Chapter Text
“Where the fuck are we?”
The group of travelers stood in a crumbled building surrounded by a lake. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but wilderness- mountains, forests, a volcano, etc. In front of them loomed a large wall, as though Hylia had pulled up the earth from below. Far behind them stood a beautifully sad castle, clearly once the center of a thriving kingdom, now in ruins.
Time turned to the group with a frown, shifting the giant sword on his back. “I’ll ignore the language for now, Wind, but you’re on thin ice.”
Wind stuck out his tongue as Sky hummed in contemplation. “This is definitely the biggest Hyrule we’ve seen so far. It’s so pretty.”
“Does no one recognize it?” Twilight asked. The group of heroes shook their heads in unison.
Sky sighed. He wasn’t the biggest fan of finding new Hyrule’s, especially so late in their journey. Wind was the last to join their group, but that was… two months ago? Maybe three? Sky didn’t keep track.
“We should try to find civilization, right? I don’t see anything so far,” Warriors piped in. Time rubbed his face as he looked across the world ahead of them. Sky almost felt bad for the responsibility the group thrust upon Time, but Sky was thankful for Time’s decisions. The old man was probably the reason the eight of them were all alive and together.
“Let’s follow the river. There’s bound to be some civilization,” he pointed across the field- beyond a small cluster of trees- to a river, snaking across the abandoned land. Sky sighed again, closing his eyes for a moment of peace. Their trip would include a lot of walking.
Wind bounced beside Sky as the group began their trek. The young hero began chatting happily about the world: pointing out cool animals, marveling at the birds circling above. Hyrule and Four joined in.
“I wonder if a big Hyrule like this has beaches,” Wind thought aloud. Hyrule grinned.
“I’m sure you’ll have lots of chances to explore,” Four said, shifting the sword around his waist, “but I’m more excited to find out where in the timeline this world fits.”
“That’s boring,” Hyrule said, bumping his shoulder into Four teasingly. “If we can find one, maybe the old man will let us have a beach day.”
Time glanced back, a slight smile on his face, and Wind and Hyrule exchanged hopeful looks. As foreign a concept beaches were to Sky, he would appreciate the break.
The walk took what felt like hours. Warriors told the group it had only been one and a half. There had been nothing at first- a few octoroks, quickly shot down by Twilight, but no civilization. At least they were able to follow a rough path. They did pass a few monster camps, but they were empty. Finally, they came across a strange horse-shaped tent facing a hill and built in front of a river. Behind the tent snaked the river they had been following, with some man-made islands that housed a few pens for goats and cuccos.
Wind was the first to reach it. He and Sky were the only ones with no knowledge of horses before meeting the group. Whenever they came across a horse, the two were beside themselves with joy. Wind’s eyes were bright as he approached a speckled horse in a small pen with an outstretched hand. Twilight stood behind him, watching him with an amused expression as Wind tentatively pet the side of the horse.
“Watch out, sailor, he might bight your hand off,” Legend remarked. Wind scoffed.
“He trusts me!”
“Or she,” Twilight added.
“You’re welcome to check, farm-boy,” Warriors said. Sky, Wind, Four, and Hyrule burst into giggles. Twilight sighed and turned to Time, who was chuckling along with them.
“I’m going inside,” Twilight said after realizing his mentor wasn’t on his side. The hero turned and began to walk, tilting his head towards them to throw them one last sentence. “Taking initiative, since no one else wants to.”
Wind and Hyrule snickered. Time shot them a grin.
Sky followed after Twilight, catching the gaze of a nearby Hylian. He was beautiful, standing at a strange cooking pot to their left. He took note of the large group, and almost instantly, his eyes narrowed. Sky, feeling unwelcomed, glanced cautiously at Twilight. His fellow hero's hand lightly rested on his sword.
“Welcome to our fine Riverside Stable, how can I help you?” A voice called out behind them. The two turned to see a man leaning against the counter from inside the stable entrance, his gaze untrusting as well. Twilight cleared his throat.
“We’re just wondering how far until the nearest town.”
The man stared at the rest of the group and tapped the counter contemplatively. The air felt thick. Sky glanced around to see a few others from inside the tent, backing away from the two.
