Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

As the sun rose overhead in Ordon village, the chain enjoyed a relaxing day out, simply freeing their minds from their usual worries. While most of them were either shopping around or busy playing with the goats up at the ranch uphill from the main village, Twilight had a more challenging task on his hands. Sitting by the large pond that made up a good portion of the town, fishing pole in hand, he waited quietly at the little dock for a bite on his line.

He sighed in contentment as he waited; one of his favorite pastimes had always been fishing in the most remote areas, even during his adventure when he could afford to take a little break. His journal, which he kept in his pocket at all times, was full of his record catches from all across Hyrule. He was especially proud of one entry in particular, a twenty-seven-inch Hylian loach (that he definitely did not catch through illegal means). It was by far the largest fish in the journal, and he took special care in sketching out the details to make sure he never forgot what it looked like.

A strange sound caught his ear. He looked around to find the source, and gasped in horror as he saw Wild up on the roof of the general store, shirtless and running at full speed toward the edge. With a hearty laugh, he dove right into the water, scaring away all the fish and any potential Twilight had of catching anything. Twilight just groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

“And what do you think you’re doing?” he asked in his most irritated tone. Wild, confused, swam to the shore and deposited a wriggling fish from his mouth that he managed to catch in his dive.

“Fishing! Isn’t that what we’re doing today?” Wild seemed pretty excited with his catch, and sat by it despite Twilight’s indignant stare. Twilight shook his head.

“Yeah, but not like that… You’re supposed to use a fishing rod and lure, like I was doing before you vaulted yourself into the water.”

Wild raised an eyebrow.

“And how many have you caught yet? I think my way is better.” He gestured to his catch as if to prove his point, a cheeky smile on his face.

“You caught one fish. And in the process of doing so, you scared away all the others. If you had just stopped and let me do it my way, I could have caught a lot more without frightening them, because my way is much more tame.” Done arguing, he walked away from the dock, leaving Wild with his catch. Wild huffed and looked down at the fish, which had by then expired from being out of the water too long. Standing up, he took it over to a nearby fire to roast it. If nobody else could appreciate his work, then he would himself. Besides, fresh fish from Twilight’s era were always delicious. He munched on it in silence, enjoying the savory texture and taking in the sounds of the quiet little town. It reminded him a lot of his own home, but the cliffs surrounding the village made it feel a lot more closed-in and comfy.

He huddled closer to the fire as a chilly breeze swept across his skin. Briefly, he considered putting his armor back on, but he was still too wet from his dive for that to be comfortable, so he just stayed put.

An unsettling feeling started to wash over him as soon as he finished his meal. Nothing really seemed out of the ordinary as he looked around, but something made his skin crawl that he couldn’t place.

He shivered as the wind suddenly picked up and the skies darkened. Maybe he should go inside, he thought. But his hopes were dashed when suddenly the ground opened up beneath him and swallowed him whole, leaving no evidence he was ever there.

…

Twilight entered the little treehouse he called home for so many years with a deep scowl on his face. Slamming the door, he gained the attention of the others in the chain, who all turned to him with mixed surprise.

“Pup, I know it’s your house, but at least be careful with the door…” Time scolded, but with no real heat behind his words. “Anyway, how did your fishing trip go?”

Twilight threw down the empty fishing line on a nearby table in frustration, providing all the answers Time needed. Flopping down on the couch, he sighed.

“It was going fine…but then Wild ruined it by diving into the water screaming at the top of his lungs. He scared away all the fish!” He threw his hands up, as if it would help make his point.

The floor seemed to rumble a bit at his outburst. Everybody stilled and listened until the quake passed. When everything appeared to calm down again, Legend snarked “See, there you go shaking the earth with your whining!”

“What? That wasn’t-”

Another rumble, much closer and more violent than the last. In the brief moment that everyone quieted, the floor itself opened up and claimed them all into the darkness.

