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The Chain had gone through plenty of portals by now. Having been together for almost five months, they were used to the portals popping up and spitting them out in a new time.
But the portal they had just entered? Was unlike any of the others.
For one thing, the entire Chain could feel the Goddess’s power in the portal without even needing to touch it. For another, it was the softest passing they had ever had.
Most portals felt like a whirlwind, throwing them out with the grace of a cannon. Usually, most of their stuff was sent flying and it was common for headaches to occur.
But this portal?
Time stepped through it, feeling a light breeze filter past his hair. The portal smelled like flowers and honey, the air a perfect temperature. Even with that single step, Time felt his energy flow back into him, leaving him with a straight back and head held high.
“Woah.” Four said, opening his eyes as they passed to the other side. “Did anyone else feel that?”
Wind shivered. “That was so weird. Nice, but weird. Are portals supposed to be that…”
“Calming?” Wild asked. “I don’t think so. It felt like when I prayed to the Goddess.”
Legend made a face. “Are you telling me Hylia could have been sending nice portals this entire time but didn’t? Typical. It’s just like her to–”
“Legend,” Time said. He motioned his head. “I think we have bigger problems right now then the Goddess.”
The Chain was standing on an island. An island floating in the sky. It was small, probably only the size of the cucco coop at the ranch but covered in grass. All around them lay the empty expanse of the sky, stretching out as far as the eye could see.
“Does anyone recognize this?” Warriors asked.
Four frowned. “I’ve been to the sky but this doesn’t look like mine.”
“Same.” Twilight said. “Pup?”
Wild shook his head. “My sky has a ton more islands than this. And the grass on them is yellow, not green.”
“Alright, so new Hyrule then.” Hyrule said, looking around. “What are we supposed to do now?”
“Oh, I see something!” Wind said, looking through his spyglass. He put it down for a second, squinted, then raised it back to his eye. “I think it’s a town of some sorts. Another sky island but a lot bigger than ours.”
Immediately, all heads turned towards Wild. “Oh, come on.” Wild crossed his arms. “What, I’m the only one with a way to get over there?”
“If we had something to help, we would use it.” Time said. “Unfortunately, not all of us are accustomed going from sky island to sky island like you are.”
Wild sighed. “Alright, we’ll see what devices I have.” He rifled through his Pad for a little until tapping on the screen and having a few small green balls land in his hand. The rest of the Chain backed away as he threw them on the ground.
The balls cracked, opening up and causing a couple of Zonai devices to appear. Wild muttered under his breath as he moved them around, turning random parts into a semi-normal looking flying device.
“I don’t have Ultrahand anymore,” he said, “so I’m not sure how long they’ll hold together. Purah gave me some of this glue stuff to use though.”
Pulling a tube from his Pad, Wild started sticking all the parts together. By the time he was finished, he had attached a steering stick, three fans, and two rockets to a Zonai wing.
“Alright, everyone hop on.” Wild said, taking control at the steering stick. “I should have enough energy to get us there.”
Four, Wind, and Warriors crouched on the right side of the wing as Time, Legend, and Hyrule took the left. Twilight stood right behind Wild, one hand on the other’s shoulder to keep himself steady.
“Hold on tight!” Wild shouted, activating the device. Almost immediately, the rockets burst to life and the wing took off into the sky.
Some of the Chain screeched in surprise while Wind laughed his head off, whooping as loud as he could. “Yes! Yes! This is how you travel!” He cackled.
The rockets fizzled out after a little bit, turning the ride into less of a rollercoaster and more of a nice glide through the sky. Hyrule put his cheek against the wing and squeezed his eyes shut. Oh why oh why did it have to be flying?
“Deep breaths, Rulie.” Legend said. “We’re almost there.”
“Why can’t we already be there?” he groaned back.
Wild shouted something over the wind, but most of his words fizzled out. The next thing Hyrule knew was that the bottom of the wing hit something with a thud and suddenly he was thrown overboard.
“Rulie!” Legend yelled, reaching out his hand. Hyrule’s fingers slipped past his and the traveler was tumbling down down down into the open expanse of clouds.
Oh Farore he was going to die.
The wind whipped around him as Hyrule twisted and turned, head over heels, screaming until his voice gave away. Every so often he could see the wing high above him, the other Links frantically trying to stop Legend from jumping after him but also trying to keep the wing balanced.
“Hey!” Someone shouted, and Hyrule’s back hit something so hard the wind was knocked out of his lungs. But wait, he wasn’t falling anymore?
