Short chapter fic written in the Linked Universe AU by Jojo56830 on Tumblr. Originally only posted to AO3, I decided I'd like to have all my stories on one site. Stories for this AU will be posted to AO3 first, but they will eventually make their way here as well. There are mentions of violence, blood, and injury in this fic, so if that's not something you like to read, please take care of yourself and take caution while reading. :)
Disclaimer: I own nothing of The Legend of Zelda series and this amazing AU is by Jojo56830 on Tumblr.
The path they walk on is nestled deep in the forest. Creeping tree roots and tripping vines crisscross over the worn ground. The dense canopy overhead is heavy with verdant leaves and it casts a sleepy shadow over the area. The little light that does manage to slip through shines in soft speckles along the heroes bodies and glints off the polished armor of their leader. The soft songs of whippoorwills dance above them. It should be calm and peaceful, and yet...
A cold chill of unease trickles down Legend's spine and solidifies into a knot of tension when he sees the sharp flat edge of a new portal peeking out from behind of the thick, gnarled trunk of a tree. He feels it's twisted energy pulsating in the air. Under the thick wool of his tunic, goosebumps prickle along his neck and arms. A vile tangy stench drifts in the air; smelling like food left out to spoil underneath a blazing sun. The odor sticks to the back of Legend's throat, making him nearly gag as they draw closer. He swears he can still hear echoes of whispered spellwork, feel the words buzzing in his ears and making them itch. Warriors anxiously tugs at the thin, cobalt loops that dangle from his ears, telling Legend he is not the only one feeling the effects from the wall of magic.
Goddesses above, he hates these things.
There's a collective groan from his comrades as they stop mere feet from the portal and Wind actually throws his head back to let out an annoyed whine.
"Again? But we just got to this Hyrule three days ago. I don't wanna switch yet!"
Some of the older boys laugh, they can't help but find Wind's more childish moments endearing. Four claps the young hero on the shoulder, his ever-present patient smile stretched across his face. Legend's always found his short friend's calm demeanor just a little irritating, which is why he loves to tease him. It's almost as fun as trying to get a rise out of Warriors. He knows it's been a good day when he's gotten either one of them blustering and angry.
"I don't think we get a choice in the matter." Four says, grinning when Wind pouts, "But if it's any consolation, with the way these portals are appearing so often now we're bound to end up here again soon."
'Here' would be Hyrule's Hyrule, and Legend has been so mind-numbingly bored the past few days he wants to skip he's so happy to be leaving. It's not that there's anything wrong with his friend's home, it's just with the constant attacks from monsters, (day and night mind you) the last three days have been nothing but a repetition of fight, walk, fight, walk, try to sleep, nope time to fight some more, and walk again.
Legend hates it when days start to look the same. It's why he sometimes sleeps in when he's supposed to be apprenticing with the blacksmith, or why half the time he never listened to his Uncle. If he's getting yelled at that day, he at least knows something interesting is going to happen.
He's happy today has finally caught his attention.
The gate of swirling purple and black magic appearing means they'll be dropped in another time and another Hyrule. So far they've been to Hyrule's, Time's, Wild's, and even Legend's. Wind has complained several times about wanting to go to his home, and Sky tends to get mopey and distant if you mention Skyloft. Legend hopes they'll be going somewhere new this time. Preferably a Hyrule with fewer monsters.
"I'll go first," he volunteers. The others nod their heads,expecting it since he normally does. He steps forward, hand outstretched. It's a habit now, to let the magic twine itself around his fingers before actually walking through it. Legend knows magic this powerful and dark can be extremely volatile. If something was going to go wrong, he'd much rather lose a thumb or something than die because he couldn't wait the few seconds the gate needed to adjust to being touched.
