#he was surrounded by a field of noxious mushrooms

[kittlyns]

Just did a war crime against a guy called baelen bonecloak. Rip Mr. Bonecloak

[halfway-through-insanity]

Hey friends! I've got something fun planned, so I'd like to introduce you to the first installment of "Its dangerous to go alone"! I really love "X meets the chain" fics, so I decided why not do all of them! Its not a linear narrative, rather there will be eight heroes in the chain, and each chapter will be them meeting a different ninth member...if that makes sense. Anyways!

Here's the first chapter where the chain meets Four! I really enjoyed this and I wanted to be submerged in the world of minish cap, so have some minish cap love~

As always, here it is on ao3!

---

Twilight and his seven companions had been traveling together for several weeks now. They had braved blistering desert wastelands, noxious swamps and the gnawing chill of snowcapped mountains, and now they found themselves in a thickly canopied forest. None of the heroes seemed to recognize these woods, so they proceeded with an air of caution.

Legend and Hyrule had commented on how the forest seemed steeped in ancient magic and, while Twilight tended to avoid associating with magic, he couldn’t deny that he also felt what they had as he picked his way through the undergrowth. Life was bursting at every corner and it seemed even rotting tree stumps were ripe with a mystical pulse. It wasn’t an ominous sort of feeling, Twilight noted to himself, but as natural and indifferent as the rest of the wildlife that surrounded them. Still, Twilight couldn’t shake the feeling that they were all being watched.

A soft rustle of grass from behind, a twig breaking off to their right- all innocuous sounds that could be easily written off as coming from one of the countless creatures that called this forest home. Twilight would turn quickly, hoping to catch something- or someone- off guard, but his sudden movements would only spook a squirrel or some songbirds. Finally, when he decided to only shift his eyes to the thick cluster of mushrooms to his left did he see something peculiar watching him. It was only for a second, but he was certain he saw some sort of mouse wearing a red cap and a cloak made with small leaves duck behind some mushrooms.

Their path eventually led them to an open field awash in the warm rays of the midday sun. Dragonflies darted over the long stalks of grass and bees hummed as they worked to distribute their pollen among the clovers and wildflowers. Twilight’s heart swelled at the overwhelming beauty, humble but vibrant. It reminded him of lazy summer afternoons on Ordon with his back against the warm grass and soft clouds meandering through the crystal blue sky.

A warm breeze curled its way through the chain of heroes and Sky laughed softly when his sail cloth billowed behind him, the hem flicking Wind’s nose. The path breached a rise, revealing a simple home nestled on a pleasant hill with a thick plume of smoke pouring from its chimney. An elderly man was in the yard chopping firewood with a finely crafted axe. He wore a heavy leather apron and sturdy gloves commonly dawned by blacksmiths. The man waved as the group passed, but Twilight didn’t miss the wary gaze that hid under his friendly smile. When Twilight caught Time watching the man carefully, he knew his elder had noticed the look from the man as well. But it didn’t seem like Time- or the man, for that matter- had noticed a couple of the mouse creatures struggling to stack the freshly cut wood into a pile.

“Looks like a town ahead,” Hyrule pointed from his place at the front of the group.

“Good,” Wild groaned beside the traveler and clutched his stomach. “I’m starving.”

Warriors raised an eyebrow at the Champion. “You’re always starving.”

Idle banter continued to flow easily among the group until they reached the edge of the town and passed under an archway.

The bustling town was filled with noise. Children chased after each other with shrill laughter, dogs barked and merchants advertised their wares. From a café to their left, a man was talking excitedly to an unimpressed woman about his newest collection of strange stones that Twilight couldn’t quite catch the name of.

“Let’s try to stick together,” Time said to the others. “We don’t know anything about this place yet-”

“A bakery!” Wind gasped with excitement and grabbed Wild’s arm. Before the Champion could react or the Old Man could finish his sentence, the two plowed into the crowd towards a building deeper into town.

“Don’t wander too far- ugh why do I bother?” Time grumbled and pressed on into the bustling market square.

A man with a strange puff of green hair atop his head thumped a rolled up newspaper against his stall eagerly. “Fresh vegetables! Come one, come all and gather around! The finest produce in all of Hyrule!” Twilight noticed then how the man’s eye twitched slightly. His smile wavered and his voice turned desperate. “Hey, hey! I haven’t sold anything all day! Forget about that other vendor and help a guy out!”

