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Twilight wakes up with a startle as he feels a familiar calloused hand on his forehead, brushing through his hair soothingly. When he opens his eyes, he finds no one there. When he tries to take a deep breath his throat painfully constricts, and a wave of nausea hits him. He can hear someone fumbling around with something, glass bottles gently clinking against each other.
He tries to sit upright, only to feel sharp, blinding pain in his abdomen. His head pounds from the sudden lurch in motion, amplifying the pain twofold.
“Don’t sit up so fast. You’re still hurt!”
“Time?” Twilight croaks, and winces at how much it hurts to talk. He tries to turn his head, trying to find who’s talking instead of speaking up.
The noise stops.
“...it’s Hyrule. I’m just mixing up some potions for you,” Hyrule answers quietly.
Twilight tries to get a better look around him. He remembers going down in the fight against the black lizalfos, and how it transformed into an iron knuckle before launching him across the clearing. It knocked him completely unconscious, and now he’s paying the consequence for being careless.
“Where- Where is he?” Twilight rasps, forcing himself up, and suddenly there’s something supporting his back. He turns to his left and finds Wild.
“Do you want water?” the younger man asks, looking concerned as he holds out a glass for him in his other hand.
Twilight takes the glass and drinks quickly, almost choking. There’s mounting dread that’s crawling up his spine, and he’s afraid . He hands the glass back to Wild, and again repeats his question, louder since his throat isn’t hurting as much now that he is hydrated.
“Where’s Time?”
“Maybe… you should ask at a better time,” Wild softly says, looking down at the glass as he refills it, pretending to be occupied.
Clenching his fists into the bedsheets, Twilight tries to swallow down the fear crawling up from his stomach.
Is Time hurt? Is it a fatal wound? What happened while I was out of it? Where is Time? He’s always here.
Forcing himself up through the sharp streaks of pain in the epicenter of his abdomen, he swings his legs out of the blankets and finally sets his feet down on the floor.
“You stubborn-” Hyrule starts, raising his voice while slamming down his glassware. He grabs Twilight by the shoulders, fingers trembling as they dig into his skin. “Can’t you see no one wants to talk about it? I can’t deal with this right now, I can’t! Not when we almost lost you!”
“Just let me know if he’s ok or not!” Twilight insists, trying to not raise his voice. He doesn’t want to mention how much getting himself up fucking hurts right now , but he has to know.
Hyrule grimaces, and even Wild has come to help the young man try to push Twilight back down into the bed.
The door suddenly slams open.
Warriors enters, piercing blue eyes darting between the three of them as he assesses the situation. It looks like he’s barely gotten himself presentable, his golden hair a mess as locks stick up from all angles. “What’s going on here?”
“Is Time alright?” Twilight asks quickly, taking advantage of the stunned silence between the other two trying to hold him back.
Warriors looks at him carefully, lips in a thin line. His blue eyes, bright and always reflecting confidence, seem to dull, softened not by pleasantries but by hopelessness. His shoulders are set back stiffly, as if forced.
“We don’t have to do this right now, Twilight.”
“No. I don’t care for your knight chivalry crap, Warriors!” Twilight bites out, getting nervous as the urgency and fear starts kicking in. “Just tell me now!”
Warriors looks alarmed at the sudden burst of anger, before he calms himself back down to that brittle look again. “Are we doing this then?”
Twilight breathes deeply, trying to ignore the dull pain and anxiety building in his stomach. “Yeah. Yeah we’re doing this now.”
“Then stand, brother. Stand on your own two feet.”
Wild makes a worried noise, but gets held back by Hyrule, who has grabbed Wild’s hand and moved them away from Twilight. They give him ample space.
Twilight bites down on his lip, trying not to cry out from the sheer burning pain as he pushes off from the bed. He staggers for a bit on his two feet, legs slightly trembling. He gives himself a few moments before he stands straight, setting his shoulders back and sticking his chin out. He will take this news standing.
It’s what Time deserves.
“Now?”
“Now.” Twilight confirms, breathing in deeply one last time.
“Ask me once more, brother.”
“Is Time alright?”
“No.” Warriors says as he looks Twilight straight in the eye. “Link of Lon Lon is dead.”
They split up Time’s gear amongst them, and it makes Twilight feel disgusted with himself, like he’s a hyena preying on the corpse of a poor animal that got stranded and died alone.
The masks go to Legend, who said he’ll seal them somewhere safe so their powers won’t be used for wrongdoing. Sky reluctantly inherits the Biggoron Sword, because the rest of them cannot bear its weight, and Twilight doesn’t want something that big to be reminded of his loss everyday. Four takes the gilded short blade, fingers mournfully gliding over the sword. Hyrule takes the Lens of Truth, before Wild and Legend insist he take something else as well, seeing how small the lenses are. He takes the gauntlets next, claiming they were probably the only thing he could take that would be put into good use.
Wind takes the cape that Time loved, handmade by Malon, and keeps it in one of the old man’s bottles.
“If-if I keep it inside the bottle, then on days when I miss him a lot, I can take it out in perfect condition, and it’ll be like he’s here with us again.” Wind said when asked, and Twilight had to look away.
Warriors takes the armor for a vigil. He takes care of the funeral arrangements with Sky, and Twilight.
The remaining eight watch the bonfire cremating Time’s body together. Wind, Hyrule, and Wild doze off after the first three hours into the night. Warriors brings them back to camp and stays there to watch over them for the rest of the night. Two hours later, Four succumbs after relentless fighting against exhaustion. Then after another hour Legend follows with dried tear marks down his face as he leaves for camp.
Sky and Twilight remain unmoving, even after the flames die out.
“It’s sunrise;” Sky says softly, and Twilight breaks out of his thoughts. He feels numb as he looks up, joints cracking from not moving for so long. Sky is right, and Twilight can see the first rays of dawn spring up from behind the forest canopy.
Twilight realizes now that they’ve stood here from sunset to dawn. His legs burn and cramp, and he doesn’t know if he has the strength to move from this spot. It feels unreal, that Time’s gone now. He’s never going to breathe the fresh morning air again, never going to eat a homemade meal with his family again, never going to stand by their side again.
He wonders if his ancestors, Time’s children, were able to make it home.
Or will Time be the only one lost and stranded, a stranger buried in an unholy land?
Sky gently puts his hand on Twilight’s shoulder, “Should we go?”
Twilight wonders if this is something he should share with Sky. It seems Warriors understood, and left long ago to give him privacy. He should thank him later.
“Please, leave.” He can’t look Sky in the eye. There’s nothing he can do to explain to Sky without it being too much.
It takes a moment before Sky finally leaves, but before he completely walks away, he speaks.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Twilight. I truly am.”
Twilight stands in silence for a long moment, breathing in the morning mist and watching the sun finally rise from behind the forest.
A new day.
Twilight breathes in, this is the first day of many now without Time, and with this realization, he finally gives into his grief.
He doesn’t know why he takes it, but when the others push him one final time to take something of Time’s, so he takes the ocarina.
