A/N: I own nothing except a copy of this great game. Second note: A single singer is demarked in italics "like this", while a crowd singing is demarked "like this."
The next morning, Link awoke to the sound of birds chirping. Groaning slightly, he yawned and blearily blinked his eyes open. He then screamed and tumbled over the side of the bed.
Fi had been floating above him, and when he'd awoken he'd seen her face not three inches from his.
"Good morning, Master. I trust you slept well?" The feminine figure asked. Grumbling something mighty and unprintable, Link staggered back up to his feet, and stared rather murderously at the floating being that had taken a year or so off his life. Fi seemed blissfully unaware of his annoyance, and began to glide towards the door. "When you are properly prepared for the day, I believe that the leaders of your army request your presence in the town square." She disappeared through his doorway, leaving a half-asleep Hero to grumble and moan as he haphazardly went about showering and getting ready for the day.
After a few more minutes of hustling around to find everything he needed, Link went down the steps of the inn he was sequestered in (along with the Ravager guard and a few promoted Hyrulians to fill the lost men) towards the front door. He politely smiled and thanked the innkeeper for letting them stay free of charge, and promised to find a way to make things up to her for staying and eating all of the food. She just looked at him.
"Yesterday, you saved my little boy from a fire so he didn't die."
Link just stared at her. The innkeeper stared back.
"As far as I'm concerned, son, you are forever free to stay here. Normal people don't do what you and your boys did."
That threw him for a loop, and he wordlessly nodded his thanks for her time. With that, he walked out the door.
Already, the Hyrulian and Skyloftian soldiers were prepping for the day's assault. The wounded were wrapping their injuries up in gauze and other material to hold together, and those that needed weapons were getting their smithed and sharpened at the local armory. This had been going on for hours, long before the sun arose, and Link was surprised that he had slept through the entire ordeal. In the center of the madness, standing at a fruit cart whose counter was being used as a makeshift table to hold a map, was Captain Weylon. Beside him were Captain Dorias and Big Finn.
Big Finn was the first to notice Link, and he gave a big grin.
"Yeh sleep well, laddie?" He asked. Link nodded. Captain Weylon respectfully nodded to acknowledge his commander's presence, and then turned it over to Captain Dorias.
"We sent a couple of Loftwing scouts to cruise low, towards the surface world." Dorias said. "They came back having been shot at by arrows and the like from…an area roughly two miles away from Skyloft to the west, and most definitely on the surface. What it is I cannot tell."
"The Sealed Grounds." Fi's sudden appearance by Captain Dorias' shoulder caused everyone to jump in shock. "It is an ancient place on the surface. There is…a great evil presence that lurks there."
"Well…that's lovely." Captain Weylon remarked. "Not at all ominous, either. Do you think that the Gate of Souls will be there somewhere, miss…uh-"
"Fi." Fi said. "And I calculate with 92% certainty that this 'Gate of Souls' is where the Sealed Grounds are. For, in my slumber, I detected with 100% certainty a rift in the space-time continuum that opened at the area around the Sealed Grounds. Perhaps this is the Gate of Souls you are looking for?"
If they didn't know any better, the rest of the people in the ground thought Fi was being a smartass. Captain Dorias decided to run with it.
"Fair enough. My Lady of the Goddess Sword, if you would be willing: Can you summon Lord Levias one last time? I have a lot of Loftwings to carry men down to the surface…but the equipment might be a little bit heavy for them. Levias should have no problem."
"Understood." Fi said. She flew off towards the Goddess Statue before anyone could say anything else. Big Finn was the first to speak.
"Quite an interesting bird, that 'un."
Everyone agreed.
.
Roughly an hour later, Link found himself in the middle of a most amazing sight. He was standing on the back of the great Lord Levias, along with countless other soldiers. Around them, scores of Loftwings* were flying around the great beast, ferrying soldiers that could not fit on Lord Levias' back. The wind was rushing through Link's hair, and he was glad that the scarf he wore was thick as it was. It kept his neck nice and warm.
"Ho ho! We are getting close!" Lord Levias rumbled. His voice was like a tidal wave crashing against the shore. "I will set you little ones down just outside the accursed lands you wish to find. I cannot help you any further, sadly. My power is engulfed by the darkness that lives in the Sealed Grounds."
