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Chapter Text

Four was one of the earlier members who had joined the ragtag group of heroes who still aren't too sure what the purpose behind their time traveling portal spitting is.

Some of the heroes, when told that they were needed for another new goddess or evil sent adventure that could potentially involve the safety of Hyrule, were resigned. Resigned, because they either had to leave important people behind, or because they had believed their time of life-threatening adventures was over—or even for both reasons.

Four, however, was different.

At the time they landed in Four's time, the chain was, ironically, only a group of four—Time, Legend, Wind, and Hyrule. They had already formed the plan of finding whoever the hero was of whatever time they landed in two portals ago, so when they had heard where the hero resided, they had immediately set foot for the forge.

The forge the townsfolk spoke of turned out to be a rather fairly decently sized house, but they could see a forge connected to the side of it.

Time had stepped forward, knocked twice, and was met with silence. The chain glanced at each other, Legend shrugging and Hyrule suggesting that maybe the Link was out, but Time had decided to knock once more just to check like Wind said. This time, a voice responded.

"Yeah yeah, comin' comin'!" The voice called, the door swinging open shortly after. Behind it revealed a surprisingly short, blonde haired boy, donned in a thick heavy leather apron, gloves, and a black headband. The boy gave them one glance, and whatever else they were about to say instantly died out and instead changed into a sharp smirk as they got into a fighting position, despite being seemingly unarmed. Time slowly raised his hands to show he had no intentions on fighting, and shot a look to the others to do the same.

"We mean no harm."

"Oh?" Four—the then just simply “Link”—raised a brow, cocking his head up with challenge, "Then, what's a group of fully armed heroes doin' here? Don't suppose y'all are just here for some equipment maintenance?"

Time's eye had widened in surprise, the only other hero who had instantly recognized them as other heroes was Legend, whom he could hear give an impressed whistle in the back.

"You could tell we're heroes?" Asked Wind, peeking from behind Time but thankfully keeping his hands up like the rest. The Link scoffed.

"Be hard not to."

"That will make explaining easier, then." Started Time, regaining his attention, "Though to be honest, we're not fully certain on the situation itself." Time began the admittedly lacking explanation and vague plan they had. At the end of it, the Link looked surprisingly interested. Or rather, amused.

"I see." He said, finally dropping his battle stance, "Alright, sounds fun, I'm in." And thus, a new Link joined the group, gaining his current nickname, "Four".

"My title is the Hero of the Four Sword, 'n there's four of y'all, so might as well go with the trend." Four had said with a grin.

Four has since then become an important member to the chain, just like the others. His snark earned him a place high up on Legend's like list, and his enjoyment of pranks meant he got along well with Wind. His sense of direction was absolutely abysmal despite his excitement for traveling, leaving him to be one of the members together with Wild and Hyrule whom Wolfie always had to fetch.

But Four was also always up for a night watch, and relished in the battles they ran into. He fought fast and strong, in a way some might even consider dirty. He started bets with the others mid-battles on who could slay the most monsters, to which Time would usually let happen since he found it boosted morale. As long as it didn’t distract anyone too much, that is.

Now, they trek through a relatively normal era of Hyrule, no new hero, or recent calamity. They were still heading towards a village for proper beds and potential information about The Shadow, and everyone was appreciative of the relatively normal and easy trip thus far. Except for one.

"This sucks, it's so bright and there's no trees for shade at all. Can't we at least get some clouds?" Gripes Four in present time, tugging his hood down more in attempts to shade himself further. There’s a deep furrow of Four’s brows, visible despite the hunch in his back, and desperate attempts to get swallowed by his hood. Admittedly, the weather was rather warm, and Time definitely wouldn’t be against a cloud or two. It wasn’t the hottest weather they’ve been in, but Four never did cope well with the heat.

"Fourth time you've said that, Smithy." Chimes in Legend, looking surprisingly ok despite the sun beating down on him. Although that's most likely thanks to one of the many rings on his fingers.

"Well I gotta live up to my name somehow." His quip is sarcastic and drawled—much like how it usually is between the common banter between the two—but Time can hear the hidden stress in his voice. He discreetly eyes the smaller one, debating on whether or not a short break would be best before continuing further. There wasn’t anywhere near to hide in some shade, but the village wasn’t too far off. It might be best to push forward considering those two facts. Though, strangely enough, Four’s discomfort doesn’t seem to be caused by heat exhaustion. At least not judging by his outwardly shown symptoms.

