Spoilers ahead for anyone who has not read the Four Swords adventure Manga! Here's a chapter for all of the Vio fans. Enjoy your reading!
-DragonWing85
After a satisfying lunch of roasted fish and baked apples, the old man stood up and stretched. "Big Mouth. Greenie. I have a special mission for you two." He paused to make sure he had their attention. "Not too far from here is an abbey. In this abbey are ancient machines. I need you two to bring back some parts—mainly screws. Pink and Violet will stay here with me and continue training. Meet us at the temple. We'll camp there tonight."
Blue frowned. Leave Vio and Red here alone with this guy? No way!
Green spoke up. "Pardon me, Sir, but I'm not comfortable separating the team. We 'should' stick together out here."
That's telling him, Green! thought Blue.
Vio, who had been studying his book while eating, suddenly jumped up enraged. "Who…what happened to my book? There are pages missing!"
"You know, Green, it might not be a bad idea for me and you to head out on our own," said Blue trying not to make eye contact with Vio.
"I want an answer!" yelled Vio. "What happened to my book?"
Red thought aloud, "I noticed some pages missing too when I used it last. I think Blue had it before me since I found it in his bag."
Blue grabbed Green's arm and half drug him across the grassy field. "Come on, Green! We need to hurry if we're going to get back before nightfall!"
"B-l-u-e! Get back here!" screamed Vio as Blue's pace turned into a full throttle run. "The nerve!" mumbled Vio to himself.
"There will be other books, Vio," said the old man.
The purple clad boy sighed. He was so distraught that he didn't even notice that the old man had called him Vio instead of Violet. "It's just that this one was really special. It was a gift from the guy who rescued me when we first got stranded here."
Red added, "Vio really didn't want to come with us. He wanted to stay behind with Pondo—the guy who rescued him."
The purple clad boy froze. Red knows I didn't want to come? Did he overhear me talking to Pondo and Link or did Green tell him?
"But didn't you rescue him?" asked the old man.
"Well, sort of," said Red with a frown. "I had to hide him. He was unconscious. I led the monster away from him. But I got hurt and couldn't go back for him. We were lucky Pondo found him. If he hadn't found him then he'd be…" Red trailed off not able to speak.
"I see," said the old man rubbing his chin in thought. "Red, I'm going to show Vio how to make some potions later, but he'll need lots of herbs, flowers, and maybe a frog or two. Could you gather them for him?"
"Yeah," said Red. The boy tilted his head. "But what's Vio going to do while I'm gone?"
"Never mind that. Just gather the items I asked for."
Red looked at Vio who was still pouting over the book. He turned to the old man and said, "Okay. I'll be back soon."
"Take your time. I want the best flowers. Got it?"
Red nodded and took off.
The old man eyed Vio with curiosity. "So, you didn't want to come…but you did anyway. Why?"
Vio shrugged his shoulders. "Red." After realizing the old man was wanting more of an explanation, he continued. "If I didn't come back, he'd think it was his fault. He'd be…heartbroken. I…I couldn't do that to him."
The old man nodded. "What about Blue and Green?"
"Green really doesn't need me and Blue…well…I don't know."
"A soldier who has lost his passion has already lost the battle."
Vio raised his eyebrow.
The old man cleared his throat. "Just something my father used to say. A bit of wisdom for the road. So, have you regained all of your memories yet?"
Vio tossed the book to the side. "No. I have nightmares sometimes. I still get the memories mixed up with the dreams. Honestly, I only know what people have told me. I really don't remember who I am."
Vio looked the man in the eyes and squinted. Wait a minute. I never told him I couldn't remember. How did he know that? Maybe Green said something? No. We've been together this whole time.
"Hmm. Maybe it's about time." The old man walked around the fire and sat down, crossing his legs. "Look at the fire."
Vio stared suspiciously at the old man through the flames.
"Now," said the old man, "focus on the fire. Don't think of anything else—just the fire."