He landed gently on the ground, and then lowered his tail to provide a makeshift ramp for the soldiers. Link led them off of the whale's back, and then as soon as everyone was off turned to Lord Levias.
"Would you mind hovering around here?" Link asked the great beast. "We need a ride back to our portal to go home, after all."
"Ho ho! Of course, little one!" Lord Levias rumbled. "I think that I'll just take a….zzz…" He was snoring, rumbling like a thunderstorm. Despite himself, Link smiled. The Great Spirit of the Sky was a rather interesting fellow. With that taken care of, he turned towards his forces, and began to run to catch up with the leadership.
.
There was something dark and forbidding about this place. The Sealed Grounds* seemed to be a gamut of ancient temples of gates, covered in ivy and flora from years of abandonment. They were also falling apart, from centuries of wear and tear. Maybe once, eons ago, this place was vibrant and a place of worship. Now it was a ghost town of sorts.
A strange fog was settling in across the land, giving the Sealed Grounds an even more eerie feel. Link gripped the pommel of his sword tightly, and began to peer into the gloom with unease. Big Finn, who hadn't left his liege's side since they'd landed, shuddered.
"There be dark things in th' mist, laddie." He said. "Keep yer eyes peeled. We don't gotta large force ta begin with. If they get the jump on us…it might be hard, even fer the Hero." He looked at Link and winked, trying to keep his boss calm. But Link knew that something was truly bothering the large Ravager. His joking was as much a façade for Link's health as it was for his own.
.
Lurking in the shadows, Ghirahim watched them progress through the ruins with morbid fascination. These poor, pathetic souls had no idea that entering the Sealed Grounds had sealed their fates. They would all die here like dogs, especially if they made it to the very epicenter of the grounds…
Ghirahim chuckled to himself, and rubbed his chin in thought. Of course, perhaps it would be more fun if he sped up the process…
His fingers started glowing a dark color, and he took careful aim. The blast, a mere spark of dark energy from his fingertips, rushed through the air like an invisible and unnoticeable gust of wind. He licked his lips when he saw that it had hit the mark.
.
"Hold up!" Captain Dorias called out. He raised a hand, and the progression of soldiers slowed to a stop. As the outer edges of the army set up a sort of defensive wall for the interior, Captain Dorias reached into his pocket for the crude map.
"What's wrong, Captain?" Proxi asked, as she and Link made their way over to the Skyloftian. The Captain shrugged.
"I'm not sure, little one." He said. He tugged at the edge of his mustache, eventually settling for curling it absently between his thumb and index finger. "But I get the feeling that we're lost."
"I calculate with 87% certainty that we are not where we wish to be. I also calculate with 100% certainty that this fog has something to-"
"Oh, shut up!" Captain Weylon pushed his way to the front, an annoyed look on his face. He angrily pushed Fi to the side, ignoring the feminine creature's cold protest. "What in the name of the Goddess is the hold-up?"
"We're lost, I fear." Captain Dorias admitted rather sadly. Captain Weylon looked like he'd been force fed a ripe lemon.
"What? Lost? How could we be lost-who's been leading us?" He asked. He turned towards Big Finn and the Ravagers. "Where the hell are you taking us, you brute?"
At the sound of this, Big Finn choked a bit on his pipe. Coughing out smoke, he stared dismissively at Weylon.
"Brute? Who you callin' brute, pidgin?"
"Talk like a normal man, damn it." Weylon said. "You've been at the front of this advance for the entire day, and now Captain Dorias doesn't know where we are. Out with it! Who are you working for?"
"Why…heh heh…Captain Weylon, laddie…" Big Finn said somewhat jovially. His expression and tone darkened with terrifying rapidity. "If'n I heard yeh right, it sounded like you were accusin' me of bein' a saboteur fer th' enemy." He glared at Weylon, the stare enough to cause even the toughest of Hyrulian soldiers to wilt. Captain Weylon did not break.
"That's exactly what I'm accusing you of, savage." He hissed.
"You may drop the charade."
Fi's voice caused everyone to turn and look at her. The feminine figure drifted into the circle, in between Weylon and Big Finn. She was, however, only staring at Captain Weylon.
