The portal had split them up again when dumping them into a different world.

At this point it was beginning to feel intentional. Whether it was divine intervention from a goddess or a demon was still anyone's guess, but either way they usually arrived just a few steps after the black blooded monsters.

Sky hunched down beside a large rock. It wasn't ideal cover, but in a crowded forest with monster camps abound, he didn't have much choice. At least their fires they camped around destroyed their night vision. He rubbed the hilt of the Master Sword for assurance and good luck, but didn't draw Fi.

The nightlife chirped. The fires crackled. At least two nearby, a third further to the right. Bokoblins gibbered to each other, their noises oddly off. Were they talking to each other? He'd never considered monsters had downtime.

The wind through the trees brought the smell of cooking meat. It made his mouth water, reminding him they were just making dinner before the switch.

Metal clinked.

Sky froze. Listened to the soft noise come closer. Adjusted his grip on Fi. He didn't want to fight multiple monsters alone, at night, but if he had to...

Fi gave a weak pulse of recognition. Sky couldn't hear her as clearly anymore, but it was enough. She could sense hero spirits even while sleeping.

A green tunic Link approached and crouched down beside Sky. It took him a moment to remember which Link. The blue scarf was tied around his shoulder armor to keep it from glinting, but his chainmail clinking still gave away his position.

Warriors face was grim in the moonlight. "There's an army scattered out there," he murmured. "I don't recognize any landmarks."

"I think," Sky speculated as he gratefully rubbed the hilt of the Master Sword, "We're in a place before my time. Legend- er, no, I mean myth says that monsters took the Surface before the Goddess wiped them out." He swept a hand out. "We may have traveled to an earlier time in my Hyrule."

"Which direction should we head?"

Sky opened his mouth and then closed it. He looked up through branches to the sky. "I'd want to go up. The goddess moved Skyloft above the clouds before mounting her counterattack."

"I hear a 'but.' "

"But," Sky sighed. "The branches may be hiding them, but I don't see the cloud barrier or any sky islands, and I need to find a bird statue to pray for strong winds to fly up."

"You can't just summon your bird?"

"In the sky, yeah. On the Surface? Too much-" he gestured around them. "Too dense, too big, too much everything. Crimson likes staying in the sky."

The Captain nodded curtly, eyes flickering around as he thought. "Is there more than one bird statue?"

"Yeah, they're spread out a good distance around Hyrule."

"Alright, here's the plan; we find a bird statue, you get your bird, and we fly around looking for the others above the battlefield."

"A good plan," Sky said slowly. Especially one made up on the spot with such little information. He was constantly impressed by Warriors' go-for-it attitude.

"But?"

"But Loftwings are diurnal. Well, you can specially train some to fly at night, but Crimson hated it, so..."

"We need to wait for morning to look for the others," Warriors finished. "That's alright. We'd be hard pressed to find a bird statue so quickly anyway."

Sky shook his head. "Not exactly. I can douse for them with Fi..."

"I'm hearing another 'but,' Sky."

The Chosen One winced. "But Fi's still sleepy. She hasn't responded to anything beyond a hero right next her. And she hasn't woken up enough to douse in any other world, either."

Warriors gripped Sky's shoulder in reassurance. "The portals may be exhausting her. She still shines through when we truly need her, doesn't she?"

Sky nodded, petting the pommel. It was lonely without her constant chatter. Even if that chatter was unnecessarily explanation or pointing out the obvious. It drove him crazy during their adventure, but now it was too quiet.

"We can still look for a bird statue while finding a decent place to stand ground."

"You think we should try moving? Sneak our way around? There's too many monsters to fight without everyone, surely."

Warriors grin was darker than the night. "Let's keep fighting as a last resort. For now, put this away." He tugged on Sky's sailcloth, which was used as a cloak at the moment. "It may be mistaken for the rock you're beside at a distance, but move away and you're a white walking target."

"Maybe so." Sky complied, rolling it up and stowing it in his pack. "But if we're sneaking around, know our chainmail chatters as we walk. But if we take it off and get caught-" Sky's throat tightened up. Fighting without equipment was nerve-breaking and he never wanted to do it again.

"We'll have to move slowly and precisely." Warriors looked unruffled. A man with a plan, he pointed past Sky. "We'll head east. It's hard to tell in the darkness, but I think west and southwest there's a cliff face. East the trees cut off soon. Hopefully we find cover better than trees."

Sky nodded. With a last grip on his shoulder, Warriors smiled briefly and led the way. They kept hunched and slow, moving to keep the trees and brush between them and the sets of monster camps. As they snuck by, Sky got a closer look and his stomach fell.

These bokoblins were not his Hyrule's bokoblins.

They sounded roughly the same, but weren't stout or as big as a man. These were bigger, even as they hunched over with gangly arms and legs spread out, their heads larger than their round bellies. There was a single horn in the center of their head instead of two at their temples. Their piggy noses weren't large and round, and their ears were wide and flared out like bat wings that twitched at every sound. Most were nearly naked, wearing only loincloths and bone jewelry, like lower-class monsters. A demon lord had not given them armor or weapons. What looked like large or long sticks were lined up nearby. They grunted to each other, as if talking and occasionally danced out a retelling of a tale. It was strange. But perhaps this was how prehistoric bokoblins acted after they won the Surface.

