Twilight did not know whether to scream and curse or quietly and finally call it quits because What the fuck, Hylia? Just a few minutes ago, he was preparing for bed after a long and exhausting day of purging the Faron Woods Swamps of black-blooded monsters near Ordon Village in his Hyrule. The fluffy pillow and the pristine sheets of his bed have been tempting him since they arrived home, but before he could plop himself for the much-needed sleep, the Goddess decided to play a little prank of hers and dropped them off to another swamp. In pajamas.

He bit back a curse as he stumbled upward against the unstable, wet soil. His sleepwear was now drenched in mud and swamp water as he searched the area for the others. His eyes squinting at the misshapen structures spread across the landscape; he could not make out much of them against the darkness, even with the bright moonlight slipping between the tree canopies. He could make out the night sky above - beautiful and unpolluted - with the stars twinkling on a fabric of midnight black. He saw two tall figures hobbling towards his direction – one belonging to a peeved Hyrule and the other to a fuming Legend. He did not need to transform to hear the string of curses leaving out of the Veteran's mouth from a distance.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?" Legend shouted, probably loud enough for any nearby monsters to take notice. "Are you being serious right now? I need sleep! Is that too much to ask?"

Beside him, Hyrule huffed. "Could have been worse." He said, tugging the straps of some bags he found beside him and Legend after the Shift. "At least, Hylia sent our things with us. Imagine sending us out to nowhere without our weapons and elixirs."

Legend scoffed, crossing his arms. His bandaged right arm from the earlier fight was ignored in favor of his irritation. "Yeah, right! The Goddess could have at least dragged us out with sleep and in armor."

Twilight helped Hyrule untangled the straps and gathered his things. At the corner of his eye, he saw the rest approached them - all looking more annoyed than the person next to him. Time was taking the lead, hauling the remaining bags that were sent with them during the Shift. The biologically oldest Link already has his armor on that it made Twilight wonder if his ancestor somehow expected this and did not remove it at all. Now that is a terrifying thought.

Warriors has taken the rear, spurring Wind and Sky who were almost dead on their feet and a very disoriented Four. Epona trotted beside him, nipping at the Captain's unkempt hair as if it was grass. Twilight slung his pelt over one shoulder just as Time stepped beside Legend and did a headcount. Once satisfied that everyone is accounted for and no one got more injuries than before the Shift, he asked the first question that always accompanies an after-Shift. "Anyone recognizes this Hyrule?"

Eight pairs of bleary eyes squinted at the tall silhouettes of the trees surrounding them. There was a collective No from the group. Time sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "New Hyrule then." He surveyed the landscape with tired but critical eyes. "Let's find a safe place to camp out first. We don't know this Hyrule. I'll take first watch."

"Of all times to switch worlds," Twilight heard Legend grumbled as the group stumbled after their not-so-official leader. "It had to be in a new Hyrule in the middle of the night!"

Hyrule cast the Veteran a disapproving look. "You're too riled up."

"Damn right I am!"

"Do you think we're going to find another Link?" Warriors asked. He ducked his head just as Epona made another attempt to munch on his hair, glaring at the horse as he did so. "This is a new Hyrule, after all."

"Can't be sure." Twilight decided to have mercy on the Captain and took Epona's reins. While the scene is amusing, he knows that horses are not supposed to eat Hylian hair. "We've jumped to other Hyrules that aren't ours before, but no Link. Besides, it's been almost three months since Wind joined."

"We usually find a Link in a span of weeks." Time joined in. "It will be another mystery in the list if we find another one now."

Warriors mussed his hair damp in horse's saliva, grimacing at the sticky substance on his hand. "Wouldn't put it past the Goddess." He tugged his scarf down to avoid it getting stained by the substance and glanced up. "Hey, look! Over there."

Time followed where Warriors was pointing. Not far at their left, rows of what seemed to be ruins of a house were poking out from the grass. There is a makeshift tent nestled beside a decrepit stone wall covered in moss, nearly hidden away from view. A cooking pot was left in front of it, with scattered remains of burnt firewood underneath it. He gestured for the others to wait and approached it quietly, eyes darting for any sign of danger.

