Salt burned all around Green. The darkness around him froze and stung. Bearing the pain, he swung his outward. Nothing.

A muffled neigh came from above. Then, Green felt fins brush against him. An arm wrapped around his waist and lifted him upward. In seconds, the surface splashed as Green gasped for air.

"Erune!" Green cried, forcing his eyes open. "Malon?!"

"I got her!"

Green spun around. Blue waded at his right, pointing to a golden beach by the collapsed bridge. "Just saved her and Beth," the merboy said as a horse galloped toward the trees. "C'mon."

Blue swiftly swam with the current, holding the tree-boy in his arms. As palm trees grew nearer, Green freed himself and dashed onto the shore. He fell on his knees, wincing as salt stung in his eyes. Would the rest of his journey be like this?

"Green?"

The tree-boy froze. He opened his eyes and saw Erune, her hair and clothes dripping with seawater. Her blue eyes were wide as she stared at her friend, his flowery hair soaked and his wooden limbs moving with him.

"Erune!" Green exclaimed, reaching for her. "Are you okay—?"

High-pitched shrieks rang. Green turned and saw a swarm of slimy, black tentacles writhing in the ocean. They writhed and thrashed from the surface, swinging a flash of red and silver as they went. Green looked closer: a woman with long, red hair was wrapped in one tentacle's grip.

The boy's blood froze. "MALON!"

More tentacles burst from the sea. Green leapt toward Erune and pushed her down as one whipped itself toward them. The limb slammed itself into the ground, worm-like bumps squirming toward the earth. As they moved, they protruded into thin roots and dug deep into the ground. In seconds, the golden sands became a soulless gray. The color crept to a nearby palm tree, forcing the trunk to wither. Soft, green leaves withered and once-large coconuts shriveled into ash.

Green watched in horror. "No," he gasped. "Stop!"

"Why should I?"

Dark clouds swarmed over the children. Thunder clapped and the waves churned as a deep, monstrous voice cackled. A monstrous, familiar voice.

"Vaati!" Green shouted. "Stop this right now!"

"What, and let all this life go to waste? It's all here—and it's all mine."

Blue raised his sword from the water and pointed at the storm. "I'll kill you!"

"You? Kill me? That's a laugh! When Vaati's done with you, you'll be pointing that sword at your own neck."

"You should've stayed dead!" Blue roared.

Green stopped. "Wait…what do you mean, 'when Vaati's done with you'?"

"Wow, you're dumber than I thought. Your precious Goddesses and Hero may have stripped Vaati of his powers, but the life force in this land is all he nee—"

The voice stopped.

"Wait…"

Suddenly, laughter filled the skies. Erune, Green, and Blue slapped their hands over their own ears as the ground shuddered. The voice continued to cackle, reaching higher octaves with each laugh. It grew from a deep baritone to a light tenor. Then an alto. The voice was no longer a bloodthirsty adult.

But a child.

"You actually fell for that?! Man, and I thought the King was an idiot!"

"What the heck are you talking about?!" Blue bellowed. "And if you're not Vaati, then who are you?!"

"Really? Do I have to spell it out for you?"

A tentacle from the sea lurched forward. As it neared the beach, its flesh ripped halfway along the limb. It fell onto the sands, writhing helplessly in front of Green. The amputated tentacle shrank and its slime molded itself like clay. Green and Erune watched limbs ripple, pulsate, and grow from the disgusting mass. It then stood up on its newly-formed legs as a lump grew on top of the body…

A slimy mold of Green's head smirked on the creature. "The name's Shadow," he said. "And I do a really good Vaati impression."

Green gripped his blade. "YOU—!"

The tree child lunged. He swung the sword down. Then right. Up. Left. Diagonal. Shadow merely dodged each slash with a grin.

"Is this the best you've got?" Shadow laughed. "No wonder Johnny stopped being captain!"

Green fell to his knees, wiping sweat off his brow. "You…" he growled. "You tricked me!"

"What?" Shadow replied. "Me? Trick you? I never said I was Vaati, no, no, no. You thought that on your own. But I gotta say, you got a lot of stuff done for me. You got the Four Sword back, you released Master Vaati…" He knelt down in front of Green. "I gotta thank you—"

Sh-shut up!"

"…for being so gullible!"

Shadow kicked Green in the side. The tree child pushed himself onto his feet and slashed. Effortlessly, the slime-child slid from the attack and returned with a hard punch. Green pulled back, rubbing his cheek from the impact. He lunged again—and ran head-first into Blue. He fell face-flat into the ground as Blue fell with a loud thud. Green shot up angrily. "What do you think your doing?!"

