Totem Time

by Sillus

Summary:

“Shit,” Legend hisses as other horns join the first one. He turns to Warriors. “Pick me up!”

“What?”

“I said pick me up,” Legend snaps. “Fucking Totem Time and shit. Come on!”

“We need to get out of here before we get swarmed!”

“Or you can pick me the fuck up and I can cause an explosion! I’d be close enough to if you would just pick me up!”

Warriors stares at him. Legend waves the fire rod and tilts his head at the barrels.

“Alright climb on,” Warriors orders, turning around and kneeling.

Notes:

This was a Live Write I did for the discord server!
The original length was 9302 words.
Then I decided to edit.
Hehe...
I wrote this in technically three days--but only three because I finished it around 1 am my time soooooooooo...
Two days. Over 9k words.
I have a problem. I know.
Also, as you can see, this is five chapters! I decided to try something different, considering the alternative title to this fic (which is at the end of the story hehe!). Let's see how it goes, hm?
I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1: Don't Underestimate Him

It's a bright, sunny day and the group finds themselves traversing yet another forest both similar and different to all the other forests they have found themselves lost in previously. The leafy green canopy provides light shade as they brush through various bushes and climb over fallen logs.

 

Legend is really starting to hate forests.

 

"If I've got this right," Hyrule mumbles from beside him, "Then we should be close to Nabooru Town?"

 

"How close is close?" Twilight asks from behind them. Hyrule smiles sheepishly.

 

"For me? Three days at the very least."

 

Wind lets out a loud groan. "Three days? Of being lost in the forest?"

 

"Look, that's just an estimate!" Hyrule defends.

 

"At the very least, you said," Time points out. Hyrule pouts.

 

"Maybe."

 

Legend rolls his eyes at their antics. Stuck in a forest for probably more than three days. What else is new?

 

"This sucks," Warriors grumbles from Legend’s other side.

 

He turns to him. "What, are you afraid your hair is gonna get messed up?" Legend jeers in good nature. Warriors swats him on the shoulder.

 

"I have an appearance to maintain!" He retorts. Legend knows he’s just playing along, chuckling with a twinkle in his eye.

 

Legend grins, encouraged. "Oh yeah? Is that why you're skinnier than a twig?"

 

Warriors abruptly stops laughing, frowning in confusion. He looks down at himself, then back up at Legend with an eyebrow raised. "I'm not that skinny.”

 

"You are skin and bone," Twilight snickers, appearing on Warriors’ other side. "You can barely wear that shoulder pad of yours, never mind lift anything heavier than a cucco!"

 

Instead of getting riled up like Legend expected him to, Warriors glances at Twilight with a smirk. "Wanna bet?”

 

Twilight nods, crossing his arms with a wide, cocky grin--as if he's already won.  Legend looks between the two before shrugging. It's not his money he's about to wager. Let them have their fun. It'll at least provide some entertainment.

 

"Alright, farm boy," Warriors says, holding up a bag of rupees. "How's thirty?"

 

"Make it fifty and you're on."

 

"Deal!"

 

"As interesting as this is, is now really the time?" Time asks, walking up to them and raising an amused eyebrow.

 

"Yes, considering we're probably gonna stay lost for a week if Hyrule's estimate is anything to go by," Legend replies, his curiosity overriding the everlasting urge to go go go. "Besides, you said it yourself: it's interesting."

 

"I said three days!" Hyrule shouts in indignation.

 

Legend elbows him playfully. "Right, so a week."

 

"What am I lifting?" Warriors asks before Hyrule can complain further.

 

Twilight hums, surveying the forest with narrowed eyes. Legend scoffs. He's really taking this seriously, isn't he?

 

"There are no rocks around here," Twilight mumbles under his breath. "No logs or anything either." He hums, raising a hand to his chin and leaning on one leg.

 

"We can continue with this silly bet later," Four chastises, though he looks to be biting back a smile. "Let's keep moving before we run out of daylight."

 

Twilight's eyes land on Legend. "Oh, actually, I've got it!"

 

Legend raises an eyebrow. Warriors nods expectantly.

 

"Carry Legend until we make camp."

 

"I'm sorry, what?" Legend exclaims. Carry me?

 

"You want me to carry Legend?" Warriors asks, incredulous.

 

Twilight nods. "Yup. Unless that's too much for your skinny little arms to handle. Then you can carry Wind."

 

"Hell yeah!" Wind shouts from the sidelines.

 

"Hell no," Warriors barks. "You said Legend. I'll carry Legend!"

 

Legend raises a hand, grabbing their attention and effectively reminding them that he is right there and has thoughts of his own. "Hang on, I didn't agree to this!"

 

Warriors looks at him pleadingly while Twilight continues to snicker. “It’s just a piggyback ride!”

 

Come on, Link! If you climb on my shoulders, we can reach the switches!

 

Actually... it might not be such a terrible predicament.

 

"You know what? Go for it." Legend says with a shrug, dismissing his nostalgia. "I can be lazy for once. Best day ever."

 

The words are barely out of his mouth before Warriors is ducking down. With a yelp of surprise, Legend finds himself suddenly seated atop Warrior's shoulders, his hands holding Legend's ankles to keep him steady.

 

Twilight gapes.

 

“Comfortable?” Warriors asks, head tilting back to look up at him. He has a mischievous glint in his eyes as Twilight splutters in shock.

 

The shoulder pad is annoying, but… “I’m good,” Legend replies, a little shocked himself at how easily Warriors picked him up. He knows Warriors is strong, but he didn’t think Warriors would be able to lift him like he weighed less than a feather.

 

"Then off we go!" Warriors begins walking, leaving the rest of the group behind in a stunned stupor. Hyrule is the first to walk after them, shrugging nonchalantly at the entire scene and gently urging poor Twilight to follow.

 

"You owe me fifteen rupees if you pull this off," Legend whispers, leaning down so only Warriors could hear him.

 

Warriors glances up at him with a grin. "No problem."

 

They climb up hills and weave through the tightly packed trees and bushes, Legend holding branches out of the way for them. The hours pass by with idle chit-chat, the occasional glance their way. At one point, Sky gives him a bemused smile, which widens into a grin when Legend lazily shrugs with a wink. To everyone's surprise, Warriors barely breaks a sweat before Time calls for them to stop for the night.

 

Twilight looks disappointed, to say the least.

 

"I can't believe you actually did that," He says in a pout as Warriors crouches to let Legend clamber off.

 

"I can," Warriors chuckles. "Did you forget I'm in the army?”

 

Twilight goes to answer before he pauses. His face flushes a little.

 

"No," He weakly says.

 

"Liar," Legend teases. "Don't worry, I think we all did. He doesn’t exactly… come off as the military type.

 

"I'm stronger than I look," Warriors says with his chest puffed out in pride.

 

That’s not what Legend was getting at, exactly, but it’s close enough.

