The four Links did not have time to question each other's existence. They heard the shriek behind them. They whirled around. The original, green-clad Link nearly tripped, the blue-clad Link shoved the red-clad one aside, and the purple-clad one tried to dart around the other three. But it was no use.

The shadowy Link grabbed hold of Princess Zelda, who let out a yelp of fear and disgust. And then the two of them were gone, disappearing in a flurry of purple particles.

The four boys stood there, helpless. And yet again they heard a noise behind them: a deep, triumphant, and gravelly spate of laughter.

They spun around to see the pedestal of the Four Sword itself disintegrate into nothing. A dark mist began to rise from the ground, and the laughter continued. The four witnessed the mist expand, filling the air. Patches of it changed color, turning from translucent purple to pitch black. Without warning, a mishappen arm grew from the mass. Then another arm, and then a pair of wings. Finally, the center of the abomination split open, revealing a large red eye with a gleaming yellow iris.

It was none other than Vaati, the dreaded mage.

There was more rumbling laughter, and then a boast.

"I am...free!" The monster became fully opaque. "How many centuries has it been? No matter, I've returned to form!"

Each Link looked down. The Four Sword, as it turned out, did not just split the original swordsman. Each found that he was holding a perfect replica of the legendary blade.

Seeing this, the purple Link took a stance. "I know you just got out, but we have to put you down again!" He made a leap forward, sword at the ready, but one of Vaati's arms was already on the move. The claw at the end struck him in the stomach, forcing him to double over with a wheeze. The green Link took a step to give the arm a two-handed blow with his sword, but he was bumped aside by the blue Link. They both fell to the floor.

"What're you doing?" The green Link shouted.

"I was gonna get it!" The blue Link snapped back.

The red Link quivered, holding his own sword as if it would suddenly bite him. Then, with a pathetically underpowered attempt at a war cry, he flung his blade straight at Vaati's eye. The mage simply flew to the side, and the sword went sailing harmlessly through the air.

What happened next was almost too fast to recollect. Safe in his airborne position, Vaati sent his curled claws forward, the arms snapping back and forth as they struck the four boys at random, over and over again.

"Fools!"

"Agh!" For a moment, the green Link was sure he was going to black out. He fell to his knees. Vaati did not stop striking him, and the other three were not spared, either.

"Fools! Fools! Fools! Fools!"

Captain Alphon had seen many things in his time. Riots, pirate raids, bandit ambushes. But nothing came close to this.

As he forced his way up the spiral stairway that led to Princess Zelda's throne room, he clashed swords with the impossible creatures he faced. Each was clad in steel plate, but there appeared to be nothing inside of the armor; just the purple mist that leaked through the gaps and the eyeholes of their helmets.

Even with nothing inside the armor, each of the inexplicable enemies swung their swords with the weight of an anvil behind every blow. Alphon quickly realized that it was no use trying to parry the attacks. He weaved and moved, evading each slash until he could strike with his shield or the pommel of his sword. With each successful hit, the purple mist would fade away and the armor would fall harmlessly to the side.

Finally, Alphon made it to the door of the throne room. A quick jab with his padded shoulder forced it open.

But even the monstrous knights could not compare to the sight before him.

He saw his son Link laying against the foot of the empty throne, his green tunic streaked with red. Suddenly everything looked hazy through the captain's eyes. He could not even hear his own footsteps as he walked closer. The spell was broken from the clatter as he dropped his sword and shield to the floor. In another moment he rushed forward, almost tripping over himself as he moved to sweep the boy into his arms.

"What's happened to you? Did you try to fight alone again?" The voice was shrill, and before now Alphon never believed such a voice could be his own. "You fool!" His eyes clenched together as he tried to fight the tears.

"Please! Gods of Hyrule! Save my son! Take my life, but spare his!"

And then there was another voice. A soft one, but with more than a bit of steel in it.

"My, my...what a good father you are."

Alphon opened his eyes. The boy's tunic was no longer green, but black. And the face had an ear-to-ear smirk.