Blue wiped blood from his nose. "He was right there! I had the perfect chance to beat him up until you butted in!" he snarled back.

"Butted in?! I was fighting him this whole time! And why're you leaving the water?! You don't have legs!"

"Like I fucking care!"

Shadow's voice sang from Green's left. "Ooh, a potty mouth," it snickered. "And the little dandelion's right: let's get you back in the water."

Shadow swung his leg into Blue's stomach. The merboy coughed horribly as his body flew from the beach and into the wet sands. The ground disturbingly crunched at impact.

Green gasped. "BLUE!"

A foot slammed into his back. Green groaned, his rib cage and spine jolting with pain. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill you just yet," Shadow said.

A little girl shrieked. Erune looked around herself in terror as black ooze crawled around her. Green tried to push himself up, panic running through his veins, when his head crashed into the ground. Five slimy fingers dug through his flowery hair. "Let go of me…!" Green growled.

Shadow's voice gently whispered. "How about I kill her first?"

"NO!"

An explosion of heat engulfed the land. The gooey hand disintegrated from Green's head, allowing him to see. In front of him were billows of smoke and steam rising from a glassy crater. Fire crackled from within and a small flame rose from the depths.

"Erune?" The fire called out. "Green? Blue?"

Green's eyes widened. "Red?!"

Red spun around. "Green, you're okay! Where's Erune? And Blue?"

Green turned and pointed toward the palm trees. At the edge of the jungle was Erune, her stunned eyes lit by flames.

"Erune! Oh gosh, I'm so sorry!" Red exclaimed. "Me and Vio were changing back and we were hiding behind some rocks when we heard a loud 'boom'! We ran back and saw you on the beach and…"—he gestured at the writing tentacles—"…that giant monster over there!"

Green looked across the water. The tentacles, once writhing aimlessly, were now whipping at a certain target. A sliver of silver shone over the monster, held by a humanoid figure with purple wings.

"Vio took off once he saw that thing," Red rambled on. "And I saw you guys fighting and that gooey person went f—"

"We know the rest!" a voice shouted from the shore. Blue's head rose from the sands, drenched as he desperately crawled toward the children. "Now tell us how you did that!"

Red looked at his Four Sword. "I—I dunno," he stammered, holding the blade up. "I was on the cliff and saw you being attacked when I just…jumped in."

Green suddenly noticed Red's feet. Below his hovering body was a puddle of black slime. A single lump grew from the mass, reaching toward the nearby tentacle.

The tentacle ripped itself off the ground.

"Green, look out!"

Pain ran through Green's chest. The tentacle swung over them with a loud whoosh as he fell down, engulfed by Red's heat. He hugged himself and curled up into a ball, crying as the smell of burnt wood filled his nostrils.

"NO! Green, I'm so sorry!" Red cried. The flaming child looked at his hands, terror in his eyes, and hovered away. "Water! Please, I need water!"

"I got your water right here!"

Green opened his eyes. The black slime was slowly reforming into Shadow, his torso rising from the substance. He reached toward the tentacle and it swung itself, full-force toward Red—and the ocean.

The tree child jumped to his feet. "Red, get down!"

WHAM.

Air rushed through Green's legs. His arms sat tightly against his sides, crushed in a slimy limb's grip. Green watched Red, Blue, Erune, and Koholint move further away as the tentacle whipped him over the ocean. The dark blue waters grew loud and violent, tentacles slapping the surface angrily. The one carrying Green finally stopped with its prey upside-down, tightly held miles above the sea.

Blood rushed to the boy's head. He turned his gaze back to the tentacle and struggled, his cramped blade budging in its grasp. A purple feather floated toward him and he looked further along the monstrous arm. Up ahead, Vio soared erratically with his sword in his talon, failing to properly use it. The tentacle he flew around held Malon in its grip, where she mercilessly fought against her captor with a pitchfork in her free arm.

"Vio!" Green shouted.

Vio hovered stilly in the air. Seeing the upside-down Green, he readied the sword in his claw and soared downward. His legs kicked and flailed, blade in tow, but they merely grazed the tentacle's skin.

"Dammit!" Vio hissed.

"Just use your hands!" Green shouted.

The harpy glared, flapping his wings furiously.

Green hushed himself for a moment. "Whoops. Um…can you get your arms back?"