Twilight wants to throw it away when no one is looking. It feels wrong and makes his skin crawl holding it. It is a work of art and incredibly beautiful, he cannot deny that.
Putting it up to his lips, he plays a note. It comes out crisp and clear, a perfect sound that is not flat at all.
On a whim, he plays one of Time’s favorite party tricks.
Almost immediately, rain falls, and a bolt of lightning strikes and illuminates the sky. He hears the rest of the group cry out in surprise, and they run under trees for cover.
Twilight stands in the rain, letting the cold rush of water soak him to the bone.
It’s then that he realizes there’s a way to get Time back.
He plays the Song of Time on the ocarina.
It doesn’t work.
Twilight doesn’t understand why. Earlier the Song of Storms worked perfectly fine, so should it not be the same for the Song of Time?
He ends up asking Hyrule about it. He seems like the nicest out of all of them to talk to about it, and is the least likely to think too critically and suspect Twilight of anything.
“Have you ever used magic before?” Hyrule asks, snapping his fingers. Electricity forms in between his index finger and thumb with ease.
“No… Not like that.” Twilight confesses. He let Midna do the magic tricks, back then.
The younger man taps a finger against his chin. “How about any instruments? Did you have practice with them before?”
Twilight refuses to confess he used to howl magical incantations and songs. That’s too difficult to explain, and he would lose any respect he has from any of them. So he just shakes his head.
“I see,” Hyrule says resolutely, “You’re just really magically weak.”
Startled, Twilight’s heart skips a beat. Is his chance to save Time really gone due to his magical ineptitude?
“Wait, don’t look like that, man. It doesn’t mean all hope is lost. You can play one song right? What was it again?”
“The Song of Storms. It causes rain and thunder.”
Hyrule’s face drops, and Twilight immediately realizes this was Time’s song. He looks down, feeling bad for bringing it up.
“If you can play that song, then it means you already have a magic reserve in you. You are able to tap into it, but it seems like you can’t manage the output, or you simply have a small reserve and haven’t expanded it yet. I think it’s both cases here. That’s why you’re weak right now.”
“So how do I get better?”
“Practice,” Hyrule stares at him blatantly. “What? Don’t give me that look! You think you chug a few magic potions and you’re good to go? You’re gonna blow up if you do. Even Sky and Four have a larger reserve because they use magic items by proxy on a daily basis, so it builds their reserves unconsciously. The fastest way is to keep practicing the songs you know that work, and the gradual but stable way is to train your body with proxy magic items. Got it?”
Twilight sighs.
“Hey, look at the bright side! You’re still young, and you already got a hang on this stuff! Just keep practicing.” Hyrule tries to cheer him on, and pats him on the back. “Just try not to keep doing the Song of Storms because I kind of don’t enjoy traveling in rain and thunder, ok?”
“Who can teach me other songs?”
Hyrule hesitates. “Well… No one knows Time’s songs… But, Legend can teach you some to help you practice and build your magic core.”
“Thanks,” Twilight says sincerely, holding Time’s ocarina tightly. “I really appreciate this.”
The traveler smiles softly. “I think playing his songs is a great way to remember him by. It suits you.”
Flushing, Twilight scratches the back of his neck, embarrassed. “Yeah… Well… I felt like I had to get something to remember him by even if I didn’t want to. Want to be reminded that… he’s gone, that is. I think with this thing, it’s easier to forget he’s really gone, you know?”
“I know,” Hyrule agrees, and he runs his fingers over the golden edges of
Time’s
his gauntlets.
Upon asking Legend for help, he gets heckled for his weak reserves, but at the very least, Legend gives him tips and tricks to help expand his magical capabilities.
“I had to learn when I was around ten, and it was tough. It’s best to learn right in between five to seven years old. But if you have to learn later in life, then after preteens is better because your body is stabilized and your mental state is clearer,” Legend explains as he writes down a song for him to practice.
“You’re a little old to start learning, but it’s not so bad. You clearly have dabbled in some magic before, so thank your lucky stars for that, or else you might have no talent at all. You’re not entirely screwed,” he continues rambling, and Twilight is about to start daydreaming because being heckled isn’t his favorite hobby. “This one is harmless, and wakes people up no matter what. You can keep practicing without making it pour on other people.”
He gives Twilight a stink eye, and the older man gives him an awkward laugh.
Twilight ends up on morning wake up duty, playing “Frog’s Song of Soul” on the ocarina to practice. It is frustratingly one of the few moments of a day he can play. Most of his time is used now to fill up the roles that Time has left behind. Eventually, after he builds up his strength enough, Legend teaches him a few other songs, and how to put magic intent into his playing.
He finds himself humming the Song of Storms, feeling closer everyday to his goal as he finds himself able to play for longer periods of time without exhaustion.
He doesn’t really feel anything when playing Legend’s songs or the Song of Storms, but when he tries to play the Song of Time, he feels the drain and his vision starts to blur as he plays. He doesn’t get to finish the song, just a few notes shy from the end of it and completing the incantation.
Twilight is so close to seeing him again.
It’s when Twilight finally creates a storm so fierce that the sky turned pitch black that he realizes now is the time.
“You improved quickly, rancher. What kind of drive is that? To expand your magic reserves so fast in a matter of a couple weeks?” Legend whistles, looking up at the sky from the mouth of the cave they were in.
“For Time,” Twilight says sincerely, watching multiple bolts of lightning dance across the sky.
They sit without speaking for a moment, only the rain and thunder to accompany them.
“Even though we weren’t close, I felt like I lost something I didn’t even know I had,” Legend suddenly says.
Twilight blinks. “What was your something?”
“I mean, don’t get me wrong, I already have my uncle. I didn’t think there was room for anyone else for, I don’t know, someone like him.”
“I’m still not getting it?”
Legend slouches in on himself. “We thought you were going to go too. You stopped breathing, and- we- couldn’t take you and Time-“
No one has told him anything about what happened. No one wants to, and it makes Twilight swallow nervously.
“Why won’t anyone tell me what happened?”
Legend looks startled, stilling like a block of ice and he stops talking.
“Why are you looking at me like that? What’s wrong? Are you afraid of me?”
Legend looks away. “Hyrule, Four, and Sky grabbed your body and took you away first. Wild ended up finishing the black lizalfos off. By then, Time was already gone. He was so cold. We had to drag him by his arms at the last quarter of the trip because he was so heavy.”
Twilight raises a hand to pat him on the shoulder, chest squeezing as he thinks about the kids stone faced and dragging Time through the mud. “Legend-“
“Whatever,” he interrupts, voice sounding nasally as he sniffs. He’s got that drawn look, something he learned after Time’s passing. “Warriors told me not to tell you anything. We all promised. He said it would kill you. I don’t know why, but if you want the rest of the story you’re going to have to ask him.”
Twilight puts his hand down. “You did enough, Legend.”
He snaps, eyes wild. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I didn’t know what he was to you. I shouldn’t have said anything and it wasn’t my place-“
Twilight stops him and takes his face into his hands, cupping his reddening cheeks, something he learned from Time.
