Chapter 21: Allied Forces

"All for one, one for all, that is our device." -Alexandre Dumas


Data log entry SA38416.20X8: The third Divine Beast, located in the desert, has at long last been purged of phazon. The locals of the desert, the Gerudo, have been kind enough to offer us lodgings before we set off to search for a way to reach Vah Naboris. Along the way, we were intercepted by yet another bounty hunter; Gandrayda. Using what little information she gave us, we descended a massive chasm in the Yiga Clan's old hideout in the hopes that we could reach the buried Divine Beast. However, the information given to us proved to be merely bait to lure the princess into awakening an ancient creature named Ganondorf; hell bent on killing her after being released. Fighting through hordes of monsters, we reached the Divine Beast and, through unknown means, it reached the outside and buried the mutant creatures. Finally, after defeating Ganondorf (who survived the cave in), we purified Vah Naboris and lowered second to last barrier. Unfortunately, this cane with a price; Link has become infected with phazon, leading to corruption (preliminary tests show that it has been dormant in his body for at least 24 hours). Now, we are on borrowed time; finding the Leviathan seed has now become a matter of life and death.

Additional reports

Makeela Riju: The young chief of the Gerudo. Due to her mother's passing, Riju was forced to take up the mantle of chief at a very young age and though initially hesitant, her will to protect her people indicate that she's worthy of the title of champion. As the new champion, she is charged with piloting divine beast Vah Naboris.

Ganondorf: The "King of the Calamity", Ganondorf is an ancient being that was sealed within a submerged city beneath the desert. His terrible power comes from an unknown substance called malice, which he uses to great effect. Taking his words into account, Ganondorf has been sealed away for at least 10,000 years, which coincides with the Great Calamity that preceded the one that occurred a century ago. Regrettably, no further information can be found, leaving the investigation at a stand still.

Malice: A thick, black and magenta tar-like substance. Malice is highly toxic and has the disturbing ability of reanimating the dead, even if the corpses are reduced to bone. It seems that it has its own consciousness as it actively seeks out the dead instead of hoping that it's in the way when it spreads. Avoid all contact with it.

The Mutants: Undead creatures that have been reanimated by malice and further strengthened by phazon exposure. Due to the necromantic nature of the malice and the regenerative properties of phazon, the mutants resemble creatures that have perpetually rotting flesh which regenerates as damage is received. They seem to exhibit a hive mentality and were under Ganondorf's control. The only way to truly destroy them is to sever the head, destroy the "phazon-malice" heart or expose them to sunlight.

Phazite: A highly durable substance obtained from refined black phazon crystals. While usually blue, special treatment during refinement can produce the rare, and stronger, red variant. Used to create weaponry and armor, the former can destroy ordinary weapons and even penetrate the power suit. The only known objects that can't be damaged by it are the master sword and anything made from chozodium.

Gandrayda: The second bounty hunter contracted to stop Dark Samus, she succumbed to phazon corruption and became one of her lieutenants. Capable of changing into anything via mere eye contact, her further exposure to phazon has greatly augmented her powers; now capable of changing into others through physical contact with the victim, being able to peer into their memories via the bio-electricity that all life form's produce.


Turning off her logbook, Samus (still in the Gerudo attire) exits her ship and approaches Link, who is leaning against the town wall with his eyes closed.

"Link? Do you want to head back?"

As he looks up, Samus sees that the usual gleam in Link's eyes is all but gone, no doubt because of the news he was given. "Ah, I think I'm going to stay out here for a while, I need to clear my head."

Wanting to say something else, Samus simply nods and begins to walk off. "What should I tell Zelda and the others?"

Pondering for a minute, Link answers. "Just tell them that I needed some air. I'll come back later."

Saying nothing else, Samus leaves Link alone with his thoughts and reenters Gerudo town. Zelda runs up and asks about Link and Samus answers with the excuse he made up. Although skeptical at first, Zelda accepts the answer and has Samus rejoin the others as they want to hear how they escaped the underground so they all sit around a bonfire placed in the center of town.

"A city under the sand?' Riju, Buliara (bandaged) and Teake ask at the same time.

"Yes. They were very old ruins, but there was no doubt about it; they were Gerudo in design." Zelda answers.

