Daruk put on a brave front as the Champions stepped into the decrepit assortment of hovel-like tent-strewn homes that made up the Lowland Rito's community, though as they advanced further, surrounded ever more as they were by bedraggled Rito, his insides began to tremble with nerves. The sun had just begun to creep over the horizon, leaving some esoteric sense of hope to draw from it's warming presence, but the dreadful thought of Link already having been lost continued to permeate their thoughts.

Urbosa eyed the scraggly Rito as they passed, as though in attempt to demonstrate some silent authority, but she could feel their stares upon her own self cutting deep; she knew, already, that such glances must have been sharpened by years of degradation. She couldn't help but feel disheartened that there seemed to be nothing at all in the way of a peaceful welcome- they hadn't ever known peace, and probably had no idea how to extend it. That thought only left the Gerudo with apprehension, a curling fear at the back of her skull.

Taking her strides with a cool authority in her own right, Zelda remained with her eyes straight ahead, demonstrating her determinate air, even as Urbosa leaned in close for a word, "This isn't a good idea, child…"

Zelda tensed her lips into a frown, "I've spent my whole life lost in books, trying to learn how to rule by the book. It's time we did the right thing, not the correct thing."

Sighing with defeat, recognizing a wild attempt at platitude that she had known only from the princess' father, Urbosa leaned back into place, shaking her head. When she had initially agreed to this adventure, it had been toward an aim at instruction- so why, now, did she get the feeling that Zelda was now instructing her? The thought trembled in her mind, like a mother watching her child go off into the world all on their own, a mixture laced with that numbing taste of awful quotation.

Still, this was her child, in all but blood. Urbosa knew she would be willing to fight a war for her, much less a battle out here on the edge of the world. Her only hope was that such things would be fought for good reason, and her body seized at the idea of that not being the case.

A plume of dust signaled the arrival of the Lowlanders' leader, though the appearance of a woman skidding to the ground came as a surprise. She threw her arms back to eject the cloud of dirt away from her as she strolled menacingly toward the Champions, her brow as sharp as her tongue.

"What brings you mongrels out here?!" Khaci shouted, fists clenched.

Zelda assured her simply, "We came to see Yzi. We would like to see if some renegotiation is in order."

"Renegotiation," the woman spat put with snide rejection, "Yzi has gone for an excursion, but I can assure you he is not interested in negotiating with Hylians, much less pressing deals further than they deserve with the species."

Growing annoyed, Urbosa bit her lip at the Rito's insistence, speaking with a chillingly sharp breath, "Are you the leader here?"

"I might as well be, whenever Yzi has a goal that takes him out of our village," she replied without a hair's breadth of hesitation, "And as far as I'm concerned, we have no business with any of you."

Zelda's eyes turned away in thought, wondering how best to advance. She spun around, huddling up with the Champions while Khaci hung her fists along her hips, readying herself, silently, for whatever might come next from this clear show of stratagem.

"She's obviously beneath Yzi along their hierarchy," Daruk mused quietly, peering over Urbosa's shoulder toward the Rito.

Biting her lip, Urbosa sneered, "She's obviously something else. I see where she and Revali share the same roots…"

Daruk went on, "Perhaps we take the loss and aim for an audience with Yzi himself instead of a clear answer from her. It's possible all she knows to do is grandstand."

Nodding in agreement, Zelda still turned to Mipha for a word, knowing Urbosa's stance already, before the Zora muttered quietly, "What if where Yzi has gone- that's where Link is...?"

Catching the implication, Zelda's lips curled in worry before turning from the group and returning her attention to the Rito, "Please, it's important we have an audience with Yzi immediately. We could even wait here under guard while you go get him!"

"Pfft," Khaci scoffed, "You must think me mad. I just told you-"

"Then for me," Mipha interjected, stepping forward, "If the word of Hyrule's Princess won't carry any weight with you, then perhaps the one from Zora's Domain will. Please."

Khaci eyed her critically, more so in an attempt to understand a joke than to size her up, before smirking with disbelief, "Red scales or no- We're closed today."

Shrugging, the woman whipped away, stepping with a confident gait as the left the visitors to their departure, even if it were slow going. Zelda quietly lowered her head in pensive reproach as she returned to the Champions, not wholly attentive as Urbosa growled with bated breath.

"Friendly lot," she huffed, sarcasm seething beyond her lips.

