Chapter Text
It all started on a peaceful evening. But as we know, peaceful evenings have always been a bad sign for the Nine Heroes of Courage.
They had been camping in a Hyrule that seemed made entirely of forest. Four had gone with Warriors and Wind to explore. Legend was with Sky and Time, trying too to find a nearby town. That left poor Twilight to control Hyrule and Wild. They had been grounded, you could say, by Time. He was so angry with them because that little stunt they pulled before switching worlds, one week ago.
They both wanted to explore the area, but they didn’t have a map. Instead of asking permission to scout ahead like normal human beings, they silently escaped the group, getting lost in the way. They suddenly had changed time, making it impossible for the two heroes to know where the others were.
Twilight, or Wolfie, as Hyrule didn’t know his canine secret, had found them. The traveller Heroes couldn’t tell which of their companions was angrier, but Time, as the unofficial leader, had announced that the two of them wouldn’t go exploring for a long time, nor left alone. And Twilight, already Wild’s mentor and everyone’s ‘Big Brother’, had volunteered to watch them.
He was already regretting this.
It hadn’t even been five minutes since the group had divided, and the two of them were already bouncing their legs nervously, twitching their fingers, playing with their tunics and, in Hyrule’s case, creating small sparks every time he snapped his fingers.
The group had learned that Hyrule had a bit of Magical proprieties a while ago, but he didn’t use them much, and clearly didn’t like showing them. For him to be literally snapping lighting, he had to be bored as hell.
An hour had passed, and Twilight couldn’t stand it more. After threatening to tie both heroes on a tree, taking all of their weapons, playing cards and yelling at them, he decided that better three lost heroes than two murdered ones.
“Okay, you are coming with me.” Twilight grabbed Hyrule and Wild by their necks like kitten and dragged them along. “But follow me at all times, or Time will have our heads. The three of them.” He said, warning. The other two nodded as they could, and Twilight released them.
Then, Twilight followed the two heroes in a mix of amusement and exasperation as they climbed trees, ran through the tall grass and nearly jumped off cliffs, giving the pelt-wearing hero heart attacks each ten seconds.
And, even though Twilight was basically babysitting them, even though they didn’t have as much liberty as they usually had, the explorer Heroes had a great time. Better be out in the wildness than being stuck at camp, they said.
Finally, when the sun was starting to set, Twilight warned the two heroes. “We should be on our way. Make it to camp before the others.” “Yeah, I don’t want Time giving us the look again.” Hyrule said, cringing a little. “No shit, it’s so fucking scary” Wild agreed. “Let’s go.” Twilight messed their hair a bit, smiling. Hyrule and Wild complained, but they were laughing too.
And just there, on top of that small hill, things started to go wrong.
When they started walking towards the direction they had come from, darkness surrounded them. As an experience from time-travelling, they covered they mouths and noses. Inhaling the portal stuff was bad for their health.
Then, opening their eyes, they saw they were surrounded. Not by bokos. Not by moblins. Not even by lizalfos, wizzrobes nor any shadow creatures. No.
They were surrounded by members of the Yiga Clan.
“How the fuck are they here?” Wild asked. “No idea” Twilight readied his sword, and Wild and Hyrule did the same. “Are these the Banana dudes?” Hyrule asked, as he had heard from those skilled assassins hunting Wild.
“They are. But they are humans; they technically shouldn’t be able to time-travel.” Wild hissed, counting under his breath. Twenty, thirty, forty foot-soldiers. Twenty-five blade-masters. And possibly more to come. Impossible taking them all out. Three versus sixty-five wasn’t a fair fight.
“We won’t be able to take them all” Twilight grunted, like he was reading Wild’s mind. “We can always try.” Hyrule said. “We have to try. Regroup if we can’t.” Wild nodded. “It’s a bad idea, but it’s the only we have. Let’s do it.” Twilight sighed.
The Yiga made the first movement, as expected. Suddenly, the three heroes were in a battle they couldn’t win alone. And it wasn’t because they were outnumbered or outmatched.
When Hyrule first stabbed a foot-soldier, he thought that he was dead, one less to go. But he wasn’t. He raised from the floor, laughing, injury healing in the process, and re-joined the fight. Hyrule yelped and screamed “This is not normal, is it?”
