Chapter Text
A heavy sense of motion, the wind whistling in his ears, and a distant but clearly panicked shout were the first things to return to him after his consciousness roused from whatever dark depth it had been slumbering in. Who was shouting? Were they in trouble? He had to help!
He sat up just as his eyes flew open, the motion and blurred vision making him clutch his stomach with one hand and his head with the other. He couldn’t hear any shouting, panicked or otherwise. That was good, right? He tried his vision once more, this time without moving, and had much better results.
No wonder he couldn’t hear any shouting. There was no one around. No people nearby and even his mind was quiet.
Even his mind was quiet.
He gasped, looking down at his tunic even as his mind cried out. Green. All the panels of his tunic were green instead of the sewn-together pieces in four different colours. No wonder it was so quiet, he was split as well as being physically alone.
Green was in some sort of swamp, with bits of land, grasses and brackish looking water as far as the eye could see. He got to his feet, thankful that he hadn’t landed in any water, and turned in a slow circle. Off to one side were some trees. They appeared to be the start of a forest, and Green decided a forest was better than a swamp. He trudged over there, growling under his breath whenever his shoes plunged into water or squishy ground, giving a loud, sucking squelch as he pulled each foot free.
There were tiny little bugs flying around in swarms that kept getting in his face no matter how quickly or violently he waved his arms to disperse the bug cloud. By the time he reached the trees, he was spitting and sneezing, trying to get all of the tiny, winged nuisances out of his mouth and nose.
The others didn’t know about the Four Sword’s ability, and the smith had been unwilling to reveal it unless something came up. Green guessed that something had come up, so he should search for everyone - the rest of the group and the rest of him. He would take anyone he could find right now.
They had all been together before, and nowhere near a swamp as far as he knew, so the search could take a while. Unless the others were dropped off not too far away. Green stamped down the urge to shout out. He might get a reply from an ally, sure, but there was just as much chance of attracting unwanted attention.
Best to play it safe.
Didn’t stop him from grinding his teeth at every little noise.
After about ten minutes, Green’s ears perked up as they caught something other than forest creatures, birds, and rustling foliage. He would know the distinct sound of battle anywhere - the undeniable sound of steel singing through the air, and the metallic thuds of something impacting a shield. Green threw all remaining caution to the wind and ran, heading straight for the sounds.
In a thicket that was likely once very beautiful, there was devastation. Trampled plants, blood splattered and pooling on the ground, both red and the darker version tainted with black that they had come to associate with infected monsters, a couple of monsters lying slain and yet to fade away.
In the middle of it all stood Warriors and Hyrule, deftly battling the last of the monsters. They were outnumbered by one, and that one was sneaking around, taking pot-shots with a shoddy bow. Green wasted no time and raced forward, drawing his sword.
He came up behind the monster, one of Twilight’s Bokoblins if he wasn’t mistaken, and rammed his sword into its ribs, sliding the blade neatly between the bones and straight into its heart.
The Bokoblin sputtered and gurgled, trying and failing to draw air into damaged lungs that no longer wanted to work. It fell, coming off the blade with a wet squish followed by a thud as the body hit the ground.
Hyrule and Warriors, both having finished off their own opponents, looked at Green in relief and gratitude. The captain’s eyes narrowed though, and he threw out an arm to stop Hyrule from getting closer. The traveller glanced at the knight in dismay and confusion
“Who are you?” Warriors almost snarled, levelling the tip of his blood-stained sword at Green’s chest.
Oh, crap, Green thought. He very slowly placed his sword on the ground and raised his hands in surrender.
“Uh, Captain? That’s our smithy,” Hyrule loudly whispered, eyes darting between them both.
“Not a bad effort,” Warriors said, tone faux casual. “You got just about everything right, except for one of the bigger details. Very sloppy of you, whoever you are, not to know that our smith’s tunic is not all green.” At this, his bright blue eyes narrowed further, and his lips pulled back in a growl.
Hyrule immediately scanned Green from head to toe, horror dawning on his face as he realised the captain was correct. “What have you done with him?” he demanded.
“Whoa, whoa, wait! It is me, the smith! I can explain the tunic!” Green hastily said.
“This should be good,” said the knight, not moving his sword tip an inch.
Green took a deep breath. “So, you know the Four Sword is a magical sword, right? And that I would reveal its powers when the time came? I didn’t mean for it to happen, but it seems like the time has come.”
“He did say that,” Hyrule said softly.
Warriors rolled his eyes. “You’re not going to get us to believe that the sword changes the colour of your clothes.”
“Well, no,” Green admitted, awkwardly trying not to fidget and keep his hands where the captain could see them. “The Four Sword can split me into four me’s. Each of us carries the colour of one quarter of my normal tunic. As you can tell, I’m the green one. Er…hello?” he said with a short wave.
The knight lowered the sword fractionally as he absorbed the information. “Are you saying there are three other versions of you running around with different coloured clothes?” he asked after a long moment.
“Yes! Exactly!” Green said with a smile.
