I am so SO sorry this took so long... I feel awful about it T.T College/University is EXTREMELY busy... My exams finished a few days ago and although my course requires me to do work experience over summer, I won't be so busy so hopefully will be back on track to get more chapters out to you guys! (however many of you are left... XD) It feels like it will take a chapter or two to get back into the swing of things, but I've had a lot of time to sort out the plot so hopefully it won't be TOO bad XD
Anyway, to the new followers and reviewers, welcome! And thank you for following/reviewing!
For any of the old followers, or anyone who's been with it from the start, thank you for all of your support thus far! (I hope at least some of you are still around... T.T) And for the old followers I have a short a summary as I could possibly make for the previous four chapters, that I used to help myself remember, and decided to post here for you guys too! (Although you may have a much better memory than me lol XD So ignore it if you don't need it, of course)
I'm not sure if it's allowed but here you go! (I'll delete it later if it's not) And I hope you enjoy the chapter somewhat! XD
Summary: (IGNORE IF NOT NEEDED)
Ganondorf has seized Hyrule castle, so Princess Zelda called the smash bros. group together in order to take the castle back, and to save Hylian Link who was left in the castle whilst he helped Zelda escape. They are all given a partner and then a villain that they need to locate in the castle and take down. Midna gives out shadow crystals that the group can use to transport to the Twilight Realm should they get injured, to recover and recuperate in a safe place. They agree to meet back up in 2 days time and start the mission. Zelda seems very concerned about Skyloftian Link/Ghirahim.
Link returns to Skyloft, convinces Groose to join him with his catapult in the mission, then goes to give Zelda the full story about what's been happening. Unbeknownst to the two sitting on the roof of the Academy, a shadowy figure lurks in the shadows listening to their conversation.
That same day of the meeting, Hylian Link is still attempting to find a way out of the castle and only barely escapes a horde of bokoblins, his right shoulder getting injured in the process. He takes refuge in a room that turns out to be the villains base. Link finds a sheet of paper suggesting the villains know about the Triforce of Power hidden in Skyloft. He hides in a closet when he hears the villains return to the room. He's caught by surprise when Demise shows up as the leader, instead of Ganondorf. Demise asks if the spy was planted, and just then Ghirahim appears in the room, back from his mission and apologising for his lateness. He tells the rest of the group about the "heroes" plans. The villains thankfully leave, not noticing the hidden Link. Dark Pit waits behind, knowing Link is in the closet. He decides to assist him in escaping the castle, declaring he works for himself. Before leaving, Link takes up the sheet of paper with the Triforce plans on it, as well as taking back the master sword. Once out of the castle he calls Epona. He stuffs the paper in the bag attached to her saddle, and is about to mount when he is ambushed by Ghirahim and knocked out. Epona runs off, as her Master commanded. He wakes the following day in a cell in Hyrule Castle's dungeon.
Two days later: Skyloftian Link awakes from a nightmare involving Demise. Deciding not to take the Master Sword out of it's resting place, he enlists scrapper to retrieve him another decent sword, gets ready and goes down to the plaza, meeting Karane on the way and asking her to look after Zelda since Ghirahim could be after her. Groose and Link leave through the portal with their loftwings. Meanwhile Hylian Link is being interrogated for answers by Ghirahim, but doesn't say a word. Ghirahim leaves him with a grim warning. Link falls asleep, his injuries taking their toll.
There were considerably more people present in the room this time than there had been during the first meeting. Pikachu, Metaknight, Luigi, Peach and Samus had all made an appearance. Samus was currently discussing something with Zelda and Midna, and all three of them wore concerned expressions.
Link walked further into the room towards the large round table, with Groose and the two loftwings in tow. Ness and Lucas suddenly jumped out of a portal to his left and ran full speed into the room, directly in front of Groose, who almost knocked them flying. It looked like they had quite an army built now.
Zelda suddenly looked up from the discussion she had been having, and glanced quickly around the room. She gave a slight nod as she walked towards the table, deciding it was time to start.
"Our plans have changed slightly," she announced, as everyone fell silent and looked up at the sound of her voice. "Unfortunately, the weather around Hyrule castle has become both a blessing and a hindrance. The cloud cover provides perfect camouflage for a surprise attack from the sky, but it also creates a much more dangerous situation. This is not normal weather we are talking about. The countless number of demons inhabiting the castle has caused it, and I have reason to believe that it will only get worse from here on. A storm is a very possible outcome, and that would make things… difficult."
Everyone stood quietly, listening intently to Princess Zelda's words. Link suddenly felt uneasy. He looked to his right where his crimson loftwing danced on the spot, clearly sensing the stormy conditions.
