Twin Quasar

by StrixEye

Summary:

For a moment, everything was wrong.

The way Wild's eyes weren't quite visible, half-hidden beneath the shadow of his hood; the way his hair swayed by his shoulders, undone in a way Legend hadn't seen before; the way something hummed under the right side of his cloak, a whisper of magic that echoed emerald rather than Sheikah-cyan.

"You're not him," Legend said before he could stop himself, and the moment shattered.

Notes:

This is an odd one. Both the LU fandom and this particular idea captured me so strongly that I actually sat down and wrote something for the first time in years. I'm not quite sure how this would turn out, or whether I'll do the characters any justice, but— hopefully you all would enjoy.

Chapter 1: You saw the end

Summary:

First Contact.

The first thing Legend noticed were the silver rays of moonlight, a pale contrast against a charcoal sky. The second was a dull yet steady throbbing in his head, quickly followed by the mossy dampness of the ground —earth?— he was lying on. Then came the sound of chirping bugs. Tree leaves and puddles reflecting off the faint glows of night. The thundering absence of everyone else.

…Hylia, what a fantastic shift.

An attempt to stand up resulted in a spectacular failure as a wave of nausea washed over him. Legend flinched, staggering to the nearest tree before barely managing to turn and rest his back.

“Hell,” he hissed.

Everything was blurry. The moonlit woods felt too bright despite the obvious dimness, and the nausea dancing just beneath his throat was still almost unbearable. If this wasn't a concussion, he didn't know what was; and with a dry, painful swallow, he slowly recalled that he had no potions on him. No one in the Chain had any potions on them, he'd been the one to do inventory last night. They had been planning on restocking tomorrow.

Which again. Fantastic.

He collapsed to a sit, letting go of a shaky breath. A few moments like that and he could almost pretend his headaches were receding a bit. Almost.

…Yeah, he wasn't going to be able to do anything much for a while. Legend wasn't stupid, he was not about to blindly walk through a forest at night when he had a head injury this bad.

He just hoped the others were doing much better than him, if only because he was certain more than half the idiots that made up their group would, indeed, blindly walk through a forest at night when they had a head injury this bad. In fact, he was pretty sure he could recall at least three different occasions when one of them did exactly that.

Another pang in his head. Legend grimaced. He really needed to stop where this was going before he ended up with an even worse headache. And maybe shift his attention to more pressing matters, such as keeping his eyes open — a task that was growing increasingly difficult by the second, admittedly.

Cursing again, he drew another deep breath. Blinked. Held the breath for a few seconds, before carefully letting it go. Blinked again. In, hold, and out. Blink once, twice, reset. He focused on the rhythm, clinging on it to keep himself awake, his mind from wandering away.

Eventually he fell into a routine, though with each passing cycle the dark spots in his vision grew a bit bigger, lingered a bit longer. That was fine; he just needed to do it one more time. Just until someone (or something, though he vehemently scrapped out the thought the moment it creeped into his mind) found him.

Just one more.

Just one more.

Just one more —

— He jerked awake with a gasp.

“Oh good, you're awake,” a familiar voice came from the shadow watching over him — Wild? — before something small was tossed towards his side. “Here, take this; you look like you need one.”

“Wha — ?” Legend started, barely managing to catch the thing in time. He blinked. A glass bottle. The liquid inside swayed clear red despite the shadows hanging all around.

Take— oh.

His head pounded too much for him to think any further; after struggling with the lid for a few seconds he opened the bottle and downed its contents in one go. Almost immediately his head his head started to clear up, though so did the senses in the rest of his body. Legend swore as a wave of pins and needles spread across his limbs, and ahead, Wild laughed.

“Welcome back to the land of the living.”

“Yeah, ugh, sure, thanks, whatever,” he groaned, clutching his head. “...When'd you even get here?” he asked once he managed to give a glance around his surroundings; nothing really seemed to have changed much in the woods other than the presence of Wild himself, a hooded, silver-cast figure playing with a handful of green fireflies.

“Only just now. Was about to wake you up, but apparently you noticed me first. It was impressive, really. Maybe I should've sneaked up on you with my stealth set on.”

“Yeah, and you would've ended up with a knife in your face.”

“Not with that concussion of yours,” Wild grinned, “That bump on your head is almost visible through your cap. What even happened?”

“Dropped head-first into a rock,” Legend deadpanned. “Goddess, I hate shifting.”

Wild made a sympathetic noise. “Yeah, that sounds about right. I guess you have no idea where the others are, then?”

“Of course not. You?”

“Not really, no,” Wild shrugged after a beat, and Legend turned at the sudden pause. “At least, as far as I can remember.”

…remember?

Something prickled in the back of his head, a silent tension slowly building up. Legend blinked, suddenly realizing the weight of the glass bottle still in his hands (hadn't they been out of potions?).

He paused.

Ahead the fireflies continued to flutter by Wild's side, swirling in such impossible shades of green (they weren't fireflies at all). His eyes caught up to his bag, cast off to the side just out of his reach, but just within Wild's own (not out of reach. Cut off of reach).

Something was wrong.

A gust of wind. Drops of moonlight scattered off the leaves. For a moment everything was wrong.

The way Wild's eyes weren't quite visible, half-hidden beneath the shadow of his hood; the way his hair swayed by his shoulders, undone in a way Legend hadn't seen before; the way something hummed under the right side of his cloak, a whisper of magic that echoed emerald rather than Sheikah-cyan.

“You're not him,” Legend said before he could stop himself, and the moment shattered.

The hooded face turned towards him, almost startled, and —

— A heartbeat.

“…No. I suppose not,” the specter slowly began, and his stomach churned, almost making him recoil backwards. “At least, not yet. Not anymore. Depends on how you see it, but,”

A movement, towards one of the fireflies-that-weren't. Legend reacted, reflexes reaching for one of his hidden daggers even as a part of him screamed stop, that was Wild, hold fire, don't—

He froze, once his eyes caught up to the sight in front of him.

The arm.

Hylia, the arm.

The small glow burst into a brilliant flash before slowly melting into the skin that touched it, its green ripples spreading from the fingertips (dark, brittle, not quite skin) to the palm and the arm (marked, with golden lines, circuits, tears)—

“I'm still a version of him, Vet,” the specter said, right arm glowing gold and emerald primal and alien yet the rest so utterly, devastatingly Wild, “One that's about to come.”

...What?

There was no time to process. With the sudden glow the rest of the hooded face leapt into his view. Legend held his breath, first at the sight of the scars he had grown familiar with, then at the scars he had never seen, thinly layered on top of the ones he knew — not quite old but not quite new, either, in a way that made his stomach churn again.

No. Not just the scars. Everything about this almost-Wild felt a bit more — worn. A bit more off, a bit more out of place in a way an imposter never would.

Older, he realized.

“I'm from the future, Vet," Wild faintly smiled.

---

(and he saw the end.)

---

Twilight was the one to find him, a few hours later, when the faint orange waves of dawn had already begun to wash out most of the dark. One tired look at each other and they both agreed that the night had been way too long.

“Think you can stand, Vet?” Twilight asked. Legend let out a small laugh.

“I don't even freaking know. Guess I'll give it a try.”

