His head pounded when he woke, the afternoon sun was dull in the gray, overcast sky above but just bright enough to make him squint. At least the awful beeping had stopped. He sat up, noticing a terrible, gritty taste in his mouth that hadn't been there when he was conscious last. "What the fuck?"

"You died." Navi's voice was sharp and her sparkle was muted.

"Then why does my head hurt?" he asked, reflexively glib-but-honest. Surprisingly, other than the headache, he felt pretty decent, all things considered. He looked down to find both his flesh and his clothing magically repaired, though the ground beneath him was tacky with his blood. Even his bruised arm was better. He felt mostly good and strong and a part of him itched to face that silver bastard again and redeem himself.

But it was the wrong thing to say.

"You nearly died! You only didn't because I shoved a Fairy in your mouth and made you chew it!" she roared in his face, startling him as her twinkle suddenly flared into a tiny supernova, a fierce red-edged-in-white he'd never seen before. At the same time, she was just as helpful as ever by explaining before he could even ask his question.

"Good thinking; I missed lunch."

"Hey! Listen! This isn't a joke!" She seemed to be shaking in her rage; miniscule, crimson sparks shot out from her in a way he'd not even known she could do. A few landed on his arm and left tiny gray pain freckles.

"Ow." His eyes squeezed shut for a few moments, her volume an assault on his already-ailing brain as he rubbed his mildly-damaged arm. "Well, that's good because it really isn't funny. And could you keep it down?"

He felt her land on his shoulder and pull his ear down to bellow "Not really!" directly into it.

He winced and went to swat her away but she had already retreated to fume in scarlet at him from a safe distance, deliberately in his eyeline. "Ow."

"Do you still not understand?" She slowly twinkled closer to make sure she had his attention, not letting him look away. "Your life is no longer just about you, Shadow Link." She paused, shaking her head. "And here's a hard truth for you: given what I saw here, had Link been at his full strength and had he a Fairy or potion or anything else to hand, you would not have beaten him."

"Hey—"

"I know, okay? I know you don't want to be the Chosen Hero— you've said it enough times. But the thing about life is that we can't always get what we want. We don't always get to choose. I have been around a long, long time, and I can tell you for absolutely certain that nothing will mess up your life like a predetermined picture of what it should look like. Life must be taken for what it is, and sometimes what it is is shit." His eyebrows shot up; she snarked easily with him, but didn't actually curse often. "This must be done. And if you don't do it— If you don't take it seriously, if you're underprepared and distracted—"

"I'm not—"

"If you fail," she pressed, gravely serious, "there is no one— no one, now, to take your place. And then Anly, Ardin, and Cima, Tasseren and Rensa, Beedle and Kass, the Impas— everyone you've ever met and have yet to meet is in great danger. No. Everything and everyone is gone. If you fall, all of Hyrule is doomed."

He watched some darker blues seeping into the edges of her glow: melancholy. In his head, Old Impa warned, 'If you shirk the destiny thrust upon you, all will be lost.' He felt a gnawing deep in his stomach that had nothing to do with hunger.

He batted it down half-heartedly, sighing, "I'm here, am I not?"

She shook her head once. "Physically. But you're fighting with yourself mentally. You have not yet fully accepted the path you walk."

He frowned, the truth hitting a little harder than it had any right to. "Maybe," he allowed. "But, look— fighting that guy was nothing like fighting Link— who put up a hell of a fight, I'll have you know since, if you recall, you weren't actually there. Or a Hinox, or a Talus, or anything else I've taken on. This guy was incredible, and incredibly strong."

"Yes. He was. Stronger than even your enhanced strength."

He nodded. "He caught my sword mid-strike as though it was nothing," he marveled, remembering the eerie, glowing hand, the sword separating itself from a normal-looking arm that had still looked exactly the same afterward. He also recalled the slivers and chunks breaking off and disintegrating but leaving no apparent damage, the clanging sounds that had occurred when sword strikes landed. "I'm pretty sure he wasn't human. At least not entirely. Or he had some fantastic armor," he mused.

