This took me a bit longer than usual. It's still terrible haha
/\\\
What do you want?" the Rito asked.
With the wind sweeping the snow this way and that, it was surprising to see anyone out here. A small fire sat nearby, but despite that the Rito's eyes bore into his, setting in a deep chill that no fire could stave off.
"Are you Teba?" he asked.
For a moment, the Rito was silent, his gaze remaining hard as a rock. It was a long time before he spoke. "Yes, I am. Who are you?"
Link would have breathed a sigh of relief had it not been for Teba's cold gaze. It seemed to be full of contempt, and though it was not directed at the Hylian before him, it still unnerved him.
"I'm Link. I was wanting to help you bring down Medoh. I think I can calm it down."
Again, Teba fell silent, watching Link's every move, every facial expression, listening to every sound that came from him. Then he turned back to the platform overlooking the lake, toying with something in his hands. When Link glanced over his shoulder he found that it was a bow. "Elder Kaneli put you up to this, didn't he?" Teba asked, the annoyance in his voice prominent.
"I told him I wanted to help. He said I could probably calm it down with my Sheikah Slate if I can just get on board."
"Why can't you just give it to me and let me do it?" Teba asked, turning to send Link a fierce glare. "You're a Hylian. You'll only hold me back."
Link fell silent, lips pursed. Perhaps he was right about that; it wasn't as if Link could fly. Teba or someone else would have to carry him.
"Scram. I'll take on Medoh myself."
"But you'll get shot down," Link protested. "Please, just let me help. I need to get up there."
"No, dammit! Eventually, that thing will start attacking everything in sight! It killed nearly a whole damn unit! What do you think will happen when it attacks the village? What do you think will happen when it attacks my home? I don't have time to drag you up there!"
Link backed up a step when Teba shot to his feet, rounding on him. His muscles tensed as he became increasingly certain that he was about to attack him.
Jaysi said that this was gonna be easy. He's a shitty liar.
"I know all of that," Link said, struggling to keep his cool. "That's why I want to help. Just trust me. Please."
Teba inhaled deeply, and when he exhaled his breath came out as a white mist. "How do I even know you're worth anything? That tablet doesn't mean crap."
"I...I have some experience in fighting..."
"You don't sound so sure of yourself, kiddo."
Suddenly, Link's temper flared. He had to get up there. "Maybe I'm not. But you may as well throw me in that fucking lake if you think I'm going to leave you here to try and take on Medoh by yourself when I know you can't. You probably know you can't either!"
It only took Teba a few seconds to sense the change in mood. When he did, his expression softened.
"Alright, fine. I'll consider it. You say you need to get up on Medoh?"
"I think that's all I have to do. I can figure something out once I'm up there."
Teba rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Okay...I'll get you up there, but it has turrets protecting it. You'll have to cover me. Think you can use a bow?"
I fucking hope I can. "I might be a bit rusty." From what Ghirahim said once after they cleared a monster camp, most of his basic skill with a sword had come naturally, although it seemed he forgotten skills that set him apart from other people. Hopefully he'd done archery in the past.
Teba frowned deeply, only making Link more nervous than he already was. "Okay...I guess that's fine. I'll carry you up there. Here." He held out the bow, which Link reluctantly took. It was large, coming up to about his stomach, then gave him a quiver. Inside it were strange arrows with rounded tips. It was obvious they were not made for piercing.
"Bomb arrows," he said. "Supposed to be mine, but you can have it. There's only about twenty, so use them sparingly. Now get on and hang on."
Link took it and thanked him as he attached the quiver to his own belt, then he grabbed Teba's shoulders and clutched them with a death grip. Teba adjusted his legs so that he could wrap them around his torso, then with a flap of his large wings, they took off, soaring straight for the Divine Beast.
As they climbed higher and higher, the world stretched out below them, beautiful yet at the same time promising death should they fall. Overhead, it seemed as if a painter had painted the sky with orange, blue, and purple clouds. And in the distance, the sun began to near the horizon.
The Divine Beast looked like something out of a dream, unlike anything they had seen before. It was a wonder how the ancient people created it, for it seemed so far ahead of even Link's time. But it was created then thousand years before. How had all that technology gotten lost?
He could almost imagine a war between demons and people, a war that devastated the entire world and set them back several thousand years. A war that forced them to flee from the land itself.
"Get ready!" Teba yelled. The wind was beginning to pick up and the temperature continued to drop as they climbed higher, high enough to fly over Medoh. "There's only four turrets; one on each wing and one on the back and front. Focus on the wings and I can probably dodge the other two. I'll circle around so you can at least get those. When I say to, hold on!"
