Archive of Our Own ^beta

At that moment, they stopped.

Everyone had all but frozen still as the arrow hit Twilight dead on. There was a moment of silence before the quiet was broken by his scream.

The arrow had been electrified. Of course, Wild thought through clouds and haze of... confusion. Shock. Of course something like that would happen.

Another scream, breaking and yet still going strong.

It sickened the others.

The Lynel gave a roar of triumph over the yells of pain.

At that moment, Wild snapped.

He saw red. Blood red. Crimson red. Red.

Red. Red. So much red.

The next thing they knew, Wild was vaulting up on to the Lynel's head, furious expression on his face as he stabbed the damned thing over and over again, mercy be damned.

It struggled. It really tried. It shouted, trying to stab Wild with a shock arrow.

No use.

As nimble as Wild was, however, he still was grazed by the arrow, shocking him slightly for a split second.

It didn't matter.

All that mattered was killing that goddess damned monster that hurt Twilight.

He saw red.

It wasn't dead yet. It finally managed to shake Wild off of him with a roar. It seemed to have realized that taking on that boy might result in its death, so it locked on to another boy. The Lynel nocked an electric arrow and released it.

Right at Wind.

No.

They noticed too late, and the arrow...

...was met with a mirror shield.

Wind waved just as the arrow bounced back, slamming into the monster and sending pulses of shock through its body.

Through the haze of red, Wild couldn't help but feel a bit of sick pleasure.

Taking advantage of this situation, Wild leapt on to the kneeling Lynel and scaled the humongous thing quickly.

With a mighty battle cry that struck fear into the others' hearts, Wild plunged the sword into its face. Multiple times.

Damn, that felt good.

Wild backflipped away and on to the ground safely, where he watched the Lynel growl once more. Too late. It fell over with a massive, satisfying thud.

"Shit, Twilight, stay with us!"

Time's panicked voice snapped everyone out of their awe.

"No... no, no," Wild whispered, dashing past the others despite how much stamina he had used.

He crashed down on to his knees and took in the scene with a horrified expression.

There was so much blood.

More specifically, Twilight's blood.

Time's hands were soaked in red, probably from trying to stop the flow of red. Twilight was spasming slightly, small shockwaves passing through him. Blood dribbled out of his mouth, dripping on to the ground.

Wild met Time's eye and paused. There was fear and desperation in his leader's eye.

"C'mon, pup. We've got you," Time whispered, looking down and rubbing light circles on his protege's back.

Twilight's eyes opened slowly. They were foggy and unfocused.

"...Pops...s?" he murmured, blinking.

No.

"Cub..."

"Twi... Don't go yet. Stay with us, please," Wild pleaded, tears threatening to fall.

Twilight coughed wetly, spitting some blood out.

"'M... Sorry..."

He was slipping. Wild could see that, and he couldn't let that happen.

He couldn't lose him.

Warriors pulled out a bottle of red potion after a minute of searching and chucked it at Time, who caught it, popped it open, and held it to Twilight's lips.

"Pup, c'mon, drink this."

He was slipping.

Too quickly.

He coughed again.

"Twilight!" Wind cried.

His eyes slid close, and his breathing stopped.

Wild froze.

"Dammit, pup, stay with us!" Time growled, shaking his head and tightening his group on Twilight's limp form.

No.

He couldn't lose another.

With that thought in mind, Wild grabbed Twilight's hand, feeling for a pulse.

There was nothing.

"No..."

His grip slackened.

"Wild..."

A sob nearly escaped his lips as he lowered his gaze to the ground. He prayed, something, someone, anyone, help.

"Not..."

He swallowed.

"Not yet."

And then he saw her.

Her ghostly form observed the Hero of Twilight's form and nodded, determination visible in her eyes. She swirled around him like water, a soft green glow covering him-

"It was my pleasure."

And she was gone.

His prayers had finally been answered.

"Wild, was that...?" Time asked cautiously, grip loosening.

"...She saved his life," Wild answered, blinking back more tears.

Yet Twilight was motionless. But he was breathing.

And that was all Wild needed.

"Guys, I know this might seem a little awkward... but we have to find shelter. We can't just stay out in the open- not after what just happened," Four said quietly, interrupting the silence.

"...Alright. Let's head out," Time said, shifting Twilight's body over to Wild carefully. He stood up, dusted himself off, and looked down at Wild.

"He'll be fine. I'm sure. He's strong," he said softly before turning away.

It hurt.

He wasn't sure what or why, but his whole body had a dull ache to it.

He was drifting.

Where to, he didn't know. Did he care?

There were a lot of things he didn't understand.

His mind was blank. Hazy. He couldn't remember all of the details. He could only remember he was... a 'he.'

Who was he?

He couldn't see anything except pitch blackness.

As he comprehended this small fact, try to understand it, there was a soft light coming from... his right? Or was it his left? He couldn't tell... anymore...

Something grabbed on to him. He couldn't stop whoever from making him feel... something. He didn't know. Was it that he couldn't remember?

It... or whatever it was, was dragging him away. Bringing him back.

...Twilight.

His nickname was Twilight. His name was Link.

He was with the others. On another adventure. Time. Wild. Legend. Warriors. Wind. Four. 'Rule. Sky.

His had happened. She was gone.

