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Chapter Text

Four hated shifting Hyrules. Especially when it was in the middle of the night and he had to hurriedly pack all his belongings to please the portal, which just had the most excellent timings when it came to appearing out of nowhere. A second shift Twilight had woken up Wind once he'd noticed the portal, who in turn alerted everyone else with his strangely energetic call as he ran from sleeping hero to hero, shaking them awake if his yell didn't already.

Others seemed to suffer more from the sudden awakening than Four however, a particularly drowsy Sky leaning against Warriors as he helped pack both of their things. Legend was also angrily shoving things into his bag haphazardly, snapping at anyone who dared to approach him. Picking up his own bag, Four trudged over towards Time, who performed a brief headcount.

"Is everyone ready?" He called out, the heroes responding with a set of tired grunts.

"Well, partner up then head on through," Time reminded.

Time and Twilight stood by the swirling portal, watching the pairs head through. First was Warriors and Sky, the latter clinging onto the captain who would definitely have a hard time getting him off in the morning. Second was Hyrule and Legend, who Four could hear mumbling under his breath what were probably curses. And next was him and Wind, Four bracing himself as he stepped through the unfriendly portal.

It was overwhelming, like all his senses had just been restarted. His knees buckled and before he knew it he was hunched over with his arms on the ground to support him. The sailor drew supportive circles on his back with his palm as Four fought through the nauseating feeling he always felt. Behind him, he heard two pairs of feet step through the portal as it disappeared with a familiar zipping noise. Slowly, Four got up with a hand looped over Wind's shoulder as they all examined their surroundings.

"Whose Hyrule is this?" Time asked as everyone shared confused glances, followed by a cacophony of 'not mine's.

"We shouldn't be so sure, it's still too dark to tell," Hyrule added, most of the heroes agreeing with him.

They appeared to be in a large grassy area of sorts, small clusters of forests dotted about as Four noticed the peaks in the distance. Given that dawn would soon break, the Chain decided to find a village or civilisation first, walking through the dead of night. As the sun started to rise, they got a better look at their surroundings, each of them slowly realising that it wasn't their Hyrule. In fact, this didn't appear to be anyone's Hyrule.

Walking faster to catch up with Time in the front, Twilight talked to Time about the new Hyrule.

"This doesn't seem to be anyone's Hyrule. Do you think it's possible that it's new? Or just a random Hyrule?" Twilight asked, looking at Time's contemplative expression. They'd been in unspecified Hyrules before with no hero in them, just enemies.

"It could be new. Wind joined two months ago and before that it was Hyrule, which was about a month," Time mused out loud, "But there's always the possibility it isn't."

Twilight gave an agreeing nod as they continued walking through the large plains. Whether or not the hero was here, Twilight reckoned it'd take them forever to find anyone, seeing how far away everything was. They'd already been walking from night to early morning and weren't able to find a soul. It irked him how empty it was, all this space and no one to inhabit it.

Turning back, Twilight saw that the rest of the Chain was trailing behind.

"I think we should take a break, some of 'em are falling back," Twilight informed Time, his accent accidentally slipping through.

"Sure thing, pup," Time turned to face the tired heroes and announced to them, "Let's take a break here. Set up a temporary campsite."

Multiple relieved sighs came from the group as they set down their bags. Time did a quick scan of the area with his singular eye and concluded that it was safe enough, setting down his bag as well before resting by a tree stump. Warriors constructed a makeshift campfire with some dry sticks in the middle of the camp to heat up some food. Well, if it could even be called food. This army rations Warriors always made tasted weird.

"Seriously?! You're making that ration thing again?" Wind groaned after he approached the captain to see what he was doing.

"Hey now, this stuff has helped me in dire situations! You should be more respectful," Warriors rebuffed, shoving the pack into Wind's hands who looked at the unsatiating contents.

"I'd rather have Hyrule's cooking than more of this hardtack stuff!" Wind whined as he stuck he tongue out, Warriors feigning hurt as he clutched his chest.

"Really?" Hyrule perked up from across the campsite.

"No 'Rulie, he was being sarcastic. Remember?" Legend reminded as Hyrule sulked, "But still, Warriors' rations do taste like shit."

"Language," Twilight instinctively called out, earning an eye roll from Legend.

One by one, each member of the Chain begrudgingly approached Warriors who handed them each a ration. It was hardly filling as a morning food, nor did it look particularly appetising. The meat always tasted like rubber whilst the hardtack was tough as a rock. Hyrule and Sky were the only people who liked Warriors' rations, although it was mostly because Hyrule had no taste buds and Sky pretended to like it out of compassion.

After the "meal", they started to pack up and head back onto the road before Twilight spoke up.

"D'you hear that?" He asked. Everyone exchanged confused glances but kept quiet nonetheless, in an attempt to hear anything. It wasn't their fault if they didn't, Twilight's hearing was always weirdly good.

"Hear what?" Time approached Twilight, whose ears were twitching subtly.

"Sounds like a... fight or something," Twilight elaborated as he pointed towards the trees, where the fight was supposedly happening.

"I don't hear anything. Are you sure you aren't just–" Legend asked before being cut off by Warriors.

"Shush, I think I hear it," Warriors interrupted. Legend silently scowled at him.

"Sure you do," Legend commented.

"Wait, I hear it too!" Wind exclaimed. A smirk grew on Warriors face as he looked over towards Legend.

"Is that enough evidence for you veteran?" Warriors teased, Legend holding back the urge to throw literally every curse he knew at him.

"What are we waiting for? We have to help them," Time ordered as the camp scrambled up to their feet.

Weaving through the forest, Twilight led the group as they jogged through the trees, the sounds of metal clanging getting louder as they did. All of them holding their weapons out, they eventually emerged out of the forest. The first thing Twilight saw was two figures in the distance, fighting the equivalent of a small army of monsters. The fighters appeared to be holding their ground surprisingly well, defending against wave after wave of monsters.

"Let's go."

Champion awoke to a squirming Link. The sun's rays were shining in through the open window, a specific beam of light shining directly onto Link's face almost as if on purpose. Sitting up, he felt Link clutching himself around his waist, attempting to pull him back into bed. He responded by dragging him out with him as he stood up, a sleepy Link hitting the ground.

"What was that for?" Link whined as he stood up, rubbing his side.

Champion gave an innocent shrug before heading out into the living room. There, he spotted the Princess sitting by the table with multiple documents.

'What-are-you-doing?' Champion asked after tapping her shoulder to get her attention.

"Just some research. I think I should be asking you why you slept in," Zelda responded before turning her attention back to the papers.

Slept in? Champion checked the time and saw it was nearing lunch. How could I have slept so late? I'm getting sloppy.

'Sorry.' Champion apologised guiltily.

"Hm? I'm not upset. If anything, more sleep is good for you. You don't have to wake up early everyday you know? You're no longer a knight," She teased whilst reminding him at the same time that she wasn't the Princess anymore. In fact, she denounced the title.

Champion still found it hard to believe that she wasn't the Princess. If she wasn't, then what was his purpose? His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a groggy Link bursting into the room, his eyes closed as he walked over to them.

"Why'd we have to wake up so early?" He complained.

"Early? It's hardly early Link," Zelda laughed as she directed Link to sit down.

Champion watched as she performed her daily routine of attacking Link's morning hair with her brush, Link whining as she undid the tough tangles. Champion ignored them as he went to heat up some tea for himself using some crushed Hyrule Herbs. Holding two cups, he headed back to them, Link's hair significantly better as he handed Link the cup. Sipping at his own cup, he sat down opposite of them.

'Where are the monsters?' Champion asked as Zelda set down her comb.

"Oh yes!" Zelda perked up as she rummaged through her pile of paperwork, eventually pulling out a brown envelope, "There's been multiple reports of a massive group of black-blooded monsters at Southern Hyrule Field. Do you think you'll be able to deal with them?"

Champion gave a swift nod as he stood up and tugged Link's shirt.

'Let's-go.' Champion signed as he helped Link up before equipping his sword and shield. He'd returned the Master Sword back to the Lost Woods given that he wasn't exactly fond of the negative memories that came with it.

Link waved goodbye as he teleported away, Champion disappearing soon after to follow Link. Over the past few weeks, he and Link had taken on the arduous task of exploring the entirety of Hyrule, finding all the shrines and towers they could that were either tucked away in the cold mountains or remote corners of Hyrule. Something else they found out was that only Link and Champion seemed to be able to teleport as it didn't work when Link tried to teleport whilst holding Zelda's hand, although Champion had heard murmurs that she had gotten Purah to make a Slate of her own for her.

They had teleported onto the Great Plateau, overlooking Hyrule Field at one of its edges. Champion always felt most nostalgic whenever they went to the Plateau, even though everything else could be argued to be equally nostalgic. Looking off into the distance, Link tapped Champion's shoulder and pointed at a large group of Bokoblins. This was probably the largest group of them Champion had ever seen, there were at least twenty of them along with a couple of Moblins.

"Ready?" Link tentatively asked, receiving a nod.

At Champion's confirmation, Link took a running start off of the Plateau and paraglided over to the mass of monsters. Watching from afar, Link flew above the crowd and, with his claymore, performed a swinging motion down towards the ground. Link landed on a Bokoblin's back, killing it instantly as the other monsters were sent back in a shockwave. Champion quickly appeared by Link's side and pulled out his sword, slashing at the nearest downed monsters.

The surprised monsters quickly jumped back up to their feet and charged at the pair, both boys steeling themselves as they pushed and fought against the monsters. For every Bokoblin they killed, a new one would just fill its spot, the fight turning into a repetitive back and forth between them and the monsters. From where he was fighting, Champion could hear explosions going off behind him, occasionally turning to see Link firing bomb arrows at the enemies.

It was messy, to say the least. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to rush in and attack the monsters indiscriminately, but Champion kept his footwork steady and his strikes precise. The same couldn't really be said about Link, who was twirling around in a circle with his claymore as he haphazardly swung it at the Bokoblins. Champion would also watch Link throw his claymore at the enemies before pulling out another claymore, repeating this insane waste of weapons multiple times.

Despite their best efforts at holding their ground, they were both getting tired, sweat accumulating on his forehead. The enemies were unrelentless and they definitely still outnumbered them no matter how many they had already killed. Champion was considering falling back with Link, but first he'd have to travel across the battlefield. Knocking back some Moblins and weaving through the monsters, he was about to reach Link when all of a sudden, something was coming out of the trees.

More monsters are coming. Champion thought as he quickened his pace, reaching out to grab Link's arm when all of a sudden a large burst of fire came out of nowhere, scorching multiple monsters. The pair wondered where it came from whilst they continued fighting the remaining monsters, is it possible the monsters have elemental swords? But then why would they attack themselves?

Through the flames, Champion spotted hints of figures before a man came rushing out, holding a mighty blade above his head as he slashed at the Bokoblins. He was adorned in armour the likes of which could rival the royal family's, the intricate detailing on it was clearly well-maintained as it shined with the light. Paying attention back towards the battle, he ignored the man as more fighters emerged from the smoke, helping them take down the monsters.

Now that Champion had thought about it, he'd never seen these people before. Ever since Link's first encounter with the Yiga Clan, Champion had made it a habit to remember every traveller's face he'd come across and sometimes even their names. He would probably remember such a large group of heavily armed people, especially since they had weapons he didn't even know existed.

Champion and Link stood breathless as they handled the last few monsters, their blades stained ink black.

"Who do you think they are?" Link tiredly asked as they eyed the group, the man with the blue scarf killing the last Moblin.

'Be-careful. They seem dangerous.' Champion warned.

"What are you talking about? They just helped us," Link questioned. He reasoned that Champion was probably saying that just because he didn't trust travellers in general, but Link also realised he'd never actually seen them around.

Champion was about to argue with Link again before a brunette boy walked over.

"Hello, are you two hurt? We have potions if you need any," The brunette offered. Champion cautiously left a hand on his sheathed blade's hilt.

"No thanks, we're fine!" Link politely refused, "Actually, where are you guys from? I don't think I've seen such a large group travelling together before."

Champion scrutinised every detail and action of the brunette, noticing how his speech stammered when Link asked where he was from. Just then, two other members came over, a young boy wearing a blue shirt who looked even younger than the brunette and a guy with a thick wolf pelt on his shoulders. They seemed to have overheard their conversation as they spoke on behalf of the brunette.

"We're not exactly from here, but I guess that's why we're called travellers," The wolf-pelt man said.

"I see," Link somehow accepted that ominous answer.

"You guys are such good fighters! It's super cool how you swung that giant sword around!" The blue-shirt boy exclaimed as he started examining Link from top to bottom.

He watched as the boy kept spewing mindless chatter out of his mouth as he checked out Link's sword, Link giving the sword to him to try. He wanted to kill Link. What type of person gives their sword to a stranger? He internally sighed as the boy thankfully gave the sword back before checking out the Slate on Link's hip.

"Oooo... What's this?" The blue-shirt boy asked as he stretched out a hand to grab it.

That's enough. Instantaneously, Champion took out his sword and raised it to the boy's neck, the tip of his blade resting under the boy's chin. The blue-shirt boy froze as his hand remained outstretched midair, his eyes meeting Champion's scowl.

"What are you doing?" Link scolded, grabbing Champion's hand and pulling it away from the boy.

Drawing his attention away from the boy, he noticed the shocked faces of the other two travellers before grabbing Link's hand and pulling him away. If you're not going to let me kill them, then at least let us leave. Link tugged against Champion's hand and eventually they stood further from the group, quietly discussing between each other as the travellers stared at them from afar.

"I-I don't know w-what I did," Wind sputtered as Hyrule looked him over.

"He's fine," Hyrule told the rest that stood nearby before suggesting, "Maybe we accidentally angered them?"

"Angered? He was ready to chop Wind's head off!" Legend argued as he stormed in place.

"It's our fault," Twilight stated, "Wind tried to touch something that wasn't ours. We should've asked first."

"Who cares? A sane person doesn't go around swinging swords at others!" Legend rebuked, Hyrule approaching the angry veteran and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder which seemed to calm him slightly.

"Let's just give them a moment to cool down first. See, they're just over there," Sky pointed to where they were talking, "We'll apologise and ask for directions."

Sky was always good at meditating conflicts as Legend thankfully stayed silent. Twilight was still surprised by how fast the stranger took out his sword and pointed it at Wind, his eyes were deadly focused on him before he was luckily stopped by his companion. Twilight silently watched the two strangers in the distance, ignoring the chatter coming from the rest of the Chain as he watched the strangers discuss something. The man in the blue tunic was clearly an experienced fighter, probably a trained knight. His companion's fighting pattern however felt more reckless.

Another thing Twilight wondered was whether they were related. They looked similar in many aspects, with only a few differences between them such as how one of them was more scarred and had longer hair. Perhaps they were twins. Actually, the longer they stayed in this Hyrule, the weirder things felt. Firstly was the emptiness of it all, these two fighters being the first people they'd met the entire time. Second was all the ruins they encountered whilst they were walking through the plains, this Hyrule had clearly gone through alot and was probably ancient. How far in the timeline were they?

In this distance, he watched the twins continue discussing something, the scarred man scolding the blue-tunic man.

"You alright rancher?" Twilight turned to see the smith standing behind him, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Yea, what's up?" Twilight asked.

"We're going to head over. Time says he wants you to watch out if they do anything like last time," Four pointed over to the rest of the Chain, who were preparing to go talk to the strangers again.

"Sure thing," Twilight ran up to the front where Time and Sky were already walking towards the strangers, who seemed to notice them.

The blue-tunic man stood quietly behind the scarred man, staring daggers at them as they approached. His glare was powerful and could possibly even rival that of Legend's. Twilight watched as Sky cautiously approached the duo, Time's hand resting on his hilt.

"Sorry we got off the wrong foot earlier, we shouldn't have tried to touch things that weren't ours," Sky apologised.

"No worries, he just... overreacted is all," The scarred man stated as Twilight watched the blue-tunic man shrink behind him.

"It's alright. Do you know any nearby settlements? Me and my friends here are a bit lost," Sky brushed off the blue-tunic man's odd behaviour.

"Well, there's a stable west of here, roughly through those mountains," He pointed out towards a path that led into the mountains, "I could guide you there if you want."

The blue-tunic man seemed to protest against his offer, subtly tugging on the scarred man's tunic, which was ignored. He was probably doing this to spite him.

"That would be appreciated, thank you," Time spoke up, his grip on his hilt since released.

The pair began leading the way towards the stable, Sky, Time, and Twilight staying upfront with the pair whilst the rest of the Chain tailed them a few feet back.

"Should we really trust these guys?" Four asked tentatively.

"Nope. But Time does, so who cares?" Legend unhelpfully responded.

"They look like nice people, they were just being cautious," Wind suggested.

"How are you defending them?" Warriors blurted out with the most confused expression he's ever given.

"They're cool," Wind responded with the most innocent smile he could muster. Right, it was like Wind to like things that were reckless or dangerous just because it was 'cool'.

"The self-preservation in this group is depressingly low," Warriors sighed.

They were making a mistake. Why were they leading heavily armed Yiga directly towards a stable? Champion led the way in front of the group of strangers, Link chatting with three of its members behind him. He stood away from them but not far enough to be out of earshot. He'd briefly examined the three strangers, concluding that the armoured man with the closed eye appeared to be their leader whilst wolf-pelt man and white-cape man were the second-in-command, and maybe blue-scarf man as well.

One thing he didn't understand was why the Yiga were so willing to keep up with this charade. They could've easily revealed themselves back in the field and killed them, seeing as how they were tired and outnumbered. Maybe the Yiga were taking a new approach, talking with the heroes, gaining their trust, then killing them. Whatever it was, Link was being infuriatingly naive, refusing to let him kill them.

"What's your name? I try to remember the names of all the travellers I meet," Link asked.

"You don't have to remember our names, but I'm Sky. These two are Time and Twilight," White-cape man, identified as Sky, answered.

"Behind us, that's Hyrule, Legend, Wind, Warriors, and Four," Sky explained. How could anyone believe these fake names? One of them was literally named Hyrule.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Link and that's Champion," Link excitedly piped up, Champion flinching slightly at his mention.

Why was Link giving away their names to the Yiga? Technically, they already know their names but still. Champion slowed his pace to move closer to Link, grabbing his wrist once he was close enough and pulling him to walk at the front with him. The three strangers had gone mysteriously quiet but Champion could care less. They were probably scheming when to strike, now that he and Link had their backs turned to them. Quickening his pace, he dragged Link over to the stable, ignoring his protests as the group of strangers maintained their slow gait. Champion just needed time to think away from the strangers about what to do next. Reaching the sanctuary of the stable, he finally released his grip on Link's arm as he tried to calm his breathing.

"What's wrong? Why'd we have to leave them?" Link asked while catching his breath.

'Dangerous. We need to leave.' Champion urged.

"Seriously? Champion we've been over this, you can't say all–" Link tried to lecture him again before getting cut off.

'Please.' Champion signed desperately.

Link hesitated slightly before speaking up, "Fine, but I'm hungry. I'm going to make some food first, then we'll leave."

Champion stood alone in front of the stable as Link headed towards the cooking pot, turning to his left to see the group approaching in the distance.

They had found the hero. He had revealed his name to them to be Link before getting dragged along by the blue-tunic man, someone named Champion. Time relayed this information to the rest of the Chain, who gave varying responses. Twilight was honestly surprised they'd chanced upon the hero so easily, maybe Hylia was giving them a break after all.

"Are you sure he's the hero?" Four asked.

"Well, he said his name was Link. That's a pretty big indicator that he is," Twilight responded.

"What about his companion?" Warriors offered, "They're probably twins. If he's the hero, the other has to be as well."

"Who says? If anything, the other guy's the hero. Did you see the way he fought?" Legend remarked.

"Skill is not a defining factor of a hero," Sky stated, "Maybe we should just ask if there is a hero."

"Actually, I sensed some magic on Champion. It's quite subtle, but it's there," Hyrule added, a few other heroes confirming as well.

"It doesn't matter whether or not Link is the hero," Time cut in, "All that matters is we don't lose them."

Time pointed out how they had since disappeared into the distance, presumably towards the stable.

"Stop discussing this. For now, let's just head up the path and hope they haven't left," Time organised the group, leading the way as they quickly made their way down the path.

Spotting the stable in the distance, a large horse head emerging out of its tent base with plumes of smoke billowing out, Wind and Hyrule were already gone as they went to explore it, Warriors following suit to wrangle them back. The cosy appearance of the stable was filled with travellers. Well not filled, there were just a few travellers lingering around, some of them from different races of Hyrule. Luckily, Champion was standing nearby outside the front of the stable, looking contemplatively at something before turning to face them once he noticed them approaching.

They knew he wasn't the most fond of them, so they cautiously approached him.

"Excuse us Champion, but where is Link? We would like to speak with you and him privately, if possible," Sky politely explained.

Champion simply stared at them, his analytical eyes scanning all of them up and down. He hesitated, possibly going over something in his head, before deciding to lead them over towards a cooking pot which they saw Link hunched over. It was a pleasant surprise that he even led them to Link, was he starting to trust them? Tapping Link's shoulder, Champion alerted him to their arrival, causing Link to back away from the pot and stand up.

"Hey Link, we were wondering if–" Time attempted to talk before being interrupted by an overly eager Wind.

"WOAH! You can cook?" He exclaimed, startling many travellers around the stable.

A quick glare by the other members of the Chain had Wind apologising profusely, "Sorry, I didn't know you could cook is all," He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"It's fine. Why are you so surprised though?" Link questioned, the Chain exchanging brief glances, "Can't most people cook?"

"Let's just say we suck at cooking," Four stated bluntly.

"Oh. Would you like some then?" Link offered, raising up a ladle holding a creamy liquid. The aroma was alluring as the Chain guiltily nodded, Link generously sharing his stew with them.

It was the best thing any of them had tasted in months. The silky texture of the stew effortlessly travelled down their throats as the soft chunks of vegetables and mushrooms added just the right amount of flavour. It tasted homey and easily filled them up, many of them going in for seconds. They hadn't tasted something this good in so long. Twilight hoped that Link was the hero, he wanted him to join just so that they could eat real food again.

"This stuff's super good!" Wind excitedly praised as he pulled his third empty bowl away from his mouth.

"Thanks," Link replied bashfully, his head hung low with a hidden smile, "You shouldn't thank me, thank Champion, he taught me."

Champion quickly shook his head at Link's praise, pointing back at Link. Now Twilight was just curious how good Champion's cooking was.

"What did you want to talk about anyways?" Link reminded them, watching as Time cleared his throat.

"Do you know where we could find the hero of Hyrule?" Time forthrightly asked, Link and Champion exchanging glances.

They watched as Link anxiously swallowed, resting one hand on this strange stone thing on his hip as Champion also placed a cautionary hand on his hilt.

"I..." Link slowly started before interrupting, "We are the heroes," gesturing to himself and Champion, "Most people know so we don't exactly keep it a secret."

The Chain remained quiet, whether it be from shock or confusion as Link and Champion maintained watchful eyes on them. Apparently not doing anything was the right answer as Champion released his grip from his hilt, crossing his arms instead.

"I'm kinda glad you don't know," Link modestly stated, "Besides, Champion gets shy about this sort of stuff."

They turned to look at Champion who maintained the same unreadable expression he'd been holding the entire time. Was this him being shy?

Warriors blinked rapidly, his mouth left open before he spoke up, "Wait wait wait, how are both of you the hero?"

"Um..." Link paused as his eyes darted around. He swallowed drily as he felt expectant eyes resting on him. Champion subtly shifted from foot to foot as he attempted to approach Link.

Seeing how they seemed to have hit a sensitive topic, Twilight slowly spoke up, "You don't have to tell us now if you don't want to," Link nodding quickly at Twilight's suggestion.

"So, uh, why did you want to know about the hero anyways?" Link asked, "You don't want bananas do you?"

"Uh... no thanks," Time politely refused the offer, "There's something we have to tell you about us."

Chapter Text

There were multiple reasons not to believe them. They were heavily armed, used fake names, and one of them tried to take the Slate. Now, they'd just told them that they were a group of time travelling heroes, all of them previous reincarnations of them, and that they had to join to help them take out black-blooded monsters spanning across multiple timelines.

Yeah, sure. Like anyone's going to believe that.

They had the Master Sword.

To prove themselves, they had one of their members, Sky, take out the Master Sword. Champion's head was spinning, how was this even possible? How did they have the Master Sword? He placed it in the Lost Woods, he was sure of it. His head started to hurt as he looked at the Master Sword resting in Sky's hands, its blade clean and hilt looking brand new. The world around him was swirling as he remained transfixed on the sword, everything going blurry except for the holy blade.

Luckily, Champion wasn't the only one who felt this way. He soon found himself running through a forest. He didn't remember how he made it here, but he saw Link in front of him pulling him through the forest, Champion turning with a dizzy head to see brief glimpses of figures chasing after them. Focusing back towards Link, Champion understood what was happening. Spotting a thick underbrush created by some perched roots, he quickly pulled himself and Link to the side to hide underneath.

The thick cover of moss and leaves disguised them well as they watched the group slowly approach, evident from their loud footsteps. Link and Champion remained huddled next to each other as they attempted to be as still as possible. Placing a hand over his mouth, Champion masked his breathing, something which Link replicated as boots of the travellers appeared from their view point.

"Where'd they go?" That worried voice seemed to come from Four.

"They were just right here, I swear!" The grumbling tone was probably Legend's.

They watched as more legs entered the frame, each of them complaining more than the last.

"Listen up," Time's commanding voice spoke up against the chatter, the group going silent as they listened to him, "Spread out to find them. I'll stay here with Twilight, report back here if you don't find anything."

They must've nodded because in an instant the legs walked away, leaving only two pairs which were presumably Twilight and Time's, seeing as how they weren't moving away. Champion did his best to remain silent as he painfully waited for them to leave.

"You can come out now," Twilight softly spoke.

The pair froze. Was he talking to them? Did they know they were here? How would he?

Getting down on one knee, Twilight crouched down closer to the underbrush. They still couldn't see his face, but could see his chest and knee. Slowly, Twilight extended a hand under the thick foliage, cautiously offering a hand to pull them up. The two stared at it for a long time, contemplating whether they should take it like fish staring at bait. Eventually, Link decided he'd take Twilight's hand, reluctantly placing his hand in his.

Twilight let out a pleased hum as Link grabbed his hand, pulling him out of the underbrush effortlessly. Twilight and Time watched as the skittish teen looked down anxiously in front of them, his hair covered in leaf litter and clothes stained with dirt. Twilight crouched back down to help Champion out before being stopped mid-crouch by Link.

"He can get out himself," He whispered

Time and Twilight exchanged brief glances before hearing a stick crack behind them, both of them slightly startled at Champion's sudden appearance behind them.

"How'd you do that?" Twilight asked inquisitively, Champion only giving a shrug.

"Alright..." Time slowly said, "If you don't mind, we would just like to know why you ran away."

Time stared the two anxious boys down in case they decided to run again, the pair fiddling in place before Link slowly spoke up.

"Um... It was just a little... much, I guess," Link stammered, his gaze not daring to meet the two heroes, "Sorry."

"It's fine, Link. We know how overwhelming it can feel to learn so much so quickly," Time calmly explained, "If it helps, you're not the first to have reacted like this."

Twilight watched as Link and Time sat by a tree, Time engaging him in some light conversation in an attempt to calm the scarred hero's nerves, which appeared to be working as he occasionally let out small giggles. Wait, weren't there two heroes? Twilight turned his head around to find the second hero, eventually spotting him leaning against a tree with his arms crossed and hood raised up.

Seeing as how Time was dealing with Link, Twilight thought it'd only be fair if he helped deal with the other Link. Champion was certainly the more mysterious character between the pair, given that he'd been wary of them since the start and hadn't said a single word let alone noise. He was deadly silent, easily fading in with the background and popping up when you'd least expect.

The only way Twilight was able to find them was because he heard Link's soft breathing, he had just hoped Champion was with him. Approaching slowly, Champion turned up to look at him as he leaned next to him, Twilight getting a bit disheartened when Champion scooted over slightly.

"Are you alright?" Twilight asked calmly.

Champion looked up at him briefly before looking back down and giving a stiff nod.

"Okay..." Twilight was slightly stumped by the lack of response, but what else did he expect?

"Are you a knight? You're quite skilled at fighting," Twilight evaluated.

The question appeared to catch Champion off guard, who nodded slowly before quickly covering it up with a shrug.

"You don't know? Are you no longer a knight?" Twilight guessed, Champion nodding to his second suggestion.

"I see. Do you–" Twilight wanted to follow up before he noticed Champion's hands moving, watching him move them deliberately.

Champion was signing something to him. In all honesty, Twilight was rusty on his sign and knew just basic signs. Even then, Champion's signs appeared familiar yet alien, slight tweaks in signs he knew. It would make sense that sign language also changed with time, especially since this Hyrule was supposedly ancient. Twilight sheepishly asked Champion to repeat the signs, but slower as he was still having a hard time figuring out.

'When-do-we-leave?' Was what Twilight made out, although he added a few words to make it more coherent.

"When are we leaving? Is that what you're asking?" Twilight confirmed with Champion, who nodded.

"Er... well we don't really get to choose. Hylia will open portals for us to travel to the next Hyrule once she thinks we're done in the current Hyrule," Twilight explained, watching Champion's unwavering deadpan expression.

"I get if it's a bit much. I didn't understand it either," Twilight admitted followed by Champion shaking his head.

So... he did understand it? In fact, he didn't even seem fazed. What has this kid been through?

Twilight wanted to continue talking with Champion, given that this was also the longest conversation he'd held with him, before he heard some distant footsteps. The others must be coming back from their search expeditions, albeit they were rigged given that he knew where they were the entire time. Time'll deal with them for him. Looking over at said Time, Link seemed to have brightened up after his initial scare following his talk with Time.

Through the trees, Warriors and Hyrule reappeared.

"Sorry, we couldn't find..." Warriors started before squinting at Link and Champion, "...them."

"Are you guys alright? Where were you?" Hyrule's caring personality surpassed Warriors' disbelief as he approached Link to check for injuries.

