Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Day 1: “Please don’t cry.”/Lamb to the Slaughter

CWs: Major character death, blood and gore, blood sacrifice

Day 3: (Alt) “A smile so bright, he’s the devil in disguise.”

CWs: Gaslighting

Day 5: (Alt) “If all my days are numbered, why am I still counting?”

CWs: Infection, depression, giving up hope

Day 7: (Alt) Viral

CWs: Infection, descriptions of gore

Day 9: Touch/Scalding

CWs: Non-con, non-consensual touching

Day 11: Hidden Injury/Laceration/Forced Reveal

CWs: Blood and injury, description of injuries

Day 13: Never Enough

CWs: Depression, major character death

Day 16: Immortality

Thoughts of suicide

Day 18: Ruins

CWs: Malnourishment

Day 20: (Alt) Jealousy

CWs: Minor stalking

Day 23: Unreality

CWs: Dissociation, panic attacks

Day 25: Lost Faith/Left to Die

CWs: Child death, major character death

Day 28: “Hold my hand.”

CWs: Near death experiences

Day 31: “I hate this job.”

CWs: Childhood trauma, PTSD, mentions of trauma, depression

Chapter Text

Wolfie charged ahead, leading the group of frantic heroes. He barely gave himself any time to track the scent, but the trampled foliage and splashes of blood served to lead them just as well. 

They were fresh out of a fight, practically abandoning it as soon as the daira took Hyrule. They waited long enough for Wind to chug a red potion to heal his broken ankle so he could run with them.

Legend wanted nothing more than to activate his pegasus boots and charge ahead. They knew that Hyrule had to be close, he couldn’t be too far ahead, but Legend also didn’t want to abandon his other brothers in case he needed them. Didn’t help that Time kept a firm eye on him.

After a while of running, the barren wasteland of brown grass and dying trees ended at a jutting cliff face. A cave was carved into it. The opening wasn’t even guarded, which raised immediate red flags.

Why would they do that?

Were the monsters so proud of their prize that they didn’t feel the need to?

Either way, the heroes were able to run in without any resistance.

The ground sloped downward into the earth. The heroes slowed to a walk. Though they were loath to do it, they needed to take it slow so they could better be aware of their surroundings while in enemy territory (though it’s not like the rest of the Traveller’s Hyrule isn’t enemy territory either). Sky was also starting to fall behind. They wanted to save their stamina potions for if when they found Hyrule, so they would have to let Sky’s stamina restore the long way.

The path sank further and further into the ground for seemingly forever. Their boots didn’t have tall heels, but what heel they did have buckled beneath them a few times. The only one not having trouble was Wolfie. His claws clipped loudly against the stone floors, but they still needed his nose in case they encountered a maze.

At some point, the path got steeper, further hindering their progress. 

The deeper they went, the louder the sounds of monsters got.

Growling and seething. Monstrous chatter as they talked excitedly about something. The heroes couldn’t understand their language, but whatever could make monsters so excited most likely did not mean anything good for the heroes. 

Or their missing brother.

The chattering grew louder and louder, until it reached a fever pitch. Then, the corridor opened into a wide room at the end as the corridor veered off to the right. As they approached, they could see that the room was full of monsters. And I mean full of monsters.

There was a line of them in the doorway, but they were too distracted with what was going on in the room to notice the heroes coming up behind them. 

With how low the ceiling was and how tall the monsters were (the tallest daira had to stoop in order to fit), the Links had no chance to see what was going on, and why the monsters were so excited.

Warriors silently gestured to where the corridor continued off to the right. They quickly scurried down that hallway, hoping that this one would bring them back around to the main chamber. Hopefully with a better view and maybe even a direct path to Hyrule.

Of course, when they got Hyrule, they would have to deal with the monsters that filled the room to the brim (it’s important to notice that they have no idea how big that room actually is). But they would deal with that problem when they get there.

Right now, saving the Traveler’s the only thing on their mind.

This corridor sloped upward, but it wasn’t nearly as steep as the main one. Or as long.

After a few minutes, they came across another opening into the main chamber. They crept carefully around the corner, praying that the monsters were so preoccupied with what was happening that they didn’t notice the heroes.

But it wouldn’t matter much if Legend could stay hidden.

As soon as he saw what was happening, Time had to grab his tunic before the Vet could dart out into the opening and put a stop to it. Though, to be honest, there wasn’t much keeping Time from doing the same. His eye burned with anger.

They were in the back of the room, looking out onto a stage. The room was flooded with monsters. Not even Warriors had ever seen so many monsters packed into one space before. 

On stage, a priest spoke his fucked up sermon to the cheering monsters behind an altar. It was raised, three feet above the ground. The top was a slate of obsidian. Flickering torchlight around the room shined against the black stone, revealing grooves etched into it. Archaic symbols and spells. The same etchings continued off the altar and around the stage, in twisting shapes that are all connected. They all led to a pile of grayish ashes. 

On the altar, bound in rope and so still the heroes feared they were too late, was Hyrule.

Wolfie whined. With the sounds of the monsters, Wolfie’s whine sounded monstrous enough that no one so much as batted an eye. 

Well, all except for the prisoner, that is.

Hyrule shuffled around to face them. He was gagged and had a black eye, but his green eyes–as familiar to his brothers as their own–widened in recognition. 

Legend wrapped his hand around his sword. He began to slowly unsheath it, the scraping sound of metal against leather barely audible over the monster noises.

But before he could unsheathe it and kill the monster looming over his successor, a meaty hand clamped around his wrist. Legend glanced back and found a large group of monsters had somehow crept up behind them, and had grabbed his brothers. The moblin right behind Legend picked him up by his wrist and crushed an arm around his middle, binding Legend to the moblin and bruising some of his ribs. 

However, that didn’t stop Legend from fighting back. He and the other heroes clawed at their captors, kicking and screaming for them to let. Them. GO!

Hyrule fought the restraints with renewed strength. He tried to weasel his wrists out of the ropes. They were behind his back, but he quickly learned that the edges of the lines in the rock were sharp. He rubbed the rope against the sharp edges, trying to use them to fray the ropes. 

But it wasn’t going to snap the ropes quick enough. So Hyrule switched tactics. 

After a few tries, he dislocated his thumb, allowing him to slip his wrist out of the restraints. 

He shook off the ropes and sat up, quickly getting to work on the ropes around his ankles. He fumbled with the knot in his hurry. But after a while, he finally managed to hook a finger beneath a loose loop and tugged on it. After some more fumbling, the knot came loose, and Hyrule was able to kick off the ropes. He eased the gag out of his mouth and tossed it to the side. 

But before he could get off the altar, a clawed hand grabbed his shoulder and slammed him back on the altar. Hyrule’s ribs stung from the force. The wind was knocked out of him, and his vision was blurry. He could barely make out the form of the priest standing above him, the torchlight gleaming off a fine metal dagger in his hand.

The priest easily kept Hyrule pinned in his dazed state. After saying a few more ‘words’, the priest brought the knife down on Hyrule’s abdomen and tore.

Hyrule’s yell echoed around the chamber as his brothers fought like wild animals to get out their restraints. 

Blood pooled around Hyrule, leaking into the etchings in the altar. But the priest wasn’t done yet.

He raised his knife and brought it down again. And again. And again. And again.

The heroes screamed almost as loud as Hyrule. They grew more and more frenzied. Wild accidentally kicked Twilight (who’d transformed back in an attempt to surprise the monster holding him. It didn’t work), but the Rancher didn’t care.

Hyrule’s blood leaked out from his body, slowly pouring into the etchings. When those etchings on the altar were full, Hyrule’s lifeblood spilled off the altar, into the etchings on the floor. 

The priest, satisfied with his work, raised the bloodied knife. The monsters cheered, celebrating as the blood filled the etchings and the stench of dark magic in the air became so thick that the heroes of light were practically choking on it.

Hyrule, weakened and bleeding out, fell still on the altar.

“NO!” Legend screamed. 

He grabbed the moblin’s thumb and tore it and the arm away with such force that, on a regular hylian, their shoulder would’ve been dislocated. As it was, the moblin’s arm was merely knocked away. But it was still enough for Legend to drop out of its grip, hitting the ground and darting towards his successor before the moblin could reach for him again.

Legend knew he should help the others get free, but the only thing he could think of was Hyrule.

The priest, oddly, didn’t interfere when Legend ripped the gag off Hyrule’s mouth. Instead, he just cheered and chanted with the other monsters.

Legend rifled through his bag, trying desperately to find a red potion or a fairy or anything that could possibly help.

For the first time since he was nine, Legend found himself praying to Hylia. Desperately begging her for mercy that she would save Hyrule.

Warriors was next to break free. He kicked back the monster holding him and unsheathed his sword. He spun around and buried it hilt deep in the monster. He quickly saved his brothers before charging out and killing the priest with more brutality than necessary. Normally. This time around, the others thought it wasn’t brutal enough.

Not finding anything in his bag, Legend gave up looking. He took Hyrule’s right hand in his, and caressed his brother’s hair with the other. 

“Please don’t cry.” Hyrule said weakly, noticing the tears building in Legend’s eyes.

The other heroes gathered around Hyrule. They borrowed through their own bags, looking for anything they could use. 

Warriors pulled out a spare tunic and began to rip it to shreds. He gave half of it to Time, and they began doing their best to bandage the wounds and put pressure on them in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. 

Wind and Four sobbed, holding onto Hyrule’s other hand. While Four’s eyes were normally gray, with flashes of red, blue, green, and violet as the colors battled for control and influence, right now the irises were a solid red as he cried. Not even his fellow colors could console Red.

After fruitless searching, the rush for healing items stopped. No one had anything. Nothing that could help Hyrule’s grievous wounds.

It was a lost cause.

The monsters jeered and spat at the heroes as they gathered around and grabbed onto Hyrule. None of them even tried to hide their tears. 

Wind had now crawled onto the altar and had his head pressed against Hyrule’s chest. Hyrule carded his hand weakly through Wind’s fluffy hair. Time, Wars, and Twi tried to stop the blood from filling the etchings, but it was useless. There was just too much of it.

They gave up, dropping the rags they had been using to smother the blood. They joined the others and grabbed a part of Hyrule–his side, his ankle, anything.

