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Wind was more perceptive than the others gave him credit for.
Sure, he was young, but he was a skilled and capable hero, and usually his age just made people underestimate him. They didn’t look at him and think pirate, they looked at him and thought innocent little kid. It was annoying, but he’d learned to spin it in his favor.
Maybe the image of the precious little angel was why Time didn’t always bother to double check Wind was asleep during his watches, like he usually did for the others.
Usually, Wind really was asleep. But sometimes… well, curiosity was a virtue in a pirate.
He’d been confused, the first time he’d woken up in the middle of Time’s watch and heard the man murmuring. Wind had been on the other side of camp, so all he could really hear was the sound of a hushed voice, not the words themselves. He had dismissed it as Time just being weird and went back to sleep.
But then, maybe a week later, he couldn’t fall asleep for Time’s first watch.
Time did his usual slow circuit of the camp, checking their perimeter. Then, after a little while, he did a second circuit, focused on the sleeping heroes.
Wind pretended to be asleep, because he didn’t want to have the conversation of why he was having trouble, and then deal with the worried checking and the fussing. Time seemed to buy it, because he settled down without speaking to him.
There was a quiet rustle, and Wind’s ears pricked up, just a bit. That sounded like Time was getting something out of a bag.
“The boys have been busy,” Time said very softly. “It’s been an eventful few days.”
He began describing the last few days - the monster camp, Hyrule’s misadventures with cooking as Wild tried to teach him, the dungeon they cleared, their impromptu music night yesterday. It sounded almost like he was writing a letter, except he was doing it out loud.
Wind frowned as he listened. What was Time doing? Who was he talking to, and why was he doing it when everyone else was supposedly asleep?
When Time caught up to the present, explaining that the rest of them were asleep, he was quiet for a moment, then said softly “… They’re a good group, you know.”
Another rustle of a bag being opened, and then there was quiet.
Wind eventually managed to fall asleep, mind spinning with questions.
The third time was more intentional. Wind needed to know what the hell was going on, so the next time he heard Time volunteering for a watch, he made sure he was facing the spot Time would probably settle down in, closed his eyes, and pretended to fall asleep.
Sure enough, Time did his circuits of the camp, then sat down right where Wind had predicted. Wind waited until he heard the sound of Time opening his bag, then cracked an eye open.
Time was getting something out. It looked like a mask, maybe - Wind dared to open his eyes just a little more, and he made out white and a shock of red before it was tilted away from him.
“These boys,” Time sighed quietly with a fond little shake of his head. “I swear, they’re going to make me go grey.”
He held the mask carefully, resting it in his lap and keeping both hands on it, as he relayed yesterday’s incident with Twilight’s spinner. The way he touched it made it look… special. Important.
Wouldn’t Time have showed it off already, though, if it was important? When they had all displayed their favorite masks, Time had laughed and said all his masks were for kids. He had called Wild’s creepy demon mask a plaything.
So, Wind decided, something was up. Time probably had a reason for keeping this particular mask to himself, but Wind was determined to figure out exactly what that reason was, and whether it was a smart reason or a stupid reason. It could easily be either.
He volunteered to take a watch the next night.
Wind was smart, unlike Time had been. He took second watch, the quietest part of the night, and did a proper check that everyone was asleep before making his move.
He’d give Time one thing - the mask was hard to find. There was a separate pocket in the bottom of the bag, apparently, that Wind only found when he started taking items out in an attempt to see better, and the mask inside was carefully wrapped in grey fabric. He only knew what it was because there was nothing else it could be.
Wind unwrapped the fabric, eyes widening as he got his first real look at the mask.
It looked like Time.
There was no scar, and the red lines were mirrored on the other side of the stoic, blank-eyed face, and the hair was white instead of blond, but… but that was Time’s face.
Wind carefully picked the mask up, and -
Something hummed under his fingers.
Wind wasn’t the most magically-inclined person in their group, not by a long shot. That would probably be Hyrule, or Legend, or maybe even Time himself. But he’d worked with a magic item or two over the course of his adventure, and he could recognize raw power when he saw it. Or felt it, in this case.
Whatever this thing was, it was more powerful than anything else Wind had ever held, except for maybe the Master Sword herself.
“… Hi,” he whispered.
The energy in the mask thrummed, pulsing across his fingers in time with his heartbeat.
Wind let out a long, slow breath. There was definitely something in there, something much stronger than Wind, and he was honestly a little bit scared of it.
Why did Time have this?
“… What are you?” Wind breathed, and he wasn’t sure if he really wanted the answer.
The power swelled like a breeze catching a sail, pulsing, humming, breathing. Wind nearly fell backwards from the sheer force of it, and after a moment, it calmed. The tide ebbed out again, back to small waves rather than water whipped up by a storm.
Wind carefully set the mask back in its cloth, folding it up as neatly as he possibly could. He understood the caution, now, the care with which Time handled the thing. He didn’t want to make whatever was in that mask angry, or even slightly annoyed, if he could possibly avoid it.
