Chapter Text
Red eyes glowed in the darkness.
Hello there, Chosen Hero.
It's so good to see you.
Electric blue eyes flew open.
He shot straight up, breath coming in short, desperate gasps. His palms slipped on cold sweat and warm blankets. His eyes were wet. His throat constricted. A scream was ready at the tip of his tongue, but it was violently, reflexively swallowed.
His mouth snapped shut.
No no no no no why'd I fall asleep I can't fall asleep, someone will hear, someone will come, someone will reach her before me but I have to get to her, have to save her, have to be on time, can't be late. Need to stay awake, why didn't Fi wake me up? She knows she’s supposed to wake me up! Why didn't Fi wake me up?
Pale, cold fingers gripped soft fabric. His chest seized up, unwilling to let his lungs expand properly.
I am awake now I am awake now I am awake.
Was that really ever any better than being asleep, though?
He exhaled shakily.
Deep breaths.
Deep breaths and you will be able to function.
Deep breaths and you will be able to get up.
Deep breaths and you will be able to find her .
Deep breaths.
His mind wandered in that hazy in-between, the reality that was neither waking nor sleeping, but rather something else entirely. It was familiar, but he took no comfort in it.
It was nothing more than a sign that he needed to pull himself back together.
He clenched his hands, and the lump that was growing in the back of his throat was forced back down.
Fabric shifted. Something pressed down on his back, applying soft pressure to his spine, but he automatically curled forward into himself, shaking the presence off as he cupped his hands over his mouth.
Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Deep breaths.
Oh fuck something touched me is it an ally is it a monster is it Ghirahim is it Demise no not Demise, I'd be dead already.
Deep breaths.
What is it, what is it, please, please, please no, don't let it touch me.
Sky, you're shaking.
He had not thought that, he was sure of it.
I'm shaking. That's nice. I wonder why, eh?
But monsters couldn't talk.
And Ghirahim would be smiling.
So he blinked.
Pull yourself together. You're not dreaming, and no one is going to go lightly on a so-called "Chosen Hero" who can't even wake up properly.
He blinked again.
It was dark. He hadn't registered how dark it was, but even with his eyes open, he could barely see his pale, shivering hands that were nothing more than a few inches in front of his face. The crackle of a fire echoed around him, coming from somewhere off to his left.
He was not dead yet.
That didn't exactly give him very much comfort. Or relief.
"Sky, you're safe. You're safe here. Deep breaths."
Someone had knelt next to him. A hand hovered over his back, almost hesitant to touch him again.
He couldn't blame them, whoever they were.
"Sky?" someone murmured. He assumed that it came from the person next to him - they had a deep, reassuring voice with just a slight country twang that sounded of home.
It was familiar, but in a good way this time. A comforting way.
He shook himself.
Of course it's familiar, that's Twilight. That makes a lot more sense.
"You there?" the Ordonian continued.
"Hurgh," he grunted. Enough of that. "Yeah. Hi."
Sky shook himself and ran one hand along the cool grass beside him, letting the blades tickle his fingertips and palm and drag him back to the waking world.
That is what this is...right?
Of course it is, he answered himself. It has to be.
He looked up at the rancher, sitting back up properly and fisting the blanket that lay over his torso and legs. The one he'd nearly thrown off to the side.
There were blankets. He realized he had been carefully tucked in. Good to know.
Twilight was staring at him with a mixture of shock, relief, and some other third thing that Sky couldn't name. Also good to know. He could still read expressions...sort of.
"You sure you're back with us now?" Twilight asked.
Sky nodded and tried for a smile. "Yeah. Hi. Good to see you."
His friend visibly relaxed. "Oh, thank the Three. You're awake." He wrapped Sky up in a giant, extraordinarily comfortable hug. "You had us all worried sick, you know."
"Us," Sky echoed numbly, resting his head against his friend's collarbone as a cold bead of sweat trickled its way down his temple. What happened? Why is everyone worried? Why am I lying down, actually? What happened?
As his brain woke up a little further, he began to slot the pieces into place, beginning to form a semi-cohesive picture of what was going on.
He was tucked in his bedroll.
He didn't tend to wake up at night when he didn't have to .
He wasn't sure where he was.
Then his memories began working again, and a lightning bolt of pain and anguish hit him straight in the skull.
The cistern.
The monsters.
The portal.
Wild.
It was safe to say that Sky did not like the finished picture in the slightest.
"Shit," he breathed, jerking out of Twilight's hold. "Shit shit shit shit shit. Wild."
His hand began scrambling around him of its own accord, searching for the Master Sword as pure, raw terror coursed through his veins.
Where is he, what happened to him, is he okay, he has to be okay, he must be okay, where is he-
Twilight grabbed ahold of his hand, stopping it in place and gently pulling Sky back to the ground.
