Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Fog curls around their feet as they walk, barely kept at bay by the soft glow of the Green Element. Lloyd holds his flame up like a torch, squinting to see through the thick mist. Every time he feels like the fog is getting just a bit too thick or close, he feeds a little extra energy into his element.

It won't hurt him, but it'll definitely hurt everyone else. This place doesn't like strangers.

His element feels strangely cool in his hand. He hadn't even noticed summoning it for the first time when they entered. It'd just felt so… simple. As natural as breathing. He'd always expected it to come with some grand, climactic kind of light show. He'd always expected to finally develop the element that shaped this world, that the First Master himself wielded, with more fanfare than this.

But… nope. It's small. It's simple. It's just… him. His soul. Using it is easier than blinking.

(Is it weird? He's holding his very soul in the palm of his hand. This isn't just a power he wields; it's him, inextricably. He's holding his own reincarnation cycle. Isn't that meant to be weird? It feels so natural.)

Is this what you meant? He thinks of the Green entity from his dreams. Is that really all it took?

But… no, it still feels smaller than he thinks it should. But when he finds the Sword… he knows he'll have truly found the Green entity of his soul. His element.

He needs that Sword more than he needs oxygen.

Behind him, the others walk along quietly, tense. The woods are unusually quiet; there are no birds, no buzzing from bugs, no rustling in the leaves from wind. Every time someone steps on a twig, it just makes them more tense.

"This place is so creepy," Jay mutters, voice echoing. Cole shushes him.

Kai, right behind Nya, hisses to Lloyd. "You sure you know where we're going?"

He nods, taking a seemingly random turn. "To the center," he says confidently. "That's where the Sword is."

"And… this mist is trying to stop us," Zane calls from a little further back. "Why, exactly?"

Lloyd shrugs. "Doesn't like you." Even if they are Elemental Masters, this place isn't very keen on them waltzing on in. Being an Elemental Master doesn't automatically prove that they're not a threat to the being this place was grown to protect.

"Love the vibe, bud," Jay grumbles. "Big fan of the killer forest."

Cold mist brushes over his arms as he takes another turn. The trees steadily grow larger, more gnarled and broken. Twisting, barren branches seem to claw at them; his element reflects off of notches to create what appear to be eyes glinting in the dark. The splintered gouges in some trees look like twisted, snarling mouths.

And somehow, Lloyd feels bad for this place. It's been so long since its element returned to it. He quietly promises himself that when he reaches the temple, he'll do his best to repair what's become of the Lost Woods. It wasn't nearly this decrepit in his dream.

A creaking noise comes from the shadows. Kai nearly draws his sword before Lloyd snaps at him. "Don't let go!" He hisses just before Kai's hand leaves Nya's. "Ignore it."

"But—"

"Ignore it."

Kai stares at the point where the noise came from for a few more moments, tense as a coiled spring, before eventually relenting. Lloyd knows that whatever lurks in the woods won't hurt him; but it may hurt them.

Not nice, not kind, not safe, he repeats to himself like a mantra as they keep walking. Find Sanctuary.

His hand brushes up against a seemingly random tree, thumb lingering on a deep notch in the bark. His jaw clenches. "We're getting closer," he says, fighting back memories of swinging a sword into this very tree. I've never been here, he tells himself firmly. I don't know this place.

(He hates how well he knows this place. He's not supposed to.)

He stops suddenly, waiting for something. After a few seconds, a small animal crawls across the path, staring at them with beady eyes. It's glowing bright blue, emanating cold from itself, and two fern-like horns made of sparking yellow electricity buzz and flicker.

"What is that?" Nya hisses urgently, eyes wide. Lloyd stares at the creature until it bounds away.

"Dunno," he mutters and keeps on walking. "But don't follow it."

He has no doubt it's one of the reasons this place is called the Lost Woods. Anyone would follow that light source; quite possibly to their doom.

This place doesn't like strangers.

The minutes pass as they continue walking. The trees grow even larger, towering above their heads and with trunks easily three times as wide as them. Not even a single ray of sunlight manages to creep through the canopy, though if Lloyd had to guess, he might say it was already night. Time moves strangely in here. There's no telling how long they've walked.

He hears Pixal's Guardian beep behind them, and she calls over to him, "Is this a threat, Lloyd?"

He turns his head, along with everyone else. Behind them, doused in shadows too thick to make it out, is some huge, lurking creature. He can't see any of its features, aside from two beady green eyes and the glinting of sharp teeth. It emits a soft, rumbling growl.

Cole reaches for his scythe, but quickly stops when Zane jerks his hand back down. Nobody can summon their weapons without letting go of somebody else, and Lloyd knows for a fact that if that happens, the mist will swallow them whole. They need the protection of the Green Element.

"No," he tells Pixal, and the Guardian immediately dies down again. He makes eye contact with the creature, glaring at it. Who knows how long this thing has been following them? "Go home," he tells it scoldingly. "I'm fine. Leave them alone."

The creature huffs and turns around, lumbering back where it came from and crushing the thick flora in its wake.

"Hey, bud?" Cole calls. "Maybe a heads up on the humongous monsters."

"They're not monsters," Lloyd corrects automatically as he tugs on Nya's hand, leading them back down the path again. "They just don't want you here."

They fall silent again. Eventually, Nya whispers, "Why, exactly? You said this place… protected the Hero of Legend?"

"He was raised here," Lloyd mumbles. "The Green Element grew this place for him. To hide him. Kinda defeats the point if anybody can just walk in."

Nya's hand twitches in his, and he grits his teeth. For a split second, his element flickers. He knows he hasn't let anybody touch him for a while. He knows this is weird. He'd really like to not mention it.

"…Lloyd, can we talk?"

Goddammit.

He clenches his jaw even harder. "Seriously? Here?" He hisses.

"Not like you can run away, now," she mutters, lifting their linked hands for a second. He rolls his eyes.

"You're hilarious. Has anyone ever told you you'd make a great comedian?"

"I'm serious," Nya hisses. "Please, I just want to talk. I want to apologize. For real."

"Apologize for what?" It's hard to keep his voice lowered, especially with how quiet the forest is. "I'm over it. Can we just drop it?"

"No," Nya hisses. "You're obviously not over it, and I- Lloyd, just hear me out. Please. All I'm asking is that you let me apologize, okay? I just want to explain."

"There's nothing to explain," he grits out. "I fucked up and I fixed it and now you have your real brother back. You're welcome."

"I didn't mean what I said," Nya says immediately. "I was just angry, and- and not even at you, I didn't mean to say any of that— I shouldn't have blamed you, I'm sorry I got so angry—"

"You think I'm not fucking angry?" Lloyd snaps, nearly stopping them all. He doesn't notice the quiet rumbling coming from the shadowed woods, or the way his element's light flares. "What, you think I don't get it? I'm more pissed off than you!"

He refuses to turn around and see the look on her face. Her hand keeps twitching in his.

"I know you are, that's why I'm trying to talk about it," Nya grits out, sounding irritated. "I'm not asking you to forgive me or anything—"

"Good," Lloyd seethes.

"For the love of— why won't you just stop for thirty seconds and listen?" Nya snaps.
"I'm sorry. I'll say it as many times as I need to until you believe it."

"Oh, I believe it," he mutters.

"Then listen to me!"

"Guys?" Kai speaks up, leaning over Nya's shoulder. "You two… okay?"

Nya ignores him. "Just tell me what I need to do," she pleads, trying to tug on Lloyd's hand and make him turn around. "Okay? I'll do whatever I need to to make this all up to you."

Something hot and boiling is seeping up his throat, putting pressure on his eyes and lungs. He will not turn around. And most of all, he will not crack and break. He's a demigod. This is his duty and his duty alone, and he refuses to show even an inch more of weakness for anybody to exploit.

"Just drop it."

"Lloyd, would you just hear me out for one minute—"

His lungs feel hot. Everything feels suffocating. His element flares up, and his chest is tight, and he just wants her to drop it already. He wants her to stop trying already, stop trying to get whatever she thinks he's worth out of him. He needs her to stop thinking he's worth this effort.

"You know what, I didn't have to unmerge you," he hisses.

Nya goes silent. "…what?"

