The Legend of Zelda, its characters and locations are all property of Nintendo. Any and all OCs and original locations belong to me unless specifically stated to belong to someone else.
The Voice
Chapter 34 – React Faster!
"I would appreciate a warning next time," Teba said, leaning against one of the many pillars that dotted the upper deck of Vah Medoh. His eyes were narrowed in a glare, directed at the slate. "I nearly lost my head to one of the propellers; just barely managed to dodge in time. It also put me back in the range of the cannons, I might add."
"React faster," Sheik said dismissively. "Besides, you're fine, aren't you?"
Teba's eyes narrowed just a little more. "Barely," he repeated.
Link cleared his throat pointedly. He had a lump on the back of his head that was steadily throbbing in time with his pulse, and a headache that had nothing to do with his regained memories, and everything to do with Sheik's impromptu decision to test the strength of Medoh's fuselage and the speed of its manoeuvring.
Link had certainly been forced to test the strength of his grip...and failed when Medoh had rolled through the air like a barrel. In a way, he supposed he was lucky it was the back of his head that had taken the brunt of the fall and not his face, but still...
"Th-That is n-not what we agreed t-to say!" he hissed, holding Sheik up to face Teba properly. "N-Now apologise p-properly!"
Sheik sighed and groaned, like he was being forced to something far beneath him...which he probably thought it was, worryingly enough. Link definitely needed to have a talk with him about that. They could only coast by on Link's overt politeness for so long before they met someone who did not find Sheik's irreverence amusing. Frankly, Link was surprised Teba hadn't simply taken off long ago, leaving them to their fate up here. He could do little but be in awe of Teba's patience.
"All right," Sheik said finally, his voice dull. "I'm sorry I made Medoh do something completely awesome and almost cut your head off, okay?"
It really was getting difficult to resist the urge to fling Sheik into the nearest bush at this point. Granted, in this case the nearest bush was thousands of feet below, so it was a good thing he did resist it, but...
Endearing as Link found Sheik in their private moments, when the Sheikah let down most of his prickly defences, he really did need to find a way to curtail Sheik's tongue in public. The mute switch was a last resort, but he couldn't keep taking away Sheik's ability to speak entirely. It was...cruel, really. Not to mention the sheer amount of noise Sheik would make in retaliation for it afterwards.
"T-Try again," Link said, frowning at Teba in apology.
"Sorry you're not fast enough to—"
"N-No!"
"Sorry I'm too cool—"
"Sh-Sheik!"
Link tried not to cry in the face of Teba, who was now clearly fighting down a smile, the corners of his mouth quivering slightly.
He was the Hero of Hyrule, the Hylian Champion, Wielder of the Sword that Seals the Darkness, chosen by Hylia to fight the ultimate evil...and he was trying to make a stubborn Sheikah in a slate apologise for nearly killing them all. It was no wonder the chief of the Rito hadn't been impressed by his appearance. There really was no salvaging his dignity, was there?
Sheik sighed. "Fine, fine, I'm sorry I nearly killed you, Teba. Will you accept my most profound apologies and grant me the forgiveness that I so very clearly do not deserve?" he said, speaking with the most saccharine, insincere voice he could muster. It was probably the best Link would get out of Sheik at this point—at least the words were somewhat acceptable, if a little aggressively clipped.
"I forgive you, son," Teba said, giving Link a look that only made the despair within the Hylian grow tenfold. Teba was enjoying this, the bastard!
"Who are you calling son, you feathery piece of—"
"M-Moving on!" Link said, subtly flicking the mute switch to its "On"-position, ignoring the way the slate's screen flickered with incandescent rage.
In the back of his mind, the thought that Sheik might just decide to show his anger by having Medoh plunge to the earth briefly flickered to life...and was subsequently stomped into oblivion by the Hylian's well-developed sense of denial.
"W-We have activated th-the c-consoles," he said, pointing to the Master Console that occupied the very middle of Medoh's top deck. "J-Just th-this one left."
"And upon activation, some horrible manner of beast will appear?" Teba asked. "The one that slew Master Revali a hundred years ago?"
"R-Right," Link said, nodding. He looked at Teba uncertainly, unsure of how to broach the subject. "And th-things will g-get lively here."
"An understatement, I suspect," the Rito said, unslinging his bow and testing the string. "Luckily, I have enough arrows to turn it into a pincushion, if necessary."
"Ah, w-well," Link said, hesitating. "M-Maybe y-you should leave th-this t-to m-me?" Oh, how he wished he could bite his damn tongue off sometimes—damn thing just wouldn't cooperate.
"Hm?" Teba looked at him, blinking. "What do you mean?"
"I...y-you know...th-this is m-my job, a-and..."
"And I suspect it will go much faster if I lend my aid," Teba said.
"N-No, I m-mean...y-you should...th-that is...it w-won't b-be safe—"
"You have a talent for making understatements, Link," Teba said. "I am more than aware of the risks."
Link tried, he really did. But by now his mind was being assaulted by images of Teba (and himself, let's be honest) suffering awful, horrible deaths at the hands of whatever horrid monster dwelled in this place. For Link, that wasn't anything new, but knowing that'd dragged Teba into this, that if all went wrong, Saki would be raising her and Teba's son all alone...it was unbearable, even more so than when it was just Link's life at stake!
