Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Link sometimes wondered if his life was just one small plaything to Hylia. Now was one such time. He’d headed to the Deplian Badlands to get Akrah some more pictures of the Eldin Leviathan. It wasn’t something he’d been too keen on doing, but the researcher was known to pay handsomely.

The trip itself had actually been rather fun, heading west from the Akkala region, he got to visit the Goron brothers at Gut Check rock and soak himself in the hot springs. He spent a day just chasing down fireproof lizards before finally arriving at the massive skeleton to get more pictures.

After that, it was just a matter of continuing through the backside of Eldin till he popped out behind Mount Drena and got back to an actual road. He’d been making good time, taking his time during the day and relaxing under the stars at night. Occasionally Dinraal would meander overhead and Link would watch the warm, shifting light of the ancient dragon’s underbelly. It always reminded him of embers in a fire, glowing brightly as the night dragged on. It was such a pretty sight; he couldn’t bring himself to pull out his bow and take aim at the beast.

Today was the day he was supposed to reach the road, all the way out by the Forgotten Temple. Link liked travelling by himself, but as nice as the weekend trip had been, he was a bit done with the Badlands for a while. The nights had been warm, and the stars in the sky had been mesmerizing, but the days had been scorching and he was sure he’d gotten at least the tips of his ears and nose sunburnt. He was running low on water as well, and now just longed for his rupees and a soft bed at Serenne Stable.

Of course, Hylia had other ideas in mind. A wizzrobe, something that Link would barely bat an eye at. However, this one looked…strange. He didn’t know what elemental wizzrobe this could possible be. What was such a dark purple, almost black color supposed to represent? He readied his bow and fired off one arrow at its head to see what happened. Link wished he hadn’t.

It had done nothing but make it mad. The creature was faster than any other wizzrobe he’d seen, giggling as it bounced towards him, waving its rod wildly, sending wave after wave of strange dark orbs his way. Link tried to avoid every single one, but it was futile. One caught him in the chest and he stumbled, the world around him fading to black.

When Link woke up, the first thing he noticed was that the sun was much farther in the sky than it had been. That meant hours must have passed since- the wizzrobe! He bolted up only to collapse to the ground once more, clutching his head as a wave of pain and nausea washed over him.

“Oh goddesses... The teenager groaned before freezing. That didn’t sound right. It didn’t feel right. Since when did his voice sound so much higher?

“What?” He spoke again, forcing himself to sit upright. Link gasped as he caught sight of his legs. They were tiny! His boots weren’t even on his feet anymore and he could just about crawl out of his pants. He wiggled his toes under the fabric before moving his gaze higher. His tunic was engulfing him now, too. Struggling, Link pulled back his sleeves till he found two pudgy little hands.

He was trying to bite back panic now as he tried once more to stand, achieving it this time. The wizzrobe was nowhere to be found, but now he had a much more dire issue on his hands. Link fished for the Shiekah slate, turning the camera on himself to snap a picture. Taking a look, it was even worse than what he had feared… Round, rosy cheeks, big blue eyes..

He was a child!

Link screamed, exercising his new child-sized lungs in sheer panic. The hero couldn’t help it, he was a kid! A tiny one, too! He guessed he was maybe six, a year older or younger, maybe? He’d never been good at guessing ages, much less his own.

Once Link had screamed, cursed, and shrieked out his panic, he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He felt childish. More emotional, like his grasp on his own racing thoughts and emotions was far weaker.

I just threw a tantrum... what am I, five?

It was an unsettling realization, but Link tried to avoid the theatrics for the time being. It wouldn’t help him in this situation. For now, he needed to see if any of his clothes would fit. At least his underwear was now kid-sized. Thank Hylia for small miracles…

Through trial and error, Link found that the tunic of the wild was what fit best. What had once been long sleeves were comically too long for him now, and the mid-length sleeves of the ancient hero’s tunic was now simply long sleeves, the worn hems reaching just past his wrists. His cloak dragged behind him, but it didn’t bother him too much. Pants seemed a futile effort, and the tunic was now long enough, he didn’t even bother. No shoes fit either, which was bit of a bigger problem, but he’d get by. He had no other option, after all. All he could do was suck it up.

Link folded up his now unwearable clothes and stored them back in the slate before another thought hit him out of the blue. Purah! Maybe she could help with this! Zelda was off at Rito Village to study Vah Medoh and form a good working relationship with the Rito moving forward, but Purah had to be able to help get his body back to the size it needed to be!

The slate felt heavy to lift, but he pulled up the map and found the eccentric scientist’s lab and- wait that wasn’t right… He couldn’t select it, nor could he select the shrine in Hateno. He poked the little symbol like he had dozens of times before and- nothing. He couldn’t travel. Link heard the pound of his heartbeat in his ears as he blindly tapped the shrines across Hyrule. Nothing, nothing, nothing. Not a single one of them worked!

Okay, so he had to get there the only fashioned way- fine. He could do that. He defeated Calamity Ganon, he could get his butt back to Hateno in one piece. Right? Link allowed himself two minutes to angrily stomp on the ground before forcing himself to think ahead. Weapons. He’d need to be able to defend himself still, even if these tiny limbs could no longer swing a sword quite as far. Something simple, something he knew. The Master Sword.

“Hurghk!”

Link swore under his breath as he struggled to lift the sword, grasping the hilt in his hands, small fingers barely able to wrap all the way around it. The Master Sword had been large in his teenaged body, but this was comically huge to a child. Or it would be comical, had it been anyone else. It was heavy and completely useless in a battle. Link grit his teeth and let the sword return to the slate, massaging his temples. This was a real pickle to be in and all because of that stupid researcher and his stupid pictures… He hadn’t even needed the rupees!

Link’s pity party was cut short as an earsplitting roar sounded behind him. His blood ran cold and he turned to look, heart racing. He’d forgotten about the lynel between himself and the only road around...

Warriors hadn’t really known what to expect when a portal had appeared before the group late in the afternoon. All eight of them had been travelling together for a while now, and despite his initial assumption, all got along fairly well. They had also found a bit of a rhythm, so when the portal had opened, he assumed they were going to a new Hyrule. It appeared to be the case, since so far, no one had recognized a thing, other than Death Mountain way off in the distance.

The ground was a muted red as they walked along, kicking up faint clouds of copper. It was iron oxide in the rock and soil, Four had explained when they’d first seen it. Personally, he didn’t care what it was, he just didn’t like that it was coating his boots with a fine dusting of red dirt. It was going to be a pain to clean off, and there wasn’t even any water to be found.

“So, who’s got dinner duty tonight?” Legend asked from somewhere off to his left, “Since we had to officially ban Hyrule from the rotation?”

“It’s Twi’s” Wind retorted from Warriors’ right. “I hope you make something good; all this walking’s made me hungry.”

There was a hum of agreement as Hyrule sheepishly apologized once more about dinner. No one knew how he’d managed to burn rice so fast last night, but either way, they’d had an unappealing supper of whatever they had stored in their bags that was still edible. Mostly apples.

“Listen, no one blames you. If anything we’re impressed at how horribly you managed to mess up dinner.” Legend shrugged in Warriors’ peripheral, however something ahead of them caught his eye more than the pink-streaked nuisance.

“I mean, it’s not like when Warr-“ The captain cut him off, “Legend shut up.”

“What? You-“

“Legend, shut up!”

Warriors ignored the other hero as he squinted to get a better look, then paled, drawing his sword. Everyone stopped, looking at him before following his gaze. Hyrule was the one to speak and break the silence.

“Din above… is that a kid? Getting chased by a lynel?”

Out in the distance, they all could see it. A tiny figure trying to run frantically away from a charging lynel, its enormous spear swinging.

Warriors had never seen so many people run so fast before in his life, nor did he think he’d ever run this fast either. Especially not headfirst to such a fearsome beast. He’d seen lynels briefly while in Legend’s Hyrule, but the hero had told him to just avoid them if he could. They were a pain to deal with on the best of days, and downright dangerous on others.

His breath caught as the cloaked figure barely ducked in time to avoid the swinging blade. A second later, and their head would have had a speedy departure to their body. Warriors didn’t want to see a kid die right in front of him. No kid deserved to go like that.

Hyrule was the first to reach them, sweeping up the child in his arms and narrowly jumped over a low swing of the spear in one fluid motion. After that, they made surprisingly quick work out of the towering beast. It turned out angering a group of Hylia’s own heroes wasn’t exactly a superb idea. The lynel itself seemed confused, disoriented trying to attack so many targets at once as they hacked and slashed at it with a ferocity Warriors hadn’t quite seen from them yet. He didn’t stop to think about it though, his own anger bubbling over as he sidestepped attack after attack, sinking his sword into at every opportunity. How dare a monster prey on a kid!

The lynel collapsed with a choked gurgle, more flayed flesh than anything else. It was over.

The captain turned and hurried over to where Hyrule had taken the kid a safe distance away. Once he got there, his stomach turned. It was a little boy, maybe five or six with the brightest blue eyes he’d ever seen. He hadn’t gotten away without any scratches, either. Hyrule had already bandaged something on the boy’s arm and was cleaning off a cut along his temple. The blood wasn’t what made Warriors feel sick. It wasn’t even the fact that a child was out here all alone, not even a pair of boots to protect those tiny toes.

It was the scars.

He’d never seen such extensive scarring on even a seasoned knight. This was a kid. They were on his face, along his neck, peeking out from the collar of his tunic, along his legs, like he’d been blasted by- Warriors didn’t know what had caused the damage, but he was livid just looking at them.

He forced himself to look away and there he saw the others’ reactions. Wind looked like he’d hurl, Sky was near tears, and Four’s face was torn between looking sick and angry. Time, Twilight, and Legend looked as angry as he felt.

Who’d do such a thing to a child?!

Warriors looked back, Hyrule was stony-faced and the kid himself- he was staring at them all, turning his head away every time the weird teenager bandaging him up offered him a red potion. He seemed awake and alert, thank Hylia for small miracles… though a bit twitchy, clearly uncomfortable with so many strangers around him.

“Hey there,” Sky was the one to finally speak, crouching down to the boy’s level and offering a friendly smile.  “we aren’t here to hurt you. Even the scary looking guys, promise. I bet you’ll feel a lot better if you drink that poti- Ah! He bit me!”

The hero of the sky hissed, drawing back his hand, now with a few tiny bite marks decorating the skin as the kid turned and tried to run off. Warriors couldn’t really blame him. He’d run for the hills if a bunch of weird people kept trying to make him drink weird things.

There were cries to grab the little ankle biter before he ran off into the arms of another monster and met an untimely demise, but the boy was quick. And mighty wiggly. He dodged and weaved, sending a few heroes to the dusty ground after failed attempts to dive at the kid. Warriors was one of them who ate dirt, and he was getting annoyed.

It was Time who ended up grabbing the tyke, lifting him off the ground and seemingly unbothered by the fact he was a very agitated, growling, and possibly feral child. None of his kicks were making contact, but Warriors didn’t think a bokoblin could be half as angry as the child seemed.

“We’re going to stay like this until you calm down.” Time announced, tone firm yet patient as if he had all the time in the world till the boy decided to behave. “If you run off now, you’ll get killed.”

“He must have been running around out here all day, and was just running for his life.” Wind whispered as they watched, “No matter how angry he is, I bet he’ll tire himself out in five minutes. Aryll always used to when she was that little.”

The sailor was right, in the end. Warriors watched him go from a rabid little monster of a boy to limply hanging there, patiently waiting to be set down. He didn’t know if he ever wanted kids of his own…

“Are you ready to behave?” Time asked and he got a nod in response, “And you won’t try to run off? Or else you’re going to be held again.” Another nod and the boy was carefully placed back on the floor.

“Now you drink the red potion, and then some water.” Time motioned and Hyrule held it out again, a bit nervous. He clearly didn’t want to get bit like Sky had. The kid took it and sat down on the floor, sitting cross legged, sipping at the potion.

“What’s your name?” Legend spoke up, getting a curious look in response.

“Link.” The first word out of the child’s mouth and Warriors felt his stomach drop.

Hylia, what have you put this child through? What more are you planning to put him through?

The other heroes seemed to be having similar reactions, but Legend kept his cool since the kid was still staring at him, “Oh. Cool.”

“What’s your name?” It was tiny Link’s turn to ask apparently, finishing off the potion and taking the canteen of water Hyrule handed him next.

“We’re Link too. All of us. But we go by nicknames.” Sky spoke up this time, the bite seemingly forgotten. That or he was awfully good at faking smiles.

“I’m Sky, that super tall guy is Time, the guy who bandaged you up, he’s Hyrule. Mr. No-pants over there is Legend. Blue shirt is Wind, headband and colorful clothes is Four. That guy with the big, furry wolf pelt is Twilight, and blue scarf is Warriors.”

The kid looked lost and weirded out, unbelieving, even. Sky laughed nervously, “Sorry, that’s a lot to take in, isn’t it? You can ask us again whenever you need to, though. Moving on, um- what are you doing all the way out here? Are you by yourself? Where are your parents?”

Link looked down at the canteen for a moment, ignoring the first question completely. “I’m by myself, my parents are dead.”

There was an uncomfortable silence amongst the nine of them, but Wind tried to save it. “How old are you?”

“One hundred and sixte- seventeen. One hundred and seventeen.”

Legend scoffed, “This isn’t the time for games, kid. How old are you really? Five?”

Link huffed and Warriors could see him fight off a pout, “I’m one hundred and seventeen! I am! I don’t- I don’t know what happened to me, but I’m not a little kid.”

“If you were one hundred and seventeen, you’d be dead. Besides adults don’t puff out their cheeks like that. Or bite others.” Legend shot back, making Link’s face turn even redder. Oh, that was definitely a pout now.

“Okay, okay, let’s not talk about age anymore.” Sky interjected, “Link, we can’t just turn you loose out here. It’s dangerous, and you don’t even have shoes. You got hurt already, so you’re going to have to come with us. At least till we get to civilization. A town or something. And we find somebody that can take care of you.”

Link looked ready to complain but he shriveled under the stern look Time was sending over Sky’s shoulder. Instead, he huffed once more. It was settled, even if the boy didn’t seem to like it.

The decision was made to settle here for the night and set up camp. They didn’t want to head out and run into a horde of monsters or anything in the dark. Better to be safe than sorry, especially now that they traveled with precious cargo.

As Warriors unraveled his bed roll and used it as a place to sit, he figured Link wasn’t that bad when he wasn’t trying to bite anybody. He was quiet for sure, and didn’t like being grabbed without permission, but he seemed more curious than anything. About the heroes, their gear, their weapons, everything.

By the time Twilight had made dinner and everyone had eaten their fill, the boy was wrapped snugly in his cloak again and dozing quietly against Hyrule. The captain had to admit it was pretty cute. Poor kid had a big day, though he knew that he surely had faced worse things in his past. The scars were a clear sign of that…

The heroes worked quietly, cleaning up and heading off to bed. Link ended up sharing a bedroll with Hyrule since they seemed to get along the best so far, not that the little boy even noticed, fast asleep. As much as Warriors’ mind wanted to keep him up with thoughts of this new and seemingly vast Hyrule, and the unbelievably tiny hero who lived in it, his body was exhausted, and it needed rest before it was his turn to take over the watch shift.  With that in mind, he allowed himself to drift off with thoughts of lynel cries and curiosity-filled blue eyes.

Chapter Text

Warriors couldn’t sleep, which was strange in itself considering he’d ran more than he did most days to reach that lynel, but things outside his sleep schedule were even more peculiar. He wasn’t one to brag, but dare he say, the hero had seen a mysterious thing or two in his day, he’d even saved the world. But this, he’d never really had to handle something like this before.

This was currently fast asleep a few feet away from him, a bird’s nest of blonde hair and a tiny little face was all that peeked out of the blankets drooling all over Hyrule’s tunic. He was out cold, even with the sound of Time’s snores. That had definitely taken some getting used to for a few of them, Warriors knew.

Back with his own soldiers, someone snoring had been commonplace, usually several someones. That had been nearly deafening, so Time’s were nothing in comparison. Even so, he knew some of the other heroes had been traveling alone for quite some time, so a constant reminder that they were no longer sleeping solo wasn’t exactly welcome.  This little Link was too tired to care it seemed.

The red potion Hyrule had given him earlier must have actually managed to help with the pain of the lynel’s attack earlier; it felt like a hit or miss drinking the potion. Sometimes it would work wonders, easing pain, healing smaller wounds, stopping bleeding. Sometimes it felt like nothing happened.

The exhaustion was surely helping the kid’s case, too. Running for their lives was never light exercise for anyone, much less someone with such short legs. Legs.. pants. The kid needed some pants too, boots. What if the weather got colder and he lost those tiny toes? Even Legend at least had a sturdy pair of boots to prevent frostbite and protect the bottom of his soles from jagged rocks. ...Those scars the child bore looked rather jagged; what had caused them?

Warriors’ mind kept jumping from worry to worry, till he noticed the sky beginning to lighten just a bit. He had the last watch during the night and decided this early morning, to take over a little earlier than usual. He sat up, sending a bleary-eyed Twilight to bed.

After that, Warriors sat next to the embers of the fire, keeping an eye out for any trouble and allowing his worries continuously plague his mind. Did Hylia really want them to take a five-year-old orphan out on a dangerous journey through various dimensions? That was too cruel, even for her. Allowing him to wander around near the base of Death Mountain was already far too much. Who was supposed to be looking after him? At that age, someone had to. Nobody would let him wander off like that— right?

With the early morning sun arrived varying stages of consciousness amongst the heroes. They could all be up and armed to the teeth in a flash, but since no one had sounded the alarm, they got to wake up at their own pace. It was a luxury that Warriors knew some of them had never really had before. Someone to watch their back.

Little Link was the first to wake, though it wasn’t by a whole lot. He sat up, unaware of the captain as he looked at his hands, flexing his fingers as if he wasn’t quite used to them. Then his lower lip quivered and the hero of the sky stepped in.

“Good morning, Link,” Warriors spoke up, noting the flinch of the other boy before bright, blue eyes turned on him. His smile never wavered a bit as he continued. “Did you sleep well?”

There was a bit of hesitance, then a nod before he crawled out of the bedroll towards Warriors and what remained of the fire. The edges of his bandages poked out from under his sleeve and it reminded Warriors that they needed to be changed before they headed out later today. Infections could be nasty, especially to such a tiny body.

“Come here, little one. Let’s fix that bed head before breakfast. I don’t want to blow my own horn, but I’m pretty good at it.” Before a complaint could be uttered, the captain plopped Link in his lap. He hadn’t gotten to comb through such long hair in a while; the longest had been Four’s, and the smithy apparently didn’t like people touching his hair. Or he just had bad taste. He prayed that this could serve as another exercise to their newest traveling companion that they weren’t here to kill him, only to help.

Link was rigid as a board as Warriors found one of his combs in his bag and got to work. By the time he was finishing up, the child was a pile of mush in his lap, sleepy and happy for the gentle hands in his hair. He’d settled on a bun. It was nothing fancy, but it kept everything out of the way and neat. Thought with a kid, who knew how long it would last. For all he was aware, Link would roll in the first mud puddle he found.

The other heroes had woken up by then, quiet chatter through the group. They didn’t know which way to go, where they were supposed to be heading. Did this kid even have a home? Was there an orphanage? Did he run away from it?

“West.” Link spoke up, snacking on an apple slice Twilight had cut for him. Warriors had noticed that for as feisty as he’d been yesterday, he seemed happy to behave as long as he had food or was plain tuckered out.

“We need to go west.” Link repeated with a surprisingly no-nonsense tone. “I mean- I’m going west, and since you won’t leave me alone, we’re all going west.”

“What’s west, little one?” Warriors asked.

“A stable. A guy owes me money.” Link ignored the snort his comment earned from Wind. What was this kid, a mob boss? Did he have a gang of other unruly orphans down in Castle Town?

“He owes me money and I intend to get it. If you go east, you’re not going to find anything. Except a bunch of bones and monsters. So west. You can dump me off there and go be weird somewhere else. I need to go to Hateno anyway…” The last part was mumbled under his breath as Link huffed and crossed his arms. In the back of his mind, Warriors wondered if this could possibly be a descendent of Legend. With that attitude and demanding tone, it was almost uncanny.

“We’ll take you to this stable, but it’s up to us whether or not we’re leaving you with anyone there.” Time retorted sternly. “If you’re going to run off the moment we leave, then we won’t be leaving you with anyone there. We’ll accompany you to this.. ‘Hateno’ place.”

Warriors watched the five-year old’s lower lip puff out with a stomp of his tiny bare foot. Oh, that was cute. The pouting child didn’t look anything like the feral creature that had bit Sky last night.

“You’re so stubborn, leave me alone! Do you terrorize everybody you meet?” Link stomped his foot again.

“Only the little ones, I’m afraid.” Twilight spoke, offering the child another apple slice. Warriors had nearly forgotten; Twilight had spoken of family back home. A little brother, and from what it sounded like, all the other children of his little Podunk town. The man must have patience for days and an arsenal of babysitting tactics Warriors could only hope to one day have. Now that he thought of it, Wind had mentioned a little sister as well. Time had always seemed to be able to interact with kids as well, whenever they stumbled upon a town.

One albeit tenacious child was surely no match for three older brothers, and another four that were at least trying their best. Except maybe Legend.

He snapped out of his thoughts to see that said child had been temporarily sated with apple slices and had calmed down again, feeding one to Epona with a gleeful giggle. Everyone else was packing up.

The day was warming up, and considering the proximity to death mountain, Warriors assumed it was going to be a hot one. The sooner they were away, the better. Especially for Link. Little bodies got hot and cold faster. No one needed to see a child die of heat stroke today.

“I don’t suppose anyone conveniently has a pair of child-sized boots laying around?” The captain asked, looking around, “I don’t want to think about the state of Link’s feet if we make him walk barefoot, and I don’t think he wants to have to be carried around today.”

There was an upset gasp from Link’s direction, “No carrying! I’ll bite you.”

“See? My point exactly, so shoes?” There was a murmur amongst the group as they shook their heads, quiet nominations of who would have to try and carry the feral child and subsequent glares.

“No, I don’t thi- Oh wait, I do.” Time said, fishing in his bag. “Even if I didn’t, I’m sure Link would be much happier on Epona than in anyone’s arms.”

Warriors felt stupid forgetting about the horse, it was right there, and the tyke seemed to have already made best friends with her. Time pulled out a pair of very well-worn boots and handed them to Link, who tossed them on the ground to step into.

“Now why are you carrying around kid-sized boots, Old Man?” At least the kid wouldn’t have to worry about breaking them in. They looked to be a bit big for him, but it was either this or nothing at all.

“They’re mine,” Time answered, eyes staying on child as he stomped around, “from when I was a kid. Looks like he’s younger than even I was when I-“ He stopped himself, tension clear in his jaw. He seemed upset by something, downright angry as he glanced at the sky. Warriors didn’t want to push it.

“Well, I’m always here to talk if you need to. But I think we need to change the kid’s bandages and get this show on the road.” He watched Time’s shoulders sag as he sighed heavily.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Link didn’t fight tooth and nail to have his bandages changed as Warriors expected a child would. Then again, he hadn’t fought when Hyrule had to disinfectant the wounds yesterday. Warriors didn’t want to think about the reasons behind it, how used to pain a mere child was.

It wasn’t right. He felt sick.

No matter how he felt about the situation, how they all felt… they couldn’t stay here and be melancholic.

It didn’t take as long as Warriors thought to get out of the badlands— Deplian Badlands, Link had told them. Only an hour or so back the way they had come. Then they’d reached an actual road and went left.

Right would lead into the Hebra region. Hebra meant cold weather, and that didn’t bode well for the group. Even without a child to worry about, most of them didn’t have any sort of gear necessary to brave freezing temperatures.

It was nice to see grass again, rolling hills, something other than the sea of red rocks they’d spent their first night on. Grass was a lot softer to sleep on than rock, but the way it sounded, they’d reach a stable before nightfall, so Warriors assumed he’d get to treat himself to an actual bed.

Travelling with their new companion wasn’t as bad as Warriors figured. Link didn’t mention anything about his feet hurting, but he didn’t complain either when Twilight rearranged a few bags on Epona’s back and plopped the child onto the horse’s back.

The farm boy was making an effort with Link, they all were but he was actually good at talking to kids. Warriors couldn’t say the same. He wasn’t bad, he just struggled sometimes, trying to find the right balance between talking to a baby and talking to a grown adult.

Through listening to their conversation, Warriors found out that Link’s favorite food was wildberry crepes and he didn’t like the taste of salmon. He liked catching bugs, and thought chuchus were cute but found keese annoying and loud. He liked horses and climbing trees. It was all normal stuff. Warriors took solace in the fact that no matter what this kid had been through, he could still find happiness in the little things like petting a dog or going swimming.

By the time lunch rolled around, they were all getting a bit cantankerous. Clouds were hanging overhead as if waiting for the most inopportune time to spill their contents. The wind was chilly too, but they stopped eventually by the remnants of an old cottage. The walls were almost all gone, but there was a roof to take cover under if it began to rain.

“Alright little one, what do you want for lun-“ Warriors found Link, cozy in his cloak and holding a rice ball. “Where did you get that?”

“Sheikah slate.”

From the lack of any additional explanation, Warriors guessed the talkative mood had passed and he’d have to ask more questions to get anything out of him.

“And what is a Sheikah slate?”

A tiny hand hefted up a small rectangle with the telltale eye on it. Link debated something for a moment before sighing and handing him the rice ball, a telltale bite taken out of it.

“I need both of my hands to show you, hold this.”

It turned out a Sheikah slate was a..magical item? Warriors wasn’t sure if it was magic or technology, or simply a healthy dose of both. It was fascinating either way, though Legend seemed the most curious about it. Of course the hoarder wanted to know how to store more things with him.

It looked like a handy tool, especially for someone so little and could only carry so much. It also was nice to be handed rice balls for lunch instead of having to fend for himself with apples and hardtack. The captain had no clue how old the food was, but it tasted fresh and was pleasantly surprised to find a mixture of nicely spiced meat and mushrooms.

Everyone got more than enough to eat thanks to Link and his handy slate, though the boy himself was near catatonic as they got ready to continue down the road. It was actually rather funny to watch his little chin bob as he fought to stay awake. It seemed nothing was a match for post-lunch naps.

Link ended up in Twilight’s arms this time around, sleeping peacefully. Warriors was a bit envious of the hero’s knack for befriending children. If he tried to actually carry the kid, he was sure he’d be bitten like Sky, or at least kicked.

“Okay, so how much longer is it supposed to take to get to this stable?” Wind asked, “This place is so big, and we haven’t seen another person since we got here. It’s creepy. What if he’s the last person in the whole world?”

Warriors shook his head, “You’re being dramatic. Look, there’s a person over there. We’ll just ask them how much further this stable is. It can’t be that far, it’s just hidden by the trees, surely.”

He’d spotted them just a ways away, a young woman who appeared to be simply taking a break in the grass, a slight smile on her face as the heroes approached. She had cute dimples and her eyes complimented her dark hair. Thought Warriors figured it wasn’t the time nor place to hit on anybody.

“Hello, ma’am?” He walked up to her, Wind and Sky in tow, the others behind them. “We were wondering if-“

“Oh, you travelers have trained your bodies well.. I’d say you’re all familiar… with both sword and bow, correct?” She smiled sweetly, brown eyes looking kindly upon them. “That’s a good skill set, why don’t you join the Yiga Clan?”

Warriors stopped in his tracks, her words made no sense. He was just trying to ask for directions not talk about his or the group’s physical prowess.

“What’s the Yiga Clan?” Legend asked, raising a brow. It earned a surprised gasp from the woman, but Warriors felt on edge. She was weird, and different than the normal kind of crazy he was used to.

“What?! You don’t know? Well..I only joined recently. ” She sighed, “Fine.. I’ll tell you. The Yiga Clan is a powerful, brave group of warriors, founded by the dreamy Master Kogha and dedicated to defeating a hero long thought dead..” Her smile snapped into a scowl, and Warriors took a step back, hand already reaching for his sword.

“Hand over the child and I’ll make your death quick!” In a puff of red and with an ugly laugh, the girl turned into.. Warriors wasn’t exactly sure, a tall and weirdly proportioned figure in a red suit? Her mask was strange, like the Sheikah eye on Link’s slate but upside down.

He didn’t have time to fully critique the fashion sense as she swung a sickle, narrowly avoiding a nasty slice. Swords were drawn and without a word, the heroes surrounded Twilight and a now wide-awake Link. No way was some crazy Yiga Clan lady laying a finger on the kid.

He had to give it to her, she was fast. Unfortunately for her, you had to be more than fast to take out eight heroes who had saved Hyrule and sometimes the entire world on various occasions. It took Time nearly chopping off a leg for her to realize a retreat was her best option at survival. Blood running down her leg in rivulets, she joined her hands to make a strange symbol, and poof. Gone.

“Huh.” Link spoke, staring at the pile of blood she’s left behind, “They usually give up before they get hurt like that…”

Time was the one who broke the silence that followed. “Who-“

“Yiga, like they said.”

“Okay, but why is there a whole group of people trying to kill you?”

“Because they’re bad guys? They work for Ganon. They’ve been trying to kill me and Zelda forever.” Link shrugged. The kid clearly didn’t see it as a big deal, but Warriors was floored. There really was an entire goup, a clan that saw this tiny child and decided that trying to kill him aligned properly with their morals? He understood monsters trying to kill people regardless of age, size, or anything else. But these were people. He couldn’t believe it.

Link yawned as he sat on the floor of the stable, petting one of the dogs he’d befriended. They’d gotten to the stable almost an hour ago, travelling in a stony silence the rest of the way. The strangers had seemed angry, but he didn’t know why, not exactly.

Did they not have murderous Shiekah assassins where they were from?

It was a strange thought, but not one he wanted to dwell on. One of them, Twilight, he was doing enough of that. All of them seemed on edge, not letting Link out of their sight, glaring at everyone else they’d encountered. Travelers, the researchers, stable hands, everyone.

It was too much. At least Akrah had given him the rupees. After all he’d been through, he was getting those rupees, even if the researcher didn’t recognize him. Pictures were pictures.

Link heard a soft curse and looked up. Outside at the cooking pot, Legend was staring helplessly at the contents currently burning. He got up to his feet, brushing off his tunic and wandering over to him. In the pot.. he didn’t know what it was supposed to be. Maybe meat? It was charred and smoking; it certainly wasn’t anything he’d want to put anywhere close to his mouth.

“Icky.” He stuck out his tongue. Legend just stuck out his tongue in reply. He seemed to be lost while looking at the pot as well, as if he didn’t know how things had gone so bad. Link didn’t remember quite everyone’s names yet, but he was trying his best with it all. It helped that they were all so accommodating and told him their names whenever he slipped up.

“Let me do it, please? I’m hungry, and I don’t want to eat..that.” Link watched Legend scoop out his attempt and gesture for the little one to go for it. He figured curry pilaf was the easiest thing to make and explain to the other.

He put Legend in charge of chopping everything up. If he tried to do it himself, there’d be an argument if he was “old enough” to use a knife. They wouldn’t listen to him every time he tried to explain the situation, they didn’t believe him. Link wasn’t happy about it, but he couldn’t really blame them. If he ran into a child who claimed to be over one hundred years old, he didn’t think he’d believe them either. Especially not one who acted like he was acting.

It didn’t make any sense, he still felt like him. It was just- different. His emotions felt stronger, his control over them felt weaker. When he wanted to cry, tears flowed freely instead of being able to bite them back. Earlier, when the horse, Epona, had eaten the apple slices offered with a ‘mush-mush’ Link hadn’t been able to stop himself from cackling with glee. He jumped in puddles and stomped when angry.

Honestly, he felt like maybe he was turning into Master Kohga. A quick look down to his stomach dispelled those fears. Not turning into a Yiga master, just a child. He didn’t want that weird, dumb belly like that incompetent leader had.

“-and now you add the spice, yeah. Stir like that.” Link had guided Legend step by step through dinner, using his knee as an arm rest. The day was winding down, and though he didn’t want to stoop to sitting in laps like an actual child, he’d at least use them to lean against.

He helped get servings onto plates before making his own, but before Link could shovel anything into his mouth, Wind was lifting him off the ground in a hug in near tears.

“Are you an angel? You must be, this is the first decent meal I’ve had since I met these weirdos. This isn’t even decent, it’s amazing. Almost as good as my grandma’s cooking.” He cried, overjoyed. Nobody even seemed mad at the insults towards their own cooking, too busy enjoying the food, showering him in similar praise. Link felt his face heat up, embarrassed. It wasn’t even that good of a recipe, a go-to when he felt lazy.

“Thanks.” He managed, scratching the back of his head, “I’m glad you like it. Legend helped, he deserves credit too.”

“I most certainly do not. Did you see what I made earlier?”

Link calmed himself down, and while he ate, he finally accepted a problem he was trying to ignore, as if it would just go away.

These guys aren’t going to leave me here. He didn’t like the thought, but he couldn’t change it. No one at this stable could even act like a parent, or a responsible adult for that matter. Combined with the Yiga incident from earlier, Link would be amazed if he got to sleep in his own rented bed tonight. They were all a bunch of worrywarts… He did enjoy their company, as the evening wore on into night and the fire they sat around crackled.

He wasn’t going to change his plans to cater to either weird people, though. He did have to decide which way he wanted to go. Purah was his end goal. He needed his slate fixed, and he could also wait at Hateno for Zelda to return. Maybe those princess-y powers of hers could get him back into his usual-sized body.

Maybe she wouldn’t be able to.. It was a worrying thought, but he had a plan B. Or rather a plan A, and Zelda was his plan B. The Great Deku Tree; that guy was full of prophecies and magical hoo-hah. Maybe he could change him back? If not, maybe he could offer some wisdom? Insight to the predicament? He had to be good for something, after all.

Thinking about the drawling tone of the tree and Korok Forest elicited a yawn from Link, eyelids feeling like weights. It was always so warm there...it smelled like fresh flowers, and that leaf bed Pepp had made him was the most comfortable thing in the world.. it was always the best to sleep in..

Link barely felt the hands under his arms, lifting him into strong, yet comfortable arms. He pressed his face into something furry, guessing it was the young man called Twilight and his wolf pelt. A warm hand on his back told him his guess must be right. He didn’t have the strength to muster a complaint right now.

He felt safe, as odd a feeling as that was, with these people. Link wondered if he trusted others so easily back before…everything. Then again, what did it matter? He couldn’t remember his thoughts and feelings from one hundred years ago. He only knew now, and now, he trusted them. It felt nice to have people have his back.

Chapter Text

It still didn’t feel real. Twilight was used to waking up surrounded by the other heroes, soft breaths, occasional snores or sudden gasps from nightmares. He was even used to waking up with a tiny bundle against his side. Colin used to have nightmares when he was younger, back in Ordon Village. They worsened after the bulbins had kidnapped him, but from the last Twi had heard, they were dying off again and the kid was sleeping soundly through the night once more.

Colin was older than this little boy, though. Even when he was kidnapped, he’d been older. The fact that this little one had already been through so much; it didn’t feel real, it couldn’t. He couldn’t begin to imagine the horror of facing Ganondorf at such a young age. He’d barely been able to handle it, and he’d been far older.

Had Link faced Ganondorf yet? That was another unsettling thought that had been plaguing him since they had run into the barefoot boy running for his life. Maybe he hadn’t, but where else had he received such extensive scarring? There was so much that upset Twilight about this situation.

He was angry.

Twilight would be the first to admit he had a soft spot for kids, but when it came to the tiny hero curled into his side, he felt something primal. So protective he made his bones ache when he thought back on the lynel, back to the assassin— Yiga Clan. The wolf inside him growled every time they encountered someone new, someone who could hurt Link.

