Bridges on the River of Time
My firsts time writing for Linked Universe, I hope everyone enjoys! Also posted to AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/41992674
Inspired by @catreginae‘s post:
https://www.tumblr.com/catreginae/694608995298721792/another-lu-idea-that-i-might-not-write-because?source=share
*Note: [***] is used for sign language
There was a dull roar of cheers spreading across a blood stained battlefield as sunlight broke through the previously overcast sky. The final remnants of the enemy scattered and fading as the soldiers began to celebrate; the sorceress had been defeated and so had Ganon, leaving none to command the evil forces. Zelda, Lana, and Link stood at the epicenter of the ended battle, the Captain still tightly clutching the Master Sword. The princess stepped to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder, a bright smile on her lips that twisted into an expression of horror as the hero collapsed.
Small but hurried steps rushed across the field, bright yellow rabbit ears poking into the air and blue cloth fluttering behind him as the younger hero pushed through, spurred on by something twisting inside him. The canvas entry was thrown aside as he burst into the medical tent, immediately met by the never-ending rush of medics as they tended to the wounded. Toward the back of the tent was a curtained off area that usually had at least one guard posted at the entrance, but the area was now occupied by the Princess herself, normally calm and composed, now wringing her hands worriedly as she paced the small area.
She looked up as one of the doctors scolded the green clad boy for running, but he didn’t stop until he was caught by the blonde woman, mutely trying to wiggle free from her hold.
“Calm down Mask, the medics are still working, Link will be alright.” Her tone sounded less reassuring than she had probably hoped, but the younger did stop his struggling and seemed to slump in defeat a little, the little rabbit face down-turned. The woman sighed lightly, pulling him closer as she sat in the chair someone had placed for her.
The younger hero watched the closed curtain closely, hearing the voices behind it and their movements but none emerged for a long while. Zelda had slowly loosened her grip as she fell into an exhausted sleep, and now that he was sitting on her lap, the younger didn’t dare move for risk of waking her. She, the Captain, Impa, and many of the higher ranking soldiers had been pushed to the brink over the last week, planning the final surge against Ganondorf and Cia. Though his body didn’t remember the grueling journey to bring down the King of Evil in his own time, his mind certainly did, and she deserves every bit of rest she could get.
Finally after what felt like hours one of the healers emerged, stopping short at the sight of the two and shuddered despite the mask covering the hero’s intense stare. He also couldn’t see the younger pale at the sight of the blood covering his hands and uniform, but the spike of anxiety in the boy lessened as he smiled slightly,
“The Captain’s exhausted and heavily injured, but we hope he will make a full recovery with time. You’re free to enter once the other two finish up.” Mask nodded as relief washed through him, relaxing visibly as the medic returned to his duties. Zelda must have felt his slight shift and jolted slightly, eyes flying open and searching around before the yellow mask popped into her vision, hands gesturing slowly for her to calm down.
“Oh! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep, have the healers said anything?”
[They said he’s exhausted and hurt, but should recover. We can enter when the other two leave.] The Princess slumped just as he had at the news, smiling lightly.
“That’s good to hear,” she paused and chuckled at her unintended joke, “thank you.” They sat in silence for a little while longer until the healers exited, one pausing to hold the entry open for the Princess and young hero who rushed forward, slowing at the sight of Link covered in thick bandages and bruises, laying pale and almost lifeless on the cot, dark shadows under his closed eyes.
“It will take time for him to heal,” the woman’s soft voice spoke from where she still hovered, “it’s impossible to tell how long it will take for him to wake though, if at all.” Zelda spun around, eyes wide in concern and confusion,
“What do you mean?”
The medic sighed and let the curtain slip closed, taking a few steps toward them, “His injuries are severe, some show early signs of infection; we’ve done what we can for now, but if the infections worsen or spread, I don’t know if he’ll have the strength to fight through them.” Mask barely heard the sharp gasp from the Princess, feeling a heavy weight settle in his stomach as he gasped the Captain’s hand, head spinning with racing thoughts he desperately tried to push away. The hero was going to be fine, he had to be. After everything he had done, everything he had sacrificed, the goddesses wouldn’t be so cruel as to let him slip away before he could see the bright future he had fought so hard for. Would they?