"I have therefore come to the decision that, for the time being, a full on assault is not our top priority. Rescuing Link is. As well as finding out as much about the enemy as we can." She paused to look around the room and her gaze was met with a number of nods of agreement. "I am therefore sending out a small team first. The rest of you shall remain here and be ready should we need your assistance. The easiest way to avoid this weather is to fly above the cloud cover for as long as possible before landing and sneaking into the castle. We will need those who are capable of flight, as well as their assigned partners."
Link noticed Pit fidgeting to his left, clearly delighted he would be part of the team.
"I have decided on Pit, Link, myself, Kirby, Sonic, Metaknight, Groose, Midna and Lady Palutena for this mission. Pit and Link will ride on Link's crimson loftwing, so that Pit will have a full five minutes flight if anything dangerous arises. Groose, you will take Midna on your loftwing, and Sonic and I will go with Kirby on his warp star. Ike and Marth, you are in charge here while we are away. Any questions?"
The room was silent. Zelda seemed anxious to get going as soon as possible.
"Alright," she said, with a small sigh. "Let's head out."
"Are we all present and accounted for?" asked the Demon Lord, as his eyes scanned the room.
"Yes, now let's just get started already," muttered Dark Link, as he absentmindedly carved random designs into the table with a small dagger.
Ghirahim scowled at the doppelganger briefly before continuing. "The child is proving to be rather irritating. I was unable to get any information out of him, Master."
Demise grunted his disapproval.
Ghirahim continued cautiously. "He is very different to the skychild… I cannot read his emotions at all, making him nowhere near as fun to play with. He will not talk easily. That is one thing all of Hylia's chosen heroes have in common. They are infuriatingly stubborn." He clenched his fists in frustration.
"Maybe you're just incompetent," suggested Hades, cheerfully. Dark Link stifled a laugh.
"How dare you suggest-"
"Enough!" boomed Demise. "It is time anyway."
Ghirahim stopped his advance on Hades and looked up at his Master. "Time?"
"Bring the child here," Demise demanded of his servant.
Ghirahim stared for a moment before his lips formed into a sinister grin. "With pleasure."
Link flew his loftwing under the cloud cover until they were closer to their destination in order to get a better feel of his surroundings. Although the weather wasn't as bad as near the castle, it was still relatively stormy over the forest. Kirby, Sonic and Zelda were flying on the warp star to his right, and Groose and Midna to his left. Groose looked a little uncomfortable having a complete stranger riding on his loftwing with him, but Midna looked like she was quite enjoying herself. Palutena and Metaknight followed them from behind.
Link's loftwing was beginning to struggle against the wind. It screeched loudly as it resisted the oncoming air. As if that wasn't enough, heavy rain very suddenly descended upon them, decreasing visibility further. Link decided that it was probably time to increase their altitude.
"I'm going up!" he yelled to Groose, who nodded in response. He directed his loftwing towards the thick clouds, and was just about to break through them when Pit yelled in his ear.
"Wait!"
Link pulled up his loftwing abruptly, causing it to squawk in protest at his sudden change of mind. It straightened its posture as it brought its wings up in front of it, flapping them rapidly in an attempt to stop.
"What?!" yelled Link back, a little irritated at Pit's lack of warning.
"Do you see that?!" exclaimed Pit, over the sound of the roaring wind.
Link followed Pit's pointing finger to gaze at the forest below. He scanned the area for a moment, and was about to ask Pit to be a bit more specific when he suddenly saw a small brown blob beneath the trees, coming in and out of view.
"Is that…?" Link muttered to himself, but the sudden increase in wind speed caused him to stop. He squinted his eyes against the oncoming air and debris, cursing the worsening weather. He quickly signaled to the two groups at his sides that he would, in fact, be travelling down toward the land to confirm his suspicions.
Groose looked rather annoyed, but nodded nonetheless as they made their way to the ground below.
The descend was anything but graceful. The wind buffeted the two loftwings, making any sort of steering near impossible. Link had to trust his loftwing to get himself and Pit to the ground safely. Kirby was also struggling on his warp star, but seemed to have a bit more control than the two birds. As they got closer to the object in question, Link noticed that it wasn't moving. It was his loftwings imbalance in the air and the gaps in the trees that had caused it to come in and out of view from above.
They finally reached the ground, albeit at a much faster speed than Link would have liked. It was a rather rocky landing that left most of them in a heap on the sodden earth. Metaknight and Palutena, however, landed gently on their feet.
Link stood up, completely soaked through from the rain and the water-logged soil underfoot.
"Ouch…" muttered Pit, as he pushed himself up onto his feet, his white attire completely soaked with muddy water.
