#IAU Malon

[skyward-floored]

An Argument (Incredibles au)

The last scene in this chunk of movie scenes! Don't know where I'm going to go next, but we'll see where my muse takes me. Time and Malon have an, erm, discussion, and Twilight worries.

Saving the day (prev)

ao3 link

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The drive home was blessedly uneventful, and Time handed Warriors’ car back off to him, his brother clapping him on the arm with a faint grin and a cough. Time sighed and returned the gesture, then watched him drive away with a shake of his head.

Neither of them had expected the evening to be quite so dramatic, and Time had thoroughly chewed out Warriors on the drive home, his brother nodding along with the lecture like he always did when Time went off on him. Warriors hadn’t seemed terribly apologetic though, probably because he knew that Time was mostly venting his frustrations. That or he was too tired to argue in return.

Either way, with their escape clean as could be and neither of them severely injured, Warriors seemed rather unbothered.

And despite how annoyed Time was at the close call and his brother in general, he had to admit that he’d... enjoyed it. Saving people again. Making a difference.

Even if nearly getting caught made him want to smack Warriors upside the head.

Why do I let him drag me along on these? he though with a shake of his head. Because you enjoy it just as much as he does, he brain helpfully reminded him, and Time huffed. Right. That.

Time quietly slipped through his front door, relocking it behind him and hanging his coat up. The house was dark and quiet, and he crept through the kitchen on silent feet, hesitating at the fridge as his stomach let out a growl.

Time shrugged, and yawned to himself as he opened the fridge, looking around for something to eat before heading to bed. Using his powers extensively like he had earlier always gave him a huge appetite, so he grabbed a large slice of cake, munching on it as he walked through the living room.

Then nearly threw it in Malon’s face as she clicked on a lamp and swiveled around on one of their chairs, wearing a bathrobe and an extremely foul expression.

Ah.

Warriors, I’m going to kill you.

“I believe you said you’d be back by eleven?” she said flatly, and Time swallowed the bite of cake that had gotten lodged in his throat. He knew exactly what time it was, and it was way beyond eleven.

“I said I’d be back later,” he clarified carefully.

Malon narrowed her eyes. “I know you said that. But the thing is, if you came back at all... you’d be "back later",” she accented with air quotes.

Ouch, Malon.

Time set down the remaining cake as Malon stood, joining his side. “Well... I’m back now?”

Malon stared at him, then her gaze shifted to his shoulder and her eyebrows went down.

“Is this... rubble?” she asked, dusting a little bit of ash off his arm.

Time took another quick bite of cake (he was starving okay?) then gave a light shrug, trying to stay nonchalant.

“We were just helping some people Malon. It was Warriors’ idea, he needed to get out and I—”

“Honey you know how I feel about you two going out and doing that!” Malon interrupted incredulously. “We can’t blow cover again! What were you thinking?”

Time held his hands out placatingly, swallowing the last bite of cake. “Darling, the building was coming down anyways—“

“You knocked down a building?!” she gasped.

“It was already on fire,” Time leapt to reassure her, “structurally unsound. It was coming down anyway, it wasn’t our faults.”

Malon put a hand to her face and groaned. “Please tell me you two haven’t been listening to the police scanner again.”

Time frowned. “Look, Malon, we helped save people. You act like that’s a bad thing!”

“Doing it like this is a bad thing, Link!” Malon whipped back at him. “Uprooting our family just so you and Warriors can get your fill of superheroing again is a very bad thing!”

“We’re not just “getting our fill of superheroing”, we’re assisting people, helping them,” Time said with narrowed eyes, “people who would have died otherwise. And if I hadn’t gone along then Wars would have gone by himself! Acting like we’re normal isn’t going to change the fact that there are people in this world we can help, Malon.”

Malon looked at him with an incredibly sad expression, though her eyes still sparked with annoyance.

“I know that. But why can’t you do it legally?” she pleaded. “You’re just going to expose us and we’ll have to move our family again.”

“I’ve tried to do it legally,” Time shot back, “they won’t let us! They hate us because of our abilities, you know what happened to Wild! If they won’t let us use them legally than this is the only way to do it!”

“Of course I know what happened to Wild, he still has nightmares about it!” Malon exclaimed. “I’m worried about him, but I’m worried about you too, Link! You’re so concerned with babysitting Warriors and proving supers aren’t dangerous, you forget to pay attention to your own family! Twilight’s having issues with his powers and Wind is having problems at school, and you don’t even want to go to Four’s graduation!”

Time huffed. “It’s not a graduation. He’s moving from the third grade, to the fourth grade.”

“It’s a ceremony!”

“It’s ridiculous!” Time shouted with a wave of his hand. “It’s just yet another way to celebrate mediocrity, there’s no point to it! There’s so many better things we could all be doing with our time!”

“Like what, following your brother around into burning buildings?” Malon snapped. “You’ve got to let Warriors make his own mistakes, Link! I know losing Sky hurt, but it's unfair to Wars that you think he's helpless without you!“

Something in Time crackled dangerously at Sky’s name. “Oh right, like we all thought about Sky? That he could handle it just fine by himself?”

“That is not what I meant Link—”

“He died, Malon! And I will not lose Warriors too!”

“You're losing your sons right now!"

A paper on the coffee table rustled as it fell to the floor.

Time and Malon froze with their faces inches away from each other, and turned to the couch, watching the papers still. Malon closed her eyes and sighed, looking suddenly exhausted.

“All right, Wild. I know you’re listening. Come on out,” she said in a quiet voice.

A few moments went by, and then Wild hesitantly poked his head around the couch. He shuffled forwards in his pajamas, not meeting their eyes, and any of Time’s remaining emotion immediately fled at the look on his son’s face.

“...Legend? Pup?” Time said, looking at a specific corner of the room. “You two as well, come on.”

Twilight padded silently forwards from behind a chair, turning hylian as he joined Wild’s side and gently nudged him.

“Legend, come on, come out. It’s okay, boys. We’re just having a discussion,” Malon said as Legend finally became visible, arms crossed as he slid onto the couch.

“Pretty loud discussion,” he muttered.

“You were talking about Sky,” Twilight said quietly.

Legend and Wild both stilled, and Time and Malon both hesitated as they exchanged a look.

“...yes,” Time said finally. “But it was just a discussion boys, it’s okay. Your mother and I needed to talk. Sometimes we just... talk with an extra...”

“Idiocy?” Malon muttered.

“I was going to say intensity, actually,” Time muttered back.

Malon turned back to their sons, who still looked worried. “We’re sorry we woke you, everything’s okay. Go back to bed, it’s late.”

“I was up anyway,” Wild muttered under his breath, then abruptly turned and went back to his room.

Twilight gave his retreating brother a worried look, then turned back to his parents, looking like he wanted to say something. But he closed his mouth, and let out a soft sigh that was too tired for his age.

“Goodnight,” he said quietly, and Legend mumbled a goodnight as well before they both followed Wild out of the room.

Silence fell over Malon and Time as their sons left, and stretched between them, both of them feeling drained and uncertain of what to say.

Time couldn’t remember the last time they’d raised their voices at each other like that.

“They’re not the only ones who should be in bed,” Malon said after a moment, looking at the stairs with a quiet sigh. “We can... talk tomorrow.”

Time nodded, his voice suddenly deserting him, and he didn’t meet her eyes as he walked away, leaving her to quietly turn off the lamp.

(...)

Twilight lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling as what he’d heard of his parents’ shouting echoed in his mind and refused to let him sleep.

He’d never heard them argue like that before.

Sure they disagreed sometimes, and had occasional little fights over things, but this... they’d sounded so angry. They never spoke to each other like that, and hearing it made him want to curl up under his blankets with his tail between his legs. Mom had come to check on him a bit after they’d come upstairs, but Twilight had pretended he was asleep, and she’d left again without a word.

Wild let out a small noise from where he was curled up next to him, and Twilight shifted, adjusting his position and sitting up with a sigh.

He felt awful for Wild. He’d already been having a sleepless night before they’d heard their parents shouting, and only just now been able to fall back into a restless sleep. His nightmares had been getting worse lately, and Twilight was at a bit of a loss as how to help aside from comforting him afterwards.

Which was probably why Mom had checked on them.

“Were Mom and Dad fighting?”

Twilight looked up at the quiet question to see Four in the doorway, nervously shuffling his feet as he clutched a blanket around his shoulders.

Twilight let out a small exhale, patting the sheet next to him, and Four climbed up, settling against his arm. It was a bit of a squeeze because of Wild sleeping on Twilight’s other side, but Four was small and they managed to fit without waking him up.

Twilight put his arm around his brother, and held back another sigh. It looked like everyone except Wind had been woken up— on their way upstairs, Twilight and Legend had come across Hyrule sitting on the top steps, his eyes glassy and face pale, and Legend had gone to his room with him and not come back. Twilight assumed he’d fallen asleep in there.

“They were just having an argument, Four. It’s okay,” Twilight said, ignoring how the reassurance felt hollow. “Even Mom and Dad disagree sometimes.”

Four was quiet for a few seconds.

“They disagree a lot more since Sky died,” he whispered eventually, and Twilight swallowed as he pulled him closer.

“Yeah. I know.“

Wild suddenly murmured a little in his sleep, brows pinched, and Twilight ran a hand through his hair, fingers ghosting past the scar on his face. Wild settled back down, and Twilight tugged the blanket further over him.

“Is there anything we can do?” Four asked in a worried voice, clutching at the stuffed animal he’d brought with him. Twilight sighed again.

“I don’t know, Smithy. I think it’s up to them. We just have to hope that they’ll work it out.”

Four swallowed. “...What if they don’t?”

Twilight closed his eyes, and rubbed Four’s shoulder. “They will,” he said confidently, and Four seemed to be reassured, snuggling up closer to him.

Twilight steered them both downwards and let Four nestle into his blankets, doing his best to silence the thoughts clamoring in his head so he could sleep. It was hard, but Twilight squeezed his eyes shut, trying desperately to believe his own words as Four fell asleep on his chest and Wild’s head pressed against his arm.

They will.

They have to.

[silvrash-797]

I've got a new fic up! This one's a mix of Hyrule breaks a cup (Incredibles AU) by @skyward-floored, and the plate my 3-year-old accidentally shattered last week

Tw for mentions of past child abuse, scars, panic, and elements of depersonalization/derealization (Hyrule has some bad memories)

Read on ao3

It had been a hard day for everyone. It didn’t take Hyrule's healing power to see that Wind was sick, or that Legend was starting to get it as well. He’d watched Malon nearly run herself ragged trying to take care of the two sick boys, keep up on chores, and break up several arguments between Wild and Legend, all while Four chased her around the house, wanting to be held. Now though, Four was asleep, Legend and Wild had been separated, and Malon was working on laundry.

It hadn’t been that long since Sky and Time had saved Hyrule from that burning building, or since Time and Malon had decided to adopt him (and he was still forever grateful that they wanted to keep him because of who he was, not his powers). He got along well enough with everyone, but with how hectic the house had been recently he found himself a bit overwhelmed again. He’d normally sit with Legend when he felt like this, but Legend was being grumpy from his sore throat, and Hyrule was left at a bit of a loss as to where he was needed, where he could help.

Unfortunately, his healing power only worked on injuries, he couldn’t do anything for sicknesses. Deciding he could at least get some water for Legend, he made his way into the kitchen, peering around the corner to make sure he wouldn’t run into anyone.

The last time he’d tried to get water by himself he was a lot younger. The too-big clay cup had slipped from his little hands and broken in half on the floor, and even though it would have been an easy thing to fix, the awful people he’d been…staying with had punished him, harshly. He still had scars from when they’d thrown him at the cup, shattering it further.

