She was trapped. She had been trapped for so long she'd nearly forgotten what the outside world was like.
The walls shuddered in constant, sickening motion, pumping in a perverse parody of her own Hylian heart. She'd long grown used to the sight. It meant nothing to her now.
She'd grown used to the voices as well.
"He's never coming back, Princess."
"He's moved on, found a family, raised some children. I can show you their faces if you'd like."
"He's already dead Princess. No one is coming to save you. Poor little Zelda, sacrificing herself for those who've forgotten her."
As she'd done for the past...however long she'd been this wretched prison, Zelda tuned the words out. It wasn't that hard; the magic of the goddess was a comforting presence, one that sang in her ear while Ganon whispered poison in her other. If not for that melodic voice that told her to keep the faith, the voice that propped her up and kept her company, Zelda would have gone mad a long time ago.
Time passed. She had no way of knowing how much. The voice of the goddess in her ear grew weaker, while Ganon's grew stronger. The walls closed in. The light was dying.
"You've struggled for so long, Princess, and for what? Your kingdom has already fallen. There is nothing left of the outside world. Hyrule was razed to the ground, not a single stone left on top of another. Give in. I will make your end quick and painless."
She held onto the quiet melody as long as she could, but it wasn't enough. The goddess' power abandoned her, and the Malice of Ganon rushed forwards to consume her…a part of her welcomed it. Zelda closed her eyes in acceptance of her fate...
Zelda opened her eyes.
She was in a cave...a cave that was familiar to her. She lay beside a black sea, the surface smooth as glass, and the walls of the cavern were made of fossilized shells.
"Here again?"
Zelda sat up and looked around. As strange and unsettling as this place was, she'd gladly take it over more nightmares of her time with Ganon. She'd already discerned that this wasn't a normal dream. Perhaps this was a sign of some kind from Hylia? A vision from the Goddess, to help her on her way?
It was relieving to know that the Goddess was still with her, even with her powers diminished.
"Though...what are you trying to tell me, Hylia...and where are those Siblings?"
The cavern was utterly silent. No Siblings were in sight. Pity, she'd enjoyed playing with them the first time around, they had been ever so adorable.
Zelda turned, looking around her. There was a lighthouse in the distance, a lighthouse that reached up and up until the top of it was lost in darkness. She hadn't seen that the first time, occupied as she was by the Siblings. Well...if this was a message from Hylia, perhaps the meaning would be found in there.
Eight white eyes in endless black watched as Zelda left the ocean shore to explore the Lighthouse.
. . .
Link stirred a handful of crushed hylian herb into the mushroom risotto he was making over the campfire. The sun had yet to fully rise over the mountains, and Zelda was still asleep, though Fyson and their three Sheikah escorts were up and about (and he'd caught all four of them staring longingly at his wok as he cooked).
He liked cooking in the mornings. Well, he liked cooking in general, it was one of his favorite activities (right after eating, fighting, and exploring) but mornings were special. The world was quiet at first, cold and usually wet, but then everything came to life. With the arrival of the sun, suddenly, birds started singing, flowers opened, and warmth returned.
After a miserable day of riding through the Lanayru Wetlands, they'd stopped at Mercay Island to set up camp, while Link had gone ahead to clear out the Lizalfos encampments by himself. Some had run away once it became clear just who was attacking them (or maybe they remembered the last time he'd killed them, back before the last blood moon). Either way, the Lizalfos encampments were shortly cleared out, and Link had cooked dinner for everyone while the sun set.
It was an unusual feeling, traveling with other people after months of being alone. Sure, he'd seen plenty of people whenever he rolled into the next town or village, and he did meet travelers on the road...granted, half of those travelers were Yiga assassins, but that was semantics. The point was, Link had become accustomed to being by himself while on the road, and now he had not only his Princess, but also three Sheikah and a Rito, all making noise, talking, eating, and doing all the things that people did.
Link thought he liked it, even if it was different from what he was used to.
"Risotto?" asked Zelda from behind him. Ah, good, the smell must have woken her up. Link nodded, and carefully spooned the first serving of the day onto a plate and handed it to her. The Sheikah Slate was a wonderful thing; not only did it keep ingredients as fresh as the day they were stored, but it also let him transport a cabinet's worth of dishes and silverware with him.
As Zelda began to dig into the mushroom risotto with a muffled moan, Link plated up four more servings and handed them out to the remaining travel companions, who each thanked him in turn. Then, finally, Link looked down at the remaining mass of risotto (equal to all of the servings he had just given out), grabbed a fork, and began eating it straight from the wok.
An hour later, breakfast was over, the dishes were washed, the campsite was packed up, and everyone was ready to go. Link spurred his horse forwards with a light tap of his heels.
They still had quite a ways to travel.
. . .
The burning orb was halfway through the sky as Hornet leaned back in her chair, listening to the status reports from her team leaders continue.
"Exploration has continued apace, your Highness. We've made some fascinating discoveries as well. All of those statues around Dirtmouth? They are some kind of autonomous construct, not unlike the mining drones used in Crystal Peak!" said Cornifer happily, "Thankfully none of the hy'leen constructs around us appear to be active, but we should probably dismantle them to be sure. Wouldn't want some unassuming bug to get blown up by a stray blast."
Hornet nodded, turning her attention from Cornifer and Iselda to Elderbug.
"Elderbug, spread the word to those who live in Dirtmouth about the potential danger of the hy'leen constructs, and ask around to find anyone interested in working on dismantling them. We can send messengers to the Crossroads and the City of Tears as well. Former miners who worked on our own drones would be best, they should have a better understanding of the machinery."
