#the Zora have antibiotics don't question it

[skyloftian-nutcase]

For the sickfic, what about Time and 6?

MwuahahahaHAHAHA someone took the bait YES

Y'all are about to find out about the Wild Card of Healthcare.

(Click here to read on AO3)

Warriors was the first to notice.

Approaching their leader, he asked, “Are you alright?”

Time grimaced, rubbing his flank. “Yes. Just some back pain, nothing to worry about.”

Wind gasped, his eyes wide. “Wow, you really are old.”

Four choked on his water, nearly dropping his flask, as Time smiled good naturedly, ruffling Wind’s hair. “I can still manage despite my centuries, Sailor. Let’s keep moving.”

Twilight was the next one to notice.

While patrolling in his wolf form, he could sense it, he could smell the change. Each member of the group had a distinct scent, and fluctuations in them usually gave him an inkling as to what was going on. A touch of iron indicated a probable wound, a shift in composition of sweat and breath heralded an oncoming disaster, such as when Sky had collapsed in convulsions from what he later described as Surface Sickness (and had apologized for scaring them, reluctantly admitting it was preventable if he just slowed down after being in higher altitudes for a while). So when he was patrolling and something about Time smelled different, he shifted into his Hylian form and approached his ancestor.

“Are you feeling okay?” Twilight asked softly to respect the man’s privacy. The entire group didn’t need to know if he didn’t want them to.

Rubbing his abdomen mildly, Time shrugged. “I’m fine, Rancher. Probably drank too much water.”

It was hard to drink too much water, but Twilight uneasily supposed it wasn’t impossible. Still, he didn’t like it. “Are you sure? Something’s not right.”

Time grew more serious. “What do you mean? You sense trouble in the area?”

“No, no, not like that,” Twilight said dismissively. “I mean with you.”

“I promise I’m alright,” Time said reassuringly with some affection in his tone. He put a hand on his shoulder and smiled before moving on to the front of the group.

Sky was the third to notice.

Time was being slow. He was never slow. Methodical, even paced, yes. But dragging behind like Sky would? Absolutely not.

Hovering close, but far enough to not annoy the man, Sky asked hesitantly, “Are you okay?”

Time made a motion as if he were going to reply when he suddenly remained silent. He furrowed his brow, clearing his throat, and then shook his head, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He waved Sky away carelessly, walking ahead. The Skyloftian took a hesitant step forward to follow, but he decided it would probably be better if the nagging came from someone closer to the elder. He glanced at Wild, Twilight, Wind, and Warriors, waiting to see if any of them would comment. Wind was oblivious, talking happily with Four, who was laughing, and Legend, who was listening with a small smile. Twilight and Wild were at the front, the former reeling the latter in from running off to chase some wild game.

That left Warriors.

The captain was also at the front, eyes alert for danger, not seeming to notice their leader dragging his feet towards the middle of the group.

Hyrule leaned in beside Sky. “Is the Old Man alright?”

Sky sighed. “If he’s anything like us, probably not.”

Hyrule gazed at him a moment, discerning his meaning, and then he chuckled.

After that, it didn’t matter who was observing and who wasn’t. Everyone noticed.

Time was sick. And he wasn’t talking. He was barely eating. His face was glistening with sweat.

It had become apparent that night when they’d settled and made camp, but everyone had left it alone to see if some sleep would help.

It didn’t.

“Okay, that’s enough,” the captain said as he approached Time, who was fiddling with his belongings the next morning. “Get back under the cover and get some sleep. We’ll bring you some food and water.”

Time seemed to ignore him, slowly pulling out his ocarina with trembling hands. The captain shifted his weight, and his demeanor de-escalated from commanding to concerned. He crouched down beside their leader, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Sprite,” he said softly. “Come on, just lie down.”

Time paused at the touch, and then put the ocarina to his mouth. Warriors sighed in annoyance but didn’t do anything, letting him waste time for a little bit.

