He knew what Vah Ruta looked like when he saw it. The Divine Beast was exactly how he remembered the elephant being. But what he couldn't understand was how it managed to teleport someone all the way back to the Domain when, for him, it had merely shoved him aside a few inches away to focus better. This was so strange, and yet, he was impressed at the same time.
"We need to get closer," Zelda firmly stated.
Link wished he could say that this was close enough to avoid knowing if the Blights were involved, but he knew better than anyone that they needed to get closer to the powerful being in front of them. They actually needed to get inside of it. Mipha's death place— he had to venture inside once again to see what was happening.
It was pure instinct that led Link to rush forward to secure Ruta enough so Zelda could gain her own access. His sword unsheathed as he ran, ready to attack whatever came at him. His blood was rushing in his ears, defeating his more rational thoughts; nothing would come at him— there were no monsters left within.
"Link, I hardly believe you need to be ready for an attack," Zelda called out as she followed him, allowing herself to take his hand that he stretched out, pulling her jump onto the platform that was lit up with a blue glow.
"I know, but it's just instinct at this point," Link replied as he placed the sword away on his back, eyes darting around as he led her inside.
It was strange. They could so easily access Ruta when Sidon had been pushed back all the way to the Domain. Was it because they were Champions, themselves while Sidon wasn't?
Someone who didn't understand what Ruta truly was unlike them?
Either way, they would have to venture deeper into the Divine Beast to see what was happening; what was causing the discomfort and to put the elephant into an easier state. Hopefully this wouldn't be happening with the others— they didn't need all four Divine Beasts to be acting up like this.
The first obvious place was the main control unit, but Link suggested looking over the terminals first. How would they be able to see what was happening with the main control unit when the terminals could be down? That would prevent them from doing basically anything with Ruta and Zelda had to agree with him; the terminals would come first.
Zelda followed as he checked over the first terminal that was close to the main unit. She took notice of how it was connected with a big gear that Link had no doubt moved to activate it.
She couldn't help but wonder how he got to the others.
"This one looks good," Link deemed as he stepped away. "I don't get it. Why is Ruta just now acting up when it was able to function properly before?"
Zelda placed her hand on his shoulder. "They are old," she reminded him. This could just be because of Ruta's old age— making it unable to respond properly.
"But surely Impa and Purah assured us they wouldn't act up. Tell me they did a hundred years ago."
She quickly racked her brain for the memory. A fond smile appeared when she remembered meeting the Beasts. "Yes, they did reassure us."
The corner of Link's mouth twitched into a smile, clearly stating he was thankful for her sharp memory.
"...Let's head to the other terminals for now. One of them must be acting up. I think I know which one, if I'm honest. There's this one terminal on the trunk of Ruta— that might be the one that's giving off the problems."
Zelda blinked, but nodded as she followed him. He led her outside and up towards the other terminals where she saw how much worked he had managed to complete when trying to free the elephant. The glowing terminal stuck in the cage gave them the answer it wasn't acting up.
Link sighed heavily as he slipped on his Zora armor, telling her to wait until he got back from checking out the terminal as he moved the trunk downwards with his slate that still displayed the map.
The moment Ruta cried out, Zelda winced.
"That's not a very happy sound," Zelda said. "Ruta must be in pain."
"Again— probably the trunk terminal. I'd imagine that's a sore spot," Link explained as he tugged on his Zora pants. He wondered if the Zora hat was necessary.
"You seem to know a lot thanks to you freeing them— do you know the other Divine Beasts' sore spots?"
"... Rudania's sore spot is the terminal right on his back; on the platform above the main control unit. Naboris' sore spot is the terminal on its middle floor. Medoh's sore spot is the terminal that involves a giant metal ball. I accidentally slammed the ball into it once."
"I'm sure Medoh knew you didn't mean it," Zelda laughed. "Did you discover the sore spots because you accidentally hit them?"