"But, I've never heard of a city like that. As far as I can remember, none of our scriptures spoke of a fortified city erected by the Gerudo." Riju comments. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around what you've just told us. This is unreal…"

"On another note, how did you manage to find the divine beast? If you just said that the caverns were like mazes?" Teake asks.

"Ah, well at first it was difficult with Ganondorf on our heels. But, as we kept running, I heard Urbosa speaking to me." The Gerudo exclaim in surprise upon hearing this. "She led us to Vah Naboris and even Link was there."

"He said something about a voice leading him there too " Samus adds. "You think Urbosa led him there too?"

"It's likely, but it's odd that he didn't bring it up when we spoke to her on the divine beast. Speaking of which, how did it move by itself?" Zelda asks aloud, knowing full well that divine beasts can't move without a pilot…"


Just outside the town, Link still leaned on the wall with the same despondent look on his face; the news of his corruption still lingering in his mind.

"Had a rough night?" Link jumps at this sudden voice that brought him out of his thoughts. Looking to his left, he sees a woman wearing a brown cloak with the traditional Gerudo designs on where the chest would be and circling the bottom of it. What little he can see of this woman would be that she's wearing off white baggy pants with red shoes and the lower part of her face, which is tanned and she's wearing white lipstick. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"Ah, no. It's alright." Link says after relaxing himself. "I think I'd enjoy some company, even from a passersby."

"Heheh, I figured you'd be inside celebrating with everyone."

"Yeah, I just needed some time to think…"

"And? Your head all sorted out?"

Sighing, Link answers. "I don't know."

Hearing this, the woman moves a bit closer to Link. "That must be tough, not knowing what to do next."

Undeterred by this woman's sudden closeness, Link continues the conversation. "I'll figure something out, it just might take a while."

"Well, let me give you some advice; there's no such thing as a solution-less problem." Link looks at the woman after hearing this. "Some things can't be fixed, but maybe they don't need to be. A friend of mine knew that and he was a little boy when I met him. He found his own solution and he got me out of a tight spot; took him a while, but he came through in the end."

"Have I met this friend of yours? I traveled a lot back then." Link asks, genuinely curious.

"Nah. That was a long time ago; you weren't even born yet. But, he looked a bit like you." The woman states with a nostalgic tone.

Surprised, Link tries to look at the woman's face, but can only see the lower part of it. "Wait, that can't be right. With what you just said, you would have to be much older than I am. But, from what I can see, you don't seem to be a day over 20."

"Hoo hoo, he was a charmer too." The woman says in a flirtatious tone. Finally, the woman moves in front of Link and places a hand on his shoulder, revealing a fingerless, silvery gauntlet with a red gem. "What I'm trying to say is, whatever it is that's holding you down, you will find a way to overcome it. I know that you will, because you've done it many times over." The woman smiles as she finishes her speech.

Link looks to the side before finally answering. "I'll try."

"Good." The woman says contentedly before turning around. "I've got to be going now. But, I expect great things from you. Take care of yourself, and take care of the Gerudo; like he did."

Now that Link gathered his thoughts, he moved to thank this woman for her advice. But then, he suddenly remembers hearing her voice before….down in the caverns leading him to Vah Naboris. "Wait! Who are you?"

Stopping, the woman turns around and, with the aid from the full moons light, Link can see amber eyes and an orange gem on her forehead as well as red hair in a ponytail hanging from her right shoulder. Smiling, she answers. "Oh Link, I'm just a friend. A really good friend." Suddenly, a small sandstorm blocks Link's sight and when it stops, the woman is nowhere to be seen. Though confused at first, Link smiles and silently thanks this 'friend' once again before finally returning to the town.


Sometime later, Ganondorf awakens inside a genesis chamber, which opens up and releases him in an unknown area filled with phazon and organic structures. Looking at his hands, he sees that he's back in his desiccated form.

"Ganondorf…" A voice starts speaking in his mind. "Ganondorf…" The voice seems to be beckoning him now and he follows it. Going through a brief tunnel, he reaches a massive chamber with several Yiga standing on each side of the path who kneel as Ganondorf passes through. Finally reaching the other end of the chamber (where Silas is also kneeling), Ganondorf meets the source of the voice.

"Welcome, Ganondorf…" Dark Samus greets from her throne.

