Chapter 8
Lunch was a giggly affair for no reason Vio could discern other than Hyrule's sleepy comment. Even then, it wasn't funny enough to elicit so much laughter. Therefore, Vio surmised it was something else, namely relief. Relief that Hyrule's healing had been effective. Relief that Four was awake. Relief that Vio was here and laughing with them, so whatever had happened the previous night must not have been too serious.
None of that really explained why Vio himself was laughing, but perhaps he felt relieved, too. It was simply a different kind of relief. Relief that Blue couldn't enter the cave no matter how much anger he threw at it. Relief that Green was taking a break for once, even if it was a self-imposed one. Relief that Red remained watching through his eyes despite Wind's presence and the jokes being fired back and forth amongst them all. It confirmed Vio's suspicions about being front stuck, which meant Vio could explain the situation without interference.
Most of all, he was relieved Shadow wasn't dead. He didn't know how it was possible; the dead did not come back to life. However, Shadow was a shadow being. He wasn't Hylian, so it was likely he couldn't die as easily. Yet, the Dark Mirror had been Shadow's source of life. Without it, he couldn't live. Could there be a Dark Mirror in Twilight's Hyrule somewhere? Could that have resurrected Shadow?
Vio supposed it was plausible, but if that was the case, it didn't explain how or why Shadow was sharing their body. Why not live in their shadow? It would be much less confusing and far less headache-inducing for them all.
In the end, he came to the same conclusion he did about most enigmas. He required more information. Hopefully Shadow could provide it.
Unfortunately, being front stuck meant Vio couldn't get back inside to talk to Shadow.
The thought sobered him. He had spent twenty minutes with Shadow. Twenty minutes in which Shadow had first been ecstatic to see him, then horrified, convinced his death hadn't stopped Ganon after all because Shadow remembered dying which meant Vio could only be dead too. Vio had been too overwhelmed by having his friend back to correct him at first, but eventually he'd gathered Shadow's panicking form in his arms and tried to explain. No, I'm not dead. No, you aren't dead either. Yes, you died, but you aren't dead anymore. Because if I'm alive, and you're here with me, you can't be anything but alive.
Shadow hadn't believed him. He'd sobbed and wailed and cried enough to cause a flood. All the while, Vio had held him and reassured him the best he could. Whether any of it was enough, he couldn't say, for just when it seemed his friend might be calming, Shadow disappeared.
To think that Shadow was back in his cave, alone, sent a pang of sorrow through his heart. Last night had been hard on everyone, Shadow most of all. Was he still panicking? If Vio concentrated, he thought he could detect a hint of tightness in his chest, but that could be the cause of a number of factors. Green's distress could be causing it. So could Blue's anger. Or maybe Vio had laughed too hard.
Whatever the case, Vio found himself finishing the last dregs of his soup in silence, a careful smile pasted on his face to divert suspicion.
He wasn't so relieved anymore.
His full stomach felt like more of a burden than a comfort now. Watching Hyrule and Wind, it was clear they didn't feel the same. The duo practically vibrated with energy and washing dishes did not sate their need for action.
That was why the two had taken to stacking rupees and other tiny trinkets they'd found around Twilight's house on the Skyloftian's sleeping form. Meanwhile, Vio settled in to read—after adjusting the sheets that made up the pillow fort to allow more light in, of course. He had no interest in wrecking his vision.
He could have taken his book and read outside of the pillow fort, but someone needed to keep an eye on the two energetic Links and make sure they didn't put anything potentially dangerous on Sky. Not that he thought they would, but it never hurt to be cautious.
Besides, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious to know how much the two could stack on the Skyloftian until he woke up.
Nonetheless, that did not stop his book from leaching most of his attention. In fact, Vio became so absorbed in his mystery novel that he didn't realize Sky had awoken until the man called his name. He'd scarcely raised his head when Sky's arms enveloped him much like a mother cucco would cradle her young under her wing.
"I was so worried!" Sky held him at arm's length, heaven blue eyes searching his face for signs of pain. "You're all okay, right?"
Mind whirring, it was all Vio could do to utter an affirmative. Once he did, Sky pulled him close again. He sensed Wind and Hyrule leave to give the two of them privacy.
Vio rested his head on Sky's shoulder to reciprocate the gesture since he still had his book clutched close. "Apologies for worrying you."
Sky gave a humorless laugh in answer. "Worry is an understatement."
"Sorry."
"No, I'm sorry."
"For what?" Vio wracked his brain for anything Sky could have done that required an apology but came up empty. Even his headmates expressed confusion. Good. He wasn't the only one, then.
"I don't—you—" The Chosen Hero released a heavy sigh. Squeezed him a little tighter. "I…I just feel responsible."
"Sky." Vio pushed himself away enough so he could meet the Skyloftian's stormy gaze. "What happened last night wasn't anyone's fault."
"But…I didn't know what to do. You, or whoever it was, was obviously scared, and I just seemed to make it worse the more I tried to help. Then you stopped responding at all and…and it went on for so long." Sky lowered his eyes, breaking their connection. "I thought you'd be an empty shell forever. That I'd never get to talk to you again."
"You're talking to me now, aren't you?" Vio pointed out. "I'm alright. We all are."
"Are you?" Sky looked at him as if he didn't believe him.
"We are." Perhaps barring Shadow, but Sky didn't need to know that yet. "So don't beat yourself up over not being able to help. You couldn't have. No one could've. When we get like that, the only thing to do is let it run its course."
"What was it?" Sky asked, sounding fearful of Vio's answer.
Blue growled a warning. "Vio."
There was no point to it. Vio had no intention of explaining anything fully without all of the heroes present. "We got mixed up."
Sky absorbed this simple explanation in silence. A few heartbeats passed before he spoke again. "That's it?"