Wind then matches the two's pace to join in the conversation, distracting Time from his thoughts, "You know, I figured with all the heat from blacksmithing you have to be around, that you'd be pretty used to heat." He says, and Four rolls his eyes in response.

"There's a difference between the heat of a forge and sunlight."

"Really? What's that?" Wind curiously asks with a small tilt of his head. Four frowns, though it's more of a pout if anything.

"I hate one and not the other."

Legend lets out a small snort, "You hate the sun?" At Legend's mocking laughter, Four grumbles something incoherent under his breath, but it probably wasn't anything pretty, knowing him. Hyrule, however, is giving Four an incredulous look.

"Why would you hate the sun? I mean, I understand being frustrated with it when it’s hot, but…" Hyrule trails off, obviously not quite sure on how to continue. Four huffs.

"Well for one, it's bright. Like, it gets in your way of vision and shit. And when the sun is out like this? You can feel it burning your skin. It sucks."

"So, you hate the burning of the sun more than the burning of literal forge flames?" Legend's voice is dripping with sarcasm, most likely stemming from his own experience in a forge, but Four just throws his hands up in genuine frustration.

"Fire is different! It's cool! It does a bunch of cool shit! All without literally blinding you. Plus, it's not as constant as the sun is, the sun is out for so long everyday. The flames of the forge you just light up for a bit every so often."

"You know what? Fair." Agrees Wind, nodding sagely, "Especially in those types of clothes? Yeah, I agree, it sucks. Back in my village, when boys turn the same age as our Hero of Time here, they make us wear clothes matching his tunic. It was so hot and uncomfortable in the weather of my Hyrule, especially when I started sailing and had the sun constantly beating down on me. No offense, Time, but I hated your clothes."

Time chuckles, "None taken. Those clothes were meant to be worn in a dense forest, so it definitely wasn't suited for being out in the sun for long periods of time."

"Absolutely. Tunics are stupid." Four groans and begins to dramatically knock his head together with it, but grimaces at the sun above and quickly brings it back down.

"You're the one wearing one." Legend points out, gesturing to Four's outfit.

"It's part of the hero bit." Four says, huffing a little. Warriors, having previously been just silently watching the conversation with evident amusement, raises a brow.

"Bit?"

"Hey guys! The village is finally visible up ahead!" Calls Wild from up ahead by Twilight's side. The chain collectively sighs in relief, and even Time himself finds his body relaxing slightly at the announcement.

"Finally! All that walking in an empty plain was getting so boring." Wind cheers, now with a rejuvenated hop to his steps. Four nods beside him, looking the most relieved out of the group.

"Agreed, I can't wait to finally get out of this blasted sun, and into some kind of building or shade."

"And I can't wait to finally stop hearing you complain." Says Legend, snickering at the unimpressed look Four shoots him.

"Like you're any better whenever we run into any type of inconvenience that those rings of yours don't cover." A mild back-and-forth argument breaks out between the two with Wind occasionally throwing his two cents in to keep it going, but Time knew there was no real heat behind it and left it be. Not without a fond roll of his eye though, of course.

Time finds himself being immensely relieved when they enter the village, for by the time they finally got there, Four was starting to look worryingly sickly. His face was pale and sweaty, while his breath was short and stuttered. Time noticed that his hands were even beginning to shake towards the latter part of their travel, but Four denied any of this, and firmly insisted that it was just the heat getting to him, and that he'd be perfectly fine after resting a little in some shade. He had even waved away any and all concerns for his well-being. Normally, Time would've gotten after him for this, reminding him that pride was not worth his life, but had ultimately concluded that was a talk for later once they had proper cover.

Time sent him off ahead to a nearby inn, together with Wind and Wild. Luckily, true to his words, Four did actually recover after resting in the inn for a few hours. A concerned Wild had brewed a heat resistant elixir with the last bit of the herbs from his Hyrule so that Four could use it in the future.

Four had accepted it with a thankful smile, yet still wore his hood the next time it happened. Time had never seen him drink the elixir, not until he scolded him to stop being stubborn and do so. He eventually did, but surprisingly hadn't shown any improvement afterwards, much to Wild's disappointment and guilt. Four himself looked guilty about this fact, and Time belatedly wondered if that was the reason why he hadn't drunk it in the first place.