"What are yeh talkin' 'bout, miss?" Big Finn asked. Fi cocked her head to the side.
"There is a traitor in our midst, yes. But with all due respect, Ghirahim, your acting is as subtle as a crutch. Release the Captain, or else."
.
Captain Weylon suddenly gave a horrible snarl. Link looked on in horror as his eyes completely burned red. No iris, no pupil. Nothing but lumps of coal. He lunged towards Link with a knife, intending to put it in the Hero's throat.
"NO!"
Link barely had time to react before a massive lump crashed into him. Big Finn had tackled Link to the ground, covering over him. Link heard the Ravager grunt in pain, assuming it had come from the fall itself. There was a whistling hiss, and then a gurgling sound. Link looked up to see that someone had struck Captain Weylon in the head, killing him instantly. As the Hyrulian captain fell in a lump to the ground, the sound of laughter could be heard. Haughty, pretentious laughter.
"Oh dear me, what ever have we here?" Ghirahim chuckled. He was currently standing on an archway some yards away from the force, roughly twenty feet up in the air. The fog was thick, so at best they could only see his silhouette. Otherwise, Link would have given the order for the archers to cut him down where he stood. "Humans once again proving they are a most despicably pathetic and finicky race. I hardly see why you've thrown your lot in with them, Fi."
"They represent the light of the world." Fi said. "And I am forever fated to serve my master faithfully. Just as you are sworn to your infernal master." Ghirahim laughed again.
"You make it seem like a bad thing that I wish to serve my master!" Ghirahim chided. "Though I will admit, he isn't the greatest at dinner parties…" He laughed again. "But I'm getting ahead of myself." He looked around at the Hyrulian, Ravager, and Skyloftian soldiers before him. "I was planning this large and grand speech about your inherent feebleness as a species, how your very existence is a blight on Demise's land, and other such histrionic things." He tapped his chin in thought, and then shrugged apologetically. "And then I decided I got bored. So we're just going to kill you right now."
As soon as he said that, a score of Bokoblins burst forth from hiding and ran screaming towards the allied coaltion.
.
"Shield wall!" Captain Dorias barked. "Form a shield wall!"
Hastily, the allied forces braced themselves for the onslaught. If it weren't for the quick thinking of Dorias, they would have been overrun in moments. Instead, they stood their ground…though they were slowly losing it.
Groaning, Link managed to slide himself out from underneath Big Finn. He shook his head, and looked at the large man lying in front of him, wondering why he hadn't jumped up to join his brethren in battle. Then he noticed the blood. There was a knife, embedded up to its hilt, sticking out of Big Finn's back. His tunic was staining dark red, and Finn's breathing was shallow and quick.
"Finn!" Link cried, scrambling over so that he could get close to him. He looked at the knife, and reached for it.
"Don't….touch it….laddie." He heard a mournfully soft voice. For a man so large as Big Finn, to hear him speak barely above a whisper made Link sick to his stomach. "C'mere, laddie…" Fighting off the tears, Link crawled up closer to the dying man before him.
"You're gonna be okay, Finn. I-I promise! It'll be, uh…" Link was shushed by a soft little chuckle from the big man.
"I be fine, laddie. I gets ta see me tribe again. Wit' me wife, and me family…" His voice was so soft now that Link was leaning in with his ear practically on Big Finn's lips. "Do…do me a favor, laddie? Give….give me coins….ta Brother Ishaka. An' tell 'im…..tell 'im his dog went ta rest. Can yeh do that…..laddie?"
Wordlessly, his fingers shaking, Link reached around Big Finn's neck and gently grabbed the necklace of Soul Coins. He made a point of putting the necklace around his own neck in full view of Big Finn. The Ravager smiled, and closed his eyes.
"That's….that's a good scummie, laddie. We…we always…look out fer…each other…"
Big Finn died with a smile on his face.
.
Slowly, Link stood up. He was staring at the fallen man at his feet, ignoring the sounds of battle and mayhem around him. The allied forces were slowly getting pushed back. Captain Dorias was urging them to hold the line, to die with bravery. Fi was starting to get overwhelmed. Proxi was screaming in his ear, begging Link to do something. Anything.
And he didn't hear any of this.
