"Ralph, let me come with you." Ralph lifted himself up on Moosh's back, staring anywhere and nowhere. His mind was boiling over in vengeance, his stomach hungering for blood, hands twitching to expel life. He turned to the one who asked to come, Oren. She had a hand on his leg, her eyes filled with empathy. Of course, she did. How many kingdoms, large and small, were lost because of the Imperials? Gerudo, Zora, Hylian, Lorulean, Calatian… Labrynna will not join that list.

Oren wanted to go to make sure of that. Part of him wanted to deny her, and he was going to, but Nayru, atop her Loftwing, stated, "We might need her assistance. I'll explain along the way."

Trusting Nayru's council, Ralph outstretched his hand to Oren, lifting her up upon the bear's back. As she got settled, Ralph looked to his friends. He wishes he could bring them, but they had a crucial task. One that could end this war. "Link, Zelda, Midna, Hilda, and even you, Ravio, find that blasted Triforce. Find Ganondorf. Then you three, Courage, Wisdom, and Power, kick the throne's ass. Do it before I return, or I'll steal your thunder."

They all chuckled, Ralph turning his head to prepare to leave when a commanding voice called to him. He turned to see General Auru, his fist to the heart. "Give them hell, Your Majesty. Avenge her. Then return to raise more hell."

Ravio nodded. "Yeah, you better return, Your Royal Prostitute-ness."

Ralph smirked. "I will, bunny boy." Ralph faced his people, all with the same desire as he. Revenge for the queen, and to protect their home. He will give them that. "Labrynnians, for the Queen, and for Labrynna, we fly!" Ralph snapped Moosh's reins, the bear roaring and running before its little wings granted it flight. Ralph and Oren were followed by a flock of Loftwings, carrying their warriors skyward to their warring homeland. To save it. To avenge Queen Rania Ambi.

To make the Imperials pay.

Ralph had never been so quiet in his entire life, never been so vengeful, never so sorrowful. A part of him knew the day would come the Imperials would attack Labrynna, he was ready for that after last month's failed negotiation to make Labrynna fall without a fight.

But his mother's death, so quickly in the fight… That unnerved him the most. Why hadn't she recalled him at the notice of the attack? Did she send Nayru before she died, or did the Oracle of Ages come as a result? Ralph guessed that it didn't matter. If he had been there, he probably would be dead along with his mother, or king at the moment.

But for Nayru to make the trip to Ralph instead of calling out for him must mean something. Maybe the Imperials hadn't made landfall, which questions as to how the queen died. Maybe they did, and Nayru, as a resort to bringing their best forces home, rushed to Hyrule. Whatever the case, it had its intended effect: Ralph and his troops were on route.

Speaking of the devil, the Oracle directed her Loftwing to her king's side. She looked to his Zora partner, who was sleeping on the king's back. A smile imparted on Nayru's face as she looked at her former best friend. "I see the rumors about you being quite the ladies' man is true, although I would never think you had a thing for the Zora."

Ralph bit his lip. "It isn't like that...not with her, at least."

"If you think I'm here to scold you for your affairs, don't. It isn't like I care. That's...your business." She cleared her throat, uncomfortable with the subject matter, ready to get to business. "The Imperials… As for as I know, we haven't lost much ground. We were holding them at the Fairies' Forest., but that's not our biggest concern. The enemy has a weapon of sorts, an elephant-like machine."

Ralph frowned. The description of the machine brought back an all-too-familiar memory of Calatia's destruction. "Can it fire a blue laser?"

"It did. Twice. Crescent Island was devastated, and so was the Tokay. A few survivors were already on the mainland or survived the blast. But that was just the warning shot, I believe. The next one, the one that made me come to you, was the attack on the Black Tower. It ravaged it completely."

Ralph looked away, knowing exactly what Nayru was leading to. "Mother was there."

"Yes…" Nayru reached over, placing her hand on Ralph's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Raphael."

Ralph shook his head. "There's nothing you could have done to stop it. Luckily this isn't my first time seeing this type of weapon. I know how to destroy it, but first, we'll have to deactivate and land on it."

Nayru nodded. "Deactivating it would be nice. It has rained nonstop since the thing arrived, and the eastern lowlands have returned underwater… If it continues, Labrynna will flood altogether."

"I understand. How long until we get there?"

"We're two hours out, minimum. I already told Din we should return by nightfall. Every troop in Lynna City is ready for your arrival."

Ralph nodded. "Good. We will tackle this tonight. Come morning, we will have beaten the Imperials back, or I'll be an heir to nothing."


