#hbbnf

You can’t trust them you know? They are just going to leave you all alone...Just like he did.

Shut up.

Why? You know I’m right. You can’t trust any of them. The only one you might be able to trust would be that shackled little dog. What do you call him? Gloam? Yes, that one...He could even be useful for something. Other than inflating your ego of course.

You are not using him for anything.

You don’t exactly have a say in it.

Just shut up already!

No. You’re stuck with me now. You’re going to break down, and continue breaking down, until I have put you in just the right place to finally be useful for something. You’re my little puppet now, Sean.

I won’t let you hurt them.

You can’t stop me. Now pay attention. Your friends are trying to speak to you.

“Sean! Good Hylia, are you awake?!” Aoife snaps her fingers in front of Sean’s face, as he finally meets her eyes.

“Yeah. Sorry...Just thinking about something.” He sniffs, breathing in shakily. “What is it? What’s happening?”

“Well, we’re about to leave. You’ve literally missed this entire thing.” Aoife points behind her, and a head of fiery red hair enters Sean’s line of sight.

“Hello, Sean. I’m Rana. I’m going to be taking you all to see your friends again.” Rana smiles gently at him, and a surge of energy causes Sean to quickly stand up.

“Wait...our friends...You mean Gloam and them? We’re going to see them?” Sean grabs the satchel that was on the cot beside him, rummaging through it as he checked to make sure everything was still there.

Rana chuckles. “Yes. They’re in the Era of the Hero of Time currently, I’m going to be taking you there. I’m a bit surprised you don’t wish to just go home. Though the other group didn’t want to either.” She turns to look at Aoife again, who just shrugs.

“It’s not like we can, anyways. Whatever took us out of our homes clearly wants us in a certain place. And if we just tried to get back home, it would probably pull us out again. We need to figure out why we were taken in the first place, and what the hell is going on. Plus, I still owe it to Gloam to help him figure out a way to help his world. Most of the group does at this point.” She sighs, crossing her arms.

“Gloam...Who is he, anyways? What Era is he from?” Sil questions, her hands drifting towards her mouth as she starts to pick at her lips, prompting Fissure to grab her wrist and pull it back down.

“I think it was called the Era of Twilight? He doesn’t really talk much about it, but from what little I’ve heard from him, that’s what it sounds like. His title was something like ‘The Chained Hero’. Probably because of the shackle around his neck.” Aoife shrugs again. Sil hums, staring at the ground. Aoife raises an eyebrow at her. “Why?”

“Oh, nothing, it’s just….That Era...I’ve been told one of my ancestors is from it.”

“Probably the princess from that Era. Gloam has mentioned there is a Zelda there. He’s only met her once though.”

“Probably…”

Wild claps his hands, getting everyone’s attention. “Welp! If you’re all ready, I’m sure your friends are waiting to see you’re alright.”

Lucas nods, resituating the strap on his chest. “Thank you all for the extra clothes, too. It’s not very fun to run around in voe armor all the time, especially when you aren’t in the desert.”

“HaHA! I GET THAT!!” Wild cackles, causing Sil and Fissure to chuckle. “Maybe we’ll all meet again. Honestly, joining you guys sounds super fun, but there’s simply too much to do here. But if you were brought to this Era for a reason, I’m sure we’ll see each other again.”

“I will most definitely be seeing you all again sometime. Us Darks have a weird way of always getting involved with these kinds of situations, so I’m sure I’ll be dragged in eventually.” Fissure snickers, shaking hands with Lucas. Lucas nods, smiling.

“I’m sure. Hey, speaking of Darks, where’d Saoirse go?”

“She has a habit of disappearing. Don’t worry about her.” Fissure waves it off. Lucas hums, then gasps.

“Wait, I have an idea!” He digs in his bag, before pulling out a leather string with a small round piece of metal on it. The blue lines on it seemed to glow, and Lucas handed it to Fissure. “If you guys need anything, or need help, you can call us from this.” He pulls out a second one, this one with green lines, and hands it to Rana. “And since Miss Rana is always moving through Eras, I’m sure it’ll be useful to her, too.”

Rana stares at the piece of metal, running it between her fingers. “Thank you, Lucas. It would definitely help, and it would allow me to respond faster.” Lucas smiles, and starts to jump up and down.

“Okay! Let’s go, then! I’m sure the others are worried about us. We are some of the youngest of the group, and knowing Gloam and the knight they’ll have been losing their heads over us.”

“Gloam is a mother hen, but I think he knows we’re fine. Mr. Eyeliner, however, yeah I’m sure he’s been running around like a chicken with its head cut off.” Aoife snickers.

“Let’s go, then.” Rana turns on her heel, leading the trio out of the castle. Wild waves to them, Lucas waving back.

Sean sighs, clutching the strap of his satchel as he walked.

You can’t trust them, Sean.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Okay, but Rana’s been gone awhile! What if something happened, and she couldn’t find the kids? Or something happened to the kids?!” Warrior paced back and forth, Sky and Gloam sharing a look as he did so.

“Warrior, I’m sure they’re fine. It’s only been a few hours. It’s going to take a little longer than a few hours for her to get to that Era, especially with how far away it is. Ravio said she’ll likely be back sometime later tonight.” Sky holds back a chuckle at the sight of the captain, his scarf whipping every which way as he keeps turning and pacing.

“Look, we’re all worried, but for now, all we can do is wait. Rana is going to get them, they’ll be safe and sound. Those three are stronger than you think, Warrior.” Gloam leans on the table, tipping his chair onto its front two legs.

“You’re not the least bit worried about Sean?” Warrior stops, giving Gloam a knowing look. Gloam’s face goes red, and he turns his head, scoffing.

“No, I’m not. Because that little terror would rip the eyes out of whatever tried to hurt Lucas or Aoife, and he’s a Sheikah, too. He is not something to be fucked with. His elder brother was the Knight of Aoife before; he grew up with the training, on top of being the apprentice of his Kakariko’s chief. I am not worried about that brat at all.”