They seemed to fall forever through the void. Twilight’s comfortable home disappeared, and in its place a new world began to emerge around them. They all landed, one by one, on hard, ashen ground, their equipment coming with them and clattering in various places. Everybody just lay there for a moment, either staring at the sky or face-first in the ground trying to gain their bearings. Legend was the first to speak after a long minute of silence.

“What…the hell was that…”

“It seems like we’ve been taken to a new era,” Time supplied, unsticking his face from the dirt with a tired groan.

“I know that, but maybe Hylia could have been a little nicer about it! She doesn’t usually drop us through the floor!”

“Shut up for a minute,” Twilight cut him off. He looked around the landscape, spying charred trees and scorched soil. When he listened, not even the constant, soothing sound of birdsong could be heard. It was just…silent. “Does anyone know which Hyrule this is?”

“Mine,” Hyrule piped up. He propped himself into a sitting position and drew his knees up to his chest. “Been like this for a long time. It’s hard to find hospitality here. Or food.”

There was a collective groan from the group. No food meant they would have to rely on the rations in Wild’s slate for a while, at least until they were able to get out of there. Who knew what the water was like there, too, in such a desolate landscape. It was probably better to not risk it.

A small voice piped up from the back. “Um…has anyone seen Wild?”

A moment of silence. Then, sudden panic as everybody started scrambling to find the champion, who disappeared without warning. They all gathered up their supplies from the ground, not even considering setting up camp.

“Where could he have gone?!” Twilight cried in panic. “We’ve never even been here before, he could be anywhere! I never should have left him alone…”

“Pup, calm down…” Time soothed, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. It was clear, however, that he was as anxious as his protege from the tenseness of his posture. “Where was the last place you saw him in your time? That might give us an idea of how far he might be.”

“I left him at the pond after I snapped at him…” he admitted sadly. Then, with alarm, “...But he could have gone anywhere after that. He might not have shifted at all!”

“Hey hey, none of that. We’ll just work with what we have, okay?” Time turned to the rest of the chain. “I would normally say to split up and cover more ground…but since this is unfamiliar territory and given what Hyrule just said, it’s probably best to stick together for now. Hyrule, do you know where we are?”

“I’m not sure…” Hyrule thought for a moment. “I think we’re somewhere in the northeast? That means there’s a town nearby. With any luck, he made it there.”

“I…hope so…” Twilight conceded with a heavy sigh. He let Hyrule take the lead as the traveler kept a wary eye for danger or a blue tunic. The gray skies above them dampened the already-low mood among the chain, not to mention the obvious lack of life. How could a once-prosperous kingdom be reduced to this?

Twilight was itching to sniff out Wild’s scent. It would make this process a whole lot easier. But the only person besides Wild who knew about his wolf form was Time…he was not ready for that conversation yet, nor the freakout that would most likely ensue when he transformed in front of everyone.

How has no one figured it out yet, honestly? He would have thought at the very least, the tattoo in the middle of his forehead would give it away, if not the fact that they are never seen in the same room together. Perhaps he should be grateful they don’t know yet. He can delay all the questions until he has better-prepared answers to give.

“Hey, I think I see something!” shouted Legend, snapping the rancher from his thoughts. Everybody looked to where he was pointing, a large, toppled tree a short distance away, and spotted a small, huddled figure. Hope began to surge as they dashed over to the person, covered by a familiar black cloak. He was breathing heavily, and shaking. Twilight was the one to crouch down next to him so he was in front of his face, noting how his eyes were half-lidded and glassy. His right arm, normally dormant, was flickering slightly.

“Cub…?” Twilight reached out to him slowly, petting his hair. Wild tensed at the touch. His eyes shot open, he snapped forward and his teeth sank into Twilight’s hand, all in almost the same moment and before Twilight could process what was happening. Twilight reeled back with a pained scream, but his hand was securely locked in place by Wild’s sharp teeth, blood already starting to trickle from the wound.

