Hyrule Warriors

by MiniJen

It has often been told that whenever darkness covers Hyrule, a lone hero arises to restore peace and balance. However, as the Black Witch Cia rises up with the intent of conquering the kingdom, Link may not be enough to stop her on his own. As war erupts across the land, friends and foes from across the ages will come together and fight to decide Hyrule's fate. A novelization of HW

16. Sequence of Drops

Ok, firstly I am SO sorry that this chapter too so long. Secondly, I am SO FREAKING SORRY that this chapter sucks so much. I really tried with this one, but this stage was just so hard to write, mostly because it was really kind of bland in the game to begin with. I am well aware that a lot of this is rushed and bland, so you don't need to point that out to me, ok? I promise that future chapters will be better, but... for now... we gotta get through this... ugh... (also yeah I know i said Nabooru was going to be in this chapter, but I think we're already suffering from side-character-itis in this story, so yeah... she's not in this. Sorry!) Anyway, this is normally the part where I would answer guest reviews, but I am so honestly burnt out that I'm just gonna skip it this time around. Sorry guys. I've had a really rough week, but I really wanted to give you guys SOMETHING, so here it is. Again, I'm sorry for it, and maybe I'm self hating a little, but I hope you enjoy it all the same.

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Chapter 15: Sequence of Drops

"Impa?" Zelda asked in a hushed whisper, peering her head out of her bedroom door as her guardian dutifully stood guard before it. Fresh tears were streaming down the twelve year old's face as she sniffled weakly, her eyes red from crying.

"Princess, what's wrong?" Impa asked with concern, kneeling down to the young royal's level and placing a tender hand on her shoulder.

"I…I miss father!" Zelda sobbed miserably, burying her head into the Sheikah guardian's shoulder as she let out her pressing tears. The king of Hyrule had just died from a horrible illness but only a few hours ago, throwing his sole daughter into absolute despair and heartbreak that her dear father was gone. And indeed, all of Hyrule mourned with her, for the kind king had been beloved by all.

"Oh, Zelda…" Impa frowned worriedly, gently patting the princess on the back in order to soothe her. "I know it hurts to lose a loved one, but don't fret. Your father is not suffering anymore like he had been these past few weeks. In fact, I bet he is resting comfortably in the peace of the Golden Realm even as we speak."

"But… but he's not here with me!" Zelda cried brokenly, old enough to understand what death fully meant. "I'll never see him again! He's gone, Impa! He's gone…"

The Sheikah guardian was silent for a long moment as she simply continued to embrace her young ward, knowing that the pain she was going through must have been intense. After all, the princess was only twelve, still too young to lose the only parent she had left. And what made matters even worse was the fact that since the king had passed on, soon enough, Zelda would be expected to take his place as Hyrule's sovereign, meaning that her already short childhood was about to come to an abrupt end.

"Impa?" Zelda murmured as she lifted her head from the Sheikah's shoulder, looking to her pleadingly. "Please… don't ever leave me… You're… you're the only person I have left now…"

Impa's expression was both hard with determination and soft with sympathy as she nodded in response to the princess's request. "I'm not going anywhere, Zelda," she said, breaking into a small, reassuring smile. "I promised your father that I would look after you, and I will do everything in my power to honor that vow. I will protect you, I will guide you, and I will comfort you. And… if you want, then I'll be both father and mother to you…"

The princess nodded solemnly, still clearly hurting but comforted in the fact that she was not alone. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice small as she embraced her caring guardian once more.

"Thank you for everything, Impa…"

"Impa…"

"Impa?"

The Sheikah guardian's eyes flew open as her hand wrapped around the handle of her knife that she always kept under her pillow as she slept. Her heart racing from being suddenly startled awake, Impa darted up, holding her knife in front of her only to find that the figure standing at the entrance to her tent was not an enemy, but rather, it was Sheik instead.

"Are you all right?" the Sheikah warrior asked in her usual stoic way.

Impa's expression leveled into a hard glare as she rose from her bed roll, already mostly dressed as she liked to be prepared for any occasion while she slept. She chose not to answer Sheik's question as she posed one of her own. "What do you want?" she asked a bit sullenly, especially upon awakening from a dream in which she had seen the missing princess.

"I came to wake you," Sheik informed her. "Nearly everyone is awake and deconstructing camp. We are almost ready to continue on to Lake Hylia."

"What?!" Impa exclaimed, taken aback. "What time is it? Who ordered the soldiers to get up and prepare?"

"I did," the Sheikah guardian said calmly.

"What made you think that you were allowed to do that?!" the Sheikah guardian asked harshly, knowing that such a brazen action only undermined her authority over the troops. "Why didn't you wake me first?"

Sheik shrugged. "I simply thought that it was the most efficient course of action," she said. "Ruto and Darunia both have their Zora and Goron armies prepared to move out, and our troops are also ready. We're only a few miles out from the lake and so if we move out now we'll reach it in about two hours."

Impa gave Sheik a rather unimpressed look, but decided not to make too much of a fuss over it, as angry as what the Sheikah warrior had done made her. "All right, fine," she said, pressing pass Sheik to see that she had been right: the entire company was nearly ready to set out to their next destination. Impa merely nodded to the Sheikah warrior with the silent command to report to their allies and tell them they were ready to go to where they would hopefully find Princess Zelda as well as the Gate of Souls at long last: the Water Temple.

Upon leaving Death Mountin, Ruto had informed the rest of the group of the reason lying behind the former apparent conflict that had suddenly formed between the Gorons and the Zoras. The ancient Water Temple, buried underneath Lake Hylia's shimmering depths, was teeming with monsters, which had consumed the area in their evil all too quickly. Since the Water Temple was a sacered place to the Zora people, their princess had taken an active step in trying to rid the lake of such beasts. Ruto had gone to seek the help of Darunia and his Goron brothers, since they were longtime allies of the Zoras. And yet, as soon as she had arrived, she had been apprehended by the Goron patriarch, who had of course been out of his senses at the time. Fortunately, he had been freed from whatever influence the princess had supposedly put him under thanks to Sheik, Impa, and Saria, rescuing the Zora princess and revealing a bit about the truth of the matter. Ruto had told her allies that the monsters were pouring forth from what appeared to be a strange, dark gate, something that Sheik and Impa immediately theorized to be the Gate of Souls, which gave them all the more reason to head to Lake Hylia with as much haste as possible. If they could find both the princess and the gate all at once, then their mission in the Era of the Hero of Time was as good as finished.

As soon as the entirety of the collective army was ready to set out, they did so, the force of about five hundred Hylians, Zoras, and Gorons all marching onward towards the lake in the west with their respective leaders at the head. As they walked, the three sages that had joined their party casually conversed amongst themselves, leaving Sheik to be as usually conservative in her conversation as usual while Impa pondered something she had been thinking about since the previous day. According to both Darunia and Ruto, their troubles had all started thanks to Princess Zelda, who had instigated the conflict between the two normally peaceful races. And yet, every time the Sheikah guardian tried to wrap her head around this news, she simply couldn't. Zelda would never be one to cause such chaos, especially when it came to relations between Hyrule's tribes. Something was certainly wrong with this entire situation, and Impa was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"Princess Ruto?" the Sheikah guardian asked, breaking through the Zora princess's friendly conversation with the Goron patriarch and the Kokiri girl.

"Yes?" Ruto asked, grace and prestige filling her manner as usual.

"You said that a woman named Zelda was responsible for what happened on Death Mountain?" Impa asked, starting at the basic level. "Are you absolutely certain about that? What did she look like?"

"Well, of course I'm certain it was her!" the Zora princess said with a scowl upon thinking about it. "She had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and was dressed in a pink battle gown. What's more was that she wore a tiara, most likely to mock our very own Princess Zelda! The nerve of that woman!"

"Did she say anything when she was on the mountain?" Sheik asked, finally cutting into the conversation.

"Not really," Darunia interjected with a frown. "She just sorta… showed up right before everything went wild. I don't really remember much of what happened after that though…."

"Well, I definitely know what happened before," Ruto said as she crossed her arms. "Right before I left to get the Gorons' help, she showed up in the Water Temple, leading all of those monsters herself as they attacked my people!"

"What?!" Impa exclaimed in surprise. "She was leading them?! Why didn't you say that before?"

"You didn't ask," the Zora princess said with little concern, shrugging as if it were unimportant information. "But all the same, she was consumed by evil unlike any I've ever seen before. It was frightening, to say the least."

"This is unbelievable," the Sheikah guardian said, shaking her head. "Zelda would never do such a thing, especially since those monsters pose a threat to the Hyrule of our time as well! How could she have possibly fallen under the enemy's sway?"

"I don't think she would have easily," Sheik said cryptically.

"What are you saying?" Saria asked curiously.

"It stands to reason that perhaps we are not dealing with the true Princess Zelda, of this time or of the present," the Sheikah warrior went on. However, before she could go on, she was cut off by Impa, who was the first one to realize that they had made it to the threshold of Lake Hylia, only to find a worrying sight.

Lake Hylia was enormous, its deep blue iridescent waters glistening beautifully in the early morning sun as they teemed with aquatic life. A few small islets dotted the surface of the lake, the largest of which held a tall, dying tree and overlooking the lake from the east was a small house bearing a watchtower. The long strip of shore was lush and fertile from the nearby source of freshwater, and yet, it was far from peaceful at the moment as it was littered with marauding stalchildren, stalfos, lizafols, and poes.

