[IC] Legend of Zelda: The Templar Crusade

[ColonelCaboose]

Demoko slowly climbed back on the bridge and was amazed by the turn of events. Onyx was on the defensive and was being swarmed it seemed from every angle. Link had issued a list of commands and everyone was following their parts. Whoever this stranger was who was firing arrows at Onyx had even added in the plan without knowing.

"Damn you heathen!?! You arrows can only travel as fast as the Wind lets them and I am master over the Winds!" Onyx shouted as he dodged the arrows with incredible speed and even catching a few in his hands. For his size Onyx was always very speedy. He saw the dark splinters coming at him and quickly spun his staff super fast creating a wind tunnel. The splinters came fast towards him but slowed as they reached his staff and then reversed direction. "What sorcery is this?" He commented on as he was enveloped in a sand tornado. He tried using his wind powers to put an end to it, but it only made a mess because of all the sand. A large portion was thrown in his face and into his eyes blinding him. He sent out a burst of wind ending the tornado but the sand hovered all around him and his sight was still paralyzed. "Curse you termites! I am the great Onyx! You will pay for this with your lives!" He shouted as he stumbled about and swung his staff violently.

Nayrin and Sophos were up next, Nayrin disappeared through a blue portal and found herself upon his back where his small crevices were much easier to get through. Any knight knows that a body suit of armor will prevent one from being able to claw at their back and Onyx was just being reminded of that. He tried desperately to grab Nayrin, but between his muscles and armor his arms couldn't even come close to the center of his back. With this sequence of events he was completely clueless to the ice forming beneath his feet. Demoko looked to Link and was shocked by the sight he saw, Link was standing there crossbow and explosive bolt locked and loaded, but above him a dozen of green clad figures hovered with bows drawn back. Onyx wasn't about to get knocked off his feet, he was about to be sent to be turned to dust. He quickly snapped out of his amazed state and created a portal beneath himself and reached down grabbing Nayrin by the shoulder's and pulling her up so that she was out of the ensuing attack.

[Mogtaki]

Link could only hope that the battle plan he was given worked and his friends would be confident enough to pull it off, at least he thought them as his friends by now. While he didn’t know their feelings towards him or if they gave him any level of trust, he looked out back onto the field as a sandstorm started around the giant man. His plan was underway, his hope now lying on whether Nayrin and Sophos could do their stuff and Caelan to dish out the freeze. Holding his hands up steady, he watched as Sophos allowed Nayrin to attack and Caelan to create the water like he needed to. Looking between them, he could only hope that he could find the strength he needed to pull off this attack and the courage he had been missing since locking it away.

Onyx was quickly struggling with the attacks, watching as he tried to rid the sand from his vision. Now wasn’t quite the time, he needed to wait and see what was going to happen and if he was going to manage to get the bolt to hit his target. He could easily screw this up and if he did then what was the point in their efforts. Watching Nayrin and Sophos get to work, he held his breath for just a moment, he steadily aimed his bolt to try and get a good shot. He needed to wait for Nayrin to finish her attack and for Caelan to send ice Onyx’s way. Not relying on seeing Caelan attack, he kept his attack steady as the ice quickly formed narrowing his gaze.

Link couldn’t wait any longer; Nayrin had to get out of there now that the perfect situation had arisen. Just one shot he had and it had to count, otherwise he was going to look like an idiot and everyone else was going to be in trouble. Narrowing his gaze, he watched Onyx before noticing Nayrin being pulled out by a portal, immediately giving him a good chance. Moving his foot forward, he held his gaze before widening his eyes, his arms stiffening and bracing themselves before firing off the bolt straight for the giant man.

[ColonelCaboose]

Onyx' sight had just barely started to clear up and the woman harassing his back was gone. He squinted his red eyes and looked at Link who stood there with a crossbow on his arm. "Hehehe what will that do against..." The bolt hit him dead in the stomach and created a gigantic explosion that sent Onyx flying backwards off his feet with such force that when he made contact with the bridge in collapsed underneath him and sent him hurling down to his demise.

"A first good attack my friends!" Demoko said with a cheerful voice. "However Onyx will not go down with one quick attack." He said as he stood sword prepared while in a defensive stance. After a few intense moments of waiting the beast of a man came flying upwards from over the edge of the bridge and hovered in the air, his chest piece dented and dirtied.

