Chapter Text
Link had seen some strange things in his time, but this specific strange thing was a first.
If he hadn’t been halfway up a tree at the time (that korok had to be around there somewhere) he might have missed the moment that a dark portal opened up in the middle of the forest and expelled eight heavily equipped, heartily cursing strangers. As it was, Link froze for a few precious seconds before his survival instincts caught up with him, following which he swiftly downed a stealth potion and darted up to hide in the thicker foliage. Thankfully, none of the newcomers appeared to notice the small shower of leaves that fell in his wake.
‘That fucking portal came out of fucking nowhere,’ one of the strangers groused – remarkably unconcernedly – as he shook the dirt and dead leaves from his scarlet tunic. ‘You ok there, ’Rule?’
A muffled noise and a shaky thumbs up rose from a pile of dead leaves, followed by a head covered in tangled brown hair. ‘Not my best landing, I’ll admit,’ the teenager responded aloud before turning his head back to the pile of leaves at his side. ‘Four?’ he called. ‘Can you hear me?’
From his perch in the tree, Link watched “Rule” uncover a small figure clad in a multi-coloured tunic. Four gave a small groan of complaint when Rule nudged him, but did not otherwise respond.
‘Give him a moment,’ suggested an armour-clad man leaning up against a tree stump. He looked to be the oldest of the group, with more than a few battles to his name if the scars on his face were any indication. Link shrank back behind the tree trunk as the man tilted his head curiously, scanning over his surroundings with a single blue eye – the other closed behind a vicious vertical slash. Link gave it several seconds to be safe, and then cautiously peeked back through the branches.
‘Does anyone recognise this Hyrule?’ the armoured man was asking. His companions others treated the odd question as a matter of course, responding with a chorus of “no”s and “not mine”s.
‘Could be Four’s?’ Red-Tunic suggested dubiously.
‘Don’ thing zo,’ the smallest slurred as he levered himself up. ‘Urgh. Did I mention I hate portals?’
‘You might’ve. Once or twice,’ a higher-pitched voice replied cheerfully. Link looked that way and saw a child – a literal child, carrying a sword and shield, that the other warrior types had seemingly decided to bring with them on their quest (something in Link’s buried memories stirred angrily at that). ‘Does that mean this is a new era then?’
The eldest frowned. ‘It’s been over a month since we’ve encountered a new Link. Why now?’
‘Presumably for the same reason we get pulled away from a nice afternoon stroll and dumped into a pile of wet leaves,’ Red-Tunic suggested sarcastically. ‘Will of the gods and all that.’
‘Shut it, Legend, you didn’t even land in the puddle,’ the finely-dressed blonde next to him moaned as he wrung out his muddy blue scarf.
‘Oh, I’m so sorry, Warriors, I didn’t even think of your poor hair!’ Legend mocked.
Warriors growled and flicked a shower of muddy water in his direction. Legend swore, as did Four, caught in the crossfire. The armoured stranger merely sighed, turned his face to the sky and said plaintively, ‘Dear Malon. How do all these kids have so much energy?’
Link heard a chuckle in response and turned his gaze to the tattooed man with a dark grey pelt around his shoulders. ‘Well, old man,’ he said, ‘maybe you’ll get lucky and the new Link’ll be even older. Then you can call someone “grandpa” for a change.’
‘No one’s older than Time,’ the child cut in confidently. ‘They’d be dust by now, surely.’
The armoured man (Time? Was that really his name?) gave a long-suffering sigh, mussing the child’s hair for good measure. ‘Ah, yes: the perils of age,’ he conceded. ‘Dust catches us all, in the end. Or so I hear.’
‘Time, you’re what… thirty?’ Warriors said dubiously. ‘Thirty-five, maybe?’
‘I am the oldest person here, captain. Such is my burden to bear.’
‘Well, technically I’m the oldest,’ a brunette in a white cape offered mildly. There was a brief, contemplative pause before multiple voices spoke up in an argument that Link struggled to follow.
