Nine Heroes are dropped into the dark beneath Hyrule Castle.
The Hero of Legend picks up a stone he really shouldn't have.
Chaos ensues.
~ OR ~
Legend and Flora (BotW Zelda) TotK roleswap. The Chain does future canon Wild's job.
Because it is perfectly plausible that a portal could drop them off at the wrong place at the wrong time.
tags: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé Amidala, R2-D2 (Star Wars), Angst, Angst with a Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Divergence - Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Fix-It of Sorts, anakin realizes what he’s done after he force-chokes padmé
summary:
Anakin. His Anakin—
— had toppled into Obi-Wan’s arms, and he felt wetness begin to expand on his chest.
“All the things I did… all the horrible things I did…” Anakin rambled, mumbling into Obi-Wan’s robes.
“I know… I know… Shh…”
And for a moment, Obi-Wan was holding that little boy again.
summary: Everything can change in a split-second— from comfort to chaos at lightning speed. When his life turns upside-down (or rightside-up, depending on how you look at it), can the Hero of Winds find his way back home? And what is home, really?
notes: hey everyone!! this is my fic for the LU gift exchange! i’m actually super excited to write this, been looking for an excuse to write wind-centric lol. important note: i uhhhh haven’t played Phantom Hourglass. yeah that’s gonna make things a teensy bit difficult… but it’s okay, i know a decent amount of lore without having played the game (according to Lizzable, she agrees that i am a ‘lore sommelier’) but i’ve beaten Wind Waker so pardon me if there’s more WW refs than PH ones T-T SORRY! eeeee but i hope you enjoy this, @peachy-scars!! thank you to my beta, @linkiscool333!!
word count: 18,134
When the world felt too large, when the sounds felt too loud, or maybe the expectations felt a bit too heavy, Link would rest here. Sand between his fingertips, rubbing them gently back and forth, focusing on the little things and simply how little each grain was.
He liked to appreciate those little things.
The water was kissing the tips of his toes, and the warm sun beating down onto his tanned face. Faintly, he could hear the bustle of Aryll playing with Zill to his right. But for now, he’d savor the—
summary: Wild has friends. He wants to show them to Twilight.
notes: Hi guys!! Yes, I watched Glory today. Yes, I loved it. Yes, I was inspired by it :D (Yes, the main theme is stuck in my head XD) wrote this entire thing in 3 hours!! woo!! this is my second @legendoflinkficfight fic!! This one’s kinda sweet, some crack and fluff, a bit of angst sprinkled in there because it wouldn't be a Rubii fic without some angst lol. This fic is for the prompts “If I let go, there's no coming back from this.” “I dare you to let go.” (Echo | echoes_of_echo | @echoingvoids | IMCRAZYFANFICTION) and “It’s okay, you’re not alone anymore.” (Amayis | amayis_bigtower | @amayis-bigtower | amayis_bigtower). I hope you enjoy it!! important note, consider this fic taking place BEFORE WILD FINDS OUT THAT TWI IS WOLFIE.
word count: 3200 (wow that is a pretty number)
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Camp was so boring. It was always boring and had always been boring. Although Wild loved being with his friends, brothers, his family, really…
Camp was boring; that was just a hard fact. Camp was always boring and nothing would change that.
(banner ~ @skels-pixel-art ~ sorry if it’s not allowed to be reposted, i just love it so much!!! and ofc i’m going to credit you, this is adorable!!!)
summary: “Oh, but one last thing before we go. Once we put all this ugliness behind us, we’ll both resume our normal lives. When that happens, what are you going to do? What will you become?”
> Engineer.
> Warrior.
> Dunno.
“I see… Well, I think we can go now, Link.”
notes: My 5th @legendoflinkficfight fic!! This one’s for the prompt, “People from all five kingdoms must work together to help Link” by Laugh | zoe_kay | @liketolaugh-writes | liketolaugh. I had the idea to make this fic into a poem! not very many words unfortunately, but we can sacrifice that to be cool sometimes lol. Anyways, the second i saw this prompt, i thought SPIRITTRACKSPIRITTRACKSSPIRITTRACKS, especially since i just finished the game a few weeks ago. all five kingdoms? sure! the forest realm, snow realm, ocean realm, fire realm, and the secret lil sand realm. enjoy!! :D
word count: 637
Feet planted, solid, steady,
Grow with the color of courage, your branches unwinding and finding
The next place.
