Author Note: Impulse fanfiction... so I apologize if it's crap. This was originally going to be a one-shot, but it got a bit long and I decided to make it into five chapters - Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. Bonus points if you guess which Link represents which chapter/stage of grief.

Disclaimer: Nintendo owns the Legend of Zelda and all its characters.

Green had never really thought about dying. He preferred not to think about depressing subjects, and often had no time to. He did know, however, that when he did die, he wanted it to be quick.

And of course, that wasn't how he was going to go out.

It hadn't even been for a hugely worthy cause. He wasn't defeating Vaati or rescuing Princess Zelda. Vio had heard of a small town being terrorized by Darknuts, and the four Links had decided to go stop them. Shadow had stayed behind, since he was in an oddly mopey mood.

The Darknuts were no match for the four Links' skill and teamwork. They had stayed together, laying waste to the armored enemies, until Green spotted out of the corner of his eye a Darknut making its escape. Confident that he could easily take it out, he broke away from his red, blue, and purple counterparts and chased it down.

It hadn't taken the Darknut long to find out that Green was hot on its tail. Seeing no point in running away from someone faster than it, it had turned and faced him. Green was just about to lunge at it when he heard a sharp call from Blue.

"Green, watch out!"

He turned reflexively, only to be impaled by a second Darknut. Shock initially numbed the pain, and, to his embarrassment, Green found himself surprised by red liquid staining his tunic.

Blue had been the first one over to him, teeth clenched as he stabbed the offending Darknut repeatedly in the back. Red sent a stream of fire from his fire rod at the other enemies, while Vio managed to somehow catch Green before he hit the ground.

After that, he couldn't seem to remember anything. It could have been a sort of dream, but he thought he could recall Red's tears running down his face as he held Green's hand, Vio's gentle fingers working to bandage the deep wound, Blue's fire-filled eyes as he finished off the remaining Darknuts, and Shadow's stunned face when the three uninjured Links came back home bearing his limp body. After that, there was darkness.

He awoke due to a dull yet overpowering pain in his stomach. At first he wasn't sure if he was awake at all, since he seemed to be in a dark place, but he gradually became aware of soft, steady breathing next to his bedside.

Forcing his eyes to open, he found himself in his bed in his room. The curtains were drawn and the room was dark. Next to him was Vio, fast asleep in a chair, a book open on his lap. The entire house was quiet, except for soft voices down the hall. One of them seemed to be crying.

"It's okay." The other voice whispered, cracking slightly. Green realized with a start that it was Red. He had never heard the cheerful, innocent Link sound so mature, so hopeless.

"No, it's not!" The other, slightly louder voice almost snarled through sobs. "If I had just looked over and warned him earlier, he wouldn't be lying on that bed bleeding to death!"

Who on earth could that be? Green closed his eyes again, blood loss making it hard for him to focus and recognize the voice. It's not Vio, because Vio's asleep right here, and it's not Red, because Red just spoke. I don't think it's Shadow, because Shadow's voice isn't that deep… oh Farore. Is it Blue? Oh, please don't let it be Blue. Blue doesn't cry.

"That's easy for you to say." A third voice interrupted sullenly. "At least you were actually there. So shut up."

"Guys, please don't fight." Red's timid voice spoke up again.

Green wanted to speak up. He needed to speak up. To tell them he was awake, he was alright. He opened his mouth to speak, only to find the words wouldn't come out. The loudest he could manage was a small whimper.

Luckily for him, Vio was a light sleeper, and even the smallest noise startled him awake. He sat up in the darkness, the book sliding off his lap with a thump. Green winced at the noise. He tried to make himself say Vio's name, but the word wouldn't come.

"Green. You awake?" Vio's calm voice reached his ears.

Green managed the tiniest of nods. Why is it so dark in here?

"I made it dark in here so you could sleep, and the light wouldn't hurt your eyes." The purple Link unintentionally answered his question.

"Thanks." Green heard himself say. Damn, why was it that he could only speak when he wasn't trying to?

Vio cleared his throat. "Um, Green… I should probably tell you now… you're…"

"Going to die." He was slightly more in control of what he said now. Vio winced slightly before nodding.

"I sewed up the cut, but it was too deep. You're bleeding internally, and I'm afraid all the potions in the world won't help."

Farore, did he have to be so calm about it? "Do the others know?"

"I didn't tell them yet, but they drew their own conclusions."

Green had one final question. "How long do I have left to live?"

"Not long. Less than a day, I think."

He pondered this for a moment, not replying. What could he say to that?

"Green." Vio's voice snapped him out of his thoughts once again, and he turned his attention to his lavender-clad counterpart. He hesitated before continuing. "What's going to happen to us now?"

"What do you mean, what's going to happen?" Green snorted softly. "You guys are gonna keep living."

"How?" Vio sounded a little lost. "You're our leader. We can't just… keep living without you. You're a part of us."

"C'mon, Vio. You're all tough. You can keep going. Hyrule needs you. They can do without me."

The two of them were startled by a low voice from the doorway. "Maybe Hyrule doesn't, but we need you."

Green could barely make out a bright red tunic as the speaker came in quietly, leaving the door open behind him to reveal Blue and Shadow, both with puffy eyes. Vio stayed quiet as Red shuffled his feet.

"If you die, Green, there's no point for us to keep going."

"Bull." Green shook his head. "You've got each other."

"But we need you!" It really was a miracle Red hadn't dissolved into tears yet. In fact, it seemed he was holding up better than Blue, from what Green had heard earlier. "Without you, part of us is gone, and we wouldn't be whole anymore…"

"…C'mere, you." Green held out a hand, and Red stumbled over to him, collapsing on his knees by the bedside and grabbing his hand. A strangled sob escaped his throat and he buried his head in Green's shoulder as he spoke.

"You're stronger than you think, Red. You might think you won't be able to get along without me, but you can. You'll be okay."

"I don't want to be okay! You can't die! I don't want you to!" Red mumbled into Green's shoulder.

"I don't want to die either." Green smiled sadly, lowering his voice so just Red could hear. "But you gotta keep going. They need you. Imagine if I was gone, and you weren't there. Blue and Vio and Shadow would get all angsty, and we can't have that happening, can we? You keep on smiling, Red."