#murder majora's mask | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

theoneeyedgoldenwolf · 1 month ago

Text

Witness the deaths, change their fate

Whumptober 2024, number 22: Bleeding Through Bandages, Reopening Wounds, "Oh that's not good."

Inspiration from @la-sera's comic:

Summary: The flaming red blade of the Shadow’s strikes Time into nightmare of prophecies. Is he capable of changing what his twisted mind brings out?

CW: Nightmares, torture, murder, drowning, ripped apart, blown apart, Major Character Death (in nightmares), blood, bleeding, stabbed, beating, death by being squished by an anvil, Malice, broken bones, dislocated bones, exhaustion, mind control, slashed, near death situation

Notion: - As I wrote this, I didn’t have any idea of putting the line from one of the Moon Children from Majora’s Mask into here. Yet, the moment Time repeated Legend’s words, that quote just struck me.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“TIME!”

The Chain’s leader gave out half a gasp, half a scream as the sword with red sheen around it was yanked out of his body. He sagged to the ground while gasping for air. The beast the Shadow had taken a form this time around was smirking right at him. “Try and survive that.” He snarled before vanishing into pool of blackness to avoid a swing of a sword as the eight Heroes dashed into the scene. The Shadow laughed as it escaped the scene and left the one eyed male falling unconscious and fighting for his life.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Time was just coming out of the house at Lon-Lon Ranch. He was ready to head to handle some simple monster problem Princess Zelda had informed of at last evening. It wasn’t anything of big or what would need the Chain to follow him.

“Good morning, Link!” Malon’s bright call brought a wide smile to the one eyed male’s face. He raised his gaze up from strapping his gauntlets to see both Twilight and Malon handling laundry. There certainly was lot of that with nine Heroes living at the house for the time being.

Suddenly excruciating pain struck and everything fell into black for a while. When he snapped his gaze open, the sight that befell him was horrendous. Malon and Twilight has been stuck down by arrows. He barely realized to be laying on the ground too as tears formed in his eye. He didn’t understand what in Goddesses Highest Throne had just happened.

Suddenly he felt a painful tug at his shoulder and the realization of an arrow having struck into him through his armor hit him. Before he could realize more, the projectile was cruelly snapped and he screamed in pain. He was gasping for air while just barely being able to open his eye to see his enemy.

If he would’ve had the air, he would’ve gasped at the sight of Dark Link. His reflection still wore the clothes he had had back in the Water Temple. It took a moment from him to realize that the bastard was standing on his hands to keep him from moving. He barely realized the blood pooling underneath him. He wasn’t certain if Dark Link had shot him and his closest family or if there had been other beasts. Either way, he hoped the rest of the Chain was still safe somewhere.

The sound of a sword being drawn out of its sheath snapped his notion back into his enemy. He flinched a bit as the dark version of the Master Sword’s tip was brought to his throat. “Say hello to Navi for me.” Dark Link smirked and this time Time gasped in shock as the realization struck. “That’s right. That’s why you never found her.” Dark Link laughed and struck the blade down.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The Chain of eight Heroes wished they could’ve chased after the Shadow but if the bastard had struck Time down, they weren’t going to risk their lives by not facing their enemy together. Besides, right now they needed to do all they could to save their oldest brother. They gathered quickly around the one eyed male and started to get his armor off.

Few of the Links stood in guard while the more experienced members with healing and medical work of their group were doing all they could to fix the situation. Most of the wounds were quite shallow and no danger at all. Warriors swiftly bandaged them to be on safe side. Hyrule worked hard to try and get his healing magic into working.

For first time in his life, he screamed out a curse. It startled the others while the Traveler was nearly snarling. “I can’t fix it.” He almost whispered while feeling the tears at his eyes. “It’s like back with Twilight. Something’s blocking me out.” He explained before taking a deep breath. “If nothing else, I can—“ He started before all eight members of the Chain of legendary Heroes gasped in start as Time suddenly screamed and arched.

“NO! TWI! MALON! YOU SON OF A—! NO!” The Old Man screamed and started to get up. His eye was open but he wasn’t seeing the forest or the Chain around him.

“Keep him down!” Warriors commanded while already pushing his little brother back to the ground. “Sprite! Calm down! It’s gonna be okay!” He half shouted as the oldest Hero started to struggle against the hold.

“NO! LET GO OF ME! TWILIGHT! MALON!” The one eyed male screamed before slowly reducing his fighting and just limply laid on the ground and sobbed. “No… Please… No…” He whispered before slowly falling unconscious again.

“Do what you can, Traveler.” The Captain stated out while bandaging the cruel stab wound.

“I know this is going to be a waste of a good potion but maybe it can help a bit.” Legend offered while having fished out a red potion. The war Hero just nodded and carefully pulled Time bit upwards to get the potion into him.

“There’s a town close by.” Wild told while checking his Slate for a map. “I think we can look after Time better at an Inn.” He commented and the others nodded in agreement. Twilight called Epona over and they carefully got the Old Man to her back with the Rancher behind him to keep him secured. Hyrule changed into his fairy form and hid into mare’s owner’s pocket so he could continue to try and help with his healing magic once they’d get to the Inn.

“Get him there swiftly. We’ll follow as quickly as we can.” Warriors told while sending the trio off. After that he glanced at his brothers. The five with him nodded firmly and they dashed after the horse.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Time growled and fought against the hold. He and the Captain had been taken off guard at the street and he woke up finding himself tied and held against someone. The horse’s movement felt too fast for the calm walking it was doing but the confusion wasn’t enough to snap him out of the hellish situation.

Warriors was in a cart in front of him inside a sturdy looking cage. His arms were tied behind his back and there were five Knights inside the cage with him. The group smirked as they attacked the Captain with and without weapons.

The one eyed male snarled and fought but the gag around his mouth prevented him from screaming. The ropes were made to withstand fire so he couldn’t burn himself free either. The arm around him was too strong for him to move much. All he could do was to watch as those traitorous soldiers murdered his brother before his eyes.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Twilight hated how hard he had to hold on to Time. The unconscious mentor of his was trashing and whining while crying. The Rancher whispered reassuring words but he felt like his voice and actions were going right past the Chain’s leader’s understanding.

Hyrule came out of Twilight’s pocket the moment they had reached the Inn. He went inside to book the biggest room the place had while knowing he wasn’t much of help in carrying Time in. Yet, all he could do was to keep the doors open for him and lead him to the right room.

While the Rancher went to take Epona to the stable, the Traveler stayed with their leader. He checked the bandaged wounds and took most off of the areas where the cuts had already been healed by the potion.

Just when the Chain’s leader’s blood relative came back, Time screamed and arched again. “WARS!” He screamed out and sat up abruptly. He growled and snarled while fighting as Twilight and Hyrule tried to get him back down. “NO! LEAVE HIM ALONE! WARS!” The one eyed male screamed while seeing something the others couldn’t. Slowly the Old Man just slumped and cried.

“What the hell’s he’s going through?” The half-fairy queried quietly while feeling tad freaked out.

“I don’t know. But I think it’s different compared to what I saw.” The Rancher replied sorrowfully. He and the Traveler glanced at each other before doing their best to ease out their oldest brother’s trapped mind. Hyrule gently braided the one eyed male’s hair while Twilight ran his fingers through the untouched golden hair of his mentor’s.

Soon enough the others came into there. “How is he?” Warriors inquired straight off while noticing the anguish on his little brother’s face.

“He screamed for you, Warriors.” The half-fairy replied while moving off the way to let the Captain to the bed. The war Hero nodded while taking the place and doing his best to calm his little brother down. Sadly, it seemed like his words weren’t heard and his actions weren’t felt. Time just kept crying while having bit curled up.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Time couldn’t move. Something or someone was holding him down but he couldn’t care of what that was. His gaze was in the group smirking wickedly. There were trapped fairies right before them and Hyrule was one of those colorful beings.

“NO! NONONO! LEAVE THEM ALONE!” The one eyed male screamed but he couldn’t get freed. He couldn’t do anything as the people tore the small beings to pieces. He was crying and screaming. He tried to struggle and get free. He tried all the magics he had but nothing worked. Nothing came out.

“PIXIE!” The Chain’s leader screamed in terror and horror as the small half-fairy’s wings were torn from his back. The screams of the fairies would haunt him for the rest of his life. And there was nothing he could do to stop these people from torturing and murdering those benevolent helpers.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The eight Heroes fought to keep Time down as he trashed and fought to get free. The one eyed male was crying and screaming but nothing his boys did to soothe him reached his terrorized mind. Their actions only made things worse.

Wolfie carefully laid down over his mentor in hopes of soothing and keeping him down. That seemed to stop the fighting but it didn’t help to clear the hell the Chain’s leader’s mind was trapped into. The canine whined miserably while searching for help from the others. His brothers didn’t meet his gaze as they watched their oldest brother suffer without being able to aid him even one bit.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“WIND!”

Time fought hard to get through the pirates. The Bokoblins had entirely outnumbered them and flanked the Sailor’s ship. They were going down with the beautiful wooden vessel. It was already sinking and the beasts were keeping them from overtaking their ships.

The pirate-Hero, though, had been overpowered but the monsters didn’t kill him. No, they tied him up and added heavy weights all around him before throwing him overboard. After that the creatures turned back into the battle at the Sailor’s ship.

The Chain’s leader didn’t think as he reached the edge of the vessel and dived. He gasped when something took hold of him and yanked him back into the ship’s floor. “NO!” He screamed out and fought to get up to his feet. Twilight dashed past him and dived into the water.

“Damn it, Sprite! If you jump into there, you’ll sink like a rock!” Warriors snapped while undoing the Hookshot from his little brother’s armor.

“At least I could’ve caught him!” Time snarled back and dashed to the railing the moment he was free. Yet, he didn’t jump into the water. He searched the surface while ignoring the battle and sinking ship. Eventually Twilight came back to the surface and just shook his head.

The one eyed male crashed to his knees and screamed.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Some hours had gone past when the Chain suddenly jerked at the agony filled scream and they snapped their notion right into their leader. Time had curled up and broken down. “No.. Nononono…. Pirate….” He whined miserably and the eight Heroes glanced at each other.

“Guys…” Four called and nodded towards their oldest brother’s back.

“Oh that’s not good.” Wild half whispered before already working with his Slate to bring out more bandages.

“Damn it…” Warriors growled and gently forced his little brother to turn to his back. The one eyed male didn’t fight back against the action. “His trashing has probably reopened the wound.” The war Hero whispered while starting to change the bandages.

“We gotta keep better check on him.” Wind commented while hating when the wounds didn’t heal as they should. It never was a good thing when one of his brothers bled through the bandages.

“I’ll try to stop the bleeding and fix the wound a bit.” Hyrule offered while already starting his magic. He couldn’t fix it as well as he wished to but at least he could keep his brother from bleeding to death. “Give him a red potion. I need to work it into covering for the lost blood.” He requested and Sky quickly gave the needed drink. While the Captain carefully forced it down his little brother’s throat, the Traveler changed his magic and worked with the rearranging the potion’s work into renewing lost blood. It wasn’t easy and he needed to take a nap afterwards but at least it secured Time’s life for the moment.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Time found himself from the field of Wild’s Hyrule. He looked around but he didn’t see any of his boys around. He couldn’t even feel them. Suddenly an explosion caught his notion.

The one eyed male didn’t think twice as he already dashed to the scene beyond the close by hill. He gasped in full horror when the scene came to his sight. Before he even could fully comprehend anything, he was already dashing into the battle.

