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It was settled—that had to be the worst portal they'd ever been through. Stepping through the dark black void, Time's armour instantly froze as a gust of frigid wind whipped through his body. He went from one empty expanse to another, nothing but white greeting his vision. He scrambled to remove his armour without a thought. His fingers fumbled, a nimble pair replacing them and quickly undoing the straps of his breastplate. It clattered to the ground and was quickly swept up in the neon light of Wild's slate. Time pulled on his coat, buttoning it with trembling fingers.
"There's no time to waste!" Warriors barked over the howling winds. His teeth were chattering and he quickly pulled his scarf over his face. "We've got to find shelter now or we're all going to freeze."
Wild made a happy noise. At some time he had changed into a fluffy white and brown coat and was passing around cloaks and jewellery to anyone without warmer clothes. "I recognise that mountain. This is my era." He tossed a ruby circlet in Twilight's direction. "There's a cabin nearby, but Rito Village is a good three hours away."
Legend glared at the sky, his hair going in every direction in the wind. "That's too far. We'll never make it in this storm."
Four was shaking violently, trying to button up the ridiculously oversized coat he'd gotten from Wild. "H-hypothermia is a concern. We need to buddy up." He paused and let out a chest-rattling cough. "Helps conserve body heat."
Time looked at the back of Four's head. The smithy wasn't going to last in this cold no matter how many coats they wrapped him in. If he was already coughing…
Worrying wasn't going to help any of them. They had to move.
Sky grabbed Four, wrapping his sailcloth tightly around the younger hero as they began to walk.
They trudged through the snow for what felt like aeons. It wet everything it touched, hiding ditches and the edges of cliffs under a blanket of white. Wild took out a big stick from…somewhere and stuck it around the edges where they walked, the rest of them following his footsteps as closely as they could. Four and Wind managed to step directly into the impressions in the snow his boots made, pants soggy up to just below their knees.
They shivered in their pairs, Warriors and Wild huddled up front and Time at the back with Sky and Four. The flaming stick in his hand was quickly burning down and a quick check of his pockets told him there was only a few left.
Time's exhale was a pale cloud. This wasn't going well.
There was a yell at the front of their party. Swords were drawn, pale shapes that Time couldn't quite make out bursting out from under the ground. Wild whipped out a glowing bow, drawing three flaming arrows at once. With the monsters gone everyone continued on their way, conversations whipped away by the wind.
A while later—Time couldn't tell if it was five minutes or five hours— Wild fell silent, his easy stride coming to the halt. He held up a finger, whispering something Time couldn't make out.
He looked up. The mountain was…melting? He blinked the sleet out of his eye, rubbed at his face to clear away whatever was smudging his vision. It didn't help, the weird illusion coming closer.
"Boys, do you see that?" He hoped he wasn't going mad.
Wild let out a breathless shout. The air froze in Time's lungs, his legs turning to stumps of woods as he ran through the thick snow. Four and Wind struggled the most, tripping over each other in a desperate scramble to get clear of the avalanche. Warriors let out a frustrated huff, hoisting Wind off his feet and rushing forward. They stumbled through the snowdrift, struggling to breathe in the icy air. Sky wheezed as he pulled Four along. He tripped on something and went down, his face going deep into the snow. Time tried to get him to his feet, watching as the rest of the group rushed ahead. There was a strange sound—little lines spiderwebbing through the ground below his boots. Time looked up and had only a moment to register the shifting trees before a wall of white slammed into him, washing everything away in a frigid embrace.
He opened his eyes. It was dark, cramped and so cold. He let out a breath, instantly regretting it as he sucked in far too little oxygen on his next inhale. It was pitch black, silent, his arms pinned to his sides by walls upon walls of rocks and snow.
He shut his eyes, his awareness narrowing down to just the gentle huff of his shallow breaths and the frigid cage encasing him. He could hear crackling, soft hums as if the snow was sighing around him.