Once he's sure the portal has settled again, he takes a deep breath and walks through. Walking through a magic door to another world is definitely on his top ten list of things he hates the most. It's like slogging through swamp water, thick and dirty. His feet are heavy like they're stuck in the mud and the energy of the gate presses down on him, making it nearly impossible to breathe. He imagines himself trying to swim upstream with his legs chained to rocks below, rapids splashing in his face and filling his mouth with water and choking him. A morbid thought that he could drown in here, that he could be stuck in this in-between forever, crosses his mind. Legend shoves that thought as far back in his brain as possible. He knows it's dangerous to panic and get distracted when you're walking through a portal like this. The magic will try to pull you under, to make you part of it. If he didn't let the cracks into Lorule do it, he sure as hell wasn't going to let this dark gate do him in.
There's a few more seconds of unbearable pressure. Legend's lungs are burning from lack of oxygen. Then, he is bursting through, gasping at fresh, chilled air and blinking away the blinding light of the magic that expels him.
He is not prepared to find himself shoved into knee-deep snow.
Legend swears so loudly it echoes around him. He stumbles forward as he tries to get his bearings, only for his left foot to get trapped in the frigid white powder. He gives a rather embarrassing shriek as his boot becomes filled with icy flakes and in his haste to pull his leg out of the hole it's stuck in, he trips over himself and falls on his rear end.
"Son of a bitch!" He curses as the bottom of his tunic is quickly soaked through. He scrambles to his feet, the sudden cold from his snow covered clothes sending a chill over every inch of his body. Once he's standing, he tucks his fingers under his armpits to warm them.
Din's fucking sake is it cold here.
He hears the portal activate again, half intelligible spell words floating across the air. Soon he watches, half amused and half sympathetically, as his friends are pushed from the gate in groups of two and three. Each reaction to their sudden wintry surroundings gets more hilarious than the last and Legend thinks getting to see them is more than worth the risk of going through the portal first. Wind latches on to Warriors as soon as his feet hit the frozen land, his uncovered calves unprotected from the dense powder. Four squawks a rather impressive curse about someone named Vaati's saggy balls when he trips and falls head first into the snow. The little hero manages to catch himself on his forearms before his face smashes into the ground, but Legend winces as freezing flakes cover and soak through the Smithy's vibrant tunic.
Time reaches down to help pull Four to his feet. The small boy mumbles a thanks as he brushes snow from his clothes, shivering uncontrollably.
"W-where are we?" Four asks the group through chattering teeth.
Everyone takes a look around.
The few evergreens that dot the area look like frosted crystals perched on wooden stands that are black from the wet snow blowing through the air. The trees lead down to a wide, half-frozen lake. The water is steel gray and floating on top are platforms made of solid ice. They vary in size, ranging all the way from a few feet to roughly the length of a horse drawn carriage. The land that surrounds the lake is covered by fresh, white snow that stretches untouched towards the base of the mountainside. The mountains, which stand tall and strong like guardians watching over their home, are a somber slate color. The sky has seemed to disappear, instead there is nothing but endless gray swirling above as fat flakes fall heavily towards the earth. It gives this place a strange, enchanted feeling.
Legend would think it's weirdly beautiful if he wasn't so damn cold.
A shiver racks it's way down him, causing a twinge of pain to shoot through his lower back. His left foot and the back of his thighs are already going numb from his cold, wet clothing. He sees Warriors glance his way so he tries his best to force the shivers away. Legend is not in the mood to be babied right now.
"I think this is my Hyrule," Twilight says. He's pulled the hood of his pelt up so he's one of the few heroes who looks even remotely warm. "We're on Snowpeak Mountain right now and across that lake is Zora's Domain."
"Should we head that way, then?" Time asks.
"Definitely. There's no where else to go here really, besides the old mansion ruins, and that's further up the mountain. Our best bet would be to camp out in the Domain and figure out our plan from there."
The heroes agree and set off in the direction Twilight points them. Time insists the ranch hand take the lead, so they walk in a single file towards the icy lake. Twilight does his best to carve a path with his steps. It's difficult due to how deep the snow is. It comes up to Four mid-thigh in the worst parts. Wild tries his best to help his mentor out. He's used his odd slate to change into a warm, fur and feather lined cream-colored tunic and heavy brown snow boots. Wild stomps down the snow as he walks to keep the others from slipping on the slush. Legend appreciates this. While his Pegasus boots are great for speed and charging across a short distance, they are horrible in the snow. He can't count how many times he's slipped because of poor traction, and since he's already fallen once today, he's thankful for anything that will keep him standing.
