#lk four

[linkedkeysau-official]

BALD

[kjpurplepineapple]

Continuing the thing with Mask potentially being cursed and de-aged into a baby at some point in LK, I had this idea.

Obviously the baby cannot fight, and it would be dangerous to have him anywhere near a battle. So what would the Chain do if they encounter some monsters while Mask is still smol? Well, Four already splits for most fights. Red simply takes Mask and keeps him occupied a safe distance away until the fight is over.

Bonus:

When Four inevitably has to fuse back together, Mask may be upset that his new friend is gone. To remedy this, Four asks Shadow very nicely to shift into Red's form and just hold Mask for a while until he stops crying. Shadow is not amused, but can't say no.

[linkedkeysau-official]

Four: If it bites you and you die, it's venomous. If you bite it and you die, it's poisonous.

Mask: What if it bites me and it dies?

Wind: That means you're poisonous. Sweet Hylia, Mask, learn to listen.

Hyrule: What if it bites itself and I die?

Paint: That's voodoo.

Future: What if it bites me and someone else dies?

Legend: That's correlation, not causation.

Sky: What if we bite each other and neither of us die?

Shadow, appearing behind him: (that's kinky)

Four: ...I'm done.

[linkedkeysau-official]

Linked Keys as Vines (Part one)

[linkedkeysau-official]

Doodled some incorrect quotes with the LK boys

[linkedkeysau-official]

I give you... Many bois.

Finally got around to making some official artwork of all the boys together. Here's the lineup of all of them in order of height (along with ages). Yes there are a lot of them. 15 in total.

Closeups so they're all easier to see

[linkedkeysau-official]

LK Character refs - wave 1

(note: these are not in any specific order, just the ones that have been finished at this point)

Hyrule (Legend of Zelda/Zelda II: Adventure of Link)

Four (Four Swords Adventures)

Shadow (Four Swords Adventures)

Mask (Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask/Hyrule Warriors)

Zephyr and Zoe (LK side characters/Puertavian allies)

[linkedkeysau-official]

Whumptober 2022- Linked Keys edition

Days 20/21- Stabbed/made to watch (alt prompts) and Coughing up blood/"you're safe now" (+ art)

Warnings: Just... A shitton of nasty stuff happening here.

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Darknuts were a pain to deal with, all of Four’s components agreed. Heavily armored, hard-hitting, and with only one way to defeat them, of course they would be. Especially when all one had to go off of for a strategy for dealing with them was the description of them from other heroes. Now Four was alone, dealing with a magically enhanced armored monstrosity that wasn’t even from their world. And the Colors were getting all four of their asses kicked.

Covered head to toe in bright red armor with a glowing blue tint to it (this being how they knew Nihrie was boosting its power), and about the size of all four of the Colors combined– this of course not saying about the size of Four, but rather the size of four Fours. It carried a sword and shield much larger than the Four sword, and while its movements were slow, it didn’t seem to have a weak point. Vio had taken the first hit, bashed directly in the face by the Darknut’s shield. The blow seemed to have broken both his glasses and his nose, as he was now bleeding and half-blind, though trying to get up regardless.

Despite this predicament, however, his brain still worked as good as it ever did, and he had come up with a plan not long after this. He squinted around until he found a tree that would be easy to climb and had decent cover in the upper limbs. Perfect vantage point. If he could climb up and get into position without being noticed, he could try to shoot at the Darknut with his bow. Even if it didn’t do any damage, it would hopefully give his brothers time to look for a weak spot on this thing, while the foliage in the upper branches would keep Vio obscured long enough that he could shoot to keep the knight distracted until the others had found it.

“Green! I have a plan, but I need you to cover me!” Vio shouted.

“What is it?” Green asked.

“I’m gonna climb up there and distract it so you, Red, and Blue can look for a weak spot. But I need time to get into position.”

“How do you plan to distract it from up there?!” Blue asked. Vio held up his bow as if it were the obvious answer.

“You’re fucking blind, Vio, how can we be sure that you’ll actually be able to aim?”

“I am not that blind, Blue! At least not yet, anyway. Look, it’s bright red in the middle of a green forest. I can see it just fine. Now do you want my help or do you want to just charge in there like an idiot?”

“He’s got a point, Blue. We need to think outside the box.” Green butted in.

“AGHH, I’LL BOX YOU—!”

“Guys! Whatever you’re doing, hurry up! I need some help over here!” Red cried out. Blue cursed as he realized they’d all left Red to hold off the Darknut alone while they argued over Vio’s plan. Their mistake was realized too late, however. Not even two seconds after Red uttered his cry for help, the Darknut’s sword sunk deep into his body, straight through his gut.

“RED!!!” The other three cried out in unison as the sword was yanked out and Red immediately dropped to the ground, breathing heavily and clearly in an immense amount of pain as his blood began to soak into his tunic, staining it an even darker shade of the same color.