He moved his arm—so cold, he couldn't even feel it aside from weird pins and needles up to his elbow. The sound of moving ice was getting even louder. Was there going to be another avalanche? A sharp fear pierced him, spider webbing in the same direction as the knives of ice. Was he going to die—suffocate or freeze to death—down here? Goddess—he prayed he was the only one who'd gotten caught under all of this. What would the boys do without them? Malon—
A band of light hit his cheek. There was a sudden rush of air and he gasped hoarsely, blessed oxygen flooding his lungs. Sky's face, haloed by sun, appeared and he reached in and grabbed Time by the shoulders. He was pulled out of the snow and sat up, the older hero gasping and trying his hardest not to hyperventilate. Avalanche—he'd been stuck he was going to die he had almost suffocated and was going to die and leave all of them—
"Old man." Sky said. His eyes were wide and afraid, cheeks flushed a dark red. His voice was tight and breathless. A strange pair of gloves enveloped his hands. "You need to calm down. Do you have a fairy?"
He coughed up what felt like a shard of ice. "Who's—who's hurt?" The muscles in his neck creaked as he turned his head, his heart going even colder as he saw the little body laying in the snow.
Time bit off a panicked noise. He crawled over to their smallest hero, pulling him off of the snow and pulling him into his arms. Four's head lolled limply over the crook of Time's elbow, his skin lacking the previous flush of cold. His chest was still and the the back of his skull looked like it had been…crushed, blood caking his hair and staining porcelain snow and skin alike in a strangely floral shape. A fairy shot out of his bag before he could even reach for one, chiming something Time didn't listen to. He watched as the sprite flew around Four's head, the line of his headband shifting and expanding as his wound closed. The fairy dropped in exhaustion, sprinkling sparkling dust over the boy's face before flying off.
Sky appeared at his side, trembling at the edge of Time's vision. "I found him. He—" The chosen hero choked on his words. "He'll be okay, right?"
Time blinked back tears, watching the fae sparkles glittering on his boy's cheeks. He looked peaceful, mouth hanging slightly ajar with each breath—because he was breathing! He'd started to breathe again!—and his hair draping over his forehead. His eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks, brows furrowing as he seemed to claw himself back to consciousness. He let out a soft noise of pain, eyebrows screwing shut as he woke.
"Old man…" Four's gaze drifted. "Sky." He slumped further into Time's embrace, eyelids beginning to slip shut.
"No, stay awake." Sky nudged him, pulling his sailcloth further around Four's narrow shoulders. He looked to Time. "I think he's got hypothermia."
Dread twisted in his stomach. "No, c'mon, smith. Wake up." He shook Four again, rougher this time.
Sky rifled through his bag and pulled out a blanket. "Here, put this around you and him."
Four stirred as he was pulled up. He nuzzled his head into the older hero's shoulder, leeching the heat from his body. "What—" He let out a chest-rattling cough. He sank back down with a gasp, eyes slitting and his gaze roving in wide circles, uncomprehending of the world around them.
Sky moved his finger back and forth in front of Four's eyes. He didn't respond.
"Okay." Sky's voice trembled. "He's definitely got a concussion. A severe one. We need to move. Now."
Anxiety pulled at his gut, fear and anger making a cocktail in his stomach. Sky telling him what to do—Sky being right—it wasn't—
"I'll carry him." Time stood. Sky's eyes flashed with…something but he remained silent. Four hardly seemed to notice being hoisted into Time's arms, pupils blown so wide there was only a small ring of grey around them.
"I think I can use Fi to dowse for the others." Sky said, adjusting the sailcloth and blanket so they wrapped around both Time and Four. He'd donned a fluffy coat, pale and lined with various red and blue feathers. His lips had a strange blue cast, jaw trembling minutely with the chattering of his teeth. The sword shone too-bright in the sun.
Time turned away. The snow was already annoying—he didn't need that damned sword blinding him as well. Sky didn't seem to notice and instead turned in a full circle, blue-tinged lips tilting upwards as a shudder ran down the sword.