A hand snaked around his shoulders and hoisted him upright. Hyrule had to blink his eyes a couple of times, but once his vision cleared he jolted in surprise.
A massive bird, easily bigger than Epona, was flapping its wings and taking him up. Because he was sitting on the bird. He was sitting on the bird and oh geez there was someone right there.
The mysterious figure was dressed in green, with a helmet and goggles fastened on his face. “Hang in there!” The person said. “I’ll drop you off at the plaza before helping your friends!”
Hyrule didn’t even have time to ask before the bird came to halt out of nowhere, almost throwing Hyrule back out of its saddle. The person gently nudged Hyrule forward, and he slid down the bird’s neck until his feet hit the wonderfully glorious earth.
“Stay here, I’ll be right back!” The person said, saluting to Hyrule before taking off. The force of the wind was strong enough to make the already dazed Hyrule stumble back and fall down.
Hyrule put a hand to his hammering heart, eyes wide as he tried to get air back until his lungs. What the goddesses he could’ve died right then and that bird was massive and where in the world was he?!
The stone under his hand was smooth and polished, almost feeling like the roads in Warrior’s Hyrule. To his left was a wide tower while directly behind him, the plaza area split into two roads leading away.
There were a handful of people milling about, but none of them even looked Hyrule’s way. Was this a common occurrence for them?
“Hey there, are you alright?” Hyrule jolted and turned around, coming face-to-face with the goddess.
Okay, not the goddess. But easily the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life. Her hair was sun-kissed, her eyes a deeper blue than the Great Sea. She wore a pink dress and her smile was the purest thing Hyrule had ever witnessed.
“I– uh– um–” He stuttered.
“Here, let me help you up.” The girl held out his hand, and Hyrule was lifted up with minimal effort. “I know, being rescued by the Rescue Knights is rough. I’ve told Father time and time again to teach them manners but he hasn’t gotten to it yet.”
“Sorry, sorry, I…” Hyrule rubbed his eyes. “Just surprised. Thanks for helping me, my name is Hyrule.”
The girl smiled and the sun literally brightened. “Nice to meet you, Hyrule. My name is Zelda. I don’t think I’ve seen you around?”
Before Hyrule could even react to the bombshell the pretty girl (ZELDA?!?!) landed on him, something hit in the back for like the hundredth time that day.
“Roolie!” Legend said breathlessly. “You scared the death out of me, idiot! Don’t ever do that to me again! I thought I was going to see you splat!”
“I’ll try not to. Sorry for worrying you.”
Legend groaned. “Ugh I can’t even get mad at you when you sound like that. If it hadn’t been for Irzo our group of eight would’ve been a group of seven.”
“Irzo?”
The rest of the Chain walked up followed by the stranger in green. “I’m Irzo, I’m a Rescue Knight. Sorry for the bumpy ride, it’s not every day you see someone falling so far from Skyloft.”
“It’s okay, I’m glad you were able to catch me.” Hyrule turned over to Legend and mouthed “Skyloft?”
Irzo chuckled. “No problem. I don’t think I’ve met you guys before, where are you from?”
“Far away.” Time said. “We’ve been hopping from island to island before ending up here.”
“Wow, I didn’t know there were other islands out there! Hear that, Zelda? There’s other islands with people!”
The Chain noticeably flinched as soon as Irzo said that name. They turned over to the girl that had helped Hyrule with wide eyes.
Zelda tapped her chin. “I don’t remember anything from the stories about the Goddess making other sky islands. But something about these strangers…” Zelda took in a deep breath as if trying to smell their scent. “They feel different. Almost divine.”
Four coughed into his hand. “Pardon me, Your Highness, but could we have a word with you alone? There’s something important we need to tell you.”
Zelda tilted her head. “Are you talking about me?”
“Uhhh, yeah?” Wind said, sharing a look with Warriors.
Zelda whispered something under her breath before shrugging it off. “Alright, sure. I guess we could use my father’s study, it’s one of the most private places on Skyloft.”
“You sure about this, Zelda?” Irzo asked. “Shouldn’t we tell someone about this?”
“I know, I’ll talk to Father. And don’t worry about me, I’ll bring Groose along too.”
“Not Link?”
The Chain straightened. Another Link? Why? They had already been traveling together for so long. Why did the Goddess need to drag someone else into this mess?
Zelda laughed. “Come on, Irzo. It’s only noon. I wouldn’t dare.”
“Alright, alright. I’ll be seeing you around. Tell the headmaster hello for me!” Irzo turned around and started sprinting towards the edge of the plaza. A piercing whistle rang through the air, and right after Irzo jumped off the edge. A second passed, and he rose up again, sitting on the back of his bird.
