The Company began its trudging formation along the spiny backbone of Eldrin's Flank, their altitude rising in time with the slopes of Death Mountain. As they brought their slow ascent further along their track, Zelda had begun keeping watch over Mipha, periodically taking oblong glances over her shoulder, much to the Zora's amusement.

"I'm fine," Mipha assured with a smile, "I do believe I mentioned much the same a few moments ago."

Zelda sighed, "I know, I know. I'm just being careful, is all."

Her brow curled, "You're not one of those people who says they're fine when-"

"Oh, she is," Link nodded, answering for her.

Mipha frowned, "Well, I suppose that's true, but- In this case, I wouldn't do anything to worry you, Zelda."

From behind them, a rough voice from Urbosa emerged as she threw her body up to reorient the massive half-suit she had carried overtop her shoulder for hours now, "W- Well, you sure you don't just- wanna- get a test run in before it's time..?"

Her lips fell into a frown when Daruk began to laugh, "Bwah ha! I do suppose it would be difficult for you, Urbosa!"

"Hey now, Rocko, I beat you silly at arm wrestling, remember?" she boasted greedily, "So sue me; I've the limitations of flesh and blood. Intense bouts of stamina does not equate to strength."

Daruk nodded sarcastically, "Ahh, yes; something you might say to better explain yourself."

Before Urbosa could retort, Zelda raised her hands, "Alright, alright. Before we're forced to stop to measure biceps- Mipha, are you sure you don't want to get some practice in, walking in the suit?"

"I suppose I could," Mipha answered pleasantly, thinking more of Urbosa's extended help than her own eagerness to remain unnecessarily aided, "I didn't explore it too much back at the workshop."

Nodding attentively, Zelda reached up, snapping her finger with a swift, "Alright! Urbosa, drop the load!"

"Drop the-" Urbosa replied with exasperation, "What are you? a lumberyard foreman?"

With a smirk, Zelda shrugged, "I suppose I could be at the moment. C'mon."

"Say no more," Urbosa breathed with relief, spinning the legged half of the suit along her shoulder before setting it up atop the dusty crust of earth beneath them, "How's that?"

She examined the piece of Guardian equipment, so well-shaped by nonsensical swirls of Sheikah design and rungs of uncolored paths that might have shone with neon sheen were it still powered by its original mechanism.

Mipha appraised it appropriately as she stepped toward the bulky piece, watching it as if in preparation. Urbosa took the moment to stretch out her back, ejecting a booming groan into the air as her spine was offered relief.

"Goddess, that's nice!" she spoke up in tense happiness, leaving Zelda to giggle at her demonstration.

"You're like an old woman right now," she teased.

Urbosa's face spun into confusion, "What? My skin is as taut as the day it met the sun! Just you wait, child; it'll be sooner than later that your bones begin disagreeing with you."

"Uh huh," muttered Zelda slyly, "We'll see about that, won't we?"

"Ha!" Daruk gleefully chuckled, "You're taking on many rivals, my friend!"

Urbosa shot him a glare, "Only 'cause I can handle them, buddy."

While the three prattled about, Mipha approached the bottom half of the suit with a particular uncertainty, which Link noticed swiftly with his eyes having already followed her along. He watched her lips curl as if sizing the equipment up, smiling himself as Mipha attempted to figure just how to step into the mechanical breeches that stood too high for such a simple maneuver.

Link's eyes flashed toward the others for a moment, catching the continuing shenanigans, as well as Revali's disinterest as he pattered about nearby. Shaking his head, he approached the suited half as well, forcing Mipha's curious eyes up toward him as his arms rose to offer her his hands.

"P- Pardon?" she inquired sincerely, holding back embarrassment.

Link shrugged, "I'll lift you on into it."

"Th- That-" Mipha suddenly sputtered.

"Come on," Link assured quietly, leaning in close, "It's not the closest we'll have been."

