They stood on the high cliff, keeping in the shadows as they overlooked the desert. They had been traveling the desert for almost two days, carefully tracking the Yiga Clan in hopes of finding their hideout. Luck was apparently on their side, in the form of a seemingly stray Yiga soldier who made his way into a deep valley. They had been tracking him for several hours until he seemed to disappear in a clustering of rocks. Upon further inspection, however, they came to the realization that the rocks were an overhang, which was easy enough for them to miss from their high position along the cliff.

But it seemed the Yiga soldier was careless, standing outside of the hidden entrance to their base to smoke a cigarette. He appeared out in the open once more, then began to pace, slipping in and out of their site.

Paya tensed at Zelda's side. Her eyes narrowed as they watched the figure, and her heart sank. "That's Dorian."

Zelda peered closely at the figure, quickly recognizing the Sheikah. After a moment, he stopped pacing. He let the butt of his cigarette drop to the ground, then smothered it with the toe of his boot. He put his hands in his pocket, then looked up in their direction.

Zelda pressed further back against the wall of the cliff, holding her breath. After a moment, Dorian pulled his gaze away and disappeared once more into the hideout.

"He saw us," she breathed.

Paya shook her head. "No. No, I don't think so."

"What if he did?" she sneered.

"He doesn't know who we are."

"He can easily guess. Who else would be here spying on them?"

"He would have attacked us," Paya insisted.

"Unless he wanted us to follow him. Lead us right into a trap."

"We're not going in," Paya said fiercely. "We only came to find their hideout."

"The slate could be in there," Zelda pushed.

"You said so yourself that it could be a trap."

Zelda hesitated. "We can't leave this desert with nothing."

"We don't have nothing," Paya said, reassuring her. "We know where they're located. We can come back prepared, now. We need to get back and talk to the others. It's time to plan how we're going to infiltrate their base."

Still, Zelda was hesitant, but she nodded. "Have you gotten word from Teba?"

"Link is safe at the ranch, for now. But I will need to get over there and put up a ward. We can't take any unnecessary risks."

"Then let's get back," she said quickly. "Can you get us there?"

"Let's get out of the valley," Paya said. "I don't want to chance them sensing my power."

"I've got two of my best men on it," Purah said. She balanced the phone on her shoulder and inspected her nails. "Stop worrying, you old bat."

"You're older than me," Impa muttered. Her brows furrowed as she spoke with her sister. "For the love of Hylia, Purah. I told you not to send anyone on a suicide mission without speaking with me."

"Impa, darling," Purah said, rolling her eyes. "I realize your best man is Dorian, and that's very unfortunate for you. But my men are very capable -"

"Who did you send out?" Impa hissed.

Purah smiled. "Oh, no one you know," she said cryptically. "Just a Sheikah who goes by Sheik."

Impa's breath caught in her throat, and she nearly choked. "Sheik?" Her voice hardened. "Purah! I gave you strict orders -"

"Can it, you hag," Purah shouted at her sister. "I don't take orders from you. Understand?"

"Purah," Impa pleaded. "You've put them in danger."

"They are more than capable," Purah assured her. "I wouldn't have done so if I didn't trust in their abilities. You want Link to survive this, don't you?" When her sister didn't respond, she smiled. "You have such a soft spot for that kid! I have just got to meet him in person one of these days!"

"He's a pain in my ass," Impa sneered.

"Oh, Impa," Purah started. "Your body is old, and your soul is ancient. You've seen far too many heroes come and go. What a task Hylia has put on you."

Impa's eyes narrowed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"She's weakening, Impa," Purah continued. "This world does not have much longer. What will you do?"

Impa hesitated. She turned her gaze to the door as it opened without so much as a knock, and Roham entered.

"I've got other things to worry about right now," she said. "I will be in touch." She quickly ended the call and met Roham's fierce gaze.

"Where are they?"

Impa folded her hands together as she regarded the king. "I don't know," she said simply.

"Link is a danger to this kingdom," he barked. "He will destroy everything. He will put my daughter in danger."

"I agree," Impa said with a short nod. "But you should know that he will not be found unless he wants to be."

"I want him arrested," Roham sneered.

"He's no longer in the city," Impa stated. "Clearly he was tipped off. What can you expect? You have your men. He has his."

