Chapter Text
When the Chain had arrived in the Zora’s Domain of Time’s era, only to learn that the Zora had been overrun by monsters as of late, all of the Links breathed a sigh of relief. They had been following dead leads for days, each more disappointing than the last. Now, finally they had something.
From first glance, Wild hadn’t been too thrilled about these monsters. They looked similar to chuchus, only with desaturated colors and more capability to spread slime everywhere. The few that could be seen above the surface of the water didn’t even seem to be causing much damage, other than making the whole place stink up like a carcass. Confusion was palpable among the Links, both at the fact that none of them had seen monsters like this and at how panicked the Zora seemed about them. As soon as they had laid eyes on Time, they had flocked to him spouting off about poison and aggressive tendencies and water… which just flew straight over Wild’s head as he couldn’t even parse out a full sentence.
Time managed to calm the hysteria enough to ask to speak to King Zora about the whole situation, instead of the advisors (what Wild assumed these Zora were, because they seemed to be in charge of organizing from what he could gather). Needless to say, when not one but nine heroes walked into the throne room with their chins held high, King Zora was rather pleased to explain the predicament in its entirety.
Turns out those little blob monsters that they had seen on the land portion of the domain? Those were just the unfortunate few that had found their way to the surface. The vast majority of them thrived in the water, wicked fast and in huge numbers. Their weapon of choice? Flinging sticky sludge at their enemies to slow them down in the water, sometimes even preventing them from swimming. Wild barely paid attention, just catching the broad strokes. He was more focused on noticing the uncomfortable buildup of gas just below his navel. It made his stomach churn just a little, and was very quickly shifting to a sharp pain in his side that he did not appreciate, especially going into battle. Probably just a result of wolfing down his food too fast during lunch (the last of the big pot of soup Malon had sent them off with), but it was still annoying.
Nevertheless, he managed to catch the rest of the conversation.
“They are denser in some areas, and seem to be coming from a cave on the lake bed, but it is difficult to tell. None of our hunters or scouts have been able to get very close without being slimed.” King Zora explained. Time nodded, closing his eye in thought.
“There is likely a hive somewhere.” he mused aloud. Four piped up, squeezing past Twilight and Warriors to get in front of them.
“Maybe if we follow the population density we can find where they’re coming from. It will be the most fighting intensive, but the most direct. And it doesn’t seem as if the slime causes any burns or poisoning, correct?”
King Zora shook his head.
“No, nothing of the sort has been reported. But it will restrict movement, and we haven’t been able to figure a consistent way to clean it off. I’d advise keeping it off of you at all costs.”
Four nodded firmly, then glanced back at Time and Warriors for their thoughts. Warriors cleared his throat, puffing out his chest in that way he nearly always did when in the presence of a higher authority.
“It’s as good a plan as any. We can head out right away, King.”
King Zora shifted his gaze lazily from Warriors to Time, a silent question. Time nodded his approval. King Zora broke out into a strange, fishy smile.
“Wonderful. You all have my eternal thanks.”
They were given water breathing potions, all except Time, Legend, Twilight, and Warriors. Wild was still trying to get over the fact that Legend could turn into a mer, and Time had a Zora form from the last time they had an underwater adventure. Wild was a little more than annoyed that Warriors got the spare Zora tunic that exempted him from drinking a potion.
Typically potions didn’t bother Wild, but adding the bitter concoction to his already upset tummy just made the pain spike worse. He supposed that the uncomfortable sensation of sprouting gills lining each side of his ribcage was good enough distraction, though.
It was easy enough to ignore in the wake of a task: cutting through swarms of those little blob monsters as they got closer and closer to finding a hive. It was a near constant battle, swishing his blade to and fro. He kept his movements tight, trying not to stretch out his torso too much. As he learned very early on in this endeavor, any shifting in his abdominal muscles resulted in an almost certain spike in pain. It made him a little sloppy, to the point where he got more than one raised eyebrow, but chalked it up to the whole “fighting underwater” thing.
