Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Link always seemed to know things he should have no way of knowing. It was just a fact of life at this point. For instance, he’d known that one horse on the ranch was pregnant before Malon did, and Malon was the one who was born and raised on that ranch. 

He’d known there was something odd about his situation before he’d even gotten into it, too. Not that Zelda had helped much.

“Thank you for responding to my summons so quickly, Link,” she said. “We’ve received word of a strange black and purple void in the borderlands south of Lake Hylia. I’m sending a team to investigate.”

Link frowned. “All due respect, Your Majesty, why are you telling me this?” He had a feeling he already knew. She didn’t trust anyone but the Hero of Time. 

“I don’t trust anyone else,” she replied, echoing his thoughts almost exactly. “You’ve experienced so much over the course of your life that the men in my army can only dream of. I trust you will take the situation in stride in a way another, less experienced man couldn’t. Besides, I…” She trailed off, looking suddenly uncertain. “I’ve been having dreams again, Link. I think there’s more to this void that meets the eye, and I think you have something to do with it.” 

So he’d gone back to Malon, pretending he wasn’t devastated to be leaving her. He’d strapped on his armour, pretending he wasn’t remembering the last time he’d worn it (when he lost his eye). He told Malon everything, pretending he simply didn’t know how long the investigation would take. He pretended he wasn’t worried about not coming back, because voids have never been a good thing (the fall into pitch black darkness at the entrance to Termina taught him that). He pretended Malon couldn’t see right through him, that she didn’t kiss him desperately before sending him on his way. 

He didn’t dare take Epona with him, lest she return to the ranch on her own and break Malon’s heart. 

He’d been standing in front of the void for all of two seconds when he was sucked through it, straight into a blizzard. 

The blizzard was still raging around him, and he was getting very frustrated. He’d quickly come to the conclusion that the void, which was definitely a portal of some sort, had taken him someplace outside of Hyrule as he knew it. The only place in Hyrule that was this bloody cold was Zora’s Domain while it was frozen over, and even that had only happened in the Future that Never Was and during the War Across the Ages, which was a good twenty-some-odd years ago. 

Fortunately, he’d managed to find a cave fairly quickly, so now it was a matter of waiting it out without freezing his ass off. 

Easier said than done. 

Link was already losing feeling in his fingers. And he was bored. He looked at his ocarina contemplatively, and shrugged. May as well. If nothing else, it would help get the circulation going in his fingers. 

He ran through his repertoire, eventually noodling with Epona’s Song. It was about time he came up with a variation or something, given how often he played it. 

Hang on. Was that a wolf howl?

Nah, probably just the wind. 

If Epona’s Song was in the key of D, would it sound bad if he - 

Okay, that was definitely a wolf howl. Maybe it would be a good idea to stop making noise. 

Before Link could put his ocarina away to stop the temptation, a wolf - presumably the one that had been howling - barged into his cave like it owned the place. Though, come to think of it, maybe it did. 

However, as Link wasn’t planning on becoming dinner, he unsheathed his sword and raised it defensively. He didn’t want to make the first move if he could help it. Honestly, he didn’t want to attack the wolf at all if he could help it, but there was a blizzard raging outside. And he had camped himself out in what was possibly the wolf’s den. The wolf probably wasn’t all that happy with him. 

All things considered, Link thought his reaction to the wolf’s next move was pretty fair. 

“What the fuck?”

This was, of course, in response to the fact that the wolf had, upon seeing Link’s rather large sword, rolled onto its back and exposed all of its weak points. 

Wolves, as a standard rule, did not expose their weak points to people or creatures they do not trust. Especially unfamiliar men wielding claymores. So what was up with this one? 

The wolf, noticing that Link had dropped his claymore and was openly staring at it, rolled into a sitting position and wagged its tail happily. 

“What the actual fuck,” he said, laughing nervously. The wolf was behaving like… a dog? And goddesses damn the fact that the wolf’s expression made Link want to hug it and make sure it knew it was a good boy. 

...It did know it was a good boy, right?

Never mind that, you idiot, focus on the situation! he told himself sternly. Did the… did the wolf have blue eyes? Cobalt blue eyes that looked alarmingly like Malon’s?

Answer: yes, yes, it did. 

Wolves, as another standard rule, did not have blue eyes. They had variations of yellow or brown eyes. Furthermore, the facial markings on this wolf were unlike anything Link had ever seen on an animal before. 

And - oh, dear, its nose was twitching. And its tail was still wagging. Goddesses damn it, why did the damn thing have to be so bloody cute? This was not going as Link had planned (not that he’d planned much in the first place, but the plan he did have did not include being bamboozled by the adorableness of a doggo). Also, the wolf looked distinctly proud of himself, not unlike a small child that had just found someone during a game of hide and seek. 

Link was unimpressed with the weakness of his will. He’d been fully prepared to kill the wolf in self defense, and then the wolf just had to pull the cuteness card and toss that preparedness out the metaphorical window. Link was sure, if the wolf decided to attack, he would be physically incapable of raising his blade against it. This may be a problem. 

...Or not?

Apparently the wolf had decided it was now a cat, and had plopped itself in Link’s lap accordingly. And it was oh so warm. The wolf was like a furnace, and despite being roughly half the size of Link himself, possibly larger, it had made itself comfortable on him like a blanket. If the wolf had been a cat, it would probably be purring. As it was, the wolf’s tail was wagging slowly, but consistently. 

Well, Link supposed, there were worse ways to wait out a blizzard than with a wolf in your lap and said wolf’s nose pressed against your face. 

Link swore his hands were moving on their own. On automatic pilot, if you will. There was nothing wrong with that. It’s not like it was his fault the wolf had such irritatingly pettable fur, or that his hands insisted on doing so. 

Okay, so maybe it was intentional petting. No one had to know. He knew from experience that keeping secrets wasn’t exactly difficult for him, and it wasn’t like the wolf was going to be telling anyone. 

Maybe just a few more pets. 

The words, “Who’s a good boy. You are. Yes, you are. You’re the goodest boy” definitely, under no circumstances left Link’s mouth. 

Somehow, astonishingly, the wolf had lulled him into such a sense of security that he’d fallen asleep. This was, usually, unheard of for Link in new, possibly dangerous situations. There was just something about that wolf that made him feel inexplicably safe. Was that so odd?

Honestly, yes. He must be going senile in his old age (he wasn’t even forty, but with a life like his, that was positively ancient). 

So, yes, feeling safe with a huge wolf on top of him in the middle of a blizzard was odd. Even more odd was the fact that for once, he seemed to have slept the whole night, as sunlight was now filtering into the cave. He rarely slept that well, even with Malon hugging him tightly the whole time. 

Yet the oddest thing this morning, by far, was the fact that the wolf was gone. Which meant that at some point in the night, the great lump of muscle and fur had gotten up and left, and he’d slept through it. However, the fact that a wolf had, for all intents and purposes, popped into his cave for some cuddles and then departed was, frankly, quite ridiculous. Wolves didn’t just do that, nor did they expose their weak points to armed, unfamiliar men, nor did they typically behave like golden retrievers. 

Possibly, Link had been so tired he’d hallucinated the whole thi-

Ah, no. He was covered in wolf fur. Definitely not a hallucination, then. 

Well. This experience just kept getting stranger and stranger. What was next, civil cuccos?

“Hello? Anyone there?”

No, just another person, apparently. 

Said person entered the cave with far too much snow in their hair, in Link’s opinion. Presumably, the blizzard had ended sometime in the night. Judging by the angle of the sunlight in the cave, it was far too early for someone to have climbed the mountain if they’d started at sunrise, and no one in their right mind would start hiking in the snow in the middle of the night. So unless he’d taken a tumble, or he was completely insane, the young man in front of him had also been on the mountain during the blizzard. 

And was that a wolf pelt around the man’s shoulders? Was that where the friendly wolf had gone?

Something in Link’s gut told him it wasn’t, but he couldn’t help but be suspicious. 

“Hi,” the man said, grinning. “I’m assuming you’re the guy Wolfie told me about?”

Sorry. What?

“Who’s Wolfie?” Link asked. 

The man shrugged. “Y’know, big, dark grey wolf with white markings? Generally friendly?”

Link nodded warily.

“Yeah, he’s a friend of mine. We go way back, saved each other’s lives more times than I can count on one hand. He told me - well, he didn’t tell me, but he barked incessantly and nudged me in this direction until I started moving… anyway, he told me there was someone over here, and he seemed kinda worried, so… you all right, sir?”

Link could have laughed. This man was so bloody obvious, it was ridiculous. Goddesses, it didn’t take the Triforce of Wisdom to notice that the young man’s facial markings were identical to the wolf’s, and his story was just too convenient to be true. 

“Don’t lie to me,” Link said bluntly. 

The man looked taken aback, and slightly nervous. “What? Sorry, why would I lie to you?”

Link raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. “You telling me that’s not eerily convenient, kid?”

“...Where are you going with this, exactly?”

“You’re a shapeshifter. You and the wolf are one and the same. Yes?”

The young man looked absolutely flabbergasted. “Uh… yeah? Why aren’t you freaking out?”

“It’s not the weirdest thing I’ve ever encountered. Honestly, I’m more surprised you thought you could get away with that bullshit story.”

He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “You’d be surprised at how often it works, man. A lotta people don’t even question it. You’re legitimately the first to figure it out. Everyone else who knows has seen me transform, but you just. Logicked your way through it. Damn.”

Link smirked. “It’s amazing how uncommon common sense is, despite what the name would have you believe. Anyway, I’m Link.” He offered his hand.

The young man grimaced, accepting it. “You’re the Hero of Time, right?”

“...Yes?”

“You’re about to get real mad. I’m also Link, your direct successor.”

“You mean to say I time travelled again.”

“Unfortunately, yeah.”

“And you mean to say Ganondorf comes back.”

“Unfortunately, yeah.”

“And because of temporal mechanics, I can’t do anything about it because for you it’s already happened so if I were to try and change it I’d change the entire timeline and possibly make it worse.”

“...Unfortunately, yeah?”

“Fuck.”

“Honestly, same.”

Chapter Text

The other two guys who called themselves Link had been travelling with him for a while now. To avoid the inevitable confusion of having three people with the same name, they’d been going by Time and Twilight, and they’d been calling him Wild. 

Wild, in all honesty, didn’t trust them. 

While he couldn’t deny the alarming resemblance between them, close enough that they could be related, he wouldn’t be surprised if it was an elaborate Yiga scheme to catch him off guard. And, of course, there was no way in hell they were actually related to him. All of his relatives died one hundred years ago. 

As of yet, though, Time and Twilight had done absolutely nothing to make him think they were Yiga. In fact, Wild was partially convinced they were children in adult bodies - because how many people in Hyrule didn’t know what a Rito looked like? Or had never even heard of the Rito in the first place? Not many. And somehow, Wild’s two travelling companions had absolutely no idea. It was kind of… ridiculous, honestly. They didn’t recognise hinoxes or lynels, either. Even if they weren’t children in adult bodies, they certainly seemed to have a death wish. 

Maybe that was their elaborate Yiga scheme - to be so unfamiliar with the world that they got Wild killed in a monster fight. Well, the joke was on them, he could easily use the Sheikah Slate to warp away and abandon them if a fight turned sour. 

But they hadn’t even asked about his scars. It was weird. In fact, they hadn’t so much as given his scars a second glance after their initial meeting, and even then, they’d only seemed surprised, not disgusted or afraid like so many people around Hyrule. 

Whatever their game was, Wild couldn’t shake the feeling that he knew Twilight. Somehow. There was just something about the younger of his two travelling companions that gave him that feeling he got whenever he saw something or someone that he should remember, but didn’t. 

And so the question plagued his mind: where did he know Twilight from? 

He was probably losing it. Maybe taking Time and Twilight to meet Zelda would be a good idea, but… well, on the off chance they were Yiga, he didn’t want to risk it. Besides, from what he’d seen of the two in battle against bokoblins and moblins, Wild was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to take them both in a fight. 

If nothing else, Wild could now confidently say Time and Twilight weren’t members of the Yiga Clan. 

He’d finally given in and decided to take them to meet Zelda, regardless of their allegiances, when they’d been ambushed. 

At first he’d thought they’d told the Yiga of their plans, and the Yiga had reacted accordingly, but then he saw something that changed that thought before he’d had a chance to voice it. 

The Yiga were attacking Time and Twilight. The Yiga were attacking Time and Twilight. 

For a while, the battle was going well. Sure, they were heavily outnumbered, but it wasn’t anything new. 

And then one of the blademasters stabbed Wild in the gut. 

And Twilight freaked out. 

Not the, “Goddesses, you’re bleeding, what do I do” kind of freak out. The, “Touch him again and you die” kind of freak out. Wild made a mental note to never make Twilight mad. Even Time backed off, letting Twilight take over the battle completely, and even then it only lasted about five more minutes. 

When the last footsoldier fell, Twilight turned to look at Time and Wild. His eyes were dark with an emotion Wild couldn’t place, and - were his teeth slightly elongated and peeking out over his lip?

“I’m going to check if there are any more,” he growled, and stalked into the trees accordingly. 

Time sighed, pulling a red potion out of his bag. “Sorry about him, he gets a bit protective sometimes. Here, drink this.”