Daruk managed a gentle pat atop Mipha's shoulder as she melted into a pitiable reflection of their being here, resting his grip there in an attempt to comfort her, though his words aimed to offer much the same, shrugging with a concerted frown, "We could fight our way into information."

"Goddess, yes," Urbosa gladly wove, turning to Zelda, "Can we?"

"No," Zelda fired back with a glib reply, "We just- have to think of how to cross this barrier is all. Diplomacy isn't just a meaningless distinction; it's a legitimate artform."

Daruk raised his brow in critique, frowning, "Something tells me these aren't the sort of people to be taken by anything related to art…"

"Nevertheless-" Zelda grumbled, "The sun's coming up; it's a new day- let's just put out heads together and figure out how to worm our way into her good graces."

Urbosa muttered, "Or, we just wait for the head cuckoo to come home to roost…"

"I don't think-"

Reaching over to take Zelda's shoulder, Urbosa turned her surrogate daughter's attention to the north, the Princess' eyes widening in surprise at the sight of Yzi coursing through the sky toward them, with another Rito in tow. Daruk bolstered his stance, taking his first look at the men who had so tossed their entire venture asunder, to the point where Urbosa slipped a foot back to better control him were he to lunge. Even Mipha couldn't help but fight the urge to leave the ends of her fingers just stroking the smooth timbre of her trident.

Khaci turned to note the arrival of Yzi herself, shooting a venomous stare back toward Zelda as the true leader of the Lowlanders came to the dirt landscape, his own landing far more graceful than that of his subordinate commander. He immediately crossed his arms as he strode toward the unwarranted guests, not taking the slightest movement as Ilyzo slammed into the ground beside him before finding a more regal gait himself.

"Well, well," Yzi frowned, shaking his head, "Quite the fickle lot, aren't you?"

Zelda returned, "I just want to talk to you."

The Rito gestured toward Daruk, "And that's why you've brought reinforcements?"

Daruk felt his spine tremble at the sight of the man who had woven his Brother into this dastardly line of plot.

"I simply would like to ask for-"

"Renegotiation," Khaci completed, strolling up to the meeting with a smarmy expression, "I told her we weren't interested."

Yzi shrugged teeth barred, "You should've listened to her. Would've saved you some time, and me the effort of coming down here."

Fists clenched, Urbosa wished she could find any reason to disobey Zelda's instruction.

"Then we could make a deal," Zelda shrugged, "Surely you're interested in those."

Grinning at her presumption, Yzi rolled his head along his shoulders, "My dear- Judging from the sun's gleam upon your face, there isn't much of a deal left to be made."

Mipha's brow curled with terror, even as Daruk's grasp unintentionally began to tighten atop her shoulder. The Goron sneered, his voice charged with tempered reproach.

"You're bluffing!"

Yzi sneered, "Why? I ought to have savored that sinewy tearing of skin from the first moment he offered me his life."

He shrugged easily, "If you'd like to exchange riches for his corpse, however, I suppose a couple bits of tattered paper might be what he's worth."

Daruk lunged forward, quickly met by Urbosa's swiftly shifting frame. She dug her foot into the cracked soil below, heaving her shoulders back against Daruk's frame as he shouted angrily.

"YOU MONSTER!" he cried out furiously.

Another shrug left Yzi to retort, "Why? He offered his life to me. I merely found it quite detestable, and quite a bore to put up with, quite honestly."

Urbosa felt Daruk's rocky musculature work its way into bolstering momentum, threatening to overcome her restraint, forcing her to plead with a shaking voice, "Daruk… Knock it- off… He's not worth it!"

"No, he isn't," Daruk retorted through gritted teeth, "But I don't much care at this point."

The commotion had begun to summon a cluster of Rito who had come to observe, the more ready of them stepping forward in case their leader came into any danger, though Daruk slowly began to restrain himself, leaving the bystanders a moment's respite.

"Now, unless you have a death wish, all of you, I would highly recommend turning back and leaving us to our own devices," Yzi advised coolly, "I'd hate to think killing that man might have left me with a taste for-"

*SSCRRRRRRRREEEEEEEE*

An ear-piercing, cacophonous ringing of metal shooting through the sky immediately broke the entire lot's attention as they whipped around toward its source, leaving Mipha's eyes bowled open at the sight of Link quickly stumbling backward from the surface of a sheet of steel, hitting the ground as the shining plate shot across the Gisa dust. The whole of the Champions were left breathless at the very presence of the man, even as Link quickly stumbled to reach his feet.

