Archive of Our Own ^beta

Red. The color with countless symbols.

Some only saw its positive aspects. To them, it represented the hearts beating in the chests of their loved ones. A red rose to represent affection. However, others may find it to be a negative aspect. To them, it symbolized something bad that has happened to them. A red poppy to represent sorrow.

Link was one of those who only saw the negative aspects.

What good could red mean when it only told you the deaths of others? The red that painted the sky. The red that showed up spattered across the grass. The red soaked in the victims’ clothes. The red coating the sword. The red he couldn’t fully clean off his hands even if he scrubbed to the point where his skin peeled.

It didn’t represent warmth—nothing like a lit fireplace to keep a family warm during the winter months—but instead, it symbolized the spilled blood on the battlefield of the lives he couldn’t save.

It also symbolized the traitors he had to kill.

The red turncoats versus the royal blue soldiers of Hyrule.

Ever since he was a page, he had been told that if any of them turned against Hyrule, the soldiers had to execute them immediately. There was no consideration for their previous achievements. Even if they were a captain who’s risen the ranks and has proven their loyalty time and time again, the moment they switch sides is the moment they were treated as the enemy and were murdered on the spot.

Link knew in theory that some people desired power, and those people would make a deal with the devil to get what they want at the cost of the others’ trust in them. He used to believe that no one he knew would ever fall for that trick, no matter how tempting the offer was. His fellow soldiers knew better than that. He trusted his friends. He trusted the people he grew up with, the people he ate with, slept with, laughed with, cried with, trained with, celebrated with.

Which was why on the day when he found the first batch of turncoats, each with the face of people he knew, Link did what he needed to do to save them from their misery.

Zelda and Impa had called him to their tent after his most recent battle.

He entered respectfully, kneeled, stood, and asked, “Princess, General Impa, did you need something from me?”

“Just a quick visit somewhere,” Impa answered, leaning on her large broadsword. “It’s all under the radar, meaning it’s just us going. We would really appreciate it if you came along.”

Link didn’t ask where they were going, but he figured he wasn’t going to get an answer until he arrived. “Yes, General. I shall accompany you two, then.”

“No need for formalities, Link,” Zelda chuckled. “As Impa said, this little trip is just to clear our heads a bit. Hylia knows we all need a break from this war.”

He didn’t really find any of this to be necessary, but Link supposed he could have a moment to himself. He couldn’t be the captain everyone needed if he didn’t rest. Link nodded and flashed a small smile so as not to worry his superiors. 

Seemingly satisfied, Impa opened the back entrance to the tent and let Link and Zelda out quietly. Then the trio hiked their way to their unknown destination.

“This is…?” Link gasped.

“It’s what you think it is, Link,” Zelda answered somberly. “It’s a graveyard to honor your fallen comrades. Impa and I started it.”

The three of them stood next to a lush, olive tree as they observed the graveyard. The place wasn’t much. There were a few formal gravestones, but most resting places were marked with normal rocks. Some even had bouquets of flowers. Very little had names engraved on them, but Link knew which of his group rested in the small area. 

It...was beautiful . Even the sunset behind him added an ethereal glow to the graveyard.

Link took a few steps forward to get closer to the stones, but his foot caught on something. Catching himself before he could fall, he looked down at his feet, swearing that if he seriously tripped over a tree root of all things—

His eyes caught a glimpse of red.

Link slowly dropped to his knees. His longer strands of hair unhooked themselves from behind his ears and fell beside his cheeks. He dirtied his khaki pants with mud, but he didn’t care.

Because just at the foot of the olive tree was the sprout of a red spider lily.

Red spider lily. Lycoris Radiata in ancient Hylian. A red flower that represented death.

It was fitting for a place like this. A place that housed the resting bodies of the souls he killed.

...

A thought crossed his mind.

Link stood up again. Taking one last look at the flower, he then turned to approach the graveyard itself. Behind him, he noticed Zelda and Impa following him.

He approached the first gravestone.

“Link! Why don't we spar again? This time, I’ll win!”

Then the next. And another. And another. 

“Hey, let’s all go out to eat! We deserve it after those drills.”

Memories flashed before him as he read their names.

“You just got promoted to captain?! That’s so cool, congrats dude!”

Until one gravestone caught his eye.

He came to a stop in front of the biggest stone in the graveyard. Red poppies neatly lined the simple, rectangular stone’s perimeter, though miscellaneous flowers were scattered on top of it. Link moved closer to get a closer look at the inscription in the center:

Here lie the unnamed fallen knights of Hyrule. These soldiers fought valiantly to their final breaths. May the Goddess smile upon them.

So for those who were burned to ashes by Volga, Warriors deduced. It made sense. The generals didn’t issue personalized tags to them until after they realized they couldn’t name several of the fallen soldiers. This way, no one else would have to be buried unnamed and forgotten.

Some of these unnamed soldiers died because of you. Not all of them were because of Volga and you know it, Link.

The words stung, but he couldn’t deny them. Some days he was too tired to think about what he was doing, and he would do anything to get the kill over with. Looking back on it, he hated those kinds of days because sometimes his methods were...

Suddenly, Link felt like he was going to be sick if he stayed here any longer.

“Thank you...Zelda, Impa,” he murmured with his eyes locked on the gravestone in front of him. “I truly appreciate it.”

Before the two of them could say anything else, Link turned and walked back toward the base. He really was grateful for the graveyard, but Link knew it wouldn’t bring back his friends. The days of laughing next to them, the days of training with them…

Those days were gone all because of him.

He really shouldn’t have been affected as much as he did, but the battle they had earlier set off some memories Warriors didn’t want to think about again.

But despite all this efforts, the captain couldn’t stop them from coming back. He tried to think about keeping up with the others because they were in Wild’s super big Hyrule and he wasn’t about to get lost. Then he tried to listen for danger. Nothing. He tried spacing out. Nope.

So when they finally reached a stopping point in some woods at the foot of some Satori Mountain, Warriors wandered off to get some air.

That particular night was colder than usual, which was a great way to cool off after being in the heat of a fight earlier that day. Warriors shifted his scarf a little to feel the breeze around his neck. When he found a good spot at the base of a tree, he sat down and faced the full moon.

For a while, he simply stayed there and savored the moment of peace…

His sword pierced through his opponent’s armor.

...but then his thoughts drifted back to where they started.

Warriors leaned back and rested his head against the tree trunk. His hand fell to the ground and he felt the cool grass brush in between his calloused fingers. Why wasn’t he over this already? The war happened a few years ago. He had long since accepted that measures had to be taken.

So then—

—A drop slowly swam its way across his blade—

—why did these memories keep repeating themselves over and over again in his head?

“Mmmhh,” he groaned as he shifted into a more comfortable position and closed his eyes. He guessed he wouldn’t be sleeping that night, but Warriors knew he should at least try.

But just before he could, he heard light footsteps pattering across the ground as someone approached him from behind.

Four.

Warriors didn’t react as he listened to the leaves crunching beneath the smithy as he moved closer to him. He paused just outside of Warriors’ peripheral vision, but then he heard him position himself in front of Warriors.

Finally, Warriors opened his eyes and took a look at the hero. The smaller hero stood with all his equipment, sword and shield included. He leaned on his left side with his hands folded behind his back, and he tilted his head in such a way that created a moonlit sparkle in Four’s golden hair. The wind blew through the hero’s hair and some strands flew in his face, but the smithy paid no mind to it. All of Four’s attention was on him, his gaze radiating concern for a fellow knight.

Four’s voice was smooth and his words were said with ease. “Would you like some company?”

He let out a slow, soft breath of air. “If you’re fine with staying,” Warriors answered, surprisingly calm. “I don’t want to deprive you of your sleep.”

Four chuckled. “I’ll be alright.” He picked a spot on Warriors’ left, sat down, and leaned back into the trunk. After settling down, he softly admitted, “I’m more worried about you.”

A pause. The branches above them bent to the gust of air. A few leaves floated to the ground.

“How come?” Warriors asked. He didn’t expect Four to come out of his way to keep him company out of concern. Sure, the nine of them were friendly to each other, but Warriors never really talked to Four one-on-one. This was a completely new experience to him.

“Do I need a reason?” Warriors wasn’t looking at him, but he could still imagine that Four raised an eyebrow as he said that.

No, Warriors thought. No he didn’t need a reason.

More silence. The breeze slowed to a pause. Crickets began their songs.

Four took a deep breath and exhaled just barely audibly. “I won’t force you to talk about it if you don’t want to,” he began just as softly as before, “but holding these things inside will only cause division within yourself. Even if it’s not me, please consider talking to someone about it.”

“About what?” Warriors asked a little defensively.

Four’s head tilted to look at him for a few moments. “Something about the battle this morning is bothering you,” Four said bluntly. “You’re not yourself. You didn’t join in on Legend’s taunts. You barely ate. You barely talked. Hell, you didn’t even properly clean your blade, and you’re a stickler about that like me.”

It spattered next to him. Another one down, and he didn’t know how many more—

Unknowingly, Warriors’ hand came up to cover his eyes in an attempt to block the image—

—won’t wash off—

—that just kept freaking appearing in his brain.

Weakly, Warriors said, “‘m fine, Four. I just…” he trailed off.

The wind came to a stop. For some reason, the crickets no longer sang.

He sighed, “I’m just...tired.”

Four gave him a look that said he didn’t believe him in the slightest but looked like he wasn’t going to pry. “Alright,” he lifted his hands in surrender, “keep your secrecy. But remember my advice.”

The few animals that stayed to watch were gone.

“Yeah,” Warriors whispered. “Thanks.”

