Link opened his eyes. He found himself sitting by a campfire, as he leaned against a small stone structure. The sun had set now, leaving behind a now star filled sky. He looked around to grasp his bearings. He was atop Mount Hylia, on the Great Plateau. The soft snow glistened gently from the light of the fire. The fire and the warm doublet he wore were the only things keeping him warm.
The young Hylian suddenly realized he wasn't alone. Looking up, he saw an old man, standing by the edge of the mountaintop, looking out into the distance. Hearing him stir, the elder turned to see Link.
"Ah, you're awake. That little skirmish with those bokoblins left you quite tired out, didn't it?" he questioned.
"Yeah..." the young Hylian answered.
He got up to his feet, as he looked out to see what the old man was looking at. That's when he took in the view of the land beyond the plateau. Everything seemed so far away from where they stood. The green plains, forests, the mountains, a great fiery volcano in the distance, all of it.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" the old man asked.
Link gave him a nod.
"It truly is. Strange, after all these years, only in my old age did I truly learn to appreciate its beauty."
He turned to Link.
"So, is there anyone you plan to find once you leave the plateau?"
"... I don't know. I have no memory of my life before I awoke inside the Shrine of Resurrection, how should I know where to even look?"
"I see. I understand. I myself have not seen my family in a long time."
Link looked at the old man.
"You have a family?" he asked.
"I do. I have a daughter." was all that the elder said.
"Do you miss her?"
There was silence for a moment. The old man lowered his head.
"I do... I don't know if I will see her again. In all honesty, I'm not sure if she'd even want to see my face again."
He sighed.
"It's all my fault... I never took the time to understand how she felt. Not a day goes by where I wish I could have taken it all back and have tried again."
The old man suddenly turned to Link, giving him a smile.
"But I cannot dwell on the past forever. And neither can you on this mountain. Come, you can rest up at my cabin. I wonder what's for dinner," he offered, as he began to walk down the path. "Best I check my pantry again. I hope I have some apples left to bake."
Watching him leave, Link quickly put out the fire with some snow, and began to follow him down the mountain.
End of the flashback
Link stood by the great stone, erected atop the mountain. Night had fallen in his time too now, as the moon brought some light to the land around him.
Kneeling before the stone, he took a baked apple out of his pocket and placed it in front of the grave.
"I'm sorry that I couldn't save you... and that your daughter had to endure this struggle for so long," he said, "It's time I finally make things right."
As he was kneeling down by the grave, praying, he suddenly heard a familiar sound behind him. Turning around, he soon realized he wasn't alone up there on the mountain. A Hylian, clad in green, stood behind him. Surrounding him was an ethereal green aura.
"Hello, Link." the Hero of Twilight greeted.
Link stood still. He hadn't seen the spirit since he had vanished in disappointment over him.
"I... I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I know you're disappointed in me for not understanding your less-"
The spirit suddenly embraced the Hylian with a hug.
"I was never disappointed in you. I was simply afraid that you'd given up hope."
Tears began to well up in Link's eyes a little.
"I did... I was so lost."
"Yet you still found your way. And not a moment too soon."
Link pulled away from the hug and quickly wiped his eyes. He then looked at the spirit, confused.
"What do you mean by that?" he asked.
"Oh, right. There's another reason why I came here. Did you ever notice how the monsters slowly became more and more powerful with every passing blood moon?"
Link thought back. Indeed, he remembered how the monsters had changed. Their appearances had changed, from blue, to black, to now silver. Every time they did, their strength, speed and intelligence had increased as well.
"Every time a blood moon passes, Ganon's power rises to its peak for a short period of time. Every time it does, he gains more strength and begins to repel the princess' sealing power. And that allows the monsters to become even stronger as well." the spirit explained.
Link soon realized what he was trying to tell him.
"How long will it be till the next blood moon fully rises?"
"Two days. And that will be the last one Ganon needs to fully break free. More monsters than ever have flocked to the castle to stop anyone from getting in. You're running out of time, Link."
Link silently cursed. He'd hoped to have more time, to come up with a detailed plan, perhaps even call for reinforcements. But it was all out the window now. Thinking for a moment, he turned to the Hero of Twilight.
"I think know how to get in. It will be beyond risky, but I don't have any options left. I'll do whatever I can to stop Ganon and save... Zelda."
"You really care about her that much, do you?" the ghost asked.
"I-i want to see her smile again. I..."
"I think it's best if you save that for her." the Hero of Twilight pointed out.
Link gave a small blush.
"Oh. R-right."
Link looked out to Hyrule Castle off in the distance. He suddenly changed the topic.
"Two days. Then I can't waste anymore time then. I'll need every second to spare." he stated firmly.
"Good. I'll be watching over you Link."
He placed his ghostly hand on the hilt of the Master Sword, which hung from Link's back.
"And you better too, old friend," he whispered. Link suddenly turned to him. The spirit looked at him one last time, before saying:
"Good luck, Link. May the Goddess Hylia protect you."
And with that, he disappeared into thin air. Once he was gone, Link pulled out the Sheikah slate. He knew he had a lot to do, and very little time to do it. Opening the map, he soon teleported away, vanishing into a stream of blue light.