"Who are you?" Ganondorf asks, back in his deep raspy voice.

"I am Dark Samus…"

"Why are you here? And what do you want?"

"Straight to the point…? Very well; I have a proposition for you…" Dark Samus rises from her throne and outstretches her left arm at the chamber. "This is the Leviathan… It is spreading phazon across this world; but the process is slow, thanks to Link and his allies…"

"What does that have to do with me?"

"I have seen what your malice can do when mixed with my phazon; it has spread quickly in those ruins where you slept and created powerful monsters… I offer you this chance to join forces with me and finish what you began 10,000 years ago…"

"Why should I join you? What's in it for me?" Ganondorf says as his eyes glow dimly, unconvinced at Dark Samus's proposal. "What makes you so confident that I would even consider this?"

"I expected such a response… Very well; I will provide you with my power to add to your own, restoring your body once again… As well as the complete control of the kingdom when it eventually falls…" Dark Samus walks down to be at arm length with Ganondorf. "Join my fight and your powers will be endless…"

Ganondorf, hearing that he will gain more power and the kingdom under his rule, closes his eyes to ponder the proposal. In a matter of minutes, Ganondorf speaks up. "There is one more thing that I want." Dark Samus decides to listen intently at Ganondorf's additional request. "You may kill Link and that armored one, but the princess is mine."

"….Done." Dark Samus, knowing from Silas that killing Zelda with the malice would break Hylia's cycle, concedes. "Well then, do we have a deal…?" Dark Samus extends her hand.

"Yes." Ganondorf takes her hand and phazon begins to surge through him. Screaming in pain, the phazons regenerative properties begin to restore his body. While this happens, Dark Samus sees several visions of a land that could only be described as holy being overrun by malice, as well as a golden light and three fires (red, blue and green) being snuffed out by it. Soon, Ganondorf is fully regenerated and drops to his knees. "What amazing power!" He responds in a gruff but clear voice, elated by this newfound strength.

"Take him to his new chambers, he needs to rest and get accustomed to his new power…" Dark Samus orders the Yiga present to escort the exhausted Ganondorf away. Silas walks to her left as the others leave.

"My liege, I never would've imagined that this day would come. You, our mighty ruler and the King of the Calamity; fighting as one!" Silas declares proudly.

"Have the smiths forge new phazite armor for him; we have much to do when he recovers…" Dark Samus says as she looks at the back of her left hand as the top triforce mark begins to glow dimly. Just then, another Yiga footsoldier runs in and kneels down. "What is it…?"

"My Liege. Master Silas. Forgive my intrusion, but the Impure Ones have launched another assault on one of our outposts."

"Is that right?" Silas, with an indifferent tone, answers. "Has 'he' been spotted among them?"

"No, we have not seen him I'm afraid."

"Coward…I have my own assignment for now. Send a large number of Corrupted along with a squad of Elite Pirates, I will join you before long."

"Understood, Master Silas." The Yiga teleports away and with nothing more to say, Silas leaves Dark Samus in her throne room. Sitting down, she ponders the visions she saw when taking Ganondorf's hand, wondering if he was being honest with her.

"What exactly are you keeping from me…?"


Having reflected somewhat on his phazon corruption, Link decided too pay it no mind for now and rejoined Zelda, Samus and the others for the festivities. While he planned on eating, singing and maybe even dancing with everyone, Link was caught off guard by many of the Gerudos as they gathered around him.

"You…want to know what?" Link asks in complete stupefaction.

"We want to know about your preferences in a woman!" Ashai, the teacher of "Voe and You", ecstatically asks. "This is a rare opportunity for us with a voe in our town, you can help us develop our skills to woo a potential suitor! Won't you please help us?" The other Gerudo look on expectantly as Samus raises her eyebrows as if she were giving Link her "approval". Looking back at Zelda, she simply shrugs her shoulders, indicating that it's out of her hands.

"Alright then." Link, with a sigh, concedes. Happily, the Gerudos get their questions ready and after a few minutes, they begin to ask their many questions. "Yes, Ashai?"

"Ok, what exactly causes your heart to skip a beat when you see a vai?"

"Nothing really; as a knight, I didn't really have time to look at women." Link answers and Ashai reluctantly accepts his response. "Well then, Isha?"

