The girl had long blonde hair; it was the most defining feature about her, and so, it was the first thing Superman noticed.
She was laid out on the ground as if she'd collapsed there-her legs were tucked to the side, her arms splayed as if she'd tried to catch herself. And her hair… It was everywhere.
Perhaps Superman would've moved on; he certainly had more pressing issues at the moment, what with the red pig-demon laying siege to the greater portion of Washington D.C. But there was something about the crater around the girl. She couldn't have caused it or she would be dead, and Superman could very clearly hear her heartbeat. And it didn't look as if she'd lost consciousness by smashing into the ground either. It looked more like she had wandered into the impact point and simply passed out.
He had stumbled across her while evacuating civilians from the area. Only a couple hours ago, a tear in the sky had splintered above the city and erupted in red smoke and flying black goo that burned skin-even Superman's. Until the League evacuated the city, they couldn't go head to head with a beast so massive without putting the civilians in danger. That was a more comforting way of saying the League was trying to help while scrambling to find a way to defeat the creature. But then Superman saw the girl.
He thought she was dead, but she wasn't. And more than that, her clothing was strange. A white long-sleeved shirt rested underneath a blue halter top with gold lining, all draped in a distinctly historic way. A strip of brown leather was tied to her waist, a sort of primitive belt that was pressed with designs and held a slab of stone to her waist. The pants fell into leather boots that traveled to her knees, embellished with silver tips. Superman couldn't make sense of the outfit: it fit no human fashions he'd ever seen, past, present, future, or otherwise.
His comm chirped in his ear, drawing him from his confused stupor.
"Hey Supes," came the voice of Green Arrow, a note of professional lightness to his otherwise weary and serious voice. "I got eyes on you. Something wrong?"
Superman's eyes flicked from the rooftops as he pressed his finger to his earpiece for a reply. "Just a civilian. I got distracted." An arrow embedded itself into the brick wall a few yards behind him, trailed by a steel cable. Superman followed the line until he found Green Arrow, hands-on his bow as he used it to ride the cable down to the street. As he neared the end, he flicked off his bow and twisted in the air, landing beside the brightly-clad alien with a flourish.
Green Arrow had been attempting to rendezvous with Superman, but he too got distracted when he glanced over at the girl. "Strange," he muttered, slinging his bow around to his back and making his way down to the unconscious girl. He squatted beside her and examined her for a split second before sliding his arms under her knees and shoulders and hauling her up. He turned to him, arms full, and nodded to the street. "She's a bit weird, but we've got bigger fish to fry. We're grouping back on 72nd."
Superman pursed his lips and gave her one more glance over, ready to turn and fly to meet the rest of the League, but his gaze freezes on her face. On the ground, her hair had surrounded her face, shielding many of her features from view. But when Green Arrow lifted her off the ground, it fell back, revealing her face.
She was beautiful-high cheekbones, smooth, pale skin, long eyelashes, and a symmetrical face - but that isn't what caught the hero's attention. Her ears were elven: long and pointed. It wasn't something he'd ever seen in a human before.
Green Arrow paused at Superman's frozen expression. "What's up, big guy?"
Superman cleared his throat. "Her ears. They're pointed."
The other hero glanced down to the girl in his arms and did a double-take, shifting her in his arms as he ogled the abnormality.
Before they could discuss it, Batman's voice filled both their comms. "Arrow. Superman. 72nd."
His tone made it clear that he noticed their tardiness and was not pleased. Green Arrow and Superman looked at each other, uncertain.
Deciding it was not the time for indecision, Superman held his arms out for the girl, who was passed to him without argument. The two heroes turned on their heels and split up to make their way over to the League, one on foot and the other by air. Superman was there in moments, beating Green Arrow by several minutes, and found he was one of the last to arrive.
The whole League had been called out in response to the unraveling chaos, but only the more senior members were called for an impromptu meeting. The rest were still collecting civilians and distracting the beast above their heads.
