Another silent night began within the warm confines of Hyrule Castle, with most of its inhabitants turning in early in preparation for tomorrow's hotly anticipated Champion Celebration. Princess Zelda, however, remained wide-awake inside her bedroom, having just sent one of her attendants out with Link's pardon letter. Before settling into her bed for the night, she sat at her desk and wrote in her diary in careful reflection of the events of the day.
"Father scolded me again today. He told me I am to have nothing more to do with researching ancient technology. He insisted that I focus instead on training that will help me awaken my sealing magic. I was so frustrated and ashamed I could not even speak. I've been training since I was a child, and yet... Mother passed the year before my training was to begin. In losing her, I lost not just a mother, but a teacher. Mother used to smile and tell me, "Zelda, my love, all will be well in the end. You can do anything." But she was wrong. No matter how I try or how much time passes...the sealing power that is my birthright evades me. Tomorrow I journey with Link to the Spring of Power to train. But this, too, will end in failure. Such is my curse."
Zelda paused for moment, considering what she'd written. The solemn frown on her face shifted abruptly into a mild scowl. She tore out a blank page from her diary and continued to write on it.
"...No. With all due respect to father… I believe that traveling there would be an utter waste of time. I have already sojourned to the Spring of Courage during my travels with Link, only to be met with more failure. I have a duty to my people - to Hyrule. Those duties include my commitment to the Champions that I have selected, the very people who will save this nation. With my failure to awaken the sealing power inside of me… I believe that they are our last hope. Therefore, I shall instead accompany them on their assigned missions. I will not be telling father.
Wish me luck."
She sighed, set her pen down, and walked over to her closet to change into her nightgown. A small smile grew on her face as she considered her new decision. It was outright rebellion against her father, to be certain. But at least this once, for a brief moment, she finally felt like she was in control over her own life.
Meanwhile, just a ways down the hall from Zelda the Champions were each sitting in their respective rooms in the royal guest suites in preparation for their night on the town together. Despite Revali's protests, they'd decided it would be best to alter their appearances in order to blend in better with the massive crowds sure to be present. They didn't want to cause a commotion with their presence there after all.
Urbosa applied some makeup, let down her incredibly long hair, and chose a more conservative top and sirwal to wear. Revali donned a feathered fedora hat and trench coat, being sure to clean and straighten each and every one of his feathers in order to look his best for the evening. Daruk… did absolutely nothing. Mipha sat in front of the mirror in her room, staring at her reflection for a while. Finally, she simply reached for her hooded shawl, pulled it over her head, and nodded to herself.
Good enough for me.
She quickly exited her suite, and waited in the common room with Daruk for the others to finish. Urbosa joined them next, but Revali seemed to be taking an especially long amount of time to get ready. Finally, he emerged dramatically from his suite, wings outstretched.
"How do I look?" he said with a confident grin.
"Like a serial killer," Urbosa answered. "Anyone seen Link?"
Daruk shrugged. "Well, he had to go all the way back to the guard's chambers to get changed. So he'll probably be awhi-
The door to the royal suites creaked open slowly as he said this, and Link himself quickly entered. He walked over to the Champions, standing in front of them with a dead stare across his face. The Champions all looked at each other, then back at Link. And then they burst into laughter.
He was dressed in a mildly oversized high-waisted pair of blue pants, lent to him by his friend Lieutenant Relk. His maroon shirt was tucked into the waistband, and he had donned a small, unbuttoned blue vest over it. On his head he wore a large red newsboy cap. But ultimately, it was Link's face that stole the show.
Just under his nose... was an enormous, fake, curly moustache.
"You must have strained pretty hard to grow that thing so quick!" Daruk said.
"You look utterly ridiculous," Revali said.
"You're one to talk…" Urbosa said. "Though I do have to agree..."
"What?! I think he looks awesome!" Daruk said. "Like some kind of carpenter or plumber or something!" He chuckled loudly as he said this.
Meanwhile, Mipha was the only one who had refrained from laughing. She hardly understood Hylian fashion, considering she rarely ever wore any clothing. So she actually found Link's outfit to be pretty neat - especially his dashing new moustache.
"Anyway. Looks like we're all set," said Urbosa, waving around Link's pardon letter. "Shall we go?"
The others raised their arms in unison.
"Aye!"
Soon, the Champions had exited their room and began to make their way down the winding mountain path around Hyrule Castle. Urbosa took the lead, with Daruk and Mipha following closely behind. Revali walked behind them, complaining about being unable to fly ahead to their destination. Link himself brought up the rear, occasionally staring up at Mipha, who looked back every now and then to catch a glimpse of him. Unfortunately, Revali seemed to think she was actually looking at him instead, and offered a friendly wink or a smile each time she glanced back. After a few instances of this, she finally gave up and simply stared straight ahead the rest of the way. But the damage was already done.
Along the way, the group encountered several patrolmen, who paid them no mind. Link had already informed them of their plans, including his disguise, so they simply nodded in acknowledgement as they passed by. Even a surprise visit by General Krant was quickly dispelled by Zelda's letter, though not without several pointed observations about Link's silly getup.
The royalty card, indeed, Link thought, as Urbosa handed him the letter to read through. What a powerful thing…
"So I was thinking," Urbosa said, "that we could check out this new place in town. It just opened, and it's fairly low-key."
Daruk shrugged. "Y'know, it really doesn't matter to me where we go. The stuff your kind drinks all might as well be-"
"-water to you?" Urbosa finished. She grinned. "Actually, I chose this place partly with you in mind. They claim to serve a drink that can even knock a goron flat on his rear-end."
"Ya don't say…" Daruk said, scratching his chin. "Then I accept this challenge!" he pounded his fist into his hand. "What's this place called?"
"'The Merry Moblin Pub,'" she said. "A fitting name, if you ask me, given our plans for tonight."
"And you are quite sure that it is relatively... obscure?" Mipha asked, quietly. "I would prefer not to be accosted once more by delirious fanatics, if it can be avoided."
"Absolutely," Urbosa replied. "This place is deep in the back alleyways of Castle Town, pretty much out-of-sight. Even without our disguises, I'd imagine we'll be able to keep a low profile without issue."
"I see," said Mipha. "I will say now, however, that I shall be limiting myself to only one or two beverages for the evening. I have only brought along a handful of rupees for this trip..."
Urbosa shook her head. "Sounds like a wasted opportunity to me." She slowed her pace briefly and patted Mipha on the shoulder. "After all, I shall be picking up our tab this evening. So feel free to take advantage!"
"...If you say so." Mipha said, quietly.
"You certainly don't have to tell me twice!" Revali said. "Urbosa is quite loaded after all. Although, Mipha-"
She turned and raised her brow at him slightly.
"Er, Lady Mipha, I would certainly love to buy you a few drinks myself. If you'd allow me. After all, it would do well for our… camaraderie to get further acquaint-OOF!"
Revali stumbled mid-stride, having somehow gotten his legs tangled up with Link's. He glared briefly at the young Hylian, then resumed his march. "Right… so what say you?" he said to Mipha, winking.
She fought off the desire to grin at Link's 'accident,' then she responded. "To be honest, I feel that excess alcohol consumption is merely a crutch for more… delicate personalities to step out of their comfort zone, and is hardly needed. Would you not agree?"
"Oh, uh," Revali grew mildly flustered, unsure of how to respond. "Yes, you are absolutely correct, Mi- Lady Mipha…"
"That may be true," Urbosa said, finally ending the conversation. "Booze is entirely unnecessary for bonding…but it certainly makes for a far more hilarious night!"
The transition from the bright, sunny day to the darkness of night did little to quell the enormous crowds gathering throughout Hyrule Castle Town. In fact, it seemed like the population in the square had somehow doubled instead since their arrival earlier in the day. Fortunately, the masses slowly thinned out as the Champions all made their way through the dark back streets towards their destination. This area was far less vibrant, and certainly less glamorous than the more modern, clean-looking town square. The buildings were deprecated, decayed by the passage of time. Trash and grime littered the street gutters around them, and several stray animals ran to-and-fro across dark alleyways.
