You know, things have been looking pretty good… time to screw everything over.
On an unrelated note, we've been getting a ton of reviews, and I'm actually psyched. Thank you all so much!
RRRP:
ChangelingRin (FF): I'm pretty proud of last chapter, mostly because of Dark Link and Nierak (love that guy…) This is why, back in chapter 1, I mentioned that your explanation of alternate dimensions made more sense than what I had.
Setokayba2n (FF): By "inside-out", I mean I've played both vanilla OOT and MQ enough to complete them with my eyes closed. I don't really have that with Majora's Mask. Regarding Healing Fairies… Link used one in chapter 14 in the fight with Nierak. RIP Nierak, I loved that guy.
Chapter XV: Roses are red, Kakariko's on fire, and I'm pretty sure Hyrule's state is quite dire
If Link's memory served him correctly, Bongo Bongo wouldn't break out of the Bottom of the Well for some time yet. And after everything that had happened in the Water Temple, Link figured he deserved the respite. He had passed through several frontier villages on the outskirts of what was once Catalia, according to the locals. If they were disturbed by the blonde cyclops walking through their village, they didn't show it. He supposed everyone was just happy that all the water was purified. Link had tried some of the corrupted water one time, only to vomit it back up a few seconds later along with everything else that was unfortunate enough to be in his stomach at the time.
"Ivan?" Link asked once he had gotten out of town.
"Da?" the fairy responded.
"Tell me more about Catalia. It's piqued my curiosity of late," Link said.
"It's more than that, isn't it?" Ivan replied curtly.
"It's just… remember that little medallion the Great Deku Tree Sprout gave me? It says that my dad is from there," Link informed.
"Really? Let Ivan see it," the sprite commanded. Link forked it over from his Pouch and handed it to his partner, who fingered the medal delicately.
"Hm… Ivan guesses it does say that. But this medallion is of Hylian design… Strange. That seems very self-contradictory, given… well…"
"Given what?"
"Given that Hyrule and Catalia were the two biggest combatants in the Unification War, and that they happened to be fighting against each other."
"Wait, what?"
"See? It doesn't make very much sense! Ivan's best guess is that your father betrayed Catalia to Hyrule due to its no-survivor policy, and that act made him a knight. But it could be any other myriad of things. Nevertheless, this Sir Arn was of Catalian descent and a Hylian knight at the time of the Unification War."
"Why did the Unification War begin, in the first place?" Link asked. "What could possibly cause such devastation, like Khalonir?"
"Ivan will give you three guesses, and the first two don't count."
"The Triforce?" Link drawled.
"Da, the Triforce. Word got out about an infinite power hidden away in the Sacred Realm, and everyone wanted it. So everyone split into different factions and warred amongst each other for decades. The two biggest were Hyrule to the north and Catalia to the south, and they subjugated and consumed the other factions. After the rise of King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, however, Catalia was decimated and absorbed into greater Hyrule, creating the country we all know today.
"In fact, all those ruins on the northern side of Lake Hylia were once the Hylian city of Sydenal, and the site of the front line for most of the War. Now all that stands is the Lakeside Laboratory and the remains of Khalonir.
"Does that answer your questions?"
"I guess," Link said. "I just wanted to know more about my family. You know I never met them, and I didn't even have this medallion in my last adventure. I just want to know a little more."
Ivan nodded solemnly. "Ivan sees. Now, let's get back to Kakariko, da?"
Link grinned. "Okay."
!0*0!
The Sheikah-founded village seemed in good spirits. Most everyone in the town had congregated around Zora's River and were partaking in the clean water. It was drizzling lightly, as well, which seemed to be just as much of a shock to the residents of Kakariko as the cleansed water was.
Link strolled into the village proper, the stationed guards giving him respectful nods as he passed. He returned the gesture, but deep down, the Hero of Time despised it. He had always been rather introverted, even as a youth in Kokiri Forest. All this attention was going to be the death of him someday.
He rapped his knuckles against a nearby tree for good luck.
The rain kept falling, lightly smattering the village with water. People had set out pots by their doors, collecting rainwater for usage in a myriad of things. The village seemed jubilant, now that Zora's River was no longer toxic. Before Nierak had met his end, the people had been forced to come to grips with the fact that they may not live to see the next sunrise due to dehydration; now that they weren't faced with that reality, they seemed consumed by gladness. Their joy brought Link contentment. If people were happy, then he had done his job right.
