Chapter Text
"Purah's coming over today," Flora says that morning at breakfast. The kitchen is enormous, far bigger than they would ever need, and the groceries they had remembered to buy the day before barely take up any space in the cabinets (now cleared of dusty cans and mysterious liquids). Still, they now at least have enough food to survive, and for Wild to scrounge up enough ingredients to make some omelettes.
"Okay," Wild says, through a mouthful of egg and cheese.
"She wants to look for ghosts. Says she's been doing a lot of research."
Wild raises an eyebrow. "What kind of research?"
Flora shrugs. "I don't know for certain, but she says she bought some new toys for us to test out. I wanted you to talk to them, the ghosts. Warn them, and maybe tell them to cooperate a little? If she finds something, this could be a huge scientific discovery, and the potential for historical knowledge is incredible! I mean, just imagine, the possibilities of having a real conversation with someone who lived hundreds of years ago, to know for certain what even one person’s life was like–"
Flora pounds her fist on the table at these last words, and then looks down at herself, apparently realizing for the first time that she had stood up. She laughs, flustered, red blush creeping across her face.
Wild smiles at her as he takes another bite of his omelette. He loves how she looks when she gets excited about things, the way her eyes light up, and her mouth curves into an infectious grin.
"Don’t worry, I'll tell them," Wild says.
-
“So,” Purah says, as she steps out of her car. “Ghosts.”
“Ghosts,” Flora agrees.”
“And only Linky can see them?”
“Yep.”
“And you’re sure he’s not just–”
“Well,” Flora says. “Not entirely. But he seems very convinced, and the things he’s said about them are very specific. And they do match up with records.”
“Interesting,” Purah says. “Well, first, before we get down to business, look at this house!” Purah spreads her arms out wide, grinning up at the massive building. “It’s so big! Man, you should let me and Robbie move our labs in here, think of all the things we could do, and then we wouldn’t have to worry about renting or setting things on fire…”
“I think you would still need to worry about setting things on fire,” Flora says.
Purah waves her off. “Just think about it, okay!”
“I’ll think about it,” Flora says. “But I’m not making any promises.”
“We can talk about this another time, and you can give me a proper tour of the place. But now, we are here for research!” She opens up the trunk of her car, which contains a cardboard box stuffed with gadgets. “Now, paranormal activity is not exactly my area of expertise, but who am I to say no to new discoveries? Robbie may have thought it was stupid, but I certainly do not.”
“What is all of this?” Flora asks.
Purah grins. “I’ve done a lot of research since you called, and I went and bought everything I could that claimed to sense ghosts. We’ve got a ouija board, a spirit box, and all sorts of doohickeys!”
She lifts up the box, as Flora directs her inside the house. Purah lets out a whistle as she steps into the building, her eyes darting around the room. Flora cannot blame her for stopping and staring, she had done the same thing when they had first arrived. The house is impressive, filled to the brim with history and art. Although it is barely larger than her father’s house (which, to be fair, is also very large), it is so much more filled with life. It feels like a place that people have actually lived in.
And died in, she supposes, which is why Purah is here in the first place. (Although, even if it weren’t for any ghosts, she certainly would have come to visit them anyways.)
-
"This is their science?" Legend asks, arms crossed as he leans against the wall. Purah and Flora have a ouija board set up on the table, and Warriors is doing his best to move the planchette across it.
The ouija board was fairly popular back when Warriors was in school, and his sister had made them both try it out once. Nothing really happened, at least, nothing that couldn't be explained by their own subconscious movements. Now, looking back, Warriors wonders if there really was someone there, standing over the board like he is now, struggling to become solid enough to move it.
Warriors is the only ghost that can become tangible enough to touch things at Hyrule Castle, but they know next to nothing about the ghosts that lay beyond its borders, aside from the occasional story from one of the older ghosts or a glimpse across the street. He wonders how common it is, to be able to interact with the living world like he can.
"Are there any spirits with us in this room?" Purah asks, her eyes scanning the room. As expected, they pass right over Warriors and Legend, with no indication that she has noticed anything where they are standing.
It's a challenge, to touch the planchette without touching either of their hands. He wishes he could tell them to lift up their hands, to just let him move it on his own, but Flora is very insistent on following the instructions exactly as they are written, from her various sources online.
"Thou canst do it," Legend says. "Just spell out something simple."
Warriors ignores Legend's words, instead closing his eyes and concentrating as hard as he can to solidify his finger, as he presses it against the wood. Slowly, slowly, the planchette begins to move, and Flora lets out a gasp.
"It's moving!" she says, her eyes widening.
"Shush," Purah says. "Be patient."
He inches the planchette forward, until finally it reaches its goal, at which point he lets go, relaxing his shoulders and sighing with relief.
