I woke up just as the sun was starting to set, the desert sky shot through with incredible pinks and oranges, the desert sands tinted to match. I shifted myself, my head still resting on Zelda's lap, who was idly running her small hand through my hair and looking at the changing sky.
"I was about to wake you up," she said, still watching the sky. "We should get going soon." I grudgingly shook myself fully awake and sat up. "Did you have a good nap?"
"Divine," I said groggily, my voice still growly from sleep. "How hot did it get?"
"It wasn't bad here, but I think in the sun it got plenty hot. I saw a few people coming into the bazaar that seemed grateful for the water."
"Good thing we waited then."
"Of course it was, it was my suggestion." I rolled my eyes.
"Well excuse me, miss high and mighty. Come on, we should get across the desert before the sun sets completely. Don't want to be monster bait," I said, pulling Zelda to her feet and we walked hand in hand back towards the main part of the bazaar.
It looked like a lot of the vendors were closing up shop for the night, colorful awnings pulled back and wares tucked inside. The few Gerudo and Hylians walking around seemed to be gravitating towards the nearby inn and the few shops still open that served food and beverages. Zelda and I attracted a few looks from the people walking around, two girls in particular pointing at us. One whispered something to the other and they both burst into giggles. I couldn't tell if they were pointing at Zelda or me, but they only giggled more when I briefly kissed Zelda.
We could feel the remnants of the desert heat once we left the shelter of the sparse trees surrounding the oasis, shimmers of heat still barely visible over the rolling sands, a few cacti and shrubs poking out of the otherwise barren landscape. Zelda and I climbed on top of the Master Cycle and sped into the desert, the bike's scooped wheels pushing us across the loose sand.
"We're going to have to head towards those cliffs," Zelda said over the gentle wind of the desert, pointing to the craggy wall surrounding the desert. "That high point is where we're heading; there should be a path that curves around a sinkhole to get there. The trail should start straight ahead." I followed Zelda's pointing hand, skimming across the dunes, the cooling air flowing through our clothes. I had to give it to the gerudo woman, her clothes were certainly comfortable for traveling through the desert. Not to mention Zelda looked amazing. I had barely been able to keep my eyes off her as we roamed the bazaar. Not that I tried too hard.
"Looks like we didn't quite make it in time," Zelda said behind me, pointing to some ominously shifting sands. A few seconds later, a skeletal claw reached out and pulled itself to the surface, dragging the rest of its body with it. It looked like an undead version of the lizards we had fought at the Temple, a Lizalfos if Zelda's terminology was correct. Similar creatures were climbing their way out of the sands nearby as well, most not noticing us. The few that did scrambled towards us and met the combined might of the Master Sword and the power of Hylia, practically disintegrating on the spot.
I did my best to avoid as many of the monsters as I could, but only so much could be done when the demons were everywhere. We conserved our energy as best we could, taking potshots at lone monsters to force our way through. The cliffs loomed over us as we got closer to the pass, the ancient stone hanging over us like a hammer waiting to fall. I did my best to not look up too often.
Eventually, the desert sand gave way to solid stone, a makeshift path appearing through the mountains like Zelda said. From what I could tell, we were in the right place, our destination just a few hundred feet above our heads. Not something I would want to freeclimb, though when I saw the path leading up, I almost wanted to.
"That's…not good," I said, pulling the Master Cycle to a stop. We had just gone through a narrow pass and around a corner when one of the walls fell away, dropping into a colossal sinkhole. Theoretically, it had to have a bottom, but from where we were, it sure didn't look like it did. A thin slope curved around the hole, the only way to climb the mountain on foot. And in case that wasn't enough, the whole path was crawling with monsters, packs of them camped out at points around the loop.
"How are they here?" Zelda asked, looking at the various monsters we would have to force our way through. There seemed to be a bit of everything there, pig-demons of every size, lizards, those weird water strider creatures, giants, and more. There was even what looked like a large dilapidated turret, larger than the ones we had seen at the temple, with one dull eye staring lifelessly into the void. "How did they know we'd be coming?"