However, these beasts did not go unopposed. A legion of Zoras fought against them, utilizing the advantage that they had of the nearby lake as they cut through it to get to their foes more efficiently. And yet despite the resistance they were putting up, it was clear that the sheer force of monsters far outnumbered the aquatic tribe, forcing some of them to retreat in intervals to save their own lives.

"What in the Nayru's name is going on here?!" Ruto shouted as she stepped forward, her fists clenched in rage as she watched the monsters attack her people. "Look at all this chaos! We need to put a stop to it immediately!"

"I agree," Sheik said with resolve as she stepped forward, her harp poised to play. Impa, Darunia, and Saria also prepared to fight, but before the newly arrived forces could leap into the fray, they were stopped in their tracks by a voice that was eerily familiar.

"Hm, invaders," the voice of the princess of Hyrule herself mused from somewhere nearby. Her tone was uncharacteristically cold and dark, but the Sheikah guardian knew it was her from the very moment she heard it and at that moment, everything else became unimportant to her. "Someone destroy them for me," Zelda said from her unknown location, apparently commanding the monsters, just as Ruto and Darunia had said.

"Princess!" Impa called out, placing the base of her naginata on the ground as she looked all over for the missing royal, whom she was hopefully close to finally finding. "Come out here and explain the meaning of this nonsense this instant!"

Zelda merely laughed caustically, still not appearing before them. "You want me, Sheikah?" she asked with cruel sarcasm in her tone. "Come and get me."

The blatant challenging and disrespect in the princess's words shocked Impa, who knew that such behavior was far from how Zelda normally acted. Indeed, everything her allies had told her was true; as much as she didn't want to believe it, the princess had apparently fallen into the enemy's control. Or was it really that simple?

"This doesn't make any sense," the Sheikah guardian said with a bitter scowl as she turned to her confused allies. "Zelda would never attack us of her own free will."

"Maybe she really is under the control of an evil influence," Saria suggested.

"Well, whatever started all this, first we gotta take care of these monsters!" Darunia said, heaving his hammer over his shoulder as he prepared to fight.

Impa let out an angry sigh as she nodded in agreement with this plan, as much as she wanted to solve the mystery that had been perplexing her for far too long now. All she could hope for now was that by taking down the enemy forces and closing the Gate of Souls, perhaps they could figure out why Zelda seemed to have turned against them entirely.

And so, the allied forces joined the battle, engaging the monsters head on. There was certainly a great deal of them, but thankfully the combined army of Hylians, Zoras, and Gorons were also fairly formidable as they cut a swath through the numerous beasts. Most of them were gathered on the shore in thick clusters, since the entrance to the Water Temple was buried under the waters of Lake Hylia, which served as a hindrance to the Hyrulian forces as they needed to get into the ancient structure in order to find the Gate of Souls.

Amidst all of the other soldiers, their commanders also fought valiantly, each utilizing their respective fighting styles. Impa tore through the enemy lines with her fiery naginata, running its blazing tip into the skulls of any stalchild that stood in her path. Sheik's fingers danced gracefully across the strings of her harp as her magical songs flowed forth from it, their elemental effects damaging all of the monsters in her wake. Darunia also aided in the fight by plowing his hefty Megaton Hammer into the undead enemy forces, crumbling the stalfos upon impact. Ruto fought with grace and elegance, making use of her special Zora scale to create pools of water even upon land, drowning her foes with each splash and wave she sent their way. Even Saria managed to hold her own despite her smaller stature using the Deku Rod, which harnessed the power of the forest through the aid of Deku Sprouts, which popped up from the soil and attacked the marauding monsters relentlessly. Overall, they were a formidable team, but for as many enemies as they took down, they found that they were still no closer to getting into the Water Temple as they had been when they first arrived.

"Everyone!" Ruto called out over the din of battle, using her scale to raise a wave up before pushing it into several monsters in front of her. "Listen! The only way to get into the Water Temple requires that we open floodgates near the lakeside house! Let's hurry!"

"Sheik," Impa said to the Sheikah warrior who fought not too far away from her, delegating tasks so that they could continue fighting. "You and Saria assist Princess Ruto. Darunia and I will support our allies. Now, go take care of those floodgates! For all we know, Princess Zelda might be in that temple!"

"I highly doubt that…" Sheik muttered under her face wrappings so that Impa couldn't hear her as she raced off along with the Kokiri girl and the Zora princess, making their way to the nearby keep where the switch in question was located. However, as they got to work on clearing it of the monsters roosted within it, Princess Zelda's voice rung out across the battlefield once more, her tone mocking and demeaning as she addressed the Hylian armies as a whole.

"Hyrulean soldiers!" Zelda shouted from her hiding place authoritatively. "Do not continue such foolish resistance against your ruler! Cease fighting for the unworthy, and follow my royal command, or be annihilated!"

The moment Sheik heard this as she continued to fight within the keep alongside Saria and Ruto, she gripped her kunais a bit tighter, a burst of anger running through her. She knew that certainly whoever the enemy commander was, it certainly couldn't be the princess, and because of that that fact, they had a great deal of audacity to try and command the Hylian forces through such threats. But as much as Sheik wanted to expose this fraud, she knew that doing so would also be to reveal her own secret as well, something that she had been doing everything in her power to keep hidden from her allies from the very beginning. However, as much as she wanted to continue her masquerade, the Sheikah warrior knew that the time was soon coming in which she would finally have to step out of the shadows and into the light, as much as it brought fear to hear heart.

As Zelda's harsh rhetoric spread to the rest of the fighting Hylian forces, all of them were taken aback by it. Their own princess, who had been missing for so long now was finally found, only instead of rejoining their ranks, she stood opposed to them, calling for their surrender instead of their support. Admittedly, many of them were torn by this sudden turn of events. Should they follow the command of their noble general and continue to hunt for the Gate of Souls, or should they switch their loyalties to the princess, hoping that she would grant them mercy? Such confusion was certainly a blow to their morale, something at Impa took notice of as they began to murmur amongst themselves in argument, wondering what course of action they should take.

"First Darunia, and now this?" the Sheikah guardian said to herself as she blazed past several bewildered soldiers, rescuing them from a flock of stalchildren. "This is absurd… Zelda would never threaten her own countrymen. Unless…"

"Unless we're dealing with an imposter," Sheik suddenly cut in from behind Impa, having appeared quite out of nowhere. Since the lakeside keep was nearly captured, the Sheikah warrior had left the rest to Saria and Ruto, knowing that she had to get this revelation to her as quickly as possible.

"So you're saying that's not the real Princess Zelda?" Impa asked, arcing an eyebrow skeptically. Sheik shook her head in response as the Sheikah guardian frowned and posed another question. "Well, if that's not her, then who is it?"

"I'm not sure, but whoever she is, we must confront her," the Sheikah warrior said. "If we find her, then I'm certain we will also find the Gate of Souls."

"What makes you so sure?" Impa asked, still somewhat doubtful of what Sheik had suggested. After all, who would go to such great lengths to pose as Princess Zelda in order to beset the Hyrule of this era? However, if the Sheikah warrior's hunch was correct, it would mean that they were no closer to finding Zelda than before, something that made the Sheikah guardian's heart sink, especially considering how close they had been.

"Call it a hunch…" Sheik said vaguely, turning her attention to the waters of the lake as they seemed to drain several feet, a sign that Saria and Ruto had accomplished their task. The water level soon lowered to the point that the long stairway leading from the shore to the Water Temple was cleared, the temple's stone door sliding open now that it was no longer obscured by water.

The allies were quick to regroup on the shore, the Kokiri girl and the Zora princess meeting up with the two Sheikahs and the Goron patriarch as they looked to the steps that sunk into the ancient, formerly-submerged structure. "Well, as you can see, the floodgates are open!" Ruto reported cheerfully. "Now we should be able to enter the Water Temple!"

"But we should be careful," Saria cautioned, holding the Deku Rod upright. "I'm sensing a great deal of evil energy coming from inside…"

"Eh, we'll be able to handle it!" Darunia said confidently, already leading the way to the temple. "Now, let's pour into the Water Temple! Get it? Pour? Ha! Water puns!"

The Goron patriarch let out a hearty chuckle at his own joke, and the Kokiri girl also giggled from the humor of it. The Sheikah women were far too absorbed in the battle as they rushed into the temple, but the Zora princess merely rolled her eyes as her fellow sage, apparently unamused.

"Really, Darunia?" Ruto asked, crossing her arms. "Really?"

"Aw, com'on, Sister Ruto!" Darunia laughed, still apparently in high spirits. "Don't you just wanna dive right in?"

Saria laughed once more at Darunia's lighthearted humor, even if Ruto was still unimpressed. "Good one, Mr. Darunia!" the Kokiri girl chuckled brightly.

"Can we be serious for one moment!?" the Zora princess asked with a scowl as she pressed forward. "If I may remind you, we have an important battle to fight?"

"Ok, ok," the Goron leader said, even though he was still grinning. "I'm done. I promise."

"Thank you," Ruto said impatiently. "Now let's get going!"

"Wet-ever you say, sister!" Darunia said, but before he could even let another laugh out, he found himself doused with water courtesy of Ruto.

"No more puns!" she commanded angrily, and this time, the Goron patriarch listened, even though he exchanged an amused grin with Saria nonetheless before moving onward.

Meanwhile, Sheik and Impa burst into the Water Temple, ignoring its elegant architecture and multicolored tiled walls and floors as they found that, just like the shore, it was overrun with even more monsters, most likely pouring from the Gate of Souls itself.

