"Lester, it's all right. We'll organize patrols and find them. They might be new apprentices, but they're smart. They know what to do about rainfalls and Unseen, and have since they were kits." Almondfern said soothingly, though she could tell he was worried, too.

"Go. We can handle things here." Plumsong said and Lester didn't need to be told twice.

She raced to put on protection as Almondfern went to inform Goldstar of the situation, and patrols began to be divided, cats putting on protection.

Almondfern was in one patrol, Laurelbright in the second, and Stoneleaf in the third, and Lester joined Almondfern's patrol with Quietback in the lead, Buzzardglide joining them.

Quietback carried the conch and Lester felt worry and anxiety fill her as Goldstar issued instructions, she and Skypelt then leading the other patrols. They were sent toward the beaches, Skypelt and her patrol heading toward the other territories, Goldstar and her's heading in the general direction of the lighthouse.

They spread out but stayed in hearing range of each other, and searched carefully. Eventually, they picked up the scent of her kits, and Lester felt a sense of relief go through her.

"It looks like they could be headed to the Beach of Stars." Quietback commented, sniffing at the grass.

"We hadn't taken them there yet, but they were keen to go. I think they were hopeful in connecting with Starclan." Almondfern piped up and Lester wanted to laugh just a little.

In relief, because they had found them, and it could have really just been as harmless as wanting to connect with Starclan. Lester had her doubts about the powers o the starry clan, but her kits could believe whatever they wanted, and they seemed to share many of their clanmates beliefs. Of course they would want to see if the ancestors could reach them, even if they hadn't reached anyone in a very long time. They were just kits, after all, barely six moons, so curious in a world that had suddenly gotten so much larger.

They began to head that way, following the scent trail, and it was clear her kits had come this way some time ago, had been missing longer than anyone had noticed. But they were headed for the Beach of Stars, and Lester was still anxious, but she felt herself relaxing just a little bit more.

Until they saw the clouds, that was.

They were still a good distance from the Beach of Stars when Quietback spotted them rolling over the ocean, directly toward the beach, and Lester's fur fluffed up when the scent carried on the sudden gusting wind, because it was a rainfall, not a normal rain. Thunder and lightning to go with it, a big storm, the biggest rainfall she had seen.

Quietback sounded the conch and the rest of them began to move, Lester frozen.

"Lester, come on! We need to find shelter, just in case!" Quietback said, stopping as Almondfern and Buzzardglide dashed toward the trees.

Lester felt something in her chest seize.

"It's over the beach- my kits-" she stammered out, wanting to plunge forward into a run.

Quietback must have realized that, because he dashed over to her and seized her scruff in his teeth, hauling her back.

Lester didn't fight him, because she knew he was right, but her heart was pounding as he dragged her to shelter, and Quietback kept himself pressed against her. They waited it out, and it was massive. It didn't come at them, luckily, but it struck a swath as large as the Beach of Stars, pressing up into the hills. Seasons came and went in a quick cycle and when it was over, the land was a mess of new-leaf and green-leaf, but that was better than leaf-fall and leaf-bare.

The storm disappeared as quickly as it had come and they searched the sky for rainbows, but when they saw none, they broke free of cover. Lester didn't even hesitate, didn't try to find the scent trail; she just ran for the beach.

The others were on her tail and they reached the soaked expanse of black sand, making their way down, and then Lester spotted Leafpaw and Chickpaw. They were crying and crouched over something, and her paws kicked up sand as she flew toward them.

"Leafpaw! Chickpaw!" she cried and they turned toward her in a daze.

She still couldn't see what they were in front of, not clearly, and she skidded to a halt in front of them, checking them frantically, but their ginger pelts were untouched.

"Oh, babies, oh, you worried me so much!"

"Mama-"

"Mama, we... Mama..."

"Where is your brother?" Lester demanded after checking them and Chickpaw let out a wail, burying his head in her shoulder.

"Lester..." Quietback said and Lester looked at what her sons had been crouched over.

The soaked body of an old, thin cat rested in the sand, limp and streaming water, and Lester stared. She didn't understand, she didn't know why Chickpaw was sobbing so hard, it didn't make sense.

Quietback cautiously nudging the body and Lester saw a patch of brilliant ginger fur, untouched by the rain, and Leafpaw swallowed his sobs.

"He got caught in the storm, Mama." he whispered and collapsed on the sand.

Lester stared at the body, and it took her a few moments longer to realize what Leafpaw meant, what...