Wild gingerly accepted the proffered bottle, and he’d barely drained it when they heard what sounded like a dog of some sort - maybe a wolf - attacking something. After seeing the older man fighting just a moment ago, Wild kind of hoped the wolf wasn’t attacking Twilight. 

Emerging into a nearby clearing, however, quickly dealt that worry. Twilight was nowhere to be seen - though whether that was a good thing or not was debatable. Instead, Time and Wild were met with the corpse of a Yiga footsoldier, a large, dark grey wolf with white markings, and a Yiga blademaster. The latter two were currently engaged in circling each other like rival predators. 

On a slightly related note, Wild suddenly decided that there was one thing he wished he didn’t remember. This of course being the wolf that was his companion on his quest to defeat the Calamity. 

The wolf with dark grey fur and white markings. The wolf with the somewhat-out-of-place-yet-oddly-fitting blue eyes. The wolf that, after disappearing just before Wild had entered Hyrule Castle to fight Ganon, apparently saw fit to reappear now of all times. Just when he’d finally made his peace with the fact that the wolf had probably passed on to the spirit realm or whatever that it’d come from. 

Goddesses fucking damn it. Was he not allowed to be mentally stable for more than two weeks? Was that really so much to ask for, Hylia?

Apparently, it was, because the wolf lunged at the blademaster’s throat, effectively tore it out, and then sprinted further into the forest. 

So Wild wasn’t even allowed to reunite with his friend. Truly, Hylia was a saint. 

They found Twilight leaning against a tree about a hundred metres from the clearing, clutching a wound in his side in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. 

“You’re an idiot, Pup,” Time said flatly, somehow managing to make an offered potion seem threatening. 

Twilight huffed a laugh, accepting the potion with his free hand. “You’re not the first one to come to that conclusion,” he replied. “Many others have also called me an idiot, myself included.”

“What happened?” Wild asked, tilting his head to the side. 

“I’m sure you saw the dead bodies in the clearing. They got the jump on me, it’s lucky that wolf showed up when he did.” Twilight sighed. “Just adding to the number of times Wolfie’s saved my life.”

The way the older man said it, it was almost as if…

“Hang on, you know Wolfie?!”

Twilight raised an eyebrow in a remarkably similar manner to Time. “...Yes? I’m assuming you do as well?”

Wild crossed his arms. “Oh, you know, he was only my companion on my quest. I thought he’d passed on to the Sacred Realm or something, because he vanished in a shower of black particles right before I went to fight Ganon.”

“Ah… yes, I believe he tried to tell me that, and then failed because he is a wolf and I am a Hylian. I can safely say he is very much alive, however. He just had to return to my time. And it’s a good thing, too, my family and I were getting pretty worried.”

“He’s very loyal,” Wild remarked. “Always seemed to know which travellers on the road were trustworthy before I did.”

Twilight made a face. “That’s because the Yiga all smell like swine. It’s disgusting.”

“That’s not surprising. They are Ganon’s suppor-”

Hang on. What? 

Wild had never told Time and Twilight about the Yiga Clan, having assumed they were part of it. How would Twilight know what they were called? And how would Twilight know what they smelled like? Hylian noses weren’t that good. Wild would know, his was slightly better than average. 

Twilight seemed to be following a similar thought process, as he looked appropriately horrified. “Shit,” he said, his face as white as Hebra snow. “I’m getting sloppy. And I was doing so well, too. That story was way more believable than the one I told Time.”

“You knew?” Wild asked, glancing at the eldest of their little group.

“Of course I did,” Time replied, as though this were obvious. “What do you take me for, an idiot? He’s really terrible at keeping it a secret, it’s honestly a wonder his entire Hyrule doesn’t know.”

“That’s because people in my Hyrule actually value privacy, Time. They don’t pry into people’s business, travelling companions or not. That, and… well, some people, specifically the residents of Castle Town, aren’t exactly made of the strongest stuff. They’re completely terrified of Wolfie,” Twilight said. “Anyway, I want to meet the Zelda of this era.” He looked at Wild. “You spoke very highly of her, based on what you remembered.”

Wild flushed. “I - yeah, she’s… yeah.”

Twilight just laughed.

Chapter Text

Four wasn’t one to pry into other people’s business. And with secrets like his? He didn’t particularly want people prying into his business, so he respected privacy. 

Usually. 

But recently, in the weeks it had been since their group became nine, Twilight had started acting strangely. More strangely than normal, that is. 

Sure, always seeming to know when Wild was having a nightmare was kind of odd, but it was something that Four just accepted as one of Twilight’s quirks. 

This? This was a whole new level of odd. 

The monster attacks had been getting more and more frequent, and as a result Twilight had been scouting more and more. It was a good idea, except… well, it meant Twilight was rarely ever around when they were ambushed. Fortunately, Wolfie typically showed up within a few minutes of Twilight leaving, and fought as viciously as you’d expect from a wild animal. Then, consistently, Wolfie would disappear, presumably to find Twilight, without letting the others treat his wounds. A few minutes after Wolfie disappeared, Twilight would return, looking surprisingly haggard and beaten up. And, consistently, he said there were more monsters nearby that he’d been taking care of. 

It was kind of suspicious. Actually, scratch that, it was very suspicious. 

One day, Wind had jokingly asked Twilight why he and Wolfie were never around at the same time. Twilight’s answer, while reasonable on the surface, was alarmingly sketchy. 

“We just don’t like each other that much,” he’d said. That was fine. That was fair. That made sense. 

What didn’t make sense was the mysteriously haunted look on Twilight’s face as he said it. Sure, everyone had their fair share of unpleasant memories, and the Red part of Four’s mind said Wolfie and Twilight probably had a rocky history with each other. But the Vio part? The Vio part thought it was just a little too convenient to be entirely true. 

The Blue part of Four’s mind said the Vio part was reading into it too much. 

The Green part thought the Vio part might be on to something. 

Twilight was getting more and more paranoid as the monster attacks got more and more frequent. 

“I’m going to scout ahead,” he said, again and again, then hurried out of everyone’s line of sight. Again. And Again. And again. 

Every time, Wolfie would show up moments later. 

Maybe, even though he doesn’t like Wolfie, they have a mutual understanding and trust each other? the Red part of Four’s mind suggested. 

No, the Blue part argued, whether they trust each other or not, if they don’t like each other, you’d think they’d at least make sure they were doing what they were supposed to be doing, right? Like, you’d think Twilight would want to make sure Wolfie was actually protecting us, instead of just wandering off and hoping for the best. 

Maybe Twilight doesn’t know Wolfie comes? the Green part said.

But then how does Twilight always know Wild’s been hurt, even before he’s seen it and no one has said anything? the Vio part pointed out. 

...Protective mentor instincts? the Red part offered. 

Four sighed, shaking his head. Even though he’d managed to get his mind back into one piece, with one consciousness, there were still four separate, distinct trains of thought. Said trains of thought were currently working overtime, trying to form some sort of link - and no, Red part, that pun was not intended - between Twilight and Wolfie. 

In all honesty, it was giving him a headache. And Twilight noticed. Of fucking course it was Twilight who noticed. He’s always the one who notices EVERYTHING. 

“Hey, Four, you okay, bro?” he asked, tilting his head to the side like a curious puppy. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Four replied. “Just a headache.” And it’s your bloody fault, asshole. What’s your deal? 

Four dutifully ignored the Red part of his mind making comparisons between Twilight and a dog. That is, until those comparisons started becoming genuinely helpful clues.

1. He has better hearing than everyone else, and always claims everyone’s footsteps sound different? How in Farore’s name does he notice? 
2. He also seems to have a better sense of smell, and can usually tell you every ingredient in Wild’s cooking without seeing Wild preparing the food? Maybe he’s just really sensitive to food? 
3. He has dog-like mannerisms - tilts his head to the side when curious, when he gets really happy his entire face lights up like a dog that’s just been told it’s a good boy, when he gets excited he looks like a dog that’s just been told it’s going for a walk, when he gets his hair wet he shakes his head the way wet dogs shake themselves, when Time scratches behind his ears he looks like he’s in heaven - 

Wait a minute. Time was, at this very moment, stretching behind Twilight’s left ear and Twilight legitimately looked like he was in heaven.

What the fuck. What the actual fuck. 

Four officially stopped looking for clues to link Twilight and Wolfie and started looking for evidence that might prove that Twilight is a shapeshifter. First on the list: dogs get high off ear rubs. Time was scratching behind Twilight’s ear. Twilight looked kind of high. 

What the fuck . 

Due to the fact that as a collective, the Links had horrible luck, they were once again being attacked by monsters. And Twilight was once again “scouting,” leaving Wolfie behind to help fight with them. 

This time, though, Four had designated the Red part of his mind to keep an eye on Wolfie as best it could while Four himself was on the other side of the battlefield. This was in an attempt to keep track of where Wolfie was getting hit, because Four knew for a fact this would be the strongest piece of evidence for or against his theory. Simply put, Twilight didn’t have his own separate supply of potions, so if he and Wolfie were the same being, Twilight would leave, shift back into Hylian form, then rejoin the group with a now-obviously-lame excuse and take a potion from whoever happened to be offering them. 

Fortunately, infected or otherwise, the monsters were no match for nine experienced heroes, and were soon dealt with accordingly. Four, luckily, had gotten by mostly unscathed, and therefore could devote his attention to Wolfie. 

Wolfie, as a standard rule, was very protective of everyone (Four assumed he considered the Links to be his “pack”), and therefore took a few more hits than everyone else. He was bleeding from a long gash on his left flank, a shallow cut above his right eye, and Four had seen him get clobbered in the ribs. 

True to form, Wolfie trotted off into the nearby trees and promptly disappeared from sight. Four, taking a gamble that no one was paying attention to him in favour of dealing with major wounds, followed him. After all, he wouldn’t even need to compare injuries if he caught Twilight/Wolfie red-handed. Or red-pawed. Or red-whatevered. That wasn’t the point , Blue part of Four’s mind. 

Wolfie trotted all the way to a nearby river, where he dunked his head and shook it around a bit. 

Oh, ew , the Red part of Four’s mind thought. He probably gets a whole lot of monster blood in his mouth. That’s gross. That’s so gross. Oh my goddesses. Eugh. 

After apparently cleaning his face enough, Wolfie wriggled his entire body, thus shaking his entire pelt, despite only his head being wet, and then dissolved in a shower of black particles. Because, you know, that was normal. 

When the particles dissipated, Twilight was kneeling on the ground, holding his side and growling quietly. After a moment, he sighed.

“I know you’re there, Four,” he said. “I could smell you.”

“What the fuck, Twi,” Four blurted, taken aback.

Twilight smiled resignedly, getting to his feet and turning to the shorter hero. “Yeah, I get that a lot. Shapeshifting tends to get that reaction. Either that or screaming.”

“I - well, yeah, that too, but I was thinking more the fact that you’re just. Totally fine with me following you and watching you transform, despite the fact that you’re clearly trying to keep this a secret.”

“...Oh,” Twilight said intelligently, looking surprised. “I mean, yeah? Honestly, Four, did you really think I didn’t notice the way you’ve been looking at me for the past couple of weeks? I knew you were close to figuring it out anyway. Wolf senses, remember?”

Four paled. “Please tell me you can’t smell suspicion.”

Twilight laughed. “Of course not. But it was the wolf senses that told me you had a headache that day… which then led me to keeping an eye on you. From there, it was a simple matter of reading your expression to see the gears turning in your head. As Time put it when he found out, it doesn’t take the Triforce of Wisdom. I’m not the best liar in the world.”

“Of course Time knows. That’s why he was scratching your ears the other day, then?”

Twilight’s expression hardened. “If you mention that to anyone, ever, I will end you. Furthermore, if you ever attempt to do it yourself, I will also end you. Do you understand?”

Four knew Twilight was trying to be intimidating. He really did. It was just… well, the context of the threat was… it kind of ruined the fear factor. 

And so Four laughed. He straight up cackled, though he would later deny it. 

“Don’t worry, Twi,” he said between breaths, “I’m not gonna tell anyone. It’s your secret, not mine. We’re cool.”

With that confirmation, Twilight started laughing too.

Chapter Text

With more adventures under his belt than he could count on one hand, it was no surprise Legend was suspicious. 

Especially since Twilight was a shit liar. 

Legend knew Twilight was hiding something. Something big. And Time, Wild, and Four were in on it, if the way they kept covering for him was anything to go by. They were all much better liars than Twilight was. Time in particular was probably the best liar in the group. 

Naturally, Legend had noticed when Four was watching Twilight all sneaky-like a couple of weeks ago. And, naturally, Legend had noticed when Four followed Wolfie into the trees after that battle and then came back with Twilight.

Which was incredibly suspicious. 

Now, with a ridiculous-amount-of-quests’ worth of experience, Legend knew more than he probably should. At this point in his life, he’d probably seen it all, and with the sheer number of items he had, he could probably fight Hylia and win. This, of course, led Legend to think of himself as somewhat of an expert when it came to certain things, such as magical items, maps, deities, portals, and a certain degree of time travel. 

