#Silvrash writes

[skyward-floored]

Ooooh, another thought for your Incredibles au writing! I know you've already done a Malon rescues Time from Majora, but could you maybe continue your story from Plane and simple, where they have to rescue him now from Dark Link? (I've finally read through everything you've got on AO3 for this au, and I'm at work for three more hours, but I had to get this to you before I forgot!) Thank you, you're amazing! 💖💖💖

I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t written much of that scene yet! (though I am planning to!) XD

I’m sort of working my way through the movie events starting at the beginning (with changes of course!) and since Time being freed is a later on one, I don’t have very much of it written.

Buuuuut, all that being said, I have worked a fair amount on the scene that comes directly after Plane and Simple. They’re not at the point of saving Time yet, but it’s leading up to it. And since you asked so nicely and I’d hate to leave you without anything, I’ll share the scene as it is right now! It still needs a little editing, and is subject to change of course, but this is what I’ve got so far :)

(The scene before this one)

———

Malon brushed some sopping wet hair out of her face, looking around at all her sons treading water alongside her. They all looked pale and shocked, eyes wide with adrenaline, and were looking to her for direction.

She took a deep breath, ignoring all her aches and pains she had received in the past ten minutes or so, and pushed away her anxiety.

Time to get down to business.

“All right. Those were short-range missiles. Land-based,” she explained, then pointed off towards where the trails from the missiles were still in the sky, lit by the setting sun. “That way is our best bet.”

“You want to go toward the people that tried to kill us?” Wild gaped, and Malon nodded.

“If it means land, then yes.”

Legend frowned from his piece of debris, brushing his bangs out of his face. “Surely you don’t expect us to swim there?”

“It’s gotta be miles away,” Wind murmured.

Malon gave them all a firm look. “I expect you all to trust me. We’ll make it work, just like we always do. Now come on, let’s get to work.”

They quickly rigged up a flotation device then, pulling debris together with Malon’s lasso to create a rather messy raft. Malon held her rope tight as they all piled on, almost afraid the raft would fall apart if she let go, but the knots held. Legend turned into a rabbit to save space, and Hyrule quietly held him as Wild kicked his legs with his super speed, propelling them across the waves, Wind helping where he could.

Land eventually came into view, just like Malon had said, but it was well after dark by the time they all made it to shore and dragged themselves up onto the beach, both physically and mentally spent.

Malon collapsed on the ground, taking a moment to let her aching muscles relax, and glanced over at who had landed next to her. Wild lay a little ways away, looking half asleep on the sand as he breathed heavily, exhausted from helping propel the raft. He caught her staring and shifted to look back, still out of breath.

“What a trooper,” she murmured with a smile, reaching over and brushing a hand through his hair. “Good job hon. I’m so proud of you.”

Wild smiled tiredly back. “Thanks mom.”

They all eventually dragged themselves to their feet, making their way up the beach and to a nearby cave. Twilight and Legend gathered a few pieces of driftwood so they could make a small fire to dry off with, and by the time it was built, most of them were shivering from their damp hair (though the suits were doing their job, Malon realized to her relief).

The warmth helped though, and soon they were all huddling around the little fire. Wind and Wild were both leaning tiredly against Twilight, looking half awake, and Hyrule sat next to Legend, the two of them slightly huddled together.

After a long while, Malon let out a tense breath, and they all turned to look at her.

“I think your father is in trouble.”

Legend snorted at that. “In case you haven’t noticed mom, we’re not doing so hot ourselves.”

A few chuckles went up at that, and Malon stood, sufficiently dried and rested from her time by the fire. She stretched a bit, loosening her stiff muscles, then dusted off her pants.

“I’m going to look for him. And that means you’re in charge until I get back Twilight,” she instructed.

“Aw, what?” Wild and Legend complained at the same time.

Twilight smiled. “You heard her.”

“Mom, you can’t just go by yourself,” Wind protested worriedly, “these guys are—”

“Dangerous,” Malon interrupted. “And trust me, I’ve been in this sort of situation many times. I know what to expect, and you all don’t, so I want you to stay here and stay safe.”

She reached into her pocket then, pulling out the masks Fi and Ghirahim had given her, which she handed over to her boys.

“Put these on,” she said, and they all gave her slightly confused looks. “Your identity is your most valuable possession here. Protect it. And if anything goes wrong, use your powers.”

Wind frowned. “But you always say never to use our powers in...”

“I know what I said!” Malon said with a surge of exasperation, and they all went quiet. She sighed and took a steadying breath, then gave Wind an apologetic look.

“Do you all remember the bad guys on those shows you sometimes watch on Saturday mornings? Or the ones in the books you all like to read?” she asked, and they nodded. “Well, these guys are not like those guys,” Malon explained seriously. “They won’t exercise restraint because you’re children. They will kill you if they get the chance. Do not give them that chance.”

Her sons went silent, but nodded as she finished, their expressions equally worried and serious.

“Twi, I’m counting on you,” Malon said, giving his shoulder a squeeze. “Don’t be afraid to use your abilities. You’re stronger than you think.” He looked intensely worried, but nodded anyways.

“Mom?” Hyrule said quietly, so quietly that Malon didn’t realize he’d spoken. “There’s something I...”

Malon still didn’t hear him. “I’m counting on you all. Be strong, Wind, make tornadoes if you have to. Don’t be afraid to use your skills Legend, Hyrule. And Wild, if anything goes wrong, I want you to run as fast as you can.”

Wild perked up immediately, a huge smile on his face. “As fast as I can?”

Malon smiled back. “As fast as you can.” She leaned forwards and drew them all into a tight hug, then stood up again. “Stay hidden. Keep each other safe. I’ll be back by morning... with your father.”

Then she slipped out of the cave.

She’d barely reached the edge of the jungle when a voice called her name, and she turned to see Hyrule jog up, his face distressed.

“Mom, before you go, I just wanted to say that what happened on the plane, I-I’m sorry. I wanted to help, I mean, when you asked me to, I just...” he stuttered, then lowered his head. “...I’m sorry.”

Malon felt her heart ache, and she placed her hands on Hyrule’s shoulders before drawing him close, giving him a quick hug.

“Oh honey, it isn’t your fault,” she murmured gently, “It wasn’t fair for me to suddenly ask so much of you, I’m sorry I yelled.” She pulled back and met his eyes, giving him a serious look. “But things are different now, and doubt is a luxury we can’t afford.”

She cupped his cheek in her hand, and Hyrule swallowed, still looking uncertain.

“You have more power than you realize, honey,” she said more softly, “I know you can do this. Don’t think so hard. And don’t worry. lf the time comes, you’ll know what to do.”

She let go of Hyrule, and gave him one last reassuring smile before she turned and ran into the jungle.

“It runs in the family.”

[silvrash-797]

Hmmm, dilemma dilemma.

So, I'm writing a Warriors-centric fic (finally, right?), and doing a bunch of research on the names of pieces of armor so I can get them correct. His shoulder armor in most of the fics I've read is called a pauldron

but looking up the pieces, it more closely fits with a spaulder

Screenshots for comparison (Warriors vs Time's more comprehensive plate armor)

So, do I go with what the fandom more commonly knows it as, or do I use the proper name for it?

Image credit from Wikipedia and @/linkeduniverse

[silvrash-797]

Febuwhump 2025 - Wild Child

Read on ao3

This is more crack than whump, but I had fun!

Late at night, the Chain gathered around the fire, telling stories of their adventures. Wild was in the middle of an excited retelling of some of his favorite battles. “…So when I could finally take on a guardian stalker without dying, I knew I was ready to-”

“Wait wait wait,” Legend interrupted. “What do you mean without dying?”

Wild stared at him blankly. “Uhh,” he said eloquently. “Y'know, stop breathing? Cease being alive?” He shrugged. “How else do I explain dying?”

“No, I know what dying means,” Legend sighed, pinching the spot between his eyes like his brain hurt. “Why are you so cavalier about your own death!?”

“Okay, first of all, I don’t know what that word means,” Wild defended, “and second,” he shrugged again, “it’s always been that way. Ever since I woke up from the Shrine of Resurrection there’s been something around to bring me back to life.”

“Okay, back up again. Shrine? Isn’t that what you call your Sheikah training centers? Why are the Sheikah involved in necromancy?”

“Actually,” Four interjected, his eyes purple in the fading light. “Necromancy involves, among other things, the summoning of spirits to influence the course of events, not raising the dead back to life.”

Legend stared, unimpressed. Four shrugged and returned to his book. “Just saying.”

