Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was dark. So very dark, but strangely, not cold. In fact, it was hot. Terribly hot, almost burning. There were screams in the distance, not quite muffled, yet not clear either. Like his head was underwater and ears were covered by hands. The screams weren’t of joy, oh no. They were of fear, terror, mourning, and confusion, begging to be spared, to not be caught, to be able to see the light of tomorrow on the horizon.

Suddenly, in an explosion of color, everything was clear. Fire raged on through what looked to be a small town as blasts of blue lights were sent from ancient technological defenses. Buildings were charred and demolished, leaving behind only the frames of what they once were. Cries of pain were sounded left and right as the bodies that littered the floor increased. His breath was heavy. Probably from running and using his sword – Why was he using his sword? What was he running from? Or actually, what was he running to? Those questions ran through his head, as he continued running, not in control of his body, when suddenly

“LINK!”

With that single word, his name, everything was rushing back. The Calamity, warned of for years, an ancient evil that could bring the destruction of Hyrule. It was here. He was running through Hyrule field trying to get the Princess to safety. Soldiers and townsfolk alike were falling by the hundreds, failing to flee from the ancient evil. Guardians, what were supposed to be their defense system, rounded them up like horses would goats and cattle, only to slaughter them in seconds. A hit to the side causes him to stumble and let out a pained gasp. Was that really what he sounded like? Was this how he was go–

“LINK, SAVE YOURSELF!”

He couldn't be thinking like that. Not right now, not ever. He has a duty to do, and he would fulfil it to his final breath. Though, that seemed to be coming closer, faster than he had anticipated. Despite his stumble and the many hits he’s already taken, he just keeps running, no sign of stopping, turning back, or abandoning.

Taking down another guardian that blocked their path, he grabbed the Princess’ wrist once more, tugging her along behind him. There was no time to waste, even one second being miscalculated could send either, if not both, of them to the afterlife in mere moments. That was not an option, not with them being the only hope for Hyrule to even survive this mess.

Fort Hateno was in sight, but then again, so were the guardians, and the ancient technology was far faster than any Hylian could ever hope to be. Link tried to send the Princess ahead, straight through to Hateno, but she was almost as stubborn as he was. She refused to leave his side, claiming that he was more important than herself. That he was the chosen hero and she couldn’t leave him to die, that without him, Hyrule would be doomed. While that was more or less true, the Princess had prayed to every spring and every goddess statue and still hadn’t awakened her powers, she was still capable of helping others where he couldn’t. And, in the end, only she had the powers to truly seal the dark beast that had emerged from the depths of Hyrule Castle.

The guardians were gaining on them as he continued to stumble around the terrain, kicking up grass and rocks and whatever else littered the ground. Trying not to pay attention to his fallen comrades and the bloodied footprints he left behind with each step, he keeps his eyes flickering between the enemies behind them, catching up rather fast, and the small promise of safety that lies ahead. Another hit, this time, to his right calf. He plummets to the ground, taking the Princess with him. They roll on the ground, slamming into various objects and a few bodies along the way, until their ragdolling bodies are stopped.

Mechanical whirrs are heard approaching whilst the knight regains his senses and surroundings. As a final act of courage and protectiveness, Link tries to stand, pulling Zelda behind him. Leaning heavily on his sword, the Master Sword, he faces the guardians that have finally caught up to him, encircling the log they now rest behind. At this point in time, he and the Princess are the only ones left alive on the battlefield, if it could even be called that. It was more the site of a genocide, a massacre. Where, he finally recognized that it wasn’t likely that he would live to tell the tale.

Hearing many clunking gears and rapid beeps, all telltale signs of scalding hot beams, alerted him of the impending doom. He was about to die. He knew it, and it seems the Princess did too. His mind, focused on fulfilling his duty to the kingdom, blocked out the cries of the person behind him, pleading to not complete his mission and save himself. A beam was fired, directly at his chest. With some luck, he managed to deflect it at the ancient technology that fired it. By this point, that’s all these autonomous machines were, ancient technology. They had lost the right to be called guardians, not that they could control themselves, but keeping the name of protector was wrong when they were embodying evil itself.

“---k!”

A hit to his left shoulder caused a blast of flame against his face, arm, and torso. Searing pain followed only milliseconds behind, yet it was all unnoticed from the adrenaline rushing through his veins. Suddenly, he realizes he’s on the floor, the world going blurry around him as he cries for a pain he cannot even feel.