Unfortunately, Wild and Twilight found out what he meant seconds later, when Wild chopped off a blade-master’s head, and suddenly it returned to its master, healing the fighter. And Twilight stabbed another foot-soldier in her heart, in a blow that should have killed her. But it didn’t.
“Shit! Regroup!” Wild cursed. Twilight fought his way towards Wild, and Hyrule double-jumped with a magic spell called Jump (so original) until he arrived his companions. “They fucking reform?” Twilight asked, knowing that no human being had the ability to do so.
“They are empowered!” Hyrule said, examining his blade. “What do we do? We need the rest of the heroes, we can’t do this alone.” Wild said, swinging his blade. “I have a plan.” Twilight stabbed a Yiga Member, discarding him as he reformed.
“Please tell us!” Hyrule shouted as he zapped with his lighting half of their enemies. “You won’t like it.” Twilight smirked sadly. “We will decide if we like it or not.” Wild said, fighting fiercely. “Sadly, you don’t have options to choose.” Twilight sighed and took a good look at his surroundings.
“What…?” Hyrule tried to ask. Twilight gripped his stone necklace, not by the black and orange rock, but by its string. Then, he gave it to Wild. “Never touch the stone. You know the rules.” Wild tied it around his neck, following Twilight’s instructions wide-eyed. “You’re giving it to me? But…” “Return it to me the next time we see each other. Tell the boys… tell them I’m sorry.” Twilight smiled sadly.
Hyrule and Wild understood it too late. As Twilight raised his hands and Hyrule and Wild were surrounded by black particles, they shouted “No!” Who knew Twilight could transport them? But it was too late to stop the Wolf Hero.
Hyrule and Wild appeared on top of a tree. They weren’t far from Twilight, but they were subjected by shadows so they couldn’t move. Their own shadows. What a terribly intelligent move, Hyrule thought.
They saw how a blade-master put his katana on Twilight’s neck. Twilight grinned. “You will never find Wil –Link now,” Twilight taunted. “We know that. But he will come to us willingly.” The blade-master said sweetly, pushing the Hero of Twilight. “You underestimate him.” Twilight said, kneeling on the floor, blade still at his neck. “He knows it’s a trap. He won’t come for me.” He said it so Wild heard it. Wild cursed under his breath.
“Maybe you underestimate us, Hero of Twilight. We know all about your so-called cub . He will come, trust me.” The Yiga laughed. “He WON’T” Twilight said forcibly. Wild swore again. He knew Twilight was talking to him. He was giving him a direct order. Twilight knew Hyrule and Wild were on that tree, listening. He had done it on purpose.
“We’ll see. Meanwhile, you being the hero that defeated our master Ganon long ago, we’ll be able to please Master Zikh.” The blade-master punched Twilight’s jaw, and the Hero gritted his teeth, eyes hard. He spat on his captors shoes. Then, some foot-soldiers tied Twilight’s arms to his back, and his legs against each other. Another blade-master dragged Twilight by his pelt and threw something on the floor, immediately creating a purplish gate.
Just before crossing it, Twilight directed his eyes towards the tree Wild and Hyrule were hiding in, restrained, unable to move. And, eyes full of regret, he mouthed I’m sorry. It was the right choice.
And Hyrule and Wild weren’t, absolutely, under no circumstances, crying softly for their brother.
When Twilight disappeared through the portal with all the Yiga, Wild and Hyrule were able to move again. They both jumped off the tree and hurried towards the closing gate, but they didn’t make it in time. It closed when Wild was about to cross it, leaving the Traveller heroes to stare at the floor, not knowing what to do.
And they stayed there until the sun had completely disappeared. And even more time, staring at the floor, crying and cursing.
After who knows how many hours, Hyrule straightened himself. “W-We need Time. He has t-to know.” Wild nodded and, gripping the necklace’s string, he stood. “Let’s go.” Wild said. They walked towards camp, silently. Until Hyrule asked a question. “What’s that necklace? Twilight always wore it, why would he give it to you now? Is it a protection charm or…?” Hyrule eyed the stone. He wanted to touch it, but he remembered that Twilight had warned Wild not to do so.