"Um, yes, we're fine," Link meekly answered, Hyrule accepting the answer as he moved over to Champion.

"And how did you find them?" Warriors directed his question to the old man.

"Let's just say we stumbled on them," Time offered, his answer clearly not satisfying Warriors.

"Right..." Warriors slowly responded.

As Hyrule approached Champion, Twilight watched as the teen backed away from the brunette when he attempted to reach out a hand to examine him, Champion watching him warily as Hyrule withdrew his hand.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Hyrule apologised softly, Champion giving no response.

"HEY I FOUND THEM!" Wind yelled out from the forest, surprising everyone as they turned to the source of the noise.

Soon, a panting Wind popped out of the trees, followed by an equally tired Four and Legend.

"See! There they–" Wind cut himself off when he noticed the other nearby heroes, "Oh."

"Idiot," Four called Wind through tired breaths, Legend facepalming himself as he was too tired to insult Wind.

"Anybody seen Sky?" Twilight asked.

"He probably fell asleep on a nice, comfy log or something," Legend exasperatedly replied as he laid on the forest floor, too tired to bother looking at Twilight.

"I'll go get him," Warriors volunteered before disappearing back into the trees.

Ignoring the whole fiasco, Twilight turned back to look at Champion, who had since disappeared. Quickly looking around, he sighed after he spotted Champion sat with Link, his hands lightly cupped over his ears. He slowly walked over to the pair and crouched down to talk with them.

"Are they too loud?" Twilight asked as Champion gave a stiff nod.

"Sorry about them. I've tried to get Wind to keep quiet but he's a 'pirate' or something," Time explained softly.

"He'll be fine," Link spoke on behalf of Champion, who remained quiet, "He just doesn't like strangers. Or loud noises."

"Well, I hope we won't be strangers for long," Time offered Champion a smile, who simply nodded.

"Found him," Warriors announced as he walked back with a yawning Sky. Did he really fall asleep?

"Oh, you two are back," Sky said drowsily. Yup, he did.

"Sky, I think it's time Link got his hero title," Time called Sky over, Link and Champion sharing confused looks.

"Hero title?" Link asked as Sky crouched down in front of him.

"Basically your nickname," Four simplified, "Since we're all called Link, we all go by our hero title, which is given by the Master Sword. My name's Four because I'm the Hero of the Four Sword. The others are self-explanatory."

"Oh, alright. But..." Link trailed off as Sky presented the Master Sword to Link, turning the hilt to face him.

Link swallowed drily as he looked at the blue hilt, "The sword doesn't really like me."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Sky drew back the sword slightly.

"I don't know. It just... burns me when I try to hold it," Link looked down dully.

Twilight noticed Link squirming in place slightly as the heroes huddled around nearby to watch. They were pressuring him. Using his hand, he gently ushered them to back away slightly, the heroes luckily getting the message and moving back, giving Link more space to breathe.

"No, there's no way she'd hurt a hero," Sky thought aloud in disbelief as he cradled the sword.

"Is it alright if I don't–" Link was interrupted by a gentle hand on his shoulder from Champion.

He proceeded to eloquently sign something to Link, presumably something lengthy given how long he performed the signs, all in quick succession. The members of the Chain who knew sign language attempted to keep up with him, but the generational differences and their general ineptness proved it to be difficult. They resorted to silently watching the conversation between the pair unfold, mindfully leaving them to talk uninterrupted.

The conversation seemed to conclude as Link gave a nod and turned back to face Sky, "I think I'm ready," A slightly uncertain Link stated.

Sky gave a nod as he turned the hilt back to Link. Slowly, Link and Champion raised their hands to grip the hilt.

"Wait, will it work if two people grab it at the same time?" Wind chimed in.

"Oh, uh, how do I explain this..." Link furrowed his eyebrows in thought, "Me and Champion, we're the same person."

"Huh? What does that even mean?" Hyrule asked.

"Uh, I'll explain it later," Link avoided the question.

"You better," Legend spat. He was getting tired of these two avoiding so many suspicious questions.

Link gave a quick nod as he and Champion resumed reaching out, both of them grabbing the hilt on the count of three.

The divine power of the sword hit quick. Champion had never felt it so strongly before, the Master Sword that he used was far more muted. Link appeared to be dealing with it quite well, he also wasn't getting burnt, which must be a good sign. Slowly, Champion withdrew his hand, leaving Link to wield the hilt by himself. Link seemed to be engrossed in thought, not noticing the fact that he was wielding the sword by himself.

This quelled Champion's fears, a deep down thought that Link wasn't a hero chosen by the Goddesses. Something must have changed after they defeated Ganon and Link must now be 'worthy' to hold the Master Sword. Despite being a biased source regarding whether or not the Master Sword was good, he felt happy that Link could hold it. He noticed that Link had been masking his sadness for a while now whenever the sword was brought up in conversation by him or Zelda.

They all watched in anticipation as Link kept his grip on the sword, his body unmoving as something was supposedly happening between him and the sword.

Champion had been staring at Link for at least a minute. This was longer than any memory Link had ever had before and he was getting a little worried. It was the Master Sword, what harm could it be doing to him? He could hear small murmurings breaking out behind him between the members as they discussed what could be happening, the heroes being just as confused as Champion.

Link blinked slowly, an action not gone unnoticed by Champion, who quickly shook him gently. He slowly came back to reality, releasing his grip on the sword to rub his eyes lightly.

"Are you alright? You usually don't have to hold Fi for that long," Sky asked as he took the Master Sword back, Champion deducing that he called the sword Fi for some reason.

"Yeah, I was just... I don't know. It was just a long conversation," Link sighed as he rubbed his head.

"What was it about?" Four asked curiously.

"The sword just apologised to me. We spent a while talking and she gave me my hero title," Link simplified the contents of his conversation.

"I see," Sky said quietly with slight sadness in his voice.

"What is your hero title? Hurry, tell us!" Wind excitedly bounced in place as he awaited Link's answer.

"The Hero of the Wilds."

The Chain heard a small playful scoff after Link, now dubbed Wild, said that. Turning their heads, it came from the last person they expected. Champion had just let out the first noise any of them had heard this entire time and it was to laugh at Wild's hero title. He quickly masked up his tiny smirk as he resumed his deadpan expression, the rest of the Chain still staring at him in surprise.

"How could you do that?" Wild playfully punched Champion, the latter dodging it as Wild continued.

They continued play fighting for a while before it turned into messy roughhousing, the Chain understanding why his title was Wild.

"Break it up now," Time light-heartedly interfered, separating the duo, "Welcome Wild and Champion."

They both shot back up to their feet, Champion cleaning himself off whilst Wild didn't bother. Champion gave a low bow in respect to them which Wild followed soon after.

"No need for the pleasantries," Warriors insisted, the duo rising back up quickly.

"Um, so what happens now?" Wild asked as he finally decided to brush the dirt off of him.

"Assuming that the group of monsters earlier were the only black-blooded monsters here," Sky started, "Then we should be getting the portal to the next Hyrule soon."

"They were. Does that mean we're leaving soon?" Wild replied with a tinge of sadness.

"Most likely," Sky nodded.

Champion tugged on Wild's sleeve, getting his attention before he signed a single word to him, a sign none of them recognised.

"Oh, he's asking if we can see our Zelda before we leave, whenever that is," Wild conveyed Champion's message to them, "She's probably at Hateno."

"If you want to go see your Zelda you can, we're not gonna stop you," Twilight supportively added.

"It's just that... It'll take about two days worth of travel. Probably more," Wild estimated.

"Two days?! How large is your Hyrule?" Wind exclaimed in surprise.

"If there's a chance you can see your Zelda, we should still try," Time suggested, ignoring Wind's comment, "So, lead the way."

Wild gave a short nod and started heading back to the stable, Champion accompanying him at the front as the rest of the Chain followed behind them.

"They still haven't answered any questions," Legend curtly reminded.

Champion didn't really know how to feel about the group of heroes trailing them. He knew they could be trusted, they were goddess approved after all, but he just felt different from the rest of them. They were all accomplished, some of them having multiple adventures under their belt. It took him two tries to get something right, something which most of them had already done, defeating Ganon.

He could hear the lively banter between them behind him, all of them comfortable and friendly with one another. Wild's easy-going personality would easily fit in with the rest of them, but he felt obligated to stick by Champion's side at the front. It made him feel guilty, he was hindering Wild from forming relationships due to his own selfishness or loneliness or whatever it was.

Wild was busy fiddling with his Slate when he was interrupted by Champion tugging his sleeve.

"What's up?" Wild peeled his eyes off his inventory to look at Champion.

'Go. To them.' Champion pointed to the group of heroes behind them.

"Really? I can stay if you want," Wild offered as he tilted his head.

'Stop caring about me. Go.' Champion ushered Wild away as he lifted his hood.

"Um, okay..." Wild reluctantly left Champion's side, giving him a few glances before tearing away for good.

Champion sighed through his nose. He was alone, again. But it was for Wild's own good, he shouldn't be allowed to not make friends just because of him. He focused back onto the road, looking around for any threats or monsters that might ambush them, or that's what he told himself. He could hear Wild talking with the rest of the group, his addition fitting in perfectly as they resumed their chatter.

He knew he was different. When they tried to talk with him he just didn't know how to extend the conversation, leading it to be awkward or only last a few sentences. He appreciated that they tried to talk with him, but it would just be better if he remained the silent knight he always was, just standing by the sidelines as he watched the action. He wasn't made to socialise, but to fight.

"Heyya," A voice to his right.

Champion cocked his head to the side, hand instinctively reaching for his sword before he realised it was just Twilight. He awkwardly rested his hands back by his side as Twilight released he just dodged an assassination attempt.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have snuck up on ya," Twilight brushed it off, Champion maintaining his gaze on the path ahead of them.

"How are you doing?" Twilight asked.

'Fine.' Champion succinctly responded.

Twilight just let out a hum in response. They continued walking quietly, the conversation descending into silence like the rest.

"How are you and Wild the same person?" Twilight spoke up again.

'Ask ----.' Champion signed. Twilight wasn't sure what the last sign was but assumed it was Wild's name, reiterated by Champion pointing back towards Wild.

"I did. He asked me to ask you," Ah, so Wild sent Twilight to him. "Besides that, he hasn't explained much about it to anyone else. Just lil' tidbits."

Letting out a soft sigh, Champion begrudgingly raised his hands up again. It seems Wild has dumped the responsibility of explaining why there were two heroes into his lap, not to mention that he also has to explain that he fell a century ago and that Wild has been asleep for a century.

'I died.' Champion decided this was a good starting point.

"I'm a bit rusty on my Hylian Sign, but did you say died?" Twilight questioned as Champion nodded.

He watched as Twilight's expression fell slightly, the rancher wasn't doing a good job at covering it up. To be fair, no one did a good job at masking their shock whenever he mentioned his death.

"Okay... died to who?" Twilight slowly followed up.

Champion didn't really understand why he had to answer because it was obvious who it was, but he did it anyway.

'-----. G-A-N-O-N.' Champion spelt it out for Twilight.

It would make sense he fell to Ganon, Twilight reasoned. But it still hurts to hear that his fellow hero had fallen in battle.

"If you fell... then how are you here? Are you a poe of some sort?" Twilight cautiously asked, he didn't want the teen to feel upset talking about such a sensitive topic.

Champion on the other hand, didn't care. He'd long gotten over his death. The burning pain that came along with it as he body toppled onto the wet grass, the metallic legs of the Guardian that killed him being the last thing he saw before everything went black. What he hadn't gotten over was the emotional pain that came along with it. Every time he looked at Zelda his heart ached, he didn't deserved to be forgiven by her, or by anyone for that matter.

Whenever he and Wild visited stables, the travellers sang their praises, occasionally gifting them food or weapons. But did he deserve it? No. They don't know he killed their ancestors. That he doomed the lands for a hundred years. That the deaths of people he knew constantly haunt him. The King, Mipha, Urbosa, Daruk, and even Revali. He didn't mind bearing this burden, in fact he was glad Wild only knew brief snippets of the whole story.

He'd wake up in the middle of the night, sweating and confused after having another horrid nightmare. Hyrule in flames as Ganon stared him down. Wild would always be there to support him, taking his time to talk with him and slowly coax him back to sleep. Wild didn't deserve to deal with him, no one did. He should suffer alone. Sometimes he'd wonder why Hylia even gave him a second chance. A second chance he didn't deserve.

"Champion?" Twilight's voice came out softer than he expected.

He snapped out of his own thoughts and faced the Ordonian, giving an apology for wandering off into his head by accident. He figured he owed Twilight an explanation to his long forgotten question anyways.

'I-am-a-spirit. S-P-I-R-I-T. What is a P-O-E?' Champion responded with slightly shaky hands.

Twilight gave a nod before explaining, "A poe is just a thing some of us have. It's fine if you don't know what it is."

Champion simply nodded at Twilight's explanation. Or lack thereof.

"So... you're a spirit. When did you die? If ya don't mind me asking," Twilight inquired.

He noticed that Champion hesitated to answer this question, perhaps it was more personal?

Slowly, Champion put up one finger, 'One.', before hesitantly making the 'C' symbol, 'One-hundred.'

"A hundred? Days? Months?" Twilight didn't suggest years because that wouldn't make much sense.

'Years.'

"What."

Twilight just stared at the teen, shock written on his face as he attempted to come to qualms with this new information. He must be lying, right? But he's been truthful this entire time, it wouldn't make sense to lie about something like this. Twilight then realised he'd been looking too obviously at Champion, who was now looking at his feet under Twilight's baffled gaze.

"Oh, sorry," Twilight withdrew his staring, "I'm, er, just taking it in."

'I-understand.' Champion guiltily continued to point his head down.

"Could you elaborate further? If you don't mind," Twilight slowly asked, he didn't want Champion to feel awkward, although they were far past that point by now.

Champion slowly nodded as he raised his hands again.

'After my death, they put me in the ------., where I-rested for one-hundred-years. Wild left the ------. I became a spirit.' Champion did his best to consolidate it into a short story that Twilight could understand.

Despite a few holes in the story, Twilight put together that the two unknown signs were the same and probably a place or location of some sort. Although he still didn't quite understand how there were two of them, something must have happened that turned them into two separate people. Twilight felt horrible for Champion and Wild, that something this bad could ever happen to somebody. That Hylia would let her heroes suffer like this.

"I'm sorry," Twilight mustered in a low voice.

Champion gave no response. Twilight presumed that he'd overexerted the teen for the day, especially after getting him to spill so much. He left his remaining questions to rest, given that it couldn't have been easy to have told him all that. The most he owed Champion was some time to compose himself. Twilight slowly reached out a hand to place on Champion's shoulder, stopping after he noticed the teen shying away from him.

"Alright, I won't touch you. But I'd just like to be here with you. Is that okay?" Twilight calmly asked. Champion gave him a quick nod.

Twilight let out a small hum and remained by Champion's side as they walked down the dirt path. The quiet chatter of the Chain and the whistling of the wind filled the silence between them. Champion was glad Twilight didn't push any further, but he still felt down. He hated talking about his past as it didn't get any easier, constantly faced with disappointed expressions whenever he explained himself. It made him feel horrible.

This time felt slightly different. Twilight was giving another disappointed expression but this time Champion picked up on other feelings. Feelings of sorrow, of compassion. He reasoned in his head that Twilight was making those by accident. He had to be. Why would anyone feel bad for him? He looked out towards the falling sun in the distance, the evening lights always shone the brightest at this time. They continued walking in silence, but this time it didn't feel awkward. It felt amicable.

Maybe this wasn't so bad.

Due to the setting sun, Time suggested setting up a makeshift camp after being informed by Wild that there weren't many stables around. Scouting around, they settled on a secluded spot by the river with a small group of trees nearby. Under Time's leadership, he effortlessly divided them into groups to help around the camp. Wild and Champion watched as jobs were distributed one by one until Time landed on them.

"You two don't have to do anything, seeing as how you just joined," Time assigned them to... sitting around?

"Huh? But we wanna do something!" Wild pleaded, which sounded more like whining, something that Champion was painfully used too.

"If you insist," Time acquiesced, "Wild, go help Four and Hyrule with resource gathering. Champion, can you cook for us tonight?"

The twins nodded in sync and went off to do their respective duties, Wild dashing into the trees as Champion approached the conveniently placed portable cooking pot carried by Warriors.

~~~

Wild didn't really know where Four and Hyrule went so he just trudged around the thick forest aimlessly, occasionally stopping to pick up some interesting mushrooms or plants he found. His main goal wasn't really to find Four or Hyrule but to just explore, seeing how he hadn't gotten the chance to do so in a while especially since he was apparently now a part of a group of time-travelling heroes. Zelda was never going to believe this. She's going to be sooo surprised!

Speaking of Zelda, Wild wondered how she was. He and Champion hadn't reported back to her all day and she had to be worried sick. Wild felt bad enough that it almost made him want to teleport over to Hateno. Almost. Wild couldn't just abandon the group he'd just met and besides, they were heading over to Hateno Village anyways. She could wait a day... probably. Actually, Zelda would kill them for leaving her in the dark like this and for disappearing for so long. Wild shuddered just thinking about it, Zelda's scoldings were way worse than Champion's.

He forgot about his future lecture as he focused back on the present, plucking out a few Ironshrooms by a tree stump. Just then, he heard a snap in the distance, his head instantly turning to face it. The sound was loud, so it wasn't caused by a deer, and it was thick, so it wasn't caused by a fox. Four and Hyrule. Staying low, Wild approached the noise with deadly accuracy, his ears twitching as he heard out for any other sounds.

Murmurings turned into voices, voices he knew. Turning past a tree, he caught a glimpse of Four's multicoloured tunic and Hyrule's mop-like hair.

"Does this one look edible?"

He made his approach.

"Well, it's green. Green's a good colour, right?"

On habit, he kept his steps light.

"Green could mean poison."

Standing behind them, he peaked over the shorter hero's shoulder to see what it was.

"How about this red one?"

"What are you guys looking at?" Wild spoke up.

The following screams were deafening, Four producing a shriek so loud Wild didn't even know his tiny body was able to make. He didn't understand what all the fuss was about as he stared at the two swords pointed right at him, completely unfazed as he turned to see if they screamed at something behind him, which they didn't.

"What's wrong?" Wild asked with a tilt of his head to the two scared heroes, who were both lying on the ground in shock as they dropped their swords.

"GODDESSES DAMMIT WILD DON'T DO THAT!" Four exclaimed with a hand clutched over his chest, his eyes were wider than ever as he stared at Wild like he was a Hinox or someting.

"Do what?" Wild asked innocently.

"Uh, I think what he means Wild..." Hyrule softly spoke as he stood back up, "...is that you shouldn't creep up on others like that."

"I wasn't creeping up on you guys. Time sent me to help you," Wild replied nonchalantly.

Four stood up after receiving a hand from Hyrule, "Right... just don't do that again, or I'm gonna die of a heart attack."

Wild quickly nodded, his messy ponytail bobbing up and down as well. He'd never heard of a heart attack before, but something attacking your heart doesn't sound good.

"Actually, since this is your Hyrule, are these mushrooms safe to eat?" Hyrule redirected him over to two groups of mushrooms, one group red and the other green.

Wild walked over and crouched down to check out the mushrooms, Four and Hyrule huddled around him. Taking one of each, he methodically examined them, Four and Hyrule following along despite not really understanding what Wild was doing. After his inspection, Wild proceeded to do the next step to check if they were safe. Eating them. Unhesitatingly, he popped both mushrooms into his mouth, chewing down on the tough texture.

"What are you doing?!" Four asked with wide eyes as he insisted Wild spit them out. By then, Wild had already swallowed the two mushrooms.

"Yup! They're safe," Wild confirmed, staring at a baffled Four and curious Hyrule.

"So that's how you check..." Hyrule took down a mental note to try it next time.

"Do NOT even think of following his behaviour," Four scolded, his face utterly perplexed at why their healer was up for eating random mushrooms.

"Here, try it!" Wild offered a red mushroom to Hyrule, who readily bit into it.

"Hm, chewy!" Hyrule let out a delighted hum as he took another bite.

"I think I'll just have my heart attack now," Four stated as he felt the white hairs growing on his head.

~~~

Champion threw the butter into the pan after waiting for about five minutes for it to heat up first. The butter sizzled and cracked under the hot metal, leaving golden trails as Champion expertly maneuvered it around with smooth tilts of his wrist. His eyes remained transfixed on the butter as it slowly melted, turning smaller with every turn. The crackling of the fire, constructed with dry sticks, accompanied the frizzling butter, which eventually dissipated into nothing, leaving the pan evenly coated.

"Now?" Time asked, his face illuminated with a soft orange glow as Champion nodded.

Time laid the large chunk of raw meat into the pan, the air filling with harsh hissing in response. Champion and Time were the only ones left in camp so he offered to help him, Champion reluctantly agreeing. Honestly, Champion didn't need help. He had planned to make some Salt-Grilled Gourmet Meat, a meal he'd made a hundred times in the past and had the recipe down in his head. He didn't know why he agreed, he could do it himself just like he had before.

Something in him just wanted Time over here. He didn't know what or why, but he just did, even though he was a bit scared of Time. He wore large amounts of armour and had a stern gaze that Champion avoided. Something about him just reminded him of people he knew, along with Warriors. Perhaps it was their positions of authority or appearance, Champion didn't know, especially since he knew that they would never harm him. Probably.

He felt Time's single-eye gaze over his shoulder as he sat ramrod straight, attempting to focus on the sizzling meat instead of his building anxiety.

"So, I heard you were a knight," Time broke the silence. Twilight must've talked to him.

Champion gave a stiff nod as he released his grip on the pan, fetching a chunk of rock salt.

"How long did you train? Your fighting skills are quite impressive," Time asked as he finally looked away, gazing lazily into the distance where he watched the setting sun.

Cracking the rock salt with his hands, he generously sprinkled it onto the steak before showing Time ten fingers.

"Ten? Ten years?" Time inquired, his voice lower than before.

Champion gave a nod as he masterfully flipped the steak with a quick flick to the pan.

"So, how old are you? Not including the century, of course," Time asked quietly.

Dividing his attention between the steak and Time, he lifted one hand to him and blinked out five, five, five, three using his fingers.

"Eighteen?" Time's tone was laced with surprise as Champion nodded.

He then gestured to Time to give him a plate, fishing out the perfectly seared Gourmet Steak and placing it on Time's plate. Taking the second raw piece of meat, he added it into the pan, the familiar sizzling returning as Time helped cut the Gourmet Steak into smaller portions for everyone.

"I'm sorry," Time solemnly stated over the sizzling and chopping.

Champion tore his gaze away from the searing steak to look at Time, tilting his head. Why was he sorry? Had he done something wrong?

"No one should go through something like that. You deserved a childhood," Time said with an underlying tone of sorrow.

Champion froze up. He didn't like thinking about his childhood, or his lack of one. He didn't really know how to respond to Time, instead attempting to distract himself by focusing on cooking the steak. Maybe Time would just drop it.

"You don't have to respond. Just know that we're here for you."

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He wanted to flinch away but oddly, it felt... fine. Champion slowly raised his own hand up and placed it on Time's. He disliked touch from others (except from Wild, of course) but strangely, he didn't want Time to stop. It was comforting. He felt as Time gave gentle squeezes to his shoulder to remind Champion that he was there for him. Eventually, Time drew away, Champion feeling more empty inside as he focused back on the steak.

The rest of the time he spent cooking was different. He usually used cooking as a way to focus on other things or unwind, but this time it felt empty. He realised he wanted to talk with Time, with anyone for that matter. He didn't realise how much he cherished the short conversation he held with Time, this sudden change in him surprising himself as well. He actually wanted to talk to others, to get to know them, but he didn't know how.

He took out the second perfectly seared steak out of the pan and placed it on another plate, cutting away at it with his wooden knife as Time sat nearby, peacefully humming to himself after he'd already evenly cut the first steak onto five plates. Efficiently slicing at the steak, he distributed it onto the remaining five plates and added a few finishing garnishes. Letting out a sigh, he stepped back to admire his work.

"Looks delicious Champion. Thank you, truly," Time stated with what Champion thought was sincerity.

Whatever it was, it made a warm feeling bubble up inside him. He'd done well and was being thanked for it. And... he liked it. As if on cue, the rest of the Chain started funnelling back into camp, Champion only looking out for Wild. Emerging from the forest, a particularly exasperated Four led out a chatting Hyrule and Wild, the latter showcasing his Slate's inventory to the former. Champion quickly got up and approached the pair.

"You can take them," Four sighed as he left Wild and Hyrule in Champion's care.

Slightly confused, he gave Wild a quick once-over before attacking offending branches and leaves from his hair.

"You guys didn't gather anything?" Time asked a tired Four.

"We did. Wild put all the stuff in his uh..." Four paused as he attempted to recall the name of Wild's Sheikah Slate, "Rock thing."

"WOAH! Dinner's ready!" Wind zoomed into the campsite after he returned from washing duty with Warriors, leaving Warriors to hold the damp heap of clothes.

The other heroes congregated by the plates, taking in the rich aroma as they settled down by them. Champion, Wild, and Hyrule headed over as well, each taking up a plate and sitting by the campfire around the others. They all started digging away at the warm steaks, the meat's juices giving a sweet kick alongside the salt. The Chain happily indulged in their dinners, probably the fastest they'd all finished it in a long time.

"Mmm! That was delicious! I'm so glad we can finally eat real food again!" Wind exclaimed as he leaned back with a content smile.

"Seconded. Your cooking is a goddess-given gift," Legend agreed between bites.

"You better make this again! For breakfast, lunch, and dinner!" Wind shot up as he pointed his fork at Champion.

"That's not any way to ask, sailor," Twilight scolded with a ruffle of Wind's hair, "But seriously, thanks Champion."

Champion simply remained tilted head down as he nodded in response, hiding a smile that tugged on his lips. He liked this feeling, of people caring about him. Wild seemed to notice this and looped a supportive hand around his shoulder, a silent gesture which Champion appreciated. After dinner, which was accompanied by lively banter, Time assigned two people to wash the dishes.

The camp was covered in dim moonlight as Time announced who'd be on watch tonight. Champion, of course, volunteered himself for all three but was strangely rejected. Instead, Warriors, Four, and Sky would be taking shifts, something about Champion and Wild being new or something. Ignoring the bias, they followed the rest of the camp as they headed to sleep, realising that they didn't have a bedroll like the rest of them.

Warriors generously gave up his bedroll to the twins, seeing how he'd be taking the first shift anyways as Wild thanked him. Warriors' frame was much larger than theirs combined so they were able to cuddle together on the bedroll, quite similarly like their bed in Hateno. With his arms wrapped around Wild, his gaze met his blue irises.

"Admit it, they're not so bad."

A hesitant shrug as he looked away.

"Whatever, you're being silly."

Champion gave a glare that had no bite.

"Goodnight, Champion."

"Goodnight."

Chapter Text

Champion awoke early the next morning. He was briefly surprised as to why he was sleeping in the forest surrounded by strangers before he remembered, oh yeah, I joined a weird group of time-travelling heroes. Looking around, everyone appeared to be snoozing away as the sun barely peaked over the horizon, the only other person awake was Sky, but that was because he was on the last watch.

He didn't have the best rest, probably because he was sleeping on the ground and was half-awake all night, given that he was listening to nearby monsters as he didn't fully trust these strangers enough with Wild's life. He removed Wild's arms that were looped around his torso to stand up and stretch, approaching the pile of ash that was a campfire to make breakfast. Sky seemed to notice him but didn't say anything as he continued lazily strumming his harp.

Sweeping away the soot, he constructed a pyramid of sticks in its wake before lighting it up with a practised flick of two branches. Using the same pan, which was cleaned last night, he positioned it over the new flame to heat up first. Rummaging through Wild's Slate which lay on the ground next to their bedroll, which was technically Warriors', he fetched some Oil Jars and Bird Eggs.

Speaking of Warriors, he noticed that he was dozing away on Four's bedroll, followed by the smithy on Sky's bedroll. Ignoring the chain reaction he caused, he returned to the preheated pan, sprinkling some oil which sizzled as it touched the pan. With a single hand, he effortlessly tapped the eggs on the side of the pan before splitting it open with his thumb and pinky, its yellow centre surrounded by a translucent edge plopping onto the pan.

He'd repeated this process a few more times, engrossing himself deeply in the act that he hadn't noticed Sky sitting down on a log nearby.

"Good morning, Champion," Sky's soft voice startled him slightly as his head shot up to look at the chosen hero.

'Good-morning.' Champion awkwardly signed back as he started whisking the eggs with his ladle.

"You're up early," He commented, looking at the rich golden colour forming in the pan.

Champion simply gave a nod as he swirled the mixture in the pan, not wanting to meet Sky's gaze.

"You don't trust us," Sky spoke up, breaking the brief silence.

Champion froze up slightly at the unexpected accusation, he did trust them, just not that much.

'I-do.' He signed back, temporarily looking up to face Sky as he did.

"You were awake the entire night," Sky pointed out. Who knew the sleepiest member would notice someone not sleeping?

'Sorry.' Champion guiltily replied, focusing back on the eggs.

"I'm not mad," Sky responded with a gentle tone, "I just hope you start to trust us."

He gave a stiff nod as he attempted to distract himself away from Sky, not expecting such a deep character analysis so early in the morning.

The texture of the eggs slowly hardened as he stirred it around, eventually forming clumps of scrambled eggs which he distributed onto some plates. Around him, other members of the Chain started waking up, mostly the more responsible members like Time, Warriors, and Twilight. They wandered about camp, Twilight heading down to the stream to wash his face whilst Time and Warriors lingered about the campfire, Warriors mumbling about Four's bedroll being "too small" or something.

Plating all the scrambled eggs, Champion headed over to Wild, who was still sleeping peacefully. Crouching down beside him, he poked his side till Wild eventually stirred awake, Champion combing his bed head with his fingers in an attempt to fix it as Wild whined softly. Taking Wild's hand, he dragged him over to the campfire where some of them were already eating, Wild stumbling along as he walked with his eyes shut.

