Closer up, Sidon looked a little worse for wear. He had a fresh scratch on his left bicep, and there was a rip on the arm fin of the same arm. Link assumed he had fought back when the Vaatians initially attacked them, after Link ran. Sidon didn't have his spear or his fire rod, but his bag was still on his person. It made sense that his weapons had been taken, but Link was grateful they had let Sidon keep the rest of his belongings, because it truly would have stank to have to replace everything again.

"Hi, Wildberry", Sidon said cheerfully once Link and the Vaatians with their prisoner stopped in front of each other. "I'm so happy to see you're alright!"

Link smiled at him, then looked at the Vaatians. The swordsman stayed by Sidon, and the mage lowered their rod in order to extend a hand towards Link. "Give me the Cap."

Link deliberately hesitated, gripping the rim of the Cap and biting his lip, before flicking his eyes at Sidon in a show of being unsure. He needed Sidon to act instantly once this Vaatian touched the hat, but he had no way to convey a message, not even with eye movements; not in the presence of enemies. He could only hope Sidon was ready to act on his own.

He looked at the mage and visibly steeled himself before holding out the item-of-too-much-Hylia-damned-interest with his left hand. The Vaatian's fingers took a firm grip of shining cloth and the light underneath Link's fingers faded and migrated to the spot the Vaatian was touching.

The Cap was yanked from his grip at the same moment his right hand darted to the Master Sword's hilt and drew it.

There was an immediate pandemonium as several things happened in an instant, but it simultaneously felt like time had slowed down and everything happened in slow motion from Link's perspective.

Link swung his sword at the mage, who jumped backwards to avoid it – clearly having been expecting it – the Minish Cap clutched in their right hand. Foolish of them, because that was the hand they had been carrying the rod in earlier, which meant their presumed dominant hand was now unavailable for at least a few crucial seconds.

The sword-wielding Vaatian stabbed Sidon, who also made a hasty dodge, but not before blood was spilt as another minor scratch was added to his scaly hide.

Vaati shouted something Link's ears failed to catch with all the other noise around him, and the rest of the Vaatians drew or otherwise readied their weapons.

Slateri shouted something Link missed as well, and he could have sworn he felt something go past him underneath his feet, his soles tingling briefly.

The next moment, time speeding up again, Link drew his other, freshly purchased sword and tossed it as high into the air in Sidon's general direction as his strength allowed. Then he rushed at the mage.

The mage grabbed their magic rod from their belt with their left hand and fired an ice spell towards Link, but their aim was so off that Link didn't even need to dodge.

Behind the mage, Vaati and his troops got tangled up in thorny vines that rose from the ground. Vaati's ice spell – no rod used from what Link could see in the split second he got to look – went up into the sky harmlessly.

Link swung his sword and the mage parried clumsily with the rod. It was enough to give the Master Sword a layer of frost and make Link flinch back to avoid a worse disaster. That in turn was enough time for the Vaatian to turn around and start running towards Vaati, the Cap in hand.

Shit!

Link ran after them, but skid to a halt when he heard an audible crunch and screaming behind him. He instinctively turned around in alarm, and saw Sidon's jaws locked on a shrieking Vaatian's shoulder. Blood was spilling down his chin in a chilling display of raw power, which was then immediately, miraculously outclassed by Sidon yanking his arms to the sides and effortlessly snapping the rope binding them. If that wasn't already enough, Sidon's right hand grabbed the Woodlands Sword that had landed tip down into the ground right next to him and pulled it out with one continuous motion, his bicep bulging as he swung the sword upward, pommel first, to knock the Vaatian out of his mouth and a few feet away from him with an arc of blood connecting them.

Hello, his name was Gay and he was very Link for this man and would like to please marry him hard right now, thank you.

Sidon turned around to look at him, his jaw and neck and chest covered in fresh gore that wasn't his own, but instead of keeping his lovely, lovely topaz eyes – denial about the wording later; lovestruck now – on Link and rushing forward to sweep him off his feet, his gaze traveled past him and was followed by a pointing finger. "Link! The Cap!"

