Hyrule under Fire

Knightfall

Arn forced his eyes open, partly recovering. He watched several figures leap from above.

The newcomers were men and women, all with white hair and red eyes, wearing partial armor here and there. Each wielded an odachi, though each also had a wakizashi sheathed across the lower back.

"Shadow Folk!" a rebel hissed, his comrades uneasy.

The King stepped next to the central Sheikah. "About time you have come! What has become of my wife and daughter?"

The Sheikah woman kept her eyes closed. Once opened, she and the other Sheikah turned to His Majesty, their swords glimmering. The Royal Guards shivered in their armor.

The King's eyes narrowed. "Impa... Why? What are you doing!?"

"Thwarting your destiny, of course... King William."

"I defy such destiny," the King assured.

One of the Sheikah stood beside Impa, gripping his sword. "Karera o utte mo ī nodesu ka?"

Impa nodded.

He beckoned. "Sā, haitte, hitori nokorazu uchitore!" Many more Sheikah leapt from above, laughing as they surrounded the King's men; fighting commenced.

The Royal Guards near their king hopelessly engaged their Sheikah foes, Impa standing back to observe, arms crossed.

Arn's sword swung into a Sheikah man's mighty blade, edges grinding against each other. The Sheikah pushed his sword against Arn's, lowering the weakened Hylian. Arn tilted his blade, letting his foe's blade slide down; Arn rammed his pommel into the Sheikah's mouth, knocking out several teeth and staggering him.

The Sheikah regained himself and swung, Arn blocking the attack with his shield then thrusting—the Sheikah leapt over and, staying mid-air, repeatedly whirled his odachi, denting Arn's helm and nearly toppling him.

Two other Sheikah slew their opposing Royal Guards and charged Arn as he shielded from the mid-air blows of his previous attacker.

Arn dodged a mid-air swing and leapt underneath the floating Sheikah, throwing his shield at a charging attacker. Arn grabbed the floating Sheikah's leg, "Gotcha!" and slammed him into the other incoming Sheikah.

Arn dove upon them, plunging his sword through both. "Back to the darkness for you two!" He ripped his sword out them and engaged the third Sheikah, their blades colliding then crossing into a bind. Blades still crossed, Arn grabbed his foe's sword then headbutted her, helm wetly cracking her forehead open, the ensuing slash toppling her.

Rebels swarmed the defenders and flanked Arn, though the mass of bodies only interrupted the Sheikah's effectiveness, squishing many together. Tottered by the avalanche of overeager men, Arn walked backwards while continuously swinging his sword low, every swing chopping the legs of several men and they cascaded over themselves, trampled by frenzied comrades behind.

"Away with you all!" the King shouted as he stabbed his claymore into the floor, the ensuing shockwave blasting away most rebels, though the Sheikah cartwheeled to avoid the blast radius.

The few remaining knights and guards reformed amid the King's opening. Sheikah threw their wakizashis into visors and gaps of armors then overpowered the already severely injured men. Having cleared the King's immediate personnel, the rest preoccupied with rebels, the Sheikah leapt towards him.

"Careless!" The King of Hyrule counter charged, big belly ploughing through the Sheikah, Royal Claymore flourishing aside all foes in his wake.

Arn and two knights slipped into the clearing created by the King, fighting many Sheikah at once. After a vicious exchange, the Sheikah flipped into the air, throwing wakizashis into the holes of Arn's damaged armor, handles sticking out. Stabbed in multiple places, he fell to a knee while the two knights limply hit the floor, Sheikah blades hilt-deep in the eye slits of their visors.

The guard captain grunted, blood leaking from his mouth and down his pincushioned breastplate. Using his sword as a support, he weakly yet steadily picked himself up.

"Whyyy...won't...you...DIE!?" Impa growled. She gestured at the rebels. "Shut what's left of the double doors! Make sure no one escapes!" The rebels obeyed.

The King battled several foes then spun around. "Arn!" He ran towards his friend though the Sheikah threw short blades at the King. He skidded onto his knee. "RRRAGHH!" He ripped his coat off, fabric pulling out the blades stuck in his body, bloodied robe flopping over, stuck blades clinking.

Taking his own crown off, the King used it to bat aside thrown wakizashis while parrying others with his claymore one-handed, though the Sheikah kept leaping in his way, so he kept fighting.

Battered in all directions, Arn stayed on his feet no matter how much he swayed from repeat blows, haphazardly swinging at the Sheikah, his armor mapped with blades sticking from the dents and cracks, blood trickling out with every heartbeat.

