#university of mind control

[kettlefire]

Not Always a Villain (DP x DC Prompt)

Alfred Pennyworth is a man who always stands on business. Despite what the world might think, Alfred is truly the scariest man within the Wayne family.

He is a man of morals, that is correct. There are some lines Alfred refuses to cross. Harming kids is one of them. However, some morals become flexible when it comes to his family.

Alfred isn't Batman. Or any of the other vigilantes under Batman's wing. Alfred is simply a butler, and that's all that matters. He loves his family, deeply and truly. If there is a day when no love is shared, that is the day he is dead.

Despite all that, Alfred is detatched from the vigilante work. His job is to be there for the Wayne family. To offer them help in any way he can. And Alfred always delivers.

Even if it goes unnoticed, just how large of a role he plays.

Alfred is content with his role, with his life. He is more than happy keeping his darker traits hidden and tucked away. Unneeded in a family like the Waynes.

That was until a new villain appeared in the scene. A young man who seemed to strick fear in the hearts of everyone who encountered him. With snow white hair and blood red eyes.

Alfred barely spared a thought to it. Barely paid attention to the chatter about this villain. It wasn't his job to. Alfred was simply a butler, and that was all.

That was until the day it happened. Damian Wayne was sent to the hospital. Bloodied and broken. A truly brutal attack.

When Alfred looked down at the young master. Bruised in a hospital bed with a tube helping him to breathe. Bandages hiding most of the damage, but the whole family knew. This was an extremely close call.

In that moment, Alfred Pennyworth snapped.

He pulled some strings and checked in a few long, overdue favors. Before long, Alfred was on his own mission. He didn't breathe a word of it to Bruce or the others.

Alfred knew they would try to stop him. Or worses, they'll try to join in. This was something Alfred needed to do. Despite being an overall kind-hearted man, Alfred still had the heart of a stone cold killer.

He failed when it had been Jason. Alfred wasn't going to fail Damian. Not another Wayne kid will be failed. Not anymore.

Alfred had been so set on doing it. In taking out this villain before things escalated further. This young man was clearly cold-hearted, willing to hurt anyone and anything.

That's what Alfred thought.

What he believed until the moment he was face to face with the young man. It had been so certain. The man was unbelievably cold. Laughing in the face of Alfred's words, only stroking the old man's anger.

That was until Alfred had landed a hit, and everything shifted.

Blood red eyes suddenly shifted to bright lazarus pit green. The cruel look in those eyes suddenly changed to a horrified guilty expression. The man had stopped the fight in an instant.

Pulling away from Alfred. Terror and guilt clear as day as the villain seemed to retreat. In that moment, it all seemed to click in Alfred's mind.

This wasn't a villain. He wasn't a monster only determined to hurt anyone in his path. He wasn't the Joker.

Even when green eyes turned red once again. Even when the young man struggled and fought against him.

Alfred didn't yield.

He slapped special cuffs on the man, removing the powers he had. Dragged the villain all the way back to the cave.

Even when the anger and recognition flooded everyones' expressions. Alfred didn't stand down. He held strong, refusing to let anyone get their hands on the young man.

The young man that seemed too much like a young boy.

Alfred pushed the crusade to help. Laid his case out. Pulled the trust card. The supposed villain wasn't the person Alfred had beef with.

Not after hour long interrogations. Getting as much information as they could. It was a struggle, but it found an end. Alfred had no qualms with this young man.

No, he quickly learned who was to blame. Who was the person who deserved Alfred's anger. Deserved to pay for what was done. Alfred had a name, and soon... Very soon, that person will be in an obituary. A name was all Alfred needed.

Alfred was going to take down this Freakshow. Even if it was the last thing he could do.

[bugcowboyart]

Scratch’s Playthings

The FBC Nursery Rhymes are one of my favorite parts of Alan Wake II, not only were they fun to puzzle out I also just love the idea of some business person running around making handicrafts and clothespin dolls. I wanted to combine that with my absolute appreciation of the environments and props in this game and here’s the result.

Might end up buying the supplies to make my own clothespin Saga and Wake!

[a-path-by-the-moon]

[sokoviansimp]

Control

✒ Pairings: dom!wanda x subAgent!femreader

✒ Summary: Tension builds when Wanda and Y/N, who hate each other, are sent on a mission with Y/N's best friend, Natasha, and her wife Maria. The mission doesn't exactly go to plan.

✒ Tags and Warnings: 18+! Mature themes, kidnapping, chemicals, hospital, bickering, enemies to lovers, slow burn

✒ Author's Note: not proofread, because I'm really high rn and want to get this out because it's been in my drafts for like a month but I've been so busy with moving, and working 2 jobs, and just life changes.

✒ Word Count: 9523

✒ Read Time: 24 minutes

Masterlist : Socials : Series Masterlist

The dimly lit, high-tech briefing room at the SHIELD headquarters buzzed with anticipation. Agents of all kinds filled the seats, their eyes trained on the enormous screen at the front. Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow herself, stood at the head of the room, her signature poise and confidence emanating from her.

You sat nearby, attention locked onto the screen. You had earned your place among the elite Shield agents through sheer skill and determination, graduating early from the academy. Your sharp mind and lightning-quick reflexes made you one of the best in the business. 

Natasha, after glancing over to her wife, Maria, began the mission briefing. "Our intel suggests that a rogue group of Hydra operatives has obtained a dangerous chemical compound. We need to secure it before they can use it for any nefarious purposes. We’ll be sending a small team in to infiltrate, if all goes to plan we should be in and out within 2 days. Y/N, you’ll partner with Wanda, and Maria will come with me,” Wanda couldn’t help but roll her eyes and let out a small huff at being paired with you, “The tac team will meet us on day 2 by the south entrance to secure the base. Everyone clear?” Nat finished as she looked around the room to see a bunch of heads bobbing in confirmation. 

Once everyone had filed out, you and Wanda hung back to discuss infiltration plans with Maria and Natasha. Nat explained that the trek to get to the area undetected would take a day, you would sleep at a small cabin safe house on the outskirts of the forest, and then the next day you would stealthily breach the border to the Hydra base and seize control of the chemical before letting the tac team in to finish up. 

“Sounds like a plan, but why do y/n and I have to be partners on this?” Wanda added trying everything she could to get out of being stuck with you by her side. 

“Now, I know you two love to bicker, but we’re all adults here. I’m sure you two can push your differences aside for 2 days.” Natasha explained as she shot Wanda a pointed look. She knew the brunette had her grievances about you and, as much as Nat loved you, she also knew how annoying you could be on the surface, but you two were also the ones Nat trusted most, aside from her wife, to have her six.

