Chapter 13

Red held firmly onto the body as far as Castle Town. Then his vision went weird and the roar of the afternoon crowd was plunged underwater. Or maybe his head was. That would explain the distorted images.

He grappled for a hand but wasn't sure if he grabbed one or not. He could see the vague shapes of most of the Links still, so that was a good sign. He wasn't lost.

But he was falling back and back and back, and someone else was flying up and up and up. There was brief moment of passing, of equality where both colors shared the same plane, the same space in time, and then the force pushing and pulling them back and back and up and up pushed and pulled them away from each other.

Green floated into place, head light and airy and limbs not all there, like smoke. The sensation of leaning over the precipice of a cliff struck him full in the face, and he swore he could feel the wind as he stumbled forward.

A tug on his hand kept Green upright, and his dizzy gaze swept to the culprit. Wind. Wind was holding his hand. Green had no idea why, but he was grateful for it. He became even more grateful when he noticed they were in town, and there were bodies everywhere, rushing towards unknown destinations with no real care for anyone else.

Being so small, Green was liable to getting pushed around. Wind was too, but the young sailor had smartly latched onto Sky's sailcloth at some point, letting the taller man pave a path for them.

They continued like this for a while, navigating their way through the throng of people hand in hand. In the back of his mind, he could hear Vio and Blue informing Red of their plans to divulge the truth about Shadow. Excitement bubbled in his chest, and Green couldn't help the smile that crawled onto his face and curled up like a cat.

Personally, he wasn't too thrilled about the decision. He'd rather get it over with now. But the middle of a busy Castle Town was hardly the place. He would have to wait, bide his time for a good opportunity.

However, finding that opportunity posed more of a challenge than anticipated.

Upon reaching the castle gates—Green vaguely remembered Twi mentioning asking Queen Zelda for information—two Hyrulean guards blocked their way.

"Halt. State your business."

"We need to speak to the queen," Twilight said.

The guards looked them up and down with distrust, eyeing their shiny weapons and armor. Having a father as the head of the royal guard, Green knew it didn't look good.

"Do you have an appointment?" the right-hand guard asked, grip tightening almost imperceptibly on his spear.

"Uh…no," Twilight admitted sheepishly.

"Then no entry."

"But it's important."

The left-hand guard held no more compassion than the right. "Should have made an appointment then."

"Right, but this is kind of a recent thing. I didn't have time, so could you make an exception just this once? Tell her Link needs to speak with her. It's urgent."

"Is that a formal request for an appointment?"

"…Sure? Yes," Twilight agreed, with a jerky nod. He had no idea what he was doing. Inside, Blue snickered.

Outside, no one moved. For one second.

Two seconds.

…Five.

"Um…are you going to," Twi rolled his wrist in a vague move-along gesture, "go tell the queen?"

"We're on guard duty, sir," the right-hand guard said in the most deadpan voice Green had ever heard. "Can't leave our posts. Your request will be processed in three to five business days."

As Twilight's jaw dropped in disbelief, Legend surged forward with purpose. "Enough of this!" He gestured wildly to Twi so the guards couldn't have missed him even if they were blind. "He's the freaking Hero Chosen by the Gods! Make an exception, and go tell Zelda he's here to see her now."

"I don't care if he's the Ancient Hero," the left-hand guard sneered. "He's not getting through without an appointment."

Green raised his eyebrows at that. Did these people not know of what Twilight did for them? Or did they just not care? Based on his own experiences, it could be either one.

"You motherf—!" Time jerked Legend back by the collar before he could earn a spear to the eye.

"Excuse us," Time said gruffly. With a tilt of his chin and a scathing look at Legend to keep his mouth shut, Time signaled a retreat. Green followed, wondering if he should have stepped in earlier to spare them all the grief. He could tell from the beginning Twilight would be refused entry.

"I'm sorry, guys," Twilight apologized as they all gathered in a loose circle under an overhang supported by grandiose stone columns. "I thought they'd let us in. I didn't know. I mean, I never had trouble before, but I guess that was before..."

"It's fine. No one blames you," Time assured him. "But we do need a new plan. There's no guarantee we'll still be here when the request does go through."