"If someone really is masquerading as Zelda, I'll find out who she really is…" Impa said coldly as she fiercely cut her naginata across a line of stalchildren. "And slay her!"

"If only there was some way to unmask this imposter," Sheik mused, noticing that Ruto, Darunia, and Saria had rejoined them.

"We could always use the Lens of Truth…" the Zora princess suggested. "My fiancée left it here in the temple some time ago…"

"Your fiancée?" the Sheikah guardian asked curiously.

"The Hero of Time, of course!" Ruto said with affection in her tone, clasping her hands together as her expression turned dreamy. "He purposed to me seven years ago, and we're going to get married after he saves Hyrule!"

"What?" Saria asked in surprise, concern clearly showing in her expression. "You're going to… marry Link?"

"Of course!" the Zora princess said pridefully. "We make such a perfect couple, after all. It only makes sense that we bond together forever through marriage!"

"Huh, that's weird," Darunia commented. "I always thought he had a thing for the princess…"

"I am the only princess for him!" Ruto exclaimed, hiding her envy for the Hylian princess of her time well. "Why else would he give me the Zora Sapphire?"

"You all will have time to gossip about the Hero of Time's love life later," Impa said, clearly growing impatient with this conversation as her and Sheik continued to fight the pressing monsters. "Right now, we have to get that mirror."

"Oh, right!" the Zora princess exclaimed, devoting her attention to the battle once more. "Since a lot of the temple is still submerged, I'll go underwater and find the Mirror of Truth. It should be somewhere nearby. Once I find it, we'll meet back up later."

"Are you sure you don't need any cover, Sister Ruto?" Darunia asked, prepared to follow her into battle.

"Last time I checked, Darunia, Gorons sink like… well, rocks," Ruto said with a teasing smile. "I'll be fine. Water is my element after all."

Though no one was too keen on letting the Zora princess go alone, they found that they had no choice as she was the only one of them able to navigate underwater. And so, Ruto set off while the rest of the troops continued to clear the temple out from monsters as much as they could. The Zora princess cut through the murky waterways of the temple gracefully, her finned body perfectly built for it as she swam towards the central chamber of the temple, hoping that was where she would find the Lens of Truth.

Soon enough, Ruto emerged in the empty central chamber, climbing out of the poor of water in its corner as she glanced around. "Getting in was easy…" she muttered to herself. "Now to find the Lens of Truth itself…"

No more than a second later, the Zora Princess managed to spot a small chest sitting in another corner of the room, a small smile crossing her face as she headed over to it. "Of course my love would leave it right where I would find it…" she said with a small laugh, opening the chest to see the item in question, the Lens of Truth. A Sheikah artifact, the Lens of Truth contained a special magic that could reveal all that was hidden, including illusions and deceptions, exactly what the allies needed to uncover the truth behind the mystery perplexing them.

Satisfied that she had gotten what she wanted, Ruto decided to head back to her allies using the door instead of the waterway. However, right before she could leave, the heavy doors suddenly slammed shut right in front of her. The Zora princess gasped in surprise at this, realizing that she was about to be trapped, but as she rushed towards the pool, she was just a moment to late as a stone slab covered it entirely.

"Oh no…" Ruto whispered anxiously to herself as she held the Lens of Truth close, knowing that she was locked inside of the chamber with no way out. She waited expectantly for something to happen as she pressed her back up against the door of the room, waiting to be beset by monsters, and yet none appeared.

"Hey!" the Zora princess shouted from inside the room, banging on the door as she tried to catch the attention of her allies outside. "Can anyone hear me?! I'm trapped in here! Someone, help!"

Fortunately, Ruto's cries caught the attention of Darunia and Saria, who just so happened to be fending off the enemies nearby as Impa and Sheik tried to find a route to the imposter princess. "Sister Ruto!" the Goron patriarch called out loudly from the other side of the door. "Are you ok?!"

"Yes, I'm fine!" the Zora princess said, only to be startled by a sudden pounding from right outside the door. She didn't even need to see to know that Darunia was banging his hammer against it brutally, trying to get the metal in it to bend and break so she could get out. "Darunia, stop!" Ruto commanded, causing the Goron patriarch to cease so that he could hear her. "You're not going to get anywhere with throwing your brute force around like that! Go and open the floodgates to the east and west. Doing that should free me! Understand?"

The Goron patriarch and the Kokiri girl exchanged a nod as they knew what they had to do. "We're on it, Ruto!" Saria called to the captured Zora princess. "We won't let you down! Come on, Mr. Darunia!"

"Yeah!" Darunia cheered, his hammer at the ready. "Don't worry, sister! You'll be out in no time!"

"I can only hope…" Ruto sighed as she leaned against the door and closed her eyes, knowing that she would most likely be trapped in this chamber for quite a while. However, she didn't have much time to rest, for as soon as she opened her eyes again, she was met with the sight of a legion of monsters, largely composed of stalfos and lizafols, appearing at of thin air. The beasts were quick to surround the Zora princess, who, while taken aback at this sudden turn, was prepared to defend herself against them as she called upon the aquatic powers of her scale to aid her.

"Attention, Hyrulian army!" Zelda's voice sounded out across the battlefield fiercely, stopping both Impa and Sheik in their tracks as they battled. "I have captured your ally, the princess of the Zoras! If you want her to remain safe, lay down your weapons at once!"

"Now, she's captured Princess Ruto?" Impa asked incredulously, her scowl burning with ire for the false princess. "What kind of coward takes hostages…? You insult Princess Zelda's very name!"

Whoever was masquerading as the princess laughed menacingly, in a way that the real Zelda never would have in response to this criticism. "And you all insult the name of the Hylian military!" she mocked hatefully, though she said nothing else as she left the allies to continue duking it out against her monstrous forces.

"We don't have time to trade barbs with her," Sheik said, her tone serious as she threw her knives at a few nearby stalchildren. "For now, we must focus on rescuing Princess Ruto!"

Impa nodded in agreement as the two of them raced onward, searching for a way to free their captured ally from her enclosed prison. Not long into their search, they soon met up with Saria and Darunia once more, all four of them racing through the labyrinthine halls towards the floodgates. They split up once more as they made it to the back of the temple, where the halls diverged in two directions. Once more, the two Sheikahs took off together to the west, while the Kokiri girl and the Goron leader took to the east.

As her allies began to clear the keeps where the floodgates were located, Ruto continued to fight against the enemies in the central chamber alone, her fists tightly clenched as she lashed out at each one. Towering waves splashed everywhere, casing stalfos to shatter and lizafols to drown with each one. And yet, as hard as the Zora princess fought, she found that with each one she took down, another one appeared. She knew that if her allies didn't come to her aid soon, then this battle would never end.

Time dragged on entirely too long as Ruto continued to form whirlpools and sharp splashes to take her foes down with. However, a break in this constant stream of action began to wear down as the Zora princess began to succumb to fatigue. After all, using the Zora scale depended on energy, and so using it nearly even second completely drained Ruto's as she desperately tried to fend off against the unending barrage of foes. And in her tiredness, the Zora princess soon found herself slipping up in a way that was really rather simple, but proved to be costly nonetheless.

As Ruto sent out another wall of water at a line of stalchildren, she quickly began to form another whirlpool underneath several other monsters, hoping to drag them down with it. And yet, she knew that doing so was spreading herself too thin, to the point that she would need a reprieve to recharge herself before launching another attack, something that she knew she didn't have time for. The Zora princess could see the lizafols attempting to go for a low blow as she simply held her arms out in front of her to protect herself for a moment, and though she tried to kick it away, its sharp fangs managed to latch onto her arm fin nonetheless. Ruto let out a pained scream as she kicked the creature again, this time prying it from her fin, but even so, this attack had made the rest of the monsters more brazen. They all began to gang up on her, lashing out at her in her moment of weakness. Many of the stalfos attempted to stab at her with their blades, but fortunately she managed to dodge most of their attacks, even if a few of them still landed. The lizafols continued to try and bite her, having a particular penchant for Zora flesh, and many of them drawing blood. Ruto struggled against them as best as she could, weakly trying to summon enough water to deter them, but she only had enough energy to douse them at best.

However, just when it seemed as though the Zora princess was about to be overwhelmed completely, something that was no less than miraculous happened. The doors on each side of the room suddenly began to rumble, slowly opening up and finally giving Ruto a much-needed escape route. She let out a large sigh of relief upon seeing this before realizing that she had regained enough energy to allow her to surround herself with an orb of water, which she quickly allowed to explode, creating enough of a distraction to distance herself from her attackers.

Not long after the doors finally opened, Impa, Sheik, Darunia, and Saria burst in, expecting to rescue the Zora princess, only to find that she was doing a pretty good job of that herself. Now that the room was no longer enclosed, the enemies finally stopped coming, meaning that they were relatively easy to clear out. But even so, as soon as Ruto saw that her allies had arrived, she gave them all a clever grin in greeting.

"Well, it's about time!" she huffed with insincere impatience. "Taking down the last few stalfos in the room on her own. "I thought you all got lost!"

"Are you ok, Sister Ruto?" Darunia asked with concern for his fellow sage upon seeing the cuts and bruises she had sustained, but the Zora princess merely shrugged them all off.

"I'm fine," Ruto said firmly. "These cretins were nothing the Zora princess couldn't handle!"

"So did you get the Lens of Truth?" Sheik asked, knowing that they needed to nip this problem in the bud before anyone else got hurt.

"Right here!" the Zora princess beamed as she held the Lens of Truth up for all of them to see. "Using this, we can finally unmask our fake princess."

