Chapter Four: Laruto's Lament
Alisa
He feels something hitting his face in uneven rhythm, opens his eyes, and realizes it's rain.
The next thing he realizes is that he is not injured and he most certainly is not dead.
Link sits up quickly, taking a moment to recover from the blood rush he inevitably gets. When he regains his train of thought, he looks up and then around, trying to find out where he is.
Above him are grey skies, layers upon layers of dark clouds and wispy paler ones. He recognizes the darker ones from the castle, and realizes he must still be around Castle Town. Torrents of rain plummet from the skies, almost seeming to soak the very air through which it falls. Link can feel a small layer of wet in the grass around his hands. When he looks around, he can pinpoint where he is exactly - the crumbling mossy stone walls, broken pillars, overgrown debris, a stone-covered floor carpeted in moss, an open space in the center.
It's the Four Sword Shrine.
Link blinks, bewildered, not quite believing he's where he wanted to be. He figures some higher power had mercy on him and somehow let him escape the Castle in one piece, even conveniently taking him to the Shrine. He hasn't been here since the day he put the Sacred Sword away, and it brings back a slew of memories Link isn't sure he wants to go through. Instead, he shakes them to the back of his mind, and looks around for said sword. It's in the same place it's always been - upright, unmoving, the tip buried in the pedestal where it's rested for more than a few days. Link tries, he tries really hard to block out the memories that come sliding back into place with that view of the sword. But he can't stop it; he is suddenly in a time not his own, in a body belonging to someone else.
...0-o-0...
He can't believe it.
Green can't believe they're finally going back to one.
At the beginning of it all, he would have been more than happy to put the Four Sword back and fight Vaati as a single boy - but looking at how much he's grown as well as them, he knows that it would have likely ended in world domination for Ganon and Vaati. He also reflects on how much they've grown - Blue is much more tolerant of the others, Vio listens to them instead of just himself, Red is the group's mediating realist, and himself... if he had to say anything, he'd say he's become quite the gif-
-nd now they're going back. It becomes sadder the more he thinks about it, and though he tries to think about how pretty his sword is or about the book he read last night, Red can't stop thinking about how he'll never see the others again. He knows that their tale will live on, but what if they become as forgotten as the heroes of the past - personalities gone, only a small memory of what they did outliving them? The thought scares him.
In fact - the more he thinks about it, the more he doesn't want to go th-
-id of these losers, he knows he would have said at the start of this whole mess. But he's learned more now, he knows that a team has to be supportive of each other. What did Vio say that one time about them - oh yeah, a team is greater than the sum of its parts. Blue feels like they all had to learn that, perhaps him especially, seeing as he was very eager to leave the team when they first split apart.
But... he almost is saddened by the fact that he might not see them again. So yeah, he might have been ready to be the only one earlier, but the longer the boy considers, the more he reali-
-st sad. Almost, but not quite.
Of course, this doesn't mean he's not in a dampered mood - the silence and the brooding expressions prove more than enough that all four of them are thinking along the same lines. Vio thinks the walk to the Shrine is a lot longer than he expected, yet every step takes them too far forward. This uneasy, hesitant feeling isn't so-
-aving seems like it should be so e-
-een even looks like he's having a hard time, what's up with that-
-s if they all even want to do t-
-be it isn'-
-h well, it's pr-
-apart, bu-
-worth it?-
-ddenly, he reaches the Shrine entrance, the ruins looming tall in front of him, but in a warm, welcoming way. Green feels like he's coming home, almost, the light reflecting off the moss-covered stone and sending warm sunlight through the room. He takes a deep breath and walk forward, ready to say goodb-
-e walls grin at him, sunlight creating shadows that sneer maliciously wherever he looks. The Shrine suddenly seems far too small to hold all four of them, much less Zelda who trails behind them in respectful silence. He thinks it's his mind, somehow trained into perceiving things differently after his time on the flip side, but it doesn't change the fact that everything seems so small, so dark.
This might be a bad idea, he'll miss them, but it's for the good of the country.-
-ss you guys!"
Red stands at ready as he and the others say their goodbyes, smiling a small grin to himself as he looks around the sparkling Four Sword Shrine. This is a good place for his soul to spend eternity, he thinks.
(He thinks, and then he is gone. One stands where four once were.)
Link cannot remember a more confusing time he's had to remember something from his last adventure - he's sure he doesn't remember half of it, as the eyes he looked through were different seemingly every half-second. He barely grasps how it ended, but he knows it was with extremely mixed feelings and many things left unsaid. He realizes that all his parts had their own lives, their own stories, their own experiences and thoughts and ways of thinking and stories and secrets -
And they willingly gave up their individuality to protect Hyrule from further harm and let him be himself again.
