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 84 – Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place
"I spy, with my red eye, something beginning with...B."
Sheik sighed. "Is it a bokoblin?" he said.
Pikango, secured to the castle wall a few feet above Sheik, smiled. "Got it in one—again," he replied happily. "You're good at this."
"Well, seeing as we're suspended above a literal army of them, there really wasn't much else it could be," Sheik said, adjusting his position against the rough, crumbling stonework of what had once been one of the mightiest walls in all of Hyrule. "Plus, it's been your last three subjects. Do you need glasses, old man?"
"No, I do not need glasses," the painter replied sarcastically. "But your other point is good, young one." He hummed thoughtfully. "I shall make my next one more challenging."
"Or y-you could shut up?" Paya, a few feet to Sheik's left, suggested. Trussed up and held securely against the wall with thin rope, she looked a bit like a spider's meal.
In fact, all of them did. All fifty of the Sheikah who'd volunteered for this suicide pact of a mission. They'd climbed halfway up the castle wall under the guise of darkness, hammered little hooks into the wall, and tied themselves to it so they didn't have to waste precious energy clinging to it.
It had been deemed the best way to be ready to go at a moment's notice...and Sheik had seen the point, even if the execution left him wondering if Paya and Impa wanted everyone to get killed in the most humiliating way possible. And that was before a large group of bokoblins had emerged from one of the side gates and set up camp on the grassy banks of the moat beneath them.
The only blessing to be found here was the sheer noise the damned things made with their chattering, discordant music (how hard was it to keep a damned beat?!), the numerous fights breaking out and, most annoyingly, the fucking snoring. The Sheikah could've been shouting to each other without risking rousing the bokoblins' attention.
Problem was, it made it impossible to sleep...and fifty Sheikah clinging to the wall with nothing to do was an argument waiting to happen.
And that was how they'd ended up playing a children's game to pass the time, waiting for dawn.
Sheik had lasted about ten minutes before he'd started feeling the urge to blast the enemy camp below them to smithereens. He'd even begun to uncover his left eye before Paya had noticed and told him to stop. The only reason he had was because, even to him, there was no tactical advantage to giving away their position so early in the battle.
The battle that hadn't even started yet, at that.
"I spy," Pikango began once more, and there was a quiet groan that rolled through the entirety of the Sheikah ranks, "with my red eye...something that begins with...M."
"The moon, you old coot."
"You're too good at this, Sheik."
"I swear, old man..."
"All right, all right. I spy, with my red eye, something that begins with S."
Sheik forced himself to stay quiet, knocking his head softly against the castle wall. Maybe he could knock himself out...?
That may cause irreparable brain damage, brother. I would not suggest it.
Thank you, Stabby. That sounds pretty good right about now.
Brother!
"Ah, it appears cousin Sheik is giving up his turn," Pikango said, sounding amused. "Anyone else want to give it a try?"
"Um..." a Sheikah somewhere to Sheik's right said hesitantly. "Sheikah?"
Pikango chuckled. "Close, but not quite. Anyone else?"
"Sh-Sheik?" Paya said, having given up on being the voice of reason already, apparently.
"Nope," Pikango said. "Anyone else? No one? Oh well—the answer is 'Surly Sheikah'."
Sheik took a deep breath. "That's it. I'm cutting you loose. I hope the bokoblins appreciate the late meal."
The relative peace and quiet of the morning was rudely broken as the Goron artillery unit opened fire. Deafening booms filled the air, the chests of those standing nearby tightening from the sheer force exerted by the cannons. The ground shook like an earthquake, smoke billowing from the barrels, disturbed and throw around by the passing of the ordinance.
The cannonballs tore through the air as they flew towards their targets, producing shrieking sounds designed specifically to frighten the enemy. The shrieking got louder and louder as the balls reached the zeniths of their trajectories...and then began to fall. For the observers, they saw the flashes of the explosions a split-second before they heard them, flames, smoke, and debris thrown into the air behind the Castle Town walls.
The bokoblins, lizalfos, moblins, and other creatures allied with Ganon, camping behind the walls, barely had time to realise what was happening before everything around them exploded, shredding through their meagre defences, weapons and armour like they were nothing.
Only when the first volley ceased did they appear to realise what had happened, scouts appearing on the ramparts, looking towards the source of the barrage. Just in time for the second volley to begin. This one was aimed directly at the walls. The ordinance slammed into the stone walls with the weight of a thousand sledgehammers.
The once proud walls of Castle Town could have resisted the barrage, had they been maintained. A century of disrepair, however, left them somewhat fragile, and they did nothing to protect the wooden ramparts constructed behind them by the bokoblins.
One ball hit the wall straight on and exploded on impact. For a moment the wall itself seemed to warp from the strength of the impact, and then it was encased in a ball of fire and smoke, broken pieces of stone flying every which way, the fortification practically vaporising under the assault. The entire section of wall collapsed under its own weight; its main support gone.
On another part of the wall, a moblin had stuck its head up over the rampart, trying to spot the source of the attack...just in time for a badly aimed cannonball to tear its head from its shoulders as the ball hurtled past, landing somewhere in the streets, where it exploded and took out the crumbling remains of a tavern.
Smoke and dust filled the air, making it impossible for the defenders to see, their breaths filling their lungs with cloying vapours. The salvos continued again and again, decimating the forward camps, as if trying to turn the southern part of Castle Town into rubble.
"Cease fire!"
General Kato's call rung out loudly, a messenger waving a flag to the artillery group at the back. Yunobo signalled his group to stop firing, ceasing their activities and waiting for further orders. Everyone's ears rung with high-pitched whistles, their fragile sensory organs not prepared for something so loud and sustained.