"Not to mention the black blood isn't going to stay fresh forever," Warrior added.

Green furrowed his brow. Black blood? He knew they'd collected some but that had been weeks ago. It wasn't fresh anymore. Unless they had gotten more. They must have. Somehow.

"Right. Anyone else we can take it to?" Legend wondered, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Let me think…" Twilight trailed off to do just that, and Green shifted impatiently from foot-to-foot. He never thought he'd ever want to talk about Shadow as much as he did right now. Shadow, Shadow, Shadow, Shadow. The boy plagued his thoughts, and the more he thought about him, the more his mind ran rampant with possible reactions from his fellow heroes. Loathing. Disgust. Disbelief. Fear. …None of them were particularly pleasant.

Seeking a distraction, Green quickly found it in Legend.

"What happened to your hat?" It looked like had been dipped in a bouquet of flowers.

Legend's tapping foot halted abruptly. "You switched?"

He nodded, unsure what that had to do with anything.

"Is Red around?"

"No. Wh-"

"Oh, thank the Three," Legend breathed, whipping off the cap and stuffing it deep into his bag.

"Why?" Green pressed, suddenly nervous for an entirely new reason. "What did Red do?

"Him and those other cretins—" Legend jabbed a ringed finger at Wild and Wind. "—stole my hat and smashed a bunch of mud and flowers all over it."

"We did not!" Wind objected, releasing Green's hand to jab his own finger at Legend. "You make it sound like there was no purpose to it and that isn't true at all! We were super careful about how we placed everything. We made a masterpiece!"

"A mess, more like," Legend retorted, arms crossed tightly.

"I'm so sorry, Legend," Green apologized. He knew exactly how the veteran felt about having his belongings touched. They all did. Red should have been more careful. He'd have to talk to him about it later.

"Hmmph"

"Don't be that way." Grinning, Hyrule poked Legend in the shoulder. "I can tell you liked it."

Legend swatted the traveler away with a huff. "Did not."

"You did," Sky cooed, a fond smile on his face. "Red's adorable."

"He's a terror!" Legend shot back.

Green cringed. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Wild laughed. "Red's super sweet! He doesn't mean any harm."

"Yeah, he's fun! He reminds me a lot of my little sister," Wind chimed in with a beaming smile. "Legend's just being salty as usual."

The veteran rolled his eyes but didn't deny the statement.

"If you're sure…" Green said, picking at a stray thread on his bracer. The last thing he wanted was to anger anyone. Unfortunately, he didn't always have control over his actions or his mouth, so damage control was about the best he could offer.

"The Resistance," Twilight said suddenly, snapping Green and everyone else to attention. "They're a group of people that helped me on my quest. They might be able to help with this, too."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."

No one objected to Legend's declaration so they left behind the castle and its rude, mean, arrogant, dutiful guards in exchange for a bar tucked away in an alley. The inside was surprisingly cozy despite the rather dark, rustic atmosphere. It buzzed with an energy that could only be bestowed by good food and booze.

Neither were on their agenda.

Twilight didn't waste a moment, leading them to a secluded table at the rear of the establishment where two men and a woman sat. Pleasantries were exchanged, and it quickly became apparent Twilight knew these people well. They were more than just acquaintances; they were friends. And like friends who hadn't seen each other in a while, they got to talking. Where had Twilight been? What had he been doing? Whom was he traveling with? How'd they meet? Etc. etc. blah blah blah, ad infinitum.

The resident Link answered these questions and more, firing inquiries right back that had less to do with their mission and more to do with catching up. Green couldn't quite bring himself to interrupt and get them back on track—these were Twilight's friends, after all, and they were clearly worried about his sudden disappearance—but Legend held no such reservations. He shoved the bottle of black blood in the Resistance members' faces as soon as a lull in the conversation arose, demanding they examine it.

The spectacled man, Shad, instantly pounced on the specimen, eyes wide with curiosity. Unfortunately, for all his intrigue he had nothing but questions to offer. Where did it come from? Why was it black? What did it do? Of course, since these were on par with their own questions it didn't help much. The other two members of The Resistance puzzled over the bottle's contents as well but ultimately shrugged. They had no more idea what to do with it than the heroes.

