"Little guy, you get to Hyrule castle!" Daruk ordered, now that Calamity Ganon had appeared.
Revali only sneered and turned his face away. It was he who should have been the one taking Ganon head on, not Link. However, it was too late to dispute that fact any further. It wasn't long before the group dispersed, each champion making their ways to their divine beasts.
Revali burst up into the cool sky, thinking of how he would be the first to make it to his Divine Beast, knowing even though he had the farthest to travel, he was the fastest. On his way to Medoh, he flew overtop of Hyrule castle. Something inside of him was tempted to just go straight for Ganon and end this himself, yet he knew it was too late to change the plan that was in order. Picking up speed, he continued to Vah Medoh. As he neared the Rito region, the air became colder. So many thoughts plagued his mind. Thoughts as trivial as jealously, that Link would be the one with all the fame and glory for defeating Ganon, that was, if he could actually defeat it; and also thoughts as serious of the fate of Hyrule. Revali would never admit it, but something inside of him truly did feel afraid; afraid that this could be the end of Hyrule. Taking a deep breath, he flapped harder, getting to Vah Medoh as fast as he could to do his part in fighting Ganon. Rolling his eyes at that thought, he loathed thinking that this was only his "part." It was ridiculous to think that everyone saw each champion as merely "assisting" the princess and the knight who wielded the sword that seals the darkness. Nothing Revali could ever do would prove that he was greater than that knight who was "chosen by the gods." Unlike Link, Revali had to work hard to earn his position and skill among the Rito. Link would be getting all the credit for defeating Ganon and for saving Hyrule, just because he was the chosen one. In fact, all the other champions besides him had inherited their powers as well. Revali had worked tirelessly ever since he was young to perfect his skills. He practiced archery more than any other Rito or Hylian. He invented Revali's Gale, not simply inherited it from his ancestors. None of the other Champions had nearly worked quite as hard as Revali had. Seeing Link at the top of them all was utter nonsense. He could only hope that this was his chance to prove himself, and perhaps he would see some action so that he would at least get a few ounces of respect for putting his life on the line for the sake of all of Hyrule. Perhaps he would even have to save Link...
Revali sneered, now landing on top of Medoh. Crossing his wings, he stared out into the distance towards Hyrule Castle. The sight sent a chill down his back, causing his feathers to stand on end. Ganon was swirling above the kingdom, malice and hatred spreading into every fiber of the castle. It seemed as if it wouldn't be long before it reached the corners of Hyrule too. Revali refused to let Rito Village fall into ruin. Huffing one last time, Revali rested his wing on the side of Vah Medoh's crest.
"Well, Medoh... it's time. Time to save the world, even if we aren't the ones who will get the credit for it. It's humbling, I know, but it's what we must do. For Rito Village. For all of Hyrule. They need us."
Swooping down into the interior of the Beast, Revali activated the first terminal to ready Medoh for this battle. After activating the rest, he made his was back up to the outside of the beast to activate the last, main terminal. Narrowing his eyes in hatred, he stared at the enemy before him at Hyrule Castle. All he needed to do was direct a beam of light towards the castle, to give Ganon a blow to assist Link in taking it down.
As Revali began activating the main terminal, suddenly a sinister air filled the divine beast. Revali shivered again as the air became colder, so cold that even a Rito could feel it. Red flecks slowly filled the atmosphere around him. Not letting this distract him, he continued activating the beam. Once he had activated it, Vah Medoh shook and cawed as the sound of the beam warming up echoed through the divine beast. The red tint filling the air grew deeper. A hand of malice appeared out of nowhere, reaching for the main terminal Revali had just activated. The hand reached into the terminal, stopping the beam from being released. The blue glow of the terminal started turning a deep red.
Revali immediately grabbed his bow on his back, pulled it back with an arrow in less than a second, and released it towards the hand of malice. The arrow seemingly sunk into the hand, having done no damage. Revali took a few steps back as the malice grew, now swiftly releasing a bomb arrow at the growing substance. The malice scattered into little globs on the floor, but each piece only started growing quickly at a rate that even Revali wouldn't be able keep up with. It started growing towards where he stood.
