A/N: Ah, every story gets to a point where readers suddenly realize how bad I am at writing action scenes xD Hopefully it's not too bad to grasp what all's going on :p

"Well, I'll take what we can get," Link muttered absently, "Not nearly as hot as it was the day we showed up here."

Mipha nodded, stroking the scales along her arm, "Certainly. I barely feel much difference than when I'm taking a light sun bath. If anything, it's just right that I'm not lethargic; it's interesting to feel comforted while also able to remain mobile."

"Well, my little Zora friend, should you require a powerful grasp to keep you aloft, look no further than Daruk!" the large Goron exclaimed, all to happy to wring out a credential, "I was voted 'most helpful' years ago, back when I was a little pebble paddler; my fate as a hero of the Gorons was, in a sense, set in stone!"

He chuckled at his own pun, allowing Urbosa to interject over her shoulder, "You should return during the winter season, Mipha. You haven't humidity up in Zorana, correct?"

Mipha's eyes went wide with nervous confusion at being on the spot, her stare quickly spinning toward Link for reassurance, though Urbosa happily explained with a chuckle, "Humidity is like- Well, it's not raining, but the air almost feels damp in a way, as though water itself is struggling to grasp onto the very air."

"Wooow," Mipha mused quietly in wonderment, having never thought such a thing would have existed.

"It's murder on the tourists, since it basically has 'em sweating constantly, but for a Zora? It might be a fun little thing. You don't sweat, do you?" Urbosa asked.

Mipha shook her head, "Honestly, we would probably die if we did. We're cold blooded beings, so too much heat really only puts us to sleep."

"Bwah ha!" Daruk laughed, "Perhaps Death Mountain could become a Zora resort! I've heard of many people who wish to sleep for days on end; perhaps a Goron squad of handlers could carry a mobile bed for which a Zora could sleep on, the squad ready and willing to remove the Zora at just the right times to keep them asleep without overdoing it."

Link grinned, "That's the sort of ingenuity that gets you 'most helpful pebble paddler'."

With a swift gesture, Daruk launched a thumbs up toward Link, leaving Mipha to giggle in reply, "That's, uh, an interesting idea."

Zelda's lips curled in thought, still wondering how to mend the conflict from earlier, taking the chance to include Revali in on the fun, "Revali? What about the Rito?

"What about us?" he asked rather snidely, "Do we sweat, sleep, or help others?"

He quickly shot a glance toward Link, whose mouth had opened in retort, Revali warning mildly, "Don't…"

Link frowned, though reneged on his witty retort, instead allowing Zelda to continue her good will, "Well, I suppose sweating. I guess it gets hot the closer you stretch yourself toward the sun."

"We do not sweat, no," Revali uttered, more with disgust, "Though I can imagine the nightmare of bathing in your own body's natural grimy extracts. If you must know, we Rito have a wide array of methods with which to deal with excess heat. The temperature was downright furious last night, for instance, so I took in the opportunity to flutter my gular a handful of times."

Urbosa shot him a wonderous glance, stifling a snicker, "I'm sorry, what?"

"Gah, how I do miss cultured individuals…" Revali's sighed in exasperation, "You just open your mouth and flutter your neck; it's nothing spectacular."

Link waved his arms excitedly, "No, no! It's amazing! Please, show us!"

"Yes, you must!" Urbosa goaded, though both of their cries to action were met with a scoff.

"Please, do not think me stupid enough; this is clearly only to get in a laugh. We can't all be Hylia's chosen people, so some must indulge in depravity; it's nothing new," Revali groaned inexorably, shaking his head, "But please, ask the Goron next; I'm on the edge of my seat to hear this conversation to its conclusion."

Daruk's brow furrowed with confusion at the baton being passed to him, his hand reaching up to stroke his burly, white beard, "Well, uh- I mean, we're mere rocks imbued with the breath of life, as offered by the goddess Nayru herself. I don't even know what heat is."

Suddenly realizing just how weird this made him sound, Daruk grew more and more nervous, "That is to say, I- Heat, I mean- I don't know heat, like heat, but I do know the burning heat of embarrassment that tears through a being unable to truly-"

"Daruk! Daruk; it's okay," Link assured, interrupting the man before he lost himself to his own nervous pressures.

The interjection allowed Daruk a break, his head dropping forward as he apologize, "S-Sorry."

"Oh no, it was quite a display," Revali assured with a sardonic air, "For one so foreign to heat, you don't seem much a stranger to meltdowns."

