Chapter Nineteen
"He abandoned us!" Revali exclaimed, his feathers puffing out a little. "He took the sword and left Hyrule! There's no 'Hero' to help us in this mess! I say we meet Ganon head on and not waste anymore time trying to look for him!"
Sidon said nothing in retaliation to this, feeling the dread in his stomach clamp down on him more. Mipha stayed much out of this fight as well, but Daruk was immediately on the Rito's feathers about saying something so heartless. No one wanted to believe Link abandoned them, least of all Sidon, but there was not much questioning to his selfish motives right now. There was no trace of Link, no body to be discovered, and the sword was gone. Even more, the Princess was here trying to rally the troops with not much but her dreams to go on.
Things were not looking good here.
Zelda stepped forward, eyes now steely in her determination. "Say what you like, Champion Revali, but I believe in Link's courage. He will come back."
"When?" The Rito demanded to know. "After the Calamity destroys everyone? After we all die trying to protect the world he was sworn to guard? Tell me, Princess, why anyone should believe in a Hylian who abandons his home and kingdom, taking the only blade that can fend off Ganon with him?!"
"Give it a rest!" Came Urbosa's demand, her voice low and challenging as her hand rested on the hilt of her blade. "This is no time for arguing!"
"Agreed!" Daruk let out encouragingly. "We must find a way to seal Ganon without the help of Link or the Master sword right now! Let it be a backup plan in case he doesn't show!"
"He won't show, don't you get it!?" Revali spat out. "Link is gone! He left Hyrule and will never return!"
"The little guy wouldn't do that to us!" Daruk argued, large hands balling into fists. "He just wouldn't!"
"Enough!" Zelda called out, grabbing the attention of everyone around her.
Sidon kept his eyes on her, but still said not a word. He was only here for Mipha at the moment, wanting to be a comfort for his sister during this frightening time in their lives. With Ganon close to knocking on their doors, someone had to keep some positivity in the ranks while everyone began scattering. If it had to be him, then so be it. He was used to being the one people looked to for strength, and it would prove helpful in its own ways in the future.
Zelda took a moment to breathe, folding her hands over her front. "There is no more room for bickering. The Calamity will be here soon, and Hyrule as we know it will come to destruction if we do not bind ourselves to this cause. As for Link, there is no telling what he may do when it comes to this war, but I believe he will fight when he is truly needed. He is not a selfish man, but one with much on his shoulders just as all of you are. The only difference is you have your people to support you. The Rito, the Gorons, the Gerudo, and the Zora are all behind you. You are all behind my efforts, as well as he is. He lifted much of the world time and again, protecting me when I did not deserve it, and helping you and your people when asked. Yet no one has attempted to lift the weight off his shoulders. Weight he has carried since childhood. I can imagine anyone in his shoes would want to run off.
"I know I did when my mother died."
Urbosa looked away when Zelda said this, catching Sidon's attention. There was something unspoken there, and he wanted to know more, but decided not to question the woman here.
Not now.
Everyone was silenced by Zelda, even Revali. Yes, there was much to be said about Link's departure from this war, but it wasn't done out of malice to anyone. Whatever his reason for leaving, Sidon knew it was never to spite anyone here.
Which is why he believed Link would return.
Zelda steeled herself again. "The Calamity will be here soon. We need a plan."
"What about your sealing ability, Princess?" Mipha questioned as she stepped forward. "Has our Goddess statue here at the Domain been any help?"
Zelda shook her head. "No, and it never will. None of the statues will help me in bringing my power forth. It's not through them that the power reaches me, but my own will and determination. My people need me, and I won't cower in fear any longer as I wait for the divine to intervene. It is my job to protect those that need me. I am their Princess, I hold the sealing power, and I will not let any come to harm so long as I remain alive. No more praying, no more springs, and no more statues."
She stepped into the centre of the room, looking about the Champions now with head held high. "I am Princess Zelda of Hyrule, and I will command this army as their next queen. I will show no mercy to Ganon, and I will seal it with or without the power of the Master Sword. This is my promise to all of you. Will you now join me in this endeavour? Or will you back down?"