"I must say I understand now why you heretics have been giving Brother Thallus so much trouble. Separated you are little more than ants scattered about, however together you form a mighty fist of power, I admire that, though I will crush you like ants no matter what shape you take on!" Onyx shouted as he landed on the bridge and fired an energy beam from his spear at Sophos and Gaios. He quickly dropped down and spun his leg 360 degrees knocking Demoko off his feet, but as he came around to punch him into the ground Demoko had created a portal and teleported away from his attack. Infuriated, Onyx fired a hurricane blast from his hand at Link and Calean and Aadab.

[MULTI_MEDIA_MAN]

Sophos and Gaios were quick to halt their celebration at Demoko's warning. Link's plan had been a good one, and it clearly had damaged their opponent, launching the beast of a man backwards and collapsing part of the bridge. Sophos was more worried about the damage to the bridge, whereas Gaios focused on the battle at hand. "We have to finish this battle quickly." First, the elder spoke.

Then, the junior. "If we don't, he'll kill us. We need to hit him with our hardest attacks as quickly as possible. He's built for attrition." As Onyx rose back above the bridge, Gaios couldn't help but smirk at the damage to his armor. So even this Behemoth was vulnerable. They just might survive this after all. As Onyx fired a beam of light, Gaios grabbed hold of Sophos and the two fell into the bridge, the stones below them having been dragged down by Gaios's magic. That much was a drain on his abilities, but even one attack from that lance would probably kill them. "Sophos, try to distract him. I have a plan." Again conjuring up discs of earth, Gaios pushed Sophos forward.

Taking a deep breath and focusing on his enemy, Sophos raised his wand and swung it several times, creating miniature bursts of light in front of Onyx's face. At the range they were at, looking at them might blur your vision, but at only a few inches, they'd be nearly as bright as the sun.

[Kalamadea]

When Onyx fell, Aadab immediately withdrew her extended spirit to save its strength, which, to her surprise, was still plentiful, yet she was beginning to feel it getting closer to unhinging. Just like Demoko, however, she suspected Onyx was not yet finished, and it was Demoko that voiced both of their concerns. Onyx leaped back onto the bridge, looking a bit battered but not that injured. When Onyx fired the hurricane blast towards the three of them, she firmly planted her staff in front of her and threw up a spirit barrier around themselves, and she grunted as the blast hit, but the barrier held. When the blast cleared, the barrier splintered into many pieces, which then turned and streaked towards Onyx. Aadab preferred to use her physical abilities alone for combat, but against such a powerful enemy she had little choice but to mix the two. Whether they did any damage upon impact or not, as each shard impacted it dissipated and was withdrawn into Aadab. Even as the others were showing stress, though, she remained calm.

[JonxlatheLion]

Gabriel looks on in fear-stricken awe as onyx comes back up from that blast. But this gives him an idea. He runs to the very edge of the cliff, then nocks an arrow. This one was also flaming, but also had a small packet near the tip. He aims for a chink in the armor of the massive man in his left armpit. This would make it so he would have to react quickly to even swing his staff to block it, and hopefully it would make contact. If it does, the packet near the tip would ignite and another explosion would ensue. He had no snappy come backs this time. Well, he did, he always would. But now was not the time. He had to try and catch him unawares with this one. He looses the arrow, and it flies towards it's target with barely a sound.

[Mogtaki]

Link couldn’t believe it; he had managed to hit his target and nothing bad happened whatsoever. He felt pretty happy with himself and his ability to accomplish something without the use of his shadow powers, but just as quick as that celebration came it soon faded into the dark abyss. The giant never did fall to his death and instead rose up once more as Demoko jinxed it all. He didn’t understand it; that should have finished him off and yet there he was with hardly a scratch on his true body beyond the armour. Hope just drained from Link immediately, his expression dropping and his fears bubbling to the surface. Looking behind him as if seeking the help of the Shade once more, his eyes were quickly drawn back to Onyx as he slowly backed off.

He didn’t know what to do anymore; he was out of options and there was going to be pain as his punishment for failing. Quickly looking to Sophos, he gasped when a beam of light was fired straight for him, Sophos thankfully receiving help from the stranger. His eyes quickly went to Demoko who was quickly attacked as well, watching as he fell to the ground but quickly teleported away instead. Taking a second to realise he was doing nothing at all, he gasped as he immediately tried to run to Nayrin only to be attacked with a vicious wind attack. Quickly trying to duck down, he fell to the ground as Aadab threw up a shield to stop the attack, his hands still going over his head either way.

