#four angst lu
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“Better terrible truths than kind lies.”
-Six if Crows, Leigh Bardugo,
Promises are made and broken. How could Time watch his friend die when it’s possible the other is safe? Which choice is the right one?
4456 words.
Warnings for torture, kidnapping, vomiting. Let me know if there should be anything else!
~~~~
He thought things couldn’t get much worse when he was kidnapped with Sky and Four.
After days of starvation, he was losing hope of being able to break out of here. And they had, if his internal clock is correct (and it always is), one more day until their captors started torturing them.
His eyes find the smith, who’s shackled to the wall of his cell, bars separating them.
Sky lays unconscious on the floor of Four’s cell, the smith finally tearing his gaze from the skyloftian as the teenager clears his throat.
Storm cloud grey eyes find his, expression deadly serious. “Time. If it comes down to it, save Sky. Not me.”
He pauses, unsure of what to say to that.
“Four, don’t-”
“Time, promise me.”
“Four-”
“No, Time, I don’t want to hear the ‘it won’t come to that,’ or ‘we’re all gonna get out of here,’ you don’t know that. Promise me- that if it comes down to it, if you have to choose, you will save Sky and let me die if you have to.”
“Four I can’t-”
“Do it!” Four snaps, eyes flashing blue. “Sky has people at home who need him- friends who need him, family, his Zelda! I’ve got no one, ok?! It doesn’t matter to anyone but you guys if I make it! Sky has people who need him! He has a future! Promise me, Time!”
The desperation and raw fear in the kid’s voice makes him pause. Slowly nod, more out of surprise than actual agreement.
“Say it.” Four demands.
“I promise.” He says weakly.
“Promise what?” Four insists, arms crossed.
“If- if it comes down to… a choice… I’ll save Sky.”
Four relaxes, slowly releasing a breath and relaxing as much as he’s able with the chains around his wrists and ankles. “Thank you.”
He feels sick. How could he do that? Promise that?
But… it won’t come to it, he reminds himself.
All of them are getting out of here. Alive.
~~~~
He’s jolted out of the restless doze he’d managed to fall into by the sound of his cell opening.
Blearily, he raises his head to the bars. One of the weird soldiers in red is staring at him, laughing cruelly when he startles and yelps in shock.
“Wakey, wakey, little one! I had the honor of picking the first victim of our torture. Unless… you want to save us the trouble and tell us where the hero is?”
He slowly licks his dry, cracked lip, spitting in the face of his captor.
Instead of being angry, the man seems excited. “That’s what I thought. Come on, little boy.”
His chains are replaced with heavy shackles that make it very hard to move- especially with the lack of food and water.
He casts a cautious glance into Time’s cell- the leader is watching wearily, making the briefest of eye contact with him.
“Save. Sky.” He mouths, and Time looks away.
Then he raises his chin and allows the soldier to lead him out of the cell, down a hall, up a staircase that nearly makes him pass out, down another long hallway, and back down some steps and through a large room and into a little hidden door and through- he loses track, which he’s sure is the point of the ridiculous route.
But eventually the soldier stops him, and he’s forced to lay on a table as he’s chained up again.
“It has been five days, boy.” Another soldier says. This one is bigger, taller, holding a much larger sword. “Your friends are not coming for you. You will save yourself much pain if you simply tell us where the hero Link is.”
He stays silent, looking into the eyes of the mask.
“We can be merciful. We can release you, feed you, tend to your friend’s wounds. Where did your friend, the hero, run to?”
“I wouldn’t tell you even if I knew.” He snaps, cursing himself for replying. But hunger and dehydration make him woozy, and he can’t trust himself.
He’s glad he’s not sure where the others went.
A soft sigh comes from the leader-seeming one.
The smaller one pulls out a wicked looking knife, long and jagged and clearly having one intended purpose.
“We’ll do this the hard way, then.”
He raises his chin as much as he can. “Bring it. Come on.”
The first slice is to his leg. Another quickly joins it.
And another.
On his calf, one above another. Four long cuts, for the four colors on his tunic, the leader says.
A break, another question, another chance for him to talk.
They move up to his arm.
Four long, thin slices that bleed heavily and quickly are dripping all over the floor.
Then the other arm. Then the other leg.
He takes it without noise, keeping his eyes locked firmly on the leader.
I’ve had worse, he hopes it comes through. There is no part of me that isn’t broken and healed, and I am stronger because of it.
“Break bones.” The leader says in a bored tone of voice.
He grits his teeth as the soldier nears him, bearing his teeth. “Let’s go, then. Break ‘em. Which one you gonna start with? I recommend the ribs. Painful and damaging.”
Sure enough, the first blow is to his side. Knocks the breath right out of him, the fight in him faltering.
Then his wrist.
He has to bite back a yell, tears streaming down his cheeks now. But he forces himself to talk- he will not break. Never.
“That all you’ve got? Clean breaks. Those will heal up fine in a month or so.”
Mistake. The leader pauses, then hands something to the soldier.
A mallet.
A mallet.
“Smash his hand. Shatter the bones beyond repair. Maybe he’ll be willing to talk then.”
All the fight in him evaporates.
They can take a lot from him.
His sword, his armor, his tunic, hell, his dignity. But his thing, the thing he defines himself with is his craft.
Shattering his hand will destroy that.
The leader enjoys the fear he can’t hide in his eyes.
His breaths quicken, tears pricking in his eyes again, entire body trembling against the chains.
“Last chance, little boy. You’re a craftsman, I can tell. Surely the hero isn’t losing your work over?”
He swallows defiantly, making himself look at the leader once more.
Another sigh.
A wave of the hand.
The hammer swings down, down-
“I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY WENT!” He screams, squeezing his eyes shut.
A loud slam, the air of the hammer blowing an ironically gentle breeze on his hand.
His teeth are chattering.
The corner of the table collapses, leaving a jagged edge on the solid wood.
“I don’t know where they went. We- we were planning to get to the stable nearby. That’s all I know.” He whispers, closing his eyes again.
He’s shuddering violently, uncontrollably, even more when a gentle hand brushes his hair out of his face.
“What’s your name, little boy?”
“Four.” He whispers shakily, forcing himself to swallow.
“Well, Four. I think you’re lying to me.”
His eyes fly open.
“You kidnapped me! I’ve been here for days! How am I supposed to know where they went?! I-”
“He annoys me. Find an interesting organ and remove it.”
A knife plunges into his side, and all the air in his body is sucked right out.
In. Out. In. Out.
Slowly, the knife cuts his flesh open. Open. Doing goddess knows what to his body.
It hurts.
He’s been stabbed before, by weapons much worse than knives, but he’s never had surgery while wide awake.
He tenses as much as his body allows him to, sweat mixing with the tears running down his face, teeth biting his lip bloody.
He knows they just want to hurt him to get Time to talk. They know he doesn’t know where Wild and the others went. They know that Time does.
And one look at Time tells them the old man isn’t going to break through good old fashioned torture. But… maybe they can negotiate his torture’s end through Time’s information…
All they need him to do is scream.
Sound pained.
Act the part.
I will not, he tells himself, blood dripping down his chin from how hard he’s biting his lip to keep himself from screaming.
I won’t, he reminds himself as he sobs, thrashing as much as he’s able to- which isn’t much.
But in the end, he’s not Twi, with his strength, or Wars with his unshakable confidence, or Wind with his courage.
He’s a teenager who grew up privileged in a comfortable house where he knew little pain, went on a relatively easy adventure compared to the heros around him.
He never died or faced a god.
He thought he knew pain. How wrong he was.
The knife brushes his rib cage, and he screams.
~~~~
A scream cuts through the silence of his cell, echoing down the long, empty halls.
He runs for the cell bars, looking down the hall, calling Four’s name, but sees nothing and gets no reply.
Just another agonized scream.
Then- “Time!”
He falters. “Wars?!”
“Time! I’m here, where’s Four, where’d they take him? Where’s Sky? We’re gonna get you out.”
“Go get Four, go get Four, I don’t know where he’s at-”
Wars nods quickly, already moving down the hall. “I’ll be back! I’ll be right back!” The captain shouts, and then he’s gone.
He waits one long minute. Two. Three. Fifteen.
Wars comes rushing back, Legend and Twi behind him, a multicolored bundle in the rancher’s arms.
Blood on both Legend and Wars, whether it’s Four’s, their own, or… someone else’s, he doesn’t know.
“Bleeding out as we speak, we have to go!” Legend snaps before he can even ask, slipping a hand through the bars into his cell.
“Take this bracelet, touch the wall, activate it, inactivate it. I’ll explain later.”
He’s seen quite a few things, during his adventures. Been transformed and transformed again, into thing after thing after thing. A deku scrub, a zora, so on and so on. But he’s never been a painting until now.
He shudders once he’s back to normal, shakily handing the vet his bracelet back.
“You get used to it. Where’s Sky?” The vet say, sliding it back over his hand.
He shakes his head weakly. “They took him. He was hurt. Badly. Haven’t seen him since.”
The three share a long look.
“We have to go.” Twi says quietly, looking down at a beat up and very bloody Four. “He’s not gonna last much longer.”
Wars peers at the smith, checking his breathing and his pulse. “Five minutes to look. Split up, meet back here or get left behind. That’s all we’ve got. Twi, keep that wound covered.”
A tense nod, and they all split.
He searches room after room after room, hollering Sky’s name, looking, looking, well past five minutes.
But he finds nothing, hits a dead end, and has to go back.
And they leave.
Four’s barely breathing, deathly pale, and his pulse is so, so weak. They don’t have a choice.
They leave Sky somewhere in the building, getting Four back to the inn others had found in their absence.
Wars and Twi talk to him, pressing him for answers, but all he can hear is the promise he’d made to the smith ringing in his ears over and over again.
~~~~
Their arrival at the inn is a chaotic mess.
Everyone scrambles to find potions, medical supplies, anything that might help Four.
Time sits on a seat at the table and stares out the window, refusing to allow anyone to look over him.
Wars and Hyrule get Four to a bed, working over him for hours and hours.
Four stops breathing once.
They get him going again, but the poor kid is still fighting for his life well into the night, well into the morning, all the next day, until Wars emerges from the room with Hyrule at his side.
“He’s stable.” The captain says quietly, then promptly falls into a chair and passes out.
Rulie follows suit mere minutes later.
Both men had been up all night. They let them rest, moving them carefully to their own room, and he takes to watching the smith.
“Let me watch him for a bit, Vet. Get some sleep.” Twi offers once, but he waves the rancher away.
Nothing happens for days. Four refuses to wake up. Sometimes they can get him to take some broth, coax a bit of water into him, but the teen remains unmoving on the bed.
The morning starts as usual- he wakes up, checks on Four. Wind reports that he’d been awake for a couple seconds, weak and confused, then fell back asleep.
That’s new. Over the past couple days, Four’s gained his color back, gotten skeletally thin, and the jagged cuts all over his body had slowly started healing up.
His heart rate picked up, breathing became less labored, even moving every so often. Rulie and Wars were optimistic he’d wake up soon.
And later that day he does, managing to scare the absolute crap out of all of them when he does.
Wild makes dinner, gathers them into a larger meeting room, wakes the two snoring heroes, and serves them all dinner.
It takes five minutes for them to start discussing plans to go back, find Sky, who should go, who needs to stay, when they're going-
Four stumbles into the room, pale and shaking. Barefoot, stripped to his underclothes, panicked and on the verge of hyperventilation.
“Where’s Sky?” The kid demands, swaying dangerously. Eyes scanning over the silent room, face paling when he realizes a face is missing.
Wars leaps up to grab the teenager, steadying him quickly. “Smithy, hey, kiddo, let’s take a seat? Just breathe, Buddy, just breathe…”
“Sky.” Four pleads weakly, struggling with all the minimal strength Four’s tiny body possesses.
“Want to try something to eat? You’ve been out a few days, let’s try-”
“Where’s Sky?!” Four demands, dragging his heels on the floor. Wars falters, giving him a slow look.