Four opened his mouth to reply, but then he stopped. After a second, his left hand flew to the hilt of his sword and unsheathed it with a SHING in one fluid practiced motion. Instantly, he stood in front of him, completely on guard and ready to fight.

Upon seeing Four pull his blade out, Warriors also stood and did the same. But he didn’t know what the problem was until he caught a glimpse of red—

—spilled out of his friend, no, the enemy’s side—

Link, Warriors chided himself, pull yourself together!

Four glanced back at him for all of one second before facing forward again. “If I remember correctly,” Four whispered so quietly that Warriors had to strain his ears to listen, “these must be the Yiga assassins Wild talked about. Be careful.”

No sooner did those words leave his mouth than something whizzed past Warriors’ ear. He quickly turned to find two arrows embedded into the tree.

Definitely Yiga, Warriors thought. 

CRASH!

Warriors turned back around to find Four in a blade lock with a Yiga footsoldier. He could keep the soldier there, but just from his expression, pushing him off looked like a difficult thing to do.

He ran to Four and brought his sword up to knock the soldier off the smithy, but suddenly another one came up to strike. Purely on instinct, Warriors threw up his shield to block the attack before swinging his sword at the soldier. The Yiga dodged the attack with terrifying ease before the soldier swung at him. Unable to gain an advantage, Warriors stuck with defense. He blocked swing after swing, each one clashing against his shield faster and faster.

Warriors frowned. I thought Wild said the Yiga were a joke...

As the two fought their respective soldiers, Warriors noticed more of them appear in the trees with their bows out and ready. Their numbers grew to a terrifying amount. Even if all nine of the heroes were here, Warriors and Four would still be outnumbered.

Quickly, Warriors kicked the Yiga soldier in the chest, catching him off guard. Using this chance, he grabbed Four’s wrist and pulled him close, which received a yelp from the smaller hero.

“There’s too many,” Warriors quickly explained to a confused Four. “Let’s go.”

Four hastily nodded and the two of them sprinted toward camp. Hopefully they could get there and warn the others before the assassins caught up to them.

“Is it just me,” Four yelled over the rushing wind blowing through their ears, “or are the Yiga a lot stronger than Wild said they were?!”

“I was wondering the same thing!” Warriors yelled back. “We need to tell the others!”

Suddenly, one of them dropped in front of them to block their path.

Warriors skid to a stop when the footsoldier took his duplex bow and nocked two arrows. He spun around to escape only to find more soldiers blocking their way out.

“Shit,” Warriors murmured under his breath.

“Tch,” Four tightened his grip on his sword. “What do we do?”

Before Warriors could answer, the first shots were fired. Warriors threw himself in front of Four and pulled his shield up. Despite his efforts, one of the arrows skimmed his thigh. He hissed when the cut began to sting and spread from the wound. A numbing sensation washed over him as the cut started to drip red.

“Wars!” Four shouted. “Are you hurt?!”

“No I’m not—”

…huh?

All of a sudden, Warriors felt drowsy. His vision began to flicker in and out of focus and the world seemed to spin around him. He didn’t even see the last arrow fly in the air until it flew through a chink in his armor and struck his lower abdomen.

“Warriors!” Four reached out to prevent him from falling, but then another arrow struck Four’s right shoulder.

The smithy’s eyes fluttered shut just as Warriors fell to the ground, passed out.

Warriors awoke chained to a cold, stone floor.

His head felt foggy as he shifted his body over but a stabbing pain shot through his side. Wincing, the captain looked down to find his tunic wet with blood.

What a joy.

Though he did wonder why they took the arrow out.

It took his eyes a few moments to adjust enough to the dark to see where he was. Thick iron bars were the first thing he noticed, the next was a limp body stationed next to him.

“Four!” he gasped.

The hero didn’t move.

Warriors shifted over to him and brushed some hair out of the smithy’s face. To his relief, Four was still breathing, but he seemed to be asleep. The soldiers also took out the arrow from his right shoulder just like they did with Warriors’ side.

Well, he could think about that later.

Now…where in Hylia’s name are we?

He could tell they were obviously in a jail cell. Both he and Four were chained to the ground, but they also had a loose chain connecting the cuffs on their wrists. The stone floor below him was damp with water, though it smelled strangely like fruit. There wasn’t much light in the room aside from a small candle illuminating the outside of his cell, but as he looked around he noticed something that made his eyes widen.

Several murals covered the wall adjacent to him. Most depicted different battles, all of which involved a triforce-wielding hero being destroyed by — what Wars could only assume was — Ganon.

The situation certainly didn’t look good for either of them.

“Boss, you think they’re awake yet?” a smooth voice asked, snapping Warriors out of his thoughts.

The sound of footsteps filled the air as a crowd of people made their way towards him. A distinctly sweet smell drifted into the air. Warriors instantly brought his guard up and pretended to be asleep again.

“It won’t matter.” a rough voice answered, “They’ll both be dead soon, anyway.”

That’s when Warriors knew that whatever was coming next wasn’t going to be good.

Even though he was sure he didn’t move or make a sound, one of the soldiers noticed he was awake. “Ah, so you are up,” the same rough voice said with a mocking tone.

He swallowed. Warriors began racking his brain for any sort of escape plan.

The soldier turned to his companion. “You may take your leave. I can handle this.”

Clearly grateful for the chance, the smooth voiced Yiga soldier nodded in thanks before quickly scurrying out of sight.

“Be grateful that our leader has let you live, prisoner,” the soldier said. “Personally, I can’t stand to see you inside our hideout alive.”

Shit, I still don’t have anything.

Well then, it was time to stall for time.

“So,” Warriors grinned, “that thing you're wearing. Are those your pajamas? How cute!”

The Yiga soldier growled. Warriors one, Yiga zero. “These are not pajamas, prisoner ,” he spat.

Once Warriors started, it was hard to stop. But it was a blessing in this case because Warriors could brainstorm a plan while waiting for Four to wake up.

“Then what are they? Tight bodysuits that show your ribs? I guess intimidating people by displaying your precise bone structure is more intimidating than muscles.”

“We wear these suits because they’re easy to move around in.”

“While I can understand that, don’t you need some kind of armor?”

“This is our armor! Our red suits are very efficient; it’s fortified with our technology.”

“Alright, alright, you got me. So you have the suits for yoga—oh Hylia, please tell me you call it ‘Yiga Yoga’—and the masks because you each have a severe case of acne. What an interesting cult you’ve got here!”

“We are not a cult!”

“Yeah yeah, and I’m from a different timeline. You should face it now before—oh wait you can’t because you have masks for faces. How tragic.”

The Yiga footsoldier grew more and more irritated the longer Warriors kept blabbing his mouth, but it was the only thing he could do. Realistic ideas weren’t popping inside his head, and Four still hadn’t moved a centimeter.

Things weren’t looking so great.

“The Yiga Clan is a prestigious group of devout followers of Ganon—”

“Sounds like a cult to me.”

“—who seek the destruction of the Sheikah and all who oppose us.”

“You say that, but you have some kind of childish obsession with bananas. How special could they even be?”

That seemed to rile him up. “Don’t insult the mighty bananas!” he screeched and kicked the bars of the cell. “The bananas have made us into who we are today: assassins who strike fear into all those who oppose us!”

“That’s rich coming from idiots who were banished to a freezing cave like this.”

Warriors gripped the bars of the cell with both hands. He glared at the soldier like he was the scum of all of Hyrule, and with seethed teeth he went in for the kill, “After all, you lot are just bastard Sheikah traitors who can’t even steal candy from a baby , let alone fight me , a Hylian captain.”

A fatal mistake.

The Yiga soldier froze, but then his hand tightened into a fist. Before Warriors could even think about retracting his statement, the soldier pulled out a ring of keys, unlocking the door, and he walked in. From the way he threw the door shut, Warriors fully believed he locked himself in with them.

Pressure rose inside his chest. His heart pounded against his ribs, and his breathing grew shallow.

“We,” the soldier’s voice shook violently with anger, “will never be called weak again.”

The soldier unsheathed his sickle—

—the scrape of steel against steel resounded across the battlefield—

—Warriors quickly backed away from him like prey avoiding its predator. If he wasn’t panicking before, he certainly was now.

“The Yiga Clan has changed for the better,” his voice boomed in his ears—

—bombs burst through clusters of them and the ground shook like an earthquake—

“We’ve gained the leadership we deserve,” he continued. “Soon we’ll rise again and destroy every last one of the Sheikah!”

Warriors’ back hit the wall at the end of the cell. Fear death-gripped his throat. Adrenaline rushed through his system.

Noticing his horrified state, the Yiga soldier threw his head back and laughed. “And what better person to start with than you? A Hylian captain who fights for the cursed Sheikah and their stupid allies. Lord Ganon has blessed me with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”

Some hero of courage he was. Warriors didn’t feel courageous at all. He was panicking. He was going to die. He was going to be killed away from home. After everything he’s done for Hyrule, he was going to die a coward.

Well, he chuckled and closed his eyes, I suppose this is divine retribution.

But the strike never came.

Instead, he heard chains rattle and a gurgled cry. Just after, something clattered onto the ground.

Hesitantly, Warriors slowly opened an eye.

He gasped at the sight before him, shocked that what he was seeing wasn’t a dream.

Behind the Yiga soldier, Four stood with his long chain tightly wrapped around the soldier’s neck. The soldier pulled at the chain in a desperate attempt to breathe, while Four’s hands shook with effort as he slowly weakened his opponent. His expression burned with a wrath that could incinerate iron, infuriated at the soldier for daring to hurt his friend.

“I’ve heard enough of your fucking voice,” Four hissed, his eyes simmering with his rage. “Why don’t I snuff that out for you?”

Warriors’ eyes widened. He had never seen Four this livid before.