“I’m sorry." Hyrule murmured. “Nev’r meant for this to hap’n.” 

“It’s not your fault.” Sky assured him, rubbing the back of the hand that was in Wind’s hair.

“I love you.” Hyrule said. His own tears poured out of his eyes.

“We love you too.” Everyone who could talk through their sobs said. 

Legend kissed Hyrule’s forehead. 

Hyrule’s eyes drifted closed, tears collecting on his eyelashes. He had a soft smile on his face, and the hand playing with Wind’s hair stilled. 

The heroes sobbed.

Legend buried his face in his successor’s hair and Wind hugged Hyrule’s body to him. Not even stoic Time could keep himself from crying. 

The sobbing and the dark magic in the air–growing heavier and heavier the further Hyrule’s blood spread–choked the heroes. They coughed and struggled to breathe. The dark magic soaked their strength out of them, or maybe that was just the crying.

Through their befuddled minds, the heroes barely stopped to register what the increase of dark magic meant until it was too late.

“Guys.” Warriors sniffed. “We need to go. Now.”

The captain watched as the blood reached the end of the vigils. Scary patterns were now full of Hyrule’s lifeblood.

The earth rumbled, shaking the heroes out of their reverie. They glanced up and looked around, wondering what was happening.

Twilight pulled Wind off of Hyrule and pulled his body into his arms.

Wind and Four held onto Twilight’s pelt. Legend grabbed Warriors’ scarf and let the captain lead him. 

But before they could all go into the corridor, there was a loud roar that shook the mountain on top of them.

Wild froze in his tracks. “No. It can’t be…”

He spun around, the others following him to see what had their Champion so on edge. 

Rising from the blood in the etchings were flecks of pink and black. It suddenly became even harder to breathe, if you can believe that. Now, the air burned as they inhaled it, weakening them even further. The monsters cheered so loudly, the heroes winced as the sound assaulted their eardrums.

More and more pink and black flecks rose from the blood until it became a storm of the stuff. The heroes coughed and their lungs burned and they called for Wild to follow them, but he was frozen, watching his worst fear rematerialize before him.

“Twi.” Wild squeaked. He reached out a hand but the only one that was there to take it and squeeze it reassuringly was Time. He stepped up to Wild and rubbed his shoulder.

The flecks of Malice flurried together in a storm, forming a monster that roared. It had a boar’s head and black tusks. The Malice that made up the monster filled the room, burning the heroes that it touched, and even the monsters.

Then Calamity Ganon roared again. Wild felt weak and insignificant as Calamity Ganon busted up into the mountain. Monsters squealed as the mountain fell down on top of them.

“We need to go.” Warriors repeated. “Wild. Snap out of it.”

Twilight led the charge, running back through the corridor, avoiding the falling boulders. Time tugged Wild after him. Wild stumbled on the first few steps, but got his feet beneath him and soon, he was the one pulling Time after him.

The heroes raced out of the chamber. When they came to the turn, they found the entrance to the main chamber blocked by a boulder, meaning that they wouldn’t have to worry about monsters.

Going back up the steep incline was harder than going down it. They slowed down significantly, but they pushed on anyway. They couldn’t afford to let it slow them down.

When the incline softened, they charged up the hill fast for the remaining stretch. 

The heroes sprinted out of the exit before the whole mountain collapsed behind them. The heroes moved out of the way of the collapsing mountain and turned around, watching the monster made of hatred punch its way out of the mountain. 

It curled around the crumbling remnants in a motion that was nauseatingly familiar to Wild. 

Wild collapsed to his knees, not knowing what to feel. 

His best friend died and his blood was used to drive Ganon even further into power-fueled insanity. So far that Ganon lost his physical form and became the very being that killed all of Wild’s friends and family. Even killed Wild himself.

Miniature roars that were nowhere near equal to Calamity Ganon’s rose up across the land as the monsters of this era rose up to their master’s call. 

“All the monsters in this era are going to be rushing here.” Sky said. “If we know Ganon, he’ll be leading sieges to every town in Hyrule, maybe even beyond. We need to get to Dawn and Aurora and warn them of what’s coming.”

But before the heroes could so much as turn in the direction of the North Palace, a portal tore through the fabric of space and time right in front of them. Wild, who was still staring up at Calamity Ganon in horror, was the only one who didn’t notice it.

“We gotta get outta here.” Twilight said grimly.

“C’mon Wild.” Time gently pulled the Champion to his feet and pulled him gently towards the portal, where the others were lining up to go in. 

On the other side of the portal, was Wild’s Hyrule.

“We’re in Sanidin Park Ruins.” Wild numbly announced.

They were in front of the horse statue. Behind them stretched all of the Era of the Wild. Mountains and rolling hills stretched behind them, with Satori Mountain behind them. 

It was the most beautiful place in Hyrule.

A perfect place to bury their brother.

“He always did love my era.” Wild murmured as a few of them used some of Legend’s many shovels to dig a grave in front of the horse statue.

They couldn’t build a coffin, so they wrapped Hyrule in his blanket. Hyrule once told them that it was the last thing from his mother, the last thing from Calatia. She had made him the quilt not long before he was chased out of Calatia into Hyrule.

While Warriors and Twilight dug the grave, Wild pulled a sizable stone out of the framework of the park ruins. Since this was his Hyrule, he decided to be the one to carve his brother’s gravestone. That way, people would be able to read the gravestone and know who’s buried there. Of course, they might think that Hyule is Wild, considering they have the same name, but Wild didn’t care about that.

In the end, Hyrule was lowered into the ground wrapped in his mother’s quilt. They put his sword and shield on top of him. Then they filled in the grave and Wild shoved the gravestone in the dirt at Hyrule’s head. 

The gravestone was sloppily made, but it was legible. 

Here lies

Link

The Hero of Hyrule

It’s dangerous to go alone. Never underestimate the strength of your friends.

They made camp there and stayed by Hyrule’s side for days. They refused to leave until the next portal appeared. Before they left, Wild placed the travel medallion at the park.

Then, every time the heroes appeared in Wild’s era, they would travel to the park ruins. They would stop and give Hyrule an update on their adventure, telling him everything. Even after the adventure, Wild would travel to Hyrule’s grave and talk to him.

Every time, it was impossibly hard to get the Hero of the Wild to leave his brother’s grave, no matter what reason you gave him.

Chapter Text

The second Ganondorf waltzed into her father’s throne room, Zelda hated him.

She can’t explain it, but there was just this burning sensation in her stomach. It felt like every part of her was just absolutely repulsed by this man. So much that it physically hurt her to be in a room with Ganondorf for an extended period of time.

Zelda was the only one who felt this way.

Her father, the guards, the members of the court… While Zelda’s very being rejected this man, everyone else was completely infatuated by Ganondorf.

The guards were having a good time learning from the gerudo king, adding new skills and moves to their repertoire every time Ganondorf showed up at the training arena. The lords and ladies of the court loved the way he always had a solution for whatever problem they had. Zelda’s own father even gushed to her about how kind and respectful Ganondorf was.

Zelda would just mumble ‘yes father.’ and would push her food around her table, ignoring how the very word ‘Ganondorf’ would turn over Zelda’s stomach.

Of course, every time that Zelda brought up how she felt whenever she and Ganondorf were in the same room, her father would tell her that she was just being greedy for attention and would brush her off like a fly. It always hurts her feelings. Zelda couldn’t understand it. How in the world could they like this man? She just couldn’t comprehend the idea of looking at him and feeling anything other than hatred and complete rejection of his being.

“Impa?” Zelda asked one day during ocarina classes. “How do you feel about Ganondorf?” If her Sheikah bodyguard liked Ganondorf, then maybe she was just greedy for attention. 

Impa set down her ocarina and hummed. “Why do you ask?”

“Please, just answer the question.” 

Impa nodded. “Well… I think he’s an odd character. Merging Hyrule and Gerudo would be a smart move, but I can’t help the feeling that he’s hiding something more. What it is, I can’t say.”

Ganondorf having an ulterior motive was one thing. Ganondorf having an ulterior motive and managing to hide it from Impa was a completely different thing.

“Good.” Zelda sighed. “I felt like I was the only one who saw something wrong with the man and it was driving me crazy.”

“You’re not crazy.” Impa assured her. “Sheikah and Hyrule’s princesses always seem to have a better grasp on the world around us. It would make sense that we’re the only ones who can see something wrong with Ganondorf.”

“But doesn’t that concern you?” Zelda pressed. “That his man sets off our sensors, but manages to convince everyone else he’s the best thing since sliced bread? Doesn’t that make him dangerous?”

“It makes him very dangerous.” Impa agreed. 

“But then we need to tell father!”

“No.”

“Why?!”

“Becuase your father is not as good at hiding his emotions as we are.” Impa explained. “If we tell your father, he will immediately become distrustful of Ganondorf. Now while that sounds like a good thing, we don’t know Ganondorf’s motives. I would like to keep him close to your father for a little while longer so we can uncover those hidden motives.”

“Okay.” Zelda nodded meekly.

But it took them several weeks before they actually found out what Ganondorf’s motive was.

Zelda had a dream. It was the kind that she remembered after she woke up, but she was still sure to write it down in her diary. Just in case she forgot it by the time that morning came around. She felt that Impa would like to know what the dream was.

In the dream, Zelda found herself on a front balcony looking out over Hyrule. She had watched as dark, menacing clouds rolled in from over the Gerudo Desert. The clouds threatened to suffocate the kingdom. The clouds caused Zelda to cough, and they blotted out all light as they filled the entire sky.

And then there was a light. It broke through the clouds and shone down on the distant forest. A figure, dressed in green with a glowing green stone and a fairy, emerged from the forest to bask in that light. 

Zelda couldn’t make out their details, but as they traveled across Hyrule Field towards her, the dark clouds lessened. It got easier for her to breathe.

By the time the figure made it to the front of the castle, directly beneath Zelda, the clouds had fully cleared and the sky was blue again. The figure waved up at her with a childish innocence. 

And then she woke up.

Zelda could never tell if Impa was humoring her, or if she genuinely cared about Zelda’s opinions. Zelda was only 11 years old. Every other adult seems to think she can’t think for herself, so it would make sense if Impa shared their opinions. But Impa always acted like Zelda’s opinions were as valid as a full grown adult’s. 