“I don’t see that being a problem, do you Wanda?” you confirmed with a smug smirk on your face, knowing you would have ample time to get under Wanda’s skin. Bickering with the brunette was something you would never admit you actually enjoyed, but you did. You loved getting her going and sometimes you could even imagine the smoke blowing out of her ears from how much you drove her crazy. You found herself drawn to Wanda's reactions, the way her cheeks would flush with annoyance, or her lips would curl into a sly smile when she caught on to your teasing. You unknowingly reveled in the attention it garnered from Wanda.

Wanda’s gaze shifted back to the screen as her brows knit tightly together forming a slight furrow in the middle of her forehead, “Guess not, when do we leave” she asked tightly pressing her lips together.

“Wheels up in 30” Nat informed as everyone filed out to pack. 

You leaned against a nearby table, eyeing Wanda as she adjusted her gear. "Wanda, are you sure you're ready for this mission? I mean, it's not as easy as manipulating some red energy."

Wanda shot you a withering look, her scarlet eyes flashing. "Not everything can be solved by punching first and asking questions later, Sprints. Some of us have to use our brains."

Wanda had given you the nickname, Sprints, one day when you were training in the compound with Nat. Shield agents don't typically train at the compound, but your close friendship with Natasha made you an exception. This day, you had been bragging about setting a new in-house record for the 100-meter dash.

You chuckled, unfazed. "Brains, huh? Well, I'm glad one of us has 'em."

Wanda smirked, her accent lacing her words with a hint of sarcasm. "And I'm glad one of us doesn't rely solely on brute force."

You couldn't resist a playful jab. "True, but at least when I hit something, it stays down. Can't say the same for your mind tricks."

Wanda's lips curled into a wry smile. "Wanna test that theory?" she said pointedly as she raised her hand and her magic swirled around in her fingertips. 

Just then, Nat entered breaking up the standoff between you and Wanda, “Knock it off you two, the jet is taking off in 5, get loaded up,” Nat instructed as she watched Wanda walk by you and slightly nudge your shoulder as you innocently raised your hands toward Natasha, “Now.” she said firmly causing you to scurry off with your bag in Wanda’s trail. 

As the quin-jet roared to life, and with Nat and Maria both in the cockpit, you couldn't resist the urge to tease Wanda. You knew how to push the right buttons, and her playful, sometimes very real, annoyance was on full display.

You leaned across the narrow aisle, grinning mischievously at Wanda, who was quietly reading a book on her tablet. "Hey, Wanda," you began, your tone a touch too cheerful, "since we're going up against Hydra today, maybe you can use your mind tricks to make them forget they ever messed with us."

Wanda glanced at her with a bemused expression, clearly unimpressed. "Y/N, my powers don't work that way, and you know it."

Y/N pretended to ponder this for a moment, tapping her chin with a playful smirk. "Hmm, shame. It would've made our job so much easier. But hey, don't worry. I'm sure you'll find some other way to be useful."

Wanda sighed, shaking her head as she shifted her focus back to her book. She was clearly unamused by your antics.

As the quin-jet touched down in a remote area, nearly 10 miles from their target location, the four of you gathered your gear and prepared to embark on your covert trek. The evening was closing in quickly and with the loss of the sun, it would start getting cold soon.

Natasha, the team leader, huddled the group together for a final briefing. "Remember, we need to reach the cabin undetected. This is a highly secured area, and any alert could jeopardize the mission. Y/N and Wanda, I need you two to put your differences aside and work together. Our success depends on it." 

Y/N exchanged a begrudging glance with Wanda but nodded in agreement. "Got it, Nat. I'll try not to annoy Wanda too much."

Wanda rolled her eyes but remained silent, her focus on the task at hand.

The team set out on their trek, moving silently through the dense forest, their footsteps muffled by the fallen leaves and underbrush. Y/N and Wanda found themselves side by side, each step of the way requiring them to cooperate and coordinate their movements to avoid detection.

Every now and then, an armored personnel carrier would drive by causing the team to utilize nearby ravines, trenches, and coves to avoid detection. At one point, they hid out in a culvert for a few minutes waiting for the oncoming trail of vehicles to pass. A crinkling sound eventually made its way to Wanda’s ears and her head snapped to you as you tore open a granola bar, “Really, is now the best time for that?” Wanda whispered, trying to keep quiet as she scolded you, “Oh yes, you do not want to see me when I’m hangry,” you quietly responded as Natasha hushed you both to keep quiet. 

Despite your earlier banter and rivalry, you and Wanda fell into a rhythm as you navigated the challenging terrain. You took point, your sharp instincts and knowledge of the wilderness guiding the path. Wanda, with her enhanced senses, scanned for any signs of danger or hidden threats.

As you moved deeper into the night, the initial tension between the two of you began to dissipate. You began communicating with subtle gestures and exchanged information about the terrain and possible obstacles. Gradually, a sense of unity began to form between you two, as you realized that your success truly depended on your ability to work together.

Hours passed, and the mission team finally arrived at the remote cabin where they would be staying for the night. Nat and Maria thoroughly cleared it to make sure there were no unexpected guests. Once it was clear, you and Wanda made your way in. The cabin was rustic, with only two bedrooms, and it quickly became apparent that accommodations would be tight.

Natasha and Maria, who were married, naturally gravitated toward one of the bedrooms and claimed it as their own. They exchanged a knowing look, then turned to the rest of the team.

Wanda, ever the enigmatic one, made her preferences clear with a cool, unwavering stare. "I'm not sharing a room with Y/N," she stated firmly.

Realizing the implications, you tried to defuse the situation. "No problem, Wanda. I can sleep on the couch or even on the floor. It's not a big deal."

But Natasha, always the pragmatic leader, stepped in. "Actually, it is a big deal. We need both of you at your best tomorrow. We can't afford any tension or lack of rest. You two are sharing the other bed, there’s plenty of room."

Wanda's lips formed a thin line of irritation, but Natasha's word was final. She begrudgingly agreed, her tone laced with annoyance. "Fine, but I'm taking the left side of the bed."

You nodded following Wanda to the other room, a hint of a smirk playing on her lips. "Works for me, Wanda. I promise not to steal the covers."

With the sleeping arrangements decided, the team settled into their respective rooms, though the atmosphere in the second bedroom was palpably tense. You and Wanda each occupying your respective sides with a noticeable gap between. Tension hung in the air, and you both lay stiffly under the covers, each determined not to give an inch.

