Archive of Our Own ^beta

I'm Link.

So this Hyrule's hero was in fact a heroine.

No way, Legend thought.

Maybe it's just a coincidence, Sky asserted himself.

Is this even allowed? Wondered Warriors.

Sweet Hylia, why leave this burden to a girl, Time lamented. Those huge scars... What on earth did she have to put up to... And yet so young.

He imagined Malon in her place and had to shake away the thought in order not to get emotional, or else the burning feeling in his eyes would give him away.

"You must be getting sick from the heat" Link guessed by the unfocused expression the group bore. "I have some chilly elixirs here, I just wonder if there's enough for everyone".

Link then retreived some glass bottles and hydromelons from the Sheikah Slate, along with a cooking kit they managed to get their hands into, shoving the molduga guts and other treasures they found in the monster inside the artifact.

"H-how did you do this?!" Four exclaimed fascinated.

"Sheikah Slate" Link pointed to the stone tablet resting on their hip. "I don't know the mechanics behind it, though. It's ancient stuff."

"Unbelievable!" Wind got closer to examine it while Link prepared more elixirs.

"It's truly incredible" Four continued. "Can you storage weapons on it as well?"

Link nodded.

"You can have these elixirs. Better drinking it up before one of you pass out."

Each of the heroes took their elixirs, some remarking that they didn't expect it to taste so good, others thanking Link for the kindness.

Time was the one to hurry them off the road. The sooner they got to the oasis, the better. On their way, Link was bombed with questions. What's a Molduga? What was the animal they have been riding? Where did hydromelons grew?

"It's not sand-slinding" they explained. "I call it shield-surfing. It's not really difficult, I can teach you if you want to. And you don't even need a sand seal to do it."

"Please, don't give them ideas" Legend scoffed, which prompted them all to laugh.

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you?" the girl asked. "Are you brothers or in some sort of travelling company?"

They waited for Time's answer.

"You could say we're both related and travellers."

"I see" Link said gazing the never ending sky. "It must be nice to have a big family.

"How is your family, Link?" Sky asked, trying to already get some information about their newest companion.

"My family..." they said trying to remember anything. It wasn't the first time they tried to recollect their memories but they could barely remember the bits of their life before they were admitted as the princess appointed knight. But what does it mattered anyway? It has been one hundred years, none of them were alive anymore.

"They are all gone."

"I'm so sorry" Sky apologized, realizing he shouldn't have made such a personal question.

"It's okay" Link shrugged and pointed to a far location. "Kara Kara Bazaar. We're almost there."

---

As soon as they arrived in the Oasis, the boys ran to the lake to refresh. Wind was splashing water in a annoyed Four while the others were too busy filling their canteens and washing their faces.

Sitting with their feet hanging on the water next to a mighty banana bunch they got from the slate, Link removed the veil that covered their face and cupped their hands to drink the water, revealing the face of the mysterious heroine of this Hyrule.

She had bright blue eyes, puffy lips and a fairly remarkable scar on her left cheek. A androgynous type of beauty that mixed feminine and masculine features rare to spot.

It was enough to captivate the heroes attention. She did resembled the travellers, but somehow, even with the huge scar and messy hair, she looked prettier than them.

As she washed her face, Warriors got closer and offered her his prized scarf.

"Here" he said. "You can use it to dry yourself if you don't mind"

"Ah, thank you" Link nodded, rubbing the piece of cloth on her face, leaving the whole crew in shock.

"Is it really happening?" Sky whispered to Four, confused.

"What a flirt" Legend snarled. "Don't get too cocky, captain."

"Shut it! You mere moblins have no clue on how to behave as a true gentleman" Warriors said while leaning over to Link and reaching out his hand to help her get up. "Here, don't mind them."

Link stared at the man's hand unsure of what he meant with the gesture. Were they supposed to give him something in return? Oh right, they realized, he must be hungry. They then grabbed a banana from the bunch and placed it in his hand.

Warriors didn't exactly know what to do with the fruit the girl randomly gave him, but he ate it anyway.

Their female fellow proceeded to climb a palm tree and grab some fruit to feed the foreign crew.

Watching the whole ordeal, Sky approached Time.

"She's a bit reckless, isn't she?"

"Maybe that's how she got all of those scars" the older tilted his head. "But it seems that she knows what she's doing, at least."

"Time, look" Sky tapped his shoulder pointing at something in the distance. "Wolfie is back."

Link was filling their Sheika Slate with palm fruits when a sudden and deep howl brought his attention to the ground. Under the palm tree, wiggling it's tail, was a long time friend trying to get their attention.

"Wait, Wolfie!" they shouted. "I'm getting some food, be patient."

One could call it hoarding. Link preferred to refer as prevention. Being on the road meant sometimes supplies were scarce and thankfully the ancient artifact allowed the storage of infinite ingredients.

The wolf, however, seems to not care about the harvesting and kept yalwing loudly for the hylian. Noticing the commotion, some gerudo women and travelling merchants cornered and aimed their weapons to the wild animal.

"No!" they yelped, sliding down the tree in a hurry, while some of the men they met in the desert put themselves between the wolf and the growing crowd. "Don't hurt, it!"

They were taken by surprise when the travelling relatives drew their swords to the villagers, as if they were trying to protect the dog.

"You heard her, the wolf is not dangerous" said their leader. What was his name again? Thyme?

"Not dangerous?" a gerudo vendor snarled. "It's a feral animal! It was about to eat the vai!"

Out of all the times you could have showed up, why now, Wolfie? Link sighed.

"It's not feral" they tried to explain. "It's uh... My pet wolf."

"Your pet wolf?" the gerudo blinked.

"Yeah, look" they said, facing the animal and pointing a finger to the ground. "Sit."

The canine remained standing, looking at the hylian and panting with it's tongue rolled out.

"I said: sit." Still the animal didn't move. Link had to push it's back down for the wolf to finally sit. "See? I have him under control."

That did not convince the Kara Kara villagers.

"Look, you either let us take care of this situation or both you and your wolf get out of the bazaar" she pointed at the animal who was now jumping on Link, trying to lick their face. "This thing will scare the customers and if it attacks someone only Din knows how our reputation will be stained."

They sighed helpless.

"Fine, we'll leave..." they said grabbing a raw drumstick from the slate and motioning to the wolf, to which it promptly followed. "Here! Come here, buddy."

Outside of the baazar, while the canine was devouring it's treat, Link groaned to the dog.

"Look what you got us into, Wolfie" they rubbed their hand in their forehead. "I didn't even get to take all of those palm fruits."

