A Terminian and the Twilight of Danger (MM/OoT Fanfic)

The Bombastic Thunderball

Link, Jim, Skull Kid, and three of Hyrule's finest stood just meters from the drawbridge. Zelda, much to the chagrin of the soldiers and her father, remained on the bridge. She felt the need to be there with them.

Link closed his eyes and made sure to keep his breathing steady. He didn't know how long it'd be for the Thunderbird to appear, but every stray sound caused his hand to twitch. He had to fight the urge to reach for his sword when he realized that the sounds were just the fauna.

Skull Kid and Jim stood side by side, weapons in hand. The image of themselves, Link, and a few guards reminded them of the great battle they fought in Termina just a few years ago. Since then, their skills had increased greatly.

Romani and the Hylian archers had climbed up to the turrets, and one of them noticed the Terminian crest adorned on the metal gauntlets she wore. It was a lot like the Hylian one printed onto their own armor, signifying they were protectors.

"You're a guard?" The man to her right asked.

"Yep! Romani's the first female guard in Termina!" The woman stated cheerfully. The fellow next to her smiled in astonishment.

"It's near..." Sweat started to bead down along the forehead of one of the guards on the ground. Link's eyes shot open, and he turned to meet the other's gaze. The expression on the teen's face was all the guard needed to point towards the sky.

Heavy clouds were rolling in. A low rumbling started in the distance, and the wind picked up. Link's golden hair flowed in the wind, but he stood strong against the breeze. His fists scrunched up into balls and the leather of his gauntlets made a small squeaking sound. There was no more time to laze about. No more stalling.

Reaching over his shoulder, for the first time in what felt like millennia, Link unsheathed his sword and shield and held them together. He thought his hands would be shaking, but when he looked down, they remained still. Some of his instincts had returned.

Then the sky illuminated for a brief moment, and a bolt of golden lightning struck the ground. Then again, and again. The clouds parted, and the Thunderbird was finally visible. Romani and the guards that stood by her readied their bows.

Both Navi and Tatl alerted Link of the beast's presence. Navi shouted her trademark, "Hey!", and Tatl began ringing like a bell. Link preferred the ringing. At times he found Navi's constant yelps to be insufferable.

The image of the Thunderbird was immediately engraved into Link's consciousness. The deep blue color of its sheen glimmered with each strike of electricity that descended upon the ground. The way its feathers were patterned reminded the hero of formal attire. Just above the creatures three eyes was a green jewel, placed on its crest as if it was on a headdress. Its mouth had been concealed by... something. It looked metal, and the coloration of whatever it was clashed with the rest of the beast's appearance. It shined a brilliant yellow compared to the ocean blue of the rest of it.

Link lifted the Gilded Sword into the air and the Thunderbird emitted a deep screech, hardly muffled by what was across its face.

Link and the beast from another realm gazed into each other's eyes, almost sizing the other up. Then the Hero of Termina bolted forward, towards the Thunderbird. The creature wasted no time in soaring down to the ground. Every step Link took was almost in sync with a lightning strike. When the combatants finally met in the middle, Romani fired her bow, soon followed by the others.

A steady stream of arrows sailed through the air and made the Thunderbird look towards the turrets. The beast distracted, Link stopped and let himself go into a slide. The dirt and grass scraped on his boots as he swiped with his sword, cutting one of the mighty eagle's talons.