The younger Link bit his lip and for the first time in days slipped the mask off, laying it on a nearby table and carefully climbed onto the bed, settling against the older’s side, being mindful of the bandages the wounds beneath them. He had spent so many nights like this when he had first come to this war-ravaged Hyrule, confused and even a little afraid of what possible trial he had been set to face. He had confided in the Captain in hushed whispers his own path against darkness, and later on admitted the fears he now harbored about his future. Link had expressed his understanding. He knew of that with the courage and strength of the Hero’s Spirit came a cruel burden of duty and expectations. The soldier also shared some of his own trepidation with the younger, about what things would be like once the war ended, and together they had explored the realm of possibilities that lay before him. Continuing as a knight or leaving to find a village and build a home, learn how to forge or raise animals, maybe start a small shop or just travel.
The captain had been the first to call him ‘brother’ and in the seconds of overwhelming silence from the younger he had immediately apologized, but stopped short when the boy snagged his long scarf and quietly admitted that he didn’t mind. His mask had hid the redness in his face but not his ears as he fought back emotional tears of elation. The smile on Link’s face was the brightest he had ever seen, second only to when the younger had found a long piece of the hero’s scarf cut free after a battle and wound it around his own neck with the intent to return it so it could be mended, only for the Captain to insist it he keep it with an enthusiastic ‘We match now!’.
“Please,” he played quietly into the hero’s side, the heat of his tears burning down his cheek as his voice crumbled with emotion “please, don’t take my big brother away.”
***
Mask wasn’t sure when he had fallen asleep, but his concern of the time was overshadowed by an immense sensation of wrongness. He quickly sat up, feeling unusually warm only to realize that it was coming from the body beside him and reached toward the older, quickly retracting his hand at the touch of raw heat radiating from his forehead. He looked around frantically, finding the only light to be that of the dawn outside with no sign of Proxy and his panic mounted. The Princess was fast asleep on a cot on the other side of the space and the younger took a deep breath,
“Zelda!” She was up in a second, reaching for a blade that wasn’t there for a moment before she realized where she was and snapped toward the heroes in surprise. The woman looked elated at hearing his voice for the first time but the look swiftly shifted to concern when she saw his face. Her gaze shifted to Link as she rushed toward them, feeling the same intense warmth he had, and raced out without a word. Mask removed himself from the cot and had replaced the yellow wood over his face when several healers came in, immediately crowding around the soldier and forcing the Princess and young hero out.
Again they were forced to wait in tense silence, shaking as tension heightened around them. The commotion inside died down slightly after a while, but still only one or two healers emerged before returning again.
"Princess." Lana's voice cut through the silent atmosphere around them and Zelda's attention snapped to the white sorceress, the magic user shuffling awkwardly, "I need to speak with you, and you as well, Mask." The youngest obliged reluctantly, dragging his steps to follow the women out as he cast one last glance toward the curtain before the closing canvas entrance obscured his view. The previous evening's cheer had dulled down some, both with the news of the Captain's state and many passing out drunk as the night wore on, but there were still a considerable number of soldiers still mulling around and watching as the three headed out of the camp's main area.
The other heroes that had been summoned to help end the war were gathered around a small clearing situated not far into a surprisingly untouched grove of trees. Mask felt his gut twist as his nervousness doubled, seeing the downcast looks on the faces of the people around him. Ruto and Darunia tried smiling when they noticed him, but it didn't reach their eyes and left the younger feeling even worse. Lana cleared her throat from her place a few paces away and everyone turned to her,
"I suppose you can all guess why I've gathered you. I'm afraid it's time to return you to your homes." The air seemed to get heavier as heads bowed, it was obviously in the way some fists or jaws clenched that they wanted to object, but everyone could see the exhausted shadows under the young girl's eyes. Zelda took a breath, opening her mouth to speak, but was stopped by Mask stepping forward and shaking his head rapidly, so quick she was surprised the wood rabbit didn't fly off. Her heart ached fiercely for the young hero, anyone and everyone had seen how close he and the Captain had grown over the last few months.