So when Zelda told Impa about her dream, Impa waited until she had fully explained it, and helped her try and figure out what the dream could mean.

“I think the clouds symbolize Ganondorf.” Zelda said. “The figure must be some sort of hero. We need to find him.”

“Sure, but according to the dream, he’s the one who’s supposed to find you.” Impa debunked. “Besides, you know the dangers of the forest. No one who goes in comes out again. I actually need some time to process that people apparently live in the Lost Woods.”

“So we need to do more waiting?” Zelda pouted.

“It appears so.” Impa nodded. “Patience is a virtue required of a good queen.”

“I know.” Zelda sighed. “I’m just sick of not being able to punch Ganondorf in the face.”

Impa gave a small, uncharacteristic smile.

One day, Zelda was in the courtyard; her favorite spot in the castle. Ganondorf was talking with her father. It’s not like she wanted to be in the same room as that man, but she found herself peeking in through a window to watch the gerudo as he approached her father.

Then she heard someone’s footsteps behind her. 

It wasn’t Impa–Zelda never heard her coming. So it must’ve been a guard, but what for?

She turned around and gasped. Standing in front of her was a boy around her age. He wore a matching green tunic and hat. He had blond hair and blue eyes. A blue fairy fluttered over his shoulder. 

“Who are you? How did you get past the guards?” Zelda didn’t get an answer. “A–a fairy? Then…are you from the forest?”

Could he be…?

The boy nodded.

“This might sound odd, but… Do you have the Spiritual Stone of the Forest?” Zelda tried not to sound too eager. “A shining green stone?”

The boy nodded and pulled it out of his pocket. It matched the same teardrop shape of the stone from Zelda’s dream. So he really is the hero!

“I have to admit, I’ve been waiting for you.” Zelda started. “You have no reason to believe me, but I had this dream… In the dream, dark storm clouds were billowing over the land of Hyrule. But suddenly, a ray of light shot out of the forest, parted the clouds, and lit up the ground… The light turned into a figure holding a green shining stone, followed by a fairy. 

“I knew that it was a prophecy that someone would come from the forest. Yes, I thought you might be the one…” Then proper manners caught up to Zelda like a wagon crash and she blushed fiercely. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry! I got so caught up in my story that I didn’t even properly introduce myself!” Oh father would be so embarrassed. 

“I am Zelda, princess of Hyrule.” Zelda bowed her head respectfully. “What is your name?”

The boy cleared his throat. “Link.”

“Link…” Zelda mused. “Strange, even though I’ve never heard it, it sounds somehow…familiar…”

Maybe it was the childish innocence/stupidity that her father and the members of court always used as an excuse to exclude Zelda, but she trusted Link. While her being told her to reject Ganondorf, it also told her that Link could be trusted.  

Besides, he hadn’t rejected her prophecy dream yet. That was better progress than Zelda had had with any adult other than Impa.

So she told him the story of the Sacred Realm. How the golden goddesses created the earth and then left, leaving three golden triangles at their point of exit. She also told him how the Triforce would reflect the heart of anyone who wields it. How it would grant the wish of anyone who can obtain the full thing.

Finally, she told him about the entrance to the Sacred Realm, sealed by the Master Sword and the Door of Time. Zelda didn’t tell Link, but she felt like he would be able to draw the Master Sword–something not many people can claim to be able to do.

Then, after Zelda had told Link everything he needed to know, she stepped aside and let him peer through the window at Ganondorf. 

“The other element of my dream, the dark clouds… I believe they symbolize that man in there!” Zelda said as Link stepped up to the window. “Do you see him? That man with the evil eyes? That is Ganondorf, the leader of the gerudo. They hail from the desert to the west. Though he swears allegiance to my father, I feel he is not sincere. I know the dark clouds symbolize that man!”

A few moments later, Link gasped and dropped below the window sill. 

“What is it?” Zelda asked, dropping down beside him. “Did he see you?”

Link nodded. 

“Don’t worry, he has no idea what we’re planning!”

After a while of waiting, he glanced up over the window sill and stood back up. Zelda followed him, seeing that Ganondorf had moved out of sight of the window.

“I told my father about my dream…” Zelda continued. “He didn’t believe that it was a prophecy. But I can sense that man’s ambitions! Ganondorf must be after the Triforce and the Sacred Realm. Which is why he came to Hyrule to claim it. He wants to rule Hyrule–no… the whole world!” It sounded outlandish, even to her own ears, but everything in Zelda told her that she was right. It wasn’t childish delusions of wanting to be a hero, it was the blood of the goddess reacting against Ganondorf.

And Link still believed her.

“Link!” Zelda pleaded. “We are the only ones who can protect Hyrule!”

Link nodded firmly. He was with her.

As much as Zelda wanted to join Link on his adventure to find the last two Spiritual Stones, she was a princess and as such, she couldn’t leave the castle. 

But she had made her first real friend. 

Zelda didn’t count her friendships with the children of the nobles. Her father made her play with them. It was all manufactured. If Zelda became friends with the nobles’ children, then those children are more likely to have higher positions in the government as Zelda comes of age.

Even as a younger child than she was right now, Zelda knew all the tricks in the book. She knew when she was being manipulated, or when people were trying to earn her favor for a higher government position. Zelda blamed it on Impa, who was teaching her in the ways of the Sheikah ever since she was old enough to learn. But Impa said that it was Zelda’s natural intuition.

Link was the first time Zelda was allowed to make a friend for herself.

And she enjoyed their friendship.

When he would visit, he would teach her games he played in the forest, he would tell her about his life in the forest, and they would play their ocarinas together. 

Impa would supervise with a kind smile. It was clear that she was happy with how Zelda had managed to find a friend as much as Zelda was.

Zelda was also happy to have found someone else not completely charmed by Ganondorf.

As the days went on, Zelda was forced to watch as Ganondorf sweet talked his way higher and higher up the food chain. Zelda noticed that he would artfully dodge around the union of Hyrule and Gerudo.

Even though that was the whole reason he came here.

And of course, Zelda was the only one who saw a problem with this.

Ganondorf just kept creeping higher and higher up the ranks and closer and closer to her father. And Zelda could do nothing but watch.

And then one day, Ganondorf snapped.

Even though Zelda knew that he didn’t have any of the Spiritual Stones, Ganondorf progressed with his plan and killed her father.

Gerudo thieves charged the castle, keeping the guards too preoccupied to deal with the real threat. During the siege, someone must’ve knocked over a brazier or something because the castle was soon going up in flames.

It was up to Impa to get Zelda out of the castle.

Zelda clung to Impa as she jumped from the balcony. They left Ganondorf behind. This usually smug but pleasant face was now twisted into an evil grin. As if he had already won.

Impa landed expertly and ran to the stables. Thankfully some stable hand had saddled their horse, likely preparing the princess’ means of escape as soon as they noticed the castle was under attack.

Impa sat Zelda on the horse and swung up behind her. With a loud “Hyah!” Impa snapped the reins and they burst out of the stable just as Ganondorf was getting to the stable. They almost ran him over, and Zelda had to hide the displeasure that they failed.

The castle bridge was up, but as soon as the guard saw them coming, he and his fellows started cranking it open desperately. As it lowered for them, Zelda gasped.

“It’s Link!” She shouted over the storm to be heard. “Impa! We need to bring him!” 

“It’s too dangerous!” Impa shouted back. “Ganondorf’s right behind us!”

Zelda felt guilty as they charged past Link. But maybe there was still something she could do… Zelda had been clutching the Ocarina of Time like a lifeline ever since the gerudo attacked. It comforted her because if she had the ocarina in her hands, then that meant that Ganondorf didn’t.

But right now, Link needed it. So with a mighty swing of her arm, the Ocarina of Time flew over Link’s head and landed in the moat behind him. She held eye contact with her only friend and begged that he knew that she was sorry and that she believed in him.

And then he was gone.

“Are you sure about this, Your Highness?” Impa asked.

Zelda nodded. “It is the only way to hide from Ganondorf.”

Impa nodded, and took a pair of scissors to Zelda’s hair. 

As she cut, Zelda ruminated on everything that had happened in the past 24 hours. Because there was a lot.

The gerudo sieged the castle, Ganondorf killed her father, she and Impa escaped, she left the Ocarina of Time to Link (she still didn’t even know what had happened to him after she left), Impa brought Zelda to a Sheikah safe house on the edge of the kingdom, and Zelda had decided to go undercover as a Sheikah boy to avoid Ganondorf’s suspicions. 

Of course, Zelda had been fully aware of what Ganondorf wanted to do since the moment she first laid eyes on him. She had known him to be nothing but an egotistical man willing to do anything to elevate himself and get him closer to his goal of world domination.

The only problem was that Zelda had been the only one to recognize the danger.

She had told her father multiple times about her suspicions. And yet every time, she was dismissed. 

Zelda was 11 years old. She was a child.

As far as any adult in her life other than Impa was concerned, she didn’t have the ability to think for herself. Much less for the benefit of the kingdom.

But what if they had listened? What if Impa had spoken up to her father? Would they have been able to do something about Ganondorf? Or would Ganondorf had just come back with the forces to overwhelm Hyrule like today?

Zelda knew that Ganondorf would’ve still tried to gain the Triforce. But maybe if her father had believed her, he would still be alive.

Zelda sniffed as Impa cut her hair.

But instead he had been charmed by the perfect illusion of kindness and charisma. An illusion that had hidden the worst of evils from everyone but a child.

But who would believe a child?

Chapter Text

Red, Blue, Green…

All that was left was Vio.

Vio wasn’t an idiot. Far from it. And even then, you didn’t need to be a genius to read the writing on the wall.

Vio was next.

And he still didn’t know what could be causing the Infection.

Shadow was doing his best, reconnecting with some old Dark World contacts and answering any of Vio’s questions involving dark magic. But they still weren’t making any headway in finding any dark magic wielders that could help them figure out what was happening.

Of course, the black blood the other Colors had developed was a clear sign of something involved with The Shadow (not Vio’s boyfriend, the evil time-traveling lizard that the writer needs to find a better name for). But The Shadow was dead! On top of that, the last time any of them had been in direct contact with it had been two years ago!

