Chapter Text
Zelda jolted awake, pages of research peeling themselves from her cheek. The princess blearily rubbed at her eyes, smearing ink over her face, and stretched. She looked around at the dark lighting of Purah’s Lab and sighed. She must have fallen asleep again, but why did she wake up? It wasn’t a nightmare this time...
She blinked and pressed a hand to her chest.
“...Link?” Zelda whispered.
<><><>
Wild took a deep breath of the clear air as his heart danced with joy. The off-kilter feeling he’d been trying to ignore for the past several weeks was finally gone.
He was home.
The world around him rustled with wildlife, awash in the stunning golden glow of the sunset. They were on Mable Ridge, just to the right of the Dueling Peaks.
He reluctantly returned his attention to the other heroes around him. Four was sitting on the ground with his head between his knees and breathing heavily—switching Hyrules was never easy for him—and the others weren’t much better. Wild sighed. They’d probably have to make camp right where they were.
Sure enough, dark quickly fell and they still hadn’t gone anywhere. The heroes were doing the usual nightly routine: cleaning armor, taking inventory of supplies, discussing watch schedules, or just messing around.
Wild was preparing dinner, chopping up some swift carrots, when he noticed an unnatural bloodred glint off his knife.
The sight made his muscles lock up. It could only mean one thing, but he had defeated Ganon, hadn’t he? It only made sense that it would disappear with the Calamity; Zelda had even said that she was nearly positive it wouldn’t occur anymore.
Slowly, Wild raised his eyes to the starlit sky.
His eyes widened in horror at what he saw. The moon was encased in the telltale red of a Blood Moon, crimson tendrils seeping out into the surrounding night. The knife slipped from his fingers.
He could almost hear the phantom of Zelda’s weary voice in his head. The Blood Moon rises once again…
...Please be careful, Link.
“Wild?” Wind’s voice was distant, barely piercing the fog of his panic. It was enough to snap him out of his inaction, though. Wild scooped up the knife from the grass and began stashing everything away in the Sheikah Slate. They needed to move. He tried to remember what monsters were in this area, but he couldn’t think straight. He couldn’t remember.
That was fine, though, all Wild knew was that they needed to get somewhere safe. They had enough time that maybe they could make it to Kakariko; hopefully, at least enough time to reach the canyon leading to the village. It was safe there, wasn’t it? Or maybe it would be better to head for Dueling Peaks Stable...
“Whoa, what are you doing?” Warriors asked when Wild began to pack up their bedrolls. He checked the time on the Slate and ignored Wars; shit, they only had three hours—
Wild’s breathing was ragged as he whistled sharply to gather everyone’s attention. They needed to go. Immediately.
He pointed with a vicious jab in the moon’s direction. He could already feel the faint scent of Malice teasing him. ‘B-L-O-O-D M-O-O-N,’ he finger spelled to the other heroes. ‘Need to go now.’
“Are you kidding me?” Legend snapped. “Four can barely walk!”
Wild winced. That was going to be a problem.
“What’s a blood moon?” Sky asked.
For a moment, all Wild could do was stare as a realization dawned on him. The others didn’t have Blood Moons.
It made a twisted sense. The others didn’t have the Calamity to contend with; as far as he knew, Ganon hadn’t destroyed the other’s kingdoms. So of course they didn’t have Blood Moons; hell, Wild himself was almost certain he shouldn’t have them anymore.
‘C-A-L-A-M-I-T-Y revives all monsters on B-L-O-O-D M-O-O-N.’
“It what?! ”
Wild just waved off the questions with an anxious glance at the surrounding area. He desperately tried to remember what the monsters were here, even as the words no time rang through his head.
‘We have to go,’ Wild signed again.
“Wait, we need more information,” Twilight said. “Blood Moons do what now?”
Wild wanted to scream. ‘ No time!’ he signed with ferocity. ‘We have to move .’
Why weren’t they moving? How come they weren’t listening to him?
At least Time seemed a little concerned; he was looking up at the moon with a strange expression. “This is Wild’s Hyrule. We should listen to him,” the older hero said sharply. Thankfully, finally, the others listened to Time and began to begrudgingly pack up. Four could do little more than stare vacantly ahead, muttering to himself. Wild was concerned at that, but no one else seemed particularly worried, so he decided that he could let the matter slide for now.
He checked the time, and Wild’s stomach dropped. How had half an hour already passed? There just wasn’t enough time.
Dueling Peaks Stable was closer; however, the terrain was more treacherous and Wild didn’t think that Four could handle it. We can make it to Kakariko, he told himself. We just have to be quick.
