Zelda clutches the blade to her right, her knuckles white as they walk. She's covered in bruises and scratches, little cuts here and there from her own adventure across Hyrule. Each mark twists Link's stomach with guilt, but what really gets him is the sour expression on her face when she sweeps her hair out of it.

"And you knew- "

"Not the whole time," he interrupts. This has to be the most they've spoken to each other in one go.

"But you knew and you didn't think to tell me. What if this is all a trap?"

"He waited this long to set a trap?" Link asks her.

"What's a few extra days to someone who was in a sword for hundreds of years , Link! Goddesses- I can't believe you'd be so obtuse about this! We were just starting to get Hyrule back on track and you're prepared to just sacrifice it all for some madman looking for his all powerful hat?"

"There is the Yiga Clan, too," he reminds her with but the slightest irritation. He hates how she's acting like he hasn't thought about all of this before. Like he's some big idiot who hasn't thought about all the ways he might have just screwed everyone over. "And that other guy I told you about-"

"And do you know who sowed the first seed of doubt in the Yiga? If they have undeniable proof that he's who he really claims to be, they'll do whatever he asks them to do. There might not even be 'another guy'. It could all be part of some plan."

Link hates her doubt more than anything else, though. Her doubt in him and in Vaati, a person she's spent only a few minutes with. But she's the princess and she has a good reason to suspect Vaati. She's trying to keep her kingdom safe and Link respects that but mostly he's annoyed because Vaati's the only person who's come even close to understanding him and the disconnect he has with the rest of the world. And even if it was a trap, doesn't she know Link will do whatever he has to to keep Hyrule safe? That they're ahead of the game with the sword she's got at her side?

"He wouldn't do that," Link defends despite the fact he has zero proof.

"But he wouldn't let you fight alongside him. He couldn't have you interfere because then you would have won and he wouldn't have been 'kidnapped'."

It makes sense. It does. But Link still doesn't buy it.

"He's stubborn."

"He's not the only one," she grumbles. Briefly, Link thinks he should make a comment about that - about how princesses probably aren't supposed to grumble and how she should probably stop scowling so much - but he knows how disrespectful that is and doesn't want to offend her. He also values having feeling in his arms. Because Zelda definitely packs a pretty good punch when she tries and she will wack him for the comment. Link knows because he scared her when he found her a couple of hours ago and has a bruise forming on his right cheek already.

Link wants to take the Master Cycle to get to the desert faster but Zelda doesn't have the same love for it as Vaati does. And Zelda is dead set on taking her own horse so they can't even share one and they have to make a detour for a stable before they can even make their way to the Gerudo filled region. With each passing hour he finds himself more and more anxious. It's been more than a day since he's been separated from Vaati and he hopes the man's still alive. That he's alright.

After this is all said and done, he doesn't care if Vaati thought they were just passing the time, Link is going to spill his guts to the man. He's going to lay everything on the line and tell him how he feels, every gross emotion and scrambled thought. All those confused little blips that cross his mind, tell him every little detail about how conflicted he is between his duty to Hyrule and Zelda and his interest in Vaati. Put it on the table and let him decide where they go next because after all of this , he thinks it's time he tries to do something for himself and pursue the one person who somewhat gets it.

But now he's trekking across Hyrule at a snail's pace, itching to burst through the doors of the Yiga Clan's hideout and wipe them all out for what they've done. Get that stupid cap, thrust it in Zelda's hands, and be done with this whole mess. The closer they get to the desert, the antsier he gets. The harder it is to convince himself not to just steal the sword Zelda restored and disappear in the middle of the night with it.

Please don't be dead, he thinks to himself as they struggle through a sandstorm. Please don't be dead.

They stop outside of the hideout.

It's entirely possible it's empty. That they've moved to a new headquarters and Link's just wasted precious time. But the second they get close enough to the entrance, he feels a shiver run down his spine despite the intense heat beating on his back. Zelda's hand sweeps out to find his and her fingers brush just against his palm. She parts her sweaty bangs aside and her flushed face looks towards his. She puts on a brave mask despite the wavering worry and fury he knows is boiling in the pit of her stomach. She'll do anything to keep her people safe.

"You feel it too?" she asks.

Like a blanket, suffocating and heavy, hanging over the air. Crushing. Dark magic, strong, and he knows just where it's coming from.

He nods.

So he's really here, the person from his nightmare.

And if he knows even a single thing about Vaati…

Vaati will be alive, that much Link knows, but he isn't sure if that's a good thing in this man's presence. He could be getting tortured right now.

The Yiga themselves are capable. Weird nutjobs that are easy to make fun of, but strong foes. But they're not dangerous enough for Link to fear that they'll maim Vaati. Maybe him , but not someone who isn't the 'hero'. But this guy's definitely not above that. If anything, Link's pretty sure torture gets him off. Torturing someone close to Link? Ecstasy, probably. At least, that's the vibe he got from him in the few short moments they were together.

