Outskirts of Mido

"Same situation, Chief Riju. The Imperials have not attacked."

Riju groans after hearing Buliara's report. Six hours it has been since she marched her army out to the sands in the hope that Ghirahim would make do on his promise. Six hours it has been, the sun is lowering itself in the atmosphere, and not a single Imperial attack.

It is not that the Demon Lord was not bluffing about attacking. He had been stationed outside Mido Town for two weeks now, and Riju has confirmation from fellow sage Ravio that, while not a full attack, the Resistance had some encounters with Imperial monsters quite a few times today. She did not believe Ghirahim to be a liar either, not after he boldly entered her palace yesterday. Something or someone is holding him back, and if it didn't come with the increased consequence of her people's deaths, Riju would attack right now. She saw what happened at Rauru when Vah Medoh blew the town to dust. Calatia and Labrynna, she heard about. Three perfect examples of what those weapons are capable of.

One of them is an example of how to attack those weapons. The Gerudo Chief had received news an hour ago of Vah Naboris having "glowing feet." Ralph reported that Vah Ruta had four similar glowing weak spots as water pumps. He used electric arrows to shut them down, yet Riju didn't think the same will work on Naboris. That's why she had ordered more bomb arrows produced.

Her plan is simple in explanation; two people, one of them Riju, will directly attack Vah Naboris. She, with the Thunder Helm, will protect the pair against Naboris' attacks, while the second person will shoot arrows at its feet. Simple in explanation, but with so many other factors, there's no way it will go as planned.

"The women and the Bulblins are restless, Riju. it has been hours. Why are we not attacking?"

"We are not the Resistance, Buliara, with the backing of the other realms. We are just a few hundred strong, and I cannot even commit some of them to battle because they have to protect noncombatants. I do understand them. I'm ready to fight too." Riju pats the sand to her right, gesturing for Buliara to sit. The captain of the guard hesitantly does so. Riju gazes out ahead of her to the river that passes Mido Town, seeing how the light reflects from the aqueous surface. "Buliara, I wish to speak with you, but not as chief and captain."

"My Lady?"

"I wish to hear you speak as my second mother. If you won't do it willingly, then think of it as an order." Riju smiles as she witnesses Buliara's uncomfort with her present situation. She hadn't meant to embarrass her captain, but if today is to be the end of the world, she just wants one moment with the woman she spends more time with in an informal manner. "I have a simple question for you."

"What is it, My Lady?"

"Riju is my name. Say it."

"...Riju, what is your question?"

"You served both me and my mother. Have I succeeded her well?"

Buliara goes silent for a moment, then points to the army behind them. "No, you have not, but that is of any fault to you. You've been at this for just two years, while she had two decades under her belt. However, ever since Ganondorf returned, I've seen a different Riju. The pathetic whelp that ascended the throne is now a blossoming young woman, worthy of being called Chief. She rallied a people behind her to fight a battle that might annihilate us, but we go willingly because we have loyalty to her. We follow her because she is part of a hope that Urbosa, Nabooru, and Malladus had, that our two people will once again unite as one. You brought Sage and Daemon back under one banner, so if we die today, the Gerudo people die as one. Something also tells me that you saved a man as well. When he came to us, he was lost in darkness, but in his death, he conquered it. I do not believe you have succeeded your mother well, but as for your aunt, you are an exceptional Sage of Spirit.

"Even now, as you stand before me, I see a woman with true with the spirit to stick to her morals, even if it makes her leave her friend. I see a chief with the spirit to fight adversity, even with the odds aren't in her favor. I see a queen with the spirit to take up arms against anything, even her own king. Mareeha Riju, Your Highness, the dream of my husband for you and his son has not passed. The spirit of all Gerudo rests with you both. In time, he will join you once more." Nabooru had said such words back in Rauru. To hear Buliara say a different version of the same speech warms her heart. In an act that will definitely make Buliara uncomfortable, Riju reaches over and hugs her captain. "Thank you."

She feels a strong arm wrap around her back, though it is wary of affection. "You're welcome, Lady Riju."

"Chief!" Riju and Buliara part as a Gerudo soldier comes to them. "The Imperials are coming!"

Riju lets a smile grace her face. Finally, the fight had come. "Make ranks, Buliara."

"Yes, ma'am."

The soldier wasn't finished. "Your Lady, the Bulblins have advanced without your orders."

