Archive of Our Own ^beta

Another parry. Another dodge. Another swing.

Neither of them are playing on the defensive side now, not when Wild’s moves have gained a new intention that hadn’t been there before.

‘Something’s wrong,’ Vio tells his brothers through their shared bond, mouth still shut tight on a grimace as he rolls on the ground to dodge the end of Wild’s last swing. ‘We’re missing something here, guys.’

‘You don’t say.’ Blue snarks and Vio breathes in through his nose to keep himself from snapping back. This is clearly not the time .

‘Something’s definitely off, I’d give you that,’ Green says and Vio briefly meets his gaze over Wild’s shoulder before he dodges to the right and Vio ducks, letting Red dive in and swing his sword at Wild, aiming to disarm him.

Vio pushes down the urge to sigh in frustration when it doesn’t work in the least. If anything, the attempt just made Wild angrier.

‘This isn’t like him,’ Red says, small hiccups cutting their link in their minds as he pants a few breaths some feet away from the fight, Blue covering for him, before he straightens up and dives back in. ‘Vio said so too earlier.’

‘What tipped you off, V?’ Green asks him urgently and Vio is quick to do a quick recollection of every small detail he had noticed the moment Wild had walked through the courtyard’s entrance.

‘This is going to sound stupid but he had been out of breath.’ Vio starts, pausing briefly to deliver his own swing at Wild’s sword, pushing it back and away from Blue’s side. ‘When was the last time we saw Wild out of breath like that?’

A small silence falls on their connection before Blue breaks it with a huff.

'You were right. It is stupid.'

Vio huffs and clicks his tongue in annoyance, holding himself back from glaring at his brother and instead dodging Wild’s next thrust.

'V's got a point, though.' Red chimes in quietly. 'It sounds stupid but it’s accurate.'

‘His expressions were all wrong too.’ Vio adds, backflipping a stray swing from Wild and opening a window for Green. ‘They didn’t match with his words. It’s hard to explain.’

‘He’s worried, though. Scared and angry, too.’ Green argues as he slashes across Wild’s arm, above his arm guard. A shallow cut but definitely a stinger. ‘We all know how easy it is to get lost in blind rage when someone we love gets hurt.’

Vio’s stomach drops at the words, flattering on his step for the briefest second before he’s back on his steady feet, tongue running over his lower lip anxiously.

‘You might be right,’ Vio says, swallowing thickly before he adds, ‘but something tells me this is more than just an emotional outburst.’

‘Then what — shit, Red, duck!’ Blue screams, making them all wince at the same time but luckily Red acts on it and does as told, dodging the attack Wild had thrown at him out of nowhere, having changed his feet stand in mid swing. ‘Listen, I don’t care if he’s having an existential crisis, he’s clearly a threat right now. One that we need to take down ASAP.’

The words make Vio frown. 

‘How —?’ Vio asks warily before he pauses, shakes his head, and starts over. ‘What are you saying, Blue?’

Blue hesitates, only now landing on the ground from the last swing he had dodged rather awkwardly, and his chance to reply is lost when Wild delivers his next attack, sharp end of his sword settled on Blue.

Vio intercepts it quickly, parrying it back with enough force to make Wild stumble. Red and Green take advantage of the moment to swing their own swords from behind, cutting shallowly on the back of Wild’s right and left calf respectively.

Wild snarls as he stumbles on his feet and falls to the ground on one knee, holding himself up with his sword as he glares at where the cuts had been made. 

Vio steadies his breathing through his nose as Green and Red quickly join him, Blue back on his feet and standing by his right.

“Stand down, Wild.” Vio tells him evenly, lowering his sword and raising his other hand as a peace offering. Wild huffs angrily at him, face twisting into a sneer.

“Get out of my way, Four.” Wild hisses dangerously, conveying his disdain in every word. Vio physically feels the spang of hurt that rings through his and his brothers’ chest. “It’s not you who I want.”

Wrong. Wrong. The words are wrong and Vio is missing something.

What is he missing?

“You can’t help Twi right now, Cook,” Green says, glaring back at Wild. His sword is no longer pointing at Wild but Green is yet to drop his guard. “Especially not like this. Stand down.”

“You’re no one to order me around!” Wild growls, punching the ground violently, making Red shift uneasily. “Get out of my —”

“What is going on here¡?” Time demands as he bursts through the doors of the inn behind them and stomps over. Time’s confusion is quickly replaced by angry disbelief at the sight of them five. “Someone better explain right now what I've just walked into.”