"Maybe Ruin knows the Triforce is here," I offered, making a futile attempt to count the creatures blocking our way forward. "Maybe he did know we were coming. Maybe this is just a place he is collecting his monsters. Either way, we have to get through them, and we don't have the time. So how should we do this?" We both watched the monsters for a few minutes, trying to formulate a plan. Eventually, I gave up. There was no perfect way through. No matter how we took on the horde, we would inevitably get stopped and be overwhelmed, either pinned in place by archers or swarmed by a rushing tide of monsters. We had to get through before they had time to react. We almost had to…
I nearly burst out laughing when the idea hit me, barely able to hold it back. Zelda looked at me with a look of confusion and concern, almost like she knew what was coming. "What if we just force our way through?" I finally said. Zelda shook her head.
"No, we'd get stopped and overwhelmed from the front and back then."
"What if we didn't stop?" I said, probably with a manic glint in my eyes. "We've got the Master Cycle; we've got the firepower. I can deal with the small stuff running at us, you can deal with the ranged attacks and the big targets. We charge and we don't stop until we hit the top." Zelda looked at me with a flat expression for a minute before sighing.
"If it were anyone else, literally anyone else, I'd say this would never work. With you, I'd be surprised if it doesn't. Let's do it."
We plowed into and through the first camp before any of the monsters even knew we were there, most of them left scrambling for weapons as their cohorts' bodies disintegrated. The next camp didn't fare much better, only barely aware of their impending doom before it hit them. Zelda blasted the third group of monsters out of existence, which finally attracted enough attention. A dozen resounding calls echoed off the cliffs, rousing all the monsters to attention. We were able to cut through the next two camps pretty easily, the monsters still disorganized and frantic, before something resembling resistance appeared.
Zelda and I blazed forward, mostly ignoring the small monsters that got in our way in between the large groups. The few that were unfortunate enough to get in our way met a swift death under the wheels of our motorcycle or on the end of the Master Sword, the blade sitting comfortably in my hand. Thanks to our speed and the incredibly sharp sword, monsters would barely have a second to react before their heads or limbs were separated from their bodies.
Up ahead on the curving path, I could see a dozen monsters form something like a defensive line, pointing swords and spears at us as we roared towards them. A powerful pulse of the Master Cycle's shock absorbers sent us soaring over their heads, their stupid eyes following up as we crashed down behind them, squishing one unfortunate bokoblin in the process. A second later, a barrage of power shot from Zelda's outstretched hand towards a cluster of archers across the chasm, erasing them before they could get a shot off.
"That's the easy ones," she shouted over the roar of the Master Cycle's magic engine.
"Let's see what else they have for us!" I yelled back, swerving around a large rock in the path.
The next thing to come barreling at us was a group of Lizalfos, their quick, erratic movement making it impossible to drive around them, leaving me with no choice but to drive into the thick of it. A few quick slashes, combined with a well-timed parry from my shield got us past them, though I knew now we really couldn't slow down or the lizard monsters would quickly catch up to us.
"Look out!" Zelda suddenly yelled as what looked like a plant with helicopter blades for leaves came diving at us, aiming to cut us with its sharp roots. I managed to deflect it long enough for Zelda to blast it out of the sky, but more swooped down on us. At the same time, the next line of monsters was waiting on the path ahead, this time with some of the tall moblins keeping me from jumping over them all again.
"Zelda, hold them off and hold tight!" I called as we slammed into the makeshift barrier of monsters. Zelda's magic, augmented by her scepter, burned and blasted through our foes as she knocked weapons away and destroyed clumps of enemies. My sword flashed and cut apart the swarms of monsters running towards us. Fortunately, the Master Cycle all but drove itself, giving me more time to worry about not getting chopped to pieces.
Within a minute of our mad assault, we had reached the halfway point. I was forced to pull a sharp U-turn as the path doubled back on itself and continued its steady ascent. As soon as we rounded the turn, the next wave of creatures charged towards us, mostly made up of the hopping water-strider type creatures. Lucky for us, their bodies made for an easy ramp, letting us jump over some of them and chop apart any that jumped towards us.
"Up ahead! That turret is coming to life!" Zelda shouted in my ear, pointing to the dilapidated mechanical thing that sat near the top of the cliff. Red and grey lights flickered through its body and a bright blue eye turned its gaze on us. A red laser fixed itself on my chest, shining from the turret's eye. The crucial three seconds it took for me to figure out what was happening would have been the end of us, if I hadn't jerked the motorcycle to the side just as a bright blue beam of light shot through were we had just been, impacting and exploding on the rock wall behind us.