Was it like a virus? Did whatever caused this sleep inside Vio and his brothers for those two years before activating and taking over their bodies? But that still begged the question of how did it get inside their bodies to begin with?

Link had never been injured by The Shadow. At least, no injuries that broke skin. Besides, they’d figured out that The Shadow Infected monsters by way of a spell. As far as they knew, not only did The Shadow never cast this spell on the heroes, the spell also worked instantaneously. So the other colors would’ve been Infected within minutes, not years.

But maybe the spell worked differently on heroes because of the Hero’s Spirit? Link didn’t have the Triforce (at least not that he knows of), so it must be the spirit. But even then, they hadn’t seen The Shadow cast that spell, it would’ve been obvious, and Link and other heroes would’ve been able to put a stop to it.

Then there’s also the question of why the Colors were being slowly Infected one by one. Granted, the time between each Color succumbing to the Infection was decreasing, but still! Why not all at once?

There were a lot of questions that Vio for once didn’t have the answers to. More than ever, he wished the other heroes were here. Partly because he wanted to know if they were also being affected by the same Infection, partly because he wanted more people to bounce ideas off of, but mostly because he just missed them and wanted to cry in their arms again.

“Vio, you can’t stay holed up in here forever.” Zelda said. 

Vio barely looked up from his book. He had taken up two separate tables in the castle library that he had pushed together to make one. Books, notes, pencils, and various unfinished snacks were strewn around the tables. Zelda had given him full access to the library; day and night; and that included the restricted (and very limited) section on dark magics. 

Vio shrugged. “I have Shadow to keep me company and make sure I eat.”

Said hero was currently slumped over a nearby beanbag chair, snoring with a book camped over his nose.

At least Vio knew he was breathing.

“It’s not healthy.” Zelda tried. “You know how important it is to take a break.”

But Vio couldn’t. His clock was ticking. 

But he didn’t say this to Zelda. Vio knew that she was well aware of the little time Vio had left. Vio moved a book over the sheet of blood samples he’d taken from himself ever since Green was Infected. The blood had steadily been getting darker. Vio’s fingers were covered in band-aids.

“Please Vio.” Zelda begged. “I swear that your work will all be here when you return. The Picori festival is coming up soon, I’m sure everyone would appreciate your help.”

Ah. The golden word.

Zelda knew that Link had never been able to resist helping out when needed. His Colors were no different.

Vio sighed. He slipped a bookmark into his book and slid it closed. “Alright.”

Zelda beamed. “Thank you!” She kissed him on his temple.

Vio stood up from the table and walked over to his sleeping boyfriend. As cute as he was, a tendency for mischief and chaos was also a shared trait amongst the Colors. Vio picked up the book, making sure it was still open. Then, he snapped the book closed as loudly as possible, right above Shadow’s nose.

Shadow startled awake, cursing at the rude awakening. Then he realized what had happened and glared at Vio, who was smirking at him. 

“C’mon Shadow, we’ve gotta help prepare the town for the Picori festival.”

Shadow slumped back on the beanbag. “First you wake me up rudely, and now you’re forcing me to do something I don’t want to? I thought you loved me.”

Vio rolled his eyes. He’d say ‘don’t be so dramatic’, but Shadow was always like this. So he just grabbed Shadow’s arm and dragged him off the beanbag. Shadow, being a little shit, remained limp all the way out of the library. Zelda followed, clearly trying not to laugh. Vio had to threaten to dump Shadow down the library steps to get the teen to stand up.

As soon as they entered Hyrule Town, they were mobbed by children.

“Vio!” Zill cried, still rocking his chronically runny nose. “Do you want to play with us?”

“Yeah! Play with us!” Candy took up the cry. “We can play Hide-and-Seek!”

“I would love to.” Vio said. “But I need to help people get ready for the festival.”

“Aw…” The children visibly deflated. 

“When is Red coming back? He’ll play with us.” Erik said, not noticing how the trio of teenagers flinched at the name.

“Yeah, where’s Red?” 

“We miss him.”

“How much longer will he be gone?”

“Sorry.” Vio tried to hide his emotions. “Red, Green, and Blue are very busy. There’s a lot they need to do in Labrynna. But if you ask me; I think they’re just stalling and are too busy playing games and listening to storytellers than actually doing their work.” Of course, the other Colors weren’t in Labrynna. But the children didn’t know that. They wouldn’t be able to understand why they were gone. Even if they did, Vio didn’t want the children to be scared of him. 

“Are you going to go to Labrynna?” Joel asked. “To bring them back?”

“I’ll be joining them soon, yes.” Vio welcomed Shadow’s hand as it clutched his own.

“I’ll play with you.” Zelda spoke up, diverting the conversation away, even though it was clear she was as shaken as Vio was. “Who will be ‘it’ to begin with?”

“You!” Leila grinned, pointing at the princess. “You need to count to 20!”

“Don’t forget to say ‘Castor Wilds’ as you count!” Candy reminded her. “And cover your eyes!”

Zelda obliged, raising her hands to hide her eyes. “One Castor Wilds… Two Castor Wilds…”

The children giggled as they scattered. When Zelda finished counting, she squeezed Vio’s shoulder before going after the children.

“Are you okay?” Shadow asked.

“As okay as I can be.” Vio sighed. “But we have a job to do. Zelda’s keeping the children preoccupied, so we can put up decorations!”

“I don’t like putting up decorations.” Shadow pouted, slumping forward. 

Vio tugged him forward. “Aw, but you’re so good at it! It’s not like anyone else in town can just fly up to hang the banner.”

“Yeah…” Shadow straightened, his ego successfully bolstered. “I am pretty awesome like that.”

Vio rolled his eyes and they walked further into town. 

“Father!” Vio waved as he approached. 

His father looked up from where he had been helping organize the decorations committee. “Vio! Shadow! I assume you want to help?”

“No.” Shadow shook his head. “He wants to help. I’m being forced against my will.”

Vio’s father laughed. “Well, I’m glad you’re here. Can you help put up some flags?”

Vio nodded. His father handed him the bundles of colorful flags that the town reused every year as well as a map of the town, with the desired locations marked down on it. Vio let Shadow lead him through the town as they hung the banners. Whenever they went to hang up another banner, they had to spend several minutes untangling them. Something Shadow loved to complain about.

It didn’t take long before they had hung up all of their designated banners and were heading back to town square for more to do. They spent the rest of the day hanging banners, helping vendors set up their booths, moving flower pots around the roads, and keeping the children entertained and out of the adults’ way. 

“Are you going to participate in the sword tournament, Vio?” Harrison asked while they were taking a snack break; because running around playing games took a lot out of you.

“Uh…” Vio happened to glance up just in time to catch the scornful gaze of a guard. While the children just thought Vio’s fellow Colors were in Labrynna, the guards knew better. After Red’s rampage, they had been sure to keep the guard informed, just in case an Infected hero threatened a town instead of natural wildlife. 

Needless to say, the knights were as friendly towards Vio as Legend’s knights were to him.

They didn’t like Vio hanging around in town, much less around the children, which was understandable. They treated him like a lit bomb, which is also understandable. 

But Vio was keeping careful track of his Infection, and didn’t want to spend the rest of his life quarantined from the people he loved. It’s not like the guards could do anything without angering Zelda or the general public who didn’t know what had happened to their heroes.

Even still, the knights refused to let someone with darkening blood participate in the sword tournament. 

“Not this year.” Vio shook his head. “But I hear there’s a few strong contenders this year.”

Thankfully, none of them were actually minish sorcerers in disguise looking to steal the Light Force back from Zelda.

He checked.

“Aw.” Harrison sulked. “But I like watching you fight.”

“But don’t worry. I’ll be participating in the tournament.” Shadow grinned, revealing his fangs as he wrapped an arm around Vio’s shoulder and leaned his weight against the purple hero. “I’m much cooler than this loser.”

Vio chuckled, resuming his flower crown braiding with the girls. “You can’t use any magic in the tournament.”

“Pfft!” Shadow waved away that statement. “I don’t need magic! I’m Link’s shadow! I’m just as good, if not better than the four of you combined.”

“Wow, so humble.” Vio said dryly, but with a smile. “Almost reminds me of us before our second adventure.”

Shadow flicked Vio on the back of the head, causing the hero and surrounding kids to laugh. 

Shadow sulked. “You mock me? Oh woe is me!” With that, he flopped dramatically into Vio’s lap. Vio just moved his flower crown out of the way and rolled his eyes. He tied off the last of the flowers and dropped the crown onto Shadow’s head, the brilliant colors of the flowers stark against his boyfriend’s dark purple hair and pale complexion.

Shadow stayed in Vio’s lap, but adjusted his head so he could properly wear the flower crown without crushing the flowers. Then, he reached for a nearby patch of flowers and decided to weave his own crown–with Vio’s help, of course; this was Shadow’s first time weaving flowers. He was careful with his claws, to avoid cutting the delicate stems.

By the end of the day, Vio had realized what Zelda had done, as he was too tired from hanging banners, running around with the children, and flower-weaving to go back to studying. 

When he got back to his and his brothers’ shared room, he wrapped the flower crown Shadow had made of him out of red, blue, and green flowers, and set it on the desk. Tomorrow, he might press the flowers between his books for safekeeping, but he wanted to enjoy the colors while they were still fresh. 

Even though they blended into the colors of the room around them.

Link’s Colors are were really into color coding everything. Though to be fair, it lessened the fights over whose was whose, saving their father more than a few headaches. Though it didn’t save him because raising four traumatized heroes who loved arguing with each other was quite the task to ask of any one man.

Thank Hylia for their grandpa.

After getting ready for bed, Vio heard a knock on the door.

“Yes?” He asked, choosing the book to read before bed. This one wasn’t about dark magic, but rather a fiction about pirates. 

Vio’s grandpa poked his head into the room. “Sorry to bother you, Vio, but I was wondering if you would like to help me forge the sword for the tournament winner tomorrow?”

Vio smiled. “Yes grandpa, I would like that very much.”

His eyes wrinkled, and Vio could only assume that under the white beard and mustache, his grandpa was smiling. “Good. I look forward to that. Good night, Vio. I love you.”

“Love you too, grandpa.”

Then his grandpa left and let Vio crawl into bed with his book.