“It’s enough Legend. You did enough. And there was nothing more you could do, that you needed to do. You did what we needed. What I needed. And that’s all I can ask for and I’m grateful for it.”
He lets go immediately, and Legend’s face contorts back to that somber look. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I never blamed you for a second.”
Legend shudders, and he turns away.
At the dead of the night, Twilight plays the ocarina.
The notes tug at his very core, as if pulling his soul and stretching it like taffy. It hurts and he feels like he’s breaking, taking in agonizing breaths as he continues to play.
By the time he gets to the last note he can barely see, his ears ringing as the song reverberates in his head.
The last thought he has before he passes out is him wondering if the spell worked.
“Hey! Get up, Twilight! Get up!”
Twilight groans and tries to cover his face from the blinding light suddenly on his face. He doesn’t need to open his eyes to know someone is using a goddamn mirror shield to shine light at him right now. He rolls on his stomach and makes an agonized noise when he sees his wolf pelt was taken.
He literally wants to become one with the dirt, away from all his problems.
“Time! Twilight’s not getting up!”
Twilight stiffens upon hearing that. Time? Is he-
Rolling back on his back, he sits up, and immediately regrets it as his head pounds in protest. He suddenly feels nauseous and leans forwards, curling in on himself.
“Where- What day is it?” Twilight asks, sweating. His fingers are numb and cold, and he doesn’t know where to look first. Everything is too bright and saturated.
“Are you alright?”
Twilight stills. He turns slowly and finds Time kneeling down at his side, watching at him.
Time looks exactly as he did before he died. Blonde hair light and faded from constant work under the sun, almost like silver at the right angles. He has a rosy tint to his skin, unlike the pale white color of his corpse. His eyes are so blue and focused, grounding and unshakable.
“Is he in shock?” Twilight hears, and Warriors comes around into his vision.
“I think so,” Time says and pushes up Twilight’s bangs and rests his hand there. “He’s too cold, but his breathing isn’t shallow and his pupils aren’t dilated.”
“I’m fine!” Twilight blurts, and scoots backwards out from Time’s reach, starting to breathe heavily. He blinks and looks around, finding the whole camp’s attention on him.
“It was just a dream,” he lies.
Time raises a brow. “A dream?”
Twilight looks down, afraid to look at Time’s face for any longer. He catches a glimpse of the ocarina, porcelain blue hidden in his blankets. He looks back up through his bangs. “Yeah… a dream.”
Both him and Warriors look unconvinced, but they leave him alone.
Wild’s there too, Twilight notices now. A scarred hand squeezes his own.
He squeezes back, reassuring the other he’s going to be ok.
There’s a growing dread that buds in his stomach as Twilight and the group get closer to the ambush site. He keeps his eyes trained on Time, watching his head bob from the back of the group. He takes his bow out, trying not to make it seem obvious he’s preparing for a fight.
They approach the same ruins where they were first ambushed, and this time around, Twilight spots the pearly white skull of the stalfos hiding above to jump Time. He fires an arrow at it, shattering it before it has time to react.
The twang of his bow snapping alerts all of the boys, and immediately weapons are unsheathed. The fight begins with a flurry of swords crossing and arrows soaring.
Twilight chases after the black lizalfos again, following the same path as he did before, but nailing down his shots with more accuracy on Epona. Twilight transforms, the pain dull and numbed after so many transformations. He chases the lizard back to the clearing, and this time after pinning it down, he feints a pounce.
But suddenly, he gets pushed from the side, wheezing as he gets thrown off course and rolls on the ground. He shakes his head and turns to his assailant.
He finds Time in the place he was standing, now facing down the Iron Knuckle.
Twilight’s heart races as Time starts to engage the beast, he digs his paws in, ready to launch forwards and help the older man.
However, he hears a yelp and finds Warriors getting bombarded. Now that Time isn’t there fighting alongside him, the other man is starting to struggle against the hoards.
In the end, he chooses Time, who’s struggling to dodge the heavy axe blows. Twilight bolts in between the legs of the monster as it slams its axe down at Time once more, slashing with his claws heavily into its elbows. The monster drops its axe and misses Time narrowly, now unable to use the strength of its arms.
With a howl, Twilight goes for its vulnerable neck, biting down hard on flesh as bitter, tangy blood rushes into his mouth. The monster twists under him, trying to get him off, and Twilight scrabbles against its armor, trying to find a better grip on it. Realizing it's useless, he focuses all his might in his jaws, jerks his head back and forth, mauling the meat of the monster’s neck into strips. It’s a bit barbaric as chunks of flesh and thick blood come flying off, but it does the job.
The Iron Knuckle goes down.
Twilight hacks up blood and flesh the best he can. Moments like these are when he wishes he could spit as a wolf, instead of having to let the black liquid drool out of his maw. He takes a look at the horde, all stunned in place, and howls at the top of his lungs. Seeing their leader dead, they start to book it.
He looks around, trying to spot the others, if they’re unharmed.
His heart skips a beat when he sees a familiar silver sword on the ground, bloodstained and without its owner. Looking up, he finds Time next to the missing owner of the sword.
Twilight runs over to his side, picking up the sword in his jaw to bring it over.
Warriors is on the ground, bright, golden locks stained with blood and dirt, scattered around his head like a little halo. Time is holding a cloth to the side of his neck, completely darkened with blood. There’s blood all over his clothes and splattered on his face like a morbid painting. His breathing is shallow, chest barely moving.
Shaking, Twilight cannot stop the mournful noise that comes out from him as he drops the sword. He paws at Time, trying to tell him to go already, let him guide the group to the village for help.
“He’s gone, Twilight.” Time says, stone-faced and cold. He looks so much older than he is now, hand brushing the captain’s bangs out of his eyes. “Let him go.”
Warriors gurgles in protest, eyes fluttering as he fights to live. Twilight can’t leave him here like this, not when his hands are still twitching and he’s fighting with every breath to live.
He transforms, the ache barely there from the adrenaline, and he hears gasps. “I’m not leaving him like this! We can still save him! Did you give him potions?”
“We already did. Hyrule tried to use his magic, but the wound was too deep. It’s a miracle he’s still alive now.”
Twilight shakes his head. It’s not supposed to be like this, no one here should have to bury their own brother. Warriors has lived through war, he’s lived through burying his brothers and comrades on honored soil where their loved ones can mourn him. He’s a hero, he shouldn't have to die out here just because of Twilight’s carelessness. Not where no one can remember him, alone without his family.
Warriors makes another strangled noise, huffing, and that's when Twilight notices that Warriors is pointing with his index finger.
“The sword!” Sky exclaims suddenly, “Give him his sword, now!”
Twilight brings the sword next to him and raises it in view for Warriors to see. The man raises a shaky hand, before it collapses back down. His blue eyes widen in alarm and he makes another choked noise.
Hands trembling, he takes Warriors hands in his and wraps them around the hilt, letting it lay parallel to his body. He looks at Twilight, eyes alarmingly blue and bright, and mouths to him his gratitude.
Almost immediately, his eyes close and his shallow breaths finally cease.
