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Chapter Text

Chapter 2: Fierce Deity

Prompts:

Central characters: Time, Warriors

Warnings: Torture, injury, possession, trauma

Chapter 3: Faith

Prompts:

Central characters: Sky

Warnings: Blood, violence

Chapter 4: 

Prompts: Gala

Central characters: Warriors, Time

Warnings: Trauma

Chapter 5: Storm

Prompts:

Central characters: Sky, Wild

Warnings: Electrocution, injury

Chapter Text

Time grunted as another punch across the face snapped his head round and sent a wash of coppery warmth across his tongue.

"That's enough! We still need him able to speak."

Time spat out the mouthful of blood and looked up again at the man standing over him holding the Fierce Deity mask. Behind him, an attempt at the same face was painted on the wall. And in front of that, in the centre of a painted circle, was the pile of ash that was all that was left of their high priest.

The man holding the mask shook it threateningly at Time.

"You have his marks on your face; you must have found some way to commune with him safely. Tell me how!"

Time shook his head, wincing. He felt like there were hammers pounding behind his eyes. "I… even if I wanted to… tell you… I couldn't…" he slurred, trying to speak as clearly as he could.

The cultist glanced over his shoulder and nodded, then stepped aside, letting Time clearly see as another cultist kicked Warriors hard in the side where he sat tied to another post. Another kick wrung out a cry that was just audible through the rag tied tightly between the captain's teeth.

"I tell you, I don't know," insisted Time.

The cultist snarled and turned to walk towards Warriors. "And what are the chances that if I put this mask on him he will be reduced to dust?"

Time didn't know the answer to that. He gritted his teeth.

"Unless you can give him some advice?" The cultist stopped next to the post to which Warriors was tied.

Warriors looked over at Time. One of his eyes was swollen shut. The other was little more than a slit. Blood from his nose and lips had run down his chin and soaked into the gag. But he met Time's gaze as best he could and shook his head.

Time didn't know why the mask let him wear it. Why the Fierce Deity used him rather than killing him. He had no advice or information to give.

"Warriors…" he said with an effort. "I'm sorry. I don't know."

Warriors took a quick, labored breath just before the cultist forced the mask onto his face.

***

Warriors barely had time to realise what was happening before the mask was over his face.

For a moment everything was still, the stiff wood stifling his breathing and pinning his jaw but doing him no other harm.

Then the magic clawed its way into him.

Warriors had experienced something like this once before. He remembered the violation of another alien magic reaching deep inside him and grasping at his very soul.

He screamed, momentarily hurled back into the Sorceress' Room as Cia's magic tore through him, ripping out the shadows in his soul.

But this time nothing was ripped out. The reaching, grasping magic just kept twisting through him, wringing out more screams as he struggled.

Then, just as suddenly as it began, it was over. For a moment he floated in numb, shaken painlessness, then the pain started all over again, now torturing his body rather than his soul. Screams choked off in his throat, tears spilling from his eyes. For a moment the ropes on his wrists and ankles cut into him like wires as his body grew taller and stronger, then they snapped.

The pain cut off as if it had never been.

His gag-strangled cries fell silent.

Warriors floated in the void, consumed by two warring sensations. On the one hand, there was comfort: the sensation of being held safely in warm, gentle arms, supported by a trusted friend as his wounds were bandaged.

On the other hand, there was restraint: immovable bonds so tight he couldn't even breathe.

Comfort or no comfort, he couldn't stay like this. Despite everything, he started to struggle.

***

Time hadn't known what to expect. He'd known what he feared, but not what to expect, and his breath broke in a sob as Warriors screamed behind the mask. He couldn't watch, couldn't bring himself to watch his brother destroyed.

But despite that, he forced himself not to close his eye. He had to watch. The least he could do was bear witness.

So for the first time he saw what it looked like when he was transformed.

Warriors' body warped, growing and filling out with new bone and muscle, turning into something taller clad in shining plate armor. The ropes that had held him snapped as his changing body simply shrugged them off. Time cringed in sympathy, knowing the pain Warriors was suffering as the transformation ran its course.

And then, all at once, the Fierce Deity was standing up, ripping the gag from his mouth as casually as if he were snapping a loose thread from his tunic.

The cultists stared at him in shock for a moment. For that moment, everything was still. Time had time to note that the Fierce Deity looked different in Warriors' body. He had the captain's fluffy bangs rather than Time's own centre part and the blue triangle on his brow was curlier. Perhaps, Time thought almost drunkenly, that was a little tribute to Warriors' scarf.

The new leader of the cultists seemed to recover from his shock and dropped to his knees with a yell of celebration. The others followed suit, shouting out prayers and praises.

The Fierce Deity ignored them, striding over to Time and gently catching his chin in his fingers to look at him.

Time met his shining eyes, searching to no avail for any trace of Warriors behind them. His headache was getting worse and his vision was starting to warp at the corners.

"Be silent!" roared the Fierce Deity, turning to the cultists. Time winced as the loud noise made the gorons in his head hammer harder.