 

Warriors holds out a hand, eyeing Twilight with a shit-eating grin. Twilight rolls his eyes with a groan, tossing him a small bag before trudging away with a defeated mutter. Warriors fishes out a blue and yellow rupee and hands them to Legend.

 

"Thank you for your service," Warriors snickers.

 

"Thanks for the free ride," Legend shoots back, taking the money and stuffing it into his own wallet. "I'm glad I wasn't the one making that bet,” he adds after a moment.

 

"You doubted me too, Mr. Analytical?" Warriors admonishes. Legend shakes his head.

 

"Oh no, I didn't doubt you couldn't lift me. I'm glad I didn't bet because you would have been in a sour mood when you lost."

 

"What makes you think I would lose just because you bet?"

 

"I would have made you carry Time."

 

Warriors's eyes widen in fear. "Thanks for not betting."

 

"No problem."

Chapter 2: Fire, Ice, Steel, Screaming, and Ten Minutes

"Ah, hell, what a pain in the ass," Legend gripes.

 

"Tell me about it," Wild sighs.

 

"It can't be that bad, right?" Hyrule asks.

 

Everyone turns to look at him. "You think an entire camp of monsters isn't that bad?" Four inquires.

 

"...No?"

 

Legend jabs a finger at him. "We're going to have a serious talk about that later." He turns to the rest of the group. "What's the plan?"

 

Time narrows his eyes in thought. "Wind, you still have your telescope?"

 

"Of course I do!"

 

"Count the enemy's numbers and tell us what we're dealing with." Wind nods and pulls out his telescope, peering above the rock they are currently hiding behind to do just that.

 

"We should split into groups and wait until nightfall," Warriors suggests.

 

"With this many?" Sky asks.

 

"Yes. We'll sneak in from the sides of the camp and regroup in the center when all is said and done," Warriors explains.

 

"There are lookouts," Wind says.

 

"Then Twilight can snipe them."

 

Twilight pulls out his half-mask thingy—that Legend doesn’t know the name of—and his bow with a nod.

 

"Without the lookouts, we should be good to get inside without any surprise arrows causing any problems. And once inside, we can pick them off one by one," Warriors concludes.

 

Wind ducks back down, tucking his telescope away. "I counted 30... ish. They're moving around a lot. There are probably more but I couldn't tell."

 

"Anything else?" Time presses.

 

"They're Wild's bokoblins, and there are a lot of silver and black ones," Wind adds.

 

Wild curses under his breath. Legend pats his shoulder in sympathy.

 

"Alright, how are we splitting?" Four asks.

 

Warriors holds up three fingers. "Three teams. Four, you're with Sky and Wild. Time, you're with Wind and Hyrule. Legend, you're with me. Twilight will stay here and snipe and then regroup with Legend and I later. Sound like a plan?"

 

Everyone nods, and they hunker down and wait for nightfall. By the time the moon is beginning to rise in the sky, they are moving to their designated groups.

 

"Don't do anything stupid," Twilight says as they begin to make their way toward the camp.

 

"No promises," Wild replies with a wink. Twilight's expression sours.

 

"That's as good as you're going to get," Four teases.

 

"I know," Twilight grumbles.

 

Warriors and Legend split off first, moving towards the closest tower just as an arrow makes its home in the Bokoblin's head. It collapses, nothing giving themselves away except a soft thump.

 

"I want that mask," Legend hisses to Warriors.

 

"I do too."

 

They make their way inside the camp, Legend lunging to grab a Bokoblin from behind and squeezing his arms around its neck before it can make a sound. Warriors quickly finishes it off, and it disappears in a puff of dark smoke after a moment.

 

Warriors eyes their surroundings, bright blue eyes carefully scanning every inch of the campsite they can see. Legend turns to check behind them, witnessing another bokoblin fall to Twilight's arrows.

 

Wait a second...

 

Legend smacks Warriors's shoulder, pointing to a large pile of barrels when he has his attention.

 

"You still have my fire rod?" Legend asks in a whisper.

 

"Yeah. What for?"

 

"Give it here. Let's piss Twilight off."

 

Warriors tilts his head as he hands Legend the item. Legend points to the barrels again.

 

"Look at the ones at the top."

 

He sees the moment Warriors spots the explosive barrels, a wolfish grin slowly spreading across his face.

 

"You are a genius."

 

"I know. Now let's get closer. I can't reach them from here."

 

With a nod, Warriors leads them as they weave between wooden structures--haphazardly built and looking ready to topple over at the slightest breeze--and being careful to dispose of any monsters quickly and quietly when they pop up in their path. They are nearly there when they hear a loud horn blare into the quiet evening.

 

“Shit,” Legend hisses as other horns join the first one. He turns to Warriors. “Pick me up!”

 

“What?”

 

“I said pick me up,” Legend snaps. “Fucking Totem Time and shit. Come on!”

 

“We need to get out of here before we get swarmed!”

 

“Or you can pick me the fuck up and I can cause an explosion! I’d be close enough to if you would just pick me up!”

 

Warriors stares at him. Legend waves the fire rod and tilts his head at the barrels.

 

“Alright climb on,” Warriors orders, turning around and kneeling. Once situated on Warriors’s shoulders once more, Legend points his fire rod up at the barrels.

 

Please be close enough, please be close enough...

 

“Legend, hurry!” Warriors yells, wobbling as Legend reaches up with his fire rod clutched in his hand.

 

“Stop fucking moving so I can aim!”

 

Legend narrows his eyes as Warriors stills. Just a little higher and...

 

He activates the rod, sending a fireball flying high into the air. “Go, go!” He yells as he sees it draw closer and closer to the barrels.

 

Warriors turns and starts running, drawing his sword while Legend curls over his head to cling on for dear life—lest he fall. He spots a bokoblin from out of the corner of his eye, the spark of an electric arrow grabbing his attention. He swings the fire rod in its direction without a second thought, releasing a barrage of flames and sending it running away with a squeal.

 

Warriors slashes at another bokoblin, nearly throwing Legend off as he does so. With a grunt, Legend fists a hand in Warriors’s hair for balance and sends another wave of flames towards more bokoblins. He forgot just how ridiculously effective this strategy was.

 

When Legend looks up, he sees one of the bokoblins in the watch towers shoot where he knows Twilight is hiding. He curses under his breath. He must’ve missed or something. I can’t imagine how with that mask though.

 

“How the hell are you still on my shoulders?” Warriors grunts as he unleashes a spin attack. Legend lets fire fly from the rod as Warriors turns them, accenting the slash of his sword with the orange flames. The explosion from the barrels causes the nearby shoddy buildings to collapse, bokoblins scampering around in confusion and fear as flames burn their skin.

 

“I’ve done this kind of shit before!” Legend shouts. Wait, maybe he can do more than just spray fire everywhere!