"Well, it's a bit more complicated than that," Vio admitted, "but I'd rather explain it once, when everyone is here, so yes. That's the gist. We got mixed up. Blended, if you will."
"I'm sorry."
Vio shook his head, uncomprehending. "Why do you keep apologizing? I already told you, there was nothing you could have done."
"I know. I know but…" Sky's already soft voice grew softer still. "You were different before."
"Before what?" he asked when Sky didn't elaborate.
"Before destiny. Fate."
"Of course we were," Vio agreed, still uncertain about what had upset Sky so much. This wasn't just about last night. That much he knew. "But so was everyone else. None of us came out of our adventures the same. You, included." How could anyone be expected to be the same person after destiny took a mallet to them?
"I know that."
"Then why bring it up?"
Sky shrugged, and Vio's head rose slightly with the motion.
"He's calling us broken," Blue accused with a snarl.
"No, he isn't!" Red protested.
"He is! There's no other reason why he'd bring up us being different before the Four Sword."
"We are broken," Green said, his tone eerily empty of emotion.
"We are not. We're just, um…" Red trailed off, unable to find a suitable word.
That was his cue to step in. "We're not broken."
"No!" Sky objected hastily, wrapping his arms more securely around Vio and rocking back and forth. Normally Vio would protest but Sky was obviously beside himself, and if the motion made him feel better, Vio wasn't about to object. "No, no, no, that's not what I'm saying. I would never say something like that. It's…I-I just…" Sky stilled, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. "I didn't know you before all this, but I feel like I lost you. Like we all did. Like you died and got resurrected the same way Wild did."
"You didn't lose me, Sky. I'm right here."
"I know you are, and I love you—I love all of you…"
"I love you too Sky!" Red chimed and Vio found himself snuggling closer to the Chosen Hero.
"But I know there was a boy named Link, and now there isn't. He doesn't exist anymore."
"Yes, he does," Vio refuted. He remembered being one person with no voices in his head except his own. The presence of those memories could only mean one thing. "I'm Link."
"Me too!" Red chimed.
"So am I," Green said.
Blue scoffed. "We can't all be Link."
"Not completely."
"Yes we can! Everyone in our group is Link," Red pointed out cheerily.
A wave rolled over in his mind. "Not like that. Only one of us can be the original."
"Oh…well maybe it's me, then?" Hope surged, as bright and warm as a lit hearth in his chest.
"It's not you," the stormy sea grumbled. "It's me."
"But I remember playing with Zelda when we were little."
"I remember that too," Green interjected.
Vio did as well.
"But then…how can we tell who the original is?"
"It's me."
"You're just saying that because you want to be more important than the rest of us."
"Oh! Don't act like you don't want to claim ownership Mr. I'm-the-original-so-you-have-to-do-as-I-say."
"Well, it does make more sense for it to be me."
"Why? Because you wear green? That's the lamest reasoning!"
"Well, what's yours?"
"I'm the best fighter!"
"No way, I am!"
"We're all good fighters." Red interjected, attempting to keep the peace as always.
"But I'm better," Blue insisted.
"Debatable. And anyway, being Link isn't all about who fights the best. It's also about being a skilled blacksmith and a kind person."
"Oh! So now I'm not kind!"
"I didn't say that."
"You suggested it."
"Look, all I'm saying is I don't remember being so hot-headed as Link. He was much more pleasant to people, like Red. Kind of soft-spoken, too, like Vio."
"We must have very different memories because I don't remember that."
"Well, I do."
"Maybe…maybe Sky's right and the original is gone?" Red's newfound doubt decided it for Vio. He had to do something to make Sky understand. Not only because the topic was clearly causing Sky distress, but also because it was sowing doubt in his closest brothers. They didn't need any more crises at the moment.
"The original Link isn't gone. I'll prove it." Scooting out of Sky's hold, Vio made a beeline for his bag. After a short bout of searching, he found and extricated the journal. Flipping to the back, Vio ripped a blank page from the binding. He dropped the journal, along with his book, back into his bag and swiveled around to face Sky, holding the piece of paper aloft.
"Watch," he instructed.
With Sky's eyes on him and his brothers peering curiously through the body's eyes, Vio tore the page in two lengthwise. He stacked the two fragments on top of each other, turned the page 180 degrees, and tore again. It was hardly precise, and the perfectionist in him screamed for justice, but he tamped it down. This impromptu demonstration would serve its purpose as long as he had four pieces in the end, which he did. All the better if some were larger and smaller than others. They would help prove his point.
He spread the four pieces on the floor and leveled an expectant look at Sky. "Now answer me this: which piece is the original page?"
"They—well…" Sky scanned the papers for a moment before meeting his eyes. "That's a trick question."
Vio raised an eyebrow. "Is it?"
"They were all the same page, and that holds true even after you ripped it so…" The spark of realization alighted in Sky's eyes, and Vio smiled. He loved that look.
"So they're all equally the original page," Vio finished for him.
Sky nodded in wonder, his gaze drawn back to the scattered pieces of paper laid out neatly across the floorboards.
"Some are smaller than others," Blue pointed out, but the spite in his tone assured Vio his brother had grasped the lesson, however reluctantly. Green and Red shuffled beside him, their comprehension radiating through him in silence.
"Who's to say which part of the page holds more value? The middle? The right? The left? Top? Bottom? The size and position doesn't matter. It's the fact that they all came from the same page. They will always be equally the same page no matter how you tear it.
"We're the same. Link's the same."
This revelation seemed to bring a bit of relief to the Chosen Hero judging by the way the tension drained from his shoulders.
Unfortunately, Blue wasn't so easily swayed. "If that's true then we are broken."
Vio frowned at that. He hadn't meant to imply such a thing but looking at the torn page, the message was clear. They were once whole, and now they weren't. Except that wasn't accurate. Not to the way Vio felt, anyway. They weren't broken. Maybe cracked here and there, but not broken.
