Chapter Text

Link's day was not progressing as expected.

He had been supposed to be spending a nice day with Zelda, exploring a little and having a picnic for lunch. The pair of them had been looking forward to it for weeks, counting down the days until the end of the Faron rainy season so that they could make their trip. The jungle was an incredible place to explore at the best of times and they were regular visitors anyway. After the monsoons, though, it wasn't unusual for the shifting mid to reveal previously unknown structures and caves, just waiting to be discovered by curious explorers.

He and Zelda had been so excited. They both led such busy lives, what with the rebuilding of Hyrule and the running of the school, that a trip away like this was special to them. Precious.

And now here Link was. Twelve hours later and camped out in a forest he didn't know, quite possibly in a time that he didn't belong in, and surrounded by nine duplicates of his own soul.

It was a mess. It was a disaster. Link wouldn't quite say that it was a calamity (because even when he was being dramatic he knew better than that) but right now it felt like something very close.

He didn't even know if Zelda was okay. Zelda didn't even know if he was okay. He didn't have a clue how he was supposed to get home.

It was official: time travel sucked. When all this was over, he was going to go time travel vegan like every other sane person in existence.

It was all a mess, and the bitterest part of it all was that until everything had gone upside down, his day had been going pretty dang good.

—

He and Zelda had found some interesting pottery sticking out of the mud in the Damel Forest and what looked like a deposit of flint debitage, which they studiously recorded for the Zonai Survey Team to investigate later. They spent over an hour looking at frogs on the banks of the Dracozu River, recording their numbers and maybe collecting a few 'specimens for later research' (they were going to cook them).

Lunch had been peaceful, their picnic blanket spread out by the Spring of Courage while they chatted, and after that they had planned to take a little boat down the river to Lake Floria, but when did things in Link's life ever go according to plan?

They'd only been sailing for a short while before they spotted it. Nestled into the banks of the river, barely visible with the lush foliage growing around it, but unmistakable in the harsh shadows cast by the early afternoon sun: an opening. A cave.

A discovery!

Link and Zelda were simple people. They saw a mysterious, unexplored cave, and they knew precisely what they had to do. There wasn't even a question before they moored the boat by the riverside, rolled up their sleeves, and gleefully plunged into the waiting darkness.

At first they had a fantastic time. The cave was deep and expansive, splitting out into branching tunnels that twisted this way and that, leading here to a grotto of wild mushrooms, there to a bubbling hot spring surrounded by lizards. The two of them could have happily spent the rest of the day exploring and honestly kind of intended to — especially when they found the rusted arrows and tattered pennants set into the walls. Those were familiar to them, they could only mean one thing.

They were not the first to find this cave. Once, many years before, someone else had been here. Someone else had explored this space and had left behind the clues to a treasure.

Misko.

Aw hell yeah.

And yes, maybe Link had felt a little apprehensive as they delved deeper into the caves. Maybe something had niggled at the back of his mind, maybe something about the place felt wrong on some fundamental level, impossible to articulate but visceral in its strength. Maybe something about the quality of the shadows between the rocks and the colour of the lichen on the stone felt just slightly wrong. Maybe every step deeper inside felt a little like a step towards a gallows.

But Link just pushed that all to the back of his mind and ignored it like a sensible person. Bottling up his fears and doubts was just healthy and definitely would not cause him problems further down the line. Besides, he normally loved caving; he was probably just having an overreaction because of the fish he ate for lunch or something.

It was fine.

Until. You know. It wasn't.

Looking back on it now, Link wished that for once in his life he'd actually thought before he acted. If he'd even once mentioned his reservations to Zelda, maybe he wouldn't be in the position he was in now.

(That position, as it happened, was cooking dinner for a group of ten over a campfire. Because Heroes though everyone around here may have been, apparently Link was the only one here who could be trusted with a cook-pot.

Seriously. He'd only seen like. Two of them actively try (and fail) to make a palatable dinner and a third had grimaced and shaken his head when asked, so Link was currently going on trust that cooking was not an inherited Hero skill.

Anyway. He was digressing.)

Link knew that he should have mentioned his misgivings about the cave to Zelda, but the lure of the unknown and the thrill of exploration had won out. After all, neither of them had ever been the type to shy away from danger, and the thought of exploring somewhere new at the side of someone special was just… well. It was nice.

It was still early afternoon, only two hours into their exploration, by the time they turned into a cavern and saw a familiar shape. Right in the middle — a structure made of metal and stone and hung with pennants. It was one of the little shrines that Misko always seemed to leave to house his treasure, which: what was the deal with that? Who went to all the trouble of burying secret hidden treasure only to then built a massive shrine around it? Link had questions.

The pair of them grubby, exhausted, and scratched up from scrambling through narrow passages and across craggy rocks. They probably looked a mess and could use a rest, and honestly? They were both thrilled. They'd hoped for maybe a few new carvings to be turned up by the rains, but they could never have imagined finding a cave system this extensive. Misko's Treasure was just the cherry on top of an already great day.

And, in his excitement over everything that they had found, Link had totally forgotten his misgivings. He was happy and excited and thrilled as he laughed and hurried into the cavern, making a bee-line for the shrine. Zelda followed behind, recording everything on her Purah Pad, narrating her thoughts in one unending stream of consciousness as she went.

"Wait wait!" she called as he knelt by the chest.

He paused, glancing around and pulling a face as she lifted her pad and aimed it at him.

"Misko's treasure unboxing!" she announced. "Blind box mystery revealed!"

Link cackled and cheesed it up for the camera, tossing back his hair as he unlatched the oversized catch of the chest. Why were these things so heavy? Again: he wasn't mad at Misko, he just had questions.

"Da-na-na-naaaaah!" he sang as he hefted the lid open, looking down to see what their hard won treasure could be, and—

And he froze. He blinked. He didn't understand.

A few feet away, Zelda took a step forwards.

"Well?" she called, lowering her pad a little. "What is it?"

Well that was one heck of a good question.

Objectively, Link knew what it was. It was a rag doll. It only small; small enough that he would be able to wrap one hand around its simple cloth body. He'd seen similar things about the villages; Koko and Cottla had ones like it, as did Mattison, made of whatever roughspun fabric was lying to hand and outfitted in scraps, complete with a stitched smile and eyes.

But this was not just any doll. This doll was specific. It was targeted.

It looked like Link.

Its hair was a long, yellow wool and it wore a simple reproduction of the Champions Tunic made of old, blue linen. It even had the same scars as Link did, embroidered neatly across his face in shades of pink and red, and the left ear was shorter and smaller where his own had been burned away a century before.

What in the—

Link reached in to lift the doll from the chest, mind reeling. Why would something like this be here? Why would it exist? Who would make something like that?

He needed to get a better look, needed to try and understand—

(He didn't say anything to Zelda. He wished later that he'd said something to Zelda.)

Unthinking, not understanding, he had grabbed the doll and then—

And then he'd tumbled backwards as darkness rushed up to meet him. And then he'd been Somewhere Else, hurtling through a vast, uncaring void that pulled at every cell in his body, that pressed in on him so tight that he could barely breathe, somewhere made of an eternity that went on and on and on forever and ever and then—

And then he was spat out of that place and back into reality, face first onto a mossy forest floor, out of the cave he had been in and into another era.

—

Link sighed as he stirred at his cooking, thanking Hylia that he always carried a spare cook-pot or two in his slate. Otherwise they'd be dealing with roasting kebabs on sticks and cooking porridge in upturned shields, which he knew from painful experience was never as convenient as you thought.

It wasn't awful, camping like this. Objectively, at least. Now that everyone had calmed down from their initial meeting and no one was fighting, it was almost peaceful. None of them were particularly happy that they had been dumped here, but at least now they were all being civil and making do.

Not to mention that Link got to cook, which was a huge relief. When times got tough, some people meditated, some wrote in journals, some did crafts; Wild cooked. That was his meditation, and he knew that he absolutely would not have gotten through his adventures with his mind intact had he not been able to stop and cook now and then.

Well. Mostly intact.

Besides — he saw no need to fake humility about it: he was an excellent chef. Food always brought people together, and if he had anything to do with it, they would be coming together over something good.

"Hey," the sound of a voice made him jump, pulling him out of his thoughts.

He'd been so absorbed in his cooking that he hadn't noticed as one of other Heroes approached him. It was the one in the white cape — Sky, the sword had called him. He had stopped a few feet away, holding his long cane delicately in his hands.

"Need any help?" he smiled as he made the offer. Friendly.

Link hummed, glancing down at his food. He'd made a cucco biriyani, wanting to impress these strangers in spite of how tired his day spent caving had left him.

"I'm kind of… nearly done." he admitted. "Just… letting the flavours do their thing. You know?"

The man — Sky — chuckled, coming closer and sitting with him by the fire. He huffed in relief as he sat, shuffling and leaning back as he made himself comfortable.

"I'll just keep you company then." he smiled.

His voice was light, cheerful, as if they were just hanging out at a summer barbeque rather than making camp in an era foreign to them both. As if they hadn't been pulled through some sort of unnatural portal through time. As if this apparently sweet, polite man wasn't carrying a sword on his back that Link knew should be safely stowed away in the Lost Woods, under the protection of the Great Deku Tree.

It was a lot to take in. He was grateful for the easy tone and the friendly camaraderie, he was — it was all just… so much.

—

Link may have been the first to fall into this clearing, but he had been followed by the rest less than a second later. One after another they were spat out of the portals that had grabbed them, all landing in one groaning pile.

Ow. Link's bones were still mad about that.

Understandably, none of them reacted particularly well to this. Being ripped away from your home and deposited unceremoniously in a forest is not, generally speaking, something that people are accustomed to, nor is it a particularly pleasant experience. For a bunch of men and boys who had already been through all manner of magical trials and battles, it was more than merely unpleasant: it was a threat.

Scarcely had they all been dumped on the ground before they scrambled to their feet, each reaching for weapons and drawing on one another, looking around wildly for whatever had caused their current predicament. None of them really seemed to register, in that moment, how extraordinary it was that they were armed as if for battle when they had not been a moment before. All they knew was that they had been torn from their homes and that somebody, somewhere, was responsible.

And they were determined to make that someone pay.

Link was no different to any of the rest of them. On instinct, he reached to his back and closed his hand around the sword he found there, pulling it free and readying an attack, looking furiously around him for enemies. He had no idea what had just happened or where he was, only that he was no longer in the cave with Zelda and was instead surrounded by strangers.

Aggressive, heavily armed strangers.

It seemed only but natural to assume that one — or perhaps all — of these strangers was responsible for his current predicament. They certainly were all on the attack, so Link didn't see any reason to hesitate before swinging into battle.

Immediately, he found himself locking blades with a giant of a man, wearing full plate armour of the type that Link had never seen outside of his foggy pre-Calamity recollections. It gleamed as he moved and Link's mind raced to try and think how he was supposed to hurt this guy if he couldn't get through to his damn skin!

The guy's face was at least exposed, his expression grim as he parried Link's attacks. So this loser had face tats, huh? Thought he was cool then? Well, Link could clearly see that someone had clearly a hit on him before — there was an ugly scar sealing his right eye closed — and if someone else could best him, then so could Link!

Hnng. He just. Had to reach him.

This guy was tall.

All around him was chaos. He ducked under one of the man's attacks and responded with a flurry rush of slices while he was distracted, although none made it through the armour. To every side, he could see and hear the bedlam of battle, of men and boys fighting, shouting, screaming, swords clashing, magic crackling, and then—

BANG!

Link jolted at the sound of the explosion, the blast ringing painfully in his ears, and as one, everyone in the clearing broke off from their battle to look around in alarm and see what had happened.

Well. Nearly everyone. One boy apparently had somehow missed the explosion and continued to prepare his attack. Thankfully for his pink-haired intended victim, however, he faltered when he saw everyone else's attention diverted and instead paused and craned his neck to see what was going on.

That was when it all began to come together.

The blast had come from another one of the men, a guy in a white cape who had fought his way to the edge of the group and was now standing with his sword in hand, pointed skywards and glowing with a holy light.

There was no doubt in Link's mind, then, what had caused the explosion. He had used the Master Sword enough times to know how strong a beam of energy it could throw out, although he had to admit: he'd never seen it do anything quite as powerful as this.

The man holding the Master Sword took a deep, even breath, his cape fluttering in the residual energy from the blast. He slowly lowered his sword arm and shifted, leaning a little on the long, carved cane that he carried in his free hand.

"Now then." he said pleasantly, tilting his face towards his gawping audience. "Can we maybe not all kill each other right off the bat? For like: a minute? Maybe? Pretty please?"

A glance around showed that no one was particularly thrilled by this concept, but the explosion had been enough to jolt them at least temporarily out of their killing rage. There were a few murmurs and grunts of agreement, as well as a few demands for answers, which: yeah. Link could get behind that. He would also like to know what the heck. And also: why the heck and how.

The man with the Master Sword, alas, did not have all the answers.

He did, however, have some, and that was better than nothing. He was young, somewhere around the same age as Link (physically, at least), maybe in his early to mid twenties, and his tanned face was kind.

He was called Link, he explained, as was everyone else in this clearing. He didn't know who had brought them together or why, but he'd had a vision in a dream about a group of Heroes from across time being brought together for a quest, and it seemed like it was coming to pass.

"So…" a nearby kid in overalls who looked barely out of his tweenage years frowned. "Are you some kind of Seer?"

The guy in the white cape — who was very obviously blind, his eyes clouded and opaque — flushed a brilliant shade of red.

"Um." he stumbled out, reaching up to rub a little at his eyes. He had seemed troubled as he recounted what he knew about his dreams, but now he just seemed embarrassed. "Ah- no. No. I just… get. Um. Warnings about things sometimes."

The kid nudged the person next to him, a big guy in a wolf pelt, apparently having forgotten that they were fighting only a few moments ago.

"Classic Seer line."

Regardless, they quickly established several things. Everyone who had fallen into the clearing was, indeed, called Link. Whatever power had brought them here had brought them not just through space but also through time, pulling each one of them here from different points in Hyrule's history.

Which was insane enough alone, but they then also established that, without exception, they had all been hailed in one way or another as a Hero in their respective era. Agents of a goddess or goddesses, fighting for higher powers and spirits and their nation against all manner of forces of darkness.

They were all Heroes of Courage. They all shared a spirit.

Which was. You know. Patently bonkers. Link knew the stories, he had known that he was the Goddess' Chosen Hero since he was twelve years old. He knew that through history there had been a pattern of Hero and Princess that rose in times of need.

But that had been an abstract kind of knowledge. Suddenly being in a clearing with nine actual real genuine Heroes of the Past? Or, he supposed, possibly, Future? It was- well.

'Insane' didn't even begin to cover it.

With it established that they were all Heroes, and that none of them knew what had brought them here, any remaining fight went out of them. Some of them sat down, then and there, on the forest floor, tending to their bruises or putting their heads in their hands. Others began to pace, muttering as they tried to figure their situation out or grumbling obscenities as whatever gods they so chose.

Some, on hearing that they were not the only Heroes here, looked around and began to exclaim in delight, apparently actually recognising each other from other Time Related Adventures.

Which. Was only a little concerning.

Three separate people recognised the massive man that Link had been fighting and had run up to hug him. Which was fair. Now that they were no longer locked in a battle to the death, the guy looked way less intimidating and more like someone's dad. Still with the brightly coloured facial tattoos, of course. But who was Link to judge?

Link was among those who sat down, raking a hand through his hair — and freezing as he did.

It was funny. He hadn't noticed it in the chaos of the battle; he'd been so tense, and while he'd reached for a sword, he hadn't reached for his shield. Which wasn't really that unusual, and he often went without. More often than not he broke his shields out of battle (shield surfing), going about his daily routine (it was shield surfing), so it didn't always occur to him to use one (for anything other than shield surfing).

Maybe if he had reached for it, he would have noticed sooner. As it was, it was only now that he realised that the fist of his left hand was still tightly clenched, and in it was a small, cloth doll.

…huh.

Right.

That… that had been what he'd been doing before the portal grabbed him. In fact, it had happened the second he had picked the thing up. Could it—

"So what are we gonna do about the name thing?"

Link looked up at the sound of the voice, blinking. The speaker was another kid — what was it with this Hero thing and kids? — in one of the brightest and most garish tunics that Link had ever seen. It was made of four brilliantly coloured quadrants and honestly, Link needed to get a picture of it for Cece. He could see an entire new fashion line based on this one, ridiculous tunic.

Nearby, the big guy with the pelt clapped his hands for attention, face creased into a frown. He had tattoos across his face too, black this time, and something about them seemed… familiar.

Probably nothing.

"What name thing?" he asked in sign.

The colourful kid turned to give him a flat look, and— ooooft. Now that Link could see his face, he clearly was not a child. He was absolutely one hundred per cent an adult who just also happened to be incredibly short.

"We're all called Link." colourful guy said, grey eyes narrowed. "I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure that's gonna get real confusing real fast."

"Oh, give me strength." came another, drier voice from across the group.

It was the man with pink hair and an expression like he'd just bit into a shock-fruit. He'd been busily conversing in sign with the scrawny boy who hadn't stopped his attack when the explosion rang out, but had turned to face them now and rested a heavily ringed hand on his hip, apparently bored.

"You idiots really expect to stay here long enough for names to be an issue?" he sneered. "You can't be that stupid. I personally will absolutely not be going on another adventure. I'm retired. The goddess can suck my whole entire dick and balls."

Nearby, the kid in the overalls and another, near identical kid in a blue tunic began to giggle.

"We may not have a choice." came another, far more clipped voice. This Hero was taller, in a pristine green tunic with a gleaming silver pauldron, a perfect, artfully draped blue scarf over his shoulders. "If this is the journey that we have been set on, then we may have no choice but to see it through to the end."

Pinky snorted, rolling his violet eyes. "You may be happy to do what you're told, Pretty Boy, but I'm retired. And I. Am going. Home."

"Pretty Boy?!" the pretty boy spluttered. And like — yeah, Link got that it probably felt like one heck of a snub, but like. The guy was objectively incredibly pretty, and judging by his carefully styled hair and pristine clothes, he knew it. "Listen, I'm sure we would all rather go home, but if you think we get to just opt out of this then you're a damn fool!"

"Excuse me-"

"HEY!" the guy with the Master Sword shouted out again, his expression stern and perhaps a little exhausted. "Seriously? Fighting? Do I need to blow something up again?"

Several of the group snickered as the two deflated, and White Cape turned to the brightly coloured not-kid.

"I think I have an id-"

"Hey!" they all turned around in irritation as Pinky called out once more, but this time he gestured to the scrawny kid at his side, who was rapidly turning an embarrassed shade of pink. "Can you talk facing this way? The kid's got to see your face to read your lips."

Oh. Right. Well that explained why he'd kept attacking even after the Master Sword's blast — he hadn't heard it. White Cape nodded, turning carefully in the direction of Pinky's voice.

"Sorry. I'm saying: after I had my dream, I went to retrieve the Master Sword. The spirit in the blade is sleeping, but when I took her, for the first time in years she spoke to me. She called me the Hero of the Skies, and I think maybe she'll do the same for you and tell me your titles. Maybe we can use those? I'm okay being called Sky."

"Dude, you talk to your sword?" the tweenager with the tan and the blue lobster shirt said.

"Your sword's a lady?" the tweenager in overalls pressed.

"You talk to your lady sword?" lobster kid continued.

"Hey can someone throw me in a damn river?" Colourful Guy groaned.

Regardless of any questions, however, they did end up taking turns with the sword to see if it — if she? White Cape guy talked about the 'spirit in the sword' like it was an actual real person that he was buddies with — really did have names for them. And, fun bonus? She actually did.

One by one, they each rested a hand on the offered blade as white cape — as Sky — told them the titles he heard. Time, Twilight, Legend, Hyrule, Wind, Spirit, Warriors. The only one who didn't touch the blade was the colourful guy, who said that respectfully, he had spent enough time around magical swords already and would stick to his own. He offered 'Four' as his name, though, and no one argued.

And then they just… settled down. There didn't seem to be much else they could do here and now, and the day was closing in. Any actual exploration of wherever they were could wait for the morning, but for now they agreed to ensure the area was secure and make camp for the night. Whatever power had drawn them all together had at least been generous enough to outfit them all with their traveling supplies as well as weapons, complete with bedrolls and pillows.

Legend, pink haired and acerbic, narrowed his eyes as he looked through his own bag, swearing that some of the items in here should be securely tucked in his basement, while Twilight in the pelt shrugged and signed that he was just glad that his collection of glass bottles was intact. Which was very normal of him.

Link — or, he supposed, Wild, now — tried to ignore the uneasy feeling in his stomach when he thought about whatever had brought them all here. Whatever had scooped up their weapons and clothes and belongings and neatly packed them away into their respective bags. It was magic, it had to be, but directed by who? For what purpose?

Magic was not one of Wild's strong suits. He didn't understand it, it wasn't something that people in his world routinely saw or interacted with. It was something held only by Great Fairies, something abused by Yiga, it belonged in myth and the ancient past.

But it was clearly present now. Some of the other Links claimed a knowledge of magic and were already beginning to debate what might have had the power to bring them together like this. Wild was happy to let them. He wanted to know what was trying to pull their strings as much as the rest of them, but he had to admit, he was more than a little astounded by their easy discussion of the arcane. As if magic was a normal, workaday part of life in their eras.

…which sounded really cool, if he was honest.

So they settled. Warriors and Time offered to make food over the campfire before Wild could jump in, but within minutes a dry pan of rice had caught fire and something they called 'hardtack' had been dumped into a bowl of cold water to 'soften', and Wild swiftly took over as camp chef.

And now here he was. Stirring his biriyani and frying a few pakora over the campfire while Sky sat companionably at his side.

It all felt… weirdly normal.

Legend sat at the other side of the campfire with Hyrule, the scrawny boy, beside him, and the two were quietly conversing in sign, while Wind and Spirit, the two tweenagers, were giggling nearby over how closely they resembled one another. Time, the big dad-coded man, and Warriors, the pretty boy, were deep in conversation with Four about magical portals, and after a patrol of the camp's perimeter, Twilight had come to join where he and Sky were sitting.

If it wasn't for the whole 'unexpected portal and possible quest' thing, this might have even been pleasant. In fact, in spite of the situation, it kind of was.

Twilight and Sky made idle conversation as he cooked, and Wild smiled as they did. It had been a relief to them all when Sky revealed that he'd be able to understand the two Heroes who spoke in sign. He wore a pair of earrings, he explained, that were enchanted to help guide him. Nothing very much, just a faint buzzing if he got close to something, but the enchantment also extended to sign, interpreting right into his ears.

Hyrule had smiled shyly at this news and Twilight had been downright delighted, and seemed to be going out of his way to test the limits of this enchantment. Namely: by signing a mile a minute in the dialect of Hylian Sign from his own small community.

Sky was keeping up like a champ.

It was just… nice. Companionable. Almost brotherly. Which, yes, Wild could admit that was a weird thing to think about a bunch of people he had only been thrown together with by some sort of eldritch magic a few hours ago.

But it was nice.

Wild gave his food a final, decisive stir before calling everyone over to eat.

It felt good, to share a meal like this. There was something about the action that always brought people together, regardless of background and circumstance. The disparate groups that had been dotted around their haphazard camp now came to join them around the fire, and Wild felt a satisfaction in passing out everyone's portions in the set of chipped clay bowls he kept in his slate.

It didn't escape his notice how the two tweens — who really were so similar in appearance that Wild knew he was going to start thinking of them as twins — grinned at the food, or how Warriors eagerly tucked back his scarf so that he could dive in. Four grinned in delight when he showed him the selection of dips (four or them) for the pakora and Hyrule, visibly thin under his ragged tunic, gawped in astonishment at the size of the portions they were all given.

Wild did not know how long they would be traveling together or what they would be doing. He did not know what they would be fighting, although he was certain that they would be fighting, and that he would do everything he could to lend his support.

But cooking was something else he could do. If the group let him, he could happily take on the job of keeping them fed. Cooking was his meditation and his gift to them, and seeing them all sitting there and enjoying his food filled something warm inside his chest.

Wild smiled at the group around him as the sun finally set. With the dark canopy of the sky overhead and their group lit only by the fire, their little camp became intimate. Convivial. It was easy to forget that they were on some otherworldly journey on a night like this, rather than just a normal group of travelers. They could easily have been stopping over at a stable or sharing a meal by a wayside.

And in a way, they were. Magic and destinies and quests aside, they were just some travelers who happened to be sharing a meal. Yeah, the situation was a little weird, but Wild could deal with that. After all, 'a little weird' was his bread and butter.

Tomorrow, they would start hashing out plans. Trying to figure out how they had got here and why, and how to get themselves home. Wild figured he should probably mention the weird little doll, too, in case that had something to do with this whole thing.

But that was tomorrow. For now, they had good food, a place to lay their heads, and the company could have been a heck of a lot worse. For now, they would make do, and trust that the morning would bring new hope.

And Wild could live with that.

Chapter Text

The peace of that first, familial meal together could not last.

Hyrule was no fool. Nice as it had been to all eat together, and even if these people were all incarnations of his own soul, even if he could trust them, they were still a single group out in the open in a wilderness they did not know.

And that wasn't even mentioning the fact that they'd all been dragged here by some unknown, possibly (probably) malicious magic.

Hyrule did not expect this adventure to be a pleasant little picnic, and even if it was kind of nice to get to know these Heroes, he was certain that there would be trials ahead. He knew that he would have to be cautious

The others said that they were cautious, too, but Hyrule wasn't so sure that he believed them. After all: after their massive dinner, cooked on an open flame that could attract all manner of beasts, they just. Bedded down where they were, on pillows and bedrolls and blankets as if they were kings. Not up a tree or in a cave like any sensible person, just out in the open, where anything could attack.

…with respect, Hyrule wasn't sure that he trusted these people's judgement.

They did assign a watch on the camp as they slept, at least. They split the night into three shifts and drew lots to be the ones to take them. Hyrule, much to his chagrin, was not one of the three, but if he was honest, he ended up lying awake much of the night anyway, worrying.

After all, one watchman was hardly going to be much of a defence if a pack of monsters attacked. Best to stay awake. Anyway, he didn't have a fancy bedroll and blankets like the others, just the clothes on his back, and his cloak didn't do much to make the rock he was lying on comfortable. He probably would have been awake anyway.

It was early morning by the time he was proven right. The sun had begun to rise through the trees and was sending bursts of golden light into their campsite. Hyrule had been lying there, watching the fire flicker against the polished gleam of Warriors' - who was on watch - boots, and perhaps he had, just for a moment, dozed off.

He'd been awake all night. And he was surrounded by other people. Was it careless of him? Yes. But he was so tired…

And the next thing he knew, all hell had broken loose.

Someone grabbed his shoulder and was roughly shook him awake, and when he opened his eyes he saw that Warriors had jumped to his feet, sword drawn and scarf whirling.

He scrambled up, reaching for his own blade and ready for anything. Everyone about him was jumping out of their own beds, weapons at the ready, and when Hyrule looked around, he saw that Four, who had woken him, was already preparing to fight.

He followed his gaze and grit his teeth. Yeah, okay. Sometimes, being right sucked.

Advancing on the camp was a pack of monsters. Hyrule didn't recognise any of the species, but they all had burning eyes and dripping teeth and their throats were all soft, vulnerable flesh, and that was all that he needed to know.

Hyrule gripped his sword, the enchanted silver and rubies humming against his skin, ready for the fight ahead. One or two of the monsters had already been felled by well placed arrows, and as he watched another creature was shot between the eyes and crumpled in place. (At some point, when he wasn'tt facing imminent death, he'd have to find out who in the group the archer was, because dang, they were a good shot.)

For now, though, he had to fight.

The beasts lurched at them, and Hyrule found himself whirling into the familiar pattern of battle. Of hacking and slashing, of ducking under rusted blades and sharpened claws. There were a lot of them, but he'd faced worse odds in the past and come out alive, so he knew that he could make it through this.

He surged forwards, his sword cutting through flesh and sinew and severing the head from the monster in front of him. He panted as he went, barely allowing himself half a second to catch his breath before ducking under another swiping claw as yet another beast attacked him.

Hyrule spun around, parrying as quickly as he could as the beast leared cloaser. It was an ugly thing, but Hyrule was barely winded. He could take it! He lunged, feinting to one side and then slashing across with his sword in a slice that should have decapitated the thing—

Except it didn't. His blade cut a few inches into its neck and then lodged there, somehow, impossibly, serving only to enrage the creature rather than do it any actual harm. Hyrule gasped, eyes widening as he tried desperately to pull it back out, but found his sword firmly, terribly stuck.

…was this it? Seriously? Was he going to get killed by a puny little pig-looking thing because he got his sword stuck?

How embarrassing.

He tugged, trying to brace his foot against the creature's chest and rip the sword out, but it swayed and bared its teeth, swiping viciously at him, its sharp claws only an inch form his face, and then—

And then —

And then the creature… crumpled? As if it was a mere puppet whose strings had been cut, the fury vanished from its eyes and blood — strange, viscous, black blood — dripped from its mouth. It fell to the ground and Hyrule finally managed to pull his sword from its neck, just in time to look up and see who it was had slain the monster.

It was the small one — Four, he had named himself — his bloodstained blade positioned to stab up and into where the monster had been standing a moment ago.

"All good?"

Hyrule blinked, reading his lips through the battle-haze fogging his mind. He nodded and offered a thumbs up. This guy hadn't just killed the monster — he had saved Hyrule's life. He hadn't needed to do that, could have just let him die, but he had saved him anyway. And what was more: when he looked around now, the rest of the monsters were gone. They had all been killed, either lying dead on the ground or already dissolved away into ash.

When he'd entered this battle he'd thought that he'd been him alone against massive odds, but he'd had been wrong. They'd fought as a team. They'd all fought together.

That… was strange. Unusual. Not like anything that he had experienced before.

People didn't fight at his side, not like that. Maybe one person, now and then, might join him in a battle if it came to it, but a whole group like this? Working as one? Defending each other?

Weird. But…

It was—

It was nice.

Someone had watched out for him. Had defended him. Saved his life.

It had been…

Hyrule couldn't remember the last time that had happened. That someone had just… helped him like that. It was new. Novel. It made him feel like a child again, like he was a little boy who had never been on an adventure, who didn't have the baggage he had now, of curses and experience.

It was nice.

Hurriedly, he waved to get Four's attention and signed a quick 'thank you'. The smaller boy - man? - grinned and waved him off, a universal sort of 'you're good' gesture that Hyrule recognised instantly.

Needless to say, they could not continue to camp on the site of their battle. Not only was this clearing known by monsters, but it was also covered in the detritus of battle; guts and splatters of blood, the ground scuffed and soiled. Once it was established that none of them were badly hurt, they all quickly packed up their things, ready to go.

They didn't have any particular destination in mind. After all, they didn't know where — or when — they were. Their best bet, they decided, was to just pick a direction and go, and face whatever happened next as it happened. Which Hyrule didn't mind; that was generally how he lived his life anyway, but he could see some of the others getting agitated as they walked.

Legend was one of them. Hyrule liked Legend. He liked his violently pink hair and was amused by his vast collection of jewelry, which seemed at first glance impractical but up close hummed with magic. It had not escaped his notice that Legend had gone out of his way to tell the others to face him when they were speaking, that he made a point of signing whenever he spoke.

He seemed nice. A little aggressive, maybe, but nice.

He did not, however, seem to be handling not having a map very well.

Hyrule didn't catch everything he said — reading lips while walking took concentration and he seemed to be mostly grumbling to himself — but it seemed to focus a lot on 'needing a plan' and 'could be anywhere' and 'hopelessly lost'.

Hyrule wondered if perhaps Legend hadn't much experience with adventures and the wilderness. But that was okay. Everyone began somewhere, and Hyrule would look out for him.

Finally, though, they made it out of the woods. Sunlight greeted them, along with a view the likes of which Hyrule had only seen in his dreams.

They stepped out into a vast, wide, open field. Green grass and wildflowers stretched as far as the eye could see, all the way into the hazy, unmarred distance. Little villages dotted here and there across the countryside, and far off in the haze, a castle broke the line of the bright blue sky.

Hyrule had known, intellectually, that he was not in his world, but this proved it. Nowhere in his home was this healthy. Nowhere was this alive.

Together, their group climbed to the top of a nearby hill and there, they paused for a break. None of them quite recognised the view before them, but many pointed out things that seemed familiar: the size of the prairie around them, the locations of the towns, the shape of the distant, hazy castle.

Many of them recognised parts of the landscape, but no one knew it exactly. Where and whenever they were, it was not any of their homelands; they were somewhere completely new.

Hyrule sat down with a huff, still staring at the pristine world around him. He'd known, of course, that his world had been alive and healthy once, before the poison had come. But could it really ever have been like this? So green and verdant and alive? It barely seemed real.

He sat lost in thought, his back to the others so that he missed as they once again set up a campfire and began to stretch out on the grass to catch up on some sleep. He continued to stare over the landscape, oblivious to anything going on around him right up until suddenly someone waved a hand in front of his face, jolting him from his thoughts.

He jolted, reaching for the knife in his belt as he looked up to see what the assailant was—

Ah. No assailant. It was Legend, smiling down at him and offering him a steaming mug. Hyrule blinked in surprise but accepted the drink, smiling gratefully as Legend signed to him.

"Fancy some coffee?" he offered, in perfect, precise Hylian sign.

Hyrule smiled a little; that was another thing he'd have to get used to. In his own world, as the land had declined the formal language had all but died out in favour of a variety of regional signs. Hyrule considered the sign native to the Calatian Woods his first language — though if he did say so himself, he was pretty damn decent both at Fae Sign and Merchants' Pidgin too.

He'd always liked picking up new languages, and could generally make himself understood wherever he went. He'd picked up Hylian Sign mostly for the sake of the Zeldas, on the rare occassions that he braved the journeys to the castle, but he had never expected to meet so many people for whom the old, formal language was their default. No one else here even seemed to have heard of Calatian or Pidgin, and the only one who didn't use charm-school, archaic Hylian was Twilight. He still used the language, but a drawling dialect of it from his hometown, and he seemed to find everyone else's perfect sign hilarious.

Hyrule was just glad that he'd learned it. Bizarre as it was to be surrounded by people who signed like they were prophets from ancient myths, at least they could all communicate.

Hyrule smiled as he sipped at the drink Legend had passed him — and then only barely stopped himself from spitting it in disgust. Spirits above, it was bitter! He pulled a face and looked up to see that Legend had burst out laughing. Hyrule huffed, watching his lips to see what on earth about this was so funny.

"Not a coffee fan, then?" Legend asked at last, still giggling a little as he spoke.

Hyrule pulled a face. He hated to be impolite, but he also couldn't lie.

"It's a little bitter." he admitted, "But it's fine, I'll manage."

Legend waved him off, still laughing. "You want some sugar?" he asked, signing this time as he spoke. "Yeah I'll go get some."

Wait really? He was just going to… give him sugar? Just like that? Without Hyrule even asking? He hadn't mean it as a request, but he was hardly going to say no.

Communication: achieved. Hyrule was nailing this whole language thing.

He sat back and turned to look around at the camp, warming his hands on his mug. He had thought that they were just going to rest here briefly, but everyone around him had settled in and the campfire was lit and flickering. Hyrule smiled at the sight of Wild happily cooking over the flames and Sky brewing coffee beside him, glancing up and then smiling as he passed a bag of sugar over to Legend.