He didn’t understand it. He hadn’t understood anything since arriving to this new Hyrule. Mostly, because this new land felt so painfully familiar. The kid felt familiar as well, in a way. At least he could chalk that up to helping care for Colin and the other children. It wasn’t just Link; it was everything. The stable, the smells carried on the breeze, the sight of fireflies fluttering outside, even the way Link headbutted into his side while the boy slept. He felt like he’d been here before, and yet he knew for a fact he had never set foot here till just recently. He certainly hadn’t met this tiny terror before.

Honestly, Twilight was annoyed by it. He was annoyed and confused, and he was going to bite the next thing that tried to kill Link. The inner wolf being so active, pacing in his mind, reminded him of his time traveling with her. And he didn’t like to think about her anymore. It hurt far too much.

The sound of someone waking up broke him from the destructive train of thoughts. It was Time, sitting up with a quiet groan. Twilight certainly wasn’t looking forward to getting older if his back was going to crack as much as the Old Man’s in the morning.

“Morning, Pup. How’d he sleep?” The oldest hero looked around, no doubt counting off all nine heads before focusing his good eye on Twilight. All there and accounted for, still breathing.

“Fine. I was going to have him sleep with Wind so they’d both have plenty of room to stretch out, but Wind also kicks so-” Twilight shrugged, carefully sitting up as to not wake Link.

Young kids never slept in, and once they were up, they were up. At least until naptime, if there was any. He figured the kid, as little as he may be, was too old for a nap. Then again, he’d been pretty sleepy after lunch yesterday.

All too soon, Link was up along with the other heroes. Thanks to Warriors, he was sporting a ponytail and some freshly changed bandages today. He also seemed to be in a far better mood.

Yesterday morning, he’d seemed tight-lipped and standoffish. Link still didn’t have a lot to say but as Time and Sky worked on a simple breakfast, he was leading Hyrule and Wind around past the stable fences.

“Should we be worried about those two hanging out with Link?” Sky asked, glancing up from the eggs he was trying to cook.

“You mean because those two are awful influences and he’s an impressionable kid?” Legend retorted, still too tired to open his eyes it seemed. That or he didn’t care. Twilight chose to be optimistic and believe the former.

“They aren’t that bad.” Four yawned, peeling a banana to nibble at. The Yiga had dropped some after her quick getaway yesterday, and as suspicious as they’d been, none of the heroes were above scavenging fruit off of their foes. “I mean, no one’s tried to tame wildlife or anything.”

Twilight knew Four had a point, and as long as they stayed within view, he assumed they couldn’t be doing anything too bad. Maybe Wild was just pointing out neat bugs?

 “Uh..guys? Why are they pulling out shields?” Twilight heard the tone in Warriors’ voice and looked up in time to see the three youngest racing down the hill on their shields. Wind was coming up too fast and Hyrule was beginning to wobble. There was only one way this could end, and he knew it was with disaster.

“I am so disappointed in you boys.” Twilight sat next to Warriors, Legend, and Four as he watched Time chew out Wind and Hyrule, each sporting some new bruises and scrapes while they tried not to make eye contact with the Old Man.

“I expected better of you two. I know you’re both old enough to make the right decisions, but instead you not only could have killed yourselves, you could have killed Link.” Time continued, cranking up the disappointed look.

Link in the meantime was getting his scraped knees patched up by Sky and was looking awfully smug about the whole situation. Especially for someone whose shield had broken on them halfway down the hill.

Wind had tried to blame it on the younger child, but Time wasn’t having it from the sounds of it. Hyrule had simply accepted his fate.

“No, I don’t care who suggested it, Wind. You’re old enough to realize shield surfing down a hill is a bad idea. You and Hyrule are in charge of gathering wood and cleaning dishes for the next week.” It elicited a groan, gathering wood was a painfully tedious task and no one enjoyed it.

Once that was taken care of, Time rounded on the youngest in their group and Twilight gulped, feeling bad for the little one. Even if it had probably been his whole idea in the beginning. A scolding from the Old Man was never a pleasant experience.

“Link, why’d you ride your shield down the hill?” Time asked, bending down to his height.

The boy looked at him, quiet for a moment. “It’s called shield surfing, and because I thought it sounded fun.”

“Was it fun?”

“Yeah, I’d say so.”

Time raised a brow and Twilight wondered if Link knew this was supposed to be a scolding. Had he been reprimanded before? He didn’t even try to look repentant. The eldest hero stood grimly before chuckling under his breath and shaking his head into his hands.

“Oh Din..” Twilight heard Time mutter, “I bet this is punishment for my own actions as a child..” He sighed and regarded the child once more. “I know that look, little one. I’ve worn it myself plenty of times. No matter what I say, you’re still going to shield surf if the desire arises, aren’t you?”

“Mhm.” Link had the gall to smile.

“Well, at the least I can respect your tenacity. Words are wasted here; I suppose we’ll just have to keep a closer eye on you.” Time said, smirking a bit at everyone’s expression.

“Are you kidding me? How’d he get out of being yelled at?” Warriors whispered from his seat, nearly dropping his plate on the floor. “The Old Man lives for the opportunity, what’s he doing going easy on him?”

Sky had finished up cleaning up their tiny ward and sat next to the rest of the boys, smiling a bit. “I mean, can you really get mad at that face? He looks up at you with those big ol’ eyes, and his hands are so little, and..” He sighed, smile only softening by the minute. “He’s such a cute kid, it’s illegal to be mad at him. Even when he bit me when we first found him. Legend can’t even be mad at him.”

“I told you that in confidence!” Legend hissed, turning to swat Warriors when he opened his mouth.

Twilight had to bite back a laugh. It seemed if anything, Link was awfully good at worming his way into their hearts.

Breakfast was a fairly quick affair, just eggs and rice, and extra apple slices for one plucky child. Twilight had noticed long ago that bite sized pieces were the best way to get little ones to eat a full meal instead of a few bites.

“We need to head out straight east.” Link held his Sheikah Slate in his hands. “Off the road, we don’t need it.” At the skepticism he apparently saw on everyone’s faces, he pouted a bit and pointed to the slate again.

“Look at the map! We’re heading for Woodland Stable. We can get there by dinner, easy. But only if we cut across here.” He traced his finger along the path he wanted them to go, and Twilight squinted to see.

“What are the Lost Woods?” Wind asked and Twilight felt Time stiffen beside him but didn’t think too much about it. Probably just had a bite of egg he’d over-peppered.

“A forest you don’t want to get lost in.” Link mumbled cryptically but he continued on before Twilight could question it. “Listen, it’s like a straight shot east, between the Great Hyrule Forest and the castle moat. I’ve traveled it a bunch of times before, it’s easy. If we follow the road, it’ll take double, maybe even triple the time.”

“Okay, but why do you want to go to this particular stable so much, anyway?” Legend asked, leaning over Twilight’s shoulder to look at the slate.

Link huffed, “What is this, twenty questions? There’s… someone I need to talk to there. Maybe they can help point me in the right direction of where I need to go so I can get back to my big body. I’m one hundred and seventeen, you know.”

“You’ve mentioned that before, squirt.” Legend rolled his eyes, reaching over to ruffle his hair, “Still don’t believe you at all- AH! He bit me!”

“He does that, I thought we already established that.” Sky mused.

Twilight looked over at Time, ignoring the inevitable fight that broke out when Warriors ended up laughing at Legend, he studied his mentor’s face. His brows were knit, looking pensively at the ground, resting his chin on his folded hands.

“Old Man?” He asked and Time blinked, snapping out of it. “So, are we going to head to this Woodland Stable? Those hills don’t look too steep on the map and the kid seems pretty confident.”

“Yeah,” Time nodded, rubbing his face before speaking up so everyone could hear, and to make Legend and Warriors quit the bickering. “We’ll head out within the half hour. Everyone make sure you have your things, and little one, please stop biting the others. It’s a bad habit to form.”

Twilight watched the little one pout and had to bite back a smile, lest he get bitten too. Goddesses, he’s too cute. How anyone could hurt a kid like this, he didn’t know. The wolf inside him growled and he tried to think of other things.

He had to pack and allowed that simple task to be his distraction. Everyone else seemed to be a good mood this morning, even after the three youngest got reprimanded and Warriors got gnawed on. Twilight was torn from his thoughts by a tiny hand tugging on his tunic.

“Hello wild-child, what do you need?” He asked pleasantly, crouching down to the boy’s height.

“I need help putting on my cloak.” Link said, holding it up. “I can’t get the button through the loop to hold it.”

“Well here, I can help with that” Twilight draped the cloak over his shoulders and looped it closed. “There you go.” He was trying not to sound too happy. Link had actually asked for help out, out of his own volition no less. “Now up you go,” He scooped up the boy and plopped him onto Epona’s back, “I know the path to the next stable isn’t super long, but little legs get tired far too quickly on a bunch of hills.”

“I don’t want to stay up here.” Link retorted, “It’s boring.”

“If you walk and end up getting too tired, I’m going to make the Old Man carry you.”

“I want to stay up here.” Link apparently had changed his mind, swatting the back of Twilight’s head when he started to laugh. “He wears armor, that’s too uncomfortable to put your head on and the plates are going to pinch me.”

Link didn’t seem to appreciate that his comment elicited even more laughter, but by then, Twilight had made sure to step out of smacking distance.

Once everyone was finished packing up, they headed out, off the well-worn path and towards the direction that their tiny travel guide had pointed towards. That was that, eight heroes walking along in a companionable silence while their ninth and newest member tapped away at his neat Sheikah doohickey. Even Wind had stopped brooding about being put on dishes duty, thought Twilight wondered if he was still happy that he no longer was the baby of the group.

It took an hour of walking till they ran into their first incident. Very loud snoring, a rumble so deep it made the ground vibrate the closer they got to it.

“Hinox. Probably up that hill right there, smells like it.” Legend whispered, drawing his bow as the others pulled out various weapons. “Should we take care of it? I don’t think anyone actuals travels around here other than the-“ His head swiveled, “The kid’s gone.”

Twilight whirled around to look at Epona and her rider was indeed gone. “Link?” There was a quiet and very frantic commotion as they all spun around looking for the blonde menace, but there was nothing.

“You don’t think he- the hinox?” Hyrule whispered.

Twilight felt a bit in his stomach as they all snuck up the hill and peered over the ridge. He didn’t consider himself faint of heart, but the sight before him caused genuine physical distress. His heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest.

“Does he have a bomb? Where did a child get a bomb? Who gave him explosives?” Sky looked like he was going to hurl and Twilight couldn’t blame him.

Right there, maybe fifty feet away, an enormous monster, a hinox. Legend didn’t speak of them fondly. Link was also there, which was the problem, sneaking around like he’d done this a million times.

This turned out to be carefully climbing onto a giant’s belly and placing a glowing blue box on its chest.  The creature was completely unaware of it all, it’s massive belly rising and falling steadily with each breath. For a moment, the eight heroes were frozen, watching it all in horror.

Then the spell was broken.

It wasn’t the most tactful approach, but they all dashed forward. It startled the hinox awake, sending Link tumbling off. Legend was the fastest, catching Link before he hit the ground and got trampled underfoot. Twilight and the others went to work trying to hack at its legs as much as they could, to hopefully injure it enough it couldn’t stand.

The hideous monster let out a deafening roar and Twilight’s ears rung. It’s going to get up, oh Din above, oh no. There was a distinct sound of an explosion up by its head, and with a few spasms and a disgusting gurgle, the hinox stilled. He couldn’t see what had happened, its belly in the way, but he walked the steps needed to see that the creature’s neck had been blown to shreds.

His boots were already getting wet with its blood and he took a few steps back. “Gross.”

Twilight heard a noise and flicked his head over to a wide-eyed Legend, Link perched in his arms with a finger still pressed to the slate. The glowing box was nowhere in sight though. So it was a bomb.. He wanted to echo Sky’s earlier question. Who gave a five-year-old explosives? Did they not realize that maybe it was a very dangerous, extremely irresponsible idea?

Next to him, Time began to stalk towards the child and Twilight winced. There was no getting out of a scolding this time…

Link’s cheeks still felt a little puffy and he hated it. He hated Time, too, and the others. And the sun was too bright out too.

He’d gotten yelled at…

He never got yelled at, there was never anyone around to yell at him. Time had yelled at him, though. He wasn’t proud to admit it, but the one hundred- and seventeen-year-old chosen Champion, had cried. And now his cheeks felt all puffy and he could only assume they were red too.

It wasn’t as if he intended to, but the tall man in the big, clanky armor had pulled a scary face and everyone had been grabbing him to make sure he wasn’t hurt. It had been too much, and so the waterworks had started as he’d tried to push hands away.

Link would give it to these travelers, they knew when to back off. The hands were off of him, Legend had set him down, and they headed back to where Epona had been left. It was just him and Time, who calmly offered his upturned palms.

The boy placed his hands in Time’s and got a warm squeeze in return as the one-eyed man explained that they were worried about him, that it wasn’t okay to wander off on his own, or to climb on a hinox. That he was scolding him, because he cared. They all did, and they didn’t want him doing such reckless things.

It sounded like a bunch of bologna to Link, but he at least understood why he was being yelled at. He’d done something dumb, someone could have gotten hurt, and they needed him to not do that. There was a point, he knew. Even if he didn’t want to see the logic of it.

And that was where he was now. It was hours later, but if he thought about what Wind had told him was ‘Time’s Disappointed Face’ Link would get watery eyed and sniffly again, a pit growing in his stomach.

Time was- Link didn’t remember the term for it, but it was the same feeling he had with Teba, Kass, and King Dorephan. He wanted to make them proud, to earn their approval, and earning a scolding was the complete opposite of what he wanted. It felt crummy, it made his stomach hurt and he felt like a bad person.

They hadn’t stopped for lunch, instead eating as they walked. Link had nibbled on some wild berries during that time, and now was holding Twilight’s hand. The hills were steep, perfect for someone with stubby little legs to trip and tumble down, and after the hinox event, none of these people had let him out of their sight.

Link was trying not to get too down, he had to think of the positives. At least he’d be able to ask the Great Deku Tree why this had happened. And see Hestu, that was always fun. The koroks were an entertaining bunch, the forest always put him at ease.

“You know, that castle looks kind of weird.” Wind’s words dissolved what little ease Link had managed to scrounge up.

Stop looking. Stop looking or else I am going to scream. Link didn’t want them asking questions. What if he didn’t have the answers they wanted? Or worse, what if he had to tell them the truth? They already didn’t believe that he was over a hundred years old. They wouldn’t believe anything he said, and then they’d get frustrated when he didn’t know what else to say to them.

“Your face looks kind of weird.” Link internally cursed himself before spotting the familiar sight of blue fur. “You know those wolves over there are big enough to run off at full speed with a child in their mouth?”

That was what got them going, Link didn’t care that he got scooped again as long as the others weren’t looking at the castle anymore. He didn’t know where these eight were from, but he’d bet wolves wherever they were from, weren’t nearly as dead set on tasting Hylian flesh.

They were stalked the rest of the way to Woodland Stable till the canines finally gave up and turned tail. Only then was Link allowed on the ground again and everyone else could breathe. Woodland Stable was the nicest stable, in his opinion, and he hoped the others appreciated it as well.

From the looks of it, they did. There were enough stools for everyone, and Legend had already managed to haggle a pair of child-sized trousers out of the stable manager. Their little girl, Shamae, was a bit taller than Link so he had to roll up the bottoms, but he was happy to wear clothes. It felt odd to think such thoughts, but this body didn’t stay warm very well like his teenaged body had.

Sky had seemed interested to hear Shamae talk about her dreams, which Link couldn’t blame him for. Repeated dreams about a weird sky kingdom was totally weird.

He helped Four with dinner, but he couldn’t focus well. Out of all eight of them, he’d spoken to the short man with the multicolored tunic the least. It wasn’t that Link had anything against him, but Four wasn’t talkative and Link wasn’t really the sort of person to pick up conversational slack. And so they were quiet together.

Link had to give it to Four, the young man was a fast learner. They decided on a creamy meat stew, and he barely had to direct him. Instead, the two ended up passing the time playing a game of drawn charades, using sticks to draw in the dirt. It was fun, Four didn’t baby him either which felt refreshing. Maybe he should hand out with this guy more often.

Once dinner was ready, they ceased their game and Link tried not to get too excited. The sooner to bedtime, the better. He knew he’d have to sneak out to visit the Koroks and their wood-mustached grandpa. The others would want to come with him for supervision, and he didn’t want to lead anyone else through the forest. It was hard enough as it was worrying about himself, but getting eight others through? Forget about it.

The only challenge he knew he really faced was staying awake till everyone else fell asleep. This little body spent energy like no one’s business, and he hadn’t even had an afternoon nap today. Link yawned and frowned into his dinner.

This was going to be harder than he thought…

Chapter Text

“I can’t believe I ran into the hero on my first day with solo patrols!” The woman gasped, “I only dreamt of it, but for it to really happen?”

“Hila, shut up. You nearly lost a leg. You still might.” The Yiga crouched next to her lifted off his mask to get a closer look at it. “I think you will, either it’s getting chopped off or you’ll have a bum leg. I’m just glad we got the bleeding stopped-“

“Really though, I was expecting him to be taller. He had all the scars everyone talks about, and that cursed Sheikah slate. They say ‘kid’ but that face couldn’t be any older than five, maybe six.” She continued, staring up at the stone ceiling from the thin reed mat she’d been laid upon when she first arrived back at headquarters, more dead than alive.

“What?”

“And like- what was with those weirdos he was traveling with too? They were all armed to the tee-“

“Hila, what are you talking about a kid?”

Hila turned her head to look at him, “Kol, why are you looking at me like that? A kid, I know he’s like over a hundred years old or whatever, but he looks five. Itty bitty little thing, I could have kicked him into Tanager Canyon if that guy with the scary face paint hadn’t slashed me.”

Kol blinked at her, mouth moving wordlessly for a moment. “Are you sure he was the hero?” When he got a nod in response, he stood. “Hila, stay here. I need to tell the others about this.”

It didn’t take long once he left, for Kol to return with a crowd of their fellow Yiga members in tow. Hila wasn’t used to this, she was a newbie. One of the newest recruits, just graduated out of her training. She wasn’t supposed to have so much attention on her.

“Hila, tell them what you told me.” Kol said, “About how the hero looked, and his companions.”

She did, able to recount distinctly her first encounter with the fabled hero, the Champion. He hadn’t looked like much when he’d been cradled against that scary man’s chest with the wolf pelt and strange forehead markings. That one with the blue scarf and impossibly shiny armor had been kind of cute.. Hila kept that bit to herself.

“A child.. How did such a thing come to be?” One of the masked figures spoke. She recognized him as one of the new leaders. After Master Kohga’s untimely parting, leadership had fallen to the next higher ups, a small group of three instead of one man.

“I know not, but one thing is clear.” Another spoke, “We need to find out more, we can use this to our advantage.”

“Agreed.” The third nodded, “Send out spies immediately, I want eyes on them at all times. Gather whatever information we can gather on the hero’s new form, and those companions of his. If anyone gets the opportunity to kill him, do so, but only if he’s alone. Other than that, I want scouting only.”

“It will be done, I’ll send out footsoldiers immediately.” Kol nodded while Hila could only stare blankly at them. She was missing something, but it seemed everyone had forgotten about her. In the back of her mind, she wondered if the hero and his traveling companions had done the same.

Link was exhausted.

It was late now, past the time the travelers had put him to bed before, but no one had told him it was bedtime. They were too engrossed in their conversations.

Most of them anyway, Wind had fallen asleep against Warriors and Four looked close to following. Woodland Stable had that effect on people. It was comfortably warm, one of the stables nestled at the base of Death Mountain, and the floored patio outside gave it a cozy feeling none of the other stables could properly capture.

That was where the travelers all sat now, laughing and talking at the two tables they pushed together. Link was comfortably nestled in Sky’s arms, bundled tight in his cloak after resting a weary head against the young man’s chest. He wasn’t as warm as Twilight and that wolf pelt he wore, but he smelled nice and his arms were just as inviting.

The urge to succumb to sleep in Sky’s arms was almost overwhelming, but no- he had to stay awake. A thought popped into his head and he began to crawl off of the man.

“Where are you going, wiggleworm?” Sky asked, letting him climb back down to solid ground.

“I want warm milk..” Link yawned, “So I’m gonna make some.”

The soft smile he got in return didn’t make it any easier to walk away from the others. He wanted nothing more than to crawl back up and let everyone’s chatter lull him to sleep. He’d wake up tomorrow in a nice warm bed, and someone would ask how he was and if he’d had pleasant dreams. Far too often he’d camp wherever, wake up leaned against a tree, cold and wet from the morning dew. He didn’t want to go back to that, at least while he was in this small body.

Oh goddesses above, he must be going soft. Surely he could blame it on the magic that had landed him in this predicament, not only had it changed him on the outside, but the inside as well. That was clear to him after yesterday’s scolding.

“Alright, after your milk I think it’s time for you to head to bed.” Sky replied, offering him a little wave before going back to talking to Legend about the biggest chuchu they’d each faced.

Link waved back and headed over to the cooking pot by himself. The only company he had was the stablemaster’s dog, who he’d fed banana slices to earlier and gained a friend. He wasn’t here to make warm milk, however. Back turned to the others, he searched through his slate till he found the small green pouch. Perfect.

It was tea, the extra strong stuff Zelda preferred in the mornings. Link didn’t consider himself a big tea fan, he really did like warm milk. Usually with a little honey dribbled in, right before bed or on especially cold mornings as he huddled near the fire. It wasn’t what he needed right now, though. He did not want to go gentle into that good night. The boy brought out his kettle and it was simple work after that.

Soon he’d returned to the group with a mug of tea, admittedly with some milk and honey added. He’d tried a sip without them and it was.. unpleasant. Link was never a fan of bitter things, even with his older body.

Sky helped him back onto his lap with nothing more than a ‘hup’ and a smile. It seemed everyone else was debating whether or not they should go to bed, but no one was making the first move yet. Link rolled his eyes, drinking more tea and allowing himself to finally relax.

The hero wasn’t worried about falling asleep now. He couldn’t possibly fall asleep, he just had to wait for the caffeine to kick in. Link yawned and set his mug down on the table, unaware as his head began to droop lower and lower. He’d rest his eyes… just for a second…

 “You know, he’s a lot cuter when he isn’t awake and able to cause problems.”

“Oh hush, he’s adorable all the time. You’re just upset because he nearly gave you a heart attack you today.”

“Boys, quit. I think that’s our signal that we should all go to bed. You boys turn in, I’ll clean up here.”

“Are you sur-“

“Yes, now shoo.”

Link was faintly aware of the arms around him tightening a bit as they began to move, then the soft feel of a mattress under him. There was a settling of weight beside him, and someone’s soft breathing. It was so relaxing... wasn’t he supposed to be doing something?

….

Korok Forest!

Link had no trouble staying still when he snapped back awake. Nights on the road had ensured he no longer jumped, lest he ever alert a monster of his location. Or in this case, alert a group of overprotective weirdos, that he wasn’t soundly asleep.

He must have only been asleep for a bit, Sky was out cold beside him, but as he carefully sat up, Link only counted seven lumps in their rented beds. No matter. It was a lot easier to sneak past one than eight conscious minds.

As he slipped from the bed, he realized someone had tugged off his shoes. No point in pulling them back on, they were noisy. Link felt funny, he’d been asleep but now he was wide awake. More than wide awake, he felt alive. Were his hands supposed to be shaking? He chest felt a bit weird and he had to resist the urge to giggle as he crept out of the stable. I’m sneaky, I’m so sneaky. Everyone was asleep, or close enough to it, no one saw him. He hoped so, anyway.

The shadow he saw near the patio looked too tall and bulky to be anyone else but Time, and Link covered his mouth to be sure nothing came out. Time was the worst. He’d get yelled at again, and the one-eyed man never listened to him, never believed him. If the boy was caught, he’d get put back to bed and he’d never get the opportunity again tonight.

Jittery and heart racing a mile a minute, Link looked around one last time before dashing out and heading down the road towards the Lost Forest. He could do this. He had to; the Great Deku Tree might have answers to his current predicament and he was desperate for any lead.

The dirt under him felt cold and damp, and the wind bit at his uncovered digits. It didn’t slow him down any as he headed up the road, in fact, he tried to pick up the pace. At the very least, he still wore his cloak, dragging behind him as he scurried along.

The distance to the entrance of the Lost Woods felt farther away, but his little legs were simply a hindrance. He wasn’t tired at all; his hands were numb but could hear colors and see sounds. He felt like he could take on Calamity Ganon barehanded. Nothing could stop him from getting to the Great Deku Tree, anyway.  

Nothin-

A cackle rang in his ears and an arrow narrowly missed Link’s head, the surprise of it all tripping him up with a gasp before he got up and tried to dash away.

“Aw little hero, don’t run!”

Time ran a hand through his hair, fighting a yawn. He wanted to head to bed, but he also needed to finish his letter to Malon. He’d sent the boys off almost an hour ago, the two youngest already conked out.

Another yawn told the seasoned adventurer it was futile to try and write anything coherent. He’d have to pick up later, the words weren’t flowing now. Carefully, Time packed away the paper and his quill, standing and eying the mug Link had left behind.

The little one had said it was warm milk, but it didn’t look quite right. He took a whiff and scrunched his nose. That was tea. He took a sip and his good eye narrowed. It was tea. A bitter one too.

Suspicious now, he headed towards the back of the stable where the beds lay. Warriors, Wind, Four, Hyrule, Legend, Twilight, Sky, and…no Link. Heart leaping into his throat, Time checked again. Warriors, Wind, Four, Hyrule, Legend, Twilight, Sky, no Link. Oh goddesses, did he wander off? Was he kidnapped? Did one of those wolves drag him off?

“Did you see the little boy leave?” He asked, looking towards the stablemaster, frantic now.

“Hm. No, I’m afraid. I did hear something out by the road a while ago, thought it a bit strange. But this time of night, it’s not wise to leave the safety of the stable.” The man drawled, shaking his head a bit. “I didn’t snoop. That’s how travelers disappear.”

Time didn’t bother to thank him. He was no help, spouting cryptic nonsense that only fueled the pit of anxiety growing in his stomach. He headed outside, grabbing his sword and bow. The light was dim, but in the lantern-light, he saw a few tiny footprints head up the road.

“Link? Link, where are you?” He shouted, running. There were so many things that could kill a child of that size. How big were the keese in this Hyrule? He’d once seen two freakishly sized ones work together to haul off a yearling foal, of course that had been elsewhere, but he didn’t need to see it reenacted with a kid.

The footprints were few and far between, but Time found enough to lead him up the road and over towards the left path when it forked. He saw no blood, no wolf tracks, so he could only hope Link was still alright.

Oh, he was so in trouble when Time found him… He was going to find a leash or something. A harness so he could be carried like a backpack. Something, or else this kid was going to make him turn prematurely gray.

Was he actually going to have to let the boys come up with a babysitting schedule so this kid wouldn’t get himself killed? He wasn’t even armed! He had those bombs, but not everything was unaware as a sleeping hinox. Someone could kick the bomb back at him! He didn’t need any more scars.

Still running, he followed the signs, his knuckles white as he gripped his sword.

…Footprint

…Footprint

…Arrow?

Embedded in a tree was another that he pulled out of the rough bark. Time felt the hair raise on the back of his neck and he ducked behind the tree.

“Come now, Link.. There’s no use running around like this.” A voice called out and for a moment, Time felt very small. Like he was back at the start of his adventure, a wide-eyed little boy grasping his first sword. But no- they weren’t calling for him.

“Little boy, come out, come out…wherever you are..” Time nocked an arrow in his bow and tried to pinpoint the location of the voice. Was it one of those assassins? From the sound of it, he could guess they hadn’t laid their evil mitts on Link yet, but the boy was running on borrowed time at this point.

There was a small rustle of a bush up the road and the voice squawked with glee.

“There you are!”

Time didn’t waste the opportunity and stepped out behind the tree, bow drawn to fire at the direction of the voice. Across the path stood an unfortunately familiar figure clad in red and black, and wielding a strange bow. He didn’t wait before loosing an arrow.

The Yiga let out a cry as it pierced their arm, whirling around to see a very upset Hero of Time drawing back his bow once more. This time the arrow found its mark, lodging deep in their shoulder. He watched as they tried to perform the same hand gesture the last one had performed, but as it turned out, irreparable nerve damage meant their injured arm barely even twitched.

The assassin stumbled backwards as Time drew his bow for a third time, but the hero didn’t get the chance to shoot. With a surprised cry, the Yiga fell backwards into what Time had believed to be water. Now he wasn’t so sure.

He drew his sword and approached, wary of a trap but there was only the assassin’s strange bow left, slowly sinking into what he now recognized as muddy water, or more of a muddy sludge.

Time stuck the end of his sword in it to check the consistency and came back with goop clinging to the blade. There was no way anyone would be able to get out of that, much less someone with one good arm.

That was one problem resolved, but there was another, far more important issue.

“Little one? Where’d you go? The Yiga’s dead, please come out. Did he hurt you?” Time called out, waiting for a moment before calling again, “Link? Are you okay?”

He walked towards where he’d heard the bush rustle and pulled back the leaves to reveal... nothing?

“Link?”

Oh goddesses, where was he? Had he run off again? Or worse? What if the Yiga had injured him and he was bleeding out behind a tree?

Time checked everywhere he could, every bush, shrub, tree, everywhere. There was no sign of the kid, but no sign of blood either. Other than the Yiga’s, and that was in a concentrated area before they’d fallen.

“That little-“ He really run off again..

He looked around and realized this wasn’t something he’d be able to do by himself, there was too much area to search. Link could have continued down the road or turned back to go down the other fork in the road; he could have clambered onto the wooden planks partially sunk in the muck and headed for the strange, glowing blue tower… he could be anywhere.

Time huffed and sheathed his sword before turning back, running towards the stable once more. He needed to wake the others and get them out here. The sooner they could find Link, hopefully safe and sound, the sooner he could breathe.

Chapter Text

“Oh goddesses, he’s going to kill me when he finds me..” Link muttered under his breath, running as fast as his legs could carry him. He glanced behind him to see if Time had found him yet, tripping over a tree root with a startled gasp.

The boy tumbled to the ground and lay there, gasping for breath. His lungs burned in the crisp night air, legs throbbing from all the sudden sprinting in the cold. How could he have known a Yiga would pop out of nowhere? How did they know that it was him and not just some random kid?

Then again, the disguised one had recognized him no problem. It was probably the damned Sheikah Slate. The ancient artifact was both priceless and the bane of his very existence... or was that Ganon? The slate was more than handy, but it also was a crystal-clear indicator to those who wished to do him harm, that he was the Hylian Champion. It was like a glowing ‘kick me’ sign on his hip at all times.

Sometimes Link had debated whether or not it was worth it to just purchase a satchel and carry the slate hidden away in it. That was far too risky, he could lose it, or a quick-fingered traveler could snatch it. No, it was better kept on his hip. Even if it did attract trouble almost as well as he did on his own.

It wasn’t really his problem right now, however. The problem he was facing was the fact Time had figured out he snuck out. Even if the man had saved him from a Yiga, Link didn’t want to face him. He was going to be livid, he was going to give him that disappointed look, and the boy didn’t want to feel that dark pit in his chest again. Like he’d let Time down.

So he’d ran.

Even as Time called out to him, as he knew Time would be panicking, he ran as fast as he could away. The one-eyed man was a stranger still, all of those travelers were, so why did he care so much what they thought of him? Why did he want to make them proud, spend time with them, and care about them?

Maybe he really was going soft?

Link pulled himself up, brushing off the dirt on his tunic before looking around. This was no time to think such sentimental things, he was supposed to be running away from Time, not thinking about how nice it had felt when the man had ruffled his hair and commended him on dinner, or how he liked when Warriors played with his hair, or even how he felt so safe and warm when he nodded off in Twilight’s arms.

A childish giggle snapped him out of his thoughts and Link froze. It wasn’t the usual cackle the Yiga elicited when they found him, it was more like..

“Korok.” He whispered, all thoughts disappearing save for one, even as his body nearly vibrated with all the energy he had right now. Find it…and maybe I should get my hands on more of Zel’s tea.

He hadn’t thought he was that close to the Lost Woods, and he’d found all those pesky Koroks, but maybe they had wandered? Maybe they’d stolen Hestu’s maraca seeds again? Link shivered, wrapping his cloak around him a bit tighter, there was no way he would be able to help find them, not again..

He did want to find this one giggling Korok however, heading off towards the sound. Then he spotted a mushroom and got sidetracked. Maybe he should make mushroom skewers? Or rice balls? Maybe soup? Or an omelet! A mushroom omelet sounded amazing right now!

Link was about ready to pull out firewood from his slate when he heard another giggle up the road, and he ran towards it. It sounded like it was right behind the bushes near one of the larger trees, but when he pounced on the shrub with the full weight of his little body, he found nothing. Nothing but a lizard scurrying away in the dirt, which he quickly grabbed.

There was another tiny laugh a bit farther along the path and with a frustrated growl, Link chased after it. When he peered behind the tree he thought the Korok was hiding behind, he once again found nothing. Then another giggle.. He couldn’t help but huff, stomping one of his bare feet in the cold and hard-packed dirt of the road.

He was going to find this Korok if it was the last thing he did.

Luckily enough, Link found it wasn’t his last action, though it did seem a futile one. He ran after the noises, sneaking up to where they came from, and then finding nothing, rinsing and repeating till he had ran under an old stone archway and realized he was at the entrance to the Lost Woods.

The Korok was pushed from the overly caffeinated child’s mind as he followed the lit beacons. Korok Forest had lots of Koroks, and also the Great Deku Tree. He wondered if Hestu would be willing to teach him his dance. Surely the kindly Korok would be happy to.

Link almost forgot to snatch the torch up when he reached the final two beacons. He had a collection of torches in his slate but leaving one out here might help Time figure out how to get into the forest.

He couldn’t have that happening.

With a soft hum, he stood on his tiptoes to light the torch and ran deeper into the forest.

Legend clicked his tongue as he nearly slipped in the mud for the third time in five minutes. He swore, once they found the kid, he was going use the Captain’s scarf to make a wrap and just carry Link around. He couldn’t run off if he couldn’t touch the ground.

Link was like a mini-Hyrule, always running off and worrying everyone else. Hyrule however, was armed with much more than bombs and had adult-sized legs that could run from monsters much faster.

They’d been woken up by Time, who was out of breath, and despite his tone had a very panicked look in his eyes.

“Link ran off. A Yiga attacked, I took care of him, but now I can’t find the kid.”

That was how Legend found himself running around in the dead of night, even as it began to rain. The ground was becoming increasingly muddy and he had to pause to scrape his boots off. This was going to be a pain to properly clean later on, but he knew he had more dire things to be concerned with.

Mainly the kid.

He caught up to the others who were standing on the edge of what looked to be a muddy bog and a small monster camp on some wooden platforms. It smelled awful and Legend found a rock to toss into the muck.

“You know, if he fell in there, he’d definitely be dead by now. We’ve been running, but by the time that Time reached us and we came up here, that’s been, what? Ten minutes?” He spoke up, glancing at a pale Hero of Time, “So good thing you made sure he didn’t trip and land in the mud, right?”

“I-“ Time stuttered, looking more horrified than Legend had ever seen him.

“Relax, there’s no footprints small enough to be his around here. Or skid marks if he slipped in. He’s not dumb, Time. Just a bit.. wild. I’m sure he’s laughing at us from the bushes or whatever it is that kids do these days. We’ll find him.”

“He’s not dumb, I know.” Time replied, clearly trying to calm himself down. It was odd to see him so distraught, the calm, ever-knowing leader façade so fractured, but Legend couldn’t blame him. He was worried sick about the kid as well.