The initial discomfort led to a silent battle for the covers. Your fingers twitched slightly as you subtly attempted to pull the blanket your way. Wanda, sensing the movement, tightened her grip on the fabric. This quiet tug-of-war continued for a while, neither of you willing to relinquish control.

But as time passed, exhaustion began to take its toll. The temperature in the room dropped, and the comfort of the covers became increasingly irresistible. Unbeknownst to either of you, both of you gradually drifted into a fitful slumber, with both your subconscious minds seeking warmth and comfort.

In the dead of night, your bodies shifted ever so slightly. In your sleep, you unconsciously turned toward Wanda, your back now touching Wanda's side. Wanda, still asleep, feeling the unexpected contact, hesitated for a moment but soon found herself subconsciously gravitating closer to your warmth.

Your movements continued to synchronize in the depths of sleep. Slowly but surely, the gap between you vanished as you instinctively nestled into each other. Your arm draped over Wanda's waist, and Wanda's head nestled into the crook of your neck. The covers you had fought over earlier now cocooning you both, providing warmth and security.

Though you had started the night as adversaries, the quiet intimacy of your subconscious movements told a different story. In the stillness of the cabin, with the moonlight filtering through the curtains, you and Wanda had found an unexpected source of comfort in each other's presence. It was as if you two were pieces in a puzzle that fit perfectly with one another as your exhaustion-riddled bodies melded together after a long day. 

The morning sun filtered through the cabin's curtains, casting a warm and gentle glow across the room. As you and Wanda began to stir, you each gradually became aware of your compromising position. Your bodies were entangled, limbs intertwined, and faces mere inches apart.

For a brief moment, your eyes fluttered open and met Wanda’s gaze, your heartbeat picked up nearly drowning out any source of sound for you as your cheeks reddened, you knew you should want to move, should be upset, but you froze like a deer in headlights, like if you stayed still then she wouldn’t notice and would stay as well. For a moment, you enjoyed the comfort of the witch’s grasp. That was quickly replaced by your mutual disdain from the previous night as the tension resurfaced with the disgusted look Wanda shot over to you. You locked eyes, both startled by the proximity and the realization of how closely you had been clinging to each other in your sleep.

Wanda quickly pulled away, her cheeks coloring slightly with a mix of embarrassment and irritation. She shifted to her side of the bed and cleared her throat, avoiding your gaze. "This is... not how I expected to wake up."

Equally flustered, you hastily withdrew your arm and adjusted your position to sit on the edge of the bed, cheeks tinged with a faint blush. "Yeah, well, it's not exactly my ideal morning either."

The tension that had momentarily dissipated during the night returned in full force. Both of you were acutely aware of the compromising position you had awoken in, and it only served to highlight your ongoing rivalry and mutual discomfort.

As you both jumped to get out of bed and prepared for the day ahead, your distaste for each other remained palpable. The events of the night had not erased your differences or any of the underlying tension, and you were both eager to put some distance between each other and the uncomfortable intimacy you had experienced in your sleep. Was it really uncomfortable though? You couldn’t deny, it was the best you had slept in weeks. No, it was. Just remembering the look of pure disgust on Wanda’s face puts the bad taste right back in your mouth.

“You two are up early, figured I’d have to come in clanging some pans the way you two like to sleep in.” Nat teased as you and Wanda entered the kitchen, “How’d you sleep?” 

“Goo-” you began but were cut off but the louder brunette beside you, “TERRIBLE” she groaned in response, not wanting to re-live what she woke up to. 

Nat glanced at Y/N knowingly, “What was that, Y/N?” she continued to tease as she poured the coffee that she had just made into 2 mugs in front of her for each of you. 

“Yea, grossly bad. Just- what she said” you stammered to get out, trying to remember what exactly was so bad about it. Then you remembered the look on Wanda’s face full of disgust again, and you couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty that she felt that way toward you. 

Once you were all geared up and ready to leave the cabin, Natasha went over the plan one more time before you all stealthily headed back out into the forest. The weak spot that you were looking to infiltrate was about 5 miles from the cabin and you thanked whatever gods may exist that it wasn't winter yet. The air was cold against your cheeks, enough to tinge them a slight red from the wind burn, but not so frigid that you were shivering or unable to focus. 

Wanda, on the other hand, curled in on herself any chance she could in order to keep warm and ward off the shivers that threatened to take over her body. As you were waiting in another culvert for a line of trucks to pass by, you noticed from the way Wanda was curled up that she was struggling. Knowing you could survive without the jacket you were wearing, you went to offer it to the witch, “Cold?” you whispered softly and placed your hand on her shoulder to get her attention from behind. 

Her eyes snapped over to meet your gaze and she pulled her arm away from your touch like you were a deadly disease, “I’m fine,” she whispered back icy and dismissive, making a mental note to hide her discomfort better. Her disgust for you was clear, little did she know, you were only trying to help.

Taken aback by her response, your initial concern became clouded with frustration. All you wanted to do was see her light up in your direction and yet everything you did caused her to hate you more. If she’s going to act this way, may as well give her a reason. Two can play this game, “Oh right, I forgot you’re made of tougher skin than the rest of us peasants,” you mocked, keeping your tone low so as to not give up your position. 

The look that Wanda shot back your way sent shivers down your spine, “Should’ve come more prepared, like me,” you say flaunting your jacket and digging the metaphorical knife deeper as Nat waved an ‘all clear’ signal.

“There it is,” Wanda snapped back at you,  “every chance you get to be a coc-“ Natasha cut Wanda off, silencing her, before she could finish her point.

You caught Wanda’s gaze as it happened and pointed at your ears tauntingly. Her jaw tightened and her anger brewed as she continued to move through the culvert, following Nat and Maria’s lead.

As the team made its way out of the culvert and trekked along the route, you noticed Wanda was no longer shivering, all the pent-up anger toward you providing her warmth that would last at least a couple of minutes as you smirked to yourself.

Once inside, Natasha and Maria took point in clearing a path and disabling guards with precision and stealth. You and Wanda had been tasked with obtaining the chemical agent that had been noted on the radar. The crucial task brought you both further into the facility, and as much as you each had trouble being in one another’s presence, you put your differences aside to work well as a team.

As you moved deeper into enemy territory, you settled back into the unspoken language of signals you had used the previous day together. Wanda was easily able to disable the camera feeds with her telekinesis while you took out any remaining guards and covered your tracks.

Soon enough, you both came to a secure-looking door, its lock was intricate and seemed heavily fortified with barometric readings and sensors. Without hesitation, Wanda focused her energy on the lock’s mechanism, using her powers to manipulate the gears and pins. You had her back, keeping watch on the corrodor, as she fell vulnerable to an attack from behind with her mind focused elsewhere.