(I'm sorry, Wild had said, I know this is probably more than you can process right now, but—)

Standing up, it turned out, was pretty manageable even in his state. Walking, however, was a different story. Twilight had to catch him mid-stagger after but a few steps, and Legend found himself unable to even get mad when the older hero told him he would have to help him back to where the rest had set up camp.

“By the rest, you mean—” he asked. Twilight nodded.

“Yeah, pretty much everyone now that I found you. We were scattered all over so the search took all night, but. We're all mostly okay. No one was seriously hurt, if that's what you're asking.”

(Everyone's… I'm not going to say unhurt. But they'll be fine. They were, back then. And if not I'll go later and ensure it.)

“That's… good,” he murmured, a sudden tension leaving his limbs. Twilight yelped as Legend nearly lost his footing once more, barely managing to keep him from falling again.

“Goddess, Legend. Forget about the rest, what happened to you?”

“Head injury," he breathed, "It's mostly better now, but. It was a long night.”

Don't ask, went unsaid.

Twilight stared at him nonetheless. “…Should I be worried about this?”

(You can't tell the others.)

“No,” he replied after a pause, "It's nothing to be concerned about."

His voice must have sounded final. Twilight made a noise, one that spoke something along the lines of I'm not exactly convinced, but I suppose I won't pry, either. “If you say so, Vet.”

(I can't tell you everything right now, an echo lingered by his ears, because there are rules we figured out and turns out some things just can't be said or done out of order.)

(But it started like this:)

(If I'm right and this really is your first time seeing me, Vet, then I —Wild— leave in three months.)

They slowly began making through the woods.

Chapter 2: When now falls apart

Summary:

Sometimes, later has to make way.

The first thing Legend did after arriving at camp was crashing.

His dreams were a broken echo of last night, of words that did not make sense, sentences that would not make sense, at least for a long time.

There was an image of Wild, right arm set aflame, soon entirely swallowed by red and black tendrils—

No. That can't be how it happened.

(It's going to be okay, Wild had said, I know it's hard to believe but in the end things are going to be okay, Vet.)

 

---

 

He woke up sometime around noon. Turned out he wasn't even the last one to do so.

“Like I said, the shift last night was a mess. You were the last one we found, but these guys,” Twilight gestured towards the mess of limbs that were Wind and Sky, “were pretty much missing all night too. From what I heard they walked through like, half the forest with broken ankles or something.”

“Sprained,” Hyrule sighed as he checked over Legend's head. “But with the way they were swollen by the time I checked, they might as well had been.”

The healer's voice was unusually even, despite the absolute blast of a time he must have had since last night - which probably meant that he was either moments before breakdown or long past that point. Either scenario was terrifying enough, so Legend decided not to think about it much beyond that.

“...Okay, what even is the rundown of all our injuries? I vaguely recall you telling me no one was really hurt,” he eyed Twilight.

“Well, no one was seriously hurt. If we went into technicalities, the list will be something like —”

“Three sprained ankles, two sprained wrists, too many but mostly superficial cuts and bruises from falling through trees, and one concussion. Might be two now depending on how you turn out, Legend,” Hyrule answered, effectively shutting the two of them up. “Twilight's not wrong, nothing from last night was serious, but. As a whole it's a goddess-damned mess.”

The stress bubbling within that last sentence was positively palpable. Legend almost twitched; Long past breakdown it was. For a moment he could almost swear he saw Twilight wince in fear, which would have been hilarious had he not completely agreed with the sentiment.

“Got it. Seems like I wasn't the only one who fell from absurdly inappropriate heights last night,” he said instead. “Speaking of, where even is everyone else?”

"Oh yeah, the old man and the Captain are scouting out, Wars said he might be recognizing the place," Twilight answered a bit too quickly. “Four's on scavenging duty, since he's the only other person fully intact. Wild followed to make sure nothing poisonous would get mixed in.”

Legend very carefully did not make a reaction to that. “Good to know. So, Hyrule, what's the verdict?”

“Hmm, I think you were mostly right,” Hyrule said, taking a step back. “There are signs of a concussion, but they seem pretty okay by now. Nothing much else. I would still recommend taking things easy for a few days though.”

“Now there's a plan,” he huffed. “But yeah, thanks I guess. And maybe you take your rest too, cause you look like you're about to fall over yourself.”

Hyrule blinked, his eyes widening for a bit as his expression quickly melting into a something akin to sheepishness. “...Oh no, I was getting snappy, wasn't I? Sorry, I just— it's been a stressful day. Night. Whatever it is.”

“I don't think any of us are going to disagree on that, 'Rule,” Twilight said wryly, slowly standing up. “Anyways, if you guys are done, get some more rest like both of you just said. I think I'm gonna do another perimeter to see if any of the others are coming back.”

And it was like watching cracked glass crumbling apart: Hyrule's shoulders slumped down as the tension in his limbs faded away, revealing the fatigue beneath. “Oh. Yeah, sure, thanks Twilight,” the healer slowly said with a visibly more tired voice, and Legend watched as he waved off Twilight's retreating form.

It wasn't long before the first yawn, then the quick words of apology; Hyrule vanished into his tent not long afterwards, and just like that the camp fell quiet once more.

Leaving him alone with his thoughts.

Legend sighed. No use trying to avoid thinking about it, he supposed. He slowly fell back on his sleeping roll, watching the tree leaves above dance against the clear skies.

So. Last night.

Everything still felt like one big fever dream, and he rarely ever resorted to that phrase. A lot of the details were already getting murky, which Legend supposed was his head injury doing its work, but there were words and images seared into his mind, blazing so fierce that he was almost afraid of touching it. But he had to, hadn't he? The things he saw last night, heard last night, weren't stuff he could just ignore.

(I'm from the future, Vet.)

The mere memory of those words twisted his stomach again, even though that was perhaps the most believable part of everything that happened. After all, the very adventure they were all in was happening outside the normal boundaries of time. Their leader actively participated in time travel during his own adventure. Even Legend himself was quite experienced in it. So why had those words shaken him so badly then— and still did now?

Probably because of everything else that idiot had said, he thought, closing his eyes. Not just the things he spoke aloud, but also the things he said without words. Perhaps without even meaning to.

Like the fact that he gains even more scars, for one. Like the fact that his arm becomes— whatever it was, that he saw last night. Like the fact that he leaves.

…Three months. Three months and the accursed goddess would whisk away one of their own back for who-knows-what.

(It started when Sky had a vision-dream, Wild had whispered, Of me leaving. I remember you being the one looking the least shocked at the news. I had my own guesses back then, but— it was only after all this began did I actually understand.)

This being the impromptu time-jumps, apparently. Wild had said he can't quite tell him how or why it happened —something about the 'rules' again— but the gist of things seemed that, after Wild went back for his second adventure, he would sometimes just— come back. Briefly. To a random moment in time, during the three months that led up to his departure.

(You knew. And you were the only one who did until the end.)

The implications of that, of course, had shaken him terribly. If that was how it already happened, then it was also how it should happen, lest you broke the timeline itself— Legend was more than familiar with that tune, being the one who was perhaps the most interested in how all their timelines worked and diverged. And if what happened was that he was the only one who knew, then—

(…Yeah, Wild had said quietly. You can't tell the others. In fact — no, you'll probably see it soon enough.)

See what soon enough? Wild hadn't answered.

(Three days from now, at the inn. I'll have a nightmare. Follow me out.)

