A/N: I own nothing except a copy of this great game. Second note: His singing lines are demarked "like this," and her lines are demarked "like this." Them singing together is demarked "like this."
Ishaka was the first one to reach the enemy line.
He stood up on the back of his horse, and when he was close enough sprang forward. He soared through the air, the momentum carrying him over the enemy pikes, before he crashed directly into the belly of a shield-carrying Moblin. There was a spray of blood as he hacked and stabbed furiously at the creature that had cushioned his fall, and he sprang right back up to engage the enemy.
The armies of darkness were caught. The very act of reacting to this lunatic that had breached their ranks might cause them to kill him, but it would leave the rest of their line vulnerable to the charging Bulblins. Alas, the very act of thinking this through cost them what little time they had. Right as the pikes turned back to face the charging horsemen, the Bulblins crashed into them like a tidal wave.
From his position to the south, Lord Gawain watched as the rest of his forces started to cautiously move forward, and then break out into a full-on sprint. He turned back towards Impa, who shrugged apologetically at the use of the war horn, and then put on his helmet. He snarled something unprintable about lunatic Ravagers and drunken jackasses, but soon he too was joining the masses as they raced for war.
…
As the rest of the soldiers around them began to howl and bay for the blood of their enemy, and then proceed to charge towards the darkness ahead of them, Itami turned over his shoulder and managed to look Lana in the eye.
"Whatever happens, they aren't getting to you without going through me." He said. Lana smirked.
"Itami, you seem to think that I can't handle myself." She winked, and then nudged him to spur their horse forward. He spurred the beast, and with a might whinny the creature raced forward to join the rest of the charging forces around it.
…
There was a terrific crash as the first wave of Hyrulian and Ravager forces finally caught up with the Bulblins that had raced forward. Link had already dismounted from his horse, and with a yell drew the Master Sword and began to hack and slash at everything in front of him. In his ear, he could hear Proxi shouting encouragement.
"That's it, Link! Keep fighting forward! We can do this!" The little fairy shouted.
The army of darkness, unsure of what to do in the wake of this completely unexpected charge, began to forget their orders and fall back towards the desert ruins. They were numerically superior, but they were still fighting from a position of strength. The forces of light, however, had no such reservations. They had nothing to lose.
…
Matthew Grantham felt an arrow whistle over his head, and tried to control thw ild beating in his heart. He'd thrown wild and haphazard swings of his spear since they'd charged into the enemy, and he thought that he'd scored a hit or two, but wasn't entirely sure. He had made eye contact with more than a few of his foes, and saw them visibly shrink in fear at his face paint and look. Before he'd been able to get them, though, the Bulblins around him raced forward and positively swarmed them. TO his left, he heard the laughter of Balrok.
"Ha hah! They flee like mongrels! Keep fighting! Crush them into dust! With us, Red-Demon! Eulaliaaaaa!" The Bulblin captain barked.
Matthew decided that there was no point to thinking. He let out a war cry of his own, as insecure as it might have been, and continued to follow the force around him like he was the eye in the middle of a moving hurricane.
…
"Forward!" Zelda shouted, urging her contingent of troops towards the center of the battlefield. The oasis that Romulus had pointed as a vital command point was directly ahead of her, and in the haze of the desert heat it looked positively divine. She felt the sweat already beginning to form, and knew that if they didn't catch it soon, then they were all going to start collapsing of heat stroke. She witnessed Link in the front of the line, hacking and slashing, and spurred her steed forward. She wasn't about to let him get hurt on her watch. She drew forth her bow, and felt in the quiver on her back for an arrow. Finding one, she swiftly nocked it and fired. The projectile whistled through the air, before striking a Moblin that Link was about to kill directly in the throat, in the exposed neck area of the beast's armor. Link whirled around to see where the arrow had come from, and she thought she'd seen a look of indignation in his eyes when he realized that she'd helped him out. But no sooner had he done so had he turned back and around and resumed fighting. She fought the urge to smirk, and instead drew another arrow.
…
Impa felt the wind howling in her ears, as her horse galloped as fast as it possibly could to join with the rest of the southern branch of the army. Lord Gawain was already way ahead of her, barking out orders and improving troop morale. She managed to ride up alongside him, and could scarce contain her glee.
