A/N: Hello all, welcome back! Thanks for waiting so, so very long for this, and thanks for coming back! I wanted to touch on something quick here—yes, Claire and her friends were sent to a DCEU Earth. That's not going to have a huge, immediate impact on this story, the most I'm going to include will be little nods toward the early DCEU films (MoS, BvS, SS, WW) and Zack Snyder's Justice League. Also I'm ideally going to keep myself in check, not do it too often. There'll still be some examination of how those sorts of fantastical events affect people not at the center of said events, however.

But aside from being admittedly self indulgent, there's a method to the madness! It'll come out in the future, it's still too early to talk about it and have it make any sense. Thank you again for your patience with this update, let's get right into it!

Important! Take note of the updated rating, as this chapter is where we really see it come into play for the first time. (Or second, if we count Claire's particularly graphic nightmare in an earlier chapter)

Claire was not having a good Doomsday morning. Sleep had been fitful and fleeting, haunted by the sounds of bones cracking and Bokoblins screeching, interspersed with the same nightmares that were ever nauseating. She was sitting on the porch with her head in her hands, listening to the frogs and crickets as the sky grew to a soft, pre-dawn lilac, willing the images and the accompanying queasiness to fade from her mind. Before long, she heard Fado hollering for Link. It sent an unexpected bolt of panic through her gut. There were still stars out, for God's sake, why was Fado getting him up so early?

No, no, don't be stupid. This is always when Fado gets him up.

It was true, but that didn't mean she was ready! Claire fiddled with her borrowed headband anxiously—her hair wasn't long enough to conceal her ears anymore, so it didn't matter that it was up, really.

She kept telling herself that as Link and Fado ambled into view, Epona happily keeping pace with the rancher while he chatted with Link. Claire caught Fado's eye, and she stood up when he waved her over.

"Heya, Miss Claire. How ya doin' this mornin', ma'am?" Fado greeted warmly when she reached them, both he and Link pausing at the fence just outside the mayor's home.

"As well as ever," Claire shrugged noncommittally, leant on the fencepost. She didn't particularly want to be awake this early, she never did, but that would be rude to say.

"I see you got a fancy new 'do. Lookin' fine!"

"Oh! Um, thank you. I wasn't planning on it, but thank you," she blustered. "I got, uh... I think it was tree sap? I got it in my hair. While it was braided. We had to cut most of it off just to untie it last night. But yeah, Uli did a really good job. I didn't want a haircut, y'know, but if someone had to do it, I'm glad it was her," the teen continued to babble, desperately wishing to escape. "I-Um, I should quit chatting your ear off and let you get to work."

"Naw, don't worry about that, ma'am," Fado grinned. "But Link here was sayin' he wants to give ya the rundown on the plan for today, so I'll let y'all catch up."

"I won't be long, Fado," Link said, bidding the rancher a brief farewell. Once Fado continued on his way, Link looked back to Claire somewhat guiltily. "...Did that happen in the bog yesterday?" he asked, indicating her hair. Claire winced, nodding.

"Y'know how Keese have hooked tails? One of them caught me by the hair, dragged me into some ivy before you got there. Stupid crap must've been left on some tree stump or something underneath it..." she grumbled quietly. "But it's not a big deal, it's only hair. Getting Talo back safe is what mattered. Anyways, what's the plan for today?"

Link seemed to accept the deflection for what it was, letting the topic slide. "Well, Epona's fast, but with two passengers it'll take her a little longer to reach Castle Town. We're probably going to leave just before midday so we don't have to push her too hard," he finished with a soft pat on the mare's nose, to which she snuffled appreciatively. "...with that in mind, though, I'd better get to work. Can't be slacking if Fado's holding the fort without me for the rest of the day," he said with a wry little half-smile.

Claire couldn't help but sigh—at least twice yesterday while she was trying to sleep, she'd heard Fado hollering about the goats getting loose. No doubt they'd be just as restless today. Hopefully Fado keeps them safe inside during the attack, I don't even know how far into the village the monsters go... "Right. I'll see you later, then," she said, turning to go back to her regularly scheduled Morning Moping.

