A/N: I own nothing except a copy of this great game. Second note: A single singer is demarked in italics "like this", while a crowd singing is demarked "like this."

His sense of smell came back first.

By the lack of any kind of stench, he managed to blearily piece together the fact that he wasn't in Skyloft anymore, or in the Sealed Grounds. It was clear-smelling and there was a gentle breeze coming in that was cool to the touch of his skin. He must be indoors.

As the rest of him followed suit, he became aware of the sensation of something wet and cool being dabbed against his forehead. It felt like a washcloth. He groaned a little bit, and slowly opened his eyes.

"About time."

The words were said with the bare minimum requirement of relief, and the maximum allowance for grumpiness. Link blinked once, and his vision sharpened to see the sight of Itami, that Ravager medic, leaning over him and dabbing a cloth against Link's forehead. The Craol looked tired, like he hadn't slept in days.

"Mmuurgh…where am I?" Link managed to croak. Itami snorted.

"In a bed."

There was a pause. Itami looked at him again, and acted with faux realization.

"Oh, you mean figuratively? You're in the Hyrule Castle infirmary. In our Hyrule Castle, FYI, so don't freak out." He frowned as he continued to dab at Link's forehead. "Though I will start to freak out if this damned cut on your forehead doesn't start clotting in the next few minutes. Fucking thing…" He grumbled some more, and went back to mixing something in a bowl. Link managed to look around. It hurt to turn his neck, so he settled for darting his eyeballs around.

The infirmary was quiet, or at least the wing that he was in was. There was a big curtain pulled up along the wall, shielding him away from prying eyes. It gave him both a sense of guilt and of relief: while on one hand he had no interest in being doted upon while others could receive better care than he, on the other hand there was a small part of him that was happy that he didn't have to deal with constant prying eyes that were checking on his well-being.

Itami finished mixing something in a bowl, and walked back to Link and began rubbing it on his forehead. The Hylian winced as the paste-like mixture stung in the wound.

"Quit being a baby," Itami said. "I gave this stuff to Impa and she didn't even flinch."

"I'm not Impa." Link managed to croak out. Itami, despite his best efforts, managed a bit of a smirk.

"Evidently not. You're crazier than Impa." He went back to examining Link's arm, who had just noticed that it was now in a sling and cast. "Impa gets her kicks in choking Goron kings unconscious. You…evidently you like taking on entire armies by yourself, eviscerating sword spirits, and then falling off of a concentrated mass of evil that is bigger than most temples." He looked at Link. "One of these days you're going to run into something that's just as stubborn as you are. I might be a miracle worker, but I don't do bits and pieces."

"When you put it like that…" Link began, but Itami cut him off.

"'When I put it like' nothing." He said. "You might be the 'Hero' of this era, but you're still made of flesh and blood. And you can bleed and you can suffer and you most certainly can die. You certainly gave us a scare for a while there." He said. "By my count, this is roughly 40 hours I've spent treating you. You've been out about three days, then."

"By the Goddess…" Link muttered. Itami tsked.

"No, by the fact that you suffered enough injuries to put ten men in the grave." He said. "No man is immortal, but you certainly went about acting like it." He gestured over in the corner. "And you sure gave her a fright, too." Link looked in that general direction.

.

She was fast asleep in the corner, sitting on an old wicker rocking chair that had clearly been brought in from another room. Her head was nuzzled on her shoulder, with some of her bangs falling over and haphazardly covering her face. There was a small book loosely resting on her lap, indicating that she'd tried to read to pass the time…but the fact that the book was closed with the front cover facing the sky indicated she hadn't gotten far. Her shoulders rose and fell slowly with every breath.

Link had never really stopped to imagine what it would look like to see a princess sleep. In a way, it was rather comforting to know that Zelda didn't look any better than the rest of the world when she was off in the land of dreams. And in a way, that made it rather adorable.

Itami saw the way that he was staring at her, and smirked. It was barely noticeable.

