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Wild was back.
They'd returned awhile ago, actually. From their second, or would it be third, Goddess given Adventure. See, a portal had shown up one day while the group of nine were setting up camp in Legend's era. They hadn't been able to reach his house by dusk. And, as usual while on this particular Quest, the Chain went through the portal.
Or they would have if it didn't close the second their cook stepped through.
That's all in the past now though. Wild returned mostly safe, however clear it was that they changed during their time away. How obvious it was that their Adventure weighed heavy on their shoulders, leaving evidence of its existence.
Time knows all too much about it. Carrying the whole world on your shoulders is a difficult task, especially for a seventeen nine year old. Thinking about it, Wild would have been pretty young on this Quest, no? Either way, Wild had left quite some time ago and now they are back. And since their return, Time has noticed several differences in their actions and behavior. The most startling, alarming, and unfathomable difference is one he watches carefully.
Wild has, for some reason, gained an interest in wells while they were away, and Time cannot find any clue as to why. Or how. All he knows is it's a terrible thing to be interested in. He's determined to find the origin of the other Hero's sudden fixation on Wells if it's the last thing he does.
He first noticed it when they were in his era. The portal had dropped them on Death Mountain, and by the time the group made it to Kakiriko Village at the bottom of the volcano it was late in the afternoon. He made the executive decision to stay the night in the Village since they wouldn't reach the ranch.
The boys are wandering about, exploring the village as it's their first time seeing it. Usually, when in this era, they go straight to the ranch. Time is with Wild and Twilight, the former having dragged him along. They wanted to see the graveyard since the Kakiriko of their time didn't have one, and who was he to refuse? The trio walk up the small hill leading to its entrance.
Wild stops suddenly, turning to the left. "That's a pretty big well," they remark, gesturing to it.
Right. The Well of Three Features. Time just shrugs. "Sure," he says. "Why have you stopped though?" Please don't ask about the Well. Twilight nods as if agreeing with his question.
"Freya might pay more for historical Wells," they muse. "It's right there, I could just hop down and take a few pictures."
"No." Why would anyone pay to see pictures of a well?
"What? Why not," whining, Wild turns to him with a pout. "Imagine the rupees we could get!" Twilight has the audacity to agree with Wild, nodding along with a thoughtful expression.
"No, Wild." He shakes his head firmly, "nothing is worth jumping down that well. No amount of rupees could justify it." Besides, it should be filled. Zelda had sent him back to a time before he went down there, and he avoided it since, so technically Wild wouldn't even be able to get down either.
He didn't want to see the things down there, not again.
"What could possibly be down there that's so bad?" They ask, and his heart aches at the sound of their voice.
"I'd rather not discuss it," Time replies. Even if he didn't mind telling the other heroes, he can't risk any of the villagers overhearing him talk about it. This timeline is mostly unaware of those horrors and he'd really prefer it to stay that way.
Wild rolls their eyes with a huff. "Whatever," they grumble, no doubt mourning the rupees they could've gained. Twilight pats their back sympathetically before following Time as he heads towards the graveyard.
He keeps his relief to himself. Wild is curious in nature, though, so Time only hopes they won't return to the well when he's not looking.
On a seemingly normal day of trekking through the forests of Four's Hyrule, with minimal monsters and nine heavily armoured people, Time listens to the chatter of his companions. From where he stands in their traveling group, he can hear Wind and Hyrule asking Wild about his newly completed Adventure.
"Was there anyone, or anything, in the caves?" Wind asks; apparently several cave systems had shown up all across the land during what Wild called 'The Upheaval.' It does sound interesting though, networks of underground passageways existing just beneath your feet. Inaccessible due to the entrance having been closed off, only for it to open years later.
"Oh yeah, there were tons of interesting stuff in 'em," Wild answers, nodding. "Not too many people in the caves though. They liked the wells more." They joke with a grin.
Time shudders at the thought of willingly going down a well.
"Really? I thought those had water though?" The sailor questions in confusion.
"Technically yes..."
He tunes the conversation out, not wanting to hear Wild's explanation of what a well is and how one worked. They had mentioned offhandedly that the wells were actually new too, another side effect of the Upheaval. Further inquiry showed that before the champions second Quest began, all the well-like structures were just filled with rocks.
Time just hopes the Kakiriko well has remained closed.
Later, when they're all gathered around the campfire, Warriors asks the champion about their latest Quest. Specifically the Upheaval and its additional consequences.
He's only listening for any talk of wells. Time would much rather be safe than sorry, and at least now he knows to be careful about the drinking water in Wild's era.
"There were all sorts of odd junk down them. Some even led straight into the Depths," Wild starts, and even though he knows nothing about 'the Depths,' he can gather it's not normal for wells to lead to it.