“Four, buddy… take a seat, kiddo, we’ll explain everything.”
“Tell me.” Four begs, eyes welling up.
“He’s still there.” Twi says softly, gently, eyes full of apology. “We had a plan… it went wrong. Almost immediately. We went to go find him, but we didn’t… we had to go, you were bleeding out- Four- Four, no!” Twi shouts as Four lunges over the table at Time.
“You lied to me!” Four screams, slapping the man across the face. “You promised me! You promised me! You’re a liar!” Four howls as he and Twi wrestle the kid off of the old man as gently as possible.
“You son of a bitch!” Four screams from the ground, tears running down his face and into his hair. “I hate you! I hate you!”
Time’s expression shatters, all the emotions he’d been hiding since their return on full display as the old man breaks down into tears.
“I’m sorry, Four, I-”
Four goes ballistic, breaking out of Twi’s grasp and raking his fingernails over Time’s face hard enough to draw blood the second he’s close enough.
“Sorry isn’t going to help you when I kick the shit out of you!” Four screeches, eyes flashing.
Twi leaps to try to intercept the teen, and chaos erupts. Four’s screaming, Twi’s yelling, Wild’s just staring in shock, Hyrule’s frantically rummaging through his bag and calling to someone, he’s running to try to help Twi, shouting over his shoulder, and Wind’s just burst into the room with a yelp of surprise, likely trying to find out what’s going on.
“Suck my ass you motherfu-”
Hyrule sticks a needle into Four’s arm when Twi wrestles the kid back to the ground, the smithy cutting off his cursing to howl in pain.
“You… you’re a liar…” Four pants, chest heaving, eyes fluttering as the kid clings to consciousness. “You ruined… everything…”
“Four-” Time pleads, but Four’s eyes flutter closed.
“Hate you.” The kid breathes out, hand tightly grasping Twi. “You… lied.”
And the kid’s out.
~~~~
They all stare in shock, Twi openly gaping at the smith underneath him.
Slowly moves his arms, sitting back so he’s not holding Four down anymore.
There’s blood on his hands. Despite his efforts, he’d ripped Four’s wounds right open again.
Wars slowly moves to tend to the scratches down Time’s face as Hyrule slowly starts on Four.
“Look up, did he get your eye?” Wars says quietly, and they all watch.
Time lifts his gaze to the ceiling, revealing the damage done.
Hyrule offers a towel, and the old man presses it to his bloody face. The scrapes aren’t bad, shallow and barely spotting blood, but long lines go down his cheek, to his jaw.
Very narrowly missing his eye.
The rancher carefully gets Four off the ground, the kid still out cold in the rancher’s arms.
“What’d he mean you lied to him?”
“Twi.” Wars says softly, disapprovingly.
Time’s eyes hold a deep sadness, a hint of guilt as he looks at Four. “He made me promise to save Sky instead of him if I needed to choose.”
Silence.
“Time…” Twi says softly, hand raking through his hair.
“How could you break such a promise?” Wild says in horror, staring at their leader.
“What, is he supposed to just let Four die?” Legend says incredulously.
“He promised he would.”
“If it came down to it, would you have the guts to watch your friend die?!” Wind asks, gesturing wildly with his arms.
“If I’d made a promise! I don’t break my promises!”
Time flinches.
“Wild, so much was going on, we didn’t know where Sky was, our best assumption was that he wasn’t being tortured like Four was and we’re hoping he’s in better condition than Four, the smith was bleeding out in my arms, we did what was best-”
“You promised him! Hylia above- if I’d begged someone to make me a promise like that to find out they didn’t keep it-”
Wild’s eyes find Twi’s, words faltering. Swallows thickly, turning away. “I’d rather be dead. Then… that.”
Twi gently shifts the teenager in his arms.
There’s a long moment of silence.
“I’m going to… get a bed for him.” The rancher finally says awkwardly, moving to leave. Hyrule stops him quickly.
“Wait! He’s uh… going to be nauseous when he wakes up. Should only be a few hours. But he’s… yeah.”
Twi nods, taking a deep breath and leaving the room.
They all silently watch him go.
~~~~
Hyrule said it’d be a few hours.
He’s not sure if he forgot to take Four’s size into account, or if Four’s just… sleeping, but the kid doesn’t as much as move for five hours.
The only sign he’s alive is the very slow rise and fall of his chest.
After those long hours, though, he slowly starts shifting, turning, hums groggily when he gently shakes the kid, and he lets him be for a little longer.
Not long after that, the teenager slowly opens his eyes and gives a groggy mumble.
Tries to sit up, flopping right back onto the bed.
“Easy.” He says softly, putting a hand on Four’s shoulder. “We… really knocked you out. You must still be groggy and…”
Four’s expression turns… weird, lips pressing together and swallowing thickly.
“Want some water? It’s been nothing but rain for days-”
He leaps back as Four shoves his hand away, rolls over just enough to get his head over the side of the bed, and vomits all over the floor.
“Eauughaahhehh! Wars! Wars!” He shouts down the hall, taking a cloth from the little table next to the bed and dunking it in the water meant for the poor kid, wringing it out and wiping the smith’s face down.
The teenager is still totally out of it, mumbling disorientedly and weakly trying to shove him away.
Wars bursts into the room just as Four manages to weakly grab his hand, mumbling forcefully and weakly shoving it away.
“Sorry, kiddo, I know, I gotta get you cleaned up, though.” He says softly, soothingly, Four’s gray eyes heartbreakingly confused.
“What is it?” Wars says, helping him calm the poor kid.
“He freaking- threw up everywhere, I’ve got him, any chance you could…”
“Yeah, I got it, he alright?” Wars asks, watching him gently try to get his hand back.
“I don’t know, man, I think he’s just scared.”
Wars leaves, likely to go get something to clean the room up, and he carefully gets his hand back from Four’s ironclad grasp.
“Hyrule said you might be a little nauseous… you feeling any better after that?” He asks gently, getting a dazed blink in response.
He gently moves to the side of the bed, fingers brushing through Four’s soft hair.
The kid seems to be calmer now, no longer struggling.
Just dazed and weak and confused.
“Hey there.” He says gently, and Four’s eyes find him again. “You want anything? Food, water… bathroom?”
Four slowly shakes his head, eyes closing as he slowly relaxes.
“Still tired?” He asks softly as Wars returns, starts mopping up the floor.
A small shrug.
A tear slips down the kid’s face.
His heart sinks.
“Four, buddy…” he says softly, hand finding the smith’s shoulder. “He’s gonna be fine. We’re gonna find him.”
Another slow tear, then another.
“He’s gonna be fine.” He repeats as gently as he can, trying to get Four to look at him and failing.
“They’ll kill him.” Four whispers, voice breaking.
And the smith dissolves into sobs, not listening to a word he says.
“They’re gonna kill him they’ll kill him they have no reason to keep him alive now he’s gonna be dead-”
“Shh… no no, buddy, he’s gonna be just fine-”
Four tucks his knees to his chest, forehead touching his knees, and just sobs.
Flinches away from his touch, curling into a ball and flopping down on the bed.
Wars looks sadly at the kid, at a loss for words like him.
And all they can get out of the kid is sharp, broken sniffles as the kid hides himself away from the world with the blankets on the bed.
The captain sits on the edge of the bed, hand slowly finding the lump of blankets that’s currently their smithy.
Four slowly allows him to lay next to him, leaning his protective barrier to curl carefully into Wars’ side.
They they start coaxing answers out of their friend.
“Are you in a lot of pain, kiddo?” Wars asks softly, and Four shrugs awkwardly.
“Chest.” Four manages, blinking at the ceiling.
“Yeah… you busted your ribs, probably reaggravated them hurdling a table to kick the shit out of Time.” Wars smiles, which gets a sheepish twitch of the lips out of the smithy.
“Let’s see… your wrist was broken, though Hyrule’s sure he got that fixed up ok. The cuts all over… we weren’t able to magically heal those, we just tried to heal the worst of it. So the stab on your side was a priority, then your wrist, then your ribs…”
“Did you crack his sternum giving him CPR?” He asks without thinking, then both of their gazes snap to Four.
Four blinks. Eyes flicking from Wars to him then back to Wars.
“Bruised it, most likely.” Wars offers quietly.
Four doesn’t react.
“Think you could get your shirt off, bud?”
Four shakes his head. They leave it be.
Silence falls over them, lingering for a long couple of minutes.
“Do you know…” Wars starts finally, trailing off when he glances down to the smithy. He’s dozed off again, silently, eyes closed and breathing even.
Hand holding his, calloused skin pressing into his.
Wars sighs slowly, gently tucking a blanket over the kid and carefully sitting up.
“Sleep well, kiddo,” The captain whispers as he carefully leaves the bed.
~~~~
He wakes up slowly, groggily, stomach churning.
Slowly turns to lay on his back, and has to take a long moment to fight the urge to throw up anything in his stomach.
Once he’s sure he’s not going to vomit, he swallows carefully and grimaces at the taste in his mouth.
Maybe he had thrown up.
Upon opening his eyes, he can see Wars next to him, passed out in a chair, snoring softly, and- Time.
Sitting next to the captain, watching him intently.
He pulls his face into a scowl.
Time looks away, guilt flitting over his face.
“Four-”
He ignores the old man, slowly pushing himself to sit up. Has to pause and take a few deep breaths in order to not vomit, sitting back once he’s all the way up.
“You alright?” Time asks softly when he slowly relaxes.
“Don’t talk to me.” He mutters, the words not nearly as strong as he’d like.
Time has the audacity to flinch.
Look away for a minute, saying his name softly-
He snaps, sitting rigid again and shooting a harsh glare at the old man. “Don’t even,” he growls. “You lied to me. You promised me- you promised. And you still left him behind. He’s dead because of you.”
Time looks like he’d been slapped, but he stands and storms out of the room.
Staggers down the hall, hands clutching the wall, vision swaying and blurring and the floor sways under his feet…
Stupid blood loss. He’s dizzy and woozy and it won’t go away until he rests… but how can he when Sky…
Over the buzzing in his ears, he can hear familiar voices, soft conversation.
He staggers to follow them, down the hall, pausing at a door, listening intently, turning the handle and stumbling inside.
“Four!” Someone says, soft hands steadying him immediately.
“Hey, bud, how you feeling?” Another voice asks, and another asks if he wants anything to eat, water, a blanket, is he cold? He’s shivering, people are touching his back and his shoulders and someone’s hand touches the back of his head.
His arms reach out, finding as many of his friends as he’s able to, sinking into warm, soft arms.
“Sky.” He mumbles, eyes growing heavier and heavier.
“Shh… we’re gonna get him back, kiddo, you just rest. You’ve been brave enough already, we’ve got this one.” Someone whispers, and he thinks he manages a groggy nod.
Hands brush through his hair. His headband had been removed, leaving his hair free and in his face.
“We’re gonna get him back, bud. You just rest.” The voice says again, and he nods again. Gives a slow breath out, letting his eyes fall shut. That, he can do.
~~~~
#linked universe#linkeduniverse#lu four#lu time#lu wars#lu Sky#four Lu#time Lu#wars lu#Sky lu#linked universe time#time linked universe#linked universe four#four linked universe#Lu four angst#Lu time angst#Lu warriors#warriors lu#four angst lu#time angst lu#linked universe fanfic#linked universe fanfiction#lu fanfiction#Lu fanfic#anyone want a part two/prequel?#I’ll totally write one#if anyone would read it lol
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This post is a little gory, reader discretion is advised.
Sky: Would you help me hide a body?
Hyrule: No I am not helping you! I want nothing to do with this!
Hyrule: [curious] ...But why? Is hiding bodies a fad in society now? Dang I'm really out of touch.
Sky: In what Hyrule is that a fad?!
Wild: [coughs]
—
Time: [sighing] I'm always cleaning up after you boys.