He played a brief, cheery little tune, confusing the group but also making them relax a little. Surely he couldn’t feel too bad if—

Thunder rumbled.

“What the—where did this storm come from?” Wild muttered, pulling out his slate. They were in his Hyrule, after all.

Legend shivered a little, huddling subconsciously towards Hyrule and Sky. Meanwhile, Time sighed, leaning against a tree and closing his eyes, looking a little relieved.

Warriors hesitated in trying to get him to lie down, but at least he was resting, so he let it go. Twilight corralled everyone into the cover of the trees, quickly gathering their supplies and weapons.

“The slate just says it’s going to storm for hours,” Wild said, reading his Sheikah item, bewildered. “I swear, it said it was going to be sunny today.”

“Hours?” Legend repeated, glancing out as lightning tore across the sky.

“Well, great,” Wind huffed. “This is going to be a miserable day for camping.”

“Good for hunting, though,” Wild noted. “The rain will cover our footsteps.”

“Champion, we’ve got plenty of food,” Twilight said exasperatedly.

Four looked around. “Uh, where’s the Old Man?”

Everyone whirled, facing the spot where Time had been sitting, to see nothing there.

Swearing, Warriors looked around and saw their leader stumbling through the open field, getting soaked by the rain. He stormed out after him. “What are you doing, get back here.”

Time ignored him, continuing ahead, his sword and shield on his back, even though he wasn’t wearing any of his armor.

“Why is he acting like this, anyway? It’s not like him,” Wind asked worriedly.

“Could be the fever,” Hyrule suggested. “I’ve gotten fevers and woken up in different places and couldn’t explain it sometimes. I’ve gotten in the habit of going to villages or hiding deep in caves that I’ve cleared out when I get sick because of it.”

Everyone stared at the traveler. Legend remarked, “You do know that fevers aren’t supposed to make you that delirious, right? Like if you got to that point you were really sick.”

Hyrule shrugged sheepishly. Legend groaned and buried his face in his hand.

“So he’s really sick, then?” Wind continued, looking back at Time as Warriors finally caught up to him.

Twilight put a hand on the youngest Link’s shoulder. “Maybe he’s just…”

Everyone stared at the rancher as he fumbled for a logical explanation, and then he sighed and shook his head. “Yeah, he probably is. But we’ll take care of him.”

No one could hear what the captain was shouting at Time over the pouring rain, but they could all see very clearly as he put his hand on their leader to stop him.

And they watched as Time smacked Warriors’ hand away aggressively.

Uneasiness filled the air. Everyone tensed, waiting to see what was going to happen next. Warriors was usually pretty good at de-escalating situations.

Today, however, did not fall into the usually category, as Time drew his sword all of a sudden.

“Holy shit, what the hell is he doing?!” Legend hissed as Hyrule sprang into action.

Warriors took hasty steps back, caught off guard, as Time glared fiercely at him. “Easy, Old Man, it’s me!”

Holding his hands up in a surrendering posture, Warriors maintained distance between himself and Time, trying to get him to come to his senses.

And then Hyrule came darting into view.

“Traveler, wait—!” Warriors yelled.

Time flinched at the noise and his attention immediately shot to Hyrule. Taking a large step forward, forcing Warriors to nearly fall over to move out of his path, Time swiped his sword horizontally, its length able to reach Hyrule and split his abdomen open. The traveler took a deep breath and leapt high into the air.

At this point, Twilight joined the fray, dissolving into shadow and rushing ahead as a wolf to cover more ground quickly. Sky pulled out his whip and grabbed Warriors’ shield, running towards the captain.

Hyrule came falling out of the sky, ready to land on Time and knock him down for the count, but the elder held up his shield to bash the teenager as he landed. Time side stepped to avoid crashing into Hyrule, who grunted as the shield swiped hard at his legs as he helplessly got swatted to the ground, unable to dodge midair. The traveler landed on his side in the mud, curling in as the wind got knocked out of him.

