Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Warriors was used to Wild bringing random things back with him from his solo patrols: plants, mushrooms, rupees, interesting-looking sticks, even sometimes small animals or fairies. So, when Wild came sauntering back into camp from his after-dinner stroll calling, “look what I found!” Warriors wasn’t expecting anything out of the ordinary. It just so happened that this time, though, what Wild had found wasn’t ordinary at all. In fact, it was decidedly extraordinary.

It was a whole entire person, and a new Link at that. 

Predictably, the entire group bounded straight over to check out their new comrade, who was being led into camp by the Champion. “All right, all right, give him some space,” Warriors chided as everyone crowded in close. They needed to exercise caution - what if this was an impostor? And some manners wouldn’t hurt either; people often didn’t like being crowded. But as he got a good first look at their new Link (allegedly), Warriors decided that the fact that the group had completely ignored his instruction wasn’t too big of a worry. The newcomer was slight, barely taller than Wind, and appeared rather young. Not particularly threatening-looking. And judging by his friendly smile, he also didn’t seem to have been made uncomfortable by becoming the center of attention. He looked a little bit apprehensive, sure, but that was to be expected given the situation. 

“Another new Link, after all this time? How do we know you’re not an impostor?” Wind asked, crossing his arms and puffing out his chest as his signature squiggly frown appeared on his face. Good lad, Warriors thought. It was admittedly a bit of a relief that he wasn’t the only one who was suspicious.

“Well, let’s start with the basics,” Twilight spoke up. “You familiar with a person named Ganon, new guy?” 

“Yes,” the new Link answered without hesitation. “But he’s more of like a… giant blue pig monster than a person.” Hearing this new Link speak for the first time, Warriors detected a little bit of a twang. It wasn’t as pronounced as Twilight’s accent (or the accent that Warriors forcibly repressed to the point that no one knew of its existence), but it was definitely there. His voice was also softer than expected, as if he was trying to keep quiet. Was he shy? His body language didn’t seem to indicate shyness, though. Odd.

Warriors’ musings were interrupted by Legend validating the new guy’s answer. “Yeah, that tracks,” he said. “One point for New Link.”

“Guys,” Sky addressed the group as he gently pushed his way to the front of the crowd, “there’s an easier way to settle this.” He drew the Master Sword, holding Fi out horizontally before him with one hand grasping the grip and the other supporting the flat of the blade further down. “This is the Master Sword,” he said to New Link. “Have you wielded her before?”

New Link regarded the sword for a moment and shook his head. “No,” he answered.

Murmurs of unease rippled through the group. “Hey, not all of us wielded the Master Sword during our adventures,” Hyrule interjected defensively. “That still doesn’t mean anything.” Four nodded in agreement.

“Regardless, he should still be able to wield her,” Sky clarified. He extended his arms further, motioning for New Link to take Fi. “Go on,” he said. “Let’s see how you handle her.”

Now looking significantly more apprehensive than he had before, New Link reached out his left hand tentatively. When Sky transferred his grip off and took his hands away, though, New Link held the Master Sword steady. “Wow,” he breathed, nervousness seemingly forgotten as he turned the blade from side to side. “It- I mean, she’s beautiful. Oh!” He startled a bit, then an expression of both surprise and delight crossed his face. “She talks!” His twang intensified a bit with his emotion. 

“What did she say?” Sky asked, smiling fondly, as the rest of the group began to murmur again, this time with a much more positive tone.

“She said, ‘Welcome, Link, bearer of the Hero’s Spirit’” New Link answered, his eyes not leaving Fi. He took a step back and gave a few experimental swings. “I see now why you were calling this sword a she,” he said as that friendly smile from earlier reappeared on his face. It was evident that he realized he had just passed some kind of test, even if he didn’t exactly understand how.

“Well, I suppose that settles it,” Time said definitively from where he stood at the back of the group. “This is our tenth Link.”

The whole group cheered as Wild, who still stood at New Link’s side, let out an exclamation of “I told you so!” And reached out to give their new companion a few firm, congratulatory pats on the back. New Link grinned as he carefully handed Fi back to Sky. 

“So, how old are you?” Warriors asked casually as the group began to make its way from the edge of camp over to the fire. He got the impression that New Link was fairly young, mid-teens at best.

“I’ll be sixteen in the fall,” New Link replied, to which Wind grumbled, “damn, I’m still the youngest!”

Warriors chose to forego reprimanding the sailor’s language in favor of ruminating over this information. So, only fifteen. His hunch had been right. Though he knew very well from the War of Eras that some kids (especially Links) were more than capable of holding their own, he still couldn’t help but worry about the fact that this group skewed young. Especially after the debacle he’d had with Wild while fighting the Shadow recently.

In short order, the whole party was seated around the campfire and introductions were underway. New Link seemed to be taking all of this very well in stride, Warriors thought as he watched the kid’s attention turn from speaker to speaker. He decided to voice this observation, curious to how New Link would respond. “All of this-“ he gestured to the group as a whole- “doesn’t seem terribly surprising to you,” he commented.

New Link let out an endearing little giggle. “Well, I guess I was kinda surprised, but my new friend explained everything to me on the way here.” He gestured to Wild, who sat beside him. Wild beamed. 

Oh, by the Three. Warriors frankly wouldn’t have trusted Wild to explain anything of even the slightest importance, but apparently he’d done a good enough job with this.

“So what, y’all just randomly bumped into each other out in the woods?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yup!” Wild answered this time. “I was checking out these cool new berries I found, and this guy!” He threw an arm around New Link’s shoulders. “This guy just walks up behind me and goes ‘hi there.’ Scared me half to death!”

New Link giggled again, poking the Champion in the ribs. “I wasn’t exactly sneaking!” He teased. Curiously, despite every other aspect of his demeanor indicating that he felt at ease and was enjoying the social setting, that same soft, almost shy speaking tone remained. Maybe his voice was just naturally like that, Warriors reasoned.

“Ah. So you just weren’t paying attention, huh?” Twilight’s tone was stern, but a wry smile appeared on his face to soften his delivery. “Do we need to have another chat about self-preservation?”

“Hey!” Wild retorted. “You’re one to talk! Besides, can you blame me? There was a whole patch of these giant juicy-looking berries!” He pulled a handful of said berries out of his pocket and displayed them to the group. 

“Those are grapes!” New Link clarified. “What, have you never seen where wine comes from, silly?”

“Get schooled, idiot,” Legend snorted as the whole group burst out laughing. 

Wild shook his head good-naturedly and laughed along. “See? It’s a good thing we ran into each other! I might still be out there trying to figure out what these were!”

A second round of laughter rang out, and New Link joined in. He did already seem to be fitting in well, Warriors noted. That was good. “Well, I suppose it is fortunate that you just happened to find our Champion,” he said. “This is your era, I assume?”

“Yes,” New Link confirmed. “And actually, I was looking for you guys. But I was expecting to find monsters or imposters, not a bunch of guys with the same name as me!”

“Wait a minute,” said Wind, eyes narrowing. “How do you know we’re not imposters, huh?”

New Link shrugged. “I can just tell. Same way I can tell where the rifts are.”

“Rifts?” Hyrule asked, frowning. “You mean portals?”

New Link shrugged again. “I suppose so. Champ here told me you guys came from another era though, not from the Still World, so I guess they’re kinda different?”

At this, several members of the group obviously had their interest piqued and tried to cut into the conversation. Four made it first. “Wait, hold on,” he said. “You said you could ‘tell’ about the portal we came out of? How?”

“I sensed it,” New Link answered simply.

“You can sense portals?” The smith’s eyebrows raised so high they were almost touching his headband.

“Um, yes?”

“Ugh, that would’ve been helpful earlier today,” Sky groused, their earlier portal hunt still fresh in his mind. 

Four continued on, ignoring Sky. “Is there some kind of spell for it? Or maybe a magical item?”

“No, I just feel it. I started being able to after the first time I went to the Still World.”

“The Still World?” Legend leaned forward. “Is that a kind of dark world?” Twilight’s ears visibly perked up, and he too eagerly awaited the response of their newest group member.

“Um…” New Link’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know. Now that you mention it, I guess it is kinda dim in most places. No sunlight, you know? But it’s called the Still World because everyone - and everything - that gets drawn in through a rift gets sort of… frozen… and eventually fades away entirely. Zelda and I are the only ones who can move freely there, and won’t disappear. Except for Null’s monster echoes, of course.”

Huh. Interesting. “That sound familiar to anyone?” Warriors polled the group. He was answered by a chorus of “no”s and shaking heads. 

“Who is Null?” Time asked. “Is that someone we should be worried about?”

“Oh, no! At least, I don’t think so. Zelda and I destroyed him.” New Link used this as a jumping-off point to quickly summarize his adventure. It seemed that the Ganon of this era was actually a puppet controlled by a powerful entity that had been tormenting Hyrule for generations. The catalyst for New Link’s adventure had been the puppeteer, Null, sending his Ganon puppet to kidnap Princess Zelda. New Link, having sensed the appearance of the rift from whence Puppet Ganon had come, had gone to free the princess. Though he was successful in freeing her, he himself ended up trapped in the hostile Still World for some time. But then eventually, he and Zelda found each other and worked together to bring down Null with the help of their respective Triforce pieces. 

After some brief discussion, it seemed to be the general consensus of the rest of the group that although the main antagonist for New Link’s adventure was a foe that no one had heard of before, the whole affair otherwise seemed pretty routine. To everyone except Warriors, that is - he still couldn’t figure out why his adventure had gone so differently than the others. But that was a mystery for Future Warriors. Right now, the focus was on New Link.

“What was it you called the Triforce again?” Wind asked, his squiggly frown having reappeared on his face. He enjoyed speculating on everyone’s place in the timeline, so right now he was no doubt trying to see how all these new pieces fit. “Prime something?”

“Prime Energy,” New Link supplied. 

“That sounds dumb,” Legend murmured. 

“Hey, at least he has a name for the Triforce!” Hyrule said cheerily as he gave Legend a playful nudge. He was so good at softening the Vet’s rough edges. “In Champion’s era, they don’t!”

“It’s true,” confirmed Wild. “I just knew it as the symbol of the Royal Family before I met you guys. That’s all anyone knows about it in my era.”

“I think your Zelda holds the whole Triforce and just doesn’t realize it.” Legend had apparently gotten over his momentary sourness and decided to rejoin the conversation proper. “With all the stuff you say she’s capable of, there’s no way she doesn’t.”

