As promised, here's the first chapter of the next installment. This one will have many BoTW references as well as TP references. And after seeing the first trailer of the next Zelda title, I've been inspired to go ahead and also made me wonder if they'll ever make a sequel to Twilight Princess…It's like that game gets no love…Seriously, it left on a cliffhanger. Like, what happened to Link after the Mirror of Twilight shattered and he left Ordon? I want to know, Nintendo!

Er, anywho, here's the first chapter. As usual, no ideas are mine…except maybe the idea of character last names.

-miano53

"In the past seven years, the Hyrulian Empire has expanded to include much of Holodrum in its borders. Sunken City was the first to fall during the light of the 1st Blood Moon seven years ago. Led by General Onox and using the Vah Medoh, Hyrulian forces decimated the city and they quickly moved in, bringing another victory for the empire. They then headed north to Mount Cucco and south to the Woods of Winter. Beyond it was the Samasa Desert and all three locations were controlled by the empire before long. Now, who can tell me the capital of Holodrum?"

"Horon City?"

"That's correct. The republic of Holodrum's capital is located on its southern coast and well-guarded by a terrific military, mixed with humans, Zoras and Subrosians. They've also created their own versions of the Divine Beasts, but I'm sure that ours will topple theirs soon."

-a teacher in Hylia City

Chapter One: Observations

"Observations: Year 1015, 10th month of Fado, 12th day..."

"Subject seems to be stable, but feral. Many of our attempts to speak with him end in failure and he does nothing but sit in a corner all day. Lady Impa wishes for us to continue reaching out to him, but I don't see what else we can do. We've tried giving him different foods, which he'll only eat raw meats. We've tried getting him to bathe, but he refused, lashing out and nearly clawing Talon's eye out. We've even tried giving him toys to play with, like a ball, and he just stared at it like it was foreign. I don't know what else, but this seems like a lost cause. Seriously, what is Aunt Impa thinking, keeping this feral kid here? He's no use to the empire. If anything he's a danger to everyone else and himself. But orders are orders."

"Lady Paya Kaji, 2nd Research Assistant of Northern Palace"

Paya, the white-haired niece to Lady Impa, looked through the observation window of a patient's room at Sunnyside Hospital. She was told by Lady Impa that the boy was found unconscious in the palace courtyard. The guards thought him a threat and was ready to execute, but Lady Impa stopped him before anything could happen.

As she wrote notes, Paya saw the small little thing. He looked to be about seven years old and had a head of thick, red hair. His skin was tan, like a Gerudo's, but Paya knew he was a half-breed based on how his eyes and nose were, reddish in color and small like a Hylian's. Scars were over his left eye, bare chest, back and arms. It looked like he was stitched back together, like a rag doll.

He sat in the middle of the room, never going to the bed to his left or the toy box on the right wall. Osfala had suggested giving the boy toys, but he paid no attention to it. They even tried going into the room, showing him how to play, but the boy immediately became violent, nearly biting Paya's hand after she tried to give him a small blue ball with a star on it. He did the same when they tried to give him new clothes, as all the boy wore was black, torn pants. He also smelled, like he hadn't been introduced to a shower, like ever.

Paya and Osfala refused to reenter the room, seeing it useless as the boy would attack and then withdraw into himself after they left. So, staying outside and observing through the window was better. Much, much better and safer, Paya thought.

"Um, what'cha doin'?"

The Sheikah saw one of the princesses, Urbosa, suddenly appear. The ten-year-old wasn't supposed to be in a place like that as she was seen as the "spare" to the empire, her 11-year-old sister Riju being the newly named heir. She didn't seem to care about her status and had a penchant for exploring places without her guards. Paya couldn't sense any nearby and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I heard about that Gerudo half-breed the guards found. I wanted to see if he's okay," Urbosa told her.

"He's fine. He's just not talking with anyone right now," Paya told her.

The child hopped up and down, trying to reach the upper observation window and not seeing the one a bit lower for their much shorter staff. When she did, the girl looked miffed and slid the covering down. She then saw the boy, rocking back and forth in the room and not calm at all.

"What's with him?" Urbosa asked.

"Well…we don't know. All we know is that he's feral," Paya replied.

Urbosa gave her a questioning look and Paya explained, "Feral, meaning 'animal-like.' He doesn't trust anyone and I doubt he'll want to anytime soon. He was probably raised by animals or someone treated him like that his whole life. But those scars. It's like he's been in several fights…or an explosion…or something."

"Yeah, he kinda looks like Mom's old dolls, the ones she had to sew back together a lot. She gave one to me, but I gave it to Irene," Urbosa said.