I can't feel my legs...or arms... Do not give up, Arnold... He fought on regardless, moving more like a ReDead, barely able to keep his arms up.

With a furious growl, the King batted aside his many attackers and another blinding flash stunned him. He covered his face, eyes erupting with pain. He swung his claymore in all directions, so that although blinded, the constant movement kept foes at bay and deflected their attacks.

Notwithstanding the agonies of death, Arn endured continuous blows and headed to the King. A few knights and Royal Guards in the same situation and Arn staggered through the Sheikah, the pincushioned men backing up to their King in a last attempt to help him, but were nevertheless knocked down by odachi.

His Highness swept aside a cluster of Sheikah, gasping when he saw the condition of his last defenders—or lack thereof. Claymore gripped tightly and glowing blue, the King gritted his teeth. "I made a promise..."

Whoever stepped in the way of His Majesty was scythed down; innumerable flashes went off simultaneously, stunning the King.

Impa stepped forth, odachi raised as the King's swollen eyes partly opened. He gasped, Royal Claymore raised as Impa's greatsword slammed upon it, edges of both weapons grinding until they sparked.

The King frowned. "Such bloodthirsty malevolence."

"This is the end of you!" Impa snarled. She grabbed the King's sword and wrenched it aside, many Sheikah encircling the King, ready for one final, simultaneous attack.

The King of Hyrule calmly breathed. "So be it."

Impa slammed into the floor.

His Majesty stepped back as many kunais whizzed through the air, spiking into the Sheikah and exploding, blasting them away. Other Sheikah advanced but they flinched when a naginata thrown from above stabbed into the floor.

The King's eyes widened as a woman straightened herself. "...Impa?"

"I was busy saving the queen and princess from Sir Châtel's rebel knights. We came back as quickly as we could." She stepped off the one she had landed on, picking up the Royal Claymore. "Sorry I kept you waiting." She handed the King his greatsword and a vial of Blue Potion, then pulled her naginata out the floor.

Many Sheikah glided down from above, swooping upon those below, throwing explosive kunais and dispatching their targets, nearby rebels no exception.

Confusion rippled throughout the insurgency. The remaining Shadow Folk were halved, one with the rebels, the others with the King.

The Sheikah handed vials of Blue Potion to surviving guards, helping regain some strength.

Impa pulled Arn up, her face concerned. "Arn, how are you…even alive?"

Arn weaky smiled, teeth red with blood. "My heart is quite a container."

Impa's eyebrows raised. "Yes, I can see that. Nevertheless, here, take this…" She handed him a vial of Blue Potion. He drank, some wounds healing.

"Ughhwoheihihshigmuagahyeeeyawahhh—"

Arn, Impa and the King turned their heads, wondering where the exasperation came from.

Smoke puffed, cards fluttered.

"—heh-heh-heh heh heh..." The strange person, head to toe in an odd guise too awkward for description, was on all fours, coughing. With a raspy voice, he threatened, "You've got ssome nnerve…" He partly lifted himself. "Thinking you can go toe to toe with—" Back on his feet, his hands clapped shut. "MASTER KOHGA!"

...

Onlookers blinked once, twice.

Impa raised an eyebrow.

"Who the hell's that?" a castle guard mumbled.

"I'll show you…" Growling, Kohga interlaced his bottom few fingers then thrust his compressed hands forth. "Huhyyeeuyee…"

Sparky blasts lined behind the pot-bellied master, laughing assassins appearing, smaller yet athletic versions of him wielding spiky sickles. All the rebel Sheikahs transformed into such figures as well, leaping out to rejoin their true brethren, leaving the rebellious mob dumbstruck.

The Top Banana swung his arms into a defensive pose. "Hihwrrrahahhh!" Cards fluttered, the floor rumbling. The master cocked his head, flower-like hairdo tilting. "Hm? Wait…what's that?"

Onlookers and assassins alike were wary as the castle shook. Everyone spun around—armored knights and their barded steeds smashed through the damaged double doors, trampling rebels, overturned furniture, Shadow Folk and guards.

The armored beasts skidded to a halt, everyone in their way spreading apart. The lead warhorse reared, his rider raising a crown dripping blood.

Time slowed as the King observed the bloodied crown.

The knight threw the crown. It pinged against the floor, rolling along towards the King, leaving a thin trail of blood.

Eyes shiny, the King of Hyrule clutched his heart. "The crown of my beloved Queen..."