"She's been here since the beginning." He said. "Only fell asleep about a half hour ago. Helped me from the very beginning. Especially at the beginning, when you were thrashing around like a dying boar." He sighed. "I gotta hand it to you, kid. It takes a special person, I imagine, to cause a princess to drop everything to attend his side. I don't think the kingdom of Hyrule has done anything in the past few days amounting to any sort of policy work. Not that that really matters, at the end of the day." He reached into his satchel that he'd slung over his right shoulder. "Shit, I guess I'm out of herbs. I'll be right back. Give a shout if you need something, kid." He started to walk away, and then turned back and gestured into the corner. "Unless, of course, you would rather not wake up sleeping beauty." He disappeared down the hall, his leather boots making muted thumps along the tiled floor.

For a short while, Link was content to just lie there. He stared at the princess, and wondered where she had been. It felt like a great weight had been lifted off of his chest, to know that she was safe and sound. The last time he'd seen her…well, it had been in the heat of battle, and that was hardly the time for one to introduce oneself. He wondered what he should say. Should he…introduce himself again? No, that would be silly. She'd already introduced herself. But that was in the heat of the moment. Surely she might have forgotten him. No, that was foolish.

He was so busy debating in his head that he almost didn't see Zelda give a yawn, and blearily open her eyes. His eyes widened slightly in panic, but he managed to rein them in. For a moment, the two of them stared at each other.

"H-hey." Link finally managed to squeak out.

"Hey." Zelda said, a very tired smile on her face. "Sleep well?"

"Erm, yes. Not as well as you looked like you were just now." The realization of what he had just said caused him to turn beet red. "Uh-um-um, I mean, uh, I wasn't watching you sleeping or-ah, anything like tha-" He was interrupted by a strikingly pretty sound: Zelda was giggling.

"No, no, don't worry! I was watching you sleep for a while." There was a pause, and then she started laughing. "Oh Goddesses, that sounds worse, doesn't it?" Link ignored the soreness in his ribs to start laughing too. Their giggles turned into full-borne laughter, lighting up the room. Zelda was laughing so hard that she suddenly snorted. She covered her mouth with both of her hands, eyes wide and cheeks blushing beet-red…and then they both started laughing at the fact that a princess of all people had snorted. Maybe it was the fact that he was seeing her again, and knowing that the main reason for their quest was a rousing success. Maybe it was the fact that he was alive, and that he was going to live. Maybe it was the fact that he needed to decompress after what he had seen in Skyloft and the Sealed Grounds. All Link knew was that this laughter was the most wonderful thing he'd ever experienced. He hoped it would never end.

But eventually it did, with the sound of the door opening and Itami returning. Only he wasn't alone. Impa and Ishaka and Lana were right behind him. The sight of a conscious Link was enough to make Impa and Lana smile, and drew a booming laugh from the Ravager commander.

"Attaboy, Link! I knew yeh w'uld pull 'er out inna piece!" He reached for his pipe and was about to light up in celebration, but one glare from Itami caused him to sheepishly take his hand out of his longcoat pocket. "We miss'd yeh, 'ero. Things're borin' wit'out yeh."

"Ishaka is right." Impa said. "We were all very worried about you. Whatever it is that you did in the Era of Sky had you out for a very long time." She looked rather proud. "From your new friend Captain Dorias, it sounds like you were the reason that any of our men made it out of there alive. I'd give you a medal if Itami allowed you to stand up out of your bed and receive it."

"He has a broken arm, multiple lacerations on his torso to the point that he's only gonna be wearing loose-fitting smocks for the next few days, and I have no idea how banged up his legs are." Itami said. "He stays in that bed until I say otherwise."

No one dared to disagree.

"I guess that this is a relative success, then?" Lana said. "We found the princess, closed the three Gates of Souls. That's worthy of a celebration." Ishaka chuckled.

"I 'gree, miss Lana! If'n y'all don't mind, I'm gonna take a few o' me clos'st frien's an' go an' cel'brate. Betcha Finn can drink 'em all un'er th' table!"

.

