Dark clouds swirled all around Link, harsh winds blowing against his face. The tunnel of wind roared and carried him weightlessly as Vaati's words echoed in his ears.

"You honestly thought I was free? I must thank you for being so gullible!"

Dread poured into him. With the appearance of the slime-child, Vaati had to have been released. No such creature had ever appeared in Hyrule and it was impossible for Link to not assume it was Vaati. Could it have been one of Vaati's tricks? If it were a trick, would Vaati have to already be free beforehand?

But none of it mattered now.

Hyrule was doomed and it was his fault.

"KID IN THE GREEN!"

Link gasped. He spun around and saw the feathered boy behind him, struggling to open his wings. The wind beat against his feathers and every now and then, Link spotted a purple tuft flying into the abyss behind them.

"It's about time," The feathered boy shouted. "I've been calling you for five minutes!"

"I'm okay!" Link called out. "Where're the others?"

The feathered boy fought against the wind and pointed down. Following his gesture, Link turned. Further ahead was the sparkling tail of the finned boy, his arms shielding his head from the gales. Just below him, Link saw a dimming blaze of orange curled into a ball, facing away from him. Link cupped his hands beside his mouth and shouted. "Fire kid! Are you okay?!"

The fiery boy slowly lifted his head—and screamed.

The dark clouds around the four began to part. Before Link was a green island, standing below a clear blue sky. His eyes darted further down, where the deep blue of the sea crashed and roared.

A purple blur shot past him. Glancing away, Link saw the feathered boy rush through the air, his talons opening. He dove down and caught the fiery boy's arms before they hit the waves. The two flew off, soaring to the island ahead.

Everything went cold. Link waved his arms, beating against the salt waves that flowed around and above him. He opened his eyes and looked up, seeing broken rays of sunlight, and began to swim. Just then, the cold that enveloped him turned hot. Burning. Scalding, even. Link slapped his hands over his mouth and held back his screams. Every movement seared his flesh, the bark of his fingers digging into his cheeks. He looked back to the surface. The lights were fading, blurring into nothing in his eyes. His lungs pounded against his ribs and his hands fell away.

A pair of arms wrapped around his chest. The burning cooled as Link felt himself shooting upward. Soon, the surface broke and fresh air flooded his lungs. He took a deep gasp and flailed, struggling to keep his arms above the water. "Help!" he cried. "I'm burning!"

"No, you're not!"

Link stopped. Fighting the pain, he lowered his arms and looked over his shoulder. The finned boy's face hovered just inches from his, and he felt the pair of arms leave his chest. Link watched the finned boy swim in front of him, gripping Link's wooden wrists in his webbed fingers. He wrapped Link's arms around his shoulders. "Hold on tight!" the finned boy shouted.

Link took a deep breath and the two sank. The finned boy's tail beat rapidly against the water, propelling himself and his passenger through the sea. Link clung tightly to the finned boy's shoulders and shut his eyes against the burning salt. He knew the finned boy was in his natural element, but he never thought he could swim this fast. The finned boy began to swim faster. Gripping even tighter, Link felt the pressure of the waves lessen.

The water broke away. Releasing his breath, Link opened his eyes and saw the rocky footing of a cliff. The brown of the earth sank deep below him as the finned boy soared, flying from the bottom of the cliff to a beautiful green meadow. The finned boy leaned forward. He slipped out of Link's arms and the two began to fall.

WHAM.

"Ow! Augh…"

A sharp ache shot through Link's arms and chest. He felt the prickling of the salt fade in a cool breeze, sending chills through him. He curled into a ball and hugged himself tightly. Under his fingers, he felt the wood of his skin, dry and cracking as he breathed. The air scratched at his throat and he coughed.

"Aw, yeah!"

Link pushed himself up. Ignoring the pain in his joints, he saw the finned boy sitting on the ground, punching the air triumphantly.

"Look out, Hyrule, 'cause this Link can fly!" he cheered.

Images of the fiery boy and the feathered boy appeared in Link's mind. He got onto his feet and ran to the other boy. "Hey!" he shouted. "Do you see the others?"

The finned boy spun around. "No," he replied. "We just got here."

Link turned his gaze to the land ahead. Along the cliff where they stood was a small meadow, but further ahead lay patches of grassless earth. A line of lighter ground led from the meadow to a forest, guarded by a line of bushes. It was then Link noticed an unusual lack of dirt near one of the shrubs. Lines of dry dirt were shoved aside, forming an outline of a person's head and shoulders.

Link froze. A smoking, purple feather sat at the edge of it.

"Hey," the finned boy said. "Isn't that…?"

Link rushed to the finned boy and hoisted him off the ground. "C'mon!"

Ignoring the creaking in his knees, Link ran down the path. The finned boy turned to face the forest and the two shouted into the woods.

"Hello?! Is anyone here?!"

"Bird-boy! Burning kid?!"

A small flame rose from behind a tree. Seeing an innocent face in the fire, Link rushed to it. There, he saw the fiery boy hovering nervously around a dry patch of land. In the dirt lay the feathered boy, groaning on all fours. Link looked further down and saw red, sweltering welts in his claws.

"I didn't—he grabbed me while I was falling," the fiery boy sniffled. "He saved me and I…I'm so sorry…"

"Calm down," the feathered boy grunted. "It's not—augh!—your fault."

The fiery boy looked at Link. "Did you see a village when you got her?" he pleaded. "Please tell me you saw a village!"