The dimly-outlined shadows of pedestrians bounced around the group as they walked, enhancing the sense of unease growing inside both Link and Mipha's chests. It wasn't that they didn't feel safe - after all, this was nothing compared to the numerous dark nights they'd spend camping in the surrounding Zoran mountain range back at the domain. No, their unease was instead produced by their anxiety at being stuck in a public place for so long, on a night where they would have much preferred to quietly stay in.
"Guess you weren't kidding when you said this place was out-of-sight," Daruk said. "Pretty spooky back here."
"Don't tell me… that you're afraid of a little darkness…" Urbosa teased.
"Trust me, it's not the darkness I'm afraid of," Daruk said. "Gah!" He nearly jumped out of his skin when a dog began barking at him from behind a nearby apartment window. Urbosa noticed his startled expression, but decided it best not to say anything. It would have been perfect fodder for Revali's teasing, and she was not in any mood to put up with any of that tonight.
Fortunately, Revali hadn't noticed Daruk at all. He was too busy eyeing up Mipha, observing her tense posture. "There's nothing to fear, my lady," Revali said to Mipha, completely misreading her mood. "I'm here to protect us if any trouble should-"
"Lady Urbosa," Mipha spoke over Revali, "How much farther now?"
Up ahead, Urbosa paused at a street corner, turned, and grinned.
"Well my friends, it's actually right... here." The other Champions ran up to Urbosa and looked down the open street to their left. And they gasped.
An enormous, red, snouted head protruded from above the doorway of the large pub wall in front of them. It was a giant model of a tusked moblin, complete with piercing, beady eyes and a single horn protruding from the top. Link vaguely wondered if the head itself might have actually belonged to a real moblin at some point.
They sure went a little overboard with the theme here , he thought to himself. Guess my definition of 'low-key' is a bit different from Urbosa's-
"I think we may differ a bit in our definition of 'low-key,'" Mipha said to Urbosa.
But the Gerudo Chief simply laughed, maniacally and playfully. "Welcome... to the Merry Moblin Pub!" she said, arms outstretched. "Shenanigans await!"
One by one, they began to enter the pub as a goron bouncer stood outside, cross-armed, scanning each of these strange new guests. Daruk entered first, then Mipha, then Revali, then Link-
"Wait," the bouncer snarled. "Get back here." Link backpedaled animatedly and stood in front of him, while Urbosa walked up alongside to assist.
"Nice try, wise guy. But even with that phoney moustache, you still look way too young to be coming in here..."
Urbosa glanced down at Link, rolled her eyes, then pulled a handful of silver rupees out of her pocket. Next to her, Link unrolled Zelda's pardon letter, the official seal of the Royal Family glaring menacingly from its spot in the center of the cloth-paper.
"...Right this way, please."
As he entered the pub, Link's first observation was how dimly lit the main room was. The next thing he noticed, was that the inside of the place wasn't nearly as elaborately decorated as the outside. In fact, it was quite mundane. Not that he was complaining.
Despite it only being about nine o'clock in the evening, the place was already bustling with a large number of clientele, all in various stages of inebriation. The Champions briefly glanced around the enormous room in search of a place to sit, before finally making their way over to the nearly empty bar counter. Urbosa took her seat first, followed by Daruk, then Mipha, then Revali - who stepped blatantly in front of Link to do so - and then finally, Link himself.
Urbosa handed the bartender a massive cluster of rupees for the tab, then immediately ordered herself the Noble Pursuit - a mixture of hydromelon juice, crushed ice, and fruit-based arrack served in a glass bottle.
Revali ordered the Dragon's Roost, which amounted to a mug of dark stout beer into which a shot of spiced whiskey and red cream liqueur was dropped, glass and all.
Mipha, desiring something relatively lighter than the others, ordered herself a simple glass of Zoran brandy.
And Link requested a glass of water. He found it mildly difficult to drink with his fake moustache on, but he managed somehow.
Drinks now in-hand, they sat there for some time and attempted to make light conversation. Daruk's order - the goron special apparently known as the Magma Chamber - took some time to prepare, so he simply sat there empty-handed for the time being. Link glanced over at Daruk and found himself wondering how the poor bar stool was holding up his enormous goron friend. It soon shattered, immediately answering his question.
"Well Lady Mipha," Revali said, as Daruk scrambled awkwardly to his feet in the background behind him. "How about that drink?"
Mipha glanced around Revali to make sure Daruk was okay, then she took another small sip from her glass of brandy. Finally, she looked up at the Rito Champion. "Ah, well, perhaps when I finish this drink… I will allow it. It may be a while, however."
"Oh by all means, take your time!" Revali said. "The night is young!" He waved his wing across the air in front of him dramatically, almost causing Mipha to snicker quietly. But she withheld. After all, knowing him he'd probably think she was laughing with him rather than at him.
SLAM!
"PAH!" Urbosa pounded her bottle back on the counter, gasping with satisfaction. "Not quite as good as back home…" she turned to the Hylian bartender, "but you make quite a worthy Noble Pursuit my friend! How about another?"
"Comin' right up, babe," the bartender said, winking, as he prepared another drink for her.
Revali took a generous sip from his mug, then spared a glance over at Link, who sat quietly on the stool next to the wall behind him. He was still sipping on his glass of water, staying quite sober indeed. Revali's smile faded slightly, but he began to hatch a new plan in his head. One way or another, he'd get this silly Hylian drunk before the end of the night...
"Got an order for a Magma Chamber?" Someone called out from the back. Soon, a pair of bar workers waddled in, hauling an enormous barrel between them. Daruk's eyes widened at the sight, and he gestured over at them. They quickly slammed the barrel down at his feet and took their leave. "Good luck," they said as they departed. "You're gonna need it…"
Daruk bent over and picked up the barrel. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about," he said. "Back home, this might even qualify as 'small!'" The presence of the drink itself had already drawn the attention of most of the bar-goers, who all laughed mirthfully at Daruk's joke. Before long, a chant of 'chug, chug, chug, chug' had started, courtesy of Urbosa, as a crowd of people surrounded Daruk. He punched a hole in the lid, and was now busy pouring the mystery beverage down his gullet in a steady stream of pure gluttony.
Behind Revali, Link shook his head in amusement before reaching over to the nearby pitcher of water to pour another drink. Revali himself stared at Daruk with disgust, then rolled his eyes as he turned to Mipha. "And people wonder why I call that old brute 'classless,'" he said. "Bah. His gluttonous mannerisms are nearly as egregious as Link's..." His expression morphed into a sleazy grin. "Anyway... how are you fairing, my lady?" he asked her. Ready for that drink yet?"
Mipha suddenly realized that Revali was speaking to her. "Ah, I am sorry Revali, it appears my glass somehow keeps filling itself up on its own!"
Revali glanced down at her glass, which was now filled with some sort of clear liquid. He shrugged. "Not to worry, my dear," he replied. "The next one." He took another sip of his drink-
PBBBBTTTTHH!
-Only to spit it out abruptly. He stared down at his own glass with utter revulsion. "What in Hylia's name-"
Just outside of Revali's line of sight, Mipha placed the salt shaker back on the countertop.
In the background, Link nearly fell off his stool in quiet laughter.
After Daruk finished his third Magma Chamber for the night, showing no signs of slowing down, the pub settled into a more quiet state as people found their seats again. Up on the stage opposite of the bar, several musicians began to set up their instruments. They appeared to be a three-piece house band which featured a lute player, a cellist, and percussionist with a small set of drums which had been collected from all across the land. Conspicuously absent, however, was their vocalist who was apparently out sick for the evening.