“I’m sure he’s quite intelligent, that much is perfectly clear with his little scheme. What I’m worried about is that it’s cold and he’s out here somewhere, all... hopped up on caffeine.” Time continued, waving a hand about as if it would help him prove his point.

Legend knew that to be true. After Time had woken them up, he’s seen the cup, tasted the tea. It was the ridiculously strong stuff. He knew only because he drank the same thing in the morning. The kid was either running around like a cucco with its head chopped off or found something to so strongly hyper-fixate on he could forget to breathe. Either way, he wouldn’t be able to focus on his surroundings like someone needed to when they were alone in the woods. 

“We should split up. Start looking before we waste any more time.” Warriors piped up, stepping in front of Time so their chosen leader couldn’t stare at the muddy bog anymore. He might get ideas, and they didn’t need to haul him out because he needed to make sure Link wasn’t in the muck. Just to be sure.

He couldn’t possibly be, even Legend couldn’t bring himself to think that pessimistically.

“— and they don’t even know basic cooking tips! None! I pulled out some thyme for the soup and Four looked at me like I had grown a second head!”

Link had made it to Korok Forest without issue and was currently sitting in Hestu’s arms, tiny hands holding borrowed maracas. The Korok had been beside himself when he’d seen the acclaimed Mr. Hero in his current predicament.

Though Hestu had finally stopped cooing over him, he’d not yet been placed back down. Not that he minded. He got to hold maracas, after all. Light, noisy, and fun to shake, Link could see why the giant Korok never set them down.

“Why do you stay with them then, little Mister Hero?” Hestu spoke up, spinning the child in his arms a bit, “There must be something that keeps you so close to them, right?”

“I-“ Link hadn’t thought about that, not properly. He stuck around them and hadn’t thought of genuinely running away. Even now, this night’s adventure was simply temporary. He’d only planned to sneak off to talk to the Great Deku Tree, then he assumed he’d just sneak back.

Why did he stick around?

“I guess I don’t know.” He answered, looking up at Hestu, giving the maracas a little shake. “They’re kind. I mean, they’re a bit overbearing and I wish they’d believe me. But I can’t really blame them. I bet wherever they’re from, they don’t have one hundred- and seventeen-year-old people stuck in kid bodies. Or even any one hundred- and seventeen-year olds who look like teenagers, once I get back to how I’m supposed to look.”

Link always enjoyed talking to Hestu, the Korok saw things through an optimistic lens and could always point out a different angle when he had a problem that needed solving. He also never judged like a mortal would, he rolled with things and that was the sort of person Link needed right now.

“I wouldn’t believe someone, if a kid came up to me and claimed to be over a century old. I mean, it sounds exactly like those silly things little kids do to entertain themselves. Just last week, Aster claimed she was a goat. Then she got the rest of the kids in Hateno acting like goats too.” Link groaned, “Oh no, they must really think I’m just a weird kid!”

In his current state, the Champion hadn’t any qualms when it came to pouting, wiggling little toes as he tried to work through all the thoughts in his head. “I like them.” He finally admitted, “I do, even if they don’t believe me. Yet. I’ll find a way to make them believe. They’re kind, and they’re funny. I like spending time with them. All of them. I think they’re heroes, they got the funny outfits and unique weapons. I mean, one of them even has the Master Sword. Or a lookalike, when I look at it, it feels real. I’ll have to ask, I haven’t done that yet, but I should.”

“Travelers, heroes from a different world. I mean-“ Link sighed, “the past few days have been really weird, so I’d believe just about anything and I’ve never seen them before. But if they are heroes, I think I want to help them with whatever they’ve come here to do. Thanks, Hestu, I think I needed to talk that out. Do you want to play hide-and-seek with me? I promised Maca and some of the others I would.”

“Hylia, don’t you ever get tired of being the cruelest, most unlikeable being in existence? I can’t make a five-year-old a coffin. Not today, you hear me?” Legend huffed under his breath, glancing upwards as if the stony goddess would ever answer.

It had been hours since they’d first started the search for the kid. They’d climbed through what he’d assumed was an old abandoned training ground, slaying a horde of monsters along the way, they’d scoured the pathways, and a small group was even beginning to scale the path up to Death Mountain a bit.

No one had seen anything. It was pouring at this point, the road was so flooded that the light footprints of someone as small as Link, would be long gone. They were getting so desperate Warriors and Wind had decided to actually search through the muddy bog, just in case, ropes tied securely around their waists and tethered to a tree so they could find their way back to the surface, and to be pulled up if they couldn’t do it themselves. Time and Sky were tasked with that, but it didn’t seem necessary. With all the extra water from the sky, the bog was becoming runnier and all sorts of unpleasant things were bobbing to the surface. Bokoblin skulls, wooden weapons, even the corpse of a certain Yiga who’d tried to face off against Time.

While everyone else was searching elsewhere, Legend decided to slip and slide his way up the road once more. They’d found some crumbled ruins earlier, maybe a house or a hut. All that remained now were a few walls and a small beacon. It wasn’t lit anymore, and the fog surrounding the rest of the woods had become too thick to see a hand in front of their faces. At least it wouldn’t rain here.

They’d looked for anything else, another beacon, Link, anything, but had found nothing. Now, however, Legend saw something. The fog had lifted enough he could make out another beacon, the flame in it sputtering out even as he headed for it.

The hero was trying to keep track of where the beginning was; fog was without a doubt, horrifically dangerous. Thick fog especially. If it descended upon him again, he’d be in trouble. He could misstep and fall into a bog, or off a cliff. Legend could become so turned around that he’d never find his way out again and no one would ever find him. Only one day, someone might come across a pile of bones with too many rings on its fingers.

Even though every muscle in his body was telling him to turn tail, Legend continued onward. He found one beacon after another, eventually finding two final ones, roaring brightly even with the wind licking at their flames.

The veteran huffed and rolled his eyes. He hadn’t gone through all that he had in his travels to not recognize a puzzle when he saw one. It had to be a simple enough one, as well. Link may be plenty smart normally, but he didn’t think a caffeinated child would have the sort of focus or attention span that was needed for a longer puzzle.

It took Legend two minutes of looking around till he assumed he figured it out. There wasn’t a torch around, but that was why he tried to come prepared. Preparation was key. He fished around in one of his bags till he found a torch and lit it. The embers of the fires were only floating in one direction, not twisting and turning like a normal fire. He figured that meant he had to follow them.

He tried to remind himself that he could wander off path and into this dark and foggy forest. No map in sight. It’s for the kid, I’m doing this for the kid.

With a deep breath to steel himself, Legend walked deeper into the woods.

It was a fairly short, but horrifically tense walk and Legend had never wanted a map more urgently in his life. He was trying to think of the lecture he would give Link, but as soon as the air turned lighter and he saw the tiny footprints he recognized as the child’s, he forgot it all.

“Link?!” he shouted out, running forward. He saw no sign of the child, but he did see.. he didn’t know what he was seeing. Small little wooden creatures? They were cute, with their stubby little limbs and leaf masks, but Legend didn’t have time to dwell on any sort of cuteness.

“Where’s-“

A light and airy voice cut him off, “You must be one of little Mister Hero’s friends!” He looked around to see a very tall and very rotund one of the wooden creatures run towards him. “He told me about you! Shaka! The grumpy one with the silly hat and no pants! It’s very nice to meet you, I’m Hestu!”

They could talk?! Legend took a wary step back, “Wha- never mind. Yes, I’m friends with him. Where is he? Is he okay?”  

The creature nodded, “Oh yes, he is. He’s sleeping, though. In Gramps’ navel, shaka.”

Legend gripped the hilt of his sword, “Are you saying someone ate him?”

Hestu shook his head, “Oh no! No eating, silly. Gramps is over there.” He pointed to the large tree in the center of the forest and Legend realized its trunk resembled a face, complete with a large hole below it that he could only assume was the ‘navel’ of it.

“He’s sleeping in there. He had lots and lots of energy! But then-“ Hestu deflated a little, “he got all sleepy, shaka.. like this. So, we put him on the bed in Gramps’ navel.”

Legend didn’t bother to talk with the creature anymore, heading straight to the large tree, running up into the hole. His heart was racing, desperate to see Link and make sure the boy was alright.

There he was, muddy feet and all, curled up on a bed made out what looked to be leaves. He was sleeping, but even then, Legend could see his little chest rise and fall time and time again. Legend’s legs felt weak with relief, but he headed over, crouching next to the bed to shake his shoulder.

“Hey, Link. Wake up.” He said, making sure he wasn’t shouting. It took a few attempts, but the boy stirred, opening his eyes slowly before they landed on Legend.

That woke him up in no time.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please don’t be mad, please don’t-“ Link was repeating it over and over again like a mantra, big blue eyes already filling with tears that threatened to spill over his cheeks.

Legend felt his heart ache and he reached up to brush a stray piece of hair out of the little one’s face as Link finally begin to cry softly.

“Hey, hey now. I’m not mad, okay? Look, lo-“ Legend placed his hands on Link’s shoulders, trying to not think about how small they were. Kids were so fragile, so breakable. He didn’t know how people could confidently choose to care for them. It was far too stressful an idea.

“Listen, bug-a-boo..” Legend said, moving to instead cup Link’s face in his hand, using the pad of his thumb to carefully brush away the tears dripping down his face. “I’m not mad at you, I’m so very glad that I found you and that you aren’t hurt, okay?”

Link sniffled, tiny hands fisted into Legend’s sleeves like he was nothing more than a security blanket, “Really?”

“Yes, really. We’ve all been looking all over for you and since we couldn’t find you, we were beginning to imagine the worst.” Legend nodded, making sure his tone was soft and calm like Twilight always did when he had to talk to a little one.

“Oh no! Time! He’s going to be so mad, he’s gonna-“ Link’s eyes widened again and Legend moved to sit on the edge of the bed, pulling the boy into a hug.

“Nope, not going to be mad either.” The young man shook his head this time, rubbing a circle on the boy’s back like his uncle used to when he was upset, “I know he’s going to be just as relieved as I am to see you safe and sound. I promise he won’t be mad. I know the Old Man can look scary sometimes, but he’s a real sap.” Apparently I am too…

Legend sat there as Link cried a bit, he figured the little one just needed to get it all out and then he’d feel better.

“I’m sorry for crying on you,” Link finally spoke up, about as solid as a chuchu. A caffeine crash and impromptu crying session could certainly do that. It cost ten minutes and Legend’s shoulder felt suspiciously soggy with tears, but it was worth it if Link felt better. “I thought this would be quick, that I’d leave and then come back before anyone noticed. But then Time noticed, and a Yiga found me, too.”

“Eh, it’s fine. If I find snot on my tunic, I’m making you wash it though.” Legend teased, “I think it’s a good thing Time noticed then. From what he told us, you weren’t in a great situation, why’d you leave, bug-a-boo? Something couldn’t wait till morning when we were awake?”

Link bit his lip, but Legend stared till he got an answer, “I wanted to talk to the Great Deku Tree.”

When he got a confused look from Legend, he continued, “The tree guy. Face tree. Tree guy with a face. What’s a bug-a-boo? You called me it twice.”

Legend felt his face heat up and he wondered for a moment if he could just wait till Link fell asleep again and forgot about it. He looked close to nodding off again, anyway. “I, uh, don’t know exactly. I think it’s sort of like a troublemaker? Or some sort of bokoblin? But my uncle used to call me that when I was your age.”

“I like it.” Link offered a tired smile, cheeks still red and swollen from crying. “You can call me a bug-a-boo then. But only you.”

Legend couldn’t fight off the fond smile on his own face as he watched the little one yawn, “Okay, only me then. You want to head back and let everyone else know that a moblin didn’t make you a midnight snack?”

Link looked like he wanted to argue, but another yawn apparently derailed his thoughts, and he rested his head against Legend’s chest, “Mm, yeah. I guess. There’s a shortcut out of here, you can ask any of the Koroks.”

“Are those the weird wood people?” Legend asked, receiving a nod in response. It seemed Link had already begun to doze off. Making sure he was secure in his arms, the young man stood and headed out.

Most of the Koroks ran away from him, but he found the big one and asked for directions to the shortcut. After being pointed the way and only somewhat skeptically stepping into the large and very pointy mouth-like hollow of a dead tree, he found himself at the beginning of the foggy forest.

“Well I’ll be..” he mumbled, glancing back at the woods once more before heading back down the path. The sun was beginning to rise and rain had stopped completely, it seemed. Good, now to let the other heroes know that Link was not only found, but alive as well, sleeping peacefully in his arms.

Chapter Text

Time drummed his fingers against the worn table out on the patio, calloused hands brushing against the faded worn. There were scribblings etched by travelers past and present, initials, tidbits of advice, warnings, even simple symbols. Butterflies, hearts, squiggles. How many travelers had passed by over the years?

How many of those travelers were still alive?

How many had died? How had they died? Was it from old age, or had they departed from this world the way most reckless travelers did? At the end of a sword or lost in the woods.

How were the people of this Hyrule? Did they know that their reincarnated Hero was a mere child? Did they know he stomped when he was angry? That his smile was a bit lopsided when he laughed? Did they even care? Or did they not care who their savior was, as long as all their problems were fixed?

Time knew how cruel people could be, how little people could care. For Link’s sake, he could only hope this Hyrule was different than his own.

He didn’t know anything about this Hyrule, however. Until they did, until someone explained it, Time prayed Hylia might be uncharacteristically merciful. Though from the scars, she’d chosen to be her same uncaring self.

“Hey now, there’s no need to ruin the table.”

The voice tore Time from his thoughts, and he realized he’d been picking away at the table’s surface. He clicked his tongue, annoyed at himself as he glanced up. Four was walking over, readjusting his headband.

“Everyone still asleep?” Time asked and the smithy nodded.

“Sleeping like babes. It’s actually pretty cute. We’re going to ruin Link’s sleep schedule if we let him sleep much longer, though. And I don’t think any of us want to switch to a nocturnal schedule for him.”

Time sighed and stood, “Alright, thanks for letting me know. I’ll get them up. Keep an eye on that traveler over there. I know a pickpocket when I see one, and he keeps eyeing our gear.”

“Got it, Old Man.”

When Legend had emerged from the woods last night with a small, limp bundle, he’d immediately thought the worst. The veteran, much to his credit, had seen everyone’s panicked and horror-stricken expressions and promptly called out that Link had only crashed from the caffeine.

Up close, Time had found it to be true. Link was alive and breathing, though a bit cold and muddy. His hair was in a state as well, but they were all counting their blessings that it was all that had befallen the child.

Once they were positive that their little one really was okay, everyone seemed to sag a bit. There was no more panic and adrenaline fueling their bodies, they’d spent the whole night running around, and in two of their cases, diving into muddy sludge. That wasn’t something to swim in, it was like wading in pudding. Warriors and Wind both looked like muck monsters and Time was sure their limbs must be screaming at them. They were going to be sore later.

It was a group effort to stagger down past the stable to the pond to wash up, as well as to ensure no one drowned because they fell asleep washing their face. Sky and Four did alright, but Time watched Hyrule and Twilight fish Warriors and Wind out of the water a few times.

“So did our little troublemaker decide to divulge where he had to run off to so suddenly?” Time asked, walking over to where Legend was helping a groggy Link wash the mud off his bare feet. The other hero hadn’t let the little one go for a moment and Time had to bite his tongue to keep him from teasing Legend about getting attached.

He wasn’t one to talk anyway; if Malon had seen how distraught he’d been, she would never give it a rest.

“The Lost Woods. He said he wanted to go talk to the Great Deku Tree.” Legend mumbled, unaware as Time felt every muscle in his body stiffen. “I didn’t get anything else out of him, not about that. Just wanted to talk to the giant tree with the face.”

“Oh? And what did the giant tree with the face say?” Time asked, forcing his voice to keep level.

“Nothing. He never talked to it, Link fell asleep.” The hero sat the kid on his lap and got to work trying to brush through his hair, plucking out leaves and twigs.

“Hm.”

“Hm what? You look like something’s on your mind, Old Man.” Legend asked, raising an eyebrow as he spared Time a glance.

“Nothing. Just tired. Once you’re done cleaning him up, get you both into bed. We’ve had a hell of a night.” He turned his back to the young man and headed towards the others, trying to ignore the sensation of eyes boring into the back of his head. Legend was too inquisitive sometimes.

It didn’t take long, but still longer than it should have to get everyone washed up and in warm, clean, and most importantly dry clothes. They were all bone tired, but as he made sure everyone climbed into a bed before passing out, Time couldn’t quite get himself into his own bed. There was too much on his mind right now.

The Great Deku Tree, the Lost Woods… Not only that, but Link did have his moments where he seemed so mature for a five-year old. He knew the land so well, seemingly had survived on his own without any parents for a while. There was a pressing question that had been plaguing Time for a while, but now it was at the front of his thoughts and he needed answers.

Was the kid a Kokiri?

Was it even possible for the Hero of Courage to be a Kokiri? Was he really over one hundred years old? Was that old? Time remembered asking Saria and a few of the others how old they were, but he’d never gotten a straight answer.

Maybe Link was young for a Kokiri? He was certainly the smallest one he’d ever met.

If he was one.

Time wasn’t sure. He always figured himself for a pretty mature kid for his age, maybe Link was like that too? Thus, the seasoned traveler had found himself arguing each side of his internal debate for hours. Until Four had woken up and wandered out of the stable to tell him that they’d been sleeping long enough, and the others needed to be woken.

That was where he found himself now.

Time didn’t know what he had expected to find, but it certainly wasn’t what greeted him inside. When the boys had gone to bed, he assumed it was each in their own beds. They paid for them, after all.

Instead, they had apparently tried to fit as many people in a bed as possible. They had managed to fit them all in three, or one mega-bed. They’d pushed beds together to achieve it, and Time could only hope they’d asked the stablemaster beforehand.

Warriors was on the closer end, followed by Wind who seemed determined to take up as much space as possible, a hand tossed across Warriors’ face and a leg draped over the next two in their pile, Twilight and Sky. Little Link was next, sandwiched comfortably between Sky and Legend, and hugging an arm from both of them. That left Hyrule on the end, though there was a suspiciously Four shaped indent in the blankets on his other side.

It was adorable, and Time wished he had a way to memorialize the moment. He had none that he knew of, so he tried to instead unabashedly burn the memory into his brain before he got to work waking everyone up.

No one was thrilled to get up, but Time didn’t hear anyone complain either. They were spending another night here at the stable, it was a fact that was left unspoken between the group. There was no immediate urgency, so if they could recover from last night someplace warm and relatively safe, all the better.

Today was a lazy day. A luxury that the group didn’t get often. They could rest, explore a bit, whatever that kept them alive and entertained. In Time’s case, it meant trying to convince Link to take him to the Great Deku Tree and hopefully figuring out if the little one was an ageless, magical offspring of said tree. Or a mere Hylian like himself.

Not only did Time want to learn more about the hero of this Hyrule, but he wanted to see the Great Deku Tree in general. He’d never thought he’d see his adoptive father again. The last Time had seen him, he was nothing more than a sprout, wise beyond his years, but a sprout, nonetheless. How big was he now? How long had it been between his own Hyrule and this one? Did the Great Deku Tree even remember him?

Time glanced over to see Link giggling like a maniac. While he’d been lost in thought, it seemed someone had suggested playing Hot Potato. Or in this case, Throw the Child.

“Higher!” Link squealed and Time watched everyone join in before they began to try and goad him to take part in their shenanigans.

Who was he to go against the group?

The group of heroes played their new game till Twilight threw their youngest a bit too high and got him stuck in a tree. Once they got him down, they decided it was time for lunch. No one wanted to take the time to cook, so they settled for sandwiches. Link had a few loaves of wheat bread in that slate of his and they went from there.

Then it was time for Time to enact his plan.

“Link, let’s go on a walk.”

It had been a simple enough request from Time, and yet Link couldn’t help but be nervous. Wind whispering a quiet, “Ooh, he’s gonna yell at you.” while they left hadn’t aided him any. He hadn’t talked to Time yet, not after Legend had found him. He could foggily remember the buzz of voices and the feel of water on his legs, but that was it.

For the time being, Link wore a far too big tunic while his other one and his newly acquired pants dried from being washed. Not an issue normally, but he kept tripping on the hem as he walked. As least he had his boots this time.

Time was quiet as they walked, and Link tried not to let it get to him. He looked pensive, though he still offered a hand to hold after one stumble too many on Link’s part. Stupid tiny legs..

“Legend told me you went to see the Great Deku Tree last night.” The tall man finally spoke, and Link stared up at him, waiting for him to continue, “Is that right?”

“Yeah, to talk.” Link answered, “You talk like you know who he is. Legend doesn’t.”

Time chuckled softly, looking ahead, “I do, I know him- or knew him better than most. I haven’t seen him in a long time, Apple slice”

Link sputtered, coming to a halt, “Apple slice?”

The man came to a stop as well, glancing down at him, “Mhm, Apple slice. Your tunic is red, little one. And you had an uncanny resemblance to an apple when the Pup got you stuck up in that tree. You also eat more apple slices than anyone I’ve ever met.”

His face felt hot and Link didn’t like it. “Apple slice is something you’d call a horse. I don’t want to be Apple slice- or Apple.” He cut Time off when he saw him open his mouth. “Why does Twilight get something cool like Pup and I gotta be Apple slice? It’s lame. And dorky.”

Time just stared for a moment before he laughed, a genuine and hearty-sounding laugh which made Link’s face only feel more heated. Was he being laughed at?

He felt a large hand ruffle his hair as Time spoke again, “If it makes you feel better, the others don’t have any nicknames. Even lame ones. But if you’re so against apple slice, how about Cub?”

Link tilted his head at that one, still hanging off Time’s hand, “Explain.”

“Well, you seem to like Pup’s nickname, and you seemed very at home in that tree earlier.” Time grinned, “So I hope you like it, because you either get Apple slice or Cub?”

They walked the rest of the way in a comfortable silence till Link realized they were at the edge of the Lost Woods. Time had done this on purpose, a silent question to be taken to the Great Deku Tree?

“If I take you to him, you can’t yell at me for running off last night.” Link proposed, side-eying the man.

“Deal. And I don’t yell. I scold, there’s a difference.” Time replied easily, a twinkle in his eye.

“Six of one, half dozen of another.” Link murmured under his breath and Time rolled his eyes.

“You and Malon have some of the weirdest sayings I’ve ever heard... Now let’s go, Cub. We don’t need to be gone from the group for too long. Twilight and Warriors always end up fighting over who gets to be the next leader if they think I’m gone, and Sky can only mediate so much.”

Link snickered a little, imagining it. “Yeah, alright fine.” He tightened his grip on Time’s hand and began to lead him through the forest, other hand holding the lit torch high when it came time to use it.

The woods were eerily silent in a way he had never heard before. They were.. waiting, but for what he did not know, he just picked up his pace.

Link was surprised that they arrived to Korok Forest without incident, but he was paying more attention to Time now. The man looked excited, looking around at everything as if it were familiar and yet all completely new. Time let go of his hand now, striding forward till his boots hit the pedestal, neck craned up high. Link was running after him and he could have sworn Time’s good eye looked watery as he stared up at the towering tree above them.

“Dad?”

Chapter Text

Time couldn’t believe it…

He was really back here after all these years! Not only that, but the Deku Tree was looking amazing. It had grown so much from the tiny sprout he’d last seen. It was the biggest he’d ever seen him, branches full and lush with foliage. They were the prettiest color as well, baby pink petals lazily drifting to rest peacefully on the forest floor.

How much time had passed? Between when the Deku Sprout had been planted for it to have grown this much? It looked so healthy… the whole forest did.

It all looked so different from what he remembered. No houses, no spacious open areas to run around and play tag with the Kokiri.

There were no Kokiri here, no remnants of them. All Time found were small wooden creatures who resembled logs more than any ageless forest children. Still, he felt the same soft lull of the forest within them. It felt familiar in the same way the Kokiri would laugh and play when he was younger, when Saria would dry his tears when he used to cry, begging Hylia for a fairy, when Mido would scoff at him but still take the time to teach him how to properly tumble and roll.

These were children of the forest, no doubt about it. Familiar and yet strange and new. Just like the forest.

Time headed closer to the slumbering tree, trying to ignore the knot growing in his stomach. Would the Great Deku Tree still remember him? It had been so long, and he assumed even the immortal had limits to their memory.

“Great Deku Tree?” Time spoke and his voice sounded unfamiliar to him, so small. He felt like a mere child again, all those years ago before he knew about Ganondorf, before the Triforce, before he had to be a hero. Back when he was nothing more than Link.

“Dad? Please wake up.”

He waited with bated breath, the tree made no sound for what felt like an eternity before finally, it elicited a yawn, then another, slowly stirring.

“Who?...What’s going on- Oh?” The tree spoke and Time instinctively stood on his tiptoes. He’d done it as a child, a reflexive action when he was with the Deku Tree in an attempt to appear taller, to try and make sure his father could see him, look at him.

“Dad? It’s me. Link.”

The ancient spirit was quiet for a beat before it spoke again, voice booming, “Oh? Oh, is it you Link, my child? Really and truly, is it you, my son?”

Time didn’t realize he was crying till the Great Deku Tree began to look blurry. He chuckled quietly, wiping away the tears spilling down his cheeks.

“I missed you, Dad.. So much.” He whispered, “I never thought I’d see you again..”

He didn’t feel like the Hero of Time right now. He didn’t feel like the leader of his group of reincarnated Heroes. Time was none of those things in that moment. He was simply a son who had the chance to talk to his father one last time.

“It is you, Link.” The Great Deku Tree sighed in relief. “After all these years, you have returned home even for just a moment. My son, I have missed you so. I am sure you have many tales to tell me, but for now, your little shadow seems a touch confused.”

Shadow? Time blinked and whirled around to see Link still standing where he’d been left. The expression on the kid’s face was comical, but anything could have made the seasoned hero laugh right now in his elated state. He walked towards the little one and crouched in front of him with a smile.

“How’d..” Link mumbled, holding his head with one hand while his other pointed at Time, “You..Dad? How’d a tree have a kid? A Hylian kid? He’s your dad?!”

Time snickered again and scooped him up without complaint. It seemed Link was far too confused. “Yes, Apple Slice. The Great Deku Tree is my father. I was brought here when I was a baby by my dying mother, he raised me as if I was his own. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

“..He’s got no arms though..” Link replied, “And I said no Apple Slice- wait, do you have apple slices?”

Time was on cloud nine as he got settled, sitting down with Link in his arms, working on slicing up an apple for him as he talked.

“Well, he had help, his children, the children of the forest helped raise me too. They have arms.”

“Like Hestu and the others?” Link asked, staring up at him.

“I don’t think I’ve met this...Hestu, but it they are children of the forest, yes.”

Link stared a moment more before switching his gaze to the tree, “I can’t get over that Grandp- the Great Deku Tree is your dad.” he corrected, the ends of his ears turning noticeably red.

“Grandpa?” Time asked, raising a brow.

“I- Shut up! Goddesses above, you’re so obstinate!” Link stood, his blush quickly spreading to his face and down his neck, “You’re stupid! Gimme my snack, I’m going to talk to someone who isn’t so annoying.”

Time handed the tyke his apple slices and watched him stomp away towards a small group of the strange wooden creatures, face matching the skin of his snack.

“You know, if I was half as cute as he is, back when I was little, I think I could have just asked Ganon to stop and he would have.” He sighed, trying to wipe the smile off of his face.

“I think you were plenty cute, my son. Though I might be biased.” The Deku Tree spoke, his tone full of fondness.

“Do you really remember me?” Time asked, “Last I saw, you were only a sprout and now you’ve grown even taller than I’ve ever seen. How long has it been?”

The Deku Tree hummed, “I do remember you, Link. I never forgot you my dear son. Though I may have lost count of the years past, not once have I forgotten you. Now tell me, child, what have you been up to?”

Time recounted what had happened. He didn’t want to talk of Termina nor the masks, but he spoke of Malon, of the ranch. Of Zelda and how under her rule, Hyrule had flourished. How Epona was still just as spirited as she was when she was younger. He spoke of the boys, the strange portals that whisked them from one Hyrule to the next.

A question popped into his head, one he was painfully familiar with over the years and one he’d never thought he’d get the opportunity to ask.

“Saria’s gone, isn’t she?” Time knew the answer already, but he needed to hear someone else say it.

“Yes, Link. They all are, I’m afraid. Though they are an ageless race, that doesn’t make them immortal.”

“Are the Kokiri themselves gone? Is- Is Link a Kokiri, Dad? He called you Grandpa. His scars run so deep, and he’s so independent too, he knows this land like the back of his hand and-

“Hush, my child.” The Great Deku Tree spoke once more. “He is not a Kokiri, though if he were, he would be the last of his kind. The Kokiri are no more. Though fear not, they merely adapted through the ages. Look, son.”

Time didn’t know what he was supposed to be looking at exactly, the tree had no hands of which to point. Eventually he spotted Link with the small wooden people, trying his best to copy the large one’s dance.

“They are the Koroks. Ageless children of the forest. They call me Grandpa. I do believe their nickname has simply rubbed off on him. He spends almost as much time here as you used to.”

“I don’t blame him. A kid amongst kids must have a blast here.” Time mused.

“Everyone is a child at heart, are they not? Though I fear it is not children’s games that bring him back time and time again. The world outside of the forest has been particularly cruel to him.”

Time was going to ask the Great Deku Tree to explain but Link took that moment to wander back over. “Yes, Cub?”

“Are you guys done talking? I still have questions for the Grandpa, and then can we go? I played hide-and-seek twenty-four times and Hestu taught me all the dances he knows. I’m bored.” Link asked, chewing his bottom lip.

Had they really been talking that long? Now that he thought about it, it could have been hours. The other boys were going to start to worry, last night had left them all on edge, no matter how they claimed otherwise.

“Yeah, I suppose. Ask your questions and then we can head out of here.” He nodded. “I’m sorry we got carried away.”

Link shook his head, “No, no. It’s fine. You said he’s your dad. And apparently you haven’t talked to him for a really long time. I can’t promise anything right away, I have to get Purah to fix my slate. But once she does, we can come here anytime you want. There’s a shrine here.”

Right, the Sheikah slate. Link had talked about its ability to teleport him from place to place, but until he saw it work for himself, he was still skeptical. And confused. How could technology transport people like that? He only knew of magic’s capabilities to do so.

“Well thank you, Link.” Time smiled, “Now come, ask your questions.” There was a moment’s pause before it clicked. “Oh. Oh! I’ll let you talk in private. Sorry, Apple Slice. I’ll go meet your friends in the meantime.”

He wandered over to the small wooden creatures, noting the various faces on their little leaf masks. They were adorable, and as much as he missed the Kokiri, he was glad these Koroks were thriving.

“Are you Little Mister Hero’s friend?” one of them chimed and Time was reminded of the fairies, they both spoke with the same high-pitched, childish tone.

“Yes, I suppose so.” He smiled in a friendly manner, promising himself he would never forget ‘Little Mister Hero’ as long as he lived. He had to use that, though he supposed he’d have to wait the perfect moment. “Are you his friends too?”

“We are!” Another spoke up, bouncing a bit, “I helped him save the world! I sold him some mushrooms so he would have energy to fight and save the world, and he did!”

“Oh, well it sounds like you did, didn’t you?” Time felt his smile strain a bit. So Link had faced Ganon.. how long ago was that? Were those scars the result? They didn’t look brand new by any means, so he guessed they weren’t. He didn’t like what that meant, though. Time couldn’t dwell on that now, the Koroks were beginning to tell him about their Little Mister Hero and how he found all the Korok seeds. He didn’t understand most of what they were saying, but he nodded nonetheless.

“I’m done, let’s go.” Link eventually returned, hugging himself.

Time watched him for a moment, “Okay, let me say goodbye first.”

Link shrugged and pointed down a path, “I’ll wait for you down there. Don’t take too long with Grandpa, Old Man. Or else you’ll have gone gray by the time you’re done.”

Time waved off the ankle-biter and headed back to the Great Deku Tree. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye, but he tried to hold onto Link’s words. They could still visit. At least as long as they were here in the child’s Hyrule.

“Well, I suppose this is goodbye then, Dad.” He spoke quietly, glancing down at his hands.

“It does seem like that, my boy. Though I can sense that you will return once more. Even if it may be the last time. Fret not, child. This is not goodbye forever.” The Great Deku Tree replied, a smile in his voice.

He always seemed to know what to say, Time always respected that. He tried to emulate it with the boys, but he felt like he didn’t always do the best job. He supposed the Great Deku Tree was only good at it because he’d had so many children to practice it on over the years.

“Alright. Goodbye for now then, Dad.” Time grinned, looking up at him. “Any parting words of advice for me?”

“Goodbye for now, my child. Don’t let the little one go fishing, he uses bombs.” The Great Deku Tree advised, “And Link?” He added, causing Time to pause,

“I am so very proud of the man you’ve become, son.”

Time felt his good eye mist up and he sniffled like a two-year-old. Din above, he was glad Link couldn’t see him cry again. “..Thanks, Dad.”

Leaving made the Hero of Time’s heart ache with each step, but he tried to stay strong. He’d never felt like he’d disappointed the Great Deku Tree, but hearing his father say he was proud… It felt secure, in a way. Like he’d gotten closure he hadn’t known he yearned for.

Time found Link waiting by a tree with a face, one of many in the Lost Woods, but this one had a sign. He trusted the magic and didn’t hesitate to step into its mouth when the child told him to do so. Simple and easy.

They walked in silence for a bit, though he wasn’t quite sure if it was a comfortable one. What better way to find out, then to start talking?

“Did you get the answers you wanted, little one?”

“No.” Link shrugged, “But I got answers at least. Are you doing okay?”

Time mulled over answer, “That’s how it goes, isn’t it? Things are never easy, not for people like us. I’m okay though, yes. I apologize again for.. breaking down like that on you.”

He was surprised to see the boy shake his head, “Don’t apologize for feeling your emotions. It’s all we have at the end of the day.”

“Yeah, okay Little Deku Tree. Got any more wisdom to share?” Time teased, snickering when he got a tiny foot to the back of his knee. “Ow, don’t be mean. It’s a compliment.”

“Whatever, Legend was right. You’re nothing but a sap.” Link stuck out his tongue, not a hint of venom in his words, “You know what, I rescind my advice. You’re a jerk and you have to help with dinner tonight to pay for your jerk crimes.”

Time cackled at that, scooping up the little one to carry him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, “Sure kiddo, I’d be happy to. Now let’s get back to the others.”

Chapter Text

Things are never easy for people like us.

The words rang in Link’s head as he leaned against one of the goats sitting peacefully outside the stable. Barefoot once again as he stared up at the cloudy sky above, he sighed and wondered if he’d be lucky enough to have all of his problems fix themselves. They had arrived back at the stable a while ago, but he needed some space to clear his head after visiting the Deku Tree.

The others respected his wishes. Mostly. They were still kept an eye on him as he hopped into the goat pen to pet the animals and ponder, but they didn’t bug him, didn’t ask questions. It was something he appreciated, and suspected these guys had their own experience with.

The need to be alone was something Link assumed everyone had, some more than others. If they were heroes like he suspected, they’d been through a lot. Real heroes.

I bet they didn’t fail. I bet they’re stronger than me, smarter than me. Why do they even watch over me?

Link was reminded of his conversation with the Deku Tree, his final question to the ancient tree. The memory made his legs curl into his chest and he turned to bury his face in one of the goat’s side. It softly bleated and nibbled at his hair, but he couldn’t bring himself to push its face away.  

“Do you think the others are going to hate me when they find out how I failed all of Hyrule?”

