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Wind looked at the swirling blue portal in front of him. He could almost hear the seagulls and the waves. Grandma and Aryll were on the other side, Linebeck and Tetra. His family.
It was insane how even a month ago he would’ve been glad to step through that portal, offer a heartfelt goodbye to his fellow heroes and just run home. But now he knew that going through that portal to see one family would mean leaving another one behind.
Probably forever.
He swallowed and turned back around, looking at the others in their circle of swirling blue.
Hyrule looked downright terrified. Sky already had tears in his eyes, bowing his head with Fi’s hilt in hand. Time looked more conflicted than Wind had ever seen him, looking around at all of them and then at his portal like he was lost. Warriors’ eyes were misty, but he only looked resigned. Legend’s features were twisting towards anger, only kept at bay by the softness, the hopelessness in his eyes as Hyrule grabbed his arm, struggling to stay upright. Wild looked sick, shell shocked. Twilight almost looked ready to fight. Four’s eyes were flashing colors, in that way that meant there was an argument going on in his head, and for fucks sake they’d only learned that secret a week ago, it was too early for this!
Wind stepped forward, grabbing Four’s hand. “This isn’t fair.”
“We don’t have a choice, Wind,” Wars said, and it was all Wind could do to ignore the fond smile tinged with sorrow.
“No Captain, there’s always a choice. Always a way out, always a way around!”
“No there isn’t, Wind!” Legend shouted. “Some of us didn’t get to choose this like you did!”
“You think I chose for my sister to get kidnapped?!” Wind fired back.
“Boys,” Time said softly.
And that shut them up, because this argument wasn't anything they'd never had before but was probably something they would never have again, and that's why they were yelling, not because of Wind's choice or Legend's stupid pessimistic worldview, but because they were being told to grieve again, and even after a dozen journeys they still weren't used to it.
“This isn’t fair,” Wind whispered again, squeezing Four’s hand. They looked up at him, eyes a kaleidoscope that usually meant disagreement, but in this case Wind thought it meant that every piece of Four was too sad to do anything but make it known.
"It never is," Legend spat, and no one disagreed.
And maybe they were taking too long, because a few moments later the back of Hyrule’s left hand began to glow. He shouted and shucked his glove off before the full Triforce he carried could burn a hole straight through it, which was another secret that they had learned too late.
"What the..." Four muttered, and Wind realized both of their's were glowing too, although less fiercely and with just the one triangle lit. Everyone's was, except Wild's, who'd never borne the Triforce of Courage at all.
Golden light filtered through the trees, warping into the shape of a woman. She was clearly pregnant, her tummy round and full, her hands resting on the bump. She didn’t materialize fully, remaining just a hologram of light, her feet hovering above the ground. The clearing filled with the scent of apple cider and cinnamon, and Wind wondered if this was what Hyrule meant when he said magic had a taste.
“Hylia,” Sky said, burying his surprise under respect, inclining his head. Wild dipped his too, while Time stood still and Legend openly narrowed his eyes. There was no doubt it was her, not when the power in the clearing was so concentrated Wind could sense it. He couldn't tear his eyes away from here, the goddess incarnate who was supposed to have all the answers, whose blood dripped along Tetra's veins and somehow made her something besides a pirate.
“Hello heroes,” she said, and for some reason Wind had expected her voice to be warmer. “The portals will take you back to your rightful place on the timeline,” she informed them, like they might not have known.
“Thank you,” Sky said roughly, and Wind was sure he was the only one who could manage those particular words.
When no one moved, Hylia’s brow furrowed. She glanced between Sky and his portal, and Wind couldn’t help but describe her as confused. “Make haste heroes, Nayru is impatient to set time back in place.”
Wind screwed up his courage and dropped Four’s hand, stepping forward. “Please Hylia, we’ll see each other again, won’t we?”
Hylia turned her gaze to him, startled, but after a moment her expression cleared, like she suddenly understood something. “Oh!” She brought a gentle hand down to cup Wind’s cheek, and in that moment her hand could have been his own grandma's, cold from age and more loving than the tide. “Don’t worry, little hero. Soon you won’t remember, and it won’t hurt anymore.”
After the moment it took to process that, Wind jerked back like he’d been burned. “What?” He was echoed by many of the others, in various levels of shock and outrage. Even Sky had to manage his hurt.
“You’ll forget this journey ever happened,” Hylia forged on, not picking up on their distress, smiling like she’d given them some sort of great blessing. The apple cider scent soured, and Wind barely forced back a gag. Hyrule wasn't so lucky. “You won’t miss each other.”
“No,” Wild said, knees buckling. Twilight tightened his grip on his arm, trying to keep him upright. “Not again.” Legend looked horrified, now using Hyrule to stay upright just as much as Hyrule was using him. Time's jaw had dropped.
“No!” Wind agreed, tears starting, stepping towards Hylia. “We have to remember! That’s how we know it meant something!”