The Yiga soldier struggled to pull the chain away from his neck, but he was slowly losing his strength. He tried kicking his captor but the kicks weren’t strong enough to hurt him. Four never backed off. When he noticed the first signs of exhaustion on the soldier, he lifted his hand around and wrapped the chain around a second time and pulled tighter.

Hold on, Warriors came to a sudden realization, is Four really about to...

Finally, the Yiga soldier’s hand dropped, and the chain drew taut. It cut through the armor and the skin underneath. The fabric darkened in a line, and it spread like wet—

—blood gushed from the gash he made and spattered across his clothes—

He shook himself out of his trance. Warriors wasn’t about to let Four strangle someone to death, Yiga or not.

“Four!” Warriors commanded as he approached him, “Four! Stop it!”

The smithy kept pulling, though he noticed one of his fingers twitched at the command as if he didn’t quite hear him.

Warriors tried again, this time with more of his captain's voice than his own. “That’s enough! He’s already down!”

Four’s eyes widened in realization. He instantly loosened the chain and jumped back as if he had touched lava.

And just then, the soldier’s body grew limp and fell to the ground with a THUD!

For a moment, everything was still...

...until Four dropped to the ground on his hands and knees, gasping for breath.

Unsure of what to do, Warriors didn’t move from his spot and watched as the smithy tried his best to calm himself down. Tears from his frantic eyes mixed with sweat lined his face and soaked through his clothes. His hands came up to hug his torso in an attempt to stop his shivering. He visibly tried to even his breaths. But no matter what he did, nothing could slow down his breathing or ease the tension and fear still present in him.

He’s having a panic attack, Warriors quickly ascertained.

Now that he could work with. During the war, he had witnessed several of his soldiers falter for fear of dying in battle. It got worse when some of their own turned against them. Warriors had learned how to calm them down as efficiently as possible, and if he could, he would let them sit out the battle and wait for the next one.

Slowly, he approached Four and crouched down in front of him while still giving him his space. “Hey, Four?” he said softly while keeping his full attention on him.

Four didn’t respond, but his ears perked up a bit and it seemed like he was listening.

Warriors calmly asked him, “Can I hug you?”

He didn’t expect him to say anything, so it surprised him when Four gave a small nod and stuttered in a small voice, “Y-yes p-please.”

Warriors shuffled closer to the shivering hero in front of him. Slowly, and in a position where Four could easily follow his movements, he brought his arms up and placed them around the smithy. Once he felt Four lean into the touch, he gently tightened his hold on the small hero. After a few moments, Warriors felt him bring his much shorter, quivering arms around his waist and gently pulled him in.

The two of them stayed quiet for some time. The only sound either of them heard were Four’s ragged breaths that eventually began to slow down. Warriors never let go. He wanted to tell Four that it was okay and mistakes can happen. But more importantly, he wanted to tell him how grateful he was for saving his life. For saving their lives. Warriors put all of it into his hug. He just prayed to Hylia that Four could feel it.

“Thank you, Wars,” Four mumbled, his voice muffled in his chest.

“Anytime, Four,” the captain responded. Then he gently unwrapped his arms to hold the smithy’s shoulders. “We need to get going though. More could come back. Let’s leave while we can.”

Four nodded and wiped the last tear out of his eye. He pulled his expression into something more neutral, and reached for the keys beside the fallen soldier. “I’ll unlock us.”

His hands weren’t shaking anymore as he tested each of the keys on his right cuff. When the first clicked open, Four moved to his left one, and then unlocked the single cuff on his left ankle. Once he was free, the smithy went to Warriors and unlocked his chains in the same order. When he was done, he turned to approach the door to their cell. Warriors noticed he slowed down for a moment as his eyes passed over the unconscious soldier. But Four quickly moved on. He slipped his hand through the bars and clicked it open.

Four slightly pushed the door open to look around. “It looks like we’re deep inside the hideout,” he told Warriors. “I can’t find an exit from here. We might have to go up and get a good vantage point.”

Warriors stood behind Four and scanned the area with him. To their left, he noticed a ladder that reached a passageway above them.

“Let’s use that ladder to go up,” Warriors pointed in that direction, and Four nodded once he spotted it.

Warriors moved to go first, but Four held his arm out to stop him. “Woah there, Captain. You don’t know how to be stealthy to save your life. You follow me. ”

Four checked both sides one more time before hopping to the other wall.

Warriors crossed his arms and pouted. How dare! He thinks I can’t be stealthy?!

The captain followed the smaller hero anyway.

When Warriors reached Four at the corner, he pressed his back into the wall and waited for instructions. As he waited, he paid close attention to his surroundings.

The first thing he noticed was how clean the place was. Wild told them a while back that the Yiga Clan hideout had sand and bananas everywhere, but Warriors could only find the bananas if he was really looking for them, and the sand was nonexistent. In every corner, soldiers were stationed for security. Several of them patrolled the premises with their sickles out, ready for slaughter. Even more of them could be found in the passageways above them as they scanned the ground floor in addition to the upper level.

It was a miracle they weren’t already caught.

“Take your scarf off, it’s too easy to spot,” Four mumbled as he reached into his pouch and took out two black hair ties. Warriors reluctantly shrugged his scarf off and watched with interest as the smaller hero put one hair tie around his wrist and the other in between his lips. He gathered his thin, golden strands of hair up while brushing it with his fingers. Once the bundle was high enough, Four slipped the first hair tie off his wrist and twisted it on. With his free hand, he grabbed his second hair tie from his mouth and reinforced the ponytail so it wouldn’t come undone.

Four turned to face him—his new ponytail with only a few, short flyaways swung around his head as he did—and held his hands up to his chest. ‘I’ll signal you when it’s safe to follow,’ Four signed as quickly and discreetly as he could in smooth, fluid motions. ‘Otherwise, don’t move.’

Warriors gave a short nod. He hoped the smithy knew what he was doing.

And then the mission began. A familiar pressure in his chest told him that one wrong move and both of them would get caught again, but he was more focused on the smaller hero’s movements. Warriors watched as Four sprang from the wall and dove into a roll to reach a cubic pillar in the center. Instantly, his back was flat against it and silenced himself. 

One of the Yiga soldiers seemed to have noticed some movement, but Four held still to confuse the Yiga. When the soldier moved on and walked further away, Four turned his head to look at him. With one hand, he asked, ‘Ready?’

Warriors shuffled closer to the corner as a sign saying he was ready.

‘On three,’ the smithy continued.

A Yiga soldier, patrolling with a torch in his off hand and a demon carver in his right, turned a corner and faced the direction they were.

‘One…’

Warriors quickly turned his head back behind the wall. Too risky what is Four THINKING—

‘Two…’

TAP...TAP...TAP...

The soldier’s light footsteps echoed as he moved closer and closer to them.

His heart rate spiked. Warriors didn’t want to do this. Didn’t he say he wanted to lead? What was he thinking?! How were they supposed to get out of here without being seen?!

Do you trust him?

Warriors stopped.

The soldiers stopped.

Everything stopped.

Do you trust him? The question repeated itself in his head.

Do I...trust Four?

What had made him doubt the smithy in the first place? Four was a hero like him. Like Wind and Time and the others. He was pretty good with a sword. His blacksmithing skills are second to no one but his own grandfather, probably. Though Warriors hasn’t talked to her personally, Four’s Zelda, Dot, was a kind and happy princess. In passing, Four had mentioned how the two were childhood friends and shared everything together.

But something told him that there was more to the smithy than he let on. And Warriors couldn’t tell if the secrets he held close to his chest were dangerous to keep. Four quickly resorted to strangling the Yiga soldier. It would’ve been understandable if he only did it to knock him out, but he would’ve killed him if Warriors was just one second too late. What did this say about Four? Would someone with the goddesses’ blessings resort to something so morally ambiguous?

Warriors should figure that out later. Right now, he just needed to take a leap of faith.

‘Three!’

As if a bomb went off behind him, the captain sprang from his spot behind the corner out into the open. His hands were stretched out in front of him, and his legs stayed straight behind him. When the ground quickly approached him, he thrust his hands down and pushed off equally as hard into a roll. Warriors nearly knocked over the smaller hero in the process once he made it to the other side.

Four took a quick look over him while his heart rate began to calm down. A small smile twitched onto his face. ‘Not so difficult, was it?’ the smithy teased.

‘Shut up,’ Warriors frowned in mock annoyance, and Four’s grin widened a little, inaudibly laughing at his antics.

‘Alright, pretty boy,’ Four sobered up after a few moments, ‘the next few are going to be continuous. When I tell you to follow, keep moving and don’t stop.’

Once again, Warriors nodded in affirmation. It would be hard, but he could do it.

Four scanned the surrounding area. He rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet in anticipation, before he sprinted into the open. Warriors, impressed, watched as Four crawled up a pillar as effortlessly as Wild before lying flat on his stomach. Then, after pausing for a few moments to catch his breath, Four lifted himself onto his hands and knees. And suddenly, Warriors’ jaw loosened as Four leaped onto the highest rung on the wall ladder he could reach.

Still in shock, Warriors watched Four climb the ladder to the upper passageways. He disappeared behind a wall, but then his head poked out from a walkway above him.

‘You don’t have much time,’ Four signed quickly. ‘Move!’

Warriors did his best to remember how Four moved. He sprinted to the pillar and tried to climb it as fast as Four did, but he couldn’t find the right footing. When his foot slipped, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest. He instantly gripped the ledge harder, and frantically scrambled the rest of the way up.

He let out a short sigh of relief before he scanned the ladder.

You can do this Link!

Taking a deep breath, Warriors got up to his feet before launching himself off the edge with a running start. He extended his hands in preparation and braced for impact.