It feels worse than when he lost Time. The wrenching pain makes his head feel like it's about to split in half, and he doesn’t know wether to throw up or to pass out. There’s a bitter taste in his mouth, and he isn’t sure if it's the black blood.
He wonders if this is how Legend felt, when he had to watch Time die.
Faintly, Twilight can hear someone yelling, crying, or something like that. Someone is asking if Warriors is dead, and he can’t he can’t he can’t he can’t he can’t.
He looks down and finds the ocarina, shining under the sunset’s last rays, as if mocking him.
Twilight takes it and plays the Song of Time, tasting bitter blood again.
Twilight doesn’t dream often. But in terms of his previous experience, they’ve always been pretty shitty.
He finds himself somewhere dark, vacant. There’s nothing around besides a few fallen pillars, all littered with scratches and broken chunks as if someone had fought here. The floor contains a large engraving of the triforce, a huge crack cutting through it, creating a pitch black chasm. Weirdly, there’s vines and foliage growing along the walls of it. The only life that could be seen here.
There’s someone else there too, kneeling down across from him and watching the chasm. The man has blonde hair covering his face, but there are pretty blue earrings gleaming on his ears, and his shawl is a brilliant blue. It’s got golden pauldrons on its shoulders, too huge for it’s lanky body. There’s something dark streaming down his body, which is being drowned by the bubbling, black liquid flowing down into the chasm.
He takes a step forward, and suddenly the man stands up, head still lolled forwards.
“What are you here for?” Its voice is ice cold, and sounds like glass shattering and ice breaking.
Twilight swallows, trying to not shiver. “I’m not looking for anything.”
“Lie.” It jerks angrily. “Tell me what you’re here for.”
“Nothing! There’s nothing here I’m looking for!”
It makes a garbled noise, and lets out an angry screech. Twilight jumps backwards and reaches for his sword, unsheathing it and pointing it at the monster. He tries not to tremble as he feels it's cold breath reach him.
It lunges across the chasm, barely making it as it digs its fingers on the edge, hauling itself up and that’s when he sees it.
Two mismatched eyes bulging from its eye-sockets stare back at him. Its upper face is covered in black blood. Its head is almost hanging off from the rest of its body, still attached by frail tendons and strips of muscle.
And he can’t look away. He can’t look away as those blue eyes stare at him accusingly. Black fluid dribbles out from its mouth as it mouths at him angrily. There’s no sound coming out from it, seeing that its vocal cords have been serrated. The scarf is still blue, startling blue against the black and-
Twilight screams, drenched in sweat, and he flinches at the sudden light, covering his face. He can’t feel his fingers, and his palms are so clammy.
He doesn’t know how long he’s been screaming. When he feels a stinging pain across his face, Twilight stops. His throat is hoarse like hell, and he’s breathing in short, painful breaths. There’s pink in his vision, so much of it.
“May the power of pain compel you, Twilight!” Legend yells, his face in Twilight’s. He’s got little wrinkles in between his eyes and his brows are furrowed. His eyes are wide, and he looks scared.
“Legend! Why did you hit him?” He hears Time’s disappointed voice, and in the back of his mind Twilight feels ashamed that he’s once again in the way.
“He wasn’t reacting to whatever shit you were doing!” Legend defends, and he points at Twilight, “Look! He actually snapped out of it now.”
“Let me take a look at him,” is what Twilight hears before he sees those haunting blue eyes again. He thrusts his hands out, trying to get away as he scoots backwards onto dirt. There’s too many eyes, so much blue, all looking at him and it's starting to get hard to breathe again.
“What did you do that for? What’s happening, man?” Wind asks and Twilight is stunned in place, and he can’t rip his eyes away from Warriors, who’s also sitting back up from being pushed, eyes betraying his hurt.
“I’m sorry,” Twilight cries out hoarsely, but the look doesn’t go away. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
“Enough!” Time shouts, and all the noise dissipates in a second. He walks over to stand in front of Twilight, back facing him. It’s almost like the forest itself was hushed, the sound of leaves and animals running about muffled.
None of them speak a word, until Time opens his mouth. “Everyone, prepare for the day. We’ll get back to following the black lizalfos’ trail. Twilight, can you stand?”
Time doesn’t face him still, but Twilight gets up and grunts as an affirmative. He doesn’t trust his voice just yet. The older man starts to walk into the forest, and Twilight takes it as a silent command to follow.
As they walk, Twilight feels his sweat cool and his heart rate slow down as the cool wind blows.
When they reach a good enough distance out of earshot from the camp, Time stops, and so does Twilight. For some reason, the man hasn’t turned around yet.
“Have you calmed down yet?”
Twilight cannot see Time’s face, and he gets anxious. Did he really fuck up that bad? Is he going to get scolded? Why won’t Time face him?
“Yes,” Twilight rasps, before he clears his throat. “Yeah.”
They stand in silence for a moment, before Time speaks again.
“Can I turn around?”
Twilight blinks, “Yeah? Why wouldn’t you turn around?”
“You started to go in shock when you looked at Warrior’s eyes, and it got worse when you were looking at the rest of the boys’ eyes.”
Twilight flinches, and tries to deny this, but Time continues to speak.
“You remember, don’t you?” Time says, and he tilts his head to the left, just so his face and mouth could be seen, but his golden locks curtain his eyes. “What happened on that day. You remember it.”
Immediately, Twilight clenches his fist as his worst fears spring upon him. “I didn’t mean it! I didn’t mean to kill-”
There’s two strong arms around his shoulders, and he finds his face pressed into the nook of Time’s shoulder and neck. “No you didn’t. You didn’t kill anyone. Warriors is fine and safe. It wasn’t your fault. He won’t die. We won’t let it happen.”
“How-” Twilight starts, stunned, how did he know? How did Time know, but not the rest of them.
“I don’t know,” Time says, and from the way his arms tightened around Twilight, he thinks it's genuine. “I only remember yesterday, and I saw you with my ocarina. I knew it went missing, but I don’t understand. Why did you have it?”
Upon hearing that, Twilight succumbs to exhaustion and confesses everything. From the brutal ambush. From his own near death. From learning how to play the ocarina and the Song of Time.
The details of Time’s death goes unspoken, and there’s a pang in heart as he thinks of it.
He feels like absolute shit after pouring everything out, head pounding with a dull ache. It feels worse than the first time using time travel, and he wants to crawl back into his bed roll and sleep away the whole day.
“I’m so sorry, Twilight.” Time says suddenly, and he can feel something damp against his hair, where Time has bent over, completely slouched and encasing Twilight. “I shouldn’t have let my failures become your burden.”
“It’s not your fault! What happens to me doesn’t matt-” Twilight pushes Time backwards, looking up, but stops in shock.
Time looking at him like he’s the last good thing on this earth, a piercing desperation in his eyes. There’s nothing soothing about the way his soft, grey blue eyes bore into his own. He looks so hurt, so full of heartache, that Twilight wonders how many people he had to bury in his heart.
