Mario stepped off the Odyssey, glad to finally be home after a long week in New Donk City. Cappy popped off the plumber’s head and went to talk to the other Bonneteers in the plaza while Luigi waved his brother over for a hug. Mario handed Luigi a model of the big building in the city he’d gotten as a souvenir. Luigi grinned.

“Thank-a you, Bro!”

“No problem, Bro!”

“Heya, Mario!” Captain Toad said with a grin as he walked up. “Good to see ya back!”

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the air as rubble flew from the castle. Mario leapt into action.

“Cappy!” he called, but the Bonneteer was already on his way. The two raced toward the castle where Toad soldiers were fighting off waves of Goombas. Mario helped thin a few out before racing up to Peach’s favorite spot. He came up to find the princess on the ground with Tiara trembling on her head. A child in a green sweater was holding a glowing red knife to Peach’s neck. Bowser chuckled when he saw Mario.

“Gotta admit, that was the fastest you’ve ever responded to one of my attacks. But you still weren’t fast enough. Chara, why don’t you play with Mario for a while? I’ve got the princess.”

The child stood up and faced Mario, a terrifying smile on their face. “Greetings. As Bowser said, I am Chara. Now, I do not condone kidnapping, but... simply looking at your LOVE, I would consider you a greater evil.” With a frown, they zipped up to Mario and pressed their knife against his neck. Mario began to sweat and tremble. Chara’s voice was hard, low, and had an almost supernatural edge to it when they next spoke. “You’ve hurt a lot of innocent people, Mario. Doesn’t matter that they worked for Bowser. You could’ve just walked by. But no. You had to kill so many of them. If this was even two months ago, I’d love to kill you and make you feel the same pain they did...” Chara trailed off, seemingly considering the thought. “But I’m not that person anymore.”

“Alright, let’s get a move on!” Bowser shouted at Chara.

Chara sighed, looking down. “See you soon, Mario. Maybe think about what I said,” they challenged before running to the ship before it left.

Mario tried to run after but something inside him held him back. Chara’s words rang in his ears. He shook his head and bounced up but the ship was fast and by now too far gone.

He and Cappy hurried to the Odyssey to find it blown apart. That was where the explosion had been. The rubble was a decoy! Cappy muttered panicked swears as he assessed the damage. They were out of Power Moons and it would require more than the store could stock in a reasonable timeframe to get the ship to run again. Then a familiar voice called out to Mario as he searched the wreckage.

“Mario... Mario...”

His eyes widened and he turned around. “Rosalina!” he gasped as the galactic princess floated down with a smile.

Cappy turned toward Mario and his own eyes widened. “You two know each other?” he asked. “Also, who is she?”

Rosalina laughed softly. “I am Rosalina, protecter of the Lumas and princess of galaxies. Mario and I helped each other a few years ago- I helped him rescue the Princess as he helped me collect the Power Stars to repower my home... the Comet Observatory.” She then turned to Mario. “Mario, I need your help. You have met Chara, and you know they work with Bowser. But Bowser’s plan, this time, is not only to take Peach. He is working with others to enact a far more powerful plan... one that spreads beyond the universe. Rifts are opening between universes, and Bowser’s team is planning to use them to wreak havoc among the multiverse.”

“We’ll-a help you, Rosalina,” Mario confirmed. Cappy nodded as well.

“There is no time to waste. Let us go to the Comet Observatory... there is much to do.”

The three flashed away in sky blue light, leaving no trace of them having been there.