A stray guard came out of a room down the hall making his way in your direction as he began to yell and pull out his gun, “Don’t lose focus Wanda, I got your back,” you assured her as you swiftly disabled the guard. As much as Wanda may hate you, she knew deep down that she could trust you and kept her focus on the door.

Once you settled back beside Wanda, you couldn’t help but let out a snarky comment as she was otherwise engaged with her powers, “You know, Wanda, it’s almost like having magic hands comes in handy on a mission like this,” 

Wanda shot you a side-eye glance with just a hint of a smirk on her lips, “Oh, so now you like my powers, huh?”

Grinning, you responded, “Let’s just say, I’m starting to see the perks.”

With that, Wanda was finally able to get the door lock to yield to her magic and open up. With the granted entry, you both slipped into the room beyond, only to be met with dozens of eyes from scientists working in the lab you just entered, “What’s up fellas, I heard you’ve been playing with a new toy,”

The scientists, startled by the sudden intrusion, immediately recognized the threat and reacted swiftly. They shouted in alarm as you charged at them causing one of them to activate a security alarm, triggering a set of reinforced doors to slam shut, attempting to neutralize the largest threat they saw, Wanda.

Before she could react, you pushed her out of the way, finding yourself locked inside a sealed chamber, cut off from Wanda and the rest of the room. Panic coursed through your veins as you realized the predicament. Seeing that you’re in no position to look out for Wanda any longer, you began pounding on the glass door, shouting for her to get out, but the scientists weren’t done quite yet.

In a desperate bid to incapacitate you, originally Wanda, and prevent any further interference, one of the scientists had activated an aerosol dispenser in the sealed chamber. A fine mist of the chemical agent you had been tasked with retrieving filled the air around you. All you could do was gasp as the toxic substance began to take effect. Desperately trying to hold your breath and shield yourself from exposure, your focus shifted from escape to self-preservation. Your skin became overrun with a dark crystalized rash, similar to obsidian growing like a vine on the side of an unkept building, scaling up and down your arms as it spread out. 

On the other side of the sealed door, Wanda fought to free you from your captors, her powers surging as she attempted to disable the security measures and reach you as quickly as possible. She knew the amount of time it would take her to break through the mechanism would be fatal for you, so she desperately took to screaming at the scientists to unlock the door and sending a wave of magic knocking them against the wall when they wouldn't cooperate. The scientists, however, were determined to keep you separated and eliminate the threat they posed to their operation. The mission had taken a treacherous turn, and you were left alone in a race against time to survive the effects of the chemical while Wanda fought desperately to save you. 

As the seconds flew by, your vision grew hazy and Wanda knew you were reaching critical condition as the rash spread to your face. When brute force failed, she surged into the minds of the scientists standing before her to figure out how to disable the chamber. Once she was deep enough within their mind to bend their bodies to her will, she was finally able to free you.

As soon as the doors opened to allow Wanda to reach you, she rushed in without a second thought, her magic almost working subconsciously to move whatever was left of the chemical in the air. You laid on the floor hanging onto any bit of consciousness you could grasp onto as you faded in and out, just hoping to make it out alive. 

The witch scooped you up and darted for the exit, “Nat, we have an emergency situation here. Need medical evac NOW!” Wanda said over the comms. Her sprint turned into a quick glide through the air as she found it easier and quicker to let her magic take you both through the base and toward the exit. 

“Roger that, contacted HQ for the tac team and medical. 10 minutes out.” Nat responded, “What hap-” 

“Fuck- 10 minutes? I don’t know if she has that long,” Wanda responded with worry, as she looked down at you shaking in pain as you drifted in and out of awareness, “Y/N, hey look at me, can you hear me?” Wanda spoke gently but with urgency, as you met her gaze briefly before your eyes rolled back slightly in a blur, “Medical is on the way, you just need to hold out for 10 minutes, I’m going to get you there, just- hang on” Wanda stated as her grip on you tightened and her magic quickened in pace. 

Within minutes, Wanda met up with a medical team that arrived on the scene. They assessed your condition and quickly realized the severity of the situation. You were unconscious, struggling to breathe, and not only displaying signs of chemical poisoning but also a rash they had never seen before.

Working together, Wanda and the medical team carefully stabilized your condition as best they could on-site. They administered oxygen and provided preliminary treatment to counteract the effects of the chemical agent.

Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the medical team made the critical decision to transfer you to a nearby hospital equipped to handle chemical exposure cases. They carefully loaded you onto a gurney and rushed you onto an awaiting helicopter.

During the tense journey to the hospital, Wanda rode alongside you holding her hand and offering silent reassurance, while Nat and Maria stayed back to work with the tactical team. The situation remained dire, but they were doing everything they could to give you the best chance of survival.

At the hospital, a team of specialized medical professionals took over your care, working tirelessly to detoxify your system and stabilize your condition. The chemical exposure had taken a toll on your body, and even after all this time, your prognosis remained uncertain.

Wanda, exhausted and fraught with worry, refused to leave your side. As if every reason she had to hate you flew out the window, she was determined to stand by her partner throughout this ordeal, hoping and praying for your recovery. 

Wanda was pulled from her spiraling thoughts in the waiting room as she heard a nurse utter, “She’s stable,” in a very neutral tone, so neutral that maWanda was unsure if it was actually good news, “but she’s not out of the woods yet.” she warned as she motioned for Wanda to follow her in to be by your side once again. 

The brunette stood to follow, “Is she awake?” 

The nurse shook her head, mentioning that she doesn’t expect you to wake up for at least 12 hours. They needed to ensure that your body has flushed out the toxin before allowing it to exert any more energy. 

Wanda took the seat by your bed and notified Natasha of the situation. She was hopeful, knowing you're a fighter, and Wanda tried to be optimistic as well, “It should’ve been me, Nat,” Wanda stated full of guilt and regret. Nat did her best to assure Wanda that she would’ve done the same and your situation was in no way her fault. Deep down, she wonders if she actually would’ve done the same. 

“You better wake up, Sprints, or I swear. How dare y- why do you have to be the best at everything?” She sighed as her body trembled and a tear spilled from her eyelid.

After two long and agonizing days of unconsciousness, you finally began to stir in the hospital bed. Your vision was hazy at first, and you struggled to regain full awareness but as your senses gradually sharpened, you slowly became aware of the sterile hospital room that surrounded you.