 

“Fucking when?” Warriors stabs another bokoblin, kicking it off his sword as Legend fishes out his ice rod.

 

“Adventure number six!” With that, Legend sends a ball of ice at a bokoblin holding a spear, freezing it and effectively stopping it from throwing its weapon at them.

 

Warriors and Legend make their way through the battlefield, Warriors taking care of any monsters that draw too close and Legend sending a wall of ice and fire at any enemies trying to attack them from afar. All in all, they make a terrifyingly good team, their attack patterns working perfectly in tandem with each other thanks to Legend sitting atop Warriors’s shoulders.

 

This is how Four, Wild, and Sky find them; running after a group of fleeing bokoblins while screaming profanities and war cries all while fire, ice, and steel cuts down anything standing in their way.

 

It’s an... odd sight to see.

 

“Why did I never think of that?” Four shouts as Warriors and Legend disappear from their sight.

 

“What would you even use that kind of strategy for?” Sky asks.

 

Four opens his mouth to reply, but then shuts it. “Actually, I don’t know,” he hums, not at all convincing.

 

“If you say so,” Wild utters, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

 

It doesn’t take long for Warriors and Legend to completely devastate the entire campsite. Turns out, sneaking around the campsite would have been far safer, yes, but not nearly as effective as Legend and Warriors’s... “strategy.”

 

Long story short, the campsite full of so many silver and black bokoblins collapses in on itself in a matter of ten minutes. Aside from a couple of cuts and gashes, nobody is injured due to the ridiculously small amount of time needed to take down the camp.

 

Time, however, looks to be torn between looking extremely disappointed and extremely proud. Legend isn’t sure how he feels about that.

 

Wind, on the other hand, has no problem with deciding on how he should feel.

 

“That was awesome!” he shouts, practically vibrating in excitement as Warriors lets Legend down. “You guys were unstoppable!”

 

“You are not to participate,” Time orders immediately. Wind deflates.

 

“Aww! Why not?”

 

“Because it’s very dangerous and we’re probably not going to be doing that again,” Legend says, offering Wind a pat on the shoulder. Wind still looks dejected, and Legend silently panics because how does he comfort children aside from embarrassing himself?

 

“I can give you rides around camp,” Warriors adds.

 

That does the trick. Wind fist-pumps with a beaming smile.

 

As they make their way back to where they left Twilight, they see him holding his head in his hands, face contorted into a pained expression.

 

“Hey, Pup.” Time runs to his side, the others not far behind. “What happened?”

 

“A moblin snuck up on me,” Twilight groans. “Hit me in the head with a club. Sorry guys.”

 

“Are you okay?” Sky asks.

 

“Aside from a nasty headache, yeah, I’m fine.”

 

Sky smiles. “Then no harm done. Though next time we should probably not leave you alone.”

 

“If anything, you getting hit in the head was kind of a good thing.” Four jabs a thumb at Warriors and Legend. “Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum over here went nuts as soon as the jig was up.”

 

Legend elbows Warriors with a smirk. “Twiddle Dum is stronger than he looks.”

 

“Like hell I’m Twiddle Dum,” he protests.

 

“You were standing there and staring at me when I told you to pick me up!”

 

“Who wouldn’t after such a bizarre request?”

 

As Legend and Warriors begin bickering, Hyrule sighs.

 

“To think they actually work well together,” he mumbles.

Chapter 3: Fighting Fire with Better Fire

“Alright,” Legend snaps, holding up his bag with a disgusted look on his face. “Who put all these beetles in my bag?”

 

Wind belches at the sight of the bugs crawling around Legend’s bag. Warriors wrinkles his nose as Four drops his whetstone in shock.

 

“How did beetles possibly get in your bag?” Twilight asks, bewildered.

 

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking you lot,” Legend replies with a huff.

 

“I don’t think beetles are native here,” Time adds, walking over and holding out a hand. One brave beetle crawls right into it, wiggling its antennas happily.

 

“Well?” Legend demands, sending the group a glare.

 

A quick once over shows everyone looking confused or disgusted. Everyone, but Wild, who has his face in his tablet with a disinterested expression.

 

Legend rolls his eyes, knowing the culprit of a bad prank when he sees one, and stalks over to him. Without a word, he throws his bag into Wild’s lap, causing him to startle badly and flail his arms in an attempt to throw the bag off of him.

 

“What the hell Legend?” He yells.

 

“You’re gonna have to do a lot better than that, Wild,” Legend snorts, watching as Wild picks beetles off of his tunic. “Pitiful. Truly pitiful.”

 

“Why do you assume it’s me?” Wild shouts.

 

“Because who else has that many beetles?”

 

“He’s got you there, Cub,” Twilight pipes up with a chuckle.

 

Legend spends the night picking beetles out of his bag and off his items, scowling at the sheer amount of them. Why does Wild have so many beetles? And more importantly, why isn’t he helping?

 

Well, two can play at this game. Legend places another handful of beetles on the ground as he ponders over how to go about this. On one hand, he could fight fire with fire and just dump a bunch of bugs into Wild’s bedroll or something, but he knows he can do better than that.

 

Just as he finishes triple checking for any critters he might’ve missed, an idea comes to him.

 

Oh, he’ll be  pissed . But how would I do that? And who would help me?

 

“...and Warriors, are you willing to do middle shift tonight?” Time asks as Legend tunes into the conversation.

 

“Yeah, I can cover it,” Warriors replies easily.

 

Legend smirks. He knows exactly who can help.

 

Just as everyone is crawling into their bedrolls, Legend stops Warriors and glares at Wind, who has first watch.

 

“Not a word,” he mouths. Wind nods, giving him a goofy salute.

 

“What’s up?” Warriors asks.

 

“Sh!” Legend hisses. “I need your help. Wake me up when your shift comes around and everyone else is asleep. We’ll talk then.”

 

Warriors frowns in confusion, but agrees. Legend buries himself into his own bedroll with a grin.

 

Two can play at this game. Nobody messes with his stuff, and if Wild is foolish enough to start a prank war, who can blame Legend for wanting to get a little revenge? Besides, it’s all harmless anyway.

 

When the moon is high in the sky, Warriors shakes him awake.

 

“What do you need my help with?” He inquires as Legend yawns and stretches, blinking the sleepiness away.

 

“Wild put beetles in my stuff. I want revenge.”

 

Warriors leans in closer. “I’m listening.”

 

Legend smirks, pointing at Wild’s belongings. “How mad do you think he’ll be if his items somehow ended up in places they’re not supposed to be?”

 

Warriors mirrors his smirk. “Probably pretty mad.”

 

“Well, it cant be helped, can it?” Legend gets up and quietly makes his way over to Wild’s things, carefully peering around until he spots what he’s looking for.

 

With a mouthed “aha!”, he grabs the Sheikah Slate and tiptoes back over to Warriors.