"Yeah, well-!" Daruk challenged immediately, though was quickly stopped by his own lacking wit, "Bah, you- you-…"

At that, Daruk took a finger and stroked it along his arm, creating a series of scritching, scratching sounds made from rock upon rock, its tenor undigestible, yet still holding some sort of pattern to it. Almost proud of himself, Daruk took a finger and yanked down his eyelid while throwing his tongue out toward Revali. For his part, the Rito simply watched with narrow eyes, disgusted by the wholly unrecognizable display.

"How can you seriously wish to insult me when I don't even know what it is you are doing?" Revali wondered lightly, not encumbered in the least by such a quandary.

Daruk cracked a smile, "Ancient Goron language, developed when we were still within the mantle of Hyrule's earthen soil. No light, no sight, no speech; we had to make do with what we had to communicate. If I must translate for your feeble mind…"

He readied himself, only to flinch at the final moment, turning to Link, "Uh, there are ladies here…"

Urbosa scoffed at the notion, smirking while Link shrugged, "So? Just whisper it into my ear and I'll say it. Urbosa can hold Zelda's ears shut."

"I beg your pardon?!" Zelda exclaimed, suddenly whipping around toward the others.

Slightly surer of himself, Daruk nodded, leaning over to offer the translated words to Link himself. He cupped his mouth just for safety's sake, though Mipha couldn't help but lean closer, her curiosity winning her over, though she immediately flinched backward as Link pulled away in terror.

"WOOOOAH!" Link cried out aloud, wholly taken aback.

Daruk chuckled, his upper body bounding back and forth jovially as though immensely proud of himself, "Not bad, huh?"

"Even I wouldn't say that to him," Link assured, raising his arms with incredulity, "How could I ever hope to speak to anybody after allowing that past my lips?"

The Goron gleefully shrugged, still intensely proud, "Well, perhaps one day, if Revali truly gets underneath my skin."

Revali eyed him with disdain, though not offering much of anything else in reply, allowing Daruk his moment in the spotlight, even if it was of his own creation. Studying the horizon, Urbosa slowly raised a hand as if to get everyone's attention.

"Insults or not, keep your eyes out. There's a sandstorm brewing."

Grumbling, Revali complained, "Another wonderful perk of this desert, no doubt."

"Actually, I do hear good things about sand storms and the Gorons," Zelda surmised with a studious tone.

Daruk nodded surely, "Exfoliation is necessary for athletes, particularly those who curl up and race down the mountain."

"Maybe so, but this isn't just a small one. It's a formidable one, from the looks of it," Urbosa noted with a darkened breath, "I believe it would be best to prepare sooner than later."

Zelda nodded, "I agree. Luckily, Urbosa thought this one through as well."

Preemptive in her attentiveness, Urbosa had already began pulling an immense length of cord from her pack, showing it off to everybody to mixed reaction as she explained, "Tie yourselves in line so that we don't lose one another."

Both Link and Revali's brows furrowed, the former replying, "Wait, seriously?"

"Is there a problem?" Urbosa questioned.

Shrugging, Link answered, "I mean, this is the kind of thing they do to kids at school to keep them in line."

Urbosa smirked, "You don't have some sort of little boy syndrome, do you?"

"N-No!" Link assured nervously, "It's just a sandstorm; I can handle myself."

"I don't doubt that. That's not what we're preventing here."

Link shrugged, "I'm not even a part of this group; so what if I turn up separated?"

Studying his face, Urbosa's eyes narrowed as a droll frown stretched across her face, her arms curling as they crossed her chest. Daruk had happily accepted not only the cord, but the lead position, already helping Zelda tie the next section of cord around her own waist.

"Well," Urbosa mused, "If you don't, who will protect the Princess?"

Reminded of his mandate, Link frowned, sulkingly trudging toward the others after relinquishing his resistance, "You're mean…"

Urbosa smirked humorously, turning toward Revali next as her hands rested atop her hips, "Well?"

The Rito threw his hands up, beginning toward the linking group, "Don't bother, I'll entertain your petty machinations. I'd hate to know what your confidence is founded upon."

"I like to think I'm pretty good at reading people," Urbosa assured as she joined up, "Daruk, good, we'll need a solid anchor up front. Zelda and Mipha go next, then myself; if either of them go flying, I'll release my bonds and snatch them out of the air. After thank, Link and Revali, you two-"

"The Hylian goes next," Revali dryly ordered, shaking his head, "It'll allow me to take the longest possible stretch of cord between myself and him."

Link peered over his shoulder, "I look forward to dragging your plucked-naked body across the sands."

"You would like that, I'm sure," Revali declared with a miffed voice, something of a timbre hiding within his voice.