"Let's give them a moment," the general said to the allied officers around him. "Not very sporting to just keep firing, is it?" he asked, to nervous chuckles.
"Should we drop the palisades?" Riju asked, eyeing the thick wires that held the wooden walls in place.
"Not yet," Kato said. "We need to wait for them to regroup. Meanwhile, everyone do an equipment check. It'll be our last opportunity to do so for a while."
Orders were called out, and the camp was suddenly abuzz with activity as every soldier checked their gear, armour, and weapons one last time. For many, it would be.
Riju left the command group and went to her forces. Buliara and Ayla were at the front, talking quietly while the other Gerudo went through their gear.
"Looks like we're getting ready," Riju said, clenching her fists in an attempt to stop her hands from shaking. It didn't work. Ayla didn't comment, giving Riju a respectful nod before testing the edge of her scimitar with her thumb.
"My lady," Buliara said, her tone careful. "It is not too late to change your mind. Perhaps you should observe the battle from the cliffs—"
"I have no intention of letting everyone else fight and die while I simply watch from a safe distance, Bul," Riju said sharply, a little harsher than she'd intended. Gripping the handle of the scimitar in her belt tightly, she glared up at her bodyguard. "Where my people go, I go. I will fight. If I fall, then I fall."
"That will not happen," Buliara said firmly. "I won't allow it."
"Atta girl, Slagathor," Ayla said, grinning. "Just give the bokos The Look, and they'll run away. Plus, chief's got the electric touch now. I suggest saving it for a special occasion, yeah?"
"It will be my trump card," Riju confirmed. "If all goes according to plan, I daresay it won't be necessary."
From the direction of the city, there rose an unholy racket. Screams sounded out as, like a bloody tide, the enemy rushed out from behind the walls, through the ruined gates. An unholy mass of bokoblins, moblins, lizalfos, wizzrobes—any creature that would join forces with the avatar of darkness was there, spilling out of the ruined city, charging directly towards the allied camp.
"Incoming!" someone shouted.
"Hold fast," Kato's voice called over the clamour. "Hold!"
Riju's heart was thundering in her chest, almost in time with the mass of enemy combatants rushing towards them, the ground shaking from their thunderous charge. She couldn't even see the enemy, and the fear was already there.
"Stay close to me, my lady," Buliara said, her hand gripping Riju's shoulder. "I will protect you."
"I can protect myself," she replied. "But...thank you. Ayla..."
"I won't be far," the spymaster said. "I've got my eye on you, my lady."
"...thank you."
The enemy was near, now. Too near.
"Drop the walls!" Kato's order rung out.
The wires holding the palisade walls up were cut, and they fell infinitely slowly, the moment elongating until it lasted an eternity. Then, all of a sudden, the walls were down, and the enemy came into view.
There were so many of them. A giant mass of evil, representing everything Hyrule had suffered for the last hundred years. Behind them, Hyrule Castle rose like a citadel, the air around it coloured purple by its master's miasma. It was a vision straight out of a nightmare.
"Cavalry!"
More thunder, but this time it was a source of comfort as the massive cavalry unit, mostly comprised of Hylians, were let loose, charging the enemy from behind the walls that had hidden them from view, making the camp and allied force look far smaller than it actually was.
The front rows of the enemy's ranks were surprised, shocked, maybe even a little frightened as a wall of heavily armoured horses and their riders suddenly appeared in front of them, galloping and sounding like a storm, the morning sun glinting off their weapons. The front row of bokoblins stopped, suddenly having second thoughts. The mass behind them apparently hadn't noticed the cavalry's sudden appearance, and continued on, crushing those who'd stopped beneath their feet.
And that was all Riju saw as the Hylian ranks closed in front of her, hiding the enemy from view. She didn't see the moment they clashed...but she did hear it. Metal on metal, metal on flesh, hooves trampling soft bodies beneath them and into the dirt. Screams, both porcine and Hylian, echoing across the field as their owners fought and died.
"Second wave!"
Another flag was waved, and the second line of cavalry lined up, following the first. Their job was to crush whoever was left standing after the first charge.
"Infantry, get ready! Archers, nock your arrows!"
Riju, along with her Gerudo warriors, stepped up along with the Hylians and Gorons who did not have other jobs. There were several Sheikah among them as well, most of them armed with whatever ancient tech Robbie and Purah had managed to repair in time for the fight. They were a ragtag bunch, but Riju and her warriors would be in the lead. Hopefully, the Gerudo could show the others how things were done.
Behind them, a massive group of archers comprised of whoever could be trusted to hold a bow and not put an arrow into the people around them formed a firing line three ranks deep. Riju heard the thrumming of strings being tested, the knocking sound of wood against wood as arrows were prepared and nocked on the strings.
Ahead on the field, the first wave of cavalry had turned east, disengaging from the mass of enemies. Their line wasn't nearly as organised as before, several members missing. They quickly reformed, however, the lead riders gathering their men into a tight V-shape, taking a wide turn and slowing down a trot, letting the second wave do its job.
Riju did see the second clash, as the enemy mass had shifted slightly to the west, forcing the second wave to come at them from an angle. She saw bokoblins get crushed under the horses' hooves, heads taken off by well-swung swords, pinned to the ground by lances. She saw horses wrenched to the ground by well-prepared moblins, their riders swarmed by opportunistic lizalfos, their blades finding gaps in the riders' plate armour, their cries silenced quickly as their lifeblood leaked from the joints.