"I wonder…" She trailed off, clearly miles away.

He let her think for a few minutes while the gray blanket of clouds overhead began to break up, dappling the hillside with spotty sunlight. "You wonder what?"

"Well, there was a Ghirahim once, but… Oh, I really hope it's not him."

"Why? What do you know?"

"Well, that Ghirahim was the Spirit of the sword of the Demon King, Demise. He was to Demise what Fi is to the Hero."

His eyebrows shot up.

"I'm truly hoping it's an unfortunate naming coincidence."

"That would explain how strong he was and the metallic noises when I connected, though," he reasoned aloud. "If he's working for Ganondorf, I think it's a safe bet he won't be happy there for long. Seems to have a pretty high opinion of himself."

"At least we know your blade is very strong, indeed. You were taking chunks and slivers off him with every hit."

"Yeah, but his cape disappeared into diamonds, too, so I don't know if I was doing any actual damage the way I obviously did with the hookshot. This left an actual dent." He felt a sudden, unexpected burst of affection for Anly for providing such a useful device.

"Perhaps not visibly, but I do believe you were affecting him just the same."

The Shadow nodded, then hesitated before asking, "Do you really think Link would've beaten me?"

"Who can say? Other than a few costly surprises, you are very strong, and were mostly holding your own today against the most powerful enemy you've faced yet." He felt his eyebrows rise again, threatening to stay there, but she went on before he could voice his surprise. "I do think it's important to remember that no matter how much you resemble him, you are not Link, and direct comparison serves no purpose now."

He shrugged and nodded; she was technically correct. It didn't help his surge of disappointment, though.

"The Hero of Hyrule has the strength of Farore behind him, as you now do, but we do not know where or when Ganondorf made the copy of Link he used as the template for you. It could be that Link's skills improved in the interim between the copy being taken and your creation. Perhaps you would've been perfectly matched. Perhaps you would have still won," she mused. They'd already discussed the fact that Ganondorf had somehow survived for three hundred years before creating the Shadow. They had no way of knowing exactly how strong either was, or how strong Link had been; all they had were the string of vanquished monsters behind the Shadow and one test of strength that had found him wanting. And Navi.

"That's not what you said a few minutes ago."

"I was very angry. And a little afraid, if you must know," she admitted. "I'm calmer now. And I did say you were 'mostly' holding your own, especially considering the fact that you've only had a few days' experience. Obviously, there were a few issues." He snorted at the understatement. "Speaking of which…"

When she didn't continue, he prompted, "What?"

She came to shimmer menacingly right in his face, pointing a tiny finger at him. "The next time you have a task to accomplish, a Fairy in a bottle, and a mortal wound—" the Shadow braced himself, guessing what was coming, "Use the Fairy and then complete the mission, you dolt."

That was less harsh than he'd anticipated, given her earlier outburst. His face felt hot suddenly. "I… momentarily forgot I had the damned thing. All I could think was, 'Light the furnace and go the fuck to sleep', honestly." He met her eyes. "I… haven't thanked you." He paused, blew out a long breath but held her gaze. "For a lot of things, actually, but mostly, y'know..." He gestured vaguely at himself.

She nodded, her glow shifting back to her standard blue.

"I didn't know you could spark like you did before."

"Navi can do all sorts of neat tricks," a voice said from above them, causing his head to snap up. Purah had floated down from the Lab using her own glider, which had a white canvas with a red Sheikah eye adorning it. She landed gracefully next to the Shadow, who was still sitting where his blood had visibly seeped into the ground, leaving a garish stain. "Hi, Navi! I thought I saw a suspicious-looking pin on this one's hat," she said, gesturing at the Shadow.

"Hello, Purah. It's been a long time." The Shadow could hear the smile in Navi's voice. "Apologies for not greeting you earlier."

