Chapter 6
"VIO!" Red's voice cracked on the cry but Blue's held steady. Panicking never helped anyone. Action, now that was useful.
With a roar, Blue flung himself at the yawning mouth that had just swallowed his brother. Vio would not be eaten by a creepy dark hole in a mountain. Not on his watch.
The toe of his boot was a hair's breadth away from the cave floor when the howling wind returned. It punched him back into the dirt, sending jitters of not-quite pain rattling through his bones.
Spitting curses, Blue scrambled to his feet and threw himself at the cave once more, only vaguely aware of Red's desperate cries and pleas for Vio to come back. To answer.
The only answer they received was a growling gale. Nevertheless, Blue didn't give up. He got to his feet, ducked his head, squared his shoulders, and charged—only to be thrown back again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
Each failure fanned the flame burning inside his belly. It became more than a sputtering spark, more than a blazing inferno. It turned into a beast. Raging and screaming and sending sweat to roll off of him—or maybe that was just all the exertion—and lighting him up to bury the dark coal that was crumbling in the exact same place. He couldn't crumble. Vio needed him.
Only when a hand snagged his arm did Blue pause his efforts to force entry. His eyes met Red's teary ones. "We have to get Green!"
"Fat lot of good that will do!" Blue yanked his arm out of Red's hold and prepared to leap into the darkness once more. Green couldn't even reach the Great Tree without the world dissolving around him. There was no way he would be able to get to this cave, much less breech it.
It was up to Blue.
Unfortunately, Blue could not breech the cave either. That had been clear from the start, but Blue refused to accept it until he'd been blown onto his back at least twenty times.
After the twenty-fourth, he reluctantly determined that he needed another plan because his current one wasn't working and ran after his red-clad brother. At the very least, he could protect him.
"Found you!" Beth sealed her declaration by parting the tall grass he was currently lying belly down in and offering him a hand.
Green took it, trying to keep the pain of the headache banging at his temples like a hammer on a stubborn blade off his face as he stood.
"You boys are so easy to find," Beth complained, a disappointed expression crossing her freckled-features.
"That's because you're good at the game."
"No," Beth objected, jutting out her chin indignantly. "It's because Talo doesn't know how to shut his mouth for more than five seconds and also because your outfit is so colorful I'd have to be a blind goat not to see it!"
Green grimaced at that. The fact his tunic wasn't all green had slipped his mind while selecting a hiding place. He blamed it on the almost-migraine. Normally, he didn't forget details like that.
"I'll pick a better hiding spot next time," he said by way of apology. Personally, he hoped he wouldn't have to. Playing with the village kids had sounded like a fun way to pass the time ten minutes ago. Now, it was akin to torture. The sun was way too bright, the village too noisy. He pulled his hood over his head in an attempt to block it all out.
Beth huffed. "See to it that you do. Now go join Talo."
The Hero of the Four Sword obeyed without complaint. This turned out to be a mistake, since Talo was just as horridly loud as Beth had promised and insisted on ranting to him about how the bossy girl had totally cheated.
"Maybe you can be it next time," Green suggested in an attempt to quiet the boy down.
"Beth is such a control freak. She won't let us break the rules!" Talo exclaimed, sounding incredibly put off by this fact. "If she finds everyone she gets to be it again, and if she doesn't then whoever she can't find gets to be it. It won't be me because I'm already out. I guess I could hide again..."
"Green!" A rush of emotion came with the exclamation, accelerating his heart rate and stabbing a bolt of ice-cold panic into his chest. "You have to help! Vio's in trouble! But also please don't be mad because I didn't even know you said we weren't allowed to explore the mountains…"
Red continued to ramble, but Green remained stuck on that detail. The mountains. The others had disobeyed him and gone to the mountains. No, it was more than that. They'd lied to his face! Blue and Vio had promised him they would leave the mountains alone, but they went anyway. Now something bad had happened, only he didn't know what because Red's explanation was all over the place and filled with so many tears that they threatened to flood out of his mind and into reality.
Blue barged in next, bringing even more terror with him. Green clasped his hands together tightly, trying to keep them from trembling. "Listen, we may or may not have disobeyed you and gone to the mountains and now Vio's…gone."
Gone? What did Blue mean 'Vio's gone'? Green's plan to ask was foiled by Talo, who had all but shoved his face into his. "Well? Will you?"
Green recoiled, fighting to keep his face neutral. "Will I…what?"
"Teach me to fight!" Talo ordered, nearly smacking Green with the branch he raised skyward. Green flinched.
"The cave took him, and we can't get in! Blue tried a whole bunch and I kept yelling for him, but he didn't answer," Red continued, sniffling.
"Later," he choked out.
"It has to be now!" the messy-haired boy in front of him insisted. "Before Beth finds everyone."
Green didn't see why that mattered and didn't have the energy to spare to figure it out. His mind was still reeling, his emotions sling-shotting back and forth between panicked and furious. Not to mention his headache had developed into a full-blown migraine, which wasn't helping one bit. He needed to leave, to get someplace quiet with no screaming children so that he could scream at the voices in his head.
"This is ridiculous. I'm going back," Blue declared.
He drew in a breath to protest, to yell at Blue to stay right where he was, but Red beat him to it. "No! Stay here. Green, you need to come inside!"
"Even if he did, he's not going to do anything but yell at us! He can't get to the mountains."
"Yes, he can."
"No, he can't! You weren't here earlier when we tried to take him there. It didn't work."
"Then how are we going to rescue Vio?" Red whimpered.
What had Vio? How could a cave trap him and not let him back out? Why wasn't he responding to Red's calls? Why couldn't Blue enter the cave? Was it for the same reason Green couldn't access much of their fantasy world? Or was there another reason? Could they work around it? Could there be another entrance? One they could access? How did they know Vio wasn't just messing with them besides the fact that it went against his character?
