#3sent

...is this a continuation? Yeah, sure, why not?

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Wind is well aware that he's the youngest. He'd be the smallest, too, if Four wasn't so darn tiny. He's not the weakest, though, and he knows what it's like to protect those he loves. 

He has bruised kidneys and can feel both a black eye and a purple jaw incoming, but he stands straight and steady. The magic thing happening on the other side of the grid of bars is making both Four and Hyrule sick, so it's up to Wind to keep his eyes open and fists ready. He'd all but forced them to take him, too, and he doesn't regret it. 

The people out there don't even glance at Wind. He hasn't seen them so much of anything, really, but he heard them talk, and he knows they want to hurt Hyrule and Four. They sound excited. They want magic, the kind that floats around in solid glass orbs over on one of the shelves like awful trophies. Wind knows that he can't let that happen, and he's prepared to fight.

The jingling noise that Legend's box of rings made often inspired him. He knew every ring in there, and each had a variety of applications. Well, except for a few, their uses too narrow to use them very creatively. He still enjoyed being able to pull out tools that fit the situation exactly. 

The current monster they were tracking left a trail that wolf-Twilight could sniff out, but just barely. Legend fished one specific ring out, one made of dark steel and bright silver twisted and pressed together in a pretty pattern, one he didn't love using but would get the job done. 

Whatever he saw with this on, he'd keep quiet. Probably. 

With everyone watching him and similarly waiting to see if this would work the way they hoped, Legend slipped the ring on and opened his eyes. Someone commented about how they'd changed color. That made sense, the ring changed what and how he could see. 

Yes, he could see the trail, it was fairly obvious now. Legend ignored the glow around Sky, the tiny spirit fires around Wild, even the silhouette around Time. But he froze when a dark shape in the corner of his eye shivered and stretched—Four's shadow, blooming into something truly eldritch that didn't seem to care at all about actually looking like the small Hero's shadow. 

Legend forced his eyes away. He'd keep quiet. He'd keep very quiet. He'd just find an excuse sometime soon to throw the Master Sword that direction, just in case. 

A wave of panic crashed over Warriors, and he let himself flounder for two seconds before the Captain took over. He stood taller under the bright, cold sun of an unfamiliar era. 

"Sky and Legend," he snapped, not bothering to soften his voice, "talk to people. See what you can find. Twilight and Wild, see if you can pick up a trail somewhere, anywhere. Time and I will talk to law enforcement. We meet back here in two hours, exactly. We have three members missing, and one day to find them."

Here's the end! I'll stick these up on AO3 at some point probably

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It's almost impossible for Wild to be patient as he watches Legend pick the lock. It's not a skill they need to call on often, since they usually either kick down doors or have Hyrule's magic key, but Wild is glad they have someone to do it now. His hands tighten on the shaft of the spear he's chosen to use, something versatile for the small rooms. He hops from foot to foot. His nervous energy is echoed in the five others around him, to different degrees. 

The instant that Legend lets out a grunt of satisfaction, Twilight pushes into the room, Wild on his heels. 

The room isn't exactly still, but it's certainly less busy than Wild had thought it would be. He sweeps his eyes over the tables and equipment and scattered papers, counting five bookish types and three muscle types laid out on the floor, most of them with minor head wounds. 

"Guys!" Wind says, turning to grin at them charging in. He looks beaten up, but he's in relatively good spirits. "Great timing."

In short order, Wind gets fed a red potion and wrapped up in Warriors's arms, a sickly Hyrule gets a green potion and Legend's arm, and a half-unconscious Four gets Sky's sailcloth and support. Wild isn't sure what happened here, but he roams the room to try his hand at forensic investigation. He snatches a protocol book to look at later, half of his mind engaged with the idea of dinner. 

He has some seafood leftover. Roasted porgy sounds good, perhaps in a stew. It's a comfort food for Wind, and as long as it isn't too spicy, Four will like it. And of course Hyrule eats everything, but Wild thinks he's partial to stews and soups. They all are, really. 

How about Hyrule?

---

Wind picks his way over unconscious bodies to the shelf of glass. He doesn't know what to do with the little hand-sized orbs, but he doesn't want to leave them alone here. They feel too important. After a bit of thought, he ends up wrapping them in a cloak and shoving them inside a leather bag he nicks off of someone. 

He keeps two of the orbs out, though—one appears empty, but sparkles with pinks and blues when he looks at it with a lantern behind it, and the other is so vibrantly, violently Four-colored that it feels strange to hold. Wind carefully wipes away the smear of blood that mars its surface. 