Warrior hums, raising an eyebrow at Gloam, as a mischievous smile works its way onto his face.

“Don’t you fucking look at me like that, Mr. Eyeliner. I get it, Sean is always on top of me whenever he’s around, but I don’t need you giving me googly eyes about it.” Gloam presses his hand against his face, blocking his view of Warrior.

“Okay, buuttt...You gotta admit…” Warrior grins at him.

“Admit what?”

“You two are pretty cute. Though the size difference is a little concerning…” Sky muses, “...I mean… How would that work?”

“OH YOU PERVERTED OLD MAN!!” Gloam grabs the boot by his chair and throws it at Sky, earning a cackle from Sky and Warrior. “I’M NOT EVEN INTO THAT KIND OF STUFF! QUIT THAT!!” Gloam’s face is bright red, as he grits his teeth at the two elder heroes.

“Anyways…” Warrior laughs, “Sky, didn’t you say Rana had checked in on the girls? How are they?”

“They’re good! Navi’s been a pretty easy baby, surprisingly. Ciela was an absolute terror when she was a baby. Groose was very worried that Navi was gonna be like Ciela, who loved pulling his hair and what little beard he had at the time, as she still does. Ciela’s the reason why Groose was never able to grow out a beard like he was wanting to, but maybe now he can. Navi’s already getting so big, and it’s only been a couple weeks.” Sky gains a dreamy-eyed look, cupping his chin with his hand.

“You know, Tear’s started calling your Zelda ‘Hera’. I think it’s some Timorine goddess.” Sky gives Warrior a confused look. “Ah, Timori is the neighboring country to Tear’s Hyrule. She’s apparently the wife of the king of the gods, and is like, the goddess of women, marriage, etc. I don’t really know much, Timori was wiped out years before my Era, so a lot of the myths and legends are lost now. I’m sure we’ll be meeting plenty of Zeldas, if everything keeps going like it is, so we could probably rely on him coming up with nicknames.” Warrior shifts his scarf back into place as he takes a seat in the third chair at the table.

“Hera...That’s very pretty, I’m sure she’d like it. Plus it’d be easier to say that than having to always specify.” The trio falls into a comfortable silence, before Gloam speaks up again.

“Do you think those two will be alright? Tear and Four? Zorana and Ray took them to the Spring, but who knows if it’ll work? I know Ordona, I lived right next to her spring my whole life, I’m sure she can do something, but…” Gloam picks at his nails nervously.

“They’re both strong kids. Even if Ordona can’t completely heal them, I’m sure she can find a way to help them. Neither of them are gonna go down without a fight. They’re still Links, so they’ll be just fine.” Warrior offers Gloam a smile, but Gloam keeps his eyes on his nails, and nods.

“Yeah, the name Link always seems to be given to the ones most likely to fistfight a god, so I’m sure they’ll be alright.” A familiar snarky tone chuckles from the doorway, and Gloam notices Warrior go rigid, a snarl tugging its way onto his face.

The captain barely turns his head, throwing a sideways glance to Tyrant, who was currently leaning on the doorframe of the parlor the trio sat in.

“Was wondering where you all were, since you weren’t in the mess hall anymore. The witch’s been looking for ya, Soldier.” Ty shoves his hands into his pockets, shooting a grin at Warrior, who scoffed, turning his head back to stare ahead of him. Sky raises his eyebrows, making various noises as he stands up from his chair.

“Well...I was just chatting, but uh...probably gonna….go eat now. Gloam! You wanna...join me?” Sky shares a look with Gloam, his eyes darting from Ty to Warrior multiple times. Gloam barely holds back a snicker, and nods.

“Yeah, sure! Uh...talk to ya later, Soldier.” Gloam cackles, patting Warrior’s shoulder, who let out an annoyed sigh.

Ty bumps Gloam’s shoulder as he walks past, Gloam throwing a thumbs-up to him as he and Sky run off down the hall, cackling. Ty shakes his head, walking over to the table. He snatches the green hat off of Warrior’s head, easily dodging his attempts at taking it back. He sits down in the chair across from him, settling the hat on his own head.

“Hm...haven’t worn an ugly rag like this in a long time. Still looks as stupid as ever.” Ty looks at Warrior with a wicked grin, the captain gripping the edge of the table, his nails digging into the wood.

“The hell do you want, Tyrant?”

“Just to talk, Soldier. Why so hostile?”

“Because you’re annoying and I don’t exactly like you.”

“Why, because you’ve heard of me from the white-haired witch?”

“No, because you’re a dick.”

“Fair enough.” Ty cackles, kicking his feet up on the table and tipping his chair back on its hind legs. He crosses his arms, the end of the hat swinging slightly behind him. “So what’s the two of you’s deal? You her bitch or what?”

“What, like you were?”

“Mmm...see she’s real good at that. Manipulating all who cross her path into believing she’s some saint. Some lovely little being full of love...but really she’s just a witch full of Malice that wants to tear your soul out of your body, and nothing more.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Ain’t gotta. But one day, you’ll see. She’s not what she appears to be.”

“What about you, then? Are you not what you appear to be?”

“Oh no, I’m a fucking asshole. I’m not unaware. I just have the ability to admit I’m terrible, unlike her. I can admit to the fucked up shit I’ve done. She can’t do that, she won’t let herself admit she’s done some pretty terrible shit. But what about you, Soldier? What terrible, fucked up shit have you done that none of us have seen?” Ty leans forward, resting his arms on the table. “You’re the captain of an army, right? You’ve been in a huge war. Two of em. What have you done that put blood on that pretty face?”

“Pretty face? Interesting word choice.”

“I’m nothing if not blunt, Soldier. You’re very pretty.” Ty smirks, earning another snarl from the captain.

“Why do you keep calling me that?”

“What?”