Had the Hylians stepped forward threateningly, Sky would think they wanted to pick a fight. But the timid manner in which they stepped away made Sky worry they were the threatening ones here.
“You have a lot of traveling mates there,” the stableman commented, standing upright. “Are you interested in banana sales?”
Twilight froze. Sky’s eyes widened. For a moment, everyone was silent, the Hylian’s eyes carefully scanning the two.
Then Sky burst out into laughter. Twilight joined in not a moment later, clutching his stomach.
“Ba-“ Sky started, cutting off and clamping a hand over his mouth.
“Bananas!” Twilight exclaimed.
A hand clamped down on Sky’s shoulder. His laughter faded, and he turned to see Legend, eyebrows arched.
“‘Taking initiative’, huh?”
Behind him stood Four and Wind. Wind giggled as Sky and Twilight wiped tears from their eyes and calmed down.
The stableman cleared his throat. He looked a little relaxed now. Sky smiled at Four and Wind, knowing their younger appearances were the reason why.
“The nearest village is Kakariko Village. It’s about a day’s walk,” the man started but was cut off by a gasp from Wind.
“A day?” The sailor exclaimed. The man’s eyes narrowed momentarily.
“Are you sure you aren’t interested in bananas? Yes, about 12 hours. I’ll get you a map and outline your route if you want, but you should be fine if you head east.”
“We’ll take the map,” Time chimed in as he neared the group, Warriors and Hyrule in tow, “thank you, uh….”
“Ember.”
“Thank you Ember. We’re not from around here, sorry to startle everyone. Pup, can I talk to you?” Time asked, Twilight turning and nodding. Sky watched them walk off and faced Ember, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I’m sorry if we scared you guys, but what was up with that banana thing?” At Sky’s question, Ember sighed.
“You all must really not be around here. Ever heard of the Yiga clan?” The group shook their heads in unison. “They’re Sheikah who betrayed the crown and swore allegiance to Ganon. They disguise themselves as travelers and attack anyone who strives to defeat Ganon, which is.. just about anyone in their right minds. I have never seen such a large group traveling before, forgive me for assuming you were up to no good.”
Sky glanced back at everyone. Warriors stepped forward uneasily. “You mean to say you’ve never seen 8 people together before?”
“No, it’s pretty uncommon to find more than two or three traveling together. In villages and towns, sure. After the Calamity Ganon… well, not many people travel, and those who do are typically alone in their bravery.”
That made Sky even more troubled about this world. Ember had called Ganondorf “Ganon"- this world must be after Time’s in some way.
Shouldn’t populations grow? Not… wipe out? It made his throat close up with panic. Is this really what happened to his kingdom?
What kind of hero would let this happen?
The group’s mood felt like a funeral. They had all gone silent, lips a thin line and eyebrows furrowed. Sky wished there was some way he could help them feel better, but he felt the same. There was definitely a culture shock with this Hyrule, and it made them all very uncomfortable.
The silence seemed to last hours and was broken by Time and Twilight as they returned to the group.
“Alright, it’s a few hours until sundown, so we’re going to stay here for the night. We can head out…” Time trailed off, catching their sad gazes. He blinked in confusion.
“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked hesitantly.
Sky exchanged glances with Four, who was frowning sadly. They weren’t sure what to say.
Something terrible had happened to this world.
“Doesn’t matter,” Legend interrupted, his voice soft despite his harsh words. Sky sighed appreciatively, knowing Legend was purposefully changing the conversation. “We’re staying the night, right? Who’s making dinner?”
The conversation changed.. unfortunately. All the eyes turned to Hyrule, who was supposed to cook tonight. Sky flushed.
Oh no.
Sky wasn’t the best chef; he could admit that. In the Knights Academy, there was a (grouchy but lovable) lady who cooked for them. And, of course, the people of Skyloft would make food together. Sky’s favorite was anything with pumpkin.
While Sky wasn’t the best and probably couldn’t judge, Hyrule was….
Horrid.
The others were sympathetic about it, for the most part. They knew Hyrule was from a barren Hyrule. For him, taste was less important than health, so he mainly relied on potions and magic.
Unfortunately, this meant they all had to suffer.
“I know, it’s my night, but the innkeeper in from the last Hyrule gave me this cool recipe,” Hyrule said. Sky and the rest exchanged uncertain glances. “I promise it’ll be good!”