“It’s… sort of a magic amulet. Twilight doesn’t like magic, and for a good reason, but this one is special. I can’t tell you what it does. He has to do it himself, and he will. But you heard him. Don’t touch it.” Wild said, voice breaking a little. “Is it that dangerous?” Hyrule asked again. “It’s dangerous if you don’t know how to control it. I don’t. Time doesn’t. The only one who may know how to control it it’s the Veteran. But even he fell under its charm once. I don’t wanna risk it. I know its dangers and I’ll keep it myself.” Wild said. His voice was now steady, in control. Hyrule was scared for him.
Finally, they arrived camp. The other six heroes were already there, talking, laughing, bickering, and teasing. But when they heard Wild and Hyrule, they all stayed silent. Time stood, frowning. “Didn’t I tell you…?” He asked, his tone terrifying.
But Hyrule and Wild couldn’t bring themselves to look scared. That alone told Time that something happened. He immediately turned to the shadows, expecting a third figure to come onwards, looking ashamed, sheepishly even, but nobody came.
“What. Have. You. Done. With. Twilight?” Time gritted his teeth. Hyrule looked down, and Wild gripped Twilight’s necklace harder. Time noticed it, and panic overtook him. Twilight would never leave his necklace behind; it was too much of a danger. “Where is he?” He asked again, voice trembling dangerously.
It was Hyrule who responded, voice thin and trembling. “Where is he? Probably in Wild’s time-period.” He sighed. “And why is that?” Time narrowed his eyes. Everyone was silent, awaiting for a response. This time, Wild answered. “Because he’s an idiot. A… an overprotective idiot that wouldn’t be in this situation if he just CARED ABOUT HIS FUCKING WELLBEING” Wild smashed a fallen trunk with his fist.
At this, Time understood that something really bad had happened. If Wild had Twilight’s necklace, and Twilight had been an overprotective idiot, chances were high that Wild and Hyrule had tried to stop him from doing the stupid thing and failed. Twilight was stubborn, and this was a fact nobody could deny.
“What happened?” Time sat between the boys and rubbed their shoulders in a shooting way. Wild sobbed and buried his head in his arms, hood covering him entirely. Hyrule sighed, his eyes in the verge of tears too, and he talked. He talked about their trip. He talked about the hill. He talked about the black smoke and the Yiga, those immortal Yiga. He talked about Twilight’s plan, a plan he hadn’t shared with them.
“And then, he raised his arms and we were surrounded by shadows that transported us. Not too far, we could see everything but we couldn’t move from our hidden spot. He was outnumbered. Seventy or so versus one, and he couldn’t fight more. They took him.” Hyrule finished.
The heroes stayed silent. Legend hugged Hyrule. Warriors calmed Wind’s sobs. Four rubbed Wild’s back, and Time collapsed to the floor.
The response came from The Chosen Hero, even though he usually didn’t like being a commander. “He’s been kidnapped. Well then, heroes, we’ll have to get him back.” Sky stood, seeming entirely a new person, Master Sword unsheathed and pointing skywards. “WE ARE GOING TO TAKE HIM BACK.” He repeated loudly. The starred sky seemed to glint under that statement, and the Master Sword recharged with energy. Not the normal, white one that the heroes were used to. No.
It recharged with a faint orange, as if the sword was reflecting a sunset. Fi was reflecting the twilight.
Twilight paced as he could his small cell. It seemed that the Yiga knew well not to underestimate him, because they had tied his hands and feet with strong metal chains, and his mobility was reduced considerably.
He had given himself up so Wild could escape. He knew that the Yiga wanted Wild dead, and Twilight had decided to save him and Hyrule with no guarantee that he would live. He was very much alive, thank the goddess, but he doubted he would stay this way too long.
He was a bartering tool to lure Wild. He would receive an ultimatum. And Wild, for worse or better, was a hero. And heroes didn’t let others die for them, as much as Twilight tried to prevent it.
Twilight had told Hyrule and Wild he had a plan. In truth, he didn’t. He had wanted to get them both out of the unwinnable fight, and he had trusted his instincts. Twilight didn’t know he could do what he had done. It was a power that belonged to the Twili tribe.
But, looking back, it had been sundown. Rusl had said it once; twilight was the time where our world merged with the afterlife. Twilight, at that moment, had thought he meant with the realm of the dead.