Mipha's eyes spun away, "I-! I mean- Yes, but-"

Only smirking at her abject shame toward being helped in such a way, Link crossed his arms, "Nobody's watching, if that's what is concerning you."

She bit her lips, eyes fluttering to confirm Link's claim, before burying her head low and gingerly raising her arms to allow him a grasp of her sides. Quickly enough, Link took her just underneath either side of her ribcage, hands glancing atop such tender scales, before picking her up and swinging her overtop the mechanical leggings where she cautiously slipped her feet into the contraption.

Immediately afterward, Mipha's head sputtered around either shoulder to ensure she hadn't been seen, to which Link simply grinned as he held the suit while she moved to ensure its stability, "Help doesn't always imply helplessness, you know."

"I know, just-" Mipha frowned, "I'm already being watched over and we're not even close to the top…"

Link nodded absentmindedly in understanding as he felt around the hip area of the suit, "Well, if it's any consolation, I'm only half-watching you in worry."

A wry smirk appeared as Mipha retaliated, "Oh, hush."

"Pretty sturdy," Link spoke up as the others returned their attention onward, patting the mechanism.

"I'd say something like 'Don't I know it!' but these two would get all over my case again," Urbosa complained as she grabbed her shoulder before winding up her arm to stretch further.

Attention shifting back to Mipha, Link asked, "How long should that gekari gel from an hour ago last you?"

"I'm not sure how the intense heat with affect its potency, but if Daruk is correct and the inner shafts of the mountain are cooler, I should be fine with what's applied."

Nodding diligently, Zelda stepped along toward the incline of the mountain, "Alright then, let's get on!"

"Someone's excited!" Daruk exclaimed happily, "I'm always thrilled to present my home to others!"

Another few steps and Zelda paused, spinning around to watch as Mipha wiggled her body until the mechanical apparatus begin to jolt forward, leaving a collective look of shock amongst the faces of the intrigued Company members.

"Look at that!" Zelda exclaimed.

Crossing his arms with bewilderment, Daruk marveled, "Whoa! It's almost like a marionette!"

Locked in focus, Mipha's tongue remained held tightly bitten down by her lips while her legs worked mechanically, gradually returning to something of a fluid stride as the machine began to break itself in and Mipha grew to better comprehend its instruction.

"It's a bit- odd," she admitted staggeringly, "I'm, uh- not used to having my- scales- You know."

"Suffocated?" Urbosa wondered in offering.

Mipha nodded, "Something like that, yeah. I mean, I'm so used to lacking clothing that-"

Her voice trailed off as concentration overtook her, even amidst the collective awe of Zelda, Urbosa, and Daruk, while Link focused more on Mipha herself, unable to wholly conceal his feelings of concern. Still, her resilience shone through like sunlight in through shallow waters, pressing on determinately up the mountain, and even leading the troupe as they were slowed by awestruck eyes.

Revali spun around to join the cluster once more, his lips turning in critique before offering plainly, "Hmm… I suppose it is rather intriguing."

"Right?!" Zelda exclaimed with delight, "Seeing it now, I-! Just think of the possibilities! Robbie is truly on to something spectacular!"

A hand reached over to gently land atop Zelda's head, directing it toward the mountain's peak as Urbosa's softened voice broke past her ear, "Let's focus on just one possibility now, Princess."

A blood-curdling crawling of frigidity splintered down Zelda's spine at the very thought of losing out on an opportunity for research, yet she managed to pull her psyche together at Urbosa's behest, nodding with purpose as she took in a breath.

"Y- Yes, of course," Zelda confirmed, "Shall we press on? if Mipha is comfortable?"

After a brief moment of further movement and confidence, Mipha nodded quickly with a slight, "…yes. We can move on."

Her excitement now checked by her surrogate mother, Zelda better tempered her emotions as she took charge once more, waving for the others to follow, "Alright. We press on until Mipha requires the top half of her suit, and from that point on, Daruk, you take the lead, alright?"

