Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He opened his eyes, and he saw his face reflected three times in front of him.

Who was he, who were they, why did they have swords !? He didn’t remember anything, the whole world felt like a dream. All he knew was that they had his face, somehow, and it was wrong .

The one in red’s eyes fluttered open, and they screamed, stumbling backward with tears in their eyes, quickly breaking out into frantic sobs. That was when he realized he was holding a sword, too, sharp with a green pommel, and he dropped it instantly.

What was going on?

Why couldn’t he remember?

He felt like he should remember something important, something he needs to know. Still, nothing came, nothing except the feeling that he knew how to use the blade that clattered to the ground. Some part of him resonated with it, it felt like another limb, almost, and he got the distinct feeling that he would have to pick it up, and soon .

“Who the hell are you!?” the one in blue screamed, brandishing their weapon with an almost feral look in their eyes. Their face was contorted into a scowl, one that he couldn’t remember ever wearing, finding it odd on his face, their face, whatever.

The one in purple (no, not purple, it was too…reddish for that…maybe violet?) blinked slowly, easily sheathing their blade with an intrigued hum, “This is quite strange… Do tell, do any of you recall your names? It seems mine has slipped my mind, and, well, based off of…all of this, I assume it is likely similar for you all?”

He couldn’t even open his mouth to respond before the ground began to rumble. He found the grip of the sword instinctively, falling into a fighting stance he didn’t remember knowing. The stone beneath them shifted, rising hungrily.

“ At last ,” the debris whistled, the wind itself shifting through the stone to form such words, “ At last I am free! ”

“I think this takes priority right now!” he shouted, leaping out of the way of an attack, feeling his body shift to land safely. Did he fight monsters a lot? He couldn’t remember.

The blue one snarled, deflecting a stone with the flat of their blade, “No shit, Sherlock! What do we do!?”

“Look!” the red one yelped, he had honestly forgotten they were there, pointing their right finger at the beast, “Its arms and legs are made of weaker stones I think!”

“And if we cut them all off,” he continued, almost naturally, “Then it won’t be able to keep moving! Good eye!”

The red one grinned, preening with the praise as they flickered around boulders big enough to cave a skull in, “Imma take the right leg!”

“I’ll go to the left leg,” the violet one chimed in, eyes stern, “You two better decide for yourselves fast, you, green tunic, give us the signal when you’re both ready!”

Oh, was he wearing green? At least it was obviously different, he easily found that the phrase pointed at him.

He took a breath in, “I can take down the right arm, you good with the left one?”

A loud, vaguely agreeing shout answered him, and he counted down easily.

One , he readied his stance.

Two , he locked on to where the shoulder connected to the main body, finding his mark with ease.

Three , “Now!” he shouted, and, like vipers, they all charged.

His blade sliced through the stone, through the magic imbued within it, like butter , and the arm crumbled away with less resistance than he thought it would. He nearly lost his balance landing after the fact because of it, but his stance easily shifted.

He wondered, absently, if he had been a warrior before it all was blank.

The stones clattered to the ground, lifeless, and the wind grew exponentially for a mere moment before dissipating.

“Could that wind have been what we were really battling?” the violet one murmured, eyes following the strange disturbance in the air that grew steadily further away.

He took a deep breath, “Probably…I have a feeling most things don’t die that easy.”

“Oh,” the red one squeaked, “Question! The question, uh, I don’t remember my name either. Or…anything else.”

He had almost forgotten about the question, the one that was cut off before the battle began. The blue one grumbled out an agreement, and he nodded.

“How strange,” the violet one murmured, “Then I suppose we should come up with something quick. I believe that we might have far more to do in the very near future.”

A bright grin broke the red one’s face in half as they raised their hand, “OOH! I know! Colors! I can be Red cuz I’m wearing red, you could be Green cuz you’re wearing green, you could be Blue cuz you’re wearing blue, and!”

Red paused on the one in violet, “Hmm…Purple is too long, and you’re more…violet anyways? Violet…Vio? A nickname for your name!”

“You can’t just go around naming people without their permission,” Blue snapped, glaring harshly at Red.

Green rolled his eyes, “Uhuh, don’t act like you weren’t already calling us by our colors before. I for one was already thinking about you all like that, and Red definitely was. Vio too, probably, it’s quick and easy. You just don’t want to admit it.”

Blue sputtered, and Vio tilted their head admiringly, “You have a decently quick head on your shoulders. Yes, it is far easier to simply officialize what we were already doing.”

“And just in time too!” Red cried, “Look!”

He hadn’t even noticed they had been walking until he looked out over grassy hills. The sight wasn’t pretty, despite the lovely scenery, because the centerpiece of this perfect painting was marred. A large, likely one beautiful castle stood tall and proud, and-

“What the fuck , those are dragons ,” Blue gasped, and Green didn’t even think about trying to correct their language at all. Heck, he even mirrored the sentiment, a soft murmur, lost to the wind.

Fuck, those are dragons .

“I have a sinking feeling,” Green sighed, “That we are going to have to run right into that .”

So they set off, with not a memory to their names, which probably weren’t even their names in the first place, to go run right into that .

Chapter Text

The dirt road was actually really easy to follow, well-trodden by previous travelers, Vio assumed. It was strange that he felt like he had been on this road before, and yet, for the life of him, he couldn’t recall it.

This whole situation was quite unnerving. To see his own face on Red, giggling and smiling and sobbing, was strange enough, but to watch Blue’s face contort into glares and scowls was even more disorienting. Vio was…calmer than that. Better at appearing deadpan, better at controlling himself. 

It was, quite frankly, the reason he walked so close to Green. The way Green moved was familiar, something he could see himself doing when he felt strongly. Red and Blue were so extremely emotional, Green was like a breath of fresh air with his logical mind and quick decision-making.

Of course, this was from about twenty minutes of knowing one another, so his analysis could be false. He simply wished he understood just who they all were, who he was. That would make things much easier on his mind, he believed.

It’s no use dwelling on, however. He can’t change it, they can’t change it, so they will simply have to work with it.

“Look,” Green leaned slightly toward him, “There’s a woman on the road, ahead of us, running with a child.”

Vio inspected the road ahead, surprised at how easily Green saw them. They were merely two specks on the horizon, but Vio stated a new observation, “They’re coming from the castle, heading this way. Do you think we can ask them what’s happening over there?”

Green nodded, a determined look on his face as they continued forward. He briefly called back their basic plan to Blue and Red, who were…certainly doing something. It looked like Red had become a target of ire for the hothead, and it also looked like he…didn’t mind that much.

Vio did not understand those two, they were like uncivilized animals…or children. They acted with so little sense…it was strange.

Vio did not like things he didn’t understand, and, while he didn’t know when that became a thing, he knew that it had been part of him for a long time. This whole situation was unpleasant, those two were unpleasant, and, really, he wanted everything to feel right for more than five seconds.

Green was the one that chose to run ahead to meet the pair, and Vio thought it was a good decision. Red was far too pushy, Blue was aggressive, and, well…he, himself was distant. Green was the most well-rounded of them all, so he would make a decent first impression.

Well, that’s what Vio had assumed , but the screaming said otherwise.

“I thought you were a good kid, Link!” the woman was shouting, curling around the child, a little boy, protectively.

Link…that name was familiar.

Green had both of his hands up, a desperate look in his eyes, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, miss! I don’t remember anything past a few minutes ago, honest!”

“Don’t you lie to me,” she snapped, “You don’t just get to kidnap the maidens and the princess, ride in on a dragon, storm the castle, and then act like you did nothing!”

“We haven’t even been to the castle, ma’am,” Vio butted in, stepping in front of Green with an uncharacteristically sharp glare.

The woman’s eyes blew wide as she looked at the four of them, and then at something just over Green’s shoulder. A look of understanding slowly dawned on her face, though still highly confused.

She breathed in and out, forcing the tension to leave her shoulders, “Of course…I…you pulled the Four Sword . Only someone with a true heart ever could, according to legends…I never anticipated they would be this literal …”

Blue looked like he was about to speak up, but, surprisingly, Red was the one to cover his mouth, looking at him with a strangely steely glare.

The woman either didn’t notice or didn’t care, because she continued on, “A dark being, one that looks just like you, stormed the castle atop a large dragon. A legion of dragons soon followed, with armies of monsters atop their backs. All of the knights went missing, soldiers were driven mad, attacking those they swore to defend, the princess and the maidens were nowhere to be found, and I…my son and I may be the only survivors.

“I will warn you, most people do not know the legends behind that holy blade you carry. Those who saw that…shadow attack will not be able to connect the dots as I have. Everyone in Castle Town will despise you if they see you, any survivors in the castle will likely try to drive you away, and it’s unlikely that even towns far from the castle will treat you kindly. Stay good, Link, and don’t let this get to your head; you are Hyrule’s last hope, and, well…not many believe in you anymore,” she stated with finality, gently grabbing the child’s hand.

As the pair walked away, the boy turned to wave, and Vio saw Red wave back.

The moment they were far enough away, Blue exploded, “What the fuck, she just acted like we weren’t there!”

Red blinked before humming, looking down at his fingers. It seemed the optimist hadn’t noticed.

“Indeed…” Vio murmured, “Outside of acknowledging me when I spoke up for Green, she only spoke to Green. She only looked at Green after looking at the rest of us, she acted like we weren’t people.”

“Link…that name…it feels familiar, but…not quite like mine,” Green huffed.

“Her eyes…” Vio squinted, recalling the conversation, “They trailed the four of us before settling just above your left shoulder, Green…that’s the shoulder your sword hilt pokes out, right? She called it the Four Sword and spoke of legends . She looked at us and said the legend was more literal than she assumed…the Four Sword, four completely identical people, a single name spoken…”

Red whimpered, “Are we real?”

There it was, the question that Vio himself had been closing in on.

Are we real? What are we, if we aren’t? Is this all some messed up accident?

“Who the fuck cares!” Blue shouted, glaring at them all, “Who fucking cares what some old bat on the road says! Who fucking cares if we’re real people or just a fucking- spell or some shit! Who cares!? We don’t need to know! We exist, we’re not whoever the hell she was talking to, and it doesn’t matter ! I don’t care, neither should you guys , because we are us , even if Red gave us stupid fucking nicknames. They’re ours , not anybody else’s, so let’s not sit around and think so hard! We have a castle to storm, a princess to help out, maidens to set free, and a dark shadowy dude to maul .”

Vio’s mouth clicked shut from the muttering he was about to do, and he looked at Blue in silence.

Perhaps he had judged the others too quickly; despite the…unsavory language used, the hothead’s words made quite a bit of sense.

We are not Link , Vio mused, Link isn’t here, and it’s Green, Blue, Red and Vio instead, and the world is going to have to make do with us .

Red already seemed to have higher spirits, and Green looked more at ease, too. Vio thought for a moment longer before coming to the realization that the language used was the best possible kind. The forcefulness, the brash nature of the crude words broke the tension, forcing all of their thoughts to pause as they listened. Had Red tried to be soft and warm, it would have felt fake and placating. Had Green tried to do a motivational speech, it would have fallen flat and toneless. Had Vio himself tried to logic his way through it, none of them would have listened, would have even told him to shut up.

Blue was the only one who was capable of breaking through their thick, self-centered skulls.

“Blue’s right!” Red chirped, eyes glittering with determination, wide and catlike, “We’re us! We’re not who she was talkin’ to! So let’s do what we do, whatever that is, and let’s go save the day!”

Green grinned, holding a hand to his heart, “Yeah, let’s give this everything we’ve got! I’ve got a feeling that we’re going to make it through, and my feelings haven’t been wrong yet!”

“You do have a very small sample pool, but…let us go,” Vio jabbed, trying his best to mimic a playful smirk. He felt like he did a bad job, but Green grinned back, so he supposed it didn’t matter.

Off they went, with nothing but legends and feelings to guide their strange, patchwork team into their destiny.

Chapter Text

Blue…wasn’t sure about what he was supposed to think.

He was pissed off, yeah, and he wasn’t quite sure why , but he wasn’t going to think about it too much. He woke up angry, and he’s probably going to go to sleep angry, so why bother acting like he’s having a ball? He didn’t see a point in trying to stay neutral like Vio seemed to, in covering up everything with giggles and grins like Red, or even trying to water it down to something more “appealing” like Green seemed to.

Blue would always be himself, no matter how unpleasant he was to other people. Of course, he wasn’t sure who he really was , but that didn’t matter. Who he was doesn’t matter as much as who he is right now, because who (or what, apparently) he was wasn’t the one about to save the kingdom .

The idea was as enticing as it was infuriating, and he wasn’t quite sure why.

That lady called whoever Link is a kid , Blue huffed at the thought. He wasn’t a kid , he knew that much.

Old people see everyone as kids because they’re fucking old , he reasoned, we can’t be that young, otherwise they wouldn’t expect us to save the world…right ?

Something in his heart twisted, and a strange sense of justice fluttered to the surface, if they actually expect children to save the world and she wasn’t exaggerating…this kingdom is going to need a major law shift .

Rubble surrounded them on all sides, the dragons were gone, but there were hordes of humanoid things in green armor charging around.

There were no knights to be seen, no civilians, just the armored monsters that turned toward them with dark intent.

Unluckily for them, Blue was still pissed, and Blue had no reservations in running forward, slicing into them like butter, dissipating two instantly and injuring four more.Vio sprung into action mere moments after Blue, and Red did his best.

Why is Red weak where I am strong, why are we all so different, why can I take out two at a time while Red can only take out one and Vio can take out three, why does Green refuse to fight , endless commentary through his mind, dragging on like a lull until the last one hit.

Why does Green refuse to fight?

“What the fuck is wrong with you, they’re monsters , fight back you pansy!” Blue shouted, briefly glaring at Green before turning back to the battle.

Even just that brief glare let him know that Green was shaking on his feet, knees shifting dangerously close to buckling as he cried back, “I-something’s wrong, these, this armor, it’s familiar! I can’t hurt them, I won’t!”

“You’re going to have to!” Vio responded, falling back to grip Green’s shoulder, “There’s more and more coming, we need all hands on , otherwise we’ll be overrun and, well, what happens in wars when the opposing side is overrun?”

Green blanched, “They die…”

“So fight,” Vio snipped, slipping back into the fray.

And fight he did, Blue thought approvingly, Four of the beasts in one swing, strangely flashy, yet perfectly practical twists and turns of the blade sending them all to their knees. Green had the prettiest technique of them all, even Blue could admit that. He, himself, hacked and slashed with little regard, and Vio looked for the most efficient way to take an enemy down. Red…whatever he was doing was working for him, so Blue wasn’t going to poke at that, he couldn’t even tell what was going on.

Still, even with Green fighting alongside, even with ten monsters down with nearly every swing of their blades, the hoard grew, and they began to falter. Blue hated that he was one of the first to need a moment, just after Red. He was fighting hard, too hard, he was wearing himself thin too fast. He was no good exhausted, he needed to slow down …eugh, he hated having to think that.

Well , he thought, panting, I’m no good when I can’t even keep my arms from shaking…I need to be better , I need to be stronger …

Green’s knees buckled, and he crashed to the ground, sword still held tight, and Blue stumbled over.

“Hey-hey, Green, what-” he huffed, pulling his shield from his back to better defend them.

Green groaned, “We aren’t strong enough, we’re too weak to be here, we need to leave and-”

“Oh, well where’s the fun in that?”

Blue’s head snapped up, and the only thing on his mind was anger .

Another random guy I don’t remember with my face!?

And, indeed, it was someone with the same face…but nothing else seemed similar. Yeah, this guy just so happened to not have any sort of resemblance past the basic skin color, face shape and haircut.

Their hair was a rich plum, their teeth were obviously fangs, even from twenty feet in the air. Black, serrated claws replaced usual nails, and their tunic was black, their hat seeming to wisp into smoke at the tip, twitching like the tail of a pleased cat. Their eyes were ruby-red, surrounded by dark lashes and…impeccably done eyeliner?

“Oh…” Red breathed out, “He definitely likes men…”

That is the thing that comes to mind!? Blue was giving Red the most incredulous stare he could muster.

An evil doppelganger pops up from nowhere and the first thing the team crybaby has to say is that the guy’s gay . Green choked on a laugh, and even Vio’s eyes glittered with mirth. Red himself looked completely taken aback, face flushed his namesake as he pushed it into his hands.

Good, because who just…says that in the middle of a crisis.

Blue found that they were all extremely lucky that the guy couldn’t hear them unless they shouted, because that would have gotten them to Game Over really fast.

“I must say,” the dark figure chortled, “It was fun to play with you, but I think it’s time I put my toys away, hm?”

The soldiers faded into smoke, dissipating and creating an odd, dark spot on the floor that easily moved away from beneath their feet.

“Who are you!?” Vio shouted, face as straight as ever, though Blue swore there was intrigue in his eyes.

The being gasped, walking on the air like he was walking on invisible stairs, wisps of smog tailing him like a parasite, “Did you already forget me? I’m the hero , Link , duh! Or is that not going to get me to stick in your head!? I thought that kidnapping your best friend and getting you to pull that damn sword would have put me pretty high in your mind, and yet !”

Blue had enough, snapping, “We don’t remember shit , bozo! Give us your actual name, not some freaky jealous boyfriend mind game shit!”

“Are you mocking me !? Do you think I’m stupid!?” the beast growled, “Fine, whatever! I am Shadow, and you , all four of you will die at my hand today! Us shadows, our darkness will not be mocked forever! It is time for this land of light to have a little more shade, no?”

Blue felt his anger rise, bubbling and frothing to the surface, and he charged .

Chapter Text

Red knew it was a really bad idea to attack this Shadow guy the moment Blue charged.

Shadow’s sharp grin was the main thing, but then there was just the overall feeling of foreboding hanging over the room, the air was thick with danger, and Red didn’t like it. He felt his eyes tingle, and he blinked rapidly to force the tears away. This wasn’t a time to cry, he could cry later.

He didn’t know why he was so emotional, he didn’t know why he was so childish, and he didn’t know anyone he could ask about it. It was how he acted, it was just how he was, and he didn’t see much reason to change it. He liked smiling and laughing, he liked being able to feel, and he liked the people he was with a lot, too. Even Blue, though he could be a meanie sometimes.

Speaking of Blue, Red saw why he had a bad feeling about attacking Shadow; his body morphed, seeming to exist on two entirely different planes at the same time, stretching as if about to be sucked away and yet forcing himself to remain visible. Blue’s sword flew right through the half-corporeal body, and he stumbled, falling flat on his face on the other side.

Shadow’s laugh was high-pitched and…well, somehow not screechy, just kind of a little annoying. Maybe not inherently annoying, but annoying because it was about Blue’s misfortune, and Red quite liked Blue.

Man, I get sidetracked real easy , Red noticed, what’s up with that ?

Someone else got the attention-span , a rogue flutter said, you got the big feelings, but not the patience, not the smarts or the composure, you’re just feeling .

Where did that come from?

Shadow’s voice broke Red’s chain of thought, “Your weapons can’t hurt me , I’m far beyond those things in power! They’re so dingy and dull, nearly powerless!”

If they cut through stone so easy when they’re powerless , I wonder how powerful they are when they’re fully charged , his thoughts drifted, flickering and fluttering from thing to thing, must be really strong, like…

He was doing it again.

Scared, Red was scared, that was for sure. Glittering, jagged claws were growing closer and closer, Blue had been backed over to the rest of them somewhere during the time he had spaced out, and they were going to die . The tears welled up again, and he couldn’t stop them from falling. He was scared, he was going to die, and he didn’t want to die.

Shadow lunged, claws outstretched, and, suddenly, a bright light appeared in front of them. It was mesmerizing, swirling with blues light as the sky and near indigo, and yet it was still so bright. Red could hear a scream of agony, and, when the light died, leaving behind a blue fairy, he briefly saw why.

It was only for a moment, really, but it was enough to get a pit in his stomach.

Shadow’s skin, which had once been clear of blemishes, now had large boils. Any place not burned to blistering was angry and fiercely red, and he was nearly unrecognizable. Of course, it was only a moment before he faded into darkness, swiftly fleeing, but it was enough to make Red sick.

The fairy chimed, urging them onward, and they followed behind. What else could they do, really? She had helped them all, so Red assumed she was kind.

Red liked to assume people were kind.

The crystal was large, tinged a light cyan, and a lovely maiden rested within, eyes forced shut, hands clasped in prayer. The fairy fluttered to the seal, melding within, and the maiden’s eyes cracked open. She did not twitch in the slightest after that, remaining perfectly still, but her voice echoed;

“ Link…? Link, you have…you’ve drawn the Four Sword. I should have expected such a thing, though it is nowhere near as powerful as it once was…how peculiar. ”

“Shadow said that, too,” Vio stated, “How do we regain the blade’s power?”

“ Force. Link, you must gather Force from the land. With very little of my own magic, I was capable of preserving a book about it, for I knew you would find it useful. In the blade’s reduced state, you must gather many gems from all across Hyrule to regain its power. Earth, water, fire, wind, those are the main types of Force, and they are all plentiful across the land if you know where and how to find them. As it stands, your blades do not hold the power to free me from my prison. Go, journey to my hometown, the Blue Maiden Village, for, while darkness has begun to lurk there, Force is rampant in the air. ”

Green bowed slightly at the hip, right hand over his heart, “We will do our best, Blue Maiden.”

Red thought he almost saw the corners of the maiden’s mouth rise slightly as she responded, “ As you always have, Link. May the Goddesses smile upon you. ”

They left the room to try and find the remains of the library, which Vio insisted they do ( She made sure there was a book! We have to get that first, and we need a map! ). Red was just happy to be there, to walk with them, to look at them. He wasn't as excited for the search or reading, but, with them, it would be worth it. He wasn't even sure why he was so attached so quickly, though he supposed it was just how he was.

How he was made to be.

The slightest hint of dread pooled in his stomach, and he quickly pushed it down. It bothered him so much, the idea of only existing based off of a preconceived notion. It had just been an offhanded mention, something Blue helped to stop in motion, but it dug deep into his chest. Had Link known what would happen? Had he known he would stop being him?

Had he known he, they, wouldn't remember anything?

He couldn't have, Red asserted. So many people seemed to have depended on him, if he knew he wouldn't be there, if he knew he wouldn't be doing any saving, he wouldn't have. Red had a feeling that Link liked to be helpful. 

Red was good at thinking about how others felt. He was good at that. He wasn't good at knowing what he felt. Even then, he could tell that thinking about Link was filling him with discomfort; everyone they'd met so far has called all of them Link, but he wasn't Link. He wasn't. At least, he didn't think so.

He would like to think he knew who he was, but, with anything past today blank, did he even know? Would he ever really know? 

No, he wouldn’t know who he was , but who he is ? He can learn all about who he is now. So, with an only half-fake pep in his step, he continued to follow the others.

This was going to be fun .

Chapter Text

Ow ow ow ow ow .

Shadow pressed his hands to his face, feeling the burns and boils carefully. It hadn’t even been two seconds of light magic, he shouldn’t have been hurt so badly .

It’s not fair , he thought petulantly, why couldn’t I have been made better ?

He would never say such a thing aloud, of course. Lord Ganon was always watching, and he was completely okay with being unreasonably harsh in his punishments. And, well, Vaati wasn’t a peach either, even if Shadow wasn’t sure if the bat was all there. Still, that keese was far less…horrible, he supposed.

Legends never spoke of the villains, never cared about the lives they lived before being defeated. History is written by the victors. The victors don’t tend to sit around and play house with the villains.

I wonder , Shadow pondered, do any of those Hylian texts talk about the Wind Mage as if they were a person? Are there any that might make sense of their ramblings, of their single eye ?

No, Shadow knew; nobody ever cared about the ones that lost. An evil defeated was a mindless monster, every hero victorious a beautiful angel.

Well, Shadow wouldn’t be a mindless monster in legends onward. Shadow would go down in history, in his kingdom’s history; The Prince who Saved the Land. 

For his people, he would bear the agony of a thousand light-burns, as long as it would give the ones he ruled a better life, he would do anything.

He was a prince, and damn it all if he wasn’t going to act like it.

This isn’t over, and I’ll be back, just you wait .

Chapter Text

Green wasn’t sure how he had become the pseudo-leader of their little quartet, especially after that castle, but he did.

Still, there was no use making sense of it because it had already happened, and they were already on the road again. He, himself, had the map on hand, turning it appropriately so that the castle was behind them, and began to draw their course.

The village wasn’t that far, surprisingly. It was a good way away from the castle, sure, and it would be a bit of a pain to get to, but he’d thought it might be really far, like directly on the coast of Hyrule’s borders.

(He only knew this kingdom was even named Hyrule because of the title of the map, only knew that they were called Hylians from the legend on the thing. Link probably knew what they were by heart, and Green was a failure for not knowing.

He should be remembering something.)

Instead, it was quite well inland, past a small range of mountains. The peaks might have just been tall enough to obscure the attack on the castle, so it was likely they didn’t even know their kingdom fell.

