They were ambushed an hour from the capital.

The trees had thinned out with the upward slope of a hill. The horses were breathing hard; the closer they got to the capital, the harder the teens rode in anticipation. But halfway to the top of the hill, Revali pulled up on the reins. His horse slowed to a stop, snorting mist into the evening air. Revali slung his bow over his shoulder, testing the string with two of his gloved fingers.

Malon pulled back, wheeling Jay around so she could see what held up her partner. He was rigid, clutching the bow in his left hand, his right reaching for the quiver attached to the back of his saddle. Without the thundering hooves of the horses and the wind whipping her hair back, Malon could now hear the quiet around them. They were in the outskirts of Castleton now - the biggest city in Hyrule. There should be people… right?

"Malon." At his voice, she looked to him as he turned his head to look all around their surroundings. "Come over here."

Normally, Malon would've sniffed in indignation and sent an insult his way before doing the exact opposite of what he'd said. Now, however, with an important mission on their heads and with a scent of danger in the air, Malon eased Jay into a walk behind him. The hooves on soft grass were deafening in the silence. "What's going on?" she asked, but the time for talking had passed.

As soon as she uttered those words, Revali's nose flared and he stood in his stirrups, two arrows pulled back on the bow's string. The twang of the bow was the first sound she heard; the war cries of multiple monsters came next.

Revali let another volley of arrows fly. He didn't attempt another double shot. There were so many monsters pouring over the hill, the young archer - though skilled - didn't have the ability to accurately shoot multiple arrows while prioritizing draw speed. "Malon," he commanded. She was behind him, gripping the reins in white fists. "We're going to ride. I'll go left, you go right. We're only half a mile from the city, right?"

Malon was terrified, but she gritted her teeth, pulled back on the reins, and nodded.

"Count of three." Four lizard-creatures charged at once. Revali shot the one closest to Malon down. "Three." Another fell with an arrow in its eye. Revali was quick to fill his quiver with another. "Two." They were only a few strides away now, brandishing razor-sharp, jagged metal spears in their claws, hissing and spitting as they streaked towards them. Another fell, this time with the arrow in its throat. "One!"

Malon snapped her reins, Jay bursting forward as soon as his master let the leather loose. He plowed between two pig-creatures and went flying up the hill. It was only a second later that Malon realized Revali hadn't shot the last lizard.

He didn't have any arrows left.

Jay was weary, but his connection to Malon was absolute. Though terrified and exhausted, the animal had faith in his owner.

Revali's horse wasn't so lucky.

At the swing of a huge red-skinned creature, the horse reared up in fright, so sudden that Revali's tenuous hold on the reins broke, and the arrowless bowman dropped hard to the ground. He was up in an instant, barely acknowledging the sparking pain from his back. He recovered valiantly, but he was still outnumbered and outmatched.

Malon broke free of the crowd of monsters, laying low on the saddle as she crested the hill. The monsters were behind her now. She turned at the sound of Revali's horse, only to find the poor steed galloping away in panic, down one rider.

"Revali!" Malon shrieked, rounding Jay to the side so she could strain her neck to find Revali. She would ride back. She would grab him and hoist him onto the back of her saddle. They would make it to the castle together! But the back line of the monsters turned to her, the vast majority already converging on Revali's location. Malon clenched her mouth and turned Jay.

Or tried to. Jay loved his owner. They'd grown up together. But he knew, just as Malon did, that riding back to their fallen companion was suicide. So, the horse made its own executive decision, for his own safety and for his beloved rider's, and sprinted forward.

"No!" shrieked Malon. "Stop, Jay, we have to go back!"

Jay's ears flattened on his head in response, but he did not slow down or turn. Malon could only watch in horror as the monsters roiled over Revali like an army of ants do to a crumb.

He was gone.

Revali didn't like to lose. In fact, he hated it. More than his wimpy, underbearing parents. More than other people's voices. More than the dimwitted teachers and students at that worthless school of his. He had a lot of hate for this world, but all of it could be traced back to this one ideal: Revali doesn't lose.

He couldn't help feeling like he'd lost when he fell from his horse. It would've been a terrifying experience for any other Hylian, but to him it was simply a frustration. He had come on this journey to prove himself better than the simpering parents that had given him life. To prove that he was more.

Yes, Revali hated losing.