The nausea was growing too, along with the sharp pain that felt like a driving spear through his side. But he didn’t think anyone else had noticed yet. He counted that as a positive, because it meant two things: One, that he wouldn’t get coddled for something that would obviously fade with time, and two, that he could very successfully offload the extra gas making his gut churn in Legend’s close vicinity.
Although, he thought bitterly as they finally got a breather, that plan won’t work if all Legend can smell is these stupid slimes.
The odor was only getting worse. The air (or really, water) stank of rotting fish and moldy ropes. Legend had said that it was dark magic, (which explained why Hyrule was looking so dazed) and it meant that they were getting closer to the hive. Smells didn’t usually bother Wild, at least not as much as Twilight. But today, every whiff of that stench sent Wild’s stomach rolling.
He chose to shrug it off, doing his best to ignore the smell. And ignore that this pain was different in some way he couldn’t quite place. And ignore the concerned looks he was getting from Time and the nervous ones he got from Four. Honestly, there was no reason to worry. Eventually it would pass (either with time or a trip to the privy) and all would be well again. He just had to endure it while they were still on their mission.
A full hour into the expedition, Wild was starting to learn that that was going to be more difficult than he expected. For one, the pain and bloating was just getting worse. It hurt to swing his sword, it hurt to swim, and it hurt to burp. Which, as time went on, he was doing more and more of. Air kept forcing its way up his gullet, tasting distinctly like the carrot soup Malon had made only more acidic. Despite the constant belching, the pressure in his stomach only seemed to build instead of being relieved. He turned to pondering what he could have possibly eaten to mess himself up like this, as well as forming a plan of relief as soon as he could get to it.
The sooner I can get to whatever privy the Zora have, the better. And I wonder if Four would let me have a couple of those ginger honey candies I made for him. They might help.
“WILD, LOOK ALIVE!” Wind shouted.
Wild was torn from his thoughts viciously, blinking back to the present. There, mere feet away from him, was a blob creature of mauve color, hurtling towards him. And it was twice as big as the other ones they had been fighting. He swiveled around as quickly as he could and met the monster with his blade. It was easily cleaved in two, and dissolved swiftly in the water, but not before a good pint of slime landed smack in his middle.
He instantly folded over, clutching at his side as it seared with fiery agony. The pain burned through his gut, radiating from that spot in his lower right abdomen. His head went fuzzy for a moment, fingers numb as all he knew was that it hurt .
A few forced breaths later, and he opened his eyes. Stars still speckled the water in front of him, but the stabbing sensation was subsiding. He tried to slowly straighten out, but the overwhelming urge to vomit overcame him almost instantly, so he curled back up to ride it out. There was a hand on his shoulder, he thought. Maybe? It was hard to tell with everything spinning. He tried to focus on a spot on the lake floor, a clump of kelp, as it warbled below him.
“That thing got you good, you ok Wild?” said a water-dampened voice. He was about to answer, or at least try to, when a flash of metal streaked by in his peripheral vision. He followed it sluggishly, lifting his head to find Time in his Zora form (which towered over all of them) holding his sword out to him (a royal claymore, one of his nicer weapons). He must have dropped it at some point. He took a hard swallow, as the nausea thankfully subsided, and gave Time a wobbly smile.
“Thanks” he said as he took the blade in his shaky hand again. Legend surged towards him, gliding easily through the water. He poked at the slime coating Wild’s stomach, and wrinkled his nose as it just bounced his finger off. It seemed to have formed a kind of gel on impact, protecting Wild from Legend’s probing. Even so, the small amount of touch sent lightning through his side.
“Weird.” Legend muttered. Twilight, who had been the one next to Wild from the beginning, looked over with worry plain on his features.
“You sure you’re good? Looks like it hurt somethin’ awful.” he asked kindly. Wild nodded quickly, not wanting to worry them.
