Heroes from across time are brought together in an unknown time and place. They don’t know why they’re here, but if so many heroes are gathered together, the quest must be a difficult one, right? What kinds of bonds will they discover on their journey to find out?
This AU is unrelated to Linked Universe.
✨Meet the Links - Character Masterpost (Start here)
✨Story Masterlist (or start here)✨
My art tag
Interlink Art Masterlist
My writing tag
My ramblings
Answered asks
Ask Prompts (please send me character asks❤️)
Headcanon of the Week Archive (Masterlist)
Zelda Map Theories (Masterlist)
My refs for various aspects of the LoZ universe
👾 Zelda Enemies Spreadsheet 👾
Zelda Enemies Spreadsheet updates
My tag is #interlink au and each character is #il [character]
Please ask me questions about the characters, story, or my general LoZ headcanons! I love talking about this stuff.
Can I use your story and characters?
Yes! You are free to make fanfiction or comics as long as you credit me. No NSFW. Angst is fine. Please DO NOT ship them with each other (or Ravio, as he is an honorary Link.) They are brothers, your honor. 😌 Please tag me so I can see! I want to see it! 😍
Are you taking requests?
I am currently taking requests for GBA-style character sprites. Examples. If you would like to see one of your ocs in pixel form, please send me a picture (ideally full-body) and color palette to work with.
Character introduction post for this Links Meet here. Ao3 link to series here.
Previous | Archive | Next (or read it now on AO3)
Summary: Mouse’s Boots need a less confusing name. (Stand alone one-shot that takes place later.)
Featured characters: Everyone, but especially Vet and Mouse
Words: 1,702
-
One evening, the group’s healer was organizing some of his stuff. Mouse didn’t have much, but some items were pretty big. After pulling out small things like a candle, a fancy-looking key, and a wooden flute Cap had called a recorder, he drew a decently-sized raft from his small bag, catching the attention of half the camp. He blushed and set it aside.
“I didn’t know you were carrying such a big item in your little bag,” Gen said with a raised eyebrow.
Mouse shrugged shyly and went back to sorting through his bag. “It’s come in handy before.”
“Oh, you have Pegasus Boots, too?” Forest commented as Mouse pulled out some winged boots.
Mouse shook his head. “No, they’re just boots.”
“So the wings are just decoration?”
“No, they let me walk over water.”
“They WHAT?” Wind cried out from the other side of the camp, interrupting his conversation with Ember.
Mouse shrugged again.
“Why did you say they were just boots if they let you do something as cool as walking on water?” River asked curiously.
“They aren’t called Pegasus Boots or anything like that. They’re just boots.”
“They can’t just be boots!” Forest exclaimed.
“I can’t help what they’re called…”
Quartz leaned forward. “You mean these fancy boots that let you walk on water that I know more than one of us would be dying to have only go by the name of ‘boots’?”
“Yeah.”
Cap leaned back and crossed his legs. “We need to come up with a better name for these.”
“Yeah, calling ‘em ‘boots’ doesn’t differentiate them from yer normal boots that you always wear,” agreed Twilight.
“How about ‘Winged Boots’?” suggested Sky.
“A lot of us have winged boots that serve a completely different purpose,” Verdi replied quietly so as not to wake Mini, who was sleeping on his lap.
“Yeah, but those are called Pegasus Boots. It’s different.”
“It’s still confusing.”
Vet eyed the boots religiously. “I think we should call them Sacred Boots.”
“What makes them sacred?”
“They’re holy enough to me,” he replied with yearning.
“What about Hover Boots?” Aspect proposed.
“That name is taken,” Mask vetoed.
“Water Boots?” Ember suggested.
Vet groaned. “That’s way too boring of a name for such good boots. Do you know how useful these are?”
The engineer looked unimpressed. “You have, like, five flippers.”
“I have three pairs.”
Wind perked up again. “Can I have a pair?”
“Sure.” He grabbed a pair and tossed them in the boy’s direction. The sailor caught them with a big grin.
“I’m gonna be able to tread water forever.”
Vet opened his mouth to speak as he pulled out a second pair of flippers. Wild didn’t notice and spoke before him.
“I think they should be called ‘just boots,’” he said with a smile.
Vet glared at him. Echo laughed.
“No, we’re not calling them boots.”
“No, no, you’re missing the point!” Wind said excitedly. “He’s not saying we should just call them ‘boots,’ he’s saying we should call them ‘JUST boots.’”
“Just Boots,” Aspect said while swirling his index finger and tapping his arm. Echo watched his actions carefully.
“It started this whole…” the engineer gestured vaguely, “comedy show. It’s been very entertaining. ‘They’re just boots,’” he mimicked Mouse and laughed again. “Spectacular.”
“It reminds me of some jugglers I met,” Mask smiled. “They told the silliest jokes. ‘Did you hear about the kidnapping? The kid woke up!’ They always had a joke.”
And with that, the conversation moved away from the boots.
