It was Junior's idea, and it was a brilliant one.
Wild's eyes focused on the blue brackets marked "Mountain Buck" as he drew his bow, his son holding the Sheikah Slate steady in front of his eyes, providing a target in the dark. They couldn't get much closer without alerting the animal, not with the Light Force shrouding them both.
Wild took a breath, aimed, then loosed the arrow.
A cry. The brackets disappeared.
"Yes! Got him!" Wild smiled at his son, but dropped it when he saw Junior's vacant expression. "You okay?"
Junior almost looked startled. He smiled a little and nodded.
The pang of familiarity gave the older Hero pause. How many times had he given that same fake smile to the people of his Hyrule? How often to the other Heroes, even those he was closest to? "No you're not," he said gently.
Junior hugged himself and looked away. "I, don't want to talk about it, right now."
"Okay." No point in forcing the boy, not when they were in such dangerous surrounds. "Let's go get that deer."
They found the meat and got it stored away. "I think we'd better head back," said Wild. "We've been out long enough and I'd rather not get too far from that cave. This should last us a while."
Junior nodded and started walking.
Wild followed. He wanted to say something, to ask something, do something that would get his son to open up, to tell him what was wrong. But the right words wouldn't come.
"Any luck?" asked the Smith as they climbed the vines into the cave.
"Got a deer," said Wild, "so that should last us a while."
"We found something interesting," said the Traveler.
"Oh?"
The Veteran was standing at the back of the cave, holding an open green book in one hand and a lantern in the other. "We found markings on this wall," he said. "I'm still trying to work on a translation. Don't even know if they use the same letters yet."
"You're a linguist?"
"No, just happen to have a handy book is all. Give me some time."
Wild nodded, then patted his son on the back. "Come help me with the food."
The two got a cooking fire going and began to prepare what they could. They took turns making food and potions. Calm watched them.
"You're awfully quiet," said Wild, remembering traces of how he used to be.
Calm shrugged. "Nothing really to say."
"I hope he finds something with that wall," said the Smith. "It'd be nice to finally figure out how to get rid of this darkness."
"We're lucky it can't climb walls or ledges," said Junior. "It was scary enough having to sleep out in it once."
"I don't think any of us got any sleep last night," Wild muttered. "At least not quality sleep."
"Hey guys!" The Traveler flew around the corner. "He's got something!"
"It's only a rough translation," the Veteran called as the whole group clambered over. "And it's only the first line. The rest of this is in an entirely different script—possibly a whole different language, I don't know. Anyway here's what I've got." He flipped between dog-eared pages of the book as he read, the Traveler floating over each symbol in turn. "He who is holder or keeper of the light, summon or bring forth or call upon, something about the Goddess of Wisdom, and your path or the way forward shall be shown or made clear or—you get the idea." His eyes skirted over the text again. "Anyone get anything from that?"
"'Holder' or 'keeper of the light' could be a lot of things," said Wild, "but the most obvious is, well—Junior."
Everyone turned to the youngest Hero, staring expectantly.
Junior grumbled. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to use them here," he said as he dug around in his bag.
"Use what?" asked the Traveler.
Junior showed them a small, hand-carved medallion made from marbled, translucent blue stone.
"Is that a Kinstone?" asked the Smith.
Junior shook his head.
"I've seen that symbol," said Calm. "The Zora use it. Or, something like it."
"It's the symbol of Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom," said Junior. "It—well, I guess you'll see what it does." He motioned for the others to move away from the wall, then activated the medallion.
Two clouds of cool, blue mist began to form by the back wall. They condensed and then, suddenly, two young girls appeared, barely older than the one who summoned them. The older of the two had one eye the same color as Wild's and Calm's, but her right eye was a richer blue, and the right half of her blond hair shimmered and pulsed with a cool blue color. The younger of the two had one green eye—like Junior's—but it was her left eye which shimmered in sapphire blue, the left side of her hair shimmering and pulsing just like the older girl's.