"No. No, no, that's not... No..." she whispered, creeping over to the body.

But the shape of the face, the shape of the body... It was Whimsypaw. Older, yes, turned white by the rain, but it was her Whimsy.

Lester stared, not breathing, not... Not doing anything except staring at the changed, strange body of her son for a long moment. When the keening sound started, she thought for a moment it was Leafpaw or Chickpaw, but then she realized it was her. She staggered forward and fell across Whimsypaw's body, pulling him close, beginning to sob.

"No, my baby... My baby..." she cried, and she didn't know how long she cried.

Leafpaw and Chickpaw pressed against her, mourning too, and Lester tried to pull herself together, because they needed her, she was worried by how shocked and dazed they had seemed when they had arrived. But she couldn't. She couldn't let go of her kit, she couldn't stop the sobs and the cries tearing themselves from her throat, and she wasn't aware of what the others were doing. She didn't realize that Quietback sent Buzzardglide back, nor did she see him comforting Almondfern, who was shedding tears of his own. Buzzardglide returned with Goldstar and Plumsong, and Plumsong was the one who pulled her away from Whimsypaw.

"Plumsong, no, please-" Lester cried, but he pulled her away, and away from her other kits as well.

"Lester. Lester, look at me." he ordered, she did.

She sniffled and stared at him, feeling dazed, her ears ringing.

"Your other kits need you. Whimsypaw needs to be burned. We'll hold a vigil for him afterward, but right now, we can't hesitate in case the Unseen come. You don't have to go, but Whimsypaw needs to be taken to be burned." he said firmly and Lester stared at him some more.

She balked at the idea of throwing Whimsypaw into the flames, but something in her reared up at the idea of not being there when it happened.

"No! No, I'm goin'. I'm takin' him to the Burnin' Caves, I am not leavin' him alone!" she hissed, feeling her fur rise despite the crusted protection.

"You can, but you need to get yourself together." Plumsong said sternly and Lester had the impulse to smack her claws across his face.

She restrained herself, and she remembered Flintfur being brought back to camp after he had died. Whimsypaw didn't even get that, but she understood why not, in the back of her mind. The circumstances were different.

She took a deep breath and quelled her tears, pulling herself together as quickly as she could.

"Could... Could I take him with you? He is- was- my apprentice." Almondfern asked her when she approached Whimsypaw's body, voice cracking.

Lester nodded and Goldstar and Plumsong were issuing instructions and Buzzardglide volunteered to come as well, considering the length of the journey.

"Mama... Mama, can we come?" Chickpaw asked, his voice trembling.

Lester couldn't deny them that, but she had to send them back to camp to get protection. They couldn't travel without it. Quietback sat with them and Buzzardglide promised to return with the kits, Goldstar and Plumsong promised to break the news to the clan.

This left Lester and Almondfern sitting beside Whimsypaw's body and they were silent, both grieving. Lester fell apart on the sand and it would only be later that they asked Leafpaw and Chickpaw what they had been doing. For now, all she knew was that she had almost lost all her kits and one of them was dead, and her heart was breaking. How could Whimsypaw be dead? She knew the rainfalls sped up time, and had heard the stories of that deer before she had joined, but she had never imagined...

Eventually, Buzzardglide brought her kits back and they had slings with herbs and some of the dried meat. From the smell of their breath, Plumsong had treated them for shock, and Lester ate her own dose before they set out. Buzzardglide carried Whimsypaw first; she was a tall and broad she-cat, and the weight was nothing for her.

Over the course of the journey, all three adults would take turns or bear his body together, and the apprentices would trail after them, they and Lester all staggering from shock and grief. Buzzardglide and Almondfern hunted and made sure they ate, and Lester curled up with her kits when they stopped at night, trying to keep herself together.

They reached the Burning Caves sooner than she had thought they would, and one of the Firewatchers spotted them as they were climbing up the path. Not one Lester knew, a warrior from one of the other clans, and the pale-speckled cat didn't move from their post.

"Buzzardglide?" they called out, and Buzzardglide lifted her head.

She was currently carrying Whimsypaw, Almondfern making sure he didn't slip, and Leafpaw and Chickpaw pressed closer to Lester. They had never met a cat from another clan before.

"Sparrowtail." Buzzardglide grunted and Sparrowtail leapt down to join them.

"Is that Jackdawnudge?" Sparrowtail asked softly.

"No. It's one of our apprentices. We'll explain after the burning. Goldstar would have sent messengers to the other clans by now." Buzzardglide said and Chickpaw whimpered.