"She's found them." He pointed it forwards, shuffling awkwardly as he tried to keep his sword straight and walk through the snow.
Distantly, he worried about the rest of group but that thought flew away as Four wheezed. They were all running out of time.
They started to walk. The snow was beginning to fall even heavier and was almost shin deep. Walking through the sludge seemed to sap him of energy right away, whatever awkward conversation that Sky had struck up trailing off. Four was feather-light in Time's arms and terrifyingly silent.
Sky slowed with a soft hiss. Time could hear his breath rasping and catching in his throat and he doubled over, fluffy hair falling over his face as he coughed. Time shifted Four in his arms, patting Sky on the back.
The skychild shot him a wan smile and waved him off. "We got to keep moving."
Time squinted at the snow. Hylia, his eyes hurt. Four lifted his head from Time's shoulder, wiping his nose. A smear of blood rested just above his lip.
"Sorry." He rubbed at the spot of red he'd left on Time's coat. He paled. "Ezlo, I think I'm gonna be sick."
Time didn't ask who that was, instead lowering him to the ground right as the younger hero started to retch. He looked away and pat Four's narrow shoulders as he heaved. Once he was done he fell backwards with a gasp, landing on his hands and scrambling backwards.
"Sorry, sorry." His voice chest rose and fell even quicker than Sky's. "I…" His voice broke off in a high whine. "I think I have a concussion."
"I know." Sky brushed a strand of hair behind Four's ear, a tender expression on his face even as the chosen hero struggled for breath. "You're going to be okay."
Four brushed off his hand and shook his head. He winced and curled in on himself a little, no doubt feeling the lingering pain from his head injury. "We've got to find the others." He repeated.
Time nodded, trying to hide how taken aback he was at the sudden lucidity. Maybe the red potion was beginning to help.
The smithy locked his gaze with Time's, the eldest's heart stuttering for a moment when crimson bloomed in his iris. Smithy's eyes had always interested him somewhat, their odd colour and shape catching his attention when he had nothing better to think about but now they seemed so off. The colours of his eyes had always been hard to pinpoint but they'd never changed.
A little part of him wondered about possession. That was quickly discarded when Four hiccuped, a little sob bursting out of his chest. He rubbed his eyes, hissing something about a colour with no small amount of frustration.
Before Time could do anything Sky was there, cupping Four's face in his hands with the same carefulness you'd expect for an injured bird. "Hey, don't cry." A long-buried irritation spiked in the elder's chest. Sky taking his job, his duty and shouldering it with no trouble—
It wasn't right. Goddess, it wasn't fair.
The creases in Four's brow smoothed out, a smile pulling his lips up. He leant into Sky's gloved palm, his blinks slowing. "Thanks…" Four's gaze went vacant again, before his eyes snapped back to Sky. "What're you doing? We gotta move. Didn't I tell you?"
Sky looked to Time, confusion evident in his expression. Time only shrugged.
"I'll take him." Time offered. "I know you're struggling to breathe."
"Don't worry, I'm fine." Sky rested a hand on his chest as if to show how steady his breaths were. "Four's light. You should focus on fighting."
"I don't want you to hurt yourself." Time's hand inched towards Four's shoulder.
"Old man." There was a sharp edge to his voice, a little of the humour from his nickname falling away. "I'm a hero like you. I'm not afraid of getting puffed out."
Four watched the conversation with what looked to be distant interest. The tears on his cheeks had dried into little icicles. "Y'know, I can walk."
"Absolutely not." The smithy shrunk under Time's stare. Had his pupils dilated even more? Hopefully he was imaging it. "You said it yourself—you have a concussion."
Four blinked and shit his pupils were going absolutely haywire. "I did?" He scrunched up his nose, unintentionally doing the world's best impression of a disgruntled chipmunk. "Bloody violet. I can walk."
Sky nodded slowly. "Uh…huh." He got to his feet and raised the sword.
They walked for a while until Sky stopped, holding out the sword with a pale face. Time caught up, heart thudding in his ears as he saw what was in the distance. A massive monster stood a ways ahead. It was far away, but not far enough.