With the bag over his shoulder and the orbs in his hands, Wind steals the keys and unlocks Hyrule's cell first. He's acting kind of like he did when they first met him, a little feral, but his eyes aren't focusing and his face is red. Wind doesn't give him an opportunity to bolt, though, and hands him the glittering orb. He doesn't know what to do with it—break it?—but Hyrule takes it, and his ragged breathing smooths, finally. 

"Hyrule?" 

"Wind? What…" Hyrule is back to himself, now, and his eyes fix on the mess behind Wind. 

"I beat them up. But more are probably coming, so we should get out of here."

Hyrule nods and casts the now-empty sphere aside. "Four?" 

Course I wanna :D An excuse to write Vidow in yet another unexplained, random AU??? Count me in.

Shadow had to hold his floppy hat onto his head as the wind tried to steal it away, rushing over his face and freezing the tips of his ears. He grinned into the clouds that parted before the airship, blown by the propellers and fading just enough to see the sparkling country below. 

The door slid open, then shut, and Shadow held out his hand behind him. Vio's fingers laced through his in response, warm. Maybe a little too warm, actually. 

"You're freezing," Vio said, speaking up to be heard over the rushing wind. He stepped in close so their shoulders pressed together. "It's a bit dangerous to be out here without a coat." 

"Danger? Who cares about danger?" Shadow leaned just right, so his chin propped up on Vio's shoulder. He had to admit, the scratchy wool felt nice. Maybe he really should get a coat. 

"I do," Vio answered, adjusting to make the position more comfortable for them both. "I don't want to lose you again."

Shock

:) hey anyone else see the totk earlier today? (Not really spoilers, but this does reference the video.)

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Hyrule had been the only one to climb a tree just now, so he's the only one not shocked by their missing brother falling from the sky with a shriek of joy. Everyone—once they get past their initial panic—promptly dogpiles Wild with hugs, Hyrule near the bottom of the pile. It's laughter and some tears all around.

"Oh, I missed you all," Wild says, sitting on the ground with Hyrule still trapped in his hold. Hyrule doesn't mind much. They'd received a few letters from Wild while he'd been gone, so they know about his arm, but it's their first time seeing it. There's a bit of magic involved, Hyrule can tell. 

"We missed you too," Twilight assures him.

"Your hair is a mess," Warriors says, which is pretty much the same thing. 

Wild still doesn't let go of Hyrule, but he pulls out a shield anyway and puts it on the ground. "I have so much to show you! I learned so much. Have you heard of puffshrooms?" 

FS! 420 words blaze it

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To nobody's surprise, Red starts crying long before they make it to the sanctuary. Green can tell he's trying not to be loud or annoying about it, but the atmosphere weighs heavily, soaking their boots and making it hard to breathe. Or maybe that's just the impending rain. It's fitting. 

Zelda isn't with them. She'd respected their request to stay back, so she's waiting at the edge of the forest. She'll come if they're gone more than an hour, of course, and Green doesn't worry about that. 

Five minutes into the silent walk, Green starts crying, but like the rest, he doesn't stop. Red holds his hand, and Green squeezes it back. He doesn't know when Blue's tears come, but by the time they reach the grove, only Vio's cheeks are dry. 

Each of them holds their sword, sheathed, looking more out-of-place than they ever have. In the gray light and encroaching mist, the gold hilts look coppery and distinctly non-glimmery. Green almost wished they had lost one of them for good. 

Vio's quiet, and as they approach the pedestal, he drifts closer and closer to Green's other side. Their steps align, all four of them, and Red's tears renew. 

"I don't—" he says, and Green moves from holding his hand to wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "I don't want to say goodbye."

"It isn't really goodby-ye," Vio tries to explain, but his voice breaks on the last word, and he goes quiet instead of talking more. 

Blue huffs, though it sounds wet. "We won't exist anymore. It's goodbye."

"The longer we talk," Green says, trying to be firm, "the harder it'll be. Come on. Let's just…" He's the first to pull the sheath off of his sword. It shines dully, and the first raindrops fall. 

Vio's the second, and Blue is the third. Red hesitates, but follows, raindrops mixing with tears on his face. He hiccups. His emotions are making it difficult for Green to keep control of his own. It's probably the same for Blue and Vio, but nobody tells Red to be quiet. 

They step up to the pedestal as one, swords held up. Is it Green's imagination, or do his brothers' swords flicker? 

"See you later," Green says, a hurricane in his heart and his fingers clammy. He doesn't think, he just plunges the sword down into the stone. 

—and it's pain—it's emotional turmoil—it's seeing the world from too many angles—it's being too big—it hurts—

And then there's just one of them.