Link beelined for New Lon Ranch. He was surprised to find that the fields beyond the corral were barren, unlike last time he had been there, where a few scraggly-looking plants could be seen. Instantly, the Hero of Time became terrified that something had happened while he had been in the Water Temple. His fears were assuaged, however, when he saw the small party replanting the fields. It made sense, really; this was the perfect time to prepare a new growing season, given the fact that the water wasn't poison anymore.
Normality was returning to Hyrule. No, that wasn't quite right. It was more like Hyrule, like Link, had woken from a seven-year slumber. Only now was it starting to revert to its former glory. The Hylian smiled contentedly. Some normalcy would be nice.
The group out in the fields, which seemed to be made up of Malon, Anjou's family, and her father's old carpenting troupe, had taken notice of him. They proceeded to drop what they were doing and migrate back to the nearly dilapidated ranch house.
"You're this Link, right?" Anjou's father asked. Her brother shied away from his father's voice.
"Yes," Link replied, a bit more tersely than what he originally intended. "What of it?"
Ivan glared at him. Everyone else ignored the fairy.
"Just making sure. No need to get so testy," the carpenter replied.
"I assume you also took care of the water?" Malon interjected. "Just like with Death Mountain?"
"Yeah. If anything, the Water Temple was easier than the Fire Temple, just because it basically boiled down to 'use Din's Fire in weird places' and 'shoot the plaque on the wall'. Anyone could have done it, even the town drunk."
"Really now," she drawled. It wasn't that she didn't believe Link, insofar as what he said was wrong. In all actuality, it was more that she didn't believe that the Water Temple could possibly be easy. Did she think he was mocking them for not fixing their own problems?
"I mean, assuming you had all the right equipment and stuff, then it was easy. If you didn't, then it would understandably be monstrously difficult. I have far more experience with dungeon crawling than most," he clarified.
He hadn't even noticed how most of the carpenters leaned in a little to hear more of his words.
Malon seemed pacified. "Okay, but you'll have to tell us the full story tonight. Back to work, guys. I want to get all of these seeds planted by nightfall so that we can be ready for a harvest."
"But Miss Malon, it's almost mid-fall! If we plant all of the seeds now, they're going to be growing through the winter, and with how hyperbole the weather's been, who knows how bad it's going to be?" one of the carpenters protested. "My aunt died of heatstroke just a few days ago! And I know she's not the only one! There hasn't been rain in Kakariko in years if we discredit that four-minute storm two months ago; there's no telling how cold winter's going to be! All the crops are going to die!"
Four-minute storm? Link pondered. It must have been when I learned the Song of Storms. Wait, that can't be right, because the windmill guy had been playing it for the last seven years… Is it something about the Ocarina of Time that allows things to happen when I play a song? Wait, that can't be it, either; I can play the Sun's Song on the ocarina Saria gave me all that time ago…
Goddesses, this is confusing.
"He's right," Anjou asserted. "We can't plant everything, Malon. What happens if they all die? We'll have practically doomed Kakariko."
"We can keep a fourth of the seeds for safekeeping," the ranch owner relented, setting out for the fields once more. "And Link, could you make yourself useful? We need as many hands as we can get."
"You don't even need to ask," the Hero of Time responded. It was like the sun had come out. Here was a place he belonged.
!0*0!
"... and then, the next room seemed to stretch on forever, as far as the eye could see and more!" Link continued, waving his arms about in an effort to express just how vast that chamber had been. "There were two doors, and they were both sealed tight. I spent… actually, I don't even know how much time passed in there while I was trying to figure out how to get out!"
Everyone else present at the table leaned in, enraptured by the tale the ex-Kokiri was weaving.
"Eventually, I hear the door unseal, open, and then slam shut again. I turn to the room I had left from to see what just happened, and I'm instantly faced with a dark copy of myself!"
"A what?" everyone interjected.
"Some Dark Link," Link elaborated. "Ivan says it's a ripple across space and time or something like that. Anyway, only one of us could leave, and we had to fight each other to the death so that one of us could progress through the temple!"
"Did you die a horrible, brutal death by your evil self? Details, give us details!" one of the carpenters begged.
Everyone stared at him.
"Rozzt, you actual mongoloid," another of the carpenters guffawed. "He can't be dead if he's here!"
"What's a mongoloid?" Link whispered to Ivan.
"The way this leetle baby man is using it, it's a synonym for 'moron'," Ivan explained. "But that's not what it means and you shouldn't use it."
