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Kohga trudged through the gloomy night. Getting along with these champion guys was harder than he thought. And with them all being holed up in Fort Hateno together he’d really been trying his best to be friendly.
The Goron Guy was nice enough, but after he’d said he didn’t care for bananas Kohga had split. Opinions on food are very important to him, after all. The Zora princess was a doll. She was trying her best to get along with him - as he was her - but despite her sweet disposition she seemed to hold a grudge against him. Which, you know, was fair. The Yiga might not be the best of the best when it came to fighters, but they had the numbers to overwhelm and crush their opponents. Kohga figured every medic in Hyrule probably hated his guts.
He hadn’t even tried with Urbosa. She’d seen him coming and shot him down before he’d even gotten a word in.
“Turn around, little voe,” she’d said.
Kohga had ran away as fast as he could.
At least Zelda was nice enough. She’d been the one to actually let him join the anti-Ganon team. They didn’t really click, but she hadn’t beheaded him either. That was a good sign. That knight of hers didn’t say much either. Kohga had expected him to be glaring at him every chance he got, but instead his face was just as neutral and bland as ever. Kohga didn’t like hanging around him. It reminded him too much of that last fight by Sooga’s side.
Now, friendless and sleepless, he wandered through the crumbling gate posts and stone piles of Fort Hateno. The Fort wasn’t really much of a living space. The most not-trashed outpost had been granted to the princess for the night, and it was surrounded by what knights were well enough to stand guard. The champions - both past and present (and how crazy was that?) - had been left to their own devices when it came to finding places to sleep. Most had ventured into the forest to look for a cozy tree to sleep under. Others had opted to stay in the rubble of the fort in order to be closer to the princess. The Calamity was upon them, after all, and you could never be too careful.
He was passing by a door when he heard a sound from the other side. He pressed his ear against it and listened harder. Soft shuffling noises were all he could hear, then angry muttering. He recognized that voice! That was the fourth champion - the blue bird guy.
Honestly he’d been going out of his way to avoid the Rito champion. He was so rude! When Kohga first appeared and asked the princess for help, the Rito had offered to dispose of him saying it would be a great pleasure and some other nonsense. Then, after he’d recounted what happened between himself, Sooga, and Ganon’s prophet, the guy just wouldn’t shut up. Oh, of course they’d lost, their battle skills were so lacking. They didn’t even have wings. Blah, blah, blah, on and on.
Well, after that treatment he wasn’t going to grace the Rito with his marvelous company. It sounded like the poor guy couldn’t sleep. Well then! He’d let him suffer in there alone! Kohga huffed and threw back his head triumphantly. Now, to go and find something to pass the time. Maybe he could sneak into the soldiers’ stuff and see if they had any games or-
“Stop it!”
Kohga froze and looked at the door. That didn’t sound good. It kinda sounded like the guy was being attacked. That opened new possibilities. If he stepped in there and saved the champion he could hold it over his head for the rest of time. Maybe the princess would give him a medal. On the other hand he could just sit back and watch the most insufferable champion get pummeled. That would be fun.
“Welp,” he clapped his hands together, index fingers pointed upwards. “Better have a look-see.”
He disappeared into a cloud of smoke and spell cards. He reappeared just on the other side of the door. What? Like Master Kohga was gonna knock.
It was dark in there. It looked like the remains of a weapons locker or some such. Big enough to hold several soldiers and line the walls with weapons, but too small to do much else. Luckily Kohga was a ninja. A little bit of darkness wasn’t going to chase him away!
He tripped over a brick and landed on his knees.
Nevermind, this so wasn’t worth it.
“Stop it…”
Kohga looked up. The Rito champion was sitting against the wall. His head was bowed to his chest, and he was clutching his bow like a teddy bear. If Kohga was an artist he would have sketched out the scene for blackmail material. That is, until he looked closer.
The champion was in the throws of a nightmare. His head thrashed side to side and he was panting heavily.
“Get off.” He groaned.
Kohga stalked closer. “Birdbrain? You okay?”
“GET IT OFF!”
- - -
The Malice clung to his feathers like tar. It roiled and quivered as if alive, and the feeling it had...it festered on his skin like a vile, rotten thing. It covered him from the talons up, stopping just short of his beak. His wings, stretched and bound overhead, dripped with it. Struggling angered it; made it coil tight and burn.