Her stomach lurched a little, her mouth filling with saliva as a moblin got a lance rammed straight through its open mouth and out the back of its head, immediately dying, but getting its revenge shortly after as the lancer's horse tripped over the moblin's dead body, sending the rider tumbling through the air and landing on their head. Riju didn't need to hear their neck snap to know it had.
Then the second wave broke through the bokoblin ranks, turning west, intending to mirror the first wave's movements. It left the field wide open in front of them, revealing a very tattered group of enemies that had not expected such an assault.
"Draw! Draw, you bastards!" officers in charge of the archers called. "Draw!"
"Infantry, forward!"
Riju drew her scimitar and held it aloft, looking to her warriors.
"For the Goddess!" she called, and received a louder call in return, every Gerudo lifting their weapons to honour their deity. "With me!"
Along the lines, the Hylians made their own war cries. For Hylia, for Princess Zelda, for Hyrule. The Gorons didn't shout any names in particular—their roars were formidable, as was the way they pounded their chests with their fists, blasting the battlefield with sounds like drums.
"Archers, loose!"
"Infantry, charge!"
For a moment, everything felt like a dream. Riju's legs moved on their own, leading her towards the ranks of enemies that were still struggling to reform a coherent battle line, not helped by the rain of arrows that were suddenly unleashed from the allied archers. A salvo of normal arrows, followed by ones that exploded, and finally ones that glowed with a bright blue light that annihilated everything they touched.
Closer and closer. Riju's breath was so loud in her ears she could barely hear anything else. Her gaze focused on the enemy, she wasn't even sure Buliara was with her anymore. The only thing she saw in her peripheral vision was red hair and golden armour.
She had her girls.
She would be fine.
She would be fine...
Her throat stung. She was screaming. No words, just incoherent shouting as the line came closer and closer. Her feet slipped and stumbled over dead bodies and bloody mud churned up by the cavalry charge, but she did not fall.
Could not fall.
The stench of blood, excrement, and other unmentionable things invaded her nostrils, causing her stomach to lurch even more.
But by then, it was too late to worry about throwing up. The arrow barrage ended just as she reached the first enemy, a lizalfos with an arrow sticking out from its middle. It swung at her clumsily, a blow she easily ducked under and, using her momentum, smashed her shoulder into its body, close to the wound. It gave a pained shriek, but she quickly silenced it with a swing of her scimitar, opening its scaly throat like it was nothing. Its huge eyes rolled wildly in their sockets as it fell, quickly trampled by the next enemy, a bokoblin who suffered a similar fate.
Riju's conscious thoughts faded away as instincts she'd spent years honing on the training grounds took over, leading her body through the motions. Dodging, parrying, striking, cutting. It was...messy. Bloody. Nothing like the sparring matches with her teachers, with Buliara. But she kept fighting, kept ignoring the burning of her muscles and lungs, teeth gritted as she faced down enemy after enemy.
In the corner of her eye, she caught glimpses of Buliara, cutting down enemies like they were nothing, her massive sword cleaving through them like a hot knife through butter. Bokoblins, lizalfos, moblins—it did not matter. They all fell to her strikes. She skewered a moblin, keeping it at bay while busying herself with crushing a fallen bokoblin's skull with her boot, spattering the ground, her boot, and armour with blood and brains.
Behind her, a Goron had picked up a bokoblin by its legs and was smashing it into the ground over and over, until not a single bone remained unbroken, its body flopping around uselessly until the Goron hurled it into an incoming group of enemies, bowled over by their dead comrade. The Goron gave another roar and charged into the group, having to do little else than fall on top of them, crushing them under their weight.
Among the screams, clanging, and ringing, Riju heard a sharp horn cut through the noise.
"Disengage! Disengage!" someone shouted.
Right...there was a plan to this.
"D-Disengage!" she called out as well, her voice already hoarse, her shouts cut short by the lack of air in her lungs. "Disengage! Bul!"
"Disengage!" Buliara shouted, much louder than Riju could at the moment, pulling back from the line of enemies. "Everyone, pull back!" She grabbed the back of a fighting Hylian and shoved him back towards the camp, and then positioned herself between the enemy and Riju as they pulled back tactically, covered by another rain of regular arrows. The enemies saw them coming this time, using their shields and bits of cover (like the corpses of their own comrades) to shield themselves from the projectiles.
All according to plan. Riju felt the hooves in her chest as the first cavalry wave, having caught their breath, made another charge, crashing into the enemy line just a few yards from where Riju stood. She saw bokoblins lifted into the air by the sheer force of the impact, swore she could feel mud and blood raining down on her.
She sank to one knee, her muscles still burning, trying to catch her breath. This was nothing like sparring, or the Yiga ambush. There was too much to keep track of, too much noise. Her hands were shaking, blood staining every inch of her armour. Heroic tales of great battles fought in the past never described them like this.
"My lady," Buliara, once more at her side, said as she couched down next to Riju. "Catch your breath and get ready. We're going in again soon."
"I...know," Riju replied, her voice barely audible over the roars, screams, and crashing from the cavalry shredding their way through Ganon's forces. "How much...longer?"
Another horn, and the first cavalry group disengaged, just in time for the second group to come charging in from the opposite side.
Never give the enemy time to recover, keep them occupied at all times.
That was the key, here.
"In a moment," Buliara said, looking Riju over for injuries. "Do you have another charge in you, my lady? The next one will be even tougher."
Riju looked up at her bodyguard, surprised. She'd expected another attempt to Riju to retreat back behind friendly lines, to safety. Not just a check-up on her stamina. Maybe she'd given up on getting her chief to see reason?
