Chapter 21: Heavens

After their conversation, they finished placing Epona in one of the stables and Midna took them quickly to Lake Hylia. As expected, Fyer fixed the cannon and quickly asked for the remainder of the cost for fixing it. Link reluctantly gave it to him.

"This better work, that was the last I had."

Kagome internally grimaced knowing he had used all of his savings during the entire process of their adventure. The old man left them alone, mumbling about cannons and the skies.

She was nervous as she knew what this entailed now that it was just the two of them going. She had a feeling her friends were plotting.

Kirara finally popped her head from the bag Kagome had on her back and yawned. She scratched the demon's heads as she turned to the machine.

"So we just go in?"

He nodded, "There's only one button on the inside we have to use."

They both started to climb in, "I hate the feeling."

He wished to comfort her but he was honest, "This is probably going to be worse."

She groaned but nonetheless she got ready. Hesitantly, she wrapped her arms around him once she ensured Kirara was secured in her bag. He placed an arm around her waist while the other reached the button.

As soon as he pressed it, the machine came to life. It groaned and they could hear its engine working. There was rumbling and just as it suddenly became still, he wrapped his other arm around her head.

She screamed loudly as the cannon fired them up. She could feel the change in temperature the higher they went up. She felt her heart in her throat and the heaviness of her stomach was making her nauseous.

They started to lose speed until they finally started coming down. Due to the clouds, neither of them could see anything.

"Kirara!" She said alarmingly as they kept dropping.

The cat demon jumped out of her bag and transformed, both of them landing on her back as she started to fly towards the bottom.

Their gasps were simultaneous as the clouds dispersed and they could now see a flying city, just like Shad predicted. The propellers were not even big enough but it was sustaining it. It had strange designs, but it was beautiful. She could see egg like shaped buildings throughout.

Kirara suddenly snarled and rapidly dived down, making both of them lose their grip and landing in a small pool. Link came back up for air just as Kagome, and that's when they took notice of a massive dark dragon sweeping through the city, destroying one of the buildings. The armor looked fairly similar to that of a darknut.

He got out of the water first and then reached for her, pulling her up. Kirara went up to them, bumping her head against Kagome's hip.

"Fast thinking, good job."

"Mr. Link?"

The three heads turned to the voice, Kagome's eyes going wide in surprise as she took in the strange creature that had a similar humanoid face but the body of a bird.

"Oocca?"

The creature flapped her wings excitedly, "It is you! Come come, it's dangerous being here."

The three of them followed her over a bridge to the inside of an egg-shaped building.

"What was that?" Kagome said as her body trembled from the cold temperature of the pool.

"Its name is Argarok. It's an ancient dragon that recently woke up. It's been destroying parts of the city and killing my people! We need to engage the main propeller to maintain the city afloat as the others have been destroyed little by little. If we don't do it, the whole city will fall!"

She sounded beyond frantic as she flapped her wings.

"Where is the main propeller?"

"Let me give you a map. Kitty flies, you'll need kitty."

As she left to get the map, Kagome worriedly looked outside the window again. The winds were strong, but seemed to get stronger whenever the dragon seemed to fly through.

The last time she faced a dragon, she had nightmares for weeks.

She didn't realize the Oocca was back and Link was already looking at the map. The Oocca was already advising him what areas were destroyed.

"We are gonna have to split up," he said as he furrowed his eyebrows as his mind kept going through different scenarios, "I have to get rid of the dragon before it destroys anything else. We can't go to the propeller and then set out to find him. We won't have enough time."

As he said that, the floor underneath them shook.

Kagome looked at him, "It's a dragon Link. You can't defeat it on your own."

"I have to," his eyes went to the Oocca and then to her, "We don't have a choice. You and Kirara can find the main propeller and get it working. I'll find Argarok. I have my clawshot, I can get to where he perches."

"You said clawshot?" Oocca asked, "I got clawshot too Hero. Follow me."

Kagome was still processing the plan he said when he handed her his quiver and bow.

"You may need it."

He was panting as he finally reached the Zora's Domain. He didn't realize it was so steep at some point through the path, but he was glad he made it.

He wasn't sure how the guards would react, as he wasn't the friendliest to start with. His slight worry faded away when some of the guards spotted him, but seemed to know who he was.

