Chapter 5: Calm before the storm
"A sure friend is known when in difficulty" -Quintus Ennius
Link, in his new suit, walks into an unknown area with metallic walls and ramps. As he walks closer, a small machine drops down and blares an alarm before returning to the ceiling. Soon, the doors open and a squad of space pirates (16 in total) run out to face him. One of them tries to hit him with its energy scythe, but he parries it and follows up with a swift horizontal slash, killing it instantly. Another three fire energy beams at him, which he effortlessly dodges and shoots three arrows at once, each hitting their mark. As the three enemies fall to the ground, another tries to blindside Link but, using his advanced perception, he jumps out of the way, move behind the pirate and slashes downward. Another pair run towards him and he parries the attack and slashes the first one before following up on the second one with an upward stab. Link grabs his bow and tightens his grip on its handle, causing energy to surge in it. He then nocks an arrow and sends it flying, hitting a pirate that was 20 feet away. He repeats the process, but he waits until the next three line up in his sight. When they finally do, he shoots the arrow, penetrating their heads sequentially. The final enemies surround Link and he holds his sword in front of him as he prepares himself. They all charge with their scythes and Link spins the sword, parrying all the attacks. He follows up with a lethal slash on one and chains the same attack on the others, with the feeling that time slowed down. After he concludes, the pirates let out a collective dying roar before falling to the ground. Link swings the blood off of his sword and finally sheathes it. A voice then speaks to him.
"Virtual Reality Training complete. Training time elapsed: 47 minutes, 38 seconds."
Link awakens on the ship and removes the cable connected to the back of his helmet, which then retracts.
"Welcome back to reality." Samus says while flying the ship.
"It felt real…"
"That's the idea of 'virtual reality'. Did you get a good feel of the suits capabilities?"
"Yeah, it's impressive."
"You were out like a light, Linky." Purah comments. "Just 4 minutes though."
"4 minutes? I thought it was longer."
"The time in VR moves faster, that's why it felt like you were there longer." Samus explains, earning a surprised expression from Link. "Now, we should be arriving at the village soon." Suddenly, Virginia interrupts the conversation.
"Samus, there are several phazon signatures emanating from the village, each one on a mobile source."
"Understood. Link, get ready to put that suit to the test."
"You don't even need to ask." Link says while re-equipping his helmet.
Meanwhile, the Yiga have started an attack on Kakariko village. The Sheikah put up a great resistance, but the new power of the Yiga has made the fight even more difficult than they thought. Among the combatants is Dorian, an older Sheikah and one of the two guards of Impa's residence, who gives out the orders to the other Sheikah.
"Hold them off! Do not let them enter Chief Impa's residence; we must protect lady Paya!" Dorian orders as he faces a Yiga swordmaster, his eightfold blade breaking from the impact of his enemy's windcleaver blade. Fortunately, Cado, the 2nd guard appears and parries the attack as Dorian brandishes his ancient short sword, an orange sword with intricate symbols and a bright blue energy blade, and impales that same Yiga through the chest.
"Cado! Get the elderly inside; I'll hold them off!" Dorian shouts as he removes his sword from the Yigas corpse. Several other Sheikah join the fight and Dorian spreads them out. "Fight for our home!"
"Traitor!"
Dorian turns around and sees a Yiga footsoldier toss away his duplex bow and pulls out his sickle. Dorian prepares to engage him, but is shocked when the Yiga glows blue with tendrils emanating from him and his sickle extending to an almost whip like appearance. The Yiga charges as Dorian blocks the incoming attack, staggering from the sheer strength of it. Dorian does his best to fight back, but is distracted by the screams of his children.
"Daddy!" Koko, one of Dorians daughters screams as she and her sister, Cottla, are restrained by another Yiga. Dorian turns around to face them.
"How dare you?! Release my children!" Dorian rushes towards them and the footsoldier he was facing takes advantage of the situation and swings his phazon whip, sending Dorian flying to a nearby wall. He is then restrained by the same Yiga as he prepares to deal the finishing blow as Koko and Cottla scream for their father. At that moment, a blast of energy hits the phazon powered Yiga, killing him. The Shiekah and the Yiga look up and see Samus's ship flying towards the village and then hovering above it.