The seerer had his back to Revali. The strange mechanism in his hand was pulsing like a heartbeat. He chuckled to himself.
“You’re doing marvelously,” he crooned. “Just a few more moments and it will have all that it needs.”
Revali clenched his hands. He tried to focus on his breathing. He tried to distract himself from the vulgar mess he was stuck in.
“When I get out of here,” he would grit his teeth if he had them, “I will string you up and use you for target practice.”
“If you get out of here,” the seerer said, “you won’t have anywhere to go. Your future is desolate.” Astor turned to face Revali, “I will execute fate’s will.”
Revali shivered as the malice started moving. It ran from him like water, pooled on the floor and retreated to the seerer’s side. Astor grinned maniacally.
“The time has come,” he declared.
“Time for what?” He was still shaking. The malice had set not only his skin crawling, but his entire body shaking as well.
Astor turned away and lifted his hand. The strange device he held pulsed brightly and a portal opened before him. As if behind a film of water, Hyrule castle appeared. Revali grasped at his bindings. Freedom was so close. The sunlight he could see bounding off the castle walls - surely its warmth would stop his shaking; would erase the horrible feeling of the malice’s touch.
Beside Astor the malice rose. Revali watched the putrid pillar rise and contort. It stretched and folded until it had taken on his own form. He sneered at the Hollow.
“You remember my creations from the Korok Forest, of course.” Astor patted the Malice automaton on the head. Revali found himself bristling at the seerer treating his image in such a way. “I’m quite proud of them. However, in order to fulfill Ganon’s will they need to be improved.” He smiled at Revali, cold and sarcastic. “I do thank you for offering yourself to the cause.”
“I didn’t offer anything. But, if you would like to offer me your surrender now, then I might just give you a head start.”
“Foolish champion.” Astor approached Revali. “You have yet to understand just how great your role in Hyrule’s future truly is.” The seerer reached for the Rito’s face. Revali snapped his beak at the offending hand. It was whipped away and Astor’s smile soured. “You will see.”
“I will see you dead. Whatever way it takes to destroy you and Ganon, I will see it happen.”
“How naive.” Astor giggled to himself. He pet his strange device lovingly as he turned to the malice. “Come, my creation, show him your new power.”
Revali watched, horrified, as the malice began to shift. Its gooey, pulsing surface smoothed into muscle; bunched and furrowed into feathers. The glowing lights in its head became green eyes. Sickly purple became deep navy blue. Revali was staring at himself.
“Remarkable, yes?” Astor pet the malice’s wing. The malice lifted it for him to inspect. It was an exact replica of Revali in every way. He was shaking for a different reason now.
“Don’t worry, dear champion, I’m only borrowing your image for a few precious moments.” He waved his hand towards the portal. The surface rippled and darkened. The Hollow sunk into the floor and disappeared.
When the portal stabilized it was showing a double door inside Hyrule Castle. Two guards stood on either side. It was inside a long hallway, and tall windows flooded it with light. The doors were pulled open and Revali stepped inside. The real Revali, trapped in the dark, gasped in panic.
“What is it doing? Why is it there, take it out!” The chains around his wings rattled.
“Shh,” Astor put a finger against his lips. “You’ll miss the best part.”
The pseudo-Revali stepped into the hall. It stopped to greet the guards, nodding respectfully and making small talk. As alarming as the idea of the thing having his voice was, Revali found himself smirking. The fake had just given itself away! Revali never greeted the guards when he visited the castle. He went out of his way to avoid looking at them when he could. The guards would see that the fake wasn’t acting like him, and raise an alarm.
To his absolute horror the guards smiled back. They waved the malice Rito through without so much as a pause.
“No. No no no!”
The view of the hall changed. Zelda was standing at the other end. Upon spotting Revali she hurried towards him. The Hollow waved and smiled.
“No, she’ll know. She can tell! She-“
The Hollow opened his wings. Zelda looked surprised, blushed, and moved to hug him. Revali watched in speechless horror as the fake Rito wrapped its wings around the princess. No, only one. The other wing rose, as if he were going to proclaim something. The feathers on its raised wing shifted and morphed into a horrid, clawed hand.