"SHIT!" I didn't have the chance to offer any other words of wisdom before the next wave of monsters was on us. The rushing horde, combined with the constant targeting of the laser-spewing turret, had my brain working overtime to keep us from dying. By some miracle, the turret had a decently long charge time on its laser and seemed to have to restart any time it lost sight of us, which, given the number of creatures blocking our path, happened rather often. Still, we didn't have a moment to let our guard down.
Plowing through another large mob of creatures, the Master Cycle roared as it continued its ascent. Only two obstacles were left, but naturally they were the worst. The dilapidated turret continued to take potshots at us, forcing me to drive erratically, as a huge lumbering Hinox charged towards us. Judging from its speed, we wouldn't be able to outrun the giant, forcing us to take it out. Looking around, I immediately had an idea that was just crazy enough to work.
"Zelda, try to figure out a way to take out that turret! I've got the giant! Just hold on!" I yelled backwards, Zelda's arms tightening around my waist in response. I jerked the motorcycle to the side to avoid another blue laser, the Master Cycle's tires hugging the edge of the cliff. The colossal Hinox continued its headlong charge towards us, thankfully blocking the turret's line of sight. I forced myself to hold steady as the enormous beast got closer, until it was looming over us, its single large eye staring down at us, meaty leg raised to crush us.
At the last possible second, I twisted the handlebars to the side, swerving around the monster's falling foot. Just before the muddy foot hit the ground, I flashed the Master Sword through the giant's heel, cutting the tendons beneath the skin. A second later, the monster's stomp connected with the desert stone, sending a powerful shock through the beast's leg. It roared in pain as its injured leg buckled, unable to support its enormous weight, throwing the entire monster precariously off balance. The stupid giant had a second to realize what was happening before it lost balance entirely and tipped forward off the cliff. It let out a loud, echoing howl as it disappeared into the enormous sinkhole.
"Holy shit!" Zelda shouted behind me, watching the giant plummet into the void. "I never would have thought of tha-!"
"Duck!" I interrupted, pulling our magic motorcycle to the side to avoid another bright laser. "Any ideas on how to kill this thing?!"
"We need to hit it in the eye! Its body is armored, but a proper hit should fry its systems. I can hit it, but I need as straight a shot as possible!" I rapidly ran through options in my mind before landing on one that I hated, but would probably work.
"Okay, get ready. I'll give you an opening, but we probably won't get more than one. Make it count!" I felt Zelda nod and gunned the engine again, charging straight towards the immobile mechanical monster. It locked its lethal gaze on us, daring us into a deadly game of 'Cucco'. Unfortunately for it, I was too stupid to be afraid.
Seeing it preparing to fire its laser, I tucked the Master Sword away and hefted the Hylian Shield. I forced myself to stare at the piercing blue eye of the turret, waiting for the flash before it fired. I was staring so intently that I almost missed it and had my head evaporated. Without a bit of hesitation, I swung my shield in front of us. I heard and felt a terrible impact on the metal's surface, the shield shaking in my hand for a second before the swing followed through and the wall next to us exploded. I ducked my head, shielding myself from the rock shrapnel and forcing myself to hold the handlebars steady as Zelda stood up behind my and threw her arms forward.
A golden beam, twice the size of the blue one from the turret and crackling with excess energy, leapt from her hands, crossing the distance between us and the armored turret in a flash, crashing into the thing's wide eye with unerring accuracy. Shining light burst out of its seams, shining in every direction as it shook and vibrated intensely. We shot past the glowing turret as it jerked around, golden light over taking the red and grey circulating through the turret's body, until the whole thing exuded divine light. The light abruptly stopped before violently exploding a second later, blasting an enormous chunk out of the cliff wall and sending an avalanche of stone down the path, wiping out all the monsters that had we had ignored on our ascent.
I was so busy watching the aftermath of our perilous charge that I nearly slammed us into the rock wall at the top of the path, only barely managing to pull us to a stop a few feet from the stone. I looked at Zelda, both of us breathing heavily from adrenaline, giving her the jaunty smile I knew she loved so much.
"Told you it'd work." She laughed and smiled widely.
"You would say that," she said, leaning in to kiss me on the corner of my lips. "That said, I'm not sure if this had helped or hurt my opinion of your driving skills."
"Helped, I hope," I said, climbing off the Master Cycle and dissolving it back into tablet form, tucking it away. The two of us started climbing up the small path to the summit of the cliff. "Not just anyone could manage to pull off so many stunts in succession like me."
"Okay, maybe, but was ramping off those shields really necessary? I almost had a heart attack."