“Follow me,” Zelda said, motioning with her hand. “The academy is this way.”
The Chain followed Zelda through the streets of Skyloft. It was honestly… tiny. Maybe a hundred people, possibly less. The biggest ‘building’ was a tent Zelda called the bazaar and even that was barely bigger than the barn at the ranch.
“Your island is very, um, beautiful.” Wild said. “I love all the, uh, green stuff.”
“Thanks!” Zelda said. “The Goddess blessed it to always be green and always have the freshest water. It is a little smaller now, ever since the island with the Statue of the Goddess fell, but we’ve learned to live with it.”
Zelda pointed off to the side, where they could see a wooden bridge leading off to nowhere. “And over there is the academy. That’s where the headmaster’s office is.”
The academy was a cute building, two stories tall with a bell on the roof. Zelda marched right up to the double-doors and opened them with grace, letting the Chain file through before closing it behind her.
The inside was cute too, with white walls and colorful banners and blankets hanging all around. There were doors off to the side, leading to what the Chain assumed to be dorm rooms, but also another set of double-doors at the end of the hall.
Zelda ushered them inside a nice-looking study, with books lining the walls and a large desk near the window. Two people were already inside, an older man with bushy eyebrows sitting at the desk and a younger man with bright red hair standing in front of it.
“Zelda, my daughter!” The older man said. “Come in, come in! I was just talking to Groose about the upcoming Wing Ceremony. And oh– who are they?”
Zelda took a place at the front of the group. “Father, these are travelers from another sky island. They arrived a not long ago at the plaza on top of a strange glider.”
“Another sky island?” The man’s eyes widened. “But that’s impossible! The Goddess only created one island, our Skyloft.”
The younger man, Groose, took a step forward with narrowed eyes. He pointed a finger directly at Time. “I don’t like the look of them. How’d they find us, huh? They could be demons!”
Zelda rolled her eyes. “Groose, they aren’t demons. They each have the blessing of Hylia.”
Warriors stepped in front of Time and gave a deep bow. “If you will allow us to explain, each of us are heroes of the past, sent by the Goddess to defeat a shadowy evil. We believe the Goddess sent us here for a reason.”
“Heroes.” Groose said flatly.
“Of the past.” Zelda finished for him in the same tone. They looked at each other before bursting into giggles.
“Oh, that’s a good one.” Zelda chuckled. “How far into the past? Ten thousand years? Longer?” She wiped a tear from her eye. “Oh Groose, they said they’re from the past!”
“Yeah yeah, look you bozos, we’ve been to the past and we know there ain’t been any ‘heroes’ in it.” Groose’s finger pointed right up at Warriors this time. “Get a more believable story next time.”
“But we really are!” Wind insisted. “Just cause you haven’t heard of us doesn’t mean we aren’t heroes. It just means you could be in another timeline.”
“It’s true.” Twilight said. “Almost all of us have defeated Ganon and saved Hyrule. The Goddess called us to be her heroes herself.”
“Saved… Hyrule? Like, that Hyrule?” Zelda asked, pointing to the traveler.
“No, no! The Kingdom of Hyrule!” Hyrule waved his hands, flustered.
“Never heard of it.” Groose said. “Alright Zelda, what should we do with them? Throw them off the island? Feed them to our loftwings?”
“Groose, our loftwings don’t eat hylians.”
“But they could!”
Zelda sighed. “Look, your story doesn’t make any sense. But there’s still something about you that’s… different. I can’t put my finger on it, but I think you’re right. The Goddess did send you here.”
“Thank you.” Legend said exasperatedly. “Wait, you’ve never heard of Hyrule?”
Zelda stayed silent, looking between each of the Links with those big, blue eyes. Finally, she nodded back to her father and Groose. “The Goddess is telling me to trust you. She says you’re here to gather more help.”
Time nodded. “It hasn’t happened for a while, but there are times we are sent to new time periods to pick up another Link for our quest.”
“Another Link? Are all of you named Link?”
“Yeah, but we go by our nicknames for simplicity. I’m Wind!”
“Fascinating.” Zelda’s father said. “Just when I thought the Goddess could surprise us no more, She sends heroes from another time period.”
“I’ll talk to Link about this. Maybe the Goddess told him something to prepare him.” Zelda said.
Groose looked confused. “Wouldn’t you know if She had?”
“Not everything. Hylia is picky like that.” Zelda walked over to the doors and opened them. “You can follow if you’d like, or you could stay here and talk to my father.”