Silence fell like a rock.

"You have damaged him," growled the Fierce Deity.

"Lord," stammered the leader. "It was necessary; we were trying -"

"You have damaged him."

"We are your humble servants -"

"He is mine and you have damaged him." The Fierce Deity drew his sword. That weapon too was different; rather than the huge two-handed sword he used with Time - an echo of the Biggoron Sword - the helix-shaped blade was a single-handed sword and he also shrugged a silver shield onto his arm, his eyes on the cultists.

Time was getting more tired and his headache was getting worse. His vision was still warping at the edges, starting to tunnel.

The cultist leader stumbled up, hands raised in surrender.

"We didn't - Lord, we didn't know - we just…"

The Fierce Deity let out an enraged yell as he lunged at them.

Time finally let his eye fall closed, unable to keep it open as the noise sent more hammering blows through his aching head.

For a long moment - even he didn't know how long - he drifted. He couldn't quite work out what was happening around him, let alone do anything about it.

But at long last, all was quiet again. Cool fingers once again touched his chin, raising his head. He hadn't realised he'd let it fall.

With an effort, he opened his eye. He couldn't make out details beyond the fact that the Fierce Deity was crouching in front of him. He thought he was frowning, but couldn't see clearly enough to be sure.

But he knew he had to help Warriors. Nothing had gone horribly wrong so far, but the Fierce Deity was not to be trifled with.

"Warriors…" he whispered. His own voice echoed in his head and sent a wave of nausea through him. "Release him."

"You are injured," said the Fierce Deity. Time had thought his head hurt before, but at the louder voice his stomach turned and he let his eye fall closed with a whimper.

He was shifted slightly and the ropes holding him to the post were cut. Strong arms caught him as he almost collapsed and lowered him to the ground.

"Warriors," he whispered again. "My friend…"

There was no response for a moment. Hands probed his head, more gently than he'd expected, then cupped his face again. For a long moment the silence stretched. He forced his eye open. The Fierce Deity's glowing gaze met his, no trace of Warriors in his expression.

His heart sank. He had escaped with his mind and soul intact. There was no guarantee Warriors would do the same.

"Yours?" asked the Fierce Deity, tilting his head.

Time swallowed. "Warriors is my friend," he said again. "Please… release him."

***

Warriors struggled against the grip that held him for what felt like years before he sensed some awareness being turned towards him. It was cool and distant, making him feel like an insect being studied under glass. He gritted his teeth and continued to fight as best he could.

To his surprise, the grip on him suddenly loosened. The white void around him faded and suddenly he could see.

He was kneeling over Time, who lay on the floor, staring up at him.

He looked frightened.

Warriors wanted to ask what was wrong, look around, find out what on earth could make Time look like that. But he couldn't. He realised with a horrible chill that he had no control over his own body.

He did his best to force back the panic that rose in him at that thought. There were more important things. Bruises were appearing around Time's eyes. While he might have been hit in the face during that gap in Warriors' awareness, he had certainly been hit around the head more than once.

Warriors wanted to ask questions - was Time feeling dizzy? How was his vision? How was his memory? - but his voice had gone the same way as his ability to move. He started trying to struggle again.

Suddenly that distant attention was turned towards him once more.

"You are bleeding," said a voice like his own but with an alien tone laid over it. "In… your head."

Time winced, his eye drifting closed.

They needed to find their equipment. Warriors tried to get through to whatever was holding him, tried once again to take back control, or at least to somehow scream out what they needed. There was one potion left in his pouch. Whatever was imprisoning him had seemed to be able to pick up his thoughts before; maybe it could hear this. He had to try.

***

Time could feel his awareness starting to waver in earnest, drowned under the pounding agony in his head. Dimly, he knew that if he passed out he might not wake again.

He struggled to once again ask for Warriors to be released, knowing that the longer this lasted the greater the chance of harm. He didn't know if what made it out sounded like words.

Then he lost some time. Suddenly, he was alone. Panic rose in his heart as he remembered seeing that cultist collapse into dust, but then the Fierce Deity reappeared, holding something that he realised after a moment was their pouches. He knelt down and touched Time's cheek.

Then, suddenly, he was leaning on the Fierce Deity's arm with a potion bottle to his lips. He drank and took a deep breath as he felt the healing magic burning through his injured body, centring in his head. Another breath, and the pain and fogginess were gone.

"The injury is healed?" asked the Fierce Deity, frowning at him.

"It is. Thank you." Time took another breath. "But… you must release my friend. I'm… afraid he will come to harm if this continues."

The Fierce Deity tilted his head, his frown deepening. "He is yours," he said thoughtfully.

"Yes," said Time firmly, remembering the Fierce Deity's words to the cultists. "He's mine."

The Fierce Deity frowned at him for another long moment, then said, "Then he is mine also. Very well, I will protect him."

"Release him."

"I warn you, he is gravely injured."

Time's heart sank. "How badly?" he asked. He didn't know how much awareness the Fierce Deity actually had of the bodies he possessed.