Using Revali's gale, the Rito champion burst up into the air. He soared higher into the sky to get a clear look at what was happening. Malice was now taking over Vah Medoh, the red color absorbing all of Medoh's blue until it was gone. Anger filled Revali at the realization of what was happening. Calamity Ganon was taking over Medoh. Darting back down to Medoh's back, Revali landed quickly at the center terminal. The freezing atmosphere was even too much for Revali: he knew that this wasn't just a physical coldness, but it was the coldness of evil. The presence of Ganon could be felt in the air and there was no peace or calm like there normally was while aboard Vah Medoh. The anger inside Revali could only be extinguished by winning this fight and claiming Medoh back as his own.
Revali still gripped his Great Eagle Bow tightly. "Give it up, Ganon! Vah Medoh is not yours to control! You'd be mistaken if you thought I would give up that easily... Hah, in fact, I almost feel honored that you decided to come have a taste of my bow and arrow instead of wasting your time with that pathetic knight. Tsh, I suppose you've realized who the real threat is after all."
Out of the center terminal came a malice covered apparition with a single glowing blue eye. The floating beast was a size large enough to intimidate any who were unfortunate enough to lay eyes upon it. Its right arm seemed to bear a canon like weapon. The being appeared to be made of Sheikah technology controlled by malice and Ganon. The monster curled its head back with a horrific scream as it contorted.
Revali's heart pounded, but he pushed down the feeling of fear that rose inside and didn't let his fear visible to the enemy. He flew into the air to get a clearer shot at the creature. Soon, the enemy vanished into a blue haze, teleporting higher into the air. It reappeared and aimed its arm towards Revali, blasting several blue beams at him. Swiftly dodging each of the shots, Revali made his way closer to his opponent. Pulling back the string of his bow loaded with three bomb arrows, he released it aiming for the enemy's head. After the arrows struck with a huge explosion, the beast fell back onto Medoh screeching from the devastating attack.
Revali stuck his landing proudly, returned his bow to his back, and crossed his wings, sneering. "Hmph. Show me what you've got. I'll only serve it right back to you."
The spawn of Ganon got back up, even more enraged this time. With one hand, it formed a spiral of wind and sent it toward the Rito champion. Revali flew into the air, dodging the first tornado, but soon a second followed. He weaved his way through each gust of wind with remarkable speed and prowess. He knew he'd have to wait for an opening before firing any more arrows, or the wind would only cause them to ricochet back towards him. He spiraled in between the tornadoes until they ceased. As soon as they stopped, Revali saw his chance to fight back. He released a flurry of arrows towards the creature.
As he released a final arrow, he shouted. "I cannot be beaten, you might as well give up now!" He flew higher for a headshot. Before he was able to get high enough, his opponent recovered quicker than he expected, shooting back with his canon again. Revali barely missed the first few beams causing him to fly unsteadily, and eventually one grazed his wing.
"Ngh!" Revali staggered through the air, trying his hardest to regain smooth flight. As soon as he did, another beam followed, which he was able to dodge this time. "I cannot afford to let my guard down again!" He thought to himself as he flapped harder, his wing protesting in pain.
The fight continued on for hours, what felt like ages, Revali skillfully dodging each quick attack and fighting back, but the apparition seemed to not be slowing down, yet Revali could not escape the exhaustion that started setting in.
Revali stuck his landing on Vah Medoh's back, placing his hand on the ground to stabilize himself. At this point he was becoming too exhausted to fight. He tried to catch his breath as he thought. "This thing seems immune to my attacks. I don't know what else to try... I've thrown all of my best moves at it, and yet..." Revali cast his gaze up to the beastly being. "Yet it still won't die! This would be much easier if I had a darkness sealing bow! Hah, maybe that would be too easy, perhaps even considering cheating..." Revali stood once again and faced the monster. "I suppose I'll have to make do, just as always. That's what will make this feat even more impressive." Revali told himself. He refused to start panicking although the odds weren't looking good. As the blight kept attacking, Revali avoided each attack, but had mostly stopped wasting his energy trying to fight back. This thing seemed invincible and Revali had nearly given up hope.