"I'm sorry Mask, I don't have enough magic power to keep you here any longer." She blinked as the boy rushed up to her, riffling through his tunic until he stopped in front of her, holding out a bottle filled with shimmering green liquid. Lana lowered herself to her knees so that she was at eye level with Mask, gently pushing the potion back towards him as she slowly shook her head,
“Your homes are pulling you back, no potion that exists would give me enough power to stop it.” she explained softly, heart throbbing as his shoulders slumped and tears began falling from the bottom edge of the mask, “I wish more than anything it didn’t have to end this way,” the girl continued, lavender eyes blurring as she fought back her own emotions,
“I pray that if we ever meet again, it will be under happier circumstances than we parted.” With a sharp tug the hero felt himself yanked backwards, falling to the ground with a surprised cry, when he managed to sit up, he found the Deku Sprout gazing down at him in confusion and relief. The seedling’s expression shifted again, this time to concern, as Link tore away his mask and threw himself against the guardian, sobbing loudly. The Sprout didn’t speak, having no words to comfort a pain he couldn’t understand, he let the boy cry.
*****
“Hey, I know we’ve only known each other for a week, but does the Old Man seem a little off to you lately?” Twilight tilted his head in contemplation of Legend’s inquiry, casting a glace at where the Hero of Time walked several paces ahead with Wind bouncing around him, no doubt in the middle of a grand retelling of one of his adventures.
“I thought it was just my imagination,” the taller replied lowly, “but if you’ve noticed too, then there might be something.” The veteran’s brows furrowed slightly but he remained silent, also staring at the knight ahead. It had been exactly nine days since the group of heroes had come together, someone appearing each day until there were eight of them now traveling through the woods. They had yet to meet anymore Links for the past day and a half and had assumed that they were all that would appear. Since that time, the oldest among them had seemed to withdraw just the smallest bit, a distance barely perceivable with how little they all knew of each other.
The sun was settling just on the edge of the horizon when they stumbled across a decent enough place to camp for the night, Wild managing to have fallen though the barrier of brush around the clearing when he lept at a particularly shiny beetle in an attempt to catch it. Twilight would have found it amusing but was far too engrossed in thought, trying to figure a way to approach the stoic leader of the group, especially when it became more and more obvious how distracted he was. Once everyone had settle for the night, the rancher took a deep breath to steady himself before moving to sit beside the older hero.
“You should rest.” Time stated, glancing at him with a cocked brow, silently inviting him to speak.
“I will, I just wanted to see if you were alright first.” The man’s look shifted to confusion as he turned to the fire,
“I’m perfectly fine, what makes you think otherwise?”
“You tripped on three different roots before we made camp. And you didn’t notice when Wind took your rupee pouch.” Twilight almost chuckled as the older’s eye went wide, hand snapping to his belt only to find that the rough leather pouch was indeed missing. He looked ready to march toward the sailor when the other hero lifted his hand, holding out the item with a smirk. Time took it back with an exasperated sigh and tied it back in place before slumping just slightly.
“So, what has the Hero of Time so lost in his head?” His voice was soft and low as he grabbing a nearby branch to stroke the fire, patiently waiting in silence only to frown as the older shook his head,
“It’s nothing, just memories.”
“No offense, but ‘nothing’ wouldn’t have you so distracted.” Another period of quiet followed his comment and he fought to keep the disappointment inside him from showing as the knight drew himself up, expression blank and still as he folded his arms across his chest.
“It’s nothing to concern yourself with, go get some sleep.” Twilight bit his lip, tempted to argue but let out a sigh and relented, knowing all to well that pushing would get him no where. As he laid in his bedroll he couldn’t see the expression on Time’s face fall, he didn’t see the knight pull a long length of bright blue fabric from his bag and press it to his chest, he didn't see it darkening in several spot from falling tears.
***
Morning came with a clouded sky, thunder rumbling in the distance that had the group moving just a bit faster than usual, no one enjoyed the thought of getting caught in the rain, except for Wild but everyone knew that would only last until lightening was added to the mix. So they ate a quick meal and packed up, starting on their way with the hope of finding the end of the forest and hopefully a town or village.
A few hours of idle chatter filled their walk before Time stopped suddenly, motioning for them to halt as well. Tension coiled through each hero and they reached for their respective weapons, eyes scanning the dense trees. The entire area seemed to explode into motion at once as several stalfos burst through the foliage around them, but the warriors were seasoned and reacted in an instant to deflect the attacks and retaliate.