Revali could feel himself screaming but he couldn’t hear the words. He could only hear the seerer’s laugh, and the gurgling, wretched noise of the malice. He wasn’t bound anymore. Now he was the one holding Zelda looking down at her scared, wide eyes as the malice tore into her-
“ZELDA!” Revali shot awake and his head slammed against the wall.
He gasped and rubbed the back of his head. A dream. Of course it had been a dream. There was no way that the seer could capture him, Revali, legend of the Rito. He was too skilled, too fast, too clever to be captured. Reassured by this knowledge he brought his wing away from the back of his head. No blood. Good sign. But his wing wouldn’t stop shaking. Why would it be shaking? He wasn’t scared or anything.
A long whistle startled him out of his thoughts. Without thinking he drew his bow and aimed...at the Yiga master sitting nearby. His legs were crossed and he held a book in one hand; a half eaten banana in the other.
“That looked like some night terror, pal.” he said.
“What are you doing here? How long have you been here?” Gods, his voice was so ragged. His throat was sore.
“Not long.” Kohga took a bite of banana without removing his mask. That was unsettling. “I could hear you out there so I came in to see what was going on.”
“Leave.” Revali growled. “Before I make you.”
Kohga rolled his head so that Revali could tell he was rolling his eyes. “Then you should really try putting arrows in that thing.”
Revali looked down at his bow. It was drawn and ready but no arrows had been threaded. He relaxed the string and glared at Kohga.
“Leave before I get my hands on some and I won’t chase you like the overstuffed target you are.”
“Now, normally I’d be offended, maybe even a little threatened, but I’m not.” The Yiga closed the book and tossed it over his shoulder. “You look like you’ve been through the wringer, and all you were doing was sleeping.”
“I’m fine.” he snarled.
“Riiiiight. Anywho, I wonder if the princess could hear you screaming her name.”
Revali stiffened. “I did no such thing.”
Kohga tapped his chin. “Hmm, let me thi- yeah. Yeah you did.”
“No I didn’t. I had no reason to.” Revali looked down and busied himself with looking over his bow. The dream was still haunting him. He couldn’t shake the image of Zelda’s face looking up at him; the look of betrayal and horror in her eyes as the malice - no, as he - as he killed her.
He heard a clattering noise. His bow had fallen right out of his hands. As he leaned forward to pick it up he saw that his wings were shaking even worse than before. There was no reason for this to be happening, unless…
His head snapped to the side and he glared at Kohga. Kohga didn’t have time to even make a noise of confusion before the Rito was on him. Revali backed him into the wall and jabbed an accusing (and trembling) feather at his mask.
“You did this!” he snarled.
“You think I gave you a nightmare?!” Kohga answered. “Look, pal, it’s not my fault if my opulent physique haunts your dreams.”
“The seer. The seer you worked for. He was there.”
“Okay. That's more believable, but I don’t think he can make you have dreams.”
“Someone has to have caused it. It was too real, too…” he paused. He remembered the touch of the Malice. How it roiled and burned and crawled and-
“What exactly happened in this dream of yours?” Kohga asked.
Revali glared. “Why do you care?”
“I’m invested at this point! I didn’t sit here and watch you sleep just to not find out what was so bad about it.” Seeing the champion continue to glare, Kohga sighed. “Also, talking about nightmares helps you feel better. When I had them I would tell Sooga all about ‘em, and then I could go back to sleep.”
“Yes, but you are nothing more than an oversized child.” Revali stalked back to his previous sleeping spot. “I am a champion. I am a warrior without equal. I have been chosen to stop the Calamity. One little dream won’t stop me.”
“Hey, don’t knock dreams pal. Sometimes they can tell the future, you know.”
“That’s absolutely asinine.” Revali slung his bow across his back.
“Is not!” The Yiga master stood and planted his hands on his hips. “A while back I had a dream that somethin’ terrible was gonna happen. Some weird smoke thing stormed the hideout. It was suckin’ up our footmen and all of our banana supply. Sooga was gonna try to fight it, but you can’t fight smoke with swords.”
Kohga looked down at his feet. “Then I woke up. Well, Sooga woke me up by trying to get the knife outta my hand. I get kinda crazy when I dream.” Khoga laughed sadly. “Guess my subconscious saw it coming. What that creep did to him.”
Revali rolled his eyes. The fool was spewing nonsense. It was all just baseless nonsense. Even still, it wasn’t as if stranger things hadn’t happened.