“No.” And Time says it so resolutely that he cannot complain despite every fiber of his being wanting to take some of the guilt, just so Time stops sounding so broken. “Those sins are mine to bear.”
They stare at each other until Time finally turns his head and looks away. “Enough of this. Let’s make a plan and be sure it doesn’t happen again.”
With Time on his side and both of them with a plan, the ambush goes a hundred times better, and they all survive their initial encounters.
It gets messy afterwards, when the black lizalfos transforms between its lizard and iron form, but they whittle its energy down until it finally gets pummeled by Sky. As it collapses, a dark crystal rolls out of its palm, inside it is a swirl of purple and black. Sky picks it up out of curiosity, but drops it from surprise as nine portals appear before them. They disappear almost immediately as the crystal leaves his hand.
Time suggests that they go to the village to care for their wounds before they do anything else. They will decide what to do with the lizalfo’s crystal and the portals after cleaning and healing their wounds.. Warriors suggests they celebrate, and he uses his surprisingly large stash of rupees for food and drinks. Even Wind gets a sip, since Warriors insists their little hero deserves it despite being too young to drink.
The victory feels satisfying, but despite the sweetness of is drink, it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth when he realizes how easy the fight should have been.
He sighs, nursing his drink pathetically in a corner. He should be out there joyfully celebrating, instead of hiding away because every look he takes at Warriors makes him flinch. (
“It doesn’t get better.” Time says, and he looks sorrowful, “But you learn to get used to it.)
Twilight hopes he gets over it as soon as possible, feeling sick as the fresh memory of Warriors bleeding out intrudes on the festive mood he had.
He looks over to Time, who’s standing next to Legend and Hyrule, as the two try to wrangle him into a prank unsuccessfully. He looks amused and relaxed, a gentle smile curving up on his lips.
Hope swells in his chest. Maybe if things stay like this, where Time is happy and healthy, there won’t be a need for a shade.
Twilight doesn’t even get the chance to fully open his eyes before he immediately wishes he wasn’t awake.
His entire body feels fucking sore, even his eyelids hurt when he tries to open his eyes. For a second he was grateful for not having a horrible dream last night, but as he tries to sit up, he feels a wave of nausea and pain in his head.
Groaning, he forces his eyes open, and gasps.
Above him is the sky, speckled with pink and orange from the sun rising. There’s a few stray leaves floating in the wind, and Twilight wonders if he sleepwalked out of the inn last night. He finally lurches forwards, head spinning for a moment, before he looks around.
Everyone’s in their bedrolls. Just like the day before. He finds Time sitting up, and the man looks just as confused as he is.
“Time,” Twilight says slowly, wondering if he’s going to sound stupid or crazy when he says this, “Do you remember what we did yesterday?”
Time slowly looks over to Twilight, frowning. He seems to have connected the pieces faster than Twilight had expected. “Did you play the ocarina?”
Twilight shakes his head, and he looks down. The ocarina is in its same place as it was before in his blankets, twinkling under the sunlight.
“Can you play it again? Just to see what happens. Maybe you have to end the incantation by repeating it once more.”
He nods, and brings the ocarina up to his lips, vision going blurry. He finds his fingers are cold and tingly, as if they fell asleep.
Twilight doesn’t get past the first four notes when he starts to choke, throat feeling like it was stabbed with a thousand needles from the inside. He drops the ocarina, and it lands with a soft thud onto his lap. There’s something wet dripping out of his mouth, and when he looks down, he finds blood smeared on the ocarina.
“Twilight!” Time exclaims, and almost immediately he’s by Twilight’s side, holding a handkerchief to his face. He says something else, but Twilight can’t hear anything, it’s like he’s underwater at the Zora domain. But it’s so cold, colder than anything he felt, not even as cold as when he braved the blizzards at Yeto’s humble abode in icy mountains.
He wipes his nose with the handkerchief, and he finds it soaked with blood. It still feels rather wet on his face, and he licks his lips, tasting metal. Suddenly, he feels someone’s hand in his hair, tilting his head back, giving him a full view of the sky.
“Don’t tilt his head back! We don’t want the blood to go down his throat and choke him!” He hears Warriors warble as if he was underwater too, and Twilight laughs airly at how funny Warriors sounds. Then his head’s brought back down and he’s at eye level with Time again.
There’s a green hue of light, and suddenly, his vision isn’t that blurry and it’s like someone unplugged his ears. He looks around with newfound clarity, avoiding a blue scarf in his peripheral vision to look at Hyrule, Four, and Time anxiously hovering over him.
“Wow,” Four says, and he looks at Hyrule with admiration. “That’s some useful stuff.”
Hyrule scratches the base of his neck. “Thanks, I’ve never tried it on anyone else before, but I’m glad it seemed to be of good use.”
“Maybe I should look into magic. I think there’s a good amount of potential in combining that with my smithing.”
“You already have a solid magic reserve in your body from what I've seen. Your use of magical tools proves that. But now is not the time.” Time comments, turning to face Twilight, face tight with concern. “You alright there, Twilight?”
“Yeah, yeah. A lot better.” Twilight says before taking a breath through his mouth, still tasting blood. His head is still pounding, but that’s probably the least of his concerns at the moment. “Thanks Hyrule, I owe you one.”
“What happened anyway just now?” Wind asks, looking between Time and Twilight. “I woke up to someone playing music and then I heard Twilight choking.”
“It’s my bad.” Time admits, looking down at his knees. “I asked him to play a magical song, but he wasn’t ready for the burden. Magical songs and incantations have great consequences for those who don’t have the reserves.”
“Sheesh old man, you nearly killed him. He’s literally on his last legs.” Legend says casually, but with the way his eyes are narrowed, Twilight can tell it must be serious. “And it seems like something’s wrong with him. Magically, I mean. I’ve never seen someone look like this before.”
“Really?” Time asks, eye wide with shock, and he stares at Twilight.
“Yeah, it’s like he’s being drained away from his very-” Legend continues, before snapping his mouth shut with a click. “Is this a curse?”
“It can’t be. We would be able to sense it immediately, with that sort of mana drainage.” Hyrule hastily says, and suddenly, he looks serious as well.
“Guys, I just asked for an explanation!” Wind interrupts, and he starts looking frustrated. “Let us in on this too, we’re a team, aren’t we?”
Time shares a look between Legend and Hyrule for a brief second, and Twilight thinks Wind is going to combust.
It’s bad enough he gets excluded from the “adult” conversations
, Twilight thinks to himself.
“Everyone has magic in them. This is a no-brainer. However, the extent of what a person can do varies between everyone. If you look at the captain, for example, he can’t use magic the way we can.” Legend starts, gesturing to Hyrule, who makes electricity pop and snap in his palm. “Magic is essential. If you don’t have it, or you use all of it at one go-”
Hyrule makes a small explosion in his hands.
“So Twilight’s dying because he’s got no more magic? And the reason is because something is stealing it away?” Wind concludes quickly, and the rest of them start to look just as alarmed as Legend did earlier.
“Essentially.” Hyrule nods.
“I’ll be fine. I just need to rest and maybe take a potion-” Twilight says, trying to calm them all down.