"...It looks nice." Claire stopped. Link seemed surprised when she looked back, like maybe he hadn't expected her to hear him.

"Sorry?" she asked.

"Your hair, I mean. You're right, Uli did great," he said, blustering a bit as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Is he... Trying to comfort me? Is he blushing? ...God, that's adorable.

"...Thanks," she said, beckoning him off with a smile that didn't sit quite right on her face. It would be worse to scowl when he'd said it so genuinely, though. "Go on, don't keep Fado waiting. I'll see you when you finish up."

Link bid her goodbye with a cheerful wave, and Claire let the smile drop from her face as she returned to the porch. It was just hair, really! So why did the reminder prickle at her skin like thorns? There are worse things that could have happened. They didn't, and that has to be good enough.

As it happened, that set the tone for the rest of Claire's morning. The first thing anyone said to her was about how nice her hair looked, how refreshing the change must have been in the summer heat (preparing to recede as it may have been, it wasn't wrong to say the valley got hot during the day), and with every cheery comment she smiled and said 'thank you', because that's what you're supposed to do. But every word made the thorns dig deeper, made it more of an effort to make sure she smiled rather than sneered.

It was just hair.

She knew it was a ridiculous thing to get so emotional over, so she'd meant to go to the spirit spring (not to mope) to try speaking to Ordona one last time before everything started.

Claire looked at the sky, gauging the angle of the sun– gods, but the morning had passed quickly. She had maybe an hour until everything started, if events played out the way she expected them to... She picked up the pace, wanting to get to the spring sooner rather than later.

What makes you think you're important enough to get another freebie? She thought, shaking her head and rolling her eyes as she cleared the bend in the path out of the village. It doesn't matter, I have to try. I don't know what else to do...

"Claire! Wow, you cut your hair!" An excited cry brought her out of her rumination—she'd forgotten to account for the children and their endless curiosity in her plan to head to the spring (definitely not to mope); she'd forgotten about her phone in all the busyness of the afternoon yesterday, but the kids hadn't.

"You sure cut it short," Malo said, studying Uli's work with a critical eye.

"I sure did. I got, uh, tree sap in my braid... when Link and I went through the woods yesterday," she grimaced, repeating the same explanation as before. "I was gonna go to the spring and freshen up a bit before Link and I have to leave. Try to figure out what to do with all... This." Claire finished with a derisive gesture to her head.

"Aw, but Claire! We hardly got to see you at all yesterday!" Beth whined, little hands folded pleadingly in front of her chest.

"Yeah, you said you'd show us more stuff..." Malo huffed petulantly. "We tried to come get you yesterday, but Colin's mom kept on saying we shouldn't wake you up. Hmph..."

"Well, I'm sorry I can't sleep at night. I was so bad at it, Rusl sent me right back to bed in the morning," Claire sassed the small boy playfully, putting her hands on her hips. She frowned, considering. What will it hurt? "I don't really have a lot of time, but... I did say I'd show you some more of my phone, didn't I?"

"Yeah, and you're leaving today," Talo complained. He looked surprisingly downtrodden, he and Colin both.

"Okay, I've got a little bit of time before Link and I have to go. I want some time to myself at the spring before then, to send a prayer to the light spirits. I'm only going to show you a little more today. Alright?"

There were some more complaints, but nothing she wasn't expecting.

"Hey, now. Hopefully I'll figure out a way to make sure it doesn't run out of power, but this won't be the last you get to see of it or me. How about I play you some of my favourite songs this time, and I'll try to find a way to show you more another day?"

"I-I wanna hear music!" Colin piped up quickly.

"I don't even know what kind of music that thing can make, but I wanna hear it too!" Talo declared eagerly. The promise of seeing something new appeared to delay his ire at Colin for the goings-on of yesterday, it seemed.

"Me too! Me too!" Beth added, bouncing on the spot in her excitement.

"I hope you at least have good taste..." Malo grumbled, which was about what Claire expected from him. Her safest bet for something with no inappropriate language was probably... Ah.

