Chapter Text
It had been almost exactly 2 years since the calamity had been defeated. In those two years, a whole lot had changed. Zelda was doing her best to rebuild Hyrule with Link by her side. No matter how much he would prefer to be left to his own devices, he cared about Zelda more than he cared about running into the woods to become a hermit. He had already left her alone for so long, she already had much to worry about, he wasn’t about to make her do it all alone again.
Every day was filled with things that had to be done, working with architects to rebuild the castle, traveling around to negotiate with the other races, setting up trade routes, dealing with monsters that got in the way, overseeing the reconstruction of Castle Town, and so much more. It was exhausting but rewarding. It was overwhelming to see the first buildings go up where there had once been only ruins and corrupted guardians. He had woken up in a devastatingly dead world and seeing it start to grow again was really nice to see.
For her part, Zelda tried not to make him do things she knew would be hard for him, dealing with people he didn’t know or making him sit through agonizingly long meetings. But being one of the only people who could use the sheikah slate and someone who already knew and had good relations with the most important people of each race, it would be foolish to make him the captain of the new guard or something just as useless. He could transport anywhere in Hyrule and already knew most of the people he was dealing with which made him very valuable for rebuilding the relationships of the races. Zelda knew that all the careful talking and politics would be hard for him but the circumstances were too convenient to be let go to waste.
More than just the world had changed after they defeated the calamity, He and Zelda went from a necessary partnership to more than kind of liking each other, with the stress of saving the world from Ganon out of the way, their relationship had grown exponentially. Link didn’t stick beside her out of obligation or orders from her father, he wanted to be around her as much as he could. He wanted to help her even if it was hard. He loved her.
They got very few breaks after Ganon's defeat, one of which was approaching very fast. The anniversary of the calamities end. Now celebrated with the Festival of Champions. The first one had been set up at Hyrule field, not too far from Castle Town. It was a modest celebration without a whole lot of planning. This time would be completely different. This time enough of the castle had been restored for part of it to be held there. Most of it would be in the fully restored Castle Town Square.
He and Zelda had shifted their focus from fixing everything for a short while to set up a real party. She had tried to reason that it would give the people new hope and all that but he knew that it was also for her. For them both. It was a time to celebrate their long-dead friends and the end of what they were both working towards their entire lives. It was a celebration of the champion’s memory, their struggles, their lives. It was a short time of unity. Needless to say, they were both excited about it.
The evening before the festival was going to start, they had both been kicked out by their respective groups. The decorations and planning committee which consisted of Impa, Paya, a couple of volunteers from Hateno, and a few villagers from each race, had all come to the conclusion that Zelda was in need of a break and refused to let her back into the ballroom. She found Link outside of the kitchen, as the new royal chef Gotter had locked him out in a similar way.
They both acted like it was a grave offense to be excluded so rudely but they really did need a break, even if it was just for the night. They knew that the others had everything handled, even if somehow the festival ended up being a disaster it probably wouldn’t have too bad of a fallout. It would survive a few hours without its young leaders.
They made their way up to Zelda’s bedroom which had accidentally started to share. After her century-long fight with their least favorite malice monster, Zelda had trouble being alone. Link’s private quarters were nearby but it wasn’t enough. She would cry out in the night and it seemed like every night they would end up in the same room, whether that be his or hers. Eventually, they just slept in the same room. They both got much better sleep after that.
Zelda was taking off her simple crown and undoing her braid before they even got to the room. It had been tugging at her scalp and giving her a headache. She massaged her temples as he opened the door for her.
“Who knew that planning a party would be so stressful!” She groaned as she flopped on the overly large bed.
“It’s still more fun than stabilizing the economy.” Link snickered.
“Nothing was less fun than the hunt for that Yiga who managed to make fake rupees. Remember, it took six months for a single traitor to double the inflation rate. I thought I’d be dealing with the stables not liking the sudden appearance of a young monarch out of nowhere and causing a revolution, not having to think about taxes and the value of rupees getting smaller.” Her voice was a little muffled against her pillow.
“For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing a very good job.” He combed his fingers through her hair as she turned to face him.
“Pretty good for a couple of teenagers in their early hundreds?” She teased.
“Yeah, I’d say we’re doing pretty okay.” He said before she forced him to lie down with her on the bed. It always took a little persuasion to make him relax. He didn’t realize how tired he was until his back rested on the pristinely made bed. He was used to being absurdly active but for some reason, talking to people all day was more exhausting to him than climbing through the Hebra mountains.