“No! You are not taking a potion!” Legend interrupts loudly, darkly frowning. “That’s the worst thing you can do in this state and you’re going to kill-.”
“The ocarina.” Time suddenly says, looking eerily serious. “It’s the ocarina.”
Twilight tries to hide it in his hands, but they aren’t listening to him, only sluggishly moving an inch forwards. Wind snatches it out before his fingers can even touch it. Goddamn this pirate little bastard, he curses to himself.
“No!” Give it back!” Twilight shouts as he tries to reach out. He can’t go back like this, he doesn’t want to go back, not in a world where Time is still dead.
Wind gives it to Time, and Twilight watches in horror as the older man throws it on the ground, shattering it with a horrible noise.
But nothing happens.
Shuddering, Twilight falls back onto his bedroll. It’s fine. Nothing changed.
“What the FUCK?” Wind shouts, and Twilight lifts his head up.
The pieces of the ocarina suddenly slide towards each other, as if magnetized. They put themselves back together, forming one whole ocarina in perfect condition.
“That’s not a curse.” Four says softly, picking it up and showing the triforce symbol to the others. “This is a divine instrument. You can’t break those by normal conventions.”
Hyrule turns to Twilight. “Whatever you did… You have to revert it. Only you can do it. If it really is a divine instrument, there are harsh punishments for those who cannot fulfill their requirements.”
“Is there any way for someone else to take the burden?” Time asks, and he eyes the ocarina with loathe in his eyes.
“Nah. You can assist, but it has to be Twilight. He has to undo everything.”
“Is there anything us non-magic folk can do?” Wild asks, fiddling his hands awkwardly. “Maybe cook something for him?”
“Yeah definitely. I’ll come up with a list of ingredients that are good for recovery and also mana regeneration.” Legend says with his chest puffed up. “I’ll put you all to good use while Hyrule and I do our magic. We’ll get this guy up and going in no time.”
Twilight gets put on complete bed rest. The operation to hunt down the black lizalfos is paused. Additionally, he’s being forced to eat a bunch of gross things and let Hyrule and Legend do weird magic stuff to help him get back on his feet again.
Worse, Time hasn’t spoken a single word to him.
Twilight feels miserable, and he hopes that Time isn’t blaming himself again. He doesn’t want Time to have any regrets or guilt, so he goes through all the coddling without any verbal complaint.
He gets close to biting Wind’s fingers when he fools around and mocks Twilight a bit.
Warriors also drops by too, having most of the healing treatment experience out of all them. It is hard when he does come over to help, and Twilight tries to avoid looking at him from his neck up. His blue scarf doesn’t help either, and it makes Twilight anxious as he remembers how strikingly blue that scarf was against Warrior’s blood in his memory.
Unfortunately, he gets stuck with Warriors due to Legend deciding there’s no need for four people looking for stuff, and that someone needs to nurse Twilight back to normal.
It’s really awkward, because Warriors loves talking and Twilight’s giving him the bare minimum of replies, and each time he does, Twilight feels even worse. He’s probably not going to get better at this rate.
It seems like Warriors notices though, and sighs heavily.
“Man, you have a sexy nurse taking care of you and you don’t even bother to look at me? This is such a drag.”
Shocked, Twilight stammers, “W-What the fuck?”
“I know you’re not happy being coddled, but why do you keep flinching every time you look relatively near my face? I thought I was a pretty boy.”
The rancher flushes, and looks at Warriors face for the first time. Despite his playful tone, his face is serious, brows furrowed.
“It’s not y-”
“It’s not you, it’s me?” Warriors scoffs. “You’re not my boyfriend, that’s kinda gross. Also you have too much of an odor for my liking. When someone says “it’s not you, it's me,” they definitely mean the person in question. Now spill.”
“I-” Twilight hesitates, and isn’t sure where to begin. But Warriors levels him with a stare, and his eyes are so compelling that he falls for it and spills.
“I actually time-traveled into the past because Time died. We were heavily wounded, but, I can’t remember what happened. No one wanted to tell me what happened, and I wanted to save him. So I went to the past, and in the process… I-”
“I got you killed. Because I made the wrong choice.” Twilight whispers, and he feels heat rush to his face in shame. “And now, I’m burdening everyone because my body can’t stand the burden of the magic from the ocarina.”
Warriors doesn’t say anything, but Twilight’s looking down so he can’t see Warriors’ face. He balls up his fists into the blankets. There are no excuses for his actions.
“How did I die?” Warriors asks quietly. He’s stopped his ministrations completely, putting down a hot towel from the steaming pot of water nearby.
“We were ambushed. I had to pick between you or Time, and I chose Time. You died with your sword in your hands. I made sure of it. ” He answers honestly. He doesn’t have the courage to go into details, but at the very least, he gives Warriors the truth.
The captain lets out a light hum. “I see. I figured so.”
Twilight looks up in shock, mouth open wide because he wants to ask Warriors what he means, but he can’t find the right words.
“What? You think I didn’t expect dying out on a field somewhere? I’m a knight. There’s no glorious or honorable ceremonies. Our job is to fight for our country. To die for it. If not us, then who? I’m not stupid to think I’m special just because I’ve got a piece of the triforce. If anything, I’m honored. My place is the battlefield. I wouldn’t have enjoyed it if I was sick and dying of a cough somewhere.”
Twilight stares at him openly now, shocked at how Warriors is casually talking about his death as if he’s talking about the morning news.
“So now you want to stare at me?” The lines around Warriors’ eyes crease as he smiles, bright ocean blue eyes twinkling in amusement. “Go ahead, take a picture while you’re at it.”
“Shut your hole,” Twilight says hotly. “I just didn’t expect you to talk about your death so casually.”
Warriors laughs out loud, and Twilight tries to hide behind his hands, covering his heated face.
“What’s so funny?”
Twilight turns around, and finds Wild walking over to them before he sits down next to Twilight. His sleeves are pushed up and dirty, probably from foraging.
“Nothing.” Twilight says quickly, trying to change the subject. “Is there something you need?”
“Oh, no. Not really,” Wild trails off, staring at something over Twilight’s head, before looking back at Twilight. “Have you spoken to Time yet?”
“Time?” Warriors inquires, and he tilts his head slightly to the direction Wild was looking at. “What happened to Time?”
“Dunno,” the scarred hero shrugs, “He seemed to be a bit frazzled from earlier. He hasn’t even spoken a word since then.”
“Want me to talk to him?” Warriors offers.
“I’m thinking Twilight should talk to him.” Wild suggests, but gets flustered when Warriors raises a brow and pointedly looks at Twilight again, who’s still in the makeshift bed. “I mean! When he's all healed and ready again.”
Warriors makes an exasperated sigh. “You know how Twilight
gets
when things involve Time. Now my patient’s going to be mentally occupied with this knowledge, worrying about other people when he should be worried about himself.”
“No I won’t,” Twilight lies on reflex, and he shrivels back when Warriors and Wild synchronously glare at him.