Green thought that was it, then. They would collect their things and leave. Try elsewhere. But of course it was never that simple because Warrior had to work his charm, leaning into the heavily-armored woman's personal space and asking if she was absolutely sure she knew nothing about these black-blooded monsters.

The knee that found its way into the captain's gut spoke for itself. Somewhere amidst Warrior's hacking apology—and compliment on Ashei's strength—the conversation turned to the formation of a plan C. Twilight admitted he'd originally wanted to bring the blood to Queen Zelda, eyeing the eldest man as he said this.

Apparently the old man, Auru, used to be Zelda's tutor. However, that time was long past, and since he was no longer castle staff, he couldn't gain an audience with the queen any faster than the rest of them.

Talk of sneaking into the castle arose, then, to Wind's obvious delight. But the proposition was ultimately rejected, not because it wasn't possible—Twilight knew of a secret route through the top of the bar that led to the sewers, and eventually, the castle—but because the risk of getting caught and thrown in the dungeons was too great.

It was only when the ample-bosomed barkeep wandered over—apparently she was a Resistance member too, for she'd been eavesdropping the entire time—and suggested visiting a man named Renado did Green have hope of leaving soon and being able to say his piece.

It might have happened, too, if Sky hadn't noticed Shad struggling with reading a passage in a book and translated it for him. The man immediately began to interrogate Sky on how he learned the Ancient Sky language, and when Sky shyly proposed he was "studying it too?" in favor of keeping the heroes-from-the-past-and-future thing under wraps, Shad all but became his best friend.

With Shad and Sky exchanging "notes", a.k.a. Shad asking question after question about Skyloft and Sky amicably answering, the barkeep offered to feed them "on the house", and though Twilight objected about the food being free, none of them could outright refuse. They had skipped lunch, after all.

At this point Green barely resisted banging his head on the table. The secret on his tongue had long since turned sour, and it pooled in his stomach like sludge. He wanted it out, but dinner in a boisterous bar filled with strangers was hardly appropriate.

Vio called for patience and Red gave him plenty of words to contribute to the conversation, but Green didn't feel like talking. He didn't feel very patient either, but he feigned it, pasting on a polite smile and nodding and laughing at all the right times. To be honest, Red was probably doing most the socializing.

Green was far too distracted. He blamed the dimly lit bar. Orange lantern light threw shadows every which way, ensuring he could not erase the weight of Shadow from his mind. Or the chaos that would maybe, likely, definitely, ensue once that weight was dropped.

Needless to say, Green had plenty of time to worry before they finally left the bar and found an inn to settle at for the night. Then there was the division of rooms and the headache of gathering them all in one to talk, which was actually a lot harder than it sounded since they already ate and had a plan for the next day, and all anyone wanted to do was kick their feet up and sleep.

But Time stuck to his word when Green approached him and the one-eyed hero forced even the most reluctant to gather for one last discussion.

Now, Green wished the old man hadn't. He'd had enough time to roll topic around in his mind, but now that his companions were staring at him, waiting with varying degrees of patience for him to speak, Green found he didn't know what to say.

Fortunately, Vio had his back. "I lied."

Green cringed at the admittance, wishing he could snatch the words back. They couldn't lead with that! The others would hate them for sure.

Warrior was already eyeing them warily. But it was in the captain's nature to be cautious. That didn't mean anything. "About what?"

"About what I found in the cave."

"I thought Vio went to the cave," Hyrule said, face scrunching up in confusion.

"He did. I did." Their forehead creased, but Green couldn't tell if the action as his own. "Sorry. We're kind of blended. Green's still here, but it's Vio speaking." His gaze flicked to the ceiling in afterthought. "Mostly."

"So there's no dragon?" Wind pouted, disappointment palpable in his tone.

Vio drew in a deep breath in an attempt to calm their heartrate. "No, I did find a dragon, but I also found a person. An old friend."

"An enemy," Green corrected, not entirely consciously. A flash of violet disapproval slashed through his vision, making him see stars.

"Which is it?"