Oh, Time, Vio and his brothers only have half of the story. They would also like to know what the hell is happening at the moment.

Vio sighs at the same time Green starts to explain the reason for their division, briefly explaining the magic behind their sword, and Time takes it all in stride. All four of them are lost for words, though, when it comes to explaining the situation with Wild.

“Wild, explain yourself.” Time orders in the end, scowl deepening when Wild snarls at him as an answer. “Cub, what has gotten in you?”

“Nothing!” Wild screams, slapping and pushing away Time’s hand when he tries to pull him off the ground. “Back off! I need everyone to just back the hell off!”

“Wild!” Time snaps, clearly at the end of the thin thread of patience he had left. “Stand down and calm yourself down.”

“Why don’t you make me, Hero of Time ?” Wild snaps back at him, looking feral as he pushes himself off the ground and raises his sword at Time.

Vio and his brothers immediately raise their sword back up. It’s only Time who stays still, looking impassive as he locks eyes with Wild.

“Wild.” He warns in a low voice but it’s futile, for Wild refuses to lower his sword.

Vio catches the way Blue’s fingers twitch around the grip of his sword, taking short and quick steps as he slowly makes his way around Time and settles behind Wild.

Vio frowns, following Blue’s moves, and he’s a heartbeat away from questioning him through their bond when the sound of shouting and hurried footsteps appear outside the walls.

“I told you guys I heard Wild!” Wind shouts as he runs through the couryard’s entrance, the rest of their party following him close behind. “And there’s — Four? Four Fours¡? ”

Vio feels his shoulders sag in relief at the sight of his missing brothers, all looking worse to wear but alive and majorly unharmed. The knot on his stomach loses some of its tension.

“What’s going on?” Sky asks, eyes careful and inquisitive as he takes the scene in with a small frown. 

“Hold on, how the hell did he even get here before us¡?” Legend shouts as he points at Wild, looking both crossed and baffled by his mere presence. “He went in the other direction when —!”

Every single gaze present is set somewhere. Unfocused. Distracted.

‘Except for one.’ Vio thinks as he sees Legend's eyes widen in clear horror, mouth open in mid shout. ‘Wild —’

“Wild, don’t — ! Four! Four, wait — ! ” Warriors shouts, running their way in panic at the same time Wind cries out ‘Wild!’

Vio flinches harshly the next second at the sound of flesh being torn open behind him. The shiver that runs down his spine at the wet gurgle near his ear is enough to spring him back to the moment.

With heavy dread already pooling on his stomach, Vio turns around and takes a step back.

He comes face to face with the end of one of his own sword counterparts, the tip of it dripping with blood as the excess of it slides down its blade until it pools and steadily dyes the baby-soft tunic it pokes out from in a dark red color.

‘No, no, no, no,’ Vio chants inside his head as his lip wobbles and he lifts his gaze, catching sight of Wild’s stricken face. ‘No, no. Please.’

His gaze goes higher and he holds his breath as his eyes travel up along Wild’s raised arms until they reach the sword between his hands, hovering high right above Vio.

It’s easy to connect the dots and when Vio sees the complete picture, he wants to scream so badly but all that leaves his mouth is a meek gasp when Wild’s grip goes limp and the sword falls to the ground between their feet.

“Wild.” Vio breathes out, still shell-shocked, and lowers his gaze back to Wild’s stomach, his own heart stuttering at the sword — his sword, one of his swords —  sticking out of it obscenely. “Why —”

‘Blue.’ Vio hears Red whispers horrified through their shared link and Vio's gaze dawns with alarm.

“Blue.” Vio gasps sharply, blankly staring at the wound as his breathing grows short. “Blue, what have you done?”

And Blue sounds every bit of horrified as all of them feel through their bond as he says, “I don’t know. I don’t know, I just — he was — and Vio — I don’t know! ” 

Their shouting is what snaps everyone out of their shock, time ticking by once more around them as a flurry of hands, shouting, and extra bodies all step closer.

“Steady breathing, everyone.” Time orders sharply as he pries Blue’s hand out of his sword’s grip with a hard but careful tug and lowers Wild to the ground, Warriors stepping in half way through it to ease the landing. “Assess the situation, Heroes. Keep your head cool.”