When he’d asked it, Grandpa had looked at him so sadly... Link didn’t like picturing it, but the image invaded his mind, nonetheless. His wooden mouth had seemed to droop, eyebrows knit with worry.

It was the same face Zelda pulled when she lied and said that he didn’t fail Hyrule. And Teba and Kass. They all lied, said what happened hadn’t been his fault… The Deku Tree had made the same face, and so Link had stopped listening.

He’d lie like all the others.

That wasn’t the only question Link had asked. First, he’d asked if the Great Deku Tree would tell Time the truth, that he wasn’t a five-year-old and he in fact did not need naptime after lunch like Wind had a habit of teasing him about.

“No, dear child. I apologize, but your current predicament is far too humorous. I shall not be the one to tell my son the truth.”

Link groaned into the goat’s side just thinking about it. That smug bastard’s face… That tree was lucky Time had been there or else he would have certainly burnt down the whole forest in retaliation.

He’d only asked one other question, a total of three.

“Do you know where I should go? Is Hateno the right way?”

The tree had only answered a simple, “That depends on your priorities, little one. You know in your heart of hearts where you need to go.”

That had left Link with little more than three very unhelpful answers and a headache.

Over the past hour, he’d tried to sort through the mess of thoughts swirling through his head and found little success. Link had only solidified two things. He needed to learn for certain who these people he’d been traveling with the past few days were. If they were heroes, and where they were from. He also needed to keep the others from finding out about his failed past.

It was hypocritical, he knew. He wanted to learn about the others without telling them anything about himself. He wanted them to believe he was over one hundred years old, and yet he didn’t want them finding out about the circumstances around that.

Link also needed to get them to Hateno without them catching a glimpse of what used to be Castle Town. Or anything else..

The boy groaned once more and finally stood up from where he’d sat, impossibly tiny fingers tangled in his hair. This was too much to think about, he needed a break. No one would let him wander off though, so he needed to find someone to join him in whatever mayhem would make get his mind off everything.

His immediate thought was to glance to his left at the young man dozing beside him. Sky had joined him in his goat-cuddling session, humming quietly about how soft the animals looked. Then he’d ended up using one of the peaceful creatures and promptly fell asleep.

Link had noticed Sky slept a lot, or maybe the others didn’t sleep enough? He didn’t know for sure, but as he gently brushed a piece of hair out of Sky’s face and quietly padded over to the gate, he decided he wouldn’t wake him. Sky was nice, he never yelled, and he smelled like a crisp morning on Satori Mountain, the wind softly blowing tree blossoms into his hair.

Time and Twilight had headed down to Thims bridge when they had first made it back to the stable. Fishing, they’d said. Link hadn’t seen them since, so he assumed they were still over there. He’d have to get them eventually; Time had promised to help with dinner, and he wanted to use whatever they caught for fish skewers tonight.

Hyrule had wandered off somewhere into the woods, and as tempting as it was to offer to find him, he didn’t think any of the boys still at the stable would let him run off by himself. Not after they’d apparently been working so hard last night to find him. Link still felt guilty about it.

With Sky, Time, Twilight, and Hyrule out of the pick, it left the rest of them awake and sitting around one of the patio tables playing cards. Link didn’t really know any card games; some of the ladies at the Noble Canteen had tried to teach him a few times, but it had never stuck. He could manage Go Fish, Koko and Cottla had taught him that one. What the travelers were playing certainly wasn’t Go Fish. There were rupees exchanging hands and dirty looks aplenty.

Warriors and Legend looked like they wanted to murder someone. Link assumed ‘someone’ was Four, who looked all too smug. Wind just looked bored.

Bingo.

Link walked over to the table, barely able to peer over it, “Wind, will you go on a walk with me?”

“I will if you put on your boots.”

With a huff, Link ran to the stable to grab them and shove them on. Boots were no fun. He hadn’t realized it so much when he had his big body, but there was a simple joy in stomping barefoot in every puddle or patch of grass he found.

“Okay, they’re on, let’s go.”

Wind set his cards down and slid off his stool to join Link who was already heading down the road. Warriors reminded them not to do anything stupid and Link stuck his tongue out at him.

“So where are we going, you little miniblin?” Wind asked, offering a hand to hold as they walked.

Link took it and looked up at the teen. Or was he still a preteen? Goddesses, he should have asked them their ages by now. What if one of them were even older them him? What if Time was in his two hundreds?

“There’s a hill that’s good for shield-sledding. And it’s super safe so even if Time catches us, he can’t be mad.”

“Hm. You say that, but you aren’t the one who gets stuck with dishes duty if we get caught.” Wind murmured a bit skeptically.

“What are you, afraid? Just a little cucco?” Link retorted, hoping Wind would take the bait. He needed to do something exhilarating and reckless before the thoughts came back to plague his mind.

“I am not. You really are like a miniblin, aren’t you?” Wind sighed, “Just like Aryll.”

“What’s a miniblin?” Link asked as they walked, squealing a bit when he got pulled into a noogie. “And who’s Aryll?”

“Oh, you don’t have them here? No one else does, either. I think I might be the only one. A miniblin is just a little moblin but quicker, and a little smarter. At least I think so. And Aryll is my little sister. She’s older than you, but just as much trouble.” Wind explained, “Or maybe not. I’ve never had to dive headfirst into a mud pond because she ran off and I thought she drowned. Just you.”

“In my defense, I didn’t think anyone would notice I left.”

“See, that’s where you made your mistake. Nothing flies by these guys. I’m just glad I’m not the baby of the group anymore. It means all the attention is on you.”

Link scrunched his nose up, “I’m not a baby.”

Wind snickered, but kept his mouth shut after Link threatened to add him to the bite list. Eventually they reached the hill, kicking the other visitors off. Link didn’t care that the only two members of the shield surfing club were worried about silly things like their “safety” and “not dying.”

Wind held onto his shield at the top of the hill with a frown, “Miniblin, this looks exponentially more dangerous than the hill we surfed down earlier. If you hit that boulder over there, you’re gonna at least earn a concussion. Or go splat against the side of it.”

“Is that going to stop you?”

“Well…no, but-“

“Then last one down is a rotten egg.” Link announced gleefully, hopping onto his shield.

He heard a cry of betrayal behind him but didn’t bother looking back. In this smaller body, he felt as if he was a fraction slower than usual. Steering was far easier though, as well as keeping his balance. Shields were so much bigger now! There was so much more room now, and he was partially tempted to see if he could use one as a little raft.

Wind ended up beating him, that extra weight allowing him to pick up more speed and sail past him with a shout. They did it a few times over, racing to the top before gliding down to the bottom once more.

Link was so distracted he’d forgotten about his worries from earlier. He’d also forgotten about the nearby bridge and the two travelers who’d been fishing there. At least, he forgot until he found Time and Twilight waiting at the bottom of the hill.

The boy let out an anguished cry as he slid right into Twilight’s expectant arms and lifted off his shield. Next to him, Wind suffered the same fate via the one-eyed Old Man.

No one said anything for the longest time, and Link could only squirm, craning his neck wildly as Twilight tried to make eye contact. He could only assume it was to give him the same disappointed look Time had already mastered.

“Link-“

“Nope. Not doing it.”

“Look at me.”

“No thank you.”

“We’ll try shield-surfing with you.”

Link blinked, little mouth dropping open. He couldn’t have heard that right. He looked at the young man to see only a bemused grin gracing his features, with a glance, Time seemed to have the same expression.

“Old Man, you’re not mad either?”

Time set Wind down and took Link from the other adult, as they began to head up the hill. “Not really. I was at first, we had a very clear view from the bridge. But you two seemed to be having fun, and I have to admit you’re pretty good at it. Not to mention the face you made when Pup caught you was hilarious.”

Link bit his tongue, face feeling hot. “I hope you totally eat it..”

Unfortunately for him, Time did not totally eat it. He barely even wobbled. The smug bastard felt confident enough to attempt tricks on his second go-around. What was worse, he was great. The only thing he didn’t excel at was stopping. For every textbook ride down the hill, Time sailed right into the shallow pool of water. Link tried to get what comfort he could out of that.

He couldn’t stay mad long; he was having too much fun. Especially when the older two took to trying to see who could ride down the fastest with the littlest Link on their shoulders. Eventually the sun was beginning to set and despite their best efforts, they all bore at least a few grass stains.

Link was excited, Time and Twi were good at catching fish. There’d be plenty for skewers tonight, he’d be able to cook for the whole stable! That in itself was a feat. He’d underestimated how much food eight hungry travelers could eat, as well as his own portion, but he felt like he was getting the hang of it.

“Hey Time?” Link asked, looking up at the Old Man from his perch. Wind had offered to give him a piggyback ride all the way to the stable, and he’d taken it.

He waited till the eldest looked over to continue, “What’s the story with you guys, anyway? You’re heroes, right? Is it from different dimensions or the past? Or the future? I don’t think it’s the future though.”

Link felt a smidge of satisfaction at the stunned look he earned, especially the expression Twilight wore, similar to the fish he was carrying with him.

“How- How’d you figure that all out by yourself?” Wind asked, incredulous, “Did someone tell you?”

“Hm, no. No one told me. I just assumed. You’re all named Link, and Sky carries around the Master Sword, which is weird because I also have the Master Sword. Not to mention I know almost everyone in Hyrule. I’ve never met any of you before, and no one’s mentioned a group of eight people wandering around. So, you aren’t from here.”

Link stared as Time watched him quietly, a thoughtful expression on his face before he nodded, “We’re from the past. We think so anyway, you astute little Cub. Past or future. We aren’t sure about dimensions, but yes. We’re all reincarnations of the Hero of Courage, the Goddess, Hylia’s chosen heroes to fight evil. We can all wield the Master Sword, though some of us didn’t have her during our journeys. Any of this sound familiar to you, apple slice?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Link replied noncommittally. He could already hear the questions on the tip of Time’s tongue and the alarm bells were already going off. Time was going to hate him if he knew what had happened. So would Twilight, and Wind, and all the others.

“Time, I don’t want to talk about this anymore, please. It makes my scars hurt. I just wanted to know where you guys came from, that’s all.” He mumbled curtly, and that put an end to it.

Link knew it would, no one liked to talk about his scars. Other than children who didn’t know any better. And Sheikah scientists who knew better but didn’t care either way.

His scars were ugly, they were extensive, and he could only imagine how much worse they must look on him now in this tiny body. If he had to use them as an excuse for Time to drop the subject, so be it.

“Do you guys want mushrooms with your fish? I was thinking of just chopping up everything kebab-style and letting everyone make them how they like.” Link said, happy to change the subject. From the change in tension in Wind’s shoulders, he wasn’t the only one.

As it turned out, fish skewers were a hit, as did the ‘make your own skewers’ station. Link was sure the travelers- no- the heroes would eat anything, but it was still nice to feel appreciated.

It also was pleasant knowing for certain that he wouldn’t have to risk getting food poisoning from eating someone else’s food. Hyrule had been kind to him, but from what the others had said, he didn’t think he could trust the young man’s cooking.

“Wait- so did the Old Man really shield surf? I can’t even imagine it, I thought he was allergic to having fun!” Legend quipped as they sat around the fire after dinner, bellies full and moods light.

Wind nodded energetically, “He did! I thought I was hallucinating for a second. Heard you got your as-“ A sharp-eyed glare from Sky made him stop short. “-butt… Heard you got your butt handed to you by Four.” He finished weakly, shooting an apologetic grin towards the other.

Warriors scowled at that, “He counts cards, I swear. I think I almost went into debt.”

Four cackled from where he sat in between both Warriors and Legend, giving them a shove, “Now, now, don’t be sore losers. I one fair and square and you know it. It’s not my fault you two suck.”

Link listened to the lighthearted bickering from the comfort of Twilight’s lap till their voices blended into one hazy hum, a large and calloused hand gently combing through his hair. It all felt oddly familiar, like he’d been in a situation like this before. He didn’t know from where, most of his meals had been eaten alone, huddled under a tree or sheltered away in a cave.

He didn’t remember hearing anyone mention bed, but Link also didn’t remember walking anywhere. It was quiet now, his eyes far too heavy to open. Someone had tugged off his boots and he felt the familiar weight of a blanket settle over him, a soft mattress underneath him, and a brush of careful fingers brushing hair out of his face before the touch was gone.

Fading into sleep, Link felt almost alright, like things just might end up okay in the end. He last thought before he succumbed to the night was a simple prayer that the feeling might last till morning.

Chapter Text

Four watched another fork of lightning crackle across the sky, feeling the bundle in his lap tremble a bit. The storm had started in the middle of the night but even now in the early morning, there was no sign of it slowing. Another crackle, a deafening boom, and a wiggle from the blanketed boy he was holding onto. Four sighed and pulled back the blanket till he saw Link’s little face peering up at him, bright blue eyes filled with poorly concealed indignation.

“I told you, we aren’t going to let you run around in a thunderstorm, stop squirming, I’m not letting you go.”

“Twi would let me go outside.”

“I would not. Stay inside.”

Four wasn’t exactly sure how he got stuck in the position of babysitter, maybe it was because he’d been the one to catch Link when the tyke made a dash for freedom. He’d insisted about some sort of ‘Thunder Helm’ as he went about flailing a too big hat thingamajig around, but no one was having it.

It didn’t matter if really could ‘lightning-proof’ the wearer, as Link had put it. They weren’t willing to test the claim out, not on a five-year-old they already had troubles keeping tabs on.

“You’ll get sick out there, all wet and cold. Stay put.” Four chided once more, “I know it’s no fun staying inside, especially when you have energy to burn. Hopefully the storm will pass, and we can get on the road again soon.”

He tried not to think about how peculiar it felt to look down to talk to someone. It was already bad enough to think about such extensive scars on such a young face, how scared they’d all been when they had thought he’d already been lost to them that night he ran off.

How’d we get attached so fast? It took us a whole week to warm up to Sky. Sky!

Familial instincts must play a role, normal Hylian evolutionary genetics. He’s a child, they’re built to be cute. Do you know how easily they make us release dopamine? Cute things elicit a reaction in our orbitofrontal cortex. On a slower note, they also work on-

Vio, you’re hoarding all the damn braincells again. Dumb it down.

Cute things are cute because that gets our attention and makes our brain produce the happy chemicals. Then we’re happy so we go ‘Ooh, let’s protect and care for it.’ That’s how babies survive.

So what does that mean? Link is cute and he’s hijacked our brain?

Yep.

Well, I for one, welcome our new brain overlord.

Four didn’t know how long he was lost in his own thoughts, but when he looked down at Link once more, the kid had settled down again. More than that, he was drooped to the side, using the crook of the hero’s elbow to rest his head.

“Will you wake me up when it stops raining? I want to make pancakes for breakfast.” Link asked, voice small as he fought to keep his eyes open.

“Of course, bud. Try to get some more sleep, this storm woke us all up too early.”

Four offered a smile, readjusting the boy so he was supported better before he stood up and headed towards the others. As fun as it had been to sit in the entryway of the stable and watch lightning with Link, it hadn’t been very comfortable.

Some of the others were still in bed, dozing or at least trying to. Rain showers could be soothing, but for multiple heroes with frayed nerves, sporadic and unpredictable thunderclaps had made this storm impossible to sleep through. Only now that the lightning was dying down did a few of them finally get some more shut eye.

Four just hoped the little one would stay asleep for a bit longer or else he was going to end up cranky. That’s what children did, wasn’t it? He wasn’t always sure what kids actually did. He was usually too busy convincing others that he was in fact, an adult.

“You finally got him to sleep again?” Warriors mused as he scooted over to let Four and his precious cargo sit next to him on one of the beds. “Here, let me have his head. I still need to do his hair for the day.”

Four obliged, gently laying the little blonde noggin onto Warriors lap, “How’s everyone else doing?”

“Tired, but better than we would be if we’d let Link run around and get struck by lightning like he wanted. The Old Man said he wanted to talk to us about something.” The Captain returned, nimble fingers carefully working through knots.

Four looked to Time, quietly sitting at the sole table situated in the stable. Twilight and Legend were on either side, rather impressive bags under their eyes. Lightening strung out some more than others.

“I told him about us.” Time said with a yawn, “Heroes of Courage, the portals, how we assume we’ve been brought together for a reason. All of it. Link asked, he figured out most of it himself, actually. Smart kid. I thought you boys should know in case he asks you anything. He knows the truth, so be truthful. Though I don’t know why any of you would lie to begin with.”

Another yawn cut him off before he continued on, “We don’t know the next time we’re going to switch. So, till then we’re going to help Link with whatever he decides. It doesn’t seem like the monsters here have become infected yet, so it’s just babysitting duty till something changes, and helping to prepare Link for whatever lies ahead.”

Warriors nodded, “On that note, we need to get him a weapon. Preferably a sword that isn’t taller than him. Maybe a bow, too. We’ll see what he’s comfortable with, see how combat ready he is. He has those bombs, but they’re useless in close quarters and in situations where we need stealth. That, and I think Sky is going to heave a stroke if we let him use them again.”

“I still can’t believe he has assassins after him...” Wind murmured, “He has to know how to fight, right? I bet he just lost his sword or something. He got by without us till now, that can’t be from sheer luck. He beat Ganon, an average schmuck can’t do that, with or without Hylia’s blessing.”

Four didn’t want to think about Link fighting anything, but Wind had a point. He looked down at that scarred little face, unbothered and relaxed as he slept. As much as they liked to ignore it, Link, the little boy who adored apples and liked petting horses, who made the most adorable grabby hands when he got tired and wanted to sit on someone’s lap, had to be one hell of a fighter to make it this far.

Goddesses, he felt tired… It felt like every new hero they found ended up younger.

Almost an hour later, Four’s mood had improved significantly. From what he could see, so had everyone else’s. The rain had stopped, and better yet, Link was awake, working on breakfast, and was in a cheery enough mood, he didn’t huff when Twilight stepped in to help him stir the batter. Today’s hairstyle appeared to be a ponytail, one high enough the tyke had learned if he spun fast enough, he could smack people with it. He needed to be distracted.

“What kind of pancakes are you making, kiddo?” Four asked, handing Link another a spatula when he held out a hand expectantly.

“Berry pancakes, and berry smoothies too.” Link beamed brightly, “I really hope you guys like them. When I first made them for Zelda, she was really excited. I don’t think she knew you can put things in pancakes. The secret to perfect pancakes is to rest the batter though, that way you make sure you don’t end up with lumps.”

Okay, so he really likes to talk about cooking. We need to remember this; it can be useful later if he gets sad.

“Huh, I don’t think I’ve ever made pancakes.” Four admitted, “Not much of a cook, myself.”

“Oh, well pancakes are super easy. Here, you can help me flip them.”

By the time it was time to plate breakfast, Four only ended up with one pancake. Thanks to the ‘Chef’s Tax’ as Link had put it, they’d both been nibbling away at their creations while they were cooking. Now he was nearly stuffed. It meant both he and Link were done eating far sooner than the others.

The group planned to head out after breakfast had been eaten and dishes washed. That was at least half an hour away, and Four could see the little one nearly shaking with the sugar in his system. Half an hour was too long to wait patiently.

“Link, let’s go on a walk while we wait for the others to finish. I want to show you something neat.” He offered, watching the boy jump up.

“Yes please.” Link nodded, “Wait, I need my cloak.” He ran back into the stable to grab it, holding it up for Four to help him put it on and loop the clasp to keep it in place. Then he offered a hand that Four was more than happy to take.

Oh dear goddesses, his hand is so little! Vio, he’s hijacking our brain again! Let’s just go home, we can take him to the forge and he can be a little smith. We could get him a little apron and gloves, and a little headband too!

Rein it in, Red. Even if the dopamine is pleasant, we don’t have first dibs on adopting anyone.

Four grinned, “Alright, let’s go.”

Leading Link along the road till he could barely see the others, there he found a tall patch of grass and carefully began to look through it without a word.

“What are you doing? Is this the neat thing? Four, I don’t want to look for crickets. They bite, you know, and Zelda says that they actually carry a lot of deadly diseases so now I don’t know what to do with the four hundred I have in the Slate.”

“I- what? Do they?” Four asked, getting sidetracked. “Wait, no. I’m not looking for crickets. I’m looking for- Ah! Here! Come here, please.”

Link drew close and sat down as Four pulled the grass back to show the boy one of the Minish. The surprised gasp he heard and the tiny hands grabbing onto his tunic in excitement made him chuckle.

“What’s that?” Link asked, eyes wide as saucers as he watched Four ever so carefully pick up the tiny creature, cupping it in his hands.

“A Minish. Or Picori, depends on what term you like. They hide gifts in the grass, and only good boys and girls can see them.” He explained, “Hold out your hands.”

The kid looked beside himself with joy as Four deposited the little being into awaiting hands. He held them like they were made of glass, gasping a little as they waved up at him.

“Oh, hello! It’s very nice to meet you.” Link smiled, “I never knew you existed, but I’m so glad that I know now.”

“Hey!”

Four startled, feeling Link do the same beside him as he looked over at the stable. Legend was looking back at them, nothing but a blob of red in the distance “We’re getting ready to leave, come back and help pack!”

“Ah, I guess we should head back…kiddo..?” He looked back to Link and saw a horrified look on the boy’s face, hands covering his mouth.

“Link where’s the Minish?”

Realization hit him and Four gasped, pulling Link’s hands away from his mouth to place one of his own under his chin. “Link! Spit it out! Now!”

The Minish thankfully wasn’t any worse for wear. A bit disgruntled, but that was to be expected if a child had accidentally treated you like a cookie he’d been caught with. He didn’t think this was a common occurrence, but they were handling it a lot better than Link was.

It was a constant stream of incoherent apologies till the littlest creature went and patted the kid’s knee in a comforting manner. That kicked off the waterworks and Four had to pull Link to his chest in a hug as he watched the Minish scurry off.

“Shh, it’s okay.” He said, holding his close, “It was an accident. They aren’t mad; you’re still a good kid, Link. You just..wow..you really..”

Four felt bad for laughing. Link was crying and he was laughing.

“I can’t believe that’s your natural reaction. Kiddo, you’re going to accidentally eat something you shouldn’t one of these days. You have to be more careful.” He snickered, hugging him tighter. “Listen, there’s no need to cry. I promise you didn’t hurt them, they’re fine. Honestly, I think they’re more worried about you at this point.”

Link wiped at his face, only making his cheeks redder, “I almost ate a Minish...”

“You almost ate a Minish. But you didn’t so it’s okay. No one got hurt, and now we have to go back to the stable.”

“Please don’t tell anybody about what I did. Promise you won’t?”

Four scooped Link up before he began the walk back, “I promise, I won’t even tell anyone about the Minish. It’ll be our little secret.”

“Okay… You know I can walk on my own, right? I almost committed murder, that didn’t affect my legs at all. ” Link scrubbed his face some more but rested his head on Four’s shoulder despite his words.

“Yeah, I’m aware, Jabber Nut. But let me enjoy this, I’m short and before you know it, you’ll be too big to carry. Then I’ll just be left with memories of the bygone days where-“

Four spluttered when the kid reached up to squish both his cheeks. Hard.

“You quit it. I don’t mind you guys giving me weird nicknames. But don’t talk like you’re a feeble old man. I saw you lift Warriors and Legend off their feet yesterday, when they got grumpy about losing that card game.” Link huffed, “Pound for pound, you’re stronger than a hinox. I’m onto you, mister.”

“Ah, I’ve been caught. Power bracelets help, though.” He chuckled as he received another quizzical cheek squish, “They’re bracelets that increase your strength while you wear them. I don’t exactly get it myself.”

Four was just glad Link had stopped crying. They walked quietly the rest of the way before he set the little one down again, expecting him to run off to the others to help pack or pet Epona. What he didn’t expect was a tug on his hand and two outstretched arms.

“Hm?”

“Hug. Thank you for showing me the Minish, Four.” The boy said quietly after he’d received the requested hug, “I-I think I needed that. Sometimes I don’t.. think I’m a good person, but I guess I still am if I can see them. I think I needed that reminder.”

Link ran off before Four could really comprehend what had been said, but once it had registered. Did the little one consider himself a bad person?

On the road once again, Link couldn’t relax to save his life.

This was such a bad idea, but he didn’t know what else to do. They were heading for Kakariko Village, that was the plan for the day as he explained it to the others. Then they’d make it to Hateno by dinner tomorrow. Maybe sooner.

He didn’t want to go to Kakariko, but it was the best option he had. If they stayed on the road the whole time and went around the long way, he’d have to lead them past the Garrison Ruins, Gatepost Town, Outpost, Eastpost, even the Great Plateau! That was too many ruins to shrug off. It would take longer, days on end. They’d have questions. Questions he wouldn’t be able to worm his way out of.

Link couldn’t deal with that.

No, Kakariko Village was his best bet. He just had to keep them at a slow pace, one of the reasons why he refused the offer to ride on Epona’s back. If they were slow enough, it would be the dead of night when they reached Kakariko, and maybe no one would really notice them. Then if they leaved early enough tomorrow morning, they’d be gone before Impa even woke up. It had to work, right?

Link fought down the urge to hurl as his stomach flip flopped unpleasantly.

It wasn’t going to work out, someone was going to find out. Dorian or Cado. Paya, Impa, Koko, or Cottla. Someone was going to notice and talk. They’d tell the heroes what happened, and then they’d know. Know how he failed. How he let everything they’d done, whatever trials they’d faced, whoever they’d lost, be for nothing because he’d let Hyrule fall to the Calamity.

He wasn’t some helpless little boy, he was a failed hero, a monster that didn’t even deserve their acknowledgement.

Link wasn’t paying attention to the conversations happening around him, were they even talking? Nothing felt real. His body didn’t feel familiar as he walked along, like it didn’t belong to him and he was simply an observer. He was aware the world was going on around him, but he didn’t feel like he had a part in it.

A cold hand pressed to his forehead pulled him out of it and he blinked. Where were they? What time was it? What was going on? Oh goddesses, had something happened? How long had he been spacing out?

He swayed a bit, but firm hands latched onto his shoulders till he could steady himself. Legend was crouched in front of him, brows furrowed in concern.

“Bugaboo? What’s wrong?”

He cupped Link’s face in his hands and the little one leaned into the cool touch. It was comforting, and enough of an anchor he could look around to see a wooden horsehead in the distance. The telltale sign of another stable. He didn’t remember being that close before.

Right, they were on the road. They planned to stop for lunch at the stable, then continue on towards Kakariko. But at Kakariko-

“Link?”

Oh right, he was supposed to say something.

“Sorry, I guess I zoned out.” He murmured, noticing that everyone had stopped but at least were giving him and Legend some space to talk so he didn’t feel suffocated. It was kindness he certainly didn’t deserve.

“You got really quiet, kid. Which is fine, but then you got pale all of a sudden, so we got worried. You don’t have a fever anyway. Does your head hurt? Do you feel sick?”

Link shook his head, “No, I feel fine. Just spacy. I’m sorry for worrying you guys.”

Legend bit his lip before sighing, “You’re probably just tired then, you didn’t get a lot of sleep last night and that affects little ones like you more than us. Here-“

He straightened and Link was plucked up and carefully settled into the taller hero’s arms.

“-try to rest. We’re almost at the stable. We’ll stop and have lunch, let you and anyone else who needs it have a quick nap. Then we can keep going. Sound like a plan?”

Link nodded mutely and plonked his head into the crook of Legend’s neck. Words were too much effort, but he did feel a little better as the other gave him a tight hug before they continued.

He wasn’t ‘just tired’ but even so, as they continued down the road with quiet words his eyes once again grew heavier and he let the sway of each step lull him into an uncomfortable and dreamless sleep. Just a nap, he promised himself. 

Chapter Text

“—Absolutely not. We are not giving him a fire rod. Have — completely insane?”

“Okay, well — but it’s not like anything else is much better. He could shoot out his eye with a — He could trip and fall on a sword. — hold an axe, and I don’t know any five-year-olds who can — with the force needed to pierce — I mean, if he tried to hold Time’s sword, I think he’d be crushed to death. We don’t have a lot of options.”

Link shifted, a hoarse groan of effort slipping past his lips as he tried lifted his head from the shoulder it had been resting on. His mind was moving as if it was stuck in the mud, which was not at all. Why did the conversation sound so stilted?

“He’s waking up, stop talking about this!” Another voice hissed, that one was Four.

He could begin to differentiate who was who, now that he was waking up more.

“You’re gonna stress him out, the kid obviously has something bugging him to begin with. We’re trying to help, not hinder.”

It took a bit, but Link managed to get his eyes open. His poor sleep schedule from the last two days was taking a bigger toll on him than he’d thought. Curse this feeble body, he used to be able to stay up for days on end! Even when he hadn’t wanted to.

 Legend was the one holding him, leaned up against the trunk of a tree.  Four was in front of them, Sky was to his left and Warriors was on the right, though he looked.. strange. Something was off and Link’s foggy mind couldn’t place it.

Then it clicked.

“Where’s your scarf?” He asked, reaching out to make sure that what he was seeing was real. “You got a whole entire neck you’ve been hiding away.”

Warriors snorted, catching the small hand poking away at his neck, “I do, and stop touching, that tickles. As for my scarf, look down, buddy.”

Link furrowed his brows and glanced down; he didn’t get it.

Oh.

Wrapped snugly around him, was the scarf. His cloak had been unbuttoned and folded neatly next to Sky, or as neatly as it could be.

It hadn’t been the cleanest thing to begin with, but ever since he’d been stuck with this too-small body, Link had noticed it had been dragging on the ground every time he walked. It would get stuck on branches, got soaked when he stomped in a puddle, not to mention it was long enough that the others had started to grab it when he began to wander off. It was like a leash, and he didn’t like it.

The scarf wasn’t much better, actually it was worse. It was so much worse. Warriors was taller than he’d been in his teenaged body, so it was even longer. That wasn’t the issue, it was so warm, and it smelled like fresh pine.

The issue was the fact he’d been swaddled in it while he had slept.

 “I’m not a baby.” Link huffed, trying to cross his arms but finding one tangled in the scarf in such a way he couldn’t begin to imagine how to get it out.

“You are a baby, you’ve been bundled.” Warriors snickered, “Now don’t pout, or else I’m going to have to call you Anger Loaf. I don’t let anyone else use my scarf, you should be grateful you’re so cute.”

“I’m not an Anger Loaf!” Link replied, eyes narrowing.

“Grumpy Dumpling, then.” Legend teased, unsympathetic to the little one’s predicament. “Your cloak is absolutely filthy and we needed to wrap you up in something so you wouldn’t get cold during your nap.”

“Say Grumpy Dumpling one more time and-“

“Calm down, Danger Bread.” Sky chirped, poorly concealing a laugh behind his hand before he reached over and scooped Link up.

“There’s no need to wake up grumpy after your nap. Legend’s right. Your cloak is dirty and gross, and we needed to keep you warm. We actually had to argue over what you got wrapped up in. My sailcloth, Twi’s pelt, or Wars’ scarf. The Captain is a dirty cheater at Rock, Paper, Scissors. That’s why you’re stuck in it now.”

Link didn’t appreciate when the three men began to tease him about his face turning red when he pouted, but he did try to calm down. It wasn’t that bad, in fact, it was kind of nice. The piece of fabric was long enough to serve as a hood, a blanket, and a scarf all at the same time. Multifunctional. Maybe he’d keep it.

“So how are you feeling, Link?” Sky asked, “You were pretty out of it earlier.”

“Um. Better.” Link replied.

It wasn’t a total lie. He still felt the pit of anxiety at the bottom of his stomach, working its way up to wrap its  freezing tendrils around his heart. It felt less urgent right now, though. Maybe that was due to the scarf, or how securely he was being held. It felt…safe.

“How long was I asleep for?”

“Two hours.” Four answered that one, handing him an uncapped canteen of water when he choked. “Slept through a bokoblin attack, saving some woman we saw on a bridge, and a really weird conversation with one of the guys at the stable.”

“What do you mean two hour- wait, which one?” Link asked

“The one who’s sure he has some legendary Master Torch.” Legend tsked, a disgusted look flashing across his face.

“Ah, Him. They’re all crazy there.” Link shrugged, “He called the Master Sword a ‘baby sword’ once.”

“Twice.” Warriors piped up, checking his nails from where he sat, “He said it when we talked to him. I hadn’t seen Sky that angry in a while.”

The Hero of the Sky chuckled nervously, “Yeah well… anyway, we made lunch, wiggleworm. It’s nothing fancy, but we weren’t about to interrupt your nap to demand you cook something. We did manage to hard boil some eggs! We saved two for you and some carrot slices.”

That was more than Link had expected.

Once lunch had been eaten and he was freed from his scarf prison, Link stood up, stretching out his body with a groan.

“Where are the others, anyway?”

“Oh, they went to check out some ruins up ahead, looks like a watery graveyard of a town.” Warriors shrugged.

Link almost brought his lunch right back up.

They’re at the village ruins? Why? What if they got attacked? What if they managed to accidentally activate one of the guardians? What if they found who was to blame for all the ruins scattered across Hyrule?

“I’ll go grab them. Alone.” Link added, watching the others begin to stand. “You guys stay here and pack up; I need to stretch out my legs and you guys’ll try to carry me. I’ll bring them back and we can continue on. Kakariko Village is at the top of that big hill over there. The hill is really good for shield-surfing, but it’ll probably be too late by the time we get up there.”

He didn’t wait for a reply as he took off towards what had once been Goponga Village.

They’re going to find out, they’re going to find out and I have to stop them before it’s too late

He didn’t bother following the path, running straight to the flooded plains that had once held a bustling village.

When his boots hit the water, everything changed. It was the same unpleasantly familiar sensation he was able to recognize before he was pulled into a memory. His body hadn’t had the time to stop though, he realized.

What if he fell in the water? Or hit the ruins, or-

There were no more ruins, Link only saw sturdy buildings, heard the chatter of voices that could only belong in a bustling town.

It was so alive.

When he looked down, there were cobblestones underfoot. Instead of a wasteland of standing water, he only stood in a small puddle.

Puddles are fun to stomp in.

His clothes fit properly, no too-big tunic and boots that would fly off with a single kick. No, this fit. His hands were still small, he still had to reach up if he wanted to open a door or grab something off a table. It didn’t feel strange, though.

Like his clothes, this body felt like it fit.

We’re going to Zora’s Domain again. Mipha said she’s going to teach me how to swim super-fast  just like her. I’m so excited.

There was chatter up ahead and Link raced out of the alley he had been standing in, trying to push through the crowd of people lining the street. He wove between the maze of legs till he could see what the chatter was about.

Papa said it’s a fish festival. I don’t get it, are they celebrating catching fish? Or do they just think they’re really yummy? Why did Papa laugh when I asked him? Where is Papa, anyway? He said he’d buy me fish-shaped candy—

Link scrunched his nose, stumbling a bit.

Something was wrong, he couldn’t breathe. Why couldn’t he breathe? He felt like he was in water and he couldn’t reach the surface.

Link dropped to his knees, gasping for air. Where was Papa? He clawed at his throat and tried to reach up to tug at the pants of one of the faceless villagers looming above him.

Why was no one looking at him!?

Why was no one helping?!

Was he dying?

Hyrule was used to ruins.

He knew some of the others were used to them as well, but he didn’t think it was to the extent he’d been habituated to them.

Ruins were as familiar, old ones, collapsed buildings with decades of settled dust on decayed wood. Or the ones that still smoked, embers burning from a recent attack, feeding into the trails of black smoke that disappeared into the inky, star-studded sky.

He could still hear the feeble cries of the injured and dying, gasps for air that would never come as they succumbed to their wounds. Hyrule could never get to them all fast enough to save them… He’d try to prioritize, but whenever he thought he’d found the worst one off and began to heal them, he’d find another that was even closer to death, who needed him even more.