(That it was their fault.)

Green hummed a little tune, content to listen to the conversations surrounding. He heard the page of a book flutter, certainly Vio, since he had brought more than just the one that they would need. He remembered the one-sided argument, with Vio very loudly justifying his choice to walk into the romance section of the library with reasons such as, “maybe they didn’t think anything useful would be here, but there’s actually something important hidden on the shelves!”

Based on the small intake of breath he heard, Vio’s bag, which had been noticeably heavier, was not filled with completely practical knowledge. It was nice to know that the usually-stoic one of them found something he enjoyed, so Green wasn’t going to complain. Whatever he was reading was nobody else’s business. He didn’t want to encourage his teammates to close off from him, either, so bringing it up would be its own vice.

Red was giggling again, and Blue was huffing and shouting alongside him. Those two seemed closest out of all of them. Red was friendly to all of them, of course, and Green was pretty sure that nobody disliked the optimist, but he couldn’t help but notice how easily they fell in step compared to any of the others.

Blue almost seemed friendly when alongside Red, the frustration…not bleeding away, but dropping its hackles slightly. Red would share simple affections with Blue that seemed reserved for him alone, brushing hands, poking arms, bumping hips, sudden hugs. They were like two pieces of a puzzle, clicking together almost seamlessly, two like minds finding some kind of solace.

Right brain , Green thought warmly, remembering a brief page left intact that he looked at. The way the brain was classified left and right, how different parts had different functions…it wasn’t in-depth, it was hardly legible after the siege, but it gave him a reason for why they were like this.

Left brain, right brain, cut up into four, forced into people, incomplete unless together. Together they were, together they would stay.

Green wasn’t sure if it was true, of course! He didn’t know what they were any more than anyone else, but it was the best explanation he had. Split from Link by a blade.

Maybe that’s why their memories were trashed, their brains weren’t whole.

The path was quite straightforward; the road to the town was one less-traveled, the town itself being incredibly obscure. It was a tiny dot on the map, a minor settlement, barely anything to even glance at. Dark forces would likely never think about guarding that area, and, if they did, they wouldn’t do so heavily. The monsters around there would likely be few, maybe a larger amount depending on the general area, but overall a small pool.

A good direction to start.

A loud smacking sound jolted Green from his musing, forcing him to look at the emotional pair. Blue had hit Red upside the head, and the other stumbled for a good few steps before stabilizing, cackling with glee the whole way.

“You’re really strong!” Red giggled, grinning like he had won a lottery.

Blue’s cheeks flushed the tiniest bit, face pinching in slight embarrassment, “Duh I am, why wouldn’t I be?”

Green chuckled to himself at their antics, looking at the map again. They were both so darn entertaining , there would never be a dull moment with them. If they had been more serious, Green wasn’t sure if they all would have gotten along as well as they had at this point. As great as Vio was, as great as he thought he himself was, a team of people just like them would be a disaster. They needed the variety, a hothead and a fluffball, to balance out the work.

If it’s all work and no play for too long, then the passion dissipates, leaving behind obligation. Green didn’t want to be doing this just because he felt obligated to.

He wanted to save because he loved saving.

He fell into step just slightly behind Vio, glancing at the words over his shoulder.

Blood was all I could think of, my body on full display. His fingers dragged across my chest, peeling back the tender skin, revealing the ribs and flesh beneath. The bones snapped easily under the pressure of his hands, dripping with marrow and forcing a scream from my lips. One by one they were ripped away, until my beating heart was on display, and his lips brushed against the pulsing organ. It throbbed painfully, agony ripping through me, and his teeth sunk in. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe, my vision flickered in and out as I lay there, and he whispered to my slowly stopping heart three tender words; “I love you.”

Green decided he did not want to know. There was still a good half of the book left, so clearly the protagonist did not die…

Nope, don’t think about it. Vio can read whatever freaky stuff he wants, Green will not touch that with a 20 foot pole.

What an interesting team , Green lamented, I’m glad I’m with them…but man, are we all weird ?

Chapter Text

Vio felt filthy.

The things he was reading in his free time weren’t even bad , they weren’t dirty in content, cheesy and romantic, sure, but otherwise quite tame. Well, until Starlit Dreams had a random scene where the main character was ripped open and eaten from the inside by his lover. It was a dream, a mere manifestation of the character’s mind, and the protagonist woke up with the taste of blood on his tongue and cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but it was really strange.

And Vio had loved reading every second of it.

Now, of course, they were resting. Vio was sitting in the shade of a large tree, holding the book on Force reverently, reading the paragraphs like they were holy. As far as he knew, they very well could have been, the swirling letters handwritten, twisting elegantly.

Blue would never have had the patience to follow each loop, Red wouldn’t even be able to focus on them for too long before looking out at the horizon, eyes growing unfocused, and Green would only skim to find what looked the most important. Only he, Vio, could take the time to read and analyze every single word, only he could be sure that they were doing what they should.

His work was already helping, he smiled, glancing up at the world around him for a moment. Red was to the side, faithfully organizing their rations by substance, type, color, size, and then alphabetically (Vio had only asked him to sort them by what they were, dried meat with dried meat and nuts with nuts, but to see the usually so carefree boy being so thorough, even going down to separating peanuts in their shells from peanuts out of their shells, was nice). Vio’s eyes then focused on the main fruits of his own type of labor.

Green and Blue were sparring. Their blades glittered in the slowly setting sun as they clashed ruthlessly, eyes narrowed, seeming to be out for blood. If Vio hadn’t asked them to go all-out, he would have been far more concerned for the safety of both parties.

The book claimed that Force could also be generated by blades clashing, by the heat of Force-Powered-Weapons (all uppercased, for some odd reason) in battle. The book actually did not seem aware of the Four Sword’s existence, and Vio was quite surprised to learn that some normal blades also gained power from Force. Still, it detailed how the vibrations of the air and ground around the battle would cause Force to mature faster than it usually would, and, consequently, reveal Force that had already returned into a Passive state.

The properties of Force were fascinating , from Passive to Active to Dormant, it was so much to learn. Passive Force was life itself , the elements of the land as they behaved, the earth, the fire, the water and air itself was filled with Force, but, in that state, it was useless to them. Active Force was what living things held within themselves, their blood, their cells, their brains and bodies and hearts, all powered by Force, but, again, useless in this form. Dormant Force took on the shape of triangular gems in many different colors and sizes, some being as tall as a ten year old child while others were as tiny as a thumbnail. Dormant Force was the kind they needed in order to power up their blades, and it seemed that the Four Sword in particular was special.

The Four Sword, as evidenced recently during an ambush by monsters, could transform Active Force into Dormant Force upon killing another being. Vio had been ecstatic to learn that they were the first to discover this property of the Four Sword, and he had been unable to stop himself from pacing back and forth, tapping his fingers together and rambling on about how rare such a thing was.

He was thankful that the others had let him indulge in such a thing. Had they interrupted, he had a feeling he would have been upset for far too long. They had no time to be upset , so he counted his blessings.

For a time, Vio had wondered why the beasts at the castle hadn’t been condensed into Force as they killed them, but the answer was quite simple. Shadow had called those guards toys, so they were not real people; they were merely things, unnatural and created by forces that, quite frankly, should not be employed.

Vio’s fingers brushed the pages, the texture of the paper giving him a feeling of joy as he returned to his reading.

While obtaining Force seems simple in the way of sparring, it is actually quite difficult. For weapons that utilize such a power, it becomes a nearly fruitless labor to use the heat of fighting to bring Force to the surface. The amount of Force consumed with each attack is only slightly less than the amount generated from said fighting, and it is a long process to get such a small pool of results. Unless you have no other options, this is not a recommended form of powering a weapon.

Well , Vio mused, our options are quite limited right now, so, truly, we are doing the best we can with what we have .

The words began to bore him slightly, and he discreetly glanced around. Green and Blue were still engrossed in their spar, and Red was so focused on their things that it was doubtful he was noticing anything else. His hand shifted to his bag, finding the binding of another book easily and pulling it out, placing the slightly smaller book within the one about Force.

The cover fluttered open, Her Majesty the title, and he looked at the much neater print hungrily.

The throne was large, imbedded with obsidian melded into swirling patterns, beautiful and dangerous. I sat upon it, of course, eyes narrowed down at the people below. The ones I once called my allies.

No, after the choices I made? How could I ever dare call them friends? They don’t even breathe the same air as me any longer, I am high above, a crown of gold and rubies atop my head, black gown billowing at my ankles.

A pale hand overlays my own, another carding through my hair as a pair of golden eyes move into my vision, fangs glistening in the firelight as she smiles at me. She is why I have done this, her smile, her laughter, the way her teeth feel along my skin. She is why I lean into her claws, why I flush so red as I imagine the things she will do to me, the things she has already done. I am helpless in her grasp, and yet she urges my own hands to grip the reins, to lead her.

“My queen,” she murmured, voice seeming to drag off into a whine, “Surely you don’t mean for them to ruin our fun?”

I smile, glaring dangerously at those warriors, those rats, those stains, and I respond, deep and booming, “I mean to be rid of them, I mean to rid them of this world with my own hands, my love.”

Vio found himself attached to the novel quite quickly, relishing in the way it seemed to begin at a climax. A duel of broken trust, a clever move on the protagonist’s part easily incapacitating the foolish man who dared assume she was weak. The pommel of her blade slammed into his stomach, forcing him to go limp and near unconscious, and she stood over his dazed form, steel pointed down as she stabbed, blood splattering easily. To have been pushed to such methods, surely those others had not been innocent?

Indeed, Vio hummed quietly. Not one person in this story was innocent.

Chapter Text

The Blue Maiden Village was tiny .

There were only about 12 buildings total, a vast majority being houses, with one law-enforcement place, a shop, and a little shed that could have been the post-office. Blue didn’t know, and he didn’t particularly care. The village didn’t seem to be getting much mail anyway, with the state it was in.

A long line of people stood just in front of the police building, the first man rapping on the door and screaming. The people behind the first man were shouting and groaning, faces twisted unnaturally in rage.

Is that how I look , Blue thought, horrified. Maybe he should start redirecting it a little, at the very least not take it out on the other people with him as much. Punch a few more trees, a few less Reds.

With all of them screaming, not one thing they were saying broke through, a cacophony of, quite frankly, nonsense. It ticked him off.

“That building,” Green murmured, leaning back slightly so that all of them could hear it, “That’s the royal crest. It must have been manned by Hylian soldiers, I can guess why they’re not here anymore.”

“Called to action or taken out prematurely?” Vio added, having to sound so smart with a big, fancy word. The word before could have worked just as well.

Blue scoffed, “The place looks too tidy for it to have been a struggle, wherever they died, it’s not here. Probably thought it would be a quick trip, left without warning, never came back and didn’t tell anyone.”

“Those monsters at the castle,” Red chimed in, honestly surprising Blue, “They were wearing armor with that same crest. There wasn’t anything inside, but what if there was something there at one point?”

A sense of unease began to soak their usually quite light atmosphere. If there were bodies inside of that armor at one point, then…

“They were replaced,” Green gasped, “Their bodies were removed before they even had a chance to fight. The people were taken out, but the armor was filled with dark magic.”

Vio crossed his arms, “So these guards likely got the same treatment. If the husks are even in there, there’s no way they’ll respond to those people.”

“Just say it like it is, Vio, they’re fucked !” Blue snapped easily.

Red’s eyes narrowed, and he grabbed Blue’s arm, “They were , but now we’re here. We can’t just leave them like this! Plus, we gotta stick around to find Force, right? We can help them and get what we want.”

“It’s a plan,” Green nodded, and he took a few steps forward.

A few steps toward the disaster that was just starting to unfold.

A young woman had begun attacking an older woman in line, screaming about her trying to cut in front of her. It was quickly devolving into an all-out brawl, more and more people butting in, anger was running high. Blue had almost wound himself up to run in and help them, but a worst-case-scenario happened.

A girl that couldn’t have been far from their own age ran up, shouting, “Stop! Stop fighting! This isn’t helping at all! Please!”

A man pushed her to the ground, screeching about how it wasn’t her business, and Blue had just about enough. The twang of justice in his veins pushed him to run over first, three steps ahead of the other three, and he stopped in front of the girl, blade drawing.

“Aren’t you a grown-ass man!? What’s the use of you pushing little girls down? Have you never been taught anything !? She was just trying to help, and you go and push over a kid!?” Blue growled, eyes frosty with anger.

The adults looked ashamed for half a second before a woman broke out, “That’s just it! Our kids! Someone took our kids! She’s the only one left, I need to find my baby!”

The shouting started up again, no longer directed at Blue or the girl, and he turned towards her. She was pretty, features soft with youth and eyes wide, lashes full and lips pink. A dust of red brushed over her cheeks when he looked her in the eye, and she took his offered hand reluctantly.

Pretty as a doll, and, in her light green dress embroidered at the collar, she very well could have been one.

“Thank you, mister…?” she started, trailing off at the end.

Blue grinned slightly, “Blue, call me Blue. Over there are the people I’m traveling with. Green, Red and Vio. You can guess which is which. You?”

“Erune,” she smiled sweetly, eyes slipping shut and cheeks rosy, “My name’s Erune. If you want, you can stay with me in my house. See, it also doubles as an inn, and you look like you’ve been traveling a while…”

Green had sidled over, a glitter in his eye, “Three days by now, miss Erune. We’re from the castle, see, we’re trying to help out towns further from the main kingdom, by order of the Six Maidens. We went to this town in particular because it is the hometown of the Blue Maiden, and she was quite worried. I don’t think any one of us is opposed to staying for a while, we’ve been on our feet almost this whole time!”

Blue’s eyebrow raised. Green was…lying? Yes, he was lying , but why would he do that? Blue’s eyes wandered, and then he realized; the village was so isolated . He couldn’t see past the small range of mountains where they came from, which meant he couldn’t even see the castle.

Not one person here knew their kingdom had fallen.

“Are you knights!?” Erune quietly exclaimed, glancing nervously at the line a bit away.

Vio nodded, “Indeed, ma’am. We’re also quite well met with the hero, Link, so we should be more than satisfactory for this task.”

The girl's eyes widened, and her small smile broke open into a blinding grin, “Truly!? Oh, Hylia has blessed this village! I know we are in good hands now! Come, come, momma needs to meet you four!”

It was easy for Blue to fall behind Erune, to walk behind her. He even found that he wanted to follow her; she was a nice girl, the nicest anyone had been to him in all of his memories…well, besides Red. Red was always kind, if not a little air headed and sensitive. Even he wasn’t brainless enough to assume he didn’t like nice people .

He was angry, not an asshole .

The home was quite large, and Blue gave it an appraising look. A little dirty in places, but he could deal with that later. He wasn’t about to live under her roof without giving anything in return.

“It’s not very much, I suppose,” Erune giggled, suddenly looking quite sheepish, “It must be very…crude compared to the castle…but I hope you enjoy your stay!”

Blue was the first to speak up, voice slightly rough as the slightest hint of pink rose to his cheeks, “It’s just right, Erune. Thank you for…”

He trailed off, face growing warmer as nerves seized him. He was talking to her just fine moments before, and yet it felt like all of his words were stolen away by her smile. Oh, her smile as she heard what he had managed to get out strangled him, it almost hurt to see.

“I’m glad it’s enough for you and your brothers!” she hummed, and he felt a slight annoyance at the word she used.

Brothers . They weren’t brothers, he knew that much, but…it was the best cover they had, he supposed. He wasn’t going to speak up unless they did.

They, in fact, did not, despite the intuitive feeling that they all felt the same. No, instead, they didn’t acknowledge it at all, continuing into the home. Erune left them in their room, calling out a quick, giddy, “Thank you, Blue!”

He felt his face warm up again, and he elected to ignore it . If he thought too hard, he would get frustrated with it, and he…didn’t want to get frustrated.

He wanted to hold on to this nervousness for a little longer.

Bonus!

Blue glanced over at the tree Vio was sitting under, staring at the pages of that stupid book on Force. How did that thing not bore Vio to death ?

He and Green finished sparring a few moments after he took note of Vio, panting and a little lighter. Their blades did actually look to be in better shape, slightly sharper at the edges, a little shinier. Blue found himself walking over to Vio, a mischievous smirk on his face.

“So,” Blue snipped, “How’s that book coming along, nerd?”

Vio sighed, looking up from…hey, wait a second-

“You’re not even reading the book you’re supposed to!” Blue exclaimed, snatching the smaller novel from the middle of the pages. Its binding was plain, with only two words gilded on the front, Her Majesty .

Vio jolted upright, reaching for the thing, face burning, “BLUE! Give that back!”

“Let’s see,” Blue cackled, looking at the page Vio was on with ill intent, “ Chapter three, the bloodthirst ? Mind if I read this out for ya?”

“NO STOP IT!” Vio screeched, and Blue almost did in shock. Vio was usually so composed, to see him so frazzled over this was hilarious .

“Ahem, I do not know why I have done as I have ,” Blue recited loudly, pitching his voice higher almost seamlessly, “ I was the knight of a once beloved kingdom! How dare I deceive those I once found myself fond of? Why do I feel not a single hint of remorse? I should be disgusted with myself, and yet- ”

Blue paused, “... the…way her…hands pull my…hair …what the fuck are you reading!?”

Vio had all but collapsed onto his knees, curling up into a ball with his knees covering his face, moaning, “Please let it be over…”

“No, Vio, what the fuck, we need to discuss this! What the fuck!?” Blue cried, eyes dark, face twisted in horror, “Why are you reading erotica !?!?!”

Unbeknownst to any of the now panicked heroes, a shadow was getting a report from a rock. It’s as funny as it sounds.

Chapter Text

“Erune is sooo cute!” Red giggled, hugging a pillow close with a blush on his cheeks.

He wasn’t even exaggerating! She was really pretty, and she smiled nicely all the time. She was a little sad, yeah, but she was so nice and she had even told them all about what was happening in town, about how that really bad storm came and whoosh! All the kids disappeared without a trace. Every last one except Erune!

She said it might be because she was almost thirteen now, that she was getting too old to be called a kid, and Red had felt a pang in his chest. She was twelve, and, deep down, somewhere in his mind, he knew that he was, too. He was twelve, they were all twelve, too young for this. She was too young to have her friends taken away, he was too young to be doing all this dangerous stuff, they were too young .

Red felt strongly about a lot of things, but he felt especially about this.

We should be playing , he thought mournfully, grip on the pillow tightening, we should be playing tag and hide and seek and having fun, not getting hurt like this .

“Focus on the goal, Red,” Blue snarked as if he hadn’t been cherry-red when Erune was here, too. Red knew it in his heart that Blue liked Erune more than the rest of them combined, and…it stung a little.

Red whined, “C’mon, she is ! I think she liiikes you~! She made sure to say bye to you specifically, and she was lookin’ at you across the table~!”

Blue’s face flushed crimson, and Red giggled when he muttered that he was going to bed early. He listened to Blue’s flustered stomps with an attentive ear, committing the sound to memory. He liked it when Blue noticed what he said.

“Who the fuck put a rock in my bed!?” Blue shouted, grabbing a large, round stone from beneath the sheets. His eyes turned to Vio and he bared his teeth, “Vio, I swear, if this is about me reading that stupid-”

“Regrettably, I was not the perpetrator of this crime, rest assured,” Vio sighed, “Though I do wish I had thought of it, now. No, I’ll wait until tomorrow to get you back.”

“Din’s tits , dude, I’m sorry for touching Her Majesty , maybe you shouldn’t be reading that shit on the road!” Blue snapped, throwing the rock out the window with enough force to land in a garden three houses over.

Red winced at the swear, one that was, apparently, incredibly vulgar. Blue had heard the townsfolk spouting them, and his cursing went from basic to downright obscene in a matter of hours. It was some sort of delayed reaction, the words not registering to him as curses until hours later.

Red would never forget the face-splitting grin Blue had before he told Green to, and Red quoted, suck on Nayru’s sweaty left cheek .

They were never going to recover from this.

Red hadn't even been able to think before he defaulted to reprimanding the team hothead. He felt like a mom, sometimes, but he knew he wasn't. If that title fell on anyone, it would be Green; even Red could admit how horribly chaotic every last one of them was. There wasn't one normal person among them for sure.

He still wasn't healed from what he mentally referred to as The Book Debacle . He pretended not to stare at Vio from the corner of his eye as he laid back in bed, pillow still in his grip.

The cover of the book was unfamiliar, but now that Red knew what the other liked to read…he was never going to sleep well again. He would never tell anyone else about what he had done in the dark of night after The Book Debacle .

(For those interested, he may have borrowed the book without permission. And read a bit of it. Or…most of it.

He wasn't innocent just because he was silly.)

“FARORE’S NAVEL!” Blue shrieked suddenly, and Red winced, “Green’s out- Green’s talking to Erune! Alone!”

Jealousy filled his heart as he huffed. Why did Blue care so much? It was obvious who she liked most out of all of them. It was obvious who Blue disliked the most out of all of them. It was obvious who Blue would rather be talking to, based on the way he stomped off, out of the room.

Red didn’t know why he cared so much. Sure, Blue had a crush on a pretty girl, that was…that was normal. Red kind of liked her too, he understood. He just…he hated how easily he completely switched where he paid attention. Red wanted to be with them , wanted to be right next to Blue and Erune and…

Goddesses, he was such an attention-seeker. What was wrong with him?

He jolted when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, and he looked up into Vio’s gray-blue eyes.

“Are you…” Vio started, taking a deep breath, “Are you alright, Red?”

Red sniffled, and he opened his mouth to respond-

“ ERUNE’S BEEN TAKEN! ”

He was on his feet in seconds at Green’s scream, strapping his sword to his back fluidly. Vio followed suit, giving him a stern look.

We’ll talk about this later, Red.

There was nothing he could do but resign to his fate. Vio always kept his promises, Red learned that already from the few days they had all known each other. If Vio’s stare said they’d talk later, they would . That’s just how it was.

The air was cold outside, too cold for it to be normal. It forced goosebumps to his skin, and he gripped his sword more intently, ready to draw it.

Green took charge the moment they were all together, “We can’t afford to split up, this thing, whatever it is, is going after kids our age! If we get taken, we have to be together so that we can deal with it easier, okay? Stick close, let’s look around the house, first.”

Red practically glued himself to Blue’s side, using his right hand to hold on to the other’s sleeve. Other than a light glare, Blue mostly ignored it. He could feel Vio’s eyes on him, still, and his cheeks flushed.

He never did say he was gonna keep it a secret.

The ground seemed to lurch under him, and he screamed. He felt like he was being ripped apart, but, when he blinked…he was still outside the house?

Blue was gone, Green and Vio weren’t anywhere to be seen, and something was…off. The grass was too saturated, the sky pitch black. Everything seemed warped and nauseatingly bright in all the wrong ways. Red took two steps away from where he was, looking around. Where he had been standing, there was an odd, rosey-stone platform, which seemed to be rapidly fading from existence.

Was that how he got here?

Green was next, screaming and gripping his arms like he was trying to hold himself together. Red ran over, reaching out and grabbing Green’s shoulder.

“What’s going on!?” he cried, and when had he started crying, “Where are we? I don’t-this is bad!”

Vio stumbled into this odd, parallel world, collapsing to the ground with a light cry, and Blue followed after. Red noticed the last wisps of a green platform, and the fading forms of both a lilac and blue platform.

The violet boy scrambled up, patting down his pants with a huff, “Well, I suppose we know where Erune was taken, now. Of course it would be something magical in nature, this must be how all the kids went missing at once, stumbling into nowhere without a single trace. This must be the Dark World.”

“Not no trace, there’s- I saw like, stone circles? Colored like our tunics? I think they were traps, the moment we touched them we were sent here!” Red responded, drawing his sword.

“Stone?” Blue muttered, “Like…the same kind as that rock I found in my bed?”

Red nodded, “Yeah, it looked pretty similar, at least with how smooth it was. It’s weird…”

An odd feeling covered their group, and, with a silent signal from Green, they all started walking. They were searching for missing people, after all…even if they, too, were lost.

Laughter floated through the air, children’s laughter, and, as they ascended a slight hill, a horrible sight greeted them.

Children, so many children, all plasticky and fake-looking in nature, playing. Some held hands and spun in circles, others played tag, a few were making little grass dolls, but they were all doing something.

And, right in the center?

Erune was sitting, cornflower blue eyes glassy and lifeless, skin made of porcelain, balls where her joints would be, holding limbs together. Her face had a blank, doting smile, two round spots of blush the only color to it, even her lips were stark white. Her light green dress had been transformed, ruffling petticoats and fine silks, white, lacey stockings and gloves covered her four limbs, and jewelry hung from her ears and neck.

“...sweet Hylia…” Blue whimpered in horror (that was strange and terrifying, Blue, whimpering), “Erune…she’s…”

Red blinked back tears, “She’s a doll. Why is she-why is she a doll!?”

She didn’t want to play.

