With a final "Phoosh!" the Yiga detonated his explosive so as not to be taken alive. It had barely been two months since the defeat of the Calamity, and the Yiga had already recovered from the death of their Dark Lord. The first attack since the battle on Hyrule Field had only occurred the day before yesterday, and now other clansmen around the kingdom were taking up their weapons once again. Link didn't know why, but he had a gut feeling that something was coming. He had encountered Yiga several times, but these attacks were different. Usually, Link would walk up to a traveler in distress, only for them to use a smoke bomb and change into a crimson red suit. Now, an assassin would simply charge at him with a demon carver, with no thought of stealth. He could always handle them of course, but it was unsettling to know that he could be walking to kakariko to see Zelda, only to be jumped, stabbed, and never see her again. This time, he was taking the weekend off at Eventide Island, swimming in the crystal waters, when there came the sound of laughing as an arrow pierced his forearm, another landing beside it in the water. He turned his head to the shore, only to see smoke.

TWANG! Link jerked to the left as more arrows hit the water where he had been. He needed to make it to shore. He was in nothing but his boxers, and his clothes were on the sand next to the Master Sword and Hylian Shield. He made a break for shore, trying to reach his armor. He got to the shallows relatively quickly, but was completely out of breath. Panting, he dove in the shallow waters to the sand below, avoiding another volley. He could stand now, and, using a combination of swimming and sprinting, madeit to master sword. Focusing, he used a beam attack at a tree just before the archer appeared in front of it. He flew back, hitting the tree and dropping his bow. He hit the ground leaning against the trunk, dazed. Before he could regain his footing, Link charged him, holding the Hylian shield, slamming him back into the tree, causing the leaves to fall. Link dropped the shield and grabbed his foe by the scarf, pulling him off the ground and up to eye level, or at least where he thought the man's eyes were behind his mask.

"Kohga is dead. I destroyed Ganon. You have no reason to keep fighting. Why are the Yiga back?" Link said in a gruff voice, trying to intimidate him. More questions erupted from his mouth.

" Who are you working for now? How did you find me?"

The man seemed to relax, and he cocked his head to the side. "So many questions. You seem unsure of so many things. Have you lost yourself, Hero? Have these days of peace bored you?"

Link shook the assassin, and asked again. "What. Do. You. Want." It was almost like a statement.

Laughing, the man looked down. "You are not so different from us. You live for war. Your destiny was to fight, to kill. You are just as much a monster as the Guardians that killed you on Blatchery Plain. You just can't bear to live now that you've fulfilled your purpose. You yearn for the thrill of battle, the spilling of blood. You live to ki-"

Link punched him, shattering a piece of the mask and knocking him into the sand. Closing his eyes, he said " Zelda is my purpose. She always has been, she always will be. I don't live to kill, or kill to live, I live for her. I kill for her. I am nothing like you." He grabbed the Yiga again, but stopped. He went to look him in the eye, but saw that he had none. The assassin grabbed Link's arm.

"This is the price of loyalty we pay to the dark lord. We need not our sight, for his darkness fulfills us. He guides us. He showed us where to find you. Whatever you tell yourself, your purpose will always be to cause pain. But fear not, for you days of peace will soon end. And soon, you will feel all the pain you have brought, a thousand fold." He let go, and detonated his contingency bomb, blowing himself up. Link stood, and winced as he pulled the arrow from his arm. Donning the Champions Tunic and his Hylian trousers, he walked back to the hut he had built on where the old Boko fort once stood. He packed his things into two wooden chests and lugged them to his boat. It was bigger than a raft, but still relatively small. It had a single cabin, above deck, with crawl space below deck barely big enough to fit his luggage. He had wanted to name it the Wooden Rupee, but Zelda convinced him to name it something else. He settled on the windfish, based on a dream he once had. After securing the chests, he fastened the sail before grabbing an oar and pushing off the sandbar. A blast from a Korok leaf was all it took to direct it into the current qand towards Hateno Beach. He climbed to the top of the cabin and reached for the Sheikah Slate, only to remember that Zelda had it. He was still getting used to that. Retrieving a small telescope from his pouch, he looked at the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab in the distance. Impa and Zelda had finally convinced him to take a break from storming the last of the Lynel dens, and he was already heading back home. Zelda was always concerned for him, and he didn't want to worry her again. But this time, it was urgent. He couldn't afford to take the weekend off. He had to warn them. He had to warn his princess.

