Zelda and I had emerged from the labyrinth in the early evening. Turns out time flies when you're crawling through dank passageways and fighting demon spiders.
Zelda and I split up to go to our own houses to get changed and, in my case, showered. I walked into the house to see Hunter sitting in the living room. He turned to face me and seemed to ponder my disheveled appearance for a moment, before walking over to me and taking the shield we had found from me.
"Go get cleaned up. We need to talk." To say I was confused would be an apt description, but I was too worn out at the moment to really care, so I did as Hunter said and took a shower. But first, I texted Zelda and let her know something was up.
Twenty minutes later, I was sitting in the living room with Hunter and Sheik when Zelda knocked on the door and came in to join us.
"Well, now that we're all here, let's get down to business." Hunter started once Zelda was sitting. "I presume you two have found the Trial Dungeon beneath the fountain in the park?"
"How do you know about that?" I said with a start. Obviously Hunter knew something, but I didn't realize it was about the torture house we had just been struggling through.
"Simple, I'm its guardian, responsible for keeping its location hidden from any who would try to steal the treasure it contains and for guiding the Hero when he appears." Okay, bit much to take in there. Sheik was the first to recover.
"What the hell, Dad? When did all this happen? Since when are you some guardian?" To be honest, Hunter looked kind of pissed.
"Come on Sheik, what do you think all your training has been for? I've taught you since you could walk that the Sheikah are guardians of Hyrule, and we are Sheikah if nothing else. I've been the guardian of the Trial since my father handed the position down to me, as his mother did to him, and her father before her, back through countless generations, all waiting for this moment." At this, he pointed to me. "To aid the hero in his quest."
"Okay," Sheik said slowly. "But is it really Link? I mean, we've grown up together and, take we much offense as you want here, he's never been much for heroics." He shot me a wiry grin. At least one of us wasn't completely serious.
Hunter grinned slightly. "Be that as it may, the fact that he has this shield is proof enough. Only the Hero is able to get through the barrier guarding the Trial easily, and," he looked at Zelda, "apparently anyone he brings in with him. Anyone else would have had to brute force their way through, which I would certainly have noticed. Plus, you've both come back alive, which alone is a testament to your skills. At this point, even if you're not the new Hero, I'd damn well say you deserve to be."
"So what now?" I asked, itching to be doing something. Even after such a grueling experience, I was reluctant to sit still for so long. "What are we supposed to do next? Visit the other two fountains? There's three, right? So there's going to be two more Trials beneath them."
"Yes, yes, and yes," Hunter replied. "The three Trials are in place to guard the tools of the Hero, one of which you've already found: The Hylian Shield, passed down through the ages, lost and found countless times, always ending up in the Hero's hands, and nigh indestructible to boot." Hunter could probably see my budding question, because he cut me off before I could ask. "I'm not going to tell you what the other Trials guard, you'll have to find out yourself. Besides, where's the fun in that?"
"What about Zelda?" Hunter looked confused at my question.
"What about her? No offense Zelda, but I'm not sure how you factor into this."
"You don't know? Zelda is apparently a reincarnation of…some ancient goddess…"
"Hylia," Zelda supplied, summoning a small amount of golden magic to dance across her arm. I nodded and continued.
"Reincarnation of Hylia, she inherited at least some of her powers. Headmaster Rauru knew about it, why don't you?"
"Headmaster Rauru? What does he have to do with this?" Hunter was still confused.
"He said his family records the Legends of the past heroes and stuff. He knows all sorts of stuff. Said he wouldn't help me though. Something about interfering makes things worse. He really wouldn't talk much about it and hasn't said anything else since. Seems determined to let me…us, I guess, figure it out ourselves." Hunter was nodding slowly.
"The Sheikah have known about a group of people obersving… well another group observing from the shadows for ages. They've never been malicious, so we haven't taken any serious action against them. I'll have to have a talk with your Headmaster. But you said Zelda is Hylia reincarnated?" Zelda and I nodded in affirmation. "I know the name from the most ancient of our texts, but only in passing. I didn't know she was a goddess, or really anything about her. I'll have to look into it." We lapsed into silence as we all digested the information.