"On my honor!" the Goron heartily replied as he slammed a fist against his chest before bowing oddly, still clutching the opposite half of the suit over his shoulder, "You have my word!"

The incline of the Flank arose with such a sheer face as the troupe advanced, leading to a quickening increase of temperature as they approached the swaths of hot air barreling down the ends of the mountain, battling for presence within the atmosphere with equally blistering currents of air. As they rounded the final curve up the mountain, passing the magnificent vantage point of Gut Check Rock, the lava flows of Death Mountain's peak came into view, only heightening the Company's perception of just how sweltering it was becoming. Despite this, however, Mipha remained silent, leading to juggled nerves among the others, even Revali, who couldn't help but shoot sidelong glances in her direction from time to time.

Finally, as if in defiance of Mipha's resilience, Zelda finally spoke up as she wiped sweat from her brow, "Alright, Mipha? You ready to try it all on?"

"N- No," came the Zora's reply, her silence now explained as she'd been attempting to conceal her panting breaths, "I- I can still-"

"Still nothing," Zelda ordered, eyes flashing to find Link's face contorted in worry, as she pointed toward Daruk, "Come on. It's going on. You need any more gel?"

Mipha shook her head, "No. Of that, I'm sure."

Still in concern, Zelda turned her lips inward, but took her at her word in this regard, knowing she still had some applied to her skin, instead allowing Daruk to carefully bring the top half of the suit over his head and atop of Mipha's stationary body.

"Okay!" Daruk exclaimed, making sure it was facing the proper way, "Are you ready to enter the fishbowl?"

Mipha watched him with confusion while Urbosa scoffed, "Okay, rude!"

"What's rude?!" Daruk wondered aloud, "It's a home outside of the waves, is it not?"

Before Urbosa could interject, Mipha gave a weak giggle, nodding slightly, "It- It's a cute name for the suit."

"See?" Daruk grinned, slowly lowering the torso over Mipha's body, the Zora carefully raising her arms to slide into the extremities of the device.

As they worked, Zelda's body spun slowly toward the magnanimous sight of where they were headed, backgrounded by Death Mountain itself. The rivers of sickly orange lava was intimidating enough, but the bellowing clouds of acrid smoke, pouring out from the mountain as though it were battling the very clear skies that gave this world life, only pressed upon her a daunting presence as she returned to see Mipha wiggling around, now fully encased within her suit, with only her face visible behind a glass screen.

"How is it?" Link asked, sliding his hands along its hips to ensure the two pieces were surely adjoined.

The suit followed along as Mipha bent forward, attempting to discover the boundaries of movement as she answered, "It's- constricting, but- It's nowhere near as- hot in here. It's almost like- if you had a device to make- your breathing easier. It's synthetically cozy."

"I suppose that's the most appropriate term," Urbosa mused in wonderment as she examined the whole body of machine, lips pulled to the side as she critiqued the mechanism.

Zelda nodded in understanding as she turned to Revali, "You holding up yourself?"

"Pah! Were I not a Rito!" he charged simply, though quickly played down his bravado as he complained, scratching at his arm, "The dry air is irritating my quills, it seems, though."

"Okay, then there's no time to lose," Zelda confirmed, "From here on out, we're on a time crunch, alright?"

Urbosa coyly smirked at her young child's sudden direction, nodding in obedience as the others rolled along, carefully at first while Mipha acclimatized herself, not only to the added weight surrounding her, but the wholly foreign range of motion that now bound her within the machine's grasp.

The Company ascended further, now within the imposing shadow of Death Mountain itself, seemingly forever trudging up the incline as the oppressive heat beat down upon them. Between exertion and the elements surrounding them, Link felt his throat constrict as he attempted to fight for air, not having wholly considered the lack of such a commodity at this altitude. With speed came time, however, it stripped the group of a chance for their bodies to gradually acclimate to the lack of oxygen.

