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As they stumble out of the portal, Time distantly hopes (not prays) they’ll end up at the ranch, so he can fall asleep in the arms of his wife. Unfortunately, all of his hopes are dashed when a sword is pointed at his throat.
Faintly, he can hear Four groaning and Hyrule trying to comfort him, but the rest of the group seems to be clamoring as much as they can. Legend squawks, “Get away!” before being hushed harshly by Twilight. Warriors seems to be protecting Wind from their assailants, judging by Wind’s grumbling and Warriors’ ignoring of said grumbles. Sky makes a high pitched distressed noise and then falls silent with a choked sob.
“Who are you?! State your business!” The man holding the sword at Time’s throat speaks, drawing his attention back from trying to check on his men. “Speak! If you’re Yiga, I’ll gut you right now!”
“We’re not Yiga!” Warriors complains, even though he can’t possibly know what this man is talking about. The man’s hat slides back off his head, to reveal Sheikah white hair and crimson eyes.
“Likely story! How did you just appear here if not for Yiga magic?”
“Dorian.” A woman interrupts him, and Time hears her approach with the chime of jingling metal. A large shadow, with an even larger hat leans over him, and the woman examines him silently. She then gasps, and pulls Dorian away by the shoulder before reaching out a hand to Time.
“Sir Hero of Time, I am honored to be in your presence.”
Time, bravely, does not question how the fuck this woman knows him, but accepts the hand, allowing this woman to pull him up with a surprising amount of strength. When he stands, he can finally get a good look at her, taking in the Sheikah eye symbol on her forehead and the grand hat that drapes her in shadow.
“Impa?” He wonders, if only to grasp for some sort of familarity. He can hear his men getting their bearings, but he only has eyes for the woman in front of him.
“Eek!” She jumps, turning an impressive shade of red, and drops Time’s hand. “N-No! I am Pah-Paya! The new Chief of Kakariko Village. My grandmother retired and passed her title to me.” She explains with a rush, and Time tries to make a placating motion.
“My apologies, Chief Paya. I… I wasn’t expecting for someone to recognize us.”
“How could I not recognize the Heroes of eras past? Link has been collecting relics of yours.” She smiles fondly before blushing even further, “Speaking of Link, are you hoping to meet him? I regret to say you’ve just missed him.” She turns away from him to the Sheikah man who must be her guard. “Dorian, please return to the village and spread word of the Heroes arrival.” Dorian looks like he wants to protest, but he nods tersely and gives the heroes a frigid look before running up the hill they had landed on.
Warriors, deeming it safe with the swordbearer gone, leaves Wind’s side to come over to Time and Chief Paya. “Madam, we are on a divine mission, collecting heroes to slay a great darkness in the land. Do you know where Link was heading?” She flushes at the attention, but nods fervently, making the charms on her hat chime.
“Indeed! He was headed to Hyrule Castle. But…” She points to her left to direct their attention. Hyrule Field is massive and sprawling, dwarfing Time’s easily. Even more impressive is Hyrule Castle itself. Gigantic, grandiose, and currently floating above a giant pit, supported by sickly looking streams of crimson colored magic.
“Link is on his way to face the Demon King as we speak.”
This hero hasn’t finished his journey? All of them were well finished when they were collecte– Din, Time was over twenty years from his adventures! He turns back to look at the Chain, who all look horribly morose at this revelation. Sky especially looks stricken, his back looking frightfully empty.
“Fi, the Sword, she went to him. I… I suppose he’ll need it.” Sky bows his head, as if to pray before he thinks better of it and sighs like he’s ancient.
“I don’t want to collect him. Are you fucking kidding me? We have to go chase him down and stop him from defeating Ganon to drag him with us? No fucking way! Let him rest! Let him win!” Legend is spitting, growling and pacing like a caged animal. Wind looks about the same spirit, plopping himself down in the grass with a dark look.
“I’m not taking nobody from their damn home, ye hear? Not in their time of need, not when this hero will need all the rest he can fucking get.”
“Sailor… we may not get the choice…” Warriors murmurs, reaching out for the sailor, only to get pinned in place by a furious glare.