Panicked shouts echoed off the trees as everyone else sprang into action. Time and Sky both came forward to pull Wild off him, the former attempting to separate Wild’s mouth from the rancher’s bleeding hand without worsening the injury. Wild growled as Time grabbed his jaw and pinched his cheeks, forcing him to let go. Twilight stepped back and cradled his hand close to his chest while Hyrule ran to his side, offering up some of his healing magic without room for protest.

“Hey Wild…what’s wrong? You can talk to me…” Sky tried to soothe, but his words were falling on deaf ears. Wild’s arm flickered dangerously while he sat hunched over, breathing heavily, eyes fixed on Sky with malice. His hand twitched once.

“Sky, look out!” came a warning cry from Legend, who rushed up just in time to push him out of the way. Where they were just a second ago, a large, burnt up trunk fell in their place, nearly crushing them. Legend’s head whipped around. “Wild, what the fuck was that?!”

But Wild was already springing to his feet. Taking out a rusty old blade that had certainly seen better days from his slate, he aimed it toward the fallen log, his arm glowing a threatening blue-green. In a second, the log found itself attached to the sword in a rather awkward but workable fashion. He swung wildly at the others, the weapon off-balance but somehow holding together. Everybody else was just backing away as he charged in, unsure what to do without hurting him.

Wild then raised the fused weapon up above his head, preparing to smash it into the ground in front of him. This was when Time saw his chance and sprung forward. Raising his shield, he blocked the blow as it came down, ignoring the immense shock that reverberated through his arm on impact, then kicked his leg out and struck Wild’s stomach, knocking him over.

The champion, thrown off balance, let go of the weapon and fell on his back, dazed. Before he could even recover, Time was already upon him, holding him down from behind, pinning him with his arms and legs. Wild thrashed with all his might to get away, but Time’s grip was strong, stronger than he could hope to be; all he was achieving was tiring himself out, which was exactly what they wanted right then. Twilight calmly crouched in front of him, examining his eyes, which were wide and glassy with terror.

“Wild, what’s wrong? You’re safe with us…”

Wild thrashed harder and turned away.

“Get…away…from…me…!” he wheezed desperately. His arm lit up again, as if searching for a target to latch onto, but there was nothing nearby for him to grab. Even if there were, he was completely immobile due to Time’s grip.

Twilight tried again.

“It’s okay, cub. You’re just scared and confused. We’re here to help you.”

Hyrule stepped up beside Twilight, holding a small vial. Inside was an unassuming red liquid, but the look on his face betrayed something else. He crouched down and whispered to Twilight.

“We may have to put him to sleep for now.”

“What? But why?”

“Something isn’t right. This doesn’t look like normal panic.”

Meanwhile, Wild had stopped struggling against Time’s hold, but his head was down and he was still breathing hard. He looked like if given the chance, he would bolt into the woods and never return. With a sad sigh, Twilight nodded.

“...Okay.”

He turned to Wild as Hyrule prepared the potion.

“Hey cub. We’re gonna help you now, okay? You’ll feel better in no time, but you’re gonna feel really tired in a minute.” He tried to soothe the champion, but it didn’t really look like he was listening to begin with. Hyrule stirred the potion, then uncorked the vial and brought it close to Wild’s mouth.

“Okay, I need you to drink this for me. It will help you.”

“No!” Wild suddenly snapped his head up, almost knocking the bottle out of Hyrule’s hand. He thrashed his head back and forth, moving his legs in an attempt to kick his way out of Time’s hold in a renewed effort to be free. Twilight leapt forward to grab hold of his head and keep it still. Wild tried to bite him again, razor-sharp teeth clicking together painfully loud, but he missed. Hyrule solemnly poured the potion into his mouth the first chance he got, then held it shut so he couldn’t just spit it out.

Seconds passed, and nothing was happening. Wild kicked and bucked and showed no sign of tiring. Hyrule began to panic. “Why isn’t this working? It should have worked by now!” he cried.