Champion sat on a log and positioned Wild to sit on the ground in front of him, his head just below Champion's chin. Wild haphazardly shoved hot egg into his mouth as Champion methodically fixed Wild's hair, removing debris like sticks, leaves, and even a golden rupee, which Champion pocketed for himself. Wild didn't seem to notice all the litter in his hair being removed as he let our small hums of enjoyment the entire time.

"Here, this'll help," Warriors offered Champion a light blue comb.

Champion paused his clean up and stared at Warriors' outstretched hand, Wild whining slightly in protest. He eyed the comb suspiciously as he scanned the captain's face for any trace of malice, only finding morning fatigue in his eyes. This isn't a trap, I... should take it. Slowly, he stretched out his hand and reluctantly inched towards the comb, ignoring the looks of confusion from Time and Twilight.

Once his fingers connected with the comb, he snatched it out of Warriors' hand and withdrew his hand instantly, inspecting it before looking back at Warriors' face.

"Uh... you can keep it. Think of it as a 'thank you' for cooking for us, besides I've got extras," Warriors slowly explained, drawing his empty hand back to himself.

He scrutinised Warriors as he spoke, eventually drawing his attention back to the comb once he accepted Warriors' answer. It was a soft baby blue with minimalist white detailing, looking similar in appearance to his Champion's Tunic. Raising it slowly, he drew it through Wild's hair, the comb sliding through it smoothly like butter as it easily removed tangles.

Wild seemed to appreciate the new comb as he melted under the gentle strokes. Turning back to face Warriors, Champion supposed he owed him an apology, he should never have doubted his fellow Link. Something about Warriors' position as a captain just didn't sit right with Champion, it wasn't his fault of course, so Champion could only really blame himself for being so standoffish with him.

'Sorry.' Champion signed multiple times whilst not wanting to make eye contact, fearful of the wrath he might receive. All he heard was Twilight translating what he said to Warriors.

But no wrath came. Instead, Warriors let out a small laugh, "It's fine, nothing wrong with being weary."

At that statement, some of the other members sent glares at Warriors, the captain looking at them nervously before turning back to Champion.

"I-I mean, you shouldn't be weary in the first place, but uh, it's fine if you are?" Warriors stumbled over his words, before sighing, "Just try to trust us, alright?"

Champion gave a nod to Warriors' convoluted explanation, semi-understanding his message. It's not that he didn't trust them, trust just didn't come as easily to him. The only people he truly trusted were Wild and Zelda, but those two are a given. One time, he had to temporarily leave Wild in the care of Sidon. Despite how much he liked the Zora Prince, it still took some convincing from both of them for him to leave Wild with the Prince.

By then, everyone had woken up and were wandering about camp doing their own stuff. Champion didn't pay much attention as he started braiding Wild's hair, twirling his sun-kissed hair around his fingers before tying them together to form one long braid for him, Wild busily chatting away with Hyrule about plants and bugs.

"We're heading back on the road soon, make sure you've packed everything," Time announced to the camp, everyone nodding as they headed off to their bags.

Wild and Champion stood by the campfire as they watched everyone disperse.

"You don't have anything to pack?" Hyrule questioned, "Actually, where are your bags?"

"Oh, I keep everything in my Sheikah Slate. It basically has unlimited storage, or I just haven't found the limit yet," Wild tapped the trusty Slate on his hip.

Just then, Wind bounded over, "Cool! Can you keep my bags for me? My arms are soooo sore from carrying my stuff around."

"Sure!" Wild unhooked his Slate and tapped it on Wind's bag, Wind and Hyrule watching in awe as it disappeared into thin blue strands.

"Here, take a look," Wild turned the Slate's interface towards the curious pair, Wind's bag sitting in one of multiple rows of cubes.

To demonstrate it further, Wild tapped on it and in front of them Wind's bag materialised onto the ground in blue strands once again.

"That's super cool! Can you do mine as well?" Hyrule asked, Wild obliging by tapping his Slate onto Wind and Hyrule's bags, both of them disappearing into the safety of his Slate.

Soon after, the rest of the Chain approached Wild to store their bags in his Slate, keeping only the most important things with them, such as weapons and potions, and letting Wild's Slate hold the extra weight, not that it affected the actual weight of the Slate. Champion would know, he's seen the 759 Apples and 526 Hydromelons. The only person who didn't give up their bag was Legend, who didn't believe in such weird technology (he would secretly approach them later anyways).

"Alright, let's go."

They had continued walking eastward towards Hateno Village, Champion taking the lead as per usual. This time, he'd actually appreciate it if he could've had some time alone at the front, spending so much time with people he still regarded as strangers was taking its toll on him. Irritatingly (or gratefully depending on how you saw it), Twilight was annoyingly persistent in walking beside him, staying by his side despite shooing him away multiple times.

Eventually, Champion begrudgingly allowed Twilight to stay, the rancher sending him a toothy grin that could rival Wild's. Just what were they doing to get teeth like those? He allowed him to stay on the basis that they would be having a nice, quiet walk, something which Twilight nodded too. If so, then why was he currently pelting questions at him? Champion simply ignored him to the best of his ability.

In the distance, they approached the Dueling Peaks, the mountains thankfully giving him some reprieve as they were all distracted admiring the dual mountains. Quietly, Champion slipped away from the front to convene with Wild at the back. Wild was busy looking at the mountain as well before turning to see Champion appear out of his peripherals.

"What's up?" Wild asked with a tilt of his head.

'Follow-me.' Champion took Wild's hand to bring him to the front of the group.

He reasoned if he walked with Wild at the front, they would think he wasn't lonely and leave him alone. Oh, how wrong Champion was. He and Wild walked a few paces ahead before the rest of the Chain noticed they were moving again. instead of leaving him and Wild alone at the front, the entire Chain was now walking with them at the front. He had unknowingly dragged himself into the belly of the beast.

Champion hated how disgustingly social they all were, their banter louder than ever as they chatted right by his sensitive ears. Four and Warriors were talking to his left, occasionally including him in their conversation by asking him questions or telling him things, Champion knowing very well neither of them knew sign so there was no point in responding to them. But he still did, and watched as they nodded in unknowing agreement to whatever he just said.

It was a weird way of socialising, but luckily, Champion remembered the stable tucked away behind the Dueling Peaks. Hopefully, they would all congregate at the stable instead of with him. Crossing the bridge over the river, they did exactly what Champion planned, heading over to the stable to rest for a while before heading back onto the road.

Standing under a particularly shady tree, he crossed his arms as he let out a breath of relief, finally getting a moment to himself as he watched the other heroes linger about the stable. He was casually staring off into the distance before he heard four people approaching him, internally preparing himself for whatever they could possibly need him for now.

He softened once he realised that it was Wild, accompanied by Wind, Hyrule, and Legend.

"Hey Champion!" Wild waved as he ran over, "Um, I was just going to show them how to shield surf," Wild pointed to the trio standing a few inches away.

"I was just, uh, wondering if you would be okay with that," Wild nervously asked as he twiddled his thumbs, "We'll just be behind the stable, at the ruins."

"We'll make sure it's safe! I promise! If we see any monsters... we'll come back, okay?" Wild pleaded quickly.

Champion looked at Wild's puppy eyes then to the three heroes accompanying him, each of them straightening their posture to appear well-behaved even though Champion knew that they definitely were not. He knew he had to let Wild go with them, that he had to trust them, this being a good opportunity for him to try. Looking back at Wild, he gave a hesitant nod, his face brightening up before hugging Champion.

"Thank you! Thank you! I promise we'll be safe!" Wild bounced up and down with enthusiasm before dashing off towards the hills at the back of the stable with the trio following suit.

Champion nervously looked down as he thought about everything that could go wrong, forcing himself to brush away the thoughts as he knew that they would keep him safe. Trust... he had to trust them, he had to. Swallowing drily, Champion distracted himself from thinking about Wild by focusing on the surrounding sounds. He would be fine. He will be.

~~~

"I can't believe that worked!" Wind exclaimed as they ran up the grassy hill.

"He always caves when I give him the big eyes," Wild proudly bragged, using his fingers to expand his eyelids.

"Whatever, let's hurry up and get this over and done with," Legend grumbled. He didn't even know why he was dragged into their stupid plan, Time said that they needed Champion's approval and a 'responsible person to watch over them'.

"You really aren't going to try it Ledge?" Hyrule asked once they reached the top of the hill, overseeing the stable in the distance.

"I didn't say I wasn't going too... I might, maybe..." Legend mumbled as he looked away, Wind and Wild shooting him shit-eating grins whilst Hyrule remained blissfully oblivious. Anybody with a brain knew how obviously soft Legend got for Hyrule, except for Hyrule apparently.

He sent glares over his shoulder to the pair who were giggling to themselves before Wild decided to demonstrate how to shield surf.

Taking out a simple wooden shield, he started explaining, "You wanna place your feet in the arm-holds for stability," Wild placing the shield on the ground and shoving his boots into the arm-straps.

"Before that, you should take a running start to get some momentum," Wild picked up the shield and took a few steps back, the trio backing away as they watched in intrigue, "Watch and learn."

They watched as he ran across the field, wooden shield in hand as he approached the drop of the hill. Once he was a few inches away from the incline, they watched as Wild simultaneously back-flipped whilst throwing the shield under him, landing on it perfectly as the momentum from his back-flip propelled him down the hill. Wind and Hyrule cheered him on as he swerved from side to side down the hill using his body weight.

As he neared the bottom of the hill, Wild's posture became more wobbly before they watched him trip unceremoniously on a rock and tumble down into the grass. While they ran down the hill to check on him, Legend was attempting to stifle a laugh whilst Wind was cackling away loudly, Hyrule not finding the situation amusing at all as concern was etched on his face.

"Are you alright?" Hyrule worriedly asked as he knelt down by Wild's side.

Save for a few scratches, Wild looked totally fine as a large grin was plastered on his face, "Of course I'm fine! Just a few scratches is all."

"I wanna try now! Let me try!" Wind excitedly yelled as he was already running back up the hill, Wild following suit.

"Don't be such a worrywart 'Rulie, or else you'll turn out like Champion," Legend teased as he offered a hand to Hyrule.

"Hey! Don't be so mean to Champion!" Hyrule scolded as he stood back up with Legend's help, "He's just being cautious."

"Jeez Hyrule, relax. I'm only joking," Legend raised mock hands as they walked back up the hill, "I'm sure Champion knows what's best for Wild."

Hyrule gave a small nod as they reached back up to the top, Wind wielding the wooden shield as he began to spout out how good he was at surfing back in his Hyrule. Rolling his eyes at him, Wild insisted that Wind try, the sailor taking up the challenge. They watched as he dramatically backed up before starting into a sprint, the heroes watching in intrigue as he leaped into the air spectacularly before completely fumbling the landing, rolling down the hill instead as the shield drifted nearby.

This time, Legend couldn't hold in his laughter as he chuckled alongside Wild, Hyrule allowing himself to share a few giggles as Wind stormed back up the hill.

"Stop laughing! It's not my fault it isn't like the waves that I know!" Wind huffed as he crossed his arms.

"Sounds like you're making excuses, sailor. Hand me a shield Wild," Legend mocked as he held a hand out towards Wild, the cook obliging as he handed another wooden shield out to the veteran.

"Me too!" Hyrule called out, Wild taking out two more shields for both Hyrule and himself.

"If it's a race you want, it's a race you're gonna get!" Wind exclaimed as he waved the shield above him in the air.

They stood lined up before the hill, Legend counting them down, "Alright, three... two..."

Before he could finish, the other three heroes had already started running, Legend cursing at them before starting into a sprint to catch up. He watched as two out of three of them successfully jumped down the hill, Wind missing the timing again and tumbling down the hill. Legend also managed to jump onto his shield, leaning his body weight forward to catch up with the other two heroes.

Slowly approaching the two delinquents, Wild was helpfully knocked off his shield by Wind, causing them to both roll down the hill in a mass of limbs. Turning his attention onto the traveller, Legend leaned in to reach him, Hyrule attempting to swipe him away with his hand. With a swift kick to the healer's shield, he frantically waved his hands around before abruptly falling on his side.

With a triumphant smirk, Legend slowed his descent as he stepped off his shield to stare at the tangled mess of heroes resting at the bottom of the hill.

"Wild get off of me! Why are you so heavy?" Wind groaned as he flailed under the scarred teen.

"Am I heavy, or are you just weak?" Wild grinned as he stood up, lifting Wind with him.

"Let me go you crazy cook!" Wind fought against Wild's weirdly strong grasp before falling to the ground after being lazily released by Wild.

"Is everyone alright?" Hyrule asked as he looked over the other heroes: Wind was pouting as he stood back up, Wild was gathering the shields back up, and Legend was flaunting about how he went untouched.

Wind grumbled before exclaiming, "Round two! Last one up is a rotten egg!" He called out whilst already dashing up the hill, Wild and Legend quickly chasing after him.

"I'll take that as a yes," Hyrule giggled to himself before giving chase up the hill with them.

~~~

Twilight sat near the stable's communal cooking pot, listening to the quiet whinnying of the herded horses. He'd just spent most of his time volunteering to help the local stable-hands. Whether that be combing the manes of horses or collecting the cucco's eggs, he was just happy to help. Or more specifically, happy to help the animals. Sitting on one of the small wooden stools surrounding the pot, the stable's Hylian Retriever had decided to rest on the ground next to him, Twilight's hand hanging loosely by his side to pat the dog.

He soaked in the tranquillity of the twins' Hyrule's stables, the wind brushing his hair lazily as the whole area was overshadowed by two striking mountains. Looking around for the other members of the Chain, Twilight spotted Time and Warriors were chatting by the front of the stable whilst Four and Sky had gone to marvel at the Peaks. He didn't see the two troublemakers (which he had been informed now included Wild) anywhere nearby, apparently Wild had gone to show them something with Legend babysitting them.

Twilight counted the heroes again, two, four, eight, nine... Wait, nine? He realised he'd lost track of Champion, looking around quickly before spotting him sitting under a tree, the motionless teen camouflaging well into the foliage. He was honestly impressed that he had let Wild wander off on his own, entrusting him in the care of probably the most mischievous people Twilight knew.

He could tell the knight was distressed at the prospect of leaving technically himself in the hands of people he'd only known for two days. Twilight thought about approaching Champion to see if he'd like to talk about it, but he had already tried brute-forcing a conversation with him earlier in an attempt to get him to express himself more, which ultimately made him shrink away further. Maybe it wasn't the best idea on his part.

In the distance, Twilight heard lively chatter which was slowly increasing in volume, the group must be back. Champion seemed to notice this too, evident from his sharp ears shifting as he walked down towards the stable. Twilight headed over to where Champion stood, both of them facing a path which seemingly led to the back of the stable.

Turning the corner, the four dishevelled heroes paused once they saw the two of them staring at them.

"Oh, uh, hi Champion!" Wild gave a beaming smile as he waved.

"D'you think he's alright..?" Wind whispered into Hyrule's ear.

"Um... I have no idea..." Hyrule admitted as they watched Wild approach Champion.

Twilight didn't know what they were talking about so he slowly turned to look at Champion. He was white as a sheet with an absolutely miserable look plastered over his face, he was clearly not expecting Wild to return in such a horrible condition. To be fair, they were all scruffy to certain degrees, Wind and Wild being the worst given that they were absolutely caked in dirt and covered in scratches.

Hyrule wasn't as bad, a few smears of dirt here and there but otherwise cleaner than Wind and Wild. Legend was miraculously untouched, but that was probably due to how highly he regarded his self-maintenance, despite all the comments he gives the captain regarding his many combs.

After about half a minute, they watched as Champion's arm twitched before he slowly raised it, all of them watching in intrigue as Wild tilted his head. He'd since reverted back to his stoic expression, with what Twilight sensed was a hint of anger. Instantaneously, his hand went straight for Wild's ear, maintaining a tight grip as he pinched the scarred boy.

"O-ow! Stop it!" Wild helplessly tugged against Champion's unrelenting hand.

Wind and Hyrule broke out into fits of laughter as Wild begged them for help. Traitors. He was definitely going to get them back for this.

Eventually, Champion released his grip as Wild rubbed his red ear with a pained expression. Twilight had thought about stepping in earlier, but it seemed like Champion had it under control. Wild berated Wind and Hyrule for not helping him as the rest of the Chain arrived to see what all the commotion was about. Wild quickly shut his mouth once he noticed that the Chain had approached, probably not wanting them to know that he was complaining about such a petty thing.

"Uh, let's just get back on the road," Wild quickly mumbled as he dashed through them and onto the dirt path, already walking off towards the distance.

Time questioned what happened but only received a noncommittal shrug from Champion and quiet giggles between Wind and Hyrule. The old man brushed it off and they hurriedly returned to the road before Wild left, Champion heading up to the front with Wild.

"You didn't have to embarrass me like that," Wild kept his head hung low as his pointed ears were a subtle shade of red.

'Sorry.' Champion quickly signed as he looked away.

"Oh, er, I didn't mean it like that..." He turned to the sulking Champion, "Just don't take what I say so literally..."

'Okay, sorry.' Champion blinked. He didn't really understand Wild's emotions sometimes (more like all the time).

"And stop saying sorry," Wild grumbled.

'Okay. Did you have-fun?' Champion changed the topic.

"Oh yeah!" Wild brightened as he animatedly recalled what happened to Champion, "We raced down the hills a couple of times and Wind always fell and whenever he did, he would give some lame excuse as to why he sucked!"

'Good to see you happy.' Champion forced out a crooked smile.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Wild tilted his head, leaf litter following along.

Champion sighed as he looked down, 'I–', his hands paused briefly, 'I-am too restrictive.'

"What are you talking about?"

'You-should-do whatever you want. I-am just getting in the way.'

"No, no, no, I don't see it like that!"

Wild cleared his throat as he looked away briefly.

"You're a caring person, Champion. You're just looking out for me like always, and I appreciate it."

Champion's eyes met Wild's genuine smile, laced with a hint of sorrow. He didn't know whether to believe it, the Princess always hated it when he looked out for her, and this was no different.

"I mean it, thank you," Wild shot him another smile, this one somehow brighter than the previous one.

'Okay, okay. Sorry.' Champion gave into Wild's infectious positivity.

"Stop saying sorry!" Wild chided.

Twilight walked alongside Time at the back of the pack, watching out for enemies with him as they followed the path to Hateno Village, winding through large fields surrounded by mountains on all sides. Occasionally, especially in areas with patches of ruined structures, they would face some small groups of monsters. Warriors would attempt to strategise a plan but they would always turn around to see the twins already done taking out the entire group.

Although Time hated people working on their own, he seemed content with the situation for now. They were working as a duo and this was their Hyrule, so they would probably know how to deal with the monsters best. While Time comforted a brooding Warriors, Twilight only grew a weird fascination in the way they fought. Wild had the wildest fighting style he'd ever seen whilst Champion was one of the most skilled fighters he'd ever seen, polar opposites in multiple ways.

Continuing down the path, Twilight felt a strange enamouration form inside him for the twins. The way Wild would suggest something stupid and get immediately scolded by Champion or when Wild strayed from the path and was pulled back by Champion, it reminded Twilight of all the times he spent with the kids back in Ordon Village, they would mess around and he would have to wrangle them back or stop them from hurting themselves.

At one point, the pair talked to a traveller standing by the road. Wild's expression was cheery before suddenly turning grim as Champion immediately sucker-punched the traveller, causing them to fall to the ground. As they rubbed their swollen jaw, Champion continued to kick at them before finally being apprehended by Sky and Legend, each of them grabbing one of his arms.

"What are you doing!? Have you gone crazy?" Legend snapped at Champion, whose eyes were locked on the bruised traveller.

"We're sorry, we have no idea why he did that!" Hyrule profusely apologised to the traveller who slowly got up.

With his head hung low, the traveller started... laughing? Raising his hands, the traveller's appearance instantly changed in a puff of smoke to a red outfit with a strange mask on his face. He then whipped out a sickle and attempted to slash at Hyrule, Wild pulling the healer back by the collar before hitting back with his claymore. Legend then realised that Champion had somehow disappeared from his grasp, he and Sky sharing confused glances before the traveller was sent down by a blow from Champion.

Holding his sword to the traveller's throat, he let out an infuriated groan before raising his hands again, this time disappearing away. Champion gave a quick look around as if confirming something and headed back onto the road as if nothing had happened, Wild following alongside him again.

"Hey! What the hell was that?" Wind called out to the pair, his face surprised as to why they were casually walking away after almost getting assassinated.

Champion and Wild turned to examine the shocked looks on the Chain, "Oh yeah, I guess I should explain it to you guys."

This is how Twilight learnt of trained assassins from the 'Yiga Clan' attempting to kill them. It made him want to kill them for thinking of hurting his brothers.

"At least give us a warning next time!" Legend scolded, voicing out the concerns of the entire Chain.

"I didn't think it was that big of a deal," Wild nonchalantly shrugged it off as he continued walking with Champion.

"I'm going to kill them."

~~~

After that incident, they arrived surprisingly quickly to Hateno, which was a simple village located amongst rolling hills which was covered in farming land. Once Wild had pointed out where his house was located, Time allowed half of the Chain to explore the village, mainly because most of them were getting restless and he didn't want to overwhelm the twins' Zelda with so many people.

Twilight, Time, and Sky decided to accompany the pair to their house, where they said their Zelda most likely was. Standing outside the door, Twilight watched as they hesitated and discussed something briefly, spotting a hint of actual fear on Champion's face. Slowly, Champion rested his hand on the doorknob before pulling the door open and pushing Wild inside.

"Link?" A worried voice called out.

Their Zelda had quickly rushed over to the door and discovered Wild and Champion meekly standing at the entrance. Engulfing them in a long hug, her hair was a mess as her eyes hid subtle eye bags underneath. She had completely ignored the three elder heroes as they awkwardly watched the entire display unfold in front of them. She had gone from fawning over them, to reprimanding them for disappearing, to worrying over their safety, and straight back to scolding them for not coming back in a matter of minutes.

Eventually, she composed herself and spotted him alongside Time and Sky standing behind Wild and Champion.

"Are these your friends?" Zelda asked Wild as she approached them to shake their hands.

"Yeah! We met them on the road," Wild poorly explained.

"I see," the Princess was now eyeing them more carefully, it seems Wild's explanation wasn't enough for her, if it could even be called that.

"Hello your highness, my name is Time, and this is Twilight and Sky," Time courteously introduced themselves. Twilight noticed how her face scrunched up slightly at 'your highness'.

"Just Zelda is fine, why don't you come inside?" Zelda headed inside with the three heroes following closely behind. Twilight could tell that she was cautious of them, but let them inside anyway, probably due to the fact that she trusted Champion's judgement.

They shuffled their way inside Wild and Champion's quaint house, sitting down at a wooden table alongside the pair. The interior was furnished simply as Champion helped Zelda sweep away documents splattered across the table.

"Would you like anything to drink? Tea or water?" Zelda offered, Time opting for tea whilst Sky and Twilight chose water.

Champion had since left the table, preparing their drinks in a small kitchen nearby.

"So, how did you get to know Link?" Zelda asked the three heroes.

"It's a bit of a long story," Time began to speak up.

~~~

Twilight felt the Princess' stern gaze on all of them. She was clearly wary of their story (who wouldn't be?), but had no choice but to believe them, especially after Sky unsheathed his Master Sword. They sat in awkward silence as she took it all in, Twilight wishing for someone to say something as he took another tentative sip from his glass of water.

Looking over at Champion and Wild, the knight had his eyes rested on the Princess whilst the cook was lazily playing at strands sticking out of his tunic. Suddenly, Zelda spoke up.

"Stop that Link, you'll damage your tunic."

Wild shot her a pout as he reluctantly stopped pulling away at loose threads. She broke the silence just to comment on Wild's behaviour?

"So," Zelda slowly spoke up, "You're all heroes of old... sent through time to gather other heroes... to take down a larger force...?"

"That's about it," Sky agreed.

"This is so fascinating..." Zelda excitedly scribbled down some notes on some spare paper as Champion's face turned dull.

"Link, go get–" She paused after looking up at Wild, who was attempting to fit his entire hand into his mouth, "Uh... Champion, go get Purah and bring Link with you."

With a swift nod, he stood up and dragged Wild along with him, pinching his ear again for doing something utterly stupid like that whilst in the middle of a serious conversation which strangely didn't feel like the first time he'd done something like that.

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you send them off?" Time questioned.

"Well, I did have to get Purah, but I also wanted to speak with you three privately," Zelda admitted.

"Oh, well what did ya want to talk to us about?" Twilight decided to speak up for the first time this entire conversation.

"So you travel through portals sent by Hylia, correct?" She confirmed.

"Yes. They usually appear right after we finish whatever she wants us to do in a certain Hyrule. I think it's a small miracle that we were able to meet you, given we already killed the monsters here," Sky softly spoke.

"Uh-huh, a miracle from Hylia..." Zelda's face turned dull as she slowly talked about Hylia. Why was hating the goddess such a frequent theme?

"I suppose now that you're here, you'll be leaving soon?" She concluded with sadness in her voice.

"Yes. Sorry, we understand how sudden all this news can feel," Time offered an empathetic hand which she took.

"Please, promise me one thing," Zelda looked at them seriously, "You have to take care of my boys."

"Of course we will, your highness," Time reassured her, a gesture which she didn't seem to a hundred percent believe.

"Especially Champion," She added.

"Champion? Between 'em two, is he not the more responsible one?" Twilight confusingly asked.

Zelda seemed to mull it over in her head before continuing, "Link can be a handful, yes, but I believe Champion needs more support."

"Oh, he'd kill me if he heard me saying this, but," She quickly said under her breath, "Try to remind him that he isn't a knight. That he's a hero, despite whatever he says, and that he can be happy."

"Sorry, but I don't quite understand," Sky admitted.

"Has he told you about his death?" Three nods. Technically, he only told Twilight, who told Sky and Time.

"After he fell, I placed him in the Shrine of Resurrection to heal as I went to face Ganon," A brief pause, "I was able to seal Ganon for a hundred years, which they, Link and Champion, spent healing in the Shrine. During that time, Ganon's monsters ravaged the land with no hero or guards to stop them. Hateno Village was almost destroyed as Hyrule was left in disarray."

"He blames himself for all this. I wish he didn't."

"I see," Time looked at her pained expression, "We'll do our best, we promise."

"Hi Zelda!" Wild burst through the door, "I'm back with Purah and the other Links!" He exclaimed excitedly as he defused all the tension in the room.

"Other... Links?" Zelda crept over to the door and looked at the five new Links.

"Yup! This is possibly the largest historical discovery of all time!" Purah chirped.

"Sorry for not mentioning the other Links earlier, we thought it would be best if only a few of us came," Time explained to Zelda and the... little girl.

"And you should've told me about the other three heroes Linky 2!" Purah waved her fan at Champion, who bowed in apology.

"D'you think we have time to test all of you?" Purah directed her question to all the heroes who appeared less than willing to approach this strange child waving around a syringe.

Luckily for once, the Chain felt a shared pull in their chests as a portal opened just outside the house.

"Wow, is that... the portal?" Zelda asked with a hesitant fascination.

"Yup! I know it looks scary, but it's really not," One of the other members, a boy wearing a blue tunic, spoke up.

"Alright..." Zelda tensely responded as the heroes lined up outside the portal, "Is there really no other choice? They have to leave now?"

"I'm sorry, but yes, that's just the way it works. The longer we stay here, the stronger the portal's pull gets," Time explained.

One by one, Purah, Zelda, and the twins watched in varying levels of interest as the heroes disappeared in duos through the unfriendly looking portal, eventually leaving only Time and Twilight.

"Are you two ready?" Time asked the twins, who were exchanging uncertain glances.

Champion quickly turned to face Zelda, 'Will-you-be-alright?'

"Me? Of course I'll be alright!" She seemed to take offence at his question, "Stop worrying about others and focus on yourself for once, silly knight."

His hands stammered before he rested them by his side, giving an understanding nod.

"Please, stay safe," Zelda looked at both of them as she swallowed drily.

"We will be, promise!" Wild piped up.

She let out a soft giggle before patting them on the back and sending them back to Time and Twilight, her displeased expression only visible to them. Wild and Champion stared into the alien portal, its large triangle insignia rippling slowly alongside the surface. Gripping Wild's hand tightly, they both took tentative steps forward before entering the portal completely.

Twilight and Time took their positions in front of the portal, the pull was stronger given their close proximity to it as Twilight turned his head to face Zelda one last time, sharing a nod before they entered as well. Zelda and Purah watched as the second they entered, the portal zipped away, as if it were never there.

"If only I came down quicker..." Purah placed a thoughtful finger to her chin.

"Seriously Purah?"

Chapter Text

What felt like a brief step through the portal lasted for what felt like eternity. Champion's body felt horrible as he was unceremoniously spat out the other side, his knees buckling and bringing him to use his hands to support himself as he stared down at the grass. There was a stinging pain in his head as his body threatened to throw up, Champion forcing his mouth shut as he wiped away beads of sweat from his forehead.

His whole body was shaking like a leaf in the wind before he felt someone place their hands on him and gently guide him to sit up instead. He felt the back of his head be propped up on something hard as his body went limp. His vision was foggy but he was able to make out the other heroes when he focused, identifying Wild to his right and Hyrule to his left.

"Are you alright?" Hyrule's voice spoke up from the Hyrule-shaped blob.

"Sorry I didn't warn ya, the portal can be harsh," Twilight explained from somewhere.

His limbs felt too weak to sign anything in response, let alone move. Ignoring the resulting chatter between them, Champion did start to feel better with the help of gentle pats on his back and soothing humming from Wild, who seemed surprisingly unaffected from the portal. It made sense, Wild did teleport between shrines frequently.

With Wild's assistance, Champion eventually got back on two feet as the group discussed whose Hyrule this could be. They were dropped into a dense forest with no obvious landmarks that could link the identity of this Hyrule to any of them, so they opted to do what they did in situations like this: Pick a direction and walk. Champion couldn't believe the fact that this was their actual plan, but he knew better than to question authority, so he simply nodded at Time's instructions.