The boy groaned and turned in the direction of the door. He saw Urbosa and the girl saw him. Within seconds, he collapsed on his side, screaming and holding his head.

"Oh no! What's wrong?" the girl asked.

Paya took her Sheikah Slate, alerting Osfala and available staff on what was happening. As she did, she didn't seem to notice that Urbosa took her keys and opened the door. When she did, Paya screamed, "No, no! Come back here!"

Urbosa slid down to his side, grabbed him and hugged him for comfort. He kept screaming and Urbosa told him, "It's okay. It's okay. Paya's going to find some help."

He gave her a throaty growl, pushing her away and rushing to a far corner in the room. Sharp teeth bared and hands claws, the boy was trembling, as if he didn't want to attack. Paya was about to enter to pull Urbosa out, but the girl stopped her, saying, "Hey. Hey. It's okay. We're not going to hurt you."

The child kept growling and his ruby eyes had severe distrust and hatred. Not taking her eyes off of him, Urbosa headed for the toy box. Taking out a small horse plushie, Urbosa said, "Hey, hey, hey. It's okay. Look at this."

The boy crawled towards her, looking more like a beast as his muscle mass increased and his hair had started to look even more wild than before. His chest heaved up and down, still growling and shaking as he cautiously approached.

"Yeah, see? This is a horse. A H-O-R-S-E. Horse. My uncle's got a black Gerudo stallion," Urbosa told him.

The feral child lunged at her, biting the plushie and running back to the corner with it in his teeth. He started tearing it apart and Paya grabbed Urbosa and snatched her out of the room. Slamming it closed and locking it, the Sheikah said, "Don't ever do that again!"

"What? I thought I could get through to him and I almost did!" Urbosa yelled.

"Just wait until your uncle hears about this," Paya told her.

The girl grumbled, muttering, "He was almost lucid…"

"Observations: Year 1016, 2nd month of Oren, 2nd day…"

"Subject seems to respond to Urbosa's visits. He even responds positively when she and her sister, Lady Riju, stand near the door. Lady Paya has ordered for the door to remain close until sedation gas puts down the subject. Mostly for room cleaning and health exams. Food is to be slid into the slot near the upper observation window and the subject will only eat raw meats. Lady Urbosa insists that we stop and start giving him foods that 'civilized' peoples eat. But he'll only refuse and making patients like that angry isn't a good idea. He reminds me of that boy, Link, as he had went feral a few times in our care."

"Osfala Lumen, psychiatrist and 1st Assistant Researcher"

Riju, staring through the window at the boy, looked to Urbosa and asked, "Um, is it just me or is he getting worse?"

Urbosa stared and nodded. Osfala, the one who helped Impa with Link, looked at the boy and told them, "He'll still need your support. He has started reacting positively to your presence, Highnesses."

The boy, with his red hair down to his shoulders and much bushier, crawled around aimlessly. His room was utterly messy and the white walls were covered with claw marks. There were even some on the ceiling and Riju wondered how that got there. Urbosa said, "Um, he wasn't like this yesterday."

"Yeah, we don't know exactly what happened. But the nurses noticed that he's been like this since you left. He thrashed around, destroyed his room and we can't get in close to clean it up," Osfala told the sisters.

"Has he eaten?" Riju asked.

"No. He sent the tray of food flying. See?" Osfala said, pointing at a food-stained corner.

The boy curled up into a ball, breathing heavily and shaking. Feeling sorry, Riju asked, "Um, Urbosa, can you contact him?"

"Nope. I've tried that the first time I got here. His mind…well, it seems like he doesn't have one," Urbosa said.

"Whoa, how can that happen? Everyone has a mind," Riju asked.

"You can check if you don't believe me," Urbosa told her.

Riju stared at the boy and placed her fingers on the sides of her temple. She found it helpful to do that, to concentrate with her telepathy. But Urbosa and others found it silly.

Forgetting about what her younger sister thought, Riju tried calling out to him. Her first try was only silence. The second try, she could hear the faint sound of someone calling her. She tried a third and the faint sound turned to a vicious snarl. It was accompanied by the image of a Wolfos lunging at her and the girl fell to the floor, interrupting her telepathy.

"What happened? What did you do?" Urbosa asked.

Osfala gasped, seeing the boy violently contort and Riju said, "I was just calling out to him to see if he'll snap out of it."

"Oh no. Oh gods. What is happening…?" Osfala said.