"Okay, so Zelda is Hylia reincarnated and I'm the Hero reborn. Apparently there's some big evil coming that I and or we have to defeat any idea about that? What it could be?" Hunter shook his head.
"No, though we've noted the signs. Since Hyrule has such a strong connection with the gods, specifically the Three Golden Goddesses, when evil rises in the land, Hyrule itself is often thrown into chaos. Weather abnormalities, civil unrest, and even political upheaval are not uncommon in such times. There is something coming, and we're going to need to stop it. Of course, you two have my full support, as well of that of the entire Sheikah tribe scattered and few as we may be. If you ever need help on your journey, look for the Eye of the Sheikah. If you tell them who you are, they will aid you, as they have sworn to do in ages past." Hunter suddenly rose to his feet and moved towards the basement. "Now, I have something I need to get. I'll be right back." He disappeared from view as he descended the stairs.
Leaving me, Zelda, and Sheik to sit awkwardly in the living room. Sheik, though being a Sheikah and trained in magic, apparently hadn't known everything, since he looked just as stunned as us. He was the first to speak.
"So, Zelda, you're a goddess?" Zelda huffed slightly, but nodded. Sheik seemed to think for a minute before nodding much like his father had. "Makes sense now, I suppose." Seeing us looking confused, he elaborated. "When I first met you, I sensed something different about you. Didn't know what it could be, but that makes sense now. Also…" he trailed off, wiggling his eyebrows at me as a slow grin split across his face. Nothing good happened when he had that face on. "Now your reaction makes a lot more sense, Link. Now I get why-" He was cut off as I launched myself across the room at him.
Thank the gods I was able to shut him up before he could say anything. I tackled him out of his chair and we went sprawling to the floor. Wolf, who I had completely forgotten about, came bounding in from somewhere and jumped on top of us, causing us both to groan at the sudden weight. Between the shoving and trying to get the dog off of us, I was able to make it very clear to Sheik what would happen if he was to try anything like that again. Threats we both knew I was very capable of carrying out.
Hunter came back up the stairs and saw us all in a pile. I think he rolled his eyes, but I didn't get a great look because Wolf decided my back needed a chiropractic adjustment. Eventually we were all ushered outside. I noticed Hunter was also holding something, probably whatever he pulled up from the basement. Sheik was bounding around the yard with the dog, leaving Hunter, Zelda, and I to talk.
"This is an old relic of the Sheikah, once said to have aided another Hero in his journey." Hunter handed me what looked like a tablet made of a mishmash of stone and cool blue technology. It was unlike any cell phone or tablet I had ever seen. "It's a piece of ancient Sheikah technology that is thousands upon thousands of years old. As far as I know, this is the only still functional piece of that tech, which is unfortunate, since our records say it was capable of amazing things." Zelda pulled the tablet from my hands to get a closer look at it.
"What does it do?" she asked, a question I was hoping for an answer to as well.
"In this past, quite a bit. Now that the old Sheikah technology has disappeared though, I'm afraid it has lost many of its features over time. However, there is one thing it is still able to do, which is why I'm giving it to you." Hunter gestured us towards the driveway.
"Zelda, there should be a little icon on the screen. Press that and point the slate at the driveway." I looked over her shoulder that there was indeed a small tile on the screen. She pressed it and we were amazed to see the entire tablet unravel into swirling blue threads before weaving back together on the driveway, though in a completely different way. It was hard to tell what it was at first, but as the threads tied themselves back together, it was unmistakable.
Sitting in front of us was the most badass motorcycle I'd ever seen.
The whole thing was styled in the general shape of a horse. The front had a very distinct horse head with a sharp horn protruding from the head. The "ribs" of the horse housed the engine, though it didn't look like any engine I'd ever seen. The whole thing was a mix of browns, blue, and orange that matched the colors that had been on the tablet. The lights running through the bike pulsed, making it look like the vehicle was alive. The whole thing seemed to hum, as if it was barely holding back an enormous amount of power.
