*Chapter 50 Special*

The stars spotted the deep blue of the night sky, shining dimly over the Gerudo Desert, giving just enough light for the tall, muscular warriors to prepare. The small group of warriors stood just outside the south entrance of the now quiet Gerudo Town, having had to quietly sneak Link outside the walls, and were now preparing for their small sand journey towards the Yiga Clan hideout. A group of tamed sand seals sat lined up against the Gerudo border wall, some sleeping and some clapping their fins in excitement for the late night escapade.

Buliara looked on, now with a Radiant Shield of her own on her back and her claymore over her shoulder, watching her warriors help the sand seal owner prepare many of the sand seals, connecting the reigns of the seals to wooden cargo boxes currently filled with arrows, food, and other important materials they may need.

"We really appreciate the assistance, Frelly," Buliara said as the group finished connecting the cargo boxes. The sand seal trainer smiled tiredly.

"Whatever helps you guys out! Though, I'm still getting paid for this right?" Frelly asked, Buliara chuckled once at the question before looking onwards towards the seals.

"Of course, and we shall throw in a bit extra for the assistance with the cargo. Are you positive the cargo sand seals will be able to keep up?" Buliara asked. Frelly, filling with energy in order to praise her sand seals, laughed loudly.

"Will they keep up with cargo? Ha! A better question: can you keep up with them?" she said happily as she looked back at her seals. Buliara frowned, looking back at the Gerudo trainer.

"They won't go ahead of us, will they?" Bulirara asked seriously. Frelly quickly faced the bodyguard, shaking her head quickly.

"Heavens, no! By the Seven, Buliara, I would think you don't have any faith in my training abilities," Frelly said with a disheartened look.

"I do have faith, otherwise we would have gone on foot," Bulirara said. "I believe we should be set if you wish to head back to bed, Frelly, though if you wish to stay and assist with further preparations it would be more than helpful."

"Well, my sleep schedule is already thrown off. I might as well keep tending to the seals until you guys take off," Frelly said. With a nod from Buliara, the trainer turned back to her sand seals. The bodyguard sighed as she turned towards the thick sandstone wall lining Gerudo town. There Link, the young chief, and a few other Gerudo warriors stood at a table who all seemed to be listening to the Hylian voe as he once again discussed the plan .

"There's a long winding road that leads up towards the Yiga Clan base, as we all know," Link said, pointing at an area on a poorly drawn makeshift map on the table. "Archers will be needed as we travel upwards to combat the Yiga archers standing guard. Inside the main hall will be a circular room filled with banners. This banner, the second closest to the center of the room, leads to the true entry to the clan base. I believe Barta can attest to this."

Barta, the Gerudo who had escaped the hideout thanks to Link, nodded in agreement.

"From there... it will be an all out assault," Link said. One Gerudo raised her hand.

"Why are we charging in at once? Shouldn't we be a bit more tactical?" the Gerudo asked. Riju, who was standing next to Link, shook her head.

"The Yiga believe Link will be coming alone, just as he's done in the past. The Hylian Champion has never needed assistance before now. However, Link isn't there just to knock heads around; the Yiga now have malice. Link needs time to analyze how it's being controlled and figure out if we can stop it," Riju said, trying to sound as proper as possible. "Since they only expect Link, there's no doubt they would be caught completely off guard by a siege of us Gerudo."

"Exactly," a voice boomed from behind Link and Riju. The two turned to see the burly Buliara now standing behind them. "Our job is to give Link means to discover how and why the Yiga have malice. Though, may I warn you all: This is still Calamity Ganon's Malice we are dealing with, regardless of whether it's in the hands of those buffoon Yiga or not."

"Malice is no joke," Link said, turning back towards the map. "If you see a pool of it on the ground, avoid it at all costs. Just stepping in it could hurt or even kill you."

"And where will you be, Link?" another Gerudo asked.

