Urbosa reached her hands up into the air, having crouched down to better present herself to a young pair of Hylian siblings, smiling brightly as she spoke up excitedly, "Come on, high five!"

The taller of the two hopped right into the air to excitedly smack Urbosa's hand, though the more timid one remained confined to his own personal space. Helpfully noticing his mute behavior, Urbosa's smile grew warm as she dropped her hand to better allow him to acquiesce without so much of a show.

"Down low, then," she nodded.

The boy grinned bashfully before reaching out his hand, dropping it against Urbosa's before quickly hiding behind his sister, who began to chastise him as the two started off, having had their fill of the strange band of strangers standing at the gateway between the castle and town. The Gerudo woman smiled as she watched the two children off, turning back around to find Link knelt down, readying their packs with new provisions.

"Well well, so much for just tagging along, huh?" she openly teased, earning a droll glance from Link as he continued working.

He replied with a sigh, "Shut up."

This only caused her to chuckle, peering at the ornate sword Link had wrapped up inside a bundle of fine linens and strapped to his pack, still with his old sword bound to his back, "You're not wearing the important one?"

"I'd rather not cause a ruckus," he explained quickly, to Urbosa's suspicion, "The last thing we need is any more attention then we'll already be drawing."

Urbosa's eyes rolled, "Uh huh. You have any other excuses you'd like to try on me before Zelda shows up?"

Groaning, Link dropped his head, "That bad, huh?"

"We've got kids staring at us from behind corners because of how strange we all look to them; just how our group is formed is enough cause for drawing attention," Urbosa shrugged.

Link tapped his foot as he thought for a moment, "Well, I mean, I could just say I'm trying to keep it safe?"

"That sword has the weight of millennia upon its edge and you expect her to believe that its safer within its sheath?" Urbosa laughed, shaking her head, "Tell me, why are you so apprehensive to wield it, still? It all but chose you, after generations of rejecting everybody else."

Link failed to reply, leaving Urbosa alone to only guess, though she'd had an idea already, "Are you apprehensive of the added responsibility?"

"No, I just-" Link paused for a moment, "I was born to protect these people. I haven't an issue with the responsibility, but- I just want to be sure."

Urbosa's eyes crinkled with curious interest, "Sure of what?"

"That I'm the right one," Link spoke gingerly, his voice just barely managing through the air between the two of them.

Another chuckle, Urbosa all but availing her self at the thought, "Boy! It just chose you!"

"But what if it's wrong..?"

Urbosa's eyes narrowed, "It's not. Had that been a possibility- If that Sword had been wrong, even once before, we wouldn't be standing here, now would we?"

Link dropped his eyes at the sentiment, allowing Urbosa to slap a hand atop his shoulder in support, "If you ever had time to search for a more concrete understanding of this new role, it is now, with us. If we're truly to understand these Beasts- understand this coming threat; all the better you understand your new self."

"New self?" Link inquired sincerely.

Urbosa cocked her eyebrows, smirking in reply, "You're almost unrecognizable!"

Coming to recognize her teasing, Link swiped only at air as Urbosa recoiled away with a playful motion, chuckling in answer as she assured throughout it all, "Even when you weren't one of us, we all had your back. Imagine the support now that you are a part of the group. We'll all figure this out, alright?"

Link sighed almost in lonesome resignation, though Urbosa softly hit his upper arm with a fist, smiling fondly before speaking up in recognition, "Champion."

Despite recognizing the mocking undertones, Link understood her sentiment to also hold a deeper meaning, welcoming him into the group of five that had now become six. He didn't think he required that sort of vindication, though now, hearing it aloud, it was rather nice to know that he had been, more or less, officially welcomed, rather than just a supposed addition.

Urbosa stride off toward her pack, which Daruk had absently been approaching with sneaking steps, the Gerudo raising her voice, "Goron!"

"W-What?!" he retorted in nervous exclamation, "I was just-"

"Just trying to steal my store, weren't you?" Urbosa accused, throwing a finger out at Daruk.

He flinched, "N-No! I was only- comparing them, making sure you hadn't gotten better food stuffs!"

"Uh huh," Urbosa nodded drolly, "Do you think me to have been born yesterday?"

Revali scoffed, his arms crossed to better prevent any of the curious Hylians nearby from approaching him, "It would surely explain your inability to recognize the Rito as- Gah! Back off, vermin!"

He immediately flinched in recoil as a group of children stalked up to him, leaving him to shout, "you attempt to surround me, but I am not afraid of your wily efforts, fools!"

"Ha ha!" the cluster of kids clamored in amusement, "You're funny!"