~ ~ ~
A few days later, the crew took a lunch break near a pristine lake.
“Hey!” Wind bounced over to Mouse. “Can I borrow the Just Boots? I really want to try them out!”
The group burst into laughter as Cap and Vet sighed.
“Guess it’s official,” Gen said. “They’re the Just Boots.”
“What are just boots?” Mini asked confusedly.
“Oh yeah, you were asleep.”
Gen explained the story to the small boy.
“What about Float Boots?” Mini suggested.
“Yes, how about Float Boots?” Cap seconded.
“Too late!” called Wind as he ran onto the water. “These Just Boots are amazing! Can I have them?”
“You just took my flippers. Why do you need these?” Vet called after him.
“I still need them. I don’t have any flippers,” Mouse replied to Wind.
“You can have my flippers in exchange for the boots. The Float Boots,” Vet suggested to Mouse.
“Just Boots!” Wind corrected. “And why do you need them if you have so many flippers?”
“You guys call me the collector for a reason, right? Come on, I’ll give you two pairs.”
“What am I gonna do with two pairs of flippers?”
“Two pairs and ten rings. No, twenty rings. I’ll let you choose which ones. With some exceptions, of course. And a magical boomerang! Please?”
Mouse’s eyes widened like saucers. Verdi shook his head, remembering his temporary roommate.
“You are a terrible haggler. Word of advice: never let them know how desperate you are. Because now he knows he can ask you for ten more rings and a slingshot and you’d at least consider—”
“Deal!” Mouse shouted with a surprising amount of force.
Vet grinned wider than any of them had seen before. “Great! Let me get that ring box. Oh, you don’t have a ring box. What are we going to put these in? They lose their effectiveness if—”
“I just want the boomerang.” Mouse grabbed the collector’s hands and then let go as soon as he realized he’d done it. “Oh, and one pair of flippers. I will need a pair to replace the boots.”
“Just Boots,” Wild said softly from afar, gaining some giggles.
“But—”
“You had me at ‘boomerang.’ I lost mine some years ago, and I really miss it. I think a bunch of rings are just in danger of being stolen, and I really don’t need two pairs of flippers. And won’t you still need a pair? The boots can’t be used everywhere.”
Vet bit his lip in consideration. “You don’t need to take anything you don’t want, but I did agree to a price. Are you sure you wouldn’t want to sell them or something?”
Mouse shook his head. “I don’t need them. And I know how important your things are to you.”
The veteran smiled softly and ruffled the shorter boy’s hair.
“But I do have one condition!” Mouse added. “Please let our pirate over there finish playing with the Just Boots?”
Vet scoffed. “Float Boots. I own them now, so I’ll name them whatever I want. And people can borrow the Float Boots whenever they want, as long as I don’t need to use them and they let me know first!” He shouted the last part loud enough for everyone to hear.
“We’ve got it! No outright thievery of your Just Boots!” Mask replied, cackling madly as the veteran tried to grab him into a headlock in revenge.
He gave up quickly so he could dig out the promised boomerang and flippers to give to Mouse. Vet made sure it was the red magical boomerang rather than his favored blue one.
Mouse held up the boomerang reverently. “My boomerang was so useful on my first adventure. I was really sad when I lost it. It got stuck in a tree when I was 11, and I couldn’t do anything about it because I was being chased. I tried to go back for it later, but I couldn’t find it. I’ve missed having a boomerang so much.” He gave the boomerang an experimental throw and caught it on the return with a grin. “This is even better than my old one. It feels weird not having something to give you in return, since the sailor is still wearing the boots.”
Echo repeated the sign he’d seen Aspect use previously. “Just Boots.”
“Sheesh. It’s ‘Float Boots.’ Like this.” Vet made a water bobbing motion with both hands and then tapped his arm.
Echo swirled his index finger exaggeratedly before tapping his arm with a raised eyebrow and determined expression. “Just Boots.”
The veteran clicked his tongue and shook his head disappointedly. “Sweet little Mini came up with this wonderful name, and nobody appreciates it.”
“Sorry, Pinky. The name already stuck,” Twilight shrugged in a mock apology.
The collector sighed and turned back to Mouse. “It’s no problem. It’ll be nice to add a new thing to my collection. I didn’t need that many flippers. And I still have three more boomerangs.”
“Mask, you don’t need a boomerang,” Cap called out before the child could say anything. “I’ve seen what you can do with those fins, Mr. Zora Hero. And I don’t think our Skyloftian has a boomerang yet.”
Mask pouted.
“W-well I do have my Beetle,” Sky said, caught off guard by suddenly being brought into the conversation. “I don’t really need…” He trailed off absentmindedly as he watched Mouse use the boomerang to carve swooping trails of cut grass and return with the occasional rupee. “Well, if the collector would allow it, maybe I could borrow one once in a while? I’m probably no good with it anyway.”
