Chapter Text
It’s wet.
It is the first rain in days, pattering against the leaves of the forest. One of the few noises alongside the squishing and squelching of mud underneath their boots. It’s almost a crime, Time thinks, how the goddesses above could send rains down upon them after so many sunny days, which they spent recuperating. The faces of his comrades are drawn in, and they were absolutely silent as they searched for shelter. Time tries to keep himself from shivering, as he leads the others, his body tired and aching. The wetness makes his joints start to feel sore and inflamed, and he is reminded of how old he was, and how easy things used to be.
Legend breaks the silence by complaining how they should have stayed at the tavern at least for another day. No one says anything. It’s so dreary that no one has the energy to do so. Warriors is sharing his scarf with Legend, their elbows bumping against each other as they huddled close under the bright blue fabric. Wild has his face half covered in a dark pelt, somber, more serious than anything Time has seen since meeting the spirited young man.
Hyrule finds a cave nearby, and they all quickly huddle together in the darkness, only slivers of light illuminating the entrance.
They take a small break to catch their breaths. Time takes a seat on the rugged surface below him, letting out breath of air as the soreness in his bones eases. Wind takes a seat near him, and looks downcast. Time stretches an arm out to rest on the teenager’s shoulder, nudging him to come closer. He’s shivering a bit against Time’s armor as he shuffles closer to the older man. Four joins them, squeezing their youngest in between the two of them, and lets out a soft sigh while looking forlorn towards the cave mouth.
“When do you think the rain will stop?” Wind asks, voice muffled as his head rests in the crook of his arms. Time squeezes his shoulder gently, as a reassurance.
“The clouds outside looked pretty dark and large.” Sky answered, his sailcloth wrapped around him tightly. “Maybe in a few hours it will lighten up.” He looks smaller than he really is under the wet cloth, or maybe it’s the darkness.
It’s probably best to start a fire going, or they’ll end up freezing to death. “Traveler? How’s the condition of the cave?”
Hyrule looks up from the floor, “I checked it earlier. Sturdy, can stand against a small fire inside.” He looks towards the entrance. “If we keep it near the entrance we should be safe from rock fall and smoke.”
Time turns to Wild, finding the young man furthest from the group pressed to the wall. He cannot see the scarred man’s expression, but he wouldn’t be surprised if he was in a semi-sort of daze. For the last few days he’s been alternating between a panicked or anguished state, to either being completely despondent, eyes glazed over.
“Champion?” Time calls out gingerly, like talking to a wounded animal.
Wild makes a slight noise as he slowly turns his head towards Time, nodding, before taking his slate from his hip. A blue glow lights up the inside of the cave for a second, before logs and firestarters collapse on the ground.
They set up a small campfire right next to the mouth of the cave, smoke softly billowing out into the rain. It feels oddly quiet, but it doesn’t seem necessary to talk. Time’s been steeling up his nerves for days. He already has the words ready in his thoughts, his expectations of their reactions, and the consequences.
“When are we going to talk about Twilight?” Legend asks, voice echoing in the cave. His eyes are glistening, but Time can’t tell if it's from anger or sadness. He’s got his hands balled up on his knees, hugging them tightly to himself.
Time feels Wind twitch against him, and from Time’s peripheral, he sees the teenagers all stiffen up. It is probably the first time they’ve seen death to someone so close, so personal, in front of their eyes. Someone that they could not bring back with the miracles of their goddesses. No one says anything to Legend’s question, the wound too fresh in their minds to think about it.
He’s dealt with loss before, familiar to it like an old friend. It still leaves a bitter taste in his mouth, despite having already grown accustomed to it. He’s come to acceptance over the years, but not like this.
“Are we just going to not talk about it?” Legend persists, raising his voice gradually, “It’s been a week! Are we just going to fucking ignore it? Pretend it didn’t happen? He died!”
“Legend!” Hyrule gasps, surprised at the sudden anger coming from his companion sitting next to him.
Time feels short staccato breaths from the boy under his arm, and he squeezes him gently, opening his mouth to calm the teenager across from him, but the captain beats him to it.
“Veteran! Calm down!” Warriors snapped, he gets a hand on Legend’s arm, but then gets shoved away.
“Stop it! Stop. Don’t tell me to calm down! You didn’t even try to do anything!” Legend snarls, eyes looking more suspiciously wet, “You didn’t even cry! You didn’t even do anything! You just told us all to shut up when—” He chokes up, eyes blurry and lost in memory.
When Twilight suddenly passed in the midst of the night, it was a domino of bad reactions only becoming worse as the news arrived to each member of the group. The youngest, who had never seen death of a loved one before, was crying and holding onto the body, clenching on the blankets slack on Twilight’s corpse, begging for the rancher to come back. Time and Warriors had to bodily drag Wind off, punching and failing to make them let him go.
Wild was next to join them. He was crushed, half in denial and then stuck within his own memories. Legend was surprisingly the first one amongst the younger teens to adjust the quickest, silently lifting the covers over Twilight’s head when the others were trying to calm the emotionally compromised members of the group. Four and Sky were quiet, the last to join and solemn.