Sky: Wait Old man it was just—
Time: [pulling a trash bag from his adventure pouch] Where is it?
—
Wild: Hide...a body? O-Okay sure, I'll help you...
Wild: [muttering] Oh but not all of it I'm sure I could find uses for at least a few of the body parts...
—
Wind: [thumb up] Yeah of course! We'll just toss it into the ocean.
Sky: Ok but what if the Hyrule was landlocked...?
Wind: What if what? I'm a pirate.
Sky: Is that really how it works?!
—
Warriors: [polishing his sword] Huh? Dispose of a body? I can do that.
Sky: You...can?
Warriors: [glancing at his reflection] Eliminating traitors is a bit sporadic with its state funding so, I've had to get my hands dirty.
Sky: ...oh buddy.
—
Legend: Whose body is it? Under what circumstance? Who did the killing?
Legend: Sorry, I need to know if I should do it with enthusiasm or not.
Sky: [voice crack] Ledge...
Legend: Well I'm sorry, you keep telling me to find joys in life. I am trying!
—
Twilight: A-A body?! W-Why would you want me to...?!
Twilight: Wait, this one of Wild's pranks? Is he in that bush with his Sheikah Slate?
—
Four: [deadpan] Here's a list of ten efficient ways to dispose of a body.
Four: [very deadpan] It was my best self study project when I was a kid.
Four: [we all know this is Vio talking] The example body wasn't human, but that can't be too different.
Sky: [disturbed] ...No you can have it back. That question was just...
Warriors: [dutiful in improving his craft] Great can I have it?
—
Sky: Ok this is the last hypothetical! Between Wind's magic box thought experiment, Four's out of context question and this?! We're clearly really bad at these.
Twilight: Not sure what kind of responses you were expecting with that one to be honest.
Sky: ...You're right this one's on me.
~~~
Thanks for reading! Based off this
Sky got the fun hypothetical question from a friendly bar patron.
Wild coughed in that first one because with the restoration of his Hyrule ground in Hyrule field is being built on and, well, they are unearthing a lot of 100 year old skeletons. Not exactly hiding bodies, but...
Masterlist
#the rest of the colours are screaming for four to stop talking#Warriors' Hyrule doesn't have a shadowy organisation to do that#only he Impa and a select few can be trusted#linked universe#lu#linkeduniverse#lu wild#lu twilight#lu four#lu time#lu warriors#lu wind#lu hyrule#lu sky#lu legend#lu headcanons#lu incorrect quotes#linked universe headcanon#linked universe headcanons#linked universe incorrect quotes#lu memes#lu meme#lu angst#lu fic ideas#lu fic idea
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Angst idea: the chain are in a dungeon and get trapped in the last room. No boss. Just a door and the knowledge that only the person with the most innocent blood on their hands can open.
#linked universe#linkeduniverse#lu hyrule#lu legend#lu wild#lu four#lu twilight#lu time#lu wind#lu warriors#lu sky#Lu angst#angst prompt#angst#tw angst
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I do not know what is fucking happening. I just doodled something based off the scraps of context we’ve been given. anyways. @gia-d and @not-freyja I’m very excited to see you hurt the boys :D
#..I can’t tell if the bad image quality is the fault of tumblr or my phone’s scanner lol#Yeah Shadowed hasn’t left my brain since that first art post so uh#Thanks for curing my art block#Love me some angst with my favorite special little guys#..shit I have to tag stuff now#(Someone tell me if I forget smth or if this doesn’t cover it all please)#tw body horror#tw blood#angst#linked universe#lu four#lu red#lu green#lu blue#lu vio#lu shadow#fanart of fanfiction#because idk if fanart of a WIP is a tag#my art#traditional art#..is that all?? I suck at tags sorry guys#Anyways yeah very very excited :D
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@uncleskyrule happy belated birthday!!! Thank you so much for your patience while I wrote this! I hope it's worth the wait!
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Four knows what sleep deprivation looks like.
He’s seen it spelled out on his grandfather’s face when long days turn his usual joviality to melancholy exhaustion and draws the shadows of half moons beneath his eyes.
He’s seen it painted across Dot’s beautiful features after an arduous night when the memories resurface, memories of a leering crimson eye, of claims to possession hanging heavy over her, of cages and darkness and smothering magic.
He’s seen it shadowed across his own face too, when the battles within and without grow to be too much, darkening his features, drawing them thin, sucking the youthful fat from his cheeks, the light from his eyes.
And he’s seen it…on the faces of his brothers.
On Time’s when the moon is full. On Twilight’s when a quiet twilight falls and skeletal trees whisper in tongues known only to some. On Wild’s when the amnesia recedes, Warriors’ when phantom lips press across his cheek, Wind’s after he awakens screaming his sister’s name. On Hyrule’s when he gives too much, Legend’s when the adventures he never speaks of tell their tale in his petrified cries at night…
And now on, Sky’s.
Some may find it strange for a man who can drift off practically anywhere to suffer from fatigue. Add to that uncanny ability, Sky’s penchant for seeming one of the most mature of their little group, the most…put together.
But Four is well acquainted with the deceptions someone can tell through demeanor alone. He himself has been dubbed mature, put together, responsible. And while, yes, those labels are true (Four would certainly be cross if people decided to start dubbing him childish or, Hylia forbid, a disaster as they call some more unruly children in his Hyrule), the lie rests in the assumptions they bring about.
Beliefs of invincibility and impervious spirit. Beliefs that there is no need to be gentle or kind, no need to offer respite or lighten the load.
It is the same fate their leader suffers so often, the same Warriors and Twilight sometimes crumble beneath. Suffering silently, yet always strong. So strong.
And Sky…
Sky hides it better than anyone.
Four is uncertain whether or not he is the only one who notices his distress. Perhaps, he is.
It doesn’t matter though. In fact, if he is the only one who has taken note of it then it is all the more important that he do something before Sky’s inevitable collapse.
But life never makes things simple. And in the end, he’s too late.
It has happened too many times now — a portal that separates the heroes into mismatched groups. Four thinks that perhaps, after his near defeat at the combined hands of the champion and the rancher the Shadow is attempting to be more careful.
More conniving. More vicious.
Attack first and you won’t be defeated. Such is the attitude of wild animals and beasts. More than likely, the Shadow shares it too.
This would explain why in addition to splitting the heroes up, this portal also dumps them right onto a battlefield.
Or at least, it does for Sky, Legend, and himself. Four can’t be sure what the others are facing. But he can only pray it isn’t a sand-drenched dungeon packed with redeads and stalfos.
The unearthly screeches of the emaciated corpses fill his ears as he fights, teeth gritted, heart pounding. It’s all the three heroes can do to stay out of reach of their paralyzing cries.
Back up to escape one beast and you nearly collide with the mad swing of a stalfos’ claymore.
Four winces as the very tip of a blade slices across his left arm and leaves an angry gash in its wake.
That’s going to need a bit of potion to remedy.
Beside him, Legend growls what sounds like a curse as he plunges his hand into his pouch and retrieves a fire rod. He brings it in a sweeping horizontal arc. In a blaze of blistering heat, a group of the monsters fall.
“Well done,” Four says with a breathless smirk. He plunges his sword into the gaping chest cavity of one of the stalfos still struggling for survival on the darkened floorboards. With a raspy exhale, it dissolves into ash. “I think you just turned the battle in our favor.”
“I’d better have,” Legend huffs. “The sooner we get rid of these things, the sooner we can get out of here.” He screws up his face in a grimace. More monsters crumple beneath his skilled hands. “It smells like death.”
It does, indeed, Four thinks as, finally, the last of the monsters fall. The stench of it hangs heavy, permeating the thick darkness that surrounds them, wafting from the thin threads of light carrying from faltering torches.
But now that the battle is over they can focus on escape. Hopefully, to a place where it proves easier to breathe.
He sheathes his sword, glances around. The gash on his arm throbs and the various bruises and smaller cuts he earned join in its stomach-churning beat. Still, it could have gone far worse.
“We all okay?” Legend asks, bangs falling into his face as he replaces his fire rod.
“Yes,” Four says. “How about you…Sky?”
His voice pitches an octave higher as he catches sight of the Skyloftian, turning the question almost into an exclamation.
The knight lies crumpled where he had stood mere moments before. The Master Sword lies fallen beside him, his cape flows over him like a blanket of snow. His breath comes in shuddering gasps that grate upon Four’s ears as he races to his side.
“Sky!”
He shakes him, slightly, and hazy blue orbs flutter open. Sky groans.
“What happened?” Legend drops down beside him, panic in his voice and a half-empty potion bottle in his hand. “Did a monster get him?”
Four shakes his head. “I don’t think so.” A quick inspection provides no sign of blood or other injury. But Sky’s face is ashen and he shudders as though in the throes of fever. “Sky, are you hurt?”
“N-not hurt.” Sky curls his fingers into a fist, as though attempting to gather strength. “J-just…just…” He swallows, tries to drag himself up, and nearly collapses again. It’s only Four and Legend’s quick movement that keeps him upright. “‘M fine.”
“Like hell you are!” Legend’s eyes are blazing with emotion now. “Sky, what happened?”
Sky shudders again. He glances down at the trembling hands he has folded into one, white-knuckled fist. There is a certain helplessness in the look.
“I dunno,” he croaks. “Was fighting and the room start-started swirling.” He curls in on himself further, and Four wonders if the next shaky exhale brings tears with it. His voice is very small. “I just-just fell.”
“And you didn’t have the strength to get back up,” Four says, solemnly. An idea is already forming in his head, a confirmation of what he has witnessed these past few hellish weeks.
I should’ve acted sooner.
But there had been fights both in and out of the group, and injuries and secrets unveiled. There had been discussions long overdue, restorations to be made in the face of pain and sorrow. And he, he had been in the midst of it all.
Between explaining the Four Sword and its powers and making up with Wild, he just hadn’t found the time…
“You haven’t been sleeping, Sky…have you?”
Now, Sky raises his head, glazed eyes focusing unsteadily on Four. Slowly, he shakes his head.
Legend blows out a sigh. He sits down beside Four and brings a dusty hand over his sweaty brow.
“Sleep deprivation? Yeah, that’ll do it. How long haven’t you been sleeping?”
Sky swallows. A beat passes, then another. The oppressive feel of death begins to crowd in on Four again. He struggles to breathe beneath it.
Then, “Since Twilight,” Sky whispers, and Four’s heart plummets to the depths of his stomach.
Legend’s hand falls to his lap with more viciousness than defeat. His face screws up in an expression that toes the line between sorrowful and intensely irritated. “I knew something was up! I knew it! I should’ve — ”
“Couldn’t have done anything,” Sky croaks, leaning further into Four’s touch. A small smile quirks his lips. “Was me that should-should’ve d-done something in the…in the first place.”
Legend’s eyes narrow. “What do you mean?”
Sky looks back down at his hands.
Another theory is beginning to form in Four’s mind now, joining with the previous one, enlarging it, and embellishing it until things start to make sense. A theory born out of something Sky has said before, a snippet he had overheard and tossed aside in favor of giving his full attention to fighting the Yiga that had taken Wild captive.
“I’m sorry, champion,” the Skyloftian had said as he had helped Warriors tend to the boy’s wounds. “I was late…again. I’m sorry.”
“You blame yourself.” Four measures the words carefully, speaking each one with intricate precision. Lest he step in the wrong place and cause them all to plummet. “You blame yourself for what happened to Twilight.”
Sky lifts his bloodshot eyes. A tear wells in one of them then spills over to slither gracefully down his cheek.
“Why would you blame yourself?” Legend asks, even as comprehension burns in his violet irises. “It’s not your fault the rancher got hit. You weren’t even near him when it happened!”
“I was near enough.” Sky’s voice is quieter than ever now, more like a whisper than anything else. “I know the skyward strike. I could’ve hit that…that thing if I’d been…b-been faster.” His breath hitches. But to Four it sounds defeated more than panicked. “I was late and he paid for it. I’m a-always…”
He curls in on himself, weighed down by exhaustion, shuddering with pain and sorrow. Legend looks at Four and Four looks at Legend. Then, slowly, together they reach out and draw Sky into their arms.