“Well, not necessarily. There are other ways to channel divine power,” suggested Sky.

From that point, the conversation began to drift. A few hours passed, during which the group discussed all manner of things from the power of various deities to the dumbest jokes they could think of, and everything in between. New Link was definitely an extrovert, and happily chimed in just as much if not a little more than everyone else - he was the cool new kid in town, after all, and everyone wanted to hear what he had to say. But as time went on, Warriors noticed that New Link’s voice began to sound strained, as if he was having to put a lot of effort into getting the sound out. Even so, New Link made no mention of this and seemed determined to continue on as if nothing was wrong. However, the strain nonetheless became progressively worse until a breaking point was reached. Right in the middle of a sentence, New Link’s voice faltered and then broke, prompting him to try to clear his throat several times as he rubbed his neck, frowning. “Sorry,” he said, his voice reduced to a whisper.

“Are you okay?” Wild asked, brow furrowed with worry. 

“Yeah,” New Link replied, still whispering. It appeared to be all he was capable of at the moment. “Null stole my ability to speak some time ago, and I’ve just gotten it back now that he’s gone. Zelda’s royal physician examined me and said that since I haven’t used them much for a while, the parts that make me talk are…” he gesticulated vaguely, searching for the right word.

Ah. With his medical training, Warriors suspected he knew where this was going. “Atrophied?” He suggested.

“Atrophied,” New Link repeated. “They’ll get stronger again in time, but…” he trailed off.

Wild draped his arm across New Link’s shoulders again. “But for now, you’re healing,” he said comfortingly.

“Yeah,” New Link replied, though he still looked rather forlorn.

It must not have been too terribly long since the end of New Link’s adventure then, Warriors surmised. “How long has it been since Null was defeated?” He asked.

“A week.”

Exclamations of shock rang out from practically everyone in the group, Warriors included. He’d suspected that New Link’s adventure had been recent, but not that recent. Poor kid.

Time especially seemed rather perturbed by this information and made his way over to sit on the other side of their newest hero. “It’s only been a week since your adventure?” He asked gently as he settled down.

New Link simply nodded, looking down at his lap and fidgeting with his fingers. Whereas he’d seemed so outgoing and confident earlier, now he seemed despondent and withdrawn.

“Does it hurt to speak?” Sensing New Link’s discomfort, Time’s voice went gentler still.

Another nod. “Not at first,” New Link whispered. “But after talking for a while…” he trailed off again.

“I see,” Time said kindly. “Do you sign?” He asked the question both with his voice and with his hands. Good idea, Warriors thought. The group had long ago established that each of their respective dialects of Hylian Sign were similar enough to be understood fairly well by everyone else. Hopefully the same would be true for New Link, if a version of Hylian Sign existed in his era. And if not, well, there would be plenty of eager teachers in the group. Warriors would hate for their newest companion to be in unnecessary pain.

“Yes,” New Link answered with his voice, still whispering despite the fact that it was hurting him to do so. “But I don’t like to, not anymore,” he added, tone hardening.

Wait, what? Warriors hadn’t been expecting that particular stipulation. Judging by the puzzled look on Time’s face, he was just as surprised, and seemed to be struggling to find a response. Warriors jumped in for him. “Why not?” He asked as kindly as he could.

Despite the non-threatening nature of Warriors’ question, New Link shrunk in on himself. “I just don’t, okay?” Between the kid’s whispered tone and his accent, which once again intensified in the face of strong emotion, the words were almost indecipherable. The meaning, however, was crystal clear.

Silence. The awkwardness that now hung in the air was tangible, and no one seemed to know how to dispel it. After a few moments, though, Wild spoke up. “I think I get it,” he said as he gave New Link a gentle squeeze. “Your voice was gone for a while, and now that you have it again, you feel like you have to keep using it, huh? I know how that feels. When you finally regain something you’ve lost, sometimes it feels like it might get taken away again if you don’t hold onto it as hard as you can.”

Well, that could make some sense, Warriors supposed. That was incredibly intuitive and deep, coming from Wild. The words seemed to strike a chord with New Link, and he looked up at the Champion with a tiny, relieved smile while simultaneously leaning into his side-hug. “Yeah,” he agreed.

With the moment of tension now broken, Time spoke once more. “Well,” he said reassuringly, “just know that if you ever feel like it, you’re welcome to sign.” Murmurs of agreement rippled through the group as Time paused before tactfully changing the topic. “I see that you’ve brought a pack and a bedroll, Link. It’s getting rather late - why don’t you bed down here at camp with us and you can start showing us around your Hyrule tomorrow, eh?” 

Apparently that suggestion was amenable to New Link, because his tiny smile grew a bit bigger. “Okay,” he whispered.

“Here, new guy,” Wild said cheerfully as he stood and offered his hand, “you can lay out your bedroll next to mine!”

“Okay,” New Link whispered once again as he accepted the Champion’s help in rising to his feet. His smile grew once again into that friendly grin from earlier. 

Well, Warriors thought, it looked like despite the hiccup that had just occurred, the kid was well and truly meshing well with the group. There was just one more thing left to seal the deal. “Wait,” Warriors called out. “We can’t just keep calling you ‘Link’ or ‘new guy’; you need a proper nickname. What do you guys think?” He asked the group at large.

“I know!” Exclaimed Wind, turning to address their newest companion directly. “How about Seeker, since you seek out portals?”

The kid positively beamed. “I like it,” he whispered. 

Chapter Text

“Champion told me all about his adventure last night. What was yours like, Sailor?” Rift asked Wind brightly as the group marched along. The Seeker had been with them for only a week, and he’d already thoroughly proven himself to be a good fit with the other nine Links. 

If the way Wind’s whole face lit up was any indication, the Sailor was elated to be given the opportunity to tell his story. “Well you see, it all started on my birthday…” he began.

Warriors smiled. Rift seemed to just intuitively know what made everyone tick. So far he’d been keen to get to know everyone, and he went about it with an exceptional degree of both kindness and social finesse. Even the more closed-off members of the group opened up easily to him. Legend, for example, had emptied out his entire pack and proudly showed off every little knick knack inside after Rift had complimented his pegasus boots. When Rift noticed Time fidgeting with his wedding band, he asked who the lucky spouse was and then happily listened as the Old Man went on and on about his beloved wife for over an hour.

Out of everyone, though, the person with whom Rift shared the closest bond was Wild. From the moment the two of them had come walking out of the woods together, they’d been practically attached at the hip. They marched together during the day, sat beside each other in camp, slept next to each other, and even went for an evening patrol together every night. Just last night, Warriors had playfully elbowed Twilight as the pair walked off and commented, “looks like someone’s got a new best friend, eh?” The Rancher had just chuckled and cryptically replied, “and so the student becomes the teacher.” That had caught Warriors a bit off guard. Was Twilight implying that Wild was taking on a mentor role with the newcomer? Warriors was certainly reluctant to look at it like that; while he was a competent and vivacious young man, Wild didn’t exactly seem like mentor material. Twilight had to be misinterpreting the situation. 

All in all, though, the group’s experience in Rift’s Hyrule had been rather pleasant so far. The endearing little Seeker had first taken them to his village, which was a quaint little community where all the residents shared that slight twang that Warriors had noticed in Rift’s voice. After gathering the rest of his adventuring supplies, the Seeker then walked them to a nearby hermitage and introduced them to Lueburry, a scientist and weaponsmith who also happened to be Lady Impa’s brother (of course there was an Impa in this Hyrule - it seemed there always was). Four had, predictably, been entranced by the old man’s collection of what he called Might Crystals, the main material he’d used to craft Rift’s sword and bow, and probably would have spent weeks at Lueburry’s forge if given the opportunity. However, the group couldn’t linger long, though Rift had won Four’s favor by persuading the man to give up a few crystals. Those Might Crystals were now packed safely away in the Smith’s bag, just waiting to be examined and experimented with sometime in the future.

From there, the group set off for the most logical destination: Hyrule Castle. Since Rift had not sensed any more portals opening, that meant that the Shadow and whatever minions it had with it were hiding somewhere in this era, and the King needed to be warned. Upon arrival, everyone had a chance to meet Rift’s Zelda. Echo was a polite and welcoming young lady, but she had a peculiar air of sadness about her. She did seem glad to see Rift, however, if giving him a long, tight hug was any indication. 

The King of Hyrule and his chief advisers were understandably troubled by the news that dangerous monsters were roaming the kingdom, especially considering the fact that they were still recovering from the whole affair with Null. Warriors, who had been appointed as the group’s spokesperson, did his best to reassure them. “I give you my word, Your Majesty,” he’d declared with all sincerity, “we will not rest until this scourge has been driven from your kingdom. If the past behavior of this enemy is any indication, the Shadow will tire of this era once it’s overstayed its welcome and move on, and we’ll be right on its tail when it does.”

Later, Twilight had poked fun at him for his choice of language, pointing out that the Shadow’s tail had been ripped off during their last encounter and it presumably no longer had one. Warriors had argued that it was simply a figure of speech, but the chortling Rancher would hear none of it.

After only having been at Hyrule Castle for a few hours, the first report of monsters came in and the group set off. Frustratingly, though, they seemed to always be two steps behind, and had now been crisscrossing Rift’s Hyrule for days.

“And then,” Wind said animatedly, shaking Warriors from his thoughts, “I took the Master Sword and stabbed him RIGHT IN HIS FUCKING HEAD!” He jumped off a nearby stump and mimed the action for dramatic effect. 

“Language,” Time corrected almost lazily, not even looking in Wind’s direction. It was probably a good thing he hadn’t, because in response, the Sailor rolled his eyes before aggressively sticking out his tongue at the back of the Old Man’s head.

Rift didn’t seem put off at all by the vulgarity. “Wow,” he breathed, “that’s amazing! You went all over the Great Sea, and encountered so many different people and places, and fought all those battles, and defeated Ganon?”

“Big whoop,” Legend cut in dryly. “Standard fare for an adventure.”

Wind crossed his arms with an annoyed look. “Well, I’m sorry the rest of us aren’t as desensitized as you are, Mister Six Adventures!”

“Six adventures?!” Rift turned to face the Veteran with eyes round as saucers, soft voice filled with awe.

Suddenly, Legend didn’t seem so keen on bickering. He flushed and looked away, biting out a barely audible “yeah.” 

It was clear that a sore spot had been hit, and Rift, with his insight, seemed to immediately understand that the Veteran didn’t want to elaborate on those adventures. He expertly pivoted the conversation away. “What about you, Traveler?” He asked Hyrule, who as usual was walking at Legend’s side. “How many adventures have you been on?”

