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secretlysheikah · 4 years ago

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Tower Trouble Part 3: Aftermath

Finally! Part 3 ready to go! I hope you like this chapter, it gave me a bit of trouble. I had to write and edit it on my phone so if there’s mistakes please forgive me.

I do not own the Linked Universe that honor belongs to @jojo56830

I am just a wingnut whose in too deep to stop now.

Description: The heroes come to realize they’ve made a grave error and now they’re left to deal with aftermath.

Trigger warnings: blood, extensive injury, stitches, drowning

If I missed any trigger warning please let know so I can update them quickly.

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Start here:

Twilight’s world was collapsing around him. It was all trick, a horrible trick. How could he have been so fooled by that Dark son of a bitch. Twilight remembered how they all waited at the bottom of the tower after Wild had stupidly launched himself up to the top. How after a few minutes they saw Wild fighting with someone as they fell off the tower. A blink and Wild was standing in front of them clutching his side and panting with exertion.

“It was a trap! I was attacked by...” Wild paused hands on knees obviously working on getting his breath back.

“I don’t even know! He looked just like me but dark... like a shadow with red eyes” Wild had gasped out in a rush. The whole group had stiffened. Without preamble Time and Hyrule were the first to draw their weapons and run off to meet Dark Link. After a minute of Wild reassuring the rest of them that he was fine, Warriors had left to join the fray. Legend had left soon after, shoving a potion into Wild’s hand and telling him to drink.

Twilight should have noticed the odd look on Wild’s face then, why was he so stupid? Wild had look of confusion mixed with an odd twitch to the corners of his lips, like he was about to laugh. Wild had downed the potion quickly and smiled. Wild hated taking potions, he wouldn’t have acted that way, he would have hesitated, had a sour look on his face at the very least. Twilight felt his eyes burn with un-shead tears, he was a fool.

They had heard the roar of Legend’s fire rod and yelling. The rest of the group had double timed it to the others just in time to see Warriors collapsing to the dirt. Just behind Dark was Time and Hyrule in a heap, and Legend was sprawled out in the dirt not too far away.

There was a minute where time stood still, as the Dark Link looked at the fallen heroes before his head had snapped up to look at them. Before Twilight knew it Four and Wind were on the attack. Four had landed a solid strike to Dark, and Wind looked like he had Dark on the ropes as he dealt a heavy blow with his hammer and shattered Dark’s shield. Why didn’t Twilight realize then? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Everything looked to be handled when Wind slammed Dark up against a wall using his hammer and brought him to his knees. Then Four went in to finish the fight but was evaded and sent flying right into a tree. Wind was quickly taken down as well by a well placed sucker punch.

Before Twilight could even process what had just happened, Wild had run in to continue the fight. Sky snuck up behind the pair, looking to deal a fatal blow. Then all of the sudden Sky cried out dropping his sword. Goddesses above, why didn’t he even pause, think through what that meant? Too quick, it was all too fast and Twilight was frozen in place. Sky was gasping for air as an orb of darkness wrapped around his face, and Wild was kicked away. Dark had turned and was about to run to Sky when Twilight finally forced himself to move, to finally take action. He had stepped in, grabbing the collar of Dark’s tunic and threw him away from Sky.

Twilight replayed the last few minutes in his mind as if he could change the outcome. Dark Link, standing there silently, red eyes boring into him as if he was trying to tell him something. Then a fluid motion, shield and sword dropped to the ground as Dark drew his bow and aimed an arrow. Twilight had no time, Dark was going to shoot him, he had to go, there was a clear opening to strike.

The final blow, and an explosion that revealed the awful truth. The red eyes that were Dark Link were suddenly a blue that was quickly misting over. The shadow like cast was exploded apart and he was looking at Cub. Wild’s eyes looked down at the sword in his gut, a small look of confusion passing over his face as the bow fell from his hands. Wild had brought an unsteady hand up to lay it on Twilight’s shoulder. He watched as Wild’s eyes seemed to go dim, watched his mouth work like he was trying to say something before he gasped and choked as blood poured from his mouth. Twilight’s world imploded as realization hit him like a Moblin’s club.

Twilight felt a hitch in his breath as he grabbed at Wild’s quickly collapsing body, tossing his sword away and lowered him to the ground. Wild’s eyes rolled back in his head and his body fell limp in Twilight’s arms. There was a chorus of riotous laughter at Twilight’s back he knew Dark Link had disappeared leaving Twilight alone with the horror of what he just had done.

Twilight felt Wild’s blood soaking into his clothes. He gave a strangled cry as he clutched at Wild, tears falling unbidden from his eyes as he pressed on wound on Wild’s stomach. He had to stop the bleeding, don’t let him bleed out. Wild was cold and clammy his breathing hard and labored.

“No, no I’m so sorry, please, I didn’t...” Twilight choked out trying to stem the bleeding. He heard a tinkling of bells and saw a bright pink light swirl up from Wild’s slate. The fairy whizzed around Twilight and he lifted his bloodied hands away so the fairy to get to the wound. It hovered there for a couple seconds as it poured healing magic into the wound.

