Vah Ruta is cavernous. Seeing it from the pier really didn't do justice to just how mind-bogglingly big it is. Link looks around, trying to work out where the main terminal might be in a construct like this. The platform suspended in the centre of the echoing main chamber? In the head? He should have thought to ask Purah. As he's thinking a faint voice comes from all around him, softer and higher than Zelda's.
"Link..."
"...Mipha?"
"... knew you would come..." she says in a voice that's barely a whisper. Link looks around, but can't see an apparition as he did with Rhoam.
"Mipha, I'm here to try free Ruta," he calls. "Can you tell me where the main terminal is? I don't - I can't remember. The resurrection shrine took my memory."
There's a faint sound, and he strains to hear.
"... the gate ... map ... guide you."
She must mean the barred archway he can see in front of him, down in the belly of the Beast. It's under about eight feet of water, but that shouldn't be an issue so long as he can get the gate open. He looks for a way down. All around, the strange stone walls drip with noxious-looking sludge - it pools on the floor, and oozes over the ledges. He's certain no good can come of touching the stuff, and carefully picks his way around. As he passes, it reaches out to him with amorphous tendrils. He keeps a wider berth after that.
Through the water, Link can see a winch to open the gate. He takes a breath and ducks under the water, tugging at the handle, but the weight of the water around him means it barely budges despite his best efforts. A new plan is needed. He spots what looks like a drain in the floor, plugged tight by a metal disc. Is the weight of water on it more than two tons? Only one way to find out...
As he surfaces, he's suddenly swarmed by tektites. The chittering, dog-sized insects skate over the surface of the water to jab at him with razor tipped legs, and he curses and ducks back under the water, pushing off the bars of the gate to glide underneath them. He hoists himself out on the other side as quickly as he can, drawing his spear to skewer them as they rush him. One gets under his reach, and his kick connects with a satisfying crunch.
He's not sure whether this means the Malice has sensed his presence or not - perhaps the nightmare bugs are simply attracted to the malevolent energy pulsing through this place. Still, best not to tarry. He pulls the slate out and uses magnesis to yank out the plug.
The water drains out with a loud gurgling noise, and Link jumps down into the drained pit. Unfortunately the wheel still won't turn - it seems completely rusted shut from being submerged for so long. He needs more leverage... His eyes land on Mipha's spear. Could he?
He jams the tines of the spear through the spokes and hoists his entire body weight over the butt, hoping desperately that the shaft will hold his weight - he doesn't think Dorephan will be very understanding if he breaks it. Thankfully, the wheel judders loose with a squeal, and the gate is finally open.
The guidance stone doesn't take long to load the map - for all her staggering enormity, Ruta is still small on a cartographic scale. Link peruses it, committing the layout to memory (again). There's a 'schematic' option, which shows the connections of power and water running through Ruta like nerves and veins, through a skeleton of gearshafts and pistons.
As he leaves there's a plop, and several jellies drop down into the pit with him. He skewers the closest with the spear, but it just splits into two smaller blobs that keep coming at him. Right, that's not going to work. He jogs around them, dodging the one that leaps for his legs, and gets enough distance to swap to the slate without being engulfed by slime. Cryonis makes short work of them, and Link rams the spear butt into each afterwards, to shatter them into glittering chips of ice.
Annoyingly, the terminal is locked out when he reaches it. Mipha speaks up again, to inform him it's a security measure and that to bypass it he will have to reboot all the subordinate terminals first. He supposes it would have been too much, to expect this to be easy.
The Malice is definitely aware of his presence now, and sends everything it possibly can to halt his progress - cascades of water from Vah Ruta's trunk, swarms of sharp-toothed fish, electric eels and octorocks. He hacks, swims and climbs his way through it all until finally he stands in front of Ruta's master terminal once more. Time to see if Purah's idea works. He holds the slate up to it just as he hears Mipha cry out a warning.
The sludge piled around the terminal boils upwards like steam. Link stumbles backwards, reaching for the spear on his back. The creature which coalesces from the ooze is vaguely Zora-shaped, but malformed and lopsided, with a single glowing eye in its horned mask. One arm is formed into a wicked-looking spear and it wears partial armor made of the same stuff as Vah Ruta itself. Link can't be sure whether he imagined the slime briefly revealing a stretch of maroon hide before oozing back over it again; trying to look directly at its constantly-shifting form is nauseating.
It lunges towards him with an unearthly shriek, spear-hand aimed straight at his heart. It's fast; Link dodges aside and brings his own spear tip up as he searches for a gap in its defenses. They circle each other for a while in a deadly dance of thrust and parry, until Link realizes he can feel water sloshing around his ankles. He risks a glance and sees that water is sluicing in from the sides, rising rapidly. He'll be at a fatal disadvantage if it gets much higher. He edges carefully towards the closest raised platform, water already nearly up to his knees. The creature lashes out with its spear again and again, forcing him to parry and dodge for his life. The water is up to his waist now and still rising, and Link's beginning to get desperate.