“Two!” Hyrule replied cheerfully. “And there are two Zeldas in my era, as well!”

“Really? How’d that happen?” Rift asked, quickly picking up on the fact that Hyrule was much more eager to tell his story than Legend.

“Well, you see, a long time ago - ah, a long time before my era, I guess I should say - there was a jealous prince…”

And so they continued to march along as Hyrule regaled them on the history of his era and then described his first adventure. He was just getting started on his second adventure when Twilight, walking at the front of the group, suddenly came to an abrupt halt and held up a hand to signal for everyone else to do the same. The whole group immediately stopped and went silent. “I hear movement up ahead,” the Rancher announced in a hushed voice. “Proceed with caution.”

Everyone moved forward as stealthily as possible, the lighthearted mood of a few minutes ago replaced by one of anticipation. Soon enough, they came upon a copse of trees and took cover, scanning the landscape ahead. Three figures stood out against the terrain, and they obviously weren’t friendly ones. They looked a bit like the Iron Knuckle the Shadow had transformed into, but smaller and gold in color. “Ball and chain soldiers,” Legend identified, “but they look a little different than the ones I’ve seen before.”

Those weren’t enemies that Warriors was familiar with. “Anyone recognize them from your era?” He asked the group at large, and was met with almost everyone shaking their heads. Rift, however, piped up. “I’ve fought these!” He said confidently.

Ah, so the Shadow was sticking to monsters from this specific era, then. Interesting. “What can you tell us about them?” He asked the Seeker. 

“They’re slow, but those chains are deceptively long. The spiked balls on the end pack a pretty hefty punch. They don’t have any specific weak spots, so you’ve just gotta get past their weapon and beat ‘em down. The best time to strike is right after they attack.” 

“Sounds like the ones I’ve fought,” Four mused as he studied the enemies. Legend nodded in agreement. 

All right, well. This should be doable, Warriors thought. “Groups of three,” he said decisively. “Champion, you’re our best archer - I want you up this tree here providing cover fire as needed.” He gestured to the tree he’d referred to, an old sycamore at the edge of the copse. For a moment he was worried that Wild would balk at the order, given what had happened in their last battle, but he didn’t. He simply smiled, nodded, and then scampered up the sycamore, settling himself on a sturdy branch and readying his bow and quiver. As he did so, the remaining nine Links quickly divided themselves up. Warriors made sure he was in the same group as Rift. Though the kid was very knowledgeable and was no doubt capable, the Captain had yet to see him fight, and the officer in him needed that vital information in order to direct the group well in the future. Time also joined their group, likely thinking along the same lines. Well, that, and the Old Man was notoriously protective.

At Warriors’ signal, all three groups charged in unison. The ball and chain soldiers, caught by surprise, were immediately on the defensive, though that didn’t end up giving the Links the overwhelming advantage that Warriors had hoped for. The monsters proved to be formidable foes. Though they were smaller than an iron knuckle, they still towered over their adversaries, and their ball-and-chain weapons were readied the second they realized they were under attack. On top of that, a few of Wild’s arrows which found their marks during the initial charge revealed that they were, as suspected, black-bloods. Still, the odds were in the heroes’ favor, Warriors quickly determined. It would just be a tougher fight than he’d originally anticipated.

As they fought, Warriors kept one eye on Rift, and what he observed was thoroughly confusing. On one hand, it was immediately obvious that the kid had never received any formal combat training whatsoever. His footwork was all over the place, his stance was all wrong, and worst of all he was leaving his left side completely open after every single attack he made. But somehow, incredibly, he managed to leap out of the way of every single one of the monster’s swings with deft precision, as if he knew exactly what the ball and chain soldier was going to do before even it did. The contradiction between blatant inexperience and practiced perfection was baffling. Warriors was still trying to reconcile the discordance when he heard another group call, “one down!” And then swiftly after, a second group call, “two down!” That just left the one Warriors’ group was fighting. 

The remaining ball and chain soldier swung its weapon in circles over its head and then tried to make another strike towards Rift, who nimbly hopped out of the way at the last second once more. Roaring in frustration, the monster quickly flicked its wrist again, launching an immediate follow-up attack. But this time, it seemed that Rift didn’t have the foresight he’d been so deftly displaying up until now. Without even looking up at the massive spiked ball swinging down towards him, the Seeker charged forward, sword at the ready, clearly intending to strike. There was no way he would make it. Warriors opened his mouth to scream out a warning despite knowing full well that he wouldn’t be able to get it out in time when a blur of silver and gold streaked across his field of vision. Right at the last millisecond, Time launched himself at Rift, putting himself between the Seeker and the spiked ball. The weapon collided with the Hero of Time with a sickening crunch, sending him flying. At this, the ball and chain soldier roared again, this time presumably in victory, but it was short-lived. One of Wild’s powerful bomb arrows struck it square in the face and exploded, causing the monster to tumble backwards before it disappeared into purple smoke.

There was a pregnant pause before everyone fully processed what had just happened. Then all of a sudden, the battlefield was a flurry of activity again. Warriors sprinted as fast as he possibly could to where Time had landed. The man lay in a crumpled heap on his right side, the armor all down his left flank and most of his back completely mangled and crushed. “Sprite!” Warriors was unable to hold back the old nickname as he collapsed to his knees beside him, dreading what else he might find. 

Time was still conscious, thank goodness, but he was in a bad way. Panic was alight within his one good eye, and the other eye was fully open as well, both rolling in their sockets as Time frantically reached out towards Warriors. “Can’t breathe,” he gasped, his breaths coming so quick and shallow that he was practically hyperventilating. “Can’t breathe, can’t breathe…” a trickle of blood dripped out of his mouth and onto the grass below him.

Oh no. This was bad. This was really bad. Warriors immediately realized what had happened: the spiked ball had smashed Time’s plate armor inward into his body, and the strong metal was now locked into that position, preventing his chest from expanding. And judging by the blood, he likely had broken ribs and at least one punctured lung too. “Shh, don’t talk, don’t waste your air,” Warriors urged him, catching his scrabbling hand in one of his own and giving a reassuring squeeze. 

“I have a fairy!” Wind appeared at Warriors’ side, face pale with fear but determined. Soon Four joined him, holding out a red potion, and Hyrule was calling out as he ran towards them, hands already alight with magic.

“We’ve got to get this armor off first,” Warriors urged as he flung out his free hand to stop Wind from releasing the fairy. “He can’t breathe - healing him in this state will kill him!”

Immediately understanding the assignment, Four put his red potion aside and went for the clasps of Time’s plate mail. “Damn it all,” he swore as he tugged fruitlessly. “It’s stuck!”

Warriors’ heart dropped through his stomach. Of course the fastenings were damaged too - the armor was practically smashed beyond recognition. “Then how do we get him out?”

“We cut him out,” Four said. He dove for his bag and rifled through it frantically before pulling out what looked like metalworking tools. “Veteran!” He called. “Get over here!” 

Legend was there in an instant. He had black blood splashed all across the front of his tunic, but otherwise looked unharmed. “What do you need?”

Four shoved some tools into his hands, then quickly slipped on his power bracelets. “I pry, you cut,” he said simply. He picked up a couple tools as well and jammed them into one of the mangled joints of Time’s armor, then used them to force the joint apart. Wordlessly, Legend swooped in and snipped away the pieces that held the joint together. Ah. Legend had blacksmithing experience too, Warriors numbly recalled.

Although Four and Legend were going as fast as they could, it was still tedious work. Time’s fast, shallow breaths grew more and more labored, a wet gurgle beginning to sound from his throat. Warriors squeezed his brother’s hand and smoothed his hair away from his face, trying in vain to provide hope and comfort. “It’s okay, Sprite, it’s okay,” he babbled. “We’re getting your armor off, it’s gonna be okay.”

Several minutes passed, but it may as well have been days with how long they felt. Time’s grip on Warriors’ hand, once so strong in his adrenaline-fueled panic, started to grow slack. His lips turned pale, then almost bluish as more and more frothy blood dripped from his mouth. His eyelids started to flutter. “No, no, no, hey, look at me, Sprite! Look at me!” Warriors urged frantically, his free hand coming up to lightly slap at Time’s face. It was evident that Time was trying, his one blue eye attempting to focus on Warriors’ face, but it was a losing battle. 

Finally, finally, Legend drew back and Four’s sure hands peeled away the back plate of Time’s armor. Warriors reached up and pulled the front half towards him, freeing Time from the heavy plate mail. With the constricting metal gone, Time’s eyes flew wide open and he frantically sucked in a deep breath. Unfortunately, though, now his injured ribs and lungs prevented him from getting the air he so desperately needed and he choked, more blood pouring from his mouth. Quickly, Warriors pulled the underlying layer of chain mail up and out of the way, then waved in Wind’s general direction without looking up. “Fairy!” He ordered. 

Immediately, Wind uncorked the bottle and the fairy zoomed in circles over Time, her magic putting ribs back in their places and mending tears in lungs. As she soared off, Time jerked and finally dragged in his first truly full breath, his uncoordinated limbs automatically trying to push him upright to keep on fighting. Warriors carefully held him back. “No, Sprite, stay down,” he said gently. “It’s okay, we’ve got you. There’s still a lot of healing to do.” He gestured for Hyrule to come forward.

As Hyrule’s life spell began to take hold, Warriors helped Time roll onto his back. Time’s chest heaved as his newly-repaired lungs worked to re-oxygenate his blood. After a minute or so, though, he turned his face back towards Warriors. “Seeker… okay…?” He wheezed.

Practically back from the dead, and Time’s first thought wasn’t for himself, but for his charge. Looking up for the first time since he’d arrived at his brother’s side, Warriors scanned the faces of everyone gathered around and located the charge in question, Rift. He stood a little further back from everyone else with Wild’s arm around his shoulders, looking very shaken but not injured. Having seen the damage that the ball and chain soldier dealt, Warriors now realized what Time had already known: without armor, Rift would have been killed in an instant had he taken the hit. “He’s fine,” Warriors reassured Time, simultaneously waving the kid over. “He’s okay. You did good, Sprite.”

Wild led Rift to Time’s side, arm still encircling the younger boy comfortingly. The poor kid was trembling, Warriors saw as the pair drew close. No doubt he also knew he’d be dead right now if not for Time. As soon as he entered Time’s field of vision, the man closed his eyes in relief, now able to fully focus on getting his breath back.