The bleeding slowed and stopped. The little fairy bobbed and flickered and Twilight shooed it away before it could hurt itself, ‘Wild wouldn’t want that’ Twilight thought to himself as he tried and failed to keep hold of logical thought. To Twilight’s dismay he saw the wound wasn’t completely healed. There was still a deep puncture and it looked red and deeply bruised, but at least the bleeding stopped for the most part.

That was enough, Twilight’s tentative grasp on his composure and all logical thought snapped and he let out a sob. He grabbed desperately at the Cub and pulled him close.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know, please” Twilight begged. This was all his fault, all his fault how could he have been so blind? There was a hand on his shoulder and Twilight lashed out too deep in his misery to distinguish friend from foe. Then the hands grabbed him again pulling him back as other hands grabbed hold of Wild. The pair was pulled roughly apart and Twilight fought desperately in the bruising grip. He watched as Wild was obscured from view by Legend and Hyrule. Twilight continued to struggle, trying to break free.

“Pup, stop, you gotta stop we’re trying to help.” A gruff voice said as he was restrained.

“No! Please I’m sorry!” Twilight howled mournfully his legs kicking as he writhed trying to break the hold.

“Twi, Pup, calm down!” The voice held a firm authority that commanded his attention. Twilight’s struggling finally slowed and his desperate struggling gave way to grief.

Twilight went limp against the hold and he felt the grip loosen slightly.

“Hyrule is looking him over, we have some potions left he will be okay, just calm down.” Twilight realized distantly that it was Time that was restraining him. Twilight’s breaths hitched and he let out a silent sob, his body quaking with despair over what he did.

“That son of a bitch, a trick. How could I have let this happen?” Twilight’s voice was little more than a whisper. He felt Time sit next to him and pull him close into a tight bear hug.

“We were all fooled.” Time said a dark growl to his voice as he left the other part of his sentence unsaid. ‘We were all fooled, and now Cub is paying the price’.

Twilight couldn’t tell if the tight hug was for comfort, or to make sure he wouldn’t interfere with Hyrule and Legend. He supposed it was a little bit of both. The pair sat together in their collective misery as they watched the two heroes work. Twilight could hear the others slowly gathering behind them, As if they needed to see the damage they caused for themselves.

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“Holy sweet Hylia, what have we done?” Legend breathed under his breath as he looked at Wild. he was going to kill that shadowy fuck the next time he saw him. Horror and grief gouged at his heart and he had to swallow hard to keep the despair at bay.

They had put the kid through the ringer. Wild looked like a doll that had been left alone in the tender care of dog. His tunic was blood stained and ripped. He had deep slashes at his chest and on his leg not to mention the wound on his stomach where Twilight had landed the final hit.

It was apparent in Wild’s deathly pale face that he had lost a fair amount of blood. Legend’s long fingers pulled gently at Wild’s torn tunic and he cringed at the deep bruising that appeared to be spreading across his chest. Legend didn’t even want to think about the burns he gave him. He pushed the thought away for now, It was already a challenge to keep his hands steady and to focus on repairing the damage.

He met eyes with Hyrule, a grim stare the only communication between the two before they got to work. Hyrule began pressing on Wild’s sternum and felt shifting. He grimaced, broken ribs. Then he leaned down and put his ear to Wild’s chest, first on the right side then on the left. Hyrule sat up quickly, face growing pale.

“That’s not good, I think one of his lungs collapsed.” Hyrule said, panic filling his words.

“Oh fucking Hell” Legend cursed as he dug through his bag and pulled out a red potion. Hyrule’s hands began to glow, but Legend forced them down.

“Let me give him the potion first, it will help fix the ribs before we attempt to fix his lung”

Hyrule nodded as he hovered his hands over Wild’s chest ready to start healing as soon as the potion did it’s work. Carefully Legend propped up Wild and tilted his chin up and began to slowly pour the liquid down Wild’s throat. Legend saw Wild’s eye lids flicker as he swallowed the potion down. An almost comical look of disgust flickered across Wild’s unconscious face and Legend felt a hysterical laugh bubbling in his chest. He forced it down and continued to carefully pour the potion down Wild’s throat.

“I know it’s gross, but it will help” Legend soothed as Wild’s face scrunched up more and he began to shake his head. Legend put a hand gently on Wild’s forehead to hold his head steady.

“Stop doing that you little shit, you need this” Legend muttered as he finished pouring the potion down the other’s throat. There was the soft click of bones healing and he relaxed. After a few minutes of waiting it seemed the potion healed what it could. Hyrule’s brow furrowed and he began to press gently on Wild’s chest again hands glowing lightly as he inspected the potions handiwork.

“Some of the ribs are healed but he’s still has some broken ribs, ” Hyrule said voice low.

“That’s impossible” Legend replied in astonishment. Through all his quests he had never had a potion not heal.

“Are you saying I’m lying?” Hyrule snapped and Legend just blinked at him. Through all this time and numerous injuries Hyrule had never snapped at anyone.

“No ‘Rule, it’s just, how is that possible?” Legend asked after he regained his composure. Hyrule rubbed his eyes.