"Look!" She said, pointing to the north. "We've got them completely on the run!" She pointed to the forces of darkness that were melting like snow in the spring in the wake of Ishaka and his Bulblin companions. "Ishaka, that crazy bastard, he's doing it!"
"It isn't over yet, Impa!" Gawain said. "I won't call this until I know for a fact that Ghirahim and Zant are among the dead. For now, we're going to stick to some semblance of the plan. You take half of our branch forward with the pursuit; I'll take the remainder and hang back to prevent any from fleeing." He whistled, and started wildly shouting orders for his troops to follow. Impa took a moment to gaze into the distance, and she could have sworn she could see Ishaka in the front of the line, whirling about like a human tornado. She smiled. It was nice to have him back.
…
"GAH!"
Zant turned to see his companion, Ghirahim, pacing back and forth like a madman. They were high up in the ruins, well-defended and snug as a bug, but even the Twili could see that their forces were starting to fall back in the wake of this suicidal charge by the disgusting whelps on the other side. If Zant didn't know any better, he'd admire the insanity of the plan. But the sight of Ghirahim grousing was starting to annoy him.
"Are you done?" He asked.
"You, shut up." Ghirahim hissed. He kept pacing back and forth, and then finally stopped. Something seemed to have snapped in him. "I will not be a witness!" He howled. There was a flash, and he disappeared. Zant thought about going after him, but then thought back to the way that the sword-being had treated him up to this point. Smirking, he decided to let the fool meet his fate.
…
There was a terrific bang. Itami and Lana let out a cry of shock as their horse was thrown into the air. Itami felt Lana fly off, and before he knew it, he was on the ground with the horse's carcass pinning his lower body underneath it.
"Agh, fuck! LANA!" He shouted. "Lana, where are you?"
There was a growling noise, and he looked up to see a Bokoblin staring at him with a greedy glint in the creature's eyes. It smiled nastily, and then with a roar raised its axe up high.
There was a snikt noise as the hidden blade under Itami's left wrist sprang out of its holster, and as swift as a cat he thrust his palm upwards. The blade pierced through the throat of the creature and up somewhere into its head. It shuddered violently, and then fell over dead.
Directly on the body of the horse.
Itami howled in annoyance and pain, and frantically tried to squirm himself loose. He did manage to see what had caused the battlefield disturbance.
There was a small crater in the center of the field, and standing in the middle of it was Ghirahim. The white-skinned leader of the Demon Tribe howled, and then with wicked speed began to hack and slash through the front line of the Bulblins, slowing their advance. Single-handedly, he slowed the charge to a near-crawl, and allowed some of his men to regain footing and begin to push back. What had up to that point been a complete rout in favor of the Bulblins was now grinding into a stalemate.
From his entrapped position, Itami watched in impotent rage as Ghirahim continued to hack and slash and fight through everything in front of him. The sword demon was making his way to the fallen horse. Finally, Ghirahim was a few feet from him. The creature looked down on Itami was a contemptuous gaze.
"What a shame, human. To die like a rat." He thrust his sword towards Itami's face.
There was a THWACK noise, and Itami flinched. He opened his eyes to see that a hard wooden spear made of Deku wood had connected with the flat edge of Ghirahim's rapier. Lana let out a shout, and then thrust herself forward with a blast of magic, knocking Ghirahim back. The Demon Tribe leader recovered quickly, and then licked his lips.
"I should have known that you would survive." He hissed. "Now I think I'm going to make amends by gutting you like a fish!"
Lana seemingly said nothing. Itami continued to frantically shimmy out of his trapped position, but as he watched her duck and weave away from Ghirahim's strikes and thrusts, he could see that she was saying something. Or was she mouthing something? He wasn't sure.
Finally, Ghirahim was visibly starting to lose patience.
"Hold still and die, wench!" He snarled. By now, he'd whistled and summoned several beasts to help him. Though Lana was still able to avoid all of their attacks, it was getting closer. Itami managed to wiggle free enough so that only everything below his knees were trapped. That left him free to access his belt.
He had spent years throwing knives. This was like playing with a child.
