2. The Battle
Summary: Revali goes for his showdown against Yukino, but will the plan to trap her work out?
Revali took a deep breath as he looked around. The location of his and Yukino's supposed showdown was the Hebra mountains. It was a dark and chilly night, and snowflakes lightly fell around Revali as he hovered in the air, watching for any sign of Yukino's arrival.
She arrived in a flash of red light, floating opposite him. "So," She managed, daring to make eye contact with him, "You didn't back down."
"You're not laying a hand on Rito Village." Revali managed. "Ganon, Yukino, whatever you are, I'm not going to let you win."
He saw her smile. "I don't think that's an option."
And with that, they flew at each other, striking…
"Hurry!"
"I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying!" Shachioko gasped for his breath as Riju and Monica led him up the mountains. "So, what's the plan again!?"
"Revali's got Yukino distracted. We have to wait for a good time to shoot at her." Riju held up a few arrows. "Urbosa and I prepared these. They have some sedative potions rubbed onto the tips of the arrows. If we can strike Yukino with a few of them, she should be knocked out in seconds."
"What if they all miss? Or if she doesn't get instantly knocked out?"
Riju swallowed. "…Let's hope neither of those situations happen."
"That does not sound good."
"Daruk offered to throw a bunch of boulders at her." Monica managed. "So even if the arrows miss, the boulders will definitely hit!"
"What!?" Shachioko's jaw dropped at that. "I thought the point of this was to not kill Yukino!"
Monica paused mid-run, sighing. "Let's be honest; do any of us actually want Yukino alive?"
"Well…" The answer was no. But at the same time, it just seemed like a bad thing to want to murder a former co-worker-turned-enemy of yours, even if you were in an alternate dimension and even if they were possessed by Calamity Ganon.
Shachioko betted that if he and the rest of the bakers had any less sense of morality, they probably would be fine with letting Yukino be straight-up dead, considering how much they despised her. But they were still moral enough to not want to straight-up wish death on people, so…
Yunobo frowned as he watched Revali and Yukino fight each other. Revali managed to hit Yukino a couple of times with his arrows, but she simply pulled them out and kept hacking away at him with her various slashes and hits. Both of them were relentless, unwilling to stop fighting to even take a breath.
If this kept up, Yunobo wasn't sure if Revali would make it through. The Rito Champion was starting to look a little more worn compared to Yukino, but he was clearly giving his all.
"Are you ready?" Yunobo turned to see Daruk lift a fairly large boulder, large enough that he needed both hands to pick it up.
And this was Daruk holding it, so Yunobo knew it was very heavy boulder if he needed to lift it.
"Are you sure throwing boulders at her is going to work?"
"When we've got a clear shot, it should." Daruk frowned, watching the scene of the two fighters flying. "Revali's pretty close to her, though. If I throw it now, it could hit him."
Revali twirled in the air as he flew up, dodging several beams of light coming from Yukino's hands (and a few from her mouth, disturbingly enough). He shot several more arrows at her, and all but one hit her in the spine, causing her to plummet.
"Now's your chance!" Revali yelled up at the others. "Hit her now!"
Arrows went flying towards Yukino from Riju, Shachioko and Monica. Daruk, for good measure, waited for them to get close to Yukino before straight-up throwing the boulder at her.
"Whoa!" Kawachi jumped as he watched the sight. He, Azuma, Link and Kuroyanagi were in the mountains several yards away from Revali and Yukino, on a higher platform so they could watch what was going on in case they needed to call Zelda and the other Champions for backup. "Are they throwing a giant boulder at Yukino?"
"Yes." Kawachi heard Link manage. "It was Daruk's idea."
A sigh left Kuroyanagi at that. "…Why am I not surprised?"
The arrows hit Yukino, but she somehow managed to dodge the boulder. Kawachi thought Daruk looked legitimately disappointed in the boulder missing, but at least Yukino wasn't straight up dead upon impact.
Yukino plucked the arrows out of herself, one by one, as red mist gathered around her body to keep her elevated in the air. However, her movements started growing sluggish, and her shots at Revali started going wild, lasers shooting into various rocks and boulders around them.
"It's working!"
This was it. Yukino would fall unconscious, they could capture her and bring her back to Hyrule Castle or someplace where they could just make sure her powers weren't going to straight-up kill anyone, and then…
That was when Yukino's eyes suddenly glowed brighter. Kawachi flinched.
"Uh…Link? Are newly-glowing eyes a side-effect of those arrows?"
He noticed Link's eyes grow wide, before he took out his paraglider.
"What are you doing?" Azuma asked, but Link was already about to leap off the rocks.
"Going in to help! Don't follow me!"