“I’m sorry, I just. This whole situation” Hyrule said eye brows furrowed as he leaned over Wild again now examining something around one of the wounds. Clearly distracted Hyrule took a finger and wiped it across the edge of the wound on Wild’s side. His finger tip came back covered in a thick tar like black substance, that somehow looked very familiar.

“Maybe this has something to do with it?” Hyrule said holding his finger out to Legend for him to examine. Legend peered close at the black substance and gave a light sniff. His nose wrinkled, it smelled bitter and the smell clung to the back of his throat and made him cough.

“Black magic, you think it’s whatever that stuff Dark used to cloak Wild is responsible?” Legend asked remembering how whatever was covering Wild had exploded outwards in thick globs. Whatever Dark had used was clearly a magic, but Legend couldn’t figure out how Dark was even able to use magic let alone where he had gotten a hold of this stuff. Maybe Dark always had this talent? He shook his head, it was a problem for another time. There was an odd look on Hyrule’s face a mixture of growing horror and anger. Evidently Hyrule was coming to the same realization that he just had.

“Get Time, he needs to know what’s happening” Hyrule said as he watched Wild struggle to draw breath. There was a look of barely suppressed anger on Hyrule’s face that told Legend that Hyrule was thinking of killing Dark himself. Well Hyrule was going to have to get in line. Turning around quickly Legend gestured to Time motioning him to come over. Time nodded and stood, Twilight jumping to his feet quickly after and following Time over.

“What’s happening?” Time asked when he got to their side and looked down at Wild. There was a ripple of pain that crossed his face but he hid it quickly.

“Wild’s wounds, they aren’t healing properly. We gave him a whole bottle of potion and it didn’t even heal all of his ribs.” Hyrule explained and Time’s face grew hard.

“That sounds like what happened earlier, a fairy came out from his slate and it had trouble with the sword wound” Twilight said, his voice trembled with barely suppressed grief. Legend couldn’t look at Twilight, he didn’t want to see the utter devastation that was plastered all over his face, hearing it was enough.

“So you’re saying his wounds aren’t healing?” Time asked and Hyrule waved his hand in a so/so motion.

“Kind of, they’re healing, it’s just taking way too much effort and resources to do so” Hyrule said. There was the sound of gargled breathing and small coughs from Wild and they all looked down to look at him. His eye lids were flickering as if he was going to open them.

“Wild? Can you hear me?” Hyrule said in desperation moving his ear close to Wild’s mouth as he listened.

“It sounds like he’s muttering something. Something about drowning? But I can’t be sure, it’s very quite.” Hyrule said as he sat back up, concern and anger fought for space on his face. Wild was clearly suffering in more ways than one, and it was all their faults. After a moment of continued muttering Wild fell silent and still once again his breaths becoming uneven for a moment before going back to its labored draw.

“He’s covered in this tar like black magic, we think it’s hindering the healing process” Legend said quickly noticing the change in Wild’s breathing and cutting to the chase. Legend wiped at Wild’s face, blood and black tar stained his fingers and held it up to Time for him to examine. Time didn’t take long to look at it before taking charge of the situation.

“Alright, were just going to have to do our best, where do we stand on potions and fairies?” Time asked and Legend and Hyrule dug through their bags.

“Between us we have 2 more red potions and some healing salve. The rest were used to heal the others and my last fairy went to Four.” Hyrule said and Legend nodded grimly in confirmation. Legend didn’t even want to think about who one of the potions went to.

“Alright, we’ll have to make this work. Do we have any water that we can try to clean off some of this gunk?” Time asked. Without a word Twilight dug through his bag and pulled out 2 bottles of water and handed them to Time.

“I’ll go ask the others” Twilight said quietly before jogging away quickly to ask around. Legend could tell that Twilight wanted to be close to Wild but he didn’t trust himself. With a sigh Time got to his knees beside Wild and grabbed a few bandages from his own pack. He handed some over to Legend who nodded and they both soaked the makeshift rags with the water and began to wipe away what they could of the dark magic. Hyrule watched them work, keeping an eye on Wild in case things went south and prepared for the task that was quickly approaching.

“I’m going to try to fix his lung” Hyrule said after giving himself time to refocus.

“This is probably going to be very painful for Wild so I might need help holding him. I can’t have him squirm away from me” Hyrule said in a firm tone and rolled up his sleeves. Legend and Time paused in cleaning off what they could from Wild’s wounds. They both nodded and set their bottles of water and bandages down before gently grabbing Wild’s shoulders and arms to hold them down to the ground. Once they were ready Legend nodded for Hyrule to begin. He took a deep breath and let his magic engulf his hands before hovering them over Wild’s chest.

Hyrule had an intense look of concentration as he appeared to struggle with something. For a minute or two there was no change as Hyrule moved his hands over Wild’s chest, nimble fingers twitching like they were searching for something. Hyrule gave a small ‘aha’ and his fingers paused, thumb and forefinger pinched together like they were holding a string. Hyrule began to move his hands again and Wild gasped and began to cough. His eyes fluttered and he began to buck and struggle under the hold of Time and Legend. Wild’s heels dug into the dirt as he kicked, desperately trying to escape. His coughing worsened and Wild began to wheeze desperately in between fit of coughing.

