Chapter 4: The Next Step
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. -Helen Keller
Using her speed booster, Samus runs around the outside of the barrier to do a quick check of how far it reaches. After an hour of running, Samus returns to the castle.
"What is the situation?" Zelda asks expectantly.
"Not good. The barrier covers most of the area, according to the map you gave me at least. If we try to walk through it, we'll either die or become corrupted." Samus reports.
"So what are we supposed to do?" Link asks in frustration.
"My ship has phazon shielding. But it won't fly until its back at 100% functionality. Virginia says that will take approximately 18 hours."
"So, until then, we're stuck here?" Zelda asks with concern.
"I'm afraid so…"
"Paya…" Impa mumbles to herself in worry.
"Don't worry Imps." Purah says reassuringly. "Paya is with everyone else in the village, she'll be just fine."
"Thank you, sister." Impa smiles at Purah.
"If I may." Symin speaks up. "In the meantime, maybe we could get the turrets up and running again? They might be helpful."
Zelda agrees and commissions both Symin and Purah to activate the turrets. Samus stops them and hands each one a scanner to check them for phazon corruption and any that show positive signs are to remain offline until Samus can purge the phazon from them (she has a phazon vaccine that she received from Aurora Unit 242). The pair head off to activate the turrets. Samus then turns to Link, who is on the balcony with a serious expression.
"Link? What is it?"
"It's so quiet out there. Something's wrong…" Link answers.
"Like what?" Samus asks.
Before anything else, Link takes aim at a Lynel trotting towards the castle. When it's in better view, they notice that it covered in blue splotches, indicating phazon corruption. It then stops several meters away from the castle and lets out a howling roar. Seconds later, the ground shakes and large, bioluminescent tentacles erupt from the ground and several bokoblins and moblins (all corrupted) emerge from within them and charge towards the castle.
"RAISE THE BRIDGE!" Link shouts to the guards. "DON'T LET THEM GET INSIDE!"
"Your highness, lady Impa, stay in here!" Samus orders. "I'm going out there!" Samus jumps out of the window, locks on to several enemies and then fires her seeker missiles, each one hitting their mark. The monsters begin to swarm her, but she activates her wave beam and fires several surges of electricity at the incoming bokoblins. A moblin flanks her and manages to strike her with its club, knocking Samus to the ground. Before it can strike again, an arrow strikes the moblin on its head, killing it. The attacker is revealed to be Link, who came down on his paraglider.
"Need a hand?" Link extends his arm towards Samus.
"You're always welcome to join in." Samus replies as she accepts Link's assistance. "Now, let's secure the area."
Link and Samus charge forward as the monsters run towards them with that same Lynel from before directing them from behind. Link uses his swordsmanship skills to lay waste to the attacking bokoblins while Samus uses her plasma beam to scorch the moblins. Samus yells out Links name as she kicks a bokoblin in the air and Link responds by attacking that same bokoblin. Back in the castle, Zelda commands the archers to fire at the enemies to assist the pair in their fight. After several minutes, one of the turrets shoots its laser at one of the five phazon tentacles, destroying it.
"Snappity snap! We got it!" Purah excitedly shouts. "Come on Symin, we need to get the others up and running. These turrets aren't at their best now, so we need a lot of them." Purah and Symin run to the next turret as Link and Samus continue their assault as that same Lynel joins in the fight. To their shock, it breathes a large, weapon grade, stream of fire at them, which they dodge. Samus concludes that this is a result of the phazon. Another shot is fired from a turret, destroying a second phazon tentacle and reducing the number of monsters.
"Just a bit more, we've got this!" Samus shouts as she fires her ice beam, freezing several opponents.
"I'm just getting warmed up!" Link drives his sword into the ground and conjures Urbosa's Fury, electrocuting several monsters and stunning the Lynel. Samus comments that Link has some of his own special tricks up his sleeve. She then shouts to Link while aiming at him and Link responds by holding up his shield as Samus fires her wavebuster at it, reflecting it around the field and hitting several enemies. Link applauds Samus as she gives him a thumbs up, but the Lynel recovers and tackles her.