“Yep! I just wasn’t expecting it is all,” he assured, even though he couldn’t bring himself to take his hand away from his side. Twilight’s mouth twisted into a frown, but he didn’t get a chance to say anything.
“First thing we’re getting you when we get back is a bath, Champ. You’re going to stink up everything with that slime.” Legend quipped, swishing his rose-gold tail to and fro. Twilight cocked an eyebrow.
“Erm, Vet, we’s already surrounded by water.”
“With soap , Rancher. I know you don’t use it often, but you should at least remember what it is.” Legend sneered. The two continued their banter, swimming ahead and towards more monsters to fight. Wild took a deep breath, ended with another little burp, and then followed suit.
By the time they had found the hive, Wild was just about done with whatever was going on with his digestive system. His stomach did flips with every fast movement, cramping harshly in his side. The nausea built steadily as they went, threatening to become unbearable if he tried to do too much. He knew he would be fine. He would probably still be able to function and carry on, it was hardly the worst pain he’d been through. But that didn’t make it easier to bear. More than likely he just needed to find a place to throw up. That always helped.
The “hive” was less of a hive and more of some kind of “mother blob” from which swarms of smaller blobs were emitted. By that point, they were all so fed up with them, and so good at killing them, that it didn’t take long to dismantle the thing. Wild handed out lightning resistant items, and then Hyrule zapped it with the most intense thunder spell he could manage. It was honestly the most underwhelming victory they had ever had.
The swim back was a lot better than getting there. Less fighting=less pain on Wild’s end. Even still, the discomfort he couldn’t ignore. Somehow , despite all the air he’d burped up, he still felt bloated to the brim. His stomach churned mercilessly and there were several times that he fell behind because the nausea got so bad. The goo coating his abdomen he had largely been able to scrape off with his hands, but there still remained a few patches.
Wild half-expected that when he burst through the water and recalibrated on dry land that the pain would fade just a little bit. His hopes were dashed swiftly, when he discovered that the constant impact of his feet on stone only sent shocks of pain through his side. The brief thought crossed his mind, as he wrung out his hair and chose a shirt from his slate, that maybe he should be worried about this. He’d never felt anything like it before, this level of pain wasn’t what he considered normal for indigestion. Then he remembered that time when he’d arrived in Kakariko for the first time post-coma, and gorged himself on pumpkin so readily that he hadn’t been able to get up at all the next day, and quickly banished the idea that something could be wrong.
Before any of them had even a moment to breathe and adjust to being out of the water again, a veritable crowd of Zora flooded into the cavern. Far more than the few babbling advisors that they had met previously. Now children, adolescents, along with adults were all whooping and showering the Links with praise. If this was how they reacted to such a small task, Wild could not imagine the level of enthusiasm that Time must have received after he helped them. It was quite frankly very overwhelming, and he could tell he wasn’t the only one who thought so. Hyrule had frozen up, barely able to squeak out “thank you”s and “your welcome”s, and Four was socializing just fine, but flinched at loud noises and got distracted by others’ conversations.
Wild didn’t really remember much of that period, only that laughing made his side hurt worse so he tried not to do that unless someone was trying to joke. By the time that the crowd had thinned out, Wild had two beautiful, shiny stones in his palm, each a little smaller than a rupee. They looked to be some kind of quartz or other crystal, polished to perfection in a way that made them glimmer pinks and purples in the light. He didn’t even recall which of the Zora had given them to him. He hoped he had remembered to thank them in the moment.
Finally, he got a moment to relax. They all made their way to the throne room so that Time and Warriors could report their findings. Wild didn’t even get a chance to ask if he could have a moment to find a privy. The old hylian tunic he had chosen to wear (for comfort, not style, and omitting several of the belts) was soaked through, with not only the water from their adventure, but also sticky sweat. It cooled in the fabric and made him shiver. The cave was already damp, and shielded from much heat, why was he sweating so much?