Push through the uncertainty, follow through the fog,
Limbs leading, heart beating—
Life.
Awake in green.
The thing about trees; there are no rights and wrongs,
Only a thousand ways to wind your roots into the soil,
And search for the sun to warm your leaves.
Giving your lungs to breathe a tune, let the notes lead you.
summary: The Chain gets roasted. Hyrule is scared.
notes: EEE MY FIRST WRITING THAT I’M POSTING!!! :D Took a little inspiration from TCR by @sprite-and-the-bunnydragons with the socks part and the hyrule cooking part lol. I love that fic smm. anyways, yay!! :D
chapter word count: 2,728
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The air was damp and thick. Each of the Heroes’ footsteps squelched in the thin mud of the swamp. Green fog surrounded them as they passed dead trees and ancient ruins. This… certainly wasn’t Hyrule’s most prosperous time.
“Does… this era look familiar to anyone?” Legend said hesitantly with a tinge of uncertainty in his voice. None answered the Veteran’s question. Where were these portals taking them? Twilight looked around cautiously, his senses noticing something… off.
They weren’t alone. He just knew it.
Twilight whipped around to face Wild and Four (who were at the back of the line), drawing his sword. He stopped dead in his tracks, splashing water onto Wild’s boots.
“Woah, there Rancher,” Wild said, stepping back, putting his hands up in surrender, “What… do you think you’re doing?” Wild’s hand hesitantly inched closer to his own blade. Was… was Twilight okay? Four said not a word, and simply stared at Twilight with a concerned, puzzled look.
“Sorry, sorry.” Twilight explained, lowering his sword. Wild breathed a quiet sigh of relief. “I didn’t know you two were behind me. I… felt something.”
“Felt what?” Four asked matter-of-factly.
“Something. Something else. We’re not alone.” The three glanced at their surroundings, as a monkey cooed in the distance. Wild looked unamused.
“It’s just creepy here, that’s all. You’re overreacting, Twi. I know you’ve been in situations that were way more dangerous than th—“
“Shut up, Wild. Listen.” Twilight interrupted, slapping his hand over Wild’s mouth, who let out a surprised, annoyed grunt. Twilight responded with eyes full of daggers, which quickly silenced the restrained hero. The three were perfectly quiet.
A faint, eerie, ominous buzzing, not too dissimilar than that of a bee’s echoed throughout the swamp. Twilight removed his hand from over Wild’s mouth.
“What is it…?” Four said slowly, the sound getting closer.
“I don’t know, but we should tell the others.” Twilight responded, as the three had stayed pretty far behind from the rest of the group. “C’mon y’all.”
The three heroes ran to catch up with the group, the buzzing now clearly audible even through the loud splashes of Twilight, Four, and Wild’s quick footsteps.
“Does anyone else hear that?” They could hear Sky ask, as Time turned around to face the running heroes. “Rancher! Smith! Cook!” Time shouted, “Get over here!” They reached the group, panting.
“Oh fu…” Legend began, as Hyrule tapped and shook the Veteran’s shoulder aggressively.
“What? What is it, Leg? What? Why are you—“
“Sh. Rule.” Legend said shortly. All of the heroes were silent.
Leg was staring directly at Twi. No… he was staring directly… behind Twi. At a… growing black mass floating in the distance. There was only one thing that could be.
“Darknets.” Legend quickly turned to face the group, his expression fearful but stoic. “Everyone, try to…” Legend’s lips were moving, but his words were inaudible; the buzzing was so loud at this point. He ran to the side underneath a tree, signaling for the rest of the group to do the same. As everyone found shelter beneath their respective trees, they glanced at each other with worried looks. Hyrule stared at Legend with pleading eyes: LEG, WHAT IS HAPPENING?! Wind curled up into Warriors’s embrace, as Wars pulled his royal blue scarf over his head.
The Chain had never seen the Veteran hero so… scared. If he was scared… How scary were these ‘Darknets’?