"Oh, don't worry, I figured if it was you, you wouldn't come out in front of Symin. I remember we only got to see you when I was little because we snuck out after bedtime. We weren't supposed to tell anyone about you. Anyway," she said to the Shadow, "I told you we didn't have much more work to do on the protection spell. We finished it almost as soon as you lit this furnace. I already have the other one enchanted; just give me a moment here and you'll be able to cross Hyrule in a flash!"

She turned to the furnace, made some sort of gestures with her hands, then took out a small bottle full of some thick, purple liquid and a paintbrush with a miniscule tip. Uncapping the bottle, she dipped the brush in and proceeded to draw different figures on each side of the flame's enclosure. Finished, she put both the brush and bottle back into her small hip bag and said, "In the name of Hylia, protect this Flame and furnace."

Instantly, the purple letters flashed bright green and disappeared, leaving the Blue Fire burning merrily in its enclosure.

Purah took a step back, swiping her hands together in front of her in an 'all done' motion. "Well, then. That's that." She turned to the Shadow, finally noticing the large patch of discolored earth. She made a distressed squeaking sound, saying, "Oh, my! Are you all right?"

He nodded and stood, pleased to find his knees solid and his legs sturdy beneath him once more. "I'm fine," he assured, holding his arms out to his sides as if to show that he was unharmed. In fact, his headache had subsided quite a bit, receded more the longer he was conscious. Now it mostly sat in his temples, reminding him of its presence with every heartbeat that thumped in his ears.

"Hmm. You look like you could use a cup of tea or a large brandy. We have both at the Lab, if you want to come back up."

His stomach picked that moment to grumble audibly and he remembered that he hadn't eaten since breakfast, which reminded him of his new home and suddenly the longing to be there was overwhelming. "I think I'll head home, actually, since Hateno slopes down that way. Not sure I feel like climbing that hill again right now," he deflected, nodding to the bloodstain.

She made a face but let it go, saying instead, "Well, the transportation feature is now active for all Sheikah Towers and any place that has a Guidance Stone, so our Lab, the Akkala Lab, the courtyard in front of Hyrule Castle, and just outside the gates of each of the four capital cities. So, when you're ready, if you don't want to go all the way to Hateno Tower, you're welcome to come back up and use the Guidance Stone at the Lab. It's you we've to thank for them working again, after all."

"I might do that, yes," he said, nodding. His stomach wambled insistently again, louder. He sighed. "All right, I'd better go eat. I'll come back up later and you can teach me how to teleport, or whatever."

"Oh, yes. It'll be much better if we have something in our stomachs to throw up," Navi tossed out, tone flat.

He glanced between her and Purah, alarmed. "Is that likely?"

She shrugged. "I was mostly joking, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't take some getting used to, and I promised not to do that anymore."

"Don't worry," Purah added, "you wouldn't be the first."

"I'm surrounded by fucking rays of sunshine."


He was still not used to the thought of having an actual home to go to, causing a little thrill to traverse his spine when it came to him now. They bid Purah farewell and Navi hid herself as he followed the path of blue lanterns back to town, turning away from them to cross back over the river and through the bustling little village, ignoring the stares and questioning looks and simply looking straight ahead.

Bolson and Karson were exactly where he'd left them, which made him wonder if they intended to camp outside of his house all day every day he was away from it. But he had paid them to basically do just that, so he shrugged it off and went inside to make himself a bacon and cheese sandwich while Navi indulged in a miniscule nibble of her own.

When they'd finished, he decided to take advantage of the rare chance to indulge in a nap. He climbed the stairs to his bed, toed off his boots, laid aside his weapons, and put his back on the mattress, asleep before his head hit the pillow.

He was roused by a sharp knock on the door.

The Shadow's eyes shot open, then rolled shut again as a huge, groaning sigh gusted out of him. "Son of a bitch. Just one day."

"Hey, sleepyhead!" Navi said from her perch by the window. The light looked odd around her for the late afternoon or early evening he expected it to be. "It's actually been a day."

"What?" His eyes popped open, then had to squint at the brightness as he focused on her.