It felt like a blur in his memories, Time thinks, how Twilight’s passing broke down all the foundations of the group, leaving behind a bare scaffold of properly functioning men and boys.
They all unanimously agreed to cremate the body and bring him back to his home world.
In the present, Warriors’ nostrils flare in anger, and he rounds onto the boy, “Listen here, kid, I don’t need to make an emotional public outcry over—”
Unbeknownst to the others, Warriors left the village and stood vigil for the entire night, performing a bonfire for the rancher. His hands were shaking so viciously when setting the pyre on fire that Time had to assist him. (“ When men die in the war, we take their bodies and swords and burn them together.” Warriors rasped, voice hoarse from disuse, “It’s the greatest honor we can do for them, knights that is, to send them above with their swords.”) Legend didn’t cough up the sword after Wild claimed Twilight’s pelt, refusing to even let the others know where it was. The captain instead burned straw and wood in place for their fallen member.
He stood there until dawn, finally moving when Time came back out to drag him back to the town to rehydrate and rest.
While the younger man hasn’t shed tears or anger, he hasn’t been the same since. Despite all that, it doesn’t mean he had the right to rebuke the others for their ways of coping, Time thinks.
“They have a right, Captain.” Time interrupts carefully, looking at the younger man steadily.
“A right for what?” Four asks, eyes wide at the escalation of emotion occurring, he’s close to standing up, as if bracing himself for a physical conflict.
“They—no. You are all allowed,” Time starts, closing his eye, wondering if this is what he’s telling them or himself, “To react however you want. To cry. To shout. To yell. You’re allowed.” He shrugs, trying to keep it lighthearted. “You can even eat goron spice, if you'd like.”
Wind starts breathing normally again, and Time gives his blessing to the goddesses above.
Time never felt so old, so tired, after he finally got everyone to eat and rest. He didn’t register the death until the day after, when he walked into Twilight’s room and didn’t see his body there. Time remembers sitting by the bedside, seeing short brown hairs littered on the pillow, gripping his hands tightly on his knees.
A blue object sticks out from his pocket, shining.
The ocarina was glittering under dawn’s light, as if mocking him. Aren’t you sorry? That you didn’t choose the right decisions? Come on, Hero. The answer is here, in front of you. The song of time hauntingly humming softly, barely audible.
He snaps out of the memory at Warriors’ sigh.
“Fuck,” The captain groans, ruffling his wet slicken hair up, “My bad, I can make an ass out of myself sometimes.” The tenseness and anger in shoulders relaxing, backing down into a slight slouch.
Time sees it, in his gait and energy. There is a greater lack of enthusiasm and energy, now that the peer that was closest in age to him has left. He misses it, Time thinks, like a pig. Malon once told him that pigs grow best when there is another to butt heads with and compete. A piglet alone only becomes skinnier, smaller, and much more lonely.
Warriors wouldn’t have been easy to anger usually, or to purposely pick a fight with, but perhaps this was his way to cope.
“You’re an ass all the time,” Legend mutters, closing into himself once more. The older man doesn’t fall for the bait though, and they both fall back into an uncomfortable silence.
“Well… It’s not like any of us could have done anything.” Wind says, voice wavering, “It’s not like we could turn back time.”Time almost stiffens, feeling his blood run cold at the thought, and wonders if Wind knew anything. The ringing, the music of that goddess forbidden song, one he promised to never use again, playing over and over in his ears. He looks down at the child in the crook of his arm. Wind’s eyes were red from the tears from earlier, but nothing shows that he knows . Time’s heart slows down again, and he looks up from the boy.
He makes eye contact with Wild, and he blinks at the young man, wondering what Wild was thinking. For the first time since Twilight’s death, the champion’s eyes are focused and alert, and Time feels sweat roll down his neck. The older teenager finally breaks away eye contact, covering his face with Twilight’s pelt, turning his body closer to the fire. Time swallows, mouth dry. Inside he knows something is wrong, and his earlier panic transforms into worry.
“Not like any one of us can turn back time.” Four comments quietly, eyes looking away and down at the ground.
“Even if we could, it doesn’t mean that this situation could be solved,” Time speaks up, voice a bit gritty, “Sometimes, the goddesses destined certain events without us having a say, for the better or worse.”
It’s terribly awkward, Time thinks, how bad Wild is when it comes to confrontation.
Ever since the incident in the cave, Time can feel the other’s eyes on him, as if asking him, hey, look at me . However, when the teen was chasing or tailing prey, he became one with the nature around him, concealing his presence like a predator. But goddesses above, he cannot, for the love of his life, tail a person to converse.
Maybe it was due to him losing the majority of his skills and memories from sleeping a hundred years that resulted in him being terrible at this. Or maybe he was always like this. Either way, Time’s still having trouble pretending he didn’t notice Wild obviously trying to catch him alone.
Also, he still hasn’t gotten the courage to address his greatest concern.