“‘Soldier.’ No one calls me that, even if it probably fits more than the other nicknames.”

“Well, it fits don’t it? So why not?”

“I don’t like the way you say it.”

“You want me to say it a different way?”

“I’d rather you not say it all.”

“Hmm...We both know that won’t happen.”

“You are so annoying.”

“And you are fucking adorable.”

Warrior sputters, bumping his hands on the table. “Why do you have to be like that?! You insult me, then insult someone I care about, then turn right around and flirt with me?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!”

Ty shrugs, pulling the hat off of his head, and chucking it at Warrior. “Who knows, man? Maybe…” He stands up, walking around to Warrior’s side of the table. He grabs the edge of the table, resting a hand on the back of Warrior’s chair. He leans close to Warrior’s ear, a grin working its way onto his face again. “...I just like ya.” He moves back again, snickering at the look on Warrior’s face. He squishes the captain’s cheek with one hand. “I mean, who could resist that pretty little face?”

Warrior bats his hand away, and Ty cackles as he quickly turns to leave the room. “The witch is waiting for ya up on the Ranch. Might wanna go see her soon.” He throws him a two-fingered salute, and disappears into the hall.

“Well, it seems like someone might like the tyrant…” A voice chittered from Warrior’s left. He glanced at his shield, and two small dots of black appeared in the reflection of the metal.

“Shut it, Rook.” Warrior hissed at the gaunt face that appeared in the metal, as two clawed hands gripped the edges of the shield, and a head of messy blonde hair started to come out.

Pitch black eyes peeked at Warrior, and a giggle emitted from the skinny little creature that crawled out of the shield. “Funny that a soldier would fall for a tyrant.”

“I said, shut up. I haven’t fallen for anyone.” Warrior turned, glaring at the now-empty chair in front of him. Rook’s head brushed up against Warrior’s arm.

“Liar.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“HOLY SHIT YOU GOT HUGE!!!” Shadow shouts, grunting when Rinku picks him up. “Oh my Fayra, I remember when you were just a tiny little Pitch that never stopped running off, you almost got that Sword Spirit killed so many damn times!” Rinku laughs, hugging Shadow tight.

“You’re still the exact same size you’ve always been.” Rinku snickers, finally letting Shadow down. “What name do you use now?”

“Shadow. You?”

“Rinku or Rai. Zo and SK usually call me Rinku, Link and Luca call me Rai.”

“Rai, huh? That name can mean either ‘prince’ or ‘timid’, so it definitely fits you.”

“Oh fuck you.”

“I practically raised you, so nah.”

Rinku scoffs, bumping Shadow’s arm. Ray is watching the exchange with a frown, fitfully picking at his lips, which begin to bleed. Rinku glances back at him, and quickly moves toward him to pull his hand away from his mouth.

“Link, you’re making your mouth bleed. Quit that.” The Dark pulls a small red cloth from his back pocket, pushing it into Ray’s hand, who then presses it against the bloodied spot on his lips. Rinku pushes himself up onto the table Ray is sitting at, and continues his conversation with Shadow, while Ray quietly seethes.

“How exactly do you two know each other?” Ray says, trying not to sneer. Rinku raises an eyebrow at him, noticing the bitter tone, but doesn’t say anything.

“Well, in the Dark World, when a new Dark is created, they form in these big glass containers called Creation Tanks, or Creation Vats. Usually, when a Dark comes out of them, they break the Tank and run off, so whoever is in the area when they escape has to run after them. The one who was usually in charge of that got knocked out by this crazy kid, but I was able to find him and bring him back before that person got in trouble.” Shadow snickers, smiling fondly at the memories. “He was a weird case. Usually Darks are formed hundreds of years before their Light is even born, but he entered his tank only about a year before you were born. He escaped on the day of your birth, and is consequently one of the youngest Darks in existence right now. Most of us are thousands of years old, he’s only what? 25? Ended up in the Light World before he could even speak properly.”

“Hm….” Ray’s leg began to shake, and Rinku gave him a concerned look.

“Uh, Shadow, we’ll talk later.” Rinku sent a knowing look Shadow’s way, who in turn nodded and gave a two-fingered salute.

“I gotta check on Four anyways. See ya.”

As Shadow left, Rinku hopped off the table, and slid onto the bench attached to it, sitting next to Ray. Ray didn’t meet his eyes, instead staring down at the red cloth in his hands, fitfully pulling at the ends of the fabric.

“What’s going on with you?” Rinku’s voice was low, almost a whisper. He propped his chin on Ray’s shoulder, pushing a stray piece of hair back behind his ear. “Hm?”

“Just...I don’t even want these people here. I never wanted to go on another bullshit ‘adventure’ and have to leave you and Zorana and the others all alone. It’s bad enough there are still old Ganon supporters that have been going after caravans and threatening civilians, we don’t need terrors from other worlds and Eras coming here. I was just fine with being here with you guys, not going on some new world-saving quest. I don’t want them here!” Ray grit his teeth, his nails digging into the red fabric in his hands. Rinku stared at him, and sighed.

“I know.” He turns his head so that his cheek is pressed against Ray’s shoulder, looping his arm through Ray’s. “But there’s not much we can do. Whatever took you did it for a reason, I don’t think you’ll be able to get out of this so easily, just because you managed to make it back here.”

“Fairy’s been acting up.”

“Has he?”

“He’s yelling a lot more. Shaking the mirrors above the sink whenever I pass by them. Just throwing a fit every chance he gets, then goes silent for days.”

“Hm...I don’t really know what to tell you about that...My Reflection isn’t exactly around anymore.”

“I know, I don’t expect you to have answers for that. I just have to wait for him to tell me himself. How’s Luca holding up? She’s been holed up in y’all’s room for a while now.”

“She’s alright. It’s almost time for her and her sisters to visit their dad. She always gets weird around that time.”

“Right, shit. I forgot about that.”

