Link felt relieved to be back at his car. He had managed to get through the city without Muzu's vicious attacks, and he had a feeling Sidon played a part in that, for which he was grateful. Time was getting short, but with the Divine Beasts back in control, all he had left to do was retrieve the Master Sword and take back the palace. He wasn't quite sure how he was going to go about the latter, but one step at a time.
It was late when Link reached the forest, and even though the sun still provided light across Hyrule, the path into the forest was already shrouded in darkness. And it was even darker in the forest, just as he had remembered from the first time he entered with Zelda. Except this time, he didn't hear the sweet, melodic voice he had heard before. He wandered the forest aimlessly until he found himself at its entrance again, lost and disoriented.
Frustration burned inside of him as he set forth once more, and after what felt like hours of wandering, he found himself back at the beginning. He swore and kicked at the rotted leaves over the ground. There was no way he'd get through the forest without the voice to guide him. Why couldn't he hear it this time?
He leaned against a tree, an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion returning to him, which seemed to be happening more and more often as the days progressed. He was just tired. He could have slept for a hundred years, and it probably still wouldn't have been enough. He couldn't remember a time in his life when he felt so tired and defeated. Not in his years of training, not even when he struggled to bring Zelda safely across Blatchery Plains, which almost resulted in the end of his life. Never had he felt so exhausted, so pained, mentally, physically, and emotionally.
He pushed himself off the tree and trudged through the forest once more. He wasn't going to get any closer just sitting around. He'd probably end up walking circles in that forest for the rest of his life, but it was all he could do. He had to get the Master Sword. He had to get to Zelda. He had to save her from Ganon's clutches. He needed her to be safe in his arms. He wanted nothing more than to make everything better for her.
Link.
Link's eyes scanned the forest. It was the voice, clear as day. It was calling to him. And he followed it. He followed the voice, his pace quickened until he was running through the dark forest. He could hardly see where he was going except for the vague outlines of the dark trees, but it didn't matter. He could hear the voice and he wasn't going to let it disappear. He followed the voice as it wound through the forest and finally, he saw that familiar glow of the Master Sword. He gripped the hilt and pulled, and it slid out with ease. The warm light faded and plunged him into darkness once more.
He hesitated, the sword in hand. It was done. He had the Master Sword. All that remained was going to the palace to end the war. A sense of de ja vu washed over him, and he was filled with a sudden panic. An irrational panic that he would be plunged to repeat the same process of almost winning, only to be sent back to square one without a single memory. He knew that wouldn't happen, but something far worse could have; he could fail.
He let the sword rest against his shoulder and stepped down, moving soundlessly through the dark forest. He walked and walked without another thought until he reached the beginning of the forest. Somehow, time had gotten away from him in the forest, and the rising sun shone brightly through the clearing of trees, its rays stretching warmly to greet Link as he emerged. He stood beside his car and looked out over Hyrule.
"If we let the fear of losing stop us from facing our fears and fighting against them, we have already lost."
He would not fail.
The engine roared as Link raced away from the forest and to the palace. He wasn't quite sure what was in store for him, but he was determined not to let anything stop him, Guardian or otherwise. And there were Guardians aplenty as he neared the city, even more so than he had encountered on the interstate. They swarmed around the city, marching through the deserted roads, picking their way through crushed buildings and debris. He could see all this before he even got to the city, taking the exit off the interstate where he paused. And not only were they clustered in the city, but outside as well, across the main bridge. They were everywhere, and they were ready for any assault.
And so was Link. The two guns he wore were loaded and ready. He loaded the ARs that Teba had given him, including the 5.56 light machine gun. He knew he wouldn't be able to dodge every Guardian in the city, making the machine gun his best option for his assault. He looped the belt around him, brought the rest of the ammunition into the front for ease of access, and sucked in a breath. There was no way he would be able to drive and shoot, at least not through the moonroof, which left only one other option.
He patted the dashboard of the car. "This is gonna hurt me more than it hurts you," he muttered, then shot out the windshield with his handgun. He cringed as the glass shattered. He propped the machine gun against the dashboard, then turned his gaze to the city and in that moment, he felt very, very alone. Except for a light breeze, the world was still and quiet around him. There was no army behind him to shout war cries as they charged into battle. No grand speeches boost his morale. Nothing but him and a lifeless city filled with deadly machines.
