This is sort of a depressing story, but it doesn't stay that way, so don't worry! I finally created my own characters, and for this story Shadow Link's the main villain. It starts off after the four Links have rescued Zelda, and they're looking for Shadow Link to kill him. I added ZeLink, oh, and since it's a Four Swords story, I guess I should say ZeldaxGreen. My first story with chapters, too! ENJOY!!!

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The Power of Four

Chapter 1

Red, Blue, Green, and Vio walked through the Lost Woods, heading towards the river. They had successfully rescued Princess Zelda and were now trying to track down Shadow Link and defeat him.

"I can't believe Shadow Link did all of this by himself," Green said.

"I know, he usually has help from some other idiot, like Vaati or Ganon," Blue growled in reply.

"Good for him! He's working by himself now!" exclaimed Red.

"No, not good for him. Stupid, he's making it easier for us to kill him by acting by himself. Don't you know anything?" Blue retorted angrily.

"Sorry…"

"Blue, stop picking on Red," Vio scolded. "He didn't do anything wrong."

"Hmph. Just leave me alone, Red."

They soon reached the river, standing on the edge next to the waterfall.

"Looks like we have to cross using those stepping stones," Green pointed out. "I'll go first." He stepped on the first of the five stones, using his arms to balance. Then he jumped to the next stone. And the next. He soon reached the other side. Green turned around and gave a thumbs-up to the others. Vio went next. He crossed the river without delay. After that went Blue, who crossed easily and quickly.

Finally it was Red's turn. He crossed the first three stones easily, and stopped to catch his breath.

"Look out!" Blue suddenly yelled, pointing to the trees. A huge kargarok bird flew out of the trees straight at Red, and he stepped back. He wobbled for a second, then fell into the raging river.

"RED!" Green, Blue, and Vio screamed in unison. A minute passed, then Red resurfaced, grabbing onto the rock, trying to pull himself up and out of the water. But Red was already weakened from fighting the current, and he couldn't hold on much longer. He tried to get a better grip, but failed and slipped, plunging down the waterfall.

"Oh my God-"

"Look! There's a path leading to the bottom of the waterfall! Let's follow it."

The three boys followed the winding path and reached the bottom of the waterfall in no time. They searched frantically for Red and found him floating face-up in the water. Blue, Green, and Vio dragged him to shore.

"Red, are you okay?" Green asked, all three crouching around Red.

"Guys, you're here…" Red said quietly. "I'm fi-" he stopped abruptly, coughing up water.

"Vio, you'd better see what's wrong," Green said. Vio moved closer to Red and placed an ear to his chest. When he looked up again, he had a sad expression on his face.

"His heart's beating faintly. What's worse is that when he breathes it makes a gurgling noise. That means he's got a lot of water in his lungs. In his case…" Vio paused. "Too much."

"He won't live?" Blue asked.

Vio shook his head.

"Guys…" Red interrupted them. "Promise me that you'll defeat Shadow Link."

"But Red-"

"Promise me!" Red had never sounded so serious. Green replied with tears in his eyes.

Red smiled. "That's all I need to hear." He sighed, closed his eyes, and lay very still. Too still.

"Red? Red! Wake up!" Blue shook him, trying to wake him up. Vio grabbed Red's wrist for a second, then dropped it and slumped back.

"W-What is it?!"

Vio looked up. "There's no pulse…" he replied quietly.

"No! Red, you can't die!" Blue cried. "I'm sorry for all the mean things I said to you! I'm really sorry! Please, wake up!"

"He's not going to wake up, Blue," Green whispered, barely audible.

"W-What should we do with him?" Vio asked shakily. "We can't just leave him here."

"Hmmm… let's transport his body to Zelda. She'll take good care of it." Green took out Red's ocarina and played the Prelude of Light, then placed it on Red's chest. A glowing light surrounded him and he disappeared.

Vio stood up slowly. "We should continue our search for Shadow Link. We did promise Red."

"Let's go."

They walked along the river, heading away from the waterfall. Little did they know they were being watched. Two glowing red eyes were peering out of a tree near the riverbank. It was Shadow Link! He sat back in the branches and snickered.

"So, one down, three to go," he counted to himself. "The curse I put on them is working. They'll be eliminated one by one!" Shadow Link sat and thought for a second. He had an idea.

"Hikage! Get over here!" he called softly. A small, red fairy flew down and landed in Shadow Link's palm. There was one difference between Hikage and a normal fairy: Hikage didn't have rounded wings. Instead he had small, red bat wings.

"What is it, sir?" Hikage asked.

"I want you to go down there and talk to Green. Tell him you're my fairy, 'cause you are, and also tell him I'm at the Wind Palace."

"But sir, you aren't, and won't ever be, at the Wind Palace."

Shadow Link slapped him. "Of course I won't be! I'm going to follow them. As they travel, they'll trigger the curse, and die. Now go!"

Hikage nodded his tiny head and flew off to find Green.

Vio, Blue, and Green were still following the river, but Hikage soon caught up to them.

"Hey, look! A fairy!" Blue spointed out.

"Strange… It looks like a Keese with those bat wings…" Vio muttered to himself.

"I'm looking for Green," the fairy said.

"What d'you want?" Green asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"My name's Hikage," he said, hovering in front of Green. "I'm Shadow Link's fairy."

"Shadow Link's fairy?!" all three boys tensed.

"Yup. He wants me to tell you he's at the Wind Palace."

"The Wind Palace, huh? Okay, we'll go."

"Well, that's all I have to say. Se ya!" Hikage flew into one of the trees.

Green turned to the others. "Now that we know Shadow Link's at the Wind Palace, that's where we're headed next."

"But what if it's a trap?"

"It's the only choice we have."

Vio sighed. "Let's go."

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A/N: OH NOES!! Red's dead! Don't worry. You'll find out why soon enough. Yay, I introduced my first character I made by myself! HIKAGE! Yeah, he's supposed to be Shadow Link's fairy. That's why I made him. Oh, and his name means "shadow" in Japanese, because he's Shadow Link's fairy. I swear this is the longest chapter for this story. I'll update soon! Bye!