"Link!" cried the younger one, flashing a worried glare at Junior. "Where have you been? Mom's been worried sick about you—" She stopped suddenly, gasping as her eyes caught a glimpse of the Veteran's red tunic. "Is that—no, it can't be—!" She gave a little squeal of excitement. "It is! You're the Hero of Legend, aren't you? Aren't you?"
A smile began tugging at the corners of the Veteran's mouth. "Depends on which legend. But yeah, probably."
"And you're—!" She stared at the Smith. "You're the Picori Hero! And is that—" she gasped "—is that the Picori Blade?"
The Smith beamed with pride. "Well, it was when I first got it. Now it's the Four Sword."
The girl squealed in excitement. "I told you, Tetra! I told you it was different from the Master Sword—ow!"
"Aryll, you're wasting time," said the older girl with a chuckle. "We're here to help Link, remem—" She stopped, her eyes fixing on Wild, then flitting back and fourth between him and Calm. "You're… And, and you're—!"
"What was that about wasting time?" snarked Aryll.
"Right, right." Tetra beamed at Junior. "So? What do you need us for, Little Brother?"
"That wall."
The girls turned around.
"We got the first line translated," he explained, "but it changes languages after that, or something."
Tetra stood back as Aryll stepped to the center of the wall. "I should be able to read this," said Aryll softly. "Listen carefully everyone—I'll only be able to read it once!"
Tetra turned to say something to Junior, but stopped and smiled when he pulled out and fiddled with his recorder pendant. "I'm ready," he said.
The soft blue light in Aryll's hair and eye spread to cover the entire left side of her body. The carvings in the wall glowed blue in response, revealing even more lines and symbols hidden behind the text. When she spoke, her voice echoed with a mystical tone.
[Heroes of the Ages, listen well
For friend or foe can be hard to tell
Beyond you'll face a challenge great
To save comrades, 'tis not too late
To pass the trial that awaits you
Remember the Hero's Spirit true
Is it foe? Or is it friend?
Your collective answer will decide your end]
The blue glow receded back to Aryll's hair and eye. Tetra stepped up to the wall, her right side glowing the same blue as the new lines revealed during Aryll's reading. "Let's see here…" She tapped her fingers in several places—pushing on the wall here, nudging it there, dragging and spinning small chunks of it—until at last a loud click was heard. The wall began to separate, opening up to reveal a dimly lit room just beyond.
"That's about time for us," said Tetra as her glow receded.
"Link!" Aryll ran up to him. "You have to call us back tomorrow! I have so many que—" her words cut short as the sisters faded away.
Junior put the medallion back in his bag.
"Well those two were adorable," said the Smith with a smile.
"They're my sisters."
"Yeah," said the Veteran with a chuckle as he briefly tussled Junior's hair. "I think we all gathered that."
"Shouldn't, they have been older?"
Wild stared at his twin, confused.
Calm stared right back. "Mount Lanayru."
"Oh!"
"It's their combined age," said Junior. "That's why there has to be two of them."
"Do you have any more siblings?" asked the Traveler with a smile.
Junior nodded. "Four sisters, three brothers."
Wild blushed.
"They're all older than me, except for one of my sisters."
"So?" The Smith stared into the newly opened room. "What'd you all think of that riddle?"
"Foe or friend," muttered the Veteran. "I don't like the sound of that."
"It looks like the lantern light is going into that room just fine," said the Traveler. "Honestly I think I'd rather be ready to fight before we go in there."
"Same." The Veteran held his hand out to Junior. "Sword please."
Junior handed the tempered Master Sword back to him.
The Traveler finally ended his fairy spell, returning to normal size before readying his sword and shield. "We ready?"
"Wait," said Wild. "There was a lot of information in that riddle. It said something about a collective decision—we should figure out what that means before going in there."
"I agree," said the Smith. "If it's a collective decision, we need to all be on the same page before we proceed."
"I can, um, replay the riddle, if, if you guys want."
"Replay it?" asked the Veteran.
Junior nodded. "Listen." He pushed a button on his pendant.
They all stared at him as Aryll's mystical voice came out of the pendant, exactly as it had sounded before.
"That's incredible!" said the Traveler.
