Chapter Text
The scent of burned wood and wet grass fill the night air as the moon shines silver light down into their makeshift campsite. It’s been a few hours since they were all reunited and everyone is spending time getting caught up after the battles they’ve just endured.
Wild’s eyes are wide as he looks around the campfire from where he’s comfortably seated in Twilight’s lap. It’s hard to imagine he’s back with all the others after so long apart. Time is talking jovially with Sky, Warriors, Four, and Legend are laughing and sharing some baked apples, and Hyrule is working on nursing Wind back to health.
“You alright, cub?” Twilight murmurs, snapping Wild out of his stupor. Wild looks up with big eyes, feeling his voice catch in his throat.
This feels like a dream, Wild signs shakily, looking at the others, The last time we were together, I was big.
“Yeah,” Twilight grins, ruffling Wild’s hair, “Well, sort of. Even older, you were on the short side, kid.”
Wild pouts which just makes Twilight laugh, and soon they’re both in stitches, gleeful about seeing the other again. After a while, they all quiet down, the exhaustion of the travel and battle catching up to them. Wild isn’t even sure where exactly they are in Warrior’s Hyrule, just happy they’re together. Hyrule looks up from where he’s been checking on Wind, looking tired, but relieved.
“He’s going to be alright,” Hyrule tells them, breaking the silence, “I used a few potions and he’s sleeping now. I think he should be up in the morning.”
There’s a collective sigh of relief and Time walks over, clamping a hand on Hyrule’s shoulder in thanks. Wild relaxes, happy that Wind is going to be okay. He misses his friend.
“So,” Sky says after a long quiet moment, poking the fire, “Where has everyone been? What’s been going on?”
Wild isn’t even sure where to begin, hoping Sky, Time, and Twilight can help tell his story to everyone. Before he can contemplate how to explain what happened to him, Legend speaks up first.
“Four, Warriors, Hyrule, and I have been shunted around nearly everyone’s lands,” Legend scoffs, looking annoyed, “We thought Hylia was punishing us or something at first, until the third portal.”
Warriors nods grimly, “Yeah, it felt different. A dark energy. That’s when we knew something else was messing with us. We were lucky we stayed together. We had some fierce battles, but we all made it through relatively in one piece. These new portals are vicious, they’ll open up anywhere without warning.”
Wild listens anxiously, snuggling closer to Twilight’s chest. He keeps a grip on Twilight’s shirt, remembering the panic of being sucked into a portal all by himself into that terrible battle, the burning village. The days of loneliness after a year of fighting and wandering alone. Trembling at the memories, Wild buries his face against Twilight’s chest for comfort, feeling calmed when he feels a pair of warm arms encircling him and a gentle hand in his hair.
“Wild, you okay?” Hyrule asks in a worried voice, but Wild is too overcome with memories to answer, hoping Twilight or one of the others will answer for him.
“Kid’s had a rough time,” Twilight begins, running his fingers through Wild’s hair, “Do you want me to explain, cub?”
Wild nods, not feeling confident enough to speak for himself right now. Twilight begins by explaining Wild’s long journey to defeat the Calamity, conquering the Divine Beats, the shrines, the trials, fighting through his injuries to finally destroy the beast and save the princess. He tells of Wild’s transformation by the goddess and their time together at Lon Lon Ranch and Outset Island.
“That’s when the portal showed up, and it took him,” Twilight says, his breath hitching, “Wild was all alone."
A silence follows this before someone curses and Wild glances up to see worried faces around the fire. Twilight’s still holding him close, but Wild shifts so he can look out and see everyone. Time looks resigned, Sky saddened, the others a mixture of anxious and angry.
“I don’t know what happened to lead you here though, cub,” Twilight murmurs gently, “What happened after we got separated?”
Wild hears screams in his mind, feels the heat of the flames, the panic, the utter uselessness he felt landing in that village defenseless and alone. He raises a shaky hand to sign, but the thought of relieving everything after the emotional day makes him feel a bit ill.
“Do you want me to tell them, Wild?” Sky asks gently and Wild nods gratefully from the safety of Twilight’s lap.
Sky nods, looking solemnly at the others before beginning to speak.
“Whoever is creating these portals dropped Wild into a monster raid with nothing but the clothes on his back,” Sky says, making Time curse, “They were burning down everything and the villagers were running every which way. He had no choice but to hide.”
Hyrule looks livid but Legend looks a little sick, turning pale.
“What kind of villages?” he asks Wild directly, “What did they look like?”
Wild raises a hand to sign, All burned. I couldn’t tell.
Legend looks deeply disturbed, but Wild can’t bring himself to explain anymore. Sky continues to tell about how Wild was helped but then told to run and how he stayed on his own for three days and nights in the forest.
“How did you make it out?” Time asks, his hands balled tightly, “How did you get here?”
Hylia, Wild signs, She spoke to me again and apologized. I prayed to her to send me to you, so she did. She said bad stuff is coming.
A resounding silence follows this, some looking at Wild in awe, others in contemplation. A dark look flashes across Legend’s face for a moment before he appears to shake himself out of it.
“Well, at least she talks to one of us,” Four says with forced cheer, “Maybe we can get some answers that way.”