When they get to the lake, Twilight pairs everyone off so they can go across in groups. He explains how it's safer, because if you fall in someone will be there to help you get out of the freezing water if you can't to do it yourself. Legend watches as Twilight takes Four and Wind across the lake. They take it slow, with Twilight showing them the best platforms to use and the two youngest heroes carefully walking hand-in-hand to better keep their balance. Once they're safely across, Time sends Warriors and Wild. It doesn't take as long for the two of them to make it over, it seems Wild has some experience walking on ice. When they finally do reach the bank on the other side, the old man motions for Legend to start heading over with Hyrule.
Hyrule goes first because the first platform takes a running leap to get to. When Twilight showed them, he said the best way was to outstretch your arms when you land, to help balance yourself. Hyrule does this with ease, a huge grin on his face when he slides to a stop. He looks back at Legend, encouragement in his dark blue eyes.
"C'mon! It's easier than it looks," the brunette calls.
Legend takes a few steps back to give himself more room to run. His left foot, now the coldest part of his body though not by much, feels like it's being stabbed with pins and needles. It's making it a little difficult to walk, but he's dealt with a lot worse on his adventures so there's no point complaining. He waits another few seconds to build up his nerve, before finally sprinting forward and jumping towards the platform.
Legend knows he's messed up as soon as his feet are off the ground. He'd pushed off with his left foot; he'd meant to use his right but of course he forgot at the last moment. A shot of pain had burned through his foot and up his calf when he'd put pressure on it to make the jump and Legend had instinctively tried to stop himself. This means that he is almost too short on his leap to where Hyrule stands. Panic floods him when he realizes there is a very good chance he is going to stumble back into the freezing water, so Legend does the only thing he can think of. When his right boot hits the ice he uses what little momentum he has to dive forward. Legend bellyflops onto the platform, his chin smacking hard against the ground. He slides a few feet forward before being stopped by a hand roughly grabbing his tunic.
"Are you alright?" Hyrule asks, the worry making his voice rushed and high pitched. Legend groans and rubs his scraped jaw.
He suddenly wishes they were back in the other Hyrule, fighting infected monsters.
"Legend?" Time calls.
"M'f-fine," he grumbles through a shiver. The ice is colder than the snow and Legend can feel the chill seeping in through the front of his tunic. Hyrule offers him a hand, so he takes it and pulls himself back onto his feet. They take their time with the remaining platforms. Hyrule goes first instead of them jumping together like the others did to be there in case Legend nearly falls in again. Legend is grateful for his friend's concern, but he's also a little embarrassed he's the only one to have any problems walking on the ice. When they finally make it over, he's immediately bombarded with questions.
"Are you alright?"
"You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"
"How come you fell?"
Legend ignores them all and turns to watch Time and Sky cross.
The remaining two heroes make their way over with ease. Sky seems to be enjoying himself, he grins like a kid in a sweets shop every time he glides across the ice. Time turns to Legend as soon as his feet hit the snowbank.
"Are you—"
"I'm fine," Legend sighs, annoyed. A gust of wind blows through, highlighting every freezing spot on his body. He shoves his fingers under his armpits again and tries with all his might to hold off the shivers he can feel coiling in his back. Four shakes uncontrollably just a few feet away. " I s-slipped when I landed. It's not that big of a deal."
Time shares a glance with Warriors, who from the look on his face is desperately fighting off the urge to motherhen the colder ones of the group, but drops the issue. The heroes follow Twilight up a steep hill. There are several high ledges on this path the group has to scramble onto since the rocks are slippery from slush.