"I've been trying to do that ever since I got this form! It only seems to work when I turn into a hu—"

Purple feathers burst in the air. A pitchfork hurtled down as Malon's screams filled the air, thrown into Vio's body. The tentacle that held her pulled back, almost laughing at the sight of the two plummeting to their deaths.

Green gripped his blade. Terror and anger ran through his veins. Warmth filled the boy's body. The sound of leaves danced and the brush of vines rushed all around him. He looked back at his hand: in the grip of the tentacle, a bright emerald glow was emerging. Branches grew and climbed from the blade onto the monster's flesh as flowers floated through the air.

He took a deep breath. With a loud cry, the emerald shined like the sun. The tentacle released Green and pulled back, dropping him toward the water. Green shot past Vio and Malon, petals and leaves flying alongside him. Rising from the depths below came a large, dark purple ball. A long, bulbous slit opened and a swollen red eye stared right at the flowery boy.

Green raised the sword in both of his hands. "Leave my friends alone!"

SHICK.

A loud scream shook the earth. The creature tossed itself left and right, forcing Green to grip the now-stuck sword for dear life. Its muscles tensed under his feet as the tentacles thrashed in every direction, shrieking in inhuman octaves.

Dark roots spread sprung from the sword. They dug deep into the eyeball and crept to its corners. The eye's redness brightened to orange and its surface grew hotter under Green's feet.

"Oh, crap," he groaned.

BOOM!

An explosion of burnt roots and black shreds threw Green, Vio, and Malon skyward. They rocketed to the clouds, screaming along the way.

The three slowly stopped.

They hovered.

Then they dropped.

Green looked at his sword while the ocean grew nearer. Remembering the strength that flowed through him before, he gripped the handle and focused on saving Malon and Vio.

Nothing.

He took a deep breath and squeezed the hilt in both hands.

No leaves or branches grew.

He held the blade to his panic-filled eyes. "You did it before!" he yelled. "Please, just one more time!"

Sharp claws wrapped around Green's left shoulder. Looking there, he saw Vio flying toward Malon. His free talon passed her his sword as he grabbed her right shoulder.

"Vio!" Green yelled. "Are you sure you can hold us?!"

"I can try!" Vio looked up at Koholint. "One…two—!"

FWOOSH.

Sea foam rushed over Green. Water swirled around him, the cool ocean stinging where Vio's claw once was. He flipped and turned with the surf until the roaring waves became a whisper. The waters and suddenly he was on the shore, gasping for air. Malon washed up at his left while a disgruntled Vio struggled to stand, waddling and wobbling.

Green looked further down the beach. Glass hissed among the sand, reflecting smoke from wilting palm trees. A fully-blazing Red slashed at Shadow with a protective roar. Every time the blade missed, a new patch of glass would emerge from the ground.

Green shot up. "RED!"

Red and Shadow stopped. The fiery child turned to Green while the slimy one looked across the sea, his face contorting with disgust.

"Guess that's my cue to leave," Shadow muttered. "But next time we meet, you'll be begging for death." His body melted into a large puddle and sank into the ground. Just as the slime vanished, Red turned to the trees. He paused for a moment before jumping to dry land: a wave of seawater rushed toward the glass and trees.

Further from Green's left, a drenched Erune stood beside Blue. The finned boy held a glowing sapphire sword toward the beach and the waves followed, quenching the heat of the previous battle. "Finally got this to work," Blue said. "Took him burning up half the beach to do it."

"I-I didn't mean to!" Red said. "That slime—Shadow—he was going to attack Erune, and…"

Erune's eyes brightened. "Sis!" She jumped over Blue, dashed to Malon, and hugged her tight. "Sis, I was so scared!"

Malon wiped a lock of hair from her face. "So was I," she replied, kneeling down to hold the little girl. "Shh, shh, everything's okay."

Red slowly floated toward the two. "Are you hurt?"

Erune gasped and shrank behind Malon. The older sister threw her hand behind her, stopped, then brought it back. Her eyes darted from one strange boy to the next. "Who—what're—?"

Green readied himself as he looked Malon in the eyes. "It's a long story."

Author's Note: Many apologies for the late update! Writing action scenes was never my forte and this took many rewrites. By the time I got a better idea on what the fight scene would be, I couldn't work up the power to proofread. I managed to get it done to the best of my ability.

From now on, I'm going to try writing multiple chapters at once, proofreading them, and then posting them one by one over periods of time. It might not be the best method, but I want to try to avoid another four-month hiatus.

Thank you very much for reading!