Wild also stared at Four, but for a different reason. “Huh. Yeah, when you put it that way, I kinda had necromancy during my adventure too!” He grinned sadly, getting back into his story. “Y'see, when the Calamity attacked 100 years ago, it killed the Champions in their Divine Beasts. But their spirits stuck around! After I freed the Divine Beasts from Ganon's control, their spiritual gifts passed to me. If it weren’t for them, I still might have lost. Sometimes, I could swear I heard their voices-”

Legend threw up his hands in surrender and left the fire amidst the good-natured giggles of his brothers. Twilight simply shook his head.

[silvrash-797]

I think I'm having a bit too much fun with the dialogue for this Febuwhump prompt. Sassy exasperated Wind my beloved

“Wars chose us specifically to find Time,” Twilight reminded him. “Oh, right. The protégé, the Godslayer, the Veteran, and the kid.” “I’m not a kid, Leg!” Wind protested. “For your information, I know why Wars was worried about needing a Godslayer.”

[silvrash-797]

I'm so sorry Legend, I promise I love you 😭 You're just so whumpable!

Emmie (or Plink, I can't remember now) is right, you need ice cream or something after this, goodness!

[silvrash-797]

Glassbound

First | Prev | Next

Read on ao3

Chapter 4: The Escape

Summary: Four makes a plan!

“Four?”

A soft voice pricked at his consciousness, and the Smithy grimaced as he woke, light pain flaring across his body. He cracked open bleary eyes just enough to see the concern radiating from Hyrule's features.

“You were right,” he murmured, closing his eyes again as he tried to reorient himself. “They’re not very gentle, are they?”

He heard Hyrule's relieved laugh and cracked a smile of his own before trying to shift to an upright position. He scowled at the rattle of chains, the cool metal keeping his wrists pinned behind his back. “Well, that’s inconvenient.”

“I’m so sorry, Four,” Hyrule's voice was dejected. “It’s my fault you got hurt, that you’re stuck here, I –”

Four huffed as he made it to his knees, fingers questing at the top of his boots for the lockpick set he kept there. “I’m the one who came looking for you. If anyone's at fault, it’s those soldiers.” He finally found the rolled packet and deftly pulled out the tools he’d need, grateful for his organizational tendencies any time he channeled Blue.

“But still, I –”

“Rulie, stop.” Four glanced up from his place on the floor, making sure he had the Traveler's attention. “This is nothing, okay? I’ve been hurt worse than this sparring with Warriors.”

He felt the locking mechanism give and grinned, wide and smug. “Besides,” he added, pulling his wrists to the front, “I’m already free!”

He wished he had Wind's pictobox so he could capture the look on Hyrule's face.

“How did you…?” Hyrule stared as Four got up, stretching out stiff muscles. “How many of those do you have?”

Four retrieved his box, making short work of Hyrule's chains once again. “Picking locks is a hobby,” he stated, tsking at the new bruises around Hyrule’s ankles and thumb. “Have to keep my mind sharp. And I have as many as I need – as long as I can reach the locks, I have a set that can get me out. They’d have to lock me up like you to actually keep me trapped.”

He helped Hyrule down, then carefully rerolled and replaced the lockpick set. He gathered his things from the front of the room, then returned to Hyrule's side.

He shuffled through his pack, double-checking that the soldiers hadn’t taken anything. “How's your magic?” he asked as he sorted. “I don’t have any more potions, so I can’t help your hand, sorry. Do you have enough to get small so we can escape unseen?”

“…I’d need another day or two of food and rest before I can use the Fairy Spell.”

Four pulled out some trail rations and handed them to Hyrule before closing up his pack. “And how long d'you think we have before they come back?”

Hyrule hesitated, carefully swallowing his mouthful before responding. “If they stick to the current timing? Two days.”

Four stared, seeing nothing, locked in an intense internal debate. He needed to split, to let Vio speak his mind without Blue's interruption or Red's worry, he needed to work out how he was feeling, but he couldn’t, yet. Not here, in front of Hyrule, who may have been on the brink of death mere hours ago. Not now, when Hyrule was staring back at him like he’d grown an extra head.

His reasoning finally managed a single coherent thought. “Well then,” he stated. “We’d better set your thumb and get some rest, shouldn’t we?”

Setting Hyrule's thumb was child's play, and finding his Roc's cape for the Traveler to use as a blanket took a matter of seconds. Within minutes, Hyrule’s exhaustion won out, and the Traveler slept peacefully, comfortable for the first time in days.

Four took up his sword and crept through the main cellar, making sure they were truly alone. He found an easily defensible spot between some barrels that kept him out of sight from the stairwell and the room Hyrule was in, then drew his sword and pointed it towards the ceiling.

A familiar flash of light, a familiar pulling sensation, and Green opened his eyes, surrounded by the other Colors.

Red immediately scampered on quiet feet back to the room where Hyrule lay sleeping, to make sure the Traveler was alright and soothe his worry. Blue and Vio squared off, but the atmosphere was significantly less charged than it would have been if they’d split an hour ago.

“Alright, Brainiac, what've you got?” Blue demanded.

“Hyrule said he needs a day or two to recover enough magic to transform into a fairy.” Vio paced in a tight circle as he spoke. “We didn’t smell any food here in these barrels, so all we have is what’s in our pack. With that and conditions as they are, it will likely take most of the two days we have, especially if we want him to be able to function after using that much magic.”

“So, whaddowe do then?” Blue stood stiffly, opening and closing his fists in an attempt to release some of his impatience and aggression.

Maybe I should spar with him, Green thought. It would help both of them expend the anxious energy Four had been feeling since finding Hyrule.

Vio sighed, coming to a stop. “All we can do for now is make sure he rests and eats,” he finally admitted. “We shouldn’t leave him alone, so we can’t even go tell anyone where we are.”

“We could tell the Minish,” Red said, startling everyone as he crept back into their circle, snuggling himself under Green's arm. “They aren’t too far from here, and Wind at least can still see them – they could find the others and let them know for us.”

“But Wind can’t speak Picori,” Blue protested, “and our written Hylian is ancient by his time, so we can’t write a note either!”

Red pouted, and Green drew him closer. “It was a good idea,” he whispered.

Red wasn’t done, though. “Then why not just draw a picture?”

“I –” Vio cut himself off, then began pacing again. “That could work…but what would we…how to…” he descended into mumbled half-words as he thought.

Green smiled at Vio's distraction, then turned to Red. “Feel better now? Is Hyrule still sleeping?”

Red sighed happily, a small grin lighting his face. “I do! And he is.” The grin faded. “He’s been through so much, and he felt so guilty about getting us trapped here…I’m glad we found him.”

Green hugged him tightly. “Me, too. He’ll be strong enough we can get out soon, then we can rejoin the others.”

He released Red to peer out and check the rest of the room, ears twitching as he listened for anything coming. Satisfied, he turned to Blue.

“Wanna spar?” he asked. “We can make sure the soldiers are gone then find an empty room upstairs.”

Blue visibly sagged in relief, gratitude glimmering in his eyes. He gave a firm nod and left for the base of the stairs.

Green turned back to Red. “Will you stay here, keep an eye on Vio and Hyrule, please? Maybe help Vio with his note once he comes back to earth?”

“Of course!” Red chirped, pulling him close for another hug before perching on a barrel, making himself comfortable as he watched Vio pace.

Green followed Blue up the stairs, ears pricked for any disturbances. It didn’t take long to make their way through the keep. They kept an eye out for kitchens, larders, or any other place food might be kept, but came up empty. The place truly was abandoned.

Satisfied that they were alone, they went back to an indoor training area they’d found during their search. Taking up his stance opposite Blue, Green held his brother's gaze. With a grin and a nod, both Colors acknowledged their readiness, and they crossed swords with a harmonious clang that echoed like a symphony through Green's soul.

He lost himself to the easy give and take of the spar, relaxing into the familiar movements. He wasn’t Vio, but he was still a good planner and leader. He tried to pull together what he knew.

The giant Boss had mentioned Warriors owing them something, and that was why they’d taken Hyrule. So, probably a ransom situation, although he couldn’t figure out why there hadn’t been any demands made in the four days Hyrule had been missing.

The Minish were in the forest bordering the abandoned keep, and the rest of the Chain were staying in a town a few miles away. If these Minish could ride birds like his could, they could make it to the town in a few hours.

If he gave the rest of the Chain time to understand the note Vio and Red would write, arm themselves, and make their way to the keep, best case scenario they’d be here one more day, waiting for Hyrule to regain enough strength.

If the Minish couldn’t fly, it would take them most of a day to make it to town. If it came to that, it would be a toss-up of whether or not the Chain or the soldiers would arrive first.

Sparks from the clashing swords brought Green from his thoughts as he again locked blades with Blue. Both Colors were breathing hard; at his core he knew they’d both expended the anxious energy that had been plaguing them.

With one last grin and nod, both Colors disengaged, sheathing their swords with a flourish. They walked a slow loop around the room to cool down, then simultaneously flopped to the floor.