The band began to play, and Urbosa immediately cringed at the sound of it. Their music was fine, that wasn't the issue. The problem was that they were playing a song from her home country - one which sounded quite anemic without a singer. So without missing a beat, Urbosa took a swig of her bottle and made her way to the stage, drink still in-hand, suddenly belting out the tune on her own. The entire bar stared at her in wonder, as her surprisingly powerful voice filled the room with warm, beautiful tones. The band winked at her in appreciation, their performance now invigorated by this welcomed newcomer. Daruk quickly obtained a much smaller drink of his own and made his own way over to the stage to take in her performance up-close.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the bar, Mipha nervously spun a glass of water around as she observed the scene in front of her. She had obviously grown to dislike Revali by now, in spite of her kind nature. But so far, through everyone she'd met in her entire life, she had never once developed true hatred for even a single person. Now, sitting at the counter here in Merry Moblin Pub, watching Revali begin to harass Link incessantly for remaining sober, she found herself dangerously close to losing her streak.
"Don't you think it would be a shame to waste Zelda's favor like that?" Revali said, waving his mug of stout beer around. "Come on… It's only a friendly wager, Link. A simple contest of alcohol consumption..." he grinned deceitfully, forcing Mipha to look away in sheer irritation.
I don't hate him I don't hate him I don't hate-
"Unless you simply aren't man enough to take me on!"
I hate him.
Mipha looked back over at Link, who seemed to hesitate briefly. The young Hylian stared down Revali for several moments. Finally, he pounded the counter with his fist, then pointed at Revali's drink once the bartender took notice. Link quickly received a large mug of his own, which he chugged down in seconds before placing it back on the table - all before Revali even knew what happened. Link's cheeks grew flush as he pounded the counter to demand another. His eyes narrowed, his mouth curled into a wry grin as he stared coldly at Revali, who snapped back to reality and hastily finished his own drink, demanding another one himself.
The challenge was accepted. The battle was now on.
Mipha palmed her forehead in disbelief.
In the background, the band continued to play song after song. Urbosa remained on-stage, keeping pace with them without strain and improvising wherever needed. Soon, the center of the pub was filled with couples who began to link up and dance to the sounds of the lively music. Mipha stared after them in quiet curiosity, trying her hardest to ignore the idiotic battle between Rito and Hylian raging next to her. Several ladies approached Link to ask for a dance, but he was too busy maniacally chugging alcoholic beverages to care. Still, these gestures seemed to irritate Revali further, despite several Rito females asking him to dance as well. Mipha sighed, continuing to do her best not to stare at the two, instead peering into her water-filled glass with a solemn smile.
If I had come here alone with Link instead… she thought to herself, I wonder... if he would like to dance with me…
She dwelled on this thought for a moment, then shrugged. Ah well. I am not much of a dancer anyway. She finally allowed her eyes to wander back to Link, did a quick count of the empty glasses on the counter in front of him, and sighed again. After a brief moment of contemplation, she tapped the counter and signaled the bartender for a more potent drink.
This... is going to be a long night, she thought.
It didn't take long. Twenty-three enormous drinks later, and Link easily had Revali on the ropes. They'd moved their battle to a nearby table away from the bar, filling its surface with glass after glass much faster than the Rito waitresses could possibly remove them. A crowd had circled the young Hylian and his Rito opponent, cheering each one on and roaring with laughter at the entertainment. Revali was wavering, swaying back and forth in his seat, while Link only seemed slightly more red in the face for his troubles.
Link stared Revali down as they both received their twenty-fourth drinks, and he shrugged, gulping it down without a second thought. Revali did the same, holding the drink high up in the air, when suddenly he choked. The entire mug splashed down on his face, drenching him completely. He finally collapsed face-first into the table, sending several empty mugs cascading to the floor below. Link briefly held his fist up in triumph to cheers and adulation around him, but he quickly placed his hand back down and sighed.
It was, after all, mostly a pyrrhic victory. He actually found himself embarrassed to be seen in such a pitiful state in front of Mipha, though he was pretty much too far gone to do anything about it at this point. He hesitantly glanced through the crowds and over to the counter where she remained seated, expecting to see a piercing glare of disapproval from her.
But as he caught sight of her, he nearly dropped his glass to the floor in shock. She was seated there, red in the face, swaying ever-so slightly. A quick count of the drinking glasses surrounding her, and Link realized the Zora princess had actually somehow matched him drink-for-drink. And was currently in the process of ordering yet another.
She returned Link's glance, offered an uneven smile, then turned her attention to the next drink which was slammed on the counter in front of her. She held the large mug up in Link's direction in a mock toasting gesture, and Link returned the favor. As the group of onlookers dispersed from around him, Link began to stand up from his seat to make his way over to her. But much to his surprise, Revali twitched slightly, and began to rouse his head up from the table.
He's still alive?! Link thought.
"So tell me you… silly Hylian, - HIC - just…" he burped loudly. "Just... what is your… relationship with Mipha?"
Revali's slurred words finally betrayed his true intentions. Link realized that this had been the wily Rito's plan all along - to get him drunk enough to spill the beans on all his 'secrets,' probably to be used against him someday. Link grinned at this. Now it was his turn to finally mess with Revali.
Well, it seems the shoe is on the other... turntable, that's been... um... he shook his head in drunken confusion. Whatever.
"Oh, you know…" Link said. "She's just… someone I plan on eating alive later. I got… an appetite for fish after all."
Revali raised an eyebrow in confusion. Then he rubbed his temples absentmindedly. "Hold on a minute… so…you're..."
"What about you?" Link interrupted. "What's your story? Tell me... the most embarrassing experience... you've ever had." His words were surprisingly more slurred than he expected, but Revali seemed to understand him just fine. The Rito Champion grinned awkwardly, eager as always to share information about himself to anyone who asked.
"Well let me tell ya…" he slurred. "There was this one time... " Link spared a glance up at Mipha, then he shrugged. He decided he'd go over and talk later. They had all night, after all, so he could spare a few minutes.
He turned his head back up to Revali, who was rambling on with some story about soiling his pants when he attempted to pull the Master Sword several months prior. "And ya'know what," Revali said, "that was pretty... tough - HIC - to scrub out that night!"
Link smiled, sat back in his chair with his hands behind his head.
Yep, I think I can spare a few minutes indeed.
As Mipha sat idly, finishing her final drink for the evening, she saw a pair of Zora begin to make their way over to her from out of the corner of her eye. They quickly approached her and began to make small-talk. Based on their slurred accents, she figured they were likely from one of the rough-and-tumble domains out at sea.
The first one was tall, drunk, and ugly. A large scar was evident across his left eye, and he walked with a slight limp. She glanced over at his buddy, who wasn't much to look at himself.
Still analyzing… still judging… she thought. I really need to stop.
The scarred Zora seemed friendly enough at first. He ordered a drink for Mipha, which she politely declined. But as he slid the drink over to her, she could clearly see him swipe his hand over the top of the glass. A small bit of powder burst in the air above it, but quickly dissipated into the liquid below. She figured a less-observant Zora might have fallen for this blatant drugging attempt quite easily.
But she was, of course, chosen as the Zora Champion for a reason.
Mipha tightened the cords around her black hood in slight retreat. These guys weren't backing down, egging her to at least try the drink. Mipha finally appeared to relent, but her hand grazed the side of the glass, knocking it straight to the floor.
"Ah, my apologies-" she said, "allow me to clean that-"
Link looked away from the rambling Revali again, and finally noticed the pair of drunk Zora now accosting the Zora princess. There were several other mature Zora women around the pub, but he noticed they weren't getting nearly as much attention as Mipha seemed to be.
Seems she was right, Link thought to himself. Zoras do prefer sleeker builds after all…
A part of him wanted to move up and assist her, but he also knew she was quite capable of taking care of herself. So he decided that he'd just have to sit back and simply keep an eye on her for now. He took a sip from his mug, red faced and smiling. Revali, who had now dropped off the conversation after fading in and out of consciousness, noticed this and attempted to do the same. Despite being unable to even sit up straight at this point, he was not about the give up the fight. Where in... Hylia's name... is he putting all of this?! Revali thought angrily. He was dangerously nearing the blackout zone, but there was no way he was going to let this silly Hylian best him in a drinking contest of all things-
Link suddenly shot to his feet, knocking over his stool with a loud bang. Revali looked up and scowled himself. The first Zora, the one with the scar across his eye, had placed a hand on Mipha's thigh, moving in closer to whisper something to her. The look on the Zora princess's face indicated that she was not at all pleased with what she'd heard.