The wolf simply tilted it's head, as if it was trying to grasp the meaning of the sounds the hylian made. It then approached them and placed the half eaten drumstick on their hand.

"You can have it" Link laughed and proceeded to pet it's furry head. "You four-legged troublemaker, couldn't you at least make a silent entrance?"

Wolfie barked loudly and resumed to wiggle it's tail. It was enjoying the pets until his attention fixed on something else.

The group of travellers seemed to have reached them and Link could notice a puzzled expression on their faces.

"Wolfie, you scared us!" the younger one yelled. "You almost got killed!"

"And worse" the one in a red vest said. "You almost made us loose our guide!"

"Is this really what you're most worried?" the one in colored clothing frowned.

"Not to agree with Legend, but he's right" the one with the name of the kingdom itself said. "I mean, she's the reason why we're all here, right?"

Right... Link thought. I forgot I promised this bunch of clueless weirdos I'd guide them. But couldn't they really find their way after reaching the bazaar?

"Listen, guys" they said. "I don't want to be rude or anything, but do you all really need me to show the way?"

The boys all exchanged looks as if they were trying to figure what to say, until the one-eyed leader stepped up.

"We are deeply sorry to disturb your doings, but in fact we are truly lost. Never have any of us been to this place before and your help would be much needed."

Deep down, Link knew they'd never deny helping civillians. Was I always this way? They wondered.

"Sure, I'll help you out" they sighed. "We're soon out of the desert, so we better get going before the elixirs I gave you run out of effect."

Wolfie then whined, walking towards the older of the group as they started moving.

"By the way" Link turned around to face the travellers. "Shouldn't you start looking for that friend of yours?"

Their leader giggled and said it wouldn't be necessary anymore.

They were tired of people keeping the truth from them. It was bad enough that they were considered the most unreliable person in Hyrule, but they also had to put up with the pity of others sparing them from their own story.

It'not that Wolfie didn't trust them. He probably was speaking the truth about not being able to transform back. This seemed to be the work of a curse or some sort of evil.

"I shouldn't have blown up on you" they said.

I just wished I knew you were human too so at least I'd feel less... Alone.

They chuckled at the thought that out of the two, the wolf would be the least feral creature.

How ironic.

"No need to apologize" the man-wolf said, sitting next to Link. He could only imagine how lonely the young one felt during their journey. While keeping company to them in their adventure, Twilight tried his best to have them know that the wolf appreciated their company.

He didn't know much about cub and the history of their Hyrule, besides that it was all in ruins and the hero seemed to blame themself for it after waking up with no records of their life a century prior.

Yes, the kid was covered in scars but the rancher worried more about the damage caused to their mind. He knew they were amnesiac. What preoccupied him even more, however, was the contrast between their recklessness and melancholy, as if they purposely put themself in danger. The few times Link appeared to be at peace were when they were either cooking or making immediate images with the slate.

He couldn't quite grasp what was so interesting in making portraits of absolutely anything they saw but later he figured that maybe that's the way they found of never losing those moments again.

That's why they were so upset, he thought. Wolfie was probably one of the few certain things they had on their journey besides the Sheikah Slate, his legendary sword and that goddess-forsaken flying thing.

The man figured that properly introducing himself would maybe have them open up as they did to his wolf-self.

"You can call me Twilight, by the way."

"You can call me Link" the other said. "But I think you already knew that."

At that point, the travellers were already using Link's cooking pot and the ingredients they had previously separated to prepare dinner.

"So..." Link motioned with the head to the boys. "Your relatives?"

"Kinda" Twilight smiled. "I might be related to you as well."

Link jerked their head back in laughter.

"First of all: I have no living relatives" they raised a finger after the other. "Second: you won't manage to recruit anyone with this terrible made up argument."

The older Link didn't know what to think of this statement. Recruitment? Was that what they have being doing hero after hero? He preferred to refer to it as a calling.

Scrap that. They were just dumped together, in the lack of better words. After all, it wasn't like they wanted to be sent to yet another journey.

"What exactly do you think we are, Link?" he asked.

"You're all pretty clueless. That I know" they smiled. "Those guys are well skilled but they were about to get eaten by a molduga when I met them. Not that they couldn't take it down because I'm pretty sure they'd be more than able. But wandering in the desert with no heat resistence clothing nor elixirs is just suicidal."

"Don't act like you knew all that when you first stepped into the desert" Twilight teased.

Their conversation was interrupted when the boys around the fire began to fight over something.

"Let me check what they've done to my food" Link said while tapping the dirt out of their clothes.

"Oh, you better do."

"And I am one hundred per cent positive that you've messed up all those times." Legend scoffed putting himsefl between the teenager and the cauldron. "Will it take too long?"

"Just keep him away a little more" Wind said while stirring the stew in the pot. "I just have to figure if the veggies are ready."

Approaching in the distance, their new companion motioned at the younger traveller.

"Would you mind if I taste a bit?" Link asked, kneeling next to the boy.

"Sure! Just be careful" Wind offered the ladle to them. "It's pretty hot."

Pouring the content of the spoon on their hand and tasting it, Link made some mental notes on the cooking. It wasn't bad at all, just regular and a bit tasteless. Second: did they really put the cooking in charge of a literal child? Were the older ones that bad at preparing meals?

"It's good" they nodded. "Would you mind if I make a few additions?"

"Not a problem" Wind smiled. "Those are your ingredients, after all!"

"See, it's better to boil the swift carrot before the other ingredients since takes longer to soften. I usually add seasoning to the hyrule bass before putting it in the mix. It removes the fish smell and makes the taste last longer."

The others watched in awe as Link lectured on how to make the perfect fish stew. From how to properly clean the meat to even side dishes that would go well with this recipe, it seemed that they were pretty confident about their cooking habilities.

Once the general mood had improved, Time took a chance to inquire his sucessor about the new heroine and her Hyrule.

"I do not intend to pry into your relationship with the girl, but it would be of great help if you shared what you know of this place" he sitted next to Twilight, trying to not look intimidating by standing in front of him. "Do you have any idea of when we are?"

Twilight sighed. Oh how he wished to understand this Hyrule. He was familiar to some places, yes. But the history of this era was just as confusing as it gets. Not to mention that he couldn't really ask questions as a wolf.

"Probably in a future way too far ahead" he locked his eyes on the crepiting fire, wondering what on earth desolated to this land. "Something really messed up happened here. The place is full of ruins, Time."

They had barely left the arid landscape of the Gerudo desert, just at the borders of Central Hyrule. The chain had not yet seen the destroyed cities, stalking guardians and the nature consumed ruins. Twilight wondered what would their reaction be once they saw the remains of Castle Town.