Hyrule, also paying attention to the odd produce vendor, let out a snort. “Tough market for vegetables, I guess,” he chuckled.

The other vendor in question was a portly woman with bright yellow hair pulled into a tight ponytail at the crown of her head. She rang a bell fiercely at the townsfolk mulling by. “Lookie, Lookie! Come on up and take a whiff of these delicious fruits!” When the fruit vendor’s calls went ignored, she waved the bell with increasing violence. “Hurry and buy something or I’ll smack you!” Any townsfolk passing in front of the stall flinched and quickened their pace, eying the lady warily. One girl even covered her face as she rushed by.

“Man,” Legend laughed, “These people are aggressive! Who threatens their customers?”

The lady must have heard the Veteran, because her sharp eyes locked onto him. “One who’ll throw fruit if you don’t buy something!”

“That’s not a good marketing strategy!” Legend bothered to argue with his hands on his hips, which was apparently the wrong answer because now the lady was mad. Legend yelped and jumped away just in time to dodge an apple being pelted at him.

Legend’s face reddened enough to match the red apple rolling away as Warriors doubled over laughing. “You had it coming, Vet!”

“Laugh all you want, pretty boy!” Legend huffed and shoved past the hysterical captain.

Soon they met up with Wind and Wild who were excitedly eating their baked goods. “Guys!” Wind smiled when his friends came into view. “The lady said there are prizes in each item they bake!”

Wild bit into his croissant and Twilight flinched when he heard his teeth clash with something metal. “Found it…” Wild whimpered, bemoaning his aching teeth with a whine. He pulled from the bread what looked like half of a broken medallion. The green metal glistened in the sunlight as Wild turned it over with a puzzled frown.

“What is it…?” Hyrule tilted his head to inspect it as Wild held it out.

“I got a red one,” Wind announced as he pulled his medallion piece from his treat.

The unmistakable sound of an amused Goron drew the group’s attention. “The red ones are quite rare, little human!” The Goron behind them exclaimed. He must have been a merchant as well, because he was sitting with a large pack behind him and an assortment of broken medallions placed carefully on his stall.

“What are they?” Wild asked.

“You folks must not be from around here! Everyone knows about Kinstones!” The Goron waved his arms in exasperation and the eight heroes shook their heads in unison. “Ha! Well, you find someone with a matching piece that fits yours perfectly,” He explained like it made total sense.

“…And then what?” Twilight piped up with his arms crossed. Sounded like a scam to him.

“And then something good happens!”

They stared blankly at the Goron, unimpressed. The Goron scrambled for something in his pack behind him and pulled out a green Kinstone.

“Watch,” he beckoned Wild to share his prize. The Champion fit his half with the Goron’s and a green light shot into the sky from the point where the two halves connected and rocketed into the distance to the west. “Oh… tough luck, human. Hope you’re ready for a hike up Mt. Crenel.”

“What will be there if I go?” Wild looked interested at the sound of a hike.

“Anything!” The Goron shrugged with an enthusiastic toothy grin.

Twilight rolled his eyes and scoffed. “This is a total scam.”

He swept his eyes over the rest of the market square hoping to find somewhere selling more substantial food.

 Everywhere he looked, though, he saw those strange mouse creatures. Some were frolicking through potted flowers and others appeared to be snacking on bits of food on rooftops. Twilight even saw a pair tying someone’s shoelaces. Looking closer, he discovered that almost every building had miniscule doorways leading inside. Above, planks of wood spanned the roof tops to be used as bridges for these small creatures. A flash of movement near him caught his eye and when he looked below him, he saw a mouse creature with a cloth seemingly buffing dirt off of Legend’s boot.

“Hey, Vet,” Twilight called to grab his friend’s attention. “You got a thing…” He didn’t quite know what to describe it as, so he pointed to the creature at his boot. Legend looked down in surprise.

“What? Is it a spider?” Legend asked with masked alarm as he turned his boot this way and that to inspect. The mouse-thing scurried away at the sudden movement.

“No, didn’t you see it? That small creature?” Twilight was certain he wasn’t going crazy, but Legend gave him a look that said he was.

“Quit pulling my leg, Rancher,” Legend batted Twilight’s arm playfully.

“I’m not! There was a little fuzzy thing cleaning your boot!”

“Sure.” With a final wave of dismissal, Legend joined the rest of the group who began making their way across the square to the café.

“Hey,” Wind whispered beside Twilight, who must have straggled behind with him. “I saw it too.”