Hylia looked around at them, confused. “You’re upset? But I thought…” she trailed off, uncertain, her hands fidgeting. They were too smooth to be Grandma's, too steady. There were no callouses from hauling nets and weaving cloth, no liver spots from age. Hylia was eternal and unchanging and frozen, not cold, and Wind was filled with the sudden urge to make her realize that mortal blood wasn't disgustingly gold and mortal beings loved each other beyond pain.
“My lady, please. You can’t just erase this like it never happened,” Sky pleaded. “We’re important to each other. We would rather remember.”
“But this is how it is meant to happen,” Hylia insisted.
“There has to be something you can do,” Sky begged, grabbing Four’s arm.
“I cannot. You all must forget. You must never see each other again, or time will be disrupted forever.”
Wind lunged forward, his fist only stopped from connecting because Four grabbed his hand, the same one that burned with the Triforce of Courage. Hylia flinched, and in that moment Wind felt more powerful than the entire sea. “There’s always something you can do, you slimy bitch! I’ll make you, just like I made you give me the stupid Triforce!”
Hylia’s face purpled and Sky gasped out his name, but Wild was still hyperventilating on the ground while Twilight murmured reassurances that had never been emptier, so Wind couldn’t find it in himself to care, not even when the scent turned from sour to rotten.
“No, the sailor’s right,” Legend stepped up. “You have everything. You have complete control over all of this! Why’d you do it, huh? Why’d you do it this way?!”
Hylia straightened her spine, taking on an expression of cool indifference. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, Hero of Legend."
“Yes you do! Why didn’t you take the version of me that wasn’t afraid to love, yet?!” Legend yelled, and that shocked Wind into laxness, Four's hold on his fist loosening. “Why didn’t you take the Wild that hadn’t yet lost everything to the Calamity? Or the Four that hadn’t yet been shattered?! Why did you take the versions of us that needed each other the most, knowing you would have to rip us apart?!”
And suddenly Wind understood what Legend was getting at. Maybe Hylia had needed them to fight this evil, maybe she’d made a mistake somewhere that allowed him to rise, maybe she needed help to fix it; but she hadn’t needed to be so cruel when she did it. They’d become reliant on each other in a way they never would have had they not suffered through journey after journey on their own, loss and grief waiting in every corner, desperate for someone who would stay, who would live, who understood.
Hylia looked confused again (and she didn’t get to be confused damnit, she was a goddess, she should’ve known!) “I didn’t need you to be happy," she said. "I needed you to succeed.”
And there it was.
Wind watched even Sky’s face harden. Time stepped forward. “Leave.”
“Wha-”
“I said leave.”
And very suddenly, Hylia looked frightened, glancing at the glares Twilight and Warriors were also sending her way, at how tight Four was holding Wind’s arm to keep him from punching her in the face and how only Time's warning glare made him step down. She’d created them, these people turned weapons in her hands, created them to be the most powerful versions of themselves they could possibly be without a single care for how fucked up that had made them.
A miscalculation.
In another universe, Wind thought that they’d failed to hold back.
“The portals will only wait so long,” Hylia said, swallowing. “You’ll be sucked in soon.” Then she turned on her heel and disappeared.
“No! This can’t just be another thing that isn’t real!” Legend shouted after her, but all that was left was a faint golden glimmer, a mockery of beauty when created by something so cold.
This was about the time when Wind learned that the tear duct in Time’s scarred eye still worked. Just another secret learned too late to mean anything. Although Wind supposed that now, everything he’d learned on this journey was meaningless.
The nine of them stumbled and surged together, converging on the spot where Hylia had just been.
“I don’t wanna leave you guys,” Four managed.
“I can’t forget another family,” Wild said.
“I can’t be alone again.”
And Wind thought that it was Hyrule’s words that really sent him spiraling, made anger a distant notion as he started to cry. Because he’d rarely been alone and he'd always had a home, a companion, a friend. But his brothers offered something more than companionship and love, something deeper and something knowing, and Wind knew without a doubt that ever since he’d taken up the mantle he’d been alone in a different way, the kind of alone you are on a pedestal instead of a crowd, and that he would be alone again and forever the moment he stepped through that portal.
A calloused thumb wiped Wind's tears away, scratching gently but softened by the brine. Wind looked up. “Have courage, soldier,” Warriors said. “On to the next day. Remember your grandmother, your sister. They miss you.”
Wind barreled into Warriors' chest, pretending that if he held tight enough he'd never go away. “I won’t be able to braid her hair like you taught me,” he cried.
“Then learn again for me, alright?” Warriors said, bending down to meet his eyes and waiting until Wind nodded through his sobs, squeezing his shoulder tightly. He looked over at Legend, clapping his arm. “Hey Vet, maybe your next adventure will be destroying the goddesses, who knows?”
Wind knew that Hyrule did, but the traveler didn't say anything.