"What in the bluster?!" Yzi cried, his mind having had to wrap its way around what was now greeting his eyes.

As quickly as he had worked his way upright, Link collapsed, falling onto a single knee as Zelda shouted, "Link!"

"Keh," Yzi scoffed, gesturing his head toward the Hylian, "Get him! and make sure he can't crawl away this time!"

He pointed a vicious finger toward the remaining Champions, about to direct his Lowland brethren to ensnare them as well, though his eyes were immediately drawn to Link's own smirk, the man raising a finger of his own as though to direct Yzi's attention up over his shoulder. The Rito's eyes leapt up, overtop the peak of Cuho Mountain, only to fly open wide in astonishment as his heart fell into his gut.

It was Revali. on a crash course toward Vah Medoh.

"Gullible," Link wryly muttered.

Yzi's eyes sunk into his skull.

"GAH!" his voice poured out in blood-curdling fury, "GO! GET'IM!"

Ilyzo stammered in a heated panic, "How many-"

"GO!"

With a blistering speed, Yzi nearly exploded off of the cracked earth, bursting into the sky like a missile, as if the air itself had yanked him up into the sky even before his wings could be sent aflutter. His eyes shone red as the wind lapped against the thin skin that wrapped overtop them, his teeth curling out past his lips like an overflooded saucer. Even his skin shot with incremental pain as he burst past layers of wind resistance with blatant disregard for his own health as he approached Revali's course.

Despite battling a torn up ribcage, Revali maintained an admirable speed, closing in on Vah Medoh as the Beasts massive frame strode southward, right into his approaching direction, which he took to be favorable. Still, he couldn't refuse the sickly feeling of being greeted by Yzi on the way, his eyes taking a brief moment to examine the path behind him every few months, a curse breaking past his lips as he noticed a blip of plumage in the farthest reaches of his sight.

"Tch," he flinched, returning his attention to Vah Medoh, the Beast not moving fast enough for him to reach before being met by the speeding presence of Yzi.

He reluctantly reached for his side, finding the pressure there to still be immense against his tender nerves. Another curse spouted from his tongue before taking another glance behind him, a shot of terror shooting through him as Yzi gained on him with a blinding speed.

"Shit!" Revali exclaimed, relinquishing his hold on his side as he put all the energy he could into throwing his wings behind him, flapping however much his injuries allowed.

He bit his tongue in focus, pain sweltering along his side. Flap! Vah Medoh was coming ever closer. Flap! Almost teasing him with its miniscule movements. Flap! Revali's eyes fell deeper into his skull. Flap! Was he even making ground..?

Like a hurricane whipping away a toolbox, Revali's body immediately darted forward as Yzi slammed into him, the massive burst of momentum throwing the two of them further up into the sky even as the two of them grew entangled, as if they were a cannonball seeking its arc. The world appeared a spinning top as Revali's eyes desperately attempted to gain his bearings, a swift punch from Yzi glancing off his face as the Lowlander clawed at his adversary.

"YOU FILTH!" Yzi cried out, taking a clawing grip of Revali's chest, locking him into the Skoss' trajectory and allowing him further fistfuls of slamming punches.

Reval's yelled out in pain at the talons taking the skin right out of his chest, his eyes narrowing in bitter determination. He desperately threw himself backward, trying to rip himself away from that clawing anchor, but to no avail. He tried to slow his trajectory, perhaps to allow Yzi to progress further ahead to leave him behind, but again, this did nothing. More punches found his face, rattling Revali's nerves as he weakly attempted to parry the blows, the sudden burst of momentum having already lightened his mind of oxygen, leaving his entire body weak as Yzi furiously swiped at him.

With a sudden, flipped switch of inspiration, Revali's eyes locked onto Yzi's midsection, left wide open by his clawed hand kept occupied by his own flesh. He steeled his nerves, biting at his teeth as his brow sharpened.

Fight like a Hylian.

He brought up his legs, launching them against Yzi's gut, again, again, again, turning the ends of his talons so that his claws were shone, clawing at Yzi's stomach like a feral lion. Yzi's punches instantly grew with force to retaliate, but as Revali worked more and more lacerations into his body, the more distracted Yzi became until his grip began to loosen. Finally, a final, massive blow from his leg unhinged Yzi from his body, allowing him freedom of movement.