Vio shuffled the pieces around, lining up their jagged edges. If he had tape, he could repair it, make it a single page again. That would be a better representation because the sword had broken them once, in mind and body, and then merged them back together again.
But it still wasn't right.
"What's wrong?" Sky's question startled him out of his reverie.
"Nothing just…this," He brushed a hand over the misaligned pieces of paper. "It doesn't work."
"Why not? I thought it made sense."
"It does but…" Vio stared at the torn parchment, lips pursed. "Careful, our brain's going to short circuit. Shh Blue, that's rude!" He shook his head. "Never mind." It was impossible to think with his brothers cracking jokes.
It didn't matter anyway, he realized when he brought his gaze to rest on a sunny Sky. The analogy had served its purpose. He smiled, then, choosing to take solace in that fact for now. His brain could use a break anyway.
Vio was in the middle of mending their torn undershirt, Blue complaining his stitches weren't straight enough—lies, they were plenty straight—no they aren't; let me do it!—when the others returned.
Almost instantly, he was subjected to welcoming pats on the back and a couple cautious hugs, as if the other heroes were afraid if they squeezed him too tightly he'd shatter.
Much like a certain mirror.
The thought invigorated him to say his piece before all the questions, of which there were no doubt plenty, began.
"I'm so sorry for breaking your mirror," he apologized as Twilight released him from the most recent embrace.
"So you did break it. I knew it!" Legend turned to Warrior with a victorious smirk, palm outstretched. "Pay up."
With a roll of his eyes and a less-than-pleased grumble, Warrior reached for his wallet.
Time frowned deeply at the two. "This is hardly an appropriate situation to be betting over."
While Vio agreed, he also recognized that inane gambling and bickering allowed the two elder heroes to destress. Therefore, he said nothing on the matter aside from, "You're wrong."
"Idiot! Let them think what they want!" Blue berated him.
Warrior froze, lifting the purple rupee in his hand out of Legend's reach when the shorter man made a grab for it. "How so?"
"But Vio didn't break it…" Red said. "It's not fair if he takes the blame."
"One of us has to!"
"I didn't break the mirror." He saw no point in lying.
The smirk on Legend's face found a new home on Warrior's features. "Well, well, well," Warrior drawled, closing the gem in a fist. "Seems you owe me, my friend."
"No way." Legend scowled, arms crossed firmly in refusal.
"If it wasn't you, why apologize for breaking the mirror?" Twilight asked, bringing Vio's attention back to the ranch hand.
"Because if one of us does something, we all have to own up to it." There were no excuses and no exceptions. The four of them had decided this long ago. After all, one couldn't very well pretend to be one person if they writ off their actions as someone else's. Besides, there was no guarantee the person that did make a mistake would come out in ample time to apologize themselves.
He bowed his head. "So…I apologize. I can pay to have-"
"No," Twilight interjected, encouraging him to raise his head. "Don't worry about it, really. I hardly used that old mirror anyway. That's why it was in the basement. I'm more worried about you guys than a broken mirror."
"But for the record, who did break the mirror?" Warrior asked. "Was it Blue?"
"No."
"Vio!" Frustration boiled hot and furious in his chest. "Let me take the blame. I don't care."
Blue may not have cared, but Vio did. He'd lied before and maybe his lies had eventually led to victory, but it had cost too much. He wasn't about to lose anyone else because he chose to turn the truth into a game.
"If it wasn't Blue, who was it?" Wild wondered.
Nausea swirling in his stomach forced Vio to keep his lips sealed. He wasn't nervous. He knew exactly what he intended to say. He'd gone over it meticulously in his head earlier while brushing his hair and changing into a spare undershirt, and then washing the soiled one. Green's anxiety must have been bleeding into him like an internal wound.
"Listen to me!" Blue roared. Unfortunately, Vio had no choice in the matter. "We're being preyed upon by The Shadow. That's the name of the big bad we're facing here. If we start spouting the name Shadow and claiming that he's inside us, they're going to assume we're possessed! Then who knows what they'll do? Try to unpossess us? That won't end well any way you slice it, so listen to me for once and keep your big mouth shut!"
The word Blue was looking for was "exorcise". Nonetheless, his hot-headed brother had a point. Any talk of shadows and darkness would not go over well with the other heroes.
The sick feeling in his stomach leapt to his throat. "A-Are…are we possessed?"
"Of course not!" Red reassured Green. "There's no way we could be…" Doubt colored his words, making them less than convincing.
"I wouldn't say no way," Blue objected. "Shadow is supposed to be dead so it doesn't make sense he's here. Who's to say The Shadow isn't influencing us in some way? Messing with our mind? I doubt it'd be hard to do in the first place considering." Considering how many cracks there already were in their psyche. It wasn't unconceivable that something could slip through.
Vio had been so overjoyed to have his greatest regret undone that he had not considered the possibility of it being a trick. He didn't want to entertain the notion that Shadow wasn't truly back from the dead. Yet, logic reminded him the dead never came back. Therefore, the Shadow currently sharing a body with them couldn't be the real Shadow.
Nevertheless, Vio couldn't erase the raw emotion he'd witnessed in the cave. The confusion, the hurt, the fear. How could anyone fake that? A little voice whispered that he had. Once upon a time, he'd put on a mask of hatred for heroes. Of agreement with the dark.
In that time he'd never once seen Shadow break down. The boy despised pity, so he kept his fragile emotions under tight guard, piercing them with arrows whenever they attempted to rise and reveal themselves.
When Vio had betrayed him, Shadow hadn't shed a single tear. He'd simply ordered Vio's execution, eyes full of hate.