For the a second, Vio wonders how could their leader be able to stay level-headed without wavering or crumbling on the spot, but doesn’t take him long to notice the way Time’s hands shake once Wild’s is set on his side and they don’t stop no matter how many times he closes them into fists.

“On three,” Warriors says strained, snapping Vio out of his thoughts at the same moment Warriors and Time nod to each other. Warrior barely reaches the number two before Time’s pulling the sword out of Wild from behind. 

“Wait wait — ! What the hell? You morons, at least wait until we have the potion ready!” Legend shrieks, pulling on his hair before he dives forward and presses his hands hard against Wild’s stomach. Both Green and Red join him right after, covering the parts Legend isn’t able to cover.

“The hell you mean? We always have a potion ready!” Warrior scowls, sparing one look around and then cursing when he notices the rest of their party is hastily patting themselves and their pockets. “Seriously? The one time —! ”

“You two, it’s done! Move on!” Time hisses, glaring at both Warriors and Legend as warning. He doesn’t wait for their begrudged silence before he turns to Wind. “Wind, room sixteen, third floor. Run and get a potion, now! ”

Wind barely nods before he’s off, stumbling a few times on the way but quickly getting back on his feet and makes a beeline to the Inn’s doors.

“Wouldn’t Wild have a potion in his Slate?” Sky asks, kneeling behind Wild’s head and holding it carefully with both hands on either side, wincing when Wild’s gaze goes blank and his eyelids flutter. He frowns in disbelief the next second when no one answers his question. “Wha — you haven’t you checked? Guys .”

“Give us a break! It’s been a really shitty day, okay?” Legend snaps, locking eyes on Vio and letting out a short sharp whistle. Vio immediately gets the message and quickly takes over Legend.

Legend doesn’t stop cursing and grumbling as he carefully pats Wild’s sides a few times over, looking for the slate, and his frown grows deeper as the seconds tick.

“It’s not here,” Legend says in the end, eyebrows furrowed in disconcert as he stares at Wild. “He doesn’t have it.”

“What?” Warrior hisses. “What do you mean ‘he doesn’t have it’ ?”

Legend sneers. “What the fuck do you think ? He doesn’t have the slate with him! It’s not here! ”

“That doesn’t make any sense, he left with it when he stormed off!”

“Yes, I know, I was there!” Legend huffs loudly, raising a hand to his face and stopping short as he catches sight of the still wet blood on them. “Fuck. Goddamn it .”

“He didn’t have the slate when he arrived,” Vio tells them quietly, just now realizing the fact, and he keeps his eyes on Wild’s wound as he tries to recall Wild's arrival in more detail. His frown deepens the more he thinks about it. “He didn't — He had a sword but he didn’t pull it out of his slate like he always does. He had it on him when he arrived.”

“And it’s not the sword we made for him.” Blue quietly adds, speaking up for the first time, and Vio sneaks a glance over his shoulder to see Blue staring at said sword on the ground. 

“It couldn’t have been. Wild broke it when he killed the shadow.” Sky supplies hastily, pausing his soft mumbling near Wild’s ear — stay awake, don’t give up, Wild, keep your eyes open — to share a look with both Legend and Warriors, who nod, backing up his words.

Time scowls deeply at the news, eyebrows furrowed in both frustration and worry, before he sighs heavily through his mouth and says, “We’ll circle back to that once we don’t have another of our own at Death’s doorstep.”

Blue flinches harshly at the words and Time’s eye snaps to him, gaze softening.

“Your instincts took over.” He tells him slowly, keeping his voice leveled even when sadness dripped from the edges. “We all saw what happened, what was about to happen. I won’t tell you how or what to feel but I’ll remind you that, as heroes, we protect those we care about. Sometimes even from those we love and care for the same.”

“Which, by the way, what the hell was that¡? ” Warrior cuts in with a hiss, eyes narrowed. “We all saw that, right? Wild was about to chop Purple Four’s head off!”

“Vio,” Vio corrects idly.

“ Vio’s head off!”

“Vio,” Time calls, ignoring as Warriors continues to spat out curse after curse, growing angrier despites Sky’s attempt to calm him down as the words ‘traitor’ and ‘betrayal’ leave his mouth. “Fill us in. What are we missing here?”

Vio stares back at Time, shuddering a breath before he tries to explain, letting Red and Green add their own comments in between. It is quick, brief, and it definitely leaves them all with more questions than answers.