He knelt beside the pot and inspected the tiny camp. Except for the tent and the cooking pot, there was no other sign of people. He brushed a finger on the side of the pot, noting how the soot came off in flakes instead of dust-like. How strange. Deeming that there is no immediate danger, he signaled for the others.

"No one has used this place for a long time." He told them. "Probably made by a traveler passing through the area weeks ago. We could make use of it for tonight. The firewood is still good for making a campfire."

"I'll do it." Hyrule volunteered. He knelt beside the pot and lifted it off by the handles, setting it aside a few inches away from the firewood. "Still, it's strange." He remarked as he nudged the loose pieces of firewood to a wide cone and tapped a Fire Rod against the center. The charred parts crumbled as embers sparked from the tip of Fire Rod before the firmer length of the kindling ignited. Soon, the firelight illuminated the group's immediate area, their shadows dancing against the stone wall.

"What is?" Legend asked as he nudged Sky with his foot. The latter was already lying down on his bedroll underneath the makeshift tent. Wind was stuck by the Skyloftian's feet, already snoring his worries away. Four's pale complexion earlier has gotten better, and he was pulling out Wind's blanket to cover the Sailor with.

"This." The Traveler pointed at the cooking pot. "Why would anyone leave this here?"

"Who knows?" Legend answered as he plopped beside Sky. "Whoever owns that is probably an idiot and forgot about it." He crossed his arms and scowled. "I still have a beef against Hylia, throwing us out in the open of goddesses-know-where. In the middle of the night."

Hyrule's eyebrows knitted together as he looked at Legend. "Is not the first time, though. You should already be used to it."

Legend opened his mouth to say something – probably a counterargument – but Time clapped his hands to get their attention. "Alright, that's enough. We're all tired. Let's discuss this tomorrow. Who's going to take over second watch?"

Warriors raised a hand. "I'll do it." He turned to Twilight, who was about to volunteer himself. "You should rest. You're always taking watch while we're in your Hyrule."

"I'll take the third watch then." Hyrule said, satisfied with the final adjustments on the campfire. "You heard the Captain. Go rest, Twilight. You deserve it."

Twilight wanted to argue that Warriors almost had his arm torn off earlier or Hyrule had spent all his magic healing the worst of the group's injuries, but he was not any better. His broken ribs have mostly healed thanks to the Traveler, but it hurts like hell if he moved his body the wrong way. Hyrule gave him the look - the look that said Try the healer, bitch! - and Twilight relented. He begrudgingly set up his bedroll next to Legend and settled down with a wince. Turning away from his injured side, he closed his eyes, listening to the last fragments of conversation from Hyrule, Warriors, and Time.

He listened to the crickets restlessly chirping in the grass, to the gentle breeze whispering to his ears and ruffling his hair, and to the distant roars of monsters. The air smelled like fresh earth, wildflowers, and pinecones; the scents of civilization muted over the years. Something about it all feels familiar…

"Wolfie! Over here!" A voice, a familiar voice of a young man calling him, calling the wolf him. "I found a Korok circle! Come on!"

Who…?

"Wolfie…" The same voice hiccupped. The person sounded so young, so vulnerable, so scared. The sensation of being embraced tightly surrounded him, and he leaned into the touch. A soft whimper escaped his throat. "I'm scared, Wolfie…I-I don't know her. I don't really know her…yet I have to save her. I'm not him, but he isn't coming back. I don't know what to do. I'm scared, Wolfie. I'm really, really scared."

Who is this…?

"We did it, Wolfie!" The suffocating sadness was gone, now replaced with ecstatic joy - the very same joy bubbling in his chest and threatening to spill. "We freed Vah Ruta! Just three more. We can do this!"

Who are you…?