"What's with the girl?" Flash asked, appearing at Superman's side in an instant and looking over her with a keen eye. "What's with her ears?"
"I can call one of the Team members to take her to the triage set up outside the city limits," Wonder Woman offered, her hand going to her ear. Superman was about to agree with her, his head halfway in a nod, but Batman approached, one hand held out to Wonder Woman as an order to wait.
He bent low to examine her, face as expressionless as stone, and prodded her ears with one gloved finger. "Where did you find her?"
"In a crater. Don't think she caused it, though. Or if she did, it's not what knocked her out."
"Where?" Batman stressed.
Superman relayed his previous position, which caused Batman's face below the mask to harden imperceptibly. "What?" he added, hoping to extract more information from the stoic hero.
"Same coordinates of where the tear first opened up." Batman turned from them both and faced Flash, whose elbow was now casually propped on Superman's shoulder. "Take her to the Tower. I'll give commands and then follow up. If she came through the same tear this came from, she may have information about it."
Flash nodded, and Superman handed her off to him. He held her close to his chest, making sure she was secure, and then was gone in the blink of an eye. Batman turned to the rest of the League. Orders came like bullets out of his mouth, directing one member after another, building strategy and plans as he went, until he was left with only Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern.
"You three will return to where Superman found the girl. There may be more clues as to what we're dealing with. Anything strange you report to me. When you're done, meet me at the WatchTower."
The three remaining heroes nodded, trusting their leader's judgment, and were off, leaving the Caped Crusader to stare at the sky, frown set in stone, as he watched the horror unfold across the sky.
Zelda woke with a pounding headache, which instantly soured her mood. Never mind the soft padding beneath her and the pleasant temperature of her environment-the blood pulsing tangibly in her head ruined all other favorable conditions. The smell, which reeked of strong herbal potions and medicines, did nothing but exacerbate the pain.
Her face twisting into a nasty frown, Zelda pushed herself into a seated position. Blood rushed from her head, sending her into spiraling vertigo, and her hand automatically came to her forehead to steady herself. Her vision was swimming in a blur of colors, but she ignored the discomfort and blinked until it sharpened.
It was then that she became aware that she was not alone in this unfamiliar place, and her body tensed in response. Slowly, she raised her gaze to the figures surrounding her.
They were terrifying-three men and a woman dressed in peculiar outfits. Two of the men had cloth concealing their eyes, and both were dressed entirely in that color. One, whose hair was exposed, wore green, and the other, who was draped in a long cloak, wore black. The other man wore blue and red, with a long red cloak and an exposed face. The woman beside him wore scandalous clothing that failed to conceal her legs, arms, and a great portion of her chest and neck. A gold rope hung glittering at one side, a sheathed sword at the other, and atop her free-flowing black hair, a gold tiara shone on her brow.
Zelda's first reaction was unbridled terror. She woke up in a strange place surrounded by strange people, and with a frantic turn of her head, she discovered that her appointed protector was nowhere in sight. Muscles froze in her body, and her heart pounded so loud she could feel it in her tapered ears. In response to her fear, the Triforce pulsed on her concealed right hand.
The man in blue and red raised a hand as if to calm her, but Zelda's terrified gaze had landed on the object in the dark-clothed man's gloved hand. In an instant, her fear sharpened to wrath, and her muscles unlocked. Before any of the others could react, Zelda had swung her legs off the bed and stormed over to the man in black, furious.
"And what do you think you are doing with my field journal?" she snapped at him, holding her hand out to him. "That is not yours to read!"
No one spoke after her outburst. The man in question didn't move, still standing rigid with his hand half-concealed with her journal. Zelda continued to hold her hand out, glaring at him, until he finally moved the book back to her. Snatching it back, Zelda turned on her heel and flipped the cover open, flicking through the pages to ensure nothing was amiss.
"It's written in a language I don't recognize," he stated, as if Zelda had cared to know in the first place.