"But we have to find her first," Saria said with a frown. "She could be anywhere in this temple!"

All of them pondered over this dilemma for a long moment before a sudden idea occurred to the Sheikah warrior. To the south of their current location was a long, seemingly unimportant wall, yet even despite that it was surrounded by a cluster of monsters, which was what tipped Sheik off in particular. After asking Ruto to borrow the Lens of Truth, the Sheikah warrior rushed towards the wall, with the rest of the group following close behind her. As they helped cover her from the monsters, Sheik held the Sheikah artifact up to the wall, smiling underneath her face coverings as the wall itself suddenly vanished into thin air.

"Whoa! What happened?" Darunia asked in surprise as the opening in the wall revealed a new room entirely. "The wall disappeared, and then a passage just opened up!"

"It's just like I said," Ruto said with a grin. "The Lens of Truth reveals all that is hidden."

"And it's a good thing too," Impa said, looking on ahead into the monster-infested room only to find one of the things they had been searching for all this time. "Look! That must be the Gate of Souls!" she exclaimed, referring to the dark gate at the end of the room, shadows flowing from it constantly.

Without further delay, they all began to rush forth towards the gate with the intent of closing it once and for all. However, before they were even halfway across the room, their elusive main opposition finally decided to make an appearance at long last. Princess Zelda appeared almost instantly in a dull flash of light, barring their way to the Gate of Souls. They all of course stopped in their tracks, and as they did so, Impa let out a gasp of absolute shock to see the princess, or at least whoever was impersonating her. Even though they were all certain that this woman was an imposter, she certainly looked identical to Zelda, clothing, eyes, hair, features and all. Even her posture was quite similar to the princess's usual grace and form. She even gripped Zelda's treasured rapier in her hand, pointing it towards the allies as she raised an unamused eyebrow at them, a scowl painted on her face.

"I don't know how you fools managed to break my spell on this room…" the princess said coldly, her tone malevolent. "But no matter. You won't be taking another step farther."

"I've had enough of these games!" Impa hissed as she definitely took a step forward, her naginata poised to attack. "Who are you and where is the real Princess Zelda?!"

The false princess merely laughed as she brandished her rapier once more. "Wouldn't you like to know," she said snidely. "You know, your interference is quite annoying… I suppose you leave me with no recourse…" A dark aura surrounded Zelda as she held her blade up into the air, her voice echoing throughout the temple as she shouted loudly. "Come forth, my loyal servant!" she commanded to some unseen entity. "Send these infidels to their watery graves!"

No more than a second later, the entire temple shook, nearly knocking everyone off their feet. Even from their spot in the inner-most chamber, the allies were able to clearly see the large tentacles composed solely of water slam down in front of the entrance to the Water Temple. The Hyrulian troops outside of the temple were all scattered as a large monster materialized in the shallows of the lake. Or rather, of the waters of the lake.

"Oh, goddesses!" Ruto exclaimed in horror, already knowing well what this beast was. "She's summoned Morpha, the ancient monster of the Water Temple! If we don't stop it, it will take down all our troops!"

"Well then, why don't we pound it into a puddle before it does!?" Darunia asked with a grin, already racing forward to unleash his fiery hammer on the monster.

"You all go take care of the monster," Sheik said to the Goron patriarch, the Kokiri girl, and the Zora princess. "We'll handle this imposter."

"Got it," Saria said with a nod as all three of them began to head off towards the temple's entrance. "Good luck!"

Once their allies were gone, Sheik and Impa turned to face their foe once more, who simply smirked smugly at them, her rapier held at the ready to attack. "So, you refuse to stand down, even still?" Zelda asked, the look in her strangely pale blue eyes murderous. "Fine. Have it your way. This stand will be your last!"

The two Sheikahs did not bother to give their enemy a response as they both rushed for her, neither one of them holding back. Before anything else, Sheik aimed the Lens of Truth at Zelda, but before its magic could even affect her, she teleported away, reappearing a moment later behind them both. The Sheikah warrior tried again with the Lens of Truth, but each time she did so, the fake princess dodged out of its path, narrowly avoiding being revealed for whatever she truly was. But nonetheless, both Sheik and Impa decided to ignore this fact for the moment, deciding that if they could wear her down enough, perhaps they might finally be able to uncover the truth they had been hunting after for so long.

Meanwhile, outside the temple, Darunia, Ruto, and Saria engaged Morpha in battle. The heart of the aquatic monster was nothing more than a simple amoeba, but it was protected by multiple tentacles composed entirely of water, all of them being fueled by the lake itself. Its limbs moved quickly and wildly, wrapping around several soldiers at once as it pulled them down into the still rather deep waters of Lake Hylia, while throwing others halfway across the shore roughly. But even so, the allies knew they could not be deterred by this. The first thing they did was get to work on destroying its many tentacles, hoping that if enough of them were destroyed, perhaps the amoeba would be easier to reach and destroy.

However, that task was not as easy as it seemed. Morpha moved quickly, meaning that each one of their attacks had to be incredibly precise and fast to meet them. Each time a watery limb smashed down on the temple stairs, Darunia attempted to pound his hammer on them, hoping that he could split them at the very least. However, his movements were a bit too slow to catch up with Morpha, leaving the Goron partriarch only a few steps behind each time. Ruto wasn't having much luck with the monster either, considering that her attacks were all water-based, which only fueled the monster's treacherous tentacles. Saria seemed to be doing the best interestingly enough as she used graceful movements to lash out at Morpha with her Deku Rod, each swipe of it unleashing more of the power of the forest on the creature. As she summoned Deku sprouts to her aid, they often helped in separating the aquatic tendrils, sending what was left of them recoiling back into the lake.

As the trio continued to face off against Morpha, Impa and Sheik found that they were having problems all their own in fighting 'Zelda'. The imposter certainly utilized much of the same grace and agility that the princess showed in swordplay, but the Sheikah guardian who had trained her in the first place was still able to tell that something was off. Zelda often used light magic to strengthen her attacks, but this fake copy of her did nothing of the sort, most likely, as Impa theorized, because she was actually a minion of darkness. Which one, though, there was no way to know.

As Zelda parried towards Sheik, the Sheikah warrior quickly leapt over her thin blade deftly, sending a sharp kick the princess's way. Zelda narrowly dodged her foot, and in retaliation, swung broadly at Sheik, who was already too far out of her range to be hit by the attack. However, the princess also managed to spot Impa as she maneuvered in towards her with her naginata, leaping over the pole before she tried to uppercut her enemy with its tip. Zelda wasn't able to dodge this attack entirely as she got cut on the arm, but as Sheik and Impa both noticed, the princess did not bleed whatsoever. The cut merely left a long purple scar, one that glowed with darkness as she quickly covered it with her free hand and glared at her opponents.

"You little Sheikahs really think you can defeat me?" she asked bitterly, hate filling her tone as she used her magic to close all of the doors of the chamber and send all of the monsters away so she could fight them one-on-one. "Don't make me laugh. Perhaps it's time I show you real power!"

With a wicked laugh, Zelda held her hands up in the air, smirking as a bow, entirely crafted of darkness itself, appeared above her hands, the complete antithesis of the sacred bow of light the princess usually used. Even though Sheik and Impa both circled around her quickly to avoid her range, the princess swirled around just as fast, a shadowy arrow with a burning tip already conjured on her bowstring. Though both Sheikah women were fast, Zelda still loosed her arrow at them nonetheless, aiming more for Impa than Sheik. The Sheikah guardian used her naginata to create a barrier of fire to block the arrow's path, which succeeded, but the princess did not relent. She began to shoot a barrage of arrows at both of them, creating one after another from a seemingly endless supply of dark magic. As she dodged these arrows, Sheik quickly plucked her harp to the tune of the Prelude of Light in an attempt to ward off this darkness, but once again, Zelda was quick to teleport away before the light summoned by it could have too much of an affect.

Outside of the temple, Ruto, Darunia, and Saria were still struggling against Morpha, even with the help that all of the other soldiers were giving. Some of the Hylians managed to cut through the monster's tendtrils with their blades, while the Goron troops chucked any rocks they could find particularly in the direction of the amoeba and the Zoras continued to ward off the other creatures still swarming the lakeside.

"We have to hold our ground!" the Goron patriarch shouted to his brothers, seeing that they were putting up a valiant fight.

"Whatever you do, don't stop attacking it!" the Zora princess shouted, wishing that her abilities were of more use in a fight such as this one. "It's running out of tentacles!"

"Look!" Saria exclaimed, pointing to the gelatinous orb floating near the tip of one of the tendrils hanging over their heads. "That's its weak spot! Let's get it!"

Since she was the first to spot it, the Kokiri girl was the first to proactively go after the amoeba, raising the Deku Rod in the air to summon a full-grown version of the Deku Tree itself. Saria stood on one of its tall branches, and as Morpha began to slam the tendril with the amoeba down upon the tree, she stabbed the sharp tip of the rod into the tentacle, sending it sputtering out of the water and onto the temple's steps.

With Morpha's core no longer submerged, the monster found that it had lost its control over the lake waters. The amoeba rolled upon the steps frantically, desperate to get back into the water before its enemies could overwhelm it. Saria, Darunia, and Ruto all grinned at one another as they surrounded the creature's center on all sides, blocking its attempts. Though the Zora princess wanted to take charge and end the amoeba once and for all, she gave that right to the Goron patriarch instead, knowing that water wouldn't do anything to help in this situation aside from giving Morpha the advantage once more. After heaving the Megaton hammer over his shoulder, Darunia sent the heafty thing plummeting down upon the amoeba, popping it as though it were nothing more than a balloon.