These questions and more ran rampant through his mind, drowning out the sounds around and inside him. He needed a way out, but he couldn't leave Talo—and when did Malo get there?—alone. Playing with them doubled as watching them so abandoning the children was out of the question. Then again, this was their village. Nothing bad could happen here.
Except maybe it could. Talo was talking about sword fighting for whatever reason earlier. Was he fixing to get into a fight with someone? If so, Green had to be around to stop it. At the very least, someone responsible had to be around, and until that girl found Hyrule or Wind, he was the only responsible person in the vicinity.
As he watched the two brothers chat back and forth, the younger one's voice blessedly softer than the elder's, Green fidgeted. He played with the kinstones on his belt and traced his hand over the perfect stitching of his tunic because Blue would have it no other way. His touch stilled at the violet section. What had happened to Vio? Where was Vio?
He felt plenty of sickness in his stomach and panic fluttering in his heart and anger flushing his body hot, then cold, but he didn't know whose feelings were whose. Were Vio's mixed in somewhere? Or were they completely absent? Green had no way of knowing and the not knowing drove him crazy.
Well, crazier.
He tapped his feet and tugged at the ends of his hair and tried to slow his breathing, all in an attempt to stay stay stay. Because he could feel himself drifting up and away from everything to a place where an angry ball wasn't tangled in his chest and no one was screaming at him to fix something he didn't know how to fix. To a place where nothing was wrong.
Green couldn't say when Hyrule joined their little group of failures, only that when he did, Green quickly spat out an excuse about having forgotten something at Twi's before retreating. Whether or not Hyrule understood him or if he'd actually said the words or just imagined them, Green didn't know.
All he knew was that by the time he'd reached the treehouse and shut the door, it was okay to scream.
After having to suppress it for so long, Green thought the words would explode out of him. They didn't. For too many seconds, he had no words. When he finally found some, they came out low and seething. "Why'd you go to the mountains?"
"That's not important. We—"
"It is important," Green shot back, cutting Blue off. "I told both of you not to mess with that place and you agreed. You both said you'd leave it alone but you didn't. You went behind my back!"
"Yeah, yeah we lied and we're sorry and all that." Green sensed Blue rolling his eyes. "Can we focus on the problem now?"
Blue's blasé tone only served to infuriate Green more. His hands curled into fists at his sides. "The problem? The problem is you don't listen. None of you listen! You think it's a game, and it's not!"
"I didn't know you said not to," Red piped up, voice small.
"We don't listen? Are you seriously berating us like children? You're not the boss of us, you know. We can do what we want."
"Not when it goes against my orders!"
"Your orders aren't worth the dirt on the ground!"
"Please don't—" Red's plea was trampled by Blue's rage.
"What exactly gives you jurisdiction over us? Go ahead. Tell me, Green. I'd love to hear it."
He set his jaw. "I'm the leader."
"Oh! You're the leader! Of course because we live in a world where everything revolves around you. Excuse me, I forgot." Sarcasm dripped like acid from Blue's words, and had the boy been in front of him, Green would have planted a fist in his face.
"That's why we're arguing about this now, isn't it? Instead of actually trying to help Vio?"
"Vio would be fine if you had listened to me!" Green shouted.
"It wasn't even my fault!" Blue retorted. "Vio was curious!
Green scoffed."That's it? That's your defense? You're going to blame the boy who's missing?!"
"I'm not saying it's his fault. I'm just…" He blew out an aggravated sigh. "He wanted to, and I did say no eventually but the idiot kept going!"
Green didn't believe that for a second. Out of all his brothers, Vio was the most sensible. He didn't act recklessly. He always had a plan, and he never did anything without considering the consequences. Most of all, he listened to Green. Blue, on the other hand…
"Can we please stop fighting and go rescue Vio?" Red interjected.
Despite knowing Red had little to do with the whole fiasco, Green couldn't stop himself from snapping. "How? How, Red? How do you want me to do that? You want me to magic him back from wherever he is? Snap my fingers and make him appear? This isn't my mistake. This would never have happened if…if you'd all just listened to me!" He was pacing now, practically stomping across the floor, back and forth and back and forth like a caged animal. Because he was. He couldn't move freely inside. He couldn't help Vio. He didn't know how to help Vio, but the others expected him to.
"Sorry…"
"Sorry isn't going to bring him back!"
"Neither is yelling at us!" Blue returned with just as much ferocity. "It's not even Red's fault. It's true. He didn't know. Yell at me all you want but leave him out of it."
"Don't yell at all!" Red objected, voice watery. "Both of you. I don't like it when you guys yell."
"Well, I don't like it when you expect me to clean up all your messes, so there!"
"I'm leaving," Blue announced.
"Don't you dare!" Vio was already missing. He didn't need Blue getting himself lost too.
"Why? You want to yell at me some more? Be my guest, but make it quick."
"Stay where you are. Don't go anywhere. Not until Vio shows up."
"Vio isn't going to show up! He needs to be found, and I'm going to find him." Blue's presence began to fade.
"Wait!" Red cried. "You couldn't get in last time! We need a better plan."
"I have a plan. It's called force."
"Blue!"
A beat of silence.
"He left," Red said quietly.
Green fisted his hands in his hair and pulled. Should he send Red to fetch Blue back or tell Red to stay where he was? What was the right course of action? If Red went after Blue then they could both share Vio's fate, but if he didn't then Blue could disappear and that was bad too. Vio would have the solution, but Vio wasn't here.
"Vio's probably fine, I think. Right?" Red rambled, as Green continued to pace. "He's strong and brave and this is our world so nothing bad can happen. Right, Green?"
He hunched his shoulders, as if to hide from the question. I don't know.
"We can't die in here can we?"
I don't know.