"Wolfie…?" There was fear trembling in the young man's voice. "Are you…leaving?" He tried to open his mouth to explain, but only a whine escaped his throat. He felt frustrated, scared, and sad, but the tug is growing stronger, taking his physical form, his consciousness away from the kid and this world. He felt arms wrapping around him, holding on like he would never be seen again. "Please, please, not you. I don't have anybody. I never had anybody! Please don't leave. Please!"

Wait…!

The tug was too powerful to ignore or resist now. Shadows danced in his sight, almost blocking the view of this world. He tried to carve it into memory, the lush green, the cerulean skies, and the deep sapphire seas of this world – the vibrant life that his Hyrule, his world, does not have. He tried not to forget the honey-blond hair that has grown long over the months and the childlike curiosity gleaming in those crystal blue eyes. He tried, really tried, but the shadows slammed against him in waves and…

…Twilight woke up. The morning sunlight filtered through his fingers, taking away the last dredges of the dream. He blinked and squinted as his mind slowly registered who he is, where he is, and who are with him. He removed his hand from his face and turned his head to the sound of voices. A wince escaped him as he sat up from his bedroll.

"'Morning, Twilight!" Wind chirped from his perch on an old log that, if Twilight remembered correctly, was not there last night. "Time's almost done making breakfast."

The Rancher rolled his shoulder at his uninjured side, and he grimaced at how sore he felt. "Old Man's cooking? No thank you."

"I can hear you, Pup." Time said as he stood over the cooking pot. He passed a bowl of whatever he cooked to Four, who raised an eyebrow. The smallest Link tipped the bowl as he inspected the breakfast and gave an almost imperceptible shrug of Looks decent to me. "Or would you rather have our resident healer cook?"

"I can hear you, you know!" The Traveler exclaimed, nose deep into his bag as he sorted through his stuff. Elixirs and potions of different kinds were piled next to his feet, the color red dominating them all. "Sky's a worse cook than I am."

Said Skyloftian was sitting half-asleep on his bedroll. He mumbled a No, you, before his head tipped forward, almost hitting Warriors who has come to nudge him awake and haul him up to breakfast. The Captain unceremoniously stole his blanket and almost lifted up Sky like a sack of potatoes by the shoulders. Sky grumbled as he stumbled toward where Wind is sitting. Soon, everyone gathered around the cooking pot, and breakfast was served. The dish Time made is considerably more decent than any of them could whip out. A bit bland on the side, but edible (which, the group agreed, is probably the most important). The only better cook than Time is Twilight, and even so, he could only cook simple meals.

"So, what's the plan?" Legend's question made several heads turn. "This is a new Hyrule, right?"

Time placed down the soup ladle on the side of the cooking pot. "Warriors and I scouted the surrounding area earlier. We found the way out of the forest, a tower, and some ruins, but we didn't venture farther than that."

"There are other things we found but," Warriors paused and shook his head. "You guys should just see it for yourself later."

"Sounds ominous." Four tapped his spoon against the edge of his bowl. "Any monsters we might encounter?"

"No, not as of the moment. Time and I didn't find any, which is strange." Warriors reported. "We came across a couple of monster camps, but they're all empty, save for some weapons that might belong to the monsters. It seemed that they were cleared not long ago."

"There should be village or town here, right?" Wind asked. "If someone fought those monsters…."

"We haven't seen any." Warriors shook his head. "But even if there is, it will be dangerous for the common folk to take down those monsters. We looked around the monster camps and found traces of black blood."

The group exchanged knowing looks. Infected monsters. "So, I guess that's our cue?" Sky, who was now finally awake, piped in. Several eyes turned to their de facto leader.

Time nodded. "We're going out as one group. It is the safest method for now since we're in unfamiliar territory. Stick close and be vigilant. We don't know what to expect in this Hyrule."

There was a collective nod from the group, and breakfast resumed with a side of animated storytelling and teasing of Time's cooking skills. Twilight watched from the sidelines, too bothered by the unease and an odd longing in his chest about this Hyrule. He hoped that the Goddess Hylia is in a good mood enough not to throw them to the insane and dangerous.

She is not.