The boys stumbled through the door after Green kicked it open. Still in the lead, Green whipped his head from side to side. Erune was gone. Her doll Rosie was laying nearby beside the boomerang the little boy had thrown earlier.
"Erune!" Red shouted into the air! "Erune!" When his second cry went unheeded, he swerved around Green. Blue followed him, and Vio followed Blue. Green swiped the boomerang. He did not know why, but he felt he would need an extra weapon on hand.
But even as he followed the boys as they ran towards the back of the house, he could not fight down his shame. First Princess Zelda, and now Erune? Whats sort of hero was he? How could he...
"Hey! What's this!?"
Green made it to the back of the house, carrying his sword in his left hand and the boomerang in his right. Blue and Vio were standing still. He joined them, and beheld what they beheld. Red was standing over something.
It was small, circular, no more than a few feet wide across. It shimmered and flowed, but this was no puddle. It was colored an iridescent blue. A faint warbling noise rose up from it.
Red looked desperate as he pointed. "I know this wasn't here before! Erune must have been taken through it!" He took a step.
"Red!" Vio called. "Wait for a moment..."
But Red walked into the portal and disappeared from thin air. The three remaining boys remained where they were, mystified. Then, one at a time, each of them walked into the portal as well.
Nobody noticed any changes at first. They were still on solid ground, and it was still night. The four of them stepped away from the portal, swords at the ready.
But some things were different. There was a mauvish mist filling the air. The moon was bright orange. The soil was not brown, but green. Red weeds grew up from it in sparse patches. And Erune's house was gone. Instead, there was the first in a long row of huts.
The boys approached it. There was an arrow stuck into the wooden wall, with an old wooden bow leaning beside it. Vio studied them, and then took each into his right hand.
"Hey..." Red's ears twitched. "Don't you hear that?" He began running again. The others followed suit as he darted to the front of the hut.
"Hey!"
There was a crowd of children standing on the front path of the hut...boys and girls, wailing, throwing fists against the barrier that encased them all. The barrier was the same color as the portal from before. And squeezed between one of the larger boys and couple of the younger girls was Erune, waving her arms frantically.
"Look behind you!"
They did, and were dumbstruck.
There was a huge sphere hovering in the air. It was covered with a layer of gray scales. There was a Deku Scrub perched on top, glowering at the four.
"Welcome to the Dark World, boys!" The voice was low and raspy. "You were brave to come here. Stupid, but brave." The living treestump let out a curt whistle. "I'll be testing Stone Arrghus out on you!" It occurred suddenly to the four that there was a thin line visible on the sphere. It warped, then split open. Behind it was a single giant eye, pulsing with a yellow gleam. Green's jaw dropped.
Stone Arrghus weaved through the mist, then spun forward. The boys shook off their disbelief that such a heavy-looking monster could float through the air and scattered. It barreled straight through the hut, sending tiles and splinters of wood everywhere. Somehow, the Deku Scrub was able to stay on top of it's mount, cackling in glee.
Vio recovered the quickest. He slammed his sword into the ground tip first, and then pulled up the bow he found. He nocked the arrow, and tightened his back. He had only one arrow, and thus only one chance of getting this right. He was proficient with his sword, but he would have to rely on more than the old Link's memories of occasional archery lessons. He had to get this right, had to seize his moment and find himself lucky.
Stone Arrghus rose into the air and turned around. It's eye was still glowing, the pupil shrinking. It was a bigger target than the Deku Scrub that was riding it. Vio surmised that hitting the rocky body would be a waste of time; the eye looked vulnerable enough. He stood his ground even as his foe commenced its next charge. The hero let his fingers twitch.
"Look what I found!"
The voice cut Vio's concentration, and he released the arrow too early. It bounced off of the stone scales just above the eye. Stone Arrghus sailed past Vio. The boy stood still. He was lucky. If the projectile had not disturbed the monster, it would have kept its course. He had just been a centimeter away from being completely splattered.
It occurred to him that Blue was standing near the remains of the hut, holding something over his head. It was a sledgehammer. The boy was jumping around with the maul in one hand and his sword in the other, the weight of the former leading Blue into a lopsided dance of victory. Beside him, Red was pumping his fist into the air over his comrade's find.
Vio could not have expected himself to lose his temper, but he did.
"You fool!" He shouted. "You..."
He lost his breath. Green tackled him out of the way of Stone Arrghus. Vio dropped his bow and groaned as he hit the ground. Standing upright, Green tossed his boomerang. It struck the Deku Scrub on top right in the snout, and he dropped off his mount with a yelp. Green pressed forward as the Deku Scrub shrieked and made it's escape behind the nearest row of houses. The Stone Arrghus had lost it's rider, and it hovered in momentary confusion.
"Take that!"
The monster turned as a pebble struck its shell, and then another. Red threw another stone, but missed.
"Take that! Come right at me!"
Stone Arrghus let itself fall to the ground, but not because of the puny projectiles flung its way. Going at the boys from the air had failed it before, so it would make a charge on land this time.
But, distracted by Red's taunts and having ignored Green and Vio, the riderless monster had missed an incoming danger.
Blue leapt into action. He had dropped his sword and presently took the hammer he held into both hands. He jumped from the side, bringing the heavy iron head into the side.
A crack appeared in Stone Arrghus' shell, and then it began to spread. Soon, the cracks spread across the monster like latticework. Another second, and the scales cracked open and crumbled to the ground, releasing purple mist into the air. Soon, that too evaporated. Stone Arrghus was dead.
"Here's to me, the real-deal Link!" Blue raised his hammer over his head in triumph. Green, who was helping Vio back up on his feet, sighed and shook his head.
"Don't worry, everyone! Everything's going to be okay!"
Green moved his head. Red was standing to the side, surrounded by children. Whether it was the death of Stone Arrghus or the disappearance of the Deku Scrub, the barrier around them had disappeared.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
"You guys are the greatest!"
The four boys assembled near the gate that led outside Hyrule Castel Town. They had led everyone back through the portal, and the villagers had barricaded it with a fence in record time.
The boys were a little tired, but glad that justice was served by their hands. For his part, Blue had borrowed some strips of leather and stood proudly with his newly acquired hammer strapped to his back. The other boys were a little bemused, knowing that he would probably hold his slaying of Stone Arghus over their heads. But the sight before them was one to never forget.
Parents hugged children and siblings played together. Hyrule Castle Town was on its way to recovery.
Only Erune looked disconcerted as she approached the four boys. She held Rosie under her arm.
"Are you four really sure about going?"
Green shrugged ruefully. "We're not tripping over ourselves doing it, but there are many other places that need our help.
Princess Zelda.
Father.
We haven't forgotten you.
Erune took a step forward, extending her free hand.
"Be careful out there..."
Link extended his own hand, but Blue shoved him aside.
"Hey! I'm one who got the monster, here!"
"After almost getting me killed." Vio scowled.
"What!"
"Come on," Red chuckled. "There's no way Blue could be that devious!"
"Oh, so I'm dumb now?"
Erune shook her head, but smiled.
I was hoping to make this fight a little less successful for the Links, and showcase their lack of synergy. Fighting Shadow was one thing, but I though it was unrealistic for them to act the same every time they fight an enemy. For that, I wanted to channel their more lopsided approach from the manga.