Vet smiled knowingly and grabbed a regular boomerang from his bag and held it up in preparation to throw in Sky’s direction. Sky readied himself to catch it. The boomerang sailed through the air in an easy glide, but changed directions right as Sky moved to catch it, returning to its owner.
“Hahaha, I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself.” The pink-haired man caught the boomerang. He took a few steps closer to Sky. “You should be able to catch this one. Watch yourself. It is a weapon.”
He nodded. “I’ll have to catch it when I use it anyway.”
Sky was able to catch it on Vet’s second throw and held it above his head in triumph.
“Now you’ve got the boomerang.”
“And the veteran got the Just Boots.”
“Da na na naa~” Mouse sang under his breath with a small smile. That got a few chuckles from the group.
Interlink AU: Nicknames Trilogy Part 3: Conclusion
Character introduction post for this Links Meet here. Ao3 link to series here.
Previous | Archive | Next (or read it now on AO3)
Summary: How everyone got their nicknames. Gen and Mouse get mini-stories about theirs. This story takes place later.
Featured characters: Everyone
Words: 1,064
-
It was confusing, being in a group with so many people named Link. As everyone spent more time together, some nicknames slowly began to develop.
Some came with their own nicknames: Mask, Verdi, Quartz, River, Ember, Forest, and Junior.
After “Hero Clothes Show and Tell,” people started calling some of the Links by their hero titles – specifically Twilight, Wind, and Sky. Sky was particularly easy because he'd already been known as the Skyloftian, and “Sky” was a natural shortening of it.
Wild and Mask kept calling the Faroshi “Aspect,” and while the rest of the group didn't know where the nickname had come from, it caught on nonetheless.
When Aspect's sign name for Wild was revealed, everyone started calling him that. It truly was a fitting nickname, given all the wild things he did with a casual ease that made it clear he wasn’t showing off – this was simply his way of life.
Aspect had sign names for all of them, and while most of the meanings hadn't been revealed to the group as a whole, when Aspect said “Link” while bringing his hands close together, it wasn't difficult to tell that he was referring to their youngest member’s size. He was little even for his young age of 9. He was small enough that he could pass for someone half his age in the right circumstances. While he bristled whenever someone called him “Tiny,” when someone called him “Mini,” he laughed and admitted it was a fitting nickname.
Pink Link, when he wasn't being referred to as “Pinkie” or some other reference to his hair, was often referred to as the veteran, the vet, or sometimes just Vet. While most in the group could easily classify their quests into simple numbers, like “one,” “two,” or rarely, “three,” Verdi had claimed the number of quests the pink-haired young man had been on was uncountable. Even though the pink-haired hero tried to correct the hyperbole by using terms like “hard to categorize” or “quantify,” it was clear via his air of unflappability towards their situation that he had just about seen it all. Either way, it was clear he much preferred being called “Vet” over “Pinkie.”
Mask kept calling the train boy “Engineer,” a convenient nickname even if most of the group had no real idea what that job actually involved. Still, Mask used it with a practiced ease, as if the title had belonged to the boy all along.
Likewise, Mask’s use of the title “Captain,” when referring to his quiet companion also caught on. Even Vet began to call him “Cap” on occasion, though usually with a hint of mockery.
During Wild’s session of show and tell with the heroes’ clothes, he had offhandedly referred to Vet and Aspect's sign language student as their “echo.” It was a fitting description, since even outside of their lessons, the boy tried to mimic as many of their signs as he could, practicing the motions even while others were speaking. It didn't take long for everyone to begin calling him Echo.
~ ~ ~
“Hey. Hero!” Sky called out, using the hero title tied to Wild’s copy of his clothes to try to get his attention.
Verdi’s head snapped up, and a few other heads turned hesitantly in Sky’s direction, but none of them belonged to the person he was hoping would look his way.
“The mousy hero,” he added.
A few more heads perked up, less out of response to the description and more out of curiosity. The older of the two brunette Links saw that Sky was looking at him. Despite the direct eye contact, he pointed at himself.
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“Mousy?” he questioned.
“Quiet as a mouse, small, simple clothes, mousy brown hair,” Sky counted on his fingers. “Mousy.”
“I'm not small,” the brunette protested.
“You're barely taller than the 10-year-old–”
“I'm 11,” Mask huffed.
“And you're the same height as the 13-year-old.”
Wind stood up as straight and tall as he could.
“Yeah, and it's weirding me out,” Mouse grumbled. “I’m a completely normal height – almost on the tall side. You guys are just giants!”
“Are you saying everyone in your time period is that short?” Aspect asked.
“We’re not short, we’re normal-sized,” he insisted.
“Normal-sized like a mouse among mice.” Wild nodded sagely.
“Fine. Whatever you say, Moose,” Mouse threw him an ornery grin.
“Touché,” Wild grinned widely. He was shorter than almost everyone in his time, so he gained a little pleasure in being teased as tall.
Mouse turned back to Sky.
“So, what did you want from little mousy me?”
“...I forgot.” Sky bashfully rubbed the back of his neck.
