Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The shift between worlds was as abrupt as it was surprising. One moment the group had been wading through overgrowth and forest, and the next they were assaulted by sunlight, sand, and an endless expanse of sea.

Legend was noted he wasn’t the only one who stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened at the beach, his heartbeat picking up. The familiar beach threatened to drag him into old memories, but a glance at his companions had him quickly pulling himself together. He was fine. He knew he wasn’t dreaming.

“An island…” Four murmured to himself. “Wind, is this your Hyrule?”

Wind was squinting at the beach. “Hm, if it is, I don’t recognize where we are.” He spun around and pointed to the palm trees nearby. “Haven’t been to an island with trees quiet like that, so I don’t think this is mine.”

Legend felt like the trees were familiar. Like an itch in the back of his mind. He ignored it though.

“Damn. Anyone been to an island like this on their quest before?” Warrior asked.

Legend kept his lips sealed. He hadn’t. Really, he hadn’t. It had just been a dream after all.

One by one everyone shook their heads.

“I’ve been to a few islands…” Wild said, “but none like this.”

“Same here,” Hyrule said.

“Are we in a new Hyrule, then?” Time wondered aloud.

Legend tried to focus on the conversation, tried to focus on anything other than the way the beach sang, the whisper of the palm trees, the songs of seagulls .

Legend made the mistake of gazing past the others and out into the open sea. Familiar prongs of coral stuck out of the gentle waves.

The winds blew too strong, there was no way he could fight the wind itself! But he had to, he had to! Thunder rumbled and the rain grew stronger.

Legend could feel his breathing pick up. His vision tunneled. He looked at the familiar coral. No. It can’t be.

The wind was relentless, but he’d fought worse. He’d fought worse and won , dammit, he wouldn’t die from a damned storm! Lighting struck nearby, splitting the air with a deafening crack. He just needed to make it back to land. A bolt of searing white and deafening pain, and he knew no more.

“Legend, you still with us?”

Legend jerked away from the hand on his shoulder. He whipped his head back towards the group, all who looked at him with concern.

“You’re pale as a ghost. What’s wrong?”

He opened his mouth to wave them off, but couldn’t seem to form any words

The scars across his back felt like they burned. The spindly lightning feathers had never quite healed right. They felt raw.

Then his eyes saw it. Movement in the trees.

No. No, she’s dead.

A flash of red shifting through the green of the trees.

...Marin?

A head popped out from the underbrush of the treeline.

“Toka?” it said.

“Aah!” Wind and Hyrule both startled, everyone else drawing their swords and pointing towards the creature.

“A… Tokay?” Legend whispered.

The bright red lizard-creature made an inquisitive sound before leaving the bushes to venture towards the group. It cocked it’s head side to side, large eyes moving from Hylian to Hylian.

“Uh… hello?” Wind tried, speaking to the creature. 

“What are you doing?” Warrior hissed to Wind. “I doubt the thing can talk, let alone understand us!”

“Hello!” The Tokay chirped.

Wind threw a smug look at Warrior.

Legend wasn’t sure how he felt. He’d thought… He’d thought… It didn't matter. He shoved whatever feelings he had into a box and locked it tight, just like he did with everything concerning his past. Ignore it.

He ignored the memories threatening to surface as well. He had been lucky to have washed ashore after being struck by lightning. Less lucky to have a group of Tokay steal every last item he owned. Ignore it, ignore it, ignore it.

“We’re on Crescent Isle,” he told the group. “That’s a Tokay. They’re harmless, but be careful with your belongings. They won’t outright steal, but if you leave something on the ground they’ll take it as theirs. You won’t be able to get it back unless you barter something else.”

“So we’re in your Hyrule, then?”

“No. We’re in Labrynna, not Hyrule.” The group exchanged glances. “It’s a country to the east of Hyrule,” Legend explained, shrugging. “I rescued the Oracle of Ages from here a few years ago.”

“Damn, no wonder you’re so experienced. Thought Wind was the only one who had done stuff outside of Hyrule before.” Warrior said.

Legend just scoffed. He was still trying to re-balance himself. Of course he recognized the Crescent Isle. He glanced at the trees. He hadn’t noticed before how much the trees on Koholint resembled the ones here. Just another thing to remind him that the whole damned place had been nothing more than a dream.

The red Tokay seemed to have satisfied it’s curiosity and scuttled away.

“This is so cool!” Hyrule said, stars in his eyes. “I’ve always wondered what things were like outside the Kingdom!”

“Well, looks like a boring island to me,” Warrior said, kicking at the sand.

Legend pulled out his compass. “Most of Labrynna isn’t like this. Up north is where the capitol is.” He pointed a finger north, which meant he was pointing out at the open ocean. He jerked his hand back down. “I don’t have a raft anymore though, so unless you all want to swim, we’re stuck here.”

“Aw…” Hyrule slumped. “Yeah, that’s a no-go for me. I can’t swim at all.”

Wind’s face screwed up. “Wait, not at all? You can’t swim?!”

Hyrule shook his head and shrugged. “I know how to sail? Can’t swim though. I sink like a rock in the water.”

“Same here,” Four said. “Unless I have my flippers.”

Wind grabbed fistfuls of his hair. “This is a tragedy!” He started pacing, muttering to himself. “The rest of you can swim, right?”

Legend very purposely said nothing.

“We've got a watering hole that we’d swim in every year back home, during the summer.” Twilight said. “I’m not very fast, but I know the basics.”

“Same here,” Sky said.

Time shrugged. “I tend to naturally float. With the Zora Tunic allowing me to breath under water and my iron boots, I usually to just walk underwater. Learning anything beyond that felt like a waste of time, so I never did.”