He noticed Zelda with much the same issue, while Urbosa remained rather nonplussed, though he couldn't tell if it wasn't simply her continuing to appear confident in all things. Regardless, it was like a jolt of fresh air to hear Daruk's voice exclaiming happily.

"Right up there! The archway!" he spoke in elation, "Lake Darman is just beyond that entrance!"

"And the tunnel…" Link asked lightly.

Daruk assured swiftly, "The vents begin just nearby; at least one of them. I'd say, at this current pace, we'll be within its confines within ten minutes or so."

"Well, some good news for once!" Revali churned insufferably so, "I'm not even sure I could fly up here with how lacking the air is."

Grinning, Daruk nodded proudly, "I wouldn't doubt it! I'm sure even Urbosa has some disadvantageous traits of being up here! Ah yes, to be a Goron, living where only Gorons can."

"Actually, I'm fine," Urbosa shrugged, "The heat isn't anything. The lack of air is nothing much, either."

Crossing her arms, she tilted her head, "I could even see myself constructing a summer home up here."

"Bwah ha! Surely you're joking!" Daruk laughed, fishing for some trait that was exclusive only to Gorons, "It's much too precarious up here for anybody not a Goron!"

Urbosa eyed him, "You do know who you're talking to, right? Precarious is my middle name."

A sudden placidity overtook Zelda's face as she turned her sights over her shoulder, muttering, "I thought your middle name was R-"

A hearty laugh from Daruk interrupted her, the Goron shaking his head, "You're too much at times! Sure, perhaps for a day or two, but a week? Nah; you'd tremble beneath the might of this mountain."

"Are you looking for another fight?" Urbosa challenged lightly, smirking as she spoke.

"Of course not!" Daruk assured unconvincingly, "I'm just simply relaying to you that- while you may not believe it, you certainly could not survive up here, at least not for long."

Stepping quicker to approach the front of the pack, Urbosa chuckled, "He's getting cocky, now."

Waving Daruk to follow her lead, Urbosa went on, "Shut up about that now. You're supposed to be taking lead, remember?"

"Ah! Yes!" Daruk nodded, turning to Link, who remained alone behind Mipha, "You've got her if she falls backward?"

Link eyed him scrupulously, "In that suit?"

Frowning worriedly, Daruk clamored forward, pausing for a moment to speak up to Mipha, whose face was still buried low to watch her movements through the glass shield in front of her face.

"Just, uh- Don't fall backward, okay?"

Her head immediately raised up in shock as Daruk nodded in unrequited reply, simply turning to join Urbosa while the Zora looked around in curiosity, wondering what might send her toppling backward, the thought never having occurred to her. Despite this, Link remained with a hand on the shoulder of her suit, just in case.

"Okay, then," Daruk nodded, patting a fist into his palm as the Company passed beneath the craggy arch that signaled their arrival to Lake Darman, "It's not much farther."

A blistering gush of furiously scorching air pressed into the group like the heated breath of giant mass, nearly forcing them back as their skin grew to understand the sensation of becoming singed by flame. As the Company regrouped, Daruk went on ahead to scout ahead, hoping to save time simply by scoping out the entrance.

He stepped ahead, rounding the final corner that brought Lake Darman into view, before his feet skidded to a stop, catching Urbosa's attention. She turned to give the Company another once over before warily approaching Daruk, keeping her eyes out as she stepped past him, catching sight of the landscape before him that had left him gob smacked.

"Daruk?" she asked, "What's up?"

"I-" he stammered to reply, suddenly turning his head left and right, "This isn't-"

He started off again, now aimlessly, as if he had lost something amidst the charred earth beneath his-

"Wait," Urbosa suddenly accused, raising her hands in awe, "Are you telling me it's not-"

"It's here! I'm sure of it!" Daruk insisted, twirling around in place, "I just- Not exactly where I remembered it being is all."