Red spun around the moment the voice echoed. He saw the others do the same, and they all ended up looking in the same direction.

A large, reddish-brown stone floated above the ground, and one, massive eye opened with an odd, squelching, cracking sound. It giggled.

Kekeke…she was boring, see? I took her to a place where she could play forever, and look at how she repaid me! She’s much prettier like this, see? Now she can’t talk back, isn’t that lovely ?

Revulsion flooded Red’s mind. How dare this-this thing talk about her like that? He knew that he had a lot more feeling in him than the others, sometimes it felt like he was the only one really feeling anything, but if he was feeling angry?

He was shocked Blue hadn’t run forward recklessly yet. It was actually concerning, but he was kind of glad that he hadn’t. They didn’t know anything about this enemy, and, if…if it had turned a living, breathing girl into a mindless toy within a few minutes…

This was likely one of the strongest things they had ever faced.

Now, heroes! Tell me, will you play with me? Or will you force me, chief of this land, to shut you up too!? In the name of my prince, I shall strike you down!

And, with that, the stones around rose, eyes crack-squishing open, and the battle began.

Red couldn’t focus on one enemy at a time, each rock tinted a slightly different shade, some bluish, some greenish, some reddish and some purplish. Frantic, he held out his sword and did the only move he knew he was good at .

Red spun like an inferno, and he swore there were sparks at the tip of his blade as he hit the hundreds of stones around him. Only the rocks tinted reddish were harmed ( destroyed , even), the other colors merely bouncing away the moment they touched his blade.

“Hit the ones with your own color!” Vio shouted over the sound of metal on stone, “Hitting other ones just reinforces them!”

Red shouted something that he hoped sounded agreeing, and tried not to let his mind wander. It was agonizing, trying to hit each one through the horde, but, slowly, they started to make progress.

Until a sudden pulse of strange magic knocked their swords away. Not just away, right beneath the beast itself.

No fair, no fair! I don’t like cheaters! You don’t get to bring your own toys! This is tag and I’m it!

One of the stones made contact, one of Red’s own color, and he cried out, gripping the spot it hit.

“There’s a box,” Green cried out, “Come on, let’s go! Anything is better than nothing!”

Red tried to make his way over to where Green was, and, on the way, he saw said boy running from the now visible chest, a toy boomerang in his hand. With wide eyes, he watched as Green wound back, throwing it into the mass, and every single stone, no matter the color, exploded at its touch. It somehow made it right into Green’s hand.

Four arrows sailed, and they took out whatever they hit. Red saw Vio holding a toy bow, which, strangely, didn’t have a drawstring. When Vio pulled back where the string would be, an arrow, wicked sharp, appeared, and he held it there for three seconds.. When he released it, it flung, just like from a real bow, and then it multiplied , one becoming four, flying in perfect harmony.

Red found his way to the chest, rummaging through before finding a slingshot. It didn’t have ammo, sure, but Red knew it would be something like the bow. He could feel it.

Blue appeared moments later, grabbing…a bug net. He shouted frustratedly before reaching in again, pulling out a beetle-thing.

Red backed up just in time to avoid being hit as Blue upended the whole chest, reaching into the now revealed contents and pulling up a, frankly, massive and dangerous looking hammer. It wasn’t even a toy, it was a full on wooden hammer.

“Now that’s more like it!” Blue shouted before sprinting back into the fray, easily taking out every single stone he came across.

Red stood there for a moment, watching everything happen for a bit, before pulling back on his weapon. He held it back, just like he saw Vio do, and the seed that had appeared glowed after a moment. He fired it, and it shot so fast, it broke through five rocks before taking out its sixth, falling to the ground.

He grinned, and he kept shooting .

After that, it didn’t take long to get rid of the stones, and the beast shook with…

Tears?

Those were my rocks! I made them all by myself! You broke them all !

It sounded so sad , tears were even filling its eye, and Red started to cry too. He couldn’t help it, he had a soft heart, he had empathy . He knew how it felt, for hard work to be completely ruined, it had happened with his method of organization for their rations.

(How hard was it to understand that medium sized almonds were in a different place than large and small ones!? It only took half a day for it to all be ruined.)

So, sue him, he couldn’t help caring .

He also couldn’t help it when the tears the monster was crying hardened, from the odd, gray sludge it was into something like quicksand. A hand grasped his own, and he let Blue pull him up, tunic stained and dripping, but alive .

You will pay for that! For my prince, for my land, for my games!

Green had, somehow, grabbed their swords while Red was distracted, and he handed them out with ease, grinning determinedly, “No, I think you’ll be the one to pay!”

And then, like they were possessed, they all lunged at the same time, striking the monster right in its eye. It screamed, a horrible, haunting thing, and then it crumbled into sand. Glowing gates opened everywhere, and, suddenly, they were back in the normal world.

All the children had come with them, their skin becoming more natural, and, in the center of it all, Erune lay, unconscious, Rosie, her doll, held tightly in her arms.

Red had never felt so relived .

Chapter Text

Damn it all!

Shadow knew that rock was useless , it never did anything right! It was so incompetent, so stupid , it didn’t think anything through!

Still, its loyalty…it was commendable. It had followed Shadow, not Ganon, not Vaati. It had followed Shadow alone, no other power had claim over it, it was the only one who really honored him as the prince of the Dark World.

If only it had been smarter . Something, some one that loyal with brains behind them? Shadow could only dream of such a miracle.

So Shadow watched, watched as it died, watched as those heroes celebrated, as Red and Blue hugged the girl like she was a lifeline, as the girl kissed their cheeks, calling them her heroes . He watched as their faces flushed, as they promised to write back, to come back and say hello when their duties were lesser. He watched as they left, beloved by the town.

It made him sick .

Chapter Text

Green wasn’t really sure about this whole team thing sometimes.

It was weird to think that, but it was true. Sometimes, he felt like he shouldn’t be traveling with more people than himself. Even if, in all of his memory, he had only ever been one part of a whole group, his heart sometimes just…didn’t notice it.

It was rare, of course. Without the memories to back it all up, that feeling always went away about as fast as it appeared, and it only came around when he was really frustrated with the others. Otherwise, it was like his whole soul sung with every moment he was with his team.

His team. They were his and he was theirs, so deeply ingrained in his being that it hurt, sometimes. To be separated from them would be torture , he imagined.

Sure, Vio was strange and distant, but he was kind and always knew what to say to help keep everyone on track. Red was sensitive and naive, but he was so fiercely loving and felt enough for all of them, able to easily find his way across any problem and reconnect burned bridges. Blue was impulsive and irritable, but his words always held a certain playfulness, a specific brand of love in a class all its own.

Yes, if they were all left alone, separated, then things would go awry quite quickly.

Speaking of things going awry, Green hadn’t expected…whatever was going on between Blue and Red. At first, based on the little things he noticed about their behavior, he thought they had been vying for the attention of the same girl, both being pathetic about Erune. But then…well, whatever happened before they left the next morning happened.

Erune had treated both of them quite tenderly, and there didn’t seem to be any jealousy to be seen between them. In fact, their relationship had somehow improved , Blue being much less likely to give Red a thwack to the head than before. Red’s weird dancing-around had all but vanished, and he was practically glued to the hothead’s side.

If Vio’s mutters about how this was just like Starlit Dreams were any indication, then the other boy had noticed this behavior shift, too. With Green’s luck, Blue and Red themselves would notice, too, and then things would somehow get even sappier.

Goddesses, they… they were acting like a pair of newlyweds . Oh goddesses, they were acting like newlyweds.

(Green didn’t question how he knew what newlyweds acted like. Weird knowledge like that was just ingrained in him, and he honestly didn’t care much where it came from. He wasn’t particularly attached to a version of him nobody had ever known, apparently, because, y’know, that creeping dread of being the product of a sword’s magic shenanigans really just smothered the idea of even having a version of him anyone knew before the him of now.

Yeah, they all need some kind of mental help with that revelation. It has been four days since then and it hadn’t lessened its weight in his heart in the slightest.)

The moment that the pair noticed how sappy they were acting, they would either fiercely deny it and separate forever, or get even more insufferable. Green couldn’t tell which one he thought was a better option…probably them becoming more unbearable.

And Vio , oh he was something else. After Blue’s little stunt with reading one of those books out loud , it seemed like pretty much all the shame or secrecy around the contents of the stories disappeared. After a very, very tasteful prank that involved three acorns, a strip of cloth, and Blue’s boots, Vio started coming to Green to talk about parts he found entertaining.

Out of the two that Vio talked to him about, Green actually liked the plot of Her Majesty more. At least of what he had been told. It had, apparently, started right at the climax of something, and was now dropping off into another climax. Apparently Armidia, the main character, had betrayed the world she once knew in order to work alongside the princess of a kingdom entirely composed of vampires. Despite technically being lower than even a sword in the eyes of the rest of the kingdom, the princess, whose name is apparently Nero, treats her like she is the true queen.

Vio has discussed where he thinks the plot is heading, perhaps a slow realization that the protagonist is in the wrong, and she returns to the light, perhaps a redemption for the princess, who doesn’t have a kind home life, maybe they both continue on their path of evil together, so many different ideas. Green wasn’t sure which one was least painful, but the twist he found to be the most appealing was that, while the protagonist found herself further surrounded in evil, the princess would find herself becoming fascinated with light. A swap of places, if you will.

Really, Green just liked that Vio trusted him enough with this sort of thing. He knew that the other boy never shared it with Blue, who, at every opportunity, would shout the question of if the two characters, in his words, had banged yet, and Red…Green couldn’t see Red liking that sort of thing.

So, yes, Green thought Vio was something else, but that wasn’t a bad thing. It was actually genuinely kind of nice, maybe even sweet .

And, sure, Green wasn’t sure about this whole team thing sometimes, and he thought Blue and Red could be annoying, but he couldn’t live without them. He wouldn’t want to live without them.

Really, if it had been anybody else he woke up with, he didn’t think he would be as happy as he was now. He…he loved them, and he wasn’t afraid to admit it. They were the ones who were there from the moment he could remember anything, and he had a feeling they would stick through it until the end.

…he hoped the end wasn’t any time soon.

Chapter Text

Vio should have known the plan was going to go downhill (haha) the moment it was suggested.

Why?

Because Blue was the one to bring it up.

Thanks to a few little pointers from villagers in the Blue Maiden Village, they knew that the place that likely needed the most help next would be Death Mountain. It was one of the only parts of Greater Hyrule the village could see from its place, nestled in the middle of a mountain range, and the large plume of black smog covering it had been concerning.

Blue, stupid, stupid Blue, had been the one to point out that there was a river on the map that came from just a little ways off from Death Mountain itself. He had oh so brightly said that they could use a boat . He had preened under the words Red had shot at him, giggling and grinning.

Vio should have noticed something when they finally got in the water. By the time they did, it was too late.

Death Mountain was upstream. They were going downstream . It was so avoidable, if they had just looked at the map , but no. They trusted Blue to make a smart decision.

He liked Blue. Really, he did, his words were never personal. But this. This was infuriating .

And then they fell down a waterfall .

Because that is what their luck is like, now. They went the opposite direction of where they wanted and they fell off waterfalls.

And the best part? The real juicy meat of it all?

They were separated . Vio was alone in some creepy woods without a map. Where even was he ? He didn’t know! He didn’t have a map!

They should have all had a copy of Green’s map! Why didn’t they! Because they were stupid !

Vio takes a break from making all the smart decisions for one minute a day and this is what happened. He should be getting paid for this.

Now he was walking blind through a foggy forest while a whole bunch of tiny plant people ran around screaming about a Lord Ganon or whatever. He…did not care too much! He was stressed, he felt like he was a single mother lost in the market and his kids had run off to do goddesses know what.

The plant people didn’t care that he didn’t care and preached about their lord, about how he promised to coat the land in darkness so that the Lost Woods could take over the land . Because that was normal to them. It was vital information, sure, but Hylia’s Grace they weren’t good at preaching. No flare, no fun, just so monotonous that it hurt .

If they hadn't been praying for the demise of the world, he would have given them lessons. Alas, he quite liked the world as it was, and they did not; a conflict of interest.

He was completely and utterly lost, and there were enough monsters around to give him a headache. And an armache. And a legache. Everything kind of hurt.

He wondered when he had loosened up enough to start cracking jokes in his head.

When he crossed the same clearing for the third time, he took three deep breaths before speaking in a level tone, “This is why. This is why we should never listen to Blue. This is why .”

“Awww, and here I thought you were finally going to say hi to little old me!” a voice called from above.

Vio looked up and up, into a scraggly, leafless tree, and, low and behold, Shadow stood on the highest branch. He ignored how impossible that should be with how thin the thing was, purely on the basis that he had seen the guy fly before, this wasn't too farfetched.

His sword was still at the ready from a little bit earlier, and he aimed it up coldly, “I assume you're not here for just a chat. Let's get this over with.”

“What?” Shadow laughed incredulously, “Why wouldn't I want to talk to you ? You and I have some good things to say! A lot in common, if you will.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Vio stated flatly as his eyes followed the other. Shadow stepped off into thin air, drifting down to the ground with his toes tipped.

Vio hated to admit that his fanged grin was quite infectious.

Shadow’s high voice echoed, “You know, we do have a lot in common,” he draped his arms on Vio's shoulders, and Vio wondered why he hadn't stopped him yet, “We're both so underappreciated, nobody wants to listen to us…”

Shadow’s grin sharpened, “But that can change easily, no? I'll listen to you, so just…”

Vio abruptly caught Shadow as he dropped all of his weight, body losing its shape.

Lips brushed the lobe of his ear, “...tell me everything . I want to listen to it all… Vio .”

His last word was little more than a breath of warm air, brushing the tip of his ear, forcing it to twitch slightly. Warmth creeped into his cheeks, and, for a moment…

Well, this was…pretty much everything he had started fantasizing about. Someone inherently dark in nature, strange and powerful, taking initiative to melt into his arms? It was too good to be true. In fact, he was certain that this was manipulation at its finest.

Well…two could play that game.

He moved his head just slightly, murmuring into Shadow’s skin, “You're right, they'd never listen to me, anyway.”

The shade stiffened, and he pulled back quickly. The vague mass of darkness took back the shape of before, which gave Vio the luxury of seeing his gobsmacked face.

“Then-” Shadow stammered, the tips of his ears turning red, “Then let’s go. You can’t keep sticking around with those others anymore, I know you’re smarter than that. I think that this will be…”

“A beneficial arrangement?” Vio finished, his own lips pulling into an easy smile. Just channel your inner Armidia, she knows just how to act .

Shadow crossed his arms, spinning to face the other way, voice cracking, “Yes! That.”

Oh, this was going to be fun .

Chapter Text

Blue officially hated snow.

To be totally fair, he probably liked snow at one point. It was kind of just this feeling he had, to an extent. When he saw the fluffy white ground he ended up on, he actually felt pure joy , which was a little rare. Usually there were a few other things mixed in, but he was genuinely just really happy to see the snow.

After trudging along in it for about two hours, it got old really fast . It soaked into his clothes when it met his body heat, making the cloth rub uncomfortably against his skin, it was cold as fuck , and the worst part is that he was the only one having to go through it.

He may not have been the brains of the group, far from it, he knew his place, but even he knew that the river they were one was going nowhere near a winter wonderland. And yet here Blue was, trudging through snow, snow, and, would you look at that, more snow .

The only positive thing he had come across was the fact that there were actually Force gems just…lying around. He was pretty sure that, amongst the blabbering, he heard Vio mention how cold temperatures could force the Force to crystalize prematurely. The result would be a little less stable, prone to melting back into Passive form, but if he touched it to his sword first, then it melted directly into the blade.

He took great pride in how the metal glittered (he wished he knew what kind it was…).

You know what he didn’t take pride in watching glitter? Snow .

He fucking hated snow.

He was cold, he was tired, he missed his teammates, and it was windy as all hell. He officially wanted to go home.

(Home wasn’t a house, or a building at all, or even a place. Home was sidled up next to Red, Vio in the corner of his eye, Green a few steps ahead, Erune sitting on the porch of her house. Home was with them, home was them, and it was stupid and sappy and something way too Red for him to dwell on.

It didn’t mean he didn’t think about it, sometimes.)

The curse of knowing that he was far from his team was that it came with the added bonus of fretting . Every thought not occupied by his hatred of snow was steeped in worry about his teammates. He wasn’t a worrier, he usually didn’t really think , but Nayru’s love , being separated from the others brought out a beast he had never known.

When he had the thought that he hoped Green hadn’t stubbed his toe somehow, he knew he was being a little overdramatic.

They’re fine , he reasoned, they’re all strong people, even if they’re alone, too, they can handle themselves. I’m being paranoid, and I should not be because that’s Green’s job .

So he pushed back his worry and kept trudging forward. Through the snow . Did he mention he hated snow?

A voice, faint and high, carried on the wind, a cry for help. Blue couldn’t just leave the person to die. The snow was still dreadful , but he ran through it, blade glittering in the reflected light, and made his way to the sound.

An old woman was nearly submerged in the stuff, screaming and begging for help. Despite how deeply he hated the snow, he pushed through it with no hesitation, freeing the woman with ease.

Something was off with her, though. Something about her didn’t seem quite right. Her skin was too smooth, too fake-looking, her eyes too clear and glittering to be suffering out here. Her cheeks were the same color as the rest of her face, which wasn’t right. Blue’s own were flushed red with blood from the cold.

Oh, this was totally a trap.

To think, had he been consumed by hubris, he would have totally fallen for it. And yet, there he was, mostly clear-headed and not looking to prove anything, and it was so obvious . This old lady should have accounted for the idea that not everyone is as dumb as a bag of rocks.

“Hero,” she rasped, “Oh, hero, this land is plagued by Vaati himself! He blows his terrible winds and the blizzard has never ended since! Please, hero, he hides in that cave! Won’t you save this land?”

It was so fake that it almost hurt. Why would Vaati, the guy that they had long since found they had to defeat, hide in some random cave in the middle of nowhere? Vio had actually insisted they read some of the legends on the sword they carried, and Blue distinctly remembered reading about Vaati himself.

The keese was vain as hell, and, every time he had risen, even before his first sealing, he went after the castle first, the princess second, and gold third. He always wanted a beautiful palace all his own, a beautiful wife (how that would work was beyond Blue), and enough sparkly things to make a blind man cover his eyes. For this lady to even try and convince him that such a self-important narcissist would dare stay in such a dingy cave for even a minute …it was just plain stupid.

What kind of idiot would fall for this? Well, him, if he was just a little bit more frustrated, but who else?

Anyone who knew anything about the guy would know Vaati wouldn’t be in there, not realistically.

All of this thought happened in the span of about six seconds, and Blue smiled at her, “Of course I’ll save this place, what else would I do? I’m a hero, right?”

And then he promptly stabbed her. Violently. In the stomach. And then, for good measure, stabbed her again. In the chest.

It was her fault for not keeping her guard up.

Her scream was loud and monstrous, and she shed her form for just a moment before she died. A strange, icy ghost-thing was revealed, which then promptly exploded into smoke and died.

That was easy.

The wind gushing from the cave died instantly, and Blue rolled his eyes. Couldn’t even choose a naturally drafty cave.

He shivered violently, and decided that being inside of the cave after killing the monster in it was the better option. Much better than just freezing outside.

The snow crunched under his heavy footfalls, and he eventually made it into the cave. He hadn’t noticed just how deep the chill in him was until he stood still for that bit of time.

The tips of his fingers were slightly blue, his skin burned strangely. He was both warm and cold, but he knew one of those was just an illusion. Vio hadn’t bullied him into taking a peek into a medical book for nothing, he remembered a few things. The most relevant thing currently was that hypothermia, when severe, starts to feel hot to the one affected. At that point, the afflicted will begin to remove layers and freeze to death.

Blue would be smart about this. Vio wasn’t here, so he needed to take care of himself.

He could do this alone.

Chapter Text

Red knew he was trusting.

Could anyone blame him? He liked to see the best in people, he liked to trust in others, in their hearts. He always thought of other people as blessings, really; he loved living, loved being alive, loved everything that lived.

Still, that didn’t mean everything that lived loved him, too. He knew that, he felt it in his bones. The monsters were alive, and they hated him. Some plants that were alive would give him pain if he touched them.

To love was to trust, and to trust was to make your heart vulnerable. To make your heart vulnerable, you had to accept that not everyone, not everything, would be kind to it.

Red knew this. He accepted the risks and chose to pour his heart and soul into trusting just about everyone. He loved , it was what he was made to do , he felt. If he didn’t love, it felt like nobody would.

So he loved. He loved until his heart was about to burst.

And look where that had gotten him.

He hadn’t known what was going on, at first. One moment they were in a boat, the next they were falling, and then he was inside a little farmhouse, landing in a pile of remarkably soft hay. He was confused and disoriented, his stomach was twisting, and he stumbled out in a daze.

He’d thought…it was just a little boy! He was so small, and he was crying, he said that he was being accused of so many crimes. How could Red even think to condemn him? He couldn’t have been older than six.

Red should have known that age didn’t make you less dangerous. He, himself, was quite unassuming, but he was also the fourth most dangerous person he knew. And yet, like an idiot , he trusted a child that had multiple crimes on his list . No, he shouldn’t have been so kind, shouldn’t have given his heart to someone he met moments before.

Look what being trusting got him, it got him a few bruises, a mob chasing him, and an empty weight where he knew his sword should be. He had never been without his sword before, it had always been so, so close by. It was like missing a leg, or his left arm. That sword was as much a part of him as his hands, his arms and feet, as his voice and smile and heart. Something just didn’t feel right the moment it was taken, he knew before he even turned to look that it was gone.

Red wasn’t smart with who he trusted, but…could anyone blame him? He loved, he was made to love, he had always felt so much love , he might literally be love incarnate . Of course he would trust so easily, of course he would think the best before the worst.

So he did. He thought the best and, when the kid came around again, he trusted him. He took the rod offered and stupidly , he used it . It had been as natural as breathing , feeling the heat licking his fingertips. His love, his devotion, his heart pounded and exploded , fire bursting from the round gem on top. Even though the flames licked his skin, it did not burn, because it was his fire.

The village hadn’t been convinced that it was out of love. The village, Kakariko Village based off the sign, had taken the sight of the rod as proof. Proof of a crime. Proof of evil intent.

Proof that he had been the one to make their village burn .

Kakariko Village couldn’t feel the difference in the fire. They couldn’t feel how Red’s flames licked and fluttered, couldn’t feel how the fire ravaging their home was biting and crackling. Fire was fire to them. That was all that mattered.

So, they chased the warmth of a hearth away, leaving the hunger of hatred behind.

It wasn’t fair ! Red did everything right, he trusted in good and defended those he thought innocent, and yet…here he was, feet pounding on packed dirt, the scent of ash still in the air, even out here, alone.

That was the worst part. He was alone . Blue wasn’t here to smack some sense into him, to get him back on track. Vio wasn’t here to explain, to reason with the village. Green wasn’t here to take charge and get the problems solved before they got so bad. Red was alone and scared .

He knew he was too trusting, but this? This was the first time he really, really felt the consequences. He thought he had accepted that he was at risk of hurt, but, now that it had happened, he wasn't sure if he had really understood the weight before.

Still, if anything, it firmed his resolve. He would bear this burden, this love like shackles, if only to save everyone the trouble. He would be strong like this, when he wasn't otherwise.

A wayward root halted his thoughts, much like it halted his steps as he crashed to the forest floor. He couldn’t stop the whimper from escaping him as he curled up, hugging himself. Just because he was willing to suffer like this didn’t mean that he had to suck it up now . He was going to cry, and…and that was okay, no matter what Blue said sometimes.

(He knew Blue didn’t mean it, but, sometimes, it stung. It was just how Blue talked, he couldn’t help it, Red understood. It just…hit a little closer to home when it was about his emotions.

He didn’t like, knowing how much he felt, the possibility of him, really, deep down, being just emotion. Was that all he was? Feeling? Was he just…love itself? What was he, if they were all fake? He knew they were all not real, from the moment Vio had led the conversation down theorizing. Red had been the first to pick up the pieces Vio was laying down, the first to ask that dreaded question.

“ Are we real? ”

Were they? Were they real? Red knew the answer, he always had. He just didn’t want to believe it.

So, yeah. He didn’t like it when his emotions were brought up.)

So he cried. He cried and he cried and he cried until his throat felt raw and his limbs felt heavy and his eyes stung.He cried until he couldn’t think straight, until he could only hear his own heart pounding, only feel his breath hitching in his lungs, strangling him, pushing more and more from his eyes.

He almost didn’t hear the chime. He had been on high alert, even through the distraction of his tears, and he had barely caught it.

A small fairy fluttered into his sight, and it chimed again, “Oh, hello! You must be one of the parts of Link!”

She flew far closer, ignoring how Red’s expression twisted slightly, “I was sent by the Blue Maiden! She told me to come help you out, or, at least, one of you. I have powerful teleportation magic, and all I need to do is lock on to a magical signature to follow it!”

