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bunnybbomb · 7 years

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Catharsis (Chapter 3)

Throughout his entire life, Brivere has insisted that Prion, late First Knight to the great King Dorephan of the Zoras, is his father. He kept insisting this even as he and his mother were stripped of nobility status, even as he failed prove that he had Prion’s ability to predict the future, even as everyone bullied him for being a liar. He continued to insist Prion’s parentage even when he slowly began to doubt it himself.

So when the time comes that Brivere is able to definitively prove that Prion is indeed his father and show that he was right all along, anyone would think that he would take the opportunity to do so in a heartbeat.

But for some reason, he doesn’t.

(This is a fanfiction for a fanfiction. Yes, I know, but I am completely obsessed with @banishfics Sidlink fanfic Coma Baby. Definitely check it out! Prepare for a long read that’s worth it. But you don’t need to have read all of it to get this fic, since a lot of things are explained within it.

Disclaimer: In no way does this have any true ties or canon to Coma Baby. It’s an indulgence AU to feed my obsession for Brivere drama.)

King Dorephan warily looked at Brivere, who had finally come back from the balcony. “Is everything alright?”

He nodded. “There is no need to worry, your majesty. And I agree to try on the choker.” The King’s face broke out into a wide grin. “Thank you, my boy. You will be doing your people a great service.” He waved his hand to Sidon, who eagerly held the chest back out to Brivere and flashed him an encouraging smile.

With a soft exhale of breath, Brivere lifted the silver scale choker out of the chest. Sidon quickly shut it and joined Link back at the foot of the throne. The golden Zora was concerned at how heavy weighed in his hands, wondering if it would be unformfortable to wear. But when he slipped it on, he felt the choker become as light as water as it evenly distributed itself across his broad shoulders. He couldn’t help but run his clawed fingers over the cool metal, tracing the intricate patterns and feeling the smooth gems adorning it. Although he had never seen it before, or knew about its existence for that matter, it felt so familiar as if it was his the whole time. It fit perfectly. Confidence surged through his body as he thought about how his father must have proudly worn this into battle, fighting off enemies and protecting the Domain alongside his mother.

“Well?” The Knight Divine snapped at him, completely ruining the moment. “Do you see anything?” The other knights and apostles around her nodded, looking at Brivere with clear disdain and disbelief.

He cleared his throat. “No.” he said simply, not wanting to give any of them the satisfaction of watching him struggle.

A smirk tugged at the corner of the Knight Divine’s lips as she turned to King Dorephan. “See, your highness? It is as we have been saying this whole time. As unfortunate as it is, Brivere simply isn’t Prion’s son, and I am afraid that there are no other possible blood ties to the late First Knight. This has been a terrible waste of time, and we must seek out other options for the benefit of our Domain.”

“Now hold on.” Link hissed. “He hasn’t even had it on for a minute yet!”

Sidon nodded. “The Hylian Champion is right. I’m sure it will take more time, considering that it has been over a century.”

“With all due respect, my Prince, you cannot possibly believe-!”

“Enough!” King Dorephan bellowed. Everyone in the throne room flinched at the edge in his voice, rather than its naturally loud volume. “It is fine. We will allow him more time.”

The Knight Divine hid her scowl, but sent a pointed glare to Brivere, who used every ounce of his willpower to not roll his eyes. Estuu looked up at him with an encouraging shine in his eyes before scurrying over to Link and Sidon. Brivere nodded at the three of them in thanks and took in a deep breath.

Well. Here he was, dumbly standing in front of a crowd that hated him, expected to summon powers that he doesn’t even know if he had. Panic began to wash over his body as he slowly realized that he had absolutely no idea what he was doing and he probably just bit off more than he could chew.

Was… he supposed to close his eyes? Yeah, that seemed right. He quickly shut his eyes, hoping that he didn’t look like a dumbass that was trying too hard.

Surprisingly, it actually helped, blocking out the stares of the noble crowd around him. He didn’t know what else to do other than silently pray to Hylia, since she was the one who supposedly gave his father future-seeing visions in the first place.

Dear Goddess Hylia, please help me. If Prion is truly my father, please awaken the same abilities you gave him within me so that I can finally prove to those around me that my mother and I were right all along. I am sorry to ask such a request, but I desperately need justice.

Nothing happened, and Brivere resisted the urge to grumble in frustration. He didn’t know what else he expected.

He thought about if his mother ever felt so abandoned by Hylia, but then remembered the tales about his father that she used to tell him when he was a child.

“Your father was such a caring man, almost as soft-hearted as you!” she would giggle, poking at his small stomach as he playfully smacked it away. “He cared so deeply about his fellow Zora that he prayed constantly to Hylia for help. He desired to see the future, not out of greed or the desire to be better than others, but rather to protect the people he loved.”

Brivere opened his eyes and glanced around the room. He didn’t know if he could be as selfless as his father and beg protection for the very people that tormented his family for the past hundred years. But his mind changed as his eyes settled on the three figures that stood at the foot of the King’s throne, watching him with worried expressions on their faces.

In that moment, Brivere realized that he didn’t want to protect the stuck-up nobles and apostles that requested him to put on the collar. But he did want to protect Sidon. He wanted to protect Link. He wanted to protect Estuu, and the kind old woman who waved at him in the marketplace, and the little boy who lived down the street that was nice to his younger brother, and every other Zora that populated the domain.

And with time, maybe even the Zora in this throne room.

A flood of images suddenly crashed into his mind in no coherent order, all of them fighting for domination. Brivere was so startled that he almost yelped in surprise. Impressively, his body managed to not even flinch at this strange development.

There were hordes of Bokoblins, Lizalfos threatening a wandering Hylian, Fort Boko being run by a Zora army, all things he was familiar with flashing before his eyes. There was also a lot of stuff that he had never seen before, such as a blood red symbol of an eye that appeared to be crying, or a young girl with golden hair in a crisp white dress who gave off a holy impression. And even though all of these things flashed for only a second before completely disappearing, Brivere somehow had the feeling that he could recall them perfectly, as if they were permanently branded in his mind.

It was such a strange, indescribable experience. Brivere could still see the throne room and everyone inside, but felt like he wasn’t really in his body. It was as if he could see everything, even the crowd behind him or the intricate details on the high ceiling that you would have to completely crane your neck to see. And yet at the same time, he could see none of it as the images continued to incoherently flicker in his mind. Eventually, they started to play out longer, becoming full moving scenes blossoming just out of his reach.

