*Cheetah's Notes: Warning! Do not read this chapter until you have read through Breath of the Wild or played the game for yourself, because the appearance of a certain character that appears in this chapter contains spoilers about Breath of the Wild's backstory, as this character is said to be the true mastermind behind Breath of the Wild's events.*
The king issued his first order to the Divine Beast Pilots, seek out the knight who could wield the sword that seals away the darkness. This would require them to vanquish the monsters in Korok Forest, where the legendary blade sleeps. All four pilots were to take part. Zelda, seeking knowledge and data to help calibrate the beasts, accompanied them along with Link and the heroes as they always stuck close to her side.
The group stood over a cliffside that looked over the forests below.
"To think that the king would ask us of this task. I plan to do my best of course. Then there's these so-called heroes. Why would we follow these unknown people?" Revali said.
"It doesn't matter who's leader. We're all on the same side here." Daruk said.
"Oh you couldn't be more wrong. My Divine Beast is the key." Revali said.
"He does have a point. I mean, Vah Medoh will be able to bombard the monsters from above and clear them all out." Bow said.
"Whose side are you on, Bow?" Glimmer asked. "Besides, you were included in the calling out."
"Guys, it's not a competition, we're all on the same side." Mark said.
"My one rejoice will be knowing your reputations will plummet once you fail. The fallen heroes, heh heh." Revali said.
"Are you going to continue with this prattle, Revali?" Urbosa asked.
"The time for talk is over. Now is the time to show you all Vah Medoh's divine power!" Revali said as Vah Medoh flew overhead. "Shame you all cannot fly." he said flying onboard Medoh as it started bombarding the monster outposts below.
"Sometimes it feels like he's chastising us for the fun of it." Catra said.
"Guys, shh! Sure he's a bit of a pompous oaf, but you can't deny that he brings results. Besides, the way I see it, it just makes me want to push myself harder and prove him wrong." David said. "Plus, like it or not, he's one of the people we need to keep alive. So, I'm more than willing to put up with it if that's what it takes."
"Fine… but more talking down on me and I'll show him-" Freyja began to spit, when Siege halted her.
"He'll learn humbleness one day. I have a surefire feeling of it." Siege said. "Until then, let him talk a big game. He can talk all he wants and it won't bother me one bit. Not anymore now that I'm certain that's what awaits him."
"Don't worry about a thing, Siege. It just shows that he has a bit of pride himself." David said.
"Besides, David's right. No matter what Revali says to us, we came here for the reason of saving him along with the other champions." Hope said.
"We should start heading for the forest." Shun said. "Just be careful. This place is also called the Lost Woods so try and stick together. This forest has a way of messing with your senses."
They soon started to depart into the forest just as Revali finished wiping out the monsters from above. "All clear." he said.
They slowly moved through the forest.
"Wow...it looks so...incredible." Shiozaki said. "Nature untouched by man."
"Though this fog does make it hard to see." Mipha said.
"Are we even sure we're going the right way?" Lemon asked.
"Hmm...maybe a certain someone could fly and check it for us." Pit said.
"Please. As if I could see anything through this muck." Revali said.
"Um… It's probably just me, but...how long has that tree been following us?" Sectonia asked.
"Wait, tree?" Poison Ivy said as they saw a strange tree-like creature with maracas dancing about.
"That's not a tree. It's a Korok. They're nature spirits." Twilight said.
"Shaka! Finally, finally finally! Someone sees me!" he said.
"Uh… who are you?" Adora asked.
"Who am I you ask? I am the one who brings song and dance to Korok Forest! Hestu!" he said.
"Ooooh, a native!" Perfuma said. "This is perfect! Kind forest spirit, would you mind guiding us through your home? We may be lost in this fog."
"Shoko...I'd like to get home myself. But there are scary mean monsters in these woods and I can't get past them." Hestu said.
"Well, I suppose that's why we're here. We'll take out those monsters for you." Cheetah said.
"Really? Whoo-hoo! Yeah! Okay, follow! Follow!" Hestu said as he led the way for them.
"Well, he's certainly a bag of joy." Vashyron said.
"Yeah. Also, am I the only one who was taken aback by how high his voice is compared to his looks?" Zephyr asked.