When the champions had rendezvoused with Zelda at Hateno she’d claimed to have fought the Blights. He remembered distinctly that he had gunned down Windblight Ganon from Medoh’s back, and that Link had (supposedly and somehow) defeated the three others. Zelda had said that the seer had been the one to summon them back from oblivion. The Blights and the Hollows...the seer was too powerful. So powerful, that perhaps he could alter the shape of them.
Revali turned back to Kohga. He was filing his nails through his gloves.
“Kohga.”
“Hmm?”
“You’re familiar with the seer’s abilities, yes?”
“More or less.”
“Kohga.” The master looked up. “If you do not make yourself useful for once in your life, then I will-”
“Alright, alright, I get it.” Khoga scratched his head. “I’ve seen him uh, make things out of weird goopy stuff, pull souls outta bodies, and he’s got this gear thing that makes pretty lights. Supposedly he could talk to Ganon-”
“The Hollows.”
“Saywha?”
“Those are the creatures he makes. They’re called Hollows.”
“‘Kay.”
Revali growled. “Tell me about them! What can he do with them?”
“They copy the fighting moves of whoever he models ‘em after. Sometimes they can be a little stronger than the source material. That’s all I know about ‘em though, I swear!”
“Can he change their appearance in any way - to make them seem more lifelike? Can they copy voices?”
Kohga tilted his head, then straightened it again. His towering ponytail shot up like an exclamation mark. “Ooooooh. I see now.”
Revali glared. “See what, Kohga?”
Kohga crossed his arms and pointed at him, palm upturned. “Your dream was that a Hollow stole your identity and did somethin’ to the princess. Am I right?”
Revali’s feathers ruffled. Hearing it outloud made it sound so ridiculous. How pathetic that something like a dream with such a foolish premise could sca- unnerve him.
“Don’t act like you’re too high and mighty for nightmares, pal. Everybody gets ‘em. And I hear you almost died yesterday. You do know that almost dying is like, number one nightmare fuel, right?”
“I did not almost die,” he sneered. “I was handling it just fine on my own.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever. Does it bother you that your friends almost died, then?”
“If they had, then I would have been forced to fight Ganon alone. Not ideal, as I have to do it from the back of a Divine Beast, but nothing I cannot accomplish.”
“Yeesh, how stuck up can you get?” Kohga muttered to himself. An idea struck him and he giggled. “Okay, okay, I get ya. You don’t need Champions or chosen knights to take on Ganon, you’re sooooo powerful on your own.”
Revali tossed his head. “Seems you’re not as thick-headed as I thought.”
Kohga waved the “compliment” away with a sneer. “I’m sure that applies to the princess too?”
“What does?”
“That she could get offed and you wouldn’t care.”
Revali’s eyes widened. “That’s not what I said.”
“Oh, but you don’t need anybody’s what you said. You really need the princess to help you fight Ganon?”
Revali’s eyes darted to and fro, as if searching for an excuse. “I-“
Kohga rubbed his hands together and pointed his foot towards the door. “Well, if I’ve got my Ganon slayer right here then I’m sure I could just pop over and get rid of em all while they’re sleeping. I hate leaving a job unfinished, and the princess has been so hard to get close to recently. She’s not too far if I remember c-”
The word died in a gurgle as the Great Eagle Bow was pulled against his throat. He clawed at the cold metal, and the feathered hands that held it in place.
“You. Wouldn’t. Dare.” The words were spat against the side of his head.
“Joking! I was joking!” he croaked. The bow was removed and he grasped his throat. Kohga coughed and hacked, turning to Revali who was watching him in disgust. “Alright, I laid it on a bit thick. In my defense, you’re a real ding-bat. So, you kinda deserved it.”
Revali glared. “Provoke me again and I will finish the job.”
“You try to help a guy get his ego in check, and this is the thanks you get? No wonder the world’s gone down the drain.”
“I do not have an ego.”
“You have such a huge ego. I could see it from the top of the Hebra mountains.”
“What did I just say about provoking me, fool!” Revali reached for his bow.
“You ain’t worth listening too!” Kohga’s voice had changed. It sounded…raw. “Why is it so hard for you to say you care about anyone? About anything? WHY?”
Revali blinked, stunned.