“Seriously?” Wild said. “Huh. Well I know how to swim with the front crawl, Zora stroke, flutter kick, backstroke, and fin swimming.” There was a pause as everyone stared at Wild. His cheeks flushed. “What? I spent a lot of time in Zora’s domain, ok? Pretty sure I knew them all before I lost my memory anyways.”

“Wow, that’s so cool Wild!” Wind gushed. “You’ll have to help me teach the others!”

Wild shrugged. “I still remember how Sidon taught me how to do a few of them, so it shouldn’t be too hard.”

Wind turned to look at Warrior. “What about you? Do they teach you some super cool, extra elite royal swimming technique in your home?”

Warrior’s silence, and the blush forming, was telling. “N...not really, uh, no.”

Wind’s jaw dropped. “You don’t know how to swim!?”

Warrior pointedly raised his head to look at a passing cloud. “Uh, sure I do.”

Four smirked. "Liar.”

“What about you, Legend?” Warrior was quick to turn to the only person who had yet to speak. “Bet you can’t swim at all!”

Legend suppressed the wince that wanted to show. “Does it matter? Toss me in some water and I won’t drown.” Legend pointedly did not think about the many, many times he nearly drowned (or the many times he did).

“So… Is that a yes you can swim, or a no you can’t?”

“Yea, sure. I can swim. Not a big deal.” He couldn't really, or at least he didn’t used to be able to. He could swim now, but not like the rest of them.

“Hey Legend, you know this island, right?” Wind barreled on, not giving him a chance to respond. “Are there any shallow areas that are deep enough to swim in, but without strong current?”

Legend wanted to say no, but thought better of it as Wind gave such a bright expression. “Ugh, fine. Yes. I know a place…”

~~**~~

The cave was exactly as Legend remembered it. Dry to one side, it made a good place to set up camp. It was good shelter, especially since the Crescent isle often had bad weather this time of year. Even better, the cave was difficult to get to without knowing the exact path, so it was unlikely they would be bothered by any of the local Tokay. (Except for one who liked to hang around in the cave, but Legend was cool with that Tokay. The lil guy gave him his mirror shield, years ago.) 

To Wind’s obvious delight, the cave also had a wide, deep pool. Legend knew the pool connected to the ocean if one swam deep enough, but there were no tides to pull the others out to sea to their watery graves.

Legend perched by the campfire, watching as Wild and Wind gave eager and well-meaning instructions to the others. Sky or Twilight would occasionally add a tidbit here or there. Wind tried to get Legend to join, but Legend staunchly refused.

Wild pulled Wind away. Oddly, Wild gave a sad little knowing smile to Legend. Legend chose not to think about that.

“No flippers, no tunics, and no magic items!” Wind said in what was probably the sternest tone he could muster.

Then it came time for the actual swimming. Wild stripped down to his underwear and jumped into the large pool, splashing the others along the rim. Wind smirked and dove in next, his cannonball purposefully splashing the others.

“Betcha none of you can catch me ‘n Wild!”

“Oh, it’s on!” Warrior declared and began stripping. The others began to as well.

Clad only in his boxers, Warrior gave a battlecry and leapt into the pool. Unlike the graceful cannonball Wild had pulled off, Warrior painfully belly-flopped into the water. He floated there for a few moments, head face down in the water as his back bobbed on the surface.

Legend felt his body tense. He knew Warrior was just playing, he knew, but…

Slowly Warrior peaked his face above the water. His face was bright red.

The others found this hilarious, causing Warrior to redden further. Legend forced himself to relax. If anyone got hurt, Wild or Wind would get them. The pool was large, sure, but not that big.

Twilight dove in next with a textbook perfect dive. He began to swim towards Wild, but stopped and tread water as Wild started laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

“Pff. Twi, do you what that style of swimming is called?” Wild gestured at Twilight. “ Doggy paddle!”

Twilight directed a fierce glare at Wild, which was entirely ineffective. Then Time let loose a burst of laughter, causing Twilight’s face to turn a mortified shade of red.

Legend didn’t really get what was so funny. The old man rarely laughed like that. Whatever.

Time joined in next. Sure enough, he seemed to effortlessly bob without his armor to weigh him down. Unlike the others, Time still wore a loose tunic and some shorts instead of funny stripping. As he slowly joined Twilight and Wild, Legend noticed he didn’t have much form to his swimming, just kicking his feet in the direction he wanted to go.

Four slipped into the water next, Sky by his side. Legend had to admit, Sky was doing an excellent job of demonstrating how to tread water. Whenever Four would start to sink a bit too low, Sky would offer him an arm to hold onto and try again. Four was a quick learner and Sky an excellent teacher, it seemed.

Last was Hyrule. His bare feet were splashing at the edge of the pool, his face stricken with dread.

“C’mon Hyrule! You can do it!” Wind was calling to him. “You’ll be fine! Just jump in and let your instincts do the rest!”

Legend brought his hand to his face. Wind was clearly someone who was naturally a good swimmer. It was obvious he had no idea how to explain it.

Legend looked at Wild, who was (surprisingly competently) showing Time, Twilight, and Warrior different types of swimming strokes. Sky was obviously still busy with Four.

“It’s alright Wind, I don’t need to know how to swim.” Hyrule was saying, starting to get out of the water.

“Hyrule, you have to try first!” Wind latched onto Hyrule’s foot, not allowing him to slip away.

Hyrule looked skeptical on the surface, but Legend recognized that look. Hyrule was afraid of the water.

Legend could relate.

He ran a hand down his face and groaned. “Me and my damned bleeding heart. They should make me a fucking saint…” He muttered to himself. He picked himself up and moved to the rim of the pool.

Wind perked up. “Oh, Legend, finally decide to join in on the fun?” Wind's voice was hopeful.

“Nope.” Legend said, crushing Wind’s expression. Legend jerked a thumb at Hyrule. “This is just getting pathetic.”

“Wow, rude.” Hyrule muttered. 

