A/N:Tee hee! Welcome back to my story! Many thanks to Dea Letum, i-wish-a7x, and littlepidgeyas always! Disclaimer time... I don't own, so there! I do own my plot, made-up weapons, items, etc., and any OCs that may appear, as well as my made-up boss monsters, though. Enjoy!
The Links' personal Weapons (other than their swords and shields, of course!)
-Red has an ice rod, a fire rod, and a slingshot!
-Green has a boomerang, and he's pretty good with it.
-Blue has a hammer, of course, which suits his personality perfectly!
-Vio has a bow and a quiver full of arrows, and of course, his ever-present book.
-Shadow has... well, his weird shadow abilities, I guess? mimicking? Also has the Dark Mirror Shield.
Chapter 8: Earth and Darkness
Vio is floating alone in a dark place. His surroundings are blurred, dim, and indistinct, and cannot be discerned. His eyes are closed, and the Triforce mark on his hand is dim, not interfering in this...
'It's... so quiet here... ...Feel so... tired... Drained... ...Just want to... sleep...'
A faint echo of Shadow's scream of pain as he's trapped inside a crystal by Vaati whispers softly through the air, barely audible.
'What...? That... sound... ...A... a voice... ...A scream...! Sounds so... so familiar... but... whose...?! Whose voice... Whose voice is that...?!'
~flashback~
(A/N: I'm using a combination of the lines from the onemanga dot com version and printed version of the Four Swords manga for this flashback, with a bit of my own editing and sprucing up...)
The gray-clad shadow stands alone in front of the four heroes, glaring angrily at the one wearing purple, who stands a bit in front of the other three.
"(Vio) ..."
"(Shadow) Vio, you ruined everything so easily! How did you do it?!"
"(Vio) You are, after all, a reflection of us. Our thoughts don't differ much. That's why I was able to fool you. The only big difference between us is... if it benefitted you, no matter what, you wouldn't hesitate to hurt or betray anyone, no matter who it was. But unlike you, I just can't throw away the hero in me."
His expression fills with rage and he screams at the purple-clad boy, desperately hiding the feelings of pain, betrayal, and uncertainty from even himself, yet that Vio can somehow still see. His nails have become claws, his appearance turning more savage in response to his violent emotions.
"(Shadow) I'll never forgive you! Don't you dare think this is over! I'm not done yet!"
Vio steps back, forming a line with the other three boys.
"(Vio) Yes, it is."
He looks like he's about to say something more, but stops himself.
'...I'm sorry. If there was any other way... But there isn't. We have to do this.'
"(Green) Let's do it."
"(Blue) We're WAY stronger than we were back in Hyrule Castle, just you watch!"
"(Red) Yeah, we're a team now! We won't lose!"
Shadow Link grits his teeth and snarls at them, even angrier than before.
"(Shadow) Damn... You bastards... I'll..."
He lunges towards them, pure hate filling his eyes as he lets out a scream full of murderous intent.
"(Shadow) I'LL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!"
The four raise their swords up high, pointing them at the heavens.
"(Green) Oh Four Sword, give us light!"
As one, they point their blades at Shadow right before he can reach them. Light blasts out of the tip of each one, hitting him right on target. Vio's expression looks slightly pained, but he quickly hides it.
"(Shadow) GYAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!"
He quickly begins to disintegrate in the light, his body ripping apart into small shreds and disappearing. Vio, unable to take it any longer, closes his eyes. Shadow disappears, and the four heroes are whisked away to safety by their fairy guide as Death Mountain erupts. Red jumps up and down, cheerful as always.
"(Red) We did it! We beat Shadow Link!"
"(Vio) No."
"(Red) Huh?!"
"(Vio) Not yet. There's still the Dark Mirror."
"(all except Vio) Dark Mirror?!"
"(Vio) Yes. If we don't destroy that..."
Blue holds his hand up in a 'stop' gesture.
"(Blue) Hold it. The four of us have been seperated a long time. We can save the world later, but for now let's celebrate!"
Vio smiles, and Red glomps him.
"(Red) Yay, Vio! I'm so happy you're back, and safe! I almost thought you'd really turned evil!"
Red accidentally steps on Vio's foot.
"(Vio) OWWWWWWW!!!!"
Vio falls over backwards, clutching his foot.
"(Red) ...Oops."
"(Green) It's worse the second time."
The four laugh about it, and catch each other up on what happened while they were seperated. Vio's cheerful mask drops for a moment while the others aren't paying attention. He looks really sad.
'...Oh, Shadow...'
~end flashback~
'That's right... That voice... That scream...! That's Shadow's voice...! He's... He's in danger...! I...! I can't give in to this...! I have to go help him...! But how...?!'
"Magic is a mysterious thing. Everyone has the potential to wield it, though some are of course stronger than others, and yet so few manage it because they cannot see their true selves, cannot find their element where it sleeps within them... Hihihi... Can you guess which element you are aligned most closely to, Violet Hero?"