‘I mean, technically, yeah, but how old even are you? For that matter, how old is our creaky grandpa over there? I don’t think we ever properly established that.’
‘We did establish that: as old as Time.’
‘Urgh.’
‘Hah, walked right into that one.’
‘Screw that, and screw Sky being the oldest. I say time shenanigans don’t count.’
‘Then I’ll have you know I’ve never done a single shenanigan in my life.’
‘Twice in a damn row! And that one isn’t even true: I’ve seen your mask collection. Nothing but shenanigans as far as the eye can see.’
‘Which eye?’
‘Which…? Oh, you piece of –’
‘Poor creaky grandpa Sky. Imagine being older than Time.’
‘Not as old as that damn joke is getting…’
Wind cut in, ‘None of you can even cook. I don’t know why any of you think you count as grown adults.’
Another pause. And then, Rule’s dry voice: ‘Wind, you wouldn’t know a grown adult if it confiscated your hip flask.’
‘Hey! I told you not to mention the hip flask! Besides, pirate drinking age starts at ten! I’m practically middle-aged!’
‘Hold everything: why does Wind have a hip flask?’ the one with the pelt asked. ‘That better be just for potions.’
‘Hands off, geezer, you didn’t see nothing!’
‘Give it here!’
And so on it went.
It didn’t seem like the squabbling would be over anytime soon, so Link let his attention drift.
He didn’t know quite what to make of the group. Suddenness of their appearance aside, they didn’t seem to be Yiga – or, if they were, then they were the most suspicious looking Yiga he’d ever seen, Kohga included.
He’d heard that they were looking for “a new Link”. What did that even mean? Let alone “a new Hyrule”? Clearly there was a lot of context he was missing, but had they really come from some other land, looking for him of all people?
Then there was their odd appearance, and the names that seemed so haphazard that they could only be some sort of clumsy pseudonym. He picked up the last few with the small portion of his attention still monitoring the chatter: the one with the pelt was Twilight, the child was Wind, the one with the white cape was Sky and the one called “Rule” was actually “Hyrule”.
He refocused his attention just in time to hear Time call the group to order. ‘Enough of this. We’re wasting sunlight,’ he said reluctantly. ‘Is everyone alright to keep moving? Four?’
‘I’ll manage,’ Four replied, stretching and rising to his feet with only a slight groan. ‘Over that way, then? I think I can see some sort of structure.’
‘Let’s have a look,’ Time agreed, and the group began to amble off to the east, past the tree where Link still hid, barely daring to breathe lest he draw their attention. It was only once the shuffling and complaining were out of earshot that he finally climbed down from his perch and let himself drop lightly to the damp forest floor.
He hesitated for a long moment, head cocked curiously to the side, before carefully following the others through the trees.
The friendly banter faded as the group walked up the short hill, emerged from the forest and took in their first vista of the new world.
The structure Four had spotted turned out to be the ancient ruins of a fountain, long since crumbled and overgrown. It sat as centrepiece to a stone courtyard with steps leading away in three directions: up the hills to the side of the forest, left and downwards to a broad, flat field pierced by more ruins and by a strange, glowing tower, and upwards to the right where a grand temple loomed ominously over the quiet wilderness. A few brief words had the group splintering off into pairings and trios, each scouting out their surroundings for clues after promising not to wander too far.
As usual, Wind was fearless in his curiosity, rushing off ahead with Warriors hurrying after to hopefully prevent unnecessary falls off cliffs or any of the other common disasters that accompanied their more adventurous companions. Legend sighed with exasperation but followed the two downwards with a speculative glance at the glowing tower, while Four and Sky headed up the hill to seek out a better view. Twilight gave Time a brief nod before heading back into the forest. To Time’s surprise, rather than indulge his own adventurous nature, Hyrule stayed by his side, shooting him an unexpected look of concern.
‘Are you alright?’ he asked.
‘Hmm? Why wouldn’t I be?’ Time responded.
