Akko's rescue and escape mission was a great success, Marianne managed to lead an ideal plan for the girl's escape from Appleton, which made Andrew more and more furious that the plan had worked, without having any idea that at that point the girls had already gained a considerable distance to the point that when the search went outside the city they had already gained a huge distance and would soon be off the radar of Hanbridge who was in full swing wanting to somehow find the girl he saw as a prize, but who after six years in captivity had escaped and managed to win her freedom there, being close to her friends who showed that they had not forgotten her at any time.
The days continued to pass, the way for the girls who had escaped was quiet, hardly anyone had discovered the deceit behind the six who had managed to hide their appearances, especially in the case that Andrew didn't know who the people were who had carried out the rescue.
Far away on the high seas, Diana, Hellene and Amanda were about to dock on Arcturus beach for what could be a great reunion. It had been a long few days travelling on the high seas, with the fear of going hungry or not being able to find anything, or just being found byAppleton's troops, even though they had no idea of the news from the outside world.
"Look, we're getting there, you can see the land from afar, Arcturus beach, let's get closer and anchor the boat" said Diana.
"Finally, I couldn't stand being in the sea any longer, this up and down of the last few days has been tiring me out and bringing me down a lot, by the triforce, I don't know how I didn't throw up" said Hellene.
"And here we are finally on land, after so long at sea, I hope we can find out the whole truth, it's been so many years on that island that I've lost count, let's find everyone" said Amanda.
"Hello girls, are you getting to dry land? I'm looking forward to your arrival, according to what you said you could arrive around today and I'm relieved that you've made it this far" said Croix through Cavendish's bracelet.
"The boat survived the worst of the storms and now we can see the beach of the Arcturus forest from a long way off, so from now on we just have to walk along it to find Luna Nova" said the platinum blonde haired woman.
"Take all the care in the world, don't go into the forest at once, at least spend some time resting and set up a shelter until you're safe to leave the place" Meridies said.
"You know we're going to take the necessary precautions, Croix, I'm already relieved that we're in Luna Nova, or close to it at least, after so many days at sea, it's really scary, well we're going now, the boat won't be able to get past here as the water isn't as deep as on Triskellion Island" said the blue-eyed woman and then the conversation ended.
The three of them start to gather their things, anchoring the boat, lowering the sails, following the path through the lands of Arcturus, taking smaller boats, filling them first with the necessary supplies, in this case so that they can take shelter on the beach before setting off into the forest.
With everything loaded into the three important supply boats, the trio heads for the beach and they're all happily setting foot on land as soon as the boats begin to moor themselves on the shore, and they're already taking their first steps, jumping for joy.
"We're here!" The three of them said.
"We've finally reached dry land" said the eldest princess of Wedinburgh.
"I've been looking forward to this, now we're finally going to stand on solid ground, I've been missing what dry land was like" said the purple-eyed girl.
"Let's set up our shelter, we'll spend a day here on the beach, then tomorrow we'll set off through the forest, there must be some way from here to the forest, well from what the map says, we just have to head north-east and we can find the village of Luna Nova" said the green-eyed girl.
"I hope you're right about that and I also hope all the girls are there" said the redhead, who was helping to build a hut right on the edge of the beach.
It was a very peaceful construction of a shelter near the sea, where they could feel a tranquillity in the air, they could take a deep breath and feel what it was like to be on dry land, they could finally be closer than
they thought to knowing the truth and also after six years they would have the chance to return home. Soon they were finishing the rest of the tent, which had a huge space for them to rest, to put up some beds and also to admire the sea views. When they had finished everything, they lit a fire and watched the beauty of the sea sitting on the sandy beach.
"Wow, the landscape here is beautiful, even in this cold, this soft sand, this almost transparent water, this feeling that we've finally reached Luna Nova, I'm so relieved, I thought we'd never be this free before - said the smiling Diana.
"Look, I can't wait until we can get into the dungeons and finally be with Akko, although we couldn't even get into the dungeon on Triskellion Island, there always seems to be a barrier stopping us," said Hellene.
"That must be because we have to go with the chosen heroine, not even Chariot who went ten years ago could get in, it has to be our Akko, but we'll have to find her - Cavendish said.
"Do you still think she's alive? Did she really manage to make that defence against Andrew that you talk so much about her making to ensure her escape and still come out of this in one piece, because the guy is powerful, so it's quite possible that she was either killed, or even if she survives, that she was held prisoner by him"Amanda said.
"If Andrew is aware of the legend, he knows that killing the hero would only make another hero appear to destroy him, someone would be blessed with these powers and access to the dungeons, it could be us, or someone else, in any case if he beat Akko in battle and she can't escape, he's not stupid, he'd probably try to keep her as a prisoner - said the blue-eyed one.
"In any case, our priority now is to find her, so we can get back on the road and maybe defeat the damned thing once and for all. It might even help us rescue our mothers, if the war isn't still going on, even after six years - said the purple-eyed woman.
They continued to talk, eat and watch the sunset, which always turns out to be very impressive on that side of the island, causing a beauty to fill the eyes, until night fell and they began to enter the hut so as not to be hit by monsters, but they soon realised that on that beach they didn't appear, which was less worse, since they didn't have to stay completely inside the monster protection circle they had made around the hut.
So they spent a peaceful night thinking about the next day, and even took the opportunity to rest a little from their tiring journey, sleeping in beds that weren't the most comfortable in the world, but just because they were on dry land was something valuable for the three of
[...]
The next day they explored more of the forest, after eating and resting a lot, they even found a source of water in a river that runs through the forest, which was already a great relief, so they found some various elevations ahead of them since they were close to many waterfalls and needed to climb them.
Hellene had magic ropes in her hands, so it was very easy to follow the path through the forest, heading in the direction of where Luna Nova might be.
"Wow, you're heavy" said Amanda, leading the girls up the rope.
"I'm not heavy, I'm just strong" said McLaren.
"I'm not fat, you're an overachiever who wants to pull two Hyllians by the rope thinking you're going to be the strongest and biggest by doing this, now come on, there's still a long way to go, it looks like we're going to have to climb some more of these mountains" Cavendish said.
"I didn't expect Luna Nova to be so high up, I thought it would be quiet, these mountains are very tiring" said the redhead.
"It's tiring for me, I have to carry you up the ropes for most of the way as I'm the strongest one here, I'll arrive practically armless" said O'Neill.
Even with the difficulties along the way, they manage to climb everything, noticing that it really was a very complicated path to climb, until they walk a bit in the middle of the forest, where they begin to notice that there is at least a small road and it showed the path just where they are going to get close to Luna Nova.
"What a relief, there's a little road round here, there's a track, we can follow it" said the platinum blonde-haired woman.
"I'll only be relieved when I arrive" said the youngest princess, who was about to move on, but was stopped by the two.
"Let's stop here for a while to rest, my feet are hurting a lot now, my arms aren't hurting at all, we'll get to Luna Nova soon, she's not going to run away from us" said Gerudo, who immediately sat down on a log nearby.
The three of them rested for a few minutes, taking the opportunity to eat some of what they had picked up for the journey since they weren't going empty-handed. They didn't hesitate to bring a few things, leaving only the tent with the sailing boat on the beach, while they took some resources in hand, such as food, Rupees and weapons.
The rest was considerable and served to renew their energy, as they also received a message from Croix to talk about the trip.
"Where are you now, girls? How's the beach? You must have had a great time surfing" said Meridies.
"We're already on the trail that leads to Luna Nova, after having climbed the entire escarpment that leads from the beach to the upper part of the forest, it's good that at least there were no monsters on the way, but we're carrying protection for the worst that could happen" said Diana.
"You really don't want to enjoy this trip at all, do you? You should relax a bit, enjoy the beautiful waves, even go surfing, it's not every day that you find a sea with less depth where the waves hit better than the calm and deep sea around Triskellion Island" Said the eldest to the girls.
"We'll leave the fun for later, the priority is to find Akko and the girls, I just want to be able to do what's important, Hyrule depends on us" said Cavendish.
"Well that's fine, it's up to you, but be careful, I'll talk to you whenever I can, I hope you're taking care of yourselves, if the situation gets too dangerous don't be afraid to back off" said the one with the lilac hair, who then ended the conversation.
"Oh that Croix, she's like a mum to us, Chariot too, it makes me miss us..." Said the redhead.
"Tell me about it Hellene, I think about mums every day, I really hope they're all right, I want to run to Wedinburgh straight away and give them a hug, we'll get another real mission to do, I'll even accept being grounded for what we've done, but I just want to see mum" said the one with the platinum blonde hair.
"Come on girls, I've had enough rest, I think we're close to Luna Nova by now" said Gerudo.
The trio gets up and they start to get ready to walk again, which they do quietly along the track, walking along the path that is quite different, where they can see that on the side there is a temple that can only be seen from the top, the temple of Woodward, but they go ahead again, knowing that the path still has something.
A long walk later they came to a huge tree trunk and as they passed it they came across a completely empty and abandoned place, it even looked a bit dead, it was simply what used to be Luna Nova.
"What's wrong? Where is everybody? I went here six years ago, it was very lively, remember that Hellene, there were people walking around the village all the time, now there's no-one left" said the shocked blue-eyed girl.
"There isn't a living soul here, what happened in Luna Nova and why is there no one?" Hellene said, also horrified by what she was seeing.
They walked further through the remains of the village and realised that the houses were completely empty, some of them in ruins, others destroyed, as if the vegetation had taken over the whole place, all that was around was some tall grass and a lot of houses with nothing in them.
The trio went straight to the tree house where Akko was staying and saw the place completely abandoned with no one around, which horrified them, it wasn't what they had expected it to be, the place had been completely taken over by nature, but in such a way that there wasn't a living soul there.
"This is a horror, I thought we could meet someone from here, what the hell? It looks like they've abandoned Luna Nova..." said Diana.
"Well, we can explore more of Hyrule" said the McLaren.
"It's getting a bit late, it took us almost a whole day just to get here, let alone to move on, without knowing the risks, let's at least restore a little of what remains of Akko's house," said Diana as she began to prune some of the branches and vines that had accumulated inside Kagari's house.
"Well, at least we have plenty of houses to stay in for the night," said O'Neill.
"Akko... I thought I'd find you here..." Cavendish said as tears fell down her cheeks.
"Well, we can take the opportunity to stay at the leader's cosy house, she seems to be in one piece, I'll go there, you stay there" said Amanda.
"You go, I want to stay here for a moment with Akko's house, will you help me with it Hellene?" The sisters start to help each other tidy up the house that Atsuko used to live in during her childhood and part of her teenage years.
The curious Gerudo didn't hesitate and went on to explore more of the village, entering the house of the elderly leader and, as she walked round, she saw that it was very spacious, with some candles, but she was soon amazed by the presence of a girl who was there, not just one, but two, one with purple eyes and the other with red eyes, who were soon amazed by the size of the girl who had come so far.
"Wait, don't run away, we're not here to hurt, I'm a peaceful Gerudo" said O'Neill.
"We heard and saw you leave, I saw that the princess is with you, only Sifla is a little scared, after so many years we've seen someone trustworthy around here" said the older blonde.
"And who are you?" Amanda asks.
"I'm Annabel Créme and I managed to escape from Appleton's clutches, when they tried a surprise attack here before I put the protections on the city at the request of the elder Holbrook, I'll tell you, this is Sifla, she was only 8 years old when it all happened, we had no idea that a war would break out here, I had rushed back from Blyghtonbury and went to Luna Nova to notify the people here, well we'll tell you more details, where are the princesses now?" Annabel said.
"The two of them are where Atsuko Kagari's house used to be, they're still sorting out a place to stay for the night" said Gerudo.
"Well, I think we can help" said Crème, who got up from her chair.
With that they walked back to Akko's tree house, where the two of them were struggling to clear away the vegetation, but it seemed that the motivation of the princess of Luna Nova was stronger than any vegetation, she was going to go beyond what was possible for the love she still had for Kagari and wasn't hesitating, but soon she received an unexpected visit from Amanda accompanied by two girls.
"Hey, I know you, I remember you came with us when we moved here six years ago" said Diana.
"Yes, it's me, Annabel, let's finish tidying up, I thought you were with Akko and the girls, I'm going to help you and tell you everything, it's quite a heavy story" said the blonde as she began to help the girls.
[...]
They were quick to finish tidying up the surroundings, doing what they needed to do to put the finishing touches to the place. Afterwards, they rested and the sun was close to setting, so Annabel began to offer the girls a place to sit down.
They even started to eat around the house and from there the story time with Créme began.
"You remember that six years ago there was a war, I was in Blyghtonbury, I left here from Luna nova just over a week after you left, when I set off back home I came across Wedinburgh's troops standing by and soon after I saw a swarm of Appleton's troops arriving, there were a lot of them, they came like steamrollers destroying everything in their path, I quickly got on my horse, I trotted as fast as I could, I warned everyone that there was a massive attack coming here? I then ran off to try and warn the village, but nobody believed me and soon they came, the various soldiers from Appleton, they arrived the day after they attacked Blyghtonbury, it was a real massacre, they killed everyone here, including the old woman, the few survivors were women and they were taken away as slaves, I saw the fire that was raging here, I was hiding in the forest watching everything, some were trying to escape, but that's when I saw those troops, they were using arrows in all directions... In a few minutes they'd already made a real clean sweep around here... Anyway,
that's what happened around here, then I managed to come out alive, I was a coward not to attack and protect the girls, but I didn't want to die... A few days later, Sifla arrived, she came with her mum, her mum was already badly injured, she came practically bleeding, when she entered Luna Nova she fell to the ground already dead, she had lots of cuts all over her body, some bleeding, all because she was escaping from the clutches of Appleton's soldiers... There were some following us, I even tried to defend myself, but they were strong, luckily Sifla managed to escape and stay hidden, but I... I almost died that day, I killed the soldiers, but that ended up with these cut scars all over my face and body, Sifla healed me after everything was protected, since then we've been looking at the few deeds left over from the fire, we discovered that there was a way to protect the forest from any invaders, we see the people coming through a crystal ball and with that we can let nature itself do the work, we knew you were coming and that's why we didn't activate the defences, we're kind of alerted by the raven Arcor who watches over everything" said the protector of Luna Nova.
"Woah, what a horror and do you know what happened out there? For Appleton's troops to have made it here is not a good sign, they must have made it to Wedinburgh as well" said the curious Diana, who is very worried about her mothers.
"Unfortunately I don't know anything, I just imagine that it was the worst, I think they gained a lot of ground, they were overwhelming troops Diana, there were practically four soldiers for every person from Luna Nova, they came here with weight, they even tried to come more often but I used the nature of Arcturus in my favour, today they are afraid... I don't know what happened to Akko or the other girls, I even thought you all ran away together, or that you managed to stay safe in the queen's hands" said the blonde.
"It's as complex as your situation, but at least you seem to be alive and well" said Cavendish.
They went on to tell each other what had happened during their escape and the things they had been going through over the years, the training they had undergone, all the isolation, and so it came to night, where they could stay in a safe place, but the next day the blue-eyed one already made a point of going out and checking everything, the most important mission for her being to collect information on Akko's whereabouts.
The next day Cavendish woke up and had a good rest, before preparing for another outing, which Annabel even insisted she stay an extra day just so she would be safe to leave, which the eldest princess decided to give in to.
Little did she know that something was waiting for her in the forest, coming from the roads that linked the village to the town of Blyghtonbury, which was under Appleton's dominion, but it wasn't that strong a dominion, the six girls who had escaped from Appleton were finally gaining a lot of distance, they had come close.
"What nostalgia for this road, to think that I passed it the first time I was free of Luna Nova and now here I am returning to it" said Atsuko.
"Ah, but at least we're finally away from Appleton, it's been a long day's journey, by nowAndrew must be furious hahahaha, he has no idea we're so far away and he's starting to fabricate a counter-attack that Appleton will never forget" said Marianne.
"Who'd have thought we'd be coming back to this place, it's a bit strange, it looks abandoned, but it must be Appleton, even the normal roads look like this" said Sucy.
"I just hope I have all the answers to what happened there, we couldn't ask anything of the people on the way, without causing suspicion, everyone is always very fearful about Andrew's tyrant, it's funny that they try to look for us, Andrew has no idea that I ran away with you" said Kagari.
And down the road they went, happily chatting, relieved that they had gained enough distance, at least without arousing suspicion, while Appleton's troops had just started to search more of the towns around the kingdom and also the roads trying to somehow locate the girl.
In the middle of the road, near the entrance to Luna Nova, the raven of Luna Nova, Arcor, who had come to talk to the girls and was surprised to see the older brownish girl, appeared.
"Oh Akko, you've really grown up and got older, hello girl, it's been a long time, you've managed to escape from Andrew Hanbridge's clutches, but the journey ahead will be arduous, the dangers will be enormous, not only will you be dealing with Appleton's troops, but also dungeon dangers that won't forgive novice mistakes, anyway welcome back to Luna Nova Akko, I hope you're well and prepared" said the departing raven and the girls shrugged.
"I'm not afraid of new mistakes, I've faced worse in Appleton, I've been training all these years to avenge what happened, come on, now it's our time to get back to Luna Nova and safe" said the cheerful girl with the crimson eyes.
She crossed the huge tree trunk, which became dark enough to reveal the other side. As she walked along it, she noticed that the village was empty, there was not a single person in it, everything was half dead and also abandoned.
Akko was able to see who she most wanted to see, the face with those blue eyes and platinum blonde hair, it was her, the princess of Wedinburgh, who immediately took off her wig and ran screaming her name when she saw her face.
"Diana!" shouts Atsuko.
Cavendish turns round, looks at the older Kagari and rushes in for a hug, the two of them stand close together and seal their lips, as if it were the last kiss of their lives, but it was a kiss designed to be intense, they expressed all the feelings they had stored up over six long years, as if an aura was flowing around them, which shocked the girls when they saw that everyone was there, even a few tears fell and blurred the brownish make-up she was wearing as a disguise.
Then the two of them faced each other with huge smiles on their faces, hope returning to them, finally reunited after everything that had happened.
"Akko you're back and you're alive! You're finally back! You're yourself! I can't forget a kiss as good as the one you gave me... I love you so much Akko, I'm so happy you're here in front of me" said the blue-eyed girl who was overcome with emotion and was having her tears wiped away by her beloved.
"I did survive, although after everything I saw I even considered not wanting to be here any more, but I'm glad we were finally able to see each other and it seems your sister was also very happy to see someone" said the crimson-eyed woman as she looked at Hellene, who was kissing Marianne.
"Akko! You're back" said Sifla and Annabel.
"They seem to have abandoned everything here Annabel, do you know what happened? Where are the people? Where is everyone?" Sucy asks, looking around.
"The guys and everybody, it's just me and Sifla, the guys... Things have happened around here, apparently you already know that Appleton won, since you came north and passed through Blyghtonbury, the way you dressed in disguise, I imagine you can't move around so freely without being discovered" said Crème.
"I have the news about everything, Andrew told me about all the events, I'm well aware of the massacre he carried out here in Luna Nova, he made a point of detailing it to me as soon as I arrived in Appleton, I'm well aware of everything... Unfortunately I know... Appleton has completely taken over Hyrule, but I'll tell you about that in more detail in a moment, I just want to enjoy the moment now, not only am I free from Appleton's clutches, but I've finally been able to see you again... I've been missing you all! I didn't know if the escape went well, at least I managed to do one thing right" said the relieved Akko with a smile on her face.
"So they really captured you, Akko?" asks a worried Diana.
"Yes... I lived for six years in Andrew's captivity, he saw me as a trophy, his intentions are to marry you to become king, he also wants to complete the triforce, that's why we're here, we've come to the dungeon of the temple of Luna Nova, I remember well that the elder Holbrook never even let us go near it because it was so dangerous, but now we'll have to overcome our fears and together form an organisation to defeat the evil spirit of Ganondorf that is in Andrew and thus bring peace back to Hyrule" said the motivated Atsuko.
The girls all join hands to create a group to stay together for a great mission and then stand up shouting together as a way of saying that they are ready for whatever comes their way and it won't be an easy mission, after all Appleton has a lot of power in his hands, but it will be the moment to free him from evil once and for all.
"I'm glad you're back Akko, you have no idea how much I've thought about you, in fact I've even managed to restore some of your house" said the smiling Cavendish.
"Oh thank you Diana, I'm glad you haven't forgotten me, I haven't stopped thinking about you either, I'm grateful that I was able to be rescued and now I'm not going to back down, I'll go all the way to honour the queens... And save Hyrule" said Kagari with her fists clenched.
"Akko? Something happened... Something happened with my mums..." Said the blue-eyed girl who realised her lover's change of tone.
"I'll tell you in detail... Things aren't the best, unfortunately... Andrew is a bastard and I'm going to bring peace to Hyrule, I'm going to... It's more than a question of being the chosen heroine, it's now become a personal issue" said the crimson-eyed girl who was already tearing up.
The group that was with Akko already knew, but the girls from Luna Nova were processing the sudden information they'd heard and already making up some theories in their heads about what had probably happened, but mostly feeling relieved that they were finally all together in Luna Nova.
A long voyage by sailing boat by Diana, Hellene and Amanda later, they were able to reach the mainland of Hyrule, but found an empty village and the result of all that war, discovering that things were worse than they thought, but at least they were happy about one thing, that was Akko's return to the place and finally being able to see each other again after six long years of what was a war that separated them all to some different corner, but they could be together and strong.