Link…
LINK…
Whispers of the name echoed through the swampy forest. Was it in their heads? Or was it real? None of them could tell.
“DON’T LISTEN TO IT!” Legend shouted as loud as he could.
The voice was in their heads now. Plugging their ears or any other methods of mitigation wouldn’t and couldn’t work.
Link, you started all this. You cursed generations to suffer and created the Chain. This is all your fault. You’re the reason why millions have suffered through all of time. You’re the reason this is all happening right now.
Link, Shadow gave everything, literally his life, to protect you at the Palace of Winds. He shattered his own life source for you. He killed himself for you. If you had just been stronger, he would still be here today.
Link, you messed up everything. All time is crippled because of you. You messed with the timelines so much that time itself shattered and more suffering and more pain ensued throughout each of the three timelines you created. Thousands, millions even have died because of you.
Link, you’re the reason Koholint disappeared. You are the reason Marin is DEAD. No, it’s not the Wind Fish’s fault, not Hylia’s, not anyone’s but YOUR fault. You killed her, Link. You killed her and everyone else on that island.
Link, you failed. You may have saved Hyrule from Ganon twice, but Ganon’s return is inevitable. He will always come back strong each time. Your blood, the Hero’s blood will be spilled on Ganon’s ashes each time you defeat him. You can and will never win, Link.
Link, as the Hero of the World of Light, you had a duty to help the people of Twilight. But no, you left them there in that darkened world as the Light’s trash dump. They will suffer there for all of eternity. Midna will suffer there for the rest of her life.
Link, you killed King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule. He wished on the Triforce for you. He sacrificed everything to give you a future, yet you let him drown there at the bottom of the sea. It’s your fault.
Link, Cia truly loved you, and you just let her die. If you could’ve just opened your mind to the possibility of loving her, maybe you could’ve had a future. Maybe you couldn’t have let Lana suffer that incredible loss. The pain you’ve caused…
Link, all your friends are dead because of you. If you had fought harder at that one second at Fort Hateno, everyone would’ve survived. The Champions would have never died. They are dead because of your weakness.
“D-DON’T LET IT G-GET INto… your… h-head.” Legend stuttered, the words painfully stabbing him like raining arrows. The rest of the Chain winced in pain, as the messages echoed throughout their minds. Slowly, slowly but surely, the buzzing and whispers faded.
“I-is it… gone? The voices? The black cloud?” Wind mumbled quietly.
“Veteran, what was that?” Time said sternly. He retreated from his spot behind a tree and turned to face Legend.
“Darknets.” He responded, punctuating each syllable forcefully with a distinct tone of hatred. “As I said. They’re small, black insects that travel in large clouds like that one. They seek strong spirits and wish to cast them down. They get in your head, as I believe we all just experienced. They’re greedy little pests.” Legend’s face was stern, but a longing sadness lay hidden within his eyes.
“Your help is appreciated, Legend.” Time nodded. “Captain? Rancher? Skyloftian? A word.” Time motioned to Warriors, Twilight, and Sky to meet him.
The four heroes grouped together on the side of the path, slightly ahead from the rest of the group.
“I’m concerned.” Time started, “I assume we all had… personalized messages back there.” Time stared the three down. “Don’t let them get into your heads. Do you hear me?” He spoke with the most serious voice possible, making sure there weren’t any… complications with this incident, and that they could all just leave this day behind.
“Yes sir.” Warriors responded. “I don’t believe a word those Darknets said.”
“Same for me.” Twilight continued.
“And me.” Sky said, hints of fear hidden in both their voices.
“You must have no doubt. You must not give in. I need to ensure this.” The other three heroes nodded.
“And what about you, Old Man?” Twilight said, grinning lightly, resting his hand on Time’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry about me— I’ll be fine. Just make sure the rest of the group is too. Tell them this message.” Twilight nodded, his feelings of sympathy written all over his face. Warriors nodded as well; he was more accustomed to taking orders after his experience in war. Sky nodded slowly too, obviously scared for the wellbeing of the group.
***
“OWW! WARS, GENTLE!!” Wild screamed, as Warriors brushed his long, tangled locks.
“It wouldn’t be this painful if you just brushed it everyday…” Wars responded in a mocking tone. Hyrule could see Wild roll his eyes from across the crackling fire.
