The last challenge awaits Green in the Hero's Tournament! Will the Links be victorious?
Read ahead to find out! ^_^
Chapter Twenty-Five: Conquest
The crowd once more roared in approval and anticipation as the next round was prepared, and the final contestants were being readied for the next challenge. Though a bit nervous, Green shook his head of his doubts, clearing his mind and instead focusing his thoughts and determination on winning the final round- though, he admitted anxiously, he'd never done something like this before… And, gulping past his fears, looked down with slight concern at the leather reigns in his hands.
"It is time, ladies and gentleman, for the final challenge in the Hero's Tournament!" the announcer shouted, the crowd reacting loudly as the voice continued. "After three intense challenges, we are now left with three finalists! And the final challenge… a chariot race, to determine the winner, once and for all!"
"Yeah! Leave 'em in the dust, Green!"
"Knock 'em dead!"
"Show them what you've got, Green!"
From the sidelines, leaning over the rails and waving their arms, the three other Links cheered on their friend as he stood in between the other two competitors, trying to keep his balance on the small, one-man, one-horse chariot beneath him. Giving a weak grin, their leader looked back over at his friends, nodding once to them before looking back out across the arena in front of him.
The large coliseum was a perfect place for a chariot race, Green thought interestingly, as they had set up an inside rail, and let the outside become a track for the horses and the chariots to race across. It was simple, really- no obstacles or monster to fight, just a simple, dirt track to race across. Heh… maybe this won't be so hard, after all, he thought with a smile, looking to the side at his competitors. He was one of the last three who had made it to the final round… And the other two, both adults- one dressed in some sort of mage outfit, the other armed to the teeth with spiked shields and armor- hardly gave Green a second notice, instead staring determinedly ahead at the track.
"The first to clear three laps wins!" the announcer continued on, as the beginning of the race drew closer and closer. "If a competitor falls on the ground, they're out! Oh, and there's just one rule…" The crowd grew silent.
"… There are NO rules!"
And as the crowd roared, Green blinked in surprise.
"Racers! On your mark!"
Oh, crap, Green thought, gritting his teeth grimly and gripping the leather reigns in his hands tight.
"Get set!"
And in an instant, the two competitors on either side of him burst forward, their horses whinnying in excitement as they begun. Green's jaw dropped in shock- they… they'd started earlier! They'd cheated!
And yet, the crowd roared in laughter and cheers, as the announcer also laughed and shouted- to the last racer still standing at the line- "Go!"
"Crap!" Green cursed to himself, gritting his teeth and instantly snapping into action as he leaned forward, whipping the reigns in his hands and urging his horse onwards. Like the others, his horse instantly bolted forwards, neighing loudly as it lunged forward, pulling the small chariot with the boy in it behind him. Though Green was slightly put off-balance by the jerking motion of the moving chariot, he quickly regained his momentum and composure, leaning forward and urging his horse forwards and faster to catch up to the two who had already gained a good, two-second head start on him.
No rules, huh? Green thought with a grim, though mischievous, grin, as he raced after the two, who were, at the moment, racing neck-and-neck by each other. Well, hey, that's just fine by me! Already, he could see the two racers leaning over their chariots and fighting with one another, trying to push the other off their chariot or swing a weapon their way to try and startle the horse. Slowly, Green was catching up to them- but for now, he kept a safe distance behind, grinning as they started to come up to the first turn…
"What's he doing?-! Green, catch up to them!" Blue shouted, jumping up and down and snorting in fury as he watched the chariots go by.
"No, hang on… I think I see what he's trying to do," Vio said, leaning forward and giving a small grin.
Reaching out behind him, Green kept one hand firmly on the reigns of his racing horse, both feet planted firmly on the floor of his chariot, and both eyes narrowed in concentration at the two horses ahead of him as they came to the turn…
And, with a quick motion and a loud laugh, Green jerked his hand out from behind him, coming out with his shining, sturdy boomerang. The crowd gasped- and, without wasting another second, as the time grew just right, the leader threw his shoulder backwards, lunging forward with his arm and sending the weapon hurtling through the air at the two competitors in front of him.
