Fighting Spirit Restored

!Link                                Hyrule Castle

Parry, Left, Swing, Right

I can hear the Hero of Time guiding me. Each move from Majora is predictable.

Of course, this only serves to fuel his wrath.

There is an unwelcome throbbing radiating from my forehead, warmth oozes from my eye and down the right side of my face.

Yet I keep going. I must keep going.

I can hear myself calling out to Kilton. I can see the hesitation in the form of shaking limbs until another wave of dark matter is hurled in my direction.

I don't deserve to be supported by the ghost of this forgotten hero, but for whatever reason, he is behind me. If this all can be quelled, then I shall join Y/N's efforts to give him proper justice. Though I know not what justice looks like for a hero's legacy that has decayed with the cruel passage of time.

Perhaps justice can be given in the form of my acceptance.

I hope Y/N and Zelda are faring well.

Specifically, I think of Zelda and her impotent powers. To be unable to seal away the evil corrupting the guardians, well, it reminds me of the days of old when she would cry every single day, dragging me to one spring or another.

Praying. Begging.

And now, here she is again, powerless, much like me without the deity mask.

What comes up must go down, but how many times must we go down?

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

The world is ending.

Link is fighting against Majora, as the champions are outside warding off invading corrupt guardians.

And you, protege and lover of Link, are to protect the queen.

Yet all you can think about is how badly you wouldn't mind the total annihilation of the world if it meant you could get off the aching soles of your feet.

Of course, you keep this part to yourself.

You weren't sure where you were going, but Zelda followed behind you, without question or command. You wished she would order some type of edict. But she just continued to follow you, her silence louder than the sounds of your very obvious heavy breathing. When you finally hit the last step, you sighed beneath your breath. You stood in the castle's main hall, which would eventually lead to the entrance, or the gatehouse.

Beyond that, carnage.

But, not to your surprise, you could not advance any further thanks to three mischievous guardians scurrying around the room. "They've penetrated the castle walls." Zelda murmured beside you. Their mechanical eyes glowed with the same vile hatred as the blood moon, and they began to target you.

You clutched Link's shield, ready to lift it in defense. It was hard to stomach the very things you worked hard to repair and bring to life, wanted nothing more than to end yours. You turned to Zelda, a swelling of empathy inside of you, only to see her standing with her hand lifted.

"Zelda! Your powers don't work... do they?" You try to ask in a way that couldn't be seen as chastising. But as you studied the dullness of her pale flesh suspended midair, the intent behind your words was blatantly clear.

"I must try. It is not the evil of Ganon we face, but evil is evil, so surely, I must be able to do something." You can hear the tremor in her voice. Her desperation wasn't so much as a response to you as it was a plea to Hylia.

Her arm remains lifted and her hand splayed as she repeated, "I must do something!" But the sound of three guardian lasers charging before they blew you both to smithereens urged you to jump in front of her. Whatever 'something' was, you didn't have time to find out.

"No! We cannot take this risk!" You grab Link's shield and put it before you both.

"You cannot parry all three Y/N."

"I don't know what else to do." You admitted in defeat.

"That makes two of us."

Flashes of light, like the shutters of a camera, surrounded you both. Only you knew that these were the lasers of the guardians, and the only photo that would be shot was about to be your corpse and the queen's. You flinched behind Link's shield. Zelda remained stationed behind you, with her hand still raised, not willing to accept that once again she could not aid her friends or her people.

"Hylia-" Zelda inhaled, her hand lowering as you held the shield with such might, your fingers were tinged with purple.

Instead of being burned to a crisp by their lasers, a raucous combustion occurred, followed by a storm of metal scraps that rained all over the hall. You both screamed, ducking down and covering your heads as you had upstairs when Majora broke through the castle's hoarding. The smell of electric fire overpowered the room, and the taste of smoke traveled down your throat, reminiscent of the lynel shooting the tree with its electric arrow. Link's shield fell to the floor with a clang as you and Zelda broke out in coughing spasms.

Behind a backdrop of flickering flames stood three figures, standing proudly.

It wasn't long before the winsome smile of Prince Sidon, along with Purah's infamous peace pose, followed by a clapping Jerrin, came into view.

"Well, now, that was close." Sidon's normal boisterous laugh filled the air, and Link would die of jealousy if he knew how much you wanted to hug your savior, the Zora prince, in that moment.

Purah ran toward you both; the backpack she had donned to aid in the Akkala wildfire was strapped to her back as she shot at patches of fire and extinguished them.