Warriors sat back at last, tension draining from his body. A few moments passed, and then the Captain finally allowed himself to fully take in his surroundings again. The first thing that reached his ears was Rift’s soft voice. “I don’t understand,” he said shakily, seemingly to no one in particular. “Why didn’t it follow the pattern? I don’t understand, I don’t understand…”

Warriors was not in the mood for riddles. “What are you talking about, Seeker?” He asked a bit more harshly than he probably should have. 

“The pattern, the pattern!” Rift practically wailed. Seeing that no one seemed to understand him, he rambled on. “The pattern! Every monster has a pattern! Ball and chain soldiers always circle exactly three times before each strike! But this one didn’t! It struck twice in a row! That’s not the pattern! I don’t understand!”

What on earth? Warriors was utterly baffled. Ball and chain soldiers circling exactly three times? What did a specific attack pattern have to do with… oh. The pattern. It all clicked in Warriors’ mind. Was that how the kid had somehow managed to dodge all those attacks before the monster changed its approach? “Seeker,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose and squeezing his eyes shut, “do you mean to tell me that you’ve been fighting monsters by memorizing every single one of their attack patterns?” It would make sense. The kid was compensating for his lack of combat skills by using his brain. Kind of remarkable, actually… except it would - and demonstrably did - all fall apart when fighting smarter enemies.

As predicted, Rift nodded. 

Dear sweet Hylia above. Okay. Well, this was a challenge. “As impressive as that is,” Warriors said wearily, “that’s not going to work with the kind of monsters you’ll be fighting with us. First thing tomorrow morning, you’re starting intensive sword training with me. We need to get you up to speed, and fast. Sound like a plan?”

Rift ducked his head down and hunched in on himself a bit. “Yes, sir,” he whispered.

Chapter Text

The rest of the day was a somber affair. 

Once Time had recovered enough to get up and walk a short distance, the group made camp nearby in as defensible of a position as they could find, fully aware that more black-bloods or even the Shadow itself could be lurking nearby. Though it was only late afternoon, Warriors ordered Time to bed immediately. The Old Man didn’t protest, and even accepted help removing the rest of his gear before gingerly crawling into his bedroll and falling asleep within minutes. To Warriors, all of that was clear testament to how off kilter Time still was even after being healed. The others obviously noticed it as well and were understandably shaken by seeing their leader in such a state, all of them casting worried glances his way as they went about their business in camp. Rift, however, wasn’t just worried; he seemed completely traumatized. The poor kid plopped himself down by the fire and just silently stared into it, barely responding to anyone who tried to engage with him, even Wild. He obviously felt horrible about Time getting injured.

For dinner, the group decided on something quick and simple: meat stew, something most of them knew how to make and was their go-to in a pinch (though Hyrule specifically was now strictly banned from making it). It was a good thing, too, because Wild appeared to have other plans in mind besides cooking. As the others began preparing the ingredients, he pulled Twilight aside and led him a short distance away out of earshot to talk. They returned about ten minutes later, and the Champion made a beeline for Rift and crouched down next to him. “Hey, Seeker,” he said, “why don’t you come for a walk with me?” He reached out and tugged at Rift’s elbow to better solicit his attention.

With what appeared to be great difficulty, Rift pulled his gaze away from the fire and turned, but still couldn’t quite meet the Champion’s eyes. “Okay”, he agreed softly, though it was obvious that he wanted to say no. 

Wild seemed to understand the subtext and frowned. He looked towards Twilight, who nodded encouragingly as if to say, “go on.” Wild nodded back resolutely and then turned back to Rift. “Okay,” he said in a much more decisive tone, and then helped the Seeker to his feet before leading him away from camp.

“What was that all about?” Warriors asked Twilight as the Rancher sat down next to him.

“Oh, Seeker’s real tore up,” Twilight answered. “Champ was just askin’ me how to help with all that.”

Huh. Maybe Wild really was trying to take on a mentor role with Rift. That was… interesting. At least the two seemed to get along well, Warriors reasoned. Maybe Wild would manage to console the kid. While Warriors appreciated the fact that Rift felt sorry for his mistake and for the subsequent ordeal that Time had suffered because of it, the Seeker shouldn’t blame himself too much, the Captain thought. Normally, Warriors would have been angry at a teammate for making such an egregious error, but he wasn’t this time. How could he be? This was a completely different situation than what had happened recently with Wild, a trained knight, disobeying orders. No, Rift was just an inexperienced kid who was trying to do the best with what he had - or didn’t have, which was proper training. And Warriors was going to fix that. 

When Wild and Rift came back right as Sky was starting to dish out the stew, the Seeker’s eyes were red and there were tear tracks down his face. His head was bowed and his arms were wrapped around himself in an apparent self-soothing measure, despite Wild’s arm around his waist providing comfort. No one tried to engage with either of them, sensing that a heavy exchange of emotion had occurred and that Rift needed space. 

Warriors watched as Wild led the kid to the fire and gently cajoled him into taking a bowl from Sky, which Rift accepted wordlessly before allowing Wild to lead him to a place where they could both sit down. By the time the Champion had finished his own dinner, though, Rift hadn’t even eaten a single spoonful, instead just sitting and stirring at his stew dejectedly. After some soft, nurturing words from Wild, he did eat a bit, but not much. Finally, the Seeker handed his bowl back and then silently laid out his bedroll and climbed into it, pulling the blanket over his head to shut out the world.

Despite Wild’s attempt at intervention, It would appear that Rift was still taking this whole situation very, very hard, Warriors thought. Had he come off as being too harsh earlier? Would the kid even be in the right mindset to spar tomorrow? Perhaps the Captain needed to dust off his big brother skills and have a heart to heart with him. In any case, he’d see what the morning would bring.

***

As it turned out, the next morning did not bring a heart to heart or combat lessons. Warriors was shaken awake just before dawn and informed that Rift had sensed a portal opening nearby, and the group needed to get moving if they wanted to catch it. They couldn’t allow the Shadow to get away. 

While Twilight transformed into Wolfie to run to the nearest village and send a message to the King, Warriors got to work directing the breakdown of camp. He then approached Time, who was gathering his own belongings. “How’re you feeling?” He asked.

“Better,” Time answered, and he looked it too. Not fully recovered, if the dark bags under his eyes were any indication, but he was moving around with ease and seemed more alert. “The same can’t be said for my armor, though.” He gestured to the mangled mess that had once been his plate mail.

It was in pretty bad shape, that was for sure. But it looked salvageable. “Hopefully we can get it repaired on the other side of the portal,” Warriors reassured the Old Man. They both worked to secure the armor to the outside of Time’s pack, and Warriors then helped him lift and shoulder it. He took the weight well. That was encouraging.

Warriors hoped that seeing Time up and about would raise Rift’s spirits, and craned his neck to try to find the kid through the hubbub of camp breakdown. There he was, standing at the edge of camp ready to go, looking out into the woods in the direction he’d presumably sensed the portal. But unfortunately, he still didn’t appear to be in a good headspace, though the reason had changed. Tension radiated off of him in waves as he shifted nervously from foot to foot, one hand flexing and unflexing around the strap of his pack and the other held to his mouth, where he chewed on his nails anxiously. 

That… didn’t bode well. Warriors had no trouble interpreting that body language at all: Rift was scared, and the Captain was pretty sure he knew why. The Seeker had mentioned that for some time during his adventure, he’d become trapped in the rifts. Through his own experience, Warriors knew that the mind often had trouble processing trauma, and the fact that Rift had had virtually no time to decompress - his adventure had ended a mere two weeks ago, after all - was not ideal. Now here he was about to walk straight into a portal, when he was already distressed over the repercussions of his actions during the battle yesterday. It was a recipe for an emotional disaster.

Okay, maybe now really was the time for a heart to heart. But just as Warriors started to make his way over to where Rift stood, Wolfie came bounding back into camp and promptly turned back into Twilight. “There was a Royal Guard post at the village a way’s back,” he informed the group breathlessly. “They’re relaying the message back to Castle Town that we’re pursuing the Shadow to another era, and the threat to this Hyrule should be gone.”

“Excellent,” Time said as he hefted his pack up a little higher on his shoulders. He surveyed the others, finding that camp had just finished being fully broken down. “Looks like we’re ready to go. Lead on, Seeker.” 

Rift didn’t seem to have heard. He still stood looking off into the distance, anxiously gnawing on his nails. Warriors frowned and was about to speak up, but Wild moved before he could. “Seeker?” The Champion asked gently, placing a tentative hand on the kid’s shoulder, “you okay?”

Rift came back to himself with a little jump. “I’m fine,” he said quickly as he hastily removed his fingers from his mouth. “Let’s go.” And with that, he set off. 

***

After only about half an hour of walking, the portal came into view. Wolfie made another brief appearance to sniff around it to see if the Shadow had already been by. “Yep, it went through there all right,” Twilight confirmed once he’d transformed back. And with that, he took Epona’s reins and confidently strode through. 

“Well that was easy,” Legend commented. “Nice going, Seeker.” He clapped Rift on the back and then walked into the swirling purple-black mass, closely followed by Hyrule, Four, Wind, Sky, and then Time. 

Warriors, Wild, and Rift were now the only ones left. “I’ll take up the rear,” the Captain declared as he carefully scrutinized Rift for further signs of distress. He was not heartened by what he saw. The Seeker’s hand was back in his mouth as he frantically gnawed on his nails, this time seemingly not caring if he was being observed doing so, eyes wide and locked on the portal. 

Once again, before Warriors could step in, Wild spoke. “Hey,” he said to the Seeker kindly, “you wanna hold onto me while we go through?”

“No. I’m okay.” It was a thoroughly unconvincing response, as Rift’s soft voice came out several octaves higher than normal.

“Well…” Wild appeared to think for a moment, then spoke again. “You know, sometimes I get pretty dizzy going through these things.” He held out his arm. “Can you do it for me, just in case?”

That was a blatant lie. The Champion was more accustomed to teleportation than probably the rest of them combined. But Warriors had to hand it to him: “I’m the one who needs your help” was a play straight out of the big brother handbook. Maybe Wild was better at this whole mentor thing than Warriors had given him credit for.

Rift was either too distressed to see through the fib, or he was just grateful for the excuse. “Okay,” he squeaked as he latched onto Wild’s arm. Not wasting any time, the Champion went forward and the two disappeared into the portal. Warriors followed. 

Once on the other side, Warriors was met with Twilight’s grinning face. “This is my era!” He said excitedly. “We’re close to Kakariko Village - it’s only a day’s hike from here!”