Time’s claymore lashed out with surprising speed, completely shattering the rusted sword of his opponent was well as several of its ribs before it was pierced through the skull. The hero was turning to check on the others before the monster’s dust could touch his boots, assessing the small battles that were ending quickly. Thankfully it appeared that these were not cursed like the enemies from the day before. Still, there was a tension lingering around them, an ominous cloud invisible to their eyes. Not far from him, Sky stiffened and turned to him, apprehension clear in his voice,
“Where’s Wind?” The rest snapped their attention to the Skyloftian and Time clenched his jaw tightly. He was about to open it again to tell them to pair up and fan out to search when a familiar shriek of metal colliding with metal rang out, not far from them, followed by the Sailor’s voice echoing expletives through the trees. Pushing aside the youngest’s language, for now, they took off toward the sound. Wild and Twilight took the lead quickly, Four, Legend, and Hyrule close behind trailed by Sky and Time. The treeline suddenly thinned and cleared, emptying them into a small field where a heavy roar split the air. All eyes were immediately drawn to the large moblin in front of them as it hefted a massive club into the air above the blue clothed young Link.
“Wild! ” Time’s command wasn’t needed as the other already had his bow drawn back, explosive arrow knocked and flying true. It exploded in the creature’s face the same moment something seemed to impact against its back in a viscous upward strike that carried it above the monster then back down in a streak of green and bright blue, stabbing a gleaming blade almost to the hilt before launching off again. The moblin collapsed heavily seconds after the green clad swordsman had landed between it and Wind, taking a defensive stance that slightly relaxed as the monster started disintegrating.
The new hero sheathed his sword and turned to the younger, offering a hand that was taken after a moment. Once Wind was on his feet, the majority of the others were already rushing toward them, Four barreling straight into the sailor and making the new comer jump in surprise at his sudden appearance,
“You dolt I told you to stay right beside me!” The colorful warrior chided without any bite to his words as he clung to the shorter boy.
“S-sorry,” Wind stammered, “that black Lizalfos tried to drag me away before the moblin decided it would rather just squash me.” At the mention of the moblin, he perked up and turned to face the unknown hero, “Thank you by the way, that was an incredible move you did.”
[No problem, thank you.] He replied with slow motions, unsure if they would understand his sign, but continued at the bright smile and nod he received from the smaller while Four watched curiously, [Are you alright?]
“A few scratches, but nothing worth a potion.” The Sailor rounded suddenly with a pointed look to where Sky had reached them, red potion already in hand that he sheepishly stuck back into his bag. Behind the knight, Twilight huffed in amusement, ignoring the halfhearted dry stare that it got him, and stopped behind Wind to look him over for a moment before meeting the man’s eye,
“Well, we were almost sure no other Hero’s would be joining us but better late than never I suppose.” A confused brow rose and before Twilight could continue, Wild popped up beside him with an excited grin,
“This makes nine of us in total! ‘Us’ being Chosen Heroes, Champions of the Goddess, etcetera. I’m Wild, it’s nice to meet you! Well technically my name is Link but so is everyone else’s.” The hero’s eyes widened just a little in realization as he looked over them all with a small grin,
[Nice to meet you too.] The Champion smiled brightly in return and Wind bounced back to the front of the attention,
“We all use our hero tittles instead, so I’m Wind, that’s Four, Hyrule, Legend, Sky, Twilight, and- oh, where’s Time?”
Legend let out a heavily annoyed sigh as the others started looking around, “Great, first the youngest disappears and now the Old Man, who’s next?” Sky snapped a light blow against his shoulder with a look before turning, yelling loudly into the clearing and then again before-
“I’m half blind, not half deaf- stop yelling.” The man’s dry tone made them all jump as he seemed to appear out of thin air from some nearby brush, tossing a cinched bag to Wild without a word, “There’s a river just a ways east, it would be best to continue introductions outside of the monster infested forest.” He turned back the way he had appeared and started forward, stiffly motioning them to follow. Exchanging confused glances, the others slowly began to walk after Time, Wind snagging the still unnamed hero’s wrist to make sure he went with them. Twilight and Legend brought up the rear, both frowning slightly with the red clad Link speaking up quietly first,
“There’s definitely something happening, did you talk to him last night?”