Unfortunately, it piqued her interest anyway, and she turned back to him, her face twisted in a snarl. "It's not as if I wrote it in code," she shot back. Her hand slid the journal back into the pouch sewn at her side, and both hands fisted on her hips in indignant anger. "Perhaps you are simply illiterate."
She did not miss the unmasked man and woman share an anxious glance, nor the slight fist the man in black formed with his tight gloves, but she ignored both. "Who are you? Where am I?"
"I'm Superman," the man in blue and red began before the others could speak. He held his hands up again as a show of complacency, but Zelda's glare did not soften. If anything, it only grew more skeptical at his ridiculous title. "This is Wonder Woman," he gestured to the scantily-dressed woman beside him, "Green Lantern, and Batman." He nodded to each of the figures as he spoke their names. "You're at a Justice League-"
The man designated "Batman" took a step forward, interrupting the other man, and demanded, "What did you bring with you?"
"Excuse me?" Zelda returned, narrowing her eyes at him. "I do not have to explain my possessions to-"
He turned his back to her, much to her outrage, and pointed a small black object at a slate of glass. A true-to-life image flickered into existence before her, moving as if the scene were truly happening before her eyes. It was a massive city of tall buildings as large as Hyrule Castle, surrounded by the poisonous embrace of Ganon.
Her gaze sharpened once more, this time with determination. "Calamity Ganon," she muttered darkly, clenching her fist at her side. But even her hatred for the beast couldn't detract from her curiosity of the slate. "How am I seeing him, if he is not here?"
The man dubbed Green Lantern spoke for the first time. "It's just a screen. This is happening miles away." His confusion sparked irritation in Zelda, but she brushed it off and wandered closer.
"At this very moment?"
"Uh. Yeah."
"Calamity Ganon," Batman abruptly interjected, forcing Zelda's attention back on him. "What is it? How did it get here?"
Zelda's patience-if there had been any in the first place-snapped, and she whirled on him again. "You are not to speak to me that way!" She jabbed a finger in his direction, her stance turning hostile. "No one is at liberty to speak so callously to me. Only my father-" Her throat closed up unexpectedly, and she struggled to swallow the sudden lump down so she could finish. "No one," she hissed out at last.
The others looked shocked, exchanging glances with each other as if she had performed some great feat. When Batman appeared to ready a response, the woman-Wonder Woman, as ridiculous as it sounded-spoke her first words. "May I ask your name?"
Zelda's gaze turned to her, decidedly less hostile, and she drew herself up into a more regal pose, straightening her spine and centering her shoulders. "I am Princess Zelda Bosphoramous Hyrule, heir apparent and acting Queen of Hyrule." Her gaze, now haughty, flicked to Batman, challenging him with her eyes.
He didn't react.
Wonder Woman stepped forward, inclining her head in deference. "Princess Zelda," she began, "What is this Calamity Ganon?"
Zelda relaxed, now that they backed down to her authority, and she strode up to the slate, staring at the cloud of red as it devoured the sky. "Calamity Ganon is the end of Hyrule. Pure evil, wanting nothing but destruction and power."
"Where is Hyrule?"
She returned her gaze to them, considering. "I suppose you wouldn't have a Hyrule, would you?" She gestured vaguely towards the screen. "I come from another realm." She paused, searching for more words but was interrupted by Batman before she could speak again.
"You brought this with you?"
His harsh tone brought back her anger. "Of course not," she snapped. "He warped the sealing. I didn't notice at first, because such a spell is beyond my training, but when I recognized that he was attempting to use my sealing as a gateway to another realm, we followed after him. We can't simply let-"
"We?" interrupted the pompous man again, and Zelda's glare turned furious once more. She opened her mouth to tell him off once more, but before she could, a terrifying realization hit her as if an icy wave.
Swallowing thickly, she returned her gaze to the slate, scanning the people running below the smoke. "My knight," she replied, voice soft. Then, stronger, she whirled on them. "You found me, correct? Where is my knight?"