They fell into a comfortable silence and let themselves truly relax. Sure, they would have to wake up early the next morning to kick off the festivities but that was much easier than what they had been doing to set everything up.
At some point, before they fell asleep, his hand had found hers and their fingers automatically intertwined. Just adding reassurances that they weren’t alone anymore.
The night was peaceful, not a single nightmare haunted either of them, which was pretty rare. Just being together constantly wasn’t going to cure all the effects of the trauma they had experienced, but it was nice to have someone who understood a little too well.
Link woke up before Zelda, as usual. The sun was just starting to rise. They only had a few hours before they had to be ready to start the festivities. He brought her a cup of her favorite tea before gently nudging her awake. She looked up at him with half of her face engulfed in the pillow and pouted while squinting at the light. Thankfully she seemed excited enough for the day that she didn’t glare at him for long.
He let her nurse her caffeinated tea as he braided a headband into her hair. He only made it a little more fancy than normal, weaving in a blue ribbon and pinning in a few ornamental flowers. She slowly woke up and became more talkative as the caffeine kicked in. She went over the day's events and the shops in Castle Town's newly rebuilt main square. Most of the time they would be able to enjoy themselves unless there was an emergency that required leadership or monster killing.
“-and I promised to stop by the baker's tents this afternoon, I heard that they have a whole assortment of fruit cakes! Link, are you listening?”
“Of course I am, I think you’re just over planning everything, why don’t we just enjoy the festival.” He suggested as he placed the last flower in her hair.
“Well, I don’t want to miss anything. The vendors have worked so hard to set it all up…”
“We won’t. You just like to stress yourself out so much that you won’t let yourself have any fun. Just take it easy, we have all day to take it in. Maybe you can write a list so you’re not trying to remember everything all day.” He said as she switched their places, she had always liked being able to play with his hair since it got so long from not cutting it for a century. He rarely did anything special with it besides putting it in a low ponytail to keep it out of his way but she always had things she wanted to try with it.
“Fine. Get out the slate and we’ll start the list.” She sighed as she started to brush through his hair. They took a good chunk of their time getting ready to think of things to add to the list, specific vendors they wanted to visit, people they wanted to check up on, food they wanted to try. She wove his hair into a masterpiece of braids and fancy ornamentation, stating that it was one of the only times it would be appropriate to be so extravagant. He admitted that it was very pretty but not something he would be able to wear normally.
They left for the town once they were done getting ready, putting extra effort into everything from their clothes and jewelry to weapons and makeup. He had helped her with her eyeliner and she helped him hide the shadows under his eyes. By the end, Zelda looked absolutely ethereal and Link didn’t look out of place by her side.
The festival itself was everything they hoped it would be. It felt like everyone in Hyrule was there. There was music at every corner, delightful smells ranging from flowers to freshly baked goods, and joyful chatter echoing through the streets. They stopped at Rhodson’s clothing shop and bought a few things from Robbie and Purah’s tech shop where they showed off less destructive inventions from the sheikah technology. They had made a few prototype cameras that could harness the single rune from the sheikah slate.
Sayge had an extensive fabric shop with a wide variety of types and colors and patterns, some even seemed to shift colors in the light. Isha had a jewelry shop filled with enchanted gems, easily convincing them to purchase a few pieces. The Gerudo woman demanded he come back later for a longer chat and he promised that he’d stop by again. Even Beetle found a place to sell, promising to trade anything that he had for a rhino beetle.
Once they had entered the chaos, it was easy to get Zelda to enjoy it. It seemed like she saw a new thing she wanted to check out every time she moved her head. Link could only barely keep up. He had to stop her from running off which was probably divine retribution for her having to do the same with him. It took a lot of snack breaks to get her to go at a reasonable pace.
It was during one of these breaks when Link heard his name in a passing conversation. His ears flickered towards the words being said about him. It came from a strange group of unfamiliar Hilians. They ranged from young teenagers to a man that looked like he was in his thirties. Some had strange markings on their faces and one had a streak of pink in his hair. They definitely stood out.
What really caught his attention was the one with a very familiar sword on his back, only partially being hidden by a white cape. It was impossible, Link had the Master Sword stored safely in the sheikah slate. He had once tried to return it to its pedestal but before he could, he was consumed by an overwhelming urge that gave him the feeling that he would still need it. Not only did this strange guy have the Master Sword, but it looked far better than Link had ever seen it. There were no chips or signs of age, it seemed to call to him with a chiming voice.