They shook their head at Legend's question. "It's complicated…" In fact, it was so complicated it took Green and Vio combined to explain Shadow's origins. Or maybe it wasn't that complicated. Green was simply too high-strung to recall everything, and Vio wanted to make sure they delivered the information as accurately as possible.

So, together, Green and Vio described how Shadow had been born from the Dark Mirror in their image. They explained how he committed wicked deeds in the name of Vaati. How Vio had played the part of traitor to gain Shadow's trust, then shattered it. There was no small amount of guilt in those words, but Vio hurried to emphasize Shadow's selfless deeds, his kindness, and his sacrifice that had saved, not only them, but all of Hyrule from Ganon. Shadow was a hero. A dead one, perhaps, but a hero nonetheless.

And now he was living in their head.

"Neat!" Out of all the reactions Green had braced himself for, this was not one of them.

Thoroughly shocked, he turned to the beaming Hero of Winds. "You think it's…neat?"

"Well…yeah? I mean, he's your friend, right? And you thought he was dead, but he isn't, and you can talk to him again so…" Wind shrugged, ducking his head and flashing them a shy grin beneath his bangs. "Neat."

"I don't know about that," Warrior said with arms crossed and eyes narrowed in that tactician way of his Vio usually admired. Now it only tightened his midsection. "He left us defenseless last night. Or am I mistaken?"

Green swallowed thickly, stomach churning, and Vio forced them to make eye contact with the captain because Farore knew Green wasn't going to do it. "No, you aren't. But it was an accident. I swear to you it was. Shadow he…he doesn't understand a lot of things. I've tried to explain it to him, but he still thinks he's dead and that all of this—" He gestured widely to the room they occupied. "—is some kind of divine punishment."

"But…he is dead, isn't he?" Hyrule spoke up. "I mean, I know you said he's in your head, but if he really did shatter his life force then there's no way for him to come back to life."

"If he was born from dark magic, then dark magic could resurrect him," Legend pointed out. He'd been oddly silent until now.

"He was born from the Dark Mirror," Vio corrected the veteran.

The pink-haired hero waved his hand flippantly. "Dark is dark."

"No, it's not." Vio shook his head. "Shadow isn't a Dark Link."

"I never said—"

"You're implying it." Legend scowled, but Vio continued, undeterred. "He's a shadow; our shadow. He's not evil."

"He hurt people," Warrior said.

"In the past, yes. But he's good now."

Legend scoffed. "People don't change. Not like that."

"They do," Twilight interjected, the ferocity of his tone surprising them all. "Shadow beings especially. I've had first-hand experience with them. Vio's right. They can change."

"Even if that's true, they can't come back from the dead," Warrior asserted. "And if they do, you can be sure some serious dark magic is at work.

"Not necessarily," Vio objected. "Another Dark Mirror could have brought him back." His gaze swept to Twilight. "If there's a Dark Mirror in your era, then it could be possible…"

The ranch hand's expression turned somber at the suggestion, and all the hope burning in Vio's chest fizzled out. "There used to be. Not a Dark Mirror, exactly, but it was a mirror. It served as a portal between the realm of light—where we are now—and the Twilight Realm, where the Twili live. It was called the Mirror of Twilight."

"What happened to it?" Green asked in Vio's stead.

"It…" Twilight's pained gaze flickered to the floorboards. "It was shattered."

"Could it have been repaired?" Vio tried, grasping at any shards of hope he could.

"No. The ruler of the Twili utterly destroyed it."

"Not even dark magic could have reconstructed it?" Warrior checked.

Twilight shook his head. "It was made to banish those who abused dark magic."

Just like the Dark Mirror, Vio realized. He had conducted extensive research on the artifact, and he remembered that detail clearly. Perhaps the mirrors were one and the same, not that the knowledge did them any good now. Both had been broken beyond repair.

"So then how…?" Hyrule wondered, chin in hand and clearly thinking hard.

"That's what we've been trying to figure out," Green admitted. Vio tugged on a strand of hair. "But I might have a theory."

A minute ago it had been nothing but a timid idea. He hadn't shared it with anyone before or even dared think of it much, if only because he didn't want it to be true. However, with Twilight's new information added to the equation, it was looking more and more likely.

Shadow was not Shadow.