"Are you positive that this Link is the hero? I mean, heroine?" Time shrugged.

Looking at his cub happily invested in their talk about edible snails, Twilight sighed.

"Yeah, followed them during their adventure."

He remembered when he was first taken to this era. It was his first portal travel, long before he ever imagined it would be the first of many to come.

The Hero of Twilight felt dizzy and overwhelmed. It was not his intention to cross the dark fabric of space and time, just to examine this strange source of dark magic, thinking it might be related to the Twilight Realm.

What he did not expect was to be dragged by it and sent to a beautiful yet seemingly abandoned and wild Hyrule.

A sudden wave of pain stroke him as the shadow crystal started to glow, forcing him to his wolf form. The Hero of Twilight thought he had already full control on the thing. Why wasn't it letting him turn back to hylian?

Maybe being a wolf in this landscape wasn't really a bad idea. The huge fields with grazing wild horses were surrounded by small woods in which monsters probably inhabited.

Twilight was caught off guard when he noticed a small figure sneaking behind a mare. Watching closely, it seemed like a young hylian, probably a teenager.

Had it been back in Ordon, he used to scold the children for walking behind a horse since it's not only potentially dangerous but also stupid.

However, this wasn't his village and neither could he speak in his current state. He had only one option left: barge in and hopefully scare the horses away before they could kick the kid out of their senses.

The hylian didn't appreciate, though. They only got startled by the fuss (and probably the feral beast raging towards them) and draw their sword.

A beaming light danced around the weapon as it was taken from the sheath. As the light adjusted to his eyes, Twilight could see a familiar shape and the details of a sword that the knew pretty well.

The master sword.

The Hero of Twilight was shaken out of his thoughts by sailor's announcement. Each one of the group had their cups filled with the hot stew, the smell enticing their senses as their stomachs screamed for food after the long walk.

"Humpf! It's delicious!" Sky exclaimed before shoving another spoonful of soup in his mouth. The others nodded in agreement.

"You should thank Wind and Link for the meal, then" Time noted.

"No, no!" the youngest blushed at the suggestion. "It's all Link's credit. If it were for me, it would taste just bland. She's the one who told me to put the herbs and spices."

"Well, then thank you, Link" Four raised his cup as in a toast and the others giggled.

Those guys are fine, Link thought. They seemed to get along well like a big family and it felt like the time passed faster while at their company. The whole ordeal made them feel nostalgic over things they couldn't even remember. I guess that's what it was like to travel with Zelda and the Champions.

Adventuring all by themself had it's advantages. Walking at your own pace, wherever you wanted to and stopping whenever you wanted to was great. But it also was also lonesome.

Yes, the wolf was there with them for most of their adventure and even thought it was good to have him around to aid during fights or simply as a source of warmth during cold nights, was was it enough?

They tried getting a cozy home and settling down but Link couldn't just bare the seeminly calm routine after the storm that was their life the moment they awoke on the ressurecrion shrine.

There was still too much work to be done, a kingdom to rebuild, memories to be found. Once everything is settled it would be nice to lay back and simply enjoy the easy life and peace of Hateno. But not yet.

If only Zelda wasn't always so busy, maybe they could adventure just like these guys do, with no worries over sealing powers or the Calamity. It would sure be nice, they thought.

Lost in their thoughts, Link was brought back to reality when the group started arguing over something they didn't quite understand.

"Well, you better sleep on the ground then. Because I'm not giving up my bedroll" the one named Legend scoffed. "She's not exactly a pampered damsel, in case you haven't noticed."

"In any case, Four and I can share a bedroll" the youngest suggested. "We're both small enough to fit in one, I suppose"

"No way, you kick too much. I noticed it in my shifts" Four said while polishing a sword. "Also you talk in your sleep."

"What?!" Wind panicked. "D-did I say something weird or embarassing?"

"Guys, that's not the matter" the one wearing a sailscloth around his shoulders raised his voice. "If no one is willing to give up on your bedrolls than I do."

Link noticed the young man retrieve something in his package and handing over to them.

"Here, if you don't mind. It's a bit dirty but it's better than sleeping on the floor."

So the whole discussing was indeed about them, Link realized.

"Thank you, but I really don't need it" they waved politely.

"Please, I insist" Sky smiled.

Link couldn't quite grasp why they were all being so nice around them. They had made it pretty clear that the molduga thing was just casual monster hunting, no debt at all.

"I appreciate the offer, but I heard Time say that some of you will take shifts during the night to secure the camp. Wouldn't it be better if I took the one you guys won't use while awake?"

The realization made the skyloftian and the others feel stupid over the argument.

"Also, where is he and the others?" Link scooped the fireplace looking for the travellers. "I didn't notice them leaving."

"He and Wars are patrolling the area. We often do that to avoid monsters" Hyrule said. "Twilight said he was going to gather more wood for the fire."

That's smart. Link nodded. But something inside them said that the leader of this peculiar group was keeping something from them. They noticed he stares and the uncomfortable silent and started to think that maybe Time didn't really like them, even if he put up that gentleman façade.

Well, whatever. They're the ones who asked for a guide. As soon as this is over I won't have to see this guy ever again.

The Champion shrugged and proceeded to drink some of the water from their flask, almost choking when Time's firm voice caught their attention from behind them.

"Link, we must talk."

Time announced as soon as he arrived at the camp, catching them by surprise as he and Warriors made their way between the young men.

"Sure" Link shrugged sipping from their canteen. Not that they had any choice given the current situation, anyway.

"How familiar are you with the tale of the Spirit of the Hero?"

Oh goddesses, not that crap again.

"I might have heard about it" they nodded, internally begging for the older the stop talking.

Since they woke up in the shrine of ressurection, with no memories nor even the concept of self, everyone kept reminding them of who they were supposed to be and how they had to make up for their past failure.

Link didn't choose to be a hero. They didn't even chose to be a champion. That was someone from one hundred years ago who they couldn't even recognize.

Regardless of inheriting the body of the Hylian Champion, the death of the hero was a point of no return. They could see through his memories how much they were different.

To them, Link was just Link. No matter what the others claimed to be their title or role in the history of Hyrule.

Sure, they did put an end to the Calamity. They did manage to free the princess from her century long battle. Heck, they even agreed to lead the decimation of the monsters that roamed the once again founded kingdom of Hyrule now that there were no more blood moons to respawn them.

However, it all was not due to some heroic nonsense. One doesn't need a reason to help someone. That's just human decency.

At least, that's what they told themself.

"Link, we are confident that you are the one who carries the Spirit of the Hero in this era" Time continued. "Am I right?"