Sparrowtail's mouth gaped open, but the tom closed it just as fast, and lead them the rest of the way.

Tumbledaisy and Petalcurrent had come to take their turn as Firewatchers just before, and Lester felt something squirm in her stomach at the realization that two of their clanmates didn't know. She didn't... She took a deep breath and nudged her sons forward as Sparrowtail went ahead to alert the others, a bit of apprehension in her. She hadn't been to the Burning Caves before, though maybe they should make sure all the cats in the clan, warriors or not, were familiar with this place.8/3/2026

She followed Buzzardtail in, her sons pressed against her, and the smell of smoke and fire made Lester want to back away, but she pressed forward. It was larger and brighter than she had thought it would be inside, but it was certainly unfriendly. The fires weren't immediately at the entrance, but they were close enough that the heat hit them before they were far. Lester let herself be guided through everything, watching as Buzzardglide set Whimsypaw down, and Sparrowtail led them to the living caves, though a cat was tending the fires.

They followed and met the other Firekeepers, cats from all clans, and Tumbledaisy and Petalcurrent rubbed against Lester, Leafpaw, and Chickpaw, clearly shaken but offering comfort. Lester explained about the rainfall, because she was not going to make her sons recount it. Everyone was clearly made uneasy by this, some clearly frightened, but it was also not a surprise that the rainfall had done this.

Goldstar had told the other clans about that deer Lester had heard about, after all.

After that, they wasted no time. There was no telling when an Unseen might come. A Kinkclan senior warrior, Alderfoot, lead them back to the Burning Cave and Lester swallowed hard.

"You don't have to do it, young'un. I'll get him into the flames." Alderfoot said when she hesitated beside Whimsypaw's body.

"I'll do it. I just... We need a minute." Lester said, swallowing hard.

The others backed up respectfully and Lester crouched down, pressing her nose into her son's fur. Her breath caught and Leafpaw and Chickpaw did the same, Lester dragging her tongue over Whimsypaw's pelt. She groomed him, because the journey had not been kind to him, and she didn't want him to be burned looking messy. They let her, but finally, Buzzardglide rested her tail on her shoulder, and Lester nodded.

She picked up Whimsypaw with Buzzardglide and together, they walked to the edge of the pit of flame. Lester didn't want to throw her baby into tem, she didn't want to burn him, but the body wasn't Whimsypaw anymore. He was in Starclan, hopefully, and his body was nothing more than a shell, empty and not him.

It wasn't him.

She repeated that over and over as she dropped his body into the flames and they backed up to a safe distance, Leafpaw and Whimsypaw pressing close to her when they had settled. And then, to her surprise, Alderfoot opened his jaws and began to sing.

"This one night, this one night

Every night and all.

Fire and sleet and starry light

And Starclan receive thy soul.

When from life away thouest past,

Every night and all.

To starry wood thou come at last,

And Starclan receive thy soul."

He continued the strange, haunting song, and Lester listened, realizing it spoke of the journey to Starclan. The words were strange and she wasn't sure if she believed in Starclan, but in this moment, she wanted to. Whimsypaw had and she hoped those starry cats were real, because if not...

They sat there for a long time, she and her kits, and the Firewatchers stayed with them, until, finally, they drew them into the living caves. Alderfoot's haunting song still filled Lester's ears and she was glad to settle in the nests, making sure her kits ate. They curled together, and they were left alone respectfully, Lester beginning to groom them.

They were crying and so was she, and she did her best for them, the two of them pressing so close. There was a stark gap where Whimsypaw should have been and Lester tried not to think of that, because her living kits needed her. And she knew that that gap would always be there, in some way or another.

Finally, when they were both groomed and all three of them exhausted from crying and grief, Lester asked the question she had wanted to for days. She hadn't asked it before, but she knew Goldstar would ask them when they got home, and she didn't want them to feel pressured or anything.

"Why were three at the beach?" she asked quietly, wondering if it was wrong to ask now.

But it had been several days already, and she hoped the worst of the sting had faded.

"We... We heard you and some of the others... Talking about a monster." Chickpaw whispered, gulping.

Then they both spilled out what they knew about the thing that was coming or lurking in the ocean, and Lester's fur stood on end. No, no, no. They weren't supposed to know, they weren't... She listened as they said they had gone looking for it and were trying to lure it out of the ocean, and everything else.

