Chapter 25: Preparations and Premonitions
"I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that they defend." -Faramir. The Lord of the Rings.
Tabantha Snowfield
"…Hello Rundas." Samus aims her plasma beam at her once compatriot.
"That's the last one, isn't he?" Link asks, setting the Master Sword ablaze and Zelda follows his lead with her rapier.
"Samus, your suits and hazard shield can prevent hypothermia. However, the temperature outside is steadily decreasing; they will not keep you warm if it continues." Virginia reports, bringing up the centigrade levels.
Suddenly, Rundas spreads his arms out and a blizzard blows from behind him and covers the area, eliminating visibility.
"Link?! Samus?!" Zelda shouts amidst the snow and the wind blowing furiously.
"Everyone, activate your visors!" Samus shouts through the communicator. "Try dark visors; thermal visors won't work on something cold like Rundas!"
Complying, Link activates his visor to see past the snow. Zelda activates a visor that lowers from her head band, only to have Rundas (rendered completely in red) rush at her with the intent of stabbing her with his icy hands. Reflexively, Zelda conjures Nayru's Love to block Rundas' attack, pushing him back and out of her immediate vicinity. Despite the dark visor offering all of them better visual on Rundas' location, the heavy snow and wind still hindered their sight. Rundas raises his arms outward and several large stalagmites erupt from the ground before he starts "surfing" on a stream of ice from his arm as several ice chunks fly up from the stream before homing in on their locations.
"Everybody move!" Samus shouts as she shoots down the ice chunks that don't reach the ground. Link bats them away with the Master Sword, all while trying to keep his own phazon at bay due to his desperation, just as Rundas seizes him before bashing Link through several stalagmites. Stopping, Rundas drives Link to the ground and prepares to impale Link, only for Zelda to jump on Rundas back and places her flaming hands on his head and chest. Panicking, Rundas flails around as Zelda holds on tight while he burns.
"Link, I need you to get back up!" Zelda shouts amidst her attacks as Link painfully attempts to get back on his feet. Now agitated, Rundas finds a stalagmite and hits Zelda on it while she's still clinging on his back. After the third hit, Zelda gives in and releases her grip on Rundas and the latter just barely misses her as he swings his hand across the stalagmite, splitting it. Before he can attack once more, Samus arrives and grabs him by the arm before pelting Rundas with plasma shots. Frustrated by the onslaught, Rundas surfs away and around the area with Samus still holding on. Now back on his feet, Link aims three fire arrows and, seeing past the snow with the dark visor and anticipating the flight path, strikes Rundas with them and the latter falls to the ground while Samus lands close by. Angered, Rundas shouts before shooting ice shards from his hands at Samus, who dodges them before returning fire as the former retreats back into the blizzard.
"Samus, the temperature has dropped to minus 13 degrees below zero. The suits and hazard shield will be rendered useless at this rate." Virginia reports, bringing up the centigrade alarm.
"Rundas is much stronger than last time." Samus adds.
"I concur. Also, there is another matter that requires your attention; since the cold is close to affecting us, Link's phazon is beginning to fluctuate. No doubt that it's reacting to his struggles."
"Damn, we need to hurry." Samus looks past the blizzard and shoots plasma beam shots at an evasive Rundas, who retaliates with ice bursts from his hands. Soon, his attention is brought to Link standing behind him; setting his sword ablaze before bringing it down on Rundas' back and severely wounding him. Before he can respond, Zelda runs up and blasts him in the face with Din's Fire and Samus follows up by running before somersaulting at him with energy radiating on her, further damaging Rundas and throwing him back towards one of his own stalagmites that collapses on him. Enraged, Rundas erupts from the snow and takes to the sky on his own floating ice block after activating Hypermode. As he floats high in the sky, Rundas spreads his arms out and sends frigid air out from his hands that swirl around. Soon, the sky darkens and a massive storm forms, resembling a small hurricane.
"What is he doing?!" Zelda shouts in alarm amidst the furious winds brought on by the storm.
"He's too high up; I can't get a shot!" Samus adds before her alarm goes off again.
"Samus, the storm is siphoning frigid air from the atmosphere down to the ground. The temperature is now rapidly dropping to dangerous levels; this area will be completely uninhabitable in less than 10 minutes."
"Guys, I can't focus." Link adds, beginning to shake from the cold.
"I can't…either." Zelda states, trying to form fire in her palms though it proves ineffective from the freezing cold as she begins to lose consciousness.
"Zelda!" Link rushes over and grabs Zelda before she falls over.
"It's so cold…"
"You can't fall asleep right now. I need you to focus." Link pleads, trying his best to keep from shivering.
"I don't…know what to do anymore." Zelda says in a drowsy tone.
"That's why I need you to stay awake."
"Link…I need you too." Zelda states with a half smile, bringing a hand up to his face, much to his confusion.
"Link…I don't…" Before she can finish, Samus drops to the ground unconscious as her suit powers down.
"Samus!"
"I'm…just happy…that you're here with me." Zelda says in a ragged breath. "Hold me…" With that, Zelda falls unconscious in Link's arms. Left in complete shock, Link's eyes quickly take on that characteristic piercing blue glow and he erupts into Hypermode, catching Rundas' attention. Setting Zelda down and glaring angrily at Rundas, Link has the air around him swirl as he invokes Revali's Gale, allowing him to ascend up to the sky.
Rundas, in retaliation, drops several chunks of ice to keep Link away; however, the latter vaults off of them like stepping stones to continue ascending towards the former. Drawing the Master Sword, also coursing with phazon, Link bats one of the ice chunks back at Rundas to distract him and he manages to seize him by the arm and stand on the same ice flow as him. Both combatants now try to keep themselves level on the ice flow as Link shouts furiously; bringing the Master Sword down on Rundas' left shoulder and he responds by solidifying ice on himself to keep the blade out. In response, the phazon in Link's body begins to grow in strength as it forms tendrils around his left eye and the Master Sword glows brighter with its power. After a tense moment, Link's phazon overloads the Master Sword and increases its cutting power, busting the ice armor that Rundas surrounded himself with and they both plummet to the ground. As this happens, the storm dissipates and the blizzard covering the land fades away, returning the Tabantha Snowfield to its original cold climate. From the side, Samus's suit powers up and injects her with adrenaline in an effort to wake her as well as raising her body temperature, successfully jolting her awake.
"Samus, your vitals have begun to normalize and your core temperature is beginning to regulate itself. It would appear that Link was successful in bringing Rundas down; however, he has in fact activated Hypermode." Virginia reports.
"Oh no…" Samus tries to get back on her feet though drowsy from the near hypothermia. Making her way over to the still unconscious Zelda, whose hazard shield is rippling over her to get her heated again, Samus sits her up in an effort to wake her. At that moment, a heavily injured Rundas erupts from the snow along with damaged PED components and walks over to the pair with icy hands. His stride is interrupted by Link, who crawls out of the snow as well before standing up with his Hypermode still active and challenges Rundas with a glare. Rundas shouts before rushing Link and pushing him towards the abandoned stable, dropping the Master Sword in the process. Link breaks free from his grip and punches Rundas on the visor, sending him to the floor. As Rundas reels from the impact, Link grabs a broken piece of support beam and swings it at him, sending the frigid hunter out of the stable. Rundas immediately recovers and dashes back inside, slashing Link on the chest with one of his hand prongs before grabbing and slamming him against several parts of the stable and ending with Link being tossed on the ground. As Link attempts to get back up, his suit badge begins to flicker as more phazon courses through his body and Rundas decides to abandon the fight in favor of attacking the other two and he exits the damaged stable. As he reaches the back end and spots Samus and Zelda, Link emerges from the wall which finally collapses the stable and he grapples with Rundas again; grabbing him by the leg and swinging him around while hitting a few trees before finally tossing him. As he finishes this, Link drops to his knees as the phazon once again courses through his body; even exiting through creases on his suit.
"His phazon level has reached 37%; Link is gaining more strength and aggressiveness as time goes on." Virginia states as she brings up a diagnostic of Link's body, showing how far the phazon has begun to invade it, alarming Samus.
Now infuriated, Rundas forms ice blades on his hands and rushes at Link with the intent of skewering him. At last, the phazon reaches a dangerous level and, unintentionally, Link shouts as a pressurized stream of it erupts from his chest and at Rundas, heavily damaging him and shocking Samus at this turn of events. As the stream stops, Link's suit begins to dull in coloration as the phazon begins to stabilize on him and he breathes deeply.
"You enjoy the power it gives you…" Dark Samus appears and kneels down next to Link as an apparition that only he can see, much to his shock. "You enjoy having the strength needed to protect the princess and those you hold dear, do you not…?"
At these words, Link looks down at his badge and places a hand over it before looking at a weakened Rundas attempting to stand up. "Yes." The armor on Link's hands begin to resemble claws rather than their usual shape. "Very much so…"
"Link? Are you alright?" Samus cautiously calls out while cradling Zelda, scanning his body for the changes that the phazon has done thus far.
"Embrace this power and use it to defeat your enemies…" Dark Samus requests in an almost beckoning tone. "You know it's what you truly desire…"
Rundas wearily stands back up and Link immediately responds by blasting him with a combination of fire and bomb arrows, once again sending Rundas to the ground. With blinding speeds, Link closes the distance between him and Rundas and activates the stream from his chest, bearing it down on the hapless bounty hunter. As Rundas exclaims in pain, Link slowly begins to smile and even sadistically laugh at his barrage keeping the former down.
"Link, stop!" Samus shouts amidst the alarm in her suit blaring in response to Link's rising phazon levels.
"It will stop…when he's nothing but a smear on the floor…" Link, in an almost hollow voice, responds while continuing his attack.
"Link, it's reaching 50%, you have to deactivate Hypermode now!"
"I never wanted this power! But now, it's mine to command and control…" As Link says this, his suit continues to alter itself with the shoulders appearing more rounded than before with small phazon deposits lining them.
"Link…?"
Samus looks down to see Zelda slowly regaining consciousness as the latter rubs her eyes in discomfort.
"Samus, what's going on?" Zelda, after looking at the worried expression on Samus's face, turns her attention to Link, who is still bombarding Rundas with phazon. Against Samus's wishes, Zelda stands up wearily and stumbles over to where Link is; with her blurry sight, she can't fully see the phazon coming from Link. After a moment, Zelda falls to her knees and this catches Link's attention. "Link, what are you doing?"
At this, Link's enraged expression begins to soften slowly, particularly at Zelda's question; What are you doing? The phazon stream begins to lose potency as the suit slowly returns to its former appearance and Link asks to himself in shock; "What am I doing?" As the stream loses potency, it eventually disappears completely while Link's suit and appearance take their original form and he drops to his knees, gripping his head with his right hand in discomfort.
"We'll meet again, later… I look forward to it…" Dark Samus's apparition silently declares before disappearing from Link's sight. Now unaltered, Link ignores Dark Samus's words and shambles over to Zelda, who is only just regaining her focus and smiles upon seeing him. Their reunion is cut short as Rundas, heavily damaged, jumps from his spot and moves to impale them with his icy hands. As Link moves to block Zelda from the attack, Samus intercepts it and keeps Rundas at bay.
"Link, your sword!" Samus instructs, gesturing over to the dropped Master Sword roughly five feet away from them. Nodding in acknowledgement, Link scoops Zelda onto his arms and runs to retrieve the sword. As he rushes, Rundas breaks away from Samus and freezes Link's legs, making him fall and drop Zelda from the impact. Freezing Samus in place, Rundas weakly limps over to Link with the intent of finishing him off as Zelda refocuses herself, grabs the Master Sword and hits Rundas with fireballs to slow him down. Samus breaks some of the ice and starts pelting Rundas with plasma beam shots and Rundas, in his frustration, jumps up into the air and forms a large ice blade before dropping down to impale Link with it. Thinking quickly, Zelda throws the Master Sword near Link and as he recovers it, sets it ablaze and holds it upright as Rundas drops down; right on top of the sword going through his chest, out his back and the ice blade impaling the ground mere inches away from his head. Both combatants remain motionless; Link breathing heavily from the close call and Rundas in shock over the catastrophic wound inflicted on him. After a tense moment, Link stands up, removes the Master Sword and backs away as a mix of icy mist and phazon erupts from a screaming Rundas. Regrouping, the three watch as Rundas floats above the ground with another Dark Samus wraith appearing behind him with the intent of reabsorbing him.
"Zelda." Link hurries over to Zelda and gets her to refocus completely. "You know what to do."
"Y-yes. I'll be quick." Zelda, still slightly dazed from the hypothermia wearing off, brings up her right hand towards Rundas and begins the process of purging the wraith with her power. In roughly four minutes, the wraith succumbs to the sealing power and crumbles away as the previous two times and Rundas floats down on the snow; his remaining PED attachments waste away and green, ethereal wisps surround him.
"Rundas?" Samus cautiously calls out to her once compatriot.
"Ugh…Samus?" Rundas, finally lucid, stares at Samus and her friends. "Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes."
"Good to see you again." Samus states, sighing in relief.
"I wish it was better than this." Rundas remorsefully comments, aware of his actions under the phazon's influence. "But, I guess it's better than having killed you all."
"Mr. Rundas, don't think that we're holding anything against you." Zelda adds. "We did all of this to purify your essence; it gives me great pleasure to have saved another soul."
"Ah, you must be the princess. Dark Samus and that Ganondorf guy really want to get their grubby hands on you for what ever reason. Oh, and it's just Rundas." Rundas then looks at Link. "And you're the soldier."
"The princess's personal knight, yes." Link affirms. "But, I'm sorry about all-"
"No." Rundas cuts in. "You were doing your duty to the one you swore to protect; don't ever be sorry." As he finishes, Link simply stands upright and decides not to press any further, understanding that Rundas was being completely sincere. "Now, I don't know anything about the inner workings of what Dark Samus is doing or about the Leviathan Seed, but I can give you all some information on what you can all expect at that village of bird people that Ridley, those Yiga guys and monsters have taken over."
"Oh, yes! That would be much appreciated!" Zelda beams.
"Anyone got a map?"
"Hang on a sec." Samus displays a projection of Tabantha, specifically Rito Village, from her visor.
"Good. Alright then, I'll be as specific as I can." Rundas moves towards the projection to explain. "Now, their forces are vast and have a lot of firepower with those weird machines crawling and flying around. While they have control of all of the region, the actual frontier of their stronghold is here."
"Piper Ridge?! The Rito were cutting it really close." Link states in surprise.
"Yeah, that and everything forming a diameter around the village and all of that land is the frontier; once inside, you'll see everything they've got. Every single unit there is equipped with phazite weaponry, close and long range types. Unless you've got something to counter that stuff, you're going to have a rough time."
"Don't worry, those boxes have weapons that can't be broken by the phazite." Samus gestures to the Chozodium weapons, now thawed out by Rundas' defeat.
"Ah, good. Next, that Divine Beast thing; it's high up above the village and is the one generating the barrier above these two regions. You need to figure out some way of getting there to bring it down."
"That's our problem; Samus's ship was damaged, we were going to use it to reach Vah Medoh. Now we don't have another means of getting to it unless we come up with some solution to get at least Samus and myself up there to purge its phazon." Zelda laments. "We need to lower the barrier to bring in our forces for the final assault."
"Huh, there's a head scratcher. Well, if anyone can figure out something, it's you; I learned from Ganondorf that you're a real brainiac. Why don't you prove him right by not thinking logically and think crazy?"
"Crazy?" Zelda asks, cocking her head to the side.
"You know, think outside the box."
"Well, she has done that several times back in the day; one time she snuck out of the castle by putting her dress and a blonde wig on a mannequin while I was waiting outside her room. Heh, I knew the King would be so mad if he found out I let her sneak out on my watch." Link states, reminiscing fondly at one of Zelda's shenanigans when she still didn't enjoy his company.
"To think it was a spur of the moment, heheh." Zelda responds, giggling slightly.
"Then you shouldn't have any problems figuring something out. I think that's about it; you all are going to have your work cut out for you." Rundas completes his explanation.
"That was all perfect, Rundas; you've given us plenty to think up some strategies." Samus states as she deactivates the projection.
"One more thing." Rundas walks up to Link before continuing. "You need to be very careful from now on; Hypermode, while very powerful, shouldn't be used lightly like that. Know when to use it and when to ignore that impulse for your own sake."
"I know…I just let it take over for a moment. It won't happen again." Link states in remorse.
"Rundas, thank you so much for all your help." Zelda adds, grateful for all of the useful information.
"Think nothing of it princess, it's what we do; saving the galaxy or kingdom and all that stuff. Good luck out there and give them hell." Rundas declares as he fades away into the afterlife. Before the three can do anything else, they hear the flapping of wings from the distance.
"Link! Princess! Hunter!" Teba flies down with a few Rito warriors. "Finally, there you are."
"Teba! How did you find us?" Link asks, relieved to see his friend again.
"Well, after you all disappeared for a full day, we've been laying low until we felt how bone chillingly cold it got from the Tabantha Snowfield and we came to investigate."
"A whole day? We've been in that chamber for one entire day?" Zelda asks in astonishment.
"It felt like around an hour or two." Samus adds. "Link, the allied forces must be waiting anxiously for some news, we should contact them immediately."
"I know. I'll get to the rendezvous point after we get back to Piper Ridge. Teba, we have a lot to talk about and we have new ways of dealing with the new weapons that the Yiga and monsters have." Link explains.
"What? Link, what exactly was in that temple?"
"That's what we're going to talk about back at Piper Ridge. First, can your men carry back some of those crates?"
"Those? Sure, we can have others from the hideout bring more as we carry a few back." Teba affirms.
"Teba, might I ask you to bring at least 50 crates? They are weapons that will be invaluable to you and our forces." Zelda asks.
"50, huh? What do you say, men? Think you can carry that many on round trips?" Teba asks as the Rito warriors grunt in approval. "Wish granted, Princess."
"Great. Try to fly low with the crates, we don't want to attract unwanted attention." Samus adds, scanning the area for any hostiles.
"Oh, don't you worry; we know how to be stealthy. Alright, let's get you back to the hideout first; men, start carrying a few back."
In sequence, Teba has Zelda hop on his back and he flies all the way to Piper Ridge, Link activates the Master Cycle Zero and zooms off, Samus activates her speed booster and makes her way back and the Rito warriors lift a crate (two Rito each) with their feet and fly low to the ground towards the hideout.
The Leviathan Seed, interior
From her makeshift throne of phazon tendrils, Dark Samus stirs awake and attempts to generate ice from her hand, ultimately unable to do so.
"Rundas…the last of the hunters is gone from my grasp…" Dark Samus comments to herself, clearly upset by these events. However, her attention is brought to the Triforce symbol on her hand; the top triangle has begun to glow blue like the others at last. Though initially intrigued, it soon becomes apparent that nothing is happening. "I don't understand… I don't feel any different and yet I feel…them within me… What does this mean…?"
Piper Ridge, four hours later
"God's above, all of that was hidden under the Forgotten Temple?" Teba, sitting around a fireplace with Zelda, Samus and the Rito, asks in disbelief.
"Yes, I still can't believe it myself." Zelda affirms, taking a bite out of a meat and seafood skewer. "The people that raised Samus as a child, or rather their ancestors, left all of these weapons for us to use when the phazon inevitably arrived to our world."
"Heh, I gotta admit; these are some next level swords and arrows." Harth adds, admiring a Chozodium sword. "I guess those weapons we salvaged from the Yiga are old news now."
"Yes, we now have the means to combat the phazite, but the Divine Beast is still the issue; with the barrier up, the Allied Forces can't get in. I mean, I know that maybe the Rito can get us up there, but as soon as the enemy see us flying up then they'll bring all of their firepower down on us." Samus states, pondering how they'll get to the Divine Beast. "If only just one of us could make it up there somehow…"
"It's difficult, but we have to try somehow-" Zelda stops herself immediately as her eyes widen in realization. "Say that again."
"I said, If only just one of us could make it up there somehow." Samus repeats.
At that moment, Zelda's mind begins to wander; she remembers what Link said previously. Well, she has done that several times back in the day; one time she snuck out of the castle by putting her dress and a blonde wig on a mannequin while I was waiting outside her room. Along with what Rundas told her; I learned from Ganondorf that you're a real brainiac. Why don't you prove him right by not thinking logically and think crazy? You know, think outside the box. Bearing all of that in mind, Zelda reminds herself that Samus, particularly her suit, needs her power to give it the boost necessary to administer the anti-phazon vaccine to Vah Medoh. However, she can only hold that power within the suit before it expels it to avoid damaging said suit. Going it over her head several times, Zelda at last comes up with a solution.
"Zelda, what's wrong?" Samus asks in concern.
"You're zoning out, what's going on?" Teba adds.
Brought out of her thoughts, Zelda exhales deeply before speaking. "Everyone, I may have a solution to our problem regarding Vah Medoh. Samus, it includes you in a sense."
"Me?"
"Yes. I want to go over it with you before you give me your answer. Will you hear me out?"
"…Ok." Samus answers, unsure of what she's about to hear. At that moment, Link returns from his excursion to the edge of the barrier where scouts from the Allied Forces awaited confirmation.
"Let's put in on hold for a moment." Zelda states in a hushed tone before addressing Link. "Ah, Link. How did the trip go?"
Smiling, Link sits down at an open space by the fire. "Better than I thought; as I hoped, Sidon was waiting for me at the rendezvous point."
"Sidon?"
"Yes. He told me that the forces are on standby and have several horses ready to charge inside after the barrier goes down; they estimate that they can get to the battlefield in approximately ten minutes. Not only that, he sent an emissary to the desert; Riju and the others have agreed to add their might to the Allied Forces."
"Link, that's wonderful! We now have our own soldiers, the Zoras, Gorons, Sooga's faction of Yiga and now the Gerudo on our side; not to mention the Sheikah. We can win this, I believe!" Zelda ecstatically states.
"They also know about the Chozodium weapons, that should improve their morale." Link concludes. "But, I didn't mention how we're going bring down the barrier, so they're going to be on standby."
"Ah, speaking on that, we actually-"
"Are still brainstorming, yes." Zelda cuts in Samus's comment, unwilling to let Link hear what she came up with. "The preliminary idea is to have Samus go up there with the aid of a Rito warrior at least. Right, Samus?"
"Y-yeah." Samus, unsure of Zelda's actual plan, reluctantly agrees.
"Oh, alright. I guess it's a start."
"For now, we should get some rest for the assault. We're going to be up at the first light while they're not at their finest." Teba states.
"What about Sooga and the others?" Link asks.
"We gave them their own space in the hideout." Harth adds. "I hate to admit it, but we owe them our thanks and have already given them some of those new weapons."
"Speaking of which, I should talk to them before the day's end." Zelda states. "I should give them my thanks for helping us reach the Forgotten Temple."
"It's settled then. For now, everyone should get ready now and then get to bed early; tomorrow we reclaim our home." Teba declares in determination. "Dismissed."
With that, everyone present go their separate ways to attend to their own business. With Link's back turned, Zelda calls Samus to another room where she can tell her about her plan.
Night
With most of the Rito retiring for the day, an exhausted Link retreats to the room offered to him where he removes his weapons (placing them on a rock nearby) and deactivates his suit; revealing his Champion's Tunic underneath. Staring at his reflection on a mirror, Link's mind wanders to a talk he had with Samus earlier.
Three hours earlier, just outside Piper Ridge
"Yes, it has gotten stronger." Samus reports, bringing up Link's diagnostics.
"I really screwed up, didn't I?" Link asks with downcast eyes.
"You did leave it on for too long. But, why was it necessary?"
"It was when Rundas made that storm; you and Zelda couldn't stay awake from that cold…and I got scared. Not only that, I was so angry and frustrated that I let Hypermode take over; Samus, I couldn't do that phazon blast from my chest before."
"It's an effect of the phazon; the greater the danger you faced, the stronger the phazon got to protect its host." Samus explains.
"Also, since that fight with Dark Samus after Vah Rudania, I've been remembering things little by little; like that little memory about how Zelda snuck out. Is it related?"
"That is a possibility; phazon has regenerative properties. It is not too farfetched that it can restore cognitive thought as well." Virginia reports.
"Regardless, Link; you must take care to not use it like that again."
"I…I'll try."
"Link, we'll be alright; we're all going to fight together. You have my support." Samus states in an amicable tone.
"I know. But that also means that you haven't forgotten about what I asked of you. Right?" Link asks.
"…No, I haven't."
"If it comes to that, remember; do not hesitate."
"…Right."
Nodding, Link returns back inside Piper Ridge, with Samus following behind after lingering at the entrance for a moment of pondering.
"Link?"
"Huh?" Link, brought out of his thoughts, looks to the rooms entrance to see Zelda addressing him. "Oh, Zelda."
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm just…getting my thoughts in order before turning in. Hey, what's that you've got there?"
"Oh, you noticed?" Zelda does a small twirl, showing off the dark grey cloak that covers her back and reaches down to her waist. "Yes, Saki had some leftover fabric and had it made into this cloak for me. Do you like it?"
"It looks great, really." Link answers with a smile. "Ah, and where is Samus?"
"Oh, she's talking with Saki, Laissa and Bedoli. They're talking about…I don't know; girl talk?"
"Well, she needs the rest after today; we all do." Link states as he stretches his arms up.
"It's really happening, isn't it?" Zelda quietly asks.
"Yeah; after we purify Vah Medoh, we'll be able to locate the Seed. From there, we can stop the spread of Corruption." Before continuing, Link breathes a heavy sigh and sits on his cot. "Zelda, I'll be honest with you; never mind the Great Calamity, but I never wanted you to experience war first hand. I know you can fight now, but I wanted to be the only one of the two of us on the frontlines…"
"Link…"
"It's not like what I said back on the ship a few days ago; I simply didn't want this for you. Please, forgive me for not being a better knight..."
After Link finishes his speech, Zelda simply sits down next to him and remains silent for a few seconds before speaking. "Link, would you answer just one question?"
"Let me hear it."
Zelda places a hand over Link's own before asking. "Do you trust me?"
Confused, Link looks into Zelda's eyes. "Zelda, where is this coming from?"
"Please; yes or no?"
Pondering it for a moment while looking at Zelda's face, Link gives his answer at last. "Of course, I would never doubt you or your ability. I trust you with my life, now and always."
In an unexpected act, Zelda leans over and plants a kiss on Link's forehead, much to his overwhelming shock. Afterwards, she leans her forehead on his. "I never doubted you either; I only wanted to hear it from you. Link, you mean everything to me. I will stand by your side and I will be your strength, just like you are my strength. Will you accept these words?"
Though initially shocked, Link immediately refocuses. "Nothing will stop me."
Breaking away, Zelda smiles and nods at Link, content with their talk.
"You know, I think Samus will get here when she's finished with her business. So, we should get to sleep now instead of waiting up." Link states.
"Yes, I agree. Tomorrow is going to be definitive for us all."
Afterwards, Link and Zelda lie down on their respective cots and slowly drift off to sleep, needing the rest for tomorrow.
Hyrule Castle
Zelda sits at her vanity desk, brushing her long hair and wearing a white nightgown. Soon, Link walks inside; wearing his Champion's Tunic and Master Sword on his back.
"Link, welcome back. How is everything?"
"Hello Princess, I've finished my rounds for the day." Link answers with an air of professionalism.
"That's good, now I suppose it's time to put this night behind us. Don't mind me; I'll be done soon and we can put out the lights." Zelda comments while she continues brushing her hair.
"Actually Princess, I'm not here to get some rest; I came here to say goodbye."
Stopping, Zelda sets her brush down before facing Link. "Goodbye? Do you have some assignment that takes up the rest of the night?"
"No, I'm afraid. This is not one of the times for an assignment. It's time…" Link takes off the Master Sword and gently places it on his bed. "…for me to leave you."
Disturbed, Zelda blinks twice before standing up. "W-what is this about? What do you mean you have to leave?"
"I want you to know that every day spent with you are the most cherished memories that I have and I will carry them with me always."
"Link, you're scaring me…"
"You're going to be ok." Link places his hands on Zelda's shoulders before kissing her forehead. "Never be afraid."
Smiling, Link breaks away from Zelda and quietly walks out the door. Still shocked, Zelda refocuses and rushes for the door. Looking out into the now disturbingly long hallway, Zelda spots Link walking down the corner and she desperately gives chase.
"Why?! Where are you going?!" Zelda shouts, hoping to catch Link's attention as the hall gets longer and longer. "Link!" After what seemed like an eternity of running, Zelda finally trips and falls to the ground as Link disappears from view. Getting on her knees, Zelda looks down the hall with teary eyes. "YOU SAID YOU'D NEVER LEAVE ME BEHIND! SO WHY!?" Zelda shouts in despair as her voice echoes through the hall, lowering her head as her tears hit the floor. "Don't go where I can't follow…"
Unexpectedly, a large collection of malice covers the hall, catching Zelda's attention. Hearing footsteps, Zelda reels in horror as Ganondorf walks down the hall with his sights set on her and she runs down the opposite direction. To her shock, she runs into a wall that cuts off her escape and she presses her back to it as Ganondorf looms ever closer. Curiously, Ganondorf stops around five feet away from her; until a large pool of phazon separates the two and Dark Samus emerges from it. Hyperventilating, Zelda begins calling out, but finds that her voice has vanished and after a tense moment, Dark Samus grabs Zelda; covering her mouth with her left hand as the blue Triforce mark glows brightly and Zelda's eyes widen in terror.
Zelda awakens with a start, breathing heavily as Link sits over her with his arms on her shoulders.
"Link?"
"Shh, Samus is sleeping." Link hushes Zelda, pointing to Samus sleeping soundly on the cot beside his. "What happened?"
Sitting up, Zelda grabs a rag to wipe the sweat on her forehead. "I'm sorry, I had a nightmare. I think tomorrow's mission has me on edge…"
Link gently strokes one of Zelda's bangs behind her ear. "You're alright, it was just a nightmare; nothing more." Link confirms and Zelda nods in reluctant acceptance. "It's only just midnight; we still have plenty of hours left. You should take advantage and get back to sleep."
"Right, I'm sorry for waking you. Thank you, Link."
With that settled, Link returns to his cot and let's Zelda find sleep again. However, Zelda can't keep her eyes shut and, taking her nightmare into account, decides on another method to hopefully give her peace of mind.
"Link?"
"Hmm?" Link answers, close to falling asleep.
"I don't want to disturb you, but can I ask you one selfish request?"
"Go ahead."
Before she answers, Link feels his cot move; opening his eyes, he sees Zelda sitting on the unoccupied side, looking at him with pleading eyes.
"…Can you hold me?"
Initially surprised by such a request, Link concedes and extends his right arm outward. Slowly, Zelda lowers herself on the cot and Link wraps his arms around her. Zelda snuggles her head on Link's chest, hearing his heartbeat and how it relaxes her and she soon begins to drift off to sleep. Link, for his part, focuses on Zelda's breathing and how it sounds more peaceful than a few minutes ago and gently strokes her hair as he starts to fall asleep as well. Before they both let sleep take them, Link whispers to Zelda one last time.
"Never be afraid…"
Morning
Link and Zelda's peaceful slumber is interrupted by a hand stroking the formers shoulder, stirring him awake.
"Samus?" Link acknowledges Samus's presence, seeing her look down on him with her hair loose.
"…It's time." Samus quietly states with an undiscernible expression.
"Alright, we'll be up in a minute."
Nodding, Samus walks out the door to talk with Teba and the others. Now alone, Link looks at the still sleeping Zelda resting her head on his chest. Though he feels guilt for doing so, Link gently shakes Zelda's shoulder and she awakens in response.
"Hey."
"Hello." Zelda answers, rubbing her eyes.
"It's time to go."
"Ah, very well then." Zelda sits up and stretches her arms up and outward as Link does the same while he sits in the opposite end of the cot. After a moment of staying seated, Link pats his lap before standing up quickly; grabbing his badge to reactivate his suit, placing the Master Sword, Bow of Light and Hylian Shield on his back. Zelda, meanwhile, grabs her cloak, rapier, Ancient Bow and Sheikah Slate, equipping them on herself. Now prepared, they both share a nod and exit the room together to meet the others.
Piper Ridge hideout
As Link and Zelda enter the hideout proper, they see several Rito warriors armed with Chozodium swords and several bundles of arrows, Sooga and the Yiga armed with same weaponry and awaiting near the entrance, the Rito women having several of the crates full of weapons ready for deployment and Teba, Harth and Chief Kaneli preparing to address everyone. As they reach the center, Link and Zelda catch a pair of apples offered by Tulin, much to their gratitude.
"Alright everyone, gather round. Gather round." Teba calls out and everyone present move in to listen to what he has to announce. "Good. Now, today is the day of our assault on Rito Village. According to Sooga and his men, while they have attacked several outposts earlier, the enemy forces have only experienced minimal changes to their capacity; the enemy forces are still very strong. However, the destroyed outposts give us a small advantage; we can now get in closer than expected. While the Rito can swoop down quickly and the Yiga can sneak up on the enemies, Link and his allies can move in under their noses since it's just the three of them. Here is our plan of attack; the Yiga have agreed to make the first move. Using this spear with a super missile attached to the head, offered by Samus Aran, Sooga will throw it at a nearby patrol route to dwindle a few numbers and to cause a distraction while the Rito swoop down and rain hails of arrows on the enemies. Remember, we are not to engage any enemy forces in close combat unless it becomes necessary and you are to never come in contact with the one called Ridley; you are all to evade him at any moment he sets his sight on you. Our current objective is not to win the battle, but to lower the barrier; our princess has come up with a strategy to get to Vah Medoh in one piece to purify the phazon that infests it."
At this, Link glances at Zelda to his side, who winks at him in assurance. Deciding not to press further, Link focuses on the plan.