And his magic is thick and strong and Link feels doubt take hold in his chest.

He can't beat him. He won't be able to. He's going to die here and leave Zelda to fend for herself and she's going to go down with him and he's going to fail all over again-

Her hand squeezes around his.

"Link," she says. "You're not alone this time. I have your back."

He's surprised by how much that means to him. How much he's wanted to hear those words. Makes another silent vow to himself that if he lives, if they all live, he's going to talk to Zelda. Really talk to her. Open up and let her know all the nasty self-deprecating details and maybe try to keep speaking his mind around her.

Lots of self-promises to keep.

He tries to focus on those and his laundry list instead of the doubt clogging up his headspace. Keeps a hold on Zelda until they have to separate in order to not give away their position. The soldier's broadsword in his hands comes down hard on the Yiga he sneaks up on, knocking the person out without a sound. When he motions to the princess that it's safe to move, he finds she's already ahead of him with two other guards (hopefully not dead) unconscious on the ground near her feet. She tucks a few throwing needles away into a pocket on her outfit.

And his confusion must read on his face because she actually smirks back at him, all smug confidence. Pulls her hair up into a ponytail high on her head in a fashion he's seen the Sheikah in Kakariko wear. He also makes a mental note to seriously ask about the recent fighting skills. Why she decided to learn and who taught her inbetween all the science and inventing and general geekiness. Then he adds on that he should open up a bit about his own weird geekiness and see if she knows if it's a new addition or something that he's always lived with. Then again, a quick thought back to Vaati's teasing and he can't help but cross it off his mental list.

No, there's a lot the princess - his friend - should know about him but the fact that he might just be a bit of a monster addict is not one of those things.

They keep up like this, that magic bearing down on them the further into the base they get.

Briefly, he thinks back to what Zelda said the first day they met back up - about how this could all be a trap. It feels like one now, but he still won't back down. Trap or not they have to stop this.

Trap or not, he has to put his faith in Vaati. Give him the benefit of the doubt.

He saw him all those nights ago, staring up at the sky, lost and out of time. How could Vaati possibly be setting this all up? How could he turn his back on Link after everything?

Zelda pulls him aside behind a pillar as two Yiga stop in their patrolling to whisper in the hall.

"It's been like a week . Do you think we have the right guy?"

"Ghirahim said we did. What, don't tell me you're doubting him now. You were his number one fan just a couple of days ago. I saw that pillow in your ro-"

"No way! And keep your voice down! I'm just saying," Yiga #1 whispers, "that if we've got the right guy, why haven't we offed him already? We need that hat to work right so we can wish for Calamity Ganon, right?"

He's alive . Zelda looks at him and he knows that the expression on her face isn't relief, that they're not sharing this moment of good news together, but he's still happy nonetheless. Vaati is alive. There's still time to fix everything .

"Well, yeah," Yiga #2 says just as loud as before. "But Ghirahim said we could get rid of the hero too if we played our cards right so-"

"Ohhhhh. See, that's smart. That's why we're lucky we've got him hanging around."

"How did you even make that pillow anyway? It's like a pictograph of the guy! And what are you even doing with it-"

Zelda chooses that moment to down them both. Link thinks they should count themselves lucky for not having to hear the rest of the conversation.

She waves for him to follow her down the hall towards the cells. Even though he knows Vaati's alive, Link still finds himself worried about the state he's going to be found in.

There's a lot to be said about the Yiga just by their cell hall.

While the rest of the hideout is crawling with Yiga at every twist and turn, making it nearly impossible to sneak past anyone (they were, afterall, Sheikah that broke free from the rest of the race, they knew just about all there was to know about stealth), their cells are almost completely unprotected other than a few guards posted at the entrance which the two of them find easy to take down - a true testament to how far they've come along.

Zelda stands up to her full height when they're alone and frowns. "Were they always this easy?"

"I don't know about a hundred years ago, but now?" Link shrugs. It's hard not to bolt right then and there and start searching each cell for Vaati but somehow he manages for all of three seconds, which is pretty impressive if you ask him. Not that anyone is.

Zelda follows him at a much slower pace, double checking over every cell because Link's not taking nearly enough time to really make sure one isn't empty.

He's cautious enough that he's the one (not Zelda) who finds Vaati asleep in the corner of a cell towards the end of the hall, hair a mess. Link has to wonder what they've done to keep him in the cell for so long now that he has magic (at least, more magic than the last time they were having an extended stay here) but he doesn't dwell on it for long because all the answers he's coming up with leave a bad taste in his mouth. He looks at Zelda for help on getting him out because now that he's thinking about it, he's got zero ideas here. She sighs, gets down on one a knee, and starts fiddling with the lock with a pin he didn't realize she had in her hair.