Brivere tried to call out in confusion, hoping for someone to explain to him what was happening, but found that his mouth refused to listen. Reflexively, he wanted to reach up to touch his jaw and figure out what was wrong, but even his hand refused to move. Panic began to creep up his body as he struggled to make any part of himself budge. For some reason, the only thing he actually had control of were his eyes, which darted between spectators, hoping to lock onto their stares and alert them that something was wrong. But whenever he actually managed to get someone’s attention, they would quickly look away, as if he was nothing but a blemish on the perfect marble floors.

His eyes strained to look to the side, trying to alert the few people in the room that actually liked him: Link, Sidon, and Estuu. It immediately backfired when Link just raised an eyebrow, Sidon gave him wide smile of support, and Estuu was too far to be properly seen.

Full panic overtook him. Why had no one had come to his aid already?

His heart was thundering in his chest, threatening to give out any second. It felt like he wasn’t getting enough air; actually, he couldn’t tell if he was even breathing at all.

Was he already dead?

What didn’t help his panic was the knowledge that nearly every person in the room had hated his very existence at one point or another. He could feel their stares harden, their arrogant whispers grow louder and louder. The best he could hope for is that someone would notice something was amiss and reach out to help him, but every second that passed by felt like an eternity.

Brivere had no idea how much time had actually passed until the Guard Captain spoke up. “I do apologize, your majesty, but it has been over 10 minutes and Brivere has done nothing but stand there. As much as I wanted this to work for the sake of our Domain, I simply do not believe this is the case.” The room broke out in low murmurs of agreement, smugly congratulating themselves for being “right” this whole time.

“I see.” King Dorephan sighed, slowly deflating his large form. “I was afraid this would happen. Brivere, please take it off now.”

Oh, Brivere would LOVE to, but his body refused to cooperate. The crowd around him began to shoot impatient glares and their pointed whispers grew louder.

“First Knight!” Muzu snapped. “You cannot defy the orders of the King for your own personal satisfaction! You are clearly not Prion’s son, so cease this charade before you face consequences.” All he could do was helplessly make eye contact, hoping that the old Zora would catch on that something was wrong.

He, of course, didn’t.

“If you do not stop this tomfoolery this instant, I will take that collar off myself and you will be removed from your position!” Muzu shrieked, stepping towards Brivere.

“Wait!”

The room suddenly turned to face the Hylian’s voice that rang through the large throne room. Even Muzu stopped to look at Link, who had a concerned look on his face.

“Something isn’t right.” Link hissed as he shouldered past Muzu and stood in front of Brivere. If he could, he would have laughed at the knowledge that a Hylian managed to be more perceptive than the entire elite class of the Zora domain.

Link peered into the Zora’s golden eyes. “Brivere, are you okay?” When he got no response, he waved his hands in front of Brivere’s face, which at his height meant that Link had to bounce on his toes. Brivere barely reacted, only letting his flickering eyes give any indication that he had even seen the Hylian’s actions.

“What is wrong with him?!” Sidon cried out, rushing over to the two. Link held out his arm to stop the Prince and shot him a look of concern. If Brivere couldn’t move anything other than his eyes, then there was no way of him communicating what was wrong.

Unless…

“Everyone be quiet and clear the area!” Link shouted. The crowd around them, too confused to argue, backed up and began to quiet down. When the only thing that could be heard was the occasional whisper, Link looked back up at Brivere.

“Brivere.” Link said slowly, trying to make his words clear as possible. “If you can hear me, I need you to look up.”

Brivere stared up as high as he could, feeling the muscles in the corners of his eyes burn from the effort.

Link let out a sigh of relief. “Good. Now look back at me.” Golden eyes quickly focused on the blue ones that stared back in concern. “If you can move your body, look up. If you can’t, look down.”

Brivere’s eyes darted down to Link’s mud crusted boots. Even in this situation, he cringed at the audacity of the Hylian to still be so filthy in the presence of so many important authority figures. If he actually managed to get out of this, he would definitely chastise Link about that later.

“Brivere,” Sidon said, trying to catch the golden Zora’s gaze. “If you think that you are having visions of the future, look up. If not, look down.”

His eyes hesitated for a moment, locked onto Sidon’s stare. In all honesty, Brivere had no idea what he was seeing, and he didn’t want to be wrong and cause more trouble down the line. But a nagging voice at the back of his mind told him that this situation was not bad. That this was his father’s gift, now manifesting itself in him.

Slowly, Brivere let his eyes drift upwards.

Sidon’s face broke out into a large, genuine grin. “He is having visions of the future!” The Prince announced to the stunned crowd around them. “Quick, someone produce a quill and some paper!”

Despite the Prince’s orders, no one moved. They were frozen in place, as if whatever was happening to Brivere had somehow spread to them. Estuu was unaffected, however, quickly running forward to aid his brother. His only functioning arm dug around the bag slung across his shoulder, and he held out a quill, some paper, and a large jar of ink.

“Thank you, young one.” Sidon said as he gently took the quill and paper out of his small hand. He then placed the items in Brivere’s grasp, making sure he could properly hold onto them. Estuu quickly went to his brother’s side, patiently holding the jar of ink above his head to make it more accessible to Brivere.

“Listen, Brivere.” Sidon urged. “You need to try and regain control of your body. I apologize, but I used my abilities to read your emotions and I believe you may have locked up due to a panic attack. Although, it may just be your body adjusting to this new ability, or possibly even both. Either way, you must write down everything you are seeing.” He flashed his signature grin, but Brivere knew him well enough to see the worry and concern that hid underneath. “Do not hurt yourself, though. Take as much time as you need.”

Brivere could do nothing but stare back as he desperately clutched at the items in his hands. Sidon and Link slowly backed away, encouraging the other knights and nobles in the room to do the same. The only one who remained was Estuu, still holding onto the jar of ink.

He tightly shut his eyes, hoping that it could possibly help his focus. If anything, it only worsened the visions in his head now that he was cut off from the real world, and he was too exhausted to reopen them. It felt like his body was melting into the waves of images that thrashed around in his mind, threatening to drown him in its intensity.