Wild had been struck by a blast from a Guardian Stalker. There were two of them. They took turns in blowing the Champion up until they were close enough. At then they struck with their sharp claws and began to tear the Hero of Wild into pieces.

Time screamed while drawing out his Biggoron Sword. He swung it while knowing his attack would cause devastating damage into the mechanical enemies. And yet, his strike went right past the things. Those things didn’t even acknowledge him in any of way. Even Wild didn’t see him.

The Old Man stared petrified at the situation before him. He was a ghost. He couldn’t save his boy. The sword slipped from his hold as he sank to his knees. He was doomed to watch his family die right before his eyes.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The Chain did their best to soothe their crying oldest brother. “Wild… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I failed you.” Time whispered while having curled up again and hidden his face into his hand. The Champion carefully moved to be in front of his leader. He gently pulled the one eyed male’s arms around him and scooted as close to him as he could.

“I’m here, Time. I’m okay. You haven’t failed me in any of way.” The master archer whispered while holding the older male as tightly as he dared without causing harm to him. And yet, his attempts and reassuring words went to deaf ears.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Time heard the ruckus coming from the forge. It didn’t sound normal so he dashed over to check the situation. He gasped in shock when he saw the Moblin. He drew out his knife as all the other weapons were at the Inn. His armor was the reason the Smithy was in here.

Before the one eyed male had a chance to attack, the beast raised its current weapon high above its head. The terror struck hard when he saw the bloodied anvil. Right after that it was already struck down before being accompanied by a sound of splash instead of metal striking floor. And he knew on that second what he’d see on the creature’s other side.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Time screamed and abruptly sat up. “Hold him down!” The command went past him but he started to fight when the Chain forced him back down. He didn’t see them. He saw the forge and the Moblin. He needed to kill the beast but clearly that thing hadn’t been there alone.

“Fucking hell! Let me go!” He snarled and fought. “I’m going to fucking murder that thing! It killed Four! That son of a bitch!” He shouted and struggled against the hold with all he got. Yet, even he wasn’t capable to get free from all the strength increasing items and accessories.

“Tie him down!” Warriors commanded unwillingly.

“What?” Most of the Chain queried in unison with full shock in their voice. That slight distraction almost gave their oldest brother a chance to get free. Yet, before he got far with his attempt, the Links were already forcing him back down.

“Tie him down. He’s a danger to himself at the moment.” The Captain told sorrowfully. “That trashing won’t do anything good to the wound.”

The war Hero’s brothers hesitated for a moment before nodding. Unwillingly they tied the one eyed male into the bed as securely as they could.

“He’s not going to like this.” Hyrule commented after pulling off a bit. He checked the wound and grimaced as it had reopened again.

The Captain sighed heavily and nodded. “I know. But he’ll understand when we explain.” He replied sorrowfully before starting to change the bandages and letting the Traveler fix the bleeding again.

“While he’s immobilized we need to keep better watch.” Legend reminded and the others nodded.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Time heard the metal creek and felt the air swish around him. It took a moment from him to realize he was standing in a huge room. The sound of a battle slowly started to register in his mind. When he turned his notion towards the source of the noise, he stared wide-eyed at the scene.

Sky was dealing with a huge metallic being. It had way too many hands and a smiling face. The blades in its hands were sharp and swishing in all possible ways. The Chosen Hero was swift and agile against the being. And, for a moment, the one eyed male hoped for a better outcome. But that wasn’t given to him.

Instead, he saw the Skyloftian Knight falter once. And that was more than enough for the stationary being to finish him off. One quick move of all arms. Two different directions for the blades to slash in horizontal strike… And Sky was in five different pieces on the ground.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

When the Chain’s leader started to trash and fight against the bindings, Twilight turned into Wolfie and very carefully went to lay over him. The rest of the Links did their best to try and soothe their oldest brother. And yet, the music, reassuring words, running fingers through hair and braiding the hair didn’t aid even one bit.

This time the one eyed male was screaming after Sky. It was clear the Old Man was raged about whatever had happened in his mind’s visions. “I guess I’ll be the next one.” Legend whispered while already trying to do all he could to ease the upcoming nightmare into something else. Yet, as he believed, there wasn’t anything he could do to prevent Time from falling into that hellish situation.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Time didn’t want to kill. He couldn’t kill. It just wasn’t what he was capable of. And yet, when he saw those fully armored Knights of Hyrule attacking Legend, he was more than ready to commit murder. He didn’t care at the moment that those men were influenced by mind control magic. All that he DID care was the fact they were ready and willing to kill one of his boys.

The one eyed male stormed forward and the whole army of the Veteran’s era came between him and the Specialist. He tore through them with his Biggoron Sword while ignoring the slashes and stabs those avoiding his strikes were giving him. He needed to get past them as fast as possible.

And yet, the Chain’s leader was too slow. By the time he reached the main bad guys of the situation, it was already too late. Legend laid dead on the ground with the ten Knights having bloodied swords.

The Old Man saw red. He screamed and attacked every single Knight in his vicinity. None of them survived through his hatred and agony as he turned those against the ones responsible for his boy’s death.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The Chain of Heroes hated to see their oldest brother first fight against the ropes that held him down before succumbing into anguish. Part of them rather took the rage and fight than see their leader break down. Legend tried his best to get Time to understand that he was safe and sound. Yet, like all the times before, their desperate attempts were useless.

“We can’t do anything else than wait and hope for the best.” Twilight whispered sorrowfully while sitting on the bed.

“You didn’t trash and scream and break down.” Hyrule reminded bit roughly even though he didn’t mean the words to come out as such.

“Maybe not but the blade’s the same. The Shadow struck with same cruel magic.” The Rancher reminded. “He just… Has far more regrets of which that asshole can use as its playground.”

“What do you think he’s seen so far?” Four inquired bit curiously.

“I wish he didn’t see any of what he’s seen so far.” Warriors almost snapped while trying to hold back his roughness.

“I… Didn’t meant it like that…” The Smithy apologized.

“I know.” The Captain sighed and gave a weak smile. “I’m sorry too.” He half whispered while returning his gaze into Time.

“We’re all worried. It’s why we’re so edgy right now.” Sky soothed the situation as well as he could. “Time will pull through. We just have to believe in that and not give up on the hope.” The others nodded but it still was rough situation to bear.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Time found himself from a pitch black cave. It didn’t feel like it would’ve been big but the lightlessness made it way too eerie for him. The sound of heavy breathing got him to turn around swiftly. He gasped in shock and terror while taking unconscious step backwards.

The Chain stood right before him. Their eyes weren’t of the different shades of blue he had learned to know. Instead they were almost golden and shining. The black goo was dripping off of them. There were other golden eyes around their bodies. The smile the eight had was wicked and crooked.

“Join us…” They nearly chanted while slowly reaching towards the one eyed male. He took another freaked out step backwards while staring wide-eyed at the scene. “N-no… B-boys… W-what the hell…” He stammered while trying to understand the situation. Yet, suddenly the realization struck. Malice. It was the only plausible answer.

“NO!” Time screamed in rage. He called forth the Light Magic and struck it on full force against the ground like he would with the first three magics he had learned. The golden dome spread fast and strong. He flinched roughly and began to tremble when he heard his boys scream.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The Chain sighed heavily and sorrowfully when Time began to whimper. Even though they knew actions wouldn’t get through, they got up from the card game they had going and moved towards their leader. Yet, before they got close to the bed, the one eyed male screamed in rage. That sound was followed by rough and uncontrolled strike of Light Magic.

The eight Heroes gasped in near fright while shutting their eyes as tightly as they could. They turned their backs to the scene while trying to defend themselves from the unexpected attack. When the light faded and they slowly blinked their eyes open, it took a moment for them to realize their oldest brother groaning.

The Old Man slowly opened his eye before gasping as he couldn’t move. His freaked out gaze fell into the ropes. “T-the hell…?” He half queried while first tugging at the restraints before already yanking. “No… Oh, Deities, no…” He mumbled with rising panic.

“Sprite?” Warriors called and the one eyed male snapped his notion into him. “Calm down, little brother. We’ll set you free.” He assured while approaching the bed carefully with the others in tow.

“Wars? W-what…? Why am I…?” The Chain’s leader queried while trying to understand the situation.

“You with us, Old Man?” Legend half asked while starting to open the straps at the middle of the bed. The others quickly joined in to set their oldest brother free.

“W-what that’s supposed to mean?” The one eyed male inquired while swiftly sitting up the moment he was free enough to do so.

“Whoa! Easy! You’re still healing, Sprite!” Warriors half shouted and gently forced his little brother back down. Time had groaned in pain and allowed the action just to ease the feeling down.

“What happened?” The oldest Link queried while frowning in confusion. “I… I remember….” He started before trailing off and growling. “Fuck. That blade.” He nearly snarled while digging his fingers into his hair.

“Sprite.” The Captain called bit warningly while slightly fearing for his brother to start harming himself.

Time huffed and gave bit of a rough look to his older brother. He pulled his hands out of his hair and closed his eye. “I was struck by that flaming sword of Shadow’s. How long I’ve been out of count?” He stated out before opening his eye to look around in search of an answer.

“For about a day.” Sky answered sorrowfully.

“You’ve been having rough nightmares. Remember anything of those?” Four continued and bit tilted his head to side.

The one eyed male sighed and slowly shook his head while bit frowning. “Not much. Just bits and pieces.” He answered and shivered violently. “I’d rather not remember that little what I do remember.” He mumbled before bit pushing himself upwards.

“Sprite.” The war Hero called and raised an eyebrow as Time rolled his eye.

“I’d like to sit up…..” The Chain’s leader started before slumping beneath the look his older brother was giving him. “…wards. Upwards. I’m not happy of laying and not seeing you guys that of well.” He quickly continued with bit of a sheepish look.

Warriors stared at the oldest Link for a moment before sighing. “Fine. Gather the pillows.” He half commanded and the others swiftly went to fetch the extras from the other beds in the room. The one eyed male gave a grateful look to the war Hero before bit yelping as the Captain gently ran his hand past his brother’s face. “Seriously, Sprite. You should be resting and not trying to get up.”

“I know. And I will.” The Old Man replied and smiled fondly as the others gently and carefully placed the pillows around him to tuck him into better position. “Thank you.” He half whispered before turning his gaze back into Warriors. “Honestly speaking, I just want a group hug after all those nightmares.” Yet, before he even got to the end of his sentence, the seven already glomped him while being careful of his wounds.

The war Hero chuckled and joined in while feeling grateful of Time still being alive and with them. The oldest Link sighed in relief and relaxed while feeling entirely content in the hold. Yet, even though he had claimed he didn’t really remember those nightmares, it wasn’t entirely truthful.

Those horrid situations were slowly sliding right into his memory and he fought not to shiver at the hell he had witnessed. Even though those had been given roughly and in the wrong way, he knew exactly what those nightmares had been: Prophetic dreams. And he was adamant of making them different. The only thing was that he wasn’t certain if he should actually let the others know of them or not. Telling them out made them real. And yet, telling them out would help him to change them. Still, he hesitated as he felt like this time around it was better to keep the others out of the loop.

Time wasn’t certain if that hesitation was his own or the remnant of Shadow’s cruel magic. Either way, it was clear the others would do everything in their power to change things if they knew. And that might’ve turned things from bad to worse. After all, he was already making plans and choosing his actions. Sadly, some of those situation would need bit of luring the bad guys out. That was why he eventually held the information to himself while hoping for the best.

Couple of weeks later the Chain’s leader had healed well enough from the near death bringing stab given by the Shadow. He felt full dread when they found the portal and moved through it with him in the lead. Something within him told he needed to reach other end before his boys or he’d regret it.