It’s strange. Four hadn’t taken Legend for someone willing to show physical affection freely. But he embraces the Skyloftian as though it is no price to pay. As though he has done so before.
Long nights. A shuddering sob. Soft feet dressed in boots with wings adorning their sides. Whispers in the dark that exhaustion muddles before Four can make them out. Amethyst eyes staring from over a hazy cloud of silken white. Sliding shut as a larger form huddles deeper into an embrace.
Sky shivers again and Legend holds him tighter.
“It’s not your fault,” Four murmurs, pouring every ounce of confidence he possesses into those words and praying that it is enough. “It’s not your fault, Sky. You did everything you could do for him. There’s nothing else you could have done.”
Sky doesn’t reply.
They hold him, whispering assurances, as his tears wet their tunics and his fatigued body quakes beneath the burden he forces it to carry. They hold him until, at last, in the murky darkness, surrounded by carcasses of monsters and piles of resting sand, he drifts off.
In the arms of his brothers.
#trin writes#linked universe#linkeduniverse#lu sky#lu legend#lu four#hurt/comfort#emotional hurt/comfort#angst
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"Checklist, 1, 2, 3!"
also heya, first LU post! im,,, so normal about these guys (lies- ive been thinking So Hard for nearly a year, unsupervised)
#linkeduniverse#linked universe#lu hyrule#lu four#lu legend#my art#digital art#fanart#finally figured out how to draw people consistently enough that i could draw these guys#this was just me activating every single headcanon ive absorbed from yall#the bad news is i now have a constantly growing backlog of unfinished LU projects!!! :D#anyways felt bad about all the angst pieces in the works so this happened#theyre vibing your honor (IM NOT :D what does a 10h+ drawing do to me? *evaporates*)
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Different, Yet Similar
I woke up a few days ago with this fic in my head and for some reason I was able to write it out really quick, I don’t know how that happened XD I also decided it was the perfect opportunity to try out a slightly different writing style, and while I don’t think I’ll stick with it, it was an interesting experiment anyways :)
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“So... how did you guys all meet your Zeldas?”
Wind is the one to pose the question, said while looking around with curious eyes at the rest of the Links. Most of who now have varying expressions of surprise on their faces, the question unexpected.
“Why do you ask, sailor?” Time asks, his single eye watching him curiously. Wind shrugs, fiddling with one of the power bracelets that has taken permanent residence on his wrists. They’re good for fidgeting with, he’s found.
“I’m just curious if any of us met ours similarly or not.” His mouth turns up into a grin. “I mean, I met Tetra after she got dropped by a giant bird and got stuck in a tree. I’d bet none of you guys met yours quite like that.”
Snickers ring through the camp, though a few of the Links give the sailor mildly concerned looks as well. The nonchalance with which Wind speaks of the antics he and his princess get up to sometimes worries them.
“Was she okay?” Hyrule asks in concern, and Wind nods, waving him off with a small flick of his wrist.
“Totally fine. Tetra’s tough, it would take more than a fall from a giant bird to rattle her.”
“A giant bird?” Sky asks eagerly, perking up a little. Wind doesn’t perk up in return though, rather he cringes at the excitement in Sky’s voice.
This isn’t a giant bird like the kind Sky is used to.
“Not a nice one,” he replies, thinking back to the crimson bird that was Sky’s best friend. “Ganondorf was using the bird to kidnap girls he thought might’ve been Zelda. Tetra had been grabbed, but she got dropped because her pirate crew managed to score a hit on the bird... the Helmarok king. He wasn’t nice,” Wind finishes more quietly, an unusual dark thread of anger in his voice.
Then he sighs, and shakes off the memories, looking around at the other Links in curiosity.
“So? How’d you guys meet your Zeldas?”
“Um... which one?” Hyrule asks hesitantly, scratching his neck. He’s in the rather unique position of knowing two princesses by the name of Zelda, a fact which often confuses his traveling companions. “I kinda have two...”
“Do both,” Wild says from where he’s seated nearby, and Hyrule nods.
“Okay. Well... there’s not really much to tell, honestly. For the first Zelda, I just met her after I defeated Ganon. He’d captured her, and after I defeated him I got her out and took her back to the castle.”
Hyrule laughs a little then, and looks up at the sky, constellations just starting to come into view.
“We were both a mess when I got into the place where he’d been keeping her; I was dirty and bleeding in multiple places, and Zelda had basically been living in a dungeon for a few weeks. It wasn’t exactly polite company,” he chuckles.
The others laugh a little at Hyrule’s story, though some of them wince in sympathy at the mention of his wounds. Fights with Ganon were never easy.
They’re all aware of how powerful their greatest foe is.
“How about your other Zelda? How did you meet her?” Sky asks, and Hyrule suddenly blushes for some reason, fidgeting with his bracers.
“Well um, she’d been cursed into a long sleep by an evil wizard, so when I first saw her she wasn’t even awake,” he admits. “But after I woke her up, that’s when I actually met her.”
“And what happened then?” Legend asks with a teasing smirk, having noticed Hyrule was still blushing.
The traveler’s cheeks darken a little, but he admits to nothing. “She said thank you for waking her up.”
“And how did she say thank you?” Wind asks with a mischievous look in his storm-tossed eyes.
Hyrule blushes even darker, but still admits to nothing— though the face he’s making says an awful lot. The others really don’t need to know about the kiss he received in thanks for waking the second Zelda: he knows he’ll never hear the end of it if they do.
Hyrule manages to meet Wind’s gaze without faltering, crossing his arms with a firm look.
“With her mouth, of course. How else would she say thanks?” he says a bit haughtily, and Time decides to intervene before poor Hyrule’s face turns any redder.
“I met my Zelda in a fairly simple way,” he says, and the other Links turn to look at him, abandoning their pursuit of getting an answer out of Hyrule in favor of listening to what Time has to say. Their unofficial leader rarely gives them details of his adventures, no less his version of the princess they’re all so familiar with. “I was... about nine, I believe, maybe ten.”
He sighs, shaking his head as he thinks back to when so much of his life had abruptly changed.
“I was instructed to go see her, but they didn’t want to let a mere child in at the gate. So I snuck into the castle to talk to her, and succeeded, more than once. The guards hated that a ten-year-old could get past them without being seen,” he says with a chuckle. “They weren’t terribly good at their jobs.”
“That’s a little like how I met my version of the princess,” Twilight says thoughtfully, a hand on his chin. “‘Course I didn’t sneak into the castle, I was trying to sneak out.”
“Why, were you in the dungeon?” Legend scoffs, and Twilight smirks.
“That’s exactly it, actually.”
Legend’s face turns to one of surprise, and more laughter rings out from the Links, especially from Wild.
“I was wondering when you were gonna tell them you’re an escaped convict,” he grins at his mentor, and Twilight swats at him with a look both fond and annoyed.
“I’m not an escaped convict,” he says with an eye roll. “The enemy had overtaken the castle, they’re the ones who threw me in there. I committed no crime.”
“Mmm, I’m pretty sure some of the stuff you’ve done counts as crime,” Wild cuts in again, a grin twitching at his lips. “What about the time you blew up that old—”
“Somebody else’s turn,” Twilight interrupts, putting a hand over Wild’s mouth, much to his annoyance. He’d rather wanted to be the one to tell the others about that particular incident.
“Smithy? How about you? You’re pretty good friends with your Zelda, right?” Twilight asks, ignoring the clamor of the others to elaborate.
Four nods, and a bright smile stretches across his face at the reminder of his closest friend.
“You’re right, I’ve known Zelda as long as I can remember,” Four begins as he sets aside the dagger he’d been sharpening, eyes warm. They suddenly dim a little though, and he clears his throat. “I think the first true memory I have of her was at my... a family member’s funeral.”
The other Links still as the smithy speaks, Twilight relinquishing his hold on Wild so they can both better hear. Four looks down at his hands as he thinks back to that day, but then a bit of a smile returns to his lips.
“She came because the family member knew the crown fairly well. We were the only kids there, so we ended up talking a lot... That’s when I really got to know her, and we’ve been close ever since,” he finishes quietly.
“That was similarly to how I met mine,” Sky says after a moment of silence, his voice soft. Four nods at him to continue, and Sky returns it with a bit of a smile. “I knew Zelda a little before, it was impossible not to on Skyloft. There’s not all that much space... but that was the problem when the sickness went through...”
He trails off, then shakes his head as if to clear it, hair falling in his face as he takes a steadying breath.
The memory of the death of his parents isn’t one he likes to linger on, even if it inadvertently led to him becoming friends with Zelda.
“Anyways,” Sky continues, clearing his throat, “I ended up living in the Knight’s academy before I was old enough to attend, and since Zelda lived there with her father as well, we played together all the time. It was inevitable we’d at least become friends.”
“You became a bit more than just friends though, or so I’ve heard,” Warriors says slyly, and Sky blushes as the laughter returns. The captain’s attempt at lightening the mood has succeeded.
“We... haven’t officially become anything,” Sky says simply, and the rest of them shoot each other knowing looks. It’s no secret that Sky is head-over-heels for his Zelda. It’s only a matter of time before something becomes official.
Sky looks back at Warriors then, the captain still chuckling a little over the reaction to his comment.
“You haven’t told us how you met your Zelda, captain,” he points out, and Warriors’ laughter peters off, a fond look replacing the mirth in his eyes.
“Ah, you caught me. Mine is complicated though,” he says with a slightly distant tone in his voice, and the others settle in to listen again. Warriors has mentioned more of his Zelda than some of the others, but not everything they’ve done or been through.
And while he speaks of her with nothing but professionalism, there’s a fondness in his eyes that a few of the Links have picked up on, one that speaks of a deeper bond.
One that nobody’s called him out on yet, but it’ll only be a matter of time.
“I only sort of met her the first time,” Warriors begins, leaning back on the log where he’s seated. “The war had just started, and things were... complicated, to say the least. Messy. She disguised herself to keep her identity safe, so I didn’t truly meet Zelda for quite some time.”
“But when you did?” Wind asks eagerly, and Warriors chuckles.
“It was worth the wait. But I got to know her while she was disguised, so in a way... I already knew her,” he says with a bit of mystery, and Time smiles from the opposite side of the fire.
Time still remembers the day Sheik shed her disguise and revealed herself to be the princess. Warriors was so shocked he’d said something rather idiotic, and Artemis had laughed at him a bit nervously, and then the two of them had gone off to have a long overdue conversation about her true identitiy.
Time won’t bring it up though. He’ll let Warriors keep a few of his secrets yet.
“That leaves... Wild and Legend left who haven’t said anything,” Wind says after a moment, counting off on his fingers.
The two look up at their nicknames, but Wild has a slightly uncertain look in his eyes, and Legend seems oddly stone-faced. Wind looks between the two, and debates for a moment which one to ask first.
Hyrule beats him to it.
“Champion, do you... remember meeting your Zelda the first time?” Hyrule asks a bit hesitantly. The others quiet at the question, and look as one over at Wild.
They’re all aware of Wild’s memory problems, but nobody except for maybe Twilight is truly aware of the extent they reach their blank grip into the champion’s mind. He still doesn’t remember much of his old life, merely a handful of memories recovered here and there that snatch him out of the life he’s currently living, then return him just as abruptly.
But meeting Princess Zelda is not one of these.
“Nope,” Wild says lightly, somewhat in opposition to the serious mood that has fallen over the heroes. “Not at all. I have no clue how we first met... knowing what she thought of me, I probably accidentally insulted her.”
The heroes chuckle good-naturedly, and Wild waits for the sound of their laughter to fade before continuing.
“No, I don’t remember how we originally met. My first true memory of Zelda isn’t when I met her... whenever that must have been.”
A soft smile parts his lips.