"Yeah," she said, taking several deep breaths, trying not to breathe through her nose too much. The stench of blood and other bodily fluids and waste was overwhelming. "I'm good."
"Good," Buliara said, standing up. "Reform the lines!" she shouted. "We're heading into the breach once more! Gerudo, Hylians!"
Riju found her place at the front of the lines, next to Buliara. Ayla appeared from nowhere on her other side, covered in blood from head to toe, but otherwise looking fine. She'd acquired a second scimitar, wielding both with ease.
"Invigorating!" she said with a wide grin on her face.
"Don't let it get to your head, Ayla," Buliara said, giving the spymaster a considering look. "We can't lose you to battle frenzy."
"Oh, no worries, Slagathor," Ayla said, shaking her head. "I'm just glad to finally be able to release some tension. Risa and the others drove me mad for a while."
Riju let their chatter wash over her, her gaze firmly fixed on the mass of horses and bodies in front of them. The field was getting churned up badly now, the green grass torn up by clumps, the soil turning into mud from the blood soaking into it.
Horrifying.
"Cavalry's almost done," Ayla said. Riju nodded silently, seeing the last stragglers of the wedge formation leaving the enemy's ranks. There were considerably fewer riders now, lost to the press of bodies.
Another horn sounded, and she steeled herself, gripping her scimitar tightly in her hand.
"Infantry!"
She joined her people's battle roars and charged across the muddy, bloody field.
"What a fucking mess."
Sheik hauled himself across the parapet just in time to catch a glimpse of the first cavalry charge. Even from a distance he could tell it was a bloody melee, though luckily mostly in the allies' favour. It was at moments like this he really wished the Network sensors were accurate enough to measure individual vital signs in such a huge crowd of them—it'd made it easier to keep a running tally of casualties.
I'm trying, brother, Stabby said helpfully. But it is difficult. The movement and number of heat signatures ruin any attempt at tagging individuals on such a large scale.
It's fine, Sheik thought. Just...keep an eye on Tiny and Roly, will you? They'll be in the middle of that crap. Where's Link?
Still on the cliff with Teba, waiting.
Sheik shifted his gaze to the cliffs east of the castle. They were overgrown with ancient trees, but Sheik knew approximately where Tweety and his warriors would be, with Link among them.
"H-Hey," Paya said, bumping her shoulder into his. "Ready?"
"Yeah," he replied, joining the others as they climbed down the wall and into the castle grounds.
The plan had worked so far. The initial bombardment and subsequent ground assault had drawn most of Ganon's forces out of the castle and into the city below, all moving to intercept the allied forces at their front door. Some stragglers remained, of course, but not enough to pose nearly as much of a threat, especially not to Sheikah.
The red-eyed warriors gathered behind the ruins of what must have been guard barracks long ago, separated into the teams they'd agreed upon in the planning stages.
"T-Team one," Paya said, gesturing to herself, Sheik, Pikango, and three other Sheikah. "We'll head f-for the f-first gatehouse. Team two f-for the s-second. Team three f-for the third."
The Sheikah nodded. That left thirty-two warriors to run interference in the castle grounds in the meantime. Plenty to ruin the defenders' day.
"Any questions?" Paya asked, to which there were none. "G-Good luck, everyone."
Sharp nods, and the huddle separated immediately.
The Sheikah's part in the grand battle plan was rather simple. While the main force engaged Ganon's forces and locked them in a melee outside the city walls, the Sheikah would prevent those forces from getting back into the castle by sabotaging the gatehouses, of which there was a total of three. With those three entrances to the castle disabled, there'd be fewer enemies standing in the Hero's way.
Paya's team crept through the castle grounds, following the last organised squad of bokoblins as they headed for the western-most, and nearest, gatehouse.
They could already see the structure, a formidable tower of white stone jutting up above the other buildings that dotted the castle grounds, which could practically be considered a small city in itself.
Well, after a great deal of restoration work and clean-up, that is. The roads had fallen into disrepair after being occupied by pure evil for a century, the cobbles broken and scattered all over the place. Most of the buildings were falling apart, missing huge segments either from being flooded by the Malice, or just from the destructive tendencies of their occupiers. Everywhere Sheik looked, he saw scattered bones, remains of the castle's previous occupants. Not even given a decent burial.
Not that he'd expect the damned pig to offer its enemies any sort of dignity.
That was fine.
Sheik intended no such thing in return, either.
Winding their way through the backyards and small alleys, the team eventually emerged into a small square in front of the gatehouse. It was defended, of course, but not by the most formidable of enemies. A small group of bokoblins and lizalfos, led by a white-skinned moblin. Really, the only enemy in the group that would offer any sort of challenge.
"Whitey's mine," Sheik muttered.
Paya gave him a look. "B-Be careful," she said.
"You know it, Paya-nee," he said, having no intention of being careful. He had too much nervous energy pent up that needed to be let loose.
"We'll wait until that last squad is through," Pikango whispered, his usually friendly expression replaced by one of intense concentration, his brow furrowed as he studied the enemy. "Remember, our priority is to break the chains holding the gate open. Eliminating the defenders will make that easier, but they are not the priority. If you see a chance to take out the chains, go for it."
Sheik had uncovered his left eye, letting the delicate sensors calculate the distance to the gatehouse, and the approximate position of the chains holding the massive iron gates open. He'd hoped to be able to simply take them out from a distance, but he couldn't get a clear shot due to the chains and mechanism being hidden inside the structure's roof.