It comes and goes, starting as small intrusive thoughts throughout the day. When he’s getting water from a stream, preparing food, or staring out at a large expanse of golden wildgrass, wondering if he would see two little pointed ears sticking up from the greenery.
The thought of that makes him feel brittle, like dry dirt crackling up as young plants burst out from the crust, full of vigor and life. It doesn’t feel right, because there are only withering plants around him, falling apart on soil that can’t provide them what they need.
In the midst of all that, he has to stand tall and proud, someone with greatness to lead the way. But in truth, he is terribly worn out, and for older men like him, whose legacies are already engraved into thousands of futures ahead of him, he should be settled down whilst the young forge ahead with their passions and a bright future.
Instead, he is humbled by only failed expectations and disappointment, emptiness like a desert drought from the lost potential of those he took from.
Twilight came into his life like a burst of color and stood for Time’s own hopes, humbling him as he came to learn about the young man’s experiences and history. While the older man felt normalized by having so many heroes amongst his side, sharing stories so similar to his, Twilight brought to him true mediocrity.
Men his age are desperate to keep themselves in high esteem, trying to add accomplishments one after another to their lists before their joints fail them and their minds deteriorate from old age. He never saw it that way, approaching his late thirties. If anything, he wanted something, someone, to tell him to put his sword down. With the kids beside him, he only feels that he must keep it raised, forever on guard and standing sentinel for a new danger that may or may not approach.
The marked young man gave Time hope that there was a future for him and Malon, one where they could raise children that weren’t destined to save worlds, or fight for their lives, or be scapegoated children that adults wouldn’t listen to. Maybe they would be kids whose only concerns would be everyday unremarkable issues that others could relate to. Maybe struggling with telling a girl their crush, or thinking about attending school.
Or those with big dreams, hoping to help make the world a better place, like Twilight.
He was gold, and Time tarnished him. Squandered his future and life, just by getting too close, putting too many expectations on him, when the man was his own person, already experienced so much, and barely knew him.
Time hasn’t gotten much time to lament, which was fine. He’s got plenty of years left to do that. He also already has an assortment of different demons to haunt him at night, what’s one more added to that going to do?
He can hear the haunting tune of time from the ocarina during late hours of the night, the soft tunes in his head repeating in his head as the goosebumps litter his arms. It tempts him, making him long for the lost presence, for their ninth member.
It is still stiflingly quiet in their group, since the ones normally making the most noise have sombered down. Wind confessed to him that it didn’t feel right to be having a good time when Twilight couldn’t be there with them, happy together. Time understood this. He understood it very well, and he hopes this will be the last time Wind will ever feel this pain.
“Old man?”
Time snaps out his thoughts, and blinks, staring back at Warriors, who raised a brow at the older man.
“Is there something you need, Captain?”
“Oh, just wanted to know if you wanted to hang your bags up in the trees. There may or may not be foxes out, checking out if there’s goods.” Warriors eyes look straight as his own, then flicker towards his right. Time blinks, confused.
He repeats the gesture again, and Time glances in that direction and sees Wild with his back towards them. The champion keeps looking at you. Time nods, letting the captain know he understands.
“You might want to go find a good spot to deal with it.” He finished with a huff, readjusting his scarf before walking away. Settle the problem already, old man. The captain stops in his tracks, “Don’t worry ‘bout the camp, Old man. Just get at it.” No need to coddle them.
Time sighs and stretches his arms, easing out the aches. It’s strange almost being told off by Warriors like this, who absolutely abhors getting “emotionally chummy” unless it meant juicy gossip. He doesn’t go out of his way to do things like this, not one for grounding the emotions of the group. That was Twilight’s role. Time’s stomach churns at the thought.
The knight walks off from the forest clearing, following his way to the sound of bubbling water nearby. In minutes, he already has a shadow tailing from behind, footsteps feather light several feet behind him. Far enough to be out of range of sight, but close enough to hear. He should be far enough to do this without being seen.
Time continues to walk, and takes the mask of scents out from his tunic, gingerly placing the mask on his face. Taking a deep breath, he checks his surroundings, the smell of the earthy dirt, animal territorial scents, and a very faint, faint, pleasant smell of morning dew on grass. He tries to recall who in the group has this smell, but he’s sure it isn’t the champion. The boy carried a slightly heavier odor mixed with the hazy scent of summer. Even with Twilight’s pelt, it should not change his scent in that manner.
Confused, he slips the mask back into his tunic, ears strained to hear if there is a change of pace from the person following him. The closest to that smell was either Sky or Four, unless someone else’s scent changed since the last time he checked them. But what would they want from him? Voice concern? Or maybe their fears?
When he reaches the river bank, he takes a moment, before turning around and calling out to his shadow. “You can come out.”
The bushes and forestry remain silent, and Time wonders if he really is getting rusty as he said to the boys long ago. But then the bushes shudder, and one of the boys comes out.
“I wasn’t quite expecting you,” Time points out mildly, “You could do with a little more practice with your trailing.”
“I wasn’t trying to come at you silently,” Four smiles, “If you really wanted me to catch you off guard, I definitely could next time I want to talk with you.”