All around him, the others had pulled out bedrolls and were trying to get a little more sleep, or were using them as pillows while they sat and chatted or sipped at their coffee. Warriors had propped up his mirrored shield and he and Four were carefully shaving in its reflection, while Time was yawning and slowly beginning to strap on his gleaming armour from the day before, not having had time to before their earlier battle.

They all seemed so comfortable. So at ease.

Legend returned to his side and offered him the sugar, and Hyrule beamed at him, signing his thanks — a sign that, he thought with a smile, was common across Hylian and Calatian — both to him and then over to Sky, hoping that his earrings would pick it up.

Hyrule could see how he, too, could become at ease with these people. How he could relax into how they shared hot drinks or how they slowly dressed and washed themselves. Could get used to the sight of Wild merrily working over a cookpot. Already, he had begun to serve out a vast breakfast, mere hours after they had all eaten their massive dinner. Hyrule had barely begun to feel his hunger returning, but everyone else all treated this abundance as pleasing, yes, but normal.

Hyrule could get used to that, and that scared him. Just a little.

Already it was clear that these people came from very different worlds to him. Worlds where everyone was well fed, where neat clothes and jewelry were common and not the preserve of the rich few. Worlds where it was safe to just light a campfire wherever you please, and where it wasn't a novelty to see clear blue skies.

He knew that they had noticed the differences between them too. None of them were thin and scrawny and covered in a layer of dirt like he was, and he'd noticed how the servings Wild gave him were a little bigger than anyone else's.

These people were kind and he loved them for it, but it also sort of made his skin crawl. It drove home that maybe his desolate world, with its ash choked skies and poisoned waters, wasn't normal. It made him want to hide inside his cloak to avoid the sympathetic glances at his frame that he knew they were sending his way when they thought he wasn't looking.

It annoyed his fae senses, feeling the need to thank people for things they clearly didn't want mentioned, for things that made him feel so Other.

…And then there was the other thing.

It hadn't escaped his notice that in battle, when Warriors had gotten a hit to the nose or when Four's arm was scratched, they didn't panic about what would be done with their blood. They just wiped it away, like it was something inconsequential.

Like it really was just blood.

He was so, so glad for them, that none of them seemed to carry the curse that he did. He would never wish it onto any of these bright, wonderful people — but he also had no idea what he was supposed to do about it. Should he tell them? Spill his secret in the hopes that it kept them safer, but risk their ire? Or should he keep it close to his chest, the way he always had done?

He had no idea.

For now, though, there was nothing to do but sit there and enjoy the breakfast hash that Wild had passed around them all. He found himself sitting between Legend and another of the Heroes who was little more than a child. Hyrule still was working on telling the pair apart as they looked uncannily similar, but he was pretty sure that this one, slightly paler than the other and with a spray of freckles, was Spirit.

As they ate, and the sun rose steadily higher above them and conversation turned to their current situation. Sitting in a circle as they were, Hyrule didn't quite catch everything that was said; reading lips took a fair bit of focus as it was and with a group this large where everyone wanted to say their piece, it was a little hard to keep up. But he did his best to follow along, and beside him, Legend seemed happy to nudge him towards whoever was speaking when he got lost.

"—not sure." Warriors was saying. "But those monsters were stronger than they should have been."

"— shouldn't be that string." wait. String? Hyrule blinked. No — he'd said strong. "'Specially not red ones." Wild agreed.

"—weren't normal though." Four was frowning, and Hyrule wondered how he hadn't noticed before how strikingly violet his eyes were. "Their blood was black. Didn't you notice?"

"I didn't!" Sky chimed in, smiling brightly even as someone — Hyrule thought it might have been Twilight — threw a pillow at him. He burst out laughing. "Hey! Okay okay, serious time, I get it!"

"—am being serious?" Time asked, blinking innocently.

Another pillow sailed directly into his face.

"Whatever is going on," Legend continued, signing to Hyrule as he spoke aloud, "Ultra-strong monsters with spooky black blood does not strike me as a good thing. And it's got to be connected to us being here. It's too big a coincidence."

Hyrule nodded in agreement as Spirit reached over and pointed him to look at Sky.

"—they be cursed?" he was asking. "I fought cursed ——" what was that word? Hyrule frowned, piecing it together. A 'b' sound and then… 'bo-ko-bl-'… 'bokoblins'? Yeah, that seemed to fit. "bokoblins on my journey. Fi described them as… darker?"

"—are ominous." Wind agreed, and beside him, Twilight grimaced.

"I get where y'all're comin' from," he signed, his movements big and drawling, heavy with his hometown's dialect. "But 'dark' don't always mean 'evil', y'know."

Hyrule felt himself nodding along with him before he even had finished. A few others were pulling faces and he was pretty sure a few of them had interjected, but they'd just have to wait. Maybe now wasn't quite the time for his standard 'actually, 'dark and light' are a false dichotomy, and there's no actual form of inherently 'evil' magic anyway, only evil intentions' rant, but he could give them a taste.

"You are right." he nodded to Twilight. "Dark, light… that is not how magic works. There is more to it than that. But-" he paused, looking around at them. "Monsters with black blood is bad. It's not natural. It's like… almost like an infection, that has made their blood turn black and given them strength. I… think these monsters may have been cursed. Some sort of curse that turned their blood black and made them stronger. But it would have taken a lot of magic to manage something like that. As much as to make the portals."

Across the circle, Time nodded. "Do you think they're related?"

Hyrule shrugged. "I- . Probably, yes. But I don't know how. We might have been sent here because of them. Or they might have been sent here because of us. I don't know."

"Or!" Four launched in, waving for attention. "Or the magic that (broad) brought us here could just have infected the local monsters. Like a magical (sighed) side effect!"

Hyrule snapped his fingers and nodded. "Yes! Also possible! Very good!" he grinned and then paused, expression turning serious. "I mean. Not very good. Very bad. Very very bad. But good thinking!"

"So…" Time was saying. "does… that mean that we're cursed too? If the monsters are cursed?"

"Does anyone feel particularly cursed?" Twilight asked.

Sky shook his head. "I mean, not any more than usual?"

"…well that's alarming." Wind pulled a face. "You (bust)must be fun at parties."

"HEY!"

Hyrule felt like his head was spinning as he tried to keep up with the conversation. Ten people all talking at once was a lot to process, and he was so busy trying to follow what was being said that he almost missed Four waving for his attention again.

"Sorry!" Hyrule smiled weakly. "Did you say something?"

"You're good," Four smiled, signing as he spoke, and Hyrule felt himself smile a little wider at that. "I was just thinking — I don't know what magic knowledge you have, but if we want to find out more about whatever this curse or whatever it is, we don't have to wait till whoever cast it tells us. I know the monsters have dissolved by now but we still have plenty of their blood on us, and that's the important part right? I figure between the two of us we could have a look at that, see if there's anything interesting?"

Hyrule nodded eagerly, leaning forwards. "It would show if the curse is direct or an echo… and the signature — if we could find something connected to the magic that brought us here, some sort of focus, we could compare them. We could—"

"We could do an experiment." Four's eyes seemed more violet than ever as he beamed with glee.

Hyrule couldn't help but grin with him, all sorts of possibilities racing through his mind.

"We could do an experiment!" he agreed, hardly able to contain his excitement. Part of his magic was inherent in his blood, but a lot of his knowledge was hard won on his journeys, learned from all manner of people that he had met along the way. The idea of actually being able to sit and talk to someone about magic, to work with them—

Maybe it was silly. But it filled him with a sort of glee the likes of which he hadn't felt since before his first journey.

To the side, someone waved for his attention.

"Hey," Twilight drawled, "you two nerds want to tell us what you're talkin' about? Y'know, for the magically dense among us?"

Hyrule blinked and flushed red with embarrassment, only to realise a beat later that Four had started to laugh. That Twilight was smiling. That he wasn't making fun of him, he was really asking, the others all leaning forward in interest.

Four was nodding, smiling in amusement.

"If we analyse the blood, we should be able to tell if the monsters were cursed on purpose or if it really was just that they were close to whatever brought us here."

"And," Hyrule couldn't help but add in, trying not to flinch with nerves as nine faces then turned to look at him at once. "all magic has… has a signature. Like a seed, unique to whoever cast it. If we look at the spell on the blood, we might be able to find it. And then might be able to recognise it if we find magic from the same source again."

Beside him, Legend blinked. "Is that even possible?" He asked.

Hyrule shrugged. "Yes? In theory? It. Might take a while. But I don't see why not?"

Someone else was waving for his attention. He turned to where Wild was fiddling with the weird glowing rectangle he kept on his hip. He seemed to use it to store his cooking supplies in, and Hyrule's fingers itched to have a proper look at it, to understand what kind of magic made it go. Something told him, though, that it might be impolite to just grab it here and now when Wild was trying to ask him something.

"So, if you (fund)found the root of the spell," he was saying, "you'd be able to recognise it again? You could — in theory — look at something else and see if it was what started this? Like. If. I mean. If… for example. Us coming here was caused by someone touching something. Finding something. Would you be able to tell that?"

Hyrule blinked at him. That… was an oddly specific question, and he didn't for a moment believe that it was hypothetical. But… could he detect the exact origin point of a spell like that?

No reason why not, really.

"Yes?" he signed cautiously. "It… should show?"

Wild nodded and then looked up, biting his lip. Hyrule followed his gaze towards Time, who had apparently finished saying something. Frankly, Hyrule could guess what: 'why?' Did Wild know something? Had he touched something?

He turned back to Wild, who was scrubbing awkwardly at his scars and raking back his hair.

"—it's probably nothing." he said. "I'm probably thinking (two)too much. Just right before we all got pulled here I found some weird treasure and it… was just so weird. I wanted to… check."

"What was the treasure?" Hyrule found himself asking before he could think to be shy.

"—it gross?!" Spirit asked in delight.

"—you have to kill a monster for it?!" Wind pressed.

"—careful, too." Warriors cut in, not facing Hyrule so he only caught a few of the words. "—think — dangerous —— too much. Here —— these gloves ."

Hyrule looked to Wild, who had accepted the offer of gloves before pulling whatever the object was from his slate, handling it gingerly. Everyone craned in to get a look, a mix of excitement, nerves, and morbid curiosity on their faces. Hyrule himself could feel a thrill of curiosity as he scooted closer to see what he was dealing with.

It was small, that was for sure. Hyrule's view was blocked as most of the rest of the crowded in front of him, frowning and pulling faces as they saw whatever it was.

Hyrule craned his neck and peered, and then—

Huh!

He laughed, just a little. He'd never considered that the dolls might have appeared for anyone else, but seeing this one, here and now — it looked so sweet. It really was a cute little facsimile of Wild, right down to his long, wavy hair and the bracelets on his wrists.

He scooted forwards again, reaching out to touch it, then paused, remembering how disconcerted everyone had looked. He blinked, peering up at Wild, who was staring back at him.

"Um…" Wild said. "You… you've seen this before?"

…Okay, so clearly these weren't as common as he'd thought. Still, no bother! It wasn't like they were that weird, he'd found plenty of them, after all! It was hardly a secret.

"It's a Life Doll." He signed, glancing around at the others, waiting for their expressions of understanding and relief.

They were not forthcoming. The others were looking at him like he'd just grown a second head.

This was fine.

"…you know?" He offered, in case they simply hadn't registered what he'd said the first time. "A Life Doll."

An audience of blank stares. Hyrule could feel himself wanting to squirm and shrink and hide, but he wouldn't give into that feeling. He nibbled his lip instead, looking around at them all, hoping for at least one person to show a sign of recognition.

"What, exactly," Time asked him. "Is a Life Doll?"

Oh man. Okay. So maybe it really was just him then.

Maybe that was a good thing? Maybe whatever journeys these people had been on, they hadn't needed the Life Dolls and the second chances that they afforded.

Or the third, fourth, and fifth chances.

Um.

Whatever.

"They're like…" he hesitated, doing his best to angle himself so that everyone could see his signs. "Like charms. If you get hurt — badly hurt — they take the wound for you. I collected a bunch when I was. You know. Adventuring? I don't know where they come from or anything. They just… sort of. Appear? I have one in my bag, kept it there for years. Like a back up."

He looked around again, and at least a few of them looked a little less worried.

"—of like a fairy?" Wind asked, "Like keeping a (spur)spare fairy in your bag?l"

Hyrule grimaced. Keeping fairies in your pack… he shivered.

"…sort of?" Wind was a child, maybe he didn't know better. Hyrule knew he should go easy on him. "But. You know. The doll isn't alive. Fairies are alive. They… don't really like bottles." We don't really like bottles.

He bit his lip, but before he could worry too much about having said too much, he saw Wild waving for his attention and pointing him over to Four.

"So," Four signed. "It's safe to touch? Not gonna like. Put a curse on us?"

"—send us through another portal?" Warriors muttered.

Hyrule frowned, thinking. He looked over at Wild, and the doll in his hands. He could feel a little magic rippling off of it, but at this distance he couldn't really get a read on it.

…

…

…whatever.

Hyrule reached out and grabbed the doll from Wild's lap, ignoring how several hands darted out to try and halt him. Instead he focused in on it, tasting its magic, probing the enchantments woven into the fabric.

He looked up and around at the other Heroes.

"There was a spell." He told them "Something strong. It's spent now, though. Seems like it only had one charge. It… it seems like it could be what triggered us coming here. But I would need to examine it deeper to see more." he passed it back to Wild and turned back to Four. "Other than that… it is a Life Doll. Like any other."

Four grinned perhaps a little wider than he should have as he looked over Hyrule's shoulder. "Hey Wild, I'm gonna steal your freaky health doll and do experiments on it!"

Hyrule snorted as beside Four, Warriors put his head in his hands. He turned to see what Wild had to say, and then only narrowly avoided being nailed in the face by a flying life-doll.

"—fun with that!" Wild was laughing, already returning to his food.

"So," Twilight was signing beside him. "We have a plan, yeah? The two nerds can look at the creepy doll and the black goop, and in the meantime… what? We try and figure out where we are? When we are?"

"—how to get ourselves (hope?)home." Legend grumbled. "Cause nice as it is to meet you idiots, I want nothing to do with whatever damn quest we're being pulled on."

Hyrule snorted, and looked around in time to see Sky pulling a soppy expression.

"—knew you loved us, really!" he was saying, and Hyrule suppressed a giggle. If he had learned anything in the few hours since he had met Legend, it was that the guy did not like being accused of emotions.

They could work on that. Hyrule would make an adventuring veteran and an emotionally stable man out of Legend yet!

As it was, though, the rest of breakfast passed with a much lighter feeling in the air. After a little discussion, they agreed that they should head towards the castle in the distance and hope that they would find some answers there. Hyrule… wasn't thrilled about the prospect of going towards an unfamiliar town, but even he could see the sense in it and no one else was objecting.

It wasn't long after that before they set off once more, and Hyrule found himself falling easily into step with Four and Legend. They chatted amiably in sign, tossing about ideas for tests they could do on the doll and the blood once they set up camp for the evening, the three of them casually discussing magic in a way that Hyrule had never thought was possible.

It was nice. It was companionable. Yes, they were all stuck here — where and whenever 'here' was — and they all wanted to get home, but there was no malice between them. They may have only just met, but it felt like they'd all known each other for years. Like they weren't a group of strangers who had only laid eyes on each other a day ago.

Hyrule wasn't going to let himself get his hopes up. Peace like this could never last, he knew that, and whatever journey they were on, he doubted that they would get out of it as easily as Legend seemed to hope.

Still. As they made their way across this gloriously healthy Hyrule field, he couldn't help but smile. Over the course of the day he noticed almost two dozen fairies flitting merrily away from their group and into the lush grasses around them, and then more than one of his new companions tucking empty bottles into their packs, and Hyrule couldn't help but feel warm inside. Couldn't help liking the company he was keeping.

He couldn't help, just for a moment at a time, feeling like he was truly safe with these people. They didn't know where they would end up, but they had a plan, and he trusted them. And that was a truly terrifying — and wonderful — feeling to have.

Chapter Text

The group of heroes were not fools.

Though they were better known for their courage rather than any notable wisdom, they nonetheless were experienced enough to know that often even the best laid plans could go awry — and none of them would argue that their current plans were not exactly robust. They were haphazard at best, based on the scant information they had about the situation and making the best of what they could.

None of them wanted to be piled into another adventure. They had lives of their own to lead, their own homes to get back to. The scant plans they had made were centred around this fact. They wanted to get to the castle because civilisation might hold an answer. They wanted to identify the spell that brought them here so that they might replicate it, so that they could extract themselves from whatever this situation was an send themselves home.

It was a little novel, to be honest. The idea of seizing control of their own destinies. That they could decide to just say no and leave. They all thought that maybe they could get used to it.

And they were making progress! Little by little, of course, because there were always unforeseen obstacles in the way.

The castle was not as easy to get to as they thought it might be. There was a deep gorge split by a churning river in the way, and they lost an entire day finding a safe place to cross to the other side, and then another getting back on track.

The magic tainting the blood and woven into the doll was complex and hard to parse, and Four and Hyrule spent most of their evenings sitting cross-legged by the campfire, picking it apart.

They were making progress, but it was slow. Incremental. And like any plan, even one well made, it had its problems.

The first problem with their plan was that they were all getting to know each other.

They were all, in their own eras, Heroes. Bearers of the Spirit of Courage. And it didn't matter how many friends or allies or Bearers of Wisdom they may have known — that was still a lonely position. None of them had ever met anyone like themselves before. None of them ever could have met anyone like themselves before. Had ever imagined that it might be possible.

And it felt… good. Nice. Special. Right.

To talk to people who had been through the same unique experiences as them. Who knew what it was like to have the burden of the world put heavy on their shoulders. Who could commiserate on the tainted fortune of being Hylia's 'Chosen One'.

And with that they were beginning to become friends. They liked each other. There had even come up with a name for their ragtag band of Links; they were a Chain (and they all found that kind of hilarious, even if the pretended not to).

And all this meant that much as they all wanted to go home, they also did not want to be separated. Not permanently. They had only just met and already they were beginning to think of one another as family. The idea of being pulled apart when they had only just begun to bond was unthinkable.

They had already begun making plans to keep in touch. If Hyrule and Four could replicate the spell and send them all home, then surely they could also use that same spell to visit each other, right? Wild had already invited them all to his world for what he promised would be 'the best barbeque they would ever have', and Wind had told them they all had to come over and meet his grandma and little sister. Even Time had smiled softly and told them that they were all welcome on his ranch any time they wanted.

They all wanted to leave this world. To opt out of whatever journey they were being pulled into. But even after a few short days, they already did not want to lose each other.

The second problem with their plan was that while they all wanted to leave, they were Heroes of Courage for a reason. It was not a meaningless title, it was not simply a name. Every one of them had, more than once, sacrificed their own safety and happiness to protect those around them. If they were being pulled on a journey now, then it was possible that there were people here who needed them too. If ten Heroes had been needed to be pulled here through time, then it was possible that there were a lot of people who needed them.

They all knew, much as they wanted nothing to do with this strange place and its problems, that they every one of them would struggle to turn their backs if that was the case.

The third problem was that their plan, haphazard and basic as it was, was predecated on them being all brought to this specific world for a reason. That they had been brought here and had been left, and would have to figure out their own movements from there.

This was not the case.

It was the fourth day since they had arrived in this world. The castle had finally begun to grow closer in the horizon and they had even dared to hope that they might arrive there by evening.

Which, really, they should have known better. Legend had already frustrated them all, one evening, by commenting 'Hero makes plans, goddesses laugh', but really, he wasn't entirely wrong.

They had been walking for maybe two hours when the fresh, clean country air turned heavy around them. The sky was clear and blue, but all of a sudden they were surrounded by the thick reek of ozone, as if an invisible thunderstorm was gathering. The change in atmosphere was enough that they all stopped in their tracks, looking around and drawing their weapons in apprehension.

Nothing happened. For a moment, though the world around them had fallen still and silent, everything looked normal. Bright. Natural.

And then something in the fabric of realily rippled, like a drop of water on a still lake. Then from the centre of the ripple, something opened. Perfectly round, the edges sharp, it opened like the entrance to a cave. There was nothing visible through it — not light, not darkness, but an absence of anything, as if in a perfect circle in front of them, reality had simly ceased to be.

It hung there, an absence in reality floating a few inches off the ground in the middle of a lush, verdant prairie. Tall enough for a grown man to walk through unimpeded, wide enough perhaps to let two walk abreast.

"What in the…" Warriors whispered, staring at it.

"That's a big fuckin' portal right there." Wind cursed. "What the fuck."

"It's not— it doesn't make sense." Four hissed, skirting around the edge and looking at the back. It was only visible from the front, but from the side it looked thin as paper and from the back…

"Can you guys see me?" he called, standing behind the portal.

"Uhhh…" Spirit called back. "There's a giant freaky portal in the way."

Warriors frowned. "Can you see us?" he called.

For a moment there was silence, and then Four laughed.

"Oops. Sorry, I was nodding." he returned to the rest of the Chain. "It's like it's only real from this side."

"Hate that." Twilight grimaced. "Feels like it's pullin' me in too. Like it wants me t'go through."

"Hey, can I make a suggestion?" Legend snapped. "Can we not go through the incredibly freaky and unnatural portal that feels like it's pulling on our souls? Maybe avoid the soul-portal? Yeah?"

Hyrule frowned, stepping forwards and reaching out towards the hovering nothingness, hand stopping a few inches from its surface. Behind him, the Chain hissed in alarm and Legend reached out to stop him — he was only a kid, after all! — but stopped as he drew back, hissing.

He turned to face the Chain, frowning.

"It is the same magic as the doll." he signed. "As the magic that brought us here. And it is tied to us all. I can feel it. Like teathers." he gestured, as if showing where lines connected to each of them.

"So…" Wild said, his voice croaking and rattling as he spoke. The scars across his throat had left him with a permanent rasp, but it was worse now than usual, thanks to an evening spent bellowing bawdy drinking songs over the campfire. Which possibly hadn't been the best decision, but sometimes that was just how things went. "We have to go through then?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely not." Legend objected. "Watch this. I'm gonna walk away. Gonna be great."

And he turned on his heel and began to march away from the portal, tramping a track through the long grass of the meadow. He made it about ten steps before his gait slowed, the previously faint twinge of arthritis in his joints behinning to flare hot and tight. With each step it grew sharper, threads of pain spreading through his limbs, contracting and winding their way through his muscles like a net. He made it maybe five more steps before even he, a veteran adventurer who was no stranger to pain, could go no further.

"Bollocks!" he hissed, skinning his knees as he crumpled to the ground, barely managing to catch himself in time and blinking back humiliating, hot tears of pain. The threads of pain had consolidated into one hot, hideous mass somewhere in his soul, pulling on him even as he lay still on the ground, as if he was connected by a rope to the portal floating behind him.

Distantly, he heard shouts of alarm and then the feeling of firm, calloused hands taking his arm and supporting him upright. He turned to see who it was helping him and saw Hyrule, the kid's face also twisted in pain but eyes filled with detemination as he supported him back to the others. Much as he hurt, Legend still found himself smiling a little at this, and still had the presence of mind to lift his aching hand and sign a brief Thank You.

Each step back to the rest delivered a sweet, swift relief, and that told him everything he needed to know.

"The portal won't let us leave." he hissed, letting go of Hyrule and raking a hand through his hair, fixing his cap.

"It won't let us linger, either." Sky murmured, tapping his chest. "I can feel it building up. Wanting to pull us in."

"I've never seen a portal like it before…" Warriors murmured. "Almost like it's personal."

Legend snorted. "Almost?"

"I just meant—"

"Regardless." Time cut across before any sort of argument could break out. "It looks like the decision is made for us."

Legend huffed, looking away. While they all broadly were getting along, Legend and Warriors had consistantly butted heads. Legend couldn't help it — the man who called himself a 'Captain' was everything that set him on edge. He was too polished, too perfect, and he was a knight to boot, complete with that air of self-satisfaction that came along with being given any small amount of power.

It wasn't that he didn't want to get to know him. He didn't need to. He'd met people like that before and he knew an asshole when he saw one.

Why no, Legend didn't have a tendancy to project his unresolved issues onto others. Why do you ask?

"Alright," Time was continuing. He was by far the eldest of the group and had quickly fallen into the role of de-facto leader, "We're going to have to go through. Everyone, weapons out, be on your guard. We don't know what's going to happen through here."

"Gonna get megacursed." Wind observed. "Righto?"

"Wrongo." Spirit countered. "We're already megacursed, dumbass."

Time pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay. Anyway. Twilight, you take the front with me. Captain, Wild, you take the rear. Legend — are you okay to walk? You sure? Okay. Well, swords out, everyone, eyes open. Let's go."

Legend did not want to go. He wanted to go home, to curl up in bed with a hot water bottle on his aching limbs and a fire crackling under the mantle. But not only had Time drawn his own massive blade, but beside him, Hyrule had his glistening silver sword in his hands. He offered Legend a small smile of encouragement, and how could he say no to that?

Legend groaned as he drew his own blade and followed Time's lead. And if his breath caught with nerves as he stepped into the portal, no one mentioned it, just as he would never mention how Hyrule's thin hand reached out and took his, searching nervously for comfort.

And they stepped into the portal.

The last time they were all transported, they had been separate. It was unexpected. This time they were all stepping through together, and it felt different. They stepped into the portal and the emptiness of the void pressed in around them.

This was a place between worlds, between time. Stepping into it, they could see nothing, could hear nothing but the silent roaring of the void. It was a vast place, an ever-expanding emptiness that tugged at their clothes, their bodies, their souls, wanting to pull them apart atom by atom, but at the same time pressing tightly in. Without vision or hearing, they were trapped in the narrow, claustrophobic path of their own minds, and something within Legend knew that if he stopped and let panic set in, he would never find his way again. The void would pull him apart until he was nothing more than a wisp of mist.

He kept walking, feeling Hyrule's hand clasped in his, grounding himself. Grounding them both. Lolia, the traveler was just a kid. Legend knew that he was an off-putting, unpleasant person at the best of times, but something inside him was immediately protective of his new little brother.

He squeezed his hand, sending reassurance to him through the darkness of the void as they walked on. Hyrule's hand squeezed back.

They walked on. The void pressed in. It pulled apart. They walked on. Time had no meaning in a place like this, so they just kept walking, kept going forwards, perhaps for ten steps, perhaps for ten thousand, walking, walking, walking, and then—

And then they stepped out of the portal and into the light and searing heat of a vast, rolling desert.

The change was so jarring that they all had to fight not to stumble as they stepped out, their boots sliding as they met uneven, shifting sands.

The brilliance of the sunlight all but blinded them, and they found themselves shielding their eyes as they looked around, getting their bearings and searching for any sign of enemies.

They found none, lowering their guards with a heaving sigh of relief.

"This is insane." Sky was murmuring. "This is insane…"

"I'm gonna be sick." Four darted away from the group and began to throw up into the sand, and beside Legend, Hyrule wasn't looking too great either.

"You good?" he signed to him, and Hyrule grimaced, waving him off.

"Feel sick. The Portal was strong magic. Felt strange."

Legend huffed a small laugh. Some people got sick from the motion of a ship on water, and, he guessed, people with stronger magic got sick traveling through portals. Figured.

He patted his arm. "Take it easy. Have some water."

Now that they were all sure that there were at least no enemies nearby, they paused to rest, although only for a short while. The desert sun was hot and only a few hours from its zenith. They day would only get warmer, and they would need to find shelter before then.

They rested for a brief while, passing around a flask of water and giving everyone a moment to catch their breath and steady themselves before they moved on. As they sat, Wind pulled out a spyglass and surveyed their surroundings, giving them a running commentary on everything that he saw.

"Sand… Sand… ooh a big empty patch of sand… some more sand…"

Honestly, Legend had mostly tuned the kid out. He got it, the kid was thirteen, but man. He really was very thirteen.

"Hey!" Wind called, jolting them all out of their rest. "Not sand! I repeat! Not sand! Big weird giant statue thing!"

They all looked around, and Time frowned sharply.

"Let me see?" he asked, taking the offered spyglass and peering through. His expression lightened as he looked, and when he lowered it again he smiled. "I know where we are. If we head towards the Colossus, we'll find shelter."

"Works for me." Twilight signed. "All in favour of not burning to death in the sun?"

"Don't be a dumbass," Four teased, scrambling to his feet. He still looked a little pale and sickly, but he wasn't actively throwing up anymore, which was a win. "We're going."

—

The Desert Colossus, it turned out, was an absolutely massive statue.

Between the rolling sand dunes, it was carved into the face of a rocky outcrop, towering over them all. It appeared to be a goddess; though which one, Legend couldn't say. She was seated, her hands outstretched and open, a serpent winding around her shoulders and resting over her head. They paused before it, staring up, while Warriors leaned in toward Sky, murmuring a description.

"Woah," Wild gasped, full of awe. "Is that… a Gerudo statue? One of the Heroines?"

"The who?" Time frowned. "It's Ancient Gerudo, at least. Someone once told me she was the Goddess of the Sand."

"I've seen her before." Twilight agreed. "But I didn't know she had a name."

"I don't know if she does." Time admitted. "She's ancient even in my era. The Gerudo probably know. Maybe."

Regardless of whether the towering goddess had a name, the temple she sat atop provided ample protection from the sun. They all piled inside and onto the cool floor tiles, lying back and huffing with heat and exhaustion. The temple was quiet, coated in a fine layer of dust and with the half-open doors and solved puzzles that were the the hallmark of a solved dungeon.

"This one of your old haunts, then?" Legend heard himself saying, taking a deep drink of his water flask and then passing it to Hyrule. "Any good finds?" he nodded to the broken pot shards spread liberally across the floor.

Time laughed. "A rupee or two. You know how it is."

Legend smiled. "Easiest way to make a quick walletful!"

"I found pots that let me transport places." Wind piped up. "That was cool!"

"Sometimes there are bombs in mine." Sky added.

Twilight sighed. "I found the Tit Chicken in mine." he lamented.

They all fell silent and stared at him but he just shrugged, shaking his head. "Don't look at me like that. I ain't got any other explanation. It was a Tit Chicken."

Legend wasn't sure that he wanted to ask any more questions. He turned away, trying not to picture whatever the heck it was Twilight was talking about.

According to Time,, they were somewhere in the far reaches of his Gerudo Desert — so far south, in fact, that he wasn't sure if it technically still counted as 'Gerudo' territory so much as it was just somewhere that no one else had laid claim to.

According to the old man, the nearest Gerudo settlement was a day's walk across something he called 'the Haunted Wasteland', and then laughed and waved his hands when they all looked at him in horror, claiming that it wasn't actually as spooky as it sounded and they'd get through it in no time. Frankly, Legend wasn't altogether sure that he believed him, but whatever.

The fact was, it would take them a day to get anywhere, and it was already approaching noon now. There was no point in setting out anywhere at this point, when they already had a safe, sheltered place to camp. They'd all stay here in the temple within the Colossus, and set out again at first light. They all deserved a rest after the past few days spent on their apparently pointless march across that other world. They were tired, after all, and some of them — Wind and Spirit especially, but also Sky to an extent — were not as used to walking long distances as the rest of them and needed time to rest their blistered feet.

Besides. Taking the rest of the day to do nothing but rest and get themselves together had another benefit. It allowed Hyrule and Four the time to properly examine the magic of the doll and the blood.

Legend would never say that the two of them looked too excited. After all, they were all eager for answers and diving into the magic that brought them here was a part of that. Besides, it was nice to see Hyrule grinning. Something about how thin the kid was, the tattered state of his clothes, and how he didn't seem to even have a bedroll to his name, made Legend think that maybe he didn't get many chances to grin at home.

But. Well. Nice as it was to see him excited, the look that he and Four shared when Four said 'ooh we could go and do some more experiments' was, perhaps, a little alarming.

"Time," Four called as they all sat enjoying the lunch that Wild had passed around. "Before we start casting, is there anywhere in this temple that's. I dunno. More sacred than other places? It might help us focus."

Time blinked. "More sacred… maybe the central chamber? I think it was probably the main temple when this place was functioning. There's a big statue, at least. Would that do?"

Four glanced at Hyrule and signed a few words, and then nodded. "Yeah sounds cool. Is it easy to get to or are we talking lots of dungeon traps?"

He definitely should not have looked quite so excited at the idea of lots of dungeon traps.

To the side, Warriors sighed. "What is it with you people and dungeons and temples? Did none of you ever just fight a normal battle? Like normal people?"

The Chain chuckled, and Legend felt himself smirking.

"Sorry, pretty boy." he drawled. "Don't worry too much — we can take care of the puzzles so your poor little brain doesn't overheat."

Warriors scowled. "What is your problem?" he hissed.

"ANYway." Time cut in. "The central chamber is this way. I don't think this place has been touched since I was last here but it's better if we stick together. Agreed?"

No one argued. Even though Legend was pretty sure that some of them would have liked nothing better than to sneak off on their own and go exploring, the prospect of being shown right the way to the central chamber to see some magic being done seemed to be enough to mollify them for now.

Together, they followed Time to the east of the temple, through a passage and—

Ah. Yes. Of course. Of course it would not be easy.

The temple, as they wound their way through solved puzzles and empty battle arenas, was devoid of any threat. At least, it was, right up until they stepped into the central chamber.

It was a wide, open space, with platforms around the edges and a central podium leading to what until about an hour ago would have been the largest statue that Legend had ever seen. As it was, it was currently in second place for size, and still damn impressive for that. It was the same goddess as the colossus overhead, seated with crossed legs and her back straight as she stared out at the room, the snake wound around her like before and her palms outstretched as if offering them out.

Legend hummed. "You had to platform on her hands, right?" He guessed.

Time nodded. "Oh yeah.. had to platform on the hands. And the passage to the boss was through her face."

"Nice." Legend nodded in approval. "Artistic. I like it."

They took another step into the chamber, and behind them, the heavy stone doors slammed closed. Which, Legend thought with resignation, was a pretty obvious sign of what was to come, but which had Warriors whirling around in alarm.

"What the-"

"Alright," Time called, "swords up!l

There was a clang. And then another. Legend gripped his sword, readying himself for anything as a hulking figure, clad in thick, plate armour, stepped into view.

"The Iron Knuckle." Time murmured.. "watch out for his axe— if it hits you, you'll go d!"

Legend scoffed, darting to the side. "I wasn't planning on getting hit, old man!" He half joked. He called.

"any tips?" Warriors barked, skirting around the edges of the room and holding out an arm to shepherd Wind and Spirit behind him.

"Their armour is loose— hit it enough and it'll fall off, then you can properly attack." Time called, preparing his massive sword as beside him, Twilight grinned and swapped his own weapon for a somewhat alarming looking ball and chain.

"Oh hey!" Wind laughed as he ducked away from Warriors' protection, because of course the kid found something funny about this situation. "Kind of like-"

"DARKNUTS!" Came Four's shout, and true enough, when they followed his gaze they saw that the hulking figure was not alone. Four more figures marched behind it, clad in a variety of different armours but all immediately recognisable.

"Aw, tits." Legend cursed. "Okay. Get the armour off and kill them!"

"Weird strip-tease, but okay!" Wild quipped back, swapping his sword for a hammer.

Legend rolled his eyes, but there was no time to respond. They may have all been very different people, but they knew how to pull together in a fight.

They spread out, encircling the monsters. Only one of the darknuts looked like the ones that Legend had fought before, but they all seemed to work the same way, as did Time's Iron Knuckle. They were big and strong and well defended, but they were slow. Difficult for a lone hero to pick off, but now there were ten of them — two heroes to a monster at least. But with the creatures already grouped more or less together, though, it made it even easier and the Chain fought them all as one.