"Samus!"
"I've got him; you just worry about the others!" Samus responds as she struggles to break free.
"Alright, don't you dare fail us!" Link continues his assault on the bokoblins rushing towards him. Zelda orders the archers to fire at the Lynel, but the target is too fast. As this is happening, another turret fires, destroying a third tentacle. Samus breaks free and maneuvers herself onto the Lynels back and aims it at the incoming arrows, hitting it several times. Zelda breathes a sigh of relief as the soldiers cheer. Meanwhile, Link has wiped out a third of the remaining forces; he then fires several bomb arrows at the moblins, causing them to fall on top of the bokoblins.
"The number keeps decreasing. It's just a matter of time!" Link shouts to the others.
"I hope so; this big guy is no pushover!" Samus responds as the Lynel tries to strike her with its crusher. As it tries to strike, Samus fires a super missile at its crusher, making it fall backwards. She then runs off to aid Link. The pair is now back to back.
"You still here?" Link quips.
"You wouldn't last too long without me." Samus jokingly responds.
"Come on, let's make the last push!" Link slashes diagonally at a moblin and slashes the bokoblins sequentially as Samus fires power beam shots at the incoming bokoblins. The archers continue shooting their arrows and Purah reaches the next turret and starts working to get it set up. After a few minutes, it shoots its laser and destroys the fourth tentacle. The Lynel, fed up with the situation, charges at the pair. Samus jumps to the side and aims at it, but is surprised to see Link rapidly slashing at it. Samus jumps in and does a mix of hitting it with charged shots and punches. Another shot is fired from a turret and the fifth and final tentacle is destroyed. The Lynel shoots an arrow up into the air and it falls to the ground, spreading phazon into the immediate vicinity (which Link and Samus avoid). Samus charges her speed booster and drop kicks the Lynel out of the phazon and lays a barrage of missiles at it. Mortally wounded, the Lynel lets out another roar as it lies on the ground. Link runs up and drives the Master Sword through its heart, finally killing it.
"Alright, let's finish off what's left of them and head back to the castle-" Link is cut off as another tentacle erupts from the ground and Virginia alerts the pair (from within Samus's suit).
"Samus, there is a large increase in phazon coming from that tentacle. Proceed with caution."
"Link, something is very different about this one." Samus alerts Link.
"Like what?" Link inquires as a large, three fingered fist erupts from it before finally revealing what it is: a large, humanoid creature with black armor and blue shoulders, two toed feet and a head with a spike on it. Zelda, Impa, Purah, Symin and the soldiers stare at the creature in fear.
"What in the name of Hylia is that?!" Link exclaims in shock.
"Virginia, confirm this." Samus commands as Virginia scans the beast.
"Scan complete. Morphology: Elite Pirate."
"What?!" Samus shouts in alarm. "Link, get out of the way!"
The Elite Pirate slams its fists into the ground and creates a shock wave that kills off the remaining bokoblins. Before this, Samus runs to Link, grabs him and jumps into the air to avoid the wave. Samus tells Link that they need to head back to the castle. Zelda tells Purah to aim the turret at the Elite Pirate. She complies and fires at it, but it swats the laser away with its fist. Samus fires another super missile at it, stunning the Elite Pirate. Link then runs towards the Lynels corpse and retrieves its quiver, explaining that it might come in handy later. The pair makes their way back to the castle with the recovered Elite Pirate in pursuit. Link stops momentarily and uses the stasis rune to freeze it in place, then he shouts at Purah to fire a turret while it's motionless. Purah has Symin charge the turret to maximum and fires the turret just as the Elite Pirate breaks free. The blast launches them towards the raised bridge, which Samus jumps over with Link. Zelda and the rest run downstairs to check on them.
"Link! Samus! Are you both alright?!" Zelda asks with concern.
"We're fine. A little shaken, but fine." Link says as Samus give the thumbs up.
"What in the world was that thing?" Impa asks.
