Revali drew back the string of the Great Eagle Bow, preparing to deliver the killing strike to Windblight Ganon as it had grown more and more languid in its movement, and while it was still distracted by Sooga.
"This is it!" Revali called victoriously, letting the bomb arrows fly.
Sooga dodged the incoming explosives and they collided with Windblight in a grand explosion. The creature's resounding bestial shriek was like a reward for a battle well fought.
Lowering his bow, Revali watched, savoring the moment as the blight hemorrhaged malice. He had faced the most grueling battle he'd ever experienced, and he would live to regale his fellow Rito of his triumph.
He turned his attention to the Yiga, still at a loss for their motivations. What had possessed them to turn against Calamity Ganon?
Well, whatever… Revali thought. At least it wasn't the vexingly silent knight wielding the sacred blade who came to save the day. He'd never live it down if it had been him…
Revali alighted before the two, holding back any outward sign of exhaustion or weakness. He regarded the Yiga with a hard look of suspicion.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I must thank you for coming to my aid. But just as a warning, if you do anything to make me question this...alliance, I won't hesitate to—"
"Your threats won't be necessary," Sooga said simply, resheathing his dual blades.
Sooga's words were clear despite the mask he wore, yet Revali paused, contemplating his words, not fully believing the situation. Revali braced himself for a surprise attack that never came as the moments passed.
He stared into the inverted crimson eye painted on Sooga's horned mask and the long crack that ran across it, slightly unnerved that he could not see the man's eyes or facial expressions. He'd have to rely on the man's body language and tone of voice for assurance that he was not a threat.
Kohga approached, having remained a safe distance away during the fight. "Well done, Sooga! That was quite the display of Yiga bravado."
Revali opened his beak to say something more, but before he could form the words, their attentions were drawn to the thunderous and deliberate footsteps of a Divine Beast.
He lifted off the surface of Vah Medoh to see which of the other Champions had come to his aid. Kohga and Sooga likewise rushed across the mossy stone that stretched the wingspan of Vah Medoh to look out into the distance.
"This should be interesting…" Revali remarked as he watched Vah Naboris approach.
"Urbosa's coming...?! ...That's our cue to leave!" Kohga blurted before retreating into a cloud of smoke and falling talismans.
Sooga turned to Revali and shook his head. "Master Kohga can be a bit of a coward when it comes to the Gerudo Chief. "Uh… Don't tell him I told you that!" And with that Sooga followed after Kohga, leaving Revali alone.
oOo
The was a sterile, stillness that belied the Champion's victory over the blights as Hyrule Field was cast in a dreary grey. There would be no breathtaking sunset to behold, nor the comfort the moon's brilliant glow could bring, only the world darkening as night crept in.
The four that had seized the bokoblin camp for a moment of rest could sense the encroaching storm from the dark clouds above, but none spoke of it aloud.
Robbie cleared his throat. There was no longer a levity in his voice. "Where are you headed next?"
Astor didn't meet Robbie's eyes as he smoothed Zelda's long golden hair with his gloved hand. It took a moment for him to respond, too focused on her downcast gaze.
"Fort Hateno... That's where she is fated to awaken her inner power."
"Then I wish you both luck." Robbie offered, humbly.
Zelda hung her head and Astor squeezed her hand in comfort. The bleak refrain of Zelda's court came to mind.
Heir to a throne of nothing…
She said nothing in response, and he wondered if she was thinking the same. She seemed to have retreated inward, having cried herself out.
Purah leaned forward to address Zelda. "Princess, I have faith in you, I do. You are not alone and we're not going to give up trying to turn back the Calamity. I think we could all benefit if we set up camp here and call it a day. And if any monsters come by, we'll beat them with our flails."
"No… I must go to Fort Hateno right away." Zelda replied shakily.
"I hate to be blunt, Princess, but you aren't in any condition to operate the Master Cycle."
"I'll be fine, Purah."
She didn't sound fine.
Zelda quivered in his arms, and Astor's chest tightened with unfamiliar apprehension.
Purah's earlier antics would have made Kohga proud. Just like Kohga, she was perceptive, yet Astor was relieved to see a more serious side to her—as the situation demanded. He just hoped Zelda would heed Purah's warning.