There was no hesitation as Daruk stepped forward first.
"I'm with ya, Princess! Let's show that swine who it's messin' with!"
Urbosa stepped forward. "Of course, Princess. The Gerudo are behind you one-hundred percent."
"As are the Zora." Mipha said confidently as she took her own step towards the princess, turning to her brother. "Right, Sidon?"
The taller Zora nodded, a beaming smile coming from him. "Without a doubt, big sister!"
They all turned to Revali now, who had not spoken a word, his eyes glaring at the group as if they had all gone mad. The Rito was proud, too proud to admit they were right, and so did not step forward with the rest of them.
He did, however, scoff as he turned his head.
"Like we needed Link to begin with."
Zelda grinned at the feathery man, turning to everyone around her.
"Then let us begin with a battle plan."
The forest was growing more and more quiet by the day, a fear seeming to envelope those who lived amongst the greenery. Link could swear there were times he felt the earth below him shudder, as if even the dirt feared something was about to happen. The other Hylians of the forest didn't say a thing to any of this, though Link could see the fear in their eyes as something loomed over their souls.
Calamity was close now.
Link looked about the darkening forest, thunder rolling in from the distance. Rain had followed it not long after, and those not wanting to get wet found themselves taking cover inside the great tree. Some Koroks hid in bushes and under rocks, the log that led Link towards the forest now home for a few animals as well as his horse Epona. There were many storms Link had travelled through in his time, but this one struck fear into him like nothing else. It felt like it was a warning of what was to come, and the lightning that struck made him jump each time.
Twilight sat beside him near the opening of the tree, watching the rain come down in heavy waves. "I haven't seen a storm like this in some time."
Link shook a little as he brought up his hands. "Ganon will be here soon."
"I don't doubt it. Another day or two at the most."
A memory came to Link and he tried not to fight it. There was a looming presence over him, darkness meeting light in a hellish blanket. Creatures of ink and unknown crawling the ground as he tried not to push away the memory he did not recognize. It made his stomach churn and face feel hot, shaking more as he could not understand what he was seeing.
He soon saw faces in his memories, young children looking up to him in fear and question, screams going through his head as they were dragged away from him.
He finally shook the memory away, feeling anger and sadness well up inside him. He had been having an onslaught of memories like these come to him with each hour that passed. Memories of people he didn't know but loved dearly being taken from him. Some had died, while others were merely kidnapped or harmed. These memories filled him with rage, yet there was nothing he could do.
He jumped when a hand touched his arm. "Wild, are you still with me?"
Twilight's calm voice did not quell the fear and anguish in his heart. Thoughts soon came to him about those he left behind meeting the same fate. His mother and father, Sidon and Mipha, his sister. All those faces in his unknown memories were being replaced with theirs. His head was a mess with unsureness and fear, wanting nothing more but to know they were safe.
Twilight pulled him into his arms. "Stay with me, Wild. I promise, everything will be alright."
"How can you be so sure!?" He demanded to know as he pulled away, glaring at the farmer. "My family is going to be in danger! All because of me!"
Link saw Time go to say something to him, but was pulled back by Sky. After the Deku Tree's intervening, no one started much of a fight with Link's decision anymore. It was how it was, and now they had to live with it.
But there was something akin to wonder in Sky's eyes at the moment. Like he was starting to see something he hadn't before.
Twilight placed a hand on Link's shoulder. "Wild, they are going to be alright. Someone will rise to help them."
"IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME! I SHOULD HAVE RISEN!" He yelled back, finding the only time he had a voice anymore was when he was angry. "I was there! I could have helped them! Instead I'm stuck here! I was the hero and I left them to die! I'm not a hero! I'M A COWARD!"
"Wild," Twilight tried to calm, only getting his hand smacked away by the distraught man.
Tears began to well in Link's eyes. "It should have been me. I should have stayed and fallen for them. I'm a coward."