I slowly approached the magnificent machine, holding my hands out like it was a horse about to bolt. I looked at Hunter quickly, who nodded for me to continue. He had a bit of a smirk on his face, probably due to my reaction to the bike, but I didn't care. This was one of the most amazing, most beautiful sights I had ever seen.
With another step forward, I could finally run my hands over the 'head' of the bike. What had originally looked like stone really felt more like cool, rough metal. As I ran my hands down the side, the lights in the motorcycle seemed to glow a little brighter. I reached the handlebars and gingerly lifted myself into the seat. As I sat down, the bike revved louder, and I could actually feel the seat adjust to be more comfortable for me.
"What in the Dark Realms is this?"
"That," Hunter said with a laugh, "is the Master Cycle Zero. The device it is summoned with is called the Sheikah Slate. Both are treasures that were owned by a previous Hero and safeguarded by the Sheikah for centuries after he died. I thought it fitting that you should have it. According to our records, it is able to modify itself slightly to be better in tune with the user's will." I quickly thought of the colors being darker and they immediately shifted from browns to greys. The head also warped from a horse head to what looked like a wolf, the whole bike becoming slightly sleeker to better match a wolf's shape.
"Is it…." I trailed off, not wanting to get my hopes up.
"Yep," Hunter said with a wide smile. "All yours, Link." I let out a whoop, kicked the bike into gear, and drove it out of the driveway. Of course, what did I do first? I gunned it.
The bike roared off, amazing me with its speed and power. I turned a corner and found I was easily able to control the vehicle. It was a lot like riding a horse actually, something I had plenty of experience with thanks to Cremia. I did a quick lap of the neighborhood before pulling back into the driveway.
"That's incredible," Zelda said. Hunter nodded.
"It's a versatile machine, which is why I thought you could make use of it on your journey-quest-thing. I didn't know there would be two of you going though…Not sure what you're going to do about that…." I winced slightly at his musings. I wasn't sure exactly who was going to be going on this journey.
"Here, Zelda, get on, I want to try something." I called from my seat. Zelda came over somewhat hesitantly. I revved the engine as she got close causing her to jump in surprise before fixing me with a stern glare and slapping me on the shoulder. She threw her leg over the seat behind me and I felt the bike adjust again, this time creating a second seat behind me to accommodate the second person. Hunter shrugged.
"I guess that works." Sheik, who had somehow managed to stay away this long, ran over and started inspecting the bike from about two inches away.
"Pretty sick bike, Link. Hey Dad, you got another one of these around here for me? I bet with a bike like this, all the girls would be falling over themselves to get to me. How many do you think it fits?" He quickly mounted the bike behind Zelda but slid off the back when no third seat appeared to hold him. "Aww, come on, what kind of shit is that?"
"It's a bike, Sheik, not a stretch limo," I called to him. I twisted slightly in my seat to look at Zelda over my shoulder. "Want to try it out?"
She nodded slowly. "Sure, but go slow. I've never ridden on one of these." I scoffed slightly.
"What, and you think I have?"
"Well, with how you were handling it earlier…wait, WHAT?!" she practically shrieked into my ear as I gave the machine a bit of gas and pulled out of the driveway. As soon as we hit the road, Zelda's arms came around my sides and clamped down on my waist. Laughing with delight, I took another lap around the block.
By the time I pulled into the driveway, Zelda had relaxed, at least somewhat. I don't think she was entirely comfortable on the Master Cycle though.
The two of us got off the bike. Zelda seemed rather grateful, but I was disappointed to have to stop so soon. Something about a motorcycle is just so damn cool. Hunter walked over with what looked like a few old cans and some of Wolf's torn up chew toys.
"That," I said, half breathless from the rush, "is too damn awesome. What are those for?" I asked, pointing to the contents of Hunter's arms.
