Link stood outside the hospital with the keys in hand. He clicked the button and searched for the beep that signaled the car was unlocked. He saw the flash of headlights and walked towards the sleek, black car that waited for him in the parking lot. He slid in behind the wheel and sat there for a long moment, staring out the windshield. Finally, he turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life.
He pulled up the image of him and Zelda once more, studying it carefully. He was curious to his relationship with the woman. Impa seemed to suggest that they were very close, but how close was that, exactly? That odd feeling in his chest returned, like an ache in his heart, as if his body knew her, but he did not. It pulled to this strange woman, as if it wanted nothing more than to be with her again.
Link tossed the phone against the passenger seat. He decided he would head to Goron City first, to the far north of Hyrule. He still wasn’t quite sure about this mission he was assigned, or how he would even go about regaining control of the Divine Beasts. But Impa seemed confident he would figure out. He just hoped he wouldn’t end up disappointing her. There was a lot riding on his success, after all. No pressure.
Link pulled out of the parking lot and followed the winding road out of the city and onto the highway. He followed the map on his phone, but just as Impa had said, the area was not shy of Guardians patrolling the roads, and they were quick to notice Link, the only vehicle on the deserted roads as no one else dared to travel beyond their homes… or what was left of them.
Fortunately, the car Impa had given him was fast, whether that was intended or not. He had a feeling she made sure to give him the best car available, and he was grateful for that as he shifted into a higher gear. The engine roared as it rocketed down the street, easily outpacing the Guardians. The machines shot their deadly blasts at Link, but their attacks only hit the pavement as Link easily escaped.
As he continued his drive north in a similar fashion, the palace started to come into view. The city below was completely devastated, and a dark haze settled around the palace. But something seemed to keep it contained around the palace. Was it Zelda inside the palace, as Impa had said?
Link’s curiosity was cut short as another wave of Guardians chased him down the road. Their defenses seemed to be heaviest around the city and the palace, and this time, it was not as easy for Link to speed away from them as they swarmed in. He swerved this way and that, turning off the pavement in a desperate attempt to lose them. Though they held strong - and their blasts came dangerously close to the car - Link was able to shake them once more and escape their sights.
His heart raced as he glanced in the rear view mirror. He could tell already that this would get very old, very quickly. How much longer could he narrowly escape their assaults? But they had disappeared from sight once more along with the palace, which was now behind him. All he could do was hope that the rest of the drive to Goron City would be uneventful.
“We’re going to be working together a lot,” Zelda said. “Might as well get used to it.”
“You don’t sound very thrilled about that.” Link could feel her eyes studying him once more.
“Well, if we’re being honest,” she said, turning her eyes back out towards the horizon, “I don’t appreciate the fact that my father made the newest member of the force my handler.”
“Yeah,” Link muttered. “Must be a real buzzkill.”
“I thought my life was more valuable,” she continued, ignoring him. “Yet, he gives me this inexperienced boy.”
“I’ll remember that if you ever find yourself in trouble.”
Zelda’s eyes moved back to him, then down to the weapon under his arm. “And how proficient are you, exactly, with that weapon?”
“Proficient enough.”
Zelda settled back into the seat, but her stature remained stiff. “That’s reassuring,” she muttered.
“Don’t listen to what any Ritos say,” Link said. “I could out shoot them any day.”
Zelda smirked. “Ritos like Revali? He is a very skilled fighter, you know.”
“Ha.”
“Though he does seem to dislike you.”
“He dislikes anyone who challenges his authority and skill.”
“Not necessarily a bad trait for this kind of job.”
“Well,” Link started. Without realizing it, his grip relaxed on the wheel, though his fingers felt stiff. He stretched them for a moment. “When we get back, you can ask to have Revali as your handler.”
Zelda turned her gaze out the window. “I don’t know,” she said. “He’s a little too arrogant. He’d drive me crazy.”
“Welcome to my life,” Link muttered. He turned off the highway onto the road that wound through the country and up towards the mountains where they would find Goron City.
Link recognized the road he was on. It was the most direct route up the mountains and to Goron City. The same one he had seen before. How long ago was that? Six months? Six months ago, give or take, he drove this same road with Zelda beside him. They were headed to Goron City to activate the Divine Beast there.
It was a memory. A vivid memory. He remembered.
He glanced in the rearview mirror once more. Was Zelda really that condescending? Something told him she wasn’t like that; not in the slightest, but it was all he could seem to remember of her. But it was something.
*****
It didn’t take long to drive up the mountain, and before he knew it, he was in Goron City. High above, sitting on one of the mountain peaks, was the Divine Beast. It climbed slowly over the mountains, its deafening roar a warning to the Gorons below. He pulled to the side of the road and stepped out, his gaze on the Divine Beast. It was massive and intimidating.
“Link,” a voice said from beside him. Across the road, an elder Goron greeted him. “You’re alright.” The Goron moved to Link’s side and let a large hand rest on Link’s shoulder. “We weren’t sure if you had lived,” the Goron continued. “Our communications have been almost entirely cut with Impa since Ganon’s attack. Are you here to help us regain control of Vah Rudania?”
Link stared blankly at the Goron. He hesitated, unsure how to even begin explaining this… situation he had found himself in.
“Look,” Link started. “Impa sent me here to help with the Divine Beast. But… Apparently I’ve been in a coma for the last few weeks and I lost my memories.”
“Oh.” His relieved smile disappeared. “That’s unfortunate,” he said slowly. “I’m the elder of the Gorons, Bludo.” Bludo hesitated. “I suppose, then, you have forgotten Daruk.”
Link shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Bludo’s eyes were sad. “You two were close friends,” he said with a sigh. “Unfortunately, when Ganon attacked, he used his power to take over the Divine Beasts, and Daruk died trying to keep that from happening. I believe the other Champions suffered similar fates.”