Recognition sparked in Time's mind, giving him a name. A lynel.
Sky's face fell. "We're not going to be able to just sneak past this thing, aren't we?"
As if on cue, Time saw the creature raise something shining and sparkling above its head. He realised belatedly what it was, an arrow soaring into the sky.
"Run!" He gasped out hoarsely, struggling to move quickly through almost knee-high snow. The ice arrow sank into his calf with brutal force, his whole leg erupting in agony only to be numbed by the cold. He tripped and fell backwards, a small body cushioning his fall. He lay there for a moment, shock and pain delaying the realisation of who he was lying his whole weight on. Four let out a soft noise from beneath him, Time forcing himself to his knees as concern overrode the agony in his leg. He distantly noticed Sky taking a defensive position in front of him.
His vision whited out as he grabbed Four by the shoulders. He hardly noticed how limp the boy was through the pain and panicked haze, slinging him over one shoulder and wrenching the arrow out by the shaft. He scrambled for a potion, uncorking the bottle he pulled from his pouch and downing half of it. He managed to stand with only a little bit of dizziness, though his leg seared with pain. Four , the wound on his head—or maybe a new one from the fall—bleeding anew and dripping red onto the snow.
Sky coped a swing from the lynel's sword on his shield, the attack sending him stumbling back. Time struggled to reach his sword, slipping Four out of his arms and placing him down into the snow as gently as he could and praying he wouldn't get stepped on. That was clearly the wrong decision as the lynel's gaze turned sharply towards the both of them, clearly sensing who the weakest link was.
"Gramps…" Four breathed, his head lolling to one side. His eyes shut and stayed like that, fingers going lax around Time's sleeve.
Time tried to move, a wave of nausea almost putting him back onto the ground. He pulled out his bow and strung an arrow, squinting to try to line up a good shot. He was no dead shot like the Champion but the arrow flew true, sinking into the lynel's side just as its arrow had gotten him. It moved backwards, giving Sky the opening to surge forward with the sword. He swung it across its chest in a wide arc before plunging it deep into its stomach.
Sky wrenched it back. Or tried to.
Time—but not Time—seemed to slow down, Sky's grip on the hilt unwaivering even as his movements became even more frantic.
Goddess dammit, he was too faithful to that sword.
The lynel kicked out with its front legs. There was a crunch, muffled by the snow as the knight went flying backwards. He flew a short way, landing in a pile in the snow.
Time was moving before he'd even hit the ground, leaving Four in the snow and praying the lynel wouldn't notice him. He threw a bomb haphazardly in its direction, unleashing arrow after arrow as he hobbled, half-sideways towards the younger man. He didn't care whether they hit or not and instead just prayed that they would distract it enough to let Time get a potion into Sky before he—
Time's injured leg screamed as he dropped down to examine him. His chest had gone concave. It rose and fell with every shallow, panicked breath, Sky's eyes teary and glazed with pain.
Time wrenched his shield out just in time to catch the lynel's blade. His arm swung back with the force, a strange feeling rippling throughout his whole body with the movement.
The pain registered all at once. He screamed, white hot lighting racing up his shoulder and through to his ribs and neck. He bent over Sky, his non injured hand desperately rifling through his pouch until his fingers closed around the familiar smooth glass of a potion bottle. The whole world seemed to buzz with static as he struggled to uncork the bottle, not even registering whether Sky was conscious or not as he dumped the whole bottle into his mouth.
The chosen hero choked, coughing up flecks of red that were too dark to be potion but managing to swallow. His tunic swelled and on his next breath the raspy, crinkling paper sound was gone.
His head lolled to one side. His eyes went wide. "Smithy…"
Time turned, heart going cold as he realised why he hadn't been beheaded by the lynel yet. Four was standing, the tip of his sword dipping as he pointed it towards the lynel. He wavered, looking like he was about to faint right where he stood.