It was silent. He was silent. Eeriely quiet. A muffled roaring in his ears. His heart throbbing so violently it was almost about to burst in his chest. Proxi's voice, somewhere in the distance, pleading for him to do something. She needn't have bothered. The Link she knew was gone. Gone and submerged beneath something terrible and mighty.
Link reared back, and he screamed.
It was a horrible, horrible sound. It echoed through the Sealed Grounds, bounced off of the walls and ruins of this accursed place, and continued to carry for miles away. It was pain and anguish and grief and anger and guilt all wrapped together into one primal noise, one coming less from the throat and more from the heartbroken soul. The sound was so terrible and mighty that all fighting ceased in the area, as Skyloftian, Hyrulian, Ravager and Bokoblin alike turned towards the source of this noise in awe and terror. Link kept screaming until his voice started to crack and he expended all air from his lungs, spots starting to appear in his vision. He barely took time to breathe in again before he charged forward, sword drawn.
The few Hyrulians in his path were wise to get out of it. The Bokoblins they'd been fighting were not so lucky. Link didn't notice or feel any pain or energy. Cutting through these beasts was as easy as breathing. The Hero was gone; in his place a heartbroken berserker. The Bokoblin forces stopped with their advance, and with varied screams did the only thing their little wicked brains could tell them to do.
Run.
Fly.
Flee.
Captain Dorias watched this display with a mixture of fascination and horror, but quickly regained his nerve. He let out a shout, and pointed his sword in the direction of the one-man wrecking crew in front of him.
"Follow the Hero!" He barked. "Into the Sealed Grounds! Charge!"
A cry echoed through their ranks, and bravely did they charge into the unknown.
.
Link heard and noticed none of this. He continued fighting through the forces of darkness that were attempting to put a stop to his rampage. He was sure that he'd been nicked at some point by a few glancing blows, but he did not care. He kept fighting. Kept stabbing. Kept pushing. Kept moving. He wouldn't stop. He couldn't stop.
Ever.
Until he got his hands on that man who'd taken a friend from him.
Eventually, he found himself in a clearing. There, ahead of him, lay a crater. There appeared to be a small little pillar of sorts in the epicenter of the crater, but at this time Link paid no mind. Instead, he saw the one he was looking for at the staging grounds ahead and above. With a roar, Link charged forward.
A pair of Moblins lumbered forward, intending to double-team this little whelp into oblivion. Instead, Link darted in between them, and then with a yell lunged. He stabbed the first of the Moblins in the gut, and wrenched the blade so that it cut even deeper. He yanked the blade out as the beast gurgled and crumpled to the ground, and then with another cry decapitated the second beast with a backhand swing. There was a little squad of Bokoblins in between him and his target. They were hesitant. Link was not. They all died swiftly.
.
Ghirahim stared at the panting creature before him. It was that blonde-haired boy that the lady Cia had spent so much time going on about, but Ghirahim figured she'd have second thoughts if she could see him now. His green tunic and blue scarf and even his face were all covered with the blood of his enemies. There were rips in his clothing from grazing and glancing blows, and he clearly had a nasty cut on his cheek from something. He looked less like a man than a wild animal, a dog gone feral after months of abandonment. Ghirahim tutted, and slowly drew his sword.
"Hmm, hmm. I was expecting a bit more of an elegant presentation from you, boy." Ghirahim said. He twirled the blade in his hand, and then held it ramrod straight upwards in front of his face. "Ah well, I suppose humans can never be counted on. En garde!"
Each clash of their blades sent a jarring through Link's arm. This Ghirahim did not move with any ferocity or intensity, but rather with smoothness and grace. That just made his hits all the deceptively hard. Link's arm was beginning to go numb. Link went for the three-step thrust, capping off two horizontal slashes with a forward lunge. Effortlessly, Ghriahim parried the moves with a laugh.
