Endless War

VIII

"Become the hero you were born to be."

-Unknown, found on Exosuit blueprints

Hyrule Castle, 07:31:34

Link approached his suit of armor apprehensively. He had been in many suits of armor over the past years - indeed, he had several suits made just for him, mainly from Princess Mipha - but this was unlike anything he had ever seen.

The helmet fully encapsulated his head. Other helmets left the face open, only protecting the back and sides of his big head, and while this one did the same as well, in addition it had a thing called a visor that ran down his face. It was transparent, but not glass; it was some type of metal, but how Purah (or Robbie, whoever, whatever) was able to make the user see through it was beyond his imagination and certainly his understanding. Magic perhaps? But magic required strength from the user, and the only strength needed here was the physical strength to move around inside the armor.

And it wasn't even hard to move around even with all the armor on top of him. Ultra lightweight, just like the researchers had claimed, it was made from interlocking plates that reminded Link of a millipede's armor. Not a single inch of his skin was exposed to the elements, the effects of which were useless against the metal. Not to mention its immense durability, which Link had been dubious about at first. Being so light, it had to be weak, and yet, with each of the Nobles taking up an iron sledgehammer and attempting to shatter it spectacularly, at the end of the endeavors of all seven the helmet was left intact.

Plus one for being lightweight. Add another for making the soldier virtually invulnerable, though Robbie warned that even this armor had its limits, namely when facing several foes or powerful combatants.

And then there was the bow, which looked terribly simple, and yet its appearance was deceiving. Robbie explained that it had been made using Sheikah technology, and it had several different perks, such as holding back the arrow turning the arrow into a Guardian beam. In addition, even if one didn't hold it back for three seconds, it still had enough force to pierce a soldier's helm. But monster heads were thicker than human heads in more ways than one, so the ancient Sheikah had decided that scoring a hit on a monster would encase them in ice. And even if you missed, it would create a field that would slow down and eventually freeze anything in that area.

"Works wonders for making cold cuts, it does," Robbie had grinned. "One of the tastiest things I had ever eaten."

"You do know that it's the animal that's tasty, and not the bow right? Or does the bow have some type of cooking magic you're not telling us about?" Mason inquired as he put on one of the exosuit's gauntlets.

"Huh," the white-haired man frowned. "Maybe it was just my excitement. Normally I hate bear meat."

"You eat... you eat bear?! Pozornaya suka!" Reznov exclaimed.

While the big, well, bear-man listed several reasons why bears were sacred and should never be harmed, Link finally decided to put his armor suit on, one piece at a time. Slipping on the gauntlets and greaves felt normal, just like any other suit of armor. So did the chestplate, though it was so light on his lean frame that he felt a little nervous about actually going into battle with it, despite what he had seen of its capabilities. But the helmet still knocked him over. It was still mind-boggling to look through transparent metal.

Everything he saw through the visor looked the same. Zelda still looked interested in her new toys.

Some things never change, he thought.

"What was that, Link?" Yuri asked.

The boy flinched. Yuri had been the most quiet of the group, probably even more quiet than Link. At least Link nodded or smiled. Yuri was the most expressionless of the seven, and yet... those eyes told a story.

Link shook his head. "I wasn't aware my thoughts became words. I guess I was daydreaming."

Yuri ever so slightly smiled, though his eyes were not in it. "You know, that can be dangerous. Especially if you were in my position, oh, maybe 20 years ago. So before you were born."

As the other soldiers bantered and Zelda continued asking Robbie questions about how he made the armor and about the bow's design and powers, Link studied Yuri. Those eyes held a mystery, and yet, they looked familiar.

And all at once, he knew where he had seen such eyes.

They were his own. The sad and longing eyes that he wore were the same as Yuri's in essence.

"Yuri," he blurted out, "What happened to you?"

"You mean the scar?" For he did have a scar running down the side of his face, which didn't diminish his handsomeness any.

"No, I mean, what's your story? Did something tragic happen to you? Did you lose someone you love? Did -"

"Quiet, insolent whelp!" the previously quiet man suddenly exclaimed.

After a sober pause, Yuri apologized and took a deep breath before saying, "A story for another time, perhaps."

....................................................................................................

Author Moore walked into the throne room where Noble Team, the Princess, and the King were gathered together, awaiting him.

"Hello, gentlemen." He took off his hat and held it in his hand. "Good evening to you, my King and Princess. I understand I will give the soldiers their briefing?"

A nod from the King.

"Very well." He turned to face the soldiers. "Noble Team, I am here on behalf of the CIA to give you the knowledge you need to succeed.

"As we all know, the Yiga Clan hides out in the Gerudo Desert, but recent intelligence shows that they have another base of operations. This is located in an adjacent kingdom to us, Lorule."

Without pausing to consider the soldiers' utter confusion, he continued, "Our kingdom is vast, but it is not the entire world. Lorule is just one of the several other kingdoms inhabiting this planet. I'll be brief: Lorule is a pitiful mess. How Princess Hilda is able to keep her kingdom together is a mystery to all the analysts at my disposal. They aren't without their virtues, but as a society they have effectively collapsed. Gangsters have more power than politicians, and their people live in fear.

"As I'm sure you're guessing right now, the Yiga Clan is one of the gangsters running things in town over in Lorule. That is where their second major stronghold is, but where exactly we do not know. I'm sure you can see your mission plainly: Find the stronghold, eliminate their leadership, and return to Hyrule."