“Is there a forge there?” Four asked. “I want to see what I can do to fix up Old Man’s armor.”

“I’m sure Barnes wouldn’t mind letting you use his!” Twilight answered cheerily as he set off down the trail, the others falling in line behind him. “He runs the bomb shop in town, but he’s also kind of a jack of all trades…” the Rancher used this as a segue to begin telling the group all about his era and all of the people he was looking forward to seeing. After his brush with death recently, it was good to see him so happy and animated.

As the group hiked along, Warriors kept a close eye on both Time and Rift. The Old Man was managing well enough, though it would probably be a good idea to offer him a stamina potion when they stopped for lunch. Rift, however, was a bit more tricky to figure out. He still occasionally chewed on his nails, but caught himself after a moment each time and forced his hand back down. A few members of the group tried to engage him in conversation at various points, and he managed the interactions well enough, though each time he pivoted the conversation around so that the other person was doing most of the talking. Maybe that meant the Seeker was still feeling off, but less distressed? Warriors wasn’t sure. What was certain, however, was that Rift had latched onto Wild wholeheartedly as his mentor and preferred comfort person. Throughout the entire day, he was never more than an arm’s reach away from the Champion, though no more physical touch occurred. Perhaps that was also a good sign?

Just as the sun was beginning to draw low in the sky, Kakariko Village came into view. Twilight was practically bouncing with excitement as he led the group to the home of his friend Renado, the town’s shaman. As expected, Renado was elated by the unexpected visit from this era’s Link, as was his daughter Luda. The two graciously welcomed the party of ten into their home and fed them a hearty dinner while the Links - mostly Twilight - filled them in on the reason for their visit.

“Black-blooded monsters, led by a Shadow?” Renado’s brow furrowed in worry. “That sounds most troubling. Is it related in any way to the Twilight Invasion?” 

“I don’t think so,” Twilight answered as he took a swig of his pumpkin juice. “This seems to be something completely different.”

“From what I’ve pieced together, it doesn’t seem like this Shadow has any particular era in mind for a destination,” Sky spoke up, “especially now that we’ve got it on its back foot and it’s on the run.”

“That’s right!” Wind exclaimed as he pumped his fist. “The next time we see it, we’ll kick its ass so hard it’ll run crying to its mommy!”

“Or, you know, we’ll just kill it, like we’ve been trying to do for a while now,” Legend said dryly.

“Does the Shadow even have a mommy?” Hyrule asked, scratching his chin.

Wind crossed his arms and made his signature squiggly frown. “You guys are no fun.”

“All right, all right, let’s reel it in,” Twilight said. “Anyway, Renado, we’ll do everything we can to make sure no harm comes to the people here.” His tone turned serious. “I don’t think I’d ever forgive myself if it did.”

Renado smiled warmly. “Link, all of us know of your dedication to the people of this kingdom. I have no doubt we’re in good hands - especially since there are nine more versions of you helping out this time!” The tone of the conversation lightened once again as everyone laughed. “Now,” Renado continued, “speaking of how many of you there are, I would be honored to host you, but I think it may get a little cramped if you all were to stay under my roof. We here in the village have been fixing up a lot of the abandoned buildings lately in hopes of attracting new residents and businesses; why don’t I find one of a suitable size so we can make your stay a bit more comfortable?”

“Oh, of course, Renado!” Twilight said quickly. “We’d hate to intrude. All ten of us are a lot to wrangle after all, especially on such short notice!” Another round of laughter rang out. 

In short order, Renado and Luda decided on a building across from the town’s new bathhouse. It was a square, one-story structure with a single room that had probably once been a workshop of some kind, though the furniture and equipment were long gone. But true to Renado’s word, it had been fixed up nicely with a clean interior and a fresh application of weatherproofing, and even had a stack of freshly-chopped wood by the fireplace and a stack of sleeping mats in the corner ready for use. 

The Links quickly got to work laying out the sleeping mats, and then rewarded themselves with a trip to the bathhouse to wash off the dirt and grime of the road. It was heavenly; apparently this era’s Kakariko sat on top of a network of thermal hot springs, whose waters had been piped in. By the time they were finished, it wasn’t quite time for bed yet, so they had some time to kill. “Hey, Champ,” Twilight addressed Wild with a huge grin. “Renado told me there’s a new tavern in town. Wanna swing by with me and see if any of my other buddies are around?” It was obvious that the Rancher was itching to show his protege around and introduce him to everyone.

Before Wild could answer, Sky voiced some plans of his own. “The sign in front of that Malo Mart said it was open twenty-four hours,” he mused. “I’d like to stop in and see if I can stock up on some potions and other supplies.”

“Ooh, I wanna go too!” Wind grabbed his wallet and bounded over to Sky’s side.

“And I’d like to check out that forge,” Four added.

Twilight chuckled. “Well, looks like we’re gonna have a night out on the town. What do you say, Champ?”

Wild definitely looked like he wanted to say yes, but he hesitated and turned to look at Rift, who was sitting on his sleeping mat quietly. He’d been withdrawn all through dinner and bath time - off kilter, just as he’d been all day - and had still never left the Champion’s side. Despite his desire to go have fun, Wild seemed reluctant to leave the kid, and with good reason. Before he could say anything, though, the Seeker himself spoke up: “Go ahead. I’ll stay here.”

The Champion frowned. “You sure?”

Rift nodded. “I’m fine.” The words weren’t much more convincing than they had been earlier in the day.

“We’ll keep an eye on things here, Champion,” Time said reassuringly. He, too, had obviously correctly interpreted the situation. Warriors nodded in solidarity. 

Wild hesitated for a moment more before giving his answer. “Well, okay,” he acquiesced. “Let’s go!”

Twilight beamed. “Awesome!” He beckoned his protege towards the door, and Wild eagerly followed. Sky, Wind, and Four left close on their heels. 

“Well, I think I’ll turn in early,” Time announced as he stretched his arms above his head. Warriors was secretly glad. Though the Old Man was doing much better today, he still wasn’t fully recovered from his ordeal the day before. He needed his rest.

Hyrule pulled a deck of cards from his bag. “Hey Vet,” he taunted, “bet I can win best two out of three!”

“Oh, you’re going down,” Legend said with a wicked smile. He and Hyrule retreated to their own sleeping mats and sat down cross-legged across from each other.

Well, it was just Warriors and Rift now. Maybe he could finally have a heart to heart with the Seeker, the Captain hoped. But it seemed Rift wasn’t in the mood for talking, because as soon as Warriors turned towards him and opened his mouth, Rift turned his back, laid down, and pulled the blanket over his head just as he had done the night before. 

Alrighty then. Thoroughly shut out. Warriors was admittedly used to this kind of behavior from the few years he spent practically raising Time. Rift was still decidedly not okay, but wasn’t ready to fully deal with his inner turmoil yet. This could go one of two ways: either he’d eventually come out of his shell enough to be able to admit that he wasn’t okay and ask for help, or he’d reach some kind of breaking point and crash and burn. Warriors dearly hoped it would be the former. 

Unfortunately, it was the latter. And it came all too soon. 

Warriors had only been sitting by the fireplace reading for about an hour, listening to the quiet shuffling of cards and Time’s soft snoring, when he detected movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see that Rift was tossing and turning on his sleeping mat, and not the kind one did to try to get comfortable. Sure enough, the tossing and turning quickly became thrashing, and soft whimpers emanated from beneath the Seeker’s rustling blankets. It wouldn’t be the first time one of them had a nightmare - in fact, it was a fairly common occurrence. Everyone knew that the best course of action was to typically just let the nightmare fizzle out on its own to avoid interrupting the sleep cycle, but that wasn’t always the case. Warriors saw that Legend and Hyrule had stopped their card game and were watching Rift with sympathy as well, waiting to see if intervention was necessary. 

It became apparent almost immediately that intervention was, in fact, of the utmost necessity as Rift let out an ear piercing, blood-curdling scream. Then another. And another.

All three Links who’d been observing jumped into action. Legend was closest, and arrived at Rift’s side before the second scream had even finished leaving the poor Seeker’s mouth. The vet hurriedly pulled back the blankets and swore. “Shit!” He exclaimed. “He’s bleeding!”

Arriving at Rift’s other side, Warriors saw that Rift was indeed bleeding, his own fingers clawing at his throat with such force that they left deep, bloody gashes down his neck as he screamed and screamed and screamed. Acting fast, Legend grabbed the Seeker by the wrists and tried to pull his hands away to prevent any more damage, but apparently that was the wrong move. Still screaming, Rift twisted his body and, using the hold on his wrists as leverage, jackrabbited both of his feet out as hard as he could, catching Legend right between the legs. The Vet immediately let go and collapsed sideways with an agonized shriek of his own, eyes squeezed shut tight and hands flying to his groin, trying in vain to soothe the pain. Hyrule, who’d been behind him, quickly dragged him out of the way of Rift’s now flailing limbs. 

Without even thinking, Warriors took over. Seeing that Rift’s hands were going for his neck again, he quickly pivoted and sat down on the Seeker’s legs, effectively pinning them, and grabbed Rift’s wrists to wrench them away from his bloodied throat. Rift’s eyes were open now, but it was unclear if he was even awake. Awake or asleep, though, it was evident that he still thought he was under attack and was prepared to do whatever he could to shake off his perceived attackers. Robbed of the ability to use his legs, he instead sat up, thrust his head forward, and bit down on one of Warriors’ hands. Hard. Warriors yelled in pain and shock, but he didn’t let go. Rift had bitten down on the soft spot between his thumb and forefinger, so he wasn’t in danger of losing a digit. And judging by how hard Rift was breathing, it was unlikely that he’d be able to satisfy his lungs’ need for air by only breathing through his nose.

Sure enough, Rift quickly let go, sucked in a deep breath through his mouth, and went right back to screaming at the top of his lungs. “Seeker!” Warriors called frantically. “Link! It’s okay, you’re okay!” The reassurances fell on deaf ears as Rift just kept on screaming in panic and fear.

Suddenly Time, who had no doubt been awakened by the ruckus, appeared at Rift’s side. “Link, shh, it’s okay, we’ve got you…” he tried to comfort the Seeker as he put a hand on his back, but it was no use. Rift wasn’t himself and he didn’t understand what was going on. All he could do was scream, and all Warriors and Time could do was keep him from hurting himself any further and try to bring him back. 

