Author's Note: Hello, everyone! This was written for a secret santa gift exchange on the LU Discord server. So, to my giftee, Jitters_Box, I truly hope that you enjoy this fic. As always, I do not own the Legend of Zelda or Linked Universe. Happy reading!

Twilight's POV

"Hey, what's the holdup, Twi?" Wild calls from ahead of me.

I startle, returning my focus to the road ahead. Something about this place smells weird. I know it. Something's not right. But I can't put my finger on what, so I refuse to worry the others over what may well be nothing more than my own anxiety.

"Is something wrong?" Wind asks.

I shake my head, hurrying to catch up with the group. "No, everything's fine."

"Are you tired?" Time pushes.

"I'm fine," I say with finality. Wild doesn't seem convinced, but nothing more is said. We keep moving in silence, observing our unsettling surroundings. None of us are sure where we are. We've been tracking that Black Lizalfos for months now, following it through all of its dark portals and chasing it across both time and space. For the most part, at least one of us has recognized where we were in their respective world. But now, we're all completely lost.

We got here a few days ago. After chasing the Black Lizalfos around Warriors's Hyrule for a few weeks, we cornered it in Eldin Caves and forced it to create another portal. Which led us here. These creepy and seemingly lifeless woods that we've been picking our way through with no sign of our enemy. The trees surrounding us have violet leaves and trunks tinted grey. No wind rustles the leaves, and no animal can be heard scampering about in the undergrowth. I've never been in a forest quite this dead. Not even Faron Woods covered in Twilight can compare to this. At least those were filled with evil, a clear blight to locate and root out. This forest has no sign of life at all. It's so quiet and disturbing. I hate it.

I'm not the only one. Beside me now, Wild has his eyes scanning every dark corner of this silent forest. Wind is almost shivering, rubbing his hands across his forearms and leaning into Warriors, who offers the sailor his scarf to wrap around his exposed shoulders.

The only sound to be heard here is our footsteps crunching across the stiff blades of purple grass. We're all walking close together. I think we're all unnerved. Nobody is sure what to think of this place. All I can say is that the air smells wrong. I'm not sure how to explain it to the others, not even the ones who know my little secret, but something about the air just smells different. Not in the sense that it's unfamiliar to me, in the way the other heroes' worlds are. It's different in the sense that it doesn't belong. Different in the sense that something is wrong here. But what? I simply don't know.

We walk for a while longer. No more words are spoken. It feels weird to disrupt the natural silence that blankets these trees. I keep my senses on high alert, the hair on my arms standing straight up, every nerve in my body certain that something is coming.

"We're going to need to find water," Warriors says eventually, shaking his light water canteen.

"Somehow I don't think that's going to be easy," Wild mutters.

"We'll be able to hear running water," I say. "There's no way we'll miss a water source."

"We've just got to keep walking," Wind says, the Captain's scarf still curled around his body. "We'll find one."

So we just keep walking. Wild sticks close to me. I offer him a hand, and he takes it. He's unsettled too. Wind has his hands clenched in fists, and Four has his shoulders hunched.

"Something's not right with this place," Legend says finally.

"It's too quiet," Time agrees.

"Too lifeless," I add. To not hear any animals, to not feel any wind, it's completely unnatural. The forest feels artificial, the trees and their violet leaves are otherworldly, and the grass beneath our feet feels like it's already dead.

Finally, I hear something new. Rustling in the bushes around us, the sound of quick and light footsteps is off to my right. It's a sound I always listen for when I'm hunting. Usually it means deer are nearby, but I don't smell deer now. Pausing once again, I raise my nose to the sky and sniff the air. No, it's not a deer. Definitely not. It smells like darkness, the way that Black Lizalfos does. The way Ganondorf did. It's evil. It's fast. It's big. And I can hear it's footsteps getting closer, too light and too quick for the others to hear. It's coming right towards us.

"Watch out!" I scream as soon as it's charge registers in my mind, pointing a finger towards the sound's origin. The others startle, whirling around and staring in the indicated direction, hurrying to draw their weapons. The veil of leaves just before us tears open. And a huge, monstrous lion jumps out at us.

The great beast has shaggy golden fur covering most of its body, and a long mane that sways gently as it stares down at us, breathing hard. It's a huge creature, standing taller than any one of us, and its black eyes burn with malevolence. Fangs longer than my own sword poke out from its mouth, and it draws its lips upwards in a snarl, showcasing a mouthful of huge teeth more than capable of tearing through even Time's thick armor. Its claws too are deadly and long. Darkness leaks from its body, permeating the air around it in black smoke. That's why the scent of evil was so easily noticeable. This being radiates darkness, and Sky's Master Sword flares up with an almost blinding white light as it registers our opponent's heavy aura of evil.