“Get in the water. Keep hold of the rocky edge first and don’t let go yet. You’ll want to practice treading first.” Legend left no room for argument as he lightly shoved Hyrule. “You won’t drown so long as you have something to hold on to. Besides, Wind’s right there, he’ll keep you from dying.”

“Yeah! I won’t let you die, Hyrule!”

Hyrule didn’t look particularly convinced, but he slowly made his way into the water nonetheless. Wind was cheering every little bit he got further in.

“Ok, now what?” Hyrule asked Legend, looking more confident.

Legend shrugged, banishing the small bit of confidence on Hyrule’s face. “You should probably have Wind show you how to tread water.”

“Oh! Like this!” Wind said, doing nothing different.

“Wind, I can’t see under the water to tell what you’re doing.” Hyrule slowly said. “It’s too dark.”

“Oh.” Wind said, his face scrunching up to think.

Legend sighed. Most of Labrynna’s water was clear and clean, but it wasn’t exactly easy to see beneath the surface, especially in the dim lighting of the cave. “Wind, you’re going to have to use words. Y’know, those neat little things that explain concepts? Those.”

Wind gave him a flat look. “Gee Legend, why don’t you just do it if you’re so good at this?”

Legend rolled his eyes. “Never learned how to tread.”

“...Then how do you stay in place, Legend?” Hyrule asked.

“I don’t. I just keep swimming.”

Wind cried out. “No! That’s awful! Legend, get in the water so help me Hylia I am going to teach you RIGHT NOW!”

“Nah.”

Wind pouted at him. Legend didn’t care.

‘Stop being a dry blanket!” Warrior shouted over at him. “Get in the water!”

“I’m not getting in the water.” He told Wind.

“Um, I think I’m doing it?” Hyrule interrupted to Legend’s relief. Hyrule was shakily treading.

Wind started clapping. “Yes! Just like that, good job!”

Things continued like this for a time. Legend found he was enjoying it all, despite himself. He’d give what little advice he could and banter with Wind. Occasionally he’d yell at the others, both advice and insults.

The others were growing tired finally. Warrior was the first out, others slowly following. Four and Hyrule were comparing their abilities, racing across the pool. It brought a small smile to Legend’s lips.

“They look like they’re having a lot of fun, huh?” Warrior said behind Legend’s ear, causing him to jolt. He turned to glare at Warrior. “Don’t give me that look!” He said with a knowing smirk. A mischievous, dangerous smirk.

“What are you—”

Legend didn’t have time to finish as Warrior lifted and tossed Legend in one smooth motion. “Why don’t you join them!”  

Legend didn’t have time to bite back the shout. It pitched into a scream just as his back struck the surface of the water.

“Warrior! That was unaccept—” Legend heard Time bark before the water covered him, dragged him down, and claimed him as Her own.

~~**~~

He was wet, he was cold, he was tired, and he wanted to be done.

But the Mermaid Cave still held the Essence of Time that the Maku Tree needed, so he pressed forward. The whole dungeon was a damned watery maze, one that had stumped him for days. He’d been ready to give up.

But as he left the past and returned to the present, he saw a waterfall. Sure enough, a second damned Mermaid Cave laid hidden behind, old and rotting and just waiting for him. It was the same cave as the one he’d just finished exploring in the past, but age gave the old place an entire new layout.

And more puzzles. Always more puzzles.

But finally, finally, he came to the large chest. The chest that he knew would be his key to the rest of the dungeon. Some sort of item to aid him.

But as he opened the chest, he was filled with revulsion. There was no item to aid him with the dungeon. Nothing he could possibly hope to use.

Laid at the bottom of the chest was an old and dried… thing. Something with scales?

He had no idea how this could possible be useful, but then again, the strangest of things could be useful in the right circumstances. Maybe… Maybe someone would trade something better for it?

He lifted the papery dried object out of the chest. He unfolded it and nearly gagged. It was like a snake’s shed skin—  or maybe a shed Zora’s skin— but a it was mermaid tail instead. Was this why the dungeon was called Mermaid’s Cave? Yet the longer he held the skin, the more he realized there was magic to the object.

Then the magic came alive.

The scales began to glow. With a yelp he tried to release the skin, but to his horror he found he could not. In fact, the scales seemed to shift and shake, moving and swaying. The skin grew warm, but still he could not let it go. The tail seemed to shift towards and then into his own skin. He could do nothing as slowly the ancient mermaid tail replaced his own skin with it’s scales.

He backpedaled in his panic, desperately trying to free his hands from the entangling scales. So panicked he was that he stepped back too far and fell when his foot found no more ground. His body unbalanced, he plummeted backwards into the deep water.

He struggled but quickly found his movements growing sluggish. He sank, faster than he had ever sank before. The dim light of the cave faded as the darkness of the water consumed him.

He was drowning.

O Thief of my Grave

Plunderer of my tomb,

Shall I allow you to drown?

Or shall I baptize you anew?

Loathsome spell, this cast upon you, I do,

Gruesome spell, so tenderly forged just for you.

From depths to moon

Mermaid was my given name.

I grant forth mine boon

And thus now we are the same.

And then he awoke.

Confused at first, for it was very dark. His eyes adjusted quickly, but still he did not know where he was. Then he saw the bubbles escape from his mouth.

He screamed, what little air left in his lungs returning to the surface. Water fully filled his lungs, and he did not drown.

He tried to kick off the ground, but then found he could not. In fact, to his disbelief, his legs had fused together. He ran a hand along the bright green scales, wincing as he felt them shift beneath his fingers. Sure enough, in place of his legs was a tail.

Returning to the surface, he was relieved to find that on dry land his lower half quickly reverted to as it should be.

Less relieved was he when he realized he had no control over the change. Any time he waded through water any higher than his thighs, his legs would shift into that cursed mermaid tail.