“Tried but he brushed me off.” The shorter huffed at the reply, irritated by having to many unknowns covering up the answers he wanted.
“He’s the leader, of course he’s not spilling his problems.” Hyrule’s voice suddenly interjected, having at some point dropped back to walk on Legend’s over side without either of them noticing. The aforementioned hero jolted to the side, promptly tripping over Twilight’s raised foot and sending them both to the ground with surprised yelps. The brunette smacked a hand to his face as everyone’s attention turned back to them, Time raising a brow at the commotion of the two trying to get back on their feet.
“Are you boys alright?” He questioned semi-seriously, getting embarrassed nods from the pair before returning to the trail ahead. The group walked on mostly in silence, Wind and Wild chatting with the newcomer, with the champion occasionally diving into the underbrush to grab random plants or critters that caught his attention. Sky had found himself uncharacteristically walking beside Time and looked over him carefully for a moment.
“Is there something bothering you?” The Skyloftian inquired softly, concern clear in his eyes as the older glanced at him then away quickly, expression hardening just the slightest bit, tone clipped as he answered.
“No.”
“I’m inclined to disagree.” He replied evenly, gaze set ahead as well and continuing when the other remained silent, “I won’t pry, just know that we’re here to support you too, like you support us. I’m sure being the ‘responsible eldest Link’ can be pretty exhausting sometimes; you don’t need to shoulder that weight alone.” Time faltered slightly, shoulders dipping just a bit under the soft and sincere eyes of the younger,
“I know, but this is something else entirety, I need to handle it myself,” he paused, hesitating only a moment before gentling grasping and squeezing the other’s shoulder, “but thank you, Sky.”
"No problem at all, Time. I do have an unrelated question as well though." A hum of inquiry. "How much further? My legs are killing me."
******
Much to Sky's utter relief, they reached the river in less than twenty minutes, setting packs down and breaking off to gather wood and other materials for an early break. Wild had already started pulling a mess of ingredients from his slate to cook; Four, Legend, and Hyrule had scattered into the trees for wood; and Wind and Twilight were looking over the river for fish with Sky, leaving Time to settle and keep watch with Link. The older hero felt stiff, expression forcefully set as his mind raced, he glanced at the new member of their group every now and then, which didn’t go unnoticed if the other’s slowly perking ears and fiddling fingers in the blue cape around his neck were anything to go by, but neither spoke until the younger trio returned and joined them. Hyrule immediately settled on one side of Link while Four did the same on the other, Legend sat against a large rock closer to Time but still a respectable distance away; though for those that had known him the longest, there was a telling glint of curiosity in his eyes.
“So, what should we call you?” Link paused at the multi-colored hero’s question, uncertain, and shrugged which was met with displeased hums, “Well, did you have a tittle?”
[Just Hero]
“Okay,” Hyrule nodded, “was there a name for whatever crisis you were part of?” Another hesitation before the man again signed slowly,
[It was called the War of Eras.] Legend perked forward and three pairs of curious eyes were focused more intently on him,
“‘Eras’ like time travel?” The normally brisk veteran inquired, blinking back at Time for a moment when the hero nodded,
[Yes, a dark sorceress opened gates to different times and pulled monsters from them to form an army. There was a light sorceress on our side that was able to summon warriors from those same times to fight with us against her and then Ganon when the seal on his spirit was finally broken.]
“So you were a hero among warriors?” Twilight’s voice cut in as he approached, a telling note in his voice that the younger heroes latched onto immediately.
“Warriors! That would be an awesome name!” Wind exclaimed, excitedly throwing himself onto the back of the newly christened Warriors while Four and Hyrule voiced agreement, even Legend nodded along.
[Warriors, I like it.] He grinned, the look turning mischievous as he ducked forward forcefully, throwing the unsuspecting sailor over his head so he landed half on his lap and half on the ground with a surprised yelp. Laughter echoed through the small camp, Time’s own light huff of amusement lost in the volume of joy that filled the area as he shook his head with the barest hint of smile on his face.