But this wasn't betrayal. The circumstances were different. Shadow had found himself in an unfamiliar place. Moreover, he remembered dying. Surely that would terrify anyone to tears. To panic.
So no. Vio would not accept that Shadow's presence was an elaborate hoax orchestrated by their enemy. There had to be another explanation, and he would find it.
Until then, he would err on the side of caution.
A hand on his shoulder jolted him back to the present. "Vio?"
"Sorry." He offered Twilight an apologetic smile. "We were discussing..." He dropped his eyes to the floor, swallowing down the bile in his throat. Calm down, Green, he willed. We're fine. Don't listen to Blue. He's wrong. He has to be wrong.
"I'm not permitted to name names, but I can assure you that the person who did break the mirror didn't have malicious intentions."
Blue scoffed. "Yeah, right!"
Vio's head pounded. Not for the first time, Vio wished Blue had an off switch.
"None of us think he did," Time assured him, and Vio nodded, but he hadn't added the second part for anyone's benefit but Green's.
"Is he okay?" Twilight worried, brow furrowed.
"…I think so." Or rather, he hoped so. Shadow had his cave to keep him safe and his dragon to keep him safer, but that said nothing about his mental state.
"How about everyone else?" Sky wanted to know. The Skyloftian's palpable guilt had returned full force despite all of Vio's earlier efforts to assuage it.
"A-okay!" Red chirped.
"Speak for yourself," Blue grumbled.
"Fine," Vio reported. He noted that Green hadn't responded save for a roiling in his stomach. "More or less."
"So what did happen last night?" Legend demanded. "Did someone have a flashback?"
"Yup," Blue agreed. "Sure. Let's go with that."
Vio couldn't write off such an explanation. It was entirely possible Shadow had broken the mirror because he was reliving breaking it before and saving them all. Of course, without talking to him Vio couldn't say for certain.
"Maybe. All I know is when I tried to pull him back inside, he resisted. We fought for control for a while and eventually we all got thrown into a rapid switch."
"What's that?" Wind wondered.
"It's multiple switches in rapid succession," Vio explained. "So one moment one person will be in control, the next—" He snapped is fingers. "—another and another and another and so on until it decides to stop."
"That sounds…" Twilight trailed off, pity painting his face.
Vio chose to ignore it. "Disorienting? Unpleasant? It is. I believe that's why we appeared to be catatonic for a time. None of us could get a firm grasp on the body, and once we did, we were so blended we couldn't have coordinated anything had we tried."
"Has this happened before?" Time asked.
"Unfortunately," Blue griped.
"Yes," Vio answered. "A few times. I don't know what triggers it exactly, but as far as I can tell it isn't harmful."
"There aren't any side-effects?" Hyrule worried in that timid way of his that oddly reminded Vio of the shy nurturing habits of fairies.
"Some. It does tend to give us a rather nasty migraine and make us feel sick afterwards, but that's mostly passed." Vio elected not to mention being front stuck. It wasn't an issue.
"If this happens again, is there a specific course of action we should take to help?" Time wondered.
"No."
"Hugs!"
"Best to do nothing," Vio said in a rare moment of agreement with Blue. "It's hectic enough without people touching us. Just make sure we're in a safe place until it passes. That's really all you can do."
The Links nodded, and Vio thought that was the end of the interrogation.
Then Warrior spoke up. "What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Weren't you stuck in a cave or something?"
He wasn't so much stuck as otherwise engaged, but it was a minor detail and not one worth mentioning. "No, I could leave whenever I wanted."
"Then why didn't you?"
Vio shrugged, his manner unapologetically blasé. He could sense it ticked off Blue. "I lost track of time."
"That's a lot of time to lose," Wild observed.
"Look who's talking," Legend teased. The joke was in bad taste. Vio knew it even before he saw the champion cringe under the weight of it. Legend, however, didn't seem to notice, and Twilight looked about ready to enlighten the loose-lipped hero in a not so friendly way.
Before the jab could escalate into anything substantial, Vio snatched back the spotlight. "Time runs differently inside. I don't know what the direct correlation is yet, but I thought I was only exploring the cave for a few minutes."
"What was in the cave?" Vio's eyes found Wind's, wide and sparkling with child-like curiosity. Vio could only blink back at him in stupefaction. The question was logical. He should have seen it coming, and thus have had a response ready, but he didn't. Until Blue had pointed out the flaw of being entirely candid about the situation, Vio hadn't been intending to lie at all.
However, he couldn't admit to having discovered Shadow in the cave. Perhaps he could give their newest headmate an alias, but then the others would ask for details about him, and a dark figure with glowing red eyes didn't sound friendly no matter how delicately one phrased it. Saying he found nothing was a blatant lie, not to mention a flimsy one. Only a dimwit would believe an empty cave had captured his attention, and Vio didn't regard any of the men in his company as dimwits.
Which left the only other thing he'd found in the cave. "A dragon."
"A dragon!" Wind exclaimed excitedly, eyes bright. "That's awesome!"
"I don't know about that," Warrior frowned. "I haven't met any nice dragons."
"Well, I have," Wind refuted, sticking his chin in the air proudly. "And if it lives in Four's head it has to be nice! Isn't it, Vio?"
Vio suddenly found himself breathless. A bomb had exploded in his brain.
"There's a dragon?!" Blue's outrage came through like roaring flames consuming all in their path. They scraped the inside of his skull, rendering him feverish. "When were you going to tell us?!"
Sparks fizzled and popped, leaping around in unrestrained excitement. "Is there really dragon?"
"It can't take over, can it?" Green's worry was thick, sticking to his lungs like smoke.
Red giggled, bright and thus, blind. "No way! It's a dragon, not a Hylian."
"That didn't stop—" Green choked, but Vio finished the thought for him because he'd been thinking the same thing. Shadow. If Shadow could gain control of the body then maybe the dragon could too.
