The Links entered Ganon's stronghold via its secret back door, hoping to aid the villagers captured by his forces. Certain to be discovered at any time, they make the first move on the monsters, causing a bulbo stampede in the cave. When the boars are calmed down, Ganon's troops attack them. Outnumbered, they fight bravely, using the Four Sword's power to temporarily synchronize them more than once. However, against such overwhelming odds, not even that is enough. Just before they can be destroyed, the Hylian Knights finally arrive and turn the tide. Now, they answer to the princess for initiating the assault.
"I have to impress on you," Princess Zelda said, voice level, "how serious what you did was. Your orders were to watch. You could have been killed."
"Innocent people were in danger," said Green. "And we survived." They sat at the table in Hyrule Castle's war room, but the princess was standing, looking down on them severely. None of them looked chastised, not even Blue, who'd argued the strongest with Green against assaulting the cave.
Bornelle had dispatched them back to the castle later in the afternoon, sending a pigeon ahead with his initial report, which included the false start the quadrifurcated hero had initiated. They'd camped on Hyrule Field, then made the rest of the trip and arrived back at the castle mid-morning on this day, and before too long, found themselves here in the war room for their latest admonishment.
Zelda's tone went up a notch as she said, "You survived because the knights arrived in time to pull your fat from the fire, putting their own lives at risk."
"With all due respect, Your Highness," Red spoke up, "What were we supposed to do? Let fifty-odd people be slaughtered and eaten?"
"Is that why they were captured? How do you know?" They were silent and did not meet her eye. "That's why you were there: to find things out, and report. You sent the pigeon to Sir Bornelle, which was right, but you should have waited for orders and support before charging in. And for your information, they were not captured for food." She tossed an unsealed letter into the middle of the table. "They were captured for ransom."
They glanced up at her, then at the letter. Green brought it to himself, unfolded it, and read the contents silently. He didn't get all the way to the end, instead looking up sharply. "He wanted the Triforce?"
"Or they would be executed, yes. That was Ganon's threat." The note was passed to the other Links, who glanced it over with frowns. "He didn't know we'd found the stronghold. He gave us a day, enough time to properly reinforce the knights to make an assault."
Now they looked uncomfortable, frowning at the tabletop. "We did what we thought was right," said Green.
Zelda replied, "I understand that there were wounded. Your concern and bravery are commendable, but they do not excuse rash action and poor judgment. You are under no oath, but I would prefer it if you'd trust me and pay better attention to my orders in the future." Her eyes passed over them, and she lowered herself into her seat. "Now, please tell me more about this mirror, and hearing the King of Evil's voice again."
Blue obliged. "It had to be him. We hadn't heard him that angry before, but it was his voice again. It came out of the mirror… I couldn't tell what it was before, but there was something that looked wrong about it. Like it was this chunk of rock standing upright, but it wasn't, really. When we checked it out again after it was broken, it was just normal glass."
"It's surface had been dark, it looked like there was something inside, and it swirled," supplied Purple. "There was a spell on it, but the aura was almost completely faded away by the time we checked it."
"There's a lot to mirrors," Zelda said. "They can be symbols of truth, or illusion, or vanity. As you know, under the right circumstances, they can be windows, or doorways. It sounds to me like Ganon was able to use this one to get through my storm, at the least. How big was this mirror?"
"Taller than me," answered the tinker.
"Could you have walked through it?" He nodded. "Could a moblin?" He considered, then nodded again.
"A Dark World portal, huh?" asked Green grimly.
"Mirrors that size are uncommon and expensive. That gives us another lead to follow. Impa should be back today with the Wind Waker, and I'll begin working with it. Despite your disregard for orders, you did good work yesterday."
"What about the hostages?" asked Red. "Are they okay?"
"They should be back in Colirveen by now." It was a trading and farming village to the south, very near to Hyrule's southern border. "Sir Bornelle's pigeon said that wagons would be taking them back and assessing any damage done by the raiders, another one should come sometime today with his update." Blue sat forward to peer at the map spread out on the table, focusing on Ordona in the south.