Yet Hyrule’s mind was racing.
He was the only one out of all of the Heroes who could sense magic… at least he thought he was the only one. Well, Legend could too, but he kinda sucked at it. A faint smile crossed the Traveler’s face, before it returned to its pensive, overwhelmed expression.
Hyrule was known for… well, not being the brightest. Sure, he literally lived his childhood in a cave; how was he supposed to know how to cook gourmet meals and interact with others normally?
See, Hyrule had kept a secret from the Chain. For about two and a half hours now. Still hadn’t beat his record of five hours and twenty-three minutes of “secret-keeping” from when Wild had stolen everyone’s socks and dumped them into a nearby river. Except for Hyrule’s. No one wanted to touch Hyrule’s socks. According to Warriors, they were “classifiable as biological weapons”.
But anyways, Hyrule had sensed magic in the Darknets. Powerful magic. But not just any regular time manipulation or dark powers or anything so trivial like that.
He sensed something worse. Far worse.
Possessive magic.
Today, Wild was having his hair brushed by Warriors.
Tomorrow, Wild could have Warriors at sword-point.
The thought made Hyrule shudder.
He knew the chances of possession taking over the Chain were low, but a cloud of doubt still fogged the Traveler Hero’s mind. What if…
And how was he supposed to tell anyone? He couldn’t bear the thought of scaring the others like that, with such dangerous information. And what about him? Was he going to survive this? Or any of the Heroes or—
“Hi Rulie!” A cheery voice interrupted. Sky. Hyrule held in his mental breath. “Can I, uh… sit with you?” Hyrule nodded, and the Skyloftian sat down on the log, next to him.
Hyrule’s heart was still pounding. Should he tell Sky? He would be the safest option… but Sky might tell Time. What about Legend? Hyrule knew he could trust him… he was going to have to tell everyone eventually… but how?!
“You… Alright there, Hyrule?” Sky’s soothing voice broke his thought again. Hyrule looked up, staring into Sky’s muted cerulean eyes.
“Oh— uh, yeah. I’m fine.”
“Something on your mind?” Sky was practically an empath.
“No… nothing much.” Hyrule bluffed, “… Sky, how well do you know magic?” The question seemed to catch the Chosen Hero partially off-guard.
“Oh! Umm…” Sky thought for a moment, “Well, there are some interesting magical beings and artifacts in my era. We have these things called Timeshift stones that can turn back time if struck. And… uh, we also have some dragons— elemental dragons… and, umm…” Sky hadn’t satisfied Hyrule’s curiosity, or the pounding truth throbbing in his head… but it was fine.
“Oh! That’s cool.” Hyrule replied, trying to hide his shakiness in his voice.
“RULE!” Someone shouted from across camp. Legend. He motioned for Hyrule to sit next to him on the fallen log across the fire.
“Gotta go,” Hyrule said to Sky, who gently waved him goodbye.
Hyrule made his way across camp. Wild, having finished his torturous hair brushing session, was now serving up some soup to the Heroes.
“Sit.” Legend said, his own bowl fresh with the steaming stew. It looked absolutely divine. How did Wild do it?! All the times Hyrule had tried to cook, it had ended up in an explosion or something. The Chain had decided that Hyrule wasn’t allowed within “five paces of the kitchen.”
Hyrule followed Legend’s command though. “Rule, something’s on your mind. You’re not very good at hiding it.” Hyrule blushed and turned away from Legend. “Rule…” Legend insisted, his tone sounding more annoyed than concerned. “What’s wrong?” He asked.
Hyrule didn’t respond. He didn’t want to. He didn’t think he could. Maybe he should just stay silent forever again.
“Hyrule. What. Is. It. Something’s… off with you.” The Veteran groaned, begrudgingly shoved a spoonful of soup into his mouth. “Or don’t tell me. Or even better, I’ll start calling you Link. C’mon Link, spit it out. You better tell me, Link. Time to start talking Link—“
Ok, that was annoying. “I-I’ll tell you,” Hyrule quickly, quietly interjected, mostly just to get Legend to stop. It felt so weird for Legend to be calling him Link.