“It... was her voice. Back when I was still asleep. Calling to me, urging me awake once the shrine had finally finished healing me. She guided me when there was nobody else, told me my name, and though I didn’t even remember hers... that was when I first met Zelda.”
Twilight gives his shoulder a squeeze, and Wild lets him, a look full of several conflicting emotions settling on his face.
Warmth is the one that shows itself the most though, and a ghost of a smile flits across Twilight’s face when he sees it.
“How about you, Legend? You’ve been pretty quiet,” Four asks, changing the focus to give Wild some privacy. The prickly veteran tugs his cap tighter over his hair in response, hiding a few more strands of the pink that’s still fading away.
“She called to me too,” he says, voice oddly emotionless. “Woke me up in the dead of night and asked for help, with nothing but her voice.”
Something flickers in his gaze, but it’s gone so quickly nobody can quite catch what it is.
“She guided me to the castle, and I managed to find my way to where she’d been imprisoned in her own dungeon by the forces of darkness. I freed her, and that’s where I met her,” he finishes.
“That’s it?” Wind asks in confusion, a slight tilt to his head, and Legend nods.
“That’s it.”
It’s short and to the point, and while some of the heroes nod, the others that are more aware of how their veteran works pick up on the holes in the story.
The Hero of Legend may seem sharp and fearless, but even he has weak points, moments where he has felt neither like a hero nor strong enough to ever be one. These moments he’s purposefully left out of this story, important though they may be.
These are not moments he shares freely. And especially not during what’s supposed to be a lighthearted answer to the boundless curiosity of the youngest member of their group.
“See sailor? None of us met our Zeldas the same way you did,” Legend says with a smirk, easily changing the subject, and Wind hums, looking around at the heroes as he fidgets with his bracelets again.
“That’s true. But there’s similarities between all of them,” he points out, “and some of them are really similar, like yours and Wild’s.”
“Hyrule’s second one was a bit like Wild’s too,” Twilight points out. “Just reversed.”
“And Twilight’s was kind of like the old man’s,” Hyrule mentions with a bit of wonder to his voice, and that sends the group into a flurry of comparing and contrasting the differences, debating the finer points and wondering if the similarities mean anything.
Four though, hangs back from the conversation, not as willing to discuss things. As he looks around the clearing, he notices he’s not the only one either, and he slips around the fire to where the veteran has retreated, watching the others in silence.
Sky sees him go, but doesn’t comment. He knows what the smithy is doing.
“Hey,” Four greets as he settles down, and Legend doesn’t look at him.
“You need something?” the veteran asks with a sharpness in his voice that threatens to slice Four into pieces. The smithy ignores it, well used to Legend’s prickliness, and continues to sit, watching the others keep on with their loud discussion.
“No. I just didn’t want to keep listening to... all of that,” Four says with a slight smile, watching as Wind lunges across Warriors’ lap to grab at Wild for some reason.
Legend doesn’t reply, face still stony.
Four doesn’t directly look at him, but he watches the veteran from the corner of his eyes, seeing how tightly he’s wound, how his expression is set in a way that seems to be solely for the purpose of keeping it from cracking into something vulnerable.
It’s a familiar look, one that Four’s seen on his own face. There’s a part of him that’s like that, sometimes, but that just means he knows somewhat of how to deal with it... whether Legend wants him to or not.
“It was my mother,” Four says suddenly, breaking the silence.
Legend looks over at him, a flicker of surprise joining the crease on his brow. He appears rather taken aback, and Four waits for his reply.
“What was?” the veteran asks. Four looks up at the sky for what feels like a long, long time before replying, and Legend almost wonders if he’s ever going to speak.
“The funeral where I met Zelda,” Four continues, voice full of a bittersweet pain. “It was my mother’s.”
Legend stares at him a moment, unsure of how to reply.
“You don’t have to say anything,” Four continues, still looking up. His eyes are a reddish color, hints of green and blue peeking through that allude to the emotions he’s keeping a steady control of. “I just wanted you to know... you’re not the only one who didn’t meet Zelda under the... best circumstances.”
Four continues to watch the stars, and Legend swallows, his stony indifference cracking despite his best efforts.
Legend doesn’t like to admit it, but despite how carefully he closes himself off, sometimes he’s just as expressive as Wind— what he doesn’t say actually saying more than anything he admits to. And it looks like Four, dealing with a similar pain, has seen right through him.
The veteran is silent for a long time, listening to the others laugh and carry on, and Four sits beside him in equal silence, waiting for as long as Legend needs.
“My uncle,” he whispers finally, and Four squeezes his shoulder.
He doesn’t say anything more. And he doesn’t need to.
#weird ending but everything else I tried was worse XD#linkeduniverse#linked universe#all the links#lu legend#lu four#linked universe fanfic#lu fic#writing from the floor#hurt/comfort#I hate naming fics YEECH#legend angst snuck in here it wasn’t originally about him
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This "comic" is inspired by the LU fanfic Smoke & ashes by @illegiblehandwriting1
(for illeg: lamento tardarme tanto, pero espero que te guste, traté de esforzarme muchisimo.)
If you want to read Sky angst, please read this amazing fanfic.
Linked universe belongs to Jojo.
I would apreciate it a lot your likes and reblogs ;3
My first language is spanish, if i have mistakes, please tell me.
please do not repost my art.
This is Sky's Point of view.
#linkeduniverse#linked universe#lu sky#lu twilight#lu time#lu warriors#lu hyrule#lu wild#smoke&ashes#lu four#lu legend#sky angst
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LU Writer Appreciation Project 2023
hosted by @seekingseven (love yoouu!!)
My gift for RLin based on chapter 16 of their fanfic Four's a Crowd
Guys, this scene is deep and I didn’t feel like one drawing could do it justice so I decided do a comic instead. All of the emotion Legend was feeling here, is just WOW. However, there was only so much I could portray here, for Legend’s actual thought though process, I recommend reading the full story and chapter.
#ahh idk if rlin has a tumblr or not#im very satisfied with this comic#my poor baby is suffering#four doesnt know#linked universe#linkeduniverse#linked universe discord#fanfic#fanfiction#ao3#4aC#luwap#luwap 2023#clorieden#angst#comic#lu legend#lu four
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Time: I don’t want you to see this. Look away, kids, and try to remember me smiling.
Twilight: Looks like this is where we part ways. Never forget—you’ve already made me proud.
Warriors: You’ll have to find it in your heart to forgive me. I don’t think I’ll be able to give this back to Legend.
Hyrule: I’m not going to say it again. Run.
Legend: I don’t want to do this, but someone has to. And I refuse to let it be one of you.
Wild: Come on, I was already living on borrowed time. It was bound to run out eventually. Looks like the rest is up to you, now.
Sky: I have too much to say and too little time. Just look after each other. It’ll have to be enough. I’m sorry. I have to go.
Wind: So there’s no cure… good. That makes this easier.
Four: Thanks, everyone. It’s been fun. I’m going to do something exceptionally badass, now. Don’t die, or I’ll just look like an idiot.
//
Last words.
#when a couple stray doodles get way out of hand and take over your brain#squido draws#linked universe#linkeduniverse#digital drawing#tw death#lu time#lu twilight#lu warriors#lu hyrule#lu legend#lu wild#lu sky#lu wind#lu four#angst
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Eldritch Divinity
When the attack comes, it’s not an ambush. One moment the Chain are eyeing the trees off the path as they walk, and the next there are people in the trees. An aura, rotten and bloated, rolls off the figure that leads them. Dark Deity.
Wild hisses, hand tightening on his sword. Everyone in the group bears his Claim. While it’s easier to override an old, faded Claim, like Skull Kid had, it’s hard to take someone freshly Claimed. The champion isn’t going to give this evil a chance.
Dark Deity tilts his head as if meeting on a morning stroll. Despite their distance from the river, fog still clings to the trees and dips of the land. Standing at the edge of it, eyes burning and leaking mist, Dark Deity is more amorphous mass than hylian.
“Hylia might have done her best to hide her pets, but even she can’t protect you forever.” Behind him, hylians shift in the mist. It’s hard to see how many there are. They slide too smoothly and Wild’s reminded again of joints too loose to hold them up.
Are they the same hylians who surrounded Dark Deity before? Or are these his hylians, from Wild’s era? Will he see the face of someone he knows as he cuts them down?
Dark Deity steps forward again. His double helix sword is held casually, like an afterthought. The teeth of them gleam—clean this time.
It’s Wind, from somewhere behind him, who yells, “Where are the monsters?”
When the deity laughs, it’s the scrape of rocks crushing everything in its path. “I found the leader of that pathetic rabble. He might have put up a fight, but the monsters did not. Fighters need cunning.”
Reaching out, he strokes the head of a hylian like it’s a pet. There’s no response in the dead eyes. Just dark ochre dripping like tears.
“I won’t leave anything up to chance. Or intervention by the goddesses. What did they ever do for us?” The end of the question comes out a hiss. “Left to rot and suffer, surrounded by screams of pain and agony. Innocents, sacrificed in the name of the royal family. Of justice.” Dark Deity spits and a fang presses against his lip.
“Who are you?” Wild asks.
“An echo. A memory. A thousand hurts left to fester and join. I am the wrong the blessed hero leaves behind.”
It’s no more of an answer than the first time the question was asked in Arbiter’s Ground. Or maybe it is. Wild isn’t going to take this moment to pull about the nuances. What matters is that Dark Deity is a product of dark magic, the Fierce Deity mask, and Time’s body, all being misused.
Dark Deity’s aura roars over them and the Chain grunts under the weight of it. Without Wild’s Claim, they’d have run screaming long ago. Now, the boys ready their weapons and spread out, keeping an eye on not only the deity but the soldiers as well.
“I think we’ve talked long enough, little hero. This ends today.”
Wild is about to switch his sword for a claymore when the hilt of a sword is pressed into his hand. He glances down, then to the side to see Sky’s firm nod. The Master Sword sings in his palm. The chosen hero doesn’t give him a chance to protest, just plucks the unused sword from Wild’s hand.
The divinity in the sword sings to him and something deep inside sings back. Dark Deity’s smile fades and he steps forward. The possessed hylians follow.
Read the rest here!
#eldritch adventures#eldritch wild#lu fierce deity#fierce deity#lu time#lu warriors#lu sky#lu twilight#lu wild#lu legend#lu hyrule#lu four#lu wind#linkeduniverse#linked universe#eldritch horror#my writing#breannasfluff#angst
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Thinking about Wind hiding an injury from the rest of the Chain in an effort to prove that he's just as capable, just as strong as they are. He can handle himself.
(Nevermind that his injury would end up being one of the worst the Chain had ever seen.)
After hours of straining himself and angrily batting away concerned hands and gazes, he can't go on anymore. He feels his legs give out under him, feels white hot pain rocket through his body when Legend catches him just before he hits the ground.
The Chain panics when they see their baby brother collapse like a limp puppet, and Legend can't get the image of Wind's blood coating his hands out of his head.
At some point, Wind feels himself being placed into a soft bed, and at another he feels a warm potion slip down his throat accompanied by the warm tingle of fairy magic that soothes his wounds.
Wind fades in and out of consciousness for days, time blurring together. In his feverish delirium he mistakes Four for Aryll, letting slip the truth of how scared he was when he saw Aryll get kidnapped, how scared he was when he was thrown into the sea, how he didn't expect to wake up again. How he knew he'd failed her.
(The Chain's hearts break as they hear him apologize to thin air over and over until he once again passes out. "I'm sorry, Aryll," he whimpers, "I'm sorry you have such a weak brother who couldn't even protect you.")
When he finally wakes lucidly a week later, the Chain is tearfully relieved that he's alive. Wind learns that he nearly died multiple times as they rushed him to an Inn.
Wind is flooded with guilt when he sees Hyrule unconscious on the bed next to him, clearly suffering from extreme magical exhaustion.
After more recovery and a thorough scolding by the Chain to "Never do that again or so help me I'll kill you myself," Wind feels safe.