"And incredibly helpful," remarked the Smith.
Wild just smiled at his boy.
"Alright, play that again," said the Veteran. "Let's break this down."
They all listened intently as Junior played the riddle again.
"'Friend or foe'… Do you think one of the others is in there?" asked Wild.
"That's what I was thinking," said the Veteran. "But, then why the question?"
Junior nodded. "If it was just talking about a friend who's been turned, we would know the answer. Having to face or—or fight them, that doesn't mean they're not our friend."
"That's true," said the Smith.
"Maybe it's going to be hard to tell," said the Traveler. "Maybe they've been disguised in some way—"
"Or turned into something else," said Wild, exchanging brief glances with the Smith and Veteran.
"I think it'll be best if I stay out of this decision," said Calm. "I haven't met any of them. I would have no way of identifying who they might be."
"That's the other question," said the Veteran. "We might be able to identify some characteristic or other because we've been traveling with them, but you just got here. If it's a collective agreement, it's gotta be something we can all discern—"
"Something we all have in common, that only a Hero would have," said the Smith.
"My first thought is the Triforce," said the Traveler, "but not all of us have that, or even a piece of it."
"Something we all share," Calm mused.
The boys were quiet for a moment.
"The Hero's Spirit."
They all looked at Junior.
He nervously avoided eye contact. "The Hero's Spirit is the one constant between us, right? So, if we can figure out who has that, we'll know who's friend and who's foe."
The Veteran gazed at the tempered blade of his Master Sword. "It worked with Sky," he muttered. "Alright everyone, listen up! Smith already knows this, but the rest of you—this sword will burn my hands when pointed at another Hero, just like Sky's did with Junior. It works even when—" he stopped briefly "—even when they're taken by the dark mist. Even when they're fully turned. So this will be our metric. Are we agreed?"
"You plan to point that at every enemy we come across to see if it burns you?" asked Calm. "What if we're swarmed in there? We can't just not defend ourselves while we wait for the tip of your sword to come around and clear the monster as 'foe'."
Wild snickered. "I mean what does that sword have against voe anyway?" he muttered.
A tiny shake of the head and an even tinier smile was all the response that got from Calm. Junior at least half giggled.
"You've got a point." The Traveler suddenly cracked into a smile. Gesturing to the end of the Master Sword he said, "That point is just too slow!"
That got nearly everyone at least snickering. Calm was the one exception; he just barely smiled and shook his head again, though his eyes were lit right up at the comradery.
"Maybe we should just come up with puns," said Wild jovially. "Toss those back and fourth, see who's got a sense of humor."
"As much as I wish that was effective," said the Veteran with a fading smirk, "unless anyone else has some ideas, this is kind of our only option."
"Um…"
They all looked at Junior.
"What if, um… what if we could slow them down? I mean, if there's monsters in there, and if there's a lot of them—if we could slow them down, that would give you time to test them with the Master Sword, right?"
"It's worth a shot," said the Veteran. "What have you got?"
"Um…" Junior dug through his bag, mumbling to himself. "Flash bombs… stench bombs… here we go!" He pulled a few small, spherical objects out of his bag. "These are lightning bombs, but Tetra likes to call them 'zappies,' so that's what I call them. They don't last as long as, well, for example the Stasis Rune, but it should be long enough for you to swing the Master Sword around and, you know. See if your hand starts burning."
"How many of those do you have?" asked Calm.
"Oh I've got plenty. If I pick up the casings afterwards I can make more, too, depending on what monster parts I can gather."
"Sounds like we've got a plan, then," said the Veteran. He stared ahead into the darkness. "Everyone ready?"
Wild put a hand on his son's shoulder as the others gave their assent. "Keep your shield up for me, alright?" he said with a smile. "I'll shoot from behind you. Shield parry if they get too close—I can take 'em out while they're stunned."
Junior's eyes grew wide and begun to glisten. "You— I—" He nodded and pulled out his shield. "Okay!"
The group moved slowly into the dim room. The door slowly closed behind them. Their boots made an odd crunch as they walked.
Wild looked down.
The floor was covered with bones.