A cold, dead gaze suddenly settled in across Link's face. By this time, Revali had also unsteadily hopped on his feet, chugging the remains of his drink and slamming it on the table. Silently, he and Link spared a drunken glance at each other, nodded, and began to make their way over to Mipha with haste.
"Hey, where ya think yer goin, eh?" one of the Zoras said, pushing Mipha back down in her seat as she attempted to leave. "Can't leave 'til we figure out how yer gonna… make up for wastin' dat drink!" He winked at Mipha, who stared back with a bewildered expression. "Don't worry," he continued, "we'll take good care of ya. I gotta couple other ideas ya might be-"
"Excuse me." Feeling a tap on his shoulder, the scarred Zora spun around. Staring back at him was the source of the voice: one stone-faced, inebriated, blue-eyed Hylian.
"You've made a mistake." Link deadpanned.
"Huh?"
BLAM!
Link's fist slammed straight into the center of the Zora's face with the force of a cannon blast, knocking out several of his razor-like teeth and launching him clear over the counter into the liquor shelf behind him. Link struck him so hard that his long tailfin lashed back and whipped his buddy in the side of the head, sending him careening off in Revali's direction. Revali spun on his feet, landing a roundhouse kick in the second Zora's abdomen and dropping him to the floor in tremendous pain.
Noticing the commotion, a large group of the Zoras' friends swept in from around the bar and charged straight for Link and Revali, shouting obscenities as they approached. Link and Revali turned to face them, standing shoulder-to-shoulder in front of a bewildered Mipha.
"First one to get hit… loses…" Revali slurred. A punch nailed him in the side of his head the moment the words left his beak.
"Can't win 'em all I guess..." Link murmured back. His uppercut sent Revali's Hylian attacker sailing over a nearby table, and into a pair of aggressors barreling towards them. Revali kicked back up to his feet, slamming another attacker in the chest as he did. The pub's patrons began to whoop and holler as the fighting broke out. Noticing this, the house band began to play one of the more energetic songs in their repertoire to suit the mood. Daruk laughed loudly, turned, and shook his head at Urbosa. "Told ya," the Gerudo mouthed at him, as she continued to sing loudly along with the band, toasting with Daruk for good times.
Link and Revali got to work, fighting off roughly a dozen attackers of various races in a choreographed dance of incredible violence. Hylians, Rito, and Zora alike were numbered among the fighters, and they all seemed quite relentless in their attack. But it soon became abundantly clear that they stood no chance - even against a pair of severely drunken warriors.
Link took a staggered fighting stance, caught the kick of an attacking Rito, then countered with a sweeping kick of his own. Revali leapt over him, landing a haymaker in the face of the tripped Rito then spinning around with a back-winged strike on a nearby Zora fighter. Link blocked a punch from another Hylian nearby, twisted his arm awkwardly, then dislocated his elbow. He blocked another punch from a different Hylian fighter, only to catch a kick square to the side of his head from another. Link staggered to his left but recovered quickly. He lunged forward and tackled the Hylian into a table, knocking him out cold and splintering the table into hundreds of pieces.
"Link," Revali said. Link turned, just as Revali kicked another fighter in the rear, causing the man to stumble in Link's direction. Link leapt in place, landing a side-kick into the chest of the stumbling attacker and sending him back in Revali's direction. The Rito Champion quickly head-butted the man, finishing the job. Link and Revali nodded in respect at one another, then turned to resume their fighting.
The scene unfolding in the bar was absolute chaos. Bottles and glasses flew around the bar from patrons and attackers alike, and the rousing music only enhanced the frenetic mood. Link and Revali continued to work in-sync, making quick work of the fighters in their immediate vicinity and only absorbing a handful of strikes here and there. But before long, a loud female shout sounded out from the crowd.
"He's got a knife! Look out!" Behind the pair, the scarred Zora who had accosted Mipha earlier was lunging straight in Link's direction, ready to plant his blade in the small of Link's back. Revali noticed this, and prepared to hold him off when-
CRASH!
The scarred Zora suddenly launched backwards from his spot, flying through the large glass window next to the entrance of the pub. Link spun on his heels, eyes widening.
Mipha stood there, arms outstretched to her side at the tail end of a throwing motion. On her blushed face, she bore a cold, detached, dead expression that Link had never before seen on the small Zora princess. She glanced back at Link, raised her brow in acknowledgement, then leapt from her feet to land a flying kick into the face of the Zora's friend before diving through the shattered window after the first one.
Link prepared to chase after her, when another shout roared from behind the bar. "OUT! GET OUT!" It was the bar's owner: an angry, imposing goron. "I knew it was a mistake lettin' you scumbag Champions into my bar," he snarled. He drew a crossbow from under the bar, trained it directly at Revali. "You hurt my friends! I oughta kill ya where ya stand. OUT!"
Around Revali, several attackers began booing and jeering angrily.
"Yeah, get out ya losers! You ain't welcome here!"
"You're nothin' but garbage!"
"Champions? They're the Champions?"
"Yeah right, they ain't savin' nobody any time soon!"
"Has anyone… seen my teeth?"
Revali scowled. "Fine… by me!" He slurred, through his haze of drunkenness. He dropped the Rito fighter he'd been choking out, patting his hands together in exaggerated fashion. "I won't continue… - HIC- to service a place… that waits on degenerates like these guys anyway…" he kicked the Rito he dropped straight in the gut, then crossed his arms and sneered. "Isn't that... right Link?" He looked to his left to smile back at...
No one.
Outside the bar, Link rushed over to Mipha and the Zora she'd just thrown through the window. She was kneeled down on the man's chest, beating him senseless in the face with blow after blow. The Zora man was a bloody mess now, and Link actually felt a sense of pity for the poor guy. However small.
He approached Mipha, gently patting her on the head. Recognizing the gesture, she finally relented. She climbed to her feet, dusted her lap off, then stared up into Link's eyes. He could see the tears welling up in her face - not from fear or from sorrow, but from sheer rage.
"He was... trying to kill you," she stammered, "he was-"
"I know," Link muttered. He wanted so badly to hug her, to hold her close and calm her, but decided not to. "Are you… okay?"
She wiped the tears from her eyes, then smiled her usual gentle grin.
"Never better… though perhaps my… liver might not agree with the sentiment. And yourself?"
"Fine." He rubbed the side of his bleeding head, off which an errant glass bottle had ricocheted during the chaos. "But I… think we ought to head back to the castle… as soon as possible."
Mipha nodded at him, then briefly glanced back at the pub. The snarling statue of the Moblin's head stared back, as if it were attempting to scare them off itself. She paused for a moment, then sighed loudly.
"Did we... lose?" She slurred, turning back to Link. He stared after her for a minute, somberly. And then he spoke.
"No…" he finally said, averting his eyes. Behind him, Revali was tossed out of the pub like a bag of trash.
"...But I can't say that we won either."
The house band finished their show for the night, and a renewed sense of calm soon entered into the pub as workers began cleaning up the mess their recent 'guests' had left behind. Covered in sweat and grinning, Urbosa flopped herself at a table with Daruk, who sat on the ground to avoid breaking yet another chair.
"Nice job up there," Daruk said. "Seems you got the smooth voice of an Eldin Ostrich in those pipes of yours!"
"Not entirely sure that's a compliment," Urbosa said, wiping her brow with a cloth from her pocket. "But I appreciate it nonetheless!" She looked away for a second, then began to comment on the crazy scene from earlier. But she was rudely interrupted by one of the instigators nearby.
"Can you believe those guys?" the injured Rito said, hobbling up to take a seat at the same table. "The Champions ain't all they're cracked up to be, eh? Comin' in here and startin' a ruckus like that. But we took care of 'em just fine!"
