#and I do inventory tonight AAAUGH

[smilesrobotlover]

Whumptober day 29- troubled past resurfacing

Ammon meets Wild! It goes fantastic! :D (it doesn’t)

Warnings: panic, near vomiting, implied character death, bad vibes all around :(

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Wild observed the world around him, it all looking unfamiliar to him. He wasn’t sure what had happened, he was with the other heroes fighting a puppet who attacked Hyrule, until the world disappeared around him, and he was thrown into a forest. He walked around, hoping to find the others, but there was no one there. At least it was a normal forest, with animals bouncing around and watching him cautiously as he stepped on leaves and twigs. When he finally left the forest and entered a field, he saw that this place wasn’t his Hyrule, but it did have a castle and villages scattered across it, so he was sure that he was in one of the other’s Hyrule. Which meant that they were here, they had to be. He started walking towards the nearest village, it looking like a ranch of sorts, until he got a strange sense of deja vu. He looked behind him and stared at trees, wondering why he was suddenly getting this feeling.

“Link!”

Wild spun around and was pulled into a tight hug. He was surprised at the sudden hug, and he wondered who could be embracing him like this without any warning. The person had short hair that was only slightly darker than his own, and he seemed to have a Sheikah prosthetic replacing his left arm. Wild didn’t dare reciprocate, he didn’t know anyone who looked like this. The person pulled back and Wild was able to see his face, and he felt his whole body go numb. Blue eyes that matched his own stared back at him, and a relieved smile was on his face.

“I finally found you, my boy! I was so worried when I heard about the puppeteer abducting you, I’ve been searching for you for ages now—“

Wild only stared in shock as the man continued to ramble. His face, his expressions, his scruffy beard around his mouth, it all felt so comforting and so… familiar. Soon, Wild’s whole world disappeared around him, his stomach flipped as the familiar feeling of remembering an old memory came in. Wild closed his eyes as the world around him was spinning, making him dizzy and nauseous, until it was finally over, and a feeling of dread rested within his stomach.

Link was running to a gatehouse, his grip around Zelda’s hand tightening, making sure that she didn’t fall behind. The monsters behind them were closing in and Link could hear their snarling and grunting as if they were right in front of him. He ignored the feeling of fear and picked up his pace, practically dragging poor Zelda across the cobblestone bridge. He saw soldiers opening up the gate and calling for them, and both the knight and the princess safely made it inside. He heard orders being given, and then he heard explosions. One of the cannons blew up the monsters pursuing him and Zelda, and the gate was closed.

The princess started gagging, trying to catch her breath from running so fast, and Link gently rubbed her back.

“I’m sorry Zelda,” he whispered, struggling to catch his breath as well. “I’m sorry.”

Zelda only gasped in response, doing everything in her power not to throw up. The soldiers around them got to their side, some comforting the princess, while the others huddled around Link, making sure he was alright.

“You’re safe here, for now,” one of the men reassured, looking out through the gate.

“Yes, for now. But if those guardians find out where we are—“

“Shush!”

The soldiers looked at Zelda who was now crying, and they grew silent for a bit.

“Our main priority is to protect the princess.”

Link turned around to see who said that, and he saw his father. He was disheveled, with his Royal guard outfit ripped all over. His hat was missing, and he had a deep cut on his cheek, but his blue eyes were soft when they looked at Link.

“F-father,” Link stammered, and his father knelt down at his side.

“Link, I’m so happy to see you’re alive.”

Link almost broke down sobbing right there, but he stopped himself. He was surrounded by soldiers who depended on him, he needed to keep his composure.

“S-s-sir Ammon,” Zelda choked out. She sat up, still shaking rather violently. “M-my father… is he…?”

Ammon’s eyes filled with deep sorrow, and he looked down.

“I’m sorry princess. The king… he’s… the king is dead.”

Zelda gasped, tears flooding her eyes. She bent over sobbing, curling up on herself while Link covered his mouth in horror. The king was dead, the castle was overrun, Ganon…. He won. Link buried his face in his hands. How could he have let this happen? He was the hero. He had the Master sword. They had all the champions, the divine beasts and the guardians, how could they…?

A horrific realization hit Link. Ganon took control of the guardians, so what about the divine beasts? Were the champions…. Were they alright?

Ammon’s hand rested on Link’s back, grounding him. Tears pricked at his eyes as the realization that everything was falling apart. His whole life, his home, his friends, how would they even survive this?

“Link, princess Zelda, I need you both to listen to me,” Ammon said softly but firmly, “you two need to run as far away from the castle as possible. You’re our last hope. With the master sword and Zelda’s sealing power, we may be able to win this—“

“How? How can we win this?” Zelda yelled, practically hysterical, “I couldn’t unlock my sealing power then, how—how can I unlock it now?”