Brivere put all of his mental energy into trying to push back, suppressing them with all of his might. But it was no use. He simply found himself torn apart and stitched back together, swallowed again and again by the flurry of visions in his head. His consciousness began to slip, slowly submitting to the flood that threatened to suffocate him.

Calm down. His mother’s voice softly rang in his head like wind chimes caught on a gentle breeze.

Brivere had floated too far down the river. He madly swam against the current, trying to get back to his mother on his own, only for her to enter the water anyways and scoop him up in her arms. “Sweet heart,” she laughed. “Calm down! You need to swim with the tide, not against it.” She released him back into the water. “Now how about you swim back to your brother?”

Brivere squinted to see a small, rosy tail bobbing around in a shallower area just a little bit ahead of him. At first, he tried to fight against the waves again, but quickly realized that this got him nowhere. He ducked under water, getting a feel of the currents until he could comfortably ride them over to Estuu. The tiny Zora squealed in surprise when his older brother popped out of the water right next to him with a shout of victory and a wide grin on his face.

“Good job!” His mother cheered further down the stream. “It’s okay to let yourself be caught up in things, you know. You don’t always need to fight back or try to suppress it.” Brivere nodded, and his mother smiled at the sight of her two sons peacefully floating in the shallow waters. “Alright! I’d say you learned your lesson then. Watch over your baby brother for me, okay?”

Brivere eased up, trying to push away the lingering anxiety that tingled in his body. Letting the flow of images naturally play out, he let his consciousness be carried around as he soaked it all in. He could see an army of Zora soldiers marching towards a Lynel, he could see their every move, he could see them chanting “Zo ra ra ra!” in victory. He also saw them retreating as two of them died, and in another version three had perished. This was a common theme, watching a scene play out in hundreds of different ways all layered on top of one another. Since he had never seen any of this before, he could only assume that this was the future he was paying witness to.

The waves that threatened to drown him before slowly subsided into gentle ripples. Images steadily developed into full on scenes, letting Brivere fully see what would happen in every situation that was to come. The anxiety that had built up eventually washed away, leaving him in a calm lull. Slowly, he opened his eyes, finding everything and everyone to be exactly the same as he last saw them. The only difference was that they all gazed in wonder instead of disgust, and Link and Sidon had drawn closer, worried about his condition.

He had no idea how much time had passed before he had gained enough feeling in his hand to lead the quill over the paper. Despite the ridiculous amount of reports he had written in the past, his hand still clumsily churned out barely legible letters across the page. Brivere grit his sharp teeth and tried to put more focus into his arm, which made the words a bit clearer.

Eventually, he fell into a rhythm, comfortably filling up the page and moving onto the next one. The scratching of his quill was the only sound in the room as everyone stared in awe.

But the quill never seemed to catch up to his thoughts, and in a desperate attempt to document everything he threw the quill aside and dunked his fingers into the jar of black ink that Estuu held. His younger brother yelped in surprise, but continued to hold the jar steady and ignored the ink splashed around. Brivere’s claws dragged across the paper, spelling out enemy plans and soldier deaths, monster encampments, and even more visions of the future to come.

Everyone in the room gasped as he collapsed onto his knees. They were all frozen in place, unsure of what to do as Brivere continued to attack the papers strewn about the floor with his ink stained hands.

The world around him had faded away long ago. All he could see were flashes of what he presumed to be the future, because if it had happened to him before then he would have been a much more broken man by now.

Because of this, Brivere didn’t notice when he ran out of paper. He didn’t notice how he continued the scribbles of a mad man onto the marble floor, nor how he began to scratch at his arms so badly that his blood began to mix with the ink. He didn’t notice that his vision was getting blurry because of the hot tears that flowed down his contorted face. He didn’t notice the voices that shouted around him, muffled as if they were under water.

Someone- wait no, it was Estuu- was grabbing at his hands, which he smacked away as he continued to drag ink across the floor.

Words could barely describe what he was seeing, so he gave up writing and began to violently draw in splotchy lines of ink. The pictures became more and more incoherent as he desperately tried to document the visions before they permanently disappeared from his mind.

He couldn’t stop seeing horrible scenes of everyone he knew dying. Sidon was collapsed in the middle of a battle, a spear sticking out of his neck, blood gurgling in his throat as he tried but failed to call for help. He witnessed Link die in at least one hundred different ways as he squared off against the Calamity, and in all of them he was crying and begging for death not to take him now. He was forced to watch his beloved little brother slowly suffer over and over again, each one in a different and more excruciating way, each one where he was alone and screaming for Brivere to help him and oh god, no please, don’t take him now, why was he alone, why wasn’t Brivere there, no please someone help him-

His hands had minds of their own, because something inside him screamed that if he could at least somehow show everyone else these visions then maybe they could prevent them from ever happening.

Yet another voice told him he needed to stop. He couldn’t tell if it was in his own head or if it was someone shouting at him from outside his body, but either way he could feel his sanity slipping away.

Brivere tried to focus the little control he had left into his jaw, which felt welded shut. His sharp teeth ground together so hard that his gums were bleeding. Muscles in his throat were on fire as he begged his vocal chords to scream for help.

He was always known as a stoic and emotionless Zora, even amongst anyone who knew him well. No matter the situation, he kept on a stone-cold mask that gave away nothing about what he was truly feeling. He was quiet and spoke only when necessary, and even then it was always brief and professional.

So imagine their horror when his mouth finally snapped open.

“GET THIS THING OFF OF ME!” Brivere howled, slamming his head into the marble floor as his fingers clawed at the collar around his neck. “GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF!”

Hands shot out of the crowd and quickly pinned him to the ground. Brivere squirmed against their grasp, screaming. He couldn’t tell why he was screaming. All of his senses seemed to melt together into one big mess, confusing physical and mental pain for each other. And at the same time, he felt the same dissociation from earlier, as if he wasn’t truly in the golden body that flailed around on the floor. Familiar voices rang out all around him, but he can barely tell which one belonged to who.

“Hold him down!”

“Someone call the healers!”

“What is wrong with him?!”

Someone else near his face was trying to calm him down in hushed tones, but he was more focused on the collar around his neck that continued to heat up as if it was molten metal. His left hand snapped free from whoever was holding it down, and he began to claw at the necklace once more.

Smaller, softer hands smacked his away. “Brivere, stop it!” a familiar voice hissed right next to his face. “I’ll take it off for you, just hold still!”

