Bossing People Around

Boss fight.

Kishgal was having a lot of fun with Magnesis. It took much longer than it should have for a guy in his early twenties to kill the old grandpa. This annoyed Kishgal. He assumed the old grandpa was dead but given what the guy pulled off, he wanted to track down where the geezer had staggered off to in the resulting confusion. He would only trust Gustaf was dead when the head was disconnected from his shoulders and burned.

The Hyrulian Knights were none too pleased about their metal armor and weaponry being used against them. Kishgal's allies flooded the area and it was proving difficult to get close to him or even close enough to fire off arrows before being attacked by ninjas. Men were used as bludgeons against their friends. Word spread a bit so some knights were coming in with considerably less defense and armed with whatever they could gather. Mostly the people putting up a fight were Gorons with traditional Goron fisticuffs. Gorons who had metal weapons abandoned them in favor of chucking stuff or punching things. There were not nearly enough Gorons and they did not move nearly as fast as they would like. Yiga and Knights alike were fighting all over the place.

In his lab, a researcher scribbled noted and made careful calibrations to meters. He was so absorbed in his work he'd missed the crashing, yelling, and alarm bells entirely. He was looking to crack the mysteries of the universe. He was starting with the rupee.

Hyrule and other countries that used this particular currency found counterfeiting wasn't usually a problem. Rupees when thrown on the ground always stood on end and it drove men of science mad. Merchants made it standard practice to toss money down on the floor behind the counter whenever they suspected a scam. People tried all the time to build perpetual motion machines with it. This oddity only worked when throwing the money on the floor. The rupees acted like normal physics applied when stuffed in boxes, wallets, and machines which hampered progress somewhat. Anything being attached to the rupee ruined the effect too.

This researcher was looking to harness this property. Somehow. Gyroscopes were going to become amazing once he got this working. A feathered hand turned a knob.

Hooligans burst through the door. The old Rito spun around with a scowl to confront the teenage menaces. He was surprised to see a crowd of knights, Yiga, and two other people of uncertain affiliation bursting through the double door. One girl was waving a slate around. A demon carver floated up out of an assassin's arms. A knight had another Yiga in a headlock and they both slammed into a wooden apparatus. A boy was yelling and waving a stick around with a sword being used for defensive blocking,

"For the love of the Goddesses, I'm NOT working for the Yiga Clan! He LIED." Some other person in black and purple got flipped by a mysterious force onto a desk. This knocked his mask off and the Yiga disappeared with his face buried in the crook of an elbow. A Zora stabbed at the kid in the lavender tunic yelling something that sounded like 'For Sidon!'

The girl with the slate pointed it at the Zora and he froze midair. The girl and boy ran out the other door. With another wave of the cane, a ninja smashed onto the stone floor. The remaining Yiga not currently occupied in a fistfight attempted to give chase with a "臆病な裏切り者ウサギ!" The Zora unfroze with a quick tap of the Sheikah Slate wielded by the girl and crashed into that guy.

The researcher scooped his notes into his arms and ducked under a desk to wait things out. He made a mental note to get his hearing checked.

Ravio and 'Hilda' were not having an easy time getting through. There were fewer Like-Likes in the Castle than out in the fields but a few probably had crept in. Hazel knew that Ana was going to scatter rupees behind them but it was still risky. She didn't want to encourage Ravio to start picking up money now. He gave the rupees longing looks, but self-preservation was a high priority.

Hazel's disguise meant people didn't recognize her. Lots of people recognized Ravio, unfortunately. They were attacked by Yiga, by Knights, and by random students since not everyone had access to Gossip Network updates. The Gossip Stone Network had announced Kishgal's fraud but had yet to fully explain everything he was making up. Ravio was starting to be pleasantly surprised by people who didn't immediately try to murder him with a yell of either 'traitor,' 'slanderer,' or 'Yiga scum.' To make matters worse, some people saw the Master Sword and assumed Ravio was Kishgal with the fake one. This despite the hair color being back to its usual dark color and the Master Sword starting to glow a little.

They ducked into an empty lecture room to pop roasted endura and rushshrooms into their mouths. Something else was bothering the both of them.

"Do, do you sense that? It's just, something feels terribly wrong. It's more than just Kishgal or Veran."

"I-I think so too," Ravio said with dread. "The sword is reacting to something."

"We're headed towards it aren't we?" Hazelda muttered unhappily. "I'd wager my sister and grand-uncle are over near it too."

Something else was bothering Ravio. He broached the subject as Hazel peered out the door for pursuers. "Hey, Hilda? Why don't I get the slate?" Hazel arched an eyebrow and pretended she didn't see what he was getting at. "I'm the Hero, I activated it."

"Do you have the necessary expertise to handle these bomb runes? I don't want you blowing us up. Do you have any experience with explosives?"

"Actually, I was sailing up until a few days ago. I learned all about gunpowder and-"

"You don't have the training for using all these runes." Hazel quickly said. She left out that she didn't have any explosives experience other than that obtained today. "Besides that, you've got the Sword and your magic rods."