With that in mind, it was no surprise that certain things about Twilight made Legend very curious. For one, the ranch hand claimed he didn’t like magic, and avoided using it as much as he could. And yet… that necklace. The simple string with a black crystal decorated with orange lines that hung from Twilight’s neck. As far as Legend could tell, Twilight never took it off. Ever. It seemed the only times he wasn’t wearing it were when something had cut the string, like Sky did that one time those two sparred, and then Twilight immediately picked it up - without touching the crystal itself - and tied it back on. 

As someone who considered himself an expert on magic items, Legend was rather attuned to feeling the items’ magical presence. This had been a bit of a pain when he first joined the group, due to the number of magic items everyone had, but eventually he’d managed to push it to the background and only sense the magic items he was particularly close to. 

One night, while he was on watch (and very, very bored) he’d walked around to everyone’s bags to try and figure out what kind of magic stuff they had.

Unsurprisingly, no one had anywhere near as much magic stuff as he did, but there were a couple of things that were surprising. 

Time, while not having an overwhelming amount of magic items, had a handful of disturbingly powerful ones (fortunately, Legend didn’t know what they were, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to, honestly).

And Twilight? Twilight had a grand total of two magic items, from what Legend could tell. One of them was positively ancient, like it had been around for a few thousand years at least. And the other was… overwhelmingly dark . And the darkness was emanating from Twilight’s necklace. 

In Legend’s experience, dark magic usually did one of three things: one, it caused immense pain. Two, it caused death, or three, it caused a transformation. 

Legend had been on the receiving end of the transformation thing more than once. The Dark World had turned him into a pink bunny, and Yuga had turned him into a painting. The bunny form was just a nuisance, but the painting form, despite originally being a curse, had turned out pretty damn useful. 

And so Legend was left to wonder what the purpose of Twi’s crystal was. It couldn’t be causing him immense pain, he was far too calm and laid back for that. Besides, even if he could handle it while he was awake, his face would betray him while he was asleep. The only time Twilight had ever looked like he was in pain while asleep was when he was having a nightmare. 

That left either causing death or causing a transformation. 

...The former wasn’t very likely. 

Once, Hyrule had asked Twilight where he got the necklace, and Twilight had said he got it during his quest. Now, if Legend’s math was correct, Twilight’s quest had happened when he was seventeen. Twilight was currently twenty one. That meant he’d had the crystal for at least four years, so if its intent was to kill, then it was very slow-acting. 

Most dark magic wasn’t that slow. 

That left transformation. 

After the bunny thing, Legend had consulted Fable at the earliest opportunity (once he’d defeated Ganon, that is) to find out why he’d been turned into a pink rabbit of all creatures. 

Fable had told him that everyone had a sort of… spirit animal, which reflected them in some way. Needless to say, Legend wasn’t thrilled that his “spirit animal” was a bunny. A pink one, no less. And much to his frustration, certain things from his bunny form carried over to his Hylian one. Most noticeably, part of his hair turned pink, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. His nose started twitching more, he started eating less and less meat, his ears started twitching… and his boss battle strategy changed from analysing calmly to running around the perimeter of the room until he figured out a strategy. 

Of course, Fable also told him that the change in mannerisms only happened because he’d actually become an animal, and that most people would never act like their “spirit animals” in that sense. 

Until recently, Legend thought he was the only one of the heroes to have ever been turned into an animal. 

And then he started noticing certain things about Twilight’s behavior. Based on the look on Four’s face, Four noticed them, too. 

Twilight always knew who was approaching him, even if they came from behind. He could even tell if it was Time, who somehow walked practically silently , despite his armour. 

He would deny it until his dying day, but Twilight also clearly craved physical affection, not unlike a cat, and would sometimes just. Flop. On someone else (typically, it was Time or Wild). 

He frequently kicked his legs (and even his arms?) while he was asleep, the way dogs did when they were having dreams. 

Not to mention he was an animal whisperer and somehow knew exactly what the animals they encountered were thinking. 

And he ate a shit ton of meat. All the meat that Legend didn’t eat, Wild seemed to give to Twilight. 

Legend probably sounded like a conspiracy theorist. 

They’d made the decision to split up after going through the portal in an attempt to figure out where - no, when - they were. Legend wanted to go with Twilight, to get himself some answers, but he’d ended up paired off with Wild and Epona, and Twilight went with Four. 

Well then. 

Of course Wild wanted to go off-trail. 

“This is a bad idea,” Legend told him, crossing his arms. His nose twitched irritatedly.

“I think we’re behind everyone else. Besides, what could possibly go wrong?” Wild asked, using his sword to knock away some rocks. 

Legend sighed. “That’s a question that, as a group, we should never ask. Because something will always go wrong .”

Case in point, as Legend was saying this, Wild hit another rock out of their way. His blade shattered in his hands, and he looked at the hilt like it had personally victimised him.

“Well, shit,” he said. 

“WHAT DID I TELL YOU? Ugh, never mind. You have another one, right?”

“Uh… no.”

“UGH! All right, all right, fine. Let’s just find somewhere flat so I can go through my stuff and see if you can borrow anything, okay?”

Wild had the decency to look sheepish while he nodded. Epona whinnied judgmentally.

Fucking gremlin. 

Fortunately, they were close to the top of the ridge they’d been hiking up, and soon emerged into a nice clearing in the trees. 

Sighing again, Legend dropped his bag on the ground and started pulling things out. He’d gotten through about half his inventory when Wild whistled shrilly and started waving. 

Moments later, Four and Wolfie appeared. 

“You guys are the first we’ve found,” Four said, sliding off Wolfie’s back. 

Wild patted Epona’s neck. “Oh yeah? The same for us.”

“Yeah, we haven’t seen anyone else,” Legend said absently, looking at his fire rod contemplatively. That was a sure-fire - pun not intended - way to enable Wild’s pyromania. Distantly, he heard Wild saying something indignantly about apples.

“What’s with all this?” Four asked, coming up beside him.

Legend gestured to Wild over his shoulder. “Finding him something to use. He broke his sword and now he’s unarmed.” 

“Broke?” Four said sharply. “On what!?” 

“A rock,” Wild replied.

Four’s face mirrored the way Legend felt when he figured out Ravio was price-gouging. “You know what? Challenge accepted. I’m gonna forge you one that won’t break on you.” 

“Wow, really?”

Legend rolled his eyes. “Anyway, what did you and the wolf find?” 

“Found a village and got some info,” Four said. 

“A village, huh?” Wild smirked. “See? Told you we were behind everyone else.”

“You wanted to go off-trail!” Legend cried. 

“I wanted to get a better lay of the land.” 

“Or wander into danger.”

“Where’s your sense of adventure?” Wild asked.

I left it in a dungeon about four years ago, Legend thought irritatedly. 

“You’re nothing like our Traveler Hero,” Wild continued. “You won’t walk a step off the road.”

Legend scowled. “It’s just - we don’t have a map!”

“SO?” 

“I kind of want to know where we’re going!”

Wild grinned, looking at Four. “Anyway, it’s been a day for us.”

Four crossed his arms. “I’m sure,” he said dryly. 

Legend sighed, tuning the rest of the conversation out. He picked up his magic mirror and glanced at it just as Wolfie passed behind him. 

He froze. He held the mirror closer to his face, as if that would change what he saw in it. He glanced up at Wolfie in alarm, and Legend swore the wolf was smirking. He looked at the mirror one more time before putting it away, his mind reeling. 

There was no way, right? Sure, there was a lot of evidence to support it, evidence that Legend had been gathering, but. Seeing it confirmed like that… seeing Wolfie reflected in the mirror not as a wolf but as Twilight… it kind of put it into perspective a bit. 

“What’s wrong?”

He nearly jumped out of his skin at Four’s voice.

“Hey, I’ll improvise,” Wild said, holding a stick. “Don’t even worry about it.”

“Uh… yeah, a-all right.” Legend hurriedly shoved his stuff in his bag. He’d worry about organising it later. With that, he stood up and followed the others as they began to walk.

He was staring at Wolfie. He knew he was. Because Wolfie is Twilight. Twilight is Wolfie. Why the fuck did Twilight get to be wolf when Legend was a goddess-damned BUNNY? 

Legend’s hand twitched, and he narrowed his eyes at Wolfie’s thick, fluffy fur. Surely Twi wouldn’t mind too much…

Wolfie snarled as soon as Legend’s fingers slid into his fur. 

Legend grinned. “Huh. You really just gonna growl? Bark is worse than your bite?” 

Wolfie glared at him. 

They walked until they found a clearing in the woods near where they’d appeared in this world. Legend offered to get firewood, mostly because he knew Wild and Four were in on Twilight’s secret, and he wasn’t insensitive enough to confront Twilight about it. He was, however, planning the most passive-aggressive way he could think of to get the ranch hand to confess. 

True to Legend’s expectations, when he returned to the clearing, Twilight was putting Epona’s saddle over a log. 

“Here, this should be enough. When did he get back?” he asked. 

“While you were away,” Wild replied, not looking up. Four made a noise of agreement. 

Legend raised an eyebrow. “By the way, where’d that wolf go?” 

“Didn’t notice.”

Wild really was a much better liar than Twilight. 

After a little while of setting up camp and being otherwise bored, they started showing off items. 

Twilight pulled out a hawk mask that covered half his face. “This is the hawkeye. Gives me better aim on far away targets.” He passed it to Legend, who held it up to his own face.

Instantly, the vision in his right eye became much sharper. “Wow,” he said. 

“Pretty nifty, huh?” Twilight replied, a grinning crookedly. 

Legend pointedly avoided looking at him. “You know, this reminds me…” He held the mask back up to his face. “In the faraway kingdom of Lorule, there’s this tradition… some say donning a mask in the likeness of a beast is a tribute to becoming one in order to survive in a darkened world.” 

Four spat out the water he was drinking, and Wild looked vaguely terrified. 

Twilight just kept grinning that crooked grin. “Really? And here I thought people become lost souls, trapped and confused, unaware they’re on the other side.” 

“Ah, but see… that is true in our light world.” I’m gonna make you confess one way or another, wolf boy. “But steeped in a world of shadow, your Hylian light will reflect your inner person. One would need a strong light to become anything recognisable. A beastly form… what would you want to be?”

“Me? I’ll admit, I’m a bit biased, but I would want to be an Ordonian goat,” Twilight said. He went off on a tangent about how great the goats were, and stopped when he realised how bored the others looked. “What? I warned you I was biased.”

They glared at him. 

“Ha ha. Well anyway, since the others haven’t returned yet, I’ll patrol around,” he announced, walking into the forest.

“I’ll go with you!” Legend said. He was painfully aware of how eager he sounded, and internally cringed at himself. 

Twilight glanced back over his shoulder once they were out of earshot. “Nice of you to join me,” he said. 

Legend looked at him thoughtfully. “I wanted to ask…” Are you a shapeshifter who can turn into a wolf? “You don’t actually own a wolf, do you?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I’m sure you’ve seen that wolf that comes around every so often,” Legend pressed. 

Twilight hummed noncommittally. “I’m aware.”

“You’re not answering my question.”

“I thought for sure you, of all people, knew…” Twilight turned around slowly. 

Does he know I know his secret? Is he just being dramatic about it? 

“Wolves can’t be owned!”

Asshole. 

“Right,” Legend huffed. 

Twilight laughed at him. “Look, I’ll just tell y-”

He was cut off by a bokoblin dropping from the trees and grabbing his shoulders. It seemed to be trying to grab his sword, but it wasn’t doing a very good job. Legend drew his own sword and lunged forward.

Twilight twisted slightly to the side, and Legend stabbed the bokoblin in the chest, mere inches from Twilight’s head. As the body dropped, so did Twilight’s wolf pelt. He ignored that, instead grabbing his sword, and went back to back with Legend while they waited for more.

“That was all?” Twilight said after a moment, voicing Legend’s confusion. 

Legend shrugged, picking up Twilight’s shield. “You all right?” 

“Yeah,” he replied, tugging his wolf pelt back onto his shoulders and re-strapping his sword to his back.. “It went for my sword. I don’t believe, for a second, that one was alone.” 

“I agree.” Twilight’s necklace is on the ground. Maybe if I have it, I can use it to MAKE Twi give me answers… 

Twilight made a surprised noise (which sounded an awful lot like a dog’s whine), whispering, “Where is-?”

“I wonder if that’s what the others are dealing with,” Legend said calmly, reaching for the string. He knew better than to touch the crystal itself. “They haven’t returned and-”

Twilight gasped, causing Legend to look up at him. 

“DON’T TOUCH THAT!”

Legend’s hand closed around the crystal. Fuck-fuck-fuck-fuck I was aiming for the string why did I fucking grab the crystal fuck I’ve cursed my self fuck-

And then he was a bunny. 

I fucking knew it.

Chapter Text

“It’s an item of mine he shouldn’t have touched.” 

Why was Twilight carrying something like that around, if it could turn people into pink rabbits?

Sure, a number of the heroes had been in possession of dangerous objects at one point or another during their quests, but they’d all done something with said objects that cut off their access to them. 

Or, as it seemed to have turned out, maybe not. Since Twilight apparently still had a potentially dangerous object. 

Twilight also seemed to be very much an expert on the functions of said potentially dangerous object. On the one hand, this was good, because it meant that no one was accidentally going to die due to Twilight’s carelessness, but on the other hand, it suggested that he’d used it before. 