The first thing you noticed was Wanda, sitting by your bedside. As your eyes met Wanda’s, your heart skipped a beat, you could see her gaze filled with a mixture of concern and relief. It was unlike her, but you couldn't help but smile weakly, your voice hoarse as you croaked out a greeting. "Hey there."

Wanda's expression softened, and she reached for your hand, squeezing it gently. "You're awake," she replied, her relief evident in her voice until it starkly changed to anger, almost like a mask, “Don't ever do that again!” she warned, brows furrowing.

“Wow, not even a thank you.” you teased as Wanda bit back to reiterate, “I’m serious y/n, I could’ve protected myself.”

“Yeah, but I protected us both,” you snarkily replied letting the brunette build up steam as you dug further.

“Protected? You almost got yourself killed, for nothing! God you're insufferable!” she exclaimed, not even wanting to be in the room with you anymore. Remembering just how annoying it is to even hold a conversation with you.

“Didn’t realize you cared,” 

As your eyes continued to scan the room, you spotted Natasha and Maria entering the room with a tray of coffee and snacks, “Coffee anyone? Oh Y/N, you're awake!” 

You smiled in response as Nat took the coffee from her wife with a smile, letting the tension built between you and Wanda disipate as they took over the conversation. 

“You gave us quite the scare there, y/n,” Nat noted, as much as she worried for you, she knew you were a fighter with the best medical team in the country. 

“Aw, you were worried?” You teased, knowing Nat to always keep a stone cold exterior to most, only letting ones that she was close to, like you, really get to see her emotions. 

“Not one bit,” she lied and everyone in the room knew.

As Nat and Maria took over the conversation, Wanda sat there brewing. Not only could she not understand the emotions she was feeling for you, but they just kept brewing as he sat in silence. Anger, relief, annoyance, worry, it all swam around in a confusion pool of questions. Her abrupt departure was without a word and you looked to Nat as she left, “Guess she’s tapped out on me for the day,”

Nat knew that you and Wanda had a rocky relationship but she felt that the brunettes behavior was quite uncalled for given the circumstances, “mm, I’ll talk to her,” Nat hummed as she got up to leave the room in pursuit of Wanda.

“And then there were two,” you joked with Maria. 

Nat found Wanda in the hallway walking toward the exit of the hospital, she was headed back to the cabin as that’s where the 3 of them have been staying while you were stuck in a foreign hospital until you were ready to be transferred back to New York, “What the fuck was that?” Nat aggressively shouted in Wanda’s direction. 

Wanda quickly snapped her head around to the familiar voice, eyes landing on the angry Russian, “Not now Nat, please.” She dismissed as she stayed on her path. 

“No, Wanda, you don’t get to pick and choose. Y/N was practically on her deathbed to save you and this is how you want to act? What’s so terrible that you can’t even spend more than 5 minutes with her?”

“I didn’t need her to save me, she just made it all even more,” Wanda paused before bursting out, “DIFFICULT!” 

Nat could tell this was about more than just getting you to safety after the mission. She knew Wanda had dealt with a lot and always had a hard time getting her emotions in check. Instead of pressing further, she decided to switch up the metaphorical cards in her hands, “well all she wanted was to make sure you were safe.” With that, Nat turned to head back to your room. Wanda stood there watching her walk away, knowing she was right.

Before Wanda could decide what to do next the ground began to shake. It was subtle at first but soon, the items lining the walls and the structure of the building began to tremble along with it. Nat turned back to Wanda, who was still standing behind her, “Is that you?” She raised her brow, knowing the answer would be no, but hoping that it was by chance as that would make their job much easier. 

Wanda shook her head, confusion written all over her face as Nat turned again in the direction of your room in a full sprint, Wanda following Nat’s lead closely behind. Nat easily put the pieces together that the chemical agent you were exposed to would have effects that they could not predict. 

When they made it to your room, they were met with Maria trying to calm you down as you shook and writhed on the bed in pain. Your skin felt like it had just been dipped in lava causing your temperature to rise so much that you could visibly see a slight red tint on your face. Inside was arguably even worse as the uncontrollable shivers caused you to feel lightheaded and nauseous. 

Nat tried calling for a doctor through the hallways as the building began shaking even more. The worse your condition became, the more aggravated the building shook. They had to do something before the hospital filled with hundreds of innocent people became rubble. Wanda came to the side of your bed opposite Maria, shock prominent on her features as she watched you squirm, not knowing how to help. 

Maria could tell that Wanda was struggling with how to help, honestly, she didn't know exactly what to do either, but she did know that they had to get the building to stop shaking, and she was sure with Wanda’s magic, they would be able to help you somehow, “We have to neutralize the seismic waves emitting from her somehow,” Maria told Wanda as she kept her eyes on you, trying to figure out a solution. 

With that, Wanda was snapped out of the frozen state she was in as her eyes lit up red and she dove into your mind, trying to get answers. Near instantly her body began to tremble as a whimper fell from her mouth at the pain that radiated from you, “Y/N you have to calm down, the whole building is about to collapse”

“I’m not doing anything,” your thoughts fighting to make sense of the situation, “I-I can't control it! H-HURTS!”

Wanda’s balance faltered as the building’s shaking became more intense, her grip on the railing of your hospital bed tightened, and it became clear to her that her best option was to sedate you. She reached her hands toward your temple and let the red tendrils of her magic flow freely toward your skin as they rooted themselves within your mind. Taking hold and lulling you into a calm state of peaceful sleep. Slowly but surely, the building stood still again and soon after, a doctor came in to assess the situation. 

“About time,” Natasha spat with clear irritation towards the doctor.

Wanda, felt a growing unease as Dr. Scholt entered the room. His icy, judgmental gaze fell onto you as he began to examine your medical chart and machines. It was clear to Wanda that his discomfort with powered individuals was not something he could easily hide.

Ignoring Nat’s comment, Dr. Scholt made his way over to assess your condition eventually swaying from their original plan of keeping you until you were stable enough to be transferred, “I've seen too many of their kind, causing nothing but chaos and destruction. We don't have the resources to deal with creatures like this in our hospitals,” unaware that one of the most powerful enhanced individuals was standing right beside him, his disdain for you was clear with his tone and judgmental words. 

With a mixture of anger and concern, Natasha’s eyes narrowed, and her voice carried a hint of impatience as she retorted, "We're here because we need medical assistance, Doctor, not a lecture. Y/N's condition is the priority, and I expect her to receive the same care as any other patient. Your personal opinions have no place in a hospital room."