He tucked it back into its hidden little pocket and started repacking everything else, quietly promising himself that he wouldn’t touch it again.
And that he would keep an eye on Time.
Wind trusted him, trusted his judgment and experience, but something about this just… set Wind on edge. Something about the way Time talked to this incredibly powerful force, the way he hadn’t told any of them it was here.
Wind would just keep an eye on it. From a safe distance.
Everything went so wrong so fast.
They were in Time’s era, and everyone had been hoping for a stop at the ranch. It made them maybe a little less careful than usual, and now they were all paying for it.
It was a group of enemies from several different Hyrules - some from the Great Sea, some from Twilight’s era, a few from Time’s own. They were all black blooded.
Four went down first. A bad hit to the head had him on the ground, struggling to stay conscious, while Warriors and Sky stood above him, holding back the monsters.
Then a scream from Wind’s right - Legend, claw marks slashed deep into his side and arm, Hyrule panicking next to him. He’d taken a hit meant for Hyrule.
“Fall back to help Four!” Time shouted, emphasizing his point with a devastating slash of his biggoron sword.
It was a good idea, and they all began fighting their way over to the little knot of three, but then they heard a crunch and a horrible scream from Wild. Anger rather than pain. Wind looked over to see Twilight crumpled at the base of a tree, and Wild jumping in to protect him as the monsters closed in, his teeth bared in a snarl.
“ Twilight! ” someone shouted, but the monsters were pushing forward, fighting to keep them away from their fallen brother. Wind forced himself to focus on getting to Four.
He made it, eventually, and joined the little circle protecting Four and Legend, who had a hand pressed tightly to his side and looked worryingly pale.
The monsters pressed forward, and Hyrule snapped his fingers, shouting a word that sounded warped in Wind’s ears. Heat and light exploded around them as lightning arced from Hyrule’s fingers, sizzling through the enemies in front of him to a chorus of awful, pained screeches.
Hyrule collapsed to one knee in the aftermath, breathing heavily, his hands visibly starting to shake. Magic exhaustion - Wind had seen him with those symptoms before.
“Well done, Hyrule,” Warriors told him, his own breathing slightly labored. “Just hang back, we can -”
He was cut off by the sound of hooves as a massive lion-horse-man charged onto the battlefield.
“That’s one of my lynels!” Wild shouted from his position by Twilight. “They hit hard, and be careful of -”
The lynel took out a massive bow, aimed, and fired.
It shouldn’t have been a disabling shot. The arrow hit Time’s side, right in the middle of an armor plate. It should have just bruised. But the arrow exploded with electricity, sparking across Time’s armor, arcing to Warriors’ pauldron.
Both of them began to spasm, Time’s mouth open in a silent scream before they both crumpled. Warriors fell to one knee, and Time collapsed entirely.
Sky cursed - the very first time Wind had heard him do that - and swung the Master Sword in a wide arc, forcing the monsters back.
Wind copied him, trying to shove back the feeling that he was about to cry.
They couldn’t hold out much longer. Not with just the two of them trying to protect five people, and the lynel lining up another shot. They would be overwhelmed, and then Wild would be overwhelmed, and then that would be it.
… Time’s bag lay beside him.
There was no time to think twice. They were out of options, and if Wind didn’t do something, they were all going to die. He forced the monsters back just enough to dive for the bag and pull out the hidden item inside.
The mask buzzed in his hands like a swarm of restless, angry hornets as Wind put it on.
Wind blinked -
… And he was somewhere else.
A large, blank space, with a being in front of him. It was tall, the marks across its face bright as blood, and it held a huge, double helix sword. Energy pulsed in the air around it.
Wind swallowed, trying not to look terrified. “… Hi.”
Hello, little one, it said without moving its mouth. The sound shook the air.
“We’re in trouble,” Wind told it. He really hoped that wherever they were, this conversation was taking less time than it felt like. “Everyone’s gonna die, can - can you help?”
I can. It stepped forward, and Wind couldn’t move away no matter how much his instincts screamed to. You are not my typical vessel, but the spirit is the same.
It gently rested a hand on Wind’s face, and then everything went very strange.
Warriors parried a bokoblin’s blade, wheezing and trying to blink away the spots in his vision. Wind had ducked out of his sight a moment ago, and he really hoped the kid was alright.
If he could get a moment of reprieve, Warriors might be able to get to his feet and fight properly, but he would need to -
There was a sudden flash of bright white light.
On instinct, Warriors turned, expecting to see Mask, but - but no, the warrior that lunged for the monsters in front of him wasn’t quite right for Mask, and wore less armor. And besides, Warriors realized with a jolt, Time was still on the ground. He couldn’t be the one wearing the mask.
Then the Fierce Deity turned, and Warriors’ breath caught in his throat.
Wind.
Taller, broader, older, just like Mask had been, but that was Wind.