But there was one person you needed more than anyone else in that moment. You ran past Purah, hopping into Jerrin's arms.

"Y/N!" She held you, gently stroking your now matted locks. Knighthood was definitely not a hair-friendly profession, and you understood then why Link always sported a ponytail.

"Jerrin!" You sniveled out a weak apology. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, I-"

"Shhh. I'm sorry. I should have responded in support. I was just surprised. You deserve all of the happiness Hylia has to offer, my little Shiekah girl. If you and the queen are on admirable terms, I have no reason to reject you and Link."

The endearment of her calling you "my little Shiekah girl" was something that tugged on the lever of your heart a bit too hard, turning on your uncontrollable sob switch.

Jerrin slowly cupped your chin, pulling your face in the direction of hers. Tears streamed down your cheeks and covered her hand. "I saw you shielding the queen. My Y/N is so intelligent, beautiful, and brave. You've learned much from Link, haven't you? You make me very proud."

"Even if this is my fault?" The shame of your choices clouded out any praise she had just offered.

"Well, you can't learn unless you make mistakes."

"Aren't you afraid we can't win this?"

But Jerrin just laughed. "We are Shiekah; we haven't been extinguished for centuries. What's a little apocalypse threat?" She gave you a playful wink and, with a loving touch of your lower back, slowly guided you toward where Purah and Zelda stood.

Much like you, the queen was on the ground, in an emotional pile of tears. Purah slowly rubbed her back in small, circular motions.

"I hate that I must always rely on Link and others. Even this power, to rely on it, is to not rely on myself." She stared at her hands as if she were using telekinesis and could will her power to appear.

"What good is the power of the goddess if it cannot fight all evils?" Zelda growled as she punched the ground. Quickly pulling her hand up from the impact and groaning, "ow."

You kneeled beside her. "What unleashed it the first time?" You asked her, knowing instantly what her response would be. She moved her gaze upward and met your own.

"Link." She gave you a soft smile. "I wanted to be strong for Link."

"He inspires us, doesn't he?" You responded by coddling her along with Purah. You gently moved a lock of her hair that had come unpinned and brushed it out of her face.

"Indeed." She chuckled. "When he is not aggravating us, he is inspiring us."

You both began to laugh, but the only laughter that could be heard was Sidon's.

You could see Vah Ruta's trunk hovering at the entrance. Sidon stood, his embellished trident a perfect accessory to his sharp gem-encrusted armor. "My buddy is up there fighting for us, isn't he? Well, I should resume my post. Always glad to help out the queen, and of course, Link's friend."

Sidon stammered in correction, "Er, girlfriend. He was quite angry at me last time."

"Last time?" You looked at Sidon in confusion.

He gave you a grin so wide, it seemed to eat his features. Though it was mostly an illusion from his sharp teeth. "He was very clear you were his girlfriend, and I had not referred to you correctly. Why, he might even put that fight on pause and correct me."

The memory made you chuckle. What the Zora prince didn't know was that Link's jealousy was taller than even that of Sidon himself.

A shadow glided past Sidon and appeared in a furious gust. Teba and Tulin floated in the center of the hall.

"Teba! Tulin!" You walked over to them. "Wait, Tulin, why are you here?"

Teba sighed, "Such a Hylian. Do you think he is any safer in Rito Village? The moon would wipe out all of Hyrule. Besides, this is a perfect way for him to practice his archery."

You blinked. "During... an apocalypse?"

Tulin gave you a smug smile and held his bow up with his talons. "That's right! Father gifted me a new falcon bow just for the occasion."

"Oh... how... neat?"  You made a mental note to never train with the Rito again.

"What's the plan?" Teba asked in his "business as usual" tone.

You looked at Zelda. The power lost within her self-esteem you would restore with the gift of control.

"Direct us, queen." She looked at you with wide eyes as you nodded at her, giving her a supportive grin. "I'm no Link, but I can lift a shield."

"Yeah, and she can shoot a bow, kind of." Tulin chimed in.

He's lucky he's cute. You gave him a threatening side eye.

Zelda laughed. "Alright, resume your posts with your divine beasts. Y/N, Purah, Jerrin, and I will cover ground control."

Teba hovered before the queen, his bow clenched in his talons as an offering.

"You may not be able to seal, but you can shoot."

"That's the spirit!" Purah danced beside her. "Linky is fighting; now we will join the fight also!"

Everyone glanced at Zelda, awaiting her command.

With a glint of determination, she ordered, "We are no longer the defense. We are the offense."

Edited:6/5/24