“Quick sit him up” Hyrule commanded and the two heroes complied. Wild’s coughing became more forceful and his face started to turn red as he retched and gasped for air. Hyrule was sweating now, holding on to the healing magic the best he could. It was difficult, as if it were a worm wiggling around after being hooked. Wild’s eyes flew open, dim blue eyes unseeing as he looked around the clearing in panic. He clutched at his chest and forced his legs under him so he could curl forward on himself.

“I’m sorry, I’m almost done, just hold on” Hyrule panted as Wild’s coughing grew to a crescendo.

“Hyrule, stop you’re using too much magic” Legend warned as he tried to get Hyrule to stop. Hyrule just shook his head stubbornly and pressed on. Wild’s whole body was racked with bone rattling hacking and Legend and Time we’re struggling to keep hold as Wild began to try to wrench away from them like an animal that was caught in a trap.

There was a sudden flash of light and Hyrule’s eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed. Legend let out a cry of alarm just as Wild broke free of his grasp. Time struggled for a moment only to lose his grip as well and Wild stumbled forward, before falling to his knees. There was a second where Wild knelt there clutching at his ribs breathing hard. Then as if a string was cut Wild toppled sideways to the ground curling in on himself slightly on impact with the hard ground. He was letting out small gasps of pain as he shuddered and there were tears beginning to track down his face before his eyes once again slipped closed.

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It was dark, very dark. Wild wasn’t sure how he got here but he knew deep down that whatever happened wasn’t pleasant. He felt strange too, like he couldn’t draw breath properly, as if the very air itself was evading him. His body felt strangely numb in some places as well, and he supposed he should be worried but he just couldn’t bring himself to.

Carefully Wild stood and looked around the dark. There was light, sort of, it was like a misty morning steeped in fog. He couldn’t see far, not like there was anything to see really. He found himself picking a direction and began walking not sure what he was walking towards but he knew he didn’t want to stay still.

He heard the click of his boots on stone, felt a breeze on his face that still somehow avoided his lungs no matter how hard he tried to breathe. As he walked he found himself passing by old decrepit and twisted trees that were oddly familiar but he couldn’t place where. There was humming to the air that dipped and swelled and when he focused he thought he heard voices, but they were too faint and too muddled to make out properly. So he walked, and looked for something, anything to give him a clue as to where he was.

As he walked he slowly noticed a subtle pain slowly building in his chest and he rubbed at his sternum absentmindedly trying to sooth the ache. The numbness was also spreading, no longer localized in a few areas of his body anymore. Whatever was going on he didn’t like it, and he quickened his pace as he felt the distinct feeling of eyes pressing down on him.

After what felt like hours of wandering through the dark with nothing but hazy light and dead trees he heard a change in his foot steps. There was no longer any clear clicking of his heels on the stone but the of splash of water.

He looked down in wonder, the floor he could see was now a shallow pool of water reflecting the dead trees and the heavy mist around him. His eyes scanned the new landscape warily, the weight of being watched only increasing as he stood still. The soreness in his chest had grown steadily into a full blown ache by this point and only seemed to be getting worse. Wild pressed forward, a new urgency to his movements as he pushed through the mist and shallow air with the weight of eyes pulling on his back.

How long had he been walking? He wasn’t sure anymore. The water was still there and the trees appeared to be getting closer together as he went so he must be getting close to something. Then the trees stopped. He broke through a thick line of trees into a clearing where a singular large tree stood.

It wasn’t dead, but it was getting there. The leaves drooped on the spindly branches and there appeared to be black mold spreading across the trunk like questing fingers. Wild shivered at the sight, it looked twisted and wrong. That’s when he saw them, there was a person standing next to the tree facing away from him. Wild took a tentative step forward straining his eyes to get a better look.

They weren’t much taller than him, their short hair was mussed and gently fluttering in the breeze. Another step and the mist cleared even more and he could make out the familiar drape of an animal pelt. Wild almost collapsed in relief, it was Twilight, thank Hylia someone who might be able to help him.

“Twi! Thank the Goddess” Wild called breathlessly as he trotted over to him. He felt a small smile beginning to bloom across his face as he got closer. Twilight didn’t turn, didn’t even acknowledge him. The faint smile that had bloomed on his face moments before quickly faded. Wild drew up short, hand out stretched but not daring to touch his friend’s shoulder. Was Twilight mad at him?

“Twi? Are you okay?” Wild asked quietly when the other boy still hadn’t moved. Wild swallowed hard, every inch of him was screaming out that he was in danger. Twilight was too still, too ridged like he was made of stone. Wild’s hand shook and he let it drop as he took a step back... and he felt something grab onto his foot. Wild gave a cry of alarm as he tried to jerk away from the grasp only to feel his other leg caught in the grip. Wild pinwheeled his arms frantically trying to regain his balance. The grip clawed up his legs pulling him down into the water.

��Gah! Twi! Help me!” Wild screamed in terror as he sunk lower into the water. Still twilight didn’t move. Something grabbed onto the collar of his tunic and pulled him backwards into the water. He gasped and struggled trying to keep his face above the water. Wild flung a desperate hand out of the water searching for anything to grab hold of, to pull himself out of the watery abyss.