He had hoped that leaving Labrynna would release the curse, and for a time he thought it had. He sailed back to Hyrule, and was struck by lightning not halfway home. Out in the middle of the ocean, he knew he had no hope of washing ashore anywhere.

But wash ashore he did, or so he thought. He had been happy, despite the inconvenience, that the mermaid curse had finally broken.

But when he woke from the Dream of the Whale Fish, the curse was still firmly in place.

~~**~~

Legend gasped as his body struck the water, the familiar change washing over him. His lungs filled with water and his legs dissolved.

He used his momentum to continue deeper into the pool’s depths. He swam deep until the cave’s light could no longer be seen. His eyes adjusted to the depths just as quickly as the rest of his body.

He gripped his arms around himself as he fought back the panic. He forced his breathing to steady.

As he reined in his fear, rage replaced it. Fuck Warrior, fuck this, fuck all of them. He slammed his fist against a rock. He said he didn’t want to swim, didn’t want in the water, but did Warrior listen? No. Of course not.

What was I even expecting.

Legend was angry. Fuck them. What was he supposed to do now? Return to the surface and be mocked? No. Legend knew this cave and knew this pool. He knew where the pool tunneled into the ocean. So he swam.

He swam into the open ocean and kept going. He twisted past the whirlpools of the Sea of Storms. He kept going. He swept into the Zora Seas and kept going.

Finally, he came to the Zora Village. The Zora greeted him well, happy to see him again. It had been a few years, so he indulged their greetings.

He surfaced and went to the old Gale seed tree. He had used up his supply of seeds over the years. Well, now was an excellent time to restock.

So he harvested the gale seeds, then threw one at his feet. Might as well restock his other seeds too. The whirlwind of the gale seed warped him from tree to tree.

Night had fallen by the time he was done. His anger still simmered lowly, so instead of returning to the others, he bunked with the Zoras for the night. Besides, he had some catching up to do with the locals.

He shoved any ounce of guilt from his mind. Let Warrior think he’d driven him away. It might teach him a lesson.

~~**~~

Earlier...

“Warrior!” Time shouted as he watched Legend be tossed into the pool. “That was unacceptable!”

Splash!

“Relax old man! Legend knows how to swim. He's been talking about it all day.” Warrior said with a flippant wave of his hand. “He needs to loosen up and get that stick out of his ass.”

But Time was having none of that. He marched towards Warrior, getting in his face. “There is a fine line between what is a joke and what is cruel, and this is very clearly on the cruel side.”

“Uh, guys…”

Warrior tried to laugh, but it came out weak. “Hey, calm down. I don’t think ‘tossing someone in the pool’ counts as cruel.”

“It does,” Time bared down on Warrior, “if that person is terrified. That was not ‘funny’, Warrior, and you are out of line. Or did you not hear Legend’s shriek? There are many kinds of ways to yell, but ‘terror’ has a very specific sound.”

“Guys!” Hyrule shouted. “He hasn’t come up yet!”

Time stiffened. He and Warrior had been shouting for nearly a minute. Legend… Legend should have surfaced by now.

Time wasted no time. He rushed to his bag, noting Sky doing the same.

Sky grabbed some charm and then dove into the pool’s depths. Time threw on his Zora tunic and raced back to the pool, iron boots in hand.

In an old and practiced motion, he dove into the water and smoothly locked his iron boots into place, swiftly sinking into the dark depths. Time realized that visibility was near zero just a short ways into the pool, and he was still sinking deeper.

A small blue glow was further down in the water, which Time was able to identify as Sky, darting quickly around.

As Time continued to sink, so too did his stomach. This pool was deep. Time didn’t need to worry about coming up for air, but he was now surrounded in pitch black water.

Finally, his boots thunked along the rocky bottom. “Legend!” Time called out, the Zora Tunic allowing his words to flow through the water just as they would through air. “Legend!”

There was no response. Time moved along the bottom calling out and straining his ears. He saw Sky’s small blue light disappear as he returned for more air. Time continued looking.

Then he sees Twilight, also clad in Zora blues and iron boots, drifting down into the depths to join Time. Twilight glowed, giving a small area of illumination in the darkness of the water.

Twilight jerks a thumb upwards. “Hyrule has a shield spell that glows. I’ll keep looking, you head back up.” Time nodded and drifted to the surface, passing Sky along the way.

When his head broke into the air, Time saw all the hopeful gazes turn towards him. Time shook his head, and everyone’s faces fell.

While Hyrule was casting his magic, Time took stock over the group. His eye went first to Warrior. He was hunched over sat by the campfire, his eyes fixed on the ground. His hands folded in his lap. He was looking guiltier and guiltier by the second.

Wild was pacing, not that that surprised Time. While Wild was one of the best swimmers, he couldn’t go long with his head submerged before he began to have a panic attack.

Four was muttering to himself. Arguing with himself?

Wind was at the edge of the water, peering into the depths. Time was glad the younger hero hadn’t tried to look himself. Best swimmer he may be, but Wind didn’t have any breath items to help.

Then Hyrule’s spell was finished, and Time dove back into the water again.

Time didn’t know how long they looked. He and Twilight searched the bottom, occasionally resurfacing for Hyrule to re-apply the glowing shield spell before diving down again. Sky searched the middle of the pool as best he could.

But they didn’t find even a hint of Legend. No body, no clothes, not anything.

It was night out by the time they halted their search. Shivering and exhausted, the three of them had to call it quits, lest one of them die of hypothermia or passed out in the water.

Wild had made warm stew which was no different that usual, but tasted of ashes. Warmth returned to his limbs, but he still felt numb.

He shook himself, then took stock of the others.

Warrior was silently weeping.

Wild was absently stirring the stew, staring off into nothing.

Twilight was shivering, much like Time himself still was.

Four was trying to comfort Wind.