"Can't get it from here," he said. "We'll have to engage and get inside."
"Right," Paya said, drawing her sword. "Everyone ready?" Her squad nodded. "Let's go, then. Sh-Sheik?"
She gestured to his left hand, and he could only grin under his mask as there was a bright flash, and suddenly a bomb rested in the palm of it.
"With pleasure," he said, standing up and, after receiving a nod from Pikango, throwing it with all his strength into the middle of the group of defenders. "Cock-a-doodle-doo, fuckers!" he shouted, detonating the bomb and sending bodies and debris flying every which way.
"Go!" Paya shouted.
It was going well. Almost a little too well. Riju didn't have time to consider that, however, her focus taken up entirely by taking down the enemy in front of her, make sure it was dead, and moving on to the next.
It was a grim routine, in truth. One everyone around her was engaged in as well.
The enemy seemed never-ending, new monsters joining their comrades every few minutes, continually pouring out from the city...but they met their end rather quickly between the continued cavalry charges and mopping up by the infantry, and the occasional deadly rain of arrows.
Riju was exhausted already, though, and they'd barely been at it for more than hour, maybe an hour and a half. How did Ganon fit so many of its followers into a city?!
"Disengage!"
She ducked the lizalfos' thrust and opened its neck up with a swift stroke of her scimitar and immediately stepped back, walking backwards with her sword at the ready, joined by the other fighters. She'd lost track of Ayla again, but she trusted her spymaster to look after herself. Buliara was at her side, as always, an immovable rock to any enemy that tried to take her on.
They moved back behind the safe lines of the arrows, watching as the cavalry made mincemeat out of the enemy.
"My lady, drink."
A waterskin was shoved into Riju's hands, and she drank from it deeply. She had never felt this parched, not even on the hottest days in the desert, and the water soothed her shout-worn throat.
"Second infantry, get ready!"
Riju remained kneeling next to Buliara, watching as the second line of infantry prepared to go in. They'd had to break the infantry into two groups, going in every other two to give one group some time to rest between the melees.
"It's going well," Buliara said, panting. "All things considered."
"Mhm," Riju hummed, removing her glove and running a hand through her sweat-soaked hair, which had come loose from its bun. She tried not to pay too much attention to the missing faces among her troops.
She looked up, hoping to see an end of the enemy forces emerging from the walls, but instead spotting something else. Long and spindly legs, like those of a spider, flailing around as something big pulled itself through the gap in the wall, a blue glow coming from its conical head.
A Guardian.
Shit.
She saw the flash of light a moment before an explosion in the middle of the cavalry ranks threw Hylians and horses into the air.
"Guardian! Guardian!" someone shouted.
And it wasn't alone. At least three of the things, all in various states of disrepair, entered the field, one climbing across the city wall in a fluid manner that belied how truly old the machine was.
And they unleashed hell.
It took them each a few seconds to charge up their shots, but each hit took out dozens of allied troops at once. Riju felt her breath hitch as one unfortunate horseman took a hit directly to his chest...and was blown to pieces, reduced to little more than a red mist and scattered bits of flesh and smouldering armour.
How had Link even stayed in one piece after a hit like that?!
Somewhere in the second infantry group, a Sheikah unleashed one of their ancient arrows, a brilliant blue streak of light flying across the battlefield, striking the Guardian on the wall somewhere in its carapace. The arrow embedded itself in its body and began to glow so bright it hurt Riju's eyes to look at...and then it abruptly stopped.
For a moment, Riju wondered if the arrow had been defective. Then the Guardian exploded in a bright flash, blue fire erupting from the seams in its armoured body, bursting from the release of excess energy injected by the arrow.
Someone whooped, and then several other ancient arrows were launched from the Sheikah in the melee. Most were badly aimed, and Riju ground her teeth, hoping they weren't wasting the arrows out of desperation.
One arrow in particular had true aim, however, sailing elegantly through the air, looking like it was about to strike a second Guardian right in the eye...but...
A bokoblin managed to climb onto the Guardian just in time to intercept the shot. The ensuing explosion left the Guardian's carapace covered in gore, but otherwise unharmed.
The damned thing had taken the arrow for the Guardian!
And it gave other bokoblins the same idea, suicidally throwing themselves in the paths of the ancient arrows, spurred on by their master's influence.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck!
She probably screamed it out loud, but for once Buliara wasn't there to remind her to watch her language—the large warrior was too busy glaring at the Guardians.
"Another, by the hole in the wall!"
Indeed, yet another spider-like Guardian was pulling itself through the hole in the city wall. This one was missing half its legs and was dragging itself along the ground in a pitiful manner. Its cannon still worked, though, and was immediately put to use.
"We need to do something, Bul," Riju said, watching as more ancient arrows were wasted on bokoblin shields. "They'll slaughter us all, otherwise."
"Agreed, my lady," Buliara said. "But what?"
It wasn't really a plan. Just a...thought. But what could Riju do that no one else could?
She wiped her hand on her trousers and snapped her fingers, focusing on maintaining a small charge. A little spark flared into life and leapt from finger to finger, and she gave Buliara meaningful look. Buliara looked pained.
"My lady..."
"I just need to get close enough," she said. "Just watch my back, Bul. That's all you have to do."
Buliara looked like she wanted to everything except agree, but she did so nevertheless. "I am your shield, my lady," she said. "Where you go, I go."
"Thank you, Bul. Now, we could use Ayla—"
"Right here," Ayla said, standing right behind her.
"Stop doing that!" Riju shouted, to which Ayla only grinned, bowing her head.