"Got it," Link responded. "So I killed the Dark Link. As soon as he's dead, the infinite room is consumed by this bright white light, and we realized that it's not all that infinite. Somehow, the rather large room tricked us into thinking that there were no walls, and that it stretched on forever. The doors unlocked, so I finally got to leave. The next room…"
And so the night wore on.
!0*0!
Even a few weeks later, the earth was wet.
The recent storm still hadn't let up; if anything, it had only crescendoed. Link shuddered as droplets of water repeatedly hit him in the face; the foliage of the tree he was currently trying to sleep under didn't offer enough protection from the rain. He would have taken a room in the nearby inn, but he was out of Rupees and couldn't afford it. One of the carpenters had offered to share a room in the ranch house, but Link had declined; he could tell that it was going to be one of those nights. It would be either a night with nightmares chock full of disturbing amalgamations wedged in between every instant of rest, or a night in which there was no rest at all, Link's mind sluggishly sprinting at the perfect pace to keep Link exhausted, but not asleep.
The storm wasn't helping matters.
If only he still had his hat.
The Hylian adjusted his position on the tree, bark scratching his back through the fabric of his tunic. Best not to think about it. If he didn't get any sleep, he'd soon end up in the graveyard.
"Graveyard…" Link mumbled deliriously. "Hang on…"
"Huh?" Ivan grumbled. "Stop mumbling. Ivan is trying to sleep."
"There's a grave house… we could sleep in… get out of the rain…" Link tiredly suggested.
"As much as Ivan doesn't want you catching a cold, we met Dampé's ghost. Sleeping in his house probably isn't the best idea."
Link sighed. "You have a better idea? I can totally take that gho…"
The Hylian dozed off, only for a rather large raindrop to smack him square in the face.
"Gah! Where is it?! Get away from me!" he yelled, flailing his arms about like a deranged catfish out of the water.
Ivan glanced at his partner. "On second thought, it can't be that bad."
The pair stumbled upright and plodded their way through Kakariko. There was always a sense of eeriness at night, like something just wasn't right. Of course, Link knew that it was because of Bongo Bongo and the Shadow Temple oozing negative energy, but on his first time, Kakariko at night had terrified him. Speaking of the demon, when was it going to free itself? If Link remembered right, it would be tomorrow night. He could take care of it in the morning.
Eventually, they made it to the graveyard. The rain was somehow falling even harder than it was before, drenching the Hylian and his companion. Digging deep into their remaining stores of energy, the pair dashed into the tiny little hut by the graveyard and threw themselves inside, easing the door shut behind them.
!0*0!
Link awoke screaming, instigating another iteration of a cycle that had propagated itself all night. Every ten to twenty minutes or so, Link would awaken from a horrible nightmare, eye snapping open as he scrambled to remember just where he was. The commotion would wake Ivan up, who would spend the next half-hour trying to calm Link down with calm, honeyed words. He'd fall asleep again rather quickly, but not before opening the door to air the room out and check if it was daytime yet.
It never was.
"Link, are you alright?" Ivan asked quietly. Even after countless repetitions of this, the fairy still treated it like an emergency every time.
"I'm fine, Ivan," Link groaned, leveraging himself into a standing position. "I'm just tired."
"When are we not?" Ivan inquired rhetorically.
"I mean, more so than usual," the Hylian confessed. He warmed himself by the lit hearth for a while, coaxing heat back into his body, before moving to open the-
Wait.
Dampé's house didn't have a hearth…
Link turned, and realized that what he had mistaken for a fireplace was all fire and no place, an open flame in the hut. And it was spreading.
Link quickly grabbed his items and dashed out the door into the graveyard. Parts of the fences were alight as well. Poes glided around the flames with intent, laughing madly as the wood burned.
The Hylian left the graveyard and entered Kakariko proper, only to realize that it was in just as much pandemonium as the graveyard had been in. Houses had gone up in flames, with people trying desperately to douse them with buckets of water or extricate their loved ones from the wreckage. Memories of Old Lon Ranch surged to the front of Link's mind, and he shoved them back down. Even after all this time, the events of that night still ceaselessly haunted him.
People were screaming for somebody, anybody, to save them from the plumes of fire that licked at their heels. Link kept running. He couldn't afford to stop. Because the only logical conclusion that he could make was that he had been wrong; now was the time that Bongo Bongo had freed itself from its prison below the Well. Link absently wondered if Bongo Bongo was the guy who had constructed the Lens of Truth, like that one old man had said. It was possible.
He made it to the Well, and as he guessed, Zelda was there. She was still disguised as Sheik, though, and she was eyeing the Well with no lack of suspicion- and muted terror.