“Four,” Time says in a warning voice.
“Sorry, Time.”
Sky sighs, rubbing the back of his head. “He, uh…also got kidnapped by the Yiga. Broke out of prison on his own, walked miles through the desert by himself.”
“What?” Twilight hisses, pulling Wild close to his chest, “Cub, is that true?”
Wild nods and Twilight curses unhappily. There’s some uncomfortable looks shared before Sky clears his throat and looks over at Twilight, clearly wanting to change the subject.
“How about you, Twi? You and Time were together, right?”
Twilight nods, still keeping his arms encircled protectively around Wild, “Yes, we bounced from Outset, to Ordon, to Kakirko Village, and then here. We were trying to look for Wild. We were both pretty frantic.”
Wild feels that creeping sense of overwhelming panic rising inside of him again, so he presses his face back against Twilight’s chest, relaxing a little when he feels the gentle hand back in his hair.
“I was too, when I got separated from Wind,” Sky says regretfully, “We had been together from the moment we all got separated, but once we landed here, we found black-blooded monsters almost immediately. You sure he’s going to be alright, ‘Rule?”
“I’m sure,” Hyrule says firmly, “He just got a good knock to the head. I healed him; he’ll be awake in a few hours.”
There’s some quiet murmuring for awhile before Time says, “We all need rest. I’ll take first watch. The rest of you, sleep. We’ll regroup in the morning when we catch Wind up on everything.”
They all spend a few minutes getting ready to sleep, Wild laying down next to Twilight without a word, snuggling as close to him as possible. After a year of being alone and the anxiety of the last few weeks, he doesn’t want to be alone again, even for a minute.
“C’mere, Wild,” Twilight says sleepily, pulling up the wolf cloak he made out of sheddings of his own fur over them both, “Let’s sleep, kid.”
Wild is instantly soothed by the feeling of his brother’s presence so close, the feel of the wolf fur, and the others being nearby. Things may be strange and unstable, but Wild feels safe here, with all of them.
Slowly, he closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep.
“Where the fuck am I?”
Wild jolts awake to the sound of someone cursing angrily, blinking as he looks up and realizing the sun is beginning to rise.
“Easy, Wind, let me check your pupils.”
“Aw, Hyrule, I’m fine. Now, come on. Where are we? Why does my head feel like Ganon sat on on it? And why is Wild little again?”
Wild looks over and sees a very confused looking Wind sitting up between a kneeling Hyrule and a standing Time, both looking fondly exasperated.
“We’re in Warrior’s Hyrule,” Time says, “You got walloped by a monster and had a nasty concussion. Hylia turned Wild small again after he beat the Calamity.”
Wind takes this all in before grinning at Wild. “You beat that thing? Awesome. Well done.”
Wild smiles, wriggling out from under the cloak to walk over and give Wind a hug, excited to see his friend again. The others begin to stir and they catch Wind up on everything after greetings and happy exclamations. After breakfast and cleaning up camp, Time sits them all down in a circle as they begin to discuss what to do next.
“Warriors, this is your world,” Time says, “Where do you suggest we go next?”
Warriors thinks for a moment before saying, “The castle. It’s important to check on security there. My people are very dependent on the military and will be taking shelter in Castle Town if these monsters are widespread.”
Time nods thoughtfully, “Alright, we should make for it now. Legend, when we…”
Wild hears a kind of ringing in his ears that blocks out the rest of Time’s sentence and an odd sensation in his stomach.
Link…
Wild gasps, making Twilight and the others close to him turn and look. Wild doesn’t see them, though, he only sees the manifestation of the princess in his mind.
Link…
Link, you must find me…
“Zelda!” Link gasps, turning to look up at Twilight, “She’s in trouble, it’s bad, I have to go home. I have to go home right now!”
It’s more words that Wild usually speaks at once, and that if anything seems to spur the others into realizing it’s urgent.
“What kind of danger?” Time asks, “Did she say?”
Wild shakes his head, tears welling in his eyes. Zelda had sounded so…so far, like she was speaking to him from across the universe. Had something happened at home?
As if answering his question, a familiar pull of magic tugs at them all and they turn to see one of the goddesses' portals behind them. Wild knows she’s sending them to his home, so he stands eagerly and pulls on Twilight’s hand.
“It’s going to take me home, we have to go through!” Wild says desperately, “Something’s wrong!”
Time steps forward and sheathes his sword, nodding at the others. “Let’s go.”
Wild feels sick as they tumble through the portal, exiting out into a familiar landscape. He sighs in relief as he sees the familiar plains and mountains in the distance. Despite his concern for Zelda, he’s happy to be home again. He turns towards Twilight to say as much when his face falls, noticing all of the other hero’s eyes looking up in the sky. Wild tracks their gazes towards the clouds where his jaw drops open in shock at what he sees.
“What in the goddess’s name?” Sky whispers, sounding awed. Wild can hardly believe it himself. It seems like a dream as he scans the horizon, more stunned as he sees new things in the landscape, and a lack of Sheikah shrines and towers.
It’s none of these things that grab his attention, though.
There in the sky, floating as if they had always been there, were islands.