Chapter Text
Holy shit. Nayru’s glowing ass.
Wind’s legs were begging for mercy, and the sailor was genuinely considering stealing Wild’s boots. He hadn’t yet—mostly because of the whole drama earlier—but the thought was tempting.
Fuck snow. Seriously. Why does cold weather even exist?
Someone clapped him hard on the back, nearly sending him face-first into the snow. Again.
“Hey, Toony, what’s with the ugly face? We’re almost at the Fountain,” Captain—the dipshit—said, grinning at him like he knew exactly what he was doing.
“Oh please, fuck you,” Wind shot back, sticking his tongue out before bolting ahead.
Wild was leading again—thankfully—after Wind had almost gotten them all hopelessly lost in the white nothingness when he’d discovered he could use the wind to propel himself faster. Which, like—so cool?! But maybe not the best time to experiment.
“Guys! It’s literally right there!” the Champion called, pointing at what looked like a solid wall of stone, half-hidden beneath snow and frost. “Let’s move!”
Wind slowed to walk beside him as the Chain approached.
“Excited for some dark-magic extraction, sailor?” Wild asked. Some of his usual spark had returned, though Wind could tell it took effort.
“Kinda,” Wind admitted. “But I don’t think it’ll be that easy. She’s probably gonna make us do some stupid side quest or something. Fairies are greedy like that, didn’t you know?”
Wild huffed. “Ugh. Don’t remind me. I could never forget those.” He paused, then added more quietly, “Some of them are fun, I guess. But most are just painfully boring.”
His voice was lower than usual. Tired.
Wind glanced at him, eyes lingering on the champion’s scars—the big ones, the ones that never failed to twist something uneasy in his chest.
He wondered if they were heavier here.
The sailor reached out slowly, giving his brother time to notice. When Wild didn’t pull away, Wind gently squeezed his hand.
The Champion startled at the contact, blue eyes widening just a fraction as he looked down at him.
“It’s okay,” Wind murmured. “You don’t need to put on an act around me. Or any of us. We’re here for you.”
He leaned in just slightly, lowering his voice. “Let me stand by you.”
The breeze carried his words softly toward Wild’s long ears, threading playfully through light-blond and sun-dulled hair alike.
For a moment, Wild didn’t respond.
Then—after a few quiet heartbeats—he squeezed Wind’s hand back. Hard. Not enough to hurt, but enough to say something words couldn’t. He gave Wind a tiny smile before turning his gaze forward again.
Wind only hoped his brother truly understood.
…
Okay, he won’t steal Wild's snow boots. For now.
He glanced over his shoulder, taking in the rest of the Chain. They were mostly quiet now, broken only by the occasional comment, but noticeably more at ease than they’d been when they left the stable. Wind mentally praised himself.
His eyes caught on Sky.
That faraway, head-in-the-clouds expression again.
Thinking about his Zelda—probably. Wind had seen that look more times than he could count lately.
Too many times.
Enough that it was starting to feel… suspicious.
Now that Wind paid closer attention, that expression looked less dreamy—and far more worried.
The sailor was about to drift toward the knight’s side, but he hesitated just a second too long.
“We’re here!” Wild announced as they rounded the wall.
Wind’s gaze snapped forward.
The Fountain revealed itself at last. It was… more or less what he’d expected. Grand, glowing, impossibly pretty—but dusted in snow and tangled with winter flowers, like the land itself couldn’t decide on a season.
“Great,” Legend muttered, already stomping ahead. “The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can leave this freezing hellhole.”
“Hey, veteran, I think only the Champion can summon—” Captain started.
He never finished.
“LINK!!”
The scream tore through the clearing so violently Wind was half-convinced his ears might burst.
A giant woman surged up from the Fountain, water cascading off her like liquid light. She was adorned in layers of plant-made jewelry, her outfit a confusing mix of flowers, vines, and something vaguely snowflake-shaped that Wind very deliberately refused to think too hard about.
“What the fuck,” Wind muttered under his breath, leaning closer to Wild. “What is wrong with your Great Fairies?”
Wild just shrugged with dramatic resignation and lifted a hand in greeting.
“Hey, Mija. What’s up? We kinda need your—”
“LINK, WHY DID YOU TAKE SO LONG TO BRING THIS LITTLE ONE?” the fairy boomed, her voice echoing against stone and snow alike. “THIS FOUL MAGIC IS ROOTING ITSELF DEEP INSIDE HIM!!”
Before Wind could even react, enormous hands clamped down on his shoulders. Not quite crushing—but close enough that his lungs protested sharply.
“HEY—!” Wind yelped, instinctively trying to wriggle free as her grip tightened just a fraction too much.
“MIJA!! COULD YOU PLEASE LET MY BROTHER GO?!” Wild screeched.
The fairy seemed to snap back to her senses and finally released Wind.
The sailor staggered back a step, breathing deeply as his boots sank into the snow. He forced himself to inhale and exhale until the world steadied again. Captain, Time, Twilight, and Sky were at his side almost instantly—hands checking his shoulders and arms, eyes sharp with concern as they glared up at the towering woman. Hyrule, Legend, and Four hovered close, looking menacingly at the fairy.