Hyrule squinted at him and put a hand to his chin, rubbing it absently in thought. “So, do you each have names? Because calling you all the same thing is going to get very confusing.”
Green finally let his hands fall to his sides and shrugged. “I’m Green and the others are Red, Blue, and Vio. Before you say anything, yes, I know they’re not the most creative! It was a decision made under duress,” he said sheepishly.
Warriors snorted at that and finally lowered his sword. There was no talk for the next couple of minutes as all three cleaned their weapons, though the captain continued to glance at Green now and then, as though looking or waiting for something. Green could understand the scrutiny and suspicion, but that didn’t make it any less irritating. It could have gone a lot worse, and Green only hoped the others were doing okay.
Where did everyone go? Why am I split? Where am I?
Red kept asking himself these questions despite the fact that he didn’t have any answers. He couldn’t help it. They kept popping up in his mind as he walked on, the quiet and solitude wearing away at him. He liked a bit of peace and quiet, but Red was a people person at heart and craved that interaction.
He was near the edge of a desert too, and you could hardly get more solitude than that. A big, sandy dust bowl of nothing. Sure, he’d seen some insects and a lizard or two, but they didn’t count because they couldn’t talk back. Red wiped some sweat off his face and tried to ignore all the uncomfortable ways his clothes were sticking to his skin.
A dot in the sky drew his attention and he watched it eagerly, hoping it was a bird that mimicked Hylian speech so he could chat with it.
It grew bigger as it got closer, and Red gave an eager little clap. His enthusiasm faltered as he noticed the lack of wings the bird had. Part of it was rather Hylian-shaped, nothing at all like a bird. Moments later he could make out Sky, using his sailcloth to glide. His enthusiasm returned tenfold, and he shoved both hands in the air, waving wildly.
Much better than a bird! he thought happily.
Sky landed a dozen feet away and kicked up a little spray of sand. He pulled the sailcloth down to his shoulders and fastened it with the efficiency of long practice, then strode over to Red with a bright grin.
“Good to see you, Smithy! The old man and I were wondering where everyone else ended up, so I went up the mountain there to scout and spotted you. Come on, I’ll take you back to him, he’ll be happy to see you,” Sky babbled, already walking off and waving for Red to follow.
Red cocked his head, giving a moment to ponder why Sky didn’t mention his tunic being different. Just a moment, mind, then he cast the thought aside and scampered after Sky, pleased not to be alone in this desert…whoever’s desert it was…anymore.
The thought of shade at the foot of the mountain spurred Red on, as did the easy chatter between him and the Skyloftian. Soon enough they left the sand behind, trading it for the firmer ground the mountain offered, and came to a natural little hollow in the side of the mountain. It was rather shallow, but deep enough to offer space out of the sun and wind.
Time was leaning against the concave wall, arms crossed and expression serious as he slowly lost a staring match against a large rock, half buried in front of him. Red decided it would make a perfect seat and quickly claimed it, smiling at the acquisition of his new perch, and feeling good that he had saved Time from a humiliating drawn-out defeat.
“Hello!” he chirped. He swung his legs gently, tapping his heels lightly against the rock.
“Who, exactly, did you bring back with you?” Time asked Sky, tilting his head at Red.
Red clasped his hands, fingers twining together, and cleared his throat before Sky could do anything else than look startled and confused. “Right, I suppose I should explain. So, here’s what’s going on…”
Stupid monsters with their stupid need to go after people because they have brains smaller than a pea that even a Minish would have a hard time finding!
Blue’s mind was very busy cursing up a storm. He channelled that anger into his arms, making his slashes harder and faster. He was doing more damage, but his swings were also more extended as a result. It was a good thing none of the monsters he was facing were smart enough to take advantage. Blue absently wondered if Tektites and Peahats even had brains. He had serious doubts.
An arrow flew by, striking a Tektite right in its one big eye, closely followed by a boomerang that knocked down a Peahat. Blue wasted no time in crowing about his good fortune and instead pounced, finishing off both monsters in seconds. He was panting but spun around to face the direction the arrow came from, sword held at the ready, a few drops of blood and monster juices falling from it to hit the ground silently.
Before him, bow and boomerang in hand, stood Wild and Legend. Both of them were eyeing him oddly and Blue mentally cursed them for being observant. If he had to get stuck with someone, why not the other parts of himself? Or a Link that would only notice something off with the smith if Blue started singing and dancing randomly.
But no, it had to be the veteran and the keen-eyed cook. Of course, that’s just how my luck goes. Why would any higher power ever decide to show a speck of mercy and grant me a break?
“Anyone in the mood for a snack? I’m thinking bananas,” the cook suddenly said.
“Are you serious?” Legend asked, raising a disbelieving eyebrow and giving the longer-haired boy a look that clearly said, ‘what kind of weird mushroom did you find and eat?’
Wild absently hummed an affirmation and licked his lips.
“Keep your stupid bananas,” Blue said with a frown. “Am I the first one you’ve found?”