That- that was the wrong thing to say. He didn't mean it like that. He shouldn't have said it.

Take it back. He doesn't. He doubles down instead.

His eyes feel hot. His vision is starting to blur. Lloyd's voice is strained as he says, "You said it. I didn't have to unmerge you. And I did, because— because I thought you were worth it. People told me I loved you, and I thought it was worth it—" His voice is steadily growing louder alongside his pulsating element. The green flame in his hand sparks, growing more and more abstract until he's clutching a bursting sphere of pure energy instead. Electricity fizzles through his entire body.

He doesn't notice how the woods are gradually becoming louder, how trees are creaking around them or how rumbling growls have begun to come from the shadows. The fog grows thicker, impossible to see through.

He starts walking faster, as if to get away, but obviously it's impossible when they can't let go of each other's hands. "—and, I don't know, maybe I thought you wouldn't care about the stupid amnesia or the stupid scars—"

"I don't!" Nya yells. "When have I ever— that was before, I apologized for all of that, it was months ago!"

"Hey, guys?" Kai says again, more urgently this time. "We forget about the magic woods that hate us?"

"—but apparently that's all that matters, that I'm different," Lloyd rants still, ignoring Cole's nervous voice.

"I think that thing is back—?"

"It is not!" Nya snaps. "Why is that what you're mad about, what's that even got to do with anything—?!"

"Maybe if you'd all just leave me alone for once—"

"It's our job to help you! And, no offense, you weren't looking so hot when we found you!"

"If it's your job, then I've already told you it's over with! It's not like you're getting paid for this—"

"That's not what I meant?!"

"Nya, Lloyd," Kai hisses again, louder. "Lloyd, kid, the mist—"

"And you know what?!" His blood is roaring in his ears, a painful glow taking place behind his eyes. He just needs her to drop this. He needs her to stop caring about him.

If someone cares about him, then he'll have to stick around for them. He needs her to stop caring. He needs to fulfill his destiny.

"I wish I had just left you in the Endless Sea!"

Wait. No. That's not— wait.

His hand is cold, suddenly, with slightly damp mist. On instinct, he tries to catch Nya's hand as it leaves his. He misses, walking too fast to backtrack when she stops.

Lloyd freezes, whirling around. Nya is staring at him with shocked, hurt eyes, one hand hanging at her side.

"What?" She asks, voice breaking on the word. "Are- are you serious?"

Lloyd's mouth hangs open, dry as bone. His empty hand clenches around thin air. Panic pools in his gut.

He told them not to let go.

Thick white fog surrounds Nya near immediately. He lunges for her as her eyes go wide with realization. She opens her mouth, reaches for him as the mist grows opaque around her—

And he collides with fog. When he breaks through, nobody is there.

He's completely alone.

"NYA!" He yells, frantically trying to see through the fog. Every time he pushes it away, it comes back thicker, obscuring his vision of everything. He throws a small sphere of his element into the mist, but it only breaks the white fog up for a few seconds before it closes in again.

"No, no, no—" He mutters, ignoring the tether to the Sword as he begins running through the woods, making random turns. "No, give them back!" He yells at the Lost Woods. "Give them back, I- I didn't mean it, I wasn't angry— give them back!"

He told them not to let go, why did she let go?! He told them this place was dangerous, he told them it didn't want them here— he told them the Green Element would protect them, why would she let go?!

"NYA!" He screams again, panic flushing through his veins. He rams into trunks, trips over roots as he runs, and still the mist won't clear. "ZANE! COLE, KAI— JAY—"

He trips over a large root and goes sprawling across the damp ground, breath knocked out of him. He catches himself on his hands and knees, heaving. His vision swims.

They're going to get killed, he can't stop himself from thinking with terrifying certainty. Something in here is going to kill them. Going to eat them. They'll get lost and starve. They'll never find their way out.

He can't breathe. He can barely think. Choked sobs force their way out of his throat. It's completely his fault, if he hadn't let go— if he'd been faster, if he'd just sucked it up—

All that time, all that effort, spent saving everybody, just for them to die in here. Why had he let them come? Why did he ever decide that a little bit of companionship was worth this? He knew it was too dangerous, he knew he should've done it alone— he should've just ditched them again, it would've been easy, why did he ever stay— this is all his fault—

They think I hate them, he thinks, throat quickly closing up. They think I hate their guts, they think I want nothing to do with them, they think I don't love them anymore— they think I hate them—

He doesn't, he wants to scream. He doesn't anymore, he never did, he wants them back—

They're going to die in here, and the last thing I ever told Nya was that I wanted her to.

He curls up in the curve of tree roots taller than his waist and sobs.

Nya coughs, waving her hand in front of her mouth in an effort to dispel the fog. It doesn't really work. She glances around, confused. The Lost Woods don't offer much variety in terms of its geography, but this looks like a completely different place than where she just was.

"Lloyd?" She calls, voice echoing in the darkness. She looks around for a spot of white-blonde hair, for forest-green clothes, and finds nothing. She can't find the glimmering sheen of Golden Weapons, either, nor the twin flames from Kai's horns. No Guardian, no near-silent mechanical whirring, no horse… she's alone here.

"I wish I had just left you in the Endless Sea."

Did… he actually mean that? Is that why she was swallowed up by this fog? Is it the Lost Woods, fulfilling the Green Element's wish to be rid of her?

She shakes her head immediately. No, of course he didn't mean it. How many times has she said something stupid out of anger or frustration?

It's fine. She'll find him, and it'll be fine.

It still stings, though.

She crosses her arms tightly and begins to slowly walk through the forest. It's eerily quiet; it feels like something is watching her. She keeps a careful eye out for anything with eyes. In a place like this, though, where every plant and root feels like it wants her gone, it's hard to tell.

"Lloyd!" She calls again, squinting through the mist. "Kai? Jay?" Nothing. Is everyone else still with Lloyd, or did they get lost, too? They might all be scattered through the woods, and there's no telling how big this place is.

This place was grown to protect a demigod over ten thousand years ago — at least, that's what Lloyd said, and he sounded sure of it. She isn't a threat to that demigod, but she doesn't think the woods particularly care. After so much time abandoned… makes sense that it's a little creepy.

Nya really needs to get out of here.

She keeps her arms folded tight against her chest, recoiling from any place where the mist looks too thick. Once or twice, she thinks of trying to climb a tree and get a better vantage point, but the twisted and gnarled trees stretch so high above her head, she doubts she could get even halfway up one of them. Besides… no telling what's in those branches.

This place is so creepy. Why the hell would something called the Sword of Sanctuary be in here?

Nya jumps when a sudden noise comes from beyond the fog. She squints in its direction, ready to make a run for it or fight if need be, but quickly realizes she recognizes the voice.

"Hellooooo?" Jay's voice ripples through the thick fog, long and drawn out. "Kiddo? NOT LIKING THE VIBE!"

"Jay!" Nya yells, running toward the voice. The mist grows thicker, but she manages to shoulder her way through before it can become completely opaque. She bursts out the other side into a dense thicket.

Jay's head whip around to face her, and he nearly melts in relief. "Nya! What happened back there?!"

She groans, pushing her hair out of her face. Quickly, before any weird semi-magic fog can separate them again, they link hands. There's no telling how effective it'll be without the Green Element, but they haven't really got any other strategies.

"I'm sorry," she says, dragging a hand down her face. "I let go of his hand. Didn't realize how fast it'd all happen." She decides to leave out why she let go of his hand. Because it doesn't matter, because he didn't mean it.

She's not very used to playing the optimist, but somebody has to.

Jay sighs, glancing around the woods. It's still just as dark here as anywhere else. "Guess we gotta find everyone else, now. You think yelling at the top of our lungs will work?"

"Not without attracting monsters," Nya grumbles, glaring at the shadows suspiciously. She could put up a hell of a fight any day, but this place… going off what Lloyd said, this place was ancient. Surely, something so old was smart, too. They can't go around tempting it. "Do you have any clue how we got here?"

"Nope," Jay mutters, picking a random direction and walking. Any movement feels more productive than standing around and waiting for something to pick them off. "That mist all over the place got super thick and then- bam. I'm somewhere else entirely. This place takes 'lost' pretty literally."