Time held his sword overhead in a finishing blow, and Warriors cried out, trying to reach the pair. Instead, Twilight got their first, snarling and leaping onto Time’s chest, knocking him flat on his back. Then the wolf whined, laying down on the elder to pin him to the ground and peeling his ears back.

Sky reached Warriors and handed him his shield just as Hyrule slowly rose, rubbing his legs with a wince. Sky slid to the ground beside the traveler. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Hyrule grunted. “Just bruised.”

Time’s left hand scrambled for his sword, which was lying on the ground beside him, and Sky immediately drew the whip back and let it fly. It smacked the elder’s hand, and he flinched back with a hiss. Warriors quickly scurried over to grab the sword. Seeing the captain coming, Time rolled to his side, managing to counteract Twilight’s weight and knocking the wolf onto his side, pinning his four legs under Time’s torso. Twilight yelped.

“That’s it!” Wild yelled from the tree line, grabbing his bow and arrows. “This needs to stop!”

“Are you crazy, what are you doing?!” Four shouted, reaching for Wild’s arms.

“He’s right!” Wind agreed, grabbing his own weapons. “We can’t just let him hurt everybody!”

“Great,” Legend moaned, also arming himself. “This is just great. Don’t freaking kill anybody, got it?”

“Relax, I got this,” Wild said quietly as he nocked an arrow, focusing.

Meanwhile, Warriors kicked away the sword just as Time lunged for it over Twilight. The eldest Link’s hand instead snaked around the captain’s ankle and he pulled hard, making the captain stumble and lose his balance. An arrow flew through the air, pinning Time’s sleeve to the ground, but the soil was too loose from moisture, and he easily broke free.

Sky used the whip again, snapping at Time’s hand. The man yelled out, turning his attention to Sky with a furious look.

Shadows shifted around Time, and Twilight was suddenly curled into him, his arm and leg still pinned by the elder, but his left hand was free to punch the man right in the jaw.

“Snap out of it!” Twilight yelled.

Time’s face lowered once more to glare at the rancher, both eyes open. Twilight felt a chill run down his spine at the sight of the man’s blank right eye boring into him.

And then their leader relaxed, his expression shifting to concern.

Another arrow came out of nowhere and landed just beside Time’s head, and ice crystals began to spread from it an alarming rate. Time jumped, startled, and Twilight shoved him over so it wouldn’t hurt either of them. The eldest Link’s arm snaked around Twilight in an instant, pinning the rancher to his chest, and he sat up, grabbing his shield with his other arm.

“For Farore’s sake, will you stop being stupid?!” Legend yelled as he approached with Wind and Four. “It’s us, dipshit!”

“Old Man, stop it!” Twilight said, smacking the man on the collarbone. “There are no threats here!”

The blow made Time flinch, and he coughed, wincing. Hyrule and Sky grabbed Twilight under the arms and pulled him off their leader, and everyone hastily scurried a few paces back to wait and see what would happen next.

Groaning, Time held his side and slowly dragged himself into a seated position. He was gasping for air, and despite the poor lighting from the overcast and the rain, it was clear he was far, far too pale.

“Either we’re going to accidentally kill him or he’s going to kill himself from fighting,” Warriors hissed and then faced the others. “We need to finish this!”

“I’m open to suggestions that don’t involve clobbering him!” Legend snapped.

In the time they were arguing, Time lunged forward, his shield firmly gripped in his hand as he got within reach of Sky. Before anyone could react, Hyrule outflanked him and smacked him right across the skull with his own shield. Time collapsed in a heartbeat, out cold.

“Traveler, what the hell?!” Four shouted frantically, running to Time’s side. “You could have been a little gentler!”

Hyrule shriveled a little at the rebuke, but he still had fire in his eyes. “I wasn’t going to let him hurt Sky.”

Wind sank to his knees, the mud squelching beneath him. “What the fuck.”

At his words, the shock of what just happened started rippling through everyone, but Warriors shook it off. “We have to get him to a healer.”

