The three boys, Blue, Red, and Vio, found themselves washed up on the shore. They woke up with screeching headaches, but at least they still had their swords.

Red sat on his haunches, his face in his hands. He had lost the bag of provisions in the water, and every pang of hunger in his stomach was a reminder of that.

Blue stood by the water, awkwardly trying to massage his back. The sledgehammer was gone too, but it felt as if the leather strap he had been carrying it with had bitten into him.

Vio paced around morosely. There were hundreds of people in Hyrule, surely. And out of all of them, he had to put up with these idiots, who could not even manage a simple boat ride. It took a while for him to turn around to look at Blue and Red again, for he did not think he could easily stomach such a thing.

Almost everything that could have gone wrong had gone wrong.

"We have to...move on." Vio scowled. "Wherever we find water, we'll find civilization." He turned around again and marched away, doing his best to ignore his soaked clothes. At length, Blue and Red followed him.

Vio found himself walking through a thicket of trees, occasionally swinging his sword to knock away a branch. Blue and Red stayed behind, bickering at each other. Or rather, Blue was snarling at Red. Vio did not truly care. He pressed forward, trying in vain to shut his mind off everything except the path ahead.

As the commotion behind him continued, Vio rolled his eyes. As the eyes completed their arc, they caught a glimpse of something in the air. It was...smoke?

Vio blinked.

Yes! Far in the distance, visible over the mesh of trees, there was a great plume of smoke in the air. He picked up the pace, and then broke into a run.

"Come on!" He shouted behind himself at Blue and Red. He found himself running for a few minutes before he finally broke into a clearing.

Fortunately, there was a village.

Unfortunately, there was chaos.

Villagers of every age were scattered, darting around, and shouting. Men, women, and children tossed around pails, throwing around water in an attempt to douse the fires that engulfed every house in sight.

The boys raced ahead, and Vio made the first move.

"Everyone! Everyone! We're here to help! What can we do?"

The three were surrounded by villagers. But it became clear that there was not an ounce of gratitude or warmth in the air.

"You!" A bearded man shouted.

"Why did you do this!?" A woman screamed and pointed a finger.

"Which one of you did this? Speak!"

The same word hit the mind of each of the three boys: Shadow.

In another minute the boys were running again, chased by angry villagers.

"Get them!"

"Don't let them get away!"

"Come on!"

"Save me, Blue!" That was Red.

"Shut up!" That was Blue.

"Let's split up!" Vio did not have any other options that did not involve turning his blade on the villagers that the knights were sworn to protect. He swerved to avoid a pitchfork-wielding farmer and jumped over a wheelbarrow. He needed to find a safe place, and fast.

Green wiped his brow. The air was stale and the sun was harsh. But he was here.

The Pyramid was a great structure, almost rivaling Hyrule Castle itself. And right before him was the wide, dark doorway that led inside.

He felt his grip tighten on his sword. With his free hand, he waved towards the Gerudo caretaker who had escorted him.

"Thanks. I'll take it from here."

"Are you sure about this?"

Green did not quite felt ready, but he knew he had to go in.

"Wish me luck."

Vio panted, his lungs forcing out air as he propped himself up with his sword. He was inside an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the village. It was a large building with a ruined roof, but he could not see any tools or animals to suggest that anyone else would have a reason to come here. This would work as a sanctuary for some time.

But he had not quelled his rage. He had sympathy for the villagers, but not for his so-called "teammates."

"You...fools..." Vio hissed. Finally, he regained his strength and swung his sword through the air. He did not care that there was nothing to cut; he had to let out his frustration.

"So what if I had the wrong map! You three were the ones who made the trip impossible! You knocked me out of the river, Blue, and you took me with you! Red, how could you forget you had all our food and water on your back when you jumped in?! How could you lose them all? And Green...I have no idea where you are! You couldn't even keep track of yourself! Why do I have to put up with all of you?!"

"Can't say I can't sympathize."

The hairs on the back of Vio's head stood up. He knew that voice. He began to turn on his foot, but it did not matter. Shadow materialized in front of him, purple particles flowing off his black tunic and dissipating. He flashed his characteristic smirk, and Vio held his sword at the ready.

"You! What did you do to the village?"

Shadow shrugged. "Thought I'd invite them to a bonfire." He rubbed his stomach. "Didn't think one of them would hit me with a rock, though. I lost my toy, but whatever."

Vio's boots shuffled as the boy minded his footwork. He would find out what contraption, or "toy," that Shadow had used to torment the village. "Why would you do such a thing?"

Instead of responding, Shadow reached into his pocket. Vio saw him pull out a small stone sphere. Even from a distance, he could see it had an eye in the middle, and that the eye was moving. It was a smaller version of the Stone Arrghus from before.

"I had my little friend here follow you around. And I figured a few fires would be enough to get your attention."

"You monster..." Vio gnashed his teeth.

"Oh, please." Shadow stuffed his minion back into his pocket. "Nobody's dead, I planned each of the fires. I'm not here to fight...just to talk."

"You know I have no reason to believe a single word you say." Vio scowled. "You kidnapped Princess Zelda. You took away our father. You sacked Hyrule Castle. You tricked us into setting Vaati loose!"

Shadow risked. "Don't forget how I broke your father's sword."

"I have not." Vio pointed his sword at Shadow. "I swear that you will face your reckoning. I will find the other three of me and..."

"And what?" Shadow shrugged. "Give them orders? Suggest a plan of attack? There'd be no point in it. I've already heard what you said about them. Indulging them for so long must have been difficult."

Vio's face twinged. He was not wrong...

Shadow took a step forward. "What's the point of telling them anything? They won't listen...they'll just argue and fight. You know they're anchors, and you know they'll drag you underwater."

The dark Link moved a finger through the air, pushing the tip of Vio's sword aside. Vio did nothing to stop him, keeping his face still.

"I want to know what you think. Really." Shadow grinned. "You can tell me whatever you like. I have a feeling you'll find we're not too different."

Vio forced himself to speak. "What...is your point?"

Shadow stood directly in front of Vio.

"I know things look bad, well, have been bad for some time. I know you're worried about Princess Zelda, and your father, and Vaati, too. But what if I said I might have a way to make things right, relatively speaking?"

Vio hesitated.

"I'm listening."

After some thought, I decided to put Red, Blue, and Vio in the same spot before splitting them. I'm also not sure why the manga replaced Shadow Link with the manga's arsonist, so I put him back into that role.