As upset as Vio was at not making any progress in the Infection problem, he was more than happy to help his grandfather. Forging was one of the things that Link had loved when he was one person. And when he was four, every part of him loved it as well.

Vio, like his grandpa, tried to ignore the lack of the three others as they worked. 

It was a rhythm they’d mastered over the years of Link apprenticing under his grandpa. Even though many years have passed, Master Smith was still the greatest blacksmith in the land. 

His grandpa will always tell Link or his Colors that they were better than him, but they never believed him. No one could be better than Master Smith.

When they were done, Master Smith called it the best blade he’d ever made.

Probably because it was the sword he would forge with his grandson.

Vio hopes that Shadow wins the sword tournament, to keep the accidentally sacred sword in the family. 

They were both efficient blacksmiths, and working together they were that much faster. They were done by lunchtime, just in time for Vio’s father to tell him of a monster camp on Mount Crenel.

His father might not have meant to pass the job onto Vio, but Vio sprang at the opportunity. He was a hero. If he was going to turn evil at some point, he wanted to do as much good as he could with the time he had left. Vio managed to convince his father to let him deal with the monsters, probably only because Shadow was also going.

“Be careful.” The captain said as they swung their swords on their shoulders.

“Don’t worry, I will.” Vio smiled before leaving the house, Shadow floating along beside him.

Vio let himself get lost in the mundaneness of travel. Stopping every few hours to rest and eat snacks to keep his energy up, the steady left right motion of his footsteps.

It wasn’t lost on him that his company was different from who he was used to, but he tried not to let it show. But if he found a cool rock and turned around with the name of one of his many brothers on his tongue, Shadow never mentioned it.

Legend and Hyrule had a lot more monsters casually on the roads in their times, but Four was a solid third place. Shadow and Vio were kept busy dealing with the monsters along the way. The knights usually kept the roads clear–especially with the festival so close–and after the defeat of The Shadow, the number of monsters had been going down. But there were still plenty of monsters to keep the heroes on their toes.

When they made it to the bottom of Mount Crenel, Vio equipped the grip ring before climbing.

Unlike Legend, Four never really liked having things on his hands. 

Shadow, the show-off, flew beside Vio. As Vio climbed, Shadow gave extremely unhelpful ‘you’re almost there!’ comments that made Vio want to punch him in the face. Then again, he did accurately warn Vio when boulders were heading towards him and which way to dodge.

The monster camp was about halfway up the mountain, thankfully well away from Melari’s mines. But Vio’ll be sure to check up on him and the minish after they took care of the monsters. 

There were a few darknuts, crows, chuchus, and of course; acro-bandits were sticking their heads out of the ground, looking around furtively. 

“How about you take care of the crows?” Vio asked. “Since you can fly and I can’t?”

Shadow nodded. “After I take care of them, I’ll help you with the darknuts.”

“Be careful.” Vio told Shadow.

“Right back at ya.” Shadow winked. “On your signal.”

The acro-bandits were the most annoying enemies there, so Vio decided to go after them. When they were close enough to his hiding place behind some boulders, Vio burst out into the open. Shadow flew up, dark mimic of the Four Sword drawn.

The top acro-bandit disappeared into the ground before bursting up on top of four of its fellows. But Vio was ready. As soon as all the bandits were visible, he started slashing with his sword, knocking bandits out from underneath each other. With all the mess about black blood lately, Vio was momentarily confused when his sword came back covered in red. But he got over his surprise. This was a good thing.

By the time the rest of the monsters had noticed them, the acro-bandits and crows were dead. 

Vio dodged past a darknut’s sword. Coming up in a roll, Vio headed straight for the three red chuchus. He slashed at them until they went down. 

“Behind!” Shadow cried, causing Vio to lunge forward to dodge the strike. He felt the movement of a slashing sword against his back.

“I distract, you attack?” Vio asked, Shadow landing beside him. They stood shoulder to shoulder facing the three darknuts as they slowly approached. Of course one of them was a black knight.

“Deal.” Shadow nodded.

They broke apart, Vio leading the darknuts to the left as Shadow went to the right to get around them.

“Hey!” Vio shouted to get their attention. Two of them were already focused on him, but one had noticed Shadow going the opposite direction and had headed over there. Vio banged his sword against his shield, drawing the stray third monster’s attention. 

Vio kept his shield up, dodging swords left and right. He mostly just stayed moving around the area, keeping the darknuts out of range. 

Shadow would come in with a few slashes before disappearing into a darknut’s shadow to avoid the counterattack as it turned around. Then, Vio would shout some more and reattract the monster’s attention.

They continued like this until they were down to just the black knight.

The black knight was a lot smarter than the other darknuts. It wasn’t black blood smart, but still smart.

When Shadow attacked it, it was much faster–impressive for a monster wearing more armor than Time.

It twisted around and struck Shadow with its sword, sending the hero flying away.

“Shadow!” Vio cried. He darted forward and dug his sword hilt-deep into the black knight’s exposed back. He ripped his sword out as the black knight turned back around. Vio rolled to the left, under the monster’s shield as it spun to the left. 

Vio came up behind it again. This time, when he struck it hard, the monster roared before slumping forward.

Vio ran over to Shadow’s side, setting aside the Four Sword. He ignored the way his left hand felt like it had been dumped in ice as he pulled Shadow over on his back. Shadow was still breathing, and Vio almost collapsed in relief. Instead, he pulled out a red potion and lifted it to Shadow’s lips, helping the barely conscious teen drink.

After a few moments, Vio sighed in relief as he watched the wound stitch itself back up. Vio took out a rag and began cleaning Shadow’s black blood (which he has as a creature of shadow; they’d gone down that rabbit already and found nothing). 

At least they wouldn’t have to worry about Shadow’s black tunic staining.

Vio stayed by Shadow’s side and watched carefully as his breathing steadied and he recovered. A few minutes later, Shadow had the strength to open his eyes and pull himself to a sitting position–with Vio’s help, of course.

“Don’t do that to me.” Vio buried his face in Shadow’s shoulder, grabbing his tunic in a fist. “By the Golden Three, you really scared me.”

“Sorry.” Shadow said, leaning his head against Vio’s. He raised a weak arm to hug Vio.

“I can’t lose anyone else.” Vio tried not to cry.

“Me either.” 

Shadow was quiet; barely a whisper, but the two little words froze Vio’s blood.

Vio was being so selfish, he never even considered what this situation would be for his loved ones. Vio had to fit by and watch his three brothers die. His father, grandpa, Zelda, and Shadow had to sit by and watch three of their loved ones die, while knowing that they’re going to lose another, they just don’t know when.

(Though the other Colors didn’t actually die, but unless they can find a way to cure the Infection, for all intents and purposes, the Colors are dead, and Vio will be too, soon). 

Vio pulled back. “I’m sorry.” He said weakly.

“What?” Shadow tilted his head. “No, Vio, none of this is your fault.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t take into account you and everyone else’s feelings.” Vio amended. “I’ve been too selfish, thinking only of myself.”

“Vio, your brothers are Infected, and you’re getting Infected too.” Shadow said, as if Vio didn’t know that every time he glanced down at his wrists. “No one blames you. Not only that, but you’re trying your hardest to find a cure. We could never be upset with you about that.”

Vio sniffed, just then being made aware of the tears gathering in his eyes. 

“Oh, Vi…”

Vio pulled him into a hug, crying into Shadow’s shoulder. Shadow rubbed Vio’s back and murmured soothing words.

“I’m scared, Shadow.” Vio finally admitted. “I’m scared I’m not going to find a cure. I’m scared that I’ll be a threat to people once I become Infected. I’m scared of how it’s going to feel like.”

Shadow just held Vio for a minute and let him cry until his tears dried. 

“It’s going to be okay.” Shadow said. He was a creature made for malice and destruction, but he was surprisingly good at emotions. At least, he was much better than his stoic purple counterpart.  “We’re going to find a cure. Even if we don’t, I’ll seal you in the dark world like the others. That way, you can’t hurt anyone. And I’ll continue looking for a cure until I find one.”

“What if there isn’t one?” Vio sobbed.

“Then I’ll search til the day I die.” Shadow said. “I won’t give up, Vio. Not if you don’t. I’m sure the others feel the same.”

Vio wasn’t the determined one; that was Green. But Vio would try. For his brothers.

“I love you.” Vio sniffed. 

“I know.” Shadow snarked, enticing a choked laugh from Vio. “I love you too.”

Vio sat back and kissed Shadow.

“Now, are you ready to get off this mountain?” Shadow asked, wiping away Vio’s tears.

“Depends.” Vio drew in a slow breath. “Can you walk?”

“Walk?” Shadow barked out a laugh before rising a few inches above the ground. “Who would walk when you could float?”

Vio rolled his eyes. “Let’s go.”

Chapter Text

LINK - A RANDOM INTERSTATE - JUNE 12th, 6:00pm

Link had to suppress a sigh when he glanced down at his dash and realized his RV was running low on fuel.

He’d been pushing it the past hour or so, praying that it would carry him all the way there. But apparently it couldn’t.

He exited the interstate at the first exit and pulled into a truck stop with a Lovee’s and a McDonald’s all in one.

Oh boy, choices! Link could already feel his indecision acting up as he pulled in next to an available pump.

As Link refueled his RV, he scrolled through his Sheikah phone for the first time since the last gas station stop some hours ago because he did not text and drive, thank you very much! (Though it’s not like Link’s road anxiety would let him do much else. He still doesn’t even know why he does this).

That’s why. Link smiled to himself as he scrolled through the photos he’d taken while at Hyrule National Park that he’d posted on his Forcegram.

The photos were beautiful.

Link had always wanted to travel the world as a kid, and though the stress from the drive and the stress of money and barely having any money for food (most of it going towards gas, of course) grated on him at times, the view from the Dueling Peaks was fucking worth it.

There was a deep clang that signaled the gas tank was full. After checking the screen on the pump to make sure it was right, Link took the nozzle, took it out, clinking it against the filling pipe to shake out any spare drops of gasoline (something his father taught him, he doesn’t know if it’s a common habit, but whatever), and put the nozzle back.