They set off, but at a much slower pace than Wild wanted. It was infuriating. They didn’t understand how urgent this was! Already, as they walked, Wild could feel himself begin to drown in the buildup of Malice. They were barely halfway when the flecks of Malice began to filter through the air.
No, Wild thought as one floated by him. His stomach churned nauseatingly.
The others coughed and gasped for air. “What is this?” Legend choked out, but Wild couldn’t answer because he was too busy watching the sky fill with red.
The moon reached its apex. Snarls and howls shattered the silence, the clang of metal and roar of monsters echoing in the heroes’ ears.
<><><>
Twilight knew something was wrong, but never in a million years would he have imagined Wild would go sheet white and nearly fall to his knees. “Whoa, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked. Wild just shook his head frantically. His eyes were wide and he was trembling like a leaf.
Twilight frowned. “...what’s that sound?” he asked. It was a mechanical whirring, followed by the sounds of thudding feet.
<><><>
Wild was gasping in panic now. He swiped desperately at his Sheikah Slate, pulling out his Hylian Shield and the Master Sword— fuck, he didin’t have any Ancient Arrows—
He realized that no one else knew what was going on. He whirled on them but the words evaded him. His fingers couldn’t form the right signs, the words on his tongue unable to pass his lips.
Beep, beep, beep.
His eyes flared at the sound of a targeting laser locking onto someone.
That someone was Wind.
He didn’t turn around to see where the Guardian was. Wild already knew where it was. He pulled the Hylian Shield in front of his chest with shaking arms. His legs felt as solid as water underneath him, but they carried him in front of the younger hero all the same. Wild felt the laser lock onto him as soon as he stepped in line of the Guardian’s eye; he quelled the surge of fear that came with it. His scars burned—they always did when he fought Guardians.
He tried not to think about how close Fort Hateno was.
Somehow all the sounds around him disappeared. There was only the rapid beep of the laser until a definitive click.
Wild braced his arm and swung to parry the beam of white-hot energy, but his timing was off. Instead of shooting back at the Guardian it bounced off his shield into the hillside—thankfully away from the others. Wild stumbled into Wind and that was when he caught sight of the second Guardian, drawn by the sound of conflict.
Just about every curse Wild knew filled his thoughts. The others were gathered in a protective circle, shouting things that Wild couldn’t focus on. Their weapons were drawn and they all looked positively terrified.
Hylia, no, Wild thought. He wouldn’t fail anyone again. He couldn’t fail anyone again.
Wild shot an arrow into the eye of the Guardian closest to him and it flinched back, stunned for the moment. He unsheathed the Master Sword and hacked off two of the Guardian’s legs before it recovered. It targeted him again, and Wild responded with another arrow in the eye. He needed to get to the other Guardian, before someone got hurt.
A targeting laser locked onto his chest, but it wasn’t from either of the Guardians. He looked up to see a third Guardian, pulling itself up from a ledge.
Shit.
This was not good. How had he forgotten there were Guardians here?
Wild lifted the Hylian Shield, and this time he performed the perfect parry. Time around him slowed for just a moment, and Wild let himself focus on the battle...save for one detail.
He whipped around to the other Heroes of Courage. Two of the Guardians were locked onto them.
“RUN!” Wild screamed. His ragged, garbled word tore through the chaos.
Wars was the first to move. He dragged Four and Hyrule behind him, and the others began to follow. Twilight shouted something at him, but Time was pulling him back. The Old Man was stronger than he looked if he could keep the ranch hand at bay.
Wild drew the attention of all three Guardians away from the other heroes. He was still shaking, still terrified, but at least the others were going to be alright for the moment. Only now Wild had three Guardians targeting him.
The one on the left fired first. Wild parried, and the Guardian stumbled backwards.
The one on the right fired next. He spun around just in time to bring his shield up, but the impact knocked him to the ground.
The one in the middle, the third one, fired as he was on the ground.
Wild rolled, because that was the only thing he could do. The laser missed by inches, and the heat was so extreme that the ends of his hair singed and his clothes caught fire.
He scrambled to his feet, the air filled with the sounds of the Guardians targeting him again. He’d never fought this many Guardian Stalkers at once before. Well...he had, not far from here, but it didn’t exactly end well for Wild.
He parried another shot and narrowly dodged two more. He fired an electric arrow into the eye of one Guardian and a bomb arrow into the eye of another. The first Guardian that showed up was almost finished; the other two were still going strong.