"So unrefined, boy!" Ghirahim chuckled. He daintly hopped to the side, and then threw a witheringly fast slash that Link was only barely able to block. "Though, I must admit, everyone is unrefined compared to my exquisite technique!" He slid his blade up the side of Link's, creating a break and a small shower of sparks. Link rolled backwards, gauging his opponent for another attack. Ghirahim raised an eyebrow. "You weren't nearly this savage in Skyloft, boy. What was the change? Was it the death of that hairy mutt you called a friend?" Link roared, and charged Ghirahim again. Ghirahim blocked each of Link's strikes, and then finished the combo with a sudden backhand across Link's nose. Ignoring the shooting pain from his nose and the faucet of blood that was gushing from it, Link staggered back into a ready stance. Ghirahim laughed. "Are you trying to avenge his death at the hands of that oafish captain?"
Link cried out and lunged again. With a rather bored expression, Ghirahim blocked his attacks again and again, and then with a serpentine like motion slammed the flat edge of his sword in a perfect angle against Link's. There was a dull cracking noise, and the Hyrulian white sword shattered. Link was left to stare dumbfoundedly at the stump of a blade he'd been left with. Giving a cry of shock, Link ducked and weaved from each surgically precise strike. He rolled out of the way. Licking his lips like a hungry cat, Ghirahim stalked his prey.
"You shouldn't really hold that against me!" Ghirahim chided. "I didn't make that captain do anything he didn't secretly wish to do himself. What a wretched man, so susceptible to that silly thing you humans call prejudice. What foolishness to think that some humans are lower than others. You're all scum! Equal, pathetic, scum." He lunged forward, intending to bury his sword in Link's chest.
CLANG.
That was most definitely not the sound of a sword striking flesh. Link opened his eyes in awe to see Fi's face directly in front of his. She was like an ice skater, her legs split in a fan spiral with one sticking high into the air. The heel of this raised foot had perfectly caught Ghirahim's blade, and with a twist of the hips Fi had shucked Ghirahim off and a few yards away.
"Master, my assistance is necessary to win this fight." Fi said. Before Link could say anything, there was a flash. Fi was gone, and Link suddenly found himself holding a sword. It was beautiful, and strangely warm to the touch. He heard a voice in his head.
"Do not hesitate, Master. I will not break."
Smirking, Link twirled Fi in his arm. He pointed the blade towards Ghirahim, feeling strangely rejuvenated. The implication of his posture and stance was clear.
Round two, freak.
Shrieking like a banshee, Ghirahim charged forward. Now it was Link's turn to be in control, parrying each of Ghirahim's moves. The Demon Tribe leader snarled, trying desperately to regain the edge that he'd held throughout the fight. But Link was in control here; he was not about to let it slip away from him.
With one last gasp of effort, Ghirahim leapt into the air intending to impale Link through the forehead. Link sidestepped the strike, and as soon as he landed on his right leg he immediately pushed off and up into the air. Combined with his momentum and Ghirahim's own susceptibility to gravity, the sound of Link's left knee striking Ghirahim's sternum was deliciously sickening. If this were a mere man, Link was sure he'd have broken ribs. Instead, Ghirahim made a dull gasping noise, and was jarred from his sword. Link expertly caught the blade with his left hand, and then stepped forward just past Ghirahim. Before the Demon Tribe leader could react, Link took both blades and thrust them backwards and through Ghirahim's back. He felt them cut clean through, and heard the dying gasp of his foe. Ghirahim fell to his knees in shock, and slowly stared at the two blades protruding from his chest. With blood trickling from his mouth, he managed a weak smile.
"Well…..played…" he managed to sputter. Link walked back towards him, and with a grunt yanked the two swords from out of Ghirahim's back. Ghirahim's sword disintegrated into dark mist, while Sword-Fi continued pulsing lightly. Ghirahim lay facedown on the ground, and began to chuckle wetly. "…My…mas…ter…will…aven..ge…me…" He faded away into a dark blob of energy, and that blob disappated into the air. Link stared over the stain in the ground where Ghirahim's blood had been spilt, and then something horrible hit him deep in his gut. His master?
"Link!" Proxi screamed. "Look at the crater!"
.
Just above the crater, the air darkened. Link watched in awe as a rip in the fabric of the atmosphere appeared just above a small and inconspicuous little pillar in the center of the crater. It must be the Gate of Souls. He watched in awe and horror as streams of dark energy spilled forth from this portal, and began to build around the little pillar. And then the earth split open.