“I’m not kidnapping fucking nobody.”
Time turns back to see Paya watching them with a heartbroken look. “Um, Heroes, if I may interrupt… I think Link would appreciate the break. This has been… difficult for him. I won’t say all that’s happened, but this has been decidedly worse than last time.” Legend groans.
“This is his second journey? Yeah, fuck that, I’m with the Sailor. I say we get as far away from that hero and leave him to his peace.”
Twilight steps up to Time and Warriors, “Ma’am, we’ll try our best. We can’t make any promises because we’re traveling by the will of the div-” Before Twilight can finish, a vicious tremor rattles the ground, nearly knocking Sky to his feet and making Four groan. The sky begins to darken, misty red clouds starting to form, formed in an epicenter on the castle.
“Nayru’s wet ears, he must have destroyed the first form,” Legend gripes, taking a seat with the sailor. Time sighs and turns back to Paya, only to see horror crawling on her face.
“A blood moon? In the middle of the day?!” Her voice jumps in fear, and Time turns back to the sky to see a terrible sight. A gigantic moon eclipses the castle, casting its spires in a sinister shadow over the small settlement near its base. It’s a sickly red, casting an evil light over the rolling plains and towering mountains. Time feels like he’s ten again, trying to keep the world from ending, over and over again. Meeting a terrible fate, over and over again. The moon, over and over and over and–
Paya reaches out and grips his hand, giving a look that speaks depths . She squeezes his hand and whispers under the boys’ clamor, “It’s not the same. I promise. This is Hyrule, not Termina.” She squeezes his hand tighter, and he swallows thickly before finding the strength to squeeze back.
“Hylia above!” Sky shrieks, recoiling backwards hard enough to knock into Warriors and bring him down too. Time jerks and looks up to see a monster. Monster… may be too simple of a word; demon feels more apt for the sick feeling that spawns in his stomach and nearly knocks him to the ground. A triple horned serpent that easily outsizes the giant castle it’s flying out from underneath writhes through the air, shedding that same poisonous crimson magic as it does, circling into the sky high above Hyrule Field.
“He was fighting that?” Hyrule whispers, looking up at the monster with a green tinge to his cheeks. It looks like Four has already lost, unconscious with his head in Hyrule’s lap and bile smeared from his lips. The demon roars, a triumphant, cruel thing, and they all recoil, finding a hero to grip onto. Twilights yelps in pain, covering his sensitive ears as he cowers into Time’s side. His pup is hurting, and Time wants to do something, but he’s severely out of his league right now. What can someone even do against a force of nature like that?
“Oh Hylia, it– Link!” Paya yelps, pointing at the maw of the beast where a tiny blue dot falls out, tumbling amongst the clouds. The Heroes of Courage feel decidedly not brave, as they watch a member of their Chain, a brother yet unknown fall limply amongst the clouds. Sky is sobbing, cursing himself in between ragged breaths.
“I’ve doomed you, I’ve cursed you! I’m so- oh sorry!” He’s wailing into Warriors chainmail, clutching onto him from their position on the ground. Time wants to turn to try and comfort their progenitor, tell him that it’s not his fault and that he never could have known, but he feels sick to his stomach at the thought of the seven years he lost, of the Redeads roaming the streets of the ruins of Castletown, of the blank stares of his comrades in arms who never knew what they really were to him.
It’s… not Sky’s fault. Blame lies in the Goddess and that accursed sword. Blame the devils, not their prisoners.
Suddenly, a bright light flashes through the clouds, and another dragon appears, this time glowing something holy and with a mighty roar that sounds like angels going to battle. It swoops towards the hero, and catches him with ease, snaking through the air towards the demon. Its scales gleam pure in the sickening red light of the moon, allowing them to see the tiny blue figure standing upon its snout.
“Golden Three, he’s going to face that beast,” Legend mutters, staring at the sky like he’s watching his worst nightmare play in slow motion. Time watches the hero, and can feel him draw the Master Sword from here. It glows like a beacon, stronger than he’s seen it even in the hands of her first wielder.
