Author's Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda, nor can I take credit for Linked Universe. Zelda belongs to Nintendo and LU was created by the amazing jojo56830 on Tumblr. I am earning no profit from this story other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others. I hope you all enjoy reading it! Feel free to let me know what you think by giving this chapter a review.
After an hour or so of playing cards on the floor in the hall, with Twilight, Wild, Sky, and Hyrule seated by themselves in the corner, someone else started up the stairs to join them. Wild could hear approaching footsteps, but also a few voices he didn't really recognize.
"-would do you some good to go outside more often," a female voice said with a light laugh.
"That takes effort!" a nasally male voice replied, as though appalled by that idea. "Really, His Highness should be honored that I came to his dinner tonight! It's a long trip from Gerudo Highlands!"
"Yes, yes, we know," a third female voice sneered, this one sounding somewhat older than the first. "But you really ought to try just getting a little exercise on occasion."
"I do exercise! I fought with you guys during the Calamity! Something you, nerd, didn't do much of!"
"Excuse me!" the second female voice exclaimed. "I was very helpful. I might not have-"
And then they were up the stairs. Wild's lips parted in surprise. Though he didn't recognize them, per say, he deduced that the two women were none other than Impa and Purah. Impa seemed so...youthful. Her muscles were toned and she kept a katana at her side. It was clear that she too was a capable warrior. Purah didn't seem all that different. She still had that streak of red through her hair and those same glasses on her forehead. She was taller, now tall enough to stand above Wild himself, and her body was the shape of a grown woman versus a young child.
But the third person with them made him tense. M-Master Kogha. The Yiga Clan's leader seemed perfectly comfortable walking alongside the two Sheikah women, and they didn't seem bothered by his presence. He was just as overweight as Wild remembered, his tight red bodysuit highlighting his round figure. He didn't seem to be causing any problems, so Wild forced himself to remain seated. He didn't want to make a fool of himself. Twilight noticed his cub's suddenly tense posture and he stared at the newcomers with suspicion.
Calamity greeted them eagerly. "Impa, Purah, and Kogha! How good of you to join us. I would've assumed you all would've been too busy to meet with us before the meal."
"Well, we figured we'd get here early and have a little fun," Purah said with a grin.
"Looks like you all are already doing that," Impa observed, noting the cards that everyone was holding.
"Who are all these people?" Kogha demanded. "We weren't told there'd be this many of you! Her Highness only said we had 'special guests!'"
Calamity shrugged. "Well, we do. May I introduce you all to the heroes of Hyrule? Terrako brought them to our time to aid us with our minor monster problem."
"The heroes of Hyrule?" Purah repeated, awe sparking in her eyes. "As in...the Hero of Warriors and Time and all that?"
"At your service," Warriors confirmed.
"Who's that one?" Kohga questioned, pointing at Wild. Wild curled in on himself, pulling his hair over his scars.
"That one is the Hero of the Wild," Twilight said haughtily. "You owe your entire timeline to him."
Wild pulled his hood over his eyes. "T-that's not true, Twi."
"Sure it is," Mipha agreed. "Without you and your world, we would've never been forewarned, and we would've met the same fate you did."
Wild clenched his jaw.
"I-I'm sorry that sounded mean!" Mipha corrected herself. "I'm not saying that your fate was...was wrong or anything, I just meant-"
"It's fine," Wild promised.
"Somebody explain this in proper Hyrulean," Kogha snickered. "I'm lost."
"So, as Twilight said, that's the Hero of the Wild," Calamity began. "His timeline is the one that Terrako went back in time to warn us about. His timeline is the one where Ganon won."
Kogha nodded. "Sucks for him."
"Hey now! That's not nice!" Purah chided. "I am sorry for you, Hero of the Wild. Even if fatty over here isn't."
"Hey!" Kogha cried.
Urbosa rolled her eyes. "Perhaps we go over proper introductions before dinner? Instead of wasting our time arguing?"
"An excellent suggestion," Impa jumped in. "Thank you, Urbosa."