The Company formed up, with Revali ultimately remaining quite a ways away from the others, though still bound at the hip. Urbosa examined the others, yanking at the cord to test its steadiness while keeping an eye on the approaching sandstorm.

"Now, keep your heads down and your eyes shut. Except for Daruk, of course; you just keep trudging toward the cliffs," Urbosa instructed.

The Goron gave an unceremonious thumbs up, "First the Zora, now you all! The Gorons might as well be porters extraordinaire!"

Link and Mipha shared an unsure glance while Urbosa shook her head lowly, "Just- Aim for the cliffs."

"Aye aye," Daruk replied much more seriously, confidence lining his voice as he stomped off.

As the Company marched forward, Urbosa couldn't help but mutter under her breath with only Zelda in earshot, "These are so rare this time of year…"

Zelda turned to Urbosa with an uncertain expression as the two pressed on, the Company more resembling a chain gang than a troupe of Champions. Daruk gritted his teeth with determination as the massive, billowing cloud of sand approached, grumbling to himself as though in incantation, summoning strength from out within the nether.

"Here it is!" he shouted as the cloud of dirt blew into their faces, not nearly as forceful as they'd expected.

Link felt the resistance of churning winds blowing him backwards, nearly losing his footing if not for the line towed by Daruk keeping him in place. He looked ahead, catching only a faint glimpse of Zelda in front of Urbosa. Mipha and Daruk's existence now belonged merely to the line of cable disappearing into the dust cloud. Heeding Urbosa's advice, he lowered his head once again, sure to keep a hand in front of his head as he pressed on, goaded by the tow line yanking him forward with Daruk's every step.

"YEEEEAAAAAAAAGGGGGGH!" Daruk roared overtop the billowing winds lapping at their ears.

Link's hand grasped at the tow cable in front of him, pulling himself along, his eyes shut while simply willing himself to continue along with only that line for guidance. The sands swirling around them noticeably began to heighten in intensity, globules of stone and mud accompanying the sands, pelting Link's body like punches whenever a particularly large mass of earth smashed into him.

"BWAAAAR!" came another growl from Daruk, the Goron struggling to press against the furious winds, the Company slowing as he faced ever-increasing resistance.

Link lifted his head, carefully peering forward in inquiry, wondering what might have been hindering the-

HMMMMMMMMMMMGH

A massive, dull, mechanical hum broke the air, sending Link's eyes wide open in shock, still with a hand shielding his face. He turned to Urbosa, the Gerudo's shoulders suddenly squaring up in concern, her head whipping around to stare at Link with the same fear he'd had on his face. He turned in the direction where Vah Naboris had once been, finding nothing beyond the blanket of dirt, dust, and-

HMMMMMMMMMMMGH!

His eyes lifted to find two distinct clouds of blue light emerging from within the sand storm. His hand gripped the line tighter in worry, knowing what was to come next as-

THWOOOM!

A magnificent trembling shook the earth below as a gigantic foot slammed into the ground nearby, nearly knowing the entire Company to the ground. Urbosa quickly unshackled herself from the line, trudging back toward Link with an outstretched arm, yelling as loud as she could over the impeding storm.

"We can't advance like this! She'll crush us!"

Link turned over his shoulder, Revali having long been lost to the storm behind him, save for the constant tugging at the line beyond Link's hip, "Do we turn back?!"

"We must!" Urbosa declared, "If that thing starts shooting off lightning, at this proximity, I haven't a clue how well this helm can protect us!"

Link eyed her, "You said it would work!"

"It's a helmet! Not a goddamn miracle device!" Urbosa angrily challenged, "I'll make my way up to Daruk and let the others-!"

THWOOOOOM!

A closer stomping of innumerable tons of machine sent Link to the ground, leaving Urbosa only swaying back and forth before helping him back up. She turned to trudge up the line, yanking on it as hard as she could while she walked, trying to signal something, anything, to Daruk, to no avail. Her hair billowed in the wind as Link watched her press on, the taut feeling at the line behind him suddenly catching his interest. He turned back around in curiosity; it was almost as if Revali had cut himself free, leaving no pull behind Link, though in a split second, the shadowing form of a Rito blew through the clouds, Revali coursing through the sandstorm only to slide into the ground, unable to accurately gain any traction in the air.

Link watched as Revali forced himself back up, gritting his teeth as he turned toward the Hylian, scoffing with a shaking head, "Watch me, Hylian! Be in awe of my mastery of even this sky!"

Link's eyes widened, noticing that Revali was still tethered to the others. The Rito began throwing his arms up and down, working his way back up into the air as Link quickly scurried for his blade to cut the mad bird away from dragging the others every which way. At that moment, Urbosa voice broke through, catching him off guard.