Said Green, "What do we do next, then? If Impa's going to be back soon with the Wind Waker, and we shut down another stronghold, should we get back on Vaati?"
"Indirectly, perhaps," the princess replied. "In my proclamation I advised everyone to stay indoors or in the villages, especially young women. There hasn't been word of any more girls being kidnapped, but there was a monster attack on West Field Village yesterday afternoon."
"Was anyone hurt?" Green wanted to know.
"No. It was a handful of tektites and… this other strange type of creature, it wasn't described very well. They weren't difficult for the knights to handle, but it's still worrisome. There may be more of them to come."
"How?" wondered Purple. "Did they already come through the portal before we destroyed it?"
"I think they're due to Vaati. Monsters have a history of showing up whenever he's making trouble."
Blue's gaze was still locked on the map. He was using his fingers for a scale and pursing his lips.
"What are you looking at?" the agile hero asked him.
"Something's wrong," the thin one replied. "Look, the cave was about here, I think." He tapped the map on a spot near the Ordona road and Glensight. "Colirveen is right here. That's not very far, but every one of those raiders was all dusty. They'd been traveling a long time straight."
The mystic sat forward now as well. "You're right… If they'd've come out of the portal in the cave, the scouts would have seen them."
"So there may be another portal somewhere… But where?" Red asked. One large hand brushed the map as he surveyed it.
"We can backtrack them," said Green. "A group that size, with that many bulbos? We could follow a trail like that in our sleep."
"And when you do, you'll find the portal they used," Zelda said, and nodded. "Will you find it for us? And if it is another mirror, or something else that can be destroyed, please do so. Just stay safe, no risks this time."
"Yes," they chorused.
"Thank you." She bowed her head slightly. "Take pigeons with you and send updates."
An hour later, the split hero left the castle via the postern, on fresh horses. The plain rolled by while they headed south once more, back towards Glensight, and the cave. They stopped by the barracks to notify Sir Bornelle what they were up to. He told them that the villagers had been safely escorted back to Colirveen, which had sustained moderate damage from the raid. Some homes had been burned, and several had been broken into. Three people had died during the capture and been left at the village: two young men who'd fought back hard, and an elder whose heart had failed when a moblin broke down his door. Most of the other grandparents had successfully hidden from the marauders. Bornelle and the mayor were making arrangements for a shipment of lumber Glensight had donated to be sent to Colirveen so they could begin rebuilding.
Green, Red, Blue, and Purple took their leave and pushed on to the just-vacated campsite. The scouts had broken down the fire ring, but the observation platform still stood in the fir. Perhaps they'd attached to the cavalry who'd come to their rescue yesterday afternoon. The split hero reconstructed the ring and got a fire going, then sat around it. The four ate, and though they were tired from many hours of riding this day, they made no move to bed down yet.
Purple had brought one of his books, which he read by the firelight, but Blue had packed the parts to the project he'd began the other day. It was the small, black iron chassis filled with a clockwork mechanism, with a sort of bowl in its back. It had wheels on its bottom, and some inspiration had made him give it features in yellow paint: two round eyes, whiskers, and a nose. Red watched as he smiled at its completed form, then stepped a bit back from the fire. The tinker hung the lantern from a low-hanging tree branch for extra light and picked up his new 'pet.' It ratcheted as he turned the key in its back a couple of times, winding it up. Then he set it down, and watched as the clockwork rat's wheels spun, carrying it on a weaving but relatively straight path away from him.
"Cute," commented the giant. Its spring wound down and it came to a stop out in the dark. Blue retrieved it, then adjusted something on its underside.
"Thanks," he accepted his burly counterpart's compliment as he wound it again. When he released it this time, its path was curving, circling the fire ring. "Deceptively cute, really."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it's designed to carry something, hence the gap in its back."
"Like what? It looks the right size for… Hold on, did you really…?"
"Did he really revive the bombchu?" Purple finished for him, not looking up from his book. "Yes. But consider who we're talking about; of course he built something that blows up."