Once a particularly green Four felt ready enough to walk, they headed off in a random direction through the trees. Walking through the lush forest, they passed mossy tree after mossy tree with absolutely no indication if they were even headed in the right direction or if they were just walking in circles.

Frankly, Champion thought this was stupid. He had a much better idea in mind, one that involved Wild climbing a tree to scope out for any nearby civilisation rather than walking in a random direction. Fetching Wild, he explained his plan, to which he agreed quite easily. Whether it was because he thought the current plan was dumb or he just wanted to climb a tree, Champion didn't know.

In front of them, the Chain had briefly stopped to consider taking a fork in the path through the trees. Whilst they were distracted, Champion pulled Twilight out of the crowd. He wouldn't really admit it, but he trusted him the most. The rancher initially appeared confused, but quickly quelled it when he realised it was Champion.

"What's up?" Twilight asked the pair.

"We thought it'd be easier to find a village if we get up high, so I'm gonna climb a tree and scope out from there," Wild explained.

"Oh, er... Will ya'll make sure it's safe?" He questioned as their tentative faces looked up at him.

"Yup! Besides, I do this all the time," Wild reassured whilst bragging about his skills.

"Go for it then."

At Twilight's approval, Champion ordered Wild to clamber up the tallest oak he could find, the cook nodding excitedly as he looked for a tree. Finding a rather sturdy tree, Wild gripped onto the tough bark and proceeded to propel himself upwards in short leaps, completely uncaring for if he could even find a foothold where he landed next. It didn't even seem physically possible to grip onto the bark, but Hylia be damned, Wild did it.

The first time Wild had done this, Champion's heart had almost stopped. Depressingly, he had gotten rather used to his antics, whether it be taunting a Talus or attacking Moblins with ladles. That's why when he saw Twilight's pale expression, it felt refreshing in a roundabout way. He was nearing the top when, unfortunately, the rest of the Chain somehow noticed and started panicking.

"Wild? That isn't safe! Please, come down!"

"How'd he even climb up that high?"

"10 rupees a branch breaks and he falls!"

"Now is not the time Wind!"

"I'll bet 10."

"Don't egg him on Four!"

Ignoring all of them, Champion looked up at Wild, who was perched on a sturdy branch and looking around the landscape. Around him, the heroes continued worrying as he quietly stood in the centre of all the chaos, praying to Hylia that someone wouldn't notice him and ask him to intervene. Maybe if he stood still enough, he would just disappear. Well, he could disappear, he was a spirit after all.

He suddenly noticed Sky's gaze on him before the chosen hero approached, "Champion, please do something!" Sky pleaded.

This garnered the attention of the entire Chain who were now looking at him with expectant gazes. Under the pressure, Champion caved and raised his hands to his mouth. With a practised blow, he produced a loud shrill through his cupped hands, cutting through the air like butter and getting Wild's attention. Hopefully he'd given Wild enough time to find anything.

Immediately, they watched in horror as Wild jumped off the top of the tree and came plummeting down, the weaker of heart looking away whilst others watched in morbid curiosity. Inches away from the ground, Wild released a large cloth above his head which slowed his descent as he planted his feet on the soft dirt. Expressions varied across the group, but the most prevalent one was surprise.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Wild asked with a tilt of his head, looking at the horrified heroes. Champion walked over to Wild to find out what he discovered before Legend came over as well.

"What the fuck were you doing?!" Legend stormed over as he voiced out everyone's concerns, no one stopping him for his language.

"I was just checking the surroundings," Wild responded with the most innocent look he could muster.

Legend's eye twitched as his mouth was left ajar, the veteran was surprisingly speechless (possibly out of anger or shock) as he stared at Wild's naïve smile. Eventually, Twilight placed a hand on Legend's shoulder and gently pulled him back, stepping in as he gave his attempt at talking to them. After all, it was technically his fault as he endorsed this act.

"Listen, um, that's not really what I expected when I told ya you could climb up," Twilight spoke firmly to them, "Next time, maybe do it more safely, or else we'll think you're just bein' reckless. Can you two do that for me?"

Champion felt like he'd gotten unfairly lumped into Wild's punishment but took it anyways, given he was partially responsible for his climb. He forced his eyes to remain fixed on the rancher as his hands started trembling slightly. Closing his hands into balls, he tried to shake away his feelings of fear as he felt crushed under Twilight's gaze. Twilight's looming figure was starting to bring back bad memories for him, so he tore his hands away from his side to respond.

'Yes, sir.'

This seemed to stump Twilight as he blinked idly at his response. Champion didn't care why he was confused, at least he looked away temporarily to give him a moment of reprieve. Turning to Wild, he saw that he was fiddling with the hem of his tunic with his head pointed down, probably the reason why he didn't say anything just now. Nudging his side, he urged him to tell him what they saw.

In a hushed tone, Wild reluctantly spoke up, "I saw a big town... over there," He pointed a tentative figure off into the distance.

Twilight seemed to be struggling with a response for some reason before Time stepped in from behind him.

"Thanks for your help, we'll head over there," He succinctly responded on behalf of Twilight.

Time quickly rounded up the dumbfounded group and instructed them to focus on heading over to the town, the Chain shuffling through the forest towards the town Wild identified. One by one, they slowly filtered away, Champion watching as Twilight reluctantly tore his eyes off of them to accompany Time. Letting out a breath he didn't realise he was holding, he and Wild were eventually the last ones there, eventually heading off to follow the group.

'Yes, sir.'

Sir? What could Twilight have possibly done wrong to have been called sir? He had tried to keep his tone light without being too imposing, yet he was still addressed as sir! Twilight was busy fumbling through his thoughts as he attempted to think of a follow-up, leading to an accidental awkward silence as Champion's expectant eyes stared at him. He'd seriously ruined his relationship with them both.

It seemed they both did poorly with authority, given how Wild's lively voice had been reduced to a whisper as he couldn't even bring himself to make eye contact. Saying it went horribly would be an understatement. Twilight sighed as he kept replaying the situation in his head, what if he had done something different?

Time sensed his obvious distress as Twilight felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

"What's wrong, pup?" Time asked as if he already didn't know.

"You should know," He shot Time a deadpan look, "They probably hate me. He called me sir!"

"Don't stress so hard over this. Just... give them some time," Time reasoned.

"I'm just worried 's all," Twilight stressed, despite Time's reassurance.

"It was probably a misunderstanding. You should talk to them about it," Time suggested.

"Uhm, I'm not so sure... Maybe you're right, I should leave 'em alone for a while..." Twilight hesitated.

Time sighed at his protégé's response. He was clearly putting it off, Time had been with him long enough to recognise all his tells.

"Hey, fairy boy!" Warriors interrupted them as he called out to Time from the front, "This looks like your Castle Town!"

Time and Twilight jogged up to the front where Warriors was, emerging out of the woods to see a path leading up to Time's Castle Town.

"I guess we're in my Hyrule," Time announced to the group, "Let's stock up on supplies first, then we can head over to Lon Lon Ranch."

Everyone agreed easily to Time's plan and headed off towards the town. Twilight was left all alone to brood in his thoughts as Time led the group up at the front, the rancher occasionally throwing glances back towards the twins who were just a few paces behind him. Champion seemed upset about something as Wild consoled him about it, neither of them meeting his gaze whenever he looked back.

Why was he being so nervous? Twilight wanted to be a mentor to them, not somebody to be afraid of. He should just talk to them. Yet, he still found himself hesitating to turn around and talk to them.

Eventually, they stood at the entrance of the bustling town, crossing a drawbridge before Time discussed plans to split up.

"Warriors, Hyrule, and Legend, you three can go buy potions for the group."

"Wind and Sky, find out if there are any recent reports of black-blooded monsters in the area."

"Twilight, Four, and Champion, go get some weapons for us."

"I'll go with Wild. We'll buy general resources for the group."

"Let's all return here in about an hour or so."

Nods were shared throughout the group as they all dispersed. Twilight swore he saw the slightest hint of a smirk on the old man's face when he grouped him with Champion and yanked away Wild. Champion didn't seem to appreciate this grouping either as he slightly flinched when he heard that he would be with Twilight. Four on the other hand was just itching to get a move-on, the smith always enjoyed going on weapon duty.

Twilight had been to Time's Castle Town before, so he led the way through the thick crowds to the local blacksmith, Four and Champion following closely behind so that they didn't get lost in the sea of people. It was lively throughout the marketplace, vendors shouting out their products while he was constantly getting bumped into, brushing shoulders with basically everyone there.

Squeezing out the crowd, they emerged to see the fabled blacksmith, Twilight handing over his rupees to Four who dashed away into the blacksmith. Twilight reckoned it would be a while till he saw Four again. He and Champion simply stood outside before Twilight found a quiet alleyway which they slipped into, offering them some reprieve from the noisy streets.

However, now that he was alone with Champion, Twilight reluctantly decided that he had to say something. The entire time, since they left the main square, Champion had been quite... stiff. He had refused to look either him or Four in the eye, deciding to tilt his head just so that he could see their feet. Taking in a deep breath, Twilight spoke up.

"Listen, um..." He awkwardly cleared his throat, prompting the knight to immediately turn and face him. Champion's posture was fixed and his hands steady, as if he was standing before the King of Hyrule.

"Er, you can relax, y'know? It's just me," Twilight sighed as he scratched the back of his head, "I just wanted to talk about just now... I'm–"

'I'm-sorry.' Champion's quick hands interrupted Twilight's speech.

"Sorry? Sorry about what?" Twilight confusingly asked. He was just about to apologise, why was Champion doing it?

'About my actions. They were unacceptable.' He responded with his hands flinching occasionally. The response was far more formal than anything Champion had signed before. It seemed almost choreographed, like he'd frequently signed it before.

"Listen, I'm not mad," Twilight explained in a gentle tone.

Champion's face showed clear disbelief. 'Really? Why?' He appeared almost hesitant to ask.

"I heard about your past... from Time. He told me about your training," Twilight admitted, "I can't understand how difficult it might've been."

Slowly, he reached an uncertain hand out and placed it on the knight's shoulder after checking if he was fine with it.

"Actually, um, I wanted to apologise," Twilight stammered. He watched as Champion tilted his head, clearly not believing him.

"I don't know what you went through, and I don't wanna assume. Just know that I'm here for you."

Champion's eyes darted around before eventually settling on Twilight.

"I wanna do my best to support you, but... to do that, you need to know I'm not tryin' to be the bad guy. I want to be your friend, your brother."

He watched as Champion contemplated it briefly before he was suddenly pulled into a hug by the knight. His surprised arms were initially left floating, but he soon embraced him as well, wrapping his arms tightly against the surprising cold Champion.

"I... do see you as a brother..." Champion's soft voice came out next to Twilight's ear.

He definitely wasn't expecting Champion to actually say something, so he was left a little shocked once he heard his timid voice. It sounded just like Wild's given that they were the same person, but it felt more special, like Champion reserved it for only rare occasions. It felt like such a privilege that he'd spoken with Twilight that his heart couldn't help but skip a beat when he heard it.

They remained in amicable silence as they continued hugging before Champion eventually signalled that he was going to pull away, Twilight quickly regaining his composure as he released the knight from his grasp.

"You feelin' alright, cub?" He quietly asked as Champion gave him a confused look at the nickname.

"Er, I didn't mean to call ya that... if you don't like it, I can stop–"

'I-like-it.'

"Oh, alright then."

They both paused as Twilight leaned against one of the brick walls of the alleyway.

"So, are ya feeling alright?" Twilight repeated, as he remembered that he never got a real response.

Champion gave a hesitant nod. 'Going through a-lot.'

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

'There's a-lot of people here.' He elaborated just enough for Twilight to understand. His Zelda did talk about how his once populated Hyrule fell during the Calamity, it must be hard for him to relive such a time.

"Oh... yeah, I guess there are. You feeling fine about it?" He felt a bit guilty he didn't catch on earlier.

Champion just gave a quick nod.

Twilight didn't push further as they remained in peaceful silence in the alley. Eventually, he remembered about the smith he let wander into the blacksmith with all his money and told Champion he'd leave for a bit to fetch the now long forgotten Four. He simply offered the rancher a quick nod as Twilight disappeared into the shop.

Time was getting tired of Wild's constant chatter. He had dragged him along with him to get some help shopping for ingredients, however he realised fairly quickly that Wild didn't know anything about quality ingredients and most of his food was bought or scavenged by Champion. In fact, most of his vegetables and mushrooms were plucked out from nature directly.

He wondered why Wild wasn't as knowledgeable as Champion, seeing as how they were the same person. Thanking the stall-owner, he handed over two pumpkins to Wild who discreetly stored them in his Slate before returning to talk about his stories, something along the lines of riding on the back of a Lynel. Time started to feel bad for Champion once he'd realised how large of a handful Wild was.

Wild kept straying from the path and would constantly disappear into the crowds, his quiet nature making him almost impossible to find in the noisy crowds. Thankfully, he would usually be lingering about the sides of the main paths, probably inspecting something he found on the ground. It reminded him of Hyrule's similar nature to explore forests. Hopefully their paths would not intertwine, or else they'd have to find two people instead of one.

The scarred teen had seemingly unending amounts of stamina given how long he kept talking.

"You know, you sure talk a lot," Time chuckled.

"Sorry, I'm just used to it I guess. Champion isn't very chatty," Wild replied meekly as the tips of his ears were painted pink.

"No need to feel embarrassed," Time ruffled Wild's hair endearingly, accidentally fishing out a stick.

"Wow... Do you take care of your hair?" He asked as he examined Wild's braid which reached his upper back.

"Not really," Wild shrugged, "I don't see the need. Besides, Champion does it for me, I don't really know how to do it myself."

"Why don't you know most things that Champion does? If you don't mind me asking," Time inquired. Champion did seem more skilled in more areas than Wild and since they were the same person, wouldn't they know the same things?

This question seemed to have had an effect on Wild. His light-hearted demeanour shifted as he suddenly went quiet, Time looking over at the cook with his head pointed down.

"What's wrong? I didn't say anything offensive, did I?" He questioned Wild's sudden shift.

"It's nothing," Wild brushed it off, "It's just that... there's something I haven't told you guys yet."

"Do you... want to tell me? Don't feel forced to," Time confirmed with Wild, who nodded.

They'd since returned to the main square, luckily none of the other groups were there so Wild didn't mind telling him. They sat by the fountain, listening to the quiet water jets behind them.

Wild let out a hesitant sigh, "After I was put in the Shrine, I rested for a century. During that time, I... lost all my memories."

"Lost... all your memories?" Time repeated, slightly baffled.

"Uhm, yeah..." Wild swallowed drily, "Champion was there from the start, so I learned most of my stuff from him. That's how I got to know him."

"I see," Time paused, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed."

"Oh, it's fine! I think Champion's pretty cool too," Wild seemed to brush it off rather easily, but Time couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Champion's a good person, but you are too. He can be a bit..." Time trailed off.

"Serious?"

"Yeah, sure."

Wild let out a small giggle before Time felt the teen's body leaning against him.

"I wish I could be like him, smart and stuff, y'know?" He mumbled, "If only I didn't lose my memories, then I could be more responsible like him."

Time shifted to face Wild, "Don't say that. You and him may be the same person, but you're both unique in your own way."

"Thanks... you act kinda like a dad y'know? Not like I would remember," Wild chuckled more carefreely, he seemed to have returned to his earlier state.

"I wouldn't mind being your honorary dad," Time placed a hand on his shoulder, "The rest of them call me 'old man' already," Time let out an exasperated sigh, similar to one an old man would make.

"I don't think you're that old. Maybe fifty?" Wild estimated.

"Fifty?!" Time didn't know what to be more surprised at, the fact that fifty wasn't that old or that Wild thought he looked fifty, "Let's just... stop talking about my age..."

"Alright," Wild agreed nonchalantly.

From the corner of his eye, Time noticed the other groups strolling in, Sky dragging Wind along with him. Sky released the little ball of energy who bolted over towards Wild and they ran off to Hylia knows where. Sky succinctly notified Time of nearby black-blooded camps, thankfully they were all on the path towards Lon Lon Ranch, so they would be able to take them out on the way.

Warriors' group emerged from a separate walkway, carrying multiple vials in their hands and pockets, as Twilight's group arrived as well, Four holding two new swords as Champion had a handful of arrows. Seeing his pup's relaxed expression, he assumed things went well with Champion. Wind and Wild had since returned from whatever back alley they scrambled away too, Champion quickly wrangling Wild as he handed the arrows over to him.

Four simultaneously presented the new swords he got to Champion and Wild, a sturdy broadsword and lengthy claymore, respectively. Champion showed his appreciation in a low bow whilst Wild started gushing about the blade, Four taking the earful in well. Approaching his pup, he was busy staring at the twins as they admired their swords.

"I take it things went well?" He asked the distracted rancher who quickly turned to face him.

"Yup, but ya didn't have to force it..." Twilight complained.

"Apologies, but you wouldn't have talked to him either way," Time bluntly stated which Twilight begrudgingly nodded in agreement.

"What about Wild, 's he alright?" Twilight asked worriedly.

"Yes, yes, he's fine," Time laughed it off, "You're going to become a mother cucco to them, just like Sky."

He simply gave a mock scoff to Time's comment, "Let's head over to the ranch already."

"Sure thing, pup. We'll be facing a few black-blooded monster camps along the way, though."

"No problem, let's go."

Time quickly gathered up the heroes and they started heading towards the exit, passing over the same drawbridge they entered on.

Halfway through Hyrule Field, they encountered their first large group of monsters, consisting of monsters that Champion had never seen before. Warriors took centre-stage as he described a plan for the Chain, Champion being grouped with Wild as they "worked better in a pair". Champion didn't mind, fighting with Wild would be much better than with any of them, given he didn't know any of their fighting patterns.

Wild would shoot arrows from a distance while he would fight near the front lines, pushing the monsters back from where Wild would be camping. Once the crowd was relatively thinned out, Wild would also step in to deal with the remaining few enemies. Champion didn't really pay attention to the other's roles but they would be fighting mostly separately.

Prepping his shield and sword, they headed in, alerting the attention of the group of monsters towards them. Facing off against some monsters wielding spears, they weren't as difficult as he assumed, defending against their predictable movements easily. They seemed like a cross between a Bokoblin and Moblin, about the same height as a Bokoblin but having the same pig snouts like Moblins.

Around him, Champion noticed a few plant-like enemies getting shot out of the air around him thanks to Wild, propelling themselves into the air with their leaves. Fighting against two monsters at once, whilst trying to kill one, the other managed to strike him in his shoulder and his sword was knocked out of his hand. With his shield-arm, he parried both their spears away from him and quickly ducked down to grab his sword, kicking their legs in the process and sending them onto their backs.

He quickly killed both of them by plunging his sword into their chests, ignoring the stinging pain from his shoulder as he immediately focused on the monsters that filled their places. Wild suddenly stepped in from behind him and took out a few with his new claymore, knocking them back with its sheer power. As they were downed, Champion took them out with quick slashes before they could retaliate.

The field went silent as he looked around to the other heroes, each of them finished with their monsters as well. Together with Wild, they walked through the field to reconvene with the rest of them.

'Are-you-hurt?' Champion noticeably signed with his left instead of right to Wild.

"No, but you are," Wild quickly examined Champion's right shoulder, his blue tunic now stained with an ugly red.

'I'm-fine.' He stubbornly pulled his shoulder away from Wild's grasp.

"Hey Hyrule! He's hurt!" Wild called out to the group's designated healer across the field in an act of spite.

Champion glared at Wild who simply ignored him, "It's for your own good."

Just then, Hyrule rushed over, "I'm here! Who's hurt?"

"Champion. On his shoulder," Wild pointed out.

"Alright, hold still..." Hyrule mumbled out as his hands hovered about Champion's wound. He had no idea what he was doing but Wild seemed to go along with it, so Champion let him as well.

Slowly, he felt a sensation by his shoulder. Was this being caused by Hyrule? Initially, it felt fine before it suddenly started to sting, like seriously sting. It felt like a fire had been ignited on his shoulder before he finally pushed Hyrule away with his free hand, taking a few steps back for good measure.

"What's wrong?" Hyrule questioned as he attempted to approach.

Quickly drawing his blade with his left, Hyrule abruptly stopped as Champion stared him down. He was... poisoning him or trying to kill him or something.

"Champion what's wrong?" Wild cautiously approached as he placed a finger on his sword and pushed it down gently, Champion forcing himself to relax slightly at Wild's approach.

'Poison.' Champion signed quickly as his gaze remained fixed on Hyrule, although his sword was now pointed down.

"Poison...? What are you talking about?" Wild questioned out loud.

"I never meant to hurt you! My fairy magic has never done that before, I swear!"

Fairy magic? Hyrule was using... fairy magic? No wonder it hurt, fairies never worked on him seeing as how he was already dead.

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked as he jogged over, he must've heard the commotion.

"I tried to use my fairy magic on Champion, but he said I was poisoning him or something," Hyrule sulked.

"Oh! Champion's a... poe. Or something similar to that," Twilight explained, "I don't think fairies work on dead people."

"I see," Hyrule paused, "So, you're... dead?"

"Yup, he's a ghost!" Wild confirmed with weird enthusiasm.

'Spirit.' Champion corrected, which fell on deaf ears... or eyes.

"So, is there anyway I can help you?" Hyrule offered a potion to him, which Champion refused.

"Here," Wild fished out an energising elixir from his Slate which Champion gladly took, "He needs energising elixirs, do you guys have that?"

"Can't say I've heard of such a thing," Twilight admitted.

"Don't worry, I can teach you guys how to make them," Wild suggested, Twilight and Hyrule nodding in agreement.

"Well, let's head back," Hyrule reminded as they walked back to where the rest of the Chain was waiting.

Champion had finished the vial by then and was rolling his shoulder, testing and confirming that it no longer ached. Returning to the rest of the group, Twilight gave a simple nod and Time took it as their sign to continue on their trip, heading through the field again. Champion found himself glued at the back next to Wild and Twilight, something which Wild definitely noticed.

"So, you're friends with Twi now?" Wild whispered into Champion's ear.

Pushing him away, he sent a scowl his way, which only led to Wild giggling.

"Nothing wrong with making new friends, y'know?" Wild softly commented, but slightly louder this time.

"Hm? Didja say something?" Twilight piped up, a large grin growing on Wild's face.

"Oh yeah! We were just talkin–" Wild suddenly stopped as Champion pinched his ear, "Ow, ow! Okay, I'll stop!"

Releasing his ear, Champion bunched up closer to Twilight in an attempt to spite Wild, who simply pouted.

"C'mere," Twilight pulled in the upset Wild to his other side, who happily obliged. Champion sent Twilight a few betrayed looks as Wild stuck his tongue out at him.

Rolling his eyes at Wild's display, he ignored the cook and continued to nestle by Twilight's side, the rancher seemingly unaffected by the both of them.

In the distance, they reached the fabled Lon Lon Ranch. It was a simple wooden house with a large field out the back, housing some animals within its fences. Champion didn't understand why they had to come to this place specifically, but didn't question Time's choices. With the rest of the Chain, they waited as Time approached the porch and knocked on the aged door.

Suddenly the door whipped open and a woman with red hair burst out, letting out a surprised cry at Time's (and presumably their) arrival, before enveloping him in a tight hug which Time reciprocated. Sharing a few kisses, Champion quickly got the message of why they were here. Wild seemingly didn't get it and was just wondering why two strangers were kissing. He hadn't bothered to teach Wild that.

Once they were finished, which took quite a while, Time turned back towards the group after discussing something briefly with the lady.

"It's nice to see y'all again!" She addressed the group, "Don't just stand there, come on in!"

Shuffling up onto the porch, they entered into the farmhouse one by one before Champion and Wild stood before the lady.

"Wild, Champion, this is my wife Malon," Time introduced her to them as she offered both of them warm smiles.

"Hello dearies," Malon greeted them.

Champion offered her a bow whilst Wild politely addressed her.

"Hello, Mrs. Malon..." Wild replied timidly.

"Oh, you two flatter me!" Malon chuckled, "Say, are you two twins? You look remarkably similar..."

"We're not, miss. It's a... long story," Wild awkwardly replied.

"No worries you two, go ahead and settle in," She waved a hand, prompting them to enter.

'Thank-you.' Champion quickly signed before heading in with Wild.

Time and Malon watched as the not-twins slipped into the farmhouse.

"Looks like the number of our boys just increased by two."

Chapter Text

Wild and Champion settled down on the couch with the other heroes, who were either lounging in the living room with them or scattered around elsewhere. Time and Malon spent some quality time outside, probably kissing (yuck). Wild soon left to go explore the rest of Time and Malon's house, haphazardly picking up things that didn't even belong to him.

Champion should've taught Wild some manners, back in Hateno he would frequently enter other villagers' houses to the point where they all got used to it and expected their regular Wild visit. Besides, there were other Links here so they helped to watch over him as well, evident from Sky tearing the antique vase away from Wild despite his protests. Ignoring Wild, Champion enjoyed how peacefully domestic it felt in their home, reminding him of a feeling he felt so long ago.

Twilight had since emerged from the back door, which led to the animals, and plopped down beside Champion with a pleased sigh, the force of him planting himself on the couch pushing Champion up slightly. He didn't say anything to Champion, but he didn't need too. Champion simply appreciated Twilight being around. They relaxed on the couch for a few minutes before Time and Malon returned through the front door, everyone turning their heads as they entered.

"Well boys, you know what's happening now," Time addressed the heroes, "Helping out with some yardwork."

Champion turned to Twilight to ask but already had his question answered, "It's basically chores."

"So, any volunteers? Or else I'll just have to choose," Time offered, everyone looking away except for Twilight.

Letting out a sigh, Time started assigning tasks to all of them such as cleaning up around the barn or tending to the horses, the latter of which was appointed to Twilight.

"Champion, why don't you and Wild cook with Malon?" Time suggested, the twins obliging easily with nods.

Given that they were the last two to be assigned, everybody headed out to perform their respective duties once Time had finished, Champion and Wild following Malon into her kitchen. It was well furnished, better than the standard cooking pot but less than the royal kitchens of Hyrule Castle. Approaching the wood-burning stovetop, he helped to preheat it first by adding a few logs.

"You two," Malon called out, both boys turning to face her, "D'you have any ideas? Any preferences?"

Champion shook his head, 'Anything you want.'

Malon furrowed her brows as she watched his hands, "Sorry honey, but I don't know a lick of sign."

"He said you can make anything you want," Wild translated helpfully.

"I see," Malon placed a thoughtful finger on her chin, "How about I get started on a salad? Wild, there is some fresh fruit in the barn, can you go get it?"

Wild nodded eagerly and ran off out the door to the barn. "Champ, you can help me chop up some carrots."

Following her over to the cutting board, the washed vegetables were already there and waiting patiently. There was something familiar about this whole situation, but Champion couldn't quite place his finger on it. Malon and the kitchen setting reminded him of something, except that he wasn't sure what. Taking one of the knives, he propped a carrot onto the board and easily sliced it down the middle, turning it onto its side to chop it up into larger chunks.

"You're doing great, Link. Now turn it on it's side."

Champion jolted, dropping his knife onto the counter. Where did that come from?

He stared at the carrots blankly as he rubbed his forehead.

"What's wrong Champ?" Malon questioned, maybe he'd made too much of a ruckus.

Shaking his head as if to brush it off, he resumed his chopping, Malon seeming to accept it as she turned back to her own cutting board. He mindlessly cut the carrots as he tried to think about what he just recalled.

"Hold the carrot when you cut it or else it might move out of place."

Link tentatively placed his index and thumb on the carrot and slowly pushed the knife down into it, successfully cutting through without moving it much.

"Yup, just like that. Now brush it away with the knife and cut a new piece."

In a brushing motion, he pushed away the newly cut carrot. Moving his fingers back, he cut a new section of carrot and repeated this motion multiple times.

"See, now you're getting the hang of it! Great job."

Link was happy that he could do it. He was now a grown-up, like the rest of them! He excitedly chopped away at the carrots as he started to get better at it.

"Now, now, don't go too fast, you might cut yourself."

"Champion?" Malon shook his shoulder.

He quickly snapped back to reality and turned to look at her concerned face, "You weren't responding to me, so I got worried."

'Sorry.' Champion signed as he looked down at the cutting board, he had been cutting the same spot over and over again, a visible line on the spot where he chopped.

"Are you feelin' well? Maybe you shouldn't be cutting right now," Malon asked as she placed the back of her hand to his forehead, Champion reassuring her as he pulled her hand away.

Turning to look at his hand, Malon exclaimed with worry, "You've gone and cut yourself on your finger!"

"Did you cut yourself? It's fine Link, hold still."

It suddenly clicked in his head.

His mother.

He... he was thinking about his mom.

"Don't worry, I've got band-aids lying around her somewhere..." Malon trailed off as she searched her cabinets.

Champion watched as she left the kitchen to look around her house. Lowering his head, he examined his bleeding index finger, poking around the cut with his thumb. This sense of deja vu he had been experiencing, was coming from Malon. She reminded him of his mother, or what little he could remember of her from so long ago, one hundred and eighteen years to be exact. Since the start, her demeanour had ignited something in him, a sense of familiarity.

He was drafted away to become a knight in his youth, but his mother was always with him. She would come whenever she could to visit him in the barracks. Although they were always brief, she would check up on him and tell him how much she missed him. He missed her too, but never brought himself to tell her, instead promising to come back home once this was all done. Hollow promises.

Once he was promoted to becoming Zelda's bodyguard, his already limited visits diminished even further and he rarely saw her, brief glimpses in the crowd as the Princess walked through the square being all he had. Sometimes, he would wake up in the middle of the night to hear her angrily protesting against the other guards who ushered her away. He just felt so lonely. Restless nights all by himself in his furnished room that he couldn't even share with his loved ones.

No matter how long or short her appearances were, they all seemed to slip through his fingers just as easily.