"You died yesterday. Your 'nap' lasted through the night; it's already mid-morning."

"Well, fuck." That explained the light. He sat up and shoved his feet into his boots as a louder double-knock sounded on the door. He grabbed his pack and weapons, fastening them in place as he went down the stairs.

As he neared the door, he heard Bolson's muffled voice call out, "Uh, excuse me— can I help you with something?"

"I am looking for Link, the Hero of Hyrule. I was told I could find him here," came the answer from just the other side of the door.

"Well, now… He's here and he ain't," Bolson snickered, prompting a snort from Karson.

"They said something similar in town after directing me here," the visitor huffed. "What does that mean?"

"Don't know if he likes the term 'Hero', either. It didn't occur to me to ask."

"I'm sorry, what?"

The Shadow opened the door to find a dark gray Zora guardsman, judging by his armor, standing on the other side looking perplexed. Like all Zora, his skin was water-repellent, slightly shiny and hairless, gills opening up in slits along his ribs and his front the typical Zora off-white. The top of his head was in the shape of a shark: long, armored nose extended out as the guardsman's forehead, pectoral fins for ears, and the tail hung down his back like hair. Around his waist he wore a belt of silver and Luminous Stone cut into diamonds and he carried a Zora Silverscale Spear, a wicked-looking instrument with a spearhead in the shape of a fishtail and resulting in two razor-sharp points, able to pierce even the toughest scales in the sea.

At the opening of the door, the guardsman snapped to attention and stuck the end of his spear in the ground dramatically, obviously preparing to deliver a speech he'd prepared. Then he noticed the Shadow in the doorway. "Oh!" The Zora's eyes widened as they raked the Shadow from head to toe, taking in his clear resemblance to Link and his even more obvious coloring. "Um— Link?"

The Shadow's eye twitched once, just barely. "Shadow Link, actually. You said you needed something?"

"I'm looking for Link."

"Well, you came to my house and I'm the only Link here, so it's me or no one." Never mind that the house had only been his for a day or so.

The guard hesitated, looking the Shadow up and down again before asking, "You're the Hero of Hyrule?"

The Shadow sighed and held up the back of his right hand, Triforce clearly outlined in black on his gray skin.

"Oh, I see. My sincerest apology, sir," the Zora said with a slight bow. "You are not as I expected."

The Shadow nodded, huffing out a half-laugh. "Yeah, I could fill a whole book with things that have happened to me this week that I didn't expect."

The guard seemed satisfied, or at least unwilling to delay further as he stood tall once more and nodded. His gaze stayed somewhere over the Shadow's left ear, chin lifted proudly as he announced, "Sir, my name is Tottika, and I have come on behalf of King Dorephan, leader of all Zora and protector of the provinces of Lanayru, Necluda, and Faron. He requests that the Hero of Hyrule come at once to Zora's Domain. It's a matter of extreme urgency, sir."

"That's quite the trip," the Shadow said, eyebrows raised.

Tottika shook his head. "I was one of the fastest swimmers in my class, though not nearly as quick as Sidon. I used the waterways and the Great Hylian Sea and came up into Hateno Bay; it was but a few days," he shrugged. Then he turned serious once more. "But the king also felt it was necessary, and I agreed it was worth the effort to come. However, it will be a much longer trip for you, Hylian, so I must stress the urgency of His Majesty's entreaty."

"First, why don't you start by telling me what happened?" Goddess, he didn't want to automatically accept every request for assistance that came along, but so far he seemed to have done little else. He had been rewarded for his troubles, but still.

The guard didn't turn his head but glanced sidelong at Bolson and Karson lounging beneath the tree, not even bothering to hide their interest, before muttering, "Sir, the nature of my message is quite… delicate…" he lifted his chin toward the Shadow just a bit.

The Shadow frowned before he caught on and nodded. "Oh. Uh, come in."