"My question is what type of clothing and jewelry do you appreciate on a vai?" Isha, the jeweler of Starlight Memories, asks. "Would you rather have them simple or provocative?'

"I've…never really thought about it." Link answers and Isha's smile immediately disappears, followed by murmurs from the others. "Um, Deltan?"

"Exactly what would attract you to a vai?" Before Link can give an answer, Deltan plies on more questions. "Would it be her intelligence? If she's willing to get married? If she's an excellent cook? My height is not a factor, is it? Long or short hair, it doesn't matter at all, right?" Deltan walks over to Link and cups his face in her hands. "Any voe would be lucky to have me as their wife, right?!"

Blinking twice, Link finally answers her. "Deltan, you're scaring me little…"

Dropping her hands and on the verge of tears, Deltan walks off. "I need a drink…" After that, the others look at Link with even less enthusiasm now.

"….Next question?" About 30 minutes later, the now dejected Gerudos stop their questions and look at Link in disappointment. Samus rubs her forehead in disbelief over the train wreck of a questionnaire that was and Zelda feels secondhand embarrassment from it. Link, for his part, would now rather be anywhere but here.

"Perhaps Link isn't the best pick for these types of things…" Ashai comments and the others collectively speak "Agreed". Before anymore can be said, Riju walks up with a suggestion.

"Maybe we're looking at this from the wrong angle. Instead of asking him what any random vai would be acceptable to him, why not ask him what he'd look for in a vai he already knows?" After Riju gives her suggestion, the others begin to agree with this. "In fact, why don't we use Princess Zelda as the example?"

While the Gerudos approve of this idea, Zelda can barely comprehend what just happened; now she's the subject of this conversation! Before she can sneak away, they grab her by the arms and bring her to sit in front of Link. Zelda gestures to Samus to try and get her out of this, but she simply whistles nonchalantly with her noble pursuit in her left hand, completely ignoring her pleas, much to Zelda's chagrin. Link silently apologizes for this and Zelda just looks at him with a raised eyebrow and exasperation.

"Now then." Riju says with her hands clapped. "What would you find attractive in the princess?" As this is asked, the Gerudos pile on their questions as well; combat prowess, magic affinity, her status, wardrobe, etc. As the questions continue, Zelda drops her head in embarrassment and Link tries to get her out of this situation. Holding his right hand up to calm everyone down, Link decides to say whatever he can think of.

"Well…the most I can say about her combat prowess is that her archery skills are better than mine." The others listen intently as Zelda begins to calm down. "I first saw her swordsmanship skills and magic during this mission, so I can't really give a definitive comment on them other than 'talented'. But, if were looking for attractiveness, then these things would be the furthest from my mind." While the Gerudos look on in confusion, Zelda doesn't know if she should be offended by that or not. "But, if I had to pick something out, it would be her dedication to the kingdom; she's trying her hardest to bring back order in the midst of all this. That type of commitment to a noble cause is something I find…attractive." The Gerudo start writing down notes, feeling that they're finally getting somewhere. "Also…on another note, when she investigates something new or finds a book worth reading, her eyes look like they shimmer." Link pauses for a moment and gradually begins to smile. "I didn't pay much attention to them originally, but…they're kind of charming." After Link finishes, he looks at a now bewildered Zelda and upon realizing that he said plenty, quickly looks back at the Gerudos, who now look at him with almost enamored eyes. Samus, for her part, only smiles softly.

"This is going to be a long night, isn't it?"


As the sun finally rose on Gerudo Desert, Samus's ship rises towards the sky to the cheers and good wishes of the Gerudos as it departs from town. Within the ship, all three of its occupants are in good spirits.

"While I did enjoy the clothes they had me model, it feels nice being back in what I usually wear." Samus comments, admiring her power suit.

"Other than the robe at Impa's house, I think that's the only other time I've seen you wear something else." Link adds. "You should do that more often."

"I might….but I'm not wearing a dress."

The two continue their back and forth while Zelda quietly reads all the scriptures she was given by Riju, scanned on the Sheikah Slate for easier reading, in an effort to find anything on Ganondorf. Ultimately, nothing comes up on him, much to her frustration.

"Hey Zelda, you've been a little quiet back there. Everything alright?"