"Stupid bird! The lightning will fry him to a crisp!" she cried out pithily.

Link's mind churned for only a moment, rushing up to where Urbosa was still progressing further along the line, yanking at the line to gain her attention and ultimately earning her pause.

"What?!" she shouted.

Link hadn't time to reply, simply taking his sword and slicing through the cord that had become his lifeline within the storm, but to Urbosa's horror, "What in the name of the gods are you doing?!"

A quick glance while tying the cord between him and Revali to his waist, Link quickly jolted a hand out and grasped the Thunder Helm dangling from around Urbosa's shoulder, the Gerudo immediately throwing her arms out to grapple Link before he could slide away, thanks to Revali's movement pulling him along.

"You fool!" she shouted angrily, though with some even keel through which some amount of respect for the man rested, "That hasn't touched the head of-!"

He voice trailed off as Link started running atop the desert sands, feeling his waist constrict with Revali's ever pulse of flapping wings. The cord began to rise as the Rito progressed higher still, eventually lifting Link from the ground as Vah Naboris grew in visibility, the blue lights surrounding its legs bursting through the grimy sands swirling around him. Link deftly pulled the Helm up to his chest, quickly wrapping the cord that had been freed between him and Urbosa around one of its horns. He eyed the space above him, where Revali must have been, his eyes burning as the sand blew into his face, lips tightening painfully, knowing he couldn't keep his eyes closed for what stupid action he was about to take.

As Revali took the two of them higher, Link's weight potentially masquerading as the storm's resistance itself, Link carefully watched the two massive bulbs of smoky blue light from atop Vah Naboris, the energy there beginning to collect into pools of sickly purple hues. Link gritted his teeth, the contracting rope at his waist seeming to be slicing him in half as he grabbed the cord with both hands, swinging the Thunder Helm in circles, preparing to throw it up toward Revali with the hope of countering the bolt of lightning meant for the Rito's foreign body.

The clouds of energy pulsed, the engines of the Beast revving up as Link readied himself, trying his best to work out the trajectory before-

HMMMMMMMMMMMGH!

A bolt of electricity shot out from the twin bulbs atop the Beast, shooting straight for where Revali must have been hidden within the sandstorm, leaving Link panicked as he took the Helm for another few rounds before letting it loose, the cord flying through the air as the Helm launched, losing itself in the sandstorm itself. Link watched in horror as the blue beams of electricity failed to leave their course, flying at Revali with reckless abandon, hitting their-

At the last moment, the bolts of lightning almost magnetically spun away, slamming into the Thunder Helm and sending that end of cord straight to the ground where Link began to tow it in as Revali seemed to reach the bottommost platform of the Beast, leaving Link dangling off the side, but with enough deftness to pull himself up once the Thunder Helm was once again safely in his possession. He took a moment to sigh with exhaustion as the sandstorm began to dissipate, almost as though in defeat as Vah Naboris accepted the visitors. Link jumped as he felt a tug pulling him up, Revali doing him the honor of helping him ascend, much to the relief of Link's newly aching muscles.

"You idiot!" Revali cried out, "I'd've made unmentionable time had I not been bound by you!"

Link peered upward at him, "I'm the idiot?! You'd have been fried chicken if not for me!"

"The great god, Witwa, requires no Hylian to perform his will, you imbecile!" Revali challenged as Link pulled himself aboard, slidding across the oddly textured floor, unable to work himself up to his feet, "His will allowed me to-"

"Or it was this?!" Link argued, dropping the Thunder Helm to the ground as he rolled onto his back, "I swear… I didn't sign up for this."

Revali fell to his backside as well, sitting against one of the ornaments lining the contraptions that made up the Divine Beast, "I signed up for nothing of the sort, either, Hylian. Had I known-"

"Had you known a Hylian would've had to save your ass?!" Link challenged, shaking his head, "Just- I have a rope in my pack. Tie it down and let the others climb up. I can't feel my legs."

"Pah, a truly Hylian setiment," Revali frowned before returning to his feet and doing as he was told.

Before collecting the rope, he stood above Link, staring off into the distance with a frown, allowing Link to watch him with confusion as he recovered, unsure what was causing Revali's sudden inaction. Ever so slowly, it became apparent.

"Thanks, I suppose…" Revali offered with a hot breath, quickly swooping down to collect Link's pack and walking off forcefully, shaking his head distastefully at such an utterance.

Link watched, still lost in deepening breaths, as Revali did as he'd instructed, leaving him with a cautious sigh before replying in kind, "You're welcome, I guess. No more stupid crap, though."