"I'll have you know I was very proud of that jump. We cleared half a dozen monsters in a second and looked awesome doing it. I don't see that as anything other than pure success." Zelda shook her head with resignation.
"I'll let you have it this time. But if you ever do that again, I'm taking you to the top of Hebra Peak and throwing you off."
"Yes ma'am."
A few minutes later, we reached the flat area at the top of the cliff, a wide open area populated by a few scrubs and old pieces of wood and stone that looked like they might have been something at some point. There was also a large outcrop of rock that rose another thirty feet into the air, like someone had just pulled the ground into a sharp hill.
"So what are we looking for again?" I asked, looking around the plateau. Nothing really jumped out as the hidden location of the Triforce.
"The riddle said something about the entrance being inside some ruins. I guess we look for a foundation?" Zelda said, not entirely sure, but for lack of a better idea, we started looking.
There were a few patches of earth that looked like they could have been floors scattered around, but none of them betrayed anything else, not even a hidden trapdoor. We were forced to wander around in the pseudo-dark of the moonlit night, looking for…something. By some miracle, it didn't actually take too long to find.
"Hey, over here," I called to Zelda, standing in the shadow of the elevated section of the plateau. Zelda trotted over to where I was, looking down at the ground. "Look here, drag marks dug into the stone. Something got moved here a long time ago."
"Wow, you're right. There must be a hidden door here," Zelda said, scraping some accumulated dust out of the divots. "How did you know?"
"Lots of detective shows," I said, feeling along the rock wall for a seam. I heard Zelda laugh a little before she joined me.
"And here I was marveling at your brilliance," she said.
"Don't know why you wouldn't. You are dating me for my smarts, right?"
"Naturally. It's not at all that you're my soulmate." She poked at the wall for a second more before backing up. "I can't even find a seam here. Move a second, I'm going to try and pull it open with magic." I could feel the wave of energy that she pushed towards the wall, enough to shake the loose stones ten feet in every direction. The rock didn't move. And it continued to not move for the next five minutes.
"I've got nothing," Zelda said with a gasp, releasing her magic. "Either it's been sealed for so long it's fused solid or someone closed it up with magic. I can't get it open."
"Guess we have to try the hard way," I said, feeling out where the door should be based on the drag marks. I pulled the Master Sword out and handed it to Zelda. "Superheat this please." She grabbed the sword, its metal faintly humming in her hands. The blade swiftly went from normal white to white hot. Taking it back, I handled it lightly before slamming it into the rock wall point first. The wall chipped heavily, and I pulled back for another stab. I chipped away at the stone bit by bit, the heat of the blade helping it to sink further in. After a few jabs, I started pushing a bit of Triforce power into the blade as well, further speeding up the process. It didn't take long for a dent to appear and a minute later, I felt the stone start to give.
With three more strong jabs, the Master Sword broke through, disappearing up to the hilt into an open cavity behind the cliff face. I pulled it out, peering into the hole the size of my fist I had managed to make. "A little light?" I asked. Zelda was quick to toss a glowing orb through the hole, revealing a medium sized room with a hole in the middle disappearing downwards. "Think you can open this up a little more? Maybe with the rock open it'll be easier."
"Worth a shot," Zelda said, going back to forcing the stone open with magic, meeting with much more success. She managed to open a hole wide enough for someone to slip through, though it would be a tight fit. I squeezed through first, barely able to slide through even without my gear. I had to pass the Master Sword and my shield through separately, the squeeze was so tight. Zelda tried to climb through after me but stopped halfway through.
"Link, I can't make it through," she said, looking uncomfortable, even for someone wedged in a tight passage.
"What do you mean, are you stuck? Want me to try and pull you through?" I asked, trying to figure out how she could be stuck.
"It's…my hips. They won't fit," she said, embarrassment clear on her face. I had to stop a moment to keep myself from saying anything stupid.
"Too thicc for your own good. And yes, that's spelled with two C's." Damn it, so much for nothing stupid. Zelda gave me a flat stare in return.
"I don't recall you ever complaining before. I recall it being quite the opposite," she said, her tone matching the look in her eyes.
"So what do we do then? Can you force the hole any wider?" I asked, deflecting Zelda's somewhat annoyed statement. It seemed to work.
"Not easily. The stone seems to be enchanted; you breaking it weakened it around the break, but where its still solid, the magic is at full strength. We could break it more, but that would take time that I don't think we have. You can go, just go, I'll wait here."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, it'll be fine. Just get going."
