The Adventure of Link

Chapter Twelve: Rebonock the Unyielding

Shelter had been scarce throughout the night, and with the exception of a brief stay inside the cabin of a rather rude little man named Bagu, who absolutely reeked of alcohol, Façade and Agahnim kept up a continuous pace. The rains persisted as well, with the water seeming to fall harder on them after reaching the end of the forest, now that there was no canopy of leaves to shield them from both that and the wind.

Up ahead was the start of the coastlands; an area of sand and beaches that bordered the ocean, but couldn't be considered a desert because of the sparsely placed, but still existent plant life. In the southernmost part of this area was the largest graveyard in Hyrule, which was mostly reserved for Knights and other Nobles, since smaller towns usually had their own graveyards for the burial of common folk.

"King's Cross is at the center of the graveyard." The King commented as they rode across the wet sand. "Who knows why Rebonock chose this place for our duel, but we must be on our guard just the same."

"He chose it to intimidate you." Agahnim explained, wiping some raindrops from his eyes. "He'll probably say something about not having to go very far to bury you after he kills you, but these are just words."

Façade laughed this notion off, but there was some truth to him feeling a little intimidated by this place. After all, since he was the King of Hyrule, this place would be his own tomb someday… him and Zelda both… and Miranda… and Link and Agahnim both, since they had been knighted after Ganondorf's defeat. It was a humbling feeling, actually, knowing that all of them, the great heroes of Hyrule, would all end up buried under these very sands.

After about another hour of riding, the first row of white cross-shaped graves came into view, spotted more easily since the usually bright sand was darkened by the falling rain. This was good, because the wet sand was rapidly becoming mud, and the harder packed grounds of the graveyard would be easier on their horses. Reaching the first of the rows of tombstones also meant that they could slow down to a more comfortable, trotting pace, both to rest a bit before they got there, and also to make sure that they didn't rush right into a trap.

"Let's part ways here, Agahnim." Façade said shortly after slowing down. "Veer off to the side a ways, and then follow, but stay out of sight."

The wizard nodded, and then turned his horse to start traveling down one of the rows, as the King continued on toward the center. Now that the destination was so close, Façade felt a little vulnerable going the rest of the way on his own, especially since if Rebonock was anything like his brother, Darknut, then it was safe to assume that a completely fair fight was not going to happen.

Maintaining the slow trot on his horse, the King made his way through the graveyard, passing row after row of rain-cleaned white tombstones, until finally reaching the beginning of the large clearing that was King's Cross. At the very center was a large marker, a tombstone that was far larger than the others, but this was actually just the entrance to the underground chambers where all of the Kings and Queens of Hyrule were buried. Next to this marker, however, was something, or rather someone that was out of place.

"Well, well, look who showed his face." The deep echoing voice of the helmeted figure said as he approached. "Perhaps you are not quite as much of a cowardly fraud as I believed you to be."

This figure was completely clad in blue armor that was similar to the set that Darknut had worn, with a shield on one arm, and a sword sheathed by the other, while he sat on top of a horse that was wearing a type of armor of its own. The difference between this figure and Darknut, though, was that he was also holding a lance as if he were prepared for a jousting match. Façade had not brought such a weapon, since he had been expecting a sword duel, so he hoped that his mirrored shield would be enough to help him if it came to that.

"I am not a coward, nor am I a fraud." Façade replied, stopping his horse a good distance from the armored knight. "I am Façade, King of Hyrule… and I assume that you are Rebonock, the brother of Darknut."

Yes, it was him… Rebonock the Unyielding, brother of Ganondorf's former partner, there to take revenge for their family… even though this blue knight had been nowhere to be seen during the actual fighting. It was surprising to the King, however, that Rebonock had apparently come alone. This realization marked the end of their talking, however, when the blue knight spurred his horse, lowering his lance as he charged at Façade.

Lightning flashed across the sky as his enemy got closer, with the King raising his shield for defense, and the thunder crashing just as Rebonock's lance struck the shield. There was a lot of power in the blow, and even though Façade mostly avoided it by leaning to the side, but even that glancing hit off his shield was enough to nearly knock the King off his horse. With just enough time to right himself as the blue knight turned around, Façade drew his sword, turning his own horse around while trying to come up with a plan.

"Steady on, Perfection." He said, taking a deep breath as he raised his sword. "Move when I nudge you; we've only got one chance at this."

