The knights of Hyrule hadn't always had a reputation for being strong protectors of the land. As the captain of the royal knights, Arn had tasked himself with ensuring the safety of Hyrule and keeping the knights in top form. It wasn't as easy task since most of the trainees seemed to be headstrong young men who only joined up for the glory that came with the title. At least the females understood that they'd have to work hard to reach knighthood, but the comments from the closed-minded kept a fair amount of them away. Arn sighed; they lacked raw talent, but their dedication was admirable and their willingness to work with others put them in a league of their own. His son could learn a thing or two from any one of them.

"You have that look on your face again."

Arn ran a hand down his face and sighed in exasperation. He recognized that voice from a mile away; he wasn't ready to deal with nonsense from his top knight. He had enough trouble with his son. Unfortunately, he wasn't offered that peace. Artura came up to him, followed by Valenzuela. Two of his trusted allies and confidants for many years. And, of course, Artura loved to see how much he could push the captain.

"Do I need to remind you that you are meant to set an example for the new recruits?" the captain cautioned.

Artura chuckled, "Link causing that much trouble already then? You should have seen Valenzuela's face when your son waltzed in and tossed him his sword. How did he get his hands on it?"

"I was talking with him. I turned around for second when I heard about the pirate attack" Valenzuela shook his head, "He was gone when I turned around."

"I've aged ten years from these past months alone because of that boy. He's being too reckless, and his reluctance to ask for assistance... If he ever wants to take my place someday, he'll need to learn to get over that" Arn sighed.

"You need to stop worrying so much" Artura stated, "I think it's good for the kid."

Arn left that remark alone as he returned his attention to the trainees in front of him. They were sparring with training swords and shields, their helmets and matching uniforms making each of them almost identical to one another. Artura and Valenzuela didn't push him for a response, though the captain didn't know if it was because they knew better or simply out of respect. He could feel them both staring right through him.

Valenzuela decided to break the silence, "Link reminds me a lot of Dame Medilia. He's got more courage than he knows what to do with, but he's strong and skilled. I'm certain he'll be fine once he matures."

"Plus he needs to fail. He makes mistakes and does the wrong thing all the time, but we brush it off. I mean, he 'borrowed' Valenzuela's sword and we're all laughing about it. He need to make a mistake he can't easily bounce back from" Artura added, "So let him run off and fight pirates by himself. One day he'll find himself cornered and you'll be able show him why he needs a team."

"I know he takes mostly after he mother. I just hope he doesn't share her fate as well" Arn said.

"We're going to check on the Four Sword's seal."

Link waited in the hallway outside the princess's quarters. The songs sung by the birds outside did nothing to distract Link from his thoughts, as he waited for his answers. The princess didn't have a lot of time to spare, so she asked him if they could talk after she prepared herself for the ritual. After all, she decided that Link would accompany her in case something weren't wrong. He managed to get spare the time to collect his personal sword and shield, hoping that would be enough for his task.

At the sound of a door opening, Link returned his attention on princess. Zelda had forgone her royal attire in place of her battle attire. A metal chest-plate covered most of her torso, gauntlets protected her arms, greaves were attached to long boots and her red hair was hidden by a helmet (though Link knew she probably had it tied back in a ponytail). For more regal element, she had a pink dress on - though the skirt of the dress was open to give more of a cape-like feel, revealing her purple leggings and pink shorts. The top half was hidden under her armor and Link could only just make out the long sleeves. It was in pink, the princess's favorite color, with some gold details.

"Thank you for waiting Link. I know that with with you guarding me, preparing for combat might be a little excessive, but I can't risk anything happening to the people of Hyrule" Zelda motioned him to follow.

Link nodded, "It's fine. But I have to ask... why today?"

"For the past month, I've been having the same horrible dream. I see a huge, dark clouds approaching - draining the life from the land, and twisting everything it touches. Something terrible is coming. I believe that it's the work of the mage" she answered.

"Are you sure? That mage was sealed away hundreds of years ago... before the era of the Hero of Time. He couldn't possible be alive now" the knight countered.

Zelda frowned, "The wind mage Vaati... during his time, he kidnapped young women and cloaked Hyrule in darkness. Monsters terrorized the people of the land. If it wasn't for the traveler who used the Four Sword against him, Vaati's reign would have never ended. I can't allow Vaati to revive himself. That is why I have to do this. And I'd rather check on the seal before my coronation - an event like that would be easy to crash, and would cause an untold amount of chaos."