“Twi please! Don’t let me drown!” Wild begged but his cries fell on deaf ears. Wild went under the glassy water again and he struggled to get himself free. Plumes of bubbles burst from his mouth leaving him light headed and weak. He managed to break the surface of the water one last time, gasped for a desperate lung full of air and was pushed back down. To his dismay he saw Twilight standing over him, hand on his chest and pushed down.

Wild struggled harder, kicking his slowly numbing legs to try to kick Twilight off of him. Twilight’s eyes were a bright red and he saw a large toothy smile spread across his face as he laughed maliciously. Seven more familiar figures joined Twilight then, red eyes staring down at him as they watched him drown. A blow of recognition struck Wild then as the faces resolved into the faces of his friends, his fellow heroes, his ‘family’. Wild felt his heart break at the treachery and his frantic struggling slowed. Each one joined in with hollow peels of laughter and mocked him for being so weak for even trusting them in the first place.

Wild’s lungs were on fire and he felt a pressure building in his chest, threatening to crush him flat. Terror filled him and he couldn’t help a cry that tore from the agony that he once knew were lungs.

Water flowed into his mouth and down his throat and he hacked and coughed as he drowned. The pressure on his chest grew and he choked on the pain. Then just as he thought this was the end, there was a blinding flash of light and he felt himself lurching forward from the dark water and onto the sun soaked packed dirt at the base of the Akkala Tower.

Wild clutched at his chest as he fell to his knees, he felt tears welling behind his eyes. He sucked in desperate gasps of air and felt a dizzy relief that warred with the acute agony that flooded his body. He felt the world shift beneath him, it was too much, too many sensations, too many conflicting emotions and he felt his mind stutter with the overload of it. Wild was vaguely aware that he was falling, crumpling in on himself as his mind retreated from the too much of the world around him and back into the calm nothing of rest.

********************

Legend ran to Hyrule’s side potion in hand and sat him up. Hyrule’s head lolled to the side, eyes weakly fluttering. Legend held the bottle to Hyrule’s mouth and made him drink, making sure he drank the whole thing. Hyrule’s eyes opened weakly and he gave a triumphant huff.

“Fixed it” Hyrule slurred and Legend fixed him with a glare.

“You sure did, and nearly killed yourself you stupid shit” Legend growled, he should have known Hyrule would pull this shit. Hyrule was always pushing himself too far, and no matter how many times Legend had told him off for it, Hyrule never listened. Hyrule gave a small shrug in response to Legend’s fury and offered a small tired smile.

“But I didn’t” Hyrule sighed before his eyes slid shut again. Legend resisted the urge to push Hyrule to the ground instead opting for slowly lowering him to the dirt. Hyrule was completely drained, but he would live, unless Legend decided to smother him later.

There were shouts from behind Legend and he turned to see Time make a sharp movement to stop the others who were getting to their feet to charge over to help. It was clear that Time didn’t want Wild to be surrounded. Legend wasn’t surprised however when he saw Twilight quickly move to join Time by his side. Legend snorted, he expected nothing less from Wild’s proclaimed mentor.

“Cub?” Twilight called tentatively and slowly began to walk over to Wild who was still curled on his side. There was no response.

When the pair was close enough Twilight lightly brushed his finger tips against Wild’s shoulder. The boy flinched slightly but otherwise didn’t move. Twilight peered around to look at Wild’s face. He gave Time a shake of his head, so Wild was out cold, a slight mercy.

“Legend, we could use your help” Time called back behind him. Legend bobbed his head and called over someone to take care of Hyrule. Once he was satisfied that Hyrule was being cared for, Legend made his way over to help Wild.

Legend knelt next to the small group and hummed as he looked Wild over. His breathing was certainly better, but he was no where close to being out of the woods.

“We only have one potion left, correct?” Time asked.

“One potion and some salve that will help with the burns.” Legend said as he pulled out the little glass container and set it down next to them.

“Let’s give him the potion” Twilight said but legend just shook his head.

“No, we shouldn’t. It’s our last one and we might need it later”

“We need it now, look at him for Hylia’s sake!” Twilight snapped back. Legend resisted the urge to yell back.

“Look, the kid already had a whole bottle of potion, a fairy, and Hyrule to heal him and he still looks like he was on the receiving end of an especially bad beating from a hoard of Lynels. What makes you think another potion is actually going to help? Not to mention if we give him another bottle of potion it could make him sick.” Legend could feel the sting from Twilight’s angry gaze boring into him. He glared back not willing to budge on the issue.

“As much as I hate to agree with Legend, I have to agree.” Time said, there was a moment of astonished silence as Twilight stared at him.

“Then what? We just do nothing?” There was a dangerous thrum to Twilight’s voice.

“Don’t be stupid, it’s unbecoming of a hero of your supposed status.” Legend snapped as he dug through his bag once again. He ignored the snarl that Twilight sent his way and pulled out the various tools he needed.

“We’re going to finish cleaning these wounds to the best of our ability, and then I’m going to stitch him up. We can use some of the potion to soak the bandages.” Legend continued as he pulled out a curved needle and thick thread. He set them down on a folded scrap of fabric next to a small bottle of clear liquid.

“But what if the wounds get infected?” Twilight asked watching as Legend continued to pull out more thread and some bandages.