“Zo wants to bring the Navis to meet him. At least, the ones that have technically met him before.”

Ray chokes, whipping his head to look at Rinku in shock, causing the Dark to flinch and rear his head back. “What?! Why?! Oh, sorry…”

“It’s okay. She said she wants to show them that he’s not as bad as they think he is. I don’t really get it either. Like, I know he isn’t completely what people think he is, but...It’s not like taking people who’ve been horribly wronged by him to go meet him is gonna do any good. It’s not gonna change their minds. At least I don’t think it will.”

“Yeah, no shit it’s not gonna do any good! What is she thinking?!” Ray groans, placing his face in his hands. “I swear, I am not in the mood for any of this. She can do what she wants.”

“I’ll go with them to make sure nothing bad happens, if you’d like. Chaperone.”

“Please...I don’t have the emotional energy to even see that man’s face. I would appreciate it.”

“Okay…” Rinku puts his head back on Ray’s shoulder, sighing.

Frantic footsteps interrupt the sparse conversations across the mess hall, as Gloam suddenly bolts out of his seat and sprints out of the open doors of the building. Ray and Rinku both turn, staring out the doors to watch as Gloam picks up the newly-arrived Sean into his arms. A whistle sounds from Sky a few tables away as the hall erupts into laughter and cheers. Aoife and Lucas both enter the mess hall, chuckling and looking back at Gloam now running off with Sean in his arms.

Tear was the first to approach Aoife, quickly engaging in conversation with her, while Lucas moved to get something to eat. Ravio ran out to speak with Rana before she left, and soon Aoife, Lucas and Tear all sat at the other end of the long table that Ray and Rinku sat at.

“I don’t know what it is, but Lucas looks so familiar. Apparently, people tell him he looks like Ganondorf, but I don’t really see it. There’s something else there.” Ray whispers to Rinku, glancing at the kids.

“Actually, he kinda looks like you. He’s even got the nose and weirdly long lower eyelashes on his right eye.” Rinku snorted at the glare he got from Ray. “Speaking of big noses and weird eyelashes, you know who else looks like you? Gloam.”

“Yeah, I noticed that actually. I overheard him talking to Ty about this Era being the one he was supposed to grow up in, too.”

“Maybe he’s your future son.”

“Ha! I doubt that...but we could be related. It’s possible. Apparently this Era is literally only a few decades before his, so he could very well be part of my family. But I’m not going to bring that up to him. If he decides to say something, he can do so on his own terms.”

“Mm…” Rinku hums. “Why do you think you all got separated? You ultimately ended up here, do you think that was planned?”

“Maybe? I don’t see why whoever’s doing this would separate us just to bring us back together.”

“Maybe they had to put you in smaller groups so they could do something without there being as many people. Like get to certain people without as much resistance.”

“That’s a bit specific…”

“Just seems like something a Dark Dweller would do. Plus, a few of these people were clearly targeted specifically.”

“How do you know it’s a Dark Dweller?”

“I just...have a feeling.” Rinku’s eyes scanned the room, before he leaned closer to Ray again, whispering. “The shadows are stronger than anything I’ve ever seen. I know I’m not exactly well-versed in this like other Darks, but not even the shadows that follow Luca around are like this. It’s like there’s...this residue on everyone. I feel like whatever made those portals is from the Dark World.”

“Hm…” Ray looks around the room, sighing. “Who knows? Honestly, I don’t want to deal with any of this. I just want to be here with you and the others and just….chill out for once.”

“Yeah, I know...But you’ve still got stuff to do. I guess the Goddess isn’t finished with you yet.” Ray sighs at Rinku’s words, leaning his head against Rinku’s and staring out the window on the other side of the room.

“Guess not.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are they all there now?” Mali stands with his arms crossed, looking up at the large scepter. The blades at the end were spread out, like a lotus flower’s petals, with the glowing orb in the middle letting off sparks. “How soon until it starts?”

“We still have to wait for the Hero of Two Worlds to darken a bit more. The little Sheikah is still fighting against his brother’s dark, so we may have to wait for that. But the scepter’s almost completely powered up. Where is your sister?” Vanity taps away at a small tablet in his arms, looking back and forth between it and the scepter.

“Probably on her way back. Let’s hope she did what was asked of her, since we never can see her when she leaves the Dark World.”

“Perks of being the daughter of Fayra, I guess. Can only be seen when she wants to be. Where’s the Sword?”

“Resting. The Engineer’s Pitch really did a number on him, and he was still recovering from Purga’s outburst.”

“I’m surprised a being made of holy metal can be so affected by such a small ice spirit.”

Mali scoffs. “Purga is definitely more than just a little ice spirit. He’s weirdly powerful for a Catul, like Lepus was.”

“He’s still not near as much as what the Caelic was.”

“Nobody will ever be what he was. But the Caelic didn’t attack Ghirahim and break his damn leg like it was glass. Purga is getting stronger. He’s already surpassed Wraith, who is one of our strongest Catuls, so we need to keep an eye on him.”

Vanity sighs, nodding. “Alright. We can put some of the Caligas around his room when we let him out of the Catacombs. Speaking of, I need to go down there in a minute.”

“What, and talk to Hylia’s little bitch like you always do?”

Vanity tenses, barely turning his head to look at Mali. The prince scoffed, placing his hands on his hips.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t know you have a whole treasure trove of impossibly powerful beings stuck away in a hidden part of the Catacombs? I used to live down there, Vanity. The fact that you have the first hero down there isn’t what I’m annoyed about though. I’m more annoyed that you have that piece of a God down there.” Mali snarled, crossing his arms again.

“Trigis’s piece will be useful. Plus, that shard is the only way we can keep the Scepter working. It’s made to not work outside of Lorule without a blessed Wielder nearby. So having a piece of Lorule’s God in our dungeon is a bit necessary for now, since we can’t exactly get to Kane, and Ravioren is too much of a pussy to be of any use. And to answer to your question, yes. I offered Satus a deal.”