Well… technically, it just meant he’d done his research and had possibly seen it in use before, but come on. Twilight was a Link. There was no way in hell he hadn’t used it before. If it were an item of Sky’s, potentially dangerous or not, he would definitely used it. If only to sate his curiosity. And possibly to prank Groose, but that was beside the point. 

This train of thought led Sky to a question: would Twilight’s stone turn everyone into pink bunnies, or was that specific to Legend? Because, honestly, Twilight didn’t really seem like the kind of guy to have an item that turned people into pink bunnies. Wolves, maybe. Ha, maybe Twilight was Wolfie. Wouldn’t that be fun. 

Wait a minute. Maybe Twilight was Wolfie. There was certainly a great deal of evidence to support it. For one, Twilight was in possession of a stone that apparently turned people into pink bunnies - or possibly other animals as well. For another, the way he spoke when he told Legend all he had to do to change back was touch the Master Sword… it led one to believe he was speaking from experience. And, most obviously, the markings on Twilight’s face were the same as the ones on Wolfie’s. 

Now, Sky considered himself a rather observant person. He had to be, as a monster-fighting, puzzle-solving Hero, but he also prided himself on being observant when it came to people as well. Naturally, he’d noticed the fact that Twilight and Wolfie had the same markings, but he hadn’t commented on it. Especially with Wild and Time, and later Four, always being so quick to discount the connections between the ranch hand and the friendly wolf. But with this new evidence? Sky could only come to one conclusion. And a half. A conclusion and a half. Okay, maybe two conclusions.

Twilight was Wolfie. And he seemed to trust Sky enough that he didn’t mind the fact that Sky was likely to quickly figure it out, as he just had. 

That was nice to know. Not so much the Wolfie thing, because Sky could honestly care less, but the fact that Twilight trusted him so much. It felt nice. 

Sky wasn’t about to confront him about it, though. That wasn’t his style. He would let Twilight come to him with the confession, or at least the beginnings of one, and then Sky would gently tell him that he’d known since the bunny incident. 

And so, with that in mind, he looked up at his surroundings and realised Twilight and Legend were much farther ahead of him than he thought they were. Which meant he had to run to catch up. 

Sky hated running. 

It took Twilight forever to even bring up the subject of shapeshifting, and Twilight wasn’t even the person who mentioned it. It was Warriors. 

They’d been talking about dragons, because Wind, Wild and Sky both knew friendly ones, and Time, Twilight, Hyrule, and Warriors had all fought and defeated not-so-friendly ones. 

“Due to the messed up timeline during the war, I kind of fought weaker versions of Twilight’s dragon,” Warriors was saying, “as well as a descendant of Time’s dragon. His name was Volga, he was a shapeshifter. Took the form of a man, but he could still breathe fire, which is totally unfair . He was also terrifyingly skilled with a spear. Nearly killed me more than once.”

“Shapeshifting is kinda really cool,” Wind said, resting his chin on his hands and his elbows on his knees. “I wonder what it’d be like to turn into a beast?”

Twilight shrugged. “Can’t imagine it would be all that enjoyable. It would probably hurt like a bitch the first couple of times, too, with your bone structure rearranging and all.”

Alarm bells started going off in Sky’s head. Transforming hurts transforming hurts transforming hurts that’s my brother that’s not okay my brother frequently hurts himself just to turn into a wolf THIS IS NOT OKAY - 

“Hey, Sky? You still with us?” Hyrule asked, looking slightly concerned.

“Oh, yes, I’m fine, just lost in thought.”

Sky was going to have a very serious conversation with Twilight in the not-too-distant future. 

Mama Cucco Mode, as the others had lovingly dubbed it, had been activated. 

A few days passed, and Sky had just come up with the easiest plan to get Twilight alone. 

He was going to take first watch.

Normally, Sky fell asleep pretty quickly, but the others had talked about Wolfie coming in the night enough that he knew Twilight would still be awake. It was the perfect trap for someone who was irritatingly elusive during the day. 

One by one, the others crawled into their bedrolls. Sky was careful to keep his back turned to Twilight’s until he heard the telltale clinking of the chain around Wolfie’s left forepaw. 

Sky shifted to look at the large, fluffy wolf, clearing his throat. Wolfie tilted his head curiously. Raising an unimpressed eyebrow, Sky gestured for the wolf to come closer, then crossed his arms. 

“So,” he said. “Shapeshifting hurts, huh?”

Wolfie’s ears flattened.

“If it hurts so much, why do you do it, Twi? I mean, I get that Wolfie is a good comfort animal, but if transforming is painful, why do you do it so often?” Sky asked. 

Wolfie was suddenly enveloped in a shower of black particles. When they dissipated, Twilight was sitting cross-legged in front of Sky.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” he said quietly. “It hasn’t in a long time.”

Sky scowled. “But it used to?”

Twilight nodded. “The first time was the worst.”

“Go on. We’re talking about this, whether you like it or not.”

“Yes, Mama Cucco.” Twilight rolled his eyes. “Like I said, the first time was the worst. I blacked out for a solid six hours at least, probably longer. The second time was better, I only blacked out for thirty seconds, and the third time I didn’t black out at all. The fourth time, the guy who cursed me decided to ram this into my skull.” He held up the shadow crystal. “Then I went to get the Master Sword, which drove it out of my skull again. I harnessed the power of the stone to save Hyrule, and it’s honestly pretty useful. Also, I think something about the shadow crystal - maybe because it’s such a concentrated piece of dark magic, instead of the overwhelming kind that transformed me the first time - makes it hurt less. After I started using it, the pain was reduced to much more manageable levels. In fact, it only hurt about as much as breaking one bone, instead of all of them. Anyway, I had to transform so much during my quest that I don’t even feel it anymore. I don’t know if it’s because I’m so used to the pain, or if it’s just not there at this point. Whatever the case, it doesn’t hurt now.”

“And it turns you into a wolf and Legend into a pink bunny?” Sky asked, slightly confused, but relieved that Twilight wasn’t torturing himself every time Wolfie “mysteriously” appeared. 

The Ordonian shrugged. “Everyone’s beast form is different. You would probably be some kind of bird.”

“...Huh.”

Chapter Text

Of course Warriors knew Twilight was Wolfie. He’d met Midna, for Din’s sake. But he figured it was none of his business, so he didn’t say anything. 

Naturally, he’d figured out who else knew pretty quickly after joining the group, and had now come to the conclusion that only Wind and Hyrule were still unaware. Obviously, Twilight, Time, Wild, Four, Legend, and Sky didn’t know that Warriors knew, but he didn’t particularly think that mattered. It wasn’t a problem.

And then they had to go and get separated after a switch. Warriors didn’t know if the others were all together or if they’d been split into smaller groups as well, but he did know that he was alone with Twilight. 

Fortunately, they were in his Hyrule, not too far from the Temple of Souls. He did hope the others weren’t separated from each other, Time was the only other person who was as familiar with the terrain as Warriors himself. And it had easily been twenty years since Time had fought in the war, from the eldest hero’s perspective. Chances were he didn’t remember the places of this Hyrule where they hadn’t fought in huge battles. 

Warriors could tell Twilight was itching to transform and pick up the others’ scents, but he still thought Warriors didn’t know his secret. So Warriors decided to give him an opportunity. 

“It would be really nice if Wolfie was here,” he said conversationally.

Twilight’s ear twitched. “Yeah.”

“This is my Hyrule, so if you wanted to wait here I could go look for him.”

“Mm.”

“Alternatively, we could walk a bit further. There’s a temple up ahead, and while it’s not my favourite place in the world, it’s safe as long as we stay in the front gardens. We can keep that as our rendezvous point and then go look for the others.”

Twilight nodded. “Having a rendezvous point is a good idea.”

So Warriors led him to the Temple of Souls. As much as he hated that place, the front gardens were safe. If… a little disturbing. There were statues of Wolfie, child Time, and Sky, after all. 

“I don’t like this place,” Twilight said immediately after setting foot in the rose garden. 

“Yeah, I don’t really like it either, but it’s safe as long as we don’t go inside the temple itself.”

Twilight shivered. “I feel like I’m being watched.”

Warriors nodded. “That’s because we are. A sorceress lives in this temple, and she’s kind of obsessed with the Hero. Oh, just a warning, there are statues of some of us in this garden. Thought you might want a heads up.”

“I… yeah, thanks… we’ll only have to be here until you or Wolfie find the others?”

“Yep.”

“Thank Farore.”

They walked in silence for a moment.

“Warriors,” Twilight said eventually, “the sorceress… she won’t come outside, will she? I mean, if she lives here…”

“Don’t worry. My friend Lana cast a spell on these gardens so she’ll know instantly if there are people here, so chances are my friends are on their way to warn the unfortunate travellers away. A side effect of that is she also knows instantly if the sorceress steps outside. We’ll be fine.”

“...Right.”

Warriors laughed. “I know you’re not a huge fan of magic, but Lana is one of the most skilled sorceresses in all of Hyrule. I swear on my honour as a knight that we’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, so you said a minute ago. Contrary to popular belief, I trust you.”

“Oh. Good. Right, I’m heading out. See you in a bit?”

“Mm.” 

So, without another word, Warriors turned around and went back into the forest. 

Only five minutes had passed when he heard the telltale clink of the chain on Wolfie’s paw, followed by a hand clamped around his wrist, which yanked him around to look at the incredulous Ordonian.

“You knew!” Twilight cried. His grip was almost painfully tight, but he likely wasn’t aware of it. “You knew I was Wolfie this whole time, didn’t you?”

Warriors shrugged. “Maybe.”

With his free hand, Twilight smacked him upside the head. “Don’t be coy with me, you jerk. You knew before we met, didn’t you? You figured it out when you saw the statues.”

“I didn’t actually figure it out, I had to ask one of my allies from your time period. But yes, I have known since before I met you,” Warriors said. 

“...Why didn’t you say anything? If only to tell me you knew?”

He shrugged again. “Didn’t think it was any of my business, to be honest. I figured you’d tell me when you were ready to. Figured you’d tell all of us when you were ready to. Besides, can you imagine how that conversation would have gone when we first met? Like, ‘Oh, hi, by the way, I know you can turn into a wolf.’ You’d’ve probably been like, ‘What the fuck?’ Yeah… didn’t seem right at the time. And then I just never really saw a good opportunity to bring it up.”

Twilight massaged his temples. “You do realise you could have made an opportunity to bring it up? Do you have any idea how much easier it would’ve been for me to know? The number of times I’ve done my best to cover up a secret you already knew… it’s ridiculous!”

“Not gonna lie, it was kind of fun watching Legend, Four, and Sky put the pieces together. Wonder how long it’ll take for Hyrule and Wind to find out?”

“Oh, shit, they’re the only ones who still don’t know, aren’t they?” Twilight said, his brows furrowing. “Uh… I could just tell them, I guess?”

Warriors grinned. “Nah, that’s too easy! You gotta mess with them a bit, bro. Drop a bunch of obvious but obscure hints and see how long it takes for them to put two and two together.”

Twilight glared at him half-heartedly. “That’s mean.”

“It’s also a big brother move. You can’t tell me you don’t enjoy doing the big-brother-little-shit thing. I’ve seen you with the kids in Ordon.”

“You’re an asshole.”

“Ah, yes, but I’m a correct asshole.”

“...Damn you.”

Warriors laughed, patting Twilight on the head. “Good boy.”

And then suddenly he was on the ground with Twilight’s knee on his chest. 

“Don’t you fucking dare,” the wolf hero growled.

“No promises.”

Twilight punched him in the face. 

They’d found the others about ten minutes later, and unfortunately needed to explain why Warriors had a black eye. 

“It’s Twi’s fault,” Warriors said, shooting his brother a significant look. 

Twilight rolled his eyes. “Oh, sure, blame it on me.”

“You punched me!”

“Did not.”

Time cleared his throat, inspecting the nasty bruises Warriors was sporting like a broken pair of glasses. “This does look like a mark from a fist,” he said. “Though it’s hard to tell with eyes. However, Twi, you’re a shit liar.”

“I didn’t punch him, I swear!”

“...Uh- huh .”

Oh, karma was sweet…

Chapter Text

It had taken Hyrule a while to get used to travelling in a group. It had taken even longer to get used to the fact that a wolf always showed up when Twilight went ahead scouting, and sometimes at night. 

He still wasn’t used to the fact that this wolf was friendly. 

In Hyrule’s Hyrule, basically everything was out to kill you. The flora, the fauna, the monsters, the landscape, sometimes the water, even the other people, occasionally. Everything wanted you dead, as a standard rule. This included, as implied in the aforementioned “fauna,” wolves. 

He was convinced that Wolfie, the “friendly” wolf, was just lulling them into a sense of security and would kill them all when they thought they were safe. He would certainly feast when the time came. 

Speaking of Time coming, the eldest hero returned from… wherever he’d gone (he’d said something about scouting with Twilight. In all honesty, Hyrule hadn’t really been paying attention). Trotting at Time’s side, much to Hyrule’s irritation, was Wolfie. 

“Did you trade Twilight for Wolfie?” he asked, keeping his voice as neutral as possible.

Time looked at him, giving him the uncomfortable impression that the older hero was staring straight into his soul. “Yes,” he deadpanned.

