by N Felts
guard, Rift finds himself unable to react in time. Turning just in time to see the massive claw about the clamp around his frame, he crosses his arms in an X just as the pincher reaches him. The impact throws him off his feet as the collision resembles a stationary baseball meeting a swinging bat. Quickly rolling back to his feet, Rift spots the next attack closing in. “Right!” Scooping its left claw toward the boy, the overzealous crab misses its target as Rift spins to the right. “There!” Mai calls, spotting the vulnerable joint of the assailant’s elbow. A quick cross hits the mark and Rift leaves the enemy reeling in pain as its elbow bends in the wrong direction. “Strike!” Mai insists, another attack already closing from behind. Dashing forward, Rift unwittingly avoids a fierce swing stabbing into the rocky ground, totally focused on finishing his wounded prey. Still staggering in pain, the crab loses its footing, falling onto its face as Rift leaps into the air. A sickening crunch echoes through the cavern as the gauntlet easily smashes the thick exoskeleton with a heavy downward punch.
“Nice!” Mai cheers now that the tables are beginning to turn. Scrambling off the shattered surface of the defeated foe’s back, Rift has little time to celebrate as its comrades seek vengeance. “Left!” Easily avoiding another swipe, the boy prepares to counter when the unexpected rings in his ears. “Right!” Not expecting such a rapid series of attacks, he once again falls back onto his crossed arms defense, bracing himself for impact. The mighty swing hits much harder than anticipated, and Rift finds himself flailing through the air, toppling completely off the arching bridge. Twisting through the air to get his bearings, he sees his end approaching. One of the many pools of water would have been unwelcome enough, but approaching at blinding speed is a cluster of sharp, stalagmite spikes. “Nooo!” Mai screams, watching the helpless boy plummet to certain death. Closing his eyes and bracing for impact, Rift feels a pair of feet suddenly shove him onto a new trajectory, followed by a sickening and disorienting pull of gravity in several directions at once. His dazed expression can’t seem to get a grip on reality when he lands on his back near the entrance of the cove.
“Unngh, what,” he starts, climbing back to his feet. The smashed door through which the crabs initially attacked finds his eyes first, then he turns to find the group quickly marching up the gradual slope in the distance, their fallen companion lying motionless in their wake. “What happened?”
“Sorry,” Mai starts, sounding impeccably tired. “Didn’t get to test that one first. Need to rest for a… Be carefu…”
“Mai!? Hey!” Rift shouts, searching the open air for any sign of his companion. When no answer comes, he knows he is alone. Turning back to the approaching seafood parade, he feels the potent fear he had almost forgotten swell in his bones. The impending creatures move with daunting speed, quickly scuttling sideways while flexing their massive claws. Without a second thought, Rift sprints as fast as his legs will carry him through the smashed door, past the intersection, and up the long ramp eventually leading back to the first room. Back in the open, church-like atmosphere, the boy stops and palms the doorway for balance as he struggles to catch his breath. Assuming he is safe for the time being, he begins to ponder how he survived the fall. He could practically feel the deadly mineral deposits running him through when he landed safely such a distance away. Long before he can even begin to wrap his mind around the feat, an unnatural light bobbing above him catches his attention. Suddenly, a blast of metal followed by a rapid clinking noise sounds from the base of the Nayru statue a short distance away. The sound reminds him of the drawbridge of Castle Town falling open in the early morning. With only an instant to react, his eyes cannot make out the blurry object closing in on him. Tripping to his hands and knees, he is very nearly missed by a sharp spike impaling the stone doorway. Rolling to a sitting position he traces a long chain across the room, pulled taut between the hook in the wall, and a green blur rapidly soaring toward him.