The first he threw smacked into a Bokoblin's throat, and then the second one went right between the Moblin captain's eyes. Ghirahim and his forces whirled around to see that Itami was the source of the covering fire, and with a roar one of them threw his spear at the downed Ravager. There was a white flash, and the spear shattered into a million pieces. Lana was breathing heavily, her eyes glowing with white magic and the edge of her spear still shimmering. She was still silently mouthing something.
"By the Goddess, you simply won't give up!" Ghirahim shouted. He threw another strike, and Lana evaded them all. Finally, Ghirahim let out a crazed laugh. "This is precious! You think that by avoiding me, you can tire me out? You can beat me? Oh, you are a child!" He smirked. "You can't defeat me. You don't have the strength!"
At that moment, Lana finished mouthing whatever it was that she'd mouthed. Then she stared at Ghirahim with a gaze so icy it caused the Demon Tribe leader to take a step back in fear. And when she spoke, it seemed to cut across the battlefield.
"Who said I would defeat you?"
With a yell, she slammed her spear into the ground.
There was an earth-shaking sound, and then a brilliant bang. Ghirahim shielded his eyes, and then looked forward.
The last thing he saw was a brilliant white light forming behind the sorceress, and then a large form flying towards him.
…
The sound was like a massive gong, a death knell that reverberated throughout the entire battlefield. It was enough to cause the entire battle to momentarily freeze, as light and dark alike turned towards the sight of it.
He lifted his weapon off of the ground, up off of the bloody remains of the Demon Tribe leader. He stepped over the still-twitching corpse of Ghirahim, before swinging his hammer down again for good measure. He felt something cave in, and knew that his foe was dead. Whoever it was had no idea what had hit him. He turned and faced his enemy. They were many. They outnumbered him. The chances of survival were slim, if not stupidly low.
He smirked. He always liked those odds.
He lifted his hammer up high, and let out a bellow that shook the heavens.
"YOOOOOOOOOO!"
And with a laugh, Darunia leapt into the fray.
…
There were three portals of white light now, and more figures were stepping forth from them. From his position on the ground, Itami watched with a completely stupefied feeling as they all came forth. Midna, Fi, Ruto, Agitha…they were all back? How?
He heard a giggling, and then suddenly Agitha was in his field of vision.
"Why, whatever are you doing, Mr. Itami?" She asked. She looked genuinely confused. "Are you taking a nap on the battlefield? And why are you using that poor horse as a blanket?"
"I-uh-jbf-ugh-" Itami managed to stammer.
"Hullo, chap!" He heard a familiar voice, and before he knew it Captain Dorias of Skyloft was beside him, lifting up the corpse of the horse. "Slide on out now, friend! Y'can't be too comfortable under there, hmm?
"D-Dorias?" Itami managed to stammer out. By now, the battle had resumed, as the re-emergence of the heroes had completely revitalized the forces of light.
"Didn't think we'd leave you in a sticky wicket, did you?" Dorias chided the Ravager lightly. He twirled his mustache in his fingers. "We 'eard Miss Lana call us in summons and thought, well we can't leave our friends hanging!" He smiled. "So we brought some friends of our own!"
"Friends?" Itami managed to ask.
There was a horn blast, and Itami watched in wonder as a tidal wave of Gorons adorned in fire-red armor came rolling out of one portal, followed swiftly by a brigade of immaculately-armored Zora warriors. There was a cacophony of screeches, and a cavalcade of Skyloftians mounted on Loftwings came forth through the other. And there was another roar, and several massive insects came through the third portal towards the now-terrified forces of darkness. Agitha clapped her hands with glee.
"I brought some of my friends! Mr. Beetle and Mr. Scorpion wanted to help fight!"
Itami felt his head spinning.
…
Across the battlefield, the reactions were near-immediate.
"By the Goddesses…" Impa muttered.
"Am I seeing this right? Or am I dreaming?" Lord Gawain asked.
"The Goddesses have heard us…" Zelda said with a smile.
"…Oh...hell yes." Link said, as he turned towards the shaking Bokoblins in front of him.
…
Itami managed to sit back up. He stared out into the battlefield, and watched as the new reinforcements were starting to carve up the enemy before them. He saw the child-like glee in the face of Ishaka as the Ravager commander recognized the sight of Darunia, the roar of approval from Darunia as he reunited with his brother in blood, and the cries of terror from the Bokoblins that now had to deal with the two of them. Midna, sitting astride a massive Twilight Wolf, seemed positively smug as her bolts of magic scorched all in front of her. Even Ruto was getting involved, slicing in and out of the lines of enemies in front of her, and seeming to enjoy herself as she did it. Finally, Itami turned back around.