'That... What he told me before he used that spell...! And he said something else...'
"You should remember my little magic lesson. It may... come in handy some time. Like now, perhaps."
'That's it! This spell... It feeds off of peoples' magic power, but must not be able to if someone can call on their magic...! That person... He's trying to help us, but making it seem like he's hurting us... What's his story, I wonder? ...Anyway... My element... What is it...?'
~Meanwhile...~
Shadow, like Vio, floats alone in a strange place. It's pitch black, and he looks like he's in a lot of pain. The boy seems to be struggling against something...
'No...! NO! I... I WON'T use you! You are NOT me, not anymore! You're evil! The power of evil, the element of evil! I'm not like that anymore!!'
"(Shadow) ...No...! ...Never again...!"
'I'm not! I'm not, I'm not, I'm NOT!!!'
He screams violently, forcefully denying what, deep down, he knows to be true.
"(Shadow) I'M... NOT... DARKNESS!!!"
~Back in the cavern...~
"(Vaati) ...?!"
The black crystal is pulsing with dark energy, its rhythm erratic and highly disturbing to watch. It shatters, and Shadow falls to his knees, holding his head in pain with his eyes shut tight.
"(Shadow) N-no... I'm not... Never...! I'm not... you...! I'm not... Darkness...!"
"(Vaati) ...! No, you fool! Denying what you are will-!"
"(Shadow) AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Dark energy violently blasts out of Shadow's body and causes a huge explosion, with him at the center of it. Vaati is knocked backwards by the strength of this force, and hits the ground hard.
"(Vaati) Ouch. Looks like my words came too late. I doubt he can even hear me anyway. This isn't good... He's completely lost himself. If this continues... Well, I can't let it continue. I have to take him down before it's too late."
'Everything I do ends in destruction... And now I've caused this... Normally, the only way to stop him now... Would be to kill him. But I won't do that. There is in fact another way, one I am quite proficient with. My signature technique from way back when...'
(A/N: Here it comes~! *squeeing*)
"(Vaati) To Stone With You!"
Vaati's spell shoots through the air towards the swirling mass of blackness.
"(Vaati) Did it hit him...?"
Something stirs deep within the swirls of energy...
"(Vaati) I-I missed?! But how?! ...!"
Visibility improves a bit, and a pair of glowing blood-red eyes can be seen inside the maelstrom. There isn't a single trace of sanity or sense of self in this eerie gaze, just pure mad chaos...
"(Vaati) Wha-?! Agh!!"
Vaati is thrown into the wall and falls to the floor. He lets out a low moan, then stills, seemingly unconscious.
~Meanwhile...~
'What element I'm linked to... What I am... ...!'
~flashback~
Two little boys are sitting together in a meadow. A village can be seen close by. One boy has purple hair and red eyes, and is sitting on a log, swinging his feet back and forth cheerfully. The other boy is Vio himself, and he's seeing this in a first-person viewpoint. He instantly recognizes who this boy is, though it's hard to believe.
'That's...! Shadow...?! As a little kid...?! This is... a memory from when I was a little kid...?! ...How... How is this even possible...?!'
"(young Shadow) Haha, that old legend is amazing! The Elemental Guardians are so cool! Betcha can't wait to hear the next part tomorrow, huh Vio? I know I can't! Do you think he'll wake up? I hope so, he's so cool!"
"(young Vio) I wonder what it'd be like to be in the story, to be one of them. Which would you be, if you could pick?"
"(young Shadow) Haha! I'd DEFINITELY be Aezehl, he's so cool! Doing anything to protect his friend, even if it gets him hurt! What about you? Who would you be?"
"(Vio) I dunno, really. Which one do you think I would be?"
"(young Shadow) Hmmm... That's easy! You'd be Ryothe, because you're smart and steady like him! And him and Aezehl are best friends, just like us!"
"(young Vio) Ryothe, the Earth Guardian! Heheh, how'd you know what I was thinking?"
"(young Shadow) Hey, you said you weren't sure!"
"(young Vio) I wanted to see if you'd guess it right, is all! Hahaha!"
~end flashback~
'I knew Shadow... As a kid...? I was a kid in the first place...? ...What does this mean...? Wait... ...An old legend... The guardian of Earth, Ryothe... Am I... Earth...? Is that my... my Element...? ...It... It feels... RIGHT somehow... Yes...! This is me...! Steady and intelligent... The calm, self-possessed one... My purple clothes... I'm Earth!'
"(Vio) ...Earth... I... I'm... Earth...!"
Vio's eyes flicker open, and his surroundings slowly come into focus. He's surrounded by dusty, cracked rock and dead plants. He reaches out to them instinctively, and begins to glow brightly with a strong violet light. The plants burst vibrantly into life, and the stones become whole and colorful. The light grows brighter and brighter...
A/N: Weird old legends and weird names, too! Tee hee, what do they mean~? Please review, and no flames, unless I really deserve it!