Time chuffs, and nods. He crosses his arms, armor plates clinking against each other. “What do you need from me?” He tries to steady himself. Despite the nonchalant gait he carried himself at the moment, he was concerned.
Four’s face steels itself into a firm expression, and Time knows in that brief moment before the boy opened his mouth that things were not going to be good.
“Back in the cave a few days ago,” Four starts, and immediately Time can foresee the words that are coming right after that, stomach dropping. “You reacted pretty poorly. Never before did I see that.”
Time sighs, shoulders shrugging in defeat. “And I thought only the champion noticed.”
Four smiles, but it's not the warm ones he normally has. He looks tired, a little bit older than he should be. It looks like the ones that Time sees himself have, staring long in a mirror or the riverside at dawn. Wondering what a future would be like if he did things differently.
The thing with having the power of time was, you could never be satisfied. It’s an addiction that holds you hostage, never letting go.
“Well. I’m sure he did. You were so focused on the others, that you didn’t pay attention to me. Never seen your face go that white before.” He trails off, smile disappearing. “But I was curious about it. Why? Why this time talking about regrets, did you react like that?”
Time looks at Four, and he wonders if he should tell him everything. Four looks at him, eyes focused and steady at his own. Time thinks, if he were to tell Four what he wanted to tell to the others, that day in the cave, what were the consequences? If not the boy before him, who would he tell? When would he tell them?
He takes the gambit.
“You recall the timeshifting device I have, the ocarina, correct?” Time starts mildly, taking out the ocarina. Four’s eyes light up in recognition, and Time continues. “The ocarina’s ability for time travel can only be possible when powered by the goddesses.”
He looks up from the ocarina, and sees Four’s eyebrows shoot up from the realization.
“You can’t possibly mean—“
Time nods gravely. “Since Twilight’s passing, I’ve been hearing it sing.”
Four’s eyes flick down at the ocarina, then back up at Time’s eyes. He comes closer, “May I hold it?”
Time immediately wants to say no, hoarding the little blue ocarina like a dragon with its treasure, but rationalizes with himself. He places it in smaller hands, murmuring to the teen to be careful.
Four holds the ocarina, and he frowns. “Not hearing anything in particular. But it does have a funny aura. Maybe your goddesses have something in store for you for your future?”
The older man closes his eyes, close to begging the goddess of time to let him go already, to stop with the meddling of time and using him as her vessel. How many more worlds will he split? How many more Twilights and Winds will he create with his sheer arrogance and indignity?
“I’m not even sure myself if the goddess of time wants me to turn back time to save Twilight. Perhaps a Triforce holder is needed to protect the world he left.” Time confesses, unsure of the purpose of this vague message from the goddesses. If the princess was here, perhaps she would have an answer.
“What do you mean, turn back time to save Twilight?”
Four and Time sharply turn to the newcomer to the conversation, caught off guard from their intense discussion.
Wild stood there, eyes wide, looking between Four and Time.
“How much did you hear?” Time asks carefully. Out of all of the members of the crew, the champion was the last one that needed to hear about this.
The young man swallows, lips moving but nothing coming out. He’s never been good at articulating his thoughts, preferring to stay quiet and remain alone while ruminating.
“Can-Can you really go back?” Wild stammers, finally clearly articulating loud enough for the two of them to hear. His eyes are round and large, breath irregular, and Time knows the young man is not in his right mind. He quickly walks over, and holds him by the shoulders, firm but gentle.
“Champion, focus on me.” Time says sternly, turning the shorter man towards him and gently shaking him. Finding the man’s eyes starting to focus again, he continues, “Are we calm now?”
“Yeah,” Wild says absentmindedly, as if trying to confirm with himself if he was alright, before firmly replying, “Yeah. I’m fine.” His eyes were clear of haze, but his lips were trembling, forming a thin fine line.
Time breathes out heavily, air pushing out through his nose, “What part did you hear up to?”
Wild looks at him reluctantly, as if not sure what to tell him, before he confesses. “I was following Four, and… I listened the whole time.” He looks a bit worried, as if he was going to get punished for eavesdropping.
It’s better this way, because Time’s not sure himself if he could repeat what he said earlier again. “This is fine, champion. In fact, it will be easier to explain everything.” He nods, then turns to Four, “We should include the rest of the group in this. I believe it's time to finally talk about this.”
Wild and Four look similar to Malon’s little nephew and nieces after seeing him demonstrate his sword skills once, eyes wide and mouths open, surprised. Or perhaps they were unsure of what he’s planning. Or maybe it's just that his secretive nature is slowly peeling away now that he’s put into a corner like this.
He’s not even sure if it’s worth telling them more about himself if he isn’t even going to share the same timeline with them soon.
They make their way back to the clearing, with the two boys followed behind him pensively. He’s not sure if they’re all emotionally capable of handling this information, especially with the champion and sailor. Despite them being heroes themselves, those who have never forfeited under the threat of death and destruction, they were all challenges of the same caliber. Physical combat and a fight for survival. Those were never decisions. Those were the choices forced upon them.