“--NK!”

He tries to get back up, staggering, yet somehow recognizing the blurry blobs of grey and red nearby as enemies. A flickering blue enters his vision and his only thoughts are on protecting the Princess. Nothing else mattered. Though, when he went to raise his sword to attack, his arm was oddly heavy. He went to raise his left arm to block the beam, but he just couldn’t move that one entirely. Moments too late, he realized that he was defenseless, unable to control his arms, barely able to stay upright.

“LINK!!”

He continues to stagger, staying in front of the Princess, in hopes to keep her safe till he dies and can’t get back up. Left to sleep peacefully for eternity. He hears the change in tone. It’s as if time has slowed. He sees the blinding blue light heading directly towards his chest. He feels the searing pain of burning skin before he registers he’s been hit. The next thing he sees is his Princess, Zelda, standing in front of him, with a blinding gold light keeping the darkness at bay.

Unfortunately, the darkness started creeping in again, a different kind that was resistant to and couldn’t be swayed, despite the brilliant golden light of magic. With black spots rapidly encroaching his vision, his breathing slows to a stop. The world fades out. People always speculate which sense is the first to go when someone dies, everyone assumed they would never know till it happened. Well, Link can confirm that vision is the first to go, followed quickly by hearing, taste, and smell, unless taste is lost earlier and you don’t realize it till you can’t do anything with it. Touch is the final thing to go, but it’s unnoticeable by the pain that enshrouds his body, as it’s finally given its rest.

…

At least, he thought he was being given his rest.

That changed when he heard something.

“COOK! PLEASE, WAKE UP!”

A cry quickly followed the plea, along with murmuring of deeper voices.

How could he hear, wasn’t he dead?

“YOU’RE SCAring me…”

Who was that who was crying?
And why in the world did the voice sound familiar?

“please.. Wild,
Link…

..wake up..”

Then silence.

All of the sudden, a gasp.

He could breathe! He wasn’t dead! Not yet anyway.

Blinking open his eyes, he noticed the pain in his chest. His lungs ached as sweet air was allowed to flow in and out once more. His face was wet, with sweat and tears, though he didn’t know whose tears. The smell of salt clung to his nose as he inhaled another breath of fresh air. There was a giant blob in front of his face, blond, pale, and blue. A gasp of surprise seemed to have left the blob as words left that direction.

“He’s waking up!!”

The voice sounded surprised with an obvious undertone of panic. The words themselves didn’t seem to register in his sleep-addled brain, but the panic sure as hell did. With a start, he jumped to sit up, reaching instinctively for his sword whilst scanning the blurry world. His sword, he found, wasn’t on him, nor could he sense it in his vicinity.

“Is he okay?” asked a new voice, lower in pitch than the first.

Something, a hand it seemed, pressed gently on his left shoulder. Still unable to make the situation out clearly, his mind screamed ‘DANGER’ and ‘PAIN’ as he backed as far away as he could. He was supposed to be fatally injured, yet he couldn’t feel himself being close to death and the aching in his shoulder was gone, but that was a thought for another time, as he backed right up into someone else.

“Hey, Cub! What’s wrong?” another new voice.

Scrambling around, trying to put distance between himself and the blobs that were becoming more Hylian shaped by the second, he wound up with his back against a wall. Deciding to take shelter in it, he continued to back up along the wall, eyes locked on the fuzzy Hylians, till he was in a corner of whatever room they were in. Trying to process everything at once was frying his brain, so he curled in on himself, blocking out his surroundings to the best of his abilities.

“What’s going on with him?”

Curse his sensitive ears. How did he know his ears were sensitive? Well, he grew up surrounded by nat u r e… ?

Wait, that doesn’t sound right, didn’t he grow up in a busy town? No, he could’ve sworn he grew up alone, with some weird disembodied voice being the only thing to guide him. But if that was the case, how come he grew up as part of the royal guard, trained by his father?

Thoughts and memories kept clashing around in his brain as he tried to keep his sanity intact. Trying to understand what’s going on, who he was, and how he got to be here. The name, ‘Wild’ was it, sounded familiar, so he grasped it as firmly as he could in his mind, trying to pull the string of memories connected to it, loose from the knot that his brain had become.

“I can’t tell.”

Everything was too overwhelming, nothing was making sense. He couldn’t remember.