The Chain looked at each other, Time giving a subtle nod, and they followed Zelda out of the room. The walk to Link’s room wasn’t far at all, and Zelda knocked three times.
“Link? Are you up?”
No answer. Zelda shook her head with a sigh. “Don’t blame me if you’re still sleeping, this is important.”
And with that, she opened the door.
The Chain expected a lot from Link’s room. Maybe it would look like Legend’s house, covered with things from his adventures. Or maybe like Wild’s, quaint and orderly and comfy. Or maybe even Twilight’s tree house, warm and cozy.
Instead they got a room that looked like a hurricane had come through.
Clothes were on the floor, the desk was absolutely covered in wood carvings of weird shapes and sizes. There were feathers scattered around everywhere, some of them even stuck to the wall. A Hylian-shaped lump lay on the bed, blankets thrown over their head.
Zelda tapped the lump twice. “Link?”
“Qzchtlkwdtnchplqsdtn,” came the response.
“Link, I swear, this is serious. Can you please get up?”
“... ive more minut…”
“Link, if you don’t get up I’m going to have Groose put Mia under the blanket.”
“I’m up!” Link shot awake, the blanket falling off of him. He was good-looking, brown-ish hair and blue eyes. His hair was a mess and he had to squint against the afternoon light.
“Good. Because we have visitors who want to meet you.”
“Visitors?” Link blinked at Zelda innocently before finally seeing the Chain stand behind her. “Oh. Um. Hi. Who are you?”
“Nice to meetcha, Link! I’m Link too, but everyone calls me Wind.”
“They’re all named Link, apparently. They say they’re heroes from the past.” Zelda said
Link blinked again. “But there aren’t any heroes in the past. How’d they even get here?” His eyes narrowed slightly. “Are they demons?”
“As far as I can tell, no. The Goddess is telling me to trust them. Did She say anything to you about it?”
Link yawned and slid his feet out of bed, standing up and stretching. Warriors looked him over with a critical eye. Tall, but in good shape. His hands were callused from holding a sword, and he looked fast on his feet.
“No dreams as far as I remember.” Link shuffled over to his wardrobe and opened the door. He pulled out a weird white and blue crystal thing before turning around and…
Tossing it straight at Legend’s face.
“What the heck was that for?!” Legend squawked, batting it to the floor. “People don’t go around throwing things at others, you jerk!”
Link’s gaze landed on the crystal. “It’s shining,” he said. “It only shines in the presence of those blessed by Hylia.”
“Of course it– what?”
“They aren’t demons, by the looks of it. If they say they’re heroes I could go grab Fi to check, but that’s a long journey.” Link walked past Zelda and crawled right back into bed. “And I’m tired so I’m going back to sleep.”
“What’s the guy’s deal?” Four muttered.
Zelda huffed in annoyance. “Those like you…” She said, her voice dangerously low.
Link froze right as he was pulling the blanket over himself. He turned back to Zelda, eyes wide.
“Who share the the spirit of the hero…” Link continued, eyebrows turned up in worry. “Do you really think?”
“I can’t think of any other explanation.”
And if the Chain had thought they had a good reading on Link, they were wrong. Instantly, he changed. His gaze sharpened, his posture more tense. He let go of the blanket, staring up at Zelda intensely.
“Why are they here?”
“They’re on a quest to defeat a… shadowy evil, I think they called it?”
“And the Goddess?”
“Didn’t tell me She was sending them, but obviously sent them for a reason.”
“Then it’s important.” Link stood up again, and instead of grabbing another crystal from his wardrobe, grabbed a familiar green tunic. “Give me ten minutes to get dressed and find my stuff. I’ll need Fi as well.”
Zelda nodded, and to the Chain’s immense surprise, planted a kiss on Link’s cheek. “You better come back to me in one piece.”
“For you, my goddess? Always.”
—------------------
Sky, as the Master Sword proclaimed him, was last to join their group. That was about a month ago, and while he had been quick to open up and become an integral member of their group, well…
The other Links had some irks about him.
After only two days, he had already earned himself a nickname– Sleepy Sky, because of his inability to get up in the morning and the multitude of quick naps he took throughout the day. Every time they stopped for a rest, he’d be leaning up against a tree and out like a light.
He was also hopelessly romantic. He composed more love poems than even Warriors and every moment he wasn’t sleeping, he was carving something for his Zelda– a bird, or a flower, or the two of them standing together. His lovesickness seemed to make everyone else actually sick.