"There is injury… inside. I know not what. You can care for him?"

Time reached for the pouches and dug through them, looking for any more potions, but he already knew he'd drunk the last one.

There might only be one way.

"Can you… keep him alive until we find help?" he asked, hating himself for asking the question and continuing to take this risk.

"I can."

"And…" Time swallowed hard, wishing he knew more, wishing he'd discussed this mask and its occupant with Warriors at some point in the past. "Do you know… if he's willing for you to… do this to him?"

***

Watching helplessly through his own eyes, Warriors wanted to scream. He wanted to insist that he should be released. He wanted to demand how these two - this creature and his friend - could even think they could make this decision for him.

But he didn't want to die. He didn't know what damage those repeated kicks to the side had done and, imprisoned like this, he couldn't feel any pain. If this was the only way to stay alive until they found the others…

His captor's attention turned back to him and that feeling sent a horrible, cold jolt through his heart. He could almost see Cia's smiling face as yet another distant, uncaring awareness reached its magic deep inside him and held him against his will.

He couldn't scream or cry, but still something in him snapped.

He couldn't stand the idea of being trapped like this any longer. Even though it seemed that he wasn't in any immediate danger, he couldn't stand it. He was trapped. He had no control over his own body, no way to even speak, and he couldn't stand it…

***

The Fierce Deity was silent for several dragging seconds. Time watched him, his heart beating in his throat.

Then Warriors' voice, echoing with that strange, deeper note, said, "He is not willing."

Before Time could blink, the Fierce Deity raised a hand and pulled off the mask.

It clattered to the floor as Warriors dropped to his knees. Time lunged forward in time to catch him before he pitched onto his face and supported him as he vomited black, granulated blood.

"Warriors, I…"

Warriors choked, whimpering, his whole body shaking in Time's arms, then he vomited again. And again, until nothing more came up. Time held him, trembling himself as he tried to work out what to do.

"It… hurts…" choked Warriors.

"I'm sorry," whispered Time. "Can you walk?"

"I couldn't… I couldn't let him…" Warriors whimpered. "Rather die… than have that done… let something… do that to me again…"

"It's OK," said Time. "I understand." He didn't, really, but he had taken the lead on asking the Fierce Deity to release Warriors. He couldn't complain about the request being honored.

"In the end… worthwhile," said Warriors.

Then he collapsed.

Chapter Text

Sky felt like there was something drawing him on: something important. He pushed his way between thick stands of trees that looked like they hadn't been disturbed in years, stepping over ragged-edged puddles in the rocky, uneven ground. There was something up ahead. Something familiar. Something he needed to see.

He had just been going to patrol around the camp - and get some space; while he loved his brothers dearly, all of them needed space and silence from time to time - but he could feel the call. There was something up ahead calling to him. And he needed to see it.

Finally, he pushed aside one last branch and found himself looking out into an open space, lit by the dim sunlight that filtered through the clouds. It looked like it had once been a paved courtyard, though small bushes had pushed their way between the stones and everything was covered with a layer of moss and lichen.

And looming over it all at the far end of the courtyard was a familiar shape.

Sky stepped out into the open, picking his way carefully across the overgrown courtyard, his eyes on the tall statue of the Goddess. One of her wings was broken off and weathering had almost erased her features, but he could still recognise her.

This must have been a temple once. His heart hurt as he wondered how long it had been since someone had last been here to pay homage to this ancient statue and the one it represented.

Well, he could say a few prayers of his own before he returned to the others. Perhaps this was why he'd been drawn here.

As he approached, he saw that in fact the place wasn't entirely neglected. Not far in front of the statue was a spot where a few of the flagstones had been pried up and broken, rebuilt into a ring around the scorched ground of a campfire. He couldn't help a frown as he looked at it. Something about that felt wrong.

But he couldn't really begrudge whoever had built that little fireplace. After all, a sacred place like this was protected from monsters and for most of those who travelled these woods it was probably just a cluster of ancient ruins around a broken statue. He couldn't blame them for making good use of the shelter and safety.

He sighed and looked up at the statue again, laying a hand on his heart and starting to murmur a prayer.

Then he heard a loose stone turn under a foot and looked round. A small group of figures were filtering into the ruins, though they'd stopped at the edge of the clearing. Sky eyed them carefully. They weren't doing anything overtly threatening, but something about them still made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

One stepped forward, the dim sunlight finally falling on his face. He was a tired-looking young man a little taller and thinner than Sky himself.

Sky nodded a greeting.

"Who are you?" asked one of the others. The leader raised a hand, scowling, and went back to looking hard at Sky. Sky couldn't help a frown of his own, still more unsettled now.

"You…" the leader murmured. "You're one of hers."

Sky blinked. "Whose?" he asked.

The leader pointed to the statue.

"Hylia's? Yes," said Sky.

At her name, several of them flinched. The leader's scowl deepened.

"But more than that," he said softly. "You're steeped in her magic." His voice hardened as he said, "You're not welcome here."