No. Nononononono. That's not possible. It can't be possible. Could it? NO! Red was right, a dragon was different. A dragon was inhuman. A dragon was too large to fit into their skin, much less control it.
But did space really matter on a plane that wasn't physical? His gut said no. The world in their head was vast enough to hide a dragon. And if the concept of space could be bent in such a way then it was entirely plausible for that same dragon to invade his body. To wrench it into whatever shapes it pleased and wreak havoc.
That wouldn't happen.
But it might.
The prospect would have dropped him to his knees if not for the firm grip on his arm. Distantly, he was aware of Time telling the others to back off. To give him space. To stop asking questions, which had apparently been spewing from the other heroes' mouths for a while now.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Vio said, waving off the helping hand to reassure the fuzzy voices in his ears. Unfortunately, his trembling hand didn't make the statement convincing. He clenched it into a fist and let it fall to his side.
"Are you sure? You're white as a sheet," Sky fretted. "Are you feeling sick?"
"No. Everything's okay." He directed this at Green, more than Sky but was met with only disbelief from both parties. "I can answer. About the dragon thing." That peaked Green's curiosity.
But not Time's. "I think that's enough for now."
"No, really," Vio made sure to meet Time's eye when he spoke. "I'm perfectly capable of answering a simple question."
"At least sit down," Sky implored, taking his elbow and gently tugging him in the direction of the table. Vio obliged, settling into the chair Sky led him to. He really did feel light-headed.
Turning to a guilty-looking Wind, Vio offered him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "You're right. The dragon is nice. Rather harmless, too, I'd say." It hadn't raised a claw against him the whole time he was there. Moreover, it had only blown his brothers out of the cave. If it was truly malicious, it would have resorted to breathing fire or something equally violent to keep them away.
"I want to meet it!" cheered Red. "I haven't met a friendly dragon before."
"That's because they don't exist," Blue retorted, his words venomous.
"You're too quick to judge."
"You're too naïve."
Green radiated distrust.
At least, the information perked up the sailor. "What did it look like?"
"I couldn't see it well," Vio admitted. "The cave was too dark."
"You didn't think to use a light?" Legend scoffed, arms crossed firmly over his chest.
Vio gave the barest shake of his head. "I couldn't. Light isn't permitted in the cave. The dragon doesn't like it." And neither does Shadow.
"Could it talk?" Wind bounced closer, eager for answers. "Does it have a name?"
"Easy there, Sailor. Don't overwhelm him," Twilight said, putting a hand on Wind's shoulder. The boy pouted but didn't come any closer, though Vio could see in the sway of his body that he wanted to.
"It's perfectly fine," Vio reassured the rancher. "As far as I know the dragon doesn't speak Hylian. I'm not sure if it has a name either." Though the idea of a dragon speaking Hylian did intrigue him. Hopefully, he'd be able to meet the dragon Wind spoke of sometime.
"How did you know it was friendly, then?" Sky asked.
"It didn't eat me."
Warrior guffawed. "I suppose that's one way to tell friend from foe!"
Blue remained unamused. "That doesn't mean anything. Dragons are dragons. They're dangerous."
"Not this one," Red claimed. Vio would have to remember to thank him later. It was difficult being the only voice of reason so having support was always appreciated. "Vio said it himself! It's nice."
"He's biased."
"He knows what he's talking about."
"How could he? This is new to all of us!"
"Yeah," Red agreed, "but he actually got inside the cave."
"I think the dragon guards the cave," Vio said, more for his fellow Four Sword heroes' benefit than anyone else's.
"What is it guarding?" Warrior wanted to know. He asked like someone humoring another about a strange dream they'd had. Skeptical, yet amused. Vio didn't mind. It wasn't the captain he was trying to convince.
"A treasure trove?" Wind suggested, eyes glittering like the mountain of jewels and gold he was no doubt imagining.
Vio shrugged. "Maybe something. Maybe nothing."
"Maybe Shadow?" Red guessed, and Vio flicked his eyes up and down in the tiniest hint of a nod that only those inside had a hope of detecting.
Blue scoffed. "Like that creep needs to be protected."
He evidently did, Vio determined as the Blue's anger bubbled over and into him. If not for the dragon and the cave's ever shifting location, the hot-headed hero would have access to Shadow. Then, well…the two would probably tear each other apart, Blue in misplaced anger and Shadow in self-defense.
Vio couldn't express this without revealing Shadow to the other Links. Fortunately, Red had it covered. "Shadow isn't so bad. You even agreed with us that he was a hero in the end."
"That was before he hijacked our body!"
Vio felt his face twitch in displeasure. It had never been so difficult to hold his tongue.
"He didn't hijack it," Red refuted. "It was an accident! …I think."
It was an accident, and Vio wasn't going to waste his time carefully crafting his words and stuffing them with double meanings that would only bounce off Blue's thick skull.
Calming Green took precedence. "In any case," Vio said, flicking his eyes over his fellow heroes, "the dragon is linked to the cave. It can't leave it." He delivered the statement with all the conviction of fact despite not having any proof.
The smoke began to dissipate in his chest. "Really?"
"Good. They better both stay there."
"Aww, I wanted to meet it," Red whined.
"I don't." Green asserted. Red must have finally caught onto Green's uneasiness because he didn't argue.
Blue huffed. "At least one of you has sense."
"What good is having a friendly dragon in your head if you can't ride it?" Legend demanded from where he leaned against the wall.
"If I had a dragon in my head, I'd definitely ride it," Wild piped up, the notion of thrilling exploits bringing him out of his shell. "The dragons in my Hyrule are neutral, but they don't like people touching them."
"And you know this because…?" Twilight asked, leveling a weary look at Wild.
The champion offered a sheepish shrug, and Twilight sighed in hopeless resignation.