 

“You know how to work that thing?” Warriors asks as Legend fiddles with it.

 

“He kinda showed me how,” Legend replies, narrowing his eyes in concentration. “I just gotta remember what button does what. What if I...” He taps a button here, a button there, and suddenly he has all of Wild’s items right on the screen. “There we go.”

 

“What’s the plan?” Warriors asks as Legend begins flicking through various screens of weapons and clothing.

 

Legend points up at the tree branches. “Think you can lift me high enough to stash some of his stuff up there?”

 

Warriors snorts. “Really? You’re gonna put his shit in the trees?”

 

“Sure am,” Legend replies with a smirk. “A lot of shit. So much shit that he’ll have to spend all morning getting his stuff down.”

 

“He’s a good climber though,”

 

“I know.” Legend nods. “But he has a lot of stuff. And there are a lot of trees.”

 

Warriors bites back a laugh. “I got you covered.”

 

“I knew I could rely on you.”

 

They spend the next few minutes pondering over what should be taken out, deciding on a bunch of weapons and bows and nearly all his clothing stored in the slate.

 

The rest of Warriors shift goes by with Legend using him as a glorified ladder, Warriors lifting him up on his shoulders and Legend using the leverage to climb high into the trees and stash away a sword here, a hat there. When he needs to move to a different set of trees he can’t just hop to from the branches, he climbs down and sits on Warriors shoulders, letting him carry Legend around.

 

He ends up hanging the Sheikah Slate on a low hanging branch before he goes back to bed, just so Wild will know something is up, but not be alarmed enough to start panicking. Besides, Legend isn’t going to beat around the bush. When Wild asks where his stuff is, Legend will be more than happy to provide the answer.

 

He’s not raising a single finger to help though.

 

By the time morning rolls around, Legend and Warriors sit side by side with matching smirks on their faces as Wild scratches the back of his head, staring up at the Sheikah Slate.

 

“How did it get up there?” Legend hears him mutter.

 

Wind catches Legend’s eye and gapes, gesturing to Wild and then to Legend. Legend holds a finger over his mouth, biting back a chuckle when Wind covers his mouth with his hands, no doubt stifling a laugh.

 

“Did someone take my slate last night?” Wild asks, glancing around the campsite.

 

“I may have borrowed it,” Legend answers.

 

Wild narrows his eyes at him. Legend smiles, not at all innocent and not bothering to appear so.

 

“What did you do?”

 

“I borrowed it,” Legend replies easily.

 

“Okay, but what did you do?” Wild stalks over to him, crossing his arms with a glare.

 

“Relax, Wild.” Legend folds his arms behind his head, leaning back against the tree with a lazy sigh. “I only hung your clothes up and stashed some of your weapons away. No big deal.”

 

“You what?” Wild yells.

 

“I said—“

 

“I heard what you said!” Wild throws his arms up. “Why?”

 

Legend puts a hand on his chest. “Why, only to repay the kindness you gave me last night.”

 

“Where’s all my stuff?”

 

“In the trees.”

 

“You suck.”

 

Legend shrugs. “Hey, you started it.”

 

Wild grumbles as he starts looking at the branches above. “Uh... where?”

 

“Did you really think I would make it easy for you?” Legend asks. “They’re in the trees. Get climbing.”

 

Wild grumbles some more under his breath as he picks a random trunk and starts climbing it. It’s rather fascinating to watch him scale the smooth wood, and at such a high speed, too! Legend doesn’t need to climb trees very often, but damn, he would love to have that kind of ability.

 

He nudges Warriors. “Thanks for your help. I owe you one,”

 

Warriors chuckles. “Don’t bother. His reaction was worth it.”

 

“I’m not cooking breakfast for you!” Wild yells from above.

 

Legend pulls out an apple. “That’s a shame,” he calls back, biting into the tasty fruit.

 

“You’re not gonna rat me out?” Warriors asks.

 

“Nah.“

Chapter 4: Quite the Predicament...

"We're not too far away from Kakariko," Legend says, fiddling with his map of Hyrule and a few extra papers depicting landscapes not found on said map. "Though we're outside of Hyrule itself. We should be able to make it there by nightfall."

 

He's not too enthused with being stuck in his time period due to all the potential for ambushes, but it's probably better that they landed in a remote area not too far away from a peaceful village then, say, Death Mountain.

 

Legend won't complain. He knows when to keep his mouth shut.

 

"What's in Kakariko?" Twilight asks as Legend takes the lead and begins walking.

 

"The same shit in every Kakariko," Legend snarks. "An inn, a store, maybe another store, and some friendly faces that aren't trying to kill you."

 

He's not going to mention the jackass that ratted him out to the guards more than once during his first adventure. They don't need to know about that. Besides, the idiot disappeared a long time ago.

 

"Huh, I never thought of that," Four mutters. "Every Kakariko is pretty similar..."

 

"It's certainly useful, though," Wild says. "We all know that if there's a Kakariko around, it's safe to take refuge there for the night."

 

"You make an excellent point," Time agrees.

 

"It's still pretty weird though," Twilight utters.

 

They keep up the idle chatter as they walk, the plain they landed in slowly turning into yet another forest as they keep walking. What is with all the forests? Is that just the designated setting if there's nowhere else for them to be?

 

Legend is leading them up a rather steep hill when he pauses, eyes narrowed. He doesn't remember there being a burned tree here, and that doesn't look like it was caused by lightning. A quick glance around shows that there are other misshapen trees, some cleanly cut through the trunk, others left in a jagged mess with bark and wood shredded and spread everywhere.

 

Legend walks over to the scorched tree, scrunching his nose when the scent of burned wood assaults his senses.

 

"That looks recent," Wild murmurs, coming up beside him and confirming Legend's suspicions.

 

"But what could have caused this?" Hyrule inquires, crouching beside one of the fallen logs. "I've never seen any tree cut like this before."

 

"And then the other ones burned and ripped apart not twenty feet away," Sky adds. "This couldn't have been natural."

 

Before Legend can think of a reply, there's an ominous ringing noise. It sounds four times, each one growing fainter than the last. It sounds again, louder, but following the same pattern.

 

Wind bolts upright from where he was poking at the jagged trunk. "Wizzrobes!" He shouts.

 

That explains it. Legend pulls his shield off his back, scanning the trees for any sign of the stupid things. By Hylia, he hates wizzrobes with a burning passion.

 

Another series of rings reaches his ears, this set even louder than before. Legend whips around just in time to throw his shield up, blocking the wave of magic fired his way. The wizzrobe, a beaked, ugly looking fucker, laughs in his face with a high-pitched voice before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

 

They might not be wizzrobes from his time period, but Legend wants to rip them to shreds all the same.

 

"Look out!" Wild cries, and Legend automatically moves before he even sees the bright orange fireball heading right towards him. That makes two.

 

"They're hiding in the trees," Twilight calls.