But he was older now. His hands were bigger, and he was steadier on his feet. He shouldn’t have a problem.

Carefully, Hyrule climbed up onto the counter to get a glass from the cupboard. He set it gently on the countertop, far enough from the edge he wouldn’t knock it over while he clambered down. Standing on his tiptoes, he reached for the glass and filled it from the faucet. A little water spilled over the side when he shut the faucet off, but it dripped into the sink, it didn’t make a mess.

Grinning slightly at his success, Hyrule turned from the sink, settling back on his feet. He came down on his heels just a bit harder than he’d expected, though, and before he knew it, the cup – made slippery with the spilled water – had caught the edge of the countertop. He watched in horrified slow motion as he fumbled for the cup, only to have it slip fully from his fingers.

CRASH

Time snapped back into motion as shards of glass scattered across the kitchen. Hyrule's breath caught in his chest, trying to choke him. His heart thudded uncomfortably against his ribs, and all he could do was stare at the shimmering shards on the floor. No, oh no, not again, not AGAIN.

Distant footsteps tromped closer, an impatient, irritated voice sounding, and his heart broke into a sprint, dragging his breath with it.

“Wild, if you broke my vase because you haven’t been being careful with your super speed again, then you’re going to be in some serious trouble mister—”

Link stood frozen. He didn’t dare look up, didn’t want to see the rage on the person’s face. They were always angry with him, he could never seem to do anything right, and now he’d pay for his mistake, again.

“...Hyrule?”

Link blinked, startled. That wasn’t the voice he was expecting. Was she calling his name?

“What happened? Did you drop a cup?”

Link – no, Hyrule, he was Hyrule now – could only stare at the shimmering mess, voice lost in the pounding of his heart. He glanced up at the woman – Malon – but couldn’t meet her eye.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her hand move as she spoke again. “Hyrule, did you drop your glass? Or did somebody else?”

The moment she took a step closer, his body and voice unlocked and he skittered a few steps farther away, shoulders rising reflexively.

“I-I did,” Hyrule stuttered frantically, “but I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” He continued to back away from Malon. “I’ll— I’ll fix it, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to!”

He caught the surprise in her eye as he looked for a safe place to hide. She stopped moving. “Honey, it’s only a glass, you don’t have to be upset.” Malon looked worried, but Hyrule knew from experience that worry could and often was faked, to get his guard down, make the punishments worse because he thought someone finally cared.

His back hit the wall, and panic filled every fiber of his being.

“I’m sorry, it— it was an accident! I wasn’t trying to, I’m sorry I’m sorry—” (“Sorry doesn’t fix anything, you BRAT!”)

“Hyrule, it’s okay—” (“Why can’t you ever do anything right?! You healed my arm crooked on purpose, didn’t you!”)

“I’m so sorry! Please don’t punish me!” Hyrule's voice broke as he sank to the floor, trying to hide from the voices battering his memories.

“Link.” Hyrule curled tighter at the name. The woman's voice was steady, terrifying. Here it comes…

“…Hyrule.” He was shaking so bad, biting back the tears that always made the punishments worse, he almost didn’t catch the rest of her sentence. “It’s okay, I’m not mad.”

Slowly, the woman knelt in front of him, well outside of arm’s reach. “Hyrule,” Malon said softly, and despite his terror he finally met her eye. “It’s okay. It was an accident, and we can easily clean it up. I’m not going to punish you for making a mistake.”

…What? Not going to… “B-but I broke it, I was clumsy, I’m sorry I—”

“Honey, it’s okay,” Malon soothed. “I can’t tell you how many times your father has knocked into things and broken them because of his eye. Maybe I get annoyed at him for a little while, but he never does it on purpose, and we clean it up together.”

...Honey…Your father…Clean it up together…? Hyrule heard the words, understood them individually, but they didn’t make sense in that order. His voice was frozen again, and he barely realized his hold on his tears had broken, distantly feeling them as they slipped down his nose.

Malon bit her lip, then started to shift. He kept a sharp eye on her as she scooted closer, but nothing in her body language spoke of threat, so he allowed her to come close enough to rub circles in his shoulder.

Primed as his body was for pain, the soft, motherly touch nearly sent him overboard. As fast as the panic surged, though, it retreated, banished by the simple comfort of someone who cared. He felt his shoulders fall, his breathing even out, and the shaking slowly stop. Malon simply waited patiently for him to calm down, then moved so she was sitting right next to him.

“It’s okay, honey,” Malon repeated in a gentle voice, and the words actually started to make sense. Hyrule wiped his nose on his sleeve. She exhaled, brushed some tears off his cheek, then met his eyes. “It’s only a cup. I know it was an accident.”

“You’re not gonna hu...” One last surge of panic gripped him at the near-miss, “…do anything?” Hyrule whispered, and Malon shook her head.

“Oh honey, no,” she said in dismay, pulling him into a loose hug. Grateful for the warmth, comfort, and support, he sank into her side with a quiet sigh. “It was an accident. Everyone breaks things sometimes, you didn’t do anything wrong. After all, it’s not like you emptied my cupboard and started throwing cups just to be destructive.”

Remembering just how careful he’d tried to be, he giggled quietly to himself at the thought. Malon hugged him just a bit tighter.

“It’s okay,” she repeated as he rested his head on her shoulder. Time seemed to slow comfortably around them, sick children and chores a distant presence as they basked in each other’s company.

Finally calm, Hyrule found the courage to break the silence. “I’m really sorry I broke it,” he whispered.

Malon gently ran her hands through his hair, and he closed his eyes, smiling slightly at the sensation. “I know. And it’s okay, Hyrule. It was an accident.” Her hand ran through his hair again, and he opened his eyes, meeting her slightly worried expression.

“Now let’s make sure you don’t have any glass stuck in you, then we can clean up this mess,” she said warmly, and Hyrule nodded, relief fluttering just as warmly through his veins.

Malon helped him up and into a chair, and even though he could have healed it himself, Hyrule let her clean the few tiny pieces of glass from his foot and bandage it up.

Carefully, they cleaned up the glass together, just as Malon had said, and Hyrule remembered something else she’d told him, that night he’d almost run away from the best family he could ever ask for.

“Oh sweetie,” she’d murmured, “those people were wrong for treating you like that.” He remembered the warmth of her hug, how it had begun to warm a place he’d though was frozen forever. “We’ll never treat you like they did, I promise. You don’t need to worry about being hurt.”

Finally, he believed it.

[milkyplier]

Legend. That’s it. (Hahaha Sunny’s inner prankster has come out to play >:3)

(Set in @skyward-floored’s Incredibles AU. Apologies if any details are inaccurate.)

“Legend.”

The boy remained stubbornly silent. Malon softened, looking down at her son with exasperation and exhaustion.

“Legend, please.”

At last, her son bit his lip, mulish front broken, and Malon smiled as he finally handed over the note from his kindergarten teacher.

[skyward-floored]

Thanks @nancyheart11 and @skyloftian-nutcase :)

I've been hopping around wips a lot... I think this IAU thing was the last thing I worked on...

“Do you remember your parents?”

Wild blinked, and looked over at where Hyrule was lying in the grass next to him. His expression hadn’t changed, and he was still looking up at the sky, but there was a weird look in his eyes.

“You mean what’s my first memory of them?” Wild asked, and Hyrule breathed out.

“No, I didn’t mean Time and Malon. I meant like... your birth parents.”

“Oh.”

Wild didn’t reply at first, and looked back at the clouds above their heads.

“I... don’t,” he said finally, in a quiet voice. “Not at all. But um, Dad said they died when I was small and I was living with my Grandpa, so that... might be part of it. But I don’t... remember him either.”

Ahh um. Tags. You know what, go crazy, anyone can hop on if they wanna.

Sneak peek tag game

I can be art, writing choice

Sneak peek on what I'm working on

Enjoy everyone ^^

Tagging:^)

@trippygalaxy @the-cucco-nuggie @le-cursed-sandwich @thesoftieanon

[news24hrou]

Malone face prima sesiune de videochat și lucrurile o iau complet razna! Malone începe prima sa sesiune de videochat, iar reacția publicului este complet neașteptată! https://ift.tt/2yDA7ke

[skyward-floored]

Swapped (Part 3)

Seeing what our last group is up to... (minus Sky who's taking a well-deserved break). Mild blood/injury warning for this part, but it isn't too bad.

Previous | Next

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Malon woke up to somebody calling her name and shaking her arm.

Her immediate thought as she slowly woke up was that it was one of her kids trying to wake her, probably wanting breakfast or the like, and she held back a sigh. She had an awful headache, and was weirdly sore... maybe she should sleep a bit longer and ask Wild to make something.

Then she realized what she was lying on wasn’t her bed, and that the voice calling her name wasn’t one of her kids’s.

Malon’s eyes shot open, and she saw Artemis leaning over her, looking immediately relieved.

“Thank goodness, I wasn’t sure when you would wake up,” she sighed, and Malon blinked, slowly sitting up. She looked around her, taking in the dim hallway and dust in the air, and frowned.

“Arty? ...What happened?” she asked, gingerly feeling at her head. She couldn’t feel any bumps or blood, which was good, but she certainly felt like she’d hit her head.

“The scientist was expecting us,” Artemis reported grimly. “He set off some kind of energy explosive, and the wall collapsed... I think it was triggered to be unstable.” She sighed, and crossed her arms. “This whole thing was a setup.”

Malon frowned and looked around the hallway where she and Artemis had landed. They’d ended up in one of the side corridors that led off of the main hall from where they had been, not nearly as well-lit, and Malon didn’t see anyone else in the area. Just dust, and rubble.

They had been near the back of the group when it had happened, which would explain why they were alone. She could only hope everyone who’d been ahead of them was all right... a wall collapsing had the potential to be disastrous.

“Did you try and go through the wall and find the others?” Malon asked, lightly rubbing her head.

Artemis’s face creased, and she sighed. “No. I tried, but my powers aren’t working, he must be blocking them. He really prepared for us.”

Malon frowned at that, then tried to speak a casual “hello” in the language of horses. All that came out was an odd little snort, and she huffed in annoyance.

Well. This could get inconvenient.

“Radio?” she asked next, gingerly standing up. Goodness was her head ringing. At least the breeze that was tickling her neck felt nice.

“No good either. Signal’s blocked.”

Malon sighed, tightening her lasso at her hip, and making sure her bow was still secure on her back. No way to contact her family to see if they were okay, no way to join up with them. And on top of that, no powers.

What a mess.

I knew we should have gone with a smaller group, we should have left the boys at home...

Malon exhaled, shaking off the thought. Her boys were capable, they could handle whatever happened to them.

Hopefully...

“I guess we’ll try and loop around, see if we meet up with anyone?” she said, and Artemis nodded, looking a little pale. “...You okay, hon?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Artemis replied, and Malon raised an eyebrow. “Really Malon, I am.”

Malon studied her in silence a moment, then gave a slow nod, trusting she knew what she was talking about.

Artemis had been through a hard pregnancy not too long ago, and though she’d claimed and demonstrated she was perfectly fine to come along, Malon had still been keeping an eye on her this whole time. But if Artemis said she was fine, then Malon would believe her.

...Though she would still keep an eye on her.

“I’m fine Malon, truly, it’s just... odd, not having my powers,” Artemis admitted quietly, absently rubbing her middle. “It’s... wrong. It feels like there’s something strange in my chest.”

Malon hummed worriedly, giving her shoulder a squeeze. The few times she’d come into contact with devices that blocked powers they’d never felt like that, to her at least. Was it because Artemis’s powers were more of a physical thing than Malon’s?

...But then again, now that she was thinking about it, there was an odd feeling in her chest as well.

But before she could try and examine it further, a soft groan went through the room, and both Malon and Artemis froze.