Ganondorf slowly approached Riju's balcony, seeing the young woman await him upon it. He had just left the barracks, training alone to blow off some steam. Ganon had pressed the wrong buttons, Ganondorf wishing he could blast the beast back to the Evil Realm. The beast had some logic, but admittedly Ganondorf had a fear. The fear of the king.

Falling from Death Mountain a month ago had scarred the survivor, and with each night, a new nightmare with the same event. It was a reason he had left Riju's quarters for the barracks. It was the only place he could be alone and beat his fear away.

Ganon should have known that which meant the parasitic pig didn't know everything he thought. Good.

Ganondorf was halfway up to Riju on the last set of steps, staring at the young woman. She was quite the beauty, and with the only lighting in the world being torches on the palace's walls and the light of the crescent moon, she was even more stunning. Blinking away the distraction, Gan complete his odyssey, joining Riju at her side as they both looked down upon the plaza of the city of Mido.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

Ganondorf had to admit, the sand-brick city of Mido was much more appealing aesthetically than his wooden home. Also, sand didn't burn the same way as wood. Maybe it was his inner Gerudo that believed sand was better. "Yes… Much better than Nabooru. Even the palace with this… fountain on top of it."

Riju bit one of her nails. "Nabooru had a beauty. Your city was much larger than mine is, and there were some interesting things there. Arbiter's Grounds was a fun arena, there is the archery range, the ranch. Here, we have sand seals and a bar."

"You must enjoy the sand seals."

"I never said I didn't… But your home had its pleasantries." She rested one arm on the ledge of the balcony, supporting her cheek as she looked and smirked at Ganondorf. "Ready to spill, or is the mighty king of Nabooru afraid to tell some big secret the to poor chief of Mido?"

"I'll tell you, as promised."

"Hmph, good. As payment, I will do the same. Maybe this will be fun."

Ganondorf grunted. This is not his idea of fun. However, he nodded his acceptance, biding his time before he gave away his dark deed. A moment or two passed, then he spoke, choosing his words carefully but speaking the truth. "A month ago, I was captured by the Imperials. I was imprisoned at Spectacle Rock, pretty much the worst place for someone of my birth to be. For days, I was prodded on being the next Ganon, his modern incarnation, but I insisted that I was my own man, despite my genetics. When… Calatia was destroyed, and I-"

Riju shot her head up in surprise. "Wait, Calatia was destroyed? When and how?"

"You didn't… Ah, yeah, you would not have seen it. The Imperials used a beastly machine and destroyed the country. I'm not sure if the beast could do it itself, or its power was supercharged, because I saw it fire again, and it only made a crater in the mountain. Not the same level of power. Remember seeing a blue light across the sky?"

Riju nodded. "Ah yes. We assumed it was the Imperials, for we did know that they were fighting in South Hyrule...and there were rumors of a weapon, but if that weapon and your beast are the same...damn."

"Yeah. That was during my imprisonment and the day that I began to slip. That's when our esteemed hero of our people began talking to me, and well…" Ganondorf pointed to himself. "Guess I am my ancestor."

Riju frowned, biting her lips. She didn't know whether to be furious or not, but she kept her volume low. "You brought Ganon into my city?"

"No, you did...and the boar says hello in his own special way." Ganondorf crossed his arms as he watched his people walk across the plaza. Few turned their heads to look at the royal pair, many minding their own business. "If you are worried about him rampaging and stuff, don't. He's powerful, but I can sense that he is still being held down. His seal is still up."

"But for how long?"

"I don't know. But I won't let him free so easily. I'll die before my dear ancestor ravages the world again. We don't need to fight two wars." Wanting to change the subject, the voe gazed at the vai, smiling weakly. "What is your dark secret?"

She scoffed. "Not as deep as yours… It is about us, the past us."

"Oh?"

"Yeah… I want to apologize, on behalf of my mother who cannot, and I who can."

Ganondorf shifted in place uncomfortably. "What do you mean?"

Riju lowered her face, wanting to disappear from the face of the earth. "...It was the Yiga Clan who organized the attack on your city, and we found out. My mother was delayed in her belief, mostly because I was in Nabooru with...you. She knew three days before it happened, but she didn't believe it until a scout reported a large Imperial march. She tried to send a messenger, but when that person arrived, we were told it was too late. The city was already overrun. I remember that night, drowning myself in tears, hell, I even cried for Aveil… I'm sorry."