But Legend could sense it was serious based on the breathiness in the Traveler’s voice; his face immediately softened. “Oh… ok…”
“B-but… not here. Not now. Later.”
Legend didn’t reply. He leaned back and sighed, patting Hyrule on the back, staring up at the stars starting to shine through the dim sky. “Ok, then.”
***
The sun was long set, and the moon sat comfortably in the night sky. Hyrule’s heart hadn’t stopped racing ever since he had talked to Legend earlier. He knew he had to tell him. Now or never, Link.
“Um, Legend?” Hyrule asked timidly. The Veteran looked up.
“Do you want to tell me now?” He responded, crossing his arms. Hyrule nodded.
The two made their way into the edge of the clearing where the Chain had set up camp for the night. From the distance, they could see the crackling fire and the rest of the Heroes laying out their bedrolls in preparation for a good night’s rest. Sky, of course, was already fast asleep.
“Legend, I… um,” Hyrule started, unable to continue. Legend, the usually dismissive and rude one, didn’t insult or try to interject the Traveler— his friend. This was more important, and even Legend knew it was inappropriate to make a sarcastic joke or something.
“Take your time, Rule.”
Hyrule took a deep breath. “Back there… i-in the woods, I sensed something. Magic.”
“Yes, the Darknets contain powerful magic. That’s what I was saying before… that happened… that we can’t let those… messages get into our heads… if we let them… then there’s a chance that something bad could happen—”
“You knew?!” Hyrule said loudly. Camp seemed quieter now— did the rest of them hear the Vet and Traveler’s conversation?
“I knew… what…?”
“The something bad! I know you know.”
“Rule, I told you beforehand— I told… all of you beforehand.”
Hyrule was stunned. What? Legend hadn’t said a word about magic or something bad or possession or—
Wait.
The realization crashed down upon Hyrule, just like the lightning bolts he could cast down from the sky if he wished to.
He had.
“Everyone, try to…” Legend’s lips were moving, but his words were inaudible; the buzzing was so loud at this point.
Hyrule remembers.
That must’ve been what Legend was saying earlier! He knew. He knew everything— why didn’t he say something when the group got back to camp? How were they going to tell the others? What was going to happen to the Chain? Were they going to have to fight against each other? How? When?
“Rule, nobody heard me, did they…” Legend said slowly. Hyrule didn’t respond again. “Rule,” He said sternly, “Do you understand what this means?”
“Yes.” Hyrule responded. He knew exactly what this meant. “I know. There’s a chance,” He paused, wincing at the next words. “That we could lose some of the group. That they weren’t strong enough, and now…”
No words were needed.
Both heroes knew exactly what was coming.
“We need to tell the group,” Legend said quickly. “This is serious.” Hyrule could see a glint of fear hidden in the Veteran’s eyes— sadness, even. For any of them, the thought of losing each other was something that hadn’t even crossed their minds. “We’ll tell them in the morning. Sky’s already asleep. The magic shouldn’t kick in until… later.”
Shouldn’t. That was the word Hyrule was relying on to keep the Chain safe.
But shouldn’t still had room for error.
bonus! chapter 2 summary: Wild suffers. Warriors tries to help.
notes: MORE!! AAAUUUGGGHHH MORE ANGST YESSSS!!! i love hero’s purpose, mixed some of that in there if you can tell!
chapter word count: ~2,610
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Link…
Open your eyes…
Wake up, Link…
“Zelda!” Wild shouted, quickly sitting up. His heart was pounding so fast, he thought it might explode out of his chest. Beads of sweat gathered on his forehead “Zelda, please!” He shouted again, failing to calm down.
He… she… what? No, this couldn’t be happening. Why… he couldn’t remember. Why was he here? Who… what? Thoughts raced around in his head— this couldn’t be happening. This was impossible! Had he failed? Again? Was this his fault? What had happened?
Or maybe… It was just a nightmare. Maybe it wasn’t real. Maybe he was ok. Maybe he hadn’t failed everyone. Again.
Or had he…?
Wild seemed to have got the attention of the sleepy Captain on watch, who was making his way towards him. “Wild?” Warriors said slowly.
Wild frantically turned towards Wars, his expression filled with fear. “Who… who are you?” He stuttered out, panting heavily. The words obviously caught Warriors off guard.