Hyrule couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. 

When Time didn’t elaborate, Hyrule went back to what he was doing: sharpening his sword, courtesy of Four lending him a whetstone. 

“I’m never going to get used to that,” Warriors said after a moment. 

“Well, you should, because it’s going to get a lot more common,” Twilight replied. 

Wait a minute. Twilight? 

Hyrule turned back to the group. Wolfie had vanished, and Twilight was back.

“What’s going to get a lot more common?” Hyrule asked, trying to figure out how in Din’s name they pulled off a silent switch like that. 

Twilight, in one of his occasional “Time” moments, did the exact same thing his mentor had just two minutes before. “Shapeshifting.”

Hyrule couldn’t tell if he was joking or not, either. Before Hyrule could say anything, though, Twilight rolled his shoulders and started walking out of the camp.

“Right, I’m going to get some firewood,” he announced. 

“Not alone,” Hyrule told him sternly. He knew it was pointless to tell Twilight not to go at all, but he could, at least, accompany him. “This is my Hyrule, we haven’t been here much. And from what I’ve seen of everyone else’s Hyrules, none of you have any idea of the threats my world poses. If you’re going to get firewood, then I’m coming with you.”

Twilight smiled. “I appreciate the sentiment, Rule, but I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

“Bullshit.”

Several people choked on air. Hyrule swearing was an incredibly rare occurrence, so the others tended to be appropriately shocked whenever it happened. 

Even Twilight looked taken aback. “Hyrule,” he said, “I’ll be fine. I have more self-preservation instincts than Wild does.”

Hyrule raised an eyebrow. “Says the guy who’s tried to kill himself more than once. Face it Twi, I’m coming. If for no other reason than to say, ‘I told you so,’ when you inevitably get hurt.”

“You’re starting to sound like Legend,” the Ordonian observed. “I’m not sure I like this development.”

“It’s only because you’re being stupid.”

“Now you really sound like Legend.”

“Oh, be quiet.”

Hyrule dutifully ignored Legend making overly exaggerated sobbing noises and saying, “My little baby, all grown up” over and over again while pretending to blow his nose on Warriors’s scarf. 

Twilight gazed at him for a moment longer before shrugging. “Fine. If you want to follow me I won’t stop you.” His eyes hardened. “Just don’t ever use that against me again.”

Hyrule nodded, gulping. He knew he shouldn’t have mentioned Twilight’s mental health in the first place, but it had just… slipped out. He would apologise when they were alone, because… well, frankly, Twilight’s temper was rather terrifying, and Hyrule preferred to let Twilight yell at him without the others watching. 

“I’m sorry!” Hyrule blurted as soon as they were out of earshot, gesturing wildly. “I didn’t mean to - it just slipped out, and then it was too late to take it back so I just sort of rolled with it! I - I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry-”

“Hyrule,” Twilight said calmly, looking almost criminally amused, “shut up.”

Hyrule’s mouth snapped shut with an audible clack. 

“I’m not mad, if that’s what you’re afraid of,” the Ordonian continued. “It’s just a bit of a sensitive topic, is all.” He grinned crookedly. “Besides, I live in a village with four children. I’m used to dealing with insensitive comments and questions, and I know you didn’t really mean it. And… I mean, as insensitive as it was, you did have a point.”

Hyrule shook his head. “Maybe, but it was still really rude and I honestly don’t know what came over me and I may be spending too much time with Legend and-” He broke off as Twilight drew him into what seemed to be an innocent hug.

And then he realised it was quite possibly a textbook definition of the term “bear hug.” This realisation was directly correlated to the fact that Twilight had - for lack of a better comparison - smothered him in a manner not unlike a cucco sitting on its egg. 

“...Twilight,” he said muffledly.

“Yes?” came the equally muffled reply. 

“What are you doing?”

“You kind of looked like you were about to have a panic attack,” Twilight informed him matter-of-factly. “So I glomped you.”

Hyrule raised an eyebrow, though Twilight wouldn’t see it unless he had eyes in his chest. “Is that a technical term?”

He felt Twilight nod. “It’s what we call it when Wolfie flops on Wild when he’s had a nightmare.”

“Mm. Glomping does seem like a Wild word.”

“Time was the one who came up with it, actually.”

Hyrule shot out of Twilight’s arms and stared at him incredulously. “Wait. Seriously?”

Twilight laughed. “He can be as much of a gremlin as Wild when he wants to be. Anyway, we came here to get some firewood, so that’s what we should do.” He clapped Hyrule on the shoulder. “Good talk.”

“I - yeah…” 

They continued on their way, Hyrule periodically grabbing Twilight’s hand to stop him from touching certain plants because no that one’s poisonous, it’s nasty, I speak from experience, I once killed a lynel by chucking a stick like that at it, it died in MINUTES. 

A wolf howled in the distance. Hyrule froze, his hand instinctively rising to the hilt of his sword. 

“Everything okay?” Twilight asked, frowning. 

Hyrule shook himself. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”

Then the rest of the wolf’s pack started howling, and it seemed like it was getting louder. Hyrule’s grip on his sword tightened until his knuckles turned white. 

Twilight tilted his head to the side like a curious puppy, though his expression was thoughtful. “You don’t like wolves very much, do you?”

“Not particularly, no.”

“That’s why you stay away from Wolfie as much as you can without being rude.”

“Essentially.”

“You think he’s going to eat you or something?”

“Something like that. Do the wolves sound like they’re getting closer to you?”

Twilight’s ears pricked up. “Fifty rupees says they smell us-” He paused to inhale deeply, “and they’re currently hidden in the trees, forming a circle around us so we’ll be surrounded.”

Hyrule looked at him like he was crazy. “How in Farore’s name do you know that?”

“Are you familiar with shapeshifting?”

Hyrule’s expression morphed into the most unimpressed face he’d ever made. “You’re Wolfie, aren’t you.”

“You win the hundred rupee prize!” Twilight said, chuckling under his breath. “I think the best course of action right now might be to bring him into the equation, maybe try and talk these wolves out of killing us. Don’t freak out.”

Before Hyrule could reply, there was a burst of black particles, and then Wolfie was there, sending Hyrule what could only be described as a shit-eating grin. 

As if on cue, the pack of wolves stalked out of the trees, snarling hungrily. Unlike Wolfie, who was large and well-muscled with a thick, glossy pelt, these wolves were small and thin, their pelts ragged and dull, doing nothing to hide their rib cages. 

Wolfie slid into an aggressive position, baring his teeth and growling. The wolf who appeared to be the alpha of the pack growled something in response, and Hyrule suddenly felt very out of the loop.

It was clear there was a conversation going on, but the only thing he could understand was the body language, which consisted of both wolves making themselves look as big as possible. After a moment, Wolfie straightened, going still. He snarled at the alpha, then turned and gently nudged Hyrule out of the circle of starving wolves. The circle tightened as soon as Hyrule was clear of it, and it seemed almost like the wolves were… cheering?

Inside the circle, Wolfie and the alpha were prowling around each other like predators stalking prey. It was almost as if… 

Oh, goddesses. Twilight, the overprotective idiot that he was, hadn’t challenged the alpha, had he?

Apparently, yes, yes, he had. The alpha finally made a move, and then in the place of two wolves was a blur of dark grey, blue grey, and white fur. There was a flash of red as one of them drew blood, but they were moving too much for Hyrule to tell which one it was. 

He forced himself to take a deep breath. Twilight was skilled and strong, well-practiced at fighting and in perfect physical health. He had nothing to worry about. 

Except that he did, because while Twilight may be healthier, the alpha was desperate. Its pack was starving (most likely thanks to the fact that most things in Hyrule’s Hyrule were poisonous or venomous or otherwise deadly), and based on what Hyrule had observed of Twilight’s protective behavior, the alpha would do anything to provide for its pack. If Twilight wasn’t careful, the alpha could defeat him through sheer stubbornness. 

Hyrule hugged himself, feeling somewhat nauseous as the ground inside the circle of wolves became more and more stained with blood that he prayed wasn’t Twilight’s. 

Statistically speaking, some of it probably was. 

After what felt like hours, the darker of the two bloodied bundles of fur clamped its jaws around the throat of the lighter bundle of fur, and in a shower of even more blood, brutally ripped it open. 

The starving wolves - and Hyrule - watched, stunned, as the alpha slumped against the ground, while Wolfie stood over it, chest heaving, and spat out the piece of the alpha’s throat that he’d torn off just seconds before. 

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the wolves raced into the trees. If they hadn’t been moving so quickly, Hyrule was sure their tails would’ve been between their legs. Twilight’s gaze remained fixed on the spot where they’d disappeared for a moment longer before he collapsed. 

Hyrule hurried to his side, already preparing his healing spell. The worst wound was a bite on Twilight’s shoulder, dangerously close to his throat. Hyrule sighed, gently combing his fingers through Twilight’s fur. He couldn’t heal that until it had been cleaned; animal spit could cause all sorts of issues - infections, diseases… 

“Overprotective idiot,” he muttered. 

Twilight huffed what sounded like a laugh, his eyes fluttering shut. A second later, a cloud of familiar black particles enveloped him. The cloud lasted for much longer than it had the first time, and Hyrule worriedly wondered if his injuries and exhaustion had trapped Twilight in a grotesque state of not-quite-Hylian-not-quite-wolf. 

Fortunately, when the particles eventually dissipated, they revealed a fully Hylian Twilight, whom Hyrule awkwardly hauled onto his shoulders. 

“You weigh a freaking ton, Twi,” he gasped. Thus began the long process of carrying Twilight back to camp so they could deal with his wounds properly. 

“Hyrule?”

Oh, thank Farore. He’d never been so glad to hear Legend’s voice. 

“Over here,” he called tiredly. 

Legend’s head appeared from behind a particularly gnarly tree. “Goddesses, what happened to Twi?”

Hyrule hoped Legend knew about Wolfie, because it was going to be very awkward if he didn’t. “We got surrounded by a pack of starving wolves. He challenged the alpha. I can’t heal any of his wounds until they’ve been cleaned, and he decided it would be a good idea to waste what was left of his energy by turning back into this stupid, hard to carry form.”

Legend snorted, taking some of Twilight’s weight. “He really is stupid, isn’t he? He does realise that the two of you, with swords, are more than a match for some starving wolves? Probably would’ve been faster, too. You’ve been gone long enough that Time sent me to find you.”

“I take it you know about the wolf thing, then?”

“Of course I do. At this point, only Wind doesn’t.”

“Huh…”

The rest of the walk was silent, because Legend didn’t like to talk if no one was replying, and Hyrule was too drained from carrying Twilight by himself for most of the way back. He barely remembered what happened when they got back to camp. He vaguely felt Twilight’s weight being taken away, then a pair of hands on his shoulders, guiding him to his bedroll. 

“Get some rest, kiddo,” Legend said softly, tucking the blanket up to Hyrule’s chin. 

Hyrule thanked him sleepily, and that was that. 

When Hyrule woke up, several hours later, Twilight was also awake. Well, he wasn’t unconscious anymore, but “awake” may be too strong a word. He was leaning against Time, who was sitting on a log, his head on the eldest hero’s shoulder and Time’s arm around his waist, and he was awake enough to be classified “not asleep,” but that was about it. Hyrule thought it was kind of cute, honestly. But he’d made Twilight a rather threatening promise before they’d gone hunting for firewood, regarding the fact that Twilight was bound to get hurt, and he intended to keep it. 

He marched over to Time and booped Twilight’s nose. Twilight looked up at him groggily. 

“Whassup?”

Goddesses, Twilight was adorable when he was half asleep. 

Hyrule crossed his arms. “I told you so.”

Twilight groaned. 

Chapter Text

Something was missing in Wind’s understanding of the group, and it was honestly kind of pissing him off. The others obviously knew something he didn’t, and they weren’t making any attempts to tell him. 

How many times did he have to prove himself to them? To show them that he wasn’t a child? He’d stabbed a man in the head when he was twelve, for Din’s sake, surely that was proof enough he was mature beyond his years? Right? 

“EARTH TO WIND!” Someone shouted. 

Wind snapped to attention. Twilight was gazing at him with well-but-not-completely-hidden concern. 

“We were wondering if you recognised where we are, because no one else does,” the older hero said slowly. 

Oh, right, yes. They’d just switched, hadn’t they? Wind did a quick 360. 

“Yeah, this is the forest region of New Hyrule,” Wind announced. He frowned, eying the Spirit Tracks about ten metres away from the group. “I don’t remember where I left my train, though…”

Twilight tilted his head to the side. “What’s it smell like?”

Wind looked at him like he was crazy. “Uh… coal and… spirits, I guess?”

Armed with that information, Twilight began sniffing the air intently. “There’s a village not too far from here,” he announced. “Your train is there.”

Wind was past the point of wondering how in Farore’s name Twilight knew that. Though there was one thing… 

“Twilight,” Wind said, causing the older hero to fall behind the others as they began to walk. “How do you know what spirits smell like?”

Twilight shrugged. “Pretty much everyone in my Hyrule got turned into a spirit shortly before the beginning of my quest, and I had to track a few of them.”

“By scent,” Wind deadpanned. To his surprise, Twilight nodded as if that was exactly what happened. Knowing the antics typically involved in a Hero’s quest, Wind didn’t question it. 

