Chapter 34: The Frozen Tundra
Link woke up the next morning drenched in cold sweat. His most recent dream was very disturbing. It featured him fighting a man with a short beard on a giant volcano at least twelve times as big as Death Mountain.
"You were my brother, Anakin!" the man had said.
"What's wrong, Link?" Midna asked from his shadow.
"Nothing to worry about," Link replied. "Bad dream."
The imp nodded in understanding. Her ear twitched at the sound of Ignitus' voice calling for them. "We better find out what Ignitus wants," she stated.
Link and Midna walked downstairs and into the room with the green pool, into which Ignitus was staring, apparently lost in thought.
"What is it?" Midna asked.
"I think I've found some information regarding the location of the other Guardians," he stated. Link sat near him, his interest peaked.
"It seems Cynder has four main fortresses, including her home," he explained. "Each of them hold some elemental significance. Her home, Shadow Fort, is located in a place where an eternal storm brews, making it strong in electricity and wind. I've only found one of the other fortresses, which is located in the tundra."
"Do you think the Guardians are being kept in them?" Midna asked.
"That is precisely what I think, Midna," Ignitus stated. "I would imagine Cynder has placed each Guardian out of their element to weaken them. Which means either Volteer or Terrador would be locked up in the tundra fortress.
"How did you find out?" Link asked.
"Some dragons have the gift of seeing visions of the present," Ignitus explained. "I am one such dragon, and the pool shows me what I need to know."
Link nodded in understanding. "I'm guessing I am going the tundra. Reminds me of when I went up Snowpeak. Tell the others that they might not be up to this task, would you? They aren't as adept at cold environments yet."
"Indeed you are, Spyro," Ignitus stated. "But a warning, the tundra is a historical battleground, and the many soldiers and machines of war are littered within the ice. If they thawed, it could wreak havoc. Be careful with your fire."
"Noted," Link stated. "Then I should mainly use weather manipulation to throw the apes off guard."
"That is probably for the best," Ignitus replied. "Be on your way." They exited the courtyard and Link prepared for his trip.
"Hey!" a voice exclaimed. "You can't leave me behind!"
Sparx flew from the balcony above them and landed on one of Link's horns.
"If you didn't want to be left behind, wake up earlier," he criticized the dragonfly as Midna merged with his shadow.
"You should have woken me!" Sparx argued. Link rolled his eyes and took flight, Sparx clinging to his horn.
"Be careful, Spyro!" Ignitus called after them. Link flew up until he was engulfed by clouds and kept going until he was bathed in morning sunlight.
"Which way are we going?" Sparx asked as Link rested his wings and stood on top of a cloud due to his alicorn biology. From what Link could see, there was a shoreline a few miles away, and on the horizon was a gloomy land mass.
"There," Link stated, pointing at the mass. "That's probably it."
He jumped off the cloud and began to move toward the horizon, dipping below the clouds as he did so. The view was breathtaking. Link flew quickly toward the shoreline and was over the water within minutes.
"I've never been this high before," Sparx exclaimed. Link couldn't tell if his brother was having fun or was utterly terrified, but he didn't mind nor care. He had a job to do. He reminded himself of the Ordon children and Ilia at Raaru village and the people in Castle Town counting on him to defeat Zant.
His thoughts were interrupted when a cannonball flew past him. Looking down, he saw a fleet of ships lined all the way to the land on the horizon. After the first shot, the others joined in.
"Well, we're definitely going the right way," he stated. Soon, the air was thick with cannonballs, and Link had to dive, swoop, swerve, and loop to avoid them. Soon, he went into a full dive toward the ocean, and Sparx held onto his horns again to keep up.
"Why are we getting closer?" Sparx asked.
"We'll be harder to hit," Link replied.
"How does that work?" Sparx asked.
"Since cannons are heavy, making them hard to turn. The closer we are, the more they have to turn the cannons," Link explained. "And since the ships are made of wood, they are sussessable to..."
He launched a gigantic fireball at one of the ships, splitting it in half and sinking it. His explanation proved correct, as he could see that the apes on the ships were struggling to aim at him as he shot past.
He rolled in the air and sank another ship, the apes on it struggling to escape the blazing inferno as he did so. The land was coming closer as the air got colder.
"We are definitely on the right track!" Link exclaimed. One of the cannonballs grazed the gauntlet that housed the Master Sword in his moment of distraction, which immediately brought him back to the task at hand. He saw another coming straight at him and promptly smashed it with a fireball.
"Almost there!" Link exclaimed. He sank more ships as he went.
He heard more cannon blasts, but cannonballs weren't flying at him. He saw a very battered ship. It was on the brink of sinking, but it fought seven ape ships at once.
"Have at the, you landlubbers!" a voice exclaimed from the ship. "The Guardians will be free once more!"
Link turned and charged at the crippled ship.
"What are you doing?!" Sparx exclaimed as Link landed on the ship.