“How about you think about what you’re going to talk to him about while resting,” Wild says, “And not focus on the negative aspects of it, OK?”
Twilight rolls his eyes. He gets pinched in the side by Wild for it.
By the end of the day, Legend declares Twilight’s going to need another day at the very least before he gets his seal of approval.
What he needs is rest, apparently. But it's been so many hours of lying down that Twilight is going to go nuts. Luckily though, if time is going to reset since Twilight hasn’t fixed his errors with the ocarina yet, Legend won’t be able to get him tomorrow.
He smiles, feeling smug about this newfound realization. He goes to sleep, feeling relieved for once since this shitty time traveling situation started.
Twilight wakes up still feeling a bit weak, but it’s ten times better than what he had to go through the previous days. He gets up with a big stretch, savoring the moment when he doesn’t feel nauseous.
He sees Time get up as well, so Twilight quickly dresses before making his way over to him.
Time hesitates when Twilight comes over, eyes unable to meet him. Twilight’s chest constricts, and he doesn’t know where he went wrong to make Time behave like this.
“Hey, Time?” He asks quietly, “Are you alright?”
“Yes…” The older man says, as if he’s unsure. He takes a deep breath, and closes his eyes, as if he’s steeling up his nerves for something.
Twilight takes the initiative to help. “Do you want to talk about something?”
Time seems to almost slouch in on himself, looking wounded. “Mmh. Now is fine.”
“Alright,” Twilight says softly, shifting in his boots nervously. “I guess… follow me?”
They go to the same spot they did on the second day, the place where Time confronted him about Warriors’ death. It’s much quieter now, and Twilight feels a strange sense of loss as he leads Time instead of the other way around. He turns his head a bit to look back at Time. He can see in Time’s gait there’s something bothering him, and there’s a cloud of hopeless in the older hero’s eye.
When they reach the spot, Twilight turns around, and swallows.
“What’s wrong?” Twilight starts, trying to keep the wobble out of his voice while smiling reassuringly. “Did something happen?”
“How can I convince you to let me go, Twilight?”
Twilight blinks. This doesn’t make sense. Wasn’t Time upset that he indirectly caused Twilight harm? “What do you mean?”
Time looks at him dead in the eyes, unfazed. “What do I need to do to make you let me die?”
“I-I don’t understand,” Twilight stutters, the smile on his face long gone and he’s floundering now for what to do. His hands are clammy and he fists them into his clothes, trying to find a grip somewhere. “What do you mean, let you die?”
“The second you play that song again to undo the looping, I’m going to disappear. This entire reality will. You will go back to the day you played that song for the first time.” Time explains, and Twilight’s heart starts to beat rapidly in horror as he realizes what Time’s saying. “I realized it earlier, when you played it in front of me. As long as this loop is running, it will eat at you until you’re dead. And that isn’t how it’s supposed to be. You’re supposed to live, and I must die.”
“But- Time? That doesn’t make sense? How-?”
“I talked to Warriors when you rested… And it makes sense.” Time looks down, and the gesture makes his bangs cover his eyes so that Twilight can’t read his expression. Twilight’s shaking so hard as Time speaks, hands moving to his thighs to stabilize himself. It feels like the world is crumbling in on him. The trees around them feel like they’re looming over, ready to swallow them whole.
“I-It makes sense.” Time repeats, voice trembling for a second, before he clears his throat. “You’re a bright kid. You would figure out the Song of Time and take the ocarina and make this your burden because you couldn’t live with my death.”
“No, no Time! You’re not-” Twilight denies as he walks closer to Time, blinking rapidly as his eyes sting. “That’s not what happened!”
“It happened because you couldn’t live with the fact that I chose you over me!” Time shouts, and he’s folded his trembling hands in front of him, knuckles white. “Because you’re a good kid! That’s how you are! You couldn’t accept it, that you were given the choice of life instead of death, because deep down you think you don't deserve it. But that is exactly the reason why I chose you!”
There’s sweat rolling down Twilight’s face, and it feels too hot to breathe, and suddenly, Time grabs Twilight’s shoulders roughly. They’re facing each other now, but Time has his head bowed so low, that it feels so wrong to see the top of his head. He shouldn’t be lowering himself like this- it isn’t right.
“I just want you to have a life I didn’t have,” Time says quietly, “and that you’ll never have to make the same mistakes I did.”
He can see it now. He can see Time resting against a piece of rubble, bleeding out and fighting to stay awake, his good eye almost closed. He has a knife at his own throat, dribbling blood from his neck, digging it further as Hyrule tries to come over with his arm extending out, a green glow coming from his hand. Time is barking something at Warriors, and then Twilight’s view is suddenly lopsided from being hauled onto Sky’s shoulder as he’s dragged away.
He hears a muffled voice, but then he registers it’s him shouting because Time looks up at him with his one good eye upon the noise. His upper face caked in so much blood that if it wasn’t for his signature armor, Twilight wouldn’t have recognized him.
Time mouthed to him, so, so, slowly as if time was slowing down while Twilight is being hauled away.
“I’m sorry.”
This must be what Legend meant, when he told Twilight that Warriors said the knowledge of what happened would kill Twilight.
Twilight wishes he was dead.
But- But if Time’s talking about it now, does that mean… Does he remember that too? Time’s face is still turned away from him. Twilight tries to reach out to him, just to make sure the man standing before him isn’t a dream, that he’s here. But Time lets go of Twilight’s shoulders and backs away from Twilight’s grasp, avoiding Twilight’s hands.
“I always knew, deep down, that I was going to die a dog’s death.” Time says and laughs, sounding bitter and hopeless. “Maybe I did something terrible in my past life. But does it really matter now? Either way, it’s still my time to go.” Twilight shakes his head weakly. Time can’t say that about himself, not after everything. He’s been everything Twilight could have ever asked for and more, especially after what Time’s sacrificed for him.
He cannot be the reason that Time becomes a specter of himself, guilt ridden and lost.
“You are a good person, Time!” He cries out, staggering forwards and grabbing onto the edges of Time’s tunic and pulling it. “You don’t have to accept this, where’s your courage? Make a new path for yourself! What about your children? Are you ok with leaving them behind?”
Time halts, tilting his head in consideration for a moment, lips in a thin line. Twilight feels a bit bad guilt tripping him using Malon and his future children, but he needs Time to not give up now.
He startles a bit when Time suddenly brings a large, calloused hand to Twilight’s cheek, cupping it. It’s warm.
“If I don’t leave… ” Time softly says, and starts to rub Twilight’s cheek in gentle circles with his thumb. Twilight tries not to squirm under the sudden affection. It’s not that he’s one to shy away from touch, but Time rarely ever offers this kind of... “You won’t be able to make it back too, you know?”
“You don’t know tha-”
“I know.” Time interrupts, and suddenly, he looks so old. The lines crossing the expanse of his forehead have become thick creases, and little bird feet decorate the edges of his eyes. His cheeks seemed hollow, the meat on them sagging slightly, as if his skin lost elasticity overnight.