Then there were the bodies, sometimes cradled by those who survived whatever attack had been brought upon the town, incoherent hushes as if they were still alive to hear.

The worst ones were the bodies no one else had stumbled upon. Tiny, little bodies… with their too-big green tunic, face down in…

Hyrule blinked, once, twice.

It wasn’t a PTSD-induced hallucination…there was the tiniest of little bodies face down amongst the reeds, and the only person that little was-

“Link!”

He sprinted forward, boots sloshing in the knee-high water. Mud tried to yank off his shoes, reeds tried to wrap around his ankles and trip him up. No matter how fast he tried to run, Hyrule kept slipping.

As soon as he could reach, he ripped the youngest hero out of the water, already moving to the shore. He flipped him over and placed him on the solid ground.

There was a pulse under his fingertips as he checked the boy’s neck, but he wasn’t sure about breaths. Hyrule was shaking too much to see if his chest was rising and falling.

“Link? Can you hear me?”

Unfocused eyes stared blankly up at the passing clouds above them. Hyrule was about to start compressions when he heard a gurgle, then a few weak coughs.

Okay, a pulse and breathing, both great things. Link still hadn’t blinked.

That was an issue.

He was physically fine, it seemed. A bit waterlogged at most. He just wasn’t there.

Hyrule didn’t know how to fix that, he dealt with the physical. Broken bones, illnesses, wounds sustained from monster attacks, not… whatever this was.

What had happened, why was Link face down in the water? It would only come up waist high on him, it didn’t make any sense.

Hyrule needed to find the others.

Time, Twilight, and Wind were all around here somewhere. Maybe one of them would know what this was?

He began to gather Link in his arms when the little one let out another gurgle, and finally, he blinked. That little light was back in his eyes, someone was finally home in that scarred head of his.

“Hyrule?”

“Hi, hey, hello. How are you feeling Link? What happened?” Hyrule asked, doing a poor job of staying calm, plucking strands of hair off the boy’s face.

A million questions were racing through his mind, but he knew he couldn’t overload Link.

Those two questions already seemed to be too much. Link opened his mouth for a moment before soundlessly closing it, repeating the action a few times before his eyes got watery and he buried his face into Hyrule’s chest.

“Hyrule, please don’t tell anyone.”

“What?”

 Hyrule frowned, “Link, you almost drowned. If I hadn’t found you, you’d be dead. I think this is something the others need to know about. What if it happens again? Whatever it was. What was it?”

“Please, Hyrule. It won’t happen again.” Link sniffled, his hands fisted in Hyrule’s tunic as if the world would end if he ever let go.

“It won’t happen again, so please don’t tell anyone. I’m fine. I’ll tell you what happened, I- I can’t right now though. Please, Hyrule. I’ll tell you later, I promise I will. I’ll the others too, I just need time to- to get in the right mindset. Okay? If I don’t, then none of it will make sense.”

“It already doesn’t make sense. What happened, was it some sort of seizure or what?” Hyrule held him close, absolutely confused.

“I can make it make sense, I just.. I need to prepare. Hyrule, you can’t tell anyone. They’re going to freak out and then we won’t get to Kakariko by nightfall. Please? Just wait till Hateno, okay? Please promise me, you won’t say anything. I’ll tell you everything at Hateno. It wasn’t a seizure, it’s nothing like that.” Link cried.

Hyrule didn’t want to promise. This was scary, and he wanted more eyes on the lookout in case their tiny ward ended up like that again. What if it happened in another body of water, or in the path of a monster? Link was begging, though. He was crying, and sounded so desperate and scared, it broke his heart.

“Okay, I promise. But you’re telling everyone what that was once we get to Hateno.” He said firmly, “And you’re telling me right now how you’re feeling. Truthfully. Got it?”

Link nodded, wiping his eyes in a pitiful manner.

It didn’t feel good being the bad guy, but Hyrule knew it was a necessary evil sometimes. Especially when little ones didn’t understand the severity of being found face down in water.

“My head hurts. But it hurt earlier too. And I’m stressed out, Hyrule.” Link finally mumbled.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No. I’m cold, too.”

Hyrule sighed and went to stand once more, “Alright, well I at least know how to fix that. Let’s get the others and go back to where the slackers are. Then you and I can change into something warm and dry.”

After splashing around to get Link out of the water, and carrying the drenched tyke around, he was almost as soaked as the little one. With the wind beginning to pick up, it spelled trouble. Neither of them needed to get sick.

He pushed Link’s sopping hair out of his face, pressing a kiss to his forehead, “Little Fairy, I’m sorry for being so stern, but this is serious. And I’m sorry things are stressing you out. I know I can’t snap my fingers and make everything better, but I would if I could. I can help other ways, though. So if you ever want to talk about it, or anything- literally anything, I’ll help you how I can. Even if it’s just that you want a hug, or a high five. Nothing’s out of the question.”

Hyrule began walking towards where he’d last seen the others amongst the ruins. He was trying not to shiver at the cold, clothes sticking to his skin as he tried to shield the other from the biting wind.

“You’re one of us, Link. We know what comes with being a hero. You keep helping others, so let us be the ones helping you this time around. Okay?” He attempted a smile, “We’re kinda dumb sometimes, but we’re here for you one hundred and ten percent.”

“..Thank you.”

Link was certain he’d convinced at least half of the group he was deathly ill.

He hadn’t done it intentionally, and was beginning to miss the luxury of travelling alone. There were too many people, not just in the group, but on the road. Too many travelers, wanderers heading out to explore Hyrule now that the Calamity was gone.

He missed the bygone days where he could travel for days and not see a single person. No one was there to bug him about getting enough sleep, or harp on him for picking at his scars.

Or constantly check his forehead for a fever.

The next person to do it was getting bit, Link didn’t care that he was trying to curb the habit.

The only sick he was, was sick of the others hovering so much. How was he supposed to piece together his thoughts if these pesky heroes weren’t letting him out of their eyesight?

Hyrule was the worst, by far. Link felt like he was being watched by a fluffy-haired hawk, and he didn’t like it one bit. He wasn’t even sly about it!

They were off the road now, though. They’d arrived at Kakariko as the sun set and everyone had gone to bed a few hours ago.

Link couldn’t sleep, there was too much to think about.

There was the memory to consider, and what inevitable trouble awaited him tomorrow trying to get through Fort Hateno and dealing with Purah.

Then again, Impa hadn’t been that bad

“Baby! You’re a baby! Why are you a baby!?” Impa hollered, hat already fluttering off her head to land on the wooden floorboards.

“Stop yelling! Do you know how hard it was to sneak off from the others?!” Link shrieked.

It was utter pandemonium in the Kakariko elder’s house, Dorian and Cado were stood slack jawed in the door while Paya was crouched next to him, marveling at the tiny hands she was currently holding. Impa’s shouting was not helping, she was the oldest in this situation. She was supposed to be able to handle these sorts of situations.

She then strode towards him with surprisingly grace for someone in her one hundred and twenties.

“Okay..okay, we’re calm. We’re all calm.” The sheikah breathed out, “Link. What happened?”

“I don’t have a lot of time to explain. I got turned into a kid by a wizzrobe, then I met a bunch of guys who are also Hylia-chosen heroes. Before you ask, no, I don’t get it either. They aren’t from here, I think they time-traveled or something. Anyway, they won’t leave me alone because no matter how many times I tell them, they don’t believe me when I tell them I’m not a little kid.”

Link didn’t care that he was talking a mile a minute, he needed to get this out before the others got wise and Time busted through the door like a battering ram.

“I didn’t tell them anything, they’re in the dark about everything. The current state of Hyrule, the hundred years, how I died, all of it. They just think I’m some plucky child hero who beat Ganon. Impa, I need it to stay that way. For now at least, please?”

He didn’t realize he’d started crying till Impa reached out to brush tears off his cheeks with soft yet aged hands.

“Link, breathe.” She reminded and Link let out a shaky breath. “I don’t really have any idea what’s going on, but I don’t think it’s wise to hide this from these…heroes. However, if you do not want us to be the harbingers of truth, I promise we’ll keep our mouths shut.”

There was the level-headed leader the tiny Champion vaguely remembered.

“Thank you, Impa. Everyone.” Link nodded, sniffling a little bit before Impa pulled him into a hug, patting his back.

“Dorian. Cado. Please tell the village they’re not to breathe a word about Link’s… new appearance. Not to his traveling companions, not to each other lest they eavesdrop. If anyone asks, that’s just how he normally looks.” The elder ordered and Link heard an affirmative grunt before hearing the doors sliding open and shut as they left.

“I’ll tell them in due time.. but I don’t think I’m ready.” Link sighed, shutting his eyes and leaning into the hug.

“I’ve never said any of it out loud before. Not the- the amnes..the forgetting stuff. Or the not-alive bit. I never said it out loud even to myself. I’m not ready to say it to anyone else yet. Especially not them.”

His voice trembled and he hugged his old friend tighter, “They’re heroes, real ones. They never failed, they beat the bad guy first try, got to go home and live happily ever after. They’ll hate me, Impa. I’m a joke, a stain on whatever legacy they fought to leave behind.”

“Link, you don’t really think they’ll hate you?” He didn’t answer, but Impa apparently didn’t need one.

“They couldn’t possibly hate you, you’re kind and compassionate. You throw yourself into everything you do wholeheartedly, and you never give up. You fight till your last breath. It’s admirable, Link. They won’t think any less of you.”

Dorian came back into the house, “Lady Impa, Master Link, your… um.. friends have noticed your absence. They’re out in the center of town and rather irate over concern for your wellbeing. We’ve told everyone to avoid the topic of your appearance, you don’t need to worry. If there’s one thing the Sheikah are good at, it’s keeping secrets.”

Link let go of his friend and turned to look up at him, “Thank you, Dorian. I really appreciate it. I’ll be out in a moment.”

“So why’d you come here to Kakariko? There’s about a million place in Hyrule and you chose to take them to one of the villages where everyone knows you?” Paya spoke up.

“Oh, right. The Slate’s on the fritz and passing through here was the quickest way to Hateno. I can’t teleport anywhere, so I’m going to see if Purah can fix it. Maybe she’s fixed her de-aging rune, too.” Link explained, “Speaking of, can you please not tell her I’m coming? Or what’s happened? Please? I promise I’ll take a picture of her face and show it to you guys next time I visit.”

Impa snorted, “Deal. I want that picture, Link. Now go, I can hear your friends causing a ruckus outside.”

Link nodded, smiling a bit though his insides still felt just as hollow as they had when he came out of his last memory and found Hyrule’s panicked and pale face above him.

“Okay. Thank you again, I knew I could count on you guys.”

Link covered his face with his hands and tried not to groan.

Tomorrow was going to be a disaster.

There hadn’t been enough beds in the inn, and Dorian had kindly offered his own home to house the extras. Impa had offered too, but for fear of Paya having a heart attack, he’d declined.

At least he didn’t have to hear Time’s snoring tonight. The older ones were at the inn, while the younger four were making do with their bedrolls and Dorian’s floor.

Link couldn’t sleep, though. He needed fresh air.

Forgoing his boots, he tiptoed outside and up the hill towards the shrine overlooking the quiet village. He was expecting the moon overhead, but he wasn’t expecting Hyrule to be sitting quietly, facing the castle.

“Hey.” Link spoke up, sitting next to other.

“Can’t sleep?” Hyrule asked, glancing briefly down at him.

“Nope. You?” he countered.

“The same. The view is pretty up here.”

“It is, I used to spend a lot of time here in Kakariko. I think this is my favorite spot.” Link admitted, “You wanna see something cool?”

Hyrule cocked a tentative brow, but he nodded, earning a laugh from the younger one.

“See, I knew you were fun.” He stood and held out a hand, “Okay, come here then. And be quiet, or else they’ll run away. I don’t need you clomping around.”

Kakariko wasn’t a location he’d visited quite as often as he had before beating the Calamity, so he knew the population should be up of-

“Right there!” Link whispered, pointing it out. Amongst the tall grass, nibbling at the foliage, little noses twitching away, there stood his targets.

He heard the soft gasp beside him and couldn’t fight off the smile on his face.

“They’re called blupees. They give you rupees if you hit them with an arrow or anything.” He explained, still whispering, “They were a miracle when I was low on money, but now I don’t need the extra rupees, so I’ve been trying to befriend them. I’ve even gotten to hold one, before.”

Hyrule apparently shifted his weight, a stick broke and just like that, the blupees were gone.

“Aw man.” Link groaned, “You scared them off with your giant bokoblin feet.”

The other hero chuckled apologetically, “Sorry, but speaking of feet, you forgot your boots again.”

“I didn’t forget them, I ignored them.” Link retorted as Hyrule scooped him up.

“Isn’t that cold for your toes? What if they get sick of how poorly you treat them, and they just fall off one day?”

“Hm.. I’d hope they’d go on adventures then.” Link replied, sinking into the embrace, “If they ever popped off my feet one day. Adventure toes.”

He smiled when he heard a snicker, Hyrule’s chest rumbling pleasantly.

It made him sleepy.

“Alright, Little Fairy, seems you’ve gotten enough time outside. It’s cold out here and it looks like you’re a sucker against magic hugs, just like everybody else. Got you all sleepy. It’s time to go back to bed.”

Link opened his mouth to say something, but he forgot what it was going to be. He yawned and let Hyrule start to carry him back down the hill towards Dorian’s house.

“...You got magic hugs?”

Chapter Text

Link didn’t want to admit he’d gotten used to sleeping curled up next to people, but he absolutely had.

It had taken less than a week and only one strange, purple wizzrobe, and he’d grown accustomed to falling asleep in warm arms, gentle hands wrapping blankets around his shoulders. When he’d awake, it was always to inviting hugs and kind smiles, so the fact he was the first one awake struck him as odd.

Then again, the oldest of the heroes were all sleeping at the inn. Including the early risers; though he sometimes wondered if Time and Legend slept at all some nights. He hoped they did last night. They deserved it. Kakariko was quiet and peaceful. More importantly, it was safe.

Link couldn’t say that about most of Hyrule.

The boy sat up, confirming that he was the only one conscious in Dorian’s small house. The guard himself seemed to have left a while ago, though Link wasn’t sure if it was for his next shift, or if it was to pay his respects to his wife before his daughters woke. That poor family had lost so much..

Link shook the thoughts out of his head and reached over to pull Wind’s blanket back over him.

The young teenager had spoken a bit about his adventures, traveling across the seas in a small, friendly boat. He wasn’t sure how a boat could be friendly, or how Wind had managed to not roll off into the inky depths of the ocean in the middle of the night.

He moved so much in his sleep, Link was a bit surprised no one had gotten kicked yet.

Four was more of a still sleeper, but the first time Link had seen him sleep, he’d been worried. Now, he knew better. The hero with the multi-colored tunic slept like he’d been trampled by a herd of lynels, legs and arms splayed out in almost unnatural angles.

It was almost like he was trying to join together a cluster of different sleeping positions, but his body wasn’t acting cohesively.

That left Hyrule, who had a habit of hugging his arms, and whatever might be in those arms, tightly to his chest. Link had learned that his very first night with the others.

Hyrule woke up fairly early though, so it begged the question if Link had woken up extra early, or if Kakariko’s calming effect had allowed everyone to sleep in a little extra.

He didn’t care. He was bored and feeling much better than he had yesterday. Even knowing what he’d have to walk through today, his talk with Impa and the others had helped tremendously. They had his back; they’d protect his secrets.

Even if it wasn’t from some impending threat, just eight accomplished heroes of courage who fed him apple slices.

Speaking of accomplished heroes of courage, Link reached over to carefully pat Hyrule’s face cheek.

“Wake up, ‘Rule.” He whispered, waiting a moment before doing it again. “Roolie wake up.”

Hyrule scrunched his nose and rolled from his side onto his back, managing to pry an eye open.

“..Hm? What’s it? Where’s..the fire? It wasn’t me… Can’t prove it.”

Link huffed and crawled up to sit on the hero’s stomach, “You gotta get up. I won’t stop bugging you till you do.”

Hyrule sighed, scrubbing his face in what he hoped was an attempt at waking up some more. When Link saw his face again, both eyes were open, and actually able to focus on him now.

“Alright, I’m up, little fairy. What did you need?” he asked and suddenly Link felt his face heat up.

He hadn’t thought this through…

He didn’t want to say. It was a childish reason, and he was already regretting waking Hyrule up. He shouldn’t have bothered him; he shouldn’t have let his childish whims get the better of him.

He opened his mouth and shut it, repeating the action once, twice.

“Wind gives me the same face. Did you need some attention?” Hyrule guessed and Link felt the warmth travel from his face down his neck.

Hyrule’s knowing chuckle didn’t help.

“No one was awake to give me a good morning hug.” He mumbled, hiding his face in his hands, “Forget I said anything..please.”

Hyrule pulled a hug and Link halfway wished no one had saved him from that lynel all those days ago.

“I cannot forget something as cute as ‘good morning hug,’ sorry kiddo.” Hyrule cackled, “So, good morning, Link. I am so very glad to see you today. Do you want to wake up the others? I think we all kind of slept in a bit.”

“We can, but don’t mention my good morning hugs. Don’t do it, Hyrule. Or else I’m going to fill your boots with chuchu jelly.”

“Got it.”

Link narrowed his eyes, but Hyrule let him out of the hug so he could go around the room to wake the others. Unprompted, he was given four more hugs before he asked Wind and Four to play with Cottla.

“She likes hide-and-seek the best. We’ll go grab you once breakfast is done.” He explained, “She never has anyone to play with, so please, please keep an eye on her?”

Once they were gone, he turned to Koko, but she beat him to his question.

“What do you want for breakfast?”

“Koko, I can make breakfast.”

“No, you won’t do it. You go wake up your tall friends. Then you can be a helper. Zelda taught me what that’s called. A sous chef. Now go, sous chef.” The actual child ordered the one hundred- and seventeen-year-old with such authority, he felt like he had to obey.

Link frowned but took Hyrule’s hand and headed outside. Ever since last night, she’d gotten awfully bossy. He didn’t care if she was two inches taller now, he was still older than her and her father combined!

Surprisingly, all five of the inn’s residents were still fast asleep. The innkeeper was dozing as well, but Link knew that wasn’t out of the ordinary.

He knew couldn’t spend all day dwelling on how weird if was for people to sleep in. He still had to get them through to Hateno, and he wanted to get there before nightfall. If he didn’t, he’d have to wait till tomorrow to talk to Purah and get her to fix the slate.

Link walked to the closest bed, Time’s, and hopped up on it. There was a grumble from the Old Man, but he only rolled to face away from the little one.

“Good morning!” Link hollered, “Rise and shine, it’s time to get up.”

When that didn’t work, he clambered onto the aged hero.

“Get up.” Link repeated, earning another grumble, “

Why are you guys so difficult to wake up today? I know Kakariko makes everyone sleepy, but this is ridiculous.”

There was no sign the group’s leader was going to get up anytime soon, so Link had to pull out the tactics the children of Hateno had taught him when he got the chance to babysit.

“Just remember dear hero, you brought this onto yourself.” He solemnly stared down at Time, “I gave you a chance for peace.”

Hyrule had been standing by, but he spoke up now. “Link, what’s with the cryptic-“

Link cut him off, lunging forward to smoosh his face against Time’s neck before he proceeded to blow the biggest raspberry his little lungs could manage.

Two hands shot out, lifting him high into the air. He couldn’t help but giggle at the positively grumpy face below him. At least Time was awake, as well as the others from that loud and sudden noise.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better today, you little bokoblin. However,” Time sat up with a groan, “I’m not a fan of your backhanded war tactics.”

“They work.” Link grinned.

“They do, but now I have to feed you to the monsters” Time stood, and Link felt his breath hitch.

“What monsters? Time, c’mon.. you can’t feed me to any monsters. I’m too little! It’ll just get a taste for flesh, a little snack, and come after you next!”

Time sauntered over towards the other boys, all awake and adorning far too mischievous smiles for Link’s liking.

“Old Man? Time, what monsters?” Link asked, horrified realization dawning on him.

“Tickle monsters, little one.”

The Yiga hideout was cold. It was always chilly, but as Kol hurried down the dimly lit hallway, he could see his breath puff up in front of him. It had been like this ever since the new leaders had come into power.

He had to give it to them, they were turning the clan into a well-oiled machine. More and more people were joining every day and they’d begun restoring the old sections of the hideout that had been sealed off one hundred years ago.

Things were looking up and yet Kol couldn’t help but feel his unease grow.

For the life of him, he couldn’t remember seeing the leaders till after Master Kohga was gone and Ganon defeated. He couldn’t remember training with them when he was younger, sharing a hearty meal and a laugh with them after a fun day of chasing travelers down the road.

They just.. appeared.

One day, everyone was mourning the loss of their leader. The next, he’d been replaced without so much as a vote. At least if there had been one, he hadn’t been a part of it. Everyone else had followed them, and so Kol had done the same.

Where Master Kohga had been personable, they were forbidding. His transparency was replaced with nothing but secrets, blank eyes, and unseeing masks.

How was everyone supposed to follow these new leaders when they wouldn’t tell them where they were being led to?

Kol knew the answer, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed it.

Fear.

He didn’t like their new overlords, but he wouldn’t even consider the possibility of going against their orders. He’d never survive.

His pace slowed down as he came to a pair of closed doors, hand outstretched to knock, yet a voice spoke before he had the chance.

“Enter.”

Heart pounding, he pushed open the heavy doors and stepped forward. Three identical masks stared back at him from the unlit room, the pale inverted eye of the Yiga nearly glowing.

“I-um..” He bowed his head, “I have the latest report from the spies, regarding the Champion.”

“Continue.”

“He’s arrived at Kakariko Village, we believe he’s heading to Hateno. His companions rarely let him out of sight though. He’s.. different. There are reports of him openly crying. He’s got a set naptime. It’s like he’s a real kid or something.”

“Curious,” the middle masked figure spoke, “He still bears the appearance of a child?”

Kol nodded, “Yes, our scout at Woodland Stable confirmed he’s still little, though his scars remained.”

“What of his companions?” another asked, “What information has been gathered in regard to them?”

“There’s eight of them, they all seem to excel in combat and all seem rather fond of the Hero. They’ve even given him nicknames and-“

The middle one raised their hand and Kol felt his mouth grow dry.

“Silence. We care not for their attachments to the Champion. Only who they are.”

Kol took a shallow breath, “Well, we- um. There are stories, some of us heard growing up. Of heroes in days past. There were a few books recovered from the castle as well. It’s far-fetched, but some of the Champion’s companions match the stories. The scars, the facial markings, even the weapons and the clothes. It’s ridiculous but-“

“Enough.” The final masked figure spoke, “Despite our best efforts, it seems they’ve arrived to this time.. how peculiar..”

They paused for a moment and Kol wondered if they’d forgotten he was even there. They seemed to be lost in thought.

“Leave.”

“What?” He blinked, frowning, “But-“

“Do not make me repeat myself, you pathetic worm of a man. Tell the spies to continue their reconnaissance. About the Hero and his companions. I don’t want them to so much as breathe without one of us there to witness it. See when they turn their back on the Hero, see what makes them tick, found out weaknesses, strengths. Until I tell you otherwise, everyone is to find out whatever they can about them. Now don’t show your face here until we call upon you once more.”

Kol didn’t dare open his mouth. Instead, he nodded before making a beeline for the door. Once he was out in the hallway again, he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

There was no time to spare, he needed to send out more scouts and spies. He barely even registered the faint whisper of a voice as he retreated down the hall.

“That little Champion might have a use yet.”

After breakfast, Link sat by the fire near Hylia’s statue, watching the flames lick at the firewood as he hugged his knees to his chest.

When had the smell of smoke become so comforting? It was a reminder he was still alive, he supposed. Alone on his travels, fire had often been the only constant companion. It was always there for him, keeping him warm as he bandaged up fresh wounds or pensively mulled over a new memory plaguing his mind.

“Your friend with the weird crab on his shirt said to tell you that everyone’s ready to go, but he can’t find Sky and Hyrule. Which ones are those?”

Link looked up to see who was talking, finding Koko standing there, a stack of freshly washed plates balanced in her arms.

“The sleepy one with the white cape, and the one with the really fluffy hair.” Link replied, standing up, “Thanks for telling me, Koko.”

“Are you leaving soon?”

“Yep, we have to visit Purah. I’ll try to visit again though, I’m sorry this visit wasn’t very long. Zel got me a new cookbook, or.. I guess it’s old. But it’s new to me. We can try some of the new recipes next visit, okay?”

“Okay, pinky promise?” Koko held out her digit and Link wrapped his own around it.

“Pinky promise. Bye for now, Koko.” He pulled her into a hug, all too aware of her newfound height on him.

Was he really that small? Was he short for his age? Or were Sheikah especially tall from childhood?

He tried not to think about it too much as he climbed the steps to Impa’s house. Link remembered Hyrule and Sky heading there earlier, but he hadn’t worried.

Impa and everyone else had promised to keep his secret.

“ – and don’t let him off the road. He gets sidetracked and you won’t be able to find him for weeks. And when you do, it’ll be halfway across Hyrule. He likes warm milk when he has nightmares, two spoons of honey. Berry milk when he has a big day ahead of him. Cocoa when it’s cold, but not before bed. It makes him hyper.”

Hyrule just nodded where he sat next to Sky. This man had been going on for nearly half an hour.

“Dorian!” Link cried, “What are you doing!?”

The door had slammed open, revealing a cherry-faced child standing there.

“I’m making sure they’ll take proper care of you.”

“He already threatened us with bodily harm if you get hurt.” Hyrule smiled, not the first time something like this had happened.

“He’s not half as bad as Wind’s grandma was, though.”

“Stop telling them about milk preferences.” Link hissed, tugging on Dorian’s sleeve, “It’s embarrassing.”

He turned back to the two heroes, “Forget whatever he said, it’s all lies. We have to go, anyway. Wind said we’re all packed up, I need to say goodbye and I’ll join you.”

Hyrule and Sky were all laughs as Link shooed them out, slamming the door on them.  

“You think Dorian is his main caretaker?” Sky asked and Hyrule shook his head.

“Nah, though I think he’d take the role if he was ever asked. If he were, we’d never have found Link running from that lynel.”

“Well, it’s nice to know that people care for him. At least when he’s around. No one at the stable seemed to bat an eye at him.” The hero of the sky frowned.

Hyrule didn’t find it that odd, but he kept that to himself. He had to remember not everyone came from a dog-eat-dog world. From what Sky had divulged, his little town amongst the clouds was awful chummy. He couldn’t even imagine what that must be like.

Though that might just be Sky’s influence. The man could probably befriend a hungry bokoblin if he tried.

Once they reached the others, they had to wait for Wild to join them. He did after a while, cheeks rosy and a smile on his face.

He seemed happy, but Hyrule had to file it away as something to ask later.

“Ready to head out, little fairy?”

Just like that, the smile was gone. In fact, Link seemed..scared. Hyrule didn’t like that one bit.

What in the world was awaiting them on the road?

Chapter Text

The world was shattering around him, and Link was trying his best to keep the pieces together.

Facing away from the others seemed to help. He led the group along the uneven path, pretending he couldn’t hear the hushed voices behind.

They had questions, and yet no one seemed to know how to ask. He wondered if that trait ran through all heroes of courage.

“Wow..” Wind breathed as they neared the bridge.

The hill they were descending allowed for a clear view of what used to be Fort Hateno. Link knew it might be a pretty sight to new eyes, in a sad, forgotten sort of way. All he could see was the beam of a guardian’s blast, Zelda’s panicked face rapidly disappearing in his spotty vision. He could smell smoke, the acrid stench of burning flesh and blood.

It was his blood, and it was everywhere.

Oh goddesses, it wouldn’t stop. This couldn’t be happening, he had to stay alive, had to stay awake. He had to fight for the kingdom, for Zelda, for his family, he couldn’t die here like-

“Link?”

He blinked, once, twice, before he dragged his gaze down to his trembling hands. They were impossibly small, yet completely void of blood. Not his, nor anyone else’s. That was right, it was just a memory. One he wished Impa had never told him how to get back, and one he could never forget again. If he could, Link assumed his nightmares wouldn’t be quite as horrifying.

He took a breath to calm himself before he dared to open his mouth. “Yeah?”

“What is this place?”

It was Legend who spoke, and a glance in his direction towards the hero told Link that he was too absorbed in the ruins to notice the boy’s pause. Everyone was, maybe it was a blessing?

“Fort Hateno, but I’ve said that before.” Link replied, “It used to be… I don’t actually know. A lab or a military base, maybe? Maybe it was a place for travelers to rest and recuperate during their journeys? Hateno is pretty cut off from the rest of the world. Just getting to it from Kakariko takes a full day.”

He flexed his fingers as he continued, “When the Calamity struck, everyone here fought the best they could against Ganon’s forces but...  the fort is no more, so I’ll let you guess how it ended. We- they held them off enough, though. I think there were mass causalities here at the fort, but the town of Hateno survived.”

“What are those weirdly shaped things?” Wind asked.

Link didn’t bother looking where Wind was pointing. There was no point. He was more focused on not tripping on the bridge as they continued on.

“Guardians.” He bit back the disgust burning his tongue. “Ancient Sheikah tech, like the slate. They were supposed to protect us from Ganon, but they didn’t. They turned on us, infected with the Calamity. It didn’t help that we’d dug up literal armies of them.”

There was an uncomfortable silence behind him, but Link actively ignored it. He was being truthful, they couldn’t complain. Not that he’d been lying before, just omitting a few key details.

“You keep mentioning this Calamity.” Legend sped up a bit to fall in line with him, a thoughtful expression on his face. “But you also say ‘Ganon’ as well. Are they the same thing?”

At least it wasn’t questions about his wellbeing, Link could work with that.

“Sort of? I’m not sure, actually. That’s..a really good question. Maybe Purah knows. Or Zel, she asks questions like that too. I know there’s Ganon, who’s like..a monster. An overcooked piece of giant ham. But then there’s the Calmity, which is like.. an ooze? Gunk, it’s gross and it infects and harms whatever it can. Ganon controlled the ooze. So Ganon is the ooze, but ooze isn’t Ganon.”

 Link was confusing himself, and he had to stop walking to think it out. “Like how a square is a rectangle, but a rectangle isn’t a square? I think? Apparently, everyone was doing a bunch of research about it, but then Ganon arrived and it turned out we didn’t actually know anything...  If we had, we might never have-”

The tremble was back, but this time, the others could see it. That was bad. He pulled his sleeves over his hands and kept on walking.

“It’s not like it matters,” Link sighed, “what’s done is done. We can stop for lunch on the other side of the fort. What do you guys want for lunch?”

The pause that followed was painful, but he refused to look back. He didn’t want to see their pitying looks. He knew what he was in their eyes, a small child born into empty ruins and longstanding suffering. A scarred kid who would willingly give half-truths with his dying breath.

Link found it funny, in a twisted sort of way. He was an insufferable child, surely. If he were in the others’ positions, he would have dumped the mysterious kid off at Kakariko and wiped his hands from the situation. Hero or not, he recognized that he was certainly a handful.

“Stir fry okay?” he offered, “I have all the stuff for it and it doesn’t take too long to make.”

“Uh..yeah. That sounds fine, little one. Whatever you want.” Twilight murmured, and that was it.

They wouldn’t push him about things he didn’t want to talk about, he’d figured that out ages ago, but Link knew it was still a crummy thing for him to abuse that loophole so frequently. He didn’t know what else to do, though. He wasn’t ready to tell them everything; he still wasn’t done processing it all himself, either.

Opening up to them wasn’t an option, and Link didn’t know if it ever would be, not completely.

Working on lunch was a nice distraction either way. Some of the others were wandering in the meantime, but Sky had stuck around to help how he could with cooking. It was quiet, but Link was already feeling better.

He’d gotten through that goddess-forsaken valley without having a breakdown and expecting Purah to be able to fix his slate, he assumed he wouldn’t have to walk through it again. Ever since he’d gotten that memory back, his final memory, he’d avoided Fort Hateno like a plague.

The ruins were no longer quaint, the cliffsides no longer appealing to climb. It was nothing but a grave and he did not wish to linger in it if he had a choice.

Link hummed a bit from where he sat on Sky’s lap to watch the pot containing their lunch. It was coming along nicely, almost done and ready to be served.

“Where’d you learn to cook, wiggleworm?” Sky asked, redoing the little one’s sleeves to make sure they wouldn’t dip into the pot when he stirred.

“On the road, I guess.” Link smiled, “I had someone who taught me a few basic things, and then when I headed out into the world, things were a bit..rough. I mean, how was I supposed to know frogs wouldn’t taste good? But the more I traveled and the more I experimented, I learned more and more dishes. People taught me new recipes too, and there were even a few cookbooks I took from the royal library.”

“Oh?” Sky grinned, “What’s your favorite thing to make?”

Link didn’t have to think long about that.

“Apple pie. Or any pie, but I like the taste of apple pie. All pie is fun though, because I get to make the top crust look however I want. A lattice, or hearts, or if I have the time on my hands, I can make it look like a whole forest. Flowers and leaves, I got really good at making wolves, but I tried to cut out a deer and it looked really bad, like a really blobby deer.” Link giggled, “Still tasted good, though.”

“Well, that’s all that matters in the end, right?” Sky asked, “Something tasty to eat.”

“Yeah, I guess, and someone to share it with.” Link mused, looking up at the hero, “I’ve had a lot of meals by myself, but I think they taste better with company. Like Zel, or you guys.”

“That is true, food does taste better with company. We like eating with you too. You think we’re ready to get our company?”

“Hm. Yeah, looks like it. I can find them if you want to plate? Don’t let the squirrels have any, they take all the carrots.” Link was already standing up, handing the confused young man the spoon. “No squirrels.”

“No squirrels.” Sky agreed, “Why did you feed the squir-“

“Okay, by! I’ll be back soon!” Link waved before running off to where he last saw the others. He didn’t want to talk about the squirrel incident, even someone as nice as Sky wouldn’t let him live it down.

He’d been lonely fresh off the Great Plateau and tried to make some friends. How was he supposed to know the speedy tree rodents were so evil?

Link found himself on the other side of the wall, but tried to focus more on locating the familiar figures he’d befriended this week.

“Lunch is ready!” He hollered out, hoping the others heard.

He waited a beat before he saw Time and Twilight heading over, followed closely by Warriors and Four. Legend was coming from the other side. It kind of reminded him of when he called the sheep in Hateno, everyone heading towards him in a slow, unbothered manner.

“Why are you laughing, cub?” Twilight asked.

“You remind me of sheep, or cattle too.” Link grinned, unapologetic. “Have you seen Roolie and Wind?”

“Why does Hyrule get a nickname and I don’t?” Warriors muttered under his breath, ruffling the little one’s hair as he passed by to head towards the food.

“He could call you ‘the hairdresser’ if it’d make you feel any better.” Legend retorted before regarding Link, “Last I saw, they were at the end of the wall, up north, I think.”

“Thanks.” Link turned to head that direction, but a hand caught the back of his tunic, listing him off his feet.

“Hey, we’ll come with you.” Twilight insisted, “It’s not fair for us to dig in first when you were the one who did all the work.”

Link was placed back on the ground and headed along the wall with the others, glad for the company and the distraction from rusted guardian limbs he was walking underneath.

“What’s the road look like from here to Hateno?” Four asked, “We’re halfway there, right?”

“Mhm, the road isn’t bad. You follow it and stick to the left. There’s a big flag you can see eventually, that’s where the town is. You can also see Purah’s Lab way at the top of the hills. It’s got a big telescope.”

“And who’s Purah? You’ve mentioned her a few times. A friend?”

“Yeah.” Link replied, smiling fondly, “She’s Impa’s big sister. She’s a scientist, she’s crazy smart. And normal crazy-crazy too.”

