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jinxedruby · 2 months ago

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Whumptober Day Twenty-Three: Forced Choice

Featuring Four and Hyrule.

The conclusion to day ten: blow to the head (the one where Hyrule and Four get kidnapped)

Heads up for violence, major injury, and some torture in this chapter (not much torture, but it's there)

AO3

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Four kept his steps as light as possible, boots silent in the dirt as he crept up behind the one man his and Hyrule’s captors had left to watch them. He wasn’t doing a very good job, instead distracted by their stolen gear. Blood thrummed in Four’s ears, pulsed in his white fingertips as he tightened his grip on the rock. The man had yet to notice him, rooting through Four’s and Hyrule’s gear. Four drew closer. He lifted the rock, heart hammering. With a powerful strike, he slammed the rock down across the man’s head. The man crumpled without a sound.

Four let out a breath, dropping the rock. He leapt over the man’s unconscious form. He swept his sword up off the ground before turning and running to Hyrule’s side. Hyrule had begun to stir, eyes open just a slit. He strained weakly against his bonds, trying to look around, mumbled sounds of Smith? slurring together.

“Hey, hey, it’s fine, Traveler,” Four said in hushed tone, kneeling beside Hyrule. Hyrule’s stirring slowed to a stop and Four gently pulled the gag away from the traveler’s face. Hyrule sucked in a breath the moment the gag drew away from his mouth. Four pulled his sword free from its scabbard and started to reach for the ropes around Hyrule’s wrists. Hyrule turned his head toward him, squinted eyes fluttering. Four stiffened at the sheer amount of blood painting the left side of Hyrule’s head. Gingerly, he reached toward the wound, gently moving matted and sticky hair aside. He hissed through his teeth at the sight that met him. The pommel of the sword the men had struck Hyrule with to knock him out must have had something of a point to it. A chunk of flesh had torn away from Hyrule’s temple, steadily weeping blood down his face and the side of his neck, soaking into the collar of his tunic.

“Oh, your head,” Four breathed, gut twisting. He dropped his blood-coated fingers, forcing his attention to return to cutting Hyrule free. “Just hold on, I’ll-”

Low voices drifted through the trees behind him. He fell silent, quickly turning his head to look over his shoulder. The man he’d knocked unconscious was still motionless on the forest floor. His gaze darted about but he couldn’t see anyone else. Even so, the voices grew in volume. The men were coming back.

“H...hide,” Hyrule murmured.

Four looked back to Hyrule, the traveler’s eyes open slightly wider than before, watching him intently. “But...” Four’s tongue darted across chapped lips, mind whirling with ideas and half-formed plans. He still had time to cut Hyrule free. But one look at Hyrule told him the traveler was in no state to walk on his own. Four might be able to haul him back in the bushes but there would be obvious tracks. Even if he split to carry Hyrule faster, they wouldn’t make it very far before the men found them and they’d be back to square one. The voices drew closer and Four threw another glance over his shoulder.

“Hide,” Hyrule stressed.

Four hesitated. He looked back and forth between Hyrule and the direction of the voices. He didn’t have enough time to come up with a good plan. But he couldn’t think of a way to free Hyrule and get away with him as they were now. He let out a quiet, frustrated huff, raking a hand through his hair. “Dammit.” He grabbed Hyrule’s shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. “I’ll come back,” he promised.

The voices grew clear enough to make out words. He scrambled to his feet. Then, with one last look at Hyrule, he darted off into the trees and shrubs. No sooner had he vanished into the underbrush than did he hear a shocked exclamation. He slowed, picking his way through the bushes and trees as carefully as he dared, trying not to leave any kind of trail or make too much noise.

“Shit, the kid’s gone!” one of the men shouted.

“Well, start looking!” another yelled, the one Four had pegged as the leader. “He can’t have gone far.”

Four almost didn’t hear the sound of footsteps and crunching grass until too late. He quickly dove behind a large shrub, praying it concealed him well enough. Not a moment later, two other men came crashing through the underbrush where he’d just been. One slowed to a stop dangerously close to Four’s hiding spot, the other continuing toward Hyrule and the other captors.

“How’d he get past-? Ah, hell.”

“Kid must’ve knocked him out.”