The moment the one eyed male felt to have reached the other side, he already knew. Without thinking he already performed the moves and screamed as he struck with the Light Magic. The black goo he had been standing in moved away from the glow of the light that had already appeared into his hands. The moment he struck his palms into the uneven floor of the cave, the magic spread fast and rough.

The Old Man flinched a bit when he heard his boys gasp in shock but he didn’t give up on his work. The Light Magic spread as far as the cave went. On the same time he gained a map of the area through his magic. “Come on! We need to move!” He commanded while quite well forced the eight into action. “Run!” He nearly shouted while making sure everyone was going to right road.

“Time, what’s going on?” Wind called while bit stumbling. His oldest brother yanked him up into his arms while pushing the others forward.

“No time for explanation! Just keep running!” Time commanded while making sure everyone was along. “Out! Out of the cave! NOW!” He shouted while feeling the Malice returning from the unexpected attack against it.

The second the oldest Link was out, he already set Wind down and behind him as he turned around to face the cave they had just come out of. Without thinking, he screamed and struck with beam of Light Magic at the mouth of the cave. The Malice screeched and recoiled backwards into the deeper darkness of the area.

Time staggered few steps backwards before gasping and falling to his knees while gasping for air. “What the hell was that?” Legend queried in shock.

“Malice.” Wild half whispered before turning his gaze into Time. “How did you…?” He started before already understanding. “Those nightmares… You do remember them.”

“Prophecies.” The Chain’s leader replied. “They were prophecies that need to be changed.” He stated out while forcing himself back to his feet. “Let’s get out of here.” He half commanded and began to usher the eight Links towards the field instead of the forest. “We need lighter area. A place the Malice can’t come.” He explained while wishing it would’ve been bright daylight instead of evening and the moment of setting sun.

“I know where we can go. It’s safe and sacred.” The Champion told and took the lead swiftly.

“Sprite? What did you see?” Warriors inquired while coming next to his brother to make sure he was capable of making the trip to the closest Stable.

“The less you know, the better.” Time answered and gave bit of pleading look to the war Hero. “It’s the only way I can change them.” He explained sorrowfully. “I know it’s not how we did it during the war. And I know it’s not how my first and second quests went but…” He trailed off uncertainly while turning his gaze away.

“You fear us changing things will throw it into different kind of hell?” The Captain asked and the older male nodded sorrowfully.

“I’ll tell if I feel like it’s the only way to change things.” Time promised while already having a feeling there would come such turns. Warriors nodded while bit frowning as he thought it through.

“I think we should talk with the others too. They deserve some answers.” The war Hero stated out. The one eyed male sighed but he nodded in understanding. “I’ll handle the talking, don’t worry.” He said with a slight reassuring smile.

After about an hour of walking, the Chain of nine Heroes reached the Stable. Wild swiftly bargained a stay for them before already handling evening meal. The Captain looked around at his brothers by the cooking fire before giving out a signal whistle to catch everyone’s notion.

“As we heard, Time’s had prophetic dreams due that red flared sword.” Warriors started as calmly as he could. “Of course, we all wish to change what he saw.” He raised his hand to silence the upcoming requests to tell the nightmares out. “Time’s dealt with prophetic dreams before so he knows how to handle them. And right now he believes the right action is to keep them to himself. I know you guys aren’t happy of that. Neither am I, to be honest. But, I’d rather we don’t force Time into revealing those dreams.” He continued as firmly as he could. “Time will tell us what we need to know of them.”

The Chain’s leader took a deep breath and raised his gaze up from the fire. “I know none of you is happy of this. And I don’t blame you for that.” He started bit sorrowfully. “The problem is that I don’t know how swiftly these situations will come forth. I don’t want you to wait for things that won’t happen. If you know, you’ll worry too much. I…” He trailed off for a moment with a slight frown while dropping his gaze down for a moment. “The thing is that I’m in tune with time magic. It gives me bit of heads-up when the prophecies are up for coming forth. I’ll be able to react swiftly enough. Like at that cave of Malice.”

“Even if we would’ve known, we wouldn’t have reacted fast enough.” Twilight half whispered and the one eyed male nodded.

“I know most of you have Light Magic in usage but… In that darkness… Would you have known when you’re through the portal?” The Old Man half queried and saw the uncertainty within his boys. “That’s the kind of heads-up I’ll get. I know when the situation is on and I need to react to it.” He explained and the others nodded in understanding. “When I tell you guys to do something, no matter how confusing or odd—“

“We’ll follow your command to the letter.” Legend promised firmly and the seven brothers of his nodded firmly. “If any of chances… Can you give any heads-up on what’s to wait for?”

Time calmed down a bit and nodded with a slight smile. “I’m not sure. It’s bit hard to know in what order things happen but…” He started with slight frown. He thought through the prophecies while trying to find anything he could give out. “I think… Each of them happened in your own eras. Except for one which is in mine. So, on that line…” He half thought aloud before making his choice. He took quite determined look onto his face as he pointed at the Veteran. “Magic Cape.” His notion went to Four. “I’ll be with you at the forge.” Next he pointed at Wild. “Stay behind me.” From there he picked Wind. “Stay with your brothers and make sure you won’t be fighting alone.” Lastly he turned to Warriors. “You and me… No night walk.”

“And the rest of us?” Hyrule asked bit worriedly.

The Chain’s leader sighed bit heavily. “I didn’t see enough to know the full situation. Things jut were already on before I could catch the reasons or how we ended into them.” He confessed sorrowfully and the remaining three Links nodded in understanding.

Couple of days later the next portal opened up. Wild frowned as he recognized his own era. “I don’t think we’ve before been brought straight back to one’s own era through the portal.” He told while checking the Slate.

“Wild.” Time called with slight dread within his voice.

“Got it.” The Champion straight off stated out and moved behind his leader. The others swiftly surrounded him to give more protection to their brother.

“No.” The Old Man commanded. “Spread.” He stated out while looking around the grassy field. “Two of those mechanical walking things. I can only get one down. The rest of you need to deal with the other one.”

“Guardian Stalkers?” Wild gulped before shaking his head and throwing the memory of his death out of his head. “Which way?” He queried instead while already taking his Slate back up. Time took a check on the map before nodding slowly.

“They come from here and here.” The Chain’s leader told while tapping on the screen.

“Okay. You guys can hide into here.” The Champion told while pointing to a place. “Cut its feet and ram a sword into its eye. That should handle it off.” He advised and the others nodded in acceptance before glancing at Time.

“Go. I and Wild will catch their notion.” The one eyed male replied while starting to lead the way. The others dashed off to get to right place. They all were bit worried of the situation but they trusted each other to handle their parts of the simple plan.

Soon enough the two Guardian Stalkers caught the notion of the Hylian Champion. Time pushed Wild behind him while raising his hand and pointing it at the one that was coming from right in front of them. He glanced at the other before bit grinning as the seven Links attacked it. “Just bit closer… Get into my reach…” He half whispered before taking a deep breath and closing his eye. “Let’s see how you deal with electricity when it’s turned against you.” He mused bit wickedly.

Just as the mechanical being was up for charging its attack, the thing jerked roughly. Right after that it started to buzz as electricity was seen all around its body. It twitched and jerked like a ragdoll. After a while it just crumbled to the ground until it suddenly blew up.

The one eyed male sighed in relief before bit gasping as he fell to his knees. “Shit… Haven’t worked with electricity that of much.” He told with a slight chuckle. Only a moment later another explosion was heard as the second Guardian Stalker was taken down. Wild helped Time up and they headed off towards the area to check on their brothers.

The duo sighed in relief when they came to the scene and found all seven safe and sound. When the Links saw their leader and cook, they already dashed over in worry. “Just bit exhausted.” The oldest Hero straight off told while waving his hand dismissively. Yet, before he could go further with his words or decline, Legend had already handed out a green potion. He huffed a bit and rolled his eye but he accepted the helping drink.

The next portal opened up nearly instantly after the Chain’s leader had regained his strength and stamina. The eight with him felt uncertain of going through it but their oldest brother just took the lead. “The quicker these are done, the better for everyone.” He offered as a reassurance even though he was certain it didn’t fully hit as such. The others sighed a bit but they nodded and followed him forward into the next situation that needed to be changed.

When the nine Heroes got through the portal, Sky gasped in shock as he looked around. “I’ve been to here.” He told while recognizing his era and the Temple. “There’s an enemy right ahead of us at the next room. Koloktos. A mechanical swordsman.” He explained while checking his whip to be ready to tear its limbs off so he’d get to attack the main part.

“No.” Time half commanded while placing his hand onto the younger Hero’s shoulder. “We all enter the room but you’re not fighting like you used to.” He partly reminded while going through all he knew of his brothers. “Wild.” He called while turning towards the Champion. “Once the beast is together, you freeze it. The rest of us will tear its core to pieces.”He planned out and the master archer nodded in acceptance.

“Sounds fast and easy.” The Chosen Hero commented while calming down. He returned the whip to his pocket and nodded firmly. After that they walked to the door and entered the round room. The moment everyone was inside the door locked behind them, the golden colored metals moved and the huge creature came to life.

The creatures stood straight off to its feet which didn’t only take Sky but the oldest Hero too out of guard. “That’s not…” The oldest Link started before calming down and grinning. “Wild, if you please.” He simply called and nodded towards the creature.

“On it!” The Champion half shouted while already working with the Slate. The creature was whole time coming towards the nine swordsmen while swishing its weapons in wide and powerful slashes. “NOW!” The master archer shouted the moment the Stasis hit and froze their enemy to its place.

The eight dashed forward while drawing out their sword. They quickly took places from where they all could strike at their target without being on someone else’s way. Even with the Stasis in work, Time, Twilight and Legend forced the bars open to increase the chances for striking. “Guys, back!” Wild shouted as he noticed the timer running out.

“Just a moment!” Four shouted as he placed a bomb inside the cage where their enemy’s core was at.

Time smirked widely at the action. “Oh that’s a perfect idea!” He half shouted while taking out his own bomb and placing it next to the Smithy’s. Several more quickly joined the two before the eight Heroes ran away from the Koloktos frozen in time. They swiftly turned around after having reached their Chain’s cook to see if they needed to keep fighting against their enemy.

The Stasis flashed off and the metallic multi-handed creature began to retch and jerk roughly as the strikes the Heroes had given it finally found their target. When it was up for recovering enough to continue the battle, one of the bombs blew up while creating a enormous blast as it caused the other bombs to go off too. Time quickly and unconsciously called out Nayru’s Love to defend himself and his boys from the pieces that flew into all possible directions as the Koloktos exploded.

After calming down, the Chain, one to few at a time, began to laugh. “Oh Goddesses! That was awesome!” Wind cheered in delight. The others agreed while nodding and grinning widely.

“Well, that certainly was perfect way to take down a monster.” The one eyed male grinned. He quite well wished they could redo this at some point to other beasts too. The others nodded before already feeling tad uncertain as a portal suddenly opened up into middle of the room. “Guess we just gotta head forward.” He half sighed before grinning. “Who knows, maybe we’ll come up with more ways to deal with the problems.” He offered as a reassurance before leading his boys into the next era.

As the nine Heroes walked through the dark hallway of sinister magic, Time already knew. He grit his teeth while knowing he couldn’t hide his older brother or the fact of who he was. He tried not to show his uncertainty as he came into middle of the Castle Market from the portal and found lot of people staring in shock, fear and awe.

The Chain followed him soon and the Captain recognized the area and era swiftly. The Old Man gave him a sharp look and the war Hero stayed silent. “Let’s find an Inn and make plans.” He commanded while making sure everyone stayed close by.