Before the doctor had the chance to respond, Wanda cut in, “No, it’s fine. He made his stance awfully clear,” she quarreled with a head tilt toward the doctor before turning back to Natasha, “We’ll take it from here,” 

“Great, I’ll get her prepped for transport,” the doctor mentioned as he attempted to grab sedatives to administer to you for the ride. However, Wanda wasn’t going to let him or his team lay another finger on you after the display he just made, knowing even from his thoughts, that his ill intentions may get the better of him. 

Before he left the room, Wanda caught his attention, “Maybe I wasn’t clear, Adam,” refusing to use his doctorate title, “we will take it from here.” she precisely articulated in a sharp manner, “Our transport team is on the way, You and your team are not to lay another finger on Agent y/l/n. Are we clear?” she flared, starring daggers into his soul. 

“How do you know my name?” he bit back as if that was the most important thing that Wanda said. 

“Are we clear?” Wanda repeated, without any explanation for the extra information. The doctor quickly took the hint as he nodded and scurried out of the room.

Wanda’s gaze shifted to meet Nat’s gaze who stood by the door as she watched the doctor walk past her to leave the room, “All that for someone you hate, can’t imagine what you're like when you actually like somebody,” she teased. 

“I don’t hate her,” Wanda defended as she tried to hide the growing smirk on her face, “She’s just the most annoying person I’ve ever met,” she added to keep her position on you clear and she couldn’t have anyone thinking she likes you in the slightest, “But he wanted to do more to her than prep her for transport,” She informed the two other agents that stood with her in the room around your bed. 

“Well, Y/N’s lucky to have you in her corner, once Fury hears about this, Mr. Sholt can kiss his doctorate goodbye,” Maria reassured as she took a seat beside your bed to wait for the transport team to arrive in a couple hours. 

Once SHIELD’S medical team arrived, they administered sedatives to keep you unconscious during the flight and prepared you for the jet before you woke up. Wanda was instructed to be by your side as an extra precaution, in case you somehow woke up or your unhinged powers started going haywire in your sleep. 

The ride back was tame with no real issues, at one point Wanda could sense your consciousness creeping back in but she was able to quickly lull you back to comatose with her magic. Once the jet landed, they quickly got you set up in the med bay at the compound in Upstate New York. This was not typical protocol for the team. Since you were not an Avenger and merely a Shield agent, proper protocol would be to take you to the medical facilities at SHIELD headquarters. Natasha wouldn’t allow that to happen though, under her authority, she made sure you were overseen by the best team available and close enough to keep watch on.

In a matter of hours, the team ran all the tests they deemed necessary, concluding that the chemicals you came into contact with ignited something that laid dormant in your DNA. The gene acted as a sponge for the toxins, without it, the poison would’ve continued to spread and shut down every part of your body slowly and painfully. Instead, the contagion was absorbed into the gene strand, which was subsequently sent into its next phase. Without the toxin, this gene could’ve laid dormant within you forever, instead, it entered a new stage, triggering your new abilities. 

“Was anyone else in contact with this chemical?” Dr Cho asked out of an abundance of caution, knowing that if they had been, they probably wouldn’t be in such good condition.

Nat looked to Wanda for a response, knowing she was the one in the room with you when it was released. Wanda’s gaze fell to the floor for a brief second before she began, “No, they meant to expose me but Y/N pushed me out of the way,” Wanda explained as she recalled the events from a couple of days prior. 

Dr. Cho nodded slightly in acknowledgment before responding “It’s a good thing Y/N was the one affected by this in all honesty. Without running tests, there’s no way to know whether the rest of the team has the gene structure to survive such an attack. She got real lucky,” Dr. Cho explained as she went over the results of the tests. 

Wanda struggled with this internally. Part of her was thankful things unfolded the way they did because if they hadn't the situation could've been a lot worse, but the other part twisted it to figure that you must have just been trying to 1-up her. You never do anything nice without something in it for yourself, at least in her eyes. This wasn’t anything new when it came to the way she thought about you. It was often that your intentions were competitive and came off abrasive, but she tended to use that model of thought for anything you did in her presence. Shaking every bit of sincerity off for a hidden agenda, and refusing to see any good in you. Deep down, maybe she didn’t want to see the good in you, it was so much easier to be closed off. Afraid that once she starts to unravel you, she’ll have no more walls to hide behind. No more armor to keep her from falling for you, to keep her safe from the pain she’s always known to follow. So, she doesn't think too deeply about it, instead, she lets her thoughts protect her. 

It was easier for her to paint you as an asshole than to deal with the mixed emotions she felt for you. Blaming everything on your lack of empathy acted almost as a shield for her, enabling her to bury other emotions so deep that she could forget about them. After replaying the events over and over in her head on a loop, she was able to spin the story in her head and concluded that you must’ve known about your genetics. You had to go through genetic testing to be a field operative with such high clearance, surely that’s how you knew. So the only reason you even pushed her out of the way was to look like the hero, to make it look like she needed saving, knowing full well you’d make it out just fine. Ugh, you’re the worst. 

With that, it was like a switch in Wanda flipped. As if her emotions were immediately shut off, she stopped visiting you at the medbay and was happy to go about her daily life without a care in the world of your condition. 

You spent the next few weeks recovering. Natasha was by your side every step of the way, acutely aware of who visited you and who didn’t. Wanda never did. Tony came by a few times, you two weren't very close but he felt the need to show face at least. With nothing much to talk about, Tony always defaulted to talking about work when he was nervous. He didn’t find himself in too many situations without anything to say, but when he did, he attempted to claim the room with his confidence as he always had in his career. Almost as a nervous tik, he defaulted to talking about things that he knew a great deal about, even if the people around him didn’t. 

To his surprise, you were easily able to keep up with his shop talk jargon and follow along with the schematics he propped open as examples. The two of you quickly began bonding over your love for science and math. Nat noticed the uptick in visits from Stark and was happy to see you making more connections with the people she called family. 

Some of the other Avengers made their way down to the medbay as well after Nick encouraged it in a meeting. He knew how good of an agent you were, following your progress ever since word spread about you during your time at SHIELD Academy. It was practically unheard of for an Agent to graduate early, only 2 had ever done it before you. Since then, he made sure to check up on your progress every few months, hoping you’d grow into a top agent so he could use you on one of his special teams. With your new onset of abilities, he figured that eventually, you’d fit right in as a new addition to the Avengers. 

Fury rarely leaves anything to chance though, including your development. In order to get you comfortable with your newfound abilities, you’d need a mentor. Someone who has gone through a transition like yours before. After giving it some thought, there was only one other person on the team who could relate to you in that sense. 