After telling the pump that he would not like a receipt, Link climbed in, locking the door behind him. After checking the cupboards to find what he feared (just packets of half eaten trail mix and candy, and an almost empty thing of coffee and an empty bottle of sweetener), Link pulled his RV out from beside the pump into a proper parking space (he can’t believe people who just leave their cars by the gas pumps while they go inside). Then, he locked the RV and went into the RV for dinner and to restock on road snacks.

On his way in, Link threw away the bottle of sweetener.

It was early evening, and there were only a handful of people in the truck stop.

After a game of eeny-meeny-miny-moe, Link decided on McDonald’s. After ordering, he went into the convenience store to buy snacks, coffee, and sweetener.

“Um, weird question.” The cashier asked nervously. “But…aren’t you that one travel blogger from Forcegram? Link?”

“Yeah.” He flushed, scratching the back of his head. It wasn’t often that he met fans and while he despised social interaction, he never wanted to be rude.

And he wasn’t a travel blogger, he just uploads pictures of my travels, and people like that, he guesses. Helps pay for gas and food, though. Not like anyone would hire a high school dropout, anyway.

The cashier grinned like she’d met a celebrity, complimented my photography, and made some small talk about my life on the road as she scanned my items.

I was glad when I could pay and leave. I found that my McDonald’s order was ready, so I took it and left.

Eating in public made me anxious, so I always ate in my RV. That’s just what I did.

I turned on the engine, turned up the volume on the radio, and sat down at the table to eat.

Of course, Link got the happy meal, despite barely being 18. Because you can be happy at any time in your life, fuck you.

Link had one ear on the radio as he ate. He didn’t really care, but apparently some Sheikah biological company being under scrutiny for maltreatment of human test subjects or whatever, but isn’t every Sheikah company under scrutiny these days?

About halfway through his meal, Link’s phone rang. It was his mother.

Link lunged over to the front of the RV to turn down the volume.

Back at the table, Link answered the phone, smoothly slipping back into his native tongue. “Hello Ma.”

“Hello dear.” She sounded tired. Link did some quick calculations in his head and figured that it must be early morning back in Calatia. “How was your day? Did you make it to Mabe Village yet?”

“No.” Link admitted. “I had to stop for gas and dinner. Hopefully I can make it before it gets late. I don’t feel like staying up til midnight again.”

“I hope you can too.” Ma said.

Link smiled. His ma had always been supportive of him, even when he decided to drop out of high school and use his money for college on an RV. She was the one who first introduced him to his love of photography and nature.

“What are you doing in Central Hyrule, again?” She asked. “Are you visiting Historic Hyrule Castle again? Didn’t you already go there?”

Link rolled his eyes with a smile, despite knowing she couldn’t see him (actually her not being able to see him roll his eyes at her probably saved his life). “Just because you go somewhere once doesn’t mean you can’t go there again, ma. And they’ve expanded the museum with some more artifacts the Hyrulean Historical Society has cleared for public viewing.”

Link could practically hear the eye roll from through the phone, mirroring his own seconds before.

“But no, that’s not why I’m here.” Link said. “There are a couple of friends from high school that I’m meeting up with, congratulate them on graduating and stuff.”

It really fucks Link up, knowing that if he hadn’t dropped out, he would be graduating right now. But something told him he would still make the same decisions to travel the world.

“Oh!” His ma cried. “That’ll be fun. Who is it?”

“The sisters, Aurora and Zelda.” Link explained. “Though they don’t know that I’m coming. As long as they still live in the same house, then I’m planning on surprising them. I’ve been in contact with their parents.”

“Well that’ll be nice.” His ma said. “I hope you have fun, dear. Tell the girls hello for me.”

“I will.”

“Love you dear, be careful and drive safely.”

“I will. Love you too.”

Link sighed as the call ended. The familiar pang of homesickness settled in his chest, like it always did when he heard his mother’s voice or spoke in his native language.

He finished up his dinner and got behind the wheel once again. He turned the volume back up and pulled out of the truck stop, getting back on the interstate and counting down the miles until Mabe village.

LINK - MABE VILLAGE - JUNE 12th, 10:04pm

Link finally pulled into Mabe village around 10 o’clock that night. As he drove through to the trailer park, Link couldn’t help but notice how Mabe ‘village’ was now much bigger than when he went to school there.

Two years ago, it was a relatively small town living in the Castle City metropolitan area.

Now, it has grown to its own sort of city with the influx of people moving to Castle City.

Link pulled into a trailer park for the night. After checking the estimated temperatures for that night, Link decided he didn’t need to leave the engine on, since it wouldn’t get too hot. Link made sure the doors were locked before curling up under the covers and finally allowing his tired body to sleep.

The next morning, Link decided to walk to where he was going to meet his friends because it was close, and he sorely needed to stretch his legs.

Link didn’t run into as many familiar faces as he thought he would, even though he knew the chances of him running into any school friends on the walk to the park was unlikely.

After a five mile walk, he made it to the park where Aurora and Zelda’s parents had said the graduation ceremony was being held.

Link somehow managed to sneak in right before the ceremony started. The girls parents (who had clearly been looking for me) waved him over when they saw him. They had saved him a seat next to the girls older brother.

“Hello Nigel.” Link gave him a soft smile.

“Link.” Nigel said through gritted teeth. He had always hated him (though he hated everyone) and disapproved of his decision to drop out of school. He had always been an entitled asshole, but ever since a prank he played on Aurora went too far and he genuinely almost killed her, he decided to try and turn his personality around and be kinder.

It was a valiant effort, but he still hated Link’s guts.

“Hello Link.” His parents smiled much more warmly over his shoulder.

“It is so nice to see you again.” Mrs. Sunday said with a bright smile. “I know we talked a bit on the phone but tell me, how’s everything going? Are you eating alright?”

“I’m getting along just fine.” Link smiled back at her. “My ma sends me a little money every month, but she worries too much. I’m doing just fine, you save a surprisingly large amount of money by not needing to pay a water bill. Anyway, I’ve still got the money for college I haven’t used up yet.”

Nigel scoffed but Link ignored him. It was his money for his education, and since he wasn’t going to use it for college, he could use it for gas and food and phone bill money.

“Well we’re glad you’re happy.” Mr. Sunday said.

Link smiled at him but didn’t have the time to say anything, as the principal had stepped up to the podium and began to welcome everyone to the graduation ceremony.

Link kinda zoned out during the ceremony. None of it was interesting, they were all just waiting for their kids/friends to walk across the stage.

Aurora and Zelda were Link’s best friends.

They met halfway through middle school and have been bonded for life. So much so that when Link’s father died, and his mother was scrambling for a way to bring him back to Calatia as well as find him a school (the school system in Calatia is horrible, part of the reason his parents argued), Aurora and Zelda just suggested Link move in with them. So Link lived with them for three years before he dropped out of school.

They were his sisters and he couldn’t wait to see them again!

After who knows how many names, it was finally time for Aurora and Zelda to walk across the stage.

Aurora went first.

She shook hands with the principal and took her diploma. She looked for the crowd for a moment, letting her parents take a picture. As she found her parents and brother in the crowd, she found Link, and her eyes went wide in disbelief.

The principal had to whisper to her to remind her to keep moving.

When Zelda took her diploma and posed for her picture, she saw Link and her mouth and eyes went wide as well, before she grinned madly. She hurried off stage and began to whisper with her twin excitedly.

After the ceremony, the Sunday family and Link walked off to the side, far from other families for some privacy.

Almost as soon as the students were released, Link was tackled to the ground by a grinning Zelda.

“Link!” She squealed. She hugged him.

Link laughed, shifting into a sitting position and hugging her back. Aurora joined the hug. Link blinked back happy tears. He was so proud of them and he had missed them so much.

“How’ve you been?” Aurora asked with an uncontrollable grin when they finally stood up. “We don’t talk as often as we should.”

“I know,” Link sighed. “but it’s hard, being on the road all the time. At least my Forcegram account lets you know I’m still alive, and where I am.”

“Thank Hylia for small miracles.” Aurora rolled her eyes.

After the ceremony, they went out to dinner.

Romani BBQ. It’s the girls’ favorite place to eat. It was also Link’s, and it was just as good as he remembered.

They spent a good while catching up. It was nice.

Link told them about his travels and his future travels, and they told him about the colleges they’re going to attend in the fall, as well as their majors.

Then, around 8 pm, as the sun was beginning to set, that peace was disturbed.

Link had finished eating his dinner. Aurora sat across from him and was in the middle of a sentence before she trailed off, looking through the window by the booth they were in, back behind Link.

Link turned around in confusion and his blood ran cold at what he saw.

Smoke billowed in the air. Some buildings had caught fire.

“What the hell?” Link asked.

Slowly, the others in the restaurant began to notice the fire.

There was confusion and some shouts from inside the restaurant.

Link crawled over Nigel and Mrs. Sunday to get out of the booth.

“Link. No.” Mr. Sunday called. “You can’t— What are you doing?”

“Trying to find out what’s going on.” Link explained. “Maybe an oil tank blew, but whatever it is, those people need help, and we might depending on what caused it.”

Mr. Sunday didn’t say anything. Instead, he just followed Link out of the restaurant.

People were running away from the burning buildings. Link ran down the street. The tallest burning building, in the middle of the fire and likely the cause of it, was the headquarters for the Sheikah Biological Research Center, the SBRC.

The front of the building had a row of glass doors and windows. Link looked inside and saw a security guard, just inside the burning building. But instead of running out of the building, the guard was…shooting at…something.

As if that wasn’t enough to raise the alarm, then what the security guard was shooting at definitely was.

It lurked into view slowly, taking tens of bullets and not seeming to care. In fact, the bullets didn’t seem to cut into its thick skin. Finally, one bullet nailed it in the side of its too-thin waist and sickly green blood poured out with the consistency of molasses.

After that bullet, the guard froze. He just wouldn’t move.

Link couldn’t hear anything going on in the building, was he reasoning with it or something? Little too late for that. Link thought as he remembered how the guard unloaded a full magazine of bullets into the creature. Maybe the guard was just out of ammo.

More and more creatures lurked out of the building. While the first one still lurched over to the frozen security guard, they inched their way to the glass doors.

One was on fire and didn’t seem to notice.

The automatic doors slid open for them.