"We can't get hurt or sick. That'd be silly because it's our head and we'd never want to be hurt or sick so we must not be able to be, right?"
I don't know.
"There aren't any monsters here, are there Green?"
I don't know.
"Vio will come back…right?"
I don't know. Those three words repeated like a mantra in his head, drowning out Red's voice. Yet, Green refused to let them pass his lips. He was the leader. He was the one the others looked to for answers. He couldn't admit that he didn't have any.
Think! He had to think. That's what Vio would do. He'd think and come up with a plan and go through with it. But what was Green supposed to do? What were his options? Vio was missing, and Blue had to be scolded for being reckless, and Red had to be comforted because why else would his face be wet if not because Red was upset?
Of course Red was upset. Their brother was missing, possibly gone forever, and Green hadn't provided a solution. All he'd done was yell and pace and yell some more.
One would think he would be tired of yelling by now, but he only wanted to scream more. About how it wasn't fair the others made mistakes and expected him to fix them. It wasn't fair that they all had to co-exist in one body. It wasn't fair that he couldn't be normal. It wasn't fair—
Green banged into a wall. When he recoiled, the last thing he expected was for the wall to reach out and grip him by the shoulders.
Not a wall, Green realized as he tilted his head back. Time.
Sound flooded back, loud and unwelcoming, but he tried to concentrate on what the man in front of him was saying. "—'kay? What happened?"
Green heaved for breath, grabbing for the words to explain, but they escaped each time in a whoosh of air.
"You don't have to speak," Time assured him, seeming to understand. "Sign for me?"
Hands trembling like leaves in a windstorm, Green scrambled to do so. His fingers twitched, seeking out the correct positions to explain about the cave and the world inside his head. About how Vio was missing because no one listened to him. About how overwhelmed he was by everything. But his brain did not supply the silent words any more than they did the verbal ones.
What was the sign for too much? It had something to do with stacking his hands on top of one another, didn't it? Was it right over left or left over right? Did it even matter? He didn't know.
He didn't know!
Large hands captured his, stilling them. "Forget signing. Let's just breathe, okay? In…and out."
Staring at nothing and struggling to draw in air, Green did his best to focus on Time's instructions. At some point, Red began to count in his head, soft and calming. Helpful.
In. Two. Three. Four.
Out. Two. Three. Four.
After what Green could only estimate to be a minute based off of Red's counting, the blackness eating at the edges of his vision began to recede. Vaguely, he was aware of Time leading him to a chair. He sat, unaware of how exhausted he was until he was off his feet. He traced the woodgrain on the underside of the table with his fingers as Red continued to breathe with him inside. Outside, Time had fallen silent, watching him carefully. Patiently.
But waiting all the same. Waiting for Green to explain himself. To give him answers, but he didn't have answers. Not for why there was a fake world inside his head or where Vio was and how to get him back. The thoughts consumed him, and he felt himself slipping back and back and back. This time he didn't bother fighting it. He wanted to drift away. To distance himself from all this madness.
Red popped into the body, dizzy and hyper aware of the throbbing in his head. He laid his head on the table, the relative coolness of the wood providing some relief from the aching. But there was a different aching inside. One that was distinctly Green and couldn't be combatted with cool surfaces. He could feel it even though he couldn't sense Green nearby.
Slowly, Red shifted, so he could peek up at Time. He kicked his feet to solidify the idea that he was in control now. "…Hi."
Time offered him a wan smile. "Hey, there. Can I ask who I'm speaking with?"
Red sniffed. "It's Red."
"Are you okay, Red?"
"My head hurts." The complaint seemed petty in the face of everything, but Red liked to be honest. Anyway, it bought him time to figure out what to say. None of them had told anyone else about the inside world. Green hadn't said not to, exactly, but he also hadn't said it was okay either. The last thing Red wanted to do was make Green upset…or rather, more upset.
"I think I have a potion…" Time said, taking his eye off him to rummage in the pouch at his side.
Red shot out of his chair to stop him. Potions never worked on switch headaches. "It's okay! I don't need it."
"You were crying," Time pointed out.
"No, that wasn't me. That was Green."
"Green was crying?" Time asked, seeming to struggle with the idea of Green crying. Red did too. Green never cried.
He plopped back down onto the chair as Time gave him his full attention. "Yeah."
"Do you know why?"
"Um—"
"The cave's gone!" Blue's voice stole the rest of Red's reply which was just as well because he didn't know how to form it without mentioning the world inside their head.
"What?" It came out in a breathy whisper, but Time must have heard it regardless, or else the panic showed on his face because the Hero of Time quirked a concerned eyebrow.
"I went to the exact same spot we were, and it's not there." Blue reported.
"It has to be," Red whimpered. If it wasn't then…then what did that mean for Vio?
"It's not! I can't find it. Wait…where's Green?"
"I dunno." Tears dripped down his face, landing with wet plops on the table's surface.
"Red." His gaze whipped up to meet Time's. He had to search for a moment because the man had moved to his side and was now reaching out an uncertain hand. "What's going on?"
"None of your business," Blue answered, blinking away the vertigo from the sudden switch. He leaned away from Time. The man was far too close.
Thankfully, Time took the hint and let his hand fall to his side, retreating a few steps for good measure.
"That's rude, Blue!" Red admonished him as he scrubbed irritably at his eyes. His brothers were way too weepy today.
"I was trying to help."
"Do me a favor. Don't." Blue massaged his pounding temples with a hand. The cave was gone and so was Vio. If he'd been the weepy sort, he would have wept too. Instead, he stood and, swaying only slightly, walked to the door.
"Where are you going?" Time's voice grated on Blue's nerves, and he whirled around, leveling a glare at the old man.
"To spar. Got a problem with that?" Frankly, Blue didn't care if he did, and left the house before Time could reply to prove it.