“Shit, he’s panicking–”

WHY CAN’T HE REMEMBER

“Hey, Cub, I need you to listen to me..”

HOW DID HE GET HERE?

“WILD!”

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

“WI–”

WHY WAS HE HERE?

WHY ISN’T HE DEAD?

WHERE’S ZELDA?

WHERE’S CALAMITY?

WHY CAN’T HE REMEMBER?

WHY CAN’T HE remember?

WHY CAN’T he remember?
WHY can’t he remember?
Why can’t he remember?
Why can’t h–

“Link”

Instinctively, he looked up to where the voice came from. It was right in front of him, the same blue, pale, and blonde blob from earlier. That was when he noticed his face was wet again. Since when was he crying?

“Hey, I need you to focus on me”

When had he looked away? Looking up again, he focuses on the blob, and the edges start to sharpen ever so slightly.

“I need you to match my breathing”

The figure moved their hands from his shoulders (when had they gotten there?) to his own, bringing them from his head to their own chest. They exaggerated their own breathing, helping Link focus on and subconsciously copy it. Deep breath in, hold for 1, 2, 3, 4. Out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. In, 2, 3, 4, hold, 2, 3, 4, out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, repeat. By the time the figure, who now was almost unfuzzy, stopped exaggerating their breathing, Link could focus better.

“Good job. Now, can you name 5 things you can see?”

“You…”

Moving his eyes away from the young Hylian’s figure, Wind his mind supplies to his already befuddled self, and he sees there’s seven other figures behind him. Struggling to recognize these people, besides these weird names his mind is giving him, he decides to move on to other things around the room, not dwelling on the fact that he probably should know all of these people.

“The door..”

The door was wooden, just like the rest of the room actually. It wasn’t something he was familiar with being in his home Hyrule. Wait, home Hyrule? What did that mean? Swinging his eyes elsewhere, he left those thoughts for another time once again. This time his eyes caught sight of the bedrolls that littered the floor, along with many papers and belongings that were scattered throughout the room as well.

“The bedrolls…

Papers..

..and the barrels in the opposite corner.”

The other figures in the back seemed to look concerned, not quite as threatening as his mind was trying to make them, yet not as trustworthy as his heart yearned for him to see. A few of them looked surprised or disappointed, almost like they were hoping and expecting him to say something else.

“Good, good. Can you tell me four things you can feel?”

Moving his focus from the room to the space directly around him, his attention was caught by his clothes. They weren’t quite warm, but they kept him warm enough to be fine. They appeared blue, slightly mismatched in shades and sides, but blue nonetheless, scarily similar to the clothes the kid in front of him was wearing.

“My clothes resting on my skin..”

Directing his focus to his hands, he noticed how grainy the wood felt. It was soft from being used for years, but it was still sturdy and if pushed the wrong way, could give one a splinter.

“The soft, grainy wood, the pressure of my back and side against the walls..”

Trying to find one more thing to name, he searched for a few moments. He let his thoughts wander, hoping to regain a clue as to what caused him to be in this situation in the first place. He had just died, he saw himself die, felt himself die, yet he was still here without any pain. As if he’d been given time to heal. That’s when he realized there was another thing he could feel.

“The pull of my scars as I move”

It wasn’t painful, in fact, he thought it should be. Considering he took a hit to the shoulder that also blasted him in the face. All things considered, he should be partially blind, deaf, and unable to move his left arm, from that one blast of energy alone. But that wasn’t the case. He was able to move everything, hear extremely well, and see perfectly fine – after his tears stopped clouding his vision, that is.

“..”

There was a pause at that. Maybe it was the last thing he said? Did the kid think he was in pain? Was the kid confused? Or maybe he was concerned? But should he be? I mean, the kid doesn’t really know who he is, right? It has to be a coi–

“Alright..

What are three things you can hear?”

Repeating the process of changing focus from the previous sense and mentally making a list of what he could hear, he found himself answering the questions faster and faster.

“The waves hitting against the ship,” he didn’t know how he got on a ship in the first place.
“Your breathing, the whispering of the people in the back.”

Again, that last answer seemed to draw concern. Like he hadn’t answered the way they were anticipating or hoping. Like the lack of familiarity was something uncommon. ‘Just like when I freed the Champions from Calamity.’