And then it hits Twilight. It’s not that he became like this all of a sudden- It’s just he’s been hiding it for so long, and Twilight was stupid enough to not see it. He almost died that day, but it was Time that did. And he’s been forcing Time to relive that in his dreams and every waking moment. A reminder of his very own failures as he has to keep watching Twilight suffer, despite the suffering being from the root of the rancher’s own actions.
“I’m sorry.” Twilight says brokenly and looks down.
Time pats his face. “Don’t be. I’m sorry, too.”
Twilight pushes Time’s hand away, rubbing at his eyes quickly, trying to hide the wetness as his eyes sting. But it’s too late because his palms are wet now and he feels his cheeks starting to heat up.
“Don’t give me puppy dog eyes now, son.” Time says as he cups Twilight’s cheeks with both hands. He uses his thumbs to wipe the residual tears left, but Twilight can’t stop them and he’s struggling to breathe as he takes quick staccato breaths. It’s too much, finding out everything hidden from him at one go and remembering forgotten memories- He’s so frustrated and ashamed, crumbling right before the very end.
“Deep breaths. Clear your mind, forget about the little things, and just focus on your breathing.” Time encourages, and he uses his thumbs to rub his face in gentle circles.
Twilight follows his instructions, struggling with a wet gasp and wheeze at first, but eventually the heat and wetness on his face dissipates, and the suffocating feeling starts to settle.
“How are you feeling?”
“...Not ok.” Twilight admits, “but I’ll learn to be.”
Time gives him a weak smile, before his expression becomes stern. “We don’t have much time. I’m going to pass down everything I know to you.”
Time teaches Twilight everything he knows on the ocarina, and what they do.
He doesn’t let Twilight put magical intent in it to prevent further drainage to Twilight’s own body, and instead teaches him more of the basics.
Time doesn’t have the experience and natural talent that Hyrule and Legend have, so he learned to conserve and make the most of his capabilities. His wisdom is vital, and Twilight feels he's got a better grasp of magic now and how to efficiently use it for himself.
Twilight etches all Time’s songs into his memory, feeling numbed as he tries to not think about how every song he learns he’s one step closer to losing Time.
After the last tune Time plays for him, he tells him a story.
“This song was given to an important friend of mine. It has great power in the forest, and can sway those to be more favorable towards you. Use this power wisely.”
Twilight practices Saria’s Song once more, before realizing something. “Do you
mean the Lost Forest?”
Time blinks. “Yes. Have you been there before?”
“Yeah,” Twilight nods, “I met a skull kid there who kept playing it while he showed me the way to the Master Sword and Temple of Time.”
“With a mask on?”
“A skull one.”
“Hm… Go find him again when you go home and ask him to play a musical session with you.”
“Why?”
Time taps a finger against his knee and smiles whimsically. “Why not?”
“Okay…” Twilight gives him a disgruntled look, not pleased that Time’s deciding of all times to be mysterious.
They sit in silence for a minute, and Twilight takes the moment to carve everything of the older man into his head. His face, the soft greying blue of his eyes, the few sunspots decorating his skin, his voice, his scent- everything.
The older man breaks the silence. “It’s time.”
Twilight stiffens, it feels too soon.
“I will miss you, Link.” Time says so fondly and sincerely that Link can’t help but flush up.
Link clears his throat, but still croaks. “Me too.”
“For one last time, let’s play together.” Time says as he raises Saria’s ocarina to his lips, and Twilight mimics the gesture with the Ocarina of Time.
He closes his eyes, and plays.
When Link returns, he defeats their final enemies with his brothers, successfully ending the terror of black blooded monsters. He shares affectionate goodbyes and hugs with the ragtag group. Upon stepping through a portal to home, he immediately rides to the Lost Woods. He should be visiting the Royal Family and informing them of the results of his journey, but for once, he wants to be selfish.
He can hear Saria’s Song echoing in the woods, and finds it easier to navigate the forest this time around. It’s as if the foliage is rearranging itself to help guide him in this maze of a forest. The puppets on sentry also do not attack him this time, only eerily watching from the corners of his vision, disappearing when he turns his head fully.
Link finds the little skull kid fiddling with his trumpet, in the midst of playing a jaunty tune.
The skull kid stops in his tracks upon seeing him, bouncing on the soles of its shoes. “Look who’s back! There isn’t anything here for you anymore, puppy. Unless you want the bones of the forsaken?”
Link hesitates, wondering how stupid he sounds when he asks this. “I want to play a musical session with you.”
The kid stops completely, before it raises his trumpet close to its face. It’s so hard to read its expressions or gestures, and Link tries not to be obvious as he starts to reach for his sword, readying himself in case the kid chooses to attack.
“Let’s see if the dog’s barks are as good as it’s playing... Heehee!”
They go through Zelda’s Lullaby, the Prelude of Light, the Minuet of the Forest, and nearly all of the songs Time has taught him. Link’s mouth is starting to feel dry, and he wonders how the skull kid is still blasting away nonstop, song after song.
When they finish Saria’s Song, Link is about to call it quits, but then the skull kid starts to gleefully laugh.
“I don’t like adults. They always want something. They always take. But I’ll listen to you, since you kept up with me. What do you want?”
“I… don’t want anything that you can give me.”
It tilts its head ominously, as if it doesn’t believe him.
“I wanted to visit because someone I know cares about you. But they’re not here anymore, so I wanted to come in his stead.”
“So you came because of someone else? Not for me?”
Link starts to sweat. “Um. Well when you put it that way… Yes?”
It suddenly starts laughing, “You’re so weak! You succumbed so easily! Every adult that has come here has never been as pathetic as you! You really have what humans call a puppy dog face!”
“Well at least I-” Link stops himself, and tries to calm himself down. He will not have an argument with an eternal child and also
lose
to said child. “Well. I-I’m just doing what I can. That’s all. It was fun, but I should really go now.”
“It was fun.” The skull kid stops laughing, and jumps down from its perch closer to Link. It’s happy aura and gait suddenly changes. It stands before him, no longer a jittery ball of playfulness, gait straight and poised. “Thank you.”
Awkward, Link nods, “Yeah… You’re welcome… I guess.” He starts to shuffle with his clothes and puts the Ocarina of Time away. “I guess I’m just going to go now. Bye.”
Just when he turns away, thinking about how to organize his journey in a concise report for Zelda, the skull kid calls out to him across the clearing.
“He loved you like a son.”
Link flinches, the wound still so fresh. “I know.”
“He would have been proud. Though his passing has been long ago, your presence would make it easier for him to move on.”
By the time he finds the courage to turn around, the kid is gone.
He leaves the forest, the thicket closing in from behind and tickling his face as he walks back, as if saying goodbye. It feels familiar.
As Link rides on in the beginnings of twilight, not a single cloud out and with the air crisp and clear, he hears it. A soft familiar tune being sung, so faint that it couldn’t be a person- maybe a ghost, carried by the winds from the north.
Epona lets out a happy noise, and that's when Link realizes what the humming is.
With only the goddesses and the shining stars as his witness, he realizes he was never truly alone.
Finally- finally then, does he let the tears fall.