"Get back, Link!" she warned before the other Hylian had any time to say anything. As soon as she said that, the wooden structure atop the Well burst off, careening into the sky before falling back down again. It smashed into the stone stairs inches behind Link, breaking into pieces with a loud noise, causing Link to instinctively turn around. It then started to rain even harder, cleansing water slowly dousing the fires.
A yelp from Sheik prompted Link to whirl again, only to see her being tossed around in the wind like a ragdoll. He drew his bow and arrow but quickly reconsidered; since he didn't have the Lens of Truth, he couldn't see Bongo Bongo's eye, and even if he could, he was endangering the princess by trying. Eventually, the evil spirit chucked Sheik to the wayside, and she smashed into the mud at the foot of the stairs. Drawing the Biggoron Sword, Link ran down the stairs towards the disguised Sheikah, kneeling when he got to her.
"Are you alright?" he demanded. "If that's what killed you, I'll go to Heaven just to kill you again!"
He knew she was alive, but given her recent doubts about how much he trusted her, he figured it was for the best if he said something like that.
She chuckled, almost inaudibly. "I'm fine, Link. Now get out of here while you still can!"
"Hell no," Link refuted. "The rain's already dousing the fires. Besides, fighting is the one thing I'm really good at."
Even from his current perspective, Link could see Ivan cringe.
He didn't miss the shadow cast by nothing streak along the landscape, as if surveying the destruction of the town before descending into it, heading straight for Link.
Link summoned his Stalfos Shield and raised his Biggoron Sword, ignoring Sheik's protests. He knew it wasn't going to do him much good, but maybe if he got lucky, he could kill the beast right then and there.
But if he did that, how was Impa supposed to awaken as a Sage? She couldn't, could she?
The moment of indecision allowed Bongo Bongo to slam into Link at full speed, throwing Link backwards almost fifty feet. Darkness consumed his vision, and he remembered no more.
!0*0!
When Link came to, the first thing he saw was the old windmill, blades still turning endlessly. Like time, it could only go forwards.
The fuzzy parts of his vision coalesced into the concerned forms of Sheik and Ivan. They flitted in and out of focus before finally staying there.
"Looks like you're finally coming around…" Sheik said.
"Oh, thank the Bogini," Ivan sighed. "Leetle man worries Ivan too much."
"Link, a terrible thing has happened! The evil shadow spirit has been released! Impa, the leader of Kakariko, had sealed the demon in the Well years ago… but with Ganondorf's rise to power, the seal became ever weaker, and eventually, it was able to break free! I believe Impa has gone to the Shadow Temple to seal the evil again, but… she'll be in danger without any assistance! Link, Impa is one of the six Sages! You have to vanquish the evil in the Temple to save her and Kakariko!"
"Okay, all right. Can you teach me the teleportation song now?" Link drawled. "I'm kind of out of it right now and I don't want to forget it."
Zelda rolled her eyes. "There's an entrance to the Shadow Temple behind the graveyard in the Village… The only thing I can do for you is to teach you the melody that will lead you to the temple. This is the melody that will drive you into the infinite void that consumes even time… Listen well to the Nocturne of Shadow…"
She withdrew the harp and plucked seven chilling notes from it. Link followed suit with the Ocarina of Time, and memories of playing the tune surged into his brain. He'd never forget that feeling.
"I'll take care of the village! We're counting on you, Link!"
With that, she disappeared with the flash of a Deku Nut. And Link was alone, a spot of light in a world of darkness.
He wanted to scream. He wanted to rip the Goddesses to shreds and stamp their disgusting and monstrous creations underfoot. He stalked to the dilapidated well and kicked it repeatedly. The first time, he imagined it was Ganondorf. The second, he imagined it was Zelda, the one that had betrayed him. Then he imagined it was himself, again and again and again.
!0*0!
"Link! Are you alright! What happened!" Malon asked fervently, desperation filling her voice.
The Hero of Time had returned to New Lon Ranch only to find it in a somehow even sorrier state than the first day he had seen it. The fires had spread to the newly planted seedlings, razing them before they had a chance to grow. In other words, Kakariko was without food again, and the Ranch was nearly out of seedlings. This meant, in essence, that the entire village would starve if they didn't procure foodstuffs from somewhere. While the village had been presumably living off of old stores of food for the last seven years, Link doubted that they would last much longer.
His fears were practically confirmed when he had noticed a half-battalion of Hylian Knights trailing the path to New Lon Ranch, Commander Rusl among them. If the situation was so bad that the entire order-maintaining body in the town had to get involved, it must have been particularly catastrophic.