The afternoon turned to evening quickly Wild producing a fancier than usual meal with the fish Twilight and Wind had caught to ‘celebrate the newest addition to the family’ as he proclaimed, which was met with several looks when Warriors seem to tear up, only to shake his head and smile brightly which turned the looks to apologies that the champion laughed off. Observant as ever though, Twilight noticed the slightly dulled look in the soldier’s eyes that came as the energy died down and the heroes started to lay out for the night.
Once the crackle of the fire was the only sound beside the gentle rushing of the river, the rancher intended to wiggle free from where Wild was snuggled against his side only to pause when Time took noticed of Warriors still sitting close to the flames and gasped his shoulder, nodding closer to the water before moving that direction, the other following after a slight hesitation. Still worried but content with leaving it up to the older, Twilight settled in to sleep.
Time finally stopped not far away, the calm lapped of water just a few feet from his boots as he looked up to the star covered night sky, waiting for the younger to fall in beside him before speaking, “It seems you’re handling this all rather well, are you?” Confused blue eyes blinked at him before he turned to the river, nodding,
[This isn’t the first time I’ve met others from different times, it just] his hands stilled for a few seconds unsure of how to express what he wanted to, and settled for dropping them, whispered voice replacing his signs, “it brings back some sad memories.” Time’s chest clenched painfully, memories flitting across his mind that he pushed aside with a deep breath,
“If Wild calling us a family bothered you, I can tell him not to-”
“No, no,” Warriors cut in quickly, “It’s not, well it is, but- it’s-” he broke himself off to take a steadying breath, “No, it didn’t bother me, it actually made me really happy.” He was glad the darkness of night was there to hide the redness no doubt covering his face at his admittance to the older hero, but the hum of content inside him just made spilling his thoughts so easy,
“During the war, there was a Chosen Hero like me there, we bonded a lot during that time, he was like a little brother to me, but-” Warriors clenched his scarf tightly as his breath caught, his own memories stirring up raw emotion inside him, “but after the last battle with Ganon I collapsed from my injuries, and when I woke up again,” his breath shuddered faintly and vision blurred but he pressed on, “he was gone, and so were the others.”
Time swallowed back the tidal wave of emotion crashing around inside him, “I’m sorry, I -” Warriors cut him off again with a sharp watery laugh,
“You ‘understand’? Sorry but I don’t think you do. No one does.” The sorrowful bitterness cut deep but the hero only sighed, reaching into his bag for a moment. Something soft but ragged fell around the soldier’s neck suddenly and he looked down in confusion, barely able to make out the soft blue color in the moonlight before his eyes snapped to the hero of time who smiled sadly at him,
“I think you’ll find I’m very familiar with the cruel flow of time, being unable to say goodbye and left in the dark about the fate of the people I care about, Captain.” Deep blue eyes widened in shock and disbelief, hand now tangled around the familiar blue fabric that belonged to a scarf torn in battle,
“M-Mask?” Warriors breathed, emotions struggling between despair and elation , the struggle resolving as the other swordsman nodded just barely and he threw his arms around the warrior with a sob, but this time of joy. Time returned the embrace firmly, smiling with no regard for his own tears,
“You have no idea how happy I am you’re alive,” he confessed, voice wavering slightly, “When the others showed up but you didn’t-” The soldier could only nod when the other’s voice crack made him go silent,
“We’re both alive,” he reassured, “I can’t believe you keep this old thing for so long though.” he noted about the scarf, getting a chuckle from Time as the pulled back slightly,
“It was almost thrown out by accident several time, but I couldn’t bare the thought of losing something my older brother had given me.” Warriors smiled then cocked his head to the side slightly,
“Yeah, I guess I can’t call you my little brother anymore, can I, Sprite?” The two shared a chuckle and Time shrugged,
“I suppose not, but that would garner some amusing reactions from the others.” Another soft laugh was shared between them before returning to the camp, resting against each other as they sat before the fire.
“I’m really glad we met again, little brother,” Warriors spoke quietly, content and warm knowing he was surrounded by family, both new and old,
“I am too, big brother.”
If anyone saw the two fast asleep the next morning, wrapped together in the bright blue scar, they grinned among themselves and continued on silently, unwilling to see the soft smiles they both had as they slept disappear just yet.