Chapter Text
The sky was like nothing Parrot had ever seen before: dark clouds smeared across the horizon like paint hastily applied to a deep, reddish pink canvas. The sun was setting behind the mountains, and the moon, a dark blood red, was high in the sky.
Parrot’s best friend and mentor, Theo, stood beside him, bow in hand, eyes scanning the sky for any form of movement. Parrot knew what he was looking for— the rest of the champions had left for their Divine Beasts ages ago, preparing to use the ancient machines for what hopefully would be the last time.
Parrot had met Theo when he was beginning to take his role as the Prince of Hyrule. Theo was originally just supposed to be his mentor in combat, something Parrot used to epically suck at, until they realized just how much they had in common. What Parrot lacked in strength, Theo made up for, and whatever Theo lacked in smarts, Parrot had. Theo was a TNT minecart master, a fighting style invented by the Gerudo and adapted for Rito like Theo. Theo had attempted to teach Parrot, but after a few close calls Parrot made the executive decision to stop those lessons. After that, they’d focused on mainly sword and bow lessons, helping improve Parrot’s chance of survivability in a battle.
Finally, after a moment or two more of waiting, Parrot spotted the familiar bird-like shape of Vah Medoh in the sky, lights glowing blue over the strange sunset. Parrot raised his spyglass, finding the helm of the Beast and spotting the silhouette of a lone figure on top.
“This is Vah Medoh, checking in and on standby.” The Rito champion’s voice crackled through Parrot’s sheikah slate.
“Thanks, Wifies,” Parrot replied, “I’ll call you when we’re ready.”
Wifies was Parrot’s best friend (aside from Theo). The two had met a while ago, before Parrot needed to step up in his role as the savior of all of Hyrule, and Wifies had become the champion of the Rito. Wifies, while slightly overprotective of Parrot, was one of the best people Parrot had known for a while. They’d drifted apart over the years, and Parrot missed the times when they’d gotten to just hang out and be teenagers, without the weight of the world on their shoulders. But Wifies had taken on his role, and Parrot his, leaving what their friendship had been behind. It was more awkward now, talking to Wifies. But Parrot knew that Wifies would do anything to protect him, just like Parrot would.
Parrot lowered his spyglass just as another Divine Beast appeared in the sky: Vah Rudania. Parrot watched as the mechanical dragon soared through the air and eventually landed a couple hundred feet from him. The outline of a winged boy appeared on the Beast’s head, illuminated by the bright blue lights of Rudania, and the champion of the Gorons jumped off of his Beast to meet Parrot.
“Vah Rudania, standing by.” Wemmbu pulled one of two maces off of his back— this one being Gambit— and swung it in a circle. “Ready when you are, Parrot.”
He was shorter than the other champions, with light purple skin and darker horns. He wore clothes that were fancier than that of typical Gorons— most likely influenced by Jaden, one of his best friends and the Zora champion. Wemmbu’s tail had a habit of twitching when he talked or when he was nervous, but right now it was perfectly still. Parrot wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. As he’d gotten more into his role as the Goron champion, Wemmbu had slowly lost his humor and easygoing personality, the pressure he was under suppressing that part of him in order to make way for the current Wemmbu. He was still himself, but without the same naive spirit that he’d started with.
Parrot couldn’t help but admire the younger champion’s courage. What they were about to go up against wasn’t any normal enemy. All of their training, all of their preparation— it all led up to this battle. And to think, Wemmbu was only fifteen…. But after all, he’d been picked for a reason. He was here to fulfill his duty, and Parrot knew he would either succeed or die trying.
The final two Divine Beasts appeared on the horizon and made their way to Parrot. Parrot could see the Zora champion, Jaden, standing on the top of Vah Ruta, and after a moment, the Gerudo champion, FlameFrags, also emerged from the interior of Vah Naboris.
Jaden tended to do things differently from the rest of his tribe. He used a trident-mace fighting style, something that was much too heavy-hitting to be considered a true Zora style. And while he still had the same sense of fashion as a Zora, his clothes contained darker colors that weren’t typically seen in a Zora wardrobe. Parrot didn’t know too much about Jaden. He knew that Jaden was good at sailing, and that Wemmbu was his closest friend, but other than that, Parrot’s knowledge of him was limited.