He couldn't keep his opponent distracted much longer. He needed backup. If only Link were...
No. Revali stopped his mind from finishing that humiliating thought. He could do this alone. He didn't need that ridiculous knight, even if he did wield that overpowered, darkness sealing sword that was basically cheating. The thought of needing Link's help gave Revali enough strength to keep fighting back. Revali thought of all the time he had spent training to become a warrior. If he couldn't win this fight in the calamity, then it would have all been for nothing. Losing was not an option. Finally, the monster started to weaken with each of Revali's counterattacks. Revali's confidence in winning the fight soared to new heights. He couldn't help but smirk as he released another devastating bomb arrow towards its head. It fell down onto Vah Medoh's back once again, limp and seemingly defeated.
"Hah! You're finished, Ganon!" Revali, wanting to make the final blow as dramatic as possible, loaded five bomb arrow into his bow. Not considering whether it was dangerous or not, he pulled them back and aimed at his opponent. With hatred in his eyes, he released them swiftly. As soon as he did, he stumbled to his knees in exhaustion, only hoping those arrows would do the trick, because he hadn't much more strength to squander. As the arrows came closer, the fallen beast used the rest of its strength to lift his arm to send a quick whirlwind back at the arrows, sending them back towards the Rito champion. Revali's eyes grew wide in fear, quickly trying to spring off his knees to dodge the incoming tornado spinning with his own arrows inside. Revali successfully avoided the first arrow, but he only jumped right in the way for the second. Knowing the impact that was about to come, Revali closed his eyes tightly, dread filling him in the split second he had to think. The arrow hit him directly in his left wing, exploding and causing the rest of the arrows to explode around him, knocking him down onto Vah Medoh. The impact was so powerful it caused him to lose his grip on the Great Eagle Bow and sent him rolling backwards. The wind was knocked out of him and the sudden burst of fire scorched his feathers. Because of the sudden change from the cold to the heat made the burn hurt even worse. Finally able to take a breath as he lay stunned, Revali only coughed as he inhaled the smoke. Trying to prop himself up immediately after being thrown to the ground, he groaned as he collapsed back down just as quickly. He cautiously tried to open his eyes through the smoke. Squinting, he caught a glimpse of his left wing, which still had a few small flames eating away at his feathers. He smothered the flames with his other wing in a quick panic, still coughing and struggling to breathe through the thick smoke. As much as it hurt, Revali forced himself to sit back up. Looking at the hideous creature which was also getting back up, Revali turned his glance around the back of Medoh, looking for his weapon, but it seemed that it had completely been blown off board. Just his luck. And his opponent looked so close to being finished... he needed to find his bow and end this. Revali rushed to stand, but only managed to get halfway up before a searing pain in his right knee brought him back down to Medoh's back. With his hands supporting himself, he tried to catch his breath, now just realizing how horribly his wing burned. Each second the pain seemed to grow now that he wasn't in as much shock. He didn't have time for this. He needed to fly down and find his bow before it was too late. It wasn't long before Windblight was back up, and ready to attack again. Looking up, Revali saw its blue eye staring straight at him. A red beam projected from its eye to Revali, targeting right for his head. Slowly, a sound of the beam warming up got louder and louder.
"This is impossible!" Revali couldn't believe this was happening. In desperation, Revali grimace as he balanced himself on one knee and spread out his wings in one last attempt to perform Revali's Gale. His entire body quivered in pain and shook from the cold that stung his injured wing. The breeze grew stronger, assisting Revali as he lunged into the air unsteadily. He would be able to swoop down, grab the Great Eagle bow before it fell too far, and come back up to win this fight. Wobbling, he tried to stay in the air gliding, but his burnt wing had lost so many feathers that flying straight was impossible. Flapping harder with his right wing to compensate for his injured wing, he was ready to dart downwards. As soon as he came to the edge of Medoh, he hit an invisible wall. Medoh's barriers were up. After hitting the barrier, Revali couldn't regain steady flight. He only spiraled back down to Medoh, picking up speed, unable to slow down to make a smooth landing. He crashed face first onto the the Divine Beast, cracking the side of his beak against the rough surface.