Superman shook his head. "You were all we found."
"No! I do not accept this!" She thrust her arm out as if she could sweep aside the negative answer. "He must be found!"
"We have more pressing concerns," Batman growled, his facade of patience dissolving. "You said Calamity Ganon is nothing but destruction. Tell us how to stop it."
She met him without a trace of fear, staring into his mask with the determination of a rock. "I need my knight," she ground out.
The contest continued until her keen Hylian ears perked at the sound of a man's voice. She could not discern the words, but the sound came from each of the figures in front of her. Simultaneously, they moved their fingers to their ears, but only Superman spoke.
"A sword?" he muttered.
Zelda's whole body jerked at the news. "A sword! Is my knight with it?"
Superman glanced at her, the disembodied voice still speaking into their ears. Zelda wished she could hear his words instead of just his voice. "No," he answered after a moment. "Just a sword, stuck in some debris. They can't get it out."
"We have to go there," she decided resolutely. When they looked at her, she tapped her foot impatiently. "This instant."
"We can take you there, as soon as you tell us how to defeat Calamity Ganon," Batman growled, menacing and far more impatient than the young royal.
Zelda rolled her eyes. "You can do nothing. Power can only be defeated by Wisdom and Courage."
Green Lantern inserted his confusion here, while Batman stood stiff and angry at her uncooperative and unhelpful answers. "I thought we were dealing with Calamity Ganon?"
With a heavy exhale, Zelda explained, more thoroughly this time, "The Triforce is composed of three parts: Power, Wisdom, and Courage. Each is equal in strength, and when combined, they form a perfect harmony. In the past, Power has attempted to seize Wisdom and Courage to claim the full might of the Triforce; however, this time, Ganon does not seek unity, but destruction. The only thing that can defeat a piece of the Triforce is another piece, though they will be equally matched. That is why Courage and Wisdom fight Power as one entity."
"Ganon is the Power Triforce piece, then?" Batman summarized.
Zelda shook her head. "He possesses it, but he is not the piece itself."
"So we need the Wisdom and Courage pieces?" asked Superman. "Do you have one?"
She nodded. "Wisdom. And my knight has Courage. To defeat Ganon, I need my knight at my side, wielding the Master Sword. When I fought Ganon last, my knight fell in battle and I was forced to contain Ganon on my own. But I could not defeat him - only hold him - until my knight could awaken and come to my aid."
"So we need the knight," Batman concluded, which Zelda found rather unhelpful. "He came with you?" She nodded. "Do you know where he would be?"
"We got separated. He likely ended up at a different location than I. But he will be looking for me. We need to return to the city Ganon has seized."
With a grunt, Batman agreed.
"The Master Sword is the only weapon that can pierce Ganon's malice," Zelda informed the heroes as she inspected the blade. It had lodged itself between two slabs of stone, sandwiched in debris, but the blade was still resplendent without a touch of tarnish. She turned around it, searching the surrounding landscape for her knight. In her hands, she clutched a blue shield embellished with red and yellow designs comparable to the symbols she wore herself, holding it as if to protect her chest from attack.
Wonder Woman approached her, but she didn't pay him any attention. "While searching for this knight, perhaps I can wield this blade and protect our team from Calamity Ganon." Without waiting for permission, she grasped the purple hilt.
Zelda shrieked and released the shield, letting it clang against the ground as she jumped to the woman and grasped her forearm with both her hands. "Take your hand off this blade! Only the soul of the Hero may wield the Master Sword!"
Wonder Woman looked at her, expression set. "I will gladly return it to him when he appears. But we need this blade." And, with Zelda's hands on her arm, she pulled the sword.
It didn't budge.
Wonder Woman added her other hand and pushed her legs into the ground, pulling up on the sword. A splintering crack resonated from the make-shift altar, sending Zelda stumbling back. She was caught by the all-red man, steadied by hands on her shoulders, as the stone beneath Wonder Woman's feet depressed with a shriek of stone on stone.