The what? Wait-

Link snapped out of his daze and whipped around, heart racing, to witness the mage he had been supposed to take care of be almost within an arm's reach of Vaati, the Cap ready to be handed over.

Both Link and Sidon dashed after them, knowing they wouldn't be able to make it but still trying their absolute hardest, hoping against all hope.

The Vaatians were still mostly tangled up in vines, but Vaati himself had burnt up a spot of the ground beneath his feet – was that Sidon's Fire Rod on his belt, now peeking from behind his back? – and had stepped out of the circle of ashen branches to stand on solid ground again, arm reaching expectantly towards his running minion.

Link needed to run faster, throw something, stop it somehow!

Sidon lifted his sword up like a spear, but then presumably realized it wasn't a spear and fumbled a step.

Vaati's fingers curled around the Cap's brim and with one motion flipped it around and put it on his head.

There was a bright flash of white and blue light and a shock-wave swept over everyone around Vaati, making those who weren't held in place by thorns tumble down. Link was knocked backwards and lost his grip on his sword as he fell over, landing painfully on his butt with Sidon close by.

"I win!" Vaati yelled, holding onto the cap with two hands now, grinning widely. The air around him glimmered and sparkled and there was a whirlwind circling him, making his hair and cloak float wildly and the edges of the cap flap. "Now nothing stands between me and awesome magical prowess! The big people will never threaten our culture again, and you two will be the first ones to suffer my wrath!"

Good news: at least it seemed Vaati hadn't been lying to his followers like Slateri had assumed. Or maybe he was just good at keeping up front even during his victory gloat.

Bad news: everything else.

Vaati pointed a finger at Link, who scrambled to quickly grab his sword and get up. From the corner of his eye he saw Sidon do the same. Vaati's finger grew frosty and the air around it turned white and puffy, and then a beam of freezing magic shot forth-

Huh?

Link dodged the attack easily with a small hop to the side while Sidon didn't even necessarily need to move to evade, because the ice beam was tiny, narrow and honestly? Pretty pathetic compared to what had been shot at him before.

Vaati frowned in confusion, then pointed his finger at Link again. This time out came a beam of what Link assumed to be pure darkness from the blue-ish black colour and the void-like quality of it, but it was just a trickle as well and Link side-stepped it with ease.

He figured that he ought to take this chance to attack, but he was too enthralled by the show to put the thought into action. He wanted to see where this went.

Vaati's face twisted in fury and he brought up both of his palms.

Okay, that looked more menacing, so Link threw himself forward into a somersault to dodge under the much stronger attack, anticipating that Vaati would expect him to evade to the side again. He immediately felt cold air rush above him and freeze the tips of his hair, hat, and ears, but he avoided any real damage. He shot back to his feet right in front of his enemy, but to his shock Vaati conjured up a dark haze and dematerialized from within it.

As a result, he had to hastily parry Sidon's sword that had been about to slash at Vaati.

"Ah, my apologies!" Sidon said and disengaged.

Link nodded, then whipped his head from side to side, searching.

The Vaatians right by them were mostly out of the thorn trap by now and were clearly about to attack en masse any moment now, which was unfortunately going to have to be Link's highest priority unless something even worse came up. But where was-

"Why doesn't the Cap work?!"

Reluctant to turn his back to his enemies, but too curious and wary of Vaati to ignore him, Link spun around towards the voice.

Vaati's hands were engulfed in black energy and he threw punches at Slateri, who parried them nimbly with his staff. Slateri looked unbearably smug. "You don't deserve the power, that's why."

"LIES!" Vaati screeched and gave another enraged punch.

"Oops, you caught me!" Slateri said, amused. "That's actually the answer too."

"Link!"