Thor, while he did have to prove he was worthy to his father and himself in order to unlock his full potential, his powers always belonged to him. There was nothing unexpected or confusing about it. He has always wielded his power with knowledge and confidence. Similarly, Steve’s transition was also foreseen and he was able to quickly and seamlessly get a hold of his powers. 

Bruce on the other hand, still struggles to keep the beast inside of him under control. While he may be able to relate to the situation you’re currently experiencing, he wouldn’t be the right fit to mentor you with the way he is still trying to figure things out for himself. 

It was clear that Wanda could relate to your situation most closely. While she may have volunteered in the experiments carried out by Hydra, the outcome was something she never could’ve expected. For a while, she struggled to come to terms with what her body was capable of. Fearing that she would lose control and hurt someone unintentionally, and deep down the fear always lingers, but she has learned how to control it; and while she may not believe it herself, her team trusts her and her ability to keep her powers in check. 

Fury knew the two of you were far from besties, but he hoped this mentorship could double as a bonding experience to help get you more acclimated to the team. Wanda would need to get used to you being around more often, whether she was okay with it or not, he hoped this could help nudge her in the direction of welcoming the transition. 

“No. Not a chance in hell.” Wanda argued as she stood from the chair opposite Fury in his office. Nick didn’t offer a reaction, instead, he kept his face neutral and waited for Wanda to come to terms with the arrangement. 

Noticing that Fury was not giving in, Wanda broke the silence to add, “Why me? I have nothing to teach her, she’s insufferable. This seems like more of a Rodger’s job.”

“The arrangement isn’t negotiable, Maximoff. Y/N has a lot to learn from you and I’m sure you’ll be a great teacher once she’s back on her feet.” Wanda scoffed, anger beating off her, as she went to leave the meeting.

“Oh, one more thing,” Nick added causing the brunette to pause and turn by the door, “Y/N will not know about this arrangement of ours, and I intend to keep it that way, are we clear?” without giving a clear response, Wanda rolled her eyes and stormed off to the gym, wanting to let her anger out on something meant to be hit before she ended up taking it out on the nearest wall.. “Oh, and I expect an influx of visits from you to the medbay!” He shouted towards her retreating form down the hall.

Straight from Fury’s office, she stormed into the gym with a palpable aura of frustration and anger. Her usually calm and composed demeanor had given way to an agitated energy that practically crackled in the air around her.

Nat, who happened to be in the gym working on her own training routine, turned her head as she sensed Wanda's arrival. The room seemed to darken with Wanda's stormy presence, and Natasha knew that something had clearly set her off.

Wanda didn't waste a moment. She approached one of the punching bags, her eyes flashing with a mix of determination and anger. Without saying a word, she unleashed a series of powerful punches and kicks that sent the heavy bag swinging wildly.

Wanda's frustration reverberated through the gym as she relentlessly pummeled the punching bag, each strike carrying the weight of her annoyance. The ferocity of her strikes was a clear indication of her irritation. Natasha, noticing the intensity of Wanda's training session, decided it was time to address the obvious tension. Wanda's training strikes were powerful and precise, a physical manifestation of her inner turmoil.

Once Nat felt that Wanda had gotten out her initial anger, she approached her friend cautiously, waiting for a break in the flurry of punches before speaking. She knew better than anyone that sometimes words were not enough, and physical exertion was the only way to cope with intense emotions, "Wanda, what's going on?" Natasha asked, her tone laced with concern as she held the opposite side of the punching bag sturdy for Wanda to continue laying on punches.

“Fury.” She growled, “He wants me to.” *PUNCH* “mentor y/n” *PUNCH* “he won’t let” *PUNCH* “Steve do it.” *PUNCH* “He wouldn’t listen” *PUNCH* “ugh!” the punching finally stopped as she left a hand on the punching bag for balance while she caught her breath.

Natasha peeked around the bag that she held steady for Wanda to give her opinion, trying to approach with caution, knowing Wanda wouldn't like what she had to say. 

Natasha didn’t know what triggered it, but she noticed the stark change in the way Wanda went from caring about you in the foreign hospital to completely shutting herself off from you as soon as you got back to New York. 

Nat took a step back from the bag to gather her thoughts, “Let me get this straight, you’re throwing a fit because the girl who just saved your life is going through life-changing trauma right now and Fury is asking you to help her through it because you have experience and have been through a similar situation?” with one eyebrow slightly raised, she shot Wanda a pointed glare. 

With her frustration rebuilding as she processed Nat’s words, Wanda pushed the bag away and turned toward the door, “Oh, here we go again. Poor Y/N she’s always the victim,” Wanda marched toward the door, not wanting to hear another person defend you. In her eyes, you were conniving and everything you did was calculated, other people just couldn't see past your charm to expose how much you actually tormented her. They couldn’t see how she was so clearly the victim in this circumstance. They couldn't see how twisted you made everything. She could though, she saw right through you. 

Nat wasn’t letting her get off that easy. She chased after the brunette trying to storm out and grabbed her shoulder, turning her around to be face to face. Against her own desire, Wanda’s feet stayed planted to see what Nat had to say. 

“Are you serious? You two may not be friends, but she saved your fucking life. She was there for you, the least you could do is offer her some support and show a sliver of gratitude! You need to take a good hard look at yourself, this isn’t the Wanda I know.” Nat scolded 

Seething, Wanda bit back through gritted teeth, “I didn’t ask her to.” without giving Natasha the opportunity to speak, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the gym. 

Natasha stood there nearly dumbfounded, wondering what had gotten into Wanda to make her so heartless and cruel towards you. 

From the gym, instead of wallowing alone in her room, Wanda decides to leave the compound for a walk around the grounds. As she walked alone with her own thoughts, she desperately tried to calm the anger within. Spending more time with you was the last thing she wanted to do, especially after coming to the conclusion that your heroic act was just a ruse. 

As she strolled, she went through countless scenarios for ways that she could get out of this whole situation. There wasn’t a single one that she thought was good enough to change Fury’s mind. 

What if I broke my hand? No, I'm sure he’d still make me teach her. What if the compound mysteriously caught fire? That would probably only delay things. What if there was an Avenger’s level threat? He’d probably just make me do it when I got back. What if I became evil and left the Avengers to take over the world or something? That could work, though it’s a bit dramatic and I don't even want to take over the world.

Knowing that Nat was on your side about this already told her that everyone else at the compound would share Fury’s opinion. Out of the whole team, Nat was the one most likely to take Wanda’s side for anything. She always knew that if Natasha’s opinion differed on a subject, the others were bound to as well.