A faint glow, mixture of moonlight and that foreign, emerald magic. Wild's eyes, turned just slightly away, staring into the dark of the woods. Legend's memories rapidly deteriorated from there, with that last image burned into his mind.

He slowly opened his eyes.

A quick glance sideways showed the three other members in camp fast asleep. Focus on the sounds of the forest, and he could almost imagine the footsteps of the other five echoing through the trees.

Add himself, and there was nine in all.

Three months, and there will be eight.

Legend almost let out a laugh. It was sickening secret, and apparently he wasn't even allowed to tell anyone else. A secret that wasn't his, yet whose owner was not even aware of it himself.

“…It had to be Wild, hadn't it,” he murmured, feeling faint again.

He closed his eyes. “No. Of course it had to be that idiot.”

 

---

 

The next two days were surprisingly uneventful. Anticlimactic, almost, though Legend knew better than to ever tempt fate like that.

Perhaps the biggest reason, barring the lack of any unexpected ambushes, was that he and Wild had surprisingly little points of intersection as he realized for the first time. No, that wasn't quite right; it was not that Legend had never realized, but rather that he had never given it much thought.

It wasn't that the two of them did not get along. In fact, despite their differences —or perhaps even because of it— Legend quite enjoyed bantering with Wild, when he got the chance.

Key phrase being, when he got the chance.

They were friends, like all members of the Chain were at this point. Family, even, if Legend was in a soft enough mood to admit it. But they were never quite each other's first person to come in mind if they wanted to hang out with someone else. Excluding their regular interactions during training, the two of them could go on with only a few sidelong conversations for days with neither of them minding. It was a nice little distance that Legend had appreciated, up until now.

It made avoiding Wild a disturbingly easy job.

If anything, if someone had noticed him acting a bit off it would have been anyone but Wild. Time, for one, because the old man was always keeping an eye on all of them. Four or Warriors, perhaps, because those two could be surprisingly observative when they felt like it. Sky, with his uncanny intuition, had the guy not have been the other person in the group with a concussion. Definitely Twilight, if only because he was the one who had found Legend that night, still dazed and half-out of everything.

But with more than half the group partly out of commission and no proper medical supplies, it seemed nobody had energy enough to think much about it.

In fact, everyone literally burst into cheers when they finally reached settlement.

“Fucking finally, I'll check up with the inn.” Warriors exclaimed, with this being his world. Time did not even comment on the language, which by itself was a testament to all their fatigue.

Legend pondered for a split second, before stepping up. “Count me in too.”

Warriors raised an eyebrow. "What, really?"

“Don't feel like going to the market. Just thinking about all that noise makes my head hurt again.” he said with a half-scowl; it wasn't quite a lie, all things considered.

Time nodded next to his side. “Okay, then. Where does everyone else want to go?”

After a bit of noise it was decided that him, Warriors, and Sky would go to the inn first while the others would go around restocking their supplies.

“This does mean you guys would have to wait on the potions until we come back, you know that right?” Wind asked just as they were about to head on.

“You know what, at this point I don't even care. Let my body hurt for a few more hours, I just really want an actual bed now.” Sky sighed.

Wild laughed, from somewhere behind. “Oh, now that's relatable.”

Do not react, Legend told himself.

 

---

 

Night came much quicker than he had hoped. At least Legend managed to take the same room as Wild, which was the real reason he had followed Warriors on booking the inn. With some warm meals and a round of potions at last, everyone else seemed all too eager to take an early rest. Legend would have too, had this not been the third night the other Wild had spoken about.

How long had he waited there, staring through nothing but the dim lights leaking through the windows, at the darkened ceiling? Tracing the edges of each plank with his eyes, exhausted yet his heart beating too fast for him to ever be able to fall asleep, wondering if everything actually had been a hallucination, that he was fretting over—

A sudden draw of breath, quiet yet strangled.

Legend stilled. There was movement, two bodies away. From the corner of his eyes he saw Wild sit up, panting as he glanced around— freezing as he choked over his breath again, shivering, freezing once more. A moment seemingly stretched into eternity before he saw Wild's posture relax just a little, and the figure slowly started to move, standing up.

Legend quickly shut his eyes. The footsteps that followed were nearly perfectly muffled, as were the opening and closing of the door. He waited, for five excruciating breaths, before finally admitting that no one else was going to wake up.

Fuck.

He sat up, more awake than he had ever been been during the last few days. With his heart racing, He carefully followed the fading footsteps, sparing the room one last glance before quietly leaving.

He found Wild just outside the building, under one of the torchlights. He was facing away from the inn, staring into the rest of the town. He seemed unaware of Legend's presence just yet.

Legend would not have noticed, had he not seen the burst of that green magic three days before. An invisible whisper of emerald, lingering around Wild like those ember-fireflies that night. Another echo from the future, he realized, Only this time—

“You're clutching your arm,” he said.

Wild nearly jumped, yelping as he turned around. “Wh— Legend? What the— what are you doing here?”

He honestly had no idea how to respond to that. “I— You told me to follow you here,” was what eventually came out.

Wild's face briefly reacted to that, though the lights were too dark for Legend to properly catch it. “I have. I have no idea what you're talking about,” he said defensively.

Wild's voice was shaky, even moreso than Legend's own own. A thousand thoughts raced through his head, some speculations, some realizations, and some nothing more than gut feelings. But they all pointed the same way, so Legend took a careful step forward, even as Wild almost took a step back.

“Listen. I don't know everything,” he slowly began, “Hell, I barely know anything, I was hoping this would give me some answers, but—” Legend took in a deep breath, focusing on his head. Trying not to feel faint.

“When are you from, Wild?”

The facade cracked.

“…You know,” Wild whispered, something almost like panic rising through his voice, “No, not even that, you knew— What? How, why,”

“Whoa, okay, calm down,” Legend cut in, “I just told you I barely know anything, this is literally the second time this has happened for me, I'm probably panicking as much as you are, so let's just. Go find somewhere to sit down, and try to make sense of all this.”

His voice was probably breaking too. Legend saw Wild swallow. “Okay. I can— I can work with that.”

It did not take long to find a nearby bench. The two of them sat down without a word, briefly drowning in the quiet night breeze.

“…I'm not dreaming, aren't I?” Wild slowly began. Legend let out a small laugh.

“Considering I feel like asking the exact same question? No. Probably not.”

Wild clutched his right arm again. Legend tensed, unable to help but turn his eyes away for a bit; he did not want to think about the implications of that.

“How much do you know?” Wild asked.

“Not much, to be honest,” Legend replied, closing his eyes. “The ‘you’ I met last time was… cryptic, for the lack of a better word, and I hit my head so my memories are pretty jumbled up. But I know you leave, in three months. I know you apparently jump back and forth, though last time you were here more physically than you are now.” He paused. “I saw your arm.”

Wild flinched, almost, at that. “That's… goddess.”

“...It hasn't been long for you since you left, hasn't it.” Legend said. He saw Wild freeze up, before slowly closing his eyes.

“No. It hasn't.”

“How long—”

“Just over a week, now. And so much has happened already, Vet, so much, that when I woke up here just now I thought— hoped—”

A forced swallow. “I... couldn't handle it. So I went out.”

“…What happened?” Legend couldn't help but ask, even as his stomach dropped further down with each word. “After you. You know.”

