The fever had come on slowly over the course of the day, starting with muscle aches that Twilight had written off as tiredness, then chills that had him shivering despite a cloak thrown over his pelt, and finally a sick, tired feeling that finally forced him to admit to the others that something was really wrong. Hyrule had identified the fever immediately and they had decided that the best thing to do was to camp and let him rest a while.
It was a good choice. Now, only an hour later, he lay shivering under his pelt and most of the blankets the group had, aching from head to foot, feeling too weak to even raise a hand. One of the others was always with him, helping to adjust blankets when he needed it and giving him water, but as time drifted by he could no longer tell who it was, only conscious of a blurred impression of fair skin, blue eyes, and blond hair, even the colors of their clothes lost in the swirling mess of their surroundings. He knew they were speaking to him, but he couldn't hold the words in his mind even long enough to understand them. From time to time he heard one of his names and clung to it: Twilight. Pup. Twi. Link. Rancher. But he couldn't make out anything else as he sank into the mud under him, burningly cold, sending freezing flames through his body with every breath. He tried to struggle, tried to pull himself out, tried to grasp at whichever of his brothers was with him, but he didn't know if he was actually moving. Nothing seemed to change. Nobody pulled him out of the mud.
He blinked, trying to focus. His voice was dead. His throat was dry. Cold, slimy mud seeped between his lips and he tried to spit it out, tried to call for help, but nothing happened. They were right there. They were right there.
Why weren't they helping him? Why had they left him here?
You know why.
The voice was so clear he tried to look round. It sounded familiar. He couldn't tell who it was.
You know what's happening.
It hurt. Twilight whimpered. He was so cold.
They don't care about you. They never did. You're too sick now. Too much trouble.
"No…" Twilight tried to draw his sword. This was an enemy. It was lying to him. He'd faced things like this before.
Then where are they?
He surfaced from the mud, but he still couldn't move. He thought he could see Sky, but his face was wrong. Twilight cringed away instinctively. Sky smiled. He had too many teeth and suddenly he was too close and he opened his mouth and screamed…
Everything went dark again. Images twisted in the darkness like flames. Anger in Time's eye. Legend shouting at him, his face warping into Wild's, twisted in grief, into Four's terrified cry the first time he'd seen Twilight's wolf form, before he'd realized who he was. But this time there was no change to curiosity and acceptance; Four drew a sword made of blood out of his own arm and stabbed at him and then it was dark again except for the swirl of noise.
Twilight cried out, clamping his hands over his ears, but it made no difference. He tried to scream, tried to call his brothers for help, but he didn't know if he was making any sound and nothing changed.
They're not coming. Why would they? You can't help them. They've left. Like she left.
"No…"
As soon as you'd fulfilled your purpose, she left.
"No!" He struggled, trying to claw his way back to the surface.
They'll leave too. They don't care. None of them care.
Twilight tried to scream but no sound came out. He clawed at the air. He tried to thrash at the void in which he hung, helpless, alone.
Then light and sound crashed back, agonizing for a moment. He blinked. He couldn't focus his eyes. The world seemed to swim and twist around him, but he knew something was looming over him, too close. With a stab of terror he thought of the monstrous vision of Sky. He raised a hand to push it away, but suddenly it was out of reach and his hand was encased in ice.
"Pup?"
That was Time. At last. He could trust Time.
"Time, it… it hurts…" mumbled Twilight, pulling at his freezing hand. "Help…"
Time said something, but Twilight couldn't make out his words. The swirling colors congealed and he realized the thing hovering in front of him was Time's face.
"Time… please… make it stop…"
"It's OK, Pup." His hand was released, but instead there was ice on his head, so cold it felt like blades. He cried out, his voice sounding thin and warbling in his own ears. Why wasn't Time stopping this? Why…
He doesn't care.
"No, that's not true…" he mumbled, holding onto that knowledge with all his strength. "That's not true…"
But as the icy knives drilled into his brain and his limbs burned and his mouth filled with slime and Time did nothing to help him, he began to wonder.