No kidding. This is why it's really called the Lost Woods — it literally swallows people up. It reminds her of Nyad. Of the Ocean's abyss. Nya was lucky to get spit back out that time.

"Just… lay low," she eventually says quietly, goosebumps running down her arms. She squeezes Jay's hand tightly, and he squeezes back. "And… maybe be prepared to get a little more lost."

He doesn't know how long he's curled up on the ground hysterically crying his eyes out, but it's long enough for him to pass out and wake back up. He doesn't move upon waking, bone-deep exhaustion weighing him down. He feels like he could just… sit here forever. Wither away until the woods took him, too.

They're dead, he keeps thinking, unable to stop. They'll die in here. You were stupid to bring them. No amount of companionship could be worth this.

This is why they shouldn't have cared. Because people care, and then he goes and fucks it all up and gets them hurt. If they'd just gone home, like he told them to, they'd be alive and well and enjoying themselves in their perfectly-intact home Domains while he did all the hard stuff for them. He'd be at the Sword by now, and they'd all get their stupid destinies over with and they'd never be forced to give a crap about him again.

Instead, they're going to die.

A strained whine grates on his throat. His tail wraps tight around his legs in a pathetic attempt at self-comfort.

They're dead, they're dead, they're dead.

He shouldn't have said it. He was so stupid to say it. Stupid to stick around in the first place. He was better off without them, and so were they.

…he'd hated that week alone. Trudging through Hyrule in the mud and rain, exhaustion weighing him down and paranoia forcing him to keep going until he collapsed. He'd hated the grating silence, the cold, the ache in his chest. He hated it.

Better that than have them dead, he thinks bitterly.

He's got to find them. Is it even possible? He thought he knew this place, but it won't even listen to him. Him, the person whose stupid soul grew the whole damn forest! If the woods have decided that the other Champions were threats, he'll never get them back. He has to get them back.

They might already be dead, he thinks, anxiety betraying him. They probably suffocated in that mist. A monster's gotten to them — why didn't you notice any of the monsters following you?

Not monsters. They're just… protective. They've spent so long in a forest soaked in the Green Element, they've practically become the forest. Living, moving extensions of it.

Still. An extension of something that wants the Champions dead isn't much better than a normal monster.

Lloyd shakily pulls himself to his feet, stumbling on the way up. His legs are aching. The tether in his core is screaming, tugging him towards the center of the woods, but he ignores it. He needs that Sword more than breathing, but he needs to find everybody else even more than that.

He can't have spent so much effort resurrecting them just to lose them here. When he finally had his true element, when he was supposed to use it to protect them, to find Sanctuary… no. He can't have lost them.

He hugs his arms close to his body and begins to walk. "Give them back," he mumbles as he trudges through thick, tangled grass, stumbling over large tree roots. He repeats it, over and over again, as his element flickers around him in a faint bubble of light.

He refuses to get to that sword without them. He has to find them again. He can't be the reason they all die. He can't return without the people he worked so hard to save.

A flicker of light shines from up ahead. He strides toward it without hesitation, knowing nothing in this place can hurt him. To his surprise, it's a cluster of small fireflies — made of actual fire.

Lloyd stares, dumbfounded. Whenever they land, smoke and embers trail in their wake. "Weird," he mutters, reaching out a hand to touch one. This, combined with that odd blue almost-rabbit from before, makes him wonder how deep the Green Element's influence reached here. It was like everything in these woods picked one of his elements and stuck with it.

The one he'd nudged lands in his palm for a few moments, soaking in his element. After a few moments, it buzzes around his head and then starts moving away from its group, deeper into the woods.

That's weird. He's gonna follow it.

He picks up speed, trailing after the little bug. It makes random turns, but always stops when Lloyd hesitates and doesn't move until he keeps following it. If he was anybody else, he'd think this was some kind of convoluted trap. Given that he's the person these woods have traps to protect in the first place, he feels pretty safe.

Before too long, he begins to hear a faint voice breaking through the fog. Lloyd immediately begins to run toward the sound, slapping aside low-hanging branches and vines. He breaks through a cloud of mist, and his eyes land on Kai.

The Master of Fire isn't facing him, hasn't even noticed him. His horns are missing, keeping him in total darkness. His hands are cupped around his mouth, yelling out for any one of them. "Nya!" Kai calls, brows furrowed in worry. "Lloyd- oof!"

He stumbles when Lloyd slams into him, arms tight around his middle. Kai jerks his head down in surprise. "Lloyd?!" He yelps. "Where did you— are you crying?"

"No," Lloyd lies, face buried in Kai's red tunic and shoulders shaking. His element spreads from his hands to Kai's skin, wrapping the Champion into the green bubble of light. As soon as Kai is enveloped in that light, his eyes spark red, and his horns return to his head.

Kai huffs, one hand closing around his shoulders. "Yeah, okay," he says. "What happened? And where's everyone else?"

Lloyd pulls back, quickly wiping at his eyes and clearing his throat, trying to cover up his embarrassment. "I let go of her hand," he mumbles shamefully. "I didn't mean to, I just—" His mouth clamps shut. Stop making excuses. "I told her not to let go," he eventually lands on. That is not what 'stop making excuses' means.

Kai gives him a dubious look, one brow raised like he knows exactly what Lloyd is thinking. Thankfully, he doesn't comment on it. "So, how'd you find me?" He asks, one hand still on Lloyd's shoulder. As much as he wants to, he doesn't shake it off.

"Dunno," he mutters with a small shrug. "I just followed some weird bug until I got here." Kai stares at him.

"I thought we weren't supposed to follow crap in here??"

"You aren't," Lloyd corrects automatically, looking around the dense woods for any sign of anyone else. "I'm fine."

"What, 'cause you're a demigod?" Kai mutters sarcastically as they pick a direction and start walking. Lloyd stalwartly ignores the Sword tether.

"Yeah," he answers, completely serious. "'Cause I'm the demigod."

Kai lets out a defeated sigh, rolling his eyes. "Alright, fine. Lead the way, o' magical demigod."

"Not magical."

"You kinda are." Kai grabs one of Lloyd's hands and draws the Golden Sword with his other. He vaguely gestures at the glowing green light around them. "You keep that weird green… thing up."

"It's the Green Element," Lloyd deadpans, opening his palm to allow the sphere of energy to burble to life. He raises an eyebrow at the Sword of Fire. "What are you doing with that?"

Kai sends a line of flame up the sword's blade, coating it in heat. "Protecting the Green Element," he answers. "Obviously."

After you manage to get over the overall creepiness of eerie magic woods that want you dead, they're actually very boring.

It feels like they've been walking for hours. She's not naive enough to think it's actually been that long, of course. What with the whole 'Green Element growing the Lost Woods' thing and some Time God's sword sitting pretty in the center — emphasis on Time God —, she's pretty confident that this place is using time to fuck with them. Make them exhausted in mere minutes, rather than hours, and have them grow hopeless as they feel more and more time passing.

Unluckily for the Lost Woods, Nya spent a century sharing head space with a literally endless ocean goddess. Unluckily for Nya, Jay is impatient no matter what the circumstances are.

"I'm just gonna fly over the canopy," Jay announces for the tenth time, right before Nya jerks him backward.

"If you do that," she grits out for the tenth time, "we're going to get lost again."

"We're already lost!" Jay yells, throwing both hands up into the air, and taking Nya's along with it where they're joined. "I think it's literally impossible to get more lost!"

Nya pulls her hand back down with an impatient huff. "It is possible to get separated again," she says. "We're better off on the ground."

"It's impossible to see anything from down here," Jay grumbles, kicking over a weirdly glowing mushroom. It explodes in a tiny cloud of frost, and they quickly swerve to avoid it. "Seriously, just let me carry us both up. I bet it'd be easy to at least find Kai — he's probably set the whole place on fire already."

Nya eyes the thick canopy suspiciously. She doesn't trust anything about this place. "There could be monsters," she warns.

"What do we have elements for?"