He hit the ladder much harder than he anticipated. Shock ran through his nerves and threatened to make him fall, but Warriors didn’t dare let go of the rungs. Before any of the Yiga could find him, the captain quickly hoisted himself up the ladder and met up with the smithy.

‘Nice work there...for a captain,’ Four smirked.

Warriors gave him a playful punch in the shoulder. ‘Shut up and lead us out of here.”

Four’s smirk only grew wider.

Between the two of them, they searched for the exit from above the hideout. Warriors kept in mind that, though they were out of sight from most of the patrolling Yiga, there was still the slight possibility that they could be heard. In addition, there was always the occasional soldier stationed in the upper passageways. Though it was hard to get past them, both Warriors and Four snuck through their watchful eyes.

After traversing through the hideout for a few minutes, something caught Warriors’ eye. He saw something in the direction of their travels glint. Curious, he kept watching the area in question until it flashed again.

Making sure that they were safe, Warriors tapped the smaller hero’s shoulder. Four turned to look at him with an eyebrow raised.

‘Can we see what that room has?’ he asked, motioning toward the room.

Four looked like he wanted to say no, but then he paused. He turned to look at the direction Warriors was pointing in. The smithy must have found something important in the room because he quickly signed a ‘Let’s go’ and moved faster. It wasn’t like he was going to complain, so Warriors stayed silent as the pair crawled their way to the special room. 

When they arrived, Warriors immediately noticed they were in a weapons storage room. Weapons of all kinds adorned the walls of the room. Carvers tethered from the ceiling like lanterns, and racks on the floor held windcleavers of all colors. On the left side of the room was a maintenance station with dry cloths permanently stained red. A whetstone with a half empty liter of cleaning oil sat next to the cloths. The last person who used it didn’t seem to have cleaned up the mess.

“Four,” Warriors whispered in case anyone was close, “do you think—”

He cut himself off when he turned to look at Four and saw him approaching the altar in the middle. Sitting on top of it were both of their swords, and their pouches were opened with all their items spread across the altar, presumably for inspection.

Four snatched his sword and slung it over his shoulder. A weight Warriors didn’t know was there seemed to have left the smithy now that his sword was on his back again. As Four picked up his items and put them in his item bag, Warriors approached the altar, grabbed his own sword, and strapped it on.

At least we have our weapons now, Warriors thought happily.

Once they finished grabbing their items, Four led them back out. If Four’s bouncing gait made it seem like he was on cloud nine, Warriors didn’t mention it.

From that point on, the two heroes were desperate to escape. Security seemed to have heightened when they stole their weapons back, and it was getting harder to sneak past the guards without taking risks. Warriors continued following Four, but even he looked like he was having a hard time just by the line of sweat on his frowning face.

They went back the way they came from. Apparently, the direction they went in was the exact opposite from the exit. Warriors nearly screamed when he noticed, but Four told him at least they were going in the right direction now and that he should calm down before they both got caught.

And finally, when Warriors crossed another intersection in the upper passageway, he saw a literal light at the end of the tunnel. Just before that was a great place to hop from the upper level to the ground.

Excited to be close to their escape, Warriors subconsciously sped up.

They reached the end of the upper level. Four hopped off the ledge and landed into a roll to save his knees. Warriors jumped and did the same thing. The heroes turned the next corner, and Four deemed it appropriate to start running, stealth be damned. Not one to complain, Warriors broke into a sprint. 

Stone converted to sand and the pair made it outside the hideout itself. Just a few more minutes and they would be free. Four slid off his hair ties and let his hair fly loose. Warriors flung his scarf around him, basking in the joy of having the chance to wear it again.

They were almost there. They were almost out.

But then—

“HAHAHAHA!”

—they were found.

Laughter echoed in the canyon as one by one, the Yiga soldiers lined the canyon walls. Each footsoldier wielded their carvers or their sickles, ready to attack, and archers strung their bows with two, even three arrows in preparation.

Warriors and Four skidded to a stop when the Yiga grew to an overwhelming number.

“Tch,” Warriors spat, “we’re surrounded.”

Four nodded with a grim look on his face.

He unsheathed his sword with a SHING! “Half and half,” the captain began. “Don't make me try to sit this out.“

“I wouldn't dream of it.” The smaller hero’s sword glinted a rainbow of colors under the sun, and his frown morphed into a smirk. “Let’s create our way out.”

Warriors tried not to think deep into that comment.

Without warning, the first arrows were fired. But the two of them were prepared now. The arrows whizzed past their ears, which resulted in bringing them closer to each other. Warriors turned to face his opponents when he felt Four press his back into his.

“Watch my back, will you?” the smaller hero asked.

Warriors let out a breath of air and smiled. “Anything for you, Four.”

Immediately after he said that, the first soldier came after him. The Yiga soldier’s sickle flashed in Warriors’ eyes as the sunlight reflected off of it, and the captain barely had time to pull his shield out to knock his opponent off balance. Not wanting to make the same mistake as last time, Warriors began his assault on the soldier.

The captain shifted his grip on his blade for better control. Swing after swing, Warriors weakened the soldier in front of him. The masked soldier fought back as hard as he could, but he already took too much damage from Warriors’ first attack with his shield and quickly lost his strength. When the soldier tripped over his own feet trying to dodge one of his strikes, Warriors kicked the guy in the stomach. He crashed onto the ground, like a ragdoll rolling across the sand, he fell unconscious.

Next.

Five of them approached him this time, and Warriors knew he had to concentrate if he was going to get out of this unscathed. He eyed each of his opponents’ next attacks, already forming a prediction of what they’ll do next in his head. And with this, the captain formulated a plan.

Warriors sidestepped the first swing and used that momentum to spin and slice through the soldier’s side as a counterattack. Blood leaked through the wound, and the Yiga soldier crumpled to the ground.

— blood spilled onto the floor as his blade tore mercilessly through his enemy—

Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it.

Next.

He ducked under the next attack, avoiding the sharp point of the sickle. Without jumping back up, the captain swung the flat end of his sword in an arc above him and struck the soldier’s arm. His opponent winced and tried to switch sword hands but his hands didn’t let him grab the grip. The sickle fell to the ground just as Warriors used the butt end of the sword to hit the soldier’s head.

Next.

Before he even saw the carver, Warriors whipped his sword around. The two blades clashed against each other, and the captain began pushing for an opening. Both captain and soldier held the swordlock with an iron will, until Warriors noticed the other soldier approaching from behind him. Unwilling to feel a sickle strike his back, Warriors gave out a cry and pushed through the swordlock with a sudden burst of strength, and the footsoldier momentarily lost his balance. The captain used that chance to disarm his opponent. Before the carver could fall to the ground, Warriors snatched the carver, turned around, and threw the weapon straight at the approaching Yiga’s face. The blade hit the mask straight on, instantly creating cracks that quickly began to spread.

But the soldier wasn’t done yet. In fact, what Warriors did seemed to have truly angered his opponent. The footsoldier whistled, presumably to call for more help. More soldiers approached him, probably around fifteen or twenty just from a quick count.

Warriors’ limbs suddenly felt heavy. How many more of them are there?!

Just then, a deep laugh boomed through the canyon. Warriors stiffened and searched for the source of the voice. He got his answer when a poof of dust and symbols in front of him revealed a Yiga blademaster with a windcleaver in his hands.

Four returned from his own fight to stand by Warriors’ right side. “Who are you?!” the smithy yelled, bringing his sword up.

“Aren’t I your next opponent?” the blademaster asked in return, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“I’ll take him, Four,” Warriors stepped in front of the smaller hero. “Take out the others.”

Four opened his mouth to argue against it, but the blademaster didn’t give him a chance to speak. Like a flash of light, the blademaster swung his windcleaver at the smaller hero, ignoring Warriors entirely. The rush of air sliced at him and sent Four flying a few meters backward. He fell on his back and rolled to a stop before standing up again, irritated at the amount of sand that had gathered inside his tunic and in his hair.

Just as fast as before, the blademaster closed the distance between him and the smithy and threw his blade down in a downward strike. Four seemed to have been prepared for this because he met the strike with the Four Sword, holding onto the grip with both hands. Instead of staying in the swordlock like Warriors did, Four thought of a better idea. Without warning, Four ducked and kicked the blademaster’s shins as hard as he could in an attempt to distract his opponent. The blademaster barely winced at the attack, but it was enough to allow Four to twist out from underneath the blade and regain equal footing.

Not wanting to lose his temporary advantage, Four ran and went for another attack. By this point, even the Yiga footsoldiers had stopped attacking Warriors to watch a fight between a very short hero and a very tall Yiga blademaster. Everyone in the canyon silently watched as the fighters exchanged more blows, the only thing audible were the crashes of sword against sword or shield. 

At one point, a deep laugh resounded from behind the mask of the Yiga blademaster. “You’re a very persistent one, are you?”

Four dodged his opponent’s next swing but only just. The gust of wind from the windcleaver flew past him by a centimeter, but this didn’t phase the hero one bit.

“For a hero that short, it’s quite surprising that you can keep up in a fight against me,” the blademaster taunted, the grin evidently present in his voice.

“If you think you can rile me up by taunting me with short jokes,” Four said as he blocked an attack with his shield, “then sorry to disappoint you, because it won’t work.”

“Oh?” the blademaster asked, fully doubting the hero. Then, out of nowhere, the blademaster kicked Four’s face, and the smaller hero grunted when he hit the ground.

“Four!” Warriors yelled out uselessly.

Blood dripped from the side of his head as Four grit his teeth and pulled himself back onto his feet. He lifted his sword again, though it visibly took more effort than before.