“The other parts were in places I couldn’t get to easily, lots of dark magic, see,” she continued, landing on his shoulder, little feet an oddly comforting weight, “And you seem to be the best off, really. So I’m here! You four should all have the same signature to me…”

Red fiddled with his fingers, shifting on his feet as he felt the fire rod bump into his leg where it hung. He trusted her, he trusted her words, for the fairies of Hyrule don’t lie. It had been in one of the many books on healing that Vio made them all read before they even thought about traveling. Fairies can’t lie, their glow goes out if they do, and then they’re as good as dead because their glow is like a shield.

Still, he hated how she called him a part . He didn’t need someone else reminding him. He wanted nobody to remind him, so that, maybe, he could forget it. If he could forget it, maybe he could be completely okay for a little bit, be trusting and smiley and everything he wanted to be.

“My name’s Red,” he said aloud, “I…please don’t call me Link.”

She tapped her toes against his sleeve thoughtfully, “Really? Hm…the Blue Maiden said that she thought that any part of Link would like…nevermind. Nice to meet you, Red! Do you…need a moment?”

He rubbed his reddened cheeks with a sniffle, pushing himself to his feet, “No, no, I…let’s go. Gotta find Blue…gotta find Vio and Green…miss?”

“Oh, well…” the fairy hummed, fluttering back into the air, “How about you call me Minni?”

It wasn’t her real name, he knew, but he didn’t care much.

He smiled, “Then, miss Minni, let’s go find my teammates!”

Chapter Text

Shadow had never been happier.

It was weird to think, he knew. He hadn’t ever really been that happy in all his life. He just didn’t usually get that kind of emotion.

Now, though? He was happy .

He had someone with him, linking arms with him like it was normal . Shadow had nearly lost his shape when Vio had done it the first time, until Vio explained that it was how teammates, how friends would walk together, sometimes. He couldn’t believe it at first, but, when he looked in the Dark Mirror, it showed him exactly what Vio said…though with the past, with the old team of heroes.

Oh, the surprise they’ll get when they see him, see them , as a pair .

He liked being around Vio, he liked being a pair. Casual affection became so normal .

Sure, he had initiated contact when he was trying to recruit him, pressed against him with ease, brushed his lips against his ear, but this was different . It wasn’t with any alternatives, unlike anything Ganon had given. This was just…simple.

“Just look at this place, Vio!” Shadow crooned, spinning around the large throne room, “It’s all ours to rule!”

Vio smiled impishly, walking up to the throne, brushing his fingers along the cold silver, a stark contrast to the heat of the room. Lava bubbled in a thick moat around the room, thick stone platforms the only thing keeping them from falling in. The shape of the room was strange, and the odd, arena-like circle in the center was a little disconcerting, but it was nothing but perfect for them.

“I do say, our lord has outdone himself with this,” Vio sighed, lowering himself into the throne, “Though it is odd that he only had one small throne brought in. Surely he doesn’t expect one of us to stand all the time?”

Shadow held back a wince. Ganon, in fact, probably did expect that, and likely expected Vio to be the one to stand…

Vio waved his hand, crossing his legs, “Ah, whatever. We can just share, yes?”

He felt his face heat up at that. The throne was just barely wide enough for a single person, so little room that to even shift slightly was hard, and Vio wanted to-

“ Share ?” he croaked.

“Well, yeah,” Vio continued, “I would say you’d be best to sit first, and then I’d be on top of you? I’m the one that’ll need to jump up most often, right? Plus, your legs are slightly broader than my own.”

Vio’s been looking at his legs???

Shadow coughed, “Uh-yeah, okay. Sounds great.”

Vio’s smirk was devious as he swung the foot of the leg crossed above the other, and Shadow nearly melted. He couldn’t stop himself from walking over, leaning on the armrest and against Vio’s arm. A hand reached up to run through his hair, and, this time, he did melt, flopping along the armrests, into a warm lap, and it was heavenly .

“You know what you remind me of?” he heard Vio murmur, “You act quite a bit like a cat, Shadow, did you know that?”

Cat, a word that had very little importance to him before. Shadow hadn’t cared to learn what a cat was from Link’s memories, and yet, when Vio said it so softly, he found himself reaching back. Small, fuzzy, cute, affectionate yet standoffish, quick to shift emotions, attached to one person alone, their person, big eyes, pink little noses, fluffy little paws, little triangle ears, cute .

The form…appealed to him. It would force him to compress his magic into a much smaller form, but, perhaps…

He kept the picture of a cat in his mind, thought deeply, relaxing his muscles. How did its bones move? Where were they? The body, the nerves, all of it, he needed to think about it. If he didn’t, he would be in for a world of pain.

His ear flicked when he heard Vio say something, but he wasn’t listening, not really. His fake heart pumped the magic he was summoning through his limbs, from the tips of his fingers to the littlest follicle of hair, and he willed one, single word; Cat .

It was painless, as all of his transformations were through the process. He could feel his false bones, false flesh and muscle, contort, could feel them shift and stretch and swirl within him. He felt his stomach literally squeeze, and he was suddenly very glad he had neglected to eat today. His throat felt funny for a moment, his face twisting and melting and, suddenly, he knew that words wouldn’t be possible anymore. His fingers shrunk down to tiny little nubs, thumbs rising up and up his shrinking arms as they grew fur, little pink paw pads forming with ease. The weirdest feeling of all, however, was the tail, since he could feel the nerves within it developing as new bones were created to extend past where the Hylian tail bone was.

This all happened in about five seconds, of course, and he felt Vio’s hand still its motion. Instinct that, quite frankly, wasn’t his own, had him rolling onto his back to look up at the boy that was now, effectively, holding him.

“Well then,” Vio murmured, “This was unexpected.”

Shadow mewed without thought, blinking slowly up at Vio. He had known that he wouldn’t be completely himself for a bit, would be ruled far more by the instinct of the animal he had mimicked, as usual. Still, it was very, very surprising when, for just a moment, he thought of Vio as his.

(No, it wasn’t surprising, actually. Shadow had thought of Vio as his the moment that his arms wrapped around his shoulders, the moment that his warm breath tickled his neck, the moment they first linked arms.

Really, Vio had always been his. It was just translating a little differently right now.)

A large, really large hand gently scratched behind his ears, and a soft rumble rose in his throat. He was small , smaller than he had intended, only taking up a tiny little portion of Vio’s lap while stretched out like this. He wasn’t a kitten , though, just…weirdly small. Maybe he had thought about a cat with the word little too many times. It was entirely possible, magic was, at its core, fueled by intent; even the lightest of magic can be used for great evil, all that mattered was what one wanted it to do.

Vio smiled, and, the next thing he knew, there was a gentle kiss being pressed to his forehead. He felt his purrs grow louder, and he completely melted.

Yeah, he supposed he did act a little like a cat.

Chapter Text

He didn’t know how long he had been walking by now, but it couldn’t have been less than five hours, surely.

His mouth felt gritty and strange, scraping and dry in a way he had never felt before. He had run out of water not too long ago, and the storm hadn’t done him any favors, sand buffeting his face and invading his mouth easily. Despite everything, he knew, deep down, that he would not die here.

No, Green would survive, he refused any other outcome. He had his team to get back to, a kingdom to save, an evil to smite. Even if the sand blowing in his face was to peel the flesh from his bones, leaving behind nothing but a skeleton, then he would come back as a stal to finish what he started. It was his purpose .

He wouldn’t let it define him, of course. He had a life to live beyond this, he wasn’t planning on dying for the cause. He wasn’t even really sure where this sudden conviction came from, rising from the pits of his heart like a flood, devastating and sudden. Maybe it was because of…whatever happened in that desert town.

He had no idea why he had let his guard down so much around them, why he had simply…let himself drift for a bit. He very nearly paid the price for his foolishness, was so close to being manipulated . He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

His feet sunk into the sand, and he pulled up his shirt to cover his mouth and nose, cursing his lack of foresight. Still, he needed to continue. He needed to go to where he was certain one of the maidens was being held.

A large, foreboding pyramid came into view, just barely peeking through the intense storm, and Green locked on. He was prepared to walk straight to it, but something, some sort of voice, stopped him.

No no no, follow me, follow me! I will guide, you will lose your way without me, without me!

He paused, noting where the voice was coming from, where it was headed. It lined up so perfectly with the wind…surely-

Follow me, follow me, follow me! Follow Wind! Follow Wind! I will guide!

Green turned where the wind was blowing to, deep in thought, isn’t Vaati a wind mage? Would he mess with me like this?

Still, it was a better shot than anything he had tried. He stepped off, following the harsh gusts, and instantly it seemed like he wasn’t even walking through a storm. When the wind suddenly changed direction, he turned to follow, walking through a maze.

Good good good follow me follow me follow me~! Lonely, so, so lonely, so lonely, so lovely, help to stop Winds child!

“Stop your child?” Green called to the wind, “You mean Vaati? Why would you want that?”

Oh, bad child, very bad child, used to be such a cute little child, grew dark, grew hungry, too late, too late, tried so very hard, never quite enough, poor child! No choice, must be punished!

He thought for a moment before speaking again, “Then why are you even helping me? If you liked Vaati so much, and he turned out to be a piece of work, why are you still messing around with people?”

Oh, oh, child was always doomed, child was cursed from the start. Should have known, should have known, but too late now. Gave too much, felt too much, now only death can free Winds for good. Winds cannot kill, so must help one that can. Borne of power beyond understanding, surely you will help Winds? Surely you feel kin?

“I was already planning on getting rid of Vaati…” he murmured, “you didn’t need to ask, but…yeah, I want to help you, weirdly enough. For the greater good, huh?”

Greater good greater good~ nothing like child, good kin, Winds appreciate~

And, with that, the wind stopped, and he blinked up at the golden walls of the pyramid.

That was…fast. Wasn’t it really far? Nevermind, wind magic or something. He didn’t care too much, now that he was here.

With a deep breath, he stepped into the pyramid, and a sense of foreboding overwhelmed him. This was not like any dingy dungeon or creepy crypt he had been in before, it was far, far darker.

And he was walking right into it alone . He didn’t have any of the others to fall back on if he froze up, if he panicked, if something clicked in his brain from before that he didn’t remember. He didn’t have the option to connect with anything, not like he particularly wanted to.

No, he wouldn’t let himself ruin this for anyone. If he froze up here, he could kiss goodbye to everything. He wouldn’t let that happen, wouldn’t let himself fail. 

His heels clicked against the stone, constant.

Tum click, tum click, tum click clang clonk -

That wasn’t right.

Clang clonk clang clonk CLANG CLONK -

Green just barely dodged the sword, spinning around, brandishing his own with ease. He looked at his foe with hardened eyes, and his heart stuttered for reasons he didn’t understand.

Tall, donning glittering, black armor, with a few odd orange decorations, a helmed knight stood before him, brandishing a long, wicked sharp blade. The slightest hint of light brown hair pooled from the bottom of the helm, and, through the slits for eyes, only darkness could be seen.

This knight was…familiar. In a way that made Green want to cry.

Still, the show must go on.

Green threw a swing at the knight, but his blade didn’t meet any resistance, as if the other didn’t exist on this plane…

The Dark World. Of course. Suddenly, his left pocket felt incredibly heavy, and he recalled the brief little spiel that the Gerudo woman gave as he bought it; a Moon Pearl, capable of creating a permanent gate into the Dark World itself wherever, as long as one broke it beneath moonlight.

I need to find a window , Green thought, frantically sprinting through halls, I need to get into the Dark World, to defeat this-this-

He stopped thinking. If he kept thinking, he would get lost in his mind, a maze with no exit. He needed a window to get this over with. Maybe, if he killed this thing , his head would stop aching . Whatever his mind was trying to tell him could suck it , because he didn’t care .

I am Green , he huffed, turning to his left.

He spun to turn right next, I am one of four who wield the Four Sword .

And I , he asserted, coming to a dead end where, there, a single window, shimmering with moonlight, will strike down this foe !

He yanked the pearl from his pocket, hurling it into the middle of the glow, and a strange, stone circle formed, humming with magic. He looked back, he watched the knight just barely turn the corner, and he smirked.

“I’d say we should even the playing field, huh?” Green stated, “I’ll get started on that! Step one!”

He stepped into the gate, grinning, and the swirl of magic excited him. The whole place was deeply oversaturated, once dingy sandstone walls now blindingly yellow, and the outside world was pitch black. 

The knight wore silver armor in this realm, what was orange now a soothing shade of blue, and, within the slit, Green could now see a pair of hazel eyes, dazed with blown-out pupils.

It wasn’t an easy fight, he would not lie. The knight was fast and cunning, but it was not as nimble as he was. When he laid one final blow to the knight’s helmet, forcing it to be flung off, his sense of danger abruptly stuttered silent.

The knight crashed to the floor, gripping his head, his hair wove around gloved fingers.

“Link…” the knight groaned. “Link, I’m so- I don’t know what came over me. That shadow…it attacked to fast, I could barely turn around to see it before I…”

Green smiled slightly, ignoring the throb in his head and heart at that name, at the knight’s voice, “It’s alright, sir. You didn’t-you didn’t mean to.”

“When did you get so respectful?” the knight chuckled, looking up from his hands, “If I didn’t know better, I’d say-”

Green watched as the knight paused, eyes wide.

“You look and sound like him,” the knight growled suddenly, “But you aren’t him, are you? What are you?”

“I don’t know, sir. I don’t know, but…I came from him, I think,” Green responded blandly, posture shifting. This knight was so quick to turn, to switch impressions. It was almost sickening.

And yet, the knight dropped his shoulders, laughing lightly, “Of course…I should have noticed sooner, that sword… Yes, you came from him. But you aren’t him, yeah? So who are you?”

A firm look entered his eye as he responded, “I am Green. And you?”

“Valenzuela,” the knight smiled, “That is my name. It is a pleasure to meet you, Green. Here…”

Green watched as Valenzuela reached toward his neck, pulling a necklace from beneath his armor. He held it up, and Green took it in his hands. A small, round gem, vaguely triangular, with a bulging center, almost like a dewdrop.

“This is the Blue Royal Jewel,” he stated, eyes glittering, “It is one of the keys to the Tower of Winds, which is the only way to get to Vaati’s Palace of Winds. Take it, Green, take it and be Hyrule’s hero, alongside your three companions.”

Green nodded sharply, “I’ll do what I can, sir. Thank you for…thank you for this, sir.”

The knight smiled once more, and he stood shakily, “I must be off. I cannot leave this place until He Who Rules the Dark World loosens his grip on the gates, so I must remain. Good luck, and safe travels.”

And, with that, the knight was gone, and Green was alone again.

The jewel was nearly ice cold.

Chapter Text

Well, Vio was quite well and truly screwed .

How did he ever think that this plan would be easy? This was literally the hardest thing he had ever done in his life, and not because they were causing destruction on dragonback. 

No, it was hard because he was starting to enjoy it. He wasn’t too keen on the whole world domination thing, it wasn't his main goal, but goddesses . This was everything he had ever dreamed of.

Shadow was, in the most literal of terms, a demon . A monster, a being crafted purely from evil intent and dark magic. This statement could also coexist with the statement that Shadow?

Well, Shadow was the cutest thing to ever grace this pitiful world.

He called the dragon he rode his mother , and she not only let him , but even encouraged it , and seeing them cuddle together had been one of the most magical experiences Vio had ever seen. Not only that, but Shadow was just so…so trusting? Vio could have likely said anything and the shade would believe it in a heartbeat.

And the cat thing . Oh the cat thing .

It had just been an offhand comment, a funny little observation that he decided to bring up, and Shadow had shapeshifted . After that first time, it was like a dam had been broken , and, quite regularly, he would simply be walking beside him and, suddenly, with little more warning than Shadow falling forward, hands outstretched, he would be walking with a tiny cat. A tiny, clingy cat, one that would meow and cry until Vio picked him up.

It was adorable . A near all-powerful shapeshifting evil overlord melting into a fuzzy little puddle when he gave him chin scritches (which, by the way, carried over no matter which form Shadow took; Vio found that, if he rubbed behind his ears, Shadow would undergo a partial shift, and they had both capitalized on this .)

Of course, with this newfound love (and it couldn’t have been anything else) came its own issues, because how could Vio bear to go with his original plan ? Oh, just a little while ago, he had been so sure , but then he had to open his big mouth on the throne with Shadow in his lap, and now he was attached .

Top ten worst ways to find out you’re a cat person.

With every little thing he learned about Shadow, the less and less he found himself able to bear the idea of hurting him. The moment Shadow understood that no, actually, Blue hadn’t been just being a prick, he was telling the truth in a very pricky way, it was like a total shift happened. It was like Shadow had been playing off the sole idea that Vio knew what he liked and where he came from, like he liked all the same things this Link guy did, but that was fundamentally untrue, apparently .

“ Wait ,” Shadow laughed, looking at him in shock, “You’re allergic to peanuts ?”

Vio sighed, “Yeah, based off of an event I would rather not disclose, I can’t enjoy them at all. None of the others are, though.”

“Huh…Link wasn’t allergic at all, he loved peanut stuff, wouldn’t eat anything but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for… years ,” Shadow hummed, turning away with a nostalgic look on his face, “ I got sick of it pretty fast, but he just couldn’t find anything else that always felt right. It was the thing he could always fall back on, when times grew tough, when the day went bad, he would make one and eat it and it would all feel a little better…”

“He sounds like he was an interesting person,” Vio commented.

Shadow let out a dry, barking kind of laugh, “Yeah…interesting. But he never paid attention to anyone but himself, in the end. Never noticed that I started moving on my own. Goddesses, I had to follow such an idiot until I was…well, about ten. Then…then Lord Ganon made sure I was able to do what he needed.”

Vio leaned into Shadow’s side, “And Link still never noticed when you left?”

A silence answered the question more than words ever would.

“I don’t think he was that good a person,” Vio solidified, “If it wasn’t about him, he wasn’t too interested. If it wasn’t something important enough , he didn’t care. He may have been kind and good at his core, sure, but…I think he wasn’t all everyone said he was.”

“Yeah,” Shadow admitted, shoulders slumping in defeat. Vio knew what was coming, so he readied his arms, slightly gesturing to Shadow.

That was all the prompting needed before the sad boy was replaced with a sad cat, heavy and warm in his arms. His hand very, very gently scratched at Shadow’s back, pressing a kiss into his forehead.

He hummed lightly, “You’re nothing like him, I think. I think you’re as much like him as I am, cut from the same cloth but dyed and patterned so differently that, in the end, it’s all too hard to connect us. I, for one, think that you’re one of the kindest, most loving people I know. You are choosing what is right for your people, you are sticking by your declarations and seeing the task through until the end. You are determined, you are bound by honor and love for your kingdom, your people, your loyalty is so admirable, Shadow.

“I think…more people could stand to be a little more like you,” Vio finished with another kiss to his fluffy forehead, continuing to stroke and scratch the infinitely soft fur.

He smiled so, so gently, more gently than he thought he ever could, and spoke again, “Now, I think this would be more comfortable if we were sitting in bed, yeah?”

The tiniest, softest, saddest little mewl answered him, and he made haste to go to their shared bedroom. At least there, the blankets were soft enough to force aching muscles to untense, and the sheets themselves had to be imbued with healing magic.

Maybe…he could have the best of both worlds.

Chapter Text

Hypothermia wasn’t fun.

Blue never thought he would think that. He never thought he would ever need to think that, their list of places to travel didn’t include places with snow and ice. Hypothermia was so far off all of their minds that, really, they all probably would have laughed if someone mentioned it.

And yet here he was, having the time of his life. He should be dead by now, really, why wasn’t he? This cave was freezing, the air was freezing, and he was pretty sure Hylians didn’t do well in below-freezing temperatures in the kind of clothes he was wearing. Turned out he couldn’t help himself alone because all of his fingers, most notably on his right hand, could barely move, and he didn’t have any sort of tinder or firewood. They’d left that with Red, since he seemed so intent on being in charge of the fires in their camp. Something about them being sparkly pretty glowy things .

He breathed out, a violent shiver coursing through him. This place sucked , and he still hated snow. He wanted literally anyone to be here with him, someone to help take his mind off of his impending doom.

No, wait, don’t think that too hard. He might start hallucinating, and that was, decidedly, not good…he didn’t know if that was something that could happen with hypothermia, but he didn’t particularly care to find out.

Footsteps, crunching in the snow outside, shouting, familiar, oh he was definitely hallucinating. Somehow.

“Blue!!!” Red’s voice called, “Green!!! Vio!!! Anybody there!?”

Still, even if it was fake, maybe… “Red!”

That came out weak even to his ears, but it was enough to cause the cave to echo endlessly. The footsteps grew louder as the echoes did, and goddesses, he hoped this was actually going to be real because he was pretty sure he was actually dying, and, frankly, he didn’t like the idea of dying. It wasn’t very appealing to him, shockingly.

Internally, he gagged; he sounded like Vio when he was being sarcastic.

Hands, warm and soft, touched his face, and he abruptly came back to reality to Red’s eyes, glittering with concern, inches from his own face. They were pretty, Blue decided.

“You’re not doing good…” Red muttered, turning toward a fairy by his side, “Miss Minni, can you-?”

“On it!” the fairy chimed, and a warm glow encircled them all as they were pulled through the fragile film of space.

Suddenly, the air wasn’t cold enough to freeze tears on a baby’s face, and it was very disorienting. He tried to stand, to see what was going on, But Red stopped him.

The bubblier boy looked deathly serious as he huffed, “Nuh-uh, mister! You are not going to do anything but get warm ! You wait right here until I get back!”

Blue knew that there was no stopping Red when he got like this, even though he’d never really seen Red like this before. Still, it stopped him from resisting as he was very, very carefully lowered to lay on the leafy ground. He vaguely heard Red muttering more, but he kind of decided to mentally check out for a while. He’d been through a lot by now, and he could go ahead and treat himself to some good old-fashioned disassociation for a bit.

This was bad, he knew, but he was trying to find some kind of humor in this as his body started to feel less and less like his own. That thought, of course, was horrifically disturbing to him in many ways. It was like he was watching a play (how did he know what a play was?), like he wasn’t even a bystander .

It was some time before he felt like he was actually present , he couldn’t actually tell how much time, though. When he did finally sink back into reality, he could slowly pick out that there was a fire, crackling with warmth. His clothes didn’t feel the same, they were dry and, comparatively, warmer than what he was wearing before. Had Red changed his clothes? It was unnerving that he couldn’t really remember.

Red’s fingers (who else’s could it have been?) slid through his hair, ruffling the slightly damp strands easily. Of course his hair would be wet, he had been walking outside while it was snowing, his whole head had probably been caked in snow and ice, his eyelashes clumping at the ends where the snow melted for half a second before freezing again. A harsh shiver pushed through his whole body, despite how little strength he had, forcing his teeth to click together a few times.

“Hey, Blue?” Red whispered, “You back?”

He forced a light hum from his mouth, even though it felt hard to move. It didn’t come out quite like he meant, but it was a sound, at least.

Red seemed satisfied, continuing just as softly, “Once your fingers and toes are defrosted, I…I can check if any of them survived. You have bad frostbite, Blue.”

He did? Yeah, he did, it made sense. He was in that snowy place, right? He was cold, he was so cold for a long time, and Red came. Red came, not Green or Vio. Why didn’t Green or Vio come? Where were they? Why was Red the only one that found him?

He felt himself shift slightly, could feel what few blankets they’d had wrapped around his body, felt like he was being succumbed in the two sleeping bags he was enclosed within. The fire was so warm , and he was safe . He shivered again, breath coming in and out shallowly, slowly. The fire danced just within his sight, and he stared at the light, letting his thoughts slow. 

“Whaat…” he slurred, hardly thinking about exactly what he was saying, “if I…if thee…”

“Hey, no,” Red reprimanded softly, “You focus on getting warm. Just…make a sound if you want me to keep talkin’, ‘kay?”

That was easy, he could do that. Making little sounds was easy. Another pathetic hum, and Red’s fingers scratched lightly in acknowledgement.

“If your fingers or toes are frozen too bad and the flesh’s started dying, then, uh…” Red continued on, “I’m gonna need to learn how to amputate fingers and toes pretty quick. You’re probably going to be out of it for a while, at least until you’re warm again, maybe a bit after… Uh, your heart’s beating a little slow, and your pupils are pretty big…”

Blue felt himself drift off easily to the soft drone of Red’s voice, and, goddesses, he hoped that Red didn’t need to take a knife to him. That was just asking for trouble.

Chapter Text

Red was not panicking at all .

Blue had stopped shivering in his sleep a while ago, and Red took the liberty of periodically checking the other’s fingers and toes to see if they were getting any better.