The man began walking around, kicking through underbrush and searching around bushes. Four swallowed, heart racing. He inched farther behind the shrub, wedging himself between it and a tree. Bark dug into his back, branches of the bush jabbing at his middle and his face.

“Which way did he go?” the leader demanded harshly. Four glanced to the side, just barely able to make out the edge of Hyrule’s form, the leader crouched by him. When Hyrule didn’t answer, the man roughly grabbed a fistful of the traveler’s hair. Hyrule grunted as the man yanked. “Answer me!”

Despite the slur and weak voice, Hyrule’s words came out clipped and defiant. “Fuck off.”

A part of Four wanted to laugh at that. That feeling died instantly as the man gave Hyrule’s hair a jerk and knocked his head back against the tree, the traveler yelping sharply. The man released Hyrule’s hair, letting his head drop down to his chest. He regarded the traveler for a long moment. Then he reached back and withdrew a long knife from his belt. The blood drained from Four’s face.

“Alright, kid,” the man yelled, loud enough for Four to hear clearly. “I know you’re still around here somewhere. Unless you want your friend in pieces, I suggest you come back.” He pressed the blade of the knife to the bare skin of Hyrule’s collar. “Now.”

Four’s heart thudded in his ears. His grip tightened on his sword. His gaze darted to the man still searching near him. He had at least half on an idea but he needed that man to go away.

A hoarse shout yanked his attention back. Blood seeped from a deep slice along Hyrule’s collar. Red speckled the edge of the leader’s knife. Four’s stomach turned, watching with wide eyes as the man placed the knife on the other side of Hyrule’s chest. Hyrule hissed and tried twisting away. The man grabbed him by the hair and held him in place.

“Anytime, kid!” the man yelled. A beat passed and he yanked the knife across Hyrule’s flesh again. Hyrule grunted, teeth clenched, the muscles in his neck tensed as he struggled to pull out of the man’s hold.

Nausea churned in Four’s stomach. He glanced at the man still searching, mentally screaming at him to go away.

Hyrule shouted again, loud and strained. Four looked to see the knife embedded in Hyrule’s thigh. His heart lodged in his throat as the man gave the knife a little twist and Hyrule choked on a scream. Four’s heart pounded against his ribs, face burning. His eyes darted ahead of him again. The man had begun walking away. Desperately, Four tightened his grip on the Four Sword and split.

Immediately, Blue shoved himself off the tree, diving forward. A hand closed around his arm, jerking him to a halt. He whipped his head around to see Green, holding fast, eyes wide. “Green, I swear-!”

“Don’t!” Green hissed, tightening his grip on Blue and dragging him back a few inches. “We’re outnumbered and they can still hurt Traveler. We can’t risk-”

Another raspy shout from Hyrule cut him off. Ice shot through Blue’s veins as he swiveled his head back around. The leader had stabbed Hyrule’s leg again, the blade buried even deeper.

“They’re already hurting him!” Blue snapped, barely keeping his voice low enough. He tried to wrench his arm out of Green’s grasp. “So, let me-”

“Vio!” Red gasped.

A blur of violet flashed by the corner of Blue’s vision. Red reached, fingertips scraping the hem of Vio’s tunic. Blue watched with wide eyes as Vio crashed through the bushes and stumbled out into the open.

“Okay!” he yelled, hands raised. His voice shook, eyes wide, looking every bit like a scared kid. “Okay, just… just don’t hurt him!”

Blue growled, fear clawing up his throat. “What the hell is he-”

“Buying us time,” Green breathed, still gripping Blue’s arm. “They don’t know there are more of us, we-”

“About time,” the leader called. He yanked the knife out of Hyrule’s leg, pulling a pained shout from him. Blood flowed hot and fast from the wound. He beckoned Vio with the bloody knife. “Come here.” When Vio didn’t immediately comply, the man prodded the knife against one of the wounds in Hyrule’s leg. Hyrule jolted with a whine. “Come. Here.”

Vio lurched forward. Blue watched with a tight chest as Vio hurried toward the man. The other captors that had been searching in the surrounding forest converged as well. Blue and the others didn’t dare move, for fear of being spotted. Blue was already just barely still behind the bush as it was, hardly enough room for all three of them.