Riju looks to the distant Vah Naboris. She couldn't see King Bulblin and his band, yet she is proud to have such an enthused ally. "And we're going to follow them."


Saria Town

"Alright my friend, it is dinner time! We got some mushroom soup, bread, and goat butter. It is pretty good, so enj-"

The mushroom-soup-bread-and-goat-butter carrying man drops the platter on the floor. Just a day prior, he and his older and younger brothers went exploring the damage Death Mountain sustained after a series of weird events. In the new crater on the mountain, they found one man in the rubble. They safely removed him and brought him back to Saria Town to their home.

For an entire day, the man was unconscious. This morning, as the sun rose, the man woke up. He was surprised to see the three brothers as they were to recognize him as the man who helped the lady kick their ass in the bar just two days prior.

Now he is magically gone, leaving only a letter behind that read:

"Dear Know-It-All Brothers.

Thanks for the help. Now if you want to live, get everyone out of Saria. Trust me on it, before it is too late."


Vah Naboris

Ghirahim hums to himself as he watches the carnage taking place below. The Gerudo and the Bulblins have been in battle against his forces for quite some time now, and it progresses in his favor. The Demon Lord is going to make good on his promise to erase the Gerudo clan once and for all. Naboris' beam is charged to full power, all she needs is to lock on the Gerudo's home and blast it to fine glass.

He was nice to give the Gerudo a little more time to prepare themselves. Unbeknownst to them, Vah Naboris was in range the entire time the Imperials had been outside the women's territory. He could have exterminated them any day he felt the need to, especially yesterday, but he was told to do so today. And he won't have to share in his victory alone.

"Today, the Gerudo fall." Koume, or as she prefers to be called now as Twinrova, pets Vah Naboris' head. The Gerudo Princess' arrival last night was unexpected but a welcomed surprise. As they say, the end of the world is much better to witness when you have someone at your side to destroy it.

"Indeed they do, Your Highness. Today, the world burns, but tomorrow a new era is born. No more heroes in skirts, no more girls of Hylia's line, and not even the hatred of my old master will manifest. It will be our world to rule as we see fit, and the goddesses won't do a damn thing to stop us."

Twinrova smiles as she gazes towards the battlefield. "Before you kill them off, I think I have a final family matter to attend to. Just be ready to fire."

Ghirahim nods. As Twinrova vanishes, the Demon Lord issues a command to the mechanical camel. "Vah Naboris, target Mido Town."


Riju

The skies were blood red above Riju's head, an indication that Vah Naboris begins to target Mido Town. She hopes Telma's evacuation efforts were going smooth, and the civilians will make it through the caves to the other side of the mountain. As for those on the battlefield, that meant that Riju's plan needs to be enacted now.

Riju points her scimitar towards Vah Naboris in the Imperial front lines. "Charge through them! We must get through and stop the beast from firing! We must-what the hell?"

Hovering in the air, a bronzed skin woman with half her features colored in burning red and the other half in cool white had just appeared. She had a pair of swords out, one baked in flames, the other glazed by ice. Her dual-colored eyes glare down on Riju, as far as the Gerudo Chief can tell. Yet something is quite familiar about her.

Despite the familiarity, all Gerudo who spots the woman along with Riju were witness to the incomprehensible truth, that one of their own is an Imperial. That pisses Riju off, that even the honor of the Gerudo is powerless to the might of the Imperials.

The woman lands before Riju, mocking her with a bow. "Chief Mareeha Riju. It has been quite a while."

"I do not know you, traitor."

"Well, not me now, but if you had seen me a few days ago, your body would be racked with recognition. Maybe I should rekindle the flames of your memory!" The woman swings first with her fire blade, but Riju quickly ducks under. She raises herself to parry the ice-covered sword with her right scimitar and the fire-swarmed blade with her left scimitar. Riju jumps up and kicks her opponent in the face, pushing her back and causing the other woman to growl in pain.

Riju gets into position, not believing that the woman could be a weakling.

Yet the fire and the ice abilities, the hair and eye coloring, it is familiar yet more so a distant memory. She knew this woman or some people like her. "Who are you?"

The other woman snickers as she wipes blood from the corner of her mouth. "Not enough? Shame, I bet my brother could see me for who I am. Too bad he's gone. Heard he died for you."