“I’ll help, Hyrule,” Wind offered cheerfully. It wouldn’t be much, but with Wind’s grandma’s cooking, the young hero would keep the food from getting too disastrous. Sky let out a breath of relief.
Everyone spread out across the outside of the stable, doing different things. Warriors and Time got in conversation with the man at the fire as Wind and Hyrule cooked. Sky sat near them, whittling a little loftwing figure for Sun, and listened to the conversation.
“It’s nice to meet you!” The man said, voice joyful. “It was strange to see you all traveling together. This stable is nice to stay at, very beautiful.”
Time smiled. “It is. Thank you for the kind welcome. My name is Time, this is my brother Warriors," Time said, going with the usual lie. "We’re not from around here.”
“I can tell,” he said, “but it’s nice to see new faces. Odd names you’ve got there. My name is Gotter, I’m something of a connoisseur of beauty.”
Sky blinked. Of beauty? That was interesting to hear but strangely endearing. He glanced up from his figure and caught Warriors’ gaze, who seemed to be holding back laughter. Sky grinned.
“Ah, speaking of, has anyone ever told you, you have the most beautiful features,” Gotter told Warriors, who instantly flushed at the compliment.
“Oh, uh, thank you!”
Sharp laughter interrupted Warriors from behind Sky. Sky didn’t even need to turn to know it was Legend.
“My ancestor was a chef at the castle in its glory days,” Gotter said, ignoring Legend’s laughter. Gotter gestured to the north at the ruined castle. “A kind traveler ventured into the dangerous castle just to find me a recipe of the Royal Court!”
Sky paused his whittling, setting his little knife beside him on the small wooden seat. “That was nice of him.”
Gotter glanced down at Sky. Sky smiled at him, nodding his head in greeting. “Sorry, forgot to introduce myself- my name is Sky.”
Gotter nodded, not questioning the strange name this time. “No worries! Yes, Link is very willing to help, I’ve heard from other adventurers of the good deeds he has done for them as well.”
The group froze. Even Four, who lay against wooden crates, resting his eyes, snapped to attention at the mention of Link. Wind and Hyrule didn’t notice, too focused on their meal, but the rest glanced around, tense. Gotter seemed to see this and glanced around in uncertainty.
“Link? As in… the Hero of Hyrule?”
After a pause, Gotter burst into laughter. “Oh! What a beautiful joke! You eight must not know about the history of this land. Not the hero, no, the hero-“
“Dinner is done!” Hyrule announced, standing away from the cooking pot. Warriors and Legend both groaned in unison: both at Hyrule’s interruption and the thought of eating Hyrule’s cooking.
Sky slid his figure and knife into his bag. He had low expectations for dinner, but he was pleasantly surprised by a half-decent smell emanating from the creamy soup. Sky felt a bit of hope: maybe dinner wouldn’t be as bad as past Hyrule cooking incidents.
Hyrule and Wind began to scoop it into small wooden bowls, passing it around the group with wooden spoons. Sky stirred his around a little.
“Wow, good job guys. This isn’t half bad,” Twilight complimented, settling down with his bowl beside Sky. Sky’s eyebrows raised.
Hyrule grumbled a little at the back-handed compliment. Wind giggled. “The recipe was a lot like my Grandma’s soup! Glad it’s not awful.”
Hesitantly, Sky raised the spoon to his mouth and sipped a little of the soup. Instantly, he was filled with a strange warmth and shot a grin to Hyrule. At both Sky and Twilight’s approval, the rest of the group dug in.
Sky chatted happily with Gotter as the group ate, even offering him a bit of the soup. He didn’t learn anything about the hero, but it was still nice to talk to someone who knew the area well. Gotter warned him of ‘Guardians’- a name that sent a shiver down Sky’s spine, but based on Gotter’s description, they were nothing like the Silent Realm creatures Sky knew. Still, they sounded very dangerous.
Eventually, the sun fell below the horizon. The heroes cleaned up from dinner and headed inside the stable for a good night’s rest. With Ember’s permission, they pushed beds together and created a cuddle pile, relieved to have a night together without the fear of monsters.
With his brothers by his side, Sky drifted off into a peaceful sleep.