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Chapter Text

Link clenched his teeth as the Master Sword seared his grip. It burned it’s mark into his skin, yet he still didn’t release it. He heaved again, trying to pull it from it’s pedestal yet it would not budge.

With a whimper of pain, he let go of the pommel.

He examined his burned hands, before looking at the blade through eyes blurred by tears that he fought to keep down.

He didn’t understand.

He’d freed Vah Ruta. He’d killed the incarnation of Ganon within. He had Mipha’s Grace to prove it! Why did the sword still deny him? Did it really think him so unworthy that it needed to hurt him as badly as it did? To what end?

He was pretty sure there was only one hero per era, and he couldn’t exactly give up the hero’s spirit! It wasn’t like another hero was going to just fall out of the sky and draw the sword!

If he could at least get a direction, it would be incredibly helpful. If the sword had some trial it wanted him to complete, or feat he needed to accomplish, or beast he needed to slay, he would do it in a heartbeat. But he needed to know what it was it needed him to do!

He massaged his hands, the aches of the burns that scarred patterns across his palms making him wince as he retreated from the pedestal.

He felt a weight on his shoulder as a Korok landed, it was a small one he’d named Acorn who gave him a pat on the head with it’s tiny hand. “Don’t worry Mr. Hero!” Acorn chittered, “We believe in you! You’ll get it soon!”

He gave the small Korok a weary smile, as he settled down by one of the trees in the grove. “Thanks, friend.” He said, giving them a tickle on the chin that made them giggle.

His eyes fell on the sword once more, and his face went tight. “If only…”

The Korok tilted their head. “If only what, Mr. Hero?”

”I just… you know the Korok trials?” He said.

”Yeah! They’re super tough!” The tiny Korok said proudly.

”That they are.” He chuckled. “This feels like one of those. Something that’s meant to be a challenge, that I can overcome by completing a criteria. Like in the trials.”

The Korok nodded its head.

”Except I don’t have a criteria.” He sighed, frustrated, “Those Korok trials are hard, but they’re doable because you know what to aim for. Imagine, if you were told you had to venture into the swamp, but then they didn’t tell you what to do. You weren’t allowed to return home before completing the trial, but no one would tell you what the trial actually was. You didn’t know what was on or off limits, you didn’t know what the trial was testing you on. What would that be?”

The Korok frowned, or as close to it as it’s little face would allow. “That would be unfair.” It decided. “It would take away all the fun from the trial!”

”Exactly.” He said, giving them a fond pat. “If I knew what I was doing, what it wanted me to do, then this wouldn’t be nearly as frustrating. I’d be willing to slay any beast or climb any mountain to prove myself. But I don’t know what the sword wants other than for me to be ‘worthy’. Which is almost worse than nothing at all. Imagine being sent out and only being allowed to return when you were ‘worthy’. You’d never know when was enough until they decided you passed whatever criteria they had for worthy.”

The Korok blinked at him. “That sounds real tough.” The hummed. “Being the hero isn’t a lotta fun, is it?”

”I have fun sometimes.” He shrugged. “Like completing your little puzzles, or shield-surfing down a hill. But otherwise, not really.”

”When I’m bored, I take a walk.” Acorn said, motioning to the mists. “There’s always something to find! Something to do! It’s really cool! You should try it, maybe it’ll help you be worthy!” The Korok said proudly.

”It’s as good an idea as any.” Link shrugged. “One problem, I can’t go into the mists.”

“Sure you can! You nearly died, right?” They asked innocently, ignorant to his flinch. “You’re close enough to a spirit to get around! Just don’t die again! And if you need help, we can guide you back!”

He tossed the idea around in his head, before deciding to just do it. It certainly beat sitting around in the grove until he had to get up and continue his journey. He’d wasted enough time already anyway. 

“Sure, thanks for the suggestion!” He said, giving the little thing a bright smile.

The Korok beamed at his praise, clearly proud of turning his somber mood around. “I’ll go tell some others and we’ll go looking if you’re gone too long!” The Korok promised, before poofing into sparkled,

Link pushed himself off the ground, dusting himself off before looking out into the mists.

It swirled thick and lazily, obscuring all vision further that a dozen or so feet. Still, he took a breath and stepped forward. Venturing out into the fog.

The eerie silence of the forest surrounded him as he journeyed through the tree line. The scent of the wild carried on the wind as he breathed in the nature. Despite the off putting appearance, he had to hand it to Acorn. The walk was actually quite soothing.

He walked almost on autopilot, long enough for him to realise he was horribly lost, with no idea where the grove actually was. He kept moving, half because he knew the Korok’s would find him regardless and half because he was being pulled in a certain direction. He wanted to keep going, no matter how turned around he was. He wanted to explore these misty forests and uncover what secrets they may be concealing.

The sound of running water reached his ears. Something he’d never seen in the Lost Woods before. Sure, there were swamps in certain section, but this was a stream, flowing from an unknown source along the forest floor.

It was intriguing, mostly nothing ever broke up the quite frankly spooky forest this deep in the woods. It was part of what made it scary, there was nothing to guide your way once you left the path. He must be really far out from the grove, maybe he was nearing the entrance?

That would be a feat! Walking into the Lost Woods and walking back out again? That was bragging rights if he’d ever heard them.

The trees started to become less dead as he followed the stream. They had leaves and branches, and they looked so much more alive! Nothing like the husks carved into mouths he'd left behind. If it weren’t for the mist still swirling around their bases, he’d have thought he was already out!

He stopped in his tracks, taking in the lush green forest that now surrounded him. Birds chirped in the trees as squirrels raced along the trunks.

This was so different. He’d known the woods weren’t dead, but this area just felt so… alive. There was something running through this place, an undercurrent of energy.

Where… was he?

The Koroks didn’t have the best perception of time, but surely they’d have grown antsy by now. They would already be searching for him, racing towards whatever homing beacon they have for him. Yet none appeared.

Was he… somewhere they couldn’t find him? How far had he been walking?

He kept going, some driving force in his gut pulling the way. If he was somewhere even the Koroks didn’t know about, he wanted to explore every corner to tell them about later.

He almost tripped over his feet when he saw something amidst the dense fog.

It was a wall. It was tall and crumbling, standing firm against the swirling mists, but it was a full stone wall. 

Aside from the shrine at the base of the Great Deku Tree, he'd never seen any sign of civilization or even people out in the Lost Woods, so why on earth was there an entire structure out in the woods? Or at the very least, a wall.

Curiously, and with the feeling in his gut growing stronger, he scaled the wall with ease. He paused when he reached the top.

This wasn't just some ruin, it was an entire temple out in the forest. He knew immediately he just had to explore. He sprang from the wall, flipping his paraglider out at the last second to break his fall as he fell to the ground.

Mice scurried away from where he landed, taking refuge under flowers and mushrooms as he carefully walked past. He didn't feel like stepping on a mouse and summoning some kind of rat king that he'd need to do battle with. Or stepping on a flower and somehow summoning Magda to leave him bleeding in the grass.

After he'd tiptoed around the various flora and fauna, he came face to face with an impressive door. It was engraved with paintings. One was a boy surrounded by several small mouse creatures, with one holding aloft a sword to the boy. The other showed four similarly dressed boys wielding the same sword, each holding it to the skies in some kind of salute.

There was what appeared to be writing beneath each image, but the words were all scratched out and decayed. What was left was in some kind of language he didn't know, which he found odd considering he knew at least a little of every language spoken in Hyrule. It reminded him somewhat of the language the Koroks wrote in, but it wasn't recognizable.

He grabbed his Sheikah Slate and switched it to the camera option, taking a few moments to take photos of the surrounding area and the engraved door. When he was back in Kakariko, he'd show them to Impa. Maybe she'd know some ancient legend about this place?

He then walked up to the door and pushed, the door was unsurprisingly stiff. But he was able to open it enough to just barely slip through.

It led to a corridor that was surprisingly bright, the roof was decayed, so the light of the sun drifted through the openings. He kept on guard as he journeyed through, but apart from a stray Bokoblin that looked just as confused as him, he didn't find any monsters.

Birds nested above him, their gentle song making him feel at ease as he journeyed further. Until he was blocked by another door.

This one opened to a staircase that led underground. It was dark, but luckily, he had a torch on him. A quick strike on some flint with his broadsword, and he had some flame.

After a second of just looking at the flame (sue him, it was pretty!), he ventured down the steps into what he quickly figured out was a maze. 

A grin grew on his face. Was this... a dungeon? He'd heard stories of things like this, legends of the heroes before him who had to venture through puzzle-filled labyrinths to retrieve some valuable artifact. He'd always assumed the closest thing he'd ever get was the shrines, yet this seemed like it matched the descriptors of the ancient legends.

For a moment, he was overjoyed. He loved a good puzzle, and this just screamed a challenge. And maybe whatever was housed within would give him the edge he needed to succeed where he failed all those years ago.

It quickly turned to frustration when he couldn't find the puzzle. This was definitely meant to be a challenge of some kind, yet he couldn't grasp what he was meant to solve. There was something here, he knew there had to be, yet he just couldn't figure it out. There were etchings of certain symbols on the wall, he took photos of each one, yet he couldn't figure out their meaning. He thought one was the symbol for fire, so he knocked a fire arrow and fired it at the wall. Nothing happened.

When he reached the end of the maze and saw the double doors, he frowned. It was too easy, too simple. Nothing was ever this easy in his line of work. He was waiting for the twist, yet none came. Did he imagine it? Was there simply no puzzle?

But he was so sure there was! There was always some kind of challenge! Hell, that was barely a maze! He just took random turns and arrived at the end.

Sighing, he pushed on the doors only to find they wouldn't budge. He shoved, pulled, he even tried taking out a sledgehammer to beat it down, only to leave barely a scratch.

It was then he noticed four grooves in the wall. Around them were the same symbols engraved in the walls. He smiled. Maybe there was a puzzle here after all.

This place was in ridiculously good shape for something that seemed like it should have decayed a millennium ago. And strangely enough, he'd yet to see a sign of Sheikah influence yet. Usually, he couldn't go through a shrine without seeing that eye emblazoned on at least 6 surfaces.

Was the place, older than the Sheikah tech?

He almost discarded the idea out of hand, the Sheikah golden age was 10 thousand years ago. Anything older than that would be dust in the wind by now.

Nothing could be older than that.

Except the Master Sword, of course.

He paused mid-step.

Was there some kind of magical artifact here that allowed the building to resist the flow of time? Something potentially as powerful as the Master Sword?

It would certainly explain the pull that emanated from somewhere behind the door.

He moved faster. If some kind of magic artifact was calling him that was potentially wielded by a hero of old, then it could be huge! It could be the weapon he'd been waiting for!

Forget an edge, this thing could potentially give him a whole damn mountain over Ganon!

Retracing his steps through the maze, he came across one that looked like a drop of water. He readied his sledgehammer and swung it full force into the stone.

It broke easily, opening into a downward staircase. It was only then that he saw the hinge on the slab of stone. He sheepishly realized he'd just broken down a door.

Shaking his head and sheathing his hammer, he continued down the steps to the sound of running water. There was an entire room filled with waterfalls and rivers, and some kind of watermill.

He could see the doorway blocked by iron bars at the top end of the room.

He tapped at his slate, Zora armor covering his form in whisps of blue light.

This was going to be fun.

He emerged, dripping wet and with a big smile, from the water room. In his palm was some kind of blue gemstone. It wasn't sapphire despite how similar it appeared, and it somehow held similar energy to the waters from Zora's domain.

He walked back to the gate, following the path he'd mentally set himself.

He was back at the doors in minutes.

He pressed the blue gem into the door, and it glowed as it was absorbed. He heard some whirring as the mechanisms in the door came slowly undone.

He felt good, really good. He turned from the door to go back into the maze. 

At this rate, he'd be finished in no time.

Maybe retrieving whatever was behind this door would prove he was 'worthy'.

Or maybe it wouldn't, either way, he'd have some new item that would undoubtedly prove useful.

He was having too much fun not to complete it now anyway.

He ventured out once more, determined to find the rest of the gems.