"That didn't blow up," said Blue, pointing up to the lookout perch. "Still, I guess you know me too well."
"That happens when I am you, and you're me."
Red broke in, "Sort of. Because I don't remember ever seeing a bombchu when we were whole, or plans for one, or anything."
"Yeah," said the tinker, "We never did. But we'd heard about them, so I tried building one. With a couple of improvements." His pet had wound down, and he picked it up again. "I can make it move on an arc instead of just a straight line, and it doesn't have to carry a bomb. It could be a smoking potion, or anything, really, doesn't have to be dangerous. I just have to tie it in." He patted the bombchu's head fondly and smiled.
"Your insanity is fascinating," Green spoke up. "But I think there's something we should do before we turn in for the night. It could be really important." He got to his feet and brushed needles off himself.
"What've you got?" Red asked him. The other two set aside their book and pet.
"I've been thinking about how things went in the cave, with the sword, actually. Drawing it probably saved our lives. The thing is, we couldn't use it for very long. Just a few seconds and it was too much. Well, we might need to do that again."
"You want to practice?" said Blue.
"That's right. In the catacomb we kept it up for longer, but when it counted, when we needed it in the middle of a fight, it didn't last. Maybe we can do better."
"What specifically are we practicing?" asked Red.
"The meditating seemed to work well," the tinker suggested.
"All right, then we'll start with that," Green said.
They all formed a circle off to the side of the fire, shared eye contact, and drew the blade. It changed them instantly into the fused form. Moving together, they dropped into a cross-legged position on the ground, sword across their knees again. They closed their blue eyes, and breathed deeply. All their bodies shifted in the same subtle manner, assuming the position for meditation.
It went well at first as they filled their lungs and slowly emptied them, focusing on stillness of mind and body. But soon, they developed a fine furrow between their brows. Their breathing came less and less deeply as the headache intensified, but they held doggedly on to the concentration for three-quarters of a minute more, when their jaw clenched, they groaned, and sheathed the Four Sword.
A sigh was heaved at the same instant they reverted to their distinctive forms. They massaged their heads as the pain dissipated.
"Not bad," said Purple.
Green's suggestion was that they try again, moving this time. They rose to their feet and stood in a line, then drew the weapon once more. The synchronized hero moved slowly through a sword kata, trying to stay in the meditative state as they made a sequence of parries against imaginary attacks, passing to the rear with each block: each hip, each shoulder, and the head. Then they prepared the blade, extended, and lunged—but slowly, still maintaining focus. Next they recovered forward from the lunge and went into cuts, moving from the head down, the reverse sequence against their earlier parries. By the time they made the second cut, the pain was sharp. As soon as the last attack was made, they put up the blade.
On the next attempt they tried a daring move: separate movements. For a moment they stood in a line shoulder-to-shoulder, then with expressions of acute concentration, Green and Purple turned outward and stepped together so they all formed a square, facing front and back. Beads of sweat broke out at this move and they breathed heavily. Such a full range of vision was particularly warping and distracting. When they tried to move again and return to their original rank, the headache spiked, all stumbled, and they hurriedly sheathed the sword.
And that was enough for one day. The headache was coming progressively sooner and sharper, and it lasted longer after the Four Sword was put away. This time, even, it left a low-level throb in the back of their heads. They couldn't say when it finally went away. After the practice, they found themselves too mentally fatigued to concentrate on anything.
"Bedtime for me," declared Red as he stretched and yawned widely.
All were in accord. They banked the fire, blanketed the horses, covered the pigeons, then stretched out on their mats.
"Hey, Blue?" said the giant.
"Uh-huh?"
"We are camped by a stream now. If you wake me up too early tomorrow, I'm throwing you in it."
"Fair enough."
For some time they simply lay in their bedrolls on their backs. Slowly, gently, the headache was soothed by the hypnotic, subtle waving of the trees overhead, the fragrance of forest soil and evergreen needles, the cool night air, the chirping of crickets, and the crackle of the fire. Gradually, they allowed these comforting sensations of home wash over them, and they drifted off to sleep.