Once at the safety of the Inn’s biggest room, the one eyed male already paced around. “No-one goes around after the evening.” He started commandingly while finally raising his gaze up into his brothers. “We’ll be around the town only during bright daylight. And no-one goes alone.” He stated out while not being able to push away the dread and fear of the situation. “And while we’re at here, we’ll keep night watches. I don’t trust this place even one bit.”

“Restocking and information gathering tomorrow. Three teams.” Legend stated out while raising an eyebrow as he searched for a confirmation from his oldest brother. Time nodded in agreement and bit calmed down as the groups were swiftly formed. The Veteran would stay with him and the war Hero. Twilight, Wild and Four created the second group. Third had Wind, Hyrule and Sky. It seemed wise enough combinations.

After that the Old Man did his best to describe the men he had seen in his vision. He made the Chain swear they wouldn’t approach the group or its members for any of reason. It was lot asked from group of Heroes but they agreed to it in hopes of keeping Warriors safe and Time with one worry less on his shoulders.

It took couple of days before the Chain’s leader felt himself calm down. Something told him that the danger had passed and the group wasn’t around anymore. Yet, he couldn’t help but feel bit grateful when the portal opened up to the market at the next day. At least they had managed to restock and get some rest in actual beds even with the night shifts.

The portal brought the nine Links right into middle of a ship’s deck. The Sailor squealed in full delight when he recognized the pirate ship. Before anyone could stop him, he already dashed off to find Tetra and her crew. Time sighed and shook his head while the rest of the Chain scattered around. Yet, Warriors stayed by his little brother. “Tell me.” He simply whispered while having already figured out who’s turn it was.

“Keep your eyes open and search for enemy ships. When those are sighted, gather everyone close to me.” The oldest Link stated out firmly and the Captain nodded in understanding. The war Hero took once a check around before he went to find his brothers. The one eyed male noticed how his older brother gave the heads-up to the others and how the Chain, one to few at a time, ended up bit startled but very swiftly getting to be more alert of their surroundings. He smiled a bit and slightly relaxed as he knew there were more eyes searching for enemies and being ready to react at then.

It took a day of sailing before the alarm was given. The Chain’s leader dashed up to the deck while already fearing to be too late. Yet, he sighed in relief as he saw how far the other ships were. “Everyone! Gather around!” He commanded even though he wasn’t the captain of the given vessel. Yet, for his relief Tetra and her crew came close along with his boys. “Keep eye on them and tell me when they’re in the reach of those cannons.” He requested as he was unaware of how far one could shoot those heavy balls.

“Mikau, you awake?” Time called while feeling uncertain of the situation.

“Entirely. Ready whenever you need me.” The Zora guitarist replied while being up and about for sharing his Water Magic.

“You know when to lend me the helping hand.” The oldest Link nodded inwardly while feeling tad grateful of the back-up he had within him. The aquatic male nodded back and kept close check on the situation. Yet, Mikau gave out the same warning that came from Wind only seconds later: The enemy was in the reach.

The Old Man nodded firmly before already performing the moves for Nayru’s Love. He needed it to be wide and strong enough to cover for the whole ship. He gasped a bit when he felt Fierce lend his own strength in magic to keep the shield up and working.

Time relaxed a bit as he had the aid from two of his ghostly companions. He kept close check on the other ships while bit flinching as the cannonballs struck into the shield every now and then. “They’re close enough.” Dextri called and the other three nodded in confirmation.

The one eyed male grinned a bit and began to perform the next magic. Yet, he didn’t hit the full work of Farore’s Wind as he extracted the wind part from it. His grin widened as he felt the Deku Butler’s Son and Darmani III lend their strength, accuracy and magic into his work. He screamed when he struck his hands against the wooden floor of the pirate ship’s deck.

The crowd around him gasped a bit at the rough gale that whirled off from the Chain’s leader. He slowly stood up while having the storm wind circling around them. After that he began to dance around while commanding the magic to do as he wished of it. The tornados crashed into the ships and tore them apart while throwing the Bokoblins high into the air and straight into the raging water below.

Time was panting when he had destroyed eight enemy ships out of fourteen. The storm died off and the ocean calmed down. The ships commanded by monsters turned their vessels back into crashing and flanking their target. “Not on my watch.” He growled while beginning to perform third magic’s moves. Moves that Mikau showed to him while sharing his Water Magic with his close friend.

Again the Hero of Termina struck his hands against the deck of the ship to initiate the magic fully. He listened to the Zora’s commands of sorts while doing as told and he screamed again as he stood back up and struck his hands high above him. The people with him gasped in full shock as the water suddenly rose around them before already rushing off towards the enemies. The tidal wave crashed roughly into their ships and shattered them while sending two crashing against each other before the waves reached them.

When the last ship fell, the Old Man gasped and fell roughly to his knees. “W-was… W-was that all…?” He queried quietly while raising his gaze up into something only Wind saw: Mikau. The Zora glanced once around before closing his eyes and connecting with the water around him. After that he opened his eyes and nodded firmly.

“You got them all, Link.” The ghost of the guitarist replied with a slight smile. Yet, he nearly instantly gasped when his friend closed his eye and let the exhaustion overtake him. The Zora moved swiftly and caught him before already laying him gently down to the deck. After that he turned his notion into the Sailor. “Link will be all right. He just needs bit of rest.” He assured with a small smile before getting up to his feet. He took a step backwards and vanished back to the Realm of the Spirits.

The ship’s full crew already surrounded the one eyed male before the Zora even was fully gone. “Guys, he’ll be okay. He just needs rest.” Wind told as firmly as he could. “That water magic belonged to the Zora ghost, Mikau.” He explained and shrugged a bit. “He was there aiding him.”

With things having calmed down, Warriors carefully picked his little brother up and carried him below the deck to sleep more comfortably at a bed. He and Twilight stayed by him to guard his rest while the others started to work around the ship. They were up for finding the closest patch of land to dock at. It felt like they all needed bit of safety of the dry land for a moment after having seen the one eyed male control the wind and ocean like that.

Time woke up into a scent of Wild cooking. He groaned a bit and slowly opened his eye. “Hey there, little brother.” Warriors half whispered while sitting on the floor right next to the bed.

“How long was I out?” The one eyed male queried while sitting up. He ran a hand through his hair before stretching.

“About a day.” The Captain answered as he stood up and sat onto the bed. He leaned backwards to get behind the Chain’s leader before starting to work massaging his brother’s shoulders and back. “Not surprised, though. You hit one hell of a show.”

The Old Man gave a nearly delighted whine at the action and closed his eye while relaxing. “Is everyone all right?” He queried while pretty much melting beneath his older brother’s work.

“Safe and sound.” The war Hero replied calmly. “We’ve docked to an island for a while.” He explained and Time just nodded at the information. “How are you feeling?”

The oldest Link sighed and gave a slight shrug. “Better the longer you work with my stiff muscles.” He replied with a grin. Warriors chuckled and kissed the side of the one eyed male’s head. “And hungry.” The Chain’s leader continued before unwillingly pulling away from the touch. “Can you finish later, please?” He half begged while giving the younger male nearly a pleading look.

“Certainly.” The Captain answered before already following his little brother out of the room and up to the deck. At there, once by the road to the shore, he already grinned. “Check who decided to wake up!” He called to the Chain, Tetra and her crew at the beach of the island.

Time huffed a bit but he couldn’t help but smile and bit chuckle as his boys screamed out his name and already dashed over to him. The war Hero just moved off the way and smiled as the others engulfed their oldest brother into a group hug. Their leader relaxed and smiled while trying to return the hold.

After a while everyone was at the beach enjoying the Champion’s creation. The whole current crew of the ship decided to stay at the island for a while and restock with what the place could offer. It wasn’t much but Wild was happy to gain new food items into his Slate to figure out how to use them.

Just when they were up for continuing sailing, the next portal opened up at the beach. The Chain bid their goodbyes to Tetra and her crew before approaching the vortex. Yet, before they could enter it, Time actually stopped them. He frowned and listened while closing his eye. He felt everyone stare at him but he concentrated into the feeling of where the dark pathway would lead them to.

After a while the Chain’s leader took a deep breath and turned his notion into Legend while letting the air out. “Legend. The Cape.” He simply stated out and the Veteran nodded in understanding. He dug the red fabric out before his leader actually stopped him. “Wait! I… A-actually, I have a better idea.” He partly stammered while pulling out the Stone Mask. “Same effect but no need keeping the magic up.” He told while offering the item to him.

The Specialist nodded while taking the mask and putting it on. The others gasped a bit when he just vanished from sight. “I’ll give it back once we’ve either cleared the problem at my era or left from there.” He promised and the Old Man simply nodded before leading his boys through the portal.

The moment the Links came through the vortex, they found themselves surrounded by heavily armored Knights with their weapons pointed right at them. “Where is the Hero of Legend?” One of the high ranked soldiers asked with commanding voice.

“Not with us.” Time answered as calmly as he could while taking in the situation. Suddenly one of the Knights moved forward from his blind side. He turned toward it before bit gasping as the armored fighter grabbed the front of his armor and yanked him forward. Right after that the rough fist already collided with the side of his face. The Knight let go and his target crashed to his knees with a growl by the strength of the strike.

“TIME!” The Chain screamed out and dashed forward in full worry. The one eyed male shook his head and waved his hand dismissively.

“Wrong answer.” The leader of the Knights stated out while glaring at the Hero of Time. “I’m sure the Queen will get the answers out of you.” He continued before giving a sharp nod towards the road to the castle. The other Knights began to force the Chain of Links forward.

Legend hated it as he took the given chance to escape from middle of his brothers. He knew Time did this kind of things without thinking. Just giving his boys the needed chance to escape or do something needed while he took the brunt of the situation. And in this case it was one simple line and a cruel punch to face. At least it got one of the armored Knights to move out of the line and create the needed gap between their capturers for him to use.

The Chain followed calmly the Knights while being surrounded by them. The Veteran kept bit of distance but he followed the group. He really wanted to just attack and get those people away from his brothers. Yet, that wouldn’t give him the chance to fix this and set the Knights free from the mind control that clearly was going on.

Soon enough they reached the castle and Legend moved closer to the last Knight so he could easily slip inside before the doors would be closed. He wanted to follow his brothers and hear what awaited them but he didn’t. He grit his teeth and tore his gaze away from the Chain of Heroes before starting to sneak around the castle. He was entirely certain he’d find a way to break the mind control magic one way or the other from somewhere within the castle.

While the Weapon Specialist left to handle the needed task, the eight Links were brought into the throne room. The Knights moved off the way to let their leader see their captives. Time knelt down straight off and his brothers followed his action instantaneously. Queen Zelda stood up from her throne while narrowing her gaze at the eight before her.

“Your Highness, forgive me for speaking bluntly but this is a great mistake.” The one eyed male started as calmly as he could. “The Hero of Legend is not with us.”

“I was informed differently, Hero of Time.” Zelda stated out with almost cruel gaze. “We have been waiting for the portal to open for quite a while now.” She told while approaching the group of Heroes. “I waited for honesty from your kind.” She nearly snarled while crouching downwards just to grab Time’s throat.

The Chain’s leader gasped and shot his eye open while being forced up from his position. Yet, nearly instantly after getting up to his feet, he gasped and screamed voicelessly. The Queen let go of him and smirked as he crashed to the ground before already curling up a bit and whining in pain. “Take him. Let’s see if the others are more cooperating while watching him fight for his life.” She commanded and very swiftly several more Knights already moved and came to grab and drag the one eyed male along.