Hyrule scanned his expression carefully. ‘It’s just that you looked a little… off. When you saw the temple, that is.’
Time blinked. ‘I did?’
‘Well… yeah.’
Time followed his companion’s gaze back to what was unmistakeably the ruins of the Temple of Time, and then downwards to the few remnants of what must have once been Hyrule Castle. There was little enough of the latter that if the temple itself had not been so well preserved he may never have recognised it.
The ruins were clearly ancient – centuries old, if not millennia. Grass grew thickly over the stone steps and choked out the fountain, but those parts seemed barely touched by the ages compared to the crumbling battlements and the tiny remnants of what had once been soaring towers. Most of the castle must be either buried underground or long since cleared away and repurposed.
Time was no stranger to the fact that the land of Hyrule had transformed over the ages, due in no small part due to his own actions – and inactions – and to the way the timeline had splintered through Zelda’s own choice. Wind had spoken proudly of the Hero of Time of his own era, for all that Time himself took a more dismal view of the future he had somehow left behind. Legend had once hinted that they held a similar connection, though he had shut down as soon as Time began to press for details. It crossed his mind briefly at that moment that Hyrule might know more, but he decided against asking. Perhaps he’d rather not answer, and perhaps Time would rather not know.
The ruins before him were eerily similar to the state of the fallen castle where he’d once fought Ganon’s beast form, yet the land had clearly long since moved on. The grass still grew, the birds still sang. The sun marched onwards over the horizon, as if Time’s actions truly meant nothing in the face of the passing years.
He realised he still hadn’t replied. His overly perceptive companion was watching him carefully, a repeat enquiry clearly hovering on his lips.
‘It’s nothing you need to worry about,’ Time said softly. ‘Just old memories.’
And in this era at least: that was clearly all they were.
After about an hour, the chain slowly reconvened at the base of the stairs – all except Twilight, presumably still scouting ahead in wolf form. Time wasn’t particularly worried; his protégé was one of the few in the group he’d trust to exercise caution and avoid getting into trouble (Hyrule, Wind and Legend were most certainly not on that list). He himself had spent his time alongside Hyrule, investigating the temple ruins and the strange spider-like mechanical constructs that adorned its base. Thankfully, while the latter certainly gave off an ominous impression, none of them had appeared to be functioning.
As was often the case with bad news, Legend was the first to voice what they had all begun to wonder. ‘Is it just me, or is this Hyrule completely uninhabited?’ he asked.
Time grimaced.
Sky shrugged.
Hyrule scowled at Legend, who gazed back impassively.
‘We’ve only just started exploring,’ Four pointed out.
Legend shook his head. ‘All of these ruins look ancient. I don’t think anyone’s lived here for centuries.’ He pointed off into the distance and added, ‘I think that’s Hyrule Castle, way off in that direction. We’re pretty high up, so you can get a good view off the edge of the cliff. Other than the castle and those weird tower things, I couldn’t see anything else even vaguely resembling civilisation.’
Time took in the nearby “weird tower thing” with a speculative eye. ‘What are those anyway, I wonder?’ he mused. ‘It doesn’t seem to have any stairs. Did anyone manage to get a close look?’
‘Not a close look, but from what I could see I’d say it’s possible to climb up the side,’ Sky said, ‘Though it’s a long way up, and I don’t like the idea of losing my grip.’
‘Let’s save the broken legs for now,’ Legend said sourly. ‘Doesn’t look big enough for anyone to actually live in, so it’s presumably used as a conduit for some sort of magic. Though, I’ll be honest: I don’t recognise it at all.’
‘There’s some other weird structure over there as well,’ Wind chimed in, pointing to a large lump of black stone veined through with glowing blue. ‘It had something that looked like an entrance, with the Sheikah symbol marked on top, but I think you need some sort of key to open it.’
‘It looks a little newer than the rest of the ruins,’ Warriors added. ‘Less moss at least. Though I don’t think anyone lives there – at least, there are no signs of other people.’