“Every scent has a colour,” the Ordonian continued. This was rather odd behaviour, as Twilight was one of the more secretive members of their group, but Wind wasn’t complaining. “For example, the children from my village are pale orange, while Ilia’s scent is pink, and medicine is fluorescent green.”

Wind raised an eyebrow. “Oookaaay,” he said dubiously. “What colour are we?”

Twilight ruffled his hair without looking at him. “You’re sea green, rather unsurprisingly. Time is forest green, Hyrule is apple green, Sky is grass green, Warriors is mint green, Legend is sage green, Four is emerald green, and Wild is moss green.”

“So we’re all different shades of green.”

Twilight nodded. “Yep. I think it’s a side effect of being the Hero - y’know, Farore’s chosen. She’s the green goddess. It makes sense.”

Wind copied Twilight’s nod. “What colour are you?”

“A darker shade of forest green than Time.”

“...You’ve put a lot of thought into this, haven’t you?” Wind asked, tilting his head to this side.

“No, actually. There was very little thought involved. The colours are just there. I just see them.”

Wind was very skeptical. “Are you seeing them right now?”

“Only when I’m focusing my senses, like a wolf.” Twilight glared at him. “And you don’t believe me.”

“Not really, no, but if you prove it I probably won’t be surprised. I’ve seen a lot of shit that shouldn’t be possible. Like seeing scents. And also being able to pick up those scents in the first place.”

After a moment of silence, Wind looked up at the older hero nervously. Normally he’d have been reprimanded for his language by now, but the expression on Twilight’s face wasn’t one of scolding. It was an expression usually seen on Wild - the “Challenge Accepted” face.

“Then I’ll find a way to prove it to you,” Twilight declared, then increased his pace to talk to Warriors. 

Wind’s stomach dropped. What was Twilight planning? It probably wouldn’t be good if he was going to Warriors for help… scratch that, if the shit-eating grin on Warriors’s face was anything to go by, it definitely wouldn’t be good. 

What had Wind gotten himself into?

Wind was relieved when they reached the village, where his beautiful, tough little Spirit Train was waiting. He ran his fingers lovingly over the pain on the engine before pressing his face to the wood and inhaling the familiar, soothing scent of deku, coal, and spirits. “I missed you, girl,” he whispered. He dutifully ignored Legend looking at him like he was crazy. 

He soon discovered, once they’d boarded and pulled out of the station, that he was not the only recipient of Legend’s stares. Legend and Twilight had joined him in the engine, as there wasn’t quite enough room for everyone in the passenger car, and he was attempting to teach an intrigued Legend how the train worked. Legend, to his credit, was trying very hard to pay attention, but was failing miserably. 

Wind sighed and set the controls to automatic. He knew exactly where they were, and there were no intersections for a while. This allowed him to turn to Legend with his best impression of Time’s Dad Face. 

“Okay, you can’t focus,” Wind said, startling Legend. “What’s on your mind?”

Legend gestured hopelessly for a moment, as if struggling to find the right words. Eventually, he just pointed to Twilight with an exasperated cry of, “ Him!” 

Wind followed Legend’s finger to the Ordonian hero, who was… sticking his head out the window with his tongue lolling out of his mouth? Wind shot a conniving look at Legend, who raised an eyebrow. In response Wind produced his pictobox and handed it to the other hero. They were reaching the turn off to Castle Town, and Legend had a better eye for photography than he did anyway. 

Once they stopped at the Castle Town station, Wind opened the pictobox and inspected the photo. It perfectly captured how Twilight was behaving like one of the dogs at the stables in Wild’s Hyrule. He’d have to get it developed next time they were one Windfall Island. He’d also have to see about getting copies made for Time and Wild, who would most definitely appreciate it. 

As soon as Twilight had his back turned, Wind and Legend discreetly high-fived. 

Tetra - or, rather, Princess Zelda, Link, as much as I hate it we’re in court - had given them four bedrooms to spend the night in. Technically, Wind supposed, she’d only given them three, but Wind had his own bedroom in New Hyrule Castle, and he was rather unused to sleeping alone at this point. This meant that only one room would have three people in it, which was somewhat fortunate. Only one room had three beds in it. Less fortunately, Wind’s room only had one bed, so someone would have to sleep on the floor. After several minutes of arguing about it - “It can’t be Time, he’ll never admit it but he needs proper back support, and it sure as hell isn’t going to be me, Legend! Oh, no. You’re not seriously pulling the aching joints card, are you? Oh, Nayru, you are. Goddesses damn it, Legend!” - mostly between Warriors and Legend, Twilight resolved the issue by volunteering to take the floor. This, of course, sparked a whole new argument between Twilight, Sky, Time, and Wild, about how he deserved a proper bed just as much as the rest of them, but Twilight stubbornly marched into Wind’s bedroom, laid out his bedroll, and flopped onto it. 

That was when Wind decided Twilight was quite possibly the most stubborn incarnation of the hero. 

Since Twilight refused to leave the room for fear of Sky, Time, or Wild taking his place on the floor, the self-sacrificial idiots they were, Wind let Twilight use the ensuite bathroom to clean himself up, and Wind went down the hall to use Tetra’s bathroom. She laughed at him, of course, but didn’t kick him out. 

When Wind returned to his bedroom, he found Twilight…

... gnawing on his bow. 

“What the fuck, Twi.”

Twilight looked up sharply, hastily dropping his bow and trying to hide the little bits of wood stuck in his teeth, which were… slightly pointier than they should have been? 

“Uh - hi, Wind - I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone about this-”

Wind rubbed his temples, inadvertently cutting the older hero off. “What the fuck , Twi?”

Twilight scratched the back of his head self-consciously. “I’m honestly surprised you haven’t figured it out yet. I mean, I’ve been dropping hints like crazy, and the whole chewing on a stick thing is just a side effect…” He looked up apologetically. “I should probably just tell you, you’re the only one that doesn’t know yet. I, uh… I’m Wolfie.”

“ What the fuck, Twi?!” 

“Please tell me that’s not the only thing you can say. Look, here, I can explain it if you want. It’s the necklace, see?” Twilight held up the black and orange crystal hanging from his neck. “It’s a piece of dark magic - more shadow magic, really - and when someone with the Hero’s Spirit touches it, they’re turned into an animal that reflects them. I don’t know what happens to normal people, but I really don’t want to find out. Anyway, when I touch it, I turn into a wolf. Wolfie, specifically. Please say something that’s not, ‘What the fuck, Twi’ because honestly the fact that you’re just staring at me is kinda freaking me out.”

Wind just shook himself, not even particularly caring about the wolf thing. It made sense, thinking about it. There was a lot of evidence that Wind either hadn’t noticed or had written off as Link Quirks, which were normal after everything they’d been through. He picked up Twilight’s bow, inspecting the part he’d been gnawing. Instead of a gouge, like Wind had been expecting, he saw a series of very detailed patterns that looked an awful lot like Gerudo symbols. 

“You carved it,” he blurted. Twilight startled. “You carved your bow. With your teeth.” 

Twilight grimaced, picking at a piece of wood fibre stuck on the end of his canine. “...Yeah. I’ve shifted between forms so much that the lines are a bit blurred. As a Hylian, I have certain… wolfish traits. I have better senses of smell and hearing, hence why I can, y’know, see scents, and I have wolf-like pack instincts. I also really like meat, and unfortunately I will eat it whether it’s cooked or not. Rather gross, really. And… the wolf really wants to gnaw on sticks sometimes. Typically the easiest stick for me to get is my bow, and I can’t just gnaw a hole in it, or it’ll be useless. So I just… carve it? It satisfies the urge to chew on it without causing serious damage.”

Wind shrugged and handed the bow back to its owner. “Any reason you’re carving Gerudo symbols?” The only proper Gerudo he’d met was Ganondorf - as every other Gerudo-esque person was primarily Hylian with some Gerudo blood - and Ganondorf was far from a perfect model. The few Gerudo he’d seen Wild interact with seemed nice, but Wild came from a time where the Gerudo were so far removed from Ganondorf and his influence that Wind had no idea what those who lived with Ganondorf were like. 

“I’m part Gerudo,” Twilight said, as if this were the most natural thing in the world.

“Wait, what?”

“I’m part Gerudo,” Twilight repeated. “Malon is half Gerudo, and I’m sure you’re aware by now that Time and Malon are my ancestors.”

Wind hummed thoughtfully. “I did not know that. It explains why you’re so freakishly strong, though.”

Twilight laughed. 

Time chose that moment to poke his head in, his expression saying he had been unapologetically eavesdropping. “Would now be a good time to mention I’m half Sheikah?”

“Now would be a good time,” Twilight replied. Then the realisation dawned on his face. “Wait, WHAT?”

Time tactfully darted away, prompting Twilight to chase after him. 

Wind just sank onto his bed, shaking his head in amusement.

Chapter Text

When Malon was little, there was nothing she loved more than her mother. Her mother told her stories of a faraway land where the day is like fire and the night is like ice, where only the strongest creatures survive, where most plants cannot grow. Her mother told stories of the powerful, loyal horses and the fierce, protective sisters who lived there, of the only man in their midst, who became their king at an age much too young.

When Malon was little, they were just stories. 

After her mother died in a barn fire, there was nothing Malon loved more than Epona, the little desert foal, the only proof Malon knew of that the stories were true. 

When Fairy Boy came and took Epona away - at Malon’s reluctant but honest insistence - there was nothing she loved more than the ranch, and her father. 

When Fairy Boy returned, broken and haunted, Epona affectionately nipping his ears, she loved them as much as she loved her father and their ranch. 

When Fairy Boy returned after leaving to fight in the war against the Gerudo, against Ganondorf , when he was closed off and brooding, she found there was nothing she loved more than him. It was with great triumph that she managed to get him to open up, to let himself love her back. 

When they got married, Malon thought she could never be happier, never love anyone as much as she loved her Fairy Boy. 

And then he went on yet another quest, only to return with eight boys who were so similar to how her Fairy Boy had been in his youth, before Termina, before the time travel. 

Very quickly, Malon loved them all, but not as much as she loved the one that was hers. More than ten years later, she still thought she couldn’t love anyone as much as she loved Fairy Boy. 

Until he told her that one of the boys was their descendant. When Twilight - her little wolf - walked into the room that night, Malon found herself proved wrong. This strong, soft, caring child with her eyes and Fairy Boy’s spirit, with the red highlights in his hair and her husband’s cheekbones, the physical proof of the family she and Fairy Boy would have - did have… he was what she loved more than anything else in the world. 

And so Malon was thrilled when her boys showed up at the ranch, even if it was three in the morning. She didn’t blame them, of course. From what they’d told her, they had very little - if any - control over when they switched time periods and where they ended up. 

What she did blame them for, though, was the fact that they tried to insist they didn’t need anything to eat or drink. In all honesty, they probably didn’t, but Malon was - according to her husband, at least - the most stubborn woman in all of Hyrule, and she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Especially since they looked royally beaten up. 

She may or may not have spiked their soup with red potion. 

“So,” Malon said, tired of only hearing the sounds of slurping. “What’s the funniest thing that’s happened recently?”

Wind snorted, nearly spitting his soup everywhere. 

“Don’t you dare,” Twilight snapped. Wind started giggling. “You’re not telling Malon about that! No! Stop laughing, Wind!”

Malon smirked. “Now you’ve got me interested. What embarrassing thing did Wind catch you doing?” She leaned in conspiratorially. “He didn’t walk in on you having sex with someone, did he?”

Twilight turned beet red. “No. Nope, no, that - no.”

“Then what were you doing?”

“Iwursnurrinurnmuboo.”

Malon rolled her eyes. “In Hylian, please.”

He glanced at the others, taking in their amused curiosity. Time seemed to know what they were talking about, but no one else did. Twilight did not seem to want to tell them. 

She sniggered. 

Finally Twilight met her gaze and said, in perfect Gerudo, “He caught me carving my bow with my teeth.” 

“That wasn’t Hylian,” Malon said. She was having a hard time containing her laughter. 

“He caught you doing what?” 

Twilight’s head whipped around so quickly Malon heard his neck crack. 

Wild’s eyes were wide and he wasn’t even trying to stop himself from laughing. 

“I forgot you spoke Gerudo,” Twilight said faintly. 

“I didn’t know you spoke Gerudo,” Wild replied. “If I did, I’d have cursed in Gerudo much less.”

Twilight rolled his eyes. “How about we strike a deal: I won’t mention it when you curse in Gerudo if you don’t tell anyone what I just said.”

“It’s a deal.” 

“Hey, that’s not fair!” Warriors cried, slamming his fist on the table. 

“Says the guy who kept the fact that he knew my biggest secret the whole time a secret,” Twilight replied dryly. 

Warriors slumped. “In my defense, it was really funny…”

Twilight glared at him. “For you, maybe.”

“You punched me in the face and gave me a black eye!”

“I still say I didn’t.”

“I still say you did!”

“Didn’t.”

“Did!”

“Didn’t!”

Warriors looked at Time beseechingly. “Old Man, help me out here! You agreed with me when it happened!”

But Time was laughing behind his hand, facing away from the table. Evidently, he’d tried very hard not to laugh, and failed miserably. 