“I don’t think he swallowed it!” Twilight snapped, and in a desperate measure, pinched Wild’s nose shut so he couldn’t breathe. If he wanted air, he would have to drink the potion. He tried not to think too hard about what he was doing to his cub.

It seemed to take an impossibly long time just fighting against him, waiting for something to happen (or for Wild to pass out from lack of oxygen). He seemed to have an endless store of energy hidden somewhere that none of them knew about. But finally, finally after some long minutes of anxious waiting, Hyrule saw his throat bob once.

“There, I think he did it!”

Twilight almost sobbed in relief when he let go of his head and Wild gasped for air instead of spitting out potion. Now it was just a matter of time before it took effect. Thankfully, that did not take very long, as Wild’s fighting spirit seemed to die down rather quickly, replaced by deep exhaustion. The malice and fear faded from his eyes as he slipped quietly into unconsciousness. Everybody breathed a collective sigh of relief when he finally fell asleep. That is, until Twilight spotted Hyrule crouched down near a lone tree, staring at something.

“What’s that you’re looking at?” Twilight stepped closer to the shocked healer. Hyrule pointed to the thing in question, a small green plant with three leaves.

“This. It’s a dangerous plant,” Hyrule explained. “Not much is really known about it because it’s so rare, but from what I’ve seen, animals who eat it go insane.”

Twilight gasped.

“Wait, so you mean…”

“Wild might have eaten some of this.”

“Then…how do we help him? Does it just go away?”

Hyrule seemed crestfallen. “...I don’t know. I’ve never had a chance to study it in detail. I think…all we can really do is wait and see.” He got up and patted Twilight on the shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

As Hyrule walked away to rejoin the group, Twilight stood alone in shock. The idea of just…waiting for something to happen seemed insane. Impossible, even! But the more he thought, the less likely it seemed that he could come up with another solution. He knew nothing of strange magical herbs in his own world, let alone other ones. With a defeated sigh, he trudged his way back to the others, who were already starting to settle in for the night and set up camp. This would be a long wait.

Chapter Text

The shift had been rough. One moment Wild was sitting by the fire, munching away at a fish he caught and cooked himself, and the next he was falling through the ground which opened up beneath him, sending him sprawling through the endless void. When he landed, he couldn’t tell which way was up, the ashen soil the same color as the gray, cloudy skies above him. He had landed face first and gotten a mouthful of ash and dirt, coughing and spluttering almost instantly when he realized he was still alive and breathing (or at least, somewhat breathing).

Nobody else was with him, he had soon come to find out when he was able to pick himself up and sit properly. He strained his ears, but could detect no sign of life around him. What were once acres of lush forests now stood burnt and barren, the trees mere blackened sticks jutting out of the ground. All of the grass was long gone, and any wildlife that had once lived there clearly moved on.

He felt a pang in his chest in that moment, realizing just how desolate and dead this place was. It was the antithesis of his own realm which, despite having gone through its own share of hard times, flourished with an abundance of life. He had to find something here, something that could reassure him that this land wasn’t completely doomed to waste away.

It had been this search for an answer that led him to the base of a lonely tree, long forgotten in the middle of the dead forest. He stopped, initially confused by the sudden burst of green amidst the ashen gray. It was a slight little thing, the small plant that he beheld. It had only three round leaves, and bursting from the very tip of the stem was a bright, beautiful yellow flower. The plant gave off an intoxicating smell, almost too tempting to ignore… He sat down in front of it and brought his face closer, inhaling the delicious scent, his eyes dilating slightly. Maybe…just one taste…

Before he knew what he was doing or could even think to stop himself, he had already plucked the flower from the stem and popped it in his mouth. A pleasant warmth spread from his chest as he swallowed, his muscles relaxing. He briefly wondered if there was more of this plant to be found, when all of a sudden his entire body lit up. He gasped, hunching over as he felt as though he were on fire, beads of sweat starting to form on his brow. He didn’t have much of a chance to do anything about it, barely able to move before his mind blanked and he collapsed to the dirt, the only sound he could hear being the pounding of his own heart.