Much to Warriors’ surprise, the blademaster chuckled at the sight of the hero bouncing back. The man grinned and asked, “I wonder which will get you killed faster—your loyalty or your stubbornness?”

“Hehe,” Four’s strained smile almost looked dry. “Considering I used to be a traitor, I don’t think it'll be my loyalty that’ll get me killed.”

Warriors blood ran cold from the shock. Four...a traitor?!

More Yiga soldiers crowded the canyon, eager to hear the story of a hero turned villain. Meanwhile, Warriors couldn’t stop the ice-cold terror from running up his spine. The entire time they were together—not just with him alone in the hideout, but with the others as well—was it all a lie?

“A traitor, you say,” the blademaster repeated thoughtfully with a hand slowly rubbing his chin. “You have my interest. What is your name, ‘former traitor?’”

“It’s Four,” the hero answered, horrifyingly neutral.

“Well then, Four .” The yiga twirled his windcleaver and thrust it in the sand in front of him, a sign of his temporary truce. “I take it you’re fully aware of who we are?”

“Frankly, I don’t know much.”

“Hmm…then, allow me to introduce myself.” The yiga blademaster weaved a few signs before a cloud of dust and paper symbols burst around him. Warriors took a look around and saw the footsoldiers lower themselves into kneeling positions while still keeping their weapons at the ready.

When the dust settled, the blademaster no longer wore a simple, red suit. Instead of scarlet red; jet black colored most of the suit, including his mask. Crimson accented bits of his armor, and the golden inverted eye on his mask made it feel like he could see through both Four and Warriors’ defenses.

“My name is Master Stogha,” the Yiga boomed with authority, “and I am the new leader of the Yiga Clan.”

Four’s eyes slightly widened, but Warriors’ jaw fell open. The Yiga Clan already had a new leader? Based on what Wild said, neither of them expected to encounter a new leader so soon, especially one this good at combat.

“I would like to propose an offer to you, Four,” Stogha continued with the same authoritative voice. “You’ve piqued my interest. Your swordsmanship has several variations to it. I’ve never seen anyone so versatile with their own style. Plus, you don’t limit yourself to conventional methods. The kick to my shins was a smart move for someone in that position. And best of all, when you get knocked down, you come back up no matter how injured you are.”

“Comes with the job,” Four said coolly. “If you don’t get back up, you may as well be dead.”

“True,” the leader agreed, “but unfortunately, I’m losing people from the clan who believe the same.”

Four narrowed his eyes. “Out with it, quit stalling.”

Instead of getting irritated at his attitude, Stogha laughed heartily. “A feisty one, eh? That’ll be good for a change of pace.”

When Stogha sobered up, he squared up his shoulders and faced Four in a serious stance. “My offer is this. As the leader of the Yiga Clan, Master Stogha, I ask you to join our ranks as my second-in-command.”

Warriors froze and he quickly began to drown in his own fear. 

Four as the second-in-command for the Yiga Clan?! Surely he wouldn’t agree to this offer, right?

His worst nightmares were coming true. The captain had always feared that one of the heroes would turn against him. If he couldn’t trust his friends—different incarnations of himself —who could he trust?

At this point Warriors didn’t know anymore. These days, he couldn’t even protect himself from his own memories. 

Four also looked taken aback by the offer, but the smithy didn’t dismiss it immediately. Instead, it looked like he was actually contemplating the request. “What would I gain from this aside from my life? Would you also accept my companion into the clan? Or would you at least spare him?”

The sheer idea of joining a group of traitors snapped him out of his trance. “Four, no, stop it!” Warriors begged, only just holding himself back from throwing himself on his knees. “Please don’t do it! It’s not worth the risk!”

“Unfortunately,” Stogha shook his head, “your companion will not be able to join us. And because of this, we cannot spare his life.”

Four didn’t react for a few moments. “You never did tell me the purpose of the Yiga Clan.”

“Sharp,” the master of the Yiga Clan said. “All the more reason to have you by my side.” Stogha paused for a few seconds. “The purpose of the Yiga Clan is to eliminate everyone and anyone who opposes Lord Ganon. We used to be a part of the Sheikah 10,000 years ago, yet despite our support for the kingdom, we were banished. Some of us agreed to lie low like cowards and weaklings, but not us. We were furious at the treatment we were given after devoting so much of our lives and talents for the kingdom. Therefore, we stood up and swore loyalty to Lord Ganon. And we have not faltered once in our commitment since.

“The Sheikah called us traitors, but instead of bringing us down, it only brought us up. After all, what else would we be? Our will shall not waver. If this is what being a traitor is, then we shall embrace it with our souls.”

Stogha extended a hand toward Four, who had not said a word or moved an inch during his explanation. “I invite you, from one traitor to another, to join me and the Yiga Clan in our journey for revenge. As my second-in-command, you will have the best view of all of Hyrule—no, the entire world —when the fumes we light together burn our enemies to dust, never to be seen again.”

Silence filled Warriors’ ears, and suddenly he found it difficult to breathe. He was surrounded by red turncoats. The leader of them all stood in front of someone he thought he could trust, only to find the skeletons in his closet.

Do you trust him?

…Warriors couldn’t say for sure anymore.

The captain saw Four slowly lower his sword and approach Stogha. Warriors knew he was done for. The smithy would join the clan to save his own life in exchange for his.

Four’s arm lightly brushed against Stogha’s because of how close he was to his opponent. His right hand went up to Stogha’s shoulder and gently patted it, as if Four was solidifying his new alliance with him.

Then, in one swift movement, Four twirled his sword and thrust the blade through the Yiga’s back.

The sound of the sword piercing through skin rang across the canyon. Red spattered onto Four’s tunic and painted the sand. When Warriors took a closer look, he noticed a fierce glare burning through his victim, who looked too stunned to respond to anything that had just occurred.

“Why so shocked, Stogha?” Four smirked. “Did you expect anything else from a traitor?”

Stogha didn’t move for what felt like hours, even after Four retracted his sword. The leader slowly lowered his hand to lightly brush the hilt of his windcleaver. And without warning, the leader pulled the blade out from the sand, turned around, and steadied it in front of him.

“Such a shame,” Stogha lamented, and it didn’t sound like he was lying. “And you’re just too good to kill. Well, as you said, it comes with the job.”

Suddenly, the air pressure seemed to weigh down on Warriors’ shoulders. At the same time, he felt his side slowly begin to burn. He looked down and nearly gasped when he saw that the arrow injury from before seemed to glow blood red.

I completely forgot I had this injury…!

Warriors looked up at Four and saw him gripping his right shoulder, wincing in pain.

Our arrow wounds from before we were captured...but...how? And didn’t Four just stab him in the back? How is he still alive?!

“One of the reasons why I was chosen to be leader,” Stogha began, and Warriors took note of how his hands also glowed the same color as the glow on his side, “was because of this...special ability of mine. To put it in words a simpleton can understand, I can control how affected a person who gets injured is. The reason why your backstab isn’t hurting me is because of this. The reason why you haven’t felt the effects of your arrow wounds from earlier is because of me.”

“Then,” Warriors shakily readjusted his grip on his sword, “if you had this ability from the start, why keep us alive?”

A chuckle escaped from the leader’s chest. “It’s simple, really.”

Sharp pain shot through his torso like a lightning bolt. Warriors cried out involuntarily just as Four seethed and dropped his shield. Warriors’ hand flew to his side, and Stogha said with his windcleaver pointing at him, “I think killing prisoners without seeing who they truly are is counterproductive. About 20% of the Yiga you see here were captured prisoners who changed for the better. Within a mountain of rubble, there is always a hidden gem, after all. But even those hidden gems can be rusted. They may as well become rubble, for they are no longer useful. This is what I am here for: to crush these gems into the rubble they truly are.”

Stogha didn’t waste anymore time talking. He took a few quick steps and swung a gustful of wind in Warriors’ direction, which also signaled to the rest of the Yiga free range to attack. Despite the persistent needle in his side, he threw himself to the side to dodge the blow. Quickly recovering as fast as he could, Warriors rolled back onto his feet just in time to meet Stogha’s next strike from above.

In one barrage of attacks, Stogha tore through some of his armor and bruised his arms. Somehow, he managed to have the dexterity to amplify the sensitive nerves surrounding his injuries. Warriors stumbled every so often because of them, even though he was used to fighting for hours on end with much worse injuries.

You’ve gotten soft. Your opponent is going to kill you if you don’t do something about it.

That pulled the trigger.

A sudden burst of energy welled up inside him, and Warriors yelled out a battle cry. He wouldn’t back down. If he was going to die here, he wouldn't die as a coward.

Stogha severely underestimated the captain’s strength and staggered back a few centimeters when he tried to block his blow. Taking advantage of the new opening, Warriors thrust his sword at the leader. Even though Stogha stopped it, Warriors didn’t lose his momentum. Instead, he set off his own barrage of attacks: a simple combo he used very often during the war.

His sword lit up at the start of his downslash into a sideslash. Using the same drive, he jumped into a twirl and sliced at Stogha, cutting through some of the fabric of his armor. He flicked his sword back up to hit the hilt of the Yiga’s blade before slicing through his opponent’s chest. The captain’s feet touched the ground again, and faster than he ever had, Warriors swung his sword like lightning at this opening. To finish, he flipped into a somersault and struck the ground. A shockwave burst through the sand, which shook the ground so violently even Warriors nearly lost his own balance.

Stogha slid across the sand, and even with his sword in the ground in a desperate attempt to stay on his feet. When the shockwave from his sword passed, Warriors removed it from the sand and rushed at the disoriented leader of the Yiga Clan.

Now’s my chance!

Warriors finished his combination with a few more swings. Then, he thrust his blade into Stogha’s chest.