He sighed as he pushed the yellow gem into place, the door whirring for the final time before opening.

The other rooms had been fun, though the earth chamber had not been good for his ankle. He'd barely avoided a sprain by rolling when the floor opened beneath him.

He was about to push it open when it opened on its own, leading out into an open chamber. It was large, impressively so. He had the distinct feeling he could probably fit the entire population of Hateno Village in there if he tried.

Inside the room were four statues and an empty pedestal. They were of the four similarly dressed boys he'd seen before. Of course, now that they were in 3D, he could easily see they were related. Maybe brothers? They had almost identical faces.

Each of their shields held a colored gemstone embedded in it that matched the color of their sword pommel.

He could feel something in the air. A taint that drifted past his nostrils as he stood. On a whim, he drew his sword. The scent was too familiar to the corruption of a blood moon.

Then footsteps echoed through the hall.

Four figures emerged from behind the pedestal, clearly mirroring the statues as they stood before him. They were monochrome, all black with pale skin and blood red eyes. They simply stood there, watching him with expressionless faces. 

Link tightened his grip on his sword.

They looked as though all the color had been drained away from them. Whatever they were, he didn't think they were Hylian.

One figure stepped forward, sword held aloft in challenge as it stared him down. Link cracked his neck, before stepping forth to accept. The air hummed, and he felt as if he'd just passed a test.

The figure lunged for him, barely giving him time to counter. Parry, thrust, dodge. He'd fought people before, mostly Yiga, but he'd never fought someone so skilled in swordplay. Luckily, skilled as the figure was, he was less skilled than him.

He blocked a strike, gritting his teeth under the force. For someone so short, they packed a considerable punch. He pushed with his shield, only for them to jump with his push and leave him off balance. He rolled, hearing the whistle of a blade pass overhead as he lashed out, earning a few drops of black blood for his effort.

Link rolled on the balls of his feet, springing up as the figure came at him again. He dodged the thrust and grinned when time slowed.

He stepped in and sent three clean slashes into the figure. Stabbing through their hand, wrist, and side.

He anticipated a cry of pain, for them to drop their blade or retreat to heal. He didn't think they'd switch sword hands and drive their blade into his side.

Link gasped as his sword flicked out through muscle memory, taking the figure's head off in one swing. Instead of rolling along the floor like he'd expect, it poofed into dark power like a monster.

The sword in his gut dissipated, and Link quickly tapped at his slate. No sooner had the fairy tonic appeared than he'd popped the cork. He downed the pink elixir, feeling his wounds close as fae magic flowed through his veins.

He had trouble keeping it down as he stared at the place where the figure once stood. That could have been a person. Twisted by dark power they may have been, but that could have been a person. He hadn't even killed the Yiga he'd fought, only wounding them until they were forced to retreat. He'd never killed someone before.

He felt sick. But he forced himself to keep his guard up. The wound in his side had stopped bleeding, but whatever magic had been in that blade was still hurting like a bitch, stopping the elixir from fully closing it.

He raised his sword. He didn't have a choice. The figure hadn't retreated even as it was wounded severely by his attacks. It wouldn't retreat and it wouldn't surrender. They were trying to kill him, and they nearly succeeded. 

He looked back at the other figures, staring impassively. Two stepped forward this time. The one on the lefts eyes flickered green for a moment, an apologetic look crossing their face before the red reasserted itself.

He leveled his sword at the pair and gritted his teeth. He wanted to scream. To tell them to leave, that he didn't want to kill them. But he knew it'd be useless.

If he wanted to live, then they'd have to die. And he still had a world to save, as much as it pained him.

He went on the offensive this time, diving for the one on the right as he stabbed forward with a thrust.

They met his attack with their shield, slashing at him with their sword, which he caught with his own. The one on the left charged to meet him. He parried their attack with a shield smack and followed up, leaving Righty to stumble at the lack of resistance. 

His sword bit exposed flesh as Lefty swung around to counter. He ducked their strike and pressed the sword deeper. He flipped backwards, pulling his sword free as he jumped over Lefty's wide strike. 

He brought out his bow, time slowing as he drew an arrow. He breathed deeply, closing his eyes as he loosed an arrow into Lefty's forehead. 

He fell forward, half spinning as he hit the ground. Lefty's eyes flashed green once more, a flash of relief across his face as he was destroyed.

Righty wasted no time on his recovery, running through the mists of his dead companion with reckless abandon. He wondered distantly, as he parried the sword strike, if whatever was left of these people could influence their actions. It would certainly explain why they left so many openings for him to take advantage of.

His hands shook as it bit into more exposed flesh. He hated this, hated the whole battle, all the killing. The relieved faces only served to make it worse. 

Righty's eyes flared blue for the briefest moments, but he didn't smile. He was angry, face contorting in rage as he struggled against the strange taint. Then the red was back, and he struck, nearly driving Link through until he could redirect the blow with his shield at the last second.

Righty kicked at him, and he came crashing down to the ground. He rolled to avoid being impaled. Slashing upwards and stabbing through his neck. He disappeared into whisps as well.

He stood, desperately trying to catch his breath as he eyed the final one. The figure's eyes turned a deep purple. "I am the last. As was always intended."

It spoke. This one was aware. "W- Why are you doing this!?" He gasped out. "Why are you- making me kill you!? I don't- want to fight."

"We do not live." They said. "We have been long dead, merely echoes constructed by heroes of the past."

The red began to creep along the outlines of their eyes, spreading inward as they winced. "W- We guarded this place, but we were corrupted. Please, hero. Finish this, set us all free. I know you can do it."

The words were spoken with such conviction, Link couldn't help but believe it too. It was as if he'd already seen this battle, and knew its end.

With his final plea, the purple in his eyes vanished, and he stepped forth like the others.

Link didn't like what he was being forced to do, but he understood it was long past the time to back out. He would honor the echoes' final wish. They would be free. He would ensure it.

The figure charged like the others, and this time he rushed to meet them. Sword clashes rang out as they struck with a fury. Whoever this figure was, they were definitely the fiercest warrior of their group.

Link was strong, but they were smart. They both ducked and weaved, swords ringing out as they clashed for an opening. Link tried to kick forward, only to end up with his feet swept beneath him. He tried to get up but the figure laid its boot on his chest, driving its blade downward. He countered with his sword, fear striking him as it shattered. It had to break now, of all times? The figure recoiled in surprise from the blade fracturing, and Link took the chance to grasp at the dust beneath him.

He flung it at the figure's eyes, and they backed off, rubbing furiously. Link pressed what little advantage he had, running hard at them from the left, drawing an arrow from his quiver before ducking right and stabbing it into the extended sword arm. The figure gasped as the shadowy blade dropped from their grip, which Link grabbed with his free hand.

He brought the blade up to swing, staring into red eyes as he breathed hard.

For a moment, he hesitated. He shouldn't kill them. He'd won, there was no need. It wasn't right. Then the figure's eyes turned purple again, and a pleading look crossed their face. Link ground his teeth and swung.

The body fell to the ground as it became mist, a grateful smile on the echo's face.

The sword dissolved like the others in his grasp as the body faded.

The room was quiet. Deafeningly so. It seemed muted compared to what had just happened.

He'd never fought such unique strategies and people before, he was tired beyond belief. He just wanted to go to his house in Hateno and sleep the day away.

A flash of light caught his attention, and he was immediately on guard. He reached for his sword, only to remember too late it had shattered. It didn't matter, though, as there were no enemies. As a sword similar to the ones wielded by the echoes appeared in the pedestal, except this one was ornate with a golden handle, the blade made of steel that chimed with magic, and a shimmering gemstone in the pommel that constantly shifted, so he had no idea what color it was actually supposed to be.

He rubbed his eyes, wondering if any dust he'd thrown in the last fight had damaged them, but it remained the same. The breathtaking sword seemed to glow and hum in its place, beckoning him towards it.

On any other day, Link would have leaped at the chance to add a new sword to his arsenal. Today, though, he was simply too tired. He was injured, covered in scratches, and was all out of fairy tonics. He'd barely escaped that battle with his life, so he was strongly considering simply leaving and returning later.

He could head to Kakariko, heal himself at the fountain, and then talk to Impa. He could show her the photos, tell her what happened, and then she could advise him on what to do.

He nodded, mind made up, and turned. He reached for his slate when something within him lurched.

He turned to the sword, which seemed to pulse at him at his gaze fixed on it. 

"Do you... want me to draw you?" He asked. He didn't know this sword, but maybe it held a form of consciousness, like the Master Sword was said to. "Are... you sure?" He asked.

He didn't want to just be hurt, like he was every time he tried to wield the Sword that Seals the Darkness.

It didn't respond physically, but somehow he could tell it said yes. He was supposed to take this sword. It wanted him to take it.

And as much as he wanted to just go home and sleep, he couldn't refuse. He knew he wouldn't be able to leave without it.

He walked up to it, magic leading him along like a gentle guide as he reached for the pommel.

The handle was warm in his hand. Not burning, like the Master Sword, but pleasant. Soothing. It felt right to wrap his fingers around it.

He gave it a small tug and smiled at the lack of resistance. It didn't even heat up.

He widened his stance, taking a firmer hold of the sword. And with one last moment of just resting on the sword, he pulled.

And everything shattered.

Chapter Text

The first thought that ran through Link's mind when he awoke was that this new sword was so much worse than the Master Sword. The burns the Master Sword had left on his hands were painful, but he would prefer them very much to... whatever just happened.

Miraculously, he'd managed to keep hold of the sword when he was launched, so at the very least, he wouldn't hurt himself trying to draw it again. He only hoped it would prove useful in the coming trials. Unravelling its powers was sure to be a treat.

He opened his eyes to examine the blade, and immediately went on guard when he spotted the other figures in the room. He tried to stand, ready to defend himself, only for the wound in his side that had yet to finish healing despite the fairy tonic to protest painfully. It seemed whatever shadowy blade he'd been stabbed with made wounds hard to close.

He noted idly that the other figures in the room had made their own attempts to stand in sync with him, only for them all to double over, clutching the same side.

It was then that he noticed that every figure looked exactly like him. Well, not exactly like him. The Champion's tunic Zelda had made for him was all wrong. The poor dear who seemed on the verge of a panic attack's tunic was red, whilst the one who held an openly curious look on his face as he looked back at him wore green. There was one with a blue tunic, but it was too dark. More cerulean than the sky blue it should be. That was before he noticed that his own tunic was purple. 

Examining his sword, he found the pommel was a deep purple, the same as his tunic. And the gem, which had previously never stayed a consistent color, was purple as well. It didn't take much to figure out this was the work of the sword.

He held eye contact with the others to see if any of them held any knowledge over the rest, yet they all seemed similarly confused. The one in red was working himself further into his panic attack, so he felt he should intervene before it got too bad.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I am going to assume this is the work of the sword." He sighed as every pair of eyes flicked over to him. He scanned them all, trying to figure out in what ways they differed from himself. When the green one appeared to draw breath. 

"So it made copies of me? Are you guys my copies?" He asked curiously.

The blue one stiffened. "I ain't anyone's fucking copy!" He snapped, turning to scowl at the one in green.

He realized he should probably intervene before they started fighting, and the red one seemed too timid to do so. "No one's saying we're copies." He said, in an attempt to soothe him. "From what I've noticed, there is no original. Otherwise, there'd be someone with a bright blue tunic here. We're all identical, and it seems like we have the same memories." He said. Thankfully, he seemed to calm down.

"D- Do you think..." Red tunic started. "That maybe, the sword split us?"

He fixed him with an inquisitive glance, and he seemed to wilt under their collective gazes. "I- It's just that... we've all got a version of it, and our tunics have changed. And the stab wound in our guts seems to have been shared so..."

The green one seemed to process that. "So, we're all Link?" He asked, mind visibly whirring.

Cerulean tunic nodded. "Ain't the craziest shit I've seen." He huffed with a sigh.

"Yes, I believe we hit the peak of crazy when we hit ourselves with a bomb to launch us 300ft into the air." He agreed.

Green tunic seemed to pout at him. "It was a good idea! And it worked! We're still in one piece!"