Sky had been going to leave as soon as he'd finished his prayers, but at that he folded his arms, planting his feet. "And where is 'here'?" he asked. "I see it's an ancient temple of Hylia. Is there a reason one of her followers shouldn't be welcome here?"

A flash of confusion went across the man's face. "Do you…" he started, then one of the others stepped forward and whispered in his ear: a woman, just as thin and tired-looking. His eyes went wide and he looked Sky up and down again.

"You… have a stink of prophecy on you as well," he said. "And of a curse."

That struck hard and Sky just managed not to show the chill that had just gone down his spine.

"And here you are," said the leader, his voice dropping almost to a whisper. "You're on your own, lost in the wild."

"No and no," said Sky. He couldn't help thinking that this would be a good time for some of the others to come looking for him. He suspected that the fact that he wasn't alone would be enough to make this group leave and he really didn't want to fight a group of humans who looked like they had more than enough trouble in their lives.

"Yes and yes," said the leader, a thread of anger appearing in his voice. "After all, Follower, when she" - he jabbed a finger towards the statue - "has finished with her tools she drops them. What makes you different to any of us?" He looked him up and down again. "Except wealth?"

"That isn't true either," said Sky steadily. "But I don't know anything about you, so I'm not going to argue about the difference between our lives."

"One thing's sure," said the leader. "We're abandoned and you're cursed." A sudden wild light gleamed in his eyes. "And maybe… maybe that's why you're here. Right here. One of her followers at her statue… Maybe if we -" His hand flashed into his robe.

Sky wasn't going to have a choice about fighting them. He drew the master sword as the man lunged towards him, his followers hot on his heels.

Sky parried the first stab, hissing between his teeth.

"Look -" he said, stepping backwards and swinging the sword to hit one of the others with the flat. "I don't know what -"

He cut himself off as he had to twist out of the way of another cultist's knife, then dodge a third.

He really didn't want to hurt these people. But if this went on he was going to have to if he wanted to get out of this alive.

To emphasise the thought, as he parried the leader's knife one more time another blade slipped under his guard, opening a gash up his arm. Sky grabbed the attacker's wrist and wrenched, hearing a cry of pain as he threw the cultist aside. In the same gesture, he snatched his shield from his back and shoved his arm through the straps.

But he was outnumbered and surrounded. He wasn't even sure why they were attacking him except that they had recognised him as a worshipper of Hylia and apparently they had a grudge against her.

He smashed aside another attempt to stab him, swinging his shield back to break the woman's nose. With a grunt, he brought the pommel of the master sword down on a man's shoulder, sending him staggering, and kicked him in the gut.

But it was still too much and he was losing his breath as he tried to keep twisting about, trying to defend himself without doing any fatal harm.

He didn't even see the knife coming, just felt the cold and jolt of shock as it pierced his chain mail and went home in his back. He cried out and reflexively turned, bringing the edge of his blade down on the cultist that had stabbed him.

The man fell in a spill of blood.

The others dropped back, shocked. Sky stared at the blood on the blade of the master sword, gasping, already regretting the quick, instinctive reaction.

But there was no time to really feel what he'd done. His own blood was running far too fast down his back.

He stumbled and his shoulder struck something hard.

He looked up to see that he was leaning against the statue.

"She won't help you," said the leader. "Pray to her if you want, but it'll be for nothing." He grinned, that deranged look still in his eyes. "And when you, cursed follower, die at her feet, maybe then our suffering will end." He shrugged, an apparently careless gesture that was belied by his smile. "And so will yours. But you can give up on her. You're no use like this. She won't help you."

Sky gritted his teeth and adjusted his grip on the hilt of the sword. Hylia… Zelda… Hylia… she'd put him through so much. So many times he'd come close to despair. To this day he sometimes wondered if he was indeed just a tool who would be tossed aside as soon as he was no longer useful, just as this man claimed. He remembered his many failures - too slow, too late, too weak, too slow - and how it had seemed that no matter how hard he tried it was never enough. He still wondered if Hylia was just cruel for letting this happen to an innocent boy and girl, for using them this way, for hurting them as she had. For letting the curse put on Zelda's blood and his spirit echo down the ages to the innocent boys and girls who came after them.

He still wondered if all his faith was just clinging to the hand that hurt him because he knew no better.

He sometimes wondered if he even deserved better treatment. After all, he'd not been good enough throughout his adventure and he'd not been good enough when it ended. And now, because of his failures, here was the prophecy. And the curse.

But in his waking, calm moments he knew none of those fears were true. That Hylia might not be all-powerful but she was trustworthy. That Zelda loved him. That Hylia loved him.

So he raised the sword overhead despite the blood still running down his body.

"She will help me," he said, hearing his own voice echoing off the ruined walls as if from a distance. "I know it."

He felt the jolt of tingling magic that told him the Skyward Strike was ready. Several of the cultists turned to run as his blade's blazing light sent shadows scattering between the stones. Even the leader took a step back.

Sky gave them a moment longer, though he could feel himself starting to shake. Blood had run down into his boot. He had to end this fast.