Champion laid weakly on the wet grass as the rain pelted against his limp body. Earlier, he was cutting through Guardians like butter, but now he couldn't even raise his sword if he tried. The Princess' muffled voice was trying to tell him something but he couldn't focus on her for some reason. She's probably just telling me how poor a knight I am. He looked over to the Master Sword, its proud glow being wasted on somebody like him.

His bloodied hand gripped uselessly on its hilt as more Guardians approached them through the pouring rain.

Despite everything happening, he could only think of one thing.

His mother.

He never even got to say goodbye.

He had no fight left in him. Nothing left to give.

His fingers uncoiled from the Master Sword and he released it onto the grass below.

He was going to die.

The last thing he saw was the Master Sword losing its holy glow as he lost the power to stay awake.

~~~

"I'm back sweetie," Malon called out, box of band-aids in hand, "Don't worry."

Gently propping his hand towards her, she dabbed the bleed away with a tissue before carefully placing a band-aid on it, wrapping it around his finger a few times for good measure.

"There, all better!"

"Good as new, Link."

He looked up at Malon, but all he saw was her.

Why? Why was this happening?

Champion felt like he was being strangled by his throat, struggling to say something, anything to her no matter how hard he pushed. Her face morphed into a mix of confusion and uncertainty, the same look you'd give a stranger you've never met before. A stranger to his own mother. He wanted to run. Run away and just never look back. The walls of the kitchen felt constricting, like he was going to get crushed if he stayed here any longer.

His breathing was picking up. His heart felt like it was racing in his chest, threatening to break through his rib-cage.

Champion shut his eyes. Maybe if he kept them closed long enough, all his problems would just cease to exist.

He felt something.

There were arms around him, a hug, Champion's mind supplied. He cracked his eyes open and all he saw was Malon's caramel-orange hair to his left, trailing down her back. She was oddly quiet, but her hand was patting his back lightly as his slowly raised his own arms up to return the hug.

A loving embrace that didn't belong to him.

"How are you feeling, dear? Better?" Malon's gentle voice asked.

Champion felt tears leave his eyes. The memories just came flooding back, all the time he spent with his mother at home, at the market, playing in the field. He just hadn't thought about her in so long, and it was just too much for him to handle as he remembered it all at once. He gripped uselessly onto her apron as he tried desperately to keep Malon close. He just couldn't lose anyone anymore.

"I'm here Champ, please don't cry," Malon held him closer. Her soothing voice was like music to his ears.

He only let soft sobs out in reply, his tears staining her shirt. She started humming a calming tune as he felt her guide him slowly, his feet moving along with her. Before he had even realised, Malon had laid him gently out onto the sofa in the living room. His head was supported by a pillow as she crouched down beside him.

"I don't know why you're so upset, but I think it would be best if you had some rest," Malon suggested, "D'you need anything? Some water?"

Champion shook his head slowly as she wiped his tear-streaked face with her thumb.

"Don't cry, dear. You'll ruin your handsome face," She light-heartedly joked.

"What's wrong honey?" Time asked as he walked in, spotting the scene of his wife crouched by Champion next to the couch. He quickly came to her side, crouching down on one knee as he looked at Champion. The evidence sat on his face bright as day as blotchy-red bags rested under his watery eyes.

"What's wrong Champion?" Time questioned as Champion watched him stick out a hand.

Instinctively, he swiped Time's hand away before he could even reach him, Malon and Time exchanging confused looks. "Are you... okay? I just wanted to check your temperature."

Champion had no idea why he did that, something in his body just told him to do it. Time wasn't a threat... was he? He stared down the elder hero intensely as he felt his breathing quicken again. Why was Time doing this to him? Champion was already backing away, crawling backwards with his hands on the couch.

"What's wrong? Don't be scared."

"Calm down, dear. Just breathe."

Wild found himself running back into the house after hearing his name get called out by Time. Maybe they finally realised he hadn't returned to the kitchen. To be fair, he got a bit distracted chasing around cuccos and tending to the horses with Twilight. Entering back into the main house, he was met with the concerned faces of Time and Malon with a lack of Champion.

"What's up?" He tentatively asked as he looked around for his missing mentor.

"Well... it's about Champion," Time slowly responded.

"He just up and dashed out," Malon worriedly explained, evident by the wide open front door.

"Ran away!? Why? What happened?" Wild replied in shock as he ran over to the front door.

"He was feeling emotional earlier," Malon placed a hand on Wild's shoulder to comfort him, "I laid him on the couch to rest."

"I came in to check up on them, but he reacted... differently," Time paused, "He hit my hand away before he ran off."

Wild sighed, "Alright... well I'm going to go look around." There weren't many places he could've run away to except some nearby forests, and Wild knew he wasn't the type of person to run away without a way to come back. Champion could take care of himself, but it was still dangerous that he ran off into unknown territory. Wild just hoped that he was feeling alright mentally, he always seemed to struggle with his emotions.

Stepping out, he felt a hand get placed on his shoulder and stop him.

"I'll come as well," Time spoke up behind him, "He seemed... afraid of me, and... I don't want any of my boys looking at me like that."

Offering Time a nod, they headed out as Malon reluctantly pulled away from the porch and back into the kitchen to finish the long-forgotten meal. Both heroes remained alert as they scanned the expansive field whilst walking over to the forest, there wouldn't be anywhere to hide in an empty field, but they still checked nonetheless. Wild led the way as Time followed behind him.

The silence between them was... awkward, to say the least. Wild knew that Time had some part in Champion's distress, but wasn't sure how much of it was actually caused by him. Time seemed shifty as well, like something was eating him from the inside. Was he guilty after something he did? Or did Champion say something that stuck with him?

Either way, the old man wasn't giving many answers as he quietly trailed behind Wild. Entering the woods, they carefully walked through the trees, Wild listening out attentively for any noise he could hear. Wild would consider his hearing good, but compared to Champion's, he didn't stand a chance to his sensitive ears. In fact, if Champion was nearby, he'd probably heard them already.

Creeping through the trees, Wild and Time kept their guard up as they moved through the thick forest, checking around every tree before advancing forward. Suddenly, they heard a twig snap nearby. Cocking their heads to face the noise, they spotted a lone bush sitting in the middle of the trees. Time looked over to Wild and gave him a nod before he cautiously approached the bush. Wild remained rooted to the ground as he watched in anticipation as Time inched towards the bush.

Suddenly, Wild's body jerked back as something grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back behind a tree, a hand covering his mouth. Instantly, Wild started thrashing against the intruder but was silenced after he felt a familiar pinch to his ear, carefully tilting his head up to confirm that yes, it was Champion. With a finger raised to his lips, he reiterated for Wild to stay quiet multiple times before slowly pulling away his hand covering Wild's mouth.

Wild blinked as Champion methodically peeked his head around the tree, a distressed Time just now realising that Wild had disappeared and was worriedly calling out for the missing cook. Wild considered staying quiet for Champion, but seeing as how he'd just been technically kidnapped but him, didn't really feel bad for calling out Champion's location.

"TIME! I'm over here!" Wild hollered to the disbelief of Champion.

He was about to face a scolding from Champion but Time quickly ran up to discover the twins.

"I found Champion," Wild offered them an innocent smile.

"Thank Hylia," Time muttered, "Don't go missing again, the both of you."

Time extended a hand towards Champion, both Time and Wild surprised when he flinched away from Time.

"What's wrong?" Wild asked from behind him, "It's just Time."

Champion didn't respond as he stood planted between Time and Wild, Time's outstretched hand ignored by both parties.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Wild gently suggested before adding, "Without Time?"

Much to the older hero's disappointment, Champion slowly nodded as his posture remained stiff towards Time. Slowly, they both watched as Time backed away, leaning against a tree further away from them. Champion seemed satisfied by Time's distance and let out a long sigh as Wild moved him over to a fallen log to sit. Placing himself next to Champion, he looked at his face and noticed how his cheeks were painted red and his eyes pained, an expression which Wild had disappointingly seen a lot.

"Have you been crying again?" Wild paused to give Champion a moment to answer before replying to his own question, "Will you at least tell me why? You know Zelda and I don't like it when you hide things like this from us."

Champion squirmed in place as he seemed to contemplate answering, Wild had purposely mentioned Zelda to him to get a higher chance of a response seeing as how he always caved when it came to the Princess. After a few minutes, Champion reluctantly raised his hands up to sign. Wild didn't mind waiting as he had already learnt from the start that he had to be patient with Champion.

'Barn-lady.' Was all he signed.

"Barn... lady...?" Wild repeated, his confusion evident, "Are you talking about... Malon?" He guessed.

A quick nod from Champion. 'Reminded me of someone.'

"Who was it?" Wild tentatively asked.

'Our mother.'

"Oh," Wild tilted his head down as he looked away from Champion. As badly as he wanted to support Champion, he didn't know what to say, as he didn't remember their mother. Moments like this made him feel like a failure, unable to remember basic things that everyone knew. If he could just remember, then he would be more useful. If he just remembered–

'She was nice.' Champion's hands moved into view, his motions slow and purposeful.

"I'm sorry that I don't–"

'It's-fine. Just know that she loved you.'

Champion's hand was rested on Wild's shoulder as he started feeling like crying, for not being able to remember someone that everyone has. He'd only heard of the love a mother gives, but never remembered experiencing it. But, he didn't mind taking Champion's word of mouth for it.

"So," Wild paused to swallow drily, "If Malon reminds you of our mother... does that mean Time is our father?"

Champion appeared to freeze up before he gave another quick nod.

"Well, what's wrong with that...?" Wild asked slowly, he could tell that Champion was regressing into himself again, "Was he... bad?"

'He is why I became a knight.' Was all the explanation that Wild needed.

"I... I see," Wild trailed off as Champion looked down at the grass, eyes filled with sadness.

Wild didn't remember their father either, but didn't feel so upset this time. The short explanation Champion gave was all Wild needed to know that he was a bad person. Maybe it was better that he didn't remember him.

"Champion?" Wild softly called out. Champion resumed his tilted head but Wild knew he had his attention when his ear twitched slightly.

Wild knew that this was a lot for Champion, seeing as how mainly everyone from his past was gone, and he appreciated that he was making an effort to hear him out rather than shutting him out completely, like he did a few times earlier in their adventure.

"You know that Time would never do anything our father did, right?"

He nodded, 'I just keep seeing him when I look at him.' Champion admitted with shaky hands.

"Listen, I don't remember our mother or father," Wild paused, "But what I do know is that Malon and Time are the best I'll ever get."

Champion had slowly tilted his head back up to look at Wild again.

"They're different from the parents you remember, but they're who I see as my parents. And... it's not that bad. They're kind and caring, and they're my definition of loving parents. I'm taking a chance to see them as my parents."

"Why don't you take that chance with me? Start anew. There's no reason to hold onto the past when it holds so many negative memories," Wild slowly suggested.

Champion's eyes were pointed down as he seemed to think about it, his contrasting emotions displayed subtly on his face. Wild remained silent as he allowed Champion to quietly think it through, he understood that he was asking a lot from Champion but hoped he would at least consider it.

"Do you... want to try?" Wild asked again as he gently placed his hand on Champion's, his sapphire eyes meeting Champion's strained gaze, the gaze of someone who'd been thrown through impossible hurdles but still made it out on the other side. It made Wild feel resentful to Hylia, to send a single person through so much. They only had about a month of rest in Hateno before being sent on this new quest.

Slowly, Wild watched as Champion gave a hesitant nod.

"Don't nod. Tell me you want to try," Wild clarified. It was mean, but he wanted to hear his confirmation.

"I want to try," Champion's raspy voice agreed.

"Thank you," Wild leaned in for a hug, "For trying, I understand how difficult it is."

Champion laid tiredly in Wild's arms, returning a tight hug to him.

"Let's head back to Time and the others," Wild whispered.

"Alright."

As much as he tried to appear unaffected, it deeply hurt. To see one of his boys shy away from him, to ask him to leave, it hit Time in a way he never thought it would. He was pacing around nervously, trying to remember everything he did with Champion, to see if he ever did something that would've struck a nerve with the knight. In the distance, he could see them talking, presumably about him or something he did.

After a few painstaking minutes, which felt like hours, the twins slowly made their way back. Time watched as Champion and Wild stood before them, the former with his head tilted down with the latter's hand placed supportively on his shoulder.

"Are you feeling better?" Time gently asked.

Both Time and Wild watched in suspension as Champion slowly nodded.

That's a good start. Time thought as he started talking again, "I don't know what I did in the past, but if I–"

Time's voice was caught in his throat when Champion suddenly leaned in and hugged him, Time quickly returning the hug. Wild simply gave a supportive thumbs-up to Time. It seemed that whatever issues Champion had with him had been resolved by Wild. He really owed it to the cook, especially with the way he connected with Champion better than anyone else.

"I'm sorry, for making you worry," Champion quietly apologised into Time's shirt.

His voice sounded remarkably like Wild's, except that it was raspy from his earlier crying. It was soft and timid, like Champion was uncertain on how to use it after years of leaving it kept away in the dark, reserving it for only the most important occasions. It clearly took a lot of effort from him as well to speak, the knight seeming smaller somehow after he did, like he wanted to retreat even further into Time's chest.

Also, Champion just spoke to him, that had to be some minor miracle. Now he really had to repay Wild in some way.

"No need to apologise, I would never be upset with you," Time explained as he rubbed Champion's back in an up-down motion, "We all go through things. If you need some time to yourself, I'll understand."

He felt Champion's head nod before he released him from the hug, "You feeling ready to head back, Champion?"

They both watched in anticipation as Champion gave another nod.

"Let's head back then."

Time led the way out of the forest, the twins following behind him as he heard frequent murmurings between them, or more accurately, he heard murmurings from Wild. Exiting the trees, they were greeted by the orange evening sky as the ranch sat tranquilly in the distance. As they took a quiet stroll back towards the ranch, Time was surprised to feel something in his hand, looking to his left to see Champion beside him holding his hand.

"Hey, what's up?" Time hummed as he looked down at the timid teen. The twins weren't short but they also weren't tall, given that they required Time to tilt his head down to look at them. A century of resting probably stunted their growth.

Champion only offered him a nod while his gaze rested on the ranch in the distance.

"Did Wild ask you to come here?" Time questioned, not initially believing that Champion would be here on his own accord, "Don't feel forced to stay with me."

Champion shook his head quickly at Time's statement, so he really did come here himself. This warmed Time up deeply, now that Champion was willingly choosing to approach and walk by him, like owning a new cat and being able to get it to come to you after days of skittish behaviour all by itself. Seeing as how he was more comfortable with his presence, Time decided that now was a better time than ever to ask about the reasoning to his initial behaviour.

"Why did you run off earlier? If you don't mind me asking," Time gently inquired.

Time briefly felt Champion's hand release his as he signed slowly, 'Going-through a-lot, emotionally.' Before his cold hand returned to Time's.

"Would you like to talk about it? I'm a good listener," Time suggested gently, Champion appearing conflicted before eventually agreeing.

'Your wife reminded me of someone. My mother.' Champion explained with heavy hands.

Malon... reminded him of his mother?

"I see, I'm... sorry for your loss." Time's voice was reduced to a whisper as he rubbed Champion's hand with his thumb comfortingly.

'It was a long-time-ago.' Champion signed, trying to appear like it didn't matter, although Time could tell it did, 'You reminded me of my... father.'

There was a visible pause before he signed father, like it was a dirty word that tarnished his hands when he did, "I take it he wasn't the best person?"

Champion gave a slow nod. Time didn't really know how to feel about this, being compared to someone who brought a lot of bad memories for Champion, it felt awful. But the fact that he was willing to talk to Time showed progress or an attempt at it, and he appreciated that at the very least. He'd just have to show that he loved them.

"I don't know what he did, and you don't have to tell me. Just know that I would never treat you badly. I love all of you boys equally, and I wouldn't want to make any of you uncomfortable, understand?"

'I-understand.' Champion solemnly replied.

Time let out a content smile, "You are a good kid, Champion. Polite, skilled, responsible. I wouldn't ask for anyone else."

"That goes for you too," Time called out to Wild, who was trailing them before running up beside Champion excitedly, "Both of you are good boys."

"Oh, thanks," Wild sheepishly responded as his face was painted pink, eliciting a laugh from Time.

"Well, we're here." Time announced as they walked up the porch, the twins standing behind him. The journey had been quicker than he thought.

Opening the door, Time was met with the heroes in his living room sharing banter as they sat around eating their dinners, varying reactions to their return.

"Hey guys! Where didja go?" Wind called out from the couch.

"Yeah, where did you go?" Four asked in a more accusatory tone.

"For a walk– who said you could eat on my couch?" Time interrupted as the heroes shared glances.

"Uhhhh... Malon said we could..." Hyrule meekly answered.

"Very well then," Time sighed, "But I better not see any crumbs."

"Yes sir!" Warriors responded with a mock salute, the other heroes laughing.

Rolling his eyes, Time headed over to the kitchen with Wild and Champion following along. Inside they found Twilight and Malon chatting, which looked more like Twilight interrogating her about where his cubs went. Malon thankfully kept herself tight-lipped. With a quick knock of his finger on the counter-top, Twilight's irritated look turned to face them, quickly changing to one of relief once he saw Champion and Wild stood behind him.

Rushing over to the twins, he pelted them with questions, all of which Wild answered vaguely on behalf of both of them. Pulling Twilight away from them, he had a one-on-one with the Ordonian.

"Don't scare them," He scolded, "They're fine. I made sure they were."

"You really couldn't have told me where ya guys went? And I couldn't tag along?" Twilight questioned as he bit his lower lip nervously, eyes occasionally darting to the twins nearby.

"Like I said, they're fine," Time reiterated as he drew the rancher's attention back to himself, "Champion just needed some alone time with Wild."

"Why, somethin' happen?" Twilight questioned.

Letting out a tired sigh, Time loosely explained, "Champion's struggling with something personal, so please don't pressure him right now. Can you do that for me, pup?"

Twilight seemed to take the hint as he quietly nodded before returning back to the pair, his demeanour more relaxed as he didn't ask as many questions. Time fetched his, Champion's, and Wild's plates before he walked back into the main room with all the heroes, settling down onto the couch next to Sky, who made some space for him.

He silently listened into the conversation the Chain shared, a story between members of monsters they'd fought, occasionally leaving comments before returning to quiet observing. Time enjoyed moments like this, moments where they could all unwind and bask in each other's company, worry-free of any threats as they shared stories. Knowing that Twilight was his future protégé down the line, Time knew that he would eventually have children.

When? Time couldn't guess. But this was good enough as practice.

Now that he had two identical Links looking up to him, he didn't really know how to act. As the de facto "leader" of the group, most asked him for advice or looked up to him for ideas. But was he doing a good job? He never knew his parents, the Kokiri acting as his pseudo-family for the longest time, and Time didn't really have a father or mother but more of a guardian figure, the Deku Tree.

Time never thought of himself as someone who could lead a group, let alone a group of heroes, but had somehow managed to land himself the role. He'd say he has managed it relatively well so far, masking his stress away with multiple layers of stoicism. But now that Champion and Wild looked up to him as a father figure, Time didn't really know what to do.

He didn't know what fathers did. The Deku Tree mainly stood proudly and offered him wisdom in times of need, but there was surely more to that in fatherhood. He pondered the thought as the conversation continued on without him, heroes disappearing off one by one as they headed to bed, eventually leaving him, Twilight, Sky, and the twins. Looking down at his empty plate, he decided now was a good time to wash it off in the sink.

Slowly, he got up with a groan, his tired bones creaking slightly.

"Woah, calm down old man! You're gonna break a hip!" Sky teased from his spot on the couch.

Ignoring the chosen hero's comment, he started walking over to the kitchen before being stopped by Champion and Wild.

In Wild's arms was a stack of dirty plates, Champion extending a hand to take Time's plate for him.

"Oh, thank you," Time donated his plate to Champion and Wild who proceeded to take Twilight and Sky's plates as well.

Settling back onto his spot on the couch, Time, Twilight, and Sky watched as they headed off into the kitchen to wash them.

"They're a lovely pair," Sky yawned.

"I raised good cubs," Twilight stated, letting out a satisfied sigh.

"You've known them for less than a week. I doubt you're responsible for their good manners," Sky gave a deadpan comment to the rancher.

"You're welcome," Twilight crossed his arms with a huff, "You should go to bed soon, or else we'll have to pry your sleepin' body off the couch."

"I suppose I should," Sky agreed as he let Twilight help him up and over to the bedrooms where the rest of the heroes were, Time waving them goodnight.

Slowly, Malon walked in from the kitchen.

"What's wrong honey?" Time questioned.

"Nothing," She succinctly responded as she sat next to him, her head of red hair resting against his shoulder, "The two of 'em insisted that they could do the dishes themselves and told me to take a break, so I did."

"Oh, they're just so cute," Malon fawned, "It's really startin' to feel like a family."

"About that," Time spoke up, "The pair actually asked me to... act as their father, of sorts."

"What's wrong with that? That's adorable!" Malon excitedly replied, "You, as a father, I thought I'd never see the day!"

"Technically you would have in the future," Time reminded, "But still, I don't really know what to do."

"What do you mean?" She turned her head to face him.

"Well, I just don't know the best way to treat them, like a father would," Time admitted.

"What are you talking about? You're the best father a kid could have!" Malon supportively stated, "Just act how you always act, like a good leader who looks after their team."

"Are you sure that's all there is to it?" Time asked. It sounded deceptively easy.

"Don't be silly, fairy boy!" Malon laughed, "Dontcha get it? You're the leader of the group, which is just like a father to their kids. Someone who they look up to."

"Oh," Time thought, "I guess that does make sense."

Malon giggled as their hands intertwined, "Don't stress over it, you're a natural."

"If you say so."

They leaned back into the couch, resting in loving silence as the room was illuminated with a few lanterns, colouring everything in an orange hue.

"Wait... does that mean I'm their mother?" She asked aloud.

"Yup," Time hummed.

"We're done!" Wild chirped as he rushed back into the room, Champion slowly following behind him.

Wild proudly placed his hands on his hips as Champion remained stiff, both of them standing before them.

Nudging his side, Malon hinted that he should say something, "Oh, um, thanks for your help," He rigidly stated.

He could hear his wife laughing at him before she decided to demonstrate what you should do, "C'mere!" She called out with open arms.

Wild and Champion approached Malon before she gave both of them a long hug.

After releasing them, she turned to him and shot him a cheeky grin. Do you really want to make this a game?

Standing up, Time looked at the pair's blue eyes before giving the both of them a pat on the head, "Good job you two, you've done well today."

This simple comment seemed to brighten the both of them up, Wild looking at him with stars in his eyes whilst Champion soaked up the praise.

"Now head off to bed," He gave them both an encouraging tap on the shoulder, the twins nodding quickly before dashing off towards the bedroom.

He watched as they left before turning to Malon and sending her a wink, or technically a blink given that he was only using one eye. She simply huffed and dragged him by the arm back to bed, Time chuckling at the sight.

"Don't get too happy, fairy boy."

"Oh, so it is a challenge?"

"It'll be whatever you want it to be, but just know I'm winning."

"If you say so."

They headed over to their master bedroom, Time and Malon getting into bed together. Shuffling under the covers, he reached out to his lantern on his bedside table and twisted its knob, dimming the light before eventually turning it off. Malon did the same to her's and they cuddled together on the bed.

"Am I a good mother...?" She softly asked.

"The best."

Chapter Text

Wild squirmed around in annoyance. A sliver of light had decided to stab his eyeballs early in the morning, finding the perfect crack in the curtains to attack him specifically, like the sun was out to get him. No matter where he slept, the sun always found a way to annoy him. Sitting up, he escaped the sun's grasp as he scanned the room through lidded-eyes, everything appearing dark with splotches of light ingrained into his vision from the sun.

He roughly rubbed his eyes, a habit which Champion scolded him for, as he finally was able to make out the room. There were empty bedrolls folded neatly in one corner of the room as the remaining sleeping heroes laid in their bedrolls placed randomly about the room. Letting out a yawn, Wild shifted off his bedroll, which Hyrule bought for him at Castletown yesterday, and got up to leave the room. He kept his steps quiet, like they usually were, as not to wake the other heroes, stepping around Sky's slumbering form.

The wooden door creaked as he slowly pushed it open, Wild wincing and turning around to see if the noise awoke the others, proceeding to continue to open the door once he confirmed that it didn't. The corridor was disgustingly bright, due to the open window at the end of it which provided him with a gentle breeze. Wild kept his eyes squinted as he trotted downstairs and into the living room, slipping into the kitchen before anyone could question his hair, which he could feel was a tangled mass behind him.

Inside the kitchen, Wild decided that he wanted a cup of water to wake himself up in the morning. He looked around for a cup in the cabinets before noticing Legend stood in the corner with a cup of his own.

"Hello," Wild waved, receiving a hum in response.

Wild rifled through the cabinets before asking aloud, "Where did you get the cup? I can't find any."

"Here," Legend tapped a cabinet with his foot.

Wild turned to the sound and approached the veteran, who scooted over as he crouched to open the cabinet by Legend's legs, which had his much needed cups inside. Taking out a mug, he placed it on the counter-top as he closed the cabinet. Wild was about to fetch the water jug before Legend spoke up again.

"Coffee or tea?" Legend asked as he took a sip from his cup.

Wild tilted his head, "Huh?" He'd heard of tea, but what was coffee?

"What do you want to drink? Coffee or tea?" Legend asked again, "I'm drinking coffee, but I have some left over if you want."

Legend gestured towards a transparent jug filled with a strange dark brown liquid.

"What's coffee?" Wild asked, peering into the jug, "Is this coffee?"

"Yes... that's coffee. Do you seriously not know what coffee is?" Legend appeared baffled as he approached Wild with the jug.

Wild let out an embarrassed nod, was it really that big a deal? Legend facepalmed before placing his mug down on the counter-top next to Wild's.

"Here, you can try some," He poured some 'coffee' into Wild's mug and refilled his.

Wild watched attentively as Legend took a small white packet and opened it before slowly pouring its contents into his mug. He decided to follow Legend's weird actions and took a pack of his own and emptied the whole thing inside.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Legend sputtered as he stopped Wild from pouring the rest.

"I'm doing what you're doing," Wild didn't get it, he was just following him.

"Yeah, but I'm not pouring all the sugar into my coffee!" Legend rebuked like it was obvious.

Wild looked down before apologising, "Sorry."

"I–" Legend stuttered, "It's fine. It'll just be a bit sweeter now is all."

"Alright... sorry," Wild tentatively took his mug and brought it to his lips, taking a small sip and confirming that yes, it was extremely sweet.

His face scrunched at the taste as he stuck his tongue out, how could people even stomach this? It tasted disgustingly bitter and sweet at the same time!

Placing the mug back down, he awkwardly pushed it away, "I think I'll just drink water..."

"It's fine, 'Rulie will drink this," Legend pointed to Wild's mug, "I swear, that guy doesn't even have any taste buds."

"Hyrule has no taste buds? When did this happen? How does he eat his food?" Wild questioned worriedly, this was the first time he'd been told that he didn't have taste buds and he wanted to know what happened.

"Wh– I– What?" Legend's eyebrows were pinched as he looked at him with the most confused expression Wild had ever seen from him.

"What? I just want to know what happened," Wild didn't understand what was confusing Legend, he just wanted to know what happened to their healer.

"I'm being sarcastic, Wild. Please tell me you know what that means," Legend pleaded.

"Sarcastic? Is it bad?" Wild didn't understand anything Legend was telling him and frankly, he was getting tired of this conversation and the constant mixed signals. Why can't he just make his message clear?

Legend let out a long sigh as he ran a hand through his hair, which had strands of pink, "It's a joke. I'm joking."

"Oh, alright," Wild nodded. So, Legend wasn't acting weirdly, he was... joking? These jokes were confusing, aren't jokes meant to be funny?

Legend took a long sip from his mug, "What's up with you? Why are you acting so weird?"

Weird..? Wild was weird?

He knew he was different, not many heroes lose all their memories after all, but Wild wasn't weird. At least that's what he thought. Sure, he did things differently, had more unconventional fighting styles, and tended to brute force issues instead of thinking of a solution, but that didn't make him weird... right? Maybe this was just another joke, one of the ones he didn't get.

Yes, that's what it was... it has to be.

"I'm sorry," Wild quickly whispered before leaving the kitchen. He ignored Legend's confused look as he walked away and returned out into the living room.

He was met with the eyes of Champion, Twilight, and Warriors.

"Good mornin', Wild," Twilight greeted, he was seated on the couch next to Champion, "You headed straight to the kitchen just now, everything all right?"

"Yeah, just needed a drink," Wild slowly replied as he didn't meet their eye contact, prompting him to look down as he sat on an armchair away from them.

Warriors walked over, offering an extended hand, "Hey, your hair's a mess. Do you want me to help?"

"No," Wild grit out, "I can do it myself."

Just because he lost his memories doesn't mean he was stupid. He could comb his own hair, prove to the others that he wasn't incompetent.

"Oh, uh okay..." The captain's voice trailed off as he retreated back to where he stood. Wild could feel the looks of Champion and Twilight on him but he didn't care. Actually, they could keep looking, he was going to show them he could do it himself. That he wasn't weird and that he was a hero like them. A hero who could do simple tasks.

Taking his Slate, he summoned the sky-blue comb given by Warriors into his hand. Whipping his hair back, he placed his left hand on the back of his head to hold his hair steady as he raised the comb with his right hand, preparing to comb it downwards. He knew how to comb his hair, everyone had done it for him hundreds of times.

"Don't forget your hair-tie," Twilight reminded. More like belittled.

Wild paused and begrudgingly reached for his blue hair-tie with his left hand. Great, now you look like an idiot. Fiddling around for a while, he eventually found it and started to pull on it. It wouldn't come loose, so he tugged harder, but it only started to hurt his scalp.

"Hey, don't pull it out! It'll damage your hair!" Warriors warned, "Here, let me help."

The captain had walked back over and reached a hand out to help remove the hair-tie but Wild simply ducked away from his hand, "I said, I can do it myself."

"I know you can, I just want to help," Warriors reached his hand out again.

Wild reluctantly allowed Warriors to help remove the hairband, his fingers gently untangling his hair-tie with the same level of comfort Warriors usually gave when he combed his hair. It almost made Wild want Warriors to comb his hair. Almost.

I'll just get help for one thing, and that's it. I don't need to be constantly treated like a baby.

Warriors presented the offending blue hair-tie to Wild, who snatched it from him and returned to combing his hair. With the comb, he raked it through his hair evenly. Well, that's what Wild would like to believe, he couldn't see his hair so he had no idea how he was doing. When he encountered groups of tangled hair, he just pulled through roughly with the comb, biting his cheek at the pain.

"You should go slower where it's tangled."

"I know."

He continued combing, his hand shaky as he endured more pain.

"Don't forget your other side."

"I know."

Hair was falling out as he felt it accumulate on the comb.

"You're pulling out hairs, remember to go slower."

"I know!"

Wild shouted angrily at the captain, finally making him stop critiquing his every move. He kept his head pointed down, watching as Warriors' boots slowly left, only to be replaced by familiar leggings of a knight. Champion's metal leggings clearly spoke for him, that he was a mix of anger and concern with him. He raised his head to look at Champion, doing his best impression of a glare, which he never seemed to be able to master unlike Champion.

Champion's crossed arms released as he moved a finger in a circular motion, a signal which Wild had recognised from constant use. Champion wanted him to turn around so that he could comb his hair.

I can do it myself. Wild told himself.

No, you can't. Don't be stupid and let Champion do it.

I'm supposed to do it myself. Wild reasoned.

Shut up. You'll never be like them, so just listen to someone who actually knows what they're doing.

Without saying a word, he turned around, his back facing Champion. Everyone in the room knew he was acting strangely, but Wild didn't care. He just wanted this to be over so he could be left alone, away from the mocking eyes of everyone in the room. He was tired of Warriors' mocking voice and Twilight's constant nannying. So what if he couldn't do simple tasks? He'd find out how, by himself, and not with the annoying help of others.

He just wished he could be like them, but no matter how hard he tried, he'd still be the black sheep of the group.

Champion's hands smoothly evened out Wild's hair, each passing motion of the comb gentle as Champion put in extra care to not hurt his damaged scalp. It felt nice, like it usually did, but Wild just couldn't appreciate it as much. Every sweep down his hair with the comb felt like an insult, showing how he was able to do something so simple that he struggled with.

With a final comb pull down his hair, Wild decided that he was done and quickly stood up, ignoring Champion's protests for him to come back as he headed back to the corridor and into the bathroom. Locking himself inside, Wild felt like he was finally able to breathe, free of prying eyes. He was going to do something himself, because he didn't need them.

He opened his left hand to reveal his blue hair-tie, a few strands of his sun-kissed hair stuck in it. Removing the long strands, he looked at the now clean hair-tie again. Positioning himself in front of a mirror in the bathroom, he tilted his head sideways so that he could see a side profile of his head when he turned his eyes to the mirror. Okay, now I just need to tie my hair.

He moved the hair-tie to his right hand and expanded it with his finger tips. Now... how was he supposed to get the hair in there? With his left, he caressed his smooth hair a few times before putting his hand into a fist, collecting the hair along with it. Wild then attempted to fit the hair using his hand-funnel into the opened hair-tie. How does Champion do this every time?

Wild painstakingly threaded individual hairs into the hair-tie, bending his neck in an awkward angle to catch his progress. Suddenly, Wild heard quiet knocks on the door, slow and deliberate as they didn't say anything afterwards, just knocked. It was Champion. Wild sighed through his nose as he attempted to focus on getting the hair through the impossibly small hair-tie before more knocks were delivered.