A few were on patrol. Sometimes Sky would only hear footsteps, or a snuffle nearby, and they'd freeze until the sound drew away or didn't sound again. They made headway slow but steadily.

A hand on Sky's chest stopped him. He grew cold as he glanced at Warrior's bloodless face, and followed his gaze up to a makeshift wooden platform.

A blue bokoblin was lying on top. A hunting horn lay in its lax hand.

"Sleeping?" Sky mouthed when nothing moved for a minute.

Warriors ever so slowly guided them around the structure, keeping half an eye on the monster. It must have been sleeping deeply, for its ears didn't twitch at all.

There were a few more platforms around the camps, Sky then noticed. Made from the same branches as the trees around them and tied together with vines, they were hard to differentiate from the forest. The heroes had even passed some unknowingly. Goddess be blessed, it appeared the bokoblins they tiptoed under were sleeping on the job, while the further out ones stood guard looking away.

They made it to the tree line and Sky quietly chuckled in relief.

Warriors gave him a sharp look, his frown making him look older. Sky elbowed him gently. "We successfully snuck through. We made it. Be happy."

The Captain gave a jerk of his head. His hand tapped the pommel of his sword. "You saw that odd colored bokoblin?"

"The blue bokoblin? They look different from my time, but there's blue ones."

The look he was given was partly exasperated. "Do they wear arrows in their skulls too?"

The monsters were dressed savagely, but Sky hadn't seen any arrows.

"Someone was looking out for us," Warriors explained. "Whenever we drew attention, the bokoblin would find something more interesting. Those in crude watchtowers didn't look our way for long. The ones we snuck under were killed without anyone, either of us, noticing."

"Dear Hylia," Sky whispered. "Maybe... maybe Twilight? Out of everyone he's the sneakiest."

"And yet he hasn't shown himself after we left the perimeter."

Sky looked back into the forest. It was too dark to see much beyond ten feet, now that they were away from the firelight. "Maybe he's looking out for the others, too?"

"Damn him. He's always disappearing on his own." He was toying with his scarf, a stressful action the man did unconsciously. It was Sky's turn to pat his friend's shoulder. Warriors hissed out a breath before righting himself to military straightness. "Right. We may assume he knows what he's doing and collecting wayward Links out there. We need to focus on making a base the others can fall back into." His forehead crinkled. "Your Hyrule... has towers, doesn't it?"

Turning around, the Chosen One took a second to find what he meant. The plain beyond the forest was uneven, but mainly flat. To their left in the distance there was a tall building atop a hill. Far out to the center there was something that glowed in bright blue lines. It could be a tower? Apparently, Warrior's night vision was better than his.

"No towers like that," he admitted quietly. The sky was star studded and empty. This was not his Hyrule.

"There's another blue light over there." A gesture toward the far right. If they followed the tree line and passed some small lakes, there was another light blue glow from a smaller structure. Sky couldn't tell what it was.

"Would the others be drawn to the light, you think?"

"You think?" Warriors tried to stifle a snort. "We're all curious and nosey. But right now I want walls around us. Let's head towards the fort and clear it out first before scouting ahead."

Sky could only follow. Now able to move quicker and louder than before, they kept their swords out. They dispatched oddly small blue chuchu and stray keese that fluttered about without missing a beat. "I keep waiting for a remlit to appear, or a deku baba to spring up," Sky said as he wiped Fi clean on the grass.

"Hey! You've got those plant monsters too?" Warriors grinned as Sky nodded. "Ever fight a manhandla stalk? No? It's another plant but bigger with more heads."

"Ah, no. I do have quadro baba, which-"

A skeletal hand dug itself out from the ground. The heroes fell into ready stances as two skeleton monsters pulled themselves up from their mark-less graves.

"Those aren't stafos." Sky swung a testing blow. The bones easily crumpled, but still jerked and the head gaped.

"Nor stalchildren." Warrior's enemy was in pieces as well, and he sharply poked the ribcage without apparent success. "They don't have weapons, at least."

Sky aimed for the glowing eyes. It was always the eyes. The skeletal monster gave a silent laugh and burst into purple smoke, leaving behind few remains. "They kinda look like cursed bokoblins, but all bones."

Taking his example, Warriors swiped apart his skeleton monster as it tried to reassemble itself and sliced through its brittle skull. The monster puffed out of existence as well. "I didn't think non-humans could reanimate."

Sky shrugged. "I've only seen cursed bokoblins in an Ancient Cistern. They were stuck between life and death. Much stronger than these, though."

He would have explained more but Warrior suddenly raised his fist. His sign for stop, if Sky remembered correctly. He shut up and followed the man's gaze. A red bokoblin comically squinted toward them from further up the hill. They both recognized each other at the same time.

