Somewhere in Midrule, someone stirs, but does not wake.
The ominous voice tries again.
"Lenk. Wake up."
Still, nothing. Dawn breaks across the sky, cuckoos begin their crowing, but the Lenk does not budge.
"Lenk, I swear, if you don't get up right now, I'm going to set you on fire, you good-for-nothing lazy bum."
But Lenk is used to those threats. Never once has their tormentor followed through on setting them on fire. Might as well continue to sleep.
A loud snore is the only sound Lenk makes.
The tormentor sighs. "Seriously, Lenk? Why do I have to put up with this?"
Finally having had enough, Princess Zilda grabs her fire rod from her bag and mutters an incantation.
THAT gets Lenk out of bed - screaming and searching for something to put out the fire all at once. But, at least they're awake now.
Once the fire is dealt with (although Zilda definitely lets Lenk suffer for several minutes; they deserved it), Zilda stares Lenk down as they yawn through their breakfast.
"I didn't wake you up for nothing, you know," she gripes. "I came all this way out here from the castle because your services are needed. The princess has gone missing."
Lenk gives her a confused look -- she's standing right in front of them, how can she be missing?
"Princess Lenk," Zilda clarifies. "She was last seen near Death Mountain, but then she disappeared. People are worried she's been kidnapped. We have to find her before something terrible happens!"
Lenk grumbles something about being tired, but Zilda graciously chooses to ignore it.
"Finish your breakfast and get your weapons. And, don't worry -- we're not going alone."
Although, perhaps that statement should be more worrying than the alternative.
As Lenk gathers their belongings, Princess Zilda looks over the map.
"Death Mountain is basically due north of here, but we can't just travel north. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. Besides, there's something we need to pick up before we can truly begin our journey."
Lenk grumbles.
"Oh, don't give me that look. It'll just be a quick stop, and it's on the way. Like I said, we're not going alone."
Zilda's description of it being a quick stop turns out to be true -- in the pond outside Lenk's house sits a rusted shield, which Lenk was pretty sure wasn't there before. Zilda picks it up and hands it over to Lenk, and the effects are instantaneous.
A weird tickling sensation takes over Lenk's entire body and before he can pinpoint exactly how to stop it, it stops on its own. And everything goes back to normal.
Except not, because Lenk is suddenly.... different. And there's more of him.
Four, to be precise.
Four different Lenks, wearing four different colored tunics, with four different colors of hair.
"Oh?" Zilda comments idly, seemingly unsurprised by the change. "Only four? I was expecting more from a shield called the Shield of Nine. How strange. Maybe the rust affects its powers. Anyway, let's be on our way! Next stop: Death Mountain!"
"Alright, Lenk-" Zilda cuts herself off quickly, correcting herself. "Lenks. Let's get going. The princess won't save herself!"
The Lenks glance at each other, curious and confused by the other clones, but, as usual, do not speak. Instead, they follow Zilda's lead.
"I'm hoping we can make it to Kakariko Village fairly soon. There's something else I need to pick up before we can head to Death Mountain," Zilda explains as they begin their trek.
Unfortunately, they barely make it to the forest outside the village where Lenk lives before trouble arises. There are sounds of a scuffle, forcing Zilda, who had been walking ahead of the group, to stop and turn to see what the noise is.
The Lenk dressed in the purple tunic had tripped over a rock, falling into the red-clothed Lenk ahead of them and starting a chain reaction, leaving them in an awkward pile of all the Lenks, with purple at the bottom.
When the other Lenks stand up, they find that Purple isn't getting back up. Zilda looks at the Shield that Green is still holding, and a message appears on it:
Purple [Conia (Kuroda)] has died.
Purple's body vanishes before their eyes, leaving not even a trace of the mishap.
Another message appears on the shield's surface just after that:
Eight lives remaining. Voice function activated. Weapons distributed.
"Hey guys! What's going on?" a voice from their left asks, sounding more cheerful than appropriate given what just happened.
The group turns in unison to see -- Purple?! And they're just standing there like nothing happened? What the heck is going on?