"And what exactly leads you to believe that?" they raised an eyebrow despite already knowing the answer to said question.

"Twilight is sure about it and I trust his instincts."

Neither of the travellers dared to say anything. They all had their attention driven to the conversation between the two.

"So what?" Link sighed while getting up from the log they were sitting on, reaching for the Sheikah Slate. "You're gonna hand me to the Yiga or try to kill me right here?"

Some of the others got up, ready for any possible attack, Link noted.

"Kill you?" Sky intervined. "What... Why would we do it?"

"Link, we're not enemies" Warriors approched them cautiously. "Let us explain."

Startled by the taller men cornering them, Link summoned the Master Sword from the slate, ready for the iminent battle.

Except that such weapon wasn't found in the inventory anymore. Realizing that somehow these people had managed to subtract the sword that seals the darkness, Link panicked.

Somehow they had let these people snatch the Master Sword right from under their nose. And from the Sheikah Slate of all places.

Be it magic or stealth techniques, it didn't matter how they got it. They took it. They would pay for it.

Retrieving a Forest Dweller's sword they were saving to use during thunderstorms, Link lashed out on the group, screaming. The men were bigger and physically stronger than them, but the Champion was faster and more agile.

They managed to send the one wearing a sailscloth to his knees, taking advantage of their surprised reaction. Without batting an eye, they bolted to the man called Warriors, ready to take him down as well.

Before their swords met, however, a heavy kick behind their knees made Link lost balance and almost fall facing the ground. Without further thinking, they threw the weapon right on the captain's unprotected shoulder, breaking it into pieces as it bruised the skin under his chainmail due to the friction and leaving a shallow cut on his neck.

That was the most Link could do before having their arms secured in a tight grip by Time, who kept pressing the smaller hylian against the ground as they kicked and squirmed under the weight of the armoured man.

"Give it back, thief! Let me go!" they yelled consumed by anger.

"Do you maybe need a rope, Time?" they could hear the one named after the kingdom approaching.

"I'll kill you, traitor! Get off me!" Link snarled.

"It won't be needed, that would only scare her more." Time said still struggling to contain the heroine. "I just need some help to hold her in place before she kills someone."

Just as he said it, Link tilted their neck and bit the fingers of the hand pushing their head down.

"Argh!" Time yelped. "Quick."

"Sure! Just let me get the power bracelets on and I'll help you" Hyrule nodded motioning to his rucksack.

The others seemed unamused, cleaning their feet and sorting their belongings. One even appeared to be holding back a laughter. Link tried to protest, but a very angry Twilight stormed in and shoved Time from their back.

"What on earth are you doing?!"

Before the Hero of Time could answer, Link sent a fist to the shapeshifter's eye, repeatedly punching him as they tried to take him down. Twilight, on the other hand, not only had a strong built but was also the strongest hero in terms of manpower. Stopping the unarmed hylian was fairly easy.

"I thought you were my friend!" Link started to give in to a cry as their punches grew weaker. "I trusted you."

Exchanging confused looks, neither of the men knew what Link was talking about, although Sky had a in idea of what could be the issue.

"She went mad after Time tried to have the the talk with her" Four shrugged while cleaning the cooking pot.

"Why didn't you wait for me?" Twilight asked trying to ignore his former travel companion's hits on his chest. "I know them!"

"We don't know when the next portal will show up. It's been almost a day since we got here and I'm not risking pulling someone through space-time fabric again" Time explained.

Somewhere out of their visual field, they heard Legend's acid voice mention that he appreciated the thought.

"Just kill me already."

Link's determined and still teary eyes met Time's again as they seemed to be done with the anger trance.

"Although, I'd like to see you try" said the Champion in a wary but still fierce fighting stance, like a cornered animal. They didn't even bother to grab another weapon, the look in their eyes said they could kill someone with their bare hands if given the opportunity.

A gentle slap in the back of their head startled them as they were expecting the other's advances.

"Why do you always have to be so difficult?" Twilight sighed.

"Sorry for not making it easy after your mercenary crew stole the Master Sword!" Link spat out. "And for what? Selling it?! It didn't even let me touch it before I prove myself. This thing is gonna kill some-"

"Is that the issue?" Sky slowly approached the younger warrior, careful not to get hit by surprise again. "Link, she's right here."

As he said it, the glowing sparkles started to shine from the sword wrapped in worn out leather and rope hanging on his back.

Link watched in awe and confusion as the skyloftian gently revealed the sword that seals the darkness under the bundle. He then took if with his hands and motioned for the other to take it.

Hesitantly, they reached out their arm at the sword, their confused eyes meeting Sky's reassuring yet alert expression. At the moment their scarred hand awkwardly touched the blade, a cool breeze filled the air and a voice resonating from the Master Sword declared:

"Hero of the Wild."

As the light emanating from the blade faded quick as it appeared, the new champion pulled it hurriedly from Sky’s hands in a tight grip. Exchanging uncertain eyes between the men and the sword, Link opened their mouth trying to formulate a question.

“Wh- what did just… How could…” they frowned trying to find the right words to the many questions that popped on their head.

“Link, please listen” Twilight approached them with his hands stretched in a sign that they were clear. “I know they scared you, I’m sorry for that. But please, you must trust me. I promise to answer every question you have. Just let us talk to you for once.

After some moments of silent pondering and awkward exchange of looks among the chain, Link sighed. For the first time since the wolf revealed himself to be hylian, the champion dared to look him in the eyes.

“This sword…” they said hoarsely. “You weren’t there when I pulled it, right?”

Twilight shook his head, allowing them to proceed with their reasoning. That phrasing made Time twitch uncomfortably while Sky and Four could only approach them in curiosity.

“If you were there you’d see how this thing almost killed me” Link could only force a sad smile, looking down at the weapon.

“What do you mean she tried to kill you?” Sky stepped in outrage. “Fi would never-”

“Sky. Let her speak” Time gripped the Chosen Hero’s shoulder with a warning glance. Still insulted by the suggestion that Fi would dare to hurt an innocent, much more one of Hylia’s chosen, the Hero of the Sky nervously nodded, looking away from Link.

“It did almost kill me” They said directly to Sky. “It drained my life as I used all of my strength to pull it and it would have killed me if Deku Tree didn’t intervene.”

At the mention of the Kokiri Forest's guardian, Time blinked. Could it be that the Great Deku Tree was still thriving in this era?

“So that’s why I want to know how” Link grew only closer to Sky, a menacing but frightened twist on their face while he shoved the Master Sword back into his arms. “How did you manage to get this thing?”

Twilight could swear that his cub and Sky were about to go at each other’s throat by the way both were staring at each other, thankfully something else caught their attention as he heard Warriors’ voice back at the camp.