“They almost all died out there!” Kohga pointed towards the door. “Maybe you don’t like ‘em all. Maybe they drive you bananas. Maybe sometimes you wanna knock ‘em upside the head to get ‘em to see straight. But if you ever woke up one day and they weren’t there…and they were never gonna be there again…you’d be upset.” Kohga rubbed the back of his hand over his mask, where his eyes would be. “You’d wanna say sorry, for making their job so hard. For not listening to ‘em. For snoring too loud. For eating his secret banana stash and blaming the bokoblins!”
Kohga slapped his hands over his mask and sobbed. Revali looked around listlessly, uncomfortable and annoyed. He knew what he was talking about. He’d been there when Kohga had retold the story of how a squad of his best fighters, and his right hand man, had been killed by the seer. But Kohga hadn’t cried then. His Yiga henchmen had, but he hadn’t. Revali had just assumed it wasn’t a bother to him.
Seeing the Yiga Master fall to his knees, crying uncontrollably…well, obviously he wasn’t over it just yet. Revali fiddled with his scarf. He wouldn’t act in such a disgraceful manner. He would hold his head up. He would fight on! What warrior would let someone else’s death slow him down?
He sneered as he noticed dirt smeared on his scarf. He remembered the ceremony at which he’d gotten it. Bowing so that Zelda could wrap it around his neck. She’d been so careful while doing it, smoothing down his feathers so as not to bend them under the fabric. He tried to remember her face then, but all he got was the mortified look from his dream.
Revali stiffened. What if…what would it feel like…if she had to die in his wings? If she really were to disappear from this world, and the only thing he- that anyone could use to remember her by was whatever she'd touched in her short life time. Books and clothes, places she'd been where she would never be seen again.
They had raided the Yiga Headquarters so long ago, but he remembered the halls (much too narrow for his liking). How in some rooms he'd stumble upon Yiga henchmen eating together or lounging before they jumped up to fight. He looked at Khoga. Would the Yiga Master wander those halls and rooms remembering all the men he'd lost? Trying to find any small piece of them left behind to summon the few, limited memories their presence left behind?
Oh, speaking of, he was still crying on the floor like the pathetic specimen…like the mourning pathetic specimen he was. Revali sighed and, against his own reluctance, leaned down to pat Khoga's shoulder.
He seemed to come back to himself and sat up. His crying began to die away into sniffles and hiccups as he wiped at his mask. Revali leveled his gaze at the wall, head turned away from him.
"I don't say that I care about them-" Revali trailed off. Kohga looked up at him.
"I don't say that I care because…I can't afford to. When Rito Village was being attacked by monsters we lost many good fighters. Some of them I liked more than others. And when they fell I was the one who had to tell their families, because they died executing my strategies. My orders. And when a family is crying, mourning part of their flock that will never return then you have to be strong for them. Because they deserve to be vulnerable in a time of grief. And when the flock is vulnerable they need to be protected. And you can't protect them if you are vulnerable."
Revali had turned his body to fully face the wall. His wings were crossed, but to Khoga it looked more like he was holding himself. Wait, he'd seen other Rito stand next to this guy before. He'd always just thought this guy was just short (which would explain part of the attitude problem), but now that he thought about it, how old was this guy really? The princess and her sword guy were only, what, 16? He could never remember. Would it be creepy if he did?
"Hey uh, where are your parents?" He asked.
Revali stopped, turning his face back towards Khoga. It was blank with confusion. "What?"
"Or uh, maybe not parents. But like, some higher in command Rito who could, you know, take over for you from time to time? Sounds like you never really took a break."
The confusion melted into somewhat-insulted infuriation. "I am one of the highest ranking Rito! My archery skills are beyond compare and battle prowess even more so. There is no one who could take my place. Even five Rito combined couldn't match me."
"Ooookay so you're a prodigy. That explains a whole lot." Khoga scratched his chin as he thought. "And you never thought to try and pass on some of your knowledge to your footmen so they could do their jobs without you?"
"Why would I burden them with going into battle without their best fighter?" Revali asked.
"Geez, okay, forget I asked." Khoga threw up his hands. "So you don't tell any of your Champion friends you care about them so that if someone dies you can just keep up this straight face and be their rock."
Revali rolled his eyes. "Daruk would be a rock. Which is to say he'd sit there and be unhelpful. I would be a pillar of strength and logic in a time of despair."