His brothers will eventually ask him questions about what he said, and Wind will finally be comforted and assured that he did his best and protected his baby sister so, so well. That he was enough. That Wind was a hero, through and through.
But for now, Wind starts with promising to never hide an injury again. :)
edit: THIS IS NOW A FIC! check pinned :)
#linked universe#wind linked universe#lu wind#legend linked universe#hyrule lu#hyrule linked universe#angst#whump#injury#four linked universe#four lu#theyre all there#just not all mentioned#hehe they r fambly#hiding injury
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Memento
Whumptober Day 22: Glass Shard
Characters: Four, Sky, everyone else is there
Trigger warnings: Self-harm, it’s unintentional but it’s there, minor nudity, panic attacks, a special kind of unreliable narrator, many bad decisions are made
Read on Ao3!
-----
The portal looks like any other. It’s only as he steps through that Four registers something – off – as his awareness stretches and spirals and f r a y s
They’re scattered in the void between stars, drowning and endless, flecks of insignificance against a being so much greater that the scale of it is lost to them.
OUTSIDE EQUIPMENT IS FORBIDDEN.
Their body doesn’t exist right now. It’s so easy for the entity to strip them down to their essentials, their skin and their blood and their bones, leaving everything else behind in the void. Peeling away everything that isn’t them, their sword, their tunics, the cord at their throat –
No!
In this moment-between-moments they’re barely a spark of thoughts, a soul in potentia, and every fibre of their being curls tight and defensive against the gentle tug. Over their heart, they wrap threads of lightning and fire around a faint and faded glimmer. They resist.
The entity tugs again.
No no no don’t take it please don’t take it I can’t lose it I can’t lose him I can’t –
The entity… pauses.
They cling tighter. I won’t let you take it.
ALL OUTSIDE EQUIPMENT IS FORBIDDEN.
They keen in soundless protest. Mine-his-only-thing-left-grief-and-horror-and-mourning–
…ALL OUTSIDE EQUIPMENT IS FORBIDDEN. BUT A TRINKET THAT GRANTS NO ADVANTAGE… THAT, I CAN ALLOW.
And they’re flooded with relief a split second before they’re flooded with sound and light and ow.
Everything always tingles for a few seconds, after teleportation. All his pieces realising they’re still alive, registering protests about the sand beneath him, the chill of the air, the ache in his tightly-clenched hand –
“What the fuck –”
“Who took my rings –”
“WHERE IN DIN’S NAME ARE MY PANTS?!”
Everyone else is discovering they’ve been stripped of their equipment and are reacting accordingly. Four sits up slowly, flexes his throbbing fingers just enough to check –
A thin cord tugs at his neck; razor edges bite into his palm. The necklace is safe. He didn’t lose it. It’s safe.
He shudders out a sigh, hot and cold playing over his bare skin. After the panic attack, all of them slammed together in united desperation, everything feels kind of muffled. There, but unimportant. Even everyone’s noisy agitation isn’t worth responding to – no one is missing, no one is hurt, they’re just upset. They don’t need him for that.
“Four – shit, Four, you’re bleeding–!”
He realises what they’re reaching for almost too late. “No!” he yelps. “No don’t touch it it’s mine don’t take it no no no–” The sand is cool and slippery under their feet as they scrabble back. There’s a wall, there’s a corner, there’s nowhere to run so they huddle instead, curled protectively around the hand holding his necklace and keening high and panicked.
“Don’t take it,” he gasps, “please don’t.”
“It’s okay,” someone soothes, “it’s okay. I won’t take it. I’m just worried about your hand. It’s bleeding; are you hurt? I’m not going to take anything from you. I just want to see your hand. Do you think you can do that?”
Panting, Four peeks out of his defensive ball. Sky is there, not too close, crouched far enough away to give him some space. His tentative smile widens when he sees Four looking back at him.
“I promise I won’t take it,” he repeats. “Can you take a deep breath for me? Please?”
Aware he’s being handled and annoyed by it, Four obeys only out of spite. Breathing the full depth of his lungs hurts. It takes a few gasping starts to get all the way down, and by then the green-grey panic has faded from the edges of his vision.
“I hate that this shit works,” he says in a sapphire-tinted growl.
Sky is infuriatingly patient. “If it didn’t work, we wouldn’t ask you to do it. Do you think I’d be able to take a look at your hand now? Please?”
As the adrenaline fades it is starting to hurt. And… it’s Sky. He… they trust Sky.
Mostly, indigo murmurs.
Slowly he uncurls his fingers, wincing crimson as the pain flares. Blood runs down his bare arm. It’s still a struggle to let go enough to switch the blood-streaked pendant to his other hand. His heart drops into freefall for the instant it takes his fingers to close, only steadies when the edges bite just enough to register. Only then does he let Sky take him by the wrist.
Welling up from the ragged cuts, blood drips to the sand; Sky frowns in concern. “Some of these look deep… does anyone have a potion? Bandages, even? I seem to have misplaced my kit…”
“No,” says Wild, grimacing. “It’s… I’ve only ever seen one of these before, but the shrine keeper takes everything as you come in. Weapons, equipment, armour.”
“Fucking clothes,” Legend mutters.
“You don’t even wear pants to start with, Legend,” says Twilight.
“That doesn’t mean I want to go naked!”
“Magic’s probably still on the table, if you have the strength for it.” Wild shoots Hyrule a hopeful look.
Without meaning to Four tenses when Hyrule gets close.
“I’m not going to take it from you,” Hyrule says, repeating Sky’s words from earlier.
Four flushes with dull embarrassment. “Sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry for scaring you.” Moving more slowly, Hyrule carefully lays his fingertips on Four’s bleeding hand. They start to glow, a gentle spring green, and Four watches the self-inflicted cuts fade away, leaving smears of blood behind.
“Thanks,” he says. Then, to avoid the inevitable questions, he forces himself to stand, looks straight at Wild, and ploughs onwards: “So, how do we get out of here?”
“Well, assuming this is some kind of shrine, it could vary. Sometimes they’re… moving puzzles. Like, you have to move a ball down a path, but there are lasers in the way that will knock you into a pit if you don’t block them somehow. Or you have to reach a high area but there’s no ladder, but there are things that you can pile up into like a really lopsided set of stairs. Other times they’re combat trials – you have to defeat a certain monster, or a group of monsters, to make the final door open.”
Wind makes a noise of understanding. “Oh, so it’s just a dungeon then. Cool.”
Wild frowns. “I… dunno? You guys always made dungeons sound, like, super drawn out. These are like. Two, maybe three tasks, and you’re done. The steals-all-your-shit shrine was the worst for that alone but it was also a combined combat-puzzle thing. I guess you didn’t have to fight the monsters to get the balls, but it was a lot easier carrying them around if you didn’t also have to dodge arrow fire.”
“And you did this without armour or a sword?” says Warriors, somewhere between aghast and impressed.
“I broke a lot of sticks,” Wild agrees. “I would have given so much for even the crappiest sword, but I’ve never been able to get anything past the shrine keeper.”
“Thought you said you’d only seen one of these?” Legend runs his fingers over his knuckles again. It’s an unconscious motion, missing his rings.
“Well I ran the first time, didn’t I?” says Wild reasonably. “Panicked and ran for it. When I got far enough away the monk gave me all my shit back. I tried a couple times to sneak stuff in, throw it from the raft or whatever, but no dice. How’d you do it, Four?”
Four’s hand tightens. Hot blood starts to seep into the spaces between his fingers, something sharp like panic coiling around his heart.
“Steady, Four,” says Sky. “Deep breaths. Shit, you’re bleeding again – Wild!”
“I’m sorry! I was just curious!”
Four wants this over with. Why can’t they just leave them alone, fuck, they’re always asking and poking and so goddamn nosy, they never let things go, he can see their burning curiosity and knows what they want, he can feel it pressing in on his heart –
If he doesn’t think about it too hard, the words can stumble out. “I felt it – and – I fought it.”
Legend frowns. “You fought it for your necklace? Why not your sword – hell, your shirt?”
“How did you even feel it?” Wind demands. “One second we were walking into a portal and the next we’re stripped to our skivvies! There was no time!”
“Time’s more flexible than you think,” they say absently. Their fingers shift, making glass cut twilight-sharp, and their heart steadies.
“When the portal – when we entered the shrine – there was a moment where – Wild called it the shrine keeper – I – felt it. Taking everything away. Bag. Sword. Clothing. But –” his hand twitches again. Sky hisses as more blood hits the sand. “I couldn’t let them take this. It’s the only thing I have of my best friend.”
The words fall from his lips in blood red and bruise purple and he meant to say them but he didn’t and he regrets them but he doesn’t. The pendant is important, they can’t lose it, they need the others to understand that –
Their mind turns inward. What if they hadn’t – convinced them? What if the shrine keeper had taken the fragile shard of glass –
Give it back! It’s like an echo of a memory, too-sharp and too-clear. Please give it back, please!
Their fingers tighten. Pain swells, drowns out the almost-memories, and stays a constant drumming throb even when they relax.
Unease runs viridian.
“–our, I need you to take a breath for me, can you do that? C’mon, head up, you can do it –”
Calm and steady, Sky’s voice draws them from the almost-flashback. It’s harder this time – they hurt, and they’re tired, and the grief isn’t lurking so much as clawing up their spine. The world presses in on them. They hurt, Green-Red-Blue-Vio all caught up in we-miss-him-we-miss-him-we-miss-him. It makes everything harder, when all they want to do is fall deep and curl up in mirror-shard memories that hurt the same way they do. (The pain is comforting.) (They know it shouldn’t be.)
When they’re like this, when they can’t find the balance that lets them be Four instead of four, when they don’t even want to – someone has to take the reins. Someone who’s capable of at least pretending to be a person, for a while – and this time, that’s Red. Red, who feels things so intensely he circles right back around to ‘functional’. Who manages to take a full breath of air even through the tears, making Sky smile encouragement.
“Good! Good job, just keep it up, you’re alright.”
Red wants the smile, wants the comfort just as much as he hates it. It’s wrong. Too big, the wrong shape, smells of feathers and sunlight instead of smoke and steel. Another stuttering breath rips through his chest. He misses them so much – misses them all, even when they’re right there with him because it’s not the same. And there’s nothing he can do about it except breathe, and cry, and wait for the storm to pass.
Hyrule inches closer. “Four, you’re bleeding again. Can I see your hand?”
Red breathes through the avalanche of fear and hurt and no. Checks – the bleeding isn’t bad – before shaking his head. “S’fine.”
“I don’t want to leave you in pain. Please?”
“No.” It comes out harsher than he intends.
“Okay, not right now. Can you let me know when you’re ready?”
Red hums agreement. Presses the hand against his sternum, feels the way it makes glass shift in his fingers.
“Just make sure you get it treated, little one,” Time says from nearby, deep and slow. “That’s your sword hand.” He’s – closer than Red had realised. They all are, actually.
“You gotta look after yourself!” Wild adds.
That is possibly the most hypocritical thing he’s ever heard Wild say, and for a moment he just stares. Then he gets distracted by Wind, bouncing and clearly relieved Four is looking more stable.
“It’s okay, Four! Wild says these don’t take long, so we’ll be out of here and back to normal in no time!” His eyes catch on Four’s hand – still clenched tight, still bleeding – and flicker uncertainly. Then he squeaks and flails in protest as Warriors scrubs a hand through his hair.
“Sailor’s right, it’ll be okay. Maybe talk to your friend next time you’re home? See about getting a spare – or somewhere safer to keep it?”
Twilight makes a noise of agreement. “Your friend must be real important to ya,” he says, “but you haven’t mentioned ‘em before. Can you tell us about them?”
Embers spark.
“He killed himself,” Four says boldly, “to save my life.”
There’s a brief, horrified silence.
Then everyone bursts out talking at once, Twilight’s frantic apologies mixing with Wind telling him off, Hyrule pleading to let him help, Warriors protesting something that gets lost in the commotion. They’re guilty, apologetic, desperately trying to help.