The fight, and how they had left Whimsypaw at the water, and by then they were both sobbing. Feeling guilty for leaving him there by himself. Lester comforted them, because it hadn't been their fault, it hadn't been, and she drew them as close as she could.

"Shh. Shh, it wasn't your fault, babies. Never. It was just an accident." she soothed, grooming them until the sobs had subsided.

But then... Then... She had to ask.

"Did it come?" she whispered, fearing the answer.

"I don't know, Mama. We couldn't see a lot from the shelter, and Whimsy was staring at something, but... But I don't know. I didn't see it but he was so afraid." Leafpaw replied, burying his face in her shoulder.

Lester could say nothing, just nuzzled them, and she wondered if Whimsypaw had seen something. If that monster was real, not just a vision of somethin to come... She knew it was coming. But she didn't want it to come now. Not yet. Not... Not for a long time. There was no way to tell from the kits' description, though, and she didn't want to push it. She soothed them and kept her fears to herself, and kept them close.

"Mama... Mama, is that monster real?" Chickpaw whispered, looking up at her.

"I don't know, baby. I don't know." Lester answered, licking his ears, wishing she could answer him. Or at least know enough to firmly lie.

Chickpaw burrowed against her and she kept them close, swallowing hard, watching over them as the others eventually returned, watching them until she couldn't keep her head up any longer.

-

Lester, Leafpaw, and Chickpaw have been struck with heavy grief.

7/23/2026-8/9/2026

*Song used is an adjusted version of the tradition song Lyke Wake Dirge

<- Previous | Next ->

Farore took another deep breath, actually calming down this time. “Yeah. Thanks, girls. What would I do without you?”

“Go crazy,” Din said matter-of-factly. “That's how Ordona went.”

“I remember her,” Nayru mused. “She was... odd.”

“Didn't she retire to be a Light Spirit in a goat province or something?” Farore asked.

The Three Sisters were silent for a moment.

“...Yeah, she was weird,” Din decided.

…………………………………………………………………………………

 Green, Blue, Vio, and Red surveyed the results of the latest attempt to close the hole, being a complicated setup involving a mirror, three bombs, time-delayed wicks, and an application of physics to invert the explosion.

It hadn't worked.

“...Dang,” Green sighed. “Alright, Vio, what's next on the list?”

Vio flipped open a book and paged through the contents before stopping a good ways in.

“By this point... we're down to either throwing things at it, or going and getting another magic-user to see if they know any different spells used for closing stuff. And as a last resort, asking nicely.”

“Somehow I doubt getting another magic user will do much,” Blue commented. “I mean, we've already tried all the spells Zelda sent with us, all six of the other Maidens already tried their luck, and I'm really not sure who else we could find that would have a better chance than them.”

“True...” Green said. “But that just leave us with...”

“Throwing things and asking nicely,” Vio supplied.

“What would we even throw?” Red wondered.

“Let's chuck a Cucco at it and see what happens,” Blue suggested. His three counterparts glared at him.

“That's a terrible idea,” Vio stated.

“If anything, that's going to get us killed,” Green added.

“So... that just leaves asking nicely?” Red asked curiously.

Everyone exchanged dubious looks.

“...If someone wants to try,” Green said doubtfully.

“I'll do it!” Red said cheerfully. He took a step forward and said, “Excuse me, Mr. Hole? Would you mind closing yourself for us? It'd be a huge help.”

A good sixty seconds crawled by as nothing happened, the silence broken only by the birds and Blue's muffled snicker at the absurdity of it all.

“...Well it was worth a shot I guess,” Green sighed. “Anybody have any other ideas?”

“I could punch it,” Blue offered.

“And then you'll go the same way that rock did,” Vio retorted.

“We don't know that...”

Vio pegged him with a dry stare.

“...It was the only idea I had left, okay?” Blue defended himself. “And it's not like anybody else was saying anything...”

“I could ask meanly this time instead,” Red suggested.

“If asking nicely didn't work, what makes you think asking meanly will? Heck, what makes you think asking will work at all?”

“Well, 'It's not like anybody else was saying anything', right?” Red quoted.

“Vio said that,” Blue said unconvincingly.

“I did not!”

Green sighed as the two got into another of their usual spats and took over the conversation. “If you wanna give it a go, you can certainly try, Red. We're out of ideas otherwise.”

Red nodded and took a second step forward. He took a deep breath, got himself into a 'Blue' mindset, and snapped, “You close up right now or I'm gonna smack the black right off your umbra!”

