I'm so sorry this took so long. So much stuff has come up.

Hope you enjoy~

When they stopped for the night Twilight tried to convince Link to let him take first watch, but the kid ignored him. Now sitting comfortably next to the fire in the quiet of the night, he was already nodding off…So maybe he'd let him win this round. He could use the sleep with his body still aching and tired as it was.

He could barely remember laying his head down to sleep. His dreams dragged him under and his homesickness increased when he found himself with Shad again, searching for the time gate.

The dream was nothing complicated, just the usual thing he and Shad always did. They would research a story and try to find out if there was any truth to it. That's what they were doing the day he got pulled into the future; they were researching legends on the Hero of the Sky.

Their findings led them to a deeper part of the woods that hadn't seen signs of life for hundreds of years. The gate was never mentioned in the little scraps of information they had, so he never saw a problem with approaching it.

That proved to be the wrong thing to do. He could still remember the feeling of being dragged through the gate.

His eyes were open but he was in complete darkness, falling into a void. His whole body lurched like he was being pulled in two different directions. He instinctually wrapped his arms around himself, trying to keep his body from feeling like it was going to fall apart.

Another lurch and he was being thrown the other way, cold taking over him, freezing him so bad that he could almost feel the marrow in his bones turning to ice.

He stopped so suddenly that it felt like he'd fallen off his horse face first and hit the ground. With a start, he realized that he was indeed laying on something solid, something cold like dirt. The impact knocked the air out of him and he coughed, the sound lost in the darkness.

The cold was choking him now and he clutched at his throat, fighting the invisible force that was suffocating him.

"Y o u ' e."

"You're telling me…" He struggled to breathe but his lungs refused to listen to him.

There were cold hands on his legs suddenly, colder than the air that was strangling him. He flailed and kicked out, trying to hit whatever was attacking him but it was having no effect.

Dizzy from the lack of oxygen, he fought with everything he had left, he was not going to die without a fight.

Seconds went by,

Minutes.

Hours.

And then…a light.

A light so bright it almost blinded him as much as the darkness before.

His hand was glowing with a golden light; it was pushing out against the darkness like a flame burning through the mist. Warmth crawled up his arm, covering his entire body and he sucked in a breath as it reached his lungs.

A feeling that he hadn't felt in so long took over him again. His limbs pulling uncomfortably as he was transformed. The inner beast worked its way out of his flesh; he howled at the pain, it was so much more painful than he remembered—

"Hey!"

Twilight's eye flew open and he threw himself into a sitting position. He was sweating again, but this time it wasn't with fever. He had no idea where he was or who he was. Panic gripped him and he clutched at his chest, trying to stop his heart from bursting out of his chest.

Cool hands on his face made him freeze; he sucked in a breath and held it like it was the last one he would ever take.

"You're fine, it was just a dream."

He recognized the voice. A wave of relief washed over him as the memories from the previous days finally came back to him.

"I'm fine; I'm just thousands of years into the future. I'm traveling with the kid, everything is okay."

He pushed the hands gently away from him, wanting some space to catch his breath. It was embarrassing enough that he'd had a night terror in front of some else, he didn't want to be coddled.

Link moved away but still sat close; he had his bow within hands reach at his feet. "The blight stays with you, even once it's purged." He gave Twilight a sympathetic look, "you'll have more of those, I'm sorry."

Twilight chuckled and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. "I can handle a few bad dreams, don't worry about me." His heart was still racing. He wasn't sure if he wanted to try falling back to sleep or if he wanted to tell the kid to sleep instead.

Neither man spoke for a while after that.

His companion was very quiet. He wasn't sure if it was a choice to not speak or if it was just who he was. He could remember the weight of destiny on his shoulders in his younger years and he could sympathize. When there were so many lives relying on you talking was a luxury you didn't think you deserved.

"You want to teach me some of that hand language?" He asked the younger man after their short silence. "I don't think I can go back to sleep again after that."

Link gave him a steady look, blinking lazily like a cat. It looked to be one of the hardest decisions of his life.