“Now that’s a little odd…” Zelda stated as she followed his gaze. They frantically looked away when the Zora woman that the eldest of the group was talking to pointed at them. Link pulled Zelda from her seat and started to disappear into the crowd.
“I don’t know why there are some strange men looking for me but it can’t be good…” He muttered, barely loud enough for Zelda to hear.
“I don’t know Link… There’s something about them that I can’t place. I think you should talk to them.” She said, infuriatingly vaguely.
“What if they’re part of the Yiga Clan or something? I’ve never seen them around and they’re definitely weird enough to notice in a crowd.” He argued even though he could kind of get what she was getting at. They did feel… oddly familiar. Even the ones covered in armor didn’t feel threatening. He didn’t know why.
“I think there’s something about them that feels the same as you. I don’t know, I don’t think they’re going to hurt us.” He groaned, he couldn’t just have one day to enjoy himself, could he. Something weird always had to happen.
“They were looking for me, right? How about we just let them find us. Maybe we can try to enjoy the festival in the meantime.” He suggested, wanting to hesitate a little longer, to not confront whatever was waiting for him.
“I think you’re overreacting but I would like to check out the Sheikah lanterns before we head back…” She took his hand and led him towards where an elderly Sheikah couple had set up a station where people could paint their lanterns. There were a couple of children working hard on their own with the help of their parents. Zelda waved at the old man behind the table, who smiled and brought out an intricately painted lantern, much more effort was put in that one than any on display. It had the royal sigil in golden paint with bands of blue and red.
Before Link could retrieve the lantern made for him, he spotted a royal guard stumbling towards him, doing his best to weave through the crowds frantically. His first thought was the strange group of men causing trouble and he was relieved when the guard spoke otherwise.
“Your Highness, Sir Link,” The guard acknowledged both of them respectfully before continuing, “I apologize for the interruption but we’ve spotted a small horde of monsters nearing the city from the west-”
“I’ll take care of it.” Link volunteered, “Keep the rest of the guard from that section focused on the civilians.” He ordered, still not quite used to the power he’d been given. He didn’t want the guards to get in the way, it was a whole lot harder for him to try to fight alongside a group. The guard nodded and went back to stumble through the people filling the streets.
“If you ruin all my hard work on your hair while you’re out there I will never forgive you.” Zelda threatened halfheartedly, Link laughed.
“I’ll try not to look like a mess, he said it was only a small horde, so maybe five to ten monsters? They’re probably all Bokoblins too. I could fight them in my sleep. I probably won’t even get a cool new scar out of it.” She hit him playfully.
“You better not. How unfortunate, we were just starting to enjoy ourselves too…”
“It’s fine, the crowds were getting a little much for me anyway. I’ll be back before you know it.” He promised as he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek for luck.
“Well, you better get going before they reach the gates.” She nudged him before he bowed dramatically and disappeared in the crowd, much more smoothly than the guard before had done.
It was probably for the best, she thought, he needed a break from all the people and he wasn’t going to ask for it himself. She was about to move to the next stall when a small figure ran up to her. He couldn’t have been older than fourteen with lightly tanned freckled skin and golden blond hair. She remembered that he had been part of that group of men looking for Link.
“Hey, are you Princess Zelda?” The kid said excitedly.
“Yes, that’s me, what can I do for you?” She decided against correcting the title, she was the Queen now, but she didn’t want to sound prideful enough to correct a child like that. The last thing she wanted to be was one of those nobles who acted like everyone else was below them.
“We’re looking for someone you probably know-” He started to ramble excitedly.
“Wind?” A yell came from nearby.
“Over here! I found her!” The kid yelled back. A taller man carefully made his way towards the pair, he had a long blue scarf and looked like a high-class knight in pristine yet unfamiliar armor covering his shoulders and chainmail under a green tunic.
“I apologize for my little brother your highness,” He said as he playfully ruffled Wind’s hair. The smaller of the two tried to slap his hand away. She could tell he was lying about them being brothers, at least to an extent. she felt the touch of Hylia on them. The same way that Link did. However, instead of being wary, she decided to humor them.
“Oh, I don’t mind. He said you were looking for someone,” She wanted more information, so she feigned ignorance.
“Yes, of course, we were looking for a man called Link. We were told that he was with you.” He said, his mannerisms a little overly formal. He was used to dealing with royalty.
“We were notified of an approaching monster horde and he went to go take care of it. He should be back before too long,” She acted casually as the two boys gave each other a knowing look.