"Oh, yes Samus. I'm just trying to find out more on Ganondorf. Hopefully, there will be more on him in our library." Zelda says as she puts the slate away.

"That's going to be tough. When I went to fight Calamity Ganon, the library was pretty damaged. How are you sure that we'll be able to find anything on him?" Link asks, only to be met by silence. "Zelda?"

"Ah, right!" Zelda, startled, answers quickly. "I mean, I'm not exactly sure; but it's the only idea I currently have. Is that a good enough answer?"

"Alright…" Link answers, slightly surprised over Zelda's reaction before turning back to the front. Now that she said what she needed to, Zelda's thoughts wander back to last night; specifically what Link said about her. The idea that Link said several things about her left Zelda taken aback; even though he rarely spoke unless addressed back in the day, has he always thought about her this way? Another thing that caught her attention was his sincerity; many others had complemented Zelda on her elegance before, as far as she can remember, but Link praised her for her love of knowledge. He even called her charming…

"Ah, I forgot to mention; there's something I forgot to tell you Link." Samus points out while holding a small screen from her side of the cockpit, just out of Zelda's sight. You have one of these too, pick it up and type on it. Got it?

Seeing this, Link looks to his left and below him, spotting the screen which he picks up. "Oh yeah? What's that?" Got it.

"While you were talking to the others, Riju wanted to know when you'd be available for the sand seal race. Your phazon poisoning.

"Oh…right. I forgot already, didn't I?" What about it?

"Well, I told her that you'll get back to her on it after we find the last Divine Beast and purify it." Who should know about this at the moment?

"Oh, you bailed me out. Alright, I'll give her a visit afterwards." Me and you. Also, do you have any ideas to control it?

"Well, that's that then." I might. Give me some time. Putting the screen away and gesturing Link to do the same, their ship finally arrives at Hyrule Castle. Landing at the courtyard, it powers down and allows them to hear the sounds of an accordion. Exiting the ship, they find Kass playing his usual tune a few feet away.

"Kass!" Link calls out and Kass stops playing before turning around.

"Ah, my friend! Good to see you again. I take it that you've managed to restore the divine beast?"

"Yes. Vah Naboris is back under our control." Zelda answers. Now, only Vah Medoh remains. Have you spoken to the knights?"

"Yes, and the news couldn't be better." Kass answers with a smile as Amali waves to Kass, giving him the "go ahead". "We should head for the meeting room to discuss it, you have some guests."

"Guests?" The three ask at the same time before following Kass.


The castle meeting room

Upon opening the doors to the meeting room, Link in particular is stunned by the two people standing in front of the table.

"Long time no see, Link!" Sidon ecstatically greets with a sharp toothed grin.

"Hi everyone!" Yunobo greets with a wide smile.

"Oh my!" Zelda exclaims in happiness. "What a surprise! What's this all about?"

"It's time for our plan!" From the other side of the room, Purah walks up with Symin. "We've been waiting for you three to get it started."

"Purah, Symin! Who's we?"

"That would be us, your highness." The three turn around and see Commander Mormont and Impa standing behind them.

"Commander! Are you feeling alright?" Link asks.

"Yes, Sir Link. I came as soon as I heard from Mr. Kass. Needless to say, I'm the one that summoned them here."

"We have come up with a solution to take the final divine beast." Impa adds.

"And that would be?" Samus questions.

"First, we should all take our seats." Mormont suggests and everyone acknowledges this. With everyone seated at the table (Zelda at the head, of course.), they all wait for the subject to be discussed as Mormont stands from the other end of the table. For her part, Purah activates a holographic map of the Tabantha and Hebra regions from her replica Sheikah Slate. "Thank you all for coming. I have been informed that the Tabantha and Hebra regions have suffered a hostile takeover by enemy forces led by the Yiga and the one known as Dark Samus. From what I have gathered, the bulk of said enemy forces are most concentrated there in comparison to the now liberated areas. Therefore, we have come to an agreement that this is where we take the fight to them."

"Is that wise?" Zelda interjects. "If the enemies are as concentrated as you say, then wouldn't a different approach be more appropriate?"

"Given the fact that this 'phazon' substance was allowed more time to fester here, I'm afraid time is of the essence. We must strike fast and strike hard." Mormont then looks at Sidon and then Yunobo. "This is why I have summoned Prince Sidon and Yunobo."