"If you would like," He said. As the words left his mouth, he also moved his hands.

Twilight tried to copy some of what the kid did, but it felt strange to move his fingers and hands in a different way.

The attempt earned him a smile though.

"It's a shame you don't speak often," he said as Link went slower through the previous sentence so Twilight could copy him. "You have a lovely singing voice."

He said it to poke a little fun at the quiet hero and it worked splendidly. His face turned red, the tips of his ears glowing as he shot Twilight a dirty look for the third time since they met. "This means horse," he said with a rough movement of his hands.

Twilight chuckled and copied him. "Where did you learn Epona's song anyway? Is it even called that anymore?"

"Yes," Link replied with voice and movement. "Tales of Epona lasted longer than any of the heroes. The people of Hyrule these days are horse people."

Link's hands were moving so fast that he had no hope of copying him, but it helped to watch anyway. "I haven't had time to really stop and think about it," he said while practicing 'horse' again. "But I'm never going to see her again. It hurts just as much as losing my friends surprisingly."

"She has descendants," Link said. "She was a wild spirit, a goddess if you believe some of the tales," he continued moving his hands while speaking. "She was never tamed again after your time, but she has shown up now and then."

"I suppose her descendants were killed when this Calamity felled Hyrule?" He moved his hands, trying to spell out the name Epona with little success.

"Actually…" Link was grinning now. "I happen to know where one of her supposed descendants has made its home. I heard the story from a merchant and I wrote the information down, I was hoping to check it out eventually."

Twilight snorted at him playfully. "I suppose a 'wild child' like you needs an untameable horse."

Link shrugged and signed something. "Friend," he said, doing at again so Twilight could copy. "I was thinking of maybe finding you an old friend. It would give you something familiar back if the rumor ends up being true."

The sentiment made him even more embarrassed but he didn't want the kid to get one up on him. "You should talk more often; you're nicer with your words than with your actions."

Link didn't glare at him, but he did sign something else.

"Asshole," He said, repeating the action extra slow. "When I sign your name to people this is what I'm going to use."

Twilight laughed and copied the word, "it's not the worst I've been called."

They continued practicing for a while longer. Twilight could copy some of it well enough, his only problem would be remembering. But Link said it would take practice so he resigned himself to the fact that it wouldn't be something learned overnight.

"I don't mind talking," Link said when they took a quick break. "When I woke up from my sleep, I had no memories. I talked to the old man on the plateau with no problem, though it did feel weird." He signed the rest of his sentence while he spoke. "It wasn't until I got my memories back that I realized that talking was really out of character for me."

"Before the Calamity?" Twilight asked him.

Link nodded. "But…after I learned that part of myself, I guess I kind of said 'screw it' and kept talking anyway. I'm not that person anymore; there was no reason to suppress myself any longer." He smiled awkwardly, "I use it only if people can understand it and if I feel uncomfortable."

Twilight scoffed, not at those words but at the idea. "Don't ever hold yourself back, kid. The more you bottle up inside the harder it is to keep contained."

"I know," Link went to signing again. "I have hope that if I bottle enough to get really angry, it will help me in the battle against Calamity Ganon."

"Ganon?" Twilight felt a hot stabbing pain race down his back. "Did you just say Ganon?"

Link signed out the name. "Yes, do you know of the Calamity?"

Twilight gazed at the castle in the far off distance. He couldn't make out any more than a shadow of the large structure. The malice surrounding it, however, made the area around in glow ominously.

"So…Is Calamity Ganon, Ganondorf?" He asked his companion.

Link, who had been halfway through signing out 'Ganondorf' paused to think. "Who's Ganondorf?"

Twilight only turned toward him long enough to raise an eyebrow at him before looking away again. "Ganondorf…you know, the eight foot tall Gerudo man? He likes the color black and gets distracted by shiny things?"

A scoff from his friend only made him realize how weird that sounded.

"Sorry, I think we're all out of tall Gerudo men with dragon-like tendencies." Link paused just so he could sign out his answer. "I think there's a legend that says the Calamity was once a man a long time ago…but whoever that man was, he is no longer."