“We should go help, they could be infected!” The smaller one whispered loud enough for her to hear easily.
“Infected? That doesn’t sound good at all…”
“It just makes them stronger and tougher to kill, I don’t doubt that Link can take care of them but he may not know what he’s getting into.” The elder one explained. She thought for a moment, Link had dismissed the guards in the area so if he got hurt or overwhelmed there wasn’t anyone to help him.
“He went to the west of the city, towards the Breach of Demise. I can send some guards that way, thank you for the information.”
“That won’t be necessary. Our group is plenty qualified and experienced with the infected monsters. Even little baby Wind over here.” He smirked towards the kid who growled something slightly too obscene for his age. Maybe her initial assessment of them not really being brothers was inaccurate. It looked too easy for them to be faking that kind of relationship, although Zelda didn’t have much experience in that area, not having any siblings of her own and all.
“Alright, make sure to be back uninjured enough to enjoy the festivities. I want to know more about these infected monsters.” Something about the idea unnerved her. Something was making monsters stronger and more resilient and this was the first time she’s heard of it. But these men sounded like they had known for a while.
“Of course your Highness, we won’t let you down.” The strange knight bowed a little before leading Wind into the crowds again. She hated being useless but she wasn’t much of a fighter and she didn’t want to be in the way. The best she could do was find out about these men and why Hylia had marked them. There was something going on and she absolutely despised being left in the dark.
***
This new Hyrule was absolutely massive. It took the chain days of traveling to find any semblance of civilization. Once they found a stable the journey was a lot easier. Time was told of a festival happening in Castle Town. After running into monsters every day and surviving on less than stellar food, they didn’t even need to vote to decide where to go.
Each of them had tried asking about this era’s hero, but they got semi-conflicting answers. Some sources said that the Hero died one hundred years ago, some said he had been raised from the dead, some said that he was the personal guard to Zelda, some said that he was a feral child that sets forest fires on purpose and rides bears like horses. None of them knew what to believe.
They made it to Castle Town right on time for the festival, it was obvious that a good chunk of the city was under construction but the finished parts were covered in flags and decorations that came from vastly different cultures from this Hyrule. The city was full of color and music and mouth-watering smells. They almost dreaded having a reason to be here, most of them wanted to enjoy the festival rather than search for another Link.
At one point, Warriors caught a glimpse of him, a Zora had pointed him out to them but this Hyrule's hero disappeared before they could even approach. He only caught half of the teenager's face, he was youthful but still held a battle-hardened look in his eyes. He was dressed in royal garb and his long hair was elaborately braided, he looked like a prince and Warriors was almost relieved. Maybe this Link would be closer to what he was used to. Professional, level-headed, a sense of responsibility. Of course, he was just making assumptions but if appearances meant anything, this Link was going to be an interesting addition to the group.
After deciding that clumping together made it harder for their search, they separated out. Hyrule and Legend headed towards a stall with a strange man who sold things relating to monsters, Warriors and Wind left to Hylia knows where, Sky and Four found a blacksmiths workshop that interested them, while Time and Twilight decided to focus on asking people about the hero.
It took a while before Wind came running up to Time, he seemed excited. Warriors followed with a slight urgency in his step.
“I found the Princess first! She told us where this Hyrule’s Link is. He went to go fight some monsters outside of the city and she said we could go help him.” Wind said, surprisingly efficiently. He was pretty proud of himself for beating them all at finding the new Link.
“Good job sailor, It’ll take too long to gather everyone back up for a fight, I’m sure the others will be fine enjoying the festival.” Time nodded at the youngest member. They started towards the west of the city, a few guards warned them of the monsters ahead and suggested that they stay safe. Warriors told them that Her highness, Zelda, had given them permission to help defeat the monster horde.
They heard the new Link before they saw him. There was a distant mechanical roar rumbling ahead of them and the frustrated grunts from the piglike snouts of bokoblins. The monsters were gathered in a clearing, huddled together as a speeding mechanical horse circled around them, the figure riding it was hard to make out aside from the blur of a blue tunic and long blonde hair. After a moment he noticed them approaching and he drove at them at an arc before stopping parallel to them, his long sword covered in inky black blood.
“Let me guess, Zelda sent you?” He said, cautiously. Warriors noted that his voice was just as androgynous as his general appearance. It could pass for a low feminine voice or a medium-high male voice. He also noticed that now they were up close and in full view, the princely hero was covered in scars, at least a third of his face had old burns, one tendril bisecting his left eyebrow. Warriors shuttered to think about what would cause such damage.