Despite this most convincing threat, the hole did not respond.

“...Dangit,” Red sighed, deflating back into his normal personality.

“On the bright side,” Green said, “I thought it was a very convincing 'Blue' impression.”

Red turned and beamed at him. “Thanks!”

Green returned the smile, then paused. Over Red's shoulder, where the handle of his Four Sword poked out, the red stone in the pommel seemed to be ever-so-slightly glowing. Green frowned, confused, then shot a quick glance over his own shoulder at his own Four Sword.

It was perfectly normal.

A look at the still-arguing Blue and Vio showed that their swords weren't doing anything unusual either, so Green turned back to Red to make sure he wasn't imagining it.

...Nope, still glowing.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Red asked curiously.

“Not you,” Green said. “Your Sword. It's glowing.”

“Really?” Red twisted around to see for himself. “Oh neat! ...Why's it doing that?”

“No idea,” Green said. “Hey, Vio!”

“What!?” Vio snapped, then winced. “Sorry, wrong conversation – what?”

“Red's Sword is glowing. Any idea why?”

“It's doing what?” Vio repeated, coming over for a closer look and leaning in to examine Red's weapon more closely. “That's odd...”

“It can't be that weird though, since yours is doing it too,” Red pointed out. Vio raised an eyebrow at that, then glanced over his shoulder. Sure enough, the violet stone in the pommel of his Sword was glowing just like Red's was.

“...Huh?” Vio said knowledgeably.

“Now that's just bizarre,” Blue decided, having joined the group again after Vio got distracted. “Has anyone's Sword ever done this before?”

“Not that I can remember,” Green replied, while Red shook his head and Vio frowned.

“...There's a reason for this,” he muttered. “There's always a reason...”

He started pacing back and forth in front of the other three, a habit he'd developed sometime during the fiasco in the Village of the Blue Maiden. That town had been absolutely infuriating and ended up pushing the four Links' deductive skills to the limit, and one of the side effects had been Vio manifesting a tendency to pace and think things through aloud.

“We know it's not an enemy, because we're the only ones around,” he mused. “It can't be a Moon Gate, because we would have found that by now. There's no indication of a Great Fairy...”

The other three, knowing how Vio tended to get, sat back and watched, their heads following him back and forth rather like a cat following a light on the wall. Because of this, they then noticed the glow from Vio's Sword becoming brighter and dimmer in direct relation to when Vio walked past the hole.

“I think it's the hole,” Red said, interrupting Vio's theory that Kaepora Gaebora was actually a Cucco in disguise and their Swords were detecting the presence of pure evil behind the costume.

“...That's highly unlikely,” Vio replied slowly. “What makes you think that?”

“Watch,” Red told him, pointing at his own weapon and walking towards the hole as he did. With each step he took, the red stone glowed brighter and brighter until it was comparable to a small red star, with Red himself standing a mere two feet from the void itself.

“...Okay, that's fairly convincing evidence,” Vio conceded. “Now the question becomes, why?”

“Maybe if we hit the hole with the Swords instead of just punching it,” Blue suggested. “That could explain the glow. It's showing us the way to fix it.”

“The Four Sword doesn't have that kind of power,” Vio argued. “We should know it's limits better than anyone, right? I'm positive it can't do that.”

“We won't know until we try though, right?” Blue countered.

“But what happens if our Swords go the same way as that rock? What happens if we go the same way as that rock because we were holding the Swords that were touching the hole?” Vio crossed his arms. “There's too many variables.”

“Who cares about variables?” Blue asked, exasperatedly throwing his arms up.

“I do!” Vio retorted. “It's the kind of thing that keeps you from getting yourself killed, not that you ever pay attention to that anyways...”

“I pay plenty of attention, it just needs to be important!”

“Variables are important-”

“Both of you, knock it off!” Green snapped. “This isn't the time!”

Both boys subsided into disgruntled mutterings, but otherwise obeyed. Green let out a controlled, exasperated sigh and rubbed his eyes with one hand.

“You two are the reason I get headaches,” he muttered.

There was a moment of silence.

“...So, um, are we doing anything about this?” Red asked, pointing to the still-brightly-glowing pommel of his Sword.

“Well...” Vio said, scrutinizing the whole scene closely. “It's proximity-based, so... I can't believe I'm saying this... maybe get as close as you can without actually touching the hole?”

“Okay,” Red said brightly, and took the extra one-and-a-half steps that put him literally within inches of the reality-eating void. His three brothers promptly had minor heart attacks.