Link urged Hylarin on, checking his inventory to make sure the wood was still there. The answer was yes, so he kept riding, breathing in the warm summer air as he made his way to the construction zone that was to become the rebuilt Hyrule Castle. Once there he made his way over to Hudson and gave him the wood.
“Heh, thanks, Link! Man, this reminds me of buildin’ up Tarrey Town. Can’t believe that was five months ago!”
“Neither can I,” Link replied honestly, memories of his journey surfacing. He looked around the construction site. Gorons cleared the rubble and held up pillars while Gerudo and Hylians were laying stone and hammering wood. Rito flew about, delivering supplies and along with the Zora present were serving as lookouts in the event that any monsters decided to attack on any sort of organized scale. Link had suggested this when he figured the monsters they’d driven out wouldn’t be too pleased with relocating and Zelda agreed. Zelda- Queen Zelda, Link had to remind himself- had, for someone so worried about failing her kingdom before the Calamity, taken to the role of leadership pretty well. She was fair but firm, and warm but strong. She didn’t help much with the actual rebuilding of the castle, but Link, and almost everybody working, understood it was from lack of time rather than lack of will or a sense of being above menial labor. She was occupied with the work of rebuilding Hyrule as a nation. The Zora and the Rito had pledged allegiance to the rebuilding nation, the former no doubt heavily encouraged by Sidon, and while the Gorons and Gerudo had expressed a desire to remain separate nations, they promised aid in rebuilding and in facing any future threats to the land. Zelda had thought Link a natural ambassador, and Link himself highly preferred that over remaining her knight. He would protect her, if necessary, but as Hylian Ambassador he was free to be himself. Even around Zelda, where he was more formal, he’d let go of his stone-faced silence and even let himself disagree with some of her opinions. She seemed to like it.

Suddenly a Rito’s call snapped him out of his thoughts. Mimo swooped in with alarm on his face. “Master Link! Come, quickly!”

“Mimo, what is it?” Link asked as he got on the Rito’s offered back.

“To the west,” Mimo pointed with a wing as he landed on an edge of the roof. Link shielded his eyes from the late afternoon sunlight.

“What in the name of Hylia?”

A huge black ship sat on the horizon. The weird thing, other than a being a giant ship on the opposite side of the castle from the ocean, was that it was flying... towards them. At great speed, no less. The Master Sword began to hum in its sheath. Link drew it protectively. “Something evil is on that ship,” Link muttered. “I need to protect the prin- queen. Can you gather the other Rito to find its purpose?” he asked with a nod toward the ship, which was now nearly close enough to discern the insignia on the flag.

“Of course, Master Link. Do you need help getting down?”

The swordsman grinned. “No, thanks. I got this.” To prove his point, he leapt off the roof and pulled out his trusty paraglider, soaring down to the door to the library as Mimo called for the other Rito lookouts. Link found Zelda in her father’s old study writing letters and though he would have normally waited for her to notice him he decided against it- her life could be in danger. “Zeld- Your Highness?”

The queen looked up with a start. “Oh, Link! I didn’t see you there. Is everything alright?”

“No, actually. There’s... a flying ship coming toward the castle and the Master Sword doesn’t like it.”

Zelda shook her head in an attempt to process this. “This isn’t some elaborate attempt to pull my leg, is it?”

Link pulled out the glowing Master Sword with a raised eyebrow. “Not unless the Master Sword is in on it,” he shrugged.

Zelda’s eyes widened. “Oh, my... That only glows in the presence of true evil, doesn’t it?”

“Correct.”

“Let’s... greet our new visitors.”

Link nodded. As cautious as he felt, he did want to meet whoever radiated such a strong presence of evil as to alert the Master Sword from that far away. The two hurried through the castle to the throne room where the construction was going on and found the Rito bound and the Gorons forming a protective wall by standing in a straight line. A few figures stood at the door to the balcony. Some sort of fiery-haired turtle man with a spiky green shell, a cat creature with wickedly sharp claws, a young child with a look of pure determination on their face and a crimson knife in their left hand, and a figure wearing a crimson cloak embroidered with the Triforce.
Link could swear he heard a voice calling “The cloak, the cloak, Demise’s return,” from within the Master Sword. Zelda gasped softly with a glance at the Master Sword.

Link nodded as if to confirm. “Stay. Here,” he whispered to Zelda as he ducked through the line of Gorons. Zelda swallowed and obeyed. Link faced the figures and attempted to find eyes to meet in the cloaked figure’s face. He could almost see a smile in the figure’s face. Link cleared his throat. “Who are you, and what business do you have here?” he demanded, his strong voice echoing through the room.

“Hmm. Well, Hyrule seems to be making the Hero of Courage better than it used to, or at least better than the one I fought. Seriously, Hylia, you sent me a teenager!” he chuckled at the sky.

“Teenager... you fought the Hero of Time!” Link exclaimed. “You’re Ganondorf!

“Indeed,” the man chuckled, removing his hood to reveal red hair, a cruel, twisted smile, and somewhat green skin.