No cooling items ever helped their small hero out whenever the sun was strong, much to everyone's confusion and stress. Ice Rods, Magical Rings, stronger elixirs, and even Wild's Sapphire Circlet did nothing. The chain wanted to help, but it was difficult when every attempt was met without success or even improvement.

But luckily this isn't always a major issue. Most days, their smallest member is just fine walking with them. It was only if they ever traveled under unforgiving sun for many, many hours without break. Which honestly? Being impacted by that wasn't surprising. Even many of the other members would start complaining or showing signs of exhaustion at that point as well. Nobody blamed the smithy for this either, as everyone had their shortcomings.

Sky couldn't run, Wind couldn't climb, Twilight couldn't use magic or items that used it, Time couldn't see from his right side and his body had slowed and stiffened with age, while Wild broke all his weapons and so on. Everyone had their shortcomings, but everyone also had their strong points.

“Infected monsters nearby!” Four shouts, drawing his weapon. Despite the lack of visible monsters, not one member of the chain waited to draw their own weapons. Four was never wrong about his warnings of infected monsters. A special ability of his, he had once vaguely explained.

“What direction?” Asks Warriors, eyeing their surroundings.

“West and East, seems like they realized that we've noticed them and are trying to figure out what to do now.”

“Then, what do you say to splitting up and jumping them before they jump us?” Offers Legend with a challenging smirk that Four meets with one of his own. Warriors visibly thinks about it for a moment.

“Smithy, is The Shadow nearby?”

“Nope, just infecteds, and not that many of them either. I don't feel anything high up so at least as of right now, there's no flying monsters or monsters hiding in trees. They're not too far from us, just about… roughly a dozen meters or so across the trees on both sides, give or take.” Four answers after a moment of squinting and frowning. Warriors nods.

“Good. Alright then, split up! Four, Rancher, Wind, and Wild let's go together to the West, and the rest of you go East!” At Warriors’ order, the group splits up into their respective groups with their own verbal confirmations.

“Aye-Aye!”
“Got it.”
“Ohhh, I get to watch the Captain's pretty sword dancing? What an honor.”
“Hey Traveler, think you got enough magic in you to shock ‘em with a Thunder spell?”
“Easy.”
“Wait—Don’t run..!!”
“Sky, save your breath.” Time tells him as he follows behind the excited Legend and Hyrule at a decent pace. He had no reason to run and waste his own energy, the two youngsters ahead were the two most skilled magic and magic item users in the group, they could handle themselves easily while they were sticking together. Rather, it'd be more dangerous for him to run ahead to keep up with them and inevitably leave an exhausted Sky behind to fend for himself.

In the end, Time doesn't get to do much of anything—actually, he does nothing at all. The second Legend and Hyrule had caught sight of the monster group, Hyrule had snapped his fingers and electrocuted them, then Legend had pulled out his ice rod and froze all the stunned enemies with one swing, and then shouted at the panting Sky to shoot a sword beam which had finished every monster off in one go.

“Better learn some new tricks soon Old Man, now that we've decided to actually start using our weapons and abilities, you're falling behind!” Legend teases good-naturedly, slinging his ice rod over his shoulder with a grin. Time smiles while letting out a low chuckle.

“I'm afraid that while I've lost the ability to use many of my tricks with age, I still have plenty left in stock. Although I am more than happy to keep them in stock unless necessary.” This earns him a few snickers and a mocking (childish) comment from Hyrule, which he lets slide under the pretense of maturity. Instead, he eyes the state of those who actually fought. “Everyone still have enough magic and stamina for the day?”

“If more monsters decided to show up right now, I could hit them with Thunder again.” Hyrule snaps, a small flicker of lightning sparking between his fingers at the action. Meanwhile, Legend's smirk spreads as he straightens up further.

“And I could drop several ice boulders on them.”

“Please can we just… just walk back..?” Sky wheezes, still out of breath. Hyrule makes another comment to Legend that he doesn't bother lowering his voice for, joking about how Sky was getting old himself. Legend snickers.

“We can return at a reasonable pace.” Time compromises, ignoring the two younger heroes. The others might still be fighting, and while he trusts them to handle themselves, it still wouldn't be right to leisurely return. Legend and Hyrule groan while Sky sighs in relief.