"I'm busy!" Wild called out, annoyance laced in his voice.

The best part of talking through a door was that he can't see Champion's signs, so he could be left alone.

"Wild?"

Wild froze as Champion's frail voice cut through the silence. Champion just talked to him. It was rare to hear him speaking aloud, and the desperation of it sounded like he'd been worrying over him for days even though it'd only been a matter of minutes.

I... I have to let him in. 

"Co– come in..." Wild reluctantly cracked the door open. He didn't open it all way as he knew Champion just needed to see inside so that he could appear inside.

Just like Wild suspected, Champion materialised in front of him and he quickly shut the door. An anxious Champion stood before him with jittery hands, like he was hesitating to move closer to help him.

"What do you want?" Wild trailed off as his left hand still maintained a grasp on his hair, his right hand defeatedly resting by his side with his hair-tie sitting inside.

Champion's hands hesitated before asking, 'Are-you-alright?'

"Yes, now what do you want?" Wild repeated. He didn't want to entertain anyone right now. He just wanted to be alone so he could figure this out himself.

'I'm-sorry.'

"W-what?" Wild's anger faltered, clearly caught off-guard by Champion's sudden apology, "Sorry about what?"

'I-don't-know.' Champion paused, 'I just know that I have made-you angry, and I'm-sorry.'

"I'm... I'm not angry at you," Wild sighed, "I just... don't need you guys to treat me like a baby. I can do things myself, you know?"

'We know. We just want to help.' Champion explained with smoother motions, some of the tension from his hands released.

Wild looked down back at his hand holding the hair-tie, "I don't need help," He lied.

Slowly, Champion took the hair-tie from Wild, who gave it to him willingly. Wild watched as he turned his back to face him and demonstrated how to tie his hair. Champion's hands moved with practised ease, folding and twisting his hair into the hair-tie. Wild attempted to memorise every little motion Champion did, who took the hair-tie out and repeated the action a few more times.

Eventually, Champion gave him back the hair-tie and pointed to his own head. He wanted Wild to tie... his hair? Wild hesitantly reached out and replicated the same motions he just saw Champion perform to the best of his ability, feeling satisfied when his result looked similar to Champion's. Champion admired it in the mirror before giving Wild a thumbs-up and returning the hair-tie back to him, this time pointing at Wild's hair.

Okay, just tie your own hair. It's not that hard.

He lifted his hands to his head and slowly repeated what he'd just accomplished, just without being able to see and with longer hair. Wild couldn't tell if he was doing well, only being able to tell through Champion's reactions as his stared at Wild's hands behind his head, although Champion wasn't giving many. Once he completed the motions, he released his hands and looked at Champion expectantly for his thoughts.

Wild watched as Champion raised his hands up.

'You did well. It's-perfect.' He praised.

"Really?" Wild tentatively fiddled with the ponytail he made.

Champion nodded, 'Just like how I do-it.'

"Thanks," Wild looked down with a flushed face, "Sorry about earlier, I... overreacted and I didn't mean too."

'It's-fine.' Champion reassured, 'Let's-go-back.'

Wild agreed and they headed back out into the living room, which was populated with more heroes than earlier. Thankfully, Warriors and Twilight didn't ask him about his earlier behaviour, and he didn't want to talk about it anyways. He still didn't feel like he fit in with them, but he could always learn. Malon and a few others had already made breakfast, apparently she was busy teaching them how to cook.

He and Champion settled down by the large wooden table with their fellow heroes, awaiting breakfast with the rest of them, which eventually came in the form of Wind excitedly holding up a large tray and recklessly waving it about as he brought it to the table. On the tray was a large spread, consisting of fruits and eggs, some of which were more burnt than others.

After distributing the plates among themselves, Wild munched on his slightly burnt egg without caring about the texture, it tasted fine to him. Champion nibbled away slowly on some fresh Hydromelon, which in reality had been sitting in his Slate for months, that being his entire breakfast. It only just occurred to him how little Champion ate, which he guessed made sense as he was dead, so he wouldn't really need to eat anything except to regain energy to maintain his form.

The rest of breakfast was a quick affair, Wild taking some extra left-over eggs that others wouldn't eat because they were "too burnt" and shoving them into his mouth. In the living room, Wild overheard Time making plans among them to send a party out to Castletown to check if any new sightings were discovered. A few heroes quickly volunteered and Time sent them off with a nod.

This left Wild and the rest of the Chain with more free time than usual, given how they were always on the road. Wild lazily rested on the couch, his extra energy spilling out through his incessant leg kicking. Time seemed to notice this and suggested a quick fishing trip, Wind and Twilight agreeing as the other heroes weren't as interested, stating that it was "a thing old people do".

Wild didn't have anything better to do, so he decided to follow, which ultimately caused Champion to tag along.

It had been a while since Wild went fishing, so he figured it would be good practice in case he was getting rusty. Time and Wind were holding some long sticks called rods with them which were apparently needed for fishing, not that he or Champion had ever heard of rods before. It was probably a different Hyrule thing. Wild indulged Wind and took a rod for himself, as did Champion.

Time led the way to a nearby lake south-west of the ranch. The trek through the expansive plains was relatively short as they reached the lake in no time, Time leading them over to the fishing hole. The three heroes immediately took their positions along the lake's edge, expertly flicking their flimsy sticks to cast their "line". Wild and Champion simply watched in curiosity.

Wild had never heard of this fishing method before, the technique he learnt at Lurelin Village used throwing spears, so he reckoned that it would function the same. Champion seemed to think the same thing as he improvised with the rod. Locking onto a fish, he raised his rod, took aim, and threw it like a spear. The fish was perfectly skewered as it flopped against the rod. Using the rod’s string, Champion reeled it in with a triumphant look.

"What did you do that for, cub?!" Twilight dropped his rod and ran over.

Champion simply proudly displayed his catch to him.

Twilight groaned as he rubbed his forehead, "That is definitely not how you use a fishing rod."

"At least the rod's not badly damaged," Time muttered as he assessed the rod, "Champion, do you not know how to fish?"

Champion shook his head, 'This is how my Hyrule fishes.' He explained.

Time sighed, "Pup, can you..?"

"Yeah, yeah," Twilight waved him off as he guided Champion away with their rods, "C'mon Champ, I'll teach you the real way."

As they walked off, Time turned to Wild, "I take it you don't know how to fish either?"

Wild puffed his chest confidently, "Of course I know how to fish!"

"Is it a real method of fishing?" Time questioned, clearly unconvinced.

Wild grinned, "Of course."

"Show me."

"Alright, so you just take this..." Wild produced a blue circular bomb from his Slate, "And throw it!"

Time's eye widened, "Wait–"

Too late. Wild lobbed the bomb into the centre of the lake, landing with a soft plop. Moments later, the water erupted spectacularly, sending waves and fish flying in random directions. A mist of lake water drenched everything around the area. For a while, nobody said anything as they were all frozen in shock. Wind, dripping wet, helpfully broke the silence with a string of colourful curses from across the lake.

Time pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled deeply, the kind of inhale of someone barely holding onto their patience.

"Wild," Time started with a weird calm to his voice, "What exactly made you think that that was an acceptable method of fishing?"

Wild tilted his head like Time's question was stupid, "It works! Can't you see all the fish floating up?"

The once calm lake was now indeed filled with stunned fish bobbing on its surface. Wind stalked over, his face furious.

"What's wrong with you?!" The sailor exclaimed, "What part of fishing includes bombing the entire lake?!"

Usually, Wind would've been interested by the fact that Wild had bombs, but his love for fishing clearly overpowered.

Wild simply shrugged, "It's efficient."

"Efficient?!" Wind sputtered, waving his rod around like a weapon that he was about to use to decapitate Wild, "You destroyed an entire ecosystem!"

"That's a bit dramatic," Wild muttered, earning a glare from Wind.

Twilight and Champion had since rushed back after their lesson was interrupted by a certain bomb. The rancher took in the damage with a hand pulling his hair whilst Champion blankly looked at the lake. Eerily, Champion slowly turned to look at Wild, sending a chilling look in his direction.

The proceeding lecture from Champion transcended the sign language-speaking barrier as it was obvious he was upset. His silent outburst was deafening, Time and Twilight unable to follow the flurry of signs, each more intense than the last as Champion punctuated his anger with him by firmly stomping his foot. Wind was eagerly egging Champion on the entire time, adding fuel to the fire as Wild silently soaked up his scolding with a bite of his lip.

Eventually, Champion appeared to finish after his hands paused and he walked away with a huff and crossed arms. Twilight quickly ran after the knight as Wild looked out at all the floating fish.

"I'm assuming he expressed my anger for me?" Time sighed, a hand pressed on his face in exasperation.

Wild nodded, clearly unbothered by the situation, "Yup."

"It's going to take a while to clean up, y'know?" Wind complained, wringing out his soaked lobster shirt, "And this is one of the only fishing spots!"

Wild blinked, like the realisation was only hitting him now, "Oops."

He began collecting all the fish he could, mainly the fish floating nearby the shore.

Time crossed his arms as he looked at Wild, his expression slightly softer, "Look, maybe next time a little less 'efficient' would be better."

Wild nodded meekly as Wind went off to collect all the rods, seeing as how the fishing trip was probably over at this point. Despite being frustrated, they all did understand that Wild, in his own strange way, ultimately meant no harm. They just had to teach him the proper way to fish next time. Champion and Twilight slowly made their way back, his stern look from earlier softening when he saw Wild's sheepish expression.

It was obvious that Champion would never truly be mad with Wild, but instead just had times where he'd let his anger overtake his emotions. Champion crouched down beside the cook and began to help retrieve fish with him, their silence being mutual.

As the last fish was collected, the lake returned to its somewhat peaceful state. Wild had demonstrated a strange ability from his Slate that erected pillars of ice out of the water to get fish in harder to reach locations. Wind was immediately interested as he joined Wild in jumping from pillar to pillar to get the remaining fish, slipping a few times.

The trek back had lingering frustration, but it was more muted than earlier. Wind had brightened up since and was asking Wild about what other cool things his Slate could do. Time sighed at the future headache he was bound to have given that these two were guaranteed to cause trouble, now that Wind knew his Slate could make bombs.

"I'll admit, it was efficient," Time placed a hand on Wild's shoulder, "But next time, let's stick to the old method."

Wind shot a playful glare to Wild, "I swear, you're like feral or something."

"Better feral than boring," Wild grinned.

Champion rolled his eyes at them as a small smirk tugged on his lips, Time taking notice but not saying anything about it. They were already approaching the ranch as Time glanced at Twilight, identifying a rather familiar look of irritation.

"Do you need to go?" Time quietly asked as Twilight scratched away at his neck.

Twilight rolled his shoulders, letting out a small sigh, "That obvious, huh?"

"I suppose," Time agreed before pointing over to the forest, "I'll make an excuse for you, you can go."

Twilight nodded and silently slipped away from the group, the trio of younger heroes not noticing as they stepped onto the porch.

Entering back into his house, Wind excitedly relayed their fishing trip with much exaggeration to the other heroes, although there wasn't much to exaggerate given that bombs were actually used. Sky gave a constipated look to their story as it was told, his concerned gaze darting to Wild, who mustered the most convincing innocent look Time had ever seen.

"Did anyone get hurt?" Sky worriedly asked, his 'mother cucco'-ing was showing.

"Only some fish," Wild clarified with a grin.

"I see..." Sky looked down thoughtfully, "Then where's Twilight?"

"Twilight?" Wind paused, glancing around, "Where is Twilight?"

"He went for a walk," Time simply chimed in, taking a sip from his mug.

Wind narrowed his eyes, "Why do you say the vaguest things ever? It's creepy, old man."

Time gave a shrug to the sailor as he took another deliberate sip, Wind grumbling to himself.

Twilight moved through the forest silently, stepping over jutting roots and ducking under low-hanging branches. He'd gotten the 'itch' as he liked to call it, a familiar need that just randomly formed in him at times. The need to stretch his legs, to move his body. His wolf form was the perfect solution to his issue. Twilight made sure he was far enough away to transform peacefully, especially given that people didn't pay too kindly to his wolf form.

Clutching onto the Shadow Crystal around his neck, his body transformed as black squares engulfed him. His Hylian form contorted to fit the mold of a wolf, his bones snapping to rearrange themselves. It hurt, but he'd gotten used to it. In a matter of seconds, the squares disappeared as he ruffled his coat, shaking away the residual pain. It'd been so long since he had a chance to use his wolf form, so he certainly wasn't going to waste it.

With long strides, he covered the forest effortlessly, weaving through trees like it was second nature. He enjoyed doing this, this feeling of being free. Leaves and branches swept against his fur but Twilight didn't care. He was just glad to exhaust this feeling of restlessness that had been building up inside him over the days. Something else he realised, was that he was hungry.

With his snout pointed to the air, he found there wasn't any prey around, and he didn't feel like eating plants. Eventually, Twilight devised a plan to head back to the ranch as he knew that Malon stocked fresh meat in the pantry by the barn outside, so he wouldn't even need to go inside. Besides, the Chain knew of his wolf form, so he wasn't that concerned about being discovered. Swiftly, he turned and bounded back to the ranch.

He arrived at the backside of the ranch, jumping over the wooden fence to gain access to the pantry. Ignoring Malon's sheep who scattered as he entered, he cautiously made his way to the pantry. Strangely, the pantry door was left ajar, but he attributed it to someone forgetting to close it. Nudging his snout between the crack, he creaked it open with his head.

Making his way inside, Twilight froze.

Two pairs of sapphire eyes stared at him through the dim lighting of the pantry. Wild paused to look at the intruder, a large carcass of meat in his hands with a curious but calm expression. Champion on the other hand was anything but calm, his hand had already drawn his blade with the tip pointed directly at his snout with deadly precision.

Twilight cursed internally. Of all people to run into, it had to be the two who didn’t know about his wolf form.

Twilight slowly lowered his head as he crouched down to the ground, tucking his tail low as he tried his absolute best to appear non-threatening. Champion maintained his tight grip as his piercing eyes remained locked on Twilight. Pinning his ears to his head, Twilight was mainly trying to appeal to Wild given that if he could achieve that, he would be able to convince Champion that he was kind.

With one hand, Champion had pushed Wild back, shielding him from the "danger".

The tense standoff between them lasted a couple of minutes before Wild piped up behind Champion.

"He's friendly," Wild said casually, as if pointing out the weather.

Champion blinked as he glanced over his shoulder briefly to look at Wild before quickly turning back to face the wolf.

"I think he's friendly," Wild amended. He was surprisingly calm as he inched his way past Champion towards him, ignoring his silent protests.

Twilight perked his ears, doing his best impression of a harmless puppy as Wild extended a cautious hand. Landing gently on his head, consistent scratches were provided behind his ears, which Twilight had to admit felt good. He let out an involuntary whine as he continued, Champion's sword sheathed but his posture remaining rigid.

"See! He's friendly," Wild said with a triumphant grin, turning back to show a sceptical Champion.

Champion maintained his distance from Twilight as he signed, 'It is a wolf. Wolves are dangerous.'

Wild looked mildly offended as he exclaimed, "He's not dangerous!"

Turning back to Twilight, he crouched as he cooed, "You're not dangerous, right?"

Twilight wagged his tail, letting out a soft yip as he shook his head.

Wild beamed, shooting Champion a smug look, "Told you."

Champion's stern expression didn't budge as he stood planted away from them. Obviously, confirmation from a wolf wouldn't comfort anyone.

He scratched the bottom of his chin, as he cooed, "Are you hungry? I bet you're hungry."

Twilight gave a nod as he stood up more confidently now that he was sure they weren't going to attack him. Wild admired his fully upright form with intrigue, Twilight did always pride himself in being larger than other wolves. Champion, however, appeared more fearful of him, taking a few steps back for good measure.

"You're a big guy aren't you? Here," Wild held out the carcass he'd been holding earlier.

Twilight eagerly scarfed down the offered meat, Wild watching with an odd mix of amusement and fascination as Twilight expertly stripped it down to the bone.

"Good boy!" Wild praised with more pats as he tossed the bone aside, "Champion, come over here!"

Champion stood rooted as he refused to move closer. Honestly, a smart decision. It was concerning how easily Wild trusted a wolf, he'd definitely have to talk to him about that later. Seeing as how he wasn't coming any closer, Wild walked over to Champion and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Look," He said gently, "I know you're scared, but now might be a good time to overcome it."

Champion froze as his hands curled into fists, his eyes latching onto Twilight's every small movement.

Twilight was confused. Champion was... scared? Actually scared of something? The stoic knight who threw himself into battles, standing unfazed in front of horrific monsters that growled at him, was bested by a wolf? The realisation was almost humorous. It made sense that everyone had fears and phobias, but it just felt surreal that Champion was actually scared of something. He might tease him about it later.

Wild glanced between the two, "He won't hurt you, just try."

Twilight let out an unassuming yip to appear friendlier, but it only had the effect of making Champion flinch and recoil away further. 'You don't-know-that.'

Wild frowned, "Well, he didn't bite my hand off."

He continued gently guiding him closer, each small step requiring a monumental amount of effort from Champion. Twilight patiently watched as Wild took Champion's hand and moved it slowly to his head, his fingers trembling as they made contact with his grey fur.

"Great! Now just pet him," Wild reassured.

Twilight leaned into Champion's hesitant scratches, his fingers slow but methodical. If it wasn't for Wild maintaining a grasp around his wrist, Champion would've pulled away instantly. He let out a soft yip before planting his wet nose on Champion's palm, causing the knight to wince and rub his hand on Wild's tunic, who was giggling alongside Twilight.

"Don't be so dramatic," Wild teased, resuming to pat Twilight's head as Champion hid behind the cook, staring daggers at the wolf.

Twilight didn't mind, seeing as how he had new blackmail material which he was definitely using now.

Wild suddenly piped up with an idea, "Let's show him to the others! I bet they'll be super impressed that we managed to tame a wolf!"

Champion didn't share his enthusiasm as he had already slipped out the pantry's door, clearly not wanting to be in this situation any longer.

Begrudgingly, Twilight followed them. He wasn't planning to reveal himself to the other heroes, but had to given that he didn't really have a choice anymore.

Wild burst through the back door, "Hey guys! I found a wolf!"

"You found a what?!" Sky came rushing out, colour returning to his face when he recognised Twilight, "Oh, thank Hylia. It's just Wolfie."

"Wolfie..?" Wild questioned.

"Hey Wolfie!" Wind rushed up to pat Twilight roughly on the head, "He's our wolf. He just comes and goes randomly."

Wild placed a suspicious eye on Twilight, "I see, no wonder he was so friendly."

"Where did you find him anyway?" Four asked with crossed arms from beside Sky.

"Me and Champion found him in the pantry. We were looking for meat to use for lunch," Wild explained.

Time had since approached, his singular eye looking down at him, "I wonder what Wolfie was doing in my pantry."

Whoops. Twilight's eyes darted away from the old man, lolling his tongue out at Wind.

"Next time, do not let Wolfie into my pantry," Time ordered, much to Twilight's displeasure.

He let out a mock growl at that, causing Wind to shy away and Champion to retreat to Sky's side.

"What's wrong Champ?" Sky asked curiously, "You're not scared of Wolfie are you?"

Champion insistently shook his head, but his eyes never once left Wolfie.

Wild light-heartedly supplied, "Champ's deathly afraid of wolves."

"What's wrong with that?" Four questioned, "It actually makes less sense that you were willing to tame a random wolf that appeared out of nowhere."

Champion nodded to Four's reasoning as Wild shrugged it off, "I just have good intuition."

"From now on, no more bringing back random animals unless it's Wolfie," Time sighed, utterly confused why he even had to establish that as a rule.

Wind and Wild gave reluctant nods as Wolfie rolled his eyes at the whole ordeal.

Chapter Text

The party they sent out returned just as lunch was ready. Honestly, the fact that Legend and Warriors were among the group to head out was a bit of an oversight, their constant bickering filtering into lunchtime at the table. It was impressive that Hyrule was able to withstand them for so long seeing as how they all wanted to rip off their ears so they would finally shut up.

Lunch was finished quickly (mainly due to the annoyance of their arguing) and Time had to remind them if they found out anything.

"Yeah, there's a big one north of here," Legend grumbled, "And, we would've reached the ranch earlier if Wars didn't swoon over every lady he met!"

Warriors crossed his arms, "I didn't swoon! Just... inquired if they knew anything about the monsters."

"You did swoon," Hyrule helpfully added from the couch.

Time rolled his eyes, "Let's just get going. Quietly," He placed heavy emphasis on the last bit.

Legend and Warriors begrudgingly nodded as everyone started packing up, funneling out onto the porch.

"Don't forget anything boys!" Malon reminded as she stood next to Time.

Everyone took a quick once over before nodding that they had all their equipment, most of which was sitting in Wild's Slate. Malon and Time shared a silent conversation before indulging in a few kisses, which most of them looked away at. Time finally pulled away as she waved goodbye to the Chain, which they returned. Twilight caught a brief glimpse of Time's crest-fallen expression before he quickly walked up to the front where Warriors and himself were.

"You alright?" Twilight placed a hand on the old man's shoulder.

Time sighed, "Yes, pup. Don't worry."

"Must be hard," Warriors sympathised, "To leave your wife."

"I wouldn't say it's hard, just doesn't get easier," Time admitted with a low tone, "At least I know in the future, I'll get proper time to settle down with her."

"You're stuck with us for now," Warriors joked as Time gave him a smirk.

"Well, lead the way cap'n," Twilight waved a hand out towards the plains.

Warriors looked around the field briefly before muttering some directions to himself, eventually settling on a path and walking through the field, the rest of the Chain following behind him. Twilight was aimlessly looking at the grass, which appeared to sprawl out in all directions for miles, before he was interrupted by a small tug on his sleeve.

He looked down to see Wild, who had an unusually calm expression.

"What's up, cub?" Twilight asked. Wild gestured for Twilight to come closer, like he wanted to whisper something to him.

Twilight bent down to the scarred teen, Wild's hands cupped around his pointed ear.

In a slow breath, he deliberately spoke.

"You're Wolfie."

"W-what?" Twilight choked as he straightened back up, Warriors and Time noticing his sudden shift.

The further of the two, Warriors, called out, "Everything alright rancher?"

"Yup!" Twilight quickly responded, "Wild just wanted to talk to me about something, in private."

Time and Warriors watched as he awkwardly shepherded Wild to the back of the group to talk, but not questioning his behaviour. At the back, Twilight settled with Wild, who appeared unfazed by his behaviour.

"How do ya– er, I mean, what makes you think that?" Twilight nervously cleared his throat as his hand fidgeted.

Wild excitedly piped up, "Well, you mysteriously disappeared, you wear a wolf pelt, you have the same markings as Wolfie, you said you "weren't hungry" during lunch, and you returned just as Wolfie left to head back into the woods."

Twilight blinked as he tried to think of a response, "Well, that don't prove nothing."

"Oh yeah, and you suspiciously brought me to the back to talk about this," Wild added.

He groaned as he scratched the back of his neck, "Alright, maybe I might be Wolfie, but have you told anyone about your... assumption?"

Wild gave a grin that surprisingly lacked his usual mischievousness to it, "Nope! Don't worry Twi, you're secret is safe with me."

"So you haven't told nobody? Not even Champ?" Twilight doubtfully inquired.

"Champion?" Wild raised an eyebrow, "Of course not! He shuffled away when I even tried to mention Wolfie."

Twilight frowned as he crossed his arms, "So you did try to tell him?"

Wild laughed sheepishly, "I tried. I didn't tell him and I won't tell anyone else, promise!"

Twilight let out a long sigh as he came to terms with it, "Alright then. Someone was bound to find out anyways."

"The others don't know?" Wild tilted his head, "I thought it was well... obvious."

Twilight nodded, "Yup, only Time knows. And apparently you now as well."

"Cool. I feel so exclusive," Wild puffed his chest out.

Twilight rolled his eyes as a laugh escaped him, "Sure cub. Just don't make me regret letting you in."

He playfully nodded, "Okay okay, but you gotta use it to scare Champion more."

"I didn't expect you of all people to encourage me," Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"I just think it's funny," Wild shrugged, "Besides, I'm giving you my permission to do it. And I'm technically half of him, so you get half his permission."

Twilight chuckled, "I'll be sure to think about it."

He didn't really need to think about it, he knew he was totally going to scare Champion.

Reaching the top of a low hill, Warriors spotted the group of black-blooded monsters in the distance, gathered just outside a forest.

"What's the plan, Warriors?" Sky questioned as the rest of the heroes stood nearby.

Turning to face the Chain, Warriors addressed them, "We'll use our usual formation with a few differences."

"Champion," Warriors pointed a finger at him, "You're with me and Sky in the centre."

The knight briefly froze up at his mention but nodded quickly and trotted up beside Sky.

Warriors turned his attention to the cook, "Wild, you'll be with Four and Hyrule."

"The rest of you, adjust accordingly," Warriors assigned.

Nods were shared as the rest of the Chain formed up, Warriors moving to the centre with his weapons out next to Sky and Champion. He was aware that Champion wasn't very fond of being without Wild, but he didn't seem to complain. He'd planned it all beforehand, Champion's skill was wasted fighting at the sidelines with Wild, so Warriors decided to assign him a more central spot.

They made their approach towards the monsters, taking slow steps. They maintained their element of surprise through the tall grass before, on Warriors' cue, jumping out towards them. They easily surrounded the surprised Moblins as fighting erupted all around. Warriors found himself falling into familiar motions, dodge, stab, step back. Champion seemed to share the same mentality as he cut through the monsters with ease.

Occasionally, they'd call out to one another, "Sky! On your right!"

The Skyloftian quickly swivelled and struck a Moblin hiding out of his view, giving the captain a quick nod before turning back to the monsters in front of him.

Warriors paid quick glances to the other groups, Time was handling things well with Legend and Wind whilst Twilight occasionally butted in to help Four and Hyrule, the entire time arrows flew through the air from where Wild planted himself behind Four and Hyrule. Warriors comforted himself in his head, everything was going good, everyone is dealing with the monsters well.

He shouldn't have jinxed it.

Out of the darkness of the forest, a faint rustle of leaves was all they got before two massive Skulltulas burst out of the foliage, followed by their own arrows flying through the air. Moblins wielding bows from Four's Hyrule stepped into view, maintaining their distance as they shot at the heroes. Warriors cursed internally (followed by Legend cursing verbally) as he and the two knights focused on one of the Skulltulas.

They engaged it in an offensive stance, either avoiding or blocking hits from the giant spider and attempting to swipe back. Champion managed to get a few hits on its lanky legs but it didn't do much to hurt the spider, in fact, it appeared to get more angry.

"Champ, the stomach is its weak spot!" Sky called out as he took out another Moblin.

The knight swiftly nodded as his posture stiffened, shield primed as the Skulltula planned another lunge. The following scene felt like Warriors was watching it in slow motion. The spider leaped at Champion, whose eyes never left the sprawling monster, as he remained planted in his spot. Warriors wanted to intervene, to stop whatever stupid idea Champion had in mind before he watched the knight execute a powerful parry with his shield, knocking the Skulltula back through the air and onto its back.

He watched in stunned shock before quickly snapping out of it and running in to help Champion take out the spider, which was now writing around as it laid on its back helplessly. A quick stab to its stomach by Champion got the Skulltula to stay still. He wanted to say something about his skill but the teen had already ran off, moving in to take out the line of archers at the back.

Sky spoke up through the sound of battle, "You alright Warriors?"

He nodded quickly, "I'm fine. Let's go!"

Slowly, the rest of the fight unfolded. The Chain gave hits as they took some in return, the second Skulltula proving to be much harder than the first. Wild and Champion were busy clearing out the archers before the spider turned its attention to them. Champion only got a few seconds of warning as he saw the spider swiping at them with one of its bony limbs.

The knight took the brunt of the impact as he and Wild were thrown off to the side, a bleed forming from his shoulder. Hyrule rushed over to them through the arrows as Twilight hit the Skulltula in the back, turning it onto its side where Four offered a stab into its stomach. Legend quickly took out the remaining archers as the field finally fell silent.

"Any serious injuries?" Warriors asked through heavy breaths.

Heroes slowly piped up before the traveller spoke up, "Champion's shoulder looks bad, but I've bandaged it for now. Wild's awake, but I think he got a mild concussion when he hit the ground."

A weak Champion immediately got up to check on Wild before being forced to rest by Twilight and Hyrule. Warriors applied some basic first-aid to some other injured heroes before they all felt a pull behind them.

"Din's tits, are you kidding me?" Legend irritably complained to the sky, "Can't you just give us a break?"

Behind them was an annoyingly familiar portal, its swirls insulting them as it impatiently waited for them to head through. Complaints were shared before Time spoke up through the heroes.

"I know we're all tired, but let's head through first, then we can recuperate on the other side," Time reasoned as he wiped sweat from his forehead.

Exhausted nods were given as, in pairs, they hobbled through the portal. Warriors and Time stood by the portal's entrance as they watched the last pair head through, Wild's arm looped around Champion's shoulder as they disappeared into the swirling vortex. Before he stepped through, Warriors had a strange feeling about this portal, a gut feeling telling him that something was different.

Time offered a hand, "Are you ready? Let's go, captain."

Warriors felt Time's eyes on him as he hesitantly stared at the portal.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry," Warriors nodded as he swept away his inner doubt.

With Time's support, they headed through the portal, Warriors enduring the usual struggle of keeping his insides in. The moment his foot connected with the ground on the other side, he could already sense that something was wrong. The first thing he felt was wet. Everything was wet. A hand rose to shield his face from the rain as he squinted around the field they'd been dropped in to find the others.

The rain poured as he could hear people fighting and thunder in the distance. He'd stalled for too long on the other side, he had no time to organise them. He drew his sword as he found the nearest monster to take down, running to Wind's side to help slash at an offending Bokoblin. Warriors was tired and possibly injured, but now was not the time to complain.

He forced his legs to move, briefly checking on Wind before quickly moving on to help the next hero. He was the captain of the group, it was his responsibility to make sure his men, his brothers, were safe. It was all his fault, if he just hadn't waited for even a second, then maybe he would've had more time to help. The heroes were messy, scattered about as they bumped into one another constantly whilst trying to fight off the monster camp they walked right into.

The monsters were just as relentless as the rain, their black blood being washed off Warriors' blade just as he stained it again with another stab. Warriors fought wave after wave of enemies. He was making progress, or, at least he thought he was, he couldn't see how the others were doing through the rain. The strikes of thunder became more frequent as Warriors began running around more desperately, looking for anyone he could through the glassy field.

"Help!" Four's voice called out.

Warriors immediately dashed towards the source, almost slipping on the rain-slicked grass. The smithy was hunched over Sky's limp body, the chosen hero's hands red but his grip on the Master Sword remained white-knuckled. Warriors dropped to his knees, checking over Sky thoroughly before letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding once he confirmed that Sky was still breathing.

"Stay here, I'll get Hyrule. Make sure he stays awake," Warriors ordered as he swiftly left, not even giving time for Four to respond.

One hand perched over his eyes, he spotted a tuft of brown hair and promptly ran over, taking out a few monsters along the way. The healer was remaining oddly still, eyes fixated on something just out of view as his hands were frozen, sword discarded on the ground beside him. Had something happened? Was Hyrule in danger? He pushed himself a little harder at those thoughts, pushing against both monsters and the rain.

Warriors waved a hand towards the traveller as he approached, "Hyrule! Hyru–"

Suddenly, a sword was pointed right at him, Warriors jumping back with his own blade poised before noticing what was wrong. Champion waved his sword at the captain, warning him to get back as Wild laid on the grass behind him. The knight's shoulder was bleeding profusely, his arm laying limply by his side as blood trailed down and onto the ground. The cook was painfully still, soaking up rainwater but Warriors could make out the faintest rise and fall of his chest.

He slowly placed his sword on the ground as he raised his hands, "Champion? What's wrong?"

"I was just trying to help Wild, I have no idea what got into him!" Hyrule worriedly explained to Warriors as they both turned their eyes back to Champion.

He continued waving his sword weakly at them, Warriors taking an extra step back for good measure, "Listen, you're bleeding out and you need help."

"I'm not trying to hurt you, I just want to help," Hyrule added as Champion's tough gaze remained fixed on them.

Warriors studied Champion harder, noticing something in his eyes. That almost disjointed look, a look of unfamiliarity as he stared at them.

He's not himself.

Warriors had seen it in far too many soldiers, the spark of battle lingering in their eyes even when the threat was gone. He knew the strain on soldiers better than anyone else, and Champion was clearly confused, unaware of what was truly going on around them. It was depressing how good he'd gotten at identifying that look, but that also meant that he was good at dealing with it.

"Hyrule," Warriors spoke calmly as he looked at the traveller, "Go find Four and Sky, Sky's badly injured."

"You want me to leave? What about Wild and Champion?" Hyrule stressed.

Warriors sighed as he tried to reassure Hyrule, "I'll handle them, just go help Sky. We'll be fine, promise."

He opened his mouth to protest before pausing and giving a reluctant nod, clearly respecting the captain's decision, "Alright... but stay safe."

"We will," Warriors promised as the traveller hesitantly dashed off to where he had roughly pointed.

Both Champion and Warriors watched as he disappeared into the rain, the knight's eyes quickly falling back onto the captain's once Hyrule left completely.

"Champ, you're not thinking straight," Warriors spoke up, keeping his tone firm, "You're hurt, and I want to help you and Wild."

Champion flinched at his words, but his sword remained pointed at Warriors, occasionally drooping down either out of pain or exhaustion before being forced back up. He knew his words were getting through to the knight, but he still looked at him like an enemy, a threat to him and Wild. Speaking of, the cook was becoming more and more still, the pauses between breaths drawing out longer. Warriors decided he had to hurry.

"At attention, soldier!" He barked, his voice sharp.