His left hand, the dominant they all shared, was almost pristine , somehow, like divine intervention prevented him from losing any part of it, but the rest? Blue’s right hand was barely holding on, only his thumb and pointer fingers seeming to get any better. All of the others were looking dead, greenish-reddish-blackish in hue, completely unmoving, even when Blue shifted both of the other fingers on the same hand. If the hands seemed bad already, then the feet -

Blue’s boots had been the most damaged of the group’s, they had actually been planning on buying him new ones soon. They’d let water soak right through from the very start , and it showed . At least his hands hadn’t likely been in the thick of the chill most of the time, his feet had been cold and wet likely from the beginning of whatever trek he did. He would be lucky to keep his big toes at this rate, let alone any of the others . They really hadn’t planned for snowy weather, but could anyone blame them ?

He took a deep breath in, looking to his side where Minni fluttered anxiously.

“I can’t heal what’s dead,” she chimed sadly, sinking down to land on his shoulder, “The…his flesh’s dead there, I can’t-”

Red nodded solemnly, pursing his lips. He wanted to help, but…what could he do? He knew he’d have to cut the dead bits off, but…it was so much , Blue would need so much time to heal , let alone be able to walk right again . Plus, Red didn’t know what he was doing !

He breathed in and out, in and out, “Do you think you could, uh, get me to a town? We-we need more bandages and, and a knife, and things that numb pain…”

“And leave him alone!?” Minni trilled, glow wavering slightly in shock.

“Mhm,” Red nodded, “It’ll just be for a moment, just long enough to get the stuff…if the pain-numbin’ thing slurs his thoughts a little more that’ll be good…probably some red potion to help speed up the healin’, too.”

He wasn’t a doctor. He was twelve , he was an amnesiac , he didn’t know jack about amputations . What he did know, however, was that leaving already dead parts of the body on ? Bad idea . You don’t need any education to know that .

He wished he could say the trip was a blur, that he didn’t meander at all, but that would be a lie. He knew he might lose his nerve if he looked at the damage again, knew that, even now, he was flinching back from the idea. He walked into the nearest medicinal shop, breathed in the scent of herbs and other things, and turned toward the owner of the shop.

He was a stout man in his later years, narrow eyes and a hooked nose, and he smiled comfortingly, “Well, hello there! What can I do for a young man like you?”

“Something for pain,” Red said, voice only slightly wavering, “Something strong and pretty long-lasting. Uh, red potion, if you have it. Bandages, lots of them, and…uh, if your have a blade that can cut through flesh’n bone that’d be great.”

“What kind of pickle did you get yourself into?” the man cried, concerned, “That’s quite a big order for a child like you. I’m ‘fraid I don’t have a blade like that here, but I can get everything else for you in a moment. Gives you plenty o’ time to give a rundown.”

Red really didn’t want to, but…this guy knew what he was doing, so, “My friend has frostbite real bad, most of his fingers and toes aren’t going to make it. They’re all-all black and green and they don’t move unless something makes them.”

“Kid,” the man’s voice croaked, definitely terrified, “I have no idea what’s going on with you or your friend, but are you sure you can’t ask a healer for help?”

“No, sir, I-I can’t,” Red admitted, sighing deeply. And it was true, he couldn’t. To bring an outsider was a risk he wasn’t willing to take, at least when it came to Blue.

The man let out a breath, turning back around with plenty of supplies, “Listen, I’m running a business, so I can’t give all of this for free, but… The bandages and potion are on the house. I make the bandages myself and my wife brews the potions, she’ll understand. The only thing you gotta worry about is the stuff for the pain, and I’ll cut the price so it’s like you’re only paying for a half dose. I can write a note so that, when you go to the local weaponsmith, she knows you really need that blade. I don’t know you, kid, but I’ve got a feeling you need all the help you can get.”

Red blinked, taken aback by the kindness this man was giving. He smiled, pulling out his wallet, “Thank you so much , sir, I-I don’t know what to say…”

“Just let me know if things go alright, knowing your friend survives will be more than enough for me,” the man soothed, taking the ten rupees with gentle, if calloused, hands.

The rest of the trip went by quickly, the beefy woman at the smith-shop instantly finding what he needed when he showed her the note the man gave him.

“If ol’ Fesso trusts ye,” she’d said, searching for a dagger sharp and precise enough, “Then I knows ye’re a good kid!”

He was back in their makeshift camp before the sun had moved an inch in the sky, and he took a deep breath in before tapping Blue’s cheek. It had been a night and half a day, he should be warm enough now, it’ll be easy to see if the knife will be necessary.

“Blue,” he whispered, watching the other’s eyelashes flutter, “Wake up, I, it’s time to check your fingers.”

He didn’t want to wake Blue up, wanted to let him rest because, damn it, he deserved to be able to rest. They all did, really. Still, he wanted to make sure he actually could let Blue rest more. It was easy to open the sleeping bags and pull the blankets away, giving Red the rare sight of Blue in nightclothes. They were Red’s, of course, since everything in Blue’s bag was wet and cold, and, really, he was surprised that the thief kid hadn’t stolen the bag as a whole. Still, he was glad that there was something .

(Red will not think too hard about the flutter in his chest from seeing Blue wearing his clothes, now wasn’t the time. He was almost certainly about to amputate Blue’s fingers right now, he could worry about-about that later.)

Red checked the places that he was sure were afflicted when he left, and he found that he was right for the most part. Only Blue’s thumb and pointer finger were back to working condition on his right hand, the rest near blackened and dead. To his surprise, he wouldn’t be needing to take a knife to many of the toes, somehow, only the littlest ones beyond repair. The rest would actually probably heal with the red potion’s help.

Blue rubbed his eyes with his left hand, yawning, “Wha’s gonna happen?”

“Good news!” Red laughed, slightly hysterical, “You get to keep most of your toes! Bad news, your right hand’s about to only be good for thumbs-ups and pointing!”

“Oh,” Blue responded dumbly, looking at the very, very dead flesh with wide awake eyes.

“It’s a lot,” Red tried to comfort, “But I went and got things we’ll need, ‘nd you shouldn’t be in pain at all?”

“And we can’t get an actual healer because?” Blue prodded, looking a little frantic. A perfectly normal reaction, all things considered, maybe even a little mild .

Red snipped back easily, “Because, surprise, looks like monsters and people working for darkness are really good at pretending like they aren’t. I think we’re safer if I just test if the stuff is poisoned or not away from unfamiliar hands, so that, you know, you don’t die.”

“If you’re sure,” was his only response, a defeated sigh.

He was glad Blue was taking his word…but it hurt , to see him so dejected. It would be a lot to adjust to, and they didn’t have enough time. They’d probably have to start walking again while Blue was still high off painkillers, a quick comb through the general area before they moved on to wherever Minni felt another hero. They’d spent so much time already, the clock for this world was ticking, and, even if he didn’t remember much beyond the past…well, about a week, he wanted to save it.

A quick test proved that everything was safe (and he was glad), so he passed the painkiller to Blue.

“Drink half,” he advised, “If it starts to hurt too much you can take the other half, too, but I don’t want to use more than we have to. Need you to think enough to take the red potion when it’s all said and done to clot it all up and get new skin forming.”

Blue nodded, doing as instructed. Red waited until Blue gave him a signal that it was at work before pulling the dagger out of its sheath (Miss Gemma was kind enough to give it to him).

“This is going to suck ,” Blue commented intelligently, words slurred again , but for a very different reason this time around.

Red didn’t want to think about what happened next. He didn’t want to, it was horrible . He had to carve away at the flesh, slice through the bone, smooth it all out, wrap it up in bandages, over and over and over , he was barely able to look at his work. He wrapped it all up in a spare piece of cloth he’d found, looking away from the red staining the fabric.

Blue ended up drinking the other half of the painkiller.

This is why you do not get a twelve year old boy to amputate.

“Get it down,” Red snapped, pressing the bottle of the red potion to Blue’s lips. The stress and fear weren’t doing his temper any favors, and, even in this state, Blue didn’t dare to push it. Red unwrapped the bandages to make sure the scabbing didn’t meld into them, and, when he saw it was done, he redid them with fresh wrapping.

“For a job done by a kid,” Red sighed, “It’s…it’ll work.”

Blue was knocked out, a combination of pain, pain killers , and exhaustion making it so that he just couldn’t stay awake. There were cleanlier places than the middle of the forest, of course, so Red would need to check for infections often, but…it was over.

He buried the dead flesh and carved bone, at least two feet deep, patting down the soil and covering the spot with pieces of grass and leaves. He found the river they’d been trying to travel on (oh, the irony) and used the water to wash his hands, to dampen a cloth to wipe the blood from Blue’s skin. In the end, he was exhausted, too, and, with little thought, he flopped down on Blue’s left side, wrapping his arms around the injured.

When he breathed in one last time before sleep claimed him, the smell of blood and herbs lulled him to sleep.

Nothing dared to disturb the cuddling pair.

Chapter Text

Shadow loved Vio.

It wasn’t a secret, he didn’t think so. There wasn’t a huge moment where they vocally said it out loud, yeah, but everything kind of…shifted over time. It’s been about three light days since Vio converted, give or take a few hours, and, honestly, it should have made him nervous, especially considering the situation with the Dark World.

What situation with the Dark World, you may ask? Well, the flow of time, obviously.

Just one hour in the Light World was half a day to the Dark World, and, well, numbers like that add up fast . Pretty much everything that was happening over the amount of time they’ve been together was happening in the Dark World . Three light days is over two months in dark days.

You can see why Shadow didn’t pop up in the Light World often, not for lack of planning or trying, but for the sheer time he had to plot. Oftentimes he would forget when he made plans to pop into the light and spook people, so he would kind of just go whenever he remembered next. It always had to be at least a dark week from the last visit, otherwise he’d be popping up within the same hours .

You could understand the agony.

It’s honestly why he and Vio were so able to just…flourish? As a couple? In such a short amount of time, relative to the Light World. It had to mean something that they kissed with their lips now and then, even if they hadn’t outwardly said anything about it.

He could be totally misreading the situation though, but he doubted it.

Vio was a lot of Shadow’s firsts. First kiss, first hug, first friend, first lover, first trust, first secret, first thought…well, just about everything. He was kind of sheltered until recently.

Shadow was pretty sure he would die for Vio, and that feeling only grew when he watched the other act . Goddesses, it was impossible to tell he was acting, really, seamlessly slipping into his role.

What role? Well, the role of still being a good guy, of course!

Shadow’d had a devious idea, a plan that would make everything click right into place. Blue and Red were looking for other heroes, the Dark Mirror had shown him that much, so why not give them just what they want?

“Come on in,” Vio’s voice chimed beautifully from the mirror’s glassy surface, “We’ve been waiting, Green’s right inside.”

The blue one (Shadow genuinely didn’t care about his name, didn’t care that it was literally the color of the guy’s tunic) seemed slightly taken aback, stepping forward…strangely unsteadily, “Wow, not even a comment on how fucked up I look? Who are you and what have you done with Vio?”

Wait, was their plan falling apart right now ? Why was Vio chuckling he’d been found out-

“You look worse than usual?” Vio quipped, “Sorry, never noticed, you always look a little bad.”

What ?

Blue (Shadow decided to just think the name, it’s easier) laughed, too, and Shadow realized it was a joke . Oh .

“Missing fingers bad or just regular bad?”

What .

Shadow wasn’t everything he claimed to be, really. He wasn’t a sadist by any means, he actually didn’t like suffering of any kind. Generally, he didn’t really… like what he was doing to the Light World. He understood destroying the castle well, it was all fine and dandy then, but that town a little much. And the overall…terrorizing? His grudge was with Link, Link’s father, and the princess, that was really it. They were the people who hurt him the most. Link wasn’t alive anymore, Link’s father was being taken care of by Vaati, and the princess was in jail. He didn’t have any actual targets anymore.

Hearing Blue say he was missing fingers was a touch unsettling. Shadow had thought…he did choose to send Blue to the snowy peaks, that was true. He also chose the Icy Poe to go after him, with Vaati’s input. He never thought that it would go that far , though. He thought that the Icy Poe would freeze the guy solid so fast that the cold wouldn’t get to him like that, that he’d be forever preserved, perfectly and without blemish. He’d thought…

“Missing fingers!?” Vio echoed Shadow’s overall mood on the situation, turning so fast that the concern couldn’t have been fake. Shadow didn’t blame him, that was… terrifying , and he hadn’t been the one traveling with the guy from the beginning , even he knew that bonds like that didn’t mean nothing to someone.

Red nodded solemnly, “Frostbite went too far, uh, I did the…cutting.”

“You didn’t get help ?” Vio huffed, exasperated, “At least, like, a crash course beforehand?”

“I think, uh, I have been?” Red responded nervously, “I kind of remembered a bit along the way! I think I did a good job!”

Shadow looked more closely at the image in the mirror’s surface, but the mirror didn’t like that. The image wavered, and he quickly moved to appease the magical artifact. He saw Vio walk further in, to the coffin they had planted there, the false blade sitting atop it.

It felt…cruel, now, to go through with this plan.

He watched the two others grow frantic and panicked, watched Blue stumble and Red collapse and Vio continue on, on and on.

“We’ll never be four teammates again,” Vio said with little feeling, “There’s no way we can do what we must. It’s so sad.”

Shadow prepared his magic for the moment the last word left Vio’s lips, and then he reached out and pulled, letting Vio’s form of light melt into darkness for the moment it took for him to be taken away.

They met within the hall of their temple, where the lava glowed unnaturally and the walls seared the eyes. Vio looked outwardly distressed, though he tried to cover it up when he noticed Shadow was there. Shadow knew better, and, with a bit of thought, he knew they both needed comfort right now…

“Cuddles?” Shadow offered, lacing his fingers in Vio’s own. Vio nodded, squeezing their interlocked hands as Shadow took initiative to lead him to their room. Because they shared a room, shared a bed . It wasn’t a king sized bed or even a queen, either; it was a simple, full-bed, with rich, plum sheets and mahogany legs, the same wood going up, up, up and up to hold up a lavender canopy, draping down like curtains.

The prince of the Dark World would have nothing less than comfort, after all.

The moment Vio sat down on the bed to remove his shoes, Shadow enacted his glorious plan.

Step one; turn into a cat.

Step two; be the cuddliest, sweetest, most adoring cat in the whole of both worlds.

A very simple and yet very effective plan, one he’s repeated many times since the first incident. He pitched forward, turning midair as he fell, shifting and landing with his furry back on the bed as his paws hung still in the air. He rolled over, resting on his stomach and blinking slowly up at Vio with his big, round eyes.

He’d been tweaking this form now and then, changing things however he desired, and he’d finally found an appearance he was happy with. It wasn’t practical by any means, it was actually his least efficient form for things like running, jumping, moving, but he didn’t use this form for that. When he was a cat, he didn’t need to worry about anything but being small, about being cute and lovely and playing. He could let everything slip away, could let himself be someone, some thing else. He could let everything he was, he is, fade into the background as he focused on Vio’s attention, affection, on cat toys and petting and just… being .

When Shadow was a cat, he wasn’t a prince. He wasn’t a warrior or a being of dark magic when he was a cat. He was a cat, he was pretty and cute and sweet and small. Shadow wasn’t a prince right now, Vio held the crown for as long as it took for them both to feel better.

Shadow meowed, wordless, meaningless beyond a desire for attention, as it should be. Vio was his person, his in a way that nothing else ever had been. He hadn’t been born with Vio as his own, hadn’t been given him, hadn’t taken him by force. Vio had chosen to be his, and it was magical .

A hand carefully stroked his back and head, and he pressed into it, purring. Vio had taught him many things, had read with him, and Shadow remembered a small thing that Vio himself had tossed aside as myth.

That thing, of course, was the healing properties of cats.

Some say that a cat’s purr actually encourages the body and mind to heal, encouraging it to start working on itself. Shadow wasn’t sure how true that was, but what he did know was that Vio liked it when he was happy, so if he was happy, Vio would be happy.

It made perfect sense to him.

“Not wanting to be too much right now?” Vio said aloud, rubbing right behind his ears.

Shadow meowled in return, standing and stretching. He walked over to nidge at Vio’s side, and the other flopped down onto the bed in response. It was easy to find a position they both liked, Vio on his side, right arm cradling his head while the left draped over Shadow’s small, fluffy body where he’d curled up, almost nose to nose.

Vio hummed lightly, eyes sad in a way Shadow had never seen before now, “I don’t know how it could’ve happened, Shads, I just-I know we’re not on the same side anymore but…”

Shadow made a small sound, stretching his paw out to touch Vio’s cheek. Vio laughed in turn, wet and choked. He knew that his partner (in crime) didn’t like it when the jobs weren’t finished. The very, very few lives they’ve taken seemed to not phase the ex-hero, but the few injured, living people had made him need reassurance for a while. Shadow knew that Vio didn’t mind death and battle and fighting, but he hated the idea of letting people suffer . It was a sentiment that Shadow, quite frankly, shared, though to a much lesser extent.

Shadow hadn’t been lying when he told Vio they had a lot in common, it’s just that neither one of them realized just how much they had in common.

Cut from the same cloth, dyed and patterned, yes, but still the same in the end. Vio’d said something like that at some point.

“I don’t want to hurt anymore,” Vio admitted, “I don’t think you do, either. I…what if…”

Shadow perked up, listening intently.

This would be interesting.

Chapter Text

Green hated the heat, he decided.

The desert had been bad; the sun beat down relentlessly and the sand burned at his body. His hair felt like molten gold when he brushed his hand through it in that time, his skin red and stinging and sweaty. His leather belt and straps had burned to the touch, his feet felt like they were being cooked in his boots, every part of him had ached .

The volcano?

He was nowhere near where he needed to go, and yet he already felt like he was going to die . The desert had dry heat, it was bearable, but this volcano was not dry. Hot springs bubbled everywhere, steam pumped in the air, lava gurgled and bubbled, and it was humid . You would think a volcano would not be humid, but not this one! Even the volcano pumping out smoke like a shopkeep with five kids could not be merciful.

He constantly felt like he was sopping wet, but the heat made sure it wasn’t true. He was sticky and miserable and he hated it . The way the wind blew here sounded like chortling, mocking, gleeful at his misery, and he would much rather the desert winds, honestly.

The wind here was still quite friendly, however, not used to visitors that were not Gorons. Green was not sure when he started being able to actually hear the wind, but he wasn’t complaining. It had been most obvious in the desert, but had he not heard whispers before? He was not sure.

Still, it was a welcome company. It tried to keep him reasonably cool while it howled on and on about things it had seen, the travels it had done, its migration to the Zora’s Domain a few years back and how he should go there someday, too, perhaps together. The wind saw all, gossipy and playful most of the time, and yet quick to anger.

Green liked the wind, however. It was actively helping him, both Desert and Volcano winds so far had done nothing but be kind. Both had the weightless shackles of Vaati’s control, but it seemed that they only took hold when the demon actually ordered it. Still, any restrictions to the wind were too much; the wind was free, it did not settle anywhere.

He, himself, was like the wind in that way, he supposed. Though, only to an extent. He did not think he could ever stay in one place, certainly, but…he did have restrictions. He would not be without his team, he did not want to be without his team. They would travel together, see all of Hyrule thrice over, and then all over again. Once they came back together, they wouldn’t separate again. He would make sure of it.

He saw the large boulder on accident. He saw the legs under it and needed to help, even if the winds chanted strange little man do not trust . He could not leave a man to die, so he freed the poor soul.

He wished he hadn’t helped because this man? He was horrid . Green tuned out what he was saying really quick, and it was only a sharp scream of the wind that had him dodging the hand of a hinox before it was too late. The little man ran away, Green thought his name might have been Bingo or something, but there were bigger priorities.

What were those priorities?

Do not get grabbed, do not die, and, preferably, kill the monster. The usual for battling monsters in general, except the ones that did not have limbs to grab with. Hinoxes, however, did have limbs, and ones prone to grabbing at that!

He knew he would not last long. Even with the miniscule help he’d had from the wind, he was exhausted, he was pretty sure he might die of heatstroke if left alone, and he couldn’t dodge forever. Unless someone came falling from the sky, he was toast .

And then someone fell from the sky. Two someones and a fairy.

“Red!”-”And Blue!”-”To the rescue!”

It was almost comical, actually. The hinox went down easily with the assault from above. By the time Green even processed the fact that his teammates fell from the sky, they were hugging him.

“Green!” Red shouted, laughter on the tip of his tongue, “Goddesses, you’re alive!”

“You look like death,” Blue commented, though he was hugging more tightly than even Red, so Green supposed he did not mean it.

Green smiled wide, “So do you, Blue, what happened?”

“Eh,” Blue shrugged, “A few traumatizing experiences, hypothermia, frostbite, being tricked into believing you died by what we think might be an illusion of Vio or maybe Shadow in disguise, I got eaten at least two times, and I’m pretty sure Red has a warrant out for his arrest. Kind of normal compared to our first day alive .”

Red laughed sheepishly, “We had a bit of a time, I don’t think I will ever be able to look at a knife the same. Try not to need amputations, I am not doing that again.”

“Din’s tits, you two,” Green sighed, wincing. Of course they went through that much all at once. Leave them alone for three and a half days and suddenly Red knows how to amputate and Blue has less fingers.

They didn’t have much more time to chat, though. Turns out, this volcano was a hinox den, which kind of dampened their mood. They did not have the benefit of air assault anymore, so the best thing they could do was retreat.

That plan also kind of flopped because very soon, they came across a thick, bubbling vat of lava, for too big to jump across, too big to run around, they were trapped.

“We have to fight!” Blue shouted, readying his sword.

Green followed suit, and Red brandished a fire rod (why not his sword?), but it wasn’t necessary. The hinoxes stopped what they were doing, kneeling with rumbles of worship, and Green heard a familiar voice.

“Well hello again, friends!” Vio shouted from across the lava, “How do you like my new kingdom?”

Green stared at the other boy, eyes wide. He was wearing violet, still, but it was not his tunic. It was more an outfit for royalty, something for swordplay, for someone who commanded armies. Silver trimmed the sleeves and collar, and said collar did not hide his neck, which was slightly paler than his cheeks. Green did not know why he looked so different.

Blue, however, scowled, “Another illusion!?”

Green then watched as Blue picked up a rock from the floor and chucked it . It should not have made the gap, it should not have crossed the lava, should not have even come close to hitting Vio, let alone making him bleed , and yet it did. It sailed so fast Green could not see it until it slammed into Vio’s expecting palm, forcing beads of red to drip down his fingertips as he let it fall.

Has Blue gotten stronger ? How ?

“This is all very, very entertaining, I must admit,” Vio called, hand that was not bleeding dragging along the back of a small, black cat on his lap, “But you probably want some explanation, yes?”

Vio did not care if they responded, continuing on, “See, I realized something. Something not one of you has figured out yet. This kingdom, this Hyrule ? It doesn’t care about us. It chews people like us up and spits us out, you know? Lord Vaati’s plans, prince Shadow’s vision, they all see this becoming a place where people like us can survive.

“What do you think will really happen if we really save the princess?” Vio drawled, playing with the cat’s paws, “That we’ll be hailed as heroes? That we’ll just-live on with our lives? That we’ll be allowed to exist ? No, they will want us to sheathe the sword. They would want us to return to how we once were, see? Nothing. They will want back Link , and we are not Link, we know this. They will kill us, so why should we save them?”

Green felt nausea swirl in his gut as he looked at Vio from where he sat, slouched almost lazily in the throne across the pit. In fact, the only living thing more relaxed than Vio at the moment was the cat in his lap, eyes shut and, even if Green could not hear it, he was certain the little thing was purring .

“Goddesses, Vio!” Blue shouted in exasperation, “What’s gotten into you !?”

“We left you alone for three days and you’re already on Vaati’s side. Do we mean that little to you?” Green scowled, glaring across the hot, burbling lava.

To think someone he admired so deeply, someone he would even say he loved fall so far, reach too close to the sun and plummet…

Vio, for all it was worth, rolled his eyes, shifting his stance, patting the back of the cat a couple times. The animal blinked blearily for a few moments, stretching and standing, meowing and tilting its head. Vio nodded toward it, and it leapt off of his lap, to the armrest, where darkness seemed to grow more dense. Where there was once a little cat, now sat Shadow, legs draping out of the throne, turned sideways to face them across the pit of lava.

Shadow purred, loudly and clearly, “My darling, surely you don’t mean for them to ruin our fun?”

“I mean to be rid of them, I mean to rid them of this world with my own hands, my love,” Vio responded, standing and drawing his blade.

That was familiar. Why was that familiar? Green did not know why he felt as if he had heard such words before. Perhaps he had read them?

Still, he could not stand for this.

“Vio, if you choose to dirty your hands with darkness, I have no choice,” Green responded coldly, pulling his own sword from its sheath, stepping forward, closer to the lava, “I refuse to let you go on. If you want to continue with this, then you’ll have to go forward and step on my cold, dead body!”

“As you wish, oh fearless leader,” Vio laughed, eyes sharp.

The ground shook, the hinoxes, previously forgotten, cheered loudly as the lava began to shift. A platform, intricate and made with risen stones, marked along with runes that visibly sucked away the light around them.