When the creature lunges this time, he ducks and thrusts into the shoulder of its outstretched arm. While it shakes the limb out, Link heaves himself onto the platform. He strikes again, catching it deeply in the neck. It shrieks in rage. Caustic, tar-like slime runs down the spear shaft towards his hand, and he drops it with a gasp. His fingers feel burned from even that instant of contact with the stuff. The creature's spear-arm dangles limp and useless but it lashes out with the other, catching him on the face with its claws. He hisses and rubs his sleeve across his face.
The creature retreats, sweeping its working arm over the water to send a shower of ice shards speeding towards Link. He blocks his face with his arm and feels cuts stinging all along it. The momentary distraction is enough for the creature to fling a larger chunk of ice. It hits Link with enough force to knock the wind out of him and send him flying right off the platform. He struggles to reorient himself in the oily water, breaking the surface with a wheeze. He's pretty sure he's either bruised or broken a rib; his breaths are shallow and painful. He needs to end this quickly. He dives under the water to avoid the next wave of ice projectiles, kicking off the platform wall to swim around behind the creature. Thankfully, it hasn't seen him and is still barraging the water around his last position with wicked shards of ice.
As quietly as he can, Link eases himself out of the water and readies Mipha's bow. He draws the last three shock arrows from his quiver and nocks one. Pulling the string back to his stinging cheek over the screams of protest from his ribs, he looses the first into the back of its neck. It turns, shuddering, and he sends the second arrow right into its eye. The creature drops convulsing into the water, and Link fires the final arrow with a yell of pain and rage. Lightning crawls over the creature's body, arcing to the surface of the water. It screeches and spasms until the electric surge subsides.
Dead, the Malice dissolves back into the ooze it came from, spreading thick and oily over the surface of the water. Link slides off the platform into the water with a wince, and awkwardly dog-paddles his way around the noxious puddle. He takes the deepest breath he can manage through the pain - hardly enough, but the magic of the armor sustains him anyway as he dives down to press the Sheikah Slate to the central terminal. It lights up in unthreatening orange with a quiet hum, informing him that it's [Rebooting. Please wait].
Link treads water as the room drains, until his feet touch the floor. He's exhausted now the heat of battle has passed, and his various smaller injuries begin to make themselves known as the adrenaline drains out of him. As soon as the water is low enough, he sinks to the floor and leans against the terminal cradling his ribs. He closes his eyes for a moment.
They fly open again when he feels a cool hand against his face. Mipha is crouched in front of him, ghostly-pale and semi-transparent.
"Mipha," he breathes. His heart turns over in his chest at the sight of her.
She brushes a hand over his cheek, and he feels the tingle of her magic knitting together the lacerations from the malice. As she works, her gaze fixes on his blue coral earrings.
"You still wear them," she smiles. "I wasn't sure you would."
They must have been a gift from her as well. He has no response; all he can do is stare. Mipha brushes her thumb over the newly-mended skin before standing.
"Come, I'd like to see home again," she beckons.
He sits on Ruta's upheld trunk, looking out over the Domain with Mipha beside him. It kicks up a memory of sitting here when she was still alive (when they were both still alive), her holding his hand as she healed him. He doesn't remember what they discussed, but he remembers feeling awkward about it. This feels just the same. There are so many things Link wants to say, and he has no idea where to begin. He decides to start with the most straightforward.
"I'm so sorry for what happened to you, Mipha. I wish I could have come sooner," he says. "I wish none of this ever happened. That I'd done things right the first time..."
"It wasn't your fault, Link," she replies gently. "The only person to blame for all that has happened is Ganon. He corrupted the Beasts before you and Zelda could ever have reached him to do your parts."
Link isn't sure how to ask the next part, but he needs to know. "Your brother told me you made this armor for me..." he starts, trailing off.
"I did," she laughs softly. "It took me a long time to make; I never was very good at sewing. But I wanted to make something to show my feelings for you, and it seemed best to make something practical. I didn't think you would have liked a purely ornamental gift." She smiles wryly at him; a shared joke with his former self.
"I'm really sorry I don't remember, I feel terrible about it, believe me. But Sidon said..." he inhales, exhales. "Were we really going to be married?" he asked.
Mipha's quiet for a long time. When she speaks, she keeps her gaze directed out, over the water.
"You probably don't remember this - I doubt you remembered even before - but your father used to bring you along when the Hylian troops trained with us. You were always getting into scrapes, and I would heal your injuries. You were as fascinated by me as I was by you. When you were six you told absolutely everyone you were going to marry me some day. You were so serious about it! I was utterly charmed.
"When we met again, as you were nearly done with your training, I admired the man you were becoming and I realized my feelings towards you had grown into something new. I thought yours towards me had changed too. I had all these grand ideas. How our wedding might go. What it would be like if you stayed here in the Domain with me as my consort. All sorts of foolish notions about how we could make it work."