“What was that?” Artemis asked in a whisper, drawing her weapon.

“I don’t know. Maybe... Link?” Malon called softly, just to cover all their bases, but there was no reply.

Malon and Artemis briefly exchanged looks, knowing they couldn’t both have imagined the sound, then went over to where it had come from. Malon pulled out her bow and called again, and though there was still no response, she diligently scanned her gaze over the rubble.

The wall had collapsed surprisingly neatly, but there were still chunks of it all over the place, and a few worrisome cracks in the ceiling. The scientist may have planned to separate or trap them by collapsing the wall, but you could only control explosions so much. He was lucky the building hadn’t fallen in.

Malon pushed aside some rubble, eyes still scanning across it, then froze, zeroing in on a particular spot.

Where she could see a faint dash of blond hair, with a colorful outfit to match.

“Four!” Malon gasped, and ran over to him, her panic growing as she saw that he was half-buried, eyes closed. “Artemis, I found Four! Link, sweetheart, wake up,” she said more gently, brushing his hair from his face.

Four moaned as Artemis ran up, and his eyes slowly dragged open, dazedly focusing in on them.

“Uhh... Mom..?” he asked dizzily, and Malon nodded, Artemis kneeling beside them.

“Where are you hurt?” Malon asked, cautiously touching the spot near his shoulder where she could see some blood. Four hissed, face screwing up in a wince.

“M-my arm, I think? It feels kind of... pinned...” he said, face creased. “What happened..?”

“We were shot at with an energy beam, the wall collapsed, we were all separated, our powers have been blocked, and we have reason to believe this was all a trap,” Artemis summed up. Four blinked at her, looking rather confused.

“Oh...”

“We’re gonna try and get you out of there Four, just hold tight,” Malon reassured, and Four nodded, staying silent as she and Artemis began to work.

The rubble was messy, full of large pieces that couldn’t be moved, and smaller ones that shifted more than Malon was comfortable with. Making headway in freeing Four was nearly impossible, and she frowned as she wiped the sweat from her brow after several minutes in which they were no closer to getting him out.

“Maybe we’re going about this the wrong way,” Artemis sighed, pulling back and wiping her own forehead. “Perhaps we should try something else.”

“I don’t know what else we can do,” Malon frowned, studying the rubble. “I don’t want to risk burying him further, but I don’t know if we can get him out without moving anything.”

“I know. Maybe we could—”

A loud crack cut Artemis off, and both she and Malon froze.

Then a chunk of unstable ceiling dropped, headed right for where Four was lying.

Malon dove forward to cover him, Artemis’s shout ringing in her ears as she bent over his head. Malon fully expected to be hit by the chunk of ceiling, but a familiar metallic chime rang through the air instead, one Malon would know anywhere.

Her head snapped back up, and sure enough, a ruby-red shield shone bright above her and Four’s heads, protecting them from the ceiling pieces. Malon looked back at Artemis, and saw her hands outstretched, her eyes wide with shock.

The rubble slid off to the sides after a few moments, and the shield fell away, Artemis dropping her hands with a gasp.

“What on earth...” she breathed, and Malon sat up, staring at her in shock. “This...”

“That was... Hyrule’s shield,” Four finished for her, voice still dazed, but now more with shock than anything. “How... how do you have it?”

“I don’t know?” Artemis answered, looking completely bewildered.

Four frowned in the way he always did when he was thinking about something, fingers tapping lightly against the floor. Then he screwed his face up like he was trying to use his own powers.

Suddenly his free hand flickered from view, disappearing from sight. It came back seconds later, but Malon and Artemis still stared at it in disbelief.

“I think... our powers got switched,” Four said softly, sounding out of breath. “And I got yours, Aunt Artemis.”

“And I got Hyrule’s somehow, he... oh that scientist, he didn’t block our powers at all, he messed them up!” Artemis growled, and Malon looked at her own hands in surprise. Had they truly been swapped?

She gave a cautious tug on the strange feeling in her chest, extending a hand almost instinctively, and a gust of air blasted through the hallway, nearly bowling herself and Artemis over. Malon hurriedly reined it in, or did her best to, and Artemis and Four stared at her with wide eyes.

“Hm. Well. I seem to have gotten Wind’s,” Malon said in interest, and Four giggled, somewhat hysterically.

“You have Wind’s powers. You have Hyrule’s. And I... have yours,” he said with a hint of panic, his breath speeding up. “And I don’t have mine, and I don’t know if I can get them back, and... and maybe they just won’t come back and I'll be powerless again it’s fine this is fine!”

“Calm down hon, we’ll get this fixed,” Malon soothed, and Four let out another laugh, though he did seem to make an effort to calm himself.

Malon ran her hand over his head in an attempt to help, and Four relaxed a little. Though not completely, seeing as he was still half-buried under a collapsed wall and had just gotten his powers swapped.

—Wait a minute.

“Four... if you have Artemis’s powers, you should be able to get yourself free,” Malon realized, and Four’s eyes widened. His expression turned nervous then, and he looked at the pile of rubble towering over him.

“I don’t know Mom, what... what if something goes wrong and I bury myself?” he said nervously. “I can’t even... handle my own powers sometimes, what if...”

“I’ll help you,” Artemis reassured, and Malon scooted over to let her get closer to Four. “I know a thing or two about my powers after all.”

Four bit his lip as he thought for a moment, and then he breathed out and nodded.

“Okay. How do I do it?”

“Well, you did it once, though only for a moment. That’s a start. For more than that, it’s... a bit like holding your breath,” Artemis explained. “You’re slipping in between things, going through matter.”

“Doesn’t that hurt?” Four whispered, and Artemis hummed.

“Not really. Warriors says it feels cold when I use it on him, but I don’t feel much of anything myself. I don’t know your powers, so I can’t give you any definitive advice, but I would guess you just need to draw on the spot that you usually do, and remember what I said about slipping through. It’ll be strange the first time, but I think you can do it,” she said encouragingly.

Four breathed out, and nodded. “...Okay.”

Malon and Artemis drew back just a little to give him some room, and Four closed his eyes, brows furrowed.

He stayed like that for a solid minute, his fingers occasionally fading out of view. Nothing further than that disappeared though, and as time continued to drag on, Malon was on the verge of suggesting they try something else.

Then Four’s face screwed up, and the pile of rubble he was under suddenly shifted, like something had been taken out from underneath. Malon quickly grabbed him and began to tug, and a few moments later, Four was free, his left side gone.

It quickly came back though, and Malon pulled him away from the rubble, looking him over as Artemis congratulated him with a smile.

Four was right about his arm being messed up— the sleeve of his suit was torn a bit below his elbow, and blood stained the part of his skin that was visible due to the rip. It looked to Malon like it had been punctured by something. Four seemed paler too, having gotten out of the pile of rocks, and Malon gently pulled him into her lap, Four curling into her hold.

“This doesn’t look good,” Artemis said, inspecting his arm, and Four turned his gaze on her.

“You could fix it,” he said softly. Artemis blinked, then realized what he meant with a swallow.

Shielding wasn’t Hyrule’s only power.

“Smithy, I don’t know,” she said worriedly, pulling her hand away. “I don’t know these powers, I might heal something wrong.”

“Couldn’t you stop the bleeding at least?” Malon asked, and Artemis looked at her. “That can’t be too hard.”

“I...”

Artemis hesitated, and Four took her hand in his, giving it a squeeze.

“You got yours to work for me. I bet you can use Hyrule’s too.”

Artemis looked at him, then sighed, squeezing his hand in return. “All right. I’ll see what I can do.”

She put her hand near Four’s elbow, and after a moment of squinting and flexing her fingers, a blue light flickered to life in her palm. Four and Malon watched quietly as the light danced across his arm, sputtering a little here and there, but still moving steadily across his skin.

Malon held Four a little tighter, and he gave her hand a squeeze.

The blue light in Artemis’s hands suddenly got brighter, lighting up the hallway with its glow. Light raced across Four’s arm and Artemis’s eyes went wide, shining so brightly Malon almost couldn’t look at them.

Then her hand flashed, and the glow was gone.

Artemis floundered the moment it disappeared, her face white, and Malon caught her before she could fall over, looking at her in concern.

“Artemis?”

“Fine... I’m fine. It was... ah... hard to stop once I got going...” she breathed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Whew... no wonder Hyrule can’t do it too much...”

“But it worked,” Four said as he sat up, twisting and bending his arm around. “You fixed it Aunt Artemis!”

Artemis smiled at him, and Four got to his feet, looking much happier now that he wasn’t in pain and trapped. Malon wasn’t sure if he had accepted having the wrong powers for now, or was just doing his best to ignore the whole thing, but seeing him up and about made her feel better at least.

“You’re feeling all right now hon?” Malon asked as Four hopped around, and he turned and nodded at her.

“I’m all good,” he chirped with a smile, and Malon helped Artemis stand, her sister in-law looking dizzy before giving herself a small shake.

“I am too. We should get going,” she said, and Malon gave her a look before agreeing with a sigh.

They did need to find the others, and fix their powers and stop what they came here to stop. Malon was certain Artemis could use a rest, but time really wasn’t on their side at the moment.

Ha. Time.

...Malon hoped he was doing okay.

They deliberated for a moment on whether to try and dig through the rubble and get through, or just follow where the hallway they were in led. They quickly decided it would be faster to go around rather than through, as well as safer, and set off.

Malon kept a hand around Artemis’s shoulders as they walked, Four staying just a bit ahead. They were quiet for a few minutes, but Malon began to feel like the silence was pressing in on her, her worried thoughts crowing angrily in her head.

“I still can’t believe that scientist switched our powers,” Malon murmured in an effort to ignore them, and Artemis nodded.

“I know. That energy pulse must have been what did it, but I have no idea how.” She glanced ahead at Four, and lowered her voice. “...I only hope we can fix them.”

“Me too,” Malon sighed.

She rubbed absently at her chest, and inadvertently made a gust blow through the hallway again. Malon spared a thought towards Wind and the rest of her family as she attempted to wrestle it back, and hoped yet again they were all okay.

This truly is a disaster.

“I hope whoever got mine is okay,” Four spoke up, chewing worriedly on his lip as they walked. “If it took me eight years to be ready to use them, what’s it going to be like for whoever got them just like that?”

Malon and Artemis paused and exchanged loaded glances, worry clenching tighter around Malon’s chest.

Four had been a bonafide disaster while he’d been getting used to his powers; going between long periods of being unable to use them, to splitting left and right, his emotions off the wall, dealing with completely uncontrollable bursts of power...

“...We’d better hurry,” Malon said, and they got moving down the hallway again, their steps much faster than before.

...

Legend slept on.

[skyward-floored]

IAU—if Malon could pick any other animal to be able to talk to, what would she pick?

In regular IAU: Can she talk to zebra? Mules? Donkeys? Giraffe?

Could she talk to Warnicorn from the whumptober fic? :D

Hmm, I think she would maybe pick cats! She sees them around a lot, and I think she'd like to hear what they have to say. Maybe dogs too, just hearing pets' perspectives would be pretty cool. Though really, she'd like to talk to all animals XD

So I think the way I have her powers (I don't have my notes or anything atm) is that she can talk with anything that's in the horse family (which would include zebra and mules and donkeys), and other animals with hooves she can't talk to, but can just intuitively understand them better than anything else (giraffes, cows, oxen, goats... etc). So kind of :)

And yes, she could XD

[skyward-floored]

In iAU, Twilight’s powers have been framed (to my possibly totally incorrect perception) as similar to his Mother’s in the AU, do his and Malon’s powers ever have superpower-combo or overlap? Does he have abilities similar to Malon’s?

Twilights abilities are like, a step or two away from Malon’s, but they’re very similar yeah!