So much so, in fact, that he did not fear for his life, even surrounded on all sides by monsters. They were squealing in his face, brandishing crude weapons, and all Revali could think was how he despised this situation. How dare these monsters take his life? He could never be bested by these disgusting, barbaric animals. He wouldn't allow it. His end would be grand, before an entire country counting on his prowess. He would fight valiantly and defeat a great evil… and then - only then - would he allow himself to fall.

Some heroes fought for their countries. Their families. Their ideals. Revali was not one of those heroes. Some may even find him something of a villain or anti-hero, but he didn't care what others would think. He never lied about who he was. He fought for himself: for his own glory, for his own ambition. For the challenge - to overcome any opponent and emerge victorious.

That was the life he lived. That was the person he chose to be. And he wouldn't accomplish any of it, because he was being overwhelmed without a weapon (his bow long since run out of arrows) and without reason.

Revali felt a club crash into his shoulder. He felt the reality of his situation slam into him even harder. The thought that he'd die here suddenly made him hopelessly, unbearably frustrated.

To come out on top, he couldn't rely on weapons or an ideal circumstance. He had to prove himself now, without a weapon or backup. Revali's resolve steeled, and he leapt to his feet.

A crude serrated blade cut into the back of his jacket, tracing a line of fire down Revali's back. Without hesitation, he grabbed the arm attached and swung the beast forward, launching him into three other monsters in his way. A club hit the back of his head, and he found himself grounded again. Struggling to his knees, the monsters converged, and the metal in his back pressed deeper.

No, Revali snarled, pushing his face out of the grass. There were hands all over him, sharp metal in his back, a weight on his release hand. "No!" He wrenched himself out of the grass. Wind was blowing everywhere. Dust was in his eyes. He ripped off his coat and swung it into the spiked club of another monster, safely wrenching the weapon out of its hands. "I'm not finished yet!" he screamed, a feral sound that was ripped out of his throat and into the wind.

His vision was blurry, but the monsters seemed to have retreated a couple of feet, giving Revali a small circle. The lanky teen bared his teeth at them, daring them to try to finish him off. They wouldn't be able to. He wouldn't let them.

He was more angry than he could ever remember being. The wind on his skin did nothing to cool the blazes erupting from his blood, sprouting fire all over his body. He screamed at the monsters, and they widened the gap around him. Retreat. He needed to retreat. There were too many, and surviving would have to be victory enough for today.

Revali crouched, feeling ancient and reborn at the same time, and looked up into the tunnel the wind had made. The clouds were darker now, heavy with rain and turbulence. It was no longer cold. His body ached from the wounds he'd sustained, but he'd never felt lighter. His hair whipped around his face, and he let out a triumphant grin.

He jumped, and the wind whisked him up to the sky.

Midna couldn't help feeling pessimistic. Well, that was mostly because she was always pessimistic, but if there was ever a time to be optimistic, it would be now.

After the loss of Navi, everything became much more real to the members of the group. Sheik seemed darker, if that was even possible, and constantly had his hand on his weapon. Aryll was forlorn but determined, riding without complaint - even offering to lead Navi's abandoned horse, which the group made into a supply carrier - and wasting no time helping set up and take down camp. Even Daruk was… less. He frowned a lot more, rubbing the stubby beard he'd begun growing, sending flakes of skin everywhere. The days were only getting colder, and Aryll's bottle of lotion had run out days ago.

And Link… Well, his mind was elsewhere.

Midna had never seen him so one-tracked in all the years she'd known him. He was lazy, and snarky, and quiet. He slept in class and liked to laze about in the sunshine and take walks in the woods and pass doodles back and forth with her. She'd known him to be melancholy, despondent, dry, amused, optimistic, and above all, fiercely loyal.

But this Link had more determination than any other Link she'd ever known. He'd known Tetra - Zelda, she now knew - less than a month, but she'd already secured a loyalty that only Midna had known previously. Link wasn't chatty at the best of times, but now he was nearing mute. He only spoke in commands and limited all responses to a nod or a shake or a vague gesture. Midna wouldn't say she was worried about him, though. At least, not out loud.

Besides… She had her own problems. She was literally going blind. The only time she could even open her eyes was around twilight, where it got much sharper.