Green sighed, then gave a slight chuckle. “Do you think Vio got that note figured out yet?”

“If he doesn’t I’ll have to punch some sense into him,” Blue immediately responded, deep exasperation in every word. “Seriously, how hard can it be to draw a picture?!”

Green leveraged himself to his feet, helping Blue do the same. “Guess we’ll find out.”

Back in the cellar, they found Red alone, sitting on the box under Hyrule's old chains. His face lit up when he saw them peeking around the corner, and he jumped up to meet them.

“Vio's taken the note to the Minish already,” Red told them quietly. “I talked him out of anything too complex – just a picture of a fairy and our sword inside a big building, plus the town and the path through the forest they’d need to take.”

Blue hummed his approval while Green asked, “Did he say how long he was going to be?”

Red shook his head. “He figured Hyrule would sleep for a pretty long time, so he wanted to forage for anything edible and refill our water skin on his way back.”

“Good call,” Blue commented, snatching up their pack to organize it again.

The three Colors set up a modified watch shift to while away the hours until Vio returned, allowing two of the Colors to clean and organize their pack or sleep while the third kept watch.

It was Green's watch when Vio arrived. He looked on silently as Vio dumped a bag full of mushrooms, berries, and nuts out on top of a barrel, along with some of the peculiar little cakes the Minish liked to make.

“Its not a lot,” Vio said quietly as he sorted, “but it’ll have to do. The Minish took the note, all we can do now is wait.”

Green nodded before resting a hand on his brother's shoulder, a small smile playing around his lips. “You’ve done plenty, Vio,” he declared. “Let’s get the others and rejoin. Hyrule doesn’t need the confusion of having four of us around, and the food will last longer if we’re all together.”

Green woke Red and Blue from their naps, then all three joined Vio in their circle of barrels. Four sword tips met in the circle’s center, and each Color smiled as the light flashed around them.

Four opened his eyes, taking a deep breath as his emotions settled. Every part of himself had been assured that they were doing all they could. They had food, they had water, and they had a time frame.

This time, he would keep his brother safe.

[silvrash-797]

#40, pet, Four and/or Warriors.

This did not end up going where I thought it would 😆

40 - pet

“Wow, Wars, I didn’t know you actually had a house – I thought you lived at the castle,” Four remarked.

“Ha ha,” Warriors deadpanned. “I wasn’t always a soldier. This is where I grew up.” He threw back the curtains, allowing sunlight to dance through the glass windows. “I just need to grab a couple of things, then we can rejoin the others, okay?”

Four hummed and sat on a well-loved couch to wait.

Mrreow?

Four choked at the inquisitive noise, like claws had grabbed his hood and pulled it tight.

Of course Wars' family had a cat as a pet.

[silvrash-797]

Let Febuwhump begin!! Thank you @hotcheetohatredwastaken for the idea!

When shadows fade (pt 1)

Febuwhump day 2+19: Solitary Confinement, "Please Don't"

Part 2

Read on ao3

Shadow watched, impotent, gagged by his nature, as Link struggled in his restraints. He himself wasn’t technically restrained, of course, because to everyone else he was just a shadow; no one other than Link suspected his consciousness existed. No, he just had to sit and watch, for years, alone, as Link put himself back together, moved on, only the occasional glance at his shadow giving any indication that Link remembered him.

Shadow lived for those glances. Confined to Link's shadow as he was, without even the ability to manipulate his form, he would have gone insane years ago were it not for that simple reminder that someone knew about him, thought about him.

Normally he would welcome an increase of glances and attention. Normally.

This wasn’t normal. No, Link had been kidnapped from the middle of the Chain’s camp in the dead of night. They’d both awoken to find Link, in a cave, hanging from chains around his wrists, a pair of torches on either side casting his shadow in bright relief on the opposing wall.

It had been hours since they awoke, and no one had even looked into the cave. Shadow watched Link silently struggle with the chains, trying to escape, but to no avail.

Link stilled; violet eyes scanned the rocky walls, cataloging every possible advantage. He paused as his eyes caught Shadow’s crisp outline, and Shadow's heart twinged at the intensity of the gaze.

Link spoke, red shifting into his irises. “What mess have we gotten ourselves into this time, Shadow?”

The direct interaction sent a complicated swirl of emotions through Shadow, and he regretted that he couldn’t even shrug in response. 

Link (Vio, really, Shadow could tell by the eye color) continued. “I hope…no, I know you’re still there.” His brow furrowed, all four colors bleeding briefly into his eyes. “I’m sorry we haven’t been able to bring you back, yet. We-"

Shuffling at the cave entrance cut any other words off. Shadow watched fondly as the blue and violet danced in Link's eyes, displeasure at their predicament warring with the desire to understand what this new playing piece might offer them.

A tall figure in a hooded robe stalked into the cave, going straight to Link's chains and rattling them harshly. Link swayed, off-balance at the disturbance, and a faint snarl grew on his face as he glared.

“Who were you talking to, Hero?” the voice was low and nasally, each syllable dripping from its mouth like molten ore, scalding in its intensity. “You’re meant to be alone.”

Link got his feet back underneath him and stood as tall as he could in his chains. “I am alone,” he gritted out. “There’s nobody here but myself, my shadow, and now you.”

“Yeesss…” the word was drawn out in distaste. “I’ve read about your shadow.” The figure turned, eyeing Shadow with contempt. “Traitor to Lord Ganon, a monster playing at being a hero.” 

“No,” Link growled, all four colors swirling in his eyes, united in Shadow’s defense. “You know nothing about him.”

“Oh?” there was amusement in the voice now, and Shadow felt a chill run through his soul. “I know many things. I know it is only your memory that keeps him alive. I know you think you can rescue him.”

It drew closer to Link – blocking the torchlight as it did, so that Shadow’s form wavered – and grabbed his face in talon-like hands. It leaned down and whispered something in Link's ear, and Link recoiled with a cry, eyes suddenly red and terrified.

“No, you can’t!” Link's voice was thin, panicking, and Shadow hissed silently. “That’ll kill him, please don’t!”

“Oh, but I can…” the voice dripped venom as it approached Link, pulling something from its robes, “…and I will.” 

Shadow raged in his silent prison as the figure began to tug at the collar of Link's tunic. Link tried to shy away, a constant stream of “please don’t do this, we can’t forget, Shadow please,” falling from his lips, but the chains held fast. The figure exposed a collarbone and pressed something into the hollow just below, and Link stiffened.

Tremors started rolling through Link's body, rattling the chains. His voice fell into a muddle and his eyes shifted colors rapidly. “No, please don’t…he’s our friend…we need him…Shadow I’m sorry…”

Link abruptly fell unconscious. Shadow’s heart stopped. Rainbow, no, what did it do to you? 

The figure stepped back, allowing the torchlight to clearly cast Link's limp shadow against the wall. The chill settled deeper into Shadow's soul as he was all but forced to assume the submissive posture.

“There,” the figure crooned. “It’s working already.” It shifted, approaching Shadow in his turn. “That trinket I just gave him will erase all his memories of you...Traitor.” The talon-like hands caressed the wall, right where Shadow’s throat would be if he had any corporeality, and ice shuddered along his consciousness.

“When he wakes, he’ll truly be alone,” a hand waved towards Link, and the torches dimmed to mere embers, sending Shadow into unwelcome darkness, “and you’ll cease to exist.”

[silvrash-797]

Legend is fun to write >:)

Legend looked ill. “What now, Champ?! It’s got us cornered!” Wild blew out a breath, relieved that everyone was mostly safe and this nightmare would soon be over. “Now we wait,” he replied. “Wait!? Wait for what? Some other monster to come eat it? Or maybe you forgot that there’s nothing else here!”

[silvrash-797]

Thanks to @webhead3345 for the idea!

Echoes of the past (pt 1)

Febuwhump Day 4+7: Obedience/suffering in silence

Part 2

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The newly dubbed Legend sat at the edge of the camp, watching anyone with a knight’s title or wearing armor or chainmail warily. Warriors, Time, Wild, Sky, Twilight…over half the group, he couldn’t bring himself to trust them. Sure, the knights of his time weren’t actively chasing him anymore, but nothing could change the fact that they had, and now the sound of chainmail triggered about a dozen fight or flight responses.

Speaking of…Legend flinched as the Hero of Warriors approached, shoving the memories of rattling chainmail, gleaming weapons, I’m just a kid I didn’t do anything wrong I swear to the side.

“You okay, Legend?” Warriors asked, face apparently full of concern, though why a knight would be concerned for him he couldn’t fathom.

“Fine,” he muttered, trying not to curl into himself. Make yourself small, hide, they’ll go away pounded through his head, but he was the Hero of Legend, the Veteran of the hero business (an average nobody, his little rabbit-heart whispered traitorously). He’d been at this for nearly a decade so why is this still an issue? Stand up straight, face your fears, they’re heroes just like you. Don’t let them know you’re suffering, you’ll never hear the end of it.