At this point, he’d been able to get his memory straight enough to remember the chain of events a little better. He had died and was sent to this shrine of resurrection for 100 years before he woke up. Afterwards he freed the Divine Beasts, then fought Calamity Ganon, with some minor detours along the way.

“Okay, you’re doing great. How about two things you can smell?”

“The salty air and,”

a pause

“-- wet dog?”

Confused as to where that scent was coming from, he looked around the room once again. The space was still lacking a dog, or the wolf he was secretly hoping to see. Instead his eyes landed on the people huddled in a semi-circle on the opposite end of the room. Scanning each member thoroughly before moving onto the next. When he moved from the tall one with a scar and strange markings on his face to the strong one who also had markings on his face, he found the source. The man had a wolf pelt, which would definitely make sense for the scent’s source.

The group in the back, along with the ki–Wind in front of him laughed at the expense of the brunette. Said brunette just let out a strange, almost strangled, noise as if he was going to defend himself against the unspoken accusation, but realized he couldn’t.

“Good! Now, what’s one thing you can taste?”

Without missing a beat, Link replied, ”Meat rice balls.” Though, he couldn’t remember making it, and for the taste to be this present on his tongue, he would’ve had to have eaten it relatively recently. Oh well, another thought to process when his mind can actually handle it.

“Amazing! Now, can you tell who we are?”

Chapter Text

“No..” was the only response Link gave. He was being honest as well. His mind kept trying to tag these weird names and titles to each of these individuals, yet to his muddled brain, there was no meaning behind any of these. No emotions attached, no memories to associate, just words.

There was a pause, just a moment where the only thing to be heard was the crashing of waves against the hull of the ship, before the eye of the storm passed and chaos ensued…

Voices erupted in many different volumes each with their own tone of disbelief, concern, or outright confusion. Trying to sort out his thoughts through the chaos once again, Link curled into himself slightly, overwhelmed by the guilt he felt by letting these strangers (..?) down again.

The voices raged and echoed throughout the room until someone yelled. It was Wind, keeping his voice low, almost quiet, yet demanding attention. The unwavering voice caused the others to quiet down once more.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” was what Wind whispered when his attention focused back on Link. “Can you maybe explain what you mean by ‘No’?”

“M-my head hurts, throwing these abnormal names and titles around when I look at any of you. My heart leaps with familiarity, yet my gut tells me not to trust it,” was his response as he looked down at the floor, slightly uncomfortable at the fact that he just had to voice his feelings and thoughts.

“Hey, hey.. Look at me. We’ll help you get through this.” Wind moved closer once more, arms open for a hug, but then he stopped, eyes searching his face for something. He must’ve found what he was looking for as he next asked, “.. is this okay?”

Link took this moment to think through what was going on, what he was feeling, and what his instincts were telling him to do.

What was he feeling? Well, confused as to where he is, how he got there, and why he feels inclined to protect these people no matter what.

What was going on? He must’ve been having a nightmare from the memory of his death, which probably caused him to have a panic attack along with a possible lapse in memory– He’s had this happen before, but not to this extent.

What are his instincts trying to tell him? Well, his gut is saying they’re safe, that they know a lot about him that most don’t and he, them. His heart wants him to hug all of them and apologize for causing panic. His brain, now calmed and aware that he is, in fact, not about to die, is telling him that he’s safe, these people aren’t threats, but family.

Link doesn’t use the words “friends” or “family” lightly, and if his brain is telling him that they’re family, he’s sure as hell going to listen. Because of the Calamity, all of his close friends died, along with his use of the word. Since the Calamity, he’s friendly with everyone and treats them like he would friends, but keeps himself closed off. If these people were able to somehow cross that mental barrier, it means he trusts them with his life.

With the word ‘family’ ringing through his head, Link just nods at the boy, returning the gesture and gives him a hug.

For the first time in a while, for just a mere moment, his mind quiets as he soaks up the love and familiarness from the hug. Then it explodes with color, sound, and most of all…

His memories.

He remembers this young boy– no, man. He could no longer be considered a boy with all of his hardships, adventures, and trials. This man was also named Link, but he was not the same. He was the Hero of Winds, possessing the power to guide the winds as the Wind Waker.

With that string of memories he was frozen, watching every moment his brain had deemed important between the two, rush by. He was stuck, jumping from memory to memory as he remembered how they met, how they got to know each other, the little things they’ve done together for fun, and how they got here.

