"Dead?!"

Twilight's voice was strained, raw. "There's no way, 'Roolie's too strong to die! He'd never leave us." Warriors gave him a grim look. "It's true. I found him this morning, knife in his back. You've already dealt with the scene, cornered it off and the likes. If it's anything like I think it is... Well, that kind of end is better avoided." Twi nodded. "I'll help. But, oh Hylia, how are we gonna tell Lege? And Sky? they'll be broken..."

~<0>~

"What?!" Legend looked completely devastated, his unnaturally pale face the picture of a small child who'd just been told his precious dog was hit by a car, except somehow worse. "Dead? 'Rule's dead?! He can't be dead, he just... He can't be! Tell me this is some kind of joke, this HAS to be a joke..."

Warriors shook his head; as much as Legend grated on his nerves, they were, and always had been very close. He hated seeing his best friend like this. He knew the Veteran been very fond of Hyrule, they all had. "I'm sorry Lege, I'm not joking. And I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news but... I don't think this was an accident."

Legend very nearly fainted, voice thin and strangled, like he was being throttled. "N-not an accident?!"

Warriors' arms itched to hug him, but he knew full well if he so much as tried, Legend would break his jaw. It made the Captain's war hardened heart hurt to see such a confident, prickly young adult so lost, reduced to stuttered tears. But he couldn't imagine Time, who seemed to lack emotions, would be very gentle about delivering the horrific, life-changing news, so he guessed it was better that he'd done it.

Twi, who'd leaning in the corner watching like a hawk, gave him a look that quite plainly said 'I'm not gonna intervene. He'd break me if I tried', and Wars returned it with a grateful look.

"Hyrule was murdered" Wars  said, placing a hand on Legend's shoulder, consequences be damned.

Legend collapsed to his knees, shaking. "M-mur-rdered?! MURDERED?! Who could EVER?! Who would DARE TO-"

"Hush." Twi cut in, deep scratchy voice strangely soothing. "We don' know yet, so don' go blindly accusin' people of somethin' they didn' do. That'd be bad. Anyway, Wars found him a couple hours ago, so we're still workin' out what to do."

"You... You found him?" The Veteran looked like a trauma patient, face pale, mismatched eyes wide with shock.

Wars winced at the emotionlessness in Lege's voice. "Ah, well... Yeah, I did. His door was ajar this morning, which is unlike him." 

"I already got to his home, closed it off, all the stuff. Ain't nobody bustin' in there now. Not even if ya wanted to" Twilight said, mouth a thin, severe line.

Warriors very nearly smacked him. Who in their right mind would just get up and decide to wander into a crime scene willingly?! Then he realised that stupid, brain-dead fools like Wild were walking around, and hastily revised that thought.

"How'd they get him?" Legend's voice was raspy from all his screaming, but somehow still sounded soft and sad. "How'd they... end... him?"

Wars looked at Twi, Twi looked at Wars. Both of them winced.

"Ah. Well, it was bound to come up at some point." Wars grimaced, perfect teeth imperfectly bright in the darkness of the moment. "He looks to have been stabbed in the ribs until he died of a collapsed lung"

Twi gave him That Look™. "You could've been a little more gentle there. Lege literally jus' lost his best friend"

Legend said nothing, silently trying his best not to cry. Judging by the small sniffles, it wasn't working very well.

"Y'know what 'Roolie said to me once?" The Veteran scrubbed at his eyes, wiping away tears. "He said how he didn't want to die alone. That he was scared of it. I can't imagine how horrible it must've been for him... I..."

He looked down, pink bangs falling in his face. "He must've felt so scared."

Neither the Captain or Twi knew what to say to that; They knew Lege and Hyrule had been close, but for 'Roolie to admit his fear to the prickly Veteran? That was another level of trust that even Wild hadn't had from the Traveller. The three boys stood there, silent, for quite a while. 

Legend eventually calmed down enough to form coherent thoughts. "S'cuse me. I've got a call to make." 

To Wild, probably. Or perhaps one of the other Links, to Sky maybe. The kind, fluffy Skyloftian would know how to break it to Wild in a sensitive way. Wars could sympathise, as he'd know he had to tell Lege himself. He'd had to twist Twi's arm a bit, but it was worth it. Lege could've taken it so very much worse.

"Course." Twi said, ever the understanding one. "Go on. I'll pick ya up some of that coffee you like, sorta like a comfort thing. Sound good, Veteran?" 

Legend grunted, but it was an approving grunt.

"Right. He'll do that." Wars tugged on Twi's sleeve, and the two slipped out the room, leaving Legend to deliver the news to Wild.