"One lady would even sing in a well. Scared a buncha travelers shitless cause her voice echoed like crazy and it sounded like she was telling people to give her their weapons. Someone else pays me to give her pictures of Wells, actually, and to tell her where they're located," they continue with a light chuckle.
Ugh, Time thinks. Wanting pictures of a well. Wild mentioned her before, in Kakiriko. Freya or something?
He just can't believe people willingly venture down into Wells for multiple reasons in Wild's era. Or pay for pictures of whatever is at the bottom.
The next time they're in Wild's Hyrule they stop by a stable for the night. Stables now have open wells, which Time is wary of, and hates the fact he now has to sleep in the direct vicinity of one. He figures it would be fine so long as no one fills their water flask with the well water. Unfortunately he isn't so lucky.
His own flask is empty too, but when Twilight questions him about filling it with well water he tells the rancher otherwise.
"I don't get why you're so distrustful of well water," Wars says later. "I mean, it's clean. And free."
"Perhaps," not in his experience, but he doesn't plan on mentioning that.
"Yeah, actually," Legend starts. "Why are you so distrustful of Wells, Old Man? Some old wives tale haunting you?"
"Truth be told," he pauses for dramatic effect, "I'd rather not talk about it."
"Oh my fucking Goddess," the vet groans. "It's definitely that, he's just embarrassed," he whispers to the traveler, who snickers.
"Actually I'm with Time on this one," Wild interjects. "I've seen some pretty weird things at the bottom of 'em and it's not even been that long since the wells popped up in my era."
That's actually a little surprising. He would've guessed otherwise given their willingness to jump down a well for a chance at rupees despite having enough to buy out Legend's whole arsenal at least five times, with Ravio's absurd pricing.
"Okay, but like," Wars continues. "It's literally just a water filled hole in the ground. We've all been through near death experiences and seen horrible things and you both draw the line at that? Really?"
"If any of y'all knew about the unpleasant things I've seen at the bottom of some of the wells I've jumped into you'd probably avoid drinking it too," Wild advises. Time can't help but agree with the sentiment. "Exploring them is way better anyway." Agree to disagree. Exploring a well is also pretty bad.
"Is this true, Old Man? Are there really such unpleasant things plaguing the wells in both of your eras?" Legend snarks, "and if there is why hasn't Twilight mentioned it yet? He's your direct successor."
"Ain't no wells in my Hyrule," Twilight explains. "At least none are wisely known."
"And Wild," Time begins, "I'd say calling all the corpses, torture devices, and bone piles 'unpleasant' is an understatement." If the cook has actually seen the bottom of any wells it's likely they've born witness to the horrors.
Crickets.
Nobody makes a sound. The camp is so quiet Time can hear his own heart beat loudly in his ears.
"Sorry, the what?" Sky breaks the silence, thank Hylia. It was getting awkward.
"The corpses," he reiterates. "And torture devices." Maybe they had just misheard him? He hadn't found exploring that well fun by any means, but Wild's weird in their own way. They'd probably think of such a discovery as a 'historic break through.'
"I dunno what you found in your wells, Time, but that's not normal," Wild stares at him. "Even by my standards."
He opens his mouth to speak but Hyrule cuts him off. "The caves in my era aren't that...odd."
"Hm."
"The fuck was up with your well, Time?" Legend asks. It's uncharacteristically worrisome for the Veteran, or maybe that's empathy. The hoarder probably thinks his snark covers it, and it mostly does. Time is simply an expert at observing people.
"It was just Kakiriko's well," he defends. "Which also happens to be my Hyrule's only one."
"That's somehow worse," Four pipes up.
"Yeah," Wind nods in agreement.
"Well " Time snorts " do you know why?"
"Of course I do," he doesn't.
"Alright now," Twilight interrupts. "That ain't what we're worried about right now, is it?"
"Right!" Wind exclaims, whipping back to face Time. The sailor points an accusatory finger at him. "What's wrong with your well and why were there corpses in it?"
"Wait, wait," Wild starts. "Is that why you didn't want me to explore the well in Kakiriko?"
Time nods.
"Ah. I guess that is pretty bad, maybe bad enough to ignore how many rupees I could've got," they sigh mournfully. "What I could've bought with that money..."
"I think we're ignoring the important part here," Wars finally speaks again. "How, or better yet why, were there torture devices in your era's Kakiriko well?" This is probably the only time he's ever disliked the Captain's ability to stay focused. Damn him and his need to watch out for Time, he's not a child anymore! He can't be.
"Oh you know. To torture people," he responds sarcastically. The look he gets is worth it. "No, really."
