Ch 2: Into the Woods [August 13th, 2014]

A.N: Wow, this has been blank for a couple of days now... Haha, I'm SO lazy. Anyways, I guess I should start on chapter 2, now that I have all this information and stuff in my head :)

Night fell upon the castle quickly. The sky became covered with a black shroud of midnight darkness. Only a few stars served as tiny beacons in the night sky.

Link glanced out his window at the grass below. He carefully lowered the rope to the ground level and he climbed down it. As soon as he landed, he headed off, sneaking around the castle walls.

Time went by quickly. Already he was slipping out of the front gate, exiting the castle grounds. As he looked back to the castle, he wondered if he was really good at being stealthy, or if Hyrule's security guards were just really bad at their jobs.

He wasted no time as he headed for the Lost Woods. As he stood before the entrance, his memory travelled back to the time he and his duplicates had been trapped in this place. They were stuck for days and they all believed they were going to die. Eventually, they figured the right way out, thanks to Vio. There was one distinctive factor to the woods that helped them out. That was the music.

Even though no one really lived in the Lost Woods, music was always playing in the distance. Wherever the music sounded the loudest, that would be the right path to take.

Link took a deep breath and finally stepped into the woods, keeping his hopes high. Blue had to be in here. It was the ultimate hiding place. He hurried about the place, taking twists and turns, all while listening to the music at the same time. He was already halfway through, when all of a sudden, he smelled smoke. Could there be a fire nearby? As he rounded the corner, he froze.

The source of the smoke was coming from a small campfire, but that wasn't the cause of the shock. The one tending the flames, wasn't Blue, but he looked like another one of Link's clones. His clothes were ripped in a few places and he had a sword strapped to his back. His widened eyes were a sapphire blue, and they stared right at him. He knew who this person was now. Despite his dirt covered appearance, he could tell that this was Vio.

"Green?!" Vio whispered. "I didn't think I'd see you here. How did you find me?"

"I was looking for Blue, and I guess I bumped into you instead!" Green replied, still happily surprised.

"Blue?" Vio asked. "You mean he's here too?"

"Yeah, even I had a hard time believing it. But since you're here, I'm willing to bet Red's somewhere out there as well!" Green said hopefully.

"I honestly thought I'd never see any of you again," Vio sighed. "I thought you were all dead."

"'Dead'?" Green questioned as he joined Vio on the ground.

"When you put the Four Sword back, we were supposed to be one again, right? Well, for some reason or another, that's not what happened. All I know is that I woke up a few weeks ago, and I was lying on the ground outside the castle. I went inside, looking for an explanation, and Zelda told me that I was the only one of us left," Vio explained. "And that the rest of you were gone for good. I lost all hope after that, I guess. I came here, to the Lost Woods, so no one would know I was suffering." He took a deep breath. "I never thought I would regret being the last Link. I missed all of you."

"I missed all of you too," Green said with a smile. "It was pretty boring without having you guys around. None of the guards at the castle would argue with me, no matter how many times I pushed their buttons." The two shared a short laugh, then Green continued. "But something about your story doesn't make any sense to me..."

"What is it?" Vio asked.

"/Zelda/was the one who told you everyone was dead," Green replied with suspicion.

"You think she lied?" Vio asked.

"I don't know..." Green trailed off. "Maybe."

"Ugh, how could I have been so stupid?" Vio sighed, shaking his head. "Because of that lie, I was stuck here with my emotions slowly wearing me away. I shouldn't have let that happen. I should've known better."

"Aw c'mon, Vio. You of all people should know it's hard to be a genius all the time," Green laughed as he punched his arm.

"If you say so," Vio chuckled lightly. He looked to the fire's blazing light. "We should probably get some sleep. It'll be easier to look for Blue in the morning."

Green winced. "Well, you see...I sorta had to sneak out of the castle. They wouldn't let me leave, not even Zelda. She said that the knights of Hyrule serve until death."

"Wait, you didn't know that?" Vio asked. "It's true though; there's no way of getting out of it."

"I didn't sign a contract or anything!" Green protested. "And I had no idea I'd be controlled by the knighthood for the rest of my life!"

"You gave your word, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah but-"

"That's enough to seal the deal," Vio interrupted, crossing his arms. "If you don't like it, you'd have to take it up with the king." He turned to Green. "The demands of knighthood haven't changed in centuries, so unless you wanna keep sneaking around until the end of time, I suggest you go back."

"Wait, you're telling me to give up searching?" Green asked. "And right after I found out that all of you guys are still around?!"

"It would be for the best," Vio sighed as he stood and walked toward a path of trees to the right. Before he left, he cast a glance back at Green, a sad smile showing on his face in the soft glow of the fire. "It was nice seeing you again, Green." Then without another word, he disappeared down the path.

Green sat next to the fire, still looking to the direction Vio had left. He was starting to lose hope. How in Hyrule was he going to find his duplicates if they didn't want to be found? More importantly, how could he convince them to band together again?

A.N: Omg, I think I might actually be able to make this a story! Well, maybe a short story, but a story nonetheless. This is awesome, hehe...oh I just noticed: Green doesn't have any leads on where Blue or Red could be now :( Poor Green. Next chappie should come soon! :3