" 

"Anything you want," Shadow said, then paused. "I reserve the right to turn questions down. So? Anyone?" 

The students muttered for a minute, and then someone else raised a hand. "Are you and Professor Van Tonder together?" 

Shadow pointed. "Yes, very much, I didn't realize you didn't know that. We are disgustingly in love. Next question."

"Were you really evil?" someone called. 

"Yep, and I still am."

"Favorite color!" 

"Purple. Duh.”

"What are you?" 

"That's rude, but I do not know."

"Sex life?" 

"I just told you that Van Tonder and I are licentiously in love, and no, I will not elaborate."

“Did he teach you that word?” 

“Oh yeah. Of course.”

Shadow spent the rest of the hour and a half of class telling his side of the quest story, digging into his memory to recall events from five years ago as accurately as he could. He embellished just a little, to make it a good story, recalling wording from Vio's journal. The students ate it up, and laughed when he told jokes. 

Despite Shadow's announcement, he did get a little concerned when Vio didn't show up by the end of class. As soon as the bell rang, he finished up with the last question about Zelda, then flew out the window to take the most direct route right back to Vio's office. 

Vio's empty office. Okay, well. That wasn't entirely unexpected. 

He might've gone to the bathroom, but when Shadow checked, it was bereft of cute blond teachers.

Or the dining hall. Nope, no Vio. 

Or the library? No. He wasn't even in the alcoves he liked to hide in. 

Their rooms? Vio's old journal waited on the nightstand, and the kettle on the stove was cold. 

Back to the castle? The guards hadn't seen him. 

Zelda's office? She'd sent Green out on a mission that morning and no, hadn't seen him. 

Reports trickled in: Vio was absent from every class. Red’s apprentice hadn't seen him since lunch. Blue didn't show up to his boxing match. Green never returned from that mission. 

It took two days for Shadow to accept the fact that they were just… gone. And he hadn't gone with them.

Chapter Text

68th of Summer, 1331

Red gasped and fell backward, right to the ground. His eyes opened wide as he took in the… waiting room. Modern. Foreign. 

Bright lights shone down on the vinyl chairs, shiny floors, and glossy magazines. But—he hadn't been done with that writeup for June about that girl's broken leg… or that book he was writing about his adventures… He had so much left to do! He couldn't have just left! 

Apparently the universe has other plans. 

What was he doing right now? What had he been doing? Red looked around. He didn't see a single magazine with the Hyrule Castle on it. That's how he got there five years ago, right? 

Five years ago. Red had just lost five years of his life. He looked down at the blue gloves on his hands. He didn't have his muscle tone anymore. He was so skinny . He needed to start training again, but it was going to be awful. 

Well… Red stood up. He hadn't really decided if he wanted to keep his nursing job or not. He kind of thought he might not ever have to decide. He might as well finish this shift out and see if he could talk to Blue about it—

Blue. Link… Link O… something. Odell. Right! 

Red was so relieved he knew that last name. If he'd lost Blue… He started to clean up, trying to think past his haze and scheme up ways to get home soon to text. 

Red's hands shook as he went through the motions. He'd lost so much: friends, magic, his weapons. All he had was a life and a body that didn't really feel like his, and hopefully he had Blue, too. He'd make the best of it, of course, but…  

He desperately wished for a way home. 

---

68th of Summer, 1331

Once Blue had gotten over standing in a modern kitchen when he'd been getting ready to head back to the castle, he leaned his hands on the countertop and swore. Loudly. 

The echo on the tiled backsplash made him feel a little better. 

He'd dropped his coffee. It was surreal to go calmly to the cupboard, pull out a towel, and soak up the bitter-smelling mess. It was still warm. Five years old and still warm. Blue felt like a stranger in his own home. He had all his fingers again, and he could feel his shoulders, and his scars were gone. He was short and far too scrawny. This wasn't him. His skin crawled. 

Blue sat down at his table and pushed aside the textbooks he hadn't thought of in years. Outside, below his window, people chatted, cars rumbled past, and life moved on. He'd changed so much, and yet this hadn't. 

At least Red was in this world. Wait, he was, wasn't he? And the others? Heart in his throat, Blue fumbled for his phone. Thankfully, it unlocked on its own, because he wasn't sure he remembered the code. He somehow navigated to social media, experienced a small moment of panic in which he failed to remember Red's real last name, then it clicked and he typed it in. 

Link Flannery . Only one hit, a student up in Domain. Blue let out a long, slow breath as he opened up Red's profile. Oh Farore, he looked young in all these photos. They all probably did. 

Red had posted a single sentence less than thirty seconds ago: [having an existential crisis.]

Blue huffed a laugh and commented: [same]

It took ten seconds for Red to call him over the app, and two for Blue to remember how to answer the call. 

"Blue?" Red's voice sounded strange over the phone, especially aged backwards as it was. 

"Red," Blue said, sighing. He leaned his head on his hand and looked at the table. "Why did we come back?" 

"I'm not sure. I'm kind of in the middle of a shift at the hospital right now… but I don't remember what I was supposed to be doing. I'm hiding in a closet."

Blue snorted. "Can you go home for the day?"

"I know how to make myself look sick. I… don't know if I want to finish out this degree, now that I've done… what I've done."

"This world loves its college, huh? I don't even know. We'll have to talk about it. We really need to recalibrate, don't we?" 

"Yeah."

The line went quiet for a few moments. 

Blue closed his eyes. "We'll talk to Green and Vio, but I think we should keep all this quiet from other people for now. Get some time off work, I'll get you a train ticket up to Eldin, and we can meet here. Just to get our feet under us."

"Sounds good. I'll text you when I know."

"All right."

Neither of them hung up. 

"I want to go home," Red said quietly. 

Blue swallowed. "Me too." He didn't make any promises. He mourned the life he'd lost, but strangely, he looked forward to making the most out of this one. He'd missed his family. He should text his sister. "I'll talk to you again soon, okay? Call whenever you need me."

"You too, Blue. Stay safe. I—Stay safe. I don't want to test my healing magic here on you.”

“I will. See you soon.”

“Bye.”

---

68th of Summer, 1331

Green, after jerking back to the present day, elected to not go to his accounting class. He wouldn't be able to focus, and he didn't have his backpack anymore. He didn't care about something like accounting class. 

Instead, he caught a train that went right to Hyrule Castle. He used to keep his wallet in his jeans pocket, so he had that, at least. He had both of his eyes again, and he mourned the loss of his beard, short though it had been. 

On the ride over, Green did some investigation on the internet, though it took him a lot longer than it would have before. He pulled in a favor from one of his late grandpa's friends and managed to get the personal cell phone numbers and addresses of Blue, Red, and Vio. Apparently Red was easy to find, Blue was hard to get to, and Vio lived in a poorly documented part of the world, but all the important information pinged on Green's phone without much fuss. 

By the time Green got off at Castle Station several hours later, he had managed to call both Blue and Red. They were okay, though a bit emotional, and they had a plan to meet at Blue's apartment in several days to regroup. They'd all been in the middle of things back home, and they'd need to decide how to move forward. Green knew that he wanted to change his entire life's trajectory, at least, because a business degree was not going to cut it for him anymore. 

The spires of Hyrule Castle loomed into view as Green walked around one of the office buildings downtown, and he stopped dead, staring. He'd forgotten about the modern remodels. It seemed a terrible shame to him, now. His beautiful Hyrule Castle, all converted to glassy, impersonal offices and meeting rooms. Nobody lived there anymore, least of all his Zelda. 

He walked. He missed his horse. He missed his ocarina. He didn't miss the smell, though. 

