FourSwords Away! Chapter Three: The Calamity

“Help us! Someone help us! We’re trapped!” Blue heard screaming coming from a home very near him. Smoke was coming from the home and flames were coming from the west side of the home. He ran up to the east side of the home and saw that timber had trapped three young maidens inside. It had fallen on their legs and arms so they couldn’t move. Blue decided that getting help would be a better option then trying to move it himself. Nodding to the women he ran back to Red and asked for his help.
“Sure, Blue! Let’s go help those women.” The pair of them ran back to the home with their swords drawn. They carefully cut the timber so it’d be easy to move. They then shoved at the timber and with some effort it fell off the women. The women hugged the pair of them. “Thank you, young heroes! We thought we were done for.” Red blushed and Blue nodded.
“No problem, we are the Links. Or two of them at least. It’s our job to protect and help those in need of assistance. Now, we need to try and put out the fire. Do you have buckets?”
The girls nodded and showed them a well. “We can take water from here to extinguish the fire.” They got the bucket out and started to extinguish the fire. Soon it was out and the five of them smiled happily.

Blue looked into the distance and then prodded Red with alarm. “Look into the distance!”
Red looked, then screamed. “What is that?!”
One of the maidens looked at the thing in the distance. “That’s what has been terrorizing our village. A really tall man with ginger hair summoned it when he come here three days ago. It ate some of the people here and carried off others. It can breath fire and has been doing so throughout our village.”
The thing they were looking at was at least ten feet tall and covered in scales. It had long rough wings and a long mouth filled with razor sharp fangs. It was like a crocodile that could stand on its hind legs. It was setting houses on fire at that moment in time. Red screamed again.

“We have to kill it! Come on! We have to kill it to save the town! Let’s go!” The pair run near the monster but they hid so they could look at it closely. They then saw a sight that chilled them to the bones. Vio was lying unconscious on the ground and the monster was very close to him. Vio looked ghastly, his face was milky white and he had a large cut on his forehead that was bleeding profusely. The monster looked like he was very hungry and he put his clawed hand onto Vio’s chest. Suddenly the monster roared in pain as an arrrow shot into its left eye. Green came out of the shadows with a bow. He shot the monster in the other eye and he ran over to Vio. He then dragged Vio away and hid him from the monster. Green, Blue and Red then looked at each other then nodded. They then pulled out their swords and rushed the monster. The monster lunged for Green but Green dodged it and shot another arrow at it, this time hitting the monster directly in the right eye. The monster roared and lunged for Green but he darted out of the way and started slashing at the monster with all of his might. The other two Links jumped out of their hiding places and pulled out their swords. They then ran at the monster and slashed at it. The monster blindly tried to go for the Links but being blinded it couldn’t find them. Blue then picked Red up and hurled him up onto the monster’s shoulders. Red then resumed slashing at the monster’s chest. The monster collapsed onto the ground, defeated. Red joined the other Links who slapped him on the back. “Well done, Red! That was awesome!” Green smiled proudly at Red who was beaming with pride also. “I did it! I really did it!”
“W-What’s going on?” Vio asked groggily, only just now coming to. The bleeding had stopped from the gash on his head; he’d be fine.
“Red defeated the monster…with our help, of course.” Blue explained, finally starting to respect Red, just a little. He was amazed that Red had been able to kill the monster pretty much on his own.

Vio smiled shakily at Red. “Good job, Red. I’m glad to hear that you could beat the monster. I tried and I couldn’t. So, well done.”
Red was really happy that he had been able to defeat the monster and save the people; it made him feel like a true hero and he couldn’t be happier about it. He saw women and men walking up to them and they were chering loudly. “Well done, brave heroes! You have saved our town from the horrible monster and 60% of our village is intact from the monster. We would be honoured if you came down to the Town Hall for a celebration feast. We know you need to be on your way but we want to thank you for all that you have done. So please give us the honour.”

Green frowned slightly. “I don’t know…we should be on our way and your people need the food after the monster has attacked your village.” His stomach was growling though. He was in reality very hungry and would have loved some food.
“Come on, Green…we are all starving hungry and they would like to celebrate. Besides, Vio has lost a fair amount of blood. He needs to eat and drink to replenish his blood.” Blue coaxed.
Green considered this. “Yes, I know Vio is hurt but the people of the village need the food because they would have lost a lot of crops in the destruction caused by the monster.”