“What?” Red asked innocently, seeing their expressions. “You said to...”

“...That doesn't mean I'm okay with it,” Green managed after a moment spent finding his voice again.

“Don't do that!” Blue gasped. “Din, I thought you were going straight in...”

“Silly, I wouldn't do that,” Red smiled. “Besides, I-”

Whatever he was going to say was abruptly cut off as the gem in Red's sword lit up like a firework, much to the surprise of the four Links who, unfortunately, had been more or less looking right at it. Caught off guard, Red flinched backwards – and in the process finished covering the extra six inches in between him and the hole.

He promptly vanished.

“CRAP!” Blue yelled, and sprinted forwards into the void, more on instinct than anything else. Considering the fact that both Vio and Green were right behind him, he couldn't really be judged on it either.

Of course, by the time their brains caught up with what they were actually doing, it was far too late to stop.

And all four Links disappeared into nothingness.

…………………………………………………………………………………

 Farore was doing her happy dance. It looked rather like a Cucco stuck in Chu jelly while swimming underwater.

“...Please stop,” Din said, grimacing. “That's freaking me out.”

“I don't even care!” Farore enthused. “It worked! It finally worked!”

She did a little impromptu twirl.

“So your plan was to... what, flash them?” Nayru asked.

“No,” Farore said, annoyed. “The plan was to use their Sacred Item to show that the hole wasn't dangerous. I would have used the Triforce and shown them that way, but for some reason that particular aspect never picked it up, so I had to improvise. Luckily that Sword of theirs counts just as well.”

“Well played,” Nayru said approvingly. “Now what?”

“Now, “ Farore said, flexing her hands, “we get down to business. Courage is about to meet himself, and I'm about to become very busy.”

…………………………………………………………………………………

 Red tumbled forwards and sprawled onto the ground, narrowly missing a remnant piece of metal from something that looked mechanical.

“Owww...” he whined, sitting up and rubbing his head. “That really hurt...”

Three-and-a-half seconds later, his pain was exponentially doubled as Blue, Green, and Vio manifested and landed on top of him.

“...ow,” Red whimpered.

“Red!?” Green exclaimed. “You're alright!”

Despite the fact that they were all piled on top of one another, they managed to give Red a group hug anyways.

“Why wouldn't I be alright?” Red asked, confused but returning the hug anyways. “I mean, I just fell a little...”

“You fell in the hole,” Vio said solemnly. “We thought you'd been... you know.”

Red absorbed that and frowned. “So... your first reaction was to throw yourselves after me?”

“...To be fair,” Blue replied awkwardly, “I think we were too busy panicking to register that.”

“Well, if you're done panicking, can we stand up now? It's getting hard to breathe under you guys.”

“Oh! Sorry.”

They took a few moments to extricate themselves from one another and stood, brushing off dirt and various pieces of debris from the ground, then decided it would be a good idea to check their surroundings.

There was the hole still, but that was about the only thing familiar. Instead of a mountaintop, the four Links were standing on a plain surrounded by mountains far off in the distance. There was what looked like the remains of some massive metal machine off to their right – most of it appeared to have been eaten by the hole – and the whole landscape in general looked barren.

“...This is new,” Blue decided. “Any ideas what just happened? Or where we are?”

“If it weren't impossible due to the functionality of a void and the workings of physics, I'd say we just jumped across the spatial plane,” Vio said, sounding like he'd swallowed a textbook. “But that's impossible...”

“And yet,” Green said dryly, gesturing to their clearly not-where-they-used-to-be surroundings.

“I can see that, it's why I've got a headache right now,” Vio retorted.

A loud CLANGGGGGG from the remains of the metal machine made them all jump, which effectively cut off the conversation, and an unfamiliar voice groaned, “Owww. Okay, not doing that again...”

Green exchanged glances with his three counterparts, then stepped forward and called, “Hello?”

“Who's there?” the voice called back. “I don't know what brought people here, but it's kinda dangerous right now. You should probably leave.”

“Well, we're a bit lost,” Green replied, “and we don't really know where we are, so... can you give us directions?”

“Yeah, just hang on a sec,” the voice said, and another CLANGGGGGG reverberated through the plain, accompanied by another, “Owww! What the heck, I didn't even use the wrench that time!”

“...You okay?” Red asked.

“Fine, just... having some issues,” the voice grumbled, now closer than it'd been before. “Note to self, don't use metal implements to knock metal pieces out of place, it just bounces off and hits me in the head.”

