Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Oh, child of darkness and shadow of the hero, I command thee to awaken..” A man coos at the Dark Mirror.
Upon these words ancient magic works and then Shadow Link’s image ripples into view and they gasp awake. “W-What!? Who are you!?” They cannot see, the dark stained glass obscuring their view to the outside world, leaving them helpless to whatever the man might have planned.
The man grins a grin full of sharp, almost shark like teeth - those of a predator to the unknowing shade who still couldn't see their capturer. “I am a friend..” he whispers, voice unknown and unfamiliar to the shade...but not unfriendly.
“I have no friends.” They growl at him.
And truly, they feel like they don't…not after V-... No! Don't think of him. Don't reopen old scars that are still not healed. Their heart won't be able to take it.

The man shrugs, nonchalant by their words. “Very well then, if you say so...I can get you what your heart desires most... For a price, of course.” His horrible grin returns.
Shadow scowls and scoffs. “So, a deal? What is it you want?” They huff out.
The man grins once more. “I want what you want, what everyone wants and deserves, a life of my own and to be loved.”

Shadow doesn’t trust him. How does he know them so truly, so deeply? It's highly concerning to them. Unnerving. Unwanted. “Who are you..?”
The man waves his hand over the mirror and Shadow gasps, now able to see him.
“We are one and the same, two shades of the hero. You may call me, Dark Link.” He bows as an overly polite greeting.

Shadow looks at him, taking every inch in, now truly scared and helpless. The way he looks unnerves them highly as much as it's comforting to see one of their own kind. They try not to let it show. “...Dark Link, huh?”
Dark nods and walks around the mirror, like a predator circling his prey. “The one and only.” He grins at them.

They really don’t like that grin. They know that behind that grin is a greater lie. A lie that if trusted could destroy more truths. “... what do you want from me?”
Dark stops circling and lightly chuckles. It's a sound that makes nails on a chalk board seem like lovely music. They would almost wish to rather hear his laughter again even if it would dig the wound of betrayal deeper into their heart with every flutter the traitorous organ takes. They hate how attached it still is despite everything.
“Oh, you see dear Shadow, the Triforce is what I'm after. I need it in order to end you know who.”

Shadow shifts a little. “...I...I do not know who...” They hope he doesn’t mean Link...even after everything that happened the thought of seeing Link dead is too much…

Dark tsks and shakes his head, still having that grin of too many too sharp teeth. “Why, Ganon of course! I know how much pain and suffering he’s caused for you.. He has done the very same to me... Time and time again, he calls forth the hero’s darkness and abuses them, bends them to his will… makes them nothing but a killing machine...”

…..he does have a point, the much smaller shade thinks to themselves as Dark starts to circle the mirror once more. “...so... You want to get the triforce and wish to end him once and for all?” they summarize much more timidly than they'd like.
Dark whips around to them. “Exactly! My, my, you catch on quick. Yes, I want to make a wish to break this filthy curse once and for all, to end this foolish cycle of destruction! If you can get it for me, I shall reunite you with the one your heart desires most...” Dark pulls out an orb from seemingly thin air. Under Shadow's shocked gaze it’s surface ripples to show Vio, hunched over many books on dark magic and scribbling something down on paper. He looks a bit older now, his hair is longer and deep circles under his eyes speak of countless sleepless nights. A perfect illusion of that wonderful and yet so cursed man.

Shadow lunges at the surface of the mirror, banging on it, desperately trying to get to the violet Link shown to them. Desperately trying to rid that orb of him.
Dark pulls the orb back. “Ah ah ah~ now now Shadow, don’t be too hasty. Do we have a deal?”

Shadow takes a few empty breaths trying desperately to calm themselves only to fail before they then quickly nod. “Yes..I-I’ll help you..” Dark doesn’t sound all that shifty after all. Except for the part where he used their emotions against them, but… ‘I mean, we’re both shadows of the same soul, abused by power’s holder time and time again... He couldn’t be trying to pull anything too bad...right?’ Shadow thinks to themselves.

