The Four Swords: Tales From Hyrule

by TiggerPup91

A spin-off series of one-shots from Reiteration and Reminiscence!

6. Behind The Swords

Hello everyone! Tigger here! I know it's been forever, but have I got something cool for you!

Ever wondered how I wrote "Reminiscence"? Well wonder no more! This is a very special upload (and a LONG one, too, just as a warning!) which consists of my ENTIRE annotated planning process that I used for writing Reminiscence. In bold, I have also added my own comments in between as a sort of future perspective on how the planning went, what ultimately happened, etc.

Hope you guys enjoy it!

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Before the notes on the story begin, I'm gonna take a minute (just sit right there!) and explain how the first two ideas for the sequel first came into my head. At the time when I was writing the end of Reiteration, I was working part-time at the local Dairy Queen, late nights. Often I would find myself mopping the floors in the middle of the night, cleaning tables, washing windows, etc. Very mundane work. So I of course busied myself by thinking about my Four Sword Links from Reiteration. However, I'd already decided on an ending for Reiteration, so what would I think of next... but a sequel? I'll explain later on what parts of the notes were the most "memorable" during these long working hours of the night, the ones that stuck with me from before the story was even put together all the way until the final edit. But to start with, I had two important ideas that I knew I would have to center my story around- and that is where we begin these notes.

What are some things I want to incorporate in this sequel?

Most importantly- the lost memories of the Links.

Also important- the prominent role of Shadow.

Others? Here are some ideas I like that I want to put in this:

- a temple in the sky

- a reluctant pact with each other

- red/blue partnering up, green/vio partnering up, splitting up

- return of original four items (bow, rod, hammer, slingshot)

- spells? medallions? fighting techniques?

- time travel?

going back to original FSA items

Let me take the two top important ideas. Their lost memories, and shadow's importance. Can I make a loose plotline about these two things? Yes.

Do I want to go with the idea of turning shadow into an animal? ... No. I don't think I do.

It's overused, and cliched. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the idea, but not enough to turn it into a fic.

I realized early on that the lost memories thing was slightly cliche, but I was stubbornly insistent on doing it anyways and felt I could make it work. However, even more cliche and cheesy was a very faint idea, very early on, to turn Shadow into some kind of animal, or even a shadow monster. Not like Twilight Princess where he could/would go back and forth, but almost a near-permanent transformation. However, like I said, I ultimately felt that this would be jumping the shark, as it were, and scrapped it early on. Another idea I loved that I first wrote about was the "reluctant pact"- I've made a story with these Four Links getting to know and care for each other, yes? So what would be more interesting than taking this away from them, starting over from square one- or even, square NEGATIVE one!- and putting them together again? I wanted to see how they would react to, and eventually work towards solving this problem. (I'm just as much a fan of these Links as any reader is- all I'm doing is writing what they "do"!)

So, looking back on the importance of their MEMORY and of SHADOW. How can I link these two things?

SHADOW is the Links' reflection. He was created by Ganondorf through the power of the Dark Mirror. With the destruction of the Dark Mirror, his source of power, he was killed- but not destroyed, and Ganondorf revived him to use him as a slave in Reiteration. However, using the little power Ganondorf had given him to stay alive, he sacrifices himself for the others. He no longer has any life power, and therefore returns to being the Links' shadow.

As you'll notice throughout the course of these notes, a lot of my "facts" and "history" change. At this point, I hadn't even realized what Shadow's true past is, and was writing down what I knew as "fact". Some of these are pretty big changes- and some of these changes I discover right as I'm writing them down!

With this, I need to figure out a way to make Shadow come back, first of all. Then perhaps this idea can stem in to something else. If Shadow is "dead"- but not "destroyed"- how can I revive him again? Ganondorf is dead, and Ganon is sealed in the sword.

I don't want to bring either of them back. What enemy shall I bring in? Well, let's look at past games and enemies/bosses.

Agahnim - Bellum - Dark Link - Ganon - Majora - Malladus - Nightmare - Onox - Twinrova - Vaati - Veran - Zant

I like Onox. He is a dragon summoned from the Dark Realm. Since both he and Shadow are from the Dark Realm, this similarity could work out nicely. Not to mention he is the supposed slave of Twinrova, and Twinrova "dies" in Reiteration. How would their death impact Onox? Or, what is Onox's current fate?

Oh wow. I like the oracles idea. Supposedly, Twinrova used Veran, and Onox, to ignite two of three flames needed to ressurect Ganon: The Flame of Sorrow, and the Flame of Destruction. Zelda is neccesary to sacrifice in order to light the third flame: The Flame of Despair.

OH WOW. Supposedly, this is to LINK together both "Seasons" and "Ages". That, even though in Seasons Onox is the final boss, and in Ages Veran is the final boss, in the LINKED game, the final boss is GANON! Hahahaha... I LOVE where this is going. Heheheheheh. Twinrova may be dead... but who's to say Onox and Veran are?

Okay, so here's what I've learned more. Twinrova sent Veran to kidnap Nayru and use her time-travel power to bring Sorrow to Labrynna, and sent Onox to kidnap Din to use her power to erase the seasons and bring Destruction to Holodrum. Though both are killed by Link at the end, Twinrova ends up sacrificing herself for the Flame of Despair, to ressurect Ganon. Link, of course, defeats Ganon.

This was one of the parts of my notes that I did some "research", including some shameless copy+pasta from things like Zeldapedia, Zelda informer, etc. Basically, I went down the list of Zelda enemies (as I didn't much want to create a new one) and tried to find which one(s) would work best with my two basic ideas. And, as it turned out, Onox and Veran stood out right away! I'd never even played Seasons/Ages all the way through, so finding out more about the two villains was exciting enough by itself.

It's interesting to note that the two lands ARE somehow connected to Hyrule. So it wouldn't be TOO far of a stretch to say they returned, this time to Hyrule. Then again, their "deaths" were pretty obscure, so it also wouldn't be much of a stretch to revive them. But, how could I revive THEM? If they could possibly be the ones who revive Shadow, well, I need a way to revive THEM. Other than the Dark Mirror, are there any enchanted dark magical objects at my disposable? Let's take a look-see.

I wonder if I could incorporate time travel somehow in to the game? That may make things interesting. But it could also overcomplicate things, which isn't something I want to do. Let's hold off on this idea for now- but keep it in the back of my head.

So. HOW can I revive Onox and Veran? It shouldn't be hard to do, I just need to find an obscure, dark-related magic item from the Zelda universe and somehow get it into their hands.

Dang, this is harder than I thought. D:

Another 30 minutes of scouring the internet later for some "obscure, dark-related magic item" and I came up empty-handed. Who knew? NOW: For the next good portion of my notes, I "discover" something and become very excited with this prospect, this idea, that I think, at the time, explains everything and will even provide the base for my entire fic. Obviously, this doesn't happen. But enjoy my ramblings nonetheless. :3 After all, they eventually did help me get to the final truth!

Hm. I wonder if Ganon's trident may have anything to do with it? Yes, I ended up destroying both tridents, but what if the essence of their power remained, despite the loss of a form through which to house- HOLY CRAP. TWO TRIDENTS. TWO ENEMIES.

Onox and Veran, defeated by Link, are lost, broken souls in the Dark Realm. After the elimination of the tridents, Dark Weapons created by Ganon himself, their power searches a new host- and finds Veran and Onox, possessing them and granting them their power in exchange for one thing- to kill the Four Sword heroes and destroy the sword.

Buthumm. I like this, but. I thought I didn't want to use Ganon again? :/ If I do this, then the ultimate enemy will be Ganon. That is, unless, Onox and Veran decide to use the power of the tridents for themselves? After all, though the tridents' power was created by Ganon, doesn't neccesarily means it has to be used FOR Ganon. After all, GANONDORF used it, for HIMSELF, right? ... Woah. If Onox and Veran were BOTH the final bosses... TWO bosses at once? That hasn't even been done before. heh heh. Okay then. Moving right along.

After the destruction of the tridents, the power returns to the Dark World, where it was created, and searches for a new host. The power was created by Ganon when Ganon first created the Dark Realm, and he created the Tridents to HOUSE that power. With the tridents destroyed, the power is blind and raging, and needs something to contain it and control it. It then finds the shattered, drifting souls of Onox and Veran, two beings of darkness who had long ago been defeated in combat by a single hero from a distant land. (Bwahaha obscure Seasons/Ages reference). Using the power of the tridents, it reawkens the two.

While the tridents thing gets scrapped later, this idea of Ganon's power being taken by Veran and Onox still stays until the final draft.

Now that I have them re-awakened, it won't be hard to connect them to Shadow. If Shadow is a broken, drifting soul in the Dark World (As what happens to those created out of darkness, they never die, just drift as broken souls), Onox and Veran won't have a problem finding him and reviving him. But why would they do that? Or work together, even? Obviously, they'd want to find a place to rule on their own, in the Light Realm. So, they need Shadow for this. Why? Let's just pretend for a moment that SHADOW has the capability to traverse the Realms.

OH MY GOD. Shadow is a being of BOTH Realms! Born from the Dark Realm, after his counterparts from the Light Realm... HE HOLDS THE KEY! HE is the reason why Onox and Veran revive him and use him to open a portal. Using him as a key, they infuse their own powers in to him to open up a portal to the Light Realm. Because of Shadow's connection with Hyrule, they end up in Hyrule and decide to take it over.

This is amazing.

This was an exciting part of the notes for me! This was when I first began to see more into Shadow as instead of just a "dark reflection of Link", but as a separate being, an individual creature, with his own history and his own conflicts. Also- remember in Reiteration, how 2/3rds of the book was about Ganondorf trying to create a portal from the Dark World to the Light World, so he could take over Hyrule Castle? This was what made Shadow so important- as a Being of Light and Dark (a term I use near the very end of Reminiscence)- he could freely travel back and forth, making him a valuable asset to Veran and Onox.

Here's what I have so far:

The tridents were created hundreds of years ago at the creation of the Light Realm and Dark Realm- by the Keaton and Ganon, respectively. Keaton's master creation was the Four Sword- Ganon's was the two tridents. Like the power in the Four Sword, Ganon created a special power, then used the physical form of the tridents to house them. After his defeat by the Keaton, and after Ganondorf takes the tridents- they're broken by the Links, and the powers "disappear"- but really, revert back to the Dark Realm, now that they no longer have a physical form. In the Dark Realm, they wander and drift until they find the broken and lost souls of the defeated Veran and Onox- the demonic fairy of shadows, and the dark dragon of darkness. The power of the tridents inhabits the two enemies, and, finding the drifting soul of Shadow, use their power to use him to open a portal between the Dark and Light Realms. Once crossing the boundary, they arrive in Hyrule.

(Note the big difference here: In MY fic, Ganon creates the Dark World, Keaton, the Light World. In typical Zelda canon, though, the Three Goddesses create both.)

Heheheheheheh.

Okay, I still have a ton of questions left. How is Shadow used, is he conscious, does he fight back or resist, etc etc. And how does this tie in to trapping the Four Sword Links and making them lose their memory? How about, through some way or another, Onox and Veran discover that there isn't just ONE hero in Hyrule- but Four, housed in one body. Learning of their enemy, they decide to lure the hero into drawing the Four Sword, as they put a curse on it- whoever lifts it next, will be cursed with amnesia, and passed out, leaving Onox and Veran free to kidnap them and imprison them in their two separate dungeons. (I like this division already.) As for how Shadow cooperates... Veran can possess people, yes? Perhaps she just possesses Shadow, and viola. Very convinient, and would add depth and more conflict to Shadow.

What do they do with Shadow after that? Do they keep him as their minion? I think that, because Shadow is a part of Link, he, too, suffers from amnesia- and it's possible Veran and Onox use this to their advantage, re-recruiting him to their side and making him "evil" once more. I like this idea! But, even though he has amnesia, he never truly "defeats" the Links, because of his vague memory keeping him from killing them when he has the chances.

There we go. With Veran's witchcraft, and Onox's military experience, the two then proceed to take over Hyrule.

YES.

YES YES YES.

I LIKE this, and now I have a basic beginning started! :D Now I can move along with the finer details of the game- including dungeons, weapons, objects, areas, etcetera.

As you can see so far, a lot of my problem-solving and note-taking stems from me asking myself a question, coming up with a bunch of possible answers, and finding the one that "fits" the most. How do they lose their memory? Well, this could happen... And if that happens, then what would it lead to, and what sort of domino effect would it cause? Crafting a good story, in my opinion, is all about asking yourself questions so you continue to learn and know more about the story, the characters, the setting, EVERYTHING. And one of the best ways of solving problems is working backwards! I knew they would lose their memory (the outcome), now I just need to know HOW (the process)? Now, at this point in the notes, with my basic structure drafted out, I'm able to start moving into specifics. And trust me, there are a lot of 'em!

I like what I was thinking earlier- that, at the beginning, Onox and Veran send Red/Blue and Green/Vio to two separate temples. I also like the idea that they go through the two temples together- and at the end, get separated. What if, after getting separated, they somehow or another enter another dungeon- this time, changed up? Green/Red, Blue/Vio? Or, Green/Blue, Red/Vio? Why not all three? :D Hmm. I need to think on this more. I have a basic foundation for the first two dungeons- Veran and Onox's side castles- but two more? That would bring a total of three dungeons. THEN OH MY GOSH THEN. Then a FOURTH temple, with all four Links working together! That brings EACH of the Links ends up completing four temples- though in total, there would be 7 temples. Let me assign names to keep this less confusing.

Shadow = Green/Vio

Light = Red/Blue

Fire = Red/Vio

Water = Blue/Green

Earth = Blue/Vio

Sky = Red/Green

Castle = Green, Vio, Blue, Red

Four temples for each of them, 7 temples in total. Which makes for a good zelda game, but also a pretty long book. Do I want to do this or not? Well, it's a bit too early for sound decisions, but let's keep this in the back of my mind.

Now, at this point you might be wondering, "WAIT WHAT?! That's not what happens at all!" True, this idea will change drastically later on (and we'll cross that bridge when we get there!), but at this moment I got a bit carried away with the exciting idea of splitting them into pairs and forcing them through dungeons to see how they'd react/change/etc. It's an idea I'll eventually keep, sure, but only use once- because once is all it needs. :)

While this is a good idea, it begs the question, how/when do they each get their weapons? Like I said earlier, I want to revert back to the original four weapons. I have quite a few to choose from, from FSA:

FSA: Bombs, Boomerang, Bow, Fire Rod, Hammer, Pegasus Boots, Shovel, Slingshot, Roc's Feather

This makes things a bit confusing. If I want to give out four items in three dungeons to alternating partners before the final dungeon...

