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"Red, on your left!" Hyrule yelled, slicing down another Chuchu and jumping out of the way of its explosion. Red turned and ducked under the sword of a Stalfos sizing him up, nearly twice his height. He stumbled a step back, rearing back into the clearing with the rest of their group.
From behind him, Blue was shoved into Red's back from an explosion from afar. Blue turned around sharply with narrowed eyes, a hiss on his lips and a snarky retort dying in his throat when Red pushed him out of the way of another Stalfos attack. They fell to the ground, Blue pulling Red up from the dirt. They looked at each other for only a glimpse of a second, the same plan hiding in their eyes.
Ready? Blue seemed to ask, tightening his grip on his bow.
Duh. Red said back, giving him a cocky smile and spinning on his heel.
In a single second, like a flash of lightning, Blue knocked back a bomb arrow and sent it flying. And thank you, Wild, he thought, pausing for a moment of victory as it hit the Stalfos square in the chest, knocking it back with both force and an explosion.
"Now!" Blue yelled, gripping Red's arm like a lifeline and spinning around, letting his other part's full weight onto his. He let go and Red flew forward in a flash of color. Tossed into the smoke from the previous explosion, Red appeared on the other side and into the dirt as the Stalfos disintegrated into a fog of black smoke. He jumped up with a bright smile before he turned once more to run into the fight.
There hadn’t been too many other enemies, no, not at all. After the Stalfos had been defeated, the fight was much easier and they had won it in no time once the last five members of their group showed up.
"Sorry, we were late!" Sky said, sheathing his sword and walking over to Hyrule and the four parts of, well, Four. "We got… occupied."
"More of them?" Hyrule asked, his question easily answered at the sight of Legend's newly stitched up leg and at the sight of Twilight lecturing Wild while Time tossed away the arrow that had hit his chest. Wild only gave him a sheepish smile, the Hey, I didn't die this time! being heard from all the way across the clearance. Sky turned back to them with a small smile on his face, nodding back to them. That… was a good answer, definitely. It explained some of Red's questions, at least.
The one that wasn't answered was too obvious, yet still, nobody knew the answer.
Red was just a second away from asking another question before Blue interrupted him, pushing into Red's shoulder with his own.
"Either you're a bit heavier than I remember or you've gained weight." He said simply, looking at Red out of the corner of his eye.
"What?" Red said, spinning to face him, hands on his hips. "We are literally the same person. You weigh as much as I do."
Blue rolled his eyes. "Sure. Tell that to the energy I lost when I threw you."
"Really? You two are going to pick an unnecessary fight now?" Vio huffed, stepping up besides Sky. "Honestly-"
For a moment, Red thought it was only him who had been shaking. He felt his legs nearly give out underneath him, stumbling forward, but…so did the others. Vio fell face first into the dirt, Blue pulling on Sky's sail cloth as he, too, struggled to stay upright. In a quick flash, everyone seemed to lose their balance, and the earth began to shake.
Dear Hylia, an earthquake? Now? Near the damn cliffside?
There was yelling as the earth kept shaking, rumbling, growling. Others screaming for their friends to find safety. Animals yelling as they ran by. Red looked up suddenly, dashing forward cautiously on stumbling feet. He scanned the clearing, searching anywhere for a single sign of someone decked in green.
"Red!" Wind yelled, catching his attention. He turned, only to turn again to where he was pointing at. "There's Green!"
And on the edge of the cliff, caked in blood, stood Green.
Din, I hope that isn't his.
There was an overwhelming feeling that he couldn't quite describe that enveloped his entire body, and in a moment, in a single flash, Red wasn't just Red anymore.
It all had happened when they each had thought of a single word, swords sheathed and soul's coming back together once more.
Four.
The ground rumbled, shaking everything that was connected to it. They all lost their footing. Sky fell off his feet, Legend hanging onto both a tree and his sailcloth. Time threw Hyrule and Wild behind him, wildly scanning the area for the rest of his party just as the earth underneath them began to crackle and tear away. The cliff's edge seemed to break away, and at the end, colors swirled into a single person once more.
"Four, get out off the edge!" Twilight yelled, taking a step forward only to lose his balance and run into another tree. He gripped it while he watched Four stumble off of his feet and onto his knees. He stumbled back again, trying to pick himself up and failing as he crawled away from the edge of the cliff as best as he could.
The earth continued to shake.
Wind watched with horror, body shaking as Four's body leaned dangerously over the edge.
The cliff gave in.
Rocks broke off the side.
Four fell over the edge.
He moved without even thinking.
Nayru, not even a prayer could get them out of their mess now.
Wind ran forward, tearing himself out of Warriors' grip. He didn't wait to see Warriors stumble forward and didn't hear him call Wind's name. He didn't wait to see if Four had it handled. No, on the contrary. Wind only dashed forward with all the speed he could manage, ignoring how his lungs burned and ignoring the newfound pain in his muscles.