Link hesitantly let go of Teba with his hands, tightening his legs around the Rito warrior's torso. As he reached for the bow on his back, Medoh began to glow a bright red, and Link could see a red beam not unlike the one from the robot in the temple. Because of this laser, he quickly found the turret on the left wing.
As he had hoped, when he pulled the arrow back on the string and took to aim, it felt almost natural, like he was made to hold the bow and arrow in his hands. He could almost imagine how skilled he had been in the past when he let the arrow fly and it hit its mark. The turret exploded in a shower of debris and metal.
Teba let out a loud, relieved laugh.
Link said nothing, too focused on destroying the turrets before they destroyed him and not falling to his death. It was unlikely that anyone could rescue him up here.
He set his sights on the right one, and quickly destroyed that one.
Both the turrets on the back and front were aiming at them now. Except now Link was no longer their focus; it was Teba. It seemed that they figured out that killing Teba would mean killing both of them.
"THE TURRETS!" Link yelled, his eyes glued to them. He notched an arrow, hoping to destroy at least one before they fired, but he was too late. He saw the bright blue beam shoot toward them at the speed of light, though in his perspective it was painfully slow, yet impossible to avoid. Teba saw it too, and his face contorted with horror and realization. Link didn't need to be told to hold on as he swept up in an attempt to escape.
Neither of them hardly knew what happened, even when Teba let out a scream of pain and used the last of his strength to dive toward the Divine Beast.
For a few moments, all Link knew was the blackness of the murky water and someone—a male—was it Ghirahim?-telling him to wake the fuck up.
"Hey! Hey! Link!" Teba called next to him. "Are you alright? Dammit! Say something!"
Link let out a groan. His head pounded as he opened his eyes. Thankfully, the sky was clouded and quickly growing dark. Had the sun been out, he probably would have been blinded. He turned his head slightly to look at Teba, and would have cringed at the sight if he wasn't dazed. Half of the Rito's white feathers had been scorched a smoking black, and his left wing made it obvious he wasn't going to be flying anytime soon.
"Are you alright?" Link said as he pushed himself up. His entire body protested at the effort.
"Not any worse than you. Looks like I won't be at the flight range for a while..."
If you can even get back to Rito Village, Link thought. He didn't voice it.
Avoiding the Rito's gaze, he looked around to find that they were, indeed, on Vah Medoh. Several rows of pillars stood, but other than that there was hardly anything that could be called cover. Nearby there was a trap door that lead to the inside of the Beast. His bomb arrows and bow had been scattered about. He rushed to pick these up as Teba struggled to his feet.
"Well, you're on Medoh," Teba said. "What now?"
Link's answer went unheard as Medoh let out a loud screech and banked right, hard. For a few moments, Link was pressed up against the side of the Divine Beast. But then he began to slide down, down toward the ground hundreds of feet below, Teba going with him.
Letting out a breathless gasp, Link latched onto a pillar, then grabbed Teba's armor, the only part he could reach. His entire body protested at the move, but adrenaline kept him going.
"We need to find a way inside!" Teba said, just before Medoh abruptly twisted to the left. Because of its size and weight, it was thankfully slow. Somehow, it knew the two were still on it and still alive.
Link turned his gaze to the hole a few feet away.
Breathing heavily, Link practically dragged Teba toward this hole and dropped inside.
The beast screeched again, as if to change direction, but it did no such thing. Instead, it straightened itself out and fell quiet. Either it thought they were gone or it knew they had gone inside.
Inside, a strange, black and pink aura rose from the ground, vanishing as more appeared. Overhead was a strange goo. Poking out of it was a large, dark eye that had its unblinking gaze trained on him.
"What is that stuff?" he asked.
"We call it Calamity Goo," Teba said, looking up at the eye. "Kill that eye. It'll destroy it." He didn't seem particularly alarmed, as if such things were normal to him. Meanwhile, Link's heart pounded; he couldn't help but wonder who or what could be watching them through that eye.
Link pulled out the bow and one of his few bomb arrows and shot it. A few feet away, there were more of these eyes. Link destroyed them too.
He hoped he would have enough bomb arrows in case they ran into anything.
"What do they even do?" he asked as he turned back to Teba.
"We aren't sure about the eyes, but I know someone is watching us through them. But as far as the goo...you can't touch it or it'll kill you. The effect isn't instant, but sometimes it only takes seconds to kill someone. And this stuff that's in the air...its slowly killing us too. Just not nearly as fast. I already feel a little weak." Teba frowned. "Be quick."