Almost immediately, the air left the room. Ishaka wondered what was going on, and then he saw that everyone was staring at Link. And when the Ravager commander looked at the Hero, he saw that the young man was crying.

"Ishaka…" Itami said. He seemed uncertain of how to proceed, and was choosing his words carefully. He walked over to the small table to the side of Link's bed, and reached into the small wooden box. "When I was gathering Link's belongings…I found this." He pulled out the necklace.

The noise Ishaka made was the most haunting sound they'd ever heard. His eyes widened in disbelief, his mouth slightly agape. A soft, pathetic moaning could be heard, coming from the back of his throat because he was too stunned to speak. He snatched the string necklace from Itami's hands, and frantically began to cycle through the various Soul Coins attached to it.

"No-no-no-no-no-no-n-" He stopped mid-breath. Every one of the scummies in that elite squadron of Ravagers had taken to making their Soul Coin carving as elaborate as possible with as little space as they had. It was a sort of game amongst them, a friendly form of one-upsmanship that fostered their brotherhood as well as their legendary tenacity. But the one that Ishaka was looking for, and the one that Ishaka had found, only had a soft and crude cutting of a dog's face on it. Because the man who carved it had never cared for elaborate displays: just simple memories were good enough.

Ishaka stared at the coin for what seemed an eternity, his shoulders shaking. His face was beginning to redden around the eyes. Itami slowly walked forward, and stared up into the face of his leader and friend.

"Ishaka, I'm so sorry." He said quietly.

The Ravager captain made a strangled sob, clutching the necklace tight to his chest as if it would disappear if he let go. Without a word, he walked out of the room.

Link had closed his eyes, because if he had seen Ishaka's reaction he knew he would have burst into tears. Zelda had gotten up out of her chair, and wrapped her hands around his free hand to comfort him. Lana and Itami lowered their heads in respect and sorrow, and the white sorceress was fighting the urge to cry herself. Impa did none of these things.

Without a word, she walked out the door after the Ravager leader.

.

She found him at the far edge of the royal grounds. She had been searching the perimeters of the lush and pretty landscape, knowing that he liked walking and patrolling there in the weeks since he'd made the castle grounds his unofficial home. In particular, she knew how much he loved the massive Deku* trees that were planted to the western edge of the royal grounds that served as a way to shade everything better as the sun set in the night sky. Yet as she walked through this small forest, she could not find him anywhere. Until she breathed in through her nose, smelling that distinctive sweet smell of tobacco, and looked up.

"Go 'way." He said, as she was halfway up the tree. It was not easy going, and she had set her Biggoron knife on the ground to make it easier on her. She heard him, and did not listen. She reached the treetops, dozens of feet above the ground, and took a seat on a stout branch with her back comfortably resting against the trunk. He was in the tree right next to her, only a few feet away as a result of the treetops starting to tangle and intermix at this height.

She stared at him for what seemed an eternity, and then spoke.

"Are you…"

"No." Ishaka said. He sounded so small, so defeated for a man of his size. "No, I ain't okay Sheikah." He managed to turned and meet her in the eye, and she could see his watering. "I…I hurt'n, Sheikah. I hurt'n bad." He wiped his eyes, and sniffled. In his other hand, he was clutching the necklace. He was gripping it so hard that his knuckles were white as snow, clearly visible even as the sun was setting.

"I'm so sorry, Ishaka." Impa said. There was a pause, and then she tried again. "What did he mean to you?" She tried again. "Can…can you tell me about the good times?"