Warriors sighed. “I stand by my statement. Twilight punched me in the face.”

Twilight crossed his arms. “And I say I didn’t!”

“You difficult little-”

Malon decided it was time to step in. “Boys,” she said sternly, cutting Warriors off from whatever insult he was about to throw at Twilight. Their mouths snapped shut with audible clacks and they both looked at her like dogs that had been caught doing something naughty. 

“Sorry, Mum,” they chorused, then simultaneously turned red and tried to correct themselves. “Er - Malon, sorry…”

Malon beamed. They called her Mum. “No worries, darlings,” she said. “Now, it’s getting late. Early, really, it’s almost four in the morning. The cuccos will be waking us up at dawn, so we should head to bed soon so that we’ll at least have had some slee-”

The entire house shook. Moments later, Malon’s father, Talon, stumbled into the kitchen blearily. His eyes scanned the confused, worried faces of the heroes. 

“That wasn’t you lot, was it?” he asked.

Time stood up. “No. It wasn’t.” He went to the window, one hand straying to his sword.

Malon frowned. “It could have just been an earthquake. Those do happen sometimes.”

“It’s not likely,” Legend said, shaking his head. “Given our luck, it’s probably something big on its way to kill us.”

As if on cue, the house shook again. 

Twilight looked at Malon, brows furrowed. “Will the animals be okay if this keeps happening?”

“They should be,” Talon replied. “They’re pretty tough.”

Twilight nodded. 

A loud bang echoed through the night, and the house shook a third time. 

“I think Legend’s right,” Four said. “We might have to leave.”

“Agreed. We don’t want to put you or the ranch in danger,” Sky added.

There was another bang, and then Hyrule was on his feet and standing next to Time at the window. 

“Whatever’s happening definitely isn’t natural.” He looked at Legend. “There’s someone out there using magic.”

Legend tilted his head to the side and closed his eyes for a moment. “No items - must be some kind of witch or sorcerer.”

Time cursed. 

“What?” Malon asked. 

He turned to her with an odd mixture of fury, pain, and exhaustion on his face. “Bloody Twinrova,” he explained. “I’d assumed they’d either been killed or gone into hiding after Ganondorf’s execution, but…” His gaze flicked to Twilight. “Since we know now that Ganondorf didn’t actually die and the sages are keeping it quiet, I should have guessed that if Twinrova were still alive, they might make a move on a group of heroes…”

“Twinrova?” Legend demanded. “You know them, too?”

“They’re Ganondorf’s mothers. I killed them in Wind’s timeline.”

“But not in this one,” Wild said. 

Time shook his head. “No. Not in this one.”

This time, Legend and Warriors cursed, followed closely by Wild with a particularly vulgar Gerudo one. 

Malon didn’t even bother reprimanding him. 

“We’ll have to leave, then,” Four decided. “Draw them away from the ranch, bring them out onto the field before even trying to fight.”

The heroes nodded in agreement and promptly began packing up. Malon followed them to the door.

“You’ll be careful, right?” she whispered. They all looked at her with varying degrees of sadness.

“Of course, love,” Time said. He leaned down to press a gentle farewell kiss to her lips, and then he was gone. The others disappeared with him.

Malon stared at the door even after her father’s heavy arm draped around her shoulders. 

“Don’t worry so much, kiddo,” Talon said. “He always comes back.”

But someday he won’t. 

The thought strayed unbidden into her mind. When she first met the boys, she knew his safety would be ensured until she got pregnant. Except… now she was. She’d written to him a few weeks ago to tell him as much, and she was a bit surprised it hadn’t come up in the earlier conversation. 

With a baby on the way, Twilight’s existence was guaranteed, which meant her husband’s safety wasn’t. 

Twilight didn’t know she’d seen the sad glances he sent at the Hero of Time when he thought no one was looking. It made sense that Time would be dead by Twilight’s time period, since they had no idea how much time had actually passed between Time and Twilight, but those glances meant something else. They were the kind of glances one sent at a relative that was terminally ill - a glance that said they were cherishing their time together because they knew they didn’t have a lot of it left. 

Malon was possibly overthinking it. All the heroes would go back to their own eras when their quest was finished, probably with no way of seeing each other again. 

And yet Twilight never looked at the others like they were terminally ill. Only ever Time. Malon suspected Twilight knew something about her husband’s death, and she suspected he also knew what she did.

Time no longer needed to live to guarantee Twilight’s existence. 

Malon was terrified. 

Talon must have sensed her distress, as he pulled her against him and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “He’ll be all right, Mal. Your Link is a tough fellow.”

“They all are,” she said quietly. “Doesn’t stop me worrying.”

“I doubt anything ever will,” Talon agreed, “but think about what they have waiting for them. Who in their right mind wouldn’t fight to come back to you?”

Malon smiled wetly, wiping away tears that seemed to have come out of nowhere. Stupid hormones. 

She heard shouting from outside; the first voice sounded like her husband’s, so she opened the window to listen. 

“We have looked into the future and seen the murder of our son!” cried an old, witchy-sounding voice. Malon deduced it belonged to one of the Twinrova sisters. 

“At the hands of your grandson!” added a second old, witchy-sounding voice - the other sister. 

Despite herself, Malon grinned. Grandson. She liked that. 

“If you want revenge, you’ll have to go through us!” That was Wild, bless his heart. 

Twinrova cackled. 

“We don’t want revenge!” 

“We want to bring our son back!”

Malon frowned. Were they talking about necromancy?

“All we need is a little bit of blood from someone who carries the Demon King’s essence in their veins…”

What did that mean?

Twilight swore loudly in Gerudo.

There was a moment of tense silence before the door slammed open, revealing a stressed and slightly singed Twilight. 

“Malon,” he panted, glancing apologetically at Talon, “we need to get out of here.”

She frowned as he grabbed her hand. “Why?”

He sighed. “They need people who carry Ganondorf’s blood. That’s us - you and me. Your mum was his sister.”

“What?!” Talon cried. 

“I’m sorry,” Twilight said. “Believe me, I’d rather stay here, but Time - Time insisted I get us out of here. And… you’re kind of important to my existence, so…”

Malon found herself nodding. 

Twilight turned to Talon. “I’ll keep her safe, I promise. We’ll be back as soon as Twinrova have been dealt with.”

“Hang on,” Malon said, stopping before she stepped outside. “If my mother was Ganondorf’s sister, then that means Twinrova are my grandmothers!” 

“Yes,” Twilight replied exasperatedly, “but now’s not the time, we need to go!” 

His right hand found her left one, and then they were outside. The paddock fence was burning, Legend was carefully yet rapidly attempting to melt some ice encasing Warriors’s legs, and Wild was on top of the barn, bow nocked with both an ice arrow and a fire arrow. 

“Shit,” Twilight said, seeing the fence. “I’ll fix that when we get back.”

Malon frowned as he dragged her along. “I’m sure the others will deal with it.”

He shook his head. “No. They’ll come looking for us.”

“But-”

“We’re a pack. That’s what we do.”

Malon couldn’t help but wonder at his odd phrasing. 

One of the witches screeched in fury, and Twilight barely jerked Malon out of the way of a fireball. 

“THEY’RE ESCAPING, KOUME!” 

“DEAL WITH THESE MEDDLESOME HEROES, KOTAKE! I’LL CAPTURE THE PRINCESS AND THE BOY!”

Twilight let out an impressive string of curses. He put his hands on Malon’s shoulders, looking her dead in the eye. To Malon, he’d never looked more like Time. 

“I need you to do exactly as I say,” he said sternly. “You need to run, as far and as fast as you can. Go south, towards Lake Hylia. Don’t look back. I’ll catch up to you.”

Malon’s heart skipped a beat. “What are you going to do, Little Wolf?”

He pushed her away. “I’ll hold her off long enough for someone else to take over, and then I’ll follow you. I have a plan.”

She could tell he hated leaving as much as she did, but would do it for her sake. And all of Hyrule’s, too, she supposed. Bringing Ganondorf back from the dead was a terrible idea. 

“But if they need your blood-”

“Just go, Malon!”

So she ran. Even though he’d told her not to, she couldn’t help but look back, just in time to see Twilight turn into a large, dark grey wolf. 

The sun had risen when she finally stopped, unable to go a step further. She guessed it was around eight in the morning; she’d been moving for almost four hours. Even when she’d slowed to a walk, she kept going, if only because Twilight told her to. 

Malon was sitting underneath a tree, chewing absently on her nails. Her mind was stuck on what one of the witches - Koume - had said right before Twilight sent her off. 

I’ll capture the princess and the boy. 

Ganondorf had been the king of the Gerudo. Malon’s mother was his sister. 

That meant Malon was Gerudo royalty. 

It was a shame, really, that they hadn’t known that during the war. She may have been able to use her status as Ganondorf’s niece to the advantage of the Gerudo. As a Hyrulean citizen, and the wife - girlfriend, at the time - of the Hero of Time, who was a friend of the then-princess Zelda, she may have been able to negotiate a better fate for the Gerudo. Instead they had been sentenced to death or banishment. Link had told her of a group who didn’t support Ganondorf during the war, whom he’d warned about the king’s decision. 

The king had, naturally, been furious when he learned of Link’s betrayal to help that group escape further into the desert, but after everything the Hero of Time had done for Hyrule, there was only so much he could do to unleash that fury. 

“Malon.”

Twilight’s quiet voice jerked her from her thoughts. He was limping heavily, sword loose in his right hand. 

She stood up, taking the sword and helping him sit down. “Aren’t you left handed?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said. He tugged his boot off, revealing his ankle to be purple and swollen. “But I’ve always been fairly ambidextrous, and I taught myself how to fight with my right hand after I injured my left arm pretty early on in my quest.”

Malon didn’t reply, instead gently prodding his ankle. Something felt slightly off just above his ankle bone…

He hissed in pain. 

“It’s fractured,” she announced. “Not quite fully broken, but definitely damaged. We’ll need to splint it if you want to keep walking.”

Twilight nodded, reaching into his bag. He pulled out a pair of arrows, both with the tips snapped off. “I try to keep as many arrows as I can,” he explained, “even if they break when I pull them out of dead monsters. The broken ones are quite useful for things like this.” He added a roll of bandages, then held the arrows on either side of his ankle so Malon could wrap the bandages around it. 

“I have some questions,” she announced. 

“Understandable.”

“Twinrova called me a princess, which makes sense if I’m the Gerudo king’s niece, but they called you ‘boy.’ If you’re my descendant, aren’t you technically royalty too?”

Twilight shook his head. “Too much non-Gerudo blood. Most Gerudo are part Hylian, but Gerudo blood tends to be dominant. Don’t know why you look more Hylian. Whatever the reason, your Hylian genes are expressed more than your Gerudo ones. Time’s half Sheikah, so your children would be half Hylian, a quarter Sheikah, and a quarter Gerudo. However, because you and Time both look more Hylian, your child would also look more Hylian. That’s my mum. My dad though, is fully Hylian. That makes me three quarters Hylian, one eighth Sheikah, and one eighth Gerudo. In Gerudo society, any woman that’s at least one eighth Gerudo can become the chief, because they’re a primarily female race. Because men are so rare, and therefore automatically become the king, they need to be at least half Gerudo. In other words, if I was a girl, I’d be royalty, but because I’m a boy, I’m not. Make sense?”

Malon nodded. “How do you know all this?”

He laughed. “Zelda explained it all to me when I asked her about something Ganondorf said shortly before I fought him.”

“What’d he say?”

“Something about me carrying his sister’s blood. When I told Zelda, she checked the castle archives for my family tree, and found that my great grandmother was Ganondorf’s twin sister.”

“Huh.” Malon frowned. It had just occurred to her that Twilight was avoiding showing her the right side of his face. She took advantage of the fact that he was apparently lost in thought, and abruptly grabbed his face.

His hand was squeezing her wrist painfully in less than a second, but it had been enough. She had seen the cut across his cheekbone. 

“You’re bleeding,” she said accusingly. 

“Yes.” 

“Isn’t your blood exactly what Twinrova wants to resurrect Ganondorf?”

Twilight sighed. “Yeah, but like I said before, it’s too diluted to be fully effective with what they got from a small cut on my cheek. Besides, what they’re attempting is incredibly difficult - resurrecting someone in the future. They would want enough blood to perform the ritual twice in case something went wrong.” 

Malon raised an eyebrow. “You seem to know a lot about this kind of thing.”

“I spent a lot of time in bed healing. Lots of time to read.”

“On an unrelated note, did I see you turn into a wolf earlier?”

Twilight glared half-heartedly. “I told you not to look back!”

Malon smirked triumphantly. “So you did turn into a wolf?”

“Yes,” he said, crossing his arms. “Yet another remnant from my quest. Got cursed into a beast form, then learned how to control the curse. That’s why I was carving my bow with my teeth - wolf instincts.”

That fit with his choice to call the other heroes his “pack” earlier. 

Malon helped him to his feet, steadying him on his splinted ankle. 

“You mentioned a plan?”

He nodded once. “We’re going to go to the Spirit Temple.”

Malon looked at him incredulously. “Isn’t that the heart of Twinrova’s territory?”

“Oh, definitely. That’s why they’ll never expect us to go there.”

She regarded him thoughtfully for a moment. “We’re both crazy.”