So he did the only thing he could think of. After all, Sheik had volunteered himself, hadn't he? Reaching down, Link flicked the mute switch back into the "Off"-position.
"Tweety, he wants you to go away!" Sheik shouted. "So you don't get your idiot self killed and leave your family alone and mourning your sorry ass!"
Only the howling wind around them filled the silence for a few excruciating moments. Teba's eyes flicked from Link to Sheik and back several times, long fingers still curled around his bowstring.
"So, you think that if I remain here," he began, "I will—"
"Die," Sheik said. "Horribly. Painfully."
"I see, but—"
"Nothing left of you but well-done wings and drumsticks, roast fowl."
"You don't know—"
"We do. Link's nearly been killed twice by these things, and he's a Champion. What chance do you stand?"
"Th-Thanks," Link muttered.
"That was a compliment," Sheik snapped at him. "And believe it or not, I'd rather not see you die, Tweety, if only because I won't be able to rub our victory in your face if you do. We're not children, and we can look after ourselves just fine!"
"Huh?" Link asked. Where had that come from?
"Never you mind! So, you want your son to grow up fatherless or what, Tweety?! Prove how worthless you are to your family?!"
Link already regretted his decision to let Sheik speak again and made a mental note that if he ever did need Sheik to take over his dialogue for a while, he would be following a strict script with no room for ad-libbing or improvising whatsoever. That said, the sentiment was more or less the same, just poorly worded, so...with luck, Teba would take it seriously and actually leave, letting Link handle the danger by himself.
He couldn't repay Saki's kindness by getting her husband killed. He just couldn't.
Teba's eyes were narrowing even further, to the point where they looked closed, his mouth definitely turned down in a frown by now. His amusement from before was gone, his shoulders rising and falling with his breathing.
Then he spoke.
"Your worries and opinions have been duly noted," he said. "But I have no intention of leaving you. You have my support in this fight, whether you want it or not." He directed his glare to Sheik. "And as for you not being children...well, your rant just proved the opposite, didn't it?"
He ignored Sheik's spluttering and hobbled forward, careful about putting too much weight on his injured foot.
"We are wasting time," he said, stopping in front of Link and gripping the Hylian's shoulder with a large, feathered hand. The grip was strong, bordering on painful. "When we enter battle, do not worry about me; worry only about yourself. We end this today."
He really doesn't let anything bother him, does he? Link thought. The things Sheik had just said really should have been the last straw for their cooperation, but Teba just let it all wash over him and away, remaining standing like a reef in a turbulent sea.
Sheik must have had similar thoughts.
"All that, and you just keep going, huh?" the Sheikah said. "You really are—"
"Unflappable," Link said, unable to resist giving Sheik a cheeky grin right afterwards.
Never had he felt such an enraged silence from the slate. It was glorious.
"That is true," Teba said, nodding sagely. "I cannot be flapped."
"Oh my fucking god..." Sheik muttered as they approached the Master Console.
"So," Teba said, "what can I expect once this monster appears?"
"H-Hell," Link said without hesitation. "A-And it w-will t-try t-to t-take...t-take Sheik." He stumbled over that last part, remembering the way the monster on Vah Rudania had gone for the slate in its last moments, presumably trying to remove Link's only way of regaining control of the Beast.
"That cannot happen," Teba said. "I will make sure of it."
"Oh, you do care, Tweety," Sheik said.
"Quiet, boy."
"What did you say?!"
"You heard me."
"I am not a ch—"
"Continue behaving like a child, and I will treat you like one."
"Enough," Link cried, his headache only worsening by the minute. "C-Can we g-get on w-with it, please?"
Goddess, this was worse than the anxiety!
Teba gave Link a wink before slinging his bow back on his shoulder. "I will take to the skies, then. If you see any weaknesses, call them out to me, and I will try to take advantage."
"Don't fly too high," Sheik said. "The cannons are still active, remember."
"I remember," Teba said. "Believe me, I do."
"Be c-careful," Link said.
"And you," Teba replied before spreading his wings and letting the turbulent wind around them lift him up. For a moment he wavered, looking ready to crash down, but then he curled his wings close and swooped down and then up, gliding through the air gracefully. He disappeared beneath the lip of Medoh's deck, then reappeared on the other side.
"Now he's just showing off," Sheik commented as Link unhooked him from his belt and approached the Master Console, where the connection port from the slate awaited.
"R-Ready?" the Hylian asked, his mind already engaged in a tug-of-war with itself about whether or not they should actually do this. If this creature tried to take Sheik away as well—and succeeded—he wasn't sure what would happen.
"I think I should be asking you that," Sheik said drily. "But yeah, I'm ready. And don't worry about the creature taking me, Link. I told you, I have an idea."
Oh, good, Link thought. Because those have never backfired horribly.
"I can see the doubt in your eyes, you know," Sheik said, screen blinking with displeasure. "I'll show you, pal. You'll feel right foolish when I execute my plan."