That one string of memories being pulled from the knot his brain had made caused the rest to follow suit, unraveling till there was a full string of memories, when they met till this point, being fed back into its natural spot in his mind. He could remember the others as well.

Time with his father-like presence keeping everyone alive and well. Hyrule with his healing abilities and tendency to get into trouble. Legend, the one who’s had the worst experiences of them all and acts uncaring. Warriors, the “Ladies man”, able to help train the others in what they need and provide insight to past situations. Twilight with his uncanny ability to sense evil lurking nearby and his love for animals. Sky, able to hear Fi almost constantly in the back of his mind, the first of all the Links. And Four, the most adamant of them all about taking care of their weapons and armor, the one able to split into many, though the others still didn’t know that. The only thing that remained from the knot now was the rock covering most of his memories prior to the Calamity.

Coming back to the present for, hopefully, the final time that night, he realized he was crying into Wind’s shoulder, tears staining his tunic.

“It’s alright, we’re here. You’re going to be okay.”

“I-I’m ss-sorry,” Li–Wild cried, so the others would be able to understand his regret and pain. He had just caused them all so much grief because of his nightmare of his death. They didn’t even know what was going on! He’s trying to work up the courage to tell them the true reason for his amnesia and scars, but he hasn’t found the right time to say anything about it.

As far as the Chain was aware, he was just hit in the head really hard sometime during his journey and forgot who he was. They knew of the scar across his body, as it was very hard to miss, yet he hadn’t told them still, and they’d been traveling together for months at this point!

Being able to start calming himself down once more, Wild released himself from the sailor’s grasp, looking around for the umpteenth time. Wind had a peaceful yet worried pout on his face, replacing the usual beaming smile he had. Time and Legend seemed disturbed, but didn’t let much get through their masks of neutralness.

Four himself had a neutral face as well, yet his eyes were changing constantly between a calculating look, concern, anger, and sadness. Probably the colors trying to figure out what to do and arguing over who would be in control during this situation. Wild remembered the others still had yet to find out about that, and beams a little in his mind at being trusted to keep this secret.

Twilight, Sky, and Hyrule were all openly showing concern and slight confusion, not knowing what to do or how to react to the recently revealed amnesia. That left Warriors and his gaze of knowing. Of course Warriors, of all of them, would understand. He’d been stuck in a memory once or twice while being with the group himself!

As Wild looked at everyone with a gaze of remembrance and recalling, the tension that was in the room both disappeared and heightened. The Chain would be wanting answers, and with the panic he had induced, they wouldn’t leave him alone until they got them.

“Wild, can I hug you again?” Of course the change in his gaze hadn’t gone unnoticed by the youngest. Believe it or not, but Wild swore that Wind was the most emotionally stable of them all, and was the best of the group at helping the others with emotional memories and attachments that were brought up.

Nodding his head once more, he replies with a simple, “of course Wind.” Hearing the words come out of his mouth seemed to be the confirmation the rest needed, as a collective sigh of relief swept through the group.

Wild, mind still reeling from what just happened, was trying to reaffirm to himself that this was real by having him call the others by their hero title nicknames. As if to help him remember what he’d been through with them all.

Sometime while he was lost in his thoughts again, the rest of the group had come closer and he had moved out of the corner and they formed a sort of circle. Twilight, being concerned for Wild, was the one to break the silence and ask for answers.

“So, Cub, what just happened?”

It was a simple question, yet the answer was anything but. The Chain waited patiently for Wild to get his mind straight, their gazes unwilling to move from him as they waited and held their breath. Wild himself took a deep breath in to calm his nerves and signal the rest that he was about to start.

“I uh, I’m going to need you to all hold your questions till I’m done speaking. I don’t know if I’ll be able to properly explain otherwise.” Glancing at the group, they all show in one way or another that they understand and he can keep going.

“So, you know how I told you all that I was hit in the head during my adventure, and that’s how I got my amnesia?” Most of them nod. “Yeah… that was a lie.” That, of course, starts a small uproar through the group, but Wild clears his throat and regains their attention.

“In my defense, it’s something hard to talk about. We all have those.” The Chain settles a little bit, understanding, but there are still a few who are upset that he hadn’t told them the truth.

“I actually kinda.. died?” A silence passes over the group as that information sets in, then everyone starts talking to him at once, asking why he’s here, how he’s here, etc. Wild doesn’t answer any of them, letting them get it out of their system. Once they calm down again, he starts his story once more.