Revali instantly darted his eyes up, growing wide as he recognized Vah Medoh's dangerously close approach, the two Rito growing intensely close to the point of no return. He knew, at any moment, Vah Medoh would let loose a fatal burst of energy, killing the both of them, unless…

His brow coursed, determination flowing like magma through his veins. Revali burst toward Vah Medoh with renewed vigor; there was no escape for him now, he knew, beyond the saving graces of that Beast. His added momentum coming to an end, Revali forced his body forward, ignoring the seeming sensation of tearing bones from his ribs, before a sickly twinge crossed the back of his neck as he felt the presence of Yzi gaining upon him once more.

Sure enough, a forceful grasp took his ankle, yanking Revali back into Yzi's grasp as the Lowlander wrapped his arms around his body from behind, holding him hostage as the two sped toward Vah Medoh with still-blistering speed.

"COME ON!" Yzi goaded, "PROVE ME RIGHT! HA HAAA!"

Revali desperately tried to shove Yzi's arms away from his waist, his eyes zeroing in on the metal beak of Vah Medoh, a massive ball of energy beginning to form, which Revali knew was the death of the both of them. He clawed at Yzi's hands, trying to force his release, even as Yzi cackled into his ear.

"YOU'LL HAVE TO TAKE ME WITH YOU!" he cried, battling the wind lapping at his words before they could reach Revali, "OR KILL US BOTH!"

The ball of energy suddenly coalesced before Vah Medoh's face. In a sudden, forceful blow, Revali threw his legs up before launching them backward, just below his hind end to catch Yzi's gut, tossing the Lowlander away from him while throwing himself forward just as Vah Medoh's electrifying blast of laserlight filled the void between the two of them.

"BWAH HA HA!" cackled Yzi still, his maddening eyes showing like daggers as he approached Revali for another bout, "LET'S GOOO!"

Link fell to the ground as Ilyzo kicked the knees out from under him just as he joined the Champions, leaving Mipha to immediately fall to her knees beside him, grasping his shoulder as she examined him, abhorred by his injuries. Urbosa sneered, taking a impotent swipe as Ilyzo skipped away, replaced by three other Rito who had come with weaponry.

"Come get some!" Urbosa challenged angrily.

Zelda quickly pulled her back by the wrist, pleading, "Urbosa! No!"

The Gerudo whipped her head back around toward the Princess, "I'm about two seconds from tearing through this entire camp with Daruk if you don't let me bounce at least one of these fools out of here! You hear me, Daruk?!"

Daruk threw his open hand into the ground, clenching it into a fist before emerging with a massive chunk of rock as a weapon, eyes glimmering with fury, "I hear ya!"

With her own irritation boiling over, Zelda shouted, "We're not about to start something we can't finish! so just!"

Another swipe by the Gerudo.

"Urbosa!"

Mipha spun Link around onto his back, sliding her delicate fingers along the line of open skin that had crusted over with days of blood which hadn't been cared for in the slightest, her brow tensing in sorrow at the state of her lover, carefully pressing the palm of her hand atop his cheek, her scales aglow with golden energy.

"I thought I'd lost you…" Mipha spoke up through choking verbiage.

Link gave a weak smirk, "Now you know I felt…"

The sentiment did little to soothe Mipha's nerves, though the gentle healing that began to mend the man's wound gave her something of relief as she remained diligent in her methods.

"URBOSA!" Zelda cried out angrily, tearing through the delicate mood.

Link grinned, shaking his head as he began to chuckle, leaving Mipha rather confused as he wormed out from beneath her gentle touch. His eyes opened lowly, glancing up toward the sky for only a brief moment before a sigh escaped him.

"He's got this."

Mipha's brow narrowed with worry, "Who are you-"

"Uhh…" came a wiry voice from Khaci, the woman plaintively stepped backward, "Ilyzo..?"

The bedraggled second-in-command shot a glance toward Khaci, who only pointed up into the sky behind him, forcing him to turn back, his face quickly melting with shock as he stammered, "W- What? The Beast… It's not-"

"I've watched that bird take the same course, every day, for years," Khaci noted, "That's not it."

Sure enough, instead of turning westward to continue its circular course, Vah Medoh pressed due south- toward Gisa. Ilyzo only took a moment to take stock of the sight before him, smirking snidely as he breathed in ever-deepening reverence.

"He did it," he spoke with a cold chuckle, returning to Zelda, "Now you will see that we Lowlanders are not to be trifled with! How putrid and flimsy you appear to believe our ideals are; now, with the mightiest construct that this world has ever brought about at our side, you will truly understand the might of our people!"