For a few moments, Warriors stood there breathing heavily. He hadn’t used his big combos and skills since the war, and it hurt even more now that adrenaline fueling his muscles began to die down.

Blood seeped through the armor and began to stain his steel sword.

The same sword he used to kill the turncoats.

Some of it spilled and dyed the soft sand at his feet a dark vermillion.

The body fell limp on his sword, never to move again.

Warriors grit his teeth. No...stop…

A finger twitched.

Warriors startled.

An ice cold chuckle caused his sword to vibrate in his hands. “You forget who you’re attacking, companion of Four.”

Stogha’s hands glowed so intensely that it forced Warriors to avert his eyes. His ability?! I thought there were limits to that!

“I think I’m done playing with you,” the leader growled, finally irritated. “Yiga! Finish them!”

The Yiga collectively agreed. Then they swarmed the area and held their blades and bows up.

“Sweet Farore,” Four murmured, still clutching his shoulder.

Warriors nodded, but then he lifted his shield in front of both of them. “I can keep my shield up for now but I can’t hold them off forever.” He could already feel his energy being sapped.

Four kept a grim expression on his face. “Well,” he let go of his shoulder to pull out the Four Sword, “I won’t go down without a fight . ”

But the fight never happened.

In the corner of his eye, Warriors saw a Yiga archer aimed at the two heroes and let go of the string. However the arrows never struck true. Instead, an explosion of fire rushed in their direction, causing Warriors to instinctively block it. The fire danced around it and burned the arrows and the surrounding Yiga to ash.

Warriors glanced at Four, who looked just as confused as he did. Where did the fire come from?

Another burst of magic—a crackling ball of lightning—circled the canyon’s borders. Yiga footsoldiers hissed when the lightning shocked them, and others were paralyzed when they didn’t dodge the attack. Warriors watched as the lightning and the fireball came together in a concentrated supernova before it threw itself at Stogha.

The burst of elements created a powerful shockwave that lifted sand into Warriors’ eyes and nose. Coughing, Warriors kept blinking and looked around to see who cast the magic.

“Hey now, did you really think we’d let you have all the fun?”

Two familiar heroes stood at the other end of the canyon. One held his blazing fire rod in hand, and the other…

“Isn’t it well-known around here that it’s a bad idea to get on a healer’s nerves?”

Both Warriors and Four sighed with relief. Legend and Hyrule were here to back them up!

The veteran hooked his fire rod onto his belt and unsheathed the Tempered Sword. “Say, Hyrule, getting here was quite the trek,” Legend began. “I’ve got some pent up anger from all the sand in my boots too. Why don’t you step back and let me handle this?”

“Oh Legend,” Hyrule lamented with his eyes dead set on the Yiga, “you know I can’t do that. I’ve been itching to use more than 10% of my mana on offensive spells since I’ve been assigned healer. And besides...” Hyrule snapped his fingers and lightning crackled in his palm. His neutral expression morphed into unbridled fury and swore, “I think it’s about time I personally teach these assassins a lesson.”

Warriors turned to Four. “Let’s move away from—”

Legend clicked his Pegasus Boots into action, sped through the blockade of Yiga footsoldiers, and skidded to a stop right next to them. “I’ll get you two princesses out of our way,” Legend teased as he hoisted Warriors onto his back.

“Legend, what the h—woAAHH!”

Before Warriors could finish his statement, Legend took off again. Warriors held on tight as he weaved through crowds of Yiga. When he met up with Hyrule again, Legend quickly but gently lowered Warriors to the ground. He left again to pick up Four and plopped him right next to Warriors.

The veteran looked them in the eyes and said, “Now, stay here and let us finish them off.”

Once Legend was gone and the fireworks between Legend, Hyrule, and the Yiga began, Warriors took the time to address his wounds. He could feel several bruises on his arms, especially his right forearm, his back felt stiff, and his side still burned. But thanks to Legend and Hyrule’s appearance, he wouldn’t have to suffer through it for much longer.

Satisfied with his self-assessment, the captain turned to Four and asked, “How are you holding up?”

Four shrank into himself and scooted about thirty centimeters in the opposite direction. The smithy didn’t even make eye contact, much less respond to his question.

Warriors just watched, completely baffled. “Four?”

“Just fine,” Four clearly lied. “A couple bruises and scratches.”

“Four, you have an arrow wound on your shoulder.”

“It’s fine.”

“Four, it’s not.”

“I said it’s fine. ”

“An arrow wound is not something you can dismiss so easily.”

“Just drop it, will you?” the smithy bit, and Warriors startled at the sudden fit of irritation. “I can take care of myself. I know my limits.”

Four winced when he noticed what he said. “Sorry,” he sighed apologetically. “I’m...just tired I guess.”

Warriors slowly nodded. “Today’s been a rough day. It’s alright.”

But a nagging feeling inside Warriors told him it was his fault. Where did I go wrong?

At that moment, one final explosion shook the sand beneath them before Legend and Hyrule came into view. When Warriors looked behind them, he didn’t see any more Yiga, not even Stogha. Hopefully, they wouldn’t come back.

“Aw man,” Hyrule whined, his fluffy brown hair a mess of static, “that wasn’t even a warm-up!”

Legend, his face lined with soot and sweat, patted the traveler’s back. “Now now, Roolie,” he said, “summoning that lightning bolt with clear skies must’ve taken a lot of magic.”

Hyrule flicked the veteran’s nose, and Legend yelped. “Now now, Vet~!” Hyrule mimicked.

“Shut up!”

Legend finally turned to face Warriors. “We took care of them,” he said nonchalantly, as if they hadn’t just burned their enemies to a crisp. “Any other big wounds we need to address?”

“Not for me,” Warriors said, “but Four has an arrow wound on his shoulder.”

Four’s ears perked when he heard his name, but otherwise he didn’t say anything.

“Oh?” Legend looked over the smaller hero, carefully making sure he wasn’t hiding any injuries. “You’re lucky it struck your right shoulder and not your left.”

A stiff nod, and nothing else.

Legend sighed as he lowered himself to his knees in front of Four. He unclipped a mana potion, took a swig of it, and reclipped it to his belt. “I can take care of this, ‘Rule. Wars’ is more your specialty.”

Hyrule hummed and knelt down in front of Warriors. “‘Kay,” Hyrule said once he drank a mana potion, “don’t move. It might feel a bit different since you got struck with some sleep poison. It shouldn’t hurt though.”

“Alright.”

Hyrule and Legend got to work healing the two heroes. Legend finished first only because Four’s wound was less difficult to heal, but Hyrule finished just a few minutes after. Once everyone was healed and ready, Warriors heard a shout from a distance.

The four of them turned to find the source of the voice when they saw the other five heroes quickly approaching them with Twilight and Wild in the lead.

“Are you guys alright?!” Wild asked once he got close enough.

“Yeah we’re fine,” Legend responded for the four of them.

Warriors glanced at each hero. “How did you find us so fast?” he asked. “How did you know we were here in the first place?”

“I can explain,” Twilight stepped forward. “When we first noticed you two were missing, I scanned the camp as Wolfie to find any trails. The only lead I could pick up was the smell of bananas.”

“Bananas are a huge thing for the Yiga,” Wild picked up from where he left off. “Insult bananas and they get pissed at you.”

“So we made the connection that you two were wherever the hideout was,” Sky added. “Legend and Hyrule got so mad at the situation that they left once Wild spilled where the hideout was, which was why they got to you two before us.”

Warriors set his gaze onto the unofficial leader of the group, who had not said a word since they arrived. “And how did you react to that, Time?”

The mildly disappointed glare pierced through him the second he heard the question being directed at him. Warriors regretted asking the question, but it ultimately felt like Time appreciated Legend and Hyrule’s happiness despite what he said or did.

“Anyway boys,” Time said aloud for everyone to hear, pointedly ignoring his question, “we should find a place to stay. The desert is not a safe place to camp. Wild, is there any place we can go to recover?”

“Yeah!” the champion bounced. He walked in the direction of the desert and pointed a finger toward a building accompanied by trees. “Over there is Kara Kara Bazaar. It's a resting spot for merchants and travelers in the desert. There’s an inn and everything with full service!”

“Perfect. Let’s get going,” Time replied, already moving forward. Wild stayed in the front, giving off a cheer as he and Wind chatted in the lead.

Warriors pushed himself to his feet to walk with the group, but a firm hand fell on his shoulder. He turned around to see that Legend had stopped him.

The veteran’s hand fell from his shoulder just as Warriors asked, “What’s up?”

Legend simply stood there for a few moments. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Thanks for not dying on me,” he muttered, just barely loud enough for Warriors to hear.

He ducked his head and swiftly walked past a stunned Warriors before he could say anything. He smiled. Legend really did have a heart behind his snark. The veteran had just been through too much is all.

Warriors took one last glance at the canyon behind him before following the others.

Me too, Legend.

Warriors and the chain walked through the Gerudo Desert to get to Kara Kara Bazaar. Thankfully, the sun was setting, which meant the cooler temperature made the hike easier on them. Warriors didn’t think he could handle a heat stroke on top of his exhaustion.

Time and Twilight stood closer to the front, mainly to make sure Wind and Wild didn’t run off again. Just behind them, Warriors walked beside Legend and made small talk with him in the middle of the pack. Sky, Hyrule, and Four were somewhere behind them, but he didn’t pay too much attention.

It was only when he happened to turn around did Warriors see Four trailing behind Sky and Hyrule, clearly lost in his own head.

Not wanting to leave him alone, Warriors waited for Legend to make eye contact with him. When he did, Warriors motioned toward Four, and Legend understood immediately. The captain slowed down to let Sky and Hyrule pass him and to wait for Four. Four didn’t seem to notice Warriors falling into pace with him until after a few minutes had passed.

