#soh52

[katedoesfics]

Shadows of Hyrule | Chapter 52

Now that Link and his friends were the talk of the world, he shouldn't have been surprised when he got more attention than he was used to. Still, when he got to school the next morning, he wasn't prepared for the entire school to fall silent, their eyes turned to him. Unfortunately, there was still a few minutes before the first bell, which meant that no one would make their way into the school until then, too content to be staring at the six students that were plastered all over the news.

Link shoved his hands in his pockets and hurried over to his friends, but the staring did not stop.

“This is uncomfortable,” Mipha muttered. “What are we supposed to do?”

“Milk it,” Revali said. He scanned the crowd that had gathered outside the school and winked at a few of the cute girls he spotted. They giggled and turned to whisper to one another. After a moment, a few of the students stepped forward.

“Is it true? Is Ganondorf coming back?”

Another kid elbowed his friend in the ribs. “Of course not, you idiot,” he hissed. “They're a bunch of liars.”

Zelda's brows knit together, but she bit her tongue.

Revali, however, was not about to let himself look foolish. “Idiots,” he spat. “Do you really think I'd waste my time with Link for nothing?”

“Thanks,” Link muttered.

“Prove it, then,” the kid said. “Let's see it. The Triforce.”

“Well, they can't just will it to appear,” Revali said, as if it were obvious.

“How convenient.”

“Don't waste your breath,” Urbosa said. “They're uneducated biggots.”

To their relief, the first bell of the day rang. It took a few moments, but slowly, one by one, the students started to make their way inside the building, mumbling to each other and casting final glances towards the six Champions. They waited until most of the students made their way into the school before following suit. They were, however, stopped in the hallway, by none other than their principal.

“Let's have a talk, shall we?” he said to them.

Without argument, they trudged after him, following him into his office. Though in adequate sized office, with eight people in there, it proved to be slightly cramped. Still, he closed the door behind him and sat himself at his desk. One of the school's counselors sat beside him. He smiled at the six students that stood before him and was the first to speak.

“You should know,” he started, but Revali interrupted him.

“We're not crazy,” he snarled. “And we don't need help from the likes of you.”

The counselor cleared his throat and folded his hands in his lap. “I never said you were crazy,” he said, meeting Revali's gaze. “There are people in the world that still believe the legends.”

Daruk narrowed his gaze on the man. “You say that as if it's nonsense.”

“We're not here to make life anymore difficult for you,” their principal said. “But after what happened last night -”

“You're in the eye of the media,” the counselor said. “You're being watched by the entire world. Some of you are minors. There is going to be a lot to handle in the next few weeks.”

“And, you know, saving the world,” Urbosa said. “We gotta do that, too.”

The counselor nodded. “I trust you know what you're doing,” he said. “But I wouldn't be doing my job if I stood idly by.”

“So,” Revali started, “What's your job? You're not exactly a pysch.”

“But if I believe it is in your best interest to -”

“We don't need therapists,” Zelda hissed. “What we need is the world to stop breathing down our necks.”

“That will never happen,” he said. “Your lives will never go back to normal.”

The six of them were quiet as they considered this. It never occurred to them what their futures could be like. They were simply too busy worrying about Ganondorf, and if they were even going to survive the war.

“A price we must bear, then,” Revali said simply.

“I don't think you understand the severity -”

“I don't think you understand,” Zelda said fiercely. “The entire world is in danger, and its our job to save it.”

“If you ask me,” Revali said, “it seems like you doubt us. We're not children. We know we're in way over our heads.”

The counselor smiled. “Perhaps, then, you should take a step back and consider your options.”

“There are no options,” Zelda said. “It all comes down to us, whether you like it or not.”

“That's a daunting task, don't you think?”

They were quiet again, waiting for the counselor to speak further. When he did, he stood.

“You don't have to be alone in this,” he continued. “Don't be afraid to ask for help.”

The principal stood, too. He walked around the students to open the office door. “You can get late passes from the front desk,” he instructed them.

The six Champions said nothing as they left the office, though their anger and frustration was written on their faces. They didn't speak to one another until they were back in the hallway.

“That was a load of bullshit,” Daruk said. “Thank the Goddesses we're out of this shit hole soon.”

“On the plus side,” Urbosa added, “we'll be able to finish this war without worrying about school.”

“I don't think I can stand their stares much longer,” Mipha muttered. “Why couldn't the media get involved after school ended?”

“You're telling me,” Zelda said. She shifted her bag on her shoulder and sighed. “This is going to be a very long day.”

And a very long day it was for Hyrule's Champions. Still, they managed to pull through to the end, all too eager to leave the suffocating walls of the school, only to be stopped by Teba in the parking lot.

“I want to know what's going on,” Teba said.

They stared at him for a moment, then turned their gazes to Link, as if they expected him to explain it all to him.

“Nothing's going on,” Link muttered.

“Cut the bullshit,” Teba barked. He stepped into Link's space, glaring down at him. “Tell me the truth.”