He didn't bother with the ladder. Ladders were for people who had time and sanity, and he possessed neither. Besides, the shock of landing hard on his feet was satisfying. Never mind that his ankles ached a little afterwards.
As Blue entered the village proper, he did his best not to stomp and to relax the tension in his shoulders. He didn't need questions. His efforts were wasted since the questions came for him anyway. In fact, they nearly barreled him over as they spewed from the mouths of multiple children, none of which he recognized.
"Have you come back to play with us?" a little boy with blond hair and tired eyes asked hopefully.
"Teach me how to sword fight!" another boy cried, waving a branch around in the air.
"Ignore those two. Are you feeling better?" a freckle-faced girl asked.
"No. In fact, if I stand here any longer I think I might die," was what Blue wanted to say. What he did say was nothing because Hyrule and Wind came to his rescue. The sailor, who was soaking wet for some reason, herded the children away, and Hyrule blocked him from their view.
"Hey, uh, you okay?"
"Fine. Do you know where Legend or Warrior are, by chance?" Blue wondered, barely remembering to imitate Green before he spoke.
Hyrule furrowed his brow in thought. "I think Legend's at the ranch. Warrior…I'm not so sure."
"And the ranch is…?"
"That way." 'Rule gestured vaguely, and Blue nodded, setting off without knowing exactly where he was going but sure his nose would help him find it.
He was right.
The place reeked of animal, which was only to be expected on a farm, and if anything, Legend looked happy to be called away from helping Twilight and Sky tend to the goats and horses.
"What's up, short stuff?"
He scowled. "Don't call me that."
"Tiny, then," Legend decided.
"I'll break your kneecaps." He was only half-kidding.
Legend smirked, vaulting over the fence. "I'd love to see you try."
Blue wasn't one to pass up an invitation and promptly kicked out. The pink-haired hero danced around it with a laugh. "Someone's testy today. Did you have a fight with the others?"
"Something like that." Blue refused to get into it, and Legend didn't pry. That was what he liked about Legend. The man didn't care. He didn't ask questions. He always seemed to sense when Blue needed to let off steam and was always more than willing to do so with him.
Blue didn't even have to mention sparring for Legend to understand that was what he wanted, and soon enough the two of them were standing across from each other in the clearing before Twi's house, swords at the ready.
Hopefully, the exercise would clear his head enough so he could think. If he was especially lucky, it would give him an idea of how to save Vio. If not, well, at least he got to hit something.
"Ready to lose?" Legend quipped, twirling his sword expertly.
"In your dreams," Blue returned easily, already feeling better.
They began.
Red found Green in his room, curled up on the bed with his back to the door.
"Green?"
No response.
He shut the door and quietly padded over. The poplar wood floorboards beneath his feet were blessedly free of creaks. Again, he repeated his brother's name.
Once again, silence answered him.
"Greeeen~" He sing-songed, climbing halfway onto the bed and poking him gingerly in the back.
"Stop." Green turned, giving Red full view of his tear-streaked face. "Go away."
"Sorry, I can't. You're upset."
"So?"
"So I want you to feel better."
Green buried his face into the mattress in response.
Red draped himself over his brother's dejected form and ignored the muffled "Get off" that issued forth from the body under him. "I was thinking…maybe we can will Vio back." Green said nothing so Red continued. "You weren't here, but we made lights last night. When you fell asleep it got dark. It turned to night-time, and I got scared but Vio suggested we make light. So we did. I have them in my room still. They're not lit right now but that's only because it's daytime—"
"What's your point?" Green asked, his voice raw from crying.
"Oh! Um, I just thought maybe we could make Vio come here by imagining it. Like with how we made the lights."
Doubt flickered across his brother's face, but Red was determined to wipe it away. He sat up and closed his eyes tight in concentration. He didn't know if having his eyes closed helped or not, but he'd done it like that last time, and Vio always said consistency was a good thing so it couldn't hurt.
An image of Vio appeared in his mind. It wasn't difficult to picture Vio's face. It was his face and Green's face and Blue's face, after all. But there was something about it that was distinctly Vio. The set of his jaw, the knowing gleam in his eyes that advertised the fact he was the smartest. Yet, despite his inherent wisdom and love for learning, Vio exuded kindness and calmness. He was always there to help them think things through. He was the voice of reason, of logic. If Green wasn't their leader, Red was sure it would be Vio. He seemed like leader material. Looked it too. Even though they were all the same height, Vio appeared to loom slightly taller, if only because of the way he held himself.
Red pictured Vio's soft smiles and violet tunic threaded with gold, the earth element symbol lovingly embroidered in the bottom left corner. Red would know. He'd sewn it. He recalled everything that made Vio Vio. His love for books and meticulous projects. The way he got lost in whatever he was doing and crinkled his nose the tiniest bit when he was concentrating particularly hard. The sound of his voice, nearly always soft as feathers, yet deepest out of them all.
Only when he'd reconstructed his brother perfectly in his mind did Red dare to picture Vio welcoming him with open arms and a half-smile, announcing, "I'm back." Red snapped open his eyes, an expectant smile curving his lips upward.
The room was empty.
Refusing to believe he'd failed, Red slid off the bed and pivoted slowly on his heel, searching the forest of green for a flash of violet. There was none.
"Maybe…maybe…" His gaze came to rest on Green's pill-bug like form. "Maybe we both have to will him here. Yeah! That must be it." He hopped onto the bed with renewed vigor. "Green, come on. Help me. Picture Vio with me. As much as you can. The more detail the better. Maybe I forgot some things and that's why it didn't work."
"It's not going to work," Green mumbled into the bed.
"Not with that attitude it won't!" Red agreed, crawling over so he could see Green's front instead of his back. He reached out a hand to shake his shoulder. "Come o—"
"No!" Green shot up, slapping his hand away. Stunned, Red hardly registered the brief tingle of almost pain the contact sent radiating through his palm. "It's not going to work! You can't just wish someone back into existence!"