‘So, no one’s seen any other people?’ Time asked, deflating a little. Everyone shook their heads, but Wind piped up, ‘Oh! Maybe Twilight found something?’
‘Where did farm boy run off to, anyway?’ Legend asked in a tone that was probably supposed to sound completely irritated and not at all worried. ‘So much for staying close.’
Wind snorted. ‘Well, you can ask him; he’s right over –’
‘I’m back! I’m here! Sorry I’m late!’ Twilight called out breathlessly as he approached.
Time raised his eyebrow at the sight of an unusually dishevelled Twilight, panting with exertion and inexplicably gripping a… bunch of bananas?
‘Umm… what?’ Hyrule sputtered, a remarkably coherent response in context of the circumstances.
‘Found someone,’ Twilight gasped. ‘Tried to talk. He threw these at me and ran off. Damn he’s fast! Did anyone see where the kid went?’
The group exchanged stupefied looks. ‘No?’ Sky suggested, looking around. ‘No, we haven’t seen anyone.’
‘Why the bananas?’ Hyrule wanted to know.
Twilight threw his hands up and said, ‘I don’t know why the bananas! I’m so confused right now! Am I supposed to eat these?! Do I look like someone easily distracted by bananas?!’
Ever the strategist, Warriors pointed out, ‘I mean, I’d be pretty distracted if someone threw bananas at me.’ Legend sniggered.
‘Hold on, forget about the bananas for now,’ Time interjected. ‘Deep breath. Start again. Who did you see and where?’
Twilight took a deep breath, followed by another. Once he was able to speak relatively calmly, he replied, ‘Alright. So. I was scouting the forests. I found a bunch of ruins, and I also found a few monster camps – all of them completely empty, except for a few busted weapons and traces of recent meals. I could see signs that the camp had been attacked, and probably not too long before we arrived. Three main camps, two of them close to each other, the last a little further away. Looked like bokoblins for the most part – probably a total of about fifteen, with maybe two or three moblins.’
‘That many?’ Time exclaimed at the same time Legend asked, ‘How did you figure all that out?’
Twilight hesitated. ‘I’m, uh, good at tracking,’ he explained, and moved on before any other questions could follow. ‘As I said, the camps were completely empty, and I don’t think it’s because the monsters left. I think they were all taken out. The monster scents – I mean, the monster tracks were so heavy that I couldn’t tell much about who had attacked and how, but while I was trying to figure that out, I noticed that there was someone nearby, watching me.
‘From what I saw, it looked like a teenager – maybe sixteen or seventeen? Blonde hair, blue tunic. Had a sword and a bow. I tried to approach, but uhh… long story short, bad timing on my part, he saw something weird and I think I might have spooked him. He pulled out his bow before I could even blink. I think it was a warning shot? Hard to say. I tried to calm him down, tried to talk with him, and that’s about the time he threw the bananas and ran off. Like I said, he moved way too fast, and the weird thing is that he was also really quiet. I could barely even hear him moving after the first few seconds. He pretty much vanished into the forest. I thought he might have come this way, but I suppose not.’
‘Do you remember where you saw him?’ Time asked.
Twilight nodded. ‘I should be able to get back there. Want me to see if I can find the trail?’
‘Let’s all go,’ Time suggested. ‘I think we’ve already found about all we can in this area. And I admit, I’m a little curious about our little fruit throwing friend.’
‘Think he could be this era’s Link?’ Twilight asked.
‘He’d better not be,’ Legend muttered, with a dark look at the offending produce.
Time reviewed his knowledge of the stranger who may or may not be this realm’s hero. He was young, he was skittish, he was a very fast and quiet runner – seemingly very at home in the wilds – and he was proficient with a bow, sword and… bananas.
Reluctant elder of the group as he may be, Time seldom felt his many years of mental age and somewhat fewer years of physical age weighing on him quite as much as he did right then in that moment.
In a voice of utter despair, he moaned to the heavens: ‘He’ll fit right in, damn it.’