"I hope s-so," Link said, tapping the screen affectionately. "B-Be s-safe, all right?"
The screen dimmed a little. "Yeah, you too," Sheik replied, his voice soft. Then the brightness increased, and his voice grew harder. "Let's see if the Twig's right about that fucking sword, yeah?"
"Y-Yeah," Link said, inserting the slate into the receptacle, swallowing heavily as the technical output scrolled across the screen.
It didn't take long for the Malice to once again show itself, but Link was ready for it, shielding his eyes as the disgusting, purple smoke erupted from the console, rising into the air, completely unaffected by the wind, preventing him from approaching the console.
Then the blue particles spiralled through the air, gathering into a sphere that expanded as more and more of the creature took form.
The thing's massive head, framed by a wild head of fiery red hair, its face obscured by a large mask that only revealed a single, mad eye that immediately focused on Link, nothing but hatred in its gaze.
A long, spindly limb that terminated in a fragile-looking hand, its claws longer than Link's entire arm.
It had no legs, a pair of vestigial-looking stumps protruding from its lower torso, looking like they'd been hacked off long ago. Instead, it floated in the air, looking anything but graceful, its flight impeded by what had Link the most worried.
Where its left arm ended in a clawed hand that could easily shred him, its right was encased in that looked a lot like the top—or head, really—of a Guardian...only with four eyes at the end. And they were all looking at him, and he felt his heart already trying to escape his chest cavity.
On his back, he heard a faint hum coming from the Master Sword. It must have felt the corruption of the creature.
Good luck, Revali's voice echoed in his head.
A less welcome guest in his head Link had never had.
That thing is one of Ganon's own, and it plays dirty. It defeated me one hundred years ago...but only because I was winging it.
Link wanted to groan. A pun? Really? Now?
Revali's voice was surprisingly regretful, where he'd only been arrogant and condescending before. It almost made Link feel sorry for the bastard.
I can't believe I'm actually saying this...but you must avenge me, Link!
I'm sort of tempted not to, actually, Link thought, but before he could do anything else the monster had raised its right arm, energy already gathering at the end, aiming directly at him.
Oh, shit!
He threw himself to the side, just in time to avoid the laser from the thing's cannon. He felt the heat of the beam pass him by, heard and felt the explosion as it hit one of the stone pillars, which was completely destroyed, pieces of it raining down on the deck, pelting Link with tiny, red-hot rocks.
His aim is dead-on, watch out! Revali helpfully said in his head.
Gee, thanks, Link thought as he scrambled to his feet, drawing his bow at the same time. The damn thing was floating too far away, out of the reach of his sword (no matter how magic it was), and he had no way of actually reaching it from down here. Nocking a normal arrow, he waited until the creature's eye was upon him again, and let it loose.
Wind currents, Link, wind currents, he thought, gritting his teeth as the arrow went wide off his target, buffeted by turbulent air around Vah Medoh. The monster almost looked amused before raising its cannon again, firing a short burst of three smaller lasers. Ducking behind a pillar, Link was relieved when the shots simply bounced off the rock, unlike the first, big shot. He nocked another arrow and let loose, not even looking to make sure it struck.
It did. The creature shrieked, but did not go down. So that only served to annoy it. That was good to know. Fumbling for another arrow, he went for a fire one, cursing when he tripped over one of the decorative grooves in the deck's surface.
He felt the creature looming over him before he saw it, as he tried to crawl away, but the thing was already charging up for another big shot, and there was no way in hell he'd be able to dodge it from the floor.
As far as deaths went, this would be a fairly ignominious one. Blasted to smithereens after tripping. Embarrassing didn't even begin to describe it.
"I don't think so!"
He heard Teba's voice right as the bomb arrow struck the monster's arm cannon, the blast knocking it aside and causing the shot to miss spectacularly, the beam disappearing into the wide-open skies.
Grateful for the reprieve and back on his feet, Link reached for one of Robbie's arrows, the head forming as he nocked it. The monster was busy trying to shoot Teba down now, the Rito dashing through the air above and around it, too fast for it to get an accurate shot off.
Link drew his bowstring back, realising the hum of the Ancient arrow's energy head and the Master Sword was nearly the same, and aimed, drawing breath and shouting, "Hey, ugly!" before letting loose.
The creature's head turned to face him just in time for the arrow to strike it directly in its insane eye. The arrow exploded, electric arcs forking in every direction and connecting to whatever they could. The monster squealed as its body went rigid and fell out of the air, crashing to the deck with a loud thunk, the impact causing tremors that Link felt through his legs.
"Now, Link!" Teba shouted, firing arrow after arrow at the creature, fulfilling his promise of turning it into a pincushion.
Link slung his bow and drew the Master Sword mid-stride as he ran towards the stunned monster; its limbs twitching from the charge of the Ancient arrow. To his surprise, the Master Sword had changed. Where its blade had looked like any other sword (albeit absurdly shiny), it now glowed blue, so shiny it hurt his eyes to look at it. Was this the power the legends spoke of?