A wry smile stole over his features at the exchange. "As entertaining as that would be, I don't think this one's meant to be ridden." Not by anyone except Shadow, that is.
"That's a shame," Wild observed.
They chatted a while longer about dragons, those substantial and imagined, before the conversation died. When it did, Vio wasted no time in resuming his sleeve-repairing efforts, finding solace in the mundaneness of the task. The other heroes gradually dispersed, some taking up leisure activities of their own while others tromped off to wash off the sweat and grime from the day's work.
The peace lasted until evening fell. Then Twilight slid into the seat across from him. "Hey."
He hummed in acknowledgment but didn't take his eyes off his book. The climax had finally arrived, and he was about to discover if his suspicions about the butler held weight.
"You're still, Vio, right?"
He sighed. Clearly, he wasn't meant to solve this mystery just yet. He closed the novel and put it aside, giving Twilight his full attention. "Yes, what do you need?"
"Well, my adoptive parents invited us all to dinner earlier, and I was wondering if you feel okay to go?"
Excitement bubbled in his chest. "I want to meet Twi's family!"
"I think one of the kids I was playing hide and seek with yesterday was part of his family," Green mentioned.
"Urgh. Dinner with a bunch of snot-nosed brats running around? No thanks."
"It's okay if you don't feel up to it," Twilight hastened to reassure him.
"Yeah, I can whip you up something before we leave," Wild chimed in, startling Vio when he suddenly appeared at his side.
He recovered quickly and shook his head. "Don't trouble yourself, I'll come."
"Are you sure?" Twilight frowned. "Don't feel like you have to push yourself for my sake because—"
"Twilight."
"Hmm?"
A wry grin spread across his face. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you don't want me to go."
"No!" Twilight gasped, eyes growing comically wide. "No, that's not it at all. I'd love to have you. I want you to come. I just…I wanna make sure…"
"Relax. I'm teasing.
"I…oh." The ranch hand blushed to the tips of his ears. He scrubbed the heel of his hand over his forehead, releasing a breathy laugh. "Yeah, of course. Okay then, we leave in five."
With that, both Wild and Twilight let him be, and Vio took the opportunity to speed-read through the story's apex. He managed it with a minute to spare, and as he slipped on his boots, Vio couldn't suppress a satisfied smile. He'd been correct. All the clues had been there; craftily hidden by the author, perhaps, but he'd been perceptive enough to identify them. Now if only real life mysteries could be as neat and orderly as fictional ones…
Shadow's appearance was jarring and truly made no sense despite turning it around in his mind every which way. There must be an angle, an unknown dimension of some sort, he hadn't considered viewing it from. One that would provide a logical explanation.
But now wasn't the time for such musings, he reminded himself as he entered Ordon Village proper with the rest of the group. It was time to eat and make the most minimum of small-talk with strangers. He quietly cleared his throat. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to talk too much. He wasn't the best at imitating Green's voice.
Two, fair-haired children awaited their arrival, sitting with varying degrees of patience on the porch steps. When the littlest caught sight of Twilight, she stumbled down the stairs, running as fast as her tiny legs could carry her, arms outstretched while she screeched, "Wink, Wink, Wink!"
"Link," the older child—"Colin," Green supplied—corrected as he trailed after his sister, smiling.
Twilight met the toddler halfway, scooping her up and tossing her into the air. She shrieked at the brief moment of weightlessness before Twilight caught her, bringing her close to blow raspberries into her stomach. She burst into giggles, wrapping her arms around his head.
Part of him melted into mush from how sweet it was, while another grumbled about grubby little kids. Vio chose to embrace the former, smiling fondly at the sight.
"Hey, Colin," Twilight greeted the boy, pulling him into a one-armed hug once he managed to situate the girl on his hip.
"Hi!" Colin greeted him with a crushing hug. He pulled away upon catching sight of the group lingering behind the Hero of Twilight. "Mama's finishing up making dinner now. It should be ready soon."
Twilight chuckled, mussing up the boy's short blonde locks. "Good. We're all starving."
At that, Colin hastily led them all inside. The house was barely big enough for four people, let alone thirteen, and everyone noticed.
"That's quite a lot of friends you have there, son," A blond man with scruff on his chin observed, but not in a mean way. He said it like he was proud.
"I told you there were quite a few of us."
The man laughed, strolling over to pat Twilight on the back. "So you did." He glanced at the woman by the fireplace. She toiled over something heavenly-smelling in a large cast iron pot. "Uli, do you think you made enough to feed this herd?"
"There's enough," Uli said, giving the pot's contents one final stir before turning around to size up the party that had burst into her house, hands on hips. "I'm just not sure where everyone's going to sit..."
"We could eat outside, ma'am," Time suggested. Vio nodded to express his agreement. They were more than used to roughing it, and besides it wouldn't even be that rough. The porch looked plenty nice.
"No, no, no," Uli refuted, shaking her head. "I won't have any of that in my house. You're guests. No one's eating outside like a common cucco."
She pursed her lips, surveying the room. "Colin." The boy perked up at his mother's call. "That table you and Calla use for arts and crafts. Clean it off, please. We can put you kids there."
Vio had a feeling he was one of those "kids". Beside him Wind shuffled irritably, likely thinking the same as Colin scurried off to do as he was told.
"We could take the side tables from our bedroom?" Uli mused. "They're about the same height as the dining table."
"On it," her husband declared. He clasped Twilight's shoulder. "Help me?"
"Of course." He went to set the little girl down only for her to wail.
"No!"
Twilight looked torn, but Uli urged him to go, taking the unhappy toddler from his arms. "Come help Mama."
The little girl pouted despite having no choice. "No."
"Want to help Colin?"
"No."
Wind laughed, and Vio had half a mind to step on his toes for being rude when the sailor explained himself. "I remember when my sister was that little. 'No' was her favorite word."