Wild's head dropped. “It was under Hyrule Castle, Zel— Flora, and I,” he began, voice shaking again, “went to investigate. There—”

The words cut off, suddenly. Legend blinked and turned towards Wild, only to see the other hero frowning in confusion. Wild closed and opened his mouth again, yet no sound came out; Legend's stomach dropped at the wrongness spreading through the air as he watched Wild trying to speak once more, eyes concentrating, only for nothing but a choking cry to escape—

(—you'll probably see it soon enough, Wild had said.)

“Stop!” Legend said, realizing. “Wait, Wild, stop, I think I know what's going on.”

“What—?” Wild gasped, then blinked, seemingly surprised at his own voice. His hand reached up to his throat. “What the— what was that just now?”

“…You said something about the rules,” Legend breathed, slowly. “The you before. About how some things can't be said out of order, or something.

“I think you were being more literal about that than I'd thought.”

Silence.

“Hell,” Wild cursed, face dropping into his hands. “Of course there's some convoluted rules surrounding all this, this whole thing is messed up, I hate—”

Another pause, just as abrupt as before.

“…Wild?”

“…I can't,” came a whisper, breaking. “I can't hate this. Not when I'm actually back here, with you and everyone else, no matter how brief. This is already more than I…”

Goddess. Legend was certain that he was the absolute worst person in the Chain to handle this.

“…For what it's worth,” he tentatively began, “I think future-you told me something. I barely remember, because it was by the end, but. I think he said that— that things were going to be okay. Eventually, in the end.”

Wild froze, eyes widening.

“…Should I not have said that?”

“…No, that was,” Wild stared at him for a moment, before shaking his head. “No, not at all, it's just that. If that's what you —he, said, then,” Wild paused, his face still pained, but just a bit contemplative; then, ever so slightly, softening.

He then closed his eyes. “…Thanks, Vet. I probably needed to hear that.”

Something in the air loosened, just a little. Legend let go of a silent breath, and watched the torchlights on the nearest building sway for a moment, as if in responding. He watched the red glows for a while, almost entranced in their warm brightness, briefly reminded of a campfire, its sounds, and the voices he'd grown to associate it with.

“…Let's go back,” he then suddenly said, surprising even himself.

Wild blinked at him. “...What?”

“Let's go back.” he said with more certainty this time, looking directly towards Wild. “It was late to begin with. You— we should get some rest. Let's go back.”

To the others.

The confusion in Wild's eyes lasted half a second longer, before blinking into quick realization and then something else. It was hidden away, as quickly as it came. “…You sure about that?” he asked.

No. Of course not.

There was still so much they probably had to discuss. Make plans for, even, if this whole thing was going to work out. There were questions never asked, answers never given, together carving out a pitch-black hole of paranoia inside his stomach.

But the night sky was dark enough for him to pretend otherwise; the streets silent enough for him to drown out his worries, just this moment.

“Come on,” he said, standing up.

The walk back to the inn was quiet. And if Legend accidentally mixed up their room and led them to where the other five of their group were asleep, Wild did not comment, though his eyes lingered inside just a moment longer.

“Thanks,” Wild whispered weakly, just before they each went back to their beds.

See you soon.

Legend spent what felt like hours lying there, staring up again at the ceiling, until an invisible pulse of magic filled the room. An imagined gleam of emerald slowly dissipated away, like a blown candlelight.

He turned his body closer towards the window. Even after staying in the dark for hours, even as sleep was at last slowly crashing over him, his eyes were still desperate to seek a little more light.

Notes:

I'm. I'm still at a loss of words. Thank you everyone for all the comments, kudos, bookmarks and overall support, I don't think this chapter could have come out this fast otherwise.

I never thought so many people would react so positively to this fic, I'm just hoping this second chapter managed to somewhat live up to those expectations.

Chapter 3: Snapshots/Countdown

Summary:

The moments pass by, so, so quickly.

Strangely enough, everything felt much more bearable when he woke up the next day.

Physically, he felt terrible. Legend had expected that, considering just how little sleep he must have gotten last night. But the shock that had kept his heart pounding for days had finally settled. Disbelief gave way to acceptance, after he saw just how real everything was to Wild last night. His paranoia was silenced just a bit, with that desperate mantra of things were going to (had to) be okay.

So even as he heard Wild mutter to Twilight about headaches and dry eyes during breakfast, Legend was able to keep his face even.

I am so going to chew you out next time, he still thought, So by Hylia, you'd best be in a better place then.

Perhaps that was what had helped the most: the idea of next time. That there would still be another encounter with that version of Wild, sometime in the near future. Even if that meant Legend would have to keep everything under wraps from the others, that he would have to deal with this encroaching dread for a while longer, it was still a promise. One he could ground himself to.

Legend took another bite at his meal, half-listening to Time lay out the day's plans for clearing out a monster camp. All he needed to do was figure this out while acting like nothing was going on. He had dealt with far worse before. He could do this.

Famous last words, an imagined voice of Wild —the one he met the first time, four days ago now— said with a laugh.

---

“Hey, behind you!” Legend yelled, blade slashing across the bokoblin's arms. “Get down, you idiot!”

Warriors' reflexes seemingly kicked in at the last moment, narrowly escaping a strike from the moblin's club. A series of high-pitched whistles tore through the air, and Legend turned back to focus on his own opponents when he saw the first of the covering shots land.

Two more quick strikes, through the joint and ligaments. Finish it off, now that it was immobile. The other two— he took in a breath, watching their reactions before leaping in half a beat early from his previous rhythm. Feint, parry upwards, stab through the right shoulder. Bait them in, step aside, let their own momentum crash into each other—

Something lunged from the corner of his eyes. Legend jumped back in instinct, just as another set of arrows flew past his head and intercepted the ambush. A spray of black cut through his sight, and it took a moment for him to recover from the shock, just in time for Warriors to rushed in from his right, sword going straight through the final monster's heart.

“Now we're even,” Warriors turned to him with a smirk, catching his breath. “That was the last one, right?”

Legend panted once more before glancing at the bokoblin that had come from nowhere. A triple-bullseye, right through the center of the head. “Yeah. Though I'd say the biggest save came from somewhere else.”

Warriors followed his line of sight, whistling. “Seems like for once I can't argue with that. I've worked with my fair share of archers before, but I keep forgetting just how fast that kid can move while shooting.”

“Yeah, he was moving alright,” Legend agreed, noting the difference in angle between the shots. “Change in direction seems continuously westward, which I'm guessing means we're on the clear so he moved on.”

“So you were paying attention to all that? And I here thought you were acting a bit off your game today.”

He's not wrong, Legend briefly thought, The only reason I was able to keep track of that was—

“As if,” he retorted with a sneer of his own, “And even if I was, I'd still be better than you at—”

There was a distant boom. Both of their heads snapped up. A column of smoke was slowly starting to rise, somewhere beyond the hillside.

“Didn't the old man explicitly ban us from using any flammables or explosives this time?” Warriors asked slowly.

“…Yeah. Dry grasses and fire hazards, or something.”

“Well, it can't be our resident pyromaniac this time, considering he only just left. Hey, how many rupees do you wanna—”

“I'm not taking that bet,” he said as they started running towards the smoke. Warriors laughed.