"You say that like he's dead," Red said, feeling his bottom lip wobble.
"He might as well be! We can't get to him and…and—!" Green flopped back down, curling up and shaking with silent sobs.
Timidly, Red reached out to place a hand on the distraught boy's head. When he didn't protest, Red began to gingerly run his hand through his hair. It was something calming that Grandpa Smith had always done for them when they were little and upset.
"I ha-hate this p-place."
"It's not so bad," Red said.
"Not so bad?!" Green cried, jumping up once more and forcing Red to retract his hand. "Red, Vio got taken by…by something! And besides that it just…it feels wrong. Everything is too sharp and not sharp enough. My senses are all messed up. It's like a dream, but not. It's…it's a nightmare."
Red frowned in sympathy. He couldn't relate. Maybe the mountains and the cave could be described as nightmarish but not the rest of the world. The rest of the world was vibrant and beautiful. It was alive. It didn't feel like a dream to him, but clearly it felt that way to Green.
"Maybe some of it is bad," he admitted. "But not all of it." He pulled Green into a tight hug and considered it a success when the green-clad Four Sword Hero wrapped his arms around him and buried his face in Red's shoulder. "I'm here, and we can hug. See? That's nice. That's not a nightmare."
"But it's not real," Green mumbled, voice catching on a sob.
Red scrunched up his face in thought. Technically it wasn't real but… "It's a different kind of real. I mean…we're both real. So some of what's here must be real." He couldn't quite put it into words that made sense—that was Vio's department—but he tried nonetheless.
It didn't seem to have worked. "I don't like it."
"We can try to change it so you do like it," Red suggested. "We can make anything you want. Well…" He thought about Vio. "Almost anything. What do you want?"
"I want it to go away."
Red didn't know if they could make it do that, and he didn't want to try either, so he did the only thing he could think of. He squeezed Green tighter.
When that seemed to lose its effect, he rubbed Green's back and rocked back and forth and stroked his hair. Anything to reassure Green that he was there and real. That he loved him and wouldn't leave. That if this world was a nightmare, he'd shield him from the worst of it.
Finally, Green pulled away, scrubbing furiously at his eyes with the heels of his hands. The gesture was pointless to Red. He already knew Green had been crying, but for Green's sake he pretended to forget. "There's no time for this."
Red tilted his head to the side, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"This!" Green reiterated, flailing an arm about to encompass the entirety of the space they currently sat in. "All of this. It's not…there's no time for a mental breakdown. I'm sorry."
He shook his head so fast, had he been in the body, he would have given himself whiplash. "No! It's okay. You don't have to apologize for anything. You can be upset." Honestly, Red thought Green would have to be heartless to not be upset with one of their own missing.
Unfortunately, Green didn't see it that way. He dragged a weary hand down his face, and though it was Red's face too, he couldn't help but think Green looked older. "It's not just being upset. It's letting it do this. The whole world in our head thing and…I just—" Red waited patiently while Green grasped for words. "We're on a mission with other heroes. We don't have the luxury of falling apart. Monsters could ambush us at any time, and at the rate things are going, they won't even be normal monsters. They'll be tainted and that means they'll be stronger and deadlier, and we can't be a dead weight to the others. That's not fair. Blue does a lot of the fighting but sometimes I do it and sometimes Vi—"
Green choked, and Red took that as his cue to say something. "We're in Twi's village. We're safe. We don't have to worry about—"
"But we do!" Green argued. "We've been ambushed so many times! Being in a village doesn't matter."
Doubt began to creep in, but Red quickly shrugged it off. "We're safe. If we have to fight, Blue will do it for us."
"But we'll mess him up! I'll mess him up by being all emotional."
"You won't," Red said. He was the most emotional of them all, and he'd never prevented Blue from doing his job. Well, almost never. "Even if you did, the others would protect us."
"They shouldn't have to! We should be able to handle ourselves, and if we can't then…then what kind of heroes are we?! What kind of hero am I?"
"A good one. A normal one," Red declared, gripping Green's shoulders and shaking him a little to encourage the truth to sink in. "Yes, we're heroes and we can handle ourselves but sometimes we need help. Everyone needs help sometimes. Wild has those memory blackouts and none of us think less of him for that. We protect him when we need to. Same thing with Sky when he has breathing problems. Even Time has a blind side! He's great at fighting despite it, but he doesn't catch everything so everyone watches out for him too. So see? Being a little less than okay sometimes is fine."
"It isn't!" Green objected, jerking out of his hold. "You just said it yourself that the others have issues of their own. We can't add to that. If we do, there will be no one left to look after anyone."
Red frowned. Green had completely missed his point. "That's not true. Everyone has everyone else's back at all times."
"That's impossible," Green claimed, hugging himself and refusing to make eye contact. "All it takes is one slip up…"
"I'm getting you something to drink." Red decided, getting to his feet with determination. Hot drinks always made them feel warm and cozy and safe and Red wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. Talking was obviously too much for Green to handle at the moment.
Green glanced up at him, thoroughly confused by the sudden change of topic. "What?"
"I'm getting you a drink," Red repeated. "What do you want? Hot coca? Tea?"
"Red…" Green trailed off, his expression unamused.
"Surprise it is!" he said, turning on his heel and leaving the room before Green could protest.
Red could probably make the drink appear without venturing to the kitchen downstairs but something told him Green wouldn't receive such a concoction well. He complained about things here not being real enough. Surely if Red brewed the drink himself, like he would outside, it would taste real to Green and cheer him up.
Just as Red reached the bottom of the steps, however, the world wavered around him. He stumbled, reaching for the banister to right himself but a force shoved him forward from behind and sent him reeling.