~ ~ ~
There were several occasions in which people tried to call the Hero of Men by his title, sometimes shortening it to “Men,” which the hero quickly put a stop to. Their veteran agreed.
“Do you know how stupid it sounds when someone shouts, ‘Hey, Men! Look at this!’ across camp?”
“Thank you!” the Hero of Men said.
“It gets your attention,” Echo signed with a shrug.
“Because they say that a lot in the army to gain the attention of an entire group. The captain responds to it, too.”
“Well, we can’t just say ‘Link,’ can we?”
“Surely you boys can come up with something better than ‘Men.’”
Vet seemed quietly thoughtful as the others got into a big discussion about what they could call “Men.”
“What about Yuungen?” he finally said.
“What kind of name is that?” Ember questioned.
“Sounds made up,” Wind said.
“It’s a portmanteau of ‘Hero of Men’ in Subrosian,” the Vet explained.
“What’s a portmanteau?” Mini asked.
“It’s when you mix words together to create a new one,” Quartz explained.
“What’s Subrosian?” Junior asked curiously.
“Sounds made up,” Wind added. Engineer snickered.
“It’s the language spoken in Subrosia. It’s underground, in another country, I’ve been there, don’t ask, don’t get us off topic,” Vet fired off quickly before continuing his explanation. “‘Hero of Men’ translates to ‘Ningen no Yūsha.’ So, ‘Yuungen.’”
There was a pause while everyone thought about it.
“...It sounds kind of cool,” Forest said.
“Yuuun-ghen,” Sky sounded out, stretching the word out. “It feels weird to say.”
“I like it,” said the Hero of Men.
It ended up being shortened to “Gen,” which conveniently rhymed with “Men.” The important point was that it wasn’t Men, which made it fine by the man in question.
--
Deleted scene:
“Why isn't Junior the mousy one? He's a small brunette.”
Sky looked at Mouse’s well-worn clothes. He refrained from saying Junior had a cute sweater and instead said, “He already has a name.”
--
Note: Ningen no Yūsha is the Hero of Men's Japanese title. I decided that the Subrosian language could be Japanese here. The G is pronounced like "get" instead of "general."
If the Links got put into any LoZ game but their own (for instance, Mouse is from The Legend of Zelda and The Adventure of Link, so put him in any game but those two), which ones would they handle the best with their own items, abilities, and experiences?
(Gen, Junior, and Aspect are free to sit this one out if they want on account of They Don’t Even Have Their Own Games)
~ SCP-42605
Ooh, what an interesting question! (as always <3)
I could do something like shove them all into Tri Force Heroes >:) ...buuuut I'll take the question seriously. Hm. Should I approach this like they have to go through the whole game and can get all the items that the usual Link would get? No, because you specifically mentioned what items would be useful. So are they going through the whole game but the dungeons are empty of items, or are they put at the final dungeon/boss?
I think the former would be more fun to think about, so I'll tackle it that way.
I'm going to go about this backwards, because when I tried to do it the other way, I talked way too much about which games every Link could or couldn't do.
Skyward Sword - Twilight. He's going to suffer in the heat; he has no digging tools; and he has nothing to catch his fall, but I feel like Twilight and Sky have a lot in common as far as the way their games are played. Twilight will need the skills he learned from the Shade to defeat enemies like Ghirahim, and that's why I didn't choose Wild, who could cheat his way through a lot of stuff but doesn't have the same precision needed for fighting the sword spirit. Wild could do it, but it's more Twilight's thing.
Minish Cap - I could assume that whoever does this one will have access to Ezlo to shrink. Or, I can insert the Four and their gnat cap. Alternatively, Gen and Junior could work here. The main concerns I have with the Four are the difficulty climbing Mt. Crenel and the lack of the Cane of Pacci and Gust Jar. Those three things are the biggest hurdle for everyone. Not a lot of Links have the skill to climb that kind of mountain. Wild can, and he can flip stuff over with his arm, but he doesn't have a way to suck stuff up, which was pretty necessary in this game. Junior really is the best fit here, but that's because he has most of the same stuff and skills.
Both Four Swords games - Technically, each level comes with its own items that get traded out, so pretty much anyone can do these as long as they can pull the Four Sword or get a team. I'll come back to this one.
Ocarina of Time and/or Majora's Mask - I think Wind might be best off here. His main issues are that he'll need to fight Bongo Bongo blind, and he won't be able to light all the torches at once like Din's Fire can. He's also missing the Ocarina of Time, which means he can't move the time blocks, and he's kind of screwed when it comes to Termina.
Twilight Princess - Mask, Cap, and Mouse are the only other ones currently holding a piece of the Triforce (so they don't turn into spirits in the Twilight), and Cap is probably the best equipped. But Cap is lacking very important items like the Iron Boots, Dominion Rod, Gale Boomerang, and something that lets him dive. Mask comes close, but he's lacking more items. I considered Vet and his Moon Pearl, but the Moon Pearl suppresses the effects of the Triforce, which is the opposite of what's needed here. I think Vet would become a spirit like everyone else.