Lana was standing there, looking at him somewhat sheepishly.
"I told you I had something." She said. She gestured in front of her. Floating in front of her, rotating gently in three-dimensional axes, were strange and glowing portals. "They're Summoning Gates. High Summoning Gates.*" Itami stared at her, and then looked back out at the changing tide of battle. Then he looked back at her.
A soft laugh escaped his lips.
And before she could even say anything, he'd pulled her in to a hug.
…
"WAHAHAHA!" Darunia bellowed, swinging his hammer like it was a discus, sending any poor soul in front of him flying into the distance. "They fall like a house of cards!" He watched the enemies break rank and flee from him, and he laughed long and hard. He felt the wind whipping through his face as he raced through the desert, his feet pounding on the dirt. He sensed another presence beside him, and saw that Ishaka had come up right next to him. He laughed again, and heard the Ravager let out a battle cry as he smashed into a group of Bokoblins in front of them. For once, the Goron king realized that he had an opportunity to rest, and rested the butt of his hammer on the ground. He leaned against the weapon as other soldiers spilled forth around him, forcing the armies of darkness into a full-on retreat into the temple.
"Friend Darunia, are you alright?" He heard the voice of Fi, and the sword-spirit was currently floating next to him. "You have stopped fighting at your usual manic pace, and I thought that you were injured."
"Hah! Me, wounded?" Darunia asked, snorting. "As if! I have never felt better, sister Fi!" He grinned, and gestured out in front of him. "I just feel I cannot let brother Ishaka be deprived of some fighting himself. I would kill them all if I was not careful!"
Fi turned towards the line of battle, and saw that at this point Ishaka was less a person than a force of nature. And yet even he paled in comparison to Link, who had drifted from the middle of the battlefield and into the left flank. The Hero of the era was more than living up to his reputation, and soon what had once been a complete and utter disadvantage was turning into a rout in their favor.
There was a whinnying, and Darunia and Fi turned to see Zelda ride up alongside them. Darunia smiled.
"Sister Zelda! What a pleasant joy to see you alive and well!" He said, flashing a big grin. His enthusiasm touched Zelda, who couldn't help but giggle at the sight of the Goron in front of her.
"Why, hello Darunia." She said. "I am grateful to see you and the others as well." She smiled. She turned out towards the battle. "Remind me to grant Lana whatever she wishes in the aftermath of this fight. Without her, this would not have been possible." She watched as Darunia's Honor Guard and the Zora brigade, as well as the Skyloftians on their Loftwings, decimated the enemy and then turned to look at Darunia in confusion. "I must confess: how did you know to come here, and come with reinforcements?"
"Lana asked us." Fi said, as if it was the most simple thing in the world. Darunia shrugged.
"Erm, it's a little more complicated than that, Fi! It was like this…I'm sitting in my kingdom, minding my own business when I…I felt a tickling in my ear. Sounded like a lady cooing a song. And I knew that it was Lana, I just knew it. And something told me to bring as many of my forces as I could to the spot that she asked me to go to. They all thought I was a little crazy, but when the portal opened up…who's crazy now?" He asked.
"Like I said, Lana asked us." Fi repeated. Darunia sighed, and face-palmed.
"Sister Fi, before the end of this I promise that I will find a way to teach you figurative speech."
…
He let out a howl of joy as he swung his spear, knocking a Bokoblin off of its feet. He didn't know where these allies had come from, but he sure wasn't going to question it. He heard the laughter of Balrok next to him, also astride his warbeast.
"Yes, that's the spirit Red-Demon! Laugh as they crumble before us!" He looked ahead. "Look! The water-folk are in danger! Let's gut their enemies like fish!" He bellowed, and his squad of Bulblin horsemen followed him towards the sight of the Zora brigade. Matthew Grantham spurred his horse to follow, and soon found himself right in the middle of the pack. He could feel the sweat running down his face and neck, and blinked some of the facepaint out of his eyes.