A thousand thoughts ran rampant through Link's mind, his head whirling with questions he couldn't answer. He felt like a failure. He left all those he loved to die at the hands of Ganon, all because he was too selfish to think for anyone but himself. He returned the sword and left everyone in Hyrule to perish because of his own selfishness. Everyone, every last person from Hyrule and beyond, was done for because of him.
A silence filled the room they took shelter in, no one willing to say a word against Link's outburst. And why should they? They were all heroes. They took on the challenge and came out the victors. All Link could do was hide from it.
Link took a breath, shuffling his feet out the door in order to find somewhere else to take shelter.
"We all are."
The Hylian stopped when hearing this voice, turning only a little to see the face of Wind looking down at the floor.
The young hero would not meet with anyone's gaze. "In one form or another, we've all been cowardly in the face of Ganon. Sometimes we avoided even mentioning him, only fighting when we had nothing else to keep us from him. The only reason I fought him at all was because he kidnapped my sister. I would have never fought him otherwise, and I'm glad I don't have to again."
Sky let out a sigh. "The same can be said about me. If Zelda had never been kidnapped, I would have never left Skyloft. I didn't want to fight Demise or anything he became afterwards."
Cap and Oracle chimed in with their own agreements, a few other voices following. The only one that said nothing was Time, though his eyes spoke volumes more than anything else.
Twilight glared at the man. "And I suppose you have nothing to say? You were always perfect and wanting to fight, is that it?"
Time glared back. "Who, in their right minds, would EVER want to fight against that demon? He ruined my childhood, I was forced to leave Hyrule because of him, and I grew up living with memories that did and didn't happen. I want to say I wasn't a coward, that I jumped into the role of a hero faster than anyone could have. But I didn't want that. I didn't want to be a hero. I didn't want to leave my home and become something I wasn't. I didn't want adventure. I just wanted a life."
Twilight sighed at the man's explanation. "We all did, Time. But when people we loved were threatened, we rose and took back all that was taken."
"Not me." Link reminded, grinding his teeth out of anger. "I gave up before even getting the chance to fight. I'm the only coward here."
The farmer looked back to Link, eyes heavy and emotional. "You aren't a coward, Wild. None of us are. We are simply chosen for something we did not want. You were the only one who rejected it, though."
Link shook his head. "I had no right to."
"Says who? The Goddess? The Spirits? No. We all had a choice in this. It is not up to anyone but ourselves if we want to take up the mantle of hero. The sword may choose us, but it is our decision whether we use it. And that alone is courage."
"A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage." Time spoke up sombrely now. "It's not enough if one is chosen. It's facing all that is to come before them that proves their mark." The man now looked to Link, head hung low. "We were simply thrown into battle. You chose to be part of it, even when you did not have to be. The Royal family may have interfered and given you a path, but you chose to walk it. To be angry at you for choosing to leave that path was my mistake. I never had a choice. You did."
Link's head shook again, eyes averting Time's. "I abandoned them- -"
"You were cornered." Twilight jumped in now. "Your soul was beaten and you were broken. Anyone in your state might have done the same. And it was I who led you here. I gave you the choice. If anyone is to blame for the Kingdom's missing hero, it is I. You would have stayed had I not intervened."
"No, I wouldn't have." Link promised him. "I don't know what I would've done, but I was not going to fight. Not like I want to now."
"What do you mean?" Sky questioned, stepping toward the young soldier.
Before Link could answer, there came a quaking beneath them as thunder struck at the world and lightening blitzed across the sky. The rain fell heavier now as everything became a swirling mess.
Link bolted out the opening and clambered up the tree as fast as he could, slipping and scraping his skin against the bark as the rain fell heavier against him like a wave threatening to drown him. He found the strength to keep climbing, however, and scrambled his way to the top where the sky was in full view. From here he could see the near black clouds rippling lightning over him, the crashing thunder near deafening.
The Hylian looked towards the castle, finding a blackened creature snake its way around the castle in a fit of smoke and haze, large towers rising from the dirt along with it. There soon came a roar from the creature, screaming at the sky as it washed more rain over the beast.
Link felt his stomach drop as rain soaked him to the bone.
The Calamity had arrived.