His surroundings blurred past him in a mosaic of colors that made his stomach churn, and Red closed his eyes in an effort not to puke. It didn't work as well as he'd hoped, since he could still feel himself moving, and it was strange because he was certain his feet were still firmly on the floor.
Opening his eyes proved him wrong. He was on the floor, but he was sitting, and he wasn't in the house anymore. Switch. The realization hit him a second before Blue's shout did.
"Darn it, Red! I wanted to eat that!"
Blinking rapidly to clear his still swimming vision, Red glanced down at his lap, surprised to find a plate with a piece of pumpkin pie on it. There were a few bites taken out of it already, and if he concentrated, he could taste the lingering spice on his was not a pleasant taste. He scooped up some of the whipped cream on top and popped it into his mouth. The sweetness helped a little, but he didn't dare eat any more of the pie. Or maybe he should so Blue could regain control…
One failed experiment later left Red shoveling the remainder of the whipped cream into his mouth to cleanse his palate.
He hadn't meant to switch. Green still needed comfort, and he couldn't provide that out here. Maybe Blue could give Green comfort in his stead? At the very least, it would give Blue something productive to do instead of lamenting the fact that Red was eating his pie—or more accurately, the whipped cream on top of his pie.
Taking in his surroundings properly for the first time, Red noted his bag was missing. This revelation wasn't cause for panic, seeing as the rest of the heroes in the house were lounging around in casual wear, stripped of all heavy armor and burdening packs and bags.
Still, Red expected their belongings to be nearby. Paranoia seemed to be a heroic trait, and it was because of this none of them made a habit of storing their things out of sight, even while relaxing.
Glancing around the semicircle of heroes huddled in front of the crackling fireplace rewarded him with no clues as to the whereabouts of his things. Asking came to mind, but as he settled into the body and the fogginess of switching wore off, Red became acutely aware of the conversation taking place around him.
Wind was in the middle of regaling the others with a story about how he was the master of hide and seek or something along those lines. The sailor had most people's attention, and those he wasn't entertaining were engrossed in conversations of their own. Interrupting any of them would be rude.
Surely finding his things on his own couldn't be too difficult. Red twisted around, eyes flicking over the various pieces of furniture and decorations that made Twi's home cozy. The firelight distorted everything, throwing shadows over objects and masking their true identities. Unfortunately, none of what he saw looked even vaguely like his bag.
The sudden absence of the plate in his hands whipped Red around to face a smirking Legend.
"HEY!" Blue screeched in his head.
"Hey!" Red cried out loud, grabbing for the plate more out of reflex than out of desire to finish the dessert it held.
Legend moved it out of his reach. "What? You're not eating it. Figured I'd finish it for you."
"Don't you dare! That's mine!"
Red retracted his hand. "You can have it."
"No, you can't!"
This reaction wasn't what Legend had been expecting and his smirk immediately fell into a distrustful frown. "Really?"
"Yeah. I don't like it."
"I do," Blue grumbled. Silently, Red apologized. He knew Blue liked pumpkin pie, but Blue wasn't in control anymore so the treat would go to waste if he didn't give it away.
Legend quirked an eyebrow suspiciously. "You were just eati—wait, you switched."
Red nodded.
"Huh. I didn't know your taste buds changed too."
He giggled. "They do."
"Well, that's great news for me," Legend observed, digging into his second helping of pie with a smile. Red beamed back.
Blue, however, was devoid of cheery expressions, and his sour attitude served as an ample reminder for Red to get down to business. "Legend, go you know where my bag is?"
"Yeah, it's with everyone else's. First loft. The ladder's there," Legend pointed with his fork. "It should be against the bookshelf with all the pictures on it."
Thanking him, Red stood and hurried up the ladder the Hero of Legend had indicated, easily locating the bookshelf, and more importantly, his bag.
The light was scarcer in the loft, but Red deemed it enough to read and write by. After digging out their shared journal and a pencil, he flipped open the book and began to write. "Dear Blue"
"You don't have to address it to me like that. I'm right here."
Red erased the first part and started over. "Please go to the house and make Green some hot cocoa."
"What? Why?"
"He is sad and I was going to do it but I switched before I could make it." Red chewed on the end of the pencil for a second before adding, "Please be nice to him."
"I'll be nice as long as he's nice."
"Blue, I mean it. He's really upset. You have to be nice."
A sigh blew through his mind. "Okay, okay. I'll be nice. Anything else?"
"Make sure you make the hot cocoa like you would outside. No cheating. Also don't mention that the cave is gone." Red waited for Blue to agree before erasing that last sentence. If Green did front, Red didn't want him finding out.
Satisfied that Blue would follow his orders and feeling slightly strange but proud that he was the one giving them, Red tucked the journal and the pencil back into his bag. While he was there, he swapped the blue headband currently looped around his head for the red one.
Upon reclaiming his spot between Legend and Warrior in the semi-circle, Red noted that Legend had nearly finished the pie he'd handed over. Red would be lying if he said he didn't feel guilty over robbing Blue of his dessert, but he reassured himself with the fact that it hadn't been a conscious choice. Besides, if Blue really wanted pumpkin pie, he could probably make it and enjoy it inside.
Once everyone was finished with their dessert, Wild began to collect the dirty dishes, and Red shot up to help. As he was following their resident cook to the kitchen, stack of plates in hand, Time called his name.
He glanced at the table Time was seated at with Twi just in time to see the eldest hero motion him over.
"I have to…" Red lifted the dishes in his hands to indicate his current task.
Twilight noticed and got to his feet, strolling over and relieving him of the burden. "I'll take these. Thanks."
Free of dishes, Red skipped over to Time. He looked serious. Then again, he always looked serious, so it probably wasn't anything to be concerned about.
"I wanted to check up on you. You started to cry before Blue came out earlier. Is everything okay?"