They crashed into the Bokoblin brigade, led by Lizalfos, like a tidal wave. Spears clashed with shields, bones were broken and armor was shattered. And the battered Zoras began to regain the advantage against the enemy that had threatened to swarm them.
Matthew heard a scream, and turned to see a Zora had been isolated by a pair of Lizalfos. Without thinking, he reacted by pulling back on the reins of his horse, causing the poor beast to rear back on its hind feet. Taking advantage of the sudden stop, he threw his spear as hard as he could. It whistled through the air, striking one of the Lizalfos in the chest. The beast tottered over in its death throes, and somehow struck its friend in the side with its sword. The second Lizalfos howled in pain, and turned towards the Zora in front of it in a bloodlust of rage, and swung its sword.
…Only to strike nothing, because the Zora had been yanked away. The Lizalfos barely had time to react and wonder what had happened before a passing Bulblin swung an axe and cleaved its head clean off.
Matthew Grantham breathed a sigh of relief that his insane ploy had worked, and watched the second Lizalfos meet its end. He laughed, but then proceeded to choke at the air-tight hug he was now on the receiving end of.
"Ohhhh, my hero!"
Ruto was clinging to him like it would mean her death otherwise, and Matthew was amazed that a Zora girl could hug so strongly. She looked up at him. "Thank you for-oh!" Her eyes widened at the sight of Matthew. "Oh." Her look of shock had turned into a sultry one. "Oh, you're cute."
It was a good thing that there was still plenty of red paint flecked on his face as well as the white and black underpaint, because Matthew felt his face burning. And he was pretty sure it wasn't the desert heat.
…
At this point, the battle was almost won. The remnants of the enemy were high-tailing it up the steps to the main temple of the ruins, and the forces of light were about to bottleneck them completely.
Zelda had ridden out to the front, and over time she saw that Fi, Darunia, Impa, Link Ishaka, Itami and Lana had all gravitated towards her, riding at her side. Even Agitha, carried on the wings of a magically-created buttefly, was flying alongside them.
There was a horrible shrieking sound. They looked up at the top of the steps, and saw Zant standing in front of them. Somehow, the sight of the one crazed Twili was enough to make the entire army of light pause. There was a tense stand-off.
"Impudent…worthless…wretches!" Zant screeched, twirling his scimitars. He ripped his helmet off, revealing that his eyes were bugging out of his head and veins were shooting out all over his neck. "You DARE to defy the God of Darkness? You DARE to defy ME? I am a KING, you filthy rats! And I will not be bullied by-"
There was a terrific bang, and a flash of white light. It was enough to cause everyone to flinch and cover their eyes. When the light died down, they looked to see that Zant was now no more than a pile of ashes at the foot of the steps of the temple. Everyone looked in the direction of where the blast had originated.
Sitting astride her Twilight Wolf, Midna was examining the nails on one of her hands with great interest. Her other hand was extended outwards, and there was still sparkling electricity and smoke emitting from it, the final reminder of her magical might. She looked up, as if aware that everyone was staring at her. She looked at the heroes. She looked confused.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want to kill him?"
There was a stupefied silence. She shrugged.
"Sorry."
…
It did not take long to round up the prisoners. What had once been a mighty force of darkness was now reduced to a straggling band of pathetic number, dominated by injured or otherwise terrified solders cowed into obedience. The Bulblins and the Ravagers took it upon themselves to round all of them up, removing their weapons and armor.
Romulus hobbled over towards Princess Zelda, who was standing at the top of the steps to the ruined temple, and gazed out over the sight in front of them.
"I never thought I would see the day that I would live through a perfect battle." He said. He turned towards the princess. "I see that I was wise to have cast my lot in with you, your majesty."
Zelda smiled.
"Don't thank me, Romulus. Thank Ishaka." She gestured to the man at the base of the temple, who was currently going through reunions with the returned heroes of other ages. "He was the one crazy enough to start all of this." Romulus chuckled.
"I agree! Already word is trickling through my ranks of the legend of the drunken Ravager, the man that started a fight he had no business of winning. Perhaps I should keep him sauced for all future battles?" He asked slyly. Zelda laughed and shook her head.
"No, I think a sober Ishaka is hard enough to control."
…
Link made his way through the ranks of soldiers, enjoying the patting on backs and words of cheer that came up through the crowd as he passed by. When he finally reached the circle of heroes, he was welcomed as he deserved.
