Revalink WIP: "SOS (One More Time)" Ch.1

Revalink WIP: "SOS (One More Time)" Ch.1

May 31, 2023

So this was a WIP I posted on Patreon forever ago and rediscovered when I was going through my fic folder. From the look of it, I haven't posted it anywhere else. Surprise? This was one I really enjoyed writing, so I was happy to find it again. Let me know if you like it!

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“Link… Link. I’m sorry...but my power isn’t strong enough. I can’t hold him…”

“Now my moment has finally come. Brace yourself, Ganon, for the sting of my revenge!”

“This will be our final opportunity. We will not fail!”

“Let’s go, little guy! Now, open up wide, Ganon!”

“A hundred years in the making… Hold on, Princess. Our moment has arrived!”

Destiny came in a blaze of holy light, in the crackle and snarl of ancient evil, in wind and fire and lightning and water. Destiny came with the Master Sword glowing in Link’s hand, and he knew no fear. For over a hundred years, Link waited for this battle: lived for it, died for it, and then lived for it again.

The Champions, in life and death, fought with him, and Link wasn’t afraid. Urbosa’s Fury, Mipha’s Grace, Revali’s Gale, Daruk’s Protection: they burned within him, avenging themselves and giving Link the strength to fight for them. Their memories bolstered instead of dragged, and Link threw himself forward again and again, their power bright.

When the Calamity roared and its power seared Link to the bone, Link wasn’t afraid. It threw him to the ground, knocked the breath from him, dragged his flesh and blood over stone floors. It didn’t matter. He picked himself up and threw himself forward. For the fallen and the living, Link would fight until the end. He would not fail again.

When the Blight gushed from the Calamity like poison, when the Calamity exploded in a wave of Malice, when Link felt it slam into him with the bite of the tundra’s winds and the burn of Death Mountain’s lava, he wasn’t afraid. Princess Zelda’s magic coiled around him and he felt her, felt her power, felt her strength and courage, and even when he landed outside of the castle, with the Calamity gathering in fury in front of him, Link wasn’t afraid.

“Ganon… Ganon… Ganon was born of a dark past. He is a pure embodiment of an ancient evil that is reborn time and time again… He has given up on reincarnation and has assumed his pure, enraged form. If set free upon our world, the destruction will be unlike anything ever seen before. I entrust you with the Bow of LIght -- a powerful weapon in the face of evil. 

“Link, you may not be at a point where you have fully recovered your power or all of your memories… But courage need not be remembered. For it is never forgotten.”

Link charged and fought, and in the gaps between the release of an arrow and between panted breaths, the same memories which mocked him for months flashed through his mind and strengthened him. Link wasn’t alone, and Link wasn’t afraid.

A beast of pure malice and rage and hate, and Link charged, riding Epona and the wind currents, Zelda’s bow in his hand…

Powerful strikes like nothing he had ever seen, destroying large swaths of field…

Shot after shot and sweat poured and his body ached but all physical sensation was forever away…

Then a final blow and Princess Zelda was there, beautiful and shining with golden light, and Link was an outsider looking in on the power of Hylia and her ancient foe.

The Calamity’s power exploded and so did the Goddess’s, and Link felt the unholy and the holy strike him like an ice storm, heart freezing in his chest and blood scorching in his veins and something all too familiar striking him beneath the ribs, tumbling him to the ground. Struggling for breath, Link watched the princess -- his princess -- fulfill her destiny.

He watched the sky clear, felt his friends fade away from him, watched the golden light explode outward like a thunderstorm on the plains. Beautiful and stunning and distant, adrenaline pumping through him as his mind and heart argued if the battle was done, if they could relax, if they were done. None of it mattered, truly. Link stumbled to his feet and touched his bloody flesh, not bothering to look down at the wound. Even as the Calamity’s Malice faded away to nothing, the Goddess’s power kept going, pushing outward, sweeping through the lands, leaving the field quiet and strangely empty, only him and Princess Zelda standing.

Unknown to Link, the power blazed a holy path through the broken kingdom. People watched, fascinated and horrified, as it thundered toward them, only to sweep past, leaving them dazed but unharmed. It extended out and out, lighting the land of the Zora, of the Gerudo, of the Rito, of the Gorons.