Abruptly, Rift’s screaming was cut off by a gag, and then a retch. “Shit, shit, shit,” Warriors swore as he hastily dropped the Seeker’s wrists and moved as fast as he could to scoop the kid up, blankets and all, in a bridal carry and climb to his feet. He scrambled to try to get outside, but unfortunately they didn’t make it. Just as the Captain was shouldering the door open, Rift retched again and vomited all down his front, catching Warriors a bit too. This spurred the Captain to move even faster. He dashed down the front steps and dropped the Seeker’s legs to get him in an upright position, then tilted him forward. He was just in time for the second wave. Rift clung onto his arms helplessly, vomiting into the dirt. Though his feet were on the ground, Warriors still held his full weight. “It’s okay, let it happen…” the Captain tried to console the kid as he shuddered and heaved, over and over again until nothing came up anymore. 

When he was sure Rift was finished, Warriors picked him up again and then sat down on the front steps of their building, situating the Seeker across his lap. The kid’s upper body flopped against him bonelessly, his head tucked under the Captain’s chin. He wasn’t fighting back, he wasn’t screaming, and most important of all, he wasn’t trying to gouge his own throat out anymore. Was that from exhaustion, or did he finally have his wits about him? “Link? Can you hear me?” Nothing at first, but then he felt Rift give a tiny little nod. “Do you know who I am?” Another tiny nod.

Relief washed over Warriors. They were finally moving in a positive direction. “Good, that’s good,” he praised as he began to rub his hand up and down the kid’s arm in a way that he hoped was soothing. Rift was trembling, and his breath came in pained gasps. Warriors took the Seeker’s hand, heedless of the blood and vomit, and held it to his own chest. “Can you breathe with me, Link? In…” he took a deep breath in. “Out…”

It took a little while, but Rift eventually managed to match his breathing. Once the kid was back in a good pattern, Warriors went quiet and just held him for a little bit. He took stock of the both of them. They were both due for some first aid - Rift for his neck and Warriors for his bitten hand - and in desperate need of clean shirts. Pants too, Warriors added belatedly as he became aware of a distinct feeling of dampness on his thigh where Rift sat. The poor kid had wet himself at some point, the Captain realized, whether from sheer terror at his nightmare or from losing control as he puked his guts up. 

Warriors’ heart broke for Rift. He’d seen far too many people have terrible night terrors in his day (and had his own), and sadly, the nature of this one wasn’t all too uncommon in his experience. One of the many symptoms of what those in the army called War Sickness. The Seeker shouldn’t have to go through this. None of them should.

The Captain was shaken from his thoughts by footsteps behind him. Craning his neck, he saw Time approaching through the doorway. “How’s he doing?” The Old Man asked. 

Rift was quiet and still now, and though Warriors knew for a fact that he was conscious, he didn’t show any reaction to Time sitting down next to them. “As well as can be expected,” the Captain answered.

Time nodded, an unreadable expression crossing his face. Perhaps he too was thinking of the unfairness of it all, how a mere fifteen-year-old had had experiences that led to this. “What can I get you?” He asked after a moment. 

“My med kit for sure,” Warriors answered. He looked across the street to the bathhouse, and decided that was where they would go to get cleaned up. “My bath kit,” he added, “and a clean change of clothes for both of us.” He shifted Rift’s weight across his lap and prepared to stand.

Time nodded. “Anything else?”

Warriors stood, cradling Rift in his arms. He thought a bit, then remembered what the kid had been doing all day: following Wild around like a lost puppy. He added one more thing to the list. “Yes. Find the Champion and send him to the bath house. Seeker needs him right now.”

Chapter Text

Fortunately the bathhouse was quiet and deserted at this hour, though a few lanterns had been left lit for any late patrons. Warriors carried Rift past the large communal bath where the group had bathed earlier and instead opted for one of the curtained individual bathing areas among the alcoves on the back wall, each equipped with its own little bathtub and shelf of clean linens. Even though they were alone, Warriors had the feeling that Rift would be more comfortable in the smaller, private setting. Carefully, he eased the Seeker down onto the provided stool and made sure that the kid could sit up on his own before lighting the overhead lamp. He then drew the curtain of most of the way closed, but not all the way. He didn’t want Rift to feel trapped. 

“Seeker?” Warriors crouched down so that he was at Rift’s level. The kid’s eyes were open, but downcast, and his head was bowed. He didn’t make any move to communicate with Warriors, or even acknowledge his presence. But he had to be present, at least to some degree, since he’d been able to nod in response to questions earlier. Warriors tried asking a direct question. “Can you still hear me?”

After a moment, Rift gave a small yet distinct nod. 

“Very good,” Warriors praised, keeping his tone kind and encouraging. He chose his next words carefully, mindful of the fact that Rift didn’t seem capable of - or at least didn’t want to use - verbal communication at the time. “I need to wash and patch up your neck now, so why don’t we get rid of this tunic, hmm?” He reached out and gave a little tug on the sleeve of the soiled garment. “Do you want to take it off yourself? Or would you like me to help?”

Rift’s head tilted down even further to take in the bloodstained, vomit-soaked mess that his sleeping tunic had become. He fiddled with the hem with both hands, clearly hesitant to give an answer.

Warriors was pretty sure he knew what was going through the kid’s head. “It’s okay if you want help,” he reassured him. “That’s what I’m here for. It’s no trouble at all.”

After a few more tense moments during which Rift continued to fidget and try to make up his mind, he finally nodded.

“You want me to help?” Warriors asked to confirm. 

Rift nodded again, biting his lip.

 “Okay,” Warriors acknowledged softly. With deft hands, he helped Rift out of his top and tossed the garment aside. He then leaned over to open the tap. Taking a washcloth from a nearby shelf, he wet it in the warm spring water and went to start wiping down Rift’s neck. However, there was a problem: this whole time, the Seeker still hadn’t looked up once, head still bowed and eyes fixed on his lap. He was obviously still very out of sorts, the poor kid. “Hey,” the Captain said gently, “can you lift your chin up for me, Seeker? Let’s get a look at your neck.”

Slowly, Rift raised his head and then tilted it back, gaze now fixed on the ceiling. There were unshed tears brimming in his eyes. “That’s it,” Warriors said kindly, trying to do whatever he could to make Rift feel more at ease. “I’m going to get these wounds cleaned up now, okay?” 

As Warriors gently wiped away at the blood on and around Rift’s throat area, he was heartened to see that though the self-inflicted gouges were indeed deep in a few places, nothing vital appeared to have been damaged and the bleeding itself had stopped for the most part already. Rift winced and bit his lip a few times during the process, but didn’t give any other reaction. 

Just as Warriors was finishing wiping off the last of the blood, he heard the door to the bathhouse creak open. “Captain?” He heard Time’s voice call.

“Back here,” he called back before rising to his feet and turning towards the gap in the curtain. 

Time approached and positioned himself at an angle where he could see Warriors, but not much of the interior of the alcove out of respect for Rift’s privacy. “Here,” he said, holding out two leather pouches, which Warriors took. “Your med kit, and your bath kit.” He then passed him a stack of clothes. “A clean change of clothes for you…” and lastly he handed over a second stack of clothes. “And a clean change of clothes for Seeker. He didn’t have anything extra in his pack besides the traveling clothes he was wearing earlier, but Sailor offered this. He and Sky just got back from shopping,” Time explained.

Curious, Warriors regarded the folded outfit at the top of the pile. He spied a familiar light green undertunic, a darker green overtunic, and a pair of white trousers. He immediately recognized it as the outfit that their resident pirate favored during the War of Eras, sometime in Wind’s future but at the same time in Warriors’ and Time’s pasts. A nostalgic smile found its way onto his face, and as he looked up again, he found an identical one on Time’s face. “Thank you,” the Captain said, pulling himself out of his memories to focus on the task at hand.

“No worries,” Time replied. “We’re still looking for Champion, but I’ll send him straight here as soon as he turns up. Do you need anything else right now?”

“No, we’re alright,” Warriors decided. Time gave an assenting nod and left, presumably to help with the search for Wild.

Warriors turned back to the bathing alcove and placed the stack of items on a spare stool, then opened his bath kit. He pulled out a couple of velvet drawstring bags and opened them, revealing a pair of fancy bottles trimmed with silver filigree: his finest bubble bath potions, ones reserved for very special occasions. Never mind how rare and expensive they were - the poor Seeker deserved anything and everything Warriors had at his disposal to help him feel better. Placing one in each hand, the Captain crouched down in front of Rift once more. “I have two different scented bath potions,” he explained as he held them out. “This one is lavender, and this one is rosewater. Which one would you like?”

Rift, still silent and nearly motionless, looked a bit bemused at the offerings. But after a moment of thought, he slowly closed one hand into a fist save for the forefinger and pointed at the lavender bottle. 

Upon seeing the tiny gesture, Warriors smiled. Slowly but surely, Rift was coming back to himself. “The lavender?” Warriors asked to confirm, and was given a nod in return. “Good choice,” he commented as he secured the tub’s drain plug and then carefully added three drops of potion to the stream of water. Immediately, foam began to appear along the water's surface and the alcove was filled with the calming scent of lavender. “Now, let’s get your neck healed up, hmm?”

In response, Rift obediently tilted his head back once again. Those unshed tears still shone in his eyes, and he sniffled a bit as he fixed his gaze on the ceiling. Warriors knew that the kid would start feeling much better if he just let the dam burst and allowed himself to cry, but he didn’t say so. They were moving at Rift’s pace right now, and he didn’t want to push.

After fishing a red potion out of his med kit, Warriors dabbed out a bit of it onto a clean cloth and then tenderly blotted it against the scratches down Rift’s throat, watching as new tissue began to form and knit the skin back together. He took his time, making sure nothing was overlooked. “There we are,” he said as he finished. “Good as new. Won’t even leave a scar.”

Rift didn’t respond. All of his concentration seemed to be going towards holding himself together which, by the looks of it, was becoming a losing battle. A tear leaked out of the corner of each eye, hastily wiped away by a shaking hand. He then moved that hand to his mouth, clearly intending to chew on his nails. “Ah! Careful,” Warriors exclaimed, quickly pulling Rift’s hand back down by the wrist as he scrambled to lighten his tone. “Let’s get your hands cleaned off first, okay?” He said it as friendly and nonchalantly as he could muster, trying to make it clear that he wasn’t rebuking the Seeker for trying to self-soothe; he just didn’t want him to contract an infection. Filthy hands crusted with various bodily fluids did not belong in mouths. Warriors took another fresh cloth and dipped it into the still-filling tub, then thoroughly scrubbed the grime off the hand attached to the wrist he still held. He even took a small scrubbing brush out of his bath kit to clear out all the dried blood out from underneath Rift’s fingernails. “There,” he said brightly as he finished up, “squeaky clean.” As soon as he released Rift’s wrist, the hand sprang straight back up to the Seeker’s mouth and he began to gnaw on his nails as Warriors gave his other hand the same treatment.

