The domain erupted into movement. Zora guardsmen begin corralling citizens – especially children and the elderly, those who don't have the strength to swim against the current – to higher ground, away from the impact zone of the reservoir. King Dorephan emerged from his throne room to oversee evacuation maneuvers. Bazz and his troop stood guard before the dam. They let me pass, faces grim.

Barley stumbling over the flippers of my Zora greaves, I scaled the reservoir steps one by one. The Hylian hood that futilely protected me from the downpour was drenched. I ripped it off – letting it fly off with the hurricane.

I arrived at the top and shouted, "Sidon!"

He stood on what once was the rim of the reservoir. Now, it was leveled with the steadily rising waves. They lapped at his feet, sloshing past and spilling over the dam's edge before retreating.

His eyes were determined, furious. Sidon looked like he had been on the verge of diving into the murky waters, to fight Vah Ruta with nothing more than determination and his fists.

"Leave!" His voice boomed with the rain. "I'm done hearing your selfish excuses. I want you out of my domain!"

The anger started small, like a pinprick at the base of my neck. But as he continued to speak nonsense, it spread like a chill. My lip curled at his impetuousness, and I found myself stalking over to where he stood. My footsteps were deaf against the raindrops.

Sidon's fangs were barred in hatred, fists clenched in carefully restrained anger. "I don't know what Muzu has told you, but I refuse to acknowledge any word you have to say. I won't let you anywhere near Vah Ruta!"

I swung my fist forward with everything I had in me. It collided squarely with the firm muscles of his abdomen. Prince Sidon let out a wheeze, stumbling backwards from the surprising blow.

He and I stared at each other; him in gaping shock and I in frustration.

"How dare you?!"

"Pull yourself together!" I retorted back without even a beat to his question. "If you really love Mipha, you wouldn't carelessly throw your life away just to be petty towards me!"

He thrashes back as if scorned. "Do not speak as if Mipha's affections mattered to you!"

"I knew she loved you! She loved you so much she sacrificed herself so you could have a future. Do you really think she would be proud to see you like this?" Angry. Spiteful. Lost. "If you continue to act recklessly, you would be making her sacrifice in vain. Not me."

My words seemed to have strike the ire hotter as Sidon raises his claws. I reached for my sword to retaliate back.

"BAHRUUUHHHAA!"

Vah Ruta's guttural cry was like a dousing of water, effectively extinguishing the hatred between us for a moment. Sidon and I turned our attention to the Divine Beast. It had raised itself onto its hind legs before falling back down. The movement caused a low rumble along the reservoir's walls, which resonated in the valley of Zora's Domain.

Along the bearings, rivets began popping off the steel beams. Pressurized water shot out from the exposed pinholes like a geyser.

This was it. The East Reservoir was falling apart. And with it, Zora's Domain.

Sidon was silent. He stared at Vah Ruta, within it, as if searching for an answer.

I acted with calculated caution and placed a gentle hand on his arm. "100 years ago, Mipha followed me into battle; not just because she loved me, but because she loved you too. You. Your father. Muzu. All the Zora." He flinched but didn't fully pull away from my touch. "You can hate me. You can exile me. But I'll drown screaming before I let you or anyone else take your sister's sacrifice for granted."

Sidon's brow eased. He raised his eyes from the ground and ahead into the distance.

Suddenly, without a word, he broke free from my touch. Into the murky waters he disappeared, and I was left alone on the deck.

I prepared to dive into the waves myself – ignoring the sting of abandonment and preparing to do the impossible by myself. However, a red fin emerged from the dark depths – like a beacon in the storm. Sidon breaks from the water's surface.

"Gaze upon the Divine Beast's back!" He called, pointing to the glowing, pink orbs on Vah Ruta's back. "Those are the generators that channel water into Vah Ruta's trunk. You will need to shoot all four of them with a shock arrow to stop this rain! With your Zora Armor, you now have the ability to ascend waterfalls. So, I shall take you right up to the side of the Divine Beast, and from there, you can swim up and take aim!"

I wanted to cry from relief. I probably did, but it was hidden by the rain.

Sidon levelled a serious glance with me. "If anyone can do this, it is you. I know you can do it. I…I believe in you!"

I nodded back – allowing his words to give me the courage I needed.

Sidon begrudgingly motions to his back – a bit embarrassed that after all we've been through and his status within the kingdom, he has been reduced to my mode transportation. I tried not to think about it too much as I swung my legs over his body like I was riding a horse.

He slowly waded into the deeper depths before he suddenly shot off like a rocket. I held on tightly to his dorsal fin. Sidon cleaved through the water like the shark he is: swift and precise.

As we drew closer to Vah Ruta, it began reacting erratically to our presence. It began thrashing in the water, buzzing ominously before straightening itself out. I didn't like it.