“Yeah, since now he’s sick and injured,” Legend grumbled.

Sky put a hand on Hyrule’s shoulder, giving him a squeeze and a thankful smile, and then he rose and said, “So where should we go?”

Wild charged towards the group. “Is he okay?”

“For now,” Warriors answered. “Champion, this is your land. Where can we go to get him treatment?”

Thunder rumbled overhead, drowning out whatever noise Wild made as he considered it. Legend flinched.

“Before we’re struck by lightning, if you please,” the veteran added, the fire dying out of him quickly.

“Well, there is a stable nearby,” Wild considered. “But they don’t have much in terms of medical supplies. Zora’s Domain is half a day’s journey from here. They’re our best bet; not to mention they’ve got the best healers in Hyrule.”

“Half a day?” Wind repeated worriedly. “Is that going to be okay?”

“We don’t have a choice,” Warriors responded, crossing his arms.

Wild looked up at the clouds nervously. “Well, we should get out of this storm quickly. It’s a miracle none of us have been struck yet.”

“Struck?” Legend squeaked.

Wild nodded somberly. “Yeah. Happens a lot. I learned the hard way.”

Twilight, who had hovered at Time’s side alongside Four, sighed and pulled out his whistle. Epona came with haste, though she was clearly nervous from the weather.

“How are we going to get him up there?” Sky asked hesitantly. Time was not a small man, after all.

Legend smacked his palms together. “Relax, I got it.”

Pulling out his golden mitts, Legend easily picked up their leader, though he struggled at the sheer bulk of the man. Twilight hastily stepped forward to help, and together the two quickly got him situated on Epona. When he started to slide off the saddle, Four leapt in behind him, grabbing him around the waist.

At Twilight’s raised questioning eyebrow, Four snapped, “Well I don’t think Epona would appreciate carrying the Old Man and you, Rancher.”

“So what you’re saying is you’re tiny,” Wild snickered.

Four rolled his eyes, grumbling.

Getting in front of Epona, Twilight guided her since Four had no way of reaching around Time to get to the reins. Then he looked at Wild, who hastily took the lead.

Wind gasped. “Wait, our stuff!”

Warriors swore under his breath. “I’ll get everything.”

“I’ll help,” Sky quickly offered.

“Come on, let’s get going,” Legend interjected, shoving Wild forward. “We can’t linger out here.”

“We’ll catch up, Champion, don’t worry,” Warriors assured Wild, agreeing with Legend. “Lead on.”

As the captain and the knight rushed back to the trees where their discarded items remained, Wild started to walk ahead. He paused a moment, however, and looked at Twilight. “Rancher… you should go ahead. You think you can make it to the Domain if I give you directions? It would be best if they got notice before we arrive.”

Twilight nodded. “Good idea. Tell me where to go.”

“You shouldn’t go alone!” Four said worriedly, peeking around Time’s back.

Twilight smiled. “I’ll be alright, don’t worry, Smithy. Besides, you should all stay with the Old Man. He’ll need protecting.”

“From monsters, or himself?” Legend muttered.

Wind was ringing his hands nervously, and Hyrule looked away, eyes alert for danger.

It only took a minute or so for Twilight to be on his way, running at full speed as a wolf. The storm would hopefully keep most travelers off the road, allowing him to take the shortest and safest path. Not long after he’d departed, Sky and Warriors caught up with the rest of the group. Everyone’s weapons and metal objects were stored away, and they were on the move in no time.

The journey was blessedly uneventful, aside from the storm soaking everyone to the bone. The group walked with haste but in silence, too shaken up from what had happened and what might yet come. Halfway through the journey Four had to admit defeat at trying to keep Time situated on the saddle while unconscious, having been doing it for hours. Wind swapped out with him happily, and Four dragged his feet for a little bit, clearly worn out, until Warriors offered to carry him on his back. It was a testament to his exhaustion and stress from the day that he agreed without much argument.