"No, actually, we aren't." He smirked at him.

"Hah!" Cerulean tunic laughed.

"So, we're just four people now?" Red tunic asked. "Is that gonna be a problem? How do we explain this?"

"Who cares!?" Green tunic exclaimed. "It happened, so there's no use in worrying about it! Instead, let's focus on how to use it! I mean, think back to Ploymus mountain!"

Link hummed in agreement. They'd fought the Lynel there head-on with only the basic equipment they'd scoured from the land to defend themselves with. In hindsight, it was a poor tactical move that he'd never allow them to repeat again, but they came out on top. "I agree." He stated easily. "If the echoes we just fought showed us anything, it's that we don't diminish in strength by being split like this. If muscle memory remains, then that is even better. Our combat abilities were unparalleled prior to the split, and now we are four warriors of that same strength. It goes without saying this is a blessing."

"T- Those blights were designed to fight one warrior." Red tunic thought aloud, drawing Link's eyes back to him. "Ganon probably didn't think they'd ever need to fight more than one. M- Maybe having more fighters is the secret?"

Cerulean tunic gave a firm nod. "Assholes won't know what hit em." He said, scowl twisting to a feral grin.

"Well, going off the fact that we are all aspects of Link, and that we'll be battling together, then calling each other 'Link' is simply illogical." He said, which quickly gathered all their attention back to him, even green tunic, whose eyes always seemed to be drifting around the room. "We'll need to pick something else."

"What, like nicknames?" Green Tunic asked, cocking his head.

Blue Tunic's grin quickly turned sour. "Don't choose the obvious." He scoffed. "Because I swear to fuck if any of you start calling me 'Blue' I'll walk out of this temple without you and try my hand at the Master Sword again."

"Yeah, that'd be really stupid," Green Tunic agreed. "And lazy! We can be so much more creative than just colors."

"I like the idea of nicknames." Red Tunic spoke softly, and without his normal stutter. It brought a small smile to Link's face, he sounded much nicer like that. "If we're on the battlefield, we'll need to get each other's attention. And I think we can all see the confusion calling 'Link' would cause." He finished with a soft chuckle.

He noted that his eyes were a deep red, the same as his tunic. Given that the others also held green and blue eyes, he imagined his own must be a deep purple as well.

Hmm, there's an idea.

"In that case, I'll go by Armoranth." He spoke, getting a small 'ooh' from Red Tunic. "It's a flower with a similar coloring to my tunic, so it's fitting. Also, I quite like the plant."

”That’s kinda long though… could we shorten it?” Red tunic asked.

He just shrugged, “I don’t mind.”

Red tunic just gave a nervous smile. “Okay, Anthy.”

Blue Tunic snorted and shook his head. “Too cutesy, we’re calling him Armor.”

Red Tunic just sighed, but didn’t fight.

Armor knew just by looking that he’d call him that anyway.

"Oh, I know!!" Green Tunic spoke up, eyes sparkling. "I'll be Herb!"

Blue Tunic looked at Gre- Herb incredulously. "Really? Herb? He picks a flower the color of his shirt and you pick a generic plant word?"

"It's my name," Herb said, sticking his tongue out at him. "And I like it! Sides, It’s short for Hyrule Herb! Just figured I’d shorten it myself." He said, bouncing his leg.

”What are you gonna pick?” Red Tunic asked with a tilted head, eyes glinting softly.

”… Shade.” He says eventually. When everyone takes the moment to stare at him, he just grumbles “y’know, Blue Nightshade?”

“So I suppose calling you Blue is still on the table.” Herb says with a smirk, dodging the smack that Shade sent his way,

”No!” Shade said firmly. "That's stupid!"

“What about you?” Armour asked Red Tunic, who had a thoughtful expression on his face.

”…Saff.” He whispered. “Warm Safflina.”

”Well, isn’t that just the sweetest thing in the world?” Herb said, looking at Saff like he was a small animal. “Who gave you the right to be this cute?”

Saff blushed, which only made Herb coo again, and caused Shade to gag.

Armor himself remained visibly unfazed, yet it was curious. It was odd how different yet similar they all were. Saff could definitely be defined as cute, yet you’d have a hard time trying to find someone who’d refer to Link as such. Did they always have a soft side? Or was it merely formed when Saff gained individuality? It was already clear they were more easily overwhelmed, so he had a feeling they represented their strong emotions and anxieties.

Herb suddenly clutched at his side, Armor was about to try and help when brutal pain wracked his own side too. Whatever shadow magic they’d been stabbed with was making itself very known.

”I think-“ Shade gasped, after a minute. “I think we should get this treated, cause sitting on the ground doing nothing hasn’t helped for some reason.” He finished sarcastically, standing up with a wince.

“Yeah.” He agreed, pawing for his slate only to realize he didn’t have it. “Who’s got the slate? It didn’t split like everything else.”

After a few seconds of fumbling, Saff held the slate aloft. "I've got it, somehow." He mumbled.

"Cool, everyone good with Kakariko?" Shade asked, looking around.

"The shrine there is pretty close to the fairy fountain; it should be easy enough to treat ourselves there." Armor nodded.

"Can the slate even bring multiple people?" Saff asked with a tilt of his head. "We've never tried."

"It's worth a shot." Shade shrugged.

"Do we even need the slate?" Herb asked, splaying his arms. "We could always hike back! Or wind bomb!"

Shade just looked down at him with a raised brow. "Why the fuck would we hike back? Kakariko is like, three weeks' journey from here."

Herb just looked more excited. "Just think of all the things we might find on the way! There could be some new caves to explore! Or a new weapon to find!"

Shade looked at him for a few seconds before swearing under his breath. "Oh, you're our wanderlust, ain't ya?" He stated.

"I don't think we'd even make it out of the woods with these injuries..." Saff spoke softly with a wince.

Herb pouted again, and Armor took the chance to get back on track. "So, let's all get in contact with the slate. And with each other. We'll warp to the shrine and see the fairies, then go talk to Impa. Solid plan?" He stated, looking around for confirmation.

Herb still looked down, but nodded his head. He jumped to his feet, and Shade had to rush to steady him when he nearly fell.

Armor carefully pushed himself off the ground before pacing over to Saff and extending a hand to help him up, which he gratefully took. 

They all walked to the center of the room, with Saff holding the slate out in front of him. Armor laid one hand on the side of the slate, with his other hand holding onto Saff's arm.

Shade and Herb took similar positions, and once everyone had hold, Saff very carefully selected Kakariko village and, at everyone's nod, pressed the fast travel option.

The sensation was... odd. It was similar, but different at the same time. It didn't cause pain, but Armor found he wanted to vomit. He didn't know if this was just because he was a passenger this time, or if it was a side effect of the split, but whatever it was made him feel horrible.

It felt like it should have hurt, yet he was numb. And when he reformed, he immediately collapsed to his knees.

In his peripheral, he could see the others in similar states of disarray. So at least he wasn't alone in his pain. He'd hate to be the weak 'Link' hehe.

Goddess, he was actually going to throw up.

"That sucked." Herb declared after several moments of gagging. He ironically looked green.

"N- No shit." Shade snarked while hunched against the wall.

"Let's try not to do that again anytime soon." Saff said, from his spot on the floor.

Armor was inclined to agree, unfortunately, Hyrule was just too vast to avoid using the slate travel to get everywhere. "Unfortunately, if we want to finish this quest within the next five years, we'll need to get used to that." He said aloud, smoothing out his own facial expressions to stand straight.

"Alright." Shade said, cracking his back. "The fountains this way, right? Let's get a move on."

Herb shot up like a rocket and rushed to lead the way, Shade at least taking the time to help Saff from his position on the floor before following behind. Armor himself let Saff go after them before following up the rear.

They took the short hike up the hill before collapsing in front of the fairy fountain. They all eyed the large pool in the center before collectively deciding they didn't want to deal with Cotera. Definitely not while they didn't know how much self-control Shade had to not make his distaste of how the Great Fairies apply their blessings clear.

They settled down in the grass, coaxing the fairies that fluttered around over to them and gently urging them to purge the dark magic.

The fairies were definitely hesitant to approach, but with enough sugar water, they could eventually be bribed. 

"So... is this gonna be permanent?" Shade asked while a fairy drifted around their torso.

Saff looked up from where he was playing with a fairy of his own while another worked on the damage. "What do you mean?"

"The whole split thing, is it permanent? Can we undo it?" He asked.

"Why'd we do that?" Herb asked, laying his head against a tree trunk.

"Talking to people?" Shade stated. "Not only are we four people dressed in identical clothes, but we also look identical. That'll raise questions and make us an obvious target for the Yiga."

"Also we'll need to spend 4 times the amount of money on new outfits or just be damned if we find them in the wild." Armor mused. "If we need to spend another 5400 rupees just getting everyone a set of Sheikah armor for stealth, it's gonna set us back a lot. But if we can just combine and split to get our own version of the armor, it'll be much easier."

Saff nodded. "So, how do we combine?"

"I don't know, ask the sword? It's what caused this." Shade huffed.

Herb sat up suddenly, spooking the fairy working on his injury away. "I have an idea!" He said excitedly.

"Let them heal you first!" Shade exclaimed, annoyed.

"On the temple door, the previous heroes were doing some kind of weird salute, right?" Herb continued, ignoring Shade completely. "What if we do that! Maybe we need to put the swords together in order to combine!"

The more Armor thought about it, the more sense it made. He was proud of Herb for spotting it.

"It's as good an idea as any." Armor agreed, much to Shade's annoyance. "Besides, when we're all together, we can finally make him sit still."

That seemed to do the trick, as a bubble of laughter escaped Shade's mouth. 

Saff gently tickled his fairies under the chin, before standing up. No pain in his expression as the fairies danced around his head before flying off. "I'm ready when you are." He said, with a serene smile.

Armor noticed the fairy fluttering around him dash off, so he stood to. He marveled at how there wasn't so much as an ache for a few seconds before turning to help up Herb who was only half healed.

Shade got up abruptly, stomping over to Saff and tapping his foot as he helped Herb over.

They stood facing one another, before as one they drew their iteration of the magic sword. 

Herb held it into the air with a raise of his arm, which Saff followed, clinking their sword ends together. Armor followed, laying his blade over theirs, and finally Shade sighed and held up his own.

For a moment, nothing happened. Shade started to say "See I-" before a firm tugging sensation overtook all of them.

There was a bright flash, and Armor felt very disorientated before sensations came back full force. He stood alone in the center of where they stood, only it wasn't really him anymore.

He could feel them, the others nearby in the body that felt quite cramped. It wasn't uncomfortable, they hadn't grown, and it didn't really hurt, but now they knew what having their own body was like, sharing one again felt strange. Like he'd been in a box all his life, only to be shown the world outside before going back into the box. The box isn't any smaller, it just felt that way because he could draw a comparison.

"This is... very odd." He said, realizing he'd said it internally. "How curious, so we can communicate."

They looked down at their body, and realized that the Champion's tunic hadn't gone back the the sky blue it was before, but had turned into a mix of all of theirs. It was split into segments of color, and it actually looked quite pretty.

It was interesting how well they fit together, how well they worked in the same body together. They were still distinctly separate, yet they all used to be one person. They knew, deep down, how to function together.

But still...

"This is... uncomfortable." He stated, to a chorus of agreement.

"Let's just go see Impa, then we can break," Saff said aloud softly.

Together, they began to walk down the hill and into Kakariko village. The people smiled as they walked by, and they just smiled back. No one commented on their strange outfit, or their strange ornate sword, or their probably very unique eyes.

"They've probably seen us do weirder than wear colorful clothes." Shade stated, sounding uncomfortable.

The guards bowed to them as they passed, Dorian smiling softly at them as they crossed into the home.

Impa sat on the pillows ahead, tilting her head at them as they entered. "Ah, Link, you have-"

She cut herself off as she studied him, They grew increasingly uncomfortable at her continued gaze.

"Paya leave the room." Impa said sternly. Paya rushed to obey.

They gulped.