Brivere forced his eyes to focus on where the voice came from. His vision was still hazy, but he could still vaguely make out the face of the Hylian Champion next to him. He felt Link’s hands hastily slip under his neck and undo the choker with ease, yanking it off in an instant.

Even though the choker was off, Brivere could still feel it burning into his scales. The same visions still danced around his mind, threatening to drag him back down into insanity.

Something soft bumped against his brow. “Brivere,” a low voice said. “Focus on me.”

Before he could respond, Sidon’s hands gently cradled his face, tilting the knight’s head upwards and lifting it into his lap. Sidon rested his forehead against Brivere’s, forcing him to stare into the Prince’s golden eyes. Brivere could feel his whole body slowly unwind as the Prince forced the horrible visions of the future out of his mind, replacing it with happy memories of the past.

He was back at the table with Sidon during the festival, simply enjoying some sweet raindrop cake and laughing at the spoiled prince’s disgust.

He was sitting on a hill with Link, the two of them staring in awe at the beautiful sunset dipping below the horizon.

He was preparing dinner in the kitchen, softly humming a familiar tune as Estuu quietly read a book next to him.

He was in his mother’s arms, caught up in her warm embrace as she whispered a sweet lullaby to him.

He was safe.

#coma baby #sidon #brivere #link #estuu #fanfic #fanfiction #fics #loz #legend of zelda #botw #breath of the wild #catharsis

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bunnybbomb · 7 years

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Trying Tie Tie Loose Ends (Catharsis Continuation): Chapter 8: Trust and Doubt

SUMMARY: Princess Zelda leads a group of Zora to Kakariko Village, with the intention of helping the Oracle Knight find a cure for his deformed eyes and gain better control of his ability to see the future. Brivere’s newfound trust with Link has been shaken, and neither are sure if they can recover from it. Problems arise when Brivere has a troubling vision and later a nightmare, both hinting at something ominous to come.

(A fic for the sidlink fic Coma Baby, a continuation of the other one I made called Catharsis!)

This is a fanfiction for a fanfiction called Coma Baby by BanishedOne on AO3 (tumblr: @banishfics / @banishedone), and a continuation of the other one I wrote called Catharsis. If you like a grumpy Link and really well developed, deep characters and an amazing take on the political structure of the Zora Domain, then definitely check out Coma Baby! It’s a long read and still going on, but the writing and descriptions are superb and it just means more great content. This fic in particular is focused on my favorite character in the series, the OC Brivere. You don’t need to read the whole series to get what’s going on in this fic though, since a lot is explained in here.

I post memes and fics for Coma Baby on my tumblr, you can chat with me any time about anything! I also post all chapters on my AO3 account BunnyBob!

Huge thank you to my amazing beta reader Alina! Her tumblr and ff.net is @ipromiseitsnotanobsession. She actually does editing shit for a living and she is the one that makes sure these things aren’t trash, so

Disclaimer: In no way does this have any true ties or canon to Coma Baby unless stated otherwise. It’s really just an indulgence AU to feed my obsession for Brivere drama.

Brivere tensely glided through the water with the Hylian Champion sitting on his back, legs clenched around his chest. No one was saying anything, not Link, not the other Zora guards ordered to accompany them, not even Princess Zelda as she followed them along the river on top of Crazy Girl. And although his younger brother was mute, even Estuu was unusually on edge as he swam next to Brivere.

It was obvious as to why everyone was so restless. All of them had been there when the usually gentle Prince Sidon had harshly ordered that Brivere was to go to Kakariko Village for treatment. And while none of them had personally witnessed the fight that had occurred between the Prince and the Hylian Champion when Link had dragged him off afterwards, it was obvious from the way the two of them glared at each other from across the throne room before Brivere’s departure.

Link technically wasn’t supposed to be with them anyways. Apparently, he had tried to talk Sidon out of sending the golden knight away. But because he couldn’t provide any real explanation as to why and refused to tell his secrets, Prince Sidon had quickly gotten frustrated and had ordered the Hylian off of the entourage.

He was only on Brivere’s back at the moment because he had met them near the river and claimed that he needed a ride to Kakariko Village completely by coincidence. Zelda was too tired to argue.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Princess Zelda slowed Crazy Girl down and signaled for the Zora in the water to stop. Apparently, aside from Link, Zelda was the only other person to have some control over the psychotic horse. Perhaps even Crazy Girl could sense the authoritative and holy aura that the princess always gave off.

Bazz nodded at her and quickly stopped, treading water. “Alright! On the command of the Princess we will stop here for the night!”

“Yes sir!” the soldiers chanted back. Noticeably, Estuu, Link, and Brivere were the only ones in the river who didn’t respond. One of them was mute, the other one was a Hylian and technically not under Bazz’s command, and the other was pissed.

Admittedly, Brivere was less than amused that the Guard Captain had been put in charge of the expedition along with Zelda, instead of himself. The two of them still had an awkward relationship thanks to their past interactions, with Brivere and Estuu not giving medical aid to Bazz’s now dead friend and Bazz not giving proper rations for Estuu’s sensitive dietary needs. So technically, their dickish moves evened out.

But that had been a long time ago, and they had now settled into a more professional persona when around each other. Also, Bazz was apparently a childhood friend of Link and the two of them were very close as a result.

No, the irritation lay more with Prince Sidon.

While he appreciated Sidon’s concern, Brivere was annoyed that the prince had suddenly pulled a power move and used his position to force him to go to Kakariko Village against his wishes. Prince Sidon also wasn’t listening to him or Link, absolutely stubborn and stuck on his decision. Sure, maybe they weren’t exactly providing the most precise answers, but he could at least try and sense that something wrong was going on.

“Do you need help, Oracle Knight?” one of the soldiers asked, holding a clawed hand out to Brivere. He remembered her always working in the palace, coincidentally being everywhere he was. They often had polite conversation, so he remembered her name: Alon.

He shook his head. “No, but I appreciate the offer.” he grunted as he pulled himself out of the water. That was the other thing that bothered him. When Prince Sidon had told the other guards to follow them to Kakariko Village, apparently he had made Brivere’s condition seem much worse than it actually was.

It was clear when Alon nodded but still held her arms out, hovering around Brivere as if she was afraid that he would collapse any second. He almost lashed out and smacked her hands away but then he remembered that it wasn’t her fault.