“We would’ve helped anyway.” Twilight shrugged.
“Okay, fine. Talk later, kill monsters now. They’re already starting to spread out again.” The new Link jumped off of his metal steed and pulled a bow from seemingly nowhere in a flash of blue light. Was he planning on shooting from a distance while the rest of them took the monsters head-on? It wouldn’t be smart at this point in a battle, there was no element of surprise to use or good places to even shoot from. The terrain made it hard to make it a long-range battle. Warriors didn’t say any of that though. He was just curious about what this new Link was planning on doing.
They easily integrated themselves into the fight, it was mostly bokoblins after all, only two moblins. They were mostly white and purple with a couple of the creatures being a bright yellowish gold. They were much more durable than normal but they seemed to be just as stupid. The real problem was that the golden ones, if not sustaining new injuries for long enough, started to visibly heal themselves.
The new Link fought strangely, Warriors could tell that the teenager had formal training, the way he held himself, the way he dodged like he had memorized certain steps. But he had never seen anyone be able to use a bow in close combat as this new Link had. He was alarmingly fast, he moved like an acrobat. He fired arrows so swiftly that Warriors was dumbfounded as to how he reloaded so quickly. At one point the guy sped at a silver moblin and jumped right onto its shoulders, put its head in the space of the bow, and let the momentum slam them to the ground before shooting it right in the eye. He skipped on the heads of the bokoblins like they were stepping stones and shot each one from right above it.
At certain points, each of the Links got distracted from their own battles by each strange act the new Link managed to pull off. He would steal the monster's weapons right from their hands and throw them back at their previous owners, sometimes shattering them.
It didn’t take too long for the battle to be over, no one seemed too injured. Just some cuts and bruises. Surprisingly enough, Twilight was the least phased by this world's Link. In fact, he felt an uneasy sort of familiarity.
They all stood for a few moments just catching their breath, Time giving everyone a quick once-over for any moderate injuries, and seemed satisfied when he didn’t find anything. The new Link collected his arrows and examined the dark blood on them.
“Okay the monsters are gone, can we talk now?” Wind ran up to the new Link. They would have to find out his nickname soon, it was starting to get tedious to refer to him as just the potential newbie.
“Fine, why are you guys looking for me?” New Link asked, throwing away a broken arrow.
“Hylia has been gathering heroes throughout all of Hyrule's history, we believe that there is an evil out there that’s affecting all of our times.” Time explained He emphasized Hylia’s name like he was tired of saying it.
“That explains it…” The new Link muttered to himself.
“Explains what?” Twilight asked.
“You all have been touched by the goddess. I can feel it. Zelda felt it. I knew there was something weird about you guys, you know, besides the obvious.” The new Link sighed, “I’m sorry but I’m too busy for another quest. I’m trying to rebuild Hyrule, there’s so much that needs to be done…”
“I don’t think you’ll be given that choice.” Time said darkly, “If Hylia wants you to join us, she’ll make it happen whether you like it or not.” The new Link froze, his heart dropped as he knew that it was true.
“I can’t just leave Zelda on her own,” ‘again.’ he thought. “Do you just expect me to drop all of my responsibilities to go on a quest I know nothing about?”
“That’s what we all had to do.” It probably wasn’t wise to start off with the fact that none of them really had a choice and that it was totally just a professional courtesy that they give the illusion of consent in the matter.
The thing was, Link wanted to go. He had missed being on an adventure, even with how much it fucked him up. He missed being free, seeing new things, going to new places, actually enjoying being part of a fight. His duty to Hyrule had felt like a firm grip on his throat, only being so involved in rebuilding because he didn’t want Zelda to have to do it alone. He loved her but working every day was exhausting and he was well past burnt out. Of course, it wasn’t like this quest would be like a vacation, but it would be a change.
“Okay, fine, whatever” He groaned, “But I have a few questions.”
***
“So there are portals and reality shifts?”
“Yeah, we think that the portals are caused by the shadow and the shifts are just Hylia trying to put us where we need to be.” Twilight explained. “We don’t completely know, I mean we have been dropped in the middle of monster camps before so who knows how malicious our anonymous transporter is.”
“Maybe that’s just her way of keeping you guys in shape.” Link joked as they got back to the city.
“Even in the middle of the night?” Time grumbled. Link was beginning to think that the old man didn’t have a good opinion of the Goddess.