They were slow and heavy, and despite the ferocity of their attacks, the Iron Knuckle seemed as unintelligent as darknuts. None of them seemed able to decide which Hero to attack, and the Chain used that confusion against them. They baited the monsters, tricking them into turning their weapons against each other where they stood.

It was a dirty trick, but it worked well. They corralled the monsters in close to each other so that none of them could attack without harming one of their comrades. In turn, the Chain darted in, attacking with balls and chains and hammers and all manner of great, powerful weapons.

One at a time, the heavy armour fell off, and one at a time, the monsters began to look worse for wear. But Legend had fought darknuts before, and judging by the looks of the others faces, they were all thinking the same thing. These were tough enough monsters to fight, but it should not have been this hard.

It wasn't long before his fears were confirmed, in the form of a trickle of thick black blood splattering from the iron knuckle's throat, as Spirit managed finally to slash it. That was one of the enemies dealt with, but they had four more in front of them, full to the brim with that cursed blood.

They just kept going. Fighting and fighting, even as they felt themselves beginning to tire. They were heroes, and this was nothing on the insurmountable odds they had fought before — by the end, to be honest, it was just annoying.

But they got there. With one last great swing of his ball and chain, Twilight knocked the final darknut to the ground and Sky neatly sliced its head off. It dissolved into dust, leaving behind only blackened blood and guts.

Legend turned, huffing in exhaustion and shaking out his aching joints before he nudged Hyrule for his attention.

"At least you got plenty of specimens, eh?" he quipped.

Hyrule snorted, a bright giggle ringing out through the chamber. "a lot of effort for a sample!" he teased back. "Bottle some up for me?"

Ooft. Okay. Yeah. Legend walked into that. Whatever.

They had all come into this central chamber for a reason, after all. In the centre, Hyrule and Four began clearing a wide space on the floor to perform their experiments, while the rest of the Chain found somewhere to set up a more comfortable camp for the rest of the afternoon and to rest for the night.

Legend, gathering up a bottle of the fresh black blood before it dissipated with the rest of the beasts (and trying not to question too much why Wild was gathering up the remaining guts)found himself in the position of 'general dogsbody' for the pair of them. Of the rest of the Chain, he was probably the one with the most magical knowledge, so he was happy to help them to mix ash to draw sigils on the floor and set up the two bottles of blood and Wild's weird doll in the right arrangements.

"Seems like Rulie's more used to casting Natural Magic." Four explained as they finished the largest sigil. "But my experience is in Ceremonial. So I'm setting out a formal ritual, and he's reading the magic and adapting it to what it tells him. It's really neat!"

Legend found himself smiling. He couldn't honestly say that he understood all of the differences between different branches of casting, but seeing Four consulting the books from his bag to make sure his sigils were perfect while Hyrule moved things about, rearranging and restructuring, was fascinating. They were two styles of magic that shouldn't have worked together, but the pair of them did, moving in tandem with each other like a dance.

By the time they had everything set up and were ready to properly begin the spell, the rest of them had cleared up the remaining mess, spent an afternoon relaxing, and were preparing to settle in for dinner. Wild had cooked a vast pan of japchae and the whole group of them had happily taken their servings, arranging themselves around the higher platform, watching as Four and Hyrule finally straightened and began to start. Despite himself, and despite his long, long history with different magics and his insistence that he had seen it all, Legend found himself leaning forwards with interest.

"Do you think it- it's gonna be… bad?"

Legend looked around at the voice to see Spirit scrambling to sit beside him. Weird. Legend went to great lengths to avoid being seen as a 'people person' at all, and certainly not a 'kid person'. Why on earth Spirit would have gravitated to him was beyond him.

He frowned. "Bad?"

Spirit shrugged, blushing. "I'unno. I heard sometimes magicians use blood n'stuff."

Legend blinked. Then snorted. "Kid, yeah they're doing magic, they aren't magicians. And there's alredy monster blood down there. And. No. Probably not gonna use any other blood than that. You'll be grand." he paused, raising an eyebrow. "Unless. You? Wanted? Blood?"

Hey, sue him! Kids were weird!

Spirit at least giggled a little and — and then he? He sat down properly? Leaning against Legend?

Weird. Unacceptable.

…Whatever. Legend would unpack that later. He needed to pay attention to the cool magic in front of him.

Cool magic which, in the end, it wasn't as awe-inspiring or climactic as the Chain might have thought. Hyrule and Wild sat in the centre of their sigils, cross legged and facing each other, and signed for a few moments. Then they fell still and silent and…

And then… nothing visible.

It seemed to work? At least… neither of them moved for nearly half an hour. To be honest, most of the Chain lost interest after two or three minutes and returned to eating their dinner. Only Legend stayed where he was and watched, nibbling at his food while the pair sat there in silence.

Finally, though, they shifted. Nothing tangible seemed to change in the air, but they were both grinning and exchanged a few excited signs before they turned and came to join the rest of them. Legend turned to grab a bowl from Wild and set some food out for Hyrule with a smile.

"Well?" he signed. "Successful? Any good?"

Hyrule smiled and nodded, diving greedily into his food as he plopped down between Legend and where Four was sitting.

"So!" Four said, lifting his own bowl. "We tracked the sources of the magic. Which might I say! Is not fucking easy!"

"Very hard!" Hyrule agreed, setting his own bowl down. "But we are both geniuses so you are all very lucky."

Legend felt himself smile. Yeah, they were lucky alright.

"SO." Four continued, signing as he spoke for Hyrule's benefit. "Here's what we figured out.

"The blood from here and the blood from the other time are both made by the same spell. The same caster. Right, Rulie?"

Hyrule nodded. "Which is not normal. I do not know how far in time we are from the last place, but that is very very weird. So it is not likely we have met them by accident."

Four nodded. "Exactly. And then we looked at the doll and found the spell woven into it. We were right, it was what pulled us all together. And it was the same magic as in the portal that brought us to this time too. So they were both cast by the same person too."

Hyrule nodded. "But! The person who cast the portal spell. And the person who cast the blood curse. The magics are very close, but they are different. Two different people cast them. One who is sending us through time — and one who is sending the monsters."

Chapter Text

None of them could pretend that they had found themselves in anything resembling a 'normal' situation.

All of them were, in one way or another, used to having their lives disrupted by the strange and the fantastical. To hear Legend speak, he had been whisked away to a new world that needed saving every other day, and Wild had joked that he'd been injured so badly that he'd lost his memory a few years ago, so how was he to know that two adventures — now three! — in six years wasn't normal? Wind and Spirit were young enough that the idea of a new adventure still filled them with childlike glee and wonder (although Spirit apparently also did have a job that he was worried about missing), and Hyrule seemed inordinately pleased to see even the most basic comforts int the places that they visited.

Not all of them found being taken onto a new journey to be quite so much of a given, though. Time admitted to them that it had been many years since he had last even thought of adventuring, and Sky shook his head when they asked, turning sad and saying quietly that he'd thought it was all supposed to be over. Even Twilight had to admit that after his own journey had ended, he hadn't really expected there to be another.

He'd returned to Ordon. To his little house on the edge of the woods. He'd taken up work as a rancher again, spent his days herding goats and helping out with the kids (both animal and child) about the village. The height of excitement in his life these days was in his regular trips to Castle Town, to visit Telma's bar and his old friends from the war.

Another adventure hadn't really… occurred to him. Hadn't really occurred to many of them. And for those who had resigned themselves to the possibility had still held onto the fragile hope that they too might be allowed to rest. Even if only a little, in the secret parts of their hearts.

Still, they managed. Whether they could have anticipated this or not, they were here now and would have to make the best of it until they figured out how to get home.

Until then, they just had to keep going.

Together, they had long since left the Desert Colossus and the temple it housed behind, following Time in a trek across the stretch of desert he called (not ominously at all) the 'haunted wasteland'. Which, it turned out, had not been haunted for a while now and instead was now slowly evolving into a well used road with small trading emporia dotted here and there along its path.

They even managed to make it into the vast Gerudo settlement, which Twilight thought was an achievement in and of itself. He was well aware of the law that no men were allowed to enter the city, had seen Wild dress up as a vai repeatedly to sneak inside. But when they arrived, Time had simply produced a permission slip from the chief and they had all been ushered in as friends.

Speaking to the Gerudo chief, she didn't seem to have any sort of knowledge about black blooded monsters, which was probably a good thing, but also did little to explain why they were here. They didn't get long to wonder, however, as they only stayed in the Gerudo settlement for a day before the smell of ozone overcame them again, and once more they found themselves stepping into a portal.

This time they landed in a swampy river area, surrounded by densely packed mangroves. The Chain spent several days hiking through the swamp and came across several packs of monsters, one of which had black blood, before another portal appeared and whisked them off again.

Then they were in a rocky mountainside, the very stones of the earth hot and fires burning between cracks in the ground. They picked their way downhill, in search of more even ground and camping at nights around one of the natural fires, roasting sausages and toasting marshmallows on the flames.

Again, they hiked in search of civilisation, and to their credit did find a small Goron temple under siege from black-blooded lizalfos.

Then another portal. A broad savanna. Another black blooded fight.

A portal. A snowfield. A fight.

A portal. An abandoned catacomb. A fight.

A portal.

There was a rhythm to these things, they were coming to realise. A pattern. By the time the days had stretched into weeks and they had landed in a wide, flat tundra, without a tree for miles but with bright mosses and grasses and heathers in shades of red and amber and pink, they were fairly certain that they had at least an idea of what to expect.

They would walk somewhere. They would come across some monsters whose blood was black. When the beasts would be defeated, there would be a portal to take them onto the next world.

It was a pattern, but it wasn't terribly reassuring. They still didn't know to what end they were being transported, and the monsters with black blood were not simple to fight.

But they would get there. They had faith that they would figure this out. They had to. And after all, they were already making such good progress, and none of them could deny that, even if it had now been two weeks since Four and Hyrule carried out their ritual. Even if they still hadn't quite figured out how to replicate the spell that had brought them all here.

They would get there. They had to.

—

It was evening. The Chain had been in the tundra for two days, trekking towards the distant lights of a village at the foot of some distant mountains. On their first day they had come upon a travelling trader and his mule who had told them that there were stories of strange monsters in the east, and the town would be more than happy to put them up and direct them to the problem. They weren't entirely sure if he was being honest or if he just wanted to make a sale, but Hyrule seemed to trust him and so far he seemed the best at figuring out if someone was lying, and besides: the hard cheese he was selling was delicious.

For now, though, they had made camp and set up a fire big enough to cook their food and to warm their frigid bones. The days may have been bright and sunny, but they were cold, and the nights freezing. They had all donned thick cloaks and tunics and mittens against the weather, and Wind, who apparently came from a place where this kind of weather simply did not exist, seemed downright horrified by it all, and was dressed in a collection of borrowed thick clothes from his new brothers.

They had all fallen into a sort of rhythm for their evenings around the campfire. It was funny — during the day they travelled and battled, they tended wounds and researched magic and reacted to anything and everything that was sent their way. But when it came to setting up camp and finding some time for rest, they had already begun to fall into predictable patterns.

Every evening, Wild pulled out his cook pot and prepared dinner, happy to be the group's designated chef. Tonight he was frying dumplings, savoury and warm against the frigid night. He had a spare thick blanket around his shoulders because of the cold, but not his good blanket, which was neatly folded and stored in his slate for later. As usual, Hyrule had come to perch somewhere close by, watching the food with something akin to amazement in his eyes, and as usual, Legend was close by his side, the adventuring veteran uniquely protective of the kid.

Sky usually strummed his harp in moments like this, but the cold had left him shaking out his hand, the lattice of scars giving him trouble as he chatted quietly to Four. The smallest of their group had told them that he was a smith by trade, and as he did every evening, he sat now with one of their swords on his lap, tending carefully to the metal as he talked.

Warriors had drawn first watch so was having a doze before dinner, his belongings neatly folded beside his pristine bedroll, his normally perfect hair mussed with sleep. Twi had to smile at that — he didn't know the Captain well, (although apparently Time did, and anyone that Time liked was okay in Twi's book), but he seemed so determined to come across as perfect to everyone. He was always perfectly turned out, even when they were trekking through the wilderness, he spoke with a perfectly clipped received accent (Which maybe the others were fooled by, but Twi had heard a fake accent before), and every suggestion he made was perfectly considered.

He relaxed more in the evenings. It was only subtle; Twi wasn't sure if everyone even registered it. But after dinner, especially as they all got more comfortable with one another, he let the facade slip. He relaxed, smiled, chatted more easily. Twi was pretty sure he'd even heard a hint, once or twice, just a hint of his actual accent slipping out.

Twilight was looking forward to getting to know the real captain better. He suspected he was a pretty cool dude.

For now, they were all calm. Contentedly waiting for their dinner to be ready — or rather, filling their time as best they could and trying not to drool over the smell.

Hyrule had shuffled closer to Wild, who had turned towards him and was signing what he was doing between actions, much to the traveller's delight. Time had finally shucked his many layers of armour and instead wrapped himself up in a cloak and blankets. Tall as he was, all bundled up like that he looked kind of like a giant, soft teddy bear.

He met Twi's eyes in amusement and gestured with his head over to where Spirit and Wind were apparently passing the time with good-natured bickering. He shuffled closer, listening in, as they apparently were debating Four and Hyrule's magical experiment back in the Colossus and their discovery of the two strains of magic.

"Twins." Wind was pronouncing, clear and confident. "Evil twins. It's the only explanation."

They had all pondered what it might mean that there were two similar but distinct strains of magic involved in what was happening. They had all debated it, and Twilight knew that Four and Hyrule had been trying to see if there was any more information that they could glean about it.

Speaking of which, while Hyrule may have been busily enraptured with Wild's cooking process, Four was sitting right by the twins, and he looked patently exhausted. This was clearly not the first time that he had heard this argument.

"Well," he sighed, "It's-"

"If it's evil twins," Spirit cut in, eagerly speaking over him. Too eagerly, perhaps? "Then which one's which? Is the evil one sending the monsters? Cause kidnapping us and sending us across time ain't exactly good."

"No," Four tried to explain. "You-"

"No, dumbass." Wind scathed, and that was definitely a wicked glint in his eye. He knew exactly what he was doing. "Not evil twins as in 'one good one evil', evil twins as in 'twins who are evil and are both messing with us!'"

"Ohhhh…" Spirit hummed, clearly trying not to laugh. "That makes way more sense!"

"No it doesn't?" Four whined.

"Sure it does!" Wind grinned, reaching out to pat his back. "It's just like you said! Two people are sending the spells and they're really similar but different! Evil spell twins!"

"Duuuuuuh!" Spirit agreed.

Twilight had to bite his tongue. He was so close to bursting out laughing.

"No." Four insisted. "Listen. The two magics are similar. Like. They were both cast in the same technique. Like two wizzrobes would cast a spell and their magic would be really similar, but different because it's two different fucking wizzrobes. So all I'm saying is these spells were cast by two people using similar magics. Yeah? Got it?"

Time and Twilight looked expectantly around at the twins, waiting to see if it had sunk in. Or, more accurately, what their next play would be.

"So…" Wind said slowly. "You're saying that… in theory. It could be evil twins."

"You haven't ruled it out?" Spirit checked.

Four groaned and put his head in his hands, and Twilight couldn't hold in his snort any longer, waving to grab their attention.

"Sure." he told them. "It totally could still be evil twins. You got a point."

Spirit grinned. "Nice!" he cheered, and high-fived Wind. Four just groaned again and flopped back into his bedroll, clearly exhausted.

Heh. Four seemed like a great guy, but he clearly wasn't used to being the big brother. Twilight had dealt with kids before. He knew how to deal with them. And by deal with them, he meant 'yes-and'd their weird little moments enough that they felt listened to and then moved on'.

Twilight understood being a big brother. He had plenty of practice. Poor Four couldn't have been that much older than the twins, he figured, and probably hadn't had the time to acclimatise.

He'd get there. Probably.

Anyway.

Dinner was, as expected, wonderful. Wild produced a whole range of dumplings, some with potato and cheese, some with meat, some with sauerkraut and mushroom, and even some with apples and strawberries for after.

Even mealtimes had become part of the evening ritual now. They all knew not to push and shove as Wild handed out their portions, and while some dove in immediately, others took their time and savoured every bite, and they all knew not to interrupt the quiet prayer that Four always said before eating his own. Sometimes Twi even joined him on that, remembering the little prayer of thanks that Uli had taught him as a kid.

Thank you Ordona for your harvest… even though I'm not in Ordon and also don't know when I am. You're a real one, O.

…

…sometimes people told Twilight that he was a little too casual talking to the spirits. But whatever. They never seemed offended by him when he visited.

It was all just nice. Something told Twilight that maybe this whole journey would be a lot less tolerable if they didn't have moments of peace like this. If the ten of them weren't able to all sit down and share a meal together, to get to know one another as people rather than just fellow heroes, this all would have been a lot more terrible.

But as it was, it was good. They had space and time for dinners together, sharing dumplings and telling jokes. It kind of reminded him of dinners back in Ordon, when half the village came around for a meal and the table was surrounded by all manner of aunties and uncles, none of them related by blood but a family nonetheless.

"Uuuugh!" Twilight was pulled out of his reverie by Wind's groan as he set his now empty plate aside. "Why is this world so cold?"

Warriors chuckled, finishing his own meal. "Not got enough blankets there, Sailor?"

"You could at least lend me your fire-rod." Wind grumbled. "Even my nose is cold!"

"Aw, Wind," Sky cooed, nestled in his own downy blanket. "You'll get used to it. Just stay bundled up."

"Easy for you to say." Wind bit out, grumpy. "You come from a place with cold. Back home it's never like this."

Wild chuckled fondly.

"You know," he said, sitting back. Now that the meal was done he was able to rest, as his one condition for being their perpetual cook was that he never had to do the dishes. "When I first started my first journey I didn't have a clue about keeping warm. Or warm clothes. Or. You know. Any clothes, haha. But there was a wolf I'd made friends with, and he would cuddle up and keep me warm. You could use a Wolfie cuddle right about now!"

Legend snorted as he interpreted for Hyrule, turning to look at him.

"You had a wolf-friend?" he asked.

Hyrule waved for attention. "What is this about no clothes???"

Wild waved them off, blushing. "Yeah, I… was injured. It's complicated. I kind of had amnesia? I don't wanna- anyway!" he grinned his lopsided grin, scars pulling and twisting his face. "Wolfie helped me a lot back then. He wasn't like a normal wolf. He was magic! A spirit, I think!"

Twilight felt his heart ache as he listened. Ordona, he'd missed Wild.

He'd never been… sure before coming on this journey, if the adventure he'd had with his brother had been real. Which he knew sounded insane, but it was true. His day to day life hadn't been affected, he still worked at the ranch and herded goats and travelled to castle town to visit Shad. But at night when he slept, he was transported in his dreams.

Every night for months, he found himself stuck as a wolf in that other world, helping a wounded Hero on his journey. It hadn't felt real, but at the same time he just couldn't bring himself to write it off as just a particularly vivid set of dreams.

He'd always believed. Deep down. He'd always had faith that it was true.

He'd been feral when Twi had first met him, newly born from the Shrine of Resurrection and full of enough energy to take on the world. He hadn't known a thing about looking after himself, had eaten everything he found whether safe or toxic, had fought with his bare hands and teeth and occasionally a stick, and had been thoroughly baffled by the concept of trousers or washing.

But he'd been so sweet too. Sharing his hard won meals with him, snuggling up, exploring the wilderness together. Twi had loved watching him grow and develop, seeing him get stronger and more confident, ready to take on the world.

…it had broken his heart, to leave him. One night the determined, fearsome hero that Twi had spent so long mentoring was preparing to storm the castle and take on Ganon, and the next…

Twi just. Hadn't returned. He had never dreamed of that world again. Had never been able to get back. He'd never known if the hero had beat Ganon, if he had saved the princess. Twilight had never found out what happened.

And now here he was, on a journey with nine more Heroes from across time, and Wild was among them. He was several years older than when Twilight had seen him last, had a few more scars and was down an arm, but it was him.

He was alive. He had survived. He had been victorious.

Twilight was so, so proud. He'd wanted to gather Wild into his arms in that first instant, to tell him how much he loved him, how much he'd missed him.

Of course, that would have seemed patently insane. Twilight didn't even know if Wild remembered him, or if the wolf had been important to him at all. Not to mention he was also, very obviously, a guy, and not a wolf.

Also, Twilight was scared. Sue him. Hero of Courage or not, he still got anxious.

But now… hearing Wild speak so fondly of 'Wolfie', wishing he was here, missing him…

Twi had to tell him. He had to. If nothing else, he hadn't transformed in weeks and he felt a little like he was going to crawl out of his own skin if he didn't soon. If he could transform and have Wild with him… all the better.

He looked around. The conversation had moved on and Wild was settling back in his bedroll, unfolding the good blanket and draping it around his shoulders now that the messy business of cooking was done. Even after weeks of travelling it was still pristinely clean, a thick Sheikah-woven linen, the white of the cloth almost completely obscured by richly detailed, intricate embroidery in brilliant red thread.

The Sheikah blanket was Wild's pride and joy, Twilight knew. Even the others had noticed that while as a rule, Wild was generally vaguely unkempt and happy to wander around with creases in his clothes and sticks in his hair, the blanket was always pristine. None of them knew why, and though the twins had pestered him about it plenty of times, they all respected it.

Twilight knew what made it so special, of course. But even if Wild had known who he was, that he had such knowledge, it wouldn't have been his place to share it. It was too precious. It was Wild's story to tell, and Twi would never take that from him.

Okay. There was no sense stalling. That feeling of urgency, of wanting to talk to Wild was growing in his chest and if he didn't get it out soon he felt like he might explode. Across the camp, everyone was busy with their own various business; Legend grumbling as he and Hyrule went about the dishes, Four, Sky, and Time deep in conversation about sword maintenance, Warriors and Spirit still gently teasing Wind about the cold.

For the moment Wild was alone. This was his chance.

…why was he so nervous?

He knew Wild. Both from that first journey as a wolf and from the past few weeks as a person. He was a good, genuine guy. Already they were getting on well.

It wasn't like Twilight was going to reveal anything terrible. Just that he was a wolf sometimes and had literally known Wild since he was reborn.

Enough stalling. He could do this.

Twilight stood, wrapping his thick pelt around his shoulders and walking over to Wild, nudging him for attention with his foot.

"You good?" Wild asked, looking up at him.

Twi shrugged, smiling. "Gonna check the perimeter of camp. Wanna walk with me?".

Okay it was a lame excuse. Wild could clearly see it was a lame excuse. They weren't in a forest or anything with hidden spaces, the tundra was wide and open aside from a few clusters of rocks, and they could see for miles in every direction in the cold, clear night.

But Wild was cool. He nodded, standing and carefully adjusting the blanket on his shoulders.

"Sure, sounds good. Want me to take the light?" he inclined his head towards the lantern by Twi's own bedroll, casting a merry flicker of light across the camp.

Twilight smiled. That was another good thing about this group — they never hesitated to accommodate. They made their footsteps heavier and described places more carefully for sky. They made sure that someone could interpret for Hyrule. They carried lamps and made sure that the traveller and Twi's hands were free so that they could sign.

It all felt so natural. So normal.

It was nice.

"Aye, sounds good." he agreed with a smile.

A few of the Chain glanced up curiously as they stood, but none commented. The pair of them wandered a while away from the camp, tramping through the heather and grasses until they reached one of the rocky outcrops dotted around the landscape.

Wild paused, leaning against the largest and setting the lantern down. He looked at Twi with a smirk.

"So did you really want to stretch your legs are or we having a drink somewhere Wind can't steal it?"

Twilight blinked and then scoffed a laugh. Yeah, that was fair; he did have a flask of Ordon Whiskey in his pocket, after all, and the last thing he wanted was for that damn kid to steal it.

Again.

But he shook his head, still smiling awkwardly.

"Maybe in a moment?" he signed. "I… want to talk to you."

Well that had Wild's attention. The Champion looked up at him, suddenly more alert, and nodded, fidgeting with his blanket.

"Oh." he said. "Of course. What's up. You okay?"

Twilight nodded and took a shaky breath. He glanced back, across the heather to the firelight of the camp, and then back to Wild, stepping a little more behind the rocks.

"All good. Just I… this is going to seem crazy? So stick with me? Yeah?"

Oh yeah, now Wild looked extra worried, his brow furrowed with concern as he followed him behind the rocks.

"Yeah, of course." he promised. "Anything."

Twilight sighed. Okay, he probably should have figured out how he was going to actually explain this. Good job, wolf-boy.

"So." he began, fingers hesitating in the cold air. "On my journey I got. Cursed. It was a whole thing. It's not that important, I'm fine now! But the curse kind of… transformed me? And even though it's gone I can still transform when I want to. Into. Well. Into a wolf."

Wild blinked, reading his hands, then looked up, maybe a little confused.

"You- you can turn into a wolf?" he asked, maybe a little astounded. Which was fair. It was a fairly insane thing to say. "Twi, that's so cool! I love wolves! I had a friend who was a wolf!"

Oh, Wild. Hon. Twilight couldn't help but smile at that.

"I know, Wild." he smiled. His sign name for him was Wild-Child, had been even when he'd told Shad about him back home, and he'd never dreamed how well it would fit if they ever actually met. "I… so you know how I already know Time?"

"…uh huh?" Wild said slowly. "He said he had… a bunch of weird dreams? That he was in your era as like… a creepy stal-dude, helping you? And for you it was real?"

Twilight laughed. "Yeah. Yeah that's it. Well… I had dreams too. 'Cept I wasn't a skeleton in my dreams. I was the wolf I can turn into. And the Hero I was helping was… you."

Wild stared at him. Silent. Twilight felt his heart begin to race, bile rising in his throat.

"…you're shitting me."

"I'm not."

"No you are, you're taking the piss."

"I'm really not."

"Okay then, prove it."

"What, now?"

"Yeah, you want me to believe you? Prove it."

Twilight sighed. Yeah, he'd expected this, but still. Man.

"Okay, okay, just… give me a second." he shuffled a few steps back, making doubly sure that he was behind the rocks and the Chain couldn't see him. It was one thing telling Wild, who had met him as a wolf before, but he was in no way ready to have the 'hey so I may not be as hylian as you think' conversation with the rest of their group.

Taking a deep breath, he reached under his tunic to the necklace that he always kept safely on his person, wrapping his hand around the crystal made of pure, solid darkness, and he focused.

The first time he had transformed, it had been agonising. His muscles had been torn apart and reformed, his bones shattered and rebuilt to fit the new shape that his body was forced into. It had burned with pain, and even afterwards a stinging aftershock had lingered in his bones.

Now though, with the transformation being by his own choice and used to it as he was, it was as simple and easy as slipping on an old, comfortable pair of slippers, soft and warm and fitted perfectly to his own feet.

In an instant, his body was changed in a whirl of black fractals, and a heartbeat later he was no longer Hylian. He was a wolf, massive and powerful, with razor sharp fangs and a thick, greenish-black fur.

He pawed at the ground, nervous, the shackle on his leg jangling softly as he looked up at a bewildered Wild. Oh man. He really, really hoped this wouldn't go wrong. He didn't want to be chased away again, it had been hard enough when the people of Ordon had done it not knowing it was him, if Wild turned on him here—

"Wolfie?" Wild's voice was barely a whisper, trembling as he looked down at Twilight with tear-damp eyes.

Just as in his Hylian body, the thick scar across Twilight's throat robbed him of any voice, so instead he took a tentative step forwards, towards his brother. His brother knelt, holding out a softly shaking hand towards him, and Twi nuzzled into it, soft and loving and warm.

"Oh, Wolfie!" Wild sobbed, falling to his knees and wrapping his arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. "I! I thought you were gone! I thought I'd lost you! You- you- you're here, you're alive, you- you-"

He broke off, voice thick with tears as he held him close and Twilight, so very, very relieved, snuggled in, licking the tears from his cheeks, nuzzling close. Wild was his guy, and he was back. Finally, finally, after all these years, they were reunited at last.

"I missed you so much!" Wild gasped, running his hands through Twilight's fur. "Oh Wolfie- Twilight! I can't believe it! I- I-"

He paused, sitting back suddenly and narrowing his eyes. Twi looked up at him, suddenly nervous of what was wrong.

"You ate all my bacon, you bastard!" Wild gasped, shoving him playfully. "How much food exactly have you stolen from my plate? You knew exactly what you were doing, didn't you?!"

Twilight snorted, and in an instant transformed back to a Hylian, giggling.

"If you wanted it, you should've eaten faster." he teased right back. "I feel no guilt about this."

Wild gasped in mock offence and then laughed, reaching out and pulling Twilight into another hug.

"I can't believe it." he whispered again. "You- you're here. You're Twilight. You're a guy. Wh-why didn't you tell me? Back then? Why didn't you transform? I- I could have — I could have talked to you!"

he drew back, sniffling, and Twilight's heard broke.

"I wanted to." he signed. "I swear. I tried every day to change back. But I couldn't."

Wild knuckled away tears, smiling again, reaching out to touch his arm.

"Y-you're real." he whispered. "You're really real. You're here. You… aw man, you've seen me do so much dumb shit."

Twi nodded sagely. "You really didn't need to be holding the sword when it was struck by lightning that one time." he told him "And you definitely didn't need to be naked."

Wild groaned, flushing red with embarrassment. "I got my shrines mixed up! It was damn Mijah Rokee's fault, not mine!"

Twi raised an eyebrow, shaking his head. "I know all your dirty secrets, kid." he teased. "Just you remember that."

Wild groaned. "My damn secrets." he whined, but he was smiling. Trusting.

It was okay.

Twilight huffed a laugh.

"So. I was always gonna tell you but… I actually had a reason why I brought this up tonight…"

—

Which was how, a few minutes later, Wild returned to camp with Wolfie happily trotting by his side. He waved off any probing questions, saying that Wolfie was a magic spirit wolf, Warriors, he clearly can just appear when needed, and explaining that Twilight was having some 'toilet difficulty' so 'might be a bit'.

Within minutes, Wolfie was getting tentative pets and then full on hugs from the Chain, as well as a healthy serving of extra bacon from Wild's slate. He happily licked a delighted Hyrule's cheek and could barely contain his amusement at the look of sheer love that the normally prickly Legend gave him. Sky gasped in delight as he ran his fingers through his fur and Four giggled like a child as he patted his head.

Time gave him a knowing look as he stroked his fur — of course his mentor had known for years now about his wolf form, but Twi knew he wouldn't spill his secret, not even when he rolled onto his back on top of Warriors' scarf and demanded belly-rubs as payment for moving.

Then, finally, he reached his target. Spirit and, more importantly, Wind, still shivering a little under his mound of blankets.

"He likely won't stay long." Wild cautioned the twins as Wolfie settled down, curling up with a thrilled Wind. "But I think he came to warm you up."

Wolfie nuzzled his way into the blankets, flopping his body beside Wind and curling around him, letting the kid share in his considerable body heat. Wild was right — he'd have to go soon, or else their lie that Twilight was really away having some private time on the privy would become obvious — but for now he could lie down. Relax. Spend some time cuddled up with his brothers and helping them stay warm against the cold night air.

Sleepily, he looked over to where Wild was settling down again, pulling his Sheikah blanket up to his chin. To where the whole Chain were settling down for the night.

It wasn't often that he felt safe as a wolf when there were people about. But here and now, surrounded by his brothers, he knew he would come to no harm. They trusted him, just like that, and he trusted them in return.

It was a cold night, but it was comfortable. Full of love and warmth.

And that, really, was what mattered.

Chapter Text

The weather did not improve, and the Chain were frozen by the time they finally made it to the little town at the foot of the mountains. It was tiny; barely even a village at all, made of a scant number of buildings and two or three big, round tents that the locals called gers. Against the backdrop of the massive mountains, topped with snow and dyed red with the wintry heathers, the town seemed less like a settlement and more like a collection of children's toys spilled haphazardly across the foothills.

They were all shivering and beyond glad when the local elder — and ancient and tiny old woman who insisted that they call her grandma — took one look at them and invited them into her ger to rest.

"Sacred spirits." Four groaned as he kicked off his boots. It was a tight squeeze with the ten of them in the one tent, plus the elder and her family, but none of them would dream of complaining. "I'm glad we made it here. I couldn't take another night out camping like that."

"Or walking." Sky added. "I could barely hear a thing over the wind!"

Which was true; the past day and a half had seen the wind pick up into a gale, which had been frustrating enough to walk in. For Sky, though, who relied in part on the guiding buzz from his earrings for direction, it made the journey all the more difficult. He could have pushed forwards with just his cane, he told them. It was lightly enchanted too to help him keep walking in one direction, but it wasn't exactly convenient, so he'd ended up holding onto Warriors' arm as they walked and was very clearly frustrated by his loss of independence.

Granny laughed as they relaxed onto her piles of rugs and blankets, the wrinkles on her face deepening to canyons as she smiled.

"Winter is fast on its way." she chuckled, ladling out servings of a thick meat and noodle stew. "A few weeks and this town'll be full to bursting." she began to pass out their dinners with a smile.

"Families move across the mountains to the northern plains for spring and summer." her son, a burly man called Batu explained. "There's good land to graze our herds up there, and better crops to harvest. But they have to come back south again before winter, or they'll be frozen in the snows."

The Chain hummed in interest, digging into their meal. The food was good and warmed them to their cores, made all the more satisfying by the sound of the wind howling outside the warm, cosy tent.

"They can't have long to travel, then." Wild chimed in, glancing at the slate that always hung at his hip. "It's freezing already, feels like it could snow any day, couldn't it?"

The son and his wife exchanged glances while Granny tutted, offering them each a cup of fermented milk.

"That it could." she told them. "We expected the first family weeks ago, in truth. But it's been quiet as the dead down here."

"Mama," Batu's wife, Zaya, soothed, sending a warning glance towards where her three children, all under five and all watching with curious eyes, were eating. "They'll get here. They have to. They're smart. They'll find a new way around."

The Chain exchanged glances, but whatever was holding up the migration across the mountains, it was clearly not something to be discussed in front of the children. They satisfied themselves by eating their fill, sharing some of their lighter stories, and Twilight and Wind playing with the children as the storm picked up outside.

Finally, though, the kids fell asleep, the older two curled up together and the youngest sucking her thumb in her crib. The Chain wrapped themselves in their blankets, ready for a story, and Time looked to the Elder.

"Grandma," he began, "What you were saying earlier. Why haven't the families made it here through the pass yet?"

Zaya and Batu exchanged glances while Granny huffed a wry laugh, toasting him with her cup of beer.

"Nothing gets past you lot, eh?" she teased.

"We mean no offence." Warriors pressed, smooth as silk. "But something called us here. If we can help—"

Batu chuckled. "You're a good lad." he said, patting Wars on the arm. He looked at the rest of the Chain, all waiting earnestly for his answer. He looked to his mother for an answer and when she nodded, he sighed. "One family made it through. Barely. They're newlyweds, so they had no children to carry, and they only managed to bring through a quarter of their herd."

Four frowned. "What happened?" he asked.

Grandma sighed. "They were badly frightened." she told them. "Didn't want to talk much. What they did say was that there were monsters in the pass. Different from the normal ones. More deadly. More aggressive. Near impossible to kill and attacking anyone who tries to cross the pass. They lost most of their herd in the first attack, so they said they decided to just run on and didn't look back, and got through only by the grace of the gods."