“Alright, fine. We’ll do it your way. Whatever it takes to take this thing down!” Blue told Vio.

“Blue, you go help Red. Vio, I’ll cover you. Do what you need to do.” Green said. Vio nodded as he ran to the side of the tree with the lowest branches and began climbing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nihrie had teleported himself and Shadow from the Volcano prison to a big, circular room in what Shadow assumed must have been Nihrie’s fortress. The room was dark, illuminated only by the glowing blue orb in the center. However, with Shadow’s natural night vision, he could make out several pairs of locked doors, each set a short distance from the others as they lined the walls. What they led to, Shadow wasn’t sure. But the orb was what Nihrie was here for anyway.

“Look, Shadow. This is what I needed you to see. I believe you know who those people are.” Nihrie pulled the dark hero closer. Shadow hesitantly looked into the foggy, shimmering depths of the orb as an image appeared inside. He could see Green holding out his sword as if battling something. Vio, strangely without his glasses and with a bloody nose, in the branches of a tree taking aim with his bow at what Shadow could only assume was the same thing Green was fighting. Blue was carrying Red away from the fight.

“Prism…!” Shadow gasped.

“Yes. Your friend— or rather, friends— are currently locked in a fierce battle with an enemy at the moment. And they are alone. Not a single one of their other friends has come to their aid.”

“If you’re trying to turn me against them again, it won’t work. The others probably just haven’t found them yet.” Shadow said.

“Mmm… perhaps. But they may not have that much time. Look closer.” Nihrie waved his hand and the scene zoomed in on Blue and Red again. Shadow had missed it the first time, with the color of Red’s tunic. But now he could clearly see blood dripping from what appeared to be a stab wound, much clearer as Blue finally set his brother down on the ground before removing his vest and tying it around Red’s body and attempting to put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. A thud and a scream echoed through the air, and the scene shifted just in time for Shadow to see Vio fall out of the tree. His partner had tried to land on his feet, but a sickening crack was heard, and Vio crumpled to the ground.

“See now, Shadow Link. See how your friends have suffered…”

“Stop… Stop it!”

“Vio!” Green cried out, now left alone against whatever enemy they were facing. Soon, though, something swept through the air, dealing a heavy blow to his skull. Green’s sword was knocked out of his hand as he was sent flying, a stream of blood beginning to run down his face from a laceration on his forehead.

“...How they are dying.”

“Stop this, I beg you!!!” Shadow cried. He watched as Green tried to get up, but became unsteady and immediately fell back down.

“And nobody is coming to help.” Nihrie continued, ignoring Shadow.

“Please…” Shadow sobbed, thinking about how much pain his family must be in right now, "Please stop…" Inside the orb, a massive hand reached out, grabbing Green by the neck. He was lifted up out of view as the scene inside the orb dissipated into fog once more.

“Now tell me, after witnessing this… Do you truly wish to take the side of those who would leave their own to die?” Nihrie asked. He put a hand on Shadow’s shoulder in a mock gesture of comfort when the dark hero's only response was more sobbing, “Fight for me, Shadow. Avenge your ‘Prism’.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Four?! Is that you?!” Minish called out. He’d heard the sounds of a fight nearby, along with shouts that sounded like Four’s voice.

“STOP! PUT HIM DOWN!!!” Minish heard Four call out again, louder this time. Closer…

“Sounds like he’s in trouble!” Fire commented.

“Well then we’ll just have to help him, won’t we?” Air replied.

“If he’s hurt, there’s no way we can carry him back on our own, can we?” Water asked.

“Hm… You’ve got a point.” Fire admitted, “Any ideas, Earth?”

“I say we cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, we need to go see what we can do. We’re only wasting time standing here. Time Four may not have. Let’s move.” Earth said as he took control of the body. Minish started running off in the direction of the voices. What he found was not what he expected, but much worse. A red darknut, which he recognized as one of the same he’d fought during his first adventure as a child, stood towering over the four “Colors” that made up Four. Only Blue was still standing, clutching his side with a grimace of pain on his face. Green must have taken a nasty hit to the head, as he seemed to be barely clinging to consciousness, holding a pale, bloody Red. Vio lay near the roots of a tree, nose bleeding and both legs appearing broken. Only Blue still had his sword in hand; the other three copies lay scattered near where their wielders had fallen.

“Now what do we do?!” Fire wailed.

“Earth, you’re not going to like this…” Air spoke up, “But I can think of only one way to pull this off, if you’ll let me front for a short time.”

“Whatever it takes to save Four, Air. I’ll do it.” Earth agreed.

“When we split, we’ll have to act fast.” Air said.

“Wait, ‘split’?! You mean… Use the Four Sword?” Water asked.