"Ngh!" Revali groaned, barely able to move at all now. One last time he tried to get up, yet failed. Every part of him was either exhausted or injured, and now knowing Medoh's barriers were up, even trying to escape wasn't an option. He closed his eyes tightly, his breaths uneven and pained as he lay sprawled out on Medoh's back. He spread out his singed wing against the surface of Vah Medoh. As he lay on his Divine Beast, he could feel a strong connection with Medoh, strong enough that he could feel the overwhelming amount of malice that had consumed Medoh. His heart lost hope even more knowing Medoh was lost to Ganon. He wasn't ready for this fight. It was an attack that no one would have ever seen coming. Realizing that he had lost only made everything hurt worse. He failed Hyrule, and more importantly, he failed his home, Rito Village. His people, the Rito, would now all be annihilated by Vah Medoh controlled by Ganon all because the Champion Revali wasn't good enough. Unwelcome tears came at the thought of the Rito falling into ruin. He wanted nothing more than to be the hero that saved his people, to be remembered and revered by the Rito for years to come. He had worked so hard to make sure he saw this become a reality. Revali was aware that these were selfish reasons, yet now thinking about it as he lay defeated, all he truly wanted was for Rito village to be safe. His hand still against Medoh as he lay there, he spoke what he figured would be his last words whilst a single tear escaped his eye.
"I don't know what Ganon has done to you, Medoh, but... please... you need to snap out of this. You need to protect Rito Village for me. I'm sorry that this is how it ends... I was confident that I was a worthy pilot for you, Medoh..." Revali looked up a final time at his opponent who was soon ready to fire. Malice creeped along the floor, getting closer to Revali. "But somehow... despite all of my hard work and tireless training... I've still failed..." Revali uttered weakly, his eyes closing. He curled up, the pain stealing his consciousness from him as the malice began climbing onto what was left of his feathery fingertips. The malice crawled up his wing. It felt as if the cold malice was overtaking his soul and slowly clouding his mind until all that was left was darkness and fear.
Fear. Those many years Revali had spent training, they felt as if they were all for nothing. Revali had defeated thousand of bokoblins, hundreds of moblins, countless hinox, stone taluses, and even lynels. Never in those battles had he felt fear like this. He had never lost before. If Revali were being honest, he wasn't even sure what this feeling was. Defeat and fear weren't feelings that Revali was familiar with. The malice that had overtaken him intensified the negative feelings that consumed him. All the fears wouldn't let go. Rito village was going to fall. Vah Medoh, who he viewed as his companion and only confidant, was controlled by malice. Ganon was winning, and Revali had lost the fight.
All he could see now was windblight taking control as the new pilot of Medoh. Medoh's sights were set, heading for Revali's village. Vah Medoh fired a beam, destroying all of Rito Village in a single blow.
~•~•~
"NO!" Revali squawked, darting up and opening his green eyes, his breathing uneven and shallow. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Princess Zelda sitting next to his hammock, and that he was back in Rito Village at his roost.
"Revali!" Zelda jumped. "Relax, it's okay, lie down. The calamity is over. You're going to be just fine." Zelda put a hand on his shoulder to get him to lie back down. Revali didn't fight her, he was too weak and confused. Laying down, Revali grimaced, realizing how horribly sore all of his muscles were. Swallowing and ignoring the pain, he calmed his breathing, not wanting to look weak in front of the princess, but he needed to know what was going on, yet he didn't know which question to ask first. The calamity was over? How? Did Hyrule win? Why was the princess here, out of all people? Just as these questions began overwhelming him, the burning pain his in right wing returned. He saw that it was now bandaged, as was his knee. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see there was a bandage on the side of his beak as well. He tried to suppress the sounds that tried to force their way out of his throat, but his unsteady breathing told Zelda that he was suffering terribly. As Zelda was about to speak with a concerned look, Revali thought quickly and interrupted, not wanting pity from her.
