Wind stifled a yawn from behind the bushes. They were awakened by Link, Hyrule, and Twilight ten minutes ago in a rush after their new member reported that there is a mob of monsters out for their blood about thirty meters away from their camp. At first, the older Links were doubtful because how in Hylia's name could a Hylian sense something that far? Before Link came along, Twilight has the sharpest senses among them that only comes second to Wolfie, which makes sense since the latter is a wolf. Even so, thirty meters is asking too much, and Twilight volunteered to check as he is currently the one on watch duty. The rest of them waited for a few painful minutes, with Link getting antsier by the second, and when the Rancher finally came back, he was out of breath from running and confirmed in-between pants and heaves that Link was right.

A palpable What the fuck? hung in the air as eyes turned to Link, who gave them the most expressive frown and voiced out an I told you so. Time was the first one to break eye contact as always and turned to Twilight to ask how many they were going to fight, but Link beat the Rancher and told them there are twenty of them – Bokoblins, Moblins, and Lizalfos - and fully armed with poorly made monster weapons and metallic ones that they most likely looted from unfortunate travelers. He detailed everything to them like he was casually predicting the weather in a couple of hours before summoning a new bow made of metal, wood, and leather with a circular grip – Savage Lynel Bow, Link called it - and a quiver of normal-looking arrows (Thank Hylia!). He did not wait for anyone to say or do anything and scaled a tree of his choosing in a record time of fewer than five seconds, which only reinforces Twilight's claim of their new member climbing the side of the mountain like it is a normal everyday thing more than a week ago as the unholy truth.

After a few minutes of questioning what stranger things their next reincarnations would commit themselves to and some swear words as they wrangled their stuff into Link's Sheikah Slate when he went down and offered, they positioned themselves for a counter-ambush. Wind peeked from the clump of leaves, catching the pink of Legend's hair on a tree across Link's. He, Legend, and Link volunteered to be the ranged cavalry while the others are going for melee and have spread around the perimeter of the clearing. Twilight led Epona to a safer place earlier before rejoining them. Their bedrolls were left inside the lit camp, stuffed with additional blankets and pillows to create the illusion of occupancy.

They waited in bated breath; their ears strained for any sound. Wind watched Link's ears flicked and twitched as the older hero tilted his head in one direction. Their new member then raised a hand and began doing a series of signs that Wind has no idea what they meant. In fact, no one does except Warriors, who did a double-take to Link's direction so fast that the Sailor thought his neck would snap in half and stared at their member with wide eyes of disbelief. The Captain opened his mouth, only to hesitate and shook his head before translating it to them in a more recognizable sign language.

About ten meters. Leader is the biggest Moblin in the group.

Now, Wind is really, really curious. He wanted to know how Link did that - if that is his special ability or it is something common in his Hyrule. He is sure that such trait is not present in his Hyrule nor in the others'. They did not know other Hylian with incredibly keen senses as Link's. The new hero has already shown them a lot of awesome things – his cooking, the Sheikah Slate, and most of his armory - but Wind wanted to know more.

He has caught a glimpse of the ghosts that lurked around Link – most of them were fading echoes of spirits that had already moved on to the afterlife. He could not distinguish their faces, but he could make out not just Hylians but also people from other races – some of which he did not recognize – trailed after him like an ethereal procession. He sensed no malice, no ill will from the ghosts, but sorrow, love, protectiveness, and gratitude.

Wind is used to seeing spirits follow the other Links around – a few of them still have – but it is the first time that he saw such a humongous collection. Thousands, no, millions of souls walked beside Link, laying down their blessings and good wishes before ultimately departing for the afterlife. He wondered if they are the spirits of those that died in his Hyrule, that died at the hands of Calamity Ganon. Seven of them are attached to him the most – three Hylians, and the rest were from four separate races. The Hylians seemed to bear a resemblance to Link and have the strongest connection to him, whether by blood or bond. He wanted to ask what Link's relationship to them is, if he could see them, if he has recovered any memories of them, and why they would be following the new hero with such forlorn expressions.