"Link, yeh crazy bast'rd!" Ishaka howled, picking the young Hylian up and wrapping him in a bear hug. "Yeh look ev'n worse than I do!"
Link's green tunic had been ripped and shredded, and even the white undershirt beneath it was also tattered and torn. There were a few cuts across his upper body and a few scrapes on his legs, but he was otherwise very much alright. His face was plastered with dust, and his hair was matted with sweat. He looked at the heroes of the other ages, and smiled weakly.
"Hey guys."
They all came forward to meet him immediately. He had no idea that Midna was capable of hugging people. He had no idea that Agitha could hug that hard. And he was very glad that Ruto was not around to hug him too.
"Nice work, hero." Itami said, a sly smile on his face. He walked up, and brushed Link's hair. "Goddesses, at the rate you're going I'm gonna need to start charging you for all of the care I'm giving you."
"You should be thanking me." Link fired back with a smile. "I'm the one that keeps your skills sharp."
Itami grinned back. It was a warm smile.
"Did I miss something?" Midna remarked, raising an eyebrow. "When did the jackass in charge become Mr. Sunshine and Rainbows?"
Lana walked up next to her, and looked up at the Twili. She smiled.
"Don't worry. I'll explain later."
At that moment, they heard a giggling noise. Ruto was walking up towards them, her arms wrapped around the chest of a young-looking Hyrulian. Zelda, who had come down to join the group (along with Lord King Romulus) stared at him in shock. Then she frowned.
"Matthew Joshua Grantham!" She scolded. "Does your mother know that you sneaked out here to fight with us?"
"Uh…." The young Grantham trailed off. "…No?" he managed to squeak out. Ruto giggled.
"Ooh, he's a rebel! I like rebels…" She added dreamily. Itami gazed at the kid and his predicament, and smiled.
"Well, looks like you're stuck now. Have fun kid. Call us when the wedding gets scheduled."
Matthew blushed, Ruto giggled in delight, the others laughed, and Lana slapped Itami upside the head.
Off to the side, on the fringes of the group, Ishaka watched this with a smile. He was back to smoking his pipe, for the first time since the battle had started.
"You like it, huh?" Impa asked, walking up next to him. Ishaka nodded.
"Th' pipe? Yeah, it be better'n th' one I used ta 'ave." He turned towards Impa and smiled. "Thank yeh, Impa. I 'ppreciate it."
"Think nothing of it." Impa said. There was a pause. She looked down at the ground before speaking again. "It was good to see you out there like that again, Ishaka. I was getting worried about you, you know."
"Oh?" Ishaka asked, an amused look on his face. Impa looked at him and nodded.
"Of course, you ordo! I was afraid that whatever it was that Ganondorf had said to you had ruined you. And I would have been there for you no matter what, but to see you get through it…that was a wonderful thing to see."
"T'was a wonderful thing ta feel, Impa." He said. "I ain't Ganondorf, ev'n if'n he an' I are G'rudos." He looked over at her. "Though, tha' might 'splain my hankerin' for somethin'."
"What's that?" Impa asked. Ishaka laughed.
"It's th' funniest thin'!" He said. "Yeh know, I love m'pipe, but fer th' longest time I always want'd ta try somethin'." He paused, and then looked at her. "G'rudo cigars."
There was a pause. They stared at each other with completely serious expressions. And then they burst into laughter, to the point where Impa had to lean against his shoulder.
No one noticed them except a statuesque Twili.
…
Later that night, as the sun began to set and the world began to cool off, they made camp around the foot of the ruined temple. Lord King Romulus had already sent some of his swiftest riders towards the previous encampment where the unarmed settlers were, in order to start ferrying them to the temple and the oases that surrounded it. In addition there were more than a few Skyloftians that rode on their Loftwings after them.
"I have to say, Captain, your men are a gift from the Goddesses." Zelda said. Dorias smiled cheerily.
"Why, thank you your majesty!" He said. He twirled his mustache. "I figured that Mistress Fi and I couldn't come empty-handed. When we heard the calls from Ma'am Lana, I figured it would be a good chance to repay the kindness you showed me in my brief stay with you."
"And how is your wife and son?"
"They're good." Dorias said. He smiled. "So is our little girl. She was born a few weeks ago."