He could not comprehend what it was. Tall as a castle. Black as night. Scales. Teeth. Teeth. Too many fucking teeth. Eyeless. Soulless. Heartless. Evil.
"The…Imprisoned…" Fi said in his head. "We must banish it…or all is lost."
Link glanced at the behemoth as it sauntered out of its hiding place. With each step, shockwaves radiated from its feet and through the ground. The Bokoblin armies, what was left of them anyway, had all abandoned their weapons and had run squealing from this abomination. All that remained was the Hyrulian and Skyloftian forces, who were either brave enough or foolish enough to do battle with this creature. Their arrows and spears harmlessly bounced off of the creature's hard scales. The Imprisoned came within striking distance of a group of soldiers, and flopped to the ground. There was a sound like an earthquake, as hapless soldiers were tossed into the air. The lucky ones hit the ground. The unlucky ones landed in its gaping maw.
Link felt another surge of adrenaline coming back, and the suddenly nagging injuries he'd accumulated were now put on the back burner of his mind. With heroic resolve, he started scanning the creature for any signs of weakness.
Another stream of arrows and spears came flying in towards the beast, both to wound it as well as distract it from its rampage on the current brigade of soldiers it was massacreing. Link watched all of the arrows and spears bounce off of the hide with little effect. But one of them landed on one of the bloated toe-like protrusions on its feet. The spear stuck in the toe, and there was a roar from The Imprisoned. But it was not like the roars of death and destruction that the beast had normally been giving since its awakening. This was a roar of pain. And in that moment, Link had his answer.
"The toes!" He screamed towards a band of Hyrulian archers that were within earshot of him. "Aim for the toes!"
The soldiers looked at their leader with a mix of shock and confusion, shocked at his haggard and ragged appearance and confused at such an order. But there was no denying the conviction in his eyes. They each nocked their bows, and let loose an arrow. The stream of projectiles arched through the air, and found their mark with staggering accuracy. Link watched in shock as several of the toes on The Imprisoned's left foot simply exploded as if they'd been bulbous pieces of glass. The beast roared in pain and started to stagger a bit, but continued stomping and wreaking havoc with all of its might.
.
But by now, every one of the Hyrulians and the Skyloftians had seen what had happened. Instead of haplessly tossing projectiles at the beast's mouth or skin, instead a hail of arrows, spears and other assorted projectiles were tossed towards the monstrous incarnation of darkness' feet. Like shattered glass, the white bulbous protrusions exploded into tiny pieces. The Imprisoned roared in pain, and then tried to take a step. It landed on one foot, but then the rest of its weight began to cause it to teeter. Finally, it went past the point of no return. The sound was titanic as the beast fell helplessly to the ground.
"Master. To banish The Imprisoned back to the eternal dark, you must destroy the pillar on its forehead. I can cut through it. Use me." Fi said in his head. Link took a deep breath, and ran as fast as his exhausted legs could carry him towards the felled beast.
.
The Imprisoned lay there on the ground, flopping like a mountainous fish on the ground. Despite a hail of arrows raining upon it, nothing seemed to be damaging the beast. Link saw its feet begin to vibrate wildly, and something deep within him told him that it was only a matter of time before the creature was back up on its feet again. He had precious little time. Groaning in pain, he leapt upwards and climbed on the back of the creature. As he ran along the rough surface, he got the horrible feeling as though the scales were trying to suck him within the dark mass of the creature itself. If he stopped moving, he was doomed. So he kept moving, sloshing through the creature's skin like quicksand.
There it was. A pathetically small little pillar of stone on the forehead of the beast. With barely any time to think or react, Link let out a cry and swung the Goddess Sword as hard as he physically could. There was a terrific clanging noise, and Link felt the little rock give and then explode into dust and fragments. The Imprisoned's roar was long, loud, and terrifying. It was also the death throes of a beast that had been severed from its chain to the mortal coil. Link suddenly lost his footing as the beast began to go incorporeal, and with a yell toppled over the edge.
The Imprisoned roared again, managing to stand upright. It arched its mouth to the heavens, screaming in pain and rage. Amidst the primal screeches of this abomination, one could faintly hear the enraged roars of a Demon King as well. Then, The Imprisoned swelled up like a balloon and exploded. It created truly a terrific explosion; one that echoed across the surface world and even could be heard in Skyloft. The dark vapors that had made up its body were sucked into the Gate of Souls. The sudden incursion of dark energy was too much for the portal to take, and then with another explosion the Gate of Souls was shattered, and permanently sealed.