“This guy sounds like a wackjob,” Blue opined.

“Hey!” the owner of the voice protested, coming around the far corner of the metal machine. “I'll have you know... that... What in Nayru's Name?”

“Vio,” Green said calmly. “Care to tell me why the Four Sword is malfunctioning?”

“This is just not a good day,” Vio sighed, which told Green he was at a complete loss.

Standing in front of them was a boy who, aside from a few minor differences, looked exactly like they did. Messy blond hair, wide eyes, unfortunately short stature, it was all there. He was even wearing the same outfit, hat and all.

“...That's freaky,” Blue muttered.

“You're telling me,” the lookalike agreed, staring. “Farore, it's like looking in a mirror that can look back!”

Red shivered. “That sounds creepy.”

“This is creepy,” the new boy replied. “Who the heck are you people!?”

“Oh, uh, I'm Green,” Green said, stumbling over his words a little due to the fact that he was having an internal panic attack but hiding it rather well. “This is Vio, over there is Blue, and that's Red,” he finished, pointing as he named.

The lookalike raised an eyebrow. “You're named for the color of your clothes? Weird. Were your parents so surprised at having quadruplets that they ran out of inspiration or something?”

“What?” Blue asked, confused. “Quadrup- oh! No, we're not actually brothers, we just got split.”

“Split?”

“Well, formerly we were a boy named Link,” Vio explained. “But due to some complicated complications we-”

“Wait wait wait,” the new boy interrupted. “Hold up. Did you say Link?”

“Yeah,” Red said slowly. “That's our name. Why?”

The lookalike stared at them all for a few seconds before saying, “My name is Link.”

There was a long period of shocked silence.

“...What,” Blue said eventually. He was too surprised to even make it a question.

It summed up everyone's thoughts quite nicely.

…………………………………………………………………………………

Despite multiple Death Threats, an absurd amount of fighting, Zant's continual demands for a sandwich, and the vast multitude of yelling, screaming, shouting, bellowing, roaring, shrieking, howling, and screeching that every single voice in Demise's head seemed dead set on using, the villains had managed to come to a consensus regarding the naming problem.

Some of them didn't have a problem and just used their name, these being Majora (who had issues), Malladus (he claimed to be a Demon Lord; this amused Demise immensely), Bellum (distinguishable by being a squid; Demise still wasn't sure why this was), Zant (who was absolutely insane, but in the way that made him an idiot rather than evil), Onox (he liked to smash things with his mace, the bloodier the better), and Veran (who was a woman, and who had the personality of a lethal snake). Then there were the duplicates, which were a bit more complicated. After much discussion, they'd decided to identify themselves based on what they did and where they came from, which was... simple, but effective. Hyrule Ganondorf was from Hyrule, obviously, and had managed to rule for seven years. Twilight Ganondorf had been banished to the Twilight Realm, and because he'd been the one to manipulate Zant into invading, Zant referred to him as 'his god'. Ocean Ganondorf came from a Hyrule that was completely underwater, and as a result was one of the two people who could understand Bellum. The other was Malladus, who apparently knew the language simply because both he and Bellum were demons.

Demon Vaati and Picori Vaati weren't all that hard to tell apart, mostly because Demon Vaati was a giant, one-eyed bat, and Picori Vaati had an actual body with hands and things, but their actions were quite different as well. Picori Vaati had, with the aid of a magical hat, had gone on a quest for something he called 'Force', while Demon Vaati had basically kidnapped the Princess but then turned out to be a puppet figurehead for Hyrule Ganon

Hyrule Ganon, not to be confused with Hyrule Ganondorf, had also been in Hyrule – obviously. He'd been the one behind Demon Vaati's takeover, and resembled a large, slightly blue pig. Lorule Ganon had, at one point, been summoned and controlled by a man named Yuga, and since Yuga was from Lorule had reluctantly consented to use the moniker until further notice. He also resembled a large pig, with the exception of being slightly purple instead of blue.

Then there was Original Ganon, though what made him original was anybody's guess. He'd been waiting for the Hero to challenge him for two years and counting by this point, and was colored a bright teal, with an unusual weakness to silver. And lastly, there was Past Ganon. He'd also been summoned, but by a man named Agahnim, and then later by a pair of witches working with Onox and Veran. Apparently he didn't take very well to that kind of thing and had responded by taking over Agahnim entirely.

Demise approved of that, at least.