The wind is blowing harder now and the snow is falling faster, so it's hard to see where they're going. Twilight calls back to tell everyone how much father the Domain is, but Legend can barely hear him. He squints through the snow and just barely makes out Four tucked up against Wild, the latter wrapping part of his cloak around the Smithy's shoulders. Hyrule is ahead of Legend, and he keeps glancing back to make sure no one has gotten separated. Legend wants to laugh at this, because how often does that boy go wondering off on his own, but he's so cold he can't bring himself to do it. He thinks maybe he'll just tease him about it later, when they're finally sitting in front of a warm campfire away from this hellish mountain.
Hylia, does he hope that's soon.
A loud, angry swear is carried back on the wind so Legend cranes his neck to look at where most of the others are gathered at the top of the hill. He picks up the pace the last few feet, finally reaching his friends just in time to see Twilight kick at a pile of snow covered rubble.
"W-what's going o-on?" He asks.
"The path is blocked!" Wind exclaims. The sailor has apparently decided the freezing weather around them is too much, because he is now being held off the ground by Warriors, piggyback style. His hands are wrapped around the Captain's shoulders, fingers tucked under the ends of his friend's blue scarf.
"What?" Legend looks to Twilight for confirmation, even though the pile of rocks in front of them is answer enough. He just so desperately wants it to not be true. Twilight stares at where there should apparently be a path, fists clenched tightly by his sides.
"It looks like it caved in somehow," the fur-clad hero mutters.
"So what do we do? Should we try and clear it?" Warriors asks.
"Are you c-crazy? It would take for-forever to clear that in this weather!" Legend has given up on hiding his shivers now. He's so done with the situation. He's freezing, he's wet, and he'll be lucky if he doesn't end up with frostbite on his foot. He just wants to be out of the snow. "Isn't there a cave or s-something we can camp in? At least for the ni-night?"
"Um..." Twilight looks back towards the direction they came from, eyes narrowed in thought.
"How cold are you?" Warriors suddenly asks. Legend looks at him in confusion.
"Who?"
"You, idiot!" The captain adjusts his grip on the youngest hero before looking closely at his shivering friend. "You look nearly frozen solid, why didn't you say something?"
"I'm f-fine,"
"No, you're not. Get my cloak out of my bag and put it on. It'll at least make you a little warmer."
"I don't need your c-cloak!" Legend argues. At that moment his whole body is racked with a massive shiver.
"Ha! Yeah, right. You wouldn't need my cloak if you'd listened to me the last time we were replenishing our supplies. I told you, you need to get something warmer to wear besides that damn tunic!"
"My t-tunic is fine!"
"It is not. Just put on my cloak,"
"No."
"Legend, stop acting like a child and-"
"Oh, kiss my ass Warriors, you're not the boss of me!"
"Kiss- What!"
"Oh, for the love of Nayru, would you two stop!" Twilight roars. Legend and Warriors both snap their mouths shut and turn wide-eyed towards the ranch hand. "I can't focus with your arguing. If you want me to think of somewhere for us to go, I need you to shut up for just two seconds!"
"Everyone, keep calm, please. I know we're all on edge right now because of this snowstorm but fighting among ourselves isn't going to solve anything." Time says, sagely. He clasps his protégé on the shoulder. "Now breathe, and think. It doesn't have to be anywhere large. We just need shelter from the storm. I fear it may be turning into a blizzard."
Twilight takes a few deep breathes, the air misting every time he exhales.
"There should be a small cave about a ten minute climb up the mountain, on the other side of the lake. I found it one day when I was hiking up to the old mansion, after my journey had ended. It's not very big, but there should be room for all of us and a campfire."
"Then it should work just fine." Time motions for the group to start heading back down the path. "Quickly, now."
They hurry back down the mountain, slipping and sliding in their wet, snow covered boots. Wild gives his cloak to Four, refusing the blacksmith's demands for them to wear it together when he notices how badly their little friend is shivering. Even Time is beginning to feel the effects of the winter storm; he keeps his head bowed and shoulders hunched as the wind roars around them, grimacing whenever a particularly strong gust bombards them with the icy flakes.
Wind slips off Warriors's shoulders when they reach the lake, stumbling a little in the deep snow.