“Wild—” Warriors began.
“Why do you keep saying Wild?!” The Champion shouted back, his voice trying its best to be strong, but still frightened.
“Y-you—”
“My name is Link.” He said sternly.
Oh. Warriors understands it now.
“Get the hell away from me. I don’t know who you are—“
“Link,” Wars interrupted. It felt weird calling someone else by his own name, but Wild wasn’t going to respond to ‘Wild’ right now; it was his only option to help. “I know you’re probably really confused and scared and angry right now, but you need to trust me, okay?”
Wild’s eyes seemed to burn blue, the flickering fire casting a warm glow across his face. “Trust you?! I have no idea who you are! Maybe you should just mind your own business!”
It was actually a miracle the others hadn’t woken up. Thank Hylia…
Warriors sighed. “Fine. My name is Warriors. You know me. You just… can’t remember right now. But I’m only here to help; I promise, Link. It’s going to be okay.” Wars took a few more steps closer towards the Champion.
“I… do? I…” A piercing headache shot through Wild’s skull. He leaned forward in pain, clutching his head in his hands.
“Wild!” Warriors cried out. The others were beginning to stir. The two needed to get out of here, just for a moment while Wild recovered.
“I told you, my name is Link—“ Wild said angrily through gritted teeth before his headache took control of him once again.
Warriors picked up the limp Wild and carried him away from the group. The Captain ran into the nearby woods and laid Wild on the ground, his back pressed up against a large tree.
Warriors knew Wild had amnesia. It had happened after he died in battle and was taken to a resurrection chamber. The price of his life were his memories. He had lost everything. Everyone he knew, everything he remembered, his kingdom, his princess… Warriors could only imagine the pain and struggles he must’ve endured.
He knew Wild gets these… memories in random spots that jog his conscience. In fact, Time had told him that this… episode that Wars was dealing with tonight had happened before. Though, this seemed much more severe than what Time had described.
Warriors had his own trauma to deal with too. He understood Wild. He understood his fear. He didn’t know how to make it go away, but he sure knew how to make him feel better. Relieve the pain— the suffering.
“I’m just going to grab you some water, okay? I’ll be right back.” Wild gave no response. He only moaned uncomfortably, his eyes still closed.
“Zelda…” He whispered hoarsely just as Warriors left his vicinity. The name was, of course, extremely familiar to the Captain. “I’ve failed you again, haven’t I? I… I’m so sorry. I was supposed to be your champion. I was supposed to save the day back at Fort Hateno but… I couldn’t. I’m sorry. I… I’m not worthy of this spirit or whatever. I—“
Wars couldn’t watch this stupidity go on any longer.
He couldn’t. He wouldn’t.
“Shut the hell up, Wild!” He shouted, rushing back over to his side. Water could wait a minute. “You don’t get to say those things about yourself. You saved her. You did good. You saved everyone—”
“I didn’t, though. I didn’t save everyone.” Wars regretted his choice of words. He sighed.
“I know you didn’t.” He responds, his voice an octave lower. “But that’s okay. We can’t save everyone. But Link,” Wild’s head perked up, wincing from the shocks of his headache still racing through him. “We can’t spend our whole lives holding on to those who don’t make it. We have to move on and cherish those we still have. You still have Zelda—“
“It took me a hundred years! She had to suffer with that thing for a hundred years! I wouldn’t call that saving—“
“Fine then!” Warriors’s patience was starting to run thin. “But you still have her now! You’re not perfect; no one’s perfect, and you can’t keep holding yourself to these unrealistic expectations!” Wild didn’t respond. Wars sighed again. “And you are wholly and completely worthy of the Hero’s Spirit. You’re just as worthy as any of us. What would Zelda say?”
“Us?” Wild asked hesitantly.
Right, he doesn’t know he’s with eight other bearers of his same spirit...
But Wild didn’t dwell on the thought for too long. “She would probably say the same thing.” He finally whispered, a silver tear dripping down his scarred cheek. Wars cracked a grin. my teacher didn’t come yet
“She would. I know she would. Now I’m gonna grab you that water, K?” Wild nodded weakly and Warriors left for camp.