"That's another thing. Did they have to take all my magic rods? They only left the Cane of Pacci. I only have that and this lightning rod."

"We were in a hurry. What does the cane do anyway?" Hazel asked while trying to think of the best route to whatever they were sensing.

"It flips things upside down." Hazel and Ravio both jumped when a voice said.

"That's silly. What would you do with that?"

"Captain Ashei!" Hazel said. "You really scared me, popping out like that."

"Who are you?" Ashei growled at the two. Hazel had forgotten about her disguise and mentally kicked herself. Hazel clamped her mouth shut before her voice was recognized.

"I'm Ravio, that's Hilda. Sorry, there's been a really big misunderstanding." Ravio said with his hands held up in the air. "I didn't say mean things about Sidon and I'm not working for the Yiga Clan." Ashei still had her sword point up and was studying the two but she hadn't attacked yet.

"Funny. There's a fake hero with a replica of the Sword of Evil's Bane around. Stabbed the King." Ashei said evenly. The sword point did not move. Hazel hoped Ashei wouldn't attack, she was fast. Hazel wouldn't get her sword out fast enough to defend.

"This is the real sword. We just got here and I'm not killing any kings buddy."

"I heard he's got blonde hair. Drop that sword of yours, yeah? I hear my men are fighting in the courtyard and I'm wasting time on the two of you." The Master Sword clanged to the floor along with the cane. "Step back a little too. No sudden moves, yeah?" Ashei bent down to grab the sword while keeping her weapon and attention on the strangers. She'd kept an eye on the news and there had been an interesting report from Shad. She still didn't have anything much to give concrete evidence this guy could be trusted. "Tell me, would you happen to know anything about letter writing?"

"Huh?" Ravio said in confusion as Ashei touched the handle of the divine weapon. She recoiled as if burned. Ashei glared at the sword.

"Well, I'll be. Your story checks out." It didn't act like the fraudulent one from the reports. Also, that feeling was akin to having a Goddess smack your hand away from a cookie jar with a minor bit of smiting. It was unlike anything Ashei had ever experienced. Ravio and Hazel were still confused.

"What are you guys waiting for?! Let's go!" Ashei said as she rubbed her hand.

"You believe us?... Great! Finally! Thank you, Miss Captain!" Ravio practically bounded to his sword and cane as Hazel relaxed. "Hilda, someone isn't trying to kill us, finally!" Hilda looked at Ashei with a frown.

"Um, so the fake hero has Magnesis. Either that or someone close by him." Hazel tried to pitch her voice a little differently and just ended up sounding like she was trying to disguise her voice. Ashei cursed. She should have figured that out from the sword checking reports and she was wearing full plate mail. They left her with a spare sword from the forest and left ahead of her.

The library courtyard was covered in purple and black ninjas. Veran left the scene after conjuring a couple of spiders with a breezy, "Have fun. Do make sure to take one or two hostages." It was the way they'd keep the place from being leveled by Divine Beasts. Kishgal might get carried away without a reminder. In the ensuing tide of knights, he lost track of Gustaf. He reluctantly stopped to down an elixir from a subordinate before charging back into the fray. Veran had business to the south.

Aryll, Groose, Strich, and Ana fared a little better than Ravio and Hazel since only one group present was trying to kill them. Aryll was saving her lighting for when it would be needed so they stabbed, burned, froze, and shot their way through. They burst into the courtyard with wooden weapons ready to fight for Hyrule.

"HEY! You! What did you do to my Grandpa!" Ana yelled. Aryll was also yelling at the same time.

"We're going to stop you, evildoer! How dare you hurt people! Coward!"

Kishgal cackled something unintelligible.

Murderous Pretender Hero

Kishgal

"We're also a little mad about your lies! Evil jerk!" said an irate Groose as he went after a Yiga Footsoldier to his left. Kishgal took in the sight of new opponents with glee. Ravio had warned them Kishgal was an unhinged psycho and it was showing now.

Evil Jerk

Kishgal

That's a better title. Strich took to the air with his new favorite bow and helped Ana eliminate the ranged threats. The knights were doing their best to stop archers too but fresh fighters were a goddessend. Aryll snapped. She felled two archers perched above and the second snap took out two more. Groose focused on keeping enemies away from Ana. They'd all chomped down on ironshrooms, but Groose was painfully aware of how quickly they could be killed with a single misstep. "Aryll! Can you get the fake?! I'll protect Ana!" Kishgal was already trying to stab Aryll and his eyes widened when he saw the mark on the back of Zeldana's hand. For better or worse, he was falling for the bait. Aryll tried to snap but was forced to defend against Kishgal.

Ravio was hardly the only person who'd been practicing that day; Aryll had practiced using Urbosa's Fury in the forest trial. She discovered she needed space between herself and the target the hard way. She mostly could control the lightning but when standing right next to a target, she fried herself. Stamina was a huge issue and most of the stamella shrooms were given to her. Kishgal was relentless in going after the recognized threat Aryll presented. It helped that Aryll was directly in the line between him and the princess.