Dark Link grins that unnerving grin. “Good…very good.. Now don’t forget, bring me the Triforce and DON’T tell anyone your goal..” The demon narrows it's fully red eyes at them, a threat unspoken for both them and their secret treasure.
They gulp, then nod. “..o-ok..I won’t.”
Dark’s earlier expression returns to that freakish smile of his. “Excellent! Now ta taa~” He waves, and the image of Shadow ripples away and disappears...

Chapter Text

Four tries to concentrate on the words on the pages in front of him...but...he doesn't succeed. All the distractions he has tried to focus on failed spectacularly. And so he can only pack the book he had tried and failed to read away.

In fact, the blonde has been feeling… off, this whole day. Even more unnerving was that it was for no particular reason.

He woke up as usual, Blue complaining in his head about the tiny dirt spot on their tunic which apparently needed a desperate scrub, Vio arguing back that they logically didn't have time for that because it didn't stink yet which started a whole debate about pulling their boots off when entering a house and nobody really knows how they got on that topic. It was a headache and a half but that was his normal so it was fine. It’s fine...it’s...always fine..

But ever since Wild dished out breakfast, Four has been feeling on the edge... Like something is watching him. Waiting… waiting, until his back is turned..
And he could bet that the others could feel it too, the unnerving feeling of being watched...like a mouse in a trap, a cat waiting nearby in the high grass.
Twilight keeps looking over his shoulder at random times and reaching for his necklace…forcing his smiles in all the conversations.
Legend has been quiet too... He keeps rubbing the rings on his fingers, sharp eyes looking around while keeping especially close to Hyrule.
Sometimes even Time's dead eye seems to open as if it tries to blink...
Something is definitely up today. And it cannot be good.

Something dark in fact, Four's sure of it. It's like this prickle under his skin, something that drags him down by his feet and clings to him like heavy stones…
A constant shiver down his spine…
It sets him on the edge and silences even the loudest of his thoughts. Vio’s especially been quiet. The violet part of him that’s normally theorizing and planning for the worst has gone silent entirely...like there’s something he’s not telling the others.
Four can feel how this upsets the other Colours, because they know that when Vio goes this quiet something to do with themselves is afoot. Or...maybe it has to do with them.
And considering they all can feel it, it's something big.

They are probably the biggest mystery to the whole that is Four. He remembers his first and second adventure as he should. Those memories are his own.
But his third adventure...is a great mystery. A mystery from which he has all the puzzle pieces but is unable to actually piece them into a proper picture.

Four therefore finds himself wondering what that shade was truly like...the short meeting he had in the beginning seemed like a lie compared to what he knows from the Colours.

It's weird for him, trying to look back on the last adventure. It’s like watching paintings move, like a story told in a theatre that he’s watching play over and over again...not like memories…
...at least not his own memories.
Because memories aren’t seen from four places at once. And memories don’t feel like they aren’t yours...

The smithy hates how these memories make him feel like he’s just the vessel to carry and hide away the Colours in his mind...like the whole that is Link has passed away by using the Four Sword for the third time.
Like he isn't supposed to exist anymore and it's his own fault that he does. Like the real ones are the voices that keep him up at night, the real ones are the voices making him go insane...

Four hates how he doesn’t feel he has the right to be his own person anymore..
Link doesn't want to die. But maybe he already is dead and is now possessing the body the Colours should rightfully own.
Maybe that is why Four felt more like his name now instead of the singular Link.

He shivers, suddenly snapping from the morbid thoughts..
He hates how cold it suddenly got.
Next to him, on his left, Wind shudders. The young sailor doesn’t like the cold either... Considering the tropical island he comes from, Four understands this plight. The two youngest and smallest of the Links often found themselves in the misfortunate situation of being cold.

Wild huffs a little and starts rummaging in his slate, pulling out a bunch of feathers (?) before heading over to the duo where he promptly starts to stick a feather in Wind's hair. The young pirate surprisingly relaxes a bit. Then Wild moves onto Four to do the same for him. Are these feathers enchanted to help war-? “There! In the bushes!” A loud commanding voice, Warriors, suddenly yells.