Ganondorf shook his head. Yes, what Riju had to say was quite the reveal, but, knowing his father, it would have happened either way. "It wouldn't have made a difference anyway. Malladus would have actually fought, and we'll probably here, doing what we are now." Lowering his head, the voe focused on the other half of Riju's statement. "The Yiga… Those bastards who removed our people from our ancient home? That split our people into two? After all these years, I blamed the Imperials, but the Yiga? So they made me who I am… Once the heir to my father's kingdom, to my mother's warriors, but now, I am an heir to nothing."


"Spryte, what do you know of these three palaces." Zelda marked the three locations, then let the fairy step in the map as she looked at the markers. She had become obsessed with knowledge of the upper kingdom, as she knew absolutely zero about it. So much for potentially the missing heir to a kingdom.

"Hmm… Midoro Swamp, dirty and all sorts. Parapa is a desert and the Great Palace… Now that's an interesting one. Apparently, the only trail that leads to it is called the Path of Fire. Why are we going there?"

"Link has to go."

"Oh… Nice knowing him then." Unfortunately, Link entered Zelda's room at the moment Spryte was speaking. He ignored the fairy, passing it and Zelda as he fell on Zelda's bed. The exiled princess winced as her best friend molded her bed from order to chaos, then had the audacity to rise his body to a sitting position on the edge and smile sheepishly. Disappointed in her human's behavior, Spryte huffed as she turned away. "Idiot will burn to death."

"You're going into a smaller bottle next time."

"You know, I think I'll trade Zelda for you. She's nicer."

Link smirked knowingly, looking to Zelda whose fearful face knew what he was going to say. "She suggested it. I followed my princess' orders."

"That was because you said she could compromise our mission! And you would have done it anyway just to keep her from going."

Link shrugged. "Yeah...no, I like my fairy. I missed you Spryte."

Spryte shook her head. "B. U. L. L. C. R. A. P. You did it before so I wouldn't tell Zelda that you li-" Link dove for the fairy, missing miserably as Spryte darted for the ceiling of the room where Link couldn't reach her, even if he jumped. She knew because he tried. "Oh, look at the poor hero. Don't you know how to jump?"

"Get down here!"

"Might have to roll into the wall to make me come down." Spryte looked between Zelda, who was confused at the whole situation, and a furious Link. "Oh, where was I… Oh yes, Zelda, what Link didn't want-"

"Spryte!"

"-me to tell you was that-"

"Don't you dare!"

"-Link likes, no, LOVES the Princess-"

"NO!"

"- of Lorule, Hilda." Link was about to summon all of his might to squish the fairy, but when the name registered in his mind, he looked at Spryte in mad confusion. She, however, lowered herself very smugly, knowing she had put Link in a situation that he couldn't get out off anytime soon. He, along with Zelda, will spend the next few day with the Princess of Lorule and her knight, and as Link realized what Spryte has done, he found himself unable to deny the lie. If he did, Zelda would question him, or Spryte would demand an answer to the extent that Zelda would want one as well. In either situation, he would be forced, because a clueless Zelda is a bothering Zelda.

What Link didn't know was that Zelda wasn't stunned to hear Link liked her Lorulean counterpart, but that it wasn't her. For as long as she had feelings for Link, she was certain that he had feelings for her, and his actions proved more than a confession of words. She waited for Link to deny, but he lowered his fist like a defeated champion, his head following it down. Zelda held back her feelings, looking at the map of North Hyrule for relief. "Hilda huh? She's a nice choice for you. Don't know why you didn't want to tell me."

"...Yeah, sorry." Link settled down by Zelda, not looking at her in the face. What he wanted to do was tell the truth, or shove his damn fairy into the smallest bottle she could fit in and made sure it sank deep into Lake Hylia. What he did was wave off the subject. "Don't worry about that. The purpose of me being here is to tell you that we're heading out in the morning. Hilda… Midna and Ravio are thinking we should cut time and just warp to North Hyrule, at least to the base of Death Mountain, but they decided that it is your choice."

Zelda pursed her lips. "Why me? You're our leader."

"You're the princess. Truth be told, we won't have Ralph for a while, and he's a natural leader. Admittedly, he should have taken Ganondorf's place. But Zelda, you are better for this than me. My...hero-ness is a loner than a team player if you catch my drift. Starting to feel that itch too."

Zelda nodded her head, absently staring at the map's depiction of her destined home. Reaching for her tiara on her head, she absently gazed at it. "Link, do you think...if we win the war...the people will accept me as their ruler? I know next to nothing about being a queen, hell, a princess, so… Does my mother's legacy end with her as the last queen of Hylia's blood? Is she the last Princess Zelda with a throne attached to her birth certificate? I envy your destinies, yours and Ganondorf's. You two, chained forever to our curse because of an ancient demon like me, yet… Ganondorf could have felt to his as the Prince of Darkness, yet he sacrificed himself for the greater good. You, like my father, have a destiny, but once it is over...you are a free man. You can do whatever you want, be whoever you want, love whoever you want, die however you want… Yet, I feel as if I don't take the throne, I have failed the reason I was born." Zelda gazed to Link, tears barely contained in her eyes. "I want to win, but I don't know if I can be like my mother, and the Zeldas before her. How can I rule a country I wasn't trained to?"