Flora glances down at the board. "Yes," she reads.
"Interesting," Purah says, leaning forward to gain a closer look at the board. "You know, I would find this a lot more compelling if we hadn't had our hands on the board the whole time. There's no way to prove for certain that we weren't the ones who did the moving."
Flora glances up at Wild, who, at Purah's direction, has been standing silently in the corner of the room so as to not affect anyone's actions, but still observing.
"Did you see anyone move the planchette?" Flora asks him. Wild nods, staring straight at Warriors. Flora follows his gaze, her eyes dancing around where he is standing.
"It was Warriors," Wild says. "He's the only one who can interact with physical objects."
"Interesting..." Purah says, typing something on her phone. "And which one is Warriors?" she frowns. "Interesting name."
"Why does everyone always say that?" Warriors asks.
"Because thou hast chosen to call yourself 'Warriors', plural," Legend says.
"It's really not that strange," Warriors says. Legend rolls his eyes.
"If thou sayest so."
"It is strange," Wild says. Warriors glares at him. Legend grins.
"Warriors was Athena's friend, wasn't he?" Flora asks. Wild nods.
"Yep," Warriors says, forgetting, for a moment, that she cannot hear him.
"So that means he's the most recently dead," Flora continues. "Could that be why he can touch things?"
Wild looks back at Warriors. "Is it?"
Warriors shrugs. "How should I know? I really haven't been here for that long."
"I have never seen anyone else touch things as Warriors does," Legend says. "Not in five hundred years. And I assurest thou, I have tried."
Wild relays this answer to Purah and Flora, who both purse their lips in nearly identical expressions.
"Well," Purah says. "I know it's not how it's supposed to be done, but maybe we should let go of the planchette? See if it really can move on its own."
"Yes, please," Warriors says.
"Alright," Flora says, resetting the planchette back to its starting position. She lifts her hands up. "Go ahead, say something."
Again, Warriors wills his finger to become solid. Without their hands in the way, he doesn't have to worry about accidentally touching either of them, but it still isn't easy. It's difficult to explain, how exactly it works. Four has described it as a veil, a curtain separating their world from his. He sees it more like an ocean. When he forces part of himself to become solid, to interact with the world of the living, he doesn't find himself parting back a curtain, instead it's more like plunging into the depths of the sea. He's only just starting to get used to the sudden shock of sensation that comes with it.
His hand brushes against the wood, and, with great effort, he pushes, sliding it from letter to letter. He quickly realizes that he will need to shorten his message, as there is no way he has the stamina to say all of the things he wishes to.
Flora reads out the letters as he spells them out, as Purah writes them down in a notebook, her eyebrows knotting together as she watches the planchette move forward.
Ghosts real he manages to spell out, which is really not what he had wanted to say, but he’s on a time limit here. He tries to move it forward once again, but his energy is really spent now, and he couldn’t manage to get another letter.
“Ghosts real,” Purah repeats. She frowns. “Well, I can’t deny this is compelling evidence.” She pokes around at the planchette, examining the air for imaginary strings, weighing it in her hands. “And you’re sure you saw a ghost pushing this?” she asks, holding it up for Wild to see. He nods.
Purah shrugs. “Alrighty!”
-
"They’ve set up a recorder," Wind tells Hyrule. They're at the end of the hallway, where a small table has been set up, with a microphone and two chairs. Wind sits down in one of the chairs, leaning forward so his mouth is right up against the mic.
"Will they be able to hear us?" Hyrule asks. Wind shrugs.
"I dunno. But we might as well say something, y’know?" He closes his mouth, making mock radio static noises.
“Hello there folks, I’m Link Waker, although you might know me as Wind, professional ghost. This here is my partner, Link–”
“Of Hyrule,” Hyrule supplies.
“Link of Hyrule, also professional ghost. I’ve been doing this gig for…20 or so years, and Hyrule here has…when did you die?”
“A few centuries ago..”
“A few centuries ago! A real expert in the field. Anyways, welcome to another episode of…Ghost Talk.”
“Another episode?”
“We’re pretending. Role playing. You remember, like Warriors did at that festival here.”
Hyrule nods. “I remember,” he says, looking vaguely queasy. “When he–”
“Moving on,” Wind says. “As I was saying, another episode of Ghost Talk! Where we are ghosts, and we talk. Today’s topic: What would you do first if you were suddenly alive again?”
“Hmm,” Hyrule strokes his chin, running his fingers through an imaginary beard. “Start a fire.”
Wind stops. “What?”
"Start a fire," Hyrule repeats, staring off into the distance, his eyes filled with longing. "I just want to create something, to affect the world, to feel the warmth on my skin. So I want to start a fire."