Shadows gathered and they looked like something the trio only heard in old tales. The shadows, blood red and black in color, looked like something called "Malice". Like Twilight, it was a shadowy substance that mutated anything it touched. It came from the Dark Realm and the only dark creatures and spawns of Blood Moons produced it. Since the disappearance of the clouds that hung over Hyrule for 1,000 years, Malice and Twilight mingled constantly, emboldened monsters and mutating wildlife. There were also rumors that the empire had started to experiment with it, but…

"Only rumors. Uncle wouldn't let them do that. Especially not on…" Riju said with confidence.

A loud bang and the trio saw a dark claw on the glass. It slid down, leaving behind claw marks and low growling was heard behind the door. Another bang and a voice said, "Do not open the door. Releasing sleeping gas."

A blue and purple mist filled the chamber and coughing was heard. Osfala saw Talon and the other nurses, along with some guards, rush to the chamber. The guards took away the princesses and Osfala pleaded with those that remain not to hurt the patient.

"Observations: Year 1018, 5th month of Saria, 25th day…"

"It's been two years since the boy's transformation into a Wolfos. It seems that the rumors of Koume and Kotake experimenting on the populace was true as he's one of the many that we've seen suddenly change to monstrous forms during the Blood Moon two years ago. Unlike the others, he has no control over it and doesn't appear that he wants to. The ones that have learned to control their monstrous tendencies and forms have been assigned to Shadow Corps positions and even roles in the military, to Onox and Kohga's delight."

"I'm certain this is an omen, a terrible one as Heika never thought to do such a thing. That or he just doesn't know. He has been in the middle of teaching and training both Ladies Urbosa and Riju for running the empire. So maybe he's oblivious. But he can't possibly be that bad."

"Lady Impa Kaji, leader of His Majesty's guard…"

"Ggg-grr…ggraah…" the shadowy Wolfos snarled, slashing at nothing in its cage.

It had been moved to the underground dungeons two years ago after Paya and Osfala saw that it was one of the rumored test subjects. Impa didn't want to believe it, believing that the twins would never do such a thing, especially since they used to be both Heika's nursemaids and doctors that served in the palace. When brought to the Council, the twins had said that they were spurred on by Yuga and Chancellor Cole. Chancellor Cole denied it and Yuga told them that it was better than using normal soldiers. Onox became intrigued, but made them swear not to tell Heika and Impa was sworn to secrecy.

She hated it, but that was the nature of her job and tribe. They had to keep some things out of their master's ears. But, this was a grave matter as it concerned his subjects. If they had their way, Hyrule would be filled with monster-people. And that will only make such a blessed place turn into a hellish prison for those that refused to turn.

She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't.

"Grr…h-hah…"

The Wolfos stopped in front of the cage, staring at Impa. It tilted its head and tried reaching out to her with a paw. Impa didn't back away and knelt to its level. The monster sniffed her and took a few steps backwards, as if she smelled bad.

Impa checked herself and asked, "Huh. Do I offend?"

"Ah…aah…Ee-eem…Ee-em-pah…pah…grr…"

Impa saw it lunge at her, slamming its head into the barred door. It then latched its maw around a bar, pulling at it in an attempt to escape. Impa then told it, "It's no use. The bars are made from Goron iron. Very strong."

The beast snarled again and kept trying to break it. To Impa's surprise, the steel had started to bend. Putting a hand on the naginata on her back, Impa was ready to defend herself. The shadows surrounded the Wolfos and the dungeon started to violently shake. Rocks surrounded it as its eyes went from red to yellow. The veins within it began to glow with the same color and the light became blinding.

Impa covered her face, holding the naginata in a defensive posture and the sound of bars breaking and falling was heard. The Sheikah was knocked to the floor and she held the naginata up as the Wolfos had attacked, biting the pole weapon and trying to get it out her hands. Impa kneed it in the stomach, but the Wolfos wasn't fazed.

"Get off of me!" Impa yelled.

She turned, wrenching the weapon out of the beast's mouth and performed a swift swing. The dull edge of the naginata struck the Wolfos in the head, sending it tumbling away. Impa got up and went into her battle stance. The Wolfos staggered a bit, shaking its head and whimpering.

"EEmm-PAGHgrr!"

The Wolfos jumped again and Impa sidestepped out of the way as it slid to a stop, nearly hitting the wall. It looked around in confusion and saw its cage at the nearby corner Turning, it saw Impa, still battle ready, and whimpered. Impa didn't fall for it and remained ready to fight.