The events and the details around them don’t match up between them and it’s clear how the revelation does nothing to ease any of their confusion or worry.

“I don’t understand. Why would he — Wild! Wild, hey, no!” Sky cuts himself off with a sharp shout, startling them all. They all share the increasing panic in Sky’s voice as he starts patting Wild’s cheek frantically when Wild’s eyes flutter tiredly. “Hey, hey! Open your eyes. Wild!”

“Wild, stay awake,” Time says, breathing hitching sharply when Wild only blinks blankly back at him. “Wild — Cub! Cub, don't do this! ”

“Wind, where the fuck are you¡?” Legend shouts out, pushing himself off the ground and stomping over to the Inn’s entrance, slapping Warrior’s hand off his forearm when he tries to reach for him. “Get off! Wind! ”

Vio’s heart thunders loudly inside his ribcage and he’s forcing himself to take deep breaths through his mouth even as he hears Red’s quiet crying, Green’s inane mumbling, and Blue’s cursing all at once inside his head.

And perhaps that’s why he notices it in the first place, when he focuses on Wild’s face instead as an escape route. It’s barely a blink-and-miss-it moment, less than a heartbeat long, but Vio sees it as clear as day before it’s gone.

Wild’s eyes have become slits at most, merely an inch away from being closed for good, and yet it’s enough to catch sight of the color in them.

And it had been a vivid violet — No, red.

‘Blood,’ Vio tries to resonate with himself. He ignores his brothers’ confusion in their bond at his words, keeping his eyes set on Wild. ‘It must have been blood. Surely. Some of it might just gotten into —’

“What the hell?” Vio whispers, baffled, as the baby-blue color in Wild’s eyes is replaced once more by the, unmistakably, violet color from before. “Guys, do — can you see — ?”

“I see it,” Blue answers at the same time Red and Green nod. He kneels next to Vio as he stares at Wild’s eyes and the way they start to flicker between the two colors. “Do you think —?”

“ Guys! ” Wind screams as he slams the doors open with his entire body, barely missing Warriors and Legend and falling to his knees next to Time and holding out his pendant in the middle.

“Wind! Where’s the potion?” Sky asks urgently and Wind shakes his head vigorously.

“No! No, no, I didn’t — I never got to the room — !”

“What!” Legend snaps. “Why the ever loving fuck not?”

“Because he’s not Wild!” He spats out, sparing Wild a sneer. “I don’t know who or what he is but he’s not Wild! ”

“Wind! Turn me around already! ” a voice shouts from Wind’s pendant before any of them could react to Wind’s words. 

From the corner of his eye, Vio sees Warrior and Legend gape while Time and Sky gasps as Wind mumbles a quick ‘ah, sorry’ and turns the pendant to its front and Wild’s face comes to view. 

Disheveled. Bruised. With smudges of dirt and mud on his hair and face.

Looking worried and annoyed as he frowns back at them and says, “ Guys , what the hell is happening — Woah, woah, woah! Why am I seeing four Fours?”

Legend, unfortunately, is the first to react. He all but snatches the pendant from Wind’s hands, holding it close to his face.

“There’s another you literally bleeding out on the ground at the moment and you ask about the four Fours¡?” Legend shierks, face red as he shakes the pendant, as if hoping it would also shake Wild into sanity. “Are you out of your mind? ”

Vio’s isn’t able to catch Wild’s expression but he can imagine the scowl on his face when he replies, “Don’t judge me! It’s a weird sight, alright!”

“And seeing the dying form of your clone isn't?”

“Not the first time I have seen myself die!”

“Great goddesses, you’re insane —! ”

“Enough!” Time snaps loudly and Vio takes advantage of the moment to reach out,  pushing through the numbness on his legs to take the pendant out of Legend’s hand in one move.

He blatantly ignores Legend’s outraged yelp and calls Wild’s name, rather urgently.

“Are you okay?” Vio breathes out, grunting as Blue slams his entire body weight on his back and presses his face against Vio’s to catch a glimpse of Wild. “Are you — Wait, are you running?”

“Of course I am! Because apparently I can’t sulk in peace without something or someone at the verge of dying,” Wild says between grunts, voice faint but not breathless as the trees behind him pass by in a blur.

“And you’re not breathless?” Vio asks.

Wild almost looks offended, arching one of his eyebrows as he says, “Of course I’m not! It’s like you don’t even know me Four.”