"Link." She started, voice tight with anger. "Did you dye the Champion's tunic? As in, the tunic that Zelda made especially for you?"

"No!" Saff rushed to assure her. "We didn't! I can explain!"

Impa frowned. "'We'?" She quoted.

"Well... um..." Saff fumbled before Armor decided to take over. Impa visibly recoiled, and Armor assumed that their eyes had indeed changed.

"We found a sword that did, well, this." He said, drawing the blade.

He channeled power into it, and suddenly there was a firm push on all their consciousnesses, and the others came flying off of him, landing on the ground around him.

"We really need to work on that." Shade groaned.

Impa stood silent for a few moments. "Elaborate." She said, tiredly.

"There was a temple in the Lost Woods," Herb said brightly, springing from where he'd been lying on the floor. "It had some really fun puzzles, and then we drew this sword! And then it split us into four people!"

"I have some pictures on the slate," Saff said quietly, walking up to her and timidly holding it out.

"We're also going by nicknames, I'm going by Shade." Shade said, standing up beside Armor.

"I'm Saff." Saff greeted with a shy smile.

"I'm Herb!" Herb said loudly, bouncing in place.

"And I'm Armor." Armor finished with a respectful bow. "We were hoping you'd know something about this, or at the very least have an old folk tale about it."

Impa sighed, pinching her nose before looking back at them. "There is actually an old story among the Sheikah of a weapon called the Four Sword." She stated.

All of them immediately perked up. That sounded promising.

"It was a blade with such raw power that no single warrior could wield it. So instead, it splits its wielder into four parts so they may be able to hold its whole power. It's said to rival the Master Sword itself in terms of strength."

"So we don't need to burn ourselves trying to draw the blade anymore?" Saff asked.

"I imagine not." Impa chuckled. "It was wielded by a hero of old, before it disappeared, lost to time. Until you found it, that is."

"So you're telling me we went for a stroll through the forest to stumble on another darkness slaying magic sword?" Shade asked in astonishment.

"Seems like it." Armor shrugged.

"Now do you guys see my point on the value of exploring?" Herb asked, throwing his arms wide. "If we found this while just strolling through a forest, imagine what we'd find on the mountaintops, or in the darkest caverns!"

"I don't think we're going to stumble upon anything like this again," Saff murmured. 

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained!" Herb retorted.

"Come on, let's go, guys." Armor chuckled. "Thank you for the aid, Impa. Your insight was useful as always. However, we still need to get used to fighting as a team, as well as merging and splitting without ending up as a pile on the floor. So, if you would please excuse us..."

Impa chuckled. "Please, Armor. No need for formalities. Split or not, you're still a close friend. But you may go. I must admit, seeing a Link with the forethought to practice and hone their abilities instead of throwing themselves headfirst into danger is very soothing for my old soul."

"Believe me, there's a whole load of irrational things I do not wish for us to repeat." Armor said with a grimace.

"Alright, off with you all! I'm due for some tea."

"You heard her boys." Shade said, cracking his neck. "Let's head out."

Chapter Text

Saff felt sick.

Still, he unsheathed his sword and put on a brave face that he was sure didn't work because Anthy shot him a sympathetic look anyway.

Once more, along with the others, he raised his sword to the sky and fought the nausea that wracked him as the pulling sensation overcame every fiber of his being.

The world came back into focus, and they were back together once more, overlooking the hills of the surrounding area. He tried to breathe slowly, trying to get used to the cramped feeling of their shared body. He found it was becoming less uncomfortable to be together.

”Alright.” Anthy said internally, drawing his attention back to him. “Let’s do that one more time.”

Saff wanted to cry, but fought the feeling back. They’d been doing nothing but merging and splitting for the better part of an hour, and he was starting to get tired of ending up in a ball on the grass, trying not to vomit up his guts. But he pushed on, no matter how much he just wanted to curl up and sleep. The others weren't complaining, so neither was he.

“How many times are we going to do this?” Herb groaned somewhere next to him, sounding distinctly uncomfortable. He stood corrected.

Saff hated to admit it, but he was glad he wasn’t the only one having a hard time. He didn’t want to let anyone down by not being good enough, he’d done enough of that already. With their failure the century prior.

”Until we get it right!” Shade snapped. “So stop complaining, and shape up!”

Saff wilted at Shade’s words, even if they weren’t meant for him. He knew he was thinking the same thing, and had only been moments away from asking something similar. He would have tried to intervene, but a wave of almost foreign calm flowed through him, and he knew Anthy was already de-escalating.

”Calm down, Shade.” He said gently. “Herb, we’ll take a break after this, then we’ll move to combat. We’ll need to practice fighting in order to not hurt one another on the field. Let’s just try to control this split, then take 5. Saff, would you care to do the honors?”

Saff quickly nodded, drawing their sword and holding it aloft in a double grip. “Brace!” He called, before pushing magic into the sword.

Immediately, he felt the pressure building up against his mind as he was separated into his own form once again. He came rebounding off, managing to tuck into a roll before hitting the ground and jumping back up.

He let a smile grow on his face. He stuck the landing!

Looking around, he saw Anthy standing off to the side. He’d clearly managed to end up standing too. Herb, on the other hand, was currently spitting out dirt as he pushed off the floor, while Shade had landed and hit his head against the trunk of a tree, now nursing some kind of headache. There was a small bit of blue glowing from the back of his head, but he dismissed it as a trick of the light.

Anthy looked at him and smiled. “Good work.” He praised simply, and Saff beamed, relieved. “Get some rest, I’ll go check on Shade.”

Saff nodded gratefully, before wandering down the hill they were on in the general direction of Kakariko. He hadn’t even realized where he was heading until he stumbled through the bushes to the fairy fountain.

He didn’t know why, but the fairies always seemed to like him more than the others. Two immediately flew to him, the ones that he’d named Evie and Bell. They circled his head before checking him over for injuries.

Of course, Saff knew he had a clean bill of health, but he let the fairies look at him. It made them feel better, and he’d definitely want to see for himself if one of the others was hurt, so he let them fuss over him as he reached to gently stroke them.

There was a glow of magic from Evie, and he felt the sick feeling in his gut relax and vanish. He smiled down at the tiny fairy and tickled her on the nose.

She sneezed fairy dust and glared up at him while Bell just gave a tinkling giggle off to the side.

Of course, the spell was broken when Herb came tumbling down the bushes and landed in a heap on the other side of the fountain. Herb pushed himself up and glared back at where he'd come from before sighing and pacing over to him.

"Shade pushed me." He explained, slumping down with a huff.

Saff giggled slightly, and Herb pouted at him. 

"You're lucky you're so cute, or I'd be really mad at you right now." He grumbled, poking him in the cheek.

He felt his face flush, and he hid it in his hands, letting out a whine of embarrassment that made Herb start giggling. He didn't know why everyone kept calling him cute! They were all supposed to be intimidating, fierce! The Legendary Heroes! Yet everyone treated him like he was adorable!

He reached out and poked him back, frowning. They sat there for what was probably half an hour, just breathing in the magic in the air, before he sighed.

He knew they should probably head back to the others now. Their break was definitely over, and they'd want to start training for the next battle. It made sense, Saff didn't want to fail again. But still, he just wished it didn't make him feel so awful. 

He pushed himself off the ground, waving to the fairies before extending a hand to Herb. "We should probably head back before they start looking for us."

Herb took his hand and he hoisted him up. With one last look around the grove of the fairy fountain, they began their trek back up the hillside. It wasn't long before they crested the hill and made their way down to the small plateau they'd picked out. 

Shade was pacing in a tight circle, while Anthy just sat with his back leaning against the tree and his eyes closed. 

Shade looked up as they approached, stopping his pacing to snap his fingers at Anthy, who snapped awake. He stood with a stretch before motioning them down. Saff had so many questions on how Anthy was just able to nap in what was probably an uncomfortable position, but now seemed a bad time to ask.

"Come on! We head out tomorrow, let's at least try to be ready!" Shade called.

They all stood around each other, looking around awkwardly as they tried to figure out an apt test for their combat abilities.

Eventually, Shade grew impatient.

"Fuck it." He said, drawing his sword and charging at him. Saff panicked, drawing his sword as well before he parried the thrust, spinning around to aim for a disarm. Unfortunately, the sword refused to leave Shade's grasp as he quickly recovered, slashing at him. 

Saff ducked the blow, punching with his free hand to slam into his gut.

Shade wheezed, and Saff pressed the advantage. He slipped by him and slammed his elbow into the back of his head, sweeping with his leg to knock Shade's legs out from under him. He landed on the ground with a thump, and Saff swung his sword. It stopped an inch from his neck, before he put it against the ground and leaned on it. He stood there, breathing hard, as Anthy came over to carefully pull him away.

Herb seemed to shake himself out of the stupor he was in for most of the fight, cheering, "That was amazing! Way to go, Saff!"

"Ain't ya gonna help me up?" Shade grumbled from his spot on the ground.

"You brought him down so quickly! That was really cool!" Herb gushed, rushing over to dust off Saff while ignoring Shade completely.

"I think it's safe to say we still have our muscle memory," Anthy stated, turning to heave Shade off the ground. "So running through our basic combat drills will be useless."

"So what's the plan?" Shade asked as he stood up.

"Duo battles?" Herb suggested, and Anthy nodded.

"Exactly, we fight in pairs. Learn how to work alongside another warrior and move forward."

Saff was still breathing hard from the surprise attack he'd just barely countered. Even more so about the fact he'd won. Shade seemed to be looking at him differently now, like he was an actual threat instead of a defenseless civilian.

It was then that he realized how that fight was so easy. He'd been underestimated, and Shade didn't expect him to actually fight back.

It would have been hurtful, and maybe it still was, if he hadn't just unknowingly humbled him.

Shade wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

He paired up with Herb, turning to face the two fighters across from him. 

They murmured to one another, most likely coming up with a strategy for the fight as Herb bounced, raring to go.

"W- We should plan something too," Saff whispered.

"Why?" Herb asked. "We got this in the bag! You did a number on Shade just now, that elbow strike would give anyone a killer headache!" He gestured to Shade wildly. "We're two uninjured soldiers against one and a concussion, just pressure him and then turn on Armor."

"I- I don't know." He said uncertainly. Looking at the pair ahead of them, he couldn't help but notice how unaffected Shade was. "I d- doubt that'll keep him down."

He kept nervous watch as Anthy and Shade nodded firmly to one another, before turning back to them. Herb seemed unfazed, yet it only made Saff more nervous. He really didn't want to fight his new friends. He'd been running on instinct earlier, but he knew this was to avoid hurting them later, so he pushed down the inherent wrongness that came with wielding a sword against them.

"Everyone ready?" Anthy asked, holding his sword aloft in challenge.

"You betcha!" Herb grinned, returning the challenge in kind.

Saff readied his own sword as they stared each other down.

"Begin!" Anthy shouted, Shade springing into action, definitely not slowed by any concussion.

Herb charged to meet him, and they clashed in the middle.

Saff's eyes flicked between Shade and Anthy, the latter of whom watched the conflict with interest. He steeled his nerves and rushed Shade from the side, his sword thrust just barely being caught by the lone swordsman. 

Herb dropped low and swung his sword wide, causing Shade to need to jump to avoid it, at which Saff slipped his blade forward and drove the pommel into his gut. 

He heard footsteps behind him and barely had time to lash his foot out and catch Anthy off guard. It didn't matter, though, as he just used his weight to slam the pommel of his sword into the back of his head. 

He staggered, and he saw Herb flash by him to catch Anthy's blade with his own.

They stood back to back, as Shade reentered the battle with a fervor. 

Their blades clashed once more, Shade striking with reckless abandon seemingly without fear of injury as Saff struck. He swung and accidentally stabbed into his side. Shade still didn't let up on the pressure. He tried to back up, only to stumble into Herb, tripping over his feet.. He was about to apologize before he found a sword against his neck, biting skin.

The lack of noise behind him showed that the fight there had reached a similar conclusion. 

"Are you okay!?" He asked worriedly, pushing the sword away to fuss over him.

"I'm fine, stop worrying." Shade huffed, brushing a hand over the wound on his side.