Urbosa buried her face into her palm as Daruk continued searching the landscape, ever-increasing in desperation at the thought of the rest of the Company arriving only to discover his misstep. He quickly scampered around, eyes wide in terror, making jerking movements at inopportune times simply to reexamine spots he had already gone over. Urbosa leaned back to catch the troupe approaching, Zelda having covered her face to protect herself as best she could from the noxious fumes of sulfur that now odored the air.

"Almost there," she heard Zelda murmur to herself, disheartened at the prospect of telling this woman that the goal wasn't as concrete as once believed.

Her head whipped around one final time, catching Daruk half-sunken behind a mound of ash, still exploring, before returning to Zelda with a droll, "Yeah, about that-"

Link's eyes bolted up toward her, "What?!"

"Daruk kind of-" Urbosa bit her lip, scratching her scalp nervously, "He might have been off a bit in his recollection of where exactly the entrance was."

"By the Goddess!" Revali exclaimed in exasperation, in contrast to Zelda's sudden, disheartened reaction as she collapsed to a knee before dropping her head.

"Urbosa!" she cried out, not in accusation, but simply to remember that her protector was near.

The Gerudo assured readily, "He'll find it! Don't worry! Look, I'm searching, too."

She turned away, hustling in the opposite direction from Daruk, who continued barreling about the landscape. Zelda's eyes peered up only slightly, catching the sight of Lake Darman, its orange-red glow seeming less like a landmark than a bitter irony at this moment.

"Of the stupid-!" Revali shouted in disgust, flapping his arms up and then to his sides.

"Shut up!" Link declared, "Getting pissy isn't going to help anyone, alright!"

Revali jerked around to meet his stare, "Easy for you to say, imbecile! You can afford to lose some skin! We magnificent Rito are-!"

"You'd like to say that again within striking distance?!" Link yelled out angrily.

With a scoff, Revali spattered, "With pleasure! It would give me a chance to demonstrate, finally, just how meaningless you are, even with that weapon!"

As the two bickered, while Daruk and Urbosa were off hunting, Zelda managed, only weakly, to bring herself back up, turning to find Mipha standing still, her face concealed behind the steamy visor of the suit. The Hylian Princess trudged on over, slowly, wiping the sweat from her face once again on her sleeve.

"Mipha..?" she managed, weak with lethargy, "You okay?"

She wiped away the particles of condensation that had formed upon the glass of the visor, only to melt away Zelda's expression from one of placidity to one of fright.

Mipha's eyes shook as she peered off into the distance, her lips trembling in sheer concern as she processed Zelda's words, eyes only slowly turning to find Zelda's, only allowing for a wavering voice to emerge.

"I-" she whispered, only barely getting her words beyond her suit, "I don't think so…"

A sudden whimper emerged as tears wormed their way to Mipha's eyes, though it was immediately interrupted by a line of neon suddenly bursting into violet light along the side of the suit, catching Zelda's urgent attention.

"Link!" she cried out, battling back panicked tears of her own as she peered around the suit, the two still embroiled with conflict, forcing a blood-curdling cry to leave her.

"LINK!"

Her bodyguard whipped around, his angered brow immediately furrowing with terror as he noticed the subject of Zelda's attention. He took off with a hair-trigger movement, shoving footprints into the ash below and skidding to a stop at Mipha's side, looking down to find Zelda's hand atop the neon stream of light.

"It-" Zelda forced out through a choking throat as tears waterlogged her tone, "That can't be good, right?"

Terrified more of catching a glimpse of Mipha's face, Link whipped around toward Lake Darman, joining the search with a rampant zeal, skidding knees-first into the acrid soil and plowing his hands into the ash, throwing it behind him like a hell-hound in search of a bone. His hands ached, already dried by the air, but he refused to care. The rocky mantle tore his skin, leaving his hands bloodied, but he simply shut his eyes, refusing to think about much else as he shifted around, digging here and there.

Urbosa managed a glimpse of his wild movement, immediately confused by his actions of searching downward. Her brow curled in confusion before realizing, rather quickly, what he'd been getting at.