“What deal?”

“Get the heiress for us, and he can be free.”

“Ah yes, get the heiress and he can finally die after tens of thousands of years.”

“Correct.”

Mali huffs, looking back up at the scepter. “Fine...Do you think he’ll take it?”

“I guess we’ll see. We will keep a close eye on him and send him to one of the other groups. The veteran hero’s on the move, and I managed to get eyes on our escapee. Those two are in very close proximity, but haven’t met yet. The Engineer and his princess are on the move as well. I still don’t have eyes on the two Guardians running around with the Din heir. The Nayru heir is still in her regular Era, as is the Farore. That Hero of Men is starting to realize something’s happening as well, and I believe it might have something to do with the fact that their Pitch ran off recently, and I haven’t been able to find them.”

“Leno ran off? That’s surprising. They don’t usually leave their room. They’re very small, that’s not good.”

“Annie believes they might have run towards the Keepsake in the east. Apparently, they have a little friend there. But either way, the others are starting to move, and we have Pitches getting restless. Even Divir is starting to come out of their room.”

“Divir? That’s odd….Why are they all getting so restless?”

“Their Lights are going back on journeys. We haven’t noticed the change because we’re already moving around so much. But the Pitches that usually stay stagnant are noticing the surge of energy from their other halves going through trials again.”

“Hmm…Well, if the Anathema gets back, tell her to come see me. I need to do something. And tell me whatever Satus’s answer is, as well.”

“Alright.”

Mali turns on his heel, quickly leaving the lab. Vanity watches as he leaves, then turns back to look up at the orb on the scepter. He taps on the tablet, and the metal arms holding the scepter move, lifting it and laying it on its side. Vanity stares in the glowing orb, as images shift.

A low dim light begins to glow on the floor beneath Vanity. He sighs, his body tensing again. Pale, warm hands gently rest themselves on his shoulders, and the reflection of brown hair catches his eye in the metal of the scepter.

“Things are going well. Good job, Luculen.”

Just as quickly as the light appears, it’s gone, along with the hands. Vanity’s nails dig into the edges of the tablet, creating dents.

“Going well, huh?”

Whatever…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So what’s your plan, little kitten?” Brown eyes followed the small body of the Catul with an amused look.

“Find one of the groups Luculen is making. Take on the form of some random hero, find the chained one. Simple as that, Hex. What’s your plan for getting your little boyfriend and girlfriend back?”  Faeles raised an eyebrow at the blonde man sitting a few feet from him.

Hex chuckled, shifting one leg to cross over the other. He shifted, moving so that the edge of his long ears didn’t press against the wall behind him. “I’m going to wait for that Infection of his to finally spread too far...then offer him a deal.”

“A deal, hm?”

“Yes. I can remove the Infection and he can live.”

“But what do you get out of it?”

“The Shadow that’s causing the Infection. Only the little hero won’t know about that part.”

“Hm...Complete your little collection of souls, huh?”

“Of course. I already have the Wind Mage, I just need the Catul that’s currently plaguing the hero’s souls.”

“Right...And why do you need me for that?” Faeles grabs his bag, throwing it over his shoulder. He ties his hair back with a pale pink ribbon, the soft color complimenting his dark brown curls.

“Well, with that special little ability of yours, you can keep me from being recognized, and, you could help me find the ones I’m looking for. I have a feeling that our targets could be in close proximity to each other.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Just a hunch.”

“Right, because your instincts are so reliable.”

“More reliable than most.”

“Fair enough.” Faeles sighed, his hand wrapped around the strap of his bag. “Are you ready to go?”

Hex smirks, standing up. The cape around his shoulders fluttered a bit as wind passed through the house. He looked up, staring at the charred wood and open sky visible through the destroyed roof. “Sure. Let’s go.” He walks ahead of Faeles, his eyes scanning over the decimated village. “Let’s hope no survivors are left. It’s always such a sad sight to watch the poor things look over the remains of what they had with such despair in their eyes.”

“You would know that look well, wouldn’t you?”

Hex hums, smiling. “Oh yes. Very well.”

A low, soft crying sound emitted from the debris of a house to their right, and Hex stops in his tracks, barely glancing to the side. The wind kicks up again, and his eyes shift to a bright green. The debris shifts, and soon a small child is raised out of it, and set on the ground in front of the duo. Hex approaches her, kneeling down on the ground.

“Hello, dear. Are you alright?” His voice is soft, gentle, surprising Faeles with how almost-genuine it sounds.

The girl is crying and shaking, refusing to look at Hex. He extends a hand to her, which she flinches away from. Hex’s eye twitches, but he keeps the facade up.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you.” The girl stares at him for a moment, before taking his hand. “There we are...What happened here, sweetheart?”

“The...the monster….A monster came...It was like a giant eyeball...but with wings on it. The eye was a bunch of colors...And it destroyed everything.” Sobs cut through every other word she tried to say, and Hex gave her a pitying look.

“Oh, you poor thing… Well there’s no need for you to suffer anymore. Don’t worry…” Hex cups the little girl’s face in his hands, and Faeles grimaced, turning away so that he wouldn’t have to see what Hex would do. A wet splatter sounded, a barely-audible whimper emitting from the little girl. “You’ll never have to suffer again.”

Faeles turned back, just as the brown vine that had shot up out of the ground removed itself from the child’s body. Hex gently laid the girl’s body on the ground, fixing her dress so that it covered her legs properly, and crossed her arms over her chest. A small flower bloomed on the bloodied vine, and Hex pulled it off, placing in the girl’s hair.

“Why would you do that?” Faeles scoffed, stepping over the child’s body.

“Do what?”

“Kill her then try to make her body look decent. With the damn flower and everything. I don’t understand that.”

“Just felt better than leaving her body crumpled in whatever way it fell. I did that with everyone I could get to, that’s why it took me so long to come back.”

