(Embry Square)

"Number 64. Da'Rock!" Brandon said just to test the name slip off his lips.

"The one and only, baby!" Daruk boasted with absolute confidence.

"We saw you play." Devin replied.

"Yeah everyone wants to see Da'Rock, baby!"

"Hey Link, remember this guy? The 40 yard line. Best game we've seen." Brandon said over to his friend.

"Which reminds me, you still owe me 20 bucks for that game." Link smirked.

"Oh yeah, see me after the war."

"Yeah, very friggin funny."

Groose remained stern and steadfast while on point to the tomb of the unknowns.

"Focus Gears, we need to kill those Seeders." Groose ordered.

"There's one on the other side of this building. I can get us there. I even stashed a couple of Hammer of Dawn's." Daruk took point.

"Lead the way, Private."

(CIC Jacinto)

Colonel Impa spent the next hour watching over Delta's operation from what signal she could find. Zelda sat on the sidelines going over the logistic reports or lack thereof logistics to report.

With the war going over the span of 14 years. Progress in weapons and science has halted any signs of hope in the COG's resources. Sooner or later they'll be reverting back to the bartering system for the bare minimum of resources just so they can reach the next day.

The Stranded are already at that point. This late in the war Zelda can't decide if the Stranded are just stubborn, smart or both to make it through this far without COG support.

She let go of her thoughts with a deep sigh. All negative energy left her like the breath she released until a couple of officers started having a conversation that crossed the princess's ears.

"How the Hell could we be this desperate to spring out that criminal from the Slab."

"I'm surprised he made it through that prison with just a few scars on him."

"To be fair most of those scars were before the slab. I checked the medical records."

"I heard he got that one scar from a guard dog. Not sure about the details, but it wasn't from an escape attempt. Someone must've left him to fend from that dog."

"You think a security guard had a grudge or something?"

"Best answer I can put together."

"Hey Zelda? You've been writing to Link, any ideas?"

Zelda kept her lower lip bit down to keep her emotions concealed. Tapping her feet lightly and maintaining a stable rhythm of breathing. She finally spoke.

"All I know is that I never heard from Link in his time away. From what I've heard most of the letters I've sent never reached him, and the ones that did he never wrote back. If anything, someone in that prison wanted him to suffer. To be honest I'm not sure if it worked. When I saw him earlier today he showed me one of my letters. Still I'm not so sure about all of it myself, but he's still the Gear I remember."

Zelda wiped away the fading red in her eyes and walked out to go see Impa, "Impa… What's the status on Delta?"

"I'm not sure, comms are going out. They confirmed the locations of a few seeders and the signal is gradually getting better. So someone's making progress out there."

"Colonel, we have Hammer of Dawn satellites being fired on in Embry Square."

"Roger that, seems like they found one of the Seeders. The signal is getting better. Someone contact our Ravens and get them prepped for extraction." Impa ordered to anyone not working.

"I'll take care of it, Impa." Zelda shouted.

(Ilima city, 10 years ago)

"Control, this is Cadet Takanashi. We're at the bank, but there's only two other surviving Gears. The princess is still safe, but we'll need another convoy to pick us up."

"Roger that, there's a convoy en route it's passing the opposite side of the bank so you'll need to escort the princess there, and don't worry this convoy's well armed."

"Roger that, we're moving out. Over and out."

"Alright you two were gonna cut through the bank and get to our convoy. The princess is counting on us Cadets."

"Like we have a choice." Brandon responded while picking up a spare magazine for his rifle.

"Well not a choice that doesn't end with us getting killed. Let's go, we'll follow your lead… Link." Devin held his weapon close.

"Alright."

Trekking across the bank lobby a heavy boom shook the ground. They knew it wasn't thunder, but given the situation there's no doubt a storm's coming. A storm that will feed on all human life in Ilima City.

"C'mon. The back door should be behind the desks." Brandon took point.

The silence of an empty building rattled the nerves harder than a room full of hostiles.

To their relief, the back exit came in sight around the corner as well as another empty outpost full of ammo and equipment.

"Alright, guys dig in and standby for extraction. I gotta feeling it's not gonna get easier." Link picked up a few shotgun shells for his Gnasher while Brandon and Devin hauled a couple of sentry bots for extra kick for the perimeter.

Zelda arrived to give Link his knife from before.

"Thanks for your knife Link. It helped."

"Thanks…" Link was about to resume his ammo resupply, but Zelda remained where she stood.

"Everything okay Zelda?" Link turned around

"I'm okay… I was just remembering how quiet you used to be when we were kids."