“Well, wouldn’t you like to hear the whole story?”

After they all were settled in a circle around the fire for a while, Link scoffed, sitting stiff in a safe distance from the others.

“Are you going to explain it or not?”

“Time, please, do the honors” Warriors smiled at the older man.

“No. You do it” His tone left no room for argument as the man wrapped his bitten hand with salve and bandages. “I’ve had enough of it for today.”

The nerve of this guy! Link frowned. Treating me like a burden after he started all this mess! They didn’t need to feel like crap more than they already did and this armoured prick sure had a way of getting under their skin with that constant disappointed face.

“Oh, sure” The man with the blue scarf cleared his throat theatrically. “It all started thousands and thousands of years ago, when the three great goddesses of creation descended from-”

“Geez can you cut to the relevant shit already?” The boy named Legend elbowed Warriors. Link tried to hide a chuckle at the scene, they thought this guy seemed pretty funny with that cranky attitude.

“Alright, alright!” their narrator childishly made a mocking face at the younger one. Link couldn’t believe they were actually fighting these dorks minutes ago, they seemed like totally different people without that we need to talk faces.

“As I was saying” he continued. "Thousands of years ago, when the land was infested with demons and all sorts of evil, the goddess Hylia chose a young skilled man to bring an era of peace to the world. The hero and his princess, the very Hylia incarnated, managed to defeat the Demon King and end his reign of terror. However…”

Link took a deep breath, uneasy with the wording.

“In his final breath, the Demon King cursed the princess and the hero, promising to come back to whoever carried the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero to try and restore his evil domain over the land.”

"Ever wondered why we all have funny names?" The smallest guy continued. "Wind? Time? Legend? Who would even name their child after the kingdom?"

"Not funny, Four" The very Hyrule rolled his eyes at annoyance.

"What I mean is: these are not given names" Four waved his hand in a dismissive gesture towards the traveller. "Those are our titles. Just like yours, Heroine of the Wild."

Link shrugged uncomfortably at the vocative. They were no such thing as a heroine. Heroes doesn't fail. Yet, the direction this conversation was leading made them even more uneasy.

"And" the child - Wind - complemented with a amused grin in his eyes. "That's because we're all also named Link."

Out of the nine Links, only one of them fell exhausted to the ground on their back, in need of some time to process it all.

"Fuck."

"I'm fine" They replied while rubbing their hands on their face.

Oh godesses, how were they supposed to explain themself to these people? The group really did thought they were the long gone hero and Link couldn't decide if those delusional men were somehow a improvement from having a clan of assassins who also believed so after them.

This had to be adressed as soon as possible, before any more misunderstandings between them.

"Listen, guys" Link lifted themself back to the sitting position, hiding their face behind their long unruly hair. "I'm really sorry to disappoint you all but... You're wrong."

The other so-called heroes collectivelly rose their eyebrows.

"What do you mean we're wrong?" The one wearing red said sharply.

"You've got the wrong person" They tugged their tunic sheepishly. "The person who carries the spirit of the hero... He's dead."

"What are you even talking about?" Twilight rose to his feet. "I was with you for most of your adventure! I saw what you're-"

"Then you should already know" Link cut him firmly. "The hero died a century ago and that's it."

None of the Links understood the meaning of these words. Why would the existence of a hero one hundred years prior nullify the extant of the heroine right in front of their eyes.

"I'm sorry" They sighed unable to look at something else then the ground in shame. "I really am. I didn't mean to trick you into thinking I'm the hero. Tomorrow morning we arrive at the stable and then you might continue your search for-"

"No, no. You're not doing this" Twilight suddenlt grabbed Link's shoulders and forced them to face him. "Look at me, cub. Don't you dare say another word. You are the most determined, fearless and pure hearted person I've ever met. Whatever happened one hundred years ago doesn't define who you are now. Are we clear?"

Astonished by the shower of unexpected compliments, Link opened their mouth in order to say something but couldn't find the words, leaving them with only a surprised and confused look on their eyes.

Not giving them any chance of replying, Twilight removed among protests the leather gloves protecting the younger hero's left arm. Immediately as their skin touched, three golden triangles came to light, literally, in the back of their hand.

"If you needed any more proof, that's it" Twilight breathed exasperatedly, exposing his protegé's hand to the other men.

As soon as the ordonian let go off Link's hand, the champion proceeded to further inspect the glowing crest on their hand. They could swear that they've seen it before, just not exactly what it meant.

"What is it?" They asked puzzled by the symbol.

"Are you kidding?" Wind exclaimed. "You don't know what the Triforce is?!"

There are plenty of things I don't know, kid. Link wanted to say. Figuring out shapes was at the bottom of my list of priorities.

"To put in simple words" the boy named Hyrule cut the child off. "The fact that you have this mark in your hand proves that you do carry the spirit of the hero.

Oh.

"That or you're secretly a princess" Warriors raised an eyebrow, to which Link noticed Legend twitch in discomfort.

Staring back at their hand, Link tried to make sense of these words.

Did it mean that indeed they shared the soul of the fallen hero and not only his body? If that was so, then why did he felt like a whole different person? Why couldn't they see themself as the champion through his memories if both were the same?

All the sensations and strange emotions they were bottling up on this day suddenly became too much. Overwhelmed by feelings they couldn't name, Link got up.

"If you excuse me, I need a moment by myself to... Think."

"Of course" Time nodded, whispering for Twilight to accompany their newest addition to the chain.

As the rancher followed Link into the woods, the heroes began to spread their bedrolls and prepare themselves for the night while Sky claimed the first shift

"You know, old man" Legend sighed near Time before laying down. "You might think you're improving your game at convincing us to join this quest, but you really should reconsider your methods."

"I see you're still bitter at me for pushing you through the portal."

"Very perceptive" The vet yawned. "But you still owe her an apology."

Time knew the younger hero was right. He could think about making it up for her - and Legend - tomorrow. For now he only wanted to forget everything in his sleep.

Twilight didn't need to catch their attention. They had already noticed him.

Sitting under a majestic apple tree far from the camp, Link hugged their knees and stared seriously at the ground. The rancher didn't bother to excuse himself as he sat next to his old companion, not saying a word.

"I don't want to be him" they said again, this time shaking as the leaves above their heads.

Turning his face to see the younger hero, Twilight realized their watery eyes behind strains of messy hair. He knew telling them everything about this new journey would be too much after his wolf reveal. Indeed the shapeshifter was planning to advise Time not to touch on the subject at least until next morning.

