Chapter: The Twilight Crusade
Castle Town, Noon
Ren sprinted through the crowd to find Link. He found Link with Chrom, Robin, and Sumia, all near the Western street path. He made sure not to walk in the eyesight of the Twili Risen, and he put on the hood that was on the back of his black poncho. He approached them, and they noticed the distressed look on his face.
"Ren? You look distressed," said Robin.
"The Twili Risen, th-they're here," said Ren.
"What?! Where?" Chrom quickly asked.
"I don't know. They used some magic to conceal themselves. I could only tell because I get a sharp headache whenever one of them is near," Ren quickly stated.
"But how would they get in with weapons?" asked Robin.
"They either hid their small daggers, or they disguised them with magic," answered Ren. "Has anyone checked on the guards outside of the walls?"
After Ren said that, all five of them split up and sprinted to each of the three exits, to check on the guards. The Western Exit: Two guards, both unconscious. The Eastern Exit: Four guards, also all unconscious. The Southern Exit: Eight guards, all unconscious. They regrouped back at the fountain. All of the guards were knocked out, and there were at least three or four Twili Risen in Castle Town.
"Ok, let's think. Where would the Twili Risen go, and what do they want?" said Ren.
"The Radiating Stone in the castle," said Sumia.
"Most likely, but why wouldn't they have tried that during the past month?" questioned Robin.
"What if it's not for the stone? What if they want to get something else, like some form of leverage above us?" questioned Ren.
"What kind of leverage?" asked Chrom.
"Innocent people?" suggested Robin.
"No, they're here, and would have done that by now," said Ren.
"Disrupting the time of peace, maybe? To anger Zelda," said Robin. "But we'd still repel them, even without weapons."
"Wait, that last thing, about Zelda," said Ren.
"Trying to kill Zelda? They wouldn't, they already tried that. And they lost their best soldier," said Robin.
"Not exactly. They have someone else," said Ren.
The four of them looked at Ren in shock and interest.
"A huge Bulbin. Morphed with twilight. He could easily take on Darbus. And that was when I was still there. Who knows what he's like right now," said Ren.
The inevitable came, and the Twili Risen revealed themselves. They let off their disguises, in a black fire that formed around them. About a dozen revealed themselves, and that was just in the Town Square.
"I think we're about to find out," said Chrom.
They split up and rushed around through the fleeing commotion. Link rushed to a Twili Risen closest to the fountain. He grappled him, jabbed his face, and slammed it onto the stone fountain rim. Another one came up behind Link, and he grabbed Link in a choke-hold. Link struggled, and turned the Twili Risen's back to the fountain. Link stepped backwards and brought both of them down into the fountain. Link broke free of the choke-hold, and quickly knocked out the Twili Risen.
Ren took out a Twili Risen that tried to approach the castle gate, and he grabbed the Twili Risen's two knives. He surveyed the area, and saw one standing over a man with a cane. Ren sprinted and stabbed the Twili Risen. He then helped the man back up. The old man punched Ren to the side, and hit the side of his face with his cane. Ren fell back on to the ground, and with a cut on his left cheek.
"What the, why was that sharp?!" uttered Ren. He looked back at the old man, and the man took of his magic disguise, revealing the cane to be a longsword. The Twili Risen charged at Ren, but he rolled to the side, and swiftly threw the knife into the Twili Risen. Ren grabbed the longsword. The handle had a special gemstone, that could channel magic around the blade when magic was applied to it through the wielder's thumb. The longsword itself was heavy, and if the bottom of the handle was aligned with Ren's hips, the tip of the blade would reach an inch above the top of his head.
The crowds were clearing out in the middle, as everyone was fleeing into a building. The guards brought Zelda back to the Castle, and formed a tight line in front of the gates. At the south street, Chrom, Robin, and Sumia ran to gather everyone else. Gregor, Lucina, Frederick, and Lon'qu were in the alley that led to Telma's Bar. They were unarmed, except for Morgan, who had an arcfire tome that she hid in her coat. The five of them, and Chrom, Robin, and Sumia went to the center. Link and Ren were there, along with numerous Hyrulean guards. They were ill-prepared for battle, and on top of that, more Twili Risen were approaching through the Eastern and Southern gates.