***
“Captain?” A voice called as Warriors entered camp again. Time.
“Did you see him? He had one of those panic attacks or something again.”
“Yes, I know. You did a good job helping him.”
“I just… I feel so bad. He doesn’t deserve what happened to him.” Warriors said, as he rummaged through Wild’s stuff, trying to find his water canteen. Time sighed.
“Captain, I…” Time started. He looked at Warriors hesitantly, his single open eye filled with fear. “I think… this… this time is different.” Warriors paused his search of Wild’s things. The two held their breaths. Even the air itself seemed to hitch— stagnant and still.
“What do you mean, different?”
“It was worse… more severe. I fear… there’s another set of hands toying with his fate.”
Wars released a breath annoyedly. “Just talk like a normal person, Mask. Please. Stop with all of this metaphorical fate ooey-gooey stuff.”
“Captain, no. I’m serious. Something else is playing a part in this. This isn’t how it usually goes.” Warriors finally found Wild’s water canteen. He screwed the lid off and checked how much water was contained inside— should be sufficient.
Warriors turned back to time as he placed the lid back on the bottle. Agitated, he responded, “Can we just worry about this another time? Wild’s out there right now and he needs help. We can’t wait here and theorize about what’s going on with him; we just need to help.”
“Captain, I—”
“No.” Warriors was getting pissed. “Another time. Not here. Not now.”
Time was shocked to silence.
“I’m going to go help the Champion, okay? You can come if you want, I guess.”
***
Warriors raced back towards the tree where he had left Wild.
He’s not there.
He’s not there…?
He’s not there!
Why wasn’t Wild there? What happened? Was he okay? Did the shadow get him? Was there an ambush? Wars hadn’t heard anything, so how would there have been an ambush? Was Wild okay? Was someone else here? Did he run off? No, there’s no way he could’ve ran off; he was way too weak. But why was he gone? Why wasn’t he here? Where was Wild?!
Wild’s canteen dropped to the ground with an audible clack! when Warriors drew his sword and sprinted off deeper into the woods, his royal blue scarf trailing behind him as he ran.
“Wil— oh, right. Link? LI—NK! Where are you?!” No response, only the whistling of wind ruffling his golden-blonde locks.
Shadows seemed to grow longer as Warriors ventured farther off from camp. The wind heavily picked up, and soon, he didn’t need to be running before his scarf was furiously flapping in the wind. Warriors raised a hand to his forehead to prevent dirt and debris from entering his bright blue eyes.
“LINK!” He called out again. Again, a lack of response.
But still, where — was — Wild?! Warriors released an agitated sigh. The Captain let his left arm, his hand clutching his sword, fall to his side and rest. He lowered his head and turned to face sideways from the direction of the wind, still ferociously blowing.
Where was Wil—
On nothing but pure instinct, Warriors whipped around and the familiar clash of metal-on-metal rang through the forest.
It seemed the Captain had answered his question. This… was Wild.
Except it obviously wasn’t. Warriors searched for Wild’s— rather, the Hero’s Spirit’s defining vibrant blue irises, save for Legend, which were such a dark shade they looked violet in everyday lighting. Only when he was fighting or in dim light did they faintly glow that azure hue that was oh-so familiar. Or Four’s, which were originally blue like the rest of them, but had become a golden hazel once he had drawn the Four Sword during his second adventure. But again, in dim lighting, they still seemed to give off the slightest cobalt glow.
But Wild’s, nothing had happened to Wild’s during his adventure. His ultramarine eyes had always been that: blue, just barely darker and more vibrant than his two-toned tunic, contrasting nicely with his long, golden, (and often tangled) locks.
But Warriors, that… wasn’t what he saw here.
Wild’s eyes glowed— that wasn’t anything new. All of the Hero’s Spirit’s bearers’ eyes illuminated when provoked or simply when emotional.
But it wasn’t blue.
It was red.
This… wasn’t Wild.
Wild’s sword pressed harder against Warriors’s. Now, he really regretted getting Wild that water. Where’d he get his sword from anyways?
Wild agilely leaped over to the side, quickly establishing position behind Warriors. Though, the Captain followed suit and defended himself well, the clangs and clashes slashing through the silence of the forest. Warriors didn’t attack; he only defended.