Urbosa sipped from her Noble Pursuit, then shrugged. "I'm not pointing fingers… but it seems to me that they weren't the ones who started it."
Daruk pointed at the Rito's injured arm. "And it seems to me that you guys were the ones who got 'taken care of!'"
"Bah, who cares," the Rito said, flexing his busted shoulder. "This ain't the place for that either way. Don't need that kinda trouble…" He looked up, recognized Urbosa as the singer from earlier. "Really, we could use more people like you two in here! Just a couple regular folk out here to have a good time right?"
"Right…" said Daruk.
"Right..." said Urbosa.
The inebriated Rito raised his glass in Urbosa and Daruk's direction. "Forget the Champions!" he shouted. "Let them all die in the Calamity!"
"Yeaaaah!"
His friends all raised their glasses, echoing his toast. He stared at Daruk and Urbosa expectantly, and they both finally raised their glasses-
-and dumped their drinks on the surprised, sputtering Rito. They stood up, began to make their way to the exit.
"Keep the change!" Urbosa yelled to the bartender. "You'll need it for repairs, after all!" She turned her attention back to Daruk as they exited the doorway of the Merry Moblin, for the very last time. "Let's find a new place, hmm? Night's still young," she said. "I know of another pub, claims to serve a drink that will really rock your world, pardon the pun. That is, if you're up for the challenge!"
Daruk laughed loudly in response - mostly at her timely pun. He was a sucker for those.
"Promises, promises," he said, grinning back. "You're on."
"And... Muzu chased Sidon away... thinkin' it was 'im the entire time!" Mipha said, swaying and laughing.
Link laughed heartily in return, wiping a tear from his eye. "He always was pretty... salty, wasn't he?" he slurred. "Great job though. Seriously." He gave her a loose thumbs-up as he staggered forward with his steps.
"Well... I did learn... from the best after all," Mipha said with grin.
They were making their way across the bridge back to Hyrule Castle, joking and laughing on the way. On her face Mipha wore Link's fake moustache, having caused him to nearly die laughing the moment she stuck it on. He'd thought to ask her if Zora actually possessed anything equivalent to a nose, but had decided it wasn't an appropriate time to ask.
Behind the pair, Castle Town still burst with energy and life; but the two were more than happy to leave all the noise behind and finally get this blessed opportunity to enjoy each other's company uninhibited. The sound of music from a concert in the town square echoed faintly through the air, causing Mipha to smile warmly at her dear Hylian companion.
"I have a question for you… if you don't mind." She carefully tore the fake moustache from her face, tossing it into the moat below.
"Shoot."
"As you probably know… we Zora aren't much for dancing. From what I've observed… is it… quite popular among Hylians?"
Link shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose it is. I'm not particularly fond of it myself though. I have two left feet… and one of them is on backwards!"
Mipha giggled at Link. It was so great for her to see him back to his old self, even if it was only the result of a temporary drunken stupor. "I see. For us Zora… social events usually involve… synchronized swimming of some kind." She grinned slyly at Link. "But unfortunately, I have two left flippers!"
Link laughed at Mipha's joke in kind, much to her joy. She paused briefly before continuing. "Though I must say I do find dancing quite intriguing…"
Link said nothing, as they continued to make their way up the path back to Hyrule Castle. After a brief moment of silence, Mipha spoke again. "Link-" she began, reflecting vividly on all of the dancing couples back at the Merry Moblin Pub. The Hylian Champion turned his head her way, staring back with eyes so bright and loving-
...and so blue…
-causing Mipha to choke on her words for a second. The music from the square continued, the images of dancing couples still swirled around her mind. "I was…" she continued, "well, I was just… wondering... if perhaps you'd like to-"
"Ooooooohhhhhh," Revali moaned in pain behind them. He suddenly staggered over to the side of the bridge, puking up what remained of his drinks down into the moat below. Mipha stared after their fellow Champion with a look of genuine pity, sighing quietly as she did.
"We… really ought to... help 'im the rest of the way," Mipha muttered.
Link shrugged. "Sure."
Revali was petulant and self-absorbed, insufferably so. His very presence was often a source of tension and irritation for the two of them. But he was still their comrade. And as demonstrated by his actions tonight, he was indeed an honorable man at his core. Even if his intentions were always so painfully obvious...
Together, Link and Mipha each grabbed one of Revali's wings and propped him up on their shoulders. With their welcomed assistance, he began to limp his way up the winding mountain road leading back to the guest suites of the castle.
"This reminds me of... your first stay back at the domain… all those years ago…" Mipha said. Link noticed she hardly struggled with Revali's weight on her shoulders. He supposed it should have been no surprise, given how incredibly strong of a swimmer she was. "I can swim much faster than any of you!" Link chuckled slightly at the memory.
"How so?" he asked her.
"Well… after every one of my father's... infamous banquets…" she mumbled, "it seems there was… always the inevitable soldier who… overdid the liquor a bit. Usually Seggin…"
Link burst out laughing. "That's right…" he said, glancing at Revali's face for a second. "...Although, we didn't usually have to dodge their projectile vomit… when we helped them get around."
Mipha giggled, but said nothing. She offered to heal Revali in order to at least minimize the damaging effects of alcohol on his thin body, but he outright refused. Seemed he was still far too proud to look weak in front of anybody.
"We're probably… going to be reprimanded by the king for causing a scene before his big event…" Link muttered.
"Well that's hardly unusual for us..." Mipha said. "Back at the domain it… seemed like we always got in trouble together… at every turn!" She paused for a moment in contemplation. "I… miss those times."
Link shrugged. "Well if I have anything to say about it," he said, grinning, "there will be... plenty more times like that to come. Once this is all over."
Mipha smiled back, and a brief lull in the conversation set in as they drew closer to the entrance to the guest suites of Hyrule Castle. Revali was now entirely passed out on their shoulders, snoring loudly as they carried him along. Another innocent question, born of simple curiosity, was lingering heavily on the tip of Mipha's tongue. So she finally just spit it out.
"Link… tell me… about your recent travels." Mipha said. "What do you think… of the princess?"
Link raised an eyebrow at her sudden bluntness. "The princess huh? Well…" He paused. "To be frank... she's amazing. She's loyal, joyful, warm, and... incredibly kind." Link looked straight at Mipha and smiled. "I have never met anyone like her... in my entire life. I can safely say, that she's become... quite dear to me."
Mipha nodded. "I… see. Thank you for being so honest." Somewhat crestfallen, she began to regret asking him the question in the first place. But Link's next words caused her to immediately reverse her opinion. She blushed profusely, due only in small part to her inebriated state.
"Hmmm? Oh... it's no problem at all," Link said. "…Princess."
They eventually made it back to the royal guest suites, Revali in-tow. They were quite grateful that he was passed out, as his moaning would likely have woken up half the castle. After placing him in his bed with a glass of water, Link took the time to escort Mipha to her own room.
They entered in, and Mipha spun around on her heels to stare up at Link. She smiled, then pulled him into a hug - one which she held for perhaps a little bit too long. Not that he seemed to mind. Finally, they pulled away. Link turned to leave Mipha's room, shutting the door quietly behind him. He stood there for a couple of minutes, just staring through the common room at the open window in front of them. I'll give those guards a piece of my mind about those windows later, he thought to himself.
He continued to stand there for some time, in quiet contemplation, before finally making his decision. He took a deep breath, turned to face the door, and grabbed the knob to push it open again. As the door swung open, he flinched mildly. Mipha was still standing there, having taken a deep breath of her own before attempting to pull the door open herself.
They stood there and stared at each other for a moment.
Then they burst out in awkward laughter.
"There's still… something we haven't done yet…" Mipha said, shyly.
She quickly pulled Link back into the room and shut the door behind her.
"You were right about that drink," Daruk said. "I think it actually might have made me tingle a little bit on the inside..."
"Ha, well, I'm glad it wasn't a complete disappointment after all!" Urbosa said, as she swung open the door to the royal guest suites. "Thanks for the fun night!."