"Th' good times?" Ishaka asked. He let out a long, rattly sigh. He reached into his pocket, grabbing his pipe, and managed to light it without letting go of the necklace in his match hand. He puffed for a few moments to get a cloud of smoke around his head, and cleared his throat. "He was th' clos'st thin' I got ta a daddy, Sheikah. Itami is me bruddah, but Finn?...'e was m'daddy." He took a deep breath. "Took me un'er 'is wing, 'e did. Taught me a lot 'bout how ta fight, yeh know? A lot o' th' crazy stuff I pull'd fer yeh…I pick'd it up fr'm Big Finn." He smiled a bit, his eyes glistening with unfallen tears. "He…'e'd get up inna bar, or inna fight…di'n't matter where…an' he'd swing 'is club an' shout 'I be th' greatest fuck'r 'ere! An' yoo snivelin' pidgins would all jus' sod off wit'out me!'" He sighed, letting a stream of smoke escape his nostrils. "An' yet he 'ad a good 'eart, Sheikah. Like a…like a big ol' dog, yeh know? Said 'e'd be loyal ta me 'till th' end…" He looked forlornly at the sunset. "We was s'pposed ta get old togeth'r: Me, Itami, and Finn…an' then in th' end…Itami an' I'd light 'is pyre when 'e was an' old man. Why'd it come ta this?"

"How old was he?" Impa asked.

"He di'n't say. Prob'ly 'bout 40? Liv'd 'ard, tha's fer sure, Sheikah. Almos' double me age."

That one threw Impa for a loop.

"How…how old are you, Ishaka?" She asked. Ishaka looked at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"'Bout 26, Sheikah."

Impa nearly fell out of the tree right there. She was two years his senior. It had taken her years and years of training and practice and earning of accolades to be even close to where she was today…and here he was, barely a man, the leader of an army that followed him unquestioningly. Ishaka managed to chuckle.

"Yeh thinkin' old'r a'first, Sheikah?" He asked. Impa managed to catch herself.

"Um, no. No, I didn't."

"Yer a terr'ble liar." Ishaka said. He managed to wink. "Is okay. I be old fer me age. Hell, Itami only 24 an' he sure as 'ell don' look near as bad as I do."

Impa wasn't sure why he was so down on himself. He cleaned up rather nicely for a man that kept a shaggy beard and hair like an overgrown bear. At least he tied his beard when he needed to.

"Ishaka…" Impa said. She didn't know where she was going with this, but she was going. "Have you ever lost someone…close to you, before?"

"Yeah. B'not like this." Ishaka said. "Finn be th' closest I be ta any'un. 'Cept Itami…and maybe you." He chuckled. "Don' you go dyin' on me, Sheikah."

"I plan not to." Impa said, a small smile curling on her lips. She grew serious again. "I just…I wanted to tell you that I know what it's like. To lose someone. Someone that is close to you."

"Howzat?" Ishaka asked. He was looking over his shoulder towards her, his interest piqued. Impa wasn't sure how to begin, so she started from the top.

"I'm a member of the Sheikah tribe. Well, what's left of it. I might be the 'cheiftain' of the Sheikah Tribe here in Hyrule, but the truth is that I haven't truly been a chieftain for some years now." She stared absently across the horizon towards the setting sun. "At a young age, I was selected to serve as the royal guardian for the Royal Family. My father, the chieftain of our tribe at the time, was overjoyed. He was happy beyond belief that I was the one to go. He knew that I would bring great honor to our people. That was what he said. But, most importantly, he said that I made him proud beyond belief to be my father."

She smiled sadly.

"I knew that I would never be able to officially become the chieftain of the Sheikah tribe while I took on this role. He had no other children, and he loved my mother too much to marry another after her death. He promised me that he would serve as long as he could, and then die in peace knowing that his daughter was doing something great and memorable. I felt like I was giving him a death sentence, to not be able to hang up his blade and retire as an old shaman of wisdom. He always told me not to worry about it, that he was more than willing to risk his life running the tribe to the outskirts of Hyrule, if it meant that I was in a better place."

She closed her eyes and breathed heavily.

"The last time I spoke to him…he told me something. He said that he had always said that he was proud that I was the royal guardian for then-King Daphnes and now Princess Zelda. But now, he realized, he felt he was being unfair. He thought that he had implied that his pride in me was conditional on my being the royal protector, and not on simply being his daughter. Because he wanted me to know that, at the end of the day, he was proud of me no matter what it was that I had become. He had had faith in me, and he said the sight of it paying off in what kind of a person and woman I was was more than worth any silly position. He told me…he told me he loved me, and then he gave me his prized weapon." She gestured over her shoulder with her neck towards the castle. "It's the naginata* I keep on my mantle." She opened her eyes again, and tears were slowly beginning to form. "He said he loved me, and that even when he wasn't around…he'd be around. That was the last time I ever spoke to him."

