[X] Hand Dorian bomb, he goes for the archers.
-[X] Use bombs against groups to scatter and injure them
[X] Charge into groups; keep them focused on you as you have armour.
-[X] Make use of throwing knives against those that have longer reach weapons
"Dorian, Archers!" You shout to him before tossing one of your bombs to him. Dorian handily catches the bomb and gives you a quick nod before taking a rather strange stance. Then there was an explosion of fire and blackening charms and he vanished. You spot a Yiga attempt it but curses when for some reason he only pulls out one of those charms. Did they somehow use all of them?
You aren't given much time to consider that as you have to bring your shield up to block an incoming slash from a Yiga, the painful metallic screeching hurting your ears before you shift your arm to let you pirouette around the Yiga and slash at its back, sending it careening forward as it claws at the open gash screeching as it died. Then holding your shield in front of you like a battering ram you charge into the nearest Yiga with speed that surprised even yourself, your boots giving you traction even on the muddy ground. There was a crunch as your shield met the Yiga's chest, along with a pained gasp before you lunged your sword forward into the Yiga's guts. Letting go of the hilt of your blade you push the dying Yiga off you before reaching to your belt. Feeling your hand close around one of your bombs you hold it aloft and pull the cord with your teeth before tossing it at the largest group.
To the Yiga's credit, they did try to get out of the way with remarkable agility. But the explosion that followed was so violent and so sudden that despite you being outside the blast radius it nearly sent you flat on your back, all your bones feeling like they rattled inside of you as you brought your shield up to block the incoming shrapnel. You weren't sure how to feel when a quite significant amount of it splattered rather than bounced off.
Then you ran forward as you ripped your sword out from where you had left it, towards the first group you saw collect themselves. You could barely see, each step a still image before being plunged into darkness again. The roar of nature was in your ears, drowning out your own hammering heart as you poured your strength into your sword. You struck them like a cyclone, quite literally as with a single powerful spin you scattered them back. blood spraying out from where your magic tore through flesh. One leapt high and brought a sword down on you but you caught it with your sword and before gravity could reassert itself wrenched it aside before bringing your shield to its head with an audible crunch, the rain turning warm for just a second as it hit your face. You then sidestepped a stab before cutting upwards with your sword, severing the Yiga's arms at the elbows. It screamed, falling to the ground as it held its arms aloft.
Slamming your boot into the wet earth you used it to pivot and drive your whole strength into a stab directly into the mask of a charging Yiga. The Yiga went limp immediately, hanging off your sword as you twisted your arm and swung your sword to defend against another vicious attack, sending the corpse into another Yiga. At that moment there was another explosion followed by screams and flying body parts as in a sudden flash of light from the sky you saw a blade split the skull of one of the white-masked archers. You parry another blow only for a chain to wrap around your blade and wrench it from your hands. Yet without acting with shock your fingers instead close around the knives you have with you and with a little less skill then you'd care to admit you send you straight into that Yiga's throat. Yet as it falls back, a fountain of blood erupting from there another Yiga pushes past its comrade with a spear and lunges forward.
White hot pain explodes from your neck as you try to duck out of the way and send another dagger into its collarbone. It stumbles a bit as you turn your throw into a roll, your outstretched hand reaching for your hilt as you duck forward and bring it up, right through the bastards leg.
As you roll to your feet you notice someone in white robes press their back against you, heaving as he tried to catch his breath, "If you have more bombs, now's the time!" Dorian hisses to you.
You don't say anything, instead holding your sword in your armpit you grab your last two bombs and after tearing out their cords throw them at the charging mass. Flames erupt instantaneously, along with screams as a few are splattered with burning gel. You hear gurgles as knives erupt from the throats of the Yiga facing Dorian before he turns and starts running towards the flames. You follow, keeping pace with the older man before the heat becomes almost unbearable. You feel strength flow into your blade as you both leap, right over the wall of flames and straight into the midsts of the Yiga horde. Yet almost like you kicked off something you bring your blade down and turn your descent into a spin that smashes your sword through a Yiga's skull, a helm splitter move you didn't think was possible. Then as you completed your spin you brought the blade up and then down on the Yiga behind it, cleaving him from crown to shin. Dorian simply lopped off the head of the Yiga he was targetting before cleaving through another's chest. Your blade instead shot up to meet another with a ring as loud as the deafening thunder before catching it between the blade and guard to wrench it down and bring the edge of your shield into its throat.
The two of you swung with ruthless efficiency, every sense straining as all you could see were snippets of the battle in between the flashes of lightning. It felt as though you were only catching the action a second too late, yet you still were moving faster then you could imagine and you weren't sure the pattering around you was from the rain or the fans of blood that followed both Dorian and your's blades as they scythed through the Yiga. Yet as it went on the rain seemed to get louder, until all you could hear was it and the thunder as you plunged your sword into the Yiga's chest before Dorian removed its head, and suddenly you were the only two standing.
You don't even wait to check, tossing down your sword and running over to the splayed form far from the battle, lying in the mud like a broken porcelain doll.