“It’s not ideal, but we’ll just have to do our best and monitor his wounds” Time interjected putting a hand on Twilight’s shoulder. The younger seemed to deflate then, as if the whole situation was crushing him. Time had a sad look on his face, it was clear he hated to see his protege so deep in his misery. Time nudged Twilight gently, offering his silent support.

“Alright, I’ve got the stuff ready. Help me get him out of his tunic.” Legend said as he gently turned Wild on his back. With a grim nod Time and Twilight began to struggle with the various straps and belts that criss-crossed Wild’s chest. After a few minutes of struggling a quite voice broke into their work and made the three of them jump.

“Let me help” it was Four. His eyes were slightly red and puffy like he had just got done crying. No one mentioned it as his nimble fingers worked to loosen straps and pluck at buckles. After a few minutes the various belts and armor pieces were removed and Four quietly tucked them away in his own bag. Now free of the belts, the state of Wild’s tunic was nothing short of sad. There were large holes cut into the fabric, and it was almost fully saturated in blood and dirt and black gunk.

“Help me lift him so we can get this tunic off. Four, can you go and find him a spare shirt while I work on the stitches?” Legend asked softly voice devoid of any venom. Four nodded giving a soft pat on Legend’s shoulder as he passed to find Wild a shirt. Time and Twilight gently grabbed Wild’s arms and elevated him so his torso was off the ground and was supported on their laps.

“Alright, as careful as you can, lift his arms while I roll up the hem” the two others nodded and carefully moved Wild’s arms up above his head as Legend began to delicately roll up the hem. Wild made no move as they did this and Legend sincerely hoped that the kid wouldn’t wake up.

As he pulled the tunic up Legend couldn’t help but notice how the semi-dried blood resisted slightly at the movement, sticking gently to Wild’s skin for a moment before releasing. After a moment of awkward maneuvering they managed to get the tunic off and saw the true extent of the damage that was done.

Wild’s chest was one big and ugly bruise. Deep yellows mixed with purple and was laced with rings of green. The bruising started just under his collar bones and extended down to just below his ribs. There was a rather deep cut on his right side that was still stubbornly dripping blood. The sword wound from Twilight while no longer bleeding was still raw, a deep and bloody hole just to the left side of his naval. His left forearm was deeply bruised but Legend couldn’t tell if it was broken. Somehow even with his tunic covering his skin, Wild was covered in the same black tar like magic. Legend wondered distantly how exactly it had managed to seep underneath the tunic. There was a sharp inhale from Twilight as he saw the damage. Time on the other hand was eerily quiet, simply reaching a hand out and gently placing a hand on Legend’s shoulder. It was then that Legend realized he wasn’t breathing and he took a shaky breath in, trying to steady his hands as he took up the curved needle and began to work.

Legend had managed to stitch up the wound on Wild’s chest with little issue. There was some minor twitching and a grimace here or there from the unconscious boy but other than that nothing. Legend dressed the wound with a saturated bandage covered with healing position and went to move on to the next injury. While Legend worked on stitching up Wild’s side, Time and Twilight had cleaned off the black tar magic had looked over Wild’s left arm and splinted it to make sure no more damage could be done and dressed the cut under Wild’s eye. They had left then, talking quietly about where to make camp as it was obvious they weren’t going to be going anywhere anytime soon.

“Aright, one wound stitched up, two more to go.” Legend muttered to himself as he shifted closer to Wild’s stomach. There was a light cough and Legend turned his attention to a sheepish looking Wind. He held a bundle of something in his arms and he picked nervously at the pale fabric.

“What are you doing here? Where’s Four? He was supposed to be bringing me a shirt for Wild.” Legend asked as he carefully cleaned the needle and replaced the thread.

“Four is helping setting up camp so I brought the shirt, I just wanted to... to” Wind trailed off as he awkwardly held out a night shirt that looked about a size too big for Wild. Legend sighed, he knew what the kid was feeling.

“This isn’t your fault you know, we were all made to be the fool” Legend said quietly. There was a watery snort from the direction of Wind.

“That doesn’t mean I didn’t...” Wind waved vaguely at Wild’s bruised and beaten body. Legend felt a lump form in his throat, guilt threatened to choke him on the spot. Wind wasn’t the only one at fault for their friend’s current condition. He coughed lightly, thinking of the burns he needed to treat on Wild’s back. He forced the guilt down before continuing and prayed his voice didn’t waver.

“You’re right, we’re all at fault for this. But we’ll make it up to him by making sure that shadow bastard is destroyed” Legend said darkly as he began to stitch up Wild’s stomach. Wind said nothing for a long time and Legend assumed he had left. There was a groan from Wild and his hand came up weakly trying to bat at Legend’s hands.

“Shit” Legend cursed as Wild’s blood and black stained fingers grazed along the fresh stitches leaving a streak of grime behind. Legend fumbled awkwardly as he tried to hold the curved needle and somehow pin Wild’s arm down. Wind was there in a flash, the shirt he had brought was carefully put down next to Wild’s head as he moved to Legend’s side and knelt down. Gently Wind grabbed Wild’s arm and held it to the ground so he couldn’t touch the stitches.