But he still didn't want to kill them. Not here. Not like this.

More ran. But the leader hefted his knife and dashed forward with a scream of rage and hatred.

The Skyward Strike blew him apart.

Sky stood still for a moment, panting for breath. Everything was silent. The survivors were long gone; he was the last one standing.

A sudden wave of dizziness went through him and he stumbled back to lean against the statue. He glanced up at it and couldn't help a smile for a moment. Once again, that gift had saved him.

But there was no time to even feel the satisfaction and warmth of having survived.

He fumbled off his belt and tried to wad his sash against the wound, but he couldn't get enough pressure on.

He didn't think he could make it back to camp in this state.

He shouldn't have gone off alone.

His vision was starting to go spotty as he kept trying to get the makeshift bandage into place. The strength was going out of his legs now that the adrenaline of the battle was done.

He slid down the statue, a chill running through him.

His breath was starting to get short.

He looked up one last time and whispered a last prayer that his brothers would follow him. That they would find him in time.

Then everything went dark.

~~~

The next thing Sky knew was voices, drifting in and out as his awareness wavered.

"- check his bandages."

"Just now … couple … hours yet."

"And -"

The noise made his head throb and he groaned a protest. Immediately, silence fell.

"Sky?" A warm hand ran through his hair. "Can you hear me?"

This time he recognised Time. He tried to respond, but all that came out was an incoherent mumble.

"All right, just get some more rest if you need it."

He would normally welcome the offer. If his brothers were here, he was safe. At least he knew that. But he wanted to find out what had happened. Slowly, wearily, he blinked his eyes open.

A couple of vague blurs resolved into Time and Warriors leaning over him.

"Sky?" said Warriors softly.

Sky slurred something vague. He wasn't even sure what he was trying to say.

Time turned away to pick up a water bottle and held it out. Sky managed to take it and Warriors propped him up so he could drink.

"You're back in camp," said Time. "You needed a fairy and you've lost a lot of blood, but you'll be fine with rest. It's halfway through the first watch and everyone else is asleep."

Sky nodded. He already felt better after a drink. He cleared his throat and croaked, "Thanks."

"And then you're going to tell us what happened," said Warriors with a frown. "We found you in a pool of your own blood in a ruined temple. Were you ambushed? There were… two other bodies, but…"

Sky nodded. "Ambush," he said. It was the easiest way to describe it. "Most fled… when I killed the leader. But… one put a knife… in my back first."

They shot each other a concerned look.

Sky sighed, heavy eyelids falling closed. "Don't know… after that. But… Hylia answered…" He didn't have the energy to do anything but fade into silence. Warriors laid him gently down again as Time's warm fingers rested against his pulse.

"I'll keep an eye on him," said Warriors. "You get back to your watch."

"You'll need to get some sleep too."

"I'll be all right."

Sky didn't hear if Time replied, but Warriors stayed beside him, running a hand comfortingly through his hair. He smiled as sleep crept over him again.

His prayer had been answered. They'd found him. It was going to be all right.

Chapter Text

Time hadn't especially wanted to attend an official gala, but when they had gone to the castle to see if the knights there could share any information on black-blooded monsters, Zelda had invited them. He knew she would have been understanding if he'd refused, but several of the boys had looked excited and curious and he didn't want to say no for no reason.

But he was regretting the decision as the noise of a royal party battered on his ears and he became aware of yet another person staring at the scar across his closed eye. Poor Wild had already bolted from the room, overwhelmed by the crowd, the noise, and the staring. Twilight had made an excuse and followed. Time would have joined them on the balcony, but this was his era. He didn't want to embarrass Zelda and he felt responsible for the others.

With that thought, he looked around again for the ones still in the room, checking for any more signs of potential trouble.

Hyrule was enjoying the buffet. That was three, with Wild and Twilight outside. Wind had cornered someone and looked like he was talking a mile a minute. Four. Legend was propping up a wall. Five. Sky and Four were making awkward small talk in another group off to the side. Seven. That left…

He'd been so busy looking around the edges of the room that he'd not even thought to check the middle until there was a sudden movement and a voice raised in annoyance. Then he saw the flash of Warriors' blue scarf. He had apparently backed into someone, but instead of apologizing and moving away he had frozen in his tracks.

Time cursed under his breath and started across the room, moving as fast as he could to get to Warriors before anything happened. He didn't know quite what was wrong - out of all of them, he'd have expected Warriors to be most comfortable in this situation - but he didn't want to find out the worst way.

More voices were starting to be raised. People were starting to turn and stare. Warriors moved again, looking around, his face pale and expression tense. He wasn't looking at the people, Time realized. He was looking at the mirrored walls.

Just before Time reached him, he backed into someone else. At once, his eyes focussed. He let out a noise that was half hiss, half shout, and spun round, his hand going to his belt.

Time knew he'd brought a knife into the party with him - he suspected none of them had come entirely unarmed. With a gasp, he closed the distance at a run and grabbed Warriors, pinning his arms against his sides before he could draw the knife.