The Hyrulian forces all cheered as their physically largest threat was finally taken out, though the commander was still at large. But even so, the allies reveled in their victory, knowing that it had been won out of teamwork and creativity.

"We did a splendid job, if I do say so myself," Ruto said pridefully, congratulating herself, Saria, and Darunia on a job well done.

"Yeah, we really showed him!" Darunia cheered gleefully. "I'd say he really went out with a splash, huh?"

"That's it!" Ruto growled in annoyance, not even hesitating to send a small wave his way, one that soaked the Goron leader, who simply laughed along with the Kokiri girl for another well-served pun.

---

It took quite some time for Zelda to reappear, something that certainly kept Impa and Sheik on their guards as they stood back to back, keeping their eyes wide open as they glanced around for their foe. Both of them knew well that she was crafty and cunning, even if neither of them knew who she really was under the guise she had taken up, and so they knew well to expect anything. And yet, the last thing either of them could have expected was the possibility that the princess would get the drop on them from above, which was exactly what she did as she appeared several feet above them, the tip of her rapier aimed at both of them as she let gravity take its course.

Both Sheik and Impa spotted Zelda dropping down towards them too late, but the Sheikah guardian was the only one who managed to leap out of the path of her blade. Though Sheik tried, she found that the princess's needle-like blade managed to catch onto the back of the scarf covering her face, dragging her down to the ground brutally as Zelda landed. The Sheikah warrior held onto the coverings tightly so that her face would not be exposed, even though doing so choked her and pinned her to the ground by the princess's blade.

Sheik struggled against Zelda's hold as she planted her foot on the Sheikah warrior's armored chest firmly, ripping her rapier across the face coverings to that they no longer wrapped around Sheik's face as securely. With a sinister grin, the princess leaned down into the Sheikah warrior's face as she held onto the scarf tightly refusing to let it slip off, even though it could so easily now.

"You know, I've been wondering what you're hiding under that mask…" Zelda cooed wickedly, edging ever closer to Sheik as she simply glared back. "Maybe it's time we find out…"

Instead of using her hand, the princess edged her rapier to the edge of the face coverings, but before she could dig into them and rip them off of the Sheikah warrior's face, she let out a piercing scream. Sheik quickly rolled out of Zelda's grip only to see Impa standing behind her, her naginata blazing with fire that had clearly burned the princess. With a furious shout, Zelda lashed out, thrusting her rapier towards the Sheikah guardian who leaped out of the way skillfully, meeting her blade with the naginata squarely.

"You're not fooling anyone," Impa hissed as her and Zelda glared at each other burningly. "You're nothing but a cheap imitation of the real Princess Zelda. You can never match up."

"A cheap imitation, am I?" the princess asked with a mocking grin "Well, if I'm really not her, why don't you prove it? Take me down. You'll still be no closer to finding your precious princess than you were before…"

The Sheikah guardian's grip on her naginata tightened upon hearing this, pushing it even harder against Zelda's blade. In truth, Impa wanted to get rid of this imposter once and for all, but as she looked into the princess's eyes, though she saw malevolence in them, she couldn't help but remember the promise she had made to protect Zelda, a promise that she had done everything to keep for years, and yet she had failed in it miserably. And in that moment, she faltered.

The princess took advantage of this notable moment of weakness as she finally managed to get the upper hand, breaking the tension between the two of them as she went low, landing a heavy blow against the Sheikah guardian. Impa could do nothing as Zelda's blade ripped across her chest, though her breastplate protected against it becoming fatal. The princess grinned as she began to go in for another attack, but before she could, she managed to realize that Sheik was rushing towards her from behind. Not letting herself be vulnerable to an attack, Zelda spun around and swung her rapier at the Sheikah warrior, who had no choice but to block it with the only thing she had handy: her harp. The sharp tip of the blade ran through all of the sacred harp strings, completely severing them all in one fell swoop. Sheik cursed under her breath as she realized she had just lost her main weapon, but she had no time to even take this fact in as she was suddenly met with a brutal blow to the chest. Instead of coming from the princess's rapier however, it had been a large orb of darkness instead, hitting the Sheikah warrior roughly as she was sent flying back several feet, landing on the ground in semi-consciousness as the chilling darkness of the attack rippling through her body painfully.

Zelda was also quite prepared for Impa's oncoming attack from behind, spinning around once more as she used her free hand to intercept the pole of her naginata. The Sheikah guardian was too surprised at this to pry it away from her, even though she tried, but she was ultimately unable to wrench it from the princess's iron grip. With a loud shout, Zelda yanked the naginata out of Impa's hand and tossed it aside, not wasting a single moment as she stabbed the Sheikah guardian in the shoulder, pinning her to the wall by her blade.

Impa's heart was pounding as she looked over to her run-through shoulder, blood pouring from the wound as it screamed in pain. On the other side of the room, Sheik lay on the ground, spasming painfully from the dark energy still poisoning her to the point that her senses were starting to dim from it. And of course, all the while, Zelda gave Impa a cocky grin, knowing that she had won this battle.

"It's such a shame, really…" the princess said smoothly, not even acknowledging the burning scowl that the Sheikah guardian was giving her. "You came all this way looking for her, only to never find her. It's so strange how someone could just disappear off the face of the earth so suddenly… Unless…" Zelda laughed twistedly as a sharp dagger appeared in her free hand, which she firmly quickly pressed against Impa's neck, almost drawing blood. "Unless she didn't disappear…"

"What are you talking about?" the Sheikah guardian spat, gripping the princess tightly by the arm using her other arm, knowing that she could do nothing with the other one since her shoulder was pinned down.

Zelda's grin deepened, the darkness in her eyes seeming to grow. "Maybe she never really was gone…" she said, her voice dropping down into a sadistic whisper. "Maybe she never escaped that battle back in the field in the first place… Maybe we captured her… Maybe…. We already killed her…"

"Quiet!" Impa shouted, her voice shaking with rage. "Be quiet!"

"How would you feel, Impa…" the princess began, clearly enjoying getting inside the Sheikah guardian's head like this. "If you came so far, searched for so long, only to find out that your dear princess has been dead from day one? Wouldn't it just be so devastating to have to go back to Hyrule, only to tell all of its citizens that their beloved ruler is gone? Isn't it just crushing to know that she's gone, and that it's all… your… fault… Sheikah…"

Zelda didn't even have a second to get any other words out before Impa's infuriated scream echoed throughout the temple. At that moment, she didn't even care about the pain ripping through her shoulder as she pulled it away from the princess's blade, nor did she care about the cut torn across her chest. All she cared about was avenging the true Princess Zelda, the one she had been devoted to protecting for the past several years, who she had dedicated her entire life to serving. And so, Impa quickly turned the tables on the false Zelda, knocking the rapier out of her hand and gripping her by the neck with both hands. The princess choked in surprise as the Sheikah guardian held her up against the wall, shoving her into it brutally as she glared her down, her crimson eyes burning with ire.

"How dare you…." Impa seethed with absolute rage, her grip not loosening around the princess's neck as she continued to strangle her. "If the real Princess Zelda were here, then she would certainly put you in your place!"

"H-how… cute…" Zelda stammered, a sudden grin spreading across her face even as she struggled to breathe. "You… a-act so t-tough… B-but I know… you're r-really a c-coward… Y-you won't… kill m-me… I look t-too… much l-like… her…"

The Sheikah guardian suddenly froze upon hearing this, her eyes widening as she realized this was true. Even if this wasn't the real princess, the resemblance was enough to make Impa hesitate, even if she was fully prepared to kill the imposter for their twisted words alone. However, as conflicted as the Sheikah guardian was, she found that she was saved from having to make this difficult choice as she glanced down and realized that Zelda's rapier was no longer lying on the ground as it had been before.

"You're right," Impa said with a shrug, grinning triumphantly as she loosened her grip on the princess. "I'm not going to kill you. After all, we still have to expose you for the fraud you are!"

At this, the Sheikah guardian finally dropped the princess, stepping out of the way to reveal Sheik, having recovered from her earlier attack and standing before her tall and unfazed, gripping onto the rapier tightly as she pointed it directly at her.

"Don't move," the Sheikah warrior commanded, using her free hand to uphold her face coverings as her scarlet eyes burned with resolve. Without another word, Sheik took out the Lens of Truth, knowing that Zelda would not escape from her this time as she knelt down on the floor, weakly trying to recover from nearly being strangled to death. And with bold movements, she held the Sheikah artifact out in front of her, aiming it directly at the impersonator. A ray of light shot out from the Lens of Truth, its purity causing 'Zelda' to scream as she was thrown backwards towards the Gate of Souls. Her voice became distorted as she cried out, her head thrown back as her very skin seemed to peel away entirely, her form glowing dark purple until the disguise was finally ripped away, revealing who had been posing as Zelda all this time.

Sheik and Impa glared with hostility at Wizzro, not at all surprised to discover that he had been masquerading as the princess only to cause mischief in this era and sully Zelda's good name. The dark wizard's magic had created a believable disguise physically, but in the end, it had been exactly as the Sheikah guardian had said: he simply could not match up to the kindness and goodness of the real princess.

Wizzro glared hotly at the two Sheikah women, clenching his bony hands at his sides as he reeled in hatred at the fact that they had unmasked what had been a perfect ruse. "Impossible!" the dark wizard exclaimed, his voice no longer that of the princess. "How did you fools see through my disguise!? It was flawless!"