Neither hero acknowledged the other’s presence for what seemed like a long time. The only thing that could be heard was the soft chatter taking place within the heroes in front of them.

“Wars?”

The captain didn’t jump, but he didn’t expect Four to break the silence first. “What’s up, Four?”

Four took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. “I know you’ve got questions.”

Warriors turned his head to look at Four, though the smaller hero didn’t face him. “It’s not my place to ask. I’m sure you had your reasons.”

Four tensed up. “But I did have a choice,” he said. “And I still did it.”

Four didn’t specify what he was referring to, but Warriors had a feeling he knew what he meant. “Are you talking about...about being a traitor?”

Four neither confirmed nor denied what he asked, but the silence that fell upon them told Warriors all he needed to know.

Four used to be a traitor. Warriors hated traitors.

How the hell did I end up in this situation?

“Listen, Four,” Warriors said. “I get why you’re hesitant to tell me the details, given my history with traitors. I still hate how quickly they turned against our kingdom, and I still hate how I couldn’t convince them to come back.”

Link! Wanna come to my place? My family cooked this amazing meal that I thought you’d like!

“I still hate how I didn’t hesitate to kill them,” he whispered under his breath. “My old comrades were slaughtered by my own blade.”

Four took a sharp breath, no doubt shocked at the confession.

Link...I’m sorry...may the Goddess...smile upon you...hero...

“But Four,” he pushed through the memory, “even though you were a traitor at some point, during these few days we’ve been together, you’ve proved your loyalty. I’ve seen your determination to get both of us out safely. If you were only looking after yourself, you would’ve left me there to die.”

Four seemed to think about his words for a moment. In a small voice he asked, “You wouldn’t have turned traitor to get out alive? You would’ve died loyal to us?”

“Of course,” Warriors answered without hesitation. “I would rather die to my enemy than live as my enemy.”

Whatever Warriors said wasn’t what Four wanted to hear. Instead, he crossed his arms and hunched over himself. “In that case,” he murmured, “I guess I haven’t really changed, have I?”

Warriors’ blood ran cold. He didn’t plan on asking, but curiosity got the better of him. “What do you mean?”

Four turned his gaze away from Warriors and a tense silence fell upon them. Warriors wondered if he said something wrong. But the deafening silence was finally broken by a soft quivering voice. “On one of my journeys, a piece of myself joined the darkness.” He looked over to Warriors, probably to make sure he was listening. Then he continued. “At first, I managed to convince myself that I was only joining the darkness to help my friends, but that wasn’t...the true reason.”

Four looked like he wanted to stop there. He wanted to let whatever the true reason was to stay unvoiced. But, with his eyes simmering with his tears, he looked away and admitted, “A piece of me fell in love with the darkness, Wars.”

Warriors eyes widened. What did he mean by that?

“It was a gradual change, and it didn’t happen overnight. It was just… being on the opposite side changed something inside of me.” Four pulled his sword out and gazed into its reflection, lost in his own memories. “Even though I was someone chosen by the light, even though I was someone my friends trusted with their lives, I betrayed them. It all felt like a fun game to me. But I wasn’t just playing the role I was given anymore. I actually started to enjoy it. It was intoxicating, and that feeling tainted me.”

Warriors stared at Four as his mind whirred with this revelation. What did he mean? Tainted?!

“Four?” he started. Thinking he should be comforting Four, he placed a hand on his shoulder. He felt Four flinch from the contact, and he quickly pulled his hand away.

Warriors didn’t want to push him. The idea that Four had betrayed someone stung, but he had never seen any traitor look so… frightened because of it . Four appeared so vulnerable talking about his experiences, and Warriors didn’t know how he was supposed to respond to this.

“Four,” he began again, forcing his voice to remain steady. “I’ve never been one to side with a traitor, but that’s because all the ones I’ve known have wronged me. You’re different though. Whatever you might’ve done while you were with the darkness, I know you must’ve done it because you had to.

“It might be of little help, but I want you to know that I forgive you for whatever you might’ve done. And besides, I know many people only betray others because they’re too cowardly to see things through to the end. You rejoined the light, didn’t you? Your one betrayal means nothing if you chose the light in the end.”

“You don’t understand, Wars,” Four said. “I betrayed them twice.”

Warriors blinked. What?

Four’s voice shook. “I betrayed my friends when I joined the darkness, but I turned against my closest friend when I had to rejoin the light.”

The sword in the smithy’s hands shimmered a multitude of colors. His eyes reflected its colorful shine back at Warriors. Tears formed around the small hero’s eyes as Four choked out his next words. “And the worst thing? Everyone called me a hero for ‘saving Hyrule’ when all I did was betray those that trusted me.”

In a quieter voice, the smithy clenched his hands together and confessed, “I got my best friend killed because of my selfishness and now I don’t know what to do with myself.”

“Four—”

“Warriors! Four!” a familiar voice cut through, making the pair jump. Wild stood alone, but Warriors could see the others disappear behind a boulder. “Hurry up slowpokes, why are you walking so slow?”

Four took this chance to speed past Warriors without answering his question. He reached a hand out to stop him, but he let it fall. The conversation they had wasn’t something Four seemed ready to share with him, much less with everyone else.

Warriors let out a breath of air. He would have to wait for another chance to talk to the smithy alone.

After that, Warriors and Four were constantly questioned. Each person asked how they managed to escape such a well-guarded hideout. What did they do? How did they slip through their defenses? Wind kept asking Four how he held his own against Stogha, but Four never gave him a solid answer.

Warriors kept trying to find the opportunity to talk to Four, but the opportunity never arose. To him, it almost felt like Four purposefully avoided him. It was as if their time bonding with each other while trying to escape the hideout was flushed down the drain.

Until the chain ended up in Warriors’ Hyrule.

They landed somewhere out in the fields, but Warriors knew it would take about two days to get to the castle. Not wanting to waste any time, he chose to lead the group through his Hyrule. The captain would point out any landmarks they haven't seen before, but otherwise he kept quiet. It had been a while since the group had landed in his Hyrule, and he wanted to enjoy his time here before they were whisked elsewhere.

Warriors was starting to get bored when he spotted a familiar campsite in the distance. 

That's…!

Thrilled at the idea of resting soon, Warriors hastened his pace. Sunset was quickly approaching, and this discovery made everyone move faster along with him.

When they arrived at the site, the chain quickly set up camp. It didn’t take long for everyone to decide their corners before settling down. Hyrule barely finished throwing his sleeping bag on the dirt before he fell fast asleep. Sky also laid out his sleeping bag and lied down, but he didn’t drift off as fast as Hyrule did. Wild didn’t even get the chance to hand either of them some dinner, and the lost puppy look on his face nearly made the captain chuckle. Time and Twilight, fully aware of the sleeping heroes, were silently arguing over who would take second watch again while Wind gathered a few more sticks for the fire.

All the while, Four continued to avoid his gaze.

Warriors let out a sigh before tossing his items next to his sleeping bag. Their previous conversation hadn’t left his mind, and Warriors already knew he wouldn’t be sleeping again that night.

Four...had betrayed someone. The captain knew that much was true. But why? Why had he done it?

Warriors looked towards the smithy, who sat on the ground with his back against a log. He held a book in his hand and seemed to be reading it with profound interest. Four’s guarded body language showed how he really didn’t want to talk to anyone. Yet despite this obvious observation, Warriors opened his mouth anyway.

It was now or never.

“Four?”

“Hm?” He turned the page of the novel he was reading.

Warriors grabbed his sword and strapped it on his back. “Why don’t you come with me for a moment?”

Four didn’t blink. “Is this about what we talked about?” he asked after a moment of hesitation.

“I just want to show you somewhere important, is all,” Warriors reassured, understanding why Four hesitated. “I won’t force you to come, though. But…” Warriors fiddled with the end of his scarf, “I would appreciate it if you came with me.”

The hero finally looked him in the eyes and—

A swirl of colors—green, blue, red, and violet—all drowning in vulnerability. But when they settled on violet, Warriors could see the tears forming and threatening to spill against the smaller hero’s will.

Four was scared.

His entire will to go out and talk with Four crumbled. The last thing Warriors wanted to do was put Four in an uncomfortable position. If this meant never getting answers to his questions, so be it. All he wanted was to keep him safe.

“H-hey Four,” Warriors ruffled his own hair awkwardly, “I—this isn’t—I’m not going to hurt you, y’know?”

Four winced. “I—”

“Listen, I just wanted to take you somewhere and I figured you’d like it is all.” Warriors sighed. Why did he always make things worse? “But it’s alright if you don’t feel comfortable being with me after what happened. We don’t have to go. Keep reading your book. Sorry to bother you.”

“That’s not—”

“Goodnight Four. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Warriors!”

A hand grabbed his wrist before he could get far away enough.

Four’s hand.

“...Four?” Warriors breathed, shocked.

“I—we—” Four inhaled, snapped his book shut, and quickly said, “I’m being stupid, let’s go to wherever it is you want to go.”

Warriors watched as the smaller hero grabbed his bag full of items and his sword, and pushed past him without looking up.

He sighed. Warriors supposed that this was going to be the reaction he would get from Four after mentioning his past. He knew he had never been good with words, but he couldn’t help but feel ashamed at how once again, his actions put himself in a situation he didn’t know how to fix.

To say the short five minute trip to the place was tense would be an understatement.

Four walked behind him the whole trip while Warriors led the way. He didn't say anything, always staying consistently two meters away. Warriors tried to break the ice before he talked with him about a serious topic, but Four looked so lost in thought Warriors didn’t think he would hear him.