But in his adventure, afterlife had shifted meanings. Afterlife was where the magicians were exiled long, long time ago. Afterlife was where a silent tribe made its home, where a ruler with a kind heart lived.
If his train of thought was taking him to a response, Twilight didn’t want to follow it. Because that response was one he wished and refused since the end of his adventure.
Then, his brain was rudely interrupted by a Yiga foot-soldier, that opened his cell door and said “It’s time you meet Master Zikh, Hero of Twilight.” Twilight groaned to hide his fear and nodded. His chains didn’t disappear, but rather morphed into ropes that permitted Twilight to walk, restraining him at the same time.
In his time helping his cub, he had never been to this part of the Gerudo Desert. Wild hadn’t wanted the wolf to get hurt, but Twilight had heard him boasting about infiltrating the hideout enough to know that it wouldn’t be an easy place to escape.
Twilight looked at everything as he walked. The tall walls, the tarred clothing hanging from the ceiling, the narrow aisles, the stone blocks, the upside-down Sheikah eyes. Twilight took it all in, hoping to find an exit. However, all the doors were closed, there were vigilantes at each corner watching him walk with sick amusement, and Twilight was too weak.
Because receiving various cuts from Yiga scimitars, punches and taunts from his captors was not what your regular medic described as a healthy lifestyle.
He could barely stand, but he held his chin up as the foot-solder dragged him towards somewhere. If he was going to die, he wouldn’t do it cowering in fear, nor collapsed on the floor. No, he would die standing, fighting.
And Twilight didn’t falter once despite his aching body, didn’t stumble once despite his screaming lungs.
Finally, he and the stupid foot-soldier exited through a door, where Twilight admired the landscape. He wasn’t between walls anymore, he was in a circular canyon with tall, sandy borders, and a hole in the middle. Twilight had heard Wild talk about this. Supposedly, the last Yiga Master, Khoga, had fallen inside it. It was so deep that nobody, not even Twilight’s sharp eyesight, could see the end of it.
The foot-soldier ordered Twilight to kneel, and Twilight was secretly glad of it, because his legs couldn’t stand him more. He did as told, and then they waited.
They waited five, ten, fifteen minutes, and nobody came. When Twilight was actually considering asking what they were waiting for, the air before him pooffed.
And from nothing, a young Yiga appeared. “Master Zikh, we captured the Hero’s mentor.” Said the foot-soldier, bowing. Twilight couldn’t see Zikh’s expression because of his mask, but he could tell he was impressed.
“Well, well, if it isn’t The Hero of Twilight.” His voice was melodic and hid power, but Twilight wasn’t afraid of this Yiga. He wasn’t afraid of whatever would happen to him. He was afraid, however, of his machinations and his brain. From what Wild had told him, Khoga hadn’t been the smartest Yiga member. This one seemed intelligent enough to make the other eight heroes fall into a trap like mice.
Twilight just frowned at him. “Make yourself at home, Hero, because it will be your resting place.” “You wish” Twilight responded. “Oh, you heroes, always fighting. Don’t worry, Hero, you can relax. I’ll make sure of it. Unless you want to help us luring Link here?” Zikh raised his eyebrows.
“Never.” Twilight spat. “Thought so.” Zikh sighed, as if Twilight was being an unreasonable kid. Then, he clapped his hands twice. “Blade-masters 375 and 684, you have permission to torture Twilight. I want him alive, tough, because if he’s not…” Zikh looked at Twilight grinning evilly as the two blade-masters appeared. “…He won’t serve as a decoy anymore. I’ll be sure to contact our dear Hero of the Wild meanwhile.”
“Leave Wild out of this!” Twilight shouted, but he already knew it was no use. “And what will you do to stop me?” Zikh taunted. Twilight frowned, powerless, and Zikh took this as a surrender sign. Laughing, he disappeared, leaving Twilight stuck with two bloodthirsty Yiga.
“Oh, shit.” Twilight muttered, knowing what was to come.
“Opening a portal? Impossible. The Harp of Ages is everything but reliable” Legend said, shaking his head. “We can’t go to Wild’s time-period, then?” Wind asked, shaking. “Only if we shift times right now. We aren’t able to produce a portal.” Warriors sighed.
