At least it's not more than a couple hours this time.
Link and Trouble split, diving to the sides. Ganondorf plowed through. Link spun, noticing one thing immediately.
He was slow. But, as Ganondorf turned, he tossed his head and charged again, narrowly missing impaling Link on a tusk. He was slow, but he was impossibly huge, and strong. It would be suicide to get close with those tusks, but what other choice did they have? Stopping him wasn't an option. They had to kill him, and quickly.
They'd have to go for the neck. One look at Trouble confirmed this, and as if they'd done it a thousand times, they charged, weaving back and forth in front of one another, paws skidding on the stones, claws scraping through the blood.
Ganondorf roared and charged them, and they dove to the side. Link leapt up as the boar passed and landed on his back, digging his claws in. Ganondorf roared and reared, but there was Trouble, nipping his back legs, and as he stepped back, his cloven hooves slamming into the ground, the stones split and a root emerged with a thunderous rumble.
Ganondorf tripped, falling to his back. A quick glance confirmed Sunset's action, and as she lowered her arm, her eyelids fluttered shut. Her head fell back. She was out.
Link dove aside as Ganondorf rose, heralded by Trouble slashing his hind legs with deadly sharp claws. Link dove again but a flailing tusk caught him, and he went flying, his own blood spraying in front of him. He slammed to the stones and rolled a few times, and as he watched Trouble battle, he felt his eyelids close, no matter how he fought to keep them open. It was no use.
The last thing he saw was a flash of golden fur, a red mane appearing behind Ganondorf, right before an ear-splitting roar rent the air. Then, through blurry vision, Ganondorf collapsed, and a girl with eyes like the sun reaching for him took over his focus.
Something in him shuddered when he saw her, and a weak whine left his jaws. Then he couldn't see anything anymore.
Sounds were muted. Zelda couldn't hear much, not beyond her own sharp breathing and the dull argument over her shoulder. Her focus was taken up by the wolf at her feet, whose golden eyes had closed but whose side still rose and fell, however weakly.
He's getting stronger, she told herself. He'll make it.
She closed her eyes, breathing in deep. Her power flowed like a river now, unstoppable. It sewed the gouges in his side back together with golden thread, and every stitch she threaded, the more stable Howler's breathing became.
Howler. Link. She still felt lightheaded when she remembered that moment. He'd whispered his name to her, his real name, and when she'd said it herself, she felt something in her shudder in a way she'd never forget. He'd kissed her, finally, and she had never felt more alive than she had in his arms.
Then Ganondorf had begun his insane ritual, and everything had gone to shit.
Zelda bit her lip, hard enough to taste blood, and focused on healing Howler. Link.
She swallowed as the argument behind her escalated. "I don't care what you say, you can't be trusted!"
A female voice answered, unfamiliar. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that you are running out of time. Either trust me, or let your families be destroyed."
Zelda glanced over her shoulder. Trouble, Sunset and a tall woman with dark skin stood a few feet away, arguing. Trouble laid a hand on the fox's shoulder, but she shrugged it off angrily. The woman watched with impassive golden eyes, her clothes hidden by a dark purple robe.
Zelda froze.
"Listen to me!" Trouble yelled suddenly, gripping Sunset's shoulders and whipping ehr around to face him. "We don't have a choice! None of us are in any shape to go after the Yiga or the Thieves, and even if we made it, we'd still have to fight them!"
"So what? We just trust some anima who, up until a few minutes ago, was trying to kill us?!"
Trouble opened his mouth, but Zelda cut him off. "The more time we spend arguing, the more time they have to reach the tribes. If you're going to warn them, then go now."
She stood, looking over her shoulder at the woman, whose golden eyes betrayed nothing. "If you betray us," Zelda said softly, Link's body at her feet, "we'll kill you."
The Thief said nothing, and in the next breath of wind, she was gone.
Zelda tried to squash the notion she'd just made a mistake and forced herself to sit back down and continue healing Howler. It was slow going; her power had recovered since healing Spots, but Link's wound was severe. She had to go slow, or risk sewing him back together incorrectly.
She closed her eyes and focused.
She didn't know how long it had taken; at one point, Trouble and Sunset had taken their argument a few feet away. When Zelda glanced over, she'd seen Sunset bury her face in Trouble's shoulder, his arms around her. She'd looked away quickly.