The seven younger males had screamed out their oldest brother’s name but the other Knights had moved swiftly and brought swords and spears to their throats to keep them to their places. They couldn’t do anything else than watch the Old Man get dragged away until they were forced to move too. Zelda led them into different road until eventually reaching a balcony like area.

From there it was a perfect view into lower being round battle arena. In the middle of the sandy area was a sturdy looking pole. People were already gathering around the place to watch the soon to start show. The area had rough magic around them that prevented the Heroes from drawing out any weapon they had with them. It didn’t entirely deny magic from being used but they suspected Zelda to uphold an unseen shield. Yet, more so, they feared for her to have blocked their brother’s magic by the earlier action she had done.

When the amphitheater of sorts had filled with spectators, Time was dragged into middle of the area. He was quite well unceremoniously just dumped onto the sandy floor before one of the Knights shackled his ankle into one of the chains connected into the pole. After that they left the area.

The Chain’s leader was almost gasping for air while trying to ease out the turmoil of his magic. He had his armor and weapons but he could feel the blades, shield and all of his items to be blocked from his usage. Same as his magic that was in full disarray within him. When the door opposite from him opened, he forced himself up to his feet to face whatever was to come forth. He grimaced when the monsters flooded into the round battle arena.

“You may save his life by telling me where the Hero of Legend is.” Queen Zelda told while watching the unfair battle begin. The Hero of Time had no weapons in his usage so all he could do was to try and avoid the attacks. The chain wasn’t giving him much of room to do such while ending his backflips and attempts of backing away from the attacks quite abruptly while giving the beasts a chance to strike at him.

“He’s not with us.”

“He’s dead.”

“He chose to stay at different era.”

“He was captured but the portal opened up beneath us. We weren’t given a chance to save him.”

“He found love and decided to end his own quest at then and there.”

“He ran away and we weren’t able to find him.”

“He ended up changed into a rabbit and we couldn’t turn him back. He didn’t want to follow us in the form he was in.”

The Queen snorted and shook her head. “Very well. Don’t give me the answer, then. Just enjoy of the show. He won’t survive at there.” She stated out almost casually while feeling like the seven were ready to sacrifice the one eyed Link just to keep her from knowing where the era’s Hero was at.

Most of the monsters stayed at back while letting the three bigger beasts handle their opponent’s armor off. The Dark Nut, Iron Knuckle and Moblin were more than eager to land their cruel attacks into the golden armor of the Hero of Time. They especially enjoyed of the turns where the chain snapped to its full length and abruptly crashed the one eyed fighter into the ground. They dragged him close from the chain before landing few rough strikes into the protective material until giving him a chance to try and avoid them again.

When the armor finally was too shattered to be too much of use and Time just forced it off to have more chances to move, the rest of the monsters dashed in. He wasn’t the best one with a fight without weapons but he did his best. From time to time he snatched a weapon from his enemies but he was way too outnumbered and overpowered. Besides, the beasts very much loved to yank on the chain and knock him off his feet to make it all worse for him. With such rough movement they eventually dislocated his knee and broke his hip. That only made things even worse for him.

Just when the Chain’s leader was certain he wouldn’t survive from the battle arena, the area suddenly flashed brightly. He gasped in shock and shut his eye while, for his relief, the beasts hissed and staggered a step backwards. It gave a moment of peace and the realization of something having changed. Yet, he didn’t need to try and fight in the condition he was in.

As Time opened his eye, he saw four surprisingly solid looking ghosts around him. They gave out raged screams before attacking the monsters with Fierce taking on the Dark Nut, Iron Knuckle and Moblin. Dextri fought against Miniblins while engulfing some bigger monsters into bubbles every now and then. Mikau faced the Bokoblins while Darmani III beat the Lizalfos. The four stayed close to him to make sure none of the creations of Darkness would get past them and to attack him again.

Suddenly the Knights that had imprisoned the Old Man and his boys dashed into the area and attacked the monsters from behind. The beasts were left between two lines of fighters which meant they’d be taken down soon. “Dextri. Fierce. I need my boys informed that they should go and help Legend. I’ll be fine.” He stated out and the duo nodded.

The Deity and the Deku Butler’s Son checked the road to the high being balcony where the Chain of seven Heroes were with the era’s Queen. The Links were more than willing to go aid their leader but they were held back. Fierce nodded and he and Dextri changed places. The small Deku took bit of distance before already running towards the God of Protection.

Fierce struck his sword into the ground and when Dextri jumped onto the blade, he swung it as hard as he could upwards in vertical move. The Deku took the speed and jumped high into the air. He let the swing’s power throw him towards the balcony until at the peak of his ascent, he finally brought the swirling flowers to move further forward. He grinned a bit at the startled looks on the people at his destination. Eventually he let go of the flowers and easily dropped into the railing of the place.

“Link wishes you seven to head to Legend. Find him and help him to deal with the main enemy. Link is safe now.” Dextri told out as firmly as he could. “There’s enough of fighters to clear the monsters. You seven would only prolong the needed actions.” He continued while seeing the hesitation within his friend’s teammates.

“Give him this, at least. Please?” Four requested while taking out a bottle with a fairy within it.

“I have one fairy too.” Wild assured while swiftly checking his Slate to be certain.

“Thank you.” The small Deku nodded while accepting the bottle. “Now, go!” He half commanded before pocketing the item and turning back towards the way he had come from. Without waiting for longer, he jumped and brought out the flowers to get closer to the battle. I took couple of works with the swirling flowers before he landed and attacked the monsters.

“Your boys will do as said. They also sent this to you.” The Deku Butler’s Son told while taking the bottled fairy out. By then one of the Knights had gotten through and unlocked the shackle at Time’s ankle as well as set his bones to right places. The one eyed male nodded while feeling tad uncertain of the situation. “Wild has a fairy along too. They’ll be fine.” Dextri assured before setting the small healer free.

While the Chain’s leader was in safer situation, the seven finally tore their gaze out of the arena and dashed off to find Legend. It took bit of searching but they eventually found the right floor and correct room. The moment they saw the dragonic Lizalfos, they attacked on full force. Hyrule, though, pulled off to check on his predecessor as he had pulled the mask off when the Links dashed in. He luckily was well as he had been capable of staying out of sight and attack with all he got. With Sky having the full powered sacred blade of Evil’s Bane, the beast went down swiftly and easily.

The moment the enemy was dealt with, the Chain dashed out of the room. Only two floors lower they saw Time coming towards them. The one eyed male was still looking bit beaten up but he was as well as he could be after the hell he had gone through at the arena. The eight Heroes dashed to him and engulfed him into a group hug. Before he had a chance to say against it, the Traveler already worked with his magic to fix the rest of the damage.

Sadly, the nine Heroes didn’t have more time than to rest one night before the next portal opened up. The Smithy had along what was left of his oldest brother’s armor while hoping they’d find a town and a forge he could use. Yet, on that second he already had a feeling he was the next one to be saved. And once they got through the dark pathway, he already turned his gaze into the Old Man whom just simply gave a firm nod of confirmation.

The Chain of Links didn’t find a town but they found an abandoned house with a forge. They took the place for their usage for the time being as the shortest Hero set the blacksmith’s place into usage. Wild gave the needed ores while Hyrule, Legend, Wind and Warriors aided in getting everything done.

Fixing and recreating the armor took several days. Most of the Chain had gone to do some foraging and fishing at the close by river while the Smithy was up for doing finishing touches into the armor. It still was delicate work and taking quite well the youngster’s full notion. That was the reason he didn’t hear the Moblin arriving. He just simply noticed Time pushing himself off of the wall and locking his gaze into something. “Just keep working, Mousekin. I got this.” He told calmly while picking the Biggoron Sword from next to him before already heading to face the brown Moblin of his own era.

Unlike what the one eyed male had seen, it wasn’t just one Moblin. It was one from each of the eras the Heroes came from. Six beasts did their best in trying to get past the oldest Link but the sword he wielded was deadly and fast in his hands. His own era’s Moblin went down by two strikes while Wild’s was defeated by one that cut it into two.

While the rest took one to two strikes to kill Sky’s era’s Moblin needed three. It wasn’t because of the shield but due to the black blood running in its veins. It avoided more and tried to round its target but the Old Man stood in front of it and blocked its road whole time… Until the beast got close enough and he struck.

Once the last one of the different Moblins had vanished, Time sighed in relief and calmed down. He moved back into the forge’s area and sat down to unused anvil before starting to clean the blade. “How’s the armor coming?” He inquired as calmly as he could while having felt Four’s gaze in his back nearly whole time the battle had been going.

The Smithy almost gasped and jerked before already blinking several times. “Um…. A-almost finished…” He stammered while tad blushing and turning his notion back into his work. “You know… I’ve seen you do lot of badass things but this… This really takes the win.” He confessed while turning his gaze into his oldest brother.

The Chain’s leader chuckled a bit while blushing slightly and shrugging. He kept his notion in his sword in hopes of keeping the younger male from seeing the reaction. He rarely got this kind of praise so it meant even more when it came from his boys. “It’s nothing really. Just strength and unbreakable sword.” He explained as casually as he could.

“And skill.” Four pointed out firmly. “Anyone can have strength and a weapon but you gotta have the knowledge of how to fight efficiently and use the weapon to its full potential. You struck at three Moblins by one strike while killing one of them by it. Before the rest came forth, you had already taken down the earlier two. Just swift, certain and badass.”

Time chuckled bit nervously and scratched the back of his head. “Thanks… I guess…?” He half replied before getting tad surprised as the shortest Hero came next to him.

“May I?” The Smithy inquired and pointed at the Biggoron Sword with hopeful look on his face.

“You sure? It’s my blade. It’s my responsibility.” The one eyed male replied while feeling bit contradicted about the situation. Yet, Four simply nodded as an answer. “O-okay…” He bit stammered and let the Hero with the ability of turning into a Minish to look after his weapon and clean it precisely. He just watched while admiring the dedication and love one of his boys was putting into his actions.

It took a while before the Smithy was content with his work. After that he offered the sword back to his oldest brother. “Good as new.” He told with a smile while watching his leader admire the fully clean and sharp blade.

“Thank you. I owe you hugely for fixing my armor and looking after my sword.” Time replied while crouching down and pulling Four into a hug.

The shortest Hero happily returned the hold. “It’s the least I can do. You protected me here and you’ve kept everyone safe and sound all the way through this quest. I want to return the favor in every possible way I’m capable of.”

“You certainly are.” The oldest Link whispered before pulling off. The others started to return to the area and the moment they saw the blood and signs of a battle, they already were asking questions. Time just winked at Four and went to explain the situation to his boys.

At the next day the Chain’s leader put the fixed and recreated armor on. They were up for heading forward from the house with a forge in the back. In fact, they didn’t go far before they already found a portal. The one eyed male checked that everyone was ready before he led them through the dark pathway into a new era.

When the portal closed behind him, Time only found Hyrule being there. He held back the annoyed sigh of having been separated from the rest of the group and just closed his eye to concentrate. Just when he caught the feeling of the others and relaxed a bit of finding them all being together, the air was split by a scream. Both he and the Traveler jerked roughly at the sound before he already stopped the half-fairy from dashing towards his kin in need of aid.

“NO.” The one eyed male growled out but he wasn’t angry at his boy, just worried and freaked out. “Do NOT change forms, Traveler.” He commanded while gritting his teeth at the situation.

“But…!” Hyrule started before bit flinching as his oldest brother glanced at him. He nodded even though he felt entirely uncertain of the situation.