"Well right now you're a loon."
Revali blinked. "I'm…are you blind? I don't look anything like a loon!"
"Oh for crying out loud!" Khoga pushed himself to his feet and pointed at Revali."I'm sayin' you're being stupid! Look, I know you don't wanna think about your friends dying. I know it's easier to pretend it's never gonna happen and act the part. But it's not impossible! It's…it's really possible. And if you don't ever tell 'em how much you care now, and they die, then you're gonna regret it like you never have before."
Revali huffed and turned his back on Khoga. He stalked back to his previous resting spot and sat down, back against the wall.
"I'm not going to dignify any of that with a response." He said firmly.
Khoga lowered his hands. He watched Revali hold his bow, hands shaking much less, and begin waxing the string. The Rito's voice was different when he'd answered. It sounded defeated, almost. If Revali even knew how to make that sound. Ugh, he really was just some stupid kid wasn't he?
Khoga walked over to where he sat with exaggerated steps. Revali didn't even glance up. Khoga sat himself down next to him and pulled out another banana. He peeled it, waited for Revali to pause and look over his own work, and then offered it to him.
Revali gave the fruit a look like he was looking at a dead rat. Khoga swallowed the offended gasp he'd almost made. He waved the treat again.
"Come on, birdbrain, don't act like you didn't skip dinner."
Revali narrowed his eyes - this time at Khoga - and turned up his beak. "I'm not hungry," he said even as his stomach growled.
"Uh huh. And I'm the goddess Hylia. Eat."
"You think you can order me to do anything? Hmmph! Absolutely asinine."
"What'd you call me?"
"It means- ugh! Nevermind." He moved his bow to one hand and swiped the banana with the other. "If this will stop you from speaking to me then fine, I'll eat it!"
"That's the spirit. Here, I won't talk while you eat. Yiga's honor!"
Revali glared at him again but Khoga didn't notice. He'd folded his hands behind his head to cushion it from the cold stone wall, and was leaning back. His eyes were upwards, but he was lost in thought.
He was a good guy now. He'd probably stay one too. Maybe he'd be better at it than he had at killing the princess. Ooh! Maybe he could be something of a mascot. Cheerin' up the army and the Champions. Maybe he could get his men to follow his lead and keep them out of the battle. He'd lost so many of them. The Clan had lost so many. Too many.
"Hey, birdbrain."
"Champion Revali." He answered coldly.
"No, my name's Khoga."
Then he heard it. The smallest, nearly stifled, exhale of a laugh. He'd made him crack! Oh, he was so good!
"Yeah so, anyways," He tried not to sound too proud. Or choked up. "I have a favor to ask."
"I'm not doing it." Revali snapped back.
"No, don't worry it's nothin' you can't handle."
"I don't doubt it, but I don't want to do anything that helps you."
"Can you maybe," he continued, "while you're flying around out there, keep an eye out for my men? I know we haven't really done much to make you wanna fight alongside us. But, there are some good people under those masks. Some of 'em got wives and kids back at the hideout. Some of 'em are about to become wives and husbands. Some of 'em used to be kids not too long ago-"
"I won't promise anything to you." Revali was as haughty as ever. "But it is the duty of any good leader to do what he can to keep the army from falling in the midst of battle. Since the Yiga are now a part of our army, then well, I cannot forsake my duty no matter how I might feel about them."
Khoga stood up, and for the second time that day (or was it a new day?) he found himself on his hands and knees. He bowed to Revali, face almost to the floor.
"Thank you." He said. "I want to bring as many of them home as I can."
"Alright. Get up already! Don't act so pitiful. It's not becoming of a leader."
"D'aw!" Khoga popped up. "You do see me as a leader!"
"One of the worst ones I've ever seen." Revali rolled his eyes.
"That's still better than being the worst!"
"Don't fret, Khoga. You'll get there."
Khoga was sure that was supposed to be an insult, but he couldn't be offended when he saw the smile Revali tried to hide. Oh. He was so good. I'd he could get a stick in the mud like Revali to laugh and smile in one night, he'd have this whole army full of morale in no time! Nothing made a fight easier than a good attitude. And even though he still couldn't think about Sooga without tearing up…well, at least he wouldn't be in sour company.