"Alright then" Link opened the door to the chamber, "If Vaati is still alive in there, I'll cut him down as soon as he tries something."

"Hopefully, that won't be necessary. Should everything go to plan."

The Maidens stood in the center of the room, positioned in a circle. There was a large space left for the princess. Zelda took her position, and Link stood as close as he could to the princess without disrupting the magic. When they began, Link could feel the air fill with power. The Maidens glowed their respective color, their magic was a sight to behold. A symbol glowed on the back of the princess's hand, as she led the Maidens in their ritual. Link pulled his sword in front of him, as an uneasiness crawled up his spine.

"Blue Maiden?!"

"Pri-"

"Princess Zelda!"

"The Maidens!"

The Maidens disappeared as dark purple flames took their place. Link reacted instantly, he tugged the princess behind. She summoned her own power, prepared to aid against any threat that appeared. The dark flames moved to the center of the room, curling around each other. The flames twisted into a figure in the center. Link easily recognized the shape, but he refused to believe what he was seeing. It only got worse as the flames disappeared and Link stared at his own image.

"Who are you?!" Link demanded.

"Oh, me?" the second laughed, "I'm the hero, Link."

Link gritted his teeth, "Oh yeah? Well I think you're just an illusion!"

Link ran forward and attempted a diagonal cut. It did nothing to his clone, who went incorporeal. Link's blade went right through him. He then lunged, phasing through Link and in the direction of the princess. Link turned around, but heard a scream in voice similar, but different from his own. Princess Zelda had casted Din's Fire and the dark creature struggled to put it out. Link brought up his shield, and Zelda's hand was alight with bright, divine flames.

The creature had transformed, and Link didn't know whether to be relieved or more concerned. The creatures hair was a wild, purple mess and his skin was a couple of shades darker than it had been. His eyes were a dark blue that flickered red for a moment, the same way his hands seemed to shift between fingers and claws. His tunic went from green to black with a purple undershirt, and his left arm and shoulder protected by a spiked spaulder.

"What have you done with the Maidens?!" Link shouted.

The copy laughed cruelly, "They got in the way, so I decided to get rid of them. Now I just need to get rid of your little princess."

"You are welcome to try. However, I refuse to let myself be taken so easily" as Zelda said this, the fire in her hands grew bigger.

"Well, it wouldn't be any fun if you didn't fight back" he conjured something from thin air, before he tosses it at Link's feet.

Link barely had time to run out of the way. The explosion of the bomb wasn't that big, which was fortunate for the young knight and princess. The three bombs that followed were another story entirely. Just by looking at them, Link knew they would hurt and each other them was thrown right at him. He raised his shield - knowing it wouldn't do much - and prayed that the goddesses would protect the princess.

A barrier of blue light drew his attention. Nayru's Love, a protection spell that was only as powerful as the user's heart and mind. The better the casters concentration, and the more they cared about what they were protecting, the more effective the spell was. Princess Zelda easily held the spell and it withstood the blasts from the three bombs with ease. Link knew that the clone couldn't do much else; Zelda and him would see right through it.

Until the princess suddenly collapsed.

"Zelda!"

The copy had used the bombs as a distraction, knocking her out with a simple chop to the back of the head with his hand. Link yelled and charged forward, but darkness filled his vision before he could reach them. The darkness was paired with pain that coursed through his body. Link felt weightless, like he was being tossed around in the shadows that enveloped him. It hurt and burned and stung and ached. Link couldn't breathe. It wouldn't let him breathe.

The hero landed somewhere with a thud. It took a few moments for him to adjust before he managed to push himself up. A sword rested in a pedestal in front of him, a creepy eye symbol on a wall behind it. As if he needed further confirmation that he wasn't in the castle, he looked around at the blue sky and green grass. The place seemed abandoned and in ruins. He couldn't recognize it, but he knew where he was. The Four Sword Sanctuary.

Link struck his fist against the ground, "Damnit! I got Princess Zelda captured, the Maidens probably suffer the same fate, and I can't even warn father that something horrible has happened."

The Four Sword almost seemed to glisten, as if it wanted to get his attention. Link knew the power of the blade - it was what had saved a princess in the past. But he also knew that it was what kept the wind made, Vaati, from breaking free of his seal. Still, Link found himself approaching the blade. His hand wrapped around the hilt. And for a moment he felt something rush through him.