"Okay, fine." I gave in, strapping my sword and shield onto my back again, tentatively looking down the open hole into the abyss below. I was just hoping it wasn't as deep as the one outside. "Guess I'll climb down then. Wish me luck."
"Wait, come here," Zelda said, reaching out from the wall. I walked back towards her.
"Going to kiss me goodbye?" I asked with a bit of sass. Zelda continued to give me her flat look.
"No dumbass, I'm stuck. Give me a push." I couldn't help but snicker, but made sure to stop before I got within punching range. A minute later, Zelda was free of the rock wall and I was staring back into the pit. Figuring there was no time like the present, I gently eased myself over the edge and started freeclimbing down the wall.
Thanks no small part to my training, supernaturally built muscle, and likely the Triforce itself, I didn't have a problem with the climb. The rock wall was plenty craggy, giving me plenty of hand and footholds, so it was really just the oppressive, never-ending darkness surrounding me that I had to deal with. By some stroke of luck and planning, we had packed glowsticks in one of our bottomless pouches, leaving me able to at least see what was right in front of me. And it was all going pretty well until my foot slipped, I lost my grip, and I started falling.
You know, technically, this isn't even late. We all know my usual update schedule is one chapter a month. Let's all ignore the fact that I said I would be working on these more frequently and be getting them out sooner. If you didn't know that's a pipe dream, I'm here today to crush your hopes.
Now, naturally it's not all bad. We had a cool action scene with an actual Guardian this time (unlike what Nightwing thought at the ToT battle, sorry), a bit of Zelink cuteness, including people oogling our perfect couple together and Zelda being too thicc for her own good. I came up with that and knew I had to put it in, because past all the world saving stuff going on here, these two are teenagers, and when was the last time you saw a teenager not say something stupid? I was one (past tense, thank goodness) and I can tell you it was never. Good times, and damn funny if I do say so myself. Also, for the first time in a good long while, a cliffhanger. And in name only this time, since our beloved hero is currently in freefall. Oops.
Alright, past all of that, time for my favorite of things, reviews! Twilit Lord, I resent that statement, despite its accuracy. If you don't like the filler, feel free to go shove it. Oracle, I haven't the slightest clue what you are talking about. I'm merely trying to infuse my story with as much character and realism as I can. That fact is entirely separate from the fact that I think Zelda (and Link, let's be honest) is hot. I merely went searching for specific pictures of their outfits to add authenticity. And no, no boobs for Link. I'm sure the entire male population of both Earth and Hyrule empathizes with him and his loss. Nightwing, I imagined the beamos being carried by some other monsters and getting placed there. Plus, I added a Guardian here for you, so now everyone's happy, right? Honestly, I could have chosen pretty much any song from the Zelda series and made it work, because they're all so damn good, so feel free to imagine the song you want there, they're all damn good. And thank you once again for your kind words. Silverblood, yes! Two updates. Don't worry though, we're back to our regular schedule now, for better or worse (it's worse). Glad you hear you're enjoying your quarantine! Or not...yeah, I think that was a not. I had fun with the 'incapacitate to decapitate' line, so I'm glad it caught your attention. I kind of imagined it like that scene in the first Avengers movie when Iron Man's HUD switches from the blue to red set up when the Chitauri start coming through the portal. Our couple deserve a little break, I think. If this chapter was any indication, it's going to be their last for a while.
Well, that's about it. Obligatory plug for my one-shots and other story if you don't know about those already, endless gratitude for reading, what else... Ah, if you want some nice fluff pieces, go check out Lixie's "Order Up" series. She's posting it every couple days at this point with a new oneshot each time. Even better, she's taking writing prompts from readers, including one from yours truly. It's all great and cute, go read it if you aren't already, it'll give you something to help kill some time with. Other than that, that's all I've got. I'm really going to try and keep writing chapters at a faster pace, but I can't make any promises. I know exactly what the next chapter is going to be, I just have to write it now, so hopefully that won't take too long. As always, my policy is to post as soon as I'm done with a chapter, so please know I'm not holding out on you guys. In any case, I'm off to bed (probably), so thank you all so much for reading, tune in next time for the acquisition of the full Triforce, leave a review, and don't double dip your chips. No one wants that nastiness, especially with *ahem* current events. Oh shit, I just coughed! The Corona police are coming! Cheers!
~Aro