Twilight’s powers are: heightened senses like smell and hearing, a little extra strength, the ability to physically transform himself into a wolf, and, while transformed, the ability to talk with other animals.

Malon’s are a bit more vague— she can speak easily with anything with hooves, but other animals (like wolves for instance) take some practice to communicate with well. She bonds quickly with horses/hooved animals, can soothe them near instantly (this has an effect on humans as well, though not as strong), can whistle and call any horse in a couple miles radius to her, and is crazy good with a lasso.

So they’re not exactly the same, but they compliment each other’s powers quite well! If there’s an animal-related incident, they’re the ones who deal with it (with occasional Legend backup)

[skyward-floored]

Time discovers the plan

(Incredibles au)

The other movie scene I mentioned I’d post today :) This comes right before the first ever fic I wrote for this au, and it was very fun to write. Though I have the urge to rewrite that one now, I could do it so much better now that it’s been two years... eh, it is what it is. Please enjoy Time having a bad time.

ao3 link (coming soon)

————————————————————

Time’s mind whirled as he snuck his way into Dark’s base, slipping past some guards while knocking others out. Most didn’t put up too much of a fight, which left him with plenty of time to think as he crept around.

This was all so much worse then he ever could have imagined.

He’d nearly been killed just like poor Blazing Fist, all because of Dark. Time had thought this was just a government operation, but instead it... he didn’t even fully know what was going on. He was still wrapping his head around Dark being the obsessive kid who’d nearly gotten them both killed all those years ago because he didn’t know when to stop.

But right now, Time needed to figure out Dark’s plan. He had an advantage right now— Dark thought he was dead, and Blazing Fist had left a message burnt onto the wall, a word that must be important. Time kept that word in the forefront of his mind as he finally reached the room with the lava fall, determination speeding his steps.

He would figure out Dark’s plan. And he would stop it.

Time looked around for something to protect him from the lava flow, and settled on a large statue set in the corner. He drew on his powers and hefted it above him, then squared up with the falls, narrowing his eyes. He would have to be fast. The statue was solid rock, but even that wouldn’t last forever under a continuous assault of lava.

Time breathed in, then out.

Okay.

Here we go.

Time tensed in preparation to sprint, but right as he moved, a loud booming sound signaled the wall about to open.

Time lurched to a halt, the abrupt stop to his movement nearly making him drop the statue. He scrambled to regain his balance as it teetered on his shoulders, then stumbled backwards in order to get out of sight of the people emerging from the secret hall.

He made it to the corner just in time, and set the statue down as quietly as possible. It still made a loud noise, but the lava mostly covered it, enough that he wasn’t found out. Time remained quiet as a mouse as he heard Dark say something to Sheik, their footsteps tapping right past his hiding spot. Nothing they said was of particular note, and he watched them carefully as they hurried away.

Then they were gone, and Time bolted, running for the lava flow as it began to close in again.

He spared a thought towards Wild as he sprinted, the walls quickly closing in on him. The heat was nearly unbearable, but Time kept running, keeping his eyes fixed on the distant opening he could see.

The lava was so bright and hot it hurt his eyes, his supersuit the only thing keeping him from bursting into flames. Time’s skin burned as he ran for the exit, and he held back a shout as he threw himself forward, the walls slamming shut mere inches from his feet.

Time rolled as he landed, and slowly stood as he caught his breath from his sprint. The room he’d landed in was dark, but not impossible to see in due to the huge, dimly-lit screen at the end of a thin walkway.

A steep drop waited on either side of him, but Time crept forward without fear, his steps light and quick. He reached the screen in moments, and looked up at it, pondering. It seemed to be a normal keyboard below, and Time lightly pressed a button.

The screen brightened at the touch, displaying several lines, and one simple question glared at him.

PASSWORD?

Time’s heart sank. He had a feeling he would probably be able to guess the code given all the time in the world, but he knew he didn’t have long. The guards he’d knocked out wouldn’t stay that way forever, and Dark would likely return before long. There might be cameras on him right now.

Time tapped his gloved hands on the side of the console, mind sorting through dozens of options as precious seconds ticked by.

Then he remembered the word Blazing Fist had left for him.

Nocte.

Time carefully typed it in, and the computer admitted him with a soft chime, putting him on a menu with a couple of options. Time’s heart pounded as he looked at them all, and he zeroed in on the one in the middle labeled Supers.

He clicked on it with a mounting level of dread, and names began appearing, superhero names, along with information and pictures of them and the Guardian prototypes they’d fought.

And been killed by.

Time’s throat tightened as names breezed by, many he recognized from years of hero work. Some had put up a fight, lasting through multiple iterations of Guardians, but in the end, all of them had red words dashed across their photos, labeling them as dead from Dark’s project.

They just kept coming, more and more names flashing across the screen, some familiar, some not. But with every note that indicated the hero had died because of Dark’s insane project, the cavern in Time’s chest grew, and he bowed his head in grief.

So many dead...

His own name flashed by, the same red TERMINATED across his face, and a thought suddenly occurred to him. Time quickly typed in Malon’s hero name, anxiety rising, but relief swept over him at the near complete lack of information that showed up. Dark had no idea who she was, or where she was.

She’s safe.

He leaned back and let out a shaky sigh of relief, but then another thought surfaced in his mind, one almost too terrifying to check on.

But he had to know.

Time swallowed, then quickly typed in the name Crimson Loftwing. Dread crept over him like a spider, his hands shaking as the computer loaded, and Time forced himself to still them as he waited. Maybe it’s unconnected, maybe he’s—

The screen blinked, then a neat list appeared, detailing a concerning amount of information on Sky. A picture of him as Crimson Loftwing appeared moments later, the hero smiling brightly as he stood next to a statue of the legendary bird he took his hero name from.

The word TERMINATED appeared over him in bright red letters.

Time let out a broken-sounding breath, and ran a hand through his bangs.

Oh Sky...

Time had purposely buried whatever hope he’d had left that Sky was alive somewhere, the pain of holding on to it just too much to bear. But apparently there’d still been some left, even after more than a year of him missing.

And now it was gone.

Time closed his eyes and ignored how it felt like he’d been punched in the gut, pushing the new grief that was mixing with the old to the side. The confirmed loss of someone he considered as both a brother and son would have to wait until he’d stopped what was going on.

Sky I’m so sorry.

Time took a deep breath, and typed in Warriors’ hero name then, freezing at the sheer amount of information that came up. They knew his name, his real name, his powers, where he lived, who he was married to and even who Artemis was...

He’d been going for them next.

Time swallowed thickly, and realized that he was getting distracted. He pushed past his fear and grief and horribly distracting feelings, and went back to the main menu, clicking on the one labeled Project Nocte.

He scanned the notes inside, clicking past schematics and blueprints. A button caught his attention, and Time pressed it, watching worriedly as a slideshow began to play. It showed the Guardian robot fitting neatly into a rocket Dark had designed, then flying across the ocean and landing right in Hyrule’s capital. It began to wreak havoc on the unassuming city in the image, and then a countdown appeared, showing less than a day until the rocket was scheduled to launch.

Time breathed in sharply, eyes fixed on the number.

He had to stop that rocket.

No matter what.

He stepped away from the computer, mind whirling with information and urgency, then bolted back the way he came.

He’d taken all of three steps before the symbol on the front of his suit lit up, and let out a rapid stream of beeps.

Time looked at it in confused shock, and an alarm blared, harsh lights blinding him as they turned on. The blaring tone ground into his ears, and Time didn’t even have a moment to figure out what exactly had just happened.

The whizz of something being shot rang out over the alarm, and Time jerked his head up to see small cannons shooting black orbs towards him, ones that stuck to the ground and made an odd fizzing sound.

One hit his hand, and when Time tried to shake it off, it only grew, in both size and weight.

Time to go.

Time ran, dodging the projectiles as much as he could. The whole wall was lined with cannons though, shooting almost endless streams of the black blobs. Several hit Time’s arms and legs, one even hitting his shoulder right next to his face, but he kept going, pushing himself as hard as he could.

Even when he fell to his knees, weighed down by the growing blobs that just kept coming, he attempted to crawl forward, refusing to quit.

He gasped as one began to cover his face, dragging himself forward as he slowed even further. He didn’t know what would happen when it covered his mouth, but he knew he was about to find out. His mind began to grow fuzzy as he crawled, and he had the panicked realization that he was somehow being drugged by the material spreading over him.

No! Not like this! he thought, gasping as he was dragged to the ground, the weight finally too much. Dark can’t win, he can’t, I have to stop this, for Blazing Fist, for Sky—

His body was almost entirely covered now, and Time let out one last desperate and frustrated cry before his face was covered, catching sight of a blurry figure approaching him.

Then he knew nothing.

[skyward-floored]

also what happens to Malon after she's arrested????? (does she, perhaps, find smth out about her deceased husband 👀)

- hero-of-the-wolf

@hero-of-the-wolf

...

Malon was tossed into a holding cell without a word, and without so much as the hope of a trial or lawyer or anything of the sort.

She heard a distant laugh as the door was slammed behind her, and exhaled wearily as she sat up, brushing some dried blood from her cheek as she moved. The trip here hadn’t been long, but it had been one unpleasant moment after another, harsh shoves and sneers and glee at her arrest, and even a shock she’d gotten when a guard’s hand had wandered and she’d punched him.

Add that to the bruises she’d gotten from the fight earlier with Warriors, and most of her body ached.

Malon closed her eyes, thinking of her husband’s brother. Warriors had stayed beside her as long as he could after she’d been arrested, a hand on her arm until he'd been called away and had to leave. Despite the fact that they’d had to feign indifference and hatred towards one another the whole time, Malon had found his presence comforting. She’d missed him, and he reminded her of Time, and better days.

She only wished she could have spoken to him more. It didn’t take superpowers for her to see that he was barely holding it together.

“...Hello?”

Malon stilled, and raised her head, looking around the tiny cell.

It was essentially a stone box, small with no windows, a toilet in the corner, and two somewhat-cushioned benches by the walls that Malon supposed were meant to be beds. A girl who must have just been asleep was sitting up on one of them, holding her arm tight to her chest as she looked warily at Malon.

The girl couldn’t have been older than Legend, though her face was worn in a similar way that made Malon’s heart pang. Her blonde hair was messy and was trying to hang in her face, but her indigo eyes were sharp in the artificial light, and watched Malon with a calculating look.

“Are you a super?” she asked bluntly, and Malon blinked, then smiled, easing up to her feet.

“Hello to you too. Yes I am, but with nothing that’ll get us out of here I’m afraid,” she answered, wincing as she walked over and sat on the opposite bench. “Is this room temporary? Or am I going to be here a while?”

“I don’t know. I’ve only been here for about a day,” the girl replied, holding her arm tighter to her chest. “And don’t worry about your powers being useful or not. They’re blocked in here.“

Malon hummed. “That’ll be hard to test, seeing as they’re animal related. But thank you for the warning.”

The girl nodded and messed with her hair, letting silence fall between them. Malon studied her again, trying to figure out if she really was the same age as Legend, and her heart ached at the reminder of her son. She hoped desperately that he and the boys had gotten away— by now they must be close to Sky’s, even if they were being cautious.

All of them except for Twilight.

A deeper pang of worry shot through her as she thought of her other son, and she bit her lip.

Oh Twi, please be okay...

Malon sucked in a slow breath, and gave the girl a gentle smile. “My name is Malon,” she said, in an effort to keep herself distracted from her worries. Being anxious about her family wouldn't make them any safer. “How about you?”

“...Zelda,” the girl said quietly, then shrugged. “Or Zel. Or Zellie. Or Fable.”

“Fable?”

Her mouth quirked up. “I know another Zelda, we did nicknames to make it easier. Somehow that was just what got picked. It’s what I tend to go by, honestly.”