Even though he was safe for now, he didn’t move from the ground as he found himself stunned in fear. He was going to die and that would be it for his entire lineage, his spirit wouldn’t live on. He couldn’t pull off an attack strong enough to fight against this man and he had nothing left. The most he could do was try and avoid this man’s attacks, but however long he’ll be able to do that he had no idea.

[GambolMuse]

Through everything that was going on around him Caelan wasn't sure if he could pull his part off. Binding a man the size of Onyx didn't sound like an easy plan at all, but if everyone else was committed then he'd give it his all too. As spells were thrown out and Nayrin dropped onto the man's back he already had water ready, tossing it out and quickly crystallizing it at Onyx's feet. In a matter of seconds he had a thick sheet of ice holding their enemy in place, hopefully it was enough to pin him down. After his part was done Link followed up with an impressive shot of his own, managing to both damage Onyx and send him over the side of the bridge. From hectic to oddly calm Caelan dropped his arms at his side, panting despite having a small smile on his face. No way it could be that easy, could it? Boy he had a headache right now... How much more magic was he going to have to use?

Caelan expected there to be more, nonetheless he groaned involuntarily when Onyx reappeared, angrier than ever. Wonderful, so all their little barrage managed to do was irritate the beast of a man. Damn it, this really was the lousiest situation he;d been in quite some time. Just to drive home how sorry of an attempt that had been Onyx began to retaliate, throwing out powerful attacks of his own. By chance everyone managed to either dodge or evade the strikes, but even so they indicated a power perhaps larger than they had first realized. Being turned on by the enemy Caelan swallowed nervously, quickly calling forth more water as well. He had only just withdrawn it when Onyx created a mighty gust of wind, probably trying to blast them off the bridge. Unable to help the others so quickly all he could do was rend an ice wall before himself, hoping to block the gusts. Having made it so quickly his defenses were fairly weak, and as he heard the ice crackling he raised his arms to cover his face, wincing as ice pelted him when the wall broke. Near being thrown off of his feet the mage was blown back a few meters, coming to a gradual halt when he near collided with Link.

"Come on... This guy has that much power...?" Even if Onyx had to cut through soldiers like they had Caelan got the notion he'd still be every bit as powerful. This was a far cry from fighting the typical monsters, or treasure hunters that he was accustomed to. Seriously, just what in the world was he in the middle of. They were likely far from done and already he felt exhausted, mentally and physically. Using so much magic took a toll on his mind in a big way, he just wanted to lie down and go to bed at this point. Glancing down at himself he saw several small cuts and nicks on his person, a result of the ice shattering and cutting him. Nothing serious, he could wait until after the battle to heal, IF they got to that point. Hopefully his allies were in okay condition to continue as well. Seeing Link cowering at his side Caelan frowned, that wasn't going to help at all. He couldn't blame the kid, he was pretty close to that point himself. "Hey, Link, pick yourself up. Come on, we need you," he said, looking back at Onyx, "And all the blessings of the Godesses probably..."

[Lenaya]

With all the portal hopping Nayrin had been subjected to, her poor stomach just couldn't seem to keep up with her. With Demoko's last jump, they'd both managed to get away, but the Sheikah did wish the metal sage had let her go earlier. With a quick wiggle and a groan she managed to squirm away, holding her stomach before letting out an awkward belch, and she did her best to try and ground herself. Her invisible shroud was still fastened to her neck, making her body dissipate and appear as the wind blew, but her attention was fastened on Link, who was on the ground panting.

And coming towards his direction was a wave of death. An enormous wave of death.

Gaios and Sophos flew past Nayrin as she barreled towards Link's form, and she couldn't help but groan as Sophos' light caused her vision to go a bit spotty. Nonetheless, Aadab was doing her best to defend them all, but Nayrin couldn't help her irrational concerns over Link's welfare. The water mage was at Link's side, determined to get him up with words, but Nayrin wasted no time wrenching the boy to his feet.

"You will get up, you will not die here." she ground out as her stomach churned. Nayrin glanced over Link's form before placing her hands on his shoulders. "We have to live. You have to live. We promised." she said to him, and then she took one look at Caelan and gave him a half smile-half grimace. "You should heal when you can. If you have use for me, direct me where you will, I won't let us die here but I am not educated with the ways of strategy. If either of you has a plan, please share it. I will do whatever I can."

