Chapter Text
When Wild let out a wail on the battlefield, the sound that came out of his mouth wasn't controlled in the way the younger heroes hollered while play wrestling with each other, or the groan of someone flopping down on the ground as their aching muscles complained. It was like he had tried to make a loud noise, but had instead found the pained cry accidentally slipping out alongside his next breath.
Time had been closest to Wild when it happened, his head snapping towards the younger hero when he heard the sound he made. They may have been the Goddesses chosen, but they weren't invincible. He knew that, but the ugly-faced beasts that surrounding him wouldn't even let him get a view of the boy. His only option was to force them away from where he had heard Wild, parrying the swings of their crude weapons with his sword. Four would scowl if he saw Time using his blade to beat back the wooden clubs, but his shield had been ripped out his hands moments earlier and had disappeared under clawed feet and dirt soaked through with corrupted blood and monster guts.
A thrust into the neck of a bokoblin from Wind's era, then a slash across the thighs of some drooling monster he didn't recognise. Time took down the enhanced creatures as quickly but strategically as he could, operating under the assumption that Wild would be able to hold his own for a little while longer. Or, better yet, one of the other Links would have heard him and come to his defence.
When he watched the last monster in his area collapse, its corpse disappearing in a cloud of acrid smoke, Time turned towards the steadily fading sun. The orange glow caused any blood to blend into the dirt, but he would have had to lose his other eye to not notice the dark stain across Wild's front.
The champion faced him, swaying like a drunken man. His lips were parted in shock, as if he wasn't entirely aware of what had happened to him.
Something solid protruded from his chest. Maybe the blade of a sword, the rusting handle separating from its other half when it was wrenched out by whatever had cornered him.
How long had he left Wild like this, Time thought briefly. Had he just been surviving on adrenaline, with no one coming to his aid?
It took a split second for his brain to catch up to the situation, but Time was quick to move for Wild, his sword falling from his hands as he reached out to catch him. Wild slumped against Time's shoulder, and the man lowered him to the ground as gentle as he could manage without nudging his injury.
"Wild!" Warriors sprinted over, falling to his knees beside the Champion. Other footsteps were quick to follow, and it was only a few seconds before most of the other Link's were anxiously crowding around them.
Time heard someone shouting about how they couldn't heal Wild with the sword still in him, and another voice was asking if they could pull it out somehow, panic lacing their words no matter how calmly they tried to speak. All Time could see was red, staining the face of yet another unfortunate child.
Wild, movements sluggish, made an attempt to push the panicked hands away from him, but only managed to aggravate his wound in the process.
Hyrule held his trembling hands out over his friend, breaths coming short and sharp. Time knew he wasn't a doctor or official healer by any means, but maybe his magic could do something, anything. The blade was still in Wild though, which meant Hyrule couldn't even slow the flow of blood without risking stitching skin back to steel. They didn't even know if Wild's ribs were broken, or if the sword had pierced a crucial organ—it was no where near safe enough to try and remove it.
Wild groaned, shoving Hyrule away again. "Stop." He croaked. "Hgah—."
"Wild, Wild!" Sky jumped in. His eyes were wide and hyper-focussed on Wild's chest, barely sparing a glance up to his face as he spoke to him. "You have to let us help, okay?" He voice broke on the last word, and he bunched his fists into his tunic to stop them from shaking.
They were all helpless though. The Chain had no tools, no medicines on them to provide Wild with any relief, or attempt to help him. If Time had his ocarina on him, he could have fixed all of this with a few notes, but the little blue instrument was tucked safely in his bag back at camp. He was the eldest, the leader, the one who knew what to do, but right now he was useless, doing nothing but watching as Wild's eyes shifted skyward and his chest stopped shaking with the effort it took to draw breath into his battered lungs.
Someone may have been shouting something. Time couldn't quite focus on their words.
Twilight, who had been fighting the furthest away, rounding up any stragglers in his wolf form, came running over. Oh no. Time thought. Twilight.
"What's going on over here?" The rancher asked, breaking the somber silence.
Time turned to Twilight, trying to keep his gaze on him. "Pup." He said gently. He needed to say something before Twilight saw the body on the ground, deep red of the sun still hiding the worst of the blood stained dirt.
A look of realisation crossed Twilight's face, and he pushed passed the others to kneel by Wild's side. "How long has it been?" He asked. Sky put a hand on his shoulder.
"Twilight—"
The man in question whipped his head around, expression desperate. "I said, how long has it been?"
"Not long. He… it was right before you got here." Warriors replied. He wasn't looking at Wild, keeping his gaze firmly pointed at the treeline to his right.
Twilight pressed his palms to his eyes with a breath. "Good. Okay. That's okay.”
Time didn't understand what he was mumbling to himself about, and he didn't have the energy in him to ask. Wind clearly wanted to say something to Twilight, his blue eyes wet with tears, but was interrupted by a sudden flash of light.
A glowing figure hovered over Wild, the teal flames seeming to shock everyone but Twilight. The rancher was gripping his protege's hand tight, but gave a small smile up to the spectral woman. She was a young Zora, moving as gracefully in death as Time suspected she had in life.
"It was my pleasure." She whispered, then she was gone as suddenly as she had come, the remaining teal sparks being scattered by the wind.
A harsh cough brought eight pairs of eyes back to the ground. Wild's eyes were darting around at his audience, the weapon that had been embedded in his chest no where to be found. Time couldn't move, and the others appeared just as frozen. They had watched Wild's body become still, yet here he was. Twilight helped him sit up (he knew this would happen. He knew about the Zora ghost and hadn't said anything), and Wild simply rubbed his chest as if it were bruised. The only evidence that there had ever been an open wound in his chest was the ripped and blood-stained tunic he wore.
"Is everyone okay?" Wild asked timidly.
Wind was the first to reply after a moment, eyes wide. "No the fuck we aren't."
No one bothered to chide his use of language.