The next few minutes felt like eternity as he performed a deadly dance with the massive machines. Parry, dodge, fire an arrow, repeat. It didn’t matter if he got hit. All Wild knew was that if he failed here, it would be like 100 years ago all over again.
<><><>
Twilight fought their retreat every step of the way. He dug his heels in and strained against Time like a toddler, just desperate to get back to Wild. He didn’t understand why they were leaving him. There were three of those laser-spewing things, and they were just going to leave Wild to fight them alone? It didn’t make sense. This isn’t what a Hero did.
Sheets of rain pounded against Twilight’s head and shoulders relentlessly. Mud was splattered over all of them, and a numbing cold had set into the heroes. Twilight could care less. His Cub was fighting all alone out there, and he was helpless to do anything about it.
Eventually Twilight went limp. “Why?” he asked in a broken whisper. He didn’t think anyone would hear over the rain, but Time surprised him with an answer. “Pup, none of us know how to fight those things except for Wild. We would only be a distraction. And…” Time paused. “Wild hasn’t spoken a word to us since we first met him. I thought he couldn’t speak. And then those things show up and Wild screams at us to get out of there.”
“So, I thought it might be a good idea to listen,” Time finished.
“And if he can’t fight those things on his own?” Twilight asked, his voice a deadly quiet.
Time didn’t reply.
<><><>
Wild stumbled back from the husk of the last Guardian. His knees gave out, and he fell to the muddy ground. Hylia, he was exhausted.
A bokoblin horn wailed through the air. Wild’s head jerked toward the sound. Why…
The others. They’d found a monster camp.
Wild heaved himself to his feet. Sheathing the Master Sword, he forced his trembling limbs into a run toward the sounds of battle.
<><><>
Warriors turned with his weapon raised, expecting to find another monster. Instead he found Wild, burnt and muddied, looking dead on his feet.
“ Hylia, Wild,” Wars swore, sheathing his sword and striding over to him. His hands hovered over the hero, not sure what to do. Wild’s eyes roved the battlefield with fervish intensity.
He knew that look.
It was the look his men got when they’d spent too long fighting, when they slipped into a place where all they could do was fight, fight, fight. They forgot that their bodies had limits and ignored any pain or exhaustion. It was the look his men got when they were on the brink of cracking under the pressure.
“Hey,” Warriors said, gently taking Wild’s wrists and pulling both of them down to the ground. Wild’s attention snapped to him, tensing as if he were a threat, but Wars murmured assurances until he sank to the ground.
“It’s alright,” he said softly. “The fighting’s over; you can stop now.”
He could hear the others gathering behind him. Well, that was fine, it didn’t seem Wild was very lucid now. The younger’s eyes were gazing emptily at Warriors, though he could tell Wild was trying to focus.
“It’s alright,” Warriors repeated.
It was as if all his strings had been cut. Wild slumped forward into Wars, and he grunted underneath the sudden weight. He awkwardly patted Wild’s side, which was warm and wet.
Warriors frowned. He peered over Wild’s shoulder to examine his hand.
It was stained red.
<><><>
Wild’s eyes fluttered open to the sight of sunlight filtering through the open doorway of a stable. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and let out a quiet groan.
“Guys, he’s awake.”
He couldn’t tell who’s voice it was—the words sounded muffled, as though he was hearing it through a wall.
A hand waved over his face. “Can you hear me?” A face entered his line of vision . Hyrule. Wild gave a mute nod. “How are you feeling?”
He attempted a one-shoulder shrug, which resulted in a searing pain from his side. He winced.
“Here, drink this,” Hyrule said, and then a red potion was being shoved down his throat. Despite the unpleasant taste, the pain in his side eased and Wild sat up. His shirt had been replaced with bandages, which weren’t terribly soaked through with blood. Wild had been lucky that Guardian laser had missed his stomach.
The other Links shared a meaningful glance. “I’ll go first,” Warriors said with a sigh. “What in Hylia’s name were those spider things?”
Wild swallowed. ‘G-U-A-R-D-I-A —’
“We know you can talk,” Legend interrupted. Wild’s eyes flared. When...oh, right, when he’d screamed at them to get out of there. His hand rubbed weakly at his throat, pressing against thick scar tissue.
“I…” he rasped, wincing at the pain that flared in his throat. “N-no talk… good…”
That sentence was one of the few he knew how to say. The Old Man—no, King Rhoam’s spirit—had seemed satisfied enough with what Wild remembered of the Hylian sign language, so he didn’t really bother to teach Wild how to speak.