Luckily it was alone and it willingly came at them without a weapon. It had no tactics, just instinct. It was like its skeletal brethren, flailing at them with claws only to be quickly beheaded and poofed away in purple smoke.

"It's nearing midnight. I hope the others are faring as easily as we are."

"I pray the same," Sky said although his stomach turned uneasily.

What he thought of as more white rocks were actually ruins that had grown into the side of the hill. A cobblestone path surfaced here and there as they walked up. And the large building they headed toward was growing more familiar with each step.

"You recognize this?"

Sky glanced at the Captain with his face pinched in worry. "Only briefly mentioned. We should probably find a different place to defend."

"It's closest to where we were dropped into this world. And despite the few monsters here and there, the still standing walls make defensible lines. And it's big enough for all of us and then some. Why look for something different?"

Sky gripped Fi close. "It looks similar to my era's Sealed Temple. Which means it may be Time's era's Temple of Time." Warriors made a noise in acknowledgement, not understanding. Sky shook his head. "His temple was rebuilt over mine. But this place looks even worse than when I had found it the first time. Time... probably took his nickname from the temple. He's... probably not going to be happy to see it like this."

"I fail to see how that affects a suitable defensive position." When Sky looked like he would protest more, Warriors tried a different tactic. "I'm sure Time will be happy the temple still- well, mostly stands. Enough that it could help us once more."

"You think he'll be happy to see his namesake crumbling?"

"Your speculation may or may not be true. For now we should clear the grounds. The sooner we have a safe base the sooner we can go ask Time what he thinks about it."

Arguing wouldn't achieve anything productive but Sky was sure their oldest Link would not like this place.

That line of thought was quickly dashed as they entered the temple. A giant stone goddess stood bathed in holy light on the pedestal at the back. Sky half-expected it to start singing as he neared.

Fi stirred. He held her out, and could hear her speak, if dimly. The words were in ancient tongue, and presumably the goddess was responding. The Master Sword reignited in the holy light.

Warriors kept close and watched silently. Sky appreciated it.

It didn't take long before Fi was tired again. She barely passed along a few words before dimming once more. "Get some rest," he whispered to her. "I got this."

He turned toward Warriors. "There's black blood out there, alright. The heroes gathered..."

When it was clear Sky became lost in thought, Warriors cleared his throat. "We should...?"

Sky startled and blinked at him. "Ah, sorry. Fi didn't speak in full sentences, but I think she meant there's enough heroes gathered that a Zelda will know what to do from here."

"We still don't know what we're doing?"

That was a well-rehearsed gripe all the Links made. Sky let it slide like water off a loftwing's back. "Like I said, Fi's been sleepy lately and didn't speak full sentences. That's about it."

Warriors was trying not to look upset, but the military front lines had blunted his social graces. Sky tried for a more soothing tone. "At least now we aren't just dumped into a new Hyrule searching for oddly powerful monsters and the resident Link. We're nearing our quest start."

Warriors actually 'tut tut'ed at him. "No, my dear Sky. I began my quest when the portals opened between Hyrule Kingdoms. The plot deepened when my reincarnations were roped into this as we fought harder-than-usual monsters. What happens now is the very late rally for the cause. I'm sure Zelda will need something-or-other and the Master Sword to seal Ganon away again. It's always about Ganon." Oh dear, he was becoming theatrical. Hand gestures and everything.

"I had to deal with Demise, not Ganon."

"No, you had to deal with the first Ganon. He wasn't named as such then."

"Pretty sure some of the others had to fight a Ganondorf among other people."

"Same guy, different name."

They bickered about it as they exited the temple. It became more speculation than good counterarguments since none of the Links divulged more than courtesy summaries yet.

The forest on fire stopped the building levity.

"Hmm. Not the agreed upon bomb-everything-to-signal-for-help-plan, but that'll do," Warriors mused.

The wildfire's light was enough to see the army of bokoblins run out of the forest. It wasn't all fear and panic either - something was leading them. And their dark efforts were focused on two human swordsmen desperately trying the hit-and-run strategy because they weren't fast enough to outrun them.

Wordlessly Sky and Warriors dropped their bags. They'd have to sprint there to make it in time.

Sky pushed down his residual fear of facing bokoblin hordes in the desperate, futile race to get to his Zelda before she was sacrificed. This was similar, but not the same. This time, he'd make it in time.

In a split-second decision, he shoved Fi into Warriors' hands. The Captain's face blanked to surprise and something else. Sky wasn't sure, but now wasn't the time. "You're used to fighting armies, right? You'll use her better than I right now."

Warriors' eyes darted with his thoughts. He looked to disagree, then changed his mind lightning fast. "Fine. It's what I'm best at. You need to get up there and cover our base."

Sky didn't realize the other was wearing power bracelets until he was bodily thrown up onto a broken pillar ten feet up. His bag nearly hit him in the face right after.

"Defend the base!" the Captain commanded as he raced ahead with a speed Sky sorely envied.

The Chosen One drew his sacred bow and gave a prayer to the goddess as he nocked the string. Please let the heroes win this night.