Must have been the crowd.
Standing in the throne room, surrounded by diplomatic mumbo jumbo, with nothing to distract himself, all there was to focus on was the pulsating pain in his side, and the hot and cold flashes. He felt every wave of nausea with a new clarity after the adrenaline wore off. Every throb of his side, every little shift in his gut. It was maddening , not being able to do anything about it.
He’d been in these situations before, he remembered them vaguely. Studying the architecture of grand structures during meetings where Zelda would lead, watching the curves of arches and trying to name the gemstones used in decorations. He used the same tactic now, to distract himself. Through the meeting with King Zora, all the way until they walked back in the main area of the Domain.
The Zora in his era were grandiose, with curved, flowing architecture that almost seemed to blend in with the water itself. Everything was bejeweled with opals, stained glass, encrusted with topaz accents. It almost felt too clean to walk on, lest he leave muddy (or bloody) footprints behind.
The Zora’s Domain in Time’s era was the exact opposite, and yet much the same. It was mostly just a cave, with a lake held within. There was some architectural pieces but for the most part the main structure was dug into rock. It was rough, and yet, still sang of clarity and peace, of a certain cleanliness that put your soul at ease.
“Now, everyone.” Time boomed, demanding to be heard. He stopped at the entrance to the main cavern to address everyone. “The Zora are particular about their customs. Do not try and refuse gifts, and always be gracious, especially with food. There may be dancing, just try to follow along if they rope you into it. Understood?”
A murmur of agreement broke out amongst them, and Wild stood dazed. What was Time talking about? Had he missed something?
Time nodded in satisfaction, and smiled as he stood aside to let everyone through the opening. Wild had no choice but to file in with them, embracing the crystals hung up that cast soft blue light on the stone floor. It was beautiful, really. Dazzling.
Wild took a deep breath, and then had to smother a harsh gag behind his fist. The strong smell of cooked seafood of all kinds hit him square in the nose. The sea-essenced seasonings mingled with the overwhelming fishy scent, and the unfamiliarity of it made Wild’s stomach churn mercilessly. All at once the pain was back, the queasiness was back, and tacked on to his growing list of symptoms was a faint lightheadedness. Something heavy landed in his stomach as he realized what was happening.
A feast. And clearly in their honor. Zora emerged from tunnels bearing trays of delicacies stacked high. Unleavened breads, seaweed wrapped squid, and of course lots and lots of fish. Grilled, fried, boiled, stewed. Just about every imaginable dish one could make with fish, was being set up on a large table. Wild didn’t remember that table being brought in. He didn’t remember when they had mentioned any food, much less a feast. The zora beamed with pride, presenting their gifts of gratitude. One chef was already explaining the preparation methods to Warriors for some of the dishes with which he was unfamiliar. Wind took one big whiff of the food and practically started levitating towards it. Despite Sky’s frequent yawning all afternoon, he still perked up and wandered over with Twilight. Legend was having to physically prevent Hyrule from inhaling an entire gigantic tuna, but even the Vet was happily filling his plate on the side.
So that left Time, Wild, and Four. Wild stood dazed. The time had just kind of skipped, leaving him confused and disoriented. The pulsating pain in his side was all he could really focus on.
Time watched with satisfaction as the rest of the Chain dug in happily, and he slapped both Wild and Four on the backs. Wild had to bite his tongue to not cry out in pain as stars speckled his vision.
“Don’t be shy, boys. They won’t let any of us leave hungry!” Time encouraged. He looked happier than he had in a while. Four glanced uncertainly at the spread, then at Wild. There was a suspicion to his gaze that wasn’t there before, but he reluctantly followed in the path of the rest of their brothers. Wild remained, not quite having the willpower to follow.