But as it turns out, they had no need to hurry back anyways. Because when you give a group of people who have slayed great evil numerous times permission to use nearly all their abilities, battles go by a lot easier. Because by the time they returned, Wind was already gushing at Twilight who had a weapon that he definitely didn't have before, and Wild was gutting the defeated monsters with Four standing nearby.

“Quick battle for you guys, too?” Legend calls to get their attention. Wind is the first to look over.

“Yeah! Turns out the Rancher had Wild store a giant fucking Ball and Chain inside his slate, which he had swung around and knocked like half the enemies down! Wild was able to riddle them with ice arrows by then, and I smashed the frozen monsters with my hammer!!”

“And I finished off the leftovers together with the captain.” Four proudly declares, Warriors quietly humming with a nod in response. Time raises a brow, a silent question being given, one that is answered with another nod and an easygoing smile. Hm. The captain is likely hiding an injury of sorts. He was smart enough not to hide any big ones, so it's probably just an annoying bruise since there's no visible nicks in his tunic. It'd be best if he didn't hide it at all, though. But for now, Time decides to let it go.

“We shouldn't get too comfortable, while everyone is now able to use abilities that we were previously holding back, these monsters are still more intelligent than our normal enemies, and The Shadow is no less dangerous than before.”

“Yeah yeah.” Four rolls his eyes, ignoring him in favor collecting Force from the fallen monsters, not that Time could see it. Although the others accept his warning with various degrees of seriousness. Still, there's no need for a heavy scolding after a successful victory.

“Regardless of that, good work, everyone. Everyone's practice on using their abilities as a team has obviously paid off well.” At his praise, the mood instantly eases up, and light-hearted joking returns amongst the group. Words of praise are passed around, and future ideas are thrown about. Up until Warriors speaks up

“It's getting late, we should start setting up camp soon.”

“True, it's not like we can reach the town we heard about within a few hours, so might as well rest so we're not traveling in the dark.” Shrugs Legend.

“I agree.” Twilight nods, Wind still dangling off his raised arm, “Should we camp here since we just cleared the area? Are there any more monsters around still, Four?”

“Nope, at least not that I can feel—infected or not.”

“Hm. I can still do a patrol just in case.” Offers Twilight who eyes the dense trees around them.

“No, it's fine, we can trust the smithy’s word.” Warriors shoots down, turning to Four with a smile, “I also agree that we should set up camp here, since there's no more monsters.”

“Then it's decided, everyone, clear an area so we can set up camp.” Time says, and several of them drawl out an agreement or simply nod in response.

Time believed the night to have been going relatively well considering the easy victory and secured location for the night, until the faint screech of a blade being drawn sounds, and Warriors’ blade is pointed at a stilled Four’s neck.

Chapter Text

Nobody moved, although many were still in half aborted motions. There's a loud thump as Wind falls to the ground on his rear, having accidentally let go of Twilight in his shock. This is enough to break the spell binding most of the group, causing them to either draw their weapons or reach for it, yet nobody seems to know who to aim for. Time himself is unsure.

"Who are you?" Warriors says, still holding the tip of his blade to Four's neck. Time stiffens,
but otherwise holds his tongue and trusts Warriors has a valid concern dire enough to cause him to take such a drastic action.

Yet despite the blade held at his neck, Four gives Warriors a seemingly normal smile not quite right for the situation, "What do you mean?" Still with that very same smile, Four cocks his head to the side, neck bared further with the act and eyebrow raised as if daring him to go on. Warriors doesn't take the opportunity, but he does continue the interrogation.

"Just earlier, in the battle—when that infected monster stabbed you, the blade went right through you. Your form flickered with dark magic. Afterwards, you looked around to check if anyone had seen it." At Warriors' words, many of those that previously hadn't drawn a weapon do. Four scoffs.

"Well, aren't y'all quick to draw a weapon." He says, lips curling up in a mocking sneer and revealing his far too-sharp teeth. Wind suddenly makes a swing at him before the other chain members could even warn the youngest to back away, but the blade goes right through the unbothered Four.

"Woah there." Four weightlessly floats up above the now stumbling Wind, "Careful, and here I thought we were pretty close! I'm hurt." He then lets out a heavy, dramatic sigh, glancing down at the chain with a singular red eye, the other remaining lazily shut. He slowly lifts a hand—causing the now armed chain to tense—and points at Wild, who had his bow drawn.

