Chapter Text
Usually, there wasn't much that could go wrong when the Chain was just camping out. Barring ambushes, at least. In fact, setting up camp was an easy task, all things considered.
So that was what the Chain was doing now. They'd set out from the inn they were staying in not too long ago, so now that it was growing late, setting up camp was a must.
"Hey, Old Man," Legend called, "do you want to gather firewood with me?" Something told Hyrule that there was a little more to Legend's request than that, but that was Legend's business, he supposed.
Time took a bit to reply, but soon nodded. "Yes, I'd be fine with that."
He looked over the rest of the Chain. "I trust that you'll keep yourselves safe?"
Wild nodded. "We will, don't worry about that." Hyrule had to agree with that. It wasn't like they couldn't defend themselves, after all.
With a nod from the latter, Legend and Time were off. Hyrule just hoped it didn't take them too long to gather the firewood— he was a bit hungry…
Either way though, setting up camp wasn't too big of a task, so the Chain took up banter to fill in the silence.
"Who do you think we'll meet next?" Wind asked. "We've been meeting a lot of people important to us lately, right?"
Hyrule nodded, trying to find an area best suited for him to sleep. "We have, yeah. Do you think we'll meet any more of your friends?" Wind had told the Chain quite a bit about his friends, like Lineback and Tetra, and Hyrule could tell that he was looking forward to the Chain meeting them.
Wind had to take a moment to think of a reply, but he eventually said, "I think so. I really hope you guys do; they're all super nice."
Hyrule couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. "I'm sure they are."
Smiling back, Wind got back to work, and that was that.
After a few more minutes, Wind spoke again.
"Hey, Sky," he began, and upon looking over, Hyrule could see that he was standing over the Master Sword, "you left this here. Do you want me to take it to you?" With that, he grabbed the sword by its hilt, despite it being hilariously taller than him.
Sky perked up at that. "Hm? Yeah, give me a moment."
Hyrule was about to look away, and finish setting his part of camp up. After all, Wind seemed to have it handled, and there wasn't much that Hyrule could do anyway.
Then, there was a chime. A chime not unlike the Master Sword. Odd, but.. it was probably nothing.
"Greetings, Masters; it has been a while."
…Masters? Hyrule was certain that he'd misheard. Perhaps the spirit in the sword had misspoken? Surely Wind wasn't like… that. Hyrule didn't want to believe that Wind could be like those Eyes of Ganon. That he could be possessed. That Wind could really be a monster (or multiple) in disguise. That Hyrule would have to actually fight Wind. Far from it. So, he could only hope that he really had misheard.
His hopes were proven wrong not long after that thought, unfortunately.
Wind blinked for a bit, clearly processing, before he smiled again, and said, "oh, Fi. It's nice to see you again. I thought you were asleep…?"
"Apologies, Speaking Master. It has been a while, and I simply thought that it would be best to greet you."
…"Speaking Master"? Had "Fi" really meant it when she'd said "Masters", then? She hadn't, right? Why would a sword that drives off evil mean that though? Surely, she'd stop them. This had to be a mistake. Wind couldn't be an Eye of Ganon.
"'Speaking Master'?" Wind wondered, and for a brief moment, Hyrule was relieved. Good. It had just been a mistake on Fi's part, then.
He was proven wrong, however, when Wind's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, you mean her, right? She's happy to see you too. I think. She doesn't talk much."
No, no, no. This couldn't really be happening, right? Wind couldn't be an Eye of Ganon.
Bracing himself, Hyrule went for his sword. If something was really happening with Wind? Hyrule would rather nip it in the bud now.
"Er…" Sky interrupted, having reached Wind. "If it's not too invasive, Wind, may I please ask what—"
"I know what it is." Hyrule cut in, pointing his sword at Wind. "It's his true nature. Isn't it, now?" The last part was directed towards Wi— the Eye of Ganon.
Twilight frowned, although he was also reaching for his sword, keeping a cautious eye on the Eye of Ganon. "What's his true nature, 'Rule?"