"I will still be on the front lines," Link said coolly. "But as much as I want to just fight, if I don't determine where this Malice is coming from, they'll just keep coming back. I'll be relying on you to watch my back."

Link looked up, eyeing the Gerudo women with trusting eyes. The Gerudo raised their swords and spears.

"Count on us Hylian Champion—no—count on us, Link!" they said. Link smiled as the group dispersed, signaled by Buliara, and started towards their individual sand seals to prepare for their shield surfing journey. Link's smile slowly faded as he watched the Gerudo prepare, noticed by Riju and Buliara.

"Do you not have faith in our warriors, Champion?" Buliara asked. Link glanced up at Buliara before looking back at the preparing women.

"More like I don't have faith in myself at the moment," Link said. The Hylian reached over, pulling the newly acquired Moonlit Scimitar from the sheath on his back. "I don't have the Master Sword to seal away the darkness if things go wrong. I hope I'm not leading us to our deaths."

"You need to be more trusting, Link!" Riju said childishly optimistic, dropping the formalities now that the other Gerudo had dispersed. "You must have faith! We will see this through!"

"The chief is correct, Link," Buliara said calmly. "You have always done things alone, relying on the power of that legendary blade. Please remember: you are more than the owner of that legendary sword."

"You started without the sword, surely you can continue on without it for a while," Riju said with a smile, looking up at Link. Link looked down at the girl's smile before patting Riju on the head, with a noticeable disapproving gruff from Buliara.

"I'll do my best," Link said, removing his hand from her head as he sheathed his blade, now walking towards his own sand seal. Link crouched down behind his seal as he removed the glimmering purple Radiant Shield from his back, now resting comfortably in the sand.

"Something else on your mind?" the familiar voice of Buliara asked. Link sighed before twisting to look up at the intimidating bodyguard. "I can tell something else is bothering you. I've seen many distracted eyes during my time training those warriors. What bothers you, Champion?"

Link frowned before turning his back towards Buliara. He adjusted his seating, now crisscrossed in the sand as he tried to find the right words.

"I... I can't get Zelda off my mind," Link said, brushing his bangs back. "We left on a bit of a sour note. I didn't bring her with me because I thought our emotions would get in the way and to keep her out of harm's way. I also thought if I'm dealing with this, then she could deal with our other important task. But... but I left without saying anything. I knew she would argue with me, not wanting me to go. I thought maybe I would make a mistake or I needed to focus, and she's been kind of a distraction. I've really let my guard down when around her. It's just... I don't think I made the wrong call, but I dunno if I made the right call either."

Buliara grunted before looking out into the moonlit desert, watching the moon rays slowly wave around in the distance due to the moving clouds. The two sat in silence before eventually Buliara opened her mouth to speak.

"If you want my honest opinion, Champion, you made the most logical choice you could. You took upon the heat of the danger and let the Princess continue on her journey. However... I can tell the two of you have a thing for each other, am I wrong?"

Link bolted around, surprised at Buliara's words.

"How could you tell?" Link asked curiously. Buliara shrugged as she continued to look on.

"Well, calling the princess of old by her first name as casually as you did is a big giveaway. I would never dare call someone of that status by her first name."

"B-But you call Riju by her first name..." Link said. Buliara raised an eyebrow as she looked down towards Link.

"Rarely, and that's more due to her being a young, twelve-year-old girl. Not an almost full-grown Hylian," she corrected. Link nodded slightly in embarrassment.

"Yeah, that... that makes sense," Link said as he brought fingers to the bridge of his nose.

"It seems to me that the decision itself isn't what's bothering you, but how you went about it," Buliara continued curiously. Link took a second before nodding slowly.

"Maybe I should have talked to her first..." Link said. Buliara nodded in agreement.

"I know you care for her, Hylian. I care for Riju, more than just as a bodyguard. While it's not a romantic love, I still want nothing bad to happen to her. However, even at her age I will explain and talk to her. Communication is key, little Hylian."