But giving them the right to make a decision whether or not to break reality as they know it, for a chance that does not even guarantee they could save one person— could they do it? Could they sleep at night, at peace with themselves, knowing the consequences? Would they actually understand? Or will they leap off because of youthful ignorance, or worse, because they think it’s what he would do.
And he did. And although he wasn’t with these boys their whole lives, he knows they would do the exact same thing he did. Time feels sick at the thought of that, pulse racing underneath his armor as he approaches the clearing, the captain coming into view.
The man has gathered the others in the camp, all discussing something with serious expressions. Time can barely hear them, but by the time he’s in hearing distance, they all turn their attention to the three finally rejoining the group.
Time nods to Warriors, a silent thank you for the captain holding onto the reins while he was gone, he gets a quick smile in return.
He breathes in deep, steadying himself before diving right in, “If you’re all available, I have something I need to tell you all.”
Immediately in the corner of his eye, he sees Wind looking confused yet Time watches him quickly check the other member’s faces to check whenever or not the older members were aware. It only reminds him how young the boy was, and yet how mature — he had to become — he is.
“No worries,” Sky says casually, moving to sit down, legs flopped out in front of him. “We weren’t really doing much.” He would believe that Sky was feeling relaxed, had it not been for him making the equivalent of snow angels in the dirt with his legs. Despite doing it so slowly, he knows that the older teen fidgets when he’s stressed.
The boys all sit down slowly, tentative, and Time hopes his body isn’t betraying the uncertainty he’s feeling right now.
“Since Twilight has left us, I’ve obtained a chance to turn back time.” Time says, stopping for a moment to let the words digest. Wind has his mouth open, and his big blue eyes are wide like circles. Even Sky and Legend look shocked, before they start contemplating the meaning of his words, sharing a look.
Warriors is the first to say something, his eyes slightly narrowed, “I’m sensing a but here.”
“What but? If he can turn back time, we can save Twilight!” Wind exclaims, his hands gesturing to Time, “He said before that only the Goddess of Time can activate the ability in his ocarina, so this means the goddess has heard our thoughts and is lending us a hand!”
“When did he mention that?” Warriors asks sharply, as he looks over to Time. He looks close to giving Time a stink eye, as if disapproving that he’s been hiding secrets again.
Time puts a hand up, signaling for a pause in the conversation. “I have a timeshifting device that allows me to go forwards or backwards in time, which, from my experience, doesn't change other people’s timelines, and is exclusive to the only one I’m in. I also can’t bring other people with me while traveling in time.”
He takes out the ocarina from his pocket, shining in the light, “I can only use this ocarina when the Goddess of Time allows for it, by playing the Song of Time. This allows me to travel to the past in order to prevent devastating events in the future.”
Wind looks pointedly towards Warriors, as if saying, see, what did I tell you?
“We still don’t know if saving Twilight is what Time’s goddess wants,” Legend adds, a little scowl on his face, “ Don’t be so quick to jump to conclusions. We haven’t gotten a clear directive of why or how Time suddenly has this power now. We can’t assume what we want is what his goddess wants too.”
Hyrule nods to this, and Time almost finds it endearing how similar the two are.
“We shouldn’t be too hasty to be pessimistic,” Sky comments, trying to lighten up the hostility, “As you said, we don’t know his goddess’ intentions, but who’s to say they are not good ones? The goddess I know has never, ever put me in peril or done anything to hurt me. Who here has been harmed by one of their deities?”
The question causes the group to remain silent, as fellow heroes look amongst each other to see if anyone would volunteer to answer.
“I’m not familiar with any goddesses or gods,” Legend replies, a contemplating look on his face, “So I’m not too sure if I want to place my hopes so soon on something I haven’t personally seen yet.”
Sky nods understandingly, before he continues, “I can understand that, and you’re right. I haven’t heard of a Goddess of Time before. But I think this is an opportunity that his goddess would like us to venture to. Regardless of the results, I think that this is meant for our growth or progression in eliminating the evils that plague our worlds.”
“But Time is the only one who can time travel, and it may be dangerous to go alone…” Hyrule says softly, still hesitant.
“Are you saying you want to abandon Twilight?” Wild suddenly says, and Time reflexively puts a hand on the back of the teenager’s neck, gently resting there, but ready to grab him in case he starts anything.
Hyrule doesn’t rise up to the bait, but calmly responds in the same soft tone, “I’m not saying that. What I’m saying is, what if we lose both Time and Twilight?”
Four’s face scrunches up in concern. He looks at Time, as if wondering what the correct opinion was. The small hero was always a bit too considerate of how others felt.
“If Time’s goddess has given her blessing, then it's most likely she will not let her hero die. He has mentioned before he split the timeline many times, and he had reached success. It’s unlikely that death will happen,” Sky proposes, also trying to defuse the situation.
“If Time doesn’t go, I will go myself,” Wild says loudly, “A chance like this will never come again. I am not letting this go!”