“Reddish hair seems to be a theme in your group,” Link observed. “Now, I ask again. Why are you here?” he asked, holding the Master Sword out.

“Feisty, hm? You’ll be fun to fight eventually. Not now, of course, and certainly not here. I wouldn’t want to cause damage to my kingdom before I’ve even a chance to rule it! Anyway, I want Zelda.”

Link’s eyes narrowed. “You won’t be touching the queen.”

“You’re right, I won’t. Chara will.”

Too late, Link noticed the child was gone. He spun to find them tying the wrists of an unconscious Zelda and broke through the Gorons to stop them. He guessed everyone else had been too distracted by Ganondorf to notice the child. He prepared to strike when Ganondorf chuckled.

“Ah, ah, ah, Hero. That blade touches Chara and your birds get fed to the Empress,” he said, gesturing to the struggling Rito. The cat woman licked her lips in anticipation. In Link’s moment of indecision, Ganondorf commanded, “Bowser, fire!” and the turtle man spewed a stream of flame at the Gorons, who in a moment of fear broke their line to shield themselves. Link had to close his eyes and by the time the heat subsided Zelda was on the other side of the room, dragged by the Empress, who wore a pleased smirk and Chara, whose reddish eyes were filled with regret.

“LINK!” Zelda cried, now awake and struggling. Ganondorf laughed audibly. Zelda’s fear-filled eyes met Link’s as she was hoisted into the air by a chain. She struggled an arm loose, detached the Sheikah Slate from her hip, and tossed it toward Link, who caught it. “I’ll be fine! Just keep Hyrule safe!” she yelled as Link started to run after her. He got to the balcony and called upon Revali’s Gale, but the ship of the villains was much faster than his paraglider and also had the benefit of being able to stay at the same altitude. He yelled in frustration before remembering something.

Circle bomb and bow... square bomb... wait... NOW! he ran through the actions before flinging himself through the air with the Remote Bombs, catching up to the ship quickly and landing on the deck, pulling the Master Sword and Hylian Shield out to fight. But nobody was on deck. Link narrowed his eyes, sipping a stealth elixir before creeping to the door below the helm with his footsteps light as the beat of a butterfly’s wings. Link slowly opened the door, momentarily swapping the Hylian Shield to his right arm so he could properly guard with it if needed. The door opened into a manhole with a single ladder and no lighting to speak of. Link took a deep breath and slid down the ladder after switching to the decidedly not glowing Savage Lynel Sword he’d acquired from the First Gatehouse Lynel back at the castle. He crouched and sneaked through the dim hallway before finding himself at a fork. To the left he could hear quiet murmurs and to the right he heard a male voice laughing. He wanted to go left, but if the villains were discussing plans... he couldn’t not learn. He crept down the right hallway until he reached a door with light streaming from behind it. A woman’s wry voice was speaking from behind it.

“So then, of course, I snatched that brat’s hourglass. Forced her to start working for me to find the rest of the Time Pieces in the metro. The money I gave her was chump change compared to the power she was retrieving me. It’s just a shame I underestimated her. Honestly, backstabbing me like that? The girl has guts, I’ll admit. Of course, my stupid cats couldn’t catch a mere CHILD! I swear, when I GET MY HANDS ON THAT BRAT-”

“All in good time, Empress,” Ganondorf quieted the cat woman. “Let us discuss our next plans. We will be heading to capture first the Bearers of Harmony and then the Most Determined, and then we will catch your Hat Kid, Empress.”

“Hold on, nobody told me we’d be capturing Frisk,” another voice said with obvious discomfort. “I only agreed to help with the princess and the queen because their heroes had killed a lot. Frisk isn’t-”

“Remember your... agreement with the Master, Chara,” Ganondorf interrupted sternly. “You don’t commit and you get nothing. Resist any part integral to our plan and your SOUL is lost forever.”

Chara’s voice whimpered. “Sorry,” she squeaked.

“Who are these Bearers, anyway?” a new voice, which Link presumed to be Bowser, asked.

“I couldn’t tell you,” Ganondorf admitted. “All I know is that the Master is interested in them specifically, especially their leader, the Element of Magic.”

“Hm,” the Empress input thoughtfully.

“He’s also instructed us to keep the Element of Laughter sedated. No amount of magical seals could hold her for long as she apparently operates on a different plane of logic to our own.”