Looking over at Link, he didn’t know whose fault it was.

Sure, maybe the prince was being a bit too cautious for his liking. But they wouldn’t have even been in this mess if Link had just come forward and told Sidon about his immortality and skepticism towards the Sheikah and Princess Zelda.

Link raised an eyebrow, catching the golden knight’s stare. “Something wrong?”

“…No.” Brivere said curtly, turning to walk over to a nearby tree. He slumped up against the rough bark and slid down to sit on the dirt ground, trying to ignore how the other soldiers were glancing over at him in concern. Estuu plopped down right next to him, already cracking open his copy of The Cursed Girl.

Shrugging, the Hylian sauntered over to sit down in front of the brothers. “You know,” he said, absentmindedly dragging his fingers through the dirt, “we’d already be there by now if someone wouldn’t be so stuck up and pretentious about our transportation methods.”

Brivere sighed. He still didn’t understand the tension between Link and Zelda, and while he wanted to trust his friend, he also didn’t want to have preconceived notions about the princess without getting to know her and her side first. “It is alright. While Zora can swim fast we still tire out. Having a rest stop for the night will recover our strength to continue our journey tomorrow.”

“Yeah, but you guys are literally fish people made for the water!” Link cried out, throwing his hands into the air. “We could be resting for the night in Kakariko Village if you guys were just allowed to swim as fast as you usually do!”

“Yes, but we must accommodate for Princess Zelda.”

“She can just ride on your backs like I do! I sat on Sidon’s back while taking out Vah Ruta, for Hylia’s sake, she could easily go down a river!” Link looked back over at the Princess, who was trying to tie Crazy Girl to a tree and failing miserably. “She won’t even let Crazy Girl go wild! My lady could probably get there even before you guys could.”

Brivere tittered, trying to ease his friend’s anger. “I have no doubts of that. She nearly trampled Prince Sidon when I asked you to battle him so long ago.”

A wide smile stretched across Link’s face at the memory. “Wish she could do it again, really. Wipe the smug look off of his face.”

“Are you two going to be alright?” Brivere asked. “I heard you had quite the argument and I would hate for your side of the relationship to be in ruins because of me.”

Link sighed and aggressively raked his fingers through his blond hair. “It’s fine, you’re not the one in the wrong. I guess it’s my fault. After all, this whole situation is because of me. I still haven’t told him about the whole immortality thing yet.”

Brivere stiffened up and glanced over at his younger brother, who didn’t even look up from his book. Catching onto his apprehension, Link leaned in. “It’s fine. Estuu knows. I told him way before I told you, when you made me follow him around to see where he went when he skipped class.”

“That was years ago!” Brivere exclaimed, ogling his younger brother. Estuu flicked his golden eyes up and shrugged before returning his focus to the book in his hands.

Link laughed. “Yup. I also asked him to shoot me in the head with an arrow to test it out.” Brivere’s jaw dropped open as he scanned the Hylian’s rugged face for a scar or any trace of evidence.

“It’s fine, he didn’t actually do it.” Link admitted.

Brivere shook off the Hylian’s casual display of recklessness and silently thanked his brother for not partaking in it. He supposed that he could understand. If Link was actually immortal, there would be no harm in trying to test out its limits.

But as the three of them continued to silently sit there, doubt began to creep into his mind. He glanced over Link’s body, trying to see if there was any hint of past brushes with death. It didn’t help that the Hylian’s muscled body was covered with wounds, some of them so old that they were already faded, while others were fresh and still bleeding a little. But this was to be expected, as the Hylian was a fearsome warrior that picked a fight with anything that happened to move and sometimes even things that didn’t.

Although he had promised to trust Link, Brivere wished that he at least had some sort of undeniable proof to back up the Hylian’s claims of immortality. He did find it suspicious that he kept having visions of the Hylian dying, and unlike similar visions of watching others perish, Link would somehow just reappear and continue along the web of fate. But Brivere wasn’t certain if this was actually a sign of immortality or just a mistake due to a lack of control over his ability to see the future. And not only did Link insist that he couldn’t die, but it was also a power forced on him by crazed Sheikah scientists. Apparently it had damaged his friend both physically and psychologically until he nearly went insane.

And now they were headed to Kakariko Village to ask for help from said crazy scientists, who would be given full medical control of the golden knight’s body.

As much as Brivere wanted to believe in his Hylian friend, he silently hoped that this would be one thing that Link was wrong about.

;

Nighttime had fallen by the time they had finished setting up camp, which was really just two shoddily set up tents for the Hylians near the river where the Zora soldiers would sleep. Brivere sat by the edge of the water, silently watching his younger brother’s scarlet body bob gently beneath the surface.

It was fairly quiet at this point of the night. Most of the soldiers were already sleeping in the water, their black and blue scales shining in the moonlight. Guard Captain Bazz and a couple other guards were on the first watch shift. Princess Zelda had turned in early, and Link was not far away as he talked to Crazy Girl, which made him seem crazy as well since he was casually chatting with an angry horse.

Yet even in the calm lull, Brivere couldn’t help but feel the scales on the back of his neck prickle, as if a hand was closing around his throat. He quickly whipped around, aggressively pointing his longsword at a shadowy form approaching him from behind.

“Oracle Knight!” Alon yelped, holding up her clawed hands. “I am so sorry to disturb your peace!”

Brivere frowned and quickly retracted his blade. “No, I should be the one to apologize. You have done nothing wrong, Alon.”

A shy smile stretched across the black Zora’s face. “Ah! You remembered my name! I am so honored!”

“Of course. You have always been a dedicated soldier and you were even polite enough to hold casual conversation with me back at the palace when many others would not.”

Alon’s head tail wagged excitedly in response. “I am so honored to receive such praise from the Oracle Knight! Please, may I sit next to you if it is no trouble?”

Brivere nodded, patting the ground next to him. She quickly plopped down into the dirt, putting her legs in the water and eagerly kicking them around. Nothing about Alon stood out except for her energetic personality, which clashed against the serious way that most Zora soldiers carried themselves. Other than that, she easily blended into the crowd being of average height and body width. Even her black scales were a common color amongst most soldiers her rank.

Both of them quietly sat there for a few moments, letting the sound of gentle currents hold a conversation in their place. Finally, Alon spoke up, turning to Brivere with her golden eyes shining with curiosity.