It pulsed with blue light as the blood slowed to a stop.

"W-" Saff asked, speechless.

"Mipha's Grace," Anthy said from over his shoulder. "We figured it out while you two were on break. It didn't split evenly, just concentrated in Shade. So now he can use the magic on command."

"Can't believe I'm the fucking healer." Shade grumbled, kicking a loose stone. 

"Anyway, do you two know why we won?" Anthy asked.

"You cornered us, gave us no breathing room, and made us get in each other's way. While we had no plan, and then played into what you wanted us to do." Saff mumbled, glancing at Herb not so subtly.

"That's right!" Shade stated.

"You two had some good synergy from what I saw. But you need to think more about how you engage more laterally thinking targets like the blights. They won't be playing fair." Anthy lectured, waggling his finger.

"Now, we'll go again. Herb, swap with me. We'll alternate partners until we improve."

Saff stood straighter, filled with determination. He couldn't be the weak Link. He couldn't be the part of them that was the reason why they failed a hundred years ago. He'd improve, and no matter what it took, together they would succeed.

He was tired when they finally stumbled back into town. They'd been training so long the sun had left them hours ago. Anthy only seemed to realize how late it was when their 37th spar was interrupted by 9 Stalkoblins. An intimidating number for one man to face alone. Luckily, they weren't one man anymore.

They didn't even have a scratch on them due to Shade's neat healing magic,

They stumbled into the inn, requesting a room before they changed into nightwear.

They fell face-first on the bed before pushing magic into the Four Sword. They separated into a pile on top of one another.

Saff immediately dragged himself over and curled up at the head of the bed, exhausted.

He could vaguely hear the others talking, but he was way too tired to listen properly. Anthy was saying something about their clothing, while Shade grumbled something he thought was about their progress. 

He felt someone shake him, but he just whined at being disturbed, settling back in when they immediately stopped. It must have been Herb then.

He felt something pull from under him, before a weight draped over his shoulders. He was more comfy now and sighed in contentment. Anything else could wait for the morning, he wanted to sleep.

He felt fingers gently card through his hair as the voices continued around him in hushed whispers. He melted at the feeling, leaning into it as he drifted off.

He'd definitely had a long day, and he was rightfully tired. What with the discovery of their new sword and all the new magic that came with it. 

With a small yawn, he finally fell asleep. Dreams of magic and his new companions drifting through his mind as he rested at last.

Chapter Text

Saff falling asleep moments after they'd finally split to rest for the night wasn't expected, but it was something that happened.

Herb had a thousand questions. Why was he more tired than them? Did he have less stamina? Did the Four Sword not split them entirely evenly? Or was tiredness a personality thing? Maybe he's more likely to get tired because he's the emotional one, and emotions are exhausting? Or maybe he got their ever-present exhaustion that was there when they left the Shrine of Resurrection.

He tried to prod Saff awake to ask any of them, but he just let out an adorable whine and curled up into the blankets, and Herb couldn't find the heart to disturb him anymore. It wasn't fair how heckin adorable he was. He just pulled the blanket from beneath him and draped it over where he was curled.

"Interesting, so every piece of clothing we try on and split in will change color," Armor murmured in the corner, flipping through some kind of notebook he didn't remember him getting and scribbling an entry into its pages. "It will be interesting to see if these colors mean anything aside from simply differentiating us."

"Enough about clothing." Shade groaned. "We should discuss our training. We'll need to make more progress if we want to succeed. We need to be perfect!"

"I thought we did well, we're fighting together seamlessly enough. I imagine we just need some practice fighting as a full team, which we'll get plenty of on our way to the next Divine Beast." Armor assured him, closing his book.

"Well isn't good enough." Shade scoffed. "We fought well a hundred years ago. We need to fight better."

"And we'll get better," Armor replied. "But progress won't happen overnight. We have time. Don't let where we need to be distract you from how far we've come. Considering our progress this morning, I think we'll make it."

"Speaking of Divine Beasts," Herb interrupted before Shade could make a new negative comment. "Where are we heading next? I think that giant bird we saw in the distance could be really interesting!"

"Vah Rudania is the closest." Shade stated. "Not to mention, we have some shrines set up nearby from when we journeyed to the Lost Woods. It seems obvious we should start there. The big ass bird can be our next target."

"I'm more concerned about whatever's happening down south." Armor raised, causing both Herb and Shade to look at him with confusion. "We at least have a visual on the other Divine Beasts and can guess what's going on, and check on the situations in case they get too rough. We're completely blind down there, we don't even know if it's about to destroy the settlement there like Ruta, or if it's wandering aimlessly. I say we go there next. If nothing else, then to get an idea of the situation."

Herb nodded. That made sense, no matter how much he wanted to go to the giant mechanical bird, he could see the logic. Besides, there might be some cool terrain there! Or maybe some kind of cave system? Or maybe a new type of weapon or magic armor! It'd be interesting to see if they could find some different monster types too! A new area meant so many cool new things! He remembered while they were still one that he'd really wanted to see what was at the bottom of the lakes of Lanayru, but they'd held back.

Shade, however, seemed to be going down another negative rabbit hole. Herb needed to distract him, and he had a pretty good idea of how to do it.

"You know..." He started, causing Shade to eye him with suspicion. "If memory serves, there are some pretty steep cliffs to the south we'll need to bypass. We'll need quite the boost to get up there."

"No. We're not wind bombing." Armor shut him down.

"Aw, c'mon! It's fun!"

"It's stupid, is what it is." Shade grumbled. "You're going to kill us."

"I haven't yet!" He proclaimed. "We've done it tons of times! We'll be fine! It'll probably hurt less than warping anyway!"

"There'll be a way through the cliffs that doesn't involve blowing ourselves up!" Shade snapped back, which made Herb grin. "We'll just take the roads!"

"We could each grab a horse from the fields and register it at the stable just outside of town. It should be safer to travel as a group, it might dissuade some monsters." Armor planned, bringing out a different journal (Where the heck was he getting these!?) and planning a route. "We can follow the roads in the general direction of the marker until we find a tower. Once we have an idea of the layout, we can plan more extensively."

"I know a real quick way to figure out the layout!" Herb announced with a grin.

"I swear to the Goddesses above, Herb. If the next words out of your mouth are Wind Bombing, I will find a way to stuff you back into our subconscious!" Shade threatened.

"... I no longer have a quick way to figure out the layout." He muttered, sheepishly ducking away. Shade could be scary when he wanted to be.

"Let's just go to bed." Armor interjected. "I'd like to get some sleep before we head out."

Shade seemed to agree with that at the very least.

Before long, they had settled on a sleeping plan. The bed wasn't the biggest, so Herb was in their bedroll on the floor, whilst Shade and Armor shared the bed with Saff curled up at the head.

They'd have to rent multiple rooms in the future, but for now, he found himself drifting off into sleep easily enough.

They woke up semi-late in the morning.

He only says late because Shade seems to think they should've been up earlier. If you asked him, seven in the morning was plenty early, but Shade seemed to disagree.

Regardless, it only took a few moments to explain the plan to Saff before they were on their way. Saying goodbye to Impa on the way out and purchasing every arrow in the Curious Quiver, they headed down the path. 

The small hike down to Dueling Peaks Stable was just as impressive as the first time they'd made the journey. Although Saff seemed to be watching the surrounding clifftops wearily as if worrying about an attack. Shade was doing something similar, although he was much more methodical with his searching.

Herb just enjoyed the smell of nature in the air as they walked down the path. He'd almost hoped to see Hestu along the way, before remembering he'd returned home to the Korok Forest. Nevertheless, the imposing walls of stone on either side just added to the feelings of wonder in his chest. He wanted to see the rest of the world, if only to compare it to everywhere else.

They crossed the bridge and were at the stable in almost no time at all. Herb was almost disappointed that the end of their hiking was at hand, if he wasn't excited at the prospect of getting a new horse.

"We already have a horse in the stable..." Armor mused. "Shade, you go take River. We'll each spread out and grab a new horse from over in the fields and meet back here."

Herb practically sprinted off, rushing to the upper plains to get a view.

Easily, he spotted a herd of horses.

Was it a herd? He didn't know the proper term for a group of wild horses.

Regardless, he scrambled up a nearby tree before taking a deep breath and springing from the branches. He pulled out his paraglider, idly noting the forest green coloring before he was gliding towards the group of horses below.

He aimed for a pure teal one and managed to land directly on their back. 

It whined and bucked, the other horses taking the chance to run, abandoning their friend as he held on with all his might.

Eventually, the horse finally calmed down. Thank the Goddesses, he didn't know how long he could hold on for; they were strong.

"Well hey there, girl." He whispered, patting the horse on the head. "I think I'll call you... Moss!" 

The newly named Moss only whined in response, which made sense. If the horse started talking, he'd probably freak out.

He gently urged Moss back over the fields and towards the stable, and although he had a couple close calls of her freaking out, he managed to keep her on track most of the way.

He gave Shade a friendly wave from where he sat on the white-spotted blue mare they'd named River, before riding Moss over to the stable master.

"Oh hey Link!" He greeted. "Back so soon? And with a different horse to register!" He then seemed to pause and squint at him suspiciously. "Wait, hold on. I thought that tunic was blue?"

"Oh, I'm not Link." He interrupted, causing the man to blink with surprise. "I'm Herb, one of his brothers! There are four of us, we're all just getting our own horses for the trip. Hoping to see more of Hyrule, y'know?"

The stable master looked at him suspiciously for a few more moments before laughing. "Yeah, I understand. I'll get you set up. What'd ya like to name this fine steed?"

"Moss, here's the 20 rupees you need." He said, handing the funds over.

"Ya brothers already walked you through this? He's a good lad, ain't he? Tell him to take care for me, okay? Now, let's get that horse suited up."

A few minutes later, Moss was ready for travel. 

He met up with Shade by the outskirts, and was joined shortly by Saff, who had managed to somehow find a pristine pink mare whom he named Ruby, and was obviously as gentle a soul as their rider.

Armor came a little after that, on a grey horse with a white mane he'd dubbed Lavender. 

And then they were off! Trotting through the Dueling Peaks as they made their way back towards the Great Plateau. Along the way, they talked amongst one another. They rode with Saff and Armor up front, with him and Shade riding behind.

"Hey, so, do you think we'd still see the old man on the Plateau?" He asked aloud.

"I don't think so," Saff answered. "He was the dead king, remember? Roam, I think his name was?"

"Rhoam, but close enough." Armor corrected.

"Yeah, but do you think he'd still be there doing stuff? Or do you think he's gone gone?" Herb theorized.

"We saw him fade away." Shade stated. "It's plausible he simply moved on, now that we passed the trials and he told us what we needed to know."

"Or maybe he's somewhere else?" Saff added, looking pointedly at Hyrule Castle. "Maybe he's watching over Zelda? I'd understand him leaving to watch over his daughter. I'd imagine we'd probably do the same."

They were trotting through the ruins of an old town now, the Plateau looming over them.

"Hold." Armor called, and they brought their convey to a stop. "If I remember correctly, there's a heavily armed encampment of monsters ahead. We should deal with them before we bring the horses."

"It's not really an encampment, more just a place where a dozen or so monsters gather, but I see your point." Shade shrugged.

Herb slipped off his horse, drawing his sword with a flourish as he reached for his knight's shield. "Let's go kick some ass!"

"Language." Shade scolded.

"Says you!" He exclaimed, offended. "You cuss like a fucking sailor!"

"Yeah, and it's my thing. Don't fucking steal it from me. Just talk about how you wanna take a detour and extend the journey by 2 months like you always do."

"I'm blowing you off a cliff next chance we get." He sighed.

"Both of you, could you please do this later?" Saff pleaded, "We still have a group of monsters to fight."

"Fine." He sighed.

"Shade, Herb, you take point." Armor ordered, taking the slate from Saff to grab an eightfold blade from their inventory. "Saff, provide bow support and stun the moblins, I'll sneak round back and stab some in the back."

Armor pulled out a stealth elixir and downed it, stashing the bottle before politely handing it back to Saff, he then disappeared into the bushes.