Green headed around the castle, perhaps a block south, to a rather unremarkable mansion surrounded by a black iron fence and a large, forested yard. He stopped at the gate and pressed the intercom button. 

"Name and business?" a crackly voice asked. 

"Gr—Link… Ashmore, here to speak with Zelda. She knows me, but isn't expecting me. Tell her—" How did he explain this? "—tell her it's about the hero cycle. She might know what I mean." 

"Just a moment."

It took a minute, but the gates opened. Green scratched at his not-beard while he waited and tried to think about what he'd say. This Zelda was not his Zelda, but she was still his friend. And as Princess, she deserved to know what had happened. Princesses and heroes should be aware of each other, Green thought. 

He held his head high, recalling his training, and strode through the gates up to the house.

---

72nd of Summer, 1331

Vio knew, logically, that he should probably get up and do something other than staring at pages and screens. He just couldn't tear himself away. Every time he considered getting up to eat or sleep, he remembered that he usually waited for Shadow to come and get him—but Shadow wasn't here. That just made him want to research harder. It was a rather punishing spiral. 

He uninstalled his social media apps—once he recalled how—to stop the notifications. If he remembered correctly, he hadn't paid for phone service in several months, so he didn't get any calls or texts. He didn't have any family who cared to check up on him, and he knew that Blue, Green, and Red didn't know where he lived beyond “the desert.” 

Vio spent perhaps two or three days straight reading, testing, and attempting to summon a light to his hand. It had once been so easy, but now, he couldn't even make his skin glimmer. The magic here was nonexistent. He couldn't feel it. 

Someone knocked on his door. Vio looked up sharply, a brief wave of panic buzzing in his ears. He waved his hand to extinguish all his lights, but they were electric lights, and needed switches. He bit his lip, his heart falling again, and went still. 

Whoever it was waited a minute, then knocked again. Vio thought he'd paid rent, but it had been five years, so he may have forgotten. He didn't know who else would be knocking out there. He didn't really have any friends around here, or—

"Vio!" 

Green? 

Vio scrambled off of his chair, slipped on a blanket, and opened the door, letting Green into the dark apartment. He stared. Green was his height again, clean-shaven, looking at him with two bright eyes. He had none of his deepening worry lines or pale scars. He looked young. Vio didn't want to think that he himself had changed so much, too. He had, so far, managed to avoid his dingy bathroom mirror. This place was depressing.  

"We haven't been able to contact you," Green said, reaching forward to grip Vio's shoulder. He had to reach higher than he should have.

 "We've been worried."

"I'm fine." Vio brushed the hand off and shut the door behind Green. 

"You—" Green looked back at Vio, who did not know what he looked like. Green saw too much. He always had. "You haven't been sleeping."

Vio pushed Green's extended hand away again and crossed back to his desk. "I slept a little . I keep—I keep thinking—and waiting—" He pushed up against the edge of the desk with his hands, trying to calm his shaking. He really needed something to eat, didn't he? "I only stop reading when Shadow takes my books away. I go to sleep when he's next to me. That's how it works."

Green's clothing rustled as his weight shifted. He sighed. "What do you want me to say? He isn't here, and you running yourself into the ground isn't going to change that."

"My best breakthroughs come when I'm sleep-deprived," Vio muttered. His words carried the bite of a joke that had, once, been funny in a different context. "Helps me think creatively. I've done it before.”

“Before was when you were five years older, could pull back a forty-pound bowstring, and weren't trying to sustain yourself on this.” Green flicked over an empty can of Red Lynel. "I don't want to see you ruin yourself chasing something that might not exist.”

“It exists,” Vio hissed. “A way home exists. I have to find it.”

Green didn't answer right away. He advanced into the room and opened Vio's backpack, then pulled out the notebooks to set them neatly on the flimsy kitchen table. "We're going to rendezvous with Red and Blue at Blue's apartment in Eldin. Let's get you packed for a few days."

Vio shook his head, staring at the most recent glyph array he'd sketched up. It, like all the others, didn't even show a hint of working. "You don't get it, Green."

"I get it more than you might think." Green's words clipped short, but he kept poking through Vio's apartment, packing for him. "You aren't the only one who lost something. Or someone."

"But I am the only one who can do something about it." Vio stood up straight and slammed his notebook shut. He stacked it on top of the best books he had on the subject and took them to the table to be packed, a silent capitulation. He was going, and Green knew it. 

"It might not be possible," Green said, putting a few shirts and an extra sweater into Vio's backpack. He rolled them up nicely in an effort to squeeze as much as possible in there. 

Vio shook his head. "I'm going to make absolutely sure that it isn't before I give up."

"Will you let us make sure you eat, at least?" Green asked. 

"Whatever." Vio grabbed the last few things he needed and let Green organize them inside the bag. He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes against the dim lights and unfamiliar furniture. He just wanted to crawl into his bed, wrap his arms around Shadow's waist, and sleep for twenty hours. He wanted to feel a cat’s weight on his shoulders. He couldn't do any of those things right now, though, which made him feel sick to his stomach. 

Once Green had finished packing, he turned the lights off in Vio's apartment, handed him the backpack, and opened the door. 

Vio followed Green out of the building and down to the train station, scowling at the sunlight and his headache. 

---

73rd of Summer, 1331

Red went to meet Green and Vio at the train station while Blue finished straightening up. He greeted them both with hugs that felt just a little bit wrong, thanks to their changed physiques. Red was getting used to being nineteen again. He didn't feel like the same person at all. Link Flannery was gone, a hero and experienced healer in his place, but the world hasn't gotten the memo yet.  

"—and, you know, I'm so embarrassed, it took me fifteen minutes to figure out how to print out the train ticket," Red said, filling the space between the three of them as the elevator dinged on Blue's floor. He led the way down the hall. "I'm pretty sure I could be fired for faking sickness like that, but I'm not sure I want to stay on anyway. I’ve already been tripped up so much by this place’s lack of magic, and everything else.”

Green smiled with a tinge of something bitter. "Hopefully this era's Zelda will call me back soon. She said that she was going to do some research in the royal records. We can make better plans when we have more of an idea of what's going on here."

"Mhm," Red agreed. He pushed into Blue's nice apartment and paused. 

Blue, whose aged-dow  appearance kept surprising Red, stood in the middle of the kitchen, staring vaguely off into space in the direction of the dining table. He blinked when they entered, but didn't look over, just scowled. 

Red approached. "Blue? Is something wrong?" 

"I just remembered that the legal drinking age is twenty-one," Blue said, "and we're nineteen. We have three more years."  

"Oh." Red laughed. "I'm so sorry."

"Oh no. You're right." Vio sighed and headed inside, the door swinging closed behind him. "That sucks."

Red set his shoes evenly on the rack and plopped on the couch, tucking his socked feet under him. "Maybe you can take this time to consciously reevaluate your habits?” 

Green followed Red's lead with the shoes, but eyed him. "Did you forget abou Harvest Night last year?" 

"No," Red said, blushing as Blue laughed. "I have reevaluated my habits. Probably. For now."

"Come sit down," Green told Vio, settling in the middle of the couch next to Red. Blue took the chair, and Vio sat on the very edge of the couch, taking up as little room as he could. He always did that. 

They all sat there quietly for a long few seconds. Red felt a heavier, somber mood settle over them, like water in the air that heralded a rainstorm. The clouds around them grew heavier and darker the longer they waited in silence. 

Red looked around at everyone, feeling… strange. The sight all but punched him in the gut with nostalgia. Vio, pale with short hair and a conspicuous lack of glasses; Green, scrawny, bare-faced and uninjured; Blue, still broad but lacking the muscle tone he preferred. This felt all too similar to the first time they'd been in their first room at the castle together. 