"Should we go over in groups again?" He asks.
"No, I think we should go over together," Twilight answers. He studies the lake. Legend assumes he's trying to determine which path is the safest to take with such a large party. "The longer we're out here the more dangerous it is."
Once he's decided which direction he wants to lead them, Twilight jumps onto the first platform. Four and Wind go next, and once they've safely made the second leap, Sky starts to make his way over, followed by Time. Warriors tries to make Legend go next, but Legend barks at the older boy to move his ass instead. Hyrule rolls his eyes at the two of them and goes, with Wild quickly leaping onto the ice a moment later. Legend and Warriors glare at each other, a silent argument over who should follow their quiet friend. Legend knows he's being a little ridiculous, but he doesn't want the captain fussing over him just because he's cold. Warriors finally gives in and starts across the platforms when Time shouts at them for falling behind.
The second time across the lake isn't that bad. Legend still can't really feel his foot, or his fingers at this point, but there's minimal slipping on the ice so he counts it as a win. He's almost to the other side when he hears a shout (and was that a growl?) from where most of his friends are waiting on the snowbank.
Legend peers through the snow whipping around him. He can make out Warriors and Wild on the ice just a little ways in front of him, each on their own platform and separated from him by one only a few feet wide. He can tell that neither one is moving forward, but he can't see why.
"What's going on?" He shouts.
He sees Warriors turn to answer him. He sees the glint of a blade grasped tightly in the captain's hands. He sees worry flash in the bright blue eyes of his friend.
He does not see the giant white wolf leaping at him until it is too late.
Two huge paws, each roughly the size of his head, slam into his chest. The claws are sharp and they dig through his tunic, ripping the fabric and leaving deep scratches. Legend is shoved to the ground from the force of the collision. The great beast falls with him, using the hero's stomach like a spring board to leap away before it becomes too jarred by the fall.
Legend wheezes through the pain of having all that weight on his middle. He doesn't have long to recover, he can hear the wolf's claws scraping across the ice as it turns back towards him. Legend rolls over so he can push himself to his knees. He draws his sword and shoves it down into the platform, using it as leverage to hoist himself to his feet. The beast growls at him, deep and guttural, as he yanks his blade free. Legend slides his shield onto his arm as the wolf stalks slowly around him in a half circle.
There's a tense moment where they just stare at each other, the beast's gleaming red eyes bright and menacing against the backdrop of the gray and white snowstorm raging around them. It's a huge wolf. It stands nearly as tall as Legends chest, with a long snout and thick fur. Legend squeezes the hilt of his sword. His fingers are numb from the cold, so he's worried about losing his grip. Also, he's never fought beasts like this before, so he has no idea how the wolf will attack. Legend just wants to get this fight over with as quickly as possible.
The wolf waits another moment, and then charges forward. It's surprisingly agile on the ice. At the last moment before slamming into the hero, it leaps high into the air over Legend's head. He stumbles away before the beast can attack him from behind, feet nearly slipping out from under him. Legend spins around to slash at the wolf, but it dodges to the side. It growls and swipes at him, so he smacks his shield into its leg. It's paw bounces off the metal shield, which seems to aggravate the beast, because it snarls at Legend. It charges towards him again, but this time he is prepared. When the wolf leaps over him, he thrusts his sword upwards. He manages to cut a deep gash into the wolf's side. Deep red blood splatters down onto Legend's shoulder and the front of his tunic and when the wolf lands he sees it drip onto the icy platform.
Thank fucking Farore, they're not infected.
The wolf bares it's teeth at him. Legend adjusts his stance, preparing himself for when it charges again. He can hear the sounds of his comrades fighting behind him. Wild's and Warriors's voices are the easiest to distinguish, so Legend figures they got caught battling on the ice just like he did. The wolf growls as it stalks a little closer. Legend grips his sword so tightly, it pains his chilled fingers. He wants to make sure this beast is dead with his next strike.