Red rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, stalling for time to think of a response that wasn't a lie. Unfortunately, spinning tall tales wasn't his strong suit so his explanation staggered and stumbled its way out of his mouth. "Yes, well…not really. Kind of? There was a fight, er, argument? But I wasn't involved in it. Well, I was, but I didn't actually do anything. I didn't know, and I tried to explain that to Green, but he still yelled at me." Red frowned at the memory, eyes burning. He did his best to not cry again, though. Green hadn't meant it. He'd just been stressed, still was stressed. "Mostly it was Green and Blue yelling at each other."
"Where was Vio during all this? Was he involved?" The question made Red's blood run cold.
He shook his head. Too quickly. Or perhaps too stiffly. In any case, he must have done it wrong because Time's frown deepened.
"Are you sure?"
Black swallowing violet flashed bright and painful in his mind. Red bunched up the hem of his tunic in his hands. He needed something to cling to. To reassure himself. When he spoke again, it came out as a whisper. "I don't know if I can tell you."
"You can tell me anything," Time assured him. He gently grabbed one of Red's hands and squeezed it. "I'm here for you. For all of you."
When Red raised his head to meet Time's eye, he found only warmth and compassion there. This, coupled with the man's words, was more than enough to turn on the waterworks, and although he knew it might make Green mad, he also knew dealing with this on their own was impossible. So he opened his mouth and let the truth spill out.
He told Time about how there was a place in their head now. About how he, Blue, and Vio went exploring farther than Green advised and found a cave. How that cave sucked Vio in and spit them out. About how they ran to Green for help and Green yelled at them, then panicked with them because he didn't know what to do either. He even mentioned how Blue had tried to go back to the cave but couldn't find it.
The rush of words left Red gasping for air, but he found that he could breathe easier with the weight of everything in the open rather than congealing in his chest.
Time didn't share his relief. In fact, the eldest hero looked even more worried than before and genuinely lost. "I'm sorry." Time apologized, shaking his head. "I didn't quite catch all that."
So Red launched into the explanation again but the Hero of Time squeezed his hands, signaling him to stop. "Slow down, slow down! I can't keep up when you talk so fast. You were saying there's a place…?"
"Yes," Red said, forcing himself to take a deep breath before continuing. "In our head."
"And Vio's there?"
"Yeah. So is Green and Blue. I go there too when I'm not out here."
"Okay so…what's the problem?"
"The cave took Vio."
"The whole place is a cave?" Time wondered, sounding unsure.
"No, only a part of it. There's a cave in the mountains."
"Can you draw it?" Time requested. "I'm having a hard time following."
Nodding eagerly, Red retrieved his journal and a pencil and slipped into the seat Twi had vacated earlier. Flipping to a blank page, he began to draw. First the sanctuary, then the house, the Great Tree, the lake, the forge, the forest surrounding it all, and finally the mountains. He hesitated when placing the cave. He didn't remember exactly where they were when they found it.
"Green is impossible to please! He—what are you doing?" Blue asked.
"Drawing," he mumbled. "Where was the cave?"
"It was…"
"Here?" Red guessed, hovering the tip of his pencil over the left hand side of the jagged mountains he'd drawn.
"No not there...a bit to the right—too far! Go back. There. Yes." Blue sighed as Red scribbled a black mass to represent the cave. "Not like it matters. It's not there now. Why are you even drawing it?"
"For Time."
"You told Time?! Are you insane?"
"Here!" Red chirped, sliding the book across the table. He leaned over so he was practically laying on the smooth wood and tapped the black spec at the top of the page with his pencil. "This is the cave that took Vio, except it isn't there now."
"Red!"
The elder hero took a moment to study the map he'd drawn, brow furrowed. "I see…"
"He can't help us. None of them can. Not unless they can get in here and they can't."
Red didn't believe that. Surely there was a solution they hadn't thought of yet. The others didn't need access to the world inside their head to help. A map, however, was useful, and Red spent the next few minutes explaining it to Time since the man still seemed rather lost.
Finally, Red sat back on his heels, bouncing a little with hope. "So?"
"So?" Time repeated, puzzled.
"How do we get Vio back?"
"I'm…I'm not entirely sure." Red's face fell, but Time was quick to reassure him. "How about we run this by everyone else? Maybe one of them will have an idea."
Brightening at the prospect, Red reclaimed his map from Time and soon found himself explaining the situation to the rest of the heroes. When he was finished, there was silence, punctuated only by the popping of the fire and the pitter patter of rain tip-toeing on the roof.
Finally, Wild spoke, "Bombs."
"Excuse me?" Twilight gaped at the scarred man.
"Bomb the mountain," Wild clarified.
Legend barked out a laugh, but Warrior nodded along as if Wild had said something particularly wise. "He's right."
"How can blowing things up be right?" Twilight objected. "That's his literal go-to to any situation. Not everything can be solved with explosives."
"Not everything can be," Warrior agreed. "But in this case it might just work. Red said the cave entrance is blocked so..."
"It's not blocked. It's gone," Blue corrected him.
"Not blocked. Gone," Red parroted.
"Well, either way," Warrior said, waving his hand flippantly. "Bombs should help. Blow a hole in the side, and Vio can find his way out. The reason why he hasn't turned up yet is probably because he can't find the exit."
Red beamed. It made sense! If they made an entrance of their own then Vio could use it to escape. He and Blue could even use it to get in.
Apparently, Blue thought the same. "I'm going to go try it. Be back in a minute." Red turned his attention back to the group. Time was speaking.
"..t's plausible, but I don't think they have access to explosives. Do you?"
All eyes turned to Red. He grinned. "Yes! Well, we don't have them right now, but we can make them. We can make anything we want inside."
"Anything?" Wind wondered, eyes shining in awe.
"Pretty much, yeah!"