"Don't mention it," Daruk whispered, as they carefully made their way through the common room to their respective suites. They walked quietly, the silence utterly deafening as they took their careful steps. But they both paused as they passed Mipha's room.
Did they hear… grunting? Quiet voices reverberated from the room's interior. Female and male. Daruk and Urbosa glanced at each other awkwardly.
"We'd... better leave them alone." Daruk said. They both nodded at each other, then slowly began to walk off in the direction of their respective rooms...
"…Wait…"
They both backpedaled to the door in a flash, pressing their heads against it in order to hear better.
"This is wrong," Daruk whispered.
"I know. Isn't it great?" Urbosa whispered back.
Quiet voices continued to emanate from inside of Mipha's room...
"No no Link… you're gripping way too tight. A bit gentler, if you please."
"Why? It feels so much more natural this way…"
"I've told you many times before… you mustn't force things. Just flow with me…"
"Mmmmm...You're right. Okay…."
Their voices drifted off suddenly, forcing Urbosa and Daruk to lean in even further in order to hear them. It seemed Link and Mipha were speaking to each other in quiet whispers now, perhaps hoping not to draw attention to their… extracurricular activities-
CRUNCH!
The door suddenly exploded inward, ripping off the hinges at the force of the combined weight of Daruk and Urbosa. They both toppled into the room, quickly scrambling to their feet and shielding their eyes.
"Sorry, sorry!" they said. "We didn't mean to-"
"What's wrong?" Link asked, eyebrow raised.
"Can we help you?" Mipha asked. The look on her face was one of pure, sincere innocence.
Daruk and Urbosa slowly uncovered their eyes, then exhaled in disappointment. Link and Mipha stood in the center of the suite, each clutching tipless spears as they practiced combat maneuvers together.
"Sorry, we uh... just thought…." Daruk said, "Well, with the sounds… that perhaps you were doing something a little more-"
Link glanced over at Mipha with a bemused smile, and he suddenly burst out laughing. After a few seconds, even Mipha herself giggled a bit at this.
Urbosa and Daruk stared awkwardly for a while, then calmly backed out of the room, picking up the door and quietly attempting to shut it behind them.
The intruders now departed, Link and Mipha quicky got back to work.
It was now four o'clock in the morning, just an hour or so before sunrise. Link found himself waking up on the floor of Mipha's suite, right next to her bed. He exhaled deeply in surprise, but quickly calmed down. He hadn't intended on falling asleep there of course - after all, their combat practice was meant to be quite brief. But their long conversations had carried on deep into the night. Just as they always had, an entire lifetime ago.
Above him the Zora princess slept soundly on her side, arm loosely dangling down in Link's direction below. He stared up at her for a moment, admiring the quiet stillness of her moonlit face. Then he reached up to gently squeeze her hand. He could have sworn a smile grew on her face as he did, but he figured he was just imagining things.
He climbed to his feet and rolled Mipha over onto her back. He grabbed her blankets, which lay askew next to her, and carefully pulled them over her to tuck her in for the short remainder of night that was left. Quickly gathering his things, he began to creep carefully out of Mipha's room, hoping not to draw anyone's attention with his departure. The last thing he wanted was for his fellow Champions to get suspicious of his overnight presence.
It was a struggle, attempting to open the door silently after Daruk and Urbosa's destructive entry before, but he somehow managed. As he began to exit the doorway, a quiet voice sounded out from the bed behind him
"Link…" Mipha mumbled.
He froze. His head turned back to the half-asleep Mipha, and he smiled warmly.
"I'm here." He said. "What is it?" He trained his ear attentively to her words, which carefully left her lips with just short of a whisper. "Someday, Link…" she began, hesitating briefly in her languid state. "...Would you like to… dance with me?"
Link stared back at Mipha's bed, right into her piercing yellow eyes which cut brilliantly through the darkness as always. And he grinned back at her.
"It would be... my pleasure, Lady Mipha." He shut the broken door carefully behind him, as a sighing Mipha wrapped herself tightly under the warm blankets, melting contentedly into the mattress of her bed.
"This is fantastic! Thank you all for coming! We hope you enjoyed the parade! Up next, we have our weapons demonstration, featuring high-tech weaponry developed by the one and only Sheikah Tribe!"
Ever one for the spotlight, Purah relished this opportunity to act as the master of ceremonies for the Champion Celebration. She smiled widely at the crowd, whose lukewarm response hardly filled her with any sort of confidence. She turned to face the Champions behind her.
"This is a disaster!" she said, through her ear-to-ear grin.
"You're telling me…" Urbosa said, rubbing the side of her head absentmindedly. Her migraine had yet to go away, and it showed in her body language. Seemed the Noble Pursuits she consumed the previous night hadn't been as up to snuff as she'd originally thought.
But it was true - the Celebration had been a complete mess thus far. Not only had the parade been disorderly and disorganized, but it seemed word of the Champion's activities the previous night had quickly spread like wildfire through the populace. Thousands of people were gathered in the stands surrounding the imperial training grounds, many of which offered loud jeers and insults at the Champions as they passed by in the earlier parade's congregation.
The weapons demonstration, now in full-swing, was going well enough at least. Though this phase of the celebration only featured Hyrule's finest soldiers, wielding their newly-developed Royal Guard weapons courtesy of the Sheikah. Their forms were a bit awkward and sloppy, but Link quickly barked orders at his men, whipping them into shape in the eleventh hour as they snapped to attention and smoothed out their otherwise dull performance. The crowd roared in cheers at Link's command, and Mipha had found herself happy that he was at least getting the respect he deserved - even if a few boos still permeated the audience here and there.
Up above the main stage at the center of the grounds, King Rhoam frowned at the scene. He'd already chewed out the Champions severely for their disrespect shown during their night on the town. He was especially furious at his daughter Zelda for condoning their improper behavior, and had informed the Champions that he would expect better of them during the Ceremony.
So far, he was rightfully displeased.
And to top everything off…the Rito Champion Revali was missing in action. He'd already been absent for the parade, and now was still nowhere to be seen during the weapons demonstration. And with the main act about to start - the Champion's sparring session - his absence was becoming all the more obvious.
"Line up!" General Krant barked at his men. Link cringed internally at the snarling voice of his senior. He knew that of all the people there, Krant was likely the most embarrassed with what he was witnessing thus far. The Hylian soldiers all took their formation in a multilayered circle around the Champions, who began to line up in front of each other. With Revali gone, Link was forced to take his place as Mipha's first sparring partner-
"Begin!"
-But at the very least, this meant that their practice in the wee hours of the morning hadn't been a waste after all.
They quickly launched into their battle, Link versus Mipha, Daruk versus Urbosa. It was slow-going at first, especially in the case of Daruk and Urbosa. Despite their natural chemistry as friends, it seemed their fighting styles did not at all complement each other. Though it was a non-contact spar, they frequently made contact anyway, knocking each other around and producing a handful of minor injuries in each other. Nonetheless, the crowd seemed to be quite pleased with this development.
Meanwhile, it was Link and Mipha who truly stole the show. Despite having likely drank more alcohol the previous night than the entire crowd combined, Link and Mipha still managed to salvage their sparring performance in the most brilliant of ways. They flipped and dove and spun, feeding off each other in a delicate dance of spearplay. Their strikes barely missed the mark, intentionally, producing oohs and ahs from the the now-jubilant crowd.
Their show of talent truly captivated the stunned audience - especially once Link drew the legendary Master Sword from his back. His spar with Mipha continued, and this time it was clear that she was outmatched. In this simulation, Link landed numerous killing blows on his Champion counterpart, and Mipha found that she simply could not keep up with him - even at her peak of spearmanship. He was a prodigy, a genius at his craft.
And she adored him all the more for it.
The sparring demonstration began to come to a close, but the cheers and shouts in support of Link and Mipha quickly morphed back into jeers and cries of anger. A dark silhouette appeared against the sun, making its way quickly to the site of the Champion Celebration.
It was Revali, flying crookedly through the air as he descended abruptly towards the center of the Imperial Grounds. He mistimed his landing badly, however, and collided forcefully with the ground in a tremendous crash landing that produced peals of laughter from the populace.
