Chapter 4 and 5 will be a short break from action, and will focus on our four heroes. Since these two are totally from my imagination, they will take longer to dish out.

Chapter 4 will be with the Gerudos and Lana, and Chapter 5 is with Link and Impa, and that will directly connect with Chapter 6, when we return to action.

There is a time skip. The first two sections are when Joshua returns after Chapter 3. Then we skip to two and a half weeks later from the end of the last chapter. Also, since Twilight Princess is one of the levels in the game, and I'm pretending Hyrule Warriors is canon, this story takes place hundreds of years, with many heroes in between, after Four Swords Adventure in the Child Timeline since Ganon was killed in TP but reincarnated in FSA.

So, here's Chapter 4.

"I'm home! Helloooooo! Where is Lana?"

Joshua searched the the Gerudo Fortress looking for his friend. Unfortunately, he met with someone he didn't want to see yet, which is unusual considering that she's his best friend. His neglected best friend. The way she stood before him said that she didn't want to see him either.

The girl the in all red Gerudo attire, minus the veil, was leaning on his quarter's door, making note of the fact she had been inside. Normally he would question but the glare she was sending him was…frightening.

Her voice was equally as frightening. "Your Highness." That caught Josh off guard. He didn't expect his title to be spoken instead of his name… He had to make quick amends.

He smiled, trying to cool her down. "Aveil, hi. Happy to see you."

If her attitude fell, it didn't sound like it. "The Council requires your presence. Welcome back safe and sound."

He followed her. "Thank you."

The Gerudo made their way to the Council Room. Seven women made up the Council, with the eighth spot reserved for the king. Joshua despised these meetings, but unlike Zelda, who kept a cool head in her meetings...

He followed Aveil in the room, and they took their respective seats beside each other, Josh in his rightful chair, and Aveil to his right. "What the hell do y'all want that my safety isn't your priority? And where is Lana?"

The leading councilor was Nabooru, and despite their relationship outside this room, they were mortal enemies inside this room. "We happy to see you, Your Stupidness, and Lana is in her room."

"Was that snark, Nabs, or is it your time of the month? Wait, do you even have those things?"

The room was filled with tension, until Aveil broke it. She was angry at Joshua, yes, but she didn't like seeing her her mentor and her friend fight it out, which only happenend when one of them was in a bad mood. Aveil was jokingly called the future Gerudo Queen sometimes. "Your Highness, Lana told us everything."

"Did she? Well, here's what she didn't tell you. The cycle is repeating. The hero is back."

Low murmurs filled the room, and Josh raised his hand. "Now that's great news. Here's bad. Zelda is missing. We are at war. We need to step in and join the Hyruleans."

Nabooru shut him down. "No."

"Why, Ms. Snark?"

"This isn't our battle."

'Women' "Oh yes it is. One, I was attacked. That's automatic involvement. Two, we are all threatened. Goron, Zora, Kokiri, Hylian or Gerudo, you are threatened by this evil. Even that nose of yours can't save you."

Nabooru scowled, but the prince continued. "Three, you know who's coming. He's definitely our problem."

"That's impossible, his fragments are spread throughout time and space."

"Who has the Triforce of Power?"

Silence.

"Who has the Triforce of Wisdom?"

Silence.

"Who has the Triforce of Courage? One is with evil already, one is M.I.A., and the other is in Hyrule looking for his eternal companion. If Cia gets her hands on all three, who knows what she'll do. Is she Zant or Vaati? No. But could she be a puppet, just like them? Definitely."

They began to murmur once again until Nabooru signaled for silence. "You really want to get involved?"

"Yes."

"Then we will discuss this without you and give you our decision soon. You're dismissed, my prince." She turned to Aveil, softening her gaze a bit. "You're dismissed as well, Lady Aveil. Your relationship with the prince may put you in a bias situation."

"I don't know about that." She stood up and abruptly exited the room. Josh looked between the door and his mentor.

'Fix whatever it is between both of you," she mouthed to him. Josh nodded and exited the room right behind the girl in red.

She was going to the Arbiter's Grounds for sure. Josh knew his opportunity was wasted now, as he knew that there was no escaping her wrath there, unless he stopped her now. "Red?" She stopped, but didn't look at him. He jogged up behind her, and put a hand on her shoulder. 'Aveil, I -"

"Don't. I don't care for what you have to say, Joshua." She almost stormed off, but Josh grabbed her arm and spun her around to see her hardened face.

"What is wrong with you? Why do you hate her so much?"

If Aveil had the power of Fire instead of Lightning, Josh would see it now coming from her eyes. "She ruined everything."

"What do you mean she ruined everything?"

"You don't even remember." Aveil snatched her arm back and made her way to the Arbiter's Grounds. Josh almost called her name, but decided to return to his quarters.

