"You have everything you need?"

Loft nodded, carefully pinning Zelda's sailcloth to his shoulders with a set of gold clasps. Purah climbed up on her table to pat his head. "Be careful out there, okay?" she said. "There's a lot of monsters; they're easy to bait and run away from, but they can catch you off guard if you're not vigilant." She gave him a stern look. "Especially Guardians. If you see a Guardian, you run."

Loft frowned. "What's a Guardian?"

"...You can read, right?"

He raised an eyebrow, then nodded. Purah gave a sigh of relief. "Symin, be a dear and give him an encyclopedia to take with him? Preferably one with pictures."

"Yes, Miss Director." Symin wasted no time in searching through the shelves, pulling out a worn-looking, note stuffed book. Loft eyed the book apprehensively. He was going to have to read all of that?

"Hey." Purah waved for his attention. "Look at me." The Sheikah engineer gave a small smile and patted his cheek. "You're going to be just fine, okay? As soon as you get to Kakariko, my sister will give you all the help you need."

Loft hesitated, unsure, but nodded.

Symin brought the bulky book over, setting it on the table with a heavy thud. "Here you are," he said. "I hope it serves you well."

The hero apprehensively cracked it open and started sifting through page titles. Lynels, Hinoxes, Wizzrobes, Moldugas...He frowned. Each entry looked new, strange, and terrifying. Even Chuchus looked different from how he remembered them. How was he supposed to-

He took a deep breath and shook his head. No. You can't give up now, he told himself. Fi needs you. Zelda needs you. Whatever's out there, you've faced worse; you've ventured into the unknown before, you can do it again.

He closed the book, marking the Guardian page to study on the way. "Thank you," he signed, giving the two Sheikah researchers a bow. "I'll bring it back safely."

"I—I don't know what happened, sir!" The young Yiga scout said, kneeling on the floor in apology frantically told her story. "I was going after him to finish what Uava started, and then he just..." She waved her hands. "POOF!"

"Poof?" Master Kohga sat up in his chair, setting his plate of fried bananas aside. "As in, vanished, or ran away?"

"Uh..." The scout rubbed the back of her head. "I don't know. Maybe both?" She shifted uncomfortably. "It was like, he talked to this...weird statue at Hateno, then Uava's stab wound disappeared. And then black smoke came out and ate him." She shuddered. "It was like when Malice swallows animals up. Really, really freaky."

The top banana of the Yiga clan hummed thoughtfully, lacing his fingers together in consideration. "...Alright, new plan. I want you to go to Hateno and figure out what happened, then report back."

"Me?!"

"We don't have a lot of people to spare, not with all the Lynels everywhere." He paused. "Oh, and pick up some cane sugar while you're gone! We're almost out."

The scout sighed, conflicted. "...Yes, Master Kohga." She brought her hands together, pointed her fingers upwards, and vanished in a poof of smoke and tags.

The forest surrounding Hateno was calming. Quiet, even. It was a little bit like Faron Woods had been back home, and as much as he missed company, Loft couldn't help but enjoy the scenery as he walked. Light sifted through the trees gently, illuminating the path ahead as if the goddess herself were guiding him.

"Go straight through Midla Woods, then follow the road to the right," Symin had told him. "Keep right the whole way through until you get to Fort Hateno, and be careful around there. There's a lot of defunct Guardians in Blatchery Plain; any agitation could activate them. But once you're past that, you just take a right at the bridge, and the road will take you straight into Kakariko."

It was a such a simple route. Much easier than cutting through Faron's underbrush, he thought. Idly, he ran his fingertips along a passing tree. Imagine if Zelly could see this. She'd be so excited...Maybe I'll ask someone to paint a picture here for her.

His thoughts began to drift to Zelda, and he let out a soft sigh. He wasn't there to help her, but...this era's hero was. And he seemed much better equipped, if the legends were right. Ghirahim wouldn't stand a chance. Right?

Rustle, rustle

His ears twitched at the sound, and he closed his eyes, listening, trying to determine the source. It was...difficult, even with the quiet. Crickets chirped, the wind blew through the leaves, steps pattered on the ground—steps?

He looked over his shoulder, bracing for a fight.

The deer that had been following the strange-smelling Skyloftian stared back, frozen mid-step, ears pricked.

Loft let out a soft gasp, eyes wide. He hadn't seen this in the encyclopedia! Maybe it was friendly? Slowly, he reached into his bag, pulling out an apple and getting down on one knee to offer it to the strange creature.

The deer looked at the treat, then back at him. Warily, it took a step forward, stretching out slowly, then daintily plucking the apple from his hand and quickly backing away.

Loft stayed put, watching the animal eat, eyes shining. What was this thing? It was so delicate-looking; maybe it was a baby ground-loftwing?

Except it wouldn't be called a loftwing if it didn't have wings. Or visit Skyloft. He frowned, cocking his head to this side and rubbing his chin in thought. This is Midla woods, right? And it walks on solid land... He lit up excitedly. Midland! That's what it should be called!

The midland finished its apple, core and all, then eyed Loft expectantly. When the absent-minded hero didn't take the hint, it snorted, then stepped forward and nudged his arm aggressively.