"Don'—" He dug a hand in his hair. "Don't move." He seemed to stare straight through the lynel and Time was hit with a sudden wave of terror as he realised that the youngest hero didn't seem to be fighting the same enemy as the rest of them.
He's going to die. Time thought, struggling to rise to his feet through the pain in his arm and leg.
Sky stood with an agonised noise, clutching his ribs and still swordless. The potion had evidently not done a good enough job. He lunged for it, scooping up the bloodied sword and stumbling for the lynel. It ran towards Four, the smaller hero just barely getting out of its way and catching its side with his blade. He tripped over his feet for a crucial moment, stalling just one second too long. The beast's arm shot out and caught him by the neck, its massive hands spanning from above his mouth to his collarbone. It squeezed through his winter scarf, all the air crushed out from the smithy's throat in a pitiful wheeze.
But Four didn't falter, didn't drop his weapon even as the lynel nearly made a fist around his throat. He instead flipped the sword in his grip and angled it upwards. The blade stabbed through the monster's arm, deep enough until the tip emerged from its wrist. The smithy dropped to the ground, thankfully not thrown as Sky had been. He rolled over and Time could see blood bubbling from his lips at an alarming rate.
Time's vision faded in and out as he made his way to his feet. He was suddenly aware of a million little cuts and bruises that peppered his body, the adrenaline wearing off at the worst possible moment as he was hit with a massive wave of exhaustion. He staggered, Sky crumpling to his knees beside him. He shut his eyes as the lynel raised its sword at Four, the smithy still coughing red and too far away to help.
There was a shout, but it the ones of pain he had grown accustomed to over the past few hours. He heard the hiss of multiple swords being unsheathed and hesitantly opened his eyes. The scene that greeted him wasn't the gore he had feared—or at least it wasn't Four's blood gushing out onto the snow. His vision adjusted just in time to see Twilight shift into his human form, his blade cutting through the lynel's neck in one fluid motion. He barely looked back to check it was dead before turning to Four, the others crowding the younger hero as he stumbled.
Wild chuckled breathelessly, a sharp, anxious edge to his laugh. "Looks like we found you just in the nick of time."
He nodded wordlessly and tried to blink the black spots out of his vision. "Sky?"
"Getting taken care of, don't worry." He offered a hand to Time, hauling him to his feet with surprising strength. Time stumbled for a moment and knocked his shoulder against his but managed to stay upright.
"Champion, we really need to get everyone to the stable." Warriors called, helping Four onto Epona.
The shape of Wild's jaw sharpened. "Yep." He brought his fingers to his lips and whistled. The noise pierced through the snow, a white horse Time hadn't noticed befitore rushing towards them with a neigh. He softened a touch as he watched it nuzzle up and down Wild's arm.
"Think you can get on?"
Time nodded, grasping the reins of the horse. Even with the elixir his fingers refused to stop trembling. He hoisted himself up onto the saddle, dizziness washing over him in a heavy wave.
Another fit of darkness across his vision and Twilight was by his side, trying to stop him slipping completely off of the horse with a hand across his back.
"Shouldn't you be with the others?" Time croaked, regretting it instantly as Twilight cringed away from him.
"Epona's a good girl. She'll be gentle with them." The younger hero took the reins from Time's hands, leading his steed along with practiced ease.
Warriors, followed by an anxious looking Wind, fell into step with Wild's horse. Legend and Hyrule flanked its two injured passengers, lunging out to catch him every time Four or Sky listed a little too far to the side.
The fall of the smithy's hair made it impossible to tell if he was conscious or not but Sky looked asleep, his head cushioned on the younger hero's shoulder and utterly dead to the world.
Four leaned forwards, Time's heart caught in a vice as he seemed to fall—only to drape himself over Epona's neck. Sky followed his movements, leaning against Four's back with a tremulous sigh.
Time let his gaze wander to the view in front of him, fixing his eyes on the giant horse-shaped building that was becoming clearer with every step of his horse. They rode for a good while, Time feeling some of the tension leak from his body as a familiar tune greeted his ears and the warmth of a fire began to flicker downwind.
Time yawned, cutting the sound of as quickly as he could when he saw the youth lying besides him. He shook off the post-nap haze, trying to think past the fogginess of fever that had clouded his thoughts for the past few days.
He pressed his nose to the downy hair that flowed uncharacteristically over Four's eyes, inhaling the sweet scent left over from Warrior's shampoo. A hazy memory surfaced in his mind of the captain and Legend carefully washing the blood out of the smithy's hair, laughing amongst themselves as the younger hero mumbled delirious nonsense into Warrior's chest.
Four stretched in Time's embrace, his palm knocking into Time's cheek and staying there. Time bit back a laugh, exhaling it in a quiet huff. The smithy didn't stir, his fair eyelashes only fluttering slightly against his cheeks. A familiar pelt was lain across him, stacked on top of the many blankets smothering them both. Something squirmed in him when his nightshirt slipped, revealing the blackened bruises that mottled the slender column of Four's throat.
Time let himself sink further into the mattress. He lay there for a while, listening to the soft exhales and snores that surrounded him until his aching muscles made themselves known and he regretfully had to sit up. Four rolled over with an irritated noise, his eyes opening and blearily looking around.
"T'me?" His pupils looked more even since he'd last seen them, his lips back to a healthy pink rather than the scraped up blue they had been when they were out in the snow. There was a faint tremor in his limbs that Time decided not to mention, instead placing a hand near his arm just in case it gave way.
Four's brows furrowed as he saw the pile of Links laying around them. "Where're we?"
Time rubbed his good eye in an attempt to wake up more. He needed a coffee. He thought for a moment, his mind sluggishly wrapping around an answer. "A stable."
"Don't worry, everyone's safe." Twilight drawled, reaching up from where he was laying on the ground and tenderly carding his fingers through the younger hero's hair. Four cut off whatever he was going to say with a yawn, leaning into his hand.
"Good to see you two up and about." He propped himself up on his elbows, moving the position of his hand to gently rub the back of his neck, carefully avoiding the bruises. Time snickered as Four melted into his touch, looking more relaxed than Time had ever seen him.
"Hey!" Twilight laughed as Four flopped over his chest and sent them both back onto the piles of blankets. "Don't jostle your head, the Cap'll kill me if you start bleeding again."
"Sorry…" Four murmured, not sounding apologetic at all.
Twilight huffed, a smile playing on his lips. "Don't worry about it. Just be careful, alright?" His gaze flicked over to meet Time's, the genuine concern shining in his eyes making Time's chest squirm. "How are you?"
"Better." Time said, rolling his shoulders. He still felt terribly weak, the tremble remaining in his limbs becoming more and more noticeable with every minute he was holding himself up.
Twilight hummed. "You were feverish for a few days. Still feeling sick?"
"I am…" Came Sky's groan from in between Wind and Wild. He coughed, making no move to get up. "What the hell was that portal, ugh…" His cough was more of a wheeze, small and painful even as he looked over and smiled.
Twilight's easy expression faded. Four voiced his agreement from where he was sprawled across the ground, already reaching for more blankets now that the chill from the winter air had started to settle in.
"Here." Taking his own portion of the blanket Twilight wrapped it around Four's shoulders, shifting his smallest up into a sitting position. "You should try to warm up a bit more."
Four stared, unimpressed, but didn't make any motion to leave, instead melting into Time's side with a heavy exhale. His eyelids were starting to droop, Sky's as well.
Time shifted into a more comfortable position, warmth spreading throughout his chest when Twilight pressed up against him.
Nearby he heard the shifting of bodies as everyone else began to wake up, Wild getting to his feet and saying something about making drinks.
Within minutes he was cradling a steaming mug of coffee in his hands, Four and Sky being woken and bullied into taking hot chocolates and tea respectively. Time took a long sip, feeling a bit of the fog and panic clear from his mind for the first time in days.
Life was pretty good—barring the avalanche.