Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, because that belongs to Nintendo. If I did, people wouldn't like what I'd do with it. And Nintendo would send people to kill me in my sleep.

A HERO'S UNDYING BREATH

The Calamity had begun with absolutely no warning. Earlier that very day, he and Princess Zelda had trekked up Mount Lanayru as a final attempt to unlock her sealing power. It had failed, and just as they had reached the base of the mountain, it had arrived. The Guardians unearthed by the Sheikah were deployed to protect the people, but they had all been swayed somehow by the Malice that Calamity Ganon exuded. Their protectors had become their executioners, and no one was spared. The flames in Castle Town could be seen as far away as Faron.

Not even the Champions stood a chance. The moment that Calamity unearthed itself, they had all made haste to their Divine Beasts in the hope they could act fast enough to vanquish the dark beast. They all perished at the hands of Calamity, who had sent a scourge to each Divine Beast to ambush the Champions. Now the Divine Beasts stood inactive and corrupted with Malice, the spirits of their pilots trapped within, unable to fight back.

Zelda despaired to Link that she had failed, that her efforts to unlock her power had been for nothing, and he had held her stoically as she wept in his arms. Nevertheless, the Princess and her knight pushed forward until they reached Blatchery Plain. Once they rode past the walls of Fort Hateno, they'd be in a better position to plan how to repel the Guardians.

That was the plan, until a Guardian beam landed a bit too close to the horse Link had taken from a dead knight. He and Zelda were thrown to the ground as the horse suddenly reared, and it took off into the rain and fire. Link was up in an instant, helping Zelda to her feet and shielding her as a curious Guardian approached them. Link drew the Master Sword from the sheath on his back and leapt into action. First, he took off two of its legs, and they fell uselessly to the ground. Next, he stepped onto its sparking metal stump, and vaulted himself into the air. He drew the sword back, and thrust it forward directly into the Guardian's eye. It shook as the Malice seemingly boiled out of it, and lit up with a yellow flash as a component exploded within. With a final shudder, the Guardian went dark and slumped over.

Not wasting a moment, Link took Zelda's hand and started to run. They just needed to reach the fort. They sprinted through the rain and mud, not daring to let each other go. Link would dispatch any Guardians that happened to cross their path, and keep Zelda safe. He was a like a blur in combat, rendering the machines useless in seconds.

Before Link could make a move, the Guardian swatted him aside with one of its legs and stood before a wide-eyed Zelda. It raised a clawed foot into the air, prepared to bring it down right onto her, when it suddenly jerked and beeped in protest. Link had dragged himself onto the machine, and jammed the Master Sword into the seam between its upper and lower half. Out of desperation, he started to wrench the sword back and forth in the seam, hoping he'd eventually hit something important. His prayers were answered when it dropped dead in front of Zelda, who hadn't moved. He slid off the Guardian's lower half, and winced as he landed. Giving himself a once over, he noticed his sword arm hanging loosely out of its socket. With a quick jerk, he popped it back in with barely a grunt of pain. Zelda finally remembered to blink and breathe.

Two more Guardians took notice of the pair. Seeing this, Link clenched his sword tighter.

Zelda didn't know just how long this repeated, but it must've been hours. No matter how many of the damned things Link took down, there were at least three more to fill the space it left. And no matter how much Link was grabbed, thrown, trampled, or shot at, he barely slowed down. No matter how much abuse he took, he made damn sure that not one of them got close to Zelda. The soldiers stationed at the field barely had time to fight back and could only watch as Link led a one-man assault on the Calamity.

When it seemed as if he'd cleared the entire field, the earth rumbled. Link, Zelda, and the soldiers wouldn't discover this until later, but the pillars which had erupted from the ground around Hyrule Castle had released another battery of Guardians. Just enough to trample a pesky spot of resistance in Eastern Hyrule...

The bloodbath that followed was the stuff of nightmares. The soldiers on the plain were utterly slaughtered. Link took a breath and charged once again, determined not to let any harm come to Zelda.

A few more hours passed. Link repeatedly hacked away at the top half of a Guardian, not stopping until its lights went dark. Link backed away, and fell to one knee, leaning on a heavily damaged Master Sword for support. Blatchery Plain was in flames, and Guardians still roamed about, but he had finally earned a reprieve.

Zelda rushed to her knight's side. To say Link was in pain was the understatement of the year, and she couldn't watch this any more. "Link, save yourself! Go!"

He hurt everywhere, he could barely move, barely see, barely breathe. How many time had he been tossed, burnt, gashed, or trampled? Link didn't know anymore. But he swore an oath to the monarchy. And the monarchy may be effectively dead and gone, but Zelda was still here. She still needed to be here. Whatever happened to him in the process of ensuring that was of no consequence to anyone, he thought. Link pushed himself to his feet once more, stumbling on a surely broken leg. He turned to Zelda, his sapphire eyes meeting her own. Between gasping breaths, he heaved out a single instruction to the Princess: "Run... Zelda, run."

The ground began to vibrate as large footsteps drew closer, and another Guardian came into view, cresting over the boulder that Zelda and Link were sheltering behind.

The Guardian and Link stared each other down for a brief moment before the machine started to beep and its eye began to glow red. A thin beam projected itself forward, aiming perfectly for Link's heart. The hero steeled himself, ready to act however he could.

And at that moment, something broke within Zelda. So much had been sacrificed for nothing today. And she wasn't going to let Link throw his life away like this. Not after she'd begun to call him a friend. Not after she'd started to feel... no. No. NO.

"NO!" Zelda cried out as she dashed between the Guardian and her hero, raising a hand towards the Guardian as some sort of feeble defence,

A golden sigil flashed to life on the back of her hand; the Triforce, the symbol of the Goddesses. Time slowed, and Zelda's world was filled with light. A golden bubble exploded from the palm of her hand, and quickly grew to cover the entire field. The glow could be seen from all corners of the kingdom, and the survivors of this day would talk about it for months afterward.

The light dissipated, and one by one, each of the Guardians on the field went limp and ceased their destruction. Blatchery Plain was silent. Zelda examined her hand in bewilderment. "Was... was that...? The power...?"

A tired smile grew across Link's face, and then he collapsed in a broken heap. Zelda whirled around and ran to him, trying her best to prop him up. She needed to get him somewhere safe, he was not going to die today. "No, no...! Link! Get up!"

Link coughed a bit and cracked his eyes open. He was completely drained of everything he had. He met Zelda's gaze, and a part of his heart fluttered with joy. Anyone still alive would've seen the light that she created. She'd finally unlocked her power, and no one could doubt her now.

Because now, there was no doubt, she was going to save everyone.

Link's eyes fell closed, and they wouldn't open again for a hundred years.

THE END

So, work has become my life, and I have nearly no energy or motivation to write. The Evangelion fanfic isn't coming to me right now, but I've gotten back into playing Tears of the Kingdom, so I sat down and manifested this in a couple of hours.

Thanks to CaptainWoomy for proofreading and suggesting the name of the fic. Check their fics out on AO3!