Green sighed, stirring the metaphorical wind. "I think we're back now because the thirty-second regiment took care of a monster camp recently. Well, recently according to our perception. I'm willing to bet that it was the last camp of monsters that came into Hyrule thanks to Vaati. That might count as ‘finishing the job.’ I didn't know it might, and I wasn't thinking about that when I sent them, or else I would've warned you. Or…”—he took another breath—“not sent them at all."

Red shook his head, hearing what Green wasn't saying. "It isn't your fault. You couldn't have known."

"We were there way longer than we thought we would be," Blue added. "I guess I just… stopped thinking about coming back here. Ever.”

"And that's when it got us." Vio crossed his arms. "I think the universe likes playing jokes on us. This one went too far."

Green started to wince in agreement. "So what information do you have for us?" he asked Vio. "We don't expect you to have answers, but… care to give us a recap?" 

Vio shrugged, but reached into his backpack and retrieved a notebook. The modern yellow plastic cover and spiral threw Red off. So much had, lately. He needed to get used to it. 

"The hero cycle," Vio began, adopting his lecture voice, which sounded just a little more shrill than Red remembered, "is a recorded phenomena in which a member of the Hylian royal family encounters major trouble—historically involving a reincarnating villain named Ganon—and summons a hero from the future or the past, who returns to their own life after their work is complete, which has typically been less than a year after the villain's defeat. As we clearly know, that condition is… frustratingly vague. 

"Anyway, after I remembered how to search the Internet, I did a little more research, and not everything lines up. Theoretically, each princess—or whoever it was who summoned a hero—should match with a known hero. Many do. We know that the hero who defeated the Labrynnan version of Ganon in the early two hundreds, for example, was born eighty-one years ago, our time, and passed peacefully sometime last year. The last defeat of Ganon in this timeline occurred over a hundred years ago, and that hero said she came from the distant future. 

"The identities of heroes are well-protected in many cases, but there are simply not enough to account for all the royals claiming to have summoned one, and all the villains they supposedly defeated. While a lot of it is murky due to time and unstandardized record-keeping, I have identified two credible heroes and four princesses who do not have a match."

"They could just be lying," Blue said.

"Maybe. I did say credible, I tried to filter through the lies and misconceptions." Vio poked a name in his notebook. "The fact that there are multiple anomalies supports my original theory: we went to some sort of alternate world. There may just be ours, or there may be multiple.”

"That really hurts our chances of getting back, doesn't it?" Red said quietly. He strangled the throw pillow in his arms, but a glance up at Blue made him loosen his hold. 

"Time travel is very possible, we know that," Vio agreed, "but alternate dimensions?" He wore a careful expression of solemnity on his face, which told Red just how upset he really was. "If we're ever going to get back, it won't be soon. Even if our Zelda performs the summoning ritual again to try and find us—"

"—she will—" Green interjected. 

"—there's no guarantee it'll summon anyone, much less us."

"What I'm hearing is that we shouldn't count on ever going back." Blue sat back, crossing his arms. "I'm not saying it isn't awful, but there are worse things. We're back in the modern era, we get to see our families, and we have experience that will help us succeed. We're together again. We'll be okay."

Red bit his lip and looked out the window. He had similar feelings, but he knew that a lot of his peace came from the fact that his person was here. For the other two…

Green rubbed a hand through his hair, then covered his right eye, the one he'd lost and then regained. Red wondered how disorienting it was to have it back. "No offense, Blue, but that's easy for you to say. There are certain things I'm not upset about, like our families and electric lights and ice cream, sure, but the rest of us don't have experience that translates as well.  We need jobs, and who's going to take five years as an acting hero in a pre-industrial alternate world as adequate work experience? Not to mention—" Green lowered his hand, and it froze in the air, as if trying to grab the words he needed. "Zelda."

And wasn't that the elephant in the room. The four of them were desperate to get back to their Hyrule not necessarily for the magic, or the things they hadn't finished, but because of the people they'd left behind. Zelda. Shadow. Red's apprentice. Captain Marks. Their students. Red felt more than saw Vio hunch over a little more, a hand wrapped around his stomach as if in pain. 

Blue sighed heavily, a sound that had been far more impressive coming from a twenty-four-year-old knight than a nineteen-year-old rich kid. "I know. I know. But what do you want me to say? I'm sorry? Keep that flame burning because you'll definitely see her again? I can't do that."

"Blue's right," Red said, feeling awful inside. "It's terrible and I'm so, so sad. But what can we do except keep going?" 

“You two have no idea,” Vio choked out. He didn't move an inch from where he huddled. “You have each other. Don't pretend you don't.”

“We're not,” Red said carefully. He and Blue… had never quite figured out what they were. “But you can't give up on life because—”

“He is. My. Life.” There could be no mistaking who “he” was. Vio shook his head, still not looking at anyone. He covered his eyes and took hitching breaths. Red wanted nothing more than to reach over and comfort him, but… he didn't know if that was even possible. Vio and physical touch didn't always go well together. 

"All right." Blue leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He looked directly at Vio. "Vio, I'm prepared to sponsor you for as long as it takes to find a solution."

Red's awful feeling receded a little. "That's great!" He'd been worried about Vio, especially when Green had texted over privately that Vio's living conditions were… sparse. This took care of that entirely. 

Vio finally looked up, scowling. At least that got him out of his spiral a little. "I don't want your charity, Blue."

"It's not charity, you're working." 

"Don't lie to me. I can take care of myself."

"Stop being so stubborn—" Blue started. 

"Guys," Red interrupted. "Vio, we just care about you, okay? That's all. I was going to suggest we find a place together somewhere, but we're all so far apart…"

Vio leaned back into the couch, his arms crossed and his head turned away, clearly still emotional. "I'd take you up on that," he said quietly.

"Me too," Green added. "School… whatever. There are online classes. I'll go anywhere."

Blue snorted. "I'm clearly down."

"Good." Red smiled, hoping that his own optimism would help them feel a little better. "There, we have the beginnings of a plan, now."

A loud song began to play, guitars strumming and some man humming. Everyone jumped at the unexpected noise, and it took Green a solid five seconds to realize that the song was his ringtone. Red laughed to himself as Green blushed and pulled the phone out.

"Oh, it's Zelda."

"This Princess Zelda?" Red asked. "Why does she have your phone number?" 

"I gave it to her a long time ago," Green said, not really explaining. He waved a hand. "I stopped over on my way to Vio's to explain things to her, she said she'd do more research and get back to me."

"Answer it," Vio told him. 

Green did just that, starting the call. He turned it onto speakerphone and put the phone on the coffee table. "Hey, Zelda."

"Link!" said the voice over the small speaker, excited and rather loud. Red couldn't help feeling the smallest twinge of disappointment when it didn't sound like their Zelda. "I have good news, less-good news, bad news and worse news! Which do you want first? Well, the bad news won't make sense without the good news, so—"

"Good news," Green interrupted. "Please. Also, Zelda, you're on speaker. I have the other three here with me."

"Oh! Hello, other Links!"

"Hi," Red said, unable to stop himself from smiling as he hugged his pillow. She was enthusiastic. 

Zelda barreled right on. "The good news is, I know where you went! There are just enough records to prove the existence of a single parallel Hyrule, actually moving in tandem with ours… more or less. Time gets a little wobbly in there, if you know what I mean."

"That makes sense," Vio said. 

"It does?" Blue muttered, his arms crossed. "What does that mean?" 