“Go that way.” The Old Man gave a sharp nod to their left. “Don’t change for any of reason. Just get to the others and lead them here.” He commanded before already pushing the youngster to correct way. “I’ll do what I can for the fairies.” He told before already dashing towards the way where the pain filled screams were coming from.

Hyrule hesitated for a moment longer before he growled and dashed to the road he had been commanded to. It shattered his heart as he heard the screams while being unable to save his sisters and brothers. Yet, clearly, that situation had caused his death and Time was up for saving him. So, he ran and prayed he could get to his brothers in time to bring them over to save the Chain’s leader too.

The moment the one eyed male reached the place where the fairies were being held captive and tortured, he already screamed as he drew out the Biggoron Sword and swung it. The men at the area in middle of the forest were startled of his sudden appearance. That short moment was enough for him to kill one of the guys by one strike before turning towards the rest of the group.

The men scrambled to their feet and just barely avoided the deadly weapon. They quickly surrounded the newcomer before one already blew red dust into their attacker’s face. The swordsman gasped and staggered a step away. He was ready to strike again when suddenly he gasped in pain and fell to his knees.

“Well, well, didn’t wait for fairies to be in Hylian form too.” The one in lead, smirked while putting the pouch of Dark Magic Powder away. He smirked while his newest victim tried to get the dust off of his face. “You already inhaled it.” He stated out before kicking Time to the side of his head and crashed him into the ground.

“Take his armor off. Let’s see how much of a fairy he is.” The guy commanded while enjoying of seeing the man writhe in pain. The Chain’s leader’s attempts of fighting back were fully in vain and weak. The men around him easily held him to the ground as they undid his armor.

The leader of the small group drew out a knife and struck it into the Old Man’s shoulder. Even though Time had very high pain tolerance, he screamed in agony. It wasn’t because of the strike or breaking his bones by that one hit. It was because of the dust having put his fairy magic within him into chaos. The blade wasn’t normal. It was invading by the way of searching for anything fairy related. And right now it was latching itself into his magic.

The turmoil of his magic that had replaced his innate one wasn’t in such a way it would’ve made the oldest Hero sick. It was rather trying to tear a road out of him and get freed. The blade felt like it was going to steal them and he screamed as the weapon was being twisted and turned in the wound.

“No blood connection but the magic’s not his.” The guy mused wickedly while chuckling at the agony he was causing. “How about we take what doesn’t even belong to you.” He rather stated out than queried while rather twirling the knife instead of twisting and moving.

Time screamed while hating how paralyzed that dust had left him. The agony of his own magic trying to tear him apart from inside was bad enough. Feeling the guy binding something that was so connected into him into that blade was nearly excruciating. The terror of losing his magic was only the cherry on the top of the whole hell.

Slowly, as the weapon captured the magics the Chain’s leader had learned, his screams turned into miserable whimper. He was trembling and crying while knowing his begging would only make the trio around him laugh. He closed his eye and just accepted his defeat. He knew it would take long while before he’d get used to the lack of magic to use and his body temperature turned to be probably lower than anyone else’s. After all, ever since he had been to Termina, he had unconsciously held little bit of Din’s Fire up and going to keep himself warm.

Suddenly the one eyed male half gasped, half screamed as the blade jerked in the wound but it wasn’t pulled out. The sound of scuffle got him to gasp and snap his eye open. It took a moment from him to realize that his boys had arrived just in time to there.

Wolfie was mauling the one whom had used the knife. Sky and Warriors had attacked the man on Time’s right side. Hyrule, Four and Wind were dealing with the third man. Wild was setting the fairies free from the bottles and chains. Legend had crouched down next to him while hesitating to touch the knife.

“D-don’t…” Time whimpered out and snapped the Veteran’s notion into him. “M-my m-magic…” He stammered while having no idea of how to fix the situation. He unintentionally flinched when the Specialist brushed some of the dust off of his face.

Legend growled as he felt the foul magic within those tiny specks of powder. “I gotta clean that stuff off of you, Old Man. Not anything of fun but I have a feeling I know what to do.” He explained while taking out a rag and his waterskin.

The Chain’s leader closed his eye and tried to hold back the whimpering as his boy gently wiped the Dark Magic Powder off of him. He even cleaned the hair and clothes before giving a check on the armor. Yet, surprisingly, the stuff hadn’t gotten into there. Once done, he burned the cloth just to make sure the stuff wouldn’t be left lingering into anywhere.

The Chain slowly gathered around their oldest brother and the Veteran pretty much commanded them not to touch the knife. After that he took out his own Magic Powder out while wishing he was right. “Just breathe, Time.” He half commanded before blowing a handful of the dust at him.

The oldest Link coughed few times before sighing and relaxing as he closed his eye. “Help the others, please.” He pretty much begged while feeing his magic unwind from the knife and return where it belonged to. The hellish chaos that had been ranging within him had calmed down.

“Don’t take the knife off until Time says it’s okay to be removed.” Legend commanded before getting up and going over to where the tortured fairies were at. Wild looked almost fearfully at his brother while feeling so useless. The small beings on the flat rock were whimpering and trembling in pain. Some had destroyed wings while others’ wings were torn off of their backs. There were bleeding wounds and broken bones. And yet, the worst was, the effects of the Dark Magic Powder that had destroyed their magic and vanquished the glow from them.

The Weapon Specialist felt like his brothers hadn’t made the torturers suffer enough for what they had done. He crouched down in front of the fairies and brought out the Magic Powder pouch and drew out a handful of it. After that he blew the dust at the small beings while hoping for the best.

Both the Champion and the Veteran sighed in relief when the fairies, even though in bad shape still, regained their glow and magic. It wouldn’t heal them but at least it gave them what had been stolen from them. “We need to find a way to heal them.” The cook of the Chain whispered and Legend only nodded.

“There’s a well hidden Great Fairy Fountain close by.” Hyrule suddenly told while coming over to the duo. He glanced worriedly behind him at the Chain’s leader. Even though the knife was off and the wound healed, he was still weak after what had happened with his magic. “The Great Fairy is able to heal her little sisters and brothers.” He explained while trying not to sound so sorrowful.

The Chain came over and each of them took several of the fairies gently into their hands and shoulders to carry them. None of them felt like trapping any of the small healers into bottles. Such had already been used against them as it certainly had been the easiest way to strike that foul dust into them.

The Great Fairy appeared nearly instantly after the nine Heroes had arrived to her fountain. The small fairies were gently placed onto the railing of the water area. From there the small beings slipped into the water to swim and dive. The Great Fairy smiled sorrowfully at her small siblings before turning her notion into the Hero of Time.

“I’ll be all right. I just need bit of time. Bit of rest will do wonders.” The Chain’s leader half whispered before bit wincing at the pain of using the Fairy Language. He ignored the worried and concerned looks his boys were giving him while trying to regain his strength back.

“Maybe so but I’m here now and I want to help like you were up for protecting my kin, brother not bound by blood.” The Great Fairy replied and crouched down. After that she very gently reached out and placed her hand against the oldest Link’s chest. She closed her eyes and, even though the stab wound and shattered bones had already been fixed, she made sure it was safe and sound while easing out the last remnants of the chaos within the one eyed male’s magic.

Time sighed in relief and relaxed while feeling the calmness return into the midst of his magic. It also brought back his strength and stamina. With a grateful smile, he pulled off from leaning against Warriors and stood steadily on his own feet. He bowed his head while half whispering his thanks.

“You are very welcome.” The Great Fairy replied with a fond smile and a nod while standing back up. “You may stay here and rest. The forest will provide all you need.” She told while wishing more than anything to show her own gratitude and do something in return for the nine that had saved her kin.

The Chain of nine Heroes stayed for few days. With each meal Wild did, he made food for the fairies too. He brought the dishes in fairy size to the fountain and placed the plates and bowls at the railing. Even though the fairies were doing much better, they all were delighted of the offered food. The small beings were sorrowful when the next portal opened up and sent the Links forward in their quest. After all, that snatched their unique meal maker away.

The swirly pathway brought the Chain right into Time’s own era and they straight off made their way towards the Lon-Lon Ranch. Bigger part of the one eyed male was happy of being back home but the other part feared for his family. This was where he had seen Twilight and Malon die. He had already saved everyone else, there was NO chance he’d fail this.

Like many times before, the one eyed male kept the ones in danger out of the loop while asking the rest to keep full check of the area in search of archers. Yet, he did one simple mistake as he was securing his wife’s and blood relative’s lives. He entirely forgot to have seen his own death too.

When the request for help came, it wasn’t from the Princess but from some random person somewhere from Hyrule. It didn’t seem too hard and the Old Man was certain of it being swiftly done. Yet, bigger part was that he knew this was the initiation for the situation he desperately needed to change. Before he left the house with the armor on and the weapons along, he reminded his brothers about the somewhere lurking archers. Most of the Chain scattered to search for the danger while he put himself as the target and beginning of the situation.

“Good morning, Link!” Malon greeted before gasping and turning her notion into the sound of scuffle. Yet, nearly instantly afterwards she already snapped her notion into her husband. There had been a screech of metal on metal. She screamed as she saw her Link crash to the ground back first.

Dark Link growled when he realized that the situation had changed. The archers had been taken down before they’d get a chance to shoot the two of the closest family members of his worst enemy. He moved swiftly and performed the move his Light Counterpart knew: The Back Slash. He smirked as the currently unbreakable darker version of the Master Sword cut through the back of Time’s armor and deep into his flesh.

The dark reflection of the one eyed male snatched a hold of his opponent’s shoulder and yanked him roughly into the ground. He quickly came over him while smirking as that sole eye snapped open and the terror struck as the bloodied blade was seen. “You fucked up.” He snarled while striking the blade downwards.

Yet, before Dark Link could actually kill the Link whose dark side he was, a gigantic wolf attacked. He didn’t have any other choice than to pull off and backflip away from his target. The beast snarled and attacked again. The shadowy figure of the canine’s mentor growled as he avoided again until hightailing out of there. He created a portal as swiftly as he could and dashing through it before already shutting it. The predator skidded into a stop at where the dark corridor had just been. Yet, nearly instantly after, he already turned around and dashed back to the spot where the others were already gathering to.

Time was growling in pain as the Chain worked to get his weapons, armor and tunics off to reach the wound. “Oh that’s not good. Not at all. Shit… It’s bleeding way too much…” He wasn’t certain whom said that as he was fighting to stay conscious.

“Even if we’d stitch it, it would still bleed through the bandages. We gotta fix the wound somehow!”

“We’re not having potions! No-one realized to leave the ranch to go restock!”

“Yeah, well, Time denied that!”

“What?! Why?!”

“To save you and Malon.”

*a loud gasp of shock*

The Chain’s leader was certain the arguments and work on his back continued but he couldn’t hear or feel it anymore. The darkness had fallen all around him while just feeling grateful that he had managed with his work. His boys and wife were safe. It was what he had worked so hard to achieve for the past portals and eras. He partly felt like this just was the price he needed to pay to keep his family safe and sound.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Time frowned as he found himself from the top of the Death Mountain. It was early morning and the Cucco had just made its call. He had a feeling he had been in this situation before.

“You will see him again.”

The spoken words snapped the one eyed male’s notion into the scene not far from him. He gasped a bit as he saw the younger version of himself and the ghost of Fierce Deity. “Those words were yours back then.” He half whispered without really knowing how to feel.

The God of Protection was tad startled and he turned around to face his friend’s older version. “They are.” He replied while standing up from the crouched position. He glanced after the young Hero before returning his notion into the boy’s future self. “You should not be here.”

“I’m rarely where I should be.” Time answered bit sorrowfully and nodded after his child version. “You should go. You can’t be far from your mask.” He reminded while sitting down to watch the rising sun.