"Okay, this guy's stage name is Hozier, he's from a country called Ireland," she introduced as the opening lines of Take Me to Church rang out from her little phone speaker. The kids listened attentively, not saying a word as the playlist shuffled through a handful of other songs; Work Song, In a Week, and From Eden. The music was relaxing, smoothing over Claire's frayed nerves while the kids crowded around her to listen. They were young enough to miss the deeper meaning to the lyrics, but still enjoyed the music for what it was.

Colin and Beth were practically in her lap, conspiring together in whispers below the music for a moment before getting to their feet. Claire meant to keep an eye on what they were up to, but...

"Hey, Claire? Can you show us more music?" Talo asked, peering at the album art on her phone like he wanted to touch the screen.

"Oh, sure. Only a few more songs, though. Does that sound alright?" Claire asked, meeting the boy's hopeful gaze.

"Yeah!" he immediately cheered, and Claire tried not to wince at the volume as she dove back into her song list. She added Warriors from Imagine Dragons to the queue, Everything's OK and Maybe I Love You by Lenka, a few classics from Michael Jackson, and decided to end the impromptu concert with Thea Gilmore's cover of Bad Moon Rising, just to see if Colin recognized the song from before.

"I'm gonna call that the end of our playlist, okay? Once these songs wrap up, I'm going to the spirit spring," Claire forewarned, expecting the groans and complaints she got in response.

What she didn't expect was the pair of scheming whispers, nor two pairs of tiny hands that began carefully combing through and separating her hair, tucking in little pieces of... something, around the borders of her headband. She tried not to flinch or yelp, and let the kids do as they would.

So long as they stay gentle, it's not like they can make it any worse...

Instead of worrying, Claire shut her eyes and let the music and the kids' quiet chatter above her head wash over her like waves on the beach. If this was going to be one of her last peaceful mornings for the foreseeable future, she could at least try to enjoy what was left of it. After a while she could even admit it felt kind of nice, whatever the kids were doing with her hair.

As with all good things, though, it had to come to an end eventually.

"Okay, I think we're done," Beth chirped from somewhere over her shoulder. Claire blinked her eyes open slowly, tipping her head gently to one side as she tested the weight of whatever was done— plenty of her remaining hair swung freely with the movement, but there were clear points of tension cradling her skull. And, best of all, it didn't hang around her eyes and tickle her face! Interesting...

"I'm sure it looks great," Claire said, and for once it didn't feel like a pretty lie to make herself feel better about the unwanted haircut— she wasn't immune to feeling cute after a bit of preening, and the kids had worked hard. "Alright, group hug! Get over here, you little gremlins! I've got to get to the spring before I leave." Of course, every one of them (even Malo, this time) took the opportunity to dogpile on her. It ended with Beth sprawled over her, so they were nearly nose-to-nose.

"...What's a gremlin?" Beth took the opportunity to ask.

"A spooky story for another day," Claire deflected, wrinkling her nose and snorting a few times to make the girl giggle as everyone disentangled themselves. She didn't want to let go, needing to reassure herself — she would see them again.

I could still try to warn them about the attack... there's still a little time, what's stopping me from hiding the kids in Link's cellar and warning the adults of what's coming?

"...Be good for your parents, and be good to each other. Hopefully we'll meet again soon." With a passing ruffle to Talo's hair, Claire forced herself to stand and leave the village.

It's the same reason you didn't book it to Hyrule Castle as soon as you woke up in Ordon. Why should any of them believe you? Worse, if they believe you, what will that change? What if someone is killed, rather than Rusl just being wounded in the attack? When the Bulblins find no children to take hostage, what will they do?

She hesitated, desperately trying to find a way to reason through it, and...

You can't risk it, so just keep walking and keep your teeth together. They'll hate you, if they ever find out, but at least they'll be alive to do so.

...she kept walking out of the village.

That train of thought all but spoiled whatever good mood the kids had nurtured in the half hour they'd spent together. Not wanting it all to go to waste, Claire at least decided to see what they had done with her hair. When she reached the spring, she quickly opened her camera and flipped to the front-facing side. There wasn't much time, every moment using up more of her phone's precious battery life, and surely it wouldn't be long before Ilia came. Claire wasn't up to trying to explain her phone to the older girl when she would already be in a tizzy about Epona.