"I believe he means why the well specifically," Sky offers.
"Because the Sheikah didn't want anyone to know about it, duh." Is it childish? Maybe. Does he care? No...maybe a little.
"The Sheikah?"
"It's in Kakiriko."
"Why would they even need to torture anyone? Aren't they supposed to protect the Royal Family?"
"Well yes," Time nods. "Traitors to the crown. People selling the Families secrets, anyone wishing to harm them...they had to be dealt with somehow."
"Uh-huh. And that's where the corpses come from?" Legend asks.
"Yep," he pops the p, hoping they would drop the conversation soon. He hates even thinking about the well and the Shadow Temple, talking about it makes him twitchy. Sharing Sheikah secrets is dangerous, he of all people would know.
He was only seventeen nine, shorter than the Goddess damned sword that stole his childhood away. He knew he was, even if his small hands only held the hilt for mere seconds it was long enough for him to realize it. A nine year old couldn't fight with a sword that size no matter how much he wishes he could have, because maybe then he wouldn't have had everything stolen away.
But maybe being in a body that was too big was better for all the things he saw. His first time fighting Deadhand was awful, his second time too, but the terror he felt differed then. Perhaps it was because he wasn't so small, or because he'd beat the thing before with worse odds.
A nine year old, whether in a seventeen year old body or not, shouldn't see the things he had though. Shouldn't know what he knows. Shouldn't jump down an oddly large well, shouldn't wander a Temple of guillotines and blood-soaked walls, shouldn't be the sole person who uncovered the dark, bloody history of Hyrule.
He did, though, and he can't change that now. He can be grateful he didn't die a horribly gruesome death, or that the first Quest wasn't as bad as the second. He should be grateful he got a chance to experience the childhood he never had. Should be grateful Zelda sent him back.
Should be grateful no Sheikah assassins hunted him down and killed him for knowing their secrets.
"That makes sense, yeah. Don't even know why I asked, it was obvious," The veteran's voice cuts through Time's mind, bringing his attention back to the present.
"Oh Goddesses," someone mutters. "And you said it was in a well?"
"I did," he answers.
"And people people still drank the Well water " Sky chokes out.
"Golden Three," Four whispered. "I'm gonna be sick."
The smith's sentence was punctuated by the sound of Legend retching somewhere behind him. The others looked positively disgusted, a green parlor coloring their faces.
Time would be equally disturbed if he hadn't figured that out already. He's still disgusted, of course, but it's more bearable now. If he doesn't think about the fact he never fixed it in his timeline.
"I... understand why you don't trust wells now," Warriors says, a deep frown on his face. The man looks like he's about to vomit.
"Yeah. I don't...I don't think I want to drink this," Legend pours the contents of his flask onto the ground with shaking hands. The others are reminded of their own well filled canteens, all of which are quickly emptied.
"Time, I won't ever try to explore your Kakiriko Well ever again." Wild promises.
"Good," he replies. "It's horrible. Nightmare fuel, if you will." He doesn't mention that the water from that well is so tainted it plagues the village residents in retaliation of the Sheikah's crimes.
"Yeah I can see why it would be," Sky mumbles.
"I take it that's also why you always filled your own canteen during the war?" Warriors asks, prompting Time to nod. A look of realization passes over the Captain's face. "You were so young in the war though," he breathes out. "How old could you have been when you saw...?" His voice trails off at the last bit.
He wasn't actually that young when he met the Captain. Sure, he looked nine, but he'd already lived through not one, but two time traveling Quests. His real age far exceeded that of his appearance. Or did it?
"I was at least thirteen in the war, Captain."
"You were a child," Wars snaps back. "And you couldn't have been thirteen. You looked eight, maybe nine. That's not," he pauses, shaking his head. "It's not possible. I get looking young for your age but looking four years younger? And for how tall you are now? It's just impossible."
Damn the Captain, his blasted observational skills, and his intelligence. Time sighs. "...my physical age and mental age don't match," he mutters, mourning his secrets. The only possible good thing that could come from this is more confusion on his current age.
"What?"
"My physical and mental ages don't match," he repeats louder.
"Could ya elaborate on that, Time?" Twilight asks, tilting his head like a dog. Or Wolfie.
"What else can I say? The age I physically appear and my actual age aren't the same." He shrugs.
"Sure." Warriors says. "Next you're gonna tell us you were trapped in a time loop once," he jokes.
Time stares at him. "I was actually."
...
"Is...is he joking?" Wild whispers to his predecessor.
"Oh Goddess," the rancher mutters. "It's like the Moon thing all over again."
A mischievous grin creeps onto his face as he ignores their questions.