Roham's lips pulled into a snarl. "You are under oath, Impa. If there is something you know -"

Impa stood abruptly from behind her desk. "Silence," she barked at him. "Do not judge my loyalty to the royal family. I am doing everything I can to fix this, dammit!"

Roham hesitated, holding his gaze on the old Sheikah. "My daughter is gone," he said softly. "Hyrule's queen is gone. The kingdom is already suspicious of her absence. I cannot keep this under wraps for much longer. She's putting herself in danger."

"I'm sure she's with Link," Impa said. "Heroes come in pairs, you know. They like to stick together."

Roham's gaze narrowed on her. "I stand by my orders. I want Link under twenty-four-seven watch. I want Zelda back in the safety of the city. And I want your men to destroy the Yiga Clan."

Impa held her gaze, her expression blank. "As you wish, Your Highness." When Roham was gone, she spoke again. "Your time is running out. Tell Zelda they are hunting him."

Teba was pressed against the outer wall of the shrine. Through the open window, he could clearly hear Impa's voice. He turned his head to briefly glance in the window. The Sheikah still stood behind her desk. When she turned to look out the window, he was gone.

Never in a million years would Link have guessed Kit to be such a shady character, but as he stood in the dimly lit basement, he realized then how little he knew about the seemingly simple bartender.

Kit stood proudly over the display before them, his hands on his hips and a stupid grin on his face. He glanced over at Link as Link looked over the various items on the tables and in the hidden cases in the walls.

"What I tell ya?" Kit said. "Can I be part of the team now?"

"I guess I really can't say no," Link muttered.

"You can say no," Jini said to him. He toyed with one of the knives, flipping it in his hand. "In fact, you would be wise to say no."

"How the hell do you get your hands on this shit?"

"You'd be better off not knowing," Jini said.

"Jini was in Roham's army back in the day," Kit said.

Jini narrowed his gaze on Kit. "Keep your fucking mouth shut."

Kit raised his hands. "Relax, dude. Link's not gonna go running around blabbing your secrets."

"It's not him I'm worried about," Jini sneered. "You're the one that brought him here."

"Because he needs shit," Kit said. "And you got shit he needs."

"What could you possibly want this stuff for, anyway?"

"To blow the Yiga Clan to bits."

Link elbowed Kit sharply.

Jini smirked and shrugged one shoulder. "Can't trust him with anything, hm?" He inspected Link for a moment, then pointed the knife at him in gesture. "You know, I used to see your father around a lot. He was a pretty good guy. Still serving?"

"He's dead," Link said simply.

"Hm." This fact didn't seem to surprise Jini. "Guess I don't have to worry about selling black market weapons to his son."

"Black market?" Kit echoed. "You've got a big head."

"You realize ninety percent of my stock is stolen, right?"

"We're not paying for your stolen shit," Kit said.

Jini shrugged. "Link can get whatever he wants. I'd rather not piss off the Hero of Hyrule. Especially right here when he has access to an entire arsenal." He threw the knife forcefully into the wood table where it stuck and turned his back on them. "You know what you're doing. Keep me out of it." He turned to glance at Kit over his shoulder. "And keep your fucking hole shut or I'll shut it for you."

"Oh, I'm scared, Jini. The rogue ex marine is gonna come get me."

Jini grabbed the knife and threw it past Kit where it hit the back wall. "Don't test me," he snarled.

"I won't come to your defense," Link said.

"Whatever," Kit said, crossing his arms. "I don't need you. Get your stupid c4 so we can get out of here."

Link rubbed his chin. "What if we nuke those bastards?"

Kit laughed. "Right. Like we could get our hands on that." He hesitated. "We're not gonna try, right?"

It was mid-morning by the time Link and Kit returned to the ranch, having driven through most of the night from Akkala where they met with Jini. Link didn't exactly have a plan, but he knew he wanted to blow the Yiga Clan to bits, and he figured he got his hands on enough c4 to do just that. Kit, however, was not as concerned with the Yiga Clan as he was to Link's confession on their drive home that he was, as he put it, turning to the dark side. He didn't press further once Link admitted to what had happened to him, but he couldn't help glance at him from time to time to make sure he wasn't about to turn right there in the car and kick his ass.