Howling, the shadows around the monster spread everywhere. Some surrounded Impa but dared not try to engulf her. The shadows fled, seeping into the corners and floor, and it was accompanied by sounds of bones snapping together, skin ripping and muscles rapidly popping. The Wolfos grew taller within the shadows and collapsed onto the floor.

It morphed, changing from lupine to humanoid in a matter of seconds. Long red hair cascaded down his back, tan skin was marred by scars and he was quite tall, in the range of an average Gerudo voe, not a Hylian. He was also lean built, like a fighter. With a groan, he slowly got up, and Impa pulled out a cloak from hammerspace, the shadowy pocket dimension used by many warriors the world over for item storage.

Covering him with it, Impa didn't move as the youth jolted and swiftly backed away, hitting the wall. He held onto the cloak like it was a security blanket and shivered violently as he wasn't wearing anything. Thankfully, Impa had the cloak in hammerspace, to give him some form of decency.

Staring at her with reddish-hazel eyes, he looked her over and said something in the Gerudo dialect, something that Impa didn't quite catch. His language usage was quite gruff and somewhat outdated, with Impa only picking up the words "Vaba" meaning "grandma." So, she asked, "Do you speak Hylian?"

"Hy…li…an?" he asked, quickly reverting to the other language.

'This isn't good. Not at all. I need a translator or…' Impa thought.

"Whoa! That's the old way of speaking! I never knew someone else knew the old Gerudo dialect!"

The two voices came from the Sheikah Stone around Impa's neck and it was Urbosa and Riju. The girls, now ages 13 and 14, started asking the youth questions. Impa couldn't pick up much, only getting whenever they asked about his name, where he was from, what clan and how old he was. The youth responded and Riju said, "Uh, Impa. He says that he doesn't remember his name, or his clan, but he's from Samasa Desert. And he says that he's old enough to be our big brother."

"Yeah, he looks like it. Do ya think Uncle'll help him out?" Urbosa asked.

"No way. He's probably gonna get hauled off to Onox's unit, with a dark power like that…" Riju told her.

Impa sighed, asking, "Girls. Can you please ask him if he remembers anything from two years ago?"

They did and the youth was confused. He tilted his head and Riju translated, telling her, "He says he doesn't remember anything before you put that cloak on him. And he wants to know who you are."

"Then translate what I'm about to say," Impa ordered.

Urbosa did and Impa hoped she was introducing her to the youth. The redhead gave a small look of concern that quickly changed to understanding. He smiled and said, "Sarqso."

"So'vasaaq," Impa said, understanding that he told her "Thank you."

"Observations: Year 1020, ninth month of Darmani, 13th day…"

"The boy, calling himself Hasan, has apparently improved in leaps and bounds. He is Gerudo, more like a half-breed, and he came from the Samasa Desert in Holodrum. He also has the power to move the earth, varying from small rocks to lifting up giant boulders. The dark power given to him by the Blood Moon still serves to be something he still has to control. During the times of the Blood Moon, he's locked away until he controls it. But sometimes his quarantine lasts for days…until Lady Urbosa or Riju come to calm him down.

General Onox wishes to use the boy for that ever growing army of monster-people. But, I do not think it is such a good idea. During the lapses in Blood Moons, he is quite docile and even a pacifist. Nothing like the ones that have control over their monstrous forms. But when he turns, he is uncontrollable, not useful during wartime missions or raids. Hopefully Kohga, Cole and Veran will see my point of view and keep him out of such things. Maybe even have him as protector of Riju and Urbosa. When he's in control of himself…"

"Lady Maud Nachel, Minister of the Arts"

"Sav'otta, Vaba," the twenty-year-old Hasan said, grinning as Impa entered the throne room.

He had started taking a liking to wearing all black, which included an overcoat, shirt, pants, boots and a hat to cover some of his long, red hair. He, due to an affinity for it, was armed with a typical Gerudo scimitar, sheathed on his right hip. The scars on his body never healed and his facial ones were still visible. The youth didn't seem to mind and just took it in stride.

When he was introduced to Heika, and the man learning of the experiments Koume and Kotake had done on the populace, Ganondorf took an immediate liking to him. He took him in and Impa wondered if it was guilt on the emperor's part in doing nothing to stop the twins from harming his own. That and Hasan would've been a year younger than Lady Din if she had survived the assassination…And Sheik, Fi and Midna, those he also took in after their parents were lost, went missing. He probably was using him to replace them, the ones he thought as his own children…

"Stop calling me 'grandma'. I'm not that old," Impa told Hasan.

He grinned, showing the sharp canines he always had, and said, "Aw, why not Vaba? It's a term of endearment."