Following his commanded like the loyal steed that it was, the horse moved off to the side on the signal, allowing the King to not only avoid the tip of the lance, but to also bring his blade down onto it near the base. Crack! Tearing its way through the lance as if it were made of paper, Façade's blade missed Rebonock's gloved hand by mere inches, leaving the blue knight holding nothing but the lance's hilt while the King prepared to…

In a surprise actions, Façade's plans were interrupted when Rebonock suddenly raised his other arm, striking him in the face with his small shield hard enough to cut his lip as the King's head was thrown backwards. Maybe if it hadn't been raining, he might have been able to recover from this blow, but with as slippery as the saddle had become, Façade tumbled backwards, landing on the hard-packed ground with a loud crash, and then hearing the blue knight's laughter as he scrambled to get to his feet.

"Pathetic!" Rebonock laughed as he drew his sword. "I refuse to believe that a clumsy fool like you could have ever beaten my…

But now it was the blue knight's turn to be interrupted as an attack that he could have never expected, this time from the horse, Perfection, was upon him. Getting up on its hind legs and braying loudly, the animal began to pummel both Rebonock and his horse with its front hooves until he was knocked onto the ground as well. With an even louder crash than when Façade fell, the blue knight was dropped into the mud, where he also grabbed desperately for his sword, before getting to his feet.

"That was probably the funniest thing I've ever seen." Façade laughed as the horses chased each other away. "Your brother was just as overconfident as you are, by the way, but I'm going to give you a chance, here. If you stop this right now, we can go our separate ways, and that will be the end of it."

"Yield? To you?!" Rebonock exclaimed as if truly offended. "No, pretender, not to one who took the throne that belonged to others. You're going to fight your own battle this time, you fraud!"

Raising his sword, and coming forward for the kill, the blue knight's sword hit Façade's blade instead, but still had enough force to drive the King backwards. Rebonock attacked again, this time missing completely after slipping on some mud, and allowing Façade to make an attack of his own, dragging his sword right across his enemy's shoulder. Apparently Rebonock's armor was just as good as his brother's had been, because the sword just bounced off, but the King had anticipated this, so he raised up his foot, and kicked his enemy in the chest before he could recover, knocking the blue knight onto his back.

"Enough, Rebonock!" The King yelled, putting his sword at his enemy's throat. "Enough! We're done, do you hear me?! I understand that you want to avenge your brother, but what good will it do him if you get yourself killed? Now are you going to do the smart thing and go home… or am I going to have to run you through?"

"All right, all right!" The blue knight replied, slowly putting his sword back into its sheath. "I'll make the wise choice… I'll yield."

Letting out a sigh of relief that he would be able to end this peacefully, Façade, moved his blade away in order to help Rebonock up… only to cry out in surprise when the blue knight grabbed a handful of mud and threw it into the King's eyes. Using this distraction to get to his feet, Rebonock grabbed Façade's sword, and rammed it into the King's stomach as hard as he could, piercing his armor even with the sapphire ring's protection.

"Yield?!" The blue knight screamed, blood running down the sword as Façade gasped. "The only yielding to be done around here, will be done by your wife when I take her and your throne, and then…

And then this victory speech was cut short as the King made his last attempt, grabbing the hilt of Rebonock's sword, and pulling it out of its sheath. With both of the blue knight's hands on the sword that was impaling Façade, there was no way for him to stop the King from stabbing his own blade right through the face hole in Rebonock's helmet. The blue knight's words became a gasping, sort of coughing sound as blood ran down this blade as well, and when Façade pushed him back, not only did he let go of the King's sword… but the blue knight did not get up again after falling.

Of course, Rebonock was not the only one to fall down, since Façade sunk to his knees a moment later, coughing some blood onto his gloved hands… giving a thought to trying to remove the sword from his stomach, but then forgetting all about that when a sudden increase in pain caused him to keel over onto his side. The still falling rain soothed the King a little as it landed on his face, but then he saw it… there was someone else… someone much bigger than Rebonock walking out from behind King's Cross.

"Who… who are you?" Façade asked weakly. "Who's there?"

He was big… tall and muscular, shirtless but wearing a large, spiked helmet, and carrying a heavy ball and chain in his hand. He looked at the motionless blue knight for a moment, before snickering and shaking his head.

"So, the great Rebonock is dead, and the King is to soon follow." The big man said as he approached. "Don't worry, your Lowness, I've already sent a man to tell your wife about your death… and that I, Boss Gooma, cousin of the great Ganondorf, will soon be there to.. comfort her."

There was nothing Façade could do as the big man swung the ball and chain over his head, and brought it down to crush him… but then Agahnim appeared out of thin air, chanting the word Reflejar while holding out his hands. A barely visible distortion formed in front of them, and when the ball swung into it, the metal object was bounced right back into Gooma's face, making him groan in pain and surprise as the big man stumbled backwards.

"I might have something to say about that." The wizard replied to his earlier comment as a ball of flame appeared in each hand.