“So, no, I’m not a ghost. Yes I actually died, and unfortunately, yes I remember how it happened.”

He takes a breath, and begins to spin a tale so bizarre most would call him crazy.

“It was 10,000 years before my time. Ganon was told to be coming soon. The Sheikah were able to make these technological defenses to help the hero and princess of that time defeat Ganon. The more well-known ones were called the Divine Beasts. They took different shapes, an elephant, camel, chameleon, and bird, and were piloted by well respected people. The lesser-known ones were called Guardians, almost a mix between squid and spider, but stick a beamos on top.”

He paused to allow himself to breathe and the others to absorb the information. Everyone had different takes on whether this technology was actually useful or not, but none had ever seen it besides Wild. The group was, now respectfully, keeping themselves quiet, waiting with bated breath for the next part of the story.

“In the end, they were victorious and were able to seal Ganon away. The king of that time then feared the power of the Sheikah and their creations, forcing them to be buried while the tribe was exiled. Thus resulted in a split in the tribe. While some stayed loyal to the hero, as a result the king and princess as well, others defected and became loyal to Ganon, hating the world for what it had done to them.”

There was a gasp in surprise that left a few of them, not expecting that turnout. A good portion of the group knew of, if they hadn’t met, the Sheikah, and hearing about what some of them did because they were exiled was shocking. Throughout all of time, the Sheikah had been loyal to the kingdom and its hero, not wavering even in a war that seemed hopeless, yet that had changed before Wild’s era.

“Skip back to my time, and we’re hearing whispers of Ganon rising once more. The king, wanting to protect his kingdom after suffering the loss of his wife, turned to sending Zelda to pray at the different springs and goddess statues that existed. By this point in time, the royal family was working once more with the Sheikah.”

“Impa, hearing of the king’s concern, turned to stories passed down through her tribe, and they found the solution in the ground. They started digging, and before long, they came upon the Divine Beasts and many guardians.”

“From what I can remember and the stories told by others, my father was one of the captains of the royal guard, and had been training me from the moment I could walk to be like him. I had joined at a young age, easily surpassing many due to my father’s training. While we were out on some mission, I found the Master Sword and brought it to my father.”

“The whole camp had seen the sight, and my father had to bring me to the king. I think I was about the age of 9.” Time seemed to scowl at that. “From then on, I was Zelda’s appointed knight.”

“A couple of years after that, we went searching for pilots for the Divine Beasts. We ended up with Revali of the Rito, Daruk of the Goron, Mipha of the Zora, and Urbosa of the Gerudo. On Zelda’s 17th birthday, she was finally allowed to go to the last spring, the Spring of Wisdom. Upon not gaining her powers, we head back down and then, what we now call the Calamity, hits.”

“You see, Ganon adapts just like we do, and instead of letting the same power that beat him last time best him again, he took the power for himself, turning it against us. Thousands of people died that day, and I was one of them.”

Wild brushes his hair out of his face, fully revealing the blast and burn scars they had seen many times, and only now knew what they were from. The center of the scar was his left shoulder, and it covered about a third of his neck, disappearing under his tunic. The portion on his face covered about the bottom half of his left cheek, angled more or less toward his temple. His left ear was almost entirely covered, minus the tip of it, being high enough to be out of the blast zone.

Of course, everyone seemed to be, at the very least, discomforted. None had died on their journey, it was unheard of till now. The fact that one of them had died was even worse than knowing it was fully possible. You see, on all of their journeys, while they had been in near death situations, it always seemed like dying was impossible for them. Whether it was the Triforce, or just the fact that they knew they were skilled enough to defeat the foe, it never fully registered the possibility of actual death for them.

“After I was killed, Zelda had finally awakened her power, shutting off all the guardians in the vicinity. She directed someone to put me in this more or less recently discovered contraption called the Shrine of Resurrection. We had no clue how long I’d be in there for, nor what state I would come out in. After that, she took the Master Sword and left it in the Kokiri forest, under the watch of the Great Deku Tree. Since she had finished preparations as best as she could for me in the future, she set off to face Ganon herself.”

“She was keeping him contained in the castle for years. During that time, Blood Moons started happening and the enemy was given time to learn and adapt to the new environment. Enemies grew stronger with each Blood Moon and caused more devastation for everyone.”