She took in her 'reflection' on the screen, and her every thought ground to a halt.

It may very well have been the first time Claire looked at herself and found beauty in what she saw looking back at her. The kids had delicately braided wildflowers into her hair, tucking stems here and there into the headband to hold it all in place.

Oddly, the look seemed familiar to her.

It probably won't last long. There's an attack coming...

With that lovely reminder, the good mood was thoroughly ruined. Taking the battery out of her phone and stowing both back in her bag, Claire took out her armour and began methodically replacing every piece as she'd found it that first night. Halfway through, she stopped and took it all off again, grimacing at it as her thoughts caught up to her. Would it look too suspicious if she were armored up when Ilia arrived? None of the villagers knew she had most of this.

No... They know it's a dangerous time, right? And I'd rather not be without this stuff if I end up losing my bag like Ilia does...

Her mind made up, Claire replaced most of her armour she'd woken up in. The mail shirt was mostly hidden by her tunic, and the vambraces were too practical to go without. The inside was so smooth, she could hardly believe it was leather. It remained flexible from her fingers down to the wrist and heel of her hand. Outside, many layers of hardened leather formed intricate patterns over the backs of her hands and forearms. It felt more like wood, or even some kind of soft metal where she touched it.

This was enough. It didn't feel like it. Claire still wasn't convinced this chainmail would do much of anything, truthfully. It didn't even feel particularly warm under the sun, as she imagined a metal shirt would.

All of her inane thoughts couldn't distract her forever, though, and she'd come here for a reason. Kneeling at the water's edge, to say she at least tried, Claire closed her eyes and prayed.

"Ordona, please, I'm reaching out to you the only way I know how. I need your guidance, anything, please..." She kept at it for a few minutes, ears straining as she listened for any kind of indicator that she'd been heard. Nothing.

Claire was reduced to pacing the length of the spring— too antsy to sit at the water's edge and pray any longer, not that it seemed to bring her any closer to the answers she sought. Halfway through another circuit, the teen threw her hands in the air and kicked at the spring water. It did little more than make her foot wet.

"Can't you give me anything helpful?" Claire demanded, glaring petulantly at the spring.

...Nothing, as she expected. But then, here she was throwing a fit at a light spirit and expecting results.

"...Please, I—I don't... I don't know if I can do this," she begged, hating how her voice shook. For a moment that stretched like hours, Claire feared it wasn't enough; no amount of sincerity would get her anything more from Ordona today, either.

Then, just the barest whisper on the wind, she heard 'the Goddesses have not left you unprepared for the trials ahead of you...' and her moment of despair keeled back into annoyance. That wasn't exactly the guidance she'd been hoping for, just a repeat of what Ordona already told her. At least she'd tried.

As it happened, the brief reminder was all Claire had time for: back in the direction of the village, she could hear slightly uneven hoofbeats approaching, and if the muffled grumbling accompanying it wasn't enough indication, the veritable stormcloud over Ilia's head would have clued her in to the next plot point presenting itself to her.

Crap, I didn't think this far ahead! What do I do when the Bulblins get here? Do I try to run, maybe with Colin? Do I hide before they get here? What should I do?!

"The nerve of that rancher..." Ilia's furious muttering caught up to her as the older girl led Epona into the spring. Her single-minded focus to close and secure the gate behind her meant Claire had a moment to compose herself and school her expression into something like concern before she noticed her. "Oh, it's you." The words weren't unfriendly, but still felt vaguely dismissive — generally as Ilia herself had been.

"It's me," Claire affirmed cautiously. "Something wrong?" she asked, indicating to Epona with her chin. Ilia's expression soured further.

"That careless farm boy worked Epona too hard, and scratched her poor leg!" she started, poised to rant further, but Claire... well, maybe she wasn't feeling too nice this morning. Maybe she felt like messing around, just a little bit.

"Oh, poor honey," she cooed with worry, rubbing Epona's nose as the horse whickered in greeting. "Did that happen when you and Link saved Talo yesterday? Poor girl, you're so brave, hey?"