“Calm down, everyone.” Time steps in, moving the hand on the teen’s neck down to the spot between his shoulder blades, patting gently. “It wouldn’t work. As the traveler said, only I can go back. I do not know what the goddess intends for me. All I know is that I am capable of traveling back in time now with the ocarina. I wanted to let you all know and get a consensus on whether or not to try it.”
They all simmer down, the noise ceasing quickly. The severity of the situation came to light, realizing each and every one of them had the say in the decision that could change their futures.
“Of course I’m going to say go back in time,” Wild speaks up in seconds, face determined.
Time sighs at this, “No wonder you never got completely wrecked by a head wound. Your skull is too thick.”
Wild scowls, “Not this time old man. I’m not tolerating it. You’re telling me that I should live on knowing I left someone behind? Because of a few risks? If any of us died, I know he would do the same for us.”
Wind’s energy comes back to him, and joins in. “Yeah! I literally did everything in my power to save my sister, and Twilight is my brother. I would be a coward to say no.”
Legend starts to hesitate on his stance, watching Wild and Wind band together in enthusiasm they haven’t seen in a while.
“I don’t think it will hurt to try. I believe if worst comes to worst, Time can simply travel back to our timeline. We will know then that we’ve tried our best.” Four comments, nodding. “I don’t think Time’s goddess would be so cruel to ditch him in an unknown time.”
Sky perks up at the change of heart, “Our goddesses may be mysterious, but they have what’s best in mind.”
“Seriously, fine.” Legend throws his hands up, “Your positivity is so contagious, I’m just going to say yes before I start spewing some stupid bullshit.”
“What he means is, go for it and that he’s hoping for the best.” Hyrule teases, and gets swatted for it by the veteran. He turns to face Time, “Just play it safe, and do what you think is best. We trust you.”
Time’s heart skips a beat at that, but he tries to ignore it, facing their last member who hasn’t said a single word the whole time.
“What do you think, Captain?” Time asks, bringing the attention to the scarfed man.
“Scarfie stayed silent the whole time? Crazy.” Legend mutters to Hyrule, who smiles slightly at that.
“I think it’s a shit idea.” Warriors says bluntly. He doesn’t have a smile or frown on his face, as if purposely schooling his expression. “Personally? We should let the man die the way he did.”
“The fuck?” Wild shouts at Warriors, and Time grabs him by the back of the teen’s cape, “Did you fucking hear what you said?” He can literally feel the teen’s furiously heaving breaths from under his grip.
“Wild,” Time says warningly. He’s never been good at diffusing situations with words, especially for things that were personal.
“I know what I fucking said,” Warriors replies back, arms crossed and frowning now. “And I fucking meant it.”
“How can you live knowing that you’re here because of your comrades' sacrifices? Giving up the chance to save one of them? Saying it's better that they died the way they did?” Wild continues, going a bit hoarse. His eyes are wet, but his face is scrunched up in anger and frustration. “How the hell can you say that? Twilight—He didn’t even get to say anything… before he just went! That’s messed up!”
“Wild!” Time reprimands, grounding the teenager closer to his side, “Control yourself! This is not meant to be an argument.”
“I’m fully aware of what I’m saying.” Warriors snaps, angry. “There are far worse ways to go, and passing in one’s sleep is a merciful death.” But then his expression collapses into something more mellow, as if he’s straining for words to say. His shaped brows furrow up in frustration. “He died an honorable death, trying to protect his comrades. Going back makes his sacrifices worthless.”
The other man turns his face away from the rest of them, before he gets up and walks off, leaving the conversation completely. Wild gets flustered for a second, not sure what to do, and a bit in shock at what just happened.
“Sheesh.” Wind comments at Warrior’s retreating back, “Never seen him get that mad.”
“It looks like it's six to one in agreement, bossman.” Hryule says, joining Time's side, giving Wild a pat on the shoulder while passing through. “What do you think?”
Time pinches the bridge between his nose, sighing. “I told you not to call me that.”
“But you are, especially right now. You’re the only one who can go back in time. It’s your decision.” Four says, appraising Time. “Why ask us?”
“Would you prefer it if I didn’t?” Time asked back, evading the question, “It’s only fair we discuss this together, since this situation involves all of us” And I’m not sure if I alone could make the right judgment for this.
Time watches the rest of them nod in acknowledgement, and some start talking under hush whispers. The campsite is filled with a lull of chattering, the first time in days. Time looks past the forest line, where Warriors left. He excused himself from the group quietly before following after the man.
The path that Warriors leaves is obvious. Flattened grass marks his previous footsteps, along with cracked sticks littering the forest floor. By the time he’s caught up to the younger man, he finds him sitting on a fallen tree, foliage and fungus growing on the bark creating a colorful painting. The light from above comes through in a splatter of bright, illuminating paint across his face. Despite looking serene like a fairy tale fantasy, Time is sure internally the other man is feeling the opposite.
“You alright, captain?” Time feels it's easier to be casual with the younger man compared to the others, that Warriors understands the pressures of responsibility on their shoulders, with men following orders to their potential deaths.