"Well, not what I expected, but I'll take it," Wind says. He sits up straight, a thought suddenly occurring to him. "Do you think Warriors could start a fire? I mean, if we gave him a match, or a lighter, do you think he could do it?"
Hyrule frowns. "Maybe," he says. "I suppose it is worth a try."
"We should totally get him to try," Wind says. "Or...Four smells like smoke sometimes, could he start a fire?"
"I have not seen him do it," Hyrule says.
"But that doesn't mean it's impossible!" Wind says.
"What about you?" Hyrule asks. "What would you do if we came back to life?"
"Oh, that's easy. I'd eat some of my grandma's soup." He sighs, trying to imagine the taste, the feelings of comfort and home it had always brought. The memories are duller now, starting to fade. He wishes he could catch them with a net before they fly away, that he could sit in them forever.
"Do you think that in whatever world exists after this one, we will be able to eat food again?" Hyrule asks. "Because there are so many things I wish to try, things that I did not even know existed back when I was alive."
"I hope so," Wind says, and he does. He really, really does. Sky seems so certain of a world beyond this one, of a time after this. He calls it an in-between, a bridge from one world to the next.
Wind shakes his head. His thoughts are getting a bit too philosophical for his liking, he's just here to have fun. He leans back towards the microphone, trying to project his voice enough, praying that at least some of his words will be heard.
"What's the best part about being a ghost?" Wind asks. "For me it's definitely being able to phase through walls."
"I like to watch people," Hyrule says. "To see how the world has changed. So much is different now."
"Man..." Wind says. "Imagine what this place will be like in a hundred years."
"It will come sooner than you think," Hyrule says.
-
Over the years, Four has become very aware of what he is capable of, how he, and the other ghosts, are able to interact with the world. The conclusion he has come to, a conclusion that some vehemently disagree with, is that ghosts are not real.
At least, they are not real in the same way that the living are. They are not real in that their existence does not impact the world, or if it does, it's only in small, inconsequential ways. There is a saying, old, but not quite as old as Four himself; if a tree were to fall in the forest, and no one was around to hear it, does the tree make a sound?
Four is not exactly a scientist, but some part of him has always found a satisfaction in taking things apart and putting them back together, in seeing the ways things are put together, the way that things work. He may not be able to take apart this world, this realm he finds himself in, but he has come to some sort of understanding of how it works.
The way that he sees it, it's like this: There is a veil separating the world of the living from the world of the dead, and in some, small ways the ghosts are able to reach across that veil and affect things, and vice versa, with Wild being able to see them. Sometimes, when Four is around, people have complained about smelling smoke. Considering the soot still covering his clothing, he can imagine why.
All of this is to say, he is very curious as to whether any of Purah's instruments will work to detect ghosts. At least, part of him is. The rest of him is much less interested.
Another corner of his mind is afraid, that if they do successfully prove the existence of ghosts then suddenly this place will be swarming with people, people that can somehow see him, talk to him. He thinks if that were to happen he would run off to the woods at the edge of the property and hide away from society.
But, of course, it won't happen, he tells himself. If Purah were able to just purchase these devices, then surely they should have been able to prove that ghosts exist right now. If this relatively small area has eight ghosts, then who knows how many are in the rest of the world.
"Alright, how does this one work again?"
Flora is tailing Purah down the hallway, as Purah holds a small device in her hands, beeping periodically. Wild is elsewhere, supposedly working on another of Purah's projects with Twilight. Something about motion sensors, he thinks.
He is filled with the urge to grab the little device in Purah's hands and take it apart. What he would give to have proper access to modern technology, to hold a cellphone. (Part of him wonders about forging technology in this age. He wonders how much has changed.) It's been so long since he last had a project to work on. His hands itch to do something, to hold a hammer, to create anything. If only that last project hadn't blown up in his face– literally.
"This should detect any changes to the electromagnetic field," Purah is saying. "Supposedly ghosts should be able to affect it." She frowns, tapping the bottom of the device with the palm of her hand. "But this doesn't seem to be doing anything."
"Maybe there aren't any ghosts around," Flora says, which would be a reasonable assumption to make, were it not for the fact that Four is right here
He stands on the tip of his toes, trying to lean over far enough to reach the device in Purah's hands, but not lose his balance and fall into her. He shudders at the thought. Experimentally, he reaches out a hand, until it is nearly touching the device. He hovers over it, waving rapidly, but nothing seems to change, the beeping staying at a steady rhythm.
"You could set it down," Flora offers. "Maybe keep it at a stable location, instead of moving constantly?"
Purah shrugs. "I don't see why not," she says, setting the device down on the ground. They both back away from it, giving Four plenty of room to move around and conduct his own experiments.