Link whirled around, starting to get whiplash from doing it so often, and saw Sidon push back the first wave of melee enemies. Right, no time to watch other battles, because his own combat awaited him.

Link ran into the fray to stand by his boyfriend's side.

"The real Minish Cap isn't something I parade around, you foolish child."

Link knocked away an enemy and then jumped back, sheathing his sword and grabbing his bow instead.

"I am not a child!"

He nocked an ice arrow and shot it at the row of Vaatian mages on the other side of the slowly dying field of thorns. He quickly readied another.

"Perhaps barely not, but you do act like one. Stand down and call off your troops before I'm forced to hurt you!"

Another ice arrow was launched and froze over the still regrouping enemies. Link put the bow away and drew his sword once more.

"Stop underestimating and patronizing me, old man! Your time is over and I will begin a new era!"

Sidon was handling things fine again after a small intervention from Link, so he unhooked his shield from his arm, threw it into the middle of the thorns, took a running start and jumped on it.

"Not with magic skills like that, you won't."

Link jumped forward again, not quite making it across the thorns but close enough to only have his clothes rip a little, but without getting tangled up. He quickly dodged an ice beam from the one remaining mage, who had been trying to free their frozen companions until then.

"Once I find the real Minish Cap my powers will be more than enough! I'll get rid of you and then I'll pay your successor a visit!"

Link knocked the ice rod from the rather alarmed and tired looking mage's hands, then slashed at their arm with his sword.

The mage fell to the ground and looked at him pleadingly, clutching the wound with their unharmed hand. "I surrender!"

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy, little Vaati. No part of that plan will come to fruition."

Link glared at the mage, and then pointed his sword at the others in their icy prisons with a raised eyebrow.

"They will too, I swear!" the mage said, sounding hysterical. "Please, we don't want to die like the rest!"

"Do. Not. Patronize. Me!"

There was a mighty flash of white and blue behind Link, and he was unable to resist turning around yet again. A large area around Slateri was now frozen solid, but a perfect circle of unaffected ground surrounded his unharmed form. He was holding up his bird cane, and the beak was curiously open.

Vaati, on the other hand, was hunched over and panting. He was surrounded by inert leaves, snapped vines, and green glitter. He was no longer wearing the fake cap.

Sidon's battleground was between Link and the two mighty wizards, and his work seemed to be done. The ground was littered with fallen Vaatians, who might have been alive and unconscious or might have been dead – Link had no way to tell. He had the last Vaatian warrior held at a swordpoint, unarmed and kneeling on the ground.

Now Link could see why the enemy mage accompanying him had lost their morale.

"Your troops have fallen, Vaati. Surrender now", Slateri said, pointed the cane at the ground, and somehow thawed himself a path through the frozen ground.

"Make me!" Vaati growled, and made to stand up and step forward, but stumbled on what was possibly a vine or a thorn or perhaps even a root protruding from the ground before him. Link could swear it hadn't been there earlier.

Slateri moved faster than Link's eyes could follow, and his bird beaked cane made violent and loud contact with the back of Vaati's head. Vaati crumpled to the ground, unmoving.

...Did they just win?

Slateri bent over Vaati's prone body to, presumably, check him over. Vaati didn't react in any way.

Yes, they definitely won.

Link gave one last warning look at the defeated Vaatian mage – who looked very docile and in no small amount of pain – and then began making his way back to Sidon via his shield route through the thorns, a victorious smile on his lips. They were finally safe and together, and he had missed Sidon way more than the time apart honestly warranted!

"Link!" Sidon said with a wide and rather gory smile. He put away his sword to where his spear usually went on his back, completely uncaring of the kneeling Vaatian warrior by his feet, and opened his arms for Link to jump into. Link wasted no time doing just that, his arms wrapping around Sidon's neck and his legs around his waist, carefully avoiding the gills like it was second nature now.