“So!” she said. “I do not intend to be rude, but can you truly see the future?”

Brivere stared back at her in confusion. “Yes?” he replied hesitantly. “I would not have this position otherwise.”

“Sorry, sorry!” she yelped, quickly smacking a hand to her face. “I apologize! Of course, that is so obvious!” They fell into an awkward silence before she tilted her head back up again, peering at him from the corner of her eye. “I suppose that I just worded it wrong. Forgive my rudeness, I was actually just trying to ask how the process works.”

Humming, Brivere relaxed his shoulders. “It is quite hard to explain. I do not believe that I am the best person to speak of it, as I do not have full control of my ability yet.”

Her head snapped to look directly at him. “Nonsense! While you may not have full control yet, I am confident that you will eventually! In the meantime, may you tell me what it feels like?”

Brivere hesitated before giving in and responding. It was hard not to get caught up in Alon’s infectious excitement. “I suppose… the closest I can compare it to is the water, but perhaps that is due to me being a Zora and so I am be biased.” Alon giggled at this, making him ease up a little more. “It depends on how much control I have. Images will crash around in my mind, and I can either allow them to drown me or gently carry me around. Those images melt into scenes of the future. But it becomes overwhelming when they all play at the same time, lapping over each other. I am working on becoming more focused.”

Alon nodded thoughtfully, humming as her legs continued to kick in the water. “If it is not too much to ask, may you give me a demonstration?” Alon politely asked.

If it were anyone else, Brivere would have been fed up and annoyed with the conversation at this point. But Alon’s genuinely pure curiosity swayed him, and he found himself nodding slightly. “I cannot guarantee that it will immediately work. But I will try.”

The black Zora quickly nodded her head, retracting her legs from the river and curling into a ball as she quietly stared at Brivere with wide eyes. He chuckled at her childlike wonder before closing his own.

He reached a clawed hand to touch his father’s choker. Technically, any physical touch with the silver collar would send him into a downward spiral of overwhelming visions, but he wore normal armor underneath to allow him to wear it without having a mental breakdown. Brivere didn’t necessarily wear the choker to show off his title as Oracle Knight but rather because he wanted to have a piece of his father with him at all times.

As expected, the usual flurry of images crashed into his mind. No matter how many times he had done this, it never lessened in its intensity. He quickly focused on the first scene he could find, trying to soak in the information before he collapsed from the effort.

Alon flinched when Brivere’s hand suddenly shot down from the collar and his head flew back. “Are you alright?!” she exclaimed, grabbing onto his shoulders. “I am so sorry! This is my fault!” He waved her away, blinking his eyes to adjust to the darkness inside of his visor.

Pointing a clawed finger out to the river, Brivere grunted. “A red fish is going to jump out of the water over there.”

Snapping her head to where he was gesturing at, Alon stared wide-eyed at the water, waiting for something to pop out. Several moments passed as an awkward silence fell over them. She opened her mouth to ask something, but the words were caught in her throat as a bright red fish gracefully leaped out of the water and splashed back in.

“Amazing!” she cried out. “You are a gift from Hylia herself!”

Brivere flushed, unused to such praise. “…Thank you.”

She quickly turned back to him with a wide grin stretched across her face. Something about it seemed unsettling. “This is simply a miracle! Your gift will prove to be very useful! I do not understand why you waste your talents on the royal family and those Hylians!”

Brivere scowled and abruptly stood up. “Do not speak of my lord like that.” he spat, turning to walk away. Alon shot up onto her feet and ran in front of him, a crazed look in her eyes that made the smile across her face seem extremely disturbing. “You are wasting your time here! You literally have the power to predict the future, yet you continue to bow to a useless royal line because of their blood?! Princess Zelda and the rest of those Hylians have deeply mislead you!”

“I will not tolerate such slander!” Brivere snapped back. “Alon, what has gotten into-!”

The words were cut off when images suddenly slammed into his mind the second that Alon grabbed onto his wrist. “You must simply come with me!” she cried, tightening her grip. “We can show you your true potential!”

Panic. Darkness. Bananas. Pain. Shock.

Brivere roared, whipping out his sword and randomly slicing it through the air. He didn’t realize what he had done until Bazz ran over, covering the open wound on Alon’s arm with a cloth.

“What in Hylia’s name happened?!” the Guard Captain cried out.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Alon cut him off. “It is my fault, Guard Captain! I startled the Oracle Knight while he was having a vision and he accidentally lashed out!”

Bazz looked over at the golden knight with disgust. “No Alon, you are not at fault.”

Brivere stared back at the Guard Captain. “That is not what happened.”

“Then do you care to explain yourself?”

Brivere grunted, trying to keep his usual straight face. “Alon asked me to demonstrate my ability, and I obliged. Out of nowhere, she began to slander the royal family and Princess Zelda, then tried to grab me and pull me away. But when she touched me, I had a vision and…”

Bazz’s brow shot up. “And? What was the vision of?”

He cringed. “It is hard to explain. But I do know that Alon is not to be trusted.”

The Guard Captain let out a long sigh and rubbed his temple. “Oracle Knight,” he said, exasperated. “I have known Alon ever since we were children. While we were not exactly close friends, she was a pleasant acquaintance that went through the same military training as I did. She is as dedicated to the Royal Family as the rest of us.”

Brivere stepped forward, trying to convince him of the truth. “No, but she-!”

Bazz held a hand up. “It is alright, Oracle Knight. Prince Sidon warned us that this may happen. We were all well aware of your condition when we signed up for this.”

He let out an incredulous laugh. “Oh? And what is that condition?”

“The eyes, for one thing. Mental breakdowns, passing out, aggression, hallucinations, the like. You most likely just imagined the whole thing and accidentally attacked the first person who came near you, which is why we must get you to Kakariko Village immediately. Not just for your safety but for everyone else around you as well.”

Brivere glared at the other Zora. “I. Did. Not. Imagine. It.” he spat. Bazz glared back and stepped closer, making their brows nearly touch. A growl hummed in their chests as they stared directly into each other’s golden eyes, daring the other Zora to make the first retort. Alon glanced at both of them, trying to come up with something to diffuse the situation.

“What’s going on here?”

The three Zora turned to look at Link, who had suddenly appeared by their side, brow raised. “Master Link,” Bazz said, kneeling down on one knee to come to eye level. “The Oracle Knight has had an episode due to his powers and accidentally lashed out at one of our soldiers.”