Twilight frowned at those words. It seemed hard to believe that Ganondorf, the overly cunning and ruthless King of Evil could be taken over like that. He was no expert, but it didn't seem like him at all.

The feeling that overtook him surprised him. It was a deep sadness, akin to homesickness. He wasn't sure if he just missed his own world or if he really did feel bad for the Gerudo King.

A troubling thought either way.

"I could always ask Riju about it when we travel that way. I'm sure she won't mind talking about the dark past of the Gerudo."

Twilight turned again to glare at the grinning hero.

Link chuckled lightly when he saw the nervousness in the glare. "You're not afraid of eight foot tall Gerudo women who could throw you around like a ragdoll, are you?"

Twilight only stayed quiet so the full effectiveness of his glare could be unleashed.

When Link continued to smile at him, the older man finally growled and said, "Go make some damn food, I've heard enough from you."

The kid chuckled at him but he did get up and start digging through the pouches at his hip. It was almost comical to watch things like a frying pan and non-broken cuckoo eggs emerge from within like magic.

It appeared that the void like space of magic pouches managed to survive to the current time.

Magic itself didn't really exist in his own time, not like it did in the Hero of Time's age anyway. But he'd seen a lot of things in this world to make him think it was a little more common here. "Can you use magic?" He asked the kid.

Link looked up from his cooking and gave him a non-committal grunt. "Magic exists more in weapons than anything."

"So…no Triforce?" Twilight asked him.

"Triforce?"

The head tilt Link did when he said the word would have been funny if Twilight wasn't horrified.

"The Triforce," he said slowly. "It's the thing that the hero, princess, an incarnation of evil normally possess?" He pulled his shield off his back a bit more dramatically than he meant to but he quickly pointed out the Triforce out at the top. "It's three golden Triangles; you should have one piece of it on your sword hand."

Twilight would have shown Link his Triforce if it hadn't been for the fact that it had disappeared when he went through the time gate. That along with most of the shit in his pockets, and that included both weapons and clothes.

Something like recognition lit up Link's eyes as he looked at the golden triangles on the shield. He didn't waste any time pulling his glove off and staring at his right hand. Even from where he was sitting, Twilight could see that it was bare.

"I don't think I have it."

Twilight wasn't sure that was all there was to it, but if Link didn't want to talk about it he wouldn't push him. "You mean to tell me that you rush into battle like an idiot without the Triforce of Courage helping you?"

Another shrug and he resisted the urge to throw a rock at the kid.

"Unbelievable."

The food was ready by the time the sun was starting to rise again. Twilight devoured it without much thought; he was still starving since he puked up his last meal.

Link watched him with mild disgust as he picked slowly at his own meal. "Have you ever heard of chewing?"

Twilight growled quietly. "Why chew when you can be full?"

"I can see now why you take the form of a wolf."

"Shut up."

Since Twilight finished first he decided he would be the one to pack up camp since the kid was still 'savoring' his food. He just finished scraping off the pan when he noticed Link was looking at some kind of stone tablet thing that was glowing brightly.

He moved in closer to get a better look and Link held the blinding thing up to him. "Vah Rudania is the nearest Divine Beast, but I want to stop in Akkala first."

Twilight rubbed his eyes and tried looking at the light again. He wasn't expecting to see a map there.

"Pura told me that Robbie has weapons there that can potentially help me. I want to be a bit more prepared for the next Blight I fight." He moved his fingers over the surface and pointed out another area marked. "And this is where the merchant told me to look for Epona, so I figured we could check it out." He put the Sheikah Slate back in its holder and immediately saw Twilight's dazed expression. "You okay?"

"What kind of magic is that?"

Link looked down at the slate and Twilight growled when the kid chuckled.

"It's called technology, not magic. The Sheikah invented it a long time ago."

"Sheikah…" Twilight pictured that old sad woman living in her lonely village surrounded by cats. There was no way she could have put something like that together.