“Thanks, I need to...” Legend started but stopped when he heard quiet murmuring. Wind and Legend looked wide eyed towards Wild, his eyes were just barely opened, a small flash of blue the only thing they could see as he looked around at nothing. There was a slight sheen of sweat on his brow as he breathed out quite words.

“ ‘lease,stop” the words were sluggish and melded together in a barely coherent sentence. Legend wasn’t sure if Wild was actually awake, or if he was in some sort of pain induced nightmare.

“Wild, I’m so sorry! We didn’t know!” Wind cried loudly making Wild flinch away from the noise. Wind was practically hyperventilating as he apologized over and over again.

“Get yourself together sailor! It’s just stitches, you’ve had them before they’re uncomfortable, but not terribly painful. We aren’t hurting him.” Legend snapped trying to get Wind’s attention and to get him to stop making so much noise. Wild was clearly getting agitated and was beginning to squirm.

“But we’ve already hurt him! This is all happening because we hurt him” Wind continued to cry. Legend felt his heart strings twist again and he viciously bit back a sob, and opted instead to latch on to anger.

“Do you think I don’t know that?” Legend snapped with enough venom to kill.

“I need you to focus, you can break down later but I need you to help me now, if you can’t then I need you to get someone who can” Legend looked the younger in the eyes trying to get his message across clearly. With watery eyes Wind took a few more heaving sobs before he nodded in a clear attempt to force down the guilt.

There was a whisper of fabric and suddenly Twilight was there kneeling at Wild’s head, he gave Legend a quick nod and wiped the sweat from Wild’s brow with a scrap of a bandage and made little calming noises. Legend should have figured that Twilight would be hovering around, considering he had to be pryed away from the kid earlier. Wild’s squirming slowed and satisfied that he would lay still Legend turned his attention back to Wind.

“Hand me that bottle” Legend said, awkwardly pointing down at a small bottle of clear liquid as he grabbed a bandage with his free hand from Twilight with a grim nod. Wind grabbed the bottle with his free hand and gave it to Legend before beginning to rub circles on Wild’s palm and making little sushing noises. Legend popped the glass stopper off the top of the bottle and winced at the potent scent of alcohol. With one hand he soaked the bandage and set the half empty bottle down.

“This is going to suck, get ready” Legend warned the others and with a grimace he wiped the grime left behind from Wild’s hand from the partially opened wound. Wild gasped as the alcohol hit the wound and began to cough harshly.

“Hold him, don’t let him touch anything.” Legend commanded as Wild strained his arms in an attempt to push Legend’s hands away again. His coughing sounded painful and Legend suppressed a wince at the sound. He knew the pain of broken ribs and adding a coughing fit to the mess must have made for a very painful experience. Twilight and Wind held Wild down the best they could. Twilight quietly whispering soothing words and wiping at the tears that spilled from his Wild’s eyes. It took a few minutes for him to settle again, ragged breaths and soft whimpers the only indication of the pain he was in. Wild’s eyes had closed again but Legend doubted that he was asleep.

“Keep him steady, I need to finish this then it’s just one more wound to go then I can address the burns.” Legend moved as quickly as he dared, Wild giving little twitches in an feeble attempt to get away from the needle. After ten minutes of tense work the wound was finally stitched closed and a potion soaked bandage applied. Legend wiped at his brow. This whole situation was exhausting and he still had a ways to go. He looked to the two others, they were pale with worry. Wind looked a little green but Legend didn’t know if it was due to the stitches or due to the worry and guilt that was clearly twisting at his gut. There was mumbling from Wild and Twilight leaned down to listen.

Legend could just make out that Wild was asking for water and Twilight confirmed this as he began to dig through his pouch. Wild’s blue eyes were open again and scanning their faces slowly with half lidded eyes. Wild’s gaze never stopped long on their faces, eyes always darting away if he caught someone’s eyes. After a few moments Twilight produced a bottle of water.

“Okay Cub, give me a second” Twilight muttered and he worked to uncork the bottle. Wild gave a small nod and closed his eyes.

“Be careful, give him a little bit we don’t want him to choke” Legend warned as he worked on cleaning the needle for the last set of stitches. Twilight nodded distractedly as he placed the bottle gently on the ground and helped Wild sit up. Twilight brought the bottle to Wild’s chapped lips, a weak and shaky hand grabbed the bottle and he drank greedily.

“Woah, slow down, only a little bit” Twilight admonished gently and took the bottle away. Wild gave a frustrated sigh and let his hand drop, it was clear he didn’t have enough energy to fight. Legend looked at Wild’s face then. There were bruises that peaked out from under the bandage on his cheek. The deep purple bags under his eyes stood out starkly against his deathly white face. His blue eyes blinked slowly his head bobbing occasionally as it appeared he was forcing himself to stay awake. Legend couldn’t help but think it was an attempt to keep an eye on them. There was another tug of guilt at his heart, and he promised himself he would fall apart later, but for now he had work to do.

Legend finally done cleaning the needle scooted down to Wild’s leg and looked at the cut. Just like the others it was deep, but thankfully not nearly as large. He tugged at ragged the edges of Wild’s pants around the cut. He felt eyes on him and he looked to see Wild’s tired but unwavering stare.