Malon smiled. “I know how that goes. I have two sons named Link, and more Links beside that rarely go by their names. Long story,” she added at Fable’s confused look.

Fable sighed and leaned against the wall. “Well, I’ve got time.”

“I was hoping to use mine to somehow get out of here,” Malon said with a glance around, and Fable closed her eyes.

“You’re welcome to try, but I’ve had no luck. I’ve gotten food once while I’ve been here, and they threatened to shock me if I tried anything with the door open. Not that I could with this,” she huffed, gesturing to the arm she had cradled to her chest.

Malon looked closer, and realized that the arm was swollen and bruised, the skin an unpleasant mix of purples and bluish-greens.

“Are you okay?” Malon asked worriedly, and Fable shrugged one shoulder.

“It’s just a broken arm. It got hurt in the fight before they arrested me, and nobody’s done anything for it,” she said in a pointed voice at the doorway.

The door stayed silent.

Malon frowned, and carefully stood and approached Fable, sitting down beside her. “...May I?”

Fable hesitated, then slowly held out her arm, the limb shaking a bit. Malon took it with a gentle hand, and studied it, feeling cautiously along the skin. Fable winced, but Malon made sure to be careful, and after a couple minutes, was fairly sure that the break was near the middle of her forearm.

“It doesn’t seem like it’s too bad,” Malon said, gently releasing her arm. “It’s swollen, so maybe that’s why, but I couldn’t feel the actual break. It’ll set easily if it is one, but we should probably figure out a way to get a sling for you.”

Fable wrinkled her eyebrows at Malon like she couldn’t quite figure her out, but she nodded. And she didn’t try to stop Malon when she pulled off the apron she still had on (she wondered briefly what had ever happened to the bacon she’d been cooking), and worked on tying it around into a suitable sling.

“So... what happened to you?” Fable asked after a minute of Malon fiddling with fabric. “If you don't mind me asking. You said you're a super, but you're not even in uniform. What did you do to get thrown in here?”

“Me? Oh me and my family have been doing a lot under ol’ Dark’s nose for a while now, and everything finally caught up to us,” Malon sighed, figuring a true explanation would take too long. Wind and Four alone would probably make Fable think she was crazy. “They came after us at home after we tried to help somebody. My family that was at the house made it away, but my one son was on duty... I don’t know where he is.”

Malon breathed out a sigh she told herself wasn’t shaky, and cleared her throat.

“How about you? What did a nice girl like you do to get arrested?”

Fable blinked, and looked down at Malon's attempts to secure the sling, not speaking for a moment.

“I fought back,” she said after a long minute of silence. “I just— I just hit my limit. I couldn’t take it anymore, what they’re doing, how they treat us...”

Fable’s voice wobbled.

���My... father died. And I know it wasn’t by natural causes, I found proof, but I couldn’t do anything with it. It was an official who’d had him killed, and I knew I had to keep acting like everything was fine like I didn’t know and I just... I snapped. It didn’t end well. Obviously.”

She swallowed thickly, and Malon, finished with the sling, gave her a gentle look.

“I’m sorry hon, that must’ve been awful,” Malon said softly, and Fable pulled her legs up to her chest.

“I've definitely had better days. At least I got to toss a few people into the harbor,” she murmured, then swallowed and looked away. “Do you... think your family is okay?”

“I hope so,” Malon replied softly. “Twi... Twilight— he’s my oldest— he’s tough, and his powers enhance his senses, so he should be okay. My youngest can turn invisible, and he has somewhere safe to go, and friends with him. I’m worried about them all, but... I trust their skills. I think they’ll be okay.” They'd better be okay.

I don't think I can lose anybody else.

Malon took a deep breath, and looked over at Fable, giving her a smile.

“And I’m not planning on sitting around here and waiting for them to rescue me,” she said firmly, and squeezed Fable’s shoulder. "Or see what sort of sentence or punishment either of us is going to get. I'm gonna to do my best to escape. You wanna work together and bust out of here?"

Fable looked at her in surprise, and hesitated, eyes scanning across her face.

Then her eyes hardened with determination.

“Yes. I don't want to stick around and see what they're going to do to us either. I'm in," she said with a deep breath, and Malon took her uninjured hand in hers, and shook it.

"In that case, we'd better get to work," she smiled, and Fable returned it. "What can you do, hon?"

And as Fable explained her powers, already looking less pale and defeated then she had when Malon had first been tossed in, Malon felt the hope that had started to dim in her heart flicker back to life.

[skyward-floored]

..... does Warriors successfully arrest his family? (Downfall IAU)

fearfully, - hero-of-the-wolf

@hero-of-the-wolf BUCKLE UP MY FRIEND!!!

Comes after the Ravio fic and the Warriors fic :) the first one definitely helps for context.

...

It wasn’t until dawn that anything happened.

Legend and Wind both stayed up all night watching for any threats, keeping a largely silent vigil. They camped out on the roof, watching all corners of the yard and street, and Wind didn’t sleep a wink, anxious and full of a shaky worry for everyone. Sky hadn't responded to any of their messages, which wasn't too unusual since it had only been a few hours, but Wind was worried anyway.

Malon and Four stayed inside and prepared for the worst, readying supplies in case a quick escape was needed, and still occasionally trying to contact Sky. Ravio pretty much just slept, mumbling hazily about low prices and pretty birds.

But when the first rays of sunshine poked over the horizon and Wind and Legend had still seen nothing suspicious, everyone relaxed a little. Malon brought out some food for them to eat, and the two of them took it gratefully.

Wind was still worried, but things seemed less scary with the glimmer of dawn on the horizon, orangey light warming his face. Legend looked a little more relaxed as well, and they began to eat, both feeling lighter.

Wind took exactly three bites of his bagel before he froze, staring out across the street.

A man stood in plain view from his and Legend’s standpoint, one who hadn’t been there before. The sun shone off his white and blue outfit like sunlight on a frozen lake, and a mask covered part of his face, but Wind knew immediately who he was and why he was here.

He just didn’t want to believe it.

“Legend,” he whispered, and Legend immediately turned and looked, the color draining from his face.

“Wind, go warn them,” he whispered, but Wind remained frozen in place, staring at Warriors. “Wind.”

Wind couldn’t make himself move, gaze locked on Warriors. His uncle didn’t move either, silently watching him and Legend, and even though the distance was pretty far, Wind almost thought he could make out regret on his face.

Legend’s elbow to his side snapped him out of his daze, and Wind scrambled down the roof and inside a window, almost wiping out on a rug as he ran.

“Malon they’re coming!” he cried, and he heard a sharp intake of breath.

Malon appeared around the corner as a harsh knock came from their front door, and Wind gave her a panicked look. The knocks quickly turned into pounding, and Wind heard a thud on the roof, along with a shout.

“Go wake Ravio,” Malon said, and Wind ran off into the living room. He was worried about Legend, but he knew he could handle himself. Hopefully.

The pounding on the door seemed to have already woken Ravio up, and his green eyes were looking fearfully at the door as Wind ran in.

“They found me,” he said in a panic, and Wind nodded.

“Yeah. You and us. But they'll have to fight to catch us, c’mon.”

“I can’t run very well like this,” Ravio said nervously, and Wind pulled his arm up around his shoulders, helping him stand.

“No problem, we’ll help you,” he replied, and winced as another shout came from outside. “Where’s Four?”

“He said he needed to do something,” Ravio said as they hurried out of the living room.

“He what?”

“I don’t know, he didn’t explain!”

Both of them yelped as something shook the building, and Malon suddenly went flying back from the front door, hitting the wall beside them with a grunt.

Wind shouted in alarm, but Malon was unhurt, quickly standing up with her fists raised. Wind looked at where she’d come from, and saw the door broken with a group of people gathered in the doorway, all dressed in dark colors and protective gear. He didn’t see Warriors anywhere.

“Malon Forester, you and all the occupants of this house are under arrest,” the one at the front said, and Malon’s face creased determinedly.

“I don’t think so. Get Ravio out of here,” Malon directed towards Wind, but before he could move, he heard a wild yell.

Four suddenly burst from the hallway, dressed in his super suit that he’d been wearing when he and Wind first landed here. It was bright blue though, and Wind wasn’t surprised when three other Fours ran out behind the blue one, all looking determined.

Blue threw himself at the group in the doorway, and the others followed, all yelling as they lit up their powers. Chaos reigned as the colors swept through the squad, and Malon pushed Wind to get going.

“I’ll help Four, go,” she urged, and Wind and Ravio hurried off towards the back door, trying not to listen to the yelling from behind them.

They made it to the door quickly, but Wind could see even more of the scary soldier-people rushing towards the house, and he quickly locked the door and shoved a couple heavy chairs in front of it for good measure. They... weren't making it out that way.

“Now what?” Ravio asked a little hysterically, and Wind suddenly remembered Malon mentioning something about an emergency hatch in the basement room he and Four had been sleeping in. She’d only brought it up briefly, and he’d forgotten about it in the rush.

“Downstairs, c’mon,” he urged, gathering some winds around them just in case. They were on the opposite side of the house from the basement stairs, but the shouting had died down a little, so he was hopeful.

They hurried back the way they came, Wind eternally grateful that the house had tough windows and good locks. It didn’t seem like any of the scary-looking soldiers had gotten in yet, except for the ones at the front door, but it sounded like Malon and Four were handling them.

Wind and Ravio rushed past the front door, and saw Malon and all four colors braced against it, Malon having replaced the door and now struggling to secure a lock on it. Wind set Ravio down for a moment, and shoved a heavy-looking table over to help block the door. Malon realized what he was doing, and briefly abandoned Four in order to help him shove the table, as well as several other heavy pieces of furniture.

“Will that hold them?” Green asked in an out of breath voice.

“Hopefully long enough for us to get away,” Malon replied as they finished, rubbing her shoulder a bit. Wind squinted at her, but he couldn’t tell if she was truly hurt or not.

“How are we getting out?” Red said in a somewhat panicked voice as the men on the other side of the door began to bang at it again.

“Basement,” Malon replied, then shooed them along. “Hurry.”

The Colors finally moved away from the door, and though the banging began to increase, the door didn’t budge, locked and barricaded as it was.

They rushed down the hallway, Wind almost dropping Ravio when he heard a window shatter somewhere. He cast a glance at Malon, and saw that her face was surprisingly calm.

Though maybe that wasn't too surprising. It seemed to Wind that she'd been expecting something like this to happen for ages.

“I gotta grab my bag,” Vio said suddenly, stopping in his tracks. The other colors stopped as well, and Wind looked back at the different colors of his brother. “All our bags, we left them in the kitchen, there's important stuff in there.”

“Go fast,” Wind said worriedly, and the Colors nodded and bolted away.

Wind heard another window shatter somewhere, and drew some wind tighter around himself, wiping his sweaty palms on his shirt. He really wished he'd at least had a nap last night. The lack of sleep only made his nerves feel even more shot.

“Where’s Legend?” Ravio huffed as they continued to work their way across the house. He was looking paler again, probably from the strain on his leg as well as the situation at hand. Wind couldn’t blame him.

“He was on the roof, I don’t know whe—”

“Right here.”

Legend flickered into view beside them, and Wind was glad he was used to it and didn’t shriek like Ravio did.

His alternate-brother looked a little ruffled, but unhurt as far as Wind could tell. Legend opened his mouth to say more, but Malon abruptly grabbed him away from the stairwell, some kind of energy blast hitting the wall where his head had been.

More of the armored men were coming from upstairs, and Wind blasted a gust at their feet, making them all trip and fall into a pile. Their group rapidly turned the corner towards the basement, and Wind started to believe they’d maybe make it out.

Then he saw Warriors standing in the hallway, blocking their path.