The final leg of the journey was the most treacherous. Sky and Hyrule prowled ahead while Legend and Warriors watched the rear. A few monsters got in their way, but the rain helped them maintain a small semblance of stealth and sneak up on most of their enemies before they had any time to really engage.

By the time the group reached the Domain, Twilight was at the entrance in his Hylian form, awaiting their arrival alongside several Zora guards. The guards quickly assisted them with carrying Time off Epona and into the inn where a healer was waiting. Twilight happily reunited with his steed, thanking her for carrying his elder, and then checked on the others.

Despite there being space at the inn, the majority of the heroes were too worked up to settle or check on Time, knowing they’d just get in the way of the healer. They split into smaller groups and wandered. Legend, Warriors, and Four ventured into the local shop, busying themselves with resupplying for the team. Sky and Hyrule wandered to a tower in the periphery of the city, avoiding other Zoras and Hylians alike. Wind paced the entire domain so much that Wild was certain he was going to wear the soles off his boots, so he took the youngest Link to read the historical texts carved into stone near the sleeping ponds in the Domain. Twilight hovered by the cooking pot just outside the inn, unable to take his eyes off the healer as she worked.

Eventually, the storm system that had roared through finally started to settle. The band of heroes slowly meandered towards the inn, looking at Twilight for an update. Everyone was exhausted at this point and mostly beyond words.

Twilight gave a small smile. “Healer said he’ll be fine. He’s already woken up once for them, just out of it.”

As Twilight gave them the full report, Warriors wandered in first, standing over their leader and watching him silently.

Time shifted, sensing someone nearby, and slowly opened his left eye with a small moan. His head was killing him, as were his abdomen and chest. His taste buds weren’t exactly thrilled with that awful potion he’d been given, either, but that was clearly the least of his worries.

Looking around, he caught sight of the other heroes with whom he’d been traveling. They surrounded his bed, some farther away than others, and they all had a strange hesitation and timidity in their eyes.

Trying to reassure them, Time gave a small smile, sitting up a little. “There’s no need to look so forlorn, the healer already said I’d be fine.”

Palpable relief washed through the room, and everyone sighed heavily.

Satisfied, Time rubbed a tired hand over his face, shifting his focus to figuring out how in the world he ended up here. The last thing he really remembered was playing the Song of Storms to bring some cool rain in the hopes that it would help with how much he was burning up. At the time, to his addled brain, it had seemed a good idea. But they’d been in a forest when that had happened. What… ah, wait, there was something else. Something had happened… a monster horde? Some sort of threat, he knew that much. Something hadn’t felt right, and…

Time’s eye settled on the boys once more, really looking. They were all soaking wet and shivering. Hyrule, Twilight, and Warriors were covered in mud, and the traveler’s face was slightly scuffed up with small cuts. Every single one of his boys looked utterly exhausted.

Time’s chest clenched. He had a bad feeling about this. “What happened?”

Everyone shifted, looking at each other awkwardly. Time’s gaze settled on the captain, knowing he wouldn’t lie to him. Warriors sighed heavily, brushing his usually pristine hair out of his face, still dripping wet from the rain Time heard outside. “You were a little out of it, Old Man. You, uh, thought there was danger.”

Time felt his blood run cold as the truth of the matter settled heavily in his stomach. “I didn’t…”

“Yeah. You did.” Legend said flatly, crossing his arms. “You should be thankful. Traveler ended things quickly and all you got out of it was a lump on the head.”

“And a broken rib,” Four added helpfully.

“Yeah, but that was Rancher, not Traveler,” Wind noted.

Twilight bit his lip, looking at the floor.

Time didn’t know what to say. Logically, he knew that it wasn’t his fault. He’d been very ill. But he could have noticed earlier that he was sick and gotten better treatment for it. It was just that… well, it hadn’t seemed that bad. He’d honestly not really known what was wrong with himself. It wasn’t until he suddenly couldn’t speak that he’d grown worried, but by then it was too late. The confusion had settled in alongside the raging fever, and Time had lost all sense of lucidity.