He has heard the others talk about the best and sometimes, the worst parts of their journeys, but all of them have yet to hear Link's. They already got the gist of it from Gesane, Teba, and Link, himself, but never in detail. He wanted to hear, and he is certain the others wanted too, but Time said they should not force Link and let him be the one to choose when to open up to them. He gets it, he really does, but waiting while twiddling his thumbs for an opportunity is not really his forte.

Wind noticed Link sank back into the shadows of branches and leaves, completely obscured from sight. That is when he heard, no, rather when he felt it. From beneath his free palm, he sensed the vibrations of a march of heavy footfalls. Pebbles rattled on the forest floor, accompanying each discordant step of many feet. He could hear the rustling of shoved leaves and cracking of dried twigs as the monsters approached. He knew the others sensed it too and withdrew to the darkness of the night, ready and waiting for their enemies' arrival.

The Sailor crouched low to the ground, his muscles taut in tension as he listened. He could already hear the thumping of feet, the slithering of scales on the ground, and the clanking of metallic weapons. He held his breath and gripped his bow as he watched three shadows appeared and imprinted themselves on the tree trunks awashed in the firelight of the campfire. He peered from behind the bushes and saw three Moblins entered their camp. One immediately went in for the kill and stabbed its spear on the nearest bedroll – Time's bedroll – and the other two followed suit.

When the monsters did not hear a sound nor saw blood, they roughly pulled back the covers, only to be greeted with more layers of fabric. Wind glanced at Time for the signal, but the older hero was looking at Link, who was signing a Wait. The Sailor watched as the three Moblins poked at the remaining bedrolls and found no Hylian. That confused the monsters, and one let out a shrill cry.

Wind's hands immediately flew to his ears, and the Sailor has to bite his tongue from swearing profusely. He scrunched his nose from the sudden swell of a mixture of putrid scents he would rather not know as monsters – Bokoblins, Moblins, and Lizalfos – spilled into the small clearing like a tsunami. He peered between the bushes and tried counting the bodies surrounding the campfire. One…eight…twelve…twenty! Link's report was right on the mark, and the twentieth monster, the supposed leader, is a hulking figure compared to the usual Moblin. The creature is almost thrice of Time's size, adorned in different animal furs patched into a single tunic and metallic wristbands. It held a spear longer than its height, decorated with animal bones and teeth and bird feathers. It tramped into the camp, stomping and kicking on the bedrolls and clearly displeased with the empty find.

The leader was about to order its minions to leave when the heroes finally began their counter. At Time's signal, Link unleashed not just one but three arrows to their enemies. The arrows found their mark true on three Moblins – two at the throat and one at the forehead. Before the bodies could fall to the ground, their melee jumped out of their hiding places and corralled the monsters into a pincher attack.

Warriors, ever the decisive war captain, immediately leapt over a bedroll and bent his knees before stabbing upwards. His sword met the leathery flesh of a Moblin at the back of its neck – half of it sprouting from the other side. He pulled back with a sickening SQUELCH! before leaping away from a club bound to flatten him. Sky was at the Bokoblin's side in an instant and sliced the Master Sword horizontally, decapitating the monster. The two then jumped back as the leader charged at them and regrouped to counter.

To the Captain and the Skyloftian's right, Four parried another Bokoblin and ducked beneath a slash of the monster's sword. He shifted his weight to his forefeet and pushed himself forward. Using the momentum he gained, he thrust the Four Sword and pierced through the Bokoblin's hide. Two Lizalfos approached at his blind spot and attempted to strike the smallest Link, but Twilight was there to guard the other hero. The Rancher caught the spear wrist of one Lizalfos and sliced upwards, severing the hand from the monster. He then proceeded to kick the Lizalfos on the chest, sending it sprawling on the ground with the force the physically strongest Link is known for and ended with a vicious Ending Blow. An arrow whizzed past to the Rancher's right as Legend let loose an arrow to the other Lizalfos' back, and Four stepped in to finish the Veteran's work with a measured slash.