"That is true, your highness." Sidon speaks up. "I have spoken with my father and we have decided to add our forces to the Hylian army."

"And I talked it over with Boss Bludo." Yunobo adds. "We're also gonna join in on this fight."

"All of you?" Link asks in surprise. "But, the barrier won't let us through, at least not without Samus's ship. How do you expect to enter?"

"That's where you three come in." Impa says as she points to the map. "We need you to lower the barrier so that our forces can storm the enemy and we can take the key areas and from there we can slowly but surely retake the land."

"I hate to interrupt, but we're all forgetting something important." Samus retorts while bringing up an image of a certain creature from her helmet. "Ridley. According to Kass, he's the one leading there and he'll be the one with the air power; our forces will get pummeled."

"That's true. Which is why after you enter, you must locate the Rito tribe. Thanks to eyes and ears that we have on the inside, we have confirmed that they have indeed survived, which is why the enemy does not have complete control of the region; they are facing heavy resistance via guerilla tactics from the Rito."

"I see. So, if we find them, you want us to have them distract Ridley with weapons that can pierce his armor skin while the entirety of our forces storm the land. Is that the idea?" Zelda deduces and Commander Mormont nods.

"In that case, we can ask your contact to see where they are. Who is it though?" Link asks, now feeling more confident in the plan.

"Well, he's an odd fellow; he carries around a large backpack and has a fascination with insects." Mormont answers and Link immediately knows who this person is; Beedle.

After about one more hour at the meeting, everyone leaves to go their separate ways; Mormont, Purah and Symin go over the maps of the region once more. Sidon and Yunobo return to their respective lands to prepare for the assault. Zelda and Impa head to the library to find anything on Ganondorf. Samus went to get the ship ready. Link, for his part, returns to his shared room to retrieve a certain weapon.

"If this is the last push before the seed, we're going to need to be at the top of our game." Link says to himself as he leaves his knight's bow on his bed and looks over to the shelf to retrieve the bow of light (a golden yellow, crescent shaped bow). Stroking the flat side of the bow, Link takes the time to admire the very weapon that Zelda bestowed upon him to finally defeat Calamity Ganon. "Tonight's the perfect night to put my practice to the test." Link says with a smile as he places the bow on his back and picks up a piece of paper that he had next to it before heading back downstairs.


Castle Library

"Wherever this information is, it's wasting my time; there's nothing here." Zelda says with frustrated sigh, sitting down at a table with a mountain of books that she picked out. It had been well over an hour since the meeting ended and nothing had been found on Ganondorf. Thankfully, her search was helped by Impa and her copies looking through all of the shelves. Opening a book, Zelda skims through it. "Very well, the three golden goddesses… unification of the land… once again, everything we already…know!" Zelda slams the book down and leans her head on her left fist, finally exasperated.

"Princess, don't get upset." One of Impa's transparent blue copies floats over and attempts to console Zelda. "It's unbecoming of a lady."

"I know Impa, I know…" Zelda answers, trying to calm down. "It's just that we've been looking all over for anything on Ganondorf and we have nothing to show for it. Also, it's almost noon; we have to leave soon."

"I know it's frustrating, but is this really important? I mean, if what you say is true, then Ganondorf is no more. You should just focus on the last divine beast, wouldn't you agree?"

"I suppose. But one thing bothers me; despite the fact that the library was damaged in the Great Calamity, a lot of the books survived. Yet, there was nothing on him. Apart from the name, it's like he doesn't exist. Doesn't that strike you as odd?"

"It does, I admit. But, what more can be done?"

"I'm trying to figure that out…" Zelda buries her face in her palms and sighs.

"Well, I have a suggestion; Paya and Granté are overseeing Kakariko Village. Why don't I look over the rest of the library in your stead?"

Zelda looks up at the Impa copy. "Really?"

"Of course dear. I want to help in any way I can." The Impa copy smiles warmly. "Besides, we used to do this back in the day, remember?"

Zelda, upon hearing this, begins to smile and her mind wanders back to better days.