“My fault.” Wind was the worst. “My fault, I shouldn’t have suggested this.” Time felt his heart drop even further as he registered the grief in Wind’s voice. “I should have known better. The ocean kills.”

Time closed his eyes, the pain in his chest growing heavier.

Wind wasn’t even crying. “My fault…”

Warrior continued to weep.

Everyone looked lost. Time knew it was up to him to give direction. He was the oldest, the one they all looked to for guidance.

“How many more will the ocean take from me?” Wind whispered to himself. With cave so silent everyone heard him.

It had been a long time since Time had felt so lost. But he needed to pull himself together.

“I… I don’t think Legend is dead.” Hyrule’s voice split the silence.

“Don’t bother.” Warrior croaked. “It’s my fault. I killed him.”

“No! I mean, if he was dead, we would have found his body, right? Right?”

“Not necessarily.” Wind said, his voice flat and without inflection. “His body could have been caught along some rocks. His body might have been swept into a side cave, a small pocket only large enough for someone to get trapped in and drown.” Wind ran his fingers through the dirt, listless. “Maybe his body was swept out to sea. He did tell us that this pool was connected to the ocean.”

“No, we didn’t find anything that led out of here, no tunnel or anything.” Twilight said. “He couldn’t have been swept out to sea.”

Wind gave a tiny shrug. “Then it’s probably small. He did warn us about that, remember? If it’s that small to be unnoticeable, then Legend probably would have been killed as the current sucked him out, bashing him against the rocks.”

“And yet, we haven’t found his body.” Time said. “We can’t give up on him yet. We will search again in the morning.”

Silent agreement was the only response.

~~**~~

Legend stretched gleefully on the soft Zora bed. He hadn’t slept so well in ages!

He ran a hand along his tail. As much as he hated the thing, it felt good to have it out again. Other than small accidental bursts, he hadn’t swum with the tail in a long time. It was like an uneasy knot loosened in his chest, being able to swim again.

However, Legend could feel a knot of guilt replace it. Now with a clearer head, Legend knew it had been a dick move to just leave everyone last night. He was still angry at Warrior though.

Besides, what else was he supposed to do? Hey guys, don’t ask about why I have a tail, it’s a part of my traumatic backstory. As if. The mocking would never end. He could already hear Warrior mocking him and calling him a mer-man or a maiden or something.

So Legend refused to be guilty. It was all Warrior’s fault, obviously.

If Legend decided that it was about time he rejoined the group, well… that wasn’t the his guilt speaking (he wasn't guilty at all). It was just because he didn’t have anything better to do. And if he bought some premium roasted Labrynna trout skewers from the Zora for breakfast, that was just because Legend wanted to have fish, and was generous enough to get some for everyone else too.

Swimming back to the surface, Legend took note of the early morning sun. The others probably weren’t even awake yet. There were storm clouds on the horizon, but Legend knew he was in the clear for a few more hours. The swim back to Crescent Isle was quick and enjoyable.

Swimming down through the same small tunnel that he had left through, Legend peaked his eyes out of the water to observe the camp.

He was perplexed to see that no one had set out bedrolls the previous night. Wild was curled up against Twilight, who was curled up against Time. In Time’s other arm huddled Sky and Four and Hyrule. Legend couldn’t shake the strangeness of seeing them all cuddling so readily. But even stranger was Wind and Warrior, who were off on their own. Warrior was slumped over with his head in his lap. Wind was the oddest, though. Wind loved to cuddle, but instead of joining the pile with the others, he was curled into himself, back facing everyone else.

Silently, Legend pulled himself from the water and back onto dry land. Happy to be able to wiggle his toes again, he was satisfied enough to make his way over to the others. Oddly, he noted that no one was on watch. It made Legend’s life easier, at least.

Legend pulled the roasted trout skewers from his magic bag, happy to see that they were still hot. He lined the skewers along the embers of last night’s campfire. He plopped down along the side of the camp and began munching on his own skewer.

He wasn’t far out of sight, but he also wasn’t in direct line of sight.

Then Wild’s nose twitched.

“Mmm…” Wild murmured and opened an eye. He then opened both eyes and grinned wide as he saw the fish skewers. He jerked a hand towards one, still half asleep, waking Twilight.

It put a small smirk on Legend’s face to see Wild so happy to see the food.

His smirk vanished when Wild blinked and his expression crashed. Wild’s shoulders slumped and he sighed. He picked up a skewer and examined it with sudden disinterest.

Twilight patted Wild’s shoulder. “I know,” Twilight whispered. Twilight too had a look of borderline despair.

What the fuck?

Wild munched into the fish. “This tastes really good,” Wild droned in the deadest voice Legend had ever heard. “But I’m really not very hungry…” Then Wild placed the skewer down.

If Legend wasn’t freaked out before, he was now. Wild, not hungry?!

This seemed to cause a ripple through the others, slowly waking up, all but Wind and Warrior. The other heroes were just as morose, listlessly picking at the fish.

Legend looked down at his own skewer like it might hold answers. It tasted delicious, just as he remembered, so clearly that wasn’t the problem.

“Everyone needs to eat,” Time was saying. “We need to keep up our strength.” Damn, even Time looked depressed.

There were murmurs of reluctant agreement.

Time sighed. “Wild, thank you for gathering breakfast. I doubt anyone would have eaten, otherwise.”

Legend rolled his eyes. Of course no one had noticed him yet.

Wild blinked, confused. “I didn’t get these. They were here when I woke up.”

It was at this moment that Four turned his head and made eye contact with Legend.

Legend met Four’s gaze with his usual resting bitch-face. Four just looked at him with a dull and blank stare. Then Four shook himself, his eyes growing wide.

Legend gave a small wave of his free hand.

Four dropped his fish skewer. He blinked, hard.

“You know,” Four began, catching everyone’s attention, “I’m not sure how to feel right now. Excited? Relief? Anger? Or maybe I’m just going crazy?”