For just barely a moment, everything is still as we all take in the enormous lion, and the creature itself lets its abyssal eyes slide across each one of us. Then the tension breaks, and the lion jabs its claws forward, forcing Time to block them with his wide blade. The eldest pushes the claws aside, gritting his teeth from the effort, then sets his feet and prepares for battle. The rest of us follow suit. Wild draws his bowstring back and fires an arrow. The projectile sails towards the beast's eye, but before it can reach flesh, the smoky darkness surrounding our enemy slows the arrow's approach. Tendrils of black curl around the arrow, halting its advance and turning it around. Wild watches dumbfounded as his arrow is turned on him, fired back with twice as much speed and shadows still clinging to it.

Wind steps in front of him and blocks it with his shield. "Don't do that again," he suggests.

Wild nods quickly, replacing his bow with his sword.

The lion splays its claws, lowering its head and biting at Four. The smith slides under the beast's jaws, stabbing his sword up into its throat, sneering when it cries out in pain. Thick drops of black blood fall from the deep cut. The shadows around the lion spasm in pain, but only for a moment. The monster pulls its head out of Four's reach, baring its teeth at him. Thick strings of black shadow rush towards him, quickly binding his arms to his side and tearing his sword from his grasp.

Legend attempts to slice through the shifting chains, but his sword finds nothing to cut through. To him, the shadows are intangible. He grits his teeth in frustration. Four squirms in his bonds, pulling against the darkness with all the strength he has, but it isn't enough. A final strand curls around his neck and begins squeezing.

The remaining heroes now charge. Sky rushes to Four, pushing the flat of the Master Sword against his body, the blade's white light able to clear away this being's darkness. Four sucks in a deep breath as he's released before hefting his sword and moving to try again, Sky right behind him.

Warriors reaches the lion first. Drawing his arm back, he plunges his blade into its thigh, more black blood falling from the gash. Tendrils of black wrap around his body, and Sky hurries to free him.

"We can't fight like this!" Sky says, ducking under a rushed swipe of the beast's claws. He reaches Warriors and once again uses the Master Sword's holy power to burn off the Captain's bonds.

"We have to do damage somehow," Wild says.

"Let's try this!" Wind declares, dashing between the lion's legs, igniting a bomb, and chucking it up into its underbelly. The being yelps in pain, its shadows spasm again, and then Wind finds himself choking in a thick web of darkness.

"Perfect," Legend mutters, drawing a gleaming arrow back in his bow. He nods to Hyrule, who clenches his shield tightly, then fires the arrow. It soars through the air, tearing through the monster's shadows and releasing Wind from most of his slithering chains, enough for the sailor to claw his way to freedom by himself. The projectile sails onward, embedding itself in a nearby tree. It wasn't meant to hit the lion, only to free Wind from the darkness.

The monster turns on me, its tongue lolling from its mouth, and swings its claws vertically. I roll out of the way, not daring to retaliate. We all just kind of circle it awkwardly, not really sure what to do. The meager damage we've done has been repaired by the squirming shadows.

"Let me try," Sky volunteers.

"We'll back you up," Warriors promises.

The Chosen Hero dashes forward, the Master Sword glowing brightly in his right hand. The monster jumps away from him, clearly afraid.

"Afraid of the light, huh?" Wild questions beside me.

"You got light arrows too?" I ask.

"Used to."

"Well, that's a big help, isn't it?"

The lion avoids Sky, dashing towards me again with its teeth poised. I duck under its initial bite, Wild beside me also throwing himself to the ground. Before either of us can move again, the beast retracts its head and tries again, and this time its jaws clamp around my heavy pelt. It raises its head, pulling me off the ground the way a mother wolf would hold her pups. I cry out, kicking for the ground, Wild staring with terror in his gaze. Legend fires another silver arrow. The shadows pull against it, the arrow's light power ripping most of them apart, but there are simply too many. The blackness is able to halt the arrow's advance, and it falls to the floor uselessly. Hyrule throws a beam of fire from his sword, but that too is turned against him.

The monster holds me in its jaws, dangling me above the rest of the heroes. I kick and pull against its grip, but my physical strength is nothing against this thing. All my thrashing accomplishes is I accidentally manage to dislodge my crystal from around my neck. It falls to the ground below me and comes to lay at Wild's feet.