Hyrule Castle library, 100 years ago

"Amazing; there's so much about Sheikah technology yet to be explored!" Zelda (in her royal dress) excitedly beams upon reading her books on the Sheikah. The king had been away on business for about three days, giving her ample time to catch up on her research and not worry about him hounding her on awakening her sealing powers, even giving Link permission to catch up on his training while she was in the library. Having been in there for several hours, she had begun to drowse and eventually fell asleep. When she awoke about an hour later, all of the books had been reorganized with bookmarks where she stopped and all of her notes would be color coded to correlate possible connections. "What? Did I…?"

"Honestly Princess, this is becoming quite the habit." Zelda looks to her left and sees none other than Impa (bearing a striking resemblance to her future granddaughter Paya, albeit with her Sheikah attire being more form fitting with brown grieves and gauntlets covered by white bandages, long white hair reaching above her calves with a swiss roll like bun on top with two red chopstick pins and a red ribbon tying the bottom end, a blue Sheikah eye tattoo on her forehead and a large straw hat with a red trim and six ornaments hanging from said trim on her back) standing at the entrance with a harmless smirk.

"Impa! When did you get here?" Zelda excitedly asks before standing up to greet her friend.

"Not too long ago. I'm here with Purah and Robbie to check out the Guardians and Link told me you were here."

"Wait, then you did this?" Zelda points to her organized books and notes on the table.

"You know the king gets upset when you leave the books like that. Even if he's not here, you're going to get an earful if you leave them like that for him to find."

"Ah right, thank you Impa." Zelda looks down, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Anyway, how are things with you and Link? Are you getting along?"

"Yes. He's a good knight after all. I just needed to talk to him."

"Ah good." Impa says before looking at the books again. "Well, since the king won't be back for another three days, would you like to oversee what Purah and Robbie are doing?"

Zelda, upon hearing this, becomes ecstatic. "I'd love to!"

"But first." Impa points to the mountain of books on the table and Zelda immediately gets the message. As she moves to grab a few of the books, Impa performs several hand signs and conjures four blue copies of herself. With this, they quickly put all of the books back in their respective shelves within fifteen minutes.

"What would you do without me, Princess?" Impa comments as she dispels her copies.

"Truly, you are a lifesaver Impa."

"Now, let's go. They won't wait for us."

Both girls finally leave the library and begin chatting about their respective duties with Impa mentioning that she's close to becoming the new village chief, which Zelda congratulates her for. On another note, Zelda mentions that while her father is away she wants to continue researching the Sheikah technology and Impa decides to help her with that, so that she can get as much done before the king returns. Zelda happily accepts this offer.

"Thank you, my lifesaver."

"Happy to be of service." Impa says with a smile.


Hyrule Castle library, present.

Dispelling her copies, Impa dispels her copies and walks out from behind a bookcase, motioning towards Zelda.

"It only feels like yesterday when we were both here last." Zelda says with a nostalgic tone.

"It does. Though, my reflection has changed somewhat." Impa responds, bring up a hand to her own face.

"You're still the same Impa." Zelda comments while smiling.

"And you're as kind as ever, my dear. Go on now, you've still got around an hour and a half left; you should use that to rest up. Leave the search to me."

Conceding, Zelda nods to her old friend before leaving the library to take some time before, what they hoped would be, the final assault. On a side note, Zelda gives herself a personal reminder to ask about Paya and Granté running the village together.


Noon

With the bell ringing noon, the ship takes off with its three occupants, their destination; the overrun lands of Tabantha.

"Alright, before we get there, let's go over the mission objectives; First, we enter the region without drawing attention. Second, hide the ship to reach the divine beast later. Third, contact this Beedle person to ascertain the location of the Rito tribe. Lastly, once all previous objectives have been fulfilled, we fly the ship directly to the divine beast, lower the barrier and allow the allied forces to storm the land. Is that clear?" Samus asks after laying down the mission objectives.

"Crystal clear." Zelda answers.

"No questions here." Link responds while reading his paper.

"Great." Samus acknowledges her compatriots before turning to Link. "What's that you've got there?"

"Ah, just notes I wrote down for my bow." Link answers while moving the bow of light on his back.

"Now that's one fancy bow."

"I gave that to him. I'm surprised you brought that after all this time." Zelda comments. "Why the sudden need?"

"Since this might be our last step before the Leviathan Seed, I figured we'd need to pull out all the stops. Besides, it's time I put my two months of practice to the test."