Link quickly explained before the older man got any more confused. "It was after your time, the Sheikah had been banished to another world between this one and the world of darkness. They were permitted to return and decided to share their technology with us." His ears flicked nervously when he saw Link go pale. "At least that's what Impa told me, you can ask her about it if we head back toward Kakoriko."

"Kakoriko…" Twilight's head was still spinning. The kid couldn't be talking about anyone but the Twili.

He felt a hand on his shoulder shake him back to reality.

"Come on," Link said. "I bet you fifty rupees we can find that horse."

It was Twilight's turn to be quiet now. He said nothing as Link packed up the rest of camp and placed it back in his pouch. His body only moved again when the kid motioned for him to follow and he started walking.

"Midna…"

-(|-

Traveling to find the mystery horse would take a full day and into the night according to Link. There luckily was a stable on the way, and they stopped to stay the night before continuing early the next morning.

Twilight was almost in awe of the drastic change in the trees in the area. Instead of bright green, the leaves had changed to oranges, reds, and yellows. It didn't feel like fall, especially since they had just come from a brighter and warmer area only the day before. The air was damper in the region though; the taste of rain was forever on his tongue.

Link moved his hands, explaining in few words that it rained a lot in Akkala; so much in fact that the trees always seemed to be in the state of near death. But it never rained so much as to kill them all.

Twilight moved his hands, forming the same words Link had for 'rain' and trees'. "So is Epona's descendant somewhere in this region?"

Link made a gesture that he knew was 'yes' and said, "Nearby."

The sun was high in the sky by the time they made it out of the 'Akkala Highlands'. They veered off the path and started to travel over grassy terrains, moving into 'Deep Akkala' territory.

"We're heading into North Akkala valley," Link said quietly to Twilight. "We should be able to find her there if she exists."

Twilight nodded but he felt uneasy about the whole thing. He tried not to get too suspicious when Link started checking his armor and fiddling with his weapons.

"Are you expecting trouble?" He asked his companion.

Link's head shot up and he gave Twilight a slightly guilty look. "No…" He stopped picking at his belongings and tried as much as he could to appear relaxed.

Twilight grumbled and stepped in his path, stopping the other man from walking. "Liar," he signed and out loud said, "You look ready to pick a fight."

The eye roll he got in return didn't make him any happier.

"I heard rumors that there's a very strong Lynel in this valley," Link said with little concern. "I overheard some travelers at the stable talking about it. They said its fur was a gold color, and I've never heard of a gold Lynel." Link then gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry; I'm sure it will be fine."

Twilight wasn't so convinced. "I feel the more time I spend with you the closer I get to an early grave."

Link snorted at him and signed something that was no doubt mocking before gently pushing past him to continue walking.

"Can you at least bury me somewhere nice?" Twilight jokingly said as he walked after the kid. He also checked all the straps on his armor and made sure his weapons were ready. He wasn't totally sure what a Lynel was but he would try his best to lend support where he could.

As they went deeper into the valley the hairs on the back of Twilight's neck started to stand up. That was his animal instincts telling him to run, and he had to take a few deep breaths to fight back the panic.

A roar so loud stopped them in their tracks and sent every bird in the area flying into the sky.

Twilight recognized the sound; it was very similar to the monster that was on the mountaintop near the Zora. A huge beast that was half horse and also part mutated cat. He remembered watching Link sneak around the creature collecting strange arrows before driving off the mountain into the large lake below.

If Link wasn't willing to fight the one on the mountain that time, it must have meant that they were a tough monster to kill.

Link tapped on his arm to get his attention. He pointed to Twilight's bow and gestured deeper into the valley toward the monster. Then he pointed at himself and waved toward the side of the valley and up the hill.

Twilight got what he was saying. He was to approach from the front and Link was going to get behind the beast to try and sneak attack it.

"Works for me."

He nodded to his friend and Link grinned like a madman before silently moving away.

"I still think we're going to die."

But Twilight fought back his instincts and drew his bow, keeping an arrow ready but not drawing it back.

He crept forwards past some undergrowth and deeper into the valley. He was very quiet, even in his Hylian form he could make himself silent if he tried hard enough. He needed to at least get to a place where he had a clear shot at the monster.