They lead him up to the throne room that was still going under repairs after Zant's first initial attack towards the Zora's.

He cleared his throat as his eyes landed on the Prince, that was now King from the crown that laid on his head.

"Kid," he cleared his throat at his mistake, "Prince. Or is it King? You may not know me—"

"Of course I do. You're one of the Hero's travelers. Some of the kids were quite chatty with me, telling me what they know of you."

He cocked an eyebrow, "Is that so? Okay. This makes it easier."

King Ralis frowned, "Is everything okay? Where's the rest of your companions?"

Inuyasha looked at all the guards around the throne room before looking at the kid again, "The end is coming near. I came to warn you. I know what happened to your people when Zant first arrived. I wouldn't want that to happen again."

King Ralis leaned forward, his eyes wide.

"What do you mean? He's extremely powerful."

"So are we. But you need to get your people ready. Whether it is to flee or fight, just be ready. You don't want another ambush."

A guard wearing a different garment than the rest stepped forward, "How long do we have?"

His amber eyes reflected what was upon, "Few days, give or take. I'm meeting Link in two days, after that it may be right after. I'm not asking your people to join the fight kid, you've already lost enough. Just be ready."

King Ralis' hand trembled, but he gripped his staff harder and stood up.

"I will send my best fighters. I would fight alongside them, but my people need me. We can close off the entrances to the domain to protect us."

"But sir," another Zora said alarmed, "That would mean stopping the water flow of Hyrule."

"It's a risk we have got to take," his voice echoed in the throne room, "For my Mother I will not just sit here knowing there's something I can do. I am the King now, but just on how I have to protect my people, I have to help Hyrule. If it perishes, we will as well."

Inuyasha nodded at him, grateful to know that the kid was not afraid and would do what was right.

Rusl finished closing the door to Renado's home to give them privacy.

The sun was setting when little Shippo came to find him and asked him to come.

Darbus, Gor Coron, Auru, Ashei, Shad, The General, Renado, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo were all gathered around a round table, with Hyrule's map set on it.

He was confused as he had not seen some of them enter the village, "What's this about?"

Sango looked at Miroku who stepped forward.

"Inuyasha left with Link and Kagome, but he was set to go to Zora's Domain and from there to get Telma. The evil that fell on your land, it'll soon be over, but we've got to be prepared."

The General stepped forward, "Majority of the nobles of Hyrule left for Hytopia as it's the closest up north. Some other folks left for other kingdoms. But those of Castle Town that did not have the means were transferred here to Kakariko."

Darbus scoffed, "That explains the stench of you tiny humans."

Sango and Miroku shared a look that did not go unnoticed by Ashei, "What is it?"

Shad also caught it, "There's something else isn't there? Kagome was nervous before setting off."

"Link has also been off since you guys got back from the desert," Auru added in.

"This being Zant," Miroku started, "He's the one that's caused all his havoc in your world. He's the one that made Princess Zelda surrender."

"We do not want to cause more panic as it is to the rest, that's why we are talking to just you," Sango added in, "But Zant isn't the only danger. Where he comes from, that is not my place to say. However, his strength came from something, someone, that we've come to learn you all may be familiar with."

"Who is it?" Renado asked.

"Ganondorf," Miroku answered carefully.

The three could tell immediately that those in the room were indeed familiar with the Demon Thief by their expressions. Ashei, who was always strong and outspoken, seemed pale. Shad looked like he was about to be sick. The General cursed while Auru looked thoughtful. The gorons shouted in denial.

"He was executed," Auru answered as the others started to calm down, "I was a former assistant to the late King in my younger days. The script said he was executed."

"He was supposed to," Miroku said, "Per what we learned, he murdered one of the sages and was sent elsewhere, where he was able to regain his strength and use Zant at his convenience. That's as much as we know. We have not encountered him, so we do not know where he is or when he will make an appearance."

"So you mean to tell me," Ashei's voice rose, "That the demon king of legend is somewhere in Hyrule right now? I just can't believe this! This is just a sick joke-"

"It isn't," Rusl cut in, "Think about everything that's happened in our Kingdom. Think about what Link, my son, has been doing, what he's seen, what he's been through. This is no longer a coincidence. Neither is their arrival."