Vio stepped into the arena easily, hand raised toward the stone nearest him as it blasted a stream of fire. It ceased very soon, the moment the other left its range.

“An arena, all my own,” Vio crooned, waving his hand at it like one might at a wallet full of earned betting money, “Get too close to the edge, burn. Fail to burn, fall. Fall, fall into your death. Stay within the center, battle until death, the last one standing runs home free. Doesn’t it sound enticing? Wouldn’t you think this a lovely way to go? We always said we dreamed of going down fighting, see? It’s time we finally get something we want.”

Green felt sick. Green felt like he had heard this all before, like this wasn’t the first time those words had been spoken. He found words flowing from his lips, “Then to death we march.”

If anyone asked Green what happened, he wouldn’t be able to tell them. What could he say? He did not remember the battle as he should have. He wasn’t sure he had even stepped on Vio’s toes as he’d intended, unsure when the tides turned from his favor, unsure when he felt the air be knocked out of him, vision flickering. He fell to the ground, unable to breathe, to move.

Something hit the ground in front of him, a simple, leather-bound book, face-down against the stone.

Vio mockingly cooed, “Suppose this hero didn’t catch up on his books. A favor for your lackeys, there. They’ll appreciate it, I’m sure, even when you can’t.”

Green knew something was wrong. Vio couldn’t not know he was still alive, so what was he planning ? Things blurred again, and he only felt like a person again after he blinked, cradled in Blue’s arms as the other… cried ? That was new.

There was a moment of relief before Green found his eyes drawn to the book, which had small strips of paper poking out in places. He narrowed his eyes, lifting the little thing, the cover familiar.

Her Majesty . That strange romance drama Vio had been reading. The one Green knew too much about to be healthy.

He opened it to the first note, the very first page, right past the cover. A singular dedication, crossed out and replaced.

To my teammates who should know the truth, Vio.

Green’s eyes widened, and he had a sudden premonition. The next strip was next to a particular few lines, the first page of the first chapter.

“My queen,” she murmured, voice seeming to drag off into a whine, “Surely you don’t mean for them to ruin our fun?”

I smile, glaring dangerously at those warriors, those rats, those stains, and I respond, deep and booming, “I mean to be rid of them, I mean to rid them of this world with my own hands, my love.”

The next, a page further in;

“An arena, our own,” I said with a flourish, “Get too close to the edge, burn. Evade a burn, fall. Happen to fall, die. We battle ‘til death, the winner runs free. Is that not enticing? Wouldn’t it be lovely? We always dreamed of dying in battle, so let us indulge one last time!”

My old captain stood, determined, eyes narrowed as he spoke aloud, “Then to death we march, Armidia.”

The last note was so close to the end, matching with the lines perfectly.

Her lips pressed to mine, and I melted. We turned toward the light, toward our destiny, and we did not hesitate. With fangs and swords, we lunged, and, finally, the king was dead. Finally, this world would be free. Finally, finally, we are safe.

All it took was two, unsuspecting lovers and a dream. They saved this world.

Green knew, in that moment, that Vio was going to do something really stupid .

“He’s a traitor,” Green said aloud, “He’s playing their side to get to the real evil. And Shadow’s helping him . I should have known, we need to follow them!”

And so their quest shifted from saving the world to stopping Vio from doing something stupid. Because he was totally going to do something stupid.

Green did not like the feeling he was getting.

Chapter Text

Vio took a deep breath in and let it out slowly before screaming into his hands.

He knew Green wasn’t dead. He’d made very sure that he wouldn’t be. Still, it was weird . Fighting against him felt fundamentally wrong , he didn’t like it. He didn’t want to have to do it again.

He wouldn’t need to if Green could understand the notes, the scraps leading to the conclusion of his double-crossing. 

And then the fact that the others had hardly changed at all, the fact that they were so similar to how they were when they all first met was startling . He hadn’t fully understood just how strange Dark World time was when associated with Light World time. For the others, it hadn’t even been three days, and yet Vio had been alive for months . He was taller, now, he noticed when he had Green in a lock with his blade. Not much taller, but still. Time passed for him, and yet they did not know it.

How could they have noticed, though? The first time they’d entered the Dark World, they had only been in there for a few hours. They hadn’t had the chance to really notice how time flowed, and yet Vio had.

Goddesses, he was the oldest of them, now. That was strange.

For them, it had only been days. For Vio, it has been months , and, while he wouldn’t trade those months for the world, it ached .

And yet, those months were with Shadow. They’d done so much together, and this was just another thing to add to the list.

What, might you ask? Well, reporting to Vaati.

Shadow made it clear he didn’t have to if he didn’t want to. After Vio told him of his want to keep siding with the others that fateful night, Shadow had accepted it, and had even asked how he could help. Their plan was simple.

Let the other heroes know they’re both on their side, continue to deceive Ganon and Vaati, find a way to get Vio access to Zelda, break her out using the power of the Dark Mirror quietly, introduce themselves to her properly, and then make a new plan. 

It seemed impossible at first, but then Shadow explained why he proposed it. Apparently, Vaati was not very mentally sound. They (Shadow corrected Vio many a time-why did all of the books claim them as a he?) barely had moments of clarity, muttering and pacing in that weird way only a being with six wings and no legs could. Shadow told him that as long as he catered to the strange, almost childish beliefs the keese held, he would be home free.

(And childish those beliefs were! Small mouselike people within the woods? Lucky stone-halves that gave blessings when brought together? Such things were only in fairytales, at least from what Vio knew.)

Ganon would actually be even easier ; the pig didn’t even care about them. He pulled Shadow into this world, gave him the order to free Vaati, and then literally told him, after that, that he could do whatever.

(The exact words had been, “Do whatever, just don’t bother me,” so it was clear how important they all were to him.)

Ganon never paid attention to anything Shadow or Vaati did, the last time he asked questions apparently being the night Vio joined, and, even then, it ended in the same sentiment. As long as they didn’t run through the halls screaming, “WE’RE TAKING PRINCESS ZELDA TO BEAT YOU ALL UP!” they would be totally fine, actually.

The only reason the bad guys ever had an advantage was because they had months to prepare for pretty much every moment. If they’d all been on the same time crunch, those two would have lost a while ago.

This was going to be easy.

At least that’s what he told himself as he rolled his shoulders back, breathing in and out slowly to try and ease himself a little more. He could not look too tense, otherwise even the airheaded Vaati (how funny) would notice something was off. Appropriate tenseness for meeting a very important head of the invasion, but not so much it was suspicious. He could do that.

“You gonna be okay?” Shadow murmured, leaning right by his ear.

Vio nodded slightly, rolling his shoulders again before responding, “Let’s go see Vaati.”

They stepped through the archway, turning a few times until they came upon a wide open area, the toxic blue sky yawning above them, near glowing clouds swirling by their feet, stone so fantastically gray that it seemed to suck light away. The Dark World was full of such vibrant color, it was awe inspiring just to see them all together. Vio had been surprised to find that it wasn’t popular to be an artist, though then he thought twice and realized it was the same with the Light World. Nobody there saw the world as something new, nobody who lived there thought it was that remarkable, they’d seen it every day of their lives.

And there, resting upon a platform above all others, was Vaati, the Wind Mage. Vio didn’t know if he should describe their body as furry or scaly or spikey because it all just looked so similar. And that eye, lashes of glimmering gold surrounding an iris and pupil blown so wide that Vio couldn’t tell if the eye was bloodshot or not. Perhaps they had been beautiful, once, if the tales of them once being Hylian were true, but now that eye was disturbing.

“Lord Vaati,” Shadow called out, a grin on his face that, by now, Vio knew was false, ”We’ve come to report our progress!”

Vio put his hand to his chest and bowed slightly, though it seemed obvious Vaati did not actually care much about decorum. The keese shifted slightly, wings flapping as if antsy.

Vaati’s voice was higher pitched than Vio thought it would be, lighter and almost airy, “Shadow Link, and the Tarnished Hero! What a surprise, I thought you had no sense.”

“What makes you think I have sense, Lord Vaati?” Shadow jabbed, narrowing his eyes.

It was not unlikely that those two bantered, Vio realized. They were both lower down than Ganon himself, and he supposed that it was only natural there was that much to bond over. Shadow, however, was likely a higher rank, with his status as the prince of the realm they were using as their main base.

“What is your progress,” Vaati boomed, not returning the playful joking. That was also understandable, since, in their eye, this pesky war was almost over.

That was true, but not in their favor.

Vio was the one to respond, voice devoid of the anxiety in his chest, “The remaining heroes have been confronted. If the one I have battled is miraculously not dead, then he is certainly incapable of standing against our cause. The red one’s sword is still within our grasp, and my own is pointed at them. There is only one who will dare to stand against you and Lord Ganon, and he does not have many things he once did. We have all but won, Lord Vaati.”

The laughter from the immortal demon was surprisingly tame, resembling a hysterical woman after two days without sleep rather than an evil mastermind of some kind.

“Excellent!” Vaati cackled, “The kinstones have been working in our favor, as they should! Soon, nothing will stop us from taking what is ours!”

There was the weird. Vio had been slightly unnerved when he found Vaati was actually acting like a normal, though evil, individual. It’s good to see weird be weird.

“Also, my lord, if I may speak?” Shadow said aloud, interrupting the keese’s muttering as it began.

Vaati blinked slowly, gazing down on them, “Do so.”

“We, together, have a suspicion with the princess’s current prison,” Shadow began, continuing once he saw he really did have Vaati’s attention, “While your tower is well guarded, and she is not allowed to fall, per your command, we have our doubts about her helplessness in such a place. See, she gains her power from the light, and the tower she is residing in currently is bathed in it. In just a matter of time, she could regain enough strength to bypass your otherwise flawless defenses. However, if I were to keep her within my palace in the Dark World, not only would she lose strength, but she would also more easily be within your grasp.”

“And just how is that?” Vaati mused, hooked on the prospect.

Shadow smiled, “You have made it quite apparent that you desire a bride. There is no maiden fairer than the princess, I assure you. Within this world of doubles and shadows, even her shadow is just as lovely as she. Within my palace there are many things, as you may know. If I could keep her entertained, perhaps she will soften. As of current knowledge, she is not keen to speak to you or me, so there is nothing to lose. She cannot exit the Dark World on her own, even her light will dim slowly as she stays. Surely then if you swoop in as a savior, she would be more receptive to advances?”

It was dirty. Vio had not expected Shadow to speak like this to the keese, to give such big, false promises that they surely could not keep. To hear him so formal and full of word-vomit really did remind Vio that he was a prince , that he has a kingdom and subjects and probably stupid council meetings, just like any other royal. It was easy to forget that with how casual Shadow was with him.

It still felt a little cruel to make such wild claims, but anything to save the world.

In the end, it was so unnervingly easy to convince Vaati that Vio expected them to suddenly scream “SIKE” and sic the whole monster army on them. Still, they were home free and permitted to take Zelda into their custody. They’d left the room with the keese’s mutterings stirring up behind them, something of mice and lucky stones and clovers tall as trees.

“They truly are quite mad,” Vio muttered, and Shadow chuckled.

He nodded, “That they are, nuttier than a forest floor and not even a fraction as stable. Old bat’s been sealed away for so many years, so many times , that I’m pretty sure they’re not even sure they’re actually alive in the first place.”

“Seals mess with you that badly?” Vio mused, “Why did they never just…kill them?”

“Some sort of prophecy jargon, something from somewhere millennia ago that some god’s hatred would keep popping up, even if the incarnation died, so they avoided killing big evil people and started just sealing them over and over. As you can see,” Shadow answered, flourishing his hand about, “It was not any more sound a plan. Vaati was kept alive, and yet Ganon rose, and then he rose again, and again, and now he’s here, and he’s got the help of Vaati, so I think, at this point, we should just, like, kill them . That would be easier, I think.”

Vio nodded in agreement, glancing around the halls. It was, apparently, the Dark World’s equivalent of the Tower of Winds, and the layouts were quite similar. Depictions of mice in petal-clothes with flower-hats littered the walls, small as Vio’s thumbnail. There was not much detail beyond that, of course, but they were still beautiful. Vio found himself wondering if the Light World version had these, or if the designs were different. It was an interesting thought.

They came out from a portal shaped like a doorway, surrounded in gray stones that turned black when Shadow walked through, then faded to gray. Vio swore they were purple as he felt his body twist and shift, readjusting to sunlight and warmth after what was a mere afternoon in the Light World, but nearly seven days in the Dark World.

The longer he stayed within the Dark World, the less he found himself feeling joy from the sunlight. Who needed such things when the peace and coolness of near perpetual dusk was all he truly needed? He quite liked the saturated sky, the only difference between day and night being that small, black dots appeared above, speckling the blinding blue with constellations of darkness.

Shadow had told him an old folktale from the Dark World; the “stars” were not stars as Hylains knew them. The Dark World is the home of dragons, where they chose to stay when the Light burned them, hurt them. The stars in the sky were the dragons that grew too big to rest upon the ground beneath them. Dragons did not stop growing until they died, and so the eldest of the dragons, the great Faron, Lanayru and Eldin, took the lead, guiding their kin to the skies when their feet were too large to coexist. The constellations shifted because the dragons were still flying to this day, looking down upon the Dark World with affection, coiling and curling and shifting, watching their kin grow and change and still be great dragons.

Vio quite liked that story, though it was slightly sad. It was one he hoped was really true, and not just tales spun from fantasy.

Still, this tower had its own beauty. Vaati did have taste, most of their actual palace being white and lilac in hues. It was strange to see, actually. He thought they would have more inclination toward blacks and reds since it was how their own form appeared. Apparently not.

The only thing notable about this room besides the open edges, rimmed with columns to keep the roof above, was the person already in it. She wore a gently pink dress, her hair long and spun like gold, coiling and shifting in the wind as it blew. She stood at the edge of the stones, leaning as far as the wind itself would allow. Still, however, she seemed neutral, impassive, uncaring for her fate.

She was beautiful, for certain, but not helpless. No, it was clear she was making it known that she was not stuck with them, that they were the ones stuck with her. She could not be anyone but the princess, Zelda.

“You know you’re not allowed to fall, princess,” Shadow called, “Many plans would be ruined if you did.”

Zelda huffed, leaning back from the edge, “This place is dreadful. I cannot see the kingdom below, the clouds block my sight. It is pointless to be so high and not see a single thing.”

“Yes, well, that will change sooner than you may think, Zelda,” Vio teased slightly, awaiting her reaction.

Indeed, she did react. She spun around so quickly that her dress lifted at the edges, the wind pushing her suddenly further from the edge in retaliation. It was almost as if the natural force was scolding the girl for her recklessness.

“Link!?” she shouted, stumbling forward with very little grace.

Vio smiled, though it was strained, “Not quite. Come, before we are noticed.”

Zelda nodded, regaining her composure as she promptly walked to Vio’s side. The three of them, together, felt darkness press into their hearts, and they were whisked away.

It is time for the countdown to begin.

Chapter Text

Blue was not the smart one.

He knew this well. He had been intimately acquainted with it the first day of his life, and it kept making itself known to him as time went on. He was not stupid, but he was not the smartest of the team.

Even he knew that whatever brainless plan Vio and Shadow had, it would not go how they wanted it.

Oh, sure. It would go right for the first few steps. The worst plans always did. Then, one thing would mess up. Then another. And another. And soon someone’s dead on the floor. Blue knew, Blue had made a stupid plan before. It was how he lost a shocking number of fingers, how Red had multiple warrants out for his arrest, how Green suddenly seemed prone to spacing out, and how Vio even got the opportunity to make such a vile decision in the first place.

Blue had not missed the sureness Vio had, either. The first time he saw the other, in the Temple of Darkness where he had been eaten alive (as one does), he’d passively noted that Vio was taller. It didn’t seem like a big deal, after all, they were all young boys. They wouldn’t stop growing for a while yet, that much he knew for sure.

Still, he couldn’t brush off the feeling like this was something more . This wasn’t just coincidence, especially since it was even easier to notice just how much… older Vio seemed. It wasn’t necessarily because he was taller, he didn’t have that look to him that other boys had, the look that Blue saw in towns. No, it was how sure of himself he was that made him seem older.

Something was just… off . Blue didn’t like it. Things were changing and Blue didn’t want them to. Their journey was ending and he wanted it to keep going.

He didn’t want to die .

That was what would happen to them at the end of all this. Vio may not have meant his…weird little monologue, but he was not wrong. They would be expected to put the swords away, to…meld them back together? However it worked, they wouldn’t want them to stick around after the fact. They would save this kingdom and the thanks they would get would be nothing but a sendoff, a final huzzah before they just…disappeared.

Red was the one with the most dread about it, Blue knew, but it didn’t stop him from being terrified . It was coming and it wouldn’t stop, they were going to die.

Since they all knew Vio was currently…somewhat safe, they decided to pool their information together so that they could know what they would have to do.

Red didn’t have much to share beyond the basic story of what happened while separated. A brief explanation for his missing sword and shield was also given, and Blue never wanted to punch a child more than he did at that moment. Blue also briefly glazed over the whole snow business, a monster trying to trick him into being stupid ended up with him doing something stupid, the usual.

Green, however, had interesting information.

“There are main knights of the kingdom, apparently,” Green said aloud, pulling a beautiful blue necklace from beneath his shirt, “Four of them. They’re trapped in the Dark World, their minds are frazzled. We need to free them and get three more of these necklaces. They’re the keys to the Tower of Winds, which will get us to the Palace of Winds, where we can fight Vaati. I fought the blue knight, Valenzuela, but there are still the red, green and violet knights. I-I feel like I know their names, but I may be mistaken.”

Blue nodded sagely, “So we gotta get more of these gems before we go fight the big guy?”

Green nodded. They had a lot of work ahead of them.

“So fighting!” Red chirped, smiling, “Let’s get started, come on!”

Blue laughed slightly, following behind the two of them. He thought to himself, he thought and he thought. There wasn’t much else to do with the world turning as it was. They were chasing the idea of rumors of possible manipulation on Vaati’s part. They needed a lot of time to work and they had precious little time to spend, so Blue thought.

He thought about Erune, about how she might be doing. Had she really given away her doll, like she said she would? Had she, at one point, puzzled out just what they all were? Did she know what she made him feel? It was all so complicated between him and her and Red.

Red-just how did he feel about him? He felt strongly, for certain. Red was kind and sweet and loving, he was smart and pretty and all sorts of things. Blue didn’t know if he wanted to be him or-

Oh. Oh, oh, oh . Oh .

Blue couldn’t tell if he wanted to be him or kiss him. That…wasn’t as surprising as he thought it would be. It had always been there, in the back of his mind, lying in wait. It’s just now that he realized it. It was strange, though. It was new and unusual and not unwelcome. He felt like he was walking on air, and he let his eyes wander to look at Red.

Yep, those were definitely butterflies. Fluttery, ticklish and beautiful. He was not scared of them.

Did Red even feel the same? Red was always very touchy and affectionate, baseline, but would it be self-centered to think that he’d bonded with Red the most?

You can’t cut off a guy’s fingers and not bond with him , Blue thought anxiously, he was willing to save my life, that has to mean something .

It could have meant nothing, though. Blue didn’t think he’d been alive long enough to be able to tell. Just what had meaning between them? He didn’t know.

And yet, when Red smiled at him, he found he didn’t care if it had been nothing. He didn’t care if they were just friends or if they ever became anything more. As long as they stuck together, he found he didn’t care. Sharing space would be enough, at least for now.

He ignored the aches and pains of his hands and feet, forcing it all back into a little box. He could rest later, he could heal later, now they needed to get things done . They could do that, and he wouldn’t hold them back.

But Red looked over, like he knew , and said, “Do you need more red potion, Blue?”

He couldn’t lie to him. He refused to lie to Red, so he nodded. Even if it would slow them all down, because Red asked, he told the truth.

So off they went, off to the end, praying for a better future. At least Blue was.

Chapter Text

They ended up resting at the Blue Maiden village.

Usually, they wouldn’t have dared go that far from their destinations, but Minni was a great help. Her connection with the maidens made it so that they could all easily be transported back to the village, since the Yellow Maiden was still residing there. Red had run to hug Erone, Blue on his tail, and they didn’t let go for a few minutes.

Eventually, they had to fill Erune in. They told the truth about who they were, about their memories, about what they had really been doing while they were here. Then, they told her about the fall of the kingdom, of the shadow with their face and their own who fell for him, of the double-double crossing happening at every moment, of Force and Vaati and Vio and Shadow, of near death thrice over and all sorts of other things. They downplayed it a little, watered out some details, but there was no hiding what had happened to Blue.

Red was the one to tell her the story, Blue giving his two cents now and then. She had been appropriately horrified, holding his injured hand carefully.

“Does it still hurt?” she had asked, eyes shining with unshed tears.

Blue had smiled, a strange, soft smile, and reassured her, “Hardly anymore. Red’s made sure of it.”

They stayed with Erune again, like last time. She insisted their room be closer to hers this time, and they couldn’t refuse. Well, Red couldn’t. Neither could Blue.

Speaking of Blue, something was up with him.

It was subtle, Red knew, but still so glaringly obvious to him. It was in the way he spoke, the way he moved and looked around, his eyes told a new story. Red noticed, he always did, he always looked out for Blue. He did more intently nowadays, sure, but he always had. He’d been mapping the other’s face so carefully, he noticed the slight shifts as they happened.

All of their undershirts used to be near black. Only Green’s stayed that way. Blue’s eyes had grown narrower, Vio’s lighter in color, Red’s own noticeably wider. Vio’s hair had been near white last Red had seen him, while Blue’s was sleek and colored like dandelion petals, Green’s like glittering golden thread, Red’s almost pinkish in hue. Little things, little tiny things he noticed because he wanted to, so small that he doubted anyone else did.

They were becoming different, changing and shifting the longer they lived. The longer their own memories prevailed, the more themselves they were becoming, however that came to be. What was Link’s was fading, at least Red thought so.

Red noticed little things, and Blue’s been showing little things. Little moments of vulnerability, of frustration or softness that were usually quite rare. It was concerning, at least a little, and he didn’t know what to do.

Red had long since noticed how strange he was, how he acted was not the standard. He was emotional, he cared too much too fast, he trusted too easily. He did not believe that any of it was a bad thing, but it did sometimes put a rift between him and the others.

Right now, he wanted nothing more than to close that rift. He was close, he always was, but now he wants to really be on the same level as them. He wanted to help, to find whatever was troubling Blue and fix it , to finally show all of them just how strong he could be.

Red struck that night.

They all should have been sleeping, but Red knew that only Green was getting any rest at the moment. Even Erune’s door was cracked open, though Red did not know why. Still, he knew where Blue would likely be.

Just out on the porch, as Red suspected, sat Blue. His feet were in the dirt, he had not bothered to put on shoes, his hair a mess. He looked at ease, and yet still so tense. Still strange.

“Blue?”

Blue turned to look at him, another soft, fond smile pulling at his lips before he looked back out to the night, patting the space beside him. There was precious little room, and yet Red found himself sitting as requested. Blue’s side was warm against his own.

“Did I wake you up?” Blue asked, voice carrying softly in the breeze.

Red shook his head, “No, I wanted to talk to you.”

Blue remained silent.

“You’re-what’s going on?” Red ended up blurting awkwardly, “You’ve been acting weird. Is it…is it Erune?”

“A little,” Blue admitted after a moment, “But there’s someone else on my mind, too.”

“Someone else?” Red inquired. They hadn’t met any other girls on their journey, and he didn’t think Blue liked boys.

Blue nodded, humming, “Yeah, someone else.”

Silence reigned for a moment between them, and Red thought.

“Can you…tell me?” Red asked, tentative, almost scared. Why was he scared?

“Yeah, I…I can,” Blue nodded again, eyebrows furrowing in determination, “They’re-We’re close. We’re really close, we’ve been through a lot together. They’ve helped me from my lowest point, even if I wasn’t sure I needed it. They’re always making sure I’m okay, and I just…”

“Oh,” Red murmured, face growing warm, “They sound…lovely.”

“Of course you’d say that,” Blue laughed, and Red just about exploded.

A deep breath in, “It’s…me?”

Another nod, more silence. Red didn’t know what to say. It felt like every part of him was bursting with butterflies, like a gentle fire licking at his insides, warm and soft. He had long since known that he felt strongly for people, and he had also found he felt strongest for Blue.

“If you don’t-” Blue started, “If you don’t feel the same, it’s okay, I-”\

“Blue, you idiot,” Red interrupted, “Of course I feel the same, I would be stupid not to. I thought you didn’t.”

Silence took hold for all of three seconds before they burst into laughter, loud and almost hysterical. Soon, they devolved into giggles, and Red had to wipe his face from tears.

Blue huffed out a breath of air, “We’re both stupid, huh?”

Red hummed an affirmative before leaning into his side, sniffling slightly, “So, what now? You said Erune was on your mind, too, even if just a little.”

