Chapter Text
“Luck,” Saffron sits up and pauses the pirated movie playing on Lucky’s laptop. The two are relaxing on Lucky’s bed, staying up late as two teenagers would do at a sleepover. “I’m hella hungry; can I grab something from the kitchen?”
He waits for an answer, but only receives soft breathing in return. Looking beside him, Saffron can see the reason: Lucky is deep asleep, bent in some awkward position that looks like it’d have him waking up in agony if he tried to recreate it.
Saffron rolls his eyes and shuts the laptop, figuring he himself would probably pass right out the moment he finishes eating whatever he scrounges in the cabinets, so there was no need to keep watching the movie.
They slip out of Lucky’s room and eventually find their way to the kitchen.
No, they definitely didn’t get lost.
Saffron rubs their eyes as they open and close different cabinets, looking for something to satisfy their hunger. In the end, they settle on a bag of chips, scavenged from the back of one of the shelves.
They turn around to find their way back to Lucky’s room when suddenly, everything feels wrong. The world feels like a vacuum, the silence shrieking and howling at them. The stagnant air is like ants crawling all over their skin.
“Oh hell no,” they mutter and do a quick 360 before slowly walking backwards down the hallway to Lucky’s room, bag of chips in hand.
When they get far enough from the kitchen, they turn around and sprint the rest of the way, slamming Lucky’s door shut and quickly locking it. Call them superstitious, but they don’t mess with the paranormal.
Lucky shoots to a sitting position, woken up by Saffron’s panicking. “Dude, what the fuck?” she asks, rubbing her eyes and giving Saffron an exasperated glare.
Just as Saffron opens his mouth to speak, the cause of the affair makes itself known. A swirling portal opens up right in the middle of Lucky’s room, lighting up the space with a bright blue glow. The pair gawk at the shining mass in front of them, shocked into silence.
“No shot…” Saffron eventually speaks up.
Lucky blinks slowly, really not convinced it isn’t still dreaming. It clambers over to the other side of the bed and stands beside Saffron.
“Am I tweaking, or…?” It mumbles, leaning toward the other, like the portal can hear it speaking.
“I-I mean… I was about to ask you that…” Saffron responds, similarly leaning in.
“I don’t even know if I’m awake right now, twin. I am not a primary source.”
“Dude… I-”
The silence from before is oppressive now, all background noise on mute to make room for the overbearing presence of the portal now inhabiting the space before them.
“Maybe we should stop, like, staring at this thing.” Lucky suggests dubiously. “'Cause, I dunno about you, but my name isn’t Link.”
Saffron chuckles nervously, “Yeah.. Me neither.”
They pull out their phone, fumble for the camera app, and point it up at the foggy mass, snapping a photo.
“Doesn’t show up.” They mutter, angling their screen to Lucky.
Lucky inspects the photo, looking between the portal and the empty room displayed on Saffron’s phone. “We can’t be sharing a dream or something, right? Like, we’re both too Linked Universe pilled, and we’re making this up?”
“I dun-” Saffron suddenly clamps a hand across their abdomen. “D-do you feel that?
“Feel what?” Lucky’s hands hover near Saffron, their brows knitted with concern. “Do you need a MIDOL or something?”
Saffron looks up, confused at Lucky, “W-what? No, I’m not getting period cramps. It’s like… a tug… I think we should go through, I think she wants us to go through.”
“…She?” Lucky asks slowly. “Saffy, I think we’re just dreaming, man.”
“What? She? I-” Saffron brings a hand to their head and squeezes their eyes shut. “Dude, I swear to… Do you not feel that tug?”
“Okay, um— no, I don’t, but you look like you’re gonna pass out if you keep feeling that ‘tug.’ What do I do? I mean, what can I do for you?”
“We need to go through, that’s the only way it’ll go away, I know it.” Saffron moves their hands to tug at their curls impatiently. “I-I We need to pack.”
“O- okay, Saffy, you’re not—“ Lucky winces a bit as their stomach twists, their head filling with a repeating cadence of ‘Hurry! Go through! Portal! Hylia! Hurry!’
“Okay! I think I’m getting you now.” They chuckle anxiously, reaching up to gently pull Saffron’s hands from his hair. “Let’s get some backpacks set up; I have like three in my closet.”
“Now you get it, huh?” Saffron shakes her head and moves to gather up the things she brought with her to the sleepover. Toiletries, change of clothes, charger, water bottle, and most importantly, their pack of Extra Sugar Free Spearmint Gum
Lucky scrounges up two backpacks from their closet, stuffing one of them with a winter jacket and the other with their fluffiest sweater. They toss the backpack with the jacket to Saffron and start packing clothes from their dresser. They bring along their headphones, chargers, a pocket knife, and toiletries.
Then they make a sprint to the kitchen for their meds, choking down a pained cry at the sudden lancing pain in their stomach that only worsens as they get further from the portal. They return to the room as fast as possible with every regret under the sun because the discomfort isn’t letting up.
“Everything?” Lucky pants, depositing their meds, zipping up their bag, and pulling it on. “Got everything, I mean.”