Drawing in a deep breath to steel himself, Vio turned to Sky. "Remember that demonstration I did for you the other day with the paper?"

The Skyloftian blinked owlishly for a moment, startled at being called upon, before nodding. "Of course."

"I think I figured out what's wrong with it."

"Oh?"

"We aren't a torn piece of paper. We can't be; because that suggests each of us can function the exact same on our own as we can together, and that's just not true."

Their adventures had proven as much. When the sword first split them into separate bodies, they were dreadfully dysfunctional. Everyone wanted to go their own ways, and on the surface that appeared to be a fine solution. When apart, they couldn't argue anymore. They could get things done. However, that wasn't what had happened.

Left to their own devices, Blue had nearly frozen to death. Red had been framed for burning down a village. Green had nearly been hypnotized into abandoning his quest. And Vio…well, Vio had conspired with the enemy. He became a spy, only his brothers hadn't known that. His betrayal had caused them unnecessary inner turmoil. He'd made Red and Blue cry thinking he'd killed Green.

Nothing had truly gone right until they reunited. Until they were all on the same page, but not part of it, because that would suggest they didn't need each other and they did.

The Four Sword knew that. It was why the mystical blade merged them back into one. Made them whole again, at least on the outside. Inside, they were still fragmented, but sharing a body forced them to work together. To support one another so they wouldn't fall apart.

"We're more like a pot," Vio decided. "A ceramic pot that has been broken and glued back together again. On their own, the pieces can't be a pot, but together they can hold water or rupees or whatever else you want to put inside."

"Okay so you're a pot." Legend rolled his eyes. "Your point?"

All Vio's intellectual grandeur fled at the reminder. He couldn't stall with an analogy forever. His brothers' curiosity and impatience pushed at his temples. Green's anxiety clenched his throat in a fist. Or maybe that was his own.

Vio lowered his gaze to his lap, rubbing the embroidery on his square between thumb and forefinger.

"The pot's more fragile now that it's been broken once. It's more susceptible to cracks when put under pressure. It could break again. So could we. And I think…" Vio drew in a shaky breath, daring to peek up at his audience. "I think we did. I did, and Shadow's the result."

Sky's face fell. "You think…you split again?"

No no no no

"Yes."

No no no no no! That's impossible!

"But I thought it was the Four Sword that split you guys in the first place. You haven't touched it since," Wind said, drawing Vio's attention away from Green's downward spiral.

"It was, and we haven't but…" Vio sighed and spread his hands in a hopeless gesture. "The sword changed us."

"Damaged us," Blue hissed.

"Damaged us," Vio agreed with a whisper. Needles pricked the backs of his eyes.

"Are you absolutely sure that's what happened?" Warrior asked, still skeptical.

"Not one hundred percent," Vio admitted. "But at this point it's the only thing that makes sense."

No, it doesn't! We can't split again.

"When did it happen?" Sky wondered, brow creased in concern. "Did it hurt?"

"No. I think it happened about a month ago. Blue was upset about us spilling our secret, and he said some things to me about Shadow that…weren't so kind. That night I had a dream about Shadow. That he had come back from my own shadow, but now I'm thinking maybe it wasn't a dream. It was something real, something…symbolic."

"You're saying this is my fault?!"

No! Blue had it all wrong. He wasn't blaming him at all."I missed Shadow. A lot. He was my friend, and I wanted him back. I was obsessed with getting him back for a long time, but none of my research bore fruit. Mostly because it dealt with dark magic, and the spells were too dangerous to try. I wanted him back, but I didn't want to put anyone else in danger. I was stuck, and I was devastated about it. I couldn't let Shadow go. I couldn't accept he was gone because it hurt too much.

"But now it doesn't. I have him back, and I can look at mirrors again and talk about them without getting emotional or shutting down."

I'm sorry I'm sorry why? I should have noticed you were hurting I'm a horrible leader a horrible brother no! Green you're the best leader the best brother I didn't let you help I pushed you away I let you I made you I shut you out you and Red both offered to talk to me about it and I refused that's on me not you me not you.