Link nodded as he finished up adjusting the Zora chest piece into a more comfortable position. "Yeah, I did. I wasn't thinking and I accidentally slammed something into them— out comes painful cries. I felt so bad that I quickly finished up the terminals and raced to the main control units to make up for it."
"To them— there's nothing better to finally be freed from that monster's control. I bet they were so happy, they forgot all about being hit in their sore spots. This, too, will make up for it," Zelda winked.
"Yeah, I hope so. I'd hate for them to hold a grudge on me despite being relics that can't speak and have much range to move. I'd still fear them either way."
Zelda laughed. "As would I."
Link laughed himself before placing his sword down, leaning against the wall. "I'll be right back," he instructed. "Watch my sword, will you?"
"Of course. Go check on the terminal."
Zelda stepped back as she watched Link move towards the rushing water, jumping into before swimming forward, moving upwards just like a Zora would do and she smiled; he must've felt the natural instinct with the armor on— props of wearing the Zora Armor.
The moment he went into the sky, Link released his paraglider, soaring over to where he moved the trunk, landing perfectly like he had the first time before moving the trunk once again.
Ruta, again, cried out in pain.
With the terminal in front of him, Link moved to check over it before clicking his tongue as he realized what was causing the problem. The terminal was malfunctioning, causing the pain to the elephant. He cooed gently as he took out his slate, hovering over the terminal, watching as it turned off as it reset itself to release the pain.
The glowing blue came right back, making him nod with satisfaction as he rushed out and jumped off, gliding over to the top where he landed with ease. Link moved the trunk again and this time when Ruta cried— it was one of comfort with no pain in sight.
Perfect, Link thought as he patted Ruta before jumping down to meet with Zelda again.
As he landed, Zelda smiled at him, turning around so he could change back into his proper gear. He tugged on his Hylian gear ( minus the hood ), slipping the Master Sword back on his back as he turned to his love.
He tapped her shoulder, signaling he was done changing as she moved back to face him.
"Well?" she asked. "How was the terminal?"
"It was how I thought," answered Link. "It was the one malfunctioning. I had it reset and it was better off— did you hear Ruta's cry?"
Zelda nodded. "Yeah, it was much better than the last one."
"That was because of the terminal," Link said, smiling. "Ruta should all be good for terminals. Let's go check on the main control unit. I need to be sure it's all good too if that terminal was going haywire."
"Right."
Turning on their heels, the pair made their way back down to the main level where the control unit was located. This is where Link's nerves shot up as he held out his arm just in front of the room; Zelda arched her brow at his action and he swallowed heavily as his mind replayed the last time he had entered the room.
Waterblight's appearance, the long spear it had for an arm, Mipha's voice saying how it could reach great lengths. How she could've died by that thing. How he could see dry, old blood on the spear when it got too close for comfort…
Link whimpered and shook.
"Link?" Zelda repeated gently, moving in front of him to cup his face in her hands.
"All I can remember is how…" Link whimpered out, tightly closing his eyes. "... is how Waterblight appeared and how his spear could reach me no matter what I did…"
His next words sent shivers down her spine.
"How I could see dried old blood on that thing's spear— Mipha's blood. It terrified me. All the Blights except for Windblight had blood on them… but with Medoh, some of the pillars had blood on them…"
Zelda's heart twisted with pain. He had seen their friends' killers and saw their blood staining something. He was cursed to always see that whenever he got near the Divine Beasts.
"Oh, Link…" Zelda cooed as she gave him a kiss. "You've seen things no one else has nor wants— but the fact you managed to hold your head high says a lot. You avenged our friends. That's all that matters. I know you would do it again— you'd do it as many times more."
Link sucked in a sharp breath. "I would, wouldn't I?"
"You would."
With an even deeper breath, Link continued on into the room with Zelda behind him as he got closer to the main control unit. His eyes moved all over as he tried to source the problem until Zelda stepped to his side and placed her hand on the unit.
His heart pounded as his hand twitched towards his sword a bit until he realized nothing would be happening.