"Nice shot." Link comments.
"Now then; go get them, hero." Samus says as she opens the top hatch of the ship so Link can jump down.
"Alright, you four stay up here; I'm going down there."
"Be careful Link, something is wrong with the Yiga." Zelda warns Link before he heads down.
"I'll be careful, don't worry." Link jumps to the top hatch and glides down to the ground. Before landing, he shoots an arrow at the Yiga restraining the children, killing him and allowing the two to run into their fathers' arms.
"Who are you?" Dorian asks.
"An old friend." Link retracts his helmet and smiles.
"Link!" Koko shouts excitedly.
"You're back!" Cottla beams in happiness.
"What is going on? Why have the Yiga grown in power?"
"I'll explain later. For now, we need to secure the village. Is there any place the kids can hide?"
"I know a place, wait a minute; Claree!"
"What's the problem?" Claree, a young Sheikah woman and owner of the village boutique, approaches the pair with her bow ready.
"Get the children and the elderly inside; we'll drive off the Yiga!"
"Got it!" Dorian then hands his daughters over to Claree, who then rushes them into her boutique before heading off to find the elders.
"Now, let's get these guys." Link draws the Master Sword and points it at the attacking Yiga. Dorian rallies several Sheikah to join the fight. Samus prepares to join the fight.
"Autopilot engaged." Virginia states as the top hatch opens up.
"You four wait here, I'll send the ship down when it's all clear." Samus explains before jumping up and somersaulting down, her body radiating an orange-red energy and landing on a pair of Yiga soldiers, obliterating them. Dorian asks who she is and Link responds that she's a friend. Samus fires at several Yiga trying to attack unarmed villagers while Link and Dorian fight off three phazon powered Yiga, which Samus makes a note of for later. Unfortunately, two footsoldiers bypass the trio and make it up to Impa's house where Paya, Impa's granddaughter, is being hidden, earning alarm from both Dorian and Cado.
"I'll handle it, you two worry about those guys!" Link shouts as he runs towards Impa's house, but stops as both Yiga are tossed out from the front door. Paya then walks out with a serious expression and holding an ancient spear, a spear with intricate orange designs and a triple spearhead made out of blue energy.
"Leave our home; now." Paya commands as she threateningly points her spear at them. The two footsoldiers rush her and Paya somersaults over them and hits both their heads with the blunt side of her spear, causing them to stagger. "This is your final warning…"
The pair recovers and charge at Paya once again. Paya, using her new spearmanship skills, blocks their attacks with little to no effort. She then parries one of the footsoldiers, rapidly stabs him in the abdomen and then swings the spear across his head. The other Yiga slashes vertically and Paya swings the spear horizontally, throwing his sickle to the side and leaving him open to a thrust from her spear.
"I guess you didn't need my help after all." Link quips while being clearly impressed.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" Paya asks with seriousness.
"Paya, it's me." Link retracts his helmet, causing Paya to go from serious to flustered, as well as dropping her spear.
"M-m-master Link! It's g-great to see you again! I'm s-sorry for n-not recognizing you…"
"Hahah, no problem. I almost didn't recognize you with the way you fought."
"Ahh! W-was I really t-that impressive?"
"Of course. I'm proud of you-"
"Link!" Samus shouts while helping several Sheikah fight empowered Yiga footsoldiers. "Am I interrupting?!"
"We'll talk later, I've got to help. Be careful!" Link runs toward the others. Paya picks up her spear and decides to do the same. Before Link moves any further, he sees Dark Samus staring at him from atop one of the cliffs surrounding the village and before he can react, she flies away. Link wonders who that was and why she almost resembled Samus. Ten minutes later, they manage to drive off the remaining Yiga and the Sheikah cheer.
"The village is secure; I'm not picking up any more phazon signatures." Samus comments.
"I thought it wasn't going to stop." Link says with exhaustion.