Green squeezed Blue’s arm, drawing his attention away from Vio. “I’m going to go get the others,” he whispered. “I think I remember the way back. This is…” He swallowed, eyes flicking over to Vio and Hyrule uncertainly. “This is… kind of the plan. Remember?”

Blue had a vague idea of a half-baked plan Four had thought of. One decoy. One to bring the others and save Hyrule. He hated it.

Green squeezed his arm again, reaching back and doing the same to Red. “Stay here. Make sure they don’t take Vio and Traveler somewhere else.”

“I hate this,” Blue hissed.

Green gave him a pained look. “I know.” Then, staying low, he quickly and quietly slipped away.

Red inched forward to take Green’s spot beside Blue. Blue tightened his jaw and turned to watch Vio, Red looking over his shoulder.

Two captors intercepted Vio once he moved close enough, grabbing his arms and twisting them behind his back. Vio squeaked in a way he normally never would and anger welled up in Blue anew. Vio was acting,putting himself in harm’s way again and Blue hated that he could do nothing but watch, again.

The leader stood with a sigh. He approached Vio as the two men lashed his wrists together with ropes. The man towered over Vio, glowering at him. “Slippery one, aren’t you?” Once the men finished tying Vio’s wrists, the leader grabbed Vio’s shoulders and shoved him down, forcing him onto his knees. “Hold him,” he said, moving around behind Vio. He gripped the knife, still red with Hyrule’s blood. Blue’s heart hammered in his chest. Seeing the man hovering directly behind Vio with the knife, he lurched forward on instinct. Two hands wrapped around his arm, halting him in place. He didn’t protest that time, having not known what he would’ve done anyway, but the frantic fear and cloaking anger still burned under his skin. The leader crouched down, lifting the knife, gaze fixed on Vio’s leg. Vio started to squirm, but the men held him fast.

Blue couldn’t tell what the man was going to do. Apparently, the captors did, protests rising from a couple. One even stepped forward, brow furrowed. “Come on, man, he’s just a kid-”

The leader shot him a very dark look, jaw tense, eyes wide. The man lifted his hands, lowering his gaze and backing away. The leader returned his attention to Vio who redoubled his efforts to get free. The man held one of Vio’s legs down with one hand, lowering the knife to his ankle with the other. Blue’s breath caught, lungs seizing. The man’s arm tensed. Then he tore the knife through the tendon on the back of Vio’s ankle.

Vio didn’t fake the horrible scream that wrenched from his throat.

Blue’s vision blurred. Blood poured from the wound, soaking Vio’s boot and pooling on the ground beneath it. Vio’s scream tapered off into choking gasps, his body twitching. Then the man got up and moved to Vio’s other leg.

Blue wanted to throw up. He felt Red’s face shove into the back of his shoulder, voice muffled as his hands tightened around Blue’s arm. “Oh goddess, oh goddess, oh goddess-”

Blue couldn’t tear his gaze away. The man grabbed Vio’s other leg in the same way as the first. Vio let out a strangled cry. He twisted and fought, desperately trying to get away. The knife ripped through the tendon. Vio screeched, the sound sharp in Blue’s ears. He felt Red flinch behind him, stifling a whimper in Blue’s tunic. Blue’s heart stuttered, vision blacking at the edges. An involuntary breath raked down his throat. He hadn’t breathed since the man grabbed Vio’s leg the first time.

“Smith!” Hyrule roared. Blue couldn’t take his eyes of Vio’s trembling form, only seeing Hyrule’s weak thrashing out of the corner of his vision.

“There.” The leader stood, idly wiping the knife off on his pants, leaving behind streaks of Vio’s blood. “Now he can’t run away again.”

A strangled sound left Blue’s throat. He clamped his tongue between his teeth, distantly hoping the captors didn’t hear him. He stared, frozen in horror as the men dragged Vio up and tossed him down next to Hyrule. Vio curled up on his side, hissing and hiccuping through his teeth, keeping his legs as still as possible.

“Smith,” Hyrule said quietly, barely enough for Blue to still hear him. “Sm-smith.”

Vio shivered then tensed, inhaling sharply as the movement jostled his legs slightly. He exhaled shakily and fell still, though he still trembled now and again. He didn’t respond to Hyrule.