“Oh—sorry,” Mija said, her grip loosening completely. “I got carried away.”
Despite the apology, her expression remained tight with worry.
“What do you mean, it’s rooting inside him?” Sky asked, his voice strained.
“We’re not too late, are we?” Hyrule said quietly. Legend and Time both looked seconds away from shouting.
“Can’t you see it?” Mija gestured toward Wind, her hands twitching as faint light began to glow between her fingers. “That horrible dark magic has been festering inside him for far too long. It must be removed now.”
“Wait!” Hyrule stepped forward sharply, placing himself in front of Wind without hesitation.
“I tried removing it already,” he said, voice firm. “It only hurt him. Whatever this is, it won’t be solved by force. We need another way.”
Wind swallowed. His fists curling up and tightening.
He didn’t fully understand what was happening—but he remembered the pain all too well.
“Boy, you don’t understand,” Mija said, her voice lowering as if that alone could soothe the tension. “This sort of magic is far too strong for you to remove. I am a Great Fairy. I can extract it without harming your friend.”
She spoke calmly—like she hadn’t nearly crushed him in her panic moments ago.
“I…” Hyrule hesitated, his brow furrowed, every line of his face tight with concentration.
Legend stepped forward, fixing the fairy with an unflinching stare.
“Then you’re going to explain what the hell is happening to our sailor. Dark magic or not, we deserve to know.”
“He’s right,” His big little brother added, his grip firm as his hand settled on Wind’s shoulder, grounding and protective all at once. “Before you do anything dangerous, you need our consent. And his.”
Wind swallowed.
He still remembered how much it had hurt when Hyrule tried to pull the magic out of him.
He didn’t know what scared him more—that pain…
or how eager the fairy looked to try again.
“Very well,” Mija sighed. Her hands dimmed slightly, though the glow did not disappear. Wind didn’t like that.
“The magic within him is the remnant of a corrupted wind entity—one that left its mark on the little one.” Her gaze softened as she looked at Wind. “I cannot fault you for missing it. Its core is frighteningly similar to your friend’s own. Even trained eyes would struggle to tell them apart.”
She gestured toward Hyrule. “Still, I am impressed you noticed it at all.”
Hyrule’s face twisted with too many emotions to name.
“If you give me a few rupees—”
Wild groaned immediately. Wind almost laughed.
“—I can remove the magic from your friend.”
“How much?” Wild and Captain asked at the same time.
They shared a brief ‘you too?’ look before turning back to the fairy.
“Not much,” Mija said lightly. “Only one thousand rupees will be enough for the spell.”
Wild sighed. “Alright, everyone. Help.”
Captain ran a hand through his hair and handed over what he had without comment. Wild then turned to Four, giving him a pleading look.
The smith’s blue eyes narrowed, glaring straight into the champion’s soul—but after a moment, he relented and added the rest.
Wind was so going to laugh about this later.
Wild gathered the rupees and offered them up. The Great Fairy looked delighted, her massive hands glowing brighter as she accepted them, magic humming thick in the air.
She turned back to Wind.
This time, none of his brothers stepped in front of him—but they stayed close, flanking his sides.
With nothing between him and the fairy now, unease crept up Wind’s spine. His ears twitched, his hands trembling despite his effort to steady them.
Hold it together, he told himself.
He felt a hot energy brush against him—uncomfortable, but not painful.
It seeped into him slowly, steadily. If Wind closed his eyes, he could almost pretend he was sunbathing back home, stretched out on warm wood with salt in the air.
The warmth trailed deeper.
Toward his core—
Pain slammed into him without warning.
Wind screamed.
“HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Captain shouted, gripping him desperately as Wind’s body twisted against his will.
“IT’S BLOCKING ME!” Mija yelled back. “I NEED TO PUSH FORWARD!”
The pressure intensified. White-hot. Suffocating.
Wind felt like he was burning from the inside out.
“AAAAAAH—” He choked, spit catching in his throat as his insides wrenched violently. His brothers’ voices rose around him, frantic and panicked.
“NO!!”
“STOP IT!!”
“YOU’RE KILLING HIM!!”
“Fuck—” Wind cursed breathlessly, again and again, the word falling apart between gasps. He kicked weakly, fingers clawing for purchase on whatever he was holding onto.
Stop—
Stop—
Stop—
Something inside him—far too similar to his own magic, yet horribly wrong—groped through every part of Wind’s being. The sailor desperately tried to push it away, but failed and failed and—
“NO!!” someone screamed.
Wind’s mind barely managed to register Sky’s voice, sharp with panic.
He didn’t have time to think.
He forced his core to fight back against the all-too-familiar malice trying to consume him.
Almost—
Almost—
—
The pain stopped.
Then it flared again—
But it was different this time.
The darkness recoiled, yet Wind’s limbs reallocated and twisted horribly, joints screaming in protest. His throat burned raw from screaming, from choking on his own breath.
Wind didn’t feel anything anymore.