"It won't move!" she cried in frustration. She lifted into the air and pulled, muscles straining, but the sword didn't raise one inch from the ground.
"Only the Hero can wield the Master Sword," Zelda repeated, voice and gaze hard. "That blade is holy. Remove your hands from its hilt."
She did so. "Is it under some enchantment?" she demanded, gaze fierce.
"The blade was crafted by the Goddesses," Zelda replied, striding forward to retrieve the shield she had abandoned moments before. "It has a spirit within it that will only recognize the Hero."
"Call Dr. Fate," Batman ordered. Then he turned to Zelda. "Can you fight Ganon without your knight?"
"I can repel him, yes," she replied.
"Then we need you. Creatures have started emerging from the mist."
"I don't fight monsters. Only Ganon." Her grip turned white on the edges of the shield, but her expression remained unchanged.
Batman's expression was unforgiving. "Well, today you do."
The heroes had been having far more success with the monsters than the creature creating them. Eager to fight something tangible, the legions of heroes and heroines descended on the masses, cutting down bokoblins, moblins, lizalfos, lynels, and the occasional chuchu by the dozens. Of course, they didn't know their names, but the short blonde-haired boy wielding nothing more substantial than a long hunting knife and a quiver of arrows without a bow to shoot them with did.
In fact, this boy probably knew the monsters better than anyone alive-excluding Kilton, the monster researcher with a fetish for their remains.
Link didn't understand what was happening around him. He was somewhere unfamiliar, without his princess or his sword, surrounded by tall structures and malice. It was a relief when the monsters started attacking; at least he knew how to fight those.
Evil was thick in the air. He couldn't sense any light-whether that be from the Triforce of Wisdom or from the Master Sword. All he knew were monsters and malice. He found comfort in the act of slaying monsters without a clue as to what was going on. If it weren't for his missing charge, he would've been entirely content. After all, that is how he lived for the first weeks following his emergence from the Shrine of Resurrection.
Trusting his Triforce to lead him to Zelda, Link continued to cut monsters down, ducking into allies when people strayed into his street. He didn't know who to trust - and he wouldn't, not until Zelda was accounted for.
The monsters grew thicker and he could feel himself drawing near to her. Of course, Ganon would send more monsters where the Goddess Incarnate was. She was without her knight; she made for a more easy target.
Link scaled the nearest wall, needing a vantage point to scope out the carnage below. Once he reached the top, he immediately spotted flashes of pure light and took off in that direction. He knew his princess was there. The light had to belong to her.
The crowd of monsters grew larger still, crowding in the streets as they pressed in the same direction Link was running to. He only increased his speed, needing to reach his charge, who he could feel was in danger.
He was on the roof closest to the flashes of light. Without thought, he ran forward, surveying the scene below with a single snapshot.
Zelda had three protectors: a man in black with a long cloak, a woman with shining bracelets and a golden rope, and a man with a glowing fist of green he controlled with his fist. But they weren't protecting Zelda as they should; their backs were turned, and she was facing her own slew of creatures on her own.
His instincts registered a fourth protector, just a few feet from him, drawing an arrow back on the string of a bow. Without a second thought, Link launched at him, ripping the bow from his hands and leaping off the roof in a roll. The arrow the bow held went flying, but Link was already reaching for his own arrows. He drew back three in one string, aiming them at the monsters closing in on Zelda, let time slow to syrup around him, and then let the arrows fly.
All hit true, felling three monsters at once, but Link doesn't stop there.
More arrows fly from the stolen bow, dropping monsters surrounding Zelda by threes, until Link lands in a roll on the street below. The impact shudders through his body, but his smooth movements transfer it to momentum that he uses to launch himself forward. The bow slides into place on his back so he can free his hands up to reach for his hunting knife. He landed right between the woman with the shining golden rope and the man in green, who are each fighting a combination of electric lizalfos and blue lynels.