Speaking of hands, the bite wound on Warriors’ hand still needed to be tended to. Luckily that just needed a quick wash and then some red potion dabbed on as well. Normally he wouldn’t waste a potion on something so small, but bites of any kind were not to be trifled with. Even human bites. By the time Warriors finished patching himself up, the bathtub had finished filling. He shut off the tap before turning back to Rift, planning out his next actions and words carefully. “Seeker, let’s get you the rest of the way undressed and into the tub. I’ll close my eyes, and you can hold onto me if you need to.” He sat back on his heels in preparation. “Okay?”

For the first time during his whole ordeal, Rift looked Warriors in the face, if only for a moment. His eyes flitted up to meet the Captain’s for a split second before darting back down again, cheeks coloring with apparent embarrassment. “It’s all right! I just want to make sure you get in the tub okay, and then I’ll go wait outside!” Warriors continued hastily. To the Captain’s surprise, though, Rift shook his head frantically, one hand still held to his mouth as his nail-biting picked up pace. The other hand darted out and grabbed onto one of Warriors’ arm with surprising strength. “No?” Warriors asked. “You don’t want me to go?” Rift shook his head emphatically once again as his flush deepened. He began to squirm uncomfortably in his seat, shoulders rising up towards his ears in distress.

Ah. Rift was at war with himself: he didn’t want to be alone and desperately wanted (perhaps needed) Warriors’ continued help and support, but the fiercely independent young man in him was reluctant to admit this. Yet another scenario that reminded Warriors so much of Time when he was younger. Maybe all Links were the same in that way. “Okay, don’t worry. I won’t go anywhere,” he reassured Rift as he held his hands up placatingly. The Seeker’s body language relaxed slightly, but not all the way. “Hey,” Warriors said softly, “it’s okay to need help, remember? I want to help.” He truly did. Though he’d never admit it out loud, he liked feeling needed. Maybe that was a universal Link trait, too. 

Though he still didn’t relax all the way, Rift untensed a little bit more, eyes darting back and forth between Warriors’ face and his own lap. The Captain smiled kindly to emphasize his point. Rift seemed to ponder for a bit before nodding to indicate that the message had been received and understood. True to his word, Warriors closed his eyes and motioned for Rift to put his hands on his shoulders as the Seeker shifted to stand on unsteady legs - the offered assistance appeared to have been well needed. Warriors easily supported the extra weight as Rift shifted his grip from one of his shoulders to the other and back again as he clumsily divested himself of his sodden trousers, then took the Captain’s offered hand to help keep his balance as he stepped over the rim of the tub. Once he had been let go of, Warriors waited a few more seconds before opening his eyes to find Rift sitting among the lavender-scented foam and bubbles with his knees drawn up to his chest, one hand back up against his mouth in his now-familiar nail-biting pose. “There we go,” Warriors praised him. In the past fifteen minutes, they’d gone from Rift being almost completely despondent to him navigating a social exchange and completing tasks under his own initiative. That was excellent progress.

Warriors brought out his absolute best bath soaps and shampoos to offer to Rift, following the teenager’s nonverbal cues as to how much assistance he should offer at each stage. The Seeker ended up deciding he was capable of washing his body and did so, albeit shakily and with Warriors’ steadying hand giving him some help from time to time. But when it was time to wash his sweat-matted hair, he let Warriors take over completely. The ministrations no doubt felt good to him, because it was at that point that he finally physically relaxed, even allowing his hand to drop away from his mouth. Warriors couldn’t see his face very well in his current position, but during the few glimpses he got, he noted that a few more silent tears had escaped and rolled down Rift’s face. Allowing the tension to leave his body must have given his mind more agency to make its big feelings known. The Seeker wouldn’t be able to hold himself together for much longer, Warriors knew from experience. He wished he’d just let go already - he desperately needed a good cry.

Once Rift was clean, Warriors pulled the tub’s plug before taking a big, fluffy towel from the shelf behind him and offering it to the Seeker. Closing his eyes once again, then he silently held out his hands so they could perform the same maneuver as earlier, just this time in reverse. In short order, Rift was out of the tub, dried off, dressed in Wind’s spare clothes (which luckily fit him well), and sat back on the stool. At this point, he was making little shaky gasping noises - still trying hard not to cry, surprisingly. The poor kid. Why was he still fighting it so hard?

“Seeker?”

Warriors’ musings were interrupted by the sound of the bathhouse door slamming open, followed by a frantic voice. Wild’s voice, the Captain recognized. As soon as he heard his nickname, Rift’s head snapped up and his eyes went straight to the gap in the curtain. After some brief running footsteps, Wild burst through, out of breath and tense. “Seeker?” He called again.

As soon as their eyes met, Rift’s face crumpled. He reached out towards Wild with both arms fully extended as he let out a pitiful sob, finally breaking down completely. Wild ran to him and fell to his knees, arms open, and let his protege fall into his embrace. “I’m so sorry,” the Champion murmured as Rift clung to him and began to cry in earnest. “I’m so sorry, I’m here now, it’s okay…”

So that’s what Rift was waiting for. He didn’t feel able to fully let himself go until his safe person was there for him. Though the Seeker obviously trusted Warriors, he just didn’t feel as close to him as he did to Wild. It was a bit of a disconcerting feeling for Warriors to realize that he hadn’t been able to adequately fulfill the older-brother-like role that he was so used to filling. But he shouldn’t regard that as a shortcoming, his voice of reason told him. Despite their similarities, each Link was his own person. It only made sense that they would each gravitate towards different members of the group for mentorship and companionship. And besides, it was just plain impractical to expect himself to bond as closely with all the other Links as closely as he had bonded with Time and Wind. With this in mind, Warriors smiled. Just a day ago, it had been hard to imagine Wild falling so easily into the mature and nurturing role of a mentor, but the proof of his capabilities was right there in front of him. The Captain was glad for Rift.

This was a good opportunity for him to get cleaned up, Warriors decided. Quietly, he gathered up his bath kit and spare clothes and passed through the curtain. 

To Warriors’ surprise, he found Time standing out in the bathhouse proper, shifting from foot to foot restlessly with an anxious expression on his face. He took his position as the eldest of the group very seriously, Warriors knew, but wasn’t always confident in his leadership ability, which meant he was undoubtedly nervous about how he should continue to handle the situation with their Seeker. “He’ll be alright,” Warriors reassured Time. “He’s doing a lot better already.”

Some of the tension left Time’s face. “That’s good,” he replied. “You gonna wash up now?”

“Yeah,” Warriors confirmed. “I’ll be out in a bit, okay?”

“Okay.”

Warriors ducked into one of the other alcoves and got to work. He didn’t need a full bath, just a wipe-down, so he finished relatively quickly and then got redressed. When he emerged from his alcove, he found that the curtain to the one that contained Rift and Wild was now open, and Time had joined them. The Old Man sat on the spare stool a little ways away from the pair, fidgeting with a handkerchief that he was clearly intending to offer once Rift calmed down a bit. Neither of the younger heroes seemed to be averse to Time’s presence so Warriors joined the group as well, sitting down on the rim of the tub. 

It took a few more minutes for Rift to finish crying himself out, eventually pulling away from Wild with a shuddering breath and taking Time’s offered handkerchief to wipe his face. Wild, still kneeling in front of Rift, put one of his hands on his protege’s knee comfortingly. “What happened?” He asked softly. “You had a nightmare?” The Seeker nodded jerkily. “Do you wanna talk about it?” 

Rift shook his head, then opened his mouth and spoke for the first time during this whole ordeal: “No. Just dumb Null stuff.” His voice, quiet even under normal circumstances, was hoarse and barely audible after the abuse his vocal cords had taken with all that screaming earlier.

“It’s not dumb,” Wild refuted gently. “You’ve been through things that most people couldn’t even imagine - it’s a Link thing. We all have nightmares.”

Rift shook his head yet again, hiccuping over a residual sob. “I don’t deserve to be a Link. I shouldn’t even be here with the rest of you.”

“Hey, what did we talk about yesterday?” Wild asked, his voice taking on a bit of a harder edge. “We don’t talk about ourselves like that. Even though we failed at the beginning of our journeys, we still picked ourselves up and made up for it, didn’t we?”

Warriors blinked in surprise. Failed? Was that really how Wild regarded the fact that he’d laid down his life in service of his kingdom and his princess? A knight couldn’t die any more honorably, and the fact that it hadn’t truly been the end for the Champion was even more extraordinary. He wore his scars as a trophy of victory over death. How on earth could he see himself as a failure? 

Wild’s words didn’t console Rift. The Seeker continued shaking his head, tears running down his face as he brought a hand to his mouth to bite at his nails. “But I didn’t,” he insisted, mumbling around the tips of his fingers. “You a-all went on these grand adven- adventures…” he stuttered as he began to cry again. “I didn’t do any of that. All I did was- was get captured, and Z-Zelda had to do everything all by h-h-herself! I can’t even f-fight monsters right! I’m useless!” Poor Rift let out a tear-filled, hitching gasp and scrubbed at his face a little more roughly than was necessary before continuing on his self-deprecating tirade. “I’m not a h-hero. Heroes don’t- don’t have stupid nightmares a-a-and puke and piss thems-s-selves and- and claw themselves bloody over th-them!” The Seeker covered his face with both hands and began to sob somehow even harder than he had been before.

Wild didn’t quite seem to know how to respond to that, but Warriors certainly did. “That’s not true, Seeker,” he said sternly but kindly. “Like Champion said, all of us in the group have nightmares. And it’s not just us Links - people who have experienced bad things often bear scars that can’t be seen. War Sickness, they call it in my time, but it can come from many things. I once knew a man who had it from a boating accident.” Warriors reached out and began to rub a hand up and down Rift’s back. “Whatever you’ve been through, Seeker - no matter how insignificant you seem to think it was - you’re not weak for it having an effect on you.” 

At these words, Rift’s cries began to slow a bit. He peeked out from behind his hands.

“I mean it,” Warriors said firmly. He put on a warm smile to enhance the sincerity of his statement.