"It's so touching I could cry."

It took a while before any of the Links mustered the strength to stand. The green-clad one stumbled to his feet first. Through his hazy vision, he registered the Link in purple propping himself up with his sword. The Link dressed in red sat upright in a daze until the one in blue gave him a slap to the back of his head, eliciting a yelp that finally pierced through the malaise.

The green Link moved his head from side to side, sword at the ready. But it was just him, the three lookalikes, and the dark chamber.

The purple Link examined the sword in his hand. Even in his weakened state, the green Link could see that the Four Sword in his counterpart's hand was exactly like his own.

"So the legend that he who draws the sword will be split into four...it is true..."

The silence in the room was overpowering.

"And Vaati is loose!"

The same thought occurred to all of them; Princess Zelda was in danger. They all began running toward the door, which had been left open. From there, they began to climb the great staircase that led to the upper floors of the castle.

"What do we do?"

"We have to do something!"

"Can we fight Vaati if he shows up again?"

"Of course I can! I'm Link!"

"No, I'm Link!"

"I am!"

The red-wearing Link, panting and sweating as he was, voiced the predicament.

"If we're gonna make any plans, we've gotta find a way to tell ourselves apart!"

The other Links began to slow down, and shot looks behind themselves.

The straggling Link stopped, looked down at himself, and smiled.

"I wear red stuff, so you can call me Red!" He pointed a finger. "You can be Blue!"

The blue-clad Link scowled. "Huh?"

Red pointed at the next closest Link. "Purple? Nah...Violet?"

"That's a girl's name."

"Maybe just Vio?" Then Red waved at the final Link. "And you're Green! Whad'ya think?"

Green scratched his head. "It's weird...but not inaccurate."

"Hey now!" Blue snarled. "People don't just change people's names! What sort of genius are you supposed to be?"

Red paused thoughtfully, then smiled. "A good genius?"

"You're an idiot! I won't answer to anything but Link!" As he saw Red pout, he continued. "Just 'cause we look alike doesn't mean we're gonna be buddies!"

"Gods, I hope not." Vio smirked.

"Hey!" Blue snapped his head around. "Don't you start acting cute, too!"

"Guys!" Green shouted. "Who cares what we call ourselves? Our priority is Zelda and the monster who kidnapped her!"

The other three Links lapsed into silence. When they saw Green turn and resume running up the stairs, they followed.

Green went over the layout of Hyrule Castle in his mind, assessing his residual memories from his time as the only Link. True enough, this paticular staircase only led up to the armory, one floor below the throne room. But there was another way to get above for emergencies...or for fun, as he had done when he had presented Zelda with the flower earlier that day.

When he reached the armory door, Green turned right and made for a patch of discolored tiles on the wall. Blue beat him to it, however, and he sighed ruefully as he watched the stone give way.

Red snapped his fingers. "Secret door! The secret door!"

Vio slapped Red on the back as he moved forward. "Secret passageway."

It took a bit of jostling, but the four boys squeezed into the exposed space. Not having scabbards for their swords, they thrust them into their belts and began climbing the long ladder.

Blue was the first to reach the top, so he shoved the tile above him away. It took a few seconds for all of the Links to get out and find solid ground.

It took less for them to register the abandoned sword, shield, and armor laying at the foot of the throne. The four Links stood in disbelief. Those armaments belonged to Captain Alphon.

Their father.

"Well, well. Somebody knows how to show up late for parties. Or should I say, somebodies."

The four whirled around. The dark Link from before sauntered towards them with a smirk, twirling his stolen sword in his hand before pointing it at them.

"I think introductions are only fair. I'm Shadow, and I'm the last thing you'll ever see."

Reading the manga again, I was a little confused as to why Vaati turned himself into a stone golem for the first fight, and how the Links moved in lockstep pretty quickly for people who in their own words, never worked as a team before. So I tried to take a page from the original game and have Vaati take them down in his normal form. As for why he doesn't just kill them in this chapter, don't worry. The answer(s) will come later down the road.