His sharpened instincts carry him towards the woman when he catches a glimpse of a sword at her side. He got separated from the Master Sword in the fall, and he was sorely suffering from its loss.
Catapulting over a metal obstacle covered in shattered glass, Link fell smoothly between the woman and an electric lizalfo, which he was quick to cut down in its momentary surprise. The woman's gaze barely flickered to him in acknowledgment before being forced to return her attention to the bucking lynel in her rope's grasp. It had discovered it could not cut its way free and was now attempting to pull the shining woman to it, but she held her ground.
Satisfied that she would not suffer from the loss of her sword, Link sliced out at a tongue attempting to lash his side and spun, left hand thrusting out the blade as his right reached for the sword in the woman's sheath. It came freely, and Link wasted no time plunging it into the leg of a red moblin that had stumbled forward to come to the tongueless lizalfo's aid.
The Chosen Knight ducked under the moblin's retaliatory club-swing and rolled to his feet. He took a split second to toss his weapons over each other to switch hands so the sword could be in the more dominant grip, but that was the only second he wasted. As soon as his hand was wrapped around the hilt, he sprung into action, swinging the borrowed sword into every monster within reach.
His mind seemed to stall as the battle sharpened around him, and he was only aware of the weapon in his hand, the monsters surrounding him, and the near-supernatural sense of his princess's location, which he could feel growing nearer with every step. Bokoblins began slipping through the ranks of the larger monsters that Link hacked through with as much skill as a butcher, wasting no time or energy on the weaker monsters.
Before he knew it, his princess was looming on the edge of his vision. With renewed vigor, Link sliced down a lynel from behind without mercy, plunging the blade deep into its exposed back. Having already been weakened by one of the other warriors, it collapsed, growling in pain and rage. Link, dispassionate, withdrew the sword from its sheath of muscle and bone and switched his grip upside down in order to thrust the bloodied blade into a lizalfo attempting to sneak up behind him.
When he glanced up, his breath stalled in his throat. The princess had her back to him, hands outstretched to the monsters that prowled several feet from her, oblivious to the black lizalfo raising his spear behind him. Without thought, Link reared his hunting knife back and threw it, path as straight as an arrow, into the lizalfo's hand. With a roaring screech, it dropped its weapon. Zelda had hardly turned to face the sudden noise when Link was upon it, driving the blade into its chest.
"Link!" she cried, arms outstretched to him, but he barely glanced at her. She was not safe yet; the monsters, while dwindling since his impromptu appearance, were still a threat. He launched himself into battle without a word, clearing a circle around his princess that gradually expanded. When he took over the fight against two lynels from the man in black, he began to falter, weary and outnumbered. Narrowly missing a bladed club aimed at his side, Link backflipped to give himself distance. He heard his name again, this time a command, and he glanced back to Zelda.
Face set in grim determination, Zelda slung his shield from the place it rested on her back and flung it at him. Link sprinted up to meet it, sliding his right arm through the leather straps and whirling around to meet the lynel that charged up behind him. The force of the blade dug Link's heels painfully into the ground but, as always, the shield held. The lynel reared his weapon back once more and swung it lower, at Link's feet. In a split second, Link had crouched and then launched himself into the air, turning over himself so he could clearly spot the blindspot the lynel had made for himself when he put his strength behind such a side swing.
Time slowed. Link ran forward, slicing and hacking at the unarmored side with vigor. He was unable to make a clean cut that would kill it, but with enough slices through its skin, it would lose strength with its blood.
When the lynel recovered, Link's world sped back up and he abandoned his efforts in favor of nimbly dancing out of the lynel's retaliation. The two danced around each other, exchanging swings that only shifted their positions instead of cutting, until Link angered it enough to charge him. Link threw his body backward under the swing and grabbed at the lynel's arm, swiftly mounting with one arm while the other sliced a deep wound along the back of its coat. The lynel roared, but Link ignored it and grasped his hilt with both hands, using the combined momentum to drive the blade through the lynel's heart.