"Communication... communication..." Link muttered. "That always comes up. We really aren't great at communicating, are we?"

"Not sure, I haven't met the Princess," Buliara said. "However, I would assume you two have good compatibility and sometimes that can be a disadvantage. Think of those warriors over there."

Buliara pointed towards the almost-ready warriors, now getting on their sand seals to test their balance.

"Let's say two of those warriors have good chemistry. They can fight alongside each other almost without any words. However, the moment something unexpected or new happens, the two don't say anything because they are so used to just existing together. This can cause a slip up, simply because-"

"Neither one of them said anything because they trusted the other would simply just know..." Link finished, staring at the group of Gerudo. Buliara nodded.

"Even the most compatible still need to communicate. I believe you and the princess have some communicating to do. You may not be giving her enough credit, Hylian. She may have understood well if you had talked," Buliara explained.

Link took in what Buliara had explained to him. Ever since he and Zelda had reunited, things had just... worked out. Any issue they had had relatively resolved itself. Sure they had talked on Ploymus Mountain, but that had become more about Mipha than their actual issues. Though, looking back, maybe their issues hadn't been fixed. Maybe he and Zelda had just been sweeping their feelings under the rug, hoping that things would work out like they usually did.

Memories of the past began to resurface in Link's mind. A chat between himself and Zelda a hundred years ago, right after the Yiga attack on Zelda. The two hadn't been able to work well together due to Link's silence and Zelda's insecurities. However, the moment the two talked, things came together. Zelda admitted when she was wrong, as did Link, and the two adjusted. They grew closer...

"Maybe I really don't give Zelda enough credit..." Link said out loud as he looked on, still sitting in the sand. "Maybe I just gave us both a much larger distraction."

"No time to wallow in self pity, Champion," Buliara said, sheathing her claymore on her back as she called over her own sand seal. "Best thing you can do is accept your mistakes and think about what to do moving forward. Now be ready, we can't have you being left behind and we're losing moon light!"

Buliara jumped onto her Radiant Shield as she urged her seal forward, sand blasting behind her. Link watched as she circled the rest of the warriors before heading north towards the Yiga Clan hideout. The rest of the Gerudo began to follow, along with the cargo sand seals as well. Link watched for a moment before standing and jumping onto his own shield. He turned quickly to look at Riju, now standing next to Frelly against the sandstone wall, waving at him with a smile. Link stared for a moment before facing forward yet again. With a whip of the reins, his own sand seal began swimming through the sand, yanking him along as he followed the group of red haired warriors.

Think about what to do moving forward, Link thought to himself as the now cold air of the desert blew through his hair as he glided along the waves of sand beneath his shield. He looked up at the moon as he surfed, the moonlight beaming down upon his skin. Link stared up with glossy eyes before his eyebrows furrowed. He faced forward as he urged his sand seal forward, passing the rest of the Gerudo warriors as he took the lead towards the hideout.

I'll tell her, Link thought to himself. In Rito Village I'll tell her how I truly feel. I won't avoid it any longer.

...

Link's feet sunk a bit in the sand as he jumped off his sand seal, now staring into the mountain crevice shadowed heavily due to the night sky. Soon other sand seals began to pull behind him, Gerudo warriors jumping off as they pulled their scimitars and shields out. A crowd began to form behind the Hylian knight as he watched them prepare for the advancement. Eventually, Buliara slipped through the small crowd, claymore in hand, making her way to stand next to Link.

"I hope you shall not continue to be distracted during this," Buliara said, swinging her claymore slowly with one hand in preparation for the oncoming onslaught. Link unsheathed his Moonlight Scimitar and Radiant Shield before eyeing Buliara.

"If anything, I'm actually a bit motivated thanks to your pep talk earlier," Link said with a grin, however his grin faded as he eyed the golden claymore in Buliaras hand.

"You won't kill them, will you?" Link asked carefully. Buliara raised an eyebrow as she looked down at the knight.