Saff drew a knight's bow from the slate and knocked an arrow. He nodded at the pair, and they took off down the roads.

There were 11 of them. 8 Bokoblins, a mix of red, blue and black pelts, and 3 Moblins, all red.

Saff drew the arrow back and let it fly, hitting a Moblin in the head.

Herb charged, Shade not far behind as the Bokoblins scrambled towards them. He parried the weapon of a Blue pelt before driving his sword into the neck of a Red, it was dead in one swing.

He turned his focus to the blue one, making short work of removing its sword hand and then its head.

He turned to see Shade with a feral grin on his face perform a spin attack with his sword, gutting a black pelt and two reds before rushing towards one of the Moblins.

Armor sprang from the foliage behind the monsters, sprinting silently as he jumped and took the other Moblin still standing through the back with his sword.

He heard a cry and pivoted to see a Blue Bokoblin taking a swing at his head with its sword. That was until it was suddenly wrapped in gold chains and held in place. 

He smiled back at Saff, who held the Slate aloft before knocking an arrow and taking another Bokoblin through the throat.

He turned on the frozen one and swung his sword a couple of times. It didn't even get the chance to scream when the stasis wore off, exploding into a puff of malice.

The battle barely lasted two minutes.

"Good work," Armor called, walking up to Saff to store the Sheikah sword. "Let's mount up and move out, we still have ground to cover before nightfall."

Herb whistled, and heard the others do the same. Moss and the other horses came pounding down the cobbles towards their call, and they quickly mounted before setting off in a gallop down the road.

Herb couldn't help his grin. This adventure was going to be fun!

Chapter Text

Shade was wary.

Things were going far too well for them. Things never went this well, ever.

They'd made a training plan and had managed to follow it without being sidetracked; they'd successfully captured several horses without anyone coming to harm in any way, and most importantly, they'd survived their first combat encounter without so much as a scratch.

Things were going smoothly.

Which was exactly why he was so nervous.

Their journey on the plateau they were currently travelling past had told them their journey would be one setback after another. From goals changing mid mission, to environmental hazards they'd need to find a way around, to boulders crashing into them from nowhere, to even a fucking cliff face to scour just to find a goddamn shrine, nothing was ever easy.

And even when things were going well, like when they'd liberated Vah Ruta and celebrated with the Zora, all it had done was alert the cult of assassins that they were awake!

Things going well only ever meant they were about to get so much worse.

So, he was slightly on edge. Sue him. Maybe he wouldn't be so on edge if anyone else shared his worries!

Herb just seemed to be talking about this and that, trying to convince Armor to take a detour here or a shortcut there that was always shut down. Thank Hylia, but only for him to try again two minutes later. Armor seemed more interested in the journal he was writing about the Four Sword than their surroundings, too busy categorizing its effects to pay attention.

His only saving grace was that Saff was also somewhat wary of their surroundings, though his scouting technique could use a lot of work.

They marched in a standard procession, two by two, with enough space between the rows for the horses to maneuver and break formation if they came under attack, although judging by the cliffs he could see ahead, it wouldn't matter soon enough. They'd be boxed in, which didn't sit well with his internal commander.

He kept his ear out for any creepy laughter, but heard nothing. At the very least, their new look provided by the Four Sword probably made the Yiga think they were just another group of travelers. They might get waylaid at some point, but they wouldn't have Blademasters jumping out of the bushes at least.

But still, when they'd first drawn the Four Sword, he'd thought it was just another horrible thing. Another sadistic magic sword that lured them in with the promise of allowing them to wield it, only for it to scorn them. 

But the more time they spent with it, the more it seemed to give out nothing but blessings. They were already the strongest warrior of Hyrule, both new and old, and now they had multiplied. Their skills hadn't deteriorated; they were at their peak strength. They were more likely than ever to defeat the calamity!

But it would have a cost. He was sure of it. It had to.

The sword had given him attachments, three individuals who could understand him better than anyone else. It would hurt like hell if they were taken from him. And he had the grim realization that that may be the game. Give him a taste of companionship, before ripping away not just them, but aspects of himself.

Just like the Champions. The ones he couldn't even remember the faces of, despite how much he knew they meant to him.

Just like Mipha.

It was like some kind of giant cosmic joke. He hoped the Goddesses were laughing, at least. So that at least someone gained from his suffering.

But he wouldn't take this lying down. If fate wanted to take his new brothers, it could pry them from his cold, dead hands.

So he'd remain on guard. He'd be the wary one, the paranoid one.

If it kept his fellow soldiers on the field, it was a sacrifice he'd make.

It was nearing nightfall, and they'd come to an impasse.

On one hand, they could keep moving through the dark, and potentially come across a more sheltered camping spot somewhere up ahead, or they could head to the stable they could see about half a mile in the other direction. 

He knew his vote.

"We might as well make use of the beds while we still have the chance." He called out. "We don't know where the next stable will be, if there's even another one down the canyon."

"I agree with Shade." Saff murmured. "The horses will need rest for tomorrow too, we don't know the layout of the terrain, it could be rough."

Armor nodded in agreement whilst they all tuned out Herb who was probably saying something about the benefits of sleeping outdoors.

"So, who's on watch?" He asked Armor, who turned to him with a raised brow. "I can take first if you need me to."

"Aren't we sleeping at a stable?" Herb asked, breaking his rant to take a crack at him. "Why'd we need a watch?"

"In case you've forgotten, the Yiga want our heads, dumbass." He snapped. "Given how they are able to disguise themselves and teleport, it would be trivially easy for one to sneak in and slit our throats while we slept. I don't think two hours of sleep each is too much of a sacrifice to prevent an untimely death."

"You didn't say anything at Kakariko..." Saff pointed out.

"Kakariko is potentially the safest place from the Yiga in Hyrule. If anyone can find a Yiga assassin before they strike, it's the Sheikah. But out here? With nothing but the stable hands to stand guard? Yeah, we'd fucking die."

Armor raised a hand, and the other two quieted down.

"If it will make you more comfortable, we can set up a watch." Armor stated. "As unlikely as I find it that they'd strike, it is a non-zero chance. Saff, time?"

Saff fumbled for the slate before tapping it. "9:34, Anthy."

"We'll take watches of two hours." Armor stated, as they pulled up the the stable. "We'll wake up at 8. We have half an hour to eat and get ready to sleep. Shade, you wake Herb. Herb, wake me. I'll wake Saff, then Saff can wake Shade. If you're fine with a double shift, that is."

"Fine by me." Shade shrugged. He could operate on 6 hours of sleep. Especially if it kept them all safe.

"We'll switch who gets a double watch every night, but let's just get today under wraps. Saff, you're cooking, Herb, you're cleaning." Armor ordered.

Herb groaned whilst Saff gained a soft, happy smile.

"I'll do maintenance on our gear, I picked up some sword care materials in Kakariko. I figured that was probably why our gear was breaking so much."

"That and how strong we are." Shade agreed, crushing an apple in his grip for emphasis. 

They checked in their horses and got to work. It was slightly awkward when they realized the Four Sword couldn't leave their bodies, so they'd have to do their own maintenance, but Armor busied himself with their slew of other equipment. 

Shade quickly found himself with nothing to do. He hadn't been assigned anything.

"Hey... what's my job?" He asked Armor. He felt slightly ashamed, obviously he'd been assigned something and hadn't been listening. Not that he'd ever let anyone know that.

"Nothing, you're double watch, you get to take it easy," Armor answered. "Hell, get a nap in. I can wake you for food."

Shade paused, which was something Armor noticed with a sigh.

"If you want to do something, grab a whetstone and help me sharpen some of this." He stated, tapping a button on the slate and materializing a claymore.

Shade sat down next to him and began sliding the whetstone down the blade in a fashion most likely drilled into him all those years ago.

It was... oddly soothing. If he were more poetic, he could probably find some fancy metaphor to describe it, like he was doing maintenance on his own soul.

He wasn't poetic.

"Anything you want to get off your chest?" Armor asked, not looking up from where he cleaned an eightfold blade.

"Figured Saff would be the one to want to talk about our emotions." He replied dismissively.

"He has a lot of emotions. That doesn't mean he's the best at understanding them." Armor replied. "...You didn't answer my question."

"What makes you think I have anything I want to say?" Shade shot back.

"You're deflecting instead of giving me a straight answer, for one thing." Armor shot back, a smug lilt to his voice. "You're also restless and came to me to find something to distract you from your own thoughts."

"When were we this good at emotional intelligence!?" Shade exclaimed, annoyed.

"We were always better at helping others, rather than ourselves. Now answer my question. Do you have anything you want to say?"

Shade paused for a moment and took a deep breath.

"I don't... think this will last." He said, after a moment of hesitation.

"Go on." Armor encouraged as he flipped the blade and began treating the other side.

"It's just... this journey has been one big downhill spiral. Anything good that happens is always followed by something bad. We finally get the paraglider, and we're told that one hundred years ago we lost, and now we have to fix it. We freed a divine beast and alerted a crazy assassin cult that's now trying to kill us! And now..."

"And now you fear that we'll be in for something horrifying now that we've found the Four Sword, arguably the best thing to happen to us?" Armor asked, which got a little nod. "The way I see it, this journey was always going to have its trials. It's tribulations. But it isn't going to magically get harder because there are four of us. Ganon has a limited amount of power that is actively being held back by the princess, he doesn't have the energy to spend quadrupling his forces. He has to wait for the dark magic in the world to be at its absolute peak to even replenish them. To tell you the truth, I think this gift is one with no strings attached." He spoke with so much confidence that Shade couldn't help but agree.

"But what if you're wrong?" He asked.

"Then we'll face it together. But Ganon doesn't have any more cards left to play. He made his move, he conquered the Divine Beasts and the Sheikah weapons. But he failed to win; Zelda bought us time. And now, we'll make him pay."

Shade let out a humorless laugh. "When you say it like that, you make it sound like an inevitability. You sound so sure of yourself."

Armor just shot him a wry smile. "Hey, it's just logic."

The morning sun rose quickly, and soon enough it was time to wake his... brothers from their sleep.

There were no assassins in the night, given that their jugulars were all still intact, so that was a relief.

"Wake up, boys. We move in 30!" He called, shaking them awake.

To a variety of groans, they finally started the day. He'd decided to start on breakfast early, so there were a few platters of fruit fritters and meat skewers already there when they finally pulled themselves out of bed, which Saff looked eternally happy for.

Herb volunteered to scramble up the rockface and activate the shrine so they could warp back if need be. Of course, he then attempted to solve the shrine and only came out 15 minutes after they were due to leave.

They saddled up their horses, and Shade took the time to treat River to an apple before climbing onto the saddle. It took very little time to come to a... much more dangerous impasse.

They were overlooking the bridge meant to take them across the gorge and into the canyon proper, and of course, there was something blocking the way.

A very big, intimidating something.

A fucking blue Hinox.

Naturally, the debate was getting nowhere. But to be fair, he wasn't exactly helping.

"I say we just kill it." He said simply. "We have the arrows, and we're all pretty decent shots. Why don't we just rain hell?"

"Because it's 8 times our size!" Saff exclaimed. "Why don't we just ride past it? It'll still wake, but by the time it's up, we'll be long gone."

"I'm up for avoiding unnecessary conflict." Armor voiced. "But from what I see, it has some very pretty weapons attached to its chain. We should steal them quietly, then move on. I hear a royal broadsword sells for a pretty rupee in the smaller stables."

"If we want money, then let's kill the thing!" Herb said eagerly. "Imagine what we'd get for settling the parts! Or how strong elixirs we could make! We've killed a Hinox before!"

"Yeah, a red one!" Saff replied. "We don't know how much tougher this'll be! Besides, what happened to laying low? Ordinary travelers couldn't kill this thing! I thought we weren't supposed to make it overly obvious to the Yiga who we were!"

"If we leave it here or run past it, it could attack that stable." Shade reasoned. "We should kill it to protect them. Besides, what if, while we ride past, it's alert enough to knock someone down below? It's way too risky."