He didn't have much time to consider it; he climbed up on the creature's fallen body and swung the blade at every gap in its armour he could find, stabbing and slashing on his way to the head. Standard procedure, he told himself. All I need to do is stab it in the head, and—
He'd forgotten about the other arm. The arm with which the creature wielded its cannon was heavy and unwieldy; its free one not so much. Link saw it move in the corner of his eye, heard Teba's voice shouting something that was lost in the howling wind, and then felt the flat of its hand colliding with his side, the sharp claws easily cutting through his jacket and raking across his skin. The breath was knocked out of him and he was sent flying, skidding across the deck before landing on one of Medoh's exhaust vents.
As if to add insult to injury, his quiver was tipped sideways, and he could only watch as most of his arrows slipped out of the container and disappeared into the Beast's interior. He only managed to save a few of the Ancient arrows by reaching out and catching them before they could fall as well, but the damage was already done.
Dizzy and confused, Link tried to stand up, all the while wondering if Revali hadn't been right all along, that his appointment as the Hero of Hyrule was just a fluke after all.
The monster's roar shook him out of his reveries soon enough, and he looked up just in time to see the creature float back into the air, shaking off the last of its paralysis, the stumps of its legs flailing pathetically, as if they were of any help at all.
"Link, are you all right?!" Teba shouted to him as he passed overhead. "Are you hurt?!"
"N-No!" Link shouted back, grimacing as his side felt wet with blood. Hopefully the jacket was too thick for it to be visible to the Rito. The last thing they needed was a distraction like that. "Ancient arrows, T-Teba! Use th-the Ancient arrows!"
"Got it!" Teba said, raising a thumb in acknowledgment before passing the creature uncomfortably close, inches from its sharp grip.
Ducking behind a pillar to catch his breath, Link sheathed the Master Sword (ignoring the angry tone its humming took on as he did so) and readied his bow once more. He needed to be faster, and closer to the monster. He only had three Ancient arrows left. He could not miss even once.
Just my luck, he thought.
There was the sound of the monster firing again, followed by the thunk and explosion of another Ancient arrow, and Link peeked out from his cover. Teba hadn't hit its eye, but the arrow had certainly annoyed it quite a bit, its muscles in spasms from the energy released.
We need to down it, to get close, Link thought as a plan formed, running out from cover and heading straight towards it the monster, praying that it would remain distracted by Teba long enough for him to—
No such luck. The monster turned and fired another burst of super-heated plasma at him. Its accuracy was off, however, and Link only had to duck to avoid getting hit. He then paused and loosed an arrow, which struck its cannon arm, causing more spasms...and making it impossible for it to aim properly.
Just as planned...less than two seconds ago.
Defenceless at a range, the creature roared as Link once again drew his sword, charging towards his enemy in a suicidal manner that he definitely knew Sheik would yell at him for later. He closed the distance quickly, and threw himself forward, ducking under the clumsy blow of its clawed hand, rolling to his feet in time to jam the tip of the Master Sword into the crook of its elbow, aiming to slice through the thin-looking muscle, bone, and sinew, to cut its arm completely off!
As hastily laid plans go, it was a good one. If he'd taken the cannon arm into account. The monster may not have been able to aim the cannon worth a damn, but the arm itself was big enough to eliminate that particular issue.
It collided with Link's back and knocked the breath out of him even through his shield. For the third time he saw the Medoh's upper deck passing below him...and then nothing but the blue sky, white clouds...and green earth far, far, far below him. If he hadn't already lost it, his breath would be gone now.
Time seemed to slow down for a moment as he felt himself drop the first precious inches; the feeling of gravity deciding to assert its hold on him, and bring him back down from his lofty perch. His mind was filled with images of a bloody stain on the ground—it was all that would be left of him after dropping from this altitude.
He would have preferred taking a sword to the gut over this, to be vaporised by the monster's cannon, to be chopped up by Medoh's propellers—anything than this agonisingly slow plunge to the ground.
"Got you!"
Something wrapped around his shoulders and stalled his fall, one grip decidedly less strong than the other. The fingers of his free hand automatically grabbing one of rough-skinned feet for purchase, his right hand still clutching the Master Sword (or was it clutching him, perhaps?).
"Teba?" Link asked, opening his eyes (when had he closed them?) to find Teba's worried face looking down at him, face tight from the pain of holding Link with his injured foot.
"That was too close!" the Rito exclaimed. "What were you thinking?!"
"It w-would've w-worked!" Link said, his mind focusing on the task at hand for once, instead of dwelling on what had just happened.
"But it didn't! Hold on!" Teba angled them upwards, taking them back up over Medoh. The defence cannons couldn't fire on them, but the monster surely could, its plasma projectiles whizzing by them at high speeds. "Ready for another round?!" he called.
"N-No choice!" Link responded.
"Right, I'm going to drop you right on top of it, yeah?! You up for that?!"
"Do it!" Link replied before he could say no, as he so desperately wanted to. Just do what you did last time, he told himself. You nearly cut the fucking beast in half back then!
Air rushed by them as Teba went into a dive, weaving through the plasma from the monster.