“Help the godslayer, captain,” he ordered in the ringing tones of the deity, and Warriors staggered to his feet to obey before his brain could catch up to his body.
Godslayer?
“What’s going on?” Sky demanded from his position on the other side of the group, and Warriors hurried over to help him defend their rear while Fierce went to work.
“Wind found one of Time’s powerful items,” Warriors rasped with a swing of his sword. “We’re going to make it out of here.”
Just as he had during the War of Eras, Fierce carved through their enemies like a hot knife through butter. In a matter of minutes, every single monster in the clearing was dead.
Then it turned to them.
“Fierce,” Warriors said with a little nod of greeting, taking a slightly wobbly step toward him. “It’s been a while.”
“It has,” Fierce agreed, giving Warriors a nod in return. “You should sit down, captain, before you fall down.”
Warriors blinked, then sighed and sank carefully to his knees. “You’re probably right.”
Hyrule was already chugging a green potion, then quickly turned to put a hand on Legend’s arm and cast a healing spell. He quickly started making his way through all of the injured, and Sky started passing out potions.
Wild hovered by Twilight - still unmoving at the base of the tree - with his sword still out, nervously shifting his weight. After a moment of Fierce making no more aggressive moves, he turned and started tapping through his slate, probably to find a healing elixir.
“How did Wind know?” Warriors asked, blinking. He felt a little vague and distant. “About you, I mean.”
“The little one found me weeks ago,” the deity said with a small tilt of his head. “He seemed frightened. I am… unused to holding myself back, with the little hero so used to me.”
Warriors nodded. That made sense. He would need to ask Wind later how he knew to look for the mask in the first place, since that wasn’t really a question Fierce could answer.
Time pushed himself up onto his elbows, groaning, the green sparks of Hyrule’s magic still flickering softly around him. When he saw Fierce, he immediately sat up, listing to one side, eyes wide. “Fierce?”
“Hello, little hero,” Fierce said calmly.
“How -” Time’s gaze flicked to his bag, then back to Fierce. “ How? ”
“You are not the only vessel I am capable of using,” Fierce said with a hint of amusement. “The little one asked for my help, so I gave it.”
“… We will be getting Wind back, right?” Legend asked warily. He had lost the pale cast to his skin, and the wound on his side had mostly healed.
Fierce turned to look directly at him. “Of course, little dreamer. Once the danger has passed, I will allow him to take the mask off, should he wish.”
“… Has the danger not passed?” Hyrule asked, his ears pricking up slightly as he glanced around, pausing in healing Warriors.
“Fierce likes to stick around for a few minutes to be sure,” Time explained, his voice slightly hazy. “Wind will be back soon.”
The deity nodded, turning to Time and calmly sheathing its sword. “You were correct, the little one has much spirit. He was frightened, but he did not hesitate.”
Time nodded. “We never do.”
“… What does he mean, you were correct?” Sky asked, frowning.
“I tell him about you,” Time said as if he was describing the weather. “I always tell him about what I’m up to.”
Hyrule set down another empty glass bottle, then put a hand on Time’s shoulder. Yet more healing magic flickered around him, and Time closed his eye for a moment, taking a deep breath. He seemed more steady when he opened it again.
“Hyrule!” Wild called, and they looked over to see their Champion carefully guiding Twilight over to the group, one arm slung over Wild’s shoulders. Hyrule quickly hurried over, muttering something about broken ribs.
“The fairy child has this in hand,” Fierce decided. “You will be alright if I leave you.”
“Thank you for your assistance,” Time said, inclining his head respectfully.
The deity nodded back, then put a hand to its face and pulled. The skin morphed to wood as it pulled away, and the Fierce Deity shrunk back down into just Wind, who staggered and collapsed to his knees as the mask fell away.
“Wind!” Warriors darted forward, the action worn smooth by repetition. He had caught Mask like this so often, and it was second nature to make sure the kid had something to slump against.
“… Wars?” Wind asked faintly, blinking hazily up at him.
“Yeah, it’s me,” Warriors assured him, carefully picking up the Fierce Deity mask and handing it to Time. The wood hummed contentedly as it left his hand. “We’re alright, we’re all okay. You did good.”
Wind blinked a few times, long and slow. “Why’s it… Why’m I so tired?”
“You’ve been channeling a lot of energy,” Time explained, kneeling carefully down beside them. “That mask can take a lot out of you, especially the first few times.”
“Oh.” Wind was quiet for a moment, then mumbled “… Can I go to sleep?”
Time nodded, a small smile on his face. “Of course. You did well, Wind, we’ll take it from here.”
“Mkay.” Wind leaned a little more against Warriors, his eyes fluttering closed. He was asleep almost immediately.
There were many, many questions that needed to be asked and answered, Warriors knew. Some from Wind, some from Time, some Warriors would need to answer himself. But those could all wait for just a few minutes, he decided, carefully running a hand through his little brother’s hair.
For right now, they were all okay. And that’s what was important.