It must have been hours, for the sun was well and truly risen when Link groaned, his tail twitching. Zelda tried and failed to keep her breath steady. A gasp slid out before she could stop it, and Link's eyes opened, fixing blearily on her, laced with pain.
Zelda bit her lip as her eyes burned. "Hi," she whispered, her voice breaking.
His hand found hers. "Hey," he croaked. He shut his eyes for a second, then refocused on her, his gaze sharper than before. He sucked in a breath and tried to sit up. Zelda slid a hand under him, her heart pounding, the bond in her shivering as he came into contact with her.
He sat up, and by this point Trouble and Sunset had come back over. "We need to head out," Trouble said, ignoring Sunset's huff. "Is he fit for travel?"
Zelda glanced at him, unsure. Link just met her gaze and said, "I can if I need to. What happened?"
Sunset and Zelda helped him stand as a red-gold blur leaped over some rocks and shifted. "I saved your ass is what happened," Mania said, coming to stand with them. "You owe me."
Link rolled his eyes, which Trouble took as a sign to get moving. While they stumbled over the rocks back to the canyon, Mania filled him in. "Ganondorf was too busy trying to kill you two that he forgot about me. So when you tripped him," he nodded at Sunset, "I came in from behind and killed him."
"What a hero," Link said blandly. Trouble snorted.
"Hey, I could have let him disembowel you two," Mania snapped, but his smirk belied the anger in his voice. "You should be thanking me."
"Right," Trouble said flatly. "Next time we're fighting a seven foot boar, we'll call you."
Zelda stifled a laugh, and Link looked at her so familiarly, with that knowing glint in his eye, that she felt another smile bubble up, a softer one. Link blinked at it before returning it, an emotion in his gaze that had been bouncing off the walls of Zelda's mind for the past three weeks.
It took forever to reach the end of the canyon, but already something wasn't right. The forest was close, but not that close. Certainly not enough for them to hear the sounds of a battle.
After a quick look they started hurrying, and within a mile, on an open field--the very same one they'd crossed on the way to Eventide Island, they could see crowds of anima, and some very recognizable screeches.
Pounding steps behind them made the group whirl. Zelda pulled her dagger, but the mixed group that she found made her lower it in amazement.
The woman from before was nowhere to be seen, but the two black wolves that trotted up, nosing Link, along with the cheetahs and lions in equal measure, were enough to make her stare in shock. One of the lions shifted. "Blazing Sun sent us ahead," he said, helping one of the cheetahs--Saori--lift Howler onto the other lion's back. "He knew you would be coming from that direction."
How, Zelda wanted to ask, but then the answer was obvious. "That Thief," she murmured, meeting Sunset's gaze.
The lion nodded. "Now come, Blazing Sun and Last King wish to see you."
Zelda did so, but only after making sure that Link was following along behind them. The lion didn't look too happy about carrying a wolf on his back, but one look from Mania kept his mouth shut.
Questions rampaged through her mind as she followed them around the outskirts of the battle, where she could now see anima from each of their tribes attacking the Yiga and the Thieves. It was fierce, and dust and clumps of grass flew as claws ripped the ground to shreds. Zelda took a step toward it, but their guides pulled her back. "Don't worry," the wolf said. "It's almost over. They never stood a chance."
Bewildered, Zelda let him take her away. The group led them away to a small spot at the head of the battle, where a lone tree stood sentry. Beneath it, Blazing Sun and Last King argued vehemently, with few interjections from a bored looking fox, and--
"Black Sage," Sunset breathed. She rushed forward and fell to her knees, wrapping the Black Moon patriarch in a tight embrace. Impa hesitated a split second before returning it, her hand stroking Sunset's hair slowly.
Zelda looked at her father and let a whimper escape her before following in Sunset's steps. She collided with her father with a cry, burying her head in his shoulder, feeling all the fear and tension and everything of it all crash down on her. She felt like she was being crushed.
He held her to him tightly, and she heard the sob in his voice. "It's all right, darling," he murmured. "You're safe now. It's over."
It's over. The words simply made Zelda cry harder, and only a muffled groan made her lift her head and look around.