"We Gerudo do not usually fight to kill, however we will take necessary measures if we deem them worthy. I believe you should start thinking the same," Buliara said before turning her attention back towards the crevice. Link frowned a bit, however he had to accept that was good enough.

"We charge now!" Buliara cried, raising her claymore high as it shone in the moonlight. Link prepared for a sprint as he raised his shield out in front of him. "We'll get as close as we can without them noticing! Archers! Remember your goal! Shoot down the Yiga as we pass through the canyon! The rest follow!"

Buliara stood still for a moment, her claymore still raised high, before swiping it down and into a fighting grip, now running through the canyon as she signaled the silent charge. The grumbling of the sand grew louder as many others began to follow Buliara's charge. Link followed, soon passing Buliara as he sprinted ahead. In only a moment's time, the path up ahead began to be littered with rocks covered with different colored flags, a symbol of Yiga territory. The moment Link grew close, Yiga began to jump from behind the large boulders, the white masks and upside down eyes glaring down at the Champion rushing them. They pulled their bowstrings back, aiming arrows down towards the Hylian Champion, who was still ahead of the pack.

Link grinned as he glanced up at the Yiga with their bow and arrows in hand. Link quickly raised his shield as he braced. It had been a few days since the bolder incident, meaning it had to be recharged by now. A brilliant orange aura grew circled Link as the arrows bounced off, un-phasing the knight whatsoever. The aura remained, shielding Link from the continuous onslaught of arrows as he rushed forward with his fist pressed tightly together.

"The Champion is taking the attacks for us! Gerudo archers, fire!" Buliara shouted. Arrows fired from the golden bows of the Gerudo in the back, piercing the Yiga who remained firing midair. The cycle continued as Link, the glowing orange ball of hope, rushed through the canyon as Yiga after Yiga were shot down. However, before the party could arrive at the gate, the sky above them quickly grew darker as a red aura began filling the air. Link gritted his teeth as he looked up. From the base of the Yiga, a familiar, reddish-pink and deep purple cloud rose into the sky. The beast's yellow eyes, snout-like nose, and boar tusk rose higher and higher as it roared into the night sky, disappearing slowly into the air.

As angry and disgusted Link was to see the beast of Calamity Ganon yet again, that show of power was exactly what he needed, whether it was a signal from the Yiga or the Calamity itself. Link dropped the orange aura that surrounded him as he slowed his pace, allowing Buliara to catch up to him.

"The Yiga have an open back room!" Link called out to Buliara as he kept his Radiant shield high, blocking any flying arrows. "It leads out into the other end of the canyon! The source of the Calamity's Malice may be in that back open area if it was able to fly up like that!"

Buliara nodded as she faced forward, the party now nearing the entrance. However Buliara skidded to a stop as she quickly raised her claymore, blocking a thin, curved, glowing blade. Link turned to help Buliara with the sudden appearance of the Yiga Blademaster, however his ears twitched at another puffing sound behind him. Link turned, his Radiant Shield high as he blocked another Windcleaver, brought down by another burly, burgundy-wearing Blademaster.

"No time to deal with you guys!" Link shouted as he forced the Windcleaver back with his shield. Before either his or Buliara's opponents could bring out their Malice, Link brought his fingers up. With a snap of his fingers, lighting struck down on the two Blademasters. The Yiga jerked as lightning coursed through their body, before falling with slight smoke rising from their bodies.

"A gift from your old chief," Link said as he noticed Buliara's glance towards him. Buliara nodded with a small grin before the two, along with the rest of the Gerudo warriors, stormed the hideout. The moment the warriors had entered the hideout, many normal Yiga warriors appeared, sickles in hand. A battle ensued inside the base, Gerudo versus Yiga as Vicious Sickles and Gerudo Scimitars clashed and clanked.

"You two go ahead!" The Gerudo captain, Teake, called out towards Buliara and Link. "We'll handle the majority of them! You two should take on the Blademasters!"