She'd never had the best eyes. She'd always been incredibly sensitive to bright lights, and she could barely make out the whiteboards in any of her classes. But now, it was almost unbearable. She covered her eyes for the most part, letting Link or Daruk lead her horse while she kept her eyes and skin covered like some kind of mummy.

It was getting colder in the nights, but the days were starting to heat up the further south they went. Their group was getting tired from the days of travel. They'd lost Navi. Both Midna and Sheik were practically useless in the daylight without full coverage. Daruk's face was so dry it began to crack. Aryll was mostly fine beyond the exhaustion that came with unaccustomed travel on horseback and camping on the hard ground each night.

Midna had to hand it to Link, though. He didn't speak much, obviously very anxious about Tetra/Zelda, but he also didn't lose his patience with them. He picked up extra slack without complaint, taking first and last watch alone. When the rest of them stumbled off their horses at the end of the day, Link followed after them to take off saddles and rub down their mounts.

Tonight they reached the Gerudo region. They weren't quite to the sand yet, but the trees had gotten more sparse and the ground rocky and dry. It was only a couple of days' travel from the capital, where Sheik expected Zelda to be held.

"It's getting warmer in the day," Aryll mentioned casually as she unrolled her sleeping bag. "Maybe we could start traveling at night."

Midna scowled at her attempt to accommodate her. "I'm fine," she stressed.

Aryll nodded her head with a raised eyebrow, obviously just humoring her.

Midna growled and took a step forward to make her back off. They glared at each other, but Link stepped between them. Both girls lost interest now that they had someone in between them, so they split off to their respective chores.

Sheik joined her, and they went off in search of food, firewood, and water. It was silent, for a time, with only the scuff of their boots and shift of their jackets to fill the space between them. Then Sheik asked in a quiet voice, "I think we're changing."

"I don't know about you, but my clothes are still on, and they're staying that way." Midna stacked more sticks onto her pile without glancing at him.

Sheik groaned. "No, I mean, I think the whole world is changing. It's getting its magic back, and… and I think we are, too." He kicked the ground. "Look at Navi. She disappeared without a trace. Then Saria shows up out of nowhere and talks to Link. Tell me that isn't magic."

Midna huffed and turned to him, incredulous and frustrated. "Magic, Sheik? Really?"

"It's a royal family secret, but there are still artifacts that have magic," he insisted. "The Master Sword, for instance. I've pulled on it myself. It won't budge."

"I'm not suggesting you're wrong," Midna cut in. "It's not impossible. What I mean is, you want to blame what's happening on magic? My eyes have never been great."

"Have you been able to go out in the sun before?"

She hesitated. "Well…"

"I have. Now I can't. I'm Sheikah, and while we can go out in the sun just fine, Shadow users have a harder time with it."

"So, what? I'm a Shadow user, too?"

Sheik shrugged helplessly. "I couldn't say. I'm just pointing out that I am, and the same thing is happening to you that's happening to me."

"Can you see?"

Sheik didn't answer.

"I thought so. I'm going to be useless in about three days if this keeps up. Shadow user or not, I'm in the process of going blind. I can't function in the daytime. What good is magic if all it does is make us useless?"

"Our bodies are trying to adapt?" he suggested.

"Awesome. I'm all for bending the shadows to my will. But until we can do that, keep the speculation to yourself, kay? Dealing with this is hard enough without your optimism."

Sheik held his hands up in surrender, hiding a smile Midna could clearly see in the dimming light. She wondered why that was - why dim light was crystal clear, and regular brightness fuzzed out her vision like a whited-out photo. But she ignored her musings. She always did.

Her arms filled with branches in minutes, and she held them to her chest as she made her way back to camp. Daruk was pouring water into a cup of soup mix, stirring it with his finger before dumping it into his mouth in one gulp. Aryll was nodding off as she stirred a pot of boiling water, eyes glazed and reflecting the light of their weak fire.

Midna teased the fire higher with more sticks, turning her face away when all the objects in the light of the fire started losing their dimensions. She wandered back out, gathering another small pile of wood before sitting down and leaning against a nearby tree. Her skin was aching, so she unwound her layers and sat in the freezing cold in nothing more than a black tank top.

"Come on, shadows," she spoke to the darkness. "Show me what you're made of."