Khaci took a step back, "Uh, Ilyzo-"

"What?!"

She threw a finger toward the encroaching Beast, a whistling current of wind blowing through the canyon as the massive being sent swirling gusts all throughout the canyon, "It's preparing to fire!"

Ilyzo whipped around to find Vah Medoh's beak beginning to glow a sickly red, churning out a gigantic ball of energy. He immediately darted away, glancing over his shoulder as he goaded aloud to the Champions.

"Enjoy your non-existence!"

Zelda turned toward Link, nearly affright, "WELL?!"

Chuckling, Link shook his head, "Have a little faith, why don't you."

*SSSHEEEEEWWWWW*

An ear-blistering blast of sound broke the air surrounding the Champions as a sweltering burst of energy fired from Vah Medoh's front end, an endless stream of laserlight blowing in explosive cacophony as it tore into the Gisa earth, sending a gigantic blast of rock into the air, scattering across the landscape as the nearby Rito began to scatter.

*SSSHEEEEEWWWWW*

Another blast blew at the landscape!

Urbosa's jaw locked in focused grit, she spun toward the only Goron amongst them, shouting, "DARUK!"

In a split second, Daruk drove his hands into the ground, yanking out a gigantic plot of rocky earth that he took in stride, tossing the endless tonnage of weight toward Urbosa. She dug her feet into the ground, slamming the slab of rock atop of her to protect the others as more bursts of lasers fired at the landscape.

*SSSHEEEEEWWWWW*

Daruk slid underneath the stone barrier, collecting the three most squishy amongst the group in his arms as he braced himself, the deafening number of explosions collecting like pebbles in a bucket.

*SSSHEEEEEWWWWW*

Urbosa drove her elbow into the slab of granite, lowering herself for better leverage as the weight began to gain on her rising exhaustion. She clenched her teeth, tightening her jaw until it felt as though her teeth were being driven into her gums, fists clenched in focus. In that instant, Daruk leapt up from the group, taking the slab himself as he pulled Urbosa away, yelling zealously as he accepted the gargantuan weight atop his shoulders.

"GHHH- YAAAAAA!"

*BOOOOOM*

A earth-shattering explosion of sound tore through the ground, forcing a minor earthquake to tremble throughout the whole of Tabantha. The gigantic blast of rumbling simultaneously joined the end of the firing lasers that had wildly spattered across the landscape, leaving Daruk's brow furrowed with inquisitive perception as he eyed the Champions.

"Is it over?" Zelda asked, trying to peer out from behind the humungous slab of granite looming over top of them.

Urbosa quickly took her shoulder, pulling her back to safety as she breathed with a heated breath, "Don't you try it! I'll give a look."

Too shaken to find that feeling of rebelliousness, Zelda remained in place as Urbosa crouched out from beneath the slab, greeted instantly by the rays of the rising sun catching the supremely generous sheen off of Vah Medoh as it-

"Goddess…" she muttered breathlessly.

Atop Cuho Mountain, Vah Medoh had perched itself in all its regal glory, wings still spread as if it were attempted to catch the entire breadth of Hyrule within its grasp. Urbosa mindlessly reached her hand out, lazily pressing it against the stone slab being shouldered by Daruk, giving him enough of a signal for him to shed the enormous weight, allowing the entire cast of Champions a sight of the divine sight before them.

Zelda sat with jaw-dropped observance, subconsciously reaching up to cover her mouth as her eyes traced the infinitely masterful shape of that Beast which now sat closer to them than it had to anybody else in history. All those tomes, those texts that she had so acquainted herself with- None of them could ever hope to match this majesty.

"Gah!" coughed Ilyzo, stumbling toward Cuho Mountain with a broken leg, resulting from the barrage of laserlight that now left this plot of Gisa with a prominent assortment of craters, "Master! Yzi! You grace us with the might of Vah Medoh! Now, do what you came to do!"

He threw a forceful motion toward the Champions, "Kill them!"

Before the right-hand man could feel the rumbling of his next heartbeat, his shoulders slumped at the sight before him. He fell in defeat to his knees as he caught sight of a single body leaping from within Vah Medoh's interior.

"Goddess," Link groaned, though with a grin all the same, "He'll never let me live this one down."

Sure enough, Revali perched atop Vah Medoh's precipice, arms crossed in vicious critique over the landscape before him, as though he were some divine being examining its creation.

"Now, clap," he mused with something of a grin.