"I suppose I shouldn't be confused why you're here, Princess. After all, it makes no sense why you would visit the other Champions or anyone else when you could come see me. It's obvious I am favored above the others," Revali said in a weak voice, however still arrogantly, using what was left of his pride as a shield to keep Zelda from asking about his pain.
Instead of showing her usual dazed look when Revali said something conceited, Zelda's face suddenly saddened further. She hung her head and buried her face in her hands. She quietly began to weep. Revali didn't know what to do. Was it something he said? No, he always spoke like this and she never reacted in this manner before. Revali was probably the last person in Hyrule that knew how to comfort someone who was crying. He couldn't imagine what had finally caused her to lose her composure. She was always able to put on a strong face despite the heavy burdens and responsibilities she carried as a princess, even right up until the calamity. Although Revali probably would have flown away if he were able to, he was forced to just lie there uncomfortably while Zelda tried to get her emotions under control.
"I- I'm sorry, Revali... I didn't want to be the one to tell you, but... the other champions... they... they..." The princess couldn't stop her tears to finish.
Revali's cocky attitude disappeared instantly. His countenance dropped. It felt like a heavy weight was put on his chest. He couldn't believe this. They couldn't be dead. Yes, Revali had bragged about being the best out of all the champions, but he never expected that they would have died in the calamity. Revali never would have told them, but he respected them each as competent warriors. Well, all except for Link. He thought each of them strong enough to fight back against Ganon, even if they didn't measure up to his own level of greatness. Yet after the fight Revali had to put up against that apparition of Ganon, he very well knew that the chances of them surviving were slim if they each had a battle as difficult as his own.
"Urbosa and Daruk..." Zelda had finally gained enough strength to talk again. Revali looked back at her teary face. "They did not survive... They were trapped on their Divine Beasts, and Ganon attacked them. I was too late. I couldn't awaken my power soon enough, and it cost them their lives," Zelda sighed, her face heavy with guilt.
"What about Mipha?" Revali questioned.
"Thankfully, she is alright," Zelda looked down. "I was able to seal Ganon away just in time for her, Link, and yourself to survive, at least..."
"A couple seconds sooner wouldn't have hurt..." Revali muttered weakly under his breath.
"What?" Zelda asked.
"It's nothing..." Revali whispered and shook his head. Another twinge of pain in his wing caused him to draw in a sharp breath. He put his other wing over his injured one. "Where is Mipha?" He asked, his voice becoming more hoarse as he spoke.
Zelda took a deep breath, seeming okay for the time being. "She's been very busy in Central Hyrule healing many people that we weren't sure would survive or not. She will make her way here as soon as she is able, but we knew your injuries weren't life threatening. She's been absolutely exhausting herself trying to heal as many soldiers as she can."
Annoyed he was going to have to stay laying helpless for awhile, completely useless, Revali retaliated. "And I suppose Link was the first to be healed," He rolled his eyes.
"Well... yes. But it was not because Mipha favors him, he truly needed to be healed first. He nearly died trying to defeat Ganon and protect me..." Zelda admitted.
"Figures. It seems the calamity was too much for him to handle on his own after all," Revali felt some sort of satisfaction knowing that Link had been in worse shape than him. "Princess, pardon me for stating the truth so bluntly," Revali changed the subject. "but clearly it makes sense to have me healed as soon as possible. If the calamity were to return suddenly, you'd need me to be capable of fighting. It would be wise of you to have Mipha travel here immediately."
Zelda looked down at Revali's bandaged wing. "I assure you, the calamity has been sealed. There's no need to worry. There are countless people around Hyrule waiting for Mipha's healing, and I must ask that you have patience. You are strong. There are many others that don't have your strength, and they need Mipha's healing right away or they will die. I know that you can bear this until she can travel here. Until then, you need to rest."
