AN: This chapter went from four to six pages. That doesn't really satisfy me, but it's better. And maybe the earlier chapters of this thing will come a little faster…
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The Links encountered absolutely no one on their journey to Lon Lon Ranch. Not a soul appeared before them on the road. "Maybe everyone is just staying at home." Red suggested, his head turning up towards the black sky. The ominous clouds hadn't cleared once, and the idea of them being all alone wasn't sitting well with him.
"Yeah sure. Life just stops because of a little bad weather." Blue grumbled, glaring at his optimistic companion. He walked at the front next to Green holding a lantern.
"It could be possible." Vio argued, mostly for Reds sake. "Unfortunately it doesn't look like that's the case. Blue has a point. For once." Shadow was still in the Dark World collecting information. The rain, thankfully, had stopped when everyone had vanished. Small blessings.
"Goddesses help us..." Green replied solemnly. "It seems like we're going to need it."
A cold wind began to blow when they reached the ranch. Red let out an odd sound when the place appeared too be as abandoned as anywhere else. "Oh no."
"Malon!" Green called, running through the front door without knocking. Chances were no one would answer anyway. "Malon! It's me! If you're here: answer!" The house was silent. Quiet like it never was.
Blue entered and scowled. "They're gone too then."
"What do we do now?" Vio asked. "We can't leave Epona here with no one to care for her." He wasn't surprised. All of Hyrule was empty.
Green nodded, thinking about their options when a soft voice came from the stairs. "L-Link?"
Red looked up with a smile. "Malon!"
Malon came out slowly. Her eyes where red with tears, and her dress was covered in mud. "Thank The Three you're here!" She exclaimed, hurrying down the stairs and throwing herself into Greens arms. "I was so scared! A bunch of monsters came in and a-attacked us! It was horrible!"
Vio and Blue exchanged glances, but Green didn't move. Her strange behavior was understandable in the situation. "How did you escape?" He asked. "And where's your father?"
"I-I hid from them... but they managed to grab Daddy!" she sniffed. "Now I'm all alone..."
Green patted her head softly, not sure what to do. They couldn't very well leave the girl alone, but it would be impossible to bring her with them. Behind him Vio frowned. "Malon?" He inquired calmly.
She looked over. "Huh? Why... Who are you?" She asked. "Why are there four Links? Which... which ones the real one?" She stepped back looking scared.
Vio held out his hands with a smile. The same smile he gave Shadow when he was convincing him they were on the same side. "Malon. Tell me. Who is Epona?"
Blue scowled, annoyed that the purple swordsman would ask such a trivial question. "What the hell Vio? She knows who her own freaking-!"
"Shut up!" Green snapped, catching on. He quickly released the girl and stepped away from her.
She smiled sweetly. "Don't be ridiculous Link. I know who Epona is." She held out her hand towards him. "What are you doing?"
Green stepped back again, taking the hilt of his sword. "Answer the question." He said firmly.
Her mouth opened then snapped shut. All the sweetness vanished instantly. "Oh for the love of Ganondorf." Her hands went to her hips. "And here I thought I was doing oh-so well. What gave me away?"
Red gasped in realization. "Oh Goddesses! Your not Malon?" It wasn't something that should have startled him, but it did.
She sneered at him. "It seems like you're stupid as well."
Red sniffed taken aback. Blue twitched angrily. "Hey! No one calls Red stupid but me! Especially not some weak-ass, face-stealing, loser!"
The Malon-look-alike literally burst into flames. "IMPUDENT! HOW DARE YOU INSAULT ME?" A cold, fierce, wind blew in through the open door and snuffed out the flame in the lantern. "THE FOUR OF YOU WILL WANDER MY KINGDOM ALONE, AND MISSERABLE UNTIL YOU DIE!" The flaming Malon disappeared, leaving them in complete darkness.
Red blindly grabbed hold of Blues arm, terrified of getting separated from his friends. "I'm scared..."
The short-tempered swordsman tried to shake him off annoyed. "Let go! Jeez, don't be such a baby, Red. I'm strong enough to take on this joker."
"As long as we stay together, we should be ok." Vio said thoughtfully. They weren't strong enough to take out such a force yet but together they should be able to make it through.
"HAHAHAHA!" Came the evil voice, once again overhead. "IF THAT'S HOW YOU FEEL I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO SEPERATE YOU!"
Red held tighter to Blues arm. That had happened before. On their original journey, the four of them had been separated by a boat crash. It had not been one of the more pleasant experiences in Reds life. "Not again…" He whimpered.
"Outside! Quick!" Green ordered. They had no chance of defending themselves if they couldn't even see their enemy. They hurried outside, their eyes adjusting to the darkness. The clouds rumbled, as if with laughter. "Damn it. Any ideas Vio?"
"I'll tell you when I come up with one." He answered, deep in thought. "We don't even know what our opponent is."
The ground shook. "SAY GOODBYE TO EACH OTHER FOREVER!"
Wind started to whip around them. They moved closer to each other, as though that would prevent their severance. Red closed his eyes tight against tears that threatened to fall. "Goddesses help us!" He cried.
His words were lost under the wind, but as he said them, a beam of light shot down from the clouds, hitting the ground before them. Green and Vio covered their eyes, while Blue turned around to protect Red. The wind ceased its blowing. "Hero." Came a mystical voice from the light. The sound surrounded them, covering them for a moment with a feeling of warmth and safety. "I have heard your plea." They all looked at Red, who smiled sheepishly. "I will lend you the power of light."
The light brightened, forcing them to cover their eyes again. The four boys gasped as the felt the familiar sensation of splitting, like when they pulled out the Four Sword. It ended quickly, and the beam's light dampened. They all turned towards it curiously.
Standing, right in the center of the light, was another Hylian. He looked to be about their height, with pure white hair, under a white hat like theirs. He also wore a white tunic that matched theirs, white shirt, and leggings. The only color on him other than white was brown, on his belt and boots, just like theirs.
With deliberate slowness, the new figure drew his sword, identical to the Four Sword, but with a white handle and a lighter blade. Then he held it over his head, pointing it towards the sky. "By the power of the Goddess Farore, I banish the darkness!" A ray of light shot from his sword, into the clouds. Within a minute the clouds above them dispersed, revealing a bright sunny sky.
Red smiled widely. The evil that had threatened them was gone. Or at least if it was still there it didn't make itself known. Silently celebrating the small victory the four of them run over to the stranger. "Wow! That was amazing!" Red praised. "How did you do that?"
"I have a better question." Vio said suspiciously, motioning to the others to stay back until they were sure he was safe. "Who are you?"
"I am..." The stranger stopped, thinking it over before turning to them. "I guess you could call me Shining Link."
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I know that I said that I wasn't going to change every little think, which I am not, but I have recently come up with some aspects that I am going to add to this story, that I should have added to the original, but didn't think of. It won't change the basic story line, but I'm just warning.
Comment.
LoZ (c) Not me.