"Ah, and what are those notes for?"

"Heheh, you'll see." Link puts the notes away with Zelda just barely making out stick figures in peculiar poses.

"Attention, we will be arriving to the final barrier in approximately five minutes. I suggest we activate stealth mode beforehand." Virginia reports, bringing up a trajectory from the castle to Tabantha.

"Copied." Samus complies and activates stealth mode, making the ship "invisible" in a sense. Five minutes later, they arrive at the barrier and prepare to enter. "Alright gang, this is it. That seed is as good as ours."


Tabantha

Entering the region, they bare witness to just how much it has been altered due to phazon corruption; massive phazon tentacles writhing slightly across the land, fungal growths spread out on the ground and rocks among other things.

"It's worse than I thought…" Samus comment while taking in the scenery. "Nevertheless, we will proceed on mission."

"Right, let's land on an outcropping of rock; I remember that this ship can camouflage-" Link offers a suggestion before being cut off as something strikes the ship. "What's going on?!

"Everyone, look!" Zelda, after finding her bearings, points outside. Everyone looks in the direction she's pointing and see Ridley flying in place, staring directly at them.

"There you are!" Ridley shouts as he charges another thermal blast.

"Evasive maneuvers now!" Samus shouts as she begins dodging Ridley's attacks as he gives chase.

"No way; how did he find us?!" Link shouts in alarm, under the impression that stealth would have hidden them.

"Later, Link!" Samus retorts, doing her best to evade Ridley. Soon, the ship's alarm goes off, pointing out many more hostiles on the radar. From below, many corrupted Guardian Stalkers begin firing on the hapless ship. To add more to the situation, Guardian Skywatchers arrive and fire at the ship as well, forcing Samus to activate the shield during flight.

"We're outgunned!" Zelda shouts, trying to keep from falling off of her seat.

"Samus, the ship's shields won't last much longer with this continuous firing." Virginia reports as the shield generator begins to fail. "I advise you all to take immediate action."

Frustrated, Samus goes over all options and decides on one. "Zelda, stand on the lower hatch now!"

Although confused, Zelda complies and struggles to reach the hatch. Upon reaching it, she's immediately surrounded by millions of hexagonal particles, forming a pod. "What's going on?!"

"Listen, we're out of options. I'm going to deploy you both down to the ground and then we'll rendezvous afterwards."

"What about you?" Zelda says from within the pod.

"I'll lead them away for now. But you've got to bail out now."

"Wait! There's so many of them, you'll be killed!"

"Zelda!" Link shouts as he runs up to the pod. "We have no choice! Everyone is counting on us and Samus is giving us the chance to escape!" Link calms down before speaking again and places a hand on the visor. "This is going to work; everything is going to be ok. Alright?"

Still a bit apprehensive, Zelda nods in compliance and places her own hand over his. "…Ok."

"Atta girl." Link backs away and gives Samus the go ahead. Nodding, Samus activates stealth on the pod and, at the count of three, launches the pod amidst the laser fire and into a forested area.

"Alright, you're next."

"Hold on." Link walks over to Samus and places a hand on her shoulder pad. "This is going to work. We're all walking out of this."

"I know." Samus responds with the same conviction. "I'll see you at the bottom. Now go!"

Rushing over to the hatch, Link is surrounded by the same particles that form another pod. Giving the go ahead to Samus, she nods and after another countdown, deploys the pod. Unfortunately, the timing of the launch couldn't have been worse; a stray laser shot destroys part of the pod.

"No!" Samus shouts in despair as she continues to avoid heavy fire from Ridley and the Guardians, preventing her from coming to his aid. Panicking, Link begins pounding on the broken pod, finally releasing himself from it. Now in freefall, Link's crest begins to blink; reminding him of his paraglider. Slamming his palm on it, his sword and bow separate; allowing the paraglider to deploy from his back. With the paraglider, Link manages to slow his descent enough as he falls on his back at a relatively safe speed.

To be continued…


Finally! I have the worst cases of writers block imaginable. Anyway, the "fourth part" is now in full swing with this chapter and I've been playing around with ideas for what comes next and I'm pretty excited, to say the least. Thank you all for your patience and please stay tuned for the next chapter. Alright guys/girls, take care.