At the very least, he could have some good music playing. He turned on the radio, found a decent station where the music seemed fitting for his charge, and turned it up. He stepped on the gas and sped towards the city.
It didn't take long for the Guardians to spot him, and their assaults began immediately. He did his best to avoid as many as possible, swerving along the road to dodge their attacks. He easily got ahead of them, crossing the bridge and diving into the city where the Guardians showed no mercy. He tried to navigate the streets as best as he could, swerving around the Guardians' legs, but it quickly became clear that he would have to focus more on dodging debris than staying on the road, which meant he might not have the most direct route to the palace, but he would have to make do.
It wasn't long before an army of Guardians chased Link throughout the city, and they were getting crafty. They came at him on all sides, but Link was ready. With one hand, he steered the car clumsily through the city while the other pulled the trigger on the machine gun. Bullets flew through the air with wicked speed, raining down on the Guardians as they neared. He moved the machine gun as best as he could, fanning the bullets out in an arch, spinning the car around and spraying the bullets further until the belt ran dry. He accelerated through the city, quickly assessing the damage, but to his dismay, the Guardians seemed only slightly deterred by the attack. Modern weaponry proved as ineffective as if he were punching their steel bodies with a balloon.
"Damn ancient Sheikah technology," Link muttered.
Ancient technology. It was a crazy idea. Downright ridiculous, really. He was no medieval knight, never trained in sword combat. Hell, he hadn't even touched a sword in his life until recently. But, if it came down to it, it was worth a shot.
He withdrew the machine gun and let it rest against the passenger seat. He reached around him quickly to bring the Master Sword upfront. The sunlight bounced off the edges of the blade. Link turned his gaze back out the window, dodging the Guardians and their deadly blasts, and before long, the streets started to open up and wind into the royal district and towards the palace, allowing him more room to maneuver and less debris to dodge. He put considerable distance on the Guardians, their blasts exploding the ground behind him, just out of reach. To his relief, he had not had to use the sword... yet. He wasn't about to hold his breath about that.
In the distance, he could see the tall, once guarded gates into the palace. Inside, he didn't see any Guardians, but there were other strange forms of technology he hadn't encountered. They seemed similar to the Guardians, paroling the area around the palace, yet were considerably smaller, gliding through the air like drones. They swept the area below them in red as they moved about the property.
Link slowed the car to a stop and stepped out. He would have to take it the rest of the way on foot, making sure to stay out of sight of the drones. He was familiar with the layout of the palace, both inside and out, and he hoped to use that to his advantage to find the best way inside and to find Zelda. Somewhere inside, Ganon waited as well.
Even though the front gate was broken and he could have easily stepped through, he opted to follow the perimeter of the high wall to a less obvious entrance. The wall was broken in many places, but it took him some time to find the best way in. He had made his way around to the back side of the palace, knowing that there were some secret hidden passageways below. Passageways that had supposedly been there for hundreds of thousands of years and were meant as an escape for the royal family should they ever be ambushed. He had walked them a few times before, a long time ago, but he was confident he could find them and get through the palace that way.
He found the oversized, grated drain behind the palace where a small stream of water dripped out into the stream. The stream wound its way to a large pond just at the edge of the property before the high, stone walls. The passageway out of the castle was the grated drain, though it continued further underground via a hidden door, moving under the walls and out into northern Hyrule. But all Link needed was the grated drain to get inside.
He splashed through the stream and towards the drain. To his relief, it opened when he pulled at the door. The passageway was dark and there was an eerie dripping sound that echoed off the walls. All he had to do was navigate the passageways, which twisted this way and that in a maze below the castle. There were a lot of dead ends and even a couple of false walls, and false walls that lead to dead ends, all created in an effort to confuse and trap any enemies that had managed to follow the escapees into the passageways. Link had memorized the route over the years during his training, backwards and forwards, and could have brought anyone out no matter where in the underground tunnels they were. He knew the moment he doubted himself he would be in trouble, so he sucked in a breath and stepped inside.