Armor swore under his breath, to which Shade whispered a quiet "Language."

"You're right. Okay, let's do this." He said, running a hand through his hair. "Bows ready, I want the thing on the floor the moment that eye opens. Who wants to- that's a stupid question. Shade, Herb, you two can get up close and personal with your swords when it's down, I'll provide bow support with Saff."

Shade was slightly annoyed by that, but to be fair, it was their idea.

It made sense they'd be the ones in the most danger. But still, a frontliner for two battles?

They started by each drawing back regular arrows and firing a volley into the beast's foot.

It awoke with a pained howl that made their horses behind them start to shift away from the brewing conflict.

It sat up and jumped to its feet with more mobility than he thought possible. Its singular eye fixed on them, and it began lumbering over.

That was its mistake.

They drew back a bomb arrow each. They didn't have many, so they needed to make them count.

And make them count, they did.

"Fire!" He called, and they all loosed their arrows. The explosions detonated against its open eye, and it roared in horrifying pain as it came crashing down. Herb and he drew their blades and rushed it, hacking and slashing into the beast's legs.

Herb and he exchanged eye contact and nodded. He got down on a knee and boosted Herb up further onto the creature, who began to hack and slash and more vital parts.

It was unfortunate that the Hinox had finally started to reorient itself.

A hand reached up to its chest, wrapping around Herb. It pulled him from its chest and held him aloft, grip tightening as it made to crush him.

Thankfully, a surge of electricity shocked through the beast's hand as either Saff or Armor shot shock arrows into its grip.

It dropped Herb and opened its eye to stare at the offending archers.

That was a mistake, as another explosion erupted against its eye. Shade got back to stabbing.

Eventually, with a pained roar, the Hinox finally collapsed into whisps of purple smoke. 

Shade began collecting all the weapons into a pile as the two archers rushed across the bridge to meet him.

Herb was slightly out of it, but a quick fairy tonic to his lips had him right as rain.

"Whew." Herb pouted. "Let's hope that's the biggest monster we have to fight!"

Shade groaned. "And now we're fucking jinxed. Thanks asshole, try not to get crushed next time."

"I feel so loved." Herb deadpanned. "Thanks for the save, by the way. I'd definitely be dead meat if it weren't for your quick action."

"You're welcome!" Saff said brightly, oblivious to their conflict. Too laser-focused on gathering up the discarded monster parts.

"Alright, let's move." Armor called, and let out a piercing whistle that was followed by the sound of approaching hooves. "Next stop, whoever lives on the other side of this canyon."

Chapter Text

Their journey by horseback was surprisingly easy. Sure, there were a few monsters scattered here and there, an encampment along the cliffside they blew to high hell, but all in all the trip was rather smooth. He was still on the look-out for Yiga, as some tug in his gut told him they were more at risk here, but for the most part he'd settled in atop Lavender and was jotting down more observations on the Four Sword as they travelled. Saff seemed to have his hands full keeping Herb from scaling the canyon walls that surrounded them, bless his heart. Eventually he settled for riding next to him and holding his hand to keep him from running off. He silently saluted the brave knight for keeping the untamed might of their chaotic side in check. The others had changed clothing, because it seemed like it would be better for them if they weren't all wearing identical outfits. Saff was wrapped in their warm doublet and the Sheikah tights, however he chose to wore the Sheikah set's headdress, the black mask concealing his features so that only his striking red eyes were identifiable. His hair was also done up in a bun with the chopsticks, and the only reason he didn't wear the tunic was because they decided wearing the insignia of the Sheikah on his chest was a sure-fire way to draw the eyes of the Yiga. The scarf also doubled as a blanket for when it got cold. Herb had settled into their set of climbing gear, hair wrapped into a bandanna and a loose fitting green shirt and shorts. Shade however, had gotten himself into the soldier set, the plate covering him snugly as he rode on his horse the picture of the knight he used to be. The knight they used to be.

Shade seemed to be getting the same signals he was getting about a Yiga attack, since he was checking their six every 12 seconds exactly. He seemed to be looking everywhere at once, scanning the clifftops to the road to the various excavation platforms that ascended the cliff face to back to the clifftops in anticipation for a new assault. He couldn't exactly blame him. After those boulders dropped from above and nearly crushed them all, he was keeping an eye out too.

Albeit, more passively.

-Additionally, the Four Sword is capable of not just splitting the bearer, but their equipment as well. The 'Colours' the Four Sword produces, as denoted previously, are marked by the gemstone embedded in the hilt of the blade. What was once an everchanging crystal of breath-taking colour became a singular solid colour of Red, Green, Purple, and Blue between the four blades. Alongside the gemstone, the wielders clothing,  only the shirt for some reason more specifically the tunic, additionally shifted to match the colour of the gemstone for each individual split aspect. Upon recombination, instead of returning to the prior sky blue, the tunic was observed to become a four-part split between the colours. Perhaps as a way for the sword to mark it's wielders? Or perhaps to signify that simply because they are share one form, does not mean they are whole again. Furthermore-

"Armor!" Shade hissed, elbowing him. "Look sharp! Someone's ahead."

Snapping his notebook closed, he leaned over to Saff and tapped his notebook against the Sheikah Slate, dissolving his work into strands of blue magic. Hmm. He'd have to make a note about how Sheikah technology seemed unaffected by the division of the Four Sword.

Finally taking his attention to the road ahead, he looked up with a feigned carelessness as he scanned the approaching traveller walking down the canyon path, a satchel slung over her shoulder. She wasn't obviously armed, but no one walked around without a weapon anymore. It said a lot about her that she'd concealed it. As she got closer, more details became apparent. Her hair was a brown, but his eyes caught on the white roots underneath. Dyed hair. The white suggested Sheikah descent, but given the makeup he could make out, she'd gone to great lengths to conceal it. Odd, seeing as every Sheikah they'd met was rather proud of their heritage. 

His hand itched for the sword on his back as the dots connected. He rode slightly ahead of the group, twisting his features into a disarming smile as he met the woman's friendly gaze. There was a glint of warmth, or was that malice in her eyes as she waved back.

He flashed the hand sign for the inverted eye behind his back, hearing a sharp inhale from someone behind him. He could feel without even looking how Shade's face went carefully blank and how Saff's carefully picked soldiers bow came to rest in his lap. 

"Afternoon, strangers." The woman greeted cordially, the picture of a polite traveller. Something about her demeanour made every hair on his neck stand on end.

"Afternoon." He replied shortly. This should be fine. They were just a group of travellers. Not heroes, just travellers. Just four brother traveling through Hyrule to see the sights. This maybe-Yiga-but-definitely-suspicious woman had no reason to accost them. 

"Those swords are real pretty." The probably-Yiga-woman drawled, in a type of lazy interest not wholly unlike a curious traveller. "Dangerous looking to."

Fuck. The swords.

The attention grabbing ornate swords that couldn't physically leave their bodies.

The attention grabbing ornate swords of ancient Shiekah legend. That Impa has stated a hero of old bore.

The swords that an assassin cult that kills people over quality weaponry would love to get their hands on.

Welp, so much for that plan.

The woman had stopped walking, and met his eyes. A sharp, appraising glint in them that wasn't there before. "I have some friends who'd love to get a good look at some swords like that. You boys ever heard of the Yiga clan?"

An arrow loosed from Saff's bow and would have taken the now-definitely-Yiga between the eyes had she not disappeared in a puff of red smoke before it landed. The foot soldier reappeared in full Yiga garb, brandishing a sinister sickle in her grip as she crouched low.

"This could have been so easy." She barbed, spinning her weapon in an extravagant move she probably thought was intimidating, but just came off as unnecessarily extra. "But you just had to do this the hard way. Suit yourself." She shrugged, before snapping her fingers. Four puffs of red smoke exploded behind her, giving way to the entrance of three more foot soldiers, and a Blademaster.

"Goddess above, these assholes are dramatic." Shade muttered, making Herb snort into his arm.

"You travellers were bold to come through the canyons without an escort, but your fancy swords won't save you here." The Blademaster stated gruffly, drawing his longsword from it's sheath and turning it to bear, the squad of assassins following suite. "Surrender now and your lives may be spared. Your gear will serve our master well. Fail to comply, and we will simply take it from your corpses."

He risked a glace back at the aspects to gauge their engagement. Shade still seemed tense, but Herb just seemed bored. He already had his sword out, eyes glinting like he couldn't wait to get started. Saff had his bow drawn, this time with a thunder arrow knocked. Hmm, he could work with that. He turned back to the would-be waylayers, and did the one thing he knew would concentrate their killing intent on him..

And laughed in their faces

He could feel their outrage from behind their masks as he wiped a tear from his eye. "Ahh, you'll have to forgive me. I've just never seen a group of Yiga more foolish, it caught me off guard. I'm afraid we'll need to refuse your rather generous offer, and dispense a counter offer in turn. We kill you, and you get to burn in hell for the rest of eternity." He drawled, letting the faux-joy drain from his voice.

"Take the shot, Saff."

Before the Yiga could react, a yellow tipped arrow sprouted from their Blademasters forehead. Lighting coursed through his veins as the hulk of a man convulsed, before falling over and collapsing. He didn't even get the chance to poof back to their headquarters before he was out cold. Hopefully, he wasn't dead. Saff would be horrified if he was, but right now they needed to focus on the battle. Shade charged past, leaping from his horse to slash at one of the stunned soldiers, who barely managed to parry the blade with the flat curve of his sickle. That made the other snap into action as the fray began in earnest. One of them flipped backwards, duplex bow flying into their hands as they loosed a pair of arrows at Shade, forcing him to back up a few paces. Armor, too, dismounted and joined the fray. He gripped his sword and swung for the woman who had jumped them in the first place. He caught his sword in the crook of her blade and tugged, swinging round to land a kick to her stomach and flinging her weapon out of reach. 

She landed on the ground hard, and he almost moved in to finish her off if a call from Herb made him pause. He spun round, parrying the blade of a Yiga who tried to take him whilst his back was turned. While he was occupied, he saw Green pull a spear from the slate on Saff's hip, before charging in with a reckless assault. He thrusted the point at the prone Yiga, but she jumped to her feet and lashed out with a concealed knife, taking him across the cheek.

He ducked down and slipped underneath his assassin, drawing his own knife from it's sheath and thrusting up with his offhand. He caught the soldier square between the ribs, red uniform darkening as they looked at the wound in shock before dissipating in a cloud in red smoke, his knife clattering to the ground. He heard another puff of smoke and turned in time to see one of Saff's arrows clattering to the floor, the Yiga with a bow taken from the fight. 

Herb's cut on his cheek was bleeding, and Shade's armour had a new dent near the gut they were holding their own against the pair of Yiga. It made a small, irrational piece of him hurt to see them injured, even minimally, but he didn't linger on those feelings for long. They were him, after all, and he would be fine after something as small as a cut on the cheek. He had no reason to worry. Of course, as soon as he thought that, one of them landed a lucky blow and the point stabbed into the exposed flesh between the armour of his gauntlet and breastplate. 

He crept from behind as Herb raised he spear to block the curved sickle, caching the inner blade and stopping the point an inch from his eye. For a cult of master assassins, their weapons were incredibly simple to block, no wonder they were constantly on the hunt for better gear. He nodded to Saff, who was still on his horse somehow, and his emotional counterpart drew back another arrow. As one, he drove his sword into the back of Herb's opponent, the point of his sword coming out the other side, and three arrows found their home in the other assassin's chest, arm, and thigh. 

They both exploded into red smoke, the dust clearing to an empty canyon once more.

There was silence for a moment, before Herb let out a loud whoop. "Hell yeah! We won!" He jumped up and down excitedly, eyes darting like he was hoping for something else to fight.

Saff was on Shade in an instant, fussing over him and panicking. "Are you okay!? Are you hurt anywhere else!? Here, I have some bandages, and some fairy tonic, and some-"

Shade shrugged him off, taking a few steps back. "Personal space, damnit!" He snapped, before pressing a hand to the gash in his side that was soaking his blue tunic red. His hand glowed blue under his touch and the gash healed over, and a minute later there wasn't even so much as a scar. He walked over to a still hyper and jumping Herb and ran a finger down his cheek, wiping the cut away like it never happened. "There, we're fine, so please back off mom." He ended with a mocking tone, making Saff puff up in indignation. It was almost cute.