Wind stopped short, and Malon and Legend bumped into him, all three of them staring at the super in front of them.

“Warriors,” Malon began, firm, but soft regardless. “Let us through.”

Warriors looked at them, but his expression stayed the same, smooth and emotionless. “I can’t do that. All of you are under arrest. If you come quietly, this’ll be easier for all of us.”

“Easier for all of us? Or just for you?” Legend snapped, and Wind thought he saw hurt flash in his uncle’s eyes.

“Legend, Malon, I don’t want to do this,” he said in a quieter voice. “Please. Come quietly.”

“You know we can’t do that,” Malon said firmly.

“Dad wouldn’t want us to,” Legend spat.

Warriors flinched, but didn’t say anything in reply. He simply lifted his hands, frost forming threateningly on his gloves.

Nobody moved for several tense seconds. Legend glared silently at his uncle, Ravio looked nervously towards the door, Malon kept a steady eye on her husband’s brother, all while Wind watched and wondered what to do.

Warriors couldn’t be serious... could he?

Wind had only spoken to this version of Warriors once, but... he loved his family. Wind could tell that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Why was he doing this?

Why was he working for the bad guys?

Footsteps came up behind Wind, and he turned to see Four run up, looking winded and shaky. He’d reformed into one for some reason, holding several bags in his arms, and Wind caught his shoulder. Four stumbled to a halt as he looked around at the situation, and frowned.

And then Warriors locked eyes with Four, and his face went white.

That moment of distraction was what they’d been waiting for, and Malon threw herself at her brother-in-law, successfully knocking him to the ground.

“Go boys!” she shouted, and they scrambled to obey, Legend and Wind grabbing Ravio, while Four ran behind. Legend ran ahead of them and flung open the door to the basement, hurriedly gesturing them inside.

Wind couldn’t help watch Malon grapple with Warriors, her eyes alight with protectiveness. He winced as she punched him, the two rolling around as they fought, and Wind gasped when Warriors’s hands glowed with ice and he tried to freeze her arms.

The soldiers Wind had tripped came around the corner as well, and began shooting more of the energy beams that Legend had narrowly avoided. Wind was a little surprised they didn't have bullets, but he supposed he shouldn't complain. At least being shocked wasn't as instantly life-threatening.

Four suddenly stumbled against Wind, having trouble with the ice rapidly coating the area. Wind grabbed his arm and ended up supporting him almost more than Ravio, Four still shaky from being split and struggling to hold onto the bags all while avoiding any blasts.

“Guys come on, we— Mom?” Legend said, his commanding tone suddenly slipping. Wind turned back to look again, and saw Malon with one arm pinned to the ground with ice.

Warriors was panting, blood dripping from his nose, and despite Malon getting her lasso around one of his legs, she hadn’t been able to pull it tight. Warriors stood and turned towards the basement door, his hands glowing again, and Wind hated the closed-off look on his face.

He raised his hands, but then Malon shouted, wrenching her arm free of the ice and yanking the lasso around Warriors’s leg.

He lost his balance with a cry, and Malon kicked him backwards, sending him sliding down the hall a bit.

“Boys, go now,” she said, making no move to join them as she tried to get the rope around Warriors’s other leg. He shot some ice at her again, and it froze some of her hair as she dodged.

“But Mom—!”

“I said go! That’s an order!” she shouted, cutting Legend off.

“We’re not leaving you here!” Wind said, wanting to rush to her side, but still supporting both Four and Ravio. He couldn’t even use his powers to help, the hallway too narrow and Malon and Warriors moving too fast for him to do anything.

Malon gave Wind and Four a complicated look, then threw open a closet door that opened into the hallway, blocking a shot from Warriors. The ice froze it in place, and Wind could hear Warriors trying to break through as energy shots rattled it, but Malon didn’t press the sudden advantage. Rather she used the brief break to look back at the four of them.

Her expression softened, and she locked eyes with Legend, his face pale and frantic.

“I’ll keep him busy, you four go ahead. The hatch downstairs opens with the triforce tap combination, you know it Legend.”

Legend’s expression looked like pure agony. “Mama I can’t—”

A loud crack came from the closet door, and Malon swept forward and grabbed all of them into a hug, even Ravio, and she quickly kissed Legend’s hair.

“It’ll be okay, honey. Go!”

She gave them all a pointed shove through the doorway as Warriors broke through the ice, and Legend shouted a warning. Wind caught a brief glimpse of Warriors standing behind her, his hands raised with grief on his face, and Malon slammed the door shut behind them.

Then the tell-tale sound of Warriors shooting his ice rang out, sealing the door shut.

“No!” Legend screamed, slamming his shoulder into the door.

Wind stared at it in horror, but he could already tell the ice was too thick for them to break through. The door was totally sealed off, thick ice sealing all around the edges, and even the sound from the other side was muffled.

Nobody would be getting through that door for hours.

“Legend we have to go,” Wind said in a shaking voice, hating that he had to be the one to say it, and Legend banged a fist against the door, breathing heavily.

“Mom!” he yelled, but there was no reply, only muffled shouts.

Four gave Wind a frightened look, Ravio’s expression pure shock, and Wind took in a deep breath as Legend slammed his fist against the door again.

“Legend,” Wind repeated quietly, and Legend gripped the door handle so hard his knuckles turned white.

Wind managed to brush a slight breeze over Legend’s head, meant to be comforting, and Legend stilled, only his shaking shoulders belaying his emotions.

“I can’t lose her too,” Legend finally whispered in a terrified voice.

“You’re not losing her. This isn’t over,” Wind said, choking back the knot in his throat. He had to focus, he could cry later. “We’ll get her back Legend, I swear, but we can’t let what she did be in vain. We have to go.”

Legend pressed his forehead to the door, and didn’t move.

Then he harshly breathed out, and leaned back, a murderous expression on his face.

“We’re going for Sky’s place. It'll be safe there. And then we’re getting her back,” he said in a harsh whisper.

Wind and Four both nodded determinedly, and Ravio gave Legend a light nudge, looking like he didn’t know what else to do. It was telling that Ravio had stayed quiet almost this whole time— Wind knew his version of him could be a bit of a chatterbox sometimes— but now it was like he just didn’t know what to say.

It could’ve been the pain he was in, but Wind had a feeling it was more due to shock.

“Come on,” Legend muttered, nudging Wind forward, and they all hurried down the stairs, nobody speaking as Legend opened the secret hatch, then closed and locked it behind them.

Nobody spoke as they crawled through the tunnel, Legend leading the way and helping Ravio with his leg. Wind glimpsed tears on Legend's face from the light of the flashlight, but he didn't say anything about them, knowing it wasn't the time. They needed to get away from here first.

Four finally distributed the packs so he didn't have to carry them all, though Wind took two because Malon...

Wind swallowed, and shook his dark thoughts away. They'd just wanted to arrest them, not kill them. Malon would be captured, but he had to hope she would be fine. Especially with Warriors there, he wouldn't let them do anything bad to her...

...Right?

An image of Warriors shooting ice at them with an emotionless look in his eyes shot through Wind's brain, and he held back a shudder, Four brushing his side.

Malon had to be okay.

She would be okay.

Wind swallowed again, and focused all of his energy on crawling through the dusty tunnel, not thinking about Warriors, not thinking about Malon, and trying his best not to listen to the quiet sound of Legend's tears.

(...)

Malon was silent as she was surrounded and handcuffed, though she still struggled and kicked like the horses she spent so much of her time with. Finally she was restrained though, and the man who was technically Warriors's superior grinned as he proudly announced she was under arrest for treason, participating in illegal ventures, aiding and abetting known criminals... the list went on.

Warriors held her silently while the man prattled on, and glanced at the basement door, still frozen solid. He tried not to let the hope show on his face, but he was overwhelmingly relieved inside.

He'd given Legend and the others some time. His nephew may hate him now, but it was worth it.

Malon stumbled suddenly on some of the ice, and Warriors automatically caught her, her head ending up rather close to his.

"Thank you," she whispered, so soft Warriors thought he'd imagined it. She gave him the smallest of nods when he looked at her though, and Warriors returned it, his throat tight.

She knew he'd helped Legend get away.

The man finally finished his list of alleged crimes, and Warriors prodded Malon to her feet as gently as he could manage while still putting on a show. She didn't resist, and they marched out of the house, Malon with her head high and undefeated.

I'm sorry Time.

[skyward-floored]

Wait... does Malon ever see Hyrule's brand scar? (Downfall IAU)

- hero-of-the-wolf

“Um... Mrs. Forester?”

The quiet voice caught her attention, and Malon looked up from the paper she was reading to see the newly-christened Hyrule poking his head out from behind a door, cheeks a bright red.

“I’m... I can’t figure out the shower,” he mumbled awkwardly, and Malon stood, giving him a sympathetic look.

“Oh no worries about that, hon, everyone always has trouble with that spout. You should’ve seen Wind the first time he used it, he completely doused himself in freezing cold water,” she chuckled, and Hyrule smiled, looking a little less embarassed as she walked over to help.

He moved to let her in, and Malon walked past, moving to the finicky shower faucet.

“It’s tricky because you have to pull it out, then turn it to the one side,” she explained, leaning in and showing him. “And it’ll give you cold water on both the sides— if you want warm, you have to have it pointing in the middle.”

Hyrule blinked. “That... seems needlessly complicated.”

Malon laughed. “It is. I’ve been meaning to get someone out to switch it for a better one for years. Just never had the time.”

Her mirth faded at the brief reminder of why, but she shook it off, and patted Hyrule on the shoulder.

“Are you all set now?” she asked, and Hyrule nodded. “Soap? Towel?”

“Yeah, Legend told me where everything was,” Hyrule said, and blushed a little again. “Thank you again.”

“No problem at all,” Malon smiled, and moved to leave as Hyrule began to worm out of his shirt. Another thought hit her though, and she turned back to warn Hyrule about another odd quirk of the shower before leaving. “Oh, one more thing hon, sometimes the drain...”

Her voice died as she looked at him though, and Hyrule went very still.

They hadn’t been visible with his shirt on, but Malon could now see almost every inch of the scars burned deep into Hyrule’s shoulder, stretching down his chest and onto his back. There were other smaller scars scattered along his chest, but none of those meant what Malon knew these ones did.

“Oh honey...” she whispered, a hand raised to cover her mouth.

Hyrule’s cheeks had gone red again, and he looked away from her, ears flattening. He didn’t say anything, and Malon wasn’t sure for a moment whether to leave him be, or try and say something that would properly convey what she was thinking right now.

Instead, she stepped back into the room, and set a gentle hand on his unscarred shoulder.

“I’m so proud of you,” she said softly, and Hyrule whipped his head around to stare at her.

“Wh... what? Why?” he asked, voice and tone so much like another broken teenager Malon once knew that she felt her eyes sting.

“I know branding isn’t the myth most people think it is,” she said softly, and slowly rolled up her own sleeve. Hyrule startled at the lines that were cut around her upper arm, much smaller than his own, but still rather visible, and Malon met his eyes. “I know this is nothing like yours, but I understand. And I’m proud of you for still fighting back, even after going through that.”

“I wasn’t fighting back though,” Hyrule said in a small voice. “It was just too much after this happened, I just... stopped.”

“You let Wind break you out though,” Malon pointed out. “And you’re helping us now. That sounds like fighting back to me.”

Hyrule swallowed as he looked away again, and Malon gave his shoulder a warm squeeze before letting go.

“I’ll let you clean up now, I’ve been keeping you from your shower long enough. But if you’d like to talk... you know where to find me,” she said softly, and Hyrule gave her a tiny nod, then peered back at her.

“I think I’d like that,” he whispered.

Malon gave him a smile that was heavy with old hurt, and she patted his hand before leaving the bathroom, gently closing the door behind her.