Twilight’s brows shot up in surprise. “You did?”

Wind nodded adamantly. “The mouse wearing a blue robe with a tail that looked like a feather, right?”

Twilight’s shoulders relaxed in relief. “I knew I wasn’t crazy. I don’t think anyone else can see them. Not even the townspeople.” He patted the Sailor on the back and gently coaxed him toward the group. “Go catch up with them, I’m going to check it out a little more.”

After making sure their youngest made it safely into the café with the rest of the party, Twilight turned down a more secluded alleyway so he could find a place to transform.

He noticed as he walked to find a quiet place that he could hear the small mice chattering but he couldn’t understand what they were saying. Not to worry, he thought to himself, he would be able to understand them soon.

Sure enough, as paws padded down the paved streets, Twilight could catch conversations passing between the creatures.

Have you heard? Apparently a group of weird travelers arrived in town earlier, one said.

Yeah! I heard from my cousin in Minish Woods that they just emerged out of nowhere from the trees! replied another. Twilight’s ear twitched toward their conversation but he walked on until he passed another gathering of creatures by a well south of the square.

One of three smaller creatures stood with two larger and seemingly older ones. Children, perhaps? I saw the strangers go into the café not too long ago! one child squeaked.

Another child puffed their fuzzy chest. Well, I saw them fusing Kinstones.

The third child put their tiny hands on their hips with a smirk. Oh yeah? But did you see when Pina chucked an apple at one of them?

What?! laughed the other two children.

Twilight chuckled inwardly at the childlike banter and then took his time circling the rest of the square. Soon, he stopped by a fountain that was trickling from the wall of the square where three more mice clutching pails huddled close.

Well, after everything that’s happened, I don’t like the idea of strangers waltzing into Hyrule.

You think someone should tell Link?

Twilight couldn’t help but tense at the question. So there was another hero here. But if these small creatures seem to know him, does that mean one of the Chosen Heroes was a…mouse? He heaved an anxious breath and strained to listen more.

Jotari already went to tell him. Hopefully he’ll sort this all out.

That was all Twilight was able to hear before a grey tabby sauntered over to him. You’re one of them, aren’t you?  the tabby purred when it got close enough.

Who’s asking? Twilight huffed through his nose.

The name’s Purry, the cat replied simply. You and your pals better be careful. Link’s been tailin’ you the whole time.

Twilight’s hackles rose slightly in surprise and his eyes darted around him as if he’d find the Hero.

Purry only meowed in amusement. You won’t find him unless he wants you to, so I wouldn’t bother looking if I were you. Purry stretched his lanky haunches to the sky and yawned. Well, have fun!

Wait! Twilight boofed. Purry swished his tail impatiently. What makes you think I’m one of them? I could be any old wolf for all you know.

Whiskers twitched and if Purry could smirk, it would be a smug one. Link told me he saw you change.

Twilight had so many questions, but Purry slinked off to the main square before he could ask any.

This new hero was watching him and the thought of being one step behind put Twilight on edge.

~*~

The Chain had decided to ask the Princess for any information since the townsfolk seemed pretty tight lipped about this era’s hero. They had even gotten some hostile glares from some residents, so they collectively abandoned that angle of inquiry.

Now Time watched in embarrassment as the Captain argued with the guards blocking the way to the castle.

“But I’m a knight in the Royal Guard,” Warriors indicated to his armor. “I’m even a captain!”

The guard that seemed to be the higher ranked of the two stationed at the entrance slammed the butt of his spear on the brick path. “I’m the captain of the Royal Guard and I don’t know who you are! Now, leave before I have you arrested for impersonating an officer.”

Warriors drew in a breath to protest further but Time stopped him by placing a firm hand on his shoulder. “Let’s just go back. We’ll figure this out eventually.”

Grumbling, Warriors turned on his heel and rejoined his friends waiting anxiously a few yards away. Time was about to follow when he heard an unnervingly familiar voice waft through the breeze. With a wide eye, he quickly turned his head to the left where there was nothing down the path but a horse-drawn cart. The words painted on the cart read ‘Lon Lon Milk’ and beside a mare that was strikingly similar to Epona stood a woman gently patting the horse’s nose as she sang. Her bright red locks cascaded down her shoulders and her blue eyes looked fondly into the eyes of her horse.

Before he could think, Time hastily made an excuse for needing to stock up on healing items and let his feet lead him mindlessly to the cart.