“You’re weird, Hex.”

“So I’ve been told. My weirdness aside, do you really think you can find whoever this ‘chained hero’ is?”

“Yes. I do.”

“...Is he your Light?”

Faeles goes quiet, and Hex hums, chuckling. “Thought as much. No Dark would be so fixated on a hero unless they were theirs.”

“He’s not mine.”

“He’s not yours, or he’s not your Light?”

“He’s not mine.”

“You don’t claim him?”

“He may be my Light, but no. He is not mine.”

“I’ve never heard of a Dark not wishing to claim their Light.”

“Well, I’m different than most Darks in a lot of ways. Just add that to the list.”

Hex snickers, watching Faeles closely as he walks in front of him. Faeles grips the strap of his bag again, tightly.

He will never be mine. Just like Primor will never be yours again, Hex.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE PROLOGUE HAS ENDED.

THE PROLOGUE HAS ENDED.

SEASON ONE WILL BEGIN SOON.

SEASON ONE WILL BEGIN SOON.

Would you like to save your game?

-Yes

-No

→ Yes

Would you like to return to the Title Screen?

-Yes

-No

→ Yes

Welcome to Hyrule-Bound, But Never Found!

-Continue Game

-New Game

-Quit Game

-Soundtrack

-Masterlist

-YOUSHOULDNTLOOKHERE

-STOPTHAT

-???

-???

Thank you for playing~!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AND WE HAVE FINISHED THE PROLOGUE!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

Gosh we’ve really done it. And just in time for the 300 mark. I’m legit 1 away from 300 followers y’all.

The YOUSHOULDNTLOOKHERE link is a link to the discord, just so y’all know.

Welp. The prologue has ended, and season 1 will start soon. I have a lot to do and get set up though, so it will be a while. I’m actually going to try and storyboard properly and outline what I’m wanting to do instead of just winging it like I have been XD

This was the longest chapter I’ve ever done. The most I usually got to was 11-12 pages on Google Docs, this one was about 18-19 pages. Fucking nuts.

There is a lot of new terminology in here, so if you have questions and aren’t on the discord server (we have a channel that I put new terms in), feel free to ask for an explanation in my inbox, I will gladly explain them to you! We also had a shite ton of name drops in here, and I will gladly let you know who those people are as well, so just ask!! Now, there are a couple characters I can’t totally explain, but the names that Vanity and Mali dropped I most definitely can.

Anyways...

Stay crazy, my Lovely Proxies~!!!

AO3 Link (easier to read)

The Hero of Men intro (does include the Spirit Tracks duo, kind of a package deal here) in Bound’s group

or

Lucas’s group going and meeting Ganondorf in the Arbiter’s Grounds.

He is hot XD

He tries to look cool and it works until you see him in his natural state which is absolute fucking dork.

The ladies of Kakariko started calling him Pierce because of his “piercing blue eyes” and “sharp features”, but then they saw how much of an absolute idiot he is.

And that just made him more attractive.

He’s the epitome of himbo.

And the only heteromantic in like. The entirety of HB. And the only reason he considers himself heteroromantic is because he’ll never love anyone other than his late wife.

He is bisexual though.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

Welcome. You are playing a game known as:

Hyrule-Bound, But Never Found.

Please choose a save file.

-Link

-________

-Empty

-Empty

→ Link

Do you wish to open this save file?

→ Yes

Confirmed.

Enjoy the game.

The Dark World had its moments.

When the dimmed light of a false sun managed to wash over the land, bathing it in a dark honeyed glow. When the few uncorrupted animals would sprint by, largely ignored by the atramentous demons that crawled along the ground with drooling mouths and spidery limbs. These were moments that helped Link forget that this world held the oldest evils ever known to the living worlds.

A rabbit sniffed at the hand of the previously-imprisoned hero. He pressed a single finger against its cheek, scratching behind its ears. He kept his gaze on the rabbit, unfazed by the odd man sitting across from him on the ground.

The odd one simply smiled quietly at the hero, his pointer finger tapping slowly against his cheek, red irises barely visible beneath his nearly-shut eyes. How he was able to see like that was beyond the hero, but at this point...

He didn’t really care to know anything about this man.

“What are you going to call yourself, Hero? You know you are going to be meeting quite a number of young fellows who also bear your name. Are you simply going to make them call you by your birth name? Or will you take up a new mantle?” The odd man had called himself the Happy Mask Salesman, and strapped to his waist was an extremely colorful, and spiky, mask. The eyes had captivated the hero when he had first seen it, but the scent of an old evil wafted from it, causing him to be even more suspicious of this mask salesman.

“Bound.” The hero finally spoke, the rabbit slowly making its way over to the salesman, poking its nose at his shoe curiously.

“Ah yes. For one who was once bound to the darkness of the Fayrin Catacombs, and is now bound to the darkness of his own mind. How fitting. I know ‘Happy Mask Salesman’ is a bit of a mouthful, so just call me ‘Happy’. Or something to that effect.” Happy’s eyes shift to the rabbit, one hand slipping to his belt, grabbing onto the hilt of his knife. Before Bound can even notice what is in his hand, the serrated blade descends on the rabbit’s neck, a sickening crunch causing bile to rise in Bound’s throat.

“Was that really necessary?” Bound snarls, watching the poor creature twitch with the last of its life. Happy hums, pulling the knife out easily.

“Yes. Because now you have dinner. Were you planning on starving? This is not a place that has any civilization, at least not any that would be willing to give shelter to a Light Worlder.”

“Rabbits have a rather….special meaning to me. I prefer not to eat them.”