“Wait. Wait, I’m… I’m having an idea…” Sky stared into the distance. “Only evil entities can create portal, isn’t this right? But… maybe the Goddess can, too.” He nodded, trying to explain what was going on in his head. “And your point is…?” Four asked. “That maybe we can catch her attention.” Sky brought out his harp and traced his fingers absentmindedly through its golden carvings.
“How?” Time widened his good eye. “Music…” Sky smiled now, relieved. “Okay, saying that someone was able to do this, why would she respond?” Hyrule asked. “Various reasons: we Skylofteans are the closest race to the goddess, she’ll hear me out. Also, Twilight is her chosen hero as well. She would want us to rescue him. And I know the exact song we can use to call her.” Sky smiled and watched his fellow heroes.
“I don’t get it.” Wild shook his head. “You don’t have to.” Sky assured. “Who can play an instrument?”
“I have my Ocarina” Time said. “I have one too.” Four nodded. Wind readied his Wind Waker. “Instrument? Which one?” Legend smirked, showing off his collection of Chellos, Harps, Violins, Flutes, Bells and countless more.
“I don’t have any.” Wild said. “Me neither” Warriors said. “And I have a recorder.” Hyrule brought it out. “Legend, can you give an instrument to Wild and Warriors?” Sky asked. “Of course. Wild… if you break it I’ll break you.” Legend threatened.
Wild nodded, and got his hands on the Full Moon Cello. Warriors was given the Organ of Evening Calm. “These are important to me, so take care of them.” Legend warned, but his voice was soft and he had melancholic eyes. “I don’t know how to play!” Wild frowned. “Yeah. What are we supposed to do?” Warriors stared at the instrument.
“You’ll know. These instruments are magical, I didn’t know how to play them either.” Legend nodded and prepared his Harp of Ages. “Everyone, follow Sky’s lead. I’ll direct, but play what he plays, alright?” Wind directed to the heroes as if they were a professional orchestra. “Yes!” everyone said.
Eight heroes with various instruments, from Ocarinas to Cellos, standing on top of a hill, was truly a strange sight. And, as Sky started to play the Ballard of the Goddess, the air was filled with such hopeful sound that even the plants felt drawn to the music.
And when Sky started to sing, that ancient accent that characterized him nearly made the heroes tear up.
en daʃeʋu nobe̞ ʃʊndu
tje̞ ʃʊtu ke̞wɛnu sale̞
en daʃeʋu nobe̞ dʊʃu
tje̞ ʃʊtu nobe̞ dezu dotʃe̞
And the others joined the song, singing the peculiar lyrics, sounds of Ocarinas, Flutes, Cellos and Pianos mixing with that harp. The wind joined the song too, making the song travel far and wide across that time-period that seemed entirely made of forest.
Oh youth, guided by the servant of the goddess, unite earth and sky, and bring light to the land.
Oh youth, show your feet the way to your Victory...and before you a path shall open, and a heavenly song you shall hear.
Sky had versioned the song so it fit what they wanted to do. The Heroes’ vision blurred, but they didn’t stop playing. They closed their eyes and continued repeating the same lyrics, those who could sing and play at the same time, and the others pouring their soul inside the music.
Finally, everyone stopped playing except for Sky, who continued one last time, as a thank-you to Hylia. Then, he opened his eyes. They were on a desert, next to a town guarded by two Gerudo woman. “We did it…” Wild laughed. “WE DID IT!” Wind shouted and hugged Sky. “Yeah… yeah we did.” Sky laughed too and hugged the young sailor.
“Okay, what’s the plan now?” Four asked, ready for the action, but then they heard a beeping from Wild’s Sheikah Slate. Wild brought it out and read “It says: Entering Call, Yiga Clan. Accept or Decline.” He read. “Call? I don’t know…” Warriors said. “Accept it. We need all the information we can get.” Legend said.
Wild nodded and pulsed the label that said Accept. Immediately, a video popped up.
Twilight was kneeling on the desert floor, looking exhausted. Before him, the Yiga Master. He apparently was telling him something the Heroes didn’t catch until the last words. “Unless you want to help us luring Link here?” The Master raised his eyebrows, taunting, smirking.