Link and Buliara nodded as they sprinted up the stairs behind the red Yiga banner. The two forced their way through the halls of the clan's hideout, easily knocking aside any skinny Yiga that stood in their way. The two eventually found themselves in a large concrete room. A large wooden pillar stood in the center as oddly placed concrete blocks littered the room. Above in the wall was a wooden storage room, noticeable even from down where the two stood. The two skidded to a stop as three large Yiga Blademasters stood in their path.

"I see you two have come to fight us alone," one of the Yiga Blademasters said, glaring at the two of them from behind his mask. Link and Buliara readied themselves, the golden claymore and the Moonlit Scimitar at the ready. The three Yiga stared at them before laughing.

"You intend to fight us with those puny weapons?" The Yiga asked. "Where's that Master Sword of yours, kid?"

Link frowned as he brought his Radiant Shield close to his chest. The Yiga laughed again before pink and red flames erupted from their Windcleavers. The knight clicked his tongue. It was hard enough to deal with one of them. Now there were three...

"You remember where you need to be, Champion?" Buliara asked quietly. Link, a confused look on his face, nodded. Buliara closed her eyes for a second before eying the Yiga again. "Then when you see an opening, you take your chance and get to the source."

"What? Buliara I-" Link began, however he never got to finish. Buliara charged, swinging her claymore as powerfully as she could. The three Yiga held their claymores up, blocking the sudden attack from the large Gerudo. The Yiga flew back a few feet before readying themselves once again, now taking the bulky Gerudo seriously. Link gritted his teeth yet again before charging right after her, attacking one of the Blademasters.

Link swiped furiously at the Yiga Blademaster who blocked his attacks with ease. Link continued to swing, however he quickly noticed another of the three Blademasters had quickly circled behind him. He tightened his grip on the Moonlight Scimitar, spiraling himself as he performed his powerful spin attack, knocking both of the Yiga away. Link glanced over at Buliara, who was fighting the last of the three Yiga.

Buliara's claymore spun gracefully around her, blocking each of the Malice-filled attacks from the Blademaster. Link couldn't help but be amazed at Buliara's speed as she properly kept up with the Blademaster's attacks. He smiled as he refocused back on the other two Blademasters who were now charging him.

Link raised his shield, bringing up the orange light yet again as the Yiga brought their flames down onto the aura. The aura shattered, Link making a mental note that this was the first of three, as the Yiga bounced back from the impact.

"You guys aren't as strong as the last one I fought," Link said as he continued to weave around the Yiga's fiery attacks from their Windcleavers. "You guys must've gotten the power of Malice at the last second!"

"Shut your wretched mouth, Champion!" The one of the two Yiga called out as he swiped at Link, who dodged before swiping his own blade. Link took the anger-filled attack from the Yiga as an opening, slashing the Yiga's Blademasters leg. The Yiga screamed in pain as he collapsed. Link quickly focused on the second Blademaster who had backed up, now firing pink raging flame slices towards Link. Link raised his shield just in time to block the fiery aerial attacks, knocking him back just a bit. Link glanced over at the injured Blademaster, still trying to stand from his wound, before focusing on his sole opponent.

Before Link could charge, however, he heard a cry of pain. Link immediately turned to see a gash on Buliara's side, bleeding heavily as she continued to fight.

"Focus on your own fight, Champion!" Link heard a voice call out. Link felt a swipe to his abdomen as a gash appeared in his stomach. He immediately focused back in, jumping and slamming his sword down on the flaming, Malice blade of the Yiga Blademaster. The Yiga forced the knight back, sending Link back against the wall. Link felt a blade go into his shoulder, blood pooling from his shoulder.

"You die here, Hylian Champion," The Yiga said. "You were a fool to come without your legendary blade."

"Oh really? I wouldn't have guessed. I thought I was winning here..." Link growled through the pain as the flaming Windcleaver blade burned through his body. The pain was unimaginable as Link dropped his shield, using his now free hand to grab the burning blade before the Yiga could push it in deeper. How did the Yiga increase his strength?