"I'm fine, Mal," Link assured. "But if Rusl is here, I must be among the lucky few."
"Aye," the knight commander lamented. "The village's food reserves are nearly exhausted. Those seeds were among our last hope, but then this fire happened… nobody could have predicted this."
Link internally punched himself for not remembering, gently biting his lower lip. If Ivan noticed the gesture, he didn't comment. "The fires were caused by a phantom that had been sealed below the Well for the last few centuries or so. Now that Ganondorf's taken over Hyrule, it was able to break the seal and cause all this chaos. According to my sources, it's retreated to the Shadow Temple and shouldn't interfere much with Kakariko for now. That Temple's my next stop.
"But I'm not going to go to the Temple until this crisis is solved. We just need to figure out a solution of some kind," Link finished.
Rusl blinked. "Kid, why do you know all of this?"
"I am not at liberty to divulge that information," the Hero of Time replied. "Zel- er, I mean, my informants would probably kill me."
"Link," Malon interjected softly, "you don't have informants. Don't mind him, Sir Rusl, he's just messing with you."
The swordsman turned to face her. "Okay, so maybe I don't have informants. I just know everything. Is that fair?"
The rancher shot him a knowing glance. "Much better."
Rusl coughed into his fist, evidently flabbergasted by the words being tossed between Link and Malon. "Uh, could we perhaps get back on track? Kakariko matters more than who's telling Link about what's going to happen."
"Zora's River just got cleansed a few weeks ago," Link noted. "Could we get fish from there?"
"We tried that," the knight-commander rejected. "The corrupted water got most of them. It will be quite some time before they begin to come back."
"What about the other towns?" Link suggested. "Could we try pooling our resources?"
"That would only dilute our efforts. The other villages had been struggling just as much as we had been before the water was cleansed. If we all rationed out everything equally, the other villages would have much less food than they currently do, and the Knight's Code states that we must preserve the welfare of all, not just one village. On our honor, we cannot do that."
The Hero of Time continued to bounce ideas off of Rusl, only for them to be denied due to logical and sensible reasons. Eventually, Link gave up and stared off into the distance, racking his brain for any ideas.
"Um," Malon said, garnering the two men's attention. "There might be a store of food and seedlings at Old Lon Ranch… If we could get past the Lynels, we might be able to salvage something."
"Bad idea," Ivan interjected. "Lynels are quick, smart, and powerful. They could sever a man clean through in just one swing- and that's assuming the man's wearing light armor. To assault Old Lon Ranch would call for a large force, and the cost of life would be steep."
"Have you got any better ideas?" Link asked his partner.
"... Well, no, but it doesn't change the fact that people are going to die if we do this thing."
"Is that a price we're willing to pay?"
"If it is necessary to preserve the people of Hyrule," Rusl affirmed. "I am willing to lay down my life for the people of this village, and my men are no less eager. What say both of you?"
"Consider me a part of this," Link affirmed.
"I'm coming too," Malon affirmed.
"Out of the question," the Hero of Time refuted.
Rusl said nothing, merely looking at Malon expressionlessly.
"Excellent!" Ivan exclaimed.
The Hero and his partner both turned to stare at each other like they were completely psychotic.
"Ivan, I'm not letting Malon go to Old Lon Ranch," Link stated. "You said yourself that Lynels are quick, smart, and powerful. It's too risky."
"A risk that you're putting yourself in," the sprite pointed out. "Malon knows Old Lon Ranch like the back of her hand, and she can handle herself rather well. You saw how she was with the Wolfos pack.
"No matter how leetle man looks at it, this Malon and your first Malon are very different from each other, and you're projecting your memories of the first Malon onto this one," he whispered. "This Malon is stronger, more determined, and more willing to do what it takes. Ivan does not think that can be said quite as well about the first Malon you encountered."
"A Wolfos is not a Lynel," Link said derisively. "I can't afford to lose her. If I do, I… I don't know what I'll do."
"She will be just fine," Ivan assured. "Ivan will be looking after her. If Ivan cannot, feel free to use Ivan as a healing fairy."
Link pondered it, then sighed. "You're right, Ivan. As usual. Mal, you're on board."
"Excellent," Rusl said. "We leave at dusk. Hopefully the element of surprise will aid us in this critical endeavour."
!0*0!
True to the knight-commander's word, the entirety of the order of knights were ready to march on Old Lon Ranch. They looked afraid, but determined. Link could respect that.