He crouches down on the ground, right next to the device, and sticks his hand right in the center of it. Nothing happens, just the same beeping, with lights flashing to the rhythm. After several minutes of this, Purah seems to give up, picking up the device again as Four stumbles backwards to avoid her touch.
Purah begins walking again, and as she walks further and further away from Four, the beeping picks up, growing faster and faster. It seems to be at its loudest in the corner of the room, where the light doesn’t quite reach, leaving a little pocket of shadows.
"Is it detecting something?" Flora asks.
"I think so?" Purah says. "But there are a million things that could set this off, you know. It could be anything."
"True," Flora says. She sighs. "If Link were in here, we could ask him."
If Four could talk to them, he would tell them that there is not a ghost standing in that corner, but there is, in fact, a ghost right here. But, of course, if he could talk to them, there would be no need for any of their little devices, would there?
Purah shakes her head. "Linky's off collecting important data for me. And the point of this test is to see if we can detect anything without his confirmation. I am becoming more convinced, but we can't rule out the idea that he's just seeing things.
"Well, I don't think this is going to give us anything helpful," Flora says.
"Yeah, I think you're right," Purah says, looking back down at the device. She shrugs. "On to the next thing!"
Four stays in the room, examining the spot where the device had begun to freak out. Purah is probably right, there are likely many different things that could cause it to react like that, but something about these shadows don’t sit quite right with him. When he was alive, and Dot and her father had been occupying the house, there had always been little areas that caused him to feel some sort of unease. After he died, he chalked it up to the existence of ghosts, of course he felt like the place was haunted, it was!
He’s gotten quite good at ignoring them, at thinking about something else (He is really good at getting lost inside of his own head, a skill none of the others have seemed to master quite as well), but the spots of unease did not really ever go away, and this corner is bringing those feelings right back.
He leaves the room. It’s probably nothing, really. The place is already haunted enough, and besides, why would there be ghosts that ghosts cannot see?
-
"Well, that about wraps up our show," Wind says. "It's been great talking with ya!"
"This has been fun," Hyrule agrees.
"We've just got one last question: Did you believe in ghosts when you were alive?"
"Yes, definitely," Hyrule says. "Everyone did, back then. Of course the spirits of the dead stay around, where else would they go?"
Wind, admittedly, had not given much thought to the question of ghosts when he was alive. They just weren't something he had ever had any reason to think about, until he became one. He hadn't really believed that they were real, but he hadn't believed they were fake, either.
"Not really," he says, mostly just to say something different than Hyrule. Talk shows aren't interesting if the hosts are just agreeing about everything all the time. "They were just something that showed up in stories, sometimes. I guess I never thought they could be real."
"How surprised were you when you found out they were?" Hyrule asks. Wind pauses.
"I wasn't really surprised at all," he says. "It just...well I couldn't deny that it was false, and I was just so surprised at the idea of me being dead in general. I hadn't really put much thought into what comes afterwards, and then there I was, in the afterwards. If that makes any sense."
"It does," Hyrule says. He frowns a little. "I did not really...talk to many people when I was alive," he says. "Sometimes I feel like I have lived more of a life here, with you all, than when I was actually alive. Is that strange?"
Wind shrugs. "Not really," he says. "At least you don't have to miss as much."
"True. I just–"
Purah walks into the room, just as Hyrule is about to speak, and grabs the microphone right off the table, along with the little device it had been attached to.
"Can't wait to see if this picked up anything," Purah says to Flora, a grin on her face.
Wind sighs. "I guess the episode is over now," he says, standing up. "Do you think I could get Wild to set up another microphone?"
-
“So,” Flora says. “Has any of this convinced you?”
They’re standing outside again, Flora helping Purah pack all of her stuff back into the car. It’s evening by now, the sun beginning to sink below the trees, casting rather ominous shadows over the property.
“Maybe,” Purah says. “I’m not gonna be able to put any of this in a scientific paper, not without a whole lot more work, but this has definitely…opened my mind, you could say. I do still have a lot of data to go through when I get back home…I’ll see what Robbie has to say about all of this.”
Flora laughs. “I’d quite like to hear his reaction.”
“And Linky,” Purah says. “If the ghosts ever get to be too much for you, just give me a call. I found a lot of different methods for exorcisms in my research too!”
“Alright,” Link says, his gaze locked on a patch of empty grass next to them. Flora feels a shiver run through her, goose bumps suddenly appearing on her arms. She shakes them, trying to shoo away whatever ghost must be standing too close to her. Link turns his head, staring at her curiously.
“See you guys later!” Purah climbs into her car, sending a mock salute as she turns on the engine. “Maybe I’ll bring Impa around next time.”