"It's Calla's favorite word, too," Uli informed Wind with a wink.
"No," Calla asserted.
Vio couldn't help laughing along with everyone else at that.
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Sky asked as Uli turned back to the pot, squirming toddler on her hip.
"I'd hate to make you work when you're supposed to be guests."
"Nonsense," Time refuted. "Tell us what needs doing. We'll all get to sit down faster that way."
Swayed by Time's reasoning, Uli instructed them to find whatever spare seats they could and arrange them around the dining table.
Ten minutes later, they all sat down to steaming bowls of stew and slices of bread—pumpkin, Vio surmised as the fruit seemed to be Ordon's staple. Just as predicted, he was among those at the kid's table. He didn't mind, of course, but Blue had more than a few choice words to say on the matter.
"—can't believe! We're sixteen! This is embarrassing."
"We'll live," Green said, a hint of amusement shining through.
"You'll live," Blue retorted. "I might just die."
"It's not so bad. We get to be close to the baby." Red squealed.
"That's what makes it worse!"
Vio agreed, but not for the exact reasons Blue gave. He didn't dislike young children. He simply didn't know what to do with them. Especially now when there were steaming bowls of food on a low, circular table, and the two-year-old was waltzing around it with sloppy coordination. She was going to trip. Spill hot stew all over herself or one of them.
Should he suggest she sit down? Order her to? What did he do if she said no? Insist? That probably wouldn't work. She was stubborn, as she'd proved earlier with her tirade of no's. Should he just pick her up and plop her down beside her brother, then? No, she didn't know him. She would probably cry or throw a tantrum, and he didn't want to deal with that. Besides, there was no guarantee she'd stay wherever he placed her.
Hyrule looked equally uncomfortable.
Only Wind was well-versed in the way toddler's minds worked. Using a slice of bread, the sailor enticed the little girl over. "Want some?"
Eagerly, Calla nodded.
"She can only have little pieces," Colin piped up, dutiful in his role as big brother.
"I know," Wind assured him as he tore off a small piece and handed it to the bouncing girl. "I have a little sister."
This peaked Colin's interest. "Really?"
"Yup. But she's not this little anymore."
"How old is she?"
"Eight."
"I'm nine," Colin declared proudly.
"Neat! So you and Calla are…" Wind scrunched up his face in thought. "Seven years apart. Me and Aryll are five."
Ignoring the urge to correct Wind's grammar, Vio took a bite of stew. Uli was a fantastic cook. The meat fell apart in his mouth and the vegetables were soft and flavorful, only enhanced by the broth they steeped in. The bread was delightfully warm, too, it's inside perfect and porous while the crust was crisp.
No doubt Twilight had grown up on such food. Maybe if Vio had, he'd be big and strong too, but his grandfather wasn't the best cook in the world. Not to say Grandpa Smith's meals were inedible. They tasted pleasant enough if one ignored the extra char—if he didn't know better he'd insist his grandfather prepared meals in the kiln—but they weren't on par with the castle's chefs by any means. Not like this meal.
He lost himself in it until their hosts' interest turned their way.
"My name's Wind," the sailor said, cluing Vio in on the question he'd missed.
Hyrule only confirmed it with his short answer of, "Hyrule."
"Hyrule as in the country?" Rusl wondered.
The traveler hunched over his bowl. "'Er, yes..."
"Mine's Four," he added, smoothly drawing the unwanted attention away from his friend.
Rusl whistled. "Those are some names."
"Don't be rude," Uli chided.
"They're more nicknames than actual names," Twilight admitted.
"Is that so?"
Vaguely, Twilight explained their situation, about how they were all named Link and traveling together so no one could use the name without inspiring confusion. Uli exclaimed over how strange a coincidence it was while Rusl simply took in the information with sharp eyebrow's raised. The man radiated skepticism, and Vio didn't miss the way he examined each of them intently. He must not have found anything incriminating, however, because when Twilight finished, he simply smiled and reached over to ruffle the rancher's hair.
"Thank you, all, for taking care of our boy."
"Of course," Time nodded graciously.
"He takes care of us, too," Warrior added with one of his signature charming smiles.
"Sometimes too much," Legend chimed in, causing everyone to laugh.
"That's Link," Uli stated fondly. "Always worrying about everybody else."
"Not always," Twilight mumbled into his stew.
"Yes, always," Uli insisted. "I should know. You get it from me."
Vio held his tongue on all the ways that that wasn't possible. Rusl and Uli weren't Twilight's birth parents. Therefore, he couldn't biologically inherit any of their traits.
As the meal stretched on, polite conversation circulated, and Vio managed to elude of most of it. The kid's table was great for that.
Green took full advantage of the lull. "I think there should be a new rule," he began.
Blue instantly rose to oppose him. "New rule? For what?"
"For us. For all of us. Everyone should stay in the Sanctuary as much as possible."
Vio had a feeling that "everyone" did not include Shadow.
"Green, stop being a control freak."
"I'm not! I'm just saying—"
"I'll go wherever I want, when I want," Blue asserted. "You're not the boss of me."
"I'm not saying you can't go anywhere else. Just stay here most of the time."
"Why?" Red piped up before Blue could form a scathing retort.
"Because if you're not here then you don't know what's going on. We all need to be in the loop."
Blue scoffed. "Be under your thumb, more like."
"No, I—"
"Don't act like that's not what you mean. It is! Your reasoning is flawed—" Vio couldn't help but be impressed that Blue had picked up on such a thing as he took another bite of dinner. "Just because we're in the Sanctuary doesn't mean we know everything that's going on. The picture isn't clear half the time and the other half the sounds are so muted it's nearly impossible to tell what anyone's saying."
"It's better than being completely ignorant to what's happening outside." Green protested.