Red doesn’t care.
“I can’t just – get a new one, because it was his, and now he’s gone. He saved me – he saved all of fucking Hyrule – and people call me a hero when I couldn’t – I couldn’t even save him.” Under a layer of numb his skin is burning, with hurt, with anger, with the grief he holds close. He still feels so cold. It isn’t fair.
Time interrupts before he can dig his heels too deep. “How old were you?” His voice is gentle, almost distant.
“We were – we were both thirteen.” His voice cracks and he has to use his free hand to dash away angry tears. This is why he doesn’t talk about it, dammit.
Sky hugs him.
It’s more awkward than usual, without all their layers in the way – why does skin have to be so warm, and slightly sticky, ugh – but Sky is determined, and Four – doesn’t have it in him to protest, right now. Leaning into Sky’s chest, he lets himself relax – lets his fingers loosen, just a little, on the shard of mirror-glass.
They just want this to be over.
-----
When Four doesn’t fight him, just lets himself be held, Sky fixes the rest of the group with a sharp eye. “Wild, how fast can you get us through this?”
Wild’s back goes straight. “Depends on the tasks, usually doesn’t take more than an hour or two.”
“How do we get out afterwards?”
Wild glances around, grimacing. “Well, usually there’s a – a platform that carries you up and down, but I don’t see one here – this looks really different to what I’m used to, but it – it feels the same, I guess?”
Sky stays focused on problem solving. “Any other ways out?”
“The shrine keeper. When you approach them, the shrine keeper teleports you out.”
“Can we bypass the dungeon and go straight for the exit that way?”
“No, they – they’re always blocked off, you have to – the shrine wants you to do something, and you have to figure it out and – and actually do it, before the path opens – sometimes the problem is the path –”
“Okay, so it is like a dungeon,” says Legend. He’s tense, keeps flicking quick looks at Four and the way he’s standing unprotestingly in Sky’s hold. “How fast d’you think we can get through with multiple people helping?”
“Only one way to find out!” says Sky with false cheer.
Quickly they get themselves organised. There’s no equipment to outfit themselves with, no armour to check; all they can do is split into smaller groups to hopefully cover all corners as fast as possible. Legend makes a point of putting Warriors in the only group of three. Warriors complains, but’s mostly a front. He’s never experienced a dungeon before and is rightly wary, so putting him with two other people who have only makes sense.
Sky they leave to babysit Four, whose empty expression and slow reflexes are not convincing anyone that he’s capable of a dungeon run. Some traps have genuinely murderous timing. He’s also still refusing to let go of his necklace, which cuts him deep enough to bleed every time something makes him startle.
Once they’re gone, and the sandy hallway has gone still, Sky gently rocks on his feet, moving Four with him. “Hey, Four? You with me at all?”
Four gives a displeased grunt.
“Yeah, I know.” Sky’s heart hurts. “C’mon, let’s sit down again. The others will come get us later.”
Four goes with him when he tugs, crouching and then tumbling into a clumsy sit. His knees draw close to his face, seemingly without thought, going back to the defensive huddle with his bloodied hand at the centre. Stormy grey is alert, if sullen. Mostly Four just looks tired.
Sky sits beside him, not wanting to overwhelm him further. “It’s okay. They’re a lot sometimes, but they mean well.”
Four’s response is too muffled to translate.
“Sorry, Four, I didn’t catch that.”
“I’m tired of them asking!” he bursts out. “I’m tired of them asking about – about friends, and family, and do you have someone special waiting for you at home, and – it hurts, and I’m tired of it, and they won’t stop!”
And of course that was the danger in Red fronting when they were this emotional – what came out was what they felt, no deflecting or sugar coating, no way to hide after.
“I’m sorry,” Sky says. “I didn’t realise it was bothering you so much. I can talk to the others about it and make sure everyone stops.”
If they haven’t sworn off it already. Blue, sardonic, even through the grey haze cloaking their mind.
I feel bad, Green murmurs, they were just trying to help.
After such an outburst? Doubtless they feel worse than you do, says Vio.
“They should feel guilty,” Red mutters, and it’s shot through with indigo venom. “Maybe now they’ll shut up.”
Sky tightens the arm across his shoulders. “It’ll be okay.”
He feels helpless. Four isn’t usually – vindictive, like this. Nor prone to outbursts and fits of temper. Being stripped mostly naked would knock anyone off-balance, to say nothing of the desperate way Four is protecting his necklace, but – Sky just doesn’t know what to do. Four’s a lot more functional than he would be, after three panic attacks back-to-back, but how much of that is just a mask? How much is he really struggling to hold it together?
(Would Sky even be able to tell, when Four’s been hiding this for so long?)
He runs a hand through his hair, absent-minded, and catches on the lack of catching at his ears. “Aw, man. It even took my earrings. Wild did say it would give them back after, right?”
“…yeah.”
His sigh of relief is only slightly exaggerated. “That’s good. Those weren’t easy to get, you know.”
Four’s tired blink isn’t the most rousing expression of interest, but Sky launches into the story anyway. He has to let go of Four to make the gestures his hands want to, and – it’s fine. Four doesn’t collapse in on himself at the loss of contact. All he does is turn his head to watch Sky talk, eyes still a little too sharp.
Sky hopes the distraction helps. Involving Four hadn’t worked, but something completely outside of himself, something new to hold onto? Maybe it will help him calm down from the edge of panic he’s been riding since they first stumbled out of the portal.
It’s as he’s describing Scrapper and the Mogmas that Wind’s shout draws them both to look up. “Hey, guys! Legend cracked it!” He waves enthusiastically, like maybe they hadn’t yet noticed him standing in his skivvies at the end of the hall. “There’s a big statue but Wild doesn’t wanna mess with it ‘til everyone’s there! C’mon!”
Four refuses Sky’s hand to get up, though he’s a little shaky on his feet. Sky tries not to hover. He knows how annoying it is, having people looming close just waiting for you to fail, and at the same time, he doesn’t want Four to hurt himself if he stumbles and falls.
Wild was right: this isn’t nearly as long and complex as a dungeon. According to Wind, who chatters on as they make their way up the spiralling collection of ramps, they’d had to do a fair bit of work pulling things apart to make it traversable for anyone who wasn’t Wild. “It took him and Twilight and Legend with his power bracelets to move that block,” he waves at the massive piece of stone they’re walking over to the next bridge-like panel. “And then Wild used his slate for these metal pieces, except he kept dropping them, and his aim is shit, so Wars nearly fell in that pool getting out of the way.”
Sky snorts at the mental image.
When they make it to the top, they find the others loosely gathered around some kind of blocky statue. It looks like a cross between an owl, a fox, and a rabbit. What even needs ears that long?
Wild flashes them a strained grin over his shoulder. “So! Usually I find a ten-thousand-year-old Sheikah monk at the end of these things, but it’s got kinda the same feel to it, so we’re gonna try anyway. Just in case, everyone grab hold of me.”
That isn’t easy. Eight different people have to crowd around Wild’s back and sides to make sure everyone has a hand on him. Sky spots Four’s hand in the crush, still streaked with drying blood, and his stomach rolls.
“Okay, everyone ready? Here goes nothing.” Wild reaches out towards the statue.
For a long moment, nothing happens.
Then the world twists like a Time Gate, several things happening at once. A panel goes red – lights up green – a glimmering box of blue light shatters, flinging threads of glass before they freeze in midair – an angry buzzing noise – chiming fairy bells –
The statue smiles.
WELL DONE.
And as suddenly as it started, it all stops.
Sky fumbles a bit at the added weight, his sailcloth dragging at his shoulders and his earrings suddenly heavy in his ears. Time’s armour makes a crashing noise like it had been dropped from a height; Time grunts.
They’re outside, grass under their feet and a weird teardrop-shaped stone building behind them. Sky doesn’t know where they are – it’s all hills and fields and low-hanging trees – but there’s no monsters in eyeshot so he uses the opportunity to double check all his belongings were returned. Earrings, sailcloth, clothes – check. Bag – check, and it looks like the contents are intact. Master Sword and scabbard, fucking goddessdamned check. He did not appreciate losing her, even for a couple of hours.
Around him the others are doing much the same, adjusting clothes and checking packs. Legend’s running his fingers over his rings like he’s counting them, while Warriors struggles to get his mail to sit right over his bad shoulder.
And Four –
All Sky catches a glimpse of is black and glossy and strangely clean of blood before Four is shoving the pendant down the neck of his tunic, out of sight.
The difference is immense. All the tension drops out of his shoulders, he stops standing hunched in on himself, even his face relaxes from its hard, suspicious lines. There’s still creases around his too-red eyes – he’s still feeling the effects of the panic and stress of the day – but he looks more himself.
He even smiles at Wind’s little dance of happiness at getting his pants back. “Aren’t you the first one to strip every time we find a lake?”
Brightening at the sound of his voice, Wind spins to face him and beams. “Yeah, but that’s different! Lakes are fun! This was just annoying.”
“You shoulda heard him whine when we asked him to scale that rope,” says Legend.
Wind makes an outraged noise. “You try climbing coarse hemp with no pants! I ain’t a fan of splinters in me privates!”
The laughter and bickering is slightly strained. Even as Hyrule creeps up and is finally, finally allowed to heal his torn-up hand and wipe away the blood, everyone’s giving Four his space. Not pushing, not demanding things of him, just letting him exist with them.
Good. Sky will still catch them up individually, make sure everyone knows Four’s had enough of personal questions, but for now at least, everything is okay.
Wild finishes what he was doing – taking photographs of the weird building? – and waves his Slate at everyone. “Definitely my Hyrule! If we head north, we should make it to Castle Town by nightfall.”
“Isn’t your Castle Town still mostly construction site?” Legend says, and Wild shrugs.
“If you wanna spend two days walking to Kakariko, be my guest, but there’s at least a temporary stable and inn at Castle Town.”
“I vote beds,” says Wind immediately.
Sky agrees – from the look of the sun, they’re mid-afternoon, so being just a couple of hours away from safety is very appealing. It only takes a little debate for Legend to give in, since he doesn’t want to sleep on the ground if he doesn’t have to, either. As they set off through the grass, Sky scans the group one last time.
Twilight’s up the front with Wild, Hyrule looking on in fascination as Wild waves at a herd of horses and threatens to catch one. Warriors is close enough to intervene if necessary, while Legend is deliberately ignoring them in favour of studying the landscape – in the opposite direction of Wild’s horses. Wind has dragged Time into a conversation about his armour, with Four – steady and reserved once more – chiming in here and there about plate maintenance.
Sky takes a deep breath, and lets the tension run out of him as he exhales.
For now, everything’s okay.
#whumptober 2023#linked universe#lu fic#skies writes#lu four#lu sky#lu wind#lu wild#lu twilight#lu legend#lu hyrule#lu warriors#don't @ me if your fave did a dumb#they are all stressed and dumb rn#i debated having this like a ‘you can keep ONE THING’ but decided the incidental nudity would probably not be conducive to good angst#regarding four and who’s speaking at any one time: if it’s not clear it's not meant to be clear#:)#I know there are ways to get equipment onto eventide#but i like imagining the monk sitting there watching link’s attempts to bypass it rolling its eyes and going ‘i can’t let you do that dave'
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Lu Angst
Y’all inspired me to write my take on this post of mine. Hope y’all like it
“Only the one who’s laid low the most innocent lives may open this door.” A voice echoed in all their heads. The door behind them had already closed and locked itself.
“I hate magic.” Four grumbled, “This is an obvious ploy to make us all paranoid about each other. I say we all try to open it. Whoever can open the door doesn’t have to explain. Agreed?”
“I’ll spare us all the trouble.” Warriors walked up to the door, “There are many casualties in war, and the enemy doesn’t see themselves as villains.” He pushed against the large doors, but they didn’t budge.