Hearing Zelda call him strong pleased him, but he refused to let that show. "Hmph. I suppose you do have a point," Revali shrugged with his one wing that wasn't injured. "Yet it is a burden the strong must bear, I suppose... to let the weak go first, those such as Link."
Zelda suppressed a smirk, finding it funny that even after being pummeled by one of Ganon's beings, Revali still tried to keep his pride intact by belittling Link's skill. She refused to let his remarks get to her. She knew how strong Link was, even if Revali refused to believe it. "Well, I suppose I've caught you up on what has happened. Unless you have any other questions, I suppose I should make my way back to Hyrule Castle."
Revali turned his head away from Zelda, starting to wish she never had come. He hated looking weak to anyone, but especially to the princess of the land. He had a reputation to keep up, and now it was all being ruined.
"I suppose I'll be on my way then..." Zelda stood up and started walking away slowly. She stopped in his doorway and turned her head back partially. "I'm sorry I couldn't save Urbosa and Daruk... and I'm sorry I couldn't awaken my powers before this happened to you... I know it must be frustrating to lie around and wait for Mipha. If only I had awaken my powers sooner... perhaps we wouldn't have lost so much..."
Revali sighed, hearing how much guilt she felt over this. He couldn't be upset with her. The only one to blame for letting himself get hurt was him. It was clear Zelda had tried as hard as she could. "Don't suffer another feather over it, Princess. You did your best. You cannot blame yourself for what happened to Urbosa and Daruk. In the end, you were able to seal the calamity and by doing that, you saved many lives, mine included," Revali admitted, although he didn't want to. "Urbosa would be proud of you. I know it."
Zelda sighed, turned back around to face Revali one last time before leaving. She wiped away another tear that had escaped. "I surely hope she would be... either way... thank you, Revali. I needed to hear that," The princess slowly exited Revali's nest, leaving him with nothing but his thoughts to think about.
"Hmm, what do you know? Maybe I am somewhat talented at comforting, after all..." Revali thought, proud of himself for helping Zelda feel a little better.
Although he was exhausted and injured, Revali knew he would lose his mind just laying around without anything to do. Part of him wanted to try standing, but he knew he'd probably only end up humiliating himself if anyone else happened to come by. What was the point of trying to stand anyway if he couldn't even fly? What sort of sorry excuse for a champion was he? Without the power of flight, Revali would just be an embarrassment to the Rito. In just a few moments, he went from being the pride of the Rito to this. Could he even step foot into the village without people talking about him behind their backs? Normally the village would be chatting about how phenomenally he had done in the archery competitions, giving him praise for all his achievements. None of the others could even come close to his level of talent. The children even looked up to him, wanting to be a strong warrior like Master Revali. It was as if that reputation he had built was all for nothing now. He finally had that one chance to show the world that he was the best, and he failed. Now part of him was glad he couldn't leave his home. He wasn't sure if he was ready to face any of the Rito yet.
Uncomfortably shifting in his hammock, he stared at his ceiling. "This is just... asinine," he muttered. Looking outside, he saw Medoh flying in the sky, its color having returned to blue. A small smile spread over Revali's face, happy to know Medoh was reclaimed. He wished for nothing more than to be able to fly up to his companion. He decided that would be the first thing he would do once he was healed. His smile disappeared as his insecurities came rushing back. What had he done wrong? He was afraid he already knew the answer to that question. He had let his own arrows do this to him. He let his pride get the better of him. Perhaps if he hadn't been so dramatic, shooting five arrows at once, he wouldn't have gotten injured. Ganon had some nerve to take Revali's element of the wind, and turn it against him.
Taking a deep breath, Revali recalled the moment he was defeated. All that seemed important then was Rito Village being safe. And now it was. Maybe that was enough... even if all his other dreams and life goals had been shattered. He had much time to reflect as he lay waiting for Mipha to come. He didn't want any visitors, as he felt they would ask what had happened, or how he was doing; both were questions he did not want to answer. A few of the Rito stopped to visit or bring him meals, but Revali was mostly quiet when they stopped by, taking a long time for the fact to sink in that he had finally lost a fight.