As soon as the woman caught sight of him, she beamed a bright smile and ceased her soft pets on the horse’s muzzle. “Oh! Hello there, I’m Malon! Would you like to buy some Lon Lon milk? Only 100 Rupees!”

Time stared dumbly, floundering for words. This Malon had the same wavy red hair, the same clothes and even the same smooth melodic voice, but this was not his wife. He knew this, obviously, but to stand next to someone who so closely mirrored the woman he knew better than anyone…

His head spun, but studying her features more, he noted differences only he would have been able to distinguish. His Malon didn’t have dimples when she smiled and not nearly as many freckles sprinkled across her cheeks. He also realized that her eyes were the wrong shade of blue, not by much but he’d gotten lost in his wife’s gaze enough to notice. Glancing at her arms, she was missing a scar above her right wrist that his Malon had gotten from an incident with a particularly broody mare.

He wasn’t really sure what he had expected. Of course his wife wasn’t really here.

“Uh…” Time managed ever so suave. “Right. I’ll take two bottles.” He fished out a silver rupee and handed it to her. Malon smiled gratefully and unlatched a compartment in the cart.

“We’re a little lower on milk than usual,” Malon offered as friendly chatter.

Not thinking before he spoke, he chuckled. “Bertha being troublesome again?”

Malon froze and so did he once he realized what he’d said. “Yeah, actually. It is Bertha. How did you know…?”

His hands went cold as he scrambled to find a reasonable explanation. “Well, um. M-…My wife and I run a ranch back home, so I’m no stranger to the quirks the animals can have sometimes. The name was a lucky guess.” He clenched his jaw while Malon studied him for a moment that felt like an eternity. It was reasonable enough, right? He had lived on that ranch long enough to know there will always be that one animal that has a stubborn personality and causes trouble. For him and Malon, it was old Bertha the cow, so blaming her was second nature when complaining about animals.

To Time’s relief Malon let out a hearty laugh and handed him two bottles of milk. “I suppose us ranchers aren’t too original with our names, then, huh?”

Time returned a warm smile and stowed the bottles. “I suppose so. Have a great rest of your day,” He waved and quickly departed to his group. That was close, he scolded himself.

When he reunited with the others, Warriors elbowed him with a cheeky grin. “Saw something you liked, Old Man?” Try as he might, Time couldn’t stop the red flush at the tips of his ears. Instead he scowled at the Captain with a glare that would shut down any other member of their group, but Warriors kept cackling beside him.

~*~

Twilight had given up on finding the Hero, so he opted instead to lie in the grass by the stream that cut through the town. After he had been there for several minutes, some of the mouse creatures had mustered up enough courage to approach him, which he welcomed with a soft sigh through his nose. A few attempted to braid the longer fur at the scruff of his neck while others combed diligently through tangles and removed burs from his fur. All these creatures seem to do is help others, he observed. He didn’t mind, though and he found himself dozing off in the warm sun amidst the attention his coat sorely needed.

He was reveling in the warmth until the sound of someone clearing their throat in front of him broke the tranquility. With a disgruntled huff, he opened his eyes and lifted his head at the annoyance. In front of Twilight stood what looked like another one of those mice except it was…human?

The human wore a tunic comprised of four different colored sections and a long hood almost touching the ground. His blonde hair was cut cleanly at his shoulders and held back by a green headband. Twilight noticed that from one ear hung a charm that resembled the red-tipped feather tail of the creatures that he had been encountering all day.

“Tell your friends to stop snooping around,” the tiny human demanded, crossing his arms.

Twilight shifted his eyes in confusion. This random kid is expecting an animal to speak? Cute, he thought to himself.

“This kid can understand you, Wolf.”

Twilight’s ears drooped in embarrassment. Shit.

“Yeah, ‘shit’ is right. What do you want with the Princess?” His eyes narrowed at the wolf.

There’s a princess? Twilight asked. Sure, there was a castle, but who was to know if there was a princess specifically residing there? It could be a prince, or a king or queen. It wasn’t the dumbest question he could have asked.

Twilight watched in mild curiosity when the kid’s light blue eyes flickered with a darker shade of blue. “You’re really playing dumb? I’ll warn you: that was me asking nicely. You don’t want this to turn into a fight.”

With the threat of violence, Twilight huffed at the kid, who didn’t seem fazed in the slightest when the wolf’s breath made his tunic, hood and hair billow. You know I can eat you in one bite easily, right? Also, I’ve fought worse, Twilight responded calmly.

