The Legend of Zelda: Goddess of Secrecy

Mini Boss 18 - Flight of the Maelstrom Valla

 ...at the six winged warrior above him. The feminine figure was bristling with lightning, sparks of the magic licking down her halberd. She looked as if she was beautiful once, but time and exposure to her raging powers had sunk her features in deeper and deeper until she was drawn and hollow in the face. Still, a sort of stern beauty clung to her.

Slowly, Link and Zelda managed to righten themselves in Shade's saddle. Behind him, Link could hear the Rito collecting themselves. Many fled at the sight of the haggard woman, but Taka and Sagi were among the few that lingered in the air. Link could hear the twang of bow strings being drawn.

"Can I borrow something?" Zelda asked, tilting her head back to look up Link.

"Sure?" Link glanced towards his pouch, pulling it open slightly for Zelda to reach in. She sunk her hand into the bag before yanking out Link's very first treasure: his slingshot.

Link, quizative of Zelda's actions, drew his bow. "You have a plan?"

"Kite for a bit. I want to see something," Zelda answered definitively.

Gripping onto the saddle horn, Link tapped Shade's sides. "You heard her."

The Loftwing banked around the fight. For a while the woman's gaze had followed them, but only until the Rito had begun firing on her. A volley of arrows raced towards the figure, most hitting their mark but burning up on the sparks the woman emitted. Link wondered if the attacks had done any damage. The fact that it irritated the hag though suggested that perhaps it had stung just a bit.

After a while, the woman rose her halberd, a thundercloud booming overhead. Then, out of the natural order, lightning began coalescing on the halberd. It writhed around the long shaft and then engulfing the woman's forearm.

It was at this point Zelda leaned forward in the saddle, standing up slightly to get a better view. Link looked up at Zelda, then back at the figure, curious what the princess was intent on.

A series of splintering lightning bolts dashed out across the wreck flight course. Ritos scattered at the attack, some even toppling several feet as the strikes hit them. They regained themselves, slightly singed, and rose back up into their fray. To their credit, those that remained refused to run.

Taka and Sagi were at the head of the charge. Even as the lightning sent the majority of their people spiraling, the two Sages in question dodged in and out of the strikes, loosing arrows at any chance they had.

"Did you see it?"

Link tore himself from the fight back to the princess. "What?"

"She won't take the main brunt of the attack. She moved her weapons before the bolts struck, directing it out," Zelda answered. "She can summon the storm, but I don't think she would care to take that strike herself." Hoisting the slingshot again, Zelda tilted the almost toy-like weapon. "Let's see if we can stun her while she's focused on the others."

"You can't strike too soon or the magic will disperse. It may be safer to simply stun her and land a few attacks with your blade than counting on a perfect execution like that," Shade commented.

"I trust the princess," Link answered, forgetting he had said that allowed. Zelda smiled back at Link. Shade simply nodded, beginning to bank closer to the fight to get Link's slingshot in range. Link notched an arrow. In case the plan failed, he could at least land a hit or two. The monster would still be stunned, even if she wasn't seriously wounded. But he doubted the princess would fail. His comment was mostly reflexive. "Make it count."

Shade began to close the distance between them and the woman as she rose her halberd once more. Link could almost feel the energy crackling off her as they closed the distance. He waited behind the princess patiently for the moment before the spell would ripple down from the sky. With such a short space between them now and the explosion that would happen, Link hoped Shade would be able to get out of the way.