"Virginia, bring it down." Samus gives the command to Virginia to bring the ship down. It lands in the center of the village (which is clear of people).
"Hold on, just who are you and what is this thing?" Dorian asks.
"My name is Samus Aran. I've come to help you. In fact, she can vouch for me." The bottom hatch of the ship lowers and Impa steps out of it.
"Grandmother!" Paya excitedly runs up to Impa and hugs her.
"Oh my dear, I'm so glad you are unharmed." Impa comments as she returns the hug. "All of you as well, you fought valiantly. Our village is safe once again."
The entire village erupts in applause, several of the villagers rush over to thank Link for his aid, Koko and Cottla gleefully run to their father and Paya stays by Impa's side. The cheering stops as Zelda descends from the ship and all of the villagers bow in respect. She is soon followed by both Purah and Symin.
"Huh, now this is more like it!" Purah happily comments.
"Purah, I believe they are bowing for the princess." Symin interjects.
"Sheesh, way to kill the mood, Symin."
"Now now, we have much to discuss. Your highness, if you would be so kind." Impa speaks up.
"Thank you, Impa." Zelda kindly says. "All of you please rise. Now, first of all, Hyrule is not the only one in danger; but rather our entire world is at risk of extinction." The villagers reel back in shock at this announcement. "This barrier over the land is the cause of a starborne blight that has plagued several worlds before ours. If we do not stop this, then all will be lost. But, a new hope has come from the stars as well; in the form of our new ally." Zelda extends her arm over to Samus and beckons her to come closer.
"As I said before, my name is Samus Aran; I come from a world far away from this one. I have faced this evil many times in the past and I will aid you in this fight as well. I will pass on my knowledge of it to all of you, so that you may know what you're up against."
"I understand if you have some suspicions of her, but understand that she can be trusted." Link interjects. "Just as she did for all of you, she saved the princess and myself from the Yiga and their new leader. Without her, we probably wouldn't be here speaking." The villagers then nod their heads slightly at Samus, indicating trust.
"So now you know; with our alliance, we will purge this evil from our home. Just as we did for the calamity. We will prevail." Zelda declares proudly as the villagers applaud.
Later that night, Purah and Symin had spent the remainder of the day fixing the guardian turrets at the entrances to the village as well as purging any phazon from the small guardian scouts that were brought earlier to the village. After several hours of consulting with Impa, the trio decides to take the rest of the night to relax and prepare for the next morning. On another note, out of gratitude for saving the village, Koko had prepared meals for all five of the visitors (Samus in particular being intrigued by the idea of mixing meat with pumpkins). The five were then given fold out beds inside Impa's house, which Zelda has already fallen asleep.
"She's out like a light." Samus, wearing her zero suit, commented to Link, who was still awake and had deactivated his suit.
"Today was a big day after all, I'm glad she's sleeping soundly." Link responds. "She's been having nightmares lately. All of them about the calamity."
"Everyone has mentioned this calamity several times, what exactly happened?"
Link, not having any objections, tells Samus about what happened long before she arrived. A monstrous evil known as Calamity Ganon wreaked havoc over the land of Hyrule. The people had ancient machines called guardians and four massive contraptions known as the divine beasts to combat this threat. Their best chance at winning was Zelda, who had a sealing power locked away within her that could defeat Calamity Ganon, but she unfortunately could not unlock it in time; the calamity rose again and laid waste to everything and everyone. Despite their best efforts, Calamity Ganon took control of the guardians and the divine beasts and Hyrule fell in a matter of minutes, among the casualties were King Rhoam and the four champions: Mipha of the Zoras, Revali of the Rito, Urbosa of the Gerudo and Daruk of the Gorons. While escaping from the attacking guardians, Link was gravely injured protecting Zelda and held his last stand to protect her. At that moment, Zelda awakened her sealing power and banished the malice from the guardians. However, the fight took its toll on Link and he collapsed to the ground. Zelda desperately pleaded for Link to stay alive, but he lost consciousness. The next thing he knew, he woke up in a strange chamber with next to no memories. Samus listened to every detail of the account, asking an occasional question, and at the end of it, she spoke up.