"Oh, congratulations!" Zelda said, clapping her hands together. "What did you name her?"
"Finnia." Dorias remarked. He cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly. "It's…it's not a traditional name, but I figured it would be a good tribute."
"For whom?" Zelda asked. Captain Dorias looked down at one of the many fires at the foot of the ruined temple. He saw that Ishaka, Itami and Link were all sitting next to each other at one of them. He sighed wistfully.
"For a good man that I wish I'd gotten to know better. But a man that was loved dearly by those that knew him." He sighed. "I apologize, your majesty. I'm afraid I've gotten all melancholy on you."
"It's quite alright, Dorias." Zelda said. "It's been a melancholy few days." She sighed. "Even with the return of you and the others, victory is far from a guarantee." She said. Dorias smiled.
"Ach, that may be. But it isn't hopeless now, is it?"
"No." Zelda said.
"Then that's all you need!" He said. He turned towards the rest of the camps. "I am sure that tomorrow will bring a new day of hope as well as light."
"I do too." Zelda said quietly.
…
There was a lot of laughter and mirth in the camp. There was a growing sense of optimism, as old friends were reunited and happiness abounded. There were plenty of Gorons and Hyrulians and Ravagers that expressed great joy in reuniting with those that they had befriended from other eras. Add to the mix the cautious acceptance of the Bulblins, and it was a true melting pot of cultures and nations blended together at the base of a forgotten temple from a forgotten age.
"Oooh, I hate this!" Agitha whined, as she was led through the camp. Midna was walking right behind her, shielding her eyes with her hands. Because the Twili was so much taller than the little girl, she had to bend over more than a bit to keep the surprise going. However, no man was stupid enough to take a peek at her backside, especially with the ethereal Twilight wolf growling at anyone that stared at its master with anything but the chastest intentions.
"Hush, little one. You'll like this." She said.
"Ooh, I hope so! It's so dark out!" Agitha complained.
Finally, they stopped walking. Midna leaned over a bit, and whispered in her ear.
"Okay, Agitha, you can open your eyes."
She did, and stared at the creature in front of her.
There was a pause, and then a squeal of delight.
"Mr. Meathook!" Agitha rushed forward, throwing herself into the arms of the burly Goron, who was more than happy to see his old friend. They hugged, laughing and crying at the reality that they were both alive, and Midna watched this with a great sense of satisfaction. She turned around and began walking back to another part of the camp. As she did, she found herself taking a sadistic delight in the stares she was getting…only to be scared off by the growling of her Twilight wolf.
Oh, it was good to be Princess. Maybe Ruto was on to something.
…
Link had changed out of his ruined tunic, and at this point had given up hope that it would ever get repaired in time for the next battle. For now, he was wearing a baggy shirt, stitched together like an outlander's poncho. Sitting beside him was Ishaka, who was blowing puffs of smoke from his pipe like he was the happiest and most content man in the world. There was a multitude of Ravagers around their fire, as well as a few Hyrulians. Link looked over to the side, and saw that Ruto was currently busy with other things. Other things, in this case, involved her sitting in the lap of what looked like Lord Grantham's son, begging him to tell her stories about his life in the castle before this. She seemed very comfortable, and every now and then delighted in embarrassing the poor boy by pinching his cheek.
Link smirked. At least she wasn't all over him.
Ishaka let out a laugh, noticing that Itami and Lana had come forward, and were sitting across the camp fire from them. That made it almost twenty people now. Ishaka cackled, and re-applied some snuff into his pipe.
"How about that!" He said. "I think this'd be a good time fer some music, eh?" He asked.
The various Ravagers, and even some of the Hyrulians (who at this point were plenty inebriated enough that anything sounded like a good idea from the mouth of Ishaka) raised their hands in a cheer of agreement.
"Really, boss?" Itami asked, raising an eyebrow. "Who's going to do it this time?"
Ishaka's grin was positively cat-like. Itami looked mortified.
"Oh no."
"Yeeeeeah!" Ryu shouted, who was sitting off to the side. "Get yer ass-hic-up and sing, boss!" She said. Itami rolled his eyes.
"You know I don't play anymore." He said. "Haven't in months!"
"Yer a nat'ral!" Ishaka protested. "Yer jus' bein' bashful!"