Two days later
Link stood by Epona and Taima at the base of Central Tower. The sun had already set, as the sky had darkened. Hyrule Castle stood in the distance, clouds of Malice surrounding it, illuminating in the dark of the night, almost as though it was taunting him, challenging him to come to it.
His gaze was suddenly broken as he heard footsteps nearby. Turning around, Link and Taima saw them arrive.
First came Sidon, wielding two large tridents. Then Teba, as he landed on the remains of an old wall, followed by Riju, carrying her mother's thunderblade, and Yunobo, who had come unarmed. Finally, Tanis arrived, wielding his eightfold blade.
"We're all ready, Link." he told the Champion.
He nodded, as he turned to the other four that had arrived.
"Are you all sure you want to stay here and fight?" he asked them. "I've lost many people I once knew. I'm not sure if I'm ready to lose more."
Riju suddenly spoke up.
"You, the princess, the Champions, you all gave up everything to try and stop Ganon. It's only fair if we return the favor."
"If it means I'll help stop the biggest threat to my home, then I'm ready to make that sacrifice." Teba stated.
"You saved Zora's Domain, and finally freed my sister's spirit, Link. I'll follow you to the death!" Sidon added, giving a toothy smile.
At last, Yunobo spoke:
"I may not be the strongest or the bravest Goron out there. But you taught me how to be brave, Link. I'm not scared of this, goro!"
Link turned to Tanis. The Sheikah simply nodded.
"We all came here because you did so much for all of us. This time, it's our turn."
Realizing there was no turning back now, Link spoke up.
"Very well then."
He got onto Epona's back. Taking off his hood, he began to see the red outline of the blood moon begin to appear on the horizon. He could see the many many Guardians standing guard of Hyrule Field, ready to make sure nothing got through to the castle. He looked down at his Champion's tunic. It was finally time, time that he fulfilled his duty, or died trying. He turned to his friends once more.
"This is it. Ganon is on the brink of being released. I'm not sure what will happen next. But I need to get to the castle before midnight. So I'm going to need your help to get through. If you're badly hurt during the fight, then retreat. Is that understood?"
The group all nodded, as they began to draw their weapons. Link pulled out a cluster of ancient arrows and handed them to Teba.
"Shoot the Guardians in the eye with these." he advised him.
"The eye? It'll be a small target though. But I can manage." the Rito archer answered, as he added them to his quiver.
Riju hopped onto Taima's back, her small size allowing her to easily ride the wolf. She didn't seem to mind, as she knew the Gerudo Chief wouldn't be able to run that fast with her short legs.
Getting onto Epona, Link drew the Master Sword. His eyes gazing forward, focused on the castle ahead of him, he cried:
"FOR HYRULE! FOR PRINCESS ZELDA! AND FOR THE CHAMPIONS!"
The others let out similar battle cries, as they all charged.
They all charged forward. The Guardian stalkers in the field immediately turned their eyes to them and opened up with a volley of blasts.
"Break off!" Link shouted.
The group quickly split up, evading the barrage of energy beams directed towards them. Swapping to his royal bow, Link knocked in an ancient arrow and fired. The arrow hit one of the Guardians in the eye, obliterating it instantly. Teba quickly flew in and did the same, taking one out in a single shot.
"I need to find out where I can get more of these." he said, as he knocked another ancient arrow into his falcon bow.
Yunobo came rolling, leaping into the air as he did while summoning Daruk's Protection. He made impact with a Guardian right in the head, knocking it over and allowing Sidon to quickly rush in and stab it through its vulnerable bottom center.
"Yah!!"
He jabbed it repeatedly, only to suddenly stop when he realized it was about to flip itself back onto its feet.
"Ah!"
He leapt just as he was about to get crushed. Getting back up to his feet, he raised his tridents.
"I guess father's story was true." he muttered under his breath, as he rushed to continue to fight with the possessed machine.
Meanwhile, Taima leapt onto another Guardian stalker, clawing at it as she did her best to try and break through its armor. Riju quickly leapt off as she swung her thunderblade at the machine's legs. To her surprise, the electricity didn't shock the guardian when she struck it.
"What? Oh come on!" she exclaimed. She had to quickly leap back however, as the Guardian tried to grab her with its legs.
Tanis suddenly appeared and hit the Guardian's leg right where Riju had hit it earlier, severing the limb.
"Thanks!" the Gerudo said.
"We're done yet. Try climbing on top and stab it in its eye. I'll distract it!" Tanis instructed.
"Right!"
Tanis teleported right within the Guardian's view, as it took aim at him. Just as it fired, however, he quickly teleported, all while still remaining in the machine's line of sight. The distraction bought Riju enough time to climb on top of the Guardian and begin to stab it in the eye repeatedly. It soon became frustrating, as her thunderblade wouldn't pierce it.
"Why. Won't. This. Break!?!" she yelled, as she thrust the weapon as hard as she could. To her surprise, it suddenly pierced through, as the electricity from the blade was suddenly let loose inside the machine's inner workings. It began writhe around, randomly moving around as if it were convulsing. Then, finally, it collapsed to the ground.