Against his better judgment, Vio took a deep breath and cleared his mind. He concentrated on the fire as the flames wisped back and forth and danced on the log they consumed. After a moment, he noticed that the flames were not red, yellow or orange anymore. Instead, they had changed to a mesmerizing blue.
Vio blinked and looked up. The old man was gone. Everything was pitch black. Only the fire remained.
The boy stood up and walked around the flames. "Hello," he called out half hoping the old man would answer. But he only heard his own echo in the darkness.
Where am I?
He tried to take a step away from the fire, but as he did, the flames behind him grew hotter. Vio frowned and watched the bluish flames continued to dance around. How is it burning? The logs are gone.
He bent down to take a closer look. In the flames, he could see people. Mesmerized, he reached out to touch them.
Within seconds, he found himself crashing through a window of a room filled with a gang of bandits attacking a young woman.
Seeing the woman in distress, he called out angrily, "Run while you can, Lady!"
He pulled out his sword and attacked. Moments later, each bandit lay on the floor, defeated. As Vio sheathed his sword, he noticed, he wasn't wearing purple anymore. Instead, he was clothed in a black undershirt with a green tunic. Surprised, he took a step back.
He was back in the blackness with only the fire. He looked down at his clothes. They were purple again.
What's going on here?
He stared at the fire quizzically and reached for it again.
He stood outside the building where he had just saved a young woman.
"You're a Hyrulean knight. We work as a team," said a man on horseback.
Okay. I guess I should play along. Vio tilted his head and shrugged his shoulders. "If I waited for you guys, the bandits would've gotten away." Duh!
Vio turned to walk away. He hesitated. Wait. I know him. He's…my father!
"Father!" he cried turning back around, but the man was gone.
This is so weird, he thought as he strolled through the streets. He saw the blue flame ahead of him as if it were waiting for him.
Okay, I'm game. Show me what you got! He reached out again.
He looked around. He was surrounded by tall velvet curtains. He looked down and saw flowers in his hand. When he looked back up, the most precious innocent eyes stared back at him.
Whoa! She's beautiful.
The girl took the flowers from his hand and smelled them.
Memories of his early childhood flooded his mind. "We used to play in the flowers all day long." His voice shook as he remembered who she was. "Now you're too busy to even go out and see them."
The princess smiled. "True…but when you bring the wild flowers to me, I can see the whole of Hyrule."
Vio looked down at the flowers he had given her. The beautiful petals revealed a tiny flame in the center. He reached up to touch it.
Now, where am I? What's going on?!
He stood by the princess, drawing his sword, as a being emerged from the purple smoking fire.
"Who are you?" shouted Vio now standing between the figure and the princess.
It laughed as it took its whole form. "I'm you!"
What?
Before he could attack, his mirror-self pulled him into the flames.
He opened his eyes. Ow, that hurt. He lifted himself off the ground. A brilliant sword with a gold hilt and glistening jewels of ruby, sapphire, emerald, and amethyst rested in a pedestal in front of him.
This must be the four sword sanctuary.
Vio looked down at his clothes as the memories started pouring in. Still green and black. Hmm. So, if I pull this sword, it will separate me into the four of us. But it will also release evil.
Vio took a deep breath. "Four sword, lend me your strength!"
A bright light flashed as the sword left the pedestal. A dizzy feeling came over him as he felt himself take a step forward, and to the left and to the right simultaneously. He blinked and saw three other faces standing around looking back at him.
"W-what the…?" said the green one.
"So the legend…" said the blue one.
"…He who draws the sword will split into four…" said the red one.
Vio looked down at his purple tunic. "…It's true!" Everything they told me while we were at Pondo's is true! How could I forget being part of one person? Red. Blue. Green. Me. This is how we came to be!
Out of the corner of his eye, Vio saw the blue flame resting at the base of a tree. As the others argued, he walked over to touch it. Okay, he thought, Show me what's next. I'm ready!