Red shifted behind Blue. “Wh-what do- what do we do?” he breathed, voice quivering.

Blue didn’t know. Blue could only stare at Vio, stare at the dark blood pooling beneath his ankles, and he didn’t know. He couldn’t tell how long it had been since Green left. Too long, not long enough, he didn’t know what to do, he had no idea where to go from here, Vio was bleeding out on the ground and he couldn’t think of a single thing to do.

“You left a note?”

Blue hardly registered the leader speaking to one of the men.

“Yeah, saw them read it.”

“Let’s get moving, then.”

Blue blinked, gaze refocusing at the words. They couldn’t let the men move Hyrule and Vio. Green was on his way back with the others, they wouldn’t be able to find them. Red must have had the same realization, stiffening behind Blue. Some of the men stepped over to Vio and Hyrule.

“Blue,” Red whispered.

“Yeah, I know, I’m thinking,” Blue hissed, heart fluttering rapidly. His mind kept drawing blanks as he watched the men untie Hyrule, only to wrestle him into submission as he tried to fight back. He still couldn’t think of anything as they tied his hands again and as some moved to pick up Vio. Vio and Green were the planners, not him, never him, he acted, but he couldn’t act now, not without getting caught and making things worse-

Heat flared against his back. He startled and twisted to see the fire rod in Red’s hands, the tip glowing. “What are you doing?”

Red blinked, gaze fearful. “I don’t know.” Then he aimed the fire rod toward the men and launched a torrent of flames.

The flames engulfed the bushes near the men, the dry leaves and branches catching immediately. The men shouted and scattered, avoiding the flames as they slowly spread from shrub to shrub. Red abruptly stood. He launched another fireball and it sailed across to ignite the bushes on the other side of the captors. A shout rose from the men. Blue half stood, reaching up to drag Red back down. Just as he latched onto Red, a yell sounded. He snapped his head around to see one of the men pointing directly at them. The others turned at the alarm, seeing Blue and Red standing in plain sight. Blue cursed.

Red tore himself out of Blue’s grasp, knuckles white around the fire rod. He skipped to the side, setting fire to a shrub in front of Blue and blocking the men from reaching him right away. “Go help Vio!” he called over his shoulder. Then he turned and ran, leading some of the captors away.

Blue cursed again, stumbling back from the heat of the flames. He ducked around a tree, hefting his sword as he did. He leaned around the edge to see most of the men going after Red, two heading for Blue. He clenched his jaw, adrenaline buzzing through his limbs. He could handle two.

He leapt out from behind the tree with a shout. The men startled as he charged them. The first didn’t react in time, Blue’s sword slashing across his legs and sending him to his knees. The second man lunged, sword brandished. Blue darted to one side, ducked under a slash. He struck at the man’s side but met a sword instead, a loud clang ringing in his ears. The man tried to shove him back but Blue leapt back faster, making the man overextend. Blue ran in close and drove his sword through the man’s side. The man gasped, staggering. Blue took his chance and bolted, sprinting for Vio and Hyrule.

He skirted around the flames gradually chewing away at the underbrush, sweat beading on his brow and collar. He glanced around but didn’t see any other captors in the immediate vicinity. He skidded to a stop before Vio, falling into a kneel beside him.

“Vio,” he said breathlessly, laying a hand on Vio’s arm. Vio’s eyes darted up to him, face pale, breaths shallow. His blood saturated the ground beneath his ankles and Blue swore.

“Smith…?” Hyrule said faintly. Blue glanced up to see him looking through squinted eyes between Vio and Blue, confusion evident on his face.

“Don’t worry about it, Traveler,” Blue said hurriedly, returning his attention to Vio. He reached back for his pouch, only to remember it wasn’t there. He glanced behind him to where he’d grabbed his sword earlier as Four. “Hold on guys, I’ve got potions.”

He scrambled to his feet and dashed toward his and Hyrule’s gear. He snatched up his pouch, turning to run back to the others. He froze as he saw the leader approaching them, a murderous look in his eyes. Blue hastily dropped the pouch and sprinted. He reached the two before the man did, sliding to a stop in front of them. He lifted his sword, stance spread.