...He had just been hit. With a shock arrow.

Everything came rushing back to him, almost knocking the breath out of him. If he had some.

He felt guilty to say the least.

Why had he let himself get hit?

The dull ache increased, twice as worse as it was before. It hurt.

His whole body hurt. If he had one. Or was he just a consciousness disconnected from a body?

The possibility of that terrified him quite a bit. It would drive him mad within weeks for sure.

...What was that?

"Will... he... okay?"

Was that...? Was it over?

What did they say? What were they saying?

...Enough thinking. It wouldn't do any good.

As the green light faded to darkness, so did his thoughts.

...Boy, he'd have quite a bit of apologizing to do when he woke up.

Twilight blinked, eyes fluttering open. He was met with a deep blue sky. He was outside.

Considering who he was travelling with, it wouldn't be a surprise.

It took him a few seconds, but he quickly realized that the others were sitting next to him.

"Guys, he's awake!" Wind yelled. Twilight winced, his ears ringing, but he'd deal.

Wild's face appeared above him, worry etched deeply in his eyes.

"Goddesses... Twilight..." Wild whispered, grabbing Twilight and crushing him in an embrace.

"Well, look who finally decided to wake up," Time said, smirk on face. His protege could still see the underlying concern within the expression. "Gave Wild here quite a scare."

"..."

"You lost your voice?" Warriors asked.

Nod.

"Isn't that a surprise," Legend commented. "You probably screamed yourself hoarse."

Wild shot a quick glare at him and turned back to Twilight.

"Water? Usually helps," Wild offered, holding a canteen. His mentor accepted it gratefully, drinking slowly. He finished and handed it back to Wild, who grabbed it and searched the other's face with a calculating stare.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked finally.

Twilight started and paused. Was he?

He wasn't really sure, so he nodded anyways.

"Do you want to know what happened after you passed out?" Time asked softly. Twilight contemplated for a moment and nodded.

"It... was epic!" Wind yelled, stars in his eyes. "Wild vaulted on to the Lynel's head, and with a slash of his sword, stabbed through it and killed it!"

Wild blinked and shook his head. "It wasn't like that..."

"Then what was it?" Four deadpanned.

"Um... I mean, it was nothing new..." Wild stammered, unsure how to answer. "I guess I just kind of..."

"Snapped?" Sky filled in, finally speaking up.

"I... I guess," Wild answered, scratching the back of his head. "I just... panicked."

"Understandable," Warriors muttered, looking away.

"I'm going to go find firewood," 'Rule announced, standing up and dusting himself off. "If you want to join, you can."

"There's a pond nearby if you want fish," Wild said, noticing Wind's look. "You can go fishing."

"Yes!" Wind cried triumphantly, rushing off to catch some dinner.

"Would you like some time?" Time whispered to Wild.

Wild nodded wordlessly, turning to Twilight.

Smiling slightly, Time walked away, probably to join Wind, seeing as he enjoyed fishing as well.

Everyone else moved away from them, leaving Wild and Twilight alone.

This was awkward. And it seemed like Wild noticed it too.

"Do you... have another way of speaking?" he asked slowly.

Twilight shrugged, gesturing wildly, yet somehow comprehensibly.

"Oh."

A small smile appeared on Twilight's face. He beckoned Wild closer, which Wild complied with, scooting over next to Twilight.

"I'm sorry," Twilight mouthed slowly, meeting his student's gaze. Wild shook his head and sighed.

"I saw you fall," he started slowly, searching Twilight's face for anything.

When Twilight's smile dropped, Wild continued.

"I... I panicked. Badly."

Twilight tilted his head to the left, confusion and worry evident in his eyes. Wild had to hold back a laugh and frown. Twilight was always concerned for him, whether it was him who was hurt or himself who was hurt.

"I saw red, and... I felt like I didn't have much control over myself and my actions," Wild confessed, wringing his hands. "I snapped."

With a shake of his head, Twilight placed a hand on Wild's shoulder, pulling him closer.

"I don't know if something's happening to me or not... I still feel guilty..."

He looked up at his mentor, who shook his head furiously. Twilight held up one finger, shrugged, and then two. He shook his head again.

"Don't be," Twilight mouthed. Wild frowned and turned his eyes away.

"I shouldn't have forgotten about the arrows," he said quietly. "It was my fault you almost died-"

A flick to the shoulder silenced him.

Twilight pointed to himself and thwacked his hand.

"Mine. It's okay."

Wild sighed, dropping it.

"Can I just ask something?"

A nod got Wild speaking.

"What does... dying feel like? I know I've felt it, but... not as long."

There was a moment of silence as Twilight thought.

"...Weird..."

He coughed and shrugged. Wild offered him a canteen again, which Twilight nodded and took.

"You can't remember anything," he began, pouring water down his throat quickly. "If you're hurt, you don't know what hurts. It feels wrong. It's cold and dark, and... it feels really weird," Twilight explained, handing the canteen back to Wild.

The younger boy was quiet, trying to imagine what that would feel like. He subconsciously leaned on Twilight and sighed.

They stayed like that for a while, waiting for the others to get back.

"I'm sorry," Twilight repeated, barely above a whisper.

With a nod of his head, Wild closed his eyes.

"It's okay. Don't scare me like that again."

"I won't."