The guard nodded once, stiffly, and the Shadow stepped back to allow him to step inside and close the door behind himself. He launched into an explanation immediately: "Sir, the Captain of the Guard never returned from a routine patrol to Eventide Island nearly a month ago, now. When the Captain failed to return, Prince Sidon took a contingent of guards to investigate; they have not returned. Last week, Princess Mipha took a larger contingent with her and none of them have returned. The king is beside himself, sir. Please." His voice actually shook by the end.

"Wait— Princess Mipha? As in the Champion who fought against Ganondorf?" the Shadow asked.

The Zora gave a quick nod in response. "The same, sir. All Zora have longer lifespans than our neighbors, even the Sheikah— I, myself, am nearing my hundred and fiftieth year. But King Dorephan's bloodline is gifted with near-immortality."

"Huh." The Shadow frowned. He'd have put the guard's age somewhere close to the Shadow's own assumed-nineteen. But that wasn't what was important. "That's a lot of missing people." Some high-profile ones, too. He could see why the guard hadn't wanted to be overheard.

"Yes, sir," Tottika nodded. His eyes quietly skimmed over the Shadow, lingering on the hardware at his back before meeting the Shadow's eyes again, worry plain in his expression.

"And Bazz, the Captain of the Guard, he's my best friend— we grew up together…"

The Shadow held in his sigh, Navi's admonishment dancing in his mind: Your life is no longer just about you, Shadow Link.

Instead, he squared his shoulders, nodded, and said, "I understand. If the scientists on top of the hill are correct, I should be able to be there by tonight, I think."

That was obviously not what Tottika had expected to hear. "Really?"

The Shadow shrugged. "Even if the Towers don't work, my horse is exceptionally fast so I would probably still make it there by the morning overmorrow; I need to see to a few things here before I leave." He felt a little gritty under his clothes and thought to take advantage of his indoor washroom once more before he left again. "Do you need to rest?"

"No, thank you. I stopped at the inn in Hateno on my way here."

"All right, then. Return to your king and tell him I will be there soon."

Tottika huffed, "If you're able to travel so quickly, you'll beat me there."

"I don't really know anything about traveling by Tower— perhaps I can take you with me."

"What do you mean 'traveling by Tower'? I thought a Sheikah Slate was needed for that?"

"I have one," the Shadow assured, tapping the pocket where he kept it.

"Do you, indeed?"

The Shadow pulled out the small tablet and showed it to his visitor.

"Incredible! But, um," the Zora hesitated.

"What?"

"Well, you'll be stopped at the gates. The whole city's on lockdown; I was only allowed out to fetch the Hero and bring you back because I'm the fastest after Sidon, so if you get there before me, you'll need to show them something to prove that we've spoken."

"How am I supposed to do that?" the Shadow asked, but Tottika was already bending to remove one of his anklets.

"Here," he said, handing it to the Shadow. "Show them this and tell them I'll be home as swiftly as the tides can carry me."

"You sure you don't want to try teleporting?"

"Oh, no," Tottika said, holding his hands up before himself defensively and shaking his head. "No, thank you; that's okay. I'll be fine swimming, I promise. It should be much faster returning; I was fighting the current the whole way here, but I'll be going with it on the way back."

"Suit yourself," the Shadow shrugged.

The guard turned to go, but paused and turned back. "I apologize for my rudeness, but might I ask…?" he trailed off, gesturing vaguely at the Shadow.

"It's not really a secret," the Shadow replied. "I am the Shadow of the Hero, created by Ganondorf to destroy Link, which I did nearly a week ago." He waited for the reflexive step back, but the guard held firm. "I was then Chosen by Farore," he said, waving his Marked hand, "and tasked with taking over as the Hero." He fought down the instinctive shudder, allowing only his neck to crack in order to release the pressure that had suddenly built there.

"I see. The princess will be quite dismayed to learn of Link's passing. But if the Goddess Farore herself has put her trust in you, I can do no less," Tottika assured with a nod. He held out his arm, waiting for the Shadow to grasp it before saying, "Safe travels to you, Shadow Link."