The knight touched his shoulder and Legend jerked back violently, subduing a hiss at the last moment.

Warriors froze, hand half extended. “Vet, are you sure you’re okay –”

“I said I’m fine, Captain,” Legend sneered, putting as much acid in his voice as he could manage. “I just don’t like being touched, okay?”

Warriors withdrew his hands, raising them placatingly. “Okay, Vet. I understand,” he gave a charming smile. “I’m just trying to help us all come together better so we can take on whatever called us here.”

Warriors tilted his head, eyes suddenly filled with some emotion Legend couldn’t be bothered to place. “You’d…tell us, if something was wrong, right?”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever. Just leave me alone, okay?”

The Captain's eyes narrowed – was that sincere worry? – and he frowned a bit, but relented, turning and leaving Legend with his knight-free safety bubble at last.

-----

A few weeks later, Legend was sleeping peacefully when someone roughly shook his shoulder. He groaned, slitting his eyes just a bit to see who was bothering him in the middle of the night, it’s not even his night for watch, so why…

Firelight glinted off a metal pauldron; Legend's heart nearly stopped with fright.

The figure shook him again. “Vet, come on, we need to go!” The Captain’s voice was urgent but collected.

Legend shoved Warriors’ hand from his shoulder, groaning again as he sat up. “Captain, it is the middle of the goddess-forsaken night,” he snapped, “What in Din's name is so urgent it can’t wait for morning?!”

“Twilight just returned from patrol with Wolfie. They found a horde of infected monsters, moving this way fast. We’re splitting up camp to catch them in a pincer movement.”

Legend grumbled, but started gearing up. “Who's in which group?”

“I have the most experience with hordes like this, so I’ll be taking a small group to deal the worst of the damage to the monsters,” Wars explained. “You have the most versatile arsenal while Sky's our best swordsman, so you two will be with me. Time and Twilight will help coordinate the others.”

Legend froze in the act of adjusting his belt, blood rushing from his head and fingers turning numb. Me. Alone with knights that I still don’t trust. Against a horde of infected monsters? The mere thought filled him with such panic he was afraid he’d faint.

Legend forced himself to move again, attempting to wrangle his nerves into submission, pushing past the knot in his throat to plead for a different arrangement. “Rulie has just as much versatility with his magic as I do with my items – why don’t I go with the others and you take him instead?”

The only knight in the other group was Wild, and he didn’t remember much about it. He could work past his fear of Time's armor and Twilight’s chainmail if it meant fewer trained knights to keep an eye on.

Warriors shook his head, and Legend’s hope fell. “He needs to stay with the others in case one of them gets hurt. They don’t have as much experience with large groups of monsters as we do; it has to be the three of us.”

Warriors stood, and the percussive rattling of his armor set Legend’s nerves on fire. “Let’s go,” he was using his Captain voice, the one that brooked no argument and all but demanded total obedience.

Legend hated that voice.

Resigned to his fate, Legend shoved his fears into a box deep in the confines of his mind before following Warriors and Sky into battle.

[silvrash-797]

48 for the writing thing?

Leaving the characters up to me was fun, thank you!

48 - rampage

“Hide me!” Wind yelped, burying himself into the space behind Twilight and Wild.

“What’s goin' on, Sailor?”

“Wars is on a rampage! His hairbrush is missing and he thinks I took it!”

Wild snorted. “Let me guess, it’s in your spoils bag.”

Wind shot to his feet, affronted. “Listen, just because I did take it once, doesn’t mean it’s me every time!”

Twilight and Wild turned to stare at him, unimpressed.

“I don’t have it!” Wind insisted. “…I gave it to Legend.”

[silvrash-797]

23 with Wind?

Hahaha I had so much fun with this!

23 - sated

Wind growled low in his throat and leveled his sword at the person in front of him. “Give it to me. Or. Else.”

“Wind,” Wild cautioned, hands in the air. He held his slate in his right hand, well out of the little pirate’s grasp. “You don’t want to do this.”

“Yes. I. DO!”

“Wind, please,” Time said, approaching slowly. He stopped when the sword swung his way.

“Stay out of this Old Man! We’ve been walking all day, I need it!”

The scent of something warm and meaty wafted past his nose, and Wind swung back to Wild. His hands were still in the air, but now he had a spicy meat skewer in his left hand. Wind’s stomach growled.

“Here, this is what you want, right?” Wild asked. “Will you put away the sword and let me work on dinner if I give you this?”

Wind snarled and lunged; Wild took a few hasty steps backwards, dropping his hands as he went. Wind snatched the skewer from his hand, sheathed his sword, and crouched on the ground, gnawing on the meat balls like a wild thing.

Wild wiped his brow and sighed, then scrolled through his slate for ingredients.

It was hard to keep a growing teenager sated.

[silvrash-797]

Febuwhump 2025 - Countdown

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

Read on ao3

Chapter 3: Put on Display

Humiliation burned, hot and sharp, as Sky stared out from the bars of his cage. He hadn’t thought the noble meant a literal cage. But here he was, in a literal cage, on display for anyone to see, in just his trousers since they’d shredded his shirt to bind the wound in his arm.

His skin prickled constantly as people looked on curiously, but every time he tried to make eye contact, or plead for help, they immediately turned away, ashamed.

He thought he’d known loneliness, on the Surface at the start of his adventure, or as he took on temple after temple.

He thought wrong.

Even the guards, who brought him his meals and fresh water, refused to engage with him. All he had to interact with was a ball, small and bouncy (Wind would love it no, don’t think about them), a sandy floor he could draw patterns in, and a rainwater puddle in one corner. His eyes ached as he tried not to cry, to remain strong.

He couldn’t imagine condemning Wolfie to this existence.

Day passed into night into day again. More people, openly gawking behind concealing hands, shivering cold as it rained for a spell, hot sunlight, worse than the Lanayru Desert, burning his skin, the silent guards bringing a slight meal and a splash of water…

Insanity sounded pretty good, now.

The second night passed slowly, so slowly, as Sky fought tears, aching loneliness, and the insidious thought of maybe they won’t save me.

The morning of the third day dawned chill and bleak, reflecting Sky's mood. He stared listlessly at his surroundings, not focused on anything. It took him a moment to notice the dark green blob on the other side of the bars.

The figure tutted, and Sky looked up. The noble from before stared down at him. “Not a single word from your friend,” the man pouted, “and not a single rescue attempt, either. One would almost think he doesn’t care for you.”

Sky sighed and looked away, shame bubbling in his gut – he’d begun to think the same thing. They’ll come, he wanted to say, but his voice failed him.

He felt the noble's eyes crawl across his skin for another eternal moment, then the man clapped his hands. Sky startled at the sudden noise. “Well,” the noble said, “my guards say they’ve found a rather unusual specimen of rabbit wandering outside the gates, with the most luxuriant pink fur, can you imagine! I was going to put him with the other rabbits, but something so special deserves a place of honor, right here with my other prize.”

Pink…rabbit?…could it be…?

“Think of it as a gift, if you will,” the noble rambled on, unaware of the tentative hope unfurling in Sky's chest, “a comfort for your last twenty-four hours.

“I hate to have to kill you, you’ve brought such a crowd to my little menagerie, but I am a man of my word. If your friend hasn’t arrived with his wolf by morning, you will be executed in the main square.” He snapped his fingers, and a guard brought forward something small and wriggling. Another guard unlocked the cage and opened the door just far enough to let the first toss the thing inside.

Distantly, Sky heard the lock snap shut again, the noble's false platitudes and condolences babble in the background as he bid farewell.

All his attention honed in on the bundle of pink fur sorting itself out on the sandy floor, right where he’d drawn a picture of Sun. Long ears twitched and twisted, following the noble's departure and the guards' paths; violet eyes, sharp and intelligent, peered knowingly into Sky's own.

“…Le…Lege…end…?” Sky croaked, voice hoarse from disuse. His breathing picked up, an immense, unnamable emotion threatening to drown him.

The sharp eyes softened, and the tiny head tilted gently. “Hi, Sky.”

“Legend!” Sky gasped, tears spilling from his soul as he scrambled to his leporine brother. It took everything he had to not crush the tiny body in his arms, shivering at the warmth that spread from his chest into each limb. He sobbed and held Legend close, reveling in the thrum of his heartbeat, the soft paws stroking comfortingly along his chest, the whispered words of assurance.

“Hush, Sky, I know. I’m sorry it took us so long, I’m here now.” Legend stretched in Sky's arms, placing his paws on either side of his head, kneading the tears from his cheeks. “People are coming, don’t cause a scene; we can’t make anyone suspicious.”