“I told you that was not what occurred!” Brivere snapped. “I used my ability, yes, but she started babbling about nonsense and insulting the royal family. When she grabbed me, I had a vision. She is not to be trusted.”

Bazz rolled his golden eyes. “Yet he will not share exactly what the vision entailed, so you can see why I am a bit skeptical, Master Link.”

Link looked at both of them, and Brivere’s heart sank at the thought that his Hylian friend didn’t believe him. “Bazz, make a medical tent for her and heal her wounds.” Link said, pointing to a clearing off to the side. The Guard Captain nodded and gently led Alon away, eyeing Brivere as he left.

“Hylian Champion…” Brivere said, hesitantly. “You believe me, don’t you?

He hated how long it took for Link to barely nod his head. “Come back to my tent for tonight, Brivere.” he urged.

Anger flared up in his chest. “No. I refuse. Why did you not defend me when the Guard Captain accused me of being insane?”

“Because I knew that it wouldn’t do anything!” Link hissed back. “No one is going to believe us if we don’t have concrete evidence! I should know, Sidon would barely listen to me when I tried to get us out of this mess!”

Brivere’s mask was as cold as ever. “And what good that did. You didn’t even tell my lord about your immortality or suspicions of the Sheikah scientists! Do you not trust your own lover with such crucial information?”

Link grunted. “That’s not it. I trust Sidon whole-heartedly. He was the first person I could ever open up to and actually care about after I woke up from my coma.”

“Then why am I the only one who knows about your immortality aside from my younger brother and the Sheikah scientists who gave it to you?!” Brivere spat back.

The Hylian glanced down, suddenly interested in the mud clinging to his boots. “Look,” he said quietly. “The problem isn’t my trust in Sidon. It’s Sidon’s reckless trust in everyone else.”

Brivere arched his brow, forgetting that the gesture would be obscured by his visor. “What do you mean?”

“Admittedly, it’s one of the few flaws that I absolutely despise about him.” Link said. “He is way too trusting and nice for his own good. All you have to do is simply exist and that idiot is willing to put everything on the line just for you.”

The golden Zora nodded. It certainly was one of the more infuriating aspects of being Prince Sidon’s personal knight. He was forced to watch his beloved prince get taken advantage of by too many people who just wanted to abuse his kindness. The large red dork once even tried to get rid of a Lynel by peacefully negotiating with it.

But they both knew that they couldn’t hold that trait against the prince. If it wasn’t for Sidon’s patience and boundless love then neither of them would have ever been given the time of day, or even be dating him at the same time, no less.

“And that’s just the problem.” the Hylian continued. “I know that if I tell him, he will believe me. But then he will believe Zelda, and then King Dorephan, and everyone else who tells him otherwise. He is too gentle to say no and too naïve to believe that there are more sinister things lurking within those you least expect. Sidon just took the offer for medical help at face value and didn’t even investigate into it further.”

Both of them stared at each other as the question that had been blazing inside of Brivere for days finally came to a roaring crescendo, becoming an inferno that threatened to burn him alive if he didn’t set it free.

“Link.” he said carefully. “What exactly made you decide to trust me so much in the first place? What makes me so different from my lord?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question and the rare use of his name from the golden knight, Link hummed as he racked his brain for answers. Finally, a shuddering sigh deflated his small form as he looked back up at Brivere. “I guess it’s just because I know that you’re just like me.”

“…How so?” Brivere asked. “May you please elaborate?”

Link grunted, raking his dirty fingers through tangles of blond hair. “You and I aren’t like Sidon. We are broken beyond repair and can barely show genuine kindness like he can.”

The golden knight tittered. “Am I supposed to take this as a compliment or something?”

A smirk stretched across the Hylian’s face. “No, asshole. I’m just trying to say that we have been fucked over so many times that we have built up a wall to keep everyone out. To stop them from hurting us and leaving our bloody corpses out for the bokoblins.”

Brivere nodded. He couldn’t argue against the truth. His own infamous emotionless mask was already all of the evidence that he needed.

“I know that we didn’t have the best start.” Link admitted. “I punched you straight off a bridge once for Hylia’s sake. But after that, I watched us slowly take down each other’s walls, brick by brick. And I like the Brivere that I found hiding underneath all of the fancy silver jewelry and armor.”

He had always waited for the perfect moment to quote Betaal’s favorite comeback. “Are you going to finish sucking my dick first or are you going to get to your point?” Brivere asked, trying to keep a straight face.

His indifferent mask cracked when Link’s blue eyes flew wide open as he gawked at the usually stern golden knight, jaw agape. Both of them let out low, muffled chuckles that exploded into full-on laughter that shook their bodies and nearly toppled them onto the ground.

“Look!” Link wheezed between gasps for air. “I’m just trying to say that trust doesn’t come easily to either of us. So I knew that if I told you my suspicions, your trust would be genuine. Your trust just like mine. It takes a lot to earn it, but once you do, it’s the strongest damn thing in the world.”

As both of them settled down, Brivere repeated his friend’s words over and over again in his mind. He couldn’t help but agree with the Hylian’s statements. The golden knight could easily count the number of people he completely trusted on Estuu’s only hand, but he knew that he would do anything for each and every one of them.

And the Hylian Champion was included in that count.

Link was the first to recover from his fit of giggles, straightening up as he patted Brivere on the arm. “Do you trust me enough to not stab you in your sleep if you sleep in my tent tonight?”

Chuckling, Brivere nodded. “I trust you.”

;

A sickeningly white mask.

A blood red symbol branded into its surface.

An upside down eye.

A single tear falling upwards.

A shining blade, plunging into bright blue eyes.

Brivere shot up into a sitting position, breaking out into a cold sweat as he gasped for breath. A lightning bolt of pain shot through his back, as if someone had sliced into his skin along his spine. His eyes were burning in his skull as they frantically searched the inside of the canvas tent for something.

Someone.

His sudden movement woke instantly woke up Link, who grabbed onto the golden knight’s shoulder. “Brivere!” he exclaimed. “Are you okay?”

Without responding, Brivere smacked the Hylian’s hand away, scrambling to grab his silver scale longsword before bolting out of the tent. Link sat paralyzed on the cot, staring after him in confusion before his senses caught up to reality.