“That’d be interesting to see,” Chara said bitterly.

Link had had enough. He crept away to the other hallway and saw Zelda and another young woman with blond hair wearing a crown and a pink dress in what could best be described as cages with beds. He held a finger up to his lips in a shushing motion as he came into their view. Zelda’s eyes widened.

“Link,” she whispered softly with a both grateful and disapproving smile. “What in Hylia’s name are you doing here?”

“Keeping near you,” he winked. “On a more serious note, I know their plans as far as who’s being captured next. I’m gonna try to stop them before that happens.”

“Who?” the woman in the pink dress asked.

“Some people called the Bearers of Harmony. Don’t know who or where or even what they are, but apparently the guy your kidnappers are working for is particularly interested in capturing them. But... well, there’s something weird. You saw the child in the green sweater, right?”

“For about two seconds, but yes,” Zelda confirmed. The other woman nodded.

“He... she... Chara, whatever their gender is, well... I don’t think they’re evil. They seemed really hesitant. And they’ve made some sort deal that forces them to work for this or lose their soul.”

“Oh, my...” not-Zelda breathed. Zelda’s face cast a terrified look as she gripped her chest.

“Now, I’ve got to hide so I don’t get caught and trapped with you or worse,” Link explained as he squeezed in between two boxes. “But first, um... what’s your name?” he asked the woman in the pink dress.

“Oh, my name is Peach. Princess Peach Toadstool.”

“Link. Just... just Link. If I’ve got a last name it was lost with the rest of my memory.”

“Zelda explained that much already,” Peach nodded.

“You hiding won’t be necessary,” a voice blurted out from the hall. Link’s heart rate exploded as his head snapped to see Chara standing at the door. He felt a feeling of overwhelming fear that was utterly foreign to him. Even facing his first Silver Lynel after the Calamity, even against the Blights, heck, even when he accidentally stepped on a flower in front of that lady at the Hila Rao shrine for the third time, he’d never felt this kind of fear. Chara smiled gently. “D-Don’t worry, I’m not gonna hurt you. Even if I disagree with how you handle fighting monsters. I just... I just want this to end. I want to be with my family again. I want...” they trailed off as they started to cry. Link’s empathy blocked out all caution as he walked over to hug the child. They squeezed him like he was all they had. After a moment, Chara sniffled and let go. “Thanks,” they murmured, wiping their eyes.

C’mon, Azzy, big kids don’t cry...

Link stepped back a moment and the sensation of memory wrapped him. He closed his eyes.

Chara and a small goat creature in a similar sweater sat in a bed of flowers. Chara seemed to be thinking.

“Azzy,” they finally said.

“Yeah, Chara?” ‘Azzy’ asked.

“It takes a human SOUL combined with a monster SOUL to cross the barrier, right?”

“Y... Yeah, I think so.”

Chara gripped their locket. “I think I know a way to free everybody.”

“Really? Why haven’t you told Mom and Dad? They’d be so-”

“NO. Asriel... the only way to combine is for someone to die... You know why I came to the mountain, right?”

“Chara... I don’t... don’t like where this is going.”

“Azzy, if I die, then you could take my SOUL, then get six more human SOULs, and then break the barrier!”

“Chara, I don’t want you to die!” Asriel exclaimed. “I c-can’t...” he started quivering and tears entered his eyes.

“Asriel, you’re a big kid, right? C’mon, Azzy, big kids don’t cry.”

“Yeah, Chara, I am! I’m just not sure-”

“You don’t trust me?”

“I do! I’d never doubt you, Chara! I just... this doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

Chara sighed.

The world skipped forward and the two were in a bedroom. Asriel stood at Chara’s bedside, fighting tears. Chara looked deathly ill.

“Psst... Chara... Please... Wake up...” he whispered. “I don't like this plan anymore. I... I... no, I said... I said I'd never doubt you. Six, right? We just have to get six... And we'll do it together, right?”

Link snapped back to reality. He was leaned against a crate and Chara, Zelda, and Peach were looking at him with concern.

“Link, are you alright?” Zelda asked.

“I... I saw... Chara. With someone named Asriel.”

The child gasped. “Was it... something in the future? Are we happy?”