“Oh fun.” Legend muttered sourly.

It didn’t bother Link, he knew not everyone liked crazy scientists, but he thought they were good company. He hurried along, worried about lunch getting cold. He heard Hyrule and Wind before he saw them.

“So where are you two from?”

Wait, that wasn’t either of them. Link made it past the last guardian carcass before he saw who was speaking.

It looked like Celessa, one of the travelers he usually passed by in Necluda, but he wasn’t completely sure. Was it a Yiga? Then again, they’d been awfully quiet around the group.

Oddly quiet. He hadn’t had an arrow shot at him in days.

No, that couldn’t be a Yiga, just Celessa talking with Hyrule and Wind. No big deal.

Link opened his mouth, ready to call out to them and invite Celessa to join them for lunch if she wished, when Wind took an absent step backwards.

One step too far.

There was a horrible grinding noise as the decayed guardian shook the century of dirt and dust off itself, its single eye lighting up as Wind turned, fixating right between the teenager’s eyes.

Five seconds, he knew that was all it took before it would shoot.

Link didn’t think as he dashed forward, fingers tapping blindly at the slate. His mouth wasn’t working as he mouthed the world ‘shield.’ No sound came out, they wouldn’t know what to do. Why hadn’t he told them that guardians shot lasers? Did they even know what was going to happen?

They weren’t acting like it, all staring wide-eyed. Why weren’t they moving, goddesses, please move! I can’t lose you too!

Three seconds. They were still too far away, why did his legs have to be so short?

He dropped his slate as he felt the shield materialize in his hands, heavy and clunky. Link refused to let it slow him down.

Two.

One.

He launched himself in front of the three, barely able to keep the shield in front of him. It felt like slow motion, the guardian shooting as he angled the shield. It was a familiar motion. Even in this abhorrently tiny body, it was pure muscle memory.

He’d been expecting the bright laser deflecting off the shield, right back into the guardian’s eye. Link hadn’t expected to hear a sharp crack, though. Or the force of the impact launching himself and the shield right into the other three, sending them all flying backwards an impressive distance.

Link didn’t really remember landing, but he was on his back now, staring up at the clear, blue sky. Oh, a warm darner… he should catch it, Zelda had been researching bugs recently. She might like it.

He reached up to grab it and… oh dear.

Oh dear, this is bad.

Link was certain his arm was not supposed to be bent like that.

There was a groan off to his left, but he wasn’t really paying attention anymore. He let out a quiet giggle, unable to help himself. His arm was broken, just like that. Oh goddesses his arm was broken. It was broken.

Link let out a sudden cry as he was kicked in the ribs. Celessa— wait that was wrong. She seemed so angry, she was never angry.

He watched her through the black dots swirling in his vision as she disappeared in a puff of smoke, replaced with a too-tall figure in red and black.

So that really had been a Yiga then, but why had they been talking so amicably with Wind and Hyrule?

Link let out another cry as he got kicked again and dragged off the ground by his collar.

“You little-“

They never managed to finish that sentence as an arrow found its new home nestled snugly in the Yiga’s skull and they dropped like a bad of rocks. Link found his own home in a new and far gentler pair of hands.

And smaller too. The darkness was threatening to swallow his vision, but he could make out a concerned face above him.

“Oh hi Wind..I um..I broke my arm..”

“Oh Din..you sure did. Link, please keep your eyes open! Please, or else we won’t know if you’re awake!”

Link tried to apologize to the sailor, but it was all he could do to think the apology before his eyes shut.

“Guardians do that?!” Wind hollered, glancing back at where the machine was had sat.

“I thought they’d grab stuff with those gross spider arms, I didn’t know they shoot lasers!”

Hyrule didn’t bother to respond. Everyone coped differently, and if Wind needed to yell and pace around them, so be it. He had bigger things to worry about.

Or rather, far smaller, more fragile things.

“Four, we put all our bags with Sky. I think we have two red potions left, go grab them.” He ordered, taking charge. “And all the cleaning supplies and bandages too.”

On the other side of Link, Legend was tossing the shield the child had used out of the way. He’d saved their lives, but Hyrule hadn’t had time to appreciate it before he was watching the five-year-old sail through the air from the blast, taking them with him.

“From the force of the blast, it’s going to be a miracle if all he broke was an arm...” Hyrule muttered, carefully holding the fractured limb in his hands.

“I don’t feel any broken ribs,” Legend said, “He’s definitely in shock though.  His pulse is way too fast and his lips are turning blue. You three,” He pointed at Time, Twilight, and Warriors, “Find something we can use as a splint. The faster the better.”

While they waited for Four and the splint seekers to return, they began to wrap Link in whatever they had near them. Hyrule had to thank Hylia that there was another person with more than basic medical knowledge in their group. He’d once asked Twilight what a femur was, and he wasn’t sure the farm boy knew even now.

Once everyone returned, and Sky joined them, Hyrule felt a little less useless.

Now he had tools to help.

He didn’t know if Link was awake, but he hadn’t made a sound as they set his arm and wrapped it tightly. The potions had helped a bit, the kid had some more color to him, his pulse had slowed down to what he expected from a sleeping child.

It wasn’t until Link’s lips turned back to pink that he dared let out a sigh of relief. That had been too close, they almost lost him…

Had Link been a second slower raising that shield, he’d be gone. Or if Wind hadn’t had his bow on him to shoot that Yiga. Or he could have landed on his neck, or he could have had a more extensive fracture and cut through an artery or–

Hyrule groaned into his hands, “No wonder he’d been so twitchy today.. I feel so stupid.”

“We all do.” Warriors muttered sourly, “He always gets so flighty when we ask about different locations, but I’d be too if I knew those things were crawling around and I was barely big enough to lift a shield.”

“Is he going to be okay?” Twilight interrupted, “No one’s said he’s going to be okay.”

“Sorry,” Hyrule rubbed his face, “sorry. Yeah, he’ll be fine. He got lucky with just a broken arm. We need to keep him warm, and he’s definitely going to be sore later, but with those potions, he’ll be out for a few hours and shouldn’t have any problems sleeping tonight. I can try to heal him a bit, but I’ll hold off until we reach Hateno so no one has to carry me around too.”

Time frowned, “I hate to waste food, but I don’t think any of us have much of an appetite anymore. I think it might be wisest for us to continue on for Hateno.”

“Agreed.” Warriors nodded.

“Alright, we need to wrap him up more. And he dropped his slate somewhere, we need to find that too.” Hyrule piped up.

All working together, it didn’t take long until the slate was safely clipped onto Link’s belt once more and the boy was securely wrapped in a scarf, a sailcloth, and an entire wolf pelt. As well as Sky’s arms, which Hyrule knew from experience was plenty warm.

The walk was carried out in relative silence. They’d given the meal to the first traveler they’d seen and hit the road. At least the road to the town was pretty self-explanatory. They also had Link’s map on his slate as well, though Hyrule was a bit curious with some of the marks on the map.

What was the gem-looking stamp supposed to mean?

By the time Hyrule could see the actual town of Hateno, Link was beginning to stir and was handed over to get checked out by the closest thing the group had to a doctor.

“Hello little fairy,” He smiled at the sleepy blue eyes peering at him. Pupils were the same size, that was delightful. “How do you feel?”

“I broke my arm.”

“You did, but that was all.”

“Guess that’s good... I want to go to my house, Roolie.” Link mumbled, settled his head gingerly against the hero’s shoulder, “It’s past the weird cube houses, across the bridge.”

Hyrule patted his back, “That’s a good plan. We’ll go there.” He nodded at Legend up in the front to keep going. “You’ve had a big day, Link. I think we’re going to hold off on seeing your crazy scientist friend till tomorrow, sound alright?”

He got a hum of acknowledgement as he followed Legend’s lead to what he could only describe as the cutest little house he’d ever seen.

“This it?”

“Yep, mine. I’m sorry it’s small.”

“Oh that’s just fine.” Hyrule shook his head, “I don’t think you were expecting groups as big as ours to come visit your home. As long as there’s space on the floor and a roof over our heads, none of us can complain.”

“That’s true. Your house is lovely, apple slice.” Time patted the little one’s shoulder, “I don’t think my own house is big enough, but we make do with what we have.”

The house really was small, and Hyrule felt it had far too many weapons hung up on the wall for a five-year-old, but he kept his mouth shut about it. It was tidy, too, the faint smell of cinnamon lingering in the air.

It was charming, if a bit lonely feeling. That was what Link’s entire Hyrule felt like, though.

“Wait-“ Link spoke up loud enough that everyone could hear. “Before you guys snoop, I- I have to tell you something. Something important, set me down.”

Hyrule set him down by the table, seeing if he could keep his balance. He did and another worry was erased off his mental checklist.

“I’m an amnesiac.”

Chapter Text

“I’m an amnesiac.”

Link had never actually used the words before. He was facing a lot of new firsts when it came to the eight heroes before him. A lot of new words finding themselves on his tongue.

Purah had told him what the word meant, a person experiencing partial or total loss of their memory. He didn’t like it; it was a label, and he already felt unease whenever he tried to use the title of Hero or Champion.

He was just..Link, and sure he’d fought Ganon with a really old, magic sword and won. Sure, he didn’t remember much of his past, and names didn’t stick with him very well, but he didn’t want to be reduced to a title. An amnesiac was something to be pitied, and a Champion shouldn’t shield surf or cry when they saw tiny baby bokoblins with their adorable too-big ears.

A Hero didn’t let everyone die.

Link peered at everyone standing in front of him and frowned. They looked skeptical, confused. Did they not believe him?

“Link, what are you talking about?” Warriors asked incredulously. “An amnesiac? Do you even know what that word means?”

“Yes, I know what it means!” Link replied, feeling like he’d been slapped.

He couldn’t have them think this was a lie, not this, not the truth. He felt… angry. He’d been spending the last few days worrying about this and building up the courage to tell them what happened!

“It means you can’t remember anything, that you lost your memory.” He was raising his voice now, ignoring the sharp pain shooting up his arm as he clenched his fists.

Hyrule stepped forward, a hand outreached, “Hey now, stop. Your arm’s still broken.”

“No! You stop!” Link narrowed his eyes, “All of you! You say I’m a hero and yet you all treat me like I’m completely helpless! I know you all look down on me and you’re right. I’m not all great and mighty. I’m not strong, and I’m not very tall, and I only learned how to read less than a year ago. But that doesn’t make me dumb!”

Twilight was the one who had shouldered past the rest, crouching down so they were eye to eye, “Link, breathe. Calm down.”

“No! I’m sick of you people never believing me! I’m an amnesiac and I wanted to tell you guys now because you’d have figured it out sooner than later.” Link huffed, finding the floorboards easier to look at than anything else. He needed to calm down or else he wouldn’t get through the story, not without breaking down halfway through.

“Hyrule used to have protectors. Champions. There was Zelda of course, and Mipha, Urbosa, Revali, and Daruk…and me, since I could wield the Master Sword. We knew Ganon was going to come back, there was a whole prophecy about it. But we didn’t know when it was going to happen, so we were all trying to train so we’d be ready whenever it did. Then the Calamity struck, and we were still caught off guard. The other Champions went off to pilot the Divine Beasts, ancient Sheikah tech that had been built for the express purpose of fighting Ganon.”

“And Zelda and I were gonna go to the castle to fight Ganon head on while the Champions fought from the Divine Beasts, but...” Link swallowed thickly and shut his eyes, forcing himself to continue, “but they died. Ganon took control of the Beasts, trapped the Champions inside, and killed them. They were my friends, the only friends I had, and they were killed. He took over the guardians too, and they started attacking everyone. I-I tried to get Zelda to safety. I had to protect her. We tried to make it to Hateno, but we only made it to the Fort.”

He was shaking now, reaching up with clammy fingers to brush against the jagged scars along the side of his face. “There were so many guardians.. For each one I cut down, it felt like ten more would take its place. I-I didn’t know what to do, I kept fighting, but they never stopped. They just kept coming, and eventually…”

Link shuddered, eyes feeling wet, “Let’s just say I wouldn’t advise you to get hit by a guardian. Zelda and the Sheikah saved me, I guess. I wasn’t anywhere close to being conscious so I don’t really know. I mean, I didn’t even find out what happened like...two months ago.”

“What do you mean?” Sky asked in a horrified whisper, but Link still couldn’t bring him to look at anyone.

“I woke up one day in a shrine. All alone, without a single memory to my name. Or a name, for that matter. I didn’t know what was going on, or where I was. All I had was the slate, a whole bunch of scars, and a voice in my head that I later found out was Zelda. Not that the name meant anything to me. She told me my name was Link, and that I basically had to save the world.”

Link let out a dry laugh as he wiped messily at the tears dribbling down his cheeks, “I barely knew how to walk, and I was already being told I had to save the world, as if I didn’t already try… I-I did it though, I freed the Divine Beasts and the spirits of the Champions, Zelda survived. We beat Ganon, and now..I don’t know. Zelda’s working on rebuilding the Hyrule she once knew. The one that I can’t remember. I d-don’t remember the cities, or the people. I can’t even remember if I had a h- had a home. If I had a family. What if I had a family? I must have, right? They’re dead by now.. what if they died alone and scared? I wasn’t able to save them..”

He sobbed into his hands, “All I have are a few foggy memories. I don’t know who I’m supposed to be now, and I can’t remember who I used to be.”

Link felt himself be pulled into a hug, so tight and ferocious it nearly took his breath away. A warm hand pressed itself into the back of his head to hold him close.

It was what finally pushed him over the edge. He was inconsolable as buried his face into Twilight’s chest, little body wracked with each new sob. Another pair of arms wrapped around them, then another.

He didn’t know how long he cried for, but eventually he ran out of tears, his body feeling as if he’d spent weeks out in the desert with an entire army of Moldugas using him as toy to toss around. It took the last of what little energy he had left in his body to lift his head and see what was going on around him.

Wind and Warriors were on either side of him, holding him just as tight as Twi. All three of their faces splotched red, cheeks puffy. They’d cried too, and only he was to blame.

Please don’t cry,” Link whispered, voice soundly wobbly and hoarse in his own ears. He reached up to brush stray tears off of their cheeks. Wind first, then Warriors before he finished off with Twilight, keeping his hands on the young man’s burning face.

“I’m sorry.”

“Please don’t say that.” Twilight sighed, “I don’t think any of us can hear that from you. Not tonight, not for this.”

Link didn’t argue as he tucked his arms back against the other’s chest with a sad little sigh.

“I’m sorry for not taking you seriously when you said you were an amnesiac.” Warriors said solemnly, reaching over to wipe off the little one’s face.

“It’s okay. I know I’m not easy to take seriously. I mean- look at me. I get it.” Link shrugged, leaning into the touch. “Where’d everyone go?”

He hadn’t noticed it before, but everyone else was gone from the house. Other than the three around him, there wasn’t anyone else in sight.

“Oh, they all left.” Wind replied.

“Even Time?” Twilight frowned, standing up with Link still securely in his arms.

“Especially Time. He was the first one to leave.” Wind nodded, taking the hand Warriors offered him as they all stood. “Him, Legend, and Sky were the first to leave. Sky looked really sick, so ‘Rule went after him. And Four.. I don’t know when he left, actually. But he’s not here, so he must have left.”

Link caught a worried look on Twilight’s face, but it was long gone by the time he blinked. In its stead was a shaky smile of reassurance that he couldn’t bring himself to believe.

“They just need time to process ..all of this.” Warriors ran a hand through his hair, “Talk about dropping a bombshell.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey. No.” Warriors shook his head, scooping Link out of Twilight’s arms, “The farmhand is right, we can’t hear that from you. You saved Wind’s and Hyrule’s lives today, and you told us, strangers you’ve only met like a week ago, something very personal and clearly very difficult for you to talk about. No apologies.”

Warriors brushed Link’s bangs out of his face and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, “The only time I want to hear you apologize is when you chose to sneak bites off my plate and not Legend’s. And when you run off and scare the living daylights out of us.”

Link peered owlishly at the Captain before sighing; it looked like Warriors was serious about this.

“Okay no more apologies tonight. Should we look for the others?”

Twilight shook his head, “Nah. I’m sure they want to be alone right now or else they never would have left. They’ll return when they’re ready. We can start on dinner in the meantime.”

“Fried rice and eggs okay? I know it’s more of a breakfast dish, but that’s all I think I can make right now.”

There was a murmur of agreement from the other three and Link attempted a smile, pointing towards the front door, “I keep the big cooking pot out there.”

It was a pleasant surprise for Link, when he realized that Warriors and Wind weren’t completely helpless when it came to cooking. Then again, he was a firm believer anyone could make rice and eggs. One you had to watch, and the other you usually set aside and ignored for a while.

He felt confident enough to leave them with to show Twilight the stable so Epona could get settled. Or rather be carried to it; his legs were like two piles of chuchu jelly underneath him.

“Oh! You have a horse, Link?” Twilight grinned, “I should’ve guessed by the way you got along so well with Epona.”

“Mhm,” Link smiled from where he was resting his head against Twilight’s shoulder as he pulled a carrot from his slate. He offered it to the dappled pink pony in the stall, giggling as she snuffled his hand.

“This is Muffin. She was one of my very first friends I made when I first woke up. Her and I have been through a lot together. She likes running through sand and trampling bokoblins. And she likes scratches behind the ears.”

“What a darling horse.” Twilight replied, “How do you take care of her when she’s here, but we found you all the way across Hyrule?”

“Well Zelda’s here sometimes. Other than that, Bolson and Karson take care of Muffin and the house for me when I’m gone. Link explained, offering a carrot to Epona once she was settled in the stall next to his horse.

“They’re the ones who live in those cube houses. Bolson own a construction company and Karson works for him. They’re both really nice and since they don’t have any contracts right now, they house-sit for me.”

“They do seem nice.” Twilight hummed before they both heard a noise and turned away from the house.

“Oh..hi Sky, ‘Rule.” The farmhand offered before a silent Sky plucked Link from his arms, Hyrule trailing a good distance behind.

“I’m not giving him back.” Sky finally spoke, making his way over to the cooking pot and the others.

Link looked over the Hero of the Sky carefully. His eyes weren’t red like he’d been crying, but he did have unfocused glare settled on his face and a pale hue to his face. Asking if he was okay felt stupid when Sky was so clearly not, so Link just hugged Sky close and let the silence sit between them.

By the time the food was ready, everyone but Time had trickled in and the silence between everyone had grown heavy. Link knew it was his fault, but he didn’t know what he could have done differently. He had thought the headfirst approach would be best; waiting for the questions would have been much worse.

Link didn’t know how to fix it, even if he had the energy to do anything other than slowly shovel dinner into his mouth. Sky was warm and soft, and it made his head feel heavy until he was suddenly grabbed by the chin, his face lifted up.

“Swallow that bite and I’ll let you sleep.” Sky murmured, “Or else you’ll choke, and I think I’m already well past my limit for seeing you hurt and in danger today.”

He’s kinda scary.

Link swallowed and Sky released his face. Just like that, the fatigue was back in full force. He felt someone take his plate and fork out of his hands, and he swore he could feel lips on the top of his head, but the little one was asleep before he could see who’d done it.

“Do you think that’s his dead brother?”

Twilight looked down at Wind, then back over to the picture hanging on the wall.

There was an entire group of people staring back, and he could guess enough to put names to faces. Mipha had to be the Zora, a princess by the looks of her accessories. Daruk was the Goron, Urbosa the Gerudo, and Wind had already told him Revali sounded like a Rito name. That left a rather startled Princess Zelda, and the spitting image of Link next to her… If he was a decade older and hadn’t nearly had his face blown off by a guardian.

“Brother or dad.” Warriors spoke from behind them.

“Dad? That young? He’s just a teenager, probably younger than Four and Hyrule.” Legend sighed next to him, “He’s gotta be a brother.”

“A dead brother.”

“Wind, shut up.” Legend snapped.

“All of you shut up.” Twilight sighed, “And go away, shoo. Start on breakfast.”

They’d been bickering on and off for hours, and tensions were rising. It wasn’t a surprise though. They were all upset and hurt, and far too worked up to sleep last night. Only now were a few able to lay down and try to get some rest while the others argued amongst themselves.

At least they hadn’t argued on pancakes for breakfast. They were simple enough for the rest of them to make, and nobody had the heart to make Link cook. Everyone was aware that arm of his wasn’t going to be feeling top notch today. The day after a new injury was always the worst.

Twilight flexed his fingers and glanced over to the nearby bed where the boy was peacefully sleeping, unaware to the turmoil in his house. He ought to be, after that hit he’d taken yesterday, and the potions subsequently shoved down his throat.

Still, they needed to wake him up to make sure he was doing okay. Hyrule had said it was best to keep him on his usual schedule, so they’d be able to notice if something was off.

The small bundle in the bed shifted as the others filed down the stairs, and Twilight watched Link’s little face pop out from the blankets, clearly half-asleep.

“Why’s everybody being loud?”

“They were just leaving. How are you feeling, Cub?” Twilight sat on the edge of his bed and let Link crawl onto his lap, always willing to offer a hug if it helped.

“Like a guardian sent me flying into a Yiga.” Link replied, “But I’ve been left worse.”

“That’s not a good thing, kid.”

“Yeah, I know. Did Time come back?”

Twilight frowned, “Uh.. yeah.”

Link stared up at him with a gaze that looked far more perceptive than a five-year-old should be, “How’s he doing?”

“You’re nosier than you should be, and he’s getting by. We all are.”

“I’m sor-“ Twilight cut Link off with stern look.

“Listen,” He shook his head, “if you finish that sentence, I am going to feed you to Muffin. None of this is your fault, Link. All you did was tell us what happened. We’re upset because we care about you, and what happened to you was awful and not in any way your fault. That sort of thing shouldn’t have happened to anyone, much less someone as sweet and kind as you.”

“I’m not sweet.” Link mumbled, averting his eyes, his ears growing red.

“You are sweet.” Twilight offered a smile, scooping him up in another hug, “With all the sugar you eat, it’s a wonder you haven’t turned into a giant piece of candy. A candy hero.”

He felt his heart swell as Link laughed softly, happy he was able to get a smile out of the kid.

“Alright, you little munchkin, let’s see if the others are having any luck with breakfast. And I’m sure they want their ‘good morning’ hug too.”

Link gasped, “He told! I told him not to tell! Ugh! Hyrule is the worst! I thought he wasn’t going to tell!”

“Oh, he told us the moment you ran off to help Koko with breakfast.” Twilight chuckled.

The little one let out a muffled groan as Twilight carried him down the stairs and set him down on the ground floor to roam freely. Sky and Four were still inside and got their hugs before their duo became a small group that headed outside.  

Twilight had to give it to Link, the tyke had a talent for cheering people up with nothing more than a toothy smile, a hug, and a few well-placed words. The kid needed to give himself more credit. By the time Link had returned to him with a plate of pancakes, the others were in a noticeably better mood.

“Where’s Time?” Link demanded, “You said he came back but he wasn’t there?”

Twilight pointed out to the small cliff facing the glowing tower in the distance. Time sat there, turned away from them. “He’d been sitting there for hours.”

“Ah, I sit there and brood sometimes too.” Link sighed, “C’mon, help me carry a plate for him and we can go talk to him.”

Twilight didn’t know if that was a good idea, but it was worth a try. Nothing else had worked. Last night after Link had fallen asleep and put into his bed, he’d gone off to find his mentor. Time had without a doubt, been the angriest he’d ever seen him. Twilight understood the anger.

What both Hylia and the entire kingdom of Hyrule had done to that boy was unspeakable.

“Good morning.” Link offered Time a smile he hoped wasn’t too noticeably forced. “We brought you some breakfast. Four was the pancake flipper and he did a really good job. Only burnt two.”

He sat down on one side of Time as Twilight sat on the other side, handing him a plate and a fork. Time looked at it blankly, then over to his protégé before he settled on Link.

The haggard man wasn’t looking great. There was dried blood on his knuckles and his armor had been dumped in a heap by the stable. His eyes seemed a bit sunken in and Link worried if the other had drunk any water recently.

“I suppose you’re sick of talking to us about last night’s... topic.” Time spoke, his voice hoarse from disuse.

“I’m always willing to talk if it’ll make you feel better.” Link replied.

Time was silent for a bit and he worried he’d said the wrong thing. He was usually the silent brooder, not the one trying to comfort someone else. It was unfamiliar territory, and he was trying to remember how Zelda, Teba, and Sidon had managed to coax him out of his own slumps. They were better at this than him.

Dear goddesses, he just wanted to help. He kept hurting. It had pained him to see everyone so upset last night and this morning, knowing it was his fault for causing all their hurt.

“Nah, I’m okay.” Time finally spoke, shaking his head. He reached over and ruffle Link’s hair, “I’m just glad you’re here with us, Link.”

“Me too.” Link grinned as Time attempted a smile of his own.

The man set aside his plate and pulled Link and Twilight into a tight hug, and if he whispered a soft, “I love you boys, so much.” neither Twilight or Link would say a word about it. They just wiped their misty eyes and hugged him back. Last night had taken its toll and Link wanted to ease everyone’s mind.

Breakfast was less emotionally charged, and Link felt better than he had in days. There was still a lot he had to tell the others, but he’d gotten through one topic. The others would be a breeze when the time came to let the heroes in on more. Right?

“I have to talk to Purah today, but you two should go fishing.” Link suggested, gathering up the plates once the others had cleaned them off, “You guys seemed to enjoy that, and there’s a bunch of lakes and ponds around here with plenty of fish.”

“You don’t want us to come with you to Purah’s?” Twilight asked, taking the plates from him.

“Hm..no. Not the first time. She’s going to have a heart attack if I show up with you eight.”  Link shook his head, reaching his hands up to try and steal the plates back. He wasn’t even close. “I can tell her about you guys, and you can stop by later, though. If you want. I’m sure she’d love to meet you all.”

“How about we pick you up for lunch? Purah’s the one who lives up on that hill, right?” Time caught his hands in one of his own and led him back towards the group.

“Okay, and yeah, telescope and smoke. You gotta catch lots of fish then. Deal?”

“Deal.” The mentor and protégé duo agreed with Link.

The others were even easier to convince to let him wander freely around the town. Warriors and Legend were interested in checking out the shops, Hyrule and Wind got excited when Link explained what a talus was, and where to find one outside the town. Four and Sky just looked like they wanted to sleep, which was fine by him.

“Okay, remember you aren’t allowed to carry anything with your broken arm.” Hyrule fixed Link’s cloak for the sixth time, “And don’t talk to strangers. And don’t piss off anything that can run faster than you.”

“Contrary to popular belief, I do have common sense, Hyrule.”

“Oh, an attitude? With me?  Fine then, Link. Stay safe.” Hyrule snickered.

“You too. See you for lunch.” Link smiled, waving as he flipped his hood up and took off.

He didn’t need anyone recognizing him. He loved the people of Hateno Village, some more than others, but Hylia above, they sure did love to gossip. He’d caught Bolson and Karson and explained the situation; he trusted them. It was just the other villagers he didn’t trust to keep their mouths shut.

He’d hoped the arrival of Legend and Warriors in the town would distract people long enough for him to sneak by unnoticed.

“Did you see that tall one with the shiny armor?”

“Who do you think they are? Link’s family?”

“The one with the wolf pelt snarled at me earlier. He’s weird.”

Link smiled and rushed past the group of gossiping woman, glad his plan worked. He did tell himself to ask Twilight about the snarling later, though. He pulled his hood lower as he ran along the familiar path, ignoring the questions of the kids who’d initially made a big fuss when they’d seen Purah. They were bigger kids, but he was faster, and kept up his pace all the way up to the laboratory. It was always cold up here, but in his current state, it was almost unbearable. How did Purah put up with it all the time?

Link pulled his hood down again and pulled up the camera on his slate, remembering his deal with Impa. He counted to three and kicked open the door.

“Click, snap!”

“Delete that rig- wait, Linky? Link!? You’re so small!” Purah had dropped her notebook and Symin looked shell-shocked where he stood by the bookshelves.

“You’re tiny! Link, have you been messing with the de-aging rune? I told you not to touch my stuff! When did this happen?”

“I didn’t touch your stuff, I got hit by a weird purple wizzrobe like a week ago, I’ve been like this ever since.” Link countered, a bit red-faced from laughing at Purah’s flabbergasted expression staring back at him on the slate.

“It must have done something to the slate too, it won’t teleport me- Purah?” He looked up to see the Sheikah scientist barreling towards him with an armful of vials and tubes.

“Let me have a blood sample! Let me run tests!”

“What? No!” Link dove past her, putting the table between them, “I didn’t even let Zel get a blood sample.”

Purah groaned, stomping her foot “A new species of wizzrobe appeared and turned you into a kid; we’re on the cusp of a new scientific frontier, and you’re not going to let me get even one teeny little sample?! Is this about the needles? Link, what’s so scary about them, you get sliced to ribbons all the time. It’s just one poke. Think of it like a tiny sword.”

“It’s not a tiny sword!” Link stomped his own little foot, “It’s a tube! A pointy tube! It’s different!”

The accomplished scientist chased him around the table a few times, “Listen here, Link. I’m taller than you now, and I see that splint on your arm. I could kick your ass. Give me your blood!”

“The Sheikah Slate’s broken!” Link hollered and that put an end to their chase.

Purah straightened up and held out a hand, “Let me see.”

Link handed it over, wary of any sharp, pointy objects nearby. Purah took the slate and tapped a few things, her brow furrowed.

“Hm.”

“Is..that a good ‘hm?’ or a bad one?” Link asked.

“It’s fixable, but whatever that wizzrobe’s made of, it managed to fry the transmitter. I’m surprised the map was even working. It’ll take a few days to fix.”

“Okay, so-“ Link stopped, he couldn’t have heard that right. “A few days? Days? As in multiple?! Wh- What about all my stuff? What am I supposed to do?”

“Get a backpack, genius. It’s not the end of the world.” Purah patted his shoulder as she headed over to the terminal on the other side of the room, “I do suggest you get some new clothes, too. You’re kind of screaming, ‘small, beggar child’ right now. Where did you even get those boots?”

Link took a minute to answer, still upset about the loss of his slate for a few days. His apples weren’t going to have that fresh, slightly cold, ‘right out of the slate’ taste he was used to…

“Oh, Time gave them to me. Around the time I got hit by the wizzrobe these eight weird guys saved me from a lynel. Turns out they’re chosen heroes from the past. Like Hylia-chosen.”

Purah sighed, groaning softly, “You just- you just say such profound news so casually, Link. How has no one strangled you yet? Where are these heroes?”

Link bit back a smile, “They’re around Hateno, I told them to come up here to pick me up for lunch. I bet if you ask nicely, at least one will give you a blood sample.”

“I don’t like strangers in my lab but.. it’ll be worth it for blood samples. Do they know you’re over one hundred years old? Or at least a teenager?”

“Not a clue.” Link shook his head, “I told them in the beginning, but of course they didn’t believe me. Just last night I told them about the amnesia thing, it didn’t go over well.”

Purah glanced back at the boy, “Hm.. that’s expected. Does Impa know about all of this?”

Link nodded and the scientist clapped her hands, “Well, till your new travelling companions arrive, let me pick your brain. I want to know everything that happened.”

“Oh boy, Purah. I don’t even know where to begin.”

Chapter Text

When Sky woke up, he didn’t feel any better than he had when he’d collapsed onto his bedroll earlier. He rolled onto his back and groaned into his hands, wondering if Four was still around the small house or if he’d left to join the others.

The world as he knew it had been irrevocably shaken last night, and now Sky kind of wanted to go back to before he knew about any of the other heroes. Back when he was still home, and the main concern of his day was how many times Zelda was going to make him laugh so hard he’d end up snorting in front of everyone like a dork.

Zelda was always so good at helping him when the emotions in his chest grew to be too much. She’d help him take apart the bundle and break it down to identifiable concepts instead of an incoherent jumble. She wasn’t here right now though, and no one from this time knew of her either. They only knew Hylia, and even that was only through foggy legends.

Hylia, the benevolent goddess who had sacrificed so much… she was kind and caring, full of love, and yet Hylia was currently at the root of the pit in his stomach, the crushing pressure in Sky’s chest.

He was mad at Hylia, absolutely livid. It frightened Sky, but he couldn’t dispel the rage that had settled deep into his heart.

How could she have forced a child into a hopeless war?

Link wasn’t even tall enough to hold the Master Sword, why did she make him bear the weight of the world on his tiny, shaking shoulders? Why did she let the twisted reincarnation of Demise sink its claws into those unholy machines and tear so carelessly at his flesh?

This is your fault too, you know.

“I know.” Sky whispered, covering his face with his arms, “But she’s not any less guilty.”

He didn’t want to go down this path again. It had been bad enough the first time he met one of the heroes and realized that Demise’s dying words had any sort of truth to them, that again and again, reincarnations, descendants even, would have to face his hatred reborn.

Sky had tried to stay optimistic, kept Demise his own little secret.

It had been doable with the other heroes. They had all gotten through in one piece, they had families, friends, one had even gotten married and wanted to start a family of his own. How was he supposed to be optimistic about this, though? At least Link wasn’t even younger? At least with the amnesia, he couldn’t remember the faces of his dead family?

Sky was an optimist, not stupidly naïve.

“You okay?”

Oh, it looked like Four hadn’t left the house. Sky glanced over at saw the vaguely worried look on the other’s face.

“I mean, I’ll live.” Sky sat up, trying to pat down his bedhead.

“That bad, huh?” Four offered a lopsided grin, “It’s my bad for asking. I don’t think any of us are okay. I think Link’s doing the best.”

“Thank goddesses for small miracles. How are you?”

“Better than last night. I was going to head into the town. Legend said something about a clothes shop and War mentioned getting Link something that actually fits. Do you want to come?”

Sky nodded, grateful for a distraction. He figured it was around lunchtime, and the chance to see Link would hopefully help as well.

“So any idea how long this is going to last?”

Link was seated atop the table in Purah’s lab, absently swinging his legs. The scientist herself was furiously writing in her journal next to him. She’d managed to talk him into a few tests, as long as she kept the needles far away.

“We’ll never figure out what exactly happened to you if you don’t let me.” She’d said, and she had a point. Purah always had a point, it seemed. It didn’t mean he wanted to give in, though.

“No idea. I’d need some blood for that.”

“Purah! You’ve spent all morning poking and prodding me with your weird science stuff! You just spent the last ten minutes measuring how much space I have in between my toes, you can’t tell me you were doing that just for fun. They’ve got to have told you something.” Link was getting exasperated.

“Well, I’ve been able to conclude that you’re awfully ticklish and you’re a healthy five-year-old Hylian. A little on the smaller side and your splint and bandages need to be changed, but other than that, you’re healthy as a horse.” Purah huffed.

“Linky, I need to look at this on a molecular level if you want even a chance of me figuring out if there’s anything I can do to help.” She continued, “Nothing like this has happened before, maybe this will just wear off in a few days, maybe weeks, maybe you’ll be stuck like this forever. Maybe you’re cursed. Have you talked to the Princess about this?”

Link shook his head, “No, she’s still in the Hebra Mountains and I didn’t think I could make it there in my current state. I don’t think the others have cold weather gear, either. Besides, the slate takes top priority. Without it, I have to travel everywhere by foot.”

There was a commotion outside and they both looked towards the door. Link reached behind him for a sword that was no longer there. Right, no Master Sword. He still wasn’t used to that.

“Oh wait! That’s probably the others. We’re gonna have lunch together, let me grab them.”

Link hopped off the table, nearly tripping on his too-big boots as he ran to the door. He’d been looking forward to lunch and the opportunity to properly check up on everyone. And maybe he could divert Purah’s bloodlust towards another victim.

He pushed open the door and walked two steps right into a disheveled Wind’s hands. It looked like everyone was here, and that made him smile.