Immediately, Champion's hands flew to his sides as his back went ramrod straight, his legs stuck together as his head faced forward. It hurt him to treat his brother like this, especially after hearing about the way he was treated from Twilight and Champion the other day. They were lounging on the couch in the early morning, the rest of the Chain slumbering away when Champion decided he wanted to share his backstory with him.

Warriors was ecstatic, after all he wanted to get to know all his brothers well and Champion was sort of a brick wall in that regard. With Twilight's help, he translated Champion's signs for him. He learnt of his training, the strictness of his regimen at such an unacceptable age. His heart fell during that conversation, to learn that his brother couldn't help but fear him for his position, even when he knew that Warriors meant no harm.

He placed his hands on Champion's shoulders, gently moving the knight to the side.

"Look at me. You're here with me and the others," Warriors maintained a softer tone, "Not wherever you think you are. Just breathe, soldier."

Champion's eyes were locked onto Warriors' face as the captain saw his trembling hands, but Champion complied in the end. He forced out deep breaths, each shakier than the last as Warriors maintained his gentle grip on his shoulders, feeling like Champion would bolt away if he even released them for a second.

"Breathe in and out," Warriors guided, keeping his tone steady despite his own fears, "In and out, that's it."

He continued heaving out slow breaths, Warriors continuing his light encouragement.

"Good job, soldier. At ease."

Champion immediately sagged upon hearing Warriors' command, his sword slipping out of his fingers as his legs gave out. Warriors quickly noticed and caught him, lowering him down by a tree as he looked over Champion's wounds. His shoulder was still bleeding badly, having soaked through Hyrule's previous bandaging. Examining it more thoroughly, he noticed that Champion's upper arm was likely broken.

Pulling off his scarf, he tied a makeshift sling around the knight's arm, "Here, it's not the best, but it'll have to do."

Champion winced as he bit through the pain, nodding along before looking at his bandaged right arm.

Warriors watched as he signed something concise to him, "I don't know what you said, but you better not be saying sorry."

He seemed to have guessed correctly as the knight looked down sheepishly before nodding and pointing to Wild.

Warriors cursed as he remembered the injured cook and rushed over. There didn't seem to be any obvious injuries on him, but it could be something internal. For now, he definitely shouldn't be the one to diagnose this sort of thing. Slowly, he scooped Wild up into his arms. Thankfully, he let out a small groan as Warriors did, giving him some hope that the scarred teen was still responsive.

With the cook securely in his arms, he walked back over to Champion, "You alright enough to walk? We've got to join back with the rest of them."

Champion quickly nodded as he pulled himself to his feet, walking in step with Warriors through the rain with the precision of a soldier. The captain led the twins back to where he last saw Sky as Hyrule would likely be there. All the monsters also appeared to have been defeated, offering them a peaceful trudge through the soggy field. In the distance, he recognised Four's multicoloured tunic, followed by the rest of the Chain.

"Wars!" One of them exclaimed, followed by Twilight and Time rushing over.

Twilight immediately helped take Wild from Warriors' arms whilst simultaneously checking Champion over, "What happened? Are you all alright?"

"I'm fine. Champion has a broken arm but I'm not sure about Wild, bring him over to Hyrule," Warriors explained.

Twilight obliged and ran back with Wild whilst Time stayed put, "You sure the both of you are fine?"

They both nodded, although Champion didn't seem to want to meet Time's eyes nor Warriors'. They formed a silent agreement to ignore Champion's behaviour for now.

"This rain isn't doing anyone any favours, we should find shelter," Time suggested to the heroes.

The captain watched as Champion tugged his sleeve and pointed over to the distance.

"What is it? Is there shelter?" He questioned, receiving a nod.

Warriors patted the knight's shoulder encouragingly, "Lead the way then."

He quickly nodded before setting off, Warriors alerting the rest of the Chain to follow before he ran after the swift teen. Reentering the forest, Champion led them to a cave carved into the side of a mountain face, the heroes funnelling inside for some much needed alleviation from the rain. Warriors prepared a bedroll for Twilight to set Wild down on, Hyrule and Champion watching nervously behind them.

"Hey, Wild?" Hyrule softly spoke up, "Do you remember what happened? Does anywhere hurt?"

The cook simply groaned, clutching at his stomach.

"Yer stomach hurt? Is that it?" Twilight asked as he extended a cautious hand to lift up Wild's Hylian Tunic.

The following sight turned Warriors pale.

They all knew that the scars that crawled on his face possibly continued down the rest of his body, but none of them expected it to be this bad. Half his torso appeared gruesomely frozen in time, the damaged skin a painful reminder of the consequences of being the hero. Warriors wished that Wild's nerves were dead there, it would be better than feeling anything at all.

Hyrule placed a hand over his mouth in shock as he slowly examined Wild, "T-there's a deep cut on his... scarred side."

"Can you heal it?" Warriors' voice came out as a whisper.

The healer nodded, "Yes, I can."

Twilight and Champion had since looked away, possibly out of respect or just to get some space. Warriors figured he didn't want to be around any longer and decided to leave with Twilight and Champion, sitting by the cave's entrance as the rest of the Chain settled elsewhere in the cave. Warriors let the rain distract his mind before Twilight spoke up beside him.

"Did it hurt?" The rancher asked, his question directed to Champion, who sat on the other side of Twilight.

Warriors turned his head to look at the knight, Champion's pained gaze staring out into the wilderness before he gave a nod.

He signed something slowly with one hand, Twilight translating it out-loud for the benefit of Warriors.

"I was hurt, shot down by a... Guardian? Is that right?" A nod, "It was raining heavily. Me and the Princess were cornered."

There was a painful pause as Champion's hand hesitated to move any further.

Twilight continued for him, "You... died soon after, didn't you?" Another nod.

They fell into silence, Warriors shifted uncomfortably before deciding to break it.

He cleared his throat, hesitating to ask his question, "That's what you were remembering earlier, right?"

Champion's eyes briefly darted to look at both of them before he looked away again, but gave a small nod.

"What d'you mean? He remembered something?" Twilight frowned, looking at Warriors with worry.

"Not... really," Warriors swallowed drily, "Earlier, he... he was trying to defend Wild from us, like we were enemies."

Twilight looked back at his cub, who didn't meet his eyes, "Enemies..?"

"It was a misunderstanding," Warriors explained, "I've seen it before in soldiers before, my soldiers. Hallucinating during the stress of battle, seeing something that isn't there."

Twilight kept quiet as he digested the information, his eyes resting on the knight.

Warriors moved closer to Champion, "Are you... feeling alright?"

"I'm sorry," Champion forced out, his voice raspy as he sounded on the verge of tears, "I compromised us. I'm a liability."

Warriors was shocked that he'd spoken to him, more so that the first thing he'd decided to say to him was just to push himself down, to shrink away from him. Champion had drawn his knees up to his chest, head pointed away from them as Twilight shared his disbelief.

Twilight wrapped an arm around Champion, pulling him closer, "Please don't say that Champion."

The knight began sobbing, "I disobeyed a captain and I hurt Wild. I'm no hero."

He didn't want to hear him talking badly anymore.

"Stop it."

Champion's face snapped up to face Warriors, whether it be out of obedience or fear, he hated both possibilities.

Warriors slowly inhaled, keeping his tone steady, "I don't want to hear you saying these things. You were suffering from pain, and there's no need to apologise for such a thing. What happened wasn't your fault, it wasn't anybody's fault, so no one's to blame, especially not you."

"But I hurt Wild," Champion softly responded, not daring to raise his voice at Warriors.

"No, you didn't," Warriors firmly shot down his claim, "Monsters hurt Wild, not you. You weren't thinking straight and did what you thought was best for him, protecting him from danger."

Twilight rubbed supportive circles into Champion's back, "He's right, you did the right thing, cub."

He let out a shaky breath that almost broke Warriors, "Did I?" His moist eyes were now looking at them, his frame shaking like a leaf in the wind.

Warriors had shuffled closer, "Yes, Champ. There's no one else I'd rather have as a brother."

A small, fragile smile formed on Champion's face as Twilight wiped away his tears.

"Now, I don't wanna hear you saying anything like that again, understand?" Twilight scolded, but he kept his tone light and teasing.

Champion nodded as Twilight gently ruffled his hair. Warriors was just happy to see his brothers happy again.

"We'll always be here for you, Champ."

Behind them, they heard boots tapping on stone, turning to see Hyrule walking over.

"I healed his wounds up, you can go see him now if you like," He offered, to which they all immediately accepted.

Approaching Wild, he was leaning against one of the cave walls, seated on the bedroll with his tunic put back on. He looked exhausted, but better.

"He's still a bit concussed, so it's kinda hard to get a response out of him," Hyrule warned, "I also gave him a lot of painkillers."

Twilight shrugged it off as he sat next to Wild, "You feelin' better, cub?"

Wild blinked groggily at Twilight, "Cub..? My name is Wild! Or... or was it Link?" He slurred through his words, eyes half-lidded as he squinted at each of them suspiciously.

Twilight lightly chuckled, "Close enough Wild. You look better at least."

"And you look like a wolf... a biiiiiig fluffy wolf," Wild giggled as he tugged at Twilight's wolf pelt.

Warriors' arms were crossed as he joked, "A wolf, huh? I mean I see the resemblance to Wolfie."

Twilight handed his pelt to the clingy Wild, eyes nervously looking around, "Well, I don't see it."

"Champion?" Wild titled his head as he stared at the knight, "What happened to your arm?"

The knight signed something quickly, which was obvious to everyone of being a question of Wild's safety instead of his.

"Of course I'm fine! Now, what happened to you?" Wild angrily questioned Champion. This was clearly a frequent occurrence between the two.

Warriors interrupted them, "Say, why don't you go make dinner Champion? I don't mind helping."

Champion quickly accepted the offer and slipped away, ignoring the tired protests from Wild.

Setting up his portable pot, Champion briefly explained instructions to Warriors using rough gestures and miming actions, Warriors copying them to the best of his ability. Over the course of the cooking process, Warriors managed to make out that they were making a simple stew, which was probably best for their stomachs right now. The rest of the heroes also appeared to have settled well into the cave, conversations drifting through the air along with the aroma from the pot.

The entire time, he and Champion didn't say anything to each other, but the silence between them didn't feel awkward.

Champion signalled to the heroes he was done with a rhythmic tap on the pot, the Chain gathering around as they slowly learnt to recognise the signal he gave.

Legend poked at the contents of his bowl with his spoon, "Wow, you made something that looks edible Wars? How's that even possible?"

"You better take that back, or else you won't be getting any seconds," Warriors (lightly) threatened.

"Thanks for cooking for us, Champion," Sky gratefully acknowledged, "Are you sure you aren't straining yourself? With your broken arm and all."

Four shot the chosen hero a deadpan expression, "How are you of all people saying that? You were literally lying on the ground and bleeding out."

Sky shrugged, "I'm better now, no?"

"Stop being hypocritical," Four scolded, "The both of you should take breaks."

Time sipped from his bowl, "The smithy's right, you know. There's no need to push yourself," He directed his suggestion to Sky and Champion.

"I think Sky takes enough breaks with all the naps he has," Wind waved his spoon at Sky, who sheepishly took another sip from his bowl.

Warriors turned to Champion, "Are you pushing yourself?"

He shook his head reassuringly, but his posture remained stiff.

"Take a break after this for me, alright?" Warriors reasoned, clearly doubting the knight's claim.

Champion's eyes shifted about before finally falling on Warriors as he gave a quick nod.

Warriors gave him a smile, "Thanks Champ."

The rest of dinner was a simple affair, heroes slowly filtering away to their bedrolls as Warriors had volunteered to take first watch. Warriors sat by the crackling campfire as only the older heroes still lingered nearby. Soft snores filled the air as the rain finally ended, providing them with a quiet night and a cool breeze.

"They sure knocked themselves out, huh?" Twilight remarked, gesturing to the pile of slumbering heroes.

Time nodded, "Today was a long day, they deserve the rest."

Warriors sighed, shaking his head, "I could've tried to lead them better, maybe it would've been easier."

"What happened was unexpected and you did the best with what you had," Time gave Warriors a pat on the back.

"Can't believe you've reached the point of giving pats on the back, old man," Warriors smirked.

Time frowned, "Maybe I'll give them to people who appreciate them," He pat the rancher on the back to prove his point.

Twilight chuckled, "Seriously though, you did well Wars."

"Yeah sure, now go get rest, the both of you," Warriors rolled his eyes as he ushered them to their bedrolls.

"Yes sir," Twilight gave him a mock salute as he laid down.

"Yeah, yeah, goodnight," Warriors waved him off as he headed back to the mouth of the cave.

"Night."

Chapter Text

Champion was acting... differently today, that much Warriors could tell.

He'd noticed it the moment he woke up, morning light had started to filter in through the cave's mouth, hanging vines over its entrance casting a pattern of shifting shadows inside. Warriors curled up on his bedroll, hands covering his face as he tried to block the sunlight. He'd been trying to squeeze every last bit of sleep he could following the exhausting fight yesterday, not helped by his less-than-encouraging thoughts that plagued him all night.

C'mon Link. Get up.

With more energy than it usually took him, Warriors forced himself upright and squinted around the cave. Most of the other heroes seemed to have already woken up, and were dotted around the cave, doing whatever it was they usually did in the morning. He rubbed his eyes with a groan before stretching his arms well above his head, his shoulder letting out a pop sound as he did.

Just then, Wind bounced over with a shit-eating grin, "Getting old Wars?" He teased.

"First, sleeping in and second, stretching like the old man!" He poked Warriors playfully on the shoulder.

Warriors mustered the best glare he could, which probably looked more like a grumpy cat, as he waved Wind away. He was still worn out from yesterday, and was not in the mood to entertain Wind, let alone anyone else. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, attempting to loosely comb it with his fingers as he shut his eyes at the offending sunlight. He was just having a bad day all around, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle... he just needed a break from them, that's all.

Everything was just so exhausting.

Suddenly, Warriors heard the slightest shift to his right, the smallest tap of a boot on stone.

Cracking his eyes back open, he noticed something crouching right beside him. He immediately startled back, eyes wide as his head cocked to face the intruder. Champion's baby blue tunic was the first thing he saw, followed by the inquisitive look on his face as Warriors' wide eyes slowly narrowed to tired slits. Champion simply tilted his head at his reaction, clearly not recognising his own ability to be deadly silent as Warriors' tense shoulders slumped down.

"Hylia Champ," Warriors exhaled as he rubbed his temples, "Don't scare people like that in the morning."

Champion blinked at him, giving a short bow in apology like he was unaware of his own silent steps, before turning to grab something behind him. Warriors watched through lidded eyes as Champion produced a small mug and handed it to him. Tentatively, he took the cup from him, swirling the brown liquid inside it around which his lethargic brain identified as coffee. His eyes narrowed, questioning the random gesture.

He looked up at Champion's sapphire eyes, which almost appeared to glow in the dark of the cave, "Is this... for me?" He confirmed.

Champion nodded quickly and gestured for Warriors to take a sip. He looked back down at the cup, a few trails of fine vapour twirling around in the air from the cup as he took in the grounded smell of the coffee. Eventually, whether it was the earliness of the day or his sleep-addled mind, he decided to rest his suspicions about Champion's strange gesture and took a gracious sip.

The coffee tasted perfect, not too bitter nor sweet, but simply perfect.

After his first sip, Warriors started taking more generous sips, its heat warming him up well in the damp cave. Champion's expectant eyes remained fixed on him the entire time, watching him slowly drink away at the coffee as he was practically vibrating on the balls of his feet in anticipation. Warriors let out a pleasant sigh every time he drew the cup away from his mouth and, after a final content sip, turned to face Champion.

"Oh, er, it's good Champion... thanks for this, truly," Warriors scratched the back of his head, awkwardly praising the knight. He'd kinda forgotten that Champion had been there the entire time.

Champion didn't seem to mind as he immediately brightened at his comments, nodding happily at him even if he didn't show it on his face. He politely gestured for the mug back and abruptly stood up and left once Warriors handed it back, presumably to go wash it. He wasn't even able to mutter another thank you before Champion slipped away, just as quickly as he had arrived.

As the caffeine finally kicked in, Warriors was able to process Champion's actions better, realising how... off he was acting. The knight would have never dared to approach him, especially after last night, but now he was willingly coming up to him. And even better, he was treating him with respect. Warriors sat back and exhaled, feeling oddly validated by his gesture, although unexpected.

At least someone recognises my efforts here.

"D'you really wanna be here cub? You can hang out with Wild if you'd like," Twilight questioned for the umpteenth time, Champion shaking his head yet again.

They'd set off from their stone abode at dawn, trying to locate a town or civilisation after confirming that the current Hyrule they found themselves in belonged to none of them. It was almost sad how many Hyrules came with no hero, but it could also be seen as mercy from Hylia, a would-be hero spared from burdens like theirs. Warriors took the lead at the front alongside Time and Twilight as per usual, but this time they were accompanied by Champion.

He was a strange but welcome inclusion, even if Twilight was stressing over him every few steps and constantly questioning him.

Champion signed with one hand, his right hand still out of commission as it was supported by Warriors' scarf-sling, 'What's-wrong?'

Twilight shrugged, crossing his arms, "Nothin'. Just think it's strange yer rather be up 'ere."

"Wild didn't ask you to come here, did he?" Time piped up from beside Twilight. The old man had also joined in questioning him.

He shook his head again, 'Want-to-stay.'

"What did he say?" Warriors asked, growing a little impatient at how he constantly had to ask. Man, he really had to learn sign.

"Said he prefers it here," Twilight translated, "Might as well let'm stay."

Warriors squinted at Champion suspiciously, "I see."

While he also had his thoughts about Champion being with them, he didn't voice them out as obviously as the other two, even if Champion gravitated noticeably closer to him than them. It was obvious he had chosen to stick by him, but Warriors still hadn't figured out why. During his morning routine, Champion offered help every step of the way, constantly stepping in to give his assistance.

Warriors felt a mix of gratitude and guilt from Champion's actions. He didn't need help with everything little thing he did from him, especially since Champion was still injured, but every time he reached out Warriors felt a strange sense of obligation in accepting his assistance. The rest of the Chain caught onto Champion's actions easily, sharing varied reactions from teasing to worry.

Legend snorted, "Looks like pretty boy's got a personal helper."

"I think it's nice that Champ wants to help," Sky remarked.

Hyrule furrowed his brows, "You better not overwork your broken arm," he warned.

"Yeah Champion, don't you want to take a break?" Wild added with narrowed eyes.

He had to convince them that he wasn't forcing Champion to do any of this, especially to Wild, who had been the most suspicious of Warriors. Even now, he could still feel the cook's piercing gaze on his back, only intensifying every time Champion brushed closer to him. Inevitably, Wild stalked up to the front to Warriors and dragged him aside to talk, just after they announced a quick break from walking, clearly having had enough of this whole charade.

"What's going on with you two?" Wild questioned in a barely hushed tone, poorly masking his frustration clearly bubbling up to the surface.

Warriors sighed as he scratched his head, "I don't know either, and I swear I'm not forcing him to help me."

Wild crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, "Not forcing him, huh?"

"I'm not," Warriors pleaded, "He's been willingly helping me since morning. Willingly," Warriors repeated with heavy emphasis.

He knew how protective Champion was of Wild, but strangely it felt more intense when Wild was protective of Champion. The tension between them dragged on like a taut bowstring, Wild glaring at Warriors as he nervously awaited a response from him. After a few excruciating minutes, Wild opened his mouth, paused, and let out a sigh instead. Warriors swore he heard Wild mutter something along the lines of "This knight..." under his breath.

Warriors raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting such a reaction, "Uh, what's wrong? I'm not in trouble... am I?

"Nope," Wild sighed again as he crossed his arms, "But someone is."

Warriors furrowed his brows at his ominous response, his mouth left open to question Wild before Champion was suddenly dragged over by Wild, he and Warriors sharing confused looks.

Wild placed his hands on Champion's shoulders, fingers digging in slightly as his jaw was tight with frustration.

"You don't always have to serve someone, remember?" Wild chided, his tone surprisingly firm as he kept the knight in his grasp.

A pause as Champion's eyes went wide before dulling, seemingly having been caught by Wild. His head tilted down as he couldn't bear to look at Warriors or Wild.

"How many times have me and Zelda told you? You're no one's guard. So stop forcing yourself to be," Wild's tone softened slightly at the sight, but he still kept it formal.

The realisation settled over him slowly, the wheels turning in Warriors' head. Champion was a high-ranking guard, the princess' appointed knight in fact, someone who always followed orders and put himself in the way of danger. But what he didn't get was that Champion... wanted to follow orders? The thought confused him, even after his hatred for the royal family and its training methods, he still wanted to be someone's knight?

"Wait..." Warriors paused, "You want to be a guard? But why?"

The knight squirmed under Wild's hands before muttering out something barely audible.

"I have to, or else I'm useless."

Warriors was left in quiet shock, mouth slightly open as Champion's admission hung in the air. He wanted to respond, he had to, but he was left stunned. How anyone could screw such horrible thoughts into one of his brothers, that they aren't capable enough just because they don't serve, it infuriated him. His hands were unknowingly clenched as he wanted to speak up, but Wild was faster.

"Remember, you're not a guard anymore. And you're definitely not useless," Wild softly stated.

Champion flinched at his words as Wild tightened his grasp slightly, trying to ground the knight as he clearly wasn't fully there, his brain probably swarming with thoughts of doubt. Eventually, he gave a small nod, but his head dropped lower and his shoulders sagged under Wild's hands. Champion appeared smaller somehow, like he'd retreated back into himself and just wanted to hide away forever.

Wild let out a sharp exhale, "You–Argh!–what don't you get? You don't have to be useful to be worth something!" Wild frustratedly reasoned, "You'll always mean something to me, to Zelda! So stop being so hard on yourself! You stubborn knight."

The outburst was sudden, but the hint of care, of fear in his voice was ever-present. Wild could've raised his voice in anger, he could've yelled at him, but he maintained a steady tone. Because he knows shouting at him won't fix any of this, it wouldn't heal Champion's wounds, his deep-rooted fears of being made obsolete. Champion looked up at Wild in that moment, his face unreadable as Wild was barely containing his emotions.

Warriors swallowed, then found the confidence to speak, "I've known men who spend their entire lives in service, who don’t know how to exist outside of duty. That once there's no more fight, they fall apart, uncertain of what to do with themselves."

Champion turned to face the captain, who slowly continued, "Wild's right, you know? It's a dangerous mindset to think that you have to constantly serve."

Warriors agreed with Wild, not as a superior, but as an equal. To show Champion that they're all equals, all brothers deserving of each other. Wild had since lowered his arms, releasing Champion from his grasp. The knight's eyes darted between the two as he hesitated to respond to them, his mouth opening multiple times before the words appeared to die on his tongue each time.

With a shaky breath, Wild composed himself before speaking up again, looking at Champion's sapphire eyes, "Like I said, you don't have to serve anyone. You don't owe it to anyone anymore to serve, especially not us."

"Besides, I don't need a guard," Warriors gave Champion an understanding look, "I just need my brother to stop pushing himself so hard."

Warriors knew that this problem wouldn't be solved with a single talk, but he just wanted to help Champion understand that he didn't need to work hard to receive validation, that he would always be worthy of it. It clearly ran deeper than what he saw today, that it was an old ache of his left untended for years, a belief beat into him by superiors. But Warriors was definitely going to try.

"Next time, why don't we help each other as allies? No orders. No obligations. Just..." Warriors hesitated, settling on, "...a brother helping a brother?"

He extended his hand to Champion, maintaining a reassuring look in his eyes. The knight blinked up at the captain, then down at the offered hand, uncertainty etched on his face as he gaze shifted between the two. His fingers twitched at his side before he hesitantly drew his trembling hand up, letting it slip into Warriors'. Warriors clenched his hand gently as he gave him a gentle smile.

For the first time since the conversation started, Champion's shoulders relaxed. Not completely, but just enough.

"Good," Wild crossed his arms, "Now if I see you trailing someone around again, waiting for orders, I will personally throw you into a river."

Warriors couldn't tell if Wild was joking.

Champion was feeling upset. Not at any of them, he would never be, but at himself. He sat with his legs pulled up to his chest, chin resting on his knees as he let out a quiet sigh. Wild's slumbering form laid next to him, producing small snores as he appeared healthier than last night. He had placed a gentle hand through Wild's hair, stroking it slowly as Wild seemed content with the caring motions.

He didn't catch a wink of sleep that night, tossing and turning relentlessly beside Wild on their shared bedroll before he gave up halfway to just sit up beside him. He was supposed to be a knight for goddesses' sake! Not some unreliable fighter who'd turn on their fellow warriors in the midst of battle. It humiliated him, despite what any of them said about it being okay, it still hurt. He was never worthy of being a hero, and this only cemented his belief further.

A useful soldier would never step out of line, never rebel against its superiors.

And yet he did just that.

But, they weren't even angry. Warriors, the de facto captain of the group, wasn't even furious at him. It felt weird, it felt different, this feeling of understanding from them was unexpected. Champion didn't know why they were so caring to someone who made so many mistakes. If you never get scolded, then how would you improve? Besides, he could feel their criticising eyes on him.

He had to prove that he was capable among them, even if he would never truly become one of them.

One by one, they were beginning to rise, Champion watching as arms were stretched high in the air. The sun had peeked slightly above the horizon, but just enough to provide warmth in the cold cave. Beneath his left hand, he could feel Wild stirring awake, the cook shifting around quietly. With a few motivating taps on the shoulder, he got Wild to sit up with his back against one of the cave's cold stone walls.

Wild's eyelids fought against the sleep as they fluttered open irregularly, his hair a mess above his head.

'Feeling-better?' Champion questioned, although he was unsure if Wild even saw him sign.

Wild's head hung down lazily, "Mhmm."

Well, that could mean yes or no. Champion scooted closer and, with a tentative finger, poked carefully at Wild's bandaged side. He carefully examined Wild's face, which remained blissfully unaware the entire time as he continued prodding at his side. This is going nowhere, Champion thought, he can't even feel anything on that side. With a sigh, he just took it that he was better and started guiding him over to the cooking pot, which he knew would wake him right up.

Watching Wild's lopsided steps, they eventually plopped down by the pot and, as expected, Wild brightened right up. He quickly got started on some breakfast as he magically appeared perfectly awake.

"Morning Champion!" Wild yawned, "What do you want to eat?"

Champion shot a quick glance to a still Warriors before turning back to Wild, 'Coffee. C-O-F-F-E-E.'

Wild squinted as he slowly read out, "Coff–fee..." He placed a sheepish finger on his chin, "Sorry, I don't know how to make that."

'It's-fine. Watch.' Champion shrugged it off before giving a quick demonstration to Wild.

Using his waterskin, he filled up a mug and placed it above their campfire. Waiting for it to boil, he showed Wild how to grind up some coffee beans, using a simple pestle to ground them down to a pile of powder. Wild excitedly smashed at his beans (with maybe a bit more force than you usually use) before Champion dumped their products into the now boiling cup of water. Wild watched with weird excitement as Champion performed the mundane task of mixing them together, swirling the liquid around with a spoon.

Champion drew it out for a few minutes, allowing the earthly flavours of the beans to really soak into the water, before straining the liquid into a separate cup. Wild's enthusiasm never wavered the entire time, despite it being quite boring in Champion's opinion, in fact it only seemed to grow once Champion presented him with the finished drink. Taking some Hateno Milk, he added a few drops to make it taste better.

"What's the milk for?" Wild questioned as Champion swivelled the liquid around some more.

He took a quick sip to test the taste before placing it down to sign, 'Helps with bitterness.' 

Wild nodded, "I see. So why do you want to drink coffee today? You don't usually drink coffee."

Champion froze slightly before responding, 'Not for me. For Warriors.'

He used the sign name for Warriors that he'd made between himself and Wild, after realising how hard it was to refer to eight other Links through sign. Warriors' name was sword-captain, not the most inventive name for him, but one that solidified Champion's view of him. Someone who he should fall under.

Wild raised an eyebrow, "I guess it makes sense. He did help us last night," He agreed, although not with the slightest hint of uncertainty in his voice.

Yeah, he helped us. Not me, even when it should've been me.

Behind them, Champion heard Wind's teasing of the captain, signalling to him that he was awake, weirdly being one of the last to rise today. Warriors grumpily waved the giggling sailor away as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. With a short glance at Wild, who had since started making eggs for everyone, Champion headed over Warriors. He padded over nervously, slightly fearful of the captain as his hands firmly held onto the cup.

As he approached, he found himself hesitating, just a few feet from the captain. What if Warriors turned the coffee away? What if he gave him that disappointed look that Champion had become familiar with? Warriors had every right to be angry with him after last night, to reprimand him for his failure, to tell him that he was useless and undeserving of standing among them. But Warriors wasn’t angry. Not even slightly. That was the part Champion couldn’t understand.

He took a deep breath and forced his feet forward. He had to prove that he was capable, even if it was just in this small, insignificant way.

Champion crouched down to the captain's eye level as his grip tightened on the mug. Warriors still appeared groggy with sleep, especially when he startled upon noticing Champion.

"Hylia Champ," Warriors exasperatedly rubbed his head, "Don't scare people like that in the morning."

Huh? He didn't mean to scare anyone. He tilted his head in confusion before forgetting about it and taking out the coffee instead. Warriors maintained a dopey look on his face as he took the mug from Champion, looking down at the coffee suspiciously before meeting Champion's eyes again.

He swirled the liquid around, "Is this... for me?"

Champion nodded a bit too quickly at that question, but Warriors seemed to shrug it off, especially after Champion gestured for him to try it. He crouched on the balls of his feet, watching attentively as Warriors took sips from his coffee. He anxiously fiddled with his fingers as Warriors, after a final gulp, drew the empty mug away from his mouth with a sigh. It reminded him of his early days in the royal guard, waiting for his captain's reaction as he looked at his newest report.

They were always quite verbal.

Warriors looked up at Champion like he'd just noticed him, "Oh, er, it's good Champion... thanks for this, truly."

Champion's eyes widened slightly, that wasn't the response he expected. Who cares? Just take the cup and go. He offered Warriors a quick nod, took his cup, and promptly left as quickly as he came, this time with an odd warm feeling in his chest. Along with this feeling came a selfish thought, one that crept in unbidden and nestled its way into his mind. He wanted to continue to help Warriors, to seek out more of his validation.

You're not supposed to do this. He reminded himself. You know why.

I'm just helping, that's all. He reasoned.

A scoff. If that's what you want to tell yourself.

Champion returned to his place by the fire, but his mind was still preoccupied. He sat down stiffly, staring into the flames as his fingers absentmindedly fiddled with the fabric of his sling, Warriors' scarf. His right arm still throbbed when he moved it too much, but he knew to endure it. The warmth of the fire did little to distract him from thinking about the contrasting thoughts in his head.

He would just help Warriors a little.

"Everyone ready to continue?" Time called out around the small clearing they had settled by, just next to the dirt road.

Glances were exchanged as they were all reluctant to continue their trek, but eventual nods were given. Sheathing his sword that he was aimlessly polishing, Time directed them back out onto the road. Falling into step back at the front, everyone fell into place quite easily as he was joined by Twilight and Warriors at the front, this time with a notable absence of Champion.

"What happened to Champ? Ya scare him away?" Twilight joked as he bumped his shoulder into Warriors', although there was a hint of seriousness in his tone.

Warriors waved him off, "Of course I didn't do anything like that! We... just had a talk. That's all."

"Nice and vague," Time hummed.

Warriors rolled his eyes, "Like you aren't vague yourself, old man."

Said old man simply shrugged as Twilight raised an eyebrow, "So he's fine, right?"

"Yes, yes, calm down," Warriors reassured the rancher, "Like I said, we had a talk."

Twilight sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "The day I get an easy response out of either of y'all."

"Listen pup, I trust Wars. If he says Champion's fine, then he's fine," Time placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Don't need to get so worked up over this."

He gave a reluctant nod, "I s'pose yer right."

Warriors huffed, "So, is this the end of my interrogation?"

"Yes," Time answered on behalf of Twilight, who looked less than believing of Warriors' explanation.

At least they were off his tail. He just hoped Wild held up his end of the bargain.

Chapter Text

Champion was about to face the most difficult challenge of his life.

Talking with others.

"No, you have to learn how to relax," Wild persistently tugged on Champion's wrist, "Besides, this is your punishment."

Champion shook his head again as he continued to make this process as tedious as possible for Wild, dragging his boots against the dirt as Wild's freakishly strong grip refused to give up. Wild seemed almost unfazed at how Champion was acting, like he was a petulant child who didn't want to go to school. Champion knew he was supposed to be the responsible, well-behaved one, but he didn't care.

Wild's fantastic plan involved bringing Champion with him where he usually walked, at the back with the other heroes. Champion dreaded the thought of being with the "younger" heroes, not because he hated them, but because he just didn't know how to talk to them. He'd held a few fleeting conversations with them, sure, but he's been avoiding them pretty well this entire time. He was just more used to speaking with adults such as Time or Twilight.

He just didn't fit in with the younger heroes.

"I think you're overreacting," Wild nonchalantly brushed him off as he continued effortlessly pulling him along.

Champion couldn't fight back much with only one functioning arm, so he was miserably dragged to the back.

Wind waved as they approached, "Hey Wild... and Champ!"

There was a noticeable pause before the sailor mentioned Champion.

"Why'd you bring your twin along?" Wind bluntly remarked, earning him a nudge to his side from Hyrule's elbow.

"I'm trying to teach him how to relax," Wild simply replied.

Four blinked, "You're teaching Champion how to... relax?"

Wild nodded ecstatically. Champion eyed them all suspiciously.

"Alright, let's head out," Time announced.

This was going to go well.