And with that, Link leaped into the air, catching wind with his paraglider as he started gliding towards Revali and Yukino…
Just as Yukino screamed into the sky, rays of light emanating from her entire being and shooting at Revali all at once.
Revali hadn't expected the sudden attack. No one had.
He could only curse himself as he was hit, feathers singed with the heat of Yukino's laser beams.
"Revali!"
He wasn't sure who screamed for him as he plummeted from the skies, and he knew he would crash land if he didn't do anything – but the pain crackled and seared through his entire being, reminding him of the last time he fought.
Was he going to die here?
No, a hiss left him as he tried to buffet his landing at least. A few flaps of his wings did the trick. He culd at least soften the fall. He wouldn't die on impact, because that would be too humiliating to die just like that, and he wasn't going to die again to another laser-shooting beast. Just because Wind Blight Ganon killed him didn't mean that Yukino-fused Ganon was going to do the same.
The moment he managed to touch the ground peacefully enough, however, he felt his feet give away underneath him and he fell. He kept the Great Eagle Bow close to himself, hoping that Yukino might not see it, might not take it…
It was bad enough that he was going down like this.
His hopes vanished when he sensed Yukino looming over him with a hiss.
"I'll take this," Yukino snarled, ripping the Great Eagle Bow out of Revali's grasp. Revali tried to reach for it, to snatch it back, but his wing strained with the effort, "And…"
"No!"
Link? What the hell was he doing here? Wasn't he supposed to keep watch from elsewhere? That idiot's going to get himself killed like he did a hundred years ago…
Revali heard the sounds of scuffling, fighting, but it was fading…fading…
Until Revali couldn't hear or see a thing.
"How is he?"
The elder of Rito Village, Kaneli, looked towards the gathered Champions and bakers with a frown as he stepped outside of the village's infirmary/hospital area. The entire party had taken Revali straight to Rito Village for help after Mipha did her best with what healing magic she had to make sure he stayed alive, and the Rito present were quick to attend to the Rito Champion as well.
"Revali will require much rest." He managed, before glancing towards Mipha. "It's good that you healed him with your magic as soon as you could reach him, or else it's possible he could have…"
He didn't finish his sentence, but Mipha knew what he meant.
Revali could have died, again, if it wasn't for her. She knew that dying was bad enough the first time, but to die a second time and so soon was too cruel. Even though Link had only bought Revali time by fighting Yukino after Revali went down, with Yukino retreating with the Great Eagle Bow only seconds afterward, at least Revali was alive.
"I really thought would work." Mipha heard Riju mutter, and she looked towards the current Gerudo Chieftan to see her frown. "I'm sorry about this."
"You didn't know Yukino had a resistance to those arrows." Mipha tried her best to reassure her. "It's not your fault."
"Besides," Daruk managed, and both of them looked towards him, "Maybe I shouldn't have thrown such a huge rock at her."
"It was worth trying."
Before any one of them could speak up, a soft groan could be heard from within the infirmary area.
"Master Revali!?" Teba was the first to duck inside, but everyone else immediately tried to follow. Mipha, however, tried her best to stop everyone.
"I'll go in." Mipha spoke clearly and loudly enough that everyone's gazes snapped towards her. "I need to see if Revali is okay."
"Can I come with you?" It was Kuroyanagi that offered, and her eyes widened as she looked towards him. "I mean…I don't know how he'll be after being so hurt like that, but if you need any help tending to him…"
"Sure." She quickly managed. She knew Kuroyanagi had no healing powers of his own, but who knows how badly Revali himself would take all of this?
…vali…?
Revali…!
Revali's eyes shot open and he tried to sit up, only for two pairs of arms to push him down. He hissed, trying to sit up, but he heard Teba's voice cut into his hearing.
"Master Revali, please rest. You were injured and MIpha just healed you earlier."
"Where is it?" Revali tried to look around as his vision cleared, wincing at how the soreness ran through his own body. "My bow…"
"It's gone," He heard Teba breathe, and he looked up to see him fully, noticing the other Rito frown. "Yukino took it off you after you fell."
"That means she's taken two of the Champions' signature weapons." That had to be Kuroyanagi speaking, right? That voice was familiar enough.
His bow was gone? Just like that?
Revali groaned and leaned his head back against the pillow. He'd failed. Yukino was gone and had his own personal bow with her for Hylia knows what reason, and he failed to stop her.
"Master Revali," He heard Teba speak up, and his gaze snapped towards the other Rito, "The physicians said that you need rest. And lots of it. Mipha healed you with her magic as much as she could, but you'll need at least a day of bedrest or two."
"I'm not letting bedrest stop me," Revali snapped, trying to sit up. The soreness intensified, and he hissed, lying back down.