 

It takes a lot of dodging around before any semblance of order returns to the group. Legend ends up back to back with Sky, Legend wielding his hookshot while Sky has his whip out. He's aiming for one wizzrobe when it disappears with a cackle,

 

A third one takes its place, swinging its wand as soon as it appears and sending a wave of what can only be dark magic towards him. Legend ducks, yanking Sky down with him and letting the magic fly over their heads.

 

"That one has to be infected," Sky mutters, lashing out with his whip. The wizzrobe disappears just before the whip touches it.

 

With a growl, Legend discards his hookshot for his bow instead. Trusting Sky to keep him covered, Legend scans the trees, ready to fire as soon as one of those things appears again.

 

The probably infected wizzrobe appears again, eyes set on Four, who has his back turned to it. Legend doesn't hesitate to shoot it, feeling a twisted kind of satisfaction when it screeches and disappears. He doesn't see it reappear, so he moves on to find the other two. Warriors joins him at some point, grabbing Legend's shield when a wave of fire come their way. The fire is deflected by his shield, flames dying off when it’s cut off from the source.

 

"I need one of these," Warriors chirps, eyeing his shield with a new kind of appreciation.

 

"Now's not the time," Legend snaps, shooting in the direction of where the fire came from. He doesn't hear anything resembling a pained cry, so he assumes he misses.

 

The fight drags on, nobody being successful in landing a hit on the other two wizzrobes. They are far too quick, and the teleportation really isn't helping. Legend is starting to think that maybe there are more than the three they saw, and that they are just timing their attacks to make them think there's only two.

 

He wouldn't be surprised. They're devious little shits.

 

Legend is watching for one of said little shits to reappear, when the one he shot before suddenly manifests right in front of him. It ducks under his arrow with a high pitched giggle and swings its wand. He scrambles to get away, but he trips over a root, stumbling into Warriors. The captain is not able to protect them with Legend's shield before the dark magic reaches them.

 

Legend cries out when it touches him, feeling as if his skin is both burning and freezing at the same time while claws are raking across it. His limbs act of their own accord, fingers spazzing and dropping his bow, legs shaking and causing him to lose his balance. His vision goes dark, his hearing grows faint, and his mind cannot understand what is happening as the world spins and spins without a care.

 

The next thing Legend knows, he is blinking open his eyes to see Warriors kneeling over him, looking panicked and sweaty as he shakes Legend's shoulders.

 

"Hey, come on, wake up," He says, though it sounds more like he's pleading.

 

Legend waves him away, sitting up with a groan. His stomach lurches with the movement, and for a moment Legend thinks he's going to throw up.

 

Wait, no, he's gonna throw up.

 

"You're alright," Warriors soothes as Legend promptly empties his stomach of his breakfast.

 

"What happened?" Legend asks when he can, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. Warriors sighs, gesturing to their surroundings.

 

"You might wanna look for yourself."

 

Frowning, Legend does so, noting that the fighting has ceased and that he cannot see the others with all the grass in his way.

 

Wait a second...

 

"Warriors, either I'm fucking crazy, or we're tiny."

 

"We're definitely tiny, but I think we can make a case for you being crazy," Warriors teases, looking beyond relieved yet queasy. Legend glowers at him.

 

"Haha, very funny. Where are the others?"

 

"They started looking for us about seven minutes ago?" Warriors replies, tilting his head and raising a hand to his chin. "I'm not sure what happened before that. I think the wizzrobes are dead."

 

"That's one good thing." Legend gripes. His shield and bow are gone, and a quick once over shows that his bag and sword are missing as well. Wonderful. Absolutely fantastic.

 

Wind walks into view then, his normally light footsteps causing the ground to vibrate beneath their feet with every footfall. He looks around hopefully, but when he sees nothing his shoulders slump with a sigh.

 

"Come on," Warriors orders, grabbing Legend's arm. "Let's try to get his attention. We can't just sit here."

 

"That wasn't what I was planning to do," Legend mutters as Warriors drags him along. Turns out, grass is really hard to traverse when you're the size of an ant. Is this how Four feels?

 

But grass is child's play compared to all the wood and bark strewn about. Coupled with the amount of foot prints left in the dirt and the arrows from his bow, Legend quickly finds himself hating being shorter than he already is.

 

"I will never tease Four about his height again," Warriors huffs, pulling Legend up and on top of another splinter of wood. "Wind is literally right there and we've barely gotten closer to him."

 

Legend sighs. "Tell me about it. We're not gonna get over to him until nightfall at this rate." He kicks at the wood beneath his feet, glaring in Wind's direction.

 

Wait... he's above the grass.

 

He turns to Warriors. "Totem Time."

 

Warriors frowns. "Is that what you're gonna call it?"

 

"I've always called it Totem Time. Now come on! We might be able to get his attention if we yell, and I want to make sure he sees us!"

 

Warriors rolls his eyes but crouches anyway. "It's worth a shot."

 

Once Legend is sitting on Warriors's shoulders yet again--it's beginning to become a rather strange routine--he cups his hands around his mouth.

 

"Wind!" he shouts. Wind's ear twitches in response.

 

"Wind!" Warriors shouts as Legend waves his arms frantically. "Come on, kid! Wind!"

 

Wind scratches at his ear, looking around with a confused expression on his face. Encouraged, Legend and Warriors continue to shout his name, Warriors even jumping up and down as Legend keeps waving his arms.

 

They cheer when the kid gets up and begins walking toward them. However, they fail to notice that Wind isn't looking down until it's too late and he has already walked past them.

 

"What is that noise?" They hear him mutter as he disappears into the trees once more.

 

"Dammit!" Warriors yells as Legend lets out a long, exasperated groan. "How the fuck did he manage to hear us and then walk right past us?"

 

"I have no idea, and I hate life," Legend replies, slumping over to rest his arms on Warriors's head as he turns them around, looking for who knows what. "Maybe he'll come back?"

 

Just as he says so, he hears something rustling in the bushes Wind just walked through. Warriors turns them to face it, and they see a pair of grey-blue eyes gleam in the shadows.

 

"I don't think Wind heard us," Legend whispers.

 

"Yeah, I don't think he heard us either," Warriors agrees.

 

They stay absolutely still as Wolfie steps out of the bushes, shaking one of his paws to dislodge a stray branch that got caught in the manacle.

 

"Fuck," Legend hisses as the wolf's eyes land on them.

 

Warriors slowly backs away, shoulders stiff and with an ironclad grip on Legend's ankles.

 

"Do wolves eat ants?" Warriors asks as Wolfie begins walking towards them.

 

"We're not ants," Legend snaps.

 

"But we're close enough to ants right now!"

 

"No we're fucking not! And wolves eat meat!"

 

"But would a wolf eat something as small as us?"

 

"Probably," Legend yells, tugging on Warriors's hair. "That's why you should probably move!"