Link lay on a pallet, watching her. His face was pale, but his golden eyes held a sliver of mirth. Zelda went to him under the gazes of her group's leaders, and crouched by his side. He gazed up at her. "Stop crying," he mumbled, his fingers brushing hers. His lips twitched into a smile. "You're making my wound hurt."
A laugh slipped out, even as she cried. "Sorry."
Link's smile wilted a little. "No," he murmured. "Don't apologize."
Zelda sucked on her lower lip, aware of all the eyes on her. "Okay."
A cleared throat made her look up, and she found Blazing Sun and Last King watching her closely. "I'm sure you all must be wondering what is going on," Blazing Sun said in his booming voice. He doesn't waste any time, Zelda thought, sitting cross-legged. Her dress had torn up the side so she could sit comfortably. "We received warnings that a new tribe would appear, and soon. They would be violent, the warning said, so we should prepare for battle."
Zelda exchanged glances with her group. "How did you know to trust them?"
"She bore a piece of your hair," Last King said, looking right at Zelda. "All of you."
Zelda blinked. "And--and you didn't think perhaps she had been the enemy?" Her mind spun, whirling around the image of that Thief. What had she done to convince the tribes? Just a piece of Zelda's hair?
"We could already hear the anima on the horizon," Black Sage interjected. "We thought it best to take the woman's word for now, and ask questions after the battle was won."
"She told us you guys would be on the way, anyway," said a familiar voice, and Spots appeared. He sat next to his father, shooting Zelda a small smile. She returned it with relief, her eyes already scanning him from head-to-toe to check for injuries.
"Well, I'm glad she warned you, at least," Mania said, looking disgruntled. Blazing Sun allowed the smallest hint of a smile.
I guess they're over their little spat, then, Zelda thought, watching them. Then she remembered the battle, and she made to rise. But the four leaders rose with her, and her father spoke.
"Zelda, don't. You're in no shape at all to fight, and the tribes have it taken care of, anyway."
True enough. As Zelda watched, the tribes had the remainder of the monkeys cornered. Their circle tightened, keeping the Yiga in tight quarters, before a wolf feinted, allowing two more to attack one Yiga, and while the other two were distracted, a cheetah leapt forward and tackled a second, and a lion crunched down on the last's neck.
It was over in seconds. Zelda wasted no time to rush forward, ignoring the calls of the leaders to stop. She'd caught the flash of sunlight on glass, and as she reached the circle, where the lion backed away, jaws bloody, she found the jars.
But not all of them.
"Find the jars!" she shouted. "Spread out over the battleground and collect as many as you can. Bring them here, but don't touch the seeds."
The tribes did as she said: the wolves sniffing along the ground, the lions prowling the outskirts, the cheetahs stepping around corpses to sniff delicately, the foxes using kitsune magic to cover a wider range.
Zelda watched it all, unaware that someone had stepped behind her until she felt her bond shudder. Without a word Link slipped his arms around her waist, and she rested her head against his chest, and they watched each jar take its place in the pile, watched Mania and Trouble gather wood and lay them against the pile, watched Sunset glow bright gold for a split second, just before the kindling sparked.
And as the fire grew and sparks flew into the air, Zelda closed her eyes, and allowed herself to relax, warmed by the chest against her back, soothed by the gently humming bond inside her.
It was over.
Well that's that. How was it? Kinda had to rush it a little. Only got one more chapter, after all. See you Monday!
Review replies
To StJames1: I dunno. Pick one. There's, like, a million different monkey breeds dude. And I'm sure whichever one I picked you'd be like "uHmMM aCTuALlY" so idc. Whatever floats your boat.
(I'm going through a couple rough days so just... don't mind the sass. I'm cranky as fuck rn.)
Idk the Thieves anima. In my head, they're like desert scorpions, but I didn't give myself a chance to showcase that, so just... imagine they've got cool stingers lmao.
UMMM WHO DIED?? NOBODY. HAHA. WHOS PREDICTABLE NOW BITCH?
Was the bacon sufficiently sliced?
To Queen Emily the Diligent: yeahhh he kinda had a short run but I hope it worked?? And I've only got 15 chapters haha. It was a good exercise in managing my story in a short timeframe though so it was pretty fun. Did I do well, in your opinion?