"Sorry, couldn't resist. I heard the plan, though. I'm in. We gotta go now, though."
"Then on me, girls," Riju said, setting her gaze on the closest Guardian, which had now reached the allied infantry line and was wreaking havoc both with its cannon and spindly arms. "We'll show 'em how it's done!"
At the furthest end of the battlefield, Yunobo was having trouble. Three of the cannons has broken down.
Or, rather, the carts on which two of them had been mounted had broken. A lot. To the point they were nothing more than splinters beneath the heavy barrels of the guns.
Gorons were strong, no doubt, but even they couldn't lift several tons of metal on their own, let alone aim or fire them reliably.
So, out of eight cannons, they had lost two completely.
The barrel of the third cannon had developed several fractures in the last volley, and they didn't dare fire it again lest it explode and take out the remaining guns, gunners, and, well, the whole camp, honestly.
So, five guns left.
He counted on his hands just to be sure, goro.
He could work with that. They could continue bombarding castle town and hope they were hitting the enemy. They had no way of knowing thanks to the walls. It felt...ineffective.
He felt ineffective.
Not worthy of the title of Champion at all.
"Boss," Gergo said. "Guardians have shown up on the field. What do we do?"
"I...don't know, goro," Yunobo said.
What he wanted to do was fire the cannons directly into the Guardian's faces, but these particular guns weren't built for that kind of precision. They were made for bombardment over a large area, for creating chaos, not needle-point accuracy.
"We gotta do something, Boss," Gergo insisted.
What kind of Champion was he? Daruk would've come up with a plan just fine, probably. Something daring, something incredible. Perhaps even a little stupid, but there was that fine line between genius and stupidity again...
Wringing his hands, Yunobo closed his eyes, trying to breathe calmly. Panicking, as he had on Death Mountain, wouldn't do any good. He couldn't afford to lose it here. But he needed something. Some guidance.
Are you there?
Please...I need your help!
Ah, I was wondering if I was going to hear from you, kid!
The voice was loud and deep, and sounded like it was echoing through Yunobo's head. A terrifying experience, except...the voice was also filled with warmth. And a little amusement.
Daruk? Is that you?
That's me, Daruk's voice confirmed. Figured it was about time I gave you a little advice.
Yes, please!
You're stuck between a rock and a hard place, eh? Not sure what to do? Well, there's only one thing a Goron can do when stuck in that situation? Know what that is?
Yunobo thought about it, coming up blank.
No, he admitted. I don't.
Daruk laughed. You gotta become harder than the rock, and harder than the hard place. You become the mountain!
Yunobo nodded, confused.
I don't...understand?
Heh, I guess it doesn't make sense, does it? Then I'll sum it up for ya, little guy. You have my shield...but do you think I became Champion by cowering behind it? Nah, of course not! I put it to use! A shield is meant to protect both yourself and those you care about—and right now, there's only one way for you to do that. Get my meaning?
Yunobo opened his eyes and looked at the nearest cannon. Its barrel. More specifically, its width. His eyes widened.
You mean...?
I've never been much for words, kid. But I'll tell you this: what you do right now is what will make or break you as Champion. I know you'll do the right thing. I'm proud of ya.
He didn't say so, but Yunobo knew Daruk was gone. It was like a pressure he'd never noticed inside his head had disappeared. He didn't specifically tell Yunobo what to do, but he'd managed to connect the dots on his own.
All right, then.
Time to be a Champion, goro.
"Boss?" Gergo asked, looking worried. "Are you okay?"
"I'm...okay, goro," Yunobo said, pointing to the cannon. "Prepare this one to fire, goro."
"Where do we aim?"
"Directly at one of the Guardians, goro."
"But...we can't hit that precisely. Plus, the explosion might take out some of our own troops, Boss!"
"The payload won't explode, goro," Yunobo said, giving Gergo a pointed look as he reached for the barrel of the gun, pulling himself up and into it. "You'll be firing me!"
Gergo looked confused for a moment, and then he grinned widely. "Doing the ol' Rudania move, eh?" he asked.
Yunobo tried to grin back. he almost succeeded. "Exactly, goro."
"All right," Gergo said, directing the crews. "Prepare this one for firing, someone get me a targeting solution to one of the Guardians! We're about to give 'em a surprise they won't forget anytime soon!" He paused and looked up at Yunobo again. "Give 'em hell, Champion!"
Champion...
Yeah, that's what he was, goro.
On the eastern cliffs, the Hylian Champion was pacing anxiously back and forth along the edge, watching the battle unfolding in the distance, his heart skipping a beat every time he saw the blue flash of a Guardian's laser and the ensuing explosion. People were fighting and dying...and he was here, waiting uselessly.
His fingers clenched and unclenched, itching to get down there and join the fight. Not because he wanted to fight in that mess—who in their right mind would?—but because he couldn't stand the idea of people dying for his sake!
It wouldn't be difficult, either, getting down there. He had his paraglider. It wouldn't take him all the way, of course, but he'd reach the battlefield in a few minutes' of jogging after that.
In fact...
He turned towards the paraglider, its limbs folded up and gently placed against a tree. Or that's what he was supposed to see. Not a mass of white feathers and a serious-looking face.
"Don't even think about it," Teba said. "We have a plan, and we are sticking to it."
"B-But—"Link tried, but Teba shook his head.
"I know it's hard, Link, but if we deviate from the plan now, there's no telling if we'll succeed. What if you get hurt down there? Or worse, killed? Then they're all dying in vain right now." Teba stepped forward, blocking Link's view of the paraglider and, gently, took him by the shoulder and led him towards the mass of Rito warriors preparing their equipment, deliberately not watching the battle. "Here, go over your equipment again."