Sky nodded and gulped a few choking breaths, fighting to contain his swirling emotions. He buried his face in Legend's soft pink fur; the Vet grumbled a bit but allowed it. Slowly, the shuddering sobs ebbed, grounded in the warm relief of having his brother nearby.

“’m sorry,” Sky finally murmured, exhausted. “I thought…” He stopped, suddenly ashamed.

“Thought what, Sky?”

“I thought…no one was coming,” he admitted hoarsely, bracing for an angry retort.

It never came. Instead, Legend flopped into his chest, settling close. “That’s a fair assumption to make,” he said. “It took longer than we liked to come up with a plan to get you out. But it’s in motion now, and with some luck, you’ll be out of here before dawn.”

“What’s the plan?” Sky asked.

“Nope, not saying. Call it superstition if you like, but until it’s done I’m not saying anything.” Legend looked up at him, sincerity bright in his eyes. “I will say this: look around today. You’re not as alone as you think you are.”

And of course, he was right. Now that hope had sharpened his senses, he saw his brothers everywhere.

A little mouse-like creature that wore a distinctly-patterned tunic scurrying past.

A fairy glowing green and gold that flitted through the bars of his cage and spiraled around his injured arm, chiming a soft “Take heart!” before flying away.

A person with long blond hair and Gerudo Vai clothes walking casually through the menagerie exhibits.

A boy with sun-bleached hair and tan skin running amidst a pack of other children.

The guard who brought him his food, with his signature jaunty smile even if his scarf was missing and his hair was somehow darker, who told him “Don’t eat that” under his breath.

The pink bunny, who never once left his side.

By the time night fell, Sky felt dizzy with euphoria. He tried his best to hide it from the departing crowds and the circling guards, but he couldn’t help the quiet tears that dripped from his eyes.

A pair of guards took up their position outside his cage. It was hard to tell in the flickering torchlight, but their builds seemed a perfect match for Twilight and Time, although their faces were somehow clear of any tattoos.

With their arrival, Legend stretched and shook out his coat. “That’s my cue,” he whispered, hopping a few paces away. He rummaged through a tiny pouch hidden in his fur and pulled out a lustrous pearl. With a quiet shimmer of magic, a Hylian stood where the bunny had been moments before.

With the pearl clutched tight in his hand, Legend rummaged in his pouch one more time. When he pulled it out, he held a single key. Its handle was shaped kind of like a remlit, if the large ears were replaced by a mane of hair surrounding the head.

Legend strode to the cage door, reached through the bars, and fit the key into the lock. A short moment later, the lock sprung open.

“Holy Hylia, it worked.” Legend sounded surprised, but shook it off quickly. He stowed the key back in his pouch, took something from the taller guard on the right, and walked back to where Sky sat, dumbstruck.

He placed a lopsided gray mask onto the sandy floor of the cage and extended his free hand to Sky. “C'mon,” he prompted gently. “Let’s get you out of here.”

Taking Legend's hand, Sky rose, wobbling slightly from the lack of exercise and malnutrition. He leaned on Legend until his balance stabilized.

Once he could stand on his own, Legend picked up the mask and handed it to Sky. “Put that on,” he said. “I’ll turn back into a bunny, then you can carry me out. Time assured me it would hide us both.”

Sky obeyed, movements slowed like he was under water. At the same time, anticipation tingled all across his skin. The cage stood wide open for the first time in three days, freedom beckoning. Another shimmer of magic in the corner of his eye, then Sky stooped to pick up the pink bunny, cradling him close to his chest.

He walked to the cage door. Stepped outside. The rustle of grass under his feet, the fresh breeze blowing his sweaty, dirty hair from his face, the snap of the lock behind him…Sky shivered, overwhelmed.

Time and Twilight's gazes slid right over him, as if he didn’t exist. They nodded anyway, then continued to patrol the menagerie. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he blinked them away.

“Where to?” he whispered hoarsely.

The furry bundle in his arms shifted minutely. Sky twitched as long ears brushed across his chest when Legend looked around.

“To the right, to the end of the cages, then straight on through,” he finally said.

Sky walked in a daze, beating exhaustion back by sheer force of will. Each slow step took him closer to the main gate, unmanned despite the hour.

“Can you tell me what the plan was, now?” he asked after several minutes of silence.

Legend chuckled in his arms. “Wild made a mild sedative that Four and Hyrule added to the food the guards and staff ate from all day. Wind snuck in and stole a pair of guard uniforms for Time and Twilight. We had Twilight’s shadow crystal, my Moon Pearl, Hyrule’s Magic Key, and Time's Stone mask, then fused a few of Four's kinstones for luck. Wars should be out there with your clothes and gear.”

They stepped outside the town walls, into the waiting circle of the rest of the Chain. Legend reached up and prodded at the mask until it fell away from his face. Immediately, Warriors strode forward and wrapped Sky in his own sailcloth. “You’re safe now,” he said gently.

Legend hopped from Sky's arms, returning to his Hylian form in a shimmer of pearl and shadow. He pulled a cord from around his neck and handed it to Twilight, who pushed forward and pulled Sky into a deep hug.

“I am so sorry,” he whispered. “I never shoulda left you there.”

Sky melted into the embrace, fading fast. “’S okay,” he mumbled. “Glad…you’re…safe…”

Twilight's throaty chuckle was the last thing Sky registered before the wings of sleep closed over his mind.

Gathering his sleeping brother in his arms, Twilight led the way down the road, leaving the town behind as the fourth day dawned.

[silvrash-797]

I had some breathing room to work on writing this week, but none of my current wips wanted to go anywhere. Instead, a reread of this fic by @skyward-floored inspired another pov swap 🙃

Save me from this darkness - feat Wild, Wind, Time, and Twilight

Read on ao3

Wild finished telling the man off, taking Wind by the arm, sheathing his sword and readjusting his bow over his shoulder as he went. They left behind the weird merchant with the crazy eyes, huge robes and smug smile and thought nothing more of how weirdly insistent he was. They located the rest of the Chain and left the town, continuing on down the road in search of the black-blooded monsters.

By the time the Chain arrived at their campsite for the night, all thoughts of what had happened in the town had been forgotten. Caught up in the cheerful chatter of his brothers, Wild felt a peaceful silence settle over him, and he welcomed the stillness that heralded a new memory, confident his brothers could take care of camp without him for the moment.

It was a good memory – bright sky, loud laughter, loved ones surrounding him in some sort of festival or celebration – culminating in a feeling of peace. Someone touched his left arm and he glanced across to see who was there, but the person was covered in shadows, and the memory started to fade before he could look closer.

Ready to return to his preparations for the night, Wild didn’t notice the sticky tendrils of purple smoke that began to crowd the edges of his vision until it was too late. Blue fog and sinister laughter rolled over him, and he opened his eyes, not at the Chain's campsite but in a clearing in the middle of what looked like his Lost Woods.

Wild glanced around himself, confused. This isn’t how memories usually end. A shadow flitted in his peripheral vision and he turned, but it vanished.

The air was heavy, silent, oppressive. The blue fog and dry grass shifted in a phantom wind. Unnerved, Wild took a deep breath, preparing to stand up, but the purple tendrils invaded his mind and he fell back into a memory.

It’s the same memory, but…twisted. What had made him feel good now felt uncomfortable, the light was too bright, and the laughter had a hysterical, darker edge to it. The only clear image was that shadow in the corner of his left eye. He looked over, trying to catch sight of it, but the fog rolled back into his mind, obscuring the shadow as someone screamed.

Wild opened his eyes yet again in that clearing, shaking slightly. He stared around himself, noting the grass had grown longer, softer.

Faint giggling surrounded him, and he managed to push himself to his knees, taking a deep breath to ask the voices what in the name of Hylia was going on. But it was as if he had summoned the inky tendrils of fog with that breath, as it filled his eyes and mind once again.

The memory twisted further. Shadowy people surrounded him in the failing sunlight, their laughter turning mocking and cruel. The festive atmosphere drained away, leaving behind a bitter silence that had him itching for a weapon. The memory demanded he look left, but there was still nobody there.

A scream, then the dark fog was swept away, leaving him in the clearing again.

Wild shuddered, panting as he stumbled to his feet. No, no no no! There had to be a way out! He took a deep breath to steady his racing heart, whimpering as the oily fog enveloped him, dragging him back into the twisted memory…over…and over…and over again.

Ten…the memory had solidified into a nightmare, and he shivered upon entering the clearing, the grass surrounding it now grown several inches since he first saw it

Twenty-nine…crouched in the clearing, Wild released a soft wail as the nightmare's screams receded, grabbing at his hair to relieve any of the tension he was feeling

Fifty…no, fifty-five…

Eighty…eight?

Too many…

Too many…

Too many!