Y'know, while I LIKE the idea, I also dislike how separate I have the Links. I don't like it when they're separated. How can I solve this? I really really liked the idea of the initial dungeon being separated by twos, and from that, it seems like a good idea to continue with that trend, but... it just seems I'm going way too long before reuniting them, and then I only end up having one final dungeon with all four of them. It doesn't seem like a good game, or fic, to have them separate 90% of the time.

And that's pretty much how long that idea lasted. :P It had to present itself sooner or later: If I went with this idea, the majority of the fic they would be separate instead of in one group. Which I was definitely against, even if it meant sacrificing a good idea. (Luckily, though, I was able to keep a small part of that idea for the beginning, later on!)

So let's hold that idea to the side for a moment and go back to the original plan. Veran and Onox back in Hyrule, Shadow under their control, all five Links with amnesia and locked away in dungeons. Where do I go from here?

Well, let's look at Onox and Ganon. Once they take over Hyrule, what would they do next? Obviously, they'd find Zelda and try to use her for some purpose. If that doesn't work out, or if I can't find an idea of how to incorporate Zelda in this, I could always pull the convinient, Minish Cap "oh no Zelda is turned to stone what are we gonna do". Or, I could even go so far as to have her become Sheik, in some way shape or form, to escape them. This could either be an awesome idea or a terrible one, depending on what direction I want to go in as far as the Links' adventure is concerned.

(If it's not already obvious, I don't really like Zelda, as a fic character. :P She's a background Mary Sue and I had no problem with keeping her that way.)

With that in mind, looking back at the Links. Their memories are lost, so I need to immiediately put them in a situation in which they have to, without questioning, get out of trouble or the hands of enemies and somehow meet up.

WAIT A MINUTE.

WHAT IF IT IS ALL ONE BIG DUNGEON?! That they are in? Only just in two separate sides of it? That way, I wouldn't have to go 90% of the fic with them apart- in fact, it may even be opposite! I could just only have to go 10% with them separate- the first dungeon! Maybe I have Green and Vio chained up together on one side, and Blue and Red on the other? The two pairs work their way through the dungeon, and meet all together at the end. Or something to that effect. This could serve as the all-too-famous "introduction dungeon", where I don't neccesarily need to introduce any of them to a new weapon, just the game's version of getting a player used to the controls of the game.

This part of the notes was pretty self-explanatory, but I wanted to stick this extra tid-bit in here. Remember my job at Dairy Queen, mopping floors and thinking of the sequel? Some of the first "ideas" I had stemmed from these separated pairs of Links, travelling in different dungeons, their memories wiped as they try to figure out what's going on. In fact, the "fight" between Blue and Vio didn't change a bit from when I first had that idea! The introductory dungeon, being the prison when the Links first "wake up" and find out they have no clue who they are, was a major point for me and I got very excited (as the notes can tell, haha) when I had it all figured out.

If I go along with this idea, what other dungeons/combinations of heroes could I use? Well, if I want them all to get weapons... what did the Four Sword manga do? Oh yeah. Pulled the convinient "hey, I see four weapons over there, don't ask questions, just grab 'em and use 'em!" I didn't like it, and I do NOT plan on using that. So, how did the game, FSA, introduce each of these weapons? (I'd like to go Red's Fire Rod, Vio's Bow, Blue's Hammer, and either slingshot or boomerang for Green.) Well, let's see. Now that I think of it, the Boomerang has been in every Zelda game. It's probably the more "Link" item, so let's give that to Green. Boomerang it is.

(Que me spending a bit more time watching some FSA gameplay videos for ideas. The results...)

Hm, nevermind, that wouldn't work. FSA gameplay is weird... Anyways, back to the fic. I want to give them each an item, but I don't want to copy the style of Reiteration and give them each their own "special" dungeon. I want to see them working more as a team and less as individuals. After all, that's what I want this whole fic to be about: they've learned to be individuals of a team, now they need to re-learn to be a team of one individual. (After all, with their memories gone, they're not going to be as team-ly as before, as to them, they "never" worked with each other like this before.) So perhaps this one original temple, going through separately yet completing as one, is a good idea- showing they can't do it on their own.

HOLY CRAP GREAT IDEA. What if they start to regain their memories, one by one? Honestly, I think Red would be the first to get back his memory. What if, after the first dungeon, he's the one to convince them all to stick together and find out what's happened? From there, they move on to the next three dungeons, after which each of them ends up regaining their memory. Holy fudge, I LOVE that idea. What would be the order? I think Red, Green, Vio, Blue sounds just about right. Red being the least stubborn, happiest, and most emotional of the Links wouldn't easily forget them, despite a spell. Blue, on the other hand, is the most stubborn and independent one, and thus would have the hardest time overcoming the curse, even after all the others have beaten it. And why Green before Vio? I dunno... it just seems right. Green is the leader, and though he didn't get his memory back first, he should definitely be before Vio. After all, memory wouldn't be too important to Vio- he'd just take the logical step of moving as four instead of one, and wouldn't fight back as much as Green would if he still didn't have his memory.

Yay yay yay yay. I'm liking this more and more.

What are the temples I want to incorporate here, that I DIDN'T do in Reiteration? In Reiteration, I had a forest, desert, ice, and shadow temple. What's missing? Fire and sky, most definitely. Light, then? And one last one? I had ice, but what about water? Technically, those could be different enough. Lemme look at some of the games' temples to find some variety... Cemetery? Swamp? Tower?

Personally, I like Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. After all, aren't these the four elements used to power the Four Sword? Yes. They are. And I shall use these.

I'll later come back and refine the ideas of the temples. When I start writing, what I do (as will be shown later on in these notes) is write a brief "outline" of, okay, here's the conflict, this is the mini-boss or environment, here are the dramatic/heroic moments, and this is the boss. But for now, again, starting simple is always the best way to go!

Through each of these temples, the Links regain their memory. But since their memory takes center stage, what about weapons? The "randomly receiving" idea is attractive, but I don't want to take a shortcut here. There HAS to be a reason for their items. And I think it should have something to do with Shadow. How could I incorporate SHADOW as being the reason for their items? What if he is the one who leaves them for them at the end of the first temple? ... I like it, but... that means they each go three dungeons with a weapon, and the first one without. I dunno. Should I have them get their weapons all at once, or over time?

That's a pretty big and important question, relative to the rest of the story line and character development. WHEN in the story line of the dungeons do they recieve the four items? What are the pros and cons of each- which would better help the flow of the story?

It's a big question... one I don't think I can answer now until I know how I want the rest of the fic to go, including the important details like what's happening with Zelda and Shadow during this time. And how the Links know to go to these dungeons. And really, what do going through these dungeons ACCOMPLISH?

... That's major, Tigger. MAJOR. I need to figure out, WHY on EARTH would they continue to go through three more dungeons? Why not face Veran and Onox directly? Of course, the OUTCOME, though unexpected, of each is to regain their memories, but they have to have some sort of main drive, a reason, to go them. And if not, then there needs to be some other outside force directing them to the dungeons or temples. Like I said earlier, I like the idea of the elements for temples- fire, water, earth, and air. Which temple would they be trapped in first? Or would the first temple they be trapped in, NOT be one of those, but an introduction chapter in which none of them gets their memory- but they still reunite?

This has always been a big issue for me, regardless of if I'm writing, or READING, a Zelda fic. There HAS to be a reason for the Link(s) to go on these various dungeon heroics! It's not just, "Oh, big guy captured Zelda, DUNGEON TIME!" Look at every other Zelda game and each series of temples/dungeons has a reason for accomplishing them. Whether it's gathering the Spiritual Stones in OoT, the Fused Shadows/Mirror Shards in TP, etc etc, each temple crusade has a purpose. I just had to find mine!

Let's take another look at how Veran and Onox were defeated. Really, all they needed to be defeated was a few items and simply REACHING them. But of course, he had to go through dungeons to get at Veran and Onox. And each temple rewarded them with an Essence of Time and Essence of Nature. In order to reach Veran, all 8 Essences of Time are needed. In order to reach Onox, he needs 8 Nature essences. So basically, the reason for the dungeon quests is to break the barrier surrounding the enemies.

Pretty basic and straightforward for a Zelda game, right? Should I do something like that? ... Y'know, I think I will. The whole, "you need to do this in order to do this, and to do that you need to do this, and" etc etc, staple of Zelda games. And I want to include at least a piece of that idea in the fic to keep true to the feel of the games. So, I like that idea. Perhaps, after the four Links escape from the initial dungeon, Veran and Onox put a shield around the castle, keeping the Links out. So they need to figure out how to destroy the barrier around the castle and defeat them.

They'll need a guide.

Oh great. THIS debate again. D: It's the Keaton all over again... sigh. Well, at least I remember all the sidekicks I went through when first planning the Keaton, so I can look back at that and figure out which one would be best in this situation, as a guide. I don't like OCs, and won't be having any in this fic if I can help it.

Yay, "THIS" debate again! XD For my notes on Reiteration, I spent a DANG long time figuring out the character of the Keaton. I must've gone through hundreds of Zelda characters that I could take in and meld into a guide-like character, and the end result was the Keaton. And now I had to do it again, for Reminiscence! Also, about my "don't like OCs": I don't like them because when I write/read a Zelda fic, I want it to feel as much game-like as it can, like you're actually PLAYING the game/story and not just reading a novel. OCs can kind of alienate the reader from the normal Zelda-verse of characters. Now, this isn't to say OCs can't be good, or stories with OCs can't be good! Far from it! It's just a personal preference of mine to avoid using them if I can. :)

Honestly, I think Kaepora Gaebora may be a good fit here. Despite how I dislike him at times, he'd be a good character- I could even pass him off as a messenger of the Keaton. Woah... nice idea! Perhaps a sort of sage, or spirit, of the Keaton sent to Hyrule to guide the Links into finding... what? Four elements? Hm. In Minish Cap, the Four Elements INFUSE the blade with power- but don't disappear. What happened to these elements? Is it possible the Keaton also used these elements when creating the Four Sword? If so, where did these elements go? Perhaps, with all their magic used up, the Keaton sent them to different corners of Hyrule, to protect them, and they were passed down from generation to generation- sort of like the Pure Metals were from PH. Somehow, for some reason, they now sleep in each of the four temples across Hyrule- one in the volcano(Fire), one in the desert(Earth), one in the ocean(Water), and one above the clouds(Air).

Yes, I like that idea. And they need to gather these four elements in order to... what? Right, dispel the shield protecting Veran and Onox. Somehow, though, I think that the elements should do more than that. Maybe they're the key to restoring the break in the sword? Oh my gosh... What if, because the sword is broken, is why the power of the tridents was never destroyed? Through the crack, his power was allowed to be free. Gathering the elements is essential to sealing up the crack in the sword, and by fixing the sword and restoring it to its former power is the only way to break the barrier, and kill Onox and Veran once and for all, and seal up the power of the tridents back in the sword.

Wow. I like that idea a lot. It also helps bring the arc to a sort of close, fixing the sword and also the Links at the same time. Maybe the break in the sword contributes to how they have lost their memory? It's a possibility.

And we never hear of the sword's break ever again. xP D'oh.

I want to get back to Shadow now, since he's a major character, too. I want him to appear to the Links every once in a while, as an enemy- but a reluctant enemy, who isn't really an enemy at the same time- maybe he "opposes" them, but he doesn't know why, and can't shake the feeling his covered memory is telling him that they're friends. Maybe he sees them or meets them at the end or beginning or middle of each temple?

Oh my gosh.

What if there's a FIFTH dungeon- just a mini one- right before the castle? The sword's fixed, and they're headed towards the castle. As a last ditch effort, Veran and Onox somehow detour the Links and trap them somewhere. Perhaps a graveyard of sorts, since I liked that idea of a mini-temple? The Links, as a team, navigate it- but find that, at the end, Shadow has been sent as their boss battle. This poses the question- does Shadow fight them? If so, does he win or lose? If not, why? Does he regain his memory, do the Links jog it...? I've got to remember, that, at this point, all Four of the light Links have their memory, so they each know Shadow. Perhaps, when they meet for a final time, they all try to convince him of his memory. Maybe Shadow resists and attacks them? Maybe even he WINS, and is about to kill them, but also somehow regains his memory? I love that idea... At the last minute, something breaks the curse, and his amnesia is gone. Maybe then he'll remember all that's happened to him- including being possessed by Veran and being used as a key between the two worlds. Knowing this, he teams up with them (possibly?) to go help them take on Veran and Onox and seal them back into the Dark Realm.

YES. This would bring my grand total to SEVEN dungeons! One introductory, four temples, one mini-temple, and one final boss temple! Which is just perfect for a good, long Zelda game! And yet it's not too long, either- because the introductory and mini-temple can be condensed into just a few chapters. :)

I had no idea what I was getting into with how "long" I was planning this story to be. XD But I did enjoy that breakthrough of the graveyard "temple"! It remains one of my favorite scenes to this day.

I am pretty far through in the basic structure... but I need to know, and NEED to figure out, WHERE ZELDA IS IN ALL OF THIS. I think it would be far too annoying and interruptive to have her play a major role. I do like her, yes, but she had a pretty nice role in Reiteration. I want the Links to get as much attention as possible here- and focus as deeply as I can on their conflicts, but external and internal. I think that, seeing Zelda as a potential threat, Onox and Veran turn Zelda to stone. This isn't improbable, or implausible- just convinient. For now, however, I feel it's a good choice. Of course, the Links would be worried about Zelda throughout their travels as they regain their memories- but perhaps they figure out from Kaepora, or maybe even Shadow, that she's been turned to stone.

(Maybe an extra motive for Shadow is that, once the Links are killed, they will de-stone Zelda and give her to him as a reward?)

Pfffftttt. Okay, that was bad. I'm glad I didn't use that. XD

Going back to a partner, since this is important as well. The Keaton did NOT die in Reiteration- merely, she went back to being an observent and not-so-involved Goddess of Hyrule. Because of her drained power, she needed to rest and let her powers regain. However, after Hyrule is once more shrouded in the powers of darkness, she sends a messenger- Kaepora Gaebora- to aid the Links and tell them of the Four Elements they will need in order to seal away Veran and Onox for good. This makes sense, and isn't too bothersome. After all, the Keaton had a major role in Reiteration, but only because, come on, she was the friggin' Goddess of the Four Sword. Now, like I said earlier, I want the five Links to take as much center stage as I can give 'em. A simple messenger like Kaepora would be perfect here- not a constant "companion", but not as mystical and important as the Keaton was, either.

OH CRAP. I almost forgot- their weapons! When do they get them? I postponed this question as long as I could... but now, I think I may be able to look at all I've got and figure out the best time when to give them to them. Honestly, I think it would be best if they each received the four weapons after the first, introductory dungeon. This way, the dungeon isn't about getting a new item specific to ONE Link and having ONE Link complete/win the dungeon- they must work together to do it, and each dungeon subsequently regains one of their memories back. So, they get their items after the first dungeon- how? From who? I have two options- Kaepora, and Shadow.