There was no reply, but Midna didn't care. She hadn't expected anything anyway. She held out her hand instead, watching the dimensions shift in the near-pitch darkness. She wondered if Sheik was right. She felt something new, something dark and cool in the center of her chest, right behind her heart. She felt the shadows shift around her over-sensitive skin in the night, the caress of power that followed her into the forest.

She clenched her hand into a tight fist. "Well?" she snapped. "If you want something from me, you have to ask!" No response. The small girl huffed and sat back. "Don't expect me to blame myself if I don't understand your cryptic signals."

There was silence, and she leaned back. She was so cold, but her skin couldn't bear the feeling of cloth.

She closed her eyes.

She spent so much time trying to see. Straining herself squinting at blurry objects. In the darkness, she didn't need to. And it felt glorious.

Her senses expanded, and she knew without opening her eyes that Sheik had crept silently up to her. She felt his shadow fall over her form, and it was almost tangible. As if she could reach out and take it.

He was speaking. She could feel the vibrations in the air between them, but she couldn't discern his words.

When he shook her shoulders, she forced her eyes open, and she could no longer see. It had finally happened - she was now completely blind.

"Midna!" he shouted. "What's wrong with you? Are you okay?!"

"Twilight," she told him, and allowed the shadows to reach up and swallow her whole.

"Not there… No… Do you feel the insignia? It should feel like a small impression in the stone."

Under Riju's direction, Zelda twisted her finger in the crevice it was buried in, trying to muffle her own grunts as she scraped along the stone for the insignia. She was sweating and exhausted, but she couldn't give up now.

Her fingernail brushed against a smooth line, and Zelda paused, panting. "I think I found it," she gasped out. "What's next?"

"Press it. Gently."

Summoning all her remaining motor control, Zelda flipped her finger around and pressed her fingertip into the insignia, slowly depressing the stone button. It resisted, but Zelda refused to relent. She hadn't been pressed up against this wall searching several different tiny holes in the floor just to give up now.

Please work, please work, she chanted.

Her finger got the button all the way down. A grinding of stone could be heard, and she scrambled back, pressing up against the bars like Mipha and Sidon were. The sound grew in volume until a slab beneath them fell out completely, falling with a mighty splash into the water beneath them.

Riju knew these grounds inside and out. She didn't waste any breath explaining her plan, let alone anything personal about herself, but Zelda instinctively trusted her. The Gerudo girl explained that there was a fail-safe in every cell built nearly two hundred years ago for possible uprisings in the Gerudo monarchy. It had since become a republic, but the old line of past chiefs still knew the old legends.

For whatever reason, Riju's cell either wasn't equipped with one, or she couldn't find the seal. But Zelda was glad for it; no matter how awful it made her, she was thankful the other girl hadn't been able to get out, and so made their own escape possible.

Mipha and Sidon followed Zelda as she felt around the dark, finding the new hole that had been formed. There was no telling how far down the drop was, though Zelda knew it couldn't be more than thirty feet. It ended in water, they knew that much, but what if the stone created a bridge? What if they plummeted into the dark and ended up with a broken foot?

Zelda knew this part was up to her. She focused on her Triforce, willing the light back. Nayru, she prayed, clasping her hands together. I ask for light to guide our way. For wisdom, to guide all of us out of the desert alive.

Warmth filled her chest, and when she opened her eyes, she saw that her Triforce was glowing softly, steadily growing in luminescence. The Hylian Princess held her hand out to the hole, watching the light grow until it hit the stone that had fallen. It had indeed created a bridge in the underground canal, but the drop was no more than Zelda's height, and they would be fine to jump.

Zelda motioned Mipha forward, who held her brother in a tight grip. The pink-haired princess set her brother down, peered into the hole, and shuffled to the edge. Laying flat on her stomach, Mipha swung her legs down and pushed herself to safety. When her feet stayed solid, she held up her hands for Sidon, who jumped into her arms without hesitation.

Once they were down, Zelda held her hand tight to her chest and went back to the little hole they used to speak to Riju. "I'm going down. Be ready, okay?"

"Okay," came the soft reply.

The blonde followed Mipha and her brother down into the canal. As soon as she had her feet planted safely on their little bridge, she willed the light brighter, illuminating the spaces between them.

There were no walkways, but Mipha and Sidon had proved that the water was neither too fast nor too deep for them to wade in. With Sidon's adorable and chivalrous helping hand, Zelda stepped into the water, suppressing a sigh of delight at its chill. But they weren't free yet - Riju was still trapped.