"Yes, it will." Mipha's voice cut in sharply, and he looked up at her. Mipha didn't seem as composed as she usually was, but then again, her brother was recently exiled. Plus, Revali knew that if anyone knew how bad fighting and dying going up against Ganon was, she would know too well along with the other Champions. "If you don't rest, your conditions could worsen. It's a miracle you weren't dead, considering all the damage she gave you. Link was especially worried."
"Was it really that bad?" He coughed a bit, grimacing at how dry his throat was.
"Yes." Both Mipha and Teba spoke at once, glanced at each other awkwardly, and Revali knew that there was no way these two were going to let him get out of bed at least until tomorrow.
"Fine." Revali couldn't help but sound as bitter as he did, and he turned his head away from them. "Can you at least make sure the others don't barge in here? I'd like to get some rest."
It was humiliating enough to know that he'd fallen to Ganon in front of his allies. He wasn't sure if he could take much more of it.
"We'll let them know, Master Revali." He heard Teba speak, albeit softer this time. Revali heard footsteps leaving, and the thought of Link standing outside and waiting for him, wondering how he was, made him swallow.
"Wait. Just…Link can come in here. But no one else, okay?"
Link had at least saved his life. And as embarrassing and humiliating and horrible as it was to lose to Yukino, Link had already seen the worst of Revali's injuries while fighting her at the time, or so Revali guessed. No point in hiding from him.
He heard Teba hum lightly, before he spoke again. "I'll let him know."
Link was surprised to hear that Revali actually wanted to see him.
After all, a hundred years ago, that was definitely not the case. Even when Link went to help free Vah Medoh from Ganon's clutches after waking up and everything, Revali hadn't exactly been super-gracious at his arrival and all.
Then again, it was Revali. He had his pride as a warrior, and Link felt that he had some better understanding of his feelings at this point (and yes, reading Revali's diary at some point prior to defeating Ganon might have helped).
He took a deep breath, stepping into the infirmary area. The other Rito that were occupying it earlier were out for a brief reprieve, and Link promised to give a shout in case Revali suddenly got into a worse condition than before. However, Revali looked…worn, tired, but at least he was alive. He lay with his head facing away from the infirmary's entrance, so he hadn't seen Link enter.
Link cleared his throat to let the other know that he was here, and Revali slowly turned his head to see him.
"Mipha said I almost died. How bad was it?"
Link grimaced, but he knew Revali wanted to know.
"One of your wings was broken in a weird way." Link managed. He closed his eyes briefly, trying not to imagine it too much that it would make him nearly puke. "And you were bleeding so much…you were still breathing, and I didn't know how much time you had. I should have gotten in there sooner to help."
"You didn't have to." Revali muttered, shaking his head, but Link found himself frowning at that.
"I wanted to help you. But I also wanted you to have your chance."
He saw Revali's eyes widen. "My…chance?"
"To beat Ganon." Link still remembered; even though he had the Master Sword, he ended up destroying Calamity Ganon with a huge bow of light at the time. Sure, the Master Sword was helpful, but it wasn't necessarily completely essential, either. "I wanted you to have your chance. You deserved that."
"So I lost my chance?" He heard Revali snipe, and Link shook his head.
"You haven't lost it yet. You're still alive, right?"
Link knew that he'd passed out tons of times in battles after first waking up; from exhaustion, from pain, from both. That he was lucky to wake up and find out he was still alive. He knew he was lucky to have a second chance to beat Ganon back then.
And right now, Revali and all the other Champions had their own chances to beat Ganon on their own, too. Not just Link. He didn't want to take that away from the Rito Champion himself.
He saw Revali falter, before something between a sigh and laugh left him as he closed his eyes briefly.
"It's more than just living, if you haven't noticed. It's a matter of pride." He noticed the other's gaze darken a bit. "I just…I've gotten so far with my skills. I made my Gale. And yet I can't even beat some Ganon-possessed person. It wasn't a Blight, or even its final form, but just…" He trailed off, shaking his head.
Link took a step towards Revali, then another, before looking him in the eye.
"You still have your chance." He told him. "And next time you fight Ganon, I think you'll win." He faltered, then added, "I know you'll win."
It wasn't like Revali to start doubting himself so much, was it? Link always knew him to be so confident in himself, but then again, was that all a show he put on for him back then? And for everyone else?
Revali paused, dropping his gaze from Link's own, but then he heard the other speak.
"You better be alive to see me win, you know. Or else it'll be a shame when you miss your chance."
Was Revali smiling? Just a bit? Link couldn't help but smile.
It was going to take a lot more than losing a signature weapon and being defeated and barely still living afterwards for Revali to lose his pride. And Link knew that Revali would fight on, and he wanted to be there to see what happened next with him and the other Champions.