"Everyone okay?" asked Link, as he looked around at his comrades picking themselves up. Most of them certainly looked okay as they brushed themselves down, although Groose did look rather queasy. He nodded anyway.
A sharp whinny abruptly caught Link's attention. He swivelled on the spot in order to locate the source of the noise. His heart sank as he saw what he hoped he wouldn't. "Oh, no…" he whispered, as he carefully made his way over to Epona.
She was lying on her side in a pool of muddy water, her legs constantly kicking out in an attempt to get on her feet. Some sort of shimmering gold wire, clearly endued with magic, was wrapped around her middle and her back right leg, digging into her skin. As Link approached slowly, he noticed the wires had been wound around two tree trunks, between which the horse was currently lying. There was no way a heavy creature travelling at speed could have avoided it; someone did this intentionally.
"Easy, girl…" Link muttered quietly as he approached. On closer inspection it wasn't too bad, but it was certainly clear to see why she wasn't able to get on her feet.
Epona quietened down as Link approached her, her ears flicking back and forward as she listened to his voice. She let out a deep sigh through her nose and shook her head, freeing droplets of water from her mane.
Link finally reached her and very slowly and carefully placed a hand on her neck. Her whole body was trembling. Link heard someone approach him from behind, and turned to see Zelda walking towards them.
"How long do you think she's been here?" Link asked worriedly.
Zelda crouched down beside Epona's back legs, examining the most damaged area. "I'm not sure… one, maybe two days… let's get this off her."
Zelda and Link carefully cut the wire in various places, Zelda borrowing one of Pits swords from his dual-sword bow, and Link using the sword Scrapper obtained for him. They slowly lifted the cut wire from the horse's body, murmuring gentle words of encouragement as they went. When all the wire was removed, Link lifted Epona's reins over her head and held on to them as he stood as far back as they would allow.
"Okay, girl, up you get. Easy does it…" Link said quietly as Epona stirred, pulling her body upright so she was lying on her legs and then forcefully pushing herself up into a standing position. Her legs quivered slightly before managed to steady herself.
She stood quietly for a few moments, her breathing heavy. Suddenly she threw her head back and launched forward slightly, almost pulling Link to the ground. She stopped after a few steps before doing the same thing again. She was clearly still very anxious, and in a hurry to get wherever she was headed.
"Whoa, Epona, take it easy!" Link said breathlessly and he struggled to hold onto her reins. It didn't help he was still rather anxious himself around horses. They were such strange creatures, although he supposed a loftwing would seem strange to people who weren't used to them, too. Having said that, he couldn't deny the fact he had felt some sort of connection to the giant steed the first time they had met.
Zelda walked slowly up to Epona's face. "It's alright, you found help," she muttered to the horse, as she gently stroked her nose.
Epona appeared to relax slightly at Zelda's words, but her muscles were still tense.
Kirby suddenly appeared at Link's side, and gestured towards the horse's saddle. "Ah!" he exclaimed, hopping up and down, his big blue eyes full of unease.
Link frowned before taking a step forward to examine the saddle, the reins still in his left hand. He ran a hand over the leather and down the girth, examining the area as he took in what he saw. "Princess Zelda?" he questioned, glancing over at her.
"Hmm?" she answered, still absentmindedly stroking Epona's muzzle. When Link didn't answer, she looked up to see him examining the horse's side again.
Without looking up, Link gestured for her to come over. "Did she have any injuries that you saw? Open wounds or anything?" he asked as she approached.
"Only on her back right leg, near the hock," Zelda replied as she reached Link, still looking at him. "Why do you-" She stopped short as her gaze met the saddle. Both it and Epona's side were caked in blood. She placed her hand on it, wondering why they hadn't noticed it earlier.
Everyone had suddenly gathered around the horse. Link spoke what they were all thinking. "This isn't her blood…"
Zelda followed Epona's stained coat with her hand, until she reached the small bag at the side of the saddle. A soft rustling was heard from within as her hand brushed over it. She stopped for a moment, her heart rate quickening. Cautiously, she pulled out the piece of paper inside. It was dyed a mottled brown from the muddy water, but as she pulled it open and straightened it out, she was momentarily glad it was still readable; that is, until she saw its contents. It was the triforce, only there were words written in each triangle. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw what was written in the top triangle. He knows, she thought, her panic rising, he knows it's in Skyloft…
Zelda looked up, glancing at each person in turn, trying to gather her thoughts to explain the situation. When her eyes reached Link's face, she noticed it was completely drained of colour, his eyes fixed on the back of the sheet in Zelda's hands. She turned over the sheet hastily. Her heart stopped as she took in the letters scribbled on the back in black ink:
Demise.
Thanks again for your patience! New chapter soon (hopefully)!