The wind howled in the silence that followed her words, as the Chain realised as one exactly where it was that they had to go. Either they were being sent between eras to hunt these strange, cursed monsters or, more disturbingly, the monsters were appearing because of them. Either way, it was their responsibility to fight them. To protect the people of this era.

They were heroes. It was what they did.

"How far?" Wind asked. "To the pass where the monsters are?"

Zaya shook her head. "It's a dangerous enough path, child, even without the monsters—"

"I'm not a child—" Wind protested.

"I understand your concern." Time smoothed. "But this is what we do. We can help."

Zaya still looked uncertain, but Grandma was looking at them with narrowed, shrewd eyes. It didn't escape their notice how she glanced down and looked at the backs of Time's, then Warriors', then Sky's hands.

She sighed.

"You won't be deterred, will you?" she hummed. "Ach. Well, I'll show you to the pass tomorrow. There's no point haring off now, in the dark with that storm blowing. Get some rest, and if you still want to go in the morning, at least you will be rested and have food in your bellies."

There was no arguing with that, especially with how tired they all were. None of them complained as they bunked down, warm and comfortable and protected from the storm. Tomorrow they would move on but for tonight, at least, they could rest.

—

The next morning was bright and cold, just as every other one before it. Granny served the Chain a breakfast of cheese curds, yoghurt, and hot milk tea before they finally said their farewells to the family and made their way into the mountains.

The path to the pass was not hard to find once they knew where to look, although it was rugged enough to walk along. Batu had offered to lend them some of his own ponies to help them on their journey, but they had turned him down. With the way their journey was going, there was no way of knowing if they would be able to return before they were portalled off again, and more to the point, when he made his offer, Sky looked confused and asked them all what a horse was.

None of them thought that now was the right time to try and explain it to him, let alone then try and teach him how to ride. Not when they had a mission to get on.

Better by far to just walk.

It was no easy hike along the red-heathered mountainside, but they pushed on. Granny had told them that it would take at least a day to get into the pass proper, so they spent a cold, windy night sheltered between the frigid crags. The wind was too fierce to even think of lighting a fire and they hunkered down in their bedrolls, huddling close for warmth and each clutching a fire rod under the blankets.

None of them slept well, but rest was rest. They set off again the next morning, cricks in their neck and cold to the bone, but determined to keep going.

It was the middle of their third day hiking that they found it. They were deep into the mountains now, the pass winding its way between the slopes and over the occasional trickling stream. Light banks of early snow were dotted here and there, not a deep as the snow crest up on the peaks, but a clear sign that they were running out of time to bring the families across.

They hurried on until the pass turned and widened into an open valley, and something sat on the path in front of them.

It was big, a mound of rocks and stones nearly as tall as a house at its highest point, piled together into a cairn. It was hung with strings of flags and tucked into the cracks between the rocks were carefully placed branches and brightly coloured scarves. At the very peak, only just visible from where they stood, was the skull of a horse.

And all over, it was wrapped in thorns.

The Chain stopped in their tracks and stared.

"What in the actual ever-loving fu-" Wind began to say.

"It's an ovoo," Legend breathed, stepping forwards. "Isn't it? I haven't seen one in years."

"Huh." Sky, who had been holding again to Warriors' elbow, let go and walked towards it, feeling his way with his cane. His free hand was outstretched but he stopped short of touching the ovoo and the thorns that bound it.

"It's sacred." he breathed. "Isn't it? I can feel it. It's hallowed ground."

"You can feel it?"Warriors frowned.

"Yeah." Legend confirmed, going to join Sky. "It's sacred. It's a shrine to the spirits of the mountain. You're supposed to circle it three times and then leave an offering, and you'll have a safe journey."

"Huh." Spirit hummed. "What about the thorns? They don't look right… right? Wrapped around it like that?"

"Not anything I've seen before." Legend allowed.

"It… feels strange." Sky agreed. "It's sacred but… it's like that sacredness is being strangled. Like somethings trying to destroy it."

Twilight clapped for attention.

"If I was a bettin' man," he signed, "An' I sure am, I'd say this is what we're lookin' for."

There were a few murmurs of tentative agreement, but it was Wind who voiced what they were all thinking

"Okay," he said. "But then where're the monsters?"

It was true. Strange and profane as the thorns covering the otherwise sacred monument were, there was no other sign of trouble nearby. The pass here was wide, the mountain slopes on either side gentle and dotted with places that might have made good shelters for a passing caravan to camp. Distantly, over a far ridge, they could see smoke rising, probably the campfires from the families waiting to cross the pass.

But as to why they hadn't come forward yet— that, the Chain couldn't tell.

The monsters couldn't have just left. There would be signs of their presence, at least, but this place seemed untouched. Pristine.

Except for the thorns.

"This is a trap." Wild said. "Right? We're all feeling this? Big trap energy?"

"Without a doubt." Warriors agreed. "I wouldn't be surprised if passing the monument triggers it. Summons the monsters."

"Seems possible." Four agreed, frowning, but he didn't seem confident. "But…Sky's basically on top of it already, and it's hasn't activated yet."

"That's true," Sky said, and then before anyone could stop him, he strode confidently past the ovoo.

Nothing happened.

"FEELING ANY MORE CURSED?!" Wild shouted to him.

"NO MORE THAN USUAL!" he replied with a smile.

Several of the Chain snorted, rolling their eyes before they looked back at the monument. It sat there, wrapped in the thorns that were clearly some sort of poison, the flags and pennants fluttering in the breeze, keeping its secrets to itself.

Hyrule waved, asking for their attention from where he had been watching Legend interpret for him.

"The family that got through." he said. "What did they say, again? How did they do it?"

"Um." Spirit said. "They… ran really fast? Right?"

"No— Hyrule's right." Warriors frowned. "Just running through doesn't make sense. Grandma said they lost most of their herd in the previous attack, so they ran with what they had left. She didn't say that they were attacked on the way. Why?"

"Maybe they ran really really fast?" Wind suggested.

Twilight clicked his tongue. "No, c'mon." he chided, not ungently. "We've fought dozens of these bastards. We can't even outrun them when they fancy a nibble outta us, you really think these guys could?"

He was right and they all knew it. Sky frowned, finding his way back towards them, brow furrowed.

"Legend," he said. "You said it's a — what was it — an ovoo? And there's a ritual with it?"

"Yeah." the veteran agreed. "When you cross the pass you circle it three times and offer a gift to honour the spirits of the mountains."

Sky nodded. "Twi — you said you're a betting man? Well I bet you that's the answer. If I was setting a trap, knowing every person who's passing this way circles the ovoo, then that's the trigger I'd make."

"Yes!" Warriors agreed. "And that was how they got through — the family who survived. They never circled the ovoo — if people ahead of them already had triggered it when they first got here, they probably never got the chance to do the ritual too. They never got marked. So they could rush through when everyone fell back and not summon the monsters."

He beamed, and the Chain all grinned with him. That was it, it had to be! They'd solved it!

…

Just. Well. It was a hollow victory, really. After all, they didn't know yet how to actually stop it.

"…do you think if we destroy the thorns it'll fix it?" Twilight suggested.

"One way to find out!" Wild grinned, and before anyone could see what he was doing, he threw something — was that a berry? — that burst into flames when it reached the ovoo.

"Hylia's hotpants!" Sky cursed, jumping away from the burst of heat. "What on earth?"

"Wild's playing with fire." Legend drawled, pulling a face. "Lolia below, some warning next time. You can't just go around burning sacred monuments!"

Wild pulled a face, apparently only in that moment realising that there were more flammable things on the monument than just the thorns. On the positive side, the sacred nature of the ovoo protected the various offerings from burning to a crisp. On the negative, whatever dark magic had generated the thorns protected them too and they resolutely clung on, sharp and oily and dangerous.

"Welp." Wild was blushing as he scuffed his feet, a little embarrassed. "No harm no foul?"

Four rolled his eyes, expression fond, as he took his turn to inspect the magic around the ovoo.

"I mean…" he considered. "Spells like this. That are set off with specific criteria. They usually are stopped by specific things too. They're like… machines. Made of moving parts. If you pull one of the parts out it stops working."

"Right." Legend frowned. "And… when you say that, you mean..?"

And Hyrule snapped his fingers, waving for their attention with a grin.

"Kill the monsters." he signed in a rush. "If we trip the trap and kill the monsters, the spell will break!"

Warriors sighed. "Agh, here we go." He moaned. "We've done the temples you're all used to. Now welcome to my world; it's a hack and slash."

It wasn't the most encouraging endorsement, but then, the moment before a battle rarely was. Once they triggered whatever this trap was they did not plan on retreating

"Okay." Warriors continued, pushing his hair back from his face. "If the herders have sense, they'll have a lookout watching us. Still, Sailor — you're fast. Run and tell them to stay back. The last thing we want is them getting caught up in this — and no, it's not because you're young, it's because you're fast.

"Wild, Twilight — you're both good with archery. We could use long range support. Hyrule—"

"I'm sorry." Legend cut in, stopping his interpreting to put his hands on his hips. "Who exactly died and left you in charge?"

Warriors blinked, taking a step back and furrowing his brow. Offended and, perhaps, a little hurt.

"I'm just trying to think tactically." he retorted. "If you want to just go in there and fight like an idiot because you don't have a plan, you're welcome to, but I'm a Captain, this kind of battle is—"

"Yeah, well in case you forgot, we aren't your army." Legend shot back. "So you can skip treating us like your little toy soldiers lined up to die."

"I'm trying to keep everyone safe—"

"Who the hell asked you to?!"

"You—"

BOOM!

Their argument broke off at the sound of the explosion and they — along with the rest of the Chain — jumped in shock, turning towards the sound of the blast.

Like that first day they'd met, Sky stood again with his sword pointed skywards, gleaming with sacred light and the air still rippling from the explosion. Unlike that first day, though, Hyrule stood at his side, holding onto his sword arm like he'd helped thrust it up.

"Enough!" Sky growled, and while he normally seemed so very gentle and friendly, now his voice was sharp as broken glass. "Seriously? You're arguing right now?"

Hyrule glared at them, letting go of Sky to step forwards.

"You are acting like children!" He scolded. "I do not know why and I do not care. Maybe dark magic is affecting you. Whatever. We have work to do! I should not have to ask Sky to break you up!"

"Rulie—" Legend started to say, but Hyrule waved him of with an irritated grunt.

"You are not children. Grow up." he fumed. "No fight-time until we finish battle-time."

That at least got a few assorted titters from the rest who were watching, while Warriors and Legend, anger immediately deflated, exchanged awkward glances. With a heavy sigh and an expression like he was sucking on a lemon, Legend held out a hand for Warriors to shake, and the Captain took it.

"Aw, thank Oshus." Wind snorted from where he had been hovering on the edges of the group. "I'm gonna run tell the herders to stay back. In case the giant explosion wasn't enough. Don't do any cool battle shit without me."

"We won't." Warriors promised as the sailor dashed away.

Four sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Okay. Listen — curses like this can make things… feel more intense. Make people angry about nothing. Everyone just… keep your wits about you, yeah?"

They all nodded, although they knew that it was really Legend and Warriors' murmurs of agreement that were most important here. Side effects of the curse or not, there was already enough unfounded tension between the two of them without feeding into it.

"Okay. Good." Time stepped forwards. "Long range support is probably a good idea. We don't know where they'll come from so it's best to spread out. Everyone take up space across the valley. Legend; you know about the ritual, right? Do you think you could recreate it?"

Legend raised a pink eyebrow but managed a wry smile. "You want me to be the bait, old man? Damsel in distress?"

"I mean he's already wearing a dress." Spirit whispered, earning an amused shove from Twi.

"If this thing is triggered by the ritual, we want to make sure we do it right." Time pressed. "Captain — you watch his back. Don't let anything hurt him even if you really really want to."

Warriors snorted. "I managed not to kill you in the war, I suppose." he quipped, smiling at Time. "I can control myself for a while longer."

Time huffed a laugh, and if he was relieved that the anger between the two of them had cooled as fast as it had flared, he did an excellent job in hiding it.

The Chain spread out across the valley, drawing their weapons as they prepared for whatever this fight may throw at them. They waited for Wind to return to them with the assurance that the Herders would stay well back, but when he did, it was with a solemn look on his face and wide, worried eyes, his cheeks flushed red with exertion. They all faltered, hurrying in to meet him, Time catching and supporting him as he caught his breath.

"There—" he gasped at last, looking around at them all. "Guys, there's a lot of people there. Like. A— a lot. They — there's families— grandparents and kids, little kids! Hundreds of them. And they can't turn back— the northern pass already has snow on it, and most of them have already circled the ovoo so every time they try to cross the monsters come back. Guys we have to help them! If they stay stuck here, they'll—"

He did not have to finish his sentence. They all knew what he had been going to say. Stuck on a remote mountain pass like this, the herders could doubtless manage a short while, but sooner or later they would begin to run out of food. The snows would come further in. They would freeze.

Warriors nodded, pulling the sailor in for a hug.

"We will, kid." He told him. "Promise."

"Yeah, it'll be okay." Legend agreed. "Come on now, you've faced down worse than this before, eh? You've told us all about your adventures! We'll get those people home safe."

Wind nodded, sniffling and eyes sparkling with what were definitely not unshed tears.

"O-okay." He whispered. "Um. They- they tried to get me to stay back too. Said I was a kid. Heh. But when I said I was going they— they gave me these. One for each of us. They— they said they'd keep us safe."

He dug into his pocket and pulled out a handful of what looked like the knuckle bones of some sort of animal. It was unorthodox, perhaps, to the Chain, but they all knew better than to turn down the protection of a local charm. They each took one, grateful, and slipped them into their pockets and belt pouches, safely about their bodies.

"I've heard of charms like this." Legend hummed as he put it into a pouch and hung it around his neck, tucking it under his tunic. "They come from wolves. Wolves are lucky."

"Wolves are cool." Twilight nodded.

"Don't go taking Wolfie's bones, though!" Wild added, joking but with a hint of panic in his voice.

The Chain chuckled, and Time patted his back. "Your wolf is safe, Wild." He promised, then turned to Wind. "But if these are used for protection here, then I'm glad to have them."

They all nodded and murmured in agreement, and then one by one, they took a breath. The valley around them was still, the red heathers and grasses brilliant in the clear sunlight. The world was waiting, and they all knew what for.

"It's time, isn't it?" Sky asked quietly, and they all knew what he meant.

It was always like this, the moment before a battle. It was a familiar feeling, the strange stillness of the world before the bloodshed. The sense of inevitability.

"Let's do this." Legend agreed, then looked up at Warriors, a curl to his lip. "You got my back, pretty boy?"

Warriors rolled his eyes. "You really are an asshole, you know that?" he sighed, drawing his sword. "If anyone's gonna kill you it'll be me, later. Not some idiot monsters."

"Good enough." Legend quirked a smile and looked around to the rest. "Alright then. All of you get into position too. It's time."

"It's me." Time agreed, and they all offered small smiles before they spread out across the valley, weapons drawn, waiting.

Legend approached the ovoo and bowed, and then, with Warriors a few steps behind, began to walk around the monument in a circle.

Once.

Twice.

Thr—

He was halfway around the third ring when it happened.

A yowling screech echoed across the valley, magnified and distorted as it reverberated off the high cliff faces. The Chain all tightened their grips on their weapons, looking around for danger, and it was a good thing that they did.

Warriors did not get a chance to register what it was that had leapt at Legend, appearing from between the plain air, only that it had teeth and claws and was ready to strike.

He whirled and sliced, putting every ounce of his strength into the blow and neatly separating the monster's head from its neck, black blood flying through the air in thick drops.

The battle was upon them. All at once the mountain pass was swarming with lizalfos, all different colours and builds. Many of the Chain recognised a few from their home eras, the monsters seemingly drawn from across time to swarm and attack and kill.

They fought.

The monsters seemed to come from everywhere, but they were concentrated most in the direction that the Chain had come from. The message they sent was clear: you will not be running to safety.

There were dozens of them, swarming and fighting and biting. The Chain were glad that they had spread out and Twilight and Wild's ranged support was a vital relief. They loosed shot after shot, cutting down — or at least, slowing — the beasts as they raced towards their brothers. The rest of the Chain fought on, hacking and slashing and battling through the hoards even as it seemed that for every monster killed, three more would appear.

They kept fighting. The monsters kept coming.

They were getting exhausted, but the monsters never ceased. Never seemed to tire. They kept seeming to be created anew, and nothing that they did was making any difference.

…they were going to lose. This was not a fight that they could win.

They could not accept that. Would not accept it.

There had to be something that they could do.

Sky stumbled and dropped to the ground, trying to catch his breath, and as he did he felt something dig into his side. It was the knuckle bone, tucked away in his pocket, and he groaned, scrambling up and slicing before another lizalfos could snap at his head. So much for good luck — all it had done so far was add another bruise to his list of injuries!

But as he fought, it lingered in his mind. The knuckle bones. The local beliefs. The ritual summoning the monsters.

Something clicked into place. He tilted his head — he wasn't entirely certain of his whereabouts but based on the sounds around him, the tilt of the ground beneath his feet, and the buzz of his earrings, the ovoo should be somewhere to his right. He dashed that way, and when he felt the tug of its sacred energy he latched on, eyes wide. It was pulsing with power, even underneath the bindings of the curse's thorns. Almost as if…

He turned, listening to the battle. There were heroes and monsters everywhere, the sounds of battle ringing out in all directions.

"LEGEND!" he shouted, ducking and slicing again, hoping to Hylia that his brother heard him. "We have to finish the ritual! Help me!"

It made sense. It made so much sense. The circling of the ovoo blessed their journey, blessed the whole pass for the duration of the migration. It invoked the sanctity of the spirits of the mountain, and the curse would not be able to withstand that.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Legend shouted, but he ran over all the same.

It was insane. It was madness. But it also made sense, and they were running out of options. The rest of the Chain converged around them, even Twilight and Wild coming down from their vantage point to create a barrier around them and keep the monsters away.

It was not easy. The monsters knew what they were doing and redoubled their attacks, filled with the singular burning purpose of stopping Sky and Legend from finishing the ritual.

The two of them linked hands and began to circle the ovoo, even as there was fighting all around them. More than once the monsters got within snapping distance of them, but they could not allow themselves to react. They had to trust that their brothers had the battle in hand and focus on the ritual. They had to keep walking. They had to keep going.

They circled once. Twice. The monsters screeched in rage and a fresh wave appeared, swarming so thick that the red heathers could not be seen between them, that the Chain knew that if this did not work then nothing would, then they would not be returning home. This whole battle will have been for naught.

"HURRY!" Spirit screamed, his voice thick with rage and terror as Sky and Legend began their third circle.

The sound of the battle was deafening, the ground slick with black blood. They had no choice but to keep going, to keep fighting. They were all exhausted; the battle had been going on for so long and yet nothing seemed to work. The monsters kept coming, kept fighting, their claws and teeth sharp, and then—

And then the monsters froze.

Every one of them, without notice or warning, froze in place. Whether leaping or snapping or dodging, it was as if some great power had snapped its fingers and turned them all to stone, locked in the position they had been in at that precise moment.

At the precise moment that Sky and Legend finished their third circle around the ovoo.

"Now bow." Legend hissed to him, turning to face the shrine.

Together they bowed, then Legend fished in his pocket.

"Shit, an offering— uh—"

"Knuckle bones." Sky said, reaching for his own. "The knuckle bones."

Together, they both drew out their gifts and carefully reached out and set them on the stones of the ovoo, neatly beside one another.

The monsters, frozen in place in a vast swarm around them, shattered and dissolved immediately into dust that was quickly swept away on the breeze. On the ovoo, the thorns wilted and shriveled and vanished, and Sky gasped, putting a hand to his chest.

"It's gone." he said. "I can feel it — there's nothing choking the shrine. It's pure again."

Around them, the Chain sighed in relief and all dropped to the ground, panting and exhausted. They would be delighted soon enough, but for now they were bone-weary and needed to rest, just for a minute. Just until they caught their breath and could convince their hearts to stop racing. Sky and Legend were more than happy to join them, flopping down and leaning against each other, gasping in relief.

"Man," Sky panted. "I'm glad that worked. I would've felt so dumb if we'd died."

Legend made a whine of protest. "You didn't know that'd work?" he demanded.

Sky laughed a little, shrugging. "Eh." he waved him off. "It seemed like the best guess."

Legend grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and halfheartedly threw it at him, groaning in exhaustion.

They all lay there for a moment, until at length Wind sat up, pushing back his hair and squinting around at the ovoo.

"Should… we all do the ritual?" He asked. "Offer our knuckle bones?"

Time sat up too and reached over to ruffle his hair with a grimy, battle-stained hand.

"I don't think we have to." he said. "But I think it would be nice."

They rested a while longer, until one by one they all stood and circled the ovoo, bowing and leaving their gift of thanks for the spirits of the mountain. The last of them to do it was Warriors, bowing in respect and leaving the final knuckle bone on the little pile that had gathered there.

He bowed again, exhaling heavily, and then looked back up at the ovoo—

And he froze.

"Uh—" he called. "Guys?"

A few of the Chain looked around and Legend groaned. "We all already noticed the horse skull on top, pretty boy, it's okay."

Warriors ignored him, not tearing his eyes from the ovoo.

"Guys, I think that you all should see this. You especially, Legend."

Something in the tone of his voice made them all look around, and they crowded over to where he stood. A few of them commented or joked, but as they saw what he was looking at they all fell silent, a cold feeling growing in their chests like ice.

The curse had been broken. There was no denying this. The pass was safe and they could happily go and tell the herders that it was safe for them to travel on. What was sitting on the ovoo did not change this fact, but it still struck fear into each one of the Chain as they saw it.

Because set on the ovoo, resting on the stones right by where they had left their offerings, as if it had always been there, sat a small, cloth doll.

Chapter Text

The doll was small; small enough for an adult to hold in one hand, about the same size as the ones that Wild and Hyrule each carried in their packs. Like the others, it was made from simple scraps of cloth, the hat made from bright blue felt and the tunic a reddish linen, and the hair was made of pale pink wool, brushed out to make the right style. Even without the carefully embroidered face, stitched into a perpetual scowl, there was no doubting which of the Chain it was meant to represent.

They all looked around at Legend, who had turned pale under the blood and grime of the battle. He looked a little like he was going to throw up, and Hyrule stepped closer just in case, ready to hold back his hair if he did and paying close attention to his lips.

"(Sat)That—" Legend said slowly. "That's (knot)not normal. That's unusual."

Yeah, he could sure say that again. Finding the dolls was always pretty weird; Hyrule had usually come across them in strange, hidden spots where others might not have thought to look, places only someone on an Adventure might have known about. He'd never felt worried by their presence before, though. He even liked finding them, by and large. They were a protection, a safety net. They were a sign that if something went wrong, all would not be lost. They made him feel like someone was looking out for him, like he was less alone; and In the harsh isolation of Hyrule's world, that could be a rare feeling to find.

But his brothers all seemed so very unnerved by them. They clearly did not find their existence as comforting as he always had, and even Hyrule had to admit that finding this one here, after their battle and set neatly on the ovoo was just…

It was bizarre. It was, as Legend had said, unusual.

Hyrule reached out, taking one of Legend's calloused hands and squeezing softly. Legend looked around at him and smiled weakly, squeezing back.

"It's weird." his brother signed, fingers maybe trembling just a little at the gesture. He sighed, letting go of Hyrule so that he had both hands free. "Don't know why I'm so nervous. It's just a doll, right? You have one too?"

Hyrule nodded. "I've found a few." he admitted. "Still have one left."

Legend's face wrinkled in confusion, just for a moment, before he grimaced. "Right." he nodded. "You… used them. In your adventures. To… heal."

Hyrule nodded with him. Yes, 'healing'. It was a little more than that, of course; they did not just heal him. Life Dolls were not a tool for dealing with scratches and scuffs or even broken bones or the occasional stab wounds; if they were then perhaps Hyrule would not have spent so much time learning the science of medicine. No, the dolls brought their bearers back from death. They took on the wounds that had led to their demise, they gave you a second chance to fight on and fix your mistakes.

But Legend didn't need to know about that. He was inexperienced. Innocent. He hadn't seen all of the things that Hyrule had seen. Hopefully, for him, this doll would be just that. A doll. A souvenir, maybe a little macabre, but a memento of a time spent with brothers in courage, travelling through time.

Hyrule nudged him. Smiling a little. "I mean — at least it looks like you? Got your expression perfectly."

Legend frowned. "It looks pissed."

Hyrule had to try not to laugh. "You usually look angry. It's your resting face."

"Is not!"

"You're doing it now!"

"I—"

Their signed conversation was brought to an abrupt halt as someone tapped both of their backs. Hyrule jolted in surprise, turning around to see Twilight looking down at him, an amused smile on his face.

"I'm guessin' neither of you caught any of that?" he signed, hands drawling over the gestures.

Hyrule blinked, peering over the rancher's shoulder to see the rest of the Chain standing chatting a few feet away, looking suspiciously like they had all just come to some sort of conclusion. As he looked, Spirit turned and caught his eye, shooting him a grin and a thumbs up.

Cute kid.

Hyrule looked back to Legend, who was blushing as pink as his hair and clearly doing his best to look indignant. He made a vague gesture, saying something that Hyrule could not pick up at this angle, but which was probably some version of 'I wasn't paying attention'.

Pfft. At least Hyrule had the excuse that he missed whatever was said because he couldn't hear them talking. Legend had two fully functioning ear and was just standing there wasting them.

"Idiot." he signed with a smile, turning back to Twilight. "What is it?"

Twi shrugged, pushing back his hair.

"Well. Last time, when Wild grabbed a doll we all got portalled here, right? So we dunno if we'll get portalled again when we grab this one. Or like. If anything else'll happen. So we figure maybe we should tell the Herders it's safe to pass through, then grab the doll. Make sure they get home safe first before we risk. Like. Vanishing or something."

Hyrule nodded. That made sense, he supposed; the Herders were waiting for the okay that the monsters were gone and they could finally make their way home. The Chain couldn't risk leaving without telling them it was safe, and they couldn't take the risk that the doll might bring more danger to this mountainside.

Better by far they get the Herders home before they did anything more.

Beside him, Legend waved for attention and then rolled his eyes.

"Who's this 'we'?" he grumbled, angling himself so that Hyrule could see his sign more easily. "The doll looks like me. I'll be the one grabbing it."

Twilight grinned. "Even has your cheerful expression, too!"

Given that Legend's angry retort to this seemed to be to throw a punch in Twilight's direction, Hyrule laughed and stepped around the lighthearted skirmish, towards where the others were standing. Wind had clambered onto Time's shoulders, both of them filthy and exhausted, Time's hair streaked with black blood and Wind's trousers pulling up to show skinned knees but both grinning and chatting.

They were going away from the group, on into the mountains, presumably going together to share the good news with the Herders. The rest, meanwhile, were starting to set up a camp a respectful distance from the ovoo. If there really were as many people as Wind had said, plus all of their animals, they would need space to do their own circles of the shrine, after all. They weren't worried about leaving the doll there; it wasn't like anyone would do something so profane as try to take an offering. It would be safe where it was.

He wandered over to where Wild was already setting up a cook pot on the fire, smiling at the sight. He liked the Champion; he was funny and kind and he shared Hyrule's love of wandering about without necessarily knowing where they were going. He also seemed to be constantly thinking about food, and not in the way that the starving people of Hyrule's own era thought of it.

There was no hungry desperation in the way that Wild approached cooking. He had enough that he didn't need to worry about where his next meal would come from, had never had to live like that. Instead he was able to take his time thinking about what he would make, how he would prepare it. When they visited new eras he was always thinking about what plants he could harvest from his surroundings for later.

He didn't just cook for sustenance, he enjoyed the process. He made food that was elaborate and amazing, even on frigid mountainsides like this.

Hyrule just thought it was neat. He'd never had a chance to see anything like that before.

He smiled as he plopped down beside Wild and nudged his arm.

"Are you hurt?" He asked. "Anyone else injured?"

Wild turned to face him, making a face like he was thinking. He wouldn't be able to sign; he'd already taken off the prosthetic arm he usually wore on his right side, the stump likely aching after the battle, but that was alright. Hyrule could still manage. Wild's lips were a little harder to read, what with the scars pulling and tugging at them, but he always went out of his way to move them slowly and clearly when Hyrule was about. He appreciated that.

He wondered if Wild would maybe be interested in learning one of the other signs Hyrule knew. Calatian Sign only used one hand, it might be useful— but then, that would feel like an imposition. 'Hey, come learn this entire new language just for me, even though I can already understand you well enough the way you already communicate'. Hyrule wouldn't want to impose.

"You can't (yellow) yell-at (me), I took (it) off this time," he teased with a smile. Hyrule had been more than frustrated plenty of times when his brothers in courage had hidden wounds from him in favour of soldiering on while in pain, and he had more than once reprimanded Wild for not caring properly for his arm. "(I'm) fine. (View)Few bruises but I put ocean on. (You) should be (prow)proud of me!"

Hyrule frowned. Ocean? Wait — lotion. He'd put lotion on. Hey, that really was a win! He smiled, amused.

"And the others?" He asked. He'd long since learned that the heroes were more likely to tell on others than themselves.

Wild laughed, tossing what looked like a full meal into the pot.

"(You) want me to (tat)tout? Alright then. Wars got (brawned?) brained in the face (and is) trying to fix (a) black (aye)eye. Four ——— sword knocked away (so he) punched (the) monsters (instant)instead . Pretty (shoo)sure (he's) broken his whole ass-hand."

Wait. Hyrule blinked. Ass-hand? He must have misunderstood tha— oh wait. Whole-ass hand. Nope, he had it right. It was just Wild. He tuned back in.

"—— got (bunched)punched (in the) chest— either that (or) he has serious asthma. Spirit (bowled)rolled an ankle (and is) pretending it's fine (and) doesn't bother (him) cause (easily)he's-like ten (and) wants to seem cool."

Hyrule snorted. Yeah, that was a good enough list of people for him to bother. He already had noticed that Sky seemed to have difficulty breathing sometimes — and it must have been Sky that Wild was talking about — but if the others were noticing it too then it was definitely time for him to intervene. It was all very well wanting privacy, but Hyrule was the designated healer of the group and so would not let one of his brothers hurt without help. As for the rest — well. Bothering people into getting healing was his favourite pastime.

He nodded, patting Wild's arm.

"Thanks," he said, but before he got up to go and bother his brothers, he rummaged into a belt pouch and pulled out a bottle of ointment, tossing it to him. "This should work on any bad sores. Just use a little at a time."

Wild stared at him, mouth dropping. "Rulie, you don't (half)have to—" he began to say, but Hyrule waved him off.

"It's okay, I want to. It's not hard to make." he smiled, glancing at the pot. "What are you making anyway? It looked like you just put it all in there?"

The unscarred parts of Wild's face blushed, just a little.

"Uh. Yeah. I like (to) have (tongs)things made (??? Something??? In advance? Ahead of time?) just in case. I figured we could all use (song)some chilli tonight, I'll (pull/put) out some cornbread too." he smiled. "And a cinnamon roll for you."

Hyrule grinned. Ever since Wild had first made him chilli, he'd loved it, but his brother also knew well about his sweet tooth, even if he didn't know the reason behind it. He just accepted that Hyrule would always prefer something sweeter, and the traveller maintained that nothing went better with chilli than a cinnamon roll.

"You are the best, you know that?" he smiled and stood, sniffing the air around the pot and then going to bother the others.

It wasn't too hard. At first getting them all to accept his help had been like pulling teeth, but they were all used to him by now. Hyrule understood that it could be difficult to admit when something was wrong and that accepting outside help could be hard, but he hadn't spent as long as he had learning about different medicines to abandon them now, even when his brothers were being difficult.

Now though, the worst they gave him was a sigh of resignation when he walked up and demanded that they let him treat their wounds. Four had broken a few finger bones, but those were easily set and a gulp of potion mended the worst of them, though it would still hurt for a few days. Poor Warriors had one heck of a black eye, but the bruising only took a little magic to bring down, and it hardly took a moment to firmly bandage Spirit's ankle (once he got the kid to admit it hurt, that was, and convincing him to try and rest it was a whole different battle). The only person left to tackle was Sky, but his breathing seemed like it was back to normal and he was deep in conversation with Twilight, so Hyrule figured it could wait a while longer.

By the time he had done his rounds, he could see Wild dishing out their meals and setting out a pile of breads and rolls, and on the horizon he could see Time and Wind returning, with the beginning of the Herders behind them.

He smiled, taking his normal place beside Legend and digging in. It was delicious as ever, and after the long few days of hiking and the bone weariness that came with the exhaustion of battle, it was well needed. Hyrule may not have been able to quite keep up with everything that everyone said while they all chatted, but sitting by the campfire and enjoying everyone's company was just… nice.

They all sat and warmed themselves, eating their fill while the Herders made their way into and through the valley. Wind had been right — this was no small group: it was the equivalent of the population of town, and each family had a vast herd of horses and cattle and camels along with them too.

None of the Herders stopped to eat, all too eager to return home after so long up in the mountains, but the Chain returned their smiles and waves of gratitude as they passed by, circling the ovoo as they went. It was a sight to behold, watching them all pass by, and Hyrule was glad to see the few of the Chain with pictoboxes taking pictures of what they saw.

He wondered if they were able to make copies of their images. He hoped that they could. He didn't think that he'd ever get a chance to see another place like this red-heathered wilderness again, and the sheer number of people passing him by was unlike anything that existed in his world.

He did not want to forget this.

Finally, though, they all had passed through the valley and the Chain were alone once more. Even with the fluttering of the wind through the grasses and the calling of birds overhead, it suddenly felt very claustrophobic and quiet up here. Almost lonely.

Beside Hyrule, Legend set down his empty bowl and sat back, a look of exhaustion on his face. He said something, but the traveller didn't catch what it was or who he was talking to. He could guess that it was about the doll, though, judging by his expression of resignation. Hyrule followed his gaze to Time, squinting at his lips.

"— tired, but (it's) still (our lie)early. It (bite)might be better (to) get (it) over with."

Hyrule frowned, trying to parse his words together with context clues. Tired? Over with? What?

He looked back at Legend, nudging him gently and holding up his hands in a what? gesture.

"The doll." Legend signed back. "Just… if we don't know what it's going to do or where it'll take us, we were wondering if we should maybe leave it until we've rested."

Hyrule frowned. It was mid-afternoon, and sure the sun was low in the sky what with winter coming in, but there was still plenty of daylight left. He certainly didn't want to get into another fight after the one they had all just been through, but it would also be really nice to be able to grab the doll and begin to head back down the mountain.

He looked up again, seeing that Legend had turned away and was talking to someone else again. Great. He looked around to see who was speaking and landed on Four's lips

"— me Four." He was saying. Or perhaps "before." Hyrule sighed. "Maybe (it'll) be fine?"

Legend frowned, saying something that Hyrule didn't catch but was pretty sure equated to 'I'm not really willing to take that chance man'. Hyrule sighed again, clapping this time for attention, more forcefully than before. He nodded as they all turned to look at him.

"The dolls have never taken me anywhere before this journey." he pointed out, "It might be that it was only going to happen that one time." Across the group he could see several people's lips moving to interject and he waved his hands, frustrated, to get them to shut up and pay attention. "What if I have a look at it? Four — you and I looked at the magic of the other doll, right? What if we just… check this one too. See if there's more spells in ti?"

The Chain blinked at him. Clearly, the thought of 'hey why don't we check the magic of the weird artefact' had simply not occurred to them. Dumbasses, he thought, but he also couldn't help an affectionate smile.