Wind Waker and/or Phantom Hourglass - There's so much gliding in this game that I'm wondering if Wild is the only one who can do this. Or maybe Mini with Ezlo's help, but some of these distances might be a bit far for Ezlo. Oh! Maybe Mouse can do these! He can cheat his way around most obstacles with the fairy and fire spells. The lack of ice may be a problem, but I don't remember in what cases it's needed.
Spirit Tracks - Caught between Sky and Verdi. I'll come back to this.
A Link to the Past - Verdi. It's basically the same game as his own game. But he's gonna get stuck when it comes to the Dark World because he has no Moon Pearl. Neither do the Four Swords kids - that Moon Pearl is a huge one-time-use thing. Another problem is that the Quake Medallion is needed to access a dungeon. There are a few other concerns, but those are the main ones.
Link's Awakening - Mouse could do this one. He'd need the bow for the Eyegores, but I think he's good on the rest. Except he can't rescue Marin from the bridge in fairy form, and he doesn't have a hookshot, so that's a problem.
The Oracle games - The Four could do these as well as anyone else could. Well, it'd work better if they were combined, but that's true of many things. Any items they don't have that are necessary for these games are also items the others don't have, so it's all the same. They, or perhaps he, don't even need anything new to get through Oracle of Seasons, as long as we don't count the Rod of Seasons or the various seeds. In Ages, he would need the switch hook, seed shooter, and mermaid suit, besides the Harp of Ages. And the Cane of Somaria, but maybe he can split just for stepping on switches. Ah, but then he'd have to leave a Link behind here and there, so maybe not haha.
A Link Between Worlds - No one can do this without Ravio's bracelet. That being said, this is basically A Link to the Past all over again, so this is all Vet. The only thing I'm not sure about is the Sand Rod. Vet might be able to use the Cane of Somaria in some circumstances, but I don't remember everything the Sand Rod was needed for. Engie has a Sand Wand (which is superior to the Rod), but he's lacking in a lot of necessary elemental items.
Tri Force Heroes - I'll put this in the same category as the Four Swords games. The items are in the levels.
Echoes of Wisdom - I think anyone can handle what Link does in this game, assuming all heroes have some resistance to the effects of rifts. Wild is the most used to having to fight with whatever he can get his hands on because his swords keep breaking, but anyone could make it work.
Zelda 1 - I don't think the magical rod is necessary to complete the game, so Echo can do this one. He just needs the silver arrows. Vet has everything needed, but I'm trying to avoid assigning him and Wild to everything.
Adventure of Link - I think this game is well-suited to Wild.
Hyrule Warriors - If Marin can play this game, anyone can. That being said, the Triforce is an important part of the story, so let's let Mask take a bigger role in this game than he usually does.
Breath of the Wild and/or Tears of the Kingdom - Sky could take the battle to Calamity Ganon right away. He's well-prepared to parry Guardian lasers. He's skilled enough that he doesn't need the support of the Divine Beasts. He'd also be super ready to take the fight directly to Ganondorf in TOTK. However, our Engineer would have a blast playing around with the Zonai tech. I do not feel very confident in his ability to defeat the final bosses, but he'd be having fun the rest of the time. He and Sky can tag-team it lol.
Mini is the leftover, so he can take Four Swords/Adventures and Tri Force Heroes with Gen and Aspect. Engineer or Echo can be their fourth when needed. There are other games he could have been nominated for. I think he could do Skyward Sword and -- oh yeah, I left Spirit Tracks open-ended. Mini could do that. His main issue would be the lack of sand wand and whip. Those are pretty important. But besides that, it's a good match for him. I don't want to assign him to Echoes because that would make me sad. He's just a little kid. As is Echo, but Mini is a really little kid. He could do it, but I don't want him to.
For Tri Force Heroes, Aspect would be red Link, but between Mini and Gen, which is blue and which is green? 🤔 Okay, Gen with blue hair sounds pretty great.
A Link Between Worlds, modern-day: If there was a crime scene and the police were using forensics to paint a picture (heh) of what happened, what do you think the forensic investigation would suggest?
The DNA evidence would suggest that Link and Ravio are...
Identical twins
Identical twins, but even closer (they have the same fingerprints)
Fraternal twins/siblings
Related, but not immediate (like cousins)
A little more distantly related (2nd or 3rd cousins)
Envisioning the Colors stacked on top of each other in a trench coat (very clearly being four whole people in a trench coat btw) and just walking around like this. The one on top immediately slams his face into a doorframe and falls over, inadvertently taking everyone else down with him. Vaguely like this except they all eat crap at the end
Character introduction post for this Links Meet here. Ao3 link to series here.
Previous | Archive | Next
Summary: Wild comes clean about some clothes he has. We get some more nicknames for the Links.
Featured characters: Everyone
Words: 5,253
-
“Alright. I’ve gotta come clean,” Wild said after everyone had finished their dinner of poultry pilaf. “I have a lot of your guys’ clothes.”