He shouldn't have postponed it to after the wood-gathering. Neither of the chain knew anything about this era nor the champion. He couldn't blame them for supposing there was not a clan of assassins after the champion, nor their amnesia and even less the calamity that desolated the land.

However, he couldn't also blame Link for their reaction to whatever the others told them that made them lash out like they did. It was no one to blame except for the cruel destiny the goddess placed upon them.

Now he was left with a Link in further existential crisis and no idea on how to proceed.

"All this time" Link, now Hero of the Wild, mumbled. "I didn't want to believe I was him."

Raising an eyebrow, Twilight noticed they were finally opening up and remained silent in order not to disturb them.

"Everyone keeps reminding me of how he was but I just don't understand... I'll never understand what was it like to be him."

Tears started to stream as Wild kept their eyes locked to the ground ahead of them.

"There were so many people he loved and who loved him back and I can't even remember their names..."

A sob finally was let out as they gripped tightly the roots of their hair and shook their head in resignation.

"I don't want to miss them. I don't want to grieve them again."

Now that was something Twilight had no acess to on their quest. Being trapped in wolf form meant he was left out of serious conversations, the most the could figure out is that the currently chosen had lost their memories and a calamity of some sort had destroyed most of the hylian civilization. On top of that, Link was somehow revived to fight once again the evil from before.

The relationships the hero kept seemed always casual. The rancher would have never guessed how much they mattered prior their memory loss and how it did affect the way they dealt with their remaining memories.

"You know, Zelda told me about his... My father and sister..." Wild breathed deeply, trying to contain their sobs. "But I can't even recall their faces. I don't remember my own family!"

At this point they were wailing like Twilight had never seen. Not knowing how to comfort them, he laid a hand on the champion's shoulder, pulling them closer to him.

"I'm so scared of finding out more about myself because... What if I don't like what I discover? It's easier to pretend I'm someone else but... Now I have to admit to myself that I am him and I don't feel prepared to that."

Letting out small whimpers, the younger hero finally gave in to the hug and shakenly leaned onto their old friends embrace.

The rancher knew he needed to say something at some point. Luckily, after all he got from the situation, he knew exactly what to say.

"You don't have to be him."

"What?" Wild quickly lifted their head up and looked confused at the other.

"You don't recognize yourself as him, right?" Twilight tried not to stutter. "Then you don't have to be him."

"But you said we had the same spirit."

"So do you and I" he smiled. "And also everyone else at that camp. That doesn't make us the same, right?"

"That's easy for you to say" Wild frowned. "You don't share the same body."

"Do you share the same body?" the rancher tilted his head. "Did the hero a century prior had these scars you carry so proudly? Did he had this long hair that seems to be never tamed? Was the hero as good as you at climbing cliffs or cooking fish stews?"

For a moment it seemed like Wild's head would explode.

"I don't know the answers to these questions" Twilight sighed. "I don't know who was the hero of a century ago. But I know the you from now and I love you for you. If you ever feel the need of reconnecting to the past you can surely do it. Although, you don't have to. Not as if it was an obligation."

A shy smile slowly grew on Link's face.

"Thank you" they said. "I want to be me. The me from now. But I also don't want to fell like a stranger to the past me."

The Hero of Twilight nodded.

"For all this time I tried to avoid the thought of him because I was afraid of how I would react to it. I was too afraid of my own feelings. But now they don't scare me anyomore."

"What do you mean?" the ranch hand asked confused.

"Today was the first time I cried" they laughed nervously while wiping the tears from their face. "It was also the first time I felt really angry."

"Are you serious?" Twilight couldn't believe what he just heard.

"Yeah. At least since I left the ressurrection shrine" Wild shrugged. "I've been afraid of thinking too much about myself because I was afraid of how it would feel to experience this kind of things."

"And by 'this kind of things' you mean emotions?!" he was baffled.

"What did you expect? I only lived for, like, a year since my rebirth."

Fair enough, Twilight thought. He still struggled to rationalize how few his cub had experienced compared to how long they had chronologically lived.

"And how did it feel like?"

"Crying was not as bad as I thought" Wild laid a finger on their chin thoughtfuly. "But I didn't like anger."

"Yeah, no one really likes anger."

After a few silent minutes contemplating the night and the wonder of feelings, Link sheepishly asked Twilight on their way back to the camp.

"Can you be a wolf for tonight?"

Back at the camp, the Chosen Hero was conflicted.

The new Link had no reason to lie about her first impressions with the Master Sword. However, draining life out of someone, specially if said someone carried the spirit of the Hero - his spirit - was just too unlikely.

The blade's soul had guided him through the most intense trials he had ever faced and even though she might have always seemed aloof through her mannerisms, it was clear to him how much she cared for him, to the point of even calculating their chances of sucess before some battles.

There was no doubt she had changed. Ever since he was dragged to his first portal, when the sword the hero swore to have put to rest was returned to him, Fi was silent.

Sure, she'd speak to them whenever a new addition to the chain was summoned to their encounter, but her speech was limited to that. The Hero of Sky had chose to believe her guidance wouldn't be needed anymore in the presence of such experienced heroes, that could explain why she wouldn't talk much.

Sometimes a shadow of thought crosseed his mind only to be quickly waved off.

Fi was now older. She had seen countless battles and witnessed events he wouldn't dare to imagine. Those things change people and apparently blades as well. But never would he guess that his loyal companion would dare to hurt one of his kind.

It was the crackling of a stick followed by the sound of footsteps that brought him back from his thoughts. Behind Wolfie, their newest fellow walked slowly out of the woods.

The skyloftian couldn't tell if it was an impression due to the poor illumination of the dying fire or if Link's face was actually reddish, specially her eyes.

Oh no.

The realization hit him. He had made her cry.

Yes, he was not the only one to blame for it. Sky had tried his best not to make a big deal about their situation given how he was told some of the heroes had reacted to it. However, to watch Fi being accused of attempting against the life of one of Hylia's chosen was simply absurd.

Now, after a good hour or so of lonely meditation, he noticed how he had let his anger consume him, leading him to unfairly let it out on their most recent companion right after she retold them a painful point of her life.

He had to make up for it. Before she hated him even more than she probably already did.

"Hi" was all he dared to say, still testing the waters before any chance of more misunderstandings.

"Hey" she cared to reply.

"Listen, uh" Sky forced himself to look her in the eyes despite the shame slowly consuming him. "I'm sorry for earlier. Really. I shouldn't have doubted you and I apologize for that."

She tried to say something but was immediatly cut by the other hero.

"I don't ask you to forgive me right now if you're not ready, I just want you to know that I took it a little too personally. So, sorry."

A genuine smile started to draw on her face as Link crouched in front of Sky.