"A rest wouldn't disturb fate, Zelda. And you do need the rest," said Astor.
Purah and Robbie observed the couple pensively, and Astor felt like an oddity under their analytical gaze—as if they were trying to ascertain what Zelda had done to tame the Prophet of Doom himself—something Astor was in awe of as well.
"I won't rest until I awaken my inner power," Zelda said with as much determination as she could muster looking up at him with reddened, weary eyes. "We don't have a moment to waste. Let us be on our way."
Astor followed Zelda. Despite his fatigue, despite his trepidation about getting back on the Master Cycle, he couldn't fathom not going with her.
"Astor!" Robbie called after him.
"Hm?"
"Take care of her."
oOo
Their journey to Fort Hateno proved to be miserable and treacherous as it had begun to rain not long after they departed. As they neared the West Necluda region, the moisture laden clouds above spilled their cold tears on the Goddess's descendant and her elect. The rain slicked the grass and turned the packed earth roads to mud. The Master Cycle was at times buffeted by strong winds that made it difficult to maneuver. Visibility was low. Bridges became slippery.
Astor's grip on Zelda's waist tightened. Dread and guilt crept in as she began to second-guess her decision.
Why are we doing this? All my previous attempts to awaken my power have failed. What is it about Fort Hateno that will suddenly change everything? Ugh, I can't allow myself to think like this.
The Master Cycle traversed through Dueling Peaks, and Zelda felt as though those towering cliffs were pressing in on them. The cliffs gave way to a vast plain, and the mountains in the distance were barely an outline in the night sky.
Zelda took care as they crossed the Big Twin Bridge, breathing out in relief when she had made it to the other side.
Almost there…
Even as Blatchery Plain stretched out before them, Zelda felt no closer to awakening the power within herself, and she didn't know what recourse she had if this too did not work. These thoughts lingered as she pressed onward.
Blatchery Plain lay in ruin, desolate, and devoid of life—or so it seemed. The silhouette of the Harbinger appeared in the immediate dim horizon, and Zelda's heart froze as she swerved to avoid colliding with it. The Master cycle dipped a little too far for comfort to one side. Her heart thumped rapidly as she struggled to keep it upright. The tires squelched through the mud as they veered off the path and then returned.
"It keeps finding us…" Zelda said worriedly.
"Ganon always knows where we are…" Astor replied, trying not to let fear enter his voice.
Zelda looked back over her shoulder, a pit opening in her stomach when she realized the Harbinger wasn't as far back as she expected. No, it was following them at a speed unlike other Guardians.
"Astor, whatever you do, hold on tight…" her voice was nearly muffled by the rumble of the engine.
A chill ran down Astor's spine as he perceived the words of Calamity Ganon. It was a voice he knew all too well from prophetic dreams, the one that had urged him so fervently to kill the princess.
You are nothing, my wayward prophet without a prayer.
"Leave me alone!" Astor screamed, tearing his circlet that bore the eye of malice from his forehead. He turned and pitched it at the charging Harbinger. The red and yellow stone was crushed under its rampaging claw the next moment.
Do you think you can rid yourself of me that easily? That was merely an outward symbol of your devotion to me. Nothing more. You'll never be able to wash the taint of malice away. Everyone is going to know who you are and what you did. You belong to me!
With the Harbinger closing in on them, Zelda pushed the Master Cycle to its limit. The engine chugged. Her stomach soured as the cycle struggled to gain speed.
There was a dreamlike sensation of slow-motion despite her rapid heartbeat, beating in time with Astor's against her back. She felt as though—
The Harbinger's laser is trained on them and after what feels like a silent eternity it fires. The high-powered beam of ancient energy tears through his back and exits her chest. They are enveloped in a blinding blue light as that final scream of failure is ripped from her.
She snapped herself out of that grim vision, still awash in panic. It had been easy to outrun the Harbinger in the Lost Woods, but there was nothing to slow its chase out in the open plain.
Her panic-fueled delirium reached a fever pitch. She didn't dare look again, but she could hear the gurgle of malice and the mechanical whirring of the automaton itself.
Goddess Hylia... It's right on us...How is it so fast? It's somehow running at full tilt on three mechanical legs just to get at us. The effort alone should cause it to break down. It wasn't designed to go at that speed.