"So, you've been asleep in that chamber for the past century?" Link nods to answer Samus's question. "What happened after that?"
"The spirit of the king told me to save the princess, who was trapped in the castle trying to keep Ganon from escaping. I first went to free the divine beasts and the spirits of the champions, they helped me to defeat that thing that killed them. Finally, with the help of the princess, I finished what Calamity Ganon started and she sealed it away for good."
Samus listened in silence and she realized that they had been through so much recently and now a new threat looms over them. "Well, at least it can't hurt anyone else ever again and you kept your word to the king by saving the princess."
"And I will keep protecting her." Link stares silently at the peacefully sleeping Zelda. "She's all I have left."
"You have a lot of love for her, don't you?" Samus smiles kindly.
"D-don't misunderstand; I'm her appointed knight, it's my duty to protect her." Link says while flustered.
"Uh-huh." Samus quips.
"What's that supposed to mean-?"
"Link, good thing you're awake, can you come with me please?" Impa walks down the stairs and asks Link to accompany her to the balcony, which he nods at. Before leaving, he tells Samus about a blue armored figure that almost resembled her that he saw, to which Samus could not believe as true, but thanks him for telling her (all the while contemplating if that person that Link saw was truly the same one she was thinking of).
Out on the balcony.
"Well, I see Paya has learned how to fight in these past two months." Link comments.
"She's been training daily since you went to save the princess. You've become an inspiration for many of us and Paya is no exception." Impa proudly says. "But that is not why I have asked you out here; I know that there is the issue with this phazon and that it takes precedence over all, but the status of Zelda needs to be taken in to account, especially if we are to unify the land once again. You know what I mean, don't you?"
It took Link several seconds to understand what Impa is talking about, but he realizes what she was getting at. In fact, it was a subject that Zelda had been avoiding for a while now; her coronation.
"Oh, you mean that."
"Yes, I decided to leave it in the air for a while, she was exhausted from her stasis in containing the calamity and she did not need any more worries, but even after 12 days she has not spoken on the subject at all."
"What do you want me to do?"
"For now, stay focused on the task at hand. But keep in mind that you should speak to her on this subject whenever you get the chance. Hyrule needs its queen, you know that."
"I will do what I can. Just give me more time." Link reluctantly answers.
Impa concedes and the pair reenters the house. Purah and Symin appear a few moments later, both exhausted from the repairs to the turrets and scouts that they don't even acknowledge that Link and Impa were in front of the door and push the pair aside, much to their confusion.
The morning after
The group (except for Impa, who is staying behind to run the village) prepares to enter the ship to head for Hateno village. Impa wishes them well and hopes for their success in this time of uncertainty and Paya promises that the village will be safe and that she has faith in all of them. Zelda gives one more hug to Impa and prays that everyone be safe before entering the ship. Paya walks over to Link and whispers in his ear, to which Link smiles at. Purah and Symin enter after activating the turrets and both wave goodbye to the villagers. The ship rises to the sky and takes off towards the east as the villagers cheer to wish them well.
"Are you sure you didn't want to go with them, Paya?" Impa asks.
"I'm sure grandmother; I am needed here." Paya answers. "If the Yiga come back, we'll need to be ready for them."
"Hmm, I agree with you. But it seemed like you wanted to aid them on their quest."
"I would just be in the way; they need to focus solely on this task and nothing else, especially Link."
"Ho hoh, is that what you told him before he left?"
"Actually, I told him that the princess needs him and that he should take care of her. I know he'll keep his word." Paya smiles at this.
"Ah, my dear, you've certainly grown up quite a bit. But, I'm glad you're still my little papaya seed."
"G-grandmother, please don't bring that up again. I'm fortunate that our new friend and the princess didn't hear that…" Paya says with red cheeks.
"Oh, they know already; I told them at dinner when I showed them paintings of you as a baby. They thought your birthmark was really cute." Impa comments as she walks back into her house. Paya remains motionless and seconds later, her eyes widen and her entire face turns beet red.
