Green sat at the kitchen table, eyes closed, hands folded and pressed against his lips. It was almost as if he were praying.

Shadow opened the fridge to grab the milk as Vio entered the room.

"Mind if I sit down?" asked Vio to Green as he held his aching head.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Go ahead. It is your place."

"Not really."

Green frowned.

Vio continued, "It's Dr. Vaati's. He just lets us stay here."

Green nodded with a small smile. "Sounds kind of like me and Blue."

"How so?" asked Vio as Shadow placed a mug in front of each of them.

Green looked surprised by his kindness. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," replied Shadow with hair covering one of his eyes. "Really. Don't mention it. I don't want anyone to know I a have a soft side."

"You were saying something about you and Blue," said Vio.

Green nodded. "Yeah. We've been in and out of foster homes for the past five years. We never had a place to really call home. We were always on the move…No one ever wanted us to stay that long."

"How come?"

Green frowned. "Blue. He loses his temper too easily. One day everything's going good. And then the next thing you know, Blue's in another fight with someone."

"That's tough."

"Yeah," sighed Green. "There was one place where we thought we would stay for good. I even called the man Pops. He really cared about us."

"What happened?" asked Vio.

Green pursed his lips. "That's a story for another day."

Vio nodded understandingly and sipped his milk. He turned to Shadow. "So, how does Red's manga book fit into all of this?"

Shadow opened a package of Oreo cookies. "Well, after Vaati entered this world, he needed some quick cash." Shadow sat down with his own mug of milk and started dunking his cookies. "Which means, he made me do all the work. I sold the idea of a kid who separated into four individuals by using a magical sword to two ladies in Japan. They worked together on the story—with my coaching of course—and the Four Swords Manga was born." Shadow's cookie broke and fell into his milk. "Ahh crap." He fetched a spoon to dig it out and returned to the table. "So, actually, you should be thanking me for this place. He would stay here too if he didn't hate you all so much. He really can't stand you."

Vio frowned. "Wait. I thought we were brothers—quadruplets."

"You are."

Vio rubbed his head. "But you said there was a magical sword that split one person into four people."

Shadow nodded. "Yes. Hmm. Guess I should have started off by telling you all that. You are each part of Link's whole personality."

"Link?" echoed Green.

Shadow leaned back in his chair and propped his feet on the table. "Yes. That's your real name. But it's kind of confusing having four teens walking around with the name Link. So, you renamed yourselves—well actually Red did. It was his idea."

The two of them stared at Shadow blankly.

Shadow groaned. "Think about it. Blue is hotheaded and aggressive. You, Green, are focused and motivated. Red is innocent and optimistic. And Vio is…calm and collected (most of the time)."

"And what about you?" asked Green taking a cookie. "How do you fit into all this? I mean you look like us—sort of."

Shadow's face grew solemn. "Vaati created me from you. Your darker side—your shadow." He doubled his fist. "But I don't want to be in the background anymore just doing what other people tell me to do. I want to be free…free from Vaati. I want to be like you."

For five minutes, no one spoke.

Vio broke the silence. "Well, Green, if you are going to stay the night, we need to find you a spot to crash. How about the couch?"

"Sure. The couch sounds good."

Vio rose. "I'll get you a blanket from the hall closet. In the meantime, you better check on Blue."

Green frowned. "He should be fine. He won't leave here without me—I think."

Shadow chuckled eerily. "That's not what he means."

Vio smirked. "Red can be a bit…what's the word…overenthusiastic."

Green smiled. "Blue could use someone like Red to rub off on him."

Shadow chuckled. "I don't think that's how it works."

Green smiled darkly. "I'll give him a little more time before I check on him."

Vio shrugged his shoulders. "Fine by me. If you follow me, I'll get you a blanket and a pillow." He noticed Green had an army green backpack by his chair. "I'll get that for you. You must be tired hauling that all the way from the—"

Green grabbed Vio by the wrist. The two stared at each other before Vio pulled his hand away.

"I got it," said Green eyeing Vio sternly.

"Uh, no problem."

Although he looked relaxed with his feet on the table, Shadow watched them silently ready to spring into action to protect his housemate should the situation escalate.

The features of Green's face relaxed. "I'm sorry. All I own is in this bag. It's basically my home."

"My mistake," said Vio, leaving the kitchen a little nervous.

As Green got up to follow Vio, Shadow whispered in a low, "That sword you're hiding can't protect you here."

Green's eyes widened in surprise. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do. Like I said. It won't protect you or Blue here."

Green gritted his teeth. "If you dare hurt Blue again, I'll make sure you pay!"

"If anything happens to Red or Vio, the same goes for you." He took a step closer to Green. Picked up his pack and handed it to him. "We both know what the other is capable of."

Green took the pack, but Shadow refused to release it.

The dark Link added. "Wouldn't want anything to happen to Pops now either."

Green stood his ground as he gritted his teeth harder now. Shadow let go of the backpack.

Vio rounded the corner. "Oh, there you are. You're not allergic to flannel, are you? Am I interrupting something."

Green put on a fake smile. "No. We're done."

Vio nodded unconvinced. "Well, here you go." He dumped the pillow and blankets into Green's arms. "I'm going to bed." He headed to his room and shut the door.

When Green turned back around, Shadow was gone. He held his backpack close and headed to the living room.

After making his bed on the couch, Green gently knocked on Red's door. "Blue? You…okay in—"

The door flew open. Blue stood there, all showered and changed into his own t-shirt and sweats. He hissed, "Don't leave me in this room with him!"

Red was in his own pajamas, standing on his bed, singing, "It's a small, small world!"

Green grinned. "He's not that bad."

"Please, Green. Get me out of here! He's crazy."

"You know, I remember you saying just last week that you wished you had someone else for a brother."

"You know me! I didn't mean that. I just…lost my temper."

"Well, Blue, here's your new brother. Good night!"

"No, please. I—"

Green shut the door. Sweet dreams!

Thanks for the reviews and your patience. I couldn't wait to post this chapter! Hope you enjoy.

-DragonWing85

PS The wedding was great!