Then she let the sting in her eyes win over, and she leaned against the wall, letting them fall for a few minutes.

[skyward-floored]

Trick of the light (downfall iau)

Going back in time a bit, a quick thing about how Wind and Four actually ended up in the wrong universe.

...

“Don’t come any closer!”

Wind huffed in annoyance, glaring at the bad guy that was threateningly waving some kind of device around. They’d finally cornered Wizzro up here after a long chase-slash-fight, and now he’d hidden himself behind a forcefield and was grinning at them all like he wasn’t totally about to be stopped.

Four beside him rolled his eyes, and Wind heard their father let out a sigh as the villain cackled again.

“Wizzro, you’re surrounded, drop your shield and drop your weapon,” he said coolly.

“Never! I went through a lot of work to make this!” Wizzro hissed, then ran a loving hand over the device. “It’s ready now— all I have to do is use it, and nobody will be able to stop me!”

“Oh yeah? What’s it do?” Warriors drawled, and Time tilted his head at Wind and Four, making a few small hand gestures.

They nodded, and began to slowly inch around to Wizzro’s other side while Warriors distracted him, Wind wishing Wild or Legend had come with them. It figures the two people we could use the most didn’t come.

“Well, it’s... very powerful,” Wizzro began to explain, twiddling with some switches, “so powerful that not even you will be able to stand up to me, Fierce Deity!”

“Ooh, scary,” Warriors grinned, casually crossing his arms. “You have no clue what it does, do you?”

“What? Yes! Of course I do!” Wizzro snapped, but they all saw the hesitation in his eyes. “I do!”

Time raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

“Oh shut up! I’ve combined several different designs to make an all-powerful weapon!” Wizzro yelled, and then held it up so they could all see it. “And the power that fuels it is not to be reckoned with!”

Wind saw a glimmer of light in the bottom of the gun-like device, bright enough that he couldn’t really tell what it was. Maybe some kind of stone? He didn’t recognize it though, and based on Warriors and Time’s frowns, they didn’t either.

He kept going alongside Four though. They were almost directly behind Wizzro now, and with his focus on Warriors and Time, Wind was confident he’d be able to use his winds to shut off the forcefield so he and Four could tackle him. He was a little uneasy about the weapon, but he could just blow it out of Wizzro’s hand if it came to it.

“And what exactly is this power that we should be so terrified of?” Time asked dryly, hiding his own unease. Wizzro only grinned, and twirled his weapon.

“That’s only for me to know about, I’m afraid. But you should be terrified.”

“Why exactly? If you don’t even know what it does, why should we be afraid?” Warriors asked, and Wizzro hummed, tapping a withered finger to his chin. Or at least what might have been a chin. His hood mostly hid his face.

“You know, that’s a good point,” Wizzro said casually. His grin grew. “What do you say we test it?”

And then before anyone could react, he whirled around and shot it through his shield directly at Wind and Four.

Pure light burst from the device, so bright that it seemed to blot out every sense that Wind had. He plainly heard his father’s panicked shout though, and Wind had just enough time to grab onto Four before the light intensified over them like a solid weight.

His breath left him, otherwise he would have screamed with the way it felt like every cell in his body lit up with energy. The world swirled around and the light felt like it was passing through him, pulling and tugging him away.

Wind held Four with everything he had, and the world went white.

...

The blinding light lasted several seconds, then abruptly faded, leaving Time, Warriors and Wizzro all blinking rapidly in an attempt to regain their vision.

And when it did, Wind and Four were nowhere to be seen.

Wizzro blinked, looking at his weapon, then at the place where Wind and Four had been, and then back at his weapon again.

“Hm. That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Warriors decked him with a blast of ice to the chest.

(...)

Wind woke up to a distant call of his name, and someone frantically shaking his shoulders.

A groan escaped him, and he managed to drag his eyes open, though he immediately closed them again. The light felt like it was burning his eyeballs, and even though the shaking was kinda frantic, Wind didn’t move, trying to get the world to settle and the pain in his head to ease up.

“Wind! Come on, wake up!”

At the sound of his brother’s frantic voice, Wind finally peeled his eyes open, despite how much it hurt them. The light was a little less intense this time though, and he made out a blurry face in front of him, expression on the panicked side.

“Uh... Four?” Wind managed to groan, and Four nodded, looking relieved.

“Finally! I woke up like ten minutes ago, I wasn’t sure if you were ever going to. I had to drag you into an alleyway!” he said a little frantically, and Wind squinted at him.

“You dragged... wait, why?” he asked, sitting up with a grunt. Ow. “What... what happened?”

Four bit his lip, and looked behind him somewhere. “I... I don’t know. That light hit us, and we got thrown somewhere, I guess. But when I woke up people were staring at us, especially at our suits, and this one guy looked bad, so I tugged you away when he glanced away, and Wind, it looks really weird out there.”

“Really weird how?” Wind questioned, and Four anxiously rubbed his arm.

“Like... wrong.”

Wind frowned, and looked around the alleyway Four had dragged him into, not noticing anything too out of the ordinary. It was a little stinky, but there was nothing wrong.

Not until he saw a poster on the wall that made his stomach lurch.

Wind stood, wobbling for a moment then righting himself, and walked to the wall, staring at the poster. It was partially torn, but still almost entirely legible. The part that had caught his attention though, was the part that said DIRK LAKEWOOD, KEEPING US SAFE.

Four looked over his shoulder and choked, and Wind kept staring at the poster, Dark’s winning smile making him want to tear the poster up and run.

“Th... that’s Dark,” Four said shakily, and Wind’s mind flickered back to the disaster with Dark and the island, the robot and the fight, and... Four almost getting kidnapped. “How...”

“I don’t know,” Wind said quietly, and looked at Four. “But... I think that light did more then just zap us off the roof.”

Four paled a little and leaned against the wall, and Wind’s mind was running in overdrive, trying to figure out what this meant. Dark was dead, no doubt about that, but somehow he... wasn’t?

Rapid footsteps pounded nearby, and Wind and Four startled and ducked back a little, watching a figure charge into the alleyway and begin working his way up the wall. It was a super, outfit a dark red, hints of black and green interspersed, and Wind squinted, the colors familiar, yet... not.

Four suddenly gasped, and Wind realized it was Legend jumping over dumpsters and climbing up onto the roof. But last Wind checked, Legend was at home with a cold, and the Legend currently working his way upwards was all wrong, the colors of his suit too dark, his frame skinnier than it should be.

Wind caught a brief glimpse of his face, and his blood went cold, the face so obviously his brother’s and yet not at the same time that he had to sit down.

He and Four watched the strange Legend disappear onto a rooftop, and didn’t say anything for a few long seconds.

“I think you’re right,” Four finally whispered.

They exchanged frightened looks, and Wind glanced back at the poster one more time, Dark still grinning at them with an obnoxiously perfect smile.

What had they just gotten themselves into?

[skyward-floored]

A quick downfall IAU thing, right after the raid.

...

“What are you doing?” Wind asked quietly as he leaned against the wall.

They’d been going for a bit now, the tunnel widening, and Legend had called for a quick break. He was now holding their flashlight between his teeth as he fiddled with his wrist, his face creased in concentration.

“Messing up the locator,” Legend said in a muffled voice, adjusting something on the band. “I can’t take it off by myself, but I can at least make them think we’re headed straight for Holodrum. Hopefully nobody thinks to shock me.”

“Can they do it from this far away?” Four asked worriedly, and Legend huffed.

“Probably.” He looked thoughtful for a second. “I actually don’t know if they have a range or not. Our house was shielded from it, plus whenever I’ve been shocked, the person doing it wanted to watch.”

Four swallowed, and didn’t ask anything further after that.

He and Ravio watched Legend fiddle in silence, and Wind just leaned against the wall again. He was too tired to think, or keep moving, but he knew they’d have to eventually. Wind closed his eyes, a bone-deep exhaustion hitting him. At least being too tired to think was a blessing. It meant he was too numb to fully process what had happened.

He wondered if Legend was the same. He was suddenly acting like everything was normal.

Wind must have dozed off at some point while he rested, because the next thing he knew was Four shaking him awake, Legend watching him impatiently.

“Time to go,” Four said quietly, and Wind grunted, wiping the sleep from his eyes. His nap had only made him feel worse, and he stumbled back to his feet, feeling fuzzy.

“Already?” he mumbled, and Legend nodded.

“We need to keep moving. That door’ll only hold them so long. Especially if they call in a super with fire or laser eyes or something.”

“It’ll still hold for a while. Warriors made it really thick,” Wind mumbled without really thinking, and Legend’s expression tightened. Four stayed silent beside him, and Ravio looked between them all nervously.

“He would, wouldn’t he,” Legend bit out.

Wind blinked, realizing what he’d said, then frowned.

“Legend... I think he did it for a reason,” he said quietly, giving voice to a thought he’d been stewing on. “Why would he block the door like that?”

“Gee I don’t know, maybe because he wanted to stop Mom from getting away?” Legend replied curtly.

“Well... yeah, but he basically guaranteed our escape,” Wind continued, awkwardly shifting his weight. “I just... I think he did it on purpose. And he showed himself to us before they attacked, I think he was trying to warn us.”

Legend’s hands rolled into fists. “You’re just seeing what you want to see, Wind.”

“No I’m not! He was sloppy, I know he’s sneakier then that!” Wind defended. “He could’ve tried way harder to catch us, why wait to freeze the door until almost all of us were through? It’s just the kind of thing he’d do to help us, I know it!” he finished, and Legend whirled around and glared at him.

“He arrested my mother,” he snapped, and Wind could see the emotion churning in his gaze. “I don’t care how good or nice he is in your world Wind, he’s with the enemy here. He doesn’t care a lick about any of us, no less you!”

The words stung, and with Wind exhausted and already upset it made them even worse. His lip trembled, and he turned away from Legend, tightening his arms around himself.

“You’re wrong. I know Warriors. He would never hurt us on purpose. Ever,” he whispered harshly.

Wind heard Legend breathe in like he was going to argue, but then he stopped, and the tunnel went quiet.

“We can talk about this later,” Legend finally muttered, and turned to walk away. “Time to keep going.”

Wind watched him go, and didn’t move until Four nudged him again, his brother quietly taking his hand in his. Four squeezed his fingers, and Wind bowed his head, quickly swiping at his eyes.

Then they got moving.

[skyward-floored]

Aaaaaaa I saw you wanted us to send you asks sooo I have a question >:)

How would Time and Malon from the IAU survive a whole day at the beach with all the boys?

Or a whole day in the snow? :o

I want your version of the mandatory beach/snow episode in your AU muhehe 😎✨

(Answer this if you want to!!! Have a nice night/day!! <3 )

I actually have some vague ideas for a future IAU beach fic, but I’m saving it for when I’ve pared down the wips I’ve got XD but I will gladly explain the ideas I’ve got!

I figure the family doesn’t go on vacations much, not big ones anyway, since the money is just too much for them. But either Time and Malon finally save something up, or they win a contest, or something like that happens where they finally get a chance to bring everyone to the beach.

The car trip is fun of course. Basically the one Roadtrip fic I wrote, but even longer XD I figure Warriors and Sky come along too, so there’s even more chaos going on.

Hyrule’s never seen the ocean before and is amazed, as is Four (and Aryll, if she’s there. She also amasses an army of seagulls). There’s lots of just random moments I have in mind lol— sand castle contest, water shenanigans, it turns out Wind has a shellfish allergy, somebody gets homesick... volleyball showdown with Time Wars and Sky on one team, and Malon Artemis and Sun on the other. Guess who wins hehe. And of course there have to be some slightly more serious moments, and maybe somebody needs to be saved or something, I don’t know.