With a Hearty elixir in your hands, you practically slide on your knees till your beside her, and you quickly cradle her surprisingly light form. Her white robes were a mass of red and brown, her hair hanging in wet muddy ropes from her head to the point you couldn't even recognize the colour. Blood pumped from her back and chest, as red froth poured from her mouth and shattered nose as the few gurgles and sputters that issued forth told you she was choking. Wide, terrified red eyes locked onto your blue ones as whatever colour was in her face drained away. You wanted to say everything would be alright but eyes were already clouding over, unfocusing as you felt the last her life slip from her body.
Desperate you uncork the bottle and hold it to her mouth, forcing the liquid down her throat. The bottle slips from your hands as you hold her tightly, hoping to see a sign that it's working.
Instead, all you see is the eyes of a young woman fully unfocus as in their last terrified moments before she goes slack you almost hear her beg "Please, I don't want to di-..."
"No, No no no! Paya stay with me!" You beg the unmoving girl, shaking her body as if to find an ounce of life in it.
Your vision blurs, "Come on! Come on damnit! Wake up! Wake up!"
"Link..." Dorian says softly, about to tell you some form of consolement but you refuse to even hear it.
"Damnit... pleas-" A choking gurgle, followed by gagging makes your heart stop as a fresh coat of blood is added to Paya's front.
You let the girl slip from your grasp as blue flames erupt from all around you, spectral forms appearing for a second clawing upwards before vanishing. You dimly acknowledge that they might be Poes as a soft golden glow appears from your hand, answering that unspoken question.
Paya spasms, gagging and sputtering as she turns onto her side to clear her lungs. You let her manage for a second, still close at hand to help before she turns to look at you, eyes unfocused and confused but very full of life.
"L-link?" She asks, her voice uncertain and hoarse.
You practically tackle her in a hug, holding her close as you say quietly into her ear, "Oh goddess... oh goddess... you're alive... you're alive!"
You hear her crack, realize what had happened. She lets out a sob, and then a wail as all the horror washes over her along with relief. She wails and sobs into your shoulder, so weak she could scarcely raise her arms but still so very much alive.
A scream drowns you both out, filled with horror and despair as someone rushes towards you. You let the figure take Paya, pull her away from you. Impa cradles her niece, trying to check over Paya's injuries as every inch of blood on her sends another broken sob from Impa's lips. You had never wished to see the Sheikah warrior in this state, any hint of stoicism shattered by what had been inflicted on Paya. A heart-wrenching wail soon follows, and a blonde streak races to their sides, crying as she desperately tries to attend to Paya. A red figure marches past you to lean next to Paya, face set into a grim expression but her eyes betraying her despair. When she see's what had happened however it breaks, and she desperately tries to fight choked sob after choked sob down as she raises her hands as a blue glow envelops Paya.
You stand up, away from this sight and instead catch Dorian racing towards the woods, weapon in hand.
Your despair vanishes faster then you'd wished, and a cold fury settles over your heart. You grab your sword off the ground and race off before any of the girls notice, following Dorian deeper into the woods.
You aren't sure how long you follow Dorian, or how deep into the woods you go. You just keep running until you hear Dorian shout, "I KNOW YOU'RE THERE! SHOW YOURSELF!"
You skid to a halt before stumbling into a clearing and look around the tree trunks until you see Dorian standing with his blade drawn and some.... thing appears before him.
You'd have believed it was a man, but no human is that large. While it was no Moblin it was larger than any man, with bulging muscles visible through its clothes. It wore intricate armour over clothing that matched its lesser kin, its bone-white mask visible under its hood telling you its allegiance. In its hands was a massive single-edge blade that glowed in the night, telling you of its true magical powers. When it spoke the voice was surprisingly... normal, however, and accented in the same way the Sheikah were.
"Ah foolish Dorian, you don't have to shout. I've been watching the whole time, murderer."
"MURDERER?! You set fire to the village! Attacked Paya! How could your men attack an innocent girl?!" Dorian roars, hoisting his blade up.
"How else were we to inspire such reckless antics from those you believed could stop us?" The figure asks, "Why you should be thanking us, Dorian, we had no intention of killing her at first. But now we know the sage of spirits is that mouse of a girl, why between your broken doll of a princess and that spineless fish that's three down of seven. Truly, we are in grave peril." The figure throws back its head and laughs, which makes Dorian visibly grind his teeth in anger.
"They will stop you!"
"Oh, I very much doubt that. But that is something for another time. For you see, you've run out of use for us." The Yiga figures voice turns into a threatening growl, and you see a nervousness shoot up in Dorian that you'd never expected from the man who just helped you slaughter the other Yiga.
"Oh don't be nervous, your fate was sealed when you left our clan. But I'm not going to kill you just yet. No, I'll send your daughters to your wife before that..."
"No! I'll-" Dorian gasps.
"Ah, but first I'll erase that last bit of hope in your eyes, BY SLAYING THAT MEDDLESOME HERO!!"