It hit Vah Ruta.

It hit Vah Medoh.

It hit Vah Rudania.

It hit Vah Naboris.

It hit them and the Divine Beasts roared and glowed and then the power kept going, to the very edges of Hyrule, where it faded away like the last light of day.

Unknown to Link, in the Divine Beasts, the final chains of the Calamity shattered, and four figures stirred and breathed.

All Link knew was that the Goddess’s power and the Calamity’s power thudded in his body with each heartbeat, that he couldn’t feel his friends’ strength anymore, and that he wasn’t afraid.

Burnt and bleeding, Link walked toward his princess, unafraid and unsurprised.

His battle was over.

xoxoxoxo

When the golden light faded and Teba blinked the tears from his eyes, everything was so quiet that at first he thought the light deafened him. Then, one by one, the birds began to sing, quiet and tentative, before resuming their usual songs. Whispers rose: shocked and wondering and frightened and awed. 

Harth shook himself, loose feathers flying. His bow was still clasped tightly in his wingtips. “Do you think… Link?”

Teba snapped his beak in frustration and looked up at Vah Medoh. “If he wasn’t involved somehow, I would be surprised.”

As concerning as the golden light was, Teba had more immediate concerns. Every warrior worth their wings had taken to the air when Vah Medoh shuddered. The last several days had been tense, every warrior alert with their bows close to hand. A charge lit the air, and after Link’s last visit, Teba knew something was about to happen.

None of that had prepared Teba for the fierce shout coming from Vah Medoh: “Brace yourself, Ganon, for the sting of my revenge!”

A brilliant blast tore from Vah Medoh, shooting eastward. Based on the shout, Teba guessed toward Hyrule Castle. But as to who shouted…

Could it be?

Harth followed his gaze. “Vah Medoh is no longer glowing. It should be safe to check out without burning our tailfeathers.”

Teba only grunted and took to the air. He had an odd feeling about all of this. After a century of… Well. Not quite peace. Not with the monsters roaming the mountains and the acute awareness of Guardians roaming not far from the village. But after a century of relative quiet, Vah Medoh first awakening and then being tamed by a Hylian of all people, and then this? And that voice.

The heat which had radiated from Vah Medoh had vanished, leaving it cool and quiet and still. They circled it, just in case, and Teba remembered the sting from its cannons. He barely made it back to the village before collapsing, full of anger and regret that he couldn’t go to Vah Medoh and full of hope that maybe, just maybe, that insane little Hylian could pull it off.

Somehow, impossibly, he did.

In unspoken agreement, they headed toward Vah Medoh’s head. The rest of the Divine Beast remained at an angle, but the head looked flat enough for a good landing. Nothing shot at them when they approached, and Vah Medoh remained quiet, eerily so.

From this height, Teba saw Hyrule Castle, if only distantly. The terrible red glow which haunted all of Hyrule was gone. What was going on? After a hundred years, was it finally --

Then Teba saw the limp body on Vah Medoh’s head.

Beside him, Harth began to curse, but Teba only clenched his beak and flew onward. He recognized the distinctive blue feathers from paintings in the Elder’s roost. As he flew closer, he saw the even more distinctive Champion blue scarf.

Teba heard the tale from the Elder, who learned it from the Elder before him. Few details of Revali’s final battle were known. All knew the Great Eagle Bow sailed from Vah Medoh, found damaged but somehow still whole on Revali’s Landing. The battle took place high above the village and little had been seen: flashes of a demonic red beast, blasts of wind which knocked away any Rito who dared to try and help their Champion, blast after blast from the Great Eagle Bow before it was lost. Revali’s body was never recovered.

If. Somehow. Impossibly. Link did it. If that was Revali’s voice shouting. Then perhaps Vah Medoh was finally releasing Revali’s body. After one hundred years, the Rito Champion could come home.

Teba exhaled shakily and glided downward, Harth silent at his side. The closer they flew, the more confident Teba was that it was Revali. He was sprawled on his side, one wing extended, facing upwards. His eyes were closed and Teba saw no signs of the wounds which killed him, and Teba sent a silent, grateful prayer to Hylia. The Rito Champion had been through enough indignities.