Vio explained. "We didn't time travel so much as dimension hop, but we returned back to our world at the instant we left, despite five years passing over there. If we find a way back, chances are good that the same amount of time passed there as here—that is, a few days."

"Ooh, I like this Link," Zelda said over the speakerphone. She laughed. "Yep, that's good news, too! The less- good news is that I still have no idea how to get you over there."

Red hadn't expected much else, but he still felt his insides shrivel a little. He wrinkled his nose."So what's the bad news, Your Highness?" 

"Are you sitting down?" Zelda asked. Her voice sobered somewhat. "You should probably be sitting down."

"We are," Green assured her. "What is it?" 

She answered bluntly. "Ganon's here. In our time, in our world. I found out a couple days ago, so before you did your thing."

Red bit on his thumbnail as he flashed back to that moment on top of the tower, thinking that he would burn himself out channeling magic at Ganon. He had put everything he had into that blast. He still felt lucky that he'd survived, and that Ganon had not been at full power.

"You're sure?" Green asked, his eyes as wide as Blue's. 

"Pretty damn. It's, uh, privileged information, you know, but Ganon is behind the army gathering at our borders."

Blue winced. "Right. Imminent war. Forgot about that."

"So," Vio began slowly, "if Ganon is bad news, what's the worse news?" 

The Zelda on the phone took a few moments to say anything. "I tried to summon a hero yesterday, before I knew about you all. And… The ritual failed. Straight up."

"Of course it did." Green rubbed at his forehead. 

"I'm going to keep trying," Zelda told them, "but would you all be willing to… be involved? Just in case? To my knowledge, we don't have any more heroes here right now."

Red lifted his head to watch the others. Blue set his jaw, determined already. Green stood up to begin pacing, clearly making mental plans. Vio was the one Red was worried about, but he spoke first. 

"Of course we will. I don't think any of us would turn you down.” 

Vio was not the best giver of pep talks. His words nonetheless seemed to lighten the atmosphere, giving it a familiar charge of energy. They had plans. Red smiled. 

"We're all in," Green said to Zelda. 

Chapter Text

83rd of Summer, 1331

“Odell,” Blue said to the waiter who worked the reservations desk, trying to keep relatively quiet. 

To the waiter’s credit, he didn't react to the name. Even at high-end establishments like this one, Blue had found that his family name put more attention on him than he wanted. However, this young man simply smiled at him and led him through the restaurant, between tables clothed in white with decorative vases and candles on top. It smelled like a hunting lodge in here, with all the cooking meat, though without the aroma of alcohol and tobacco smoke. It wasn't quite dinnertime yet, so the place was mostly empty. 

“Here you are,” the waiter said, stopping by a table in the corner, lit by a low-hanging electric light. Blue still expected to see candles in the chandeliers. 

“Thank you.” Blue sat down as the waiter left, looked at his sister looking at her phone, and almost started to cry. Almost. She hadn't changed a bit, of course, and still wore her pale blonde hair in a high ponytail, with perfect makeup to complement the trendy style. “Melody?” 

She glanced up and gave him a smile, then paused when she saw his expression. “Hey, little blue, something wrong?” 

“Can I give you a hug?”

Melody’s eyebrows rose, but she put her phone down. “Yeah, of course.”

Blue stood, rounded the table, and leaned over to give Melody a tight, secure hug. He didn't let it go on too long, but he felt that he deserved a bit of indulgence. 

When he let her go and sat back down, she gave him an odd look. 

“Link, what's going on? You seem… different.”

Blue just had to laugh. He settled again, setting his napkin down in his lap. “Do I?”

“Yeah. You do.” Melody leaned forward on the table, her menu closed to the side. She watched Blue’s face like he was a puzzle that she couldn't figure out. 

She'd always been good at reading people. She'd learned from their mother, a well-known businesswoman who'd made the cover of Hylian Woman more than once. Their father tended to be a little more reclusive, but the Odell name still commanded respect. Melody and Blue grew up going to functions and socializing with other rich kids. By necessity, Melody had learned to navigate those social situations with ease. 

“Something happened,” she decided, still watching Blue. “Something major. I just saw you two weeks ago, and you text out of the blue again to see me? Here, of all places? It's fancier than usual.” 

Blue shrugged. “I have to be honest, it was the first place I remembered. It's been a while.”

Melody narrowed her eyes at him. “It's been less than six months since we were here, Link.” 

“Blue,” Blue corrected. “Please. It gets confusing with four Links, and I answer to Blue more often, now.” 

“Where are four Links coming in?”

“Three of my closest friends—” 

Their waiter for the afternoon approached at just the wrong time, introducing himself and giving them water glasses. After letting Melody ask for a filet—right, she always got that—Blue ordered a steak with a sauteed mushroom and onion sauce, as well as the shrimp appetizer. He almost asked for wine, but remembered at the last second that he couldn't legally have that here. 

Stupid underage drinking laws. He was twenty-five mentally. 

Older than Melody. The thought surprised him. 

“You hate mushrooms,” Melody said flatly. “What did college do to you?” 

“I grew out of it.”

“Link. Blue. Stop being vague. Give it to me straight.”

“You aren't going to believe me,” Blue said. He traced the rim of his glass, getting condensation all over his fingers. “I'll tell you straight, but you have to know that I'm not lying. And you have to keep this between us.”

Melody raised an eyebrow and waited. 

Blue sipped at his water, thinking, then nodded. After some discussion, he and the others had decided that they couldn't not tell their closest friends and family about what had happened, though none of them really had friends outside of each other. They wanted to keep this as quiet as possible, but it was unfair to keep a secret like this from family. 

“You know about the hero cycle,” Blue began, to a nod from Melody. “Two weeks ago here, three other boys and I were summoned to a different Hyrule, to be their heroes.” 

“You're kidding,” she said flatly. 

“I told you. I'm not lying. I spent five years there, and got back two weeks ago to find that no time passed here at all.”

Melody looked at Blue again, more calculating. “Five years?” 

Blue shrugged. “I missed you, believe it or not.”

“You're… not joking with me, are you?” 

“No. I don't have the scars to prove it, not anymore, but I have my memories, and my skills. I didn't know how to ride a horse into combat five years ago, but I can do it now.” 

She believed him. Blue knew that she couldn't not. Sure, he was an obnoxious little brother sometimes, but he didn't make a habit out of lying to her, and he definitely wouldn't make claims of skills he couldn't prove.

Melody sat back, thinking. She stayed quiet, staring into the distance, until the appetizer showed up, at which point she drummed her manicured nails on the tablecloth and appeared to come to a decision. When the waiter had disappeared, she leaned forward with a small smile on her face. “So, need a PR manager?” 

Blue snorted water out his nose. “What?” 

“A PR manager. If you and three others are heroes, I bet we could make a campaign out of it! Plug some charities, do storytime, interviews, you could write a book… We could make this a thing, Blue!” She smiled widely. 

“I don't think we want to do that,” Blue told her, though he smiled back. “None of us are really the attention-seeking kind, and there are some other things we have to take care of, first.”

“But, Blue,” she wheedled. “Charities!” 

He eyed her, amused. “You're just thinking of the merch and movie deals.”

“Yeah, okay, maybe. You have to admit, it would be very cool to get to be in a movie.”

“We didn't do it for clout, Mel.”

Melody waved her hand and ate more shrimp. “So, what did you do it for? Tell me the story—don’t leave anything out.”

“I'm going to leave stuff out. It's been five years, no way I'm remembering everything.”

“Okay, so highlights. Spill. What did you do? Swing a sword all day, every day?” 