Sky rushes the lion again. It stares him down, and waves of black crash towards the Chosen Hero. He holds the Master Sword out in front of his face, protecting himself from the swathes of evil. But it isn't enough. The shadows circle behind him and curl around his legs. He trips and falls, the Master Sword still clutched tight in his grasp, but the darkness has an opening. They wrap around Sky's torso and neck and face, only leaving his right hand with the holy blade free. Within seconds he drops the sword and begins shaking, pulling against the darkness, his free hand groping for the sword.

Legend runs to him, pressing a handful of silver arrows against his neck and releasing him much more slowly than the Master Sword had. Sky sucks in a deep breath when his mouth is freed, but the remaining blackness around his chest forces the air from his lungs, leaving him coughing as best he can. Legend hurries to be rid of the remaining darkness, then Sky sits breathing deeply on the ground, his fingers clawing at his chest.

Wild returns his attention to me, nocking another arrow with anger carved in his expression and firing it. He must know that it won't do any good, but I have no doubt that he simply refuses to stand and do nothing. The shadows curl around the arrow as it flies, but this time the monster doesn't fire it back. The darkness drags it right over my forehead, the tip resting just above my mark. Wild's face drains of its color. I pull harder. I reach with my hands, trying to grab the arrow and throw it to the ground, but the darkness pulls it out of my grasp. It hovers just in front of me, as if taunting the others, showing them that there's nothing they can do. Wild clenches his fists in fury. Time grits his teeth. Warriors stares in disbelief. Wind keeps his sword in his hand, but doesn't dare move. Sky picks himself off the ground, coughing one last time.

Then the lion moves. It releases the arrow and lets it fall to the floor, turning away from the others and simply walking away. The others scream in rage and dismay, and I hear the whistle of another arrow, but it doesn't do anything. I resume my attempts at fighting, putting my hands against its jaws as best I can from this awkward position and pulling on its white teeth. It snarls in irritation, shadows curling around my body and forcing my arms down to my side. One tendril wraps around my neck, choking me. I gasp for air, my escape attempt forgotten, but I can't breathe. My chest collapses as the blackness pushes harder, and air is forced from my lungs. I cough out a last breath, my head feels light, my vision is blurry. Only a few seconds later, everything goes black.

Wild's POV

"No!" I scream, my arms shaking as I nock another arrow and take aim. It won't do anything, I know that. But I fire it anyway, watching with tears blurring my vision as the shadows wrap around it, halting its advance and spitting it back at me. Time blocks it with his blade, his jaw clenched and his good eye brimming with fury. The others all cry out as Twilight is taken away from us. I throw my bow to the ground and just scream, unsure what to think or do.

"Hey, hey," Warriors says gently, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Wild, just-" I shove him away, crossing my arms over my chest and sitting on the ground numbly.

Sky is staring into the forest hopelessly. Wind is glaring at the ground. Time sighs heavily, sheathing his blade and running his hands through his hair.

Legend speaks first. "Well...now what?"

"We go rescue him," I reply dryly.

"Obviously," Legend agrees. "Got any kind of plan for that?"

"First, we all ought to calm down," Sky suggests.

"What?" I scream at him. "We can't afford to just-"

"Sky's right," Time says, offering a hand to help me stand. I don't take it. "We won't get anything done if we're all like this. Even if we found that thing again, we're in no condition to plan and figure out how to defeat it."

I ignore him. All I can think is that Twilight got taken. We have to save him. We have to get to him. What is that lion going to do to him? Why did it take him? Why did it leave? I don't get it. It just seemed like some kind of dumb animal, and yet its shadows were so clever. Where did it get all that power, how can we defeat it next time?

"Wild, you need to breathe," Time commands me. "For your own good, just breathe. That's all I'm asking."

I nod slowly, forcing myself to take deep breaths. Tears slide down my face and I just sit unmoving on the floor, but I make myself breathe. My eyes land on Twilight's crystal, resting just a few feet away, lying abandoned in the grass. The others are all talking and worrying and muttering. Ignoring them, I stand up and walk to the pulsing black and orange crystal.

"Don't touch it," Legend says hurriedly.

I glance at him, wondering what he'd know about it. "I know what it does."

Legend nods awkwardly. All attention now on me, I pick up the necklace by its thin string and hold it up for the others to see. "He'll want this back," I say simply, moving to string it around my neck, careful to keep it away from my body and out of my hair.

"Then we'll get it to him," Wind says, nodding firmly. The others agree quickly.

"Come on," Four says, his eyes blazing blue tonight. "That thing went this way." He points to the obvious place where the huge lion exited. The leaves on the strange trees are torn off, and several branches are lying on the ground. But after about twenty feet, it seems the monster worked to be stealthy. There isn't an obvious trail to follow. I sigh. Of course it can't be that easy.