Waterblight wasn't coming back.
Silence was between them until a sound rang out in the room. Link's eyes widened as he realized the unit was responding to her and he arched an eyebrow; Zelda wasn't Ruta's pilot. He was sure only the Divine Beasts responded to their pilots, not anyone else.
He was about to ask when he heard something appearing behind them as the control unit began to glow a bright blue— brighter than ever before.
Instincts kicked in as he took out his blade, swirling around as he stood protectively in front of Zelda. He heard her gasp as she spun around to watch the appearance herself. His heart was pounding; whatever it was, he'd take it on without failing.
… or he would until he saw the appearance of a living creature.
"Mipha?" Link whispered under his breath. "No, she's dead…"
As the smoke cleared, they realized it was a male figure.
A Hylian figure.
"Link," Zelda gasped, gripping his shoulder. "Is that a Hylian?"
"I think so," he replied. "But what's a Hylian doing here?"
The Hylian was clutching a trident so similar to that of Mipha's, his hair as blue as the ocean; pulled back into a very long ponytail. Link jerked back when he saw the Ancient Armor ( no helmet, he noted ) coming into view with a perfect image of Vah Ruta.
"Who are you?" Link shouted, narrowing his eyes.
The Hylian shifted. His eyes are blue but robotic-like. "You know me as Vah Ruta. The Divine Beast named for Ruto." His voice was soft. Gentle.
"Vah Ruta?" Zelda gasped.
"Yes," Ruta nodded, stepping closer as his boots echoed. "Vah Ruta. Divine Beast Vah Ruta." Blue smoke appeared around him, making Link picture Mipha's spirit. "I wanted to thank you for freeing me and easing the pain."
Link swallowed. "How…? The Divine Beasts are supposed to be ancient relics! There's no way you guys are humanized."
"We are. But we can only go for a short time," Ruta explained, placing the trident on his back as he bowed. "I apologize for failing to keep Lady Mipha safe from Waterblight, Princess Zelda, Hero of the Wild. I was too late in appearing."
Zelda shook her head as she slowly approached, glancing over her shoulder to Link before looking back at Ruta. "Your eyes…"
"We're all robotic-like in some ways," Ruta carried on, "— my eyes are the robotic feature. I have a request."
"That is?" asked Link.
Ruta shifted nervously as his eyes darted around. "The others— Medoh, Rudania, and Naboris— they all want to thank you personally… we'd very much like it if you could visit them. We cannot leave our Beasts. We'll fade if we do. That cannot happen."
Zelda nodded. "We'll visit."
"Ruta, what happened? What caused the pain?" Link asked, stepping up. "The terminal on your trunk… it was malfunctioning."
"Unfortunately that something went wrong when I shot the beam," Ruta answered, lowering his eyes to the watery floor. "I'm the youngest out of the Divine Beasts— while we've done this so many times before, I'm still a bit… inexperienced. And with the way we've been possessed for a hundred years drained me of my skill… I accidentally managed to harm that terminal and in doing so caused my Beast pain."
Zelda and Link shared a look.
"That's okay," Link went on, shrugging. "I fixed it."
"You should know you're going to have a new pilot soon," Zelda added. "Prince Sidon of the Zoras will take Mipha's place."
Ruta perked up. Joy spreading across his face. "Prince Sidon? Lady Mipha's brother? If he's anything like his sister— I'll see him control this Beast with such ease!"
Link smiled as Zelda continued speaking with the spirit of the Divine Beast. It was clear how much the Zoras meant to Ruta upon merely finding out Sidon was taking over his sister's duties. Any doubts he had about Sidon being the pilot were disappearing and he couldn't help but wonder if Mipha had ever met Ruta himself. If she had, then she clearly had the help in controlling the Beast.
Then Ruta's words settled in. The others wanted to thank them as well; which meant they were also humanized as well. If Ruta took on the form of a Hylian, then did the others do so as well?