As soon as he began to pick up speed, Link was nearly knocked off the boat by a rock. Grabbing pulling himself back up over the rail, he saw something he could not believe. As the wind ceased, and the boat came to a halt, Link beheld what must have been hundreds of water Octorocks surrounding his vessel. And mixed in with them were more than a few Golden Lizalfos. More rocks came straight at the boat, as Link frantically used Daruk's Protection to shield himself. Within seconds, it had been used up and the Link was hit square in the chest with a boulder. He fell down onto the deck below earning himself a few more bruises. Standing up, he unsheathed the Master Sword from his back as a Lizalfos jumped onto the Windfish. He charged it, dodging a swipe from it's boomerang before darting in to slash it in half. Suddenly, another Lizalfos had boarded and tried to tackle him into the water. He easily evaded it's attack and stabbed it in the back of the head. As more of the beasts continued to climb aboard, Link dodged and struck back in a fraction of a second. Before they even landed on the wooden deck, they were dead.

CRACK!

A rock had snapped the mast in half, and Link watched as another smashed through the cabin, shattering the windows and whatever else he had inside. Sheathing his sword, he opened the crawl space. Link retrieved his crates full of things and threw them into the water. But before he could jump in himself, an octorok as large as the ship itself jumped out of the water, launching an enormous boulder at the ship. Faster than he could think, Link was thrown into the water as the ship disappeared into shards of wood. Unconscious, Link drifted in the currents toward Hyrule.

Link awoke groggily in a small bed. Looking around, he was confused to find he was in a small hut and one of his arms was wrapped in bandages. Shifting his weight and sitting up, he remembered what had happened.

He had woken up covered in sand and seawater on a small beach. Judging by the large cliff in the distance, he guessed he was south of Lurelin village. Furth up the beach, he could see two small chests surrounded by a red and blue Bokoblin. Standing up, He reached for the Master Sword, only to find an empty sheath on his back. He looked around him, but found it nowhere. A glint of silver caught his eye. A Bokoblin had it in his claws. It was inspecting the blade when the sun reflected off of it. Startled, the creature panicked and dropped it, kicking it away. It went back to toying with its own traveller's sword. The other Bokoblin was beginning to eat an apple it had found in the box, and seemed distracted. Grabbing a rock, Link charged at the pair, smashing in the skull of the red Boko before it could attack him with the traveler's sword . The blue one dropped it's apple, and retrieved a boko horn from it's sash.

Oh no, thought Link, realizing his mistake. As he went to silence the Bokoblin, it blew it's horn. As the rock connected with the creature , three others emerged from behind a nearby palm tree. Throwing the rock, he killed another red Boko. Before jumping backwards, narrowly avoiding a Dragonbone club colliding with his head. There were two gold Bokoblins in front of him. One held a fishing harpoon, the other a club and shield reinforced with the bones of ancient beasts. Stepping backwards a few steps, he stopped and grinned at them once he felt something under his boot. He kicked his foot forwards, sending the sword of the first red boko flying out from under the sand. It penetrated the shield, stabbing the monster in the arms. It dropped it's club and hopped and down clutching it's arm. He quickly dove forward, grabbing the Master Sword and the club. He deflected a jab from the harpoon with the club while spinning and decapitating the already injured shield bearer with his sword. Turning back his attention to the remaining creature, it took a step back before making a run for it. Hoisting the club over his head, he threw it with expert precision from years of training. It collided with the enemies head in the distance, and he could hear a faint thump of a body hitting the sand. He knew it wasn't dead, just unconscious, and that he should probably finish it off, but he was still sore from his earlier fight. Turning back to his ransacked luggage, he haphazardly shoved his belongings back inside before draggin the chests across the beach and towards Lurelin. Before long, however, he collapsed from exhaustion. Hee could see the lights of the gate to the village just a few yards away, but he couldn't keep trudging through the sands with what was likely a few broken bones. As he passed out, he saw a figure walk out from under the arch and toward him as his eyelids dropped.