At this point, early in the fic, however, I don't think Shadow would give them the weapons. While not entirely convinced he's their enemy, he is still under orders and would not give them something to potentially help them (even if he wouldn't kill them if given the chance). This leaves Kaepora.

What if, after they get out of the first dungeon, Kaepora visits them and tells them, before they go to the dungeons, they will need four of the sacred weapons they used during their first adventure. However, because at this time no one has their memories, they have no idea what he's talking about. So how can I get them their weapons? I don't want to add any dungeons or temples or side-quests between here and the temple- but I wouldn't be shy about dedicating a whole chapter to regaining these weapons. Perhaps they travel to the Four Sword sanctuary, and have the weapons bestowed upon them there? This might help jog their memory briefly, and make them wonder just who is helping them- as well as make them feel nostalgic with the weapons, as if they "knew them" from somewhere (obviously, their first split and adventure). This feels about right. Because, like I keep emphasizing to myself (BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT, DARNIT), is that the fic is NOT about their weapons, NOT about the sword, and NOT about the elements- it is about each of the Links and their journey to reawaken as a team.

Wow... am I actually done? Did I seriously just write the entire script for the next Four Swords fic in one three-hour sitting? :D

That was pretty awesome.

Yup, pretty much! Three hours later and I've got a basic structure, with some framework, for the fic. Of course, many things change over the course of refining the story- many LARGE things change, even! But with an idea that functions, is logical, and has plenty of room for change and improvement, you're ready to summarize what you've got, and then LOOK for those areas of change and improvement. With that said, onwards! (Warning: Text Wall Ahead!)

So, what have I got?

Hundreds of years ago, there were two worlds created by two Gods: The Dark World, created by Ganon, the God of Darkness, and the Light World, created by the Keaton, the Goddess of Light. The Keaton created the Four Sword as a holy weapon to keep her land safe- Ganon, in turn, created the two Tridents as a weapon of darkness to bring power to his realm. Attacking the Keaton, Ganon tried to overthrow her and take the might of the Four Sword for his own and corrupt her Light World- but he failed, and his power was sealed within the Four Sword. However, the two tridents remained in the Dark World, until Ganondorf found them and used them against the Links in Reiteration. The tridents were destroyed- but the essence of their power, which Ganon created before housing them in the tridents, were forced back in to the Dark World, where they searched for a new host. They would soon find two new hosts- in the form of Veran, Sorceress of Shadows, and Onox, General of Darkness. Both enemies had been defeated centuries before by a hero from a distant land- but were ressurected through the power of the tridents. Ignoring Ganon's plight, the two instead once more banded together, planning to use their power to escape the confines of the Dark World and once more reign over the world of Light.

Major changes from this point that occur later are: the removal of the tridents, and the addition of Shadow as a prominent character in this war.

Through some way or another, the two come across the drifting, broken soul of Shadow- who, while he had indeed been "killed", was not entirely "destroyed". Ressurecting him and possessing him, the two discover that Shadow is the key to crossing betweeen the worlds- as a being of both Light and Darkness, he is the one creature who possesses the power to singularly cross between the two worlds at will. Once in Hyrule, the two learn of Hyrule's hero- the Four Sword hero. Knowing they need to get him out of the way, they trick Link in to pulling the sword- but place a curse on the sword. After the Links draw the Four Sword, they are split in to four again- but instantly, the curse takes affect, and they all pass out- and experience amnesia, losing their memory of who they are and what's going on. However, because the curse affected LINK, Shadow is also affected. Veran and Onox send the Four Links to an isolated prison-dungeon across Hyrule, hoping to keep them out of the way while they take over Hyrule. They also stop possessing Shadow, instead deciding to trick him in to working with them.

... No changes here! :P

Separated in a single dungeon, the Four Links eventually work their own way through the dungeon, but end up meeting at the very end of the dungeon, and work together- despite not remembering each other- to defeat the temple's boss. Afterwards, they try to figure out what is going on, but none of them can remember a thing. It is then that Shadow appears, and, though he is supposed to attack them, instead decides last-minute to set them free, teleporting them out of the dungeon. Not knowing why he did that, he keeps it a secret and returns to Veran and Onox. The Links, still confused, wonder what to do next- when Kaepora Gaebora, a wise, speaking owl, comes to them and tells them that they need to stop Veran and Onox before they take over all of Hyrule and merge both worlds in to one. When he finds out they have lost their memory, he tells them to go retrieve four of the weapons they used in their first adventure, which are situated in the Four Sword temple. The Links do, but regaining their weapons does not jog their memory. However, they still need to go to the four Temples in Hyrule- Fire, Water, Earth, and Air- to retrieve the four Elements and restore the Four Sword to its full power.

(Note: In the first temple they are in, they're originally separated, but start to regroup one by one- first Green and Vio meet, then Red joins their team, and lastly, Blue.)

This specific detail changes as well- instead of a "team-joining" thing like in a RPG, they start out as two different pairs that eventually meet and join into one big group.

The Four Links go through each subsequent temple, fighting bosses, figuring out puzzles, etc, and obtaining the elements. This, I will go in to detail later on. Additionally, at the end of each temple, one of the Links will each regain their memory- starting with Red, then Green, then Vio, and then Blue, until they have all four elements and their memories back. During the course of each temple, they run in to Shadow many times- who is still conflicted, but also still following his orders from Veran and Onox. They also learn through Kaepora that Veran and Onox came through the Dark World by "The Being of Light And Darkness"- who the Links assume is a new enemy they have yet to meet. Also, Kaepora tells them of Zelda having been turned to stone- another incentive to defeat the two enemies. (Zelda as a stone is also used by Veran and Onox as incentive to continue to persuade Shadow to follow them- Shadow is even promised to have Zelda as a "wife" if he helps them defeat the Four Links.)

NONONONONO THAT LAST PART DOES NOT HAPPEN. XD

Once the restored Links have the elements, they journey back to the Four Sword sanctuary- however, before they can restore the sword, Veran and Onox transport them to a graveyard-like place, and the Links end up having to fight against Shadow himself. Though the Links try to jog Shadow's memory, he rebels against it and fights them, eventually even winning. However, before he kills them, his own memory is restored somehow, and he stops, and vows to help them defeat Veran and Onox. However, he still has no memory of how Veran and Onox were able to get in to the Light World, or how he is even alive. Ignoring this, the Five Links go to the Sacntuary, restore the Sword, and then infiltrate Veran and Onox's castle.

For anyone that might wonder why I decided to let Shadow "win" this fight, using his dark and evil powers to quickly make work of the light-weilding Links- I didn't want him to lose this pivotal battle, this clear conflict between good and evil, light and dark, and have that make him realize "I've lost, therefore I'm wrong". That's not really how the world works, anyways. Sometimes, the sad reality of life is that good won't always win. But that doesn't mean it's any less worth fighting for.

After battling through the dungeon, the Five Links take on Veran and Onox at the same time. Through a certain battle which hasn't at all been planned out yet, the Links defeat the two. They also learn during/after/before the fight that Shadow is the "Being of Light and Darkness", and the key between traversing through the Dark and Light Worlds. After defeating Veran and Onox, the Four Links use the restored Four Sword to seal the last of Ganon's power in the sword- effectively sealing away the last of his evil might, and killing Veran and Onox. It is Shadow, however, who destroys the souls of Veran and Onox, preventing them from ever coming back again. Reveling in his new power, Shadow wonders what he is to do- and, knowing that Link has to seal away the sword once more, decides to return to the Dark World. Kaepora tells Shadow that, as a being who can freely traverse worlds, he can be very important in establishing a peace between the two realms- something previously unheard of. Shadow does not entirely reject the idea- but says his goodbyes as he returns to the Dark World. The Four Links return the restored Four Sword to its pedestal, and reverts back to one, and Hyrule is once more at peace.

The ending goes through some SERIOUS changes later on in my notes. I go through a big, long decision process on how to end the story, but that's for later on! ;)

This is gonna kick some ASS.

EXTRA! EXTRA AWESOME IDEA!

While the Four Links are the ones who land the killing blow on Veran and Onox, it is Shadow who destroys their souls- and, in the last second of the battle, seizes control of Ganon's trident's power, fusing it into a physical form once more. However, he fuses it into the least violent shape he can create- a purple crystal, hanging on a thick chain. Shadow tells the others that, though they were fighting to keep the Four Sword from breaking, even if it had, the power of the Light wouldn't have gone away- it would have simply found a new physical form, because the power of both the Goddess of Light, and the God of Darkness, is eternal and cannot be destroyed, merely contained or fused in an object or person. Because of this, when the Tridents were destroyed, their power sought a new host- that of Veran and Onox. By creating the powers' new physical form in the crystal, Shadow has effectively contained the last, free power of the God of Evil, keeping it under his control to prevent anyone else from using it for evil ever again. He takes upon himself the responsibility and burden of wearing the jewel around his neck, keeping it safe as his duty of a being of Darkness- as he admits, though they come from different worlds, he wants peace between them- and as long as the Four Sword rests in peace in its Sanctuary, so the jewel will rest around his own neck, the two worlds living together in peace. Though Vio and the others are at first concerned that the cursed jewel will possess Shadow like it had the tridents and Veran/Onox, Shadow is unfazed, and shows clearly that it does not- after all, he is a creature born out of the Darkness itself, and so cannot be controlled by the powers of Darkness- just as the Links, heroes of Light, are not controlled by the Four Sword, but gifted through it.

YESYESYESYES. This leaves an AWESOME twist ending, and an AWESOME way to open up for a threquel!

NOPE. NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE. XD NO NO NO NO. There will NOT be a threquel. Sorry, I just don't have the time, and nor do I have any ideas for a story that would surpass this one. At that point in time, initially drafting the idea for this story, I had this idea about this "item", this "jewel" that would replace the tridents as the new housing area for the God of Darkness' powers. Because the trident idea never got off the ground, this idea doesn't, either.

TITLE POSSIBILITIES:

Reminiscence

1. the act or process of recalling past experiences, events, etc.

2. a mental impression retained and revived.

3. Often, reminiscences. a recollection narrated or told: reminiscences of an American soldier.

4. something that recalls or suggests something else.

Retrospection

1. the action, process, or faculty of looking back on things past.

2. a survey of past events or experiences.

Restoration

1. the act of restoring; renewal, revival, or reestablishment.

2. the state or fact of being restored.

3. a return of something to a former, original, normal, or unimpaired condition.

4. restitution of something taken away or lost.

5. something that is restored, as by renovating.

Recollection

1. the act or power of recollecting, or recalling to mind; remembrance.

2. something that is recollected: recollections of one's childhood.

Reformation

1. the act of reforming; state of being reformed.

Favorites: Reminiscence, Retrospection, Recollection

-Reminiscence, Recollection

And that's basically how I came across the title. XD Pretty simple, eh? (Went through an actual dictionary through a bunch of "RE-" words, picked out my favorites, defined 'em, narrowed 'em down, BOOM!)

Red, Green, Vio, Blue

Fire, Earth, Air, Water

DUNGEONS AND BOSSES:

Prison = Stalfos King

Fire = Dinosaur

Earth = Spider

Air = Dragon

Water = Aquatic

Graveyard = Shadow Link

Hyrule Castle = Veran, Onox

The "Dinosaur" idea for the Fire Temple changed, but that's because I had a better idea- which ultimately became Equinnus! At the same time, the Earth Temple's "Spider" eventually morphed into the sort of scorpion-thing it became. I'll detail these bosses more later on!

This next part was a section in which I'd write down random quotes that came into my head, that I knew I had to put in the story somewhere. Many of them came to me while I was washing those windows in Dairy Queen, making up scenes and scenarios, and wondering what they would say in response. Sometimes, they said some pretty cool or profound things! (Conversely, other times they said really silly and cheesy things, and maybe I'd write them down anyways.) Unfortunately, not all of these lines made it in, but the ones that did make it in, I'm sure you'll be amused about remembering just where they made it in the story!

QUOTES:

Shadow: "... What kind of a person was I?"

Kaepora Gaebora: "The hero Link possesses all of the qualities of the Four Sword Hero... strength, heart, wisdom, and courage. His soul is bound forever to the light. In this same way... Shadow Link also possess each of these qualities... yet his soul is bound, oppositely, to the darkness, through which he was created."

Shadow: "... So, what are you saying? That my destiny's already been decided for me, is that it?"

Kaepora Gaebora: "... Only if you decide to let it. Everyone has the choice... to choose their own destiny."

...

Bird: -flies up next to Shadow-

Shadow: Hmph. ... I wouldn't get so close, little birdy. I'm a villain, after all- the bad guy. Who knows what I'll do to you, huh?

Bird: -flies up on Shadow's knee-

Shadow: ... Stupid bird. -jabs fist towards bird, shadow-flames- I'm the BAD guy, alright?!

Bird: -flies and lands on Shadow's hand-

Shadow: ...

...

KG: ... Who are you?

Vio: ... We are the chosen wielders of the Four Sword.

Blue: The heroes of the land!

Red: Protectors of the weak...

Green: ... And guardians of the Light.

Green: And even in times of peace, when there is no need for such a hero...

Vio: We will stand by our kingdom.

Blue: We'll always be there, ready.

Red: Ready to help whenever we are called upon.

KG: ... And as for you?

Shadow: Who me? What are you, thick? I'm /Shadow/, you morons.

Red: Yes, but...

Shadow: ... I am who I /choose/ to be. And no one else.

...

V/G/R: (After being saved by Blue) You... you just... ... Thank you.

Blue: ... Don't mention it. ... /Ever/.

...

KG: (After Heroes leave Sanctuary for first time) ... The light shines brightest in the dark.

...

DUNGEONS AND BOSSES:

First: Fire: Volcano (Death Mountain?)

Boss:

First Stage: Sea-dragon serpent with horses head, flaming mane

- Dives in and out of stage and lava

Second Stage: Sea-horse dragon

- Jumps in and out of stage and lava

Second: Earth: Forest Temple (Deku Forest?)

Boss:

First Stage: Spider with "tentacles", weak spot and grab

- Maneuvers across holes in the ground

Second Stage: Spider with 3 extra claws on tentacles

- Maneuvers across holes and raised platforms

Third: Air: Sky Temple (Temple in the sky?)

Boss:

First Stage: Chinese-dragon like dragon

- Flies in between maze-arena, striking with razor wings and tail

Second Stage: Western-dragon, lands, with claws and muscles

- Maneuvers across maze-arena

Fourth: Water: Ocean Temple (Zora River/Ocean?)

Boss:

First Stage: Shark-like creature

- Swims around platforms, tries to eat Links

Second Stage: Shark-skeleton, encased in ice

- Tries to freeze the Links, slam them into the water

I'm going to try and see if I can dig them up, but with these notes, I also made several sketches that helped me mentally visualize all of the bosses, including their arena and different forms. Out of all of them, the one with the most amount of changes ended up being Aghorgra(s). The one that went through the least amount of changes was Gyorxok!