One creature lifted its head and made direct eye contact with Link. Its eyes were glassy, but with a sure spot of black meant to be the pupil. They were trained on Link behind a crudely carved wooden mask that hid its face, showing only its eyes and teeth, making Link wonder where the lips were, if this… thing was supposed to be humanoid.

Link broke eye contact to glance back into the building and yep—the first creature was indeed eating the security guard right there. The guard looked alive, but was slumped in an immobile pile on the floor.

“Yep, time to go back to the restaurant.” Link said, turning and starting to run back as the wails of fire trucks and ambulances finally sounded from around the block.

Mr. Sunday and Nigel (when had he gotten there?) followed Link eagerly as the crowd of creatures split, the one who had made eye contact with Link following him at a leisurely pace.

On the way back, Link tugged at passersby staring at the creatures, too stunned to move. He got them to move and the survival instincts finally kicked in and they started running.

Link slowed to a walk and tried to seem calm when he reentered the restaurant—panic would get them nowhere.

But, of course, people were already panicking, seeing the burning buildings, the creatures streaming onto the block, and the people running and screaming past.

Half the restaurant ran out, muscling their way past Link, Nigel, and Mr. Sunday.

The rest stayed, unsure of what to do. Do they flee? Or do they wait and see if it’s just a prank? If anything, they should at least pay.

Of course, a news team had already appeared on the scene. A TV was tuned into their broadcast. They circled the burning building in a helicopter, talking about the building and then zooming in on the chaos surrounding the creatures.

The news anchor mentioned that the creatures might be the cause of some experiment by the SBRC.

Link didn’t think much of it—it was a news anchor’s job to spread gossip and breed distrust—but others in the restaurant seemed to take it seriously.

Those left in the restaurant watched the TV in horror as the creatures crept closer and closer to their hiding spot, leaving limp, half-eaten bodies behind them, attacking any who came close with their terrible claws.

The doors burst open to reveal a woman, holding a jacket to her badly bleeding arm. She was the victim of one of the claws.

Her arrival just caused more chaos. Link just shoved his way past the crowd to the woman.

“Hello.” He smiled politely. “My name is Link. I’m here to help you. Can you tell me your name?”

“Delilah.” She answered as Link led her to the booth he and his friends had eaten at mere minutes before. “Do you know what’s happening?”

“No one does.” Link shook his head as she sat down. “Can I see your arm?”

The woman dropped her jacket and revealed an awful, gaping wound the length of her forearm.

“I hate to tell you, but I doubt there’s any needle and thread to stitch up your wound here.” Link admitted. “And I’m not an actual doctor, but until we find an actual doctor, I’ll do the best I can.”

Delilah nodded. “Thank you anyway.”

Using a steak knife, Link cut off part of the table cloth and tied it securely around her arm. He’s sure he’s gonna get fined for it later, but he can’t find it in himself to care at the moment.

“Everyone calm down!” A commanding voice cut through the clamor of the panicked customers.

Everyone quieted down as they looked at the speaker. A man wearing a green shirt and fancy blue scarf had climbed onto a table, commanding respect from everyone as he talked firmly and calmly.

“I won’t pretend to know what’s going on, but I do know that panic will only make things worse.” He said. “First, we need to lock and barricade all doors.”

He nodded at a waitress who nodded back with a firm look on her face. She pulled out a set of keys and began to follow his instructions.

“We also need to draw all the curtains so the creatures can’t see we’re inside. If they don’t know we’re here, then they won’t have any incentive to come inside.” He continued. “We also need to get a first aid kit for the woman who just came in. Now.”

An employee went into the back as a group of people started dragging tables over to the door to barricade it shut.

With his orders given, the man came over to Link and Delilah.

“Hello there.” He smiled. “Can you tell me your name?”

“Delilah.” She replied.

He nodded. “My name is Link.”

Delilah snorted, side-eyeing the first Link.

“What?” The new Link asked, concerned.

“My name is Link.” The first Link said.

“Well that’s confusing.” The man said. “But we’ll have to figure out nicknames later. Can you come with me, Delilah?”

Link couldn’t help but trail after them as they went to the back of the restaurant. An employee handed the man a first aid kit, and he thanked the employee as they walked to the sink.

“So. Link.” Scarfie said as he untied Link’s makeshift bandages. “You seem to have a bit of medical knowledge. This wrapping speaks to some experience.”

“I took a pre med class in high school.” Link explained. “Learned the basics; CPR, stitches, how to tell if someone has a concussion, stuff like that.” He quietly kept the fact that he had a Life spell to himself. He felt his magic, humming and pulsing with his heartbeat. Ever since the fairies had abandoned Hyrule years ago, magic’s all but disappeared. Link wasn’t ashamed to admit that he was scared what power hungry hylians would do if the discovered he was a fairy.

“Well that’s helpful.” Scarfie said as he began to clean Delilah’s wound by wetting a paper towel and beginning to wipe away the blood from around the wound. Thankfully, the bleeding has mostly stopped. “Today was graduation, right? Congratulations.”

Link blushed. “Oh no, I didn’t graduate today.”

“Sorry.” Scarfie said. “I just assumed. You look older than you are.”

“Yeah I uh…” Link felt awkward talking about this. “I dropped out of school near the end of my sophomore year.”

“Really?” Scarfie asked.

“Yeah.” Link nodded.

“Can’t blame you.” Delilah shrugged. “I felt like doing the same thing multiple times.”

“What do you do now?” Scarfie asked.

“I travel Hyrule.” Link explained. “It was always a dream of mine, and you don’t need a high school diploma to do that. What do you do?”

“I’m a captain in the army.” Scarfie explained. “I enlisted right out of high school. How about you, Delilah?”

The captain used some isopropyl alcohol to sanitize her wound. Delilah winced and tugged against his firm yet gentle grip on her arm. When she spoke, her voice was shaky from the stinging pain.

“I’m a hairdresser.” She explained.

“You must meet a lot of different people then, huh?” The traveler asked.

Delilah nodded. “You have no idea.”

Satisfied with the cleaning of her wound, the captain got out the materials to stitch up her wound. “Okay, I’m not gonna lie, this will hurt.”

“Just do it.” Delilah gritted her teeth.

For her credit, Delilah kept the whimpering and wincing to a minimum as the captain stitched up the wound. When he was done, he tugged on the end of the thread enough to pull the wound closed. Then, he snipped the end.

“Hey traveler, can you help me?” The captain asked.

“Of course.” Link stepped forward.

“Hold this gauze against the stitches while I wrap it, please?”

“There you go.” The captain said after tying off the wrapping. “We’ll check it in the morning and see how it’s doing then, but I think you should be good until it heals.”

“Morning?” Delilah asked.

“Well aside from the obvious, it’s getting late, so I think everyone would rather stay here than try and go home when it’s so late.” The captain explained. “Thank you, Link.”

Link nodded.

He went back into the main part of the restaurant, regrouping with the Sundays.

“What are we going to do?” Zelda was asking as Link approached.

“Well we can’t do anything tonight.” Link spoke up. “Might as well wait here for tomorrow, see if the national guard or someone’s cleaned up those monsters. Maybe this is all just a dream on my part caused by road delirium. We’ll find out tomorrow.”

Nigel scoffed but didn’t say anything.

“Just in case though, I’d save your phone battery.” Link said.

Aurora reached into her purse and pulled out her and her sisters’ phone chargers. “Please Link, it’s like you don’t even know us. We’re always prepared.”

Aurora handed Zelda her charger and they went off to distract themselves with YouTube and social media. Link just shrugged.

He went back to the booth they’d eaten in and took out the journal he always kept in his pocket, took out his pencil and began to write and doodle in the pages.

When night fell, everyone curled up on booths and tables. Using tablecloths and jackets as blankets.

Link took off the flannel he’d been wearing (just because it was the nicest thing he owned), bundled it up tightly, and used it as a pillow as he laid on the table with Aurora and Zelda in the cushioned seats.

He’d willingly given up the seat to Zelda, but was starting to regret it as his back already ached from the hard, way too flat surface.

Link fell asleep, purposefully ignoring the hushed whispers of parents and adults in the back, the crackling of fire and gunshots outside, and his growing anxiety that this wasn’t some dream caused from delirium.

Chapter Text

The sun of the Gerudo Desert beat down on them. They had set out from Kara Kara Bazaar early enough that they didn’t have to deal with the signature desert heat that accompanied everyday. But they had gotten preoccupied with a den of monsters hidden beneath the sand dunes. It was just a group of red blooded monsters, nothing the heroes needed to worry about, but the fight had still delayed them enough that the sun was high enough to be a problem by the time Gerudo Town was visible in the distance.

They exchanged their cold weather gear for hot weather gear (The desert is a joke, Warriors thinks). In a flash of blue light, Wild was wearing the Gerudo Vai outfit. Warriors regrets making fun of it now, it was really helpful. It also wasn’t cool to make fun of something that your friend genuinely enjoys.

Wild didn’t understand the concept of gender (that much was clear early on). It was one of the things he forgot, and it’s hard to explain. The king had referred to Wild using he/him pronouns, so Wild just assumed those pronouns.

Warriors switched what hand was holding his scarf to his face. Wild didn’t have nine veils, so Wars just used his scarf. Wind was using the tail of Warriors’ scarf to keep the sand out of his mouth. Warriors knew he was there when the Sailor would tug on his scarf every now and then when he stumbled, or was repositioning the scarf over his mouth.

“So we know the plan?” Wild asks as they come up to the wall of Gerudo Town. 

The heroes shuffled underneath an overhang. The Gerudo may hate men hanging around outside, but at least they were kind enough to leave out blankets and soft pillows for them to sit. The guards side-eyed the heroes as they sat down and made themselves comfortable.

“Yep.” Time nodded. “You go in and ask for any monster reports. We’ll wait out here and set out depending on what you find out.”

Wild nodded. He gave a salute before jumping and climbing up the wall. The guards (and Time) sighed with a good-natured eye roll before the guards went back to guard duty, and Time settled down on a pillow.

Wind picked up a pillow, turned it over to the less sandy side, and flopped into Warriors’ lap, hugging the pillow to his chest. Warriors rolled his eyes and lifted a hand to play in Wind’s hair.

“Y’know, we could probably sneak Legend and Four in.” Hyrule said. “They look the most feminine out of all of us.”