Sailing true through the air and spinning madly around towards its target, the boomerang flew quick and true- and, with a sharp slicing sound, hit its match clean and even. And the larger, armored competitor looked down with gasp at the severed straps of the horse's harness which had connected the racing equine to his chariot. The audience, cheering in approval, roared on as the racer desperately tried to get a hold of his reigns- but to no avail, and as the turn came, and the horse jerked to the side to make the turn… The straps of the harness were now useless, and the chariot, rather than turning, barreled straight onwards, carrying its angrily shouting passenger- until it crashed with a loud, resounding crash against the wall, its rider slumping to the ground, grumbling and flinging curses every which way.
And as Green deftly made the turn, he grinned, leaning forward and urging his horse onwards, the cheers of the audience and of his friends spurring him forward to finish the first lap.
The horse and chariot carrying the leader of the Links eagerly made the second turn to complete the first lap, and, seeing the only competitor left still ahead in their sights, put on an extra burst of speed as they made the run to try and catch him before the next turn was made.
And yet-
In the instant before the turn came up, a massive, smoke-filled explosion suddenly blasted on the ground in front of them. Green's horse, rearing up in fright and whinnying as the harmless, though distracting blast, startled him, skidded to a halt before the cloud of smoke in front of them, nearly sending Green flying out of his chariot. Gasping, the leader grabbed the sides of his chariot, though not wasting a second in grabbing the reigns once more and urging his horse onwards, despite the smoke cloud created by the blast. As he got his horse back to run, Green's eyes darted to the side, at the other racer who had completed the turn and was racing down the other side of the track, finishing up lap two.
A sick grin was on the racer's face, and, while the audience cheered, he put away under his cloak a small, blue bomb.
Green's eyes narrowed, his lip curling in an infuriated snarl. It was a dirty trick… And he'd lost a lot of ground because of it. Though his horse completed the next turn easily, and he spurred it onwards, shouting encouragements to the horse and leaning forward over the rails of his chariot, they were only completing the second lap's turn, while the racer ahead was nearing the end of the lap, almost starting on his third- and final- lap.
From the stands, Blue was nearly throwing his hat, jumping up and down and cursing at the other driver as it went by, while Red bit his fingernails and watched with wide, worried eyes as Green sprinted through the other side of the lap, wasting not a second as he, too, made the second turn, initiating his third lap.
The roar of the crowd was growing by the second as the race heated up, the final few minutes of the final lap reached in the race, between the two left competitors. Leaning forward, with his eyes narrowed and his hands clenched tightly around the reigns, Green shouted aloud as he urged his horse onwards. He had a plan… it was crazy and stupid, but if it worked, he'd be able to win, despite the other's bomb tricks.
The first turn came around- and, jerking his reigns fiercely to the side, Green urged his horse into a sharp turn, nearly skidding on the dirt and sand beneath him- a risky maneuver, but one that paid off, as Green found himself making up his lost time , finishing the turn and arriving on the other side of the track, neck-and-neck with the last racer.
The competitor, snarling and turning to look at Green, gave a wild grin, holding up another of his bombs, as the two horses pulling the two carriages raced furiously along in front of them.
"Give it up, kid," the racer laughed with a sneer, gripping tightly his bomb and raising his arm, ready to throw it. "You've already lost!"
"Actually," Green shouted back, grinning just as widely- yet with a mischievous, clever glint in his eye- "YOU'VE lost!"
And before the racer could say another word, or even react in surprise to the Link's loud, bold words, Green laughed as he jumped forward, making his move.
Leaving the reigns hanging uselessly in the empty chariot behind him, and ignoring the loud gasps of surprise from the crowd all around him, Green threw his arms out in front of him as he vaulted the front of his chariot, jumping upwards over the rail and landing nimbly on the back of his horse. It held no bridle, nor saddle- but his heels gripped the horse's side, and his hands wrapped tightly around the flying, tangled mane of his racing, swiftly-moving ride.
Without wasting another second, still grinning and with his eyes still narrowed in concentration and determination, Green shouted out as he leapt once more- this time, a much more dangerous jump than the last, also insane and risky move. For instead of jumping forward or backwards- the opposite racer suddenly flinched back in shock and surprise, watching with wide eyes and an open jaw as Green landed on the other racer's horse, grabbing his mane and pushing his heels into the horse's hindquarters.