The blond feels immeasurably grateful for the sacrifice his selves made. If he had good reason, in fact, he'd be willing to pull the Four Sword back out right now... He knows he won't do it without reason, as he's not that selfish a person, but he almost wishes the rain would let up and that earthquake would spread to here just so he could pull it out. Link shakes his head, sending a spray of rainwater into the air. That's such a selfish thing, even after he just prided himself on being selfless!
However, his wish seems to come true anyway, as he suddenly feels the ground shake under his legs and hands. He mutters a curse word under his breath at himself, blaming his own thoughts, and stands up as quickly as possible to get the Four Sword before it becomes too late and the Shrine crumbles around it. It takes too short a time for the earthquake's might to reach the young boy, however, and he's pitched forward suddenly. Not having the strength to get back up, he crawls on hands and knees toward the center of the shrine, determined to save the people that saved Hyrule. It wasn't him; it was them, they deserve to be themselves again.
He prepares himself, raises his body to a crouch, and launches forward as the earth splits in two below him. He flies over the Four Sword, grabbing the handle in his left hand and forcing it up out of the ground. Mere seconds after he pulls the sacred blade free, the pedestal cracks in two, a fate that would have been shared by the sword previously resting in it. The whole scene is suddenly encompassed in bright light, Link thinks his last thought, and as his consciousness fades, the world abruptly turns to black.
The Four Sword Shrine collapses, old moss walls and element-topped stone pillars falling inwards after giving their last stand. The crashes sound like applause and encouragement, a silent well-wish for the soon-to-be heroes.
"Ugh..."
The boy groans quietly as he comes to, trying to figure out why on earth he's here, or where he is, or even who he is. That last one takes him a second, and he remembers piece by piece. His name was Link. It is not now. He pulled a sword from a pedestal, and his memories closely match the ones belonging to
Green suddenly opens his eyes, closing them at the sudden light invading his vision. He's... he's alive. His soul isn't one with the other boys' anymore, he's himself again, free from Link's body and into his own (even if it's a carbon copy). He feels immensely happy at this turn of events. He thinks for a moment too long on why he wasn't happy before, his mind settling on what he can remember of Link's trip to a burning Hyrule Castle. The sudden reminder of Zelda's absence and the quakes and all the things that happened recently make him sit up immediately, straining to open his eyes against the bright sunlight.
Considering the time difference from the last time he remembers, he must have been knocked out by whatever events unfolded after Link so generously pulled out the Four Sword. He looked down next to him, seeing the sword shining in his eyes, the green gem in the guard glittering in the noonday light. Green looks around him, at the small forests and the plains and the drop into Hylia River to the east. The grass rolling in the wind is calming to him, quelling the fear he has at Zelda's disappearance, though the worry stays.
He knows the Princess is strong. He can wait a bit before thinking more on her - if he's back, then that goes to show the others are too, right? The green-clothed boy looks around, noticing Blue immediately. He's passed out just to Green's left, palms toward the sky and mouth open. If he was asleep, he'd be snoring. A few paces in front and slightly to the left of Green's feet lies Red, curled in on himself and looking peacefully asleep. He notices their hair is different colors - a result of magic, maybe? Red's is about the same color, Blue's slightly lighter. Maybe Vio would know-
Where is he?
Green looks around further for the last of the four, and finds him far away from himself and the others, sitting away. The boy stands up to go talk to Vio, nearly running and very close to tripping as he plops down next to the purple-clad teen. "Hi," Green says, breathless, glancing over at his counterpart. Vio is looking out toward the horizon, face neutral, though his eyes brighten when he looks briefly to Green. His eyes, the boy notes, are not blue as they were last time, but instead purple - like someone took Link's blue eyes and made the color purple. Maybe that was also magic. Green's thoughts run wild, he's so happy that they're all back and together again.
"Hi," Vio replies after a pause. He sits with his legs crossed and his hands on his knees, calm and seemingly unsurpassed at recent happenings (a la the four of them being, well, four again). "How have you been?" Green snorts - the question is so sarcastic, despite the even tone, and it's funny, something he can rarely remember coming from Vio. Maybe splitting up again was the greatest thing Link ever decided to do, even greater than sneaking off to become a knight.