"This is the fuel for the bike. It can use pretty much anything for fuel, 'Back to the Future' style. Hit the tank meter on the display." I did, and the seat slid open, revealing the glowing inside of the engine. Hunter dropped the cans and toys in, which immediately seemed to disappear/disintegrate. The hatch slid closed and I saw that the tank meter had indeed gone up.
"That's useful," Zelda said. "Especially since there's no way we'd be able to find anything resembling the fuel the ancient Sheikah used." I nodded, it really was convenient. I saw another icon on the display on the Master Cycle and tapped it, hoping it would do what I thought. Sure enough, the bike evaporated back into glowing blue energy and reconfigured itself back into a tablet, conveniently returning to my hand.
"What in the name of literally anything is going on with that?" We turned to see Shade standing next to our car, looking extraordinarily bewildered. "Link, what was that?"
"Umm…Hunter?" I was floundering. Sure, Shade said he believed me that I was the Hero reborn but being confronted with that truth might not be as easy to take. I knew it wasn't for me. Hunter, ever the helpful one, was backing away slowly, very clearly leaving me to explain the situation. Sheik had also disappeared, for once in his life. Only Zelda had stayed where she was, but I couldn't very well make her explain what was going on. Sighing, I turned back to Shade, who was waiting expectantly. "Uh…I can explain?" Shade scoffed slightly.
"Yeah, you better. But first, I need a snack." He walked towards the house, following Hunter inside. I was relieved for a moment, before I remembered what we had left in the living room. I ran inside, Zelda close behind, to see Shade holding the Hylian Shield in front of him with the same confused expression in place. He saw me and slowly lowered the shield back onto the couch before sitting down himself. "Okay, let's maybe have that explanation first."
Okey doke, I guess it's time to put this up. I have both good news and bad news for the coming while. Good news first: because I've had a few days off work, I now have a good amount (read some) of story done. Bad news: those days off are over and I have to get back to becoming not broke. It should be fine, I just like to bitch to you guys. Updates will continue apace!
As far as the actual chapter goes, this is one I've been wanting to write for a while now. Because MASTER CYCLE ZERO BABY! Since horses aren't really feasible in a modern setting (which this is, in case you didn't notice), I decided to go with one of the coolest bits of any Zelda game ever. 'Cause, you know, why the heck not? Anyone else think of 'Back to the Future' when refueling that thing. I sure do, as you may have noticed. Also, for all you Zelink people out there (which I assume is most of you), this is a great opportunity to get Link and Zelda some quality time together. Besides, motorcycles are romantic. Probably. I don't own one, I can't say for sure. But, we'll go with probably for the story!
How about them reviews then? Shadowlord, I suppose that works, but I call it the Slime Behemoth. Big Ass Fucking Slime Ball was also a contender, but I decided against it. Nightwing, I suppose so. I'm going to try to keep the bosses in this all unique, so don't expect any/too many rehashes of bosses from the games. So glad you liked the reveal of Zelda's powers, we'll be seeing a lot more of them soon. And I'm so glad you're getting through your writer's block. As you know, its a bitch. Personally, I've found it can help to force yourself to write something else for a while, just to shuffle through ideas (results not guaranteed). Sand seal, I thank you for your continued enthusiasm. Don't worry, I won't be mean to her all the time. After all, everyone else has to have their round of tough knocks too. Really really happy to hear you like how I'm doing everything. Foopuff, glad you liked the dungeon and Zelda's role in the boss fight. I really tried to make that scene as impactful as possible. I would like to do it over, but that's for another time maybe. For her powers, she'll be able to use them more or less on command. However, if BotW has taught us anything, Zelda's powers do react to her emotions, so...we'll see. I've got a lot of good stuff planned. James, thanks for popping back in, nice to hear from you.
Alright, with that done, time to tease the next chapter. Nothing super high stakes, no fighting (or is there?), just a little transition from dungeon to the next bit. Should be out...Thursday? Something like that. So enjoy the wait and don't go kerplooie in the mean time. Cheers all!
-Aro