“It was after 100 years that I had finally awoken. Her voice was the first thing I heard, telling me my name and purpose for being there. The only thing I knew was what she told me, as I had lost all my memories during my time of healing.”

“Of course, I had to relearn how to do everything. Talk, fight, cook, take care of myself, and everything else. Along my journey, I remembered things through mild muscle memory, giving me advantages that most didn’t have. In the end, with the help of the Sheikah Slate, I was able to recover 12 key memories that allowed me to remember Zelda, at least a little bit, before I went and fought Calamity Ganon.”

“So there you have it. I just remembered my death and failure, which caused thousands to die,” was how he ended it. He was tearing up once more, not looking at anyone, afraid of what they were going to say about him. Afraid that now, since he had told them that he failed at his job as a hero, they were about to kick him out of their group.

Of course, nothing of the sort happened, as the Chain understood both what he was feeling and what actually happened. He had died trying to protect the Kingdom of Hyrule, was revived and did it again, this time succeeding.

They obviously could tell that there were details about his adventure that were omitted, whether that’s because he doesn’t remember or they’re more personal. But they didn’t pry anymore. Death was already a sensitive subject to all of them, and it was obvious that Wild was uncomfortable sharing his own death.

Wind, able to sense his distress, just came up to him and gave him a big, fat, hug.

“You didn’t fail, nor did you let anyone here down. Don’t try to deny it, I can see you’re scared that we’re going to think differently of you, but the only thing that will change is that we respect you even more. You were killed defending your kingdom. You had no say in the consequences. You did your best, and that’s all anyone can ask for,” Wind reassured in a gentle, kind voice.

“B-but I could’ve been faster! I could’ve gotten the princess to safety if I didn’t trip!”

“That may be true Cook, but who’s to say that would’ve made any difference? As much as I do this myself, don’t dwell on what could’ve been, it will only cloud your judgement on what you can do now,” Time added, hoping to help comfort the scarred boy.

“We’ve all had our moments of failure, but that doesn’t change what we’ve done, nor has it changed your look on us. Don’t be hypocritical and expect us to hold your status any lower because of it,” Warriors stated, getting his point across very clearly.

As if sensing that Wild was calming down once more, Wind noticed that he seemed to be curling into himself a little bit. As if shying away from all the attention he was now getting. Wanting to do something to help his brother, Wind decided to drop some information that he’d been meaning to for a while, and probably should before it gets forced out like Wild had happened to him.

“If it makes you feel any better,” Wind smiled gently, leaning back enough for Wild and the rest to see his face, “I don’t even have the Hero’s Spirit.”

The group moved their attention from Wild to Wind, just as he had wanted, allowing the older one relief. Of course, it came at the cost of demanding questions, but he would happily answer those to help.

“I actually was just some kid. I was never supposed to defeat Ganon, nor was I supposed to get the Triforce of Courage. I was stubborn enough to piece it back together myself and use the ‘Master Sword’ to turn Ganon to stone.”

“Before anyone asks, no, I wasn’t hurt, and no I didn’t have Hylia’s blessing either. The Master Sword I used was one made by the six sages when the Hero of Time never returned with the true Master Sword. When he had vanished, he took the Hero’s Spirit and the Master Sword right along with him, leaving no defenses in his wake. That’s why there’s no “hero” after me in my timeline.”

Time, of course, looked and felt guilty about what happened. He wasn’t given a choice whether or not he was going to go back to his childhood years and continue living from there. He knew that, yet he still felt guilty knowing that the timeline he left behind kept going without a hero.

Wind made a mental note to tell Time privately that he didn’t hold anything against him, nor was he upset at what happened.

In the end, they decided to leave the discussion for a better time to discuss it. When they weren’t all tired from their constant journeying and could better process the information. If only they knew that the discussion would be postponed for a while because of upcoming events that couldn’t be predicted…

Chapter Text

I know I was trying to post a chapter weekly, but school has just hit testing season, so it might be longer than a week for the next few chapters. I've also been educating myself in the lore, games, and theories of the LoZ universe so I can get details to be as accurate as possible.

Chapter 3 is almost done and will be replacing this chapter when it is.

In the meantime, I will have you know that we are about to get to the point of TOTK being in the book :D

Anyways, take care of yourselves, and I will see you all in the real chapter 3!