“Let me out, let me out let me out please Hylia, make it stop—” Link sobbed as he emerged from the memory, feeling the silky grass against his palms as he tried and failed to ground himself. He pulled himself into a tight ball and dug his fingers into his scalp, hiding from the voices and shadows that had begun to follow him from the nightmare into the clearing.

“Too many hands, no faces, too many screams, don’t breathe in the fog, please go away, let me out, I don’t want to be here any more Hylia please…” The words dripped rapidly from numb lips as he pressed his face tightly to his knees, feeling the shadows shift around him.

One touched his shoulder, and Link jerked his head up, violently, staring around for the source, terrified that the shadows were real enough now to actually touch him. His breathing hitched as he looked wildly around, desperate to avoid that deep gasp that had triggered every iteration of the memory for Hylia-knows how long he’s been stuck here.

Wild…the shadows whispered softly, and a vice tightened around his chest, reducing his air intake until it was all he could do to just take in thin, trickling gasps, too frequent, too shallow, please let me just pass out, end this!

The scream sounded again, and he sobbed, pressing his head back into his knees as he whispered, “Please, please, not again, don’t show me again!”

Link!…The shadows roared, pressing in all around him. He slammed his hands to his ears with a wail to drown them out, but he could feel the fog rolling back in, and he was too weak to fight it.

He whimpered as the fog removed the vice from his chest, unconsciously taking the deeper breath that triggered the nightmare.

As the shadowy fog began to swallow him whole, Link fell limp in acceptance, opening tired eyes to the blue of the clearing, breath shuddering on a sob. “Again…” he whispered; then he was gone.

Cold, always so cold, shadows everywhere, have to get away…the boy shivered pitifully, but then something warm touched his hand, solid in a way nothing had been in far too long.

Champion? A familiar, steady voice floated nearby, bringing tears to the boy's eyes. He stilled, searching. It’s us, remember?

“Remember whom?” he silently pleaded, looking for anything he could make sense of.

Link? The voice was concerned, and Link flinched as a layer of purple fog peeled away from his vision, revealing a substantial silhouette holding his hand, though its features were obscured by the shadows.

The young voice continued to repeat his name, and each time it did, the darkness cleared a little more, the figure coming into focus. Blue tunic, sun-kissed skin, blond hair…

The last of the dark fog bled into harmless blue mist, and clarity struck like a bolt of lightning. Wide-eyed, Link could only stare, sure the shadows were playing tricks on him. Finally, he found his voice, leaning forward as he breathed life into the figure’s nickname.

“Sailor?” An encouraging nod drew his sight beyond the young hero, to the scarred and marked face of the Chain's leader. “Old— old man?”

Relief painted Time's voice as Wind slowly helped Wild sit up. “That’s right. We’re here to get you out.”

Wind pulled Wild into a small side hug, and the warmth of his small body eased the aching tremors he’d been subjected to since this nightmare began. Dizzying relief – at the touch, at the proof that he wasn’t alone – flooded his body.

Time’s shrewd eye watched the emotions play across Wild’s face. “Do you know what happened?” he asked carefully.

Wild swallowed, noticing for the first time that, somehow, the two heroes hadn’t broken the memory, just forced their way into it. Shadows still surrounded the trio.

“Something went wrong,” he stammered as the memory compelled him to look left. He shuddered, watching the shadows writhe. “With the— the memory. Don’t know what, the first time was just a normal one, but it— it changed. And now it keeps r-repeating and it won’t stop, no matter what I do I can’t make it stop—”

The darkest shadows yet charged like the incoming tide at their little sphere of light, and his breath choked in his lungs as he watched them approach. The wave broke harmlessly around them, held at bay for the moment, and he forced his attention back to Wind and Time.

Time rubbed a comforting hand along Wild’s shoulder. “...How many times has it been?” he asked quietly.

The fog swirled around them, innocuous and terrifying in equal measure. “Don’t know,” Wild croaked. The shadows shifted closer; the memory would end soon. “I lost track close to a hundred.”

At the admission, Time's hand stilled temporarily, Wind gasped, and the shadows screamed, closer than they ever had before. Wild flinched violently at the sound, trembling as he was drawn into Wind's full embrace, Time's hand a grounding presence as chills shuddered up and down his spine.

“Can you make it stop?” Wild whispered, hardly daring to hope as he watched the thick, oily fog gather around them, waiting for that deep breath that would surely undo him.

He felt Wind nod rapidly, while Time’s hands squeezed his shoulders. “We can.” Time reassured, “Just hold tight. We’re going to pull you out with us when we break the connection.”

If Wild had been on his feet, the utter relief that washed through him would have sent him to his knees. As it was, tears flooded his eyes, and he clung tightly to the older hero.

Time stood carefully, drawing Wild up with him, supporting him through the shaking weakness in his limbs. The cursed fog gathered closer, wrapping around the three heroes, and Wild flinched closer to Time’s chest.

“Let's get out of here,” Time's deep voice rumbled through Wild’s entire body, and the soothing circles rubbed into his shoulder warmed his trembling frame.

Wind's voice reached him as if from a great distance, although Wild could feel the thin, strong arms wrapping around his back. “I’ve never done this before,” the sailor admitted worriedly, “breaking the song’s magic like this. I don’t know if... What if we can’t..?”

“Then we will come back and try again,” Time said confidently, wrapping Wild in a hug tight enough to convey the strength of that promise. “As many times as it takes. Now let’s get out of here.”

Held tightly between the two heroes, twin lighthouses of courage against the gloom, Wild watched as the threads of whatever curse he’d been placed under began to fray, wearing away under the heroes’ determination. Some fell away easily to the combined magic of the Heroes of Time and Winds, but others – the stickiest, deepest shadows – refused to let go of him, and he shook violently in their hold.

Time's tenacity attacked those in particular, tearing, ripping at them until they finally yielded. Wind's magic yanked at a stubborn patch, and Wild himself, weak though he was, managed to pull a couple of the shadowy tendrils away.

One final, cursed thread hung from Wild, connecting his shadow to those of the trees surrounding the clearing. In unison, the heroes of courage went on the attack, and the thread snapped.

The first thing Wild was aware of was darkness. He drew in a sharp breath, silently panicking until he realized it was tinted red, like he was in bright sunlight with his eyes closed. Warmth soon followed, along with his other senses.

His body was still frozen, though, waiting for a sign that this was real, not another tricky, twisted memory.

The sign came as nearby movement, as a voice. “Come on Champion, come back to us...” Time murmured.

That name, that voice, that feeling of warmth in his chest…rigid muscles finally unlocked and Wild’s eyes flew open, gasping as he bonelessly fell into a pair of waiting arms.

The timbre of the relieved laughter that followed and the soft fur under his fingers told him Twilight had caught him, and he trembled as he registered that he was finally free of the nightmare.

Noise erupted around him, Wind's cheerful “It worked!” opening the floodgates. The voices of the Chain pressed close around Wild and he tensed. They were too close, too loud after the solitude in his mind. When someone nudged his arm, he couldn’t help the full-body shiver that locked his muscles back into immobility.

Time's voice was a blessing in its quietude, gathering the attention of the crowding heroes above him. “Give him space,” Time said quietly. “He’s been through a lot, and will need rest. I think perhaps, he could also use some breakfast... could you all help with that?”

Wild relaxed marginally as he listened to the retreating footsteps, although the tremors in his body, especially his hands, refused to still. He clutched at the wolf pelt beneath his fingers, attempting to still the shaking, burying himself further in Twilight’s hold.

Quietly, a set of footsteps approached, hesitating before their owner voiced his concern. “Is he okay?” Wind asked softly.

“I–” Wild’s voice failed him. He breathed out slowly, shivering at the gratitude and relief that were coursing through him. Carefully, he raises his head to meet Time's eye, silently thanking the older hero. Time reached for one of his hands and Wild – drowning in his emotions – gripped it like the lifeline it was.

“Wild?” Twilight’s voice was gentle, careful, a soothing balm to his frayed nerves, and he twitched an ear to show he’d heard. “How are you doing cub?”

What a loaded question. Wild closed his eyes, breath shallow as he thought. Time had mentioned breakfast, so that meant…

Oh, Hylia. He’d been locked in that nightmare all night, and then some.

Shock joined the rest of the emotional slurry in his stomach, numbing him head to toe. Slowly, though, his surroundings filtered back in.

His hand held firmly in Time's. His fingers and face buried deeply in Twilight’s wolf pelt. The Rancher's strong heartbeat pounding in his ear. Even Wind's silent, supportive presence as they awaited his response.

He was free. Gratitude and relief surged in an overwhelming wave; he could not contain them any longer. The release from the terror of the night escaped in equal waves of laughter and shuddering sobs, tears flowing unashamedly down his face.