Unfortunately, that was about the only thing he approved of. The villains had decided that if he wasn't going to release them willingly, then they would simply have to force him to release them.

And after discovering that physical torture was off the list of methods, they'd moved on to something that was almost worse.

Annoyance.

And thus, Demise found himself being forced to listen to a game of cards that made so little sense he doubted if the players even knew what they were doing.

I play the Queen of Hearts, forcing everyone else to Go Fish, Veran said.

Curse you, woman, Ocean Ganondorf growled. I'd almost gotten rid of all my Red Threes, Fives, and Sixes!

Oh shut up, that would have only gotten you eight points at the most, Lorule Ganon sighed. I move my Joker to the nineteenth space, forcing the rest of you to get rid of your clubs and causing a sudden deficit in the golfing world.

There was a surge of annoyed grumbles as the other players discarded their clubs.

My turn, Picori Vaati said. I draw... and now I can declare Cribbage! I challenge Bellum in the art of the Poker Face for the entirety of his spade cards.

Bellum made a bubbling noise, followed by a few moments of silence -

HAH! Picori Vaati exulted as Bellum bubbled violently. Now All Your Spades Are Belong To Us!

Nice play, Malladus said approvingly, and a slap noise indicated that he'd given his cards partner a high-five.

Not so fast, Majora said coolly. I use the Ace of Diamonds to activate a Dutch Blitz and combine it with my Black Jack to take the Fish Pond.

That is not a valid move! Onox protested.

Yes it is. The Fish Pond is still in existence from Veran's turn, when we all had to Go Fishing. It lasts two-and-a-quarter rounds, remember?

Onox huffed angrily, but said nothing else.

My turn! Zant exclaimed excitedly. I activate my Face-Down, Monster Reborn! Wiith it, I can resurrect one of my defeated monsters, and I choose Dark Magician! Then I combine my Dark Magician with the Staff of Mystics, giving him three thousand attack points and letting him attack your Life Points directly! With that, Hyrule Ganondorf is disqualified and I end my turn!

There was dead silence for a moment.

...Zant, what  are you doing?

Playing card games. Oh, do we have any motorcycles? Because then we could play card games on motorcycles, and that would be fun. We could have Peahats for helmets!

Excuse me, everyone, I'll handle this,Twilight Ganondorf said. Zant, do you actually know what comes out of your mouth or do you just blabber like a mindless twit?

Launch the cabbage cannons!

That's what I thought. Majora, please incinerate his cards, I have no idea where he got them from.

There was a sizzling sound, followed by Zant's anguished cry of, NO! NOT THE KURIBOH! HE WAS SO YOUNG!

How, exactly, did you ever get him to do anything for you if he's this idiotic? Ocean Ganondorf asked curiously.

I bribed him with Peahats. 

The rest of the villains made 'Ohhhh' noises, while Zant sobbed for whatever a Kuriboh was in the background.

Shall we get back to the game? Onox asked impatiently. It's my turn.

By all means.

Right. I play...

There was a pause, and the sound of shuffling.

Aha! Onox declared. I have a straight flush!

That means you're out, Veran informed him.

What!? No it doesn't, it – oh wait. ...Curses.

Dangit, Picori Vaati muttered. There goes my last teammate.

Bellum made some bubbling noises, and after a moment of awkward silence Malladus spoke up with, He says he wasn't paying attention and wants to know what happened to the others.

YOU were the 'others'!Picori Vaati sputtered. Lorule Ganon played the eight of hearts which let him steal a teammate and he stole you! It was in the very first turn! 

There was another series of bubbles, and Malladus translated, He does not remember this.

I – You – Just forget it.

Bellum responded with a large string of bubble noises which went on for a good thirty seconds or so.

Bellum says that he activates his Pair of Fours, making every other Pair obsolete and winning the hand for this round.

There was an explosive amount of cursing, followed by loud complaints and grumbles as the other players got rid of any Pairs they had.

And... that marks the end of the round, Original Ganon commented. Annoyance Check!

Demise's whole head immediately went silent, and he gritted his teeth. “No, I am not going to release you, and no, I'm not even annoyed enough to consider it. Also, no, there's nothing you can do to make me consider it, and no, I do not care about whatever you'll come up with next because, no, I am not going to release you!”

...Maybe if we tried bad music, Demon Vaati mused.

That could work. Does anybody have banjos?

I have this mental construct, will that work?

Close enough!

Demise just barely held in a groan.

…………………………………………………………………………………