 

Warriors goes to retort, but falters when Wolfie comes to a stop right before them.

 

"Uh..." Warriors utters. Legend can't decide if he wants to face-palm, or smack Warriors. He decides on neither for the sake of the situation.

 

Wolfie peers down at them, blinking those stark eyes. Warriors doesn't move, but Legend can feel the breath hitching in his chest.

 

Wolfie crouches then, nose twitching as he sniffs them. Legend grimaces at the wolf's breath. He's gotta find a way to freshen that up a bit, because it stinks.

 

That's if he doesn't get eaten, of course.

 

Legend braces himself, ready to jump off Warriors and run for dear life, when Wolfie lets out a whine. To their surprise, the beast lies down in front of them, eyes now level with Legend, and simply stares at them.

 

"Huh." Warriors shrugs. "He recognizes us?"

 

"That is one smart wolf," Legend replies. Wolfie's tail wags then, seemingly in response to his words.

 

"Wolfie," Warriors says, and the wolf's eyes flick down to him. "Think you can get the others back here?"

 

Wolfie lets out a rumble in reply and then stands back up, bounding into the bushes with a yip.

 

"So Wind walks right past us without a glance, but Wolfie understands exactly what you asked?" Legend grumbles as Warriors lets him down. "I call bullshit."

 

"Are you trying to call bullshit on life?"

 

"No, I am calling bullshit on life."

 

They only have to wait a few minutes before Wolfie trots back into their sight, Four fighting his way through the bush behind him.

 

"I don't understand why you're leading me back here," Four complains as he rips free of the bush. "There's no way we wouldn't have found them before they got here."

 

Wolfie growls at Four, grabbing his tunic with his teeth and tugging.

 

"Alright, alright, I'm coming, aren't I?" Four pries Wolfie off and follows as the beast pads over to where Warriors and Legend are waving their hands and shouting. When Wolfie raises a paw and rests it on the chunk of wood beside them, Four spots them and gapes.

 

"Oh."

 

"That's all you have to say? Oh?" Legend shouts.

 

Four blinks. "There are a lot of things I want to say right now. Trust me."

 

"Can you help us?" Warriors calls.

 

Four nods, holding out a hand for them to climb in. Legend and Warriors don't waste any time, clambering on with a cheer. When Four raises his hand, Legend sees Warriors bite back a gag.

 

"You motion sick or something?" Legend inquires as Four cups his other hand around them.

 

"Very," Warriors bites out.

 

"Now you cannot tell anyone about this," Four murmurs to them. Wolfie follows behind, poking around various bushes and tree stumps. Legend wonders what he's looking for.

 

"Tell anyone about what?" Warriors slurs, eyes squeezed shut with a grimace on his face. Legend silently grabs his arm and gives it a reassuring squeeze.

 

"I have experience with shrinking to your size," Four explains. "I do it all the time, but nobody but Wolfie here knows. I'm asking you to keep your mouths shut for now, alright?"

 

"More secret shit. Got it. I'll be quiet," Legend responds.

 

"Warriors?" Four prompts. Legend glances over at him to see the captain turning a little green in the face, but he jerks his head in a nod.

 

"He's nodding," Legend adds. "He's just motion sick."

 

Four lets out a disgusted noise. "Oh no, don't throw up in my hand please."

 

"No promises," Warriors groans.

 

Wolfie barks then, and Four slowly turns around, being careful with the precious cargo in his hands. From what Legend can see, Wolfie is standing by a tree stump half buried in ferns and moss, but his tail is wagging.

 

"I would have completely, missed that. Thanks, Wolfie." Four makes his way over before crouching low to the ground, letting Warriors and Legend clamber off.

 

"Stay here, don't move," Four orders. "I mean it. I'll be right back."

 

Legend lets Warriors lean on him as Four steps away and climbs onto the tree stump. Wolfie plops down and watches with his head tilted to the side as Four brushes off various plant growth. When Four seems satisfied with his work, he stands up straight and murmurs something under his breath. In a flash of white, Four disappears.

 

"Um?" Legend looks at Warriors. "Did you see that too?"

 

"Whuh..."

 

"I'm going to assume no."

 

Legend looks back toward the trunk to see various stems of grass waving, the trail moving closer to them. Legend narrows his eyes, but waits patiently. Wolfie is around, after all.

 

He shouldn't be surprised when Four pokes his head out from the patch of grass he was traversing through, but life likes to be that way sometimes.

 

"Alright, follow me," Four says, smirking at their blatant surprise.

 

"You weren't kidding," Warriors mumbles, pulling away from Legend and walking towards Four. He stumbles a bit, but he seems to be alright for now.

 

"I certainly wasn't," Four chuckles. "Come on, we gotta get back to the stump."

 

"How does this work, exactly?" Legend asks as Four leads them through the grass. While Legend and Warriors bumble their way through, Four weaves through the stalks of grass with a practiced ease, nimble and light on his feet.

 

"We get to the stump, and I use my spell to change you back to regular size," Four explains easily.

 

"But how does it work?"

 

"The spell changes you from either small to big, or big to small."

 

Legend rolls his eyes. "You don't know, do you?"

 

"I never asked," Four replies with a smile.

 

They get to the stump and Four leads them inside it through a crevice invisible to Legend's eyes. Within, its hollow with a set of mushrooms growing towards the light filtering in from the crack at the top.

 

"As soon as I finish my spell, I want you to run and jump off the mushrooms towards the crack. Once you're through, you'll be normal sized again," Four instructs. "Got it?"

 

Warriors nods. "Sounds easy enough."

 

It takes Warriors three tries to get it.

 

Legend and Four are never going to let him live this down.

 

They can hear him shouting "Finally!" from outside the stump, and Four sends him a smirk as Legend gets ready to hopefully nail this on the first try.

 

"Ready?" Four asks.

 

"Let's go," Legend replies.

 

Four casts his spell, and a tingly feeling spreads from his chest his limbs, leaving him surrounded in a soothing warmth.

 

Legend takes off running, leaping from mushroom to mushroom. Even after watching Warriors do this three times, the mushroom under his feet is surprisingly springy and it easily propels him upwards toward the light.

 

He barely even feels it when his body grows back to his normal size. He only knows he's changed back when he lands on the stump awkwardly and nearly falls off.

 

"Woah!" He yelps, arms waving to keep his balance.

 

"Tell me you didn't do that on your first try," Warriors grumbles.

 

"I would be a liar if I did," Legend replies smoothly, casually stepping off of the stump as if he hadn't just been flailing about in fear of falling a grand total of maybe two feet.

 

"You're terrible."

 

"What does that make you?"

 

Warriors pouts, crossing his arms with a huff as Four reappears on top of the stump. He doesn't even look fazed, hopping down and putting his hands on his hips.

 

"I demand to know this Totem Time Strategy."