"An Eye of Ganon." Hyrule explained, looking around at everyone's reactions. He couldn't have anyone who was actually with it go unnoticed, after all. "They're horrible creatures. They disguise themselves as a normal villager, but then, when you speak to them, they reveal their true, monstrous forms. They want nothing more than to take your blood."
The reactions were instant. Weapons were drawn. Battle stances were taken. Gog more than to take your blood."od. So none of them were on the Eye of Ganon's side.
"So they're like the Yiga?" Wild asked, having nocked an arrow.
The Chain, of course, had heard all about those traitorous Sheikah, so Hyrule nodded.
"You could say that," he agreed, "but unlike the Yiga, the Eyes of Ganon are nothing but monsters. Their only resemblance to us is through their disguises."
Glaring at Wind, Warriors nodded, and perhaps it was just Hyrule, but Warriors seemed to have a look of… hurt, on his face. Odd…
"Not that I'm not believing you," Four, whose eyes were a mix of green and purple, asked, "but if he's an Eye of Ganon, wouldn't the Master Sword have noticed? The Four Sword too. They are sacred weapons, after all. Shouldn't they be able to tell if Wind's really an 'Eye of Ganon'?"
Sky nodded, looking cautiously at Wind. "I agree with Four. Fi would've noticed, wouldn't she have?"
That was a good point, Hyrule had to admit. However…
"The Master Sword— or the Four sword, for that matter— isn't in my era. How would Fi have noticed it if she's never seen it?"
Of course, Hyrule wasn't exactly the most well-versed in how the Master Sword worked, especially its evil-sealing ability, but the answer seemed to satisfy Sky, who took the Master Sword, and nodded.
"I'm not—" Wind began, but Hyrule swiftly cut him off.
"No excuses," was what Hyrule cut him off with. "I know exactly what you are, and the rest of us do too. We're not fools."
Slightly trembling Wind may be, but Hyrule wasn't about to show any pity. It hurt, of course, but he couldn't bring himself to.
A lost child who had gotten injured in the woods. When Hyrule had gone to help, to ask them if they were ok, the Eye of Ganon had revealed itself, nearly taking a bite out of his throat.
A baker who had offered Hyrule some food. He accepted, but before he could do anything, the Eye of Ganon was once more revealed.
Pity was often exactly how these creatures operated, after all.
After a moment of silence, Twilight spoke up. "Well, even if this isn't an Eye of Ganon, as you said, it's still an issue, isn't it?"
Seeming to realize what Twilight meant, Warriors sighed. "Demonic possession, I assume?"
Hyrule had to admit: while he'd heard stories of demonic possession before, he was almost certain that any threats of that had been replaced by the Eyes of Ganon. However, he supposed that that conclusion did make sense.
"Wouldn't it be obvi—" a blue-eyed Four began to say, only for Hyrule to once again interrupt.
"Not if it was an Eye of Ganon," Hyrule replied. "Now, speaking of which, Eye of Ganon, if you'll please—"
"I'm not an Eye of Ganon though!" The Eye of Ganon replied, looking slightly dazed— something that Hyrule had noted as common when it came to Wind, or, he supposed, the Eye of Ganon. It was also crying, even as it tried to wipe the tears from its face.
Unfortunately, that was a trick he had seen before, even if the others seemed at least hesitant when they saw them. While he appreciated that their morals wouldn't allow them to hurt children in cold blood, this wasn't exactly a child. Far from it.
"Stop lying. What did you do to Wind?" After all, if the Eye of Ganon was here, and Wind had (supposedly, hopefully) not been one before, then that meant that something had to have happened to Wind.
This time, it took a moment for the Eye of Ganon to reply, seeming conflicted and confused.
Hyrule's eyes narrowed. Trying to come up with another lie, wasn't it? Well, he couldn't have that.
"And tell the truth," he threatened, "or I'll end you right here."
Freezing, the Eye of Ganon definitely needed a moment to reply. However, before anything could be done about it, the Eye of Ganon said—
"Why should I tell you? You're just going to hurt him."
Warriors approached it, a sort of fury in his eyes that made it cower. Good.
"On the contrary, I believe that you are the one hurting him, no?"