Across from him, Four raised his hands, waving for attention.

"He's got a point." he signed as he spoke. "We wouldn't have to touch it at all. Just look."

Warriors nodded, waving.

"Can you do that?" he asked, careful to speak clearly, and much as it was maybe a little insulting to be asked about something he had literally just said he could do, Hyrule could see the concern in the Captain's eyes. He wasn't deliberately mean or rude. He was just wary. Cautious. Caring. Hyrule couldn't bring himself to dislike that. "If anything (is) too (dangers? Dangerous) just (pack)back out. You don't (half)have (to) put yourself (at) risk."

Hyrule smiled. "I'm just going to read the magic." he promised. "If it feels like it'll take us somewhere, I'll back away, and we can get some rest. If it's just a doll, Legend can grab it and we can all laugh at him for being scared."

He didn't need to see Legend's betrayed exclamation to know that it happened, and felt himself laugh as he was shoved to the side, turning and sticking his tongue out at his brother.

The rest of the Chain seemed a lot more at ease as he scrambled to his feet — maybe darting and stealing a bite of Legend's cinnamon roll as he went — and then offered Four a hand up. Between the two of them, he was sure, they would manage it just fine. He paused, though, as he made to go to the ovoo.

"Sky," he signed. He didn't bother waving for attention — Sky couldn't exactly look at his hands and his earrings interpreted his sign right into his ears. "Do you want to come?"

Sky blinked, turning his head in his direction.

"Me?" he asked, and he looked genuinely surprised. "(I) don't know any magic, though."

Beside Hyrule, Four frowned, asking another question that he was pretty sure was about the fact that Sky had pretty clearly told them he could sense the holiness of the shrine.

Sky smiled, huffing a laugh. "Oh, that!" he said. "No, (I) don't know any magic. (Aye)I've just (pinto)been to (a) lot of temples."

Hyrule blinked, even as beside him Four shrugged and turned away, back towards the doll. What Sky had just said — that he had been to a lot of temples. That was true. The part about him not knowing any magic was also true.

But what he had said was a lie.

Hyrule knew it was a lie. He could taste it in the air. Feel it in his soul. This was not something that he was open about, his ability to tell when someone was lying. He had not told any of his brothers, terrified of the kind of questions that it might lead to, but that knowledge was still there.

He knew when people lied to him. He knew it the same way he knew that up was up and down was down. He tried not to take advantage of it, and he did his best to let the casual, everyday lies that people told slip by him—

But this was weird. Right? What could Sky possibly be lying about? Why would he be telling a lie if he was also telling the truth? How would he be doing that?

Hyrule frowned, shaking his head and giving Sky a small smile, before turning to go and join Four. No sense dwelling on it now. It was Sky's business, after all, and if he tried to confront him now, the Chain might ask how he knew about the lie and then Hyrule might have to explain about his blood and—

Best to let sleeping dogs lie. Or. You know. Let sleeping secrets-about-maybe-not-being-fully-hylian lie. Which… did not count as lying. Certainly not. After all, no one had ever asked him where his magic came from or if he just so happened to be part fairy, so he just had never had the occassion to mention it.

It was not a lie.

Anyway.

They approached the ovoo and Hyrule peered at the doll — but then was immediately pulled out of his thoughts as Four nudged him for his attention.

"I mean," he signed. "It really does look like him." and then he pulled a face, mimicking the grumpy expression on the doll.

Hyrule snorted. "Like a little mini Legend." he teased back and then returned his attention to what he was doing.

Okay. Time to focus.

He liked working with Four. Normally to inspect something's magic he would have had to handle it, but the smith used magic in a very different way to him, using ritual and ceremony. Working together, they could both do things with their magic that they had never considered possible before.

Now, Four pulled carefully arranged a set of small charms around the doll, each little ceramic creatures shaped almost like mice but with feathers where their tails should have been. There was one for each cardinal direction and a fifth as a central focus. He spent a few moments setting them perfectly, apparently speaking some sort of spell over them, before he turned and nodded to Hyrule. Now it was his turn.

He held out a hand to the doll, hovering a few inches in front of the carefully laid out charms. They acted like amplifiers, letting him brush against the threads of magic that bound the doll to the world without having to touch it. He plucked at them, watching at where they led, feeling what happened when they resonated. Hyrule could not hear music, Deaf as he was, but when he looked at magic like this, at how each fine strand was woven into the tapestry of the world, at how each thrum of magic reverberated and echoed across reality, he always imagined that music must be something like this.

Looking at the magic, there was no doubting that the thing in front of him was a Life Doll. He could sense the familiar magic woven into its fabric and the source of the spell felt the same as the other ones, the same as whoever had made his own dolls, whoever had made Wild's. It was the same source as whoever sending the portals. Whoever was responsible for this entire journey.

Hyrule looked around at Four.

"It has no portal attached to it." he confirmed. "I do not know why it appeared like this but… it's not going to take us anywhere, at least."

Four shot him a relieved smile. "So we can just tell Legend to grab it?" he checked. "It's safe?"

The sign for yes was on the tip of Hyrule's fingers. He should have said it — he wanted to say it. But…

Something still felt strange. The magical signature felt… not off. Just different. Stronger, somehow. As if someone was trying to reach him out to him via the doll but couldn’t quite make a connection. Like there was someone there.

Hyrule hesitated. He knew better than to reach out to unfamiliar magic signatures, especially ones that called to you from suspicious dolls found in the middle of the mountains. That was how you got yourself cursed or possessed or otherwise horribly maimed. He couldn’t tell you how many scary campfire stories he knew that started out with ‘and they reached out, not thinking that it would do any harm…’.

No, Hyrule did not particularly want to risk getting cursed. He was still curious, though, so instead he probed at the presence in the magic's signature, trying to parse out what it actually wanted. To read what it was doing here.

His fae blood had its benefits at times like this. It didn't just make it all but impossible to lie to him; it also let him interrogate the intentions behind a spell. Let him probe it, to learn if it wished him well or perhaps, if it was seeking to harm him.

What? His magic asked, brushing against the feeling woven into the magic. Why? Who?

Help the presence responded immediately, flaring at his question. Friend. No harm. Help.

Hyrule took a breath, glancing around him. The Chain were busy cleaning up their dishes and beside him, Four was frowning.

"You okay?" he signed, and Hyrule gave a nod more certain than he was feeling.

"There's something here." he replied, glancing back at the others again and nibbling at his lip. No doubt if he told the others about the presence then they would tell him not to engage with it. That he should to be careful.

And yes, that probably would be wise, but, well— Hyrule didn't get to be a Hero without taking a few risks now and then. He did not want to get himself cursed or pulled into any trouble, but he was pretty sure that this was a calculated risk. After all, there was no lie in the presence’s message; whatever it was, it was a friend. It wanted to talk.

"…Hyrule—" Four started to sign, but he waved him off.

"It's okay." he smiled, maybe a little nervously. "I know what I'm doing."

Four did not look even remotely convinced, but he nodded anyway.

"Be careful." he warned. "I'm right here if you need me. First sign of trouble I'm yelling for help."

Hyrule nodded, offering him a little smile. Then he breathed deeply, turning back to the doll and pushing away all other thoughts. Instead he reached out with his magic, extending it like a hand and carefully tugging on the thread of magic between himself and whatever presence was waiting on the other side.

The thread tugged back.

It was as if someone far away was taking his hand, had latched on and was clinging to it for dear life. He could feel them, far away but incredibly close, their magic holding onto his like an anchor. Hyrule poured more of his power into whatever this newly forged bond was and he felt whoever was on the other side do the same, combining their strength to spin their thread of magic into a sturdy rope.

Whoever it was on the other side of this connection, their magic tasted warm and steady, and most importantly, it tasted earnest.

Who are you? His magic asked as he squeezed his eyes shut. He was using every ounce of his focus, pressing and probing and swirling against the presence.

Help! It responded, the thread flaring golden for a moment as a wave of desperation hit Hyrule like a wall. A moment later the presence drew itself back in, gathering itself together so that it could continue. A Sage. One who fights against Evil’s rise. Help! Fear! Desperate!

The connection was wavering, growing tenuous. Hyrule poured more of his own power in, screwing up his face in concentration.

What evil? Where? How can we help?

The presence pulsed and for a moment became solid. In his mind's eye Hyrule saw, just for a second, the figure of a man in elaborate robes, the ornate jade mask of a Sage covering his face.

Ganon has risen. I can hold him at bay but not for long. Illness has swept our land and taken both our Hero and Princess. We have no other hope but you.

Around Hyrule their combined magic swirled like a maelstrom, sharp edged and howling and ready to break apart at any moment. It whirled and snapped at his cheeks, and he could not tell if it was solely his magic or if the winds had picked up through the valley — or possibly both. It wasn't unheard of for powerful magic to affect the weather, after all, and Hyrule was pouring a lot of his strength into this connection.

It was more than he probably should have, really. He knew that his reserves of magic were deeper than many, but he still only had so much to work with and he could feel his wells starting to run dry. He had never held a magical connection for this long, certainly not across whatever distance of time and space this Sage was reaching out from. There was a dull pounding at the back of his skull, working its way across his head and quickly growing to a sharp sensation of stabbing, driving ever deeper and deeper, burning with an icy hot pain that grew stronger with every second.

He couldn’t hold this for much longer.

How do we help? His magic screamed over the growing storm. The image of the Sage was beginning to flicker as the connection weakened, and Hyrule felt something hot run from his nose and down over his lips. How do we find you?

Dolls the Sage replied, flickering and wavering. Find the Dolls. They will protect you. Ganon is watching — sending his monsters. Trust the portals to keep you moving. Keep you safe. I will guide you where I can. I am sorry! You are our last hope. I am sorry!

The image shifted and distorted. If the Sage had anything more to say to him, it was lost to the chaos to the disintegrating connection.

Hyrule released his hold on the connection, letting it fade away. His head was pounding with the effort, his magic almost completely spent. There was no way he could send any more coherent messages to the Sage, but he did his best to project a feeling aid protection safe across the tenuous strands that made up the last remaining link between them.

As the final vestiges of the thread began to fade and Hyrule began to open his eyes, he felt a final surge of gratitude from the Sage. Then, all at once, the connection dropped. The world around him felt still, the light of day bright and brilliant. Someone had a grip on his arms, shaking him as if to try and wake him from a deep slumber.

He looked around, bleary and uncertain, and even with his spinning vision he could still recognise Legend's brilliant pink hair. Right — yes. He'd been casting a powerful spell, far more powerful than he had really anticipated. Four must have called their brothers for help — his brothers had probably noticed that something was going on when the wind picked up and come over themselves. He'd… have to apologise for that later, he supposed, but for now…

Hyrule turned back to the ovoo, ignoring whatever Legend was trying to say to him in favour of reaching a shaking hand out towards the doll. Yes he was exhausted and he could feel his body wavering, but he still had something to do. He had to check.

He picked the doll up, probing at it with the last remaining dregs of his magic. The connection was gone — it was just a Life Doll, like any of the others. Hyrule turned back to Legend, scarcely able to keep his eyes open as he pressed the doll towards him—

And then collapsed into his arms.

Chapter Text

If the Chain had thought that they might be given a respite after the battle and drama of the mountainside, they were sorely mistaken.

The next portal appeared almost immediately after Hyrule collapsed, swirling silent and expectant in the air between the Chain and the ovoo.

They all had stared at it weakly, worn and exhausted. None of them wanted to go through, to risk stepping into an inhospitable new world or worse, to find another band of monsters waiting for them.

The portal waited, tugging lightly on their souls, and they knew that there would be no getting away from this. There never was.

"Alright." Warriors heard himself say, looking around at the rest of the Chain. "I guess we're going. Legend— do you— do you have him?"

Legend looked up at him from where he was sitting on the ground and cradling the traveller, shooting him a glare that the Captain was not going to address. Yes, the veteran was abrupt and even callous, but he clearly loved his brother. Now was not the time for a fight. None of them were quite sure what had actually happened to Hyrule; one moment he had been reaching out to the magic of the doll, and the next it was like a small but vicious storm had whipped up, centred entirely on his lone figure. Winds had tugged at his hair and clothes like he was being pulled by unseen hands, the bright sunlight had dimmed as clouds formed overhead. The Chain had had to grab anything not secured down and stuff it into packs as the storm had widened, the winds blasting out at them from all directions. Four had grabbed onto the ovoo to keep himself upright but Hyrule stood still in the middle of it all, nose bleeding but otherwise unphased.

And then just like that, the storm had vanished. Legend had rushed to his side and caught him as he fell, and the mountainside had returned to normal.

And now here they were, crouching in front of the portal, Legend glaring up at Warriors.

"I will always have him." he hissed.

Warriors held his gaze for a moment longer and then nodded; there would be no need to tell him to carry Hyrule through the portal. It was abundantly clear that Legend was not going to put him down any time soon.

The rest of the Chain hurriedly packed up their makeshift camp and one by one stepped through the portal, weapons out in exhausted resignation. There was no telling, after all, what they might find on the other side.

Warriors went through last, directly behind Legend and Hyrule, sword drawn and ready to defend the pair of them if it was needed. Even if the magic of the portal woke Hyrule, he would still be in no fit state to fight, after all, and Legend would be too busy helping him to fight.

He did hope, just a little, that the portal would wake the traveller. Hyrule generally reacted poorly to them, so it didn't seem completely impossible that it might shock him awake — but no such luck. When they finally stepped through to the other side, he was still pale and prone in Legend's arms.

On a more positive note, though, there were also no monsters waiting for them. Instead they stepped out onto a riverside, not the picturesque babbling brook of storybooks but a boggy wetland, the earth itself damp and and the river winding through the grasses. Autumn was only just beginning, wherever they were, and while not warm, the air was certainly less cold than it had been on the mountainside.

They all heaved a sigh of relief at the sight. They were exhausted from their days of hiking and the vicious battle, and the thought of another fight here was almost too much to abide.

They made a cursory check of their surroundings before settling down and setting up camp, digging up some of the earthy peat that made up the landscape and burning it in place of wood to keep away the late afternoon chill.

Warriors stepped over to where Legend had been settling Hyrule down in a bedroll — not the scant and ragged thing that the traveller used, no, the veteran had pulled out his own plush roll to rest him on — kneeling at his side in concern.

Even after several weeks of Wild's not so subtle attentions, with his bigger portions and 'sneaked' snacks, Hyrule still looked too thin. He was so pale, lying there, his skin a greyish tone and a thick stream of blood drying where it had trickled down from his nose.

Warriors wasn't sure what to do. After Hyrule, he was the Hero with the most medical experience — having been in the army he'd had no choice but to learn. His expertise was just that, though: battlefield medicine. He knew how to deal with the kind of injuries sustained in war; lacerations, stabs, slashes, gouges. Warriors had seen the horrid after effects of explosions, knew how to treat wounds so that they did not go septic, knew how to amputate a limb if they did. He knew how to quarantine a camp to protect a squadron from a rampant disease and he knew how to set up a small but efficient field hospital.

He knew how to make quick, difficult decisions. He knew how to keep people alive in a time of war.

He did not know how to deal with whatever had happened to Hyrule. He didn't even know what had happened to him. whether it was natural or… or if it was magical in nature.

His kind little brother looked less like the soldiers that Wars had fought alongside and more like the starving civilians in the towns that he had struggled to set free, thin and sickly from the effects of war. Warriors had always done what he could for those people, had shared his rations and spared medicine where he could, but he had always had to move on to the next place, hoping and praying that what little he did was enough.

"How old is he?" Warriors heard himself asking as he pulled more blankets from his own pack and tucked them around his brother, trying to keep him warm and comfortable. He carefully wiped the blood from his face and tucked a fire rod by his side too, for good measure, but none of it seemed like enough.

Beside him, Legend was clearly not thrilled to have the Captain for a companion, but was sucking it up for Hyrule's sake.

He sighed.

"He doesn't know." Legend admitted, not meeting the Captain's eyes. "His era… he doesn't talk about it much but I'm not sure if… anyway, he thinks he's about nineteen. Maybe."

Nineteen? Warriors had thought that the kid was maybe fifteen at a push. He was thin and small and peaky, and to look so much younger than he actually was… it was already obvious that he had not had an easy life, but to be so very small he must have never had enough to eat.

That was a sad thought. But it wasn't something that would help them, if he thought about it now, so he pushed it to the back of his mind to deal with later.

For now, he pulled some smelling salts from his pack and held them under his nostrils. Thank the goddess, they were more than strong enough to rouse the kid from whatever unconsciousness he had fallen into, which was one hell of a relief. Warriors had been terrified that it might have been magically induced, and he would not have had a clue how to fix that, short of destroying the little Legend doll, and goodness knows how that might have ended.

He did not trust the dolls. Not even for a second. He would not have put it past whatever fiendish magic they contained to have cursed him into a slumber.

Two magics, Four and Hyrule had said, both different but similar. That was what was responsible for the portals and the dolls and the monsters with black blood. For Warriors, it all sounded far too similar to his own adventure. He too had known a witch who was split in two, broken down into her 'good and evil' parts — although he had never found either side particularly trustworthy.

Cia was gone. He knew she was gone. But spirits and gods, this whole thing felt like something she might have done; making dolls of the Hero, sending them about time in portals on a whim. It wasn't her, it couldn't be, she would have shown herself by now, but still. It was all enough like the kind of thing that she might have done that if he thought too much about it, he felt like he was going to vomit.

But terrible as the thought of somehow having to face Cia again was, the thought that she might have his sweet little brother in her clutches was far, far worse. If it had have turned out that Hyrule's sleep was magically induced, Warriors would have moved mountains to save him.

But it was alright. Hyrule had woken, pale and weak but coherent, and Warriors had almost thrown up, this time from the relief of it.

The traveller was groggy when he first awoke, just for a moment. He was clearly still weak and tired from whatever had made him pass out, but once he got his bearings and remembered what had happened his eyes grew wide. He forced himself to sit up, wavering and pale but suddenly frantic. When he signed to them, his movements trembling and verging on incoherent as he demanded to know if he had been injured, if he had bled. Warriors had thought that it would soothe him to know that he'd only had a nosebleed, but if anything it only served to make him more hysterical, telling them frantically that they had to destroy his blood. Over and over again, he kept repeating the same thing: his demand that his blood be destroyed.

Warriors had no idea what was going on, and frankly Legend looked just as baffled, but he wasn't about to argue. It may have been unusual, but if it would calm Hyrule down then he was happy to toss the rag he'd used to staunch the nosebleed into the fire then and there, and to his relief that did seem to settle him.

Once he sat back, calmer now, Hyrule at least seemed to gain a little coherence. They were able to establish that whatever spell he had cast by the ovoo had left his normally deep wells of magic in tatters. A few sips of green potion seemed to help perk him up a little, but even so, Warriors had not even known that this level of magical sickness was possible.

Using up magic like this was dangerous. Warriors was not someone who had any particular magic affinity, but he knew that for people who did, their magic was as much a vital part of their body's function as their heartbeat or the breath in their lungs. Using it up pulled on the bearer's life force, could be as dangerous as losing pints of blood— but now didn't exactly seem like the time for a scolding. Hyrule was peaky and tired but he was alive, so Warriors had just been glad to feed his little brother some potion and to keep him warm.

Later that evening, once he had recovered a little and manage to nibble at some of the pastries that Wild offered him — Hyrule had the sweetest tooth that Warriors had ever known outside of a damn fairy — he had been coherent enough to tell them what had happened. To let them know what he had seen when he had tested the magic of the doll.

It sounded insane.

A sage, reaching out across time. A world where there was no hero or princess to prevent Ganon's rise. A world where evil was growing at an unstoppable pace, coming to destroy the lives of all who dwelled there, but where there was no one left alive with the strength to stop it. Gods and spirits, it sounded like a nightmare. It sounded like a world where evil had already won, and yet.

Warriors couldn't blame the Sage for reaching out, if that was the case. For trying to do something — anything — to bring a final hope to his world.

And that hope, fragile as it was, was a beautiful thing.

The Chain could not abandon that world. They were Heroes, saving people — saving worlds — was what they did.

If Hyrule trusted this Sage, then so did Warriors. He did not know how his brother always seemed to know if something was true or not, but he had learned to trust his judgment.

Even if there were one heck of a lot of questions that he would like to ask this Sage.

But Hyrule could hardly answer those questions. He'd clearly told them everything that he knew, and given that none of the Chain had a clue how to communicate with the Sage again, short of maybe finding another doll, they would have to put a pin in that for now.

They would figure it out. They had to. If the Sage really was sending the dolls to help them, then they'd have to find more of them sooner or later. They just had to hope that they would find some sort of answers at the same time.

It was all… not particularly ideal. But it was what they had.

After Hyrule had told them everything that he knew, they all could at least agree on two things.

One: that they all needed a damn good sleep, and two: that they all needed a drink. Frankly, at this point, Wars was willing to bet that they would all agree that their current order of priority put getting a solid night's sleep and finding a pub above saving the Sage's world.

It had been a long few days.

But they managed to find some respite, now that they were in this world. The river that they had landed by was in the middle of nowhere, yes, but it didn't take long for Legend to recognise it as his world. He knew the direction to take if they wanted to find some sort of civilisation and promised that there was a small fishing town nearby that came fully equipped with a pub. He also promised that less than a day's walk on from that was his own home, and none of them could say that they were not fascinated to see that. The home that had produced the veteran? Warriors could only imagine that it must be as miserable as he was.

With their plan in mind, they made the best of what they had, camping out in the woodlands along the river and resting as much as possible. They ran into a few groups of monsters here and there, but aside from one small pack they were all red blooded and easily dispatched. With Legend's knowledge of the area and where was safe to bunk down, they were able to finally get enough rest that they no longer actively felt like they were ready to drop, and the river was clean enough that they could wash away the worst of the blood and mud and road grime. By the evening of the second day, when the village finally came into view, they were actually all beginning to feel human again.

None of them even hesitated. They knew what they were there for. As soon as they stepped into the village they all turned and looked at Legend, expectant. He nodded, understanding immediately.

"Pub's this way." he said, immediately leading them through the narrow, winding streets until they came across that most blessed of sights: the warm, lit windows of a tavern.

They piled in without hesitation, relieved beyond belief to shuck their cloaks and finally find somewhere warm and comfortable to rest. The bar was built of dark wood, worn smooth through generations of fisherfolk passing through with the tides. The river had seeped into every part of this small town and the pub was no different, with old fishin nets hung from the roof and glass floats decorating the walls. There were sun-worn regulars sitting around the bar but none of them spared the Chain a second glance, not even with Legend's brilliantly distinctive hair clearly on show. Either the people living here did not know what their Hero looked like or they simply weren't bothered by his presence.

Which… was not something that Warriors had ever really considered possible. It sounded nice.

The ten of them piled around a big round table near the fireplace and Warriors and Time gladly bought them all a round of drinks — even allowing a small beer for Wind, who had frankly earned it, and offering one to Spirit, who shook his head and asked for a glass of milk instead, because he was a good kid.

None of them expected much more than the beer and maybe some hardtack to eat if they were lucky, but to their overwhelming delight the tavern had a big cauldron of chowder bubbling and nearly ready behind the bar, apparently waiting to feed the fishermen as they came in from they day's haul. The innkeeper was more than happy to promise them each a serving for only a handful of rupees.

Hot food and copious drinks. The Chain were in heaven.

It was a welcome break for them all, to just relax and not have to worry about camping and cooking their own food. Even as much as Wild loved to cook, Warriors could tell, he was glad of a night off too.

They all sat back and contentedly sipped their beer, enjoying the warmth of the fire as they waited for their meal. They all chatted cheerfully, and it was only when Twilight made an offhand comment about a regular family meal that he ate back home that Four suddenly sat up, a look of alarm on his face.

"Wait—" he gasped, looking around. "What day is it?"

The Chain blinked at him. It was kind of hard to keep track of time when they were literally travelling between eras, but they did their best. Besides, Warriors knew that Mask had always had an uncanny ability to keep a track of time, and it only took him a moment for him to call up the date too.

"Friday," Time told him. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah — sorry." Four stood and rushed to the window, peering out. The sun was setting and the first star had appeared in the sky, but darkness had not yet fallen. He sighed in relief and came back to the table, grey eyes seeming to reflect all manner of colours in the firelight. "Prayer time, y'know? I'll only be a sec, ignore me."

Ah, of course. It was hardly a secret that Four always said a quiet prayer before he ate and when he woke. Every Friday he quietly lit the little candle that he carried in his bag and said a prayer over a small cup of wine and piece of bread. It was a quiet, peaceful ritual and no one would ever have even dreamed of interrupting. They had never really mentioned it before — it was their brother's private business, after all, and it would it would have felt wrong to intrude.

At the same time, though, they were hardly going to ignore him.

"Can-" Sky spoke up, blushing as he spoke. "Can I help? Or— join in? Is— is that okay?"

Four looked at him, blinking a little in what looked like surprise before he nodded.

"Um— sure!" he agreed, and Warriors could see him trying very hard to hide his smile. "Yeah, of course! Do— do you want to come sit beside me?" he patted at a space between himself and Warriors.

"Can I join too?" Wind asked, craning his neck to see as Four pulled his supplies from his bag.

"Yeah, and me!" Spirit agreed.

"Hey, I'd like to join, if you're open?" Wild offered, his rough voice perhaps a little quieter than normal, tinged with shyness.

Four looked around at them all, pausing as he set the cup he normally used for the wine on the table. "You guys… you really want to join in?"

Warriors felt himself smile as he stood, moving to guide Sky over to his side.

"If that's alright with you." He said, letting his brother take his arm. "It's important to you, so it's important to us, you know?"

Four nibbled at his lip, cheeks flushing as his smile grew wider, just a little.

"…I'm gonna need more wine."

They all chuckled, and Time moved to the bar to fetch a fresh bottle of red and enough cups for them all — even Spirit, who wanted to try some if it was part of the prayer, because he was a good kid.

Four peered for a moment at the label on the wine before nodding in approval and pouring them each a glass and then reached for the bread basket that the barkeep had generously set on their table, pulling it over in front of him.

"It—" he said, still blushing a little. "It's about community. The— the Friday prayer. You're supposed to do it with your family, over a meal. I— I do it with my Grandpa, at the forge, and sometimes with— with my Zelda. It's a thanksgiving, to the goddesses for creating the world and protecting us, and for our family for being with us through life."

He set out the candle and paused, glancing around at them all again. Warriors offered him an encouraging smile as they all waited with rapt attention.

"It's… a little more. Um. Impressive back home. I'm not the best at uh… observing. But this is alright for travelling. It does, you know? Back home we have three candles, one for each goddess, but one is enough for now. Lighting them welcomes in the blessings, and reminds us that there's always joy to be found even when the world seems full of darkness.

"Um. I'm going to light it. I'll say a blessing over the candle, then the wine and pass it around — um. Usually from oldest to youngest? — and then wash our hands and bless the bread. Then we'll be quiet for a moment. That's a good time if you want your own private prayers or thoughts or… anything. We don't usually speak again until we eat some of the bread, so if you're done, you can have some."

Several of the Chain nodded, and Four stood, carefully lighting the candle and setting the match on a dish beside it to burn out.

"Thanks be to the Three: Din, Nayru, and Farore, for the light which illuminates the world of their divine creation. May this flame bring joy to all who are present, long life and happiness to those we love, and sustain those who are no longer with us."

He reached for the bottle and poured it until his cup began to overflow, a small drop spilling over the side. In the flickering light from the candle and the fire beside them, the deep red of the wine seemed almost to come alive.

"We honour the blessings of the goddesses, that we may partake in the fruit of the vine they have given us." he drank from his cup and then refilled it, passing it over to Time. Warriors met his eyes as he did and they shared a smile; the red wine had reflected in the smith's eyes, and he looked so very joyful.

The Chain passed the cup of wine between them, doing their best to go by age and laughing softly when Sky and Twi both reached for it at once. Four smiled with them and inclined his head.

"Okay — next we wash our hands, then I'll bless the bread." he smiled, gesturing them away from the table. Like many taverns, there was a basin of clean water near the entrance for this purpose, and a few newly arrived fishermen were already there and cleaning off after their long day's work.

The Chain went up in groups of three and four, and with this done, Four pulled over the bread basket and the bowl of salt that had been set with it. It was nothing fancy, just a few slices cut up, and Wars did not doubt that back in the Smith's own world they might have had something baked specially for this occasion. For now, though, this would do — besides: with the solemnity of the moment and the reverence on Four's face, even the simple tavern bread had taken on a sacred look.

Four took a breath, holding out his hands — arms wide, palm up, as if in a gesture of welcome.

"We honour the blessings of the goddesses, that through their power, their courage, and their wisdom, we may eat of the bread of life, open our arms to those around us, and never again know hunger."

He dipped a piece of bread into the salt and took a bite, looking up at them all. "The goddesses have ruled this world, their love surrounds us all, and their divine grace will rule for all eternity."

And then he bowed his head, closing his eyes.

Right. Private prayer. Wars could do that.

What to pray for? World peace? Seemed like a bit much; he wasn't sure if he could quite muster that kind of conviction. But he could think of something, he was sure of it.

Warriors bowed his head, just for a moment.

I don't pray much to the three of you, he managed. Sorry about that, I guess. Please look out for my brothers. If I'm right, things are going to get dangerous from here on in. Please protect them. Even Legend. He's an asshole, but he's better than Ganon. Please look out for them. Amen.

…hey, it would have to do. Warriors hadn't exactly grown up going to temples and learning how to honour the goddesses with fancy words. Most of his life he had lived on the streets, and his grandma had taught him that if you're going to honour a god, it's better to be honest than try and use fancy words that just end up empty and insincere.

Since being in the castle — since becoming the Hero — he'd had to go to lots of ceremonies and rituals. Had had to sit through all sorts of sermons and prayers that were full of all kinds of fancy words. Few of them had ever felt sincere, and certainly not in the way that this simple prayer did.

He looked up, just in time to see Four touch his fingertips to his forehead and then kiss them. The smith smiled slightly and then looked up, meeting Wars' eyes and smiling wider. Four dipped a piece of bread in the bowl of salt and offered it to him, and he accepted happily. One by one, the rest of the Chain looked up and accepted their own pieces, and one by one, they sipped at their wine and nibbled the bread, a low and happy chatter breaking out. Everyone was in good spirits, and even Legend was smiling over where he had been interpreting for Hyrule.

Four's smile widened as he reached for another drink.

"Um. That's it. Um — thank you guys for- for joining in?"

"It was really cool!" Wind exclaimed. "I'm gonna tell my grandma, she'll love it!"

"It was beautiful, Four." Sky agreed. "Thank you for sharing it with us."

"Yes, thank you." Warriors nodded. "It felt really good." He may not have been that fond of the way that religion was practiced in the castle of his own world, but this felt different. It felt warm. Kind. He figured that he could get used to it.

They all continued to chatter and as they all finished the bread and wine, the barkeep arrived to pass out their bowls of food. If the small smile on her face was to be believed, Wars was pretty sure that she had seen them all saying their prayer and had deliberately waited until they were done.

He… really appreciated that.

The food was good and warm, the fish fresh. The inn didn't have rooms that they could stay in, but one of the villagers told them that they were welcome to stay in his barn, so they lingered in the tavern, eating and drinking and making the most of this rare opportunity for respite until closing.

It was nice, for once, to have an evening where they didn't have to worry about Hero Stuff. They had joined in Four's prayer. They had shared a meal. They chattered, telling stories from their own worlds and teasing one another, the air light and friendly. Hyrule had, apparently, never had a meal in a pub like this and was fascinated by it, and the barkeep apparently found him adorable and ruffled his hair every time she walked by. Sky had all manner of questions for Four about his prayers and now that he'd proven himself happy to talk about it, the pair had fallen deep into conversation.

After an hour or so, Wind pulled out his deck of cards and challenged several of his brothers to a game — although neither Time nor Wars were stupid enough to join in. They had both lost to him enough during the war to be well aware that the kid cheated as easily as he breathed.

They probably should have warned the others about this, too, but… it was kind of funny to see him cheat Legend out of rupee after rupee.

Oh well.

It was a good night. A warm night. They were all smiling as they crashed into their bedrolls in the hay, full of good food and warm after a good evening.

The next morning, though, it was back to business as usual. They got up, a few of them groaning thanks to maybe a little too much alcohol the night before, and they set off. Back to the Journey, finally leaving the riverside and beginning a hike through the woods. Legend promised them all that they would be at his house by late afternoon — or early evening at the latest — which Warriors knew meant 'depending on if Hyrule and Wild wander off again'.

As they walked, the captain felt his heart beginning to pound.

The veteran's home. Warriors knew that Legend didn't like him and honestly, the feeling was mutual. The guy was rude. He was abrupt, he was prickly, and sarcastic, and unhelpful. He said that he was a 'veteran' but he refused to take on any sort of position of responsibility, but at the same time, whenever Warriors took charge and tried to set out plans, Legend damn near bit his head off.

He had no idea why Legend hated him so much. It was like the man had taken one look at him and decided to be his mortal enemy. He second-guessed his judgment, he mocked his habits, he called him names. And yes, maybe Warriors had risen to the bait now and then, but who could blame him? There was only so much anyone could take.

Perhaps it was cowardly. Warriors maybe hated himself for it, just a little. But a part of him was nervous about going to Legend's home, about seeing the place where he lived. He had mentioned a husband once or twice — would this man loathe him as much as Legend did? Would he even be welcome in their house?

Warriors was no stranger to being disliked. Plenty of people in his own era hated him, blamed him for the war and all of the disruption and pain and suffering that it had caused. Maybe they were even right to; Hylia knew that sometimes Wars hated himself for it all too. But he knew better than to impose himself on those people — not solely because of the risk of assassination threats, but also because he knew better than to intrude where he wasn't wanted. It wouldn't do anyone any good, not for him or for the people around him.

If Legend's home would be like that… his stomach revolted at the thought. He could handle Legend's disdain for short bursts, but he was not eager to be trapped in a household of it. He couldn't just run away, after all. He wasn't a monster. He wasn't a coward.

He'd just have to… deal with it.

He kept his thoughts to himself as they travelled through the woods; everyone else was in good spirits and he wouldn't dream of ruining that. Hyrule and Wild did wander off several times, but they seemed to be making an effort to keep their wanderings vaguely in the right direction so that it didn't cost them any time. Everyone was chattering and laughing and telling stories, leaving Warriors the odd one out with his reservations.

Finally though, as promised, in the late afternoon the forest gave way to open meadows, and then the Chain found themselves walking through an orchard.

It was fabulous. Incredible. No royal orchard in Warriors' era could have rivaled it. The majority of the trees were apples, although they seemed to be of a thousand different varieties, and among them were dozens of other fruits too. Peaches and pears, damson and quince, plumbs and lemons and cherries. The orchard thrummed with magic, keeping the trees healthy and safe, and between them, weaving wondrous patterns through it all, sprouted the brightest and most vibrant wildflowers Warriors had ever seen.

"He's keeping it maintained." Legend grumbled as they walked. "Good."

Ugh, he even seemed grumpy about his husband. Warriors couldn't cope with this guy.

Still, they kept going. The orchard was vast and seemed to go on for ages. Eventually, though, they found their way to a path that wound through it, and as they walked, they began to notice some signs.

GET YOUR WEAPONS HERE

GENUINE ARTIFACTS, HALF OFF

HOT DEALZ

POTIONS 4 U!

Warriors frowned, squinting, and then turned to exchange glances with the others. Was this for real? Was there some sort of shop beside the house? Twilight turned to ask Legend but was immediately waved off with a 'don't even with me'.