“Sky, the sword!” Warriors directs him, pushing him up to watch the battle instead of flagellating himself any further. Sky gasps and turns to watch with teary eyes. He starts to mutter, not even blinking, and Time distantly remembers it as the prayer he’d said after waking from a nightmare.
“May her Golden Light guide ye, May her Holy Sword shield ye, May her Divinity hold true.”
Time doesn’t think he realizes what he's saying, but then he catches himself mouthing along to the words. The goddesses have not been kind to him, but he can hope and pray that they’ll be kind to this hero. He can see the Master Sword flare twice before being snuffed out, and he watches in horror as the Hero takes a running leap off the snout of the white dragon, diving through the air towards the jagged spines of the demon. There’s a heartstopping moment where he rolls out of the way of a fiery projectile and lands with a flash of some sort of sail. The sword’s light flashes as he attacks whatever weak spot he’s found, and the demon roars in pain before launching him off of his back.
“Cyclos’ tears, this guy is fucking awesome .” Wind has stars in his eyes when he looks down at him, leaning forward to watch the battle with bated breath.
“Sailor, can you be a bit more- Thank Hylia, it caught him- more worried?” Warriors scowls, hand coming up to his chest when he spots the Hero being saved from terminal velocity.
Wind turns around and gives him an unimpressed look, “He’s a hero. He’ll win.”
Time feels Paya’s grip tighten at that, but doesn’t question because she looks close to fainting. The Sheikah man, Dorian, comes running back with a large group of people, Sheikah and Hylian, along with one impressively built dark skinned man wearing less clothes than Legend.
“By the Spirits, is that Link up there?!” The man cries, leaning into Paya’s personal space once they get close enough. “He must have found the last Sage and gone right to the castle! The Demon King is here!” Oddly enough, he doesn’t look scared, instead excited. Paya waves him off with a sigh.
“Tauro, please…” He smiles sheepishly, but backs off, taking out a notepad and beginning to take notes on the battle. Time looks back to the sky to see the hero diving through the clouds once more, avoiding fireballs and landing on the creatures back and attacking the weak spot fiercely. He’s launched off once more, diving to the rescue of the white dragon, but this time, the demon roars with fury, cursed magic spilling off of it in droves. The sky turns red as it roars, and the dark magic in the air feels like it’s choking him. Sky slumps onto Warriors’ shoulder, tears tracking down his face as he continues his prayer. Time feels a bit like joining him.
The hero and the dragon climb back to the top of the skies, and he runs back to make another attack, cutting through the air like an arrow. The monster’s forehead is glowing, and it screams in rage as it shoots more flames at the diving hero. He narrowly avoids them and lands with a downward strike on that glowing weak point. The demon howls as he slashes again and again and again. Time watches as the Hero brings the sword high up into the air, gleaming and singing so loud that he can feel it in his bones. He drives it down into the weak point , and something shatters .
The monster screams and writhes, flinging the hero with sword in hand from his perch. The assembled crowd screams, only to rejoice when the white dragon catches the hero once again. In awe, they watch the beast spew golden magic from its forehead, writhing upwards into the sky from pain. Time’s stomach drops in warning as beams of light burst from the demon’s deteriorating form.
“Brace!” He yells. The world explodes for just a moment, a column of concentrated darkness streaking up into the sky as if a million bombs exploded all at once. He’s nearly blown backwards, and he keeps a steady grip on Chief Paya’s hand, keeping her from falling. Rings of golden light surround the column, before dissipating and leaving the sky clear, blue, and empty of evil.
The crowd erupts, joyful and grateful and celebrating the end of a dark beast. Wind cheers too, which spurs the Chain into relieved laughter. He won. He drove back the beast. Blessed Courage, he won. Time bows his head and offers a silent, barely there thanks to the gods for being kind to one of their own this time.
However, the show isn’t over. Twilight gasps and points at the sky, “Something’s happening to the dragon!” A bright green light, close but not the same as the Master Sword’s glow, flashes brightly before enveloping the dragon, freezing it in place above the clouds. And then, like a blooming flower, it falls away like petals drifting across the wind, going from a majestic wyrm to a much smaller shape. “A person!” He shrieks before reaching into his pack and pulling out a mask shaped like a bird. His uncovered eye narrows before he gasps, “A girl with short blond hair in a white dress!” He turns to Paya for answers, and she looks stricken.