Link had done so three times already and told Teba so.
"Then do it again," Teba said. "You can never be too prepared."
"He's right, Hero," Harth said from his position under a tree. "Come here, I'll inspect your bow and tell you what you did wrong when you strung it."
"I d-don't know..."
"The signal will come, Link," Teba said, pushing him towards Harth. "And when it does, we will be ready. And we'll do our part."
The white moblin went down with a gurgling groan as Sheik stepped back, panting and watching his handiwork. The ancient sword had easily cut through the beast's form, but it had put up one hell of a fight first, earning him a bloody nose thanks to the thing's backhanded strike grazing his face.
It had been little other than a glancing blow, but Sheik swore he'd felt it rattle his entire nervous system, both biological and synthetic. It had given him the perfect opportunity to sever the moblin's hand at the wrist, though, and then open its throat with a wide sweep.
Around him, the other gatehouse defenders were falling at a rapid pace, overwhelmed and surprised by the sudden appearance of Sheikah warriors (and, of course, the bomb that had gone off in the midst of their numbers).
Paya easily decapitated the pair of bokoblins that were trying to take her on, but that had been a bad move on their part. Pikango was already wiping his blade of blood, looking to Sheik.
"I believe it's your time to shine, boy!" he shouted, pointing to the gatehouse. "We'll handle the stragglers!"
Right.
Of course.
As much as he wanted to stand here and gloat over his fallen enemy, Sheik actually had a job to do. He ran towards the gatehouse, leery of the darkened interior.
Stabby, he thought. Any surprises waiting for me in there?
No heat signatures, brother! You're all clear!
Excellent. Sheik ran inside the huge castle-like structure that housed one of the immense portcullises meant to keep invaders out. Hell, that was still its purpose as far as the allies were concerned—they just had to draw the invaders out again first.
The lever and complex series of pulleys and counterweights were destroyed, presumably by the initial attack by Ganon's forces...or possibly after, as a countermeasure against any possible attempts at retaking the castle.
That wasn't a problem. Sheik's target wasn't the controls—he was after the chains.
They were huge, each link easily the size of Sheik's head, or even bigger. Not really the sort of thing one easily severed or broke.
Sheik smirked and summoned a bomb to his hand.
Unless they had a never-ending supply of explosives, that is.
He scanned the chains and the shafts housing them, trying to find the best spot for the detonation, also keeping an eye on the street leading down to the bridge, which in turn led into the town proper. Deserted, luckily, every enemy drawn to the fray near the city gates.
The portcullis appears to run on tracks, brother. Severing both chains separately shouldn't be a problem.
"Thanks, Stabby," he said out loud, lobbing the first bomb into the first shaft. He took cover behind a wall, shouting out to the Sheikah outside, "Fire in the hole!"
Even with his ears covered, the explosion was deafening, and made a dull whining sound start whistling for a few seconds. Worse was the dust and smoke thrown up by the explosion. It had worked, though, as one of the chains lay broken on the floor, its link not so much severed as deformed by the immense weight of the portcullis, weakened by the explosion.
Sheik summoned another bomb and threw it into the second shaft, racing out of the gatehouse just in time to see the last enemy fall to a Sheikah's blade.
"Fire in the hole!" he cried out again. "Take cover!"
The Sheikah didn't need to be told twice, throwing themselves behind the nearest house, and Sheik waited until he too was out of the blast rage before detonating. There was the roar of the explosion, and then the scream of rusty metal against metal, so loud and piercing it made Sheik's ears hurt, and then a loud bang that must have rocked the very foundations of the castle as the portcullis slammed closed, sealing that particular entryway into the castle grounds.
The area around them was shrouded in dust and smoke, and they had to withdraw back to their original rendezvous point to even be able to see each other.
"G-Good work, everyone," Paya said, shaking her head a little and rubbing her ear. "Th-That's one target d-down."
"Two more to go," Pikango said, nodding. "That was good work with the gate, kid," he added to Sheik.
Sheik ignored the warm feeling that blossomed in his chest. This wasn't the time to get sentimental. Still, it felt nice.
"Thanks, old man," he said. "Come on, we've got to give the signal."
"Right," Paya agreed. "Come on."
The team scaled the nearest wall and found themselves back on the parapet, overlooking the city. Smoke was rising from the south end of the city and outside the walls. An unholy clamour still rose from the battlefield.
How's it going out there, Stabby? he thought.
Both sides are holding steady, brother. Guardians have appeared, but they have yet to do much damage.
Fuck, Sheik had hoped they'd be done by now, before the Guardians were drawn into play. Meant they had to hurry up.
There was a loud wooshing sound and a sharp red light lit them up as Paya launched a flare into the air, using one of the special devices made by Purah and Robbie. It climbed into the air at a rapid pace, exploding in a dazzling display that could be seen for miles and miles around the castle.
"That's our part done," Pikango said with a sigh, rubbing his lower back with a groan.
"Mhm," Paya said, her eyes not on the flare, but on the castle grounds to the east. Specifically, the second and third gatehouses. As if on cue, there were muted booms coming from the area around the second gatehouse, and more smoke and dust. A flare rose from the cloud moments later.
"Second team's good," Sheik said, nodding.
"And third..." Pikango said expectantly.
They watched for several very long seconds, waiting for smoke and dust, and a flare from the third gatehouse. Thirty seconds went by. Then a minute. Then two.
Brother...
Stabby's system message was hesitant. That meant bad news.