The woods delayed sunlight for the split hero in the morning. It had to climb into the sky for a half-hour before it was strong enough to make them stir. But that extra bit of repose seemed to be what they needed, because they felt greatly refreshed and energized when they finally rose. Green built the fire back up. Before they got to their breakfast of hardtack and peaches, Purple led them through his meditative stretching routine. It proved useful for waking and warming their bodies further. It also felt good to find themselves moving in unison, in their unique shapes, without relying on the Four Sword.
Following that, the archer took them through a brief agility drill that got the blood pumping, and they were ready for food. Once they'd eaten, they broke camp, saddled up, and got back on the move.
It was easy to pick up the trail from the cave. They followed it back amongst the trees, where the raiders had turned west off the Ordona road. Even on the packed surface of the road, the marks of cloven bulbo hooves, moblin prints, and tracks from the prisoners walking lockstep in a single-file line combined into a shallow furrow of disturbed earth, with the occasional distinctive sign at the edges. Occasionally overlapping were hoofprints, likely from the knights when they'd gone to Colirveen.
They backtracked the trail south. It went past the spot of the ambush—had it really been only five days ago? The cage-wagon was no longer there, nor were any weapons from lizalfos or moblins killed in that attack. Roughly two-and-a-half hours of riding after that, they came upon Colirveen. The cleanup was underway, and when Green looked carefully, he picked out the fresh graves in the village's cemetery—newly-turned soil, flowers for the dead.
When they stopped in, they were recognized as the 'four brothers' who'd come to their aid the previous day. The villagers paused in breaking down burned-out houses and sorting salvage to greet them. They bore black streaks and gray dustings from working in the charcoal and ash of what had once been homes, but they were gracious in their thanks, and offered them money, goods, trinkets, and victuals in token of their gratitude. But all the split hero would accept was a little fresh food for later and a description of the raid.
It had been a two-pronged attack, they were told. While half the monsters came up the road from the south, overtly visible to the people, the other half had snuck around through the woods and hit them from the other direction. The people had been rounded up in the center of the village, those who'd fought beaten down, those who'd tried to run cut off in their escape by bulbos or stopped with an arrow. When they seemed satisfied with their 'haul,' the monsters had tied them together and driven them up the road to the cave.
The Links split up temporarily to follow the two avenues of attack. The trails joined in the woods, then went back westward, deep into the forest. From here the tracking was tougher over the forest floor, but Green's sharp eyes were more than adequate for picking out the clear trail, and if that failed, the bulbos' scent had been strong enough that Red could follow it for a time.
With the archer leading the way, Blue found that he had little to do. His mind and hands desired something to occupy themselves with. He gave his horse his head and allowed him to follow the others while he began sorting gears and springs in his collection, picking and preparing pieces so he could quickly assemble more bombchus when he had the chance. He remained oblivious to Purple's reproachful looks for his inattentiveness. But after thirty minutes of simply following Green, the mystic seemed to reconsider. He pulled out his book and focused intently on the section that had been his preoccupation the night before.
For some time he stayed that way, reading the page, glowering at it unseeing as he thought over its contents, then reading again. Occasionally he would shape with his hands helplessly, but always went back to reading. After half an hour like this, his horse gave a small stumble, jerking his attention harshly up from the tome.
"Careful, Shorty," came Blue's voice. The tinker had turned in his saddle to look back at the small hero. His materials were stowed in his bag again, and he was holding his reins. "The trail's a little rougher, you might want to put the book away and pay attention."
There was nothing condescending in his tone, but being caught by Blue like that was embarrassing enough to earn him a poisonous glare. The lanky one looked surprised and put off by the look, and turned forward again. Regretting the harshness, Purple sighed, stowed the book, and said, "I don't like it when you call me that" to the tinker. It wasn't the cause for the glare, but it was true. His tone was that of a reasonable explanation.
Blue turned back again and looked at him. "Sorry," he said. "I won't do that any more, then." Purple smiled and tilted his head to him gratefully.