The Yiga vanishes, you swing your blade and you weren't really sure who was more surprised by what happened.
Blue light blinds you as your blade explodes when the Yiga's own smashes into it, along with his blade. The force was so great it sent the Yiga flying back with enough force to cause the tree it smacked into to detonate into a shower of splinters. You, however, were fine yet... all you could see was that Yiga. There was just this... fury inside you that couldn't contain. As though something violent was boiling up from deep within.
"Link! Catch!" Dorian calls to you, and hand easily closes around his sword which you hold at your side, the lightning making it almost glow with an evil light with each flash.
The Yiga stirs, and you're over him in a flash, blade raised above your head. Yet as you bring it down a scythe raises to meet it with an eruption of sparks. A glowing red hand smashes into the ground, as a spike of earth erupts at your feet. Yet you jump back with a flip before dashing to the side. Another swing and another blow caught with the scythe. You pulled away and struck again, and again and again and again, each blow matched in turn until it leaps back and swipes with its free hand, sending tornados forth that tore trees up by the roots and hurled them too and fro. One hurtled towards you but you slid under it and towards the cyclone. Power flowed from you into your blade, which you could only guess was enchanted for what you were doing as you matched the spinning vortex with a spin of your own before hurtling towards the Yiga monster.
Your sword found purchase in its arm, but a powerful fist knocked you away with bone-crushing force. Yet you found enough strength to land on your feet, skidding to a halt next to Dorian.
The Yiga snarled at you, more like a beast than a man, "How?! How are you this strong already?! Unless... No, I'll kill you with the traitor's own blade-" The Yiga stopped, looking down at the sword as a sharp crack came from it. Followed by another, and another as sparks seem to come from it.
Both you and Dorian close your eyes and cover your ears, but the force of the lightning strike sent you both flying back and left your ears ringing. When you're actually able to get up from groaning on the ground all you see through the spots in your eyes is a crater, and charred meat scattered across the clearing.
A relieved sigh escapes your throat, and you fall back into the grass as you let the rain hit your face. Both you and Dorian lie there for a long time, before you both climb to your feet, exhausted but alive.
"I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry for everything..." Dorian says, shaking his head as he looks at what was left of the Yiga before looking at you, "I'm sure you've realized it by now, but this is all my fault. There's no point in hiding it."
He sighs, and with it seems to deflate, "I... am a member of the Yiga clan. Or rather... was."
He glances in the direction of the village, his face settling into a wistful expression, "I was to spy on the village, but instead met an incredible woman who blessed me with two beautiful children. I tried to change my ways, leave the clan... and the Yiga took my wife's life as punishment. Then they let me go... to be an asset for them when they called again..."
"The Yiga know about the village?"
Dorian nods, "For years. The Yiga... they intended with the castle massacre to weaken the Sheikah and force them to side with the Yiga when the Hylians turned against us. They succeeded too well, as many young Sheikah men went with them... and the others stayed in their villages and the Hylians after all, could not tell the difference between a Sheikah or Yiga village. We are an endangered people now, the Yiga's conservatism and ideas of racial purity having damned them as surely as the rest of the Sheikah. With no villages, no real families the Yiga only now exist as a military force, unable to be anything more due to their actions. Kakariko village now stands as one of the last bastions of pure-blooded Sheikah, and the Yiga would not risk anything to destroy that precious commodity. The fires they spread were controlled, only intended to distract the village. That's how I knew they were heading for the manor."
"So why...?!"
Dorian shakes his head, tears falling down his face, "It's... It's all my fault. Those bites... they inflicted them on Cottla and Koko to show how easily they could infiltrate the village. They told me they'd kill my daughters unless I spied on you and like a fool I believed them. I told them when you'd be leaving and hoped you would slay them all when they attacked you on the road. I never thought they'd use Paya as bait. No doubt they intended to attack only one of you as a group."
He prostrates himself before you, his head bowed, "Master Link... I... I am truly sorry for all of this. Goddess, what happened to Paya... There is nothing I can do or say to make amends for this, but I swear on my wife's memory to devote myself to you, the Princess, the sages and this village. I will take my own life then waver again. I... I only have one selfish request...."
He looks up at you, "Please, tell no one the truth of what really happened. I truly do not deserve mercy, but I don't want my children, Koko and Cottla, to suffer anymore. Even though it doesn't make up for what I've done, as I said I pledge to protect the village and my family from now on, and serve you and the Princess without hesitation. No matter the cost."
He lowers his head again, "But... if you find I am truly undeserving of mercy I... I understand. I only ask you keep the truth from my daughters, and care for them as if they were your own. They... deserve happiness."
You step back, the weight of the decision in front of you hitting you like an avalanche. You realize as well that he doesn't just mean killing him on the spot. If you told anyone, he would need to be exiled. In other words, he would leave the village to kill himself.
What do you do?
No Write-ins.
[] Don't tell anyone the truth.
[] Tell someone, and let him commit suicide.
[] Kill him.