The heroes all immediately turn their attention to where he pointed, some drawing their swords.
Four draws in a gasp as he can feel a small amount of dark energy coming from that spot..
His naturally grey eyes flash violet for a split second and he tries not to shudder...
The cold may have gone as soon as it came, but the feeling of dread hasn’t…

Something is watching them..something dark...
Something... Familiar…?
'Familiar? Vio, do you mean…?' Green inquires in his mind sharply, but the violet part doesn't answer, probably caught up in his own thoughts.

Time narrows his still working eye. “...who is there?”
The bushes shift, then something growls.
It sounds like… “Four, don’t hiss at the thing.” Someone behind him grumbles.
'It's Shadow, isn't it?' Red tries to get Vio to answer only to likewise fail.
“I didn’t hiss at it…” He trails off..

“Get back, it could be a Dark!” Warriors shouts.
Everyone backs up, Four pulled along by Wind, the sailor unsure of the situation.
Four swallows and clears his throat before speaking up: “Guys, wait, it could be-” Time holds his hand in front of Four to stop him from speaking, shaking his head. “We don’t know for sure what that thing is.”

'Vio, dammit! Are you sure it's them or not?!' Blue demands to know now too.

Four scowls a bit and pushes Time's hand down. “I think I do know…I got a suspicion... please guys, trust me.” He glances back to the thing in the tree line, face hard and stance ready, taking a step forward.

Twilight nods and steps beside him. “Okay. But you’re not going alone.”
Four pauses. “If it is who I suspect it is...You can’t stop me, Twilight.”
“I’m not stopping you, I’m coming with you," the wolf-like man reassures.

The darkness moves farther away.
Four narrows his eyes.

Warriors looks at both of them, eyes narrowed in mistrust, protective of the second youngest of the team, likely because of his small size thinking him vulnerable. “Four, you shouldn't be going at all. There's so many Darks out there how can you know for sure you identified the right one?” The older man glances at Twilight, before Sky speaks up: "But if he's sure…"
"We shouldn't risk anyone of us on a chance!" This gets people to nod and Four knows if he doesn't leave now, he never will...especially as the darkness is still moving farther away.
And so, desperation filling him, Four decides to take his chances and uses the distraction of the brewing argument to dart off, eyes glowing violet.
'Dammit, Vio!' Blue echoes in his mind. 'Vio, no!' Red echoes back.

And then the surprised shouts and yells of the others suddenly stop as he gets close to the thing...crossing the edge of the treeline...
In fact, everything seems to still as he approaches...
Time seems to stop, and everything goes dark.
Four doesn’t even have time to scream as this sudden black void seems to rip him apart. Maybe it’s this sudden and strong gust of neverending wind that’s ripping him apart.

Maybe it is ripping him apart…?
He can see a third hand growing from his right arm. Bones are breaking and forming, muscles tearing…
Nerves alight in mind numbing pain…
There's screaming but in his pain filled mind there's no way to identify it...
The pain only keeps growing and in his blurry vision he can see something forced forward and out of him... everything is Red with blood and agony and...it is... Red?

“R-Red..” He chokes out as the other is ripped out and away from him... He’s never felt this empty.. A part of him is literally gone, a piece of his soul torn away...it’s falling down down down… down, away from him, a small crimson dot fading away from view and his mind…
More screaming follows out of more mouths than anyone should have...

He can feel two more tugs on each of his outstretched arms... Hands start to grow from his, reaching away from them.. “G-uy-s…" he croaks out as he feels Green and someone else being torn from him… he watches in horror as his emerald counterpart is flug from his right… he tries to save the other, he tries to grab onto Green but he only manages to push him further away..

Vio, he thinks he manages to identify himself as Vio through the agonizing pain, is desperately trying to now at least hold onto Blue as the other is ripped from him. “Bl-ue!” He shouts and lunges for him, holding on tight as the darkness and the winds try to rip them apart...
Blue calls for him, calls for “Viooo!” but can do nothing as the amethyst Link loses sight of his azure brother...

And then Vio plummets, down and up and side to side all at once, reality collapses in on him, and he is slammed brutally on a hard stone floor.
He can see again but Vio’s vision quickly blurs as two black boots...no, four...no…no…he..
Maniac laugher meets his ringing ears as his eyes close…