"That won't work, by the way. But you're welcome to try."

"So you were an imposter, Dark." Warriors growls full of venom, leading the potentially Dark Four to frown.

"Ain't a Dark, pretty boy."

"Bullshit."

"What have you done to Four? Are you the one creating these portals and monsters?" Time steps in, sword now held tightly within his grasp. Still floating, Dark Four tilts so that he's upside down and facing Time in a relaxed pose, hands behind his head. It reminds him of Skull Kid, almost.

"Nothing, because I'm Four. And no, I would never make such shitty portals." He waves Time's question off with a flippant hand, still unnervingly calm for his current situation.

"What do you mean you're Four?" Time presses further, aiming for both answers and time. There's plenty of other heroes present, at least one of them is bound to have something that can deal with intangible darks. Usually, Time would try to use his Mirror Shield for something like this, but as it was currently night, the shield held little use for this situation. In response, the dark shrugs.

"It's exactly how I said it. Since the day we met and decided on my nickname, it's been me. The entire time."

Time is hit with a sudden realization, "That's why you had thought we were there to fight."

Dark Four snaps and points to Time, smirking ear to ear and all sharp teeth, "Bingo!" He loudly cackles as Time curses under his breath, berating himself for not realizing it sooner. The signs were there, what with him constantly growing weak in strong sunlight, and heat resistant items never helping. Why else would one always grow weak in sunlight, if the heat itself wasn't the issue?

"I was wondering how long it would take before one of y'all noticed! I had a few guesses on who would be the first to find out, but I wasn't expecting it to be Pretty Boy! I knew joining y'all would be a great idea." Time's brows furrow, but Legend asks his question before he can.

"Why did you join us, anyway?"

"Simple," Dark Four starts, sitting up criss-cross mid-air, "it sounded fun."

"Fun?" Legend repeats with a voice full of utter disbelief. Dark Four, however, gives a chipper bob of his head in agreement.

"Ya! So like, four heroes come knocking at my door, and I think 'great, these idiots are here for a fight'. But no, turns out they think I'm Link, and want me to join their fight. So I'm thinking, 'wow, this is hilarious', and then, 'this whole thing sounds insane, I'm in', ya know?"

"No, I don't."

"Bummer."

"Well, if regular arrows won't work on you…" Legend starts, slowly stepping over to his bag without turning away from the Dark. Dark Four raises a brow as Legend digs through his bag, lazily eyeing him before a sudden flicker of panic crosses his face at what Legend brings out. "How about one of these?" The arrow Legend showcases to the Dark is completely silver, shining even with the faint light available from the nearby fire.

Dark Four moves into a defensive stance mid-air, backing up. Time isn't sure what exactly that arrow is, but judging by Hyrule's surprised gasp, it was most likely something very powerful. Trust the vet to have something that could be used in any situation.

"Won't work." The Dark says, tersely, eyes glued to the arrow. Legend scoffs.

"Awfully attentive on something that supposedly won't work on you."

"Ok fine, it'll work. Happy?" The Dark bitterly huffs out, crossing his arms as he turns away… before nervously glancing right back at Legend, "If you had something like that, why didn't you use it on one of the, you know, countless monsters we've been fighting since the start of this whole thing?"

Legend shrugs, a confident smirk on his face now that the situation is obviously in their favor, "Limited stock."

"'N you wanna use your limited stock on me?" Asks Dark Four.

"I could." Replies Legend. Dark Flour clicks his tongue.

"Damn, you think you know a guy and then he turns around and tries to kill you. You'd think I'd learn the first time, but noooo." Dark Four throws his hands up with an exasperated roll of his eyes, letting out a loud groan before quietly muttering out, "Heroes, I swear, they're all the same."

"Yeah yeah, so? Willing to talk now?"

"I've been talking! I literally answered all y'all's questions!"

"And how do we know you weren't lying?"

"Oh c'mon, when have I ever lied to y'all?" Dark Four says, earning a silent eyebrow raise from Legend. Dark Four briefly purses his lips before continuing with—

"Ok, the pranks don't count."

"Sure they don't. Just like your claim of being Link?"

"Hey! I never actually claimed to be Link! Y'all thought I was Link. I just didn't correct y'all."