"I've been asleep for a while, then I woke up, and... That's about it actually, you?" Green replies, in the same faux-serious tone as his smart counterpart, though it's obvious he's hiding laughter. Vio smiles, barely, it's more of a smirk but it's out of enjoyment so yeah, a smile. Vio smiles, and Green grins wide, knocking him in the shoulder playfully. "I'm really glad we're apart, even under the circumstances."
Vio lifts up his hand and shoves Green in the side, making him fall over, before replying. "Me too." He turns his head around to look at the other two (still unconscious) Links before continuing, "I don't like why, but it's nice being myself again." Green nods, silent, happy to let the talk end there as he thinks about Hyrule Castle. But just as he starts pondering the topic, Vio cuts in again. "Don't think about it until the others wake up, or you'll ruin the mood, Green." The boy in question blinks, surprised, turning toward his fellow hero.
"How did you know that was what I was thinking about?" He asks, bewildered. Vio shrugs.
"I know what I think about." The conversation really ends there, and the boys look out at the horizon for a few minutes before the silence is broken again - though not by one of them.
Green's ears pick up a tired groan from the direction of his place of awakening, followed by a gasp of surprise and a small, but excited, squeal. Footsteps pound across the grass towards himself and Vio, and then they're suddenly being hugged from behind by a rightfully happy Red. "Hi guys!" He says cheerfully, squeezing the two boys his arms are around. The green Link notes Red's eyes have become a weird reddish color, orange and brown and hints of dark red.
"Hi Red," they say in unison, and Green returns the hug. Vio doesn't shy away from it, which Green supposes is an improvement. Red lets go eventually and sits beside Green, crossing his legs and fiddling with his hands in his lap. He seems extremely excited, not able to stop moving or smiling. "I missed you guys," he says, smiling. Vio smiles back, and Green nudges him lightly in the shoulder. The green-clad teen notices that Red's eyes have changed too - they're a weird red-pink color, just enough they don't look threatening, and besides that the same as Vio's.
"Us too," the leading Link says, and after a pause, "how do you think Blue will react to being the last one to wake up?"
"Why didn't you guys wake me up, probably." Answers Blue from behind them, treading slowly across the grass. "I don't appreciate you guys getting up before me." He sits next to Red, who hugs him wordlessly and gleefully.
Vio smirks, looks at Blue from the corner of his eyes and says dryly, "I didn't know you knew a word as big as that, Blue. Your vocabulary's gotten better." To this, Blue adopts a look of annoyed anger and begins to stand up (likely to have Vio "say it to my face"), the only thing stopping him being Red tugging him back down and saying he doesn't want to ruin the mood.
"The mood of what? Being separate?" Blue retorts, though he sits back down and crosses his arms. "We're all back, whoopdeedoo, yadda yadda. Glad to see you guys. We're done, moving on." Green wonders briefly where Blue is going, but it doesn't take long for someone else to pick up on his intention.
"What now?" Vio asks, turning his body toward the other three. "We're separated, both our father and Zelda are gone, the Castle, Castle Town and the Four Sword Shrine lay in ruin, we have no clue how to save them, we don't know who's behind the fire or what their intention is or how to stop them." He then turns his head towards Green, now-violet eyes staring at his own (what color are his? Green?). "What do we do, Green?"
Green starts, surprised at the question even though he could feel it coming. It isn't that he's not used to being asked what to do, but being asked what to do under the current circumstances is... unnerving. Last time Hyrule was in danger, he'd been the leader, but that wasn't as big a threat - Vaati had wanted to preserve Hyrule for the most part, so he had a kingdom to rule, and they knew what he wanted with Zelda so there wasn't any uncertainty there. This time, the four of them are up against an unknown force with unknown goals, unknown plans for the Princess (if she even got kidnapped by them), and unknown threats hanging dangerously in the air. "I..." Green sighs, defeated. "I don't know. We don't know enough about this to solve anything."
Red looks kind of discouraged at this. Vio nods, as he was likely expecting it despite asking the question answered. Blue's face looks angry for a moment, before softening as he realizes Green's words are true. They're useless without information.
"What now." Green sighs, and it sounds like defeat in a sentence. It's the sound of a band of broken kids who don't know what to do in the face of death, the face of potential destruction. He always knows what to do, but for once, he's at a loss and it's the most terrifying feeling one can have. He's in control, but of what, under what circumstances? Green breathes in, even the small rush of air through his nose sounding sad, wilted, lacking confidence.
"Good question."
YO it's not a terrible cliffhanger '-'
I'm really mad because this was supposed to be 1500 words but it's 3000 it wasn't supposed to happen this way/
-Starr
Next chapter release: July 6!