Blue rolled his eyes, but pulled a small notebook from his pocket, in which he'd written out a timeline with as much detail as he could remember. “We spent the first year doing the actual adventure part of the thing—”

He told Melody about learning to fight with a sword, finding friends among the guards, and killing two major villains. He explained that it didn't end there, that they fought battles against monsters who separated off into bands under warlords, and he bounced around from place to place after that. He talked about how other-Hyrule had magic, how it felt to be caught in a powerful ritual, what flying on an enchanted carpet felt like. The main course arrived during the story. 

“—and Red can always tell if I'm hiding an injury, so I've stopped trying to hide it.” Blue scraped mushrooms onto his fork. 

“He sounds nice.” Melody had stopped making references to possible book deals and celebrity cruises, though Blue suspected that it would be a joke between them for years to come. 

“Until you do something stupid,” Blue agreed. “Then he's a little bit terrifying. But he cares, a lot, and that’s probably why he was chosen as a hero in the first place.” It did feel a little strange to be here, in a familiar place from Before, talking to his sister about Red. And Green and Vio and Shadow, and all of Hyrule, too. 

Melody looked at him, not answering. Her eyebrows rose as he looked at her blankly. 

“What?” he asked. 

“What what?” 

“Melody.”

“All I said is that Red sounds nice.”

“Not you, too.” Blue rubbed at his forehead, almost laughing. 

Melody pulled the fork from her mouth, finishing off her potatoes, and smirked. “Tell me you don't like him, and I'll back off. Five years might have passed for you, but I'm still your big sister.”

“Shut up.”

“I knew it.”

---

89th of Summer, 1331

“—probably trying to take advantage of the monsters’ superior night vision,” Green continued, hands on his hips. 

He looked up at the wide television screen in front of him, displaying a map of Hyrule. It didn't have the same borders or quite the same geography as the kingdom he'd grown used to, but it was similar enough that he recognized most of it. Several colored points and symbols pulsed on the satellite map, displaying the locations of Hylian military bases and, most recently, border towns that had been attacked by monsters. Scouts and reports estimated low numbers, but Green knew that monsters multiplied. 

“So we light the area up,” Impa, the foremost Hylian general, said from beside Green. “We have a number of floodlights.”

“I don't think they're deterred by light alone, they attack during the day if they have to, and I think they're operating under orders to not do that.” Green scratched the back of his neck, trying to ignore the younger cadets and older officers in the room with them, watching him. It felt odd to be judged like this. He'd earned the respect of his soldiers at home even as he rose in their ranks, so he hadn't often dealt with people who just didn't trust him. 

“So no floodlights,” Impa said. She crossed her arms, her uniform not even crinkling at all.

“Back home, I'd say we should erect a line of campfires, ten to twenty yards apart. Monsters dislike fire.”

“Watchtowers!” Zelda came up on Green’s other side, tablet in her hands and grinning madly. Her presence felt like his Zelda’s, but a little more… electric. She had long brown hair instead of red, and was almost taller than Green right now. She wasn't Green’s beloved, but she was his friend. “We have those watchtowers on wheels, they aren't very high but we can totally put fires on top of them. They can patrol the border.”

Green nodded. “There's an idea. Get some scouts on there with—not spells, but night vision technology exists, doesn't it?—and we could get more information, too.”

“Night vision goggles and cameras, yes,” Impa said. “Where do we put them?” 

Green reached up to rub his beard, but met just prickly skin. He frowned to himself and refocused. “Southwest, of course, but… how big are the towers, and how fast do they go?” 

Zelda looked something up on her tablet. “Max crew size of six, max overland speed of thirty-five. About twenty feet tall. We have six in the southwest, within a day of the border.”

“Plenty big enough.” Green reached up to point at the map, careful not to actually touch it. “Have two patrol this section, two over there, one here, and the last over in the south.” Keys clicked on a keyboard somewhere behind him, someone taking notes. 

“Why there?” Impa asked, sounding doubtful. “The attacks have been moving north. Toward the castle.”

Green shook his head and gestured. “You see this pass? If Ganon takes that, he takes the whole county. He's moving north so we'll put our defenses north, while he moves into the south. That tower there isn't so much to deter him as it is to see if that's what he's actually doing. If it is, then we can plan on a massive confrontation in this field here. The others will have ideas for making sure that happens in a way that favors us.”

“Huh.” Impa squinted up at the map, then nodded slowly. She turned away to give someone orders about carrying out those plans. “Burns!” 

Zelda looked over at Green, her tablet throwing blue light on the planes of her face. 

“What?” he asked. 

“You're a little different,” she said. “I guess it really was five years.”

He gave her a somewhat sad smile. “It was. I missed you.”

Zelda’s expression did something complicated. “I didn't know it… but I guess I missed you, too.”

Green let the moment rest between them for a few seconds before changing the subject. “Any luck on the summoning ritual, yet?” 

“None. Not even a spark. I have to wonder if you are the heroes we’re meant to have.” Zelda tapped on her tablet again, back to business.

“I know almost nothing about firearms,” Green reminded her. “I think some of the strategies that I know for spellcasters will fill in some of those gaps, but…”

“I don't expect you to do it alone. You four have me, and Impa, and all the other officers, too. Hyrule is strong because we are a people, not just a few heroes or princesses.” Zelda gave him a smile. “No iteration of Ganon has ever managed to take the castle, and I will not be the first princess who allows that to happen. Come on, I need your opinion on a few other things.” 

Green still wanted to go home. He wanted his beard back, and he kind of wanted his eye gone again. He wanted his Zelda, and he wanted his horse. 

But this wasn't awful. If there was no way home, Green would be okay. He followed Zelda out of the conference room and down the hallway, looking out to the pale mountains through the bright windows in the side of the castle. 

---

19th of Autumn, 1331

If Vio focused only on the bite of the bowstring on his fingertips and the thunk of the arrow in the target ahead, he could imagine that he was at home. He could hear Shadow in his ear, teasing him about his new glasses or playfully commentating as if it were a competition. 

The similarities only drove the loneliness deeper into Vio’s heart when he realized that Shadow wasn't there. 

He didn't wear glasses anymore, though now that he knew what the world looked like with them, he thought he could stand to get some. His hair brushed his ears in an unfamiliar way, and it took him more effort than he would've liked to pull the string back on uncallused fingers. 

“Your accuracy is still crazy good,” Red said, hopping off the treadmill in the corner. His breaths came loud and fast as he made his way to the table to get some water. He eyed Vio’s last few arrows. “Even if your draw weight isn't what it used to be.”

“I'll get back to it,” Vio muttered, sighting down another shaft. “Eventually.” He let this arrow fly, and noted with a frown that it hit slightly above the bullseye. He still had to compensate for the unfamiliar material of modern arrows. 

Red nodded. “Oh, I'm sure. We all will. But it's not going to happen in a few months, and…”

“And the war is coming faster than that,” Vio finished. He nodded and put his bow down. 

“Yeah.” Red waited for Vio to head down the range and retrieve his arrows. This era’s Zelda had allowed them use of her family’s mansion, and for some reason, she had an archery range in the corner of the home gym. Blue was out meeting his sister, and Green had been summoned to the castle for a tactics primer, which left Red and Vio to their own devices. 

Being physically weak again ground Vio’s gears. He was used to his body doing a certain amount, and being shoved back into his nineteen-year-old habits of bad sleep and too much caffeine threw him off to a frustrating degree. He couldn't focus. Ironically, the exertion helped. It felt real, when very little else did. 

He thought Red felt the same. 

When Vio returned with a handful of arrows, Red pointedly offered out the bottle of water with raised eyebrows. He had a bit of baby fat around his chin, still, which made his pleading expression even more difficult to resist than Vio remembered. 