Link nodded, taking a quick glance around the inside of the Beast. It appeared to have once served as a living area, or at least somewhere for passengers to stay. There were chairs, even tables and old freezers.
Impa had said these things were ten thousand years old and had been dug up from underground. Link found that difficult to believe. It felt more like he had stepped into a futuristic dystopian world.
A few feet away, toward the front of the Divine Beast, were four large windows that provided a spectacular view of the world below. In front of it was a guidance stone surrounded by Calamity Goo. Another eye poked out from it, although it was closed.
Link cautiously stepped toward this eye; if someone was really watching him through it, he doubted it was anyone that would hesitate to kill him.
As he drew near, the eye opened, revealing its black sclera and orange irises. It stared intently, but when Link met its gaze he felt the hatred of thousands of years rush into him, hatred that was directed toward him specifically, the one chosen by the Master Sword.
Just barely, he managed to tear his own eyes away from the black one and stabbed it with his sword. When the goo disappeared, he scanned the Sheikah Slate on the guidance stone.
His head swam. His hands felt clammy. He trembled. Goddesses, that thing fucking hated me.
He glanced at the screen, noticing several buttons labeled with commands. Some were blue, like the Sheikah Slate, but others were distorted and purple, like the Calamity Goo and almost everything else that had threatened him so far.
All of this is Ganon. All of it. Probably the eyes, too, now that I think about it. That was him watching me.
He pulled himself out of his thoughts and turned toward Teba, who stood with his unhurt wing against the wall. "I have a little control of this thing. It should be safe, at least for us. I need to go back out."
"I'm going with you. It's not safe for either of us to be alone in here."
Especially not you.
Link put an arm around his shoulder to help him walk.
Around the side of the beast was a doorway and a set of stairs that led to the top. The two climbed up to the top, finding themselves under a sparkling night sky and a bright moon.
The control unit continued to glow a bright orange.
"Stay here," Link said. "I'll only be a second."
However, as he approached it to find a way to take back control of the Divine Beast, he knew he had lied. A thick, dark cloud burst into existence and surrounded the strange, glowing unit. Behind him, he heard the gurgle of Calamity Goo and the whir of a computer starting up.
Reluctantly, he turned around to face his new plight.
Before him was a robot not quite unlike the turrets and the rest of the Beast. From it came a strong, swirling wind that forced Link to shield his face as it threw debris and metal at him.
"Oh, shit!" Teba yelled, but he went unnoticed by the robot. It had trained its single, glowing blue eye on Link, and the Hylian didn't doubt that it knew precisely who he was.
If you can, always go for the eye. It was the only thing Link could think of that could help him.
Link pulled the bow off his back and grabbed a bomb arrow from the quiver.
The monster dove toward him, glowing orange sword held high. Link let out a yelp and jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding being cleaved in two. He had to duck as the robot made a second attempt to slice through him. He could feel the heat of the blade scorching the back of his head—if it even touched him with it it wouldn't be pretty.
He knew almost immediately that this was going to be difficult.
It lifted its other arm as it began to glow blue. It was the same color as the robot's eye in the temple. By the time it shot small, glowing and undoubtedly hot beams at him Link had dove behind the control unit. It was careful not to shoot i
It let out a growl behind him, letting Link know he didn't have long to cower.
Link, breathing as slowly as he could while in the midst of a battle it seemed he was losing, held the bow with a death grip. He readied the bomb arrow he'd pulled out before and prayed to the Golden Three that he would be able to aim properly with such shaky hands.
Just as the thing let out a strange roar, Link stepped out, bow drew back. As soon as he was sure the bomb arrow would hit, he let loose.
With a boom, the arrow exploded. The robot let out a distorted screech, throwing up its strange metallic arms in an effort to protect itself. For a few moments, its glowing blade flickered.
When the smoke cleared, Link could see that the arrow had taken out most of the armor in its torso, revealing the Calamity Goo beneath.
He'd hurt it. Link had no time to celebrate the fact, for it let out another screech, this one enraged. It lunged toward him, swinging its sword wildly.
At first he'd ran beside the control unit again, but too quickly it came to kill him. Unable to think of anything else to do, Link ran. He had to be thankful that there was enough room on top of Medoh.
He learned how hot the flame truly was when it brushed ever so slightly against the back of his neck. It felt as if his skin was melting, and the pain was blinding. Tears came to his eyes as he bit back a scream.