“You what?” Ember asked.
“Are you digging through our bags?” Vet scowled.
“Nope! I found them. In chests and stuff.”
“Our clothes.” He raised an eyebrow.
“Yup,” Wild said, popping the ‘p’.
“No way.”
Wild pulled out a green hat and tunic with tan pants.
“This belongs to a bird-riding knight. I assume this is your uniform, Mr. Hero of the Sky?”
“It…it looks just like mine! Did the style come back around?” Sky stared at the clothes with befuddlement.
“No, I think it’s literally yours. Because the Hero of Twilight’s clothes look very lived in.” Wild pulled out another green outfit.
“Those are the ranch hand’s!”
“Is that dog hair?”
“Maybe. Or it could be cat hair. Or goat hair. I hang out with a lot of animals,” the Hero of Twilight admitted.
Quartz examined the hair. “It’s wolf hair.”
“What makes ya say that?” Twilight asked as casually as he could manage.
“It’s green, like the wolf we saw.”
“Green? Wolves aren’t green,” Twilight protested.
“This one was.”
“There’s no way that wolf was green,” said Twilight defensively.
“You must have seen a wolf like that one. The same green hair is all over you,” said River.
“No, it’s not! It’s grey! See?” He plucked a short hair from his tunic.
The Link who was learning sign language plucked a longer hair off his tunic and held it up.
“Spirits, it is kind of greenish isn’t it?” Twilight was beginning to look a bit green himself.
“Yup,” Quartz said.
Quartz compared the hair from the ranch hand’s tunic to the one he’d plucked off of the tunic Wild had. “They’re the same.”
“Hero of Twilight? That’s a pretty fancy title,” the Hero of Men said, directing the conversation back to what Wild had called the clothing set.
Twilight recovered from his identity crisis.
“It does sound pretty cool, doesn’t it?” he said. “Where’d’ya take that from?”
“It was attached to the outfit. Since the outfit is yours, it must be your title,” Wild said.
“How d’you even have this?”
“Honestly? I don’t know. I just keep finding them. Fight stuff, open a chest, another green outfit. You guys really like green, huh?”
“It technically belonged to the hero before me. Or so I was told. I haven’t seen any of you wearing this exact style,” said Twilight, looking around the group.
No one came forward to say they had the outfit, so Wild supposed it was either a legend or it hadn’t happened yet.
“How many of these do you have?” asked Junior.
“Seven green outfits and some miscellaneous stuff.”
“Who else, who else?” the sailor asked excitedly. “Do you have one for me?”
Wild pulled out a blue shirt. The sailor snatched it up.
“Ooh! What’d they call it?”
“The island lobster shirt.”
The sailor paused in his excitement and gave Wild a disappointed look.
“You have the Hero of the Sky and the Hero of Twilight, but I get the island lobster shirt?”
“I didn’t come up with the name!” Wild said defensively.
“And it’s just a shirt? Not a whole outfit? Where do I send my complaints?” the sailor grouched.
“Well, there might be something else. I’ve seen the same style on several other Links but not you, so I’m not sure, but this one belonged to the Hero of Winds who travelled the Great Sea.”
“That’s me!” the sailor said as Wild pulled out another green outfit.
“You have a recruit uniform, too?” asked Engineer.
“A what?” said Wind.
“It’s what the guards in training wear.”
“In training? It’s not even the outfit real guards wear?!” Wind looked distraught. “Why?”
“I dunno.” Engineer shrugged. “That’s been the uniform for as long as I can remember. I suppose someone in charge made the decision.”
Wind’s face scrunched up in distaste.
“I’ll bet it was Tetra. She would definitely pull something like this.” His face screwed up even more. “It’s still weird to think about her bossing around more people than just a ship’s crew. Although she is really good at bossing people around. I suppose it’s more weird to think about so many people listening to her.” Wind blinked. “Wait, are you a guard? I thought you were an engineer.”
“I’m not, but Zelda gave me a uniform so I could sneak around the castle without looking too suspicious.”
“Do the trainees tend to wander around the castle looking as confused as you always look?” the Vet asked with an amused smirk.
“Probably,” the engineer admitted.
“I wonder why the outfit our cook has is specifically the sailor’s instead of Forest’s, the engineer’s, or the little guy’s?” Quartz questioned.
“Yeah, and that’s the color that I wear, I mean, that Link wears when he’s not using the Four Sword,” added River.
“It could kind of be your guys’ in a way,” said Wind. “My grandma gave them to me to wear when I turned 12. It’s tradition on my island to wear them in honor of the Hero of Time. Is that either of you guys?”
“I’ve never time-traveled,” the tiniest Link* said. “Oh! Until now, I guess.”
Forest hummed. “I suppose it’s possible it could be one of us. But I’ve never heard anyone call us that.”
Mask looked entertained by the discussion.