Kishgal snarled, "Why don't you help your friends?" One hand gestured to the side and an unconscious knight floated. He was thrown at Groose's head with a toss of the arm. Ana shrieked a warning for Groose to duck as she frantically waved the ice rod at the Skulltulas which now had joined the fray.

"Princess! Hold on!" yelled a knight from the other side of the courtyard. Some knights, now devoid of plate armor, were trying to help as best they could. Strich tossed his Forest Dweller spear to a man on the ground and it was accepted with gratitude. He only got a shot in before being forced to evade more arrows from the Yiga minions below.

"死ぬ死ぬ死ぬ死ぬ!" giggled Kishgal "Oh I should have done this last time!"

Aryll didn't dare try to put space between her and Kishgal now that Groose was forced to deal with people being chucked at him. Groose missed having his claymore when he was using a standard Forest Dweller sword. Ana rescued him by torching a Blademaster about to chop him in half. Kishgal would not stop yelling insane half-sentences which, as far as Aryll could tell, was a mix of Hylian and Sheikah language with a heaping helping of insanity. Each blow dealt to him made his smile wider and his hand movements with the sword and bracer more frenetic. Groose and a Goron he vaguely remembered from training managed to destroy another wave. Ana tossed a banana bunch at another group while ducking behind a planter. The loaned forest dweller spear impaled a spider.

"Leave my Ana alone!" was Groose's battle cry.

"You make me do that 無価値バカ! AHAHAHAHAHA!" laughed the psycho.

Kishgal grabbed the air in the direction of another unconscious knight when he noticed Aryll was trying to back up a little. He pulled the knight towards him and floated the knight near him to prevent Aryll from simply electrocuting him. This problem Kishgal was creating for Aryll was also a distraction for him. Aryll pulled her crossbow and buried a bolt in Kishgal's abdomen. With a shriek of the same rage he emitted when fighting the king, he came after Aryll again.

Groose was glad he wasn't having armored people thrown at him and the flow of henchpeople had slowed to a near stop. Strich fired an ice arrow at Kishgal's head. He normally would have missed the shot but for the new bow. Kishgal was frozen mid-swing. Strich said another silent prayer of gratitude from his perch for the magic arrow multiplication effect. Kishgal's freeze left an opening. Aryll crammed a stamella shroom in her mouth and called forth a bolt.

Kishgal was unfrozen as the fake sword shattered in his hand. The part of Aryll which paid attention to her mother's lessons on blacksmithing sniffed at the inferior blade. Groose and some knights surrounded Ana to make sure no leftover Yiga would get the drop on her. Kishgal twitched and reached for a talisman before Aryll and another guard pounced to pin down his arms. They were not going to have Kishgal teleport away.

Kishgal's laughter devolved into a howl that needed zero translation.

Ravio and Hazel burst in a few moments into the beginning of the howl. The few knights still standing and not restraining Kishgal pointed weapons at Ravio. He halted but did not drop the Master Sword. Linkle looked up. Groose hastily said, "Wait! He's not an enemy! That's the real Master Sword!" Only one knight relaxed their guard before Ana said,

"He isn't working for the Yiga! That's the real Master Sword! The Yiga Clan was lying to get these guys in trouble. Where's Grandpa?" The rest of the knights warily looked around. Kishgal was staring at Ravio and fell silent with a look of utter confusion. He would scarcely have been more flabbergasted had Farore herself walked in to offer cooking lessons.

One knight spoke, "We don't know what happened ta' him. He was putting up a fight but we lost him in the crowd. I think there was a Sheikah, maybe he got away?"

"彼は死んでいるはずです！デッド！デッド！" shrieked Kishgal. He did not believe it was the Master Sword. "うさぎの男の子！できない-Ravio! They'll all turn on you the moment they realize who you are Son of Veran!" This pronouncement was a revelation for the knights but was about what people reported on the Gossip Stone network among all the false accusations. "Yeah, that's right, this coward here? He's my little cousin!" Kishgal didn't get the desired result of a revelation meant to shatter people's trust in a friend. Linkle rolled her eyes and shoved the fabric of Kishgal's hood in his mouth.

"Stow it. Murderer." In response to Aryll, Kishgal choked angrily on the gag in a vaguely savage manner.

"Ravio deserted from your clan years ago, we know," Strich said.

"What about this guy? That other was a fake... Huh it's glowing." said another knight. The Magnesis bracers were removed by Aryll while they made darn sure this jerk was not escaping. Ashei sprinted into the room in a tunic, trousers, and lack of metal armor. Impaz appeared with a cough next to a panting Ashei. Ashei was not going to be happy she'd just spent time getting rid of her metal stuff then sprinting here. They'd already taken out that threat, the loss of armor was now pointless. Ravio sheepishly sheathed the Sword of Evil's Bane and tried to formulate words to explain everything in a hurry.

Note: I should go back and explore Hyrule Castle for the layout but you know what? I started the game over again. Not enough hearts yet. I'm glad someone liked Gustaf and I totally missed the letters matching in the names. Minor edits 9/6/19