It was a familiar rhythm. Legend breathed deep, immersing himself in the moment. With each step, it was almost getting a little easier.

---

That evening he took out one of his journals, for the first time in a very long while. The inn was of course not empty, but everyone else seemed to be already absorbed in whatever they were doing.

First things first: list down what I know. Compare and contrast, extract out conclusions.

The former did not take much time; Legend had already painstakingly went through both of his conversations with Wild during his insomnia last night, after all. It was the latter that forced him to frown and actually try and recall things, from the blurry details back then in that moonlit forest to the minute body languages he barely managed to catch last night. After pausing his pen for a moment, he quickly drew two columns and labeled them with numbers.

It was obvious the 'first' Wild he met came from somewhere much further down the timeline than the one he met yesterday ('second'). But unlike the second Wild, who had given him a fairly accurate timeframe as to when he was from ("just over a week" after his departure), Legend had no idea how much time had passed for the first. At least over a year was his best guess, from the visual differences he had noticed, but that did not mean much when Legend had not much else to compare with.

Scratches of pen on paper. Legend briefly wondered, as he continued writing, if the first Wild had come from somewhere near the end of this all. He blinked once the thought finally registered in his brain, furrowing his brows. It… it actually wasn't that bad of a hypothesis, actually, now that he thought about it. The way Wild had so nonchalantly began chatting with him, the ease in which he eventually explained the things he did. His words and attitude, cryptic yet calm, as if they'd already been planned a long, long time ago.

Experienced, definitely. The question then was just how much. Of how often this happened.

For this one Legend had at least something to go on. Three months was what was given to him; and Wild had explicitly stated that Legend himself was the only one who knew about all this, which in turn suggested that most of Wild's time-leaps will have also involved him. For Legend the first and second encounters happened with a three-day interval, but realistically he could not see such frequency continuing for months without at least someone noticing. The Chain could be clueless at times. Respecting of boundaries, almost always. But they were not idiots, despite what Legend frequently dubbed them as.

I suppose a reasonable guess would be once or twice every week or two, he thought as he tapped his pen on the page. But I really need more than what I've got to go on.

Still, it was better than nothing. Now, what else could he —

“Words from the chef, dinner's ready!” Four's voice came from the halls, cutting off his thoughts. Legend slowly stood up, sighing. He closed his journal, folding in his thoughts, and things that weren't quite thoughts, within it for now.

---

“As you all know, the last few of the infected monsters fled to the woods during the… distraction yesterday.” Time began slowly.

“For what it's worth we are sorry,” Sky winced, “That chuchu jelly barrel was pretty well disguised from everything else.”

“Hey, no need for sweat. We all know that by now.” Warriors said, though a snicker still managed to escape through his voice. "But still, imagine our surprise when we found you and Time in the center of the chaos for once. Especially since the old man was so vehement about being careful yesterday. It's still hilarious, even if taking out all that fire was a pain in the ass."

“Let's please not talk about the fire,” Hyrule said, “That was… a stressful experience.”

“I found it fun. Especially since I wasn't the one to blame this time.” Wild chuckled.

“You shot a bomb arrow at the fire, Wild.”

“And it worked! Fires can't go on if everything's already burnt to a crisp.”

“Yeah, that column of flame was pretty awesome!” Wind chimed in, grinning. “Too bad I won't be able to use that method back in my world. Ships won't really work well with that…”

Legend barely contained the urge to face-palm. How had he ever gotten attached to these morons, again?

“In all seriousness, this means some of us will have to go scouting the forest today,” Time said again, voice wry. “I was thinking of a group of three, with training for the rest. Any objections to that?”

“Just three?” Four asked, raising an eyebrow. “Isn't that, I don't know, a little small for a forest that big?”

“Normally, yes. But the monsters would not have fled that far, and I have reasons to believe the woods itself would be relatively safe.”

It was Twilight who reacted to that. “Ah, right, you mean that,” he paused with a hum. “Makes sense to check it out too. So I'm guessing you want me and Wars to go?“

Time nodded. “Yes. And preferably Wild too, since I think his expertise will be helpful as well.”

“…I think I just lost you guys,” Four deadpanned, quite likely speaking for the rest of them all. Legend saw Warriors prop his chin on his hand.

“Eh, I think I know what these two are talking about. You guys still freshly remember our Disaster Shift this time, right? Twilight picked most of us up, the old man and I went scouting the day after. We said the forest was all-clear then, but I suppose a more accurate answer would have been that the forest was already clear by then.”

Legend frowned. “As in, someone had already taken care of the monsters?”

Twilight nodded. “Yeah. Another monster camp, just wiped out. Granted, it was on the smaller side, and the bloodstains left were red not black, but considering our sorry state then it would have caused us more than enough trouble. It was kind of unusual but in a good way, so back then we didn't prioritize on it. But now that we're going back to the woods anyways it might be worth looking into. For all we know it could've been just a random adventurer or two who already left, but if we manage to find them the least we could do is say thanks.”

“Okay, and I'm needed for that because…?” Wild raised an eyebrow.

Legend blinked. Another sentence, one told with that exact same voice, briefly echoed in the back of his mind.

(But they will be fine. They were, back then. And if not—)

“The way the monsters were taken out was similar to your style. As the archer and survivalist in our group, I thought you might have more insight to give than the rest of us.” Time said.

He held his breath.

Wild shrugged. “Okay, sure. Random investigations, why not. Might be fun.”

Guess that's one more thing to consider, Legend made a quick mental note, trying not to let his face betray anything. The reason for all this.

(—I'll go back later and ensure it.)

---

“Ugh, I don't think I can ever move again,” Wind groaned, planted face-down in the bed. “I think the old man purposefully stayed behind with us just so he could torment us with all the drills.”

“I'd normally say you're whining," Legend said, all too aware of his own sore muscles, “but I admit I can't bring myself to do that today.”

“How are you even still sitting up?” Wind turned his head just enough to meet his eyes, “And what are you writing in that notebook this time?”

“Revenge plans. For Time and the ones who escaped today's hellish drills.” he said dryly. Wind let out a snort.

“Heh, I'd love to actually see that. Anyways, I think I'm gonna go and just, die for a while, so wake me up by dinner or something.”

“Sure.”

The room fell into comfortable silence again. Legend slowly breathed out, the tip of his pen still pressed against the page. The spot of ink was slowly getting bigger, from a dot to a small circle.

The implications of time travel with 'rules,' he thought with a frown. One where the past or future is not there to change, but to ensure.

Ensure what, though?

The second Wild obviously did not know. But what the first Wild said to him was that he cannot tell. Was that because there was nothing to be said, or because there was something but Wild wasn't allowed to talk about it? And if his hunch were right and there actually was some grand end-goal to all this, what could be so important as to require such convoluted method as stable time loops to ensure? Or was he thinking too deeply into this, blowing things out of proportion with but a single example?

Legend shook his head, sighing. This was getting nowhere. Whichever the case, the fact of the matter was that Wild would utilize the time travel aspect of all this to ensure their safety at least once. And if there was anything Legend had learned throughout his adventures, it was that what happened once rarely ever happened only once.

He must have known the location of the camp because he was on the scout party today, he mused, But it's not going to always work out conveniently like this. And if things like this were to happen again, then…

"…I might need to start recording stuff," he realized, eyes slowly widening.