“She may not understand that mortals need sleep or something.” He shrugged.
“You found him!” A voice came from the crowd, the boy with the master sword on his back weaved out of the crowd towards them. He was smiling in such a genuine way that Link immediately felt at ease. “Hi, I’m Sky! Oh, Fi should give him his nickname. I think we waited too long last time…”
This was the first time Link realized that their weird names were like that for a reason, given that they all had the same name. He wondered for a moment what his hero name would be, the Hero of Failures? The Hero of Dying? The Hero of Somehow-Not-Dying? Then he realized that he might already know it.
Sky took the Master Sword out and offered it to him hilt first. He was struck again by how the sword was newer than he had ever seen it, no chips or blemishes, it glowed with a holy light even in the bright afternoon. He hesitated for a moment before he took the sword in his hand. The change was fast, the sword aged in his hands, thousands of years of use and lack of care built upon the blade. Sky looked a little bit sad while it happened but he didn’t say anything. He closed his eyes for a moment before a confused expression graced his face.
“Welcome to the chain, Hero of the Wild.” Link- Wild liked the name. The others seemed a little bewildered by it. It took a long moment for Wild to realize why. They didn’t know him. At all. They met him on a day where he was dressed like a prince and focused on acting like a civilized person. He almost laughed. Suddenly the dread of another likely traumatizing quest was replaced with a mischievous excitement. He could really have fun with their misconceptions of him.
“The chain?” He asked instead, snapping back out of his thoughts. Then he got the joke. He groaned with a soft ‘oh’ as he realized. It was a fucking pun.
“We’re all a bunch of Link’s, It was Time’s first dad joke.” Twilight chuckled at Wild’s reaction.
“I’m still pretty proud of it.” Time admitted.
“You guys should enjoy the festival while you’re here, I need to talk to Zelda about all this before I get whisked away by the powers of fate. Again.” WIld said as he handed the sword back to its creator. It immediately turned back into its fully restored form.
“Can I meet her?” Sky put the sword away, the faint sadness in his eyes completely extinguished by the mention of Zelda.
“Of course, I’ll definitely need someone who knows more of what’s going on anyway.” He tapped on his sheikah slate and pulled out a leather bag filled with rupees. “Here, get yourselves some food or whatever, There’s a really good Lureinian baker right next to a Rito clothing shop. Her food enchantments are legendary, I recommend the wildberry malasadas.” He pointed at the general direction of the stall.
“You don’t have to-” Time started to refuse the rupees but Wild forced them into his hand.
“I’m not in the mood for an argument, let’s just say that being the Queen’s favorite advisor, personal guard, and suspected romantic partner opens some doors.”
“What does that have to do with rupees?”
“I have a gossip journalist that pays a pretty good price for meaningless rumors, just as long as they’re good for a story. So far half of Hyrule thinks that I’m courting the prince of the Zora and the other half think that I’m in a secret marriage with the Queen.”
“In any case, I have rupees to burn and you guys look like you need a good treat. We can meet up at the ball. Hopefully, you boys clean up nicely.” Wild said flippantly as he put his arm around Sky’s shoulder, which was only a little awkward with their height difference. Sky was just the exact few annoying inches taller than him to make the action feel weird.
Wild did his best to act up the classy character that his appearance portrayed. He was planning on slowly introducing his normal self just to fuck with the chain, he already had ideas on how. There was going to be rock roast at the ball for the Gorons attending, perhaps he could super casually eat rocks in front of his predecessors. He could always make his grand entrance riding a stag or something, he could disappear into the woods and come back covered in blood, which always unnerved people who didn’t know him. Well, it also unnerved the people that did know him but at this point, he was sure that most of them were used to it.
Honestly, he was kind of dreading the ball part of the festival, he had been forced to adapt to large crowds of people and many strangers trying to talk to him, but that only affected how he outwardly reacted to such occasions. He always put on a mask of calm when all he wanted to do was run away to be literally anywhere else. He honestly hoped that one of the weird portals that would take him throughout time and reality would pop up before he had to make the big speech he had planned.
“So what’s your Zelda like?” Sky asked as they separated from the group.
“Oh, she’s really smart, she would’ve become a scholar if she wasn’t the last of the royal bloodline. She has a special interest in ancient technology and natural sciences. I've had to catalog every plant, monster, and animal in Hyrule to keep her from breaking out of the castle and doing it herself. You seem awfully interested in her highness, I hope you’re not planning anything nefarious…” Wild joked. Sky gawked for a moment before he could find the words to respond, Wild almost laughed at the face he made.