I've lost the third team's signatures.
Sheik sighed. "Fuck," he muttered. The others looked to him. "Third team's gone."
Paya looked stricken for a moment, but she quickly smoothed her face, steeling herself. "Th-Then we will have t-to finish it for th-them."
The other Sheikah did their best to hide their reactions to knowing their friends and relatives were gone, but they could be the best actors in the world and they still couldn't hide from Sheik's sensors. Heart rates were all over the place.
The second team is moving towards the gatehouse, brother. They're going to need help.
"Right you are," he agreed. "Second team's one the move," he announced to the others. "Let's go and make sure they don't walk into a damned trap."
Paya nodded. "We'll take the parapets as far as they go. L-Let's move!"
On the cliffs, Link watched as two flares were launched from above the gatehouses, his heart thumping. Sheik had been on team one, handling the westernmost gatehouse. The flare meant they'd accomplished their mission.
That was a relief.
"Two flares," Teba said, standing next to him. The feathers around his beak were twitching minutely. "One more, and it's our turn."
Link kept watching the eastern gatehouse, waiting for the third flare.
Nothing happened.
"Wh-Why is it t-taking so long?" he said.
"Might be stiffer resistance around that one," Teba suggested. "The other two teams are probably moving to support right now. The flare is coming, Link, don't worry."
Hah.
Like not worrying was something Link was even capable of.
Riju ducked under the swinging arm of the damaged guardian, which was alternating between dragging itself along the ground with its remaining arms and taking swipes at the allies trying to swarm it and take it out. It was keeping its attackers at bay, including Riju, who needed to get closer.
A lot closer.
The Guardian's cannon went off, but its aim was knocked aside just in time by stray arrow aiming at its eye. The shot struck the ground, exploding and throwing a ton of dirt into the air. Riju's ears rang, but she retained her footing despite the ground itself shifting beneath her feet.
"My lady!" Buliara shouted somewhere to her right. And then her bodyguard and Ayla were within reach of the Guardian, keeping it busy. Buliara had grabbed one of the cavalry's spears, batting aside the flailing arms of the machine, while Ayla weaved in and out of the its strikes, hacking away with her scimitars. "Now, my lady!"
Riju drew a deep breath and ran at the Guardian, putting herself between it and Buliara and, after waiting for an opening, ducking past her bodyguard and getting close enough to touch. Its head turned and focused on her, glowing red as it prepared to fire again.
Riju allowed herself a little smirk, holding out her hand, thumb and middle fingers poised against each other. "You're done," she said, snapping them.
Nothing happened.
Her smirk fell. She snapped her fingers again, focusing on gathering the energy within her.
Nothing.
The red light grew in intensity, and she realised she had, at best, seconds left.
She closed her eyes.
Mother...I'm coming...
A loud tone grew in pitch, to a painful level. She waited for the boom, for the heat, for the momentary feeling of being torn apart.
But that, too, failed to come. Instead, there was a loud shout.
"Iiiiiiincoooooomiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!"
Riju opened her eyes just in time to see something glowing smashing into the guardian from above, knocking it over and into one of the craters it had created, a sizeable dent in its hull, sparking and smoking.
It took her a moment to realise she wasn't about to die, just in time to notice the distinct form of a Goron lying in front of her, a blue piece of cloth tied around his neck. Ayla and Buliara came to stand next to her, looking a little battered.
"Yunobo?!" Riju exclaimed.
"Ow...goro," the Goron said with a groan, sitting up. "That hurt a lot more than I thought it would, goro."
Riju couldn't help but laugh. "Are you okay?"
"I hear bells ringing, goro," he said.
"Bells of victory, I bet," Ayla said, cackling. "Nice one, big guy!"
"Indeed, that was most fortunate timing, Master Yunobo," Buliara said. "My lady, what happened?"
"I...don't know," she said, looking at her hand. She'd managed to do it consistently, but now...now it had failed her. "I thought I..."
"You'll figure it out, my lady," Ayla said, patting Yunobo's arm. "Say, big guy, how'd you get here? You shoot yourself out of a cannon, or something?"
"Yes," Yunobo said, standing up, brushing himself off. "And it was terrifying, goro."
"Hah, I bet!"
Buliara, Ayla, and Yunobo were too busy talking to notice, but Riju saw it. One of the Guardian's arms shifted, twitching like it was in spasm. She was already running towards it by the time the machine managed to upright itself, jumping onto its carapace and holding onto its head with her left hand.
With her right, she braced her fingers once more, putting everything she had of concentration, belief and anger into one last snap.
The sparks flew, and a massive bolt of lightning struck the top of the Guardian's head. Its eye glowed with the incandescence of a sun for but a moment before it shut down with a defeated bloop of a sound, its body slumping into its crater, the glow in its eye disappearing.
Exhausted from the massive outpouring of energy, Riju still found enough strength to draw her knife and, with a battle cry, ram it into the Guardian's eye up to the hilt, twisting it for good measure.
It felt like stabbing into flesh.
"My lady," Buliara cried, climbing onto to carapace just as Riju began to slump, supporting her. "Are you all right?!"
"I'm...good, Bul, I'm good," she said, taking momentary solace from leaning against her bodyguard, gathering her strength, and then pushing off her again. "Come on," she told Buliara, Ayla, and Yunobo. "We have a battle to fight!"
Buliara looked doubtful (when didn't she?), Ayla looked eager (nothing new), and Yunobo...well, Yunobo knocked his fists together.
"Let's do it, goro!" he shouted.
The foursome entered the fray once more.