Link clung to his boyfriend like an Octoroc and kissed him squarely on the lips. Sidon tasted bloody and fishy and a bit sweaty, but Link didn't give a single damn. He kissed Sidon with all the passion he had been holding back since the questionably hot bite attack from earlier. No, since the moment he saw him with the Vaatians. Actually, no, since the moment they got separated. Actually, it didn't matter; the point was that there was a lot of passion in Link and he was going to take it all out on this gorgeous fish prince's lips and maybe-

"Celebrating already, I see", said Slateri's voice, ruining the moment. Or well, ruining the continuation of the moment – the moment itself had been amazing and would continue to be so in Link's memories later.

Link and Sidon separated their lips, and uh… Link wasn't sure what to do with the image of Sidon's face being splattered with blood with his mouth as the epicenter, but his lips being completely clean of the gore. He'd… have to come back to that thought later. Preferably with Sidon's lips available at the time.

Reluctantly he turned to look at Slateri, who was once more wearing the now slightly tattered cap, the bird cane had its beak closed again and was strapped to his back, and he was dragging a tied up, out of count Vaati behind him on what looked to be a wooden and leaven stretcher. He was holding out a Fire Rod with his other hand.

"I can't keep this at hand with Vaati around, tied up or not", he said as Sidon freed one hand to accept the rod with a delighted smile. "I know I made defeating him look easy, but that's because I'm experienced, not because he lacks potential. I'll get him sorted out one way or another. Now, if you two youngsters are quite done with the public display, hand over your Sheikah Slates for a moment."

Oh, right! They had finally reached their original goal!

Sidon set Link down with no small amount of reluctance, and the two of them handed over their means to get back to their real size. Slateri unceremoniously dropped Vaati's stretcher down in order to have both of his hands free, and then tapped away at Sidon's Slate for what seemed like just a few seconds. He took another few seconds on Link's Slate, and then returned both devices. Link immediately looked at the runes display and noticed that the Vertical Shift rune was gone.

"Go over to the panel by the Shrine's entrance and hold your Slate to it", Slateri explained with a smug grin. "The rune will be installed again, this time correctly. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to round up the remaining Vaatians and take them to the city, and talk to the captain of the guard about what to do next. Your work here is done."

A pause.

"You did alright, Hero", Slateri said, bopping Link's head gently with the cane that had appeared in his hand while Link hadn't been paying attention. Next he patted Sidon's shoulder with it, unable to reach higher. "I'll chat with you in depth the next time you're around, Prince. May Ezlo watch your steps and offer you wisdom."

Laughing at what he likely considered an inside joke and not giving them a moment to put a word in edgewise – Sidon certainly made an attempt that was ignored completely – he turned heel and walked over to the thorny vines, his cane glowing lightly.

Link found that he was thoroughly unsurprised by the brush-off and smiled to himself; maybe he liked Slateri a little bit after all, now that he was more or less used to his manners.

He thought of another thing to smile about as he took a moment to watch Slateri magic away the plants and thaw the Vaatian mages: he was finally ready to accept the idea that he didn't personally have to take care of every problem under the sun. He may have to do his part here and there, but perhaps… it was possible that he didn't need to do everything. Perhaps people like Slateri could tackle the big bad evil while he just took care of the minions. Perhaps he didn't need to stick around for the clean-up. Perhaps he didn't need to be the one to figure out where to go from there. Perhaps he didn't need to see what happened to the villain afterwards. Perhaps he didn't need to always be the hero.

Perhaps he could get used to it. Maybe even should.

Needing to do everything had been a weight on his shoulders from the moment King Rhoam's ghost had appointed him the Hero to save Hyrule, and he had struggled with it the entire time he and Sidon had spent in the Minish world. But now, with this colourful adventure behind him and Sidon by his side to support him through thick and thin, he felt like the weight had been lifted.

He was ready to begin a new chapter in his life, one that was just for what he wanted for himself. He looked at Sidon with a smile.

"Let's go. It's time to become big again."

A/N: Heads up, only the epilogue left and then we're done!