~<0>~

"Ok, I've got things to do." Wars stated, closing the door behind him. "Maybe don't bring it up though, since they'll all be a bit-" Twi nodded.

Sensitive? No, that's not the word. 

"-Tearful. They'll want to be together, so maybe go join them. You're Wild's adoptive dad, he'll need that support. Once I've cleaned up the evidence and done some investigating, I'll come join you but-"

"Hey, now." Twilight wrapped a muscular arm around his shoulders. "You're grievin' too. Don' think I can't see 'ow sad you are. Go on, take a break. You need one. I'm the closest thing to law enforcement here, I can 'andle things"

"But what if the culprit strikes again?" Wars brushed his golden bangs out his eyes. "I have to be there, what if they take Time? Or Wind?! I can't lose them! You're strong, but you won't be enough on your own."

Twi wrinkled his brows, trying to ignore how much that one stung. "Well, I mean, you could jus' take a-"

"If you want to stop this, let me help. If we lose anyone else I... I don't think I could live with it. What if they go after you next, then what would we do?" Warriors huffed. "I must be there. If you fall, you'll need backup. And that's where I want to be."

Twilight nods absently. As if Wars would ever sink low enough to risk his perfect looks.

"Ya sure?"

"Oh it's a promise." Warriors said, running his fingers through his hair. "But I have to go now. I really do have many things to do. Legend will need comforting, so I'm going to tell you here and now, do NOT question any of them. Ok? Go after... Spirit or someone. Someone who isn't very close to them."

"Got it, got it. Right, go on then." Twi waved him away with a slightly apprehensive glance. 

The Rancher watched Warriors stride over to a distraught Legend, who was pacing in circles, practically screaming down the phone. Judging from the way he was talking, he was on the phone to Wild. Twi himself couldn't hear what he was saying, but it sounded like grief. 

Maybe not the best time to question then, seeing as Lege might stab him. Twilight might be blunt, but he wasn't insensitive. There were others to be pressed for details first.

Twi sighed. This was gonna be a long, long day.

~<0>~

Sky was sobbing into Malon's shoulder, his face pressed so tightly into the base of her neck that it looked mildly uncomfortable. It was impossible to make out his words, but it sounded sad. Malon couldn't do anything to help, only stroke down Sky's back and murmur reassurance to him, reassurance that probably fell on deaf ears. 

"Oh, dear, let it out," Malon sighed, rubbing Sky's shoulder, listening to his screaming sobs. "I know, I know."

Her heart hurt for him, poor gentle Sky.

Legend was sat, slumped in the corner. He wasn't crying anymore, but he was staring vacantly at the floor, silent. Malon hadn't seen him so sad since he confided his past in her.

Sidon poked his head inside the room, taking in the grieving Sky and Legend's sullen face, glancing at her with a confused look.

Malon gently shook her head. Sky wasn't gonna stop crying for a long time, especially since he was a sensitive soul at the best of times.

Sidon gave her a nod, then went back to the kitchen. He and Time could be heard talking to each other, quiet and subdued, completely unlike both of them.

They were there for some time, curled up on the sofa. Sky had retreated into a blanket pile, tears still dripping from his eyes, which were squeezed shut tightly and buried in Malon's shoulder. Legend made no sound, and didn't move from his spot, but he occasionally gave her a look of pure emptiness. It was unlike Legend to be so quiet, he was so abrasive and argumentative. It was like the life had just been punched out of him with a log. He'd not said anything at all in so long that Malon was starting to worry for him. 

Ten more minutes of Sky's grieving, Legend's silence, Time and Sidon's quiet speculating. A tentative knock at the front door startled her out of her mind, looking through the ajar living room doorframe. Malon watched silently. A sliver of Time's back materialised as he answered the knock.

"Hey dad." That was... Twilight?

"Pup?" Time sounded confused. "You do have a key, you know. Why did you knock? Did you lose it?"

Malon was just as perplexed as her husband. Twi had been running around all morning, doing this and that. She didn't know where he'd been, but she had some guesses.

"This isn't a casual visit, I'm afraid. An' also I know Lege and Sky are home." Twi sounded subdued. "I didn' want to cause more problems."

Time gave no response, simply beckoning Twilight inside.

"Of course. Mal is here, as is Sky. Legend arrived not too long ago, but I can tell you already knew that."

"Yup."

"I'll be in the kitchen with Sidon if you need me. Please, Pup, let me know, ok?"

"Don' worry, I will."

Time's heavy footsteps faded away, leaving the front door open. Malon frowned, trying to picture her son standing awkwardly on the doorstep of his own home.