The blue hero had been right about the trail, though. As the four got deeper into the woods, the going got rougher. It wended along and over hills, requiring attention from the riders to protect the horses from rocks, roots, and other obstacles that might trip them. The forest canopy overhead became higher and thicker, until the sky was only visible as glimpses of blue through the great trees and only dim sunlight came down to them. Still the trail led on.
Midday had passed when the trail wound across the edge of a large, flat meadow. A brook babbled on its far side, and the split hero opted to take a break. They dismounted and changed the horses' bridles for halters, giving them the chance to accept the oats they gave them, drink from the stream, and graze for a bit. The humans took this opportunity to eat as well, munching jerky and a mix of dried fruit and nuts. The food that the citizens of Colirveen had given them they were saving for dinner.
Green ambled over and inspected the trail on foot as he chewed. He commented, "You know, we haven't seen them stop once so far."
"Really?" asked Blue, who had broken out his gears again as he ate. The two slimmer heroes got into a discussion about the endurance and physiology of monsters and whether or not Ganon motivated them somehow. Purple, meanwhile, was back to looking frustrated as he read his book.
"Something wrong?" Red asked him.
The child shook his head, partially in exasperation, partially in response to the question. "It's just this spell giving me a little bit of trouble, nothing to worry about."
"No, come on, tell me about it," the giant said. "Maybe it'll help, you never know."
"I can get it, don't worry about me."
"Have you tried explaining it to anyone yet? Come on, tell me, it might help it click."
Purple sighed and rubbed his face. "All right. It seems simple enough, but I can't get my head around its main element. Look here." He showed the spell's diagram to the giant. "It should have a protective effect, guarding the skin, but I must be looking at it wrong or something because I haven't been able to get it."
Red sat forward intently and traced one of the runes with a fingertip. His lips moved silently, forming some of the incantation, then he tapped another mark. "That's for a gesture, isn't it?"
"The gestures aren't the problem, it's something about the intention."
"I know, but what does it look like?"
The mystic looked at him. "Why? You think you can do it?"
"I don't know. Maybe. There's something about it… Show it to me."
The violet hero led his crimson counterpart through the casting, helping him with the enunciation and shaping of his hands. Inside he held a hint of reservation. Red's voice strengthened as he repeated its incantation and his gestures sharpened. After several times without Purple guiding him, he got to his feet, took a breath, and launched into the spell's casting.
Purple watched in surprise as the enchantment finally moved. The giant's form took on a red inner glow for just a moment, then the magic was done. His skin had changed color to nearly match his tunic. It had also taken on a faint reflective sheen and somehow didn't show the definition of his muscles as well.
He looked down at himself, turning and flexing his hands, then raised a smile to Purple, who was still staring.
"I've been trying to figure out that spell for two days, and you managed it in no time. How?"
"I'm sorry. It just… struck a chord or something."
Blue and Green's attention had been attracted by the giant's voice, and they were coming over. "Maybe it's the curse?" the tinker guessed as he poked curiously at the strong one's reddened skin. "Maybe you didn't get all the magic when we split, or the potential, or something."
"Throw something at me," Red said to his lanky companion. "I want to see how this works."
They moved off slightly, and the giant offered himself as a target for small rocks that Blue pitched at him. He couldn't feel the impacts on his chest at all as Blue threw with more and more force. Finally the tinker threw a large stone shot-put-style at him from a relatively close range and struck his shoulder.
"That one did hurt," he said as he rubbed the impact. Suddenly his skin's redness faded away, leaving a budding bruise on his shoulder.
"If I'd hit you in the head without the spell it probably would've killed you," Blue said to him. "Want to try it again?"
Said Green, "Actually, I think we should try the sword once and then get back on the trail. We've been stopped for a while."
The four formed a rank, took a breath, and slid the Four Sword from its scabbard. They allowed the transformation and connection to wash over them. For several seconds they remained still, absorbing the sensations of the meadow from four bodies at once, simply seeing, hearing, smelling, and feeling.