She still hesitates. What if exiting the woods through the canopy kicked them out entirely? They'd never be able to find everyone if they had to start from the beginning (not that they're very close where they are). Besides, even if they kept ahold of one another, would that guarantee they didn't get separated? Nya's positive she hadn't let go of Kai, and yet the mist had jerked them apart anyways. Do they really want to tempt it?

As she's still thinking it over, a sudden shockwave rippling over the ground. They each stumble, whipping their heads around to the source of the earthquake.

"…speaking of elements," Jay mutters. "What do we wanna bet that was Cole?"

As far as tactics to locate everyone went, causing random earthquakes and hoping they all came running was a pretty good one. Nya nods and starts a quick walk toward the source. If they can find Cole, they might be able to find everyone else, too.

The same thudding booms bleed in and out of earshot as they walk. Nya makes sure not to make a straight shot for the noise or run too fast. She thinks — maybe — that she's figured out the trick of this place. If they move slowly enough, and keep their eyes peeled, they can see where the mist is too thick and threatens to swallow them. Walking in a straight line for too long yields the same oppressive shroud. There's a very, very small margin of error where they can stay somewhat on track. Go too fast, and the mist will come down on them. Go too slow, and it'll creep up on them.

Safe to say, Nya hates this place.

Finally, they seem to cross into whatever bubble keeps their teammate separated from them. Smoking embers and flecks of magma of all things litter the ground, along with steaming boulders in large craters. The hell?

"Cole?" Jay yells, carefully side-stepping the magma. "You here, man? What's with the lava?!"

Maybe he's with Kai? But it looks like a fight took place here. What could have…?

From the opposite direction, Nya just barely spots the missing Gerudo, sprinting through the dense ferns. He's yelling something, chopping his hand in the air at them.

"…go go go!" Cole is yelling, jumping over a fallen log. As soon as he says it, something from far behind him rumbles loudly, and the ground shakes again.

Ah. So that's where the earthquakes came from. Joys.

"What is that?!" She yells as Cole finally catches up to them.

He shakes his head, leaning his hands on his knees and heavily panting. He struggles to talk through his gasps for breath. "Talus— made— of lava."

"A what?!" Jay shrieks. To answer his question, a flaming boulder trailing magma comes sailing through the air, just barely missing them. They all yelp in shock and jump back.

The Talus in question comes crashing through the woods, knocking over trees as it stomps toward them. Hot glowing magma bubbles in the cracks of its thick body. It's missing one leg — as they watch, it slams down into the ground before coming back up, pulling stone from beneath the earth into its body. The grass beneath it is left in flames. Jay gapes at it, voice high-pitched. "I thought the Calamity's monsters couldn't get in here?!"

Nya stumbles backward. "Don't think it's the Calamity's," she mutters, staring at the fire. This thing wasn't just made out of stone — it was actively manipulating the earth, and clearly had some kind of connection to fire. "I think it's the Green Element's."

Cole grabs Nya's arm, tugging her back. "Yeah, and it's immune to my element, so let's go!"

The Talus swings its thick boulder arm toward them, and heavy flaming rocks rain down against the earth, just barely missing their position. They all shriek and scramble to run in the opposite direction.

Zane stands at the base of one of the Lost Woods' very tall trees, wondering if he has the stamina to make it to the top. He knows, logically, the best course of action is to wait in one spot until someone finds him — most likely Lloyd, given his seemingly innate ability to navigate these woods. But he also knows that this makes him a sitting duck should a monster decide that it's hungry.

However… he probably shouldn't risk climbing to the canopy. It could end very poorly, and he doubts he'd be able to see anything through the thick shroud of mist.

Then… what to do? He can't very well do nothing, and it would be a waste of energy to try to climb up high enough for a vantage point. Yelling out for his teammates would only attract monsters, and wandering would make it harder for anyone to find him in turn.

With a sigh, Zane sits down on a rock to think, eyeing the most suspiciously. It's more opaque in certain places, leading him to make a mental note of avoiding it.

It seems the Green Element is the only thing capable of navigating the Lost Woods. It was only after Nya let go of Lloyd's hand that they became lost, and separated from each other even though Zane hadn't ever loosened his grip on Cole or Jay. Lloyd was correct; they sorely needed his element's protection.

It irks him to rely on the person he's meant to be protecting, but that's a separate issue entirely.

It's ill-advised, but if he wants to avoid monsters, his best bet is to start moving. As Zane goes to stand, he notices something by his feet. A softly glowing, green-yellow mushroom. He tilts his head, brushing the cap with his fingertip. To his surprise, it lightly shocks him with static electricity.

…okay. He supposes a strange electric mushroom is the least of his worries.

After a moment of hesitation, Zane snaps the stem of the fungus and stores it in his pocket. Who knows if he'll ever be back here? If he gets the chance, maybe he can look a little deeper into these plants.

Zane begins walking, keeping a careful eye out for any life. He feels as though he's being watched from all angles, silently judged.

He stops in his tracks when, through the bushes, a small rabbit-like creature emerges. He realizes it's the same glowing creature they saw before they got separated. It's blue body emits a strange cold, like frost, and the ferns atop its head spark like lightning.

He stares at it for a few moments. Perhaps, if he does nothing, it will ignore him…?

Lloyd said not to follow it. So, slowly, he begins to back away. He does feel a little bit silly for being wary of a bunny of all things, though.

He quickly stops feeling silly when he hears a low, echoing snort, and what is almost a horse steps out from seemingly nowhere. It stares him down with four beady eyes through a white mane of fur too thick to be properly called 'hair', covering its face like a curtain. Like the almost-rabbit, it glows blue, with two electric yellow ferns atop its head. Unlike the 'rabbit', it is ginormous.

"Ah," Zane says, mouth dry. "I probably don't want to fight you."

The… horse, if it could be called that, tosses its head as it takes slow steps toward him. Zane continues to back up and flexes his hands, willing his element to his fingertips.

His element does not respond.

Zane glances down at his hands, dumbfounded. His element… it's completely unresponsive. It's the exact same kind of physical silence he got from contact with vengestone, just without all the poisonous qualities of the rock. He attempts to summon his shuriken, but the golden bands on his wrists don't even hum.

He swallows, looking back up at the horse, which is starting to look incredibly pissed off to see him. "…ah," he winces. "That… is a problem."

The glowing creature paws at the ground, lowering its head. Zane takes the hint and starts sprinting in the opposite direction.

"This is the worst!" Jay screams as they stumble through the brush, ducking their heads as boulders larger than their bodies go sailing over their heads. It's basically impossible to avoid the mist, but Nya is doing her level best, tugging them back and forth before they get swallowed again.

"Stop! Screaming!" Nya gasps, also screaming. "Hit it or something!"

"What exactly do you think happens when you shoot lava with lightning?!"

"We have to hit it with something!" She yells. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to run and hold hands?! Or how ridiculous-looking?!"

"Then let go of our ha-aaands—!" Cole yelps, tugging them backward right before they crash into the side of a large ledge, shrouded by the fog. Flaming rocks fly right over their heads, and they nearly trip over each other running in a new direction.

"No!" Nya yells, ducking under a branch. "We'll get separated again!"

Jay jumps over a log and skids on the landing. "Then you hit it! You're the one with water powers!"

"Does it look like my hands are free right now?!"

Cole pulls them all to the left just before more boulders hit them. Nya really thinks there should be a limit to how many rocks can be thrown at a person.

"Jay, just fly us all away from this thing!" Cole yells.

"I can't carry both of you!" Jay protests. He shrieks when the Talus rams into a large tree and it immediately cracks in half. Nya tugs them both down a short slope to avoid it.

"You callin' me heavy?!"

"You're over seven feet tall and basically made of rock, yes I'm calling you heavy!"

The fallen tree rolls over a ledge, and Nya slips in her effort to avoid it, dragging Jay down with her. They both shriek, clutching each other, and Cole wastes no time dragging them backward.

"Fuck it," the Gerudo hisses. He tosses Nya over his shoulder, grabs Jay, and starts legging it down a hill. Nya pants, fighting to catch her breath. She has a very unfortunate view of the Talus behind them.

"Wow," she comments, strained laughter bubbling out of her as her hands hold onto Cole's black uniform for dear life. "That thing is fast."

Cole makes a wheezing noise. "Don't tell me how fast the monster chasing me is, Nya! Why would you tell me that?!"