He felt relieved when they finally got back to the ranch. Though he wanted to help Link, he knew he was useless in comparison to his friends. At first, he figured Link was just as useless, but now that he knew of his apparent dark powers, he was starting to think he was in way over his head. Still, he wasn't backing out on Link now, but at the very least the other Champions could offer some protection should it come down to it. Not to mention the fact that the trunk of the car was full of enough c4 to take out, well, the entire Yiga Clan, and that was all thanks to Kit's connections. So, maybe he wasn't totally useless.

Except for Zelda, the rest of the Champions - plus Riju - were gathered at the ranch when they pulled up. Revali's gaze narrowed on them as Link and Kit stepped out of the car.

"How was your field trip?" he asked.

"Aryll told us you were looking into a source," Riju said excitedly, though she air quoted the last part. She approached Link, leaning in with her hands on her hips, and grinned. "What's this source thing all about, anyway?"

Link pressed a finger to her nose and pushed her backwards. Riju frowned and scrunched her nose.

"None of your business," he said simply.

"Actually," Daruk started. "It kind of is."

"It was a waste of time," Kit said with a shrug. "He was just a guy I knew that I thought had intel on the Yiga Clan."

Aryll frowned. "He didn't?"

Kit shrugged. "If he does, we couldn't get him to talk."

"Did ya kill him?" Rijus asked, her eyes wide. "Did ya torture him and kill him?"

"Maybe," Link said.

"That's not funny," Aryll hissed at him.

"You realize your lives are on the line, right?" Kit asked her. "You can't exactly play nice."

"You can't go around killing anyone you want, either," Aryll snapped. "We're not the Yiga. If you do that, you're just like them."

"So, I should let the Yiga Clan live?" Link asked.

Aryll blinked at him, hesitant. "Well… I mean… You're not -"

"Get over it, Ary," Link snapped. "I kill things. I kill people. And you know what? So did Dad. Get over it."

"Well, this is nice," Revali said with a heavy sigh as Aryll stormed away from them. "You have such a way with people, Link."

Mipha frowned. "You didn't really kill him, did you?"

"For fuck's sake," Link growled. "Who fucking cares? If I thought he was a threat, I would have eliminated him. That's how it works."

"He'll live to see another day," Kit said, putting a hand on Link's shoulder. But the conversation was cut short as the air snapped nearby, and two figures appeared suddenly. Link immediately recognized Paya is she withdrew the cloth from over her face, but he did not know the man that stood beside her. His gaze narrowed on them.

"Who's your boyfriend?" Revali asked with a grin.

"Boyfriend?" A wave of realization washed over her face as she turned to Zelda. "What? No, Goddesses. No. That's -"

"Sheik," Zelda said, her gaze narrowing on her friends. "My name is Sheik."

Paya hesitated, then nodded.

"Sheik?" Revali echoed.

"He's a Sheikah," Paya said quickly. "A spy for Purah. We've been tracking the Yiga Clan the last few days."

Link's brows raised. "And?"

"We found their hideout in the Gerudo Desert," Zelda said simply. "A couple day's hike through, in a valley south-east of the Gerudo Summit."

Link held his gaze on Sheik. "And you trust him?"

"Yes," Paya said simply. "He's loyal to Purah and the royal family."

"So was Dorian," Link said simply.

Paya hesitated. She turned her gaze to Zelda.

"We saw Dorian at their hideout," she said.

"I knew it," Revali said. "Bastard."

"Does Impa know?"

"I can't be sure," Paya said. "We came right here once we found them. I haven't been back to the city. I wanted to make sure I could ward you here before I returned."

"A ward?" Urbosa echoed.

"There's been a ward over the city for the last twenty-six years," Paya said. "Impa put it up to keep Link and Zelda off the Yiga radar. That's how they've been able to get by undetected for so long. Outside of the city, however, there is no protection." She hesitated. "I don't have the same power my grandmother has, but I can at least ward the property here. Once you leave the ranch, however, you will be vulnerable to them."

"Fine," Link said. He didn't care about the protection for himself, but Aryll needed to be somewhere safe. If the ranch could be warded, it would be one less thing for him to worry about.

Paya nodded. She turned to Zelda for a moment, then in a snap, she disappeared.

Zelda met Link's suspicious gaze. "So, Hero, we meet at last."