Zelda despaired, thinking of how something her mother made so long ago with loving care had been corrupted by Calamity Ganon.
This was her final thought as the Harbinger swung its distended bladed arm, colliding with the vehicle's back tire. The Master Cycle wavered pathetically from the force of the automaton's slap, and then went down, skidding through the mud.
The sky and ground spun as she felt herself hit the ground, narrowly missing becoming pinned under the fallen Master Cycle.
The falling rain on her skin brought Zelda back to a vague awareness. Groaning, she opened her eyes. She barely registered that they were lying in a crumpled heap, but when she did, she reached for Astor as he stirred slightly. Her hands moved over him as she fought to regain her bearings.
"Astor… Please say something..." She could only mumble as her fingers stroked the braids that draped the side of his face.
Astor sucked in a breath, wincing. "I... think I'm still in one piece…"
There was mud all over her dress and numerous scrapes on her exposed shoulders and arms. The rain stung her open wounds, but that was only the beginning of her pain.
Lifting her head weakly, she saw that the Master Cycle was a complete loss. And the Harbinger loomed over them, its corrupted red display ebbing outward hypnotically as it regarded them.
"Zelda, run..." Astor urged her, helplessly.
She took in the glowing blue of the Harbinger's many blades. It was toying with them, taking its time as a predator with prey.
"I can't outrun it any more than you can. I won't leave you." Zelda held his hand, her voice resigned and weak.
The Harbinger began to emit a discordant tune.
To Zelda, it sounded so familiar in her mental haze but deeply wrong. However, Astor knew it all too well.
There were times when the Harbinger used to play this strange song. Even Kohga and Sooga had heard it 'sing' at odd intervals. They didn't know what to think at first. Then, Astor learned the origins of the Harbinger and he realized its significance. The tune was little more than a malfunction—simply the machinery morbidly regurgitating a lullaby meant for the princess out of key. Kohga and Sooga's howls of laughter carried through the Yiga Hideout on the day they came to the same realization, much to Astor's annoyance. The toy Zelda had once cherished was now possessed by the most malignant spirit in the realm and Astor was hanging on its every instruction.
"I'm sorry this happened to you, Terrako…" Zelda said numbly.
And then Astor heard her make a seizing sound. The alarm and pain in her voice turned his stomach to rot.
Zelda stared at her feet in horror. They were as black as a decomposing corpse. She held them out as if paralyzed with pain. The same concerning blackness had appeared on her cheek, and others were appearing elsewhere, spreading.
"No, not her!" Astor screamed, taking hold of her in his arms.
Malice licked and traveled her body like a flame. It had started at her feet, blackening her skin and sandals, and traveled up. The malice infected her body, consuming her dress, her hair, and finally blooming in the whites of her eyes.
He cradled her in his arms, her darkened eyes staring back at him in wide open agony, and he wished the malice would consume him as well. She opened her mouth to say something, but the only sound that came forth was a terrible gasping sound.
"No… No…"
He pressed his face into the exposed skin of her shoulder, feeling the blighted flesh against his own. Her body gave no warmth, just a husk of her former beauty.
The anguish crashing down on him was unbearable as his raging thoughts took over—Hylia's words turning over and over again in his mind, and all the things he wished he'd told Zelda.
I was supposed to die that way. Not her… I can't let her die believing she's a failure.
Hyrule's future lay in ruin along with his own. What was fate if even the prophecy of the Goddess could be undone?
The Harbinger watched the prophet grieve, viewing the scene in the red tones of its censor. Certain the princess who bore the Goddess's blood would soon pass away, it turned to retreat.
Astor raised his head, hearing himself utter words he never thought possible.
"I love her… Know this, Calamity Ganon...I love her!" His voice shuddered in horrible defeat and desolation. "And I always will..."
Zelda grit her teeth as she shakily held her wasted right hand high.
The Harbinger had stopped in its tracks. It had ignored its former prophet's confession, but now sensed a holy power brewing within the nearly lifeless girl.
A golden light had manifested in the palm of her hand, and in the next instant intensified into a brilliant and blinding dome that eclipsed the field.
Astor lifted his arm to shield his eyes, still embracing her with the other.
The dome of light faded out. Astor opened and closed his eyes, his vision coming back into focus.