 

Legend and Warriors stare at him. "Why?" Warriors asks.

 

"Because I'm curious, and I just saved your asses."

 

Warriors shrugs. "Well, take it up with Legend then. He's the one who named the stupid thing."

 

"It's a legit strategy! And it's done nothing but make our lives easier!" Legend defends.

 

"I want in. Can it work with three people?" Four asks before Legend can go on a tangent.

 

"Oh Four," Legend chuckles, "it was made for three people."

 

That night, when the fuss about Warriors and Legend going missing dies down, Time will find himself with his head in his hands while Warriors parades around with Legend on his shoulders and Four on Legend's.

 

Wind demands lessons later.

Chapter 5: It's Going to be Okay

"Wake up!" Wild's yelling pulls Legend from his dreamless sleep. "Get up! Hurry!"

 

As soon as he registers the panicked tone to his yelling, Legend is kicking his bedroll off and scrambling to his feet, grabbing his sword and unsheathing it.

 

"What's happening?" Sky yells.

 

Wild looks back at them over his shoulder. "Monsters!"

 

"In the middle of the fucking night?" Wind grumbles as he moves to stand beside Legend.

 

"This is why we have a watch every night," Time states. He's not wearing his armor, but he has his broad sword and shield on his person while he hefts his claymore up.

 

They don't have time for anymore chatter. Legend intercepts the first moblin that crashes into their campsite, disarming it of its club in seconds and cutting it down before it has a chance to realize what's happening. Hyrule joins him seconds later, the two weaving around each other in a deadly dance of blades and quick movements. Surrounded as they are, Legend is not afraid, but rather pissed off because there goes a good night's rest!

 

Legend sends another monster crumpling to the ground when an arrow hits him right in the meat of his left shoulder. He grunts in pain while Hyrule yells in outrage. Legend falls back, realizing his dominant arm is near useless now and deciding an item would be better.

 

He reaches his bag with no issue, hurriedly digging around for something useful. When his eyes land on his hookshot, he mentally shrugs and pulls it out.

 

Old Faithful, don't fail me now.

 

He sees Hyrule bring down the moblin that shot him. Confident that the kid can take care of himself, Legend turns to assist Time, who's taking on three at once and showing signs of struggling. Legend fires the hookshot, waiting for the blade to sink into the skin of the moblin before yanking, upsetting its balance. Time is quick to finish it off, shooting Legend a thankful nod as he turns back to fend off the other two. Legend looks around and spots Four practically running circles around a moblin, what with all the rolling and darting he's doing. Wind knocks a moblin down and turns to another one with a scowl on his face. Legend finishes off the one he left on the ground, making a mental note to talk to Wind about that later.

 

Despite the surprise attack, everyone appears to be holding their own--from what Legend can see, anyway. He plays the role of support, his hookshot being just the tool to thin out any moblins should one of his companions start to get overwhelmed. As big as they are and as much brute strength they have, moblins don't work very well together.

 

But that's not to say they don't ever work well together.

 

Legend is stealing one's shield away when he hears Time let out a shout. Alarmed, he whips around to see the old man on his back, struggling to unsheathe his broadsword while his claymore is in the hands of a moblin looming over him. A second one has a foot on Time's chest, club raised high above its head.

 

Legend is running before his mind can even begin to process what's happening. He aims with his hookshot and shoots it at the one holding the club and pulls as hard as he can. The moblin flies toward him, Legend ducking below it as it soars over him, but he doesn't account for the club swinging low and hitting his head. Legend brushes the pain off, panic and fear overwhelming all other senses as his feet pound against the ground. He loses his grip on his hookshot but he doesn't even notice, the only thing on his mind being Time, who has only just now unsheathed his broadsword. Legend sees the moblin stab down with the claymore, but Time rolls out of the way, leaving behind a dark red trail.

 

With a cry, Legend jumps over Time and tackles the moblin, sending it reeling backward and stumbling as Legend claws at its skin with everything he's got. The moblin tries to pry him off, but Legend is small and quick, scaling the moblin like how Wild scales trees and perching on its shoulders, legs wrapping around its throat. Legend digs his nails into its eyes, relishing in the screech of pain it lets out as it drops the claymore to scrabble at Legend's hands. Legend stubbornly clings to it as it begins stomping around, trying to dislodge him and failing.

 

At least, it was until one of its hands wrapped around Legend's forearm. With a mighty roar, it flings Legend off of it and his shoulder makes a noise he never wants to hear again as he slams on the the ground, his head hitting something hard and leaving stars in his vision.

 

The glint of the claymore is his only warning before pain explodes in his abdomen.

 

Legend scrabbles at the cold blade, the agony in his stomach flaring with every hitched breath. Fuck. Oh fuck the fucking sword is stuck. He's stuck with a sword in his stomach. Shit shit shit!

 

The moblin is still there, paws wrapped around the hilt of Time's claymore. It's eyes are shut, blood flowing from where Legend clawed at it. It doesn't seem to realize that Legend is still alive, despite his panicked movements and pained noises. His vision is rapidly darkening at the edges. Fuck, fuck! He needs to get this stupid fucking thing out but the moblin is just standing there!

 

He can barely breathe, he limbs are going numb, it hurts, it hurts so bad, but he struggles and struggles, unwilling to give up until his body fails him.

 

He barely hears the enraged cry through all the pain and desperation. It takes his mind several seconds to register that the moblin is no longer there, but instead a person. He feels the sword move as it's pulled out of his abdomen, and Legend isn't sure if the high pitched noise is him screaming or not.

 

Bright blue eyes swim into focus, accented by a concerned glimmer.

 

"Stay with me!" He hears Warriors's voice demand. "Don't go to sleep!"

 

Legend fights to keep his eyes open, determined not to lose sight of the vaguely familiar head of blonde hair and the striking blue scarf adorning his shoulders. When an arm moves him, Legend hears the high pitched noise again before feeling a hand card through his hair.

 

"It's okay," Warriors soothes. "It's just Totem Time. You're okay."

 

Totem Time... He can do that. That's easy. That's always been easy.

 

Warriors moves him again, and while Legend doesn't hear the noise for the third time, he still feels the sharp increase of pain in his stomach. Every little movement has Legend growing dizzy, but then he feels hands underneath his knees and shoulders under his arms.

 

"You're gonna be okay," He hears Warriors say as he feels him start running. Legend groans, slumping in Warriors's hold and squeezing his eyes shut. Everything is either spinning or hurting and he's not a fan.

 

"I saw what you did back there," He hears Warriors say before he can slip into the world of dreams. "You're an idiot."

 

Rude! "Shut up," Legend bites out with a frown.

 

Warriors's chuckle sounds strangely fond. "Hey, don't fall asleep now, alright?"

 

Maybe Legend wants to sleep! He certainly can't seem to keep his eyes open, and it's nighttime anyway. He's supposed to be sleeping, right?