“ I do,” Vio says before he shots Blue a sharp glare from the corner of his eye.

“Can you guys focus?” Warriors chimes in, coming up on top of Vio’s head. “Wild, where the hell have you been — Actually, no, I don’t care. Where the hell are you right now? ”

“I’m almost — here!” Wild says, his words echoing through the pendant and outside the courtyard’s walls. Vio whips his head towards the entrance just in time to catch the moment Wild runs through it, lowering the Sheikah Slate from his face and latching it back on his belt as he huffs a breath and catches their wide eyes. “I’m here — ! Oh, uh, yeah, okay, I get it now. What the fuck is that? ”

Wild blinks and points at his still bleeding clone on the ground, nose scrunched up in clear disgust. No one answers him right away, most of them still gaping in shock and surprise because of his mere presence .

Blue is the first one to snap out of it, rushing forward and slamming hard against Wild’s middle, a muffled apology being shouted out against Wild’s dirty but blood-less tunic.

As Vio follows his brother, the knot that has been on Vio’s stomach lessens significantly when Wild wordlessly wraps an arm around Blue, looking slightly confused and concerned, either by Blue’s mere existence or by the apologies sent his way, but ultimately stays quiet.

“Oh, thank Hylia.” Warriors sighs, relief clear in his voice. “He’s not a traitor. He just had an evil clone.”

“Seriously, Warriors?” Sky scolds idly as he steals uneasy glances between the two Wilds, clear hesitation in his eyes as he pulls his hands off the clone.

“What? Am I the only one who is relieved he isn’t actually a traitor?” Warriors scoffs, arms crossed over his chest.

“Not everyone has trust issues like you.” Legend huffs, unfazed when Warriors shots him a glare.

“No, seriously, guys. What the fuck is that?” Wild cuts them off, looking unsettled by the sight of his clone’s body laying on the ground. He only grows more concerned when it starts to change. “Uh, did it do that before I got here or …?”

“What the fuck. ” Legend whispers before he gasps, taking a step back from the body as the sight of boiling liquid starts bubbling beneath the fading skin. “Nope! Pinky, Greeny, hands off him now! Off, off, off!”

Both Red and Green immediately do as told, lifting their hands off the still gaping wound that now pours out something thicker and darker than blood. They both stare in shock at their hands, the blood that had been on them now black.

Legend pulls them backwards from the back of their tunics at the same time Time does it for Wind on the other side, putting a large distance between them and the body.

“Sky,” Vio calls urgently when he sees his friend still frozen on his spot, hands still hovering near the clone’s face. “ Sky —! ”

Sky holds out a hand to them, eyebrows slightly furrowed as he reaches for the clone’s cheek with the other.

“I’ve seen this before — felt this before.” Sky tells them, tentatively turning the clone’s head to the side. “Guys, I think — shit!”

Vio’s chokes on his own gasp when Sky curses loudly, flinching back with a pained grimace as he snatches his hand away from the clone’s skin when it starts to melt on his fingers.

“Sky!” echoes around them and it’s Warriors who steps forward, hastily and roughly pulling Sky off the ground by the armpits. Sky allows himself to be manhandled, eyes still wide as he’s pulled back from the decomposing body.

“I’m fine, it’s fine.” Sky reassures them quickly through short pants as he stares at his fingers, nodding as thanks when Warriors handles him a ragged cloth to clean them.

“What the fuck is that?” Wind shouts, bewildered as he pokes his head out from where he stands behind Time.

“I think, uh, I think that’s malice,” Wild says quietly, his eyes wide in shock before his expression shifts and he’s baring his teeth, a low growl leaving his lips as the shape of the body completely melts off, leaving behind a big puddle of black with glowing violet spots as it moves grotescally, as if alive. “Yeah, that’s definitely malice.”

“You recognize it? Know what it is?” Warrior asks him with a frown, walking closer to the courtyard’s entrance where Blue and Vio haven’t moved from since Wild’s true arrival, the rest of the chain following behind, carefully walking around the black mass.

Wild nods shortly, shoulders tense and rigged as he stares at the slowly evaporating malice. Vio notices the way he furrows his eyebrows in contemplation, fingers twitching closer to his slate.