"Zelda."

"You know what I am, Link?" Link stared back, wondering just what Zelda believes herself to be, and just how wrong it definitely is. He took her head in his hands.

"You are my best friend, the only person that I will put my life stupidly on the line."

Zelda released her tears, burrowing herself in Link's shoulders. "To you, yes, but to Hyrule, I am an heir to nothing."


Hilda checked her bag, making sure she had everything. Potions, check. Camping gear, check. Miscellaneous girl stuff, double check. Pleased with herself, she laid the pouch with her clothes and weapons, ready to return to North Hyrule for the long-term. Turning to her cohort standing in the corner of the room, she stretched her arms to get the blood flowing. "I'm finished now, Ravio. Thanks for the help."

Ravio nodded, "You're welcome, Princess." Hilda sighed internally, displeased with her best friend's attitude. It hasn't lifted since they left Saria, hell, he's been in a mood (at least in her presence) ever since Death Mountain a month ago. She didn't understand what she had done to deserve this. Whatever the case, she was not going to spend a long journey at odds with Ravio of all people. As she went for the door, she intercepted him, holding a hand to his tunic. The knight had discarded his robe in place of a tunic, an odd look for him but one Hilda was used to. She lightly pushed him back, Ravio yielding easily as she stepped in front of him. Eyeing her bed, she gestured her head towards it. "Sit." Ravio complied silently, sitting on her bed as she stated. Now that ticked her enough, his silent obedience. If anything, Ravio was anything but unyieldingly obedient, at least to this degree. By position, he was the servant, she was the master, but that was a long time ago before they became friends and equals. Heck, she was used to Ravio ordering her around these days.

Angrily, she stood over Ravio, "What is your problem?"

Ravio didn't even look up at her. Instead, he bowed his head. "Nothing."

"You coward. It is one thing to not confront a problem you might have with me, but to not look me in the eye?"

"Yet it is you who stands over me." Ravio stood up, turning the tables as he towered over Hilda, green eyes still looking elsewhere than to her red eyes. Retaliating, Hilda pushed Ravio back on the bed, resuming their earlier position.

"What have I done to you?"

This time, Ravio looked at her, possibly more angry than she was. "You lied to me." Ravio stood back up, this time digging his sight into Hilda.

Hilda was too caught off guard by the accusation to match Ravio's tone. Her anger fell, leaving her a confused mess. "Wh-wh-what?"

"All these years, you've been nothing but a liar. The worst kind of liar too, that of a surviving partner, a friend, my duty. You lied to the one person who is sworn to protect your life, which I still don't get to this day. Call me a coward for the rest of my days, and I own up to that, but you, Hilda, are a fool."

Hilda jabbed a finger into Ravio's chest. "What do you mean I have lied to you? And how dare you call me a fool!"

Ravio slapped the hand away, and pushed the raven-haired beauty back with his simple words. "You destroyed Lorule!" Hilda stood stunned while Ravio looked away, the production of fresh tears blinding him. "Zant might have been an insane, vile man but he presented logical facts that even I cannot deny. The Imperials couldn't have destroyed Lorule, they didn't even possess that power at the time. The only thing that could was the Triforce, our Triforce…" The first tear rolled down Ravio's face as he looked back at Hilda, her face unremorseful. "And you were the only one there. It was you, after all."

Hilda nodded, without of speck of regret for her secret decision. True, at the time, it was the hardest call she could make, but in the end, she settled with it being the right choice compared to many alternatives. "Yes, Ravio, I did it. Believe me when I say I didn't make that choice lightly, but it was the only choice I could make."

"So killing your fellow countrymen and women was the right choice for you?" Ravio took out his sword, tossing it to Hilda. "Then finish the job, Your Majesty." Hilda looked at the sword on the ground, the kicked it back to Ravio.

"Go."

"Gladly." Ravio picked up and sheathed his blade, walking to the door. He paused within the frame, not looking back at his princess. "Now I wonder what is it you fight for, Hilda. I always, from the moment the Imperials first invaded our country, fought for Lorule, as a knight of Lorule. But you… Did you ever fight for Lorule, as an heir to nothing?"