"GRANDMOTHER!" Paya shouts in mortification.
In Samus's gunship heading towards Hateno village.
"I see Robbie has been keeping busy; did you see all the ancient weapons the villagers had?" Purah comments.
"Oh, that was me." Zelda speaks up. "I paid Robbie to supply them with ancient weaponry to better defend their village. I thought that, during the siege of the castle, looters would come by and steal from the treasure chamber, but thankfully no one ever did."
"And you went to Robbie for a big shopping spree." Purah quips.
"Hee hee, you could say that."
Meanwhile, Samus asks Link about the fact that she overheard the Yiga label Dorian a 'traitor' and wonders what they meant. Link explains that Dorian used to be one of them and upon meeting the woman who would become his wife, he defected. Sadly, she paid the price for his desertion when the Yiga appeared and executed her, sometime after their children were born. Since then, he has lived every day making sure that no harm would ever befall his children or the village. Samus becomes appalled by the cruelty of the Yiga and remains silent throughout the remainder of the flight.
After 11 minutes, they reach the entrance to Hateno village, which Link had asked to be dropped off at so that he can explain to the concerned villagers about the phazon barrier over the land and that he'll meet them at Purah's lab. The others reach the lab and Purah tries to communicate with the other Sheikah towers.
"So, what's the news?" Samus asks.
"Hmm, not good. I can only link up the Dueling Peaks, Hateno and Lanayru towers. But with the barrier, I can't even communicate outside." Purah answers
"This is quite the predicament, what should we do now?" Symin adds.
Just then, Link walks in. He managed to quell the people's doubts and he brought some provisions.
"Link, we have some bad news; the barrier is jamming communication with the towers, so we can't find this 'leviathan' object." Zelda comments.
"Great." Link sulks. "So, what's the next plan?"
"Well, we can try finding the source of the barrier and-"
Samus is interrupted as the doors swing open and a Zora wearing royal ornaments and covered with injuries falls on the floor.
"What in the world?!" Zelda exclaims.
"Sidon?!" Link yells before kneeling down. "What happened to you? What did this?"
"Link? Heheh...good to see you again." Sidon, revealed to be the crown prince of the Zoras, weakly comments. "How ironic that I find you, when I need help again."
"Good heavens! Did the Yiga do this to you?" Symin asks with concern.
"No, it was not the Yiga; it was a monster. It took four of our warriors to take one down, but they just kept coming. I was the only one who survived, but we managed to evacuate my people. I've never seen anything like them."
"What did they look like?" Purah asks.
"Some looked like giant insects; others looked like bipedal lizards; like lizalfos, only bigger and much more aggressive. But, if I could give a better description, the smaller ones looked like flying jellyfish."
"Flying jellyfish?" The rest repeat in unison.
"You." Sidon gestures at Samus to come closer. "The rumors are true; the armored spellcaster."
"Me? What do you know about me?"
"I know you helped the princess and Link a few nights ago. I know that you are not here for nefarious purposes. Therefore, please; help us…" Sidon asks before losing consciousness.
"Sidon!" Link yells in panic.
"It's alright Link, he's just unconscious." Zelda confirms.
"Symin, get the kit!" Purah orders Symin, who complies and runs to get the first aid kit.
"What creature was he talking about?" Link asks.
"I have an idea; I just pray I'm wrong." Samus says as she checks the status of her ice beam.
"Well, we know what to do next; we need to head for Zora's Domain. Now." Link says as he helps Sidon to the table.
In the now deserted Zora's Domain, a stray bokoblin wanders in and pokes at a viscous fluid on the floor. It is then attacked from behind by an unknown creature. It's screaming stops as a screeching sound reverberates through the halls and a dome shaped shadow with four protrusions underneath it floats away.
To be continued.
Author's note: That can't be good. So, I finally got around to finishing this chapter. I know that it was a bit of a slow chapter, but don't worry; it'll pick up soon. And yeah; it was obvious what's going on in Zora's Domain, right? XD
Once again, rate and review please!
