"You know y/n, I am very happy Time paired me up with you" he tells me. My eyes must look questioning as he begins to explain what he means. "I know the others are more than capable of keeping you safe as well, and Goddess, you can protect yourself as well but... I want to be the one by your side to protect you. Although I see the others as my family, you are more than that..." he continues.

My thoughts are now fully focused on him. I wait for him to continue but it looks like he struggles to form words from his thoughts. An urge from within my heart pushes me to tell him I feel the same.

"Twi... I don't see you as family and I don't want to... I want us to be-?!". An eerie slow clap fills the silence. "Wow that is so cliche I might throw up, respectfully, of course" a voice emerges from what seems like the walls. The uneasy feeling that was gone when Twilight started talking returns with the appearance of this new voice.

In a panicked state, I look all around us in hopes of finding this thing that is talking to us. Twilight clasps his hands with mine and tries to soothe me but no words he utter are registered by me. "Ok now I will definitely throw up. I just come here for you not this sappy love stuff" the voice snarls with disgust.

"Me...?" I mutter. Why would anyone want me and for what? "Oh yeah, so come here and let me get a good look at you". All of the sudden, a strong force pushes Twilight away, causing our intertwined hands to be torn from each other. I try to reach forward but the invisible force pushes me back as well. I can feel my head hit the wall with a crack and black seeps into my vision.

A disruptive poke in my side wakes me up mercilessly. "That took long enough. Now get up you lowly creature" the voice from before booms in my ear. A short scream escapes my throat at the closeness of the voice that caused so much harm in so little time.

I stumbly to sit on my knees and look at the grinning figure that is partially hidden by the shadows. Without warning the grin disappears and reappears again on... a dead, grey tree? Now I can see the figure clearly.

"You certainly are boring. If my master didn't order me to find and give you this I would have never brought you here. You are just some stupid girl that is not even from Hyrule" Dark Link shrugs. "Who is your master and what are you talking about?!" I scream back at him.

He casually raises his eyebrow at my raise in volume. "You should know him. It is rude to forget people you met so recently you know" he says with an empty tone. "Especially when that person went out of their way to visit you in a dream." he continues explaining, "As for the thing that I have for you...".

He grins again and jumps off the tree before speeding towards me. I try to move away but it has no use. He is in front of me before I can even move an inch. He holds out a pulsing orb of pure darkness. Before I can question him further, he violently slams it into my chest.

I sputter and cough as a searing pain fills my entire body. Dark Link looks down at me like I'm an insect that should be stepped on. "You smell like a wet dog like your filthy beast boyfriend" he says while wiping his hands on his tunic as my eyes close.

The pain that brought me down slowly fades into numbing cold until...warmth. It is so soft and comforting. I snuggle closer into whatever or whomever is holding me. My mind blanks out again, only this time it is not from the pain, this time it is because I feel safe.

-Warriors-

"...Warriors. I am certain he will be a good partner for you. Do you have any objections, y/n?" Time asks. I look at Warriors and shake my head. "I'd love to go into my first dungeon with Warriors" I tell Time while turning back to him. Time looks at me and begins to speak again, "In the beginning, we will all stick together. We only split into our small group when we encounter different paths or obstacles. Sometimes, the assigned groups aren't necessary, but we still make them just in case".

I nod at Time's explanation and go to stand next to Warriors as Time begins to assign the rest of the boys into groups. "So, are you nervous?" Warriors asks me while nudging my arm. "A little bit" I respond with a tiny smile. "Don't worry. When I'm with you, I won't let anything harm you" he says with a wink. His comment reassures me ever so slightly and my tiny, nervous smile turns into a genuine one.

"Of course. How can I ever be worried with Pretty Boy by my side" I teasingly poke his arm and he chuckles in response. "The nickname is stuck now, isn't it? I suppose it makes sense. I really am pretty, aren't I?" he wiggles his eyebrows as he inches closer. I take a step back with a blush on my face and respond with a short "Haha sure".