The following notes are a brief outline I did, an initial one, before any details were done, of the plotline and sequence of events on the story. They're over-simplified and only focus on main points where a major plot change, or character change, happens. However, sometimes I might also include something small to help me later remember that I'd want this written as well.

-Introduction:

-The dark realm, shadows of Veran and Onox entering the light realm, setting their sights on the Four Sword

-Link doing something with Zelda

-Veran and Onox begin a seige on the castle

-Link is forced into drawing the sword

-Splits into four, but curse knocks them out

-Veran and Onox appear, send them away

-Green awakens in the dungeon first, imprisoned, manages to free himself

-Unsure of who he is, decides to try and navigate through the prison

-Finds Vio also imprisoned, Vio frees himself but is almost captured, Green saves him

-The two team up to get out of the dungeon, though still have amnesia and don't know who they are

-Blue wakes up, also imprisoned, but a guard is there, Blue frees himself and fights the guard

-Blue storms through the dungeon and prison, finds locked up Red, fights another guard

-Red begs Blue to let him go with him, the two don't know each other, but Blue agrees

-Going through the waterworks of the dungeon, Vio and Green encounter Blue and Red

-At first, they start to fight each other, thinking enemies, but other enemies appear and they team up

-After the fight, the four notice their similarities, but neither can remember who they are

-Red suggests they stay together, give names for each other and get out of the dungeon

-Ironically they give each other their "correct" names

-However, before they can leave, Shadow appears

THIS IS NOT THE PROPER USE OF "IRONY". BAD TIGGER. IRONY = SAYING ONE THING BUT MEANING ANOTHER. THIS IS A COINCIDENCE, NOT IRONIC. XD

-Shadow comments dryly on them being able to escape, summons the giant skulltula warrior to fight them

-The Links fight the guard, defeat him

-Shadow appears again, doesn't know them, but decides to "finish them off" himself

-Something the Links say sort of sparks his memory and, unwittingly, he changes his attack right before he blasts them

-He ends up teleporting them out of the dungeon

-Out of the dungeon, the Links are about to split up, but Keapora Gaebora appears

-KG tells them to revisit the FS sanctuary, in hopes of revitalizing their memory

-The Links do this, regain their items- but still don't have their memory, though they know they need to work together

-The Links ask KG, he tells them to go to the four temples of the elements to retrieve the elements and reinfuse the sword with power

-The Links set off first for Death Mountain

-In between chapter, Shadow with Veran and Onox

-Shows he has no memory too, only grudgingly going along with their plan

-He finds turned-to-stone Zelda, begins to think differently about himself

-In death mountain, the Links are trying to get through the insufferable temperatures, Red encouraging them along

-Maybe a fun cart-ride in the mines?

-End boss, stage 1 and stage 2

-Get fire element, Red regains his memory

-Red is at first excited, seeing the others "again", but realizes no one else remembers

-Vio theorizes, getting the elements will restore their memories

-The Links leave the mountain for the closest place, the Deku Forest, told by KG

-In between chapter, Shadow meets KG

-KG talks with Shadow about who he "truly" is, his fate versus his choice

-In the Deku Forest, argue about where to go- Red remembers first time, demands everyone let Green lead

-Green, unsure, leads them through the forest

-?

-End boss, stage 1 and 2

-Green gets earth element, restores his memory, happy with Red

-Green and Red emphasize that they can do it, and that they need to move on

-however, before they move on, Shadow secretly teleports them to the temple in the sky

-Another in between chapter, Shadow "returns" to Veran and Onox

-They are trying to figure out how the Links got into the temple in the sky

-Shadow feigns ignorance, learns how Veran and Onox got their power- i.e. the "lost power of the God of Darkness"

-part of it sparks his memory, but he still can't remember

-In the sky temple, many pitfalls and traps, Links try to be careful, Green insists Vio take the helm

-?

-End boss, stage 1 and 2

-Vio gets air element, his memory is also restored, happy with the others, reflecting on what they've done

-Blue feels left out, but the others cheer him up- his element, water, is next

-KG shows up, flies the Links back to the ground, tells them last place to go

-Last in-between chapter, Shadow finally confronts Veran and Onox

-Veran and Onox decide to bribe/blackmail Shadow, telling him if he cooperates, he'll get to "keep" Zelda

-but also if he goes against them, they'll kill her, and then him

-They order Shadow to go out and set a trap for and kill the Links

-In the water temple

-?

-End boss, stage 1 and 2

-Blue gets water element, no longer has amnesia, Four Links are finally "One" again

-Links travel to the Four Sword Sanctuary to restore the sword- but fall into a trap while there

-Are sent to a graveyard-like-place, navigate through the dungeon

-Meet and fight Shadow at the end

-Shadow wins, but his memory is restored, and he decides to help the Links against Veran and Onox

-With his memory, Shadow reveals to the Links that Veran and Onox used the lost power of the God of Darkness

-The Five Links go to Hyrule Castle

-travel through the dungeon

-?

-Final boss: Veran and Onox, at once, Veran as a sorcerer, Onox as a guard

-Final boss (2): Veran as a giant shapeshifting spider, Onox as a giant dragon

-?

-At the end, Shadow "defeats" them, obliterating their souls and capturing the power of the tridents

-forms the power into a crystal, holds on to it for safekeeping

-The end!

-Death Mountain

-Deku Forest

-Cloud Tops

-Lake Hylia

What's up next? Well, this was somthing that I started but didn't end up finishing. Basically I wanted to explore, to myself, what was each Link /afraid/ of? Because, going into each dungeon, whether they want to reveal it or not, each of the Links are secretly terrified. Why shouldn't they be? They have no idea who they are, who the others are. They're twelve years old. And they've been thrust into this crazy adventure, with no prior knowledge that this is "normal" for them. Now, what scares a character is what makes them weak, what makes them make mistakes, etc. Want to make a character feel more real? Nothing is more real than a character who makes mistakes.

So:

Red's afraid that, with lost faith in each other, they are more alone than they should be. He feels lost and afraid, though something in him drives him to have faith and confidence in the others and follow them to the bitter end. However, due to his lost memories, he is still afraid and unsure, especially afraid when the others don't seem to get along, as he feels that it is imperative they remain a strong group. Unfortunately, he feels that, as a weak hero, he isn't strong enough to keep them from fighting, and even becomes angry at the others and himself when he fails to keep them strong and together. However, as he finally manages to get them to bind together strong and rally around each other's strengths instead of rebelling against each other, he feels restored, as if, this is the reason why he never gave in to his fears- though he had them, and at times almost wanted to succumb to the darkness of his personal terror, there was something that kept him going, even if he didn't know what. He realizes now that what keeps him going is the need for everyone to stick together, as he knows that, just as he needs them, they all need each other.

Green's afraid that, as the seemingly "most useless" member of the team, he has no place among "Vio the wise", "Blue the strong", and "Red the peace-keeper". However, as they first reunite, he feels some sort of urge to take charge of the group, even if the others rebel against it- almost subconsciously he makes the team decisions, and acts like a good leader. However, after Red's time and in the forest, he begins to question his place among the others, who are seemingly more qualified at being heroes than he is. His doubt at his own abilities, and his fear that his poor decisions would place the others in a bad decision, keep him from truly being confident in his decisions and ability to command the others. And yet, as he begins to realize that in his doubt, he only creates fear in the others and fear in himself, he also sees that it's the others who give him the hope and confidence he needs to lead them. He also learns the responsibility of protecting and leading them, and also comes to discover that his true intution and skills as a leader are invaluable to them, and so he accepts his role and throws his heart into it, vowing to help and protect them.

As a little tid-bit: What are Blue and Vio afraid of? Vio is, as we learn later, obviously afraid of his own seemingly lack of emotions, and how his logic gets in the way of his feelings. And Blue is afraid of not knowing who he was- being a Link of such conviction, his own insecurity bothers him more than it should.

Now, when our Links' memories are taken away, of course they don't remember who they WERE, but regardless of this, everyone still has their own personality. They talk a certain way, they act a different way. If you ask the Links, "Are you ready for a fight?!" Memories or no, you'll get a different answer from each Link. Blue would answer, eager and enthusiastic, "HELL yeah! Bring it on!" Red, on the other hand, might shrink back and say, "Do we have to? Well... okay! Let's go!" All of the Links experience this own conflict of character- though they may instinctively, reflexively, talk and act a certain way, how do they know "who they were" versus "who they are"? Again, this was a very fun conflict for me to explore!

Alright, guys! This next part is pretty big and lengthy, so I'll do my best to explain it before we start. What helps me before writing is actually knowing WHAT I'm going to write, order-wise of events. The outline from before helps, yes, but I also find it great brainstorming help when I "summarize" a chapter BEFORE I write it. I'll think of some cool things I probably wouldn't have thought of earlier, or thought of during actually writing the chapter, and writing them down helps me get a better grasp of starting the chapter, knowing the direction I'm headed in.

So, if you like, feel free to skip this long part. Most of it entails things that don't change very much from here to the final draft, anyways.

Kaepora Gaebora tells the Links to go to Death Mountain first. He mentions that it's odd, but that it's starting to look like it will erupt. If it does, the element inside will be destroyed- so they must make haste for that place first. They do so, but as they enter and try to make their way through the dungeon, fights break out- both literal fights of the Links facing random and new monsters in the caverns, and verbal fights between the Links as they argue where to go, who to lead, how to proceed, etc. Throughout it all, Red is trying to keep the peace, but is overall ignored. As the Links' arguments escalate, they reach a center room, where a mini-boss appears. Not being united as a team, the four Links attempt to fight the mini-boss, but essentially "fail", and are defeated. However, while still in the fight- as the mini-boss has yet to kill them, though it's obvious who is winning- the ground beneath them starts to shake.

Their fight with the mini-boss, while should have been an easy one, was terribly coordinated and has caused a tremor throughout the volcano, as it grows closer and closer to eruption. This tremor causes the ground to split. The mini-boss is lost in the lava river beneath, but the Links are suddenly trapped on different plates of rock that are floating down the river of magma. Each of the Links try and get their way out, on their own, but Red sees that there is only one way to make it out, and so forcibly runs across the plates of rock, gathering up the Links onto one, central plate. As they are all on the same rock, they approach a massive magma-waterfall. If they go over, they will tip and fall in the lava and burn. However, standing in the center of the Links, he has a flash-back, remembering the time in the manga when they are also trapped on a piece of rock falling into lava. He remembers the second use for his Fire Rod- and, at the last moment, uses his Ice Rod to bring them to a safe landing.

After this, the Links have a heart-to-heart conversation as they drift down the river slowly on the rock, and thank Red for saving them, and agree to try not and fight any longer. The river eventually takes them to the final boss. After the first stage is fought and won, the second stage comes- but the volcano also begins its eruption, making the battle more difficult. However, the Four are able to defeat the boss, and at the end, retrieve the Fire Element, which restores Red's memory. The four then leave Death Mountain before it can erupt. They leave, and it does erupt- though when they meet KG, he says that its eruption was a good thing- the curse on it has been broken, and after it erupts, it will settle and become peaceful once more.

Edit: Red's flash back also includes Vio in the sands yelling at him ""You wanted us all to believe in you… now it's your turn to believe in yourself!"".

Edit Edit: Nope it doesn't. :V Anyways! That's Red's dungeon, the Fire Temple. The boss wasn't very detailed out, but that's because I treated each boss almost like its own temple- I would set aside a new document to outline, "okay, what are this boss' attacks? Where is its weak spot? What weapons need to be used, what will each Link be doing during the fight?" And so on and so forth.

KG then instructs them next to go to the Forest Temple. He says he has been keeping an eye on all the temples, and the Forest Temple also has something wrong with it- it is slowly being buried in sands that are blowing in and being pulled in, it seems, from the desert nearby. If it is buried, the Earth Element will also be lost. At this point, each of the Links are still coming to terms with the revealed facts of who they were, as Red recounts all of their adventures together on their way to the temple. Blue doesn't deny his strength, and Vio also ascertains that he would be the wise one of the group. However, it is Green who is the most unsure of himself, as he doesn't ever remember leading them, and isn't sure if he's qualified enough to. However, Red insists on it, and the others, though doubtful, decide to trust Red and agree to let Green lead them through the temple.

Going into the temple, Red's talking to everyone about their past adventures, who had what role, etc. Blue and Vio are pretty accepting of their roles and agree to them, but Green is the one who is unsure of the title of leader, and doesn't have much faith in him, despite the others being firm on following him, because he was their leader, as Red said. Now, all of this talk is actually going on inside the dungeon, as they're walking through the tunnels. Red, of course, doesn't know any better because he's still bubbling over with excitement and wants to talk continuously. Normally, Green would be the sensible leader and tell him to stop and wait until they got out of the temple, so they can get through safely, but as he's still unsure of himself, he continues to listen to Red talk. However, their unawareness soon lands them smack dab in the middle of a bunch of monsters and enemies. Everyone's terrified, and Green is too nervous to formulate a plan, so he tells them all to run. The four start running through the temple with these dozens and dozens of monsters on their tails, and soon come up to a dead end. However, as some of the monsters follow them into the room, the room suddenly starts to seal itself up, as sand begins to pour in from every angle, flooding the room.

The falling into the pit thing was a last-minute addition, because I thought it would be fun and a bit silly. :P Plus, who'd be able to resist writing Blue shouting "GERONIMOOOOOOO!", falling splat on the floor and then a bawling Red landing right on top of him?

The monsters are still attacking them in the rising sand, the heroes are trying to fight them off and get away, and slowly, the sand is beginning to fill the room to the ceiling, with the heroes still trapped inside. And yet, a few minutes later, by a stroke of luck, Green finds that he's made it out of the room safely- only, looking back, he realizes that the others are still trapped in the room. He, of course, tries to open the door and get back in, but fails, as the room is sealed. This is when Green feels as if he's failed them, and thinks they're dead. However, there was a secret hole, a tunnel, in the room, through which the three remaining Links, and the monsters with them, fall down through. Once in the next room where the tunnel leads, the three Links are captured and tied to posts in a large, central chamber, where hundreds of the monster's minions are. Back with Green, who had made for the exit thinking the others were behind him, he is beginning to succumb to his grief.