Green bit his lip. He still felt responsible. And everyone was looking at him. How long had he and Vio been going back in forth? Seconds? Minutes? He shrunk in his seat, wishing he could shrink for real. Where was a Minish portal when you needed one?

"So the split's a good thing? If you're feeling better, then?" Red ventured.

I (don't) think so.

"All I'm hearing is it's my fault," Blue grouched.

Red wrapped himself around Blue. "It's not!"

It's not. Vio insisted. What you said might have been the catalyst but the wound had been festering for years.

A stormy sea churned with discontent in their shared mind, destabilizing Green's center of gravity. He clutched the edge of the bed he was seated on for support, not even caring when an errant splinter of wood bit into his right palm. His head was spinning.

"So this Shadow has been part of you for a month and you didn't think to share?"

"We don't have to tell you everything," Green found himself snapping. Blue was thoroughly sick of Warrior's questions.

"You do when it affects the rest of us."

"Actually, he doesn't," Time interjected.

"Old Man—"

Time held up a hand to halt Warrior's rebuttal.

"Everyone here is entitled to secrets, even those that can be dangerous."

"How? That makes no sense!" Legend objected.

Time leveled the veteran with a calculating stare. "Sometimes knowledge is more dangerous than ignorance. It's up to the individual to judge. At this point, our Four Sword Heroes have judged it's best for this information to come to light now. I advise you not to shut them down."

"Right." Warrior blew out a heavy sigh, smoothing down his already smooth hair with a hand. "Sorry."

Time turned his gaze on the smith. "Is there anything else we should know about Shadow?"

"He doesn't like light," Vio said, the facts easily spilling from his mouth. "In fact, from what I can tell, he's allergic. Or…he makes us allergic when he's out."

Hyrule's eyes widened. "That's what the rash was."

"Told you it was sunburn!" Wind exclaimed, whirling around to rub his correct diagnosis in Legend's face. Legend rolled his eyes.

"Well, it's more of an allergy to the sun," Vio corrected. "But sure."

"Should we get him a cloak?" Twilight wondered.

Gratitude swelled in his chest. "It wouldn't hurt."

"Whoa whoa whoa I thought he wasn't going to be out much! Don't start getting him things!" Blue objected.

"It's just in case," Red reassured him. A small shudder passed through the body. "I don't want to deal with sun allergies again. It hurts."

"No offense, but how is that even possible?" Legend wondered, an eyebrow cocked in distrust. "If your body is allergic to something, it's allergic. Allergies don't come and go. They're either there or they aren't."

"Right," Vio agreed. "That puzzled me too. However, the placebo effect can be surprisingly strong."

Wind's face scrunched in confusion. "What's play sea bow mean?"

"The placebo effect basically means you believe a substance will affect you in a specific way so it does. In Shadow's case, he thinks the sun will harm him because it has in the past, so when he's fronting, it does."

"Ohhh. But wait. Can't you just tell him the sun won't hurt him?"

Vio grimaced. "Well, it's a little more complicated than that. He can't quite grasp the concept of sharing a body with the rest of us yet. That's why we'd rather keep him inside as much as possible. He's not well enough to front. For now getting a thick cloak to keep the sun off of us is probably our best bet."

"Then, that's what we'll do," Time decided. "Anything else?"

Vio went on to explain about mirrors and the future upkeep of mirror shields, but Green found he could hardly pay attention and not only because it was a repeat of their earlier conversation.

Vio had split. Which meant Red could split. Which meant Blue could split. Which meant Green could split. They could all break again. Maybe one wasn't a problem. Two they could deal with, sure. But what if it kept happening? What if they kept splitting and splitting and splitting? Into four, eight, sixteen, twenty more? And more and more until there were so many thoughts, so many feelings, so many colors that he became faded, dull, no longer Green. No longer himself. No longer anyone, but a mess of hues all splattered and blended across a far-too-small canvas.

Warmth bleeding through smooth ceramic and into his palms startled him back to reality. He stared at the pale bronze liquid trembling slightly in its cup. Tea.

A cautious glance around assured him he was still sitting in one of the rented inn rooms with his companions. They all chatted amicably—about him? No, it seemed to be music—nursing cups and mugs of steaming tea, courtesy of Wild. At least, he assumed.