“No. I think I saw your past. You were trying to break some sort of barrier with souls.”

Chara looked like they were going to be sick. “Oh, God... I...”

Link hugged them again. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “Do you want me to not talk about it?”

“Yes. Please, I can’t... I can’t deal with those memories again.”

“I understand,” Zelda nodded.

“Me too,” Peach said with a smile.

Suddenly they passed through light. Link squinted to recover and Peach chuckled.

“First time?” the princess asked.

“We’ve passed through the rift to the world of the Bearers,” Chara said grimly. “You should probably get off, we’ll be striking soon.”

Link nodded. “How long was I in my state of memory?”

“Twelve hours.”

“That’s a much longer time than normal. Usually it’s instant or at least over in a few minutes.”

Chara shrugged. “Go before the Empress wakes up. You do NOT want to be caught trespassing with her around.”

Link gazed at the queen. “Zelda... I promise, I’ll be back for you.”

“Link, I’ll be fine. Keep these Bearers safe before you worry about me.”

Link guzzled a stealth potion and hurried out, climbing the ladder and leaping off the ship. His paraglider opened above his head and he soared, now actually faster than the ship. The wind filled the fabric and sent him speeding eastward toward the sunrise and a town with a gleaming silver-blue castle rising from its edge. It was somewhat tree-shaped with a dazzling six-pointed star gracing its highest point. It occurred to him that he should’ve asked where the Bearers actually were, but he figured the castle would be a good place to ask. He spotted a purple figure on the top balcony and glided there.

Twilight Sparkle was enjoying her morning reading. The sunrise provided good light and the breeze was pleasantly warm.

I should thank Spike for the idea, she thought as she took a bite of the peanut butter sandwich she’d made herself. She’d barely swallowed it when she wanted to spit it out as some creature dropped onto the balcony. Her horn flared magenta and she encased the intruder with magic. It was a human and it raised its arms in a gesture of surrender. The human-

Wait that’s not a human its ears are pointed did Sunset forget to tell me about a breed of human I must know everything about this human-like creature

“Excuse me? Are you okay?” he asked.

Twilight snapped out of her frenzied inward nerd session and cleared her throat. “Sorry, it’s just not every day that a creature like you falls out of the sky. And by not every day I mean it’s never happened before.”

“My apologies, Ms...?”

“Oh! I’m Twilight Sparkle, Equestrian Princess of Friendship. You?”

“My name is Link, and I was formerly the personal knight of Queen Zelda of Hyrule.”

“What brings you to Equestria?” Twilight asked, letting Link out of her magic.

“Something really serious. Do you know the Bearers of Harmony?” Link asked.

Twilight’s initial impulse was to freak out at how a foreigner knew about the Elements when it wasn’t even public knowledge within Equestria, but the other part of her brain took over and made her nod. She collected her wits and confirmed, “I do, and I’m one of them, the Element of Magic. The other Bearers are my friends.”

“Well, Princess Twilight, your friends and especially you are in pretty serious danger right now. A group of villains is coming to kidnap you for... some reason I don’t know. But their leader was interested in you in particular.”

Twilight knit her eyebrows. “Okay, why should I trust you?”

Link shrugged. “Don’t guess you’ve got a reason to. You can choose not to. I’ll protect you when they get here either way. You’ll have to make your choice soon, though, since their ship’s really close,” he said, pointing to the black vessel on the horizon for extra effect.

Twilight started breathing heavily as the ship reminded her far too much of the Storm King’s ships. She nodded at Link and teleported the two of them to the base of her castle. “C’mon, let’s go get my friends!”

Link nodded and instinctively whistled for Hylarin, who had the Ancient Saddle on, and somehow it worked. The horse looked rather bewildered. “Link, where are we?” the stallion asked. Link did a spittake.

“You just-”

“You understand me now?” Hylarin asked.

“Yeah, let’s just chalk it up to the fact that ponies speak here and move on. You mind if I ride you, though? Princess Twilight here is in danger from the guys that captured Queen Zelda.”

“Oh, that’s where you went. Sure, that’s fine. The name’s Hylarin, by the way, Princess.”