“No! We figured out that I’m one of the first heroes, I end up creating Hyrule and uh, starting the royal bloodline with my Zelda so I try to make it a priority to find out about my descendants.” Sky flushed at the mention of ‘starting the royal bloodline’ as if he was still getting used to the idea himself.
“Well, that would definitely make her interested to see you. I hope you’re not in too much of a hurry, she might have you stuck up in the library looking at old records until the goddess herself has to save you.” Surprisingly enough, Sky looked excited at the idea, maybe he was serious about keeping up with his progeny.
“Really? We must be super far into the timeline, I mean I assumed so with Fi aging so much in your hand but who knows what your history could tell us.” Wild raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar name, Sky must’ve noticed because he gave an apologetic shrug and explained, “Fi is the spirit within the Master Sword, I think of her more like a living thing than an object.”
“I’ll make sure to show you the castle library if we have time, it sounds like the goddess just whisks you poor fellows away without a moment’s notice.”
“Usually it’s pretty abrupt but there’s always a reason we go to certain places, whether it’s for finding a new hero or fighting the corrupted monsters. We found you so we could technically be shifted off any time now but she usually gives us enough time to figure things out. Despite what Legend and Time tell you, Hylia is not a cruel goddess.”
“If Hylia is the one warping you guys around. One can never truly know the ambitions of the Divine. It could just be some powerful mortal who wants to destroy the timelines or something. Maybe it’s an evil magician who’s gathering up all the heroes to execute them all at once and leave the timelines defenseless against some different reincarnation of Ganon.”
“If that was the case then why didn’t we all get kidnapped before our quests? I don’t think that it’s malicious, we were all pulled well after we finished our major adventures.” Sky shrugged before Wild heard a familiar voice from the crowd.
“Sir Link!” the mass amounts of people divided, revealing Queen Zelda in all her glory running at top speeds at them. Somehow she managed to still look dignified. Wild blamed it on the blood of the goddess. What other person would be able to rise from a swamp holding a frog and still look like the goddess herself?
“Your Majesty-” Wild started, a little smirk playing on his lips as he bowed his head.
“Stop with the formalities, I want to know if you’re hurt! I sent a few of those Hylia sent heroes after you after they mentioned some kind of monstrous infection- oh, you have one of them now. I apologize, my introduction was undoubtedly unflattering…” Wild smiled and Sky mirrored him with a strange look in his eyes, something like recognition.
“It’s okay, I don’t mind.” Sky reassured her as she looked Wild over with a suspicious gaze. She finished by looking at his hair and seemed satisfied when nothing was out of place. He had surprisingly managed to come out of a fight without looking like a feral cat. Even his clothes were relatively clean of monster blood aside from a few splatters of black, which blended in with the dark blue enough to be unnoticeable.
“This is Sky, He’s the first hero that we know of, he forged the Master Sword and created Hyrule and its royal bloodline,” Wild said with a smirk at the implications. Zelda’s eyes widened and sparkled with intense curiosity. “Also it turns out that I’ve been recruited to join a mysterious quest through time where we both don’t know our enemies or our allies.”
“Good, you looked like you were getting cabin fever, I would appreciate it if you would try not to die though,” Zelda said calmly. “Now about my very distant ancestor…”
“I’ll let you two talk, I still haven’t met the rest of the heroes, unless we get whisked off to goddess knows where, I’ll see at the ball, your majesty.” Wild took the queen's hand and kissed a ring on it, which she rolled her eyes to even though she looked like she was trying to not laugh.
“I release you for the afternoon my Champion,” Zelda replied, matching Wild’s formality. He rolled his eyes back at her and gave a salute. Once he got out of earshot Sky turned to his descendant with a knowing grin.
“No wonder half of Hyrule thinks you’re secretly married… You two are not very subtle.” Zelda whipped her eyes to him and gave him a steely glare which was betrayed by her face turning an embarrassing shade of red.
“With all due respect, my distant ancestor, I would implore you, please shut the fuck up.”
***
Legend already didn’t like the new Link. He reminded him of Warriors way too much. In fact, he looked worse. He didn’t look like he worked for royalty, he looked like he was royalty. Everyone around him treated him like royalty and Legend knew that he would be trouble. He ignored the fact that the scarred teenager seemed to shrink when he got too crowded, his pointed ears pointing lower than normal, his stoic expression faltering.