Sheik took in a deep breath as Wizzro posed this question, realizing that perhaps now was as good a time as any. She had been withholding this secret from everyone for so long now, out of both fear and determination, that perhaps the time to come clean had finally arrived. After all, she only owed it to Impa to finally set her worries to ease after weeks of uncertainty. And so, the Sheikah warrior handed the Lens of Truth off to Impa, who simply gave her a look of confusion as she subtly took a step forward.

"Because," Sheik said calmly, her stoic manner suddenly growing bolder as she held her head high with something that was almost similar to regality. "You can't be Zelda. You could never hope to be Zelda." The Sheikah warrior closed her eyes for a moment, knowing that she was about to risk everything with what she was about to do, but she did not retract from her choice. She had been hiding in the shadows for too long now; it was finally time to return to the light.

"Because…" Sheik continued, not even noticing the fact that Impa was giving her a questioning look as she kept her sights on Wizzro, who simply gaped at her in confusion. Without another word, the Sheikah warrior raised her hand into the hair before quickly bringing it back down, throwing her hands out wide as she quickly spun around. A pink light quickly enveloped her, completely obstructing her from the Sheikah guardian and the dark wizard's view as it intensified to the point that it was completely blinding. And, when the light finally cleared, Impa gasped in absolute shock to see that Sheik was gone, and the last person she ever could have expected stood in her place.

"I am Zelda!" the true princess of Hyrule exclaimed proudly, and this time, there was no denying it. This Zelda did not have the dull pallor of her weak copy, nor were her eyes burning with evil. Her hair was as golden as the morning sun and her eyes were as blue as the waters of Lake Hylia, her battle gown untouched and her sturdy armor glistening with the fading remnants of the magic she had used to disguise herself as the Sheikah warrior. All this time, Sheik and Zelda had been one in the same, and no one had even noticed.

Impa was absolutely floored by this revelation, shaking her head as she blinked to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Certainly she must have been going mad from blood loss. All these weeks of constant searching and worrying, and Zelda had been right by her side this whole time. It was absolutely unbelievable.

"P-princess…" the Sheikah guardian choked weakly, filled with far too many emotions at once to properly take this in. The princess noticed this as she gave her loyal guardian a kind, yet weary smile, already feeling guilty for all she had put her through.

"Impa…" Zelda began, knowing that they had much to discuss. "I'm sorry… I-"

"Well, isn't this welcome news!?" Wizzro suddenly interrupted after the initial shock of the revelation had worn off. "Mistress Cia will be delighted to know that you're still alive so she can have the honor of killing you herself, you little brat!"

Without another word, the dark wizard let out a twisted laugh, and instead of trying to put up a fight he knew he would lose, he simply sunk into the ground, leaving the Gate of Souls unguarded at last.

"Oh no…" Zelda whispered with a frown, already dreading what would happen once Cia discovered she was actually alive. And yet, she did not regret her choice to reveal herself, for now, there were no more secrets, between her, the Sheikah guardian, the hero, or anyone else.

"Zelda," Impa finally said, somehow able to bring herself to say the princess's name. "I… I can't believe this… Is it really you?"

"Yes, Impa," the princess said with a soft smile. "It really is. I promise I'll explain everything, but first, I think we need to close the Gate of Souls, don't you?"

The Sheikah guardian stared at the princess, her shocked expression still not fading even as the two of them approached the Gate of Souls together. Zelda could tell that Impa was still having a hard time taking this sudden twist in, and honestly, the princess herself was having a difficult time adjusting to it. After all, she had spent the last several weeks of her life entirely devoted to upholding a masquerade, and she had done a good enough job that no one had even suspected her true identity. But even still, it felt strange to go by her real name once more, to no longer be clad in the armor of a Sheikah warrior. It would take time to get used to how things used to be, but Zelda knew that she had to do it quickly. After all, her kingdom was still embroiled in a war.

"Let us close this gate together," the princess said, her tone authoritative yet benevolent as it usually was. Impa sobered up upon hearing this and joined Zelda in raising a hand towards the Gate of Souls, aiding her in creating an orb of golden light, one that would counteract the darkness of the gate. Both of them pushed the orb towards the gate, where it met with it in a bright flourish, causing the gate to dissipate entirely.

And of course, the moment the Gate of Souls was closed, the dam of emotions, questions and answers finally burst.

Impa said nothing to Zelda as she turned around, placing her hands on her temples as she continued to try and make sense of all of this. The princess bit her lip apprehensively, knowing that she had a lot to explain and a lot to make up for, especially to her guardian. "Impa…" Zelda began a bit awkwardly, not entirely sure where to start. "I… I'm so sorry I lied to you all this time… It's just…"

"Just what, Zelda?" the Sheikah guardian asked a bit too harshly, knowing that she was stepping out of her boundaries in addressing the princess in such a way. "What exactly possessed you to disguise yourself as a Sheikah and not bother to tell anyone who you really are, not even me?! I'm your guardian, princess! It is my job to protect you! Why couldn't you just let me do that job?!"

"It's… complicated…" Zelda said with a sigh as she came to stand beside Impa. "I wasn't trying to make you feel worthless or unneeded, Impa. Please, don't think that I was. I really wanted to tell you, I really did. But… I… I was afraid…"

"Afraid of what?" Impa asked in confusion, her expression softening a bit.

The princess closed her eyes and shook her head, knowing that it was finally time to reveal all she had been holding inside of her for so long. "I let my kingdom down, Impa…" Zelda whispered shame in her tone. "I ran away from it in its hour of need… I was weak… I hid because I had no other choice, because I didn't know what to do, because… I feared for my life above all else, like a selfish coward…"

"Zelda, I don't understand," the Sheikah guardian said, sensing the trepidation in the princess's tone. "You were fine during the battle in Hyrule Field. You led the troops bravely and stood against the enemy unflinchingly. What happened?"

Zelda glanced away from Impa guiltily, dodging her question with her next statement. "I told you," she said defensively. "I was afraid."

"I know that," Impa said, refusing to let this issue go without getting answers. "But what were you afraid of? Zelda, I've been your guardian for over thirteen years now; I know that you're not the kind to shrink away from anything or anyone. Something happened that drove you off, and I need to know what it was."

The princess held onto her arms tightly as she shut her eyes again, holding back tears of remorse over what she believed to be her own pathetic cowardice. And yet, if anyone would understand without thinking her to be a failure, it would certainly be Impa.

"I had just made it back to the castle," Zelda began, recalling what had happened several weeks ago now. "Everything seemed just fine. We had done our job in protecting the castle and there wasn't a monster in sight. I thought that we had come out of that battle completely victorious, until… she showed up…"

---

Zelda was breathless by the time she made it to the throne room, having run all the way there from the battlefield. Her spirits were relatively high from the successful attack her and Link had set in motion courtesy of the Great Fairy. Certainly with the recruit and the Sheikah guardian handling the oversized Dodongo, this battle would be over quickly and relatively painlessly, a solid win for the Hylian army.

Letting out an exhausted sigh, the princess closed the stone doors to the throne room behind her, leaning against them as she finally found a moment's rest. However, she soon found that she was not as alone as she had thought, as a sudden laugh coming from the front of the room caught her attention.

"Greetings, your highness…"

With a surprised gasp, Zelda took a step forward as she noticed a figure concealed in the shadows that were draped around her throne. "Who's there?" she demanded, holding her rapier out in front of her as she approached cautiously.

The sultry feminine voice let out another laugh as the princess got closer, not answering her question until she was finally able to see the intruder plainly. A woman was reclining casually upon her throne, her clothing incredibly revealing and her mask concealing most of her face. Zelda could sense a great aura of evil emanating from this woman, and so she positioned her blade a bit more offensively, just in case she planned on attacking.

"Who are you?" the princess asked, glaring at the woman tensely. "How did you get in here?"

"I see no reason to waste precious time on a silly interview, princess," the woman said, sitting upright on the throne. "But if you must know… I'm Cia, 'guardian' of the Triforce. You'd be wise to remember my name, because very soon, your kingdom will be in the palm of my hand…"

Zelda's scowl towards the woman deepened as she heard this, her grip on her rapier tightening. "So, you're the one who's responsible for all these monsters, then?"

"How incredibly insightful of you, princess," Cia said with a sarcastic grin. "Let me guess… You figured that all on your own?"

Angered by this comment, the princess pointed her blade towards the witch, refusing to let this new enemy get the better of her. "Hyrule will never be yours," she said firmly. "I will not let my kingdom fall into the hands of evil! Return to the darkness you came from!"

"I don't think so…" Cia said, her constant wicked smile not leaving her face. "Not until I finally get what I want… And contrary to what you're thinking, your little kingdom is not my main goal…"

"Then what do you want?" Zelda asked, knowing that whatever it was, she would still refuse to appease the witch's demands.

"I suppose I'll be frank, then," Cia began, standing up from the throne as she took slow steps towards the princess. "There's a certain… legend, that I'm sure you've heard, princess, that foretells of a great hero that appears every time the land of Hyrule is in danger. The soul of this hero is the most pure one in existence, one unparalleled in valor and courage. And so, I have come looking for the individual of this age that bears that heroic spirit… He is my main desire, above all else, even this kingdom."

The princess was admittedly confused, even though she knew about the legends that the witch was speaking of. "And if you find him… what do you plan on doing to him?" she asked, mainly out of curiosity. "Kill him?"