"Something I didn't think I'd ever see again." Samus replies.
Their chat is interrupted as loud banging is heard from the raised bridge. The injured Elite Pirate climbs up it and jumps into the courtyard where they are.
"Everyone, get back!" Samus shouts as she fires on the attacking Elite Pirate. Link has Zelda and the others return to the castle interior before engaging it. The Elite Pirate fires several laser shots at the pair from what appears to be a modified guardian turret on its right shoulder. Link shoots an electric arrow at its head, temporarily stunning it and giving him time to lay flurry of slashes at its compromised armor. It recovers and tries to slash at Link with its bayonets (its fingers that elongate and become bright blue), which he blocks with his shield, sending him back a few inches. Samus follows up by charging a shot and "punching" it into the Elite Pirates face, breaking the armor on its upper body. Angered, it drives Samus into the ground with its bayonet and she desperately tries to keep it from impaling her. Link jumps up to help her, but it grabs and holds him aloft. At that moment, Zelda runs out and uses her power to keep it from moving, causing it to roar in anger.
"Link, now's your chance! Destroy it!"
"Link, don't worry about me! Take your shot!" Samus shouts as Link escapes the Elite Pirates grasp and jumps up into the air.
"HYAAAAHHH!" Link slashes at the Elite Pirates neck, decapitating it. The bayonet deactivates and Samus moves out of the way before it falls on her. With the crisis finally averted, Link goes to check on everybody.
"Princess, that was very reckless of you. You could have been hurt." Link says with seriousness.
"But I couldn't let that thing kill you-" Zelda explains before being cut off by Link.
"Exactly, without your help, we probably wouldn't even be speaking now. Thank you." Link smiles at Zelda and she blushes.
"Yes, I am indebted to you, Princess." Samus extends her hand and Zelda reaches out to grab it. "Thank you for your help."
"Thank you, for being on our side." Zelda responds.
"Well, this is all very touching." Purah walks out, covered in smoke from the turrets. "But, there is still another matter to discuss; what was that thing?" Purah points to the disintegrating Elite Pirate.
Samus explains that it was a creature known as an Elite Pirate, a monstrous creature that was artificially created by infusing phazon with a space pirate embryo that was to be used as a bioweapon of an experiment the space pirates conducted called "Project Helix". Samus had previously destroyed all the research involving it, so she doesn't understand why one of them appeared here of all places.
"Unbelievable, how can someone do something so abhorrent?" Symin questions.
"Their quest for power knows no bounds." Samus answers directly. "Come on, let me take look at those turrets that weren't activated."
Meanwhile, at the Yiga clan hideout.
"My liege, forgive me for questioning you, but what was the point of sending a squadron of monsters and an Elite Pirate to storm the castle instead of us?" Silas calmly asks and Dark Samus responds telepathically: Test of strength. She then asks him if he has "what she wanted".
"Yes, I personally saw everything there." Silas answers and Dark Samus looks into his memories. She sees the strength that Link is capable of, as well as his prowess with a sword. Her curiosity turns to anger as she sees Samus fighting alongside him. She remembers all the misfortune that Samus had brought in their previous encounters and begins radiating phazon out of anger.
"My liege, we will slaughter this intruder, be certain of that." Silas declares after witnessing Dark Samus's reaction. "Now, we must make preparations for Zora's Domain and Kakariko village once your creatures do away with everything there. If you'll excuse me." Silas bows and then walks away.
From the shadows, an unknown voice speaks to Dark Samus.
"At least your new slaves are tenacious; I thought they'd be less willing to join you." The voice says as Dark Samus responds: "Revenge consumes them."
"Heheheh….That's one thing we have in common. I wonder how they'll fare against Samus, even with the data from Project Helix I provided you with; can they exceed your expectations?"
"We'll see…"
"I suppose we will." The voice leaves and Dark Samus looks at a room filled with strange eggs that have already been hatched.
Later that night, Hyrule Castle.