When he made it to the cliff, he jumped after Four without hesitation, pushing away stray rocks that fell with him. Four seemed to fall listlessly, a small cut on his head indicating something had already hit him from above and knocked him out. There wasn't much time, and Wind knew it. So once he got a good grip on Four's arm, he spun around and grabbed his hook shot, aiming it at the cliffside. He pushed the button and it zoomed forward, connecting with the side of the cliff.
For a moment, Wind thought he had made it.
The ground shook again, however, and his hook shot broke off as another earthquake seized the land and the cliff broke off some more. Wind stared wide-eyed at the cliffside, losing grip on the hook shot and pushing his way around falling rocks. There wasn't much he could do, and Wind knew it. So he brought Four into what would be considered a hug if they weren't falling to their death, and hoped for the best.
Maybe he did send a small prayer to the Goddess.
He was out before they hit the ground.
It was dark. Like he was swimming in an ocean of fog, no light to guide him home. It kept him numb as if his entire body simply wasn't there. Like he didn't exist at all. It was quiet, all except for the distant sound of someone calling out to him. Or at least, he thought it was him. There was too much fog clouding his mind to know if that was his name or not if he recognized the voice or not. Maybe he did. It sounded familiar. Maybe, but what was their name? It was all lost in a sea of darkness and a sky full of hazy fog. He simply wished to let the darkness consume him, it felt… weird just drifting. But… didn't he have something to do? Someone… someone to save?
He saw pictures, but they were fuzzy. In and out, they appeared like a slideshow. Like memories.
He had someone to save, didn't he?
Maybe.
What was their name?
(Did he know?)
Four colors. People. Pictures. Smiles, laughter. Memories took over his mind, flashing before his mind as if his life was a single slideshow for him to watch and see and relive all over again. It was wild, bright, but at the same time, it was covered in a drowning feeling of homesickness and loss. He wondered why.
(Did the Goddess wish for it so?)
His wish for the darkness to grab a hold of him was consumed by curiosity, by the nagging feeling that there was something he had to do. Someone he had to save.
He let the voice guide him back home.
(His friends. His friends were his home.)
(He still feels sick, for some reason.)
"Wii……iiiind…… can…… youu hear-? Wi-nd. Wind. Wake up!"
The fog holding him tight seemed to clear away. Wind struggled to open his eyes, blinking rapidly at the dirt that caked his skin. It was dark, even when he was awake. He took a deep breath and blinked again, squinting at the darkness of the room they were in. Room? Hole? Uh… cave? Wind didn't really know. He only remembered falling and then… nothing.
(Go on, send another prayer. The Goddesses surely will help you this time, right?)
"Come on, Wind. Wake up. I can't carry us both out of here." The voice said, which Wind now recognized as Four's. "Literally, actually. Don't make me throw a rock at you."
"…we have a lot of those." Wind coughed, forcing himself to sit up. He squinted again, trying to blink away the dust and dirt that was still in them. God, it must have been a long fall. A terrible earthquake. It's a miracle he was even unharmed. "Wait… what did you mean… can you not get up?"
Wind turned rapidly, looking for wherever Four was. It was dark, sure, but he could see the other hero from across the room. In turn, Four waved at him weakly from underneath… a rather large boulder. His left leg was stuck underneath it, the other one at its base trying to kick it off.
In an instant, Wind stumbled onto his knees to crawl forward, not knowing how high the ceiling went and not wanting to find out in case of another avalanche.
"Hey, nice to see you're… not dead." Four laughed weakly, his blue eyes daring a slight shade of purple as they twinkled. Wind rolled his eyes, letting a small laugh out as well. Four closed his eyes for a brief second and then opening them to blink rapidly once more. "Think you can get the rock off?"
Wind thought for a moment.
Maybe.
Well, in any case, Four didn't need to know the odds.
So Wind only nodded, using as much determination and courage as he could muster to shuffle over to the boulder. He licked his lips, looking back at Four for any sort of indication that it was okay to promptly break his leg even more than it probably was. He only nodded, hugging himself as tight as he could.
He pushed on the boulder and cringed at the sound of a muffled scream.
"Sorry, I'm sorry!" Wind said, wincing at the angry high-pitched humming now coming from Four. It was full of pain, he noticed. Now, whether or not Four was biting down on his tongue or screaming into his arm, Wind didn't know. If he turned around now and looked at how much pain his friend was in he probably wouldn't be able to finish the job at all.
"You know this is fine. This is fine." Four said, his voice more singing rather than talking. It was cracking on every other word and the pitch kept changing, but he didn't let his pain show. Or at least… more than it already had. "This is fine. I'm just overreacting."
With one last push, the boulder fell to the ground off of Four's leg. He let out a squeal, blinking his tears away. "Okay. Not overreacting."
His leg was worse than either of them had thought. His skin was jagged, bone bending out from his leg in a way that was really, really, really wrong. Bile rose up in Wind's throat, and he used all his strengths to swallow it, tears in the corner of his eyes.