Brother? She has a brother who...Suddenly the form of the young woman split into the image of two small girls, one the brightest redhead she'd ever seen, the other's hair color cool-ice. The redhead had a temper to match her fire while her sister had a chillier attitude. She knew the girls hated her as much as they adored Ganondorf and his reluctantly chosen future queen of the Gerudo, Aveil. Riju had a nickname for the both of them, based on the legends of the Gerudo about two ancient witches who were also named Koume and Kotake, with their appearances similar to the sisters. A nickname that became form when the witches became one, and a nickname for the woman who appears as one before her.

"Twinrova."

"Aye, cousin."

"You lived all these years, but you know what the Imperials did to your people. Why fight for them? You are going against everything your mother, father, Aveil, and Ganondorf stood for and died for!"

Twinrova smiles. "Funny, someone said the same thing a few days back to Kotake before she died. Oh, by my hand of course."

So this is Koume with the combined powers of fire and ice. Riju processes this as she attacks Twinrova. Koume attacks from her position, firing icicles at the Gerudo Chief but the latter blocks them all. A blast of fire is shot forward, Riju leaps above the point of impact and slashes down on her cousin. Koume parries the flurry of swings Riju delivers, all with a crooked smile on her face. Riju begins to feel a chill on her arms and legs and notices a sheet of ice creeping up the limbs. Her movements begin to slow to a near standstill as the sheet reaches her shoulders and hips.

Twinrova chuckles as Riju is completely frozen in place. "This is the end for you, dear cousin. After today, your memory will be like ice in a desert. Melted and evaporated into the air under the heat of the sun."

As her torso is encased in ice, Riju calms herself and faces her little cousin. "Tell me Koume, would Ganondorf spare you now? If he saw you now, despite you being a traitor to our people and the laws we have with dealing with traitors, would he spare you?"

"Heh heh heh. Let me tell you a secret. Ganondorf was alive, and I met him just two days ago. He tried to reason with me and Kotake, he wasn't the powerful fighter I heard he had become, but, to answer your question, I don't think he would spare me now. Not like he can do anything about it, now that Ganon himself culled the cur."

Ice now up to her neck, Riju closes her eyes and smiles proudly. "Thank you for confirming he did indeed return and that presence on Death Mountain was indeed Ganon and Ganondorf. Thank you also for affirming my resolve now."

"What do you-" Twinrova steps back as Riju starts to glow. The ice begins to evaporate instantaneously, creating a temporary humidity around Riju. Seeing the shock on her cousin's face pleases Riju, yet she bears a serious demeanor. Surely frightened, Twinrova shoots fire, but the attack is parried by Riju with ease. "What...how?"

"If you have been up to date to events in the world, you should know that I am the Sage of Spirit, the same title your mother Nabooru bore. I am the pride of the Gerudo incarnate, and I won't have that pride beaten by a little girl. You, however, have been sentenced for betrayal, and if Ganondorf does return, I will apologize personally for not allowing him to kill you himself." Riju snaps her fingers and before Twinrova could do anything about it, a stroke of lightning pummels her from above. The Gerudo traitor screams in agony as she collapses to her knees, but Riju doesn't give her the pleasure of getting back to her feet. She snaps again, a third time, a fourth, a fifth, and each time lightning hails down on the former Gerudo Princess, turning the sand around Twinrova from the familiar tan to a sickening and cursed black. Riju thinks about snapping for the sixth time but decides to hold back.

Twinrova twitches in her suffering from aftershocks, yet she still breaths, much to Riju's chagrin. Riju stands in place, watching her cousin's agony. She finds herself surrounded by her people, realizing that the lightning might have scared off nearby members of the monster army temporarily. "Chief." Riju acknowledges the arrival of Buliara, who steps to her side and gazes down on the withering traitor. "So she is Gerudo. Who is she?"

"Her name was once Koume Dragmire, but from this moment on she shall be known as Twinrova. As our law states, the price of betrayal is death." Riju gives Buliara one of her scimitars, takes the other, and walks over to Twinrova's now still body. The former princess breath is erratic, her pain surely unbearable, and though Riju will rather the girl suffers in place of death, Riju follows the law.

"Fire…"

Riju pauses mid-thrust, hovering the sword above Twinrova's heart. "What?"

"...Fire...Vah Naboris…"

"Chief! The beast is firing!"

Riju looks up in time to see a bright blue streak across the sky fly over her and hears the impact of destruction. She remembers Rauru Town, how anything within a certain range from the point of impact is vaporized. The Gerudo weren't too far from the city.

As she looks back down, she notices Twinrova is gone.