Link shifted uncomfortably on his feet, slowly starting to resent Impa for pushing him into doing this. “I’m sorry,” he muttered. “I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
“Just stop Ganon,” Bludo said fiercely. “Take back Vah Rudania and bring that swine to his knees.”
“I’ll do my best,” Link said.
“Yunobo will bring you there,” Bludo said. He indicated to a young Goron further up the road at the split. Following the road to the right would have brought Link into the city, while the left appeared to wind its way up the mountain and likely to Vah Rudania. Yunobo was preoccupied with staring at the Divine Beast between the two roads, his back to them.
Link followed Bludo as he made his way to Yunobo. He called to the young Goron, his voice hinting at irritation just slightly. Yunobo turned to them and, when he saw Link, grinned widely.
“I knew you would come, Link,” he said excitedly. “You’re going to stop Vah Rudania, right?”
“Yunobo,” Bludo said gruffly. “Will you take Link up Vah Rudania?”
Yunobo nodded, still grinning. It was rather alarming to Link to see a Goron grin with such enthusiasm as Yunobo had. Was the young Goron always like that?
“There’s someone… or something... that’s controlling Vah Rudania,” Yunobo informed Link. “I can’t get a good look at it, but it seems that they’re patrolling the area. It doesn’t let anyone get close to it, and sometimes, we can’t even come in or out of the city.”
“How the hell are we supposed to take it back, then?” Link asked angrily. It was starting to sound like he was being sent on a suicide mission.
“It’s easy enough to sneak up on it,” Yunobo said. “I do it all the time. You can climb right up as long as that thing controlling it doesn’t see you.”
“And then what?”
Yunobo blinked at him, his expression suggesting that that was for Link to figure out. He shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “Isn’t that your job? To figure that stuff out? Like, kill it or something?”
“Or something,” Link muttered. He rubbed his temple and sighed. “Okay, let’s take care of this or something.”
“Be careful, Yunobo,” Bludo warned him.
Yunobo motioned to Link and Link followed him up the road toward Vah Rudania. Yunobo kept close to the edge of the road as it wound its way up the mountain, pressing his back to the ledge from time to time, but Link, unamused, walked in the middle of the road with reluctance. He gazed up at the Divine Beast as it loomed before them, its back to them. He found himself intimidated by the size of the beast.
The three of them climbed their way to the top where the control panel stood and Zelda set to work activating it with the Sheikah Slate. Within a moment, the two devices seemed to sync, and Vah Rudania came to life, moving and seemingly stretching its body beneath them.
“Well, whatta ya know,” Daruk said in awe. “To think they had this kind of technology so long ago.”
The pain in Link’s chest was like anything he had felt before as the memories of Daruk came rushing back to him. Anything he could recall feeling before, that is. The wound felt fresh and raw in his heart as the pieces came together; their late nights at the bar, his heavy hand coming down on his shoulder, the way Daruk referred to him as ‘brother.’
And his brother was gone. Dead. Murdered.
“Link?” Yunobo was waiting up ahead when he had realized Link had stopped. “You should really be more careful to stay out of sight. If Vah Rudania sees us, we’ll never make it out alive.” Fear flashed in the young Goron’s eyes.
Link’s brows knit together fiercely as he gazed back up at the Divine Beast, then back to the darkness that surrounded the palace in the distance. He would make sure that Daruk’s sacrifice was not in vain, even if it killed him.
There was a deafening roar at that moment, and Link and Yunobo spun around, turning their gazes to Vah Rudania. The Divine Beast had turned itself around and it had spotted them. Its roar bellowed and echoed off the mountains and the ground began to tremble.
“Oh, no,” Yunobo said weakly. His knees began to shake. “Link…”
Link pulled the loaded gun out of its holster, though he still wasn’t quite sure exactly what he was going to do. He ducked low and pulled Yunobo against the ledge in a desperate attempt to stay out of sight.
“Get out of here,” Link growled to him. “Get back to the city. I’ll take care of this.”
Yunobo shook his head. “I can help you get around and on top of Vah Rudania,” he said. He pulled his shoulders back with a proud grin on his face. “And I can help shield you from some of its attacks.”
Link raised a brow at him. “Shield me?” he asked skeptically. “How?”
“Daruk and I were cousins,” Yunobo said. “We share a power that has been passed down over generations.” Yunobo hesitated. “I’m not as proficient at it as he was. I won’t be able to stop Vah Rudania’s more powerful attacks if we get caught up on the ground, but whatever trouble may be waiting on top of it, I can help you with that.”
“You have no clue what’s up there,” Link reminded the young Goron.
“Guess we’ll see soon enough,” he said with a shrug.
The ground trembled once more. There was no time to argue about it. Link sighed. “Fine,” he grunted. “Lead the way.”
Link followed close to Yunobo as he followed the ledge further up the mountain. This time, however, instead of following the road, the Goron cut into a narrow passageway that wound its way along until they were behind Vah Rudania, who was still focused on where it had last seen Link and Yunobo.
When they got close enough, they climbed out of the narrow passage until they were on the same ground as the Divine Beast. Yunobo pointed towards one of the back legs, just behind the tail.
“There,” he started. “That’s how we can climb onto Vah Rudania.”
The Divine Beast let out another bellowing roar in frustration and slowly, it lifted a front leg. Its head turned away from them to the left, then to the right, then back to the left before taking a step, turning its massive, mechanical body around.
Link ran forward, keeping low in hopes of staying out of sight. He ran towards where Yunobo had pointed, not willing to miss his only opportunity to climb aboard the beast. But it moved quicker than he was expecting, and its massive tail moved with it. It dragged heavily and low through the air as it turned, and Link was right in its path.