FlameFrags, on the other hand, had known Parrot for a while. They’d met when Flame and a few other Gerudo had come to the castle to discuss a possible disturbance from the Yiga Clan. Parrot and Flame didn’t exactly have matching personalities. Parrot was strategic and preferred to fight from behind, and Flame was always in the front lines of a battle. But regardless, they’d always been able to learn from each other and stay pretty close friends.
Flame dressed a lot simpler than most Gerudo. The typical Gerudo wardrobe consisted of lots of gold and jewelry, fancy, layered fabrics, and elaborate headpieces that displayed their standing in the social hierarchy. Flame preferred simple, easy-to-move-in clothes with just a touch of gold. Instead of a Gerudo headpiece, he wore a blindfold around his eyes and decorated his horns with gold.
“Uh, Parrot, bro. Do we have to do the whole ‘standing by’ thing or can you just see that we’re here, bro.” Flame’s voice came through Parrot’s slate.
“Dude, it’s so much more aura if you do the whole ‘ready and standing by’ thing. I promise,” Wemmbu said from his position beside Parrot.
“Fine then.” Flame cleared his throat audibly enough for Theo to snicker. “Vah Naboris, ready and standing by or whatever, bro.”
Jaden’s voice came through a second later. “Flame, that was torture to listen to. Vah Ruta, ready and standing by.”
“Shut up bro, that was worse.”
Parrot suppressed a smile before responding. “Guys, can we actually lock in please? The fate of the world is kinda at stake.”
“I feel like I’m missing the fun all the way up here,” Wifies sighed, “Can I come down?”
“No, bro, the fate of the world is at stake, like I said. We don’t have time to waste on shenanigans,” Parrot said.
Wemmbu cackled with laughter, attempting —and failing— to hide the noise.
“What?”
“Bro really said shenanigans.”
“Oh my gosh, bro, just lock in,” Parrot said with a smile. “Come on guys, it’s now or never. Let’s end this thing.”
Wemmbu nodded quietly. “We’ll get you into the castle. Then it’s all up to you.”
Theo nudged Wemmbu playfully. “Uh, actually, bro, last time I checked, that was my job.”
“Whatever, bro.”
Parrot lifted his slate to his mouth and spoke. “Ready or not, guys. It’s time.”
“Copy that.”
“Okay, bro.”
“Ready when you are.”
“We’ve all got your back, Parrot.”
Parrot smiled. “Then let’s do this.”
All four Divine Beasts began to move, their owners piloting them towards the castle, where Jamato’s calamity was beginning to strike.
Theo nodded at Parrot. “Lead the way, Prince of Hyrule.”
—
Chaos. That’s the only word Parrot could use to describe the battle. Laser beams from the Guardians flew across the battlefield, striking down everything in their path. Hyrule Field had become a wasteland of craters and malice, a black haze covering the area and making it difficult to see. Jamato’s calamity was relentless, but it wasn’t anything the Guardians and Divine Beasts couldn’t handle.
Until, suddenly, they couldn’t. Theo cried out in alarm as one of the Guardians froze in place and its lights began to flicker, changing colors from peaceful, pale blue to dark, angry magenta, its singular eye glowing red. Theo pushed Parrot behind him, shield raised, as he eyed the Guardian nervously.
Then the Guardian’s laser struck Theo’s shield, shattering it.
“Wha—” Theo sputtered, digging through his inventory and pulling out a new one.
“That shouldn’t be happening,” Parrot muttered.
But, regardless of whether it should be happening or not, it was. Guardians all over the field that had been helping the remaining Hylian soldiers in battle were now stopping, a deep pink glow surrounding them, overtaking them. Lasers stopped firing at the Calamity overhead and instead began firing at the dozens of remaining people, soldiers, civilians, people who couldn’t escape in time, all who were already vastly outnumbered before the battle even began.