"He wields the Master Sword," Renado said, agreeing, "If Ganondorf is indeed alive and somewhere in Hyrule, Link is the only one that can stop him."

The General stepped towards the map, "We've gotta create the battlefield. We cannot have him run destruction elsewhere. We have to control it. He's going to have his own forces of monsters."

"Us Gorons can take care of covering the entrances to the village," Gor Coron said strongly, "No one invited will set foot here. There's women and children."

The General nodded, "There's not a lot of soldiers left unfortunately. But those that are left, are willing to fight. We have horses as well."

"Princess Zelda is trapped in the castle," Shippo cut in.

Rusl seemed like he was going to collapse, so Sango quickly grabbed a chair and made him sit.

She grabbed his shoulder as she looked at him worryingly, "Are you okay?"

"Courage, Wisdom, Power," he murmured, "Never in all my life did I think I'd be alive to witness this, for my son having to deal with such responsibility. He's still so young…"

"We can never know why the goddesses work the way they do," Renado said as he put a hand on his shoulder, "But we will have them on our side, alongside the spirits that have protected the three provinces. We will not perish to his ruling, my friend."

Shad swallowed nervously, "Can Link do it though?"

Miroku looked at him, "You've all said it before. We were sent here for a reason. We've fought our battles, but more importantly, Inuyasha and Kagome have destroyed powerful demons together. There's no doubt that we can end this, but we cannot lose faith in one another. You cannot lose faith in Link."

Rusl was thankful for his words. The anxiety he felt calmed down, but he still couldn't help but worry. He knew there was much more to the story they were being told, but it was probably for the best to not know more. Just knowing that Ganondorf was in Hyrule was enough to make them worry.

"What is Link currently doing though?" Ashei asked, "If Ganondorf is here, he should be here with us planning this."

"We cannot tell you," Miroku said, "As much as we can say is that Shad was correct about his theory of the creatures Oocca, but all I can tell you is that Hyrule has not been the only one to be attacked by Zant."

Kagome panted heavily as she hid behind a wall, a sword barely missing her arm as it hit the marble instead. She readied another arrow and fired, but the flying monster was in the air and dodged it with ease.

It took her a couple of hours to reach the main propeller room with Kirara, as they had to take different routes to avoid monsters or because a section was already destroyed. The cat demon was finishing off one of the flying monsters, leaving the other one to Kagome.

She saw the sword coming again, needing to roll out of the way. She used the bow to reflect the blows, taking notice that this bow was different from the ones she's used before. She made a note to ask Link about it.

She yelped as the sword cut her upper arm, but as she pushed the monster away, leaving its neck bare, she used the tip of the bow and stabbed it through. It's blood splattered on her face, but not soon after, it became ash in front of her.

She sat on the floor for a moment, trying to catch her breath as Kirara went up to her. She was covered in blood, but seemed uninjured otherwise. She got off the floor and got to work on the propeller, following the instructions that the Oocca gave her.

She frantically opened her bag, "Good thing Shad gave me this, or I wouldn't understand it."

Side by side she put the parchment that Shad gave her alongside the instructions, trying to translate it when the ground trembled violently and she could hear a powerful roar in the distance.

Drops of blood kept falling on the instructions from her arm, but she got to work. She opened the North East built in door as it instructed, showing her a type of engine with various cables and a lever. She translated the next portion and switched the cables as instructed. The last thing was the lever. She needed it to pull it towards her. She pulled, but it wasn't budging.

"Agh!" she yelled as her arm hurt more with the pressure. She was sweating as she glared at it.

"Kirara," she called out, "Pull at my belt with all your might with your teeth at the same time as I pull this. We need more strength."

The demon nodded, getting right behind her and carefully grabbing the leather belt on Kagome's waist with her teeth. On the count of three, the two of them pulled. The demon snarled as she pulled harder as Kagome pulled the lever.

She let out a scream as she could feel her strength deterring, her spiritual power coming out and engulfing her, healing her bleeding arm. Kirara hissed as she had to let go, but the moment she did, Kagome finished pulling the lever.

Slowly the machinery came to life, the wind increasing as the fans started to work, immediately feeling the city starting to rise again.