"We didn't," Link replied. "But even if we did, we couldn't go looking like this. We could be attacked—or worse."

"But if we don't get help, he'll die!" the fiery boy cried, pointing at the feathered boy.

"People can't die from a single burn," the feathered boy said. "At least, not from one like this. It shouldn't be that deep."

The fiery boy knelt down next to him, levitating a few inches off the ground. "But still…"

"If there was a village here, we could sneak in," Link said. "Or if one of us looked the most normal…"

The finned boy raised his hand. "I'll do it!"

"Boys with fish tails aren't normal," Link replied.

"Says the talking tree."

"Well, what's your plan?"

"I'll just stay in the water! They don't have to see my tail."

"And your ears?"

The finned boy slapped his hands over his ears, feeling the fins. He crossed his arms and grumbled. "It would've worked."

"Hello?"

The four boys froze. The voice came from deep in the forest.

WHUMP.

"What do we do?!" the fiery boy shouted.

"Hide in the bushes!" Link answered boy.

"But I'll set it on fire!"

"Dang it! Um…go back to the cliff!"

The fiery boy began to float down the path but stopped, pointing at the feathered boy. "What about him?"

"Help me roll him into—wait, no—um…just go to the cliff!"

"Is someone there?" the voice called again.

The feathered boy groaned, shifting his legs. "They're getting close," he muttered.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no!" the fiery boy exclaimed. "We're gonna get kicked out!"

Link grabbed the twigs in his hair. "What do we do?!"

"I know what I'm gonna do."

A hand grabbed Link's collar. The finned boy tugged Link toward him in his right hand, his left hand curled into a fist.

"I'm gonna punch you in the face for dropping me!" he shouted.

"Wait!" the fiery boy shouted. "Are you…standing?"

The finned boy scoffed. "Yeah. What of it?"

Link's eyes widened. Shaking the finned boy off, he stepped back. The sparkling fish tail was gone, now replaced with a pair of human legs. The finned boy's shirt draped down to his knees and covered the middle, ruffling under the finned boy's hands as he gaped at his ability to walk. He looked up and, with a shocked expression, pointed at Link. "Whoa," he gasped. "You changed, too!"

Link looked down. The wooden bark that covered his legs and arms had vanished, revealing normal flesh. He raised his hands to his face. The ridges that poked at the edge of his face were gone and flower petals rained from his hair, no longer attached to him. The twigs in his head also disappeared and he felt all around, as if searching for them.

He turned. The fiery boy, like his earthly features, was gone. In their stead sat two, normal-looking boys. One of them was a youthful blond with blue eyes wearing a red tunic and white tights. A pointed red head dangled as he looked over to the feathered boy next to him. Instead of feathers, a pair of human ears stuck out in his hair. Human arms supported him instead of wings and a pair of red, burned feet replaced the burned talons.

The feathered boy lifted one of his hands to his face. "How did…?"

"There you are!"

The boys spun around and the first thing they saw was a giant horse. Its deep umber coat shone under dark reins as it towered over the children. Next to the horse, a young girl watched the four with bright brown eyes, wiping a strand of curly red hair. "I heard screaming earlier," she said. "Are you all okay?"

Link stared transfixed at the girl. Remembering the situation, he shook his head. "No," he said. "My friend on the ground. H-he needs help."

The girl looked at the originally-feathered boy's feet. "Oh, gosh!" She exclaimed. "Here, let me get you home!" She pulled on the horse's reins. "C'mon, Epona."

The horse bent its hind legs. As it sank, she ran to the once-feathered boy and grabbed his arm. She gestured to Link and he ran to her, grabbing the other arm. Together, the two hoisted the injured child off the ground and onto the horse.

"Okay," the girl said. "One, two, and…up!"

The horse straightened its legs. Panicking, the once-feathered boy clung to the horse's neck, avoiding the ground. Taking a deep breath, he let go, seeing the creature stand perfectly.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" the girl exclaimed. She turned to Link with a smile. "My name's Erune and this is Epona. What're your names?"

Link looked at the other boys nervously. "I'm Li—wait."

"Li?"

"No, no, it's…um…"

"His name's Green!"

Link and Erune spun around, eyeing the once-fiery boy. "Green?" Link asked.

"Yeah! And I'm Red!" the once-fiery boy said, cheerfully and nervously. He pointed to the once-finned boy. "He's Blue…" He pointed to the once-feathered boy. "And he's…P—Viol…?"

Erune tilted her head. "Vio?"

"Y-yeah! His name's Vio! Thank you so much for your help, Erune!"

Erune giggled. "You're most welcome," she said with a curtsy. "Now, let's go. My sister's farm isn't far from here. C'mon, Epona." She gently pulled on the reins and Epona followed, carrying the now-named Vio with ease.

The once-finned boy glared at Red. "'Blue'?" he muttered. "Really?"

"She asked for our names, I panicked," the once-fiery boy whimpered.

"Well, we can't all be called 'Link'," Link said with a shrug. "Good thinking there, Red."

Red giggled and ran up to Epona and Vio.

"Ugh, 'Blue'…" the once-finned boy groaned. "I'm not gonna get used to that."

Link walked alongside the other, repeating the word "Green" in his head. If there was a time to get used to his new name, he had to start practicing now.

Author's Note: I apologize for the wait! While I was writing this chapter, a handful of things happened in life. Thankfully, I managed to get some time to reread, edit, and revamp this chapter.

Thank you very much for reading and please leave any comments or constructive criticism!