"That light… It's…"
She held her arm out still, rigidly. Astor could only stare in awe at the unmistakable triangular mark on the back of her hand, and when her extended arm began to falter, he clasped her hand before it could fall limply to her side.
Zelda serenely closed her eyes. Astor thought he heard her exhale softly as she sank back into his arms, going limp. The black malice receded slowly, beginning at the sacred mark on her hand. The skin beneath had an otherworldly immaculate quality to it. And though the malice departed from her body and hair, it was plain to see that her clothing and jewelry would remain corroded and black.
The Harbinger was gone. Astor could only imagine it had retreated. There was nothing but the calming sound of rain falling as it began to taper off, and the dark clouds began to break, leaving nothing but the starry night sky and the moon. Astor's gaze rested on the soft rise and fall of her chest.
There was the clanging of armor and Astor turned his head to see two Hyrulian soldiers approach.
"What was that light?" The soldier let his gaze fall on the girl in Astor's arms and then the wrecked vehicle, going silent.
"Who are you? What did you do to the princess!?" the other barked.
"I... I'm her seer. I helped her awaken her sacred power." Astor gave them a tired, elated smile, too thankful to Hylia that Zelda was alive to demand respect from these two lowly Hyrulean Soldiers.
The soldiers glanced at one another skeptically, not sure whether to take the strange, suspicious man at his word, but there was no denying the light shining dully from Zelda's hand.
"Should we believe him? I know of no royal seer in attendance to the princess. Where is her appointed knight?"
"He certainly doesn't look the least bit royal to me… Anyways, we need to get Her Highness to safety. Alright, Sir, you're going to carry Her Highness to Fort Hateno, and you're going to mind your hands while you do."
Astor bit back a scathing insult and lifted Zelda in his arms, following the soldiers in the direction of their destination. It wasn't long before his arms ached terribly, and he didn't think he would be able to carry her any longer, especially in his condition.
"Just a little further," the first soldier said, not unkindly.
Astor adjusted his aching arms, Zelda still not stirring, and he pressed on.
They passed by countless broken-down Guardians.
"That light… It seems to have disabled the Guardians in the vicinity." The soft-spoken soldier remarked.
They passed through the raised iron gate of Fort Hateno and the stone-faced soldier directed Astor to a tent.
"She can rest here. You rest over there," the soldier ordered testily, pointing to another tent some distance away.
"You must be joking... We haven't been apart during the entirety of the Calamity." Astor felt the words leave his mouth helplessly.
"I care not! And I'm going to be keeping an eye on these tents to make sure nothing untoward happens until she can be reunited with her rightful appointed knight or advisor."
Astor's chest tightened, furious and in disbelief at the soldier's callousness. "Just what are you accusing me of? We were attacked! Listen to me, you presumptuous scab, there's a very dangerous Guardian still out there and it's not done with us. I can't leave her side. She's incapacitated and defenseless."
The soldier drew his sword. "Which is exactly why I won't let you stay by her side," he spat. "I'm not going to let you take advantage of all this chaos and sully our princess's reputation, whoever you are. You expect me to believe your tall tales? I've yet to see a Guardian I couldn't handle. Now, do as I say. I'm already granting you far more accommodation than you deserve!"
Astor shut his eyes in surrender and hugged the young woman in his arms, knowing he could not afford to escalate the situation any further. He laid her in the tent and then turned to tiredly lurch toward the other, grumbling under his breath about how he was going to be sleeping with one eye open.
In his dreams, they stand under the Blood Moon hand in hand. The sky and land are awash in a scarlet glow. As her right hand clasps his left, he can sense her power resonating. Zelda stares up at the beast circling her home, undaunted, and smiles.
Prometheus17: It only seemed natural to have the Kohga and Sooga change sides eventually since they were never all that loyal to Ganon to begin with. Unlike Astor, who really is (or was) all about Calamity Ganon. Which is why they were so shaken by his departure, and eventually saw the light themselves.
I thought since Purah and Robbie got robbed by the first DLC pack I'd give them the spotlight they deserved. Nintendo! You can't just put them on the DLC promotional poster and not have them playable…?
Thanks for reviewing, and hope you enjoyed this climax before the final battle and ending.