Which was a great explanation. Thanks, Legend.

Warriors turned his attention to Sky and busied himself describing the signs to him, much to his brother's delight. They kept passing more and more, each as ludicrous as the last, all painted in garishly bright colours.

Finally, the house came into view. It might have once been a quaint farmhouse, with a thatched roof and ivy climbing around the purple-painted door. A few flower pots sat here and there and there was a vegetable patch in the front garden, full of big, healthy pumpkins and marrows just waiting to be picked.

But the house was also covered in signs. Absolutely covered — mounted on the walls, sticking up from the roof, set in front of the garden, propped up in the window. It was as if the whole place had been turned into a shop, and living there was merely an afterthought.

Legend sighed. "If you buy anything, make sure you don't get overcharged. You're all big boys, you can haggle your own prices."

Wait- what? Warriors thought that this was supposed to be Legend's home, what did he mean buy? Was the shop on the way to his home? Were they just stopping off here?

Legend stropped his way up the garden path, weaving his way between the signs, but he didn't actually make it to the front door. He was only halfway there when it swung open and a bold, familiar voice rang out.

"MR HERO YOU CAME HOME!"

Wait. Warriors knew that voice. He knew it well. He trusted it. Loved it, even.

He turned his attention from where he had been trying to decipher the very small small-print on one of the signs and looked at the door, eyes widening in disbelief.

It couldn't possibly be. There had to be some sort of mistake. Because Warriors knew the figure bounding out of the frond door and down the path, throwing himself at Legend. He knew that purple cloak and hood and the stupid bunny ears, he knew the gap-toothed grin and the exuberant voice.

He was here. In this world. In this — this house. He was Legend's husband.

Ravio.

Chapter Text

Legend and Ravio were — and Wind could not emphasise this enough — really fucking gross.

Yeah, sure, Legend pretended not to like Ravio. To be annoyed by his cheerful good nature and to dislike how his shop operated out of their house. But he was about as transparent as a fucking window, and Wind could see right through him. He was so obvious; the guy may have pretended to be prickly, but he was softer than a bunny on the inside and it was hard to believe that anyone had missed how his expression had just melted when Ravio first came running outside to hug him.

Simp. Dumb gross adults.

Ugh.

And it didn't end there. Oh, no. When they were in the house they were constantly on top of one another. They were always by each others' side, chattering and sniping and teasing. They sat together on the sofa and at meals, they held hands, they kissed.

It was just gross.

Man. Grown ups sucked sometimes.

But he was getting ahead of himself, and honestly? Setting all of that grossness aside, Wind had to admit that it was beyond incredible to see Ravio again.

The War was still very fresh for Wind. He was twelve when he went on his first two journeys and was still not thirteen when he was pulled into a third, this time as an aide to another Hero starting out on his adventure. He'd spent the better part of a year there, fighting for a country that he'd only heard of in myths at the side of brothers he'd never before met.

Even now, for Wind it had only been a little over half a year since the War had ended. Since he had said goodbye to the brothers that he had come to love so much and the friends that he had made along the way. Their absence was still a raw wound in his heart and no matter how hard he tried, he had not been able to accept that he would never see them again.

Being reunited with Mask and the Captain was a joy he'd never thought he'd be granted. And yes, things were different now. Mask was now a creaky old grown up with a wife and a house and even the Captain was several years older. They'd both grown older far faster than Wind had, but honestly? That didn't matter. They were still his brothers and he got to hold them again and that felt like something close to a miracle.

It wasn't enough. Wind wanted all of his friends from the War back, but he had known that this would not be possible. He was… trying to make his peace with that, the way that he knew that his brothers had. Because he wasn't stupid; he knew that the Captain and Mask — or Warriors and Time, as they were now — had come to terms with having said goodbye. They'd had the time to deal with the grief and trauma of the War, of both of their journeys.

Wind hadn't had that. He'd never really had a chance to process any of his adventures before being whisked away onto another one, and he told himself that this was okay. That he wouldn't have it any other way. In truth, he'd never had the chance to know what 'another way' would be like.

But he knew that he had to try and accept what he had lost. The people that he had said goodbye to. Seeing Warriors and Time again was one of the greatest joys of his life, but he had resigned himself to trying to accept that the rest of his friends were gone for good.

But now here was Ravio. Sweet, silly, wonderful Ravio, who Wind had thought he'd never see again.

And… yeah, everyone in the War had known that the merchant had a husband; he'd never shut up about him, after all. They'd even known that the mysterious husband was a Link; Ravio called him 'Mr Hero' all the time. Or at least he did when he wasn't calling him some… less repeatable things.

But somehow it hadn't occurred to Wind that Ravio's 'Mr Hero' was part of this group. There had been dozens of 'Link's through history, right? Hundreds. He'd never considered that he might have been in the Chain — and even if he had, he would never once in a million years have guessed that it might be Legend, of all people. The person that Ravio had described was sweet and considerate and emotional and adorable, and Legend — much as he absolutely did have a secret soft core — was a prickly bastard.

When Ravio first burst out that door, it was all Wind could do not to rush up and hug him. In fact — and Wind was big enough to admit it — he hadn't been able to stop himself at all. Were it not for Time grabbing him by the collar and holding him back, he absolutely would have rushed up and ruined Rav and Legend's special moment.

Which! Would have made it a net-less-gross experience for the rest of them! Which he maintained would have been a win, but hey, it also would have been rude, so whatever.

Still, when the loving reunion had ended, no one could stop Wind from grabbing Time and Wars' hands and yanking them forwards with him as he rushed up to his old friend.

"RAVIO!" he laughed in sheer delight. "Ravio, hi! Hi! Ravio! It's me! It's the Sailor! And the Captain! And Mask but he got really old and lost an eye and got tattoos! Ravio! Hi!"

Ravio turned from where he'd been nuzzling at Legend's neck (gross), pushing back his hood and staring at them in wide eyed amazement, his rupee-green eyes bright under his shock of black hair.

"Sailor?" he stammared out, tears leaping into his eyes. "Captain? Baby Mask?!"

Legend furrowed his brow. "You know each other? Wait- wait hold up. Rav. They're the ones you met on your war trip???"

"'War Trip'?" The Captain scoffed.

Ravio waved them off. "Eh, nuance. What else was I gonna call it?"

"He vanished for six months and came back saying he fought in a war." Legend grumbled. "It was a very stressful time, so forgive us for how we talk about it."

Time smiled, fond. "It was one heck of a trip. Plenty of… interesting picnics."

Ravio beamed. "Baby Mask! I can't believe how big you are! How old are you now, you're so tall—"

"Whatever!" Wind burst in, pushing back to the front. "Ravio! I can't believe Legend is your Bunny-Butt!"

"His what?" someone laughed from behind as Ravio turned a frankly impressive shade of scarlet uder his freckles and beside him, Legend narrowed his eyes.

"Excuse me?" he snapped.

"Nothing!" Ravio gasped, grinning wickedly. "Absolutely nothing! Nothing at all!" and he stamped on Wind's foot for good measure.

Time chuckled, reaching to pat Legend on the back. "We heard a lot about you," he laughed, "Back in the War. Ravio, I've missed you."

Ravio shot Wind a quick, dirty look and then hugged them all, smiling so, so wide

"I've missed you too!" he whispered, then pulled back, maybe possibly wiping a tear from his eyes. "All of you! And— and you're here? You've all met? What- what's going on? Mr Hero—" he turned back to Legend. "What's happening? Where have you been?"

Legend sighed, glancing back to the others and then slipping his hand into Ravio's.

"It's… complicated, bun." he murmured, quiet. Soft. Possibly not meaning the others to hear. Then he turned to the rest of the Chain, his usual mask of indifference firmly back in place.

"Everyone, this is my house. And this is my damn dirty squatter, Ravio."

"We're married!" Ravio said brightly, holding up his hand to show a glittering ring. "And we're very happy!"

"We get tax benefits." Legend grumped, and Wind had to hold back a snort. The guy couldn't be more transparent if he tried. "Rav: this bunch of idiots are all Link. All of them. Links through history. It's a fucking travelling museum of Link. We're going through time on some sort of mission to save the world, as per usual. Same Hero bullshit, another day."

"Ah." Ravio nodded. "A Hytopia situation."

"Or a Labrynna situation." Legend groused. "Or Lorule, I guess. Or fucking wherever needs me. Ugh. Okay — everyone, boots off and inside, I'm not having this conversation without a mug of actual coffee from my own pot and my own couch under my ass. Let's hustle."

Which was how they all ended up piling inside of the house, crammed into the living room. In fairness, it probably was supposed to be a fairly big space, but it had been taken over and filled by Ravio, and so there was hardly enough room left for them all to breathe.

Frankly, it was exactly how Wind had always imagined Ravio's home might look.

Every surface was covered in stuff, and perhaps a few things too. Merchandise. Goods. Magical objects like wands and rods, mundane objects like bags and socks. An entire wall was covered in masks, there was a pile of gemstones to one side. Half the furniture was actually massive chests overflowing with silks and jewelry and and all manner of portable goods topped with a few pillows and throw blankets. Maps were rolled up and shoved in the corner. Books were piled and stacked without any discernible order.

It was a mess, and it was so, so utterly Ravio.

Wind had missed him so much.

Seeing him here, in his own home rather than in a tent at the side of a battlefield, clean and warm and well fed rather than scuffed and battle-worn—

It was incredible.

Sitting there in that room full of curios that Wind was just itching to goof around with (and he thought he deserved credit for not goofing around with them), it took less time than they might have thought to get the whole story out. It helped that Ravio was no stranger to time shenanigans after the madness that had been the War, and Legend had — as he’d moaned to them more than once — been on a vast variety of adventures across all sorts of places. The pair of them, gross and romantic as they were, were able to share the story of what had happened to the Chain quickly and easily, communicating in a special conlang of their own. Wind had seen that sort of thing before: on ships where the crew had known each other their whole life, where complicated concepts could be communicated in quick metaphors and references and gestures. Wind had always thought it was kinda cool to see — it just sucked that while Legend and Ravio spoke they also melted all over each other. Which was gross.

Still. Ravio was more than happy to let them all stay in the house for however long they needed (“Damn right,” Legend muttered after the offer was made, “It’s my damn house, you squatter.”), and told them to divvy themselves between the guest room and the living space.

“There’s only one guest bed,” Ravio fretted, “So you’ll have to fight over that. But you can spread out your bedrolls on the ground. Just don’t touch any of my stock! Some of it’s fragile and a lot of it’s cursed!”

“And a lot of it’s my shit, Ravio.” Legend grumbled. “I can’t believe you’re renting out my things, you’re such an asshole.”

“I’m a financially successful asshole, though!” Ravio beamed, and — ugh, boke— kissed him on the cheek. Then he narrowed his eyes as he looked around at the Chain. “Don’t touch. I charge for the counter curses.”

“Yeah he does.” Legend grumbled, flushed pink from the kiss. “And there’s no damn exceptions, not even for damn family.”

Ravio shrugged. “Giving away discounts only devalues my product, Mr Hero!”

“I hate you.”

“Save that for tonight, bunny butt.”

“AAAAAAAAGH!” NOPE! Wind had had ENOUGH, he was OUT OF HERE, goodbye and goodnight!

He jumped up and stalked out, Spirit hot on his heels with a similar look of horror on his face. Neither of them cared if the others were laughing at him. That was just gross and he didn’t want anything to do with it. He was done.

The two of them waited in the hall, disgusted and stopping each other from touching all the things while Legend and Ravio got themselves together enough to not be gross, and the Chain all began to settle down for the evening. Wind immediately called dibs on the bed, and to his delight no one actually tried to argue with him. It wasn’t the biggest bed in the world but it was big enough, and Wind had even agreed to let Spirit share with him, which he thought was downright magnanimous of him.

It was really nice to be back in a house again. To have four solid walls around them, a roof over their head.

It wasn’t home. For Wind, home was the beach and the sounds of waves and his grandma and sister nearby. But then, nothing other than Outset could be that. Wind wanted so desperately to get home to them, but he knew that he’d just have to wait. They were on a journey now, a proper hero quest, and that was how these things went. He’d have to see it to completion before he could go home and comfortably sleep in his own bed again.

All that being said, though, all of this was pretty good. Over the past few weeks Wind had learned to be comfortable with his new brothers, had learned to love and care for them; but this was the first real opportunity that they had had to actually all just relax in a domestic setting. Somewhere that Wild could eagerly prepare dinner in a real kitchen and they could all eat it around a real table. Somewhere that they could argue over who put their bedroll nearest the fireplace and that had spare blankets in the cupboard.

Somewhere that they could all have actual, real life, hot baths.

Bliss.

Hey. Wind might have been thirteen and he might have maybe been sometimes a little… lax when it came to washing. But he was travelling on an adventure, okay? He didn't exactly have time for a hot wash every day and he got into fights a lot! He was camping in the wilderness! Sue him!

Here and now, though, he was able to fill a bath up with bubbles and just relax into it. It was blissful. All of the Chain took turns, each of them disappearing throughout the afternoon and evening, more than a few of them coming back cleaner than Wind had ever seen them before. Hyrule's hair had turned into a cloud of soft brown curls while Wild's was smoother and more tangle-free than he'd known was possible. Everyone with scars was sighing in relief as they rubbed a liberal amount of salve on them after the soothing hot water, and Legend almost looked happy as he stretched out in front of the fire.

It was just nice. Relaxing. Blissful. Wild and Ravio made them golabki and latkes for dinner and after that, the warmth of the fire and the good food and the heat of the bath was enough to send Wind almost immediately to sleep.

Crawling into the guest bed, with Spirit beside him and Sky, Hyrule, and Twilight camped out around them, drifting off to sleep was just…. Easy. Nice.

Perfect.

—

Staying asleep was less easy. To Wind's credit, he was tired enough that he made it until the early morning without waking, but even so, three am was an unacceptable time to be up if you didn't have to be.

It wasn't even like there was anything particularly wrong, just. Well.

Hyrule snored.

It wasn't his fault. It wasn't as if he could exactly wake himself up with the sound, after all, and plenty of people snored, although the traveller was louder than most. It wasn't exactly a new issue, but somehow when they were camping out in the wilderness it was less of an issue, the general sounds of nature competing with the snoring to make it just… less intrusive.

Now though, inside four walls and in an enclosed space, with the quiet and peace of Legend's spare room, it was deafening. Wind could hardly believe that he had ever managed to sleep through it. It wasn't just him disturbed by it either; Spirit was awake too, he could see the exhausted glint of his eye, and Twilight was shifting down on the ground. The only people still asleep were Sky, who could sleep through anything, and Hyrule, who couldn't hear the racket he was making.

Wind groaned, but when he sat up to finally beg someone to do something, he saw the shadowy shape of Twilight move over and shove Hyrule onto his side. Immediately, the snoring stopped.

Ahh. Back to bliss.

Wind fell asleep again.

…

…

Wind woke up again.

It was later into the morning, definitely a more acceptable time to be awake, but they were relaxing, dammit! They were in Ravio and Legend's home and they didn't have to rush to get up and Wind had fully been planning on sleeping until noon AND YET.

And yet here he was, sitting groggily up when it couldn't yet have been seven in the morning. He didn't even have any reason to be awake other than the fact that SOMEBODY was being LOUD.

He looked around. He could definitely hear percussive sounds coming from somewhere, like someone was clapping and snapping their fingers, interspersed with the occasional giggle and—

Oh, yeah. There it was. Twi and Hyrule were both sitting up in their bedrolls and chatting in sign, hands slapping and tapping as they went, broken up by the occasional laugh or vocalisation from Hyrule. Wind couldn't blame the traveller: he may not have ever even been told how loud sign can get, and even if he had, Wind couldn't imagine that it was easy to gauge how loud you were being if you couldn't hear it.

Twilight, though, had two perfectly functioning ears and clearly just didn't care that as per usual, he was being the loudest person on the damn planet.

Honestly. The guy had a skill.

Funny as it was during the day, that Twilight could be as loud as he was, right now Wind wanted to sleep and Twi was blatantly sitting here not caring how much of a racket he made. Which was unacceptable. Sky may, again, have been sleeping through it all like the sleepy weirdo he was, but Spirit was starting to stir too, and Legend and Ravio were only in the next room. They were going to wake the whole house up at this rate.

And, more importantly, Wind would never get a proper sleep. Which frankly, was the key issue here.

Unacceptable. He lifted a throw pillow from the bed and sent it flying towards Twilight's head, hitting the target with a satisfying thwump. When the pair of them looked around, Hyrule in surprise and Twilight in annoyance, Wind shushed them as dramatically as he could. Rulie had the decency to look embarrassed, but Twi was shameless as he grinned and flipped him off.

Whatever. Wind groaned and flopped back into bed, snuggling back down into the covers. Ahhhh. Bliss.

…

…

…

"—ET IN?!"

"—PPENING—"

"—AY THERE!"

"WAIT, NO—"

Oh for the sake of Oshus, Cyclos, Valoo, Jabun, the golden three, the Deku Tree, and every ding dang sunken god and goddess under the sea! Wind sat up with a whine, squinting.

It was definitely morning now. The light was filtering bright and cheerful through the thin curtains, which was absolutely no good reason to be getting up when they didn't have to. They didn't have anything to do, for the first time in weeks they had actual, real, no kidding free time.

And yet here Wind was, waking up before noon to the sound of shouting and running and panic in the hallways.

Great. Just great.

He stumbled up, rubbing at his eyes and trying to avoid standing on Sky, who seemed just as startled to be woken like this as Wind was. At the other side of the bed, Spirit had already gotten up and was pulling on his dressing gown (because of course he had a dressing gown, the engineer was like an old man in a teenager's body), grumbling as he went.

"What the hell," Wind hissed as he pulled open the door. "Is going on?!"

The commotion seemed spread across both floors. Legend was halfway down the stairs and wearing nothing but a pair of underpants the same pink as his hair, his sword in his hand like he was expecting some sort of attack, while Ravio trailed behind him, half asleep but at least with the presence of mind to have pulled his big purple robe on over the top of his underpants.

"Mr Hero," he groaned, "just li-"

"Stay back, Rav." Legend called, rushing down. "I have this."

Wind craned his neck. At the bottom of the stairs, Warriors and Time were also lifting their weapons, faces pale and drawn.

"No sign yet." Warriors was saying, "They're sneaky, whatever they are."

"No, list-" Ravio tried again, but interrupted himself with a yawn. He rolled his eyes.

Wind sighed and beside him, Sky huffed in irritation.

"Will someone please explain to me why we're all awake?" He demanded. "What happened to 'we're all going to have a big lie in?"

Legend barely glanced back at them. "There's someone in the garden."

Wind blinked. Then sighed. He got out of bed for this?

"You're going mad," He asked flatly, following Legend and Ravio down the stairs, "because there's someone in the garden." Tired as he was, he was now also too invested to leave.

Legend hummed, going to peer through a window. Outside it was misty and cool, and the orchard seemed more like a collection of shadows than actual trees.

"I have this place warded to the sacred realm and back." the veteran murmured. "Nothing should be able to enter without my say-so, but right now I can feel all my alarms going off."

"He has his orchard alarmed?" Spirit whispered and Wind shrugged. Honestly, it seemed about right.

Ravio sighed. "It's okay, bun—"

"Rav, I mean it," Legend turned to his husband, eyes wide with worry, "Go upstairs, you don't have to see this."

"No, listen—" Ravio was clearly getting stressed, his voice jumping an octave.

"I'll deal with them as quickly as possible—"

"They're just customers bun!" Ravio blurted.

Wind giggled.

Legend sighed. "Rav," he said, gentle, still worried. "They're not on the path. I'm getting alerts from all over the orchard. I know you don't want our first morning to have a battle but—"

"OH SWEET LOLIA." Ravio threw his hands in the air and then groaned, punching the bridge of his nose.

"Mr Hero. Link. Bun." he sighed, flopping down on the sofa. "You were gone the whole harvest. I can't go around picking all your apples myself. I run a business! I'm short! I don't like manual labour! But I knew you'd want them picked so I. Uh.

"It's just customers! They leave a few rupees in the box by the gate and uuuhh… they can pick a basketful of apples. People really like it! I've got little jam jars too, they pay ten rupees and they can pick flowers for themselves from the verges! it's a wild success!"

Wind giggled again, and heard more than a few titters from the rest of his brothers around the room. Time and Warriors sheathed their swords, Wars rolling his eyes and Time clearly holding back a laugh. Legend, meanwhile, stared at Ravio, slack jawed, as his sword fell to the floor.

"…you're selling my apples?" was all he managed to say.

"I mean." Ravio crossed his arms. Defensive. "I wasn't gonna let them go to waste."

"You're letting strangers touch my apple trees?"

"I have rules!"

"People are just coming into the orchard?"

"It's a financial success!" Ravio laughed, waving him off. "And we're a pinnacle of the community! The village paper called us wholesome! Children are coming out and having fun! Doris is mad because everyone's baking with our fruit and now her pies keep losing at the village fete!"

Legend looked up, violet eyes glimmering. "Doris doesn't like it?"

"She hates it. Says it's encouraging children to get dirty and make messes."

Legend grinned. "I like getting dirty and making messes."

"Oh Bun, I know you do—"

"Hylia's hotpants." Sky groaned. "I'm going back to bed."

Ravio laughed, waving him off and pushing his hood back. His green eyes were wide as he looked at Legend, worrying at his lips.

"I know you love the orchard." He said softly. "But seeing it empty, with all your apples just waiting there, that was really hard. I… I missed you. Everything was… really lonely. I thought it would be nice to let some joy in, since I didn't know when you'd be back."

Legend's shoulders dropped and he smiled, softening, his expression warm.

"And the fact that you're charging entry?" He teased.

Ravio raised an eyebrow, indignant.

"I may be sentimental," he said haughtily, "but I also know how to run a good business!" He caught his hand and tugged. "Now come on and get dressed. I didn't know you were coming back today, so I have a whole event planned! Irene said she'd come and do face painting and Granny Syrup's making hot cider!"

"That cider's gonna be spiked." Legend chuckled and Ravio waved him off.

"You hylians and your fun-free cider." He rolled his eyes. "It should be alcoholic to begin with."

Legend laughed, following him back up the stairs with his shoulders slumped in relief

"I'm just saying," he said as he vanished back into the bedroom. "Letting Irene near a family event might not be the best idea!"

The door closed behind them, and for a moment, in the hallway, the Chain all stood in silence, staring. Then someone clapped and Wind turned around to see Twilight waving for attention.

"So are we all gonna go apple pickin' or..?"

Wind snorted and then found himself bursting out laughing, and one by one the rest of his brothers joined in. Of course. Of course this was what Ravio had done while Legend was away. Of course Legend was the kind of person to have a precious orchard that he doted on back in his own home.

He grinned. "Yeah, Twi. Apple picking sounds great." he laughed. "C'mon, guys, let's go."

—

Dressed and bundled up against the autumn chill, the Chain all delighted in spreading out around the orchard and taking part in the activities; at least, once they had paid the requisite number of rupees, that was. Ravio was serious when he said that he didn't 'do' discounts.

Wind was having the time of his life, basket in one arm as he zipped around the trees, trying to get as many different varieties of apple as possible and snacking shamelessly as he went. He'd obligingly sat for the rude witch lady — Irene, she said she was called — as she painted cool pirate skulls on his face and had drunk a mug of warm cider to sip on, and frankly, he wasn't sure that this day could get any better.

He'd been wandering alone through the trees for a while now, enjoying how the sun had drenched the remaining low-lying mist a bright golden tone and how bright the leaves on the trees were. That said, his basket was getting heavy and he was getting kind of cold. Another drink might be nice, or someone had said something about marshmallows and a fire pit, which Wind could absolutely get on board with.

The orchard was vast, though, and even as they day had worn on, the mist was still thick enough that it was kind of hard to see too far ahead of him. He hummed, turning towards the sound of voices in the distance and bit into another apple as he walked, weaving his way through the trees.

Aha! There— two shadows not too far away. He wandered over and recognised the brilliant purple and blue tones of Ravio's cloak and Warriors' scarf respectively. They had their backs to him, and Wind grinned at that. Oh yeah, he could sneak up and scare them! Oh yeah, this would be good.

Grinning, he slowed his gait to walk as carefully as possible. He wanted to get right behind them before he jumped out and shouted… and maybe he wanted to listen into what they were saying. Just a little. Not for any good reason, of course. He was just nosy like that.

"—t sure, Ravio." Warriors was sighing. "We just don't work together."

Ravio laughed, his voice echoing through the mist.

"Aw, Mr Captain Hero," he teased. "Don't let him worry you. Link can be rude and spiky and tough on the outside, but he's soft inside, y'know? The two of you are just too similar, is all."

The Captain made a small, slightly offended noise.

"Similar?" he gasped. "I— but I— he—"

Ravio cackled. "Aw, Mr Captain! You know he said exactly the same thing earlier?" He shook his head, voice turning more serious. Steadier. "Listen — you two have some figuring out to do. And you'll have to do that yourselves. I can give you advice, but this is something for you both to get through. But give it time, eh? You and Link? You'll be okay."

Ah.

Right.

Okay. Wind no longer felt comfortable sneaking up and jumping on top of the two of them. That conversation did not sound like something he was supposed to be party to, and while it would be hysterical to see the pair of them jumping out of their skin in surprise, Wind didn't want to risk being accused of snooping.

Even if. You know. He had been snooping.

Whatever. Shut up.

Cautious, Wind crept back away from his brothers, letting them continue their conversation in peace. Because he was a good person.

Instead he picked a different direction. It was misty, sure, but he could still follow the sounds of the people closer around the house. There were a lot of them, what with the cider and the face painting and the general festivities of the day. It would be fine.

He wandered on, and as he did the fog seemed to swirl thicker around him. He paused, looking around, but there were no helpful shadows nearby, just the dim light of the sun shining down from above him. He frowned, but there! The sound of chatter! Awesome, he'd head that way.

Wind ate another apple as he went, and by the time he had finished crunching the fog had grown even thicker and he realised with a jolt that the sound of chatter had gone.

Wait—

He turned around, frowning. He hadn't gone that far, where had the noise gone? All at once the comforting feeling of the orchard was gone. All of the trees seemed gnarled and jagged, barren of fruit or any other sign of life, branches reaching out to him like talons. The mist was no longer sun-drenched, instead it was cold and icy, and despite the emptiness in every direction, he suddenly had a terrible sensation that he was being watched.

"Hello?!" He called, wishing suddenly that he had his sword with him. He'd left it inside, glad that for once he'd not have any need of it, but now he wished that he had literally anything other than the small paring knife on his belt. He whipped it out, regardless, turning at the sound of a crack somewhere behind him. "Who's there?!"

Silence pervaded. Wind had been all manner of strange and haunted places, he was a hero many times over. He did not scare easily.

Right here, though? Right now? Something about this orchard terrified him.

He turned again, picked a direction, and started to walk as fast as he could without breaking into a sprint. Whatever was going on, he was determined not to let his fear show. If there was something evil nearby — and there had to be, he could feel it in the air — he wouldn't let it know that it had gotten to him. He was a Hero, dammit! He controlled the very winds! He had saved the world! He wouldn't give into something as childish as fear.

He hurried on and the fog curled in, reaching its tendrils around his ankles, lingering close at his shoulder. He was suddenly certain that there was danger nearby, the kind of danger that lingers just before a shark attacks, the kind of danger that circles a ship as it sinks, the kind of danger that is terrible, that is inevitable, and Wind couldn't even begin to describe how or why he sensed it, only that he did, and—

"I have tasted your fear."

The voice boomed from a space just behind him and Wind whirled around in terror, slashing his puny knife at the damp, empty air. Around him, the fog and dead trees leaned in, grasping, grabbing, ready to—

Something cracked behind him again and he spun around once more, slicing through the mist in sheer terror and only narrowly missing as Spirit danced out of the way with a yip!

"WOAH HEY WATCH IT!" he laughed, just about managing not to spill his cup of cider. "Bro, did ants crawl up your butt and die or something?"

Wind blinked, looking around. The orchard was bright and sun-drenched once more, with only the barest wisps of mist curling around the edges. The trees were healthy, boughs full of an abundance of fruit, their leaves bright as jewels. Only a few steps away, the house and neatly tended garden was swarming with customers, and Wild was far too eagerly stoking the bonfire, a table piled with food next to him.

What in the—

"Hey," Spirit took a step closer, frowning. "You good?"

Wind looked back at him, blinking. "Um." he said. "Yeah. Yeah, I—"

"Good!" Spirit beamed and from his basket of apples, he produced a wreath of flowers, plopping it on his head. "Rulie's been making us all flower crowns! C'mon, I'm gonna make s'mores now, wanna join? And there's apples roasting on the fire!"

Wind felt himself begin to laugh as relief spread, warm, across his chest. He nodded as he took Spirit's hand, beaming.

"Sounds like a plan!" he agreed and hurried after him towards the bonfire. In the warmth of the company and brightness of the day, the strange encounter in the orchard seemed almost like a bad dream and was slipping away just as fast.

They flopped down by the fireside and one by one the rest of the Chain joined them, grabbing snacks and toasting them in the flames, laughing and chatting and teasing among themselves. Ravio raised a cup in toast and, pleased by the tidy profit he was making, gave them all a 'special extra fee drink!' on the house (and told them that this was not a discount and that they should absolutely not get used to this).

It was, Wind thought, almost like being back in the War. Except of a battlefield and soldiers, they were surrounded by an orchard and townsfolk. Instead of screaming and crying everyone was laughing and smiling. Instead of fear and dread, there was sunlight and a family.

It was like being in the War, in that he was getting to see his dear friends again, that moment may have been. And even if it couldn't last, even if they would have to move on and face battles anew, Wind would never dream of giving it up, not for anything in the world.

Chapter Text

There's nothing in this world that can't be fixed by a good, solid meal. That's what Twilight's mama used to say, and he would never in his life dream of disagreeing.

This did not come from Uli, though he treasured her and Rusl as much as any ma and pa. No — it was something that had come from his birth mama, the one who had brought him into this world and had loved him and cherished him right up until his seventh year. He had scant remaining memories of the time before he was adopted by his second family in Ordon, but those that he did have were more precious to him than all the jewels of the world. Memories of being held close and rocked to sleep on cold nights, memories of singing while they did the laundry, of picnicking amongst wildflowers while his baby sister saw her first spring.

One of those precious few memories was of sitting with his family around a campfire, his mama heavily pregnant and his papa playing a banjo. Twilight had been five and was upset over… something. He wasn't sure what, to be honest. Maybe he'd fallen while playing in the woods and skinned his knee, or maybe he'd tried to befriend an animal and gotten himself bitten. Could have been anything. Was probably nothing. Didn't really matter, either way. The point was, he'd been five and upset, and yet his mama's gentle smile had never wavered.

He didn't remember much; he'd been very small, after all. But he remembered his papa's music. He remembered his mama's smile. He remembered how she had ladled her special stew, made all the more special from the rabbit they'd caught earlier that day, and given him a thick wedge of bread to sop it up. She'd ruffled his hair with her strong hands, calloused from years of work, and smiled her wide, homely grin.

"Eat up, Link." she'd said to him. "It'll all be better when you're full. There's nothing in this world that can't be fixed with a good, solid meal."

Nothing had ever tasted quite as perfect as that stew again. He'd eaten it all and scraped the bowl with his tin spoon, and afterwards had happily sung along with his parents' music, laughing and happy and whole.

Those days were long gone, now, but the message had stayed: when in doubt, have a meal. He'd carried that with him all his life, long after his birth family were dead and buried, when Twilight would never sing again. He carried his mama's message with him into his new life in Ordon, and then beyond. On his adventure he had more than once set up camp with Midna to put together a crude, admittedly unsophisticated, but hearty meal for them both, just to have a break in the stress of the journey and to figure out what they were to do next. He had planned strategies with the resistance over big bowls of Telma's stew, had dealt with the grief of losing Midna over plates of roasted goat and pumpkin. Even when he'd been a wolf, guiding Wild in his dreams, he'd nudged and encouraged the champion to indulge his growing love of cooking. To make time for himself, to take a break over his meals.

All of that extended right up until today. He was beyond glad to have Wild with him on this adventure for many reasons, but his single-minded devotion to food was one of them. Thanks to Wild, no mealtime passed without a moment of pause, a space where they all could take a moment over their food and in doing so, take a break from the stress of their journey.

They used those moments to chat. To get to know one another. To figure out where they were going by figuring out where they had been. It was nice, almost like being with a family.

Ha. 'Almost'. There was no 'almost' about it. They had all grown comfortable calling one another 'brother' somewhere around the two week mark of their journey, and though none of them could pinpoint when or why, they also had not questioned it.

And now, the Chain all knew that they were starting to get frustrated. They had the vague outlines of what the purpose of this journey was — or at least, they were fairly certain that they did — but that wasn't really enough to get by on. So they had to… save a world? Stop Ganon? None of them were strangers to working off of scant information, but this was ridiculous.

So Twi had made his suggestion: instead of moping around Ravio's house like they had for the past few days, hopelessly trying to strategise but without any basic information to work on, they take a break. They have a meal. They let the distraction of the preparation and the comforting smell of hot food work its magic.

Now, as the sun set over the horizon and they all made their way to the dining room, their stomachs rumbling with hunger, it was time to put his mama's theory to the test.

—

"I have a lot of sympathy for this sage," Warriors prefaced as they all filed inside. Twilight nodded at his words, nudging Hyrule and interpreting on his behalf. "I do. But I wish I could just ask him a few questions. We can't properly help unless we actually get some sort of an idea what we're dealing with."

A few of them murmured in agreement, and Twilight found himself nodding along with them. He waved for attention, leaning in to be seen while everyone bustled about, looking for a seat.

"It would be nice to know what we're at least s'posed to be doing." he agreed.

"I mean…" Wild frowned, taking his seat. "We're searching for dolls, right?" but he seemed uncertain as he spoke. 'Searching for dolls' sure was good side-quest material, but it was hard to think of it as their main goal.

"It would be good to talk to him." Time agreed, his steady voice gentle. "For a lot of reasons. Most of all to learn about his world — about how exactly we can help."

They all nodded and then all looked over to where the traveller had taken his seat beside Legend. He was the one who had actually spoken to the Sage, after all, so it stood to reason that if anyone would have an idea of how to reach out again, it was him.

Hyrule looked back at them all and blinked, green eyes wide.

"Do not look at me." he signed with a huff, "I barely spoke to him. The connection was thin as shit, I do not know how to reach him again."

The Chain giggled at that and Twilight smiled in pride. He and Rulie had spent many hours exchanging their favourite sign swears, and it was strangely rewarding to see the Ordonian 'shit' rolling off his hands.

They all settled back into their seats. They were in high spirit this evening after having spent the whole day helping out around the house and garden. That was part of the whole 'have a big meal' plan: they had to do it right, so they'd spent all day bringing in as much as Legend's produce as they could manage and staging a general clear out of what Ravio called 'retired stock' and what the veteran called 'hot garbage'.

The table that they were all now sitting around was a product of that hard work; both Legend and Ravio seemed to have forgotten that it even existed. A solid eight hours of shifting old receipts and various forgotten pieces of merchandise — including a flute that Legend called his 'Moosh Flute' and then refused to elaborate except to say 'flying bears, y'know?' and tuck it into his pack — had revealed a really quite spacious dining room, complete with a solid oak table and a neatly stacked dinner service.