That was easier said than done Twilight soon realized as he finally caught sight of the hulking beast. It had its head up, nose sniffing the air; it could smell him.

Twilight had no time to try to move downwind. The valley was small and riddled with broken branches; if he moved around too much he was likely to be caught.

There was no sign of any horse in the area and it dawned on him that they might be doing this for nothing. This Lynel looked significantly scarier than the one on the mountaintop. The gold coloring of its fur did make it look a lot tougher.

Once the Lynel deemed the area safe again it seemed to lose interest in his scent and went back to moving around its territory.

Twilight could feel the sweat making his hair stick to the back of his neck. He drew his arrow back slightly, his fingers itching to get this over and done with.

"Where the hell is the kid?"

As it turned out, he didn't have to wait long to find out the answer.

Twilight felt his mouth open in shock as the brazen little bastard silently swooped in on his gliding contraption. He thought Link was going to land on a nearby tree so he could have a really good shot at the Lynel, but much to his horror the kid no such thing.

Still grinning like a person who'd lost all grip on reality, the kid dropped down onto the Lynel's back. He sat there in a moment of stillness, almost like he'd mounted a common horse before all hell broke loose.

The Lynel roared in fury and began bucking wildly, trying to throw its unwanted rider off its back.

Twilight watched as the kid pulled out the Master Sword and began slicing at the Lynel, trying to do some damage to its thick armored skin.

The shock at this point had worn off and just as Link finally jumped off the Lynel's back, Twilight drew his arrow back. He barely held his breath to aim before shooting an arrow at the beast, hitting it dead center in the right eye.

Now in pain and absolutely pissed, the Lynel charged toward him.

He could barely hear Link yell out "Blind him!" over the thundering of the hooves coming his way. Twilight jumped to the side, rolling onto his knees before drawing another arrow at shooting at the Lynel just as it turned to face him again.

His aim was true and the arrow caught the monster in the left eye.

Now completely blind and bloodthirsty, the Lynel pulled out a sword and charged at Twilight. Even without its sight, it could still hear and smell.

Twilight knew that clashing blades with the beast would no doubt bring on a back spasm, and that wasn't something he could afford. So instead of meeting it head on, he switched to his sword and rolled under the Lynel as it charged toward him. He came up still under the monster's belly and very crudely used his sword like an ax to hack at one of its back legs, severing its tendons and muscles.

"A horse's weak point is its legs; I guess this guy is no exception."

His victory was short lived as the Lynel toppled onto its side and he had to roll again to avoid getting crushed.

Now blinded and unable to charge, the Lynel had little options left. Twilight was sure the fight was over, that was until he realized that the Lynel still had two very uninjured arms and he was within striking distance.

"Shit."

He grabbed his shield as the Lynel's sword came swooping for his head. The monster let out another roar, this time in victory and Twilight braced for the impact.

But Link charged into the scene, the look on his face scary enough to rival the monster they were fighting.

Twilight had a front row seat as Link parried the Lynel's blade like it was nothing before moving in to attack. He sliced at the Lynel's arms, trying to disable them as well.

The Lynel wasn't completely unable to move like Twilight had thought as the monster rose to its feet and backed away. Link followed with no hesitation, crying out as he swung his sword, the blade cutting deeply into the Lynel's flesh.

Not finished fighting the Lynel fought back, throwing the massive blade around and crying in frustration as none of his attacks landed.

Link moved like a man possessed. Quick like lightning and as powerful as the Lynel he faced. He continued exchanging blows with the Lynel who was now toppled over again, the Master Sword biting into hard flesh and cutting straight through its chest.

The Lynel let out one last pitiful cry before the sword of evil's bane cut into its heart, killing it instantly.

The silence was almost deafening now.

Twilight stayed on the ground, out of breath as if he had been the one to finish off the monster. He kept his eyes on Link as the boy stood there as still as a statue. He couldn't fight back the instincts that were telling him there was something off about this hero.