Time drew the hand he was holding close to his own chest, and Wild cried harder at the heartbeat under his palm, proof that they were all alive and safe. Wind squished himself into the group hug, and Wild let himself be held, shivering as the chill of the nightmare was replaced by the sheer comfort of his brothers' presence. I’m free!

“You’re okay,” Twilight whispered, running a comforting hand through Wild’s hair. “You’re out, Link. You’re safe.”

Wind's voice came next, fierce if a little guilty. “And we’re gonna make sure it never happens again.” Wild shuddered, remembering the merchant from town, realizing the darkest shadows of his nightmare had shared the man's silhouette. “Never again.”

Wild held Time's hand in a tight grip, and the gentle return squeeze from the other half of his rescue team cemented the vow.

Never again.

[silvrash-797]

@skyward-floored thanks for the ask!

When shadows fade (pt 2)

Day 15+9: "who did this to you?"/bees

Part 1

Read on ao3

Sky stilled his mind, taking a deep breath as the tip of the Master Sword wavered in front of him. When the Chain woke earlier that morning to find Four missing and no sign of a struggle, they began to worry. Twilight had left immediately to find Wolfie and possibly pick up a trail, but had returned alone, dejected, after a couple of hours.

The anxiety of the group grew a few notches, but they kept their heads and settled down to come up with other ways to track their Smithy. Sky hesitantly brought up his dowsing ability. He knew Fi was weaker than she had been on his adventure, but she was always willing to help a hero in need.

Leaving the rest of the Chain in Warriors and Twilight's care, he and Time set off, following the faint tug at the tip of the blade. They walked for over an hour, winding through forests and over hills, until they hit the rocky foothills of an enormous mountain range.

Fi brought them near the base of a sheer cliff that stretched out seemingly indefinitely to either side. The signal was strong, coming from directly in front of the pair, but there was no apparent way through to the other side.

Sky sighed, stumped, and let the tip of the sword drift towards the ground. He turned to his companion, pleading, “Any ideas, Old Man?”

Time's eye narrowed, searching the cliff face, brow pinched in a frown. “I can almost feel…” he murmured, hand drifting towards his adventure pouch. “Sky, put the sword away, I need to check something.”

With silent thanks, Sky laid Fi to rest in her sheath, watching as Time pulled out an object made of purple and red glass. The short handle, oblong central crystal, and three spiky gems adorning the top reminded him of the Sheikah eye. He cocked his head curiously when Time brought it to his eye and began to look through it.

“The Lens of Truth,” Time began, “is a…magic mirror, of sorts. Feed it a bit of magic, and it allows the user to view things that would otherwise be hidden.”

“You think it can help us find a way across?”

“I hope so.” Time continued to scan the cliff face. “Something looked odd about the rock, just there,” he pointed near where the dowsing signal had been strongest, lips thinning as he concentrated, “but I don’t see…Ah! There!”

Time shifted so Sky could share the lens, and they both looked through to see a small fissure, hidden in the cliff face. It would be a tight squeeze, but if it went all the way through the rock they could continue their search.

The high noon sun beat down upon the pair as they approached the cliff. Even this close, without looking through the lens there was no visible fault in the rock. Sky pulled the Master Sword once more, verifying the direction they’d need to go.

Cool air wafted from the narrow fissure, soothing their fears of a dead end. Carefully, they shuffled through the narrow crack, Master Sword and Lens of Truth returned to sheath and pack. As they went, Sky shuddered as the thick feel of dark magic began to seep around them.

Sky knew, with absolute certainty, that something – hopefully someone – would be at the end of this tunnel.

It was long enough that by the time Sky and Time emerged from the tunnel into a wide cave, their eyes had mostly adjusted to the darkness. Heavy magic pressed all around them, and Time pulled out the Lens of Truth, beginning to look around again.

A dull glint caught Sky's eye, and he turned to find the source. His breath caught in his chest even as his heart soared. “Four!” he exclaimed, swiftly moving to the Smithy's side.

There was no response. Time glanced across, but continued to look through the lens rather than crowd Four.

“Four?” Sky eyed the extinguished torches on either side of the smaller hero, the chains Four hung limply in, and the shallow movements of his chest. He didn’t appear injured, but with the dark magic hanging in the air, there wasn’t a good way to tell without some light.

Sky diverted his attention from Four just long enough to light one of the torches with one of Legend's spare lanterns, but was distracted by the shadows flickering to life across the cave. Fi chimed as he swept his glance around the lightening cave, the sword warming upon his back as his eyes settled on the opposite wall, where each of their shadows wavered softly.

Sky noted with shock that, while they were all casting a shadow, Four’s was unnaturally pale and washed out. He looked between Four and his shadow with concern.

“Old Man?” he called hesitantly, and Time immediately came closer, lens still in hand but not in use.

“What did you find, Sky? Is he okay?”

“I’m…I’m not exactly sure.” Sky hesitated, dread mounting in his heart. Something was wrong, here, and it was centered around Four. “Your lens, may I…?”

Time surrendered the lens easily. “Of course,” he murmured, moving to do his own inspection of Four.

Sky fed a trickle of the magic that allowed him to use the Goddess harp and his skyward strike into the lens, then brought it to his eye. He recoiled in shock and nearly lost hold of the lens when a pair of exhausted red eyes blinked back at him from the depths of Four's shadow.

Time deftly snatched the lens from Sky's numb fingers and focused on Four’s fading shadow as Sky had done. Sky jumped when a furious growl rumbled through Time’s chest. “A Dark. I should have known. What did you do to him?!” he seethed.

Sky thought back to a recent conversation about the dark versions of each hero, and how, more often than not, they’d had to fight their Darks to continue with their journeys. He remembered how most of the heroes agreed that they were evil and deserved to be defeated, but Four had only looked down at his feet – at his shadow – as sadness colored his usually reserved features.

Sky placed a restraining hand on Time’s chest, taking back the lens as he did. He took a deep breath and focused on the being within Four's shadow.

This Dark, if it was one, didn’t look evil. It looked tired, harrowed, weak. Deep purple hair, so deep it was almost black, framed its face in an exact replica of Four's own hairstyle. The red eyes he’d originally seen retained a weak defiance through the exhaustion; its deep gray tunic hung limp on its body, which shuddered with uneven breaths.

The Lens of Truth apparently allowed Sky to hear what was hidden as well, for he heard the shadow muttering to itself in response to Time’s accusations. “I would never do anything to him.” It stared past Sky, watching Four breathe. “Of course you wouldn’t believe me, even if you could hear me…it won’t matter…’m dead soon anyway…’m so sorry, Rainbow, I’ve tried…”

It – he? – closed his eyes with a wince, shuddering out a long sigh. The shadow being just hung there breathing for a moment, then his eyes turned back to Sky. “What're you starin' at, anyway? No one can see me…’m just a shadow. Aren’t you one of those heroes? You should be savin' Link…wake him up an' let me die in peace…”

Sky’s heart clenched in sympathy. His infamous “Mother Cucco" instincts flaring, he shook his head gently. He reached out and placed his hand on the wall, where he could see the shadow being’s shoulder through the lens. “I can’t allow that,” he told it softly. “Who are you? Who did this to you?”

The shadow being stared blankly at Sky's hand before its gaze traveled up his arm and met him eye-to-eye through the lens. “…That eye thing…you can see me?” it mumbled confusedly, “You can hear me?”

Sky nodded.

Relief filled its eyes, chasing away some of the exhaustion. “Link calls me Shadow. I was…created to stop him during one of his adventures, but I decided I liked helping him more…I’ve been trapped inside his shadow since that adventure ended.”

Shadow’s eyes went back to Four's limp form before he continued, “Some creep in a hooded robe came in…put something under Link's tunic…Somehow it’s sucking all his memories of me away…they’re the only thing keeping me alive – if he loses them all, I’ll…”

Shadow winced again, panting as Four's shadow faded by another degree. “Please. Help us.”

Sky nodded in determination. “Where should we look?”

Shadow closed his eyes, conserving his strength. “Collarbone,” he breathed.

“Okay,” Sky nodded again, wishing he could impart some physical comfort to Shadow, then turned towards Four and Time. “Time, this is gonna sound crazy, but I have some information that could help – check his collarbones for anything unusual.”

Time raised a skeptical eyebrow but complied, gently loosening Four's tunic. He shook his head after a brief inspection. “I don’t see anything,” he stated, but his eye searched the cave, watching the shadows and air as if he could read the lines of heavy magic surrounding them, “but that doesn’t mean there might not be something there.”

Fi chimed again on Sky's back, and he approached Four's limp form, raising the Lens of Truth as he did.

Something metallic glinted on Four's skin, just a few inches from his throat. Closer examination revealed a small brooch shaped like a handful of bees buried into the soft skin under his collarbone. Each intricately worked leg and stinger were needle-sharp, angled inwards to anchor the object.