Sky, reading the room as he always did, motioned to the others. “Come on. He needs to rest.”

One by one they filed out until only Warriors, Wind, Hyrule, and Twilight remained.

Hyrule hung his head a little. “I’m… sorry I hurt you.”

Time gave him his most convincing smile, filled with pride but also shame. “Don’t be. You ensured no one else was injured. I'm sorry I put all of you in that situation in the first place.”

Hyrule gave a small nod of acknowledgement and then shuffled out, and Wind immediately filled the space he’d left, eyes wide.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked nervously.

Time’s heart clenched again. He felt far worse than he had before. He couldn’t believe he’d caused his boys so much pain. Swallowing, he said softly, “I promise I’m okay, Sailor.”

Warriors put a hand on the boy’s shoulder in reassurance and gave Time a small smile. “Rest up, Old Man. And hey…” here the captain locked eyes with Time, giving him a firm look that brooked no argument. “Don’t blame yourself. We know it wasn’t your fault.”

The captain didn’t give Time any moment to respond or argue the fact, guiding Wind out of the area.

That left Twilight.

Glancing at his descendant, Time saw a mixture of emotions going through the young man’s eyes. Guilt, shame, fear, relief. Time felt his shoulders droop at the sight of it. Of all the boys in the group, Twilight was the most likely to blame himself, the least likely to talk about it, and the last person Time wanted to put in this position.

Twilight took a deep breath, steeling himself. Time waited for whatever he had to say, unable to speak first.

“Did you know you were getting sick?” he asked.

Time lowered his head in shame. “I noticed, but I… wasn’t convinced it was serious until it was too late.”

There was a heavy silence that filled the room, and then Time glanced up at Twilight, saying, “I’m sorry I put you through that. All of you.”

Twilight moved as if to put a hand on Time’s shoulder, but he stopped himself. Time’s heart clenched at the sight of it. He knew everyone was likely going to be walking eggshells around him for the next couple of days. He’d have to make up for his mistake to them.

“So, the next time I say something’s wrong with you…” Twilight said firmly, trailing off with his arms crossed, waiting for an answer.

Time sighed heavily. “I’ll listen to you.”

Twilight nodded, swallowing, and hesitated again. Time shifted over in the bed, pulling the cover down and patting the mattress. The slowness in Twilight's movements betrayed his anxiety, and it took a very considerable effort on Time's part to not shrivel into oblivion right there.

Goddesses, he felt awful.

Twilight sat beside the eldest Link, and Time gently pulled him into a hug. The rancher was stiff initially, but he eventually relented and settled into the hold.

"You need to sleep," Twilight muttered into Time's tunic, trembling.

"I will," Time said, settling back on the bed and pulling Twilight down with him. "You need to as well."

Twilight said nothing, conceding the fact, and exhaled heavily as if releasing a burden he'd been carrying. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

It took even less time for the others to sneak back in, one by one, until Time was surrounded in the bed.

Sky and Warriors were the last to reenter, hovering in the doorway, their eyes glittering in the dark.

Time smiled at them. "I'm sure you can find someplace if the others will make room."

With Wind snuggled securely in one arm, Twilight in the other, Hyrule using his ankles as a pillow, Wild pressing his back against his legs on one side while Four did so on the other, and Legend slumped in a chair with his torso laid out on the bed and his hand gripping the elder's tunic, it would definitely be interesting for them to find space. But Time wanted to reassure them as much as the others.

Sky looked longingly at the bed and then shook his head, backing away as Warriors chuckled.

"We'll be alright, Sprite," the captain said softly. "Get some sleep."

Time felt the vestiges of his hurt from earlier sting like a needle poking into his heart, but he didn't show it. "Very well. But I'm getting you two tomorrow."

Sky and Warriors' faces warmed at that, and the two bade him a good night.

Drinking in the sight of the boys around him, Time settled and fell asleep.