“Brivere!” he screamed, tossing aside the sheets to run after him.

The golden knight didn’t hear the Hylian’s shouts behind him, his senses completely taken over by something else. It felt the same as when he was asleep. His body was out of his control and it felt like he was just watching himself from afar, as if he wasn’t the golden Zora that was desperately running through the woods. He didn’t know what exactly he was looking for, but all he knew was that it needed to reveal itself immediately.

Zora soldiers that were sleeping in the river shot up at the Hylian’s shouts, ogling Brivere as he sprinted past them. Bazz’s eyes went wide as he realized where exactly the Oracle Knight was heading. “He’s going to Alon’s medical tent!” he shouted as he pulled himself out of the water. “Restrain him before he hurts her again!”

“Yes sir!” they shouted, following after the Guard Captain.

Everyone was now chasing the hysterical Oracle Knight, who was running towards the medical tent like his life depended on it. And as far as he knew, it really did.

Alon jumped in her makeshift bed as Brivere tore the feeble tent down from the trees, exposing her to the open night air. “Oracle Knight!” she yelped. “Please, what are you-!”

Brivere cut her off as he pointed his longsword to her throat, pressing its sharp edge into her scales until a little bit of blood trickled out from under them.

“I will not hesitate to kill if you do not immediately reveal yourself.” he growled.

His distorted eyes pierced into her golden ones from the slits of his visor, seeing the eerie calm that hid beneath her mask of faked fear. He was so focused on it that he completely ignored the Zora soldiers that were still rushing towards him from behind.

“Oracle Knight Brivere!” the Guard Captain shouted. “Cease this at once!”

Bazz would have tackled the wild golden knight to the ground if his Hylian friend hadn’t done that exact same thing to the black Zora first. Both of them slammed into the dirt with Link on top of him, and before Bazz could say anything, a hand was roughly pressed onto his shoulder, pinning him down. The other guards ran around them, still charging at Brivere.

“Call off the other soldiers Bazz!” Link screamed in his face.

“But the Oracle Kni-!”

Link smashed his fist into the ground next to the Guard Captain’s head. “Now, Bazz!”

The black Zora gulped. “All soldiers stand down!” he hesitantly shouted.

They all immediately stopped, looking back at the Hylian Champion, who was still holding their Guard Captain down. Even Brivere looked over his shoulder, trying to see what was going on. “But sir!” one of them yelled back. “The Oracle Knight is not in his right mind! His condition has only worsened and has corrupted him!”

Link got up from Bazz’s chest with a blazing glare, making them all flinch. “Have more faith in him!” he scowled at them. “He is one of the strongest warriors in the Zora Domain, with the ability to see the future, for Hylia’s sake!”

He then turned to focus on the golden knight ahead of them, whose sword was still drawn to the cowering woman beneath its sharp point. “Brivere!” he yelled. “Do what you believe is right! I’ll back you up!” Gratitude blossomed in the golden knight’s chest at his friend’s absolute trust.

Alon gaped at the other soldiers, who were all hesitantly twitching in place. "You guys!" she cried out, eyes wide. "The Oracle Knight has gone insane! Prince Sidon warned us of this, you have to help me! He's going to kill me!"

None of them moved, save for their eyes glancing back at the infuriated Hylian Champion that glared them all down, effectively anchoring them into the dirt. Even Bazz slowly got up, nodding at Brivere to continue.

Confidence soared through the golden knight's body as he nodded back, turning to glare down the blade at the cowering woman trapped beneath it. "Last chance." he said in a frighteningly steady voice, pushing the sword a little deeper into her throat, not enough to cause too much damage but just enough to make the threat clear as day.

He could feel the weapon in his hands tremble from how hard Alon was shaking. It almost made him reconsider his brash actions, but the way that her golden eyes were completely calm made him all the more sure that he was doing the right thing.

"Oracle Knight!" she yelped, holding her hands up. "Please, it's just me, Alon! Snap out of it!"

"I had a vision. You are not Alon."

At this, her face contorted, quickly switching from fear to amusement. "Oh." she said in a sickeningly sweet voice. It felt like syrup, disgustingly slithering around in his head. "I suppose I should have anticipated that. Then again, isn’t that your whole thing?"

Alon slowly stood up, still allowing Brivere's sword to pierce her neck as she rose. She smirked at him, staring down the blade at him as if it was just a minor inconvenience. "You think you are the one to make demands here?" she purred. "I think I'm the one in charge, really. I'll even give you a choice: either you come with me willingly or I take you by force. No matter your reply I still intend to bring you to the rest of my clan."

Brivere reeled his sword back before harshly slashing at Alon. She disappeared into a puff of smoke and reappeared behind him.

"BRIVERE!" Link screamed. The other Zora soldiers all stared in shock as Alon's body suddenly transformed into that of a smaller warrior covered in black cloth, with a white mask bearing the red symbol of an upside-down crying eye obscuring their face.

The golden Zora quickly whipped around, slicing at the imposter who simply danced away, forcing Brivere to follow them as they nimbly dodged his attacks.

"All soldiers assist and protect the Oracle Knight!" Bazz shouted.

"Yes sir!" The guards yelled back in unison, rushing forward with their silver spears pointed at the new threat. Link charged as well, drawing out his sword and screaming a ferocious battle cry.

The imposter looked back at the stampeding soldiers, and although the mask covered their face, it was obvious that they were amused. They looked back at Brivere and continued to weave between his attacks.

"Will you come with me or not?!" they gleefully shouted, ducking under his sword.

He scowled back, swinging his weapon even harder. "Never! My life lies with the royal family and Prince Sidon of the Zora Domain!"

"Then don't say I didn't warn you!"

Before Brivere could process their words, the other warrior had whipped out a shock arrow from behind their back and stabbed it into his arm.

As he felt his body seize from the electric currents, fire blazing through his veins, he could see Link and the other Zora soldiers still running at them with panic branded into their faces.

“Brivere!"

The golden knight tried to stay standing for as long as he could, but eventually lost control of his body and felt himself begin to collapse. Before he could hit the ground, the imposter reeled back and launched onto Brivere’s stomach, knocking all the air out of his lungs as they both disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

#TTTLE #coma baby #cb #trying to tie loose ends #catharsis #botw #link #estuu #brivere #zelda #princess zelda #breath of the wild #bazz #zora #yiga

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