He was slow. Their pace had slowed substantially ever since he joined, taking extra breaks and making sure he wasn’t falling behind. They knew it had to be hard coming from such a different altitude, but did he really have to slow them down that much?
He was secretive. While there was plenty about his adventure he was happy to share, Sky kept a major part of it unsaid. It seemed like every other sentence he had to pause and direct it somewhere else.
All in all, while they were glad to have another brother, sometimes they all wished he could’ve been a bit more, well, heroic.
They never realized just how wrong they were.
—------------------
It started with, of all things, night watches.
It had been a rough couple of hours, filled with monster fighting and ambushes. They had set up camp in one of the monster camps they had just cleared out, too tired to try and find safer ground. Hyrule had already passed out from overusing his life spell, Legend watching over him. Even Wild was too sore to cook, which was saying something, so they had leftovers for dinner.
“I’ve been second watch three times in a row!” Wind whined. “Someone else should have to do it now!”
“I agree, Captain. Wind needs rest, put me on second watch.” Time said.
“You’re already taking third, Old Man. I don’t like bullying the elderly.” Warriors looked around their camp. He was taking first, Twilight and Four needed to rest from their injuries, and Wild and Legend both looked to be on the verge of passing out.
“I can take second.”
Warriors turned to Sky. The Skyloftian was leaning against a tree, Master Sword resting on his shoulder. “Actually, I’ll take all the watches. I didn’t get hurt at all today, the rest of you need to heal.”
Sky? Warriors was barely able to cover a snort. Sleepy Sky, who had only ever taken one watch because he fell asleep in the middle of it and forgot to wake everyone else up? Sleepy Sky, who probably needed a minimum of nine hours every night?
“Sky, you don’t have to do that. We’re perfectly capable of taking watches.” Time said gently.
Sky shook his head. “I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight anyway.” His hand found the sheath of the Master Sword, his finger tracing over the adornment. “I’ll take the watches.”
“What if you fall asleep, idiot? Then nobody will be awake if something happens.” Legend said.
“I won’t fall asleep.” Sky said firmly. “And if I do, Fi can wake me up.”
“Fi?”
Sky nudged the Master Sword. “Fi, if I start nodding off, you have full permission to burn me to keep me awake.” Was it just Legend, or did the sword actually glow a bit in agreement?
Warriors looked over at Time, who nodded just the tiniest bit. “Alright.” Warriors sighed. “But if you need anything, wake me up immediately. I don’t want anything to go wrong.”
Sky gave a thumbs up. “Will do, Captain.”
Warriors set out his bed roll and crawled into it, making sure everyone else was doing the same before he closed his eyes. He could feel the fatigue from an entire day of fighting starting to set in, could feel the weight pressing down on him.
But still, he didn’t fall asleep just yet. Leaving all of the watches to Sky sounded like a bad idea. Like, come on. It was Sleepy Sky.
The night passed quietly, with Warriors falling in and out of slumber, always peeking one eye open every so often to check on Sky. Surprisingly, the chosen one hadn’t nodded off once. He sat with a carving in his hands, humming a silent tune and looking around the camp.
Then, a crack somewhere in the forest.
Warriors tensed immediately but didn’t sit up. Sky put down his carving, picking up the Master Sword instead. His eyes landed on something behind Warriors.
And then Sky looked straight at the Captain and held a finger to his mouth for silence.
Warriors closed his eyes immediately. How had Sky caught him? He thought he was being secretive! He could hear Sky stand up and walk around Warriors. A few seconds of silence. The soft shink of the Master Sword being undrawn. Silence. A slight pop. Silence.
Warriors opened his eyes and couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
A bokoblin sat skewered on the blade of the Master Sword. How it had snuck this close to the camp was unknown, but that wasn’t what Warriors was worried about.
How had Sky killed it without Warriors even hearing a squeal?
Sky pushed the corpse off his sword with his foot, flicking the black blood off. Black blood. How…?
Sky turned back to Warriors, who shut his eyes again. He heard Sky walk away from camp, the sound of something heavy dragging behind him. A few seconds after, Sky walked back, and Warriors watched him take a seat in the same position he had been before, carving in his hands.
Sky met Warriors’ gaze and gave a small smile. “Don’t wake the others up,” Sky mouthed. “They need their sleep.”
Warriors nodded once and rolled over.
Guess he didn’t need to worry anymore.
—-----------------------
The next time they realized something was off… pretty much explained itself.
“Who’s Ganon?”
It felt like the entire world stopped. Everyone turned back to look at Sky, their mouths open in surprise and confusion. The chosen one tilted his head.
“You guys keep throwing that name around, is he a merchant like Beetle? A type of enemy?”