Legend's focus is broken by a deep rumbling and an array of panicked shouts coming from the bank the majority of his friends are currently fighting on. For one horrible moment he thinks there might be an avalanche, but Hyrule's shout let's him know something else is going on.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?"
Legend instinctively turns to see what his friend is yelling about. Through the snowstorm, he spots a massive thing getting to its... well, feet he supposes. It appears to be a living rock. There's no head, at least not one with a face or eyes, just an enormous snow covered boulder. Smaller chunks of rock at its sides and bottom connect to what Legend can only assume are its hands and feet, though there is nothing distinguishing itself as fingers or toes, just more stone. Every inch of it is covered in either ice or the wintery flakes it was previously buried in; except for a long black protrusion near the middle of its back that Legend can see gleaming with opals and sapphires even from this distance.
He stares dumbfounded as the monster takes a few ground-quaking steps. The others carefully back away, swords and shields at the ready. The stone creature pauses for a moment, and then swings its giant arm down, smashing into the ground and sending up a burst of frozen slush. He watches his friends scramble away, Wind and Four nearly tripping in the deep snow.
"It's a Frost Talus! Don't touch it or it could freeze you!" Wild yells.
Shit, Legend thinks. If Wild is the one to recognize this monster, then it must be from his Hyrule. Which means the others need him over there to help fight it, not stuck on the ice battling stupid wolves.
Wait a minute...
Legend whips his head back towards the beast he's been fighting. He's too late though, the wolf is already barreling forward, mouth wide open and razor sharp teeth ready to bite. It sinks into Legend's right calf. He shrieks in pain and smacks the wolf over the head with his shield. This dazes the beast, but it still holds on. Legend flips the point of his blade towards the ground and shoves it into the wolf's back. The canine releases its hold on his leg, howling miserably. He pulls the sword out and stabs it again, this time in the neck. There's a sickening gurgle from the monster, and then it finally falls to the ground, dead.
Legend stumbles backwards, tripping in his haze of pain and falling on his rear end onto the icy platform. He sets his blade down beside him and pulls his arm free of his shield. Legend tosses it to the side so he can gingerly grasp his wound. The blood is warm and sticky on his cold fingers and it smears over the top of his boots. Legend grits his teeth to stop from crying out when he accidentally brushes up against the worst part of the bite.
"Are you okay?" He hears Warriors call from behind him, still fighting his own battle. Legend lets out a shuddering breath and looks over his shoulder at his friend.
"N-not really," he chokes out, "but I'll deal with it. Just... kill that damn thing so you can help Wild. The others need him."
Legend is panting now. He's been injured more times than he can count on both hands, but this bite definitely takes the cake when it comes to pain. The punctures are across the top of his shin and calf and the skin is torn away from several of them. Legend tries to move his leg into a more comfortable position, but all that does is cause a wave of agony to shoot through him.
He looks over at his friends fighting the Talus to distract himself from his wound. Wind and Four are firing arrows at it from a safe distance away, though all their shots bounce pitifully off the monster's stone body. Sky and Twilight are still preoccupied with the few remaining wolves that had originally attacked their group. Time and Hyrule are the ones trying to battle the Talus from up close. Neither of them seem to know what to do though, so they're mostly dodging it's giant fists as they try to think of a plan.
There's a horrible yelp from one of the other platforms. Warriors has finally finished off the monster he's been fighting. The captain looks at him with concerned, wide eyes. He opens his mouth to speak, but Legend interrupts him.
"For Hylia's sake, Warriors, go help Wild! I'll be fine."
Warriors looks like he wants to argue, but he eventually nods his head and hops over onto the icy platform Wild is fighting on. With the captain's help, they quickly finish off the vicious wolf. Wild thanks him and then turns to help the others, pulling out his bow and some crimson magic-tipped arrows.
"We have to melt the ice covering its body! Then we can finally attack the ore deposit on its back!" He calls to the group fighting on land. They look his way, thankful expressions on all their faces.
Unfortunately, they are not the only ones to pay attention to the heroes still standing on the ice.