“Yeah, sometimes kids get on my nerves.” Warriors combs his hair with his fingers, fixing up his golden locks. “God damn annoying sometimes. They need to learn to control their emotions, not the other way around. ‘specially the champion. Got a good head on him normally, but when it comes to shit like this, he’s a cucco without a head.”
Time smiles slightly at this, the captain complaining was a good sign his mood was getting better. “The poor boy’s gone through enough. Haven’t we all?”
Warriors blows air out of nose, huffing, crossing his arms in disagreement. He seems sullen, or maybe he just didn’t like everyone jumping in the bandwagon to have Time sent in the past.
“Rupee for your thoughts?” Time asks, taking a seat near the other, close enough to be seen as friendly but far enough to respect the other’s personal space. He’s never shown too much compassion outwardly, and he’s afraid if he started now, he might startle Warriors instead.
“You want to know how I feel about whether or not you should time travel, right?” Warriors asks, looking at his fingernails nonchalantly, “Does it matter what I say? It’s your decision after all.”
“I would like this to be a group decision, since this will change the future.” Time says, then a tad bit awkwardly, “Well, I’ve done this before. So it’ll be fine for the most part, if we all chose this path.”
Warriors raise a brow to that statement, looking up for the first time.
“It will turn out fine.” Time stresses out.
The man makes a prayer gesture exaggeratedly, eyes rolling in the process. “I don’t think a prayer is enough to help you after you jinxed yourself. But I tried. Shit will most likely hit the fan,” Warriors mutters, before laughing to himself. Time wants to laugh at that too, remembering when Wind used a deku leaf to blast away the horse shit Wild was trying to throw at him, only for it to backlash and splatter over him instead. But he’s trying to prove a point here.
“Shit. will not. Hit the fan.” Time heatedly emphasizes.
“Shit will not hit the fan,” Warriors mocks in a faux deeper tone before he says normally, “Stop jinxing yourself, old man.”
Time lets out a soft chuckle, fingers pressed to his forehead as he tries to cover his face with his hand. He hears Warriors laugh to his side, and it makes him smile harder.
“Can’t you be a little more optimistic for me? You’re the young one; you should have more hopes and dreams. Or do you not want me to go?” He asks lightheartedly.
But that isn’t the right question, and Warriors’ easy smile washes away.
“If I said I didn’t, would that stop you?” The captain asks softly, voice barely above a whisper. If it wasn’t for Time facing Warriors at that moment, he wouldn’t have caught it. He hesitates, and Warriors furrows his brow at this, then simply sighs. Time looks at him, trying to scrutinize the younger man, not understanding his reaction.
“I haven’t gotten a straight answer out of you yet.” Time starts slowly, “If that’s what you want then I’ll respect it.”
“Just let the past me know if shit hits the fan.” He waves a hand at him, dismissively.
Time frowns, “Captain, I’m not sure if I understand you correctly.”
Warriors just crosses his arms and looks away to the side, not at Time’s face directly anymore.
“Could you elaborate what you mean? What is your opinion on this?”
Warriors relents a bit, flexing his fingers a bit before uncrossing his arms. “When you time travel, what happens to the future? What kind of changes?”
Time takes a moment to think, and he remembers Termina’s unsettling sadness amongst the village citizens. He remembers the strangeness and disorientation of having memories no one else did.
“It’s… when you alter a past event, events that exist afterwards are adjusted. People’s memories will change to adjust to a change in the timeline. They won’t remember anything from before the change in the past.”
“So we won’t remember anything?”
Time nods briskly.
“I hate it.” Warriors declares, “That’s the equivalent of making our memories worthless. Of Twilight’s sacrifice worthless and everything we did together worthless. In the end, everything can be rewritten.”
“That’s one way to look at it.” Time admits, feeling empathy deep in his bones. It’s what he mourns over on some nights, running away from abandoned timelines to self servingly fuel his own ego and desires. “But it helps knowing it’s for a better future.”
Warriors only looks more upset at him, and Time doesn’t know what to do, frowning a bit. He looks at Time suspiciously for a second, before looking away.
"Despite how poor the memories are, I don’t want to forget this. Rewriting time along with altering our memories— I don’t want anything doing that— it’s like our memories were mistakes. We don’t even know how far you’re going to go back,” Warriors stops, and Time tries to interrupt, to give him an explanation to get rid of that look of his face. “Like I— we did something wrong.”
He looks at Time, like he’s searching for the answer on Time’s face. “You're not being forced back. Here you’re given a choice. Why?"
It’s a simple question, but felt like he was asking so much more than just why . Why did you want to risk it all? Why are you choosing to throw away this?
Time tries to make it not sound recited, despite having done so nights before. “The power to go back in time is to serve the goddess and the sages, complete our roles as chosen heroes, along with saving a comrade.”
“What if the goddesses don’t care for Twilight, and have something else planned? What are you going to do then? Is it really worth it to save Twilight? We’re essentially losing two people now to this!” The captain looks like he’s on the edge of rising onto his hackles, starting to pull at his hair. Time starts to sweat, not sure if he could handle this. He’s never seen Warriors on the edge like this, looking so distraught and yet somehow resentful.