At the farthest side of the camp, Time and Hyrule stood back-to-back in a deadly dance of swords and magic. Time blocked a fatal blow aimed at Hyrule and pushed back, sending a Moblin staggering against a tree. The Hero of Time used it as an opening and stabbed with his Biggoron's Sword. Behind him, the Traveler swept his magic sword in a wide vertical arc and an afterimage sliced through the chest of two Bokoblins. Wind noticed a Lizalfos running toward Hyrule and aimed for an eye, stunning the monster for a few painful seconds, which Hyrule used to end its life. The Sailor saw a glint of metal at the corner of his eye as another barrage of arrows flew from Link's tree. All three arrows stuck down their respective targets on fatal points in one shot each.

Ten…thirteen…fourteen bodies have fallen, and two more monsters were slain by the hands of Warriors, Sky, Wind, and Legend. Another succumbed to Twilight's Ordonian sword, and the last Lizalfos was being cornered by Time and Hyrule. Just two more, and victory should be theirs when they heard a sharp cry of pain and a yell.

"CAPTAIN!"

They did not see it fully, but Warriors was sent flying to a tree trunk when the heavy pole of the leader's spear slammed to his right side. Sky rushed forward, but the monster saw it coming and drew back its weapon. With speed unusual for a Moblin, it swept its spear and tore through Sky's tunic and chainmail. The tip of the spearhead sliced a shallow horizontal cut across the Skyloftian's stomach, and the Chosen Hero gasped and stumbled back. He barely managed to avoid getting skewered by lifting his shield and blocking the monster's weapon. An arrow flew from Wind struck the back of the monster before being followed up by Legend's. The Veteran's missed its mark on the nape and landed on a less favorable spot between the shoulders. Black blood oozed out, but the wounds did nothing to slow down the monster and instead angered it more.

The leader roared and lifted its weapon like a sack of wheat. This time, it swung sideways, and Sky barely managed to scramble out of the way before getting mauled. A knight's sword pierced its side as Warriors recovered from his earlier injury and immediately sneaked in at its blind spot. The monster arched and let out a shrill cry before turning around and slamming one pudgy hand on the Captain. Warriors' back hit the ground with a loud THUMP! and someone – Four most likely – screamed.

That set off Wind and Legend to let loose another slew of arrows – less precise and accurate this time - which failed to deter the monster. Twilight and Four were caught up by the last smaller Moblin to help, and Sky was recovering and moving too slow. Time and Hyrule had just finished the last Lizalfos and are running toward Warriors' direction. They are still far away to come to the Captain's rescue, too far away to stop the monster from killing Warriors, who was helplessly pinned on the ground. The leader raised the spear above its head, thrust down with the malicious intent to kill…

…And exploded. A burst of light and fire ignited on the spear wrist of the monster as the suffocating smell of gunpower overpowered their noses and a deafening BOOM! reverberated across the forest. A loud THUNK! shook the ground as the spear drove itself to the forest floor a mere inch away from the Captain's head. The monster bellowed in pain as it stumbled back – one hand reduced to burning chunks and splatters of boiling black blood on the ground. Not a second later, three normal arrows embedded themselves on its nape, and the monster thrashed blindly. It whirled around from the source with a snarl and saw Link balancing on a thick branch with a stony expression on his face. It bared its teeth and tusks at him, and Link growled and answered the challenge by jumping off the tree.

Faster than sound, faster than lightning, Link unleashed continuous barrages of three arrows at an impossible speed for a Hylian. In a second alone, the monster sported twelve arrows across its chest. Their new member did not waste time when he landed on the ground and rushed forward. There was a flash of blue light, and a Royal Broadsword and a Royal Shield replaced his bow on his hands. He stepped into the sword reach of the monster and slashed horizontally across its belly. Black blood spurted out and drenched the blade of his sword as the leader stumbled back. It snarled and slammed its remaining fist toward Link. Their new member pushed his feet off the ground and did a backflip mid-air.

Just like when he unleashed a series of multiple arrows earlier, he closed the gap between him and the monster at an unnatural speed as if he teleported once his feet touched the ground. The sickening sounds of metal slicing through flesh ruthlessly in quick succession were the eight other Links could only hear as black blood watered the campfire and the forest floor before they could register the monster letting out a weak cry and stumbling forward into a kneel. Its chest, carved with horrifying sword cuts, as infected blood streamed down on its skin. Link's sword and shield were gone and replaced by his Savage Lynel Bow from earlier. Three fire arrows were nocked – the illuminated arrowheads smoldering the nose of the mob leader. Link's eyes were ice, and his voice was the blade that sundered the monster's flesh as one word escaped his lips.