"Likewise," the Shadow nodded, closing the door after the guardsman and sighing loud and long at last, raising his unMarked hand to pinch the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He felt Navi's presence near his head and the air suddenly felt weighted.

"Not a word."


Since he had packed before he'd left the previous day, he was still ready for travel. What he really wanted, though, was to clean himself of yesterday's battle in his own bathroom before he set out once more.

After, when he was dressed in fresh clothes and ready to leave, he made himself a quick omelet with sauteed onions and mushrooms, topped with some yellow cheese he shredded using a clever utensil— a metal box with each side covered in differently-shaped punches to create different effects on food rubbed across them— Navi pointed out to him in the kitchen. He was famished, having skipped dinner due to the previous evening's nap, but he was wary of the potential nausea associated with Tower travel so he kept it to one egg and added extra cheese to fill in a bit.

Outside, he approached the ever-lounging construction workers under his tree to inform them that he would be away for an indeterminate amount of time.

"Not to worry, Shadow Link. Your place is in good hands," Bolson assured, changing which leg was crossed over which in an overt attempt to regain feeling in his posterior. The Shadow nodded at them before making his way across the bridge and down into Hateno once more where, unexpectedly, he was met with a familiar face and bare, muscular midriff as he came to the bottom of the hill: Beedle the merchant was just coming into Hateno through the western gate.

His long face split into a wide grin when he spotted the Shadow. "Well, hiiiiiiii!" He gave a friendly wave. "I wondered if I'd see you. I heard you've been busy lately!"

"You could say that."

"Say, I was just on my way to the East Wind, there," he indicated the Hateno general store the Shadow had cleaned out of arrows just yesterday. "But it's lucky I ran into you first— I have some new arrows just in stock! I wonder if you might be interested in them?"

The Shadow's eyebrows rose. "Ancient arrows?"

Beedle's face fell just a little. "Oh, sorry— no. You have to get those from Robbie at the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab. He says they're only for use by a 'certain individual' and he'll 'know them when he sees them', so he won't let me sell them for him until after he finds this person, whoever it is, and then after that, I would still only be allowed to sell them to that person." He took a deep, well-earned breath, having said all of that without taking one. Then he leaned just a bit closer and lowered his voice to whisper loudly, "I bet it's you." He straightened up to beam at the Shadow once again. "Anyway, no, I don't have any Ancient arrows, but would you have any use for these?" He reached behind himself and grabbed a bundle of what looked like individual shafts of pure sunlight.

They were white-gold, nearly half again as long as regular arrows and half as thin. The tip ends were at once wickedly pointed and elegantly shaped while the fletching looked to be made of the most delicately-firm gold leaf flaring out like sunspots. Every surface, every edge seemed to catch and reflect each particle of light that dared to venture close.

"Whoa," the Shadow couldn't help saying.

"Yeah," Beedle breathed appreciatively, reciting, "'Imbued with Sacred Light that can easily pierce any darkness and destroy evil itself, when fired from a Light bow, the Light arrow will travel in a straight line and destroy any enemy in its path, regardless of shield or armor.'" Then he shook himself and met the Shadow's eyes again. "I should tell you, though, there was only ever one Light bow made and it belongs to Princess Zelda."

"Of course it does."

"But I'll be picking up some more of these before I see her next, so would you like this batch? I've got thirty, and usually I'd sell all thirty for two hundred rupees, but I've decided to increase your discount— my way of thanking you for ridding Hyrule of countless monsters already— so I'm going to give them to you for one-fifty, if you want 'em. I mean, the discount applies regardless of quantity, of course," he amended, pale cheeks pinkening slightly.

The Shadow looked at the honestly-beautiful projectile weapons and thought about Ganondorf, actively seeking the Triforce; of Ghirahim, possibly the Spirit of the Sword of the Demon King, Demise. Then he thought of Anly, Cima and Ardin, of the sharp Young Impa and the wicked humor of Old Impa, of all the twins at Dueling Peaks, and his resolve solidified just a bit further.