Not that Link was evil and had any ill-will toward him, but there was just something…different about him.

He thought back to the look in the kid's eyes just a few moments ago and shivered. The anger he saw there, the absolute hatred…it was a look he'd seen only once before.

It was the same look he saw when he crossed swords with the Hero's Shade.

But then the kid turned to him with a huge grin on his face, looking more tired now than angry.

"See? Told you we could do it."

Twilight scoffed at him and signed 'asshole'.

They both chuckled and Twilight willed his stiff body to get back up. He felt tired and a bit bruised but nothing was broken; and that in itself was a miracle.

He leaned back against a tree and waited for Link to pick through the monsters remains to get what he needed. And just as before as soon as he was done, the corpse turned black and dissolved into smoke.

Once Link was looking at him, Twilight signed 'horse?'

Link looked at the small clearing as if he just remembered their purpose for coming here. "Deeper probably," he signed and spoke. "I doubt a horse would have wandered too close to a Lynel."

Twilight pushed himself off the tree and started deeper into the small clump of trees. He was surprised when the tree line ended quite suddenly leading into a small canyon.

With the constant rain in the area, the earth was very soft which made it easy to leave tracks. There were horse tracks among several others leading into the canyon, so there was hope.

"Lizalfos in the area," Link said as he observed the other tracks. "Keep your bow ready, we'll pick them off together."

Twilight nodded and took his bow off his back. "Most of the Lizalfos I've seen have armor on so I'm not sure how much use an arrow will be."

Link shrugged. "With your aim, it won't be hard, just shoot them in the eye and the arrow will find their brain."

The off-hand complement was surprising, but Twilight said nothing in case he ruined his companion's good mood. "Alright, I'll take out the ones that are further away and guard your back."

Link waved his hands in a reply that Twilight knew as 'whatever' and continued into the canyon. He hadn't sheath his sword from before so it stood ready now, clean of Lynel blood and twinkling in the light from the setting sun.

Twilight shook his head, still amazed by the fact that the kid had survived on his own this long.

There were several Lizalfos in the area as it turned out; a few scouts that the two men quickly finished off without much fuss. What Twilight wasn't expecting was the camouflaged Lizalfos that that jumped out at him, almost taking him by surprise.

His reflexes were just too fast for them to land a proper hit.

Even though there were horse tracks all over, Twilight was still surprised to find a horse at the end of the trail.

She was grazing peacefully on a small ledge overlooking a strange lake. Her coat was that perfect in-between of red and brown and her mane a beautiful white color. She looked so surreal, flicking her tail happily as she ate, ignoring the two men staring at her.

His heart panged painfully. She looked just like his girl, there was no mistaking that, but it was not his Epona.

Epona would have damn near run him over by now trying to get to him for a hug.

On instinct, he approached, already whistling out the familiar tune of Epona's song. He wasn't expecting her to come running to him but he was happy when she looked up to eye him curiously.

"Hey," he kept his voice calm and steady. "Good girl."

Her ears were turned toward him, listening to the sound of his voice with great interest. She didn't appear scared or even nervous. In fact, she started taking a few steps toward him, snorting pleasantly.

Twilight whistled Epona's song again, trying to stop himself from grinning when she nickered happily. Then, without any hesitation in her step, she trotted over to him and pushed her nose toward him for a sniff.

Twilight happily held up his hand and she placed her nose under his palm, snorting happily.

"Wow, she seems pretty tame."

"I know," Twilight turned his head to grin at Link who looked impressed. "It's my charm, it works for everyone."

Now it was Link's turn to snort. "Right," he signed before pointing up to a large column of stone sticking out of the lake. "There's a shrine up there, so I'll let you two get acquainted while I go explore it."

Twilight moved closer to the mare (who he was no doubt going to call Epona) and pet her lovingly. The two of them watched, scared and just a little concerned as Link glided across the lake and started climbing up the pillar.

Twilight turned to his horse and shook his head. "The kid has a death wish."

She snorted.

Robbie, Akkala Citadel Ruins, and Vah Rudania are coming up next!