Wanda took the rest of the day to decompress and attempt to accept that she’d have to mentor you. The next day during breakfast, she heard Tony and Thor mention they’d be visiting you once they finished their meal. Knowing she’d have to see you eventually, Wanda’s ears perked at the opportunity to tag along and not go alone, “Can I come?” Wanda’s eagerness came as a shock to the two men sitting across the counter from her, but also to everyone else within earshot who wasn’t involved in the conversation. 

“Come to see y/n?” Tony clarified, not sure if Wanda had heard them correctly but she nodded in confirmation, “ye- yea of course.” he confirmed, surprised Wanda had any interest in visiting you.

The hum of medical equipment filled the medbay as Tony and Thor entered, their presence bringing a dynamic shift to the room. You were still in the process of recovery, looking up with a mixture of surprise and gratitude as the two Avengers approached and Wanda trailed behind. She didn’t say anything as the two of them greeted you, and instead, she took the furthest seat in the room from your bed. 

Tony, always one for theatrics, struck a dramatic pose. "Fear not, citizens! Iron Man and the God of Thunder have arrived to grace you with our formidable presence."

Thor chuckled, nodding in agreement. "Indeed! We heard tell of a valiant warrior in need of cheering, and so we have descended."

You couldn't help but smile at their playful entrance, a welcome distraction from the monotony of the medbay. However, as the three of you continued the banter, Wanda lingered at the periphery, sitting leaned back with her arms crossed and a subtle expression of indifference on her face.

Not letting her get away with sneaking in unnoticed, you broke the silence that lingered between the two of you, “Wasn’t expecting you to be here, Wanda. Did someone force you to be here or something?” You saw right through her, but before she could lie through gritted teeth and say that she was there of her own volition, Tony spoke up instead, “Believe it or not, she actually asked us to come,” Tony defended. 

Riding along Tony’s explanation, Wanda forced a smile to sell it. She was grateful that he had beat her to it, she was never much good at lying. You weren’t fully convinced that there wasn’t some underlying explanation for her presence but you accepted it with an impressed look on your face, “Wow, no hidden agenda?”

“Actually there is one,” Wanda clarified as she began to explain, “I’m going to mentor you.”

“Mentor?” You were taken aback. Why was Wanda suddenly interested in mentoring you and what made her think you wanted to be her mentee?

“Yeap, we’ve both been through similar experiences and you have a lot to learn about controlling your new powers,” she added with passive aggressiveness dripping from her words. 

You wanted to question her further, but you also didn’t want to push her to rescind her offer. Truthfully, you were kind of excited at the thought of Wanda teaching you how to wield your newfound abilities. You knew that she went through a similar situation while she was with Hydra and the thought of spending more time with her, though you would never admit it, made you excited, “oh- okay.” you accepted. 

Wanda expected more of a fight with you about this but was relieved to get it over with easily.

“How exciting,” Thor announced, “I know a thing or two about using powers myself if you need help or anything.”

“I’ll be sure to give you a call if I find a magical hammer,” you teased making the other two chuckle. 

Taglist: @marvelogic @esposadejoyhuerta @ju-maxi89 @gingiesworld @simpforlizzie @bigbattygyal585 @cakechan123 @xxxtwilightaxelxxx

[pngheavy]

[olliveolly]

God, I really can't believe I finally finished this fanart. Despite all the unforeseen problems that my life has thrown at me, it’s finally ready😅

I’ll be sincere, I wasn’t very happy with the fourth season and how it ended, but it still gave me a couple of ideas for art.

When I saw Cate Dunlap from gen V the idea came to me. Seriously, why be so wasteful in terms of unaliving characters when you can just brainwash them?

[ridreamir]

Arven, mid mochi-mochi dance as he stalks toward you, eyes glowing and glazed over... he doesn't stop, getting up so close that it's almost uncomfortable:

"M-moch-li-little bud..."

"-m... mo...I..."

"..." He then leans in close, his breath hot and sickly sweet.

"M-mo-ch..." "M..M...ine..."

[vargamornight]

buffy leads because she is the only one she believes capable of it. willow follows because she wants the privileges of being beside the leader (aka doing whatever she wants, whenever she wants, and never facing any consequences because buffy loves her and buffy's the one in charge of consequences) without any of the responsibility of leadership (aka consequences)

willow has proven that when she is powerful enough that she doesn't need to fear consequences, she does not hold back. not one bit. she will do whatever she wants, kill whoever she wants as horrifically as she wants, and the only thing that EVER stops her is the worry that buffy won’t like her anymore, because if buffy doesn't like her anymore, then she won’t be able to get away with all of her usual bullshit.

[puppyeared]

i feel like im not making any sense but does anyone else feel like there are stories that let u run with them and ones that spell everything out for you

[fatedroses]

Reaper's Bounty.

[pocket-watcher]

I just got fucking whiplash because I looked up from my food to see KFC plastering “look into my fries” on their screen I choked on my drink

[lua-magic]

[revenantghost]

Trigun twinswap AUs are just the most absolutely goddamn terrifying thing to me

Like. Vash is ridiculously powerful. Absolutely op. Knives CANNOT overpower him. The only thing that keeps them on even playing grounds is that Knives knows so much more about their plant powers and Vash deeply fears them (and seems to even resent them at times in certain canons). But if Vash weren't holding back? If he let that absolutely world-crushing power unfurl and did whatever the hell he wanted before his last run caught up with him??? If he learned how to manage them so he didn't burn out??????

Fuck, dude

[wingheadshellhead]

Tony Stark & Steve Rogers in Earth's Mightiest Heroes 2.19 Emperor Stark

[theoneeyedgoldenwolf]

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.

[chaoswarfare]

dp x dc writing prompt #14

It’s not everyone dying or his parents chasing him out that eventually gets Danny out of Amity. It’s not the GIW or his rogues constantly stirring up trouble. It’s the possession. Not that there’s been an actual case in months, but for every mild inconvenience or change in behavior, people point fingers and yell about ghosts.

It’s like the salem witch trials all over again, except instead of being killed, you just get dragged to the Fenton’s basement to get tested. …Which in Danny’s case might be the same thing.

So, to lay low until it all dies down, he convinces Clockwork to let him dimension hop for a while and tells everyone else he’s going on vacation. The place itself is wonderful, plenty to do, cheap rent, it’s own heroes to take care of problems, and astronomy classes!

The only problem is, all the heroes keep getting possessed or mind controlled here! After the first time he saw it mentioned on the news, it had happened four times to the main hero hanging around his city and he hasn’t been here a month!

He’s gotta help these poor heroes get this issue under control. Astronomy class is too important and he’s damn sure not ready to go back home yet.