"See ya!" Green shouted out with a laugh as he reached forward, still riding the cantering horse, and wrapped his hands around the reigns connected to the horse's bit, still held in his competitor's hands. And, clenching his fist around the leather strap, gave it a sudden jerk- and, in the same quick motion, turned once more and nimbly, quickly, leapt off the horse and back onto his own.
The horse of his opponent, responding instantly to the interfered jerk of the reigns, whinnied and reared up on its hindquarters, its front legs thrashing as it slammed down to a halt, despite the cries of protest from its rider, still standing on the back of the chariot behind it.
Meanwhile, Green grunted and gasped as he landed sharply back on his own horse, though his eyes were wide as he found himself slowly losing his balance, his fingers scrambling to grip the horse's wild, waving in the wind mane and his feet struggling to get a hold on its sides…
The final turn was coming up… Green's eyes widened as he dangled half-on and half-off the side of the horse. If he couldn't hold on until then, he would fall and be disqualified…!
"Hang on, Green!"
"You can do it!"
"You've almost got it, Green!"
The leader of the Link's wide and frantic eyes looked up as he held on to the cantering, running horse, his ears catching the sounds of his friends cheering him on from the sidelines. All that stood between him and the victory was this one last turn… If he could hold on until then…
He grit his teeth, tightening his slowly failing grip on the horse as it ran. No way he'd let them down, not here, not now!
Shouting out aloud, Green let his grip on the horse's mane go- but instantly, swinging around, grabbed the side of the chariot's bar, also letting his legs off their grip- only to plant them firmly on the chariot bar, wasting not a second as he leapt backwards, almost flipping as he threw his hand out, catching the rail of the chariot behind the horse as it sped past him.
Gasping in effort and clinging on to the hold he'd found, Green's leap over the side and back of the chariot was successful, and his feet landed firmly and soundly on the wooden base of the chariot, his horse whinnying as it continued to race in front of him.
However, the turn was still coming up-
Wasting not a second more, Green leaned forward, grabbing the reigns back in his hands and jerking them to the side. And as the turn came, the horse, responding to its command, neighed and turned along with the track, the chariot following behind it.
And as Green's chariot passed the finish line, the crowd all around him erupted in blaring, clamorous applause and cheers, the announcer shouting out the name of the victorious team as Red, Blue, and Vio jumped over the rail of the stands, leaping down into the arena and running over to their friend.
Gasping and slowing down his chariot as the race was won, Green, finally catching his breath, staggered backwards out of his chariot, putting a hand to his forehead and swaying dizzily. He gave a weak grin and turned around, smiling over at his friends… And yet blinked in surprise as he saw them hurtling towards him…
"… Oh, f-"
Green hardly got another word out before he was suddenly tackled to the ground, the three Links laughing and shouting aloud as they jumped on their friend, hugging him from all angles and cheering on their combined victory.
"Congratulations, Team Link! You are the Champions of Hyrule!"
Finally, shoving the others off of him, Green laughed along with his friends as he stood up, brushing the dirt and dust off his tunic. The Four Links grinned widely, laughing and cheering as they heard the announcer call out their victory.
"Hell, yeah! I knew we could do it!" Blue shouted loudly, pumping his fist in the air and laughing.
"Yeah! Take that, world! We did great, guys!" Red cheered up, nodding and grinning as he jumped up and down in excitement.
"No one beats Team Link," Vio said with a calm, though confident smirk, crossing his arms smugly and looking at the others with a grin and a nod. "Right, Green?"
Finally, the three looked over at Green- and, returning the confident and cheerful grins of the others, crossed his arms and said with a laugh, as the others cheered him on and the crowd roared in excitement behind him, "Right. After all… We're the best team there is!"
"And then, get this- Blue swung his sword at the chain, and jerked away the axe! It was so cool! Aw, you shoulda been there, Kaepora!" Red whined, still excitedly talking about their adventures in the Hero's Tournament as he sat cross-legged amongst the grass, looking to the side with a wide grin at the owl who was perched next to him.
"Really, now? Very interesting," the owl hooted calmly and simply, its eyes glinting in quiet amusement as it listened to the smaller hero talk and talk about what they had gone through to fix the cannon. Though he had been listening to Red speak, the wise owl's attention had been focused primarily on the cannon itself, as the mechanic had worked around it, fixing it- with the three Links supervising- until it stood once more, proud and tall, its massive barrel aimed upwards towards the heavens itself.