Zelda expanded her light again, searching the ceiling. It was a simple sandstone pattern, arranged in squares. Theirs had been held in place by a pulley system held up by rope that Zelda had severed when she was pushing the button - probably attached to some sharp object.

They found the same apparatus that must've held their own stone up where Zelda calculated Riju's cell was. There had to be a release mechanism; Riju just hadn't found it. Maybe the stone had eroded over time. It was impossible to tell.

"How do we release it?" Mipha asked, her soft voice loudly echoed in the dark cavern. She ran her fingers around the metal contraption, looking for give, but it wouldn't budge.

"We don't have anything sharp, and we're not heavy enough to pull out the rope by hanging on it…" Zelda hummed. "Perhaps we can push it aside?"

With no other options - and unwilling to leave the ally they'd made exchanging whispers in the darkness - the two princesses pulled on the metal beam, trying to force it to swivel away from the rock. Within moments they were panting, and the metal had only budged half an inch. This is taking too long, Zelda panicked.

And then the sound of the door slamming shut reached the three royals. Mipha and Zelda shared a panicked look, and all three scrambled away from their own hole, splashing as quietly as they could. Zelda shoved her hand into her clothes, trying to muffle the light, which mostly worked.

When they heard their cell open, Zelda, Mipha, and Sidon all stopped moving, sliding against the stone wall and holding their breath.

All that could be heard in the pitch cavern was the sound of softly running water and the click of two heels hitting stone. Zelda tried to breathe as quietly as possible. She tracked the intruder as they stepped into the water, and a soft glow of a lantern permeated the darkness.

Don't find us, Zelda chanted, holding Mipha's arm tighter. Don't look this way.

The intruder stepped into their view, the light of the lantern playing along the lines of her face. It was Urbosa - her face drawn tight as she looked both ways through the corridor. She looked up, gauging the contraption above her. Zelda didn't know how to describe the look on the Gerudo's face; was it hard and angry, or thoughtful and calculating? The shadows were playing havoc on Zelda's deduction skills. .

All at once, the tall woman pulled out a curved knife at her belted skirt, flipping the blade in her hand. The metal threw the light of the lantern, and for a moment Zelda could see Mipha's terrified expression.

Then Urbosa reached up and slid her blade between the contraption and the ceiling. It cut cleanly, the sound of snapping rope and raging stone soon following the deceptively casual movement. Urbosa stepped back to avoid the worst of the splash caused by the stone falling, watching the mechanism unfurl with a dispassionate expression.

Nobody moved as Urbosa watched the hole. The lantern flickered in the dark, the only source of movement. Everyone held their breath, feeling the tension build…

Until Riju dropped down onto the stone, breaking through the silence. The girl was tiny, far smaller than Mipha, and only a head or two taller than Sidon (who, to be fair, was tall for his young age). She stood in the light before Urbosa, and the two women locked gazes. "Are you alright?" Urbosa asked, her voice fragmenting as it rang through the cavernous area.

The sound bounced, faded, and settled before Riju nodded.

"Do whatever you can to stay free," Urbosa commanded her. "Leave this desert, and never look back."

Riju sniffled and stepped forward, reaching her arms out for the tall woman. Urbosa conceded, gathering the small girl into a one-armed embrace, holding the lantern away from their combined bodies. "Thank you, Aunt Urbosa."

Urbosa pulled back, smiling, and then looked to Zelda's small group. "I was worried you had left my niece," she teased, though there was a very real current of danger under her feigned amusement. "And you would not have gotten far."

"Aunt!" Riju stepped in front of her, placing her hands on her hips. "Leave them alone!"

"Of course, my little flower." Urbosa ruffled her hair, then let her smile fade into a hard set of determination. "You must flee. Take this waterway to the end. The army uses their own vehicles, so see if you can commandeer some sand seals. Do not get caught again. Dragmire will not let you go so easily."

"You're letting us go?" Zelda asked, stepping closer to their newly-revealed ally.

"Not all of us serve Dragmire willingly," Urbosa stated in a dark voice. "I will distract them as long as I can. Run."

She handed Riju the lantern, but Zelda shook her head, revealing her glowing hand. Urbosa examined Zelda with a hard glare, then nodded. With one last embrace, Urbosa pointed the direction they should head and repeated her command. "Run!"