The Eye of Ganon shook its head, raising its hands to try and cover itself— an attempt at defense, Hyrule assumed. "No! If anything, you guy are! He's going to be so upset when he finds out about this, and—"
"So you are a demon." Twilight asked. "Aren't you?"
"I—"
"Tell us where Wind is," Hyrule demanded, "or I'll end you here and now."
The Eye of Ganon went pale when it heard that. Good. Maybe the Chain would be able to help Wind, then.
"I'm not hurting us more than—"
Fed up with the nonsense, Hyrule began to thrust his sword into heart of the Eye of Ganon. Hearing a gasp, however, Hyrule stopped, instead whipping around to see what had happened.
There, in the middle of the ground, lay the Master Sword. A surprised Sky's gaze was wandering between it and his burnt hands.
When Hyrule and Sky made eye contact, Sky just nodded in confirmation.
Hyrule's blood ran cold. Sky had said ages ago that the Master Sword would only burn him if he tried to raise it against a hero, hadn't he? That could only mean…
One by one, the others seemed to realize what this meant too, various expressions of shock, remorse, or something else staring to cover their faces.
Hyrule looked over to the Eye of Ganon (Wind?), his head spinning. "I…"
Wind, the Eye of Ganon, whoever or whatever this was now, stepped back, still shaking, and— oh, sweet goddesses above, Hyrule had caused that.
As if the universe was determined to laugh at him, Time and Legend emerged from the woods.
"We're back—" Legend began with a fresh bundle of wood in his arms, only for him to stop whatever he was saying when he saw the scene in front of him. His eyes widened. "What the…"
Time stepped forward with a stern expression on his face, making Hyrule wince. "What happened," he asked, "and why, pray tell, does our youngest member look so frightened?"
"I— it was just a…" Hyrule started to say, the word "accident" refusing to pass between his lips.
"I tried to stop them," a red-eyed Four explained. "I really did!"
All Warriors did was nod in acknowledgement, sheathing his sword. "We messed up."
Time glared at Warriors. "I can see that, yes, but what exactly happened?"
Sky stepped forward with barely hidden guilt written all over his face, and he was clearly bracing himself for a reaction. "We thought that something had happened to Wind."
"Like what?" Legend asked, his eyes scrutinizing everyone except for Wind and Time.
Everyone remained quiet for a bit, including Hyrule. He wasn't sure how to admit that he'd thought that Wind was an Eye of Ganon, after all.
"A demon." Twilight finally admitted, making sure to not look at Time or Legend. "We thought that he was a demon."
"Well, clearly that was wrong!" Legend snapped. "You didn't notice that the 'demons" weren't being threatening? How they acted nothing like how a possessed person would act? Shame on you!"
"…you noticed?" Sky asked. Hyrule had to admit that he was surprised too. When had Legend noticed?
Legend sighed. "Of course I did. It's hard not to when your friend suddenly stops speaking, introduces themself by a different name, and doesn't even know that there's supposed to be someone else there!"
"Then why didn't you say anything?" Wild asked.
"It wasn't relevant," Legend began, "and it really wouldn't have helped to just—"
—before he could finish, Wind, who had slowly been backing up the entire time, fully broke out into a run, deciding to head into the woods.
Hyrule just stood there. What could he do, after all? He'd caused this. This was his issue to fix. It wasn't like Wind would be willing to listen, though. Not after what Hyrule had done.
Hyrule wished that he could turn back time. Maybe then, he'd be able to make amends, and fix his mistakes, but it was too late. What was done was done.
"I'll go after him," Four volunteered, blue and red eyes daring anyone to try and stop them.
Time nodded his approval. "Go. They trust you, after all."
Returning the nod, Four ran in the direction Wind had gone in, not bothering to hide their disdain towards Hyrule and the others as they did.
"Now," Time said once Four had gotten decently far from camp, "is anyone willing to explain why they thought that Wind might've been a demon?"
Hyrule looked away in shame, as did almost everyone else. No, he wasn't, but he didn't exactly have a choice.
So, with that thought, Hyrule began his explanation.