The boos continued in earnest, especially from the witnesses of the barfight the previous night, as Revali limped over to where Mipha and Link stood. They were still in shock at Revali's dramatically ill-timed arrival.
"This is your fault!" Revali said, pointing at Link. "If you hadn't overdone it last night, as I should have expected you would, I wouldn't have found myself fighting just to drag myself out of the bed this morning!" Mipha scowled at Revali. After all they'd done for him… this was how he treated them? She began to open her mouth to defy his accusation, when the King suddenly stood up in his chair, shushing the crowd. The Champions quickly reassembled, taking a knee in front of the King.
"It is my sincere hope… that you have all enjoyed today's demonstration. Minor quirks and all!" The crowd laughed in response to the king's jovial mood, which was clearly masking the internal rage boiling inside him.
"And with that, I turn it over one last time to our delightful hostess, Purah…"
"Thank you, my liege!" Purah shouted, moving back to the center of the stage. "We have… one more surprise for you~!" She winked at the crowd, then pointed to the north entrance of the Imperial Grounds. "If you would all please turn your attention to the north gate, we Sheikah have prepared something…. ~special~ for your entertainment. So without further ado, I-"
SHOOM!
A massive blast of superheated plasma shot through the air just above Purah, melting her hair tie. Her hair exploded outwards around her shoulders as she hit the deck, staring up at the source of the blast, which had exploded off the walls of the Imperial Grounds behind her. Large chunks of stone shot out from the impact point, injuring several people and causing an incredible frenzy.
"Take cover! It's out of control!" Robbie shouted from the north gate. The Champions all looked up at the north entrance, and there they saw it - the guardian stalker that the Sheikah had been working on yesterday. Its long, segmented legs scrambled around the ground frenetically as it barreled its way directly towards the Champions. Its malfunctioning singular eye flashed blue and red in a strobe effect, its head swiveled to and fro as it scanned the area around it and prepared to charge up yet another laser blast in order to incinerate every perceived enemy in its vicinity. The thousands of people numbered in the crowd began to cry out in shock and fear, scrambling around to either depart swiftly, or to get a closer look. Sheikah attendants immediately grabbed King Rhoam and Princess Zelda, dragging them back towards the audience in a hasty retreat. The Sheikah Poet himself grabbed Zelda's hand as he guided her towards the nearest exit. But she let go, refusing to simply abandon her fellow Champions out on the battlefield.
"Where in Hylia's name are you going?!" the poet called after her.
"To help my friends!" Zelda responded. She pulled up the lower half of the skirt of her dress, and began to run towards the Champions, while the frightened poet could do nothing more than look on in wonder. Zelda linked up with Purah, and together they began to sprint full-on in the direction of Hyrule's finest warriors...
"Daruk!" Urbosa cried out.
"On it!" he replied. He dove between the Champions and the charging guardian, holding his hands out as if preparing to catch the robot himself. The guardian quickly unleashed its incredible laser blast, training it directly at Daruk. In a split second, Daruk smashed his fists together, producing his trademark red force field around himself. The guardian's blast ricocheted off the shield, then straight into the sky above. The plasma blast burned a hole through the clouds above them in a puff of steam.
With this deflection, all of the Champions sprung into action. Revali crouched on the ground, producing a whirlwind around himself through which he rocketed to the sky, raining bomb arrows on the now-confused guardian stalker.
Link, Mipha, and Urbosa took a shoulder-to-shoulder fighting formation behind Daruk, who immediately charged after the guardian, colliding with it forcefully and pushing it back several yards. He began to lay into the thing, denting its surface with his powerful strikes-
"Don't destroy it!" Robbie yelled from nearby. "That's precious technology!"
"Well, what do you expect me to do?!" Daruk yelled back.
"Just… hold it off I guess-WHOA!"
The guardian fired a laser straight at Robbie, cratering the ground just a foot away from him. Eyes wide, he immediately took cover within the hole.
The guardian then focused its attention on the trio of Urbosa, Link, and Mipha in front of it. It went completely berserk, flailing its legs about in front of itself in an effort to slice its new targets into ribbons. The trio fanned out, parrying every single strike from the razor-sharp legs of the stalker in near-perfect sync, wowing the crowd with their skill.
As the whole thing played out, the audience members who had attempted to depart began filling the stands again. Even the angry, jeering bargoers from the previous night found themselves filled with pride and excitement as the Champions worked together to save them all from this violent, rampaging mechanical beast.
Meanwhile, the stalker had lost interest in Daruk and Revali, who used the opportunity to strike. Daruk, in anger, charged the stalker once more, grabbing one of its back legs and pulling hard. His grip was so strong that he inadvertently tore the entire leg off, sending him rolling backwards towards Robbie. Above him, Revali soared down and hovered above the stalker as it charged up yet another laser blast. He drew a regular arrow from his quiver, nailing the thing dead in the eye and disabling its laser temporarily. However, this only bid them a few seconds of time to get into position for their counter-attack.
It was enough. Link and Mipha lined up behind Urbosa as the guardian quickly recovered to charge up its next strike.
"Steady… steady…." Urbosa said. "NOW!" The laser blast rocketed from the eye of the guardian, straight in Urbosa's direction. With perfect timing, she used her Daybreaker shield to deflect the blast right past the guardian towards Daruk. Seeing the blast heading his way, Daruk used his shield to deflect the blast one more time. The plasma struck the guardian from behind, knocking it into a forward roll onto its back. Revali flew down to the ground, creating another gale in front of Link and Mipha, who had leapt past Urbosa for the next strike. Link took the lead, spinning on his heels and onto his back with his legs in the air. Mipha leapt onto his feet, and Link kicked her high up into the whirlwind, which launched Mipha into the air just above the guardian. With her gleaming Lightscale Trident, Mipha crouched in midair, aiming the tip of her weapon straight at the guardian's eye. She buried her trident deep in the robot's lethal optics, disabling it for good-
-Or so she thought. The guardian wasted zero time recovering, climbing to its feet rapidly and spinning its head, launching Mipha off at high speed. Fortunately, Link was there to catch her, and the two stood side-by-side, weapons in-hand, as they stared down this mechanical beast that was beginning to seem utterly invincible-
"Urbosa!" The Champions all turned to the sound of Zelda's voice. She and Purah were running after them as fast as possible, producing a cry of shock and worry to the public.
"Urbosa, your lightning!" she continued. "You have to use it!"
"Huh?" Urbosa said. "This thing is practically indestructable… what's that gonna do?" She looked up, parried yet another laser blast skyward. Mipha and Link continued to block strikes from the stalker's legs, Revali rained arrows from above, and Daruk tugged at the thing from behind in a fruitless effort to slow it down.
"It's weak against electricity!" Purah explained, as she and Zelda finally ran alongside Urbosa. "You'll fry its circuity with your attack! Do it now-"
"Wait!" Robbie cried out. "All that work… Urbosa, please reconsider- WAH!" Another laser blast nearly struck Robbie again as he took cover in his hole.
Urbosa frowned solemnly at the Sheikah scientist, placing her hand on her hips.
"Sorry Robbie," she said, whipping her hair back and snapping her fingers. "Safety first."
A massive bolt of lightning struck down from the heavens, zapping the guardian and frying it from the inside-out. It sputtered and twitched, gears grinding loudly inside its tough chassis, before exploding violently in a ball of fire. The spectacle produced a cry of celebratory cheers from the audience, who began to flood the imperial training grounds to congratulate their Champions.
Hearing the ruckus, King Rhoam quickly returned to the stage from his hiding place. And he beamed. He watched as each Champion was hoisted into the air by the crowd, paraded around with glee to the sound of chanted names and joyful cheers.
"Well... this wasn't quite how I expected this to play out…" he said, smiling. "But I suppose if this is what we can expect from our Champions… perhaps Hyrule has nothing to fear after all!"