Cia gasped in horror at the very suggestion of this, shaking her head insistently. "Oh, goddesses, no!" she exclaimed, offended that someone would even accuse her of such a crime. "I would never dream of hurting him! Once I get my hands on him, I will show him the greatest love and affection one could ever home to have. Far more than any of your kind have shown him, I'm sure…" she said, a hint of disgust in her tone as she crossed her arms.

"Then why have you come here?" Zelda asked caustically. "I know nothing of any hero, and even if I did, I would not disclose his identity to someone like you, simply so you can have your twisted way with him!"

"Oh, I haven't come to you looking for his identity," Cia said coolly. "I already know full well who and where he is. And as much as you try to say otherwise, princess, you know who he is too…"

"What?" the princess asked n nervous confusion, trying to figure this mysterious enemy out. "No I don't."

"I think you do…" the witch said, her grin fading as her tone hardened. "After all, why else would you risk your life trying to save a dying recruit in the heat of battle if he wasn't important…?"

Zelda's eyes widened as she gasped in realization, knowing that her and Impa had certainly found the hero they had been looking for. And so had someone else. "Link…" she whispered almost inaudibly, even though she realized that it did make sense. The recruit certainly did have the makings of a hero, from his skill with a blade to his determined bravery to his selfless heart. If he was to be Hyrule's new hero, then the princess certainly wasn't disappointed with who the goddesses had picked.

"Yes indeed…" Cia cooed, her hands covering her heart as she glanced upwards. "He is the one, the hero of this land, perfect in every way imaginable. And he shall be mine and mine alone…"

"What if he doesn't want you?" Zelda asked boldly, for some reason strangely bothered by the witch's apparent lust for the newfound hero. "You can't just force someone to love you."

"I can if I have no competition," Cia said, her smirk returning as she looked at the princess as though she were prey.

"What do you mean?" the princess asked cautiously, following the witch's moves as she began to circle her tauntingly.

"Don't act like you don't know," the witch scoffed darkly. "History always repeats itself. I have observed time in its complete scale and I've never known it to do otherwise. In every cycle, in every age, it's always the same exact thing! And I'm sick of it! It's not fair! It's never been fair! He always choses you!"

It was clear that Cia had become unhinged by this point, not even caring that Zelda genuinely had no idea what she was talking about. The witch was seething with fury, and the princess backed away from her a bit, thinking that her anger would make her dangerous. However, Cia was quick to regain her composure once more as she straightened the feathers around her neck. "I'll cut right to the chase," she said, her expression serious and her tone icy. "After all, I'm a very busy woman and I'm certain you are too. Though my first intention was to just kill you and get you out of the way, I realized that it would be so much more… interesting for you to watch as the tables of destiny are finally turned in my favor instead of yours… And so, since I'm a merciful person, I'm willing to make a little… bargain with you…"

"What kind of bargain?" Zelda asked suspiciously, knowing not to trust the witch under any circumstances.

Cia finally stopped circling the princess as she came to stand only a few feet in front of her, her hands held behind her back as the piercing slits of the eyes of her mask bore into Zelda's eyes menacingly. "Let me state it plainly," she began, her voice low and sinister. "You WILL keep your distance from him. You WILL stay away from him. You WILL stay out of my way. And if you don't… then I will hunt you down, and I will personally make sure you'll never see him, or anyone else every again!"

Zelda's firm glare suddenly faded upon hearing this, knowing that it was nothing less than a threat on her life if she did not meet Cia's demands. However, the princess knew that all of this was absolutely ludicrous. After all, she had only just met Link hours ago. How could the witch possibly think there was any sort of romance going on between then based on their brief interactions with one another. "I'm not afraid of you," Zelda said defiantly, refusing to be pushed around like this.

"You should be," Cia said twistedly. "I know you care little for your own life, but I also know that you have much at stake to lose, your highness. Wouldn't it be such a shame if something were to happen to your loyal Sheikah guardian? What about your devoted, noble army? Or even… all of the innocent people who live in your kingdom?"

The princess clenched her fists tightly, her anger towards her foe rising at such a wicked threat. "You wouldn't dare…" she began in low rage, but the witch merely ignored her as she went on.

"Just picture it, princess," Cia continued, her lips curling into a grin once more. "Your kingdom in flames, your people crying out in agony, men, women and children, all dying slow and painful deaths… All because of their own selfish ruler… What a legacy that would be for you to leave behind…"

"You're bluffing!" Zelda exclaimed, still trying to keep her cool even though it was clear Cia was getting to her. "You wouldn't possibly take such violence out upon so many people just so you can feed your own lust! No one would go to such extremes!"

"Oh really?" the witch asked as she held her hand out, a long, dark scepter appearing in her grip. "Then you underestimate me at your own peril, princess…"

Without another word, Cia raised her staff and launched a blast of dark energy at the princes, who was completely unprepared for it as it struck her chest squarely, sending her rapier flying out of her hand. As Zelda struggled to pick herself up off of the ground, Cia quickly rushed for her again, somehow levitating a few feet of the ground as a trail of darkness followed behind her. Before the princess could stand again, the witch was quick to lash out, letting out a wicked laugh as the tip of her scepter suddenly lunched out from its base, the crystal-like jagged orb attached to something of a whip as it struck Zelda's back brutally, drawing blood. The princess let out a cry of pain as Cia whipped her once more, her laughter increasing as her attacks became more and more intense as Zelda grew more and more injured. After another particularly brutal blow, the witch finally stilled her hand for a moment, revealing in the bleeding princess lying on the ground at her feet, trembling from pain and fear.

"I'll ask this of you one more time, princess," Cia said, leaning down close to Zelda's ear as she tugged her long blonde hair to pull her head up. "Stay away from Link, or die along with the rest of your kingdom. Do you understand?"

Zelda let out a small whimper of agony, her back feeling as though it was torn to absolute shreds, which it probably was. She was ashamed for how quickly she had lost against the witch. Certainly, all of her supposed bravery and resilience meant nothing if she could not back it up with action during the moment of truth. And at that moment, the princess admitted to herself that she was afraid of this new threat. She was afraid of Cia and the destruction that she was poised to pour down upon her kingdom. She was afraid of Hyrule falling while under her jurisdiction. She was afraid of failing her kingdom, her people, and herself.

"Y-yes…" Zelda finally whispered breathlessly in relent, knowing that there was little else she could do.

"Perfect…" Cia cooed darkly, finally backing off from the princess, who remained on the ground, languishing in pain. "I do hope you intend on upholding our little bargain, princess… After all, you know just as well as I do what's at stake if you decide not to…"

With another triumphant laugh, the witch finally disappeared in a burst of dark flames, leaving Zelda alone in a pool of her own blood. The princess wept softly to herself out of both fear and anguish as she continued to lay there, unsure of what to do now. After receiving the complete and utter beating that she had just gotten at Cia's hands, Zelda knew that the witch had not been kidding on her threats. Certainly, she had the power to not only kill her, but her entire kingdom as well. And as much as the princess wanted to stop her, she knew she was too weak to. She had never even faced so much as a single threat upon her kingdom at all until now, and the one that she was facing was far too insurmountable for her to overcome.

Though it was against her usual composed nature, Zelda began to panic as she slowly sat up, letting out a soft cry of pain as she did so. The last thing she wanted was for Impa, or even worse, for Link to show up and see that she had been attacked, lest she fail to keep her end of the deal she had reluctantly made with Cia. Blood was still pouring down her back, staining her dress and her hair crimson as she knelt on the floor and sobbed lightly, shaking her head as she stared at the floor with wide eyes.

She couldn't stay there any longer. Doing so would put her at risk for being around Link, something that would certainly send Cia into an absolute rage. Zelda knew that she couldn't tell anyone what had happened, not even Impa, as that would only make things worse. The only way the princess could think of to keep both herself and those she cared about safe was to distance herself from them. She had to disappear for a while. To where and for how long, she wasn't sure, but for the sake of her kingdom, it was the only choice she had left.

And so, before anyone could even realize what had happened, the princess used the last of her failing energy to envelop herself in a golden light, disappearing from both the throne room and the castle completely, without leaving so much as a single trace behind.

---

The glow of the fire bounced on the cave walls as Zelda finished wrapping the bandages around her chest and back, hoping that they would help her heal from the wounds Cia had inflicted upon her earlier that day. Her womanly form was concealed behind the bandages, her armor cast aside as it was far too noticeable and a hood and cloak wrapped around her to protect her identity. The only thing the princess wanted now was to be invisible, or the closest thing to it. She had just abandoned her kingdom in its hour of need after all.

After several hours of wandering the countryside, Zelda had finally happened upon a small cave near the mountains and had decided to take shelter there. Even though she had left the castle without anything, she still had the advantage of magic on her side, a skill that she had picked up when she was quite young. With careful concentration, the princess teleported several items from the castle to her current location, including bandages, a small stash of food, her cloak, and even her treasured golden harp, knowing that it had magical properties to it that could certainly prove useful to her. She knew that she wouldn't be able to live like this forever, but for now, it had to make due.

Night had fallen upon Hyrule, and from her cave, Zelda could see the dim lights of the castle in the distance, her heart already aching with homesickness. She missed the castle, she missed Impa, she even missed Link, and yet she knew she could not see any of them for quite some time, at least not until Cia was taken care of. The princess already knew that the kingdom would be in an uproar without her. Search parties would be sent out, rescue teams would be deployed, and the people would be in turmoil without their leader. Zelda knew that fleeing them was selfish, but in doing so, she hoped that she had saved them from a terrible fate.