"Shit!" she cursed angrily, more at herself, before roaring across the lake toward the Goron, "DARUK!"

He only barely caught her exclamation, a terrified expression meeting her as Urbosa pointed his attention toward Link. The Goron immediately saw what Urbosa had, leaving him with a sickening feeling of dread within his own gut, forcing him back closer toward the group.

It was there; it had to be there. Entrances didn't just up and leave. The only way it possibly would be concealed, when it was barely even maintained, was by the collection of ash atop of it.

Daruk shook his head, frustrated in himself, before leaping onto the ground and shoving his massive, shovel-like hands into the ground and launching the craggy dust skyward, emulating Link and, immediately afterward, Urbosa.

Zelda stood up, watching Mipha's face in terror in her eyes, the two Princesses sharing little more at that moment than tears. Doing her best to remain calm, Zelda simply kept wiping away the steam from Mipha's visor, shaking her head, apologizing, as she did so.

"I'm so sorry," she muttered achingly, the ball in her throat constricting each and every word.

Despite her own tears, perhaps due to a biological reaction rather than terror in her own right, Mipha reached a mechanical arm up to clutch Zelda's arm, the manufactured sensation forcing a jolt down Zelda's spine from surprise.

"It'll be okay," Mipha confirmed with a weak smile, betraying the dread marked by her tears, "I haven't had any spasms yet, anyway."

Zelda couldn't hold back a sudden burst of a giggle that immediately passed her by, causing her to shake her head as she reprimanded the Zora, "Shut up. This isn't the time for jokes."

"Considering everything going on," Mipha softly laughed, "It might be the best time."

Zelda gave a cryptic glance toward Mipha, turning to notice Revali having even joined the search, though his work was mostly done with his talons, still refusing to soil his plumage. As high as her praise had been toward this mechanism, Zelda now hated this thing that now so forcefully kept these two souls apart when Zelda, perhaps even moreso than Mipha, so desperately needed to be held.

Despite her words, however much like a leader she could sound like, Zelda knew, right then, how weak and trembling she still became when trouble started, especially juxtaposed alongside Mipha, who, as narrowly as her life seemed to be slipping through time at this moment, retained that indelible grace that had so endeared her to Link.

"HERE!" Urbosa suddenly shouted, her arms now churning with a furious pace as she further opened up the hole in the ground that resembled something akin to a mine shaft.

Zelda's head tore through the air and over her shoulder before clutching the suit and helping Mipha along as if her influence were helping whatsoever. Regardless, Mipha managed to step along, watching with bittersweet eyes and Link and Daruk hopped near Urbosa to further excavate their destination, wholly torn apart by their devotion to her, and the Company itself. That was all the resolve she needed to take step after step, however slowly, until Urbosa leapt to her feet, waving Daruk to follow behind her.

"Come on! You get that side, I get this side!"

Daruk nodded.

The two rushed to Mipha's sides, hoisting the entire suit up as Urbosa's voice forcefully grunted through the air, forcing her muscles to burst as the two scampered across the ashy plain while Link gave a final few swipes to heighten the breadth of the entrance, allowing the two powerhouses to simply crouch down and lower Mipha into the dark, chasmous hole in the ground with a massive CLANG that burst through the air as her suit hit the floor within.

The others followed suit, as quick as they could, Urbosa hopping in and helping Zelda down into the cubic shaft that descended into the mountain on a sloping decline, like a ramp. The lot of them immediately collapsed upon entry, even Revali, taking deep, panting breaths while simultaneously taking stock of the temperature within the shaft, which had become far more tolerable than the heat outside generated by the massive pools of lava letting off their scorching heat.

Zelda crawled closer toward Mipha, taking a gander into the glass visor to find Mipha's face already having visibly found some semblance of relief, allowing her to ask softly.

"...how about now?"

The Zora took a few more panting breaths, exhausted from her maneuvering of the bulky suit, before answering with a nod, "Yeah. I think so."

Finally, Zelda thought, they had earned some rest.