She summons a sphere of water to her hands and takes aim. "Motivation! Run faster!" Water shoots out from her palms in a streamlined geyser, beaning the Talus right where its face would be if it had one. The animated stone hisses and steams as its magma is rapidly cooled, and it actually slows down under the sudden onslaught.

"Jay!" She yells, twisting around over Cole's shoulder. "Shoot it!"

"I can't even see it!" He yells back, kicking his legs. "I'm not gonna accidentally hit a tree and get us all crushed! You kill it!"

"What exactly do you think water is supposed to do against a giant fucking rock?!"

At the same time, they both turn to the Gerudo. "Cole!" They yell. He yells back, incoherently.

"I told you, it's immune to my element!" He snaps.

"You have super strength!" Jay screams while Nya starts blasting the Talus with more water. "Use that!"

"How strong do you think I am?!"

Nya's element tugs on her, making her jerk her head to the side. "Cole!" She yelps, frantically hitting at him rapidly. "Turn left!"

He does so without question, skidding down a steep slope. They go too fast, and end up sprawling to the ground in a heap. Nya scrambles to sit up, and she laughs out loud. Just like she thought; a river. She knew she felt some water around here.

She quickly scrambles to get into the stream, jerking Cole and by extension Jay along with her. The water immediately laps at her shin, curling in enthusiastic ribbons around her arms. As the Talus comes crashing through, its two arms raising above its body to hit the ground, she commands the water to extinguish the magma and seep into the cracks.

The magma in the Talus' core hardens into cooled stone and expands rapidly through the cracks in its body. Without much more fanfare, the Talus is broken into rubble from the inside out. The remains of its body collapse to the ground with heavy thuds.

Nya pants, lowering her arms. "What the fuck," she gasps, wiping built-up sweat from her forehead. "Why did it have lava??"

Jay moans face-first into a clump of dirt. "I hate this place," he complains.

Cole stands up, brushing dirt off of himself. Nya turns on him with an unimpressed look. "And why exactly couldn't youkill it? You couldn't still used your Golden Weapon, right?"

Cole frowns, glancing down at the long golden bracer along his bicep. "I would've," he mutters. "But… it won't come out."

"Huh."

He shrugs helplessly. "I tried summoning my scythe, it wouldn't come out! I can't get it to respond to me at all!"

Jay laughs nervously, eye twitching. "You mean you've lost your element?! You're our heaviest hitter!"

Cole frowns, crossing his arms with an embarrassed huff. "I don't think it's gone," he mutters. "More like… I dunno, locked up. Can't imagine why, though."

Nya quickly turns to Jay. "But your element works, right?!"

Jay holds out his hands, staring at them intently. After a few moments, his expectant expression melts into nervousness, then panic. He starts glancing over his shoulder at his wings, clearly trying to make them open, but the gears don't so much as twitch.

"AGH?!" He cries, clutching at his hair. "I can't fly?!"

Nya leans against a gnarled tree, staring at them both in confusion. "But…" She holds up her palm, and a tiny sphere of water bubbles to life in it. "I can use my element just fine?"

Cole, infinitely more calm than Jay, shrugs, rubbing the back of his neck. "Maybe it's 'cause you merged with yours?"

"But why are ours gone?!" Jay shrieks. "Actually, it doesn't matter, because we're still totally defenseless!"

Nya blinks. She stares down at her hands, buzzing with power. And, despite herself, a slow yet wide smile grows on her face. She barely suppresses a laugh. "You mean… I'm the strongest one here?" She cackles with elation, shamelessly showing off her element. "I take it all back! This place is awesome!"

Cole raises one unimpressed brow. "I can still bench press you, y'know."

Nya snickers, ignoring him and patting Jay on the head. "Aw, don't worry. I'll protect you two! Ha! Take that, Kalmaar!"

Cole groans, dragging one hand down his face. This was about to be the most insufferable day of his life.

Zane sprints through the woods with the not-horse right on his heels, yelling words he'd never speak in front of his team. He's tried multiple times to lose the monster in the dense forest, but his stark white uniform isn't exactly the best for blending in.

"Lloyd!" He loudly yells, along with a few choice words as he skids over a muddy spot on the ground. He flexes his hands, trying to summon even just his Golden Weapon, but his power gives him no response. He chances a glance behind him, lets out a panicked yelp, and runs a bit faster. "Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon, I swear to Nyad—"

Zane skids to a panicked stop when a harsh, tense beeping sound emanates from the fog. A bright red target appears on his chest, and he throws up his hands in panic. "Pixal, it's me!"

Pixal peaks her head out from behind a tree, and her mouth falls open in a surprised 'o'. "My apologies, Zane!" She calls off her Guardian, which has somehow managed to hide very effectively in the shadows despite being so large. "I thought you were a monster!"

Zane glances behind him, quickly rushing behind Pixal. "There's one chasing me now!" He yelps, voice embarrassingly high. Pixal's brows lower with a disapproving frown, and she glares into the mist where Zane came from. As the bright blue creature comes charging through, her Guardian instantly locks in on it. Just before the beam hits it, the creature disappears in a cloud of blue dust.

"It is dealt with," Pixal says pleasantly. Zane sighs, slumping in relief. He quickly remembers himself, letting go of Pixal's shoulders and stepping back.

"Ah— I'm sorry," he quickly apologizes, flushing. "And thank you. I would have fought myself, but… ah, my element appears to be… inaccessible." He scans her, checking for any injuries — or, he supposes, damage. "You're alright, yes? Nothing has hurt you?"

To his surprise, Pixal's expression lights up in a bright, elated smile. "Not at all!" She beams, and brandishes a handful of colorful mushrooms in his face. "I am having the most wonderful time! I have found mushrooms!"

"Ah…" Zane leans back, nervously smiling. "…what?"

Pixal doesn't appear to notice any of his uncertainty. She grins, picking out one large fungus, gray in color. "This one is an ironshroom," she says, eyes glowing with excitement. Quite literally. "And this one! A chillshroom! Oh, and I do believe this one is called a stamella shroom! Records had indicated these were all extinct!"

Zane watches, shocked, as she laughs and grabs a glass jar — where did she get that?? — from her waist, shaking it in his face. "And I have found cold darners! Most bugs are extremely vulnerable to cold climates, yet these thrive! They had supposedly gone extinct centuries ago, but I found entire clouds of them just a few yards back — you know, records indicate that cooking them a certain way in combination with monster parts can actually amplify one's resistance to the cold — you would of course be a poor candidate for such a study, but given your level of physical fitness, I'm sure it would be no harm to try out this ironshroom instead, if only we could start a quick fire and find some more common mushrooms or carrots—" She cuts herself off, staring at him intently. "How do you feel about getting punched in the stomach?"

He blinks. "…not…. good?"

She grins widely, snagging his hand. "When you have had this ironshroom, you will feel fantastic!"

He can only let himself be dragged along as Pixal goes on the hunt for more experimental fungus.

They spend a few more hours wandering the woods — not that she's entirely sure it's actually hours as opposed to minutes… or even days — before they find anything of note. Nya remains incredibly smug about being the only one with a working element the entire time. It's not like anyone can blame her! After years of getting passed over because the others had fancy magic weapons and Divine Beasts, she's the one with powers, and she's supposed to not brag a little bit?

Well. Maybe a little more than 'a little bit'. But her point still stands.

Seemingly by random, only a few feet ahead of them, the mist spits out a large Guardian, a nindroid, and a Zora. Both groups stare at one another, surprised.

Pixal is the first to speak. She leans up over Zane's shoulder with a very large and very intense smile. "Jay! I need you to electrocute Zane!"

"What." Nya states at the same time as Jay starts wailing about his lost element. Cole turns around and thumps his forehead against a tree trunk, defeated.

"We are experimenting with zapshrooms," Zane elaborates, dead serious. "Jay, you must indeed electrocute me."

"What part about 'my element is gone' do you not understand?!"

Nya pinches the bridge of her nose. "Have you two even been trying to find us?"

Pixal and Zane glance at one another dubiously, then back at her. "Well… we did find you, no?" Pixal shrugs. She smiles innocently and holds up a jar full of bugs. "How do you feel about ingesting restless cricket legs?"