One clear bee hovered in the midst of the swarm, the rest of which were filled with a dark mist. Even as he watched, a similar mist slowly began to fill the last bee. In the corner of his eye Four's shadow paled further, writhing in the flickering torchlight.

That fog must represent the memories of Shadow. They were running out of time.

Sky moved swiftly back to Shadow’s side and tried again to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. Ineffective as it might be, it had to bring some sort of comfort to the fading shade. He was rewarded with a faint smile.

“I can see the object that’s collecting and containing the memories,” Sky told Shadow softly. “It shouldn’t be difficult to remove, but I’m not sure what will happen to the memories when I do.”

Shadow’s eyes closed in contemplation. When he spoke, it was in the barest whisper. “Get it off. Anything's better than dying in front of him.”

Sky was back at Four's side in a matter of seconds. With a firm grip on the brooch, he carefully pried it from Four's skin. A few drops of blood seeped from the puncture wounds, but when Sky looked back at the brooch the mist remained safely contained, the last bee half full.

Immediately, the heaviness of the magic began to fade, and Sky breathed a sigh of relief. A glance through the lens in Shadow's direction confirmed his continued presence.

A tremor rocked Four's small frame, rattling his chains. He drew in a sharp breath before opening bleary, multi-colored eyes. “Where ‘re we?” he groaned, “...Wha' happ'nd…Eurgh, my head…”

He scrunched his eyes closed and gently shook his head before opening them again. His gaze wandered around the cave until it fell on Sky and Time.

Sky crouched on the floor so Four wouldn’t strain his neck. “Hey, Smithy. How do you feel?”

Four blinked. “Like something’s been poking around in my head.” He stood, trying to take his weight off his arms and attempting to roll out his shoulders. “Stiff. Do you know how to get me out of these? We – I looked, but I couldn’t find anything.”

Time spoke. “I have an idea, but I’ll need my lens back, Sky.”

Sky was hesitant to return the lens – it was his only connection to Shadow, and he didn’t want Time to interrogate him, with how weak he was – but he had to see how much Four remembered, for Shadow’s sake. To his relief, Time merely looked over the manacles before turning a hidden mechanism and handing the lens back. The dark, heavy magic in the air dispersed as Four's arms fell.

Sky winced in sympathy as Four worked the stiffness from his arms and shoulders. “Do you remember what happened?”

Four rocked his head side to side in a so-so gesture. “Kind of? I woke up alone, tried to escape for a while until someone in a hooded robe came in. They sounded awful, by the way.” A note of uncertainty colored his tone, and his eyes took on an amber hue. “They…told me they could make me forget…something…I was scared.”

Four's eyes darted around the cave, tension slowly coiling every muscle tight as he unconsciously curled in on himself. “There was someone…we…needed,” he whispered, “Someone we…forgot…?”

His gaze settled on the shadows on the far wall, immediately noticing how faded his was. He paled significantly, and tears began to drip down his face. “Sky,” he rasped, “I feel like there’s a hole in my heart. What am I forgetting?”

In response, Sky held out the bee brooch, visible without the lens now that the odd magic had been dispersed. “We found this under your tunic just before you woke. I believe it holds your missing memories.”

Four took it reverently while Time looked over his shoulder. They examined it for a moment before coming to the same conclusion. “It’s cursed,” they said in unison.

Fi chimed on Sky's back – for being weakened she sure had a lot to say today – confirming their words. Sky gestured towards her hilt. “She could probably break the curse. Do you think –” He cut himself off. There were too many things that could go wrong if using the sword didn’t work, or if it worked too well.

The other heroes looked at the brooch with this new context; as they did Sky subtly looked through the lens at Shadow, silently asking his opinion. Shadow searched his face before giving a single solemn nod.

Sky put the lens away as Four came to his own conclusion. “Let’s try it. If I keep it close the mist shouldn’t escape.”

Sky took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. He drew the Master Sword from her sheath; she immediately lit up with a pleasing glow. Carefully, he held just the tip of the sword to the brooch, watching the fog drain away from each bee and soak into Four's skin. From the corner of his eye, he watched Four's shadow strengthen with each regained memory, until it stood proud and clear next to his own.

Four stood silent for a moment as the memories settled, then he gasped, eyes flying open in shock. “Shadow! We almost forgot…” Fresh tears rolled down his face as he stared longingly at the opposite wall. “I hope you’re okay, wherever you are…” he whispered.

Wordlessly, Sky held out Time’s Lens of Truth. Four wiped his eyes and took it carefully, glancing curiously at Sky as he did.

Sky gave a soft smile. “Feed it a bit of magic. It shows things that are hidden – it’s how we found you.”

Understanding dawned in Four’s expression as hope bloomed in his eyes. With a measured breath, he brought the lens into alignment with his shadow on the wall.

The widest smile Sky had ever seen split the Smithy's face as he raced off to the wall, where Sky knew a long-awaited reunion would shortly happen. Four's voice was overjoyed as he shouted his friend's name: “SHADOW!!”

[silvrash-797]

Febuwhump 2025 - Delirium

Read on ao3

Tw for non-graphic descriptions of violence

Warriors groaned as the throbbing pain in his head spiked. He swayed in the chains that held him upright as he tried to use his shoulder to rub the grit from his eyes. 

“Captain?” Legend asked softly from the other cell. “Are…you okay?”

Warriors hummed noncommittally, his eyes falling in a long, slow blink before he forced them open again. “Yeah,” he rasped. His stomach twisted at the lie. “Just…tired.” 

“You can sleep, you know. I can handle whatever they throw at me.” But his voice was brittle, stressed, and Warriors could hear the lie there, too.

“No, Lege. I’d rather lose sleep than cause you more pain.”

For that had been the ultimatum, when they’d been caught by traitorous knights a week ago: the captain stays awake, or Legend gets hurt. He didn’t know how they knew, but every time he’d fallen asleep those first few days he woke to Legend's screams of pain.

It was made worse by the fact that he couldn’t see what they were doing to his brother. The cells only had bars along the front, while the walls were solid stone. 

So, he couldn’t see. But he could still hear. Hear the crackle and pop of instruments, of joints. Hear the yelps, gasps, and muffled curses as Legend tried to be strong. And he could smell. Smell the smoke, sweat, and what he desperately hoped wasn’t burning flesh. And he could taste. Taste the blood in his mouth and throat as he accidentally bit his tongue while screaming himself hoarse.

No. If that was what it took, he could stay awake. He could save his brother. 

Four days was pushing the limits of his endurance, though.

Warriors shifted again, trying to ease the stress in his shoulders, the numbness in his hands. A nerve along his tricep burst into flames as sensation returned. Despite his best efforts, blackness clouded his vision and his eyes slid shut.

-----

WHSSSHHH-CRACK! POP! 

Legend's cry brought Warriors back to consciousness. He gasped and lost his footing as he scrambled to reorient himself. 

Another SNAP-CRACK of what he guessed was a whip sounded, and Legend whined.

No, nonono! “Stop, please!” Warriors yelled. “I’m awake, I’m awake!”

“Oh, I know,” their captor drawled from across the hallway. The large man stared hungrily into the heroes' cells, visibly enjoying their plight. 

“You cretins!” Legend spat. “You Goddess-forsaken, Ganon-cursed AUUGH!” His words were interrupted by the thud of flesh on flesh. Warriors heard a sickening pop as something shifted, and Legend coughed, gasping frantically for air. He whimpered with each exhale; Warriors surmised that a rib had been fractured or dislocated. 

Their captor tipped a hand to his brow in mock-salute. “You have a good night, Captain,” he grinned, then turned to leave with four other knights in tow.

As soon as the heavy door clanged shut behind the men, Warriors turned his attention to his brother. “I’m so sorry, Lege,” he said, voice thick with regret and exhaustion, “I don’t know what happened!”

He heard a few more shallow breaths before Legend gathered himself enough to respond. “Like I told'ja, Cap,” he slurred, “…I c’n handle it.”

But you shouldn’t have to. Warriors thought about the rest of the Chain, praying to whatever goddess would hear that they would arrive soon.

-----

Time passed. Warriors didn’t know how much. He’d settled into a state of semi-alertness, walking the line between wakefulness and sleep like his life depended on it.

His didn’t. But Legend's…Legend's did. And so, he remained awake, talking occasionally, but mostly staring into the middle distance. 

The heavy door creaking open shook him out of his trance. Dry, burning eyes blurred so badly he couldn’t see the figure standing at his cell door. 

The figure spoke, and Warriors' knees went weak. “Wars! Lege! We found you!” 

If Hyrule had been any closer Warriors could have kissed him. As it was, he finally let go, sinking into exhausted sleep.