“The Princess. She was… here the whole time?” She whispers, which makes a new ripple of fear roil across the crowd. Time looks back up to the sky to see the girl floating as the last of the magic peels away and the hero suspended above her in the air. And then they’re both falling, limp and unresponsive to the encroaching ground. He makes a decidedly unheroic noise, drawing the attention of the clamoring crowd back to the scene unfolding.
The princess plummeting from the sky, magic swirling around her like a golden cradle, and the hero falling limply hundreds of meters above her.
“Come on, Link,” Paya whispers, holding her free hand over her heart. Time squeezes the one still in his grasp.
“Go on, Link, we still need to meet you!” Wind echoes her hope.
“By Hylia, please!” Sky begs, clutching his sailcloth like a lifeline.
“He can do it, he has to!” Legend murmurs, looking up the sky with the barest hint of a smile.
“Wake up, Link!” Twilight growls, nearly gnawing off his lip in worry.
“Take courage, man!” Warriors adds, eyes trained on the falling figures like a hawk.
“I believe in him!” Hyrule says, his magic writhing in anxiety around him.
Time nods firmly, “He’ll do it. A sword has no strength unless the hand wielding it has courage, and he has it in spades.” With the finality of his hope, the crowd watches with bated breath as the hero seems to stir before retaking his dive through the air. He streaks closer and closer towards the Princess, arm outstretched to grasp her. And blessedly, finally, he grabs her hand.
The crowd roars in triumph, watching the hero shield the princess’s body, dropping from the sky into the lake below them, sending a plume of water shooting into the sky. The light catches the droplets, sending up a small rainbow as the people hug each other. Legend and Hyrule have tackled Wind, who screams in delight. Sky is weeping in relief, slumped into Warriors’ lap where he holds him with a grin. Twilight turns to Time and Paya and throws his arms around them, joyful tears soaking through the chinks in Time’s armor.
“I told you, pup. He has courage in spades.”
Paya gently extricates herself from the embrace, wiping tears from her cheeks. “Heroes of the Eras, it has been my honor to watch my Hero’s triumph with you all.” She bows deeply to them, somehow keeping that gigantic hat on her head and from skewering Time and Twilight with it. The assembled crowd murmurs before following her example, bowing to the Chain.
“No, my Lady, there’s no need for that. Thank you for your warm recep–” Time’s interrupted by a tugging in his chest, as a familiar magic pulls at his heart once more. The other heroes feel it too because they groan and exclaim. He turns over his shoulder to see a Portal opening. A swirling dark mass appears, subtly tugging at the Heroes of Courage.
“I guess it… isn’t time for us to be collecting this era’s hero.” Twilight looks relieved when he says it, a soft smile on his face. Time feels the same– they just watched him take down a Din blasted dragon. He deserves a vacation at minimum.
Legend and Wind cheer, collecting whatever equipment the group had managed to drop when they were dropped here. Time turns back to Paya and smiles apologetically, “It seems we’re just stopping in, I suppose. Congratulate your hero, but please, do not reveal our appearance to him. We would like for him to rest for as long as he’s able. I have a distinct feeling that we will meet him nonetheless.”
Chief Paya beams at this and nods firmly, turning to the assembled crowd, “By decree of the Chief of Kakariko Village, these men were never here!”
“What men?”
“Exactly, Tauro.” She smiles impishly at him before turning back to the Chain. They’re all gravitating towards the portal, Four slung over Twilight’s shoulders and Warriors still supporting Sky’s weight as he tries to calm down. “Blessed be your travels, Heroes of Courage. May our paths cross again.”
“Thank you, my Lady. Keep your hero safe, please.” Time walks backwards, approaching the portal with a smile for the first time since this whole journey began.
“Always, Hero of Time. Always.”
And then they’re off, to another era at last, with exactly zero new heroes in tow.