However, he notices a rusty lever with which to open the door. At that moment, his own flashback occurs- the time when the Keaton teleported them to the magic land with the golden grass, and revived all of them- when his spirits were heaviest, how a brightness came and restored everything- including his confidence. His confidence and belief restored, he forces the handle up and opens the door. Once entering it, he finds the sand level went down, and that there's an open tunnel. Seeing a glimmer of hope in that the others may have survived, he goes down the hole, hiding when he finds the others tied up and the hundreds of monsters guarding them. Covertly, Green begins to go around, trying to rescue them and get out of there. He also has to win back the trust of Vio and Blue, who feel betrayed that Green left the room without them- even if he didn't mean to, or wasn't aware that the others weren't behind him. However, with the help of Red, he does, and the four escape under Green's guidance. However, they are soon spotted- and, seconds later, the room begins to fill with sand again, as more of the temple starts to sink into the ground. The monsters try and attack the Links as the sand rises, but Green, finally taking charge, commands the Links to fight off those in their way and make towards the slowly sealing exit on the far side of the wall.

A lot of the Links' "flashbacks" change during the process. Peronally, it was VERY hard deciding which one to use for Green, as I did love the golden-grass scene with the Keaton. However, in the end, each flashback had to relate to ONLY that Link, and that scene felt too communal, involving all Four of them, to be specific only to Green. Plus, with Red's inclusion in it, I knew it would be just the push Green needed. In addition to this, I also changed, last-minute, the "success" of their escape. I wanted the other Links to understand what happened when they disobeyed Green, when they didn't do what he said- and find out the results. Green IS their leader for a reason! Not only this, but they had to realize, and understand, that they did wrong.

This time, Green is last to go through the door, but the four eventually make it out of the flooding room, and reconvene with Green on the other side. However, after a long staircase leading downwards, the four find their way into the boss chamber and fight both stages of the boss. At the end, the sand drains, and reveals an ancient and broken-down giant cannon- and next to it, the Earth Element, which Green takes and has his memory restored. Shortly after regaining his memory, the rumbling continues and KG contacts them telepathically, telling them to get out of there. Vio insists the canon is important, and KG teleports them- and the canon- out of the sinking temple. They make it out of the temple in time, but it soon sinks. KG, however, tells them that it's okay- the temple will be preserved underground, and one day, the sand will return to the desert, and the temple will be restored to its former glory. They are then left with the broken down cannon, which KG tells them is important in order to get to the Temple in the Sky. They must go into town and find someone who can repair the Sky Cannon.

Edit: Green's flashback memory isn't of the Keaton. It's of the part in the fic where Green is in the forest, trying to win back Red's trust, and he says, "But I promise you, Red, I'll never leave you alone again." Once more, he extended his hand." Green remembers his promise to Red, and this is what keeps him going. He also remembers the part that comes after, with Red's trust in him, "He then looked back at Green with a quiet, forgiving smile. "But… I know you'll find 'em. Won't you?"" And that restores his drive.

Yay! :P There's the change. Also, next is me trying to plan Green's boss battle.

Green's boss planning:

Let's reflect on some other boss battles. How some are defeated. But most of them are always using a weapon gained in that specific dungeon- like how Red's Ice Rod beat his boss, Vio's Bow will beat his, and Blue will beat his boss with his hammer. So let's think back on bosses beaten with the boomerang- there's Twilight Princess, where we use the Gale Boomerang to throw bombs to the plant head, to attack it. There aren't any bombs in the arena, or anything like that- and it's not a gale boomerang- so, scratch that. In OOT, Barinade is defeated by using the boomerang to cut its ties to the ceiling, then stun it to attack it. But again, this guy is doing what Equinnus did, plus one more thing: Not only is it running around the room, it's also charging head on and trying to grab the Links with its pincers. Now the only other boss I can think of that is a spider/scorpion thing, that grabs Link, is Gohma from WW... But you use the grappling hook to evade AND attack at the same time. I don't think that'll work here. Any other bosses like that in the other games...? Not MM... Not OOT... Not MC... I guess it's sort of similar to Moldorm from ALttP. Looking at Moldorms, a boomerang would hit them from behind, their tail, to strike, as they just continue charging. Looking back, though, my boss is most similar to Morpheel from TP- stage one is just half-way through, stage two is around the entire battlefield (only attacks are reversed- first stage of Morpheel, its tentacles grab you, second stage it only tries to eat you. That's opposite of my boss.)

Aaaand the continuation of my little "pre-written summaries"! NOW! Before I go on, I want to give a special shout-out to The Great Mikey Weston, who was instrumental in helping me brainstorm this idea. I knew, after I'd come up with the idea for the first two elemental temples, that I needed some kind of "break", maybe even a "side-quest" thing to divide out the four temples. Four temples right after another without some kind of relapse, to me, seemed a bit much. We went through a bunch of ideas before this one came up, and I was very pleased with the result.

Now comes the mid-break scene in the middle of the fic. The Links venture into Castle Town, and find a repairman. However, he says the cost will be 3,000 rupees- much more than the Links can afford. And since the castle is currently under Veran and Onox's control, they have no way to get the money. It's then that they learn of a competition in town for that day- a sort of collessium-like contest for heroes, with a 3,000 rupee reward. Despite reluctance and objections from the Links, they eventually decide to enroll in the competition. Though they're scoffed at by being mere kids, they enter anyways, knowing they need to win. However, Red insists that they can't have a little fun while doing it. The first challenge comes around, and it's a classic gladiator fight. Only one person can enter the collesseum for each of the four challenges at a time, so Blue boldly takes this challenge for himself. After an intense, yet humorous, fight, Blue wins, and their team gets first place for that round.

The next part is a sea battle- one in which the collesseum will be flooded with water, and a large sea serpent placed in, where the hero must fight it and defeat it. Vio eagerly volunteers for this round, saying it is all about strategy. After another intense, also funny, fight, Vio wins the fight and fells the sea serpent. The third challenge is a lion-fighting challenge, where the fighter must defeat, or last five minutes, in a ring with a lion. Green tries to volunteer, thinking it'd be better him than Red, but Red, noticing something about the lion, volunteers instead and eagerly takes it as his challenge. He enters the ring, and, deftfully, is able to take off a collar embedded in the lion's fur, choking his neck and poking him with sharp knives on the inside of the collar. This was what encited the lion to attack, and so once Red gets it off, the lion does not attack him, and his five minutes run out. None of the other contestants were able to defeat the lion, or last the five minutes, so Red wins the challenge.

The last competition is for Green, a chariot race. Again, it's humorous, funny, but still intense- and in the end, Green wins. However, there is one final challenge, with all four of them in the ring at once. The challenge is a fight against the champion knight of the games, a giant warrior. The four work together to defeat him. They do, and the four win the grand prize, and the 3k rupees. Going back to the repairman, they admit they all had a bit of fun, and it was good to take even a small break from their dangerous adventures in the temples and grow closer together as a team. They pay the repairman, who quickly fixes the canon. The four Links climb into the cannon and are shot out to the skies, as KG directs their aim. Before they are launched, he warns them that what happened at the Forest Temple confirmed his fears- Veran and Onox are attempting to destroy all of the temples in order to destroy the Elements themselves. However, even they do not possess the means to destroy the temple in the sky. While this means the temple itself is not in danger, he warns that they still may have sent minions to the temple to look for the elements. The Links agree, and set off for the temple. (In a comedic moment, Red worriedly asks how they're going to get back once they're there- but they're shot out of it before they can get an answer.)

The four Links are launched into the Sky Temple, and land in the clouds. The Sky Temple is straight ahead, pristine and untouched- so it seems. However, they soon hear monstrous roars coming from the highest towers, and wonder if those are the monsters sent by Veran and Onox, who are still looking through the temple for the Air Element. Either way, they know they must be quick and find it before the monsters do. However, while all the Links are firm in their resolve, it is Vio who goes into the temple with doubt and uncertainty- not about their mission, but about himself, as he has yet to become open with the others or allow himself to think about who he is. Almost as soon as the four enter the temple, to find it calm and pristine, they are set upon by a horde of ghosts. Though the Links try to fight them off, Vio becomes separated from the others and trapped in a room. Though he almost seems to be killed, he is saved by a sudden light- and then, by the same light, suddenly falls unconscious.

His spirit awakens out of his body, and for a moment, he is afraid he may have died. However, light spirits come to him and tell him he is not dead- but that he is being tested. They explain that they are the ancestors of the guardians of the ancient and holy Sky Temple, and that it is their duty to judge all those who enter. They judge the hearts of those who come in- as good, or bad- and the bad are completely obliterated, killed and left to wander the halls of the temple as ghosts. (Vio realizes then that the ghosts that attacked them were monsters sent by Veran and Onox.) However, Vio asks then why he and his friends were allowed in. The spirits saw into their hearts and determined them to be of pure mind and heart- but, they drew Vio aside and made him a spirit to judge him. Because, they said, his heart is closed- and they could not see into it, as Vio had closed it off to everyone, including himself. The spirits could not be sure if Vio was good or evil- even though Vio insists that he's a hero, so of course he's good. The spirits do not believe him, however- and resolve that they will test Vio. If he can prove himself pure and open of his heart, they will return him to his body. Vio agrees, and the tests begin.

Meanwhile, the other Links finally fight off the spirits, but notice Vio has gone missing. They know that Vio wouldn't wander off by himself without at least telling them, so they know something must have happened to them. They decide that, even if the element is in danger, they must search for Vio first. So they begin to search for Vio through the halls, as, in someplace else, Vio undergoes various tests by the spirits. Although he passes them, the spirits still say they cannot determine or see into his heart. Vio asks what he must do in order to prove himself worthy- and they answer, he must open his heart first to himself, and then the rest will follow. At this point, Vio hears the sounds of battle. The Links finally found Vio's unconscious body, and, while they thought he was dead at first, saw that he was only unconscious/in a state of sleep, that he was still alive and breathing. However, the three Links were suddenly beset upon by the same horde from before of ghost monsters, this time with a horrible, armored spectre commander leading the force.

The Links are fighting them off, trying to protect Vio, whose body is still lying there unconscious while his spirit is with the spirits. Ignoring the spirits now, Vio runs over to them, despite the fact that the other Links can't see him, and desperately tries to fend them off. However, he realizes he cannot fight them being a spirit- except, however, for the commander, who can attack him. Vio tries to hold off the commander and fights him, but fails and is pushed aside, as the general advances on the Links, who are slowly losing the fight. Seeing their determination to keep protecting Vio, even as he is unconscious, sparks Vio's memory slightly, and he has a flashback to his and Green's fight, from the manga. Now determined more than anything, he begs to the spirits to save them, even if he has to die himself. The spirits at first seem to refuse him- but Vio is suddenly drawn back into his body, and, without a second's hesitation, leaps up and stabs the general with his sword. However, in the same swift motion, the General's sword also pierces straight through Vio's chest and into his heart.

As the general dies, his minions die with him and disappear, and Vio collapses, as the others crowd around him, fearing that he will die from his mortal wound. Vio, however, tells them he's sorry, though slowly dying. However, in the moments before Vio dies (or maybe after he dies? Haven't decided this yet), the spirits of the ancestors return, and restore Vio, reviving him and recovering him. They say that, when Vio's heart was pierced with the general's sword, it opened not only physically, but spiritually to them- and they saw who he truly was. This was enough, they decided, to save him. They then open the doorway which leads to the top tower, allowing the Four Links to proceed to the top tower, where the Air Element is being kept. The four advance to the top, only to find the two bosses chained up there. Vio recalls what the spirits told him- there are demons that are too strong for even them, and those, they have to subdue or send away from the tower instead of destroy. The ancestors were able to put the dragons in a deep sleep and chain them to the tower.

However, Shadow suddenly appears there, and sets the dragons free. The fight commences. After the fight, Vio receives the Air Element, and along with it, his memory. Finally, at the very end, the others begin to wonder how Shadow even got into the tower's temple, if only those of pure hearts are allowed in. Vio simply smiles and says that the spirits made the right choice by letting him in- and that they know more than any of them will ever know. As they now have the third element, at the top of the tower, they wonder how they will get down- when KG appears above them. (He's a bird, after all. He can just fly up there.) With two Links hanging on each of his claws, he flies the Four Links back down to the surface.

Vio's flash back: His and Green's fight from the manga.

More nope. P: Instead, I decided to go for the moment in which Vio "returns" to the other Links, celebrating being together again after having been separated for so long. Also, this has one more bit of dialogue that I actually wish I had included in the story- the part where the other Links question, why was Shadow even allowed in the Temple, if the Spirits were there turning all those of unpure hearts to ghosts? Vio knows why! ;) (Why didn't I include it? Pretty sure I just forgot about it, haha!)

After KG flies the Links back down to the ground, he lands by the coast of the ocean, showing them Lake Hylia- and the storm that's brewing in the center of it, a giant hurricane/cyclone that's slowly sinking the Water Temple, which before was situated on top of the lake at the center. Now, however, it's slowly starting to sink. KG tells the Links they don't have much time- they can get in and be safe, as the temple has a defense mechanism which seals the Temple closed so it won't flood, but it will also seal the Links out if they don't get there fast enough. Also, the path to the temple- while before a strong and sturdy earth bridge- is now starting to also sink under the ferocious storms, under the ocean. Blue, instantly seeing what needs to be done, charges forward and ushers the Links across the remaining bridge of rock. It's dangerous and risky, but in the end, the Links make it through.

Though each compliments Blue on his drive and instinct, it secretly hurts Blue, as he is still frustrated about being the last to receive his memory. As the others compliment Blue saying things like, "Good ol' Blue! You always did come through, in the end!" and things that referred to the "old" Blue, Blue begins to wonder if he's any different than who he was before he lost his memories, and which "side" of him truly defines who he is. As the problem is too deep for him to contemplate, it frustrates him even further, especially as he begins to wonder who he was before he lost his memories, and who he "should" be. Aside from this, as the Links enter the main hub of the temple, they see that the temple itself is made of complex machinery and pumps designed to use the water of the lake to control the opening and closing of gates in the temple. However, these machines are not working, and the Links soon find out why: when a giant monster, made up of hundreds of small electrical, jellyfish-like creatures, appears seemingly from nowhere and attacks them. Its electrical currents, Vio quickly discovers, are what's causing the machines to malfunction and cease working.

However, before Vio can figure out how to defeat it, he is suddenly captured by the monster- which proceeds to wrap its electrical tentacles around him, enabling the monster to control Vio. The monster then sends a controlled, unaware Vio after the Links, so Vio ends up attacking them. As Green tries to fend off Vio, and Red is stuck trying to fend off the jellyfish, Blue is stuck with the "responsibility" of defeating the monster. By a stroke of luck, he severs the bonds controlling Vio, and by doing so, injures the monster. The monster flees and Vio is freed, and a part of the machinery in the room starts working. After recovering from the attack, the Links notice two other pathways, leading to two other machine/pump rooms. In the next room, the jellyfish monster appears again and once more takes control of one of the Links- Green.