~~~

The dirt path led them out of the gloomy forest into open fields, providing them with a pleasant breeze.

"So, why would you even want to work for that narcissistic captain?" Legend questioned, his tone naturally accusatory, as always.

Four rolled his eyes, "You're one to talk. You spend as much time on your hair as he does."

Legend scowled at the smith, who pointedly ignored him. Champion shrugged, unsure of how to even explain himself.

"I think what Ledge means to say is," Hyrule gently cut in, "that maybe there's more than just serving Wars."

Wild agreed eagerly with a nod, "Yeah Champion! Besides, you're dead, do you seriously still want to work?"

"Wait what?!" Wind exclaimed, nearly tripping over his own feet. His mouth was agape as he turned to Champion, "You're dead?"

He experimentally poked Champion a few times with his finger, half-expecting it to phase through. Wind frowned in confusion when he was met with solid resistance.

Legend stiffened slightly at the reveal, hesitating before speaking, "You're... not real?" He asked with a softer tone.

Champion frowned. I am real, I'm standing in front of you!

"He is real. He's just a ghost," Hyrule clarified on behalf of Champion, although his explanation did little to help.

Wind only appeared more amazed by this information, "Oh, cool! I thought only I could see ghosts!"

"Okay, okay, wait," Four pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly overwhelmed, "I... what?"

He didn't know what to be more surprised at, the fact that Champion was a ghost, or that Wind could see ghosts.

Four groaned, "I'm getting a headache."

"It's not that big a deal," Wind waved his hand dismissively, "Let's focus on the fact that Champion's a ghost."

Legend crossed his arms, sarcasm dripping from his voice, "Sure, because of the two revelations, that's more crazy."

'Spirit.' Champion corrected, but he was practically ignored.

Four took a deep breath and mentally composed himself, "So, you guys aren't twins?" He gestured between Wild and Champion, "I always thought you were related."

Wild grinned, "He's me! But a past version of me! Who's here at the same time as me! That's why we look alike."

A long silence followed.

"...What?" Hyrule finally muttered, thoroughly lost.

Wild beamed innocently at their confused looks. His explanation was terrible.

Legend took a long sigh before addressing the not-twins again, "You guys make no sense. Especially since there's somehow two heroes in one era."

Four visibly tensed, eyes darting away as he mumbled, "Y-yeah. More than one hero. That's weird."

"Do you want to reveal something as well, smithy?" Wind raised an eyebrow, smirking.

Four's glare was immediate as he shot Wind down, "No, thank you."

Wind yelped, scrambling away from Four with a sheepish grin.

Hyrule exhaled disappointingly through his nose, "Can you guys stop with the threats for five minutes?"

The traveller faced back towards the duo, "So, how is Champion a ghost if you're alive?"

"I have no idea, probably some magic from Hylia," Wild shrugged, "But I did die. Well, not me, Champion did."

A second long silence followed.

Legend crossed his arms, "You two seriously have issues," He deadpanned.

Champion couldn't help but agree. Wild was blissfully unaware of the bombshell he dropped.

"Please explain," Four requested exasperatedly.

"Well, in my Hyrule there's this thing called a Guardian," Wild started before pausing, "You do know what that is, right? It shoots lasers and has legs like a spider," He mimed it like it would help.

The four heroes exchanged blank looks before Wind piped up, "Never heard of such a thing."

Wild blinked, "Oh, never mind then. Just know that they're annoying and super deadly."

"So anyways, Champion was killed by one of them. They put him in the Shrine of Resurrection and it took a century for the Shrine to heal him up," Wild spewed, completely brushing over Champion's death.

Wind's eyes widened, "A century?!" He exclaimed.

Wild nodded, "Yeah, give or take."

"Like I was saying," Wild continued like it was the most normal thing in the world, "It took him a century. During that period though, he lost all his memories. When he emerged from the Shrine, he wasn't really him anymore, he was me."

The atmosphere after that was... awkward, to say the least. The third long silence this conversation unfolded before them as Champion couldn't help but feel guilty. Wind's usual energy fizzled away into disbelief while Legend mumbled something under his breath. He hated making things tense.

Four looked on the edge of another headache, "I... guess that makes sense. But you're saying you lost all your memories?"

"Yup!" Wild chirped, "But it's not that big a deal. Champion has them."

"So you didn't actually lose all your memories, did you?" Hyrule questioned, somehow still remaining sensible, "Well... I mean you did, but Champion just told you everything you forgot, right?"

Champion gave a firm shake of the head before Wild could respond, 'It's-complicated. He's-not-ready-yet.'

Between the two who understood sign, Wild and Hyrule, they gave simple nods.

"I get it, you can take your time," Wild added supportively.

A brief silence introduced itself as everyone digested the sudden information, the usual banter fading into quiet contemplation. Even the most energetic of them all, Wind, appeared subdued. That was before he shattered the silence with his usual lack of tact.

The sailor skipped up to Champion's side, "Sooooo, how did dying feel? Was it painful? Was it tranquil? The ghosts I talked too said– ow!"

Legend gave a firm slap to the back of Wind's head, who grumbled as he rubbed the pain away, "Meanie."

"Read the room, idiot," Four snapped.

Champion's head ducked away from them, he wanted to be out of the conversation, out of this situation in any way possible. Now they all know that I failed. Even younger heroes are more experienced than me. They can actually save the day.

"Damn this Hylia," Legend spat.

Everyone cocked their heads at the veteran, Champion reluctantly raising his to question Legend's admission.

Legend didn't even appear guilty. Not even a little bit. In fact, he looked furious.

"I'm just going to say what we're all thinking," He started, with an eery calm in his tone, "We don't want to be the hero. We don't want to complete impossible tasks in our Din-damned teens. We want to live normal lives, not going on fucking life-threatening quests that put all the pressure on us!"

Legend's eye twitched as his fists were clenched, knuckles white as everyone remained in stunned silence.

"Hylia has a sick sense of humour. And we're left to fix her mistakes."

Each word that left his mouth was sharper than the last. His statement hung heavily in the air, a statement which none of them would admit they secretly agreed with. Hyrule placed a gentle hand on Legend's shoulder, a quiet action that slowly soothed the veteran's anger.

"We all have our opinions on our duty. What's important is how we choose to act in these circumstances," Hyrule offered, his opinion remaining refreshingly grounded.

Four nodded, "Agreed. We're all stuck doing this whether we like it or not. Might as well make the most of this."

~~~

The atmosphere was still tense, but it had lightened up from earlier, resuming back to the usual jokes shared amongst them. Up ahead, Time had alerted everyone about a settlement in the distance, to which multiple sighs of relief were given. Walking through an opening in the fortified walls that surrounded the village, they started looking around for an inn for some much needed rest on their legs.

"Urrrghhhhh..." Wind groaned exaggeratedly, his feet dragging along the cobblestone path, "I hate walking. No one should walk this much."

Four rolled his eyes at the sailor, but shared his sentiment, "You think you're tired? I have the shortest legs here!"

Wind huffed, "Back in my Hyrule, we'd use boats! Someone needs to make boats that work on land."

Champion resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Wind's endless whining, though he really couldn't blame him. Everyone was exhausted.

The Skyloftian, who walked in-between the groups of the younger and older heroes, turned to face them.

He spoke to Wind with his usually soft voice, but the physical strain was evident in his tone, "Now, now, we're almost there. Just hang on for a while more Wind."

It sounded more like Sky was telling that to himself than to Wind, but they both had the poorest endurances in the group, using different modes of transportation in their respective Hyrules. Sky's forehead was collecting sweat as he offered Wind an encouraging smile, which didn't fully get through to the grumbling sailor. Hyrule had started leaning against Legend sometime during the walk, but neither minded. Four was noticeably slower than the rest, occasionally speeding up just to match their pace.

Wild, of course, seemed perfectly fine. Still full of energy and bouncing ahead like they hadn’t been walking for hours. He had ridiculous stamina, so it wasn’t exactly surprising.

Champion, however, was beyond drained. He was using far too much energy to heal his broken arm, and he barely had any left to maintain his form. To make matters worse, he'd run out of energising elixirs, confirming that Wild also didn't have any left. He could just disappear and fade into Wild's spirit to rest, Hylia knows that guy has energy to spare for him, but he needed to protect Wild, and how do you protect someone by resting in their soul?

Whatever, he'd just push through.

"Okay guys, we're here!" Twilight declared as everyone immediately perked up.

In front of them was a modest two-story building, wood framing its stone walls as a sign hung out the side reading "INN" in large letters. They quickly funnelled into the building, most of the heroes collapsing onto some nearby chairs as Time and Twilight approached a counter to work out the logistics. The innkeeper clearly didn't expect such a large group, but made accommodations for them regardless.

After discussing something with the innkeeper, Twilight walked over to the resting heroes.

"We were able to get two rooms for us. There's 'bout ten of us, so I reckon we split it five-five," He proposed.

No one objected as they quickly shared nods. With a thump of rupees onto the counter, Time signalled to everyone that he'd paid and he led the way upstairs where the rooms were held. The stairs led to a long hallway and at the end were two doors perfectly opposite of one another.

Time turned to face them, "Well, how would you like to split?"

Glances were shared before Wind suddenly jumped up.

"I'm going in here!" He loudly declared, before rushing into one of the rooms.

Warriors said flatly, "I don't wanna deal with that," before heading into the opposite room, a hand rubbing his temples.

Legend crossed his arms, "Well I don't want to be with Wars."

He promptly turned and headed towards Wind's room, Hyrule quietly trailing the veteran inside.

Sky responded by yawing whilst saying something, making him completely incomprehensible, before he entered Warriors' room.

"You guys figure out the rest," Four waved as he followed Legend and Hyrule.

Time, Twilight, and the twins stood quietly in the hallway, watching Four slip away.

The old man sighed with his hands planted on his hips, "Good to know this team has such great dynamics."

"So where d'you two wanna go?" Twilight questioned as he faced the pair, "I reckon me and Time'll just head on with Sky."

Wild furrowed his brows, "Well, me and Champ don't really wanna be separated."

"I see," Time nodded, "You two can just follow Four. It's fine if there's six in one room."

Champion stiffened slightly, remaining skeptical, 'Really?'

Twilight pat his shoulder lightly, "It's fine, cub. Besides, Sky snores like a Hinox whenever we sleep in inns. Y'all don't wanna be in there when he does."

The last part sounded a little desperate, like Twilight just realised how much he was dreading going to sleep. Wild simply snickered.

Champion still had his doubts, but was quickly pulled away by Wild before they could develop.

Wild muttered a brief, "Goodnight!" and shut the door behind him, rather rudely Champion might add.

The room was simple, if not a bit small. Right in the middle of the room, Wind lay facedown on his bedroll, which sprawled out far larger than it needed to be. Legend was complaining as he nudged Wind's bedroll away from his, kicking the sailor away. Wind's muffled voice rebuffed Legend, although he made no effort to fight back. Hyrule helped to drag Wind's bedroll to a more acceptable location that wasn't the middle of the room, making some space for him and Legend.

Four sat quite snugly in a corner of the room, ignoring the shenanigans between Wind and Legend as he read a book under the moonlight. Speaking of which, a window at the end of the room was widely propped open, allowing a mix of the moon's glow and lantern light from the streets to filter in. A chilly breeze also invited itself in, occasionally ruffling the curtains which framed the window. Wild pulled out their bedroll and unfurled it in the opposite corner from Four.

Champion let out a soft exhale, his muscles still aching, as he reluctantly made his way over to Wild.

Something inside him felt... off. A seed of doubt, freshly sprouted. He didn't belong here, not with the younger heroes. He was supposed to act responsibly, like a reliable knight among the higher-ups. But deep down, he wanted to stay here, to be with them.

Because, he realised, they had something he hadn't known he was missing. Something simple.

Friendship.

At first, he'd seen this team that accompanied him as simply fellow coworkers or acquaintances he was forced to be with. Overtime, that view had softened. He'd started thinking of them as a family of brothers, but he never brought to fruition the idea that he could be friends with them as well. It was just too... childish. It wasn't something he should have been longing for. He just needed Time, Twilight, and Wild and that would be enough. He'd opened up enough.

Any more and he'd risk losing them.

Just like the Champions.

"Hey Champ?" Hyrule's voice jolted him from his thoughts.

Champion immediately turned to face the traveller, maybe a bit too fast, as he tilted his head in question.

Hyrule pointed nervously, "Uh, your hand. It's flickering."

Champion glanced down, the room falling quiet as everyone else turned to look. Sure enough, his left hand was shifting about, flickering like a dying flame. Like the Sheikah Slate caught in a sandstorm, it appeared blurry and slightly transparent. Wind buzzed over curiously and poked Champion's hand with his finger, strangely joyous when his finger phased through.

"Woooah!" Wind beamed, swiping more forcefully as the others came over to crowd as well, "That's so cool!"

Champion stiffened as they came to look. He felt a bit claustrophobic under their curious gazes, especially when Four took his wrist to inspect it further.

Four intently investigated his hand, "Fascinating... is this a ghost thing?"

Wild answered for him, "Yup, it has something to do with his ghost energy form or something."

"Huh?" Four shot the cook a confused look.

Wild sighed like it was obvious, but repeated himself nonetheless, "Champ uses energy to maintain his physical form, so when he flickers, he's just tired. We usually solve it with energising elixirs, but I ran out."

Hyrule suddenly perked up, "Oh, that reminds me!" He darted over to his bag and start haphazardly digging through it, before triumphantly pulling out a vial and bringing it over, "This is my own energising... potion that I made, back when I asked Wild to teach me."

He offered it hesitantly to Champion, "Do you... want to try it?"

Champion's eyes narrowed in suspicion. It was definitely safe, but he still did it out of habit, even if he shouldn't have seeing as how Hyrule was the designated healer of the group. But accepting help always came with a cost, didn’t it? Not necessarily from Hyrule, but from everyone else in the group. He just didn't want to owe things to others. After a moment of hesitation, he settled on a stiff shake of the head.

Hyrule's face fell, "Why not?"

Dammit. You're making me feel bad.

He signed slowly with his flickering hand, 'I-don't-want to owe you something.'

Wild suddenly snatched the bottle from Hyrule and showed it into Champion's hands, his anger palpable, "Stop being stubborn. Drink."

He was going to protest, but Wild's look made it clear that he shouldn't. Defeated, he brought the vial to his lips.

The lukewarm liquid's bitter taste immediately made his face scrunch up, but he continued to gulp it down. Around him, the heroes were watching with strange interest as he... drank from a bottle. These guys sure are interested in the weirdest things.

Hyrule could clearly sense his disdain, "Does it taste bad? Sorry if it does..."

He brought the now empty bottle down and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, like it would remove the lingering aftertaste. Champion turned to Hyrule, who looked so utterly guilty it made his heart ache a little. He hesitated before signing again.

'It tastes bitter.' A pause, before a quick correction. 'It is supposed to taste bitter.'

Champion didn't want to worry Hyrule any further, especially since there was a certain scowling veteran hovering above the traveller's shoulder. As the awful taste on his tongue started to dissipate, he could feel the effects of the potion kicking in as the liquid energy spread its way through his body. He looked down at his hand, the ghostly flicker fading as his hand regained solidity. He flexed his fingers experimentally.

"Woah!" Wind exclaimed as he poked Champion's hand, "That's so cool! Do it again!"

He rolled his eyes at the sailor and quickly turned away, making his way to his bedroll as he left the scene. Behind him, Wind whined dramatically before being swiftly scolded by Legend and Four. He slumped down onto the bedroll's cotton material, leaning his back against the wall with his legs drawn up to his chest. He let out a small sigh, no longer being the centre of attention for the heroes. He could feel their sidelong glances at him as they started talking about something.

Why'd he think he could be friends with them? They're probably talking about how strange he was.

Champion sighed again, running a hand through his hair as he kept his head low. He absently looked at his injured right arm and noticed that it felt all better, the potion probably helping with that as well. He methodically undid the makeshift cast supporting his arm, folding it into a neat pile and placing it off to the side. Given that it was Warriors', Champion made sure to put in some extra effort in taking care of it. The scarf has accumulated some stains over the past few days, so he decided he'd wash it before handing it back.

"Hey Champ," Hyrule waved, walking over to him, "You feeling better?"

Before he could respond, the traveller had already planted himself next to him, inching obnoxiously closer to him. Champion retaliated by shifting away himself.

'I'm-fine. What-do-you-want?' He didn't want to sound rude, but he was tired of their attention.

Hyrule simply smiled, "That's good, just wanted to see how you were doing. I see your arm's better as well."

Champion nodded and stretched his right arm for him to see. Hyrule was about to respond again before Champion decided to interrupt him.

He repeated himself, 'What-do-you-want?' The healer was deceptively easy to read, and it was clear he was here for something more than a welfare check.

Having been caught, Hyrule awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, "Well... remember how you said you didn't want to owe anyone anything?"

Champion's eyes narrowed. He knew where this was going.

'What-do-you-want me to do?' He questioned. Champion knew he would never get anything for free, let alone get off easily.

Hyrule quickly shook his head, "No, no! Nothing like that!"

Champion slowly raised an eyebrow, unclear what the point of this conversation was then.

"I just wanted to talk about how it's not really a good mindset to have, y'know? You can accept gestures without giving something in return," Hyrule offered, in his usual gentle, compassionate tone.

Champion resisted the urge to roll his eyes, half because he was too tired to argue, the other half because he didn't want to argue with Hyrule. The traveller always managed to get his way, no matter the conversation, so it would simply be stupid to even try. The knight simply settled on a half-hearted nod and hoped he'd leave him be after that. Hyrule, however, didn't.

His face shifted, his mouth ever so slightly curving down in a frown, "You're not listening, are you?"

Champion bit his lip, considering a lie, but decided to just nod. Hyrule exhaled slowly out his nose, almost in disappointment at that.

"How about this?" Hyrule suggested, "For what you owe me, I want you to be my friend."

He blinked, but Hyrule's expression was one of pure seriousness.

"You heard me. No arguing your way out of this one," Hyrule reaffirmed, looking all too pleased with himself.

Champion suppressed a groan as a smug grin grew on Hyrule's face. There was definitely no reasoning with him whenever he was like this. After much deliberation, which Champion spent trying to think of a single good excuse, he relented by giving the tiniest most defeated nod he'd ever given in his life. But that was apparently enough for Hyrule as he triumphantly beamed.

"Thank you Champion! I'll be a good friend, I swear!" Hyrule excitedly promised, dramatically grabbing Champion's hands as his face somehow appeared even brighter.

Why was he thanking him? He was doing this out of obligation, not because he totally didn't want to.

He lightly pushed the clingy traveller away, giving him a knowing nod as he made a clear display of wanting to head off to sleep. Hyrule's face flushed slightly as he excused himself, but not before flashing a few more blinding smiles at Champion. How one person could have so much positivity in them seriously stumped Champion, let alone in a group like this. He ignored the thought and opted instead to settle down onto his bedroll. The other heroes were clearly going to stay up longer, with the exception of Four who was already snuggled in his bedroll, so Champion did his best to ignore them.

Champion stared at the faded white wall, his back turned to the commotion, as he wondered why he was even here.

What had he gotten himself into?