Sky hadn't realized that he was halfway to standing, but he supposed that was the price to pay for panicking less than five minutes after waking up.
"Calm down," Twilight whispered to the struggling Skyloftian. "We've got him, he's taken care of. Wild's safe. Wild's alright. He got that nasty head wound from the boko, knocked out instantly. He'll be okay, it's not life-threatening, but he needs a bit of time to recover. He hasn't woken up yet. It’s okay. His skull’s fine. His heart’s still working. He doesn’t actually have a concussion, we were all worried about that." He sighed. "But I think that now, all we can do is be patient."
"But he's here? Still with us?" Sky croaked.
"Yes." To his credit, Twilight didn't sound the least bit exasperated. "A head wound is easy to sort out, we've all gotten tons of those. He's pretty lucky, but he's going to be fine. When we got here, we all panicked, sure, but he’s stable. Speaking of, what were you thinking, Sky?” Ah. There it was. Or perhaps that was just worry concealed under a layer of annoyance. Sky hoped it was the latter. “Hurtling after him like that? Do you realize what could’ve happened? You could’ve gotten both you and Wild terribly hurt, if not worse! I can’t believe I’m saying this, but if it wasn’t for that portal, you’d probably both be dead right now.” The rancher shook his head. “Don’t you ever do that again, Sky. Scariest thing I’ve ever seen. It was like you got tunnel vision or something. Do you realize how many times you nearly got hit? You didn’t even try to dodge, just blew right past everything as if it didn’t exist. I know that we all do stupid things, but that? That is probably the stupidest, most immature, featherbrained thing that anyone in this group has ever done, and that includes all of both Wind's and Wild's crazy shenanigans combined. You could’ve been killed, Sky. You’re a knight, right? I thought you’d have something that even resembled a little something called common sense. Of all the stupid things to do, that's the one you choose? Really?"
Sky flinched. Twilight’s acidic tone alone felt like a slap to the face, and his words were a punch to the gut. “Sorry,” he mumbled, his head falling to his chest. “It was...a sort of reflex. ‘M really sorry.”
Reflex, my ass. It was more like a full-blown flashback than anything.
As if I'll tell him that. He'll think I'm weak.
Would he be wrong?
Twilight sighed again. "It's...it's okay. Right now I'm just really glad you're alright. You are alright, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Sky nodded dully, wiggling his toes. "Don't worry about me, it's all good." A thought struck him, making his fists clench. "Where are the others? Are they all okay? Any injuries?"
Twilight placed one hand on his shoulder. "Calm down. It'll be okay. You already know about Wild. Legend has a few bad bruises on his back, Wind got bit by a skulltula but it was one of mine, not poisonous or anything. Hyrule got a wound on his arm that's already been patched up. But for an ambush like that, in such a tight space, we got out surprisingly well."
"And that's it?" Sky insisted. "Nothing else? You're not injured? Cursed bokoblins are never fun." Everyone knew of Twilight's tendency to hide wounds, but Sky was not about to let that happen. Not now. Not when he already felt so bad about...life.
Twilight chuckled. "I'm all good. Goddess, Sky, I'm busy trying to chew you out!"
"Alright." The hero shrugged. "Sure. Chew me out. I just want to know what's going on. Why am I on my bedroll?"
Twilight's face grew more serious, his tone more sober as he began to explain. "See, uh, a funny little thing happened. The portal was probably one of the worst we've seen to date. One of the most disorienting things I've ever experienced, I swear." He shook his head. "Wild was already unconscious, but half of us ended up puking and the other half of us just passed out. Me, Time, Wars, and Wind were the ones still awake, we decided to get everyone else situated a bit more comfortably instead of leaving you on the ground. Legend, Four, and Hyrule have already woken up at least once, but they just went straight back to bed. They should be okay, just need a bit to sort themselves out. Not sure what was up with you, though." He frowned.
Sky waved him off, trying to sound at least marginally confident. "Eh, it doesn't matter. I'm awake now, at least, right? I’m really sorry for not waking up sooner, though."
Twilight's expression flickered for barely a moment before settling into a slight smile. "Yeah, I guess. You were out cold, though, it’s not your fault that you didn’t wake up, okay? Don’t be sorry."
Sky was silent for a moment too long, carefully avoiding the small voice in his mind that whispered oh, he thinks it isn’t your fault. Well, won’t he be in for a rude awakening. The rest of his thoughts swirled around like fish in a rushing river: too quick to catch, too slippery to hold onto, much too unpleasant to make any sense of.
"How long has it been?" he finally asked.
The Ordonian shrugged. "The sun had just set when we got here, and I've been on watch for a few hours."
"Ah." So they were waiting for you. Slowpoke. The Skyloftian nudged his friend's shoulder. "In that case, you should go to sleep. I'll take over watch, 'kay?"