“Are any spells working, yet?” Vio asked, taking the water and sipping at it. 

Red sighed. “Nope. And I don't think they're going to.”

“Rituals work here.”

“Some of them.”

“We just have to figure out why.” Vio pushed a lock of hair behind his ear. “I feel like I'm so close. Once I figure out how to cast our usual spells here, opening a portal home will be so much easier.”

Red gave Vio a smile that meant I hope you're right, and though I'm not sure you are, I'll humor you. Vio pretended that it meant you're right and I'm excited to see it.

“How's your family?” Vio asked instead of continuing that line of conversation. He flipped the cap on his water bottle and picked up the bow again. His fingers ached. 

Red took the subject change in stride, similarly abandoning his water to stretch. “They're well. I'm not sure my parents believed me when I told them about… everything… but it's okay. They will eventually.” 

“One way or another,” Vio agreed. He twirled an arrow between his fingers, thinking. “If we do meet another army on a field, what will we do? You and I are used to using magic.”

“We'll have to rely on our other skills, of course. We both have plenty.” Red finished off his water, used a towel to wipe off his face, and went back to the treadmill. “Maybe we can blow some things up! That's always fun.”

Vio smiled. “We could make obstacle courses to delay the monsters.”

“Too bad there's no handy volcano down south! I'm going to keep running.”

“Sounds good.” Vio let out a breath, nocked an arrow, and as the sound of the treadmill started up again, he let it fly. 

A millimeter low, but improving. 

---

59th of Autumn, 1331

"Ooh, weapons," Red said beside Blue, clapping his hands in delight as they looked down into the darkened storage room at the bottom of the short staircase in front of them. The lights from behind them glinted off dusty glass and tarnished metal, revealing dark forms of boxes and chests stacked in rows and labeled with old paper. 

Blue reached over to smack the light switch, flooding the storage room with light. He headed down the steps first. "Hopefully we'll find something good in here."

"I'm sure we will!" Red followed him down, beelining for the glass case off to the side that held a hero's green tunic, metallic shield, and sharp sword. "Ooh, see!" 

"Just remember that these are priceless artifacts," the woman behind them said. Impa was stern and rather humorless, but Blue respected her dedication and skill. She had been the one to suggest raiding the museum storage for weapons they wanted to use—with permission, of course. 

"Artifacts, yeah. But they were tools once, and we're using them for their intended purpose again." Blue lifted the lid off of a long wooden box and pulled an old sword from the straw inside. He gave it a critical once-over, and judged the metal to be too brittle. Years of ill maintenance had not been kind to this sword. Hopefully others would be better. 

"Yes, well," Impa sighed, "I'm sure the museum would appreciate getting them back when you're done with them."

"We'll try to be nice to them." Blue put that sword away and started on the next box, distracted. He kept half a mind on Red, currently investigating the hero display, but missed the moment Impa left them to their own devices. 

It took six boxes for Blue to finally find something that looked healthy enough to actually use. He hefted the longsword in both hands, noting the weathered hilt that would need repair, and hummed to himself. This was a far cry from his old magic sword, but he could use it. Now he just had to find something for Green to use, since Red could handle finding his own weapon and Vio just planned on using a hunting bow. 

"Green would like this shield," Red said, and Blue glanced over to see the hero's old shield hanging from his arm. The colors of the Hylian crest shone brighter than perhaps they should, for how old it was. The last hero of their timeline had defeated Ganon over a hundred years ago. Her things would still be usable, hopefully. 

"He might, yeah," Blue agreed. He was happy to find a paired sheath for the sword he liked, and slid that onto his belt. "Find anything for yourself?" 

"I might like this sword, though it feels a little heavy for me right now." Red picked up the old hero's sword and swung it around a few times. He laughed. "I'm so scrawny." 

“We’ll build our strength back,” Blue said, letting himself watch the way Red moved. Maybe they were both weaker than they were used to, but Red had training, and was still very graceful. 

He was staring. Blue shook his head and went back to rummaging, lifting boxes and putting them back in a more organized fashion than he'd found them. "Let me know if you find anything good. It would be great to find some armor, too."

"On it!" Red slid the shield off of his arm and set it aside. 

They searched in the quiet for a little while, gradually working through the stacks of storage. The museum had a lot of stuff to sort through, only some of it usable. Unfortunately, Blue hadn't been able to find a modern blacksmith that could make what he wanted to use, at least not in the time frame they needed it, so finding something old was the best way forward for now. 

Blue set aside a few more possibilities. He was inspecting a breastplate when he saw a warped reflection of Red approach him from behind. 

The air suddenly went electric. 

“Blue,” Red began, and Blue had to put the armor down or risk dropping it.

He turned and met Red’s serious eyes. Was this about what he thought it was? He waited for Red to continue, quiet.

“I feel really guilty,” Red said, his hands clenched at his sides as he looked up at Blue. Goddesses, but he looked so young again. Except those eyes. Those were still Red’s eyes. Blue couldn't look away. “Green and Vio lost the people they love. I didn't lose you, and I'm ashamed that watching their grief this past week is what makes me want to tell you, now—”

“I like you too,” Blue interrupted. He blinked, surprised that he'd said it, and fought down the blush that rose. 

Red started to smile. “...Yeah. I was gonna say that. I'm just scared of messing this up, we've been… almost there for so long.”

“I don't think you can mess this up.” Blue moved his hands, taking one of Red’s in each of his. The contact made him warm. “If someone's going to mess this up, it'll be me.”

“No, I think you're pretty perfect.” Red took a small step in, closing the distance until Blue could feel the heat of him. 

“Funny. That's what I was going to say about you.”

Red’s smile grew. “I'm sorry for not saying it earlier, but I think I'm ready to say so every day for the rest of my life, now.” 

Blue couldn't help but smile back at Red’s sunshine. He lifted one of Red’s hands to his lips, and thoroughly enjoyed the way Red glowed like a stoplight. “We just got back five years. Let's spend not quite that many taking it slowly, okay?” 

“Exactly what I want. Coming back here, I was terrified for a moment that I'd lost you, and almost sick thinking that I'd never gotten over myself to say something. I don't want to lose any more time, but we do still need to figure ourselves out.” 

“We'll be okay,” Blue said as confidently as he could. “I'll make sure of it.” He kissed Red’s knuckles again, then lowered their hands. “Let's find you a sword.”

Red’s smile brightened again. “Sounds good!” 

---

90th of Autumn, 1331

Green blinked awake a little as Vio moved, dislodging Green's head from his shoulder. Around them, the sunlight in the train flickered as they passed over a bridge, the struts casting shadows. The few people in this car with them paid them no attention. 

With a bit of a groan, Green sat up and rubbed at his eyes. His right one itched pretty constantly, as if his brain still thought it wasn't really there. He yawned. "What's up?"

Vio scowled down at his cell phone. "I really wish Blue would stop paying for my service."

"He's just trying to help." Green stretched his arms above his head. They still had maybe an hour left of their ride to go. 

"I wish he'd choose a better provider!" Vio showed Green his notification screen—zero missed calls, six voicemails. As Green watched, a seventh came through. "I can block phone numbers, but not the voicemails, unless I'm missing something somewhere. Make it stop."

"Who's leaving them?" Green asked. He took Vio's phone and poked around in the settings, though he didn't think he'd find anything that Vio had missed. 

"My parents." Vio crossed his arms and settled back in his seat. "They want to talk to me suddenly, because of those tabloids getting wind of us."

Green made a face. "And I'm guessing that you don't want to talk to them." In other-Hyrule, they'd had precious few discussions about their lives here, so Green only knew a little bit about Vio's situation, but it was enough to sympathize. 