After touching the flame, he looked around. Where am I now? Tall pines surrounded him and little deku scrubs marched past him.
"Hip, Hip…Hurraaaaay! Three Cheers for Ganon!" shouted the deku plants as they paraded by.
Vio scratched his head in thought. I know that name. That's a name used by the Gerudo desert peoples. Why would magical plants worship a human…from the desert? "I've got to tell the others right away!"
"Are you sure you need to tell them?"
Vio looked up and saw a shadowy figure sitting on the tallest branches of one of the pines.
I remember him…he's the one that looked like me…that came out of the smoke. Shadow Link!
The demon floated down with grace to the base of the tree. "What's the point of telling them 'anything'?
Vio frowned.
Shadow grinned slyly. "They never listen—just fight and argue. Eventually you'll realize, you don't need them."
"I see what you're doing," said Vio pondering the imp's words. "You're trying to turn me against the others!" He pulled out his sword and pointed it at Shadow.
"Only you can see the big picture. They can't. And they never will!" Shadow stepped closer and pushed the sword gently to the side.
With his sword tightly gripped, Vio held his ground.
"I want to know what you think. I'll listen," said Shadow.
Vio leaned back as Shadow leaned closer.
"The others don't want to think at all, just fight." The imp put his hands on Vio's shoulders. "I want to hear it all. We're so similar, you and I. Tell me everything."
"L…Let go…" said Vio trembling. But as Shadow stared him in the eyes, a longing to be appreciated came over him. He dropped his sword. "Maybe…maybe you're right."
Vio felt himself being shaken. After a moment, he opened his eyes. A small red clad boy stood in front of him. Vio looked around confused. Where are the pines, the deku scrubs, and…Shadow?
"How could you fall asleep out here?!" yelled Red still shaking him by the shoulders. "There are monsters out here! They could have killed you! Don't ever do that again. Never fall asleep unless someone else is on guard duty! Okay? Okay?! Are you listening to me?"
Vio, still a little dazed, nodded half-heartedly.
Red let go of his brother and plopped himself on the ground. He pulled some flowers from his bag and handed them to Vio. "Here. Do you think you can make potions out of these?"
The princess's voice echoed in Vio's head, "When you bring the wild flowers to me…I can see the 'whole' of Hyrule." A tear rolled down his cheek. "Zelda."
"Huh?" said Red.
"Princess Zelda. She loved flowers."
Red's eyes lit up. "We never told you that. Y…You remembered it! Vio, your memory is coming back! What else do you remember?"
"Father. He was angry at me—well us."
Red nodded solemnly. "Yeah. But he had good reasons. He cares. He just has a hard way of showing it. So, what else do you remember?"
"Shadow," whispered Vio. He looked his brother in the eye. "I joined Shadow's team. I joined the other side. Red. I chose evil!"
More memories flooded his mind. Everything was coming back to him now—too fast. The pillaging, the dragon the monsters. His head throbbed with pain and guilt.
"I…I tricked you and Blue into thinking Green was dead. And then," Vio paused panicking, "later…we had a sword fight…He was laying on the ground. I knew that the fairy could bring him back if…" Vio shut his eyes. Tears streamed down his face.
Red placed his arm around him. "Vio, you didn't kill Green. He's here—very much alive."
"But I…"
"We figured it out when Green came to. You used the hilt of your sword, not your blade. I saw the look of worry on your face. We know it was part of your plan to throw Shadow off. And when Shadow 'did' find out, we were there to save you with no hard feelings." Red patted him on the back as Vio wiped the snot on the back of his sleeve.
The ruby clad boy looked around. "Hey, where's the old man?"
Vio looked at the ashes and wood that had once been a fire. "Maybe," he said half to himself, "maybe he's still in my head."
Red raised his eyebrow in question.
"Never mind," said Vio. I don't know how you did it, Old Man, but…thanks. I owe you one.