Samus had spent most of the day infusing the guardian turrets with a "phazon vaccine" program to keep them from being corrupted. Link and Zelda, along with Impa, Purah and Symin discussed their next course of action, concluding that they should head for the Dueling Peaks and Lanayru regions first. Impa in particular wanting to secure Kakariko village and to know about the safety of its inhabitants. While this is going on, Samus walks up to the stables to admire the horses, now that she had some time to spare until the ship finishes its repairs. Apart from Epona and Soren (Zelda's white stallion), a large black horse with a red-orange mane catches her attention. She goes to stroke its mane and it knickers in comfort.
"He's a nice horse, isn't he?" Link speaks from behind.
"Oh, hello Link. I was just looking at the horses. It's been a while since I've seen one." Samus comments while petting the horse.
"His name is Strife. He's supposedly the last of his kind. I didn't want to believe it, so I wanted to look for a female to try and breed him, but with everything going on, I didn't have the time."
"Breed him?"
"I don't like the idea of his kind just dying out. I'd like for it to continue."
"Well, that would be a worthwhile endeavor. I hope you succeed in doing so." Samus responds with a somewhat sad expression.
"Is something wrong?"
"Hmm? Oh no, I'm just exhausted from today. I better go and check on my ship before turning in. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Alright, goodnight Samus."
"Goodnight Link."
Samus leaves the stable and heads down the hallways of the castle. Upon reaching Zelda's study, she sees her sitting at her desk while looking at an old picture. On closer inspection, she sees both Zelda and a man with royal clothing, concluding that it is the king, in other words, her father. Zelda's eyes begin to swell with tears and Samus remembers how she was told that during the "calamity", her father was killed and she had no choice but to escape the castle with Link. Instead of having Zelda see her, Samus walks off to let her have some privacy, commenting to herself that the two of them aren't so different. She finally reaches the ballroom where the ship is and asks for a status report.
"Hull integrity at 79% and power core at 92%." Virginia reports.
"Good. And how is the "item" doing?" Samus inquires.
"Preparation is going smoothly. Estimated completion time is 4 hours."
"Excellent. Virginia, I leave everything to you."
"There is no need for any concern. Sleep well Samus."
Samus heads for her room and closes the door behind her. Upon entering, she feels a presence and quickly activates her suit before aiming at its direction.
"Who's there? Come out now!" Samus orders as a man appears out of thin air, surrounded by green, ethereal lights.
"Do not fear, Samus. I mean you no harm." The man speaks before introducing himself. "I am Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule, the last king of Hyrule."
"King? Then, you're the father of princess Zelda?" Samus asks after lowering her cannon.
"Yes. As the king, I thank you for saving the princess from the clutches of the Yiga. But, as a father, I am eternally grateful to you for saving my daughter and her appointed knight from certain death. Even now, with this new threat to them. I cannot thank you enough."
"I appreciate your kind words, but I don't understand; how are you here, I was told that you were…"
"You are correct; I am no longer part of this world. The great goddess Hylia has granted me the time to return to this world, so that I may relay my knowledge to you. Please, sit.
Samus complies and sits on her bed and king Rhoam details to her what he knows.
"Long before you arrived, during the great calamity, a massive object came from the sky and impacted the land. As I awaited for Zelda's appointed knight, Link, to awaken from his century long slumber, I searched the area where it crashed. But I found no trace of it. Even after an entire century, it never appeared nor shown any signs of damage, until two days ago."
"What happened two days ago?" Samus asked with genuine curiosity and dread
"It began to stir, something creeped forth from within it. In a word: evil."
"The phazon." Samus concluded. "If I'm not mistaken, that object was a leviathan seed."
"You know of this evil, I presume?"
"More than I care to admit… Where is the seed?"
"I cannot say for certain, all I know is that it is somewhere deep underground."
"But why did this seed awaken, after all this time?"
"I would conclude that it had to do with Calamity Ganon's influence over the land. After Link and Zelda destroyed that scourge, its influence disappeared and allowed it to awaken after festering for so long. Now, they face a new calamity…. Please, accept this father's request; use your knowledge of this evil and aid my daughter and her knight in this time of darkness."