"Die."

Then, the monstrous leader was burning from the tips of its ears to the nails of its feet. Link stepped back as the burning monster fell forward to the dying campfire. The Links could only watch as the flames roared and swallowed the corpse. The back of their new member silhouetted against the blaze, unfazed and undeterred like a marble statue.

"How…What…THAT'S SO COOL!"

At the sound of Wind's enthused voice, the hairs on Link's neck rose up, and he whirled around. The pupils of his eyes narrowed at the darkness of the forest behind Legend's tree. There, just right there, almost imprinted against the inky black was a pair of crimson red eyes. It was so close to the Veteran that it could reach out, grab the hero's ankle, and drag Legend away if it chose to. The eyes blinked at him, and the alarm bells in Link's mind went off. The others did not seem to notice nor see what he is seeing; they are too preoccupied with processing what transpired earlier.

Link held his breath as he stared, and then slowly and painfully, two rows of white teeth curled upwards into a wicked grin. A barely visible hand lifted and raised a finger over its lips as if hushing him to a secret he and the being only knows about. A chill crawled on his skin, and Link could almost feel the featureless creature's breath ghosting against the shell of his ear. Its pale fingers reaching for his neck and…

"…nk? Link? Link!"

Link jolted and whirled around to face Twilight, who has stepped back just in case he lashed out. He did not, but his grip on his bow tightened until his knuckles turned white. He looked back to where the red-eyed being is but was greeted by nothing but darkness. Gone. The creature was gone, and no one but him saw it. Those red eyes and creepy smile as if it found a new toy to play and torture with…gone. Was it just his imagination or…? His heart rammed painfully against his chest, and it is getting harder for him to breathe.

"Deep breaths, Link."

Link felt hands clutched his shoulders firmly. Twilight's voice was gentle and anchoring at the same time. He shut his eyes and tried to block out other sounds and focus on the Rancher's words. He tried to imagine his favorite places in his Hyrule, but the featureless creature kept clawing on his mind. He took a shaky breath, gave up on the memories, and simply concentrated on Twilight's voice.

"Good," Twilight whispered softly. "You're doing good, Link. Inhale…exhale…and repeat. That's it."

A few more deep breaths, and Link's eyes fluttered open. He lifted his head and looked up at the hazy face of the Hero of Twilight. He squinted and blinked, chasing away the clouds in his sight, which he later realized to be unshed tears. He noticed that they were sitting down on one edge of the camp, which has yet to be cleared off of the monster corpses they had slain. The Hero of Twilight must have guided and sat him down while the others had rolled away some of the dead bodies to make room for their two injured members. From the looks of it, his panic attack did not last for more than twenty minutes, or the others work fast and methodically than he realized.

As expected, Hyrule was going over Warriors and Sky while Four and Wind assisted him. The Traveler has his hands over the Captain's chest as magic rippled and trickled from his palms and fingertips while the two were wrapping Warriors' head with clean gauze and bandages. The unconscious man must have gotten a concussion and a head wound when he was flung to a tree earlier. Sky has his stomach cut treated and bandaged already and was finishing off a red potion for extra measure. Time and Legend patrolled the perimeter of the disturbed camp, taking no chances of any threat to their currently vulnerable setting.

"Are you feeling okay now?"

Link tried hard not to think about that thing he saw minutes ago. "…Yeah." He nodded slightly. "I just…I thought I saw something and..."

When he shook his head and clammed up, Twilight took it upon himself to ask. "What did you see?"

"I…I don't know." Link admitted, rubbing his palms on his face. "Must be a hallucination from adrenaline or something. I can't say. I don't know."

Twilight hummed but did not prod further. Whether the Rancher managed to read his body language or guess that he did not want to talk about it yet, Link was grateful. "Okay." He nodded slowly. "I understand. I won't force you, but if you want to talk about it, you can come to me."