Blue knew that Green was staying firm by his decision so he persisted. “Also, we need the full power of us four to save Zelda. You know that, right?”
Something flashed in Green’s eyes and he turned away for a moment. When he turned back he spoke in a quiet voice. “You’re right. We must save Zelda. We will stay and celebrate but then we must move on. Vio will eat to replenish his strength and then we will be moving on. Okay, guys?”
“Yes, Green.” Red whispered, his stomach growling like mad.
Vio nodded weakly. “I want to be strong to save Zelda.”
Blue nodded with satisfaction. “See, we all agree with that.” He then turned to the villagers. “We would love to celebrate with you. When will the celebration start?”
One of the female villagers stepped forward. “In three hours. We just need to cook up some food and ready some entertainment for you. In the mean time, you may bathe and rest up in one of the homes. Follow me and I will lead you to a home where you may rest up.” She then walked off and the Links followed her.They went to a home and went inside. The woman than went into a room and came out a few moments later holding four white shirts, four black pairs of pants and four pairs of black shoes. She handed a set of the clothes to each of the Links. She then smiled at them. “Okay, heroes…go bathe so I may wash your clothes. Take your belongings out first.”
Blue went into the bathroom and bathed. He changed into the clothes and handed them to the woman. One by one, the rest of the Links did the same and then the woman took their clothes. “Now, rest up while I clean these and you can go to the celebrations after a rest.” She then left them alone to go and wash the clothes.

Red looked at Blue and then he looked at Green and Vio. “Wow…we look exactly identical in every way. It’s almost like we’re quadtuplets.”
Blue opened his mouth to say something sarcastic but Vio glared at him and he didn’t do anything.
“Green, are you okay? You don’t look very happy. Is something the matter?” Red asked the leader quietly. Green did look very sad; he looked almost like he was going to cry.
Green nodded, but then tears spilled down his face and he turned away. “A friend of mine left Hyrule Castle’s grounds to come here and I’m p-pretty sure he died here, too. He wanted to see this place so badly and he told me he was coming here to visit someone but the monster…”
Red put his hand on Green’s shoulder. “There, there Green…you don’t know if he did or not. He’s still alive, I bet. Don’t worry…”
Green sniffled. “You’re probably right Red…thanks.” He then climbed onto one of the beds and closed his eyes. He felt weary; sleep would come easy to him right then. The rest of the Links followed suit and they all fell asleep.

A couple of hours later they all woke up feeling refreshed. “Let’s go to the celebration, I’m starving!” Red exclaimed, his stomach growling. Green nodded in response to this and they went to the Town Hall. They were greeted with loud cheers and pats on the back. “Thank you, heroes!” One of the women cheered and she kissed Vio on the cheek. The other Links laughed at the teenager’s expression. It was one of shock, surprise and happiness. The Links entered the Town Hall and saw banners up that read: “THANK YOU, HEROES!!!”. They were invited to sit at a big table and the mayor patted them on the back. “Thank you, young heroes for saving us from that monster. We all thought we were done for until you showed up and saved the people of this village. For this, we would like to give you a reward. We found a mysterious egg and we don’t know which animal it comes from. It was just outside the village and a snake almost ate it but we managed to save it. We would like you to have it.” The mayor went to Green to hand it to him but Green shook his head and pointed to Red. “Red is the one who killed it; Vio, Blue and I only helped. So he should get the reward.”
The mayor smiled at Green and then laughed. “If you insist.” He then handed the egg to Red, who smiled and hugged the egg tight. It was a blue egg with black hearts and gold stars on it. The egg was throbbing in his arms and was moving.
“It looks like it might hatch soon, Red. I wonder what it could be?” Green asked, looking at the egg.
“Our scientists theorise it may have come from Slyphat Falls, the star-gazing village. It could be an egg of a Slyphat.” The mayor told Green while staring at the egg also. “The odd thing is that no one has ever seen a Slyphat, there are only records of people who may have seen them and books that say that may exist.” The food was then laid out on the table and everyone began to eat. Red held the egg under one arm while he ate. He didn’t know why but he felt attached to the egg; he felt a certain kinship with it.
“What is a Slyphat, exactly?” Green asked curiously while eating his soup which was a delicious assortment of vegetables and herbs mixed with meat.
“A Slyphat is said to be a creature that came from the stars to help people with everyday problems and to rescue them from trouble. There was said to a group of them living in Slyphat Falls when the village was first discovered. At the time they were confused and very flightly, only appearing before the people that moved there to live when they needed them most. Unfortunately, the group of Slyphat were too trusting and were said to be wiped out in that time about one thousand years ago. The ancestors of the people who lived there say that it is a tragedy that Slyphat don’t exist today because they were said to be very kind creaures. They are a source of magical power beyong belief.”
Red held the egg tighter still. “So if it is a Slyphat I’ll have the last known one?”