"There're too many of them," said Robin.
"So I assume there's no best course of action?" said Frederick.
"Right, the best option is to flee. We'll at least get out with our lives," said Robin.
"But the people of Hyrule..." said Lucina.
"We don't have weapons, nor do we have enough manpower to take down the Twili Bulbin," said Ren. They all noticed the Twili Bulbin slowly trudging through the southern street. The guards caught sight of it, and they slightly lowered their weapons in fear.
"We can delay them though," said Robin. "Ren, use your ice magic and block off the town square."
Ren quickly pulled the ice sword, and pressed his thumb against the gemstone. He focused, and with a surge of adrenaline, he uttered three thick walls of ice, blocking the Twili Risen off from the town square. Some of the Risen were caught in the ice wall, frozen in place. Ren turned around, and formed another thick wall that blocked off the entrance to the castle. Everyone behind it moved back, putting space between them and the wall. Ren hastily warped through the walls, and reformed. He fell down, grasping on to the longsword.
"That... took... a lot... of... energ-gy," said Ren.
Link and Lon'qu went to Ren's aid, and slung his arms over their shoulders. The group retreated back to the castle. Inside, they set Ren down, and grabbed the weapons that they left in the foyer. Zelda and Midna awaited for them, each with their respective guards.
"What now? Are we gonna fight that thing?" said Robin.
"If it can outmatch a powerhouse like Darbus, what chance to we have at it? There are almost no weakspots in its armor. One would have to jump on to its back, but we wouldn't be able to get remotely close to it," interjected Ren.
"If we can't fight it, then what do we do? Hide in the castle? We can't even leave the castle," said Sumia.
When Sumia mentioned leaving the castle, Link thought of an idea. Leaving Hyrule Castle isn't an option, but leaving Hyrule to Ylisse is. Link drew the Master Sword.
"..." (Link). Link handed Chrom the sword.
"Huh? What are you-?" said Chrom.
"Wait, you're thinking that we should leave Hyrule, aren't you," said Ren.
"We'd leave Hyrule to the Noth Grashtas, we can't do that!" said Lucina.
"..." (Link). Link explained that they're only nine people (not including Zelda and Midna), and about 80 Hyrulean guards, against an equally large army, and with the powerhouse of the Twili Bulbin. The Twili Bulbin could easily dispose of the Hyrulean guard. Link explained that they should flee to Ylisse, with Zelda and Midna. Link would stay and surrender to Lord Grateau.
"Link, he'll kill you," said Robin.
"..." (Link). Not if he's the only person in Hyrule that knows where the stone is.
"You're gambling with your life," said Lucina. A feint crack was heard in the distance outside.
"Link..." said Chrom. Link pushed the sword towards Chrom. Everyone looked around in distraught, unsure of what to do.
"We'll go through. We don't have any other option," said Chrom. "But you have to open the portal, only you can wield the sword correctly."
"..." (Link). Falchion, Master Sword, both have the same context, and Chrom is probably a worthy wielder.
"If you say so..." said Chrom. He held up the Master Sword, in the same manner as Link. The portal opened beneath them. Zelda and Midna stepped in the circle, and they began to fade through. Midna's Twilight guards remained in the castle somewhere, most likely in the throne room. Ren suddenly jumped out of it, coming back into Hyrule.
"If you're staying, I'm staying too," said Ren.
As everyone faded through, Chrom yelled to Link and Ren "We're coming back for you..."
And then there were two warriors, amongst dozens of guards.
"What's your plan now?" asked Ren.
"..." (Link). Wait for them to come.
Town Square, midday
Lord Grateau approached the castle from the outside with the company of the Twili Bulbin. A party of Twili Risen broke through and breached the castle. Soon after, one of them came back. A tall, long-faced one, dressed with chainmail armor and a tattered cloth hood, hurried to Grateau.
"Lord Grateau, we've breached the castle," said the Twili Risen. "Shall we advance with it?"
"No. Keep him out. And keep the soldiers alive. It's Link and his friends that I want," responded Grateau.
"Right away sir," said the Twili Risen.