"Give it all you've got!" the Rito shouted as he spread his wings to slow down just above the monster, dropping Link at the same time. Link felt his throat go scratchy from the roar of fury (or scream of terror) he was letting out as he fell, gripping the Master Sword with both hands and angling it downward.
He couldn't help it. He closed his eyes just as the monster rushed up to meet him. The sword sank into something...and got stuck. His grip was unyielding, and Link too came to a jarring stop that felt like it was about to yank his arms from their sockets. A loud sizzling sound could be heard over the monster's squeals, and the smell of burning...not flesh, but something oily and disgusting, filled his nostrils.
Link opened his eyes, realising that he was dangling in the air, hanging from his sword which had sunk deep into the monster's right shoulder, the blade burning its not-flesh quite merrily. The monster's flight was wobbly, as if the pain it was experiencing was all-encompassing. In the corner of his eye, he saw the left arm rising again, threatening to cut him to ribbons.
Not again, he thought as he pulled himself up by his sword, planted his feet on the monster's chest and wrenched the blade free with all his might. The effort put him into a little spin in the air, and he made sure to aim the Master Sword at the creature's face, grinning with satisfaction as the blade cut a deep gouge across its mask, missing its eye but drawing black-purple blood all the same.
He hit the deck with a painful cough that brought the cuts in his side back to his attention, but the adrenaline coursing through his veins made it easy to block the pain out, and get shakily rise to his feet, watching the creature struggle with its cannon arm, which was now hanging limply at its side, the damage to its shoulder far more traumatic than Link had expected it to be.
Well, if it can't shoot anymore... he thought, allowing a small grin to come to his face. He could dodge that arm easily enough, as long as he knew it was coming, and—
The monster roared, flailing its left arm about as the air just above it began to shimmer, the same blue light that had brought it into being condensing into no less than four spheres, which quickly shaped themselves into something that looked like miniature versions of the...the cannon on the monster's arm.
"Oh, sh-shit!" Link cried as the small cannons opened fire all at once, forcing him to run for his life, taking cover once more behind one of the few remaining pillars. Their fire wasn't nearly as strong as the main cannon, but Link had no reason to think getting hit would be a pleasant experience anyway!
Juggling between sheathing the Master Sword and unslinging his bow was quickly turning into a chore he could have gone without, but he managed to have his bow ready in a reasonable amount of time, though he lamented the loss of his remaining arrows, the last two Ancient ones looking pitiful in his quiver. He drew one and nocked it as he leaned out of cover to get a look at the situation. The creature hadn't moved...but the smaller cannons had, zipping through the air like particularly deadly wasps, like drones. Two diverted off their course and went for Teba, who was still harassing the monster with his hit-and-run tactics, but the other two were heading right towards Link.
There really was no time to stop and think. He aimed and loosed, striking one of them right in the barrel. It exploded violently, throwing the other one temporarily off course, giving Link ample time to draw his last arrow.
Or so he thought. By the time he raised the bow, the drone had righted itself and was firing directly at him. For one treacherous moment, his mind whispered to him that he could probably take a shot or two, that the smaller guns couldn't possibly do that much damage...but common sense won out, and Link twisted out of the way, regrettably letting his last arrow fly wide, skittering across the deck and exploding uselessly.
And the drone was still coming, still firing, too fast for him to get back into cover. Unslinging his shield and drawing his sword, Link hunkered behind the uncomfortably thin piece of metal...and cursing when the plasma simply started melting the shield into slag.
Well, desperate times called for desperate measures. With a cry, he hurled the shield at the drone. It was too nimble to be caught by the clumsy projectile, of course, but it did force it to face its barrel away from Link, and gave him the time to close the distance between them. Roaring, Link swung the Master Sword with all the force he could muster, praying it would be enough to destroy the thing...but he was still too far away; he could tell even now that the tip of the blade would barely graze the drone.
That is, until the sword hummed even louder, and Link felt his thoughts grind to a halt as the blade's glow extended forwards, increasing the sword's length—just long enough, in fact, to carve through the entire drone, and cleave the whole thing in half. The two pieces clattered against the deck, and Link paused, gaping as the Master Sword returned to its normal length, still glowing and pulsing and humming...though he could have sworn it seemed...pleased with itself.
"Y-You can do th-that?!" he yelled at the weapon. "Wh-Why d-didn't you t-tell me y-you can do th-that?!"
The humming grew louder. Smug, even.
"S-Stupid s-sword," he growled, looking up as yet another drone exploded, courtesy of Teba's bomb arrow.
The last drone was too close to him for an arrow to be effective, and Link was already preparing to tell Teba to bring the drone down to him so he could destroy it with his sword...but then Teba pulled a peculiar move that had him somersaulting backwards in the air, a bomb arrow gripped between his fingers, grabbing the drone with one of his feet and jamming the arrow into the barrel and throwing the drone away.
The entire affair happened in less than two seconds, and while the drones were clever enough to pursue their targets, they were not clever enough to realise the deadly obstruction. The drone reacquired Teba in its sights, and the lights glowed as it began to fire once more...and the thing went up in flames as the bomb arrow detonated.