“Twilight,” Time says slowly, trying to find the right words, but he keeps it short. “Isn’t just a fundamental member of this group, he deserves to live a much longer life. He has people to return to.” He tries to reassure Warriors again, “And I said earlier, I’ve done this before. I’m the Hero of Time for a reason.”
“Is that what you say to try to convince yourself? Because that’s what it sounds like to me.”
"Excuse me?" Time asks, lips pressed into a thin line. He feels frustration and indignation rising up in his chest.
"You would never do this for the rest of us." Warriors states angrily, "It's always been him. I don't know what it is, but you—" His eyes open wide, round like circles, before he deflates in seconds, and just looks tired.
"I've always followed your orders, always listened to you, always, always— you ask to jump? immediately I ask, how high? I—" Warriors shoulders slump deeply. "I was never going to— there was no competition. Never is, when it comes to blood."
Time freezes in place, but quickly recovers, trying to do something, anything, to salvage whatever this is.
"I didn't ever see it like that. I didn't know if I could— how to tell anyone—"
Warriors smiles ruefully, "I would have listened."
Time feels his throat dry up, eyes a bit itchy, almost watering. "I've only found out recently, I've never treated any of you differently. Never.”
He closes his eyes tightly, keeping the warmth behind closed lids. “And I have no intentions of doing so even now." When he opens his eyes, he finds the other man doesn't look very convinced.
"Just make sure to take care of yourself." Warriors' gaze sadly softens for a fraction, closing off for discussion. He readjusts the scarf, covering his face a little, just enough so Time can’t see his expression. “I'll see you soon, I guess."
He turned away first, distance separating them as the captain made his way back to camp.
It takes a while, but Time finally gets the feeling that's gutted him. He's never had many people leave him before, and if they did, it's usually death that takes his loved ones, with his heart churning in pain and throat hoarse from screaming or crying. It takes a few moments for him to pinpoint what this scene was.
This is Warriors, trying to walk away.
They agree amongst themselves later that Time will leave the following morning. They tell him that he should sleep and skip his night shift, but Time lies awake anyways.
He thinks about Warriors, and wonders how he didn’t notice it earlier, his attempts at vying for Time’s approval. Taking on responsibilities not for his own pride, but for validation. Time looks over at Warrior’s bedroll, back pointedly facing him.
They didn’t get to talk much, not after what happened in the forest. Warriors just went back to camp and agreed (conceded) to the majority, before busying himself with Legend to hunt for game.
Warriors has essentially given up everything between them, Time thinks. He gets mad at the thought, how petty the captain was, doing this at the very end. But the guilt immediately sinks down to the base of his gut.
It feels hypocritical to feel loss, longing, and anger, when he was doing the same exact thing to the captain.
Warriors simply beat him to burying this future before he could. The captain really is the most tactical amongst all of them.
All of this, because of Twilight.
Time swears to himself he will make it right, for the both of them tomorrow morning.
“Are you sure we don’t need to pack anything for you?” Wild asks, almost akin to fretting as he has his bag opened up, potions and other things almost spilling out.
“No, it wouldn’t make a difference. I can only use the resources that I have in the past.” Time says, starting to untie the ocarina from his waist.
Legend sneaks to Wild’s side, “You think we could stuff him with potions, and have him keep the buffs when he gets to the other side?” The older teenager has a collection of magic spells and potions out, a rare display of sympathy and direct involvement. Time thinks it’s endearing, to watch the veteran worry over him in his own way, touched by the gesture.
“Please do not use me as your test subject, it wouldn’t retain anyways.” Time says, amused, “I don’t want to end up throwing up from the potion whiplash.”
“How about magic?” Hyrule asks eagerly, coming closer, and Time can feel wisps of little tickles of magic under his pauldrons as Hryule places his hands on them. “I wonder what happens if I just add a little strength and speed—”
“I’m not sure if you want to do that; it might mess with the time magic he’ll be using to travel to the past.” Four suggests while steering Hyrule off of Time, but the brunette finds the older man's arms and latches on. Four lets go of Hyrule, but he too, remains close by.
Sky tries to help get the kids off Time, and Time decides to indulge them a little. He makes eye contact with Sky, shaking his head, making the older teenager relent.
“I’ll see you boys soon,” Time says, starting to pull away, only to be pulled back in when Wind throws himself at him. Next comes Four, taking in an arm, and then the rest of them pile up. Time holds them tightly, choosing to yield to them as he’s smothered in a long hug. He sees Sky in his periphery, looking like he wanted to be part of it, too.
Time unclenches his fists and waggles his fingers to the older teenager, welcoming him in the group. The boy almost runs towards him, squeezing his larger body in between the squirming participants.
When he’s released reluctantly, he’s bombarded with verbal encouragement and care. He listens to each one, smiling nervously. As everyone’s got their last words in, Time knows its time.
He puts the ocarina to his lips, and plays.