Ammon gripped her upper arm, staring into her emerald green eyes. She stopped shaking slightly and stared back at him.

“You can do it, I know you can,” he said. Zelda looked at Link and he nodded as well. She took a deep breath and nodded herself. Ammon smiled and continued, “Now, we will hold off the monsters so you both can escape safely but—“

“Wait,” Link stopped his father. “You’re not coming with us?”

“You’re going to need all the help you can get Link. We will hold off the guardians and monsters so you and Zelda will escape, ok?”

“I—I can't leave you!”

“You’re going to have to, Link!” Ammon nearly yelled, grabbing both his arms and looking straight into his eyes. Link was struggling to compose himself, the very thought of leaving his father behind made him want to throw up. He couldn’t do that. He was his father. The two stared at each other for a while, Link’s eyes growing wet at the thought of never seeing him again. Ammon’s hand rested on Link’s cheek and he smiled at his son. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the chilling sound of a laser being shot.

“GUARDIANS!” One of the soldiers yelled, and a laser shot through the gate, destroying most of the gatehouse except for the back. Ammon grabbed both Link and Zelda and dragged them out of the gatehouse.

“Wait, father—“ Link tried to beg, gripping onto his arms as if his life depended on it. Ammon gave him one last look before gathering him into a hug.

“I love you so much Link,” Ammon’s voice shook, and he gave his son a firm kiss on the head. Link started crying when he let go, and he was shoved harshly away from him. The gate in the back was shut closed, and Link was separated from his father.

“NO!” Link shouted, and he sprinted to the closed gate. Ammon turned away and faced the guardian that broke into the gatehouse. Link screamed as he heard lasers shooting left and right, begging to be let in, begging for his father to survive.

“Link!”

Link turned and saw Zelda trying to pull him away. More guardians were coming, and Link knew that he needed to leave. Zelda’s safety was his priority now, he needed to keep her safe. He wiped his eyes and grabbed Zelda’s hand, sprinting away from the fallen gatehouse. He pushed his emotions down and kept running. He kept running even when his legs burned, even when his lungs and throat burned, even when he wanted to fall and curl up in his grief, he kept running.

And running.

And running.

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“Link! Link, snap out of it!”

Ammon shook his son gently, trying to get him to open his eyes. He didn’t know what happened, he found his son, he hugged him, and then he spaced out, almost as if he was dreaming. But it seemed more like a nightmare he was going through. His face was pinched in pain, and tears started streaming down his eyes, but his eyes stayed closed. Ammon stepped back, trying to figure out what to do. Link had never done this before, in fact, Ammon had never seen anything like this, so he just sat there, panicking as his son cried. Finally, he opened his eyes with a gasp. He looked around, dazed and confused, until his eyes landed on Ammon.

“Link?” Ammon said softly, and his boy took a step back. “Link? What’s going on?”

Link turned on his heel and started walking away, hugging himself. Ammon blinked, surprised at his reaction.

“Link— Link wait!” Ammon called out, grabbing his son’s arm, and Link pulled against him harshly. Ammon stared at his wet face, tears streaming down his face, his hair sticking to his cheeks.

“P-please,” Link whispered, his voice shaking, “it hurts too much.”

Ammon’s mouth fell open, what hurt? What hurt too much?

“Link?”

“Father?”

Ammon turned around and gasped. It was… Link? No but Link was right in front of him, right? Ammon observed the boy right in front of him and noticed the scars. How did he notice them now? The scars were all too familiar to Ammon, scars from guardian lasers, he bore his own on his nub of an arm. Confusion hit Ammon, and he let go of the boy in front of him, who ripped away and sprinted into the forest. Ammon stood there in shock, watching as the crying boy disappeared.

“Father?” His son said more quietly. Ammon turned slowly to him, confusion apparent on his face.

“Who—who was that?” Ammon asked in a quiet voice. Link pursed his lips and looked down.

“We call him Wild. He… he’s from the future where… the calamity won.”

Realization hit Ammon like a brick wall, and he covered his mouth.

“Oh—oh goddesses.” Ammon turned back to the forest where Wild ran, despair overwhelming him. “Oh goddesses…”

Link came up behind him and rested his hand on Ammon’s shoulder.

“You didn’t know,” he said softly, and tears welled up in Ammon’s eyes.

That poor boy…

Link pulled him into a hug, rubbing his back gently while Ammon played the events through his head.

“Oh that poor boy,” he whimpered, and Link gave him a tighter squeeze.

“You didn’t know,” he said again, and the two held each other after being apart for so long.