“You don’t know who Ganon is?” Four asked. “Even I know that and I’ve never held the Master Sword!”
“Maybe you know Ganondorf?” Wind asked.
Sky shook his head. “Doesn’t ring a bell. Knew someone named Ghirahim, if that’s who you’re talking about. And my best friend’s name is Groose, but no Ganon or Ganondorf.”
“Ganon? Seriously? The main evil bad guy who keeps trying to take over or destroy Hyrule? Kidnap or kill Zelda? Steal the Triforce?”
Sky’s eyes widened. “Someone’s trying to steal the Triforce? But it’s supposed to be sealed away!”
The Chain looked at each other. “Okay, wait wait wait wait wait. If you didn’t fight an evil guy–” Warriors glanced at Legend and Hyrule. “–or pig named Ganon, then who did you fight?”
“Um, Ghirahim?” Sky scratched his head. “He was the main person I fought, kept trying to kill Zelda and I didn’t want that to happen. My final battle was against someone named Demise, but I killed him so I don’t think you’ll know who that is.”
“Yeah, no, doesn’t sound like Ganon.” Legend shook his head. “Ganon is an ugly pig with half a brain who wants to rule over Hyrule. He’s the reason Hylia keeps sending child soldiers to punt him back into oblivion.”
“And Ganondorf is basically the human version of Ganon.” Twilight said. “A man filled with so much hate and anger it can transform him into something monstrous.”
Sky’s eyebrows furrowed. “Sounds like a mortal Demise. And all of you had to fight him?”
“No, I mainly fought Vaati. It wasn’t until later I found out Ganon had been the one pulling the strings.” Four opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “Wait, mortal Demise?”
“You know, human? Not divine? Not a god?”
It took a few seconds for the Chain to process what they just heard. Hyrule’s brain looked like it had stopped working, while Warrior’s hadn’t picked his jaw up from the ground.
“Sky.” Time said with endless patience. “Was Demise a god?”
“Of course he was. He’s the god of anger and malice, creator and ruler over all monsters. He’s like the opposite of Hylia, in a way.” Sky frowned. “He could turn himself into a massive monster, wanted to kill Zelda, and tried to steal the Triforce. Sounds like what you guys had to go through.”
“Sky–” Time started before Wind cut in.
“You killed a god??” The sailor shouted. “How does that even work?!”
Sky tugged on his cape, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable. “I don’t know. I just kept fighting, I guess? I killed him before he could kill me.”
“Wait, killing a god named Demise? Why does that sound so familiar…” Four’s voice trailed off, his eyes widening and staring straight at Sky. “There’s. No. Way.”
“What?”
Four couldn’t even get the words out to speak. He just pointed at Sky, mouth wide open, stuttering like a baby first learning to speak.
“Spit it out already, Four!”
“I– he– freaking– what!”
Sky chuckled nervously. “I think I broke him.”
Before anyone could react to that, they all felt the familiar pull of the portal. Warriors sighed to himself before pausing the conversation to get everyone all gathered together.
The entire time, Legend kept staring at Sky. Killing a god? Ha, yeah right. Sky was a good fighter, sure, but not that good. Not to mention he had only gone on one adventure, there was no way he had done something that impressive on his first adventure.
But something still bugged him…
—--------------------------
The straw that broke the camel’s back was in Legend’s world.
And the stupid knights that somehow still believed he had kidnapped the princess.
“We’re almost out of potions, vet.” Four hissed, doing his best to stop the bleeding wound on Wild’s stomach. One of the knights had gotten a lucky swing when they had ambushed the Chain.
Legend frowned. He, Four, Wild, and Wind were hiding in a cave as soldiers trampled through the forest around them. The rest of the Chain had gotten separated when they ran different ways, with no way to contact the other group.
“These guys don’t know when to give up. They’ll keep this up for at least three days, and even then will probably bring in fresh reinforcements when they get tired.” Legend knew this from experience, the knights had always been a pain in his neck on his adventures.
“Wild needs healing, really soon.” Four said. “We need to find Hyrule.”
Legend sat back on his heels, thinking. “Alright, I’ll cause a distraction. You guys run north, but stay clear of other knights, they’ll think you’re with me.”
“I’ll be the distraction!” Wind said. “I’m better at it then you are anyway.”
“The knights are after me, moron. Your distraction won’t last long enough.”
Four lifted Wild onto his back, nodding once. “Wind, take my pegasus boots, you and Four can run faster that way.”
“Won’t you need them?”