Ghirahim

The beam strikes at its target, creating a huge destructive orb in the air. That orb will eat anything in its path until it goes away, and unfortunate for the Gerudo, they will not survive. "The day has now come. The Gerudo are no more." His smile grows as the blast grows, almost to the point he's sure his cheeks shouldn't be in the confirmation they're in.

"Blasted bitch." Twinrova suddenly reappears, wounded from her battle with Riju. Ghirahim could smell a prudent scent of burns, to which he turns to Twinrova. She looks completely horrible.

"Let me guess, you were hit by all that lightning."

"Yes."

Ghirahim chuckles. "Fill your heart with rainbows, princess. You have won the battle. The Gerudo are now exterminated."

Twinrova almost smiles, but then her jaw drops. "You must be wrong."

"How?"

"The blast...is gone."

"What?" Ghirahim turns around, gasping as Twinrova's words became truth to his eyes. Vah Naboris's blast had indeed vanished much quicker than it should've, and to add more fuel to his ire, the town of the Gerudo is still standing. The beam never reached Mido Town. Something had blocked the laser, but there is no way Sage of Spirit did it. There is no power in this world, not even Vaati's by Ghirahim's suspicions, that could have blocked and absorbed the blast. So when he paid more attention to the travel path of the beam, Ghirahim becomes stricken with shock. A power he hadn't sensed in millions of years is present, and that makes the Demon Lord sick with anger.

"Ghirahim, what is that power?"

"The hatred of the Demon King."


Riju

Something had saved them. No, someone had saved them. Riju stands up to join the rejoicing Gerudo just as the blast vanishes completely. Their salvation isn't visible to Riju, but its presence, the headache-inducing presence of darkness in the air. That's what her normal senses weigh on her mind. It is the power of Spirit that gives her another reading, one much more unexpected, much more unbelievable, much more helpful.

And compared to a week ago, much more powerful.

She stands as the Gerudo mumble around her, pointing to the newcomer who just lands to her side. The hooded figure possesses a small blue orb in their hand, possibly the entire power of Vah Naboris' blast. With a wave of the hand that holds the orb, the blue light in his hand vanishes. The women around Riju gasp at the display, while Buliara steps in front of Riju, her sword drawn to protect her Chief, even against someone who had just saved the entire race. "Are you an ally?"

The stranger stood silently, drawing their own sword. The topaz blade shines brilliantly in the darkening sky. Riju instantly recognizes the blade as the same one she placed in Ganondorf's cold hands nearly a week ago. She says nothing, desiring to hear the stranger speak for themselves.

Speak he did. "I have only been gone a few days, Buliara, and you treat me as an enemy already?"

Buliara drops her sword, nearly collapsing on the ground as the swordsman reveals himself by removing his hood. His face now visible, Riju tries her best to hold back her tears. The last time he stood in battle, it should have been his last, yet now he stands alive somehow, someway.

"You...have done...it. You've...made me...mad. You...I hate you… I hate you… I hate you!" Ganondorf fired a powerful ball of magic at Vaati, hitting him directly. All could hear Vaati grunt as he was impacted by the blast. Satisfied, Ganondorf chuckled weakly. "And my hate will never perish."

She could cry about his return, yet as the sounds of battle echoes in the sky, Riju turns her attention to the distant Vah Naboris. If she knew how determined Ghirahim and Twinrova were to defeat them, she guesses that they will try to fire the laser again. So now the opportunity to take down Naboris presents itself now. She takes her blade back from Buliara, and points it again towards Naboris. "Now we take the fight to the Imperial's weapon. Now we save our home. Now we save Hyrule." As the Gerudo cheer and line up, she turns to Ganondorf, smiling up to him. "Are you with me, Your Majesty?"

Ganondorf faces the Imperial army, his face constructed in anger. Electricity crackles down his sword arm, reminding Riju that his wounded sister was just here minutes ago, now most likely back with Ghirahim on Vah Naboris. She believes Ganondorf knows this already. "Ladies, a day may come when the courage of heroes fails, when the wisdom of queens and the power of thieves shall forsake us, but this is not this day! An hour of monsters and broken blades, when the honor of Gerudo no longer has meaning, but it is not this day! This day, we fight!"

The Gerudo recharge to battle determined to take down Vah Naboris. Meanwhile, at the same time, another battle begins just north of them, with a mission to deactivate Vah Medoh and free the Sages of Fire, Shadow, and Water and Spryte.

3 hours, 23 minutes, 34 seconds remaining.