“Easy there, why’re you running?” He got a better look at the teenager when Wind lifted him off the ground, bearing a few new bruises spattered across his arms and an impressive grass stain along his left side. He looked better than Link had after his first encounter with a Talus.

Then again, Wind had a sword and shield, and hadn’t learned how to walk a day prior to the encounter.

“I missed you guys.” Link answered truthfully, “And Purah is being mean. I want her to bug you and not me.”

“Purah the scientist lady?” Wind asked.

“The one and only!” The Sheikah emerged from the lab and struck a smile and her usual pose.

A few seconds passed of staring before Legend spoke up from behind Wind, “Link, are all your friends children?”

“Children! You’re awfully rude!” Purah stomped her foot. “I’ll have you know I’m older than all of you combined!”

“We’ve heard that one before, little lady.” Warriors sighed. “Link, what’s the story?”

“She really is.” Link shook his head, “She’s Impa’s older sister. You know my bomb runes on the slate? She experimented with an anti-aging rune and things went wrong.”

“It still worked! It just worked a little too well.” Purah interjected.

Link shrugged, “Whatever, same thing. It worked too well, and now she looks like this. She’s been working on fixing it, apparently for a while now. Till that’s complete, she’s stuck like this. She has an assistant named Symin who’s been with her the whole time. He’ll tell you the same thing.”

The others looked skeptical, but it seemed no one had the heart to argue today. Good. Link wasn’t in the mood for an argument either.

“So..Purah, it’s nice to meet you.” Sky offered a smile, “Are you going to join us for lunch?”

“It’s nice to meet you all too, and yes. Link tells me you all are past incarnations of the Hero of Courage. I don’t suppose you all would like to be my guinea pigs this afternoon? Answer a few questions? Let me get some measurements? Blood samples? Just a few tests should be easy for a bunch of accomplished heroes, right?”

Link noted the color drain from Hyrule’s face at the mention of blood samples, and Wind’s hold on him tightened a bit. Maybe he wasn’t the only one who didn’t like needles.

Warriors was the first one to answer the awaiting Sheikah and it was with a shrug, “Sure, I don’t mind.”

A few of the others mumbled their agreeance and Purah lit up, running back into her lab to grab her backpack, “Oh great! Just let me grab a few things and I’ll be ready to go! Symin, watch the lab!”

“Is she always so energetic?” Four asked.

Link nodded, “About things that interest her, yeah. She was frothing at the mouth after I told her about you guys. Anyway, I was thinking going to the beach for lunch, since the house is so small. Sound okay?”

“A beach is always fine with me.” Wind grinned, finally setting Link back to the ground once Purah joined them again and the others agreed. “Lead the way, miniblin.”

“So, no slate for a few days?” Sky asked, sat next to Link as the little one turned the fish over the fire.

“Yeah, at least. That’s what Purah said, so I guess we’re stuck around here till then. I’m not going far without it.” Link confirmed, looking over to where the Sheikah was chasing Wind down the beach, journal and needle in hand.

She’d already gotten what she needed from the others and been talked out of pursuing Hyrule, but Wind hadn’t been so lucky. It hadn’t helped that he’d made Purah mad by treating her like a little sister. It was his own fault for not believing her about her age.  

“So what’s that thing War has been hiding behind his back the whole time?” Link asked, “Or poorly trying to hide, anyway.”

“Oh, it’s a present.” Warriors held it out, “I suppose you can open it, we’re just missing Wind here, and he can see it later. Sky, Four, Legend, and I all picked it out,  figured it would be useful. Had we known you’d be out the slate, we’d have bought a backpack too.”

Link took the bundle handed to him and felt his eyes grow wide as he unwrapped it, a surprised gasp leaving his lips.

“Are these… clothes? Clothes that will fit!?”

Time and Twilight leaned over to take a look, curious now. Link handed the items to them as he looked at them. A cream-colored sweater, baby blue pinafore, and a pair of boots that looked like they’d actually fit, similar in design to Four’s. There was a cloak too, the same as his old one, just.. smaller. It made him smile.

“Are these really for me?” Link asked softly, swiveling around to look at each of them. He couldn’t believe it, had he really been given a gift without having to complete some tedious task first? “Really?”

“Yes Link,” Sky nodded, offering a smile, “We thought you’d deserved clothes that actually fit you. We figured you were tired of tripping over those boots and your tunic all the time.”

“It’s also an eyesore to look at.” Legend quipped, earning a smack from Four.

“I- I don’t know what to say.” Link traced his fingers gently along the pattern on the sweater sleeves. “No one’s ever bought me clothes before. I’ve always had to buy or bargain for them myself. Thank you.”

“Of course, Sunshine. It’s not a big deal..” Sky pulled Link into a hug, “You want to try them on to see if they fit?”

The clothes seemed to fit, and he absolutely adored them. The pinafore especially, as Link found out how fun it was to spin in it. The bottom made him look like a muffin when he twirled fast enough.

“Oh, I almost forgot, lunch is ready; somebody get Purah and Wind.”

I think Purah might actually be an adult.” Twilight muttered.

After lunch and more questions than Sky could keep track of, the scientist had headed back up to her lab. That left the boys sitting on the beach, a few of them dozing on the warm sands, or in Link’s case, in Sky’s arms. It was tempting to join them, but he couldn’t relax enough to actually fall asleep.

“I think so too.” Legend agreed, “No apple slices, no asking to be carried, or naptimes, none of that. She’s childish, but she’s certainly not a child.”

Sky shifted the sleeping boy in his arms and sighed, “Kinda iterates how much of a kid Link is, doesn’t it? It’s nice to see how well they get along though, and she can fix that slate of his. Even if it takes time.”

“We’re going to have an issue if a portal shows up before then.” Four mused.

“We’ve only been a week here, we can’t possibly have another portal show up so soon.” Legend shook his head, “Besides, it’s not like we can drag Link off through it if he doesn’t want to go. It’ll traumatize him, first time going through one wasn’t easy for any of us. If we force him to go through without his slate, it’s going to be even worse.”

The veteran had a point. The portals affected them all differently, but it was never in a positive way. The first time he’d gone through a portal, he passed out. From what the others had told him, their own reactions had varied from getting sick, to inciting repeated panic attacks. If they forced Link to go through that while he was already worked up and upset, it might be catastrophic.

“At least wherever we go next, there won’t be Yiga, right?” Sky tried to look on the bright side, “I’ll feel a lot better when we only have to worry about monsters, not assassins too.”

“Aye, I’m sick of the assassins.” Twilight groaned, “I don’t get the thing with the bananas, or spending all your time trying to kill a kid and princess. Ganon’s been defeated in this Hyrule, it’s done and over with.”

“Ganon’s minions never call it quits.” Hyrule mumbled from where he’d been using Legend’s lap as a pillow, rubbing an eye as he sat up. “Their master’s death only makes them work harder. Believe me, I know that firsthand. I’d hate to see what they’d do to Link if they ever actually got their hands on him.”

Sky cleared his throat, trying to put an end to the tension in the group before it began.

“Do you guys want to start heading back to the house? I think it’s going to rain soon.”

The others looked to the sky and next to him, Twilight hummed his surprise. Clouds always seemed to form rather quickly in this new Hyrule.

“Yeah okay, let’s go.”

The rest of the afternoon was spent blissfully lazily, something Sky never could complain about. It was fast becoming muggy outside, and the lack of sleep was catching up to more of the group. Only Sky, Time, and Link were still awake at this point, slowly working on dinner as the afternoon rolled into evening.

The spice collection at Link’s house was extensive, but Sky was trying his best to help without getting overwhelmed. Time was too, they had to, since their cook only had one good arm for the time being. They had redone the splint though, and Link did seem far more comfortable now.

Awfully cute as well, in his new clothes. He’d kept the pants on underneath the pinafore and now looked ready for any new adventures that might come the kid’s way. Goddesses, if he ever had any future kids of his own, he hoped they’d be half as cute as this one.

“Sky, less staring, more stirring. It’s gonna boil over!”

Once dinner was ready, Sky wasn’t exactly sure what it was. He’d just been following orders, and now whatever it was, smelled downright delectable.

“Hearty radish soup.” Link offered, “You looked confused, it’s just hearty radish soup. Easy to make and easy to eat, I figured it would be best tonight since everyone’s so sleepy and have been down in the dumps.”

“That’s thoughtful, apple slice.” Time murmured, handing out bowls to the other groggy boys. “Good thinking.”

Link smiled into his soup, “Thank you.”

The evening was perhaps the fastest since they’d first met Link, but everyone really was exhausted, both physically and mentally. The soup certainly helped speed the process along. It was savory, and yet wonderfully light. Two bowls down and Sky was ready to look for his bedroll. The last thing he saw before he succumbed to sleep was Time balancing Link on his hip as their leader went around tossing blankets over sleeping figures around him.

Link woke with a start, his heart racing.

It took a minute for his eyes to adjust, but he was in his bed, still stuck in the dead of the night.

“Just a nightmare..” He whispered to himself, “It was just a nightmare… that’s all.”

He could only hear the soft breaths and occasional snores of the others, all sleeping soundly, but it seemed distant… off.

Link needed to walk this off. He pulled on his new cloak and boots, slipping out the front door, shaken up. He couldn’t remember what had frightened him so much, but the fear was still lodged securely in his throat.

It wasn’t until he was pushing open the lab doors that he remembered that he wasn’t supposed to be running off in the middle of the night. Too late now. Since he was up, he’d decided he might as well run what errands he could.

Like grabbing what he needed from the slate for the coming days.

Purah, who he sometimes believed was purely incapable of sleep, had a spare backpack laying around which she gave to Link. It wasn’t big, but neither was he. He tried to only pack the necessities. Apples mostly, some spices and vegetables, he’d found some candy as well and added that too. A few bananas, some rupees, an extra tunic just in case, and as an afterthought, tossed in Majora’s Mask as well. It was useful, especially to small heroes who could no longer outrun a moblin.

He needed weapons, that much was obvious. Especially if there was any possibility he might run off again another night.

As Link soon found out, the phrenic bow was the only bow with a child-friendly draw weight, that was also light enough for him to carry around. The swallow bow had almost made the cut, but it was just a bit too bulky. Arrows weren’t really an issue, his quiver fit nicely over his shoulder and he was able to add a good mix of everything. Shock, fire, ice, and normal. And five ancient arrows for emergencies. It wasn’t a lot, but Link was sure he could bum a few arrows off of the others if he needed to.

A guardian shield was his next addition, easy to carry and sturdier than the wooden shields he could lift. Everything else was out of the question, too heavy, too tall, or both. That left Link struggling to pick out what sword he should bring. Not that it really mattered right now. With a broken arm, all he could use was a shield.

With input from both Purah and Symin, he settled on a guardian sword. It was a bit big, but he’d used claymores plenty of times before. He’d manage.

“Alright, that’ll get you by for a bit.” Purah sighed, helping Link put on his backpack, “But you break things really easily, so who knows? Once I fix your slate, I suggest you go to Robbie. Knowing him, he’s absolutely has child-sized weapons laying around somewhere in his lab. Or at least the plans to child-sized weaponry.”

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind. And thanks again for the backpack.”

“No problem, Linky. You should hurry back home before any of the others notice you’re gone. They seem sweet, and you look dead on your feet.”

Link offered a smile and a wave before he headed back into the cold, night air. He needed to thank whoever had picked out the sweater, it was already changing his life for the better. As he walked, however, Link felt a chill run up his spine and it wasn’t due to the temperature.

There were eyes on him. He barely managed to duck an arrow whizzing past his head before breaking into a sprint.

The Yiga weren’t supposed to be this close to Hateno… they never got this close to a village! Had they lost their minds? Were they really getting so desperate? Link yelped as two Yiga appeared in front of him, diving out of their grasp. Another two appeared behind him and he stumbled, unused to all the extra weight from the backpack.

“Leave me alone! Killing me isn’t going to bring back your dead leader!” Link cried, throwing himself out of the way as one brought down their scythe. He couldn’t use his sword, it was too heavy for one hand.

“We have new leaders, Little Hero.” One said, eerily calm and composed for the comedic assassins he was used to, “They’re behind you.”

Link’s blood ran cold as he looked up from where he’d fallen, three silent figures looming above him. There was no dumb belly, no ridiculous poses, just the unblinking eyes of the Yiga staring back.

It felt like someone had pierced him with shards of ice; he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move as the center figure leaned down till they were inches away from his face.

“Run.”

Link ran, not looking where, just away from those people, looking behind him wide-eyed. There wasn’t anything else to do, he couldn’t fight, and he didn’t want Time, or Twilight, or any of the heroes to find his cold little corpse tomorrow morning because he didn’t run fast enough.

There was a noise in front of him and Link forced himself to turn away from the Yiga’s new terrifying leaders, just in time to see what he only could recognize as a void materialized right front of him. He was running too fast; he wasn’t going to be able to stop himself from running into it.

It swirled with dark tones of red and black, hypnotically inviting and yet starkly warning. He knew the stench of magic anywhere, and he vaguely remembered Time mentioning portals before he hit it full force and everything went black.

Chapter Text

“I mean, we didn’t make him explicitly promise not to run off, but I thought we made it pretty clear not to!”

Wind groaned into his blanket and sat up to blearily look around the small house they were in. He could hear Time and Legend bickering up in the loft about something. He met eyes with Four, who was already out of bed, pulling on a boot.

“Link’s gone.” Four explained.

Wind scrambled to his feet and hurried up the stairs, pushing past the others to see the empty bed.

“Well, he wasn’t dragged out of bed.” Sky offered, “His blankets are still there, and we would have heard him yell for help.”

“He wasn’t planning on being gone for long either.” Wind frowned, “He didn’t try to disguise any pillows as himself or anything. Maybe he just had a nightmare and needed to cool his head?”

It didn’t really matter why Link left, they all knew that. The problem lay in the fact he hadn’t returned from wherever he’d gone.

“Maybe he went up to Purah’s lab and ended up crashing there? It’s still really early, maybe he’s still asleep? All safe and sound, and we don’t have anything to worry about?” Wind continued, “We won’t know till we go and check.”

It was early, but Hateno was a farming town. It was already bustling as the heroes strode through it. Only the kids were apparently still asleep, and Wind could only pray that Link was in the same boat.

Bad things kept happening to that child, and it was bringing up the same sort of ever-present panic he’d felt when Aryll had been snatched up by that stupid bird. Sure, Link could be fine, fast asleep in Purah’s lab, but he could also be dead as a doorknob somewhere in a bokoblin camp, nothing but a little leg sticking out of a hastily cooked stew.  

Wind made a face and tried to keep that image out of his head as they hurried up the path towards the strange building. He had to stay at least a little optimistic.

He was right behind Time as the eldest pushed open the door, a determined set to his face. It was a stark contrast to the surprise on the tiny scientist’s face when eight heroes piled into her lab.

“Where’s Link?” Time demanded.

“What?” Purah looked up from her journal. “Is he not with you guys?”

“If he was with us, we wouldn’t be asking you. Where’s Link?” Legend spoke from behind Wind.

“Whoa, calm down. Listen, he was here last night. He said he couldn’t sleep, so we just went through his slate and he grabbed the things he’d want for the next couple of days while I fix it. I gave him a backpack to carry it all, and then he left. That was hours ago, he should be back with you guys by now. Are you sure he wasn’t in the house?”

Legend made an annoyed noise, “Not in the house, not around the house, not in the stable with his horse. We checked everywhere. He isn’t there.”

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you guys,” Purah replied, “He was here, and then he left. I assumed he was heading back to the house. Did you look anywhere else? Link gets sidetracked easily, and I think he forgets how small he is. I mean, a particularly determined keese could fly away with him and you’d never see him again.”

“Purah, you aren’t helping.” Wind cut her off before she could think up any more horrific scenarios. “I mean, thanks for filling us in, but yeesh.”

The heroes filed out of the lab and headed back down the path at a significantly slower pace. They had to keep their eyes peeled for anything that might have attracted the attention of one very curious child.

Had it been anyone else who’d wandered off instead of Link, Hyrule most likely, they would have started bets.  Twenty rupees that he wandered into a monster camp, forty that he wandered off because he saw something shiny.

Wind wasn’t in a betting mood, though. No one was, not when the person in question had a broken sword arm and an impressive knack for finding trouble, even for a Hero of Courage. Not when they’d watched Link get put through the wringer for the past few days. Bad things kept getting worse, and Wind was afraid worse would become worst before he knew it.

“Guys?” Hyrule had already wandered ahead, “I found an arrow.”

Sky made a choked noise beside Wind.

“No blood.” Twilight murmured.

“No body.” Warriors added, following faint tracks down the road towards the beach. There were a few bigger sets of footprints too, these ones with a stark beginning and end. Like they’d just popped out of thin air…

Yiga

Link had played them off as nothing more than an occasional nuisance, but Wind had to assume he was severely downplaying it. The last three attacks had only ended because one of the other heroes had been there to save him. This was the fourth attack, and no one had been around last night to intervene.

It didn’t bode well for Link.

Warriors and Twilight got to work following the tiniest set of footprints down the road, the rest of the group following along until the tracks just..stopped. Wind didn’t know a lot about reading footprints like War and Twi, but he knew they weren’t supposed to disappear into thin air.

“Could they have grabbed him and disappeared?” He asked.

“I don’t know,” Twilight shook his head, “but I don’t think so. The nearest Yiga footprint was back over there, too far away to grab Link. It looks like they were chasing, and then they stopped and turned around. Maybe to talk to someone? I really don’t know.”

Whoosh

Wind jumped, nearly climbing over the Hero of Twilight in the process. Something was behind them, and when he turned around, he saw a portal behind the others.

“Oh no- no,” he covered his mouth as it all clicked together.

Link had been chased into a portal; had it been planned? What did it matter, it was almost a certain death sentence either way. There was no way to know what was on the other side of one. Even if it hadn’t spit Link right into a volcano, there was any number of awful places he could have been taken. The middle of the ocean, by a monster camp, into the lap of a hungry hinox.

Hell, if he landed in a rainstorm, it could kill him. There was no way Link would be conscious after his first venture through a portal. One puddle and he’d be a goner.

A hand on Wind’s shoulder snapped him out of his spiral and he looked up to see Time looking pale, but certainly more composed than he felt.

“We’re heading back to Link’s house.” He said, the wobble in his voice barely perceptible. “We need to grab our belongings and Epona; it’s time to leave this Hyrule, no matter what may lay on the other side of that portal.”

Everything hurt and Link didn’t know how to begin to fix that. He felt like someone had dropped the entire weight of Death Mountain on his very small body, like there was a very small lizalfos in his chest that raked its razor-sharp claws down his lungs every time he tried to suck in some air.

To say he felt crummy was a crude understatement, but it was all he could come up with as he forced his eyes open.

Where was he?

Link didn’t remember coming home, but now that he thought about it, his recollection of last night was fuzzy at best. All he could remember was a paralyzing fear and a cold, piercing voice. He was in a bed now, but this wasn’t his. The room was unfamiliar as well, small and quaint, but with a distinct lack of familiarity comfort. Ah, a guest room.

Whose guest room was it, though?

It didn’t really matter, Link had to get out of here. He pulled off the blankets that had been carefully tucked over him, noting his lack of boots. His cloak was gone as well, along with his backpack.

Great, kidnapped and robbed.

 He went to hop off the bed and his legs promptly crumpled underneath him. The world swirled unpleasantly, and he felt like he was going to hurl.

Oh goddesses, his body wasn’t cooperating, and his head was spinning too much, it was finally going to happen. He heard a door open in front of him and someone hurry over, but it wasn’t until pleasantly cool hands cupped his face that Link was able to focus on who it was.

It was just some lady, a woman in her thirties with the most brilliantly red hair he’d ever seen, and flour smudged on her forehead. Her face was plastered with concern and Link reached up to hang onto her hands. She reminded him of Saki when she scolded him for staying up too late, or the women of the Gerudo when they’d ruffle his hair and remind him to eat dinner whenever he forgot.

Maybe he hadn’t been kidnapped and robbed… A kidnapper wouldn’t have held his hair back so carefully while he got sick on them.

A few breathing exercises later, and an outfit change for the woman, Link was sat back in bed with a large cup of water in his hands.

“I’m sorry for throwing up on you.” He mumbled, too embarrassed to make eye contact.

“It’s fine, hun. You’re sick as a dog, and it’s not like you meant to do it. How do you feel? My father left to get the doctor when we first found you; he should be back soon.” The woman smiled, absolutely unbothered as she pulled his hair into a bun. “I’m Malon by the way, what’s your name, little one?”

“My name’s Link.” He noticed a slight pause with the fingers in his hair, “Where am I? And what happened?”

“You don’t remember?” Malon frowned a bit, “Hm... Well, it’s nice to meet you, Link, you have a very lovely name. You’re at Lon Lon Ranch, I live here with my father, and my husband, but he’s away right now. I’m not quite sure what happened either, I was hoping you would have known. Something startled the horses last night, so I went out to investigate. That’s when I found you. I actually thought you weren’t breathing for a good minute...”

She laughed nervously as she finished tying off Link’s bun, “Terrified me, but then you took a breath. We brought you into the house, Father left to get the doctor, and that’s about it. Do you remember anything about last night? Where are your parents? Who’s been taking care of you?”

Link sipped his water and tried to remember anything concrete. His head hurt and he wanted to lay down, but he thought Malon was nice and he wanted to be truthful. “I got chased.. and then.. I think I went through a portal? Maybe? I don’t know, I just remember being scared.”

He tugged at a stray thread on the edge of the blanket, “Oh, my parents are dead. Been dead for ages, but recently I’ve been travelling with- Oh no! They’re gonna be so mad! Time’s never going to let me out of his sight again. Did you see anyone else when you found me? Like a guy with face markings and one eye? And he looks really mean, but he’s not, that’s just his face.”

“Woah, woah, calm down.” Malon plucked the cup out of Link’s hands before he could spill it. “Time? Wait, are you.. no, you couldn’t be- He never mentioned a new one.. Link, sweetheart, have you been traveling with a group of boys with goofy names? Time? Twilight? Four? People like that?”

“Yes! Do you know them? Please, where are they? I already ran off once and that really scared them. I wasn’t supposed to do it again. I need to find them so they know I’m okay.”

“I don’t know where they are, I’m sorry.” Malon shook her head and Link wasn’t able to bite back the unhappy noise in the back of his throat. “That one you called Time, he’s my husband, sweetheart. Oh dear, he must be worried sick about you… a kid..oh, Hylia.”

She took a moment to compose herself and Link did the same. A wife? Time had a wife?! Had he mentioned it before? Link couldn’t remember, but she did seem very nice.

“Worrying about them isn’t going to help you, sweetheart. Leave that to me, alright?” She offered a tired smile, “It’s not like we can go out searching for them, you’re sick and I see that splint, you’re injured too. I bet they’ll find their way here in no time. All we can do right now is wait, okay? Link, er- Time, knows to come here if a portal takes them to this Hyrule.”

“I don’t like waiting,” Link sighed, “it’s no fun. The others are freaking out right now, I know it.”

“Here,” Link blinked as Malon scooped him up into her arms. “how we go on a stroll then? I still need to feed the cuccos and although I’m not about to let you try and walk around yet, I think the fresh air will be good for both of us. How does that sound?”

“I guess that sounds okay. I like cuccos. If you’re Time’s wife, does that mean you have embarrassing stories about him? Can you tell them to me?”

Malon snickered as she stood, “Ah, I can tell already you keep him on his toes, don’t you? Yes, sweetheart, I have plenty of stories I can share.”

Link tried not to worry about the others, but it was an impossible task.

Nearly.

He soon found that Lon Lon Ranch was home to a collection of animals, and it was hard to remember to be upset when there was a small army of cuccos who demanded his attention. The ranch itself looked oddly familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it.

He had a fever, according to Malon, and he believed it. The cuccos were nice, and so were the horses, but Link still felt exhausted just sitting in her arms. His head didn’t want to stay up, and soon his eyes had joined the mutiny and wouldn’t stay open either.

“Looks like you need another nap, darling. Don’t worry, Father will be back soon with the doctor, and who knows? Maybe Time and all the other boys will be here too by the time you wake up.”

Link felt lips on his forehead and a quiet hum as Malon mumbled something about the fever finally beginning to come down. That was good. Maybe she was right, about everything. He was getting better, and when he woke up, everyone would be here. He didn’t even care if Time wanted to lecture him for the whole rest of the day, or if he had to get bundled in the scarf again, he just wanted to be back with the others.

Link missed the other heroes dearly, and he didn’t know how long he could bear it as he drifted off into the dark and dreamless sleep of the sick.

Chapter Text

“You know, there’s a horse god who has a similar name to you.“

Link was feeling far better than he had when he’d woken up. Although the fever and the ache in his bones still persisted, his headache and the itch in his throat were both gone. It helped that Malon hadn’t once let him go. Zelda had once told him, from one of the many books she’d salvaged from Hyrule Castle, that there were physical health benefits from touch.

He didn’t know if any of it was true, but Zelda was smart, and he did adore hugs.

Currently Link and his new friend were sitting out on the porch of the house, the former in Malon’s lap as they watched the horses out in the pasture chase one another. They’d baked cookies earlier, or rather Malon had baked while Link was held at her hip, nibbling on one of the spoons and commenting that she’d used too much flour. They’d both decided they wouldn’t eat any till the other arrived, however.

“A horse god, huh?” Malon never seemed especially surprised by anything Link had told her so far, she took everything in stride and believed it wholeheartedly. It was nice. He was still trying to convince people in his own Hyrule that he even existed.

“Yeah, Malanya. They got a big horse head, and big hands with pointy nails.” Link gestured wildly, forming his little fingers into claws “Big pointy nails. They bring back horses from the dead, and they said if I ever hurt a horse, they’ll eat me. But that’s never happened because I’d never hurt-“

Link cut himself off, spotting something ahead on the worn path towards the castle. It reminded him of a charging horde of angry bokoblins, but he knew better. This place wasn’t like his Hyrule. It was safe, it had guards, and most of the time, it seemed to have Time too, protecting it from whatever might threaten the tranquil peace.

No, the fast-approaching group looked far too familiar to be monsters.

Malon stood up, seeing it too, her grip tightening around Link to keep him from falling. “Thank the goddesses, they’re safe..”

The whole group of heroes seemed to be there, along with two older men. One of them seemed awfully used to being dragged around by Time, and he had one of the most impressive mustaches Link had ever seen. He assumed that to be Talon, the father Malon had told him about. The other had far less impressive facial hair and was carrying a large bag. He guessed this one to be the aforementioned doctor Talon had left to get.

Excluding those two, the heroes broke into a run once they saw Link, all trying to get there as fast as they could. Time was the first to reach them, sweeping Malon off her feet and burying them both in a hug.

Link had been told the others hadn’t met Malon yet, but that didn’t stop a single one of the heroes from joining in. Even Legend and Hyrule, the telltale hat and poof of fluffy hair on the fringes of the group. A moment later, he realized they were crying. Every single one of them, misty-eyed and runny nosed as Time finally spoke.

“Are you okay?! Malon, is he okay?!” The man was talking a mile a minute, pulling away to look him over for any injuries, carefully holding his face as if to make sure Link was really there. “Oh Din above, I thought we were going to find you dead! What happened? We saw Talon and he said- Whatever... it’s not important. Are you okay?“

Link tried not to get emotional, but the task was near impossible even on a good day, in his current state. He wiped his eyes, opening his mouth before floundering a bit and snapping it shut.

He didn’t know what to say. What could he say?

Oh, totally sorry for running off and nearly getting myself killed once again! Whoopsie, my bad!

Somehow, Link didn’t think that would be enough. It had just been a nighttime walk, something he’d done a million times before. He hadn’t thought the Yiga would be so bold as to attack him around Hateno like that, much less to accidentally run through a portal. Where had it come from? The others had mentioned them before, but they had forgotten to mention how terrifying they were.

“I’m sorry.”

It didn’t feel like enough, but it was the only two words his lips could form, burning hot tears dribbling down his cheeks. Guilt bit hungrily at his chest like some visceral animal, tearing at tender flesh.

Look at what you’ve done to them, what you’ve put them through. They’re crying and it’s your fault. They thought you’d be dead by now. How could you let them get so attached when you’re so weak? You’re going to get hurt eventually, worse than a little scrape with a guardian, and it’s going to kill them to watch. It’s going to destroy them, and it’ll only be your fault.

“Okay, this is too much for you.” Time said softly, interrupting Link’s train of thought. “You’re overwhelmed. You just went through your first portal, and now you’ve been swarmed by all of us. That’s too much right now.”

Warriors and Twilight took that as the signal to step back, dragging the others with them to give Link a chance to breathe. Malon offered the hem of her apron to wipe his tears, and he scrubbed at his face while he tried to get stop the flow of tears.

“I’m sorry.” Link repeated and Time shook his head.

“Nope, we’re not doing this right now. We’ll talk about what happened later. The doctor is here, so he’s going to make sure you’re okay, and we’re all just going to calm down. We found you and you’re safe, and that’s all that matters.” Their leader offered a tired smile before he straightened up and looked at the other boys.

“This isn’t exactly how I expected this to go, but welcome to Lon Lon Ranch. Make yourselves at home.”

“So Apple Slice, huh?”

Time grinned, glancing over at his wife, “He told you that, huh? Yeah, I think it’s cute and he really likes apple slices. You should hear some of the ones the kids came up with.“

Everyone had settled down fairly well and now Time sat next to his wife, both watching Castle Town’s doctor and Hyrule glare at one another, each try to each perform an exam on their little patient. He didn’t think Link had ever had a proper doctor’s visit before. He didn’t think most of the heroes hadn’t, but Warriors and Sky were doing a great job at distracting Link enough to sit still, terrorizing Legend and Wind with cuccos much to the child’s delight.

It was nice to see no tears on Link’s face anymore.

“I haven’t seen your father that distraught in years.” Time mused, sipping his glass of milk. “He was running, I don’t think he’s done that since we were kids.”

Malon sighed, resting her head on his shoulder, “I was pretty worked up too. I mean, he’s so small, and neither of us are used to finding kids in the haystacks.” She elbowed him in the ribs, “Just you.”

“Talon said he wasn’t breathing.”

Malon shifted uncomfortably, “...Yeah. We counted two minutes. I didn’t tell Link; he was already worked up when he realized he wasn’t with you guys. I didn’t want to add on more stress. He wasn’t breathing, and then he was, but he spiked that awful fever, and I didn’t know what to do. It’s nice to see him so much better already, I think I was about to go gray.”

Time pressed a kiss to her temple, “I’m sure you did great, you always do. Better than I could ever. I bet he didn’t even bite you once.”

“Ah, a biter.” Malon broke into a smile, the tension visibly easing from her shoulders. “I should’ve known. Didn’t one of the other boys bite you when you first met?”

He groaned, wincing at the memory, “Twilight. And his teeth are a lot bigger than Link’s. What’s with these kids and biting, anyway? Nobody tried to punch me when we first met, it’s like they forget they have hands. It’s always teeth, or magic, or scary pirate children. And then there was Sky and his giant bird.”

“Oh? He’s the…sailcloth one, right?”

Time nodded, feeling like he could relax for the first time in months. Everything was stressful away from the ranch, but since they’d met Link, he’d been wound tighter than a spring. If he wasn’t missing Malon, he was worrying about the boys.

“Did Link at least behave for you?” He asked, finishing off his drink and setting it aside.

“Me?” Malon blinked, “He was perfect. I mean, he did throw up on me, and he certainly has some strong opinions on cookie recipes, but he was a sweetheart. I could listen to that little accent talk about the best fruitcake recipes in each region of Hyrule, for hours.”

Time hummed his agreement, “When he’s especially tired, I can’t really make out what he says, but I like the accent too.”

He felt Malon slip her hand into his and he gave it a squeeze, “I missed you, you know. Every day. The boys make fun of me for it, called me broody.”

“I missed you too, Link. And they’re right.” Her smile was just as bright and teasing as it had been when they first met, and Time felt his own sappy grin grow across his face.

Everything was great, he was back home, even if it were just for a bit, and he knew all his boys were safe. There was only one other thing he could ask for...

Good health on Link’s part.

The little one had gone through his first portal, and they still didn’t know the extent of the damage that could have caused. He watched the doctor and Hyrule finish up, the latter heading over with the tyke in tow. Link was still wobbly on his feet, but he wasn’t collapsing, which according to Malon, was an improvement.

“So, did we decide we need to amputate?” Time asked the approaching child.

“No, despite my wishes, they’re gonna keep my arm.” Link sighed dramatically, hanging off Hyrule’s tunic. “That guy is really nosy, though. Kept asking about my scars and my arm and stuff.”

Hyrule smiled wryly, but turned his attention to Time and Malon, “I don’t think I’ve ever met an actual doctor in my life before today. Anyway, we both agreed Link should be fine. Sore for a few days, but fine.”

Time nodded, “Good, I don’t know what we’d do without our newest hero by our side.”

“Oh, um..also, the doctor wants to talk to you. Without us.” Hyrule nodded silently at Link to make a point. “I don’t know what about, though.”

“Alright, I’ll go talk to him. How about you two go find Twi and Four? They wandered off a while ago, and it’ll be time to start working on supper before we know it.”

Time offered a little wave to Link before he headed over to the elderly doctor who was packing up his bag of things already.

“Ah, I’m sorry for dragging you here. Literally.” The once-retired Hero chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, feeling more like an overzealous teen than he had in years. He’d been so panicked when Talon explained the situation, he had nearly hauled the doctor over his shoulder and sprinted to the ranch.

“It’s fine, Link. Parents want to make sure their children are alright. I do have to ask, though.” The doctor looked up from his packing, “I hadn’t thought you and Malon to be the type to hide a pregnancy and birth, much less for what, five years? But what about the others? They’re a bit too old to be yours, aren’t they? Are you just taking in orphans off the street as a pity project or somethi-“

“The little one isn’t our son, but they are family.” Time cut him off, feeling a protective swell in his chest. Maybe it was due to the days of little sleep piling up, or maybe the clear judgement in the doctor’s voice, but he didn’t want to deal with this right now.

“All of them, they’re family. My family. Listen, as far as you or anyone else is concerned, those are my and Malon’s boys, and I don’t want to hear anything more about it. They aren’t pity projects. You’ll be wise to remember that.”

He felt Malon’s familiar grasp on his arm as she sidled up next to him, fixing the doctor with the steely look she reserved only for people who insulted the horses or her husband. Time knew she had overheard it all.

“Thank you for looking him over, we really do appreciate it, but I think it might be time for you to leave,” Malon’s smile didn’t reach her narrowed eyes, “our family needs to start working on supper. Besides, it’d be a real shame if you were caught outside Castle Town’s walls after sundown. Unwary travelers tend to meet some rather terrible fates during the night.”

The doctor turned pale, and he fumbled with the clasp on his bag, “Oh my, will you look at the time? You’re right, I ought to be leaving. Um… farewell!”

Time stood there, unblinking as he watched the portly figure disappear down the road. Once he couldn’t see him anymore, he sighed and turned to Malon, absently placing his hands on her hips and pulling her into a hug.

“You know, after all these years of going to him when one of us were especially sick, I’ve never managed to remember his name.” He mused, resting his head on his wife’s shoulder.

“It’s not worth remembering, anyway.” Malon replied, rubbing his back in her usual comforting manner.

Pity project. How many times had he heard those words over the years, regarding to himself? First it was Saria’s pity project, the Deku Tree’s pity project, Zelda’s pity project. When he moved in with Malon and Talon, everyone had called him their latest pity project. Instead of abandoned cuccos or skinny horses, they had taken in that weird guy from the forest.

