[center][h2][color=blue]Hyrule[/color] [color=darkgreen]Warriors[/color][/h2][/center]

[center][color=blue][b] Level 1[/b][/color] - (3/10) + 3 [/center]
[center][color=darkgreen][b] Level 7[/b][/color] - (56/70) + 3 [/center]

[center][b]Location:[/b] The Land of Adventure ~ Spiral Mountain ---> The End
[b]Word Count: 1678 [/b]

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[hr]

Link nodded thoughtfully to himself as things started sliding into place for him. The words of Bowser, Peace, Fox, and even that giant terrifying hornet he was trying to pretend wasn't looming menacingly over him, all contributed to his full understanding of the situation. He'd already had an inkling that he had been on the wrong side of whatever fight had taken place at this tower, judging by his lack of memory, unconscious state, and the conspicuous blade wound on the soft looking turnip person that had greeted Linkle and him as they'd entered the tower. The queenly hornet had all but confirmed that suspicion. With Peach talking about how he and Fox had been "restored" and Bowser's mention of how their comrades were still "red eyed and dangerous," he could only come to the conclusion that, in their defeat, the light monster had placed some form of magical control on them. He couldn't help but think back to the Calamity and how the force that had been assembled specifically to prevent it had been subsumed into its will and turned against the very Kingdom they were meant to protect. The idea of [i]himself[/i] being used like that turned his stomach. 

So, to stop that monster they had to travel around the entire world, defeating its minions to weaken it and gather strength from the spirits of the dead? Bowser had the right of it, this was all very much standard procedure for him. It did his heart good, at least, to know that the Princesses dramatic transformation was the result of bonding with one of these spirits and not years of hard living as he'd initially suspected.

"It's easier the second time." Link said, accepting the sword that Fox proffered to him with an appreciative nod. "They can only blindside you once." He held the sword up to the light, running a finger over the flat side of the blade and tracing the unfamiliar designs on the hilt before stepping back and giving it a few practice swings to judge the weight. As a first bit of preparation it wasn't bad. It wasn't the Master Sword, but it would make for a good fallback weapon. It would be a good idea to keep a lookout for these.

He leaned the sword up against the wall and took a few steps back, pulling the Sheikah Slate off his belt and holding it up to face. He pointed it at the sword and then pressed the screen. He frowned and pressed the screen again. His frown deepened. He started to fiddle with the thing, quickly sliding his thumbs over the screen to try and figure out what was wrong. As he did he felt frustration steadily growing steadily in his chest.

This thing was empty! All his food, all his materials, his maps, his special equipment, the encyclopedia, the Album! All of Princess Zelda's pictures! Even the runes were unavailable. He at least still had access to the scope, which he tested by zooming in on Bowser's face and placing a mark right on his left nostril. After that he decided to focus on the things he still had access too. His log's were also untouched, so he could still take notes. Storage was also still functional, even if it only contained the clothes on his back and the one sword he had been left with, but it looked as though storage space had been reduced to default settings. That was all right, that wouldn't be too big of a problem if he made use of this spirit equipment concept. If worse came to worse he could always fall back on the Master Swr...

He stared at the sword in his inventory, then reached back and unsheathed the sword he had on his back and gave it a look of disbelief. 

[hr]

While Link was painfully recognizing that they can, in fact, blindside you twice Linkle was tending to her flock. They'd walked in following Euden, all pushed up with pride over having kept the boy completely safe, and the girl now sad cross-legged on the floor with them all over her looking to get nuzzled. Linkle switched between the two in her lap and the one perched on her head, rubbing her fingers in between the feathers on their necks as they alternated between cooing and begging. With just three she could do this without even thinking about it, which was a good thing because just following the conversation nearby was taking up all of her mental power. She had to admit, a lot of the concepts being thrown around in the conversation about this mysterious Lord of Games went right over her head. All she really took away from it was that this guy had been messing with Donnie's head, and that he apparently didn't have a cannon. Poppi wanted to wait until after the battle with the second guardian to investigate this weird situation, but Banjo and Kazooie ran off immediately since this was somebody they knew. 

She pondered going after them, just to give them some backup in case anything else was lurking in this canyon, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She found Link there, crouched next to her, his face awash with worried embarrassment. “Did I have the Master Sword before I woke up?” He asked.

“If you had the Master Sword we’d all be dead.” She answered with the utmost confidence before seeing the ghastly face he made and scrambling to another answer. “I mean...you know...blade beams….no, you didn’t have the Master Sword.”

He groaned and buried his face in his hands. “I lost the sword.” He said, more to himself than anything. Four little words made Linkle nearly choke on air. The Master Sword? The Master Sword. Lost!?! That...that...well, to be honest that left her in pretty much the same position she had been in before. She still had to look for it, right?

“Oh, no, Galeem probably just took it.” Linkle said reassuringly, putting a hand on his shoulder. A cucco scurried off her head, across the makeshift bridge, and plopped itself on his head. He looked up. “Galeem takes things. She took all my rupees, and my bow, and my hookshot, and everything.”

He glanced down at the slate hanging from his belt for a moment as understanding marched across his face. “So that monster has the sword?”

This question threw her a little. “I’m not sure.” She said. “Maybe she just put it somewhere. There might even be more than one. It should be okay, we always have to find it anyway.” Her smile faded slightly as she flashed back to her dream. She hoped there was more than one, she didn’t want to have to argue this.

Link started to ask a question, but his attention was arrested by the Bear and Birds triumphant return. In particular his eyes set on the letter the Bear held in his hand. Not long after that the Princess gave the call to head out. Whatever he had been about to ask, he would have to do it later. 

[hr]

Link made his way across the bridge and into the dark tunnel, about as equipped as he could be in this situation. He had grabbed the sword Fox had given him off the wall, the thing flashing blue for a second before seeming to vanish into thin air. Linkle had been very impressed, wondering whether or not he had destroyed it or something, but he just told her that it was in storage. He’d then asked, considering she had her crossbows, whether or not she needed that weird bow on her back. She’d immediately not only handed it and her entire collection of arrows over, but also the shield she kept on her back. The thing was damaged, but he’d made do with worse. He couldn't deny that the weight on his arm was comforting. 

Another of their crew surprised him by bringing out a cage of what looked like fireflies, insisting that if there was a maze within their destination they would be able to help the group find one another again. As they buzzed around him in particular he could only think about how much he wanted to photograph them. He liked fireflies in general, and maybe he’d be able to find some of his own with the right photo.

The procession made its way through the tunnel in the mouth of the witch, with the turnip man and his female companion being the first to brave the inky purple that awaited them at the end. They followed after, pushing through the spirals thick as air, and arrived at a dark and dreary place, an island floating in a black sky.

It didn’t take long for the enemy to be upon them, the first unfortunately targeting the turnip man. Another appeared near the firefly guy, swiping down at him as it appeared. Bowser and his son went to back up Turnip as another showed up to harass the hornet. Link drew his sword, set his eyes on the one currency dueling the hornet, and circled around her with a series of side hops to get at the creatures back. 

As he did another of their companions called out what he thought was the monster's weakness, causing Linkle to affirm, “Yeah! Yeah! I know these. They were in the junkyard when we were getting the karts. I wasn’t able to kill any because they teleported around.” 

Going for their advice Link averted his eyes from the creature, trailing them up to watch the hornets eyes. He jumped as the creatures back, his downward slash guided by the reflection in her giant purple eyes.