The next time he awoke, everything was a blur. He couldn’t tell what happened, or where he was for that matter. And there were noises. Strange, garbled voices drawing closer to where he was. But he…he didn’t want to be found. This was his territory!

“Hey, I think I see something!” shouted one of the voices, but he couldn’t recognize it. His breathing picked up slightly when several sets of footsteps came closer. He kept his head low, but he could already feel his body starting to tremble with fear and anger. He didn’t really want to lash out at them, a small part of him wanted to reach out to them…

But then one of them touched him.

In the blink of an eye, instinct took over, and before he could stop himself, he let out an enraged growl and sunk his teeth into the offending hand, deep enough to draw blood. It tasted bitter on his tongue, but it only fueled him. He refused to let go even as the stranger tried pulling away, keeping a stubborn grip on their arm and deepening the wound.

His ears stung with the overwhelming shouting around him, and his breath caught in his chest when a pair of strong, gloved hands forcefully grabbed his jaw and pried his mouth open, forcing him to release his bite. He shook his head aggressively, freeing himself from the foreign hands, and backed up until his back hit the tree behind him. Through his clouded vision, he searched for the nearest thing he could move…and when he found one, his right hand twitched slightly, his arm lighting up a bright and threatening blue-green. He had hoped to catch the enemy off guard and crush them, but before he could topple the nearest tree on top of them, one of them cried a warning and they all ducked out of the way. Fine, then. He would just have to improvise.

If these foes wanted to be difficult, then Wild would be, too. Summoning a broadsword from his slate, he arced it toward the tree that he had just felled, fusing the log to the end of the blade in a rather awkward fashion. He could see the confusion in the way they all took a step back as he waved his new weapon threateningly, letting out a battle cry that was more akin to a feral screech. He pressed the attack, swinging wildly in front of him with no particular rhyme or reason other than to kill.

He had one of them cornered. One of the smaller ones, but it would get them out of the way at least. He raised the crude weapon above his head, preparing to bring it down in a crushing blow.

He wasn’t really sure what happened next. In the very moment that he was prepared to go in for the finishing blow, one of the larger of the group stepped in at the last second and prevented him from making his move, blocking the strike. And in the next second, there was a sharp pain in his gut and he was being thrown backwards onto the ground. Before he had a chance to recover from the shock, that same person was already upon him, wrapping their arms and legs around him to immobilize him while he thrashed around and screamed. He fought with everything he had to escape, but whoever was holding him had no intention of letting go anytime soon, and all he was doing was tiring himself out trying.

Voices surrounded him again. He couldn’t pick them apart through the panic and haze, and it terrified him. Where did they come from? What were they going to do with him? A hundred thoughts raced through his frazzled mind, each one only making him fight harder.

“Get…away…from…me…!” he finally managed to wheeze, his voice strained with the effort of fighting against an immovable object. Despite all their efforts to get through to him, he would not listen to any of them. He tried to seek out another object, anything that he could move to use as a weapon from where he was. But there was nothing nearby, all the trees deeply rooted in the ground and no loose items lying around to grab. He cried hopelessly, his mind becoming quickly overwhelmed at the realization that he was going to die here.

But instead of killing him immediately, something was being shoved in his face. It was red, and smelled bitter. He turned away from it and started thrashing again, nearly knocking the object away in the process. The large person’s grip on him had to be tightened slightly when he renewed his efforts to get away. They were going to force him to drink poison… They wanted to kill him slowly… Why not just get it over with if they wanted him dead?!

Another one of them jumped in when he started struggling a little too hard for their liking and reached for his head, and in a flash of rage he tried to bite their hands. However, he was too slow to connect, and he instead clacked his teeth hard enough to reverberate through his skull and disorient him for a moment. This gave the person with the strange poison the opportunity he needed to pour it into Wild’s mouth and hold his jaw shut so he couldn’t spit it back out.