Mipha, with Sidon wrapped around her torso, and Zelda, holding up her glowing hand, flanked Riju, grabbing at her weak elbows and propelling all of them forward. The cavern filled with the sounds of their hurried splashing.

Urbosa watched as they disappeared into darkness, praying to every Goddess she could name. "Protect them," she whispered into the silence, signed the Triforce on her chest, and turned back to the cells to face what came next.

Link was standing with Aryll, filling their canteens side by side when he felt it happen.

Something irrevocable shifted in the universe, and Link was left stumbling.

"Are you okay?" the younger girl asked, steadying Link's elbow.

His blood raced through his body. He felt each heartbeat in every crevice of his body, up to the tips of his ears. The place of warmth behind his heart shifted, sped up in its pulsing. "She's moving," he muttered. She was running. Her adrenaline was high. It wasn't the same feeling of imminent danger as before, but he could tell she wasn't safe yet.

"Who's moving?" Aryll asked.

"Zelda," Link murmured, and before he could trace his own instincts, he had whistled. He heard Epona rear up, stomping her hooves and beginning to crash through the underbrush towards him.

"What do you mean?" Epona crashed through the trees, dancing in anxiety as she neared her rider. Aryll's voice rose. "What's going on?"

Link thanked Farore that he opted for a drink of water before he went to work on the horses. Epona was still saddled and ready to go. He grabbed at her reins, shoving his newly-filled canteen into the rear saddlebag. "Zelda needs me," he ground out, focused on slipping his boot into the stirrup and lifting himself back on his horse. Aryll still stood in the near darkness, face pale. "I have to go," he told her.

"I can get Sheik…"

"No. I'll be faster alone. Tell him where I went, I'll meet you on the way back."

Link snapped the reins. "Wait!" she cried, stepping towards him, but Epona was already moving.

"Come on girl," Link told Epona, rubbing her mane. The horse knickered, racing through the dark woods. "We can rest later."

The forest swallowed him, and the small green haired girl, a fairy perched on each shoulder, watched him go.

Worth the wait? Huh? Huh?

Yeah, okay. I'm sorry. Goodness, I can't even begin to explain. My passions come and go, and for most of the summer I was bedridden with a broken foot and got wildly addicted to a game called Bravely Default II. Fantastic, by the way, try it out if you think it's your thing. Then I started college again, and when I began getting busy, I began getting creative. It's how I work.

So I wrote the next chapter. Riju and Urbosa have been inserted a little into the plot. Revali, Navi, Mipha, Sidon, and Midna are nearly complete with their transformations, and Link and Zelda will reunite soon. Problems? Questions? Comments? Review. Do it.

Oracle of Hylia: So am I! I love magic, I hope I can make some epic scenes!

Loreseeker: I totally agree. There's this one fanfic I absolutely adore (Hitlist, by zestycruton) that's part of the inspiration behind this fic (though very much different, it has a couple of the same aspects). One of the biggest ideas I had to diverge from this story was to create a return to the races of Hyrule. In Hitlist, they mention that they all became human, but I figured, hey? Why not change em back? And thus: ideas began to form.

James Birdsong: Thank you!

Random Norwegian (X3): Sorry to keep you waiting. To answer your first question, the Link I'm using is most closely resembling the BotW Link, with the hairstyle of Skyward Sword. It's how I imagine him the best. Zelda is more like a very blonde Twilight Princess Zelda. I'm not super specific on their details, because I like the readers having the freedom to use the Link and Zelda appearance they like best. For the other characters, though, I'm a bit more specific in order to explain what they look like as humans. For the second question, I have a very, very intense story behind Link's parents (remember, Aryll is in this fic too!) that I'm waiting for the right time to reveal. No, there won't be a secret society. It would've been a cool aspect, but I would have to restructure the plot around it. Instead, the Hero is a bit revered, but not quite believed, story that all Hylians are aware of. His equipment will have stories behind it as well!

Finally, sorry about the real life issues getting in my way. I'm not one to leave things unfinished, but I do have ups and downs with my different passions. I reread my fanfic, and then I get an idea of where I am and where to go from there. Reviews help, since I check every once in a while, and if I see people are still interested in my fic, I get interested in it myself. I'm a total review addict, I'm not ashamed to say.

Til next time!