"The groups have been decided. Is everyone ready to go in?" Time asks, saving me from further teasing from Warriors. 'I can handle a little teasing, but he is too good at it' I think to myself. Even when I try to tease him back, he returns with a comment that has ten times more firepower than mine. He really does know how to charm the ladies.

"I think everyone is ready, Time" Twilight, who is paired up with Wild, responds. Time nods and advances forward into the dungeon. Everyone quickly follows behind him. I look at Warriors walking at my side and then at the inside of the dungeon. The ceiling is high, and has vines hanging from it. The walls also have mystery plants growing on them. Thanks to the height of the ceiling, the vines won't touch us. I'm grateful for that. Who knows what insects and other creatures hide in the plants.

I must have an uncomfortable expression on my face, because all of the sudden, Warriors grabs my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry. I meant it when I said that I wouldn't let anything harm you. Not even vines" he smiles reassuringly. I squeeze his hand in return. "Thank you, Warriors, for always making me feel...safe and protected" I say to him.

His eyes glisten with affection as he looks back at me. "It is only natural for me to want to protect the person I care about. Even though I know that she is very capable of protecting herself". My eyes widen slightly and I think about his words. 'I am the person he cares about? Does he mean... more than a friend?'

"Warriors..." I begin, "I care about you too... do you care about me in a special way?". He tilts his head to the side with a soft smile. "What do you mean exactly?" he asks in return. I blush and open my mouth to confess the feeling that I have felt for a long time, the feeling that I only recently identified as love, but a harsh voice interrupts me before I can speak.

"You really think he cares about you in a "special way"? Hah! You disgust me". I flinch at the merciless words of the voice and let go of Warriors' hand. "Who are you?!" I yell out at the voice while taking a step backwards.

Warriors looks at me with a concerned expression and tries to grab my hand again, but the voice speaks up again, making me turn around and causing Warriors to miss my hand. "If you really must know... Come here and I will tell you~ ". Before I get the time to decided whether or not I want to step closer, the vines from the ceiling lurch down and grab onto my shoulders and neck. I try to struggle, but it is no use. I get roughly pulled upward and start to choke thanks to the vine around my neck. My struggling comes to an end when the lack of oxygen makes me lose consciousness.

I wake up coughing and gasping for the air I previously couldn't get. My hand instinctively covers my neck where it was grabbed. "Oh don't be dramatic. I didn't grab you that hard" the harsh voice from before startles me. I look around until I spot the owner of the voice sitting on top of a dead, grey tree. It is Dark Link.

He starts to slow clap with a bored expression. "You are such a dramatic girl. If my master didn't ask me to come here, I wouldn't be here. You are boring me, you non-Hylian. Unfortunately, I have to be in your presence to give you something". 'Dark Link's master...?' I look at him with furrowed brows.

He jumps off of the tree and appears in front of my face within a split second. "You appear confused. It is rude to forget someone that purposely went out of their way to meet you in a dream you know" Dark Link tells me. 'Was my nightmare... an introduction to his master?'

In the time that I was lost in my own thoughts about who Dark Link is referring to, he pulled out a pulsating black orb and holds it out in front of him. "Well, I've said enough for now. The rest will be clear later. But before I go," he violently rams the orb into my chest as he continues with a sadistic smirk, "take this and give my regards to your dumb soldier hero".

The orb sinks into my chest as a feeling of intense strain washes over me. It feels as if my body is stretched out from the inside and I fall down onto my knees, breathing heavily while clasping my chest. I begin to hyperventilate, but after a few seconds my breaths calm down as I fall unconscious once again.

My body still feels strained, but something is different now... It feels like I am floating while something is holding me together. Could someone be carrying me? If so... who is it?

To be continued...

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Linked Universe belongs to tumblr user @jojo56830

Art belongs to tumblr user @jojo56830

Story belongs to Elise_Josie