"I'm being smart." Itami retorted.
"Think fast!" Someone shouted. On reflex, Itami caught what had been thrown at him. His look of confusion turned to one of supreme annoyance when he saw what it was: a beaten-up acoustic guitar. He stared at Ishaka with a look that was positively murderous.
"I hate you."
"I love you too, b'dahy!" Ishaka shouted. Lana giggled, and nudged Itami.
"Come on, Itami! This could be fun!" She said. Itami sighed.
"Okay, fine. One song." He said. He looked sly. "None of you fuckers are gonna know this, so you're all gonna look stupid. This is an old song, and I doubt anyone here knows any of the lyrics other than the first line." He rested the guitar in his lap, and took a moment to make sure it was tuned properly. Then, as soon as he was sure that the others were listening, he started drumming a basic beat on the edge of his guitar, for someone else to carry on.
Tikki-tikki-takah! Tikki-tikki-takah! Tikki-tikki-takah! Tikki-tikki-takah!
When he started playing, Link liked it already. It was a rustic-sounding song, a little haunting, and yet very smooth. It sounded like something that one would hear way out in the outlands. But that wasn't the surprising thing. The surprising thing was Itami started to sing.
From the dusty mesa…her looming shadow grows…
Hidden in the branches…of the poison creosote…
He was rolling his eyes and making it seem like this was the most boring thing he had ever done. But he was still singing. It was a surprisingly baritone voice.
She twines her spines up slowly…towards the boiling sun…
And when I touched her skin…my fingers ran with blood…
He kept playing the same lick again and again, an indignant and somewhat defiant look of "I told you so" on his face. No one else wanted to jump in. But then, to the shock of everyone, another voice stepped in.
It was a woman's voice.
In the hushing dusk, under a swollen silver moon…
I came walking with the wind, to watch the cactus bloom…
It was Lana. Her eyes were closed, but she was still singing perfectly in tune with Itami's playing. It was a soft and mournful singing voice, but it was pretty nonetheless. The sound of her matching him nearly caused the Ravager lieutenant to stumble over his own fingers, but he kept playing well enough that she could keep going.
A strange hunger haunted me; the looming shadows danced…
I fell down to the thorny brush, and felt a trembling hand…
Itami kept playing, but now he was making no effort to hide the fact that he was enjoying himself. As the others clapped along and swayed to the beat, the two of them continued.
When the last light warms the rocks and the rattlesnakes unfold…
Mountain cats will come…to drag away your bones…
And rise with me forever across the silent sand…
And the stars will be your eyes…and the wind will be my hands…
Itami kept playing for a couple of bars, before eventually he reduced himself to tapping that little beat on the edge of his guitar. And then, he stopped.
Almost immediately, those that were around the campfire burst into cheers and shouts and laughter.
"How 'bout Miss Lana?" Ishaka laughed, raising his pipe. "Th' lady o' th' Ravagers!"
"Hey-hey!" The rest of them shouted. Lana blushed, and was thankful that the night sky was allowing her to hide it a bit. She turned and looked at Itami, and found that he was smiling.
"That was awesome, Lana." He managed to say.
"Thanks." She said. "You were awesome, too."
Off to the side, a statuesque Twili watched with amusement.
A/N: And I'm back! Sorry for the delay, it was a busy week with Easter et al. But now we're starting to get into the home stretch for this story, as heart-breaking as that is for me to admit. But it's been a blast so far. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have!
As an aside (and a bit of a shameless plug), for any of you tropers out there, And So We Fight has a TVTropes page! There's a couple of tireless fans that have been putting together the thing, and I am ever appreciative for that. I'm no good with links, but I imagine just typing in "And So We Fight TVTropes" on your search bar should get you where you need to go. Feel free to edit if you wish! Just, uh, keep it on track. Heh heh…
With that being said, see you next time!
HYRULIAN CODEX
"High" Summoning Gates – There are Summoning Gates, and then there are these. Some view them as the pinnacle of magic, being able to traverse time and space in order to make a bridge between the ages to allow folks to travel from one land and time to another. Theoretically, there is no limit to what can be summoned and from what age can be drawn, so long as the summoner has the stamina to keep the magic up.
It probably goes without saying, but this takes an absurd level of magical talent to pull off.