"It's okay. Sorry for attacking you earlier too" she offered her hand to the skyloftian in a friendly gesture. "No resentment."

"No resentment, Wild" he nodded while shaking hands.

Link frowned at the vocative. Why was he suddenly calling her wild? Could it be a slang where he is from?

"Oh yeah, you still need to get used to your hero title" Sky gently tapped his own forehead at the statement. "But worry not, we can call you something else if you don't like it."

"That's what the sword said earlier, right?" she trued to recollect what happened. "I don't mind it, it fits well."

"Glad you think so" the Chosen Hero smiled with the weight of the previous discussion out of his chest. Link - now Wild - seemed pretty open-minded despite the earlier incident. The fact that she had already forgiven him was a good sign. Nobody really enjoys the company of someone who holds grudges.

He wondered if he'd ever be able to introduce her to Zelda, his Zelda. Sky could already picture her teaching the heroine how to fly a loftwing or spending hours talking about their adventures.

A soft tug from Wolfie on her tunic shook him out of his thoughts as Wild excused herself, tired from the events of the day.

"Wait!" he stopped her before she could make herself comfortable on the grass. "My bedroll is right there, remember? You can use it since I got the first shift."

"Ah, thanks" she nodded. "That's realy nice of you, Wind."

"It's Sky" they both laughed at the mistake.

"Sorry, Sky" Wild yawned while snuggling with Wolfie as if it the beast was no more than a giant stuffed toy. "See you tomorrow."

"Good night, Heroine of the Wild."

Time woke up to the chirping of early birds and the cold morning breeze brushing against his skin, the enticing smell of Malon's signature omelet tempting him out of bed.

He was often the first to rise and feed the animals. However, sometimes he indulged the small pleasures laying lazily on the bed, pretending to be asleep only to be "awaken" by his wife's teasing kisses.

"Go wake the old man up, before there's nothing left for him"

The sound of Warrior's sudden voice in the distance made him realize that once again he was not on the ranch, but on the road with a bunch of other heroes from different eras.

Sitting up from his bedroll, he rubbed his eyes looking for the source of the sound, only to find a seemingly very excited Hero of Wind walking on his direction, his face splattered with bits of the food he could smell in the distance.

"I was just about to wake you up" the sailor approached. "The new Link made us this delicious mushroom omelet for breakfast. You have to try it."

"Thanks" he blinked with his good eye. "I'm on my way."

Time still needeed a moment or two to be up for the day. Age had finally caught him and streches had become part of his daily routine. Combing his hair and washing his face were also preffered, even if being on a adventure meant he'd not always have that priviledge.

After deeming himself ready, the hylian walked towards the pot where the others were gathered, swallowing the meal like they've never seen food before.

Isn't mushroom omelet a ordinary dish in their eras? Why all the fuss? He wondered.

A wrapping of eggs and funghi was then handed to him by the very cook. Time noticed the girl did not dare to look him in the eye, staring at the plate as if she was talking to the meal instead of him.

"Sorry for your hand" she said embarassly. "And for everything. I hope you like it."

His hand still hurt from last night's attack, indeed. Behind the bandages, it could be seen the dried blood that tainted the fabric. She could have actually took a bit of him if he didn't already know how to proceed in case of a bite, despite being the first time - and hopefully last - he had been biten by a person and not a monster or farm animal.

"Thank you for the food" Time took the plate and solemnly nodded, pointing at his blind eye. "Don't worry about the hand, I've had worse."

The unexpected joke made Wild frown in confusion. Was it appropriate to laugh at that?

As the others giggled and teased in the background, they allowed themself to let out a chuckle and proceeded to finish their breakfast. There was still some goat milk they intended to warm and share with the others.

Once the heroes were fed and done with the praises over the meal, Time asked for their attention in order to say something he deemed necessary.

"First of all" he started. "I would like to apologize to Wild and Legend, for resorting on innapropriate ways of convincing you to join this quest."

"Innapropriate ways..." the vet could be heard mumbling.

"I also would like us to set some boundaries on how to proceed in case of a encounter with a new hero, on the light of yesterday's events" he continued. "But first, we must discuss the current situation we find ourselves."

A few raised eyebrows prompted Time to continue his speech.

"Some of our habits must be changed in order to create a respectful enviroment for all of the members of this chain. The first being one that I have already asked you all: excuse yourself from the rest of us before taking a piss."

Muffled laughs echoed in the camp as their leader finished the sentence.

"Secondly" Time cleared his throat. "Treat Wild as you would do to any of the others, do not underestimate her in any way. And for last: do not expect her to cook all of our meals. She made us a favour today but do not abuse her goodwill."

"But I do enjoy cooking. I don't mind it at all" the newest Link protested.

"Careful or you'll regret it later" they were elbowed by the Hero of Twilight.

"No, really! I can do it" Wild insisted as a mischevous smile started to draw on their lips. "As long as I'm dismissed from the night shifts. You know, it can be really tiring to prepare meals for nine people."

That little rascal had everything planned from the moment she noticed they liked last night's fish stew. Time clicked his tongue.

"Deal" he agreed as some of the others celebrated their now official chef.

"Okay but what is this all about?" Legend shrugged. "Why all these rules and lecturing all of sudden?"

"Because" Hyrule explained. "Wild is a girl."

The vet wanted to protest. Why would any of them treat her differently based solely on her gender? However, he remembered how different were their worlds in terms of equality. Maybe Time's speech did make sense considering their cultural differences.

"Oh but I'm not just a girl" the champion blinked.

"Yeah, she's also a heroine!" The sailor exclaimed. "Don't you treat her as any lesser than us."

"No... I mean, yes!" Wild shrugged. "But you see, I'm also a boy."

"You're male?!"

"I-" Wild didn't know how to answer the collective suprised shouts. Not that they were given any chance of replying either.

"Wild, you're a guy?" their leader frowned so hard he almost opened his blind eye.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sky approached them worried.

"I didn't know I had to" the Hero of the Wild shrugged in embarassment of being center of so many questions.

"We've been calling you 'she' for a whole day!" Warriors yelled.

"I don't mind it."

"But you're a boy!" The captain couldn't understand why the new Link was acting so nonchalantly about it.

"Yes! What's the big deal?" they huffed while crossing their arms.

"It's because you were wearing girl's clothes..." Hyrule tried to explain his fellow's reactions.

"Hey. Just leave him be, alright?" the Hero of Legend stepped in, annoyed at the fuss. "What's wrong with wearing feminine clothing? I used to have plenty during one my adventures."

"You mean you can do it?" Wind piped in, curious. "Just wear any clothes you want?"