“I cannot leave you here.” Fierce answered and offered his hand to the one eyed male. “Come. You will not find the answers you seek from here.” He told firmly before snatching a hold of his friend’s arm and just yanking him up.

The Chain’s leader gasped a bit at the action as he had had full decision of staying put. He scowled at the Deity but let the divine being drag him along. “Where are we going?” He inquired as they followed the child whom had to climb down while the two of them just walked without fear of falling or slipping.

“To where you need to be at.” The Deity simply answered with a grin. He chuckled as his friend rolled his eye at the given answer.

When they reached the base of the volcano, Time gasped as there was a sudden change in the area and time. He gasped when Fierce gave him rough push and forced him forward. He shot a glare at the Deity’s way before a call of his name caught his notion and he turned his gaze into where the God of Protection had brought him.

“Time?”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The Chain was freaking out. Everything they tried was for nothing. Even the fairy Malon and Hyrule had found couldn’t change the situation.

“I can’t fix it!”

“The fairy’s powerless too!”

“We’re losing him!”

“NO! We CAN’T lose him!”

“Link, fight!”

“Stay with us, Time! Please!”

“Sprite! Don’t do this time!”

Wind heard the quiet gasp and turned his gaze to his right. “Time?” He called while frowning as he saw the Chain’s leader standing there all see-through. He shakily stood up and moved away from his brothers. “Time, please. Don’t leave us.” He begged with wavering voice and tears in his eyes.

The eight others glanced at him before gasping in shock. “Sprite?” Warriors called tentatively while unwillingly getting up and moving closer to the ghost.

The one eyed male slumped and grimaced at the situation. “Damn you, Fierce. I’ll get you back for this…” He grumbled quietly while having not wanted to see this scene.

The Old Man could hear the Deity laugh and grin. “I would love to see you try.” The words echoed in his head and he scowled at the given reply. Yet, very soon he turned his notion into the nine persons that made his family. Most of them were begging him to not leave them.

“Guys!” Legend eventually snapped and shot a slight glare at the people around him. He sighed heavily while slumping and letting his ears droop. He raised his tear-filled gaze into his leader. “Do what you see right, Time. That’s what you’ve always done. Whatever your choice is, we’ll accept it.”

Malon and the seven Heroes were shocked of the Veteran’s words. Yet, they very soon slumped and nodded. “I love you, Sprite. But, if this is as far as you say your life goes, then… J-just….” Warriors started before already biting down to his lower lip while breaking down. “I’ll be missing you, little brother. I’d rather have you with me longer but… Your choice, Sprite. I’ll honor whatever you choose.” He told with shattered voice.

The others nodded while feeling like this was goodbyes. Twilight desperately wanted to say that this wasn’t the way he’d lose his mentor but he stayed silent. They had gone through so many eras and timelines that maybe this really was where the end came. At least for this version.

“The right thing…” Time half whispered while looking around his shattered family. The nine before him nodded while crying and having bowed their heads in sorrow. Suddenly the words from the one of the Moon Children snapped right into his mind.

“The right thing… What is it? I wonder… If you do the right thing… Does it really make… everybody… happy?”

The one eyed male nearly jerked as the words sank in. He looked around the nine that he loved from full heart and more. He smiled as he knew perfectly well what he needed to do.

The Chain’s leader moved in front of Hyrule. “My little friend and my dear boy, be ready for I will need the help from both of you very soon.” He told in Fairy Language as he noticed the small pink fairy in his boy’s hair. The duo gasped a bit and snapped their gaze open and into him. “Sshh, eyes closed.” He half requested with a small fond smile and the duo nodded while doing as requested.

Time moved forward and bit grimaced as he saw his own body. He really didn’t like the amount of blood in the ground around himself. Yet, he took a deep breath, moved closer and closed his eye. After that he let himself fall right back into his body.

The Chain and Malon gasped in shock when they heard the sharp inhale that was followed by pain filled growl. The ghost of their loved one was gone and Time was trembling on the rough ground. “TIME!” The screams cut through the air before they all already surrounded him.

The healing fairy swiftly started her work while the Traveler initiated his own magic. He turned some of the healer’s work into blood to compensate the lost amount of it. Other than that he strengthened the work with his own healing magic to do more of fixing in the damage Dark Link had caused. “Don’t overdo yourself, Pixie…” The one eyed male’s quiet request startled the half-fairy but before he could reply, Legend already gave him one of the green potions.

“Nothing to worry, Time. I know what I’m doing.” Hyrule answered firmly while taking the drink and continuing the work. He knew he couldn’t fix it fully but at least he could save his leader’s life. Once he pulled off, Warriors took his place and started to stitch the wound close. After him came Malon and Twilight to bandage the damaged area.

Time was in lot of pain and exhausted but he knew he was going to be all right. He reached out to Legend and grabbed his hand. “Thank you.” He half whispered with a small smile before drifting off into a calm sleep.

The nine members of the Chain’s leader’s family didn’t dare to move him. Instead, they brought out the bedroll and carefully got him onto it. After that they covered him with Warriors’ scarf, Sky’s Sailcloth and a blanket. Only after that, few at a time, they pretty much went to clean up until coming back to keep eye on their beloved member of their family.

When Time finally woke up, they didn’t dare to let him move much in fear of him opening the wound. He accepted the restriction and took the red potion after a meal created by Wild. The Chain and Malon had done bit of restocking now that the worst danger was over.

It took several days before the one eyed male was moving around. The fairy, Hyrule and the potion had done lot but there still was healing to be done. Nonetheless, things were looking very good and the residents of the Lon-Lon Ranch had significantly calmed down and relaxed the more he healed and regained the usage of his body.

“So, Sprite, tell me…” Warriors started at one evening while trying to keep his seriousness off of his tone. “How come you left yourself from the list of people to be saved?”

The war Hero’s little brother sighed and shrugged a bit. “I forgot.” He admitted and raised an eyebrow at the baffled look his family was giving. “What? I kept going from one hellish prophetic dream into another.” He explained as calmly as he could.

“And you just decided to jump over the fact that Dark Link killed you?” The Captain queried while not really believing the older male’s claim.

Time sighed almost exaggerated and ran his hand through his hair. “It was hellish enough to watch the deaths happen.” He replied bit defensively before slightly frowning. “Yet… I wasn’t aware how I ended up struck down. I just…” He shook his head and glanced at Malon and Twilight. “On one moment everyone’s alive and in the next I’m laying on the ground with Malon and Twilight dead. I wasn’t given the knowledge of what happened between.”

“So… You really didn’t know….” Warriors half whispered sorrowfully.

“I only knew that Dark Link killed me but I didn’t know how I ended up into the situation I was in.” Time admitted and shrugged a bit. “There were few other prophetic dreams too that left lot untold. Some bits and pieces I got when we entered the right area. Some I just had to trust to be plausible of changing once it would be on. On the others I was able to do some preparations for the change.” He explained as well as he could.

“I’m just glad you’re still with us, little brother.” The strategist of the Chain told and moved next to the Chain’s leader before pulling him into an embrace. The others took that as an invitation and soon he found himself from middle of a group hug.

“So am I.” Time whispered quietly while relaxing and enjoying of the moment. His back still hurt but it was healing well. He hated to admit it but it was a good reminder. And as long as he could make the choice, he would always stay right by his family. After all, that was exactly the right thing to do.

54 notes · View notes

weaselandfriends · 5 months ago

Text

Are ARGs the new avant garde?

There's this unfiction ARG on YouTube about a fake video game called Valle Verde. Here's episode 1, there are three episodes:

youtube

Watch this and the other two episodes. This is the most technically impressive thing I've seen on YouTube that was made by a single person, and if you watch this video for 54 seconds you'll start to see why.

Once you've watched Valle Verde, you can read this post.

ARGs, or alternate reality games, were a natural outgrowth of creepypasta (as the great Jenny Nicholson once put it, "campfire stories on a global scale"). With creepypasta, people, usually young people, would hop onto the internet and tell a spooky story about a haunted Sonic cartridge with realistic blood or a super evil serial killer who was never caught or Slenderman or something.

Due to the memetic nature of these stories, though, there became an arms race to make them on increasingly elaborate scales. Soon, people were ROMhacking their favorite old games to actually show the spooky haunted realistic blood. A famous example, Ben Drowned, showed modded/corrupted Majora's Mask footage that was generally effective because Majora's Mask is already sort of a creepy game.

Ben Drowned was also notable for being a story that was continually updated. Originally, most creepypasta would be a single story, usually short, posted once. This is an effective medium for horror, which loses effectiveness the more things get explained, but at the same time, when people like something, they want more.

Okay, so how do you make an ongoing horror series that doesn't outright explain everything, and thus retains its horror aspect? The answer, seemingly independently reached by a wide variety of indie horror creators at the same time (Ben Drowned, Marble Hornets, and the godfather Five Nights at Freddy's) was arcane hidden lore.

That's basically what separates an ARG from creepypasta: the "game" in "alternate reality game" is that sprinkled throughout a series of videos are scraps of hints toward a broader narrative, and the viewer is expected to locate those hints, piece them together, and figure out what's actually happening.

The logic is similar to the appeal of a mystery novel, so it's no wonder this took off. Channels like Game Theory posting lore breakdowns of FNAF or other popular series raked in beaucoup views. Indie horror devs would start putting dumbass lore hints in their goofball games to piggyback off FNAF's memetic success. Pathetic things like this happened:

But ARGs are fundamentally different from a mystery novel. In a mystery novel, the terms of the mystery are overtly made known. Someone has been murdered and a world famous detective has arrived to find out who did it/how they did it. By contrast, ARGs are often abstracted to the point that it is difficult to know whether there actually is a mystery. And besides, the mystery in an ARG isn't "who is the killer," it's "what is even the plot?"

Heavily abstracted, often fragmented storylines, with no clear plot, disjointed organization, and only scattered ambiguously meaningful moments that could be arranged in any number of ways to attempt coherence. What does this remind me of?

They reinvented postmodernism!

This realization came home when Skinamarink received a theatrical release in 2022. Skinamarink was an analog horror (another offshoot branch of creepypasta/ARGs) video blown up to cinema length, created by an analog horror YouTuber based on an original 20 minute video they made. Mainstream critics who saw this film, being completely unaware of what analog horror was, extolled the film for its Lynchian, Kubrickian influences. They were unaware its actual greatest influence was Mandela Catalogue. They were unaware that a thrillingly unique, abstract form of storytelling had organically been created by a group of outsider artists on the internet.

Kubrick would be proud.

I find this especially exciting in a mainstream pop cultural milieu that is trending toward, at least in my appraisal, increasing obviousness and simplicity in how it communicates ideas, which is not only boring but also annihilates the capacity for nuance, interpretation, and even meaning itself.

This also comes alongside ARG creators often pushing themselves to new technical extremes, extremes that are absurdly impressive for individuals. Kane Pixels has created amazing found footage videos using Blender-made labyrinths. The Mandela Catalogue guy was doing some crazy shit with puppets(?) last I checked. And, of course, the act of modding old games has evolved into the act of creating whole video games entirely as a vehicle for an ARG. The first example of this I know of is Petscop, and there have been others like Catastrophe Crow (which splices in an extremely accurate pastiche of a retro gaming video essayist, plus period-accurate game magazine articles), but Valle Verde takes it to a new level.

Since you've all seen Valle Verde by now, I won't waste time explaining the seriously impressive stuff it pulls off.

Instead, I'll let the other shoe drop.