He had to retaliate, but how? If he turned back the thing would melt his face off.
Link ducked behind a pillar, breathless and exhausted. He couldn't run forever. He had nowhere to hide, either. Nowhere to think of a plan.
"Link! Throw me that thing!"
Link looked up at Teba, who had limped out in the open. His white feathers made him almost impossible to miss, especially when he held up his single uninjured wing.
The robot stopped, one of its metal claws clinging to the pillar behind which Link cowered. For now, it did not bother chasing him.
Link quickly shook his head, to which Teba replied, "Trust me! I know what I'm doing!"
Please tell me he's telling the truth, Link thought as he pulled the Sheikah Slate from his belt. At last, the robot acknowledged him again. As he hurled the Sheikah Slate as hard as he could, the robot lunged toward him, ready to kill him.
"HEY!" Teba howled. "OVER HERE!"
The robot looked up, its eye training on the Sheikah Slate in his hand.
The robot screeched and lunged toward the Rito, Link forgotten.
Link's heart pounded as he jumped to his feet with what was left of his strength. He pulled out the bow and snatched one of his two remaining bomb arrows. He shot, hoping with every fiber of his being that he would not miss.
He didn't.
The robot rounded on him once more as Link pulled out his last bomb arrow, certain he was praying more than he ever had before. It ran toward him, its damaged parts whining in protest, as Link drew back the arrow, aiming for the eye, and let go.
The scream it let out was inhuman and piercing; even the deafening boom of the bomb exploding could not drown it out. Its metal plating went hurtling through the air as it shattered, Calamity Goo flying everywhere.
Then the Goo disappeared, leaving nothing to show it had ever been there.
Teba, having fallen, sat on the ground, breathing heavily. He still clutched the Sheikah Slate tightly.
"Thanks," Link breathed as he stumbled toward him, hungry, sleepy, and dizzy. Already the adrenaline was wearing off.
"I can say the same to you," Teba replied as he handed the slate back to him. He struggled to his feet, holding on to Link for support. "Honestly didn't expect you to react that fast."
Link glanced down at his torso, noticing a new patch of black feathers accompanied by dark blood. Had be been any later, had he missed, the wound could have been a lot worse. Teba could have been dead by now.
"It's a good thing I did," he said, mostly to himself. "Let's scan this thing and get out of here."
As he said this, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He felt as if he were being watched, but when he glanced around he saw no eyeballs poking out of Calamity Goo.
Teba nodded, following as he headed toward the guidance stone and pressed the Sheikah Slate against it. The eye flashed, prompting Link to remove it."
"Finally. You came."
Link whipped around to find an ethereal figure with a green glow. As it took shape, Link recognized him almost immediately. Teba must have, too, for his beak fell open.
The Rito Champion stood before him, semitransparent and distorted, but sure enough there.
"Honestly, though...why do you look so young?"Judging by the look on his face, Link didn't need to explain. Seeing him made Link feel as if Revali could just stay here on the Beast and do whatever he did rather than move on to whatever afterlife lay beyond.
Seemingly used to Link's silence, he shrugged it off and continued. "I'll land Medoh so you can get off, but as much as I want to see you kick Ganon to the sun, I can't stay here. You know why."
With that said, he faded out of existence as Vah Medoh let out a piercing cry to announce its next move.
Link and Teba climbed inside as the Divine Beast headed toward Rito Village, where it landed at the top of the rock on which it stood. For a few terrifying moments, Link thought the rock would topple over and kill nearly everyone near by, but it held. Barely.
As Link helped Teba out of the Divine Beast, he swore he heard the words, Good luck sealing the darkness. Teba winced, but otherwise he was silent; he could not get the sight of Revali out of his head, especially the fact that he had recognized Link and called him by his name. It was just so...bizarre.
Ghirahim stood at the bottom, arms crossed as if he had been waiting. He did not spare a glance at the Divine Beast, as if it were a casual thing to him. Or perhaps it just wasn't the most important thing at the moment.
"Now, was that so hard?" he said with a grin as Link looked up at him. Although at any other time he wouldn't have minded it, Link found it infuriating.
"Both of us nearly died," Link replied, annoyance lacing his voice. He just wanted to lay down and relax for a bit, but even then that might be so relaxing. His neck continued to throb painfully.
Ghirahim shrugged, still grinning. "Yes, maybe, but that's unavoidable. I was only gone for about an hour. In that time you managed to free it."
"Sure, okay, now help us get down."