Twilight laughed. 

They were in Gerudo Valley when the sun set. Twilight provided them with some dried meat and fruit, then urged Malon to get some sleep. 

“You’re injured, Little Wolf,” she argued.

“And you’re pregnant,” he retorted. “With my mother. I’d like to exist, thanks.”

Malon crossed her arms. “One night with less sleep isn’t going to jeopardise the baby.” 

Twilight crossed his arms as well. “Time would kill me.”

“And I’d kill him for killing you. Your point?”

He huffed, and they glared at each other until Twilight snorted.

“I can see why Time says I’m a lot like you,” he said. 

Malon giggled. “He’s not wrong, though you’re also an awful lot like him.”

Twilight tilted his head to the side like a puppy. “Is that because I’m literally him reincarnated, or is it because he’s my grandfather?”

“Who knows?” She tugged on her hair tie, and her hair dropped from its ponytail. She started braiding it with well-practiced fingers. “Can I see this mysterious wolf form of yours?”

There was a poof of black particles, and then Twilight was a wolf. 

Malon’s heart melted. She took his face into her hands, relishing the softness of his fur. “You’re adorable, you know that?” she informed him. 

His tail started wagging, and he licked her arm. 

“Oh, that tickles!”

His tail wagged faster.

“Don’t look at me like that, Little Wolf.”

And then he was licking her arms until she was laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe. 

He shifted back into Hylian form. “I suppose we can both sleep as long as I’m in wolf form. Sharper senses, makes me a lighter sleeper.”

Malon looked at him sternly. “As long as you actually sleep, I see no issues with this.”

Twilight nodded agreeably, then promptly turned back into a wolf and flopped on top of her. 

She slept very well that night, all things considered. 

Twilight shook her awake far too early the next morning. 

“Come on - we need to cover as much ground as we can before the heat of the day,” he said. “We’re in a bloody desert, after all.”

“This was your idea,” she reminded him irritably. 

He grinned wolfishly. “I know. And I’m not a morning person either, that’s why I’ve been up for an hour.” 

Malon smacked him. 

He’d filled up every waterskin and empty bottle he had with water from the river in the valley, so at least they wouldn’t be completely unprepared. 

“When I crossed the desert in my time, I did it as a wolf - I found it easier,” Twilight said, helping her pack up the bedroll. “I was thinking I might do that again, unless you’d rather I didn’t.”

Malon shook her head. “I’m fine either way. I do have a question, though… you said the others will come looking for us. How will they find us?”

Twilight glanced back at the entrance of the valley. “Time will know.”

“But how?”

“He just will.”

Malon crossed her arms. Twilight was clearly reluctant to talk about this, but she wasn’t the most stubborn woman in Hyrule for nothing. 

“Does this have something to do with you being his successor?” she asked. 

His shoulders tightened. “Yes. We should get moving.” 

Twilight set a brisk pace, most likely to reach the sand quickly so he could turn into a wolf without seeming rude. When he spoke again, he didn’t look at her.

“How are you with a bow?”

Malon frowned. “Decent, why?”

He pulled his bow and quiver out of his bag and handed them to her. “Figure neither of us want you to be unarmed.”

They’d reached the sand. 

“Time dies, doesn’t he?” she blurted. Twilight whirled to look at her, shock written across his face. “I’ve seen the way you look at him. You were there when he died, weren’t you?”

Twilight ran his hand through his hair. “Not exactly,” he said shortly, and ended further conversation by turning into a wolf. 

But his response left Malon with more questions that she started with. 

About three hours after they started walking, Twilight apparently got bored. He started nipping playfully at Malon’s heels, bouncing around energetically. 

“Is that good for your ankle?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “I can’t imagine it doesn’t hurt at least a little bit.”

Twilight just wagged his tail, looking up at her with wide, bright eyes, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. 

Malon sighed. “You’re too cute, goddesses damn it. I’m trying to be stern, Little Wolf! Stop looking at me like that! Oh, screw it.” She crouched down and started scratching behind his ear. “Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy? You are! Yes, you are!”

He flopped onto his side, his tail thumping against the sand. 

“You’re the goodest boy!” Malon said, now rubbing his belly. “The goodest of all good boys, I’d say!”

Twilight made a happy noise. 

Malon giggled. “You’re adorable,” she informed him. She was about to pat him again, but changed course at the last second and pressed her hand to her stomach. 

Twilight sat up, tilting his head to the side confusedly. A second later he was Hylian again. “Is something wrong?”

She looked at him guiltily. “I don’t suppose you have any pickles on you, do you?”

He stared at her for a moment, before bursting into hearty laughter. “You don’t even like pickles!”

“I don’t!” Malon agreed. “But apparently my hormones do, so… I’m serious. Do you have any pickles.” 

“No, I don’t. Sorry. If you’re craving something salty, though, I do have some pickle weed… oh, wait, I don’t. You ate it last night.”

Malon pouted. 

Twilight laughed again. “If you’re really desperate, you could always try drinking some of your sweat.”

“Can you do that?” Malon asked.

“No idea,” he replied, shrugging. “But considering it comes out of the skin of your face, I doubt it’ll kill you. It’s made mostly out of water and salt, anyway.”

She stared at him. “You’ve done it before, haven’t you?”

“...In my defense it was a dare.”

“That’s a terrible defense.”

“You’d do it on a dare too.”

“...Maybe you did inherit more of my genes.”

Twilight snorted. “Genetics aside, we should keep moving. Having Gerudo genes is helpful, but even full Gerudo can’t stand around in this kind of sun for very long.”

Malon nodded, and then they were off again. Twilight was noticeably limping now.

“I told you bouncing around like that would be bad for your ankle,” Malon said. 

“I’m fine.”

She raised an eyebrow as he stumbled over a sand dune. “You sure about that?”

He nodded. “Though just to be safe I should probably turn back into a wolf. Three legs are better than one and all that.”

“The saying is ‘two heads are better than one,’ Little Wolf.”

“Close enough.”

“I don’t think that’s how it wo-”

Twilight was already a wolf again. Malon rolled her eyes. 

“Prick.”

Based on the sand that was kicked up at her, he’d definitely heard.

The Spirit Temple looked nothing like the pictures in her mother’s books. Just in front of her, Twilight shifted back into Hylian form, more tense than Malon had ever seen him. 

“Little Wolf?” she asked quietly. He didn’t look at her. 

“I forgot about the war.”

She laughed nervously. “How did you forget about the war?”

Twilight shook his head. “I meant I forgot it had already happened. Too much time travel recently.”

“What does the war have to do with the Spirit Temple?”

“The Hylian king desecrated it and turned it into a prison and execution grounds,” he explained tonelessly. “This is where Ganondorf’s execution was. This is where he was banished to the Twilight Realm.”

Malon looked at him worriedly. He looked rather like he might start crying. “Are you all right?”

He shook himself. “Bad memories of this place.”

She imagined it was quite a bit worse than that, but she didn’t press the matter. 

“What’s the plan now that we’re here?” she asked, changing the subject. 

“We wait,” Twilight said. He almost sounded defeated. “This is kind of surreal - this place is so similar to how it is in my time, yet it’s still so different…” He sighed. “In about thirty five years, it’ll be infested with poes and stalfos and gibdos. And invisible rats. Hated those.”

Malon watched as he stepped forward, an odd detachment on his face and in his voice. 

“There’s also a massive beast skeleton in here somewhere. No idea what it was before it died, just that fighting its reanimated skull was one hell of an adrenaline rush.”

“Did you fight massive beasts often?” Malon asked, not entirely sure if she wanted to know.

Twilight shrugged. “Pretty much every time I finished a dungeon, so… about once every two weeks, on average?”

Malon just shook her head. “Not to doubt your skill or anything, but it’s a wonder you didn’t die.”

“I nearly did, more than once.”

“That’s something no mother ever wants to hear her child say, Little Wolf.”

He looked at her in surprise. “You think of yourself as my mother?”

She crossed her arms. “Of course I do. What, you think my husband can just deposit eight children in my house without me loving each and every one of them unconditionally? Besides, you’re all lovely young men anyway.” Malon smiled at him. “And, don’t tell the others, but you’re my favourite.”

Twilight’s cheeks turned bright red and he turned away. “But I’m broken.”

“So is my husband, and I still love him more than almost anything else in the world!”

“...Almost anything?”

This time it was Malon’s cheeks that turned bright red. “Erm… call it motherhood?”

Twilight nodded at her stomach. “I’m sure my mum would be glad to hear it, if she was developed enough to understand.”

“Oh - no, I actually… I actually meant you, Link.”

He looked up at her sharply, his cobalt eyes - her eyes - wide in disbelief. She wasn’t sure if he was more astonished at her use of his first name, or the fact that she had just told him she loved him more than anything else in the world. The uncertainty was worrying. 

“But I - I - I’m-”

“A monster.”

Malon and Twilight whirled around to see a cloaked figure standing just inside the entrance of the Spirit Temple. The voice - masculine, and disturbingly similar to Twilight’s - continued in a mocking tone. 

“Perhaps the adjective you were looking for was worthless? Disgusting? Maybe you were going to call yourself scum? Or a mistake?” The voice’s tone hardened. “Because all of it would be true.”

Twilight’s face was deathly pale. Malon decided it was time for this cloaked figure to meet Mama Bear Mode. 

“How dare you?” she screeched. “How dare you stand there and spew such blatant and hurtful lies about my family? How dare you stand there and insult my boy, with the gall to be so cowardly as to not show your face?”

The voice became sneering. “I think your boy knows exactly who I am.”

Malon glanced at Twilight out of the corner of her eye. He looked seconds away from a panic attack. 

“You’re dead,” he said hoarsely, breath coming in shallow gasps. “I killed you, you’re dead! Why aren’t you dead?” His voice had risen to a wail, and Malon realised with a jolt that he was crying. 

“How old are you now, boy?” the voice asked. “Nineteen? Twenty? Not much has changed since you were seventeen, then, has it? Just like then, you’re still the same wimpy, useless monster you were when you were five.”

Twilight whimpered. 

Malon pulled out the bow he’d given her and nocked an arrow, aiming it at the cloaked figure. “All right, time’s up. I want answers.”

The figure laughed and tugged off its hood, revealing a man who, age differences aside, could have been Twilight’s twin. Really, the only noticeable differences between them were hair and eye colour - Twilight’s hair was slightly redder, and the man’s eyes were brown. 

“You already have all the answers, you just haven’t realised it yet,” the man said. 

Malon narrowed her eyes.

The man sighed. “Fine. I’ll lay it out for your simple mind if I must. Twinrova want your blood to resurrect Lord Ganondorf, the true leader of Hyrule. When you fled from Lon Lon Ranch, Lady Koume cut Link’s cheek and managed to collect some of his blood. It was just enough to perform a resurrection - but instead of reviving Lord Ganondorf, it revived me. Have I given you enough clues yet?”

“You’re his father.” 

The man grinned. “Pleasure to meet you again, mother-in-law! Though for you, this is our first meeting, and I’m not your son-in-law yet.”

Malon wanted to gag. Her daughter - the one she was pregnant with at that very moment - had terrible taste in men, and would have been much better off settling down with a wife and having Twilight through a sperm donor. 

Sometimes heterosexuality was really, really unfortunate.

“I killed you before,” Twilight whispered shakily. “I can do it again.”

The man laughed. “Can you? If I remember rightly, you defeated me by the skin of your unnatural, monstrous teeth.”

Twilight’s hand rose to his chest unconsciously, his fist clenching in his tunic. 

Malon stepped in front of Twilight protectively. “You hurt my baby,” she growled, noting absently that she sounded rather like the baby in question. “You hurt my Little Wolf, and in doing so hurt me. I’m your precious Lord Ganondorf’s niece, and I daresay his temper is genetic. You hurt my family, but I’m only going to say this once. Fuck. You.” She tugged the bowstring back another inch and let the arrow fly. Her aim was as good as she remembered it being, and the arrow hit its mark. 

The man stumbled back with the arrow sprouting from his forehead. 

A low whistle came from behind them. Malon whipped around, already nocking another arrow, to find the other eight heroes with Warriors at the front. She lowered the bow, but didn’t put the arrow back in the quiver.

“You’re terrifying, you know that?” Warriors said, holding his hands up in surrender. “Remind me never to actually piss you off.”

Sky coughed. “Er - correct me if I’m wrong, but did Malon just straight up kill someone?”

“She did,” Four replied faintly. 

“In her defense,” Twilight said, taking a deep, calming breath, “he bloody well deserved it. Also, he was previously dead. Twinrova brought him back.”

Time shouldered his way to the front and pressed a quick kiss to Malon’s forehead before moving to Twilight and hugging him tightly. “On that note, they’ve been dealt with. I don’t think they’ll be resurrecting anyone any time soon, themselves included.”

Twilight melted. 

“Why did no one think it was a good idea to mention that my grandson can turn into a wolf until yesterday morning?” Malon asked. 

Legend snorted, and soon everyone was laughing. Malon took the opportunity to join Time in the little Twilight-hugging fest that was occurring.

“I meant what I said earlier, Little Wolf,” she whispered, watching his ears perk up. “You really are the goodest of all good boys.”

She was met with the tightest hug she’d ever received.