"Ah...yes, your highness."
Hornet turned her head back to Cornifer and gestured for him to continue, saying, "Anything else to add, Cornifer?"
The squat bug perked up and responded, "Well, we dragged the body of one of the native monsters that we killed back to Dirtmouth, a black giant of some kind. The flesh has apparently become something of a delicacy, despite it's unpleasant scent. We already have bugs clamoring for more."
Hornet clicked her pedipalps and said, "We're not going to waste time to find luxury foods, but if we do come across another one of those giants, then by all means, have the exploration team bring it back. Speaking of, Quirrel. We started gathering surface vegetation today, did we not?"
Quirrel, arms full of a sleeping Grimmchild, nodded.
"The brown stalks are too tough and bland for most bugs to eat, but the red, green, orange, and yellow shoots that grow out of the stalks are quite good. Similar to some of the moss in Greenpath in taste, actually. We've been careful to only take some of the shoots, so as to not kill the stalks, and were able to gather another twenty barrels of foodstuffs from them alone. The green shoots that grow out of the ground are more bitter, but still edible; personally, I would use them to feed livestock like Gruzzers or Aphids, but we can survive off of it."
Hornet tapped a claw to her mask and said, "We should round up all of the surviving livestock in Hallownest that we can find. Bodies are only going to last us so long, and I doubt the hy'leens would take kindly to us eating every beast we find on their land. Assign some members of your team to that, Quirrel."
At the pillbug's nod, Hornet turned her attention to Ogrim, who immediately noticed her glance and began without being prompted.
"Ah, indeed! My team has finished scouring the City of Tears and most of the surrounding areas for survivors. Of course, we did not venture where we were not welcome, so the mantis, spiders, bees, and Fools will have to look after themselves, but I trust in their ability, given that you saw with your own eyes that they still stand tall, hoho!"
"What's the current tally of survivors?" asked Hornet.
"Ah, well we have 612 here in Dirtmouth, 835 in the Crossroads, and 4,505 in the City of Tears. I also met with the Mosskin, who say they have 706 remaining members of their own tribe, and I found a pleasant mushroom fellow that spoke Hallowtongue who told me that there are 593 of their clan still alive. All told, the sentient, living citizens of Hallownest that we've counted number 7,251. It is entirely possible that there remain stragglers or hermits that we did not reach, but I doubt that we will surpass 8,000 found survivors, your highness."
Hornet drummed her claws on the table in front of her. Seven to eight thousand was a greater number than she had hoped for, but at its height, Hallownest had hosted over a million and a half sentient souls within its cavern walls. Even with the addition of the spiders, bees, mantises, and Fools (who could still back out of the alliance), she doubted that the number of survivors would break fifteen thousand.
At least they'd be able to feed that number of bugs fairly easily once they got the farms up and running. Foraging was all well and good, but it wasn't dependable.
"Mmm. Alright. Ogrim, can you work on setting up a new force of Guards for Hallownest? I know there were some survivors from the City Guard, see if they're willing to take up their old positions, and put the word out that we're looking for recruits."
"Aha, yes your highness!"
Hornet, seeing that the venerable dung beetle had nothing else to add, paused, then stood up.
"Good work, Ogrim. Good work everyone, in fact. Thanks to your work, the future of Hallownest is assured. This Kingdom will survive, we will prosper, and we will explore this new land that we find ourselves in. You should be proud of yourselves."
The hopeful words in her mouth sounded foreign, but they seemed to go over well with the team leaders. Ogrim even looked like he might start bawling.
Hornet picked up her needle and said, "Meeting adjourned. See to the tasks that you've been given, please. As for myself, I will be travelling with Hollow to the Queen's Gardens to talk with the White Lady, then we'll stop by the City of Tears to see how things are progressing there, and finally we will descend into the Abyss."
The assembled bugs looked taken aback.
Quirrel was the one to speak first, saying, "But, your highness, what is it that is so important in the Abyss?"
"...According to the spirit of Hive Queen Vespa, the little Knight did not, in fact, die in the Temple of the Black Egg. They ascended, discarding their mortal shell to become the Void given Focus, and it is highly likely that they now dwell at the bottom of the Abyss." Hornet said.
The silence that greeted Hornet's words was deafening.
Author's Note:
Hey thanks for reading, let's talk comparative travel times.
Y'all may have noticed that the bugs seem to be getting their shit together pretty quickly, while Zelda and Link have done almost nothing but be on the road travelling. There's a reason for that. Remember, Hallownest is a vast network of caves that's 11 miles x 11 miles x 7 miles, while Hyrule is a country the size of Romania, Utah, or New Zealand. Let us posit that Hornet starts at the the point in Hallownest that is farthest away from any other point in Hallownest, and then walks to the opposite point. EVEN IF the two points are in completely opposite corners of the 11x11x7 cube, that's still only 17 miles. We'll even be extra generous and double that to account for zig-zags and switchbacks in the path. That's only 34 miles. Do you know how far 34 miles will get you in Hyrule?
It'll get you from one side of the Great Plateau to the other. The bugs are reorganizing so much faster because it only takes a few hours to reach any place in the kingdom. Hornet can tour the entire kingdom in two days while it takes 4 days just to reach Zora's Domain from Kakariko village.
Thankfully, as soon as Zelda and Link finish their Hallownest tour, the pace of this fic is gonna pick up, and we won't be stuck waiting on such long travel times.