"That's so cool!" Wind scooted closer. "What else can you do? Can you fly?
Red giggled. "I don't think so." He hadn't actually tried, but Nayru's laws of gravity seemed to hold inside as far as he could tell. That didn't mean he couldn't find a way to shrink down and fly on the back of a bird or sprout wings himself, though. Red resolved to try it when he got the chance.
"Is it even safe to blow things up?" 'Rule wondered, bringing the conversation back to its original topic.
"What do you mean?"
The traveler hero grimaced. "I just mean…well, it's a place in your head, right? I don't have any experience with stuff like that, but it seems like a bad idea to destroy things. What if everything in that world is connected to you somehow? Like if you hurt the world, you hurt yourselves?"
"How would that even work?" Legend scrunched up his face like he'd tasted something bitter.
"I don't know," 'Rule mumbled, fiddling with his hands. "Maybe I'm reading too much into it."
Legend nudged him in the side with a smirk. "That's impossible. You don't know how to read."
"Ha ha ha," 'Rule said drily.
"It's probably fine," Red decided, plastering on a grin to alleviate the apprehension that had stolen over the majority of his friends faces. "Blue already left to try it out so we'll know in a bit."
While waiting for Blue, the group struck up a game of Go-Fish. They'd just finished the third round and came to the not-so-startling conclusion that multiple people were cheating when Blue returned.
"I couldn't even light the bomb."
When Red reported this to the others, Legend scoffed. "You can make a bomb from thin air, but you can't make a match? Now that's pathetic."
"I'd like to see you try!" Blue bit back, nudging Red aside with his frustration.
"Did you try lighting the bomb from afar and throwing it?" Sky asked kindly. He seemed to be the only one that wasn't startled into speechlessness by the sudden switch.
That didn't stop Blue from leveling the Skyloftian with a deadpan expression, however. "What part of 'I couldn't light it', don't you understand?"
"Say it nicer!" Red implored.
"What if you used a remote bomb, like the kind my Sheikah Slate has?" Wild suggested.
"I tried that too. It didn't work. Anything that has light fizzes out near the mountains."
"Strange."
"Ooh! Maybe you can smash it with your hammer."
Blue resisted the urge to smack himself. Of course! Why hadn't he thought of that?
As if reading his mind—who knows, maybe he was—Red said, "No one thinks clearly when they're mad."
"Go try that," Blue ordered.
His heart jumped into his throat before the words had left his mouth.
"By myself?" Red whimpered as someone else asked, "Try what?"
"Yeah, why not? I went by myself."
"But it's…" Dark. Creepy. Scary. Blue was well aware. But he was also aware of how negatively being alone in dark places affected Red. He sighed.
"What's happening?" Warrior asked cautiously.
"Red came up with another idea but he refuses to go back by himself to try it. I'd go, but I'm here now." He shot a glare at Legend. "Thanks."
"It was an accident!"
"Sure it was." Blue rolled his eyes, but he wasn't mad at Legend. Not really. He was mad at his own inability to rescue Vio. His inability to make Green feel better. To resist any and all jabs at his pride.
"Why doesn't Red take Green with him?" Wind suggested.
"He can't. Green can't get to the mountains." Even if he could, Green's mental state was as fragile as cracked glass. If the hammer idea didn't work, he would only sink further into despair.
"Why not?"
"I don't know!" Blue snapped, rounding on Wind. "Do I look like an expert on this to you?"
Wind shrunk back at his tone.
"Settle down," Time said. "It was just a question." The eldest broadened his gaze to encompass the rest of the room. "Anyone else have an idea?"
"We can switch?" Red offered timidly when no one else spoke.
Blue wasn't keen on the idea but they had little choice. He closed his eyes, trying to envision himself in the sanctuary, hands wrapped around the hilt of the Four Sword. But he didn't want to be holding it anymore. He pictured himself releasing the handle and stepping back so Red could take his place. Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple. It was like prying frozen fingers from a cliffside. Self-preservation screamed at him not to let go. Insisted that if he did, he would die.
In the end, he only managed to make himself nauseous.
Switching wasn't possible right now. He was rooted to the spot, not unlike a tree. It was frustrating. They might have figured out a way to free Vio, but Blue wasn't about to send Red to a place that made him uncomfortable, which meant they had to wait until another switch occurred.
Just as Blue had suspected, the others had no idea what to do about Vio either. All they did was reassure him that Vio was probably fine. He was probably just lost. He would probably show up soon. Probably.
Until then, they encouraged him to play card games and chat with them about nothing to take his mind off of it. As if he could do that. It was his responsibility to protect the others. He failed to protect Vio from that cursed caved, and he failed to protect Green from his own mind.
Twilight, perhaps sensing his unease, suggested he sleep it off, like he was afflicted by the common cold or one too many drinks or something else equally physical that rest could fix. Their situation would not improve with sleep, Blue was certain of that much. However, his limbs were sore from his earlier sparring session with Legend. The two of them had gone at it for hours with only the shortest of breaks in between. The body needed rest. At the very least, Blue resolved to take care of it. Protect it, like he couldn't protect Green and Vio.
So, with only minimal grumbling, he curled up near the fire with a heap of blankets and with the mutterings of his companions overhead and silence in his mind, Blue drifted off to sleep.
A crash of tinkling glass sent him bolting upright. Shouts rang in his ears as light seared his retinas. He scrunched his eyes shut and scrambled back, tangled in something that definitely wasn't his dragon's tail. It was too soft. Heavy but soft and therefore not made of scales.
It took some kicking and determined squirming on his part—for some reason phasing through it wasn't working—but eventually he broke free and distanced himself from the too-soft chains and glaring light. Only then did Shadow dare to crack open his eyes.
The light forced him to shut them almost immediately, but he'd seen enough. He'd seen enough to know this was not the cave.
Where was he?