Rift was still crying, but he seemed to be at least a little receptive to Warriors’ reassurances. He uncovered his face. “Okay,” he whispered.

“And you are too a hero,” Wild spoke up again. “You gave everything you had to help Zelda, didn’t you?”

Instead of shaking his head, now Rift was nodding. “Yeah,” he sniffled.

“And if you could switch places, and you had to do everything by yourself like you say Zelda did, you’d do it in a heartbeat, right?”

Rift nodded again. “Yeah.”

Wild gave a little smile and patted Rift’s knee. “Seeker, I failed so badly that I died, and my Zelda had to hold back Calamity Ganon all by herself for a hundred years. You can’t say you’re not a hero for leaving your Zelda on her own for a few weeks. Got it?”

The Seeker let out a shaky exhale and wiped his face. “Uh huh.”

“And so what if you didn’t go on some ‘grand adventure’?” Wild continued. “You helped Zelda save your world, and she couldn’t have done it without you. Right?”

“Right,” Rift echoed, voice becoming a little more steady as his tears tapered off.

Wild nodded. “You wouldn’t have been able to wield the Master Sword if you weren’t a chosen hero, Link. That’s something I couldn’t even do when I woke up after a hundred years. I had to earn the ability to wield her, and she took to you right away.”

Rift stared back at his mentor, eyes wide. “Really?”

“Really.”

Wait. Wild had to earn the ability to wield the Master Sword after his hundred-year sleep? After such a noble sacrifice, how could he not have been able to attune to the blade right away? Warriors was incredulous. It was another stark reminder of how different his world was from the worlds the other Links came from. Perhaps this was why Wild regarded himself as a failure, Warriors thought. Or, had once regarded himself as a failure. If his conversation with Rift was any indication, he was working hard to reverse that perception of himself, as well he should. In fact, it was probably why he and Rift clicked so easily. “And even heroes need to lean on others sometimes. Remember what I said? It’s okay to need help,” Warriors reminded Rift.

The Seeker nodded yet again. “Y-yeah”, he hiccupped as the last dregs of his crying left his system.

Rift looked so young like this, Warriors thought. Fifteen was such an odd age. Still a child in many ways, yet adult-like in others. The Captain suddenly recalled their visit to Rift’s village: the Seeker had introduced them to a host of friendly villagers who obviously loved him dearly, yet his home only had a single bed. A fifteen-year-old, alone in the world. No family. Like so many of the other Links, he was likely an orphan. “And everyone needs love and care,” Warriors added gently. “It’s been a long time since someone’s taken care of you, hasn’t it?”

The Seeker shifted in his seat. “Uh huh,” he whispered, eyes downcast and distant. He was quiet for a moment, then lifted his head and turned towards Warriors. “Thank you,” he said, quietly but sincerely, “for, um, for helping me. For taking care of me.” He looked down again.

“Oh, I wasn’t fishing for thanks, Seeker,” Warriors said with a chuckle, “but you’re most welcome. Just like I said earlier, I want to help. I don’t mind doing things like this at all. I practically raised my little brother, you know.”

“You did?” Rift regarded him curiously. Neither he nor Wild seemed to notice the way Time abruptly turned his head towards Warriors.

“I did,” Warriors confirmed with a smile. “In fact, you remind me of him quite a bit.”

“I do?” Rift asked, at the same time that Wild asked, “what’s your brother like?”

“It’s true,” the Captain said. He cast a snide look towards Time, who was staring at him with his eye open wide in shock and apprehension, before continuing. “Well, my brother is clever and resourceful, and he cares deeply for everyone around him. He’s fiercely loyal and always puts others before himself. He’s capable and highly assertive when he needs to be, but underneath that he’s playful and kind and loving. I’m so proud of the man he’s become. He’s all grown up now with a wonderful wife and a place to settle down, and no one deserves that more than he does. I’m sure he’ll make an amazing father someday.” Warriors snuck another look at Time, and saw that the Old Man was now looking down at his own lap, blushing furiously. He had to suppress another chuckle. 

Fortunately for Time, Rift nor Wild noticed his change in demeanor this time either. “That’s high praise, Captain,” Wild said. “I’d agree with your assessment - I see all those traits in our Seeker here too.”

For the first time in what felt like a long time, Rift smiled and actually giggled a little. “Oh, stop!”

Wild laughed too as he jumped to his feet and stretched before holding out his hand to his protege. “Well, I think it's about time we headed back.”

The smile was quickly wiped from Rift’s face and he went pale. “Back to the others?” He whispered.

It was no surprise that the Seeker felt self-conscious about facing the whole group again after everything that had happened tonight. Warriors tried to assuage his fears. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Seeker. We all have nightmares, remember?”

Rift didn’t seem convinced. “Yeah, but…” he squirmed a bit as testament to his emotional discomfort.

“The Captain is right.” A new voice joined the conversation, and Warriors was surprised to see Time stand and address Rift this time. “Seeker…” He hesitated a bit before continuing. “I, um. I had a nightmare just like yours on my wedding night. Accidents and all. If my wife can still love me after that, your friends certainly will.”

Taking Wild’s offered hand and standing slowly, Rift studied Time carefully. “Are you pulling my leg?”

Time shook his head. “Not at all. It’s the gods-honest truth.”

Rift must not have found any trace of deception, because his tone softened when he next spoke. “Okay,” he said. He looked apprehensive, yet hopeful.

It was quiet as the four of them made sure the bathhouse was back in order and that all their personal items had been gathered before making their way back to their lodging. Warriors went out in front and opened the door, not sure what he would find. He was pleasantly surprised by what he saw.

“Oh, you guys are back!” Sky sat on his bedroll, which had been laid out on a sleeping mat in the center of the room. A fresh bedroll was laid out next to his, which he leaned over and patted. “Come on over, Seeker! Champion, we set you up here.” He pointed to the bedroll on the other side of the fresh one, which was indeed Wild’s. 

What a perfect arrangement, Warriors thought. Rift would feel safest in the center of the room, completely surrounded by the others, with his mentor on one side and Sky - who everyone knew gave the best hugs - on the other. True to form, as soon as the Seeker made his way over and nervously sat down on his replacement bedroll, Sky held out his arms and Rift barely hesitated before leaning forward and allowing himself to be enveloped. When Sky released him, he was smiling again.

“Here, Seeker,” Twilight approached the pair, crouched down, and held out small mug. “I brought ya some warm spiced milk from the tavern. Always makes me feel better when I’m outta sorts!”

“Thank you,” Rift said as he took the mug. He took a small sip, and his eyes widened. “This is amazing!”

“I told ya!” 

“Seeker!” Wind excitedly shuffled over from his own bedroll on his knees, holding out a small cloth bag with the words MALO MART emblazoned on it. “I got you a present. Open it, open it!” 

After taking another sip of his milk, Rift took the bag and placed it on his lap. He pulled out a small, round-ish object that fit right in the palm of his hand, covered in bright, multicolored fabric. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a tiny owl plush.

“The saleslady at the Malo Mart called it a squeeze buddy!” Wind explained. “It’s got some kind of chu jelly inside of it, and it’s enchanted to never break or tear. You just squeeze it like this, see?” He pulled a similar-looking item out of his own pocket, but this one resembled a cat instead of an owl. “I got one for myself too!” He squeezed it, demonstrating its pliantness and the way it snapped right back into shape after letting go.

“Oh! Thank you, Sailor,” Rift said as he gave his owl a few experimental squeezes.

“You’re welcome! I saw you chewing on your nails earlier today and, well, I used to do that too, actually. Granny helped me figure out ways to deal with that urge by doing other stuff with my hands. I thought maybe this might help!”

Rift blushed a bit, but his smile remained on his face. “Really?” He squeezed his owl a few more times in quick succession, testing out the feel of it. “I like it."

“I knew you would!” Wind beamed.

“Hey, you guys said that Malo Mart place was open twenty-four hours?” Legend’s voice drifted over from where he was lying on his bedroll on the other side of the room, the head of his ice rod laying in his lap. He craned his neck, trying to get a better look at the squeeze buddies. “I think I wanna buy a few of those too.”

“You’re not going anywhere until you can actually walk properly,” Hyrule, who was sitting next to him, chided. 

“Wait, what happened?” Rift turned towards Legend. “Are you hurt?”

Uh oh. It seemed that Rift didn’t remember his assault on the Vet’s nether regions - which was understandable seeing as he was in a blind panic at the time, Warriors reasoned. How were they going to explain this one?

“Oh, you kicked him in the jewels pretty hard when he tried to wake you up,” Four supplied. He appeared to be sorting through some smithing tools, presumably preparing to repair Time’s armor the next day. “Traveler just finished telling us before you guys got back.” He failed to suppress a snicker.

Predictably, Rift’s face fell. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“Hey, don’t apologize. You didn’t mean to,” Legend waved him off. “Besides, I’ve had worse.”

“Have you really?” Sky asked, looking so sincere that Warriors couldn’t tell if he was genuinely concerned or poking fun. “Because you were crying like a baby when we got back from shopping.” 

“Oh, ha-ha,” Legend snapped as several others in the group laughed. 

Hyrule, perfectly playing into his role of Legend’s counterpart, smiled placatingly. “Seriously, Seeker, don’t feel bad. We probably should’ve anticipated your reaction. But anyway, we’re glad you’re feeling better. Right, Vet?”

“Right,” Legend affirmed, the venom in his voice completely gone.

With a nod, Rift seemed to take the words to heart. “Okay. Thank you.”

There was a beat of silence, and then Sky yawned. “Well! I think I’m ready to call it a night. What does everyone else think?” As murmurs of assent rippled around the room, the Knight put his arm around Rift. “What do you think, Seeker?”

Rift downed the last of his milk and set his mug aside, then looked from Sky to the rest of the room as he gave his owl a few squeezes. “Yeah. I think so,” he decided, putting on a brave smile. Wild, sitting on his other side, reached over and gave his knee a reassuring pat.

“Well, good night everyone,” Warriors said as he found his own bedroll and sat down heavily.

A chorus of echoing sentiments sounded from all the others as Four took the fire poker and spread out the charred logs still burning in the fireplace, dimming the fire’s light before turning in as well. Finally, Warriors allowed himself to relax. As he laid down and pulled his blanket over himself, he watched Sky gently tuck Rift in and murmur a little bedtime prayer, while Wild climbed into his own bedroll and snuggled up close to his protege. It was a heartwarming scene.

Yeah, Warriors thought as he drifted off to sleep, Rift was going to do just fine. He had become the glue that held their group together.