“...Are you alright, Four?” Time carefully asked.

Four shrugged. “Either I’m alright or I’m seeing ghosts. Still not sure which.” Then he pointed to Legend.

Legend repeated his small wave as eyes turned to him. He raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “So, can I asked who died? What the hell is wrong with everyone?”

There was a moment that time seemed to stop.

Then, chaos.

“LEGEND?!”

“YOU’RE ALIVE!”

“AAAAH!”

“WHAT THE FUCK?!”

Legend leaned back from the sudden shouting.

“What the hells, how long have you been there!?”

“Are we sure he isn’t a ghost?!”

“Dear Hylia, he’s still soaking wet!”

Legend grunted at that last one. “Yes, I’m wet and I’m fucking freezing. Can we get a fire started or something?”

Instead, Warrior stumbled over to him, his eyes wide. He brought out a shaking hand and gently tapped Legend’s shoulder.

“... You’re real…”

“Uh, yea? I’m still pissed at you, asshole.” Legend peered closer at Warrior. “...Have you been crying?”

“... You’re real?...”

Legend was really, really getting freaked out now. He peered past Warrior to the others. “Guys, a little help? What’s going on?”

And then Wind burst into sobs. Wind tackled him, giving him a crushing hug.

Legend barely had time to wheeze before the others took this as an invitation and poured towards him.

Hells, even Time joined in to give him a crushing hug.

It was Wind who finally made Legend understand.

“We thought you were dead,” Wind whispered into Legend’s chest.

Oh.

Guilt slammed into his chest.

Oh.

“We tried to hold out hope when we couldn’t find your body,” Time added.

The others finally let go, but Legend still felt the pressure of the guilt.

“Uh. Yeah, not dead. I told you all I could swim, remember?”

To Legend’s surprise, it was Wind who answered. “What were we supposed to think?” He spit with a shocking amount of vitriol. “You know as well as I do how easily the ocean kills.”

Legend wanted to be sick. He knew the dangers of the ocean, but he forgot that the others might also know.

“Time, Sky, and Twilight jumped in after you didn’t resurface.” Hyrule explained. “What happened? We searched for hours, no one could find you.”

Fuck. Legend felt so guilty. Suddenly he couldn’t meet their eyes.

“I told you idiots I couldn’t drown, didn’t I?” He growled. “I was fine!”

“Drowning isn’t the only way to die.” Wind said.

Legend flinched. “Goddesses, how was I supposed to know you guys thought I died! Do you really think I’m so weak?!”

“Of course not,” Time said. “But no matter how powerful someone is, accidents still can happen.”

“... I was angry.” Legend said.

“I’m sorry.” Warrior rasped.

Legend felt even worse. Warrior had been crying. Warrior had clearly thought that he had killed Legend. And Legend fucked off to fuck around on his own.

“I was angry, so I left. Slipped through a tunnel to the ocean, and did a few errands. Met up with a few old friends. Grabbed everyone breakfast.”

The others were slack-jawed.

“This whole time…”

“You went on… on a grocery run?!”

“You jackass!” Sky, of all the people, shouted. “We thought you were dead!”

Legend threw up his hands. “Well excuse me! Should I be sorry that all of you jumped to conclusions!? ‘Oh no, we can’t find Legend!’” Legend mocked, “‘He’s dead! Oh no!’”

There was a burst of pain in his jaw, then Legend found himself relocated to the ground.

He had been punched. In the jaw. Legend was stunned to see a seething Sky standing above him.

Sky had just punched him.

Sky whirled around. “I’m glad you’re alive,” he grit through clenched teeth, not looking particularly glad at all. “I’m going out to get some air.”

Goddesses, Legend knew he fucked up. If Sky was done with his bullshit, he beyond fucked up.

The others slowly dispersed, mulling about the campsite.

Warrior stayed though. “You going to punch me too?” Legend had to open his fat mouth.

To his surprise, Warrior gave a small chuckle. “I’m not even mad at you.”

Legend blinked. “What? You should b— I mean, uh. What?”

Warrior sighed, and he seemed to deflate. “I’m just so relieved that I didn’t accidentally kill you.”

Legend looked closer at Warrior. “...You all really thought I was dead.” He whispered.

“Yep.” Warrior chuckled again. “Legend, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have… Well, I should have paid better attention. I knew you were leery around the water, but I ignored that. I’m sorry I threw you into the water.”

“... Apology accepted.” Legend paused, trying to think out his words so he didn’t sound like an asshole. “And, I’m sorry too.” the apology flowed easier than he thought it would. “I didn’t think about anything other than my anger. I should have at least left a note, or something.” Legend said, muttering the last bit.

Warrior sighed and seemed to collapse in on himself, a small content smile on his face. He looked exhausted.

“Well, c’mon. I bought everyone breakfast, but I haven’t gotten any thanks yet y’know. Hells, Four threw his on the ground!” Legend rolled his eyes with an exaggerated flair. Warrior chuckled. “You better enjoy these dammit, someone has to!”

A few hours passed in an odd tense-yet-relieved air in the camp.

It wasn’t until Wind pointed at the pool that Legend realized something was wrong. Then he remembered.

The storm clouds.

Legend jumped up. “Shit!” He shouted.

Legend saw how the pool was slowly rising. Sure enough, Legend turned around and looked to the land-exit of the cave and cursed again. The route had began filling up with enough water that it was no longer traversal. Considering it was a risky route when it was dry, there was no way to get out now that it was flooding. Mud and sentiment had blocked it off before Legend had even noticed the impending flood.

Even more pressing was the fact that the pool was rapidly growing larger.

The others quickly took notice of Legend’s freak-out, as well as the reasoning.

“The island is being hit by a tropical storm,” Legend quickly explained. “This cave will quickly be flooded.”