Saffron nods and tosses their own bag over their shoulders. They step up in front of the portal and look at Lucky. “What about your mom?”
“Oh, FUCK!” Lucky exclaims, its hands flying to the sides of its head in panic. It really doesn’t want to bear the pain any longer, but it also doesn’t want its mom to get the wrong idea.
It rushes to its desk and tears a paper out of the nearest book—a copy of Watership Down—to write a note on.
‘Not running away! Not leaving of own accord either tho. Love you we r safe!’
“That’s good, I think.” Lucky drops its pencil and folds up the page, leaving it smack dab in the middle of the desk.
“Let’s get going; I’m actually about to explode from discomfort," it insists, stepping toward the portal again.
Saffron stares at the note for a moment, then at Lucky, then back up at the portal. “Is it lame of me to say I’m scared? Like, terrified?” They whisper and clench their fists.
Lucky shakes her head vehemently, so much so that she gets dizzy for a moment. “Not at all, dude. I mean, I’m scared too. I just… I kinda don’t want you to go alone? I dunno, I’m not locked in right now. Point is, I’m also really, really terrified.”
She takes a shuddering breath.
“Can we um, can we do it on three?”
Saffron shakily nods their head and holds out a hand. “One..”
Lucky grabs their hand, squeezing it tight, and faces the portal head-on. “Two…”
“Three.” Together, the two walk forward into the portal.
The first thing Saffron and Lucky see upon opening their eyes is white. Bright, blinding white that forces them to shut their eyes again, almost immediately.
The second thing Saffron and Lucky see is the ground beneath their feet as they land on the floating islands inhabiting this white space. The grass is soft and lush, dotted with clovers, poppies, and cornflowers. Lucky eats dirt; Saffron does not.
“Fucking hell,” Lucky groans, getting to her feet again and dusting herself off. She trails off as she registers their surroundings, eyes darting around to take it all in. “This uh… this isn’t Hyrule.”
Saffron nervously cracks their knuckles, “I think… I think this is the Sacred Realm?” They say, scanning the pair's surroundings. “I’m not sure. The only games I’ve finished with the Sacred Realm are Ocarina of Time and A Link Between Worlds.”
“I don’t think I’ve gotten to those parts of those games yet.” She says curiously, cautiously approaching the edge of the island they’re on. “But I’ll take your word for- Holy FUCK!”
Lucky startles back, spooked by the appearance of a tall woman with flowing blonde hair and an ethereal presence about her. She’d practically popped into existence, a playful grin on her face.
“Greetings, mortals.” The woman greets, landing gracefully in front of them. “My name is Hylia, though I do not doubt you already know of me.”
Saffron’s jaw drops to the ground, and he stares up at the actual goddess Hylia standing in front of him. “Holy fuck indeed…” He whispers, eyes widening as he takes multiple steps back.
“Uh– hi…” Lucky mutters dumbly, struck with disbelief and a sense of trepidation.
“Greetings,” She says again, bowing her head slightly toward the both of them like she isn’t the literal divinity in this situation. “You must be wondering why I’ve brought you here, yes? Allow me to tell you the tale of my heroes, one that’s been retold many a time over across the millennia.”
The atmosphere around Saffron and Lucky distorts and folds in on itself, the moment suspended until the two find themselves sitting in a cosy house, cross-legged in their own individual reading chairs across from Hylia.
“At the beginning, before the kingdom you’ve come to know as Hyrule was founded, the world was truly a paradise. Never had the people of the land known suffering. Then one day, a fissure opened in the earth, and what came forth was the demon king, Demise, and his army of vicious monsters. To save the Hylians, I gathered the survivors of evil’s rampage onto an outcropping of land. I sent it skyward, where a civilisation known as Skyloft would be established.” The goddess pauses to gauge Saffron's and Lucky's reactions. They’re both trying to get out of the armchairs she’s magicked them into being stuck to.
“Aeons later, on this island lived a knight-in-training named Link. My chosen knight. As well as a young girl named Zelda,” she continues with no hint of irritation toward their struggling.
“Link dived down from Skyloft to save his–Ahem–girlfriend, Zelda, who had been kidnapped by one of the demon king’s servants. On the Surface, he overcame many challenges and adversaries in his search for the girl. Eventually, both he and Zelda became aware of their roles in this legend. Link, as the spirit of the hero who would turn back evil, and Zelda, as the vessel for the soul of the goddess Hylia.” Hylia gestures to herself.
“Link tempered his soul and forged the Master Sword out of the flames of my Sisters. He gathered the parts of the Song of the Hero and found the Triforce I had hidden in Skyloft. With the Triforce, he brought peace back to the land by vanquishing Demise.”
Hylia’s expression hardens suddenly, and she casts her eyes to the floor. “However, in his last breaths, the Demon King cursed the spirit of the hero and the blood of the goddess. Demise’s hatred would come back time and time again to bring ruin to the kingdom of Hyrule, for all eternity.”
She looks back up at Lucky and Saffron, who’ve struggled enough against the invisible chains to realise they aren’t getting out of storytime.