“Well, you’ll just have to get over it until you have more options. Rabbits are the only thing here that are viable food sources for non-Dark Worlders that require food to survive.” Happy sat up in a crouch, grabbing the rabbit by its broken neck. The wet snapping and crunching of tendons and bones made Bound even more nauseous. He looked away while Happy took a thin, long metal rod out from somewhere in the purple coat he was wearing, and jammed it into the rabbit’s chest, threading it to come out of its back. He jammed the rod in the ground and began to make quick work of the rabbit’s skin with his knife. “Speaking of rabbits...the world I am dropping you off in holds a man known as Pierce. He was one of your heroic predecessors. He recently lost his wife and child, however, so please be courteous.”

“Am I not courteous, Happy?” Bound sneers, still barely able to make eye contact with the man, the sound of metal sawing through flesh just too much.

“Oh, you are very courteous, Bound. But let’s just say….Your usual charm will likely not go over well with a man who just lost everything he ever loved. I would think you’d know the feeling. Your little Shadow will help you. Pierce knows him well, already, but watch out for his Shadow. Arcan is not a pleasant fellow, and he is viciously overprotective. More so than even our more notorious Pitches.”

“The hell is a Pitch?”

“A Pitch is a Dark that has never been Brightened, or exposed to Light. And I don’t mean, exposed to the Light World. A Pitch is a Dark who has never loved anything, or simply hasn’t loved enough to start losing their color. Darks are born as completely pitch black beings, nothing but their eyes being a different color. In this day and age, Pitches are rare. Darks have been falling in love. Like yours.” Happy smirks, raising an eyebrow at Bound, whose face blooms a cherry red. Bound presses his hand over his mouth and cheek, looking away again.

“So what does this Brightening thing entail?” Bound shivers with the cold wind that blows over the field the two sat in, the flame in front of him bending to the side with it.

“A Dark will slowly start losing their color. Their skin will become grey, lightening, and their hair will turn purple. Their eyes will change as well. The sclera will become completely black, the irises turning a variety of colors. Sometimes they will have discernible pupils, other times they will not. The more a Dark loves someone, or something, the Lighter they will become. They will become completely Brightened, if they kiss or are kissed by the being they love most. Their hair will turn white, and their eyes will take on the color or colors of those they love.”

“Wait, what are sclera?”

“What we call the whites of our eyes.”

“Oh.”

Happy hums, taking the rod out of the ground, and jamming it back in, right next to the fire. “You’ve been here many years, Bound. The Triforce’s power has been dimmed. That is the only reason why you aren’t mobbed by Shadow Creatures while sitting out in the open like this. When you return to the Light World, that will change. Its power will return, albeit slowly. But when it does, you will become a target. Though...staying in the Dark World for so long will also have its benefits to you. Your body isn’t as susceptible to the effects of dark magic like most Light Worlders. You might even be able to wield it yourself. Would be a good skill to obtain while you are waiting for your Forcible power to come back.”

Bound stared at the rabbit, a low sizzle coming from it as Happy turned it over. “Wouldn’t trying to wield dark magic make me unfit to hold the Triforce?”

“Eat, Link.” Happy pulls the rod out of the ground and points it towards Bound. Bound grimaces, but pulls off one of the legs. “I think even the Golden Ones know your circumstances. You are the most fit to wield the Triforce currently. You have been in the Dark World for a long time, but I know you will regain the ability to use the Triforce’s power. They won’t take it from you during this time. You are going to need it more than ever.”

Bound stared at the fire for a moment, before shifting his eyes back onto Happy, who was sitting with his head propped in both of his hands, that eerie smile still present. “Aren’t you going to eat?”

“Guardians of Time don’t really require food. At least not near as much. I ate three days ago...ironic number...I should be fine for another day.” He taps his fingers on his cheeks rhythmically, that smile never wavering.

“You’re creepy as fuck, I hope you know that.”

“Why, thank you.”

Bound scoffs, shaking his hand.

“Whenever you wish to leave, just let me know. I am ready at any time.”

Bound nodded, returning his focus to the rabbit leg. It still sickened him to even have the creature’s limb in his hands, but the salesman was right. There were not many edible game animals in the Dark World, and he hadn’t eaten in a while. Despite the prospect of leaving soon, there was no guarantee he’d be able to get food quickly in the Era he was being dropped in. Or if the salesman was even dropping him where he claimed he was.

Why am I even trusting him?

He’s your best shot, Link. And take it from me. He’s a man of his word. If he says he’ll take you somewhere, he will. You just have to be prepared for whatever could be there.

I guess you’re right…

I always am.

I wouldn’t say always….

Oh, shut up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you ready, Bound?” Happy extends a hand to Bound, raising an eyebrow. Bound sighs, holding onto his wrist. Happy chuckles, wrapping his own hand around Bound’s wrist and using it to yank him closer, falling backwards.

A bright blue ring of light forms on the ground, and as Happy’s free arm wraps around Bound’s back to hold him in place, images flood Bound’s eyes, passing by at an insane speed as they fall through the portal.

He could see himself. Laying on the ground in his bathroom, shattered glass surrounding him.

A child sitting on top of a train, happily kicking his feet back and forth.

A tiny girl with white hair skipping around a young man with rainbow-colored eyes. The light cast a shine on the black rose charm hanging from her neck.

A large wolf with a massive shackle around his neck, markings glowing an almost painfully bright blue.

Fire. Fire surrounding a massive man with black and red scales covering the spaulders on his shoulders. Two massive horns stuck out from the back of his armor, surrounding him in a circle.

A little girl with brown hair and brown eyes, holding a glass orb in her hands. She sat in front of a mirror, a girl with long blue hair chattering away inside of it. Suddenly, a mass of black shadows shot out from the mirror, inky hands grabbing the girl by her throat and pinning her to the ground. A purple, bird-like mask covered the face of the creature that emerged from the mirror, the beak of the mask almost touching the girl’s nose. The orb rolling on the ground, unbroken. Though the scream that let out of the girl’s mouth sounded anything but.

Bound screamed. When his feet finally felt ground again, he collapsed, Happy’s arms being the only things to keep him from curling in on himself.