"G-Good one!" Link called up to Teba, who flashed him another upturned thumb, and went for another somersault, definitely to show off, and Link turned away, realising he'd taken his eyes off the monster...and gasping when he realised the damn thing had taken aim at the Rito, supporting its heavy cannon with its left arm now, since the right couldn't take the weight. "Teba!" he heard himself scream.
Its aim was off, luckily, but Link saw one of the plasma projectiles strike Teba's side, where several feathers burst into smoke as they burned. Teba screamed, and immediately went limp in the air above Link, plunging down. Link's feet moved on their own, bringing him beneath the Rito just in time to catch him.
Or get crushed under him, really. The Rito were bird-like, true enough, but that didn't mean they were as light as the feathers on their bodies. Link grunted when his head slammed into the deck, causing him to see spots, and wheezed when all the air was forced out of his lungs by the impact.
"Argh," he groaned, for good measure.
"Took my eyes off it for one second," Teba cursed. "Link, are you okay?" Feathered hands were fumbling with Link's clothes, pulling at him, trying to help him up. "Come on, get up, you...you said you weren't hurt!"
Link blinked, saw red spatters covering some Teba's feathers. His, or the Rito's? Hard to tell.
"It's charging up again," Teba's voice said right into his ear. "Come on, get up! We have to get into cover!"
The scent of burned flesh was definitely in the air now, and it was coming from Teba. Link was unable to look down at the Rito's side, too afraid of seeing how badly he'd been hurt by the last salvo. He felt his foot catch on another carving in the deck, and mentally cursed the Sheikah for making the thing too decorative as they both tumbled to the floor. There was a high-pitched whine in his ear, and he realised it was the sound of a Guardian laser charging up. And they were nowhere near anything that could be called cover.
"Damn," Teba cursed, and Link felt surprisingly strong arms encircling him, pulling him around, so that the Rito was directly in the gun's path, and not Link.
"Wh-What are y—"
"There's no time," Teba said. "Tell...tell my family I love them!"
No.
That was the only thing that came to Link's mind right then.
No.
Absolutely not.
Teba would not die here.
Saki would not lose her husband.
Teba's son would not grow up fatherless.
Link would not let it happen. He was the Hero of Hyrule, and while he may not be the fighter and warrior everyone expected him to be, he was damn well going to be the protector they needed.
The Hero of Hyrule was a sword to strike down the Darkness, but he was also a shield to protect the people.
He pushed at Teba with his shoulder, heaving at the Rito until he was forced to let go. Dropping the Master Sword, Link swept his other arm outwards and pushed Teba aside, the monster and its horrible cannon swinging into his tunnel vision, the barrel glowing a horrible blue as the laser charged up, the whine increasing to an unbearable pitch before it abruptly went silent...and the cannon fired.
Slamming his fists together, Link roared as Daruk's shield materialised a fraction of a second before the laser struck it, the dome quickly growing to encompass them both as the full force of the weapon hit. The shield barely held, and Link felt his entire body go rigid with the effort of maintaining it, seconds becoming hours as the monster continued the beam attack, clearly intending to vaporise them both in a single shot.
Then the pressure was released, the attack ending, and Link fell to his knees as the shield disappeared, panting from the effort. Next to him, Teba stirred, staring at him.
"You...how did you...?" the Rito asked.
"D-Daruk," Link replied. "Th-The m-m..." he trailed off, still gasping for breath.
The high-pitched whine returned, the monster charging up for another shot.
"Can you do that again?" Teba asked.
Link shook his head. "N-No," he panted. He really couldn't. The effort would kill him, he was certain.
"Well, here goes nothing," Teba said, and Link saw the Rito unslinging his bow and nocking an arrow. The Ancient arrowhead hummed to life. "If we don't make it through this," the Rito said, "I just want to say it's been an honour to fight alongside you, Champion."
"L-Likewise," Link replied, not really sure what Teba was planning to do. He wasn't sure of anything right now, really, apart from the fact that he'd die if he didn't keep breathing...or move. But his muscles refused to respond, refused to cooperate.
The whine rose and rose in pitch, and Link could only watch helplessly as the blue light grew unbearably bright...and wait for that horrible moment when the sound would go quiet, marking his doom.
"Now!" Teba shouted, and Link heard the twang of a bowstring, saw the shining Ancient arrow sail through the air...and strike the monster's cannon directly in the barrel.
The resulting explosion was too bright, forcing his eyes shut, and the sound was ear-shattering. Link curled himself into a ball, waiting for the chaos to end.
The shaking ended all too soon, and the moment he felt Teba prodding at him he forced his eyes open.
"Get up!" Teba was shouting. "It's not dead! It's still alive! Come on!"
He was so tired. Daruk's shield was amazing, but it definitely took its toll on him. Teba's words took forever to sink in, and even then he found it difficult to focus. So the monster wasn't dead, so what? It surely couldn't be all right after that explosion, right?
"Link! It's going after Sheik! Come on, get up! I can't do this by myself!"
Sheik...
Link forced himself to his feet, hand reaching blindly for the Master Sword, which found its way to his grip almost by itself.
Teba was bleeding, clutching his side, lying on the deck, pointing at the Master Console.