Revali's eyes flew wide open, "I'm funny?! You schlemiel of a child, have you not seen yourself? Waddling about, parading as if in celebration of your uselessness! You hadn't even earned your livelihood by breaking through a shell; you were all but excreted and given the breath of life!"

The chorus of laughter continued, the iridescent presence of foreign verbiage causing the children all the more amusement as one of them asserted, "Haha, you have feathers, mister!"

"What? My plumage?!" Revali panicked, spinning his body in place as he examined himself, "Has something blemished them?!"

The comical display earned even laughter from the nearby adults, forcing Revali to sneer in revulsion at having been played, "Alright, you wish to try as you might against my abilities? Fine! In Rito culture, we rarely discriminate on the basis of age; I'd love to accept your challenge!"

He threw a finger toward the child, "You have hair! What a useless addendum to the Hylian form! Ha!"

Still, the children remained in the bouts of laughter, only heating up Revali all the more as he attempted to understand the situation, but to no avail. Link only shrugged as he watched with his own amusement, grinning at the Rito's frustration as he returned to packing, turning to find Mipha having returned.

Immediately pulling his head down to feign some sense of focus on his work, it was more due to his worry of possibly blushing in front of her. Had Mipha a clue of this, she didn't let on, simply speaking as though she were merely updating a fellow Champion.

"I found some sharpening stones and a few bits of flint," she confirmed plainly, watching Link nod in acknowledgement as he continued his work.

Quietly, he answered, "Thanks."

Despite being outside his view, Mipha nodded herself, taking a step toward the others as Link jumped to his feet, speaking hastily while simultaneously scratching the back of his head, his eyes off on some tangential point in another direction.

"Hey, uh-" he spoke up unsurely, "I don't want- I mean-"

Mipha's brow furrowed with confusion, "Don't want- Oh."

"N-No! I-" Link stammered fearfully, waving his hands in front of him, taking a breath as his shoulders slumped dejectedly, "What you said back there. Did you- mean it..?"

Her eyes deepened as she peered into Link's face, as if trying to understand not only his words, but the meaning in his expression. Perhaps she simply wanted him to sweat a bit, he couldn't tell, but without warning, as Link's neck crawled with hopeless anticipation, Mipha's voice rang through.

"I did," she smiled lightly, "As honestly as I might have years ago."

Link lowered his head, unable to contain a smile as he averted his gaze while his nerves suddenly came to the fore, churning his stomach in an aching ball of mass trying to roll through his entire body. Feeling the heat of his face rising, he tried to hide himself even more, though Mipha's low giggling admitted to her having already seen.

"I've never seen you do that before; not unless you had a cold," noted Mipha with a brilliant smile on her face.

Clearing his throat, Link shook his head, boldly replying, "I assure you, it's nothing to, uh- I've never had such a thing spoken to me before."

Mipha lowered her head, now facing her own embarrassment, the two now only sharing words rather than eye contact as Link went on, "I mean, once or twice, but- not by anyone so beautiful."

Her heart jumped.

"Look, Mipha," Link spoken up with unwavering confidence, his reddened face slowly beginning to fade, "I don't know- Today has kind of left me in a strange situation. My life was one way this very morning, but now, it- It's just a bit different."

"Just a bit, yes," Mipha agreed with a sardonic sort of teasing.

Link strained his chest for a moment, readying himself to continued, "I don't know anything about what I'm to do now. My life is, just- It's like I've been reborn somehow with no idea of the world around me, so… I have to figure out a lot; you know, like this sword, this whole Champion thing-"

His heart tugged as he watched Mipha's downturned head. He reached over to take a gentle hold of her hand, concealed as they were from the view of anybody else, stroking the indentions opposite her palm with his thumb. Her scales shuddered at such an intimate touch, his hand pulsating heat along her arm due to his nerves having forced his heart to course blood throughout his skin. She thought it nice to somehow feel what he was feeling.

"I do know one thing, though," Link affirmed with a soft voice, betraying the smile upon his face, "Whatever my life is to become as a result of this- If you would allow me, I would quite like to have you in it."

Mipha's eyes raised to meet Link's, her brow spun in heartfelt wonderment by his words. Her hand grasped his own, tightly, as her smile broke through. She might have known what came next after such an affirmation had she the mental faculties to recall her Hylian fairy tales, however, in lieu of such an ability, her eyes simply shuddered as Link leaned forward to gently press his lips against hers, forcing her skin to crawl from the heat ruminating upon her face. Between the pleasured feeling of that warmth of the man she loved and her biology gradually coming to a halt at the sensation often accompanying a sun bath, her legs began to shake in ever-expanding weakness, Link only realizing this as her lips began to escape his.

