Endless War

XII

"The world is no longer the same. Who do I turn to?"

-Yuri Curran

It was quiet. Almost too quiet.

It was almost pitiful. These soldiers were outfitted in some of the most formidable armor Hylia had ever seen. Their weaponry was considered cutting-edge, but they could not find what they wanted. Their mission was to find out wherever the hell the Yiga clan was hiding and crush them to dust, yet they had no way to find them. Nothing in their mission briefs had given even the slightest hint of where this supposed stronghold was, only rumors of the "Scarlet Keep." Maybe it wasn't even scarlet, it could be bright orange, and some dumbass didn't know his colors.

Clusterfuck.

The soldiers moved stealthily through the Lorulean countryside, a scene as depressing as the field they had to run across. On the tactical side, there was little cover since every tree was dead or dying—no bushes either, and certainly nothing that would stop an arrow or crossbow bolt. Many dead leaves crunched under their every step, despite their training which was supposed to silence their movement. The only good part was that their armor did an excellent job keeping out the chill, as the sun wouldn't rise for hours.

The countryside was vaguely similar to the Hyrulean country, except there were no travelers. Hyrule had plenty of travelers traversing its fair lands even at night, yet there were none here. It was almost enough to make the soldiers call it a day (night?) and set up camp there. 

But no, orders and common sense didn't allow that. They had to find a suitable base of operations before they could start raiding the countryside for intelligence. And when they finally did get enough intelligence, they would need that base in a last-ditch effort to make their final stand if required, as they all knew going in that the Hyrulean Army wasn't going to war over seven Angelblades. No, if word of Operation White Arrow leaked, the CIA would do its best to pin the blame on somebody else.

They were all expendable.

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

It took some searching in the darkness, but eventually, the team found an old rundown house they deemed suitable for their purposes. Far enough away from any significant population center, they could build fortifications around it if they needed to fight. And at least there were some mattresses, though the food there was dubious. It looked ancient, though Reznov was sure it was okay and took a bite of...mushroom. Yes, it must have been a mushroom.

It seems that an iron stomach doesn't protect against any ancient bacteria.

While the soldiers drifted off to sleep - though they kept their armor on just in case - Yuri sat down with Link.

And before Link could say anything, Yuri began whispering.

"Link. I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

"You've done nothing wrong."

"Not to you, no. But in my past...I have done terrible things. I was...I was at the massacre of Castle Town. I..."

Link was quiet. He had heard of the massacre of Castle Town from his history books and then from his father. His father had refused to speak of it.

"You are too young, Link. Perhaps another day."

And I'm not too young to fight a secret war? And before that, I wasn't too young to fight with shields and swords, face death in combat trials, and have my childhood ruled by destiny?

"Yuri," Link said quietly, not to disturb the rest trying to sleep and the giggles from Soap. "Tell me. Tell me what happened at Castle Town."

Yuri stood up and walked to a nearby window, watching the crescent moon. Flashing a guilty smile at Link, he pulled out a cigar and a match and took a puff before setting it down on the windowsill.

Still looking out the window, he said quietly, "Link, I used to be a Yiga member."

Before Link had time to digest this, he continued, trying to get somebody to hear his story for once.

"I was young once. Soap was right about that. With that youth came pride, and with my pride came anger. Anger leads to regret. When I was young, I thought, Foolish king, banishing us over 10,000 years ago because we had saved his kingdom? Paranoid bastard.

"I was born and raised in Kakariko Village. For a long time, I lived a peaceful life until I turned 12. After that, my whole life turned around."

The man leveled a look at the teenager. They both understood what it was like to have their world upside down.

"At that time, I learned about my tribe's history. Of how it was once the pride and jewel of Hyrule. Of how we had prevented the kingdom's collapse. And of how the king betrayed us for possessing superior technology.

"I was enraged. Bitter. Furious! I told my father, Hylia bless his soul, that I was leaving Kakariko and traveling to the desert to join the Yiga Clan.

"Makarov welcomed me. He was a madman, but I believed he would return the Sheikah to greatness again. I thought that he was the correct way. I felt that we could finally return to our glory."

The man took another puff, trying to calm himself before he said the following words.

"I was one of those at the Castle Town massacre. I thought I was following orders. It wasn't enough."

His hands were shaking by then.

"I had killed innocent men. Women and children too. That wasn't a hero's mark; it was a villain's mark. Of a monster."

A tear formed in the corner of his eye.

"I was no monster. And I could not associate myself with monsters. And so I fled the Yiga Clan that day."

A look of gratitude came over the man's face as he looked gently into Link's eyes.

"Your father found me praying at the Spring of Power for the forgiveness of my sins two days after the event. He had been hunting deer and could have easily killed me. But he took mercy on me and chose to let me live."