"Phew..." Riju breathed a sigh of relief. Taima meanwhile was confused as to why the machine had suddenly stopped moving, even though she barely started to break through its armor.
Having defeated the first line of Guardians, they continued forward. However, that soon became a problem when they saw a larger group of Guardians waiting. This time, the stalkers were accompanied by several Guardian skywatchers too. They all stood guard in front of the ruins of the outer wall of the castle.
Link stopped Epona as he saw the sheer number of them.
"There's too many, we won't make it through." he stated upon realization.
"We don't need to." Sidon pointed out. "In the end, only you must make it to Ganon."
Tanis ran up beside them.
"Sidon's right. We can try and make a gap in their lines and clear a path for you."
"No, I can't leave you all for dead." Link protested.
Yunobo suddenly spoke up.
"But Link, you made it on your own, goro. We can do the same if we try, right?"
Link looked at the young Goron. Even in this dark hour, he still remained so optimistic. He knew that them turning themselves into a diversion here was the only way he'd make it in time. The blood moon was no longer hidden by the horizon, as they could all see its crimson light illuminate the sky. This was no time to stand back and argue.
He turned to his friends.
"Right. But you have to fall back once I'm inside. Understood?"
They all nodded in agreement. And with that, they all rushed forward.
Teba came in from above, quickly shooting a Guardian skywatcher down with an ancient arrow, drawing the rest of them towards him. As he did his best to hold his own above, the fight began to escalate down below.
Link drew the Master Sword, as he swung at any nearby Guardian Epona passed by. The blade let out a bright glow as it carved through the machines' armor as though it were nothing, all while giving his allies openings to strike.
Sidon took advantage of a large gash had left in one, jabbing his tridents into it. They easily pierced through its vulnerable inside, bringing it down quickly as he hit its core.
Riju, meanwhile, was in trouble, as she was busy fighting a Guardian stalker all on her own. Her small size allowed her to avoid a good number of its attacks, but it soon became a detriment as one of the legs quickly swept her away, flinging her to the side.
"Agh!"
She hit the ground, with a thud. As she came back to her senses, she looked up to see the Guardian aiming right at her. Just as it was about to open fire, Yunobo suddenly leapt in the way, summoning Daruk's Protection to block the blast.
"Yah!"
The beam reflected right off of it, hitting the Guardian right in the eye, causing it to burst into flame. Once the smoke cleared, Yunobo lowered his shield. Completely shocked, he turned to Riju.
"Did I do that?" he asked.
"Yeah. Good job."
She got to her feet.
"Come on, we have to keep them occupied!" she stated.
"Right!"
Meanwhile, Link was almost at the gate when a Guardian stalker suddenly blocked their path. It made a grab for the knight, barely hitting him as it ripped off his cloak instead. Tossing it aside, it instead began to charge up a blast.
Just then, Tanis teleported on top of the machine and hit it in the eye, stunning it briefly.
"Go! You're almost there!" he shouted.
Link gave him a nod as he spurred Epona to go faster than he'd ever ordered her to go before. The white maned mare galloped past the remains of the outer wall, leading to the ruins of Castle Town. The knight looked behind to see his friends were no longer following him, as they continued to draw the attention of the Guardians to themselves.
Resisting the urge to turn back and help them, Link continued to ride forward, with now only Taima at his side. As they came to the edge of the town, they saw a large metal gate up ahead, blocking the path to the castle.
Pulling out the Sheikah slate, Link quickly used magnesis to open one of the tall doors and let him and his wolf companion through. It was close to midnight now. Only a few minutes till the blood moon fully rose.
He suddenly stopped. Taima was confused, as she watched her master get off of Epona and kneel down to the two of them.
"Well, this is it. This is where I'm going to have to leave you two now."
The wolf looked at him shocked and confused. Epona on the other hand, stared at Link with a look of understanding.
"I don't know if I will come back from this. So I want you two to go. I know you'll both be happy, even if I won't be there anymore."
Taima whimpered a little. Turning to her, Link hugged her.
"Hey, don't be sad. I'll always be with you Taima, just as you were with me. Now go."
He gave Epona a tap on the rear, telling her to leave. The mare didn't hesitate as she began to gallop off. Taima took one last look at Link. She quickly licked his cheek one last time before running off, away from the castle.
Now all alone, Link got ready. Using Revali's Gale, he sent himself flying up. He paraglided half of the way up the castle, before summoning another updraft to head up the rest, all while avoiding crashing into pools of malice and getting hit by nearby Guardian turrets.
As soon as he landed in front of the entrance, two Guardian turrets immediately took aim, as they charged up their blasts.
Without even giving them a look, Link swiftly summoned Daruk's Protection, as the blasts both reflected off of it, sending their own attacks back at them and destroying them instantly.
Link stopped as he stood in front of the entrance. This was finally it. The final confrontation. The goal he'd been working towards this whole time. Stoic as ever, he entered, ready to take on whatever horrors Ganon wished to throw at him.
As he entered the place, he paid little attention to the blood moon, as it fully rose, and midnight finally arrived.
(To be continued...)
(Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and have a wonderful day, bye!)