"Vaati," he whispers to wake him up.

Vaati only stirs a little bit, but Link's able to get a quick glimpse at his face. There's something wrong with his cheek, like the remnants of a burn, bits of ice clinging to the skin. It's out of place and Link knows immediately that it's magic. The guy. Ghirahim. He must be forcing him into fights to keep him drained or something -.

There's a loud click and before Link can begin to worry that the noise was loud enough to get the attention of someone, Vaati bolts awake and looks their way, his eye wide.

"What is she doing here?" he hisses. "Are you a moron? You're not supposed to bring the princess to the villain's lair."

"I can handle myself," Zelda says with cool venom in her voice. "You're welcome, by the way. For picking the lock."

Vaati's already getting up, brushing himself off, and the specks of ice fall to the ground. The only sign they were there at all is the slight pink to the skin. Like frostbite. If that's the only remaining damage to him, Link counts Vaati lucky.

"Well let's not dawdle . We need to find my hat and lea- " but that sword is pointed at his throat and Link curses because he should have made Zelda give him that . Should have seen that one coming. Vaati visibly tenses and Link thinks it's not just because of the fact that he's got something sharp poised at something soft and very easy to cut.

"If you even think about double crossing us," Zelda says evenly.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Your Highness. " Vaati peers over her shoulder at Link and for someone who's in the middle of getting rescued, he sure looks pissed and ungrateful. "You told her then?"

He looks away and says, "Zelda. He's not going to do anything. We have to get out of here."

And he feels Vaati building up some big angry speech but the reminder that they've got to get moving is enough to get all of their feet in gear. Zelda pulls the sword away and tosses it off to Link like it's nothing more than a baton.

"Here. You hold the Four Sword. I don't need it to hurt him."

Link wishes he could look Vaati in the eye and tell him that this is just how she's always been - at least from the little he can remember. Always on the defense, always ready to fight whoever she's being stringed along with. But now is not the moment. He files it away for that big big growing list and they start to move, their reunion bitter and short lived and Link's got a dozen questions for him but they don't have time.

And they don't know where the cap is. Which is dangerous, just wandering around lost in the enemy's hideout, but at least they all know where that menacing feeling is coming from and it's their best bet. A nice little tug, like a thin string they can follow. W ith no better ideas and no room to really plan things out, they head deeper and deeper into the lion's den.

Or, in this case, closer to Ghirahim.

Zelda begins to lead the charge while Link lingers behind, sending worried glances Vaati's way. And Vaati, for the most part, is unreadable. If he's really hurt, he's doing a great job of hiding it. They're making their way through the stronghold pretty quick and the closer they get to that overwhelming magic, the more Vaati visibly tenses. Link has the strong feeling that if Vaati and Ghirahim have met, it's been more than just fights to keep him tired. That the man might know something more. That maybe Zelda is right and he's leading them into some sort of trap. And he hates that he's doubting him now too. That he can't just trust Vaati blindly.

They stop just before a heavy set of doors. Zelda, he realizes, is starting to look tired. He wonders how much more she's got left in her - and if it really was a bad idea to let her come along even if he needed to keep her within seeing distance. Sure, maybe he knows for certain she hasn't been kidnapped or died in a dungeon, but how much has he put her in danger now ?

"It's in there," Vaati says with all the certainty of a blind man.

"Are you sure?" Link says anyway.

He feels Zelda's eyes on him. Knows exactly what she's thinking.

Trap!

"Well, where else would they put it?" Vaati says and Link's got to wonder if Ghirahim can hear them right through the door. If he can, he's being awfully kind just letting them yap away. "With just any random guard?"

Link knows he's going to have to fight. That there's no getting out of confrontation with someone who wants to rip him limb from limb. No putting this off, grabbing that cap, and avoiding one giant mess today. He has to finish this right here right now. He wishes he had a little more time to prepare himself.

"Wait," Zelda says, putting her hand over top his when he goes to push open the door. She looks across him to Vaati. "Once we find the cap, it goes straight to Link. Understood?"

He glares back at her. " Of course , Your Highness."

Link thinks back to Vaati's concerns, the reason he gave for wanting the cap back in the first place. Knows they'll have to hash out the details later when they're not standing in the middle of the desert in the Yiga Clan's base. Sometime when Zelda can bring herself to listen to the story or even believe him.

He looks back at Vaati and is surprised when the man's gaze softens and he doesn't look away.

"Link," Vaati says. He wishes he'd say his name a hundred times more. "You're going to win." And like just about every other time he's ever talked to him, it looks like Vaati has so much more to say that he's keeping bottled up.

Added to the list: Get Vaati to finally open up and say exactly what's on his mind.

He pushes the door open, prepared to finish the fight.