For the first time in what he knew was a very long time, Wild had no desire to eat. Or really put anything into his body. Everything hurt, and it was only getting worse. Just the thought of eating that fish made him glance around for the nearest garbage receptacle. He swallowed nervously as he eyed Time. Their leader was clearly excited to get to take part in the celebration, but he waited on Wild.
The last thing that Wild wanted to do was spoil Time’s fun, or anyone else’s. But he was not interested at all in taking part. The only thing he wanted to do was find some form of relief.
“Hey Time?” He asked. His voice came out whispery and unused, reminding him far too much of how it used to be fresh out of the Shrine of Resurrection. He cleared his throat before Time cocked an eyebrow.
“Yes, Wild?”
Wild couldn’t look his leader in the eye. He felt his shoulders shrug involuntarily, trying to play down his pain by instinct alone.
“I don’t feel well, my stomach’s just bothering me a little, would it be okay if I sat this one out?” he asked.
Time frowned, stepping closer to Wild. He surveyed Wild, much in the same way that a baker might carefully measure a unit of flour. Concern bled across his features.
“Hm, you are a tad flushed. When did this start?”
Wild shrugged again. Really, he needed to stop doing that. Time was going to think he was just making up lies to get out of the social gathering.
“Earlier today. Since before we left. It’s only gotten worse.” he muttered. Time hummed, chewing on his lip.
“Any other symptoms?”
“No, just belly pain.” Again, a lie. He was a little dizzy, a little too hot, certainly nauseous, and that pain, that felt like an arrow in his side. But he spoke of none of it.
Time scratched the back of his neck, the weighing of options playing clear as day on his face. Eventually he sighed, and looked Wild in the eye deliberately.
“Now be honest with me, how would you feel about this: First, I’ll show you where the privy is. Then we’ll find you some medicine somewhere, something to settle your stomach. Then would you be okay to stick it out? Wild, if you really don’t feel well, say the word and I’ll find you a place to rest–”
“No that’s okay! Medicine would be great, actually.” Wild stammered quickly. It came out before he realized why he was saying it, but Time’s pinched brow answered that question. “Besides, you’re right I probably just need to use the privy, it has been a while.” he added, trying to joke. The attempt at a laugh that he made only caused more pain, but he smiled through it. Time looked slightly relieved, but not convinced.
“Are you sure? You know I wouldn’t normally ask this of you, but like I said the Zora are particular, if you don’t show they might insist we stay until you get better and… well…”
“I want to see Malon again before we have to leave this era” Wild filled in.
“Yeah! It’s okay, I get it. Tarrey Town is the same way.” he acknowledged, though he couldn’t quite keep up his smile as the reality set in that he was going to have to endure this feast.
“Wild… please tell me if you start to feel worse or just don’t want to take it anymore. Your wellbeing is more important and if you need rest then just say something. Okay? Promise?”
“Promise.” Wild said.
“Thank you,” Time breathed, setting a single hand on Wild’s shoulder. “Now, I’ll find you some medicine, and the privy is the second tunnel on the left.” he instructed, pointing. Wild nodded, wincing as the movement made his throat tighten with nausea.
“Okay. Thanks.”
Wild didn’t wait for Time’s answer or lack thereof to turn and head towards the place that Time had pointed. He walked slowly, winding his arm around his side when no one was looking.
He was just coming upon the tunnel that Time had pointed out when one of the crystals hung up for the celebration shifted, blinding him with a dazzling light. He shut his eyes and clutched at the wall, reeling as the movement sent his equilibrium spinning. Something dark and vile surged up within him, something he’d had to keep down for the last few hours. His stomach tightened, mouth filled with saliva in preparation, and it only made the mind-bending pain worse. For a moment, it was too much to bear. He stood there shaking, using the wall for support, trying to choose between holding his side and cupping his hand over his mouth. He thought he was going to be sick right there, in plain sight. Maybe that would be easier.
But then Time would worry, and he would have surely ruined the celebration. So he took a hard swallow, and made a mad dash to the privy.