"Believe in whatever delusions you want, but leave me out of it."
"It's not a delusion. You're just…ugh!" Vio could practically see Green fisting his hands in his hair.
Vio drew in a deep breath in an attempt to calm him.
But he was working against Green's turmoil and Blue's boiling anger. That was never a good combination.
"Maybe we can just have one person in the Sanctuary at all times," Red suggested. "That way one of us inside always knows what's going on outside and they can fill in the person that goes out next if they don't know what's going on."
Red's reasoning was sound, but Green was too worked up to heed it. "No, everyone needs to be here."
Defiance rose in his chest like a tidal wave, a tsunami hanging over a seaside town. "You can't stop us."
"Watch me." The words were brave in the same way wooden houses with thatched roofs standing in the path of a tsunami were brave. A single person stood on the beach between the two, staring down the wall of water as if that would stop it from crashing.
It didn't.
The impact struck, and Vio lurched to the side, spoon slipping out of his grasp and clattering on the table.
Belatedly, Vio became aware of the weight pressing into his left side and the ache in his arm. Shaking off the shock of sudden stillness—he'd caught himself with his right hand—Vio directed his gaze to the source of discomfort. Wide, baby blue eyes set in a flushed, cherubic face met his.
"I'm so sorry." Uli swept the girl up and off of him before Vio could fully process what had just happened. "I should have had her sit with me from the start."
He straightened, swiping his hand through the air in a way he hoped read as causal and not I'm-trying-to-buy-time-to-figure-out-what-to-say. In the end, he went with a simple, "No, it's fine." Because it was. He was unhurt and so was the child. The only casualty seemed to be the table, and even then, the spill could easily be cleaned up with a napkin.
"What happened to your hand dear?" Vio's gaze flicked down to the appendage, noting the white bandages wound around his palm and knuckles. His bracer couldn't hide them.
Fell.
Cut it on a branch.
A monster got in a lucky swing.
None of the excuses that came to mind appeased him. But Vio had to pick something because Uli was eyeing him with mounting concern. Why she cared so much for him when they didn't even know each other, Vio couldn't say. Maybe it was the compassion she claimed to have passed on to Twilight.
"He was sleeping next to the window in the loft that got shattered last night," Twilight piped up. He was truly a goddess-send.
"You poor thing," Uli fretted. "I never did like Link sleeping next to that window; now look what happened."
"I'm alright," Vio said, struggling to form Green's voice around the words. "It was just a nick."
Despite his reassurance, the woman continued to fuss. "She didn't agitate it when she fell into you, did she?"
It took Vio a moment to realize that was what had happened. His brothers' disarray hadn't unbalanced him. A toddler with clumsy control over her own two feet had.
Slowly, he shook his head. It throbbed far more than his arm.
Uli breathed out a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry, again." She turned her attention to the child in her arms. "Calla, say you're sorry."
The little girl required another nudge before she uttered a tiny "sowwy" around the thumb in her mouth.
Vio couldn't stop the grin that spread over his face like jam on toast. "I forgive you."
Satisfied, Uli left just as quickly as she'd come, handing over Calla to Rusl for a moment while she grabbed a napkin and returned, wiping up the small spill on the table, then checking to make sure Colin was eating enough and asking if the rest of them needed anything to which they all replied in the negative.
As the woman settled back into her seat, daughter in lap, a strange ache settled in Vio's chest. It wasn't the fist of fury squeezing his chest, or fear filling his lungs with something thick and unbreathable. Those were familiar, and this was different. It was a line, a tether, pulling him towards Uli.
It was a longing, but not for her. For someone like her. Someone who breathed compassion and exhaled warmth. Someone who was gentle, but firm, respecting what her daughter wanted while giving her what she needed—what would keep her safe and content. Someone who doted on her nine-year-old son without babying him, and who called Twilight her own when they shared neither blood, nor spirit. Someone that was, well…a mother.
Vio had a mother, of course. Everyone did. But he'd never met her. Not that he could recall, anyway. He would like to think she was somewhat like Uli. It was better than believing in the answer they received from Father and Grandpa on the rare occasions one of them asked. All they'd say was, "gone". He didn't even know what type of gone it was, the permanent, six-feet-under-the-ground type, or the leaving-never-see-you-again-if-I-can-help-it type. Vio supposed it didn't matter. She wasn't here in any case. Yet he couldn't help but wonder.
If their mother were present in their life, could she fix everything? Could she swoop in and stop Green and Blue from fighting like Uli had swept in after Calla had toppled into him and made her apologize? Could she knead out Green's fear of Shadow in a way Vio couldn't? Calm Blue's tumultuous sea so it didn't threaten to capsize them every waking minute? Reassure Red that making everyone get along wasn't a burden he had to carry alone or even at all?
Could she make sense of what was happening to them? Give them an answer for the world that had burst to life inside their head? Explain why and how Shadow was there, and what Vio should do now? Green needed him to stay close, which wasn't a problem when he was front stuck, but he would come unstuck eventually. Once he was inside, Vio had to speak to Shadow. He couldn't do that from the Sanctuary.
As Vio finished his meal, he did his best to ignore the storm inside and watched Uli as she bustled around the room, whisking empty plates off tables and refilling half-full cups. This was a mother, he realized. The woman that birthed him didn't automatically earn her that designation. A mother was the person that praised her son for helping her move the dishes to the sink. The one that wiped her daughter's sticky, crumb-ridden face. The one that hugged her eldest tight before he left, whispering words of love and light in his ear before letting him go.
Had their mother ever done that for them? Though he knew it was inane and useless besides, Vio hoped so.
YouTube Resources:
"How Are New Alters Formed? An Explanation of Structural Dissociation" –The Entropy System
"Host, Core, and Original" –The Entropy System