However, Wild had found out quickly after leaving the Great Plateau that almost everyone remaining in Hyrule did not know Hylian sign.
Wild coughed and hung his head. His face burned in shame. He was such a failure that he couldn’t even talk properly.
“Hey, that’s alright. You don’t need to speak,” Sky said kindly with a sharp glance at Legend. Wild let out a shaky breath and nodded. He lifted his hands to sign and tried to ignore how they shook. ‘G-U-A-R-D-I-A-N-S. Shouldn’t be active anymore, I thought —’
He cut himself off. His stomach felt like it fell through the floor as he realized something. Guardians shouldn’t be active. They were powered by Malice, and that had disappeared with Ganon’s demise. ...Or at least, it should have disappeared. And the Blood Moon, that was also supposed to be Calamity Ganon’s doing. Really, it could only mean one thing, and it made Wild sick.
Ganon wasn’t gone.
He had failed a second time, and even after a hundred years, he couldn’t seal Ganon correctly. His hands curled into fists in the sheets and panic frazzled his thoughts. They flitted to Zelda—was Zelda alright? He needed to talk to her.
“... Wild.”
He snapped back to attention.
Time sighed. “You’re obviously not in the right state to have this conversation. We can talk later; now, who is making breakfast?”
Wild frowned. That was an odd question, he was obviously going to cook. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed in a swift motion and was immediately hit with vertigo. Wild tried to put weight on his legs, but they buckled before he could properly get off the bed. “Whoa!” Hyrule said, lunging forward to catch Wild before he could hit the ground.
...ow, he thought distantly before blacking out.
<><><>
Sky stared at the familiar sheath lying next to a sleeping Wild. His hands itched to touch it, to see how the Fi of Wild’s era was doing. But he didn’t dare invade Wild’s privacy. They’d been with the hero for a few weeks now, and it hadn’t escaped Sky’s attention how little he shared about his journey. They knew that something called the Calamity had ravaged Wild’s Hyrule—and about a Champion named Mipha who gifted Wild with Mipha’s Grace—but other than that, Wild hadn’t shared anything significant. It made Sky wonder just what happened to make the hero so reclusive and withdrawn.
Wild shifted in his sleep, letting out a small noise of discomfort. Sky gently pulled the blankets back over him, and the younger burrowed deeper into the bed like a small child. That was another thing about Wild: he was a mess of contradictions. At times, Wild seemed almost ancient, with tired, knowing eyes, and other times Wild acted younger than Wind.
Wild was fine with touching others but didn’t like others touching him. That was something the Chain had figured out the hard way.
The Master Sword caught Sky’s eye again. He had been shocked when Wild showed up with the sword in hand. As far as he knew, everyone else had put the blade back after their quest was done.
He couldn’t resist his curiosity any longer. Sky reached out and quietly lifted the Master Sword into his lap. The sheath was cool in his palm, and he took a moment to study the gold-and-purple markings. Reverently, Sky slid Fi out, and came upon a shocking sight—or rather, sensation.
This Fi was ancient.
He could feel her, but she was weaker, older. Just how far down the timeline was Wild?
Sky studied the blade itself. While she still shined, she was blemished with scratches and nicked edges. Nothing like what the Master Sword used to be when he first forged her. It made Sky sad, but he supposed he could get an explanation from Fi.
“Hello, Master,” Fi’s voice whispered in his head. “It is good to see you.”
It hurt more than expected to hear her so... tired. He did his best to stay cheerful, however. “Hello, Fi,” he replied aloud. “I...was wondering if you could maybe tell me something.” Fi chimed once to tell him to continue. He fidgeted nervously. I’m overstepping my bounds, he thought uncomfortably with a glance at Wild.
“Can you tell me why you’re so...like this?” he whispered.
Fi was silent for a terrifyingly long moment. “It is both a combination of being millenia older and the fall of one of my Masters. I have not been able to properly serve the Hero of the Wilds, and that is my eternal regret,” she eventually replied. “Unfortunately, if you have any questions about my most recent Master I cannot answer them. It is an 80% probability that he will react in an unfortunate manner that will most certainly prevent you from succeeding in becoming a functioning team.”
“...Oh,” he said softly. This only piqued his curiosity. What is it with Wild? He thought.
Fi chimed once more before falling silent. Sky sighed, sheathing the blade but choosing to keep it in his lap. He looked up to check on Wild again, only to see him very alert, and very alarmed to see Sky holding his weapon.