Life in the Ruins: A Legend of Zelda story

Along the Bank

Xavier opened his eyes with a gasp. He coughed a few times, spewing water from his throat. His body shot up, then doubled over as he began to vomit onto the ground. When it was all said and done, he flopped back into the sand, on the side of the river bank.

He looked around, unsure of where he was. He could see a glowing, blue bridge made from some sort of crystal material. Xavier could only guess, but he assumed it had to have been the Inogo Bridge. The flood has washed him all the way through the Zora Pass. His mind was a foggy mess, but he did his best to concentrate. How could things have gone so wrong so fast?

Xavier sat up again, this time more focused, although what he saw just then, made him wish he was still knocked out cold, or even dead. Surrounding him on all sides, stretching down the length of the riverbank, lay dozens upon dozens of Zora corpses. Many sported nasty gashes and bruises. Several more seemed to have suffered from severe blunt trauma, with heads and chests bashed in by the rocks as they were washed away.

Xavier stood, and walked down the riverbank, looking for any survivors. As he did, he was wondering just how he managed to survive. It suddenly dawned on him when he reached up to push his helm out of his eyes. Of course. His armor must have protected him from the rocks and walls on his way down here. He felt along the surface, and felt several deep dents and scrapes. Good thing Myssa supplied him with this armor, or he would have shared the fate of every poor Zora soul he saw laying here.

MYSSA! Thoughts of what transpired rushed into his head. He was so caught up in meeting new people for the first time in years, he blindly followed them, to perform a task he had no information on. And because of that, who knows how many Zora died.

Before he let his self-pity consume him, he saw movement on the ground up ahead. His eyes widened, and he ran forward as fast as his aching body would carry him. He reached the body, and turned it over, revealing Myssas bloody, mangled body. Xavier gasped and fell back, before regaining his composure. Surely in her current state, she wouldn't be able to hurt him. It temporarily crossed his mind to leave her here. After all, she had just help commit an act of terrorism against an entire domain, but as he turned to walk away, he felt a tugging in is gut.

He stopped, sighed, and turned back around. As much as he felt betrayed, he couldn't leave her here with a clear conscious. He knelt, grabbed Myssa under her armpits, and lifted as hard as he could. He's muscles burned, and the wind left his body, causing him to drop her. Before he could pick her up again, he felt a powerful force strike him in the back, sending him tumbling to the ground.

He turned to see Rey standing a few yards away. She looked terrible. He hair was a tangled mess around her face, her clothes and arm band were ripped, and blood seeped from a plethora of wounds dotting the landscape of her body. A look of pure hatred burned in her eyes.

"You son of a bitch." She growled as she unsheathed her scimitar. "We never should have invited you in. We should have killed you back on the road."

"Rey, you're alive!?" Xavier gasped.

"You're damn right. Myssa... protected me as we were washed down river."

"How could you have done that? Do you know how many lives were just lost thanks to you?" Xavier asked, uncaring of the threat of her sword.

"Thanks to me? You mean thanks to YOU!" She shouted back at him. "Our goal was simple. Steal the slate, and kill Dorephan. There was only supposed to be one death. Just ONE, for a noble cause. Instead, we were forced to resort to our back up in order to escape. You think that's the option we wanted? There's a reason it was a backup plan. You forced our hand, boy. All these Zora are dead because you couldn't keep calm under pressure."