It was slightly weird; he always thought if they were humanized they would've taken the form of their respective races. But he figured wrong from Ruta's appearance.
He was about to say something before Ruta winced, groaning out as the smoke started to form around him more heavily.
"Ruta?" Link asked, concerned.
"My time is up," Ruta groaned out in pain, coughing. "I can't stay here for much longer. I need to rest."
Zelda shared Link's worry. "It looks painful."
"For the first time in a hundred years, you start back at square one," Ruta coughed, face twisting in pain. "I used to be aware of this feeling… but now I am not."
Link bit his lip. "If it helps not to speak—"
"— no. I have to inform you about Rudania," Ruta hissed out. "Something important."
Zelda stiffened. "What about Rudania?"
Ruta breathed through his nose, trying to ease the pain as the smoke became heavier as it clouded his vision, stating his time was almost up. "He doesn't speak," he quickly stated. "He's mute— instead, he signs!"
Link moved to speak before the smoke clouded Ruta entirely. When it cleared, the spirit was no longer in sight and the main control unit had stopped the glowing. Ruta was gone, leaving them alone in the Beast.
"I suppose that's that," Link commented.
Zelda nodded. "I suppose so."
Link rubbed the back of his neck. "I never expected the Divine Beasts to have humanized forms. If they did, I would've thought they came in the forms of their races."
"I expected the same."
"Well, can't judge."
Zelda laughed as she nodded, moving towards the exit of the room. "We should head back to Zora's Domain. Let them know we managed to fix Vah Ruta's problem."
Link rushed to her side. "Do we tell them about Ruta?"
"... I don't think we should," Zelda sighed heavily. "At least not now. They're still coming to terms with Sidon's new rank, we don't need to give them more information that's a bit hard to handle."
"Alright. Whatever you decide."
Without any moment to delay, they headed back to Zora's Domain. Each sparing a last glance towards the elephant to process what they had seen with the spirit; they couldn't help but wonder how the other spirits would be like.
Ruta was soft-spoken, like Mipha. Did this mean the other spirits took something on from the Champions as well?
…
Sidon couldn't express his gratitude as he saw them returning.
King Dorephan laughed wholeheartedly as he learned of their success over finding out what had happened with Vah Ruta.
A malfunctioning terminal that needed to be reset in order to function properly again. To express their own gratitude, they offered them to stay the night, to celebrate the success by having dinner. Link grinned, not being able to pass up a free meal and Zelda laughed before accepting the request.
Ruta's words didn't leave Link's mind. The Divine Beasts all wanted to thank them personally, which meant they had to head over to the other three soon. But that could wait until morning.
Muzu, along with King Dorephan's and Sidon's supervision, had apologized to Link about his behavior, expressing how he simply didn't want to lose the only royal heir left. Mipha's death had been unexpected and caused him great heartache; she was like a granddaughter to him, after all. He didn't want to lose the one he considered a grandson.
The Hylian Champion smiled as he held out his hand, apologizing for his own behavior earlier that day.
In the end, they had come to a truce.
"Tell me more about Vah Ruta," Sidon said as he sat next to Link. They were sitting near the statue, watching as the younger Zoras played with Zelda.
Link blinked. "What do you want to know?"
"Where I have to go to check the terminals, how I'm supposed to make it realize I'm its pilot," Sidon explained. "Things like that."
Link shrugged. "Not much to tell about Vah Ruta— everything will come in time to you, just like it did with Mipha. There's a map that can help you control Ruta's trunk to make it easier to access a few terminals. One's literally on the trunk."
Sidon jerked back. "A terminal is on the trunk!?"
"Yeah, but it's easy to get to," Link said. "You'll figure it out. Besides, Ruta won't let you fall so easily— it'll bring you right back if you do."
"That's… comforting," Sidon swallowed. "I thank you again, hero. You helped us, Zoras, once again."
"Anytime, Sidon," Link smiled. "Anytime."