Link glanced over at the Yiga he had injured, still bleeding on the floor. The Yiga seemed to have passed out, however the purple smoke and flames of the malice seemed to be transferring over to the Yiga who was now painfully stabbing him.

"Oh that's so not fair," Link growled yet again. Link tried to pull the blade from his shoulder, however the Yiga only pushed it in deeper causing Link to cough in pain. However, before the Yiga could do any more damage, a burgundy blur slammed into the Yiga from the air. The Yiga, and whatever had impacted him, slammed against the other side of the wall. The Windcleaver slipped out of Link's burned and bloody shoulder, allowing Link to fall to his knees. The injured knight looked over to see another Yiga body on top of his own previous opponent. Link looked back to see a bloody Buliara, who had apparently thrown her Yiga against Link's.

"This won't end until the source is discovered!" Bulirara called out, watching as the two Yiga stood once more. "Move!"

Link, wincing at the pain, opened his mouth as he gripped his scimitar tighter. However before he could oppose, Buliara shouted at him.

"MOVE!" she yelled as she charged the two Yiga before they could fully stand. Link closed his eyes in frustration before darting towards the next door, trailing a pool of blood behind him as Buliara challenged the two Malice-filled Yiga Blademasters alone.

"Alright you Yiga bastards," Buliara antagonized, "show me everything you've got."

Link bolted through the halls, until he reached the end room, littered with bananas and empty chest from before. He turned to exit the fake wall he had opened before that led to the open courtyard where he had fought Master Kohga, however the door had been sealed.

"No!" Link called out angrily as he slammed his sword into the fake wall. He didn't have the Sheikah Slate to move it, and time was running out. Buliara wouldn't hold out for much longer. He had to think of a way. Link looked down at the sword in his hand, before turning towards the crack in the fake wall. Link grinned. Improv was a gift of his. Link shoved the blade of the scimitar into the large fake wall. He pushed with all his might, blood spurting from his shoulder.

"Come on wall..." Link muttered as he continued to push. "Budge..."

After a few moments of pushing, the wall creaked. Link continued to push until the wall was open just enough for him to slip through. He cheered for a quick moment before slipping through the wall. Link ran out into the courtyard, however he quickly stopped in his tracks. His eyes grew wide at what he saw. Growing from the large gaping hole in the ground, was a pillar of glowing, tar-like Malice. At the side of the pillar was a large yellow eye, staring around at its surroundings.

"Why is one of those here?" Link questioned out loud. "This shouldn't be here... One has never appeared here before..."

"But it did, Champion!" An eccentric voice called. Link quickly turned to see a fattened Yiga behind him, dancing with glee.

"Kohga?" Link called out confused. "Didn't you die?"

"You think a fall like that would kill me boy!?" The Yiga leader called out angrily. "No, you merely knocked me out. FOR MONTHS, YOU BASTARD!"

"Technically, you did it to yourself..." Link muttered. Cheeky as he was being, his mind was racing. Kohga most likely had Malice as well, and Link couldn't fight properly with this gash on his shoulder.

"Shut up you brat!" Kohga shouted. "I will get revenge on you... Before it was in service to Calamity Ganon, but now it is not only for that, but for my own hatred of you! Calamity Ganon chose us to be his reckoning, dropping that pillar of Malice right at our doorstep!"

Purple flames and Malice formed around Kohga as Link looked on. Kohga was much more intimidating now with the flames spiraling around him. Link took a deep breath before closing his eyes. What was the best thing to do? Link opened his eyes as he turned back towards the pillar of malice. The eye was high above, and his Lynel bow had shattered awhile ago. He only had one chance, and he had to pray that it would work.

"Sorry Kohga," Link said with a smile, "but I think you're going down. Right down. Just like before."