But I have a lot of ideas >:)

[webhead3345]

Awww, thank you! It was a lot of fun to write and I just love the way you’ve set everything up in this AU. 😊 Here it is!

(I may have gotten a few details wrong (like who shares what rooms and what ages everyone should be in relation to each other), but hopefully it all still works okay. XD)

Malon was trying to clean. She was also trying not to lose her head.

It was a hard thing when Four had a blow out. It was a hard thing when Legend fell asleep while invisible and nearly drove her mad with worry. It was a hard thing when Twilight’s powers started acting up for some unknown reason and she had to calm down a frantic wolf.

All of those were hard enough on their own, but when they all happened in the same evening?

Time had been gone all day and was apparently working late without telling her because he still wasn’t back and it was time to start getting the boys to bed and Malon just wanted to have the house clean and a sweet snack ready for when he got back.

She’d hardly started on the cookie dough before Wild had zipped into the room and accidentally knocked over a jar of flour.

Immediately apologetic he had rushed to the sink where Twilight and Hyrule were doing the dishes while singing—loudly—with Four at their feet clapping out of beat. Wild shoved between his brothers and sent a spray of water shooting out of the sink off of some dish before he rushed past Malon with a wet rag before she could say more than “wait!” and plopped the sopping cloth onto the pile of flour.

“Wild, stop!” She said as she reached to pull him away from where he was spreading the wet and sticking the whole pile quickly to the floor.

“Ew,” Wild cringed, looking at the gooey rag. “That didn’t work.”

Malon took the rag with barely restrained frustration and smiled at him as she gently pushed him away. “I’ll deal with it, hon. Why don’t you get ready for bed.”

He wrinkled his nose, clearly wanting to do anything but that, but he obeyed and zipped out of the room just as fast as he’d come, making Four giggle at the gust of air.

“Fifteenth verse, same as the first! Gotta get better ‘cause it can’t get worse… Oh ttthhhhheeee horse put his foot put his foot on the ground!-”

Malon turned back to the now sticky mess and tried to hold back the snap that was creeping up her throat. They were entertaining Four. They weren’t doing it to be obnoxious.

Still, Wind sat in another corner of the kitchen with two cups that certainly didn’t need to be clinked and banged for the past quarter hour to see what sorts of noises they could make.

“Mom!” Legend poked his head into the kitchen, a scowl already written on his face. “Wild stole my book and he won’t tell me where he put it!”

The tattle tone grated on her nerves and she forced herself to take a deep breath before she looked up and raised her eyebrows at him. “Where is he?”

“WIIILD!!” Legend started yelling before he was even out of the kitchen and it made Malon cringe. “Come to Mom!!”

Was she getting a headache from all this noise or was she just imagining that?

A gust of air and then Wild was in front of her. He stepped back with a cringe. “Oops.” Wet flour goop stuck to his foot and he tracked it over the floor to get a towel to clean it off.

“Did you take Legend’s book?”

Wild glanced at Legend then looked back at her. “He stole my blanket first!”

“But I gave it back!”

“You threw it over my head so I nearly crashed into a wall!”

“Well that’s what you get for running in the house! I told you to quit and you didn’t listen!”

“-Horse put his foot put his foot on the ground! The horse put his foot put his foot on the ground! The horse put his foot put his foot on the ground! Ain’t this a terrible song?”

Bang bang. Ting. Tap tap. Bang.

“You don’t get to say what I get to do!”

“You kept poking me!”

“You wouldn’t quit reading!”

“That’s because I want to!”

“But that’s no fun!”

“Boys,” Malon tried to break through the chaos, but she could barely hear herself think over the faucet, the clinking of dishes, the raucous singing and the arguing, let alone hear herself speak.

“It’s fun to me! It doesn’t have to be fun to you.”

“But it’s almost bedtime! And you still haven’t played Speed with me like you said you would!”

“I didn’t say I would.”

“Yes you did!”

“No, I didn’t!”

“Boys!” Her hands were trembling and her head was throbbing but her boys just kept it up, other than Twilight whose singing hesitated as he glanced back at what was going on.

“I said I might play with you if you helped me clean the bathroom. I didn’t say I would.”

“That’s cheating!”

“LINK!!!” Malon’s snap sliced through the noise and it broke off with a discordant clatter.

The singing stopped as all three at the sink turned to look at her in shock and apprehension, a thin pink barrier disappearing around them almost as quickly as it appeared.

Wind’s clattering dishes dropped to the floor and he looked over in surprise.

Wild and Legend both jumped and their argument broke off.

“Go get ready for bed, both of you.” She snapped.

“But my-“ Legend’s complaint was cut off by Twilight stepping over and pushing them toward the door.

“Bedtime. Wild, will you get Legend’s book before you go?”

Wild nodded mutely, and then trotted off at a normal speed. Legend was quick on his heels.

Twilight hurried back to the sink and started work on the dishes again, whispering something quietly to Hyrule as they worked, now void of any singing.

Wind still openly stared at her, even as she turned back to the flour mess and started cleaning it up.

Agh, the faces they’d looked at her with! This silence was almost worse than the noise, but with her pulsing headache and her still bubbling frustration she couldn’t bring herself to try and break it.

Not to mention the shame every glance or staring gaze piled onto her shoulders. She shouldn’t have yelled. Shouldn’t have lost her temper and she knew that.

Twilight and Hyrule finished with the dishes while she was cleaning, and soon her eldest had herded all the other boys quietly out of the kitchen.

The flour was everywhere and she found her vision blurring as she tried to scrub up the stuff that Wild had already gotten wet.

It was a lot of wasted flour, and her cookie dough was still waiting to finish so she couldn’t just stop making it now like she wanted and Time still wasn’t home, and now all the boys were upset and did she just ruin their whole evening? They’d been having so much fun up to now, despite everything Malon was dealing with.

Her lips trembled, but she scrubbed harder at the floor—unnecessarily—and blinked back the tears.

The house was tense and quiet. She could hear the occasional creaks as her boys crept through the process of getting ready for bed.

It would have been peaceful if it wasn’t so dreadful instead.

“Mom?”

Malon nearly jumped out of her skin. She looked up to find Hyrule, standing with his hands nervously clasped in front of him and his pajamas already put on.

“Do you need help?”

Malon’s frustration and anger melted just a little and she sighed, her shoulders slumping as she looked at the clean floor she’d still been scrubbing at. “Not right now, Hyrule. Thank you.”

He still looked uncertain, so she forced herself to meet his gaze and smiled. “Mama’s just been having a hard day. I’m sorry I yelled.”

Hyrule relaxed a little at that. He fiddled with the edge of his night shirt and glanced at the door. “Didn’t scare me as much as Wild and Legend, I think.”

Malon cringed. She sighed and set her rag to the side, pushing to her feet and ruffling his brown curls. “You’re right.”

Her bowl of dough and already half-mixed ingredients called to her, but she ignored it as she and Hyrule left the kitchen.

Her boys were far more important than a few chocolate chip cookies.

Hyrule went to his own room with a quiet “good night” as she pushed open the door to Twilight and Wild’s room.

Both boys were on Wild’s bed, where the boy was curled up and Twilight was sitting next to him with a hand on his back.

Twilight looked up as she entered, then he pulled back and moved off the bed to give her room, quietly returning to his own.

“Wild?”

He looked up at her, his eyes a little red at the edges.

“Oh, hunny.” She sat down on the bed beside him and pulled him into a hug. “I’m sorry sweetheart. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I got a little overwhelmed and lost my temper and I shouldn’t have. Will you forgive me?”

Wild sniffed and nuzzled into her hold, giving a nod. “‘M sorry I overwhelmed you, mom.”

“It wasn’t you.” Malon assured him, even as his words broke her heart anew. “I’ve just had a hectic day. You could never overwhelm me. Got that?”

He just nodded again, squeezing her shirt as he pulled her closer.

They sat like that for a few minutes, before he finally pulled away and scrubbed at his face with his hand.

She stroked his head and quietly whispered, “I love you, Link.”

“Love you too,” he said softly back, giving her a smile.

She stood and said goodnight to Twilight, who seemed more relaxed now that things were clearly resolving, and the she slipped out to make her way to Hyrule and Legend’s room.

Hyrule was laying in his bed, staring toward Legend’s, which was notably empty other than the invisible lump that pressed down on it.

“Legend?”

The bed creaked as he moved, but he didn’t turn visible as she slipped into the room.

“Do you mind if I sit down, hun?”

He grunted and shifted again, making room presumably. Then he appeared, arms crossed and glaring at the wall to the side.

Malon placed herself gingerly beside him and touched his arm. “I’m sorry I lost my temper.”

That did it. He squeezed his arms tighter and his voice was strained. “I didn’t even do anything! Wild won’t leave me alone all night, he steals my book, and then I get sent to bed because of it!”

“It is bedtime, Legend,” Hyrule whispered from across the room.

That fact only made Legend growl. “Well it wasn’t when Wild got in the way of me reading! I just wanted to finish the chapter.” The last was less harsh than the first and be wilted a little with the words.

“I’m sorry you’ve not been having a great night, Legend.” Malon placed a hand on his shoulder. “And I’m sorry I yelled at you. I shouldn’t’ve no matter how bad of a day I was having.”

He hesitated at that. “You were having a bad day too?”

Malon ruffled his hair. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to finish your chapter, but there’s always tomorrow, right?”

He sighed and shrugged, but he did lean toward her, so she embraced him and he melted into it.

“Will you forgive me?”

“Yeah.” Legend adjusted to turn and wrap his arms around her in return. “Sorry for getting upset and saying you were the worst.”

Malon chuckled. “Didn’t know you said that.”

He flushed and ducked his head further so she couldn’t see. “I said it to Hyrule,” he muttered. Then he lifted his head and looked toward the boy in the other bed who was trying to pretend like he wasn’t watching the whole exchange, though he obviously was. “Sorry I snapped at you, Rulie.”

He perked up, and when Legend held out an arm to invite him into the hug, he scampered across the room to join them.

By the time Malon had tucked in all her boys and made certain they knew she wasn’t mad at them, her cookie dough was still waiting for her just where she’d left it.

She glared at it. “Now don’t you go making me lose it again,” she muttered as she finally got to form it into balls and put them in the oven.

It was around that time, as she was washing her hands, that the front door opened, breaking the now peaceful silence.

Time slipped into the clean kitchen and spotted her immediately, sneaking up behind to kiss her hair before she turned and he planted one on her forehead too.

Malon dried her hands and raised her eyebrows at him. “Where have you been all day?”

Time procured a small bouquet of roses from behind his back and she gasped. “Sorry. I got delayed at work, then something came up. I should’ve called.”

Malon took the roses and felt her eyes burn as her vision blurred again.

“Malon? Are you alright?” Time tilted his head and bent lower, touching one of her cheeks and wiping off an escaped tear.

“They’re beautiful,” she whispered.

“Not as beautiful as you.” He grinned and fiddled with a lock of her hair. “The red reminded me of you.”

She stuffed her face into the roses and let out a quiet sob.

Strong hands gently pulled her into a hug and she pushed the roses to one side so they wouldn’t be crushed.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s been a day,” she said quietly. “I’m just glad that you’re home.”

Umm… so I may have made a little IAU fanfiction, I hope you don’t mind. I just sometimes think of mom Malon and it’s always in IAU that I place her immediately, and then today I just started writing and a little 2k fic happened.

I enjoyed writing it, so I already had a lot of fun with it, but seeing as it’s your AU I thought I’d see if you wanted to see it? Absolutely no problem if not! I just wrote it for funsies and I got those so there’s no pressure at all, but I felt obligated to offer. 😅

Hey, I would love to see it!! I’m really flattered you wrote something honestly, I would absolutely love to read it if you’re willing to share :D