The princess found a stray tear streaming down her cheek as she looked towards the direction of the castle, praying for the soon coming of the day that she could go home. But for now, she was on her own, with no one else to depend on but herself. And as she came to this bitter conclusion, Zelda let out a long sigh as she lay down on the cold cave floor, which was a far cry from the comfort of the bed she had awakened in just that morning, and fell into a fitful slumber, dreaming of the home she had been forced to run away from.

---

She had been hiding for nearly two weeks. She hadn't used her teleporting magic that much, lest she become easier to track, and so instead she had been hunting using a regular bow instead. Her current lifestyle was much more simple than the royal one she had been accustomed to, but she had grown somewhat complacent with it. As much as she wanted to know how her armies were faring against Cia and her hordes, but she dared not go into any town or village, lest she be recognized almost instantly. And so she stayed to the mountains, sleeping in a different cave each night and moving onward to another one during the day.

Zelda was fully prepared to keep up her secretive routine for as long as she had to. That is, until everything changed.

It was midmorning and the princess had taken to the treetops to hunt from above. A gentle breeze rustled through the tree leaves, making Zelda feel peaceful as she sat in one, her cloak camouflaging her well. However, this peace was soon interrupted as the princess suddenly caught onto the sound of approaching footsteps. Her heart began to pound as she scaled a bit higher into the tree she was in, making sure she could not be seen as she realized that it was multiple footsteps instead of one person's.

Zelda waited anxiously for the group to pass under her, her bow already knocked with an arrow. However, she didn't dare it go when she realized who was passing through, heading in the direction of the Eldin Caves.

It was the Hylian army, HER army, steadily marching in formation through the sparse forest. A small smile crossed the princess's face when she saw that Impa was leading them, but she found that her smile widened even more upon seeing Link. He marched alongside the Sheikah guardian, clad in the classic garb of the legendary hero, the scarf that Zelda had sown hanging proudly from his shoulders. The princess had never been one to gawk over young men, but at that moment, she could understand well what Cia saw in him.

Of course, Zelda remained silent as they went by, eavesdropping in on what little pieces of conversation she could hear.

"We'll need to cut through the Eldin Caves to get to Faron," Impa said to Link, who nodded in response. "It's a difficult shortcut, but time is of the essence."

"Who knows?" the hero said with a small, hopeful smile. "Maybe we won't even have to go all the way to Faron. Maybe Princess Zelda's in the caves."

"I hope not," the Sheikah guardian said with a frown. "Those caves are deadly."

Impa said something else, but Zelda wasn't able to hear it as they moved out of her earshot, leaving her to think on what she had just heard. They were searching for her. They had come all this way to look for her and try to bring her home. Of course they would. Impa was dedicated to protecting her, and she would not rest until she was safe and sound. Once again, Zelda felt incredibly guilty, knowing that certainly her absence was driving the Sheikah guardian to extremes in trying to find her.

And yet, as much as the princess wanted to set her guardian's worries to ease by revealing herself, she knew that she couldn't, at least not yet, especially since Link was directly involved now. Certainly Cia was watching the hero's every move, and so if Zelda were to come out of hiding and interact with him in any way, it would be a great risk. But even so, the princess knew that she couldn't just do nothing forever. She had to help her forces protect Hyrule in any way that she could. But how?

As the Hylian troops marched off, the princess got a sudden idea, one that made her smile to herself subtly. Certainly, if she were to disguise herself, she would be able to hide in plain sight among her army, then Cia would have no reason to go after her. Then she could fight for her kingdom without fear of dooming it.

Not wasting a single moment, Zelda teleported herself back to the cave she had recently spent the night in, knowing that her supplies were still there. Her first idea for a disguise was a Sheikah one, knowing that stealth and agility would be a great asset to her. She knew much about the Sheikah culture thanks to Impa, from their clothing, to their mannerisms, to their legends, and even some of their magic. And so, the princess concentrated all of her magic into crafting a guise that would completely conceal her, sealing the young royal away and replacing her with a bold Sheikah warrior.

Zelda closed her eyes as she transformed herself, taking advantage of the fact that her breasts were already bound as she replaced the remnants of her royal wear faded away into light armor, the emblem of the Sheikah tribe central on her chest plate. Her long blonde hair twisted itself into a tight braid, some of her bangs draping down across her face and covering up one eye. To further conceal her identity, she ensured that a thick white scarf was securely wrapped around her mouth and nose, a turban of bandages topping her head as her hair hung out from it. To top the disguise off, she used a special type of magic to shift her eyes from their usual ocean blue into a deep, scarlet red, the classic eye color of the Sheikah.

Opening her newly crimson eyes, Zelda saw that she no longer looked like the princess of Hyrule at all. Instead, she looked as though she was an entirely different person, one who would be able to join the ranks of the Hylian army seamlessly and aid in their fight against Cia and her dark forces.

From that moment on, she was no longer Zelda. She took up a new name to go with her new identity, one that she vowed to keep until she could return to herself: Sheik.

---

"Really, the whole idea for Sheik came from watching you, Impa," Zelda said, finishing up her long tale, which Impa had listened to intently. "I always admired the strength of your people, and… I guess, just for a little while, I wanted to be that strong too, especially after how I weak I had been…"

"Zelda…" the Sheikah guardian said, finally breaking the long silence she had been keeping as the princess explained herself. "You were not weak. You did what you had to in order to protect Hyrule and its people. You took a great risk by coming out of hiding at all, even if you were in disguise. And believe it or not, you fought bravely despite your fear."

"Really, Impa?" Zelda asked with an ironic smile, raising an eyebrow. "But didn't you think that I was really a spy working for Cia?"

Impa let out a deep breath upon remembering this, feeling guilty for ever distrusting the princess. "Zelda, I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "I really am. I… I was just so worried about you that I didn't think I could trust anyone at all. You just… appeared completely out of nowhere. How did you expect me not to be wary of a complete stranger, expecting to be a part of my tribe, no less?"

"I know…" the princess said with a sigh. "But all the same, I decided to reveal myself now because I realized that I was just… so tired of hiding. I was tired of being afraid of Cia. She isn't the one who decides if my people live or die. I am."

Impa smiled at this, glad to see that Zelda had restored her own courage once again. "Well, your little deception aside, I'm glad to see that you are safe, Zelda," she said casually, knowing that their usual camaraderie could now resume. "So… just out of curiosity, did you ever think of telling anyone at all about your little secret?"

"Actually…" the princess said, averting the Sheikah guardian's gaze as she bit her lip anxiously. 'I… I almost did tell someone…"

"Who?" Impa asked a bit knowingly. "Me?"

"No…" Zelda said guiltily. "I was going to tell… Link…"

"What?!" the Sheikah guardian asked harshly, her eyes widening in offense and disbelief. "You mean to tell me that you were going to tell some new recruit you had only known for a few days instead of me, your own guardian and protector?! That makes no sense! I thought the reason why you disguised yourself in the first place was to stay out of Cia's sight! Why would you tell the one person she's after that you've really been at his side this whole time?"

"Well obviously I thought better of it!" the princess exclaimed defensively. "But… I almost did… I really wanted to… You just don't understand, Impa…"

"What don't I understand?"

Zelda sighed as she closed her eyes, bowing her head as she spoke thoughtfully. "Do… do you remember all those stories you used to tell me when I was a little girl?" she asked. "About heroes and princesses, uniting together to save Hyrule from darkness…? Well… I think you've already figured out that Link and I are a part of that… And… we're the only ones that could possibly comprehend our own fates…"

"Zelda…" Impa said with concern, wishing that it wasn't true, even though it was obvious that it was.

"Our destinies are bound…" the princess said critically. "They always have been… The two of us aren't like anyone else in the world. We're reborn over and over in every age, always for the same purpose: to protect Hyrule. I didn't really think it was true until we came here, but… there's no denying it. We're drawn together, which is why I couldn't just stay away from him like Cia demanded. That's why she nearly killed me in the first place. She's jealous of the ancient ties that bind me and Link together. She'll stop at nothing until he's hers."

"So… what should we do?" the Sheikah guardian asked softly, knowing that the princess and the hero certainly had a heavy burden on both of their shoulders, one that no one else could possibly try to share.

Zelda opened her eyes as she looked to the open doors of the chamber they were in, knowing that even though Cia would certainly be aware of the fact that she was out of hiding, she wasn't going to try to keep her distance from Link any longer. After all, why try to hide from what destiny had in store? "We're going to stand against her," the princess said with firm determination and authority, leading the way out of the temple brazenly. "We're going to protect Hyrule from her power. I'm going to fight alongside you, Lana, and Link as myself this time, no matter what Cia threatens to do to me. I'm refuse to hide from her any longer."

---

Ok, so I know this sucked, but I can promise that the next one will be better, mostly because we're going back to Skyloft to see what happened to Link! Yay! I have ton of ideas for that, and thank goodness we're almost there because soon I'll get to write everyone meeting up, which I am super excited for! But yeah, so for now I think I might actually take a little break from writing for a while... I... I'm sorry guys. I really just want to give you all the best stuff I can, but with school and everything, its been really rough. I promise I won't be gone for too long, because I just can't stay away, but for now, I need to take a little break to freshen my skills up and improve so we won't get a sucky chapter like this again. So, to hold us all over, allow me to ask: what character interactions were your favorites in Hyrule Warriors (be they romantic, friendships, or otherwise)? For me, its definitely the hints of Zelink (my OTP), as well as any moment of Cia interacting with Link. I also really liked how Impa was kinda like Link's momboss, which is totally cool! Let me know in the REVIEWS! Until next time!