“Well, I mean,” Blue mused (strange), “There’s…no reason we can’t like her, too, right? You like her.”

“Yeah,” Red admitted, sheepish.

Blue grinned in that way he always did, confident and cocky and yet soft, “So we can tell her. We can tell her, and if she says no then she says no, we’ll still have each other, right?”

“It’ll hurt if she says no, Blue,” Red warned, “It’ll hurt a lot .”

“It’ll hurt more to never know,” Blue retorted. Red couldn’t disagree with that, the ache of it all making itself apparent in his chest.

Blue’s arm wrapped around his shoulder, and he leaned in. Crickets chirped, the moon was high and full, and the breeze swayed the grass and leaves gently.

Yeah, he could get used to this feeling.

Chapter Text

“Well, Shadow, Vio,” Zelda sighed, “I’m sorry but this is the stupidest plan you could have possibly come up with.”

Shadow was appalled, “We helped break you out of there, princess Zelda, the least you could do is let us down slowly!”

Vio stayed silent, but clearly mirrored his sentiment. They went through a whole lot of stuff to get her out relatively safely, and she insulted them the moment she heard about their grand escapade.

“It’s true,” she huffed, glaring, “Your plan was to pray that those two were dumber than a bag of rocks, get me out, and that was it!”

“They are dumber than a bag of rocks, though,” Vio supplied.

Zelda narrowed her eyes further, “And we’re all lucky for it! That doesn’t save us from anything!”

“You’re the smart one,” Shadow snapped, “We wanted to make sure whatever plan we had would be solid, and we knew you would be the best bet. We were able to let the others know we’re on their side, and now we just need to start taking this thing down!”

Vio snapped his fingers, bringing their attention to him again, “Quiet down, anyone could be listening.”

They stayed silent for a few moments before continuing, this time much quieter.

“Point is,” Vio sighed, “We wanted to make sure this went as smoothly as possible. We still need to look like we’re totally loyal to Ganon’s whims, and that we still respect Vaati. Tricking them was the best possible idea, and now we’re actively looking for a better plan. You are a princess , from what I have been told, surely you have some knowledge?”

Zelda suddenly seemed quite crestfallen, holding her silken skirts gently, “Alright. I’ll help. It’s still so strange, knowing you have no recollection of me…I suppose it can’t be helped. The goddesses work in mysterious ways, perhaps this is for the best. Your progress has been fantastic so far.”

“Thank you,” Vio said, nodding slightly.

Shadow knew that they likely wouldn’t get much done right now. They were both just becoming truly acquainted to Zelda, of course it wouldn’t all be sunshine and rainbows the first time they met. Still, he found that he didn’t mind so much. They weren’t in much danger at the moment, after all. They had time.

Zelda was kind, Shadow realized. She always had been, of course, but he just hadn’t realized it before. He had been too busy trying to be Ganon and Vaati’s weapon that he never really thought about how lucky he was to keep getting chances from her. Now he finally took one of those chances, and it would all be okay.

They would be okay.

“Vaati may be stupid,” Shadow mused, “But Ganon isn’t. Just because he doesn’t pay attention to anything Vaati and I do doesn’t mean that he won’t eventually start to notice things. Vio and I will still have to keep causing destruction all throughout Hyrule to keep his eyes off of us. Even then, that could only work for so long…”

Zelda hummed, pressing her left hand to her cheek, “So you mean to say that Ganon’s domination will have to nearly happen in order for us to strike. Are you certain that the other three know you’re planning on their side?”

“Green knows for certain, Red believes in Green wholeheartedly, and Blue follows Red like a lost puppy. They’re sure to know we’re scheming,” Vio affirmed, a fond smile growing on his face.

Vio really did like his teammates, huh?

“Vaati will be easy to take out, right?” Zelda said, “They seem to be far weaker than legends have suggested, and their mind is fragile. Our main worry seems to be getting Ganon to poke his head out for the guillotine, which he’s likely to do when Vaati is killed, anyway. We just need to get all four heroes in one place to take Vaati down, it’s as simple as that.”

Shadow thought for a moment before responding, “I guess, but I wouldn’t say Vaati will be easy . They will not be the biggest problem, yeah, but they’re more powerful than they seem. In fact, I’d say they’re particularly dangerous. If you don’t follow along with their beliefs, they get very angry.”

“What if they aren’t just beliefs?” Vio suddenly interjected.

“What do you mean?” Zelda tested, turning toward the other.

“What if there’s some truth to Vaati’s words,” Vio continued, “What if these…kinstones they speak of do exist? What if the mice in petals do exist, and the carvings are legitimate? Do you think that, if we find the mouse-people, we could get more information? Something to use against Vaati?”

Shadow shook his head, “If Vaati’s rambles do have truth, then we won’t be able to see them. They talk about little helpers only good children can see, and, well, we aren’t good.”

“But I am good,” Zelda added, “And, if there is truth to Vaati, then surely there must be truth to the original tale of the Four Sword.”

“Original tale?” Vio asked, eyes wide. Shadow loved it when he made that face, that was his ooh new stuff to learn face.

Zelda nodded, “It is said that, many millennia ago, the Four Sword had not yet been forged. Another blade existed, one made with purely holy magic, but it was shattered by Vaati in their quest for ultimate power. A young boy, the youngest of a long line of blacksmiths, with the help of a mythical race of mouselike people called the Picori, harnessed the four main elements of the world, earth, fire, water and wind, to forge the blade known as the Four Sword. Using this blade, the boy was given the power of four, and he sealed Vaati within the sword’s pedestal. Of course, reading that legend when I was a little girl made it clear it was likely all fiction, but now I am uncertain.”

“So if the Four Sword is made with these…Picori magics in mind,” Vio murmured, “Then whatever caused Link to split into the four of us might be Picori in nature. This means that it’s likely that, if I were to actively look for them, I would be able to see them?”

“Perhaps,” Zelda agreed, eyebrows pinching together slightly.

Shadow brightened, “So-wait! Vio, if it’s possible for you to see the Picori, could we maybe…stage a few coincidences? Would Ganon be able to be angry with us if Hylian resistance was met while we attempted to attack? And could he be mad if we had to hide out in some woods for a bit before returning because momma was hurt?”

“Would you let her be hurt, though?” Vio asked seriously.

“...who said it had to be real ,” Shadow pointed out, “He wouldn’t know either way.”

Zelda looked slightly confused, but she shook it off easily, “Now we have some semblance of a plan. It’s likely a good idea to do this before coming up with anything else, that way we don’t have too much riding on this step being possible.”

And so their plan was set. They would see just how much of the old tales were true, and then they would see what else they could do.

They were great at planning.

Chapter Text

Green had woken up early the next morning.

This, of course, meant that he got to be the first to see the new developments between the other two on their little team. He knew those two would be insufferable if they ever found out they liked each other, had he not thought that, like, a while ago? He was proven right, as it was.

Green had, in all honesty, been about to cry when he woke up to find those two cuddling in the same bed. He’d known long before they woke up that they’d finally spit their feelings out. He had very little time to prepare himself for the sappiness he would have to endure-fist Vio and his romance novels, now Blue and Red as a couple ? Oh, it was going to drive him mad .

It did not help that, apparently, the wind around this village had been there when those two confessed, so it couldn’t stop talking about it . The wind was just like that, constantly airing out everyone’s business, he could see some possible reasons Vaati lost it.

Long story short, he was hearing way too much about the people here. In the desert, it had been fine, mostly because the only thing those winds were trying to do was guide him. Even the volcano had been bearable, the only people living there being Gorons, and, even then, they’d all evacuated the rising temperature. There hadn’t been much for the winds to say in those places.

Here, though, it couldn’t shut up. Always something about everything, it was starting to get difficult to pay attention to anything else. He couldn’t just tell the wind to stop, either, it was a force beyond him in every way, it did as it pleased.

At least he could talk to Erune; she was kind and always tried to understand others. She did seem tired this morning, though. He wondered why.

He didn’t want to ask, though. He had a feeling he would get the answer soon, anyway.

Blue and Red woke up last, even then still yawning. Green greeted them, preparing himself for a headache.

“Good morning,” Red said, smiling tiredly. Blue waved with his right hand, leaning into Red’s side slightly. They must have been up all night.

Green, himself, wanted to make sure they would be alright. They couldn’t stay here for another night, they had to start looking for the rest of the knights. Only then would they be able to save Hyrule and…well, whatever happened next.

He wanted to believe that the future was certain, but, well…it wasn’t. They weren’t sure of anything that would happen after they defeated Vaati. Would they die? Would they stay? Green didn’t know, he didn’t remember how they came to be.

He would like to think they could stay. That would be nice. The four of them, living like people, doing people things, wearing something that wasn’t a tunic and a weird, cone-shaped, floppy hat. He wanted to change that, actually. He felt like he looked a little stupid sometimes.

Erune grinned, sitting up a little straighter, “Good morning Red, Blue. My momma’s making breakfast right now, c’mon, sit down!”

The pair did as she asked obediently, and Green found himself jealous. They never listened to him ever since they’d gotten this close. Red trusted his opinions, but he would totally turn his back if Blue decided to speak up, and Vio…well, Vio was doing something potentially really stupid at this moment.

If only he could understand. It just felt like he didn’t get them, was it just the fact that they had fallen in love? If so, why hadn’t that happened for Green yet? He’d had plenty of opportunities. He’d even been in a whole town of only women, even if only for a few hours. He wanted to understand it more than anything, and yet he found he couldn’t.

Typical of him, it seemed.

He stopped focusing on the conversation around him, listening to the air as it gently rippled.

And then that witch lady totally blew it when she turned his house all tiny and got it in the Dark World, but, like, she eventually got it back. Even then, though, he was sobbing over his girlfriend more than anything, even though she was right there , just kind of out of it, and it was a whole thing, you should have been there!

The wind here felt…more immature, somehow. He knew it made no sense to say that, and yet he felt it in his heart. This wind was gossipy and had plenty of opinions, it didn’t seem to follow any of Vaati’s will at all. It was jarring to be around such a free breeze, when all of the older ones were so shackled. Even when the ropes were loose, they still held them fast-this wind had never been tied before.

Green hoped it never would be.

“I’m gonna get some fresh air,” Green said aloud to a table of people that weren’t listening in the slightest. The other three were already so deeply engrossed in conversation that he doubted they heard him.

The breeze danced about playfully as he went out into the open air, causing leaves to swirl and the grass to ripple. It whistled in his ears lightly.

Ooo~ You know, you know, your friend, that girl, she was up all last night, too! She was up and walking around, she was whispering, I heard, I heard!

Green was only absently paying attention, speaking aloud just to pacify the force, “Really?”

Yes yes yes, she was whispering to me, you know what she said? She said she didn’t want your friends to leave! She was so nervous and cute, her face was all red and she didn’t get a single bit of sleep!

“She…” he found himself whispering, confused, “She didn’t want us to leave? Why? We told her we need to save Hyrule, why wouldn’t she want us to go do it?”

Oh, little brother, you’re silly! She’s got a crush on them, of course! That’s the only explanation!

“I guess so,” Green admitted, looking out over the village.

Why was it so hard to understand something that even the wind knew about? He knew he was capable of love-at least, it’s what he assumed, since it’s what he knew. Everyone felt love, it was part of living, right? It just must be taking a bit longer for him. He would learn eventually, right?

He hoped so, since it was making things between him and the others a little awkward.

Chapter Text

Vio had severely underestimated how childish this would be.

It should have come to mind a while ago, really. The Picori were, supposedly, at least as small as mice. One would need to be actively searching for them in places they might hide, like the grass, within mushrooms, the like. This meant that Vio, for all of the dignity he tried to hold, was crouched in the grass and following any little movement he could.

Goddesses, he felt like he was acting like a child . He may be twelve, but he was at least trying to be mature.

Still, he supposed it was alright, since Shadow was right beside him, warming his side as they leaned next to each other.

“Do you think we’re scaring them?” Shadow whispered, blinking owlishly as he moved another small section of grass.

Vio shrugged, “Perhaps. They’re so small and so deeply ingrained in legends, I’ve no doubt many children have tried to find them before. Add on the idea that these probably won’t even be the same Picori that the hero met, and it’s all a very scary thing…”

Shadow hummed wordlessly in response, eyes lingering on a very odd flower in the grass. It wouldn’t have been odd, usually, but the color and strength of it was too intense-that and the fact that it was, strangely, a tropical hibiscus. Many fat buds, unopened, rested in the leaves, and a few of them were actually peeking some bright, vibrant pink. The thing that drew Vio’s eye most, though, was the single flower in full bloom. It was closer to the bottom, massive and nearly glowing.

No, wait. It was glowing. Magic swirled around it, white in hue, pure and untainted. Something in Vio’s chest shifted, and he found himself reaching toward it with a finger.

Slowly, surely, the white glow shifted to a violet hue, brighter, brighter, brighter still, and then they came out.

Ten little creatures, all wearing hibiscus hats in the same pink, darted from the grass, squeaking in alarm. The eldest (how did Vio know that?) ran toward the flower still connected, panicked and frantic, but stopped when she (how did Vio know that ?) saw the state of it.

“ A blessing of magic! ” the little Picori girl cried, face shifting into an odd smile, “ It has been millennia! Friend, who might you be, to bless my unborn sibling so? ”

Vio looked at her with wide eyes. Her fur was a warm, reddish brown, and long, pale pink locks of hair curled in gentle ringlets. Her eyes were large and shockingly blue, her clothes consisted of a dress made of petals in various shades of pink and, atop the dress, a cloak of thick, waxy leaves.

How did he understand that?

Vio spoke softly, words forming without permission, “ I am of Earth, friend. I have many questions; is there any way I can ask them? ”

“ Earth, warm and nurturing, ” she responded, teeth grinding together, pleased, “ Yes, of course, friend Earth! I am Mink, I am of the Seminole Pink Hibiscus family, come, come, I will lead the way! ”

Vio stood, ready to follow the Picori girl, but Shadow grabbed his arm.

“Woah, Vio, what was that!?” Shadow whisper-yelled, “You two were speaking-well, to me it sounded like nonsense.”

“Her name’s Mink, she’s going to take me somewhere I can speak with her better. You can come with, I don’t think she’d mind,” Vio answered easily, tugging on Shadow’s grip lightly.

With that, they followed the nimble little mouse in the brush, the other nine following their sister as she led them. It made it easier to follow her, much more underbrush disturbed by the ten of their movements rather than just the one.

They came across a tree stump soon enough, with deep cracks up top and gnarled roots, holes gnawed from the bottom.

“ Here, here, a Minish Portal, to visit us Minish! Stand atop and sing from the heart, Earth, and you will be able to see us better! Bring your friend, too. This one will help your friend speak with us, too, though it will not be as fluent as your speech. You speak well for a Hylian child! ” Mink squeaked, standing by the base of the stump.

Vio nodded, tugging on Shadow’s arm, “Climb on top of this stump with me. I can do the rest, just trust me.”

Shadow looked reluctant, but he gave in soon. Vio felt a little bad, he knew it was strange, since, apparently, he was switching seamlessly between two languages. It did not feel like two languages to him, his heart sung with both easily.

Despite the obvious age of the stump, it refused to give under their weight. A gentle buzzing filled Vio’s limbs, familiar and old. He found words falling from his lips that not even he understood, a whisper on the wind, like a butterfly flapping its wings.

He did not notice the rest of the world growing until both he and Shadow fell through the crack atop the stump.

Vio didn’t even have a chance to cry out before they hit a fat mushroom, bouncing down further, shrinking smaller to bump safely on a much smaller mushroom. When they finally landed on a very large dandelion, the top of the stump was so far up ahead that it resembled one of the rooms in the Tower of Winds more than anything.

A reddish, furry face poked in through one of the now gaping holes, the large hibiscus even more comical looking on her little head.

“You made it safely!” Mink chirped, “Come on, come on, come on out! It’s been a long, long time since any Hylians have come. The Elders will be happy to see you!”

Vio felt his left ear flick, his nose twitch, and he had a strange premonition. Holding Shadow’s hand, he walked out from the stump, and saw the world from a very different perspective. The trees, which were tall before, stretched so high and spread so far out that they could have been cliffs, and the grass itself was more tree-like than he thought. Acorns like boulders scattered across the ground, leaves as large as tents, stalks of flowers rising higher, higher, high above, light pushing through the petals to bathe spots of the ground in colorful patterns.

“Don’t worry about these flowers, they aren’t Minish Flowers. Not enough people have been around them, so they haven’t been absorbing gratitude enough…maybe one day, though!” Mink explained, padding on the ground with all four paws.

Vio clicked his teeth together on instinct, and finally got the courage to look at his own hands to confirm his suspicion. Furry black paws greeted his eyes, and yet he didn’t find himself freaking out. In fact, quite the opposite happened-it was almost like waking up from a long dream as someone else, seeing your face in the mirror. This is just as much a part of him as the form he had always taken, he knew. Both felt right in his mind.

Shadow, however, was not taking it as well. He saw his own light-gray fur and squeaked in alarm, ears pulling back, eyes wide. Vio skittered over to him, worry coursing through his veins.

Of course, something like this would make Shadow panic so much. Shadow was a shapeshifter , he always chose how he looked-he did not choose this, it happened and there was no control. The act of changing one’s own body was inherently strange, but without it being a conscious choice? It was probably one of the most terrifying things for Shadow to go through.

He pressed his nose into Shadow’s collar, wrapping him in a hug. After living with each other for so long, Vio had long since learned that, when Shadow panicked, helping him tether to his own body was one of the best solutions. Physical contact was usually the best way to go about it, too, so it was the default they both went to with each other. It seemed this wasn’t an exception, either, since Shadow instantly went limp, pressing himself into his arms, automatically following his breathing.

After a few minutes, in which Shadow calmed down, Mink hesitantly spoke, “I-I’m sorry, I should have realized. It has been so long, I forgot that things like this can be unnerving.”

“It’s…alright,” Vio said, gently rubbing Shadow’s paw with his own. Maybe he was biased, but he was certain that Shadow’s fur was the softest thing he had ever felt across all forms he took.

“Did it work, though?” Mink asked, “Can he understand any of this? It should have made it so that he could understand the basics, at least according to what my great grand brother said when I was just a pup. Something about the Hero of Minish finding a way to shift the magical energy to also replicate a Jabber Nut? Whatever a Jabber Nut is, I think they’re extinct now.”

Shadow was still for a moment before speaking, “Yes, understand. Little. This is going to be fun …”

With a grin and a flourish, Mink spun, “Great! Come on, I’ll take you to visit the main village. There, you can meet some of the other Minish. There’s even an elder who was alive when the Hero had yet to become an adult! Do be polite with him, though, he’s a mountain raised Minish of the Bomb Flower family, he’s got a short fuse, especially since the last of his auntie flowers disappeared.”

Bomb flowers. Vio had read about them at some point, he couldn’t remember when. They disappeared two hundred years ago, the last one in captivity finally blowing up for the last time. They had been extraordinary plants, one of the very few that could be picked and used instantaneously. Nobody ever figured out how to safely harness them, though, not since an era that he learned was called the Era of Future Told. They’d been overharvested during that time and became endangered, but there was research being done to bring them back.

Supposedly, at least. Perhaps he could lift the elder’s mood with that knowledge.

It was surprisingly easy to navigate, so many little markers they never could have dreamed of noticing down just under the protective shade of the grass. That, and Vio found he could smell the village as they grew closer, gentle smoke and roasting chestnuts and mashed berries mingling so heavily into civilization . He found his mind automatically registering the smell- home .

He should have been more unnerved. He had always been Hylian before now, at least that’s what he’d been led to believe. This should have been just as, if not more terrifying to him as it was for Shadow, and yet it felt like coming home. Like finding an old toy that was lost, like being reminded of a time long passed that still feels like yesterday.

Is this the magic of the Minish?

(And, certainly, they were Minish. The name clicked far better than Picori ever had, and Vio was trusting his thoughts on what clicked. After all, he had been able to adapt to the strange, single feather of a tail that he had, despite never having a tail before. Even Shadow had tripped up on that.

Perhaps the help of this race was not just surface level.)

A glade of mushrooms surrounded by strange objects came into view, and, for a moment, Vio wondered what it meant. Only for a moment. He quickly saw the little doors and windows carved into the chitin of the mushrooms, the thin banners of four hues, violet, red, blue and green.

“Oh, I forgot,” Mink exclaimed, turning, “I’m so sorry, friend Earth, today is a festival. The festival of Four Tidings, of you will. This is the anniversary of the great elder, Master Ezlo’s journey with the Hero of Minish. It lasted for one day and one night, the sun rose and set, and, in the last hour of the fateful day, they sealed away the Great Darkness as one unit, one team, a duo. Our current elder knew Master Ezlo when he, himself, was still just barely past pup age.”

“Do you know anything else?” Vio asked, intrigued. This was a very significant festival, it seemed.

Mink perked up, ears flicking, “Of course! See, Master Ezlo was no ordinary Minish! He was a great mage, one with a gift in magic so strong that it didn’t even constrain itself to an element. He was also the one who, in the beginning, mentored the Great Darkness, taking in the poor pup when they were less than one year of age. Of course, the Darkness slowly went mad, taking some of Master Ezlo’s own magic to seek ultimate power, and released all monsters into the world, destroying the only weapon that could stop him. Then, the Hero rose and found Master Ezlo, they took on a journey together, traveling through earth, fire, water and even the clouds to get the power they needed! They reforged the weapon into-”

“A sacred blade,” Vio finished, “One with the power of four.”

“Yes, exactly! They took on the Great Darkness, who warped themself beyond all recognition of their original form and sealed them away for many years! Though, sadly, there has been a break-out in the past few years…and the weather has been odd lately, too. Too windy…” Mink mused as they all padded into the village.

A few of the Minish inside called out greetings, flowers of all kinds resting atop their heads, hair of all colors, textures, lengths and volume poking from underneath. Petals that either matched or contrasted made up their clothing alongside leaves to form cloaks of green. There was so much color here.

Vio sighed, dreading her reaction to what he had to say. The stories matched up too well-the Great Darkness was Vaati, and Vaati had been released. Nothing else would make sense.

“We are here about that sort of thing, sadly. It is why we need to speak with you all-it’s a very important matter,” Vio ended up saying, avoiding the main topic for now.

Mink looked confused for a moment before shrugging, “Well, I’m certain the elder will hear you out! You have gifted my baby sibling with magic, which has been scarce these days. I’m sure this will go well; you both seem kind.”

Kind. Well, that’s one word to describe what they haven’t been.

Vio glanced over at Shadow, noting his clear discomfort. Right, he couldn’t understand half of what they were saying. This was alright. They’d make it work; they could explain.

They would get answers, one talk at a time.

Chapter Text

Blue should have known that Erune wouldn’t just let them leave.

“You can’t come with us,” Green stated, firm in his decision.

Blue, despite his feelings, agreed with Green on this. Erune was just a normal girl from a far-out town. She didn’t know any fighting skills, she was more emotionally fragile than he would have liked, and he knew she wouldn’t have the stamina to keep up. Had she been a farm girl, he might have fought back on the decision to leave without her, but she was an innkeeper’s daughter and it showed. She didn’t have much muscle, and she could be clumsy at times.

It was for her own good that she didn’t come, he knew, and yet…

What if they didn’t get the chance to come back and say goodbye? It was inevitable that they would die. Whether they succeeded or failed, they wouldn’t be able to live on. If she came with them, they would have the chance to say goodbye. She was their only actual friend, the only one they talked to for any long amount of time, at least. She had only ever known them as, well, themselves , not like just about everyone else they had met.

He didn’t want her to just…be waiting for news. He didn’t want to know she was sitting in her hometown, waiting for them to come back, to say hello, to even respond to letters she may inevitably send. He didn’t want to know that, once they died, this Link guy would have to be the one to break the news. Either that or the princess herself, which wasn’t any better…actually, it would probably be worse.

Erune fought, a glare on her face, “I will! Don’t act like I can’t. I can help, I swear, and-I just, I want to make sure you’re okay.”

“We will , Erune,” Red soothed, “We’ll be okay, and- We’ll try to visit again soon, alright?”

“ You weren’t last time !” she retorted, “Green apparently almost died ! Blue is missing fingers ! You have warrants out for your arrest ! Don’t act like you’ve been okay , Red!”

Blue, himself, winced, looking down at his hand. He knew that he didn’t actually need the bandages wrapped around them anymore, the wounds had been coaxed closed by potions over time, but he kept them there, anyway. The skin there was more sensitive than he would have liked, but he could manage. It didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt, that he didn’t understand Erune’s worry. He was still terrified of what had happened, though he would only maybe admit it to Red.

Had Red taken just a few minutes longer, would Blue have even survived? He was already drifting on the edge of unconsciousness when Red had come, had already been pretty sure he was delirious. He likely would have gone to sleep in that cave, and wouldn't have been able to call out when Red arrived. Would Red have gone inside if he hadn’t called back? Or would he have moved on in the cold? 