“Never.” Twilight spat. His voice was rough and tired. “Thought so.” The Master sighed and clapped his hands twice. “Blade-masters 375 and 684, you have permission to torture Twilight. I want him alive, tough, because if he’s not…” He looked at Twilight as the two blade-masters appeared. “…He won’t serve as a decoy anymore. I’ll be sure to contact our dear Hero of the Wild meanwhile.”
“Leave Wild out of this!” Twilight shouted, and Wild cringed. Twilight was always defending him, even if he wasn’t there. “And what will you do to stop me?” Twilight frowned, at the verge of tears, and the master, laughing, disappeared. Twilight whispered, “Oh, shit.”
One blade-master came forwards and punched Twilight’s stomach. Twilight stayed still, closing his eyes in pain. And the other unsheathed his katana and, laughing, stabbed it on Twilight’s calf. The Rancher yelped as the second Yiga slashed his cheek. “You’ll never make it out of here alive, Wolf Hero.” The first blade-master laughed. Twilight held his chin up, blood and tears raining down his face. “We’ll see.” Twilight managed.
Then, another punch and Twilight collapsed. Now, the heroes could appreciate that it wasn’t his first time being tortured, as he had hundreds of other bruises and cuts. No wonder Twilight was in such condition.
Then, the video stopped and the face of the Yiga Master appeared. “You see your little brother, heroes. You want him back. You have something I want. Let’s make a deal, shall we? Come today at mid-afternoon and we’ll barter.
And the call ended.
Many heroes collapsed to their knees, helpless. What had they done to Twilight? And Sky, Warriors and Time, those who hadn’t collapsed, were still in shock. Horrified, sad, angry, scared, furious and unbelieving.
Someone broke their shock. “Link?” Said a childish voice. As this was Wild’s time, he was the one who turned and saw the Chief of Gerudo Town, Riju, just a few steps behind the heroes. “R-Riju, hi…” Wild didn’t even sound cheerful.
“Link… what happened?” She hurried to him. They were both friends, and Wild had helped Riju many times. “Oh, Riju, it’s –it’s nothing.” Wild looked desperately to Legend and Hyrule, who were the closest ones to him. “Wild, we need help.” Legend pointed. “You need help too. Talk to… uh… Reejo.” Hyrule tried to pronounce the name as Wild had, failing miserably.
Riju looked at the seven men. They looked like what she imagined knights of old. Many were adults, but one was more or less her age. They all seemed to know Link, they called him Wild, a nickname that fitted him. “Link… if you need help, you know…” Riju tried again. She knew she had limited time, Adine would freak out if she saw her outside the city walls, but if Link needed help she wasn’t going to deny it.
“The Yiga captured my mentor.” Link pulled his hood up. Riju knew about ‘mentors’ and didn’t understand why he was so important to Link. A mentor was someone who restricted you, that punished you for your bad actions. She had had several of them, various brutal Gerudo warriors that couldn’t stop punishing Riju for her bad actions.
“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Riju nodded. At that, all of Link’s friends, including that young one, looked to her, horrified. “How can you say that?” Said the one that seemed the leader, with golden armour. “Mentors are not a good thing, are they?” Riju asked.
“What… what type of mentors did you…?” Now the one her age, with blue tunic and a fairy pendant widened his eyes in surprise. “I… I don’t… what is happening?” Riju asked Link.
“Riju, I know you childhood wasn’t the best, but you have to trust me in this. My mentor is being tortured by the Yiga. He… he means a lot to all of us. Can you contact Princess Zelda, tell he we are here?” Link asked her. “Of course. But why… why was he captured?” She asked.
He and the only brunette in the group shared a look, a look of guilt. “They were after me, but he is an overprotective idiot.” Link gave as an explanation.
“I’ll contact Princess Zelda. And Link… we are ready to help you at any moment. Just say the word.” Riju nodded, secure of herself. “Thanks, Ri. I’ll consider it.” Link smiled. Riju hugged him one last time and she entered town.
“Well, guys, now you’re going to learn how to ride a sand-seal. We’re going to get him back.” Wild looked at each of the heroes. “While I don’t know what a sand-seal is, I’m with Wild. Let’s go kick some Yiga ass.” Warriors smirked.