Then they began to move, slowly and gracefully, through the meditative sword form. When they completed it, the warped feeling was steady, but not yet distracting, and they continued moving. They had passed to the rear with the phrase of parries. Now they came forward with the attack kata faster and more aggressively. When they recovered from the last thrust, they went into footwork, passing, retreating, advancing, sidestepping, fleching, and lunging. They made a thwart to the right, then Purple and Green turned outward and slid in, forming the square once again. At this the strain increased. But as they held the position, their mind acclimated to it, and the pain actually dipped. For another couple of seconds they stayed that way, facing front and back. Then, before the headache could become too much, they flourished and sheathed the blade.
"That," said Blue as the guard clacked into place against the scabbard's mouth, "felt like progress."
"I'm inclined to agree," said Green with a pleased grin. "Looking forward to practicing some more tonight."
"Let's get moving, then," the child declared. He stowed his book and went for his horse across the meadow.
They left the sunshine of the meadow at noon for the dimness of the woods, once more following the trail of the raiders on the forest path. Their riding order was the same as earlier, but after a short time in the saddle Purple and Blue followed at a small distance and spoke in quiet tones. Green, still having no trouble following the trail, caught Red's expression when he glanced back.
"You look troubled," he said.
His large companion sighed. "I think Purple might be mad at me for that," he murmured, aware of the mystic's keen ears.
"Like you stole his thunder?"
"Basically, yeah." He raised a ham-like hand helplessly. "He asked for my help, and I got carried away and showed him up. I don't know what came over me, but the spell just… jumped out at me. I couldn't help it."
"Well… If he's jealous of one spell you managed, that's his problem, not yours, really. Just explain yourself to him, and offer to help him manage the casting. Just, you know, be diplomatic about it."
"Maybe he should be jealous. He's the magic user, it's his territory."
Green shook his head. "That's something I've been thinking about, and I'm not so sure. See, those two are smart, but we aren't stupid. I may be fast, but so's everyone else, you included. You're built like a brick, but we aren't weak. Yeah, Blue's a beanpole, but he's actually pretty strong, even without the bracelet. I think Stretch was right, and he didn't get all the magic. The lion's share, sure, but not all of it."
The giant looked thoughtful. "I see what you mean."
A half-jesting grin came over the agile hero's face. "And when he's back in a good mood, I'll ask him if there's any spells that I might be able to cast."
Red's mouth crooked wryly. "Oh, I see what it is. You just want some magic of your own, that's the only reason you're giving me advice."
The archer made his face go straight and shrugged. "At least I'm up-front about it. I could be pretending to help him while I serve my own desire for power."
The strong hero charley-horsed him in the arm.
AN: Ye gods… I can't stop myself from writing these chapters that need split up. When "Chapter 12" was completed, it was nearly 9,000 words. I couldn't bring myself to let it stay that big. It had been written as one thing, so I don't know if I chose a good spot to end it. But no double-update this time; it seemed to make Chapter 5 get neglected, because 6 has more views. Odd, because the hit count tapers down in the later chapters; I attribute it to the double update.
Need to get this thing about snowballing chapters under control. I'm one who prides himself on his succinctness, after all. On the other hand, I'm faithfully reading Sunruner's Matters of State, and that tale has long chapters that I don't mind reading in the least. As of her update today, it's twelve chapters and 78,934 words. I'm at sixteen chapters and about 70,000 words. She's got me dead beat in volume, and manages to put chapters up with much greater frequency than me (like I've said in reviews, Sunny, I'm in awe of you). Anyway! The length of the chapters of Matters doesn't bother me. I don't claim to be as entertaining as her, but I feel myself dropping compunctions about writing long.
I've been trying something new, hoping to draw more readers in: putting a condensed version of the little 'Previously, on Divide and Conquer' up as the summary. Are you a reader that bit at that? Are you glad it made you check it out? I hope so!
At any rate, please review, and if you have friends who might enjoy this story, I'd love for you to recommend it to them!