Nearby, the Sheikah Poet finally caught up with Princess Zelda in the crowd. He attempted to ask her if she was all right, but she was entirely distracted by the scene in front of her. She stared carefully straight ahead of her, right at the Hylian Champion, who found himself bashfully tossed through the sea of people. His arm was linked loosely with the Zora Princess, who herself appeared quite humbled by all the attention they were receiving.
The poet frowned. He had seen the way Link and Mipha seemed perfectly in sync during the Champion celebration, their bond quite evident to anyone with the incredible attention to detail that he possessed. Yet Princess Zelda continued to stare after her Hylian Knight in wonder, tearfully smiling with her own observation of the subtly close bond between him and Lady Mipha. She found herself acknowledging the sobering realization… that she could never in a hundred years hope to even touch such a bond herself.
The poet's heart broke instantly for Zelda in that very moment. Because he also realized… that no matter what, his dear princess was going to continue loving that ignorant Hylian miscreant just the same.
Once the Celebration ended, the Champions all gathered in a small stone gazebo just outside of Hyrule Castle. It was the mid-afternoon now, and they were spending one last moment together with Link and Zelda as they prepared to set off on their first mission without them.
"I tell ya, those formal shindigs really take it outta me," Daruk said. Link stared blankly at Daruk. I don't know if I'd call that whole thing a 'shindig…' he thought, but I suppose in a sense, it was certainly a lively party just the same…
"Hmmph, so this is the Sheikah Slate, eh?" Said Revali, nearby. He held the small slate between the fingers of his large wings, examining it closely. This was the first time he'd had a chance to really look at the thing up-close, so he thought he'd take the opportunity to see just what it could do.
"It is," Zelda said. "Apparently there are more uses for it than we originally thought. Sadly, we've yet to decipher all of its secrets…"
Revali dropped the slate in Mipha's hands, giving her a chance to look over it herself. She'd seen the thing earlier, as Zelda had used it to diagnose issues with Vah Ruta during her last trip to the domain. But this was the first time she'd actually gotten to hold it. It was surprisingly light, in contrast with its heavy stone-like appearance.
"The princess showed me something strange recently," Urbosa said, leaning her head to view the slate in Mipha's hands. "Somehow, it can create true-to-life images…"
"Oh wow," Mipha said, quietly. "I would love to see it." She stared up at Zelda with a look of curious wonder. "Um, princess… May I ask a special favor of you?"
She turned to glance at Link behind her, and the other Champions followed suit. They knew precisely what she was thinking. With Link and Zelda's departure from the group, it would be nice if they all could get a picture together. Something for the two to remember them by in the coming weeks.
A few moments later, the Champions found themselves all gathered in a small group, side-by-side. Purah stood in front of them with the Sheikah Slate in hand, as she attempted to frame everyone into the shot.
"All right!" she said. "This spot should work nicely! Keep your eyes on the Sheikah Slate, everyone~!"
Revali stood on the far left of the image, followed by Urbosa. Both of their arms were crossed as they attempted to look as intimidating as possible for the shot. The massive Daruk filled in the entire background, while Link stood to the back left of Zelda, who herself stood in the center of the shot. Mipha stood nervously on the far right, slowly shuffling in closer and closer to Link, but hesitating in her efforts.
"Daruk, can you crouch down a bit?" Purah asked. "You're as big as Death Mountain!"
"Oh…" Daruk carefully squatted down, as the Champions turned to look up at him.
"What's with the glum face, princess?" Purah teased. "Gimme a big smile!" Urbosa placed a comforting hand on Zelda, knowing she was feeling quite saddened by her upcoming fruitless trip to Akkala with Link. As everyone was distracted by Zelda, Mipha took the opportunity to hobble ever so slightly closer to Link's side.
"Revali, move your tail closer to the group…"
"Ugh, fine!" he scoffed.
"Mipha, you look so tense! Deep breaths, okay?"
"Right!" she held her hands up to her chest, breathing deeply as she tried to let go of her anxiety. She'd never done anything like this before, and really had no idea what to expect. Her close proximity to Link also made her a bit nervous, as the two of them attempted to appear mostly indifferent to each other's presence in front of the others.
"Stay just like that! Here we go!" Purah messed with the zoom functionality of the slate, framing in the shot as perfectly as she could.
"Smiiiiile…." The entire group began to grin awkwardly, and Purah finally took the snapshot with her classic gesture-
"Click, snap~!"
At the very last minute, Daruk reached out with his enormous arms, pulling all the Champions close together in a tight embrace. And just like that, they'd taken the most awkward photograph the Sheikah Slate had ever snapped.
"And that's that!" Purah said. "Thanks everyone!" She winked at them all, before tossing the slate back into Zelda's hands. Revali turned and scoffed at Daruk's previous gesture, while Link and Mipha blushed mildly, having rubbed up against each other quite suggestively due to the goron's efforts.
"I'll be seeing you all at the Great Plateau soon!" Purah said. She turned to Zelda. "And you as well, Princess. I'm looking forward to our research!"
She took her leave, and the other Champions quickly turned to Zelda in a state of confusion. She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, a gesture that she'd picked up from all her travels with Link. "Right…" she said. "So it appears… that there's been a change of plans. Due to a last-minute decision, Link and I shall be accompanying you all on your upcoming assignment after all…"
"What?!"
Off to the side and out-of-sight, Mipha couldn't help but grin at this revelation. It seemed that in the end... she'd get her chance to spend more time with Link after all. She looked over at the Hylian Champion, who briefly returned her stare, bearing a small smile of his own. As usual, it seemed they were both thinking the same thing at the same time...
The dream faded, as it always did. This time, quick and seamlessly. The orange glow of the afternoon Hyrulian sun faded to the blue darkness of the Gerudo Desert night, as Link felt himself grasping, reaching for anything to pull him back into this wonderful vision-
Link glanced around the moonlit room, located deep inside the guest suites of Gerudo Palace. He took a deep, tearful breath, as he poured through these newly recovered memories which overloaded his emotions - as they so often did.
Suddenly, a chime rang out from the Sheikah Slate, which was propped on his bedside near him. He turned on the screen, and saw a blinking icon he'd never seen before. After tapping it, a series of words flooded the screen.
'From Purah' the letters said. 'Link, I was recently perusing the photo archives of my slate, when I found something you might find… intriguing, to say the least. I've attached it to this message. Enjoy!~
-Your snappy friend, ~Purah~'
Another blinking icon was present at the end of the message, which Link tapped with haste. Immediately, a picture filled the screen of his slate causing Link to cover his mouth in surprise. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes as he scanned the image before him.
It was the very picture the Champions had taken together, over one hundred years ago. Purah's timing could not have been better if she'd tried.
Link's fingers traced the screen of the slate, eventually stopping at the image of Mipha. It couldn't compare to the vividness through which he recalled her in his visions… but for now, it was certainly enough. He sat there, staring at Mipha for what felt like an eternity. But the tears quickly stopped.
He powered off the slate, staring up at the bright, glowing moon above him.
Hope sure looks pathetic in hindsight... doesn't it? he thought to himself.
Yet despite his sorrow, a small ember of hope was still growing inside his chest anyway. A feeling of light and happiness gently eased its way into his very soul, comforting him. Empowering him. He hadn't truly felt this way since before his encounter with Mipha's spirit back inside of Vah Ruta.
"Somehow…" he finally said out loud, to nobody in particular. His classic, boylike grin, seemingly lost in the throes of sobering adulthood, etched its way across his face.
"Somehow, some way, Mipha… We will find a way to be together again."
"I swear it."
Shout-out to OnePunchFan for lending me the idea of the "princess" conversation.
This was, without a doubt, the funnest chapter I have ever written. I unleashed everything I had onto it, emotionally. And I hope you all had as much fun reading it as I did writing! It's also, at nearly 13000 words, the longest chapter so far to boot. So much for pacing myself!
Anyway, we now find ourselves entering the Goron arc. And the roller coaster ride that is season two continues in earnest, with Chapter 31: Rivers and Homes, coming at you soon.
Thanks, as always, for reading.