Link waits, and Mipha sighs slightly. "No, I don't think we would have married."
"Would King Dorephan have refused permission?" he asks.
"Nothing like that," she replies, headfins flapping lightly as she shakes her head. "Father was always willing to let me make my own choices. I don't wish to sound cruel, but there was little point forbidding it when there would be time enough for me to re-marry after you were gone. But I could hardly hold you to a promise made at six years old. Certainly not once I saw how you looked at Zelda. I knew then you could never be truly happy with me."
Link feels his face flushing with secondhand embarrassment. Past Link was apparently an idiot. "I remember loving you," he says softly. "I barely remember anything else, but I know that much."
"I know," she smiles sadly. "But I think you loved me as a friend only, and I read more into it because I wanted your feelings to match my own." Link starts to apologize, but Mipha interrupts him. "I hold no bitterness over it," she says firmly.
She seems to be fading a bit around the edges as she speaks, and Link knows they won't have long left. He drops his hand down next to where Mipha's rests against Vah Ruta, and feels a ghostly brush as she wraps her own hand carefully around it.
"It's hard for me to stay like this," she says. "When you get back to the Domain, tell father I love him, and not to blame himself. And tell Sidon I'm so proud of him," she asks.
"I will. Thank you for everything, Mipha," he says, choking up.
"Take care, Link. I'll be keeping an eye on you. I did promise I would always keep you safe," she says. With that, she fades away entirely.
The difference in attitude of the Zora is like night and day when he arrives back in the Domain. Dorephan and Sidon hang on every word of his story, and he can tell they're relieved that Mipha is free of the calamity at last. He hands Mipha's weapons back, though Dorephan insists the armor is his to keep. The King is so pleased he even declares a feast will be held in Link's honour the next day.
Sidon embraces him like the brother he could have been, which sets a twinge of guilt through him. He's certainly not going to relay the last part of his conversation with Mipha to them. It's water under the bridge anyway (no pun intended). Even Muzu makes a surprisingly heartfelt apology. That opens the floodgates for all the other elders, who all want to tell him about how they remember him running around the Domain as a precocious child. He hears from several sources about the time he nearly killed himself trying to dive off the Domain with the Zora youths.
Link also spends some more time with Kodah and Kayden, just hanging out as they help prepare for the celebration. He doesn't pester them for any more tales of his time here as a youth, trusting that the memories will return in time on their own. Instead, he tells them about his own travels since waking, and asks them for funny stories they've accumulated over years of running an inn.
Link spends the next morning investigating the two local shrines and the numerous monuments which Muzu helped him locate on the slate's map. He's slowly regaining some familiarity with the Domain and its surroundings. He remembers sunny afternoons exploring the clifftops with Bazz and his friends, sometimes lagging behind and other times easily outpacing the others after a growth spurt. At one of the upper pools, he has a vivid recollection of laughing with Mipha at her brother gambolling in the water. Sidon's carefree innocence had been a welcome break from a week of war councils as the Hylian and Zora forces discussed plans for Ganon's return.
When he returns at dusk the plaza is transformed with tables, benches and banners. A band has set up in the corner to play traditional Zora songs, and people start to move onto the dance floor. Well-rested and recovered from his injuries thanks to Mipha, Link tucks in to the feast with gusto. He samples vibrant yellow sea urchin (surprisingly creamy on the tongue), hearty blueshell snails (chewy but deliciously infused with wild garlic), bright red razorclaw crabs (fun to crack open and full of sweet meat), and stuffed baked porgy with sautéed sea greens (wonderfully fragrant).
Link rests his chin on his hands and lets the lively music swirl around him as he digests. In the middle of the plaza, Zora wheel and spin around each other like eddies in a stream. He wonders idly whether his wedding would have been like this, if things had gone differently. Mipha would have looked stunning on the dance floor if she danced even half as gracefully as she fought. After a while, Sidon extracts himself from the dancing and slides into the seat next to Link, clapping him on the back hard enough to nearly send him face-first into the table.
"You don't wish to dance? There are several young ladies who would be most disappointed to hear that," he grins.
Link pulls a face. "I'm so full right now I honestly can't move," he admits. "Besides, I'm not sure I could pull off all of those dance moves. Some look more designed for Zora skeletons than Hylian."
Sidon laughs, bright and clear. "I truly cannot thank you enough, Link. Thanks to you our home is safe, and my sister is at peace," he says.
"I couldn't have done it without your help. Mipha's right to be proud of you."
Sidon beams at this, and sweeps Link up into a crushing hug before returning to the dance floor.
Link's heart is still full to bursting as he sinks into the embrace of his water bed once the festivities wind down. He dreams of Mipha's gentle touch, but when he reaches out to her she dissolves into mist.