"Okay. Okay. Uh, what do I do." Fuck.
"Set it? God, just. Don't hurt it more than it already is." Four said, the blue in his eyes growing brighter with each passing second. He bit his arm again, leaning back into the dirt as Wind took a deep breath (that was supposed to be calming, for fuck's sake) and slowly opening his eyes.
The blood staining both Four's clothes and the ground wasn't… a pleasing sight to look at, to say the least. But Wind put a brave face on anyways and counted down in his head.
(Is it for you or for Four?)
One, two, three four, five,
Another deep breath.
Six, seven, eight nine,
He opened his eyes again.
Ten.
There was a sickening crunch as he reset Four's leg and another muffled sound of furious humming as he bit down on his sleeve.
Hylia, please tell me this isn't apart of the hero job.
"This is fine! You're fine!" Wind said, closing his eyes as he turned away from Four. "This is fine. We're gonna… we're gonna get you out of here, and Wild can do his… magic or whatever."
Four snorted. "Yeah, sure. Mipha's Grape, or whatever he called it."
"Mipha's Grace." Wind laughed, letting his hands fall to his legs as he sat on his knees. "But yeah."
He watched Four roll his eyes, a small smile on his face as he moved his newly set leg so he could sit up properly. Wind turned quickly again, holding back a gag from seeing how broken and bruised his leg had been. Four apologized quietly, but Wind waved it off.
Silence followed them for minutes on end like pricking needles against his skin. If Wind focused enough, he could hear the distant sound of a clock ticking, but it was probably all in his head.
(Tick, tick, tick, the clock said.)
Wind took a deep breath.
(You're running out of time, God said.)
The air seemed thin, from where they were.
Wind just wanted to go home.
"…do you think they'll find us?" Wind asked, his voice quiet, even in the silence of their room.
"They always do."
It wasn't a yes.
But it wasn't a no, either.
"Yeah. They'll find us." Wind said, turning back to Four and giving him a small smile.
There was silence again and the fidgeting of Four's hands as he hummed away the pain. Wind listened close, the tune helping ease his nerves. Honestly, he hadn't heard Four sing before, but it was pleasant. New. Certainly better than Tetra's.
He was calm, now.
Wind let out a laugh, wincing when he saw Four cringe, the question Was it my singing? already written in his eyes. Wind shook his head rapidly and smiled again. "No, no! It just… you're singing is much better than Tetra's."
"Your pirate partner?"
"Yeah!" Wind nodded excitedly, shuffling forward a few inches. "She… her singing was… well, as good as a pirate can get."
Four snickered, his hand covering his mouth as he laughed. "I guess it's kinda like Ezlo."
Wind tilted his head to the side, the curious smile on his face giving Four the exact opening he needed to tell his story.
"Well…"
And it went on. They exchanged stories throughout the rest of the day, the small light inside of their makeshift cave fading as the night began to grow. Their stories brought him safety, a hope that bundled up inside of his chest like butterflies flying away. His nerves came to rest. His smile was brighter, laughter bubbling up every time Four made his way to imitate Ezlo's voice. The strange faces he made were accompanied by changing hue's inside of his eyes, and for the first time all day, Wind took notice.
It was different. Beautiful, actually. It was the same type of joy Wind got when he noticed Wild's ears twitching when he was excited, or when he saw the smile tug at Legend's frown. It was the same just like every hidden quirk they each seemed to have, ones that, when noticed, made Wind feel happier than he could in any other moment. The little indications of happy made him feel real, alive, well and full of love. They reminded him of home.
(The little voice in his head can't get him anymore.)
"Yeah? You think he's bad? The stories I could tell about Lineback. He… wasn't the best navigator, in all honesty."
"Why?"
"One time he was so busy reading his map he didn't notice it was upside down and then fell face first into the ocean after walking off of the boat."
Four's laughter was joyful. He bent over and held his stomach, and Wind laughed along with him.
If you looked close enough through the cracks, you could see the stars from where they were.
And it went on, and Wind wasn't afraid anymore.
…that is, until Wild and Warriors thought it was okay to get them out by bombing the exterior and having Wild run in with Legend's Pegasus Boots to get them.
"Look, we had it under control!" Wild said, checking over Wind for any injuries despite him already telling them that he was perfectly okay.
Lookie! Over there! Four, with the literal broken leg that's quite obvious! Hello!
"Tell that to past me. I saw my life flash before my eyes, Wild!" Four said from where he was being held in Warriors arms. With his crossed arms and petty pout, he looked more like a kid than he honestly was.
"It happens." Warriors said, the reckless smile on his face one that could rival Wild's own.
If you looked close enough, up at the sky, you could see the stars from where they were. The entire sky lit up with a billion tiny lights that twinkled back at them. It reminded him of home and the open wide ocean from his old adventures. It made him smile.
Maybe their recklessness was okay this time, Wind thought.