Cole quickly turns around, stress lines around his face. "No. No. Nobody is eating crickets."

Pixal frowns sadly. "Only the legs!"

"No crickets!" Cole yells, voice cracking. "Nobody is eating anything off of a bug! Zane — do you have your element?"

He blinks, then winces. "Ah… no. I can't even summon my shuriken." Cole groans, though they all expected this answer.

"Great," he mutters, rubbing his forehead. "We're missing ours, too. 'Cept for Nya, for some reason. Any ideas?"

Pixal scans them over, lowering her bug jar and tapping her lip in thought. "It may have to do with the Green Element," she says slowly. "Water is the only element out of your group that has no connection to it. Additionally, it is older than the Green Element in this realm. And… many of the plants and animals we have encountered seem to bear some connection to one or more of the core four elements that make up the Green Element…" She hums, glancing back up. "Perhaps, the Lost Woods only tolerate usage of these elements when in tandem with the Green Element. Without Lloyd to provide it, you appear to be stripped of your power."

Nya crosses her arms. It almost makes sense. But… maybe it also has to do with how they're all here in the first place. The boys were unmerged from Golden Weapons, but… you know, Nya never did ask Lloyd how he did that. The most explanation they'd ever received was a shrug and, "I asked for them back."

She won't pretend to understand such an ancient place. It's a ten-thousand year old forest, after all — things are going to be weird. But maybe the whole 'merging with Golden Weapons' thing has something to do with it.

She quickly shakes her head, dispelling the thoughts. "Doesn't matter," she announces. "We've still got to find Lloyd and Kai. Pixal, you can't track Lloyd again, can you?"

She shakes her head regretfully. "My apologies. It appears certain functions are not working. I believe it is the fault of this mist."

She sighs, summoning her element once more. It forms a trident in her right hand as she clenches her jaw. "Fine. Guess we'll track them down the hard way, then."

Kai brings them to a stop, much to Lloyd's irritation. "C'mon, kid, take a break," he insists, pulling Lloyd back when he tries to keep walking.

"I'm not tired," he grumbles, refusing to look back and instead keeping his gaze focused on the thick fog, searching for the distinctive uniforms of the Champions.

"We've been walking for, like, two hours," Kai says, exasperated. "Seriously, just sit down for five minutes."

"Thirty."

"Huh?"

Lloyd rolls his eyes. "We've been walking for thirty minutes, not two hours. The woods are fucking with you."

He can practically feel Kai's eye twitch. "Okay," he grinds out. "Fine. You're still taking a break."

"It's not my problem if you can't keep up," he snaps, fighting the urge to gnash his teeth. The splintered trees creak toward them.

Kai remains entirely unimpressed. Instead of asking a third time, he just pulls Lloyd's arm back and pushes him down until he drops onto a log. Lloyd scowls, opening his mouth to protest, but Kai tosses an apple at him instead.

"I probably shouldn't be eating whatever junk is growing here," the Master of Fire muses, plopping down on the grass. "But you're the demigod, so you're probably fine."

He frowns. "I'm not hungry," he mumbles. Kai snorts.

"Yeah, well, I didn't see you eat breakfast this morning — or dinner last night — so we're not moving until you eat something."

Irritation wells inside of him. He's not some kid for Kai to babysit. He's not some weak little Hylian that everyone needs to be all overprotective over. He's not their brother, and he's so sick of everyone acting like it.

"Stop it," he bites under his breath. Kai raises an eyebrow.

"Gonna have to spell it out for me, kid," he says, not unkindly.

Lloyd's hands curl into tense fists. "Stop this," he spits. "Stop it with the stupid 'big brother' act, okay? You don't need to pretend you give a shit about me anymore, alright?"

For a few moments, Kai seems genuinely confused, like Lloyd is speaking in another language entirely. Then he seems to realize that Lloyd is, in fact, being entirely serious, and grows even more confused.

"Are… you serious?" He asks. "Wow. Nya wasn't exaggerating."

Lloyd's eye twitches. "I am serious," he hisses. "You don't know me. I don't know you. I remember literally nothing about you, and I especially don't—" his voice cracks on the words, like his throat is trying to choke them back. "I especially don't care about you, either, so knock it off."

Kai gives him a deadpan look and glances down at their hands, still stuck together. "You're holding my hand, kid."

"To keep you from getting lost!" He yells indignantly.

"Right. So you care."

"No!" His face grows red, and he can't tell if he's embarrassed or angry. Probably angry. That's better than humiliation. "It's my job! I need you to pilot your Divine Beast, and you can't do that if you're all dead!"

Kai's face splits into a huge, victorious grin. "Ha!" He shouts, pointing a finger in Lloyd's face. "So the all-powerfuldemigod does need us!"

Lloyd chucks the apple in Kai's face. Like the smug asshole he is, Kai just keeps laughing at him. Lloyd's face heats up, and he feels the never-ending pit of anger in his stomach come to a boil.

"Shut up!" Lloyd shouts. "Just because I want you to do your job doesn't mean I'm your stupid fucking brother, okay?! That kid is dead, so stop pretending we're the same person!"

Kai snorts. "Yeah, okay. Sorry, I was just under the impression that cause, y'know, you look about the same—"

"I do not."

"—and you act pretty much the same—"

"I do not!"

"—then that made you the same person." Kai shrugs, as if it doesn't matter to him either way. "And I guess, given the fact that you were basically hysterical when I found you, I thought you might, in fact, 'care'." He puts air quotes around the word, expression deadpan. "My bad. I'll be sure to fill everyone in."

"Good," Lloyd snaps, though his chest is still tight and his lungs still burn. He still feels the need to justify himself, because Kai just so obviously doesn't believe him. "You've all done your jobs, okay? Taught me your elements and everything, so- so tell everyone to drop the act, because I can take care of myself now."

"Yup," Kai nods along in a bored tone. "I'll make sure they get that part. For sure."

Lloyd falters for a second. He hadn't really expected Kai to just… agree. But it's a good thing that he has. Lloyd needs to start doing his job on his own. This is his duty, his responsibility, no matter how much he resents the First Master for it. Everyone being around him puts them in danger and sets them up for pain. Just because he doesn't like being alone doesn't mean he doesn't have to be.

"O-okay," he finally manages alongside a shaky nod. "Good."

"Yeah, just one question," Kai gestures at him vaguely. "Why shouldn't I care?" He interrupts Lloyd before he can protest. "Yeah, I get it, you're 'not the same person', whatever. Why shouldn't I care about this person?"

"Wha-" Lloyd shakes his head, short-circuiting. "I don't know you! You don't know me!"

"Sure, okay," Kai shrugs. "But you did save my life. And you saved my little sister's life. And you saved the lives of my four best friends. So… am I supposed to just, like, not give a shit about all that, or…?"

"That's not— I'm saying that you all treat me like some kid who died a century ago!" Lloyd protests. Kai nods along.

"Yeah, I get it. And, y'know — same body, not the same person. I'll accept that. Boundaries, and all. But why shouldn't I care about you?"

Lloyd opens and closes his mouth, but no words come out. Because I'm awful, he wants to say. Because I put people in danger. Because I always mess things up for everyone else.

He can't say any of it. It feels like admitting failure.

Kai lets out a sigh, leaning forward. He drops Lloyd's hand, and he nearly rushes to grab it again before realizing that his element has already created a much larger bubble around the space they take up. Kai gives him a somewhat smug look, like he knows exactly what's going through his head.

"Here's one thing that hasn't changed," Kai says. "You always need someone to just spell it out for you, because you're too stubborn to ever admit shit like this to yourself and actually take it seriously. This whole 'loner' act you've got going on — this whole 'replaced' thing, yeah, Nya told me — isn't about being a good demigod or prince. It isn't about doing your job." He waves an accusing finger in Lloyd's face. "You're acting like this because you don't like yourself. That's it. Case closed."

Lloyd recoils, indignity flaring red in his face. "It— that's not—"

"It is," Kai says simply. "I heard you, y'know. What you said in Vah Rudania. 'I'm angry because I hate myself', right?"