Names were shared quickly, Wild giving his when the time came. He couldn't help but stare at Kogha the entire time introductions were performed. Had...had the Yiga switched sides in this timeline? Why was nobody freaking out about him? He didn't understand. In his world, Yiga assassins were a common threat to him anytime he stepped foot outside the walls of his house! How could Calamity and Kogha get along? He...didn't understand. What changed? What could have possibly changed in this world that drove Kogha and the Yiga to abandon the master they'd worshipped and served for 10,000 years?
"Will you quit staring at me?" Kogha demanded as Four was speaking. "You haven't taken your eyes off me the entire time I've been in this room! I know I'm fabulous, but have a little self-control!"
Wild's face burned red and he chose to stare at his lap. "S-sorry."
"No, it's alright," Mipha said gently. "Did Kogha die during your timeline too?"
"Sorry, what?" Kogha said incredulously.
"Wild's already told us that us four Champions died in his timeline," Daruk explained. "Did Kohga die too?"
Wild hesitated.
"You don't have to explain if you don't-" Urbosa began.
"No! Now I want to know!" Kogha said. "What happened to me in this other timeline?"
Wild paled. "Y-you're dead. Now. You survived the Great Calamity, though."
"How did I die?" Kogha pushed.
"Likely keeled over from one too many bananas," Purah laughed.
Wild shook his head. "You...I...I killed you."
Silence consumed the room then. Calamity stared at Wild with disbelief on his unblemished face. Urbosa cocked her head in confusion. Purah seemed intrigued. Kogha himself quickly grew angered. "You what?!"
"Y-You started it!" Wild said defensively. "You…the Yiga stole the Thunder Helm from the Gerudo! R-Riju wanted me to get it back...so I broke into your hideout, rescued a Gerudo prisoner, but I couldn't find it. I found you with it near that giant hole next to your hideout. And you challenged me...and I won." Wild clenched his jaw. "In my world, I'm still hunted by Yiga assassins to this day."
"I guess you never switched sides," Impa said to Kogha. "With Ganon winning...why would you?"
"I'm all for justice and all that now!" Kogha said hurriedly. "I switched sides because my soldiers were being brutally murdered! Not because we were losing!"
"Well, this is certainly startling news," Daruk admitted scratching the top of his head. "How about we forget about it and go eat?"
"Sounds like a plan to me," Calamity agreed. "Everyone else? Shall we go get dinner?"
"We should," Impa affirmed. "It's almost six."
The group stood up, handing Legend his cards back, those that had won rupees carefully stowing them away. Wild watched Warriors, Legend, Wind, and Calamity tucking some spare rupees back into their bags.
As they walked to the dining hall, Purah sidled up to Wild. She cast him a critical glance, and he hunched his shoulders as her eyes traced his numerous scars. "Say, Wild, was it? Am I dead in your timeline?"
"No," Wild answered, not really wanting to talk about his world anymore.
"Am I super old?"
"...No."
"What am I then?"
Wild considered the question. How to explain this briefly? "You're...younger. You attempted to create an anti-aging rune on the Sheikah Slate. It worked, but to a much more extreme level than intended. And you tested it on yourself."
"Of course she did," Impa snickered. "Sounds just like my big sister."
Purah considered that. "Sounds fascinating. How old was I?"
"Six," Wild answered.
She nodded. "I must at least attempt something like this! Maybe not on myself, but another willing test subject…? Imagine the possibilities! If I could make it work, the soldiers of Hyrule would be able to fight forever! They'd never have to retire from old age! This could be-"
"With all due respect, don't you think a soldier who's fought and lived until he's old deserves to rest?" Time jumped in.
"I'm sure we could find people who are willing," Purah insisted. "Like our General over here."
Calamity shrugged. "If I live long enough to be considered old and you figure this out, Purah, sure. I'll use it."
Purah grinned. "What about you, Urbosa?"
"No, I'm with Time," the Gerudo answered. "A warrior who lives that long deserves a peaceful end."
"Captain?" Calamity asked Warriors. "What do you say about all this?"