That Twili Risen scurried to the castle entrance. He found the Twili Risen, waiting amongst unconscious Hyrulean guards. More notably, Link and Ren, held in custody by a few Twili Risen. They were kneeling with free hands, but with no weapons and with swords inches away from their heads. They did not appear to be scared. They were calm, with almost no expression showing on their faces.
"I only see two. Where are the others?" questioned the Twili Risen.
"They must be hiding somewhere in the castle," responded one Twili Risen.
"Well, search the entire castle! Break down walls if you have to!" yelled the Twili Risen.
A number of Twili Risen flowed into the castle, entering the multitude of hallways and rooms. The Twili Risen approached Ren when the others had left.
"Ren'kir, what a pleasure it is to see you again," the Twili Risen said. "You look a bit anxious."
"You must not look too pleasant if you're wearing a mask, Stervan," replied Ren. "Take the mask off."
The Twili Risen, revealed to be named Stervan, grabbed the mask. It was a small mask, definitely of Twilight origin, colored black, and designed similarly to a Twilight beast's mask. He removed the mask, and under it were scars, wrinkles, and burns. They were more visible due to Stervan's skin tone being a much lighter purple.
"If I recall correctly, one of your brigands used a fire spell on my face, when they escaped the cave," stated Stervan. "Fortunately, there was a large pot of water."
"Don't expect us to feel remorse," said Ren. Stervan quickly side-hooked Ren's face in a burst of anger.
"I'm not in a patient mood, Ren. You two know what we want, and we'll weed out all of your measly street fighters and interrogate them all!" shouted Stervan.
"Prepare to be disappointed if you want the stone," said Ren, putting a smirk on his face.
"You little," Stervan responded angrily, drawing his silver sword.
"Don't kill them Stervan," Lord Grateau interrupted. "I've decided that I want them alive for now. You can do what you want with them later."
Stervan sheathed his sword with a grunt.
"Don't jest with me. Answer now, and you won't suffer the same fate as Ganondorf," Lord Grateau said.
"You're horrible at negotiating. There's no way you'd be able to get the stone," replied Ren.
"..." (Link). Link said that the stone is with the others, a dimension away in Ylisse.
Grateau scoffed. "Dimensional barriers haven't stopped me. But your pride has yielded the information that I need. And because of that, I won't kill you. Stervan, bring them to the Town Square, and chain them to the fountain. I want the Hyruleans to know that their only hope has fallen."
"Right away, milord."
Town Square, Before Sunset
"How are you holding up?" asked Ren.
"..." (Link). Not well, considering that they're chained to a fountain, guarded by two dozen Twili Risen.
"Was this part of your plan to surrender?" asked Ren.
"..." (Link). Not entirely, but still possible.
The sun was still out, and Link still had his shadow. In that shadow was the strength of multiple soldiers. Twilight soldiers, to be exact. They weren't in the castle. The hid in Link's shadow. In the blink of an eye, they warped out of Link's shadow, and accosted the Twili Risen. The weaponry of the Twili Risen was no match to the equipment of the Twilight soldiers. They had dark armor and double ended spears. They quickly impaled the Twili Risen, and another other approaching ones. The leader sliced the chains, freeing Ren and Link.
"Come with me, quickly!" the leader said.
The three of them scuttled to the eastern gate, and the Twilight soldier plowed a clear path with his double ended spear. When they were on the wooden bridge, the leader closed the doors to the bridge, but remained inside. Ren and Link were already outside, and halfway across the bridge. Link stopped and looked back at the closed doors, knowing that the leader probably died with the rest of the Twilight soldiers. Ren grabbed on to Link's arm, and warped them out of castle town's walls. On the exterior of the walls, there were the talismans that Ren put up. He placed his hand on one, and twilight emanated from his arm to the talisman. The symbols on it shined a bright red, as well as the other one on the eastern wall, and presumably the ones on the other walls too.
"We're fine now. That's an anti-Twilight talisman. Twilight can't get in or out," said Ren.
Link sat down, facing the castle. No sword, no shield, cut off from everyone, and probably being hunted by other Twili Risen. They escaped Hyrule, but left it in control of the Noth Grashta, not welcome in the Twilight Realm, and not welcome in the Light World.
"Now what?" questioned Ren.