This is the only way to save Zelda! You have to do it!

Is it really worth the risk? Rescuing Zelda is important, but setting Vaato free would be a bad idea.

There is a chance he's already free though, and that he could have been behind that clone. Either way, using the sword will re-seal him and increase the chance of successfully saving the princess.

Just do it already!

With a deep breath, Link closed his eyes pulled the sword.

Nothing seemed to happen right away. He didn't feel any wave of power surge over him. But he did feel different - he felt calmer and, somehow, more energized. He knew what he had to do, as if his mind had been cleared of anything that would distract him from his goal. The sword felt comfortable in his hand as well and he was tempted to test it out. However, opening his eyes proved that something really had changed.

Three other people - other Links - stood around him. One across from him in purple, two on either side in red and blue.

"What the..."

"So that legend..."

"The one who wields the Four Sword, his body shall be split into four..."

"Is true then."

The greed hero looked on bemused, and quickly realized that he was noticeably taller than the other three. Not but much, he didn't dwarf them or anything, but it wasn't something that could easily be missed. He used his sword's blade as a make-shift mirror. His hair was the exact same style it had always been, but it was a couple shades lighter now. His tunic hadn't changed, but he now donned chainmail and... a cloak? Cloaks were great when you wanted to look superior, but they were a pain in the ass to fight in since they got in the way all the time.

The blue Link was the same height as the other three. His hairstyle seemed like a sharper version of the original Link's hairstyle, and his hair was a dark shade of blond that could've been mistaken from brown. He also donned chainmail, but had fingerless gloves and leather arm guards. The red one had what the green hero could describe as 'fluffy' hair - it curled slightly, and it was only a couple shades light than the blue hero's. He lacked chainmail, though he had leather armor, full-fingered gloves, and pouches on his belt that made the others curious. The purple-clad hero had the exact same hair shade as the original Link, though his hair seemed longer (it was hard to tell with his hat). He also had leather instead of chainmail. His arms were covered by archer bracers, and a quiver was attached to the belt around his waist.

Yet each other them shared a face.

"It's a bit weird seeing four of the same face" he smiled sheepishly, "But with the four of use working together, I know we take down anything threats that come are way!"

"Yeah!"

"Easily!"

"Obviously."

The red one had a look of realization cross his face, "Wait. Before we do anything, we should chose names."

"I'm wearing red, so I guess I'll be 'Red'. And that would make you 'Blue'" the newly dubbed Red stated.

"Wait, what?!" Blue sounded agitated.

"Purple can be uh... Violet? How about 'Vio'?" Red continued, "And that would make you 'Green'."

Green sighed, "It's odd... but I guess it can't be helped. It'll save a lot of confusion that way. Especially if we're working together as a team."

"You can't just change people's names! And I never agreed to being on a team! I'm more than enough to take down anyone who messes with Hyrule."

Green felt something cold run through him at that moment. A mantra that consisted of the word 'no' over and over again played through his head. He really didn't like where everything was headed at the moment. And his fears only increased when he saw Vio fold his arms.

"I have no need for allies. And based on what I already know of you, I'm quite certain everyone here would be better off without your assistance."

"Vio, that's so mean!" Red said, "And I like the idea of use working together! I never got a chance to work as a team before."

Oh sweet Hylia, is this really me? Am I really this stubborn? Green suddenly felt incredibly guilty. He should have listened to his father, but instead he saw nothing wrong with his actions and just did whatever he wanted. He really was as 'conceited, brash and reckless' as his father said. Now he got his just desserts: dealing with the exact amount of stubbornness his father had to deal with these last couple of years.

Green didn't have time to complain aloud as he felt the earth shake under him...

A/N: That was fun. Actually, no, it wasn't.

I was planning to end this chapter off a scene later (I wanted to finish the first chapter of the manga off in this chapter) but I guess I failed. At least I gave so new scenes. We got to learn a bit about Link's mother, and his father's relationship with the other knights. As well as a little hint about Link's relationship with them. I got Link's parents names from the Valiant Comics.

I also threw in the whole name scene a bit earlier than it came in the manga. Which is also what probably made it difficult to finish the manga's first chapter off.

I haven't even gotten to the plot that I'm adding yet.