"I'd do it," Warriors shrugged. "That's all I've ever lived for is to fight for Hyrule. And there's no death more honorable than a soldier's death, isn't that right, Wild?"
Wild shrugged. Dying hadn't felt honorable to him when he'd done it. All his death had ensured was Hyrule's fall. It hadn't been heroic or sacrificial. It had been a disaster, a failure, an event that was never supposed to happen. He would never use Purah's machine. If he somehow kept himself alive until his body began to fail, he would never, ever want to do any fighting again. He didn't mind fighting now, he still had something to fight for. He had his brothers and his countrymen and his destiny. But when he got older...would he still have all that?
"Alright, we're here. Let's try to behave ourselves now," Calamity said, resting his hand on the door leading into the dining hall. "We will be with the king and princess."
"Don't count on it," Legend snickered, his eyes lingering on Revali. The Rito rolled his eyes overdramatically.
Calamity just sighed before opening the door. Rhoam and Zelda were already seated. Terrako abandoned its spot at the princess's side and scuttled over to everyone else. It whistled cheerfully to Calamity and the Champions, and silently eyed the other heroes. It whistled again when Wild walked in, bumping into his leg almost affectionately.
Zelda giggled. "He likes you, Wild."
"Count yourself lucky," Impa muttered.
"Terrako, please," Wild said softly, stepping away from the tiny guardian. "I really don't like guardians."
It whistled inquisitively.
"I'm not trying to hurt your feelings," Wild assured him. "I just…" he'd never known a guardian to be friendly. Seeing the Sheikah machines during his adventure had translated to get out of that area immediately. He had eventually learned to take them down with Ancient or bomb arrows, but during the early part of his quest, the giant robots had sent fear coursing through his veins.
"Terrako, come over here," Zelda commanded her little bot, sensing Wild's discomfort. "Let's not be unkind."
"Is our prestigious hero scared of a little robot?" Revali snickered.
"Revali, don't," Time said, his voice low.
The Rito glared at the Hero of Time, obviously trying to decide whether or not stepping over his warning would be worth the repercussions. Time gave him one of his famous disappointment stares, and Revali backed off.
They all took their seats at the table, Calamity sitting on Zelda's left side and the Champions sitting on the king's right. The heroes sat wherever. Half of them didn't understand the way that seating at a royal table worked, and those that did didn't want to bother ranking themselves accordingly. Wild just made sure to sit at the other end of the table, Twilight sitting next to him. Kogha, Purah, and Impa waited until their esteemed guests had chosen a seat before taking the remaining three.
"Guardians can be quite helpful when they aren't corrupted," Zelda said, patting Terrako on the head reassuringly. "But...I imagine you don't associate them with helpfulness. I assume Ganon retained control of them while you slept?"
Wild nodded. "I woke up to a world crawling with those things. They were never nice."
"Well, it's understandable that you wouldn't want anything to do with them then," Urbosa said, nodding.
"Is that what killed you before?" Daruk asked.
"It would appear that way," Purah said. "His scars seem to correlate with burns, and we all know how nasty guardian lasers are."
Wild shivered, his scars feeling prickly.
"Purah!" Impa scolded. "Please try to be sensitive!"
"I'm just making observations," Purah said defensively. "I mean, it's not exactly difficult to spot those things. They're all over him!"
Wild curled in on himself even further. Twilight clenched his jaw. "Let's not talk about this anymore," he said firmly. "Surely we have more important things to be discussing?" Under the table, Twi offered Wild a hand to hold. Wild clutched it as though his life depended on it, his knuckles turning white from how hard he was gripping. He felt his fingernails digging into Twilight's skin, but he didn't let up. His arm was shaking and he could feel himself trying not to cry again. Did every word that came out of these people's mouths need to remind him what happened? Did everything they said need to further drive home the point that they succeeded where he had failed miserably?
Twilight didn't flinch from Wild's crushing grip. If anything, he squeezed right back, giving his cub something to hold onto as he sat there, shivering imperceptibly, his long hair hanging over the scars on his cheek, his sleeves stretched out to cover the scars on his arm. Right now, Wild needed what little comfort Twilight could provide.