"I have heard your plight, king of Hyrule. I will help them to destroy this blight on their home. You can count on me."
"Thank you. I will be watching over you."
"Wait your highness. Don't you think you should speak to the princess? I think she would like to see you again."
"When the crisis has passed, I will tell her everything I need to say. I entrust this to you, Samus." King Rhoam concludes before finally disappearing, leaving Samus to process what just transpired.
The morning after.
Samus awakens bright and early to prepare her ship, which she had moved to the front of the castle. Link, Zelda and the others arrive soon after. Zelda, having opted to wear the same clothing she wore when she first met Samus and Link wearing his champion's tunic and hylian trousers, approach the ship.
"I'm not going to lie; this machine looks a lot better than I thought it would." Link comments while admiring the ships appearance.
"It looks like your helmet, are you trying to the others that you're on your way by letting them see your head flying towards them? Hoo hoo!" Purah exclaims with excitement while Impa and Symin shake their heads in embarrassment.
"Can it seat all of us?" Zelda asks.
"Oh definitely, however, Purah may need to sit on someone's lap. I don't have baby seats." Samus comments, earning an annoyed 'hey!' from Purah and scattered laughter from the others, much to Purah's frustration. "Oh yes, Link, I have something for you."
"Me? What is it?" Link curiously asks.
"I see that you have the talent for fighting and spectacular reflexes." Samus pulls out a device from her ship. "I think this will serve you well, put it on. Remove your weapons first."
Samus hands Link a badge like object, with the triforce-loftwing symbol on it, which he places on his chest. In that instant, it glows and spreads hexagon-like particles all over his body, shaping a form fitting suit in the style of his tunic and trousers, having a metallic aspect to it. Along with a helmet shaped like a black hood with a visor, which retracts down.
"What is this?"
"It's a suit I designed for your use. It allows enhanced maneuverability and freer movement. It also uses kinetic energy, that is movement, to enhance your overall strength. The neural interface allows you to perceive your surroundings even more accurately; you'll be able to attack several enemies at once before they know what hit them."
"Wow, it feels so light…" Link comments while stretching his arms.
"I also added some extra features to it; I'll explain them on the way. For now we should head to our destination. I'll give you some time to get ready." Samus enters the ship from the top.
"Well, how do I look?" Link asks and Impa, Purah and Symin express their opinion, mostly impressed by what they heard it does. Zelda only looks at how much the suit accentuates his physique, causing her to blush. "Princess, are you alright?"
"Oh! Yes! I-I mean, you look fine. Fit for battle. Now then, let's get inside the ship, shall we?" Zelda quickly walks under the ship and stands in the small lift to send her up into it. After she leaves, Purah breaks out into laughter, much to Links confusion. After a few seconds, the others board the ship.
"Are you comfortable, Purah?" Zelda jokingly asks Purah, who is sitting on her lap.
"Shut up, Zellie….." Purah responds in embarrassment, causing Impa and Symin to chuckle.
"Alright everyone, our first stop is Kakariko village. We'll assess the situation and check on the villagers, after that we'll make our way to Hateno village to drop off Purah and Symin at their lab so that they can be our contact from this 'Shiekah slate' device. From there, we'll plan our next step. Any questions?" Samus asks the group as she powers up her ship.
"What does the phazon look like?" Link finally asks.
"It's bright blue and luminescent, your suit will react when it's close by. Remember; do not touch it under any circumstance. Now, let's get going. Everybody hang on."
The ship rises up into the air, activates a transparent layer around it (the shield) and flies through the barrier, into the phazon infested land.
To be continued
Authors Note: What?! I'm hurrying with the releases?! …Huh, who knew? I decided to give Link an upgrade because, needless to say, there are going to be some really big threats than he's already used to. Next chapter will be in Kakariko, Hateno and, hopefully, certain parts of Lanayru. Stay tuned!
Once again, rate and review please!