With a final anguished scream, the lynel collapsed, bringing Link with it. The knight scrambled off his dead mount and yanked out the blade, whirling to his next opponent.
Even though he'd started the fight with two lynels, he realized now that he'd only fought one. The other, as he soon found, had been killed by the woman with her golden rope. He filed this away and continued to search for danger, but it appeared as though the battle was over for the time being.
Zelda's protectors approached as the princess herself ran to meet him, even as he stood in front of an army of monsters he'd just slaughtered, covered in sweat and blood. The borrowed sword was more red than silver, and it dripped onto the ground from its tip, but Link did not release it yet. When his princess approached, Link fell to one knee, his right hand fisted above his heart, his head bowed low.
Zelda laughed, a bright, happy sound, and grabbed his right arm, tugging him to his feet. He obliged, head tilted in confusion, when she dropped his hand and threw her arms around his neck pressing their bodies together.
Link stood rigid, his arms hanging loosely at his sides, his left hand still gripping the sword. After a long uncomfortable moment, he finally dropped the sword and raised his arms, lightly pressing them against her back, not wishing to leave stains on the princess's clothing. His expression remained blank, but his eyes focused on the heroes behind his princess.
After several moments, the princess released him, bringing him back to face her overjoyed expression. "Thank the Goddesses you are safe!" she crowed, smile blinding.
Link's eyes narrowed, a slight frown pulling at his lips.
At his offended expression, Zelda only giggled and playfully shoved his shoulder. "I knew you would be, of course, but I like to see that with my own eyes." Link's expression smoothed out, making Zelda laugh again. Then she turned to the protectors, gesturing to him with a broad smile. "My knight, Sir Link."
"A pleasure," drawled the man in green, who Link now had the capacity to acknowledge. To his shock, he was floating, a light sheen of green light surrounding his skin. "Although I think it's safe to say we had it handled."
Link's gaze sharpened, his frown returning, and Zelda laid a hand on his arm. Then she looked at the man in green, frowning. Before she can chastise him, the woman steps forward, reaching for her sullied weapon.
Link made as if to take it first, but Zelda's placating touch held him back. The woman lifted it, eyeing the drying blood, before her gaze flicked back to him. "You are a skilled warrior. Your talents are a sight to behold."
He nodded curtly while Zelda beamed with pride, her hand still on his arm. It was driving him mad. She caught him looking at her, so he smoothly tapped the sheath still strapped to his back as if he had intended to ask her about his sword in the first place. "We found it. We can take you there now."
She didn't wait for his nod, but turned to the heroes. "Can you lead us back there?"
The man in black frowned heavily, and Link could feel the older man's eyes assessing him. He didn't react-he never did-but his eyes flicked over to him for just a moment to let him know he was aware of the scrutiny. "Can you stop it?" he asked after a length, apparently addressing Link.
He nodded.
The man in green pointed to him, looking at Zelda. "Is he mute or something?"
Link once more kept his expression well-schooled, though Zelda's own irritation bled through clear as day. "Of course not. He just prefers silent communication wherever possible." She glanced at him, as if to confirm this with him, and he nodded once more.
A dark movement flicked in Link's vision and in an instant he had the bow drawn, standing protectively in front of his princess. The figure didn't bother to conceal himself and approached almost casually, so Link fired a warning shot at his feet.
"Whoa!" it instantly shouted, arms flying up. He was close enough now that his dark clothing became more forest green. His attire was easily the closest to what Link recognized than he had seen from this realm thus far. In fact, he imagined he'd quite enjoy wearing something like that. But regardless, Link did not ease up on the arrow. "You gonna shoot me with my own bow? Really?"