"Doing what I can for an ally," Link replied as he assumed his human form and drew the Master Sword as an ape charged at him. He blocked the strike with his blade before quickly disarming the ape with a simple twist of his wrist.
The weapon flew into the air, landing in Link's right hand. And with one swift motion, he decapitated the ape, blood gushing from the stump created.
"Gross!" Sparx exclaimed.
"It's war, Sparx," Link replied as he charged through the ship. "Bloodshed is part of war."
He eventually found what he assumed to be the ship's captain dueling two apes at once. The creature reminded him of a cross of a Zora and an octopus. From the waist up, he was similar to a Zora with the aquatic scales, but had octopus tentacles for a mustache and legs.
"How unsportsmanlike, ganging up on someone," Link stated.
One of the apes turned and noticed Link. "If it isn't the purple pipsqueak," he stated. "Cynder has taken a keen interest to your words about some goddess. Prepare to die!"
Link smirked. "My skill in the blade is unmatched, except by my ancestor," he replied before apprehending the ape in a rather short duel. It ended by Link running the ape through with the Master Sword. The ape keeled overboard and into the ocean.
He turned to realize that all the apes on the ship were defeated.
"For a landlubber, you are a fierce warrior," a voice stated. Link turned to see the creature from before with a smile on his face.
Link returned the Master Sword to his back. "I'm Spyro," he stated, gesturing for a hand shake.
The creature grasped Link's hand and shook. "I'm Wash Buckler, Captain of this ship."
Link smiled. Nice to meet you, Wash Buckler," he said. "You might want to commandeer another ship. This one is nearly gone."
Wash Buckler nodded. "I'll put that into consideration," he stated professionally. "What brings you here?"
"Freeing one of the Guardians," Link replied.
"You better get going then," Wash Buckler stated. "My crew and I will buy you time."
Link nodded before assuming is dragon form. "Good luck," he stated before taking to the air once more.
Soon, he was passing giant columns of ice rising from the water. He sighed in relief as he noticed that the ships couldn't follow him. But as he looked back, he wasn't expecting what he saw.
There were three apes following them, riding gigantic, bat-like creatures, which were screeching at him, steam escaping their mouths in the cold air.
"Dreadwings," Link muttered.
"Well that's just perfect," Sparx stated. The dreadwings clawed and grabbed, attempting to seize Link from the air. Link did his best to tuck, roll, and swoop to avoid them. Though this reminded him of some of the games he participated in at Jade Mountain Academy as a kid, it was clear that it wasn't going to be easy to get away.
Mass shifting was out of the question. His wings wouldn't be able to clear the pillars of ice if he did. Transforming into a Zora with one of the masks he inherited from the Hero of Time won't end well either. Zora don't fare well in cold climates.
That was when he caught a glance at a nearby ice pillar and saw cracks near ocean level. That was when an idea crossed his mind.
"Sparx, hold on!" he exclaimed as he went into a rolling dive and was soon speeding just above the water. He blew a fireball a nearby column, which caused the cracks to spread, snapping it in two parts and causing the portion above the water to fall. It toppled into another column and began a domino effect across all of them. The dreadwings were knocked off course in the maze of fallen ice, and Link managed to escape.
"Nice thinking, bud," Sparx stated. They flew on and were soon over a frozen shoreline. Most of it was cliff line, but there was a small, icy bay nearby with a small, black building of stone that looked like a gateway that leads deeper into the tundra.
He landed behind some rocks close to the gate, where he could hide but still see and hear what was happening. There were ape guards standing at either side. Looking back out to sea, he saw a ship land, and a crew of apes disembark, who began to march toward the gate.
Another ape, much larger and more heavily armed than the others, walked from the gate and toward what appeared to be the captain of the ship.
"What is the meaning of this?" the large ape growled. "You have strict orders to remain guarding the sea!"
"Place the fortress on alert," the captain replied. "Something got past our blockade while we were dealing with some pirates. He sunk two ships, downed three dreadwings, and saved the pirates. It may be after the Guardian."
"Did you see exactly what it was?" asked the other.
"We presumed it was a dragon," the captain answered. "But it was small, around seventeen years old."
The other ape turned and barked orders at the guards, who ran through the gate and out of sight.
"Return to the sea, send more dreadwing riders," the commander stated. "And make sure Cynder does not find out about this. We'll deal with it swiftly, and quietly."
The captain nodded, and he and his crew returned to the ship, and sailed back out to sea. The commander stormed back through the gate, which shut behind him. Midna emerged from Link's shadow.
"Send your wolves to check for any apes," Link whispered.
"Why not just fly in?" Sparx argued.
"Because they'll see me," Link replied. "And we can't risk our cover being blown any more than it already is."
He crept quietly to the side of the gate and hid just beside the entrance, and listened. He couldn't hear anything. And when the wolves returned, Midna confirmed that no one was there. Their only problem was getting inside.