The Captain was genuinely stunned. He’d been so confident. Who else had caused as much havoc to innocent lives as he had? He’d started the war in the first place. Every life lost was on his head.
He hardly noticed Time step up beside him, “You weren’t the only one who fought in the war.” He whispered, “I did a lot before the war too. Let me try.” The older attempted to push open the door, only for the same result. It held stubbornly still.
Time felt a drop of relief. All the times he’d failed didn’t count. Every time he’d reset those same three days were struck from the record. Time pulled Warriors away from the door. While neither of them were guilt free, they could feel a little better knowing they weren’t the only one.
“Wait. If the monsters think their the good guys, does this just mean biggest monster body count?” Wind tapped his chin as he thought.
“I hadn’t thought of that.” Sky admitted.
“Only one way to find out. I don’t think I’ve cause anyone innocent any harm, but I have killed a lot of monsters.” Wind walked confidently toward the door and pushed. It didn’t budge.
“Maybe you haven’t killed the most monsters?” Hyrule suggested.
“Monsters or not,” Wild put his hand to the door, “None of you failed to save the kingdom.” He took a deep breath and pushed the door. It didn’t move.
Sky patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Besides, we don’t know what it means by innocents.” Sky then pushed against the door as well. The curse Demise had put on his very spirit ran through his head. None of them would have suffered had he finished the Demon Lord off faster. “Oh well. It was worth a shot.”
Only four of them had yet to try. Four silently attempted. He didn’t think it was him from the start, but it was nice for that to be confirmed.
Legend had been at the back of the group the whole time. He scrunched up his face at each attempt. With just him, Hyrule, and Twilight left he couldn’t avoid it any longer. He marched forward and pushed the door. It swung open with little to no force. He’d been right. He didn’t want to admit it at first, but he’d been right. “No real person is truly innocent.” No. that gave away too much. “It was a trick question. I just didn’t think about any of my mistakes.”
The only truly innocent people were those in dreams. There was no right and wrong in a simple dream. No one was guilty or innocent. No one except the one who chose to end all it.
#linked universe#linkeduniverse#lu legend#lu hyrule#lu wild#lu twilight#lu four#lu time#lu wind#lu warriors#lu angst#I wrote the angst prompt with this in mind#y’all took it every way though#I love it#lu fic
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day 8 - Snoots the bear
Based off of my friend @kikker-oma’s Snoots the Bear artwork! Go check her out :D
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The air was cool and crisp as Wild walked through the forest. Don’t get him wrong, joining the chain was one of the best things that happened to him (even if it was worst case scenario.) but sometimes, it was nice to be Link again.
He literally is titled “Hero of the Wild”. It’s fitting he feels best when nothing stands between you and the earth around you. The rustling of bushes, the chirps of birds, or the tall branches that surround you.
All of a sudden a loud rustle came from behind him. The blonde whipped his head back to find a large lump of fur.
“Sweet Hylia,” Wild slowly tensed as he walked closer to the bear, “You’re absolutely stunning.” The champion reached out to touch a lump of his fur. The bear in return nuzzled into Wild, his head perfectly fitting between his chest and arms.
“You have a big nose… so I’m gonna name you Snoots.” Wild smiled, “I can’t wait to show you to the others!” The blonde wrapped his arms around the bear. His soft fur providing a pillow like cushion before he began to climb up.
It took a while to not slip off, but eventually, it was pretty similar to riding a horse. Except the horse was a huge ball of fluff, and wasn’t even a horse.
The boy rode the bear until sunset came around, and his energy depleted. Exploring was not an easy task, especially since he hadn’t got the chance to in so long. The bear’s soft fur provided a comforting surface as Wild dozed off.
However, the next day proved to be not as comforting as the last. The hero slowly blinked awake to the sun as it filtered through the mountains. That wasn’t the reason he woke up though, he felt a faint tapping on his shoulder.
“Wild, wake up.” Time’s whispering was softer than the gentle wind, but still enough to wake up the sleeping champion, “We need you to guide us to Hateno. Remember?” Right, the whole save-the-world thing. How could I forget? Wild most certainly did not want to deal with Time right now. He just met the bear, and he’s soft and adorable and-
“Champ, we need you awake.” Time nudged again. Wild wasn’t the guy to have patience. He wasn’t the guy to give patience. Now I know how Sky feels.
“Lay off old man, I’m busy.” Wild grumbled as he nestled into Snoots. In return, the bear gave an approving huff. In the Champion’s defence, he is the hero of the Wild, of course out of all people you’d expect to befriend a bear, it would be him.
Warriors stepped over to Time, and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. The hero tried to protest but the captain cut him off, “Just let him, we have time.”
Time groaned and slowly reached out to pet the bear, “You’re lucky he likes you.” The man grumbled, “And you’re lucky I’m a good father figure.”
Snoots just gave a grunt in response and went back to letting the champion snuggle with him. Wild simply gave him a big hug and continued to pet his fur.
“But you are not letting him to camp. Four will freak, he’s already afraid of cats.”
“Come on!”
#Snoots the bear#lu wild#lu time#lu warriors#lu four#four is only briefly mentioned tho#I had so much fun writing this#An angst reprise
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@kikker-oma happy belated birthday!!! Sorry it took so long for me to finish this! But I hope it proves worth the wait <333 (Also I hope you don’t mind some whump)
CW for blood and injury, vomiting, a panic attack, and a cave-in (be careful if you’re claustrophobic)
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In the wake of the explosion, Sky feels nothing. There is a high-pitched ring in his ears, spots in his vision, warm, sticky blood trickling from his nose. But no pain.
Until there is.
It hits like a claymore, cleaving through the half-consciousness he has clung to thus far. And the next thing he knows, he’s jerking upward, gasping. Only, he can’t sit upright at all.
His mind screams the panicked order, his muscles attempt it, but a weak, agonizing twitch is all he manages. Something is holding him down, something massive and heavy. His chest struggles to rise beneath its constant compression.
Sky blinks again, squinting past the tiny eruptions of light and the dust that floats, thick and suffocating in the air around him. There is nothing much to see in the endless darkness. But he can make out jagged shapes, blocky forms, the outlines of sand-covered objects.
Caging him in. Holding him down.
He’s pinned, he realizes with a streak of mind-numbing terror. And suddenly, what little air he had managed to drag in turns to nothing at all. He gasps, eyes blowing wide, as he thrashes.
Or attempts to. All he manages is to bring on a fresh onslaught of dizzying agony. It strikes through to his very bones, sending sharp pricks of static dancing before his eyes and crawling up the back of his head. And for a split second, everything goes a striking shade of black.
Then, he’s breaching the surface once more, too soon, much too soon, skyrocketing back into a world of pain and suffocation.
Sky coughs, choking on blood and tears. He has never really considered himself claustrophobic, but this experience might just change that assumption. Of all the ways to die…
But you’re not, he berates himself. You’re not dead yet, so think, think. Figure out a way to survive.
He can’t reach his pouch. The rubble piled beside him makes certain of that. It presses against him, crushing his side and tugging at the hem of his sailcloth. But if he can move it just a bit…
Trembling hands press to its jagged surface. With a sharp intake of breath, Sky steels himself and pushes.
Something shifts and for a split second, Sky dares to hope that maybe, just maybe he can get free. But then, the rubble on his lower half crawls sideways with the rest. And Sky screams.
The nauseating numbness that had begun to take root vanishes, replaced with the absolute agony that splits through his legs. He turns his head to the side and chokes up bile.
That one moment seems to last forever, pain dancing along his body endlessly. He lies there, limp and gasping, gazing at the blurred splotches his vision has been reduced to. And the waves wash over him, stealing the air from his lungs and turning his thoughts into incomprehensible things.
Needles streak up his neck, bringing with them unnatural heat. His eyelids flutter, eyes preparing to roll back in his head and plunge him back into the painless deep.
“Sky!”
A hand finds his, desperate in the way it grasps at him. Sky inhales sharply, jolting back into some semblance of awareness.
He had thought no other heroes were near the blast. He had thought they were all clear of the area. So, why…
Wait.
Memories crash back into his mind like waves on the sea. Memories of a building crumbling behind him and a boy by his side, running, running away from the collapse, away from certain death. Memories of the fiery knowledge that had situated itself firmly in Sky’s gut, the knowledge that he must protect him, protect the hero who came after him.
Protect the hero who was the first to feel the brunt of his failures, no matter the cost.
His hands fly out on instinct to shove the small figure in front of him through the doorway. Echoes of a terrified voice in his mind as he leaps, meaning to follow, wanting to.
Only for darkness to catch him before he can.
Four. Sky’s breath hitches, a sob of relief and agony catching in his throat. Four is here with him. Four is alive.
And he came back.
“Sky, can you hear me?”
The Skyloftian focuses all his strength. Weakly, he squeezes Four’s hand. The smithy blows out an audible sigh of relief.
“Thank the goddesses. We’re gonna get you free, okay? We just need a minute. If we move anything now…”
Though he trails off, the words left unspoken weigh on the Skyloftian even more heavily than the rubble. He drags in a thin gasp, swallowing against the growing lump in his throat.
“But I need you to stay awake until we can get you out,” Four continues, forcing a lighter tone into his voice. “Can you do that?”
“Yes,” is what Sky means to say. “Hurts,” is the croaked cry that comes out.
Four’s grip tightens. “I know, Sky. I’m-I’m sorry.”
Sky closes his eyes. The darkness there is safer, more comfortable than the dusky dimness floating around him.
“Not your fa-fault.”
“You shouldn’t have pushed me.” The voice is grim and drenched in guilt. Though it aims to sound accusatory, Sky feels that it hardly meets the mark. “‘There was time. We could’ve both gotten out. We could’ve…”
“K-kept you safe.” It is hardly a croak. The word burns in his throat. “Smithy…I w-wanted to…”
He drags his eyes open, stares into the expanse of floating nothingness. He still can’t breathe.
“It’s the least I…could do.”
Four is silent for a long moment. Then, his fingers constrict just slightly. Their warmth is welcome in a world of cold darkness.
“You’re going to get out of there, Sky,” he murmurs and there is something in his tone that Sky cannot identify. Maybe he could if he wasn’t so tired. Far more than usual in fact. This exhaustion drags him down like a leaden weight, pulling at the remaining scraps of consciousness.
“Just hold on,” the smithy says, and Sky pushes back against the endless deep.
Hold on.
He can do that. He can…
“T-tell me about y-your Hyrule,” he croaks.
And Four does. The smithy has many secrets, perhaps, even as much as the old man, and yet, he tells him. Of his grandfather, of Dot, of his home and his world and the tiny creatures known as Minish.
Sky clings to every word that tells him more about the hero who followed after him and the land he fought to protect. He clings to the sound of his voice, the warmth of his fingers, the painting he paints of his life…until his brothers come.
And then, finally, finally, the world is opening back up and the sunlight is streaming in and he can drag in thin gasps of fresh air and…and Four is right there, still holding his hand but gazing down at him now. Concern gleams in his multicolored irises.
Sky offers him a weak smile. “‘M okay now, smithy,” he murmurs, every word agony. “T-thanks for…for staying.”
Four’s face splits into a grin. A teary one, but an expression of joy nonetheless. “I’ll always stay. It’s the least I can do for the person who paved the way.”
There is respect in those words, Sky realizes dimly. Respect and something else…A connection, perhaps, that is stronger even than their bond of brotherhood.
He deserves neither.
But as he lets his eyes slip shut, as the voices of his family swell around him and arms lift him with a gentleness that belies their strength…he is glad to know about their place in the timeline. He understands the look in Time’s eye a little better now, when he gazes upon Twilight.
He is proud of his successor too.
#I’m gonna post this on ao3 later today#but thought I’d put it here first#sorry again for the wait#life’s been nuts#but happy belated birthday!!!#I hope you enjoyed this <3#lu four#lu sky#linked universe#linkeduniverse fic#trin writes#whump#angst#hurt/comfort#blood tw#injury tw#panic attack tw#cave in
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