"Nope."

"We can change your number," Green said, handing the phone back. "That'd do it."

Vio gave a sigh and turned his phone off before tucking it away. "Maybe. You know, I never minded being fairly well-known back at home, but here? It's just a pain."

"I can agree with you there." Green sighed.

“How's your watchtower plan going?” 

“Too well. I was right, Ganon’s moving up from the south. He has a tower of his own, some dystopian thing on wheels.” Green stretched his neck out and pulled out his notebook. He made sure to speak quietly, so nobody around them could eavesdrop. 

“I saw the photos,” Vio said, sounding a touch too excited. “He has flair, that's for sure. Think we can get a bigger HQ on wheels?”

Green eyed him. “Not soon enough.”

“Damn. I guess it's also too late to put monster heads on spikes?” 

“Well… not quite, but I think that violates a code of war or something.”

Vio made a face. “Your morals are too tight.”

Green rolled his eyes. He and Vio spent the rest of the train ride putting together a few strategies for the upcoming battle. The lack of magic tripped them up a little, but by the end, Green felt pretty good about what they had. 

---

62nd of Winter, 1331

"One more time," Zelda said, watching the four heroes put on unfamiliar armor. "This doesn't feel right."

Vio winced to himself, but let Green handle it. Vio himself fiddled with some straps down his sides, pulling the modern armor tighter. It was certainly lighter than what he remembered training with before, being mostly engineered fabric instead of metal, which could only be a good thing. Since returning to their younger, weaker bodies, the four of them had done their best to train, but they only had a few months. Even if Zelda had managed to summon a real hero, Vio didn't know if there would have been enough time to teach them enough to help. 

"Zelda…" Green sighed. "If it hasn't worked yet, I don't know if it will. Maybe the magic's getting confused with us here, I don't know. But we've done what we can. It's time to focus."

Zelda let out a breath, but agreed. "Whatever you think is best, I guess. Still, I can't shake the feeling…" 

This other-Zelda did not act much like the Zelda that Vio knew. This other-Zelda was more nervous, but more observant and generally more enthusiastic about learning new things. She didn't have the same aura of leadership, but she didn't need it. She said what she thought, sometimes without thinking, but Vio appreciated that in particular. Unfortunately, she was also less attuned to her magic, which could have been a consequence of this world or just her being herself, but it meant that she didn't know how to work the hero ritual as intricately as their Zelda had. Even Vio’s occasional suggestions about things to change about the ritual made it work. 

"We'll be all right," Green told her. "We know what we're doing. If you really feel like you need to try it again, do, but I don't know if whoever you might summon would actually be able to help. Ganon's army is practically on top of us already."

Vio slung his bow over his shoulder and checked his quiver. Even if he still didn't have his magic available, he wanted to contribute as much as he could. He was still a hero of Hyrule, even if this was technically the wrong Hyrule. He couldn't sit idly by, and he wouldn't want to. There was chaos to be made. 

"I think we're ready to head out there," Blue said. He hesitated, hefting an ancient sword in both his hands. "Your Highness, not to be rude, but you should probably stick to the back. This sort of thing… it's more dangerous than you probably think it is."

"I'll do what I can to help from here," Zelda said. She looked at them all, some kids of unreadable frustration on her face. 

"Stay safe," Green told her, resting one hand on the hilt of his own sword. Vio suddenly felt like a new hero again, thrown back into an unfamiliar situation when he could only barely handle his weapons. Green, however, looked more like a capable leader than he had when they'd first started. Whatever they'd lost in body, they kept in mind. 

With a few more parting words, the four former heroes headed out of the large tent and into the active, pre-battle arena. It felt busy, with trucks and the occasional watchtower rolling past in the dirt, the sunset turning the gray paint of the vehicles orange. People shouted, walked with purpose, and paused to watch them go past. Vio figured they made an interesting sight with swords and bows, seeing as most of the small Hylian military would be relying on modern firepower.

By now, word had gotten out that the world had heroes, though most people probably operated under the assumption that Zelda had summoned them from somewhere.

Vio brought up the back of their group, keeping his senses open. Green led them up a hill to an observation point, where Impa gave them access to the more permanent tower here. It was quiet for the moment, only occupied by staff running the computers and the five of them. At the top of the tower, stronger winds spread the flag out wide, and Vio's short hair did nothing to keep his neck warm. 

Ganon's army of monsters spread across the horizon, organized into groups around crude campfires and held back by the odd ones in armor riding other monsters back and forth across the line. Vio recognized them as bulblins, more intelligent than most other monsters, which operated on more-or-less animalistic instincts. Above the sea of enemies, Ganon's decorated tower rose, giving him a view at their own preparations and fortifications. Wooden spikes and canvas tarps stretched out from the tower, making it look less like the Tower of Winds and more like something out of a fantasy movie.

Vio pulled out a set of binoculars and scanned the army. "Not much change in the structure or number, I think,” he reported, "but they're getting riled up." 

"Is everyone in place?" Green asked Impa, who nodded. 

"We're ready whenever you are."

"Then give the word."

Impa raised a radio to her mouth and spoke the code word. 

The scheme that Green had cooked up did not involve meeting Ganon's army fairly. A few teams had moved into position to try and bait monsters into traps involving fire and trenches, prepared long before either main force had arrived. The Hylian military did not command enough power to hope to defeat Ganon face-to-face, but that was, of course, what heroes were for. The biggest issue was the immense number of monsters that would continue to press forward even if their command structure disintegrated. Hopefully the trenches, explosions, and wall of fire would stop them from getting to any Hylian cities. 

The wall of fire was Red's idea. Of course. 

That wasn't the extent of their strategy, of course. They had a range of other actions to choose from, though Vio anticipated that Impa would be the one making them once the fighting actually started. He put the binoculars down. 

As the sun inched closer to the horizon, forces marshaled on both sides: a seething sea of monsters and a small, organized group of Hylians on the other. It wasn't enough. At least Ganon had been kind enough to send word that he planned on invading tonight, as soon as the sun touched the earth. 

Impa's radio crackled again, with Zelda's voice this time. Vio didn't bother trying to pick out words, too busy thinking. That mass of bokoblins to the south… they were known for being easier to mow down, though their quantity still made them threats. Grenades would get them, if Vio could get those off quickly enough. 

"Are you nervous?" Red asked, standing next to Vio. 

"No point. Either we succeed or we don't."

"Always pragmatic." Red crossed his arms tightly. "I share Zelda’s feelings. This isn't quite right. But I don't know if that's because I still feel wrong in my body, because I can't feel the magic around me, or if there really is supposed to be a different hero here.”

"I don't think I can answer that." Vio sighed, then gave Red an awkward pat on the arm. 

"Vio," Green said, turning from where Impa held the radio up for him, "do you have any last-minute suggestions for the hero ritual? Zelda's going to try it again."

Vio did not grimace. He did not sigh. He just racked his brain for anything that they hadn't already tried. "Hold the last word of the incantation out for three seconds rather than two? That shouldn't make a difference, I don't know. She could try attuning the second rune to us again.”

Green relayed the instructions into the radio, and Red shrugged. "It could work. Technically."

"I'm more curious about trying it so late in the day," Vio said. "The ritual should be performed in the light. The hero is the light."

"It'll take a few minutes to do, either way," Blue said, "and we can't wait around for a hero who may or may not appear. It's time to go down there." His hand rested on Red’s shoulder, and Vio let out a controlled breath through his nose. 

"You're right." Green looked out at Ganon's own tower again, and his face went stony, years of hard-won experience ghosting over skin that hadn't seen any of it. "Let's go."