Parrot raised his slate up to his mouth, hoping to warn the other champions of what was happening when he heard Theo draw in a sharp breath. He looked up at the sky, eyes locking on Vah Medoh. The once safe, blue lights were the same shade of magenta. Once Parrot lifted his spyglass, he could just barely make out the shape of what he assumed was Wifies, battling some kind of monster on top of the Beast.
The sun had fully set now, but the sky was just as red and terrifying as ever. The only sources of light now were the dark pink lights of the corrupted sheikah technology and the blood moon, still locked in its place high in the sky.
Jaden’s voice cut through the slate, staticky and hurried.
“Parrot— lost control— fighting— not sure how much longer I can hold out—”
Jaden’s voice cut out.
Jaden was a formidable and strong warrior. But if whatever he was facing was enough to make him unsure of his survival, it had to be stronger than everything they’d ever faced.
“Jaden, if you can, get out of there. Same goes for all of you. The Beasts don’t matter as much as you guys,” Parrot replied quickly. “I can’t do this without you guys.”
Flame’s voice, out of breath and shaking audibly, replied back. “As much as I hate to admit it, bro, I can’t do this for much longer, bro. You have to do this. It’s the only way, bro.”
FlameFrags. Out of breath. Hurt.
Parrot had never heard him like that before.
He was the best warrior Parrot had ever met.
Yet even he was struggling.
“Can you leave the Beast?”
It was Wemmbu who responded this time: “No, we’re locked inside. I can’t leave the main terminal area.”
Wemmbu’s voice— while steady— was filled with pain. He was so young. He didn’t deserve this. He deserved to go home to the Gorons and enjoy dinner with his family. Not this. He didn’t deserve to go out like this.
Parrot was beginning to panic. “Wifies, you’re on top of yours, right? Can you get off of there?”
The slate crackled. “…No. I’d fall to my death.”
Right. Parrot had momentarily forgotten about Wifies’s lack of wings, due to Parrot
having his own.
Wifies, his best friend. Wifies, who would rather die than let anything touch Parrot. Wifies, who would rather burn the world than let Parrot die. Wifies, who was probably just as hurt as the others but was refusing to show it. Wifies. His best friend.
Wifies’s voice continued. “But I’m honestly doing okay for right now. If you can end this, Parrot, if you can beat him, we’ll probably be okay. We just have to hold out.”
“Easier said than done, Wifies,” Wemmbu muttered. “I can’t mace this guy.”
“Listen, Parrot.” Wifies’s voice cut out for a second, and Parrot heard him mutter something unintelligible before his voice came back. “Whatever happens, you are Hyrule’s final hope. We’re gonna hold off these monsters for as long as we possibly can. You need to get to Jamato.”
“We’ll be okay, Parrot. You have a job to do—” Flame’s voice was quickly cut off, and Parrot heard something crashing to the ground.
“Flame?”
After a few seconds that felt way too long, Flame’s voice came through the slate. “I— I’m fine. Go stop this, bro.”
Parrot wasn’t an idiot. He knew Flame wasn’t okay, he knew Wifies was flat out lying about his situation being fine, and he knew the rest of his friends were putting their lives at risk to help him. But what was he to do?
Flame was right. All of them were right. He had to stop this.
He steeled himself, then turned back to Theo, who had been watching the Guardians.
“Ready?” Theo asked.
Parrot nodded, then froze.
A Guardian had appeared behind Theo, eye charging up a laser blast.
Theo was out of totems. His shield was barely holding on to life. There was a thin red line above his right eye, blood slowly dripping down the side of his face. Theo was so clearly tired and in pain and injured enough already.
If the Guardian’s laser struck him, Theo would die.
He moved without thinking.
Shoving Theo out of harm’s way.
The Guardian's laser struck Parrot directly in the chest.
Pain exploded through his body, ripping through his arms, his legs, his head.
The sound of the explosion tore through his ears.
The unbearable heat of the laser hit him next, burning every inch of him it could reach.
He felt his body fly into the air. Wind rushed past his ears.
He heard ringing.
A scream.
Voices?
Rain was falling.
He was falling.
Down
Down
Down
Down
His wings— burned, broken, unusable— failed to catch him.
The ground opened its arms to meet him.
Everything went black.
He never felt his body hit the ground