Link was behind the main line, next to Malon in order to keep an eye on her. Ivan had laughed out loud when he had told him that that was his purpose, and he wasn't sure why.
"Uh…"
"Yes?" Malon replied tersely, fingering her knife.
"Look, I'm sorry for being against letting you go on this mission," Link apologized. "It's just… you're the only one I've told about… well… you know… And I just couldn't stand it if I lost you… because… I'd have lost one of my only friends," he finished lamely.
She sighed. She'd been doing that a lot recently. "Water under the bridge, Link. I get it."
"So why did you decide to come to this? I didn't think it would be your cup of tea," Link asked, trying to make conversation.
"It's not," Malon agreed. "But… well…"
"If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine," Link said. "I won't pry."
"No, I should get it off my chest," she replied. "It's just… I never got to see father and Ingo's bodies, much less bury them. I was sort of hoping that once all this was over, we could give them a proper funeral.
"That, and… I always had these dreams of knights in shining armor sweeping me off my feet when I was younger. Once father and Ingo died, though, I realized that nobody was coming to save us. You tried your best, but… you were just a little kid. You were hopelessly outmatched by Ganondorf, and there was nothing you can do. It's part of why I stuck with being a rancher before the smog around Death Mountain cleared; because I couldn't just let anyone else lose their loved ones. I had to do something. I guess the reason why I'm going back to Old Lon is to… prove that I can be my own knight in shining armor. Goddesses, I must sound crazy, don't I?"
"Makes perfect sense to me," Link said, wrapping an arm around her torso awkwardly. "I'm sorry I couldn't have done any better back then. I…"
She reciprocated his motion, except with a more natural fluidity that eluded Link despite his efforts to the contrary. "No more apologies. Just being my Link is enough."
Wait.
Her Link?
Ivan groaned playfully, interrupting the Hero of Time's train of thought. "It took you long enough!"
"Ivan!" Malon replied hotly.
Link blinked. "What's he talking about?"
"Nothing!" the rancher burst, cutting off the fairy before he could respond. "Just- pretend he never said anything in the first place. Clear?"
"As crystal," the Hero of Time replied, returning to his embrace. He wasn't quite sure what Ivan was on about, or why Malon seemed so defensive about it, but if it meant more of this, he wouldn't be complaining.
!0*0!
By midnight, the party was approaching the ramshackle ruins of Old Lon Ranch. Even from a few kilometers out, they could hear the disgusting sounds of ancient abominations stalking through the darkness of Hyrule Field, eagerly hunting their prey.
The ear splitting screech of an Elder Skullfos in the distance put the entire group on edge, and the following swarm of rabid Keese didn't help matters. Distant rumbles shook the plains, but they seemed to be decreasing in volume and intensity, implying that whatever was making those vibrations wasn't moving towards them. An animalistic scream of some hideous creature soon followed.
There was silence after that. The only sound that permeated the fields was the periodic clink of the armor of the knights that beelined for a destroyed ranch. Their breaths mingled, and each man was aware that it may very well be among his last.
Link wasn't used to being alone anymore; he had had Navi and Ivan for too long now. Therefore, when his partner fairy splintered off to keep an eye on Malon, Link felt prone. Exposed to the elements in a way he somehow hadn't been before. That was nonsense. He had lived ten years of his life without having a fairy. A few more hours wouldn't change anything.
It didn't help his stress.
A faint thump sounded from right behind him. Link whirled around, Biggoron Sword half drawn, only to see that the knight marching behind him had dropped his shield. Both men apologized profusely before returning to their death march.
By then, Lon Lon Ranch had fully come into view. Even this late at night, shapes were visibly moving along the ruined walls of what was once a farm. The Hero of Time squinted, trying to make out anything from the shadowy images. Ivan had said nothing about the Lynels having access to horses.
Then one of the Lynels emerged from the ruins and Link gasped. It wasn't riding a horse. It practically was a horse. The beast had four muscular, hooved legs attached to a horse's midsection. However, where the head of the horse would normally be, the Lynel had a human body with two bulky arms. It had a massive broadsword in its grasp that looked sharp enough to cut through even the thickest of armor like it was nothing. Its head was wreathed with a great red mane, with two tusks, hateful crimson eyes, and a boar-like face poking out from the shock of hair.
It was soon joined by more Lynels. Eight more, to be exact. They didn't appear as powerful as the head Lynel, which Link assumed to be their leader, but the other Lynels still looked massively strong. Each held a gargantuan spear, perfect for a being of their stature.