 

"No, no," Warriors chastises. "It's not time to sleep. It's Totem Time. You're not going to leave me hanging when it's Totem Time, are you?"

 

Legend lets out another groan. Fuck, his stomach hurts so bad.

 

"I know, but you gotta stay with me. I need you to stay awake. Can you do that for me?"

 

Legend supposes he can do that. It shouldn't be too hard, right?

 

"That's the spirit! We're almost there."

 

... Where's "there"? Does it matter? He's not sure anymore. His stomach still hurts, and his eyes are so heavy...

 

"Stay awake!"

 

Right! Right...

 

Legend doesn't know how long this goes on, stuck in a hazy world and lost in a pattern of pain, sleepiness, and Warriors urging him to stay awake. At some point, however, Warriors stops running and Legend feels himself being lowered to the ground. His stomach screams in pain, but Legend's limbs are too heavy to stop whatever is causing it.

 

All he knows is that his head is on something soft and hands are flitting around his stomach. One lightly slaps his cheek when his eyes begin to drift close.

 

"Not yet," Warriors orders, though his voice sounds far away.

 

"Did it go completely through?" A third voice asks--is that Four? He thinks that's Four.

 

"I don't think so," Warriors answers.

 

"Good. We need everything we can get right now."

 

The voices become fainter and fainter, the touches and the pain ebbing away with it. Legend's eyes fall shut and he finds that he can't open them despite Warriors's muted yelling and the hand slapping his cheek.

 

Everything is washed away by a black tide, pulling Legend into its depths and letting him forget about all the pain and all the voices calling his name.

 

---

 

“Legend!" Warriors yells, but to no avail. His eyes are shut and when Warriors pries them open, they have a blank look to them. "Fuck!" He curses, "he was doing so well, too!"

 

"Better he goes unconscious here than anywhere else," Four grunts, securing the bandaging and cutting the excess away. "He's at least safe with us."

 

"Dammit," Warriors sighs, removing his hand from Legend's cheek. His head lolls to the side in Warriors's lap without his hand to support it. After a moment of thought, Warriors readjusts Legend's head so it's not bent so awkwardly. "Do we have potions?"

 

Four hands a red one to him. "I snagged this one, but aside from a green one, this is all we've got. Time had to use the other one."

 

Warriors takes it and pops the cork out. Being careful not to jostle Legend too badly--those stitches were just put in after all—Warriors carefully moves him so that he's propped up against his chest.

 

He carefully pours the potion into Legend's mouth, Four standing guard with his sword unsheathed in case any more moblins decide to try and sneak up on them.

 

"Come on, buddy," Warriors mutters, tossing the empty bottle aside and maneuvering Legend so he's laying back down with his head in Warriors's lap again. "Stay with us."

 

The waiting is utter agony, but at least it's not long before the others find them. Time immediately moves to sit beside them, hands hovering over Legend and twitching as if he's searching for anything he can possibly do.

 

"It's all up to him now," Warriors tells him, and Time lets out a defeated sigh.

 

"I know," he murmurs. "I know."

 

Warriors can see the guilt in Time's eye, and he recalls the blade that he practically ripped out of Legend's body.

 

"It's not your fault," Warriors states.

 

"It was my mistake that caused this to happen," Time shoots back.

 

Warriors straightens up, shoulders squared and chin lifted high. "Were you the one who stabbed him?"

 

Time blinks dully at him, but gives him a tiny shake of his head.

 

"Did you give the moblin your weapon?"

 

Another shake.

 

"Did you tell the moblin to stab him?"

 

A third shake.

 

Warriors narrows his eyes. "Then it was not your fault," He declares in a tone of voice that offers no room for any kind of argument.

 

Time sighs. "I know you're right, but..."

 

Warriors lets himself deflate. "It's hard, but this is not on you."

 

Time nods.

 

The rest of the night is spent in a tense silence, Warriors and Time dutifully keeping watch over Legend as the others have their wounds treated.

 

Hyrule does his best to heal what injuries he can, but he could only do so much before his magic was thoroughly drained and he ended up falling asleep. Twilight keeps an eye on him, glancing their way every now and again.

 

Nobody else dares to sleep, too much paranoia and adrenaline keeping their eyes wide open. Every little noise that sounds potentially unnatural has Wild leaping to his feet and whipping out his sword, a feral look in his eyes. Sky and Twilight end up having to squash him between them, Sky's sailcloth draped over his shoulders.

 

But thankfully, the night passes without anymore unwanted visitors.

 

And so does the day.

 

Hyrule wakes up late in the evening with dark bags under his eyes. He takes up refuge beside Time and peers at him and Warriors.

 

"You two haven't slept." It's not a question.

 

Time doesn't confirm or deny it. Warriors avoids Hyrule's gaze.

 

Hyrule doesn't say anything more, leaning heavily against Time and letting his eyes fall closed.

 

It's in the middle of the night when Legend groans--the first noise he's made since he fell asleep.

 

"Fuck," He whines, face scrunching up in pain despite moving only his head.

 

"Good evening," Warriors chuckles.

 

Legend opens one eye and looks up at him with the grumpiest expression on his face. Warriors can't help the snort that comes from him. Classic Legend.

 

"What happened?" He asks.

 

"You were stabbed," Warriors replies.

 

"Of course I was."

 

Time looks between them with a tiny smile on his normally stern face. Hyrule lets out a loud snore.

 

"Is the fucker that stabbed me dead?" Legend asks a few minutes later.

 

"I made sure of it," Time replies. Legend turns to stare at him, icy eyes narrowed. Time meets his gaze evenly, but Warriors knows him well enough to know that Time is most likely fretting on the inside.

 

"Don't ever lose that sword," Legend mutters. "It hurt like hell."

 

Time barks out a laugh, startling Hyrule into awareness. Warriors chuckles, reaching down to ruffle Legend's hair.

 

"I won't," Time reassures him. "I won't."

 

"You won't what?" Hyrule mumbles, yawning into his fist.

 

Warriors smiles. "Go back to sleep. He glances at Time, and then at Legend. "All three of you."

 

"If I'm sleeping, so are you," Time states.

 

Warriors shrugs. "Okay. I'm not sure how I'm gonna do that without moving Legend, but I'll do my best."

 

Time glowers at him, but shifts to lie down anyway, Hyrule curling close to him and stretching out a hand towards Legend. Legend moves to grip his wrist, looking back up at Warriors.

 

"Thanks," he croaks, “for helping me.

 

Warriors’s smile softens. "Anytime."

Notes:

Alternative Title: Five Times Warriors Gave Legend a Piggyback Ride
This has been on my List for a while now, ever since Garry drew this.
I wanted to do something to celebrate Halloween... by not doing something festive whatsoever.
But hey, I had fun, and I got to explore the dynamic between Legend and Warriors--something I had yet to do!
I hope you enjoyed!