Raising the cup to his mouth, Green took a sip. He grimaced. The tea was cloyingly sweet. It drilled into his molars and made his jaw ache.

"Apologies, I may have added too much sugar."

Vio definitely added too much sugar. Actually, why had Vio added sugar to his tea? Vio didn't like sugar in his tea. He only took milk and sometimes nothing at all.

"I prepared it for you," Vio informed him. "I thought you could use it."

Green found himself bringing the cup closer, letting the steam waft up and over his face. If he closed his eyes, it almost felt like walking into the forge on a chilly morning. He sighed, shoulders dropping the tiniest bit.

A shrill scream shot them right back up to his ears.

"Uh, no," Legend declared, snatching a stick—recorder—from a grinning Hyrule. "I'm confiscating this."

"It wasn't that bad!" 'Rule refuted, grabbing for the instrument only to have it held farther out of reach.

"I think it burst one of my eardrums," Twilight joked, wincing and sticking a finger in his right ear. "No offense."

Warrior seized the recorder from Legend and offered it to Hyrule. "This, my good man, is a weapon. Use it wisely."

"And preferably not around us," Wind chimed in.

Hyrule snatched his instrument back, cradling it close to his chest. "You guys just can't appreciate good music."

"That wasn't music. It was a monster's battle cry." Wild made an ungodly screech, throwing his head back and clawing the air in imitation of a disgruntled bokoblin.

'Rule elbowed him, abruptly turning Wild's screech into a laugh. "I'd like to see you do better."

"Don't mind if I do." Wild reached for the recorder, but Legend was faster.

"No way. You'll burst all our eardrums. Leave the music making to the professionals."

Wind gasped. "Legend will you play something?"

"What makes you think I can play?" Legend sneered, tossing the recorder to Twilight for confiscation purposes when Wild made another grab for it.

"You have a ton of instruments."

"Yeah, at my house."

"You don't even carry one?"

Legend rolled his eyes. "So what if I do?"

"Play, play, play, play!" Wind chanted, punctuating each word with a bounce. This wouldn't have been a problem had he not been sitting right next to Green. He put a hand near the rim of his teacup to prevent any spills. "Uh, Wind?"

"Sorry." Wind ducked his head sheepishly, stilling. He returned his eager gaze to Legend. "I can conduct you."

"I wanna hear Legend play!" Red exclaimed, his giddiness spilling over into a smile.

"I'd like to hear you play, too," Green said, finding that he did, and it wasn't just because of Red. …Maybe. Hopefully.

Legend hummed, but didn't move to fulfill their request.

"No one has to play if he doesn't want to," Time spoke up, procuring a blue ocarina from his bag.

Wind's eyes lit up, and Green could feel himself leaning forward, courtesy of Red's anticipation.

"You can play?"

"Of course." Time moved his fingers into position over the holes. "Any requests?"

There were none, so Time launched into a song of his own choosing. The tune he selected was fast-paced and cheerful, speaking of flourishing forests and everlasting friendship. Green found himself disappointed when it concluded, and he wasn't the only one. Looking around, the others were just as enraptured. Even Time held a wistful look in his eye.

However, the old man swiftly shook it off in favor of serenading them with a new tune.

Green listened, taking another sip of his tea. With Red pressing so close, it didn't taste as tooth-rotting as before. Still sweet, but a manageable sweet.

The Goron inn-keepers and other guests must not have minded the noise because no one barged in to complain or tell them to lower the volume. Green even found himself relaxing, leaning partially on Wind with his tea half drunk, when Time launched into a new song. It was different than the ones before. Whereas those had been light and warm and often fast-paced, this one was somber, slow and heavy.

It whispered of a last hope, of healing magic and hands clasped in prayer. As soon as the tune entered his ears, he knew it was meant for him, and yet it was lost on him all in one sweeping measure. Green could not be repaired. He feared the cracks in his mind that Vio spoke of were really chasms, stretching and yawning oh-so-wide, ready to swallow him whole.

Another drop of tea splashed into his stomach. He felt sick.

YouTube Resource:

"Different Yet The Same | Alters and Dissociative Identity Disorder" –The Entropy System