Standing up, Red moved to stand beside the others as they gazed up at the glistening, silver surface of the massive machine. The cannon's most impressive and notable feature was the giant, round barrel, curved like a bell and aimed up at the sky. It had many other parts to it, as well, but none that the boys would have been able to comprehend or understand.
The mechanic had long gone after the Links had paid him, and now Blue was marching around impatiently, his arms crossed and mumbling and grumbling about when they could leave and get started again.
"So… I suppose you four enjoyed yourself, then?" Kaepora hooted as he flew up, landing on the surface of the cannon and looking down at the four children.
"Yeah… now that I think of it, it was good to slow down and have some fun like that," Green answered with a smile and a nod, looking around at the others.
"Agreed," Vio said with a returned nod, and a simple smile. "I'm sure we all did well with a break from our adventure."
"Yeah, great, we had a blast, bla bla," Blue grumbled, moving over back them and crossing his arms. "We kicked ass. So what? We always kick ass. Now let's get moving, we don't have any more time to waste!"
Though Vio and Green blinked in quiet surprise, Red instead grinned, jumping up and wrapping an enthusiastic hug over Blue's crossed arm.
"Aw, c'mon, Blue, you know you had fun, too!" he teased with a laugh.
"G-Get off me!" Blue cried indignantly, shoving the other aside as Vio and Green laughed. As Red stumbled off to the side, Blue blinked- "…Déjà vu," he grumbled under his breath, looking off reluctantly to the side.
"Well, I am glad you four had a chance to relax," Kaepora spoke again, breaking the laughter between them as they all looked up to listen to him speak. "But I'm afraid Blue is right- we've not much time left. The Sky Cannon is indeed the only way to the Sky Temple- but I fear that Veran and Onox may have tried other ways to send monster up to the temple. You four must make haste- hurry! Into the cannon!"
Green gave a firm nod. "Alright. You heard him, guys- let's go!"
Without any further hesitation or wait, the four heroes ran up to the cannon, each helping the other climb up the massive machine and slide down into the barrel of the machine. However, once all four of them had been inside…
"Ouch! Get off my toe!"
"GREEN! Move over!"
"I'm not on your toe!"
"Stop shoving!"
It was quite a cramped fit, that was for sure, and the four children couldn't help but yell at each other as they all struggled to fit inside the large barrel of the cannon. Finally, however, as they all got situated inside, the giant owl once more flew forward, landing on the rim of the cannon and looking inside.
"Are you four ready?"
Grunting past their fighting, the four sets of blue eyes looked through the end of the cannon, nodding silently to the owl.
"Er… just one question, Kaepora," Red said with a meek grin.
"Yes?" The owl turned and flew out, but the heroes could hear the sound of him hopping on top of the cannon- most likely preparing it to launch.
"… How're we gonna get back here once we're there?"
The three other heroes looked at Red, wide-eyed in surprise.
"… Oh crap."
"Good luck, heroes!" Kaepora called out one last time-
And, with a resounding boom, the cannon fired.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!-!-!-!"
And as the four Links found themselves shot through the massive barrel of the cannon, all four of them holding on to each other and screaming, their voices and sight slowly grew dimmer and dimmer as they flew higher and higher, further out into the sky.
As night began to fall across the now quiet town of Kakariko, the sun beginning to set and the dark, deep-blue rays of darkness echoing across the lands… A massive, gleaming white cannon stood out amongst the outskirts of the town, its barrel aimed up towards the sky.
And standing beside the cannon, a small, young boy, dressed in black garb and with a black hat falling loosely over his hair, looked up silently at the sky and the stars which were just beginning to blink to life over the night sky.
Sorry for the shorter-than-usual chapter, guys, but I've been real busy lately, babysitting and stuffs. ;_;
Hope you all enjoyed the small "side-quest" chapters and the Hero's Tournament! But now... back to adventure!
I'll do my absolute best to have chapter 26 up tomorrow, but for now... Heh, I won't even tell you its name! -sticks out tongue-
Kthanksbye! -runs and hides- ^_^
P.S. Can you spot the Narnia reference? ;P