Endless War

XVI

"Our bad days are their good days. Guess that means our enemies have a lot of good days."

-Sandman

Noble met their counterparts two days after Link and Hilda struck their deal.

"Say hello to Team Metal."

Hilda pointed to each soldier in the finest Lorulean armor and weapons.

"Sandman. Frost. Grinch. Truck."

As each soldier was announced by their ruler, they each nodded or waved to show who they were.

Hilda got a sly smile as she looked at Link for her following announcement. Sandman noticed the look and gave his look of amusement at Noble Team, who were still in ropes.

"I also summoned your father, Link. He was willing to join once he learned his best soldiers were captured. The King was appalled but could not stop him. Team Metal, Noble Team, please welcome your commander, General Shepherd Miyamoto."

And as if astride a dark horse, the legend walked through the throne room doors, escorted by two guards wielding spears.

Every single person on Noble Team saluted their commander. Team Metal looked awkwardly at each other, unsure of what to do.

Hilda scowled. "General Shepherd may be your commander, but while you are here in Lorule, you will not do anything without permission."

"You may be the ruler of Lorule, but you are not the ruler of my men," Shepherd said brusquely to her.

There was a moment of silence as everybody wondered what would happen to the general. Metal knew that anybody who disrespected their princess could face lengthy imprisonment. Noble knew that if anybody talked like that to King Rhoam, that person's remaining existence might be very short.

But then both teams let out their breath when the princess only nodded her assent. "General, you may take these soldiers to the War Room, where your headquarters will be. Your personal quarters are being prepared right now."

"Excellent." He brushed off his guards and addressed his new charges. "Noble Team, Team Metal, follow me."

The ten soldiers fell in behind their old, and for four of them, new commander.

Link started to sweat, his mouth was dry, and his throat wasn't working correctly. His heart was beating too fast, his armor was crooked, and had he checked his blades for nicks and scratches? Damn it, did he smell bad? Now that he thought about it, he hadn't bathed since he had embarked on this mission. In the past two days, he had been imprisoned with the rest of his team in some noble's room.

"Father-"

The man cut off his son with a wave of his hand.

Link shut his mouth.

When the soldiers came to the War Room, the general first mumbled, "They call this a War Room? It's a closet."

Now it wasn't exactly a closet, but it was small compared to Hyrule's Pentagon, which was almost as big as the castle and was the headquarters for both the CIA and the Army. Here, the entire army headquarters was a single room.

"Doesn't your country have a commander of its own?" Shepherd grumbled.

"Ah, no, sir." Sandman, being the leader, explained. "Most of them have been assassinated or simply disappeared."

"Well, then. This will be much harder without having a counterpart to work with." He looked around the Closet again. "What about your intelligence services?"

"Nonexistent, sir."

The general harrumphed. "Well, we should get on with it then. But before we send you out on missions, I have a gift for you." He looked pointedly at Team Metal. "For all of you."

The man had been carrying a bag with him this whole time, and now he dumped its contents on the table.

They were some of the oddest objects anybody had ever seen. They were made entirely of metal and shaped like a lopsided L. Shepherd picked one up and pointed it at the ceiling before pulling a metal tab.

What followed was the loudest explosion Link had heard, and he immediately took shelter and felt shame. However, this was somewhat alleviated when he noticed his fellow teammates crouching on the floor with him.

As he got up, he could hear his father's roaring laughter, almost bending over double.

"Calm, calm...down," he gasped as he struggled for air. "This is a weapon that will help you greatly."

"And, uh, may I ask, sir, what exactly is this?" Frost asked.

Shepherd calmed himself down, picked up one of the weapons, and handed it to Frost, who gripped it uncomfortably.

"This thing is called a revolver. It's forged using ancient Sheikah technology, and it's mighty. One bullet can kill a man instantly. Three to a Moblin will make it die a quick death."

Mason looked dubious. "How can such a small thing be that powerful?"

Shepherd raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps you'd like to experience it yourself?"

"No, sir! I mean...it's so small."

The veteran nodded. "I thought so too. But Purah ran tests on captured monsters with this weapon, which hits much more powerfully than an arrow. Not as accurate, though. Therefore only use it as a self-defense weapon.

"And its ammunition isn't forever. You have six shots, and then you must spin the chamber to reload it fully," he warned. "I haven't used these, but I advise you don't go into combat without a full chamber."

Everyone nodded as they picked up their revolvers and followed Shepherd's instructions on how to fire them and adequately maintain them.

The general had also brought holsters along with him, which he now provided to everybody. 

"Now that you all have one additional piece of equipment, our first order of business is to gather intel. Once we have enough of that, we start our war."

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

"May I talk to you, General?" Link asked as everybody filed out of the Closet, the next course of action having been plotted.

Link's father paused. "No need for that when it's just us two. What is it, my son?"

Link wanted to cry, but he held it in. "I'm sorry...we...I lost Turner. He sacrificed himself so we could escape. And then I got my team captured... And now here you are, bailing us out of my mess. Why can't I be more like you? Why can't I do everything the right way, the way it's supposed to be done?"

His father sighed. "Link, not everything in this world is easy to do. Could you have saved Turner? Yes, I suppose you could have, but then you'd have risked yourself and your team."

"No man gets left behind."

"Turner wasn't left behind. From Reznov's account, then Turner chose to go down fighting. And turning yourself over to Hilda...I can't fault you for that. You were only doing what you thought was best for your team. And anyway," he added with a small smile, "I think she'd make a fine wife for you."

"That's nothing of the sort!" Link sputtered. "I love Ze-...er...I mean..."

Mr. Miyamoto laughed as he pulled his son into a deep hug.

"When this is all over, I'll talk to her. I'm sure planning a royal wedding would take a long time."

And despite that, Link cried. And smiled for the first time in days.