[ColonelCaboose]

Onyx stepped back as the blasts of light popped up in front of his eyes It was as if the sun had suddenly decided to explode in his face. With Onyx blinded the heroes best chance to attack was now. Demoko popped out of his portal from behind the goliath of a human and his hands sparked with vibrant blue bolts of electricity as he reached out to grab Onyx's massive feet with his small hands. "Even the largest of behemoths are no match for this tactic!" Demoko shouted as he made contact and the mighty Onyx screeched with pain so loud one could see the airwaves exiting his mouth. The mighty man fell to his knees paralyzed from the shock that had been administered to him. Demoko continued to hold onto Onyx, the electricity doing his metal body no harm. "Attack while you still can! This may be our only chance until for the time being!" Demoko shouted to his fellow companions. A familiar voice popped up in Link's mind. "Fire another bolt, expect aim for his head this time. Have Sophos use his powers to intensify the space continuum around the bolt, it will yield more damage. Have Aadab and Nayrin combine their powers of shadow and spirit to seep his energy while in his current state. Have Calean splash more water on him to intensify the electric attack by Demoko." The Hero's Shade told Link. "You...! You...Heretics... Argh!!!" Onyx yelled in pain as he tried to get up, but his muscles wouldn't allow him to move. They were strained beyond his own control.

[Mogtaki]

Link just couldn’t believe it, his attacks even with the greatest intent did nothing to dominate this man. He couldn’t do anything else other than what he just done and that was it for him. There was nothing left except fear. Finding it all too hard to think of a solution to his problem he simply saw himself with a horrible future, his fate simply being one of pain and death. The worst part about it all was his spirit was locked away and everything that made him a ‘hero’ was hidden away. Even his arms were heavy, his wrists locked in defeat. The feeling he had was the exact same feeling as getting attacked by a bully, throwing a rock in retaliation and the rock going flying over the bully’s head. This guy was must worse than a bully though, instead throwing everything at them to mock them before killing them instead of leaving them all as bloody pulps. Remaining hidden under his shield he tried to recollect his thoughts, struggling to come up with a plan other than keep trying to shoot more until he had nothing left. Trying to keep out of the way of all attacks he barely noticed Caelan come sliding in, trying to clear his head and get around all the panic before he was called out on it, gasping and looking out from under his shield at him. With little understanding to how that would help other than make him an extra target he instead gasped as Nayrin pulled him to his feet against his will, looking to her immediately in fright. Finding it hard to find the right words he hesitated, staring at her with his mouth open before he looked away. “I-I don’t know…how to-“ Gasping as the sound of a static charge powered through the air, his eyes looking to Demoko when he realised it came from him. He didn’t know why Demoko hadn’t just finished off this guy himself if he was able to do something like that. He was almost jealous of Demoko having this much power and treating it as if it was second nature, even if he did just get it. Frowning as negativity was only building up inside him he gasped as his mind was invaded once more, lowering his head as instructions were given again. He didn’t understand why it would work a second time if it didn’t work the first, but if he was to try again then at least he’d know it’d be safe enough to call a retreat while he made a last resort dash to hold this guy off while everyone else retreated. Taking in a deep breath he held his arm up again, trying to focus on Onyx’s head. “S-Sophos! Use your power to intensify the space continuum around the bolt I’m going to fire! Nayrin and Aadab, combine your powers together to draw his energy out…Calean! Splash him while he’s electrocuted! I…just have one…more shot…” Keeping his arm steady he hesitated a few seconds before letting out a yell, firing the bolt straight for Onyx’s head.

[GambolMuse]