Loft snapped out of his thoughts, giving a quiet, hoarse chuckle and petting the strange animal. You want more, huh? He pulled out a second apple, keeping it just out of reach as he stood up, using the treat as bait to keep the midland from scaring off.

It snorted in annoyance, then headbutted his side. Loft's eyes glittered in amusement. Alright, here you go. He gave the midland the apple, patted its head affectionately, then kept walking.

...Clop-clop-clop-

He glanced back.

The midland met his eyes

Loft sighed, smiling softly, then snapped his fingers as he pulled out another apple. This time, though, he took the blade of his beetle and cut it up, wanting to make the fruit last a little longer if he was going to be giving it away.

The midland watched hungrily, then eagerly trotted after him for more food.

It was nightfall by the time they'd reached Fort Hateno. He'd had to stop every now and then for a nap, and it had been a chore avoiding the monster camps by the river. He could have exterminated them, sure, but that would have scared the midland. Loft didn't want to lose his new friend already, just to some rowdy monsters.

Speaking of monsters, the Bokoblins here had been...unnerving. They were nothing like the chubby, well-kitted-out brutes of his hometime, with their iron blades and helmets. These ones, instead, had shiny snouts and big ears, only carrying around wooden clubs or obviously stolen weaponry. Loft had even witnessed one brandishing a mop like a spear.

Nonetheless, he'd made it through undetected, sneaking by in the tall grass with his new midland companion. He'd spent the idle time along the road coming up with a namesign for it, eventually settling upon the spelling P-o-r-a, after Zelda's family name, and the combined signs "forest" and "fruit" for the shorthand name.

Speaking of fruit, he was going to run out of midland treats soon; he offered a small prayer to Hylia, hoping that they sold apples in Kakariko.

As the gate loomed before the hero, he hesitated; he could already see the rusted frames of the Guardians outside. The encyclopedia had said that they could sense the heat of living targets, and that they shot something called a "laser." He still had yet to figure out what a laser was; Purah's tech-y explanation had been unhelpful with his Skyloftian understanding of things, but he'd guessed that it was at least something to avoid.

Hopefully, none of them woke up.

With a deep breath, he walked through the ruined archway and onto the battlefield, Pora trotting diligently after him.

Blatchery plain was...eerie, to say the least. The Guardians were HUGE, much bigger than he'd guessed at least twice his height, with metal Skulltula-like arms and shattered blue lenses. There were dozens of them, maybe even a hundred.

Link had faced off against these things?

Loft shook his head. He couldn't imagine doing something like that.

"Nᴏ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ ʜᴏᴡ ᴍᴀɴʏ ᴛɪᴍᴇs ʏᴏᴜ ᴡɪɴ, ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏs sᴛᴀʀᴛ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴀ ᴛʜᴏᴜsᴀɴᴅ ʏᴇᴀʀs ʟᴀᴛᴇʀ. Tʜᴇ sᴀᴍᴇ ᴍᴀɴ, ᴛʜᴇ sᴀᴍᴇ sᴡᴏʀᴅ, ᴅɪғғᴇʀᴇɴᴛ ʟɪғᴇᴛɪᴍᴇ."

The Hateno statue's words resurfaced in his mind as he thought about the hero he shared a name with. What was that line supposed to mean? He glanced at his left hand.

No triangle mark. He sighed—the statue was already out of its mind; if those words meant what Loft thought they had meant, then it was wrong.

...BEEP. BEEP. BEEP BEEPBEEPBEEP-

A red light cut through the hero's thoughts, cutting through the air and landing squarely on his chest. He looked up, eyes wide.

A guardian stared at him from across the field, glowing an violent pink as it trained its laser on him.

BIBIBIBIBIBIBI-

Loft tackled Pora and rolled out of the way on instinct, the blue beam of light searing his cheek as it narrowly missed him. The shot collided with another Guardian on the field, blowing it to smithereens.

Two more were hit by the resulting shrapnel, their defenses activating in response.

Loft threw Pora over his shoulders and bolted, running as fast as his legs would take him, frantically looking for shelter. There had to be something, right?!

BIBIBIBIBIBIBI-PSHEW!

This time, the miss was more substantial, if only by a few inches worth, but it was a mere few seconds before the machines took aim again.

Down the road, he could see a rocky outcropping. The Guardians were immobile, as far as he could tell; he couldn't hear them crawling after him, at least but he didn't dare lose time by looking back. He practically dove behind the stone and crouched, flipping Pora off his shoulders and holding her close, listening for the lasers.

The midland squealed, squirming in panic now that it was on the ground, trying to get away from him but the hero held tight, stroking it with shaky hands and clicking his tongue comfortingly. He was NOT letting his new friend get shot.

In the distance, he heard warning alarms as the Guardians lost their mark...and then all went quiet on the battlefield. Loft warily peered around the corner.

Nothing. It was like the Guardians had never even woken up.

He sighed in relief, resting his cheek on Pora's back, then winced. Fishing out another apple as his friend finally began to calm, he reached up and felt his tender face.

Ow. Yeah, that did...not feel good. He needed to bandage it up.

Back at Fort Hateno, a young Yiga scout reached under her mask to wipe away her sweat, still clinging to the rocky wall above the recently awoken Guardian. Thankfully, it didn't look like there were any more loose rocks that could fall down on the thing's head.

Whoops.