I tugged on Sidon's fin to slow him down. "We should maintain our distance and wait for an opening!"

Sidon nodded firmly. "I agree. Although, next time, just tell me. I am not a horse."

I flushed in embarrassment, but Sidon managed a chuckle at my expense.

Meanwhile, Vah Ruta's defense mechanisms begin to activate. Projectiles made from ice – it reminded me of Cryonis – form along its flank in groups of three.

"Divine Beast Vah Ruta seems to have an ancient and mysterious power as a defense. I'll keep going full speed and find you a way to close in!" Sidon instructed.

"Copy!" I replied.

"Are you ready?"

I held tight to his fin. "Let's go free our girl!"

Sidon leapt out of the water before resuming a breakneck pace. At the same time, Vah Ruta unleashed its first round of projectiles against us.

The first Cryonis block was launched, looking like it was flying directly toward us.

Sidon's word of warning was brief as he quickly veered to the right in order to break the projectile's trail. However, instead of flying straight like an arrow, the Cryonis block followed our new trajectory.

Sidon cursed, "I thought it was going to be like an arrow."

He continued to swim in a zig-zag fashion, trying to shake off the steadily approaching projectile. However, his frequent stops and turns only served to slow him down. The projectile was gaining fast. I had to knock it off course.

I aimed my bow at the block. Right when I was about to let an arrow fly, Sidon took a sharp turn left and I missed.

"Sidon, I need you to swim straight!"

"Are you mad? That will not shake off the ice!"

I readied my bow, nocking another arrow against the string. "I'll ward off the attacks. Trust me!"

He didn't reply but my aim was a lot smoother.

The arrow flew, piercing the ice with a satisfying crack. The projectile wasn't destroyed. However, the slight disturbance was enough to disrupt its physics – sending the block spiraling off to the side.

The next projectile was coming right towards me. I quickly prepared an arrow and knocked it off course. The final Cryonis block was aimed forwards, intending to intercept where Sidon was swimming towards. I quickly swiveled forward, launching in arrow just in time to prevent a head-on collision.

With no projectiles left to defend Vah Ruta's flank, Sidon dashed for the opening.

"Shock arrows ready?" Sidon called, approaching one of the waterfalls cascading from the generators.

I prepared my quiver so that they could be easily accessible.

Sidon leapt upwards, into the waterfall's stream. I jumped off his back as leverage, forcing myself up the current.

The Zora Armor worked like a charm. I was unbound by gravity – like water off a duck's back –and before I knew it, I broke from the surface and into the air. Like second nature, I reached for the Paraglider – opening its wings. As I drifted down, the glow of the generators was stark against the darkness.

I entered bullet-time. Drawing back the bowstring, I set loose a shock arrow. I watched as it came into contact with the pink orb – erupting into sparks of magenta and yellow. Quickly, I swiveled around and aimed for the other generator. I fired another shock arrow.

The mechanism short-circuited in a colorful display. And as the magenta glow faded, I felt the quirk of a smile.

Our plan was working!

Suddenly, gravity and time had caught up to me. It took me a second to realize I was free-falling from meters above directly into the murky waters below. The scariest part: I couldn't do anything about it. Bullet-time had taken so much out of me. I barely had the energy to pull open my Paraglider again; let alone, swim.

There was a sickening slap as my body broke through the surface tension. The skin along my back stung like liquid fire before the cold water of the dark swallowed me up. And then, I was staring up at the surface. Ripples from the rain distorted the fading magenta lights of Vah Ruta.

I couldn't move my arms. I couldn't move my legs. As I lay paralyzed, I continued to sink deep, deep down into the depths of East Reservoir Lake.

It was calm. Then, it was torture.

The tearing and burning sensation started in my nose. It spread to my throat and then into my chest. I gasped, but the burning continued. In fact, it became worse.

And as the water filled my lungs and drowned me down deeper, there was only one coherent thought in my mind:

Why does this…feel familiar?

Something tight wrapped itself around my arm. The light from above was getting brighter, clearer. And suddenly, I felt the rain.

"It's okay. I've got you. Don't drown on me, okay?" Sidon pleaded.

He slung me onto his back. I held on tight to his dorsal fin and coughed. Water erupted from my mouth. I heaved off to the side, expelling everything from my lungs and occasionally my stomach.

"Do you need a break? We can head for the shore," Sidon suggested, distraught palpable on his face.

I coughed once more for good measure. Clearing my throat, I eyed Vah Ruta. It was preparing another round of Cryonis projectiles. This time, there were six to be fired: three blocks and three spikes. However, the only generators remaining were the two on Ruta's right flank.

"We're getting close. One more," I rasped out.