He stiffens. "How did you—"

"Green Element talks, Fire listens," Kai shrugs, like it's the most natural thing in the world. "Point is, the only reason you're acting like this, pushing us all away, is because — what? You think you don't deserve friends, or somethin'? Give me one good reason."

Lloyd's tail lashes, and he's suddenly overcome by the urge to run far, far away. He grits his teeth, fists clenching. "Fine. Fine, yes, I hate myself! What a detective! So what?! Why shouldn't I?!"

"Tell me why you should."

"What reason do I have not to?!" Lloyd stands abruptly, pacing around the grass as his tail lashes behind him. "I failed to stop the Great Devourer! I failed to learn a single element before the Calamity came, and I failed to stop that too! I died to a bunch of robots! I—"

Kai cuts him off with a loud incorrect buzzer sound. "Wro-ong," he announces. Lloyd stares at him.

"Excuse me?"

Kai looks incredibly smug. "Oh, but you're not the same person anymore, bud," he grins, like he's cracked some kind of code. "So you can't get all pissy over something someone else did, right? You're basically a brand new reincarnation, so that dead kid? Psh," he waves his hand carelessly. "Who gives a damn what he did, right? Not your problem!"

"I— well, I—" Lloyd falters, before his hands ball up again. "I still created the Hylian Blight!"

"Nya said the Quiet One did that, so…"

"I trusted a Yiga!"

Kai snorts. "It's almost like the evil cult dedicated to killing you specifically would — and try to track my logic here — try to kill you."

His face grows hot. "I gave Aspheera my blood!"

"To help someone, right?" Kai raises his brow. "Isn't that your job?"

"That's not the same thing!" He protests, resisting the urge to stomp his foot. Kai stands up too, unimpressed and unmoved.

"Give me a reason, Lloyd. One good reason to be acting like this. I'm serious."

"I just gave you six!"

"And I'm pretty sure I just told you that none of them are good enough to justify this!" His expression softens a little bit. It reminds Lloyd of those memories, in his castle's courtyard. Kai, gently encouraging but firm in never letting Lloyd quit. He hates it. "You think amnesia makes you a completely different person. Kid, I don't remember what my parents looked like. That doesn't change that they were my parents." He frowns. "And, frankly, it's pretty insulting that you think I'd just stop giving a damn about the kid I basically helped raise for four years just because he's forgotten a few details."

Tears prick his eyes. He hates crying. He hates anything that makes him look like a kid, and he hates anything that reminds him of being one. If he could skip childhood altogether, he would. Maybe then people wouldn't insist on caring about him so much.

"I'm serious, kid," Kai says again. "Talk to me. I'm right here, so just tell me what's wrong already—"

"I got you killed!" Lloyd shouts, lips pulled into a snarl. "I didn't stop the Calamity, and I got you all killed!"

Where anyone else may have hesitated at the emotional outburst, Kai wastes no time snapping back. "We didn't die!" He yells incredulously, throwing his hands up. "IMe and Nya merged with our elements! Everyone else merged with Golden Weapons! Our 'deaths' had nothing to do with you!"

He can't stand this. He can't handle any of it. He hates being alone, but he hates this even more. "You heard what I said to Nya!" He shouts instead, and he nearly chokes on it. "I meant it, too!"

Kai crosses his arms, entirely unmoved. "No, you didn't," he says. "I saw the look on your face, too, and I know for a factyou didn't mean it." He leans down, poking Lloyd in the head like he's misbehaving. "For some stupid ass reason, you think if you say somethin' real mean, it'll make us think you hate us, and that will make us hate you. You think I don't see what you're doing? Kid, I invented this game."

Lloyd snarls and smacks his hand aside. "That is not what I'm doing."

"It is," Kai says. "Tell me if I'm wrong— actually, don't, because I know I'm not. You hate yourself because you think you're a total failure because of how and when you were born. And you hate that you could never do anything alone, 'cause you think your position means you have to do everything alone, so all of it made you weak, right? So now you're desperate to do everything by yourself, to 'prove yourself', and you think accepting any help at all means you couldn't have done it on your own — and that, again, makes you a failure. But it's not about being a good demigod, Lloyd! It's about you hating yourself!" He pokes the Hylian in the chest, jaw hard.

"That's not—" Lloyd tries to deny it, but Kai speaks right over him.

"You hate yourself, so not only do you think you don't deserve any friends or family, but you think everyone else should hate you too! But, here's the kicker! It's not because you actually believe you hurt people." Lloyd takes a step back, while Kai takes one forward. He'd sound condescending, if not for the way he sounds genuinely upset. "You want everyone to hate you so that's there's nobody left to give a shit when you inevitably get yourself hurt. If other people care, you can't go and do something stupid without any consequences. Oh, but if we hate you, well that's just fine, isn't it? It's practically a net positive!"

"I don't care if it hurts!" Lloyd screams, frost and fire turning his body hot and his breath frigid. "I don't care if this kills me!"

"No, you don't," Kai hisses. "But it's almost like you want it to. And that's worse."

He clamps his mouth shut, nearly biting down on his tongue. As it stands, iron and sickness still tinge his tongue.

He's not… he doesn't want it to. That's stupid. He's just accepted that it doesn't matter either way. There's always going to be another reincarnation to pick up his slack, so- so it doesn't matter to him. There's nothing special about him. That's it.

Kai grits his teeth, like he's biting back the urge to really get emotional. "I know exactly what you're doing, Lloyd," he says, sounding tired. "I did the exact same thing. You hate yourself for being weak, so you take any and all offers of help as confirmation of that. You want everyone else to hate you too, because you haven't earned people caring about you. You're running yourself ragged trying to improve yourself enough to make up for all your past 'failures', and you think if you finally do that, you'll like yourself. You think you can stop being miserable by making everything worse." Kai crouches down. Lloyd hadn't even noticed that he'd curled back up on the ground. His vision keeps blurring.

"It's not going to make you feel better, Lloyd," Kai says softly. "It's just going to make you angry and miserable forever. And making us all pissed at you, just so you can 'fix' it later — or worse, get yourself hurt without anyone around to stop you — is not going to make us any happier or safer." He grabs Lloyd's hand, which had been digging into his own palm and drawing thick droplets of blood. "Lloyd. Can you honestly tell me that you're any happier than that 'dead kid'?"

"I just don't want to be miserable again."

"You won't be."

The entire reason he was trying so hard to separate himself from who he was before the Calamity was because that kid was miserable and angry. And he's just gotten worse since then.

Lloyd covers his face with his one free hand, shoulders shaking. He can't hold back any more tears, and ends up burying his entire face in his arm, biting his tongue. Kai lets out a soft sigh and sits next to him, wrapping one arm around his shoulders.

"I didn't mean it," he chokes out, voice ragged. "I didn't— I don't mean it, I don't want her g-gone—"

"I know," Kai says. "And if you'd get your head out of your own ass, you'd see that she never meant any of the shitty stuff she said, either." He huffs, nudging Lloyd lightly. "Your mouths are faster than your heads. Causes a lot of drama."

He lifts his eyes, blinking away heavy tear droplets. "How- how did you—"

Kai hums, leaning back. "I was the same way as you," he says. He doesn't even sound embarrassed about it. "Wanted to do everything alone, 'cause I didn't want people to see me as some weak hybrid mistake. Made me miserable. Made things worse for me and Nya, which is honestly the worst part." He frowns. "It was dumb. I was dumb. Couldn't tell you how many times I turned down help because of my pride."

"What changed?" His voice comes out rough and quiet. Kai smiles at him.

"I took some help."

"From who?"

"Your uncle." Lloyd blinks, surprised. Uncle Wu? Kai looks fond with his own memory. "He needed the Master of Fire. We needed to get out of Ignacia. I took his help." He glances down at Lloyd again. "It really is that easy, kid."

"I don't remember him," Lloyd confesses. "Not enough. Or my dad. Or- or any of you. I- I can't—"

"That doesn't mean anything." Kai doesn't hesitate. "Changing a little bit doesn't make you a completely different person, Lloyd. And we never cared about you just because you had some elemental power, alright?" He scratches his cheek sheepishly. "Actually, you were kinda obnoxious at first. I wasn't your biggest fan for a few months."