"What?" Kohga asked curiously? Link smiled wider before quickly turning around. With as much strength as humanly possible, Link chucked the Gerudo scimitar in his hand.

"NO!" Kohga shouted, jumping high into the air after the flying blade. Unfortunately for him, the blade pierced the yellow, glowing eyeball. With a screech, the Malice monster began spewing malice, writhing in pain before disappearing in a puff of pink and purple smoke. Kohga, still in mid air over the hole below him, writhed in pain as pink smoke evaporated from his fat body. Link watched as Kohga writhed in pain before the Yiga seemingly fell unconscious, falling to his doom once again into the large crater below along with Link's scimitar.

Link continued to watch as the puff of smoke from the large Malice pillar rose, once again forming the pale imitation of the Calamity Ganon. It rose and rose until it roared to the moon before disappearing for good. Link sighed in relief. Thank the Goddess that monster was killed the same way the ones in the Divine Beast were. Link turned back towards the hidden door of the hideout. If Kohga collapsed from the lack of Malice, then the other Blademaster's must have collapsed as well. The moment Link took a step, however, his vision became blurry as he stumbled.

"Oh..." Link said, bringing a hand to his burned and heavily bleeding shoulder. "I'm bleeding out... Right..."

Link's reality went dark.

...

"Is he alive?"

"What were those bubbles?"

"He doesn't have any injuries… but wasn't he stabbed?"

Link's eyes shot open as he bolted upright. His hand instantly went to his bleeding shoulder, however the shoulder was no longer bleeding. Link looked over to see it had completely healed. Link raised an eyebrow in confusion before sighing in realization, thanking Mipha's Grace heavily. Link looked around to see a group of Gerudo standing around him.

"What happened? Where's Buliara!?" Link called out, standing quickly. The Gerudo watched him look around terrified before they laughed heartily at him.

"Good to see you're awake, Hylian Champion," a familiar voice said. Link turned to see the pale skinned Teake walking towards him through the small crowd. "I have to say, I never thought bubbles were one of the Hylian Champions' famous abilities. You should be dead."

"It's technically not mine… Teake, where's Buliara?" Link asked worriedly. Teake pointed towards the fake door that Link had pried open.

"She's back near the sand seals, interrogating the three Yiga Bladesmen you had fought. It's amazing either of you survived, though I guess you technically didn't…" Teake said, handing Link his Radiant Shield he had dropped earlier. "Buliara is injured, but she'll live. She's one of the strongest Gerudo there is. You mustn't worry for her. The Blademasters apparently passed out the moment you did whatever it is you did."

"That's good," Link said with a sigh. "I don't think we'll have to worry about the Yiga having Malice anymore. It seems a monster was passing Malice off to them. Luckily it's a monster I dealt with before. But…"

"But what, Hylian Champion?" Teake asked curiously as Link brought fingers to his chin.

"It's just… that type of monster has never appeared here before. It's actually quite a rare monster. Now that I think about it, no monster has ever appeared here…" Link thought out loud as he turned back towards the crater. "Why would it have appeared here?"

"Questions I believe you should think about later," Teake said, patting Link on the back. "I believe we should return to Gerudo Town to rest before any more talks of Malice."

Link glared back at the crater once more before nodding.

"Yeah… Yeah, that sounds good."

...

Wow guys, we have made it 50 chapters in this journey! Doesn't even feel like it's been that long to me. And we still have more than half the story to go! We have so much ground to cover.

Currently Zelda and Link are in two situations. Zelda has to learn to work around Link not being there, having to support and motivate herself. Link has to solve his problems without the Master Sword, relying once again on his technic and skills, except this time he isn't a blank slate. He actually HAS memories that can distract him. Recent ones. Each are kinda out of their comfort zone.

Looks like Link has overcome his issues and has nothing to worry about... Or does he? Now we shall turn back to Zelda to see how she is fairing...

Thank You guys so much for the support, and I hope you continue to stick around for more.

Kenny Boi