They settled soundlessly beside Revali’s body and for a long moment, they were silent, heads bowed. It was tales of Revali, of his dedication and courage, which inspired Teba to choose the path of the warrior. His dream was to master the Gale like Revali had, to be a true master of the skies. In the end, Revali sacrificed everything to keep the village safe. 

At last, Harth touched Teba’s shoulder. “Come on,” he said quietly. “Let’s take him home.”

Teba nodded, throat tight. He stepped forward.

Revali groaned and shifted. Teba froze.

“...Teba? Did you see that?”

Teba nodded, wide-eyed. And heard.

Another groan and then Revali’s eyes opened. Teba’s breath caught in his chest as Revali blinked at the sky, dazed. Teba could only watch as Revali groaned and pushed himself into a sitting position. He grabbed his head, eyes not quite focused. Then he stiffened and pulled his wing back down, staring at it like it belonged to someone else. Feeling dazed himself, Teba watched as Revali tentatively touched his face, then his other wing, then Vah Medoh.

“Well,” Revali murmured, sounding awed. “I’ll be plucked.”

That was not what Teba expected to hear, but as he never expected to hear anything from Revali, that was fair. He coughed and stepped forward. “Master Revali?”

Sharp green eyes which strangely reminded Teba of Link snapped toward him. Revali was unarmed, Teba knew he was unarmed, but it still felt like he was staring down a cocked arrow. “You,” Revali said, narrowing his eyes. “You’re one of the ones who tried to shoot down Medoh.”

Harth made an odd noise behind Teba. Revali’s eyes focused on him, fierce and bright and not at all like they belonged to a dead Rito. Teba’s mind spun. “And you’re the other,” he said, something cold and vaguely derisive in his voice. 

Before Teba could figure out an appropriate response to any of this, Revali seemed to dismiss them both and stared toward Hyrule Castle. He tried to stand, but his wings and legs shook, and he made an angry hiss and glared at Teba like it was somehow his fault. His feathers were beginning to fluff up.

“What happened to Link and Princess Zelda?” Revali snapped.

Teba had always considered himself quick and adaptable, as appropriate for a Rito warrior. Today seemed to test all of that. “I don’t understand,” he said, deciding that was a safe answer.

Revali scoffed and looked back toward the castle. Teba couldn’t figure out if he was angry or worried or both. “Link and Princess Zelda were fighting Calamity Ganon. At the very least, it appeared as if they won.” 

Princess Zelda. The Champion Revali. 

Could Link. Could Link possibly be…?

Revali scowled harder than Teba thought a Rito could scowl and waved toward the castle. “What are you waiting for? Go.”

Teba heard Harth starting to protest but only nodded. If Revali’s words were true, they were the best ones to fly to the castle to find out what was happening. Also, if Teba had just come back from the dead, he would want to recover away from prying eyes.

Coming back from the dead. What in Hylia’s name was happening.

“Come on,” he called roughly, taking to the air again. After a heartbeat, Harth joined him, leaving Revali alone on Vah Medoh.

They passed several other warriors, and Teba shouted to them to stay away from Vah Medoh and that they were heading to the castle. Only when they were beyond the village’s borders did Harth speak.

“This is insane, Teba.”

Teba grunted, unable to argue. Revali, impossibly alive. Princess Zelda, possibly alive. Link, possibly the original Champion instead of being the Champion’s descendent.

Though that one would explain a few things.

“We’ll find out everything soon enough,” was all he said, mind stuck on Revali touching Vah Medoh, eyes dazed and awed.

Behind them, out of everyone’s sight, Revali touched Vah Medoh again and fought back tears. “We did it, Medoh,” he whispered. For the first time in a hundred years, he felt the wind through his feathers. “All of us. We did it.” He laughed shakily and the tears came free, warm and liquid on the soft feathers of his face. “I knew we were too great to leave this world so soon.”

Through his tears, he looked up and watched the two Rito fly toward the castle. Soon he and Medoh would find out if everyone else survived, too. 

“Let’s see if Link’s luck held out again.”

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