Light blue eyes flickered once more, this time with a flash of green and a knowing smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth. “Care to be proven wrong, dog?”

What should have instigated Twilight merely caused him to sigh and sit up on his haunches. Listen, we aren’t here to fight.

“Then why are you here? To kidnap the Princess?” The kid accused.

We heard there was a hero residing in this land, he explained. We wanted to speak with him. Judging by the fact that you know I’m associated with the other ‘strangers’ here, and you’re a human the size of one of those mice, I’m assuming you’re him.

The supposed hero balled his fists at his side. “They aren’t mice, they’re called Minish.”

Twilight rolled his eyes. Right, Minish. So you’re the hero, then?

“What if I am?”

Twilight tilted his head with interest. One of the Chosen Heroes is only two inches tall…?

“I can be normal sized, y’know.” It was the hero’s turn to roll his eyes.

Prove it, Twilight dared.

The hero took a moment to consider, eventually deciding on taking the wolf up on his offer. “Fine. Take me to that house over there,” he pointed to a house not too far away with construction workers toiling in the front yard.

Climb aboard, tiny hero, Twilight teased and crouched low enough for the hero to climb up his neck and sit between his ears. In just a short minute, they arrived at the house and the hero hopped off of his ride into the grass and entered a Minish sized door in the side of the wall.

“Oh! Hey, Link!” A construction worker greeted when the front door to the house opened.

“Hey, Mutoh!” Link replied pleasantly. The hero rounded the corner and the wolf choked back a laugh.

This is normal size? Twilight asked. The kid probably stood a few inches taller than the Master Sword.

Dark blue once more flashed across his eyes. “Can it, wolf. I can still kick your furry ass.”

Twilight huffed a laugh and began to walk back through the town to find his friends. Yeah, keep telling yourself that.

Silence hung between the two before Link spoke up. “So, I’d been following you guys all day and I’ve heard some…things.”

Sorry, I know the Pirate can be quite crude, Twilight grumbled apologetically.

“No, I mean…If I’m piecing this together correctly,” Link took a moment to collect his thoughts and Twilight noticed that this time the color flashing through his eyes was violet. “Are you all heroes? Did I get that right?”

You’re a sharp one, Twilight nodded.

“How does that even work? How can there be so many Chosen Heroes at once?”

Twilight guided them to an unpopulated side street and took a moment to transform, hoping he would come up with an intelligent answer in that time. “Honestly,” Twilight sighed and stretched his arms in front of him casually. “We aren’t sure either.”

“Insightful,” Link grunted.

“Let’s just meet the others and we can explain further.”

~*~

Twilight and Link found the others sitting around the fountain north of the main square with defeated looks adorning their faces. Wild was the first to notice the two walking toward him and waved half-heartedly.

“We have no clue what to do,” the Champion whined.

“That’s okay. While you all were antagonizing the locals, I found our elusive hero.” Twilight patted Link on the back proudly. Eight heads shot up at the declaration and all eyes landed on the colorfully dressed kid in front of them.

“That’s him?” Warriors sounded unconvinced.

“He’s a kid,” Legend raised an eyebrow. Before Link could defend himself, Wind stomped his foot on the ground.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” The Sailor challenged.

“Boys,” Time quieted them and stood before Link with a knowing smile. “This is no child. Before us I see an experienced adventurer and a courageous hero.” He gestured for Link to introduce himself.

“I’m Link, Hero of the Minish and wielder of the Four Sword. Also,” He turned to glare pointedly at Legend. “Don’t call me a kid. I’m older than this one,” Link jabbed a thumb toward Wind, who squawked indignantly.

“What makes you so sure you know how old I am?” Wind asked with a sour frown.

“You’re young enough to still be able to see the Minish, so if anyone’s a kid, its you.”

“The mouse things? How did you know I can see them?”

Link put one hand on his hip and grinned a mischievous smile. “I’ve been spying on you all day.”

Exclamations of surprise and indignation rose from the group before Sky stepped forward to address the newcomer. “We’re all named Link, so we go by nicknames. I’m Sky.”

“I gathered as much,” Link continued to smile plainly.

Sky’s friendly demeanor wavered nervously. “R-right…the spying. So, uh... What would you like us to call you instead? Minish?”

Link put a thoughtful hand to his chin and hummed. After a moment of deliberation his smile widened.

“Call me Four!”