The monster was a mess. Its right arm was missing, blown off at the elbow by Teba's last shot, and its skin and armour was covered in burn marks from the explosion. It had lost the ability to fly, and was dragging itself across the deck with its left arm, which was bleeding black-purple blood from a multitude of cuts and punctures from the debris of the cannon. It was weak...and was crawling towards Sheik, mere feet away.
No, no, no, no!
I won't let you take him! I won't let you!
Link's legs were moving on their own, sending him wobbling after the monster. His breaths were still coming in heaves and gasps, and the tip of the still-glowing Master Sword was scraping along the deck. His vision was a dark tunnel, with the monster and the Master Console being its focal point, and the slate in its receptacle.
"Sh-Sheik!" he gasped.
He was going to be too late! He was still many feet away, and the slate was within the monster's reach. He watched with horror as the long, clawed, fingers reached through the purple smoke that formed the Malice's barrier, made to curl around the slate and pull it free. Link could see it happening, and he was helpless, too slow, too pathetic to stop it!
Sheik...don't leave me...
He almost tripped when a bright flash emanated from around the slate, and the monster shrieked with pain, its fingers burned from touching the cage-like barrier that had suddenly appeared around the slate.
"Yeah, how do you like that, fucker?!" Sheik shrieked triumphantly. "Link, now! Finish it off!"
Link's body was still moving by itself, and Link almost felt like a passenger in his own mind as he jumped on the creature's back, running along its spine and jamming the Master Sword with both hands into the base of its skull, twisting and pulling and wrenching the glowing blade around until it sliced through the thick tendons and muscles, through what passed for its bones and marrow, and severed its ugly head from its body with one final jerk.
The body was already dissolving as Link collapsed to the deck beside it, Master Sword forgotten where it lay as he crawled to the base of the Master Console, reaching for Sheik.
"A-Are y-you okay? Sh-Sheik!" he asked desperately. The creature hadn't touched him, but it'd gotten far too close—again!—and Link had to be sure, to be absolutely certain that nothing had happened to his Sheikah!
"Link, I'm fine, I'm good, don't worry," Sheik said soothingly. "My plan worked perfectly—with the power from the console, I managed to put up the same kind of shield that protects the Sheikah monks—I was never in any danger. Link, Link, listen to me! I'm fine, but you're not! You're bleeding, and so is Teba! Worry about yourselves!"
Link was hyperventilating, the panic and anxiety returning with full force now that the adrenaline from the fight was quickly dying down.
"Link! Listen to me, I...Teba! Teba, please!"
His vision was nothing but a pinprick of light at the end of a long, dark tunnel now, his lungs burning. He was going to pass out—Link knew that, couldn't stop it. It was his fault, all of it. Teba's dying, Sheik nearly got caught, they were stuck on top of a stupid fucking machine and he was a useless piece of shit who never should have been a Champion to begin with and—
He was wrenched up, and he felt his back collide heavily with something metal. Strong hands were gripping his shoulders, one gradually climbing up to rest on his cheek. A voice was speaking into his ear, deep and firm, calm and disarming.
"...to me, you have to...you do that? Just breathe...calmly...come on, do...with me...follow me..."
The other hand pressed down on his chest, an assuring touch, and it briefly let up, only to push down again a few seconds later. Link tried to follow it, to breathe in the rhythm it set down.
"You're doing good, son, I've got you...you're all right, we're all right..."
The voice was so...comforting. Familiar, and comforting. It reminded him of his f...his...could it be?
"Just breathe...I'm with you..."
"D-Dad...?" Link asked.
The voice hesitated, then spoke again, "Y-Yeah, it's me...I've got you, Link, just calm down, okay?"
Link tried to do so. Knowing his father was there helped immensely. If his father was there, then everything would be okay. Sheik was safe, Teba would be taken care of, and Link wasn't going to pass out, right?
He wasn't sure how long it took him to make it back to the land of the living, but when he opened his eyes he found Teba sitting in front of him, eyes widening with relief.
"Ah, there you are," Teba said. "You're back?"
"Y-Yeah," Link said, looking around. "Wh-Where d-did..."
The reality of the situation struck his addled brain, and a thousand emotions, disappointment and embarrassment most prominent among them, struck him at once.
"I'm s-so s-sorry!" he exclaimed, bowing his head so he wouldn't have to look Teba in the eyes, mortified at what he'd said. "I d-didn't m-mean t-t-t-to c-c-call y-y-y-y—"
He gave up, his ability to speak failing him utterly now in the face of the most embarrassing thing he'd ever done. What must Teba think of him now? He'd thought he'd proved himself capable with the fight, but panicking like that and calling him d...calling him...
"It's all right, Link," Teba said, hand gripping his shoulder and squeezing comfortingly once more. "You were confused. If anything, I am sorry for saying I was him. I just needed you to calm down."
His father was dead. His whole family was. Had been for a century. Link knew that, and yet at the first sign of someone caring for him, speaking to him like a worried parent, he'd immediately assumed...it was embarrassing, and crushing all at the same time.
"Link? Please say something," Sheik said above him. "Please? I wasn't able to calm you down, so I asked Teba...it...I didn't mean to..."