Fucking fantastic.

---

In his defense, Legend had sort of of expected this.

He had been burning fuel he didn't really have for days. Stress-highs and willpower could only help so far, when it came to prolonging limits. With every waking second spent so deep in concentration he had been bound to crash eventually, one way or the other. Legend just had been really good at telling himself otherwise.

“You okay there, Legend? That might actually look more painful than that concussion you had a few days ago.”

“Shut up,” he groaned, pressing the wet towel against his head. “I'm fine. You heard the medic, it looks much worse than it actually is.”

It had been but a momentary lapse in his focus. But when that happened with an angry bokoblin right in his face, well. Even though Legend managed to pull himself away at the last moment, the club had still brushed past his temple. The result was nothing serious except for what Wind had called a 'sick bruise.' Legend honestly felt pretty okay, but apparently it looked terrible enough for the rest of the Chain to force him to stay in camp for the evening.

Which on one hand was good, because the camp right now was empty save for one other person and he could really use the space. On the other hand, when that person was Wild, looking over the cooking pot as always, Legend couldn't help but wonder if this was some kind of divine retribution.

He sighed and glared at the empty page on the journal open next to him. Might as well start poking that topic he'd been avoiding for some time now.

“You're still working on that thing? What are you even writing about?”

“Everything I have ever regretted about my life choices until now, ever,” he grumbled. Wild tilted his head.

“Huh. You know what, I think I can actually respect that. Good luck, or whatever.”

Legend nearly laughed at that. Leave it to the biggest factor of this whole migraine fuel to tell him that, not that this version of Wild had any idea.

His mood quickly sobered. Legend slowlly put down the towel, replacing it with his pen. He fiddled with it between his fingers for a while, distantly aware of the crackle of the campfire ahead.

…What happens after Wild leaves?

It was almost fitting, that he was focusing on this when there were just the two of them at camp. Legend shot a quick glance at the hero in question; an echo of two other images briefly overlapped his vision, almost the same but still so vastly different.

One had been calm and playful and not so different from the person he knew; had said that things were going to be okay, and looked even truthful when saying so. For the other, it was Legend who had to say those words; that version of Wild had been barely holding things together, eyes and voice vulnerable in a way Legend had never quite seen in Wild before, at least directly.

He leaves. He… loses, his arm, or goes through something probably equally horrifying, Legend grimly thought, remembering the way Wild had been unable to let go of his right arm that night. And given the way he was froze up before mentioning his Zelda… worst case scenario, something happens to her too.

And considering his past…

Goddess. Thinking about just that much was already making him nauseous. Legend swallowed, hesitating for a moment before shutting his journal, his eyes following suit. He could not to do this, at least not today. He might be able to hold onto first Wild's words and pray that things will grow better eventually; might be able to ask him if he was truly doing better next time they met, but not this. Not now.

“Hey, you sure you're doing okay? You look kind of pale. Well, paler,” came a voice, much closer than he'd expected. Legend snapped his eyes open in surprise, and there Wild was, watching over him.

And it was all too similar, to that first encounter back under moonlight and shadows, except this time their positions were reversed: Legend being the one who knew, and Wild the one who was oblivious of things to come.

Yet the worried look in Wild's eyes was the same.

And for a second, he understood.

“Yeah, just a headache,” he slowly replied, “But still, thanks. Really.”

“…No problem?” Wild blinked, seemingly taken aback by his directness. Legend snorted, albeit quietly.

“Just don't burn that stew over there, because I'm pretty sure that pot's simmering right now,” he added, and watched as Wild's eyes widened comically.

“Oh shit when did that thing — thanks Legend, and yeah I'm just gonna—”

Legend huffed and put away his journal, lying down on his sleeping roll. For a moment he stared up at the sky, watching the first of the stars floating into the blue sea.

It had to be okay for him. Wild said it would be okay for him.

So Legend had to be as well, until next time.

He slowly closed his eyes, letting the sounds of the camp and the woods wash over him. For the first time since that encounter in the forest, it actually felt something closer to easy, instead of easier.

So that was what it was, huh.

Notes:

...In which I have way too much fun with all these mini-plots than I ever thought I would.

In all seriousness, if the first two chapters were about Legend being unexpectedly thrust into the whole mess that was the premise of this fic, this chapter is where he finds back his footing. Readapting to the group with all these newfound secrets, trying to piece things together with very limited information, analyzing and planning stuff under copious amounts of stress— all are what I'd guess he'd be great at, given his veteran status.

Thank you again, for everyone who commented/bookmarked/left kudos/etc on the fic, they really mean the world to me! Back here in Korea we've just entered our version of Thanksgiving holidays (Chuseok) so the next update might take a while, but hopefully you guys all enjoyed this chapter in the meantime!

Chapter 4: Fall to the stars

Summary:

Something lighthearted, before.

The third encounter happened a shift after, in the floating isles of Skyloft.

Legend stood there between the crowds of the bazaar, frozen in both his limbs and and his thoughts, as Wild — wearing a green tunic and a chestnut-colored hood, their designs unlike anything Legend had ever seen on him before — gestured towards him to follow.

“C'mon. We should find somewhere less open first.”

Legend found himself all but physically dragged along, to a somewhat spacey alcove that had formed between two covered stalls. After checking the empty crates Wild plopped down on one, and Legend, still quite not processing all this, did the same.

“Long time no see, Vet,” Wild grinned, and Legend did not know whether or not to laugh.

---

It turned out this version of Wild came from somewhere much further down the timeline. Not that further, because Wild's eyes too lit up in mild panic once he realized just how far back he was thrust into. Apparently Wild was just as unprepared as him at this being his third encounter. Legend almost felt reassured by that, at knowing that they were on somewhat equal ground on this.

“At least you seem to be doing much better.” Legend commented, relief leaking through his voice despite himself. Wild made a small smile, one that almost wasn't fragile.

“Better is one way to put it,” he agreed. “Not quite okay, not quite yet, but getting there. Slowly.”

The clatters of the bazaar filled in the brief silence. Legend shot a glance at Wild's face, trying to read his eyes through the dim lights. Despite the tentativeness in Wild's voice just now, Legend soon found traces of certainty taken root.

Not okay yet. But getting there.

There was not much Legend could say to that, so instead he slowly reached for his bag and took out his journal.

“…Well, if that's the case how about doing a quick check over all this? Since I never quite managed to do it last time.”

As attempts at changing the subject went, it was a poor one. Wild seemed to appreciate it nonetheless, with the way he slowly breathed out, smile growing more genuine.

“Well, sure. That is, until my time runs out. I'm not really sure when exactly this is, so I have no idea of your schedule.”

At that Legend grinned, just the tiniest bit. “Then you're in luck, because Sky took most of the others to that crazy mine cart thing he'd been talking about for days now. I'm pretty sure you remember?” he said, twirling his pen. “The old man, Four, and I are the only ones staying here right now because we're actually sensible like that.”

Wild's blinked once, before his face lit up. “Wait, you mean this is when he took us to the Coaster? That day was awesome,” he said excitedly, “though… now that I think of, you probably made the right call in staying behind, that bet got pretty overheated by the end and— well. If that's the case, we might actually have enough time on our hands today.”