Caelan was pretty done with this whole battle nonsense, and was almost debating leaving. He was a treasure hunter dammit, not some front line fighter in a war he knew nothing about. The fact he happened to be able to use magic was a convenient by-product, it didn't mean he could be conscripted into some fight and be expected to battle. Heh... Who was he kidding, even if he wanted to run he doubted he could. Onyx was really powerful, enough so that their entire group had to fight him and they were still struggling. The chances of him managing to get away without being killed were slim to none, standing and fighting would probably be the better option. He'd never been tried by another person like this before though, even when some partnerships had gone south in dungeons; Onyx was a whole different kind of enemy, one that it would only be too soon if he never encountered again. Smiling exasperatedly he looked down at his sliced up self, then around at the others to his sides. Everyone was pretty darn worse for wear and no doubt tired, but they were still fighting. He couldn't be the only person thinking like this, how it would be easier to flee and live another day. At this point in the fight they may as well finish what they started, or die trying. Heck, if they did win maybe he could get something for Onyx's armor. Even with his own personal call to action out of the way there were others, namely Link, who were struggling to get into the fight. Demoko was doing a decent enough job in holding back Onyx yet there was no way he could win alone, everyone would have to pitch in. What more could he offer though? All he had was water and ice, and already those had proven not to do much against this behemoth of a man. Looking at his water pouch uncertainly Caelan jumped a bit hearing the crackling of lightning, confused as to where it was coming from for a second. In a brilliant show Demoko managed to bring Onyx down to his knees, electrocuting him to the point of utter paralysis. While great it hardly ensured their victory, and he was almost afraid even this tactic would fail. In a quick turnaround then Link finally found himself and began issuing orders to everyone, sounding more ready for the fight than before. So that was his part, just douse Onyx in water? Easy enough, but would it harm Demoko? Looking at the mechanical man Caelan only deliberated for a second, figuring that their ally knew the risks if there were any. Nodding to himself he channeled the last bit of his magic reserves and pulled out a stream of water, dousing Onyx quickly as well as Demoko. Should he freeze it as well, help hold Onyx in place? Shaking his head he finished his part of the job, stopping the flow as his body sagged some from exhaustion.

[MULTI_MEDIA_MAN]

As the battle raged, Gaios slowly moved forward while his father pressed the attack. Each second, he fired more stone disks at Onyx's joints, and though they did little on their own, the sheer volume of attack was slowly chipping at their opponent's defenses. Demoko had pulled a risky tactic by grabbing Onyx and electrocuting him, but Link took advantage of the opportunity as he'd been quite recently, calling out to several members of their crew to attack.

Following his part of the plan, Sophos closed his eyes and saw the metaphorical threads that comprised the world around them. Tapping into the latent power in the universe, he warped the space around Onyx's head as Link's arrow hit true, causing a large crack to appear in their enemy's helmet. It wasn't enough to defeat him outright, but it was a weak point they could exploit.

As Link's bolt cracked Onyx's helmet, Gaios decided to focus his attacks on that structural weakness. Instead of a steady flow of seemingly randomly targeted stone disks, however, Gaios focused and drew forth several spears made of earth, dropping them at his side. Grabbing a few in his off-hand, the armored man took one and aimed at the hulking monster that was the enemy. Throwing with all his might, Gaios subtly manipulated the stone missile to Onyx's helmet, where it shattered an inch from impact, Onyx having maintained enough concentration to prevent such a haphazard attack.

Cursing, Gaios tried to think of another plan, then sighed and shrugged. It would have to do. Forcing all of the other spears into one, he used as much power as he safely could guiding the projectile at General Onyx, forcing him into a stalemate situation. Even if his opponent was more powerful by several orders of magnitude, between everybody else involved in the battle, Gaios could at least keep him occupied while the others continued their battle plans.

[ColonelCaboose]

The water dosed Onyx and intensified Demoko's shock attack tenfold. He was helpless as the arrow hit his helmet and made a large crack in it which shouldn't have been possible. His armor was of the highest grade and was made from magic and Goron smiting. However what happened next was unethical... Demoko's body turned as black as night, he blue glowing aura about his as red as a ruby. "BEND TO MY WILL NOW!!!" Demoko shouted as he intensified the electricity and the giant screamed that showed truf suffering. The giant slowly raised the hand that had his staff in it slamming it into the bridge causing a massive explosion around him causing the bridge to collapse. Everyone on the bridge fell for what felt like ever, eventually hitting the river. Even the great Onyx went crashing down, unconsciousness and hitting a boulder in the river and smashing it before disappearing to a watery grave. The heroes were cast down among the debris as well, but Demoko was able to at least wrangle them up on top of a floating Deku tree log. Demoko hung onto the log panting, no doubt the others would wonder what had happened to him back there, but explanations as to this dark magic would come once they were safe.

"This river floats down right through Hyrule Castle Town, its not the best method of travel, but from our current situation is was definitely our safest method of travel. We will arrive shortly and dry off and seek shelter." Demoko said as he continue to hug the log tight with everyone else. The next phase of their quest would require perhaps just as much as they gave in the single fight against Onyx or perhaps even more...