“Fine!” Link shouted. “We're a crime fighting team and we call ourselves Hyrule's Champions. We go around fighting monsters because some fucked up bad guy is about to rise from his pit in hell and take over the world with his evil power. And guess what? I have a magic sword that's gonna stop him. And Mipha and Urbosa and Daruk have magic powers. Revali? He's fucking good with a bow and arrow and he has matrix-like reaction. And there's this old hag is a Sheikah who's probably a thousand years old and she's kind of our leader.”

Teba stared at him long and hard for a moment before a grin split his face. He laughed sharply. “That's a good one. I like it. Do you wear costumes and capes and shit, too?”

Link smirked and shrugged. “I voted for crime fighting bikinis for the ladies, but that got shot down.”

“So, that's the best you've got?” Teba asked. “You're not even trying with the excuses anymore.”

“For the love of the Goddesses,” Urbosa said. She put a hand on her hip and raised her other arm in the air, snapping her fingers. Lightning split the clear, blue sky out of no where, and Teba jumped back in surprise.

“What the fuck was that?”

“My super power,” Urbosa said, rolling her eyes.

Teba blinked at her. “No it's not,” he said after a moment. “You're fucking with me.”

Revali sighed. He leaned over his car, pulling out a plain looking dagger, and plunged it into Link's arm. Link shouted and doubled over in pain, clutching at his arm.

“What the fuck, Revali?!”

Urbosa turned to Revali and slapped him across the head. “Are you fucking serious?”

“The fuck is wrong with you, man?” Teba shouted at him.

“You're such a dick,” Mipha muttered as she hurried to Link's side. She got to her knees and moved her hands over his arm. A light emitted from her palms, enveloping the wound, and within a few moments, Link's arm was healed. Link sneered up at Revali as he got back to his feet.

Teba stared at Link's arm, his mouth gaping open as if he were trying to speak. His mouth opened and closed for a moment before he finally managed to spit out “What the fuck!”

“Obviously Mipha's the healer,” Daruk said with a smirk. “I'm the tank.”

“You... heal... tank...” Teba shook his head. “This is a fucking dream.”

“I wish,” Urbosa muttered.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Teba said, holding up his hands. “So, you fight monsters?”

“Yes,” Link said in a bored tone.

“And some bad guy is trying to take over the world and you need to stop him?”

“Yes,” Zelda said, exasperated.

“But,” he continued, “why you guys?”

“Because they were chosen by destiny,” Paya said. “Zelda is a descendant of the Goddess Hylia and has inherited her power, just as Link is a descendant of Hylia's appointed hero. Over the years, she has gifted others with a power that would be crucial in aiding them in the war against Ganondorf.”

“Ganondorf,” Teba muttered. “The bad guy?”

“Ganondorf holds a piece of the Triforce, which grants him enough power to rise time and time again, no matter how many times he is defeated and sealed away. He is after the other two pieces, which Zelda and Link possess. He will never rest until he claims the full power of the Triforce.”

“So, this has happened before?”

“It is the job of the Sheikah to make sure each hero finds the Master Sword and takes up the duty to defeat Ganondorf. It is our job to keep our history alive and not lost to legend. The moment we lose touch with our past, we will lose all of Hyrule.”

“This is real,” Teba said. “You're not fucking with me.”

“Honestly, Teba,” Urbosa said. “I have better things to do than craft elaborate lies with these idiots.”

Zelda nodded in agreement.

Teba frowned. “Why am I always left out of all the exciting shit?”

“Don't worry,” Revali said. “I was the last to know, too. And it's not as exciting as I expected it to be.”

“Not for nothing,” Teba said, looking around. Students still had their eyes on the Champions as they slowly made their way home for the afternoon. “But ya'll in way over your heads.”

“This isn't news to us,” Daruk muttered.

“What can I do to help?” Teba said.

“Nothing,” Revali hissed. “Get as far away from us as you can. Its for your own good.”

“Yeah, I don't think so,” he said, shaking his head.

Link opened his mouth to argue with Teba, but Revali stepped in instead, his fierce gaze on his friend.

“Do you think this is a game?” he snapped at Teba. “Do you think we want to be doing this?”

Teba hesitated. His brows furrowed as Revali continued angrily.

“Shit, we'll be lucky if we live another day. Our lives are on the line. The lives of every person in the world is in our hands. If we fuck up, that's it. And if by some miracle we win this, nothing is going to be the same. The media has turned us into fucking pariahs. In the end, no one will trust us, even if we come out on top. You get to go on and live your life, marry Suki, whatever the fuck you want to do. We'll always be judged, everywhere we go. We'll be held to expectations we can't live up to. We threw out futures away for this. So everyone else could live. Don't make us regret it.” Revali turned on his heels and got into his car, slamming the door behind him, still fuming. He turned the key in the ignition, then looked up and pointed a finger at Link.

“End this before I end you.”

Link narrowed his eyes on Revali, but said nothing. They watched as he peeled out of the parking lot and disappeared around the corner.

“College seems so meaningless if the world is going to end tomorrow,” Teba muttered.