"I'm...okay," Link said, breathing deeply, forcing down the sadness and every other negative emotion he was feeling at that moment. There were far more important things to worry about right now. He lifted his gaze to meet Teba's. "Th-Thank you...for helping m-me..."
Teba smiled. Actually smiled. "Glad to be of help," he said, standing up, wincing all the while. "Ah...damn..."
"Y-You're hurt!" Link exclaimed, also trying to stand, but hissing as his side erupted as if on fire.
Teba snorted (an odd sound to come from a bird). "So are you," he pointed out.
"F-Funny," the Hylian said, studying the Rito, spotting what looked to be a very nasty burn covering most of his left side, from his hip to his armpit. The feathers there were scorched or missing entirely, the skin beneath blistered and bleeding. "Th-That's s-serious," he said.
"Not so bad," Teba said. "You're actually worse off, I think."
"Look, you can compare war wounds later," Sheik said, letting his annoyance float back up now that his panic had settled. "We're still not done here. The Malice is gone, and I have full control of Medoh's systems again, but we're missing someone, aren't we?"
"Someone?" Teba asked, looking around. "What do you mean?"
"I'm talking about that other feathery bastard, the one who's been of no help whatsoever!"
"Other feathery...?"
Teba was cut off as the sound of beating wings could be heard above them, and the ethereal form of Revali, the blue of his plumage still visible through the green shimmer of his ghostly body, landed beside them.
"Well, I'll be plucked," Revali's spirit said, the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile. "You defeated him, eh?" His tone was slightly disbelieving. "Who would've thought?"
"N-not me," Link said, too tired to fight, simply grinning up at the Rito Champion.
Revali paused, eyes widening a little, as if surprised by the statement. He recovered quickly enough, though, and swept an arm out in a grandiose gesture.
"Well done," he said. "I suppose I should thank you now that my spirit is free. This returns Medoh to its rightful owner." He huffed, giving Link another look of disbelief. "Don't preen yourself just for doing your job. I do suppose you've proven your value as a warrior...even if you did need some assistance along the way." He nodded. "Indeed, a warrior worthy of my unique ability. The sacred skill that I have dubbed Revali's Gale!"
He struck a pose and reached out to Link...and faltered, eyes narrowing with frustration. He turned to Teba.
"You, whatever your name is, would you get him to his feet? This doesn't really work if he's sitting down," the Champion said impatiently.
"His name is Teba, featherbrain!" Sheik shouted.
"Did someone just speak, or was it just an annoying figment of my imagination?" Revali asked, not even looking at the slate.
"You're even worse than Link said!"
"Hmph, like a gnat in my ear, really."
"Listen here, you—"
"Yes, Master Revali," Teba said, looking as annoyed as Sheik sounded, but still helping Link to stand.
Link wisely—in his opinion—remained silent, not having the energy or patience to get into a three-way argument with Sheik and Revali. He gestured to the spirit, indicating he was ready.
"Now then," Revali said, striking his ridiculously stylish—in his imagination, probably—pose again. "Take this with my blessing!"
Like with Mipha and Daruk, Link felt the energy of something flowing into him, and he felt compelled to imagine himself flying, or floating...and then he was. A wind was blowing up at him from below, conjured out of nothing, keeping him suspended...and then it roared into a gale, lifting him several feet up into the air, making him yell out in surprise.
Then, as soon as it had started, it was gone, and he was falling. He tried to right himself, but it was too late, and he was about to land right on his back—
"Oof, you're heavy!"
Teba caught him, quickly lowering him back to stand.
"Th-Thanks," he muttered.
Revali chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get in time...a lot of time."
Link threw him a rude finger gesture.
"Ah, there's the Link I knew and...well, tolerated, really," Revali said, winking, which only made him even more annoying. "It's now time to move on and start making preparations for Medoh's strike on Ganon." He paused. "But only if you still think you'll need my help while you're fighting inside Hyrule Castle."
"I'll n-need all th-the help I c-can g-get," Link said, not willing to let his pride (and rapidly growing annoyance with the Rito Champion) stand in the way of gaining more allies against Ganon.
Revali chuckled. "Well, then, feel free to thank me now."
There was a moment of silence from all of them.
"Seriously," Revali said, "you can thank me—"
"Fuck off! We'll thank you when you do something useful," Sheik said.
Revali grimaced.
"Or...never mind, just go. Your job is far from finished, you know. The Princess has been waiting an awful long time..."
He gave Link what appeared to be an actually genuine smile, turning his back on them and fading away.
Link noticed that his and Teba's bodies were beginning to glow as well, meaning they were about to be teleported away, just like they had been with the other Beasts, and quickly removed Sheik from the Master Console, giving Teba an assuring nod as the Rito was looking quite worried.
"Wait, wait, I have a question!" Sheik shouted after the disappearing spirit. His voice was fading away as the world around them dissolved. "How the fuck did you braid your feathers?!"
There was no response.
Truth be told, Link was curious about that too.
FINALLY! Medoh's done—three Beasts down and one to go, and plenty of stupid things happening and conversations to be had on the way!