“Yes. I think I know how we can make this work even while the Colors are still using it. When we split, Fire, I need you to tend to Red. Water, try to get Blue out of the fight. Earth, pull Vio over to where Red is so Fire can watch over him too. Then will you two come help me finish off the Darknut?”

“I swore we were done with that old thing…” Earth muttered, “But yes. Of course.” With all the Elements understanding the plan, Air took control once again and made a mad dash for Green’s copy of the sword, raising it up.

“Four Sword! Lend us your strength, one last time!”

In a flash of light, Minish split into four nearly identical copies of his body, each inhabited by one of his headmates: Fire, Water, Earth… and him, Air. He would have run to hug them, but there were greater priorities at hand.

“Alright guys. Let’s go! We can’t afford to waste any time!” Earth ordered. He sprinted over to where Vio lay, and with some difficulty, lifted him up and dragged his unconscious body towards Red and Green, where Fire was already waiting, doing her best to bandage Red’s stab wound properly while she tried to convince Green to drink a potion. Fire always made sure they kept at least a few of those on hand, knowing how often Air tended to lead them into trouble in his search for adventure. Once Vio was safely in Fire’s hands, Earth went to retrieve his sword so he could join Air and Water in the fight.

“We’ll take over from here, Blue. Go back with the others. You’ve done enough.” Water said, putting a hand on Blue’s shoulder.

“No! They need me… I can– I can still fight!” Blue argued.

“Not without a sword, you can’t.” Earth swiftly snatched the Four Sword from Blue’s hands, tossing it over to Water.

“You’re right, your brothers need you. They need you alive. This is a Darknut from our world. We can take it down.” Air chimed in. He then turned towards Water, “Actually, Earth and I can handle this alone. But I need you to run back to the inn and get Hyrule, as quick as you can. Tell him we found Four but we need help right away.”

“Got it. I’ll be right back.” Water nodded, running off towards Crossroads Village and leaving Earth and Air to handle the Darknut.

Water reached the inn fairly quickly, though out of breath when they got there. Time was standing outside when he saw Water approaching. The Chain’s leader had to do a double take when he saw the blue Element, as Water didn’t look exactly like the body, but eventually recognized them.

“Minish?”

“Time! We found Four! He was attacked by a Darknut just outside the village… Get Hyrule, quick!”

A moment later, Hyrule sprinted down the stairs and out of the inn, not even bothering to put on his regular clothes— he was still in the loose brown undershirt, shorts, and he was even barefoot. The only thing he’d grabbed was his bag of medical supplies as he followed Water back to where Four was waiting with the other three Elements.

“Water! Thank goodness!” Fire exclaimed.

“Uh, why are there four of you too?” Hyrule asked.

“We’ll explain later. Red was stabbed and is bleeding out fast.” Air explained.

“Vio’s legs are both broken, as is his nose. Green drank a potion already but he’s got a pretty nasty concussion, and I think Blue might have a few broken ribs. He’s insisting he’s fine, but you might want to take a look anyway.” Earth added. Hyrule was already using his magic to try and heal as much of the damage to Red as he could. He had to save some for the others, but he could at least get Red out of immediate danger.

“Okay, um… Can one of you help Green?” Hyrule requested, “I’ve got bandages in my bag as well as needles, thread, and a few more potions. That cut looks bad and it may need stitches, but I think he’s the least injured one here aside from possibly Blue.”

“I’ve got it!” Fire volunteered.

“Can you two help me set and splint Vio’s legs?” Hyrule gestured to Earth and Water, who both nodded.

“And then you. Minish Green—”

“Air.” Air corrected.

“Air, can you go and figure out where Blue went and bring him back here?”

“Sure.” Air nodded. He had seen Blue walking around earlier while Fire was trying to convince him to sit down and take it easy after a sudden blow to the side he had taken in an attempt to protect his brothers. But where he had gone, Air was unsure… Until he heard a noise. Grunts of pain in between gasps for breath. A bit of blue cloth was visible in the grass not far from where Air stood.

“Blue!” He cried out, sprinting towards him. Blue was curled up on the ground, clutching his ribs as he fought for every breath.

“Rule was right… Think my… ribs are broken—” Blue let out a hacking cough, blood bubbling up to his lips and spraying onto the ground.

“Just hang on, okay?” Air told him, “HYRULE!!! I FOUND BLUE!!!”

“Are the others… okay?” Blue asked, “H-have to know… is Red alive? Vio? Green?”

“They’re okay, yes. Hyrule and the other Elements are finishing up with them as we speak. But now we need to deal with you.” Air said as Blue let out another cough,

“M’ dying, Min… Fuckin’ Darknut… At least my… brothers… are safe.”

“Air! I’m coming!” Hyrule shouted as he ran towards them.

“You’re not dying, Blue. Hyrule is here. The Darknut is defeated. You’re safe now. We’re not going to let you die. Okay?”

“Okay… Th-Thanks, Min.”

“Of course, Raindrop.”