The guy had found him and Hyrule looking at a jewelry shop that was set up on the outskirts of the festival. Hyrule was fascinated with the enchantments and the Gerudo woman behind the table was very happy to discuss the magic at length with him. Legend himself was enamored with the overwhelming display of rings and felt an instinctual need to either buy or steal them. He would probably buy them, he wasn’t in the mood to be a criminal again.
“Isha! I told you I’d be back!” A voice hollered from behind them. The Gerudo woman laughed heartily as a long-haired teenager approached the booth.
“My favorite hylian vai! I have something ready for you! I was experimenting with the luminous stone you gave me, it is normally too easy to shatter and too soft for jewelry but I think I figured it out! I encased the stone in a particularly dense glass, it truly has an amazing effect!” The woman paused her conversation with Hyrule to greet the newcomer. She pulled out a set of black earrings carved in the shape of swords with the hilts being gold and the dark stone blade surrounded by shining glass. Legend was suddenly very interested.
“I knew you could figure it out but this is truly one of your best work.” The princely twink looked in awe at the earrings.
“You should see them at night, the glass makes the stone glow brighter, take them. They are the ugly prototype, I will make better ones.” She shoved the small box holding the earrings into the hands of a dumbfounded pretty-boy.
“I can’t-” the royal abomination stammered. Legend was probably having too much fun internally insulting this guy. He had so much practice with Warriors that he didn’t even have to reuse them.
“Link I swear to Hylia you will take these off of my hands or I will throw you to a molduga!” The woman roared.
‘Oh’ Legend realized now. This was the new Link. He almost groaned out loud. He could barely handle Warriors, it was going to drive him insane if he had to deal with another royal guard type. His eyes met Hyrule’s who seemed to get the same thought, however, he seemed more excited than full of dread.
“Okay fine, I can beat up a molduga easily though. At least let me give you a tip or something, Din dammit.” New Link pulled some rupees out of a magic tablet thing. Isha seemed pretty smug about the whole exchange.
“Your name is Link?” Hyrule asked.
“Oh yeah, you guys were with that group of heroes earlier, right? There are so many of you…” He set the rupees in a large glass jar on the counter and thanked Isha.
“I’m Hyrule, this is Legend, He’s less of an asshole than he makes himself out to be.” Hyrule cheerily tagged on the disclaimer which made the new Link laugh. Legend almost snarled.
“According to Sky, my new name is Wild. Honestly, it’s been growing on me more than I thought it would.” Wild smiled.
Legend was mildly confused. There was nothing about this guy that screamed wild, whether that be in the chaotic sense or the nature sense. He didn’t even look like he could spend an hour in the sun. It had to be something to do with his journey right? Although he wouldn’t be the only one with a weird alternate name, Wind hated his for the first few weeks even after the fart jokes stopped.
That’s what they got for having mostly nouns as replacements for actual names. If it were up to Legend, he would organize them as Link types. For example, Four would be Short Link, Sky would be Narcoleptic Link, Warriors would be Narcissistic Link, Hyrule would be Magic Link, Twilight would be Wolf Link, and so on. Maybe that would be more complicated if they had to deal with anyone outside of the chain but it would probably be pretty funny.
“I’m guessing you’ve already got the lecture from Time then?” He sighed, hoping that he wasn’t the one left with having to explain everything while trying not to look like an absolute lunatic.
“I’m all caught up, I think. I’m pretty sure there’s still one of you guys that I haven’t met, do you think you can help me find him? I’ll buy you food?” He offered. Maybe this guy wasn’t so bad after all…
“I don’t know, I feel like we’re going to shift pretty soon. Unless you’re already packed for an adventure that drops you in random, often extreme, climates. It wouldn’t be the first time that we were warped away unprepared.” Hyrule shrugged, Legend almost hit his descendant, he really wanted that free food.
“That shouldn’t be too bad, I have the Sheikah Slate but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to pack some things separate from it just in case the technology doesn’t agree with time travel. I’ll find one of you guys when I’m done. Hopefully, we won’t shift before nightfall, I’m sure her highness would be a little displeased if I can’t make it to the ball tonight…” Wild waved at his new friends and headed quickly to the castle.
“You couldn’t have waited until he bought us food?” Legend sighed as he looked at Hyrule who just rolled his eyes.
“You have rupees vet. I happen to know for a fact that you can afford some festival food.”
“Well, yeah, but it could’ve been free…”
“I think Ravio is rubbing off on you…”
“Shut up.”