~~~
"He's not getting better, is he?" asked Four, a note of panic in his voice as he brought over another pot of cold water. Time dipped his bowl into it and tried to pour a little into Twilight's mouth, but the rancher turned his head away with another cry, once again mumbling, "Tha's n't… true…"
"No," said Time in answer to Four's question. "He recognized me a moment ago, but I don't think he knows what's happening any more."
Wild darted up to Time's side, pale and wild-eyed, holding a bowl of steaming potion. Even though Time hesitated to give Twilight anything hot, he took it without question and started trying to coax that between Twilight's lips instead of the water. When it came to his elixirs, Wild knew exactly what he was doing.
"What is that?" asked Four, replacing the damp cloth on Twilight's forehead with a fresh one.
"Chilly elixir," said Wild. "I've used it for heatstroke before; it should help bring his fever down."
Twilight coughed and Time quickly pulled the elixir away, afraid he was choking, but if there was anything in his airway he cleared it without too much trouble. Despite that, when Time tried to give him more he struggled. Tears were beading in his eyelashes.
"Time… help me…please… "
"I'm trying to help you, Pup," Time told him yet again. "You need to drink this. Wild made it. It'll make you feel better." He tipped the bowl back to Twilight's lips. Twilight accepted a sip, coughed again, and whimpered.
"Why…"
"It'll help. I promise, it'll help."
"No… please…"
Time gritted his teeth and hardened his heart. "Twilight, you have to drink this. It'll help."
Gradually, the whole elixir went down despite Twilight's pleas and struggles. Slowly, his temperature dropped and he drifted into sleep, though he was still stirring and mumbling from time to time.
Wild came and crouched beside Time, holding another bowl of potion. Time reached out and gently patted his shoulder, but couldn't think of anything to say to comfort him.
"We'll give him more when he wakes up," he said at last.
Wild nodded, biting his lip. "He… didn’t know who we were."
"Or at least he couldn't understand what we were doing. That can happen. If we can keep his fever down it'll help."
Twilight twitched with another desperate, pitiful noise. Wild looked stricken, the potion shaking in his hand, and Time gently took it.
"We'll be here when he wakes up," he said and pressed Wild's shoulder again. "Even if he doesn't know what we're doing."
Wild took a deep breath, but nodded, squaring his shoulders. "OK."
Twice more in the night, Twilight drifted into something approaching consciousness and they made him drink water and more potion, Time once again hardening his heart against his increasingly desperate pleas. He had no idea what the young man thought was happening, but he was clearly terrified. Beside him, Wild had tears in his eyes, trembling as he visibly resisted the instinct to shove Time away from his mentor. The second time Time had to call Warriors over to hold Twilight down and Sky sensibly came to hover by Wild, ready in case he too needed to be restrained.
Shortly before dawn, Twilight suddenly heaved a sigh and went limp. Time's heart skipped a beat and he hardly heard the reactions of the others as he rested a trembling hand on Twilight's chest, over his sweat-drenched shirt.
His ribs still rose and fell. His heart still beat.
Wild dodged round him and laid a hand on Twilight's forehead.
"He's not so hot," he said hoarsely.
"The fever's broken?" asked Sky.
As if in answer, Twilight's eyes drifted open.
"T-Time?" he rasped.
Time smiled at him. "I'm here. We all are."
Twilight swallowed hard and Time offered him some more water. This time he drank keenly, almost desperately.
"You… You won't leave me?" he asked when Time took it away again, his voice thin and desperate. "You won't leave me…"
Time shook his head. "No. It's all right. We've been here the whole time."
Twilight made a complicated series of expressions, but eventually said, "I thought you… it hurt. It hurt and I thought…"
"You didn't think we were hurting you, did you?" blurted Wild. Sky put an arm gently around his shoulders.
Twilight's breath caught and Time felt like a hand had squeezed his heart. Gently, he set the water to Twilight's lips again and let him drink. When he was done, he laid a hand on his brow and looked into his eyes as he murmured, "Twilight, you're safe with us. I promise. We'll never hurt you and never abandon you when you need us. Do you understand?"
Twilight looked up at him for a moment, then his face crumpled in a sob and Time gently pulled him close to let him cry into his chest, extending his other hand towards Wild, who dived into the embrace, hugging Twilight close. Time sighed, bowing his head over the both of them, just glad that the night's ordeal was finally over.