Not allowing such a thing to pass, Link's hand left her hand to grab hold of her hips, pulling her torso against his as their shared show of chaste passion burned at their lips. His hands pierced her scales, that feeling of being held tightly coming across rather alluringly Mipha noted to herself, simply allowing her body to be supported by this man's strength as though he would carry mountains if only to take her lips into his own.

Soon enough, their kiss ended with a subtle end as their lips lingered just before the other's, cloudy eyes meeting above their two pairs of sated skin. Link had taken to blushing lightly once again, leaving Mipha relieved to have been without such a thing, though her quaking legs testified much the same thing as Link's face.

"I don't- know much about this kind of stuff," Link admitted weakly, "Was that the right thing to do?"

Mipha replied easily, "I don't rightly care whether it was or not."

Unable to withhold his relief, Link allowed a soft chuckle in reply.

"You make it sound as though I'm a luminary on the topic," Mipha complained with a wry smile.

Shrugging, Link retorted, "You read all those fairy tale books, don't you?"

Mipha thought for a moment, "I liked the picture books for a reason, remember?"

"Well, your Hylian is getting better," Link spoke in a light voice as he concealed a laugh, "Perhaps we can do some research and figure it out. together."

The Zora woman smiled sweetly at the thought for only a brief moment before Link returned to share one final kiss as the crowd behind them began to roar with cheers. Forced to cut their momentary reunion of lips short, the two parted resistantly while looking on toward the crowd.

"Guess who?" Link asked rhetorically, smiling back down toward Mipha, "I suppose it's time to return."

She nodded diligently in reply, hoping to hide the longing she had to simply curl up into his arms and be lulled to sleep by his comforting drain of body heat. They returned to the group of Champions just as King Bosphoramus and Zelda descended down the final portion of stairs, the Princess still smiling with a bevy of nerves at the mounting attention that she still hadn't accrued a resistance to. Her father reacted as fluidly as a King might by this point in his life, giving the people of Hyrule a wave and nodding thankfully to the crowds before returning his attention to his daughter, dipping his head so that she could hear.

"Just- don't do anything that I wouldn't," he instructed with a paternal zeal lining his voice.

Zelda smirked, "When haven't I heeded those very words?"

Her father sighed regretfully, looking out toward his daughter's Champions as though pleading to find the knight who now carried the Master Sword. Upon catching Link's visage, the King returned to his daughter.

"He is one of my most trusted knights. You are to trust in his instincts, as well as his combat prowess and-"

"Father, I know!" Zelda returned with a joyful air, "You raised me well, even without mom. Part of why I wanted to begin this journey in the first place was to prove that to you."

Rhoam growled in a deep, rumbling groan, dropping his head regretfully, "As much as I would like to say having you return was a lack of trust in your inexperience, I see, now, that it was little more than a distrust in my own work as a father. I've worried, for years, that I couldn't possibly do right by you without your mother at my side, but- I see now, that might be folly. You've grown into quite the dependable young lady, my child."

Zelda smiled proudly at his words, nodding studiously as she reached her arms around him for a hug, the two embracing warmly as the child, now an adult, confirmed, "You did great, father."

He nodded as they parted, immediately pointing toward Link, "I still want you to allow him the duty of keeping you safe! I know you too well, still, my daughter; I know you won't make it easy for him!"

"Okay, okay, I will," Zelda assured before bowing deeply toward her father, signaling her time for departure, "I love you, father."

He smiled warmly, "And I love you too, Zelda. If you run off and find whatever it is you're looking for- Just remember, you'll always have me to return to."

"I know, father," she smiled, "I know."

The two shared dutiful nods before Zelda spun around, reorienting the backpack strung atop her shoulder as she approached the Champions, happily taking her place among them as the six members all came into a circle. Zelda's eyes flickered with the brilliance of impending adventure as she examined the lot of them, one by-

"Link," she grinned wryly, "I thought you weren't here to partake in our dities?"

The knight groaned, recalling Urbosa's teasing from a moment ago, "You know, I could leave."

"But you won't!" Daruk challenged mightily, "Your burning heart affirms your dazzling will, my brother! You know your place is here with us!"

Urbosa chuckled, shrugging, "He's right, you know."

Link's head fell backward in exasperation as Zelda's eyes blew open wide, "Wait! Where's the Master Sword?!"

Link checked himself with a quick glance toward Urbosa, who simply cocked her head with a smirk, finding amusement in the predicament she had very well predicted. Link rushed for an answer, answering simply enough not a moment too late for Zelda's curiosity to be piqued.

"No reason to beg for any more attention then we'll already be receiving," Link assured.