While the Chain cleaned and polished the dining room, Ravio had spent all day in the kitchen cooking up a storm, even banning Wild from entering because 'he was a guest in this house!'. The produce that the Chain had managed to bring in before the heavens opened and the rain began to drum against the shingles all was grabbed and pulled into the kitchen and the door was tightly shut, and now the whole house now smelled of the heavenly scent of cooking.

"So," Ravio's voice was merry as he followed them in with his pot, ladling a rich beef stew into their waiting bowls. "Let me get this straight. The Creepy Death Doll was waiting for you on the very holy monument. Correct?"

"Correct— ow!" Legend agreed, cutting himself off from where he had been about to pass around the bottle of wine. At his side, Hyrule blinked innocently around, as if he hadn't just punched his brother in the ribs.

"It is not a 'Creepy Death Doll'." he chided. "It is a perfectly normal Life Doll."

"Ow!" Legend groaned again, rubbing his side. "Fine, it's a perfectly normal Life Doll. It was Ravio who said it, Rulie, hit him!"

"Ravio is feeding me." Hyrule said with a grin.

Twilight snorted. He'd known as soon as he met Hyrule that he'd end up friendly with the guy — it wasn't that often that he got to meet people who relied solely on sign to communicate, after all, and he was willing to bet that it was the same for the traveller. They'd gotten to know each other pretty well over the past weeks and Twilight had become fond of his shy little brother.

Hyrule loved nature and exploring, and he had a wicked sense of humour that came out when he was comfortable in his company. And. Yes. Sometimes — like right now — the way he signed was so damn formal that Twi couldn't help but bite back a smile.

It wasn't his fault. Rulie had told him once that Hylian sign — or 'Old Hylian', as he called it — was something of a dead language in his era, but man it didn't half show. Hyrule's sign always seemed precise and formal, as if he'd learned it out of a prayer book, and was a far cry from the relaxed, sweeping gestures that Twilight had learned back in Ordon. Even that simple sentence: 'Ravio's feeding me', could also be read like 'It is Ravio who sustains me'.

It made them a good pair. Twilight, who was proud of his ability to sign 'y'all'dn't've', and Hyrule, signing like a prophet. No one else seemed to get quite why it was as funny as it was, but that just proved that no one else had a cool sense of humour.

Anyway.

Twilight huffed a laugh at the look on Legend's face, and then at Ravio's smug expression.

"Fine, fine." The merchant sang, dancing around to serve the last ladleful of stew. "The perfectly normal and not creepy at all life doll was waiting at the really holy place on the mountain, right?"

Right. Twilight nodded, digging into his stew. Ravio had been cooking it for hours, the beef stewed in a red wine sauce with vegetables and beans fresh from the garden and big, fluffy dumplings on top. Ah. Tastes like home. Only thing missing was pumpkin.

"And," Ravio continued as he set the pot to the side and found his own seat. "There were loads of monsters all around it. Right? Like it was a trap?"

"Um." Sky said. "Yes?"

"Definitely trap-shaped." Twilight added, because he was helpful like that.

Ravio hummed, raising an eyebrow at him as he speared a chunk of beef.

"Uh huh." he said, chewing. "So why didn't the monsters just destroy the doll? Like I get it, the forces of evil like to attack you guys as like. A fun hobby. But you didn't know the doll was there. You were gonna just run in there and do your whole hero thing anyway. Why didn't the monsters just… destroy the doll while they were at it?"

The Chain all stared at him in silence.

Ravio sighed, setting his fork down and picking up his cup of wine.

"Woah, you guys really didn't get wisdom, did you?" he teased. "If I'm an evil hoard of monsters out to stop you guys, I'm going to want to destroy the special magic talisman the Sage is sending you. Especially if it's how he's going to. You know. Speak to you. So why didn't they?"

Twilight looked around, just in case anyone else seemed to have an answer other than the idle singing of cicadas running through their head. No — the rest of them seemed as clueless as he was.

Finally, though, Wild tilted his head. "I mean," he croaked, sipping his wine. "Could they have? It was on the ovoo and we didn't think they could destroy that. Cause. You know. It was holy."

And Sky nodded. "It would take a much more powerful demon to destroy such a sacred monument than a few monsters. The doll was probably just protected by that."

Ravio smiled as he took another bite, shaking his head.

"Man, you're so close." he teased. "Okay so. The Sage told you that Ganon is watching. He didn't send those monsters to camp around the ovoo for funsies; he wanted to stop you from getting to the doll."

Twilight frowned, tapping the table for attention. "But we wouldn't have gone up there if it wasn't for the monsters."

Ravio shrugged. "Wouldn't you? If there was nothing else to distract you and that was the closest waypoint? I bet you would have. You Links are predictable like that. So nosy."

"Ravio," Legend sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I swear to Lolia, you better have a point to this."

The merchant grinned, waving a hand. "Yes, yes! ANYWAY, my point is, your sage friend probably sent the doll there on purpose. If he knows he's being watched, he'll want to send his messages somewhere that the evil dudes can't touch! Like a sacred shrine in the mountains."

Twilight nodded slowly, thinking.

Yeah. Like, it stood to reason that the Sage would be cautious about how he sent his messages. But that didn't seem like so big of a point to make; it wasn't like they could really do anything with it, after all. Twilight wasn't sure why Ravio was so excited about this.

Unless…

He looked up, eyes widening as he tapped his cup again against the wood of the table for attention, more urgently this time.

"The monsters were at the ovoo because Ganon found out what the Sage was planning." he signed.

Ravio beamed. "Now, you're getting it, Mr Ranchy Hero!"

"Getting what?" Legend grumbled, but Twilight ignored him. It was all coming together.

"The monsters were there because they knew what he was planning. But if he didn't plan it, they wouldn't be there. Ganon wouldn't know to show up."

Sky gasped in realisation , turning his head towards him. "And," he said, "If the Sage was called unexpectedly to a sacred space. If he didn't plan it and just went, Ganon wouldn't be able to watch. In theory, He wouldn't know about it at all!"

Ravio clapped his hands. "Now you're getting it!" he cheered.

"So we could… what?" Warriors frowned, looking around at them all. "Summon him? If we were somewhere sacred? Is that even possible?"

Again, they all turned to Hyrule, who was catching up on Twilight's hurried signs. The traveller looked up and met Warriors' eyes, a subconscious hum of thought sounding in his throat.

"…Maybe?" he signed slowly. "It… is possible? Perhaps not 'summon' but… we have the dolls. I know the pattern of his magic. If we were sure we were somewhere safe I could try to reach out. Make the connection."

Ravio beamed. "Now you just gotta find somewhere sacred!" he cheered, and Time leaned forwards.

"Legend, you said there's a village nearby? Do they have a temple or—"

"No." Legend shook his head. "We're not going there."

"But bun—" Ravio began to say, but Legend was firm.

"Nope. I told them I wouldn't step foot inside unless Doris was off the flower arranging committee and I stand by that."

Ravio sighed. Pinched the bridge of his nose. Then he looked up with a (slightly forced, mostly amused) smile.

"Welp! There's plenty of other temples out there, I'm sure you'll find one!" he chuckled. "And now you have a plan!"

He raised his cup in a lighthearted toast, but Twilight couldn't have that. After all; he was right. They did have a plan now, which was better than they had had for a while. Dinner had well and truly solved their problems, just like his mama always said.

Twi lifted his knife and carefully tapped it against the side of his cup — careful, because the last time he'd done this he'd broken one of Telma's good wine glasses and nearly got barred from the pub — to get everyone's attention.

"To having plans!" he cheered, and then, after a moment, he grinned. "And to Ravio for coming up with it. And making dinner! Legend: I don't know how you landed him."

The rest of the Chain cackled and raised their cups in toast, cheering on "To Ravio!" along with him. The veteran was smiling as widely as Twi had ever seen him and Ravio himself had flushed an impressive shade of scarlet, clearly not have expected this kind of recognition and celebration.

There was no more 'shop-talk', as Legend called it, for the rest of the meal. Instead they all ate with glee, chattering and laughing and telling jokes. The wine flowed and when they were done with their meal, Ravio produced a fabulous bundt cake, covered in heaps of berries from the garden and a thick glaze of icing.

They all stayed up well into the night, moving from the dining room to the sofas, pouring drinks, nibbling, telling stories, sharing laughs. It wasn't often that they got this kind of peace, after all, and here, now, for this one evening, they were determined to make the most of it.

—

Of course, they all knew that it couldn't last. The day after that wonderful meal a portal appeared before them and they all had to say goodbye once more.

Which was not easy. The Chain did not like leaving somewhere that they were all so comfortable in general, but the whole thing was made worse by the sight of Legend and Ravio having to say their goodbyes. All in all, they had been together again for three days; three days to make up for weeks of absence, when Ravio hadn't known where his husband had gone and Legend had no idea when he'd be back. And now they had to say goodbye again, the portal tugging on the Chain's souls in a constant reminder that their time here was running out.

Twilight wasn't sure where to look as they said their goodbyes. Legend was a prickly asshole, after all, and he spent a lot of time cultivating the appearance that he didn't 'do' feelings. Which, of course, was a load of bollocks. The veteran was a soft, squishy, emotional wreck and pretty much everyone knew it, but it wouldn't be polite to point it out, you know? Especially not now, not when he was saying goodbye to his husband. Not when he looked like he was about to cry.

Twilight looked away, making sure that he was out of earshot while Legend and Ravio spoke, and he grabbed the twins to pull them away too while he was at it. The last thing the couple needed was two nosy teenagers listening in on their business, and besides, they'd feel the strengthening pull of the portal less if they waited by its side.

"This sucks." Four muttered, kicking at the dirt and glancing back towards the goodbyes. "I get the Sage wants help and I get we have to go but… it sucks."

There was a general murmur of agreement and Twilight felt himself nodding along. This was one of the worst parts of adventuring as a 'Hero'. The journey took precedence over everything, even when you wanted to be with your friends. Your family.

You had to move on.

Twilight glanced back, then looked away again. Rav and Legend were locked in an embrace, and that wasn't any of his business. Instead he looked around at his brothers, all determinately averting their gazes and wincing a little as the portal's pull became stronger.

He wondered, as he looked at them, how many of his brothers had people waiting for them at home. Not just their family and friends; how many of them had someone that they loved. Time had a wife, and Sky had mentioned having someone waiting for him at home, but what about the rest of them? What about Warriors? Hyrule? The twins were old enough to be developing their first puppy loves, and Four—

Okay, Twilight would freely admit that he had no idea how old Four was. He was of an age to be dating, though, he was pretty sure of that.

It was funny, really — the Chain had been travelling together for weeks now, but Twi was under no illusion that they had all opened up about everything to one another. He and Wild talked all the time, but while he knew that he was close with his Zelda, he wasn't entirely sure what their relationship was.

Twilight hadn't told any of them about Midna. He hadn't told any of them about Shad.

None of them had known about Ravio.

What more didn't they know? Who else was the Chain leaving behind to go on this journey? How many more joyful reunions would they see? How many more tearful goodbyes?

Twilight sighed, shaking his head as footsteps made their way down the path. Legend had finished his goodbyes and was marching towards them, jaw set and eyes cold, and if there were the remains of tears on his cheeks, then none of them would dream of mentioning it.

Ravio stood by the door of the house, leaning on the frame with his hood pulled up around his head, watching as they went. He raised a hand to wave a last goodbye, but Legend did not turn around to see it. He just drew his sword and stalked through the portal, letting himself be absorbed by the darkness.

Nearby, Warriors sighed in frustration, but said nothing. Twi got it — they made an effort never to go through the portals alone, after all, but this was not exactly a normal day. He couldn't blame Legend for wanting to just get the separation over with, and it seemed even Warriors, who could never quite seem to gel with the veteran, couldn't bring himself to say anything.

"Okay." Time sighed, drawing his sword. "C'mon. Let's make sure he's not alone through there."

The Chain nodded, drawing their own weapons as they stepped into the portal. Twilight found himself going last and as he did, he turned, lifting a hand and waving goodbye to Ravio, offering a small smile as he did. The last thing he saw before being swallowed by the portal was the ghost of a smile on Ravio's face and a trembling hand being raised in return.

Chapter Text

The portal spat them out onto the grey, windswept banks of a beach, the sky thick with clouds and the salty air damp and cold. The past few days had been much of the same; portal, fight, sleep. Portal, hike, fight. Portal, portal, portal, one after another after another.

This time, they all stepped out and were immediately surrounded by monsters— angry, porcine things in a variety of shapes and sizes that only could mean that they had been drawn from half a dozen different eras especially to make the Chain's life a misery.

At least they always made a point to go through portals with their swords drawn. They fought, furious and fierce. They knew each other well enough now to have a strategy for moments like this, were able to step in and support anyone made weary by the portal, to cover each other's blind spots.

They sat when they had finished, chilly and tired, but scarcely had the time to warm themselves over a campfire than another portal appeared. Great. Just great. They groaned and grumbled, drawing their weapons in case of another fight (Hylia, they hoped there wasn't another fight) and they stalked through.

This time they found themselves in the ruins of what might have once been some sort of fortress, ancient and crumbling but still robust enough to provide them shelter and a safe place to rest. It was quiet and seemed, for once, blessedly free from enemies, so they heaved a sigh of relief and began to set up camp and tend to their wounds.

Wild whipped up a hearty, comforting meal of fried egg, beef, and a garlicky rice that he said was called tapsilog and they all fell upon it, ravenous. After the day they'd had — a hike across a rocky plain for most of the day and then portalled directly into a battle — they needed it.

"So," Wild hummed as he flopped against Twilight's side, yawning deeply. Dinner was done, which meant it was now time for rest. "Reckon we're here on purpose?"

Twilight frowned and raised an eyebrow, questioning.

"I mean. It's part of a Hero Quest. Right? It's all on purpose."

The champion huffed a laugh, shaking his head.

"No- I mean-" Wild hummed, pushing back his hair. "We got a fight and then got portalled to a safe camp. Reckon the sage felt bad? Wanted us to rest up?"

Several of the Chian looked around at that, interest piqued. Legend leaned forwards, humming.

"I mean," he said slowly, signing as he spoke. "maybe? It's possible. We can ask when we summon him."

"Just need somewhere holy, right?" Spirit chimed in with a smile. "First temple we see. Or shrine. Or. Or." he paused, frowning. "What else is holy?"

"There's sacred trees." Time suggested.

"And standing stones." Four added.

"Springs can be sacred." Twilight chimed in.

"Sometimes caves?" Wild grinned.

"Okay, okay!" Wind laughed, holding up his hands. "So anything can be holy if you try hard enough. Got it. I'm gonna bless my ship and have a holy boat, and no monsters will ever touch me again."

They all laughed at that, and Time reached over to ruffle the Sailor's hair, earning himself a dig in the ribs and a shove away.

"Well," Time laughed, rubbing his side, "until Wind gets himself ordained and starts blessing boats, we can keep an eye out for somewhere sacred."

They all chuckled and began to bed down for the night. They were all tired, after all, and while the ruins were cold and drafty, they at least seemed secure. The room that the Chain were in had a solid door that they could barricade to stop any wayward monsters that may have been roaming the place from getting in, and that was a comfort.

They could actually rest without setting up a watch. A novelty, out in the wild, and they were gladly taking it. If this was the Sage's doing, then he had their gratitude.

For now they all bedded down, blankets pulled tight about their chins, and hoped that the next morning would be kinder.

—

Kinder was. A relative term.

On the plus side: no immediate monsters.

On the negative: portal.

Another. Damn. Portal.

…Four was gonna throw hands. He was so, so unbelievably done. The portals kind of sucked for everyone, sure. Four got that. They were freaky and weird, in the way that compressing yourself through an unnatural, arcane passage through time and space was bound to be. Walking through them felt like walking through an ancient, eldritch abomination (which wasn't that faar from the truth). Mortals weren't supposed to feel the space that existed between seconds, after all. They weren't supposed to enter the void that existed in the cracks of reality.

But hey. That was what heroes did, right? They did dumb things that mortals aren't supposed to in aid of some sort of greater good or whatever. They went further, embraced the uncomfortable.

And the portals were uncomfortable for his brothers. He knew this.

But they weren't uncomfortable for Four.

They were downright awful.

He and Hyrule had hypothesised that it was because of the size of his natural reserves of magic. The traveller was badly affected too, after all, and no one who had known him for more than a week could even begin to doubt that he was an incredibly powerful sorcerer.

Hyrule figured that it was the deep wells of magic in their bodies that reacted with the magic of the portals and made them ill, which made sense. Hyrule also figured that Four must have even deeper wells of magic, as where the portals made the traveller woozy and often ill, they generally all but incapacitated the smith. Which, again, was a nuanced point. Four knew damn rightly that he couldn't ever begin to muster even a quarter of his little brother's power. Hyrule was incredible and could cast spells off the cuff that Four could barely dream of.

Four did not have magical reserves in the way that Hyrule did. This much was fact. He could not deny, though, that he probably was more generally magical than his brother. Not in his reserves but in the very structure of his being; in a way, he was made of magic, stitched together by its threads.

He hadn't been originally. But again, that was part of the whole hero deal. You do things to yourself that no one else should ever have to conceive of. Four had been torn apart into his constituent parts, magically duplicated into neat, colour coded clones of himself. He'd — or they'd? it was hard to figure out sometimes… — lived like that for a year before being torn apart and stitched back together again. Huzzah and hurrah, Link's back, all's well, nothing to worry about here!

Except he wasn't back. Well. He was. He was Link, and always had been. Always would be. But Link was also Four. He was balanced a lot of the time, but he was always aware, now, of the four strains of thought that made up his mind. In moments of stress, sometimes those thoughts broke down. Grew less cohesive. Argued. Sometimes it was hard to be Link, not just in his mind, but in his body as well. Sometimes those four aspects of himself wanted out.

Which wasn't always bad. Four had learned long ago that he actually quite liked separating out. He could still do it, could still unpick Link and become the Colours, could be four little guys running around and doing their thing, and could put himself back together again in time for dinner. A lot of the time it was pretty neat, actually. It definitely made work in the forge go faster.

But choosing the split was one thing. Having it forced upon him was… something very different.

That was what portals did. They reacted with the magic that held Link together, that made it possible for him to be himself, for him to be one. Whenever he stepped out, he could feel himself tearing at the seams, wanting to break down into his constituent parts. He came apart within his own mind, could feel himself unraveling.

He couldn't hold one single train of thought and instead there were four disparate voices in his head, panicking and trying desperately to puppet his body in a way that looked vaguely normal, all while the mother of all headaches spread its tendrils through his skull and the flaring colours of a migraine took over his vision.

And he couldn't just split. That would mean showing the others that hey! Actually! He's not a normal hylian guy after all! He's actually a freak of nature who can't keep himself together, really, genuinely, literally! Hey hey!

He couldn't tell the Chain what he was. He couldn't split in front of them. His secret was not one that he shared readily, and back home only his uncle and Zelda knew the truth of the matter.

He just… couldn't.

So when the portal flared to life that morning, just as they were all starting to get up and get ready for the coming day — Wars, Twi, and Time shaving, Sky inhaling coffee like his life depended on it — Four just. Sighed.

"Oh, for the love of the Lokomo!" Spirit groaned, flopping backwards into the bedroll that he had only just (and very heroically) vacated. "Again?!"

Four agreed with the sentiment. He would also like to add 'Seriously?!', 'come on!', 'Man, fuck this.' and 'for why?'.

He sighed, burying his head in his hands. He had only just begun to pull his thoughts into one coherent stream again and was still exhausted from the previous day. Being thrown through a portal and directly into a battle was a nightmare and the colours had barely managed to keep him upright through it.

Now he was going to have to go through the portal and be pulled apart again.

Balls.

"We need to figure out some way of tracking these." he heard himself say, the words tinged with violet as he groaned into his hands. "This is getting dumb."

"Definitely one to ask the Sage about." Legend agreed, patting him on the back in a rare show of compassion and then lending him a hand up. "You gonna be alright?"

Not for the first time, Four wondered how old the Chain thought that he was. He knew that he was small — he'd stopped growing when he was ten, all of his adventures with the minish, shrinking down and growing big again taking its toll, as magic usually did. That same, violet train of thought from earlier murmured theories about 'hormones' and 'pituitary glands', but frankly, Four just figured 'that was life'. He knew that he looked about ten, but surely by now the Chain all knew that he was older than that, right?

Right?

Whatever. Hadn't been an issue yet!

"I'll be grand." Four put on a big, sarcastic grin that he knew the veteran would appreciate and stretched, looking around for his pack. "Gonna need a week in a spa after this, but whatever."

Legend laughed and returned to where Hyrule was getting himself together, a look of resignation on his face. Yeah, buddy, same here.

"Hey, maybe Hyrule can track the portals!" Wind's voice piped up from where he and his freaky little twin were standing, waiting for the others. Why were they this chipper early in the morning, man! "You know! With his magic and stuff!"

"Oooooh!" Spirit added, also alarmingly awake. Gross. "Or Sky! He's a seer! He could like! See them coming!"

Four frowned and looked around at Sky, who looked tired in a way that had little to do with the early hour.

"Spirit." he sighed. "I told you. I'm not a seer. I just get funny dreams sometimes."

"Like a seer!" Spirit agreed, and Sky seemed to give up. Which was fair. Four couldn't blame him on that one.

It didn't take long for them all to pack up and be ready. The ever-increasing tug of the portal on their souls was a good encouragement, after all, but also they'd all just gotten pretty good at this whole camping thing. Which Four was claiming as a win, because he figured they could use one.

But being packed up fast also meant that they hat to go through the portal. Which, yes, was necessary. But ugh. You know? Ugh.

They all drew their weapons — Four desperately hoping that he wouldn't need to use his, and that if he did he could keep it together enough to not get killed — and stepped through the portal.

It sucked. Obviously.

It always did.

Ugh.

But the portal itself ended, at least. Four stepped out and the bright light of the sun was almost blinding after the nothingness of the void. He staggered, trying desperately to keep it together as he got his bearings, but that was easier said than done with four voices shouting in his already pounding head.

Shit- I don't know if I can keep us standing—

Just focus on staying upright!

I don't know which way is upright idiot, everything's spinning!

Guys help me balance!

Four groaned, struggling to hold himself together and physically grasping at his head as he staggered forwards. Okay. Upright. He could do this. One foot in front of the other. Not passing out. Not splitting into four, even though he was pretty sure if he let himself do that it might alleviate the worst of the symptoms.

He blinked, but most of his vision was taken up by brilliant, flashing colours in sharp, zig zag patterns. Ah, great. Migraine auras, his old friend. Good to see that you'd decided to join the party.

Blue that's not helpful!

Hey, at least I'm trying to be upbeat!

Four squinted, trying his level best to look past the aura. They looked like they ere in… a forest? An nothing seemed to be attacking them. They were in no imminent danger.

OH THANK HYLIA

Is everyone else okay?

Red I love you, but we can hardly be useful to them right now if they're not.

You love me? Really?!

Aw jeez now he's excited…

WAIT who's got the body, we're falling over—!

Sometimes Four hated his body. His mind. The whole damn lot. Right now, though he felt too woozy to focus on hating anything. He stumbled over to the nearest tree in an attempt to lean on it for support, but just ended up tripping and, yes, falling over. Were it not for one of his brothers (wonderful, blessed people, really) catching him, he probably would have face-planted and broken his nose. Which really would have been the cherry on top of the whole portal experience.

"Four, you good?" ah, that was Wild. Good old Wild. Always had their back.

Four groaned. Possibly maybe a little pathetically. It was fine.

"Aw, man, that good?" Wild sounded like he was huffing a laugh. Rude. "Yeah, Rulie's throwing up everything he's eaten in the last three years too."

Wild, if you could not talk about vomit right now that would be really helpful.

Ugh. Four leaned his head back against the tree, desperately wishing the disparate voices in his mind to merge into one. This was a nightmare, he couldn't possibly continue to function like this. His head was pounding and he could feel his stomach revolting and even when he closed his eyes the flashing colours remained, just to taunt him.

He felt someone — probably Wild again, what a stand up guy — press a bottle into his hand. If he said what it was, Four didn't catch it, but it was most likely a green potion. Probably. Magic replenishing potions worked wonders in taking the edge off of portal sickness, he'd found, even if they couldn't fix it entirely.

Four necked it back, ignoring every warning he'd ever heard about not drinking potions unless you're absolutely sure what they are. Whatever. It was fine. And hey! That sure was the uniquely nasty taste of a green potion! Four was basically winning at life.

Anyway.

He groaned, blinking and shaking his head. The worst of the headache was gone and the pulsating aura had finally vanished. He didn't… necessarily feel like one person again, but he was more cohesive and that was a win enough for him.

He looked around, finally getting his bearings. He was right they were in the woods, tall pine trees crowding around them and piercing the sky in every direction. The dirt ground was covered in a thick layer of pine needles and the air was full of the scent of them. Hyrule, nearby, looked a little green but had apparently also taken a potion and was starting to do a little better. He gave Four a shaky thumbs up when he looked over and then pulled a face.

Yeah. Yeah, Four got that. He pulled a face back. Him too, man.

At least he figured that he didn't need to ask if anyone recognised where they were. That much at least was obvious, as Twilight was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, beaming like he'd just been given the best damn gift in the world and hurriedly signing to anyone who would pay attention to come on, hurry up, let's go!.

So this was where the Rancher was from. Huh. Cute.

Well, Four wasn't going to keep him from his home any longer than he needed to. He'd drunk his potion and was now all better (a lie. that was a lie. His head still hurt and he was still having trouble thinking in one coherent voice, but shhh), so there was no need for him to linger here much longer. He pulled himself to his feet and smiled, walking over to the rancher.

"So which way's home?" he asked with a smile.

Twi grinned. Man, he was like a puppy dog. They needed to get him a tail to wag or something, man.

"Ranch is half an hour from here, and the town's beyond that — it's called Ordon. You well enough to move? You can lie down at my place if you want."

'At my place'. Aww. He had his own home! Something about that felt so very special, and being invited to lie down there, to just go and hang out, felt… nice.

It's like being real family!

We are real family.

No we're not, he just wants us to lie down so we don't puke on his rug

You guys are the worst, FOCUS!

Four's smile widened. "That sounds great. I'd love to."

Hyrule seemed to be doing well enough to move too, so before long they all set off, following a very excited rancher who seemed to be doing his level best not to simply break into a sprint and leave them all in the dust. Which, frankly, Four thought was very nice of him. Goodness knew that if he thought his home and grandpa and bed were only half an hour away, Four would leave all of these idiots behind.

Blue!

What? It's true, we would!

Twilight kept up a steady excited stream of sign as they walked for anyone who cared to watch. Signing while walking wasn't the easiest form of communication, but Hyrule on one side of the rancher seemed happy enough, and Wild on the other was content to relay back what he said to the others.

Mostly information about the local animals. About monkeys and boars. A story about how he fell and skinned his knee over there when he was ten. Another about how he snuck out and got drunk here when he was fourteen.

Normal kid stuff. Four couldn't help but smile at that. It sounded like Twilight had actually been allowed a chance at a childhood before the call of the Hero came knocking.

It wasn't long before the made it to the gates of the ranch where apparently Twi worked as a goat-herder. As they passed they saw a man working in the field and Twilight whistled to him, waving happily. The guy grinned when he recognised the rancher and waved back, shooting him two big thumbs up as they went.

They did not linger at the ranch, though. Twilight led them away from the ranch and its grazing pastures, and down a steep, broad path. It wasn't long before the woods surrounding them opened into a clearing and a small, quaint village, emerged from between the trees. It was kind of adorable, all of the buildings clustered around a winding river, cuccos scratching here and there at the ground, and even a cat sunning herself on a rooftop.

Twilight was bouncing as he walked through the town, hands moving in a constant, swift flow as he told them about who owned this blacksmiths, what was old in that shop. Just small details, little facts that in many ways were as inconsequential as any common trifle, but also in their own way, valuable as any great legend, passed down through generations and repeated in great temples and oratories. They were the story of this village and of the people who lived in it.

They passed through the streets, stopping every few steps as Twilight was greeted by one old friend after another, glad to see him home. He introduced the Chain to them as 'friends from the city', and immediately they were welcomed too. Four got more hugs from complete strangers on the streets of Ordon than he had ever encountered in his entire life, but he was absolutely not going to complain. After all, the red-tinted voice in his head seemed to like it.

Hey, you guys like it too!

Shut up, Red!

(❁´◡`❁)

Four couldn't help but notice, as they walked, that none of the townspeople they met were hylians. It wasn't particularly noteworthy to have a village of round-eared humans, though, so he didn't particularly dwell on this.

Twilight led them on, along the winding river and up towards a neat little house, with sheets billowing in the cool breeze outside and a neat box of herbs in the window.

"Aw I can't wait for you to meet my family." Twilight was saying as he walked. "I live a bit more outta town, but I can't just walk by, y'know? Ma n'pa'd never forgive me!"

Four chuckled. Yeah, that was fair. His grandpa would probably be pretty mad if he just barged past the forge without saying hi too.

Twilight didn't bother knocking at the front door. Instead he barged right in, whistling loudly to announce his presence. The reaction was immediate: two small, slight figures burst out from another room and tackled him, a boy of maybe eleven or twelve and a little girl who couldn't be more than three at the most. Twilight scooped her up with one arm, cuddling her close and kissing her cheeks while with the other arm he pulled the little boy into a hug and ruffling his hair.

Only a moment behind them, a woman came to see what all of the fuss was about, wiping floury hands on a patched and mended apron. Her face split into a beam when she saw Twilight and she flung her arms open wide.

"Link!" she cried, and Twi put down the children to barrel into her arms. "Aw, honey, you're home! Where've you been, I've even had young Shad over here lookin' you!"

Four made a mental note to ask about who 'young Shad' was later, but for now just stood with his brothers and waited to be introduced, smiling. Finally, Twilight pried himself away enough to get a sign in edgeways and pull her over to the rest of them, introducing her as Uli: his mother.

Uli seemed wonderfully unflappable. She didn't bat an eye at the group that he had just rocked up into her home, heavily armed and grimy from the road. Instead she just smiled and told them that they were all welcome in her home.

Within ten minutes they were all squished into the small futons and onto pillows on the floor of the living room. Uli passed around mugs of tea and a plate of gingerbread, fresh from the oven, because apparently just just always had things like that on the go. Colin, the boy, seemed delighted as he updated Twi on the minutiae of every fishing expedition he had been on since he left, while Kina, the toddler, climbed across them all and generally smeared jammy fingers everywhere she went.

No one was eating jam. Four wasn't sure where it came from. He supposed kids were just messy like that.

As they all talked, Twilight did not tell his mother everything. Just that he'd been called to help out on a mission and the Chain were helping. Nothing about his role as a Hero, and certainly nothing about time travel.

Four couldn't blame him for that. Home life could be… hard to mix with Hero life. Even when his father came in and pulled him into a fierce hug, Twi still did not elaborate, except to assure him that it was 'nothing that the resistance need worry about'. That said, when Uli took the children out of the room for a moment to help out with something in the kitchen, Twilight did ask his father — a big, well muscled man called 'Rusl' who had what Four liked to call a 'don't fuck with me face' — to let him know if there had been any sightings of monsters that seemed… stronger than usual.

Rusl had frowned at that but shaken his head. No, the monster sightings in general had been lower than they had been for years, but he promised to keep an eye out. The whole Chain breathed a sigh of relief at that — there would be no immediate battle at least.

All in all, they spent a pleasant day with Twilight's family. Uli insisted on having them stay for lunch and then, when they still all stayed chatting late into the afternoon, dinner. They were, at least, able to stop her from dashing to the market and spending a small fortune on ingredients. Wild supplied her from his own slate and insisted on helping cook, the two of them bent over the stove and giggling happily. They shared a hearty meal together, catching up and telling jokes and sharing stories of when Twilight was a child. Aunties and uncles dropped by now and then through the evening, wanting to welcome Twi home — though something told Four that none of these aunts and uncles were actually blood relations. It was just a close, loving community.

That said, once again, the violet-tinged part of Four's mind couldn't help but notice everyone's ears. Round, human ears — or Ordonian, he supposed, as Twi had mentioned that Ordon Village was part of a larger Ordon Province, and he described his sign as Ordonian, too — even on his mother and father.

Interesting. Not really Four's business, probably not important.

Anyway.

Somehow, they managed to spend most of the day there. It was dark by the time they left, well fed and in high spirits. Twilight had mentioned that there was a sacred spring nearby and they had hoped to visit it that afternoon, but they supposed that it could now wait until the morning. For now, Twi led them to the other side of the village and down a winding path through the trees, away from the lights and quiet bustle of his hometown and into the peaceful silence of the woods.

It really was starting to get cold now, the last vestiges of Autumn beginning to give way to winter's creeping grasp. Four wouldn't have been surprised to see a blanket of snow on the ground come morning, or at least to find the ground frozen over, and after a day spent in that warm little home they felt the cold all the more keenly. Twilight promised that his house wasn't far, but by the time they got there they were all stamping their boots and rubbing their hands together, groaning from the cold.

Twilight had been carrying a lantern at the head of their group, and finally he came to a stop and turned towards them. He was unable to sign very much with a hand occupied, but he still grinned, gesturing with his light.

They were at a tree. A tree amongst…. lots of trees.

What.

Oh man he's finally cracked.

BLUE.

What? Green was thinking it too.

GREEN!

Guys shut up, you're missing the point!

Wh- wh-

Hey don't tell him to shut up!

Not you, Red, you're perfect

Aw, thanks Vio

Anyway — look! There's a ladder!

All of Four looked, and sure enough, right where Twilight was casting his light, was a ladder. He followed it up, right up to a neat wooden platform — no, porch. Twilight's house was here alright, and it was built into a tree.

WHOA

TREEHOUSE TREEHOUSE TREEHOUSE

…yeah. Yeah, none of the Colours could disagree with that. Of all the things to finally bring Four back into tandem with himself, it would be this. Treehouse treehouse treehouse!

"Huh!" Time huffed a laugh. "You live in a tree too."

Wait. Time also had a treehouse?

"I thought you loved on a ranch?" he asked, and the old man waved him off.

"Oh sure, now I do. Used to have a treehouse, though."

Wait, did everyone have a treehouse except Four? He should get in on that.

Twilight hung the lantern from a post and gestured to them all to follow him upstairs.

"I built it myself!" He told them before he opened the front door. "The town helped. We're all a family."

Stepping inside, Four was deeply amused to find that the home was tiny, clearly only built for one and with the space half taken up by stacks of books and rolls of paper. The rancher must have spent half his spare time reading, when he wasn't off being a Hero, and Four made a mental note to have a look through his collection while he was here.

They all piled in and began to shed their many layers as the rancher swiftly lit a fire, stoking it hot until the house was warm and comfortable. There was no question of them having proper beds — Twi only had the one little futon for himself to begin with — but none of them minded all piling on top of each other in front of the fire.

It was a merry gathering. After the whole day spent resting none of them were in any mood for sleep. They stayed up and chatted, laughing and telling stories. Twilight heated some cocoa on the fire and passed the mugs around while Sky pulled out his harp and began to play softly, humming a little as they did.

Everyone was so very comfortable. Time had long since removed his armour and was relaxing in his shirtsleeves while the twins were bundled into the same bedroll and Wild had taken off his prosthetic arm and pulled out the blanket that he took such good care of around his shoulders.

Twilight had also fetched a blanket, a patchwork quilt from the tiny second floor where his little futon lay that was now wrapped about him like a cape. It was clearly important to him, and he ran his hands over the careful patchwork as he sat, laughing at some joke that Time had told.