A small change here was made- Green became the first to be possessed by the jellyfish, not Vio. The main reason I chose this was because Green is our de facto "leader", and even though this is going to happen a few more times, I wanted the first impact of the initial possession to be very heavy, serious, and even scary. Also, I made it so defeating the jellyfish caused immense physical pain- yet another thing that would make it more difficult to defeat them, and something that Blue would ultimately take upon himself.

As Vio was posessed the first time and doesn't know how to defeat the monster, and is stuck trying to keep Green from hurting them and keep them from hurting him, with Red once again stuck with defending them from the other jellyfish, Blue is once again left to defeat the monster, which he does. His actions in the past few fights are again complimented by the others, but they still don't realize it's hurting Blue, as he still is questioning himself, if he's doing what he "should" do, or what "he" should do. In the last room, the Links are more prepared, but once again, the monster appears and this time, takes control of Red. Blue is secretly terrified now, as he doesn't want Red to get hurt, even though Red is completely not like himself and instead attacking all the Links. Blue leaves defeating the monster to Green and Vio, and tries desperately to free Red. In the end, the monster is defeated, and once more Blue is going through his own inner turmoil. However, the Links think that now, they can proceed to the depths of the temple where the element is.

However, upon returning to the central chamber, the gate is still sealed- because the jellyfish monster is back again, and stronger than ever- as it has been tapping the electrical energy from the machines and using it for its own powers. It then takes control of not one Link, but all the other three Links- Vio, Green, AND Red- and turns them all against Blue at once. As the Links all advance upon Blue, he has a flashback from the mountainside, when he saw all the Links following him through the snow, leaning on him for support. More determined than ever, he resolves to free them and, through some fight, defeats the monster, freeing the Links and opening the gate. Once the Links are free, they once more thank Blue, but this time, he feels more confident in who he is- no matter what personality he may have, or others may define him as, he is the rock of the heroes, the one they can all lean on and count on when things go bad- the one to be there for them and provide them with strength and support.

Y'know, I wonder if Blue's flashback was the only one that didn't change? XD

More confident as a group, the four proceed down the gate to the depths of the temple, and encounter the first and second stages of the boss. After defeating the boss, Blue knows the element will give him his memories back. Though he admits he wonders if he will change, and become the person he once was or stay who he "is", the other Links assure him, and he takes the element, regaining his memories. After doing so, they spot a machine with an indention of the element- Blue places it in, and the entire temple machinery works again, pushing the temple back up to the surface. After Blue removes the element, the Four backtrack across the path and back to the coast, where they meet Kaepora Gaebora one last time. He tells them that, now that they have all four elements, they need to head to the castle and defeat Veran and Onox.

This part, with the temple being risen from the lake, was omitted simply because I wanted to end the chapter with the happy scene of all the Links, their memories restored, making up and being happy and all sorts of cheesy awesomeness. Besides, a lot of that is already implied- now with the four elements, we already know that they can go and reach Veran and Onox. :P

The Four Links, in high spirits, are returning to the castle, ready and eager to take on Veran and Onox. However, before they reach the castle, they are suddenly ambushed and teleported to a strange place- what Vio believes to be an old, forgotten graveyard. As the Links try and figure their way out, they meet up with Shadow. As all the Links now remember Shadow, they try and convince him that he's their friend, and that he needs to help them. Shadow, however, has made up his mind, and he gives the Links an ultimatum- he will listen to them, and get them out of the graveyard, if they can overcome his challenge. He doesn't say what his challenge is, but he says each of the Links must accept and overcome it if they want him to listen to them. The Links are wary to agree, but do so, and Green volunteers taking the first challenge, to make sure it's alright for the others. Shadow then blasts dark magic into Green's body, which wraps around him and then separates, creating a shadow-infused, doppleganger clone of Green. The clone then prepares to fight Green- and Shadow creates a barrier separating the others from him, and then disappears. Green must fight and defeat himself- a dark version of himself, that is.

After he does, Shadow re-appears and Green realizes this is the challenge he means for all of them. Though Green is puzzled as to why Shadow would pit them against such a challenge, Blue steps up to take the next fight. He says that he remembers Shadow as being a jerk sometimes, yeah, but being good inside, too. So, he'll fight extra-hard to make him realize that. Blue's clone is created, and Blue fights him, also winning in the end. After his victory, Vio is next to take the challenge, saying that, like Blue, he'll do what it takes to bring Shadow back his memories. Vio also fights his clone, and defeats it. Lastly, Red takes the challenge, saying to Shadow that he felt he failed as the person who kept them all together, since Shadow was taken by the villains and made to think he was evil. However, he says, he won't fail this time- and fights his clone, winning. After all the Links overcome their challenge, Shadow reappears, and agrees to listen to them tell their side of the story. One by one the Links try and remind Shadow of their previous adventure and how Shadow was really their friend. However, at the end of it, Shadow still doesn't believe them. He asks why he would be their friend if he is a creature of darkness- born of evil and meant for nothing but evil.

Oh boy- the Dark Links. These were fun fights to plan! Although in this simple summary I just said "they fight each one and win", I did a whole 'nother separate planning process for each fight (which, in the end, made the chapters last longer than I originally planned them to!), knowing that it was basically each Link fighting against themselves- only, a version of themselves that would not tire, would not falter, and had a near-unlimited supply of energy and strength. So, the question became, how in the WORLD would you defeat something that has exactly what you have, and, in addition, is stronger physically? The Links would figure this out- it was what made them human, each of them with their own faults and weaknesses, that would be what they could use to defeat each dark copy.

Finally, in his rage, Shadow challenges the Links to fight him. The Links initially refuse, but Shadow forces them to fight back after he starts attacking them in a boss-like challenge. Though the Links defeat his first "stage", Shadow becomes even more powerful and defeats them during the second part of the fight. However, before he can land the killing blow on them, something sparks his memory and he remembers everything. After this, reeling in his newfound memory, he stops attacking the Links and tells them he won't stop them now that they can go to Veran and Onox. The Links protest and insist that Shadow help them. At first, Shadow is too ashamed, and still doesn't believe he's "good" enough to help heroes defeat the darkness- especially since he IS the darkness. After a bit of convincing words from each of the Links, though, Shadow finally, reluctantly agrees, and the Five Links now travel to the castle to defeat Veran and Onox once and for all.

Doppleganger/Shadow, dark clones = Graveyard

I changed this last bit up for two different reasons. The first was that, character-wise, I wasn't sure that Shadow was at a point where he was ready to forgive himself. He still had too many questions, too many regrets holding him back. NOW- it was at this point that I finally understood who Shadow was. I guess you could say, in one way, that all I did was create a background, a history, a past for him that matched the rest of the story. But, the way I look at it, I just /discovered/ what was already there. It's at this point, story-wise, when Shadow's given the rest of his memories by Kaepora, including who he was before he became "Shadow Link". This is probably, to me, the greatest feeling when writing a story- LEARNING about a character I created.

Some extra stuff I figured out about Shadow. WHO he is, WHAT he is, WHY he's here, etc etc.

Remember when the Goddess of Light created the Four Sword? And the God of Darkness tried to destroy it? Well, before he went to destroy it himself, he first sent a demon to destroy it for him: a shadow of darkness, of his own creation. The shadow was born out of and created from the darkness, evil and controlled by evil. But when that shadow came into the birthplace of the Four Sword, and witnessed its creation- it grew its own free will, and broke away from the God of Darkness, instead refusing to destroy the Sword. The Goddess saw this shadow, and, despite seeing that there was darkness and evil in it, saw that its decision of free will, the ability to choose its own destiny and, for itself, determine right and wrong, was right and just.

Therefore, she accepted the shadow's blessing, and blessed him in return. This creation was before mankind was ever created: and when she created mankind, she created them with the qualities of the Four Sword heroes in mind: and the quality of one other, the shadow who had come to destroy her, but had seen the light and moved to choose its own destiny, aside from what had been determined for itself. In this manner, this is sort of how "sin" and "darkness" in mankind was born. The reason people have thoughts of darkness, doubt, evil, etc. is because each of them have their own "shadow", a darker side to them- but one not limiting or dedicating them to evil. One instead which allows them to CHOOSE to use this evil, or choose to overcome this darkness, despite itself, and become good.

SHADOW LINK was the original shadow who came and turned sides, and she blessed him by making him the shadow of the Four Sword Hero, whom she based off her entire creation of mankind off of. Therefore, ever since Link was born, Shadow Link has been a part of him, if only subconscious. When the Four Sword finally and first split Link, Shadow was also split out of the hero. However, he was not "created" by Ganondorf- merely captured and used by him. As a dark shadow of the hero, he was indeed trapped in the Dark Realm when he first awoke, which was how Ganondorf was able to draw him out using the Dark Mirror.

Even when he died, because he was a part of the Four Sword Hero Link, his soul never truly died, only to be awakened and revived by Ganondorf AFTER Link drew the sword for the second time (Reiteration). As he died again before Link sealed the sword, his soul remained drifting in the Dark Realm, instead of sealed back inside Link. Finally, in Reminiscence, his soul was found and used- but his conscious was not regained until Link pulled the Four Sword again. After this, his physical form returned to him- but because of the curse affecting the Hero Link (who Shadow Link was a part of), also loses his memories. Shadow will learn all of this by the end of the fic.

BOSS NAMES

Blazing Charger Steed, Equinnus

Armored Molten Stallion, Equinnus **

Gargantuan Desert Arthropod, Scorpidae

Demonic Stinging Arachnid, Scorpidae **

Serpentine Tempest Pair, Aghorgras

Fused Draconic Monstrosity, Aghorgra **

Raging Aquatic Chondrichthian, Gyorxok

Arctic Skeletal Ichthyoid, Gyorxok **

Unfortunately I didn't really have a written-down "process" for discovering the names of the bosses. But I can definitely give an example- Blazing Charger Steed, Equinnus. Obviously, "Equine" for him being a horse, blazing on fire, steed, etc etc. I looked through a bunch of other Zelda boss names and found that they were mostly just a rehashed description of what it already was, so, yay for orginiality! XD

Starting from Chapter 17, I decided I'd make things easier on myself and chapter planning (right before or when I was writing it) by writing just a few words on what each chapter entailed. Of course, you'll notice that each chapter "few word description" got longer and longer... whoops. ^^'

Chapter Seventeen: Doubt

One: Temple, Walk in, Red talking, Green thinking, Ambushed, Outnumbered, Run

Chapter Eighteen: Loss

Two: Chased to Flooded Room, Battle/Escape, Green Escapes, I've Lost Them

Chapter Nineteen: Redemption

Three: No I haven't, Memory, Follow, Find, Regain their trust, Escape, Are they gonna make it?

Chapter Twenty: Renew

-Boss1

Chapter Twenty-One: Restore

Five: Defeat Stage Two, Green's Memory and Broken Sky Canon GET!

Chapter Twenty-Six: Illusion

Arrive, The Temple, Go Inside, A Door, Explore, Ambush, Fight, Separated, Red, Green, Blue, Vio, Vio "Killed"

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Introspection

Where am I, I'm dead, No you're not, We're judging you, Begin Tests, Where's Vio?, Search, Find him, Surrounded, Ohcrap, Vio's tests, Passing but not, Ambush, Find them

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Judgment

Fighting, I've gotta help them, Fail, Please help them, Flashback, I'm going to go help them, I'd give anything, attack, attacked, they disappear, I'm dying, goodbye

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Disposition

I'm dead, Sages Arrive, Wake up, I'm alive, Let's go, The Tower, The Dragons + Shadow, Shadow Revive Dragons, Ohcrap, Form a Plan, Attack, Are they Dead?, No!

Chapter Thirty: Discern

Dragon Attacks, Take Blue and Red, Land on Pillars, Plan, Get Up Here, Vio+Green, Land on Pillars, Attack, Blue+Red, Green+Vio, Final Blow, Get Off, Dragon Dies, Element, Vio's Memory

Chapter Thirty-Two: Precedent

Let's Fly, Riding Kaepora, Landing, The Storm, The Temple, Go, Run, Make it, Go Blue!, Blue Angst, Machines, Jellyfish Monster, Green Possessed, Fight

Chapter Thirty-Three: Anchor

Green Fights, Blue/Red/Vio Fight, Blue's Realization, Strike, Green recovers, What the heck, The door's 1/3rd open, The next room, Vio and the machine, Vio's caught, The attacking jellyfish, Confronting Vio

Chapter Thirty-Four: Armor

Defeat, Blue's hurt, Blue's OK, Next Room, Another Ambush, Red's Possessed, They're separated, Blue won't, The others are possessed, Blue fights, Blue flashback, Blue fights2

Chapter Thirty-Five: Onslaught

Fight, Disarm, Rush, Free, Done, To the Boss, Bridge Break, The Boss, Swim and Fight, His weak point, Blue's attack, The Waterfall, The Fall

Chapter Thirty-Six: Strike

Fall, Where's Blue, Ice Platform, Spreading Ice, The Boss and Red Knocked Over, Blue Goes After Him, Green & Vio Fighting Minions, Red Rescues Blue, Red & Blue, Blue's Revelation & Plan, Their Attack, Victory, The Element, Blue's Memories, The Rising Temple, A Bridge Out

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Confrontation

To Hyrule Castle, We're All Ready, Dark Clouds Ahead, Transported, The Graveyard, Search A Bit, There's Shadow, Give Us A Chance, Explain, No, Shadow's Challenge, Accept, Green First

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Opposition

Darkness, The Arena, Dark Green, The Fight, The Same Moves, Defeat, What Was That, Blue's Turn, Dark Blue Attacks, Blue's Tiring, Blue Learns, Blue Fights Back, Final Blow

Chapter Forty: Defiance

Dark Blue Dies, Blue Wins, Red Next, Time to Go, Dark Red's Creation, Fire vs. Ice, Ice vs. Fire, Dark Red's Intensity, Red's Victory, Dark Red's Death, After the Fight, Vio's Turn

Chapter Forty-One: Adversity

Vio's Memories, Dark Vio, Two Fighters, Calculated Fighting, His Weakness, Final Attack, Dark Vio's Demise, Shadow's Reluctant Acceptance, Links' Refusal, Shadow's Argument, Links' Argument, Memory for Shadow, Memory2, Shadow Attacks

44: Shadow reunites with the Links, helps them break the barrier and enter the castle.

45: Fight with Equinnus- Blue is lost

46: Fight with Scorpidae- Red is lost

47: Fight with Aghorgra- Vio is lost

48: Fight with Gyorxok- Shadow is lost

49: Green continues on alone, Fake!Shadow, Start of the Battle

50: FINAL BATTLE TIME

Alright guys, this is the final part of the notes- but rest assured, it's also one of the biggest and most intense. That's right- this is all of my planning and notes that went into the final five chapters of the fic, the final battle against Veran and Onox and the ending of Reminiscence. I can't even begin to describe how long it took for me to research and plan all of the attacks, all of the processes, the heroic sacrifices, the roles and assigned tactics, etc etc... It was crazy. But I'll try and condense and show you as much as I can, anyways! :)

So what happens next? Chapter fifty. The big one where all the Links reunite, and fight Veran and Onox in their first stage.