“Speaking of the Hero of Time, these clothes are supposed to belong to him.” Wild took out another set of green clothes. The tunic had a distinct collar.
The group looked over them with interest.
“The tunic looks kind of like Mask’s,” Cap said.
“That’s what I thought, but there are these pants and the undershirt,” Wild said, referring to a white pair of trousers.
“And the gloves,” Verdi added.
“But the baldric matches,” Vet pointed out.
“Maybe he’ll wear it when he grows up,” suggested Sky.
River turned to the child in question. “What do you think, Mask?”
Mask managed to wear a confused expression, which wasn’t as hard as it seemed, considering he genuinely was confused to see the exact same clothes he’d left behind in a different age sitting right before him.
“I don’t know. I haven’t done anything to be remembered.” It was only a partial lie. All of his accomplishments happened in other times or worlds.
Cap didn’t know why the kid was being cagey. In the past, Mask hadn’t been quiet about his previous accomplishments. He had never referred to himself as the Hero of Time, but he had extensive experience with time travel. It was crazy to think of this little imp of a child as the famous Hero of Time, but Cap didn't doubt it. He didn’t know what kind of game Mask was playing, but he decided to let him play it.
“Anyways,” the child continued, “all the other clothes so far have been from adventures you guys have already been on, right? I don't know about you, but I don't think those pants will even begin to fit me for another few years.”
There were some chuckles at that.
“Watch it be mine,” Vet said sardonically.
“What makes you say that?”
“Because things keep happening to me,” he replied pointedly, hand sweeping out in a gesture towards the situation in general.
“‘Keep happening’, huh? How many adventures have you been on?” Twilight asked curiously.
“Too many to count,” Verdi cut in.
“I never said that. I said I didn’t know which ones to count, or how to count them,” Vet corrected.
“Either way, he’s a total veteran among us,” Verdi said. Vet shrugged noncommittally.
“I guess there's no way of knowing who the clothes belong to for sure,” the Hero of Men said.
“What else do you have in there?” Mask prompted.
Wild pulled out two more tunics. They were both green and very similar in style. Both had brown undertunics, though the necklines were different. The main difference between the two was that one came with proper trousers and the other had… very short shorts.
“I'm uncertain about these.” He pointed to the one with the higher neckline and virtually no pants. “This one doesn't have much of a description with it. It doesn't really come with a specific hero title, either. Just ‘Hero.’ Quite a few of you share a similar style. The other one looks like Vet and Aspect’s little echo.” Wild gestured to the two’s sign language student. “Have you been to a mysterious island?”
The so-called “echo” in question was watching Vet sign the words Wild was saying. Vet’s hands hesitated almost imperceptibly over “mysterious island.”
Echo used the fingerspelling he'd been taught to double-check which signs were used for which words. Then he faced Wild and began to sign as best he could. Vet translated.
“‘Mysterious’ island, no. Small island in small sea—”
Echo shook his head at the translation and fingerspelled “lake.”
“Ah, ‘lake’ is ‘water’,” Vet tapped his chin with three fingers, “and then you do this.” He made a gesture that appeared to section off an area, then looked to Aspect for confirmation, who nodded before modeling an alternate way of saying it.
“Either,” Aspect simultaneously signed and spoke.
Echo nodded and resumed.
“Small island in a lake, yes, but not mysterious.”
“Hm. The clothes match, so maybe it hasn't happened yet?”
“Or it's someone else entirely. It seems to be a pretty common look around here. And if this hero… What are they called?” Verdi asked.
“Awakening. The Hero of Awakening.”
“If the Hero of Awakening is anything like me, they might have switched up their look. It could very well be me, although I'm not familiar with that title, and I haven't had any island adventures yet. It does look similar to an outfit I have.”
Vet stayed quiet aside from signing the conversation for Echo. He hoped it wasn’t referring to him. He'd given up on wearing pants by the time he left Labrynna anyway. He was surely remembered for some other deed, like saving entire countries, not for waking a dreaming deity.
“I guess that would go for the other one, too.” Gen said, gesturing to the second tunic.
“Did they come with hats?” Ember asked.
Wild rubbed the back of his neck. “Yes, and… sort of? One hat has a yellow band and the other uh… kind of has a hat with a green band.”
“ Kind of has a hat with a green band?”
“...You know what? It doesn’t matter. It has a green hat with a green band.”
Ember eyed him suspiciously.
The group’s little mousy brunette had picked up the tunic that didn’t come with proper trousers while the others were talking.
“This looks a lot like what I wore when I was ten,” he said.
“Really?”
Mouse turned the tunic this way and that.
“Yeah,” he affirmed.
“What was the name attached to that one again?” Forest asked.
“Just ‘the Hero’,” Wild replied.
“Huh. That really is nondescript, isn’t it?”
Mouse handed the tunic back without comment, not seeming to have any opinion on the matter.
