Breath of the Wild: Link and Friends

Chapter 43

(I'm gonna start with Link and then the rest will be Elyza)
   Link opened his eyes as he appeared in front of Gerudo Town. Almost immediately, he heard Zelda's voice, coming from nowhere.
   "Link...Link. Thanks to you, all of the Divine Beasts have returned to us and the spirits of the Champions are free. We will all be awaiting your clash with Ganon at Hyrule Castle." Her voice faded.
  I'm coming. Just hold out a few more days.
                           ————————
   After Link finished with Chief Riju and received his gifts like he always did after defeating a Divine Beast, the five of them made their way back to Kara Kara Bazaar. It wasn't late afternoon so Elyza was hoping that they would be able to leave the desert today. The heat was exhausting.
   Elyza glanced at Link who was sitting at the edge of the water in the oasis. He seemed lost in his thoughts and—judging by his dark look—they weren't pleasant. She walked over to sit by him. He didn't look at her.
   She tapped him on the shoulder. "Link? Are you ok?"
   He nodded. But he didn't reply.
   "C'mon. You're clearly not. Tell me what's wrong."
   He sighed softly. "Zelda spoke to me again and now all the Champions are waiting for me to go to Hyrule Castle. I'm... not ready. I don't feel ready to face Ganon."
   "Sure you are. Confidence is your only problem right now," Elyza said.
   "I'm confident I have the skills do it. I just get a nagging feeling that I won't be able to use them well enough," Link explained.
   Elyza thought for a moment. "Well, then why don't we practice with them? You know, while we're all still together. A spar type of thing."
   "Well, I guess but I don't want to hurt you guys accidentally," Link said.
   "That's simple. Don't actually hit us or you can use a blunted sword," Elyza said, rolling her eyes.
   "I didn't mean that. If I want to get good at using my abilities, then I have to use all of them. And my new power from Urbosa is...very offensive unlike, say, Daruk's. And I don't know how it targets anything 'cause I haven't used it out here yet," Link explained.
   "Well, let's try it then," Elyza decided.
   "You want me to attack you with lightning?" Link asked incredulously.
   "I'll be fine. And if I'm not, you've got you're healing right?" Elyza said, shrugging. "I'm sure it'll be electrifying."
   "Ha ha." Link rolled his eyes. "I don't think this is a good idea."
   "Yeah, well, I'm fresh out of good ideas. Let's go." Elyza stood and pulled Link to his feet. She ran and grabbed her bow. "Ok, so, I'm going to shoot at you like I was actually attacking you and you're going to fight back, preferably without killing me."
   Link looked very reluctant as he nodded. He pulled out his sword. "I feel like this will go poorly."
   "Only if you actually hit me. Now. Are you ready?" Elyza asked.
   Link nodded, sighing.
   "Good. 3 2 1, go!" Elyza string an arrow on her bow and followed Link's movements as he dashed towards her. She loosed—careful not to actually hit him—and he had to back off. He stopped moving and his muscles looked tense. Link  crouched slightly and snapped his fingers.
   The next thing Elyza knew she was on the ground, a residual feeling of energy coursing through her. She hadn't been knocked unconscious though her vision had blackened. She groaned as her blurry vision cleared and Elyza found Link next to her.
   "Well, I'm awake now," Elyza remarked.
   Link smiled weakly. "I'm glad you're ok. You screamed something fierce. I was pretty sure I killed you till I ran over to you."
   "Elyza?" Elijah yelled, clearly having heard her apparent scream.
   "I'm fine!" she called back.
   "Are you actually?" Link asked doubtfully.
   "Yes? I think so? I'm not traumatized if that's what you're asking. My heart is beating really fast so it might explode but other than that." Elyza shrugged. She sat up. "Can you show me that attack but without attacking me?"
   Link looked down at his fingers. "Maybe. I think it was because I viewed you as my opponent rather than a friend because I wasn't struck." He glanced at her. "You might want to get out of range anyway. Just in case."
   "Right." Elyza stood and shakily walked away and stopped when Link yelled that she was far enough. She watched as he crouched slightly and snapped his fingers.
   On cue, lightning struck down in multiple places, then cleared away as quickly as it came. She walked back. "What's it called?"
   "Urbosa's Fury."
   "Do it again."
   "Alright..." He did it once more and this time Elyza was fine. Link glanced at her.
   The noise apparently was loud enough that Kenton and Zalie were now drawn outside and came over to the two of them as well as Elijah.
   "What's going on?" Zalie asked, looking confused. "It sounded like lightning out here."