"Because I'm not your grandma," Impa told him again.

"Well, you kinda do got the white hair like an old lady."

Riju, age 16, appeared, dressed in wintry black and gold clothes and jewelry like the heir she was declared to be. She also wore the golden regalia on her head and the girl always looked like the crown was uncomfortable to the Sheikah. Her long hair was tied in a ponytail and the end of it was bound by a golden bangle. Upon seeing Hasan, she gave a warm smile, saying, "Sav'otta, Hasan. Where's Uncle?"

"Dunno. I was told to come here by one of the Sheikah," Hasan told her.

Riju hopped onto the throne, trying to find a way to get comfortable. Impa was ready to reprimand her as only the emperor can sit on the throne when the doors opened and someone said, "Don't ya think it's a little too soon for that?"

Urbosa, age 15, entered with a disapproving frown on her face. Like her sister, her long, red hair was held up in a ponytail. Unlike her, the only regalia she had was the forehead jewel denoting her status as royal. She wore gold armor encrusted with rubies over her thick black, combat clothing and a spear was on her back. She gave off the vibe of a warrior and Impa figured that their mother, the late Nadala, wouldn't have it any other way.

She gave the usual Gerudo greeting to the pair and then nodded to Impa. The girl saluted her and said, "Lady Impa. If Uncle's ready, I'm here for the briefing."

"I don't know if he'll send you out into combat," Impa told her.

"Aw! Why not? I trained practically my whole life for battle! And Vama wanted me to be one, to protect Riju!" Urbosa told her.

"Yes, but battle is quite dangerous for a royal."

Heika appeared, coming from behind the throne and Riju's face paled. He stood to her right, arm on the headrest, and said, "That's my seat."

"Um, Sav'otta…" Riju said, greeting him.

"Good morning, Riju. Urbosa. Hasan. I see that you all heeded my messengers," Ganondorf said, with Riju hopping off the throne.

The trio stood in front of him at attention and Impa joined them. The man took his seat and said, "As you all know, Riju was named to succeed me in the event of my passing. And Urbosa was named to be second in line. As is the case, I will assign new guardians to you two."

"Aw, we can protect ourselves and even Hasan can do that," Urbosa told him.

Hasan nodded and Ganondorf told them, "Well, there's been more attacks and I can't risk losing either of you. So…"

"So, Hasan can accompany me to the Valley of the Kings," Urbosa said.

"What? No," Ganondorf told her.

Impa remembered how dangerous the place was, even with all eight medallions in tow. The Shadow Corps was finally able to gather the medallions, but they couldn't find a way into the valley. Impa was against it, but once Urbosa made up her mind, there was no changing it.

"I'll protect her. I vow to," Hasan said.

"No. Not alone," Ganondorf told him.

He sighed and went deep into thought. Moments later, he said, "I'll assign you to the 132th division in Gerudo Desert. You can survey the land there and see if there are any other paths to get into the valley. But you are NOT to enter it. I'll see to it that Buliara ensures that. You'll spend a year in her division and will return here if you don't see a way in."

Urbosa sighed and muttered, "Okay. Fine."

Riju hugged her and said, 'Don't worry. Uncle's looking out for you."

"But I'm a warrior and I was training in dungeon crawling," the younger sister said.

"But that place is dangerous, right? Filled with lava rivers and monsters and traps," Hasan told her.

Impa didn't remember telling him that, but he was right. The youths were dismissed with Urbosa still disappointed and Impa approached the throne. Bowing, she asked, "Heika, are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure. You know how Urbosa is. And besides, showing her real battles wouldn't be a good idea as I don't want her in harm's way. I'm sure that you can ensure her safety along with Buliara," Ganondorf told her.

Impa thought about it and asked, "What about sending Vaati or Ghirahim with her? They can help protect Urbosa far better than Hasan."

"Hmm, excellent. But, Hasan is to go with them. I'm sure with their abilities, they can help him control…it. And…" Ganondorf said.

He gave and handed her a scroll. Muttering, he told her, "Not here. Read it when you're in safety."

She did as she was told, heading back to her quarters, only to find orders that were nearly treasonous. Placing the scroll into hammerspace, Impa muttered, "Heika, I pray that this will not be necessary."

There's chapter one of the new fic. Wonder what those orders from Ganondorf were. Since he isn't like the canon Ganondorf, maybe he wants Impa to find a certain person that could help Hyrule get out of the mess they're in. Or maybe a certain lost princess? Or maybe something else? Anywho, please leave a review and the next chapter will be out soon.