"I get the feeling he'll grow on us in time." David said.
"Actually, you can pass here!" Hestu said standing before a log as he shook his maracas to reveal it was actually hollowed out into a path.
"Without a guide, we would not have known." Zelda said.
"Wait...look." Petra said as skeletal monsters started riding from the ground.
"Eeeek! Monsters!" Hetsu cowered.
"We'll take care of this!" Glimmer said as everyone formed up behind Hetsu and cut their way through the horde. "Ha!" she said as one fell apart. "Too easy." she said before its head bashed into her.
"Be on guard. These are Stal monsters. Just cause you take them apart doesn't make them defeated." Shun said, destroying its head as its body vanished.
"Noted, Shun." Alkal said.
"How the heck do you even know all this?" Asta asked.
"I trained out here for a long while, least until we met back up during the Ginova Family battles. I know how these woods work and how to fight the dangers inside." Shun said.
They continued through the woods until reaching a strange orb before a skeletal arm went and grabbed it. Standing before them was a skeletal Hinox known better as a Stalnox.
"These things are even uglier when they're undead." Mermista said.
"The living dead shouldn't plague this forest at all, I'd say!" Perfuma said as vines grew to attack the Stalnox. "Ivy, Shiozaki!"
"I'm with you." Shiozaki said.
"Let's get this plague abomination." Ivy said as the three of them worked together and crushed the Stalnox in their entrapped vines, as the bony ogre fell to pieces immediately. Eventually, the group proceeded through the path ahead.
"If we make it past here, we'll be in Korok Forest! Shaka!" Hestu remarked cheerfully, before the group saw that the path ahead was sealed by some sort of red-purplish substance. "This is the entrance… But, hey… Who put all this weird mud here? Now we can't get through."
"Weird mud… Wait a damn minute, that's Malice…!" Richard remarked. "But there's no other traces of Malice anywhere else… Which means that something is amiss here."
"I don't know what could have possibly done this… But it must be a sign that someone is planning on impeding us…" Gus stated. "...I'd say the Yiga Clan, but this thing… I don't think mortal hands could create this easily."
"No kidding… is there any other way through?" Siege would ask.
"No, this looks like the only path. But...maybe there's something around we can clear it away with." Hera said.
"Let's scatter across the forest. We might be able to find something if we look." Alphamon said. "Cheetah, David. You two stay here and check in on the Malice's status if something happens."
"Understood." David said.
"I'll stay too, just for extra eyes." Siege said.
"Right, be careful you three." Freyja said.
The group immediately advanced around the forest, before they then found some strange copies of the Champions, made from Malice.
"What the hell? Copies of the Champions made from Malice? I take it normal attacks aren't going to work on them." Alphamon said.
"Hmm… I wonder… I'm going to try something." Sectonia said as she drew Lightning Stinger.
"Your Nichirin Blade? Think that will work on non demons?" Gemini asked.
"Well, it's only a theory." Sectonia said.
"Well, I see no harm in testing it out." Hope said.
"Sorry about this, Mipha." Sectonia said. "Breath of Thunder: Fifth Form! Heat Lightning!" she called out as she performed a lightning charged slash on the Malice Mipha copy. It then fell apart as some of the Malice faded with it.
"Hmm...I see...so these copies are connected to the Malice. Cutting them all down will clear us a path." Alphamon said.
"Looks like Sectonia's theory holds true. The Nichirin Blades seem to work on them." David said.
"So let's get to hackin!" Gemini said drawing Blazing Stallion and heading to the position of Malice Revali. "Let's…" she said before Inosuke jumped off her.
"You're too slow, you stupid cowgirl. Now...Beast Breath! Third Fang!" he said as he decapitated the copy. "Devour!"
"Hey!" Gemini said.
"Inosuke never fails to jump ahead of the pack." Hope said, unaware of the Daruk copy approaching.
"Breath of Water! Eighth Form!" Tanjiro said as he cut it down the middle. "Waterfall Basin."
"Whoa!" Hope said. "Thanks, Tanjiro."
"We're not done yet. There should be one more nearby." Tanjiro said.
"Yes. Urbosa." Zacian said.