   "That's because it was," Elyza said.
   "It's my new Divine Beast ability. Urbosa's Fury," Link added.
   "Oh." Zalie glanced at Link. "Cool. Are we leaving soon?"
   Link nodded. "I want to leave today. But I can leave anytime. It's really up to you guys since we're splitting up."
   "Right, ok." Zalie frowned. "I guess we should get going, then."
   "I'll walk with you guys to the stable," Link offered.
   Zalie nodded. Elyza put a hand on her shoulder. It'd be weird to travel without Link. Elyza hadn't traveled without him this whole time.
   The group split to go grab all of their stuff so they could leave. Elyza had already packed most of her stuff. Not she really had much in the first place.
   Sighing, she sat down on the floor of the inn. Zalie was cleaning up and making the beds beside her even though the innkeeper would probably have to wash the sheets.
   "You know, I almost don't want to leave," Zalie said.
   "Yeah, same," Elyza said, nodding.
   "Life won't be nearly as exciting," Zalie sighed. "But that's unfair to think. The Calamity is bad for everyone and Princess Zelda has put in her time."
   "I wonder what's she's like."
   "Zelda? I suspect she's nice," Zalie said, now folding her clothes.
   "Probably. But didn't Link say they didn't get along in a few of his memories?" Elyza asked.
   Zalie paused. "That's true. But I'm sure that we're missing a large part of the story."
   "Link doesn't share all of his memories but I guess it's not really our business. Their story anyway." A thought occurred to Elyza. "Hey, Zal? Where will Link and Zelda go after this? They don't exactly have a home anymore."
   "I don't know. But I suspect that'll there will always be something they have to attend to, so they probably won't stay anywhere," Zalie said, sitting down on one of the beds.
   Elyza shook her head. "You're probably right. I guess that's just something we'll have to wait and see. Anyways, are you ready to go?"
   "Yes I believe I am." Zalie picked up her pack. "Let's go."
   Elyza grabbed her packed bag and followed Zalie out the door after thanking the innkeeper. Elijah was standing by one of the little stands of food, probably buying the exotic fruit. The Gerudo woman didn't look to happy to be bothered with customers. Zalie abandoned Elyza for Kenton so she just waited in the shade of the palm trees.
   Eventually everyone else was ready to go and they started their trek out of the Gerudo Desert. As fun as traveling to interesting places was, Elyza was excited to be going again. After all, they were headed to Akkala for a little while, so that Link could gather his memories. And she'd never been so...
   The walk to the Gerudo Canyon Stable was relatively short so it was soon time for the four of them to part from Link. They all stopped after they climbed out of the desert.
   "So, where are we meeting back up?" Elijah asked.
   "I was thinking the Riverside Stable. The one near Dueling Peaks," Link answered.
   "Back where we started," Elyza noted. "How poetic." Elijah chuckled.
   "Well, I guess this is bye for now," Link said, looking solemn. "I'm glad that I've been able to do this whole journey with friends instead of by myself as if maybe should have been. For that, thank you Elyza. I'm glad that I didn't try and kill you on that Sheikah Tower a few weeks ago."
   Elyza grinned. "Me too." She gave him a hug. "Take care."
   Zalie was waving her hands at her face. "Link, I'm gonna cry. Give me a minute before you say bye to me." Indeed, she did look like she was about to cry.
   Oh, yes. She definitely is a mom friend, Elyza thought.
   Link smiled. "It's only for a few days Zalie."
   "I know." Zalie gave Link a hug. "It'll be a long few days. But, bye for now."
   Link turned to Kenton and shook his hand. "See ya, Kenton."
   "Don't be late." Kenton stepped back.
   Elijah shook Link's hand too. "We'll be waiting. Don't go on without us."
   "I won't," Link promised. He stepped back from them all. Zalie was now crying, which prompted Kenton to pull her into a long hug. "Have fun wandering without me."
   "We'll try," Elyza said.
   Link nodded. "Be safe." He pulled out his Sheikah Slate, took once last look at them before he streamed away as blue light into the sky.
   There was a moment of silence between the remaining four before Elyza mustered up her motivation.
   "Well, everyone, we've got to get out of this desert and into Akkala. We have essentially two days to spend there including travel time before we have to meet Link. Let's get moving," Elyza said.
   The rest trailed behind her as they retrieved their horses and mounted them—Zalie with some difficulty.
   As they left the Gerudo Desert and that painful, beating, hot sun, Elyza was all too aware of the temporary hole in their group and the implications of such. She could only hope that everything worked out in the end.