When the four of them stood down on the bottom of the hill, rank-and-file soldiers steady behind them, the mounted bulblins stopped their patrolling. They turned dark eyes and helmets to the Hylians. In the distance, Vio heard Zelda calling out her incantation. She was reaching the end. Vio didn't hold his breath. The sky grew darker by the second, though the sun hadn't disappeared yet. Shadows stretched and dissolved into lakes. 

The campfires in the monsters' ranks extinguished one by one, and the ones in front began to lurch forward, pressed in by the ones behind them. It was chaotic, loud, and disturbing. The Hylians had hasty walls and better organization, but Vio didn't know if any of that would actually work. For the first time in a long time, Vio contemplated failure. It was a real possibility, here. 

Well, whether they failed or not, Vio would need to do as much as he could. They wouldn't be able to half-bake their performance here. He nocked an arrow, and waited. At least he could show off a little. 

Monsters crossed the distance, picking up speed. Zelda's incantation rose, then cut off. 

Predictably, nothing happened—

Until someone shouted, and Vio felt something he'd been missing for months, rushing around his shoulders in a river, fast and strong. 

"Vio!" Red said, and they met each other's wide eyes. 

"Magic." Vio took hold of the strength surrounding him and loosed an arrow charged with light, aiming high into the air. He didn't know how or why, but he had magic again. 

At the top of its arc, the arrow burst into a firework, the ends spiraling out in a way that a real firework would never be able to replicate. The flash and the crack from the arrow were supernaturally intense, flooding the soon-to-be battlefield with light for a moment.

"The ritual must have worked," Red laughed, holding his swordless hand out. His skin began to glow. 

Vio looked behind him, toward the place where they'd left Zelda. She stood high above everything, her hands splayed, something dark and wavering held open in front of her. It wasn't a hero, but she'd managed to summon familiar magic from their Hyrule anyway. 

"Look!" Green pointed at the gap between them and the monsters, at the scrubby grass that separated the two armies. Something distinctly portal-like wavered in the air, reflected rainbow colors across the ground, then split into a large hole, at least three trucks long. It sounded like a cross between ripping paper and a bell ringing out. 

A third army, made of Hylians outfitted in livery Vio knew very well, poured from the new portal. A grin split his face, and he could feel Red vibrating with excitement next to him. The new army roared and clashed with the monsters, followed quickly by the rest of the modern Hylian soldiers. The sound of battle rose, deafening, but it did not mean failure. With these seasoned soldiers… they could win. 

"Captain Marks!" Blue shouted, running forward. 

The captain turned around at the call from where he'd been supervising the exit, smiling back. "My, my! Don't you four look spry!"

"We lost a few years, yes," Green said, following Blue after explaining as quickly as he could over the radio. "How are you here?" 

"The Queen has been having visions of you," Captain Marks said with a nod. "She knew you were going up against a threat, but couldn't open a portal of any kind until just now."

Vio caught up. "This era's Zelda did something, she gave us magic. That must be what let the portal open. Where is the Queen?" 

"She should be along any moment now."

"You’re letting her come into an active war zone?" Green demanded. 

"You try telling her no! She knew you were here, there's no possibility that I would be able to keep her away." Captain Marks turned back to his work, answering a lieutenant's question before yelling at someone else. 

Something blocked the very last bit of sunlight from Vio's eyes, and he looked up, squinting. Hovering above the battlefield, Queen Zelda in his arms, Shadow spun around, eyes searching the ground. 

Vio lit his hand up in blue light like a beacon and held it above his head, his heart speeding enough that it could get fined by the highway patrol. He was worried that Shadow would get shot down by someone who didn't understand who he was. Thankfully, Shadow saw his beacon immediately and soared down. 

He and the Queen had dressed in light leather armor, and they carried weapons that were more for intimidation than for use. Shadow looked exactly like Vio remembered, though the closer he got, the younger he looked. Was that perhaps a function of his own magic, or something that this world was doing to him? Either way, his eyes remained fixed on Vio as if afraid that he would disappear at any moment. 

Shadow set Zelda carefully on the ground, where she fell right into Green's hug, but Vio didn't pay any attention to them.

He reached out to take Shadow's hands, which he immediately received. The feeling of Shadow so close set him at ease. He let out a breath, calm for the first time since reappearing here. "I missed you."

"Don't disappear like that on me ever again," Shadow told him. "I panicked."

"I don't know what will happen when this portal closes," Vio said. He glanced down at the fight, reluctant to let go of Shadow. 

"It won't. Zelda put a thingy on it. She thinks we might be able to open portals whenever, now that the connection’s established.” Shadow sounded confident. 

Blue's voice cut through the reunions. "Permission to join the fight, sir!" He grinned madly, wearing a different breastplate, the one Vio was used to seeing on him. Someone must have brought it. It looked a little big on him, but Blue didn't look like he cared. 

Captain Marks gave him a nod. "No permission necessary, Blue. Get out there." 

Red joined Blue, wading into the melee. Where they went, monsters died and wounded soldiers recovered. They carved a line toward Ganon's tower. 

"I'm a little upset that we have to defeat Ganon again," Vio said mildly. He let go of Shadow's hands to pull his bow out. 

Shadow grinned. "You kidding? I'm eager to punch his face in again! Once wasn't nearly enough!" He held his hands out, and darkness jumped to his command, taking the shape of a snarling wolf prowling in front of him. 

"Let's show this Ganon what we're made of," Vio said. His first arrow began to glow. "He isn't prepared for magic. That gives us a nice advantage."

"I bet I can get more monsters than you."

"No chance."

---

62nd of Winter, 1331

At the end of the night, when the dust settled and the threat of Ganon had been thoroughly abolished by five heroes, a queen, and a princess, Red secured one trailer for their use and chose just a few soldiers he trusted from both worlds to guard them. 

After months of not using magic, his expenditure out there on the field had exhausted him, and he felt sure that Vio would be just as tired, to say nothing of this world’s Princess Zelda, who had never used magic in a combat scenario. Green tossed a few bedrolls inside the trailer, Blue procured some food, and Vio cast a small spell that lit up a lamp like a warm fire, without the risk that came with actual flames. With the door shut and people Red loved inside, even the bare cargo trailer felt homey. 

Red unzipped his sleeping bag all the way and wrapped it around his shoulders like a blanket. He sat squished in Blue’s lap, happy as a clam while he ate his bowl of warmed-up bean stew. Princess Zelda engaged Blue in a conversation about war machines and armor. Red couldn't blame Vio and Shadow for being wrapped up in each other, talking and sitting so close together that Red couldn't tell which legs were whose. Queen Zelda and Green did not display quite that level of familiarity, but she still leaned her head on his shoulder. 

The portal hadn't disappeared, even when Princess Zelda dropped the spell that allowed magic to flow through. Bit by bit, Red could feel that wave of magic dwindling, the tide pulling out, but the portal to other-Hyrule remained steady and open. According to Queen Zelda, she'd stabilized it with runestones, some of the most constant and predictable power sources that Red knew of. That portal wasn't going anywhere. 

Red was glad. He'd missed his home. He didn't know exactly what the future held for them all, but he did know that it looked much brighter now than it had at sunset. Inside the trailer, bundled up together to sleep the night off, Red couldn't know for sure, but he thought he could tell when the dawn poked its first rays out over what had been an insurmountable army of monsters. The Hylians of both worlds suffered casualties, of course, but everything was as bright as it could possibly be. They'd won. 

He didn't really notice when Blue took the bowl of stew from his hands and laid them both down to sleep.