"Kirara!" Kagome shouted as she noticed the demon cat back in her smaller form, "I'm so sorry I didn't mean that!"

She opened her eyes, shaking her head as Kagome picked her up. She chirped, letting her know she was okay. She jumped from her arms, and with a shake of her head, she was back to her original form. Kagome jumped on her back, telling Kirara to follow the sounds of the dragon.

I'm coming Link!

He couldn't understand why there had to be a storm while he was facing a dragon. The water kept blinding him from how hard the rain was falling and the wind was muffling the flapping of the dragon's wings when coming.

It took him longer than what he expected to reach it, but the damn thing was fast. He was thankful that he had a second clawshot, so he was able to shoot himself from one pillar to the next to avoid the fires.

He was too slow for the next attack however. His left arm was caught in the flames, making him lose the grip on the claw shot and he started to free fall. He felt the dragon coming at him with his mouth open. He tried shooting his second clawshot but it didn't reach in time.

He cursed, as this was not how he expected to die. He could hear Midna screaming, seeing her orange hand trying to hold on to anything to stop the fall, but nothing.

He heard a familiar snarl and next thing he knew, he was on Kirara's back. The cat demon snarled loudly in defense as the dragon was still coming at them, but an arrow hit its neck, not impaling it but enough to deter his direction, purifying energy sparkled after it hit.

He looked down, to see Kagome on the grass with bow and arrow at the ready again. She fired again, but again, the armor deflected it. The dragon took off, disappearing into the dark clouds as the thunder echoed.

As soon as they landed, she jumped on him.

"I got here just in time."

He was grateful for her, ignoring the terrible pain on his arm from the burn. She seemed to have noticed however, and without saying a word, she focused her energy to heal his arm.

"Have you found a weak spot?"

He shook his head as he removed his arm from her, "Not yet. I haven't been able to get behind him or above him. He's smart. I don't want you wasting all your energy, we're probably going to need it."

His eyes set on Kirara, "How fast can you fly above him?"

She snarled, the flames around her growing bigger at the challenge. Kagome got on her back first then him. Kirara shot off to the sky again, making her flames bigger to catch the attention of the dragon.

Kagome screamed, "He's coming from above!"

Kirara maneuvered her way around as it dove down on them, giving them the opportunity to see its back.

Kagome aimed her arrow, but whatever crystal was around the red spot of the chard seemed only to crack.

"Kirara, keep going up!" Link shouted, "Kagome, shoot your arrows randomly with as much purifying energy as you can to distract him!"

She turned her head to notice how he was sitting, "Link don't!"

The dragon roared as it fired at them again, Kirara flying through the air to avoid it and to maintain an above equilibrium. Kagome started to fire her arrows until finally, they were right above the dragon. She fired another arrow, and her last, to the same spot again. It seemed to have frozen the dragon but that's all Link needed.

With a battle cry, he jumped down from Kirara and brought out his sword.

He thought of Midna's suffering at the hands of Zant. What he did to her people.

This was it.

The Master Sword finished breaking through the crystal, impaling the dragon right through it. Blood splattered on him as the creature screeched loudly in agony. The dragon started to spiral down, with Link still on its back.

Kirara rushed down as fast as she could, but she could feel herself growing fatigued from the energy she used previously. Kagome screamed Link's name when the dragon finally crashed dead, sending him flying and getting too dangerously to the edge. Midna used her orange hand from her hair to grab the edge and her small hand took a hold of his arm. He was unconscious, and his dead weight was too much for her as she tried to bring them up. She could feel herself slipping due to the wet ground, until she felt hands grabbing her.

Kagome groaned as she pulled her up, Kirara in front of her using her as an anchor and helping her step back. Once Midna's body was halfway up, Kagome ran and finished helping her pull Link up.

He had a gash on the side of his head and other cuts. Midna was panting as he was heavier than what he seemed. Kagome placed his head on her lap, "Link? Link can you hear me?"

It was low, but she heard the groan coming from him. His eyes fluttered open, just to see Kagome smiling down at him, completely soaked.

"Please tell me it's dead," he groaned, "I don't wanna do that again."

Midna came up to them, holding the last piece, her red eye shining with emotion.

"We got it, Link. You did it."