"I'll take the lot," he affirmed, paying the offered price and stowing the beautiful arrows in his quiver, which, at an almost-silent word and push of invisible magic from Navi, expanded to welcome them almost undetectably, as if the extra space had always existed.

"Thank you!" Beedle said. "Is there anything else you need today, or anything you want to sell?" At the Shadow's silent headshake, the merchant nodded and gave a parting wave. "All right, then. See you around!" Then he turned to go into the general store and the Shadow continued through town and up the steep switchbacks climbing the hill at the other end to the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab.

In the relative solitude of the small copse of trees nestled under the peak holding the Lab, the Shadow relieved the annoying tug in his bladder. After, he asked Navi to use her magic to clean his hands and she presented him with a small bottle of clear gel, telling him to put a small dab in one palm and rub his hands together vigorously until the gel coated his hands and then was absorbed into his skin. "And that will clean them?" He asked skeptically.

"It's made of natural astringents and antibacterials. You'll be fine," came her answer.

It was nearing noon when Purah greeted him warmly at the door, the sun bright in the clear blue sky above. "Welcome! Are you ready to try out teleportation!?" she squealed excitedly.

The Shadow nodded. "I am. I need to get to Zora's Domain as soon as possible."

"No problem! Come on in," Purah directed, opening the door wide enough to let him pass.

He hesitated, looking back at the disc on the ground, having assumed that would be the warp point.

She accurately interpreted his pause, clarifying, "That's where you'd arrive if you were to travel here from elsewhere; it would light up really prettily. In order to travel from here, you have to come in and use the Guidance Stone."

He nodded and walked past her, waiting while she closed the door.

"Can I take someone with me when I teleport?" he asked, curious.

"What a great question! You'll have to let me know when you find the answer."

The Shadow frowned. "You don't know?"

"Nope! Now, then," she declared, clapping her hands together once. "Take out your Sheikah Slate and place it in the slot on the Guidance Stone." Once he'd complied, she instructed, "Now, pull up your map of Hyrule… and then tap on the place you want to go."

He did as she'd directed, and he was met with a little box that popped up in the middle of the screen: Travel to Zora's Domain? and two smaller boxes, Yes and No.

Yes, he pressed before he could second-guess himself.

"Oh, this is so exciting!" Purah said, clapping her hands together. "It reminds me of that part in that fantastic science fiction trilogy—"

"It was five books!" Symin corrected from his perpetual position by the bookshelves. "And a short story!"

"'I teleported home one night with Ron and Sid and Meg…'" Purah sang.

Another little box told the Shadow to remove his Sheikah Slate from the Guidance Stone, noticing when he did that the screen now had a bright red button on it reading simply, Engage. The Shadow took a deep, fortifying breath.

"'Ron stole Meggie's heart away, and I got Sidney's leg!'" Purah finished on a gleeful laugh just as he pressed the button, snapping his head up.

"What?!"

The world blurred out around him.


Chapter notes: Did I put extra warp points in for my own convenience? You bet. I mean, you can warp to any shrine, including the one under King Dorephan's throne room but, again, we're not doing shrines in this, so that was out. I figure it makes sense to be able to reach the major cities quickly, right? Honestly, this is one of the things that I sat and debated over, which is why some chapters take longer to get out. Details.

Not a true Google Gem, but "Wamble" came from a facebook post about random facts and literally means a stomach rumbling. "Overmorrow" was in the same post and is an underused word meaning the day after tomorrow.

The Light arrow described (and then altered) is specifically labeled "A Light Arrow used with the Twilight Bow from Breath of the Wild and is a thumbnail on the bottom of this page: wiki/Light_Arrow, if you wanted to check it out.

The quote at the end is from "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" in the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series by Douglas Adams. I can't honestly remember if I've made a H2G2 reference previously in this fic, but I can almost guarantee that there will be another. Have you caught onto the fact that I'm a huge nerd yet? Lol

Anyway, I love hearing from you, so let me know what you thought! See you next time!