Blue could have died in that cave, alone, frozen, eternally trapped in the same state as he was in life. No, not just could have, would have . In what reality wasn’t it terrifying to think of?

And so, he found himself speaking up, “And we’re knights at heart, Erune. We don’t remember it, but-but we were. We know things that you don’t, too. If we have nearly died so many times, the-I don’t want to think about what could happen to you.”

“We know you want to help, but you’re helping by staying safe ,” Red emphasized, taking her hands in his own, “You…you matter so much to us, Erune.”

That gave her pause, and she gripped her skirt tightly with one hand, looking down at her feet. Blue placed his hands on top of hers, noticeably feeling the difference between her skin and Red’s. She was softer than Red, for certain, but she still had callouses. They were certainly from more mundane activities, but they were there.

“You better come back,” she murmured, looking up with tears in her eyes, “ You better , or I’ll-I’ll kill you!”

“We’ll do our best,” Red spoke, gently.

Blue wished they could say yes in a heartbeat. They couldn’t.

But…

“I love you,” Blue confessed, quiet and serious, “I have for a while, Red has for a while, and I swear , I’ll do whatever it takes to come back.”

Erune gaped, mouth slightly open as she processed his words. Had he judged the situation wrong? Did she not like them like that? Was Red not ready-he looked shocked, too.

Had he gone and fucked it all up?

He felt Erune’s fingers curl slightly, felt her other hand come back up to rest atop his own, and she smiled.

“I-alright,” she firmly said, more to herself than anything, “Just…come back soon. I…I love you, too.”

A kiss was pressed to Blue’s cheek, then Red’s, just like the first time they left. It felt like it had more meaning to it this time, though. Maybe because his heart was now open for her to see, maybe because it all was starting to fall right into place, he couldn’t tell. Still, he longed for more.

“We will,” Red assured, “Erune, we will come back.”

They will. They will , Blue knew it. Even if they had to work for days, months, years to be able to, Blue would come back, Red would come back. They would all be able to live.

Maybe, just maybe, they could nudge this all into the right direction. He knew they could think of something.

They wouldn’t let themselves be killed for the sake of Hyrule.

Chapter Text

“I hate this I hate this I HATE THISSS! ” Red hissed harshly, struggling in Green’s grip.

Green held fast, though, whispering back, “What is up with you right now!?”

The thing that was up with Red was the place they were . See, there weren’t many places he would say stuck in his memory for long. The place they woke up was one, of course, and the castle was another. The Blue Maiden Village would always be in his heart, and the volcano temple thing still gave him shivers. All these places made him feel especially strongly, but there was one he did not mention.

Kakariko Village, the place that was not even twenty feet away. 

In case anyone had forgotten, Kakariko Village was where Red had ended up after they’d been magically split up. The village had been on fire, he had been disoriented, and then he was robbed, accused of thievery and arson, and his last memories of this town were of men, women and children alike chasing him with pitchforks and torches.

Not a good first impression.

Of course, the other two knew he had been accused of crimes, knew he was a wanted criminal in a town somewhere, but they didn’t know that somewhere was here . He never thought that he would end up coming to this village again, always believed that was the end of it. He wouldn’t need to do anything there for a long while, after all. Sure, after all of this was over, the situation would need to be cleared up, but, being honest, he didn’t think it would actually be him doing all that.

As much as he wanted to hold Blue’s promise, as much as he wanted to be able to go back to the Blue Maiden Village and run into Erune’s arms, he didn’t think it would be possible. As much as he wanted to believe he was whole, a whole person, a whole soul, he knew he wasn’t. None of them were. They would put the sword away and it would be just like before they woke up-blank, senseless, thoughtless and without time. Link would reform and they would be gone.

He didn’t want to die, but it seemed inevitable.

In the back of his mind, he wondered how Link acted. Was he strong, was he smart and kind? Did he like strawberries and the smell of mint, like Red? Did he get cold easily like Blue did now? Did he sometimes get lost in his own head like Green had come to do? Did he think of clever ruses like Vio, did he like the same kind of books?

In the front of his mind, though, he was in fight or flight mode, and he’s never been very good at fighting. He needed to run, to hide, to be anywhere else . He didn’t want to be here. The village was still aflame, the magic of the blazes keeping them burning long after they should have gone out. This kind of magic fire would need to be stopped by magic water of some kind, preferably imbued with the opposite intent. 

How did he know that? Don’t ask, he just did. It was like how he knew how to even hold a sword in the first place. He never remembered learning it, and yet it was nestled in his mind, constant and silent until it came to being useful.

Blue, sweet, merciful Blue was the one to make the connection, “This is where you’re wanted?”

Red managed to calm down enough to hum an assent…well, he supposed not calm if his thought process was to keep quiet or they’ll hear you faster, don’t move as much so you don’t make noise .

Maybe he was a little bit traumatized.

“Well,” Green sighed, “This is where Minni says she can feel the aura of another Royal Jewel. If we need to, we can try to disguise you, but…we don’t have much.”

“They might not recognize you anymore,” Blue admitted, gesturing to him, “We’ve changed a lot.”

And Blue was right. They had all changed so much, and, surprisingly, not just mentally. They all looked different, even if just a little. Maybe he would be alright.

Didn’t mean he wasn’t having a visceral reaction of unabashed terror.

Green thought for a moment before exclaiming, “Nobody else wears the kind of hat we do, so what if we…changed them up? I have an idea.”

This looked like something Green had almost been waiting for, so Red didn’t even think about resisting. If there was one thing Green was, it was determined. He ended up handing off his hat to Green, and, in response, the other pulled out his sword.

“Wait-Green! I have a dagger, don’t use a sword!” Red yelped, reaching into his bag with urgency.

In the end, Green used the dagger to cut the hat by its seam, turning the strange tube into a triangular piece of cloth. Red couldn’t help but think back on the last time that dagger had been used, the red of the fabric reminding him of the blood Blue had shed. He shook that thought off.

When Green was done, he leaned toward Red, face inches away as he reached behind his head. It was slightly awkward, but Red tried not to think about it and instead chose to count the freckles that had appeared on Green’s face in the time they were apart. Red couldn’t tell if they’d appeared because of the sun’s rays, or if they had simply…come to be one day, like Red’s own.

One, two, three, four , he didn’t get the chance to count the rest before Green pulled back, a satisfied grin on his face.

Green coughed before imitating one of the auctioneers they’d heard on their travels, “And here we are! One snazzy bandanna, only for the price of one floppy hat! Come one, come all, and let’s get snipping!”

They did all end up cutting their hats, and Red actually thought that the bandannas looked better. The hats were almost always in the way, and it was distracting when he did spin-attacks, so this would definitely be easier.

“Cover your mouths and noses,” Red warned, “There’s smoke where there’s fire.”

And it conceals the identity , he thought to himself.

Warmth licked at his clothes and skin as they entered the village, and he found his hand in Blue’s quickly. Blue squeezed his hand in response, and they finally got to look at the damage.

It was terrifying. The soil itself was burning, houses were being torturously slowly chipped away in the blazes, and the people . Oh, the people were the worst part, screaming, judging, accusing left and right. Men, women and children pointed their fingers, cries of it’s your fault rang through the air, and, all the while, it burned .

Blue and Green seemed to share that feeling of horror, Green looking the worst. He glared at the smoke like it was a monster of its own, hand raising into the air, scandalized.

( It hurts, it hurts, please, make it stop! The winds screamed in Green’s ears.

All he could do was listen, mortified. )

“It’s enchanted,” Red whispered just loud enough, “Made to burn as strongly as their panic, but as slowly as poison…”

Blue nodded absently, “So we have to find a way to douse it ‘fore it consumes them.”

Kakariko was in shambles. The people did not notice them as they walked through the streets, but they had one goal. They would end this stupid situation once and for all, and it would all be okay.

Footsteps slammed nearby, panting, gasping from young lungs, and Red recognized it. He dodged the small hands that reached for his fire rod, snatching his dagger from Green’s hand and pointing it at the boy with no mercy.

It was the same boy, in his lavender hat and ratty brown sweater, face covered in ash and dirt and hands scraped with falling over. He would have painted a pitiful picture, had Red not known better.

“Mister, please ,” the boy sobbed, crocodile tears dribbling down his face, “I’m sorry for before but I-”

Red shifted his grip on the knife, glaring, but didn’t want to hurt him. Instead, he took a breath in and whispered, “Vio always said a phrase, before. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I’m not going to fall for this again.”

He had chosen to trust people. It was something he had done long ago, had affirmed right outside in the woods nearby, but he wasn’t stupid. He could trust and still be wary. Trust was not unconditional, especially with strangers.

Red wasn’t stupid.

“Listen, kid, we’re here to get rid of the fire, and Red here’s told us all about what you’ve done. Either you actually help or get lost ,” Blue snapped, glaring, placing his hand on Red’s shoulder.

He’d almost forgotten he wasn’t alone. This time, he couldn’t be hurt. Blue would protect him, and Green would at least do something .

The boy seemed surprised for a moment, looking between them with wide eyes, before huffing, “Fine-anything to stop them yelling. It’s only fun for a little while.”

He doesn’t live here , Red concluded. Had he been breathing in the smoke for as long as the residents were, he would have been much worse to deal with. He must have been staying in the village for a longer amount of time when Red had last met him, the enchantment fuzzy on his mind. Clean air had bashed the effects back, so surely it would be the same for the people who lived here.

“What’s your name, kid,” Green asked, a question Red had wanted to know for a while.

“My name?” the boy responded, incredulous for a moment before grinning, “Name’s Robin! Better hope you can keep up, cuz we’re not gonna be able to stop this without doing anything!”

Robin scampered onward, and the three heroes followed. What else was there to do? Red hadn’t been in the village long enough to know anything.

Still, Robin was a fitting name for the boy.

Chapter Text

For the record, Shadow actually liked the Minish a lot!

They were very welcoming, and they were cute . Had Shadow had a little more choice, he likely would have taken on their form in a heartbeat. They were all so…warm, in a way that he hadn’t experienced before meeting Vio. In fact, had he been in this situation without Vio, he would have long since broken down in tears at it all. 

Though…he was going through this because of Vio in the first place.

He wouldn’t have it any other way. Even if he could barely keep up with conversation around him, what little he was able to understand was fascinating . Shards of talk of flowers, of magic and elements and bodies, of past and present and even future, all in this little village.

Vio was talking to who had to be the elder, the aged look on his furry face betraying him. Mink had stayed behind, and had taken to trying to start a conversation.

“Your age? Pup, adult?” she asked simply, tapping her paws together.

“Pup?” Shadow answered, uncertain, “Age is odd.”

Mink nodded, sympathetic, “Hylian years are different. Our years are simple; hundred moons, one year. Fifteen years to be on own, eighteen to be adult. Hylians are complex.”

“Not Hylian,” he corrected, “ Darkworldian? Dark being, born of dark. Other land, other side, very dark.”

“Dark magic? Odd, not dark acting,” she chirped.

He tried to find words to explain for a moment before simply deciding to rely on the magic to help, “Dark, not bad. Other land, large beasts. Well liked, important there. Prince , important, leader? Difficult to speak.”

And it was. Whatever magic had been in that tree stump, it hadn’t completely given him knowledge of the language. He wanted to be more helpful to Vio here, but he was pretty much useless. He was just sifting through what words had been given to him to communicate.

“Your age?” Shadow decided to reflect.

“Still pup,” Mink conceded, letting the conversation change, “Eldest of family, yes, but not grown. Independent, sixteen years of age, see. Many more years to Hylian, hundred-thirty at least. Hylian years short compared.”

“Hylian years long for me,” Shadow retorted, “One hour is a day, a day near a month. Hylian years are much bigger, one year several hundred thousand for me in homeland.”

“How long lived?” Mink asked, eyes wide.

Shadow felt his tail fluff up in pride, “Most live millions! Live as long as light, see, light lives several millions to us, so we live as long! We follow the light and breathe the dark. Small numbers here are large in home, but large numbers home are small here. Always reflect.”

“Oh!” Mink suddenly gasped in realization, “You are reflection! Dark reflection, natural. Nature? Magic?”

“Yes, magic, not nature. Body shifts, choose and shift, change at will,” he boasted, paws placed against his chest.

Mink, herself, seemed impressed, “Body shifts!? Shifting? So strange! Could change anytime?”

“Not now,” Shadow shook his head, his own confusion slipping through, “Portal did something. Minish until later, see. Will turn back, able. Wait until spell reversed, now knowing the body.”

He actually liked talking to Mink. She was friendly, and probably far too trusting for her own good. She knew a lot, and she often looked around the town with bright eyes, lingering on a singing little troupe of other Minish. He assumed they were from a different town, their clothes being only of leaves, their flower-hats red and trumpet-like, and hair in many shades of brown.

“Who?” Shadow prodded.

Mink blinked, turning toward him again, “Other village, from far. Closer to Hyrule Town, see! Recognize from last festival, I-well…”

She suddenly seemed meek, and, though Shadow was not yet familiar with body language in this form, even he could tell she was flustered. Her eyes seemed to linger on another Minish girl in the troupe, odd for the single pink petal, large and waxy, around her right shoulder, drooping down the left side of her outfit. It covered her left-well, not-arm, as he ended up seeing.

It almost looked like…

“Lover?” Shadow teased, whiskers wriggling.

“Eh!?” she squeaked, “Know already-!? That obvious?”

He hadn’t noticed her necklace before, but, now that he looked, it was woven grass around a single, bright red petal. With a giggle he spoke, “Sharing petals, assuming.”

It was easy to be playful, he realized. This form wasn’t quite like being a cat, but it had a lot of the same feelings. He was free like this, no eyes were watching him at all. He was, in many ways, a child to the Minish, apparently. 

He vaguely remembered Link’s own childhood. Despite being light and shadow, contrary to what one might believe, they didn’t have to be in the same place at the same time. While Shadow had been raised in the valleys where Death Mountain was mirrored, the geysers hot and killing, Link lived in the gentle fields of Hyrule, having been born in a town on flat land with little danger. 

The dark was more connected to the light than the light was to the dark. Without light, there are no shadows, but, in a room with only shadow, blocked from the sun, the light never touches it. Bouts of sudden apathy and unresponsiveness were common in the Dark World as memories of lives never lived flashed in quick succession. Never quite whole, but loud and angry and painful.

Shadow, himself, had been cursed with particularly harsh ones in his youth. Link had lived an eventful life, and had so much to project all the time. Festivals, games, trips to far off lands and more always bombarded Shadow, and, soon, knight training began to seep in. Shadow was the most connected to his lighter half than anyone in the Dark World had seen in centuries-no, billions of years, since the Era of Future Foretold. It had been yet another prince, yanked from his home at the age of nine, trapped, presumably tortured, and starved to death in the light.

Shadow hoped fate wasn’t repeating itself with him.

Soon enough, Vio padded over, ears flicking and round, blue eyes searching. He found his way to them, taking a breath in and out, before speaking in Hyrulean, “ We have a goal now. We can take Vaati down without anyone suspecting anything, and I have the full story of the sword. ”

Shadow was surprised-he’d thought it would take much longer, maybe that it would be more complicated. For one talk with an elder to give them the answers they sought, it must have been a miracle.

“ Let’s get back to Zelda, ” Shadow chirped back before finding the words in the new language, “Thanks much, friend Mink. Much luck.”

“Much luck to you, too! Good tidings, friends, visit again soon?” she responded, joyful and unbothered.

Vio nodded, “We will visit soon, promise.”

The walk back to the stump was simple, the placement of the village directly correlated with the portal’s natural spot. Getting back to normal was…less so, but Shadow was back on two feet soon enough, and he found that the knowledge of the language had not left him. He was glad, since he was finally starting to get the hang of it…sort of. He was going to work on it somehow.

He couldn’t help but remember a detail about the Minish, though. Only good children could see them, so why could he?

Shadow wasn’t good. He really wasn’t.

Chapter Text

Green didn’t know how he felt about Kakariko.

He was sure it was a lovely town when it wasn’t being magically burned down and corrupted, but he found that he didn’t care how nice it usually was. Robin, the thief boy that had caused Red a lot of trouble, wasn’t great, either, but he was better than most of the town. He’d tried to get close to Green’s sword one too many times, but seemed genuinely frightened of Blue, so he didn’t try anything.

Good. Green was not above punching a child if it came down to it.

The town was like a maze, almost, turning and coiling strangely, it didn’t make much sense. Robin didn’t seem to be too comfortable with it, either, and Red looked downright nauseous.

“It didn’t look like this before,” Red finally said, “The town used to feel more like a town. Do you think…?”

Green nodded, “The fires are enchanted and certainly the doing of Vaati. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were slowly merging this town with the Dark World.”

“The people are turning into monsters,” Blue suddenly interjected, “Look at them. The fire’s transforming them and thinning the boundary.”

And, indeed, as Green looked around, he saw that the people didn’t look right. Their nails were sharper than they should be, their teeth closer to fangs. Even their faces seemed warped, not entirely how faces should be. They didn’t even seem to realize, too lost in the rage being pumped into the air in the form of smoke.

“Cover your nose and mouth, kid,” Green fretted, going into his bag and tearing off the sleeve of his spare undershirt, ripping it down the seam so that it would be able to cover both.

Robin did take it, though not before marveling at the texture of the fabric. It wasn’t a very nice shirt, but, looking at the boy’s own clothes, Green was pretty sure it was some of the nicest cloth he’d held in a while. To Green’s relief, Robin actually visibly looked less sick when he put it on, the smoke no longer able to get through in breathing.

Red continued their train of observation, “I think that it mostly takes effect when it’s breathed in, but it might also be able to get in through the eyes. Probably slower, but still. We should leave here as often as we can to get fresh air, or…or we’ll end up like them.”

This was not a game. They needed to stop this fast or else this place would be nothing more than a glorified monster camp.

“Some guy has been staying back there,” Robin supplied, pointing toward a bunch of trees north of the town, “The air’s clear there, and he keeps talking about igniting flames of passion or something. I only talked to him once before… Anyway, he was creepy and grabbed my arm and I hated it.”

“Creepy old guy…sounds like something we need to make our way towards,” Blue grumbled.

Robin shook his head, “Can’t anymore. The other old man locked up in a house nearby put up a huge, spiked fence after uh…Red came through. I dunno if he realized that you didn’t even run in that direction at all.”

Green sighed, exasperated, “Of course. Hold on, I might have an idea-it’s risky and stupid, but we won’t have to talk to a stupid old man before we need to if it works.”

“Say less,” Blue huffed back good-naturedly, and Red nodded along. Robin looked more skeptical, but eventually assented.

They arrived at the fence, tall and jagged and certainly painful. Green felt insane for what he was about to try, but…

“Kid, get on my back. Red, Blue, keep a hold on my hands. Don’t let go,” he ordered.

They followed his instruction, Red and Blue because they were a team, and Robin because, from his perspective, a potentially insane guy with a sword was glaring at him. It didn’t matter what they thought. All they needed was to see the results.

Help, help, please-

“Let me help,” Green whispered, “Push us up, let us cross.”

And that it did, the wind gathered beneath his feet, pushing with all of its strength. Suddenly, they were launched in the air, and Green laughed over the screams. The wind had helped him before, back in the desert, pushed him gently, unnoticeably as he walked. He couldn’t control it, not like Vaati had been, but he could ask. He could request and beg and offer, and the wind could answer.

Green realized that he didn’t know how to land right when they fell on the other side, rolling on the dirt a few paces before stopping. Breathy giggles pushed from his throat, while frantic panting rang out from the other three.

“I’m so going to try things like that more often,” Green concluded with a cackle, pushing himself up.

Blue appeared particularly nauseous, and Red took to rubbing the other’s back and questioning his okayness. Robin, unlike the other two, seemed to be in total shock, and Green was almost worried before he heard giggles start. Giggles turned to laughter, and, suddenly, the little thief was heaving with unrestrained joy. Green couldn’t help but join in, his own happiness forcing more and more laughter from his chest, until he couldn’t keep himself up anymore.

The air on this side of the fence was instantly cleaner than within the village, and, when he stopped giggling, Green was able to actually pull the bandanna from his mouth to take a deep breath. Maybe the smoke was intentionally only swarming within town walls in order to ensnare anyone who tried to stay inside to help?

Red stood, wobbling for a moment before finally groaning, “Let’s go find that old guy…”

So off they marched to go find that old guy. This sounded somewhat familiar somehow, though Green didn’t know how.

Shelve the thought for another day.

Chapter Text

“Light magic is what’s keeping Vaati’s body as it is,” Vio stated, “Zelda, if you were able to remove that light magic, they wouldn’t be able to keep their form anymore and go back to the body they were in at birth. They were a Minish, and, if we get them to go back to that form, it doesn’t matter if they still want to destroy the world; they could just be kept in a tall vase with a netted lid forever and they wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. I doubt they’ll find reason in destruction, though, since Minish magic is very incompatible with dark thoughts.”

“Saying it again doesn’t make it any clearer,” Zelda sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

Vio, himself, rolled his eyes, “Vaati was born Minish. The Minish are the Picori, which are naturally inclined toward good. Vaati is being powered up by light magic used wrongly, and it’s not helping them think clearly. Get rid of the light magic, get rid of a lot of the brain fog. If we try to treat them kindly after freeing them from their confusion, they might turn good. You’re the only light magic user any of us know. It’s simple.”

“And stupid,” Zelda snapped, glaring lightly, “How are you so sure they’ll turn out good? Removing light magic seems…not quite right.”

“It’s already been removed,” he explained again, “From the Royal Family, where it belongs. Vaati stole a lot of it before they became…this. It’s constantly retaliating against them, which is confusing them, which is then making them lash out in strange ways. I spoke with a primary source, Zelda, and, though he was sure that Vaati had always been a bit bad, he said that they had definitely grown much worse, near nonsensical since they had taken that power.

“Please, just this once, let me actually save someone. Otherwise…there’s only one other permanent option, and that puts Shadow at risk, if not outright guarantees his death,” he ended up pleading, looking down at his hands.

He felt powerless in this situation. He couldn’t actually do anything other than beg Zelda to accept the plan. He didn’t have power over light, though he was, apparently, a creature of it. All he had were words and information.

And, yes, truly, he was a creature of light, a creature. Elder Minshi had been one of the few Minish to not only see but mold the Four Sword into its final form, had been one of the eight Minish gifted with the opportunity as an apprentice of the Master Smith, Melari. He had immediately recognized the blade, and, as such, immediately recognized that Vio himself was a product of it.

And a product indeed, something not quite Hylian and not quite spirit or apparition. When the sword was no longer in use, it’s unlikely that he, and, by proxy, the other three, would stick around.

Even if Shadow was spared from the crossfire, Vio would be gone, and, depending on how much Link would remember at all, Shadow might just die anyway. Vio wouldn’t put it past Link, from what little he’d been able to scrounge up from others’ words. Link had been hotheaded, brash, hopelessly naive when it came to danger and, really, quite stupid when it came down to it.

Though that did raise some questions. They, themselves, seemed to have very little in common with Link. Blue had been the closest to the descriptions given, but, even then, it was all off.

Would the same thing that happened to them repeat with Link? Would he wake up just as confused, with not a single memory to his name? That possibility was becoming more and more likely to Vio the more he thought about it. How would a single brain be able to even comprehend four very, very separate lives, how would one brain be able to sort them out into something manageable? Perhaps the blade would do the same thing they did to them, would wipe it all clean so that the pain would, ultimately, be minimal.

Golden Three, Vio couldn’t imagine what it would be like to do this quest if all four of them had the same memories, but such different personalities. It would be disorienting at best, downright insufferable at worst. In almost any other scenario, being unable to remember before the day this whole quest started would be bad, but he was a bit glad it turned out this way. 

“Fine,” Zelda interrupted his thoughts, “I’ll go along with this, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you if it turns out wrong.”

A rare, wide smile graced his face, and he sighed, “Thank you, princess.”

Zelda opened her mouth for a second before closing it, taking a deep breath. She had no doubt been about to call him Link.

It hurt, really. With how time passed, she’s had plenty of time to try to adjust. What had only been about six hours in the light had been six days in the Dark World. For Vio, with how long he had been in the Dark World, it had been at least a year by now, maybe longer. He wanted to be a little bit remorseful, of all the time that he’d lived, with how he was aging on without many people in the light, but he couldn’t be. He had been spending most of that time with Shadow, with the man he loved most.

Vio was no longer able to be called a child for sure. He wasn’t even certain that the others would be able to recognize him at first, with how much he had changed. He was older-no, not just that, he was more mature.

That didn’t mean he stopped reading his romance novels, though. Ganon could pry them from his cold, dead hands, and he would come back to life to get them back.

It didn't matter, either way. Vio wouldn't die. Ganon would, instead, and Vaati, at the very least, would no longer be able to do anything. They would get a happy ending.

Vio would make sure of it.