Finally, mercifully, all was quiet.
.
Fi had been knocked away from Link, and as soon as things were safe she transformed back into her feminine form.
"Master?" She cried out. The rest of the army was cautiously advancing through the debris of the crater, calling out for wounded and friends and others that they feared lost. Captain Dorias staggered up next to Fi. He had taken a couple of bruising hits to the face, and one of his eyes were blackened nicely. He seemed to be periodically and subconsciously putting his hand on his mouth, to check if his mustache was still there. (It was.)
"Hero?" Captain Dorias called out. He wasn't quite comfortable calling Link by his name yet. He didn't feel that he had the right. He turned to a squad of his soldiers. "You! Signal for Lord Levias, and tell him that the battle is won!" Then he had a nagging feeling. "And send for my Loftwing." The squad nodded, and they raced away as fast as they could carry. Dorias raised his voice again. "Spread out! Find the survivors as quickly as you can!"
"Ay yo!" One of the remaining Ravagers, a black-skinned fellow, called out. "I found Link!"
Fi and Captain Dorias rushed over to where the young man was standing. He was pulling rocks and debris off of a pile, where they saw Link trapped beneath. Swiftly, Dorias joined the Ravager in yanking pieces of debris off of the Hero.
He looked terrible. His shirt was badly ripped, and he was covered in bruises and scratches and cuts. His face was a crimson mask of blood, thanks to a cut that had opened up on his forehead. He was breathing, but clearly unconscious. One of his arms was bent at an awkward angle. Fi was the first to speak.
"I calculate that if we do not get him to a hospital soon, Master has a-"
"My Lady, be quiet!" Captain Dorias commanded. "Your statistics and percentages will not help matters." He gingerly removed the rocks covering Link's bent arm, and winced. It was broken. "She is right, though. We need to take him to a doctor…but no one in Skyloft is that good."
"Take him to Brother Itami." The Ravager said. "He's the best damn doctor in the land where we from." He looked in the sky, towards Skyloft and the portal that they'd all entered. "Brother Itami has to be done with his mission by now. We will find him where we came from. He will save the hero." Captain Dorias heard a cawing noise, and looked up. It was his Loftwing, a purple fellow, gliding up in the air and circling around the battlefield. Dorias whistled sharply. The Loftwing nosedived to his master, and in an instant was at the ready next to him. Another Loftwing, one that had been following Dorias', landed right next to them.
"Then it is settled. I will take Link here to your Brother Itami on my Loftwing. Loftwings are fast as the wind when they need to be. But…I will need help in finding this Brother Itami." He turned to the Ravager. "What is your name, young man?"
"Uhaa." The Ravager replied. Captain Dorias nodded. He gingerly lifted Link onto his Loftwing, and then got astride the beast as well. He reached into his pocket, produced a small vial, and forced a little bit of the liquid down Link's mouth.
"A homemade potion." Captain Dorias explained. "It will buy us time, but not much." He turned to Uhaa. "Uhaa, I will lead you back to Skyloft. But once we go…wherever it is that you all are from, you are to take the lead. Can you do that?"
The Ravager responded by hopping up on the other Loftwing, a snowy white one. Fi jumped up right behind him.
"I wish to go with the Master as well." She said. Uhaa was a little surprised, but did not mind.
"Fair enough, lady. Hold on!" He kicked the Loftwing's sides like a horse in saddle, and the creature took flight. Captain Dorias lifted off as well, and buzzed the surface of the ground so that all could hear him.
"Take Loftwings and Lord Levias to Skyloft! Lieutenant Simmons, take command in my stead! I shall see you boys again, in this world or the next!" On that last note, his Loftwing soared into the air, until they were little more than a speck on the horizon.
Lieutenant Simmons was barely out of his teens, the type of officer who got his position through excellent course grades and not so much combat experience. He felt countless eyes on him, and fought back the urge to look away in embarrassment. They needed a strong command from their interim leader, or they were going to lose hope. So he thought for a second, and then spoke.