“The timeline continues and splits and remerges with a hero and a princess there to support the realm of Hyrule in most, if not all, versions of this world. These heroes bear the Courage to stand up for what is right, and as such, I must call upon them once more.” Hylia nods, “That is where you, my children, come in.”
Lucky tries to raise a hand to ask a question, but Saffron reaches over and smacks it down. Lucky barks at him in retaliation.
“...I implore you to take on this quest…?” Hylia trails off in confusion before shaking her head at the silly antics and continuing. “I must ask you to travel the timeline–all of them–and collect my heroes for a journey together against evil. A force of darkness is causing havoc across time, infecting the monsters of the land with blood laced with malice that only serves to make them more dangerous for my people.”
Saffron opens and closes her mouth multiple times, trying to figure out what to say. They wouldn’t let themselves believe what was happening. In their eyes, this was truly impossible. “Excuse me, Miss- Miss Hylia.” They take a deep breath. “You see, there’s this comic back in our world… It’s quite similar to what you're describing?...” They trail off, hoping the goddess would catch their drift.
Hylia nods and smiles knowingly, “Yes, that is true, isn’t it? I’ve chosen you and your friend as my proxies for your knowledge on the future and your unique skills related to such. You will surely be able to navigate the natural distrust my heroes might hold for each other and bridge those connections–after all, you know how their relationships develop with each other in this comic you speak of.”
Lucky raises his hand, the one furthest from Saffron this time. “We’re like… kids, though? We don’t know how to survive out there, especially because we’re from modern times.”
“Yeah…” Saffron agrees. “I can barely do a push up, what do you mean we’re supposed to be fighting the black-blooded monsters?”
“Hm… Perhaps I should imbue you with a blessing,” Hylia frets at their words, the thought suddenly occurring to her that these new proxies of hers are wholly unprepared for the weight she’s about to set on their shoulders. “It would do no good to see you perish on the field due to your inability to fight.”
Lucky lets out an indignant sound, but doesn’t protest Hylia’s words beyond that. He knows very well he’s never touched a sword in his life.
“Yes, I think I shall give you two a blessing,” Hylia decides, paying no mind to any odd noises arising from the humans.
The atmosphere distorts and folds in on itself once more, materialising into a large, ornate temple–the Temple of Time. Saffron and Lucky find themselves taking a knee before the goddess, as colourful lights from the stained-glass windows flit across their faces, making it hard to see.
Saffron glances at Lucky with a look that says, What is this woman on about? Lucky only offers an expression that’s just as confused as his, shrugging halfheartedly. He shakes his head, and the two crane their necks to look up at the goddess.
Hylia stands with her eyes closed and her hands held out, palms up. The rainbow lights begin to swirl around the goddess. The light channels through her, setting her figure aglow until the energy settles in her hands. Orbs of light form in her palms, swirling with a spark that can only be described as the blessing of a goddess.
“Lucky, Saffron.” She begins, “I have chosen you two to undertake this quest to guide my heroes and save my land. To aid you, I have decided to bestow upon you my blessing. You will be granted the abilities of a hero, and will use this for the greater good.” Suddenly, the forces holding Saffron and Lucky down are lifted. “Rise.”
Lucky pushes herself to her feet, standing rather awkwardly until the orb of light in Hylia’s left hand rushes toward her chest and settles itself in her heart. She jolts back with a surprised yelp, startled by the warm buzzing filling her body. She feels like the world is moving slower than she is, like she could run for miles without stopping and then some. She also, strangely, feels like eating a handful of grass.
Saffron does the same; they stumble a little as they stand, but as soon as they straighten fully, the orb in Hylia’s other hand flies into their chest. He flinches and brings a hand up to where the light had entered–the warm energy flooding his body–and suddenly every noise in the temple resonates in his heart, flowing together like a comfortable melody.
Once more, the scene changes, and Saffron and Lucky find themselves standing back in the Sacred Realm. Hylia steeples her fingers and smiles sweetly.
“Are you ready to set off on your quest, my children?” She asks, tilting her head.
Lucky blinks, shaking out its limbs. “What did– wait, what did you do? What were the blessings?”
“Yeah…” Saffron nervously pulls at the hem of their shirt. “I’m all for blessings, but maybe we should know what they are so we don’t die?”
Hylia already has her hand extended, ready to summon a portal to take the pair away. A portal similar to the one that brought them here tears opens again, swirling white with hints of gold and blue. It doesn’t feel as repressing and heavy as before, more like a gentle nudge and wave off. Though with Hylia standing behind them, it’s not like Lucky and Saffron need the gut pull.
“Time is of the essence, my children,” Hylia pushes them forward by their shoulders.
“You will find yourselves in tune with the magic around you,” She pats Saffron’s head. “And communicating with creatures you previously could not understand,” She pats Lucky’s head.
“Now,” She shoves them forward into the portal with a grin. “Go, and carry out my will.”
“Whuh- huh?” Saffron looks up at Hylia incredulously, then stumbles and waves his arms wildly in an attempt to catch his balance on Lucky.
“What the fuck!” Lucky exclaims in shock, going down with Saffron. They tumble through the portal together without further ado.