They reared up before unanimously charging forwards to meet the knights in the plains. It made sense, Link supposed. Fighting in the closed quarters of Old Lon Ranch would aid the Hylians in flanking their forces and overpowering them. He had to hand it to these Lynels, they weren't unintelligent.
The knights drew their weapons. Most of them were broadswords, and looked to be in bad shape. A few of the soldiers had spears, some had maces, and the entire back row was equipped with bows and a good number of arrows each. They were hardly equipped for dealing with the Lynels, Link realized with a feeling of dread.
"Steady… Steady…" Rusl, who happened to be standing right next to Link, ordered. Behind them, the archers each nocked an arrow and aimed for the Lynels. Meanwhile, the lion-centaurs were still charging with abandon towards their foes. "Wait for it…"
They were two hundred meters away. One hundred. Fifty.
"Wait for it…"
"What the hell are you waiting for?!" Link questioned quietly. "They're right there!"
Rusl ignored him.
The Lynels were practically upon them. Any closer, and they'd be able to kill whatever knights happened to be in the front line. Including Link.
"Split!" the knight-commander suddenly ordered.
With almost practiced ease, the Kakariko knights suddenly threw themselves out of the path of the racing Lynels. The beasts, not expecting the sudden change in tactics, charged blindly past the entire Hylian force and skidded to a stop behind their forces.
"Fire!"
A wave of arrows loosed themselves towards the now-exposed Lynels. Most of them missed due to the awkward position of most of the Hylians, but the few that hit elicited roars of agony from their victims.
Link turned to Rusl, a questioning look in his eyes. "How… did you know… that would work?"
"I didn't," Rusl answered honestly. "A good soldier has to be able to work on the fly. Charge!"
With that, the knights broke into a sprint, weapons drawn. Roughly equal numbers of the force split off to deal with each Lynel. Some of the groups were able to get to their respective targets faster and overwhelm them with sheer force. Others, including the party Link happened to be in, weren't as lucky, as the Lynels had recovered from the arrows and were now deftly cleaving through most of their ranks. Maybe the Link that Link had been before Zelda sent him back would have been able to fight off one of the Lynels in a contest of brute strength, but the Link that was part Stalfos most certainly couldn't. He would have to employ another strategy in order to effectively fight off the Lynels.
He withdrew his Longshot and carefully aimed for his Lynel's head, hoping to stun it for long enough for his contingent of knights to get in. Unfortunately, the mane shifted at the last second, and the metal head of the chain became entangled in its hair. The ensuing recoil yanked Link up onto the beast's head, past its massive blade. The Longshot chose that moment to disentangle from the Lynel's hair, dropping Link right onto its back.
The Lynel in question started bucking about madly in an effort to get its unwanted passenger off of its back. Without thinking, Link drove the Biggoron Sword into the creature's torso and clung to its hilt for dear life, not realizing that the knights were taking the opportunity to pepper the dying beast with arrows. After far too long being spent thrown around on the Lynel's back, it finally collapsed to the ground in its death throes.
Withdrawing his bloodstained blade from the creature's corpse, Link and the remaining soldiers in his squad perused the battle for a moment. Five of the nine Lynels had been taken down, but the other four were very much alive and kicking- literally, as some of the knights had seen Link's stunt and decided to try to replicate it. Of all the Lynels, only the red-maned one appeared to be largely unharmed, and it was surrounded by a circle of dead knights. Link wasn't sure if Rusl was among them. The Lynel leader glanced off into the distance errantly before darting off in that direction. Link followed its path with his eyes, only to see a spark of light directly in the direction it was going.
It was Ivan. But wasn't Ivan supposed to stay with Malon?
"Oh, dear Goddesses. We can't let that Lynel get away!" Link shouted. "How many of us have arrows?"
They were low on arrows; they'd used most of them on the other Lynels. It took them a few seconds to scavenge a few arrows from their Lynel's corpse.
"I'm not going to give you orders, just bring that Lynel down!" he screamed, drawing his Fairy Bow and nocking an arrow. "Ignis," he whispered, and the arrow lit itself on fire. He loosed the arrow, taxing his magical reserves somewhat as the flames arced towards the charging Lynel. He thought he had missed, but a fierce gust of wind happened to coincide with his firing of the arrow, and it carried the bolt right into the Lynel's mane. The hair proceeded to burst into flames, and the lead monster had to take some time to beat the fire out of itself.
By this time, the rest of the battle had started to wind down. While each Lynel had brought down a substantial number of knights, the sheer number of Hylian soldiers had managed to overwhelm the beasts. Right now, the Red Lynel was the only one left.