She looked back at Sky's stricken face, at Legend's defeated slump. She decided she didn't like this new inverted world very much. Not if it hurt her boys.

Malon debated leaving Sky to greet her son, but before she could so much as move, a second set of quick, lighter footsteps sprinted their way up to the ajar front door.

"Helloooooo?! Skyyyy?!!!" Wind called, upbeat as ever. "You there? I know what happened!! I- ahh!!! Twi! Don't scare me like that!"

Oh no.

Wind was a great person, but he really couldn't read a room and his loud, boisterous personality was more likely to upset Sky further than help. Sky's crying, however, died down slightly at the sound of Wind's voice, so Malon didn't have the heart to tell him to leave.

It was fine, Wind saw Twilight first anyway.

"Twi, Twi!" Wind's bouncy demeanour was so loud that she could hear him from upstairs. "I wanna talk to you!"

Twi sounded despondent as he responded. "Wind, sorry to be a bore, but now's really not the best time, bud."

"I know!! I wanna help, I'm offering myself to you."

"...What?"

Malon had to take a second to process that, and ended with the conclusion that Wind didn't notice his innuendo. Twi obviously reached the same conclusion, since he continued.

"Ah. Well, Sailor..." Twi said, "I don' think that'll help much..."

Wind sounded a bit put out. "Why? I love Sky, I don't want him to be sad..." His easy smile faded slightly. Apparently word spread fast. "Poor 'Roolie... Give me a minute alone with that bastard who did it and I'll beat them into a pulp."

"I know, I know" Twi sounded soothing now. "We all want a minute alone with that punk."

Wind nodded frantically. "Exactly!! So let me help! I can investigate, clean up, question-"

Malon could just picture Twi's expression. "No."

"What? Why?!"

"Fact one, you ain't no detective, fact two, you're the clumsiest person I know. You'll probably fall down a pit or something. Plus, you've got the attention span of a gerbil. And you're also biased."

"But I want to help!"

"Please, Wind. Listen to me. You'll be as far away from the danger as possible."

Wind's voice was getting louder in his desperation, despite Twi's attempts to calm him down. Malon could hear their footsteps as Wind attempted to dodge around Twi.

"Uh Twi, let me through please!"

"Not until ya listen to me."

There was the thud of someone being shoved, probably Twi. 

"Move! Get outta the-"

"Boys. Is this the best time? You should know better." Malon didn't shout. She didn't need to. She just used That Voice™. Sky and Legend, poor things, didn't need any more despair. But Wind recoiled, ashamed, and Twi blushed in embarrassment.

The two talked quietly, thankfully much quieter now, and Malon gently ran her fingers through Sky's fluffy hair. After a few minutes, They pushed open the door to the living room and entered silently.

Sky looked up from Malon's shoulder, eyes red-rimmed from crying. "Sailor..."

Sky looked at Wind, Wind looked at Sky.

Wind beckoned to Sky.

Malon dropped her arms from around Sky as the boy shuffled towards Wind, watching as the Sailor hugged Sky to the best of his ability. 

"Oh, Sky." Wind sounded strangely mature now. "'Roolie wouldn't want you to be so sad."

"Y-yeah, I s-suppose..." Sky muttered. "I b-be-better stop crying, h-huh?"

Wind laughed softly. "You don't have to. It's just something that happens."

Sky made a tiny noise that she couldn't quite hear, but Wind had, causing the Sailor to hug him closer. They would be fine, as long as Sky didn't start crying again.

"Ma?" Twi sounded apprehensive. "D'you have a minute?"

 "Let's see here..." Malon looked to the boys. She could tell Sky would be ok with Wind, so her gaze turned to Legend. The Veteran was hunched in the corner, unresponsive and still. She wouldn't be missed if she left the room. "Yes, dear."

Malon tiptoed past the cuddle pile on the floor and joined her son on the porch, looking concernedly at his tired expression.

"Sorry to steal ya, Ma." Twi was fiddling with his Mirror Shard, nervous. "This wasn't exactly 'ow we planned to spend today... But I want ya to know that me an' Wars will crack this. At all costs." Twi looked into her eyes, his intense grey on her soft blue. "I will defend this family till my last breath."

"I understand, dear," Malon responded, looking over the deserted street. "Do you think it'll happen again? Her mama bird instincts were kicking in now. 

"Well, not to any of us," Twi hastily added. "But yes. No! I don't know, maybe?"

"But why Hyrule? He was a dear, don't misunderstand me, but he didn't really have much going for him as a potential murder victim. He was always so friendly..." Malon looked back at her son. "Unless we're dealing with a one-off, who would target him, unless they just wanted to spill blood"

Twi averted his eyes. "Read my mind like a book, ma."