The silence between them lasted an eternity. The sun was almost completely down now, with only a little sliver peeking over the horizon. Impa spoke again, slowly and deliberately.

"I…I found out that he had been killed in battle defending a village from some bandits. The reason I know is because one of the villagers came to the castle and gave me this." She gestured to the beaded scarf that she wore around her neck. "This was his. He'd given it to a villager, telling them to find me. So…he was right. Even when he's around…he's still around."

"Did…did it 'urt?" Ishaka asked. Impa nodded.

"Unbearably so. I retreated to my chambers and didn't come out for days. I just…practiced and practiced with my father's Naginata…until I could barely move from the soreness. I…I guess I was trying to keep him alive, in imitating and replicating the styles and tactics that he had always shown me when I was little. In the end, Zelda was the one that got me out of my gloom that threatened to consume me." She closed her eyes and smiled. "She could have lectured me on how I was threatening to destroy myself. She could have told me that because she had gotten over her father's death, I should too with little problem. But she didn't tell me that. What she said instead…well, it didn't fill the hole in my heart…but it helped better than anything else could have, I think."

"Wha' was tha'?" Ishaka asked. He had now completely turned around, so that he was no longer straddling his branch but rather dangling his legs over the edge so that he could look her directly in the eye. She met his gaze. When she spoke, there were no tears.

"What she told me, I'll tell you." Impa said. "She said that there is no shame…absolutely no shame in holding onto grief…so long as you remember to make room for other things too." She continued holding her gaze to the Ravager commander. "Ishaka, I know what that pain is like to lose someone that close to you. I know it, and I have felt it. And I do still feel it, from time to time. But I do not let it overcome me, because in the end I remember the other things I hold onto in life." She looked pleading. "Ishaka, things are going to get harder from here. The war is not over, and Cia is still on the loose. She will continue trying to get Link for her own, twisted desires, and she does not care how many people she hurts or kills to do it. We need you, the Ravagers need you, I need you. We need you to be strong. Do you think you can do that?"

Ishaka seemed to contemplate her words for a long time. He took a puff from his pipe, and slowly exhaled, letting the smoke cloud around him. But he looked her dead in the eyes when he responded.

"Yeah. I be a'ite, Impa." He said. The Sheikah warrior smiled. Then she looked down.

"Good. Then, if you don't mind, I'd like to get down from here. I have no idea how a big galoot like you managed to get up here so easily."

"One o' th' many thin's Big Finn taught me!"

"I can't imagine that was the only thing he taught you."

"Oh…don' get me start'd, Sheikah…"

A/N: The scene between Impa and Ishaka I wrote while listening to "Father and Son" from the Metal Gear Solid 4 OST. Easily one of the most beautiful songs in video game history, in my opinion. This is good, isn't it?

That should do it for the second interlude. From here, we enter the third act! It should be up some time this weekend.

HYRULIAN CODEX

Deku Trees – While when one refers to "Deku Trees" the first thought is of the mythical Great Deku Tree, "Deku" trees are colloquial names given to any tree that is utterly massive in size and completely disproportionate to the average size of trees in their usual build.

Naginata – The Naginata is a very ancient weapon that is quite popular amongst the Sheikah tribe. Essentially the blade of a katana at the end of a long pole, the Naginata allows the user the ability to attack enemies from a distance greater than arm's length away while at the same time protected from close range combat. The only downside to a naginata is its abysmal ability to defend one once the attacker has entered "traditional" close quarters for combat. However, expert Naginata wielders are usually trained in hand-to-hand combat well enough in order to quickly dispatch this outlier…before returning back to the status quo.

A well-trained Naginata wielder can, in theory, hold an entire squad or even platoon at bay without ever suffering a cut.