"You said your title was Hero of the Four Sword, that's practically claiming to be a Link."

"Actually, that title is mine, I wasn't lying about that. I have it together with Link—and technically the other titles too, since I'm his shadow. But I didn't really do anything for those, so."

"So then I'll ask Time's question again, but more clearly this time, what did you do to the Link of your time?"

"Oh you know, tried to kill him, didn't work out, so he tried to kill me, which also didn't work out. Repeated that a few times until he eventually did kill me, 'n then I realized, "man, this serving Ganon thing sucks total ass, I'm out", and helped kill one of his goons. The usual."

"Pretty sure that's not the usual." Legend calls out over the chain's confused silence. The dark grins.

"Thank you, I quite enjoy being unique."

Legend rolls his eyes at this and, to both Time and the chain's surprise, begins putting the arrow away.

"Legend, what are you doing?!" Splutters Warriors, still with his sword out. Legend sighs and turns to face Warriors.

"I believe him—that he's Four, at least. I was one of the people there when we first recruited him, he's acting the exact same way that he did then, he hasn't changed."

"... And what about the fact that he withheld his identity this entire time?" Questions Warriors, still on guard.

"Please tell me, oh great heroes of light and enemies of all that are not, what was I supposed to say? "Oh funny story, you have the wrong guy. I'm not the Link you're looking for, I'm actually his totally-not-evil shadow. He's in town right now though, wanna come in for some tea while you wait?"?"

Wind scratches the back of his neck before awkwardly turning to the group, "... I mean, he has a point." He says.

Time rubs the bridge of his nose with a heavy sigh, feeling a headache already coming on. This is not how he expected today to turn out. Or any day, really. A flurry of blue light catches Time’s eye, and he sees Wild’s bow disappear into his slate, face impassive.

"... I'll also trust him, for now."

Warriors turns to Wild, face equally schooled into a similar, but hardened, expression, "Reasoning?" Warriors has not yet lowered his weapon, but this would be the first time he looked away from the dark, Time notices.

"We traveled together a lot and equally got lost countless times—sometimes with Hyrule, and sometimes just the two of us. If he wanted to do something to us, that would've been the perfect time to do so. He never has, and has even had my back a few times whenever we would run into a battle while we were lost and separated from the group."

Hyrule nods, slow, "That's… correct. I've been separated alone together with Four, too. He's never done anything suspicious or harmful during that. In fact, he's been the first to warn me of monsters at times."

"I don't really get the whole Dark Link stuff and things like that… I mean, I've heard you guy's stories, but I never ran into one personally myself. I panicked 'cause I thought he was an imposter… but if he's the same Four, I'll trust him." Says Wind.

"So, it's decided we're trusting the Dark?" Warriors nods his head towards the Dark in question, who frowns and lets out a low growl.

"Fuckin' damn, this is my third time correcting you about me not being a Dark. I'm not trying to live up to my name by having to say it a fourth time."

"If you aren't a Dark, then what are you?" Time finally decides to step back into the conversation, aiming to de-escalate the situation before it gets worse again. He cannot fully trust this… whatever Four is, or claims to be. While his original excuse for not revealing his true identity seemed reasonable enough at first glance, the fact that he continued to hide it until he was caught—and is acting in such a suspicious manner afterwards—is worrying.

"I said it earlier, were y'all not listening? I'm Link's—my Link's—shadow."

Time furrows his brows in confusion before turning to the chain to see if they have any idea of what this might mean, but everyone collectively looks just as lost as him. Except Legend, and partially Hyrule.

"I see, a Shadow Link, huh? And here I was thinking I was the only one to ever see those."

"Oh? As expected of the vet! Everyone else kept talking about those Darks, to the point I was starting to wonder if I was the only Shadow!" Says… Shadow Four(?).

"Yes, the ones in my third adventure were surprisingly polite." Shadow Four and Warriors both look at him like he's lost his mind.

"They were what?"

"I share Pretty Boy's sentiment, what?"

Legend shrugs, "They just stood around in random places, waiting for me. Whenever I ran into them, they'd introduce themselves and ask if I wanted to fight. If I rejected their request, they'd be disappointed, but wouldn't attack me or anything."

"... Really?"

"Yep. One even wished me good luck with my adventure when I told them I was too busy to fight them. They all followed the orders of this one old dude that was likely another Link."