Zelda watched him for a brief moment as she thought, finally nodding agreement, "Fair enough, I guess. Anyway, we'll-"

"Wait, you're not gonna buy that, are you?" Urbosa challenged suddenly, more with annoyance that her surrogate daughter had so easily caved to an excuse she had already deemed inadequate.

Zelda turned to Urbosa with confusion, "Should- Should I not have?!"

The Gerudo woman groaned, rubbing a hand across her face, "Ah, vai… The knight isn't the only much with much to learn, still."

"I trust she simply means that Link should not have feigned impudence and attempted to shield himself from excuse," Revali challenged with a sneering gaze toward Link.

Urbosa sighed, "Okay, three of them…"

"Just because you have that sword, Hylian- Don't mistake it for believing you have any more worth than before," Revali remarked, "And don't let that showy entrance of yours go to your head! I'd have taken on that entire battalion had you not arrived!"

Without skipping a beat, Mipha turned toward Zelda with a mischievous glance, "Are you sure we can afford another member to fit alongside his ego?"

"Very good!" Urbosa laughed, "I hadn't a clue you could make jokes, Mipha!"

Revali turned his head in confusion, "What? I don't follow."

"Some things," Link assured with a challenging smirk, "You cannot follow even through the power of flight."

Frowning with dismay, Revali puffed up his chest, allowing the conversation to wash over him, "Well, a raven takes no notice of the prattlings on of the ibis. I would do well to heed that proverb."

Before any further prodding could occur, Zelda took hold of the reins, speaking up confidently enough, "Alright, Champions. We begin anew! …though, I suppose we should return to Vah Naboris. Ruzoll never did give us that notebook back before he moved onto the assignment he left to come get us."

Link's brow raised inquisitively, running along the lineup surrounding him before offering, "Actually…"

He reached into his pocket, much to the group's amazement, and pulled out another small booklet, skipping through the pages before handing it over to Zelda, "I kind of developed a decent recall while out on patrol. That should be everything of note I jotted down."

"Link!" Zelda nearly shouted in shock, "Th- This is incredible! Thank you!"

He shrugged, though felt the glances of the others as Urbosa chuckled teasingly, "You never were separate from us, were you?"

"Shut up," Link repeated with a frown, dropping his head warily while Zelda examined the notes.

She hummed to herself before noting aloud, "Isn't this missing a thing or two?"

"Hmm?" Link wondered as she passed the booklet back toward him, "Just your scholar-speak. I figured that was unnecessary."

Suddenly affright, Zelda retorted loudly, "I-! I do not have 'scholar speak' or whatever!"

"Gah lee!" "Gah lee." Golly!" rang out the other members of the group.

Zelda's head bolted upward, contorted in anger as her face blew red with embarrassment, "I don't-!"

"Biggun!" "Biggun..?" ""Big one." came another chorus.

Her face immensely flustered, Zelda simply took her pack and dropped her head, strolling along with shame lining her words, "Just- Let's go."

Daruk burst forth a jolly laugh as Urbosa took Zelda in her arms, "My child, you know there is no fellowship without jokes."

Zelda's steps continued taking her away, even with Urbosa's embrace, until finally, she stopped, taking a moment to recover before turning her face up toward Urbosa with a smile.

"Yeah. I know."

"Excellent!" Daruk roared with vigor, earning an excited applause from some of the nearby townspeople, "Then we're off! …correct?"

Zelda nodded, "Yes, we are. and this time, there's not a thing that can stop us."

A/N: So that's the end! Thank you so very much if you've made it this far! The fact that anybody would give anything of mine any attention whatsoever is so incredibly humbling, and it absolutely fills my heart with joy to know people are not only reading these, but coming back to them as I continue writing them. It just means the whole world to me, so thank you so, so much :)

So, some housekeeping is in order:

This concludes 'Champions' Tale' insofar as it's more of a 'soft-ending'. There's obviously three more Divine Beasts to visit, as well as a bevy of other troubles, events, and magical moments that can all come to pass, though this soft-ending is a tidy enough stopping point just in case you're all exhausted of the story and believe this to be a neat enough conclusion. I would love any and all feedback; I've grown to love these versions of the BotW characters, and have zero issue coming up with future conversations and plot stuff to accommodate three more milestones upon the journey!

Regardless, I will be taking a break to start up a different story! Between WoW Classic coming out (with my twenty-two hours in three days, of course) and the new Starset album, I've had a new Warcraft story mulling around in my head the last week or so, and I'd love to get that all written down in note form just to make sure I don't start losing all the story progress I've already accrued within my head.

In any case, once again, thank you so much for reading! I hope to catch you elsewhere :D