"Outside with you," he hissed.

Warriors let out a muted sound of alarm and squirmed in his grip, but Time kept hold of him wrestling him towards the door, away from the voices and the crowd.

As he got him through the door, Warriors twisted one more time and bit his ear hard, making him loosen his grip with a yelp. A few more alarmed voices were those who had already come out to get some air, but Time just snapped, "Give us space!" and grabbed Warriors again, pushing him back against the wall and pinning his wrists against his chest, looking into his wide, horrified eyes. Restraining the captain was making this worse; he knew that. But he had to keep him from either bolting into the castle grounds and possibly the streets of the town or drawing and using his knife.

"Warriors," he said as calmly as he could. "Warriors, listen to my voice. Do you know who I am?"

"Traitor," snarled Warriors. "That's all that matters."

"No," said Time gently. He'd wonder what Warriors was seeing later. "Take a breath and think. I'm not going to hurt you. Do you know who I am?"

Warriors twisted in Time's grip, eyes wide. "Get away from me!" he cried, a note of panic starting in his voice.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Link," said Time again. "Just breathe. It's all right. I'm going to keep hold of you until you calm down, but not hurt you."

Warriors' breathing was just getting faster and before Time could even fully realise what was happening his eyes rolled back in his head. With a soft moan, he went limp.

***

It had started with the candles. With so many people moving and talking, the air in the ballroom was constantly moving. That meant that no matter where Warriors looked there was always a glimmering candle flame in the corner of his eye. The flickers either hovered in his vision, making him nervous, or forced him to turn and investigate only to see another candle and find another flicker still in the corner of his vision. He was getting dizzy and could feel himself tensing up as the thousand tiny movements made everything seem more crowded, more busy, setting alerts off constantly in his mind.

Then someone had dropped something with a clatter of metal. It was probably a piece of cutlery, but it sent a jolt down Warriors' spine, reminding him of the crash of weapons. The swirl of people and voices and flames turned into the movement of battle even though he knew he was still seeing the gala. Someone struck him in the back as he took a step back. An annoyed voice scraped across his awareness. He knew he'd just backed into someone, that everything was fine, but he couldn't quite seem to summon an apology. Battle and dance warped and shifted in front of his eyes, making him feel sick, and he took a quick, desperate breath, looking up, trying to find something steady to fix his eyes on.

Instead, he found himself staring at his own face.

He knew it was a mirror. He'd noticed as they'd walked in and he'd instinctively scanned the room for threats and entry-and-exit points that there were mirrors on the walls. But as he saw his own face plastered on the wall, all the knowledge in the world didn't make a difference. No matter what he knew, he was standing in the middle of Cia's fortress in the room she'd lined with his portrait. He could hear her laughing…

Then once again something hit him in the back. He gasped, reaching for his sword and finding it not there.

His dagger, then. He wasn't going down without a fight.

And then someone grabbed him, pinning his arms, dragging him away. He struggled, fighting for his life. Shadow self, traitor, no matter who or what it was, he wasn't going down without a fight.

Then, when he was slammed against a wall, helplessly pinned, his hands restrained, he saw the truth and his heart plummeted.

Time.

"Warriors," he said. "Listen to my voice. Do you know who I am?"

He'd known one of them would turn eventually.

"Traitor," snarled Warriors, focusing on rage to keep the pain at bay. "That's all that matters." If he said it, maybe he'd believe it.

Time kept talking, but Warriors didn't pay attention to his words, only to his hands holding him in place, possibly to make it easier for someone else to deal the final blow or put more permanent restraints on him.

No. Not without a fight. He'd deal later with the fact that one of the people he'd trusted most in the world had turned. For that, he had to get through the next few minutes.

Still, the words burst out of him as he struggled, trying to get purchase against the ground or the wall at his back. "Get away from me!"

Time was too strong and his grip was absolutely implacable. Warriors could hardly breathe, panic strangling in his throat as he realised his own helplessness. As the truth sank in.

Time.

One of his brothers.

One of his fellow heroes.

Time.

All at once it was too much. Warriors barely had time to realise what was happening, let alone fight it, before he collapsed.

***

Time swore and supported Warriors as he folded to the ground. Honestly, fainting was probably a mercy at this point.

Finally, Wild and Twilight rushed over. Wild had a bottle in his hand, but Time waved him off.

"He doesn't need a potion," he said. "He just needs some space and air." He looked around and saw Sky standing in the doorway, his hands raised slightly as he talked to someone inside. Presumably, he was keeping gawkers away and Time mentally thanked him. Hyrule ducked past his brother and knelt down beside Warriors, eyes flicking over him as he looked for injuries.

"Legend's helping Sky," he said. "Four is stopping Wind from creating a distraction. Lullaby said to get things sorted out before you even thought about explaining to her."

Time sighed in relief, but before he could reply Warriors stirred and his eyelids fluttered.