“A lot of it covered my Hyrule while Calamity was in control during my quest, with most of it found around the castle.” Wild tells them, looking troubled. “It burns you, more like as if it was acid than fire, but it had never — I never saw it do that. Shift. Shapeshift?  Never saw anything like it.”

“Great, just what we needed: shape-shifting sour goo.” Legend deadpans.

“Wait, could this thing be part of Ganon?” Sky questions slowly, turning towards Wild, who nods with a grimace.

“In a way, yes. It’s part of Calamity, the physical form of Ganon’s hatred itself.”

“Don’t like the sound of that.” Wind shudders, walking around Time to stand next to Warriors when their leader steps forward.

Wild blinks when Time puts himself in front of him, leveling the champion with a look none of them seem to read except Wild.

Wordlessly, understanding dawns on Wild’s gaze before he hums and whistles a quiet short melody. Vio doesn’t recognize it but Time’s shoulders sag for the first time today before he sighs heavily and clamps Wild’s shoulder.

“How do we deal with it, Cub?” Time asks him quietly, exhaustion clear in his voice but determined to get rid of anything that might endanger them all.  

“That’s the thing, you don’t.” Wild admits with a grunt, scowling at the black mass. “The one back in my Hyrule only disappeared once Flora and I defeated Calamity Ganon.”

“Uh, it’s growing smaller, though.” Sky points out, making them all stare wide eyed at the, indeed, black mass as it slowly continues to disintegrate with a hiss.

The courtyard goes silent at the sight and none of them seem to breathe properly until the mass, eventually, disappears and all that is left of it is the big black stain on the ground it left behind.

“Well.” Legends starts, catching everyone’s attention. “That was fucking traumatizing.”

“Understatement of the century.” Green mumbles.

“No shit .” Wind rolls his eyes and allows himself to lean against Warriors tiredly, humming in approval when the captain wraps an arm around his shoulders. “What the hell are we gonna do now?”

Time takes a deep breath before he sighs through his nose and says, “We regroup, properly this time, and fill each other in. We need everyone's side of the story and put this entire mess together. Then we can talk about our next move.” 

“Oh, we are going to talk, alright.” Warrior huffs, throwing Wild a hard look. “I have a bone to pick with you, soldier.”

Wild makes a face but still nods stiffly with a hard gaze of his own, looking both remorseful and annoyed at the same time. Vio frowns, confused as he throws a look between the two, but keeps his mouth shut.

“Not now, you two,” Sky says, leveling them with a stern look that has both backing off from the other. 

“Guys, hey!” a voice calls out, cutting the tension and making them all whip their head up towards the source. Hyrule meets their gaze with a beaming smile, waving at them from the Inn bedroom’s window. “Guess who’s alive?”

“This guy?” Legend grumbles while pointing with his thumb at Wild, who clicks his tongue with a small frown, looking offended.

Hyrule looks confused for a second, more likely out of Legend’s action than his words since he’s too far away to have heard them, but it’s not long before he shakes his head and shifts himself to the side.

He leaves enough space in the open window for a disheveled brunet head to pop up, slowly rising from the edge of the frame. It takes a few seconds before Twilight’s groggy gaze is able to peek out, blinking owlishly at them.

“Oh, shit, I forgot about Twilight.” Warrior mumbles, wincing under Tim’s flat gaze and Sky’s none too gentle smack on his arm.

Wild, on the other hand, inhales sharply at the sight of his mentor.

“ Twilight ,” he breathes out and it’s only thanks to Time’s hand on his shoulder that he doesn’t run off.

“Steady.” Time tells him quietly, squeezing his shoulder in encouragement and waiting for Wild to take a few deep breaths. Time nods, satisfied, and throws a look to the rest of them. “Come on, let’s go see our Rancher.”

Everyone mumble their agreement, complaints and the likes being thrown left to right between them to get rid of their left-over adrenaline and shock.

Exhaustion is clear in all of their moves and words but the relief that washes over them all when they walk through the door and see their two missing companions, one sweating but beaming and the other one bemused and half-asleep, makes it easy to endure it.

“Uh, guys.” Twilight slurs from his spot on the bed, blinking with a frown as he stares at Vio and then lazily blinks at the rest of Vio’s colorful brothers. “There are four Fours.”

Vio’s knot on his stomach finally untangles itself at the sound of his brothers’, all of his brothers’, chuckles — breathy, wet, weak, and so so fragile .

But genuine to the core and the small fact gives Vio enough hope to face what may come next.