Shade could complain about it all he wanted, but having the ability to heal injuries at the drop of a hat was a game changer, and the fact that they didn't need to die for it to activate anymore was incredible. If all the Four Sword did was strengthen their magic, then those trials still would have been worth it. Regardless, he was proud of how well they'd fought. Those Yiga had barely stood a chance against them, it was almost sad.

He didn't remember much from back when he- they, before they had woken up in the shrine. But he had the distinct feeling that the Yiga weren't something to take lightly. Evidently, Shade felt the same, given how on edge he'd been over the last two days. The word brought to mind flashes of fragments, off sinister laughter before the strike, of tense muscles and desert heat. These half-formed memories brought him endless frustration trying to dredge up the past. Regardless, he could piece together the Yiga were much more sinister prior to the calamity.

Or maybe it was some kind of weird nostalgia?

He'd have to make a note somewhere.

Maybe he needed a new notebook?

Shaking his head, he whistled, calling Lavender to his side as he saddled up again. "C'mon, we're nearly at the entrance to the desert." He called to the others. "I'd rather get out of this canyon before nightfall, hopefully we'll be able to see what's wrong with Vah Naboris before long." Herb jumped back on his horse, literally, and gave him a few pats on the head. Saff moved to follow suite but stopped, pulling and apple from his Slate and holding it out for Ruby to eat.

Shade took the Eightfold Longblade the Blademaster had left behind before settling himself on River. He trotted up to where Saff was just getting on Ruby and slipped the sword into the Slate, watching as it dissolved into blue light. They took off, not encountering any other problems except a few idiots stuck on mining platforms, which they begrudgingly recused at Saff's behest, even if it cost them time.

Finally, the path curved and they could see the desert lying ahead. Or at least, they would have seen the desert lying ahead.

"That's a big fucking sandstorm." Shade breathed as they looked out into the desert. They came to a rest next to a stable lying just ahead of the entrance to the desert, surveying the sandstorm.

"No way we're getting our horses through that, we'll have to go on foot." Herb hummed. "I might need some wraps for my arms, or this is going to hurt."

"That... can't be natural. So I guess we found the Divine Beast." Saff commented with a nervous chuckle, tugging at his face mask. "Is a never-ending sandstorm better, or worse than never-ending rain?"

"Probably better." Armor said, dismounting with a hop. "It'll be bad for tourists, sure, but I can't imagine the locals are in imminent danger of death like the Zora were. Which is good, because it means we can turn in for the night. Let's stash the horses and grab a couple beds, rest while we can."

No one had any complaints, so they managed to get their horses into the stable and purchase beds for the night. They ate dinner and Saff was out like a light when his head hit the pillow. This stable had Gerudo guards, who looked like they actually knew how to handle their weapons. Sure, they looked very much like they'd rather not be guarding the stable's, but it still made him comfortable enough to not set up a night watch.

They woke with their jugulars intact and their gear unstolen, so he supposed he made a good call.

Shade and Herb went off to complete the shrine together this time, so he decided to work on polishing their new Eightfold Longblade. When he looked up, he saw Saff conversing with the two Gerudo guards, which was odd, considering Shade had tried the other day and been mostly shut down.

"-just that way for a few hundred yards, and you'll find the Kara Kara Bazaar." One of the women, said, pointing straight into the storm. "When you reach the Bazaar, I'd recommend getting some chilly elixir before going on to Gerudo town, it's far to hot to go on like you are without it. You should be able to make your way through so long as you stick to the path and keep an eye out for monsters." She guided.

"Thank you, Kotta!" Saff said, beaming. "Thank you very much, for everything!"

The other guard laughed. "Couldn't let a Hylian cutie like you wander the storm unguided, now could we? Especially when your travelling with your brothers."

Even through the mask, he could see Saff's cheeks flush and decided to bail him out.

"Saff!" He called, making him jump and the causing the guards to turn. "Mind lending me a hand packing up? We'll be heading off soon."

"Okay Anthy!" Saff called back, before bowing to the guards. "Sav'orq!"

"Sav'orq, Safflina. Don't forget what we taught you, be firm when you need to be!" The guard called Kotta replied, letting him run back. Saff gave her a friendly thumbs up.

"I got us directions!" He chirped happily, helping him roll up their supply's from breakfast and feeding them into the slate. "And... life advice, I think? Something about being direct and communication."

He hummed in acknowledgement. "May I ask how? We tried yesterday while you were asleep and they seemed rather closed off."

Saff shrugged. "They seemed nice to me! I just said hi and asked if they knew the way to town and they pointed me there. Maybe they were just tired last night?"

It felt like there was more to it than that, there was something about Gerudo town that was on the edge of his mind, something important about who the let in. He had a feeling they were very selective, but instead of voicing that, he just shrugged. "Maybe." He said, ruffling his hair. "Though you're much more charming than Shade's grouchy face, so that might have had something to do with it."

That caused Saff to start giggling, holding a hand against his mouth to stifle it even if the mask already did most of the work. "That's mean!" He tried to protest through his giggles. "And we all have identical faces!"

"You hold yourself much more gently than Shade does." He pointed out. "Your stance is more open. Shade's got a resting bitch face. You look like you'd hug me and cry if I so much as stubbed a toe." He teased.

"Hey!" Came two affronted shouts from both in front of and behind him. Turning around, he saw Shade and Herb walking towards them, the shrine that had glowed orange before now lit up an electric blue. Herb was stifling furious giggles as Shade glowered at him. Armor just raised a brow.

"My point exactly." He shrugged, entirely unapologetic.

"Oh I'll show you grouchy you smug little-" 

"That's enough." Saff stated, a firm tone in his voice that took him by surprise. "Let's move, I don't like us fighting each other. I made sure to bottle some water and throw it in the slate, but there's a Bazaar between here and the town, so we can stop for water there, too." He handed Herb the slate. "We didn't have any arm wraps, so you'll have to change. Pick what you want, but go for something more covering, please."

Shade let out a low whistle as Herb trudged off to select an outfit. "Where'd you learn to grow a spine? That was almost impressive." He stated dryly, though his words didn't have the intended effect.

"From them." He said, pointing over to the Gerudo guards. "They told me a lot, we spent a whole hour talking together! They were nice." He was clearly smiling behind the mask.

"Wh- how!? I tried for so long to get directions!" Shade spluttered. It was a good question, and one he'd been mulling over. What was it that made Saff different from Shade? Besides the obvious, the guards didn't have any real reason to like one over the other, yet gave Saff their attention whilst ignoring Shade. It was perplexing, and it felt like the answer was on the tip of his tongue. 

They set out into the sandstorm. Herb was wearing the Hylian tunic and trousers, but had taken the bandana from the climbing set and used to to form a facemask, shielding him from the worst of the storm. Clever.

The sandstorm raged on all sides, obscuring their vision completely. They'd have been completely lost had Saff not miraculously pulled directions from Kotta and the other Gerudo who Saff had said was called Liana. He allowed Saff to take the lead, following some trail unseen to them as he occasionally took swigs from his water skin. The desert sun, whilst hidden from them by the sandstorm, still beat down furiously as their skin was aggravated by the particles. Saff pulled his scarf up fully hide his neck as the wind picked up, occasionally getting into someone's eyes causing a flood of curses to fill the silence.

In the distance, thunder boomed across the desert. Colossal thuds could be heard throughout the planes as something out of their sight thundered across the wastes.

Vah Naboris.

"Liana said that Vah Naboris could control lighting." Saff said, looking worriedly to their right. "Anyone who gets too close... well they don't usually get back up."

"Is it coming for the town?" Shade asked, gripping his sword uneasily. Herb shifted to hide behind him, looking into the raging winds with a look that Armor was surprised to see on his face. Not that he could blame him, at least when they were fighting Ruta they could see the Divine Beast. How could they fight and board something they couldn't even see? That they couldn't even get close to without being struck by a bolt from the heavens. Topaz gave it's wearer some kind of resistance to electricity, right? Maybe he could figure something out.

"Not yet. Currently it's walking in a giant loop, but who knows when that could change? The entire town's on edge. Not to mention... they didn't say much, but I think something important must have been taken." Saff finished worriedly, before brightening. "I think I see something up ahead!"

Soon, a shape formed in the distance, it grew in size before they broke through the storm into a small oasis that must have been the Kara Kara Bazaar. There were a gathering of people here. A couple Gorons lounging by the waters, whilst the Gerudo were mostly clustered near the main building. Surprisingly, there were a lot of males lying about in the sand. Some looked hopeful, others completely dejected. The Gerudo looked at all of them impassively.

They decided to take a short break whilst they waited, sending their apparent master negotiator Saff to purchase the aforementioned chilly elixirs and get directions. Herb, Shade, and himself took refuge next to a smattering of rocks that shielded them from the worst of the storm. Fifteen minutes later Saff cam back with a spring in his step after having an evidently pleasant chat with the Gerudo. They all gave him friendly waves as he retreated, even a shout of "Come back soon, okay short-"

Whatever she said next was lost to the storm. Saff handed them each and bottle, pulling down his mask to knock one back alongside them.

The cooling potion was a relief to their heavy, overheated bodies. Fresh and rejuvenated, they gathered their gear and set off into the sandstorm again, following Saff's lead towards their final destination. Gerudo town.

"I bought a set of desert clothing at the Bazaar." Saff said amicably, as they strolled through the desert. Weirdly enough, he was the only one not really bothered by the sandstorm. Probably some weird, Sheikah outfit tech. Now he wished he'd called it first, but he'd picked the Champions tunic, so everyone else got to pick their full outfits first. "It seemed a tad exposed, though. So we can look at it more closely when we get to town."

Herb nodded. "Yeah, wearing exposed clothing would not be fun in- aw FUCK! Sand in my eyes! Ow!" He yelped, rubbing at his eyes as he hunched over, causing Shade to laugh.

"Language." Saff said absentmindedly.

The journey to town was a fair stretch, but their elixirs kept the head off their backs for long enough. Soon enough, the storm began to thin and a structure took shape before them. Thank goodness for Saff and his approachable air, or else they would have struggled. They'd have made it, but significantly more cranky.

The walls were made of sandstone, like the Bazaar. Unlike the Bazaar, there was some kind of overhang left of the main gate where a cluster of weary and disappointed looking travellers collected. Again, they were all male. Something in his brain was close to clicking, he could feel it. Two guards wielding spears stood guard on either side of the entryway. The storm was less intense by the walls of Gerudo Town, but he still admired their fortitude to be able to wear nothing but their desert armour which left most of their skin exposed.

They approached the gates, only for the guards to cross their spear in front of them.

"Halt, Voe's." The guard on the left stated. And it finally clicked why the guards at the stable didn't seem to appreciate their company. "You are not permitted into this town. Your Vai companion must enter alone."

Armor tried desperately to keep a straight face, even if Shade and Herb had no idea what was going on. The whine that emitted from Saff when he understood nearly made him break entirely, but through some grace of Hylia herself, he managed to hold firm. He cleared his throat. "Saff-" He paused, to not let any humour leak into his voice. "Saff, why don't you go on ahead. We'll see you at the Bazaar..." He trailed off. "Sis." He finished, nearly snorting at the betrayed look Saff shot him.

Herb and Shade gave him confused looks as he pulled back, following his lead and stepping back to. The guards uncrossed their spears and Saff still didn't go through. He gave a look to the guards. "Sorry, she's shy. It's okay Saff, you know where to find us."

With one last betrayed, suffering glance at him, he- she this was too funny walked through the gates into Gerudo town.

Herb and Shade laughed for nearly a full hour when he filled them in.

He put a solemn hand on each of their shoulders. "We shouldn't laugh, this is an important mission. This is invaluable to our quest, so we shouldn't mock Saff."

He paused, before continuing. "We can only hope She'll pull through." Before dissolving into laughter himself.

This. Was. Priceless.