"I like your blanket," Warriors said to him as he found himself a comfortable spot, wrapping himself in his own scarf. "There's a lot of work goes into something like that."

The rancher smiled, a hint of pride in his eyes.

"Thanks!" he signed, pulling it closer around his shoulders. "I always get it first when I come back here. Makes it home."

Warriors smiled, nodding in understanding, and Wind looked around to crane his neck, getting a good look.

"Why not bring it with you?" he asked. "Then you've always got home! That's what I do with my shirt! My grandma made it so it's like having her here!"

Twilight huffed a fond laugh, and then shook his head.

"Nah. It's too precious to take adventurin', an' I like having it here t' come back to."

Four nodded, understanding. There were some things that made coming home special, and part of that meant keeping them at home. The twins, though, were clearly not familiar with this concept, and Spirit tilted his head, frowning.

"What makes it so special?" he asked, eyes wide.

Twi's cheeks coloured a little, but he kept his soft, easy smile in place. He took a breath.

"My Mama made it for me when I was small." he explained, his gestures slow. Mindful. "My birth mama, I mean. It's one of the only things I have from her."

Four blinked with a jolt. Ah, so there it was: why Twilight was hylian when the rest of his family were patently not. He had been adopted.

"Wait," Wind, however, did not seem to have gotten the memo. "I thought those were your parents! Uli and Rusl!"

Twi huffed a laugh and shook his head, smiling.

"They adopted me when I was seven." he explained, and if his eyes were a little sad behind his smile, no one would say anything. "When my parents died. I… guess it's no secret. We… were passing through the Ordon Woods when they — we — were attacked. Rusl found me and brought me home. Raised me as his own."

Oh man, as if the room couldn't get quieter. Eek. Twilight was still trying very hard to keep the smile on his face, but this was patently not what he had thought he would spend his evening talking about.

"Wha- he found you?" Spirit pressed. "But what about your mum and dad?"

Twilight gave him a pained look and Four suppressed a grimace. He thought that the answer to that was patently obvious, but he supposed that Spirit and Wind were still kids.

"They didn't make it." Twi signed. "My little sis neither. I barely got off myself." he tilted his chin up and gestured to the old, ugly scar across his throat. Right. Four had, of course, noticed it before — it wasn't exactly subtle — but it was jarring to hear how he had come by it. Had that been how he'd lost his voice, then? When he was seven? Four shuddered.

But then Twilight smiled, reaching over to ruffle Wind's hair. "Just bandits. They're gone now. You don't have to worry."

"I'm not worried!" Wind protested, looking deeply worried. He chewed on his lips. "I- I'm sorry about your- your family."

Twilight huffed a little laugh, fond. "It was a long time ago." he signed, which Four thought was kind of him. That kind of loss — losing someone close. Someone that you loved. It didn't matter how long ago it was. It stayed close to your heart. You just go used to carrying it. "And Rusl and Uli are my family too. And Colin and Kina. Just 'cause they ain't blood don't make them less important, y'know?"

Four nodded. Yeah, he did know, and it was a wonderful thing, to have seen how close he was with his adoptive family. Still, the earlier good mood had dissipated, everyone carefully avoiding each others' gazes, unsure what to say.

Good news! Four was great at saying random shit. He spoke to himself all the time! So, he cleared his throat, leaning forwards.

"Um… anyone else got any cool heirlooms?"

His brothers looked around and several looked like they were going to hop in, but Wild got there first.

"Um!" he said, holding out his own blanket, draped over his shoulders. "My blanket is kind of? An heirloom too?"

Four raised his eyebrows, but nodded in interest. Wild took such care of the blanket, never bringing it out unless he was sure they were secure, keeping it clean from dirt, treating it with quiet, loving reverence. He'd never talked about it before, so no one had quite wanted to ask, but Four had always admired it.

Wild held it out now for them to see: white linen, so richly embroidered with red that the base fabric was barely visible, the stitches making up a dizzying pattern of shapes and figures and motifs.

"Um. It- it's a tradition. In my world. From the Sheikah." he was blushing a little now at the attention, but he smiled regardless. He clearly loved the blanket, his voice as soft as the grit in his throat would allow. "So — when a baby is conceived, the family make them a blanket. Stitch in symbols from their family, symbols for their village, kind of. They tell the story of where they came from, I guess? The whole village comes and adds something, too. It takes weeks. Months. It swaddles the baby when it's first born, and then they add to it through their life. Sheikah get married with their Blanket over their shoulders. Add their own children to it. Grandchildren. Different events. Stories. Then. Um. When they die, they're buried in it. So it can keep them warm for their whole life, and protect them into the next."

…maybe asking about heirlooms was a bad idea. This was really, really cool, and that same violet part of his mind wanted to grab the blanket and inspect every single detail, but something told him that now was not the time.

"Huh." Legend hummed. "So it's with them from the cradle to the grave."

Wild made to nod, but was interruped as the sailor leaned forwards, eyes gleaming.

"Do you have Sheikah-people in your family? Did they make it for you?"

"Oh!" Wild laughed a little, though if he flushed any redder then Four thought he might combust. "Um. No. No. It was… I got a little hurt on. On my first journey. You know?" he gestured to his scars, where they lanced across his skin, twisted his face, cut into his hairline, reduced his ear to a stub. "It was. Um. A get well soon gift. From the Sheikah."

There was something there that he wasn't saying. More than that — whatever it was, Twi knew it too. He looked so sad as he looked at Wild, almost stricken. Both of them knew something and were not sharing with the class. The violet part of his mind (that had already been in overdrive, today) was certain of it, but the red part told him to let it go, and for once the green and blue parts were in agreement. Wild may have been hiding something, but it was no one's business but his own.

"It's a beautiful gift." Four told him. "I'm glad you have it. Like you're keeping your friends close."

"There is magic in love." Hyrule added. "So the blanket will protect you."

Wild smiled, grateful, and Legend sighed, setting down the remains of his mug of cocoa.

"Alrighty, that's enough trauma for one night." he drawled. "I'm going to sleep."

His words were barbed, but his eyes were kind, and as he stood to carry his mug over to the side he paused as he passed Twi, gently squeezing his shoulder. Four smiled, and happily joined the rest of the Chain as they bedded down for the night.

A small, quiet chatter returned to the little house, and the mood lifted once more. The house was warm, after all, and cosy, and they were all together. Whatever had been in the past, they had each other. A family.

They may not have been blood relations, but as Twilight had said, that didn't really matter. They were a family anyway. They had chosen each other, and that was what mattered.

Sure they had all been thrown together on this journey. Sure it was all weird and intense and dangerous. But they had chosen to care about each other. To be more than just a group of Heroes, more than just a team.

They were a family of choice, and they were sticking together.

Chapter Text

The next morning dawned bright, clear, and frigid. Ice had made a thin sheet of webs across the windowpanes and there was a thick layer of snow blanketing the ground and weighing down the boughs of trees. Here and there, spiders webs glistened like diamonds and the stream circling the edge of the clearing stood frozen and still as a mirror.

Hyrule woke early and pulled his blanket tight around his shoulders. It was cold, but for the first time in a long time he wasn't out facing it alone. He was here, in this warm and cosy little house nestled in the branches of a tree, with a warm quilt tucked around his shoulders. Legend had given it to him back when they had been visiting his home. He'd said that it was just 'lying around', that he wouldn't even notice it gone.

Hyrule did not need fae senses (or Ravio rolling his eyes and fondly shaking his head in the background) to know that that was a crock of shit. Legend was lying through his teeth, trying as he always did to affect an air of general assholery. He couldn't fool Hyrule, though, and the traveller treasured the gifts that his brother had given him — the bedroll, the blankets, the pillows. Legend had even casually passed him an 'old' spare tunic and warm cloak, and the traveller was not too proud to accept a gift kindly given.

Legend cared, and Hyrule would treasure his gifts forever.

He dressed in his warmer tunic today and repaired the fire as the others woke up, so that they could all be warm as he felt while they dressed. They were planning to visit Twilight's spring today and try to cast a spell that might reach the Sage, so they might as well make the most of the fire while they could.

He smiled, finding a spare space that wasn't taken up by one of his sleeping brothers, and curled up. This place was wonderful — small but not cramped, cluttered but not messy. The house was full of piles and piles of books, and he'd had no idea that Twilight read quite so much. Looking at a few of them now, while Hyrule could hardly be called any kind of expert in reading and writing, he was pretty sure that some of them were written in different letters and languages than the others.

He felt a little pang at that. Hyrule had never had the chance to learn his letters — he wondered if Twilight might like to teach him, but it felt presumptuous to ask. Still, it couldn't do any harm to have a look, and Hyrule found himself picking up a few books, flipping through until he found one with beautiful illustrations, tracing over the delicate black lines with his fingers.

The rest of his brothers woke up at a slow, steady pace. By the time they were all up and dressed the sun had risen significantly in the sky and the frost on the windows had begun to melt away, but the snow still lay thick and glistening across the forest.

Wild made them all big bowls of porridge for breakfast, letting them all decorate it how they pleased (Twilight, predictably, loaded his with bacon) and swearing that there was nothing quite so good for a cold day as a big, filling bowl. They sat for a while, chatting and eating and enjoying the precious moment of a good breakfast with people they loved — and then they were off.

All bundled up in their gloves and scarves, it seemed more like a cheerful outing amongst friends than part of a mission for battle-hardened Heroes. Everyone was cheerful and smiling, their cheeks red from cold and their eyes bright with merriment.

It was… almost weird. Hyrule couldn't remember a single time in his own world where he had seen so many people greeting a cold day with joy. Back home, the beginning of the coldest days was met with a weary apprehension. There was little enough food to go around even in the bounty of the harvest, and in the cold and dark winter months it was a constant struggle to stay fed. Even the people living in towns, with their larders full of preserves, found it hard to get by, with all but the richest having to stretch and skimp and save to eek out what they had. For Hyrule and his fellow travellers, wandering through the woods without any kind of permanent home…

Winter was dangerous. It was costly, and the price could often be your life.

But his brothers' faces showed none of that fear. Truly, they all seemed to come from places where that level of want, that starving desperation simply did not exist. And Hyrule was so, so very glad of that fact.

The spring, Twilight told them, was close by, but as it was early enough and they had all day, he was going to take them a longer route. Which… seemed counterproductive to Hyrule. Even if they all enjoyed the cold, surely they didn't want to tramp through the snow any longer than they had to?

But then Twilight produced some…. things. Hyrule wasn't sure how to describe them — they were wooden, flat and sanded smooth, and polished to a shine. Each was about half the size of his bedroll, with a curve at one end looping upwards, with ropes attached to it and what almost looked like blades on the underside.

What in the..? Everyone else looked elated at the sight of them, even Legend, who usually pretended not to be excited when he was (which was a terrible habit, but that was fine. Hyrule was working on it). Hyrule did try to make out what was going on by what his brothers were saying, but they were all chattering so fast and moving about, with the cold, the mist on their breaths and the shifting of their scarves made it all but impossible to catch more than a word here and there, and without any kind of context for what they were talking about, Hyrule was at a loss.

It was definitely something to be excited about. Something good. Fun, maybe? Something that Hyrule had never seen before, but then, wasn't that just becoming normal for him?

He was so glad that his brothers came from happy, healthy worlds. It just sucked a little to always be on the back foot when it came to understanding so much of what they did.

Twilight led them through the woods and up a hill, carting the wooden things with them as they went. Once they reached the top he dumped them on the ground and pointed.

"The spring is down there! I figured we could have fun as we go, you know?"

The others all grinned and nodded, chatting away with their indistinct words, and empty gestures. Hyrule was eager to join in with what they were doing! He just… wished he knew what it actually was.

Finally, he summoned his courage and sidled up to where Time was laughing at something the twins had done, his cheeks flushed so red that the mark under his eye was almost invisible. He poked him in the side, not wanting to intrude but needing the attention.

Time turned with a smile, his eye glinting warmly.

"Hi Hyrule," his lips moved so much more clearly now that he knew he was speaking directly to the traveller, and thank goodness for that. His brothers didn't mean to exclude him, they just… forgot sometimes. "Everything okay?"

Hyrule nodded, hoping that his embarrassed blush could be mistaken for a symptom of the cold.

"Sorry." He signed, starting off strong. Man, he knew he had to stop apologising for existing, but it was so hard when he always felt like he was just… not quite part of things. Not through anyone's fault or actions, of course. Just because he didn't come from somewhere like the others. He didn't have the same frame of reference that they did.

"I…" his hands hesitated as he looked around. "What are we doing? Those wooden things — I do not recognise them?"

Time blinked at him. Blinked again. Oh man, had Hyrule said something wrong? Should he know what these things were? Had someone told him and he'd forgotten? Or missed it? Maybe he should apologise again— his hand was half raised to make another sign of sorry, when Time smiled. Warm. Gentle.

"I'm sorry, Hyrule." he said, and then slipped off his warm mittens so that his hands were free to sign. Hyrule bit his lip — he didn't want to make Time uncomfortable, and it was so very cold, but…

It would be nice to know what was going on. So he said nothing as his brother lifted his hands.

"These are sleds." he signed. "You sit on them and go downhill on snow, really really fast. You know, like Wild does on his shield? On… well. On anything? It's fine — a lot of us did it as kids. Wind probably did it on sand dunes on his island. Twilight thought it would be fun for us all to take a detour and sled down to the spring."

Hyrule nodded, taking a moment to parse through this and repeating the new sign — sled, sled, sled — over a few times to get it right. Time smiled as he did and repeated it with him, saying it out loud too so that Hyrule could see the shape of it on his lips.

That was nice of him.

Hyrule nodded, smiling, and then swallowed a little less nervously.

"Okay." he took a deep breath. "So… how does it work?"

Time's face lit up.

So, several minutes later, as the Chain lined up at the top of the hill with the snow spreading out before them like a blanket, Hyrule proudly sat on a sled he shared with Time. His biggest brother hugged him to his chest, checking if he was okay one last time before they took off. Hyrule grinned and nodded, sending him a thumbs up before returning his grip to the ropes on the front of the sled.

This looked dangerous. Hyrule had already lost count of the ways in which this could go wrong, but honestly? Who cared! Dangerous was just another word for fun, after all, and Hyrule was really starting to realise that he thoroughly enjoyed fun.

A few of his brothers had already gone ahead of him — Warriors and Wind in one sled and Sky and Spirit in another (Sky had insisted on being allowed to take charge of steering and Spirit looked terrified, but the look of manic glee on Sky's face was worth it. It was probably fine).

Behind Hyrule, Time patted his back, and he felt him begin to push off. The sled shifted under him, then a little more. Then their combined weight tipped it over the brow of the hill, and they were off. They picked up speed quickly, the sled skimming over the surface of the snow like a bird over water, faster and faster, down the hill with the icy air cutting at their cheeks.

Hyrule knew that he was grinning like a fool and he was pretty sure that he was vocalising as they went, laughing and hooting and for once not caring how loud he was. He didn't care — he felt like he was flying! Like he was flying over the snow, all while seated on this flimsy little board with his brother holding him tight.

The sled ride was over all too quickly, though, as they skidded to a stop beside their laughing brothers. Hyrule could feel himself joining in with their glee, and he immediately turned around to pull Time into the biggest hug he could manage. To his delight, the old man hugged him back, his big arms warm as they wrapped around his body.

Hyrule had seen families before, had seen how they held hands and trusted one another. And in a way, Hyrule did have a family back home: he had the fairies, all of his many sisters, who all cared about him in their own way. But they were fairies and their idea of kinship, while precious, was different from the way a hylian might see it. Hyrule had never thought he'd have someone to wrap him up in their arms and make him feel safe and protected, and yet here he was, grinning like a fool and surrounded by the Chain. By his brothers.

He would offer up prayers of thanks every night for the rest of his life for this.

Finally, though, he pulled away from Time and looked up, beaming.

"Can we go again?!" he asked, and Time laughed, looking around.

"—be later?" he suggested. "— we (do-the) spring, talk (to) the (see)Sage, we can (combat)come back after? When everything (is) done (and we) have the day free?"

Hyrule huffed. He knew that it made sense, and they did come here for a reason, after all. But still. Phooey!

But he smiled, nodding, and hugged Time once more for luck.

"Thank you." he told him. "For letting me ride with you."

Time grinned. "(Any) time, pumpkin."

Hyrule grinned, and by the time they got up and had dusted the snow from themselves, everyone else was ready, their combined laughter making a mist of joy in the air. Twilight finally waved for their attention, his sharp teeth on display as he grinned broadly.

"The spring's through here," he signed as he gestured towards an overgrown wall and an old gate, held ajar by the thick bank of snow. "C'mon, let's say hi to Ordona and ask if we can use it."

Wait what? Hyrule frowned, poking him in the arm and furrowing his brow.

"Is there someone else here?" he glanced around to see if this was news to anyone else. "You never mentioned asking permission before!"

Twilight laughed, apparently unconcerned as he reached out to ruffle his hair.

"It's just the spirit of the spring." he smiled. "She won't mind us doing our thing, but it'd be rude not to ask, y'know?"

Ah. Okay, yeah, that made a lot more sense. After all, Hyrule would never dream of going and making use of a fairy fountain without asking the Big Sister who watched over it first. That was just good manners, and it was reassuring to know that Twiligiht had already thought of it. Hyrule nodded and then turned to actually look where they were headed and—

Oh. Oh.

They had stepped through the gate and into a small clearing with the spring nestled in front of them, and the spring, without question, was beautiful. It was a pool of crystal clear water that sat improbably unfrozen amongst the snow. Framing the spring and creating a backdrop for it to sit against was a natural formation of rocks, vast and towering, worn smooth by countless years of water and countless generations of reverent, worshiping hands. There were patterns carved into the stone too, deep swirls and lines, markings that held a meaning deeper and more sacred than anything that the Chain, mortal as they were, could comprehend.

This place was full of magic. It was made of it. It was holy. It was sacred.

Hyrule smiled.

"This is the right place." he said, and then looked around for Four.

The pair of them had already planned to cast this spell together, and frankly they needed to get started if they wanted to have time to go sledding again before sundown. Thankfully, the smith was right on his heels and they approached the waters' edge together, Twilight leading the way at their side.

Ugh. This was the bit that Hyrule wasn't looking forward to. The cold water. After all, it was the spring that was sacred, not the clearing it sat in. He nudged Twilight, wrinkling his nose in anticipation.

"Should we take our boots off here?"

Twi grimaced. "Probably for the best, yeah."

Hyrule nodded. Much as it would suck to go into this water in bare feet, it would be way worse to soak their boots and socks and still have to deal with that after the spell was over. Grateful, he slipped his boots and socks off and left them at the waters edge, and then rolled his trousers up to the knee.

Hyrule took a deep breath, screwing up his face and looking around at his brothers. Ugh. Here it was. They all exchanged grimaces, and he turned back to the spring, stepping in.

Spirits, it was cold! Standing in the snow in bare feet had been bad enough, but the water was awful! He even found himself stepping in faster in the hopes that somehow this would make it warmer.

Spoiler alert: It was not. Still, this was all part of the plan, so Hyrule turned and waved the rest of the Chain in after him. They all looked… fairly displeased with this turn of events, but well. It couldn't be all fun and sledding all the time. Sometimes you just had to wade into the sub-zero water to cast a spell. It happened.

They made their way a good few metres into the spring before stopping and when Twilight bowed low at the waist, the rest of the Chain followed his lead. Finally, the rancher straightened and lifted his hands to sign.

"Hi Ordona," he said, and Hyrule blinked. He knew that Twilight was normally pretty casual anyway, but really? "Sorry to barge in. My brothers and I are on a quest and need a sacred space to try and reach out to someone. Can we use your spring?"

Hyrule frowned. He had been expecting formal language, maybe some bargaining and bartering, and certainly a good deal more humility from the rancher. But then, it was Twilight, so he probably should have adjusted his expectations. He just hoped that the great spirits and gods of this world worked on the same level of 'casual' as his brother.

He looked around. The Spring was utterly still, even where they had waded in; not a single ripple breaking its surface. The high stones stood impassive around them and the trees towered overhead. Hyrule swallowed, noting as the light shifted and the carvings in the rocks seemed to suddenly look more distinct, as if they were being highlighted. As if the were becoming active.

A feeling of magic entered the air and rapidly swelled, became so thick that Hyrule could almost taste it— and then it faded. Like a sigh, like the brush of a feather, it relaxed. All at once, the icy water against his feet became warm and comfortable, and from the sky, big, soft snowflakes began to drift down in a lazy dance.

…Ordona must have been fine with it, then.

Hyrule turned to Four and found that the smith was already grinning and removing his gloves.

"Looks like we got the holy go-ahead!" he grinned, hands flicking out the gestures. "Okay. So how are we doing this?"

Hyrule smiled with him as they set to work. He and Four had... very different styles of magic. They had established this already and they both knew it well. Four followed rituals that he had been taught, had a big book that told him what to do, and when he had to do something new he frowned and used his existing rules to figure out what the next, scientifically founded ritual should be.

Hyrule… did not. He just kind of… did what the natural magic of a place told him to do. He went with what felt right. It was kind of like when he had been sitting with Wild one night while he cooked — the champion had told him that the recipe he was following called for two cloves of garlic. He had then proceeded to put in twelve cloves and then give Hyrule a big thumbs up. According to Wild, cooking — and especially cooking with garlic — was about following your heart and doing what the food told you. And he'd been right: the meal had been delicious.

Hyrule cast magic the way Wild cooked: with lots and lots of metaphorical garlic, straight from the heart.

…he thought that made sense, at least. Whatever. It made sense to him.

But this made casting spells with Four… interesting. Four had set ways that he did things, and sometimes Hyrule liked to reach in and… tweak them. Hyrule liked to go with the flow, but sometimes Four would stop him and suggest something… completely unexpected. Honestly, it was a good thing that they both were fairly easygoing and respectful to each other, because otherwise Hyrule could foresee this partnership blowing up spectacularly in their faces.

Hyrule glanced back to where the rest of the Chain were now relaxing in the water, the heat a new novelty for them all to enjoy. Well, it wasn't as if they'd be much help on the magic front, so they might as well have some fun (although Hyrule still didn't really believe Sky when he said that he had no magic. And WIld absolutely had magic in him, even if he genuinely believed that he had the magical property of a rock. And some rocks could be very magical actually! And—

He was getting off track. Anyway. Moving on).

Hyrule and Four had already discussed how their spell would go. He knew the vague outline of it, how it would work. Four was going to do a lot of very detailed ceremonial work that to be honest, Hyrule only really understood in the most rudimentary sense: he wanted to pay homage to the four elements, like he normally did, and he now wanted to pay homage to Ordona, which was fair. Hyrule was probably going to do that too. And then there was a lot of ritual chanting and making offerings to the rocks around the shrine that Hyrule just… didn't really understand, but it seemed good.

There were already offerings dotted here and there around the rocks, so Hyrule figured that Four was working along the right lines. And Four had already long since accepted that even if he placed his offerings in the strict patterns that his rituals demanded, Hyrule might drift along later and… tweak them slightly. Make them more powerful. Amend them, just for a moment.

So they began their dance, Four speaking his chants and making his offerings, moving in careful, long practiced movements and Hyrule drifting about the spring almost in a trance, eyes closed as he examined to weave of the magic, breathed in the taste of its power. Here and there he reached out and plucked at a strand, carefully rearranging, braiding, setting. Never leaving a loose end, but instead making a space in the magic's fabric that they could reach through, a window through which they could, in theory, sneak the Sage. Here and there he did slightly alter some of Four's offerings, but he shifted other things too. There was a leaf floating on the water that he flipped the other way up. A fallen branch on the rocks that he turned counter clockwise. Some snow settled on the edge of the spring that needed sculpted, moved around.

And then they were done. Hyrule looked around at Four and the smith nodded. The air felt alive with magic, like the world itself was trembling. Hyrule nodded in return and then turned to the Chain, holding out his hands. Both Legend and Wild passed over the dolls made in their likeness, and with the one from Hyrule's own pack, that made three.

He took them to the front of the spring, to where an shorter and heavily decorated rock made a sort of altar, and he set them there, hands delicate. Then he stepped back and let Four approach, setting out little charms around them, one for each element and a fifth for Ordona herself.

Hyrule nodded and closed his eyes.

He focused. He focused on the natural green magic of the spring, on the brilliant blue threads of the divine shooting through it. He focused on the window he had made, on the magic and the spells that he and Four had woven into it.

And he focused on the dolls. On that common thread of magic that he had come to recognise as the Sage. This was the final part.

Breathing deeply, evenly, with the same steadiness he used when practicing medicine, Hyrule reached out and plucked at that thread. He lifted it and began, gently, to weave one end of it into their magical window. To anchor it.

He tugged. Careful, subtle, but clear. A quiet message, sent out across the great distance of time, through the space between the places.

Are you there?

Hyrule waited. This was the worst part, he knew. He would have to wait. There was no telling if the Sage would actually get their message, after all, even after all of this, and even if he did, he might not be in a position to reply. He might need to go somewhere safe to reply.

So he waited. Focusing on the window, on the single, fragile thread of magic reaching out and away, into the ether. He focused on his breathing, on keeping himself stable, and regularly, calmly, he plucked the thread. Just enough that the Sage would know that he was still there.

He waited, and time passed by. Somewhere beyond his focus he was aware that his brothers were probably getting impatient, but this had always been part of the deal. He had to wait. They all had to be patient.

Then, when he was starting to really shiver even despite the warm water around his shins, something shifted. Something changed. The thread was plucked back. A message. A thought.

What's wrong? Is there danger?

Hyrule huffed a small laugh, unable to stop himself from smiling. The Sage had replied! The spell had worked, they could send messages!

Nothing wrong. He pressed the thought back with as much calm as he could. We want to talk. It's safe, promise. We're somewhere holy. Follow the thread.

There was a pause and Hyrule's breath caught in his throat. What if the Sage refused to come? What if he didn't trust them? What if he didn't want to?

But then the thread tugged again, more definitely this time, and Hyrule huffed in relief. He stepped back, opening his eyes, and tugged on the thread one last time.

This way this way this way.

It was working. The Sage was coming. Hyrule could feel his presence building, and whatever the magical equivalent was of shoving his hands through the window and dragging him in, Hyrule was doing it. The Sage's magic poured into the connection, strengthening it enough to make a bridge and Hyrule pulled him inwards, straining with everything that he had.

Around them, the snow thickened. It was getting hard to see, almost like a fog had blown in around them but brighter, tinged with the divine. This was magic, this was Hyrule's magic, and it was drawing in someone from across time.

The snow swirled and anything beyond the spring was nothing more than a shadow. At the altar, something seemed to brighten, to open—

And then a figure appeared.

They were insubstantial, only a projection of the man himself. The Sage was, in truth, still standing in whatever world he belonged to, but his image was here and his mind was here, with them, standing in the spring. Hyrule had seen him once before, on the mountainside by the ovoo. He wore the same elaborate hooded robes, made of a dark grey silk shot through with brilliant turquoise embroidery, and the great, jade mask still covered his face, carved almost to look like a crown, with great hoops hanging from the edges and intricate carvings around the face.

The Sage stood before them, robed in the garb of his office, and judging by the looks on Hyrule's brother's faces when he looked around, this time they could see him too.

The Sage bowed deeply and Hyrule bowed back. Then he immediately realised a Problem.

If the Sage was wearing that big, beautiful mask, there would be no possible way for Hyrule to have a clue what he said. Can't read lips when there's no lips to read.

Dammit.

He raised his hands. "Do you know sign?"

The Sage tilted his head and then, cautious, lifted a single hand.

"I do."

Huh! It wasn't Hylian sign — this one only used one hand, which in Hyrule's humble opinion made it better — but it was familiar, close enough to some of the languages that he had picked up on his travels that he could understand it more or less with ease. The Chain might not understand it so easily, but he'd have to presume that he was talking aloud under his mask too, or else let them ask for interpretation.

Hyrule felt himself smile. It had worked. They'd done it. The Sage was here.

He half turned, stepping aside so that his brothers could approach too and looking around for Legend to interpret what his brothers said for him. The veteran didn't disappoint, coming over to his side and sending a quick sign of you did it! before turning towards the Sage.

"You summoned me." the sage said once Hyrule looked back around at him.

Hyrule felt himself blush. 'Summoned' was a strong word.

"Um. More… invited you?" he replied, wincing. "Sorry. Just. We. Have questions."

The Sage's posture remained cautious, nervous, as if waiting for some sort of trap. He looked around, taking in the snow, the stones, and with some bemusement, the water that they were all standing in.

"It is not safe to meet like this." he said at last. "Ganon is always watching."

"We know." Hyrule agreed, trying his level best to look reassuring. "We know — but it's safer in sacred places, right? This spring is sacred. The local god gave us permission to be here. And we pulled you here, not the other way around. So technically… it should be okay? For a while at least?"

The Sage stared a moment longer at him, his eyes glinting behind the shadows of his mask. Then he seemed to sigh.

"…I did move to a temple, before joining you." he spoke cautiously. But then he nodded, his posture seeming to relax. "You are a clever group. …What do you want to know?"

Aaaaand then the questions started. Before coming to the spring, the Chain had agreed on the questions that they wanted to ask and that Time would come forwards and ask them. That they would keep a steady, calm pace.

Of course, as Warriors liked to say, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. And no Links survive first contact with a guy saying 'you can ask me questions'.

Legend could not keep up with what everyone was demanding, and frankly, Hyrule didn't even try to follow it. He just bit his lip and tried not to laugh while Legend very visibly sighed and Time got the rest of them under control.

"Sorry about them." Hyrule shot over to the Sage. "They get excited by new people."

He was pretty sure that he got a chuckle out of him in return.

"I am honoured."

Finally, though, the Chain managed to calm down enough to actually ask their questions, and the old man stepped forwards. Hyrule looked immediately to Legend for interpretation.

"We understand," Time said at last, "That you have called us all together. That you want help. But that's not a lot to go on. Can you explain to us what exactly's going on?"

Ah. Going straight for the hard questions then. The Sage nodded, looking around at them all.

"I am sorry for what I am putting you through." he began, and his shoulders shifted as if he had sighed deeply. "My world… was devastated. A plague swept across the lands and took many, many lives. The infant princess was one of them, as was the boy destined to be a hero. It was hoped that this would mean that the cycle of hatred would leave our world alone, that we might be allowed to survive in our grief, but…

"It was not to be. Ganon was spared the plague and he rose in power, every day growing stronger. We did not have a princess and a hero, but we sages gathered anyway in an attempt to vanquish him ourselves. But…"

He looked away. Sighing.

"I was the only one who survived our attempt. Ganon killed them all." he shrugged, looking back to them all. Meeting Hyrule's eyes. "I am sorry to pull you all into this. My world is not your wold. My problems are not your problems. But… I did not know what else to do. I will not give up as long as I have the strength to fight."

Four stepped forwards, eyebrows raised. "That's some powerful-ass magic you're using." he said.

The Sage definitely laughed at that. "It is no simple act, it is true."

Now Wild stepped forwards, a little apprehensive perhaps as he stared up at the Sage.

"What… what's the deal with the dolls?" he asked.

Okay yeah, that was a good question. The Sage bowed his head in acknowledgement.

"I know they're unusual." he admitted. "But it was the best I could think of. Ganon's strength is unspeakable and I will not ask you to come and face him without every advantage that I can give to you. The dolls will give you each a second chance, should the worst happen."

"And—" Legend turned, signing as he spoke for Hyrule's benefit. "Is there a reason they're all over time? Why you're not just sending them all over to us as a package deal?"

The Sage sighed. "I wish I could. Sending them all at once would draw far too much attention — I know that Ganon is watching me. I am protected where I am for now, but opening a portal across time… that causes a disturbance. Requires planning. He is watching the ripples of my magic, tracking where I send you. I know he's been sending monsters after you. Preempting where the portals take you — maybe even redirecting some of them to monster nests. And when I send the dolls… that makes a direct passage from my time to yours. He can follow that. Have monsters waiting for you.

"One doll at a time is a risk enough. To open that channel long enough to send them all… no. No, there's no telling what he might do. What might happen to that world. It is far from ideal, dropping them across time, but it is the best I can do to keep him off your scent."

The Chain all exchanged glances at that. Hyrule knew what all of his brothers were thinking — why keep him off their scent? They were going to fight him anyway, why not let them at him? But then, if he truly was as fearsome as the Sage said…

Hyrule had needed to used the life dolls before. He'd needed to use them many times, both in battle against Ganon, yes, but also just against general strong, angry monsters.

Hyrule had been through too much to let his pride get the better of him. If someone said that Ganon was too strong to take the risk against now, then he knew better than to dismiss them.

He stepped forwards, nervously waving a little for attention. The Sage's eyes turned back to him and even through the swirling snow, Hyrule could see that they were a deep, warm brown. Something about this made the Sage, in all of his ceremonial finery, seem suddenly less large. Less intimidating. More like a normal person.

More like a guy, desperate and tired, asking for help.

Hyrule took a breath, forcing himself not to chew on his lip.

"Why did you send me so many?" he asked.

The Sage blinked, hand fluttering as he hesitated. "So many what?"

Hyrule tilted his head, inclining it to the three dolls still perched on the altar.

"So many dolls." he explained. "Through my journey? I must have had a dozen or more. You've saved my life so many times. I just… wondered why."

The Sage stared at him, wide eyed behind his mask. He shook his head, taking a hesitant step back.

"I— I am sorry." he said, still staring. "I have never sent any to you at all."

Hyrule felt suddenly like someone had put some of the snow down the back of his collar. That… that was impossible. The doll he still had bore the Sage's marks. It had to have been made by him. Those dolls had saved him over and over again, year after year after year.

But he just nodded. This was not their priority right now, and they only had so much time. He lifted his hands to ask something else, but was interrupted as Wind dashed forwards, saying something that Hyrule hadn't a hope of catching. He turned to Legend for help, who hurried to interpret.

"Hey, Sage!" Wind was calling. "Can you send us wherever you want? Or is it random. Can you send us home?!"

The Sage… seemed to chuckle at that. Just a little.

"I have a limited control." he allowed. "If I truly focused, I could send you anywhere, but in doing so would draw more attention to myself. I try to… send you other places too. To keep our Enemy guessing. I… am sorry for this. I… wish I knew another way. I wish I was better at this. It is all I can do."

"Huh." Wind pulled a face, dramatic as ever. Then he grinned, stretching. "I guess that's fair. Hey - can you send me to visit my grandma sometime? When you're focusing? It's my birthday in—"

Warriors grabbed his arm and gently but firmly pulled him back, but if the movement of his shoulders was anything to go by, the sage seemed to be laughing.

Hyrule wondered, suddenly, how long it had been since he last just. Hung out with people. Had a conversation. If the Hero and Princess had never grown up and all of the other Sages were dead… it must have been a lonely existence, standing alone against Ganon.

"I should go." The sage said, turning back to Hyrule. "What you have achieved here — it is a blessing. You are full of power, little ones. I am going to do something — I cannot do it again, even if you call to me. He will detect it. But right now, it should catch him off guard enough that— that it should be fine. But perhaps sometime in future, if you find somewhere sacred… you can reach out again?"

The chain frowned, but before they could ask anything the Sage turned to face the altar. He bowed, shifting a little, and then the snow thickened, entirely obscuring everything within the spring and without.

Then it ended, the snow falling to the ground and lying there and the air crisp and clear, the sky a bright, brilliant blue. The Sage was gone, and on the altar were four dolls.

Hyrule. Wild. Legend.

And Spirit.