When the place came into view, Warriors announced, “Welcome to Artemis, Impa, and I’s graveyard, Four. It’s...the place where my friends rest. Several other nameless soldiers are here as well.”

Four looked across the graveyard. Warriors watched him the whole time. He saw how the smithy maintained a neutral expression for the most part, but Warriors could see beyond that. Four’s body was tense. His face was stiff and he noticed the corner of his mouth quiver ever so slightly that he nearly missed it. But one thing that baffled Warriors was how his eyes revealed the gears turning inside Four’s brain.

Four gave a short bow of respect to the graveyard as a whole. Then he said, “My condolences. You have my sympathy.”

Warriors waved a hand to dismiss the statement. The captain let out a breath of air he didn't know he was holding. It was about time he explained his story in full. “Let me tell you a story about a soldier.”

Four’s ear twitched. He glanced at him from the corner of his eye but he didn't linger. Warriors sat down with his legs crossed, and motioned for Four to do the same. Once he did, the smithy nodded, signaling him to continue.

Warriors fiddled with his scarf. “As all soldiers did, he started as a mere page. He passed his entrance exam...not the highest in rank, but probably around the top ten of the people who passed. Life as a page was normal for the soldier, and he even made some friends. It was pretty exciting for him because he never really had friends before. Acquaintances, sure, but no one to share any real experiences with. Being a page changed that for him, so he put everything into this new passion of his.”

He’d been watching Four the entire time, so Warriors noticed when he realized who this story was about.

“One day,” Warriors continued, “while he was out training with his friends, he had heard rumors of an attack on the castle. The princess had gone with the Hyrulean army to investigate. But the trainees weren’t allowed to participate. Eager to help Hyrule despite the risks, the soldier snuck out of the castle on his own. What awaited him was a horde of powerful monsters tearing the Hyrulean army’s defenses. So the soldier fought next to them and supported them the best he could. When it was revealed that the soldier was the hero bearing the Triforce of Courage, he was instantly given a new set of clothes and promoted to captain.”

Warriors chuckled as the memories replayed in his head. “The newly promoted captain’s friends were happy for him. So on their next day off, his friends threw him a party. It wasn’t the grandest thing, but it was special to the captain. It was the first celebration he had as a Hyrulean soldier with his new friends. He even started thinking about them as his family. His brothers-in-arms. Or so he thought.”

The gears visibly whirred inside Four’s head, and Warriors knew he probably figured out what was going to come next.

“In one of the battles the captain ended up in, the enemy brought out the darkness inside the soldiers he commanded. In other words, all hatred and anger and envy surfaced in each one of them, and they turned against the captain.” Warriors held his hands together to prevent them from trembling. “Not even his friends were saved, for each one of them bore the same darkness inside.”

Warriors didn’t want to look at Four anymore. If he saw any form of sympathy on his face he didn’t think he could stop himself from crying his heart out in front of Four.

Hoping his voice wouldn’t fail on him, he kept talking. “There’s a specific code in the Hyrulean army that specifically deals with turncoats. Simply put, the captain had to...dispose of them. And so he did as he was told.”

He heard a sharp breath, but he ignored it. “Though the captain followed the code, he couldn’t help but feel guilty for killing them. Even though they weren’t as honest as he thought they were. Even if their friendships were lies. Even if their actions made him scared to have friends again.”

Four shifted beside him. “Wars…”

“But Four,” Warriors said, “you aren’t like them. I’ve spent some time thinking about why you would turn against your friends. I never really understood why anyone would do that, but you made me realize the full picture. The difference between the story about the captain and his traitorous friends and yours is that the captain’s friends weren’t true to themselves. They weren’t loyal friends of mine to begin with. You, however, act out of loyalty for what you believe in to the point where you would do anything to protect those close to you. Your loyalty lies with your values, and consequently, your friends.”

“How do you know?” a soft voice broke through his speech.

The sudden, unanticipated question momentarily threw him off. Warriors faced Four, whose hands were shaking. “How do I know what?”

“How do you know I won’t betray anyone again?!” Four exploded at Warriors. He sat there with his eyes wide with shock, unable to respond at the sudden roar of anger. “How do you know I’m different from them?! Do you even know if I have values? Do you even know if I have morals? Because if I don’t know then you sure as hell don’t!”

“Four—”

“I willingly chose to betray. I willingly chose the villain’s side. I willingly hurt my friends just to save my skin! Everyone believes I did it to defend Hyrule, but they don’t know the whole truth, because they weren’t even there! How could it possibly be a sacrifice for the kingdom if I enjoyed turning traitor and fighting for the dark side?! How could I possibly have morals after what I’ve done?! How can I trust myself to not do it again?!”

Tears spilled down Four’s cheeks and fell on his tunic. His entire body shivered from the emotions he could no longer contain. The amount of anger and frustration and sadness and guilt behind Four’s words hurt more than the words themselves. However, none of it was directed at Warriors. Four lashed out at himself because he was terrified. Terrified that one day his actions would permanently sever his bonds.

Terrified that one day he would be alone without even himself to trust.

Warriors knew the feeling well. After the discovery of the traitors, he started avoiding people. They would come up to him, talk to him, and would try to convince him to be friends with them. The in-grown fear of getting attached to someone who would inevitably backstab him was too strong, so he would always come up with an excuse to deny them. Even still, he always kept a positive front to keep the kingdom’s morale high. He was the Hero of Hyrule, a public figure, and he couldn’t appear weak at any time. Which meant that no one could know if he felt lonely.

That was why, when he met his eight other incarnations, Warriors kept his flamboyant front. But after weeks of fighting and traveling together to defeat a common evil, he felt his defenses fall. He started trusting the others to watch his back. He fell into banters. Cracked jokes. Lent a shoulder to a Link in need. He didn’t know when he started thinking of them as “people he would die for,” and he knew without a doubt that they would do the same for him.

The Links were found family. He wasn’t alone anymore. He could trust himself again. And Warriors wasn’t about to let one of his own fall down that trap.

Just like their time inside the hideout, Warriors shifted closer to Four the best he could without alarming him. And just like before, he wrapped his arms around the smaller hero’s shoulders and pulled him to his chest.

Instantly, the hero’s fury melted into an overwhelming sadness. Four gripped Warriors’ clothes firmly and wailed into his tunic. His breaths were ragged as he cried on him, but Warriors didn’t mind. Four held years upon years of not trusting himself inside, and now that he finally had someone who would listen to him—no, trust him —he let everything rush out of his system.

When Four’s sobs calmed to sniffles, Warriors decided to speak again. “I don’t know if you’ll do it again. I don’t know what situations we’ll have to face in the future. Who knows what options we’ll have? Do what you feel is best, Four. That’s how you can start trusting yourself again.”

Four sniffed. “And what if I don’t know what’s best?”

“Then you go out there and give them hell,” Warriors said. “Make them regret making an enemy out of Link, the Hero of the Four Sword.”

Warriors felt the smithy’s chest rumble with laughter, and Warriors couldn’t help but chuckle along with him.

“Thanks Wars,” Four whispered.

Warriors was about to respond when Four grabbed his shoulders and pushed him away. He looked him straight in the eyes and said, “But that means you have to forgive yourself as well.”

He blinked and laughed it off, dismissing the idea. “My situation is different, Four. It’s not the same as yours.”

“Is it?” Four smiled wryly. “Don’t you also feel guilty for doing something morally questionable?”

Warriors stopped laughing and took a really good look at Four. Though he was smiling, his eyes told him he should shut up and listen. Four was serious.

“Both of us have done stuff we aren’t proud of,” Four continued in a softer, understanding voice. “I betrayed the people who trusted me, and you killed the people who betrayed you. We’re the same in that regard. Both of us are guilty for doing stuff that might not be considered moral, but we still did it to defend Hyrule. And we might even do it again.”

“But I killed people!” Warriors leaned forward.

“And I killed my morals. The only difference between you and me is the circumstances.”

Four’s point was true, but it was so out of left field that sent Warriors into a fit of laughter. “Alright, you win this time, Four,” he raised his hands in defeat.

Four’s mouth twitched into a smug grin. He threw himself back to lie down on the grass. Warriors chose to do the same, so he uncrossed his legs and let himself fall on his back. They lay there for some time, watching the stars and the moon shine above them. Neither of them said anything either. Hylia knew they needed a moment to themselves after everything that happened in one day.

After about ten minutes of stargazing, Four stood and brushed some dirt off his back. “I’m going back to get some sleep. Are you coming?”

Warriors waved at him without looking. “You can go ahead. I don’t want to go just yet.”

“If you say so. Goodnight Wars, and...thank you. For bringing me here, but especially for saving me back there.”

“Anytime Four.”

“And for the record, I think your friends must be pretty lucky to sleep in such a cool graveyard.”

Then he was gone.

Warriors continued to feel the cool grass on his skin and hear the leaves fluttering in the wind. He closed his eyes to take in the peaceful night. The crickets’ songs echoed each other, and he could almost taste the crisp night air.

He didn’t notice he fell asleep until a bright light shone through his eyelids.

Warriors shielded his eyes with a hand. He groaned as he sat up, his muscles stiff from the previous day. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he brought himself to his feet, and he found his gaze looking across the graveyard again.

Sunrise. It was the dawn of a new day, a fresh start for better opportunities. Warriors felt like he had finally overcome the dark obstacle that had blocked his way for years as he faced the light. Warriors felt that he had finally moved on from the negativity brewing inside, and it wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for a certain smithy.

He felt as if he should head back to the others, but his eyes found the spider lily that had been present since that day all those years ago. He knelt onto the ground and caressed the fully bloomed red spider lily in his hands

And for the first time in his life, Warriors could see the life-changing positive aspects of the color red.