"I don't think now's the time to get nostalgic."

"Yeah, sorry. I just feel like I'm starting to know who you really are beneath that quiet demeanor of yours."

"Hm…" Link stood back on his feet with a smile on his face. "You keep telling us your father is grooming the wrong ruler for the COG." Link started mimicking Zelda's words in his best Zelda impression, and it was fucking horrible, "Oh why can't my father groom it to be my friend Impa or Colonel Astor. I don't have it in me to rule so much."

Zelda's face lit like a furnace from a mix of humiliation, humor and the fact Link remembered those words exactly. Her cheeks were about to flutter in heat.

"But I know what I saw today. You reached for the Hammer of Dawn console, saved my life, and you fixed up the Sentry that saved all of us just ten minutes ago. You're a quick thinker on your feet, Zelda. You're a better leader than you realize." Link finished his input. Zelda stood in shock. Frozen in disbelief, she shook back to reality when Link's comms came online.

"Cadets, this is Control, we have an armed escort of APC's and Centaurs enroute to your position. They're less than two minutes away. Is the princess safe and secure?"

Brandon took the comms for Link.

"Zelda's alive and unharmed, Control. All she needs is a bow tie and she'll be nice and ready for delivery."

"Roger that, standby."

"Really Brandon?" Devin spoke up for the group.

"We've braved through a whole horde of Locust to get here. I'm pretty sure some informalities outweigh all of that."

"It's okay, that was actually pretty funny." Zelda covers her mouth, eyes closed and looks away to hide her giggling face.

The sound of several heavy engines was caught behind the group down the street. The evac arrived on time. There was no doubt in the cadets minds, but unfortunately they forgot about the rumbling storm from the other side of the building across the street.

A shatter of building debris and sharp glass rained down above the convoy. Crushing the APC's mid-guard to pieces. A menacing roar of a creature unknown to the surface people but all too familiar for those who've seen it before.

"Brumak!" Link yelled as he ducked Zelda down to cover. Brandon and Devin followed suit and the convoy's Centaur tank escort opened fire on the beast machine.

Link sneaked over cover to see the Brumak on the verge of death from the fuel tanks imulsion leak. Diving back down the Brumak exploded in red bloody pieces.

"Link! Link Takanashi you okay up there? Son, are you and the princess okay?" A familiar voice to Link yelled from below.

Link whispered to himself, "Dad."

Arn Takanashi, the COG's most esteemed Gear, and decorated war hero of the Pendulum Wars.

Link hauled out of cover to find the man in his armor with a last generation retro lancer. Adorned on his armor are medals of all variants. The most notable is his embry star over his heart.

"Son, good to see ya!"

"Sergeant Takanashi." Link addressed to his father.

"C'mon son, any day could be the last." Arn smiled.

Link dropped the Gear attitude and gave his father a smile and a bear hug.

"Hah that's my boy!" Arn laughed.

Brandon, and Devin escorted Princess Zelda down the street and to the nearby Onyx Guard. Having Zelda aboard the group had to cut their bonding short to high tail it out of the city.

"Alright son, stick with the princess's APC. Guard her with everything you got. You're a Takanashi, we're natural born heroes to the COG. And to our own."

Link nodded in stoic response written all over his face. No words were needed in return.

Regrouping with Brandon and Devin, Link hopped on Zelda's APC and prepared their return trip to base.

Gazing around the block another rumble prepared to shake the ground beneath their feet. This was different though, Arn can swear this rumbling was in a pattern of smacks like a tool. A hammer?

The entire block in front of the convoy began to crumble into a giant E-Hole. Two Mauler's in prestige armor. Another boomer sized Locust but instead he carried a giant mallet and following beside them was a locust drone adorned in armor as black as night. His glare pierced the soul straight to the core of mankind's fear.

Link, his group and Zelda saw the monsters emerge and a swarm of Kryll began to surround the tallest Drone the kids have ever seen.

"Raam! Raam! Raam!" The army of Grubs chanted behind him.

Arn and his group opened fire, but there was no stopping them.

Link was prepared to go help his father, but the rest of the Onyx Guard held him back.

"Driver floor it now! Go! Go! Go!" The Onyx squad leader yelled.

The APC's hauled asphalt.

"Kill!" The Locust big bad named Raam yelled with his fist up.

Arn unloaded his entire lancer with all of his rounds deflected by the Kryll around Raam.

He ordered his Kryll straight toward Arn and the next few seconds Link saw his father being eaten to bloody chunks right before him.

The APC closed shut leaving Link in complete shock.

"Father!" Link shouted as he broke down.