The mayor nodded to Red’s question. “Indeed you will, son. You need to keep that egg safe and when the baby hatches out of it even more care of it.”
The egg started to throb even more and Red put down his spoon and held the egg in both arms. It was cracking and everyone stared at the egg in wonder and anticipation. It cracked completely and tears came to Red’s eyes as he stared at the baby. It was a blue animal that was like a small cat with brilliant big blue eyes and a tiny red mouth with a black button nose. It had two floppy ears with a cresant moon on each and tiny blue wings. Its fur was shiny and luscious like cashmere and it had tiny golden stars on its body. It looked up at Red and put a paw on his heart. “Mata, Mata?” It inquired, looking at him. “Mata?”
Red was crying with joy while looking at the sweet little baby. He thought that Mata meant “Mother” and if it did the baby thought of Red as its Mother.
The mayor reached down and picked up the baby. “This is a baby Slyphat, people! The last Slyphat in existance. That means we must take her away and try to make more of her. We can’t allow her species to die out.”
Red looked at the mayor, crying with fear this time. “You can’t take her away from me! Please don’t take her!”
The baby Slyphat was crying hard, too. “Mata! Mata! Mata! MATA!” She cried out, very distressed. She struggled against the mayor’s hands to get free but she couldn’t.

The mayor then handed the baby to a woman next to him. “Take this baby to the north of the village. We have to prepare some scouts to take her to Slyphat Falls.”
Red screamed. “Nooo! You can’t! She’s mine! You gave her to me! They’ll kill her there! No! She’s mine! You can’t! Noo! No! No!” He was in hysterics; the baby Slyphat was his and he was attached to her. He didn’t want to let her go and it was breaking his heart to see her in distress.
Blue snarled and stood up. “You can’t take her away as she is Red’s present. You gave her to him as a gift. Now, give her back!”
The mayor was alarmed and looked angry. “That was BEFORE we found out she was a Slyphat. Now we know she is one, we need to send her away so more can be made of her. She is the last of an endangered species.”
Blue glared at him. “Now, that baby Slyphat is his. He is one of the Heroes of Time. He defended your village from that monster. If it wasn’t for him you would all be dead right now. He would defend her until the end of time. He and her have a bond. So let him have her!”
There was a murmur between the villagers and finally they spoke up. “He is right, Mayor Trunchton. He is a Hero of Time and he is the best possible carer for her. So, let her go with him.”
The mayor bowed his head. “Very well. You may take her with you. You’d better take the best possible care of her as you can. Look after her.” He then took her back from the woman and handed her back to Red.
“Mata! Mata!” She said happily as she snuggled up to Red and put a paw on his face.
“I love you, little one. I’ll call you Rain. Would you like that?” Red massaged her fur lightly and she made a happy little sound like a kitten.

The woman who had washed their clothes handed a bag to Green which had clean clothes in it. “There you are…all clean for you.”
Green smiled at her. “Thank you very much. We all need to go now.” The Links stood up and walked out. Red was holding Rain and was patting her lightly on the head. They went into a local home and got dressed into their normal clothes. Green then gestured into the distance. “Let’s head that way.” The Links then headed off to the north with the newest addition to the group-baby Rain.

~End of Chapter~