Quick warning: There is gonna be some blood, violence, and death.

Chapter 14

The full moon glows brightly in the night sky. It served as the only light source for the labor camp at the shores of Lake Hylia. Operations had ceased for the day several hours prior. The slaves rest on a small wooden island built upon a floatation device strong enough to hold them all. Soldiers assigned at the lake patrol around the camp. Two of which stood guarding the entrance. They also spot a horse-drawn wagon, driven by a soldier, heading towards them. The guards motioned the driver to stop.

"State your business," One of the guards commanded the driver.

"Ah, c'mon, Charlie! It's me, Gari!"

"State your business."

The driver rolled his eyes. "I'm here on a delivery run. Satisfied?"

"I'm only following procedure," Charlie defended. "You realize you're late, right?"

"You try moving a dead Bokoblin out of the road yourself!"

"Yeah yeah, just get in. You're lucky the boss retired for the night."

"Thanks, man!"

The driver rode into the camp before settling his wagon near some crates. Letting out a yawn and stretching his arms, he walked away from the cart. The tarp covering the wagon shifted slightly, with a pair of blue eyes poking out.

"The coast clear?

"Yeah." Link exited the wagon, followed by Sheik, Zelda, Ashei, and Shad.

While discussing plans to sneak in, Makos mentioned that Vaati always receives a large wagon of food from his soldiers and slaves every several weeks. Just their luck, one of those deliveries happened to be tonight. All it took was planting one of the dead Bokoblins that perished during their fight earlier onto the narrow road to distract the driver so that all four of them could sneak on. The group ducked behind several crates as a guard strolled by them. Once he was gone, they scanned around the camp.

"Over there." Sheik pointed to an area of the camp that had canons.

"The weapons?" Link asks.

"Seems like it."

"That is more than I originally thought." Shad glances into his bag. "I sure hope I brought enough bombs."

"First, we must take control of The Watchtower."

Sheik pointed to a dark tower not too far from where the canons were. The building is so tall. Link swore it was as big as The Great Faron Tree. Two guards were seen at the top of the tower. They would move positions every few minutes.

"Alright, just like we discussed. We move out one at a time. The guards move, and we move. Got it?" Everyone nodded.

Sheik was the first to move. He managed to make it swift & quick, thanks to his Sheikah training. Link was the next one to move and accomplish to get over without incident. When Zelda's turn came, she ran at the fastest speed she had ever done.

"I hadn't run that fast since the goats escaped the ranch and stampeded the village that once. You remember that?" Zelda said in-betweens breathes

"Of course. I helped round them up," Link responded with a smile.

"I hate to interrupt you guys reminiscing, but we still need to focus," Sheik reminded them.

Ashei is the second to last person to run across. Like Sheik, she, too, made it without issues. That just left Shad. The young scholar took a deep breath before making his dash. All was going well until he unexpectedly tripped. Shad quickly dived behind a huge rock that barely covered him just as one of the tower guards looked in his direction.

Everyone held their breath as the guard continued to search around, not daring to say a word. Shad remained still despite being the tensest of them all. After several tense moments, the guard finally moved away. Shad took that moment to join up with the others.

"Are you alright?" Sheik asked.

"I'm fine," Shad insisted

"You gotta be more careful, Shad," Ashei implored.

"I know."

"Now that we got that over with, what now? Zelda looks to Sheik.

"You, Link, and I will take out the guards. Ashei & Shad will stay here and keep guard."

Sheik, Link, and Zelda entered through the base of the watchtower. They walked several flights of stairs quickly but carefully. The closer to the top, the more careful they were. Soon, they reached the hatch connecting them to the top. The masked warrior signaled them to quiet down with his hand while he placed the other on the latch door. He lifted his hand, all five fingers straight out. Sheik lowered one finger at a time.

4….3...2...1.

Sheik quickly busted the hatch door open. All three of them quickly got to the top. The two guards were so surprised they could not react correctly. Link knocked out one heading towards a bell alarm, which he also disabled. Sheik manages to grab hold of the other. Zelda helped him tie down the guard. Link ran over to assist them.

"Who-what are you?" The guard quavered.

"You know who we are. You'll be a lot helpful to us by not alerting your friends." Sheik whispered in a threatening manner. "Now you'll be bigger to help us if you…."

As Sheik commanded the guard, the three rebels did not realize that the knocked-out guard on the other side had awakened. He slowly reached for something in his pocket. The captured guard noticed his partner had something in his hand.

"...You got all that?" Sheik stressed.

The tied-up guard gave a slight smirk. "Oh, I do."

The sound of flickering caught their ears. They turned and saw the free guard with what appeared to be a bomb. While they ran over to stop them, he threw the bomb in the air before Link punched him, knocking him out. The bomb exploded in the air.

Almost instantly, dozens of soldiