Echoing booms thundered through the mountainside. With each explosive tremor, the princess felt as if she was going to be knocked to her feet. Yet despite this, she felt a thrill as the Divine Beast finally came into view.
Vah Ruta resembled a prehistoric creature known as an elephant: a massive, mechanical marvel from ten thousand years in Hyrule's past. Glowing with blue light, it stomped around the mountain and lifted its trunk, releasing a triumphant trumpet.
Va-rooooooooo!
A fountain of water rained down on the crowd. Screams of joy came from the younger Zora. The adults just sighed in exasperation, shaking their clothes to quickly try and dry off.
"Hmmph." King Rhoam looked up at the machine and frowned. "The Divine Beast is a weapon of war," he said, to no one in particular. "It should not be used for cheap parlor tricks."
The princess looked away in embarrassment. Count on her father to find a way to turn even this momentous occasion into a somber affair. She looked back up at the top of Vah Ruta, where, barely visible from so far away, a tall red figure waved down at them. Mipha. She had successfully managed to connect with the Divine Beast as its pilot.
A tremor shook the ground as the trunk of Vah Ruta slammed against the ground in a sudden, unexpected movement. A few collective screams escaped from some of the frightened onlookers as they ducked for cover.
"Sorry!" a voice echoed from the machine: Mipha, princess of the Zora and pilot of the Divine Beast. "I am still getting used to controlling it."
The Hyrulian princess gave a weak chuckle and glanced back over at her father, whose frown had only deepened. They had a lot of work to do.
All of Lanayru trembled as Vah Ruta thrashed around the lake, its trumpeting cries loud enough to be heard for miles around. A wave cascaded over the cliffs when its trunk swung around, showering the entirety of the Zora city in a spray of water.
Zelda was huddled in a corner of the throne room with dozens of Zora, Lizal, and Hylians who were taking shelter, trying to hear the voices coming through the Sheikah Slate over the chaos.
"It's just Vah Ruta!" Purah was shouting. In the background, Zelda could hear the sounds of papers being thrown about and mechanical parts falling - Robbie attempting to do something, no doubt. "The other three Divine Beasts are standing in the same spots they've been in since Calamity Ganon fell. It doesn't make any sense!"
"Could it be that somebody got inside and activated it?" Zelda asked.
"No, the Divine Beasts aren't like some random machine you can walk up to and turn on. It takes somebody with immense power to control it. Remember when we were finding Champions to pilot them one hundred years ago? Even Urbosa struggled to get the hang of things."
"It could be that Vah Ruta is acting on a sort of automated system!" Robbie's voice shouted, though he still sounded far away. "The Divine Beasts were designed to fight against Calamity Ganon's power - perhaps something caused a sensor to activate and reawaken it!"
"That's true!" Purah sounded pleased. "Zelda, you mentioned that the Lizal have a village nearby. Do you think maybe they still have a little bit of Calamity Ganon in them? Enough to awaken Vah Ruta?"
Zelda looked over at the center of the throne room, where the Lizal leader Ripclaw was poring over a map with Link, Sidon, King Dorephan, and a dozen others. She turned back to the slate. "I don't think so. The Lizal are very committed to helping Hyrule heal, and they have given us no indication that they are still under any influence from the Demon King."
"Hmmm." She could imagine Purah's expression right now, with one hand on her hips and another to her chin, deep in thought. "Well, in any event, keep an eye out for evildoers, princess. Something is causing Vah Ruta to act this way."
"I understand, but what can we do to stop it? I fear it will destroy all of Lanayru if we don't do something." She glanced back up at the group. "What about Sidon? He is Mipha's brother, after all - perhaps he could attempt to take control and pilot Vah Ruta?"
"That could just work," Purah said. "If worse comes to worst, though, you may have to destroy the console at the center of the machine. Break that, and it won't have the power to do anything."
"NO!" Robbie's voice screamed in the distance. "That is a precious artifact! We still haven't done any research into how the ancient Sheikah people powered such a machine in the first place! It's priceless, priceless! You cannot simply-"
There was a crashing sound, followed by a moment of silence. "Robbie?" Zelda asked, concerned. "Purah, is everything alright?"
"Everything is fine, princess!" Purah sounded out of breath. "Just kicked Robbie out of the workshop for a minute. He'll be fine." She paused for a moment. "Obviously, we would like to keep Vah Ruta intact. After all, you never know when you might need the power of a Divine Beast. But if Sidon, or anybody else for that matter, can't control it…"
"We'll do what is necessary." Zelda nodded. "Thank you, Purah. I will reach out to you if we have any more questions."
"Sounds good. Stay safe out there, princess!"
"You, too." Zelda shut off communication and clipped the slate back to her belt. After taking a moment to collect herself, she returned to the group.
"What say the Sheikah?" Master Ripclaw asked her.
Zelda cleared her throat. "They believe that our best chance of stopping this rampage is to get somebody inside of Vah Ruta and take control, to pair with the machine and become its new pilot." She nodded at Sidon. "As Mipha was your sister, you seem the best candidate for the position, if you are willing."
He flashed her one of his signature smiles. "You can count on me! It would be my honor to pilot the Divine Beast."
"But how will you get close enough to seize control?" King Dorephan questioned. "Our scouts can barely get to the edge of the lake without Vah Ruta's defensive systems activating and repelling them."
A huge tremor shook the throne room. Link braced himself against the table and nodded at the Zora prince. "We'll do what we did before when I stopped it the first time."
"I will send some of my fastest warriors to serve as a distraction," Master Ripclaw croaked. "If the machine has activated because of our presence, then the least we can do is keep it from attacking you." He gestured at Dorephan. "With your permission, of course."
The king nodded. "Of course. In a time of crisis such as this, I would be foolish not to accept your assistance."
Sidon posed confidently. "Then it is decided! Let us hurry."
As it turned out, Dorephan's scouts had understated the difficulty of getting anywhere near Vah Ruta, and the act of simply getting to the East Reservoir Lake proved to be a challenge in and of itself.
The easiest way to get to the lake would have been to travel east out from the city and make their way up a staircase alongside one of the lake dams. But the tremors had done irreparable damage: parts of the staircase had simply broken off and fallen twenty stories into the turbulent waters below, and the dam itself was beginning to crack, streams of water spilling through. Zelda felt a chill upon seeing the damage - if the dams broke, most of the Zora Domain would become completely flooded. The loss of life alone would be devastating, not to mention the permanent damage it would do to the surrounding ecosystem and infrastructure. They needed to stop Vah Ruta, and fast.
With their initial path destroyed, Sidon led them to a waterfall to the north. It was just the four of them - Zelda, Link, Sidon, and Master Ripclaw. The Zora prince turned to the Lizal. "Can you swim up waterfalls?"
Ripclaw let out a surprised croak. "Are you telling me you Zora can?"
"Of course! It's a bonafide right of passage, climbing your first waterfall! I did it when I was not but a small fry." Sidon sighed. "Very well then. Master Ripclaw, if you would be so kind as to climb on my back. Princess Zelda, I would ask that you put your arms around Link's neck. He knows what to do."
Zelda did as instructed, blushing as her hands felt Link's torso through the thin Zora armor. "I am not entirely sure I follow what he means, Link, but I hope you know what you are - OH MY HYLIA!"
With a burst of energy, Link began swimming up the waterfall. Though his movements were no different than as if he were swimming normally, they were positioned vertically, not horizontally. For a thrilling few seconds, they rushed upwards, until at last Link had reached the peak and they landed softly on solid ground once more.
Zelda turned and retched into a nearby bush. "Is the princess okay?" she heard Sidon ask.
Finally catching her breath, she stood up at her full height. "I was just…caught off guard," she explained.
"She doesn't like heights," Link added.
"That is not the point!" Whirling around, she stomped off in the direction of the lake. "Come on, we have much to do."
They made their way along the cliffside that spanned the north end of the lake. Much of the mountainous terrain was broken and shattered from Vah Ruta's rampage, which continued even as they walked. As queasy as she felt, watching the Divine Beast stomp around the lake gave her a better sense of what they were dealing with. Its movements were chaotic, frantic, as if the machine were desperately trying to find something.
"Was it like this when you faced it before?" she asked Link. He shook his head.
"I've never seen Vah Ruta like this," Sidon confirmed. His voice had lost its usual cheery tone. "Before, when Link and I saved it from Ganon's Malice, it just stood still, spraying water into the air. It never thrashed like this."
"It is almost like it's throwing a temper tantrum," Master Ripclaw suggested.
Staring back down at the Divine Beast, Zelda found that she agreed with the Lizal's assessment. The swinging of its trunk, the way it stomped its feet and trumpeted furiously…it did remind her of a small child throwing a fit when they didn't get their way. Was that all this was? Was the Divine Beast simply throwing a tantrum because it no longer had a pilot?
"Well, hopefully Sidon can get it to calm down," she said hopefully.
He managed to flash half a grin before his face returned to its somber expression.
They followed a treacherous route down to a stony beach against the north edge of the lake. Across the lake, a mixed group of Zora and Lizal awaited their signal, both parties looking uncomfortable with each other. Still, Zelda was emboldened by the fact that they had agreed to work together at all - it was a sign that perhaps the two peoples could achieve peace when all was said and done.
"Remind me of the plan again," Master Ripclaw croaked, taking a soft step into the water.
Zelda held out a hand and flexed her fingers, a thrill running through her as the Bow of Light appeared in her grip. "Link and Sidon will make their way into Vah Ruta and attempt to either disable it or gain control. Our job will be to keep the Divine Beast busy and ensure that they make it on to the machine safely. Sidon, you mentioned that last time it threw chunks of ice at you?"
"Yes. Link used the Sheikah Slate from my back to block them."
She frowned. "Sadly, most of the capabilities of the Slate were lost after the battle with Calamity Ganon. But between my bow and the efforts of the Lizal and Zora warriors, we should be able to keep you well-protected. Are you ready?"
The Zora prince stood with the water up to his shoulders, and Link went and wrapped his arms around his neck. "We're ready, princess," Sidon said. "Let us begin!" He launched himself forward into the icy waters.
Zelda fired a shot into the air, signaling to the troops on the opposite side of the lake that it was time to begin. As they dove into the water, she spun to face the Divine Beast, whose course had brought it around to the east side in a counter-clockwise path.
The first sign of trouble came in those first moments. Vah Ruta, perhaps sensing the forces converging on its location, stopped mid-tantrum and slammed its trunk into the water. This resulted in a rippling wave which spread out over the entire surface of the lake. Several Zora and Lizal were caught in it and sent flying backwards towards solid ground - Zelda watched as Sidon dove beneath the water, Link around his neck, to avoid the wave. She didn't have time to check on when they resurfaced, as she had to duck behind a large boulder to avoid the shockwave of water that splashed around her.
Standing up, it was immediately apparent that their forces were already scattered. Half of the warriors who were supposed to be running interference were either on the nearby beaches or floating for their lives on the west end of the lake, trying not to be swept away in the continuous ripples formed from Vah Ruta's assault. Sidon and Link were above the surface once more, but giant blocks of ice were already bearing down on them.
"No!" Zelda drew her bow and fired three shots in quick succession. Two shots completely missed their mark, harmlessly striking Vah Ruta's legs. The shot that did strike an ice block didn't destroy the frozen block, but it did cause it to fall into the lake, where she hoped it would not continue towards her friends.
Ripclaw, surging along the top of the water, leapt out of it and spat out two bursts of fluid, both of which hit the remaining ice blocks. Sidon managed to avoid the last block which hurtled towards him, deftly dodging to the right. Still, more blocks formed in front of the machine and launched forward.
For a few minutes, the battle passed in a gentle back-and-forth as Vah Ruta flung ice blocks and everyone worked to keep them away from Sidon and Link. The Divine Beast seemed to almost know that the Zora prince and Hyrulian knight were coming for it - mayhaps it remembered them from before, or possibly it was just because they were the only ones who dared get so close. And though progress was slow, they were indeed getting close. Zelda was just beginning to think that the day was won when tragedy struck.
Sidon and Link were nearly to the Divine Beast's side. A few more ice blocks were lazily floating in their direction, but Vah Ruta's attacks had become less aggressive, less consistent. It had seemed as if the machine had given up, and was possibly going to allow them to board without incident.
Then it raised its trunk, and Zelda realized it had all been a ruse.
FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A beam of light erupted from the trunk of the Divine Beast, slicing through the water directly beside the duo. Two separate waves, one on either side of the blast, rose up, sweeping up any unlucky enough to be nearby. This included Link and Sidon, who were tossed like ragdolls onto the northern shore.
"Link!" She rushed over to them as a tsunami of water washed over her, drenching her from head to foot. "Link, Sidon, are you both okay?"
Both warriors groaned in pain. They were unconscious, but alive. Sidon's body had bruises and scrapes all over, and his ceremonial sash had become torn and lay discarded on the pebbles nearby. Link was in worse condition, still recovering from his fall several days earlier. Zelda's shoulders fell. Neither of them were in a state to try again.
Master Ripclaw swam up to the shore, having managed to somehow avoid injury. "Princess, the dam…"
She faced where he was pointing. Vah Ruta's blast had directly struck the western dam, and now it was marked with a great crevice. Water was already pouring out, though a swarm of Zora were already attempting to patch the hole.
For a moment, her world fell silent as her mind fell into a sort of fog. It was all too much, too fast. There was no way they could hope to stop this, no way she could find a way to save everyone…
Then something echoed deep inside her. A light, no…a voice. You are Princess Zelda, it told her. You stopped Calamity Ganon and saved the world once before. Nothing else could possibly compare to that.
Her eyes snapped open, and she knew what she needed to do.
First things first: she needed to get out of these drenched clothes. She tore off her shirt and pants until she stood on the beach in only her undergarments. On any other day she might have felt self-conscious about her state of undress, but now was not the time for that. The sopping-wet clothes were only going to weigh her down.
Next, she needed some supplies. She grabbed Sidon's sash from where it lay discarded on the beach and then began rifling through Link's pack. He seemed to always be carrying a million things with him, if only he had…yes! She pulled out several ice fruit and held them, shivering at their touch.
"Master Ripclaw," she said, well-aware that he was staring in confusion at her. "I am going to need you to get me as close as you can to Vah Ruta. If you will?" She indicated the sash.
The Lizal seemed to realize what she was asking. "Of course, princess," he croaked, kneeling down.
She tied one end of the sash to his horn, wrapping the other around her left wrist. "But how will we stop the ice blocks?" he asked her.
Zelda threw an ice fruit at the edge of the lake, smiling in amusement as the water froze into a thin sheet. She stepped gingerly on it, causing it to sink up to her ankles, then threw another fruit down. The ice froze around her feet, sticking her to the sheet she had created a moment earlier. With both hands free, she re-summoned the Bow of Light. "I will keep us protected," she explained.
"And if it shoots another beam of light at us?"
"Let me worry about that." She glanced over to Link, who was still knocked out. "Stay safe, my knight," she said. Then, turning back to the Lizal: "Let's go."
Though she could tell he was hesitant, Master Ripclaw dove into the water and rushed forward. And their second attempt began.
Vah Ruta's assaults began almost immediately, with blocks of ice flying towards them. It was more difficult this time because Ripclaw had to focus on swimming, and most of the other warriors were either too dazed to be of assistance or were focusing on trying to prevent the entire lake from draining through the cracks in the dams. Zelda was on her own. She tried to be more intentional about her shots this time around, taking a deep breath before releasing the string each time. Her aim wasn't perfect, but she was landing more shots than she was missing. It was enough. Block after block fell into the water, and Ripclaw zipped around them with precision that rivaled even Sidon.
Then the Divine Beast raised its trunk again and prepared to fire.
Zelda knew that what she was about to do was risky. After all, she had never managed to replicate it properly. But as the massive machine prepared to blast her into smithereens, the princess raised her hands and willed the power of the Goddess Hylia forward.
The result was a brilliant ball of golden light which burst from her hand and spread outward. It only lasted a second, but it was enough that even the mighty Divine Beast was momentarily stunned. Its surprise gave Ripclaw enough time to slip below the trunk and away from any potential divine blast. Just ahead of them was a small platform, just above the surface of the water, designed as an entrance to the internal mechanisms of the machine. "We did it!" she exclaimed. "We actually-!"
A block of ice appeared out of thin air and slammed down on Master Ripclaw, sending him beneath the waves with a terrified croak.
"No!" Zelda felt herself flung forward. The Lizal's tail spun up and sent her into the air, and the force was enough that the sash came loose from around her wrist and she was freed from his company.
The momentum of the block, combined with Ripclaw's tail, was enough that she just barely made it to the entry platform. She slammed against the edge, crying out in pain as her body shivered with pain. She scrambled to get a grip on the wet, slimy stone - if she fell, it would be an almost twenty foot drop to the lake's surface below. Somehow, despite the pain, she held on. Heaving herself up, Zelda looked down for any sign of Master Ripclaw.
There! She saw him floating on the surface. He was alive, just barely. "Come here!" she called to him.
The Lizal dove underwater as another block of ice nearly crashed into him. When he resurfaced, he shook his head. "You'll have to go on alone, princess!" he croaked at her. Another projectile smashed against the water beside him, and he was forced to retreat.
She watched him go, glumly aware of the fact that he was right. Sidon and Link were out of commission. No other Zora or Lizal would be able to make it to Vah Ruta, not with the machine causing so much damage.
Turning, she faced the inside of the Divine Beast. It was up to her now.