Twilight's POV

I watched the scene before me unfold, filled with a tense hope.

I knew for a fact it wasn't her. But I couldn't help but pray to Hylia, Farore, Din, Nayru, and every last Twili goddess that she taught me about, that that shadow would shape the one person I want to see.

Midna.

But the shadow didn't grow to her height.

It grew till it was bout level with my torso. More or less.

And then the shadows cleared.

And my hopes were demolished.

Instead of a beautiful Twilight Princess, there stood a gigantic wolf, that looked a little familiar but was definitely not me.

The wolf, for one, was larger than I was, signaling how it was older than me. It's coat was darker. Blue-green Twili markings wrapped around his upper left leg, replacing the shackle around his—my—ankle.

That was something I would never do. That shackle is a reminder of Midna. Like the Shard of Twilight I still have, taken after the mirror shattered.

The wolf's deep blue eyes looked into my own, a tinge of mischief racing around behind those irises.

It was silent in the meadow. No one knew what to say. And then...

"Wolfie!" Wild cried. The hero raced forward to wrap their arms around the wolf.

The wolf—I refuse to call him 'me'. That's too much weirdness for one day alone—huffed happily. His tail wagged as he leaned into my Cub's touch.

Legend whispered behind me, "What in the..."

I agreed with him.

"Guys this Wolfie!" Wild introduced excitedly. They kept bouncing in place, their eyes sparkled with the most joy I've ever seen with them.

"He was my companion before he disappeared. But now he's here! Isn't this great?!"

I couldn't bring myself to say anything that might not discourage my Cub, so I just have a tense smile and nodded.

I'm assuming Legend did the same.

Then, a portal appeared, right in front of us. The salty breeze of the Great Sea tickled our noses.

Wild sneezed.

"Alright then," I took charge. "We all know where this is going, but we must be careful. Wild, you go with... Wolfie... and Legend you stay with me, we need to deal with Epona first."

The others nodded.

Wild and their wolf leaped through the portal first.

I helped Legend get off Epona. I set him on the ground before going to my steed.

"Go back to Ordon, girl." I said. "There's no room in the Great Sea for a horse. I'm sorry."

Epona snorted. She nuzzled my forehead, blowing hot air on it before turning and, with a flick of her tail, disappearing back whence we came.

I grabbed Legend and helped him hobble toward the portal.

Then he hit a rock, slipped out of my arms, and fell into the portal alone. I winced.

I stepped forward, about to follow him, when a flash caught my eye.

There, by an alcove by the destroyed stairs, stood a large, glowing wolf. He had one red eye. His bones were visible under his golden coat.

He regarded me with a shake of his tail.

I smiled back at him. "Thank you Time." I whispered.

The wolf lowered its head ever so slightly.

I sighed and turned to walk through the portal. And what I found on the other side... was chaos.

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The first thing I saw was a white-maned Lynel from Wild's Hyrule. I wondered how I knew that from not even seeing one in person.

That I remember.

The second thing I saw was Legend on the Lynel's back.

The Veteran had wrapped his arms around the Lynel, gripping its mane. He cried out and the Lynel bucked back and forth, trying to get him off.

"Just sit back and hit him with your sword!" Wild cried from across the clearing. Wolfie stood beside them.

Time was covered in blood, mud, and grass. He looked from Wolfie to me. He met my eyes and raised an eyebrow.

I smiled nervously. "Tell you later." I mouthed.

"I'm not letting go!" Legend shouted.

An arrow flew past the Lynel's head, causing Legend to cry out in a high-pitched voice. The familiar sound of Warriors' laughter rang through the air.

Wolfie ran forward and launched himself at the Lynel. He tore out the beast's throat. Blood flew everywhere.

The Lynel froze. It fell to its knees as it suffocated. The body turned to dust and Legend tumbled to the ground.

Wild and Wind were leaning against each other, laughing.

Legend hadn't moved from where he fell. His face was buried in the ground. His arms and legs were spread wide apart.

Warriors had climbed back down from the cliff face. He was bent over in half as laughs wracked his body.

Legend slowly lifted his hand and raised his middle finger in Wars' direction.

The Captain just laughed harder.

Sky limped out of the tree line. His leg was heavily bandaged, but blood leaked through it.

Hyrule followed, carrying an unconscious Hero of the Four Sword. The hero's tunic was tinged with ash and his skin was covered in blisters.

"Alright, everyone with any sort of injury—even just a bruise—come here now."

No one argued with the angry healer.

Wild found a fairy in their Sheikah slate and gave it to Four. Sky and Time were each given a red potion.

The others led us back to were they had set up camp. Wind introduced us to Tetra who regarded us coldly before declaring us 'okay'.

I believe that's the greatest approval rating we can get from her.

We sat around the fire. Wild got out his stuff and began to make a meat and rice bowl.

Time turned to me. But before I could come up with something to say without giving away my secret, Time was stopped.

"What the hell happened with you guys?" Warriors asked.

Sky glared at him for his language before he, along with the rest of them, looked expectantly at Legend, Wild, and I.

Wild didn't acknowledge the looks and kept cooking. Legend gave me a look as Hyrule bandaged his ankle.

I sighed. "Okay, so it went like this..."