Ilia's anger deflated like a balloon. "W...What?" she asked, looking lost. All that righteous fury, and seemingly nowhere to direct it any longer.

"I thought you would have heard, Talo chased a monkey into the woods and got captured by Bokoblins. We barely caught up to them before nightfall, I can't imagine what would have happened if we hadn't!" Claire recounted fervently, taking probably too much satisfaction in the glimmer of remorse in the older girl's eyes. Before she could come up with anything more to say, a timid rapping on the wooden gate drew their attention.

"Hey Ilia? Can I come in? I gotta talk to you about yesterday, I think... I think there was a bit of a mistake," Colin spoke up shyly from outside. Ilia slowly looked from the gate back to Claire, and she nodded, trying to look encouraging. It was the work of a moment to reopen the gate far enough for the boy to squeeze through, and Claire ruffled his hair when he came to stand beside her.

Ilia closed and locked the gate behind Colin with moments to spare before Link arrived, one work-roughened hand catching her wrist through the looping vines. "Ilia, please—"

"Let go of me!" Ilia ordered, reclaiming her hand with a huff and two steps back. Link released her without question or argument, but there was hurt in his eyes. "I-I'm not ready to talk to you yet. I need to make sure Epona's alright, then I'll let you in," she said, and Claire turned away from the pair to allow herself an eye-roll. They didn't have time for her to be 'not ready'!

"Jesus Christ, she's not even your horse..." Claire barely muttered the words, still facing away where the words would be overlaid with the babbling streams leading into the spring; not daring to give voice to that particular thought where the older girl could hear her. She didn't need to be picking fights with Link's best friend, impending attack notwithstanding. Allowing herself one last steadying breath, Claire turned back to the group to see Link watching her through the gate.

Weird... Had he somehow heard her? Narrowing her eyes suspiciously at him, she indicated with her chin toward the tunnel into the spring and whispered, "There's a hole that leads into the south end of the spring. Crawl through while Colin and I explain to Ilia," catching his affirmative nod before returning her attention to the mayor's daughter.

How did he hear me? Or... did he just read my lips? No, he couldn't have, I was facing away and he was looking when I turned back.

But there wasn't time to think on it.

"...and then Claire went into the woods after them," she caught the tail end of Colin's sentence, and picked up where he left off.

"I don't specifically know how Epona got hurt, I caught up late, but I came across a lot of monster remains as I made my way. I caught up with him in the bog, after he'd already sent her back toward the village. We found Talo at the base of the great tree in the woods, imprisoned by Bokos."

Ilia was torn between her protective rage for Epona and, well, good reason and sense telling her she may have misjudged the situation. The simple fact that Epona had been hurt in Faron, not jumping fences at the ranch, took the very foundation of her ire away. She'd assumed negligence and recklessness, but... with neither present, the remnants of her anger poofed away like a pitcher of water thrown over a campfire.

"I... I had no idea, I hadn't heard the details of Talo's capture, but..." Ilia's gaze slid from Claire to something just over her shoulder. Link must have made himself known. Ilia tried to take Epona's reins, and the horse shook her away with an unhappy snort; her full attention was on her human.

"So you still prefer your master over me, huh, Epona..." Ilia murmured, and Claire was hard-pressed not to scoff or sigh. Surely that wasn't such a shock, was it? But she held her tongue, letting the scene progress naturally. She had no meaningful input to offer, it was far beyond too late to try and warn about the impending attack, and Link deserved a moment to say goodbye to his friend before everything hit the fan.

Claire took the opportunity to edge further into the spring, weighed down with indecision: if she saved Colin now, who would save Beth when Kakariko was attacked? If she saved Ilia now, would anyone be around to save the dying Prince Ralis when he fled his domain?

Her head positively buzzing with the potential paths branching out in front of her, Claire didn't hear most of Ilia and Link's conversation. Didn't hear the rumbling, thunderous hoofbeats approaching until it was too late.

C-r-a-s-h!

The gate exploded inward. Everyone else recoiling from the flying debris with various cries of shock and fear, the only person with eyes on the threat was Link.