“Nah, I’ve got plenty of other things.” Legend held up his fingers. “Three, two, one, run!”
Legend burst out of the cave, surprising the group of guards right outside. He dodged two of them, blasting the third with his ice rod. Out of the corner of his vision, he could see Wind and Four book it in the other direction. Good, hopefully they could find the rest of the group and get to safety.
All that was left was Legend.
He ran through the forest, throwing fireballs from his fire rod behind him every so often. If he headed east enough, he could reach Lake Hylia and hide in the water. He just had to go a little faster–!
Something smashed into the back of his head.
The blow sent him tumbling, thudding to the floor like a sack of rocks. Stars swam in his vision.
“I got him! I got the criminal!” Someone shouted.
Legend looked up at the blurry image of a guard standing over him. That wasn’t good.
Everything faded to black.
—-------------------
Legend woke up to a pounding headache and soreness in his arms, back, and knees.
Ah, that was why. He was tied up.
He was on his knees, hand tied behind him. A guard was gripping his hair to keep him upright, another standing close and pointing a sword at his throat. He couldn’t feel any weight on his hips, so no items, and the Chain–
Crap. The Chain was here too.
They were all tied up off to the side, surrounded by another group of guards. Wild was still unconscious, and it looked like Warriors had gotten roughed up a lot. Time and Twilight were both fighting against their restraints, Wind had a guard just to watch over him, and Four was protecting Wild. Hyrule was so tied up that Legend could barely even see him over the rope.
Wait. One two three four five six seven. Not eight.
Sky was missing.
“The criminal’s awake, sir.” The guard said, pulling Legend’s scalp uncomfortably. He growled under his gag as the guards stepped aside to reveal the captain of the squad.
Stupid captain. Legend didn’t stop glaring as the captain knelt next to him, a malicious grin on his face.
“What’s it been now, huh, Link? Seven years of hunting you down? Make you pay for what you did to our princess?”
Legend cursed him under the gag, but the captain just laughed.
“Looks like your lucky streak is coming to an end, criminal.” The captain stood up and stepped away, nodding at the guard holding the sword. “Do it.”
The guard holding the sword raised it high.
Legend squeezed his eyes shut, his mind racing for an idea. He could merge into a wall– no, no walls around. He could use his invisibility cape– no, it was in his bag. He could use one of his rings but none of them were attacking and he had to chant in order to use any of his medallions what else did he have what could he use he had to do something–
A snapping sound and grunt distracted him.
Legend opened his eyes to see the guard frozen. A blue and red rope, the end glowing blue, encircled his wrist, stopping the swing of his sword in midair. With a snap, the rope untwirled and sent the sword flying away.
Towards the waiting form of Sky.
The chosen one was standing at the edge of the meadow they were in, a golden whip in his hands. With a well-practiced move, the whip cracked and forced the guard to fall back.
“What are you doing?”
Legend knew Sky, he knew his brother’s voice. But this? The anger in Sky’s voice made Legend flinch, it sounded nothing like his happy, smiling, sweet brother.
Sky took a step, and Legend could’ve sworn lightning cracked. The guards not watching over the rest of the Chain drew their swords, pointing it at the chosen one.
“Are you.” Sky took another step, his voice dark but somehow still perfectly calm. “Planning on executing. My brother. Right. In front of me?”
“Who are you?” The captain demanded. “How dare you interrupt the proceedings of the Hyrule Knights!”
“Hyrule Knights?” Sky laughed. “Are you talking about the knight order I’m building with my own hands? The ones who work under me, the future King of Hyrule?”
Sky walked right past the captain, pulling out the Master Sword as he got closer to Legend. One look was enough to make the guards step back, and even the one holding Legend’s hair flinched back in fear.
That was the look of a furious hero. That was the look of a Godslayer.
Sky kneeled down next to Legend, untying the gag with a gentleness that did not match the look in his eyes. Even still, Legend glared.
“What are you doing?! You’re gonna get yourself killed!” Legend hissed.
“Are you okay?”
“What are you asking– Sky! You idiot!”
Sky smiled. “I’m glad you’re okay enough to insult me.” Sky stood up, facing the group of knights. “As for the rest of you.”
Sky’s eyes narrowed. “Pick a god and pray, for I know that Hylia will not have mercy on your souls.”
He turned to the rest of the tied-up Chain. “Close your eyes, please. If blood gets into them and you can’t wipe it off, it could cause lasting damage.”
And then Sky attacked.
Three guards fell in an instant, the Master Sword cutting through them like paper. The other guards leapt to action but it was too late. It was too late the second Sky had seen Legend kneeling on the ground under the swinging sword.