“Don’t you come near them!” he snarled.

“Wh-” The man’s incredulous gaze darted between Blue and Vio. Then a scowl darkened his expression. “I knew there was something off about his clothes.” He stepped forward and Blue lifted his sword higher, pointed toward the man’s chest.

“I said stay back!” he yelled.

“Out of my way, kid!” the man roared. He unsheathed a sword from his belt, gesturing to Vio with it. “Or, what, you wanna end up like him?”

Blue’s nostrils flared. Blood roared in his ears. With a shout, he lunged forward. The man blocked his attack. Blue twisted his sword, sent a thrust toward the man’s chest. The man sidestepped, parrying the blow. Blue followed the movement. He fought two-handed, attacking the man in broad, powerful sweeps of his weapon. Their swords crashed, the impact jarring Blue’s arms. The man sliced across and Blue ducked, diving in close. He managed to open a gash across the leader’s middle before the man jumped back with a yelp. The man growled, tightening his grip on his sword. He darted forward in an attack. Blue didn’t move back fast enough, forced to block the blow. The strength behind it sent his smaller form stumbling. The man surged forward and Blue jumped back. The tip of the man’s sword carved a line just beneath his collar. Blue gritted his teeth. He lifted his sword as if to catch the next attack. He ducked at the last moment, angling his sword back and letting the man’s blade skim across it, narrowly missing his head. The man stretched too far. Blue roared and lunged. He drove his sword through the man’s middle.

The man stumbled back with a gasp. Blue staggered forward with him before ripping his sword free. A choked cry left the man’s throat. He pressed a hand to his bleeding stomach. He looked down at the red fluid seeping between his fingers, flowing over his hand. He slowly turned his gaze upwards toward Blue, eyes wide. Then he crumpled to the ground.

Blue let out a huff. His arms shook from the energy of the fight, rage curling off of him like steam. Abruptly, he remembered Vio and Hyrule, bleeding out behind him. He whirled around, gaze falling onto Vio’s still form. He ran over to him, falling to his knees beside him and shaking his shoulder.

“Vio?” he gasped, out of breath from the fight. Vio barely stirred, eyelids fluttering. “Vio, Vio, stay with me. Don’t you dare die, just hang on.” His eyes darted across Hyrule as he looked around for his pouch, the traveler leaning his head back against the tree with his eyes shut. Blue gasped around a curse, desperately scanning the ground for his pouch. He’d had it just before the leader showed up, he’d just dropped it on the ground, right? Where the hell was it-

“Smithy?!”

Relief washed over him at the familiar shout. He turned to see Sky running toward him, sword drawn.

“Smithy, how’d you get over here so fast, I thought you were with-” Sky cut off as he glanced at Vio, eyes widening. “S-Smithy?”

“Long story,” Blue rushed to say. “They need potions or- or fairies, something.”

“Right, right.” Sky shook himself and hurried to Vio’s and Hyrule’s sides, reaching into his pouch. Blue looked around as he did. He spotted Warriors and Time off to one side, fighting against two of the men. Arrows whistled through the trees on another, piercing another captor and sending him to the ground. The fire Red set had spread, but not so much as to hem them in, the forest lush enough to slow its traveling.

“Traveler, are you with me?” Sky’s voice drew his attention again. The chosen hero gently coaxed a red potion into Hyrule. A light flush returned to Hyrule’s cheeks as he drank. Some of the vice grip around Blue’s heart lessened.

“You have another one?” Blue asked, moving to Sky’s side.

Sky nodded, not looking away from Hyrule. “In my pouch.”

Blue took that as permission and plunged a hand into Sky’s pouch, digging around until his fingers closed around a bottle. He yanked it out, barely giving himself time to check the color before scurrying to Vio.

“Vio, Vio, hey,” he said, shaking Vio’s shoulder. When Vio didn’t respond, Blue grew frantic. He less-than-gently rolled Vio onto his back. The movement made Vio’s legs shift. He jerked away from Blue with a hoarse yell.