Lana was enjoying the hot spring and enjoying breaking one of Joshua's rules. 'This is exactly what I needed.'

Instead of wearing her bathing suit, like she is supposed to, Lana decided that every muscle in her body needed to relax against the hot water. She didn't expect the prince to enter her for some time. After all, she did set up the council meeting so Josh would be distracted. She didn't want to go through this a fifth time.

Her suite was the royal suite, which included the prince's room, the hot spring, archery range, training yard, and a buffet. A 24 hour buffet. Lana couldn't ask for more. Except more fruit. Her plate was running low.

"You know Lana, I'm a man, and a naked woman is something we all want to see. Well, most of us."

'Damn!' She slowly turned to the prince, leaning on the spring's edge to hide her front. She had to think of a way to get him to leave. She tried seduction. He hates that. She put on a seductive look and winked at the prince. "But Joshie, I feel sooo good. I just want to relax without restriction. You should join. Maybe we can do...things that you might enjoy."

"Cia? Is that you? Lana would never speak like that."

She tried cute. She gave him the face he called 'irresistibly cute' a few days ago. "Please? Just one time. Today was stressful."

"Tell me about it, but I'm not naked. Get out. You know I'm trained not to be seduced. Keeps the family business going."

'Stupid thief training' "Leave first."

"No I'm staying here. Get out."

"But..."

"Get out backwards. We all got an ass. Some just got more than others."

"...ok" She got out her back facing him. "Happy?"

"Yep. Raise your arms so I can teach you how to come to my hot spring dressed appropriately." 'Goddesses, help me remember my training.'

She did as he said and felt a cloth cover her chest. "But it was so relaxing."

"You're the craziest girl I have ever met. Leg up."

'He's not even studying me. How rude!' "How are you doing this so calm? Dressing me up without feeling weird? And ignoring my flawless features?"

"Ha, ha, ha, you called this flawless. You still have the same skin tone when I met you yet you spent a month in the desert. That's a flaw. To answer your question, practice. When my women get hurt on expeditions, I feel like it's my duty to help. And it was part of my 'resist to seduction' training. So I generally...unclothed them since I know next to nothing about the anatomy of the body. It was weird at first, but it helped save my adopted mother's life once."

She was appropriate now so she faced him. "Really?"

"Yes. Before she was Ms. Snark. We Gerudo need each other, more than any other race. The desert is unforgiving. So we must be a pack. If one of us fall, we must pick her up. If she is hurt, we heal. If she is hungry, we feed. If she is thristy, water is given. In the desert, we're all we got. Even the council is included. United, we survive. Divided, we die. That's the Gerudo way. Even if a ten year old boy has to resist looking at unclothed women and stare straight into their face without struggling."

"Bet you felt something you never felt before."

"Yes, and that was brutal for one boy surrounded by hot women before he knew what hot women was and he would rule those hot women in his future. And he didn't understand why he felt that way until he started liking girls. Come on, let's enjoy ourselves."

Without warning, he pushed the sorceress into the spring. "That's for making me dress you. Don't let it happen again." She recovered and saw red spots cover his brown face.

'So he was blushing! Ha ha! I win!' Suddenly, he felt a wall hit his back and he fell in. Lana laughed at the embarrassed prince. "That's for not letting me relax. So how was the meeting I set up for you?"

They got comfortable in the spring and sat next to each other. They began to eat the fruit Lana had earlier. "Wonderful. Just wonderful. Thanks. They're thinking about my involvement, but the troops aren't going."

"Wow."

"Yea. The pacifists. Oh here's the roundup. Zelda is missing, but..."

"But?"

"The hero has appeared. Those two hit it off. I think they...oh, sorry. I forgot."

"It's okay. I'll have to get over it...You think I'll see him?"

"Definitely. Quite the charmer."

They were quiet for a moment. "Hey."

"Look."

"Listen, fool. Thanks."

"For what?"

"Helping me with my mission."

"Well, thank Zelda. Before you came around, she told me of her dreams. Also, thank Hyrule Historia."

"You read history?"

"Gotta keep up. Hey, guess what I told Impa."

"You didn't confess your love for her, did you?"

The prince and the sorceress laughed and enjoyed each other's company, unaware of their growing feelings for each other.

Only one felt it was love.

Two weeks later

"Yes."

"What's the catch? I know there is one."

"This will be your trial."

"The Rites of Kingship trial?"

"Exactly."

"Thank you councilors. The two of us will depart in two days' time. In my absence, Lady Aveil will oversee my duties as your temporary Queen. Adjourned."

Josh ran to his room and found Lana inside. They grew closer over the last two weeks, training for the upcoming battles they knew were coming. Despite her feelings for the hero, Lana also began to like the prince. It was obvious that he liked her, but he made it too obvious. She was unaware that she did the same, but Josh, focused on training, was unaware to everything. So here she was, sitting on his bed, eating an apple, when he busted in.