"It's concerning..."

The pair, a mother and her son, stood out on their doorstep for quite a while before either of them moved, but in less than a moment, Malon was holding her son's hands in hers. Her wedding band rubbed against his finger, and he rubbed back.

"Mark my words, ma, I'll figure it out." Twi said.

"I know, dear." Malon kissed his forehead, squeezing his hands. "I trust you with all my heart, Twilight."

~<0>~

"I just... It doesn't seem real, I can't even believe it," Wild said, rambling. "Murder? I know I've joked about it lots, but it just doesn't comprehend. And here, too? We're in the middle of nowhere! And 'Roolie, of all the possible victims! He could fight like a gremlin on steroids, how did they..."

Sidon shifted his phone against his cheek with trembling hands, absentmindedly half-listening to his husband's word vomit. Every time he moved, he nearly dropped the phone.

"I know, I know. I mean... If you'd talked to him yesterday, he seemed completely fine, happy and everything. Nobody could've predicted this."

But Hyrule was dead.

"Yep."

Neither of them spoke for a while. Sidon could hear Tetra and Medli fooling around with Wind in the living room. They'd arrived precisely as the phone started ringing. As Wild said, he'd come back to their shared house after a quick shop run and found Sidon's hastily scribbled note.

"Oh, stupid, stupid Wild, sorry Si," Wild spoke with a strange tone. "I'm being selfish here, this isn't about me. How are you holding up? Is Legend ok? And how is Sky? I can't imagine he's taking the loss of his favourite person very well..."

"I'm ok," Sidon sighed, rubbing his fin with one hand. He hastily checked down the hall for any of the others, but it was just him. No sobbing. "Sky hasn't been alone all day, so don't worry about him. Malon has been with him. Ravio came round a while ago to be with Legend, and I've been around. Time's been in and out."

"Those poor souls," Wild said, defeated. "Poor 'Rule..."

"They'll be ok," Sidon reassured him, as nobody could do anything for Hyrule anymore. "Wind's here, and he's giving Sky some emotional support. He's in safe hands."

"I'm sure he is, what with you and everyone else there," Wild responded. His voice was full of forced cheer, which might've convinced Wind, but couldn't fool Sidon. "Can I do anything? Get Four to bake something for them, like comfort food? Or buy something?"

"I think they'd appreciate that, but Medli and Malon both already bought ice cream for them, so I think we're covered on that front."

"Who's gonna organise the funeral?"

Sidon fell silent. Nobody had considered that, not yet. He didn't even know if Hyrule had family, outside of them. He didn't think so. Even if he did, Sidon had no way of contacting them, or if they would even care.

Legend would probably know, but Lege didn't like giving away secrets, and he wasn't in the best state right now to construct a funeral. He'd have to bring it up to Twilight later.

"Oh, yes," Wild sounded apologetic. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just shocked, my mind is going a mile a minute. Just... if you need anything, let me know, ok? I'll swing by a bit later, to make sure you eat. Give my condolences to Lege and Sky if I don't get there before midday."

"Sounds good," Sidon said, absently. He was only half listening now, wanting to get back to the others and check on them. He'd known them for a long time, after all. They were like his second family.

"Sidon?"

Wild sounded sad, solemn and completely unlike himself. Sidon forced himself to listen to his husband's voice.

"I love you. Remember that now."

The phone felt like a brick in Sidon's hand, heavy and solid. An invisible weight settled over his shoulders.

"I love you as well," He replied. He meant it, every word.

~<0>~

"I'll remove them." First stated, quiet and solemn. "Just give me a name and I'll make sure they never breathe again."

Twilight physically felt a migraine coming. "First, as much as I get where you're comin' from, tellin' me that you're gonna kill someone directly after a murder isn't helpin' your case."

And that wasn't mentioning how intimidated it made Twi feel.

"And?" Eyes narrowed with cold fury, First crossed his arms. "I was home alone last night. Just because I'm angered by Hyrule's needless death and I wish for revenge does not alter the facts. Do you not want to receive compensation as well?"

"Uh... No," Twi quickly replied, then considered it. "I mean... You've got a point, but not like that. Murder is never right."

First looked down his nose at Twi. "It is right as long as it is justified"

"Ah. Well, if that' what ya like to think," Twilight shook his head. There was no way he'd win this argument, not against First. "Anyway, did ya see anythin' last night? Or see somethin' suspicious?"

"I did not." First scowled. "I already stated I was home alone."

"If ya say so. Anyway, d'you know anyone who might've, I don't know, had a grudge against Hyrule? Some sad soul willin' to 'urt him?"