“Shit- it’s me, it’s me!” Blue called, catching Vio’s shoulder. Vio’s face twisted into a grimace, breath hissing through his teeth as he looked over at Blue. Blue yanked the cork out of the bottle. “Potion. Drink it.” He lifted up Vio’s head with one hand, forcing the bottle to his lips with the other. Vio weakly lifted a hand to the bottle. Blue took that as his indication to tip it back and pour it down Vio’s throat. His hand shook, Vio spluttering once or twice when Blue poured it too fast. But he got it down, the tremor in his hands settling somewhat as he did.

“Vio!” Green – or Red, Blue didn’t have the wherewithal to differentiate them at the moment – called. Footsteps pounded closer and Blue didn’t glance up until Vio had drained the bottle. Green and Wild ran toward them, coming to a stop before them.

Green’s face went white upon seeing Vio. “Oh, goddess, what happened?”

“That bastard slashed his heels open,” Blue spat, jerking his head toward the body of the leader.

Green made a pained sound, brow pinched as he picked up one of Vio’s hands. Vio stirred, weakly batting at him.

“’M fine, ‘m fine,” he murmured.

“Should we merge?”

Blue and Green looked up to see Red hurrying toward them. Dirt speckled one side of his face and mixed in his tangled hair, blood seeping from a cut on his cheek. He smelled like smoke, the fire rod still in one hand.

“How- how many Smiths are there?” Wild asked. They ignored him.

“I don’t know if that would- Would that help?” Green said, glancing between the three of them uncertainly.

“C-can always split again if it d… doesn’t,” Vio breathed.

“Let’s just do it, we have to get Traveler out of here,” Blue snapped.

“Okay, okay.” Green let out a short breath. He reached back and grabbed the hilt of his sword. Blue felt a familiar tug in his gut, a shifting, a sheen of blue in his vision melting to a myriad of colors.

A wave of lightheadedness struck Four. He tipped forward. Arms caught him before he could fully collapse. He sagged against them for a moment, squeezing his eyes shut as he waited for the vertigo to pass. His ankles ached, deep and sharp, the pain radiating down into his heels and up into his calves. He couldn’t suppress a shudder at the twin memories of both feeling and watching his tendons being torn in half.

“Smithy? Link, are you okay?”

Four lifted his head, blinking in an attempt to clear the fuzziness. “Y-yeah,” he mumbled. “Still h-hurts a bit, but it’s not… Is-is Traveler okay?” He tried to sit up, Wild’s arms helping him. He managed to clear his gaze enough to see Sky and Hyrule by the tree in front of him. Sky’s arms wrapped around Hyrule, the traveler slumped against him.

“He’ll be okay,” Sky said. “He has a really bad concussion and he lost a lot of blood, but he drank the potion. He’ll be okay.”

Four sighed, shoulders relaxing. More footsteps approached and he tensed again until looking to see the other heroes.

“Old man and I got the last of them,” Warriors said.

“Are you boys alright?” Time asked.

“They’re okay,” Sky replied, shifting to get a better hold on the unconscious Hyrule. “We’re all okay. We should get out of here before that fire gets too bad.”

“Collector and Sailor are working to keep it from getting out of control,” Twilight called, jogging up to the group. He moved over to Sky, carefully taking Hyrule from him with a gentle here, I got him.

Four moved to stand, freezing when he put weight on his feet. Pain throbbed sharply through his ankles and he staggered to his knees again, swallowing a grunt. Immediately, arms came around his back, hauling him up and supporting him so he hardly had to put any weight on his feet at all. He glanced about to see Wild on one side and Warriors on the other.

“We got you, Smithy, don’t worry,” Warriors said.

Four let out a sigh, gratefully hooking his arms around his friends’ shoulders. He watched as Twilight lifted Hyrule up. Blood still caked the side of the traveler’s head and soaked into his clothes around his various wounds. Four felt a pang of regret at having not acted sooner. But Hyrule’s chest rose and fell, face relaxed in unconsciousness. The heroes turned and carried Four and Hyrule out of there, away from the bodies of their captors.

#Legend in the background: no sailor don't use your stupid leaf you're liTERALLY FANNING THE FLAMES STOP IT #haha forced choice like FOURced GET IT??? I'M HILARIOUS #linked universe #linked universe fic #ruby writes #linked universe fanfic #whumptober #whumptober 2024 #lu four #lu blue #lu green #lu red #lu vio #lu hyrule

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