“Who was that?! The little girl with the orb! Who was she?!?” Bound gripped the purple cloak Happy wore, eyes frantic and wide. Happy simply stared at him, that ever-present smile finally gone. His red eyes were much more visible now, and Bound realized how large Happy’s pupils were.

It was unnatural. Like he could see the void in them. He did not like those eyes.

“That is someone you will meet later. You will learn who that girl was. But please, do not worry yourself with that now.”

“Why….why do I feel like I know her? I’ve never seen her before, why….”

“She is someone very strongly connected to you. Please...don’t worry about it right now. I’m sorry, I should have covered your eyes. You didn’t need to see all of that. I am sorry, Link.” Happy hesitantly placed his hand on Bound’s back, having let go of his wrist. Bound stared at the ground, trying to comprehend the images he had seen. “Those were other Eras. It’s common to see a lot of those when passing through Gates. I should have warned you.”

“It’s...fine. I’m okay.” Bound tries to stand, but the shake in his legs caused Happy to have to hold him up until he regained his balance. “I just want to get this over with.”

“Understandable. I guess this is where we shall part ways, for now, old hero.” Happy steps back, his smile returning, and bows, the movement quicker than Bound could process, waving his hand with a flourish. “Good luck.” He jolts up again, barely seeming to move before ending up in a new position. He turns on his heel, walking off. Bound rubs his face, and by the time he returns his gaze to the direction Happy was walking towards, the odd man was gone.

Bound whipped his head around, wondering where he had gone, then scoffed. “That dude is so fucking weird.” A cold hand slithered up the loose tunic Bound wore, a head of white hair settling under his chin.

“Guardians are always a bit weird, Link. You learn to get used to it.” A low, smooth snickered at him, another icy hand meeting the first on Bound’s back beneath his shirt.

“Do you seriously need to shove your hands up my shirt all the time, Lepus?”

“Yep~ You’re warm.”

“Yeah, and you’re not. Your hands are fucking freezing!!” Bound tries to peel Lepus’s arms off of him, but the shorter man just giggled, holding on tighter. “Oh my goddesses, come on. We need to get moving, I don’t need you groping me the whole time.”

“Welp, that’s just too bad!” Lepus rises on his toes to press a quick kiss to Bound’s lips, before turning on his heel and bouncing ahead of him. “We gotta get goiinngg~ Don’t lag behind so much, Link.”

Bound snorts, shaking his head as he follows after the excitable Dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy’s face lacked any expression as he watched the small girl play with a bird she had managed to coax into her hand. Her red hair caught the afternoon sun’s light, an almost purple tinge gracing the tips of it. “Are you ready to go, little one?”

“Can I play with the little birdie just a bit longer?” She stared up at him with blank, glowing red eyes. She pouted, her finger lingering on the bird’s head.

Happy sighed. “Fine. But we have to leave soon, Luci.”

“Okaayy….”

~~~~~~~~

Would you like to save your game?

-Yes

because of course right after i give up and answer the ask with what i have im able to make more so

1). Converged, 2). Dark and 3). Light Tyrant

Light Reflections have black eyes and mouths and often inhuman anatomy and expressions, and Dark Reflections have completely white eyes and mouths and take on the form the Light Counterpart of their Ward.

Reflections are not meant to Converge unless their Wards are present and also participate in the Convergence. It is considered taboo and traitorous to what the Reflections represent. They are meant as the glue of a Convergence, allowing a proper Balance in a Dark/Light convergence. If a Reflection is not present in one of the Wards, the Convergence will eventually grow unstable and could cause serious injury and damage.

The Dark half was known as being a bit more malevolent than most Dark Reflections. His methods of protecting his Ward were unorthodox at best and could be considered cruel. When his Ward was killed by the Hero of the Decline, he was left untethered to a Mirror and began to run rampant through the Reflective realm. He found the Decline Hero’s Reflection and convinced him to help him get to the Light World, but the Reflection of the Chained Hero caught them, condemning them for their actions and naming them a majora. He banished them to the Purgatory between the Light World and the Reflection, as well as forcing them to take on the illness the Hero of the Decline had from killing his Dark. That process allowed a piece of the Dark’s soul to be released out of the infection and allowed the Dark to be reformed.

With the Hero of the Decline imprisoned in the Dark World under Maligna and Luculen’s watch, Tyrant made it to the Light World after multiple years, and was found by the younger Zelda, known as Mira, shortly after the Queen had passed away because of a sickness.

Tyrant has no memories of being a Reflection, and fully believes he is the Hero of the Decline, though he dislikes the title. The Hero of the Decline, known as Bound, now travels with his revived Dark, Lepus.

It will be released Tuesday, May 19th, 12:00 pm EST.

And after that, I will only be releasing Reflection chapters and maybe one or two HBBNF chapters.

I will not be starting season 1 for a while, as there is a LOT TO DO before I can even dare to start it.

I’d like to get set designs done, get proper storyboarding done, proper plot outlines. All that good stuff. Since this whole time I’ve been literally winging it.

And I should probably stop doing that XD

But yeah! Chapter 19 (if you’re reading it on tumblr) / Chapter 26 (if you’re reading it on AO3) will be out Tuesday. I hope you all have enjoyed Hyrule-Bound so far!!!

You can submit songs for the playlist, request drawings, mini-writings, send me prompts/quotes, ask the babs stuff, etc etc.

After chapter 19 is out, everything is gonna be pretty quiet on the writing front other than the Reflection chapters and a couple HBBNF chapters, because I’m gonna be setting up the first season.

Yes, this was just the prologue.

So if y’all wanna ask questions, this is the BEST time to do it. I have a lot to work on and get done, so I’m gonna only really be available for some art and questions. And yes, I’m gonna be doing a lot more art, because I really need to get the concepts and stuff set in stone as we enter the first season. 

So ask me stuff! I need help thinking of shite anyways, and when y’all ask questions it helps me think about stuff I wasn’t really thinking about before and it’s very appreciated!!