"I did not talk to Hyrule much." First said thoughtfully. "But he was a gentle person. I liked him. Whoever killed him must face my anger. I will remove their ears, the tear off their-"

"Uh, ok," Twi quickly interrupted. "I got enough from ya. Thanks."

"-And if nobody confesses, I shall drive my blade deep into every last one of them until one owns up-"

"That's enough, First!" Twilight shouted, then pushed past the fuming First to grab the door handle. "I'll swing by if I need anythin' else. Good-bye!"

Twilight hastily left, slamming the door hard, shutting an indignant First in his own house. He ignored First's furious shouts and ran down the pavement, peering out into the evening darkness.

He forced a smile at Wars as they passed each other, then sighed when Wars didn't return it. 

Huh. That'd been one hell of a day.

First hadn't yielded anything interesting, nor had anyone else Twi had pressed for information. Wars hadn't offered him anything else, Hyrule's estranged neighbour Dawn hadn't been very friendly at all, and Legend's small, sad responses didn't hold anything except guilt. A day, wasted.

And to make things even worse, it was impossible to look at Sky and not feel like an utter jerk for not being able to give him answers. And to add to the pile, the looks that Time and Malon, despite being his parents, directed at him during his interview with Legend was enough to scare him. It had really shaken him up.

Twilight had nothing to give them, though.

Truth be told, Dawn was on the suspect list. She hadn't reacted to Hyrule's death at all, aside from a giggle and an offer of tea. She wasn't even fussed when Twi mentioned that it had been deliberate, despite the fact that their little village had never had a murder case before. Even distant, cold First had been furious.

Dawn had always been an eccentric, odd person though. Twi couldn't say she'd been involved in Hyrule's untimely death without any form of proof. And there was, in Twilight's opinion, only one way to get that.

It was going to be one long night.

~<0>~

"Si!" Wild looked up as Sidon walked into their house.

The Zora was greeted by a gentle kiss on the cheek, and Wild's soft hand on his forearm.

"You ok?, or, uh..." Wild winced. "How's Sky, I should say."

"As fine as we could get him." Sidon looked down, flopping in his chair heavily. "We managed to get him to stop crying after you left, but then Legend started and that set him off again. They cried themselves to sleep about 20 minutes ago."

Wild made a face. "Nothing unexpected then. I can't imagine how they must feel."

"Neither." Sidon said. "If something happened to you, or the rest of them, I... I couldn't go on..."

He shook his head in defeat.

Wild was silent for a minute, blue eyes thoughtful. Then he strode over to towards the microwave. "Hungry? I made food earlier, but I stuck yours in the microwave cause you came home a bit late."

"Maybe a little," Sidon said. He thanked Wild for the full plate that his small husband passed to him, especially as it was still warm. Even if it was poor Sky who'd undoubtedly had the roughest day, Sidon felt worn thin. "Have you eaten?"

"I, uh... I wasn't sure if you'd get back in time," Wild said, an apologetic look on his face. So, a yes then.

Sidon poked at a bit of fish with his fork and gently dismissed Wild's doubt. "No need for that, now. I'm happy you didn't wait. Apologies for not calling earlier."

"That's ok. You had other things to do"

The silence in the kitchen was soothing, the only sounds being the scraping of Sidon's fork on the plate. Sidon was too worn out to even attempt small talk, and Wild looked sadder than he'd ever seen him before. Very quiet too.

It didn't alarm Sidon, however, since Wild had always been a very sensitive person, especially when it came to other people's feelings. He was an empathetic soul. To Sidon, Wild looked like he was hurting nearly as much as Sky was.

After a while of sitting in silence, Sidon was shocked out of his own head by a small hand resting on his shoulder. Sidon blinked slowly, then noticed that he'd managed to eat most of his food without noticing. 

"Twi will get this solved," Wild said, eyes absent, hand on Sidon's shoulder, a comforting presence. "This will be over soon."

Sidon swallowed. "Oh, I really hope it is. Another loss like that would destroy Sky."

"This'll all be a bad dream in a while," Wild earnestly stated, eyes determined. "I can go prepare a bath if you want one."

"That would be nice, thanks. I'll wash the dishes, then."

Sidon wasn't even considering a bath tonight, but it sounded like a nice, comforting thing, now that Wild had brought it up. He watched tiredly as Wild trotted down the hallway, then heard the splashing of water being turned on. Even though they hadn't spent much time together today, he had a new surge of appreciation for his tiny husband. Maybe it was the sudden death of Hyrule that left Sidon lost and a bit overemotional, but he just couldn't figure out how he'd cope without him.