Link swung himself up into the saddle. Twilight ran off in a gallop, leading Hylarin through the village. Ponies watched in awe and fear as they rushed through. The Hylian waved sheepishly as they passed through. Twilight darted into a building that looked like a cake and brought out a pink pony. “Link and Hylarin, Pinkie Pie,” she introduced them briefly before hurrying on to a more elegant building and bringing out a white unicorn with a rich purple mane. “Link, Hylarin, Rarity,” she wheezed, breathless. Twilight waited a moment to catch her breath before setting off at a slightly slower canter toward a farmhouse with a massive apple orchard around it. Link, Hylarin, and the two mares followed, Pinkie chattering with Link excitedly. Link was amused by her vivacious energy. Twilight teleported an orange mare with a blond mane wearing a low-brimmed cowboy hat out with her. “This is Applejack. Applejack, that’s Link, and that’s Hylarin. Now, I’m gonna go get Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. You five sit tight.” She flashed away in magenta light and was back with two pegasus mares. One was light blue with a vivid rainbow mane and the other was soft yellow with a light pink mane. “Fluttershy, Rainbow, the horse is Hylarin and his rider’s Link. Now let’s get back to the castle.” Twilight’s horn blazed and she brought them all to the castle, where Chara was waiting outside. A couple cages sat next to the ship that was on the ground.

Chara jumped and turned to look. They knit their eyebrows and grimaced. They shot an “I’m sorry” look at Link, who nodded, before shouting, “They’re out here!”

Link stepped in front of the ponies, summoning a circle bomb and holding it casually in one hand. The Empress was the first to come out, leaping off a balcony and hitting the ground with bared teeth and claws. Murder filled her eyes. Ganondorf stormed out with Bowser, who was holding a small purple dragon-like creature by its tail in one hand and a lavender unicorn mare with a purple and cyan mane in the other.

“SPIKE!” Twilight cried, attempting to run forward but she was held back by Applejack.

“You ain’t gonna help ‘im by gettin’ yourself captured too, sugarcube.”

“So, you made it here somehow, Link,” Ganondorf said, almost impressed. “Might I ask how?”

“Nah, but if you’d like, I’m in the mood to play ball!” Link shouted, throwing the bomb at the Empress and blowing it up just before it made contact. The blast threw her toward the castle, where she crumpled, screeching in pain.

“You know, you’re being really annoying,” Ganondorf muttered, flicking out a burst of dark magic. In response, Link drew the Master Sword. Twilight snorted and her horn flared.

“GIVE. THEM. BACK!” she yelled, her eyes glowing white and her voice amplifying. Bowser and Chara staggered back, and Bowser dropped Spike, who hurried behind Pinkie. Twilight relaxed only very slightly. She opened her wings and began to lift into the air. Her magic shone brighter. Link noticed Ganondorf was grinning cruelly. The villain pulled something out of his cloak and opened it. Twilight’s magic sparked and she fell to the ground. Her friends ran over to check on her with a cry of her name. Link tried to stop them but was only able to pull Fluttershy and Spike away before Ganondorf zapped the rest with the same device. Link, in one swift motion, slipped the Sheikah Slate from its resting spot and selected the shrine in Hyrule Castle. He grabbed the two who were safe and they vanished to the shrine. Once they were there he whistled for Hylarin. Thankfully, it worked and they were all safe. Link decided to lead everyone somewhere they could eat and discuss plans. Fluttershy agreed that was the best option.

“DAMN YOU!” Ganondorf shouted in rage while stamping his foot. Bowser and Chara busied themselves with loading their new unconscious prisoners into cages while the Empress snacked on some HP items Chara had happened to find in their inventory.

“Only the weakest ones escaped, at least,” Chara pointed out. “And Link, I suppose. And we got Twilight-”

“SHUT UP!” Ganondorf demanded, waving his cape for dramatic effect. “Get them into the ship. Empress, I trust you will be alright for our next attack?” The cat nodded. “Very well. I must speak with the Master. This could prove unfortunate, especially if Link can use the rifts like we can.”

Chara knit her eyebrows. Something’s wrong, they thought. Something’s wrong... and I can’t figure it out. Frisk... Link... be careful. Please be careful.

Author's Note

Just wanted to promise that this story's existence DOES NOT mean I'm letting go of The Dreamer and the Moon. Just got a bit of writer's block with that one. Hope y'all enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed writing it!
-Starkeeper