Kicking a single boot into the wall just before colliding with it, a man garbed in green analyzes the boy in a split-second through narrow eyes. The very man who fought for the fate of the Triforce only a few short nights ago now gazes down upon Rift as a mere obstacle in his way. A strange device in his right hand houses the recoiled chain he utilized to travel across the room. In a terrifying second, the man tears the hook from the wall while drawing a broadsword from its sheath on his back. In one fluid motion, he spins off the wall and descends upon the boy with a vicious downward strike. Scrambling away, Rift can feel the gust of wind from the blade, still saturated with bits of defeated crab. The sword seems to dance through the air toward him, twirling into a horizontal swing as he recoils, losing a tuft of his cloak in the process. The onslaught doesn’t stop for an instant, another attack arching high overhead before descending upon the boy with deadly efficiency. With nowhere to run this time around, Rift crosses his gauntlets, praying they are able to deflect the strike. A tremendous clang sounds, like a hammer hitting an anvil, and the man’s grip holds true while the sword is launched backward. With a brief cry, he smashes into the bleachers beside the central statue with a terrible crash.
Peering through his crossed arms, Rift is dumbfounded by the strength of his armor, but still knows he is outmatched should the fight continue. Quickly moving between the pews to the main aisle, he starts toward the door when the man climbs from beneath the rubble, staring daggers at the boy from the altar. Realizing his retreat is futile, Rift resumes a defensive stance, unsure what he should do next. Studying his opponent more carefully, the man in green holsters his hookshot, opting instead for the large kite shield resting on his back. With an extraordinary grace, he spins the shield off the custom mount with a subtle flick of his right hand, catching the handle of the emblazoned piece of metal effortlessly. Slowly moving forward, he carefully considers his next attack as his fairy reveals itself, circling through the air above him with a barely audible twinkling sound.
“What do you want?” Rift asks, though he has a pretty good idea. The man only scowls in response, gaining ideal footing for the next assault. “It’s Link, isn’t it? I don’t want to hurt you,” the boy adds, though the pathetic threat falls on deaf ears. An image of carved stone flashes through his mind, and Rift finally recognizes the very man who stands at the center of Castle Town square, the statue erected to symbolize his heroic deeds.
“We know who you are,” the fairy encircling the man proclaims with a serious tone. “What has she told you?”
“What?” Rift breathes, momentarily dropping his guard.
“H-he knows that old s-sword can’t overpower you now,” Mai explains, her voice regaining its strength slowly. “He’ll p-probably try something unorthodox.”
“Mai!” Rift shouts, instantly unconcerned about the man prepared to cut him down. “What happened? Where’d you go?” Confused for the moment, Link watches the crazed boy converse with himself briefly before initiating his attack.
“This doesn’t seem like the best time for—jump!” She exclaims, spotting the Hylian begin to spin. Abruptly sliding the foot beneath his sword hand forward, he twists his body one hundred eighty degrees, launching his shield like a deadly frisbee. His confidence restored, Rift dips forward before leaping over the spinning projectile aimed at his torso. Already moving in for the kill, Link is taken by surprise when the boy slaps down on the twirling metal with both palms. The shield takes a violent new trajectory, skipping off the ground and embedding itself in the thick stone wall beside the exit. The strike sends Rift soaring into the air, quickly managing to twist and maneuver his feet above him as his momentum carries him all the way to the ceiling. “Left!” Mai unexpectedly shouts the moment the boy’s feet find the wooden rafters. Shifting his body left, he is once again missed by a negligible margin, the hookshot spearing into the wooden beam instead of his chest. Gravity begins to pull him off of the ceiling as Link rockets upward with sword in hand.
“Go!”
Mai encourages, every bit as eager to finish the fight as the sword toting rival seems to be. Slapping both palms down destroys the wooden joist and launches Rift downward. His chain no longer anchored to anything, Link holsters the recoiled weapon, but continues to glide upward, riding the ample momentum all the way to the final showdown. Gripping his new blade firmly, Link calculates the distance between himself and his target, instantly determining the optimum attack timing. Noting the position of his foe’s blade, held broadly outward, Rift prepares to deflect and counter, not assuming himself quicker on the draw. At the last possible moment, Link whips his blade over his shoulder, opting for a backslash as opposed to the advertised strike. His decided course of action now useless, Rift reflexively crosses his arms, expecting the worst as Link’s battle shout seems to distort and echo as adrenaline slows the boy’s perception of time. The blow is dead on, but once again the dark gauntlets prove immune to such simple weaponry. Inadvertently catching the blade between his forearms, Rift scissors them apart, breaking the steel blade in