Shadow Four continues to stare at Legend like he's crazy, but Legend appears unaffected.

"Well, not all of them were like that. In my other adventures… let's just say they weren't as polite. Anyways," Legend turns his attention to Shadow Four, "what's your real name? The ones in my third adventure didn't always have the name "Link", what about you?"

"... Shadow." Well. Simple, but it works.

Legend scoffs, "What was that earlier about enjoying being unique?"

"Hey, rude. I was like, 12 or something when I was created. It's not like Ganon would be kind enough to properly name me, so it just stuck."

"I see. I suppose that makes sense, then." Silence falls, with the group unable to do much more than glancing at each other until Warriors turns around.

"Your thoughts, Old Man?" He asks. Time takes in a deep breath and shuts his lone eye, thinking for several moments before finally answering.

"I'm afraid I do not have any experiences with Shadow Links, only Darks. Thus, I will trust the Vet's decision to trust Four, or… Shadow."

Warriors cocks his head, raising a brow, "Are you certain?"

"I can't say I can trust him completely, so I will need to keep an eye on him, for now." Time slowly turns his gaze over to Shadow, who meets it head-on without so much as blinking, "That's acceptable, right, Shadow?"

"Not like I have much of a choice, but yeah, that's cool. Honestly, I'd be more concerned if all y'all just trusted me that easily."

Warriors turns to the others, "And how does everyone else feel about the old man's decision?"

Sky purses his lips, remains silent for several beats, before sheepishly throwing in, "I knew a demon who wanted to become a human. He eventually did, and he was a pretty nice guy…" He gets several strange looks from this, but all Sky can offer is a stained smile and half shrug. Time didn't even know such a thing was possible, but you learn something new everyday. Even this late into the game, it seems.

"Alright. I'll trust everyone's judgments, then." Says Warriors as he finally sheaths his weapon, much to the apparent surprise of Shadow.

"Wait, seriously?" Shadow sits straight up in the air, blinking incredulously at Warriors, and then everyone else. "That's… it?"

"Well, are you intending on doing something to betray our trust again?"

"Uh… no..?" In his confusion, Shadow seems to answer honestly before snapping back to whatever little act he was doing before. Or, at least tries to. "I'm still pranking everyone! Don't think that's stopping, or that I'll go easy on any of you!"

"Very threatening." Drawls Legend.

"Worse comes to worst, I'll trust the vet to handle you with that fancy arrow of his. We also have the Master Sword."

“Ugh. Whatever. I'm going to sleep. Better not try to kill me in it, experiencing that once was enough for me, thanks.” Shadow roughly lands onto the ground and begins almost stomping towards his bedroll, but he's interrupted by Hyrule clearing his throat.

"Uh, guys? Portal." Hyrule awkwardly declares, pointing to a dark portal far behind him.

"Oh you gotta be kidding me." Shadow groans, knocking his head back.

Warriors squints at the portal and then Shadow, "Did you do something?"

"Damn, you really don't listen. I said I ain't behind the portals. I'm as annoyed as y'all right now about this, I'm tired."

"Well uh… hopefully wherever it's taking us, it's still night there?" Wind offers his attempt in cheering Shadow up, who scoffs in a way that's hardly mirthful.

"It better be, or else I'm killing whatever is creating these things."

Time sighs, thoroughly exhausted by the situation as a whole. What a mess. To think things could spiral so much so quickly… never a normal day for the heroes of Hyrule.

"Alright, let's get moving. Somebody, watch the portal to make sure no monsters come out, everyone else, start packing." Collective agreement of varying degrees of enthusiasm sounds.

Once everything was packed and ready, nobody seemed quite willing to go through the portal just yet. The glances made towards Shadow weren't exactly subtle. It isn't until Legend groans, dramatically rolls his eyes, and moves on ahead of everyone else, do the remainder move. Time sees Shadow huff in the back of the group, then follows Legend into the portal. Time also follows behind shortly after with a restrained sigh.

But when Time exits the portal, he finds a growling, hunched up Shadow tugging down his hood as far as it could go. Time didn't even have to ask what the issue was, because the heat and miles of sand around them answers that question.

They're in a desert, in the middle of the day. Not a single cloud in the sky.

"I'm killing that thing behind these fucking portals—killing!!" Shadow hisses.

Time doesn't hold back his sigh this time.