"They said yes!"

"That's great! When shall we depart?"

"Two days."

"Great. Apple?"

"Toss it." The two teens ate their apples and laid on the prince's bed. "Where are we going, my cute sorceress?"

"To the forest, my evil king."

"Why, my diabolical witch?"

"I had a vision while meditating, and I saw the Kokiri needing aid from the monsters. There's some Hyrulean troops there, so if they see you..."

"They will follow my command. Beautiful."

"Me or my plan?"

"Me of course. Come on. We got two day to pack. Then we teleport to the Faron Woods."

"How? That's a long journey. A lot of magical energy wasted."

"'The flow of time is always cruel. Its speed seems different for each person, but no one can change it. A thing that doesn't change with time is a memory of younger days. In order to come back here again, play the Minuet of Forest.'"

"Sheik from the Era of Time. Wow, you recited that perfectly. Do them all."

"'To restore the Desert Colossus and enter the Spirit Temple, you must travel back through time's flow. Listen to this Requiem of Spirit. This melody will lead a child back to the desert.' How true that last phrase is."

"Yeah."

"'Time passes, people move. Like a river flows, it never ends. A childish mind will turn to noble ambition.'" He turned to Lana. "'Young love will become deep affection. The clear water's surface reflects growth. Now listen to the Serenade of Water to reflect upon yourself.'" They both turned to face the ceiling.

They laid there, thinking about the words of the Sheikah. Lana started to move. "I should get ready. See you later, Josh."

"Yea."

She left his presence, and kept her mind on the words of the ancient heroine.

'Young love will become deep affection.'

Two days later

"In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight. In the jungle, the quiet jungle, the Skull Kid sleeps tonight."

The two teens walked in the Faron Woods, going towards the Kokiri Village with the Hyrulean troops from a nearby outpost. To entertain themselves, they sang this song together.

They heard music. The duo knew exactly what it was.

"Follow the music. That's Saria's Song!"

Minutes later, the forces of good arrived near the village.

"Lana?"

"Makar? Fado?"

The two Kokiri boys joined our heroes. "You are expected. The Great Deku Tree has foretold your arrival." Fado turned to the prince. "Prince Josh of the Gerudos?"

"In the flesh. It's an honor to be in the Kokiri's presence. I dreamed of meeting one, under better circumstances."

"Happy to know, but time is cruel. You must meet with the Great Deku. We'll assist the troops."

Our heroes walked to the large tree, admiring the sights along the way. The peace. The beauty. Yet they know it won't last long.

"Ah, the King of Theives and the Light Sorceress. Welcome."

Josh spoke first. "It is an honor, Great Deku. I see that time hasn't taken your kind spirit."

"It has been over a millennium since the Hero of Time, yet it feels like a decade."

"Like the Princess of Destiny told her Hero, time is different for everyone. But what does this honor of meeting you have in store for us."

"Lana, does he know?"

"He made me spill the beans."

"That was fun."

"Since he knowns everything, then you should know this:the Hero and the Princess can't save Hyrule alone this time. You two won't be enough to help them either. If Cia gains the complete Triforce and revives the Demon King, he won't be fully powered. The Master Sword keeps the fourth fragment seal. At all costs, don't let her complete the Triforce."

Lana was confused. "You said we're not enough. What shall we do?"

Josh had an answer. "Find more allies. If he returns, or if Cia gets too powerful, the Master Sword must be pulled. But how will we gain more allies?"

"The answer lies in fate, young ones. That is for you to figure out."

I woke up with the beginning of the hot spring scene in mind. I don't know why, but then I let it roll with the 'training to resist seduction' and 'how the Gerudo are this' and here we are. Blame it on Kid Icarus Uprising. It was weird writing it, but I enjoyed it. Such a chivalrous man our prince is, in his own special way.

The last two scenes kinda just happened as I typed. Sheik's intro of The Serenade of Water is probably my favorite, as, to me, hints at a lot of things in OoT. But here, I just want to emphasize the one sentence you see italicized.

Also, I reference the Minuet of Forest in the last scene accidentally, but once again, I rolled with it.

The two Kokiris named are the names of the Sages of Wind in Wind Waker (my favorite Zelda game). Aveil is from Majoras's Mask and is believed to be Nabooru's Second in Command in OoT.

Next chapter, Link and Impa are pissed. No sight of Zelda for three weeks. How will the chapter play out?

Stories about the three Hylians. Yeah. Either that or Link trying to learn about the other heroes before him. Or both.

Thanks for reading, reviewing, following and for the favorites. Chapter 5 will be either up tomorrow or Thursday.

Edit: To go along with the revamp of the story, I added more to Aveil's character here. She will be play a major role later in the story.