Twilight jolted. "You sure? We could share it, it'd be a lot safer with two people."
He doesn’t trust me, does he.
"I mean, I just woke up, I'm sure it'll be fine. It’s just one watch." Sky eyed the rancher. Though he had sounded reluctant, the dark rings around his eyes and the creases on his face were clear enough. "Stop worrying. I’m sure Wild will wake up soon, and you need to take care of yourself. I'll just take the watch for you."
“We’re in an unknown Hyrule, we don't know what sorts of enemies there are, or how far we are from civilization, and there's no moon tonight.”
“Exactly.” Sky nudged his side. “Just another boring watch. It’ll all be okay.”
Twilight hesitated for a second. "Fine. You want to go over to the fire? It'll be a lot warmer o'er there."
Sky grunted in agreement as he carefully picked out his sailcloth from the fabrics that surrounded him and threw it over his shoulders. The rancher offered a hand to help, but he simply waved it away with a smile.
I can’t afford to be more of a liability now than I already am. If I need help during the times that it doesn’t matter, then I’ll definitely need help when it's a life or death situation. I can’t do that.
He staggered to his feet, nearly falling back down when his vision momentarily greyed out, but he still didn’t make a move to let Twilight help him. The boys picked their way over mounds of blankets and pillows and pouches of items, stepping over fluffy heads that poked out from within nests of warmth and carefully avoiding stray twigs before stumbling over to where a fire crackled in the center of camp. As per the usual setup, several logs had been chopped down and rolled around to act as seats. Sky spied the Master Sword leaning against one of said logs, and grabbed it just to feel the comforting grip in his hands.
He sat down heavily, placing her across his thighs, and frowned down at the glimmering embers of the fire.
Twilight chuckled, leaning back against the log and resting his head on Sky's knee. "Are you sure you’ll be able to stay awake?" he asked quietly, a humorous lilt to his voice. It was just a joke, just a typical, harmless jab at his love for sleep. That was all it was meant to be.
And yet Sky fought the urge to flinch.
"Hmm? Yeah. I'm sure I've gotten enough sleep for now."
Yeah, sleep that shouldn't have happened to begin with. It was just a portal. You shouldn't have just fallen unconscious, eh, Chosen Hero? They were waiting for you.
"Alright, then," Twilight whispered. "You’re sure you're okay?”
“Mmm. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, just...in general, you and Wild seemed to be the most affected by...everything that happened. In the cistern, and all. Clearly, you have some history with the place, and I do know Wild has a problem with Malice and all. So I was just wondering...aside from the whole jumping off a cliff part, of course, how you’re faring with all that.”
“Ah.” Sky sighed. “Nah, I’ll be fine. It isn’t really anything, just some creepy memories and the like. You understand. But go to sleep now, okay? You need your rest.”
“Fine, Fine.” Twilight shifted his position, settling comfortably close to the firepit. “Wars has the next shift, don’t forget to switch out with him. G'night, Sky. Love you."
You shouldn’t.
"Love you too. Night," Sky answered.
Because that was all it really was.
Soon, the rancher’s breaths slowed as he leaned more heavily against Sky’s leg, and a sailcloth was carefully draped around his shoulders.
Sky shivered, his threadbare undershirt doing next to nothing to ward away the cold, but he didn’t mind. There was a fire right in front of him, and it was the very least he could do, after all.
After a while, someone shifted behind him, grunting softly, and he glanced behind him. A head of long, messy blonde hair poked out of a nest of blankets. The sleeping wild child frowned, turning over in his sleep into a more comfortable position. His knuckles were white from gripping his blankets, and his grim expression formed faint lines on his face.
At least he wasn't out cold anymore like Twilight had said. But Sky knew enough to recognize the telltale signs of a nightmare. Unfortunately, trapped as he was beside Twilight, he couldn't do anything about it. Not like he normally would.
He tried to ignore the selfish part of his brain that attempted to convince him that he didn't want to help. He did, he was sure of it.
But bright scar tissue nearly glowed in the shadows of the fire, competing for attention with pristine white bandages that had been carefully wrapped around the amnesiac's head.
Those scars didn't stand for nothing. Sky would bet his life on it.
I’ll bet that was all my fault, too. Somehow.
Sky winced, his own arm sending a twinge of pain to his skull as he turned back to face forward.
He stared into the embers before him as they echoed the crackle of flowing red hair that stood out against the darkness of demon scales. A sound that had long since been forgotten even to Four, close as he was to Sky in the timeline they'd all haphazardly thrown together, but a sound that Sky himself remembered as clear as day.
He gazed down at the embers drifting up from the burning logs, taking their places among the stars above.
With the Blade of Evil's Bane resting across his knees, the Hero of the Sky sat where he was for the rest of the night.
Wide awake.