As much as he’d already pretended to be unbothered by it, it had hurt. It had taken years to really tune it out. Hearing it in regard to the others? Those brave and selfless heroes? Those kids he knew had faced unimaginable hardship and came out victorious despite anyone else’s judgement? Pity projects? It didn’t just hurt, it made him angry.

Time looked past Malon to see the boys, Hyrule and Link had found Twilight and Four, joining the rest of the group. If the delighted shrieks were anything to go by and subpar monster voices, they’d decided to play a game of Tickle Monster again.

The anger lessened its grip in Time’s heart and he sunk into Malon’s embrace, just watching his boys, “They deserve so much better than they get..”

“You all do.” Malon held him close, turning a bit to watch the kids as well.

Time didn’t know how long they stayed like that, holding each other up, trying to memorize every boy’s carefree smile. It was nice, but like all good things, he had to come to an end eventually.

“Alright, it’s time for some tickle monsters to help me with supper!” Malon called out.

Link waited impatiently as Legend helped fill up his bowl for a third time. It wasn’t something he had much experience with, but he firmly believed that food tasted better surrounded by friends.

It was just pumpkin stew and sourdough bread, but it was more than enough, and unlike her husband, Malon knew how to properly season things.

“So, are you ready to tell us what happened last night?” Wind asked between bites, far too much butter on his bread.

“Yeah, I guess.” Link settled back into his seat once his bowl was handed over. The table quieted and he found himself at the center of attention. He didn’t like. Too many eyes on him. He looked at his hands.

“I had a nightmare last night. When that happens, I usually go on a walk.” Link pulled his knees to his chest in his chair, “I know it’s not safe, but I spent most of my time on the road. It’s more comfortable to be outside and sometimes being stuck in a house is just.. It’s just..”

“Too much?” Hyrule offered, a knowing look in his eyes.

Link nodded, “Yeah. It’s too much. So I went on a walk and I didn’t think anything of it. I mean, why would I? It’s Hateno; nothing ever happens in Hateno. It’s the most boring place in Hyrule. I went up to Purah’s, because I wanted somethings from my slate, and I know she never sleeps so she’d still be awake. We talked a bit, I grabbed my things, and headed back since I was tired again. And then-“

He narrowed his eyes, trying to recollect everything that happened. It was a bit foggy; just thinking about the portal made his head hurt.

“Yiga.” Link whispered, tiny fingers tightening around his spoon, “And a lot of them too, they just showed up all of a sudden. They’d never done that so close to a town before. Not like that, not so boldly.”

His breath hitched as he remembered what happened after that. The Yiga’s new leaders had shown up, tall and imposing, cold, calculating, seemingly competent. They were everything Kogha could never be.

His ears were ringing as he thought about them, unmarred masks leaning closer and closer... the dead voice..  

“Link?” Wind asked.

Ah, they looked worried... that was no good.

“Sorry, my memory’s a bit fuzzy, that’s all.” Link offered a smile. He didn’t think they were buying it.

“The Yiga attacked, I had no bombs, and my arm’s still broken. I can’t hold a sword or anything, so I did what I could, and I ran. I didn’t see the portal till I was already running into it. Then I woke up here, met Malon, and you guys showed up. That’s it. I was lucky.”

He didn’t feel very lucky, though. Sure, he was safe for now, but how long would that last? The new Yiga leaders left an unsettled pit in his stomach. How long had they been there? How long had they been watching him? Where had they gone after he went through the portal? Did they attack Purah? Did they go through the portal too? Were they here at the ranch? Were they watching him even now?

Link shivered, “Man, I hate the Yiga.”

“I don’t think anyone really likes assassins, dear.” Malon said. He’d told her about the evil Sheikah cult earlier, and she’d been just as horrified as the others. Link wished he had that luxury. To him, it was normal.

“Hey Time?” He asked, “You have a Zelda right?”

Time had been quietly listening to everything, but he cleared his throat and nodded, “Yes, I do. Why do you ask?”

“I want to meet her. Can we?”

“I don’t see why not. Zelda and I don’t talk as often as we used to, but I’m sure she’ll be happy to meet all of you. We can go tomorrow.” Time suggested.

Link wondered if all Zeldas had the same healing power. Since he didn’t know when he’d see Zel again, this one might work instead. Maybe she could fix whatever that wizzrobe had done, get him back looking more like himself? He’d certainly hold onto that hope until told otherwise.

What was more, he was wondering if she knew about the Yiga. Time didn’t, but maybe it was still only a royal issue in the past? Time was the Hero of Courage, but he wasn’t a personal knight, or even a soldier, so Link could understand if he didn’t know all the secrets of the royal family.

Link was curious nonetheless, and hoped this Zelda, surely a queen by now, could help him with at least one of his quickly growing problems.

“Okay, we’ll go to Castle Town tomorrow, make a day of it!” Malon smiled. “I have to go as well; we have milk bottled up and ready to be sold. We can pack lunches, everyone can explore, it’ll be fun.”

The other heroes agreed, Warriors muttering under his breath about finding the nearest bar before Sky kicked him under the table.

“Alright, if that’s settled, let’s work on cleaning up supper.” Time suggested, “I’ve been dreaming of sleeping in my own bed again for months and I’m going to need all the sleep I can get if I have to babysit you monsters in Castle Town tomorrow.”

There were a few groans of protest and Wind announced that he was in fact, not a monster, but the mood was light. There were no real complaints of going to bed a little earlier than usual. Especially since there were promises of actual beds. Even if there weren’t enough and they’d have to share to all fit, a bed was far better than uneven dirt or hard wooden floorboards. Down mattresses, too. No itchy straw ones like at the stables.

Link finished up his food and joined Twilight help dry dishes after Four and Warriors washed them. After that, it was just a matter of giving a goodnight hug to everybody before he crawled into bed with Wind and Sky, and let his tired body succumb to sleep.

He could worry about the Yiga tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Link wanted to say he couldn’t feel the pain anymore, but that would have been a lie.

He felt every step as he ran blindly down the dimly lit corridor, every tug of tender flesh scraping against jagged stone when he stumbled around the corner, tripping into the next room. His bare feet were bloody and raw, his knees nearly stripped from his tumble.

Link felt the pain, but it didn’t slow him down as he desperately dove behind a pillar and slapped his hands over his mouth in an attempt to muffle his ragged gasps.

The tiny hero had no idea where he was.

The room reminded him of the Yiga’s hideout, the same towering ceilings, the same nonsensical columns placed with no rhyme or reason. This wasn’t the hideout though. The walls were cracked and the ceiling crumbling, threatening to send chunks of rocks onto a small head that really couldn’t afford it.

The room itself was cavernous, with small rooms on each side, but the only exit seemed to be where Link had entered. It looked- maybe? No, no that wasn’t right. It looked like a prison, but the Yiga didn’t have one of those. They had a single cell in their almost laughably tiny hideout.

He could see the faded symbols though, an upside-down Sheikah eye, painted again and again along the walls in faded blood. This was undoubtedly a prison. A thick layer of dust coated everything, rotten barrels, and silent lumps in the nearest cell that looked just a bit too much like the remains of decomposing Hylians.

Heavy footsteps entering the room reminded Link why he was hiding. As they drew closer, he held his breath, screwing his eyes shut as tight as he could. He didn’t know what to do. He had no weapons, no shields, no slate. Goddesses above, he didn’t even have shoes. He was lost, injured, and alone.

“Come now, Hero. It’s rather unbecoming now, isn’t it? Running away like this? Especially after you came all this way to rescue those friends of yours.”

The voice sounded familiar, but through the panic and adrenaline, Link couldn’t place it. He’d heard it before though, recently. Friends? Rescue? Was that why he was here? He couldn’t remember; his head hurt.

“Are we playing a game of hide-and-seek, perhaps? Or are you just scared?” The voice sighed, echoing in the large chamber, “As endearing as I find your cowardice, I’m afraid I’m a bit too old for these games. Besides, I do have something fun I’d like to show you.”

Link felt the hair on the back of his neck rise, barely managing to dive forward as a blade came down right where he’d hid. He cried out as the sword managed to slash along his back. Burning hot and wet, blood soaked into already shredded clothes, dripping onto the floor.

The voice cackled as Link struggled to stand. Children’s bodies weren’t exactly built to lose very much blood. He was already dizzy as he got both feet underneath him, turning painfully slow to face his attacker.

He wished he hadn’t.

Link was able to put body to voice, but it wasn’t who wielded the sword. Oh no, the speaker was still by the door, a shadowy figure blocking his only exist. It was the person in front of him that really made what little blood he had left, turn cold. The shake in his hands wasn’t just from blood loss.

“Twilight?”

He tripped again, backwards this time, scrambling away from the other hero, still unable to tear his gaze away, yet terrified of what he saw.

“Twi?” He repeated, unable to control the quiver in his voice, “Why are you doing this? What’s going on? What- What did they do to you?”

Though Twilight’s arm had moved fluidly, the rest of him was disjointed, his movements fragmented and uneven. And his face... oh Hylia...his face.

Link could still see the bottom half of it, mouth turned into a vicious snarl, but above that… everything else was covered in malice. Thick and pulsating, he could see the sinister glow in the little light available.

Twilight continued to stumble forward with jerky movements. Link thought he might hurl watching him. There was no way Twilight could see, could breathe. It had consumed him…

“What’s the matter, Hero?” The speaker stayed where in the doorway. Link recognized it now. One of the new Yiga leaders, the middle one. He was alone now, though.

“Aren’t you happy to reunite with your dear friend? Ah! I know! You wanted to see all of them, didn’t you? Well, I can help, little one. Don’t fret.”

With a snap of his fingers, another blade came down, then another and another. Link didn’t know where they were coming from, but all he could manage was scrambling back out of the way.

Warriors, Hyrule, Wind, they all came charging, same jerky movements as they stalked forward. Four managed to slice open his arm, Legend narrowly missed gutting him, and Time almost cut both friend and foe in half.

They all were infected, he could see. Angry and irritated black veins running up arms, around necks, clumps of malice oozing out of wounds, clinging to limbs. Some of them were empty-eyed, blankly attacking him. Others, like Twilight, he couldn’t see their eyes at all. He didn’t know which was worse.

Link was fighting black dots in his vision as he was backed into a cell, desperately trying to stay alive and in one piece. He didn’t understand what had happened; he didn’t even know where they were. Hadn’t they been at the ranch?

“I don’t understand..” Link managed to whisper before he heard a horrible ripping noise and found the shattered tip of the Master Sword poking out of his own chest. He let out a strangled gasp and looked up to see Sky’s uncharacteristically expressionless face looming over him. Kind and caring eyes now hollow and dead as he wrenched the sword out of Link’s fragile body.

The little hero collapsed with a wet thud, the sound of the speaker’s laughter still echoing throughout the room as he tried to suck in a breath.

“Oh, poor thing.. you fought so desperately for a second chance, barely tasted freedom, and it’s already gone. But don’t worry, little one. The malice will take hold of you before you die...”

Link woke with a scream, soaked in a cold sweat. He didn’t think his heart had ever beaten so fast, and for a few moments, he was sure he was still bleeding to death on the floor.

Slowly, he was able to come to his senses, eye focusing the best they could in the dark. Wind and Sky were both hovering above him, faces full of concern.

“Link? Wigglworm? You okay?” Sky asked.

Link threw himself at the both of them, tiny arms barely able to reach around their necks.

“You guys are alive, right?” He asked breathlessly, “Alive? And okay? Everyone is? Can I check?”

“What?” Wind hugged him tight, “Um, yeah. I’m very alive and okay. Sky?”

“Uh, yep. Last I checked. Listen… Sunshine, you have to calm down. It was just a nightmare, whatever it was. It wasn’t real. You’re okay, and so are we. Once we get that breathing of yours under control, we can go check on everyone so you can see that everything’s fine. How does that sound?”

Link let the other heroes hold him close, able to hear their heartbeats. He nodded. “Okay. Yeah, that sounds fine.”

The three of them sat there for a few minutes, Sky leading breathing exercises till Link had calmed down and didn’t think his heart was going to beat out of his chest.

“So, do you want to talk about it?” Wind asked, holding Link as Sky led the way over to the room with the other boys.

Link glanced over at Sky, unable to forget the image of those sunken, lifeless eyes, the lack of any hesitancy as he’d plunged the Master Sword into his heart.

“No.” He shook his head, “Sky was right, it wasn’t real. There’s no point in talking about it.”

Wind looked a little skeptical, but they’d arrived at the other room.

Inside, Link carefully checked. All five of them were breathing, chests rising and falling. They woke up, too, after Sky accidentally tripped over a chair. The noise had awoken Malon and Time as well, sending them both into the room to check if anyone was hurt.

After that, everyone was too awake to get back to sleep. Legend and Malon brewed some tea for everyone, warm milk for Link, and they all ended up sitting on the porch, quietly watching the sunrise.

No one had scolded Link for waking them up, called him childish for wanting to check if they were okay. He wondered if they had their own nightmares like that. What horrors visited them in the night if not for ancient orders of assassins and an infectious malice?

Link didn’t know if he wanted to know the answer to that. Instead, he sat there, sandwiched between Sky and Wind, watching the night slowly become day and his nightmares fade for the time being.

He had a queen to meet.

Chapter Text

“You gave your lunch to Twi so he can carry it for you? I know Wars did your hair, um, what else? You remembered to put on your shoes?”

Link looked away from the windows and the horses long enough to send Sky a disapproving look before he wiggled his bare toes, “Shoes are dumb.”

Sky chuckled before lifting him up to set him onto a chair and wrangle his boots on. “Although I think some of the others might agree, I think you should wear them in Castle Town. City streets are foul.”

“Do you have cities in your Hyrule?” Link asked.

It was nice to have a moment alone with Sky.

Despite falling asleep countless times in his arms, he hadn’t really gotten a chance to learn too much about the Hero of the Sky and his past. He’d gathered some; Sky had a love for birds that was only rivaled by his adoration for the Zelda in his time. They called her Sun, he’d been told. It seemed everyone had a goofy nickname these days, and Link was beginning to feel left out.

“Cities?” Sky echoed, “No. Towns? Not really, only Skyloft. My Hyrule does have a lot of temples, however.”

“Does it have stables?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Castles?”

“Not any that I’ve found.”

Link frowned a bit, “Where do people live, then?”

Sky averted his gaze, scratching his head, “Ah, this really doesn’t seem the best time for this conversation. It’s a long story; how about we wait till we’re on the road to Castle Town and I can tell you about the history of my Hyrule, and why we currently have no cities.”

Maybe it was a bad topic to bring up. Link could only guess everyone else’s past was the same mess of emotional traps, bombs set to explode with one wrong, yet innocuous question. Maybe he should ask another question he knew wouldn’t blow up in his face...

“Is Sun nice?”

Sky paused before soft smile graced his features and he glanced into the distance as if remembering something fondly.

“Yeah, she is. One of the nicest, kindest, most selfless, and bravest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. But I could be biased.” He ruffled the boy’s hair and helped Link hop off the chair once his boots were on, “Alright, I think you’re all set. How are you feeling after last night?”

“I dunno, fine, I guess. The fever is long gone.”

Sky shook his head and crouched down till they were eye level, placing a hand on his shoulder, “That’s not what I mean, Sunshine. How are you doing up here?” He tapped Link’s forehead.

“Oh.” Link nibbled his bottom lip. Last night’s nightmare was painfully raw. He could still feel the cold sting of metal pierce his heart whenever he looked at Sky.

It wasn’t something he could share, at least not yet. Not with Sky.

“I feel better than last night, anyway.” Link answered, “I think I just need some time to think about it all and go from there.”

Sky nodded, “Okay, I won’t push. But I’m here for you if you want to talk about it if you’re ready. All of us are; I bet even the cuccos would lend you an ear since you’re so cute.”

Link smiled, “Thanks, Sky. I think…” He picked at the hem of his sweater, “I think I’ll want to talk about it eventually. I don’t know when, but sometime. I know talking can help.”

“Atta boy. I’m proud of you for being honest.” Sky grinned so brightly Link couldn’t help but feel his chest get all warm and fuzzy. That guy’s smile was like curling up next to a warm fire with a good meal, or a hug from Teba and his family when he came to visit.

There was a knock on the front door and Legend poked his head in for a moment, “We’re leaving, hurry up.”

Link nodded and ran after him. They were heading to Castle Town, right. He needed to meet with Time’s Zelda, Lullaby, he’d been told, to see if she could get his body back to its original age. Maybe she even knew about the freaky, purple wizzrobe that caused it in the first place.

He reached the group, ready to head to the front with Malon and Time when a pair of hands snatched him up. A familiar blue scarf whapped him in the face and he couldn’t help but frown.

“Hey now, before you go running off to those the one’s who’ll spoil you, you have to listen. I need to lay down some ground rules about gallivanting around Castle Town.” Warriors set him down and instead offered a hand to hold, setting off on a brisk pace once Link took it.

“First rule: don’t talk to any strangers. Strangers mean danger, I don’t care what they’re like in your Hyrule. Second: hold one of our hands when we’re in a crowd. You’ll get swept away if you don’t, and probably trampled into nothing more than a pancake.  Lastly, don’t wander off on your own without telling anyone. If you do, I am bundling you up in the scarf and carrying you around forever.”

“That’s only if you find me.” Link retorted with a half-smile.

“Nope, no jokes.” Warriors shook his head, “This is serious. Champ, I cannot have you wandering off without telling anyone. None of us can. We need like.. one whole week without you disappearing. I think the Old Man is already turning gray, and I’m not far behind at this rate.”

Link let the guilt worm its way deeper into his chest. He knew he’d been wandering off far too much recently. It had been an issue with Zelda as well. He’d become so accustomed to traveling alone that the idea of waiting for someone, or even letting them know where he was headed off to, was beyond foreign. But his actions influenced other’s now. People cared about him, and he was hurting them whenever he ran off with no warning.

“I’ll work on it.” It was all the hero could promise for now.

“Thank you.” Warriors nodded, “I know you’re a capable hero, Link. But we’re a team now, all of us. We don’t know what awaits us, what brought us together, and we need to watch each other’s backs. And we can’t do that if we don’t know where you are.”

He shushed Link before the boy could utter another apology. “You just work on it, okay? And try to have some fun in town. It’s not every day that we get to spend time in actual civilization. You won’t even have to cook tonight. If we play our cards right, I bet the royal chefs will be serving us dinner.”

Warriors let go of his hand to give him a pat on the back, “Alright, I’m done talking your ear off and acting like a mother cucco. Better get up to the front of the group so you can get a good view when we reach the city.”

Link nodded, “Yeah, I will. Wars, um, thank you.” He forced himself to meet the other’s gaze “Thank you for looking out for me, and always sticking with me even when I run off without telling anyone and make you guys panic.”

He felt his face heat up, a sense of vulnerability hitting him like a hinox with a tree, and instead of waiting for Warriors to respond, he decided the best course of action was to make a run towards the front of the group where Time and Malon were.

It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy the comfort and praise the heroes were more than willing to shower him with, it was just overwhelming trying to address his own emotions sometimes. Din above, figuring out what emotions he was feeling could be formidable, much less why he was experiencing those emotions.

For them, however, Link would do it. He wanted dearly, for them to know how much he appreciated all of them and all their help. If he had to be a little uncomfortable trying to find the right words, then so be it.

The boy shook his head to clear his thoughts before he reached Time and Malon, motioning for Sky to come over so he could finally hear about the other’s Hyrule properly on the way to Castle Town.

Sky’s hand was going numb, but he didn’t know how to bring it up to the tiny child who was causing it. Link had been hanging onto him ever since they’d crossed under the gate into the city limits.

The tyke had seemed excited to visit the capital, but that emotion had been squashed the moment he’d seen the crowds. It had taken half an hour to just get him out from hiding behind Sky’s legs, so a crushing handhold was still a step in the right direction as long as the little one stayed beside him instead of behind.

Sky couldn’t blame him for being wary of the crowds. He’d been too, when he’d first joined the group and stumbled into Warriors’ Castle Town. Now that had some big crowds. Though he assumed anything felt crowded compared to the vast, empty ruins of Link’s Hyrule.

It didn’t help that there was attention on them.

Apparently Malon nor Time were the kind to bring strangers into town on their milk runs. Much less did they bring eight battle-hardened young adults, teenagers, and one very flighty child who looked like he’d sooner eat Sky’s hand before he willingly stood surrounded by this crowd any longer.

“Hey Four,” Sky leaned forward to tap the other hero on the shoulder, whispering so only he could hear, “I’m going to take Link on a walk before he combusts. Please keep the others out of jail, I didn’t bring enough rupees to pay everyone’s bail.”

Four nodded solemnly, “I’ll try, but I make no promises. If they do get arrested, maybe they’ll learn a valuable lesson.”

Sky supposed that was the best he could get… No matter, he could make it into a learning opportunity for Link, teach him what kind of hero he shouldn’t be.

“Come on, Sunshine.” He chimed, pulling on a smile, “This crowd’s a bit much for me and I need help picking out a souvenir to get Sun.”

Link followed along, sticking close as Sky navigated through the small crowd, not stopping till they were in one of the back alleys, completely alone, no one asking if they were Time’s kids, where the scars were from, cooing at Link and trying to pinch his cheeks. It was only then that Link whispered a quiet, yet relieved, “Thank you, Sky.”

“Of course, wiggleworm.” Sky’s smile was less tense, “We look out for each other, right?”

“Um, right.”

Sky pointedly didn’t call out the tips of Link’s ears turning pink as he bashfully kicked at the cobblestones. “Don’t forget that. Now,”

He gave the little one’s hand a soft squeeze, “I wasn’t kidding about needing help picking out a souvenir for Sun. I try to get her something from every place we visit, and this is my first time here.”

“Oh. What did you get her from my Hyrule?”

“Nothing yet. I thought we were going to spend longer there, and we left in such a hurry, I never got her anything. Something tells me we’ll visit your Hyrule again though, soon enough.”

“You think so?” Piercing blue eyes stared up at him with such fierce hope, Sky could only nod for a moment before he found his voice again.

“I’m sure of it.” Sky nodded. For Link’s sake, he hoped he was right. “Do you want to get Zelda something so you can give it to her when you’re back?”

What had it been like? Leaving his Hyrule in such a rushed, unpleasant fashion?

When he’d been recruited, it hadn’t been anything like Link’s experience. Sure, it had been unpleasant to say goodbye to Sun and not know when he’d be back, but at least he’d gotten to say goodbye. More importantly, he’d been told what portals felt like going through one, and he’d had more experienced heroes right there to help him afterwards when he’d hurled his guts out.

Link had no warning, and had it not been for Malon hearing the commotion, he would have been all alone. He never got to say goodbye to anyone or collect his things. The poor thing hadn’t even been able to take a breath before he’d been hurtling headfirst into that portal.

Link gnawed on his bottom lip for a moment before he nodded, “Yeah, I think so. She’d like that. I wish I had my slate. If I bring her any food or flora samples, they’re going to rot if I put them in a bag.”

“She likes research?” Sky asked, lightly tugging the boy along, “How about you get her a book, then? It’s not the same, but how often can you get books from a whole different Hyrule?”

“That’s true. And she does like books. I bet she’s read...a million. A million bazillion.”

“That many, huh? I bet she’s smart, then.” Sky smiled. He still wasn’t sure if Zelda was as young as Link, or if she was older, but he hoped he got the opportunity to meet someone the hero spoke so fondly of.

“Super smart, even smarter than Purah. But don’t Purah that, she’ll get mad.” Link whispered, “But it’s because Zelda wants to learn about everything. Purah just likes to focus on ancient Sheikah tech. Zel likes that stuff too, but she also likes learning about anything. She-

Link stopped talking so abruptly, Sky whirled around not knowing what to expect. What he found was the tiny hero staring transfixed at what looked to be a building.

It had to be abandoned for some years now, the doors boarded up, untouched for years. Someone had tossed rocks in through the windows on the upper floor, but something told him no one had been in there for a very long time. Above the doorway was a rather unsettling face that left Sky feeling unnerved.

He squinted, reading the faded and worn sign. “Happy Mask Shop?”

“Don’t go in there.”

Sky was so startled his hand was reaching for his sword before he realized it was Time who spoke. Stunned, he looked around. They’d done a loop already, it seemed, back to the town square. At least the crowd hadn’t paid them any attention yet. It looked like they were still grilling the others over by Malon, and Time had managed to peel himself away to utter his warning.

“You scarred me, Ti-“

“Don’t go in there, hear me?” Time ignored Sky to instead look at Link, who still hadn’t taken his eyes off of the shop.

“Time, isn’t it abandoned?” Sky asked.

Time huffed, “Yes, but the owner is still in business... And he’s far more trouble than he’s worth.”

He crouched down to Link’s level and Sky watched him turn the boy around to face him, “Link, all you’ll find in there is trouble. Far too much trouble for just a boy to handle. Believe me, I know firsthand. Don’t go in there, and if you ever see a man with masks, you keep away. Got it?”

Link’s eyes flickered back to the building, but he nodded.

“Good.” Time stood and Sky didn’t feel any less confused.

“So..if the building is abandoned, isn’t the only thing in there… dust? Spiders?”

“Maybe. There’s a masked saleman, however, who roams around unseen most of the time. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d open shop again just for the chance to ruin another little boy’s childhood.”

“Time?”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Sky, but let’s just say if I’d never met that salesman, I would probably be half less bitter and jaded then I am now.” The hero of time looked disdainfully at the shop.

“Okay, well. Um… best of luck brooding. It’s lunchtime, right? Link and I are going to go find a spot where we all can eat.” Sky guided Link away, sending one final, very perplexed look towards their leader.

What harm could a mask do?

“I thought we were going to find souvenirs?” The little hero asked.

“We’ll have to do that, later. Sorry, Sunshine. Time gets all weird when he’s hungry, so I think our best bet is to focus on lunch things first. Then I know we still need to meet Lullaby like you wanted.” Sky shrugged, “Maybe on the way out we can find something. For now, just think about what kind of book you’d like to get Zelda, okay?”

Sky still was a bit unsure about the abandoned mask shop and Link going anywhere near it, but the little was distracted easily enough when they walked up to a temple in search for a nice place in the shade to eat their packed lunch. He was going to ask Link if something was the matter, but he felt like the other just needed some time to process all the new things he was seeing and hearing.

There was tree off to the side that looked like it would be a perfect spot for everyone to huddle under, now he just had to round up everyone else and-

Link took off without a word, bolting away from Sky and the temple altogether with a wrench of his hand.

“What?” Sky stood there, stunned for a moment, “What?! Why are you running?”

He was about to take off after the other and channel Time the best he could for a lecture, when he saw it out of the corner of his eye. There, standing in the archway of the temple no less, was a familiar figure, clad in red and black, stark white mask standing out in the shadows as it bore the same red eye Sky had already begun to loathe.

“You.” He hissed, not thinking as he drew his sword and ran towards the temple.

Yiga were not supposed to be here, Sky knew that much.

After the first attack on their first day of traveling with their newest hero, they’d all clearly mentioned that organized assassin groups didn’t exist. Not in their respective Hyrules. This one was from Link’s, but how did they get here and how many were here now?

He huffed as he ran after the figure, pushing past the startled visitors to the temple, sword drawn and probably looking a sight. His blood was boiling at the thought of these people being so keen on a mere boy’s demise that they were willing to travel to the ends of the world, through portals and time alike, just for the chance to end a life. Of a child as sweet as Link, no less.

Link was a great kid, he didn’t deserve any of this.

Sky turned a corner into what he figured was a closet, but by the time he got there the figure was long gone, leaving behind nothing but the acrid scent of old bananas. He panted, cursing softly.

This wasn’t over yet. He refused, not until those assassins lay dead at his feet and Link was safe. Wait- Link! No one was watching him. Sky cursed again and turned around to head back to where he’d last seen the child, only to be met with spears pointed at his chest.

Guards, great. Sky already knew what was coming, and after he’d been worried about the others getting in this position... He really shouldn’t have pulled out any weapons and chased anyone in the middle of a populated city.

“Stop! You’re under arrest by the order of Queen Zelda!”

“Fine, fine,” He raised his hands up, none too pleased about this. The others were never going to let this go.. Or they were going to end up in the same cell as him. Again.

What were Yiga doing here? They weren’t supposed to be here, right? Link had thought maybe it was a secret within the royal family back in Time’s era, but that wasn’t the case of what just happened. They had looked right at him. They knew who he was, and they wanted him to know it.

Had they come through the portal as well? Had Malon not seen them? Why hadn’t they just killed him back then fresh out of the portal, then?

Link groaned and slowed his pace when he was sure no one was following him. He knew he shouldn’t have run from Sky, a person who could definitely keep him safe, but the blind panic after his encounter with the new leaders of the Yiga had been too much. He’d thought they would come back for him the moment another Yiga reared their ugly masked head.

He took a moment to look around. He knew he’d ran towards a big building, sticking on the outskirts to avoid any possible assassins from seeing him, but he didn’t really have a clue where he was. Link looked up and saw the golden royal family’s crest towering above him atop a wall, glittering in the afternoon sun.

Huh. Looked like he’d managed to make it to Hyrule Castle.

Link’s breath caught in his throat, the same as it had earlier. Sky had probably thought he was just being weird, but it had all been so much. Castle Town was so small here, but it had more life than his own could ever hope to recover. It was a bustling, thriving city full of cheerful people who really had no idea the fate of their descendants. The Temple of Time was here as well..

They must had moved it eventually, ages after Time and ages before Link, when the city kept expanding more and more. Maybe they had moved it to the Great Plateau to dedicate that area as a more ceremonial location, leaving the center of Castle Town for commerce and trading. How long must that have taken to move? Goddesses, he wished Zelda were here. She would have loved to see all of this as well.

And the castle as well looming over him, walls not cracked and broken from malice seeping into the very stones. Link huffed softly, wanting to explore. He had to go back to the others, though…

“Hey! Kid, yeah you!” Link jumped at the voice and saw a guard running towards him, “What are you doing, you’re not allowed in here! Come here!”

Oh, that was no good. Link turned and was about to try and scale the tower with his still broken arm, when he spotted a tiny grate instead, filtering out what he hoped wasn’t sewer water. Hopefully it was just to a fountain.

Grimacing, he dove for it, clambering into it and out of sight as the guard yelled at him to come back. Maybe being small wasn’t so bad; he didn’t think he would have fit in here otherwise.

Crawling through, Link dragged himself out on the other side of the wall and into a garden. He supposed he was infiltrating the castle now… not exactly what he was planning on doing today, but he didn’t particularly want to try and explain why he was here to a guard. A story about crazy assassins? From a five-year-old? There was no way they would possibly believe him, and they’d either drag him back to Time or toss him in jail like a common criminal.

Trying to find Zelda while not allowed in the castle would be a bit more difficult than what he’d assumed he’d be doing, visiting the queen with Time and the others, but it certainly wasn’t impossible.

Staying out of the sight of a few guards, Link climbed through a window and tried to see if anything looked familiar. Maybe they had same corridors in Hyrule Castle back home, but most were completely blocked with rubble. None of these looked even remotely familiar, however.

It was eerie, walking the halls of a castle that wasn’t in ruins. The carpets were in one piece, the walls adorned with intricate paintings of stony-faced portraits instead of moth-eaten and faded canvas. There wasn’t any sound of a stray lizalfos gnawing on what was left of an unwary traveler, cooked extra toasty when they ran into the path of a guardian.

No, the only sound Link could hear right now were his own soft footsteps and the faint sound of a guard yelling about a child intruder on the premises. That was him, he supposed. Or the castle had a security issue regarding children. It wouldn’t be the weirdest thing that happened today.

Link continued along, occasionally diving behind tapestries, hallway foliage, or even the rare broom closet when a guard would come by as he wandered through the castle. He’d found the kitchen, the throne room, and a painfully large number of locked doors. He also had found a bedroom he assumed belonged to Zelda, but the queen was nowhere in sight.

The child sighed and continued on down another flight of stairs to come upon a room he actually could recognize. The prison. He caught sight of another thing his recognized but didn’t expect to find in a place like this.

“Sky?”

The hero in question had been glaring up at the ceiling but startled and gasped when he saw Link.

“What are you doing here?” He whispered, “Sunshine, why aren’t you with Time and Malon?”

“Well, I was going to go find them after I ran off, but then a guard found me, so I ran some more and.. here I am.” Link shrugged sheepishly, “I don’t remember the way out anymore, and I thought… you know… might as well find Lullaby.”

“Might as well- Link, you’ve broken into the castle.” Sky hissed.

“Technically yes, but-“

“There is no buts, Sunshine.” Sky groaned softly, rubbing his temples, “Is this what Twi goes through on a daily basis? I’m never going to talk back to him again, his life is already hard enough. Link, go back to Time and Malon. And, please tell them I need someone to pay bail.”

“What about the others?” Link asked,

“Knowing them, they’ll be in here to join me soon enough.”

“How’d this happen, anyway?”

“I saw that Yiga, after you ran off. I probably should have chased after you, but I chased after them instead. With my sword drawn. In the temple. In the middle of town. They said I was trying to kill someone, which I was.”

“So you didn’t catch them?” The boy scrunched his nose when Sky shook his head.

“No, sorry. Sunshine, I just noticed, why are you all wet?” Link let him feel his clothes, indeed still sopping. Honestly, he was amazed the guards hadn’t followed the drips on the floor right to him.

“I crawled through water. I don’t think they were the sewers, I don’t smell. Anyway, Sky, I’m gonna go. I don’t want anyone to find me and I want to get you out of here.”

“Alright. Stay safe. Please don’t get caught, and please don’t tell any of the others I was arrested, if you see them. They’ll laugh at me and I’m not in the mood. And please don’t crawl through the sewers. Or water. Can you even swim?”

“Uh.” Link hadn’t really tried it yet since his body had gotten all small. He didn’t know if the current of most rivers would be enough to suck him under, or how quickly his stamina would give out, “Probably?”

“Okay, stay out of water, Sunshine.” Sky frowned.

“Can do. Bye, Sky.” Link waved before heading out. Meeting Lullaby and asking his questions had to go to the wayside. Sky took priority right now.

He made sure no guards were around before he ran up the stairs and onto what he assumed was the first floor of the castle. There had to be a way out without getting caught. Surely. Link tried to retrace his steps back. Maybe there was a back exit? Maybe if he ran fast enough, he could just run out the front door without getting grabbed? He only had to last long enough to make it into Malon or Time’s arms. Then they would sort everything out.

He finally found a window at least, out into the main courtyard. Carefully, Link climbed onto the windowsill and pushed the window open. The air that greeted him was cold and he shivered, wishing he had brought something else to wear. It was no fun being on the run but being cold and soggy added a layer to the whole experience that Link could do without.

No one was around, as far as he could tell, thought he spotted two guards at the front gate that he’d have to avoid. Fine, he could do that.

With a little heave, Link pushed himself off the ledge, expecting for his boots to hit the cobblestones. They never did. Instead, two hands silently grabbed him under the arms and hauled him back inside like he weighed nothing more than an unruly kitten.

Link’s blood ran cold. No one had been behind him, he’d been sure of it. No breathing, no footsteps, nothing. Who’d appeared so suddenly, so silently as to pluck him out of the air?

He squirmed as he was carried back deeper into the castle, kicking and wiggling, trying to see or at least harm whoever was holding him. He got one good kick backwards before his attacker got annoyed.

“Stop moving.” A muffled voice murmured, finally depositing him in what looked to be a study, a solid oak desk facing him and towering bookshelves surrounding them.

Link whirled around, but what he didn’t expect to find was a tall woman, wearing a dress that reminded him a bit of what Zelda wore at the castle. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a neat bun, but what he was really focused on was the crown adorning her head and the sword on her hip, Sheikah made.

“You’re Queen Zelda, aren’t you?"