And now, he was in what was presumably that figure's house, and perhaps his off the mattress, he was reminded he no longer had the ability of the Champions now that their spirits were at rest. He sat back down dizzily as he clutched his head.

"Must..Have a concussion." Link said to himself.

"HAD a concussion, my young friend!" Link nearly jumped onto the rafters from the sudden voice. In the doorway to the room he lay in, was the village elder, Rozel.

"It has already healed?" He said in amazement. He knew Rozel was good, but not THAT good.

"After four hours of rest, combined with my elixirs, you should be good as new! However, you may still have a slight headache from the trauma. You will need to keep that wound on your arm patched up as well." The old man replied, looking as though he had failed a test.

"Thank you! I didn't know you could work magic like this!" Link said, laughing.

"Oh please. It's nothing but a little science is all. So what exactly happened to you? You didn't try to sail on the high seas in a boat of that size, did you?"

"On the contrary. I was sailing towards Hateno Bay through the Necluda Sea when a swarm of Octoroks and Lizalfos ambushed me. I fought off some of the Lizards, but those stupid Octoroks were tearing the ship apart. I tried to dive off the boat, but there was this huge one that sent me flying. I guess I blacked out after that." Link replied. He got up again, this time not as quickly, and put on his boots before heading for the door.

"I put your things on the porch out there. The chests were pretty worn down, so I replaced them with some that my daughter made. I hope you don't mind." Rozel said with a warm smile.

On the porch, he saw two black leather satchels, as well as a large saddle bag. Each was decorated with wavy lines around the rims, and the traditional Luelin spiral in the center. The saddle bag also had what looked to be stylized representations of scales sewn on the fabric. Next to them was his Master Sword. Hoisting the satchels over his shoulders, he grabbed the saddle bag and began to walk towards the village exit.

"Oh, and one more thing!" Royel came down the porch steps. He whistled, and his son, Rhodes, came around the back of the house with a grey-brown horse.

"I am well aware that you travel quite often on horseback, and seeing that you are without a steed, my son has offered to lend you his horse, Cliff."

"Thank you so much. I am in debt to you and your village for this hospitality." Taking the horse by the reins, he finished," I will treat you companion with care, and will see to it he finds his way back here." Link said with a grin. He saw a relieved expression cross Rhodes's face, but he quickly regained his composure. He spurred on liff, and put a hand in the air to signal goodbye as he began the long journey from Lurelin to Kakariko Village.

When he reached the Lakeside Stable, he swapped out cliif for Epona. He paid a traveller there to take Cliff back to Rozel, as they were already headed there. With that settled, Link hopped on Epona, stroking her white mane before spurring her on through the deep, tropical woods of the Faron region. Two days later, he found himself once again staring in awe at the Dueling Peaks as he passed underneath them. Legends said that a dragon split the mountain, but most didn't believe creatures of that magnitude could exist. Link, however, knew differently. He was well aware of the strength a beast of that size possessed. And what would happen if you got too close. He stopped at the stable there, and bought a few arrows from Beedle before his transaction was interrupted by somebody bursting in. They were panting, covered in dirt and blood, and worst of all, missing an arm.

"Please, help! Somebody help me!" The man said, sinking to his knees. Link rushed over,catching the man before he fell on his side. And then he saw who he held. Then he took more notice of the man's clothes. He was wearing the traditional Sheikah attire common at Kakariko.

Steen, thought, horrified at what had happened to the man.

"What happened to you!?" Link said, trying to comfort the man while other travellers ran to get medical supplies.

"Y-Yi-Yiga," Steen said, stuttering through the pain, as a man arrived with bandages "Hundreds of them… They… The village…"

He grabbed Link's shoulder with his arm.

"P-Please, the village… You must… Please… Sto-" He passed out from the pain.