"Uh, yeah" the vet shrugged. "Why would anyone care? Can we just go to that godesses-forsaken stable, anyway? I have some items to restore."

As the group trailed to their destination, Wild was eager to learn about the other's Hyrules. As they walked through the fields, Wolfie occasionally picked up a mushroom or herb to bring to the champion. The hero supposed it was his apology for the incident at the bazaar.

Wild was fascinated to hear the detailed descriptions of Skyloft and their peculiar customs. The more the Chosen Hero talked about his homeland, the more they desired to be able to go there.

Explaining about some of the flying city's traditions, Sky couldn't help but point out the differences from his era to Wild's.

"It is truly amazing to compare how distinct things are in these timelines" he smiled. "We've just founded the kingdom of Hyrule in my era and now look how big it has became!"

Wild grimaced at the comment. They didn't have the guts to tell these heroes about Calamity. Thankfully, Hyrule changed the subject before they could reply.

"Actually what suprised me more were the cultural contrasts" the traveller kicked a stone. "In my era people aren't exactly friendly towards strangers. It was weird for me to be around so many people when this adventure started."

"Culture shock is just natural in this situation, considering how societies change in millenia" Time blinked.

"I know, right?" their youngest nodeed. "For instance, just today I learned something new! I never really heard about men wearing female clothes. In my era it's just the other way around. In fact, my very Zelda wears pants. But thinking further onto it, it's just fabric right?"

"Oh no" Wild shook their head. "It's not just fabric. Some clothes are embedded with magical properties. The ones I was wearing yesterday are heat resistent, they're suited for the desert climate."

"I guess that explains it..." the Hero of Time nodded.

"And here we were losing our minds over how would the chain dynamics change with a girl hanging around" the captain laughed. "Quite a prank you pulled on us, honestly."

"To be honest, I'm glad that you're not female" Hyrule sighed. "You know... It would be pretty worrisome to have a girl fighting monsters and stuff."

The champion suddenly stopped their trot at the comment.

"I'm a girl and I can fight."

All eyes turned to them, some confused, other in disbelief. Silence reigned for a solid minute.

"You literally just said you were a boy" Warriors brought his hand to his forehead as if trying to put his thoughts back in his head.

"Yeah? I'm both boy and girl."

"How does it works?" the Chosen Hero asked. "Being both male and female?"

Wild couldn't just say that they woke up one day in glowing blue water with no memories neither concept of self and then worked their way through learning everything from scraps of interactions with other people.

Link just needed to be like others, so they copied them. The champion mimicked the way people talked, walked and dressed and when they managed to grasp the idea of gender, they already knew it didn't fit for them.

It wasn't a problem in any way. No one really seemed to care about it and soon they met other people who were just like them. That's why Wild couldn't understand why the other heroes were so bothered by it.

"I guess it just works" they mumbled, unsure of what to say.

"Are there more people like you here? I wonder if we could meet them" the Hero of Wind asked with a curious look on his eyes.

Wild seriously thought Wolfie might lose his puppy face priviledge in favour of the kid. It would be a challenge to say no when he put up that expression.

"Well, Vilia is often in Kara Kara Bazaar. But I think you didn't get to meet her there. Hateno is too far off so it would be unlikely for you to meet Bolson. Anyway, we can always find travelling gorons all over Hyrule."

"I thought all gorons were male" Sky gasped.

Both the Hero of Time and Legend looked in disbelief at the Chosen one, while Wild just laughed it off. It was the smith who brought their attention back to the conversation.

"So... Do you have, like, days when you're most male or female or is it always the two at the same time?"

That was a good question, Wild thought. Because neither they could answer it.

"I don't really know" they confessed. "Sometimes I feel more inclined to perform one gender than the other but it's never a big deal to me. I think it's always the two."

The smallest hero hummed in agreement, but Hyrule had more questions.

"This all is very new to me, I have to admit" they frowned. "I've never met anyone like you in my era. How am I supposed to call you? He? She?"

"You can call me both actually. And 'they' too" Wild nodded. "But some people only use certain person words, like my friend Villia. She goes only by 'she'."

"You mean pronouns? Those 'person words' are called pronouns" the veteran corrected, amused by the champion's confused look. "Like nouns, verbs, adjectives... You know them, right?"

The newest hero frowned at the sentence. Types of words? Made sense, they would surely ask Zelda for some books on the subject later.

"Of course I know them" they lied.

"Is there anything else we should know about this Hyrule's gender stuff?" Warriors asked out of curiosity.

"Nothing else, I guess" they replied. "I meam, the only rule is that I have to wear very feminine clothes to get in Gerudo City."

The Hero of Time snorted.

"If only I knew it was that easy..."

"You've tried to enter there?" Wild raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"I did enter it" he said proudly. "Had to work my way in."

"Sounds difficult. They're formidable warriors" they smiled. "Oh! Did you have a noble pursuit while there?"

"A noble what?" the seasoned fighter was taken back.

"It's a drink they sell only there" Wild explained. "I tried to buy one but the bartender didn't believe I wasn't a minor. I've been dying to try it since then!"

"Happens to the best" Four laughed at what seemed to be a pout on Wild's face.

"Oh, come on!" the captain snickered. "One doesn't need to be a genius to notice you're just a teen."

"I'll have you know I'm actually one hu-"

Wild suddenly realized they had let their guard down around the travellers. They couldn't tell if it was because of the Hero Spirit thing or if they were just naturally comfortable around them.

"You are one... ?" Wind waited for the other to finish the sentence.

"I'm one huh... One to not be messed with!" they figured. "I can handle anything, okay? A drink to me is nothing."

"Good to know but look, everyone" the skyloftian grasped Time's shoulder to motion at a dark circle spiraling in the middle of the woods.

Wild had never seen anything like this before. The inside seemed to be endless, all light drained by the magical hole expanding among the greenery. That should be the portal the other's have been talking about.

Utterly terrifying. Not only it's presence was opressive, they had the impression it was swiftly drawing them closer to itself.

"So that is a portal..." Wild blinked at the ominous spiral.

"Exactly" the traveller nodded. "Scary much?"

"Not at all" they nervously laughed.

It couldn't be that bad. They had been teleporting between shrines and towers on a daily basis for about a year, a magical portal couldn't be much different.

Wild had heard some of the others describe the feeling in earlier conversations and tried to imagine it, although they knew deep inside that nothing they had ever experiencef could compare to travelling between time and space. Not that it was a bad thing: they craved for new possibilities. Worlds of adventures and mysteries untold hid on the other side of the portal and, this time, they were not alone.

"So, what are we waiting for?"