It is a tall order for Link. The man is basically telling him that he could trust him with his secrets and not tell a soul even though they just met more than a week ago. He wanted to tell him off and let him know about his boundaries in his face, but he could not do it. Something tells him to trust the man, that he is already trusting him, and that he has trusted him before. It is bizarre because he could not remember anything that warrants such feeling, but it is familiar. It is familiar as the presence of this man and the markings on his face that he swore he saw before. What is it? Where is it? Where did he see it before? His mind failed to give anything concrete, even though he expected as much. Then, there is also the issue of earlier that night. The man wanted to tell him something important but changed his mind at the last minute. Link wanted to know what it is because if he did not, he would lose his mind.

Link opened his mouth to ask when he felt a hand brushed against his nape and shoulders. His heart picked up at the thought of the red-eyed demon standing behind him, but instead of the crippling fear from earlier, he felt the lightest of touches that even a Rito feather could not compare. Warmth, calming warmth, spread across his entire being, and suddenly he felt as if he was transported back to the Spring of Wisdom. The mountain air was frigid and ruthless, but he felt warm as he waded into the freezing waters of the sacred spring. Naydra was curled around the summit of the mountain, watching him with curious eyes but not without fondness. The divine dragon spirit would always check him out like that every time he teleports to Mount Lanayru before descending down to its regular route. All the three dragons always do that whenever he crosses paths with them, with Farosh being the most comfortable to brief touches. He could not remember when it started, but he admitted he enjoyed their companionship, even if it lasts only for a few minutes every single time. It does not matter, however, because he would not trade it for the world.

The touch, the feeling, he realized, is more than that. He felt it before, many times than he could count. It is the first rays of sunlight during dawn, the breeze blowing over the fresh grass, the gentle waves lapping on the shore, and the Silent Princesses that thrived in the wilds amidst one hundred years of ruin. It is the strongest whenever he prays to the Goddess Statues and seeks for the being whom those sculptures wore the visage of. He knows whom this presence belongs to. There is only one divine entity whose grace could only be described in the best of things Hyrule could offer.

Twilight must have noticed the shift in his expression and was alarmed when he stood up abruptly. It was not just him. The others turned in Link's direction as his ears twitched and his head tilted to one side. He was staring at an empty space on the right side of the campfire with eyes full of awe and wonder.

"Link?" Twilight's voice sounded distant to Link's ears. "Are you okay? What is it?"

"It is here." Hylia's voice brushed so softly against his ears that Link's chest stuttered as a gasp escaped his lips. "Come, my heroes. It is time to leave."

"Link...?"

Link did not hear Time and Legend stepped back into camp to check the situation. He did not notice Hyrule leave Warriors' side out of concern to their new member because of what happened during dinner and the panic attack he had a while ago. He failed to heed their heated stares that carry so many questions about his entire existence. He could not see the Goddess' form, but he could hear and feel her. Everything else is tangential - all he could sense is the presence of the White Goddess that envelops them and how his soul yearns to reach for her safe hands.

"Hylia…" Link murmured breathlessly, speaking to no one in particular. "She's here. She said it's time to leave."

Whatever questions and voices of surprise, shock, and disbelief from the heroes were drowned when Link purposefully strode toward the campfire, ignored the mob leader he has slain earlier, and stopped right where he was staring a few moments ago. He reached out with his right hand in front of him, and where his fingertips paused was not met with air but a rippling blue. The space before him shimmered and glittered like a curtain of light as a portal that the Links are too familiar with materialized right in front of their new member. There was a beat of silence, only to be broken by a wheezing cough from the Captain and two elegant words from their ever-expressive Veteran.

"Well, shit."

This chapter took longer to write because:

1. I can't get in touch with Wind's personality;

2. It's been a while since I last wrote a fighting scene;

3. I always forget to put Epona at some point (sorry);

4. I forgot that shields existed in the middle of writing this;

5. English is not my native language;

6. I don't know how many times I have to rewrite this chapter;

7. Is the pacing of the story too fast or too slow?;

8. And lastly, I don't have a beta reader.

In conclusion, my everyday dilemma as a writer.