We walk through the lion's wreckage, and then search for any hint as to where it went after that. But we find nothing. This forest is too big for us to wander aimlessly. We'll never find them if we just pick a direction and start walking. Panic sets in. What if we can't find him? What if we never find Twilight and that thing eats him? My hands are shaking and I just don't know what to do. If Twilight was here this would be easy. Wolfie's sense of smell could track this thing no problem. But we haven't got Wolfie...

Wait. I hold up the crystal by the string again, just staring at it. We haven't got Twilight. But we've got his crystal. He's never explained to me how it works. Does it turn anyone into a wolf? Or is it more complicated than that? All I've ever been told is not to touch it because transformation is painful.

"This thing can help us," I say, pulling it off my neck.

"How?" Warriors questions, approaching me and staring at it critically. "What even is it?"

"Dark magic," Hyrule says softly. "That's what it feels like. I always noticed an aura like that around Twilight, but I could never explain what it was. I guess...it's this thing."

"What does it do?" Wind questions.

"Why would Twilight have something made of dark magic?" Warriors pushes.

"He uses it only for good," Time steps in. "I'm sure you're familiar with our good friend Wolfie, Captain?"

Warriors nods, unsure of the relevance of their friendly wolf to the ranch hand.

"Have you ever seen Wolfie and Twilight in the same place at the same time?" I demand.

Warriors cocks his head. His eyes narrow. "I...I suppose not."

"Twilight is Wolfie?" Wind exclaims. "And you all knew?"

"Why would he never say anything?" Warriors questions.

"He didn't want us to know about the crystal," Hyrule says. "It's pure dark magic."

"Right," Time agrees. "He was afraid of your reactions to such a tool."

Warriors huffed. "He still should've told us."

"Be mad at him later," I say curtly. "Like when he's actually here."

Warriors sighs. "...Yeah. I guess you're right."

"So, back to finding him," Four says. "Who's going to use the crystal?"

"It's not that easy," Legend breaks in. "That thing, it doesn't just turn the user into a wolf. It reflects who you are on the inside. Chances are, each one of us is something different. And there are a lot of animals that won't be any good at tracking."

"We can all just try it," Sky suggests.

It's the best plan we're going to get. Hopefully, with eight of us, at least somebody will hold the form of an animal with a nose that's good enough to track that giant lion.

"I'll go first," I volunteer.

"No, you won't," Time says. "Give it here."

"Why?" I demand.

"My body is used to dark magic," the eldest admits. "The process will hurt less for me. You've never had anything to do with darkness, I assume?"

"Not besides killing it," I reply.

"Then let me do it first."

"You got some kind of secret item too, Old Man?" Legend questions shrewdly.

Time shrugged. "That's a story for another day. It won't help us in our current predicament, so I see no reason to use it."

"Enough talking," Wind decides. "We do have to get moving at some point."

"Sailor's right," Warriors agrees. "Go on, Time."

I hold out the necklace for him to take. He strings it around his neck carefully, making sure it doesn't touch his skin. Then he grasps the crystal with his hand, grimacing as he makes contact with the magic crystal. In response, the dark object awakens, the flashing lines of orange accelerating and sparking. Black squares erupt from the crystal, expanding rapidly and covering Time's entire body. I hear bones crunching and organs shifting, and the eldest hero can't help but scream. I wonder how many times Twilight has done this for the process to be painless. Time's scream deepens into the roar of an obviously predatory animal. He carries on for several more moments, all of us staring at the cover of black squares worriedly. Sky bites his lip, Legend shakes his head slowly, and I can't help but hope that I won't ever need to use this thing. Time said it would be more painful for me. How much more painful can it get?

Then the dark squares evaporate, revealing Time's true form; a wolf with fur so golden it almost seems to glow. His eye that he always keeps closed is now scarred shut, and his good one is blood red. He has markings of white around his neck and down part of his torso, but he's mostly golden. My lips part in awe. A holy form for the Hero of Time, Hyrule's most decorated and famous hero.

Time takes a moment to collect himself, glancing across his body and shaking himself out. He raises his nose to the air and takes a deep breath. A wolf is exactly what we need. We can track Twilight no problem now. He sniffs the air once again, then stands and begins walking towards a thick row of trees with confidence. He glances back at us, nodding for us to follow him. We all do as we're told, hurrying after the golden wolf and hopefully onward to Twilight. Just hold on, Twi. We're on our way now. Thanks to your crystal.