Zelda's hand was back on his arm, her bare fingers resting on his arm with a soft warmth that splintered Link's rational thought. His fingers loosened automatically, sending the arrow flying. Luckily, since the strength seemed to have abandoned him at her touch, the arrow only flew a few feet before clattering against an uneven portion of the stone. Link felt his face flame, whether from the embarrassment of his slip or the reaction to her touch he wasn't sure. Risking a small glance at Zelda, however, told him he wasn't alone. She snatched her hand back, cheeks tinting a delightful pink.
"Can I have my bow back?" the man asked, either not noticing their preoccupation or simply not caring.
Link nodded and handed it back to him. He walked over to a dead lynel and claimed its bow as his own, taking the opportunity to also refill his quiver. "Now," Zelda began again, addressing the other heroes. "The sword…"
As if in response to her request, a high-pitched whine erupted from the direction of the sword. The three heroes winced at the sound, regardless of their various ear protection. Zelda and Link, however, heard something different.
"MASTER!" came the high keening voice of the spirit within the Master Sword. Link nearly stumbled at the force of it, though Zelda fared better since it was not her bond. The screech did not stop after that call. The single word bled into itself again and again, begging, screaming: MASTERMASTERMASTERMASTERMASTERMASTERMASTER
Trusting Zelda to stay behind him, Link broke into a heavy sprint, boots pounding on the stone. The group behind him immediately gave chase, though the woman and green man suddenly flew beside him by Rito. They might've been talking to him, but Link didn't hear them. All he could hear was the high desperate cry of his sword.
Link broke into the clearing and immediately saw his sword, pulsing with a bright blue light in time to the keening echoing in his mind. Two new figures stood beside it, one sending golden energy into it, the other holding her hands wide and chanting. Without thought, Link shouted to them. "STOP!"
His breaths came ragged, punishing him for the long sprint, and his shoulders slumped. The pair that had been casting magic halted their incantations, and the sword finally, mercifully, stopped screaming.
Link dropped to his knees.
"He can speak," the man in green offered unhelpfully.
Zelda was suddenly at his side, her hands brushing his shoulders as if to ask if he was alright. Link nodded into his hands, which were now pressed into his head, as his mind echoed with the sudden silence. It would take him a moment to recuperate from the ordeal. The sword's voice had been so shrill, panicked, and it had come-and left-so suddenly.
"What are you doing?!" Zelda had no such reservations. Her voice rose to a shout Link had only heard very few times before. Luckily, since two of those times they had been directed at him. "That sword is a sacred weapon that is only to be touched by the spirit of the Hero! The enchantment can not be undone, nor tampered with! Your whole experiment was pointless!"
"If it was pointless, why did the sword react?" the man in black asked, stoic as the King Link remembered.
She didn't have an answer to that. But Link did. "They were hurting her," he responded, and though quiet, no one missed his voice.
"Her?"
This came from several voices - Zelda's included - but Link paid them no heed. He rose and approached the sword, glaring at the other two until they backed away. The sword pulsed as he approached, a sign of recognition, and Link could hear her voice again - the spirit's. Fi's.
Master. You've returned.
Link nodded.
I was not put to rest. I knew you still had need of me, but we were not together.
He nodded again.
Draw me, Master, and we will fight this evil together at the side of the Goddess Hylia.
There was no need for a nod. He stepped forward and wrapped his left hand around the hilt. It was perfectly formed for him, and it felt like he'd come home after a long time away. He was whole once more.
Without effort, he slid the sword from its stone sheath.
He turned to Zelda, the other half of his soul gripped in his left hand, and nodded. I'm ready.
She was too. When he rejoined her side, she faced the heroes.
"It is time to seal Ganon away once more."
So, I came up with this random one-shot, and the scenes just came to me. I spent the last four hours writing it down, and I might come back and edit it later, but I hope it's enjoyed. I liked the idea of the crossover, though only for a one-shot. A multi-chapter fic seems cheesy.
Anyway, first one-shot and first fic on Legend of Zelda. Please review, even if it's just a short comment. I'd love to hear the feedback.
Love you all!