I have a fundamental problem with all these ARGs, one that pains me all the more because I am so thrilled by so many aspects of them. The problem is that once you dig into them, once you piece together the underlying narrative from all the tiny clues, interpret the ambiguities, and see the broader picture -

The picture sort of sucks.

Ben Drowned, FNAF, Petscop, Catastrophe Crow boil down to the same residual dew: Children died. (Either murdered or just tragically.) Their spirits haunt the game cartridge/animatronics. All the scant hints point to the cause. (Ben Drowned spoils it in the title.) It's not only sort of banal but also the story that you could probably guess at without reading into the deep lore, just from the story's general vibe.

It's a fundamentally boring answer to a fascinating puzzle, and worse, it reveals that there was no true value in the puzzle being presented as it was. The abstraction and postmodern technique of the narrative contribute nothing to its overall meaning. They exist with the sole aim to obfuscate, because horror only works when unexplained. Rather than leave the horror unexplained, though, the way Kubrick would in The Shining (which deliberately strips out overt explanations that exist in the book it adapts), or Lynch would in anything, these works are attempting to have their cake and eat it: there's stupid lore that explains everything, but it's just a little hard to find. In that sense, rather than being a rejection of the current cultural milieu toward works that make simple sense, this trend seems more like an attempt to reinject that milieu into one of the few genres of storytelling that had effectively rejected it. (It reads similarly to all the Babadook-inspired indie horror films of the past decade where the monster is some transparent allegory for grief or trauma or something.)

So what's the story of Valle Verde?

I won't go into a Game Theory breakdown of every symbol and detail. As far as I can tell, this is what's going on:

Valle Verde, the fiction within the fiction, is a Japanese video game developed with experimental technology called THBrain that gives it a sophisticated and advanced artificial intelligence capable of making on-the-fly alterations to the game's script. Valle Verde, the series of videos, depicts an investigation into certain malfunctioning elements of the game prior to its release. The player character, self-identified as TEST05, is actually played by two "agents" (of what agency is unclear) named Pablo and Robert testing the game and chronicling anomalous behavior.

The series of glitches and other bizarre things they record seems to depict a theological battle between Valle Verde's freemasonic villagers, led by Foxxo (remember that the next elections), and the Catholic Church, led by Pietro (possibly an avatar for St. Peter, the first pope and guardian of the gates of heaven).

Joseph of Cupertino is the patron saint of aviation. It's a "time flies" pun.

It's unclear how much autonomy either of these factions have, even knowing that there is apparently a super-sophisticated AI capable of injecting novel information. Pietro at times breaks the fourth wall and addresses Pablo directly by name; the villagers don't break the fourth wall, but do all sorts of stuff that is described by the tapes as anomalous. The AI seems like the obvious culprit, but in Valle Verde 2, Pablo actually meets the AI, who claims to have sequestered themselves from the rest of the game because they didn't want to partake in the villagers' rituals, and who has even disabled all their language libraries except Spanish to avoid comprehending the screams of the children trapped inside the game.

Oh yeah. Children are dying.

The THBrain seems to not only enable incredible AI, but is a way to upload humans into the video game (maybe this is unrelated to THBrain? I'm fuzzy on that point). Several children have already been uploaded and are presumed dead; currently, an Argentinian child named Matias is trapped in the game. Matias is the only other character besides Pietro capable of breaking the fourth wall, due to being a real person; he is aware of Pablo as an "agent" and suggests at some sort of conspiracy outside the game, which has not been explicated in much detail in the available videos.

The reason the children are dying is eventually revealed: the freemasonic villagers are sacrificing them to their false god, Moloch.

I'm not kidding about the freemasonry. Note the Argentinian flag.

There are other plot elements that are a bit murkier; Valle Verde seems to be a nexus of several unrelated video games, which can be accessed through an in-game library, and it is within this nexus that Moloch lives, and perhaps where the underlying purpose behind the villagers' actions lurk. There is also a recurring motif of a coming Christian apocalypse, likened to Noah's flood. After the freemasonic sacrifice, a doomsday clock ticks closer to midnight. Are the masons unwittingly provoking God's wrath? The series is framed as footage from 1997 that was unearthed in the modern day, so was this apocalypse averted, or did the apocalypse simply exist within the game, with no bearing on reality? The series remains ongoing; future installments may clarify.

But the underlying issue remains that, for me at least, the basic conflict in its simplicity and lack of ambiguity seems inadequately matched to the unique, impressive, and open-ended presentation. It retroactively makes me wonder what the point is of telling the story the way Valle Verde is told, if its story is in essence the Church versus Satan-worshippers, with clear moral and ideological lines drawn. Doesn't a more conventional narrative make sense for this sort of story?

There's a scene early on when the player character traverses a series of rooms corresponding to the Seven Deadly Sins. The sin of greed is depicted, not simply with stacks of gold, but with works of modern art:

As the player proceeds through the room, they discover a dumpster where Renaissance artwork by Titian and Michelangelo is trashed:

The message here is almost fatuous. It's also deeply ironic. Valle Verde is a work that has far more in common, in terms of its formalistic technique, with Picasso than Titian. Is it a lack of self-awareness that puts this here? Or perhaps something else?

The novel Infinite Jest ends abruptly, with none of its plot points resolved. In this way it's similar to the titan of American postmodern literature, Gravity's Rainbow, which peters out without explaining the conspiracy that has driven its narrative. Infinite Jest plays a trick, though, as devious as it is facile. The final 200 pages of the book have been cut off and moved to the front. The story's beginning is a flash forward that, in its lack of context and confusing abstractions, is difficult to make sense of on first read. Upon rereading after finishing the book, though, it clearly contains the answers to all the unresolved plot threads.

If postmodernism could be described as an artistic period of uncertainty and obscured truth that was a response to the similarly uncertain Cold War era, where the inner machinations of governments may at any time cause the annihilation of the entire world, then what Infinite Jest did, published just a few years after the Cold War's end, could be seen as a reclamation of truth.

Truth itself is a concept deeply interwoven with Christianity. In Valle Verde, Pietro even calls it out with a green highlight to indicate its importance:

La Verdad sounds suspiciously similar to Valle Verde. Coincidence?

The context of this quote comes after the villagers destroy the church; Pietro reassures the player that La Verdad remains unchanging, and that this tribulation shall pass.

Might Valle Verde itself then be an Infinite Jest style reclamation, using the formalistic techniques of postmodernism that are so useful for obscuring truth to obscure what is, at its core, a simple and morally black-and-white tale of Christianity versus wicked idolatry?

There is a real-world allegorical undercurrent to Valle Verde that makes this reading even more appealing. Valle Verde's creator, Alluvium, is Argentinian, and the game is steeped in references to Argentinian history and politics.

That's a map of the Falkland Islands and a picture of former Argentine dictator Juan Peron.

At one point, when the villagers destroy the church (with the unwitting? help of the player character, who seems to have no moral interest in anything happening, and who only does whatever anyone asks him, whether it's Pietro or Foxxo), a highly overt reference is made to the death of Pope John Paul I, who reigned for only 33 days in the late 1970s before he died, officially, of a heart attack. The abruptness of his death, and the failure of the corrupt, Mafia- and freemason-connected Vatican Bank in the years that followed, have led to conspiracy theories that John Paul was actually murdered by freemasons within the Vatican so that they may continue to corrupt the Catholic Church.

Specifically, the conspiracy posits the assassination was done by the freemasonic branch P2, or Propaganda Due, an illegal fascistic secret society that contained many high-ranking members of Italian politics (including Silvio Berlusconi), whose goal was to act as a shadow government that could prevent the rise of communism within Italy. (P2 definitely existed; how much it actually influenced Italian politics is a matter of debate.)

Though primarily an Italian organization, P2 had several influential members from other countries, notably Argentina, where several politicians and military leaders at the highest levels were involved. As a nation, Argentina is something of a tragedy; at one point considered a rising economic powerhouse, its excellent geographic and demographic advantages were squandered by a long succession of corrupt leaders, including those involved in P2. It makes sense, then, why an Argentinian creator like Alluvium might be so interested in critiquing the evils of freemasonic corruption.

Valle Verde satirizes Argentina's leadership via Foxxo, not only through his freemasonic devil rituals, but also in more down-to-earth ways. In his introduction, Foxxo provides the player character 100 coins, telling him to "remember that the next elections" (Foxxo's catchphrase, despite him clearly stating he has been given absolute authority over the area by The Smiling One); moments later, when the player turns to leave, Foxxo mugs him from behind and puts him 99,999 coins in debt.

Through the use of masonic slogans like liberté, égalité, fraternité (which is written over what appears to be a portal to Hell) and masonic symbols such as the Statue of Liberty and Washington Monument, there's an undercurrent that expands this freemasonic secular/Satanic conspiracy beyond Argentinian politics and into the post-Enlightenment secular governments that have come to rule the so-called free world. "Progress is God," the freemasons state during their child sacrifice ritual. (Foxxo is joined in this scene by the village's museum curator, representing knowledge, and its scientist, representing progress.)

It's this kind of framing that makes me wonder about the previous scene depicting Picasso paintings as emblematic of the sin of Greed, compared to Renaissance paintings in the dumpster; is there a general theme here raging against modernity in all its forms, compared to a fundamentally good and absolute Christian religious truth? If so, it makes sense why Valle Verde is presented as it is, so abstractly; it shows a world rendered incomprehensible by modernity, but one that can be sifted and parsed to find incontrovertible religious salvation still shining underneath.

It is a rejection of "progress," using the formal techniques of "progress." In a milieu where the promises of the Enlightenment seem to have hit a dead end, where the freedom secularism once promised has given rise to corruption and abuses akin to those the Catholic Church of the Renaissance once inflicted, perhaps the sense of going back appeals.

The English literary world post-Infinite Jest itself also seems to have returned to the past; the works published today are realistic in style and scope, eschewing most formal techniques pioneered across the preceding century. Though I doubt that was David Foster Wallace's goal, it's what he created. Valle Verde, which is so explicit in its fundamental belief in Christianity, is probably far more deliberate in its rejection of the world as it currently exists.

Though there have always been voices calling for a return to the past, perhaps this is a mindset particularly enticing in the information age, when meaning seems so fragmented as to be ungraspable. Though Valle Verde is conscious of what it is doing formally in a way that, say, Ben Drowned is not, the inner simplicity of these ARG narratives obfuscated by abstraction strikes me as a collective yearning for clearly explicated, graspable truths in a world where such a thing seems increasingly impossible. Almost a fantasy: If only this incomprehensible eldritch horror could be explained by a 10-minute Game Theory video!

(The eldritch itself is a horror rooted in incomprehensibility. Making it explicable banishes it entirely, the way the protagonist of Valle Verde banishes a demon by holding aloft a crucifix. La Verdad triumphs. Couldn't our lives be so simple?)

Not every ARG is like this. Kane Pixels, another creator I would highlight for their exceptional technical talent and avant garde storytelling, has created far more nuanced and ambiguous narratives with works like The Oldest View, which deals with themes of nostalgia and memory without being resolvable into a simple pat sentence synopsis. Overall, I consider this entire collection of web original horror creators to be blessed with both the talent and mindset to create truly innovative works of fiction, even if many of them are outsider artists fumbling around just trying to scare someone; as outsiders, these confused anti-confusions of theme and meaning might be par for the course.

Valle Verde is an impressive work of art, even if it is an avant garde work that paradoxically rejects itself. Perhaps in that paradox more could be said than had it remained fully self-consistent. Either way, I eagerly await what comes next.

#Valle Verde #ARGs #creepypasta #analog horror #digital horror #postmodernism #art #unfiction

74 notes · View notes