No one was going to escape the Chosen Hero of Hylia today.
“Do you know what’s so pathetic about humans?” Sky said, as if he was having a conversation over tea instead of cutting down waves of soldiers. “They’re weak. They tend to shiver under rocks and flee at the mere sight of danger. They cling to the Goddess and expect her to save them.”
Sky sliced through a guard’s neck, blood splattering on his snow-white sailcloth. “What will you do when your Goddess has abandoned you?”
Of the group of around fifty guards there had been, only twenty were left standing by now. They attacked one after the other, and Sky was ruthless in his killing. He turned to the captain, who was now trembling in fear.
“I looked death in the face and challenged him to a battle. And now look how far Hylians have fallen. It’s a miracle the Goddess doesn’t hide her face in shame.”
Sky charged. They tried to stand up to him, they really did. But he was too fast, his swordsmanship honed to a perfect point, that they didn’t even stand a chance. Ten left, and no captain to lead them.
Sky looked at the last of the guards, the ones watching over the Chain.
“D-Don’t move closer!” One of the guards shouted. He pulled Wind to his feet, putting his sword against the Sailor’s throat. “Or I’ll kill him, I swear!”
Sky simply gave a huff-like laugh. His eyes seemed to glow a dangerous blue as he pointed the Master Sword at the sky.
Even on the clear day, thunder boomed and lightning struck. The blade of the Master Sword seemed to absorb the bolt, filling the air with the smell of ozone and pressure of electricity. Sky swung the blade in a wide arc, and what came out could only be described as a spinning disc of pure energy, crackling and killing. The disc went right over the Chain’s heads, but unfortunately, not the guard’s.
The meadow filled with silence right after.
Sky used the edge of his sailcloth to wipe the blood off of the Master Sword, whispering words of gratitude as he sheathed her on his back. He didn’t even try to step over the bodies to make it to where the Chain was and instead kicked them out of his way like they were nothing more than debris.
“Are all of you okay?” Sky asked. “I have some potions for Wild and Warriors, but we should save some of them until we restock.”
Wind used his shoulder to push the gag down before spitting it out. “Sky. What the frick. Just happened.”
Sky turned to look behind him before shrugging. “Just cleaning up some trash, but that’s not important right now.” He took out a small dagger and used it to cut the ropes around the Chain, throwing the ropes to the side.
“Hyrule, look over Wild first and Legend after. He’s either got a concussion right now or is close to one, I’m not sure yet.” Sky cut off the gag around Hyrule’s mouth. “Time, Twilight, are you okay? What about Warriors?”
“We’re all good, Sky.” Time said. “Warriors fought back, but it looked like they were only really after Legend.”
Sky smiled. “I’m glad. I thought I wouldn’t make it in time, I have a nasty habit of being late to things like this.” He reached up and untied the sailcloth from his neck, reverently placing it in his bag with a promise of cleaning it soon.
Hyrule helped Legend limp over to the rest of the group. “What were you thinking, idiot?! They could’ve killed you–”
“No, they wouldn’t have.” Sky said calmly. “I can handle myself just fine against an army, I’ve done it before. And I’m not always kind to those who hurt my own. Ah, speaking of which.”
Sky looked up, at the cloudless sky and further beyond. “Forgive me, Hylia. But I must ask one more thing of you. These people, the ones who attacked your heroes today and throughout all times,” Sky gave the sweetest smile. “Make them regret ever being born. Make their spirits never find rest, curse them to an eternity of suffering. Ah, and make an example of them. Show others exactly what happens when they mess with the chosen of Hylia.”
Sky looked back at the Chain and beamed. “There, all set. Hopefully we won’t have to worry about things like this ever happening again.”
“Um. Sky.” Four gulped. “Did you just ask Hylia to…”
“Yep!” Sky chuckled. “People tend to forget that it was Hylia who first fought against the Demon King. They forget that sometimes, well, She’s very protective of her own.”
“Sky.” Time said. “Who… are you? No, what are you?”
“Just a hylian.” Sky’s smile faded. “Chosen One of Hylia, Godslayer, first of the endless cycle, forger of the Master Sword, and future King of Hyrule. But right now, I’m just a hylian.”
“Just… hylian?” Warriors looked at the corpses surrounding them.
“Sorry. Hylian with a lot of messed up trauma.” Sky corrected. He patted Warriors on the head. “But don’t worry. I promised the Goddess that I would do whatever it took to protect you. And I’m never going to break that promise.
Even if I have to kill another god to do it.”