Wild was attacking.
Wild was… attacking? The Captain? Why?
Wars hadn’t even thought about that part yet; he was too busy trying to deflect Wild’s skilled swordsmanship, yet Warriors still was the better one at the hilt of a sword. Why was Wild attacking? What had happened? Was he okay? Was this even Wild?
But the Captain was tired. It was about three AM at the time…
And three AM isn’t the best time to fight. Especially when your mind is clouded with thoughts, and you’re fighting someone who has become one of your closest friends over the past year of traveling with them and you would easily sacrifice yourself for them at any moment and when they’ve suffered so much and you would do anything to relieve the pain for them and you literally share the same spirit—
Wars can’t do this. He can’t fight any longer. He won’t.
This was his friend.
This was his brother.
And he won’t fight.
Warriors sheathed his sword, and raised his shield higher.
“I’m not going to fight you, Wild.” He said sternly. “I’m not going to— agh!” Wild’s sword skittered across Warriors’s left cheek, just barely grazing deep enough to draw blood. Shoot, that won’t leave a mark, will it? “I won’t fight whatever’s controlling you, Wild. You don’t deserve to die by my sword. You won’t die by my sword.”
But whatever happens from here, Warriors knows it’s a lose-lose situation.
If he kills Wild, lose. That won’t happen though. Wars would rather die than kill Wild.
If Wild kills him, lose. Possible.
If he runs away, whatever’s taken control of Wild will continue to eat away at him. Warriors knows Wild can’t take any more trauma. Lose. Lose, lose, lose.
If they both die, lose. Obviously.
Really, whatever happens, lose.
And Warriors doesn’t know magic. He doesn’t know how to undo this curse, or whatever’s wrong with Wild. He doesn’t understand any of this, other than that Wild is fighting him and he just has to defend. Though, someone who knows magic…
The Captain dodged attack after attack, Wild’s blade glinting in the scattered moonlight beaming its way through the forest canopy.
“Wild, please… stop…” He breathed out. Wild did not follow or hesitate. There was no Wild in this person any longer. Warriors could only pray to Hylia that he was there… somewhere deep down inside this abomination that took on his form. “Wild, please, stop,” Warriors said as a last ditch effort. This one-on-one had gone on for too long, and the Captain was starting to not be able to physically keep up. His quick, short breaths turned into long pants as Wild seemed to grow more agile and energized.
And Warriors had no choice. Absolutely no choice.
If he died, there was a high probability that Wild was done for. That he would stay in this possessed form forever, stuck. Afraid. Scared. Alone.
And that was the last thing Wild needed.
And although Warriors’s instincts and heart told him he was selfish and cruel for saving his own life rather than dying, fighting to save his brother, his brain knew it was the most logical decision. If he were to return back to camp alive, he could tell the others. Formulate a plan to save the Champion.
Logic. He needed to act with logic. This wasn’t the end of his story, and he promised that it wouldn’t be the end of Wild’s either. They weren’t going to die here. They were both going to die on some heroic battlefield far, far in the future. With honor. With pride— not by each other’s blades.
And so, Warriors ran. He ran in confusing patterns, trying to shake the bloodthirsty Wild off his tail. He ran far, in the opposite direction of camp. He ran in circles. When he finally stopped running, he stayed completely still and silent, taking note of his surroundings. The wind was no longer blowing.
Wild was gone.
Guilt. That was this feeling. The aching and pounding of his heart wasn’t from the running, but from the guilt. What had he done?! He had left Wild behind to die— to succumb to whatever had taken hold of him, to… well, Wars actually didn’t really know, but whatever it was, it couldn’t have been good.
And Warriors broke. Right then, right there, in the middle of the forest at three AM. Tears fell from his eyes like a waterfall cascading down a mountainside. Logic. I need logic. Think with logic. Warriors had always been one of the more logical of the group, but this… this was too much pressure and stress for anyone to make a logical decision about, ignoring their own emotions. Warriors was absolutely no exception.
He let himself mourn the loss of his brother who (probably) wasn’t even dead.
Yet.
Yet was always going to exist, wasn’t it?
If so, then he knew only had so much time. He had to act fast.