“Sky!” Hyrule remembered, “He’s out in the middle of the storm then!”

“Better off than us,” Time commented as he eyed the rising water.

“If we can get to the surface, I can use my gale seeds to whisk us to Lynna City.”

“How the hells is a seed supposed to save us from a storm?” Twilight said.

“They’re teleport seeds, basically. I stocked up on them yesterday.” Legend took a moment to glare at the others. “My grocery run might very well be about to save all of our lives.”

“You can rub it in after we’re not all dead, Legend.” Four said. “We still have to get out of the cave first.”

“Well, what about the underwater route that Legend used?” Twilight asked.

Legend winced. “None of you will be able to get through it. Maybe Sky could have, but none of you have the swimming dexterity to make it through without being crashed into the rocky tunnel. It’s a strong current.”

“Well, do we have a choice?” Four asked, lifting a foot as water began to cover the floor. “We are running out of time. Is there a shot we can get through it?”

Then an idea came to Legend. He hated the idea, but it was the only thing he could think of. He hated it, but their lives were much more important than his secret.

“I can carry you guys out. One by one. It’s the only way.”

“What? Are you crazy? How does that work?” Warrior said.

“Look, either you guys trust me and we live, or you don’t trust me and you all die. We don’t really have a choice.”

Slowly everyone nodded their agreement.

“I’ll take Four first, then Hyrule and Warrior. You three are the weakest swimmers. After that I’ll take Wind, then Wild. Twilight and Time will be last since they can breath underwater. When I get you to the surface, you’re going to need to go for higher land.”

“We will also need to find Sky.” Time said. “I would think he must be nearby.”

They all nodded. “Alright. Four first.” Legend said to himself. Four joined him at the lip of the pool.

“And, um.” Legend knew now was really not the time to get embarrassed, but he couldn’t help it. “No one is allowed tomakefunofme,” he said in a rush.

“What?”

But Legend was already grabbing Four, holding the smaller hero against his chest as he leapt into the water. “Hold your breath!”

The change was swift and disorienting as usual, his lungs rejecting air and embracing the water, his legs shifting into the swift mermaid tail.

He gave off a great burst of speed and bolted for the underwater exit. He knew he had to be quick since Four was holding his breath.

Four was small and light enough that he was no burden to Legend as he twisted through the passageway. Just as quick, he was breaking the surface and allowing Four to take in a deep breath. Legend approaches the shoreline and got Four as close as possible without changing or beaching himself on land.

Four didn’t even hesitate to question Legend. “I’ll find Sky, you get the rest now!” Four shouted over the pouring rain. Thunder struck in the distance, causing Legend a full body flinch.

He was fine. Everything is fine.

He dove back into the waters and returned to the cavern. The water was ankle deep now.

Legend popped his eyes above the surface and raised out a hand to gesture.

Hyrule nervously wrung his hands as he approached the edge of the pool.

Legend rolled his eyes and pushed the rest of his head above water. “Jump in, now.” He then buried the rest of his face back in the water.

Hyrule gulped. He closed his eyes and jumped. As he landed in the water, Legend caught him.

It was more tricky navigating through the tunnel this time with a larger passenger, but Legend still managed it in a quick period of time.

He released Hyrule onto the beach. They were both relieved to see Sky and Four wave nearby, huddled under a mostly dry shelf in a nearby cliff.

Legend ignored the blatant curiosity and awe(???) that Hyrule stared at him with. He returned back to the cave again.

Legend repeated the same gesture again for Warrior to jump in, but the stubborn hero was stalling. Legend growled to himself under the water, and popped his face out from beneath the tides.

Warrior opened his mouth to speak but Legend didn’t allow it. “When I’m like this I can’t breath air so I am literally suffocating right so get your damned ass in the water Warrior or so help m e—” Legend cut himself off as he ducked back into the water to take a breath.

“Right, got it.” Warrior said and leapt into the water without further prompting.

Legend grabbed hold of Warrior and immediately noticed that this would be far more difficult. Warrior was a lot bigger than Four or Hyrule. He also wore plate armor.

Fuck my life. Legend groaned as he maneuvered down to the exit. Legend let loose a hiss of pain as he accidentally rammed his shoulder into one of the rocky walls of the exit tunnel.

Still, Legend managed it. He dumped Warrior on the beach and returned for the next passenger. He was getting very tired.

Wind was on Twilight’s shoulders by the time Legend returned; the water having risen to Wind’s head height. Wind was a blessing to carry after Warrior.

Then was Wild. Before he jumped, he leaned down to whisper to Warrior.

“When my head goes below the water, sometimes I freak out. So if I stop breathing, don’t worry. I’m fine, just panicking.”

Legend wanted to say ‘ That doesn’t sound fine at all’ but they were on a bit of a time crunch, and honestly he could relate. So he clutched Wild tightly and didn’t complain when Wild clutched him even tighter.

Legend was panting by the time he returned for Twilight, who was forced to tread water now. Only two left. The two heaviest, but still. Only two left.

Twilight was heavy, dammit. Also a lot larger than Legend. But Legend refused to let that stop him.

He took the tunnel slower this time. He didn’t need to worry about Twilight running out of air after all. He still struck his shoulder a few more times.

By the time Legend returned for Time, the whole cavern was filled with water. Time was patiently floating, waiting for him.

“Well, let’s get this over with.”

“You are bleeding,” Time said, pointing out the obvious.

“Yep. You ready? We don’t really have all day, Time.”

Time flashed him a concerned look, but acquiesce.

Legend almost didn’t make it through the tunnel. Between Time’s weight and the fatigue he could feel bearing down on him, Legend got sloppy. On his last turn out of the tunnel, his tail crashed into a sharp outcropping, slashing deep.

Legend bit back a scream behind his teeth and continued to maneuver himself and the old man to the beach.