"All right, everyone back off," he said. "Give him some space."

They edged back, though not far.

"Warriors? Link?" Time spoke carefully, unsure what state Warriors would be in as he revived or how much he would remember about what had happened.

Warriors' eyes opened and he blinked to focus.

"Wha…?" he slurred, starting to sit up.

Carefully, Time caught him. "Easy, Captain. Take it easy. How do you feel?"

Warriors let him guide him back to the ground. "T-Tired. Where am I? What happened?"

Time sighed in relief. "You're on a balcony outside the ballroom. You… panicked. Do you remember?"

***

Warriors wasn't quite sure what had happened, but at Time's words the memory did start to seep back. Fire, the clatter of weapons, hands grabbing him and dragging him off. His breath caught.

Time jerked back slightly, raising his hands. "Easy," he said again. "It's all right."

Warriors couldn't work out how he'd got from the gala to a battlefield.

And as his initial disorientation cleared he started to realise what must have happened.

It had been a long time since he'd last had an episode.

He moaned, covering his face with his hands.

"It's all right," said Time again. "Just take a breath. We're here. You're safe."

"I'm so sorry," groaned Warriors. "I… didn't expect… I don't know what… It just came out of nowhere."

Time nodded. "We'll talk about it, but not now."

Warriors winced, but nodded. He was safe. He knew that. And despite the humiliation of having let the monsters in his heart get the best of him, he could at least hold onto the fact that his brothers were at his side. He knew he could trust them.

He wished he could always remember that.

Chapter Text

Sky had once been used to the Surface being almost entirely deserted. The fact that they hadn't been able to find a town or even a village where they could get help for the injured members of the Chain wouldn't have been a surprise to him before. On the Surface, there were no human - Hylian - settlements except for the one he and Zelda had founded.

However, that hadn't been the case in any of the others' eras and he'd gotten used to denser settlement. Now the emptiness unsettled him. It didn't help that while there were precious few settlements there were plenty of ruins. He didn't want to consider what that might mean for this era's history.

He shook his head slightly to drag himself back to the present and focused on the worn path he'd been following, pulling his sailcloth closer and hunching his shoulders against the pouring rain.

This Hyrule was so huge. He knew the Surface was huge too, but he had gotten so used to being able to find villages quickly, even in the wide spans of wilderness in Hyrule's era. It didn't help that they still hadn't tracked down the local hero, though grey had heard stories about him. Legend even thought he'd met him briefly, but he had a teleportation item and had run for it.

Sky tried not to think about the description of the wounds Legend said the teen had still been suffering when he disappeared. None of them had wanted to consider the possibility that he'd not survived them and they were looking for a dead man.

Then he heard something from the nearest set of ruins. He frowned, straining his ears against the sound of the pounding rain, and this time he was sure: a crash of weapon on shield.

With a muttered curse, he turned and ran towards the ruins. Several times now they'd helped travellers who were being attacked by the many monsters of this world and even though he was on a mission of his own he wasn't going to stand aside this time either.

He rounded the corner of a ruin as thunder rumbled overhead and the rain seemed to double. As he squinted through the curtains of falling water, a gleam of blue light caught his eye and he finally made out a slim, hooded figure ducking between two standing chunks of wall, dodging the spear held by a large monster. The other hylian dodged back into view and slammed a spiked club into the back of the monster's knees, sending it sprawling.

But even as they finished it off, Sky could see another one approaching: huge and dark in the rain. He wasn't sure the other hylian had seen it.

"Behind to your left!" he shouted, drawing the master sword.

The hylian looked up just as the huge monster leaped over the edge of the small drop and they just managed to dodge before it landed on them. But they weren't quite clear; one huge foot caught them and knocked them down. It was a hinox, Sky realised, seeing it closer.

With a curse, he dashed forward.

"No!" cried the hylian, their voice clearly that of an alarmed teenage boy. "Put the sword away!"

Then the monster stamped its foot on his leg and he screamed.

Sky hissed through his teeth, then a jolt of electricity crackled over his arm. He looked at the master sword with a gasp and saw sparks running up and down the blade. Then he looked up at the stormclouds overhead and realized what was happening and what the hylian had been warning him about.

Well, there was something he could do with this.

With a wince, before he could change his mind, he raised the sword overhead.

"What are you -"

He opened his eyes and saw the hinox starting to lumber towards him. The hylian was trying to sit up. Even through the heavy rain, Sky could see his eyes wide with horror and fear.

"Don't be scared!" he shouted. "I've done this before!"

It was just like a skyward strike, he told himself. And he'd have to be struck several times for it to hurt him as badly as it had that first time.

He gritted his teeth, trying not to tremble.

One strike wouldn't kill him.

And then it came.

A feeling like an explosion, searing down his arm to his feet. For a moment, everything was still.

As if from a distance, he felt his heart stutter.