Playing difficult, huh? Well, then. He knew how to play that game. He wouldn’t willingly drink his own demise. He would just keep it in his mouth as long as it took for the stranger to let go, then get rid of it.

“Why isn’t this working? It should have worked by now!”

“I don’t think he swallowed it!”

The voices around him grew more panicked as they scrambled for a solution, all while Wild stubbornly refused to take the poison, his eyes reflecting his defiance. But one of them seemed to be smarter than the rest, because they knelt down in front of him and tightly pinched his nose shut, preventing him from breathing.

Wild’s eyes widened in fear when he tried taking in a breath, only to be stopped by the hands over his face. They had finally given him an ultimatum: swallow the poison or pass out. But he couldn’t drink it. Even as his muscles started giving out on him and his vision started to darken at the edges, he wouldn’t give in and let them win. He couldn’t…

He…couldn’t…

Would…n’t…

“There! I think he swallowed it!”

He was only vaguely aware of his body instinctively taking in air when he was finally released, his body so close to unconsciousness that even when the large person let him go he couldn’t do much about it. The world seemed to grow much quieter in the next few moments, as if a blanket of calm suddenly washed over everything, and with it came a great urge to sleep. A little nap couldn’t hurt…right…?

…

Everything was warm and calm. His mind was slow to wake, his body reluctant to move. But when he did open his eyes, he was no longer in the barren wasteland he had first found himself thrown into. Instead of burnt, ashen soil and gray skies, he was greeted by a soft bed and painted walls. His eyes were still heavy with sleep as he turned his head to look around, finding a familiar face in a nearby chair. Upon hearing movement, Twilight looked up, his face exhausted.

“Wild…?” he asked, his voice betraying days of sleeplessness. Wild blinked slowly, still out of it, and breathed slowly.

“Where…are we?” His voice sounded rough and gravelly, his throat sore for some reason. Twilight sighed.

“We shifted yesterday. We’re in the old man’s house right now.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but kept it to himself for the time being. But Wild was more confused than anything, and pressed the issue.

“But why…?”

This caught Twilight’s attention, and he looked up fully to meet Wild in the eye.

“Don’t you remember? We shifted to Hyrule’s time the other day. We had to knock you out after you ate a weird plant and went all crazy.”

“No…? I don’t…” He paused, his face morphing with growing horror as the pieces of his memory started slowly clicking into place. His shoulders began shaking as he realized everything that had transpired. “Wait…then you…”

“It’s fine. Hyrule took care of it.” He held up his hand for Wild to see. The deep puncture wounds from his bite were now only small, round scars. Still, Wild turned his head away in shame. Twilight watched with sympathy, reaching over to place his good hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t beat yourself up over it. You couldn’t have known what that plant would do to you. And we were there to help you, weren’t we?”

“But I…” Wild gestured pathetically to Twilight’s hand, the words refusing to come out. Twilight, knowing what he meant, sighed heavily.

“Alright, how about this then. If I ever eat a weird plant and go crazy, you have to let me bite your hand as payback. Deal?” He meant it sarcastically, but Wild might have taken it a little too seriously, because he actually nodded in agreement, which worried him a little bit. Still, it wasn’t like he planned on munching on anything he didn’t recognize anytime soon, so hopefully he shouldn’t have to live up to that promise.

As if just to interrupt the tender moment, someone else entered the room to check on the pair, and lit up on seeing Wild’s open eyes.

“Wild, you’re awake! I swear to Hylia, Malon was ready to tear me a new one when we got here. Don’t do that again!” Hyrule chastised, though there wasn’t any heat behind it. Wild smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Well…maybe you shouldn’t leave poisonous plants laying around for me to eat.”

“There he is!” Twilight beamed, clapping him on the back and forcing a weak little cough out of him. “Now, I’m sure that Malon has something in mind as far as food goes. What do you say we go check it out?”

Wild rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what Twilight was getting at by using food to get him out of bed. Still, he decided to play along…a warm meal did sound nice.

“Sure, sure. If you say so.”