Lloyd swallows, wiping his face. The mist around them is growing thinner, the trees' canopy slowly opening up to more sunlight. "So- so what changed?"

Kai hums, tapping his foot as he searches for the right memory. "Mm… you remember your eleventh birthday at all?" He shakes his head, and Kai shrugs. "Yeah, didn't think so. Was about a year after we met, give or take a few months. Your parents went all out, threw you this huge ass party — I think they just felt bad for piling so much pressure on you." He winces, shooting Lloyd an apologetic look. "You could definitely tell, though. You were barely excited." He leans backward on his hands, a soft warmth wafting off of him. Lloyd scoots a little bit closer.

"The day before, you pulled some stupid prank on me — I don't even remember what — and I chased you down the whole castle. You ran into the kitchen, I slipped on a puddle, and boom goes your birthday cake." A startled laugh leaves him.

"S-seriously? You smashed my birthday cake?"

Kai groans. "It was like, eight damn tiers. Your dad was pissed. Made me clean up the training grounds while everyone else got to go to the party." He smiles at Lloyd, then, nudging him softly. "You came out in the middle of it to give me a slice of cake. It was the first time you called me your brother."

He stares down at the ground. "Oh," he mumbles. No one ever told him that. When he decided they were family. For some reason, he never thought that he did decide that. It's always felt like everyone around him said it first, and he was along for the ride.

But no. He's the one who saw Kai as his brother first. He wonders if he ever would've remembered it on his own.

He looks down at his pants, tugging on a loose thread. "Was I ever happy?"

Kai thinks for a moment. "I think so," he says, which is somehow better than definitely, of of course you were. It feels a bit more honest. "All the years I knew you, you were under a lot of pressure. I watched it get worse, but I never watched it get better." He shrugs. "But it's not like every second of your life was miserable. I have a lot of good memories with you." He gives Lloyd a sideways glance, and offers an upturned palm to him. "If you'd give us a damn chance, instead of pushing us away all the time, you can make some new ones."

He stares at the offered hand. "…why aren't you upset I don't remember you?"

Kai smirks. "'Cause I know you do. At least a little bit. Enough to save me, right? Enough to call me your brother."

Oh. He heard that. He didn't think anybody had.

He still… needs time to think, at least. He's still not entirely sure about all of this. He's still not super enthusiastic about the whole 'family' thing. And he still doesn't really think it matters what happens anyways.

But if he's going to die anyways, he may as well indulge himself a little bit. It's not like he has much time left anyways. Even if he'd rather people stop putting themselves in front of him. Kai is right — he's probably going to mess up and get hurt, and that'll make everyone else miserable.

But clearly, he doesn't have much say in the matter. And… he doesn't like being mean to them anyways.

He swipes the heel of his palm over his eyes one more time before taking Kai's hand. "I really am sorry," he mumbles.

"Tell Nya, not me," Kai says with a shrug, standing up and pulling Lloyd to his feet as well. He looks around with a huff. "Jeez, that was a hell of a detour… where to, o' magical forest navigator?"

Lloyd glances around their surroundings. The mist has lightened significantly. The shadows don't seem so infinitely dark anymore. The trees are just trees, not gnarled and splintered maws.

His element dances over his skin with a soft, energetic buzz. It feels stronger than before.

"…that way," he says quietly, pointing in a seemingly random direction. It's not the direction of his Sword, but his element is tugging him that way anyways. He nods after a moment, as if to reaffirm it. "They're that way. I'm positive."

Kai takes it in stride. "Yeah, okay. Any monsters I should be worrying about?"

"Not monsters," he corrects automatically. Nothing in this place is truly monstrous. Just serving a purpose handed down ten-thousand years ago. He understands the weight of it. But as they keep walking, his eyes slowly narrow. A small, itching memory taps at the back of his mind.

"Wait a goddamn minute," he hisses, eyes tracking a faint, ethereal blue mist over the forest floor. A faint memory that isn't his own recalls seeing this same thing, thousands of years ago. Offense rises in him. "You little— again?!"

"Again??" Kai repeats, confused. "Again what?"

Lloyd marches down the path visible only to him, muttering promises of violence all the while. They push through another thin curtain of mist, and enter a small clearing. There, all the Champions are, incoherently yelling as a glowing blue horse chases them around.

"You motherfucker," Lloyd snaps under his breath, fed up. Kai stares, silently watching Jay nearly get trampled to death by the four-eyed beast. It pops in and out of reality in puffs of sparkling blue mist, scaring his teammates shitless. Nya is the only one using her element, and it's going very poorly.

"What is that?" He asks out of the corner of his mouth. Lloyd spreads his element throughout the clearing, enveloping everyone inside in green light. The small blue rabbits that accompany the horse — that motherfucker, Lloyd is so pissed at him — scamper away like the antagonizing little shits they are.

"An asshole," Lloyd growls, dropping Kai's hand and marching right into the clearing. He reaches his hand out and snags the horse by its furry face the second it pops back into the corporeal realm.

It bucks, then immediately rears back when it sees exactly who just grabbed it. Lloyd bares his teeth. "How many times," he snaps, "are you going to try to kill these people?! Stop it! I've told you a gazillion times!"

"Huh," he hears Cole state behind him. He pays the Gerudo no mind in favor of jabbing his finger in the creature's face.

"I have told you that they are allowed to be here!" He scolds. "Stop trying to trample them! You're being a dick!"

Jay leans over Zane's shoulder. "You know this thing??"

The creature makes a whining sound, and Lloyd glares at it. "No, don't look sad, you are a bad horse and I like Pillow Mint more than you! Leave them alone, or I'm telling all your jackass rabbits that you suck!"

The creature makes an upset sound and vanishes into thin air. Lloyd huffs, turning around. "Okay, he's gone now. Sorry about that."

"Dude," Cole states, looking ragged, like he's just been in three different fights. "What???"

He shrugs. "I told you this place doesn't like strangers. They use the mist to get people lost and then that horse-thingy tramples you to death. Self-explanatory."

"No?!" Jay shrieks. There are twigs in his hair. "No, not self-explanatory! Why?!"

"I just told you."

"And you know that thing?!"

He shrugs again. "Not personally. I just remember him from a while ago. He was rude then, too."

"That doesn't explain why I found a lava Talus!" Cole shouts, louder than necessary. Lloyd gives him a quizzical look.

"…yeah, that lives here, Cole," he replies, raising one brow. "What, you freak out this bad when you see a bug under a rock? Fork found in kitchen, c'mon." Cole's eye twitches.

Nya lets out a very long and loud groan. "I take it all back," she moans into her hands despairingly. "I hate this place." Kai snickers, slinging an arm over her shoulder like a leech.

"Well, me and Lloyd had a wonderful time," he brags. "Saw some bugs. Admired the view. Had emotional discussions of personal philosophy. Fantastic stuff, seriously."

Jay, evidently at his wit's end, tackles Kai to the ground with an incoherent yell. Cole, Zane, and Pixal watch them like they're particularly interesting bugs.

He takes advantage of the distraction to hesitantly approach Nya. She doesn't say anything, though she does look a little surprised.

"…sorry," he says quietly, averting his eyes. "For. Letting you get lost." No, idiot, the other thing. "And- and for what I said. It wasn't true."

Nya blinks, wide-eyed. Then she relaxes, a small and relieved smile on her face. "I know," she says, hip-checking him. "We're even now, alright?"

Far from it. What he said was totally unjustified. But his shoulders do slump in relief despite himself. "Alright," he whispers. If she forgives him, then— well, he was never really mad at her in the first place, anyways. She was just the easiest person to justify directing that anger at.

Nya offers a sympathetic smile and holds up her hand for him to take. "I've got no clue how long we've been in here, but isn't it high time we just go and get that Sword already?"

The tether in his gut tugs on him insistently. His element reaches out for it, pulling him along. If he tries to ignore it any longer, he's pretty sure he'll black out and wake up next to the Sword anyways.

"Yeah," he breathes, allowing his element to light the way through the woods. They're much less creepy, now. Less foreboding and damaged. He doesn't really know what exactly he did, but it lessens the ache in his chest. "Yeah, let's go get it."