"Run!" he shouted, and Claire didn't think— she just grabbed Colin and Ilia's wrists and made a break for the woods beyond the spirit spring; surely it would work, with no invisible videogame barriers to stop them!

No sooner than the thought occurred to her was Claire struck in the thigh; fiery, lancing pain was quick to follow. Her iron grip on the others' was ultimately what doomed them — when Claire tumbled into the water, Colin and Ilia fell with her. It was one thing to know what was coming next, but seeing Link's fearful expression as he tried to reach for the three of them, seeing his eyes roll back in his head when the Bulblin struck him from behind... watching their final line of defense crumble was paralyzing.

Or, maybe it was that, mixed with the shock and horror of seeing a crude arrow sticking out of her thigh. She'd never felt pain like this in her life, and it was about the cruelest way to reinforce that this wasn't, in fact, some horribly elaborate nightmare. With a sense of clarity she didn't feel, Claire snapped the head off the arrow and ripped the shaft out of her thigh with a bitten-off scream at the burning friction. She would only hope there were no splinters in the wound, blood oozing into the springwater through her fingers. It burned, but some distant part of her was relieved to note it was the outer part of her leg. If it had even nicked an artery, she would have been in even bigger trouble.

Any further attempts to strategize, even with herself, were brought to a swift end— the last thing Claire saw was the heavy end of a Bulblin club on a direct course with her head. Another flash of hot pain made her see red, and something in her mind, something that had been hanging on by a single, delicate strand of spider silk, snapped.

Calling it a flood or avalanche of memories would be underselling it. This was an eruption, a nuclear bomb going off inside her skull, and Claire... remembered.

"This symbol means something, I'm sure of it. It is not the triforce, but surely you can see the similarities. Surely, as a mother, you can see why I fear for my daughter's future."

"It... does, and I do, but it is an explanation ill-suited to young ears. Perhaps your daughter would like to meet our children, while we await your husband. Impa?"

"They are in the library, milady. Come, sweet one, let us see if the princess would like to play. My son Maz is watching after her, perhaps he'd like a break from his duties as well."

—o—

"No one anticipated a power vacuum of this magnitude. No one expected another to try and take the blessed kingdom so soon. This... being, what does he want? And why?"

"I do not yet know how he came to know of her existence, but he seeks my only daughter. To what end, I can only guess. His name is Moloch, but truthfully... beyond the name, I don't even know what he is."

—o—

"It has been some time since we first heard whispers of this Moloch. Why has he not shown himself?"

"Perhaps he went to ground when he heard we're trying to find the Hero."

"Pah! What hero? Link was a child of the woods, and to the woods he returned."

"...Evil does not sleep. It observes, it stalks. It waits. We cannot afford to be complacent because he hasn't shown himself yet. And the Hero cannot be our only solution. Does anyone have contingency plans they'd like to speak on?"

—o—

"My beautiful girl. In a perfect world, you would've been treated like royalty. Not hiding away in the shadows like a mouse, living in fear."

"I'm not afraid, because papa and Mazzy'll always be there to protect me!"

"And me. Everything I do is to protect you, love. I want you safe, my darling, and that means we practice."

"Yes, mama."

—o—

"All I've ever wanted was to let her experience life as I could not, to give her the childhood I never had. I... will not allow him to harm her, Gerome. Whatever it takes."

"You know I feel the same, but this? This is playing with forces we don't understand! What if she doesn't make it? What if she dies out there, alone?"

"Stop that! The Goddess would not be so cruel, not with..."

Then, as swiftly as they overtook her, the swell of memories whisked away, leaving Claire to sink into blessedly-painless darkness.

A/N: I don't know why I ever thought I could adhere to a schedule when it came to rewriting this story. The year mark passed since the last update, and I felt guilty, especially since I've had the greater majority of this chapter written for at least the past six months. I'm very sorry to have kept everyone waiting this long, and can only cross my fingers and hope the next chapter will come soon. A lot of it is written and planned out already, I know what I'm going to do with it this time.

Like I said, there's a method to the madness, I promise!

See you next time! Please leave a review to let me know what you thought, feedback is my best friend!