Legend hit the beach hard. He heard Time grunt as his breath was knocked out, but Legend was too busy fighting to stay conscious. His lower half was leaving a long red streak behind him.

Time stood in the downpour, then turned to Legend, unsure.

Legend was too tired for pride. “Pick me up,” he gasped through the air.

Time wasted no time and lifted Legend bridal style. As his tail left the water, Legend expected it to shift back into his normal legs. Instead, the wound on his tail flared and he screamed.

Time started and dropped him.

“Fck.” Legend muttered into the sand. He couldn’t shift back. “Well tha’s new.” Perfect, absolution wonderful. Legend cursed his luck. It seemed the wound prevented him from shifting at all.

Time knelt beside him. “You are losing a lot of blood, Legend.”

“Really. Wow. Thanks. Didn’t notice.” Legend gurgled from where he laid in the shallows. “Get the others over here. I can’t go to them, they’ll have to come to me.” Legend instructed Time. Time nodded and sprinted to where the others huddled nearby.

Legend could feel his hands shake as he riffled through his belongings, finding his seed satchel just as the other appeared.

He didn’t have the energy to really explain, so he activated one of the seeds, set it to Lynna City, and tossed it at the nearest person.

Legend smirked at the expression Twilight made before he was warped away. He did it seven more times, warping everyone to safety.

Now, to warp… himself…

…

~~**~~

When Time watched Legend toss a small blue seed at Twilight, he wasn’t sure what he expected. The whirlwind that spawned, and then proceeded to carry Twilight away, was certainly not what he expected.

Gale seed, indeed.

And then Time himself was lurched away by the mini-tempest. He found himself stumbling and falling to his knee as the small whirlwind spat him out seemingly seconds later.

Time immediately noticed the blessed lack of rain or clouds, the sudden sunlight burning his eyes.

One by one the rest of the group was spat out besides a small tree with odd red seeds. Then they were eight in number, waiting only for Legend.

And they waited.

“No… I can’t deal with this, not again…” Warrior whispered.

“You don’t think he passed out before he could warp himself, do you?” Four murmured.

Then, finally, the last whirlwind appeared and deposited Legend onto the ground.

There was no relief, however. As soon as he touched down Legend began thrashing, his tail flopping helplessly and spattering blood across the grass. Worse, Legend was gasping, choking for air he couldn’t breath.

“Shit! We need to find water!” Warrior yelled.

Through grit teeth, Legend pointed in a direction.

“Water? That way?!” Warrior asked.

Legend gestured to himself, then violently pointed in the same direction, his eyes squeezed shut as he wheezed.

“Carry him!” Time realized, and lifted Legend into his arms. He sprinted to the direction Legend pointed, entering the city proper and passing a few confused townsfolk. Then he saw the large fountain.

Time wasted no time dumping Legend into the fountain, falling in himself as well.

Time slumped gratefully against the fountain’s statue as he saw Legend take deep gulps of water. The others weren’t far behind. “Someone get a bandage, we need to stop the bleeding.” Time called to them.

Moments later, Time hand bandages in hand. Legend didn’t protest as Time wrapped the bleeding tail.

“Anyone have potion?”

“Ugh.” Legend grunted as Time wrapped his shoulder too. “This sucks.”

"Found a potion!" Sky cheered as he pulled it out of his bag, tossing it to Time.

Legend's hand shot out of the water and snatched the potion, popping the cork and chugging the whole thing.

He laid in the fountain for a few moments longer. The others traded worried looks.

Then Legend heaved himself out of the fountain, his green tail melting into his usual legs. Then he flopped onto the grass and buried his face in the dirt. "Ughh..."

Warrior patted him. "Good job buddy, everyone lived."

"Ughhhh...!"

Time smiled, glad the whole ordeal was finally over. He sat against the statue still, feeling content to sit in the water. Goddesses, he deserved a nap. The pleasant sun warming him only made him feel more sleepy.

Everyone was celebrating their escape from the storm in their own little ways. Time was relieved to see the tension around Legend had entirely vanished.

"So... Looks like we solved a mystery today!" Wind said with cheer.

"We did? Honestly I have a lot more questions than I did before." Four responded.

Wind just shook his head. "Today we solved the mystery of why Legend doesn't wear pants!"

Time choked on his spit as Wind's words registered.

"That was never a mystery..." Legend grumbled, face still halfway in the dirt, "I told everyone why. I just don't like pants."

Wind looked wholly unconvinced. "Sure. That totally the only reason. And not, hm, maybe because of your secret mermaid powers!"

Legend flinched. Time was about to interrupt the lines of questions that were no doubt about to spill forth from the other heroes, but he didn't need to.

"We all have our secrets, it's obvious he doesn't want to talk about it," Warrior said, having noticed Legend's discomfort.

"But," Wild tried to say.

"No, not having it!" Warrior said, extending an arm with his palm out flat in the 'stop' gesture. "I'm way too happy that no one is dead, and I'm not going to let a gloomy Legend ruin that for me. And that means none of you are going to make him gloomy."

Legend rolled his eyes. "Oh, my hero~" he said with the usual sarcasm dripping from every syllable.

Time smiled though. He could hear the hidden gratitude in Legend's voice.

Sky raised a hand, asking permission to speak.

Warrior pointed to Sky. "Yes, you there! Do you have a question for the teacher?"

The others chuckled, except Wind who rolled his eyes. "Me 'n Wild are the teachers, dummy," he whispered under his breath with a smile.

Sky pointed at the statue that Time was still sitting against. Time looked up and saw a familiar face.

"I just wanted to ask if that's a statue of Legend." Sky said with too much innocence to believe.

"Ughhhh..." Legend just closed his eyes and shoved his face further into the grass. "I told Ambi not to make those stupid statues..." he muttered to the dirt.

Warrior's face lit up. "Statues? As in, more than one? Looks like we have some sightseeing to do, Legend!"