"Will you look after him?" Link asked the man.

"O-of course!"

He ran to Epona, and rode full speed towards the Sheikah settlement. He was pushing his companion to her limit, but she didn't seem to care. It was like she knew the importance of speed. At full throttle, Link thundered over Kakariko Bridge, Epona's horse shoes clattering against the stone. He placed a hand on the hilt of the Master Sword, ready to strike anything in his way. He would fulfill his duty, no matter the cost. Passing through the small pass, he saw a dead sheikah under the gate. He kept going. When he reached the village he jumped over the fence on his loyal steed, coming to a halt in what was left of the plum garden.

Everything was in flames. The shops, the houses, everything. And amidst the flames, Yiga. As Steen said, there must have been hundreds of them. Spying a foot soldier poised over an old couple, he kicked his heels into Epona as he drew his blade. He decapitated the soldier before he could notice him, and kept going straight into a blademaster, ramming him with Epona and onto the ground. He lept off, stabbing the man in the heart. Standing up straight, he took a battle stance as the army noticed him. He placed one foot behind him, tense. He shifted his foot slightly, and picked a target.

WOOSH!

He stood where the soldier had been, his enemy dead behind him. Then, he charged again. Like lightning, he struck down dozens more soldiers. He felt like he was on fire. He felt invincible. A Blademaster ran at him, but he didn't stand a chance. Leaping over the windcleaver, he dispatched him with a single stab to the head. The mask clattered to the ground, exposing the eyeles man's face as his body dropped. The other Yiga, though they didn't seem scared, began to disperse in clouds of smoke. However, there was still a small concentration of what looked like blademasters outside Impa's house. He rushed to the stairs, stopping for a moment when he noticed the bodies of Cado and had a single arrow in each eye. Dorian was covered in stabs and cuts, a windcleaver impaling him against the arch outside Impa's residence. And next to Dorian, was Impa, still clutching an eightfold longblade. She had dozens of arrows in her, but he could tell that hadn't stopped her. What had stopped her was the cut on her throat. At her feet was the corpse of a stange Yiga. Without time to mourn his friends and comrades, he walked up the stairs filled with rage. His knuckles must have been white against the hilt of the Blade of Evil's Bane. There were eight Yiga ahead, and they looked different than the others, with all black suits with bright red trimming. They had capes draped over their left shoulders, made of the same material as the scarves worn by foot soldiers. They looked like the body near Impa. One of them had a full cape, made of a deep crimson fabric, as though he were the leader. Now that he looked at him, he liked more feminine. The men were using their windcleavers in an attempt to cut down the doors, as the leader watched. He held his hand in the air as Link approached, and the assault stopped. Turning, the blademasters prepared to strike. Their leader turned as well. Facing them, Link could see one of their masks had eye holes.

So maybe they aren't totally insane. Or maybe they just have a brain.

"I see you have arrived." It was a smooth voice, seemingly coming from the leader

So it's a woman

"All the better." She snapped her fingers and the others charged. Link dodged an air slash, and replied with a beam from the Master Sword, which was skillfully dodged He pivoted on his heels and parried an enemy blade, pushing the man back and nearly cutting him in half before he flipped backwards. Two more swordsmen attacked, fighting in unison. Link was hard pressed, but managed to roll under an attack and take an attacker down.

Only 7 left

He locked blades again, before unleashing a flurry of strikes. Somehow, none of them landed.

Guess I'll need to fight dirty.

He kicked the man's knee, causing him to bend down. He acted swiftly, removing his head. The others seemed to regroup, like they were surprised he had eliminated two of them. One more leapt into the air, swinging his blade down. Link jumped out of the way, and went to return with stab to the back, but was forced to roll backwards onto the ground. Standing, he realized he was not in a good position. The blademaster was blocking escape down the stairs, and the others were behind him on the porch. He closed his eyes and stood straight, gripping the Master sword with two hands. He spun around and stabbed behind him, and took his assailant down with a blow to the chest. They dropped in front of him.