“There's one more,” Wild said, taking out his last green hero outfit. It, too, had a brown undertunic, but the sleeves were three-quarter length and had a simple design bordering the hem. It came with shorts that looked like they’d reach mid-thigh. “This belongs to the Hero of the Wild. It seems his whole thing was traveling the wilderness.”
Aspect silently noted with a touch of humor that the hero title matched his sign name for Wild, though he thought the clothes’ particular shade of green clashed with Wild’s Sheikah-tech blue eyes.
Nobody in the group could claim it. Sky said the shirt’s pattern wouldn't be out of place in Skyloft, but the only one he knew who really wore shorts was a man who spent all day pedaling to keep his airship aloft. Plus, he already had an outfit.
That sparked a discussion of the styles of their eras. Wind’s time mostly stuck to regular stripes if there was a pattern. Mask said that his time had more patterns, but he otherwise disowned the Hero of the Wild’s outfit entirely. Twilight admitted that he didn't know much about the fashion of greater Hyrule in his time, though it didn't matter since he already had an outfit. The pattern reminded Engineer a bit of the Lokomo people, but there were no Lokomo in their group. No one else claimed familiarity.
Wild was surprised that no one was familiar with it, since the pattern was rather common in his time.
“Maybe it's yours,” Verdi suggested.
“It would be fitting, considering what Link here calls you,” Vet used Aspect's sign name as he spoke and gestured to the man in question, who stiffened when everyone's attention turned to him.
“What do you mean? He just calls him Link,” Forest asked.
“Yeah, but his sign name is…” Vet paused as he swirled both hands next to his head with three fingers – “W” – which he switched to the thumb and index fingers partway through – “L” – before finishing his sentence, “Wild.”
“I was wondering if it meant something like that.” Wild scratched the back of his neck.
“I-I mean, can you blame me?” Both Aspect's mouth and hands stuttered. “My first view of him was shooting fire arrows to somehow create enough air to sail far above the tree line! Shooting while free-falling! He was meters and meters in the air! What were you shooting at?”
“Spicy peppers.”
“You can shoot a pepper in mid-air?! With a fire arrow?! ” Wind exclaimed.
“You've gotta show us!” Ember urged excitedly.
“What does he mean by ‘create enough air to sail above the trees?’” Quartz wondered.
Wild’s hand returned to rubbing the back of his neck.
“I’ll show you later. I think we’ve had enough show and tell.” He began returning all the clothes to the slate.
“You’re keeping our clothes?” Sky questioned.
“You already have clothes! I worked hard to get these!” Wild said adamantly.
“I still can’t believe he has this stuff,” Wind said.
“Where did you say you got these again?” Twilight asked.
Wild considered the question for a moment. “Have any of you ever heard of a place called the Depths?”
There were headshakes all around, though some looked thoughtful.
“Well, that’s where I found them.”
“Wha– You can’t just leave it there!” Wind protested. “What are the Depths?”
Wild wordlessly denied answering the question with his usual blank-eyed stare.
“Come on, you have to tell us!”
Wild finished putting away “his” things and walked off without another word, though he did throw a wink and a small smile at Wind.
“Well, that’s one way to end a conversation,” the Hero of Men remarked.
“I’ve noticed he does that,” Aspect said. “When he’s done with the talking, he just…exits.” He drew one hand from his other as he signed the final word.
“I wish I’d known that was an option a long time ago. There was this one chatty owl…” Mask sighed.
“You, too, huh?” Vet said.
And with that, the conversation moved to people they’d met who were fond of long monologues.
As a followup to this, this means that the Four can look at Vet and keep wondering why he looks so familiar...
Hm....
I haven't yet decided on what, exactly, Vet fought in the Palace of the Four Sword (like whether the Darks looked like Vet or the Four), but it does make for a neat parallel, eh?
Another bonus is that the quartet gets to be added to the "adventures of questionable reality club".
Four Swords screenshots taken from Zeldudes on YouTube (see linked post)
In many 2D Zelda games, Link can tap on walls with his sword, which makes different noises depending on whether you can bomb the wall to create an opening.
River is the demo-man of the four, so he's always looking for bombable walls.
Not to say other Links don't do it too, but he's borderline annoying about it. While Vet, for example, mostly taps areas that are suspicious, River just...does it. The bombable walls in the Four Swords games seem more random than in many other games, and aren't uncommon to find outside, so: lots of tapping in hopes of finding hidden chests and rupees.
Meanwhile, Mouse just has a sense for bombable walls and hidden entrances.
On the other side of the same coin (3D games), Mask occasionally whips out the Lens of Truth to look for fake walls - as in, walls that aren't walls at all.
Once more, Mouse just has a sense for finding those. It's a bit uncanny.
Meanwhile, Wild is Ascending to other floors to loot treasure before the others can find keys, the cheater.
While trying to decide what to do with Fi/Master sword in the avatar AU, I found out that not only is it possible for Four to acquire the MS in Four Swords anniversary edition, but that it can be done by completing three stages that all take place in different games (alttp, la and original loz)
So the little shit had traveled through eras already and didn't say anything