Legend thinks, if the Talus had eyes (or visible ones at least, who knows with this weird creature) he'd be staring straight into them. The monster has stopped trying to squish his friends with its enormous fists and has now turned its body towards the lake. There's a moment of calm where all he can hear is the wind howling around them. The Talus stands perfectly still, like a giant, poorly carved statue. Then, it brings its right arm back and swings it forward in a big arch, detaching its huge stone fist and hurling it at the platforms.
"It's attacking the ice! Move!" Wild screams.
He and Warriors leap back onto the platform the captain had been fighting on, barely escaping being hit by the chunk of rock. The stone smashes into the ice, cracking it into pieces, the force of the blow sending large waves across the lake. Legend feels himself start to tip and slide as the platform he's sitting on is rocked by the water. He sees a groove in the ice beside him a few inches deep and wide, so he grabs his sword with his left hand and digs the fingers of his right into the crack to stop from rolling into the water. For a few terrifying moments the ice tilts back and forth, until it finally settles, frigid water splashing up around him. He thinks he's safe until he hears a shout from behind him.
"Legend!"
He whips his head towards the bank just in time to see another stone fist flying towards him. It smacks into the ice a few feet from his injured leg. Legend screams as the force of the blow tips the platform up, splitting it down the middle and nearly flipping it over. Legend's numb fingers slip away from the groove. He rolls down the ice, pain shooting through him. Just before he hits the water, he manages to flip his sword and stab it into the platforms edge.
Legends legs and torso fall into the freezing water of the lake. It's like ice has replaced the blood in his veins. The cold snakes it's way through him, coiling his muscles so tightly he can't move. His breath is stolen from his lungs and he's suddenly choking. His fingers grip the hilt of his sword so tightly it's surprising it doesn't break. He gasps, trying to take in air, but nothing happens.
Why can't he fucking breathe.
"Legend!" Wild yells. He sees his friend hopping onto the platform that separates Legend from the other two boys. "Don't panic, I'm coming!"
Is he serious? How in Hyrule is he supposed to not panic when he's so, so, so cold and he can't. Freaking. Breathe!
"Legend, you need to relax!"
He wishes he could tell Wild he needs to shut up.
Wild jumps onto his platform, slipping when the ice starts to give way from the large crack running down its center. He gets down on his hands and knees to better distribute his weight.
"I'm coming to get you, but it's going to take me a minute. I need you to relax and breathe."
He can't.
"C'mon, Man. I know you can do it. Exhale."
What? No. No, no, no. He needs to inhale. If he could just inhale then—
"Legend! You're in shock and it's only going to get worse unless you listen to me. Please! Just exhale. I'll do it with you."
Wild lets out a slow, deliberate exhale. Legend wants to ignore him, but the panic rising in his chest is palpable and he's worried it'll drag him under if he doesn't do something soon. So he tries it. Legend forces himself to exhale. It's slow and shaking, but he manages to finally release the air he'd apparently taken in when he hit the water. He must have held his breathe without realizing it.
"Good, that's really good. Now inhale, nice and slow."
Legend breathes in when Wild does. The effect is almost immediate. The tension in his chest is released and he no longer feels like something is stomping on his lungs. The two of them breathe in and out together while Wild slowly crawls his way over the damaged ice. Now that his mind isn't so clouded from panic, Legend can feel just how cold he is. His body is shaking so violently he almost looses his grip on his sword. Wild talks to him in a calm voice after every breath, which helps him keep his focus on his friend and not on the frigid water slowly freezing him.
Warriors's frantic shout reminds them they have something else that needs worrying about.
The Talus has decided to ignore the other heroes, who must have been distracting it while Wild tried to rescue him, and has launched another stone at their platform. It's aim is a little off this time. Instead of hitting them, it smacks into the broken chunks beside them, sending up a spray of water and hunks of ice. The platform rocks violently back and forth and Legend watches for a few terrifying seconds as Wild scrambles to find purchase so he doesn't join him in the lake.
Legend has a moment of relief when it's clear his friend is safe, and then he feels pain explode from his temple throughout his head and his world turns to black.