"Gather the wounded and the dead. And find the body of the Ravager captain. He deserves a funeral like his brethren." He said. "From there, we retreat to Skyloft."
He whistled for his Loftwing, and as soon as he was astride the creature began to continue his orders from the air.
.
Captain Dorias felt the wind whipping in his face, so fast was his Loftwing's ascent. He could see out of the corner of his eye that Uhaa and Fi were right next to him, their Loftwing surprisingly keeping the pace. That was good. Dorias had the fastest Loftwing in Skyloft, and didn't want to have to sacrifice speed when they got…wherever it was that these saviors had come from.
The sun was setting, and as they broke the cloud cover it was positively blinding. The clouds were red and orange below them, and the islands of Skyloft were tinted in similar dark colors. For the first time, Captain Dorias could see the portal that these folk had spilled from. It was a rip in the air even bigger than that blasted Gate of Souls from before, and it hung over one of the more abandoned southern islands like a fallen star. In that moment, Captain Dorias felt a moment of melancholy. He thought about his wife Sera back home, who'd no doubt be terribly upset at his sudden departure. He thought about his young son, who had been studying for his exams at the Knight Academy when the attack came and was now a part of Skyloft's defense. And he thought of his soon-to-be second child, as his Sera's stomach grew larger by the week. They were only a few weeks away.
But in this moment, he glanced down at the boy at his lap. Link hardly looked like the Hero that had saved them on the surface, the one that had single-handedly turned the tide of battle, and the one that had slain that dark wizard Ghirahim. Now he looked like a small and battered young man, who had gotten involved in something much too dangerous for one his age.
They were moments away from the breach. Captain Dorias muttered something to himself.
"Dammit, son. I'm not about to enter another world just to have you die on me! Hold on, Link. Hold on."
The two Loftwings reached the portal, and effortlessly crashed through it. The breach shuddered, its surface rippling like a pond after a stone dropped in it, and then all went still.
A/N: Another one done! I'm on a roll with this story, sheesh. A couple of thoughts:
- A few tweaks to the presentation of the Sealed Grounds stage, for narrative (and personal) purposes. For example, I'd rather have Ghirahim fall before The Imprisoned did, in order to build a better progression of escalation (if that makes sense)
- A rewrite of the rather hackneyed "Ghirahim mind-controls a portion of your army, and you have to slaughter all of your men in order to find the few that are traitorous" plot point.
- The sad (but necessary) death of Big Finn. I liked him a lot, that big pseudo-Scotsman, but this is war. Not every character that I like in this story is going to live. Not every character you like in this story is going to live. You have been warned.
- Next comes the Ishaka-Lana-Midna-Agitha angle. I cannot emphasize this enough: I have been waiting ages for the chance to write this section of the story.
Thanks for reading! And, as always, reads and reviews are much appreciated. Till next time!
HYRULIAN CODEX
Loftwings – Beautiful, avian creatures that were native to Skyloft during the Era of the Hero of the Sky. These creatures often bonded towards one particular Skyloftian, and the partnership between the two carried through the entirety of their natural lives. Loftwings were brave and loyal creatures, and could be very swift fliers. Some of the fastest ones could, at least for a short time, allegedly keep the pace with a flying Dragon. These reports and stories are to be taken with a grain of salt, as most primary sources coming from the Era of the Sky are less rooted in fact and are more situated in the realm of "hagiography."
The Sealed Grounds – An ancient and evil place. Once the palace of an eons-old civilization, it then devolved into a ruinous and abandoned mess, as nature and time took their toll on the place. No one is quite sure about what caused the place to be abandoned, but some sources speculate that it was due to the imprisoning of a great evil deep within the surface of this accursed ground. Perhaps rather wisely, the civilization living there decided they were opposed to living in close proximity to an eldritch horror, and thus promptly vanished without a trace. Unfortunately, little remains of this civilization, so most are left to assume that they were wiped out or died out shortly after leaving their ancient home. The evil itself? It faded away to nothing more than a silly myth, a bedtime tale designed to raise the hair on the back of little kids' necks.
THE IMPRISONED – Words describing it fail. Pages relating it shrivel. Tales recounting it end. You cannot grasp the true form. RUN.