Warriors turned to the oldest in their group (at least physically), and it was then that Wind noticed the hand he had fisted in Warriors cape, like a kid who couldn't reach higher. “Time…" Warriors paused, searching for words. He spotted the hand on his cloak and grabbed it, holding it tight. "Mask, you have a wife. A family.”
“A child, soon,” Twilight added, eyes distant, and he didn’t even notice Time’s long stare his way.
“And Sky, you have a kingdom to build,” Warriors reminded him. “Without you, none of us will ever happen.”
“Without me, none of this would have ever happened!” Sky burst out, and the anger took Wind back, took everyone back enough that they wasted several precious seconds on silence as they waited for Sky to explain. He deflated, anger replaced by devastation, and Four grabbed his hand. “I- It’s my fault the cycle exists at all. I wasn’t quick enough, I wasn’t ruthless enough, Demise cursed me- cursed us with this and it’s my fault.”
And before anyone else could even try to be a bit more tactful, Legend spoke. “Fuck off, Sky. None of this is your fucking fault, it wasn’t before Hylia revealed she’s a psycho and it isn’t now. So what if you were the first, I certainly wouldn’t have chosen to save the fucking world if I wasn’t destined to or whatever, which makes everything you did ten times more stupidly selfless and not your fault.”
Sky looked at him, shock slowly fading from his face. Four and Wind started agreeing, started trying to make things better, but he didn't take his eyes off Legend, and his face hardened with resolve. “Yes, you would have.”
“What?”
“You would've saved the world even if I didn’t do it first. You’re just as stupid and self-sacrificial as the rest of us, Ledge. Don’t sell yourself short and maybe, for the next two minutes until we forget all this, do us a favor and stop pretending you don’t care so much it hurts.”
Legend blinked, shocked, and Wind wasn't the only one who couldn’t hold back his laugh, because at some point they’d all wanted to say it but damn, Sky actually did, and he'd done it just as angrily as Legend.
“Try to remember that much at least, Vet,” Time said, clapping Legend on the shoulder with a shit-eating grin that made Wind laugh again, even if it turned into tears this time. “And Sky, what-ifs aren’t worth agonizing over. Trust me. Personally, I'm quite glad that all of this happened.”
“‘None of this' includes my family,” Wind said, coming to a realization.
“And mine,” Twilight added.
“Mine too,” Four and Legend said at the same time, looking up at each other with matching expressions of surprise.
“So thank you for starting that motherfucking cycle, Sky,” Wind said, and Sky laughed this time too, which made Wind feel great, but not good enough that his heart didn’t crack in two when Hyrule just sobbed harder, finally breaking down.
All of them started talking, all of them reached out for a piece of Hyrule to hold, but it was Wild who really knew what to do. “‘None of this’ includes our home,” he said, voice harder and more commanding than Wind had ever heard it as he pulled out his slate. In a moment he had heaping armful of apples, which he shoved into Hyrule’s chest. “Plant the seeds, for me, Traveler. Fertile soil, harsh winters are fine as long as there’s a sweet spring.”
“I won’t remember,” Hyrule said, looking up at him, still crying.
“Taste one and you will.”
Wind hoped that Wild was speaking from experience when he promised that, knowing he very well could be. Hyrule had cried the first time he’d had an apple. Wind hoped that he got to experience that joy all over again.
The portals were starting to get more unstable, louder and more insistent.
Wind handed out pictographs- remember, remember, remember practically written on each one, easily readable even though their languages were indecipherable to one another.
“We won’t forget,” Wild said. They won’t take this from us again.
The portals were fading. Wind toyed with the idea of standing in this hug until the portals sucked them in themselves, holding tight to everyone and savoring the feeling of Time's lips against his forehead, Twi's fur against the hand that burned with betrayal, Wild's bangs tickling his nose, but Wind had never been one to wait around for the goddesses to decide his fate, so he made a choice.
“We won’t forget,” he said, stepping towards the portal that sounded like home, but no more than the embrace he'd just left felt like it. “I love you guys." He looking down at the pictograph in his hands as his words were echoed all around him, trying to commit each face to memory, trying to remember how soft Warriors’ scarf felt, how warm Legend’s hands were, and how wide Wild’s grin was. He didn’t look away even as his feet moved forward.
Wind stepped through the portal, and behind him, his tears were erased.
***
Link stood on the sands of Outset Island, hands empty. He blinked, feeling a little out of focus. Were his hands not supposed to be empty? And why was he out on the beach all alone?
Then he remembered!
He’d come out to investigate a disturbance in the waves, a black and shadowy something he'd seen from the watchtower. He scanned the reef, looking for anything amiss, but saw nothing except a slow moving crab.
Huh. No problem, then. Link turned and ran home, feet kicking up sand in his wake as he shouted for Aryll, not a care in the world.
It didn’t hurt anymore.