"I'm impressed. You have proven yourself worthy of your life. For now. WE shall meet again soon, Hero." The woman said the word Hero almost mockingly. He turned.

"Until then."

Link rushed at her exposed back, only to cleave through a cloud of smoke. He used a beam from the Master Sword to blow down the doors, and rushed into the house. His head swiveled, but no one was to be found. He ran upstairs, and was relieved to hear familiar voices.

"Link!" Paya and Zelda said, running out of the closet. Paya threw her eightfold blade to the floor. Zelda was still holding the Royal Broadsword Link had made for her as she embraced him. Paya stood, watching, her eyes filled with gratitude and sorrow.

"What the hell happened here?"

"Th-they- we c-couldn't stop them. We weren't prepared." Paya hung her head.

"They attacked out of nowhere. The guards tried to fight back, but.. There were too many of them. Impa told us to hide, and she went to fight."

"Even at her age, my grandmother is a demon in combat. No doubt she helped you clear the village with ease. I bet she's lecturing those cowards right now." Paya said with a small smile, and looked at Link. he wouldn't meet her eyes.

"L-link… where.. D-did she.." Her voice trailed off as the realization hit her. She sank to her knees, sobbing. Zelda put a hand over her shoulder, tears streaming her face.

"She was dead when I got here, but… I could tell she put up a hell of a fight. There were these blademasters that looked different than the others, and I could barely kill some of them, but from the looks of it she took one down all by herself."

"That's Grandma for you."

"Link, how did you know to come here?" Zelda asked.

" I was attacked by a Yiga all the way out on Eventide a few days ago. He said some weird things, so I thought I should warn you."

"A few days ago? Why did you take so long? Why were you on vacation? If you were here, Grandma would still be alive! Curse you, you selfish jerk!" Paya yelled through tears. He had never seen her like this.

"I know. Im sorry. I should have been here."

"Sorry? Sorry? That doesn't matter! Sorry won't bring her back!" She stormed past Link and went downstairs, where he had her flop onto one of Impa's pillows, bawling.

"This is my fault Zelda. I shouldn't have taken this vacation. I had been going to Hateno Bay, but on my way back, my ship was attacked by Octoroks, and I washed ashore near Lurelin. I've been riding since then. I'm sorry." He sat down on Paya's bed and put his fingers on his temples.

"Link…" He could tell she didn't know what to say.

Standing up, he sheathed his blade and took a deep breath.

"For now, I'll take you and Paya to Hateno Village. We can plan ahead from there." He took gently took Zelda's hand and led her downstairs, where she went to Paya.

"Paya… I know what it's like to lose everyone you love, and I know how you must feel. But, I had Link. And I want you to know that you have us. Link is taking us Hateno for now, so grab whatever you need and meet us outside. Ok?" She smiled. Paya lifted her head and nodded.

As he turned to leave with Zelda, Paya said "Zelda, will you help me grab some things?"

"Sure! I'd love to."

Link went outside and down the stairs, but stopped to examine the body of one the strange Yiga. He lifted the mask, and sure enough, there were eyes. He seemed to be wearing white face paint over his whole face. He pulled the mask back down, respecting the man's little honor despite their differences. Zelda and Paya exited the house, Zelda carrying a small bag while Paya clutched A Sheikah necklace. Zelda pulled out the Sheikah Slate and summoned the Master Cycle Zero for Link, while she climbed onto Epona. Paya lingered a bit, standing over her grandmother's body. She leaned down, retrieving her sword, before kissing her forehead and closing her eyes. She took one last look at her home, before sitting behind Zelda. Link started his bike and Zelda followed on Epona with Paya. Paya said goodbye to her burning village behind her, as she fell asleep, her head resting on Zelda's shoulder. Zelda herself was stifling tears. And Link hung his head in shame for not being able to protect one of his closest friends.

NOTE: This is my first fan-fiction, and I apologize if things do not flow very well. With the current Covid-19 situation, things have been stressful, and I am working on an actual book right now as well. If you are wondering what will come next, there will be large scale battles, major character deaths, SMUT, and some other surprises.