Four and Legend looked down at their rather slender waists. Four huffed and crossed his arms, and Legend rolled his eyes and flipped off Hyrule, who just giggled. The Gerudo guards looked at each other. Warriors saw one had her eyes screwed up and assumed she was probably hiding a smile or laugh beneath her veil.

“We wouldn’t even need to find Legend a change of clothes.” Twilight snickered.

Legend glared at him. “My tunic is practical! Even I don’t know how many defense spells my Red Mail has!”

“And the lack of pants…?” Sky tried to hide a giggle, but was failing.

Legend huffed, ears turning the same shade as his hair. “Y’know what? I don’t have to explain myself to you!” He went to the very edge of the shade and sat down with a pointed huff, his back to the others.

They just laughed and rolled their eyes at his antics. He knew they didn’t mean to poke fun at him, but it might take a while for their dear Veteran to regain his lost dignity.

“You think they’d take my Gerudo token?” Time asked, digging in his pouch and taking out a piece of paper with a red ribbon strung through a hole.

“Lemme see?” Warriors held out a hand and took the token. He raised his eyebrows as he read it (he can’t raise just one eyebrow, as Legend so often likes to tease him about).”Sprite, this is old. Where’d you even get this?”

“The Gerudo captain gave it to me.” Time answered. “I beat a few of them in combat, broke out of their prison more times than I can count, and freed some carpenters. So she thought me worthy of being a Gerudo Thief. Even compared me to King Ganondorf.”

“You shouldn’t take that as a compliment.” Wind said, taking the token from Warriors so he could read it. “Guy’s kinda an asshole.”

“Oh I know, but to them, it was the highest praise to be comparable to Ganondorf.” Time said. “Anyway, think it’s redeemable here?”

“It’s thousands of years old by this time.” Twilight pointed out. “Maybe even hundreds of thousands of years old. They’ll just think you’re crazy and that you forged it.”

“But it’s signed by Nabooru herself.” Time pouted.

“Who’s been dead for longer than you have.” Wind rolled his eyes. He tried tossing it back to Time, but the paper token just caught a light breeze and looped through the air before landing a few inches to the right of where Wind’s hand was. Wind glared at the offending piece of paper as Time picked it up and stuffed it back in his bag.

“Hey guys!”

There was a thump! and a swirl of disturbed sand as Wild dropped down from the wall back beside the shelter. 

Four, who was right there, coughed and spat and glared at Wild. He was now coated in sand and Blue was evidently very upset about this as he tried to remove all the sand off his tongue.

“Sorry.” Wild chuckled. “Didn’t see you there.”

“Did you get anything?” Warriors asked. He stood up, ignoring the way Wind tumbled from his lap and the very pointed and vicious pirate-themed insults spat at him from the ground.

“Yeah, there’s a gathering monster force near the West Barrens.” Wild explained. “Apparantly there was a blood moon a few weeks back, so the molduga in that area must have respawned, so we’ll have to be careful. Sand seals can outrun it, though, so we should be able to get to solid land before it attacks.”

“Good.” Legend nodded, having recovered from the earlier embarrassment. “What landmarks are near the West Barrens? So we know what we’re looking for, especially if we have to run through a sandstorm again.”

“Well, you should see–” Wild started to say, but was cut off when a man approaching from the direction of the shrine called out.

He jogged closer. He wore a pair of glasses that reflected the light off the sand dunes without revealing his eyes. Strangely enough, he didn’t seem to be wearing pants for some reason.

Either he was like the Veteran, or it was a poorly disguised bid for the Gerudo’s attention.

At first glance, Warriors didn’t think much of this man other than he was just a lonely guy trying to get into Gerudo Town who won’t take no for an answer. But then he saw the way Wild stiffened at the sound of his voice, and Warriors’ mood soured.

Heroes loved all people. That’s what made them heroes. How could they save the country if they didn’t love the people living in it? But there was a flash in Wild’s eyes and the way he held himself suggested that he hated this man. Wild was the most loving out of any of them. Even Legend (despite what he says or does, it’s hard not to notice how much Legend loves people)! Wild didn’t even hate the Yiga.

That meant this guy was bad, bad news.

Warriors eyed the guy warily as he approached. His brothers assumed similar distrustful stances, catching up on the same thing that he did.

“Hey Bozai…” Wild said slowly. He turned to greet the guy, likely plastering on a fake smile despite the fact that he was wearing a veil and Bozai couldn’t see the bottom half of his face.

“Hey there! Haven’t seen you around in a while!” Warriors couldn’t see Bozai’s eyes, but he had a lovesick smile on his face.

Oh.

He thought Wild was a girl.

That shouldn’t be concerning, that was the whole point of the Gerudo Vai outfit. But there was a glaringly obvious problem.

Bozai looked older than Warriors, who was 24. Meaning he was likely late 20s, early 30s.

Wild, despite all the jokes about being a hundred years old, was 17.

“Yeah, there’s a reason for that.” Wild sighed.

“And who’re these men?” Bozai asked. Protectiveness leaking into his voice and form, as if thinking he can take on eight armed heroes.

“My brothers.” Wild responded.

Warriors really wanted to beat this guy to the curb, but Wild was giving them side glances that told the heroes to stand down. Wild’s got this. He probably doesn’t want to hurt Bozai, but Warriors really wanted to hurt Bozai.

“I see you still haven’t acquired any footwear after I took your boots?” Wild said in a saccharine voice that suggested he was very proud that he stole this guy’s boots.

Warriors glanced down and had to hide a smile at the fact that Bozai was, in fact, barefoot. He only had a pair of socks to protect his feet from the scalding hot desert sand. Legend, from behind Warriors, snorted, but Bozai didn’t seem to hear.

“No, but don’t worry, my dear.” Aaaand Warriors’ joy is dead. “Running barefoot is very good for your feet! Now, they’re stronger and there’s less of a chance I’ll get injured! And I can jog even better than before!”

“Good for you.” Wild said sarcastically. “Now if you’ll excuse me, my brothers and I need to be leaving.”

“But I just got here!” Bozai pouted. “You haven’t even introduced us!”

Bozai, ever oblivious to Wild’s discomfort, stepped closer and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

That’s it.

Warriors knows that Wild was trying to diffuse the situation peacefully, and he respects that.

But the way Bozai touches him, hands lingering on his exposed skin, eyes roving over his body… It reminded Warriors all too painfully of Cia. Her scalding hot hands, burning invisible scars into his skin…

He couldn’t stand by and watch the same thing that led to so much distrust of Artemis when she first admitted her feelings to him happen to his dear younger brother.

Beating Twilight to the punch, Warriors marched forward and ripped Bozai’s arm off of Wild’s shoulders by the wrist. Warriors bent Bozai’s wrist back, forcing him to take several steps away from Wild.

Twilight stepped forward and enveloped Wild in a hug.

“Don’t.” 

Bozai’s glasses slipped down to his nose, revealing his beady little eyes that reminded Warriors of a dirty rat.

“Touch.”

Warriors felt his brothers that were not comforting Wild step up behind him,

“Him.”

Bozai’s eyes widened at that pronoun. He glanced back at Wild, but the hero was shielded behind a wall of his brothers.

“Again.”

Warriors brought up his other hand and punched Bozai in the face as hard as possible. It made him wish he had Twilight’s natural strength, or one of Legend’s many power enhancing items. Warriors has never wanted to kill a man before, but if it kept vulnerable women from being taken advantage of by this asshole, he would gladly do it a hundred times.

As it was, Bozai’s glasses cracked. A shard of glass got stuck in Warriors’ fist. Another piece was sticking out of Bozai’s eye. His other eye was going to turn black soon.

Good.

“Now you can tell your mama how you lost your eye.” Time growled. His scarred white eye was open, making the man that much scarier.

Bozai didn’t deserve his eyes, if that’s what he did with them.

Warriors shook Bozai’s wrist so roughly, his shoulder dislocated with a nasty yet satisfying pop!

Warriors kicked Bozai onto his back in the sand. Bozai looked up at Warriors and his brothers with fear. The dirty rat had never been caught before.

Warriors didn’t want to get his hopes up, but he really wished that this would teach Bozai his lesson. To never touch an unwilling woman in that way again.

“Get lost.” Legend growled. He kicked Bozai hard in the side. 

Bozai winced, but scrambled to his feet, bumping into Wind in his hurry to get away from the heroes. He clutched a hand to his kicked side as he scurried away.

Warriors glanced at Wind. “Did you get it?”

Wind suddenly grinned. He removed his hand from behind his back to reveal Bozai’s wallet and watch in his hand.

“Good job, Sailor.” Warriors grinned right back.

He went back to where Twilight, Hyrule, and Four were crowded around Wild. He had changed out of the Gerudo Vai outfit into his trusty hylian hood and much beloved Champion’s tunic.

His hood was drawn, a clear sign he was uncomfortable. He gripped the end of his long tunic and had folded it up so he could rub the fabric against his cheek, taking calming breaths in the familiar color.

Wild had told them about the tunic. How it was a sign of his status as the Hylian Champion. How the other Champions had matching clothing. How it was so badly damaged during the Calamity that his Impa had to practically reweave it. As it was, she tried to find fabric or dyes the same shade as the original tunic, but the closest color was still several shades too dark.

“Are you okay Wild?” Sky asked softly.

Wild nodded. “Let’s get moving.”

“Hey.” Warriors stepped forward. “I know how you feel. It’s okay to not be okay.”

Wild nodded. He dropped the hem of his tunic and straightened. “Okay. I’m fine. Hopefully he won’t come back here again.”

“Why didn’t the guards do anything?” Four asked.

Warriors glanced back at the guards by the entrance to town. They were currently trying to keep a man from entering the town. He doesn’t seem to be getting the message.

“Bozai’s not one in a million.” Wild sighed. “The guards are really busy. They chased him off a few times, but you’ve seen how he is.”

“I hate men like that.” Legend glared at the sand at his feet. “There are always assholes. They’re more common in my time. There’s nothing you can do to change them.”

“You can still kick their asses to the curb, though.” Twilight said. 

Legend nodded. “You can still do that.”

“You ready to get going now, cub?” Time asked Wild, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Wild smiled. He nodded, and he looked much more certain than before. “Yeah. We’ve got a long journey waiting for us.”