Sidon hesitated briefly before abiding by my request. He dove forward, resuming his previous pace. "If you cannot catch your breath, alert me at once. We will take a break."

Several Cryonis projectiles are launched at the same time. The blocks are simple now that I recognized their flight path. However, the spikes were new. The first one launched was cleaving through the water instead of being launched into the air. They followed us even as Sidon swam in a semi-circle fashion.

I easily knocked the Cryonis block out from the air, but before I could aim for the spike, Vah Ruta released another pair of Cryonis block and spike. The spike shot off into the water but was coming more lateral than the one trailing behind us.

Once more, I disrupted the Cryonis block – spinning it off to the side. The last pair of Cryonis block and spike projectiles were launched.

I took out the block, leaving three Cryonis spikes barreling towards us in breakneck speed. At the rate Sidon is going, these three projectiles will catch up in the next few seconds. We'd be impaled! I couldn't take out three at the same time!

"Bad news!" I called to Sidon. "We've got three bogeys on our tail. I can't take out all of them."

Sidon's lips tightened in contemplation. "I do not think I can shake them off, either. What our odds that we can take the hit?"

"Not a chance I'm willing to take," I said. I glanced at the three projectiles, estimating the time till collision.

Suddenly, it occurred to me.

"Dive!" I yelled, holding my own breath, and clutching tightly onto him.

Sidon responded quickly and without hesitation. He swam vertically down, to the depths of East Reservoir Lake.

I risked a glance upwards, just in time to see the three Cryonis spikes collide into each other – shattering into a million pieces.

I laughed at a spontaneous plan gone well. Bubbles erupted from my mouth, and I quickly clamped a hand over my mouth and nose.

My ears popped and I urgently tapped at Sidon. I couldn't see him since we were too deep for the dim lights of Vah Ruta to penetrate through, but I felt the Zora Prince shift directions. He was swimming frantically towards the surface.

I felt the familiar, burning sensation in my chest again.

I bore down, gripping tightly onto Sidon's fin as an anchor to hold on.

Sidon broke through the surface, and I take a few gasps of air.

We are underneath Vah Ruta's final generators.

With victory so close, I jumped off at the peak of Sidon's jump and into the waterfalls. Like before, I cleaved through the current until I emerged from the peak. In the air, I deployed the Paraglider and drifted between the last two generators. Two shock arrows exploded against the magenta orbs, fizzling the ancient wiring until the mechanism died out.

I free fell again. However, this time, Sidon caught me before I plunged beneath the waves. He was swimming us away from Vah Ruta for now.

And he was laughing. It was deep and pure. "Wow! That was astounding! An absolute thrill!"

Vah Ruta reared back to its hind legs. However, it doesn't bellow out. Instead, the geyser from its nose gradually, but definitively dies out. And above, the rain clouds parted, revealing the tranquil, early morning.

The water began to recede. Vah Ruta rose higher from the water level. At the base of its flank, a welcoming platform revealed itself.

"Ruta is floating higher, now," Sidon remarked. He fixed me a relieved smile. "You wanted to venture inside it, right? I'll bring you closer."

His strokes are calmer now; so is his demeanor. It looks like the rain clouds over Zora's Domain were not the only ones that had dissipated.

"That platform looks like the entrance into this Divine Beast." He turned back to look at me. In the rising sun, his expression looks more somber. Remorseful, almost. "Best of luck, Zelda. Who knows what monstrosities remain from the Calamity…"

Despite the hope of dawn and the recent victory buzzing in my head, I couldn't help but agree with him. Vah Ruta was at best, a dungeon and at worst, a grave. I was going to be by myself, facing the demons of my past, in a prison I have no choice of escaping.

Sidon was parallel to the platform, helping me disembark. I glanced up at the hallowed entryway – still emanating dark malice even after all these years.

In my periphery, the Zora Prince smiled encouragingly, clenching a fist in determination.

"Show the enemy no fear! Bring Vah Ruta back to our side and Zelda—" here, his eyes soften "—please finish what my sister set out to do. Save our home. And save her."

I bit my lip in hesitation. I began to move towards him, to finish telling him what I wanted to say before Vah Ruta made things urgent. However, the pedestal began rising, began to trap me inside the Divine Beast.

Sidon must have seen the panic in my eyes because he smiled again.

"Tell me later, when we meet again back at Zora's Domain."

It was a promise. It was belief. I will make it past whatever is in here. I am welcomed back to Zora's Domain. Sidon will listen to me when I return.

When I return.

He began to swim backwards but maintained his eye contact even as Ruta rose further away. I waved at him before the doors completely sealed.

"We will! I have to remind you how much you meant to her!"

The entryway shut tight, forcing me to confront a painful present so that I may receive closure on a forgotten past.