50. Reunite, Fight 1st Stage

51. Fight 2nd Stage

52. Fight 3rd Stage

53. Fight 4th Stage

54. Victory & Choice

55A. (End 1?)

55B. (End 2?)

Meaning I have 4, or 3, chapters to write this final, epic battle. This all depends on how I choose to end the fic.

Do I still want to do a "your choice" type of ending? Where the Links can either remain separate or together?

Let's explore that option.

a) I leave the reader with two chapters, and thus, two options. One- the Links fuse back together, sealing the Four Sword. This means that Shadow would also be sealed along with Link, as he is a part of the Four Sword hero and splits- and joins- along with them. Why would Link seal the Four Sword? Why would the five Links agree to this? Shadow, for one, would be resigned to agree with the Links either way, happy to accept whichever fate and to go with the Four Sword Heroes whichever they choose. So that leaves it up to the Four- Green, Red, Blue, and Vio- to determine whether or not they want to fuse or not. And if they decide to fuse- why? Well, remember that their only outside "influence" is Kaepora. He is the one who revealed to Shadow his past, and who guided the Four Sword heroes throughout their adventure. So it depends majorly on his influence. They would ask him- what would he say? Probably that, now that the power of the God of Darkness is sealed and contained, the Four Sword is no longer threatened by its darkness. He would say that, because of this, it's not neccesary that they seal it to protect it- it would be safe in their hands, and it would be safe in its pedestal. Meaning their choice would not have to rest on the safety of the sword. Instead, as Zelda herself would point out, it's entirely up to them and their decision to a) place the sword and ensure its safety, and move on in his life as Link, or b) leave the sword as four and live as brothers and friends as five Links.

Y'know... the more I write about this, the more I'm leaning towards nixing the choice. I liked the idea, I really did, also because I knew a lot of fans, reading the fic for the enjoyment of the manga and yaoi ideas, would want to see them staying four (or five) and continuing on with adventures afterwards. But... but... it's just not right. It doesn't feel right. Link is one person SPLIT into five. Not copied, SPLIT. He's an incomplete person as five separate peoples. He's not Link. He won't be able to live his life, grow up, as LINK. It's a great adventure, a wonderful ride and a treasure of an experience for them to be five different versions of each other. But it's just not COMPLETE unless they're together. They need to feel the urge to unite back as one person.

Yep, it's confirmed. At one point I was seriously considering writing TWO endings for Reminiscence- one in which all the Links seal the sword and fuse back into one... and another in which they decide to remain as five separate people. Eventually, in order to decide for myself which one I wanted to go with, I explored these options (as shown above) and came to a conclusion. Again, I'm not one to ship any of the Links together, as I firmly believe they are BROTHERS, but I've also shipped a few yaoi pairings in other fandoms before, so I understand and I'm definitely not hating on the idea or shippers. It's just not for MY Links. MY Links... are one person, one entity, and they're only complete when they're together, as one whole.

... So.

50. Reunite, Fight 1st Stage

51. Fight 2nd Stage

52. Fight 3rd Stage

53. Fight 4th Stage

54. Victory & Choice

55. End

Yes? If this works, it's just about the same way. Still need to figure out how I'm gonna stretch this battle for FOUR CHAPTERS.

... Well. The Reiteration battle was crazy long and possibly long enough for 4 chapters.

Let's see. About 6.5k words a chapter, now, so times 4... 2600 words. Fun. What am I gonna do for those 26,000 words?

Oh gosh, if I'd only known how much I was going to eat those words later... XD I had a VERY difficult time keeping myself LIMITED to those five chapters and 26,000 words! But then again, there's this quote I like to reference a lot- "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typwriter and bleed." Ernest Hemingway. And goodness, did I bleed for these final chapters!

Well, let's remember that I have two bosses, and two "stages" for each boss. Veran has her witch and spider form. Onox has his general and dragon form.

Now here's another important point I need to explore: Do they fight them at the SAME time? And if so, how the HELL am I going to accomplish this? With 6 people moving around and fighting at one time, this is gonna take a long time. Which will make it easier if I divide each of their stages into two chapters.

1. Stage 1A.

2. Stage 1B.

3. Stage 2A.

4. Stage 2B.

So let's just go with that idea and say I have them both attacking at once. They'll have to split it up somehow, five against two. (Which won't be easy, since 5 is odd...)

I imagine that, because they are fighting at the same time, they would be forced to either a) work together and combine their efforts, or b) split the Links up into two groups and attack separately.

I figure they would utilize both of these techniques in a sort of trial and error method, and would even have it turned against them.

For instance, the Links would want to trick them into "splitting them up" and attacking them in two different groups.

This would be their first stage.

However, soon they would learn, and then in the second stage, combine their attacks and strategy to attack all five of them at once.

So, research time!

WHAT TIME IS IT?! RESEARCH TIME! Back to the Wikis and Zelda websites! :P As such, many of these descriptions are also copy+pasta.

Veran:

"FIRST FORM:

Veran's true form is drastically different in appearance to the normal form she takes. Taking on the form of a demonic fairy, Veran is now accompanied by four Dark Links, which act as little more than Arm-Mimics.

Veran's attacks in this form changed little from her other form, her signature energy attack becoming much faster, she will also shoot small and large blue fire balls, and of course physical contact.

To defeat this form, Link simply had to attack her with his sword whenever she came into range, taking care to dodge her attacks. By repeating this method, Veran appeared to be defeated. As Link, Ralph and Nayru exited the Black Tower, a sudden rumbling had Link push Ralph and Nayru away, as a Wallmaster carried Link back to the top."

In summary:

Offensive:

-Four Dark Link clones, acting as Arm-Mimics

-Small/Large Blue fire balls

Defeat:

-Sword attack

"SPIDER FORM:

Arguably Veran's hardest form, this state has no obvious weak point at first. Its attacks include high-speed charges and using web to pull itself onto the Tower roof, then slamming down in an attempt to crush Link. In this form, Veran can also catch Link in her web and slam him on the ground.

Out of all the weapons in Link's inventory, the only one which can reveal Veran's weak spot is one of his bombs. By using a bomb on this state, Veran would show her face for a few valuable seconds, allowing Link to attack her with his sword. After Veran had taken enough damage, given her life, she will either revert to her beetle form or she will fall."

In summary:

Offensive:

-High-speed charges, web slingshot to the tower, falling back down on the floor

-Web to catch Link and throw him on the ground

Defeat:

-Bomb to show weak spot, sword

Onox:

"FIRST FORM:

Onox deals out massive physical damage with his attacks, so it is in Link's best interest to dodge. His armor also blocks normal attacks with the sword, so Link must use Spin Attacks to get through. Onox's range of attack normally doesn't reach beyond the Ball & Chain Trooper, but he is also capable of bringing down a barrage of rocks from the ceiling, and summoning multiple tornadoes. Partway into the battle, Onox will summon a frozen Din as his shield. The Rod of Seasons must be used to knock Din away, or Link will be electrocuted whenever he attacks Onox. Despite this, Din, will always drift back to Onox eventually. "

In summary:

Offensive:

-Ball & Chain, barrage of rocks, tornadoes

Defeat:

-Only Spin Attacks

"DRAGON FORM:

After Onox is defeated again, he will transform into Dark Dragon. From here, Link must jump onto Dark Dragon's hands, then attack the gem on Dark Dragon's head."

Offensive:

-Hand swiping, fire balls

Defeat:

-Jumping on top of hand, striking the gem on his forehead

New idea: First part of the battle takes place inside the top of the tower, in an enclosed arena. After the Links defeat the boss' first stages, the tower collapses, and the second stage is fought in the ruins of the castle.

Where did I get this idea? I do think I saw somewhere a video of these two warriors fighting as a tower collapsed, and they were fighting each other, swords n' stuff, even as they were jumping from falling boulder to falling boulder, and I was just thinking, "THAT IS THE COOLEST THING EVER". There's also the tower-collapsing sequence from the end of OoT... So, yeah. ^_^ (My Links should be afraid of me putting them in high places! Because what goes up... must come back down! Mwahaha!)

To review:

1. Stage 1A.

2. Stage 1B.

3. Stage 2A.

4. Stage 2B.

Chapter 49 saw Green splitting up with Shadow, heading up the stairs, and being ambushed by Dark Link.

Chapter 50 will then be the start of the fight, or not, depending on how much time the plot part of the fight takes up.

FIGHT SUMMARY: BEGINNING CHAPTER 50

Green gets hit again and again by Onox, but refuses to give up. Onox is about to approach again, but they start to hear a bang, rattling the room. They hear another one- they begin to go "wtf? oh crap-" and then the wall behind Green explodes as it's blasted open, leaving a big hole in it- through which the Links burst through, Blue yelling "CHAAARGE!" and then laughing, "Ha-HA! I've ALWAYS wanted to do that!" He compliments Shadow on the attack- Shadow, using his right hand for the shadow magic, thanks him. Green is flabbergasted, Red runs over to help him up, Vio is glad they're not too late, and as Veran and Onox try to get over their shock and rage, they ask how they're still alive. Green reunites with the others, overjoyed, and Vio explains he fell into a large body of water at the bottom of the sky, breaking his fall, and Red fell into another room after the room sunk in sand. All four of them were guided through hidden passageways through the castle by a glowing, circular light which they followed until they met up, one by one. They stopped when they reached the wall behind them, not wanting to go on until they'd found Green, even though the light showed them they needed to get through the wall. However, upon hearing Green and V&O's voices and the fighting, Shadow burst through the wall and there they are hooray.

Veran and Onox are infuriated, and Green mocks that they wished they were all there- and now they are, and they'll win. However, Veran and Onox soon regain, saying they will undoubtedly win- and ask Shadow if they remember just how they were able to take over the castle in the first place. Shadow becomes nervous, telling the others Veran has possessing powers, and Onox's armor gives him invincibility.

Veran and Onox laugh and are advancing when suddenly, from the storm outside, a light flashes- but not lightning- and crashing through the stained glass windows flies the golden light- this time, the others are able to see just what it is- it's Kaepora, and he flies around Veran and Onox, surrounding them in a barrier of light which causes them to scream in agony. Kaepora tells them that he has disabled their powers and they can now fight them fairly- however, this pays a terrible price when, from the anger resulting from their robbed advances, Veran and Onox fight back, sending a powerful wave of pure dark magic outwards. The Four Links are brought to their knees by the power, though Shadow is unaffected, and Kaepora cannot get close. Shadow orders Kaepora to leave or he'll get hurt, and puts a protective barrier over the other Links until the wave of darkness fades. After it leaves, Shadow suddenly realizes the power is familiar to him- and understands why it didn't hurt him. Infuriated and horrified, he shouts at V&O, demanding to know how he got "his" power.

The others ask Shadow what's going on, but before he can explain, V&O begin to attack, once more sending another explosion outwards, thus starting the fight.

While I'd like to say that I thought of Veran and Onox's "powers" early on and planned for this to happen to compensate for it, I'm actually gonna be really honest here and say that I COMPLETELY FORGOT about those powers until this moment. Yes, I'd talked about them during the initial planning of the fic, but once I started writing, I got so carried away that I made it seem as if Veran and Onox didn't even have these powers. So I pretty much pulled a deus ex machina here, I'll admit, and I should've done something different. But I'd kind of backed myself into a corner, so Kaepora's "gift" was the best I could come up with. Oops. x: (ALWAYS PLAN AHEAD, KIDS.)

Beginning with chapter 51: =======================

Strategy:

After the explosion, Vio quickly tells Link their best shot at winning would be to keep Veran and Onox from working together, and to attack them separately in two different teams. Quickly, Green orders Vio, Red, and Shadow to take care of Veran while he and Blue fight off Onox. The Links quickly agree and split up, luring Veran and Onox to opposite sides of the room.

(483)Team Onox: Blue & Green: After analyzing Onox's fighting techniques, Green realizes what has to be done, but doesn't want to tell Blue to be hit. However, Blue eagerly volunteers, and the two prepare to fight.

(973)Team Veran: Red, Vio, & Shadow: Shadow is only able to fire his blasts with one hand, his other arm being too badly injured to use. However, when Veran summons the Dark Link clones, Shadow tries to fight them off, but finds his shadow magic is useless against the dark creatures. Veran taunts Shadow, revealing she was the one who is making the Dark Link creatures. One of the Dark Links attacks again, but Red uses his Ice Rod and sword to injure it. Vio commands Red to hold off the Dark Links while Shadow deflects her attacks, so Vio can land a blow on her- as she is floating in the air above them, so only his bow and arrow will work.

(1136)Team Onox: Blue & Green: Blue draws Onox's attack and is struck by the ball-and-chain, though uses his shield to protect himself as he's thrown into the wall. Green tries to use the opportunity to attack, but his sword cannot get through Onox's armor, as it magically repairs itself. Onox is about to strike Green when Blue intervenes with his hammer, slamming the ball-and-chain away- but also getting struck by it in the process. Onox closes in on Blue, but before he can strike, Green throws his boomerang at Onox- the boomerang stuns Onox, and Green charges in and attacks.

(1586)Team Veran: Red, Vio, & Shadow: Vio keeps trying to land an arrow on Veran, but right when he comes close, she begins to teleport away. Red becomes overwhelmed by the Dark Links and Vio orders Shadow to help him. Shadow argues that he can't, his powers won't work on them, but Red gets in more trouble and Vio insists. Shadow jumps in front of Red and takes their hits, distracting them while Red charges up a blast of ice magic. However, this leaves Vio open- and, not knowing anything else to do, he swings his sword at her shadow-ball attack- which sends it back to her, stunning her. Quickly, Vio fires his bow and arrow and strikes her, and she falls to the ground. Shadow is about to be overrun by them when Red charges his blast, which freezes all three of the Links, and he moves in with a Spin Attack and destroys them all. Vio then runs up and attacks Veran with his sword.

Both: After they each land blows, Veran and Onox change their tactics. Veran protects herself in a firewall-type-crystal and begins to teleport across the room, no longer using Dark Links but instead firing blast after blast. Onox also breaks the chain of his weapon in half- and now holds two ball-and-chains, though on a shorter chain, which he twirls around at the same time in each of his hands, making him even faster and giving no time for an opening, lashing out one while still protecting himself with the other.

Thus- begins chapter 52.

This is pretty much how I planned out these last few chapters: By dividing them into "teams", and then dividing those teams again so that you went back and forth from one group to the other, building tension in both sides and releasing it at nearly the same time when they reach the end of the first stage. Of course, in this planning, everything's purely technical- sure, I wrote here that Blue would be the one to charge in and volunteered getting hit by the ball-and-chain, but when I actually sat down to WRITE it, I knew it wouldn't be that simple. Green would be against it, at first, and Blue would be eagerly willing to help in this way, and even get a slight ego boost from knowing only he would be able to pull it off. Just goes to show that you can "make" a character do anything you want in writing- but that character's attitude towards his actions is what makes it believable!