And though Legend would never admit it out loud, it was nice, seeing Wild all lively and cheerful and not moments away from a breakdown. Especially since he knew this version of him probably had more than enough reason to. “Exactly. So let's get this over with, and maybe we'll even have some time to spare after.”

And perhaps it was the promise of that last part that had motivated them the most, but nevertheless the two of them went through his notes in remarkable speed. Well, Legend did, since his shorthand was pretty much unintelligible to anyone else; Wild listened and gave him inputs whenever he could, confirming what Legend had gotten right and pointing out things he hadn't, or were still unclear even for Wild himself.

“The 'rules' of all this turned out to be pretty simple, actually,” Wild explained once they reached that part. “As you'd guessed nothing really can or should be changed, I think, with all this time travel. By that extent certain things that happen in the future are off-limits, for the both of us. Literally can't talk about it, as you probably remember.”

“Just certain things, you say?” he asked. Wild nodded.

“Yeah, though that's where things get tricky. We were still not quite sure of the exact boundaries in which the rules worked, but generally the more serious things fell more easily to the can't-speak rule. So far the topics where they worked the strictest were the early details of my adventure right now and—” Wild blinked, voice momentarily gone, before shaking his head. “— and yeah, it happened again. And… and something you'll figure out eventually, I guess.”

“Well now that's not ominous at all,” he muttered. Wild briefly looked away.

“I know. But as far as I've seen it all works out in the end. So all we've got to do is make sure that it happens again— or rather, in the first place, I guess.”

Legend paused, before rubbing his forehead with a sigh. Despite having gone through this logic several times before, actually hearing that statement out loud still brought out a large complaint from his brain. “…Hylia. This causality-making-no-sense thing is going to give me headaches for a while, isn't it.”

“Oh yeah, it gets ridiculous pretty fast. Best not to think too much about it.”

“Got it.”

The rest did not take long, after that. They even managed to set up the most basic rules on what to do during future encounters (“because things aren't always going to be this leisurely, trust me, Vet,”) and went over what Legend should be recording in the journal (“oh, the scouting trip that went nowhere after that Disaster Shift! I remember this. Makes sense in retrospect— and yeah, things like this will definitely help.”).

“And… huh. That seems to be the end, actually.” Legend said in surprise when the next page turned out blank. “That went much faster than I thought it would, to be honest.”

“That's probably because for me this is technically the second time we're going through all this,” Wild shrugged, “With time travel and all. Though I admit, I was kinda surprised. You always seemed to be more used to all this, Vet, but I didn't realize just how early on you'd started to piece things together.”

Legend huffed. That was probably the exact opposite of the impression he'd been getting so far, but he supposed there was no reason to correct Wild on that. “Sure, let's go with that. But now that we're actually done, what do you plan on doing?”

“I've been actually thinking about that,” Wild said, glancing back towards the shops, “And… how about we just get out of here and see things around?”

Legend blinked. That was a very particular voice Wild was using, one that was giving him extremely strong deja-vus of all the times Wild argued on going off-trail during their adventures.

On obviously untrodden grounds.

Without a plan.

“What.”

“Let's see things around, Skyloft is actually one of the places I've most wanted to visit again!” Wild grinned, “There are things I want to check out and I never actually got time to spare during my jumps before and—”

“No offense Wild, but we both just literally went over how we'll have to try and keep all this a secret from the others, are you a fucking idiot—”

“Oh come on, it should be fine, there are only two others we need to avoid and as far as I know we don't get caught here—"

“I'm pretty sure abusing the rules like that isn't how it's supposed to work—!”

They absolutely ended up abusing the rules, which, to be fair, Legend really should have expected. This was still Wild he was dealing with, after all.

A part of him was glad about that, to be honest.

---

What followed was something Legend could only describe as 'barely muffled chaos.'

Getting out of the bazaar in itself was a mission and a half because it turned out Four was not that far away, talking animatedly with the local blacksmith. Wild getting distracted by the shops and purchasing some random junk every other minute did not help. At least Wild's clothes were somewhat plain, all the while being very different from what he usually wore. In the end they somehow managed to get out, with Legend being a brief distraction as Wild slipped away with his hood up.

"I thought that would be the most awkward acting I ever saw in my life, but that actually was pretty natural." Wild said as soon as they joined up again. Legend scowled.

"There wasn't much to act, I literally just passed by and waved at him. And you almost sound disappointed."

"Maybe I am." Wild chuckled. Legend groaned, pinching between his eyebrows. He still couldn't believe he somehow got talked into all this.

"Okay, sure. Whatever. So at least we got past Four. But I'll be honest with you, I have no idea where Time is or might be."

Wild glanced around. "How about we head to one of the more remote edges of the island then? I don't think the old man will go around exploring Skyloft again like that, this was like the third time we ended up here wasn't it?"

Legend narrowed his eyes. "You coming up with an idea that actually makes sense makes me feel like there definitely is an ulterior motive here, but I'll overlook it for now."

For all he grumbled along the way though, Legend supposed it wasn't all that bad. The skies were clear and bright and with just enough clouds sprinkled across to give it texture, and the afternoon breeze was nice and cool. Wild led the way along the edges of the island until they found a seemingly forgotten patch of grass behind a secluded building, where they could closely see the rest of the floating isles scattered across the clouds.

Wild paused, there.

Legend turned to him. Wild was staring into the clusters of land hanging in the skies, eyes wide and just a bit far away. Perhaps it was the sunlight touching upon them but they almost seemed glowing, with wonder and something else. It took a moment for Legend to realize that Wild was seeing another view alongside the one in front of him, lost in not quite a flashback, not quite a reverie.

"…It really is similar," Wild murmured, slowly, as he broke out of his trance. "I thought I knew, but I didn't realize—" he blinked, turning towards Legend before quickly shaking his head. "Ah, sorry, Vet. I kinda drifted there just now, didn't I?"

"It's fine," Legend said, waving away a hand. "Wouldn't have been the first time. I'm guessing all this reminded you of something?"

"Yeah. It's… I actually kind of went somewhere very similar to here recently," Wild said, once again glancing off the edge. "Fragments of land floating in the skies. Nothing quite like Skyloft itself, they were mostly just ruins and trees but— these smaller islands just now almost seemed just like that. Scattered, uninhabited, and just... flying."

Legend slowly blinked. "…You had floating islands in your world?"

Wild grinned. "I know, right? I was just as shocked when I first arrived there. For a while the only thing I could really think about was just how much it reminded me of this place, and how much you guys —especially Sky— would love to see it too. I still don't know if it'll be possible, but it was one of the few things I could hold onto after…"

Wild trailed again. Legend could not tell if that was because the words were caught in his throat, or because Wild merely found himself lost in thoughts once more.

"—Say, vet," Wild turned to him after a beat, a ghost of a smile on his face. "What would you say on going up on one of those islands over there?"

Legend stilled, finding himself unable to say no. It led to a single unexpected laugh, and a fleeting thought of that bastard absolutely planned this from the start, didn't he?

Legend told him exactly as such; Wild only laughed.

---

It wasn't long before two gliders were set up on the ground, a pair of simple wooden frames woven together with light brown cloth. Legend didn't quite catch where Wild brought them out from —he didn't think he saw Wild use the Slate, but then again if anyone managed to pick up an even more ridiculous way to manage items it would be Wild— but honestly, that was the least of his concerns right now.