(Embry Square, Tomb of the Unknowns front entrance, today)

"I told you I'd bring help!" Daruk cheer's over to Alpha squad.

"Yeah yeah, we're all in debt to Da-mighty-Rock! Here turn around." The ashen haired Gear walks over to Daruk with the Resonator. Across his back was a Markza battle rifle and Oneshot Sniper rifle. His eyes glared a menacing gleam like a sharp hawk. His hair curls lightly beneath his flat top cut. He turns to looks over Daruk's shoulder to see Delta squad arrive.

"So this is our back up?" The sharp eyed gear approached Delta.

Groose was about to approach him, but paid no mind and walked over to Link.

"So you're the war hero of Ilima city, Link Takanashi? You're the one who saved our Princess…" scanning Link from head to toe, he was not impressed. "Completely asinine, you hardly carried such hero material back then and you certainly don't look the part now given your early release from the Slab. This is what we've come to for our standards for heroes. Unbelievable."

"I recognize that sharp style… You're Revali Chiplock. Me and my friends here owe you our ass's for Halvo Bay." Link mentioned with no hunt of disdain for his guest.

"That's right? My skills truly-"

"Last time we heard about you, your sharp shooting skills grew as much as your ego on that day." Devin added to interrupt Revali's pride.

"Excessively huge beyond repair." Brandon finalized the quip between the four Gears.

"Oh you mother fu-"

"Hey c'mon Ravioli, we got a Raven on our way." Daruk quickly pulled out his friend from the chat. His nickname managed to strike him fast enough to snap him away from the three.

"Ravioli?" Link smiled.

"Don't even think about it." Revali blushed.

"Oh I am so gonna enjoy using that name." Devin smeared as Brandon turned away to stop him from laughing out loud.

The whirring chopper blades began approaching earshot for the group of Gears, but that's all they're hearing around the block. For Link, the sole sound of the Raven puts him on edge. Locust are either hiding, on their way or something else.

The Raven appeared in sight around the corner of the tall building along with a few nemacysts aimed for the hull.

Crashing down to the street, a full swarm of Locusts charged over to the Gears.

"Brandon get down!" Devin tackled his friend with Link and Groose following behind on the other side of the Raven.

Brandon and Devin quickly fumbled back on their feet and returned fire on the incoming grubs.

Link found himself in a daze with Groose hauling himself back on his feet. His entire vision was blurring in the heat of the crashed Raven. The pain of burning embers danced over their faces, watering their eyes. From what Link could piece together a black growing dot walked up to the two. The dot took the form of a tall, bulky figure and by the time Link understood he bolted back on his feet and was prepared to unload his lancer on the one Grub.

Unfortunately a hard dirty bottom side of a boot from Groose kicked him back and far enough for Brandon and Devin to pick up their friend.

"Finish the mission!" Groose yelled at the three Gears.

Groose turned over to the tall Grub and fired empty lancer. Revving the chainsaw in response, Groose lugged his bayonet to have it caught in the grip of the monster among monsters. Throwing the gun out the way he kicked down Groose to the floor.

Link watched in complete shock and helplessness. He knew this grub… No not this mere "grub", but this brute force incarnate of a monster. He picked up Groose by the neck, pulled out a gleaming dagger with menacing jagged edges and held it against Groose's neck. The lifeless body of their lieutenant fell back to the asphalt road without his head.

Link bore witness to the whole execution.

"RAAM!" Link yelled and roared with his lancer at the ready. It took all the strength from both Brandon and Devin to hold their best friend back.

"No Link, we're here for Alpha and the Resonator!" Devin was able to chip through Link's burst of anger.

Raam noticed the familiar face from his past and glared daggers as sharp as his own towards Link. Before he fell back inside the Emergence hole he threw Groose's dismembered head to their feet.

The three Gears fell back to the Tomb. Brandon was the first to reach the entrance. Devin was the second while Link entered last with a Locust drone just one grip away from reach. He ducked beneath the grub's lunge and revved his lancer straight through its neck and down to its shoulder blade. Kicking the corpse from down the stairs, Devin threw out a grenade to cover their retreat just before Brandon and Revali shut the doors.

"Our crusade is as strong as our forces. Since the day of our arrival to the surface, to even now. Our strategy remains as it always has. Cut off the head of the Snake and the body will wither. We will win this war, Power is on our side as it always has. Raam, my oldest friend, serve your king and bring forth the foundation of our people's future. For you are the sword of our mighty empire. Now rise General Raam of the Horde."

"By your order, King Ganondorf."

-General Raam kneeling before the King's blade.