At Blue’s answer, Wild’s shoulders released most of their tension and he seemed more relaxed, if not still wary.
“And who, exactly,” Legend interjected, “have we found?”
“A magical sword called the Four Sword? A tunic that usually has four colours? You work it out,” Blue said with a huff, not in the mood for this. He really did not like being apart from his other selves. Experience had been a harsh teacher, but he’d learned that lesson well.
The mountainous terrain with rivulets of lava added its own level of tense atmosphere. The heat wasn’t too bad, yet, but it certainly did nothing to alleviate any negative feelings. The sooner they all got out of here the better off they’d be.
Legend hummed, looking him up and down. “So… doppel, clone, or fragment?” he asked.
Blue blinked, stunned, before a smirk slid onto his face. “Veteran indeed,” he said with a chuckle. “A mix between clone and fragment, I guess? The initial split was a bit messy. Name’s Blue.”
The champion was looking between Blue and Legend, clearly lost regarding the conversation.
“Creative,” Legend said dryly.
Blue made a rude gesture in return.
It did not take Vio long to deduce the shift in geographical location once awake, or that he was very much alone in more ways than one. His eyes drifted to his shadow, and he sighed, gently caressing the ground it laid on with a wistful expression. He needed to get up, move, and find the others. There was little point trying to work out why he was somewhere entirely different if he had no leads, and things would be easier with help.
He would likely have no choice but to come clean about the Four Sword’s ability if he ran into anyone else before meeting up with the other three parts of himself and merging back together. Hopefully whoever he came across first was the type to give him a chance to explain before attacking.
Vio looked across the lake he stood at the edge of. It was large to the point that he could only just make out the other side. The gentle fog that seemed to be rolling in wasn’t helping. He squinted, able to discern a shape moving around the edge of the lake. The fog made the shape hazy, blurring it enough to destroy most identifying features. Vio was left with the knowledge that it was some sort of creature, not a Hylian, as it moved low on all fours instead of upright.
He eased into a more battle-ready stance, waiting to draw a weapon or flee as the situation dictated. The shape made its way closer, details slowly becoming easier to pick out. Definitely a quadrupedal creature, mostly dark in colour, and quite swift. Also, it was heading unerringly in his direction. Did it have his scent?
Closer, closer…
“Wolfie?” Vio cautiously asked.
Now close enough to see, the shape was revealed to be a large wolf with dark green-grey fur and blue eyes, a familiar marking on its forehead. Wolfie wagged his tail, but it slowly ceased as he got a good look at Vio. He could see the wolf’s nose twitching madly as it scented the air, likely confused as his eyes and nose told him two conflicting things about Vio’s identity.
“I’m still the smith you know, just a part of him and not the whole,” Vio said matter-of-factly. “Have you found anyone else, Twilight? Can you track them down?”
The wolf gave a start, and black squares and rectangles floated upward from his form as it warped and changed. In a couple of seconds, Twilight was standing there, arms crossed, staring at him warily.
“You’re not the first I’ve found,” he said cagily.
He’s so unsubtle it’s almost physically painful. We may not have time for this, he thought with a sigh.
“Look, Twilight, the others may be in trouble, and I don’t want to have to waste time explaining more than I have to. Can you lead me back to whoever you’ve found so far?”
The ranch hand twitched, taking a step back in the direction he’d come from, but shifting from foot to foot instead of going any further. He seemed to make up his mind after several long seconds and jerked his head, marching off.
Vio rolled his eyes as Twilight’s back, jogging lightly to keep up with the Ordonian’s longer strides. He would’ve called the move petty and childish if he wasn’t fully aware that Twilight probably had no clue and just wanted to get back to whoever else he’d found as soon as possible.
The fog quickly obscured the spot Vio had been the one time he chanced a glance back. Time and distance seemed irrelevant while in the fog’s grasp, but both of them perked up at the sound of light and cheery humming. Twilight led him straight to Wind, the sailor cheerfully waving in greeting even as he ceased humming, though Vio noticed how careful he was to place himself between Vio and the sailor without appearing to be in the way.
“This fog came in so fast!” Wind announced. “I was a bit worried you’d get lost. But you found our smith!”
“I found part of our smith,” Twilight corrected.
Wind’s eyes went wide, and he bounced over, circling Vio as he looked for anything amiss. “You’re not missing a limb, are you?!” he blurted in horror and awe.
Vio raised an eyebrow, along with his arms, and spread his fingers so that Wind could get a good look. “No, I’m not missing any body parts. I am missing three other bodies though. They look exactly like me, except one is wearing red, one blue, and the other green. My name, before you ask, is Vio,” he calmly explained.
Something seemed to click in Twilight’s head, and he shuffled a bit further to the side. It was an olive branch and Vio nodded, taking it happily enough. Wind appeared boggled as he thought things over, his face twisting into all sorts of interesting expressions.
“Wait…” the sailor said suddenly. “Is that what the multi-coloured tunic is for? There are four of you?!”
May whatever power that is watching over me please give me the strength to deal with someone as bad as Red, yet even younger.