"You bought these back at the bazaar just now, didn't you?" Legend said as he went over one of the contraptions, shooting Wild a somewhat accusatory glare. "Before we even came here."

"I may or may not remember you obtaining that specific glider on the day Sky took us on the Coaster," Wild grinned, "Which I conveniently saw selling at the bazaar just now. So of course I had to buy one! Well, buy two, because my paraglider's way too recognizable."

Legend's eyebrows twitched. "…You know, regardless of me going along with this if today's how all your time travels will look like, I'm gonna feel like an idiot for those all-nighters I pulled on worrying over what might happen."

"Nah, today's absolutely an outlier," Wild said, voice much quieter this time. Legend turned to him. "I told you I never really had much time to spare on jumps before, didn't I? Up until now it was a lot of constantly figuring out what to do, barely managing to do it, then being sent back without much time to process. But I think even the goddess would forgive a short respite like this."

Legend briefly closed his eyes, not quite knowing what to say, before turning towards the view that had Wild so mesmerized. "She'd better," he eventually said, "Hell, after everything she did to all of us? She'd really fucking better."

That brought out a full laughter from Wild. Legend blinked and turned around, though he didn't say anything else.

"…Ah, thanks, Vet," Wild managed after a while, still chuckling. "Don't know why I lost it there specifically, but I needed that. So I'll take that as you're all ready to go?"

Legend breathed out, taking the glider into his hands. To be honest a part of him was still a bit hesitant about this all, but— "Ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

At that Wild turned around and grabbed his own glider, his cloak falling behind his arms. Legend blinked, realizing that this was the closest look he was getting at the arm Wild lost ever since that first encounter. Under the brighter lights the ancient prosthetic looked… he wouldn't say less painful, but certainly much less sinister. Still unnerving, still not quite right, still thrumming with that unearthly green magic— but no longer something that seemed to haunt Wild so constantly. At least, for this version of him.

"Okay, come on," Wild said, snapping Legend out of his thoughts. "Seems like there's already something of an updraft here, so all we need to do is just run and jump off. You remember everything I told you?"

Legend tried and failed at feigning an annoyed look. "Of course. What do you take me for, you?"

Wild chuckled again, and soon there was no time for last-minute second thoughts. Legend barely felt his feet as they ran towards the edge, each impact on the ground more distant than the last, until at last they vanished completely and he was airborne, soaring upwards along the current.

The thing that swallowed him whole was the view.

It wasn't the first time Legend had flown. Especially here, where Sky had introduced everyone to his Loftwing the first time they arrived. But hanging in the skies all by himself with nothing but a glider was a whole new experience, a heady exhilaration taking over as he stared down at the vast skies below.

The winds roaring all around, sending him ever higher. His legs hanging from his torso, untethered to gravity. Soon everything was so far away, and for a split second Legend couldn't tell if he was falling or flying, until at last he realized that he must be falling upwards.

"This way!" Wild's voice came from somewhere behind, and only then did Legend somewhat remember himself, drawing in a sharp breath. "We've got enough height, so all we got to do is make it there!"

There was a small island somewhere on the right, not that far away. Legend struggled with the glider's control for a bit but managed to make there without much trouble, eventually landing with a (relieved? disappointed?) sigh. Wild arrived seconds later, and the both of them dropped down to a sit, catching their breaths.

"That was…" Legend said between his breaths, unable to quite find the right words. Wild smiled.

"Pretty short? Yeah, that's for the better. It's easy to get lost in your head first time gliding, and for all I suggested this Skyloft is really the last place you want that to happen."

A fair point, Legend supposed, with what happened just now. Though that begged another question: "What happened on your first time, then?"

"Oh, I had no idea what I was doing. Ended up overestimating my stamina and just dropped down. Barely managed to break that fall. Fun times."

Legend made an incredulous noise, before giving up and letting out the laugh. "Goddess. I know this question is getting old as hell, but how the fuck are you still alive?"

"I'm apparently very hard to permanently kill, accidental or otherwise." Wild chuckled, falling backwards onto the grass with a small thud. He closed his eyes. "So things are going to be okay, I think. Whatever comes."

Legend hummed, staring over the edge of the small island. Beyond the soft grass stretched a sky entering the first hours of sundown, a whisper of coral beginning to spread across the low clouds. When the rays of the sun hit them just right, the view almost looked like an ocean full of sea foams, Skyloft drifting in its waves.

Let's hang onto that, then.

---

Legend came back to the inn a few hours before the rest of the Chain returned from their trip.

"I," Twilight was the first to come in, looking a bit green. "regret everything. I'm not even ashamed to admit that, today was a mistake."

"Oh come on, it was great!" Wind trailed in beaming, despite looking a little pale himself. "Though maybe I should have stopped at the eleventh run, now that I think about it…"

"That's what you call winning but at what cost," Warriors huffed, almost not failing at projecting an air of being fine. "If you even won that bet, that is. Those two are freaking monsters."

"For the record I was just the medic," Hyrule declared as he followed, the corner of his lips twitching upwards, "I deny any involvement in all this."

Sky and Wild came in the last, the former feigning innocence and the latter with a shameless, shit-eating grin. Legend was pretty sure those were rupees sticking out of their bags right now.

"I admit I'm kind of morbidly curious," Four said, "But I won't ask."

"Well, it is what all of you asked for when you left, isn't it?" Time chuckled.

"I'm not even going to comment on this," Legend deadpanned.

Naturally, the dinner that evening was much quieter than usual, if only because about a third of the Chain were absent due to 'mine cart sickness.' Four still seemed to not know whether he should be bursting out in laughter at that. Honestly, Legend felt pretty much the same, even though he had somewhat been told of all this earlier that day. Not that any of them knew.

"You're the one to talk though, veteran," Time said, a crooked smile on his face. "Don't think I didn't notice your hair being all messed up when you came back earlier. What have you been up to all day?"

Legend blinked. Right. He'd been wondering why the old man hadn't said anything on that yet.

"Some bastard pretty much forced me into getting a glider," he said, rolling his eyes. "They were nothing if not persistent, so I ended up just going along with it."

That caught the attention of pretty much everyone.

"Wait, do you mean someone actually managed to force a purchase from you?"

"That is quite impressive—"

"Skyloft sold gliders?"

"Oh yeah, now that I think of a few of the merchants were interested in my paraglider the last time we came here—"

"Huh, so that was the thing you were folding in earlier…"

"No comment from me," Legend smirked, only half-listening to all the voices. "As if I'd tell any of you more ways to create chaos for me like that."

Wild was the first to open his mouth in protest, before closing them a second later. "…Okay, fair enough," he admitted, seemingly a bit conscious of all the empty seats around the table. "But just tell me this— How was it? Gliding, that is."

Legend paused.

"Don't know if I'll ever do it again," he eventually said, "But it wasn't that bad."

(There will be bad days, said a voice, within the breezes. There always are bad days.)

(But it doesn't always have to be that way, don't you think, Vet?)

Notes:

This chapter was... surprisingly tricky to write. I'm still quite not sure whether I did each scene justice, they were all prime examples of 'it was a lot easier in my head,' but still I hope you guys all enjoyed it!

And again, thank you for everyone who commented and/or showed support for this fic! Or even anyone who just clicked and made it all the way here. It's people like you always make my day, thank you!! :D