I'm skipping the notes for 52 because it's basically the same as 51 was. :P

===== 53:

The tower is collapsing, the Links are trying to regroup, though feeling as if all is lost as they try and stay on something as it's falling, though separated- until, once again, Kaepora arrives in a flash of light, directing the Links where to run and jump down the collapsing tower, regrouping them. Along the way, some of the Links trip or fall, or almost topple over the falling boulders, but Kaepora guides the others to them and they help each other. Finally, Kaepora directs them to a large chunk of rock to stay on as they approach the ground- and yet, right before they do, another chunk of rock crashes into them and splits their boulder in half, diving the two Links as they reach the end of the fall. Green topples onto the ground, injured, and a rock is about to crush him- when Blue, who fell beside him, runs in and pushes him out of the way, both of them safely falling beneath some other collapsed rocks in the ground. Upon getting up, they look around for others, and find Shadow lifting a large chunk of boulder over the other two, with Vio having shielded Red with his shield and Shadow keeping the boulder from crushing them.

The Links reunite, scarred and hurt but relieved that it's finally over. Shadow feels guilty and explains to them that they've fought this power before, and he was a fool not to realize just what it was until now. They assure him, saying they're gone, but Shadow refuses, knowing they're not. He turns towards the massive pile of rubble that was once Hyrule Castle, and says that the power of a God, good or bad, can never truly die. At that moment, the rubble begins to move, the Links beginning to fear that Onox and Veran really aren't gone yet. And in another massive explosion, emerging from the rubble come the monstrous second forms of Veran and Onox- Veran in her spider form, and Onox in his dragon form. Shadow grimly tells them this mutation should be familiar- it is the last-ditch effort, of the power of the God of Darkness, to eliminate the light- using any hosts it can find. The Links finally understand- somehow, though they defeated Ganondorf, Ganon's power was never truly extinguished. The power's host, Ganondorf, was killed- but the power itself merely returned to the Dark Realm, seeking another host. It found Veran and Onox- and, though they had their own agenda, ultimately used them to once again bring darkness into the light.

The two monsters then attack in an epic finale to end all finales. :D

54:

bla bla bla epic awesome fight. In the final blow, Shadow uses his powers to hold them both down and the four Links use a super spin attack to take them both out at once. After that, the dark power leaves them, and Shadow takes it, using it to completely obliterate both Veran and Onox, forever destroying them both.

AND THERE YA HAVE IT!

... Okay, just kidding. :P No, but seriously, we still have one more planning sequence to do- and that is for Chapter 54! The final battle! Counting all of the planning for the final castle and the final battle(s), chapter 54 comprised probably... 90% of the planning I did for all of those chapters. You'll understand why in just a minute. :)

THE BATTLE: Chapter 54: War:

Okay, so what do I want to have happen for the final fight?

Well, first things first: the barrier is destroyed, and Veran and Onox are charging towards the Links. Obviously, right away, Green is going to go into commander mode and be all "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" and they'll have to dodge the initial attack. I want all of the Links to be able to participate in the counter strike, so once they dodge, the true fight begins.

Vio needs to devise a strategy. He'll need to realize that Veran and Onox are working together, and they can no longer divide and conquer- they'll have to face them both, at the same time. Vio's plan needs to be brilliant, something the Links haven't thought of, but it also has to work.

This is much easier said than done. I love Vio, but he is probably my least favorite Link to write for- and for no other reason in that he is, by nature, brilliant and clever and has the capability to produce amazing strategic plans on the fly. I don't. :P Writing Green's acts of courage, Blue's feats of strength, and Red's blossoming warmth is all well and easy, but it's trying to figure out those amazing plans that Vio would automatically know that's the hardest part of them all!

Now before I go further, I need to remind myself what Veran and Onox's main forms of attack are. Onox can shoot fireballs, and he will use his claws/hands to try and swipe at/crush the Links. Veran, on the other hand, will jump up and land down on them from above. She needs a secondary attack like Onox has- quick research time!- Alright, so her secondary attack is shooting out webs that will capture/damage the Links, possibly lethal if they get to her pincers.

Now let's go over the Links and their weapons/abilities. Green's the leader/all-around, with his boomerang. Blue's the powerhouse/strong-arm, with his hammer. Red's support/back-up, with Fire/Ice Rod, and Vio is long-range/strategic, with his bow and arrow. Lastly, there's Shadow- whose teleportation powers still don't work, that'd make things too easy- who can fire shadow magic blasts to injure them, but also conjure up temporary shields to protect them from attacks.

Alright, jumping back into things. Veran and Onox attack and charge, and because they're both being manipulated by a single power (Ganon), they're working together and not getting in each other's way. Vio notices this instantly and tells the others the fight won't be like the last one- they'll have to charge all five of them versus the two enemies. Green would respond, "We need a strategy," to which Shadow could point out their weaknesses- Onox's gem atop his head, and Veran's glowing, purple eyes. If the Links can get up to Onox's head, and get past Veran's grabbing pinsirs and webs, they'll be able to land a hit on them.

With this neccesity in mind, Vio devises a strategy: since they must take on Veran and Onox at the same time, they can't all be on both bosses at once, but they'll definitely need to alternate and switch positions moreso than in the last fight.

Again- much easier said than done. It took me quite a while to figure out what Vio's brilliant strategy would be, but of course, Vio thought of it in a second! Of course, this plan, however, isn't that incredibly clever or unique, but is rather simple in terms of execution- divide 'em up, take 'em down. The point here is that none of the other Links would be calm and collected enough, under this pressure, to devise a plan. Sure, Green as a commander is calm enough in battle to keep everyone focused and together, but even a commander knows when to refer to someone who's better at making plans and organizing attack patterns.

With their initial attacks of Onox's fire and Veran's webs, Vio divides the Links up as such: For Onox, Vio, Blue, and Red will attack- Blue charging up Onox's body to strike the gem, Vio distracting him with arrows, and Red backing Vio up with his Ice Rod. At the same time, Shadow and Green will take on Veran, with Shadow distracting/hurting her with shadow blasts, luring her to the side while Green runs in and strikes her eyes with his sword. Green and Shadow must also use their boomerang and shadow magic respectively to blast away the webs she shoots before either of them can be harmed.

This tactic will work the first time around, but after that, their secondary, more powerful moves come out, in addition to their previous ones. Onox, continuing spewing fireballs, will start slamming the ground with his claws and swiping at the Links, making it even a hella more dangerous for them to move around, especially in the rubble-strewn ground. At the same time, Veran will, to protect herself from the close-ranged attackers, start leaping up above them and falling back down, also shooting out webs as she does so.

The Links regroup, each protecting the other from attacks and seeing what they have to do next. After their previous attacks, both of them are now wounded- Veran is blind in one eye(which was destroyed by Green), and Onox's gem is shattered, leaving the precious weak spot underneath unprotected. However, Veran and Onox are now in a rage, attacking with everything they've got and not leaving a second's opening.

The only way to attack Veran: The only opening she ever gives is when she comes slamming down, and even then, she shoots off webs everywhere once she does, in hopes of either crushing the Links or trapping them in their webs. Vio then comes up with a dangerous plan- they must lure her to the side, and allow one of them to get caught by the web and dragged towards her- and, at the last minute, they must free this Link so they can stab at the eye.

The only way to attack Onox: Before, Onox would land on the ground to shoot fireballs, making it easy for Blue to climb his way up. However, now, he flies above them, his tail not touching the ground, so the only opening he gives is when he tries to attack them with his claws. Another plan Vio must come up with is to tell one of the Links to jump on his hand after he slams it down and ride it up to his face, then deliver the final blow from up there.

I think the final blow for both of them would each require two Links. Of course, this leaves out Shadow, but I can give him a special job of distraction or some other task while the others work.

The Links required for Veran's attack will need to have a long range weapon, so either Vio, Green, or Red must be in this group. Meaning for sure I know Blue will be in Onox's fight. The Link will also need to be willing, and able, to be captured- I don't want Red, so that leaves just Green and Vio.

Sometimes it can be just as simple as mixing and matching. :) Who's got the weapons/abilities? What weapons/abilities are needed to counter this attack? Easy as pie. Plus, yeah no, I'm not letting Red get grabbed by giant spider Veran.

For Veran: Green and Vio: Green would first volunteer to be captured, but Vio says his arrows won't pierce her web, and that he'd need Green's boomerang to free him in time. So Vio runs forward and allows himself to be captured, but before Veran can devour him, Green's boomerang frees him, and while Green slices off her legs to prevent her from running away, Vio lands the final blow.

For Onox: Red and Blue: Blue draws Onox's fire while Red protects him, using a moving ice shield like before, until Onox's hands finally come down. Blue uses his hammer, Red uses his Ice Rod, to temporarily wound and freeze his hand to the ground. The two jump on his hand, and ride the hand to the top, where Red disables Onox's fire, and Blue runs up and stabs Onox's gem.

After the final attacks, Veran and Onox go down, but Ganon's magic begins to try and get back up and rejuvinate them. Shadow doesn't allow this to happen, and, knowing he has the power of the God of Darkness as well, uses his powers to hold them down, ordering the Links to destroy them. The other Links are worried that, with the bond of dark magic, it could harm Shadow- but he assures them it won't, and they use a Super Spin Attack, their blades infused with light, to destroy them.

And that about wraps up Chapter 54. Told ya it would be long! In the end, however, it's the planning that became the most important of writing the story. Without these notes it's just be a cluster of chaos with swords swinging and fangs biting and nothing would really make any sense. A structure, a skeleton, of a story is absolutely necessary if you want to get into the finer details and make an exciting, yet coherent action sequence or scene.

OH, but one last thing. While Shadow learned during his memory-sequence, courtesy of the messenger Kaepora, that he has Ganon's powers, it isn't until this scene that he understands, and acknowledges the fact that, not only does he HAVE them, he can USE them. Shadow can be just as strong as they are, and he can take and manipulate this power, Ganon's power, at will. Ganon made a big mistake when he created Shadow! :P Ah, well. Our gain!

THE EPILOGUE: Chapter 55: Peace:

After that, the dark power leaves them, and Shadow takes it, using it to completely obliterate both Veran and Onox, forever destroying them both.

After the obvious of "Veran and Onox are destroyed and peace reigns YAY", there's still the matter of pacing and figuring out what would happen next, what series of events would logically follow the Links, while at the same time leading them to the conclusion I had planned. Of course, coming up is my last-minute cop-out excuse for where Zelda's been this whole time! And even though it didn't happen, I still dug out a different kind of last-minute cheapo excuse to use. Oh well. I ain't bovvered.

The battle ends in the ruins of the castle, and the Links both celebrate in their victory, and mourn over all they've lost. Shadow uses the magic to reveal Zelda, who he says he hid and kept her safe during their stay at the castle, even at the time when he lost his memories. She awakes from the spell Veran and Onox put her in, and the Links all embrace her, nix Shadow. Finally, Zelda hugs Shadow, too, and soon after, Kaepora re-appears to them.

The Links thank Kaepora for all he had done to help them, and Kaepora reveals he was sent for a reason, by the Goddess of Light herself, to guide them. He reveals there is one last place he must lead them- and they all agree to follow him.

Zelda hugging Shadow was very important for me, because Shadow as a character has had two moments of epiphany before dying at the end of Reiteration. The first was right before Zelda was taken from him in the manga, when Shadow realized that Zelda had such a pure and kind heart that she could forgive even a creature of darkness like him for what he'd done, and feel sorry for him for what he'd been through. At that moment, he knew that Zelda was deserving of life and happiness, and he was not. However, as we found in Reiteration, Shadow is still part of Link- and even he couldn't hold back his crush on her. Of course, she could never love him- just as she could never love Green, or Red. She loves /Link/.

After this, his second "awakening" came at the battle against Twinrova, when he realized that, aside from Zelda's empathy, there are others who feel for him- that is, the brotherly love that the Links have for Shadow. Despite everything, they were willing to fight alongside, and sacrifice themselves, for Shadow. These two moments are what set Shadow's character as selfless and devoted, and yet at the same time weighed down by guilt and shame. The Links themselves have long forgiven Shadow his wrongdoings during the course of the past few chapters, bringing a peaceful full-circle to their relationship with Shadow- and now it was time for Zelda to do the same and finally bring a close to their own strange, yet meaningful relationship.

Kaepora leads them back to the Four Sword Sanctuary, and the Links realize it's time to put back the sword. Kaepora also reveals to them that it might be the last time they see each other again- he can't be sure, but he doesn't know that they will, either. Though sad, the Links are all strangely accepting of this, learning that it's time for them to move on with their life as Link.

Finally, Kaepora turns to Shadow- telling him that, as a Link himself, he, too, will merge back into the heroes if they choose to place the sword. Shadow reveals he is fine with this, and that he'll go wherever the others go. The Links, after one more good-bye, move to the sword. Shadow stands apart from them, but the others encourage him and invite him to their side- and he places his hand on the hilts of their swords as they all place the Four Sword back in its pedestal, fusing Link back into one.

And these are where my notes end.

But before I end these, I'll finish off by answering a common question I get asked often in PMs. That being, what would be my advice to new writers? Much of this advice I've already said during this note-stravaganza, but I'll "reiterate" them for you. ;D

First off, plan ahead. ALWAYS plan ahead. Know what your story is going to be BEFORE you write it. Who knows? While planning and writing notes for your story, you may discover things about your own story and characters that you never knew before.

Know your characters inside and out. Know what makes them tick, WHY they do what they do, and always remember that every action has an effect on some character or some aspect of the story. Keep your characters real and believable by not making them perfect- every real human being is scared of something, has a weakness… yet they also have strengths, and qualities that set them apart from others. Don't just find what they "like" or "dislike"- find out what they live for, and ultimately, what they would die for. Find the voice of your character, know who they are, and they'll spring to life right off the top of your pages. The plot is just the body of your story- the characters are the living, breathing elements that will bring your story to life.

And most importantly- if it's something you love, never, EVER stop writing. I can't count on all my fingers how many fics I wrote years and years ago, that were all pretty terrible. But each one was a learning experience, and I got better. Be ambitious. Have fun. And, above all, don't let ANYONE, EVER discourage you from doing what you love. Never give up. Let your imagination soar. READ. Believe in yourself, and take a chance. Because the only way you'll ever know if you can write… is if you start writing, and never stop.

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Thank you guys so much for reading and supporting me with this fic. I had a bunch of fun writing it, and just as much fun reading and responding to ya'll's reviews and PMs. You guys rock. :3

Signing out,

-Tigger