Then it all rushed back. He gasped in what felt like his first breath in an hour and looked up. Pain was jittering down his whole right side, catching his breath in his throat, but - more importantly - trapped lightning raced up and down the master sword's blade.

The hinox had only taken a couple of steps. Sky looked at it for just long enough to take aim, then swung the sword down with a shout.

Lightning seared into the hinox and it roared, staggering back to almost land on the hylian. He just rolled clear, then snatched one of the weapons the hinox wore on a necklace. Sky collapsed to his knees, his free hand to his chest, his heart pounding. He gritted his teeth as his vision wavered, wanting to get up and help but barely able to struggle to his feet as the injured teen he'd been trying to rescue drove a huge sword into the hinox's throat.

Fortunately, it seemed that the hinox wasn't infected and with another unwieldy stab it dissolved into smoke and scraps.

Sky and the hylian stared at it for a moment, both panting in the slackening rain. Then the hylian scrambled away from the scattered weapons from the necklace, looking nervously at the clouds, and Sky stumbled to his side.

"Easy!" the hylian blurted, starting up to catch him only to shriek and collapse himself as his leg gave way.

"Careful," said Sky quickly. "Careful. Here…" His hand hovered towards the hylian's injured leg. "Don't move it. I'll…"

The hylian was panting as he pulled out a glowing stone device from a holster on his hip and tapped at it. In a moment's gleam of blue light, he pulled something out and thrust it at Sky.

"Here," he said. "It'll help."

Sky took it instinctively and found himself staring at a still-warm mushroom skewer.

"Zapshrooms," said the hylian nonsensically. After a moment, he added, "Go on, they're better before you get struck, but they help with the aftereffects too."

It did smell good and Sky decided to humor him. He took a bite and couldn't help a delighted noise as a jolt of sweet-and-sour washed across his tongue. It had been ages since his last meal with actual flavor and he devoured the whole thing in a few bites.

To his surprise, the awkward feeling in his chest and the pain up and down his side eased.

The hylian grinned at him. "That was quite a trick," he said. "With the sword, I mean. How did you do it? You said you'd done it before?"

Sky hadn't even discussed that with his brothers and he certainly wasn't going to tell the story to a stranger. He shook his head slightly. "Never mind that," he said lamely. "And… I'd rather you didn't tell the story, if you don't mind." He turned away quickly. "Now, your leg."

The hylian grimaced. "I'm out of elixirs," he said, pulling another skewer out of the glowing device and taking a bite. "This'll help" - he waved the skewer - "but it'll take a bit."

"Well, I'm not leaving you here in the rain." The storm had moved on and it was no longer raining so hard, but leaving this boy alone and injured out in the open obviously wasn't an option. Sky got up, still a little uneasy on his feet but feeling much better. There were a few broken crates in a corner of the ruins and he grabbed one of the planks and brought it back over along with the rope the hinox had used for its weapon necklace. "This will do as a splint."

The hylian looked uneasily at him, but after a moment he extended his leg and braced himself as Sky started to tie the makeshift splint into place. The leg wasn't entirely broken, but whatever injury was there would benefit from support until they could get him some healing.

"What's your name?" he asked as he worked, moving slowly to try to stop his hands trembling.

"Link."

Sky startled. Link went tense.

"Sorry," said Sky, glancing up. "I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just that my name's Link too."

Link let out a quick, disbelieving laugh. "Seriously?"

Sky grinned. "Seriously. But I go by Sky."

Link wasn't laughing any more, his hand hovering by his device. "So… how do you feel about bananas?"

The question came out of nowhere and Sky couldn't help staring at him. "Bananas?" he echoed. "What… I don't… What do bananas have to do with anything?"

Somehow, that was apparently the right thing to say. Link relaxed, letting his head fall back with a sigh. "Nothing, apparently," he said.

Sky finished tying off the splint. "So," he said carefully, sitting back on his heels and picking up the master sword to sheath it. "Is there a town -"

"Where did you get that?" Link blurted.

Sky smiled, holding out the sword. "It… was a gift," he said.

Link tentatively laid a hand on the hilt and a moment's gleam ran down the blade.

"I… don't understand," he said.

Sky nodded. "It's a long story," he said. "I'm travelling with a group; all of us are named Link and all of us can wield the master sword. We're heroes, the same as you."

Link was still staring at the sword.

"I was on the way to find somewhere to buy potions because a couple of us are wounded, but I'd like you to come and meet the others if you're willing - I think you've already met one."

At that, Link looked up. "Red tunic? Blue cap? Strand of pink in his hair?"

Sky nodded. "We call him Legend. I'm sure he'll be glad to see you alive; he'll never admit it, but he's been worried ever since you disappeared in front of him."

Link stared at him for a moment, then burst into sudden peals of laughter. "I… I thought…" He dragged his fingers through dripping hair, pushing back his hood. Sky just managed not to recoil as he saw the deep burn scars splashed across his cheek. "Never mind. Sure, I'll come. And given a cooking pot, I'll help you out with some elixirs too."

Sky wasn't sure how he was planning to do that, but given his clearly-magical food he was willing to trust that he wasn't exaggerating and offered him a hand.

"Come on, then," he said. "Lean on me."

And as they limped back the way he'd come, the sun finally came out.