“This doesn’t look too bad, it will only need a couple of stitches.” Legend explained but he didn’t receive any response, just a slow blink. Legend looked away, he didn’t like how hallow Wild’s stare was. Carefully he grabbed the torn edges of pants around the wound and tugged, ripping along the seam until the hole was wide enough to work. Legend made quick work of the stitches making sure they were neat and left no puckered edges. Once he deemed the stitches were to his satisfaction he carefully dressed the wound and wrapped a large strip of fabric around Wild’s leg to hold the edges of his pants closed. He still felt Wild’s gaze on him still and he took a steady breath and turned to face him.

“Could you stop staring at me? You’re starting to creep me out.” Legend said as he cleaned and put away his tools, before picking up the salve for Wild’s burns. He heard a small huff of breath and felt the weight of Wild’s stare move on to focus on something else. Legend wiped his hands on his tunic to get off most of the grime and used the remaining alcohol to sanitize his hands. Wild still hadn’t spoken and Legend could feel the air thicken with the silence.

Twilight was sitting just behind Wild, his shoulder acting as a support to keep Wild in a seated position. Twilight sat quietly, eyes staring into the middle distance, hands idly tying and untying knots in a scrap piece of bandage. He seemed completely at ease but Legend could tell he was ready to snap into action if anything were to happen. Still Wild said nothing, only looking slowly around the clearing with tired eyes as he began to fidget with the splint on his arm. Wild twitched occasionally whenever there was a slight noise. He was clearly tired but he kept his eyes moving, an odd tension to his shoulders that belied his exhaustion.

“Where’s Wind?” Legend asked finally noticing the absence of the younger hero.

“He went back to camp, to give the others an update.” Twilight said calmly, still fiddling around with the bandage. At the mention of camp Wild’s eyes sharpened and he carefully turned his head to look towards Twilight.

“Camp? No, we need to get out of here” Wild said there was a note of panic in his voice that made Legend and Twilight snap their attention to him.

“We can’t leave Cub, Hyrule is completely drained and you’re very injured if you haven’t noticed” Twilight explained, his voice was filled with incredulity. Legend happened to agree, Wild couldn’t be serious, maybe he got knocked around harder than they realized. Wild shook his head.

“No we can’t stay, it’s not safe here. That thing...” Wild pressed, wincing as he shifted position like he was going to stand.

“Hold on there, I’m not finished with you yet.” Legend said, grabbing Wild’s arm and forcing him to stay put. Wild struggled for a second before slumping forward with a pained wheeze and put his head in his hands.

“Cub are you...” Twilight started but was cut off when Wild waved away his concern.

“Yeah, just dizzy is all” Wild said dismissively.

“Yeah, I hear copious amounts of blood loss will do that” Legend said taking advantage of Wild’s slumped form to smear the salve over the blistered skin. To his surprise the burns actually started to heal as the salve melted into his skin, this was interesting to say the least. Legend assumed that much like his other wounds these would be slow to heal. Maybe the fire had burned away the magic? Wild gave a snort that caused him to gasp with pain and he clutched at his ribs.

“Yeah, you’re well enough to leave” Twilight said dryly leaning down to look at Wild’s face. Wild shot him a glare and sat up slowly. Legend grabbed the shirt Wind had left and handed it to Wild who very carefully put it on, trying to avoid any sudden movements that might aggravate his ribs.

“I’ll be fine, I’ve had worse. But we need to get out of here. That thing is out there” Wild gasped as he made to stand again. Legend shot Twilight a worried glance, and Twilight gave him a look that screamed ‘he’s leaving over my dead body’. Legend wasn’t exactly sure what made Wild so sure that Dark was still around, but he was clearly convinced that Dark was lurking somewhere close. Close enough that Wild was dead set on leaving now. Legend chewed on his lip, once the little gremlin set his mind on something it was rare to get him to change his mind. Legend straightened then, coming to a decision.

“You’re right, it’s too dangerous to stay here, I’ll make sure to talk to the old man and we’ll get things ready to go” Legend said shaking his head at Twilight’s face of confusion and holding up a finger behind Wild’s back, Legend would fill him in later.

“Really? Do you think...” Wild started but Legend cut him off.

“I’ll explain things, Time will understand” Legend said and the look of hope in Wild’s tired eyes made him want to wince. He didn’t like lying to the kid, but If it got Wild to cooperate then he would have to make his peace with it. He could tell Twilight was about to protest, but Legend shot him a glare.

“Yeah... We’ll get things worked out” Twilight said slowly as he stood and brushed dirt off his pants. Legend followed suit and they both grabbed one of Wild’s arms and slung each arm over their shoulders and stood him up. Wild was breathing heavily and tried to stifle a gasp of pain at the movement. Wild’s head lolled dangerously, his eyes threatened to roll back in his head before he got a grip on himself. Twilight shot Legend another look that asked ‘what the Hell are you planning?’. Legend shook his head and the three of them made their slow way towards camp.

#linked universe #wild linked universe #legend linked universe #twilight linked universe #time linked universe #linked universe fanfic #fanfic #my first fanfic #legend of zelda

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