"I'll handle this." Mark said, drawing Shining Saber. "Breath of Light! Second Form! Shining Slash!" he called out as he cut off the Malice clone's head. "That's all four."
"Reporting in. The path is clear. We're going in." David said.
"Careful, guys. Whatever, or whoever, put that Malice there is undoubtedly on the other side." Mark cautioned.
"Come on, it's US you're talking to, remember?" David asked.
"I know. That's what worries me." Mark said.
They soon headed into a clearing up ahead where the Master Sword slept within its pedestal. But before they could even get close, a cloaked figure stood between them as he summoned the four Malice Champions before him as they rushed in and attacked Link.
"Look out, Link!" David said drawing Blizzard Edge and started retaliating.
"Link!" Zelda said as the man pointed at her.
"Kill her." he ordered as they turned their attention to Zelda.
"Link… Draw the sword now. Hurry!" Cheetah said.
Before the Malice Champions could approach Zelda, the other Link immediately rushed into the fray, as he intercepted the Malice Champions, before knocking them away one by one.
"...You heard your ally… Hurry!" Kain shouted, before he then clashed with the Malice Champions, as he held his own against them, forcing them to focus their attention on him, while Zelda watched.
"That sword-play… Why does it… seem so akin to Link's…?" Zelda remarked.
"Well...you could say we've once trained under the same master." Kain remarked, parrying Malice Urbosa's blade. "After all, fate is quite interesting at times."
Link immediately took that as the signal to rush for the Master Sword, as he managed to draw it out, as the light emanating from the blade turned the darkness of the forest alight, as the Malice Champions turned their attention to Link, who wielded the blade readily.
"No...they pulled the sword free. I will not allow them to abscond with it alive." The sorcerer said. "Attack, my Hollows!"
"Cheetah, you and Link focus on the sorcerer. I'll take care of those things." David said.
"Of course." Cheetah said as she and Link approached the man as David took care of the Hollows. "The stench of malice is all over you, Sorcerer. I had a very ominous feeling there was another mind at work behind the great calamity. And now, I am proven right."
"Hahaha… Very astute of you. You must have a knack for sensing these kinds of things. As a reward, I shall tell you my name before I put you down like the beast you are." the sorcerer said. "I am called Astor. From what you said, it seems like you've come from the future to halt the Calamity."
"You're quite observant. From how you've conducted yourself, the true mastermind behind the disaster in our time was you all along. With your defeat, that will never happen." Cheetah said.
"Hahahahah… I'm afraid that you can't stop the inevitable. Ganon will rise. I have been chosen to see that his resurrection will come to fruition." Astor said.
"Hm. You know we come from the future, but you don't know everything. My allies have a knack for changing the future, and we will save this land from that dark fate." Cheetah said.
"So you would claim. However, as I said, your claim will not come to pass, because you will all die here." Astor said.
Growling, Cheetah pounced towards Astor with claws at the ready, before Astor reached for his orb, and conjured several smaller orbs, before firing them at Cheetah.
She was able to shift her momentum in mid air to dodge the attacks as Link charged in and took a swing with the Master Sword, Astor barely able to evade himself, before Cheetah followed up and hit him on the side.
"Curse you…!" Astor growled before he then slammed his hand on the ground, as pillars of liquid Malice erupted through the field, forcing those in range to evade. However, they were easily avoided as Link and Kain rushed right at him. "That sword...it's too powerful. I cannot deal with it right now." he said as he vanished.
"Phew… That was pretty rough." David said as he wiped out the last of the Malice clones. "Are you guys alright?"
"I'm alright… What about Link and Zelda?" Kain asked back.
"They're alright. No injuries sustained." Cheetah said.
"So that Astor guy was the mastermind behind the Calamity, huh?" David asked.
"Seems like it." Jexi said. "But now we have something to fight back with."
"And a lot earlier than we expected too." Cheetah said.
"Yeah, we didn't find it till after we defeated the Divine Beasts the first time around." Rainbow said.
"So it sounds like things are going our way then." Siege said. "That's great."
"Yep. We have the sword and our knight. Now comes the most arduous task...getting back home in one piece." Elementa said.