It turned, setting its sights on Link. It reared up on its hind legs and roared in anger before setting itself back down and charging at him. The knights around him nocked a few arrows, but the Red Lynel scooped up the corpse of one of the other lynels mid-sprint and lobbed it at the knights preparing to fire. Some of them managed to dodge the impromptu attack, but the others were crushed under the weight of the strange projectile.
They managed to get a few arrows in the Lynel, but nowhere near enough to bring it down. It swung its enormous broadsword at the small group, hitting anyone who wasn't fast enough to dodge it. Thankfully, the attack didn't kill anyone outright, but it injured quite a few of Link's soldiers.
Link shot another Fire Arrow at it, only for the attack to miss entirely. This gave the Lynel the opportunity to bring its blade down on top of Link, but the Hylian managed to avoid the blow by mere inches by rolling forwards. This brought him close enough to swing at one of the Lynel's legs, which he did with the Biggoron Sword, scoring a fine hit.
The Lynel reared up as more arrows sprouted along its body. Link looked up at the underside of the beast's hoof and realized with a sudden sense of dread that it was going to smash into his face. He rolled to his right, away from the Lynel as it smashed back down. Unfortunately, this gave the Lynel the perfect position to swing its blade at Link, and the Hylian couldn't retaliate due to the fact that he was lying prone aside the centaur.
His vision swiftly went black as the sharp pain of being cut through by a broadsword permeated his being. Then there was the soothing relief of a fairy releasing itself from one of his bottles, healing his wounds before disappearing.
Link came to again with startling clarity, as he saw that massive blade descend once again towards his midsection. Behind the blade, something silver streaked across the sky and lodged itself in the Lynel's head.
It was like time froze until a soft gurgling noise came from the monster as it collapsed on itself. It didn't move again. Something had killed it.
Link staggered to his feet, squinting with his good eye at the scene. Hylian and Lynel corpses alike were strewn about Hyrule Field. Standing in the middle of it were the knights, still breathing heavily, and oddly enough, Malon and Ivan. She was missing her knife.
Link sheathed the Biggoron Sword and cautiously approached the deceased Red Lynel. It had a pommel rammed into its brain, and upon yanking the small blade out of its cranium, Link realized that it wasn't even a sword.
He walked back to the much smaller group of knights as they began to filter into the Ranch. Malon and Ivan stayed there, staring off into the distance with an implacable look in their eyes. Link knew that look; he'd worn it too many times for him not to recognize it on sight. It was a look of numb, alien detachment.
"Here's your knife back," Link said, offering the bloody blade to the rancher. In the moonlight, it was glinted a fiery red. Almost as red as Malon's hair.
She gingerly accepted the blade, idly setting it down in the grass.
"That was a hell of a throw. You saved my life there, you know," Link congratulated. "You're practically my knight in shining armor."
That elicited a smile, but the expression didn't reach her eyes. Then it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.
"I'm being serious," Link continued, moving a little bit closer. "You've saved me more than you know. Not just right now, either. The last time all of this happened, I didn't tell anyone about it. It tormented me. Just having someone to confide in was probably the best decision I've ever made in my life."
Where had Ivan flown off to? Link decided that he didn't care.
"Even seven years ago, you've been saving me. That was when I was at my most volatile. You were one of those rare bright spots that I had to learn to savor. If you hadn't been there… to be honest, I don't know where I'd be. I… I need you, Mal. More than you need me."
They sat there for some time in silence. Somehow, they were smiling giddily, so much that it hurt. But it was a good sort of pain. It was a most exquisite hell.
!0*0!
Old Lon Ranch didn't have much out in the open; if there ever had been, the Lynels would have gotten to it. Most of the goods that weren't canned or bottled had gone bad, so there was not much in the way of immediate food.
But there were seeds. Seedlings of all sorts of sizes and colors populated the remains of the Ranch. It wouldn't be easy for Kakariko, but there was a start.
Link felt Malon's hand squeeze his. He squeezed it back. They would be just fine.
I think the ending to this chapter gave me cavities.
At least we have the Bottom of the Well next chapter to take care of that.
NOOTCD: Lynels are from the original LOZ, Zelda II, and a few others, including BOTW. I used the Breath of the Wild appearance for the Lynels just because it's the most up-to-date, but I took a few liberties (like how the Red Lynel was the strongest).
On a completely unrelated note, please blast "Bombs for Throwing At You" during the battle scene this chapter. You'll know why.
Review Please!