"If, no, when the barrier lowers, the Allied Forces; consisting of Hylian soldiers, Sheikah, Zoras, Gorons and Gerudo, will storm inside to engage the enemy forces along with us; that is where the Rito that stay behind here will set up the crates at strategic points by the barrier where the Allied Forces will retrieve them and be prepared for battle. This will take approximately 10 minutes, we just need to hold out until then. Everyone, we have all lost a lot these past few days, but the time to take it all back is now. We've faced the Calamity before, something like this should not wear us down; we will win this, one way or another. We will win this fight."
After Teba finishes his speech, everyone present shouts in acknowledgement as they prepare to move out. As Link observes the Yiga leaving to monitor the enemy from afar, with Sooga nodding at him before he leaves, Teba hugs Saki and Tulin while Harth hugs his little daughter Molli, assuring her that everything is going to be ok. The other Rito warriors do the same with their families before they follow Teba and Harth out of the hideout and towards the sky. Now standing at the entrance, Link is joined by Zelda and Samus; sharing a quick glance at each other and then at the remaining Rito before running outside and towards the Village.
Link, Zelda and Samus reach as far as Nero Hill and make a perilous trip past the area around Gisa Crater and stop near the dirt path to Passer Hill, avoiding Guardian Skywatchers and sparsely placed Corrupted monsters.
"Ok, once more; we will not make any real progress unless we bring down the barrier first. So, the plan is to get at least Zelda and I up there, the Rito said that there is a hot air balloon near Dronoc's Pass. Therefore, Harth is going to take me up top to Vah Medoh so I can clear out any enemies on it, while you and Zelda take the balloon up; the cold wind and lack of visibility should keep you both hidden and then you can meet me on the Divine Beast." Samus states, laying down the instructions.
"Wow, that's certainly a plan. Zelda, you came up with it?" Link asks.
"Yes, I took what Rundas said into consideration and came up with it." Zelda answers, looking to see that no one is around who might overhear that. "What do you think?"
"It's…actually pretty smart, I'll admit."
"Good, now…we wait." Samus comments as all three of them kneel down. Unbeknownst to them, an armored Yiga stationed by the slope at Cuho Hill had heard their plan and teleported away to inform the headquarters at Rito Village…
Kolami Bridge
Reaching the area below the bridge, Sooga and several of his men await the arrival of a patrol with a Guardian Stalker and several Corrupted monsters to cross.
"Brothers, when we blow the bridge…prepare for battle." Sooga commands as he arms the super missile spear.
"Yes, Master Sooga." The Yiga acknowledge in unison.
Eight minutes later, the patrol arrives and they await for it to get to the center of the bridge. As they enter the indicated point, Sooga aims the spear.
"This is it…" When the patrol reaches the center, Sooga throws the spear, destroying the bridge and the patrol, alerting all nearby Corrupted Yiga, monsters and Guardians to the commotion. From Medoh's Perch, Ridley awakens from his slumber and peeks out from his wings covering his body, snarling as his eyes glow. A small squad of Yiga archers arrive as Sooga jumps out from the ravine and draws a pair of Chozodium claymores and the archers respond by shooting at him with phazite arrows. To their shock, Sooga uses the Chozodium claymores to deflect the arrows, leaving the blades undamaged.
"ATTACK!" Sooga shouts, pointing a claymore at the enemies as his Yiga join him, bellowing as they charge at the Corrupted Yiga with their new weapons. From the scattered trees, the Rito (led by Teba and Harth) fly out and start shooting arrows at the monsters around the land surrounding the ravine to Rito Village.
From a hut in the Village, Silas emerges to see the scattered attacks. "SOUND THE ALARM! LAUNCH AN IMMEDIATE COUNTERATTACK!" At Silas' command, a Yiga watchman blows a horn to rally the troops; Guardian Turrets activate around the Village and open fire towards the sky, Guardian Skywatchers enter attack mode and scatter around the area, Guardian Stalkers emerge from the ravine and begin to attack the Allied Yiga, forcing them to evade the laser fire. From across the land, several phazon tentacles erupt from the ground and release many golden Corrupted monsters. Several of said monsters block the path to Dronoc's Pass, waiting for Link and the others as they emerge from Passer's Hill.
"Well, I don't think they're going to let us through." Samus comments, activating her weapons systems.
"Then let's forget about stealth." Link concurs, drawing the Master Sword on his right hand and the Bow of Light on his left.
Zelda draws her rapier and, to the slight surprise of her comrades, radiates her power and floats a few centimeters above the ground. "All of Hyrule unites against you!"
From the perch, Ridley flexes his wings and roars in defiance, adding to the already chaotic battlefield as his forces launch an all out attack.
"Let's go!" Link shouts as he, Zelda and Samus charge at the besieging monsters; their ultimate goal within their grasp.
To be continued
Author's note: Ok, the time has come at last! Guys/girls, I'll be honest; I cant believe I'm this close to ending the second-third of this story that was started over 5 years ago. It actually feels unreal that I'm more or less one step closer to the end. Don't worry though, it won't end in about 5 or 6 more chapters; there's still plenty more that I haven't gotten to yet. So, I just want to thank all of you for sticking around on this story and it means so much to me. Alright guys/girls, take care. :)