Chapter Text
It was so very sudden.
So terrifyingly sudden.
One day they were exploring with Wild, the nine heroes now inseparable after having been stuck adventuring through eras together for probable years. Months? It had gotten difficult to keep track.
They had just found a map of the area, and were headed at Four’s insistence to a nearby town. The chain was in desperate need of new gear anyway. And Four wanted to make a new weapon for Wild, because of course his was broken for the second time this month.
They found a small clearing, and decided to call it a night. The group of heroes carried out their nightly routines, laid out their bed rolls, and passed out for the evening.
One moment he was there.
And the next, Wild was gone.
No warning, no reasoning. They had fallen asleep, slept in peace, and awoke to their ally being gone without a trace. Twilight had tried to track him, but Wild’s scent didn’t travel in any direction. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.
Each member of the chain dealt with the disappearance of their cook in different ways. Time, of course, took the initiative. He had attempted to split the team into pairs to cover more ground, hoping that they could find Wild.
Warriors, too, came up with his own plan, believing if Wild had gone anywhere he would have headed to the lake they had passed the other day. He had pointed it out, expressing his desire to catch some fish and refill his water skin.
Naturally, considering they were both stress, this lead to Time and Wars bickering.
Twilight, or Wolfie, searched desperately for any scent. Any trace of his pup. But as the day went on and as his search became more frantic, any pre-existing scent had vanished, leaving Twi without a clue as to where their resident fire starter had gone off too.
Legend, of course, had acted flippantly, saying that Wild had probably gotten distracted by a lizard and ran off. But it was clear by his strained expression, he was worried for Wild too. Thought he wouldn’t admit it, and continued to brush off the lack of Wild.
Sky didn’t know how to feel. He was crushed of course, he always liked Wild. When they would joke together, that time Wild let Sky help cook which lead to… questionable results. He had decided internally that Wild was a hundred percent alive, Twilight would have found a body otherwise, so he would keep a level head and help with a search.
Wind, he was devastated. He had JUST managed to start understanding Wild and his frankly odd mannerisms, and now he was gone. Vanished. Maybe dead. The sailor didn’t know how to react. He held onto hope of course, Wild wouldn’t just DIE (again), there must be an explanation. Thats what he told himself anyway.
Four, though not to close with Wild, was also in shock. He knew Wild well enough to know he wouldn’t wander off while everyone was asleep, not after last time when Wild snuck off to catch fire flies, and accidentally woke a Lizalfos camp. And as much as the champion annoyed Four with constantly breaking his sword, he still cared about him as his brother in arms. His four selves argued amongst themselves, giving Four quite the migraine.
Hyrule, he too didn’t know Wild as well as he wanted to. But almost any attempt to get to know him just distressed Hyrule. As a healer, Wild’s stories or reckless abandon and lack of self preservation made Rulie nauseous. He could only assume Wild did something stupid and was now deathly injured.
The group was in anarchy. They could deal with anything, to ancient evil to dark clones. But the disappearance of their most reckless ally? That lead to chaos. Eventually Warriors relented, and allowed Time to take charge of the group.
“Alright! Everyone take a breather. Wild is fine.” He called over their chatter, successfully getting their attention. “Rancher, have you found any traces of him? A scent, a hair, anything?”
“No.” Twilight sighed, forming back into a Hylian. “I- I can’t find a thing. It’s as if he disappeared from thin air.”
Time pinches his brow. “Okay. Okay, we can find him. We have until Hylia wants us to move era’s. So we have to make this quick. We are NOT leaving without him.”
He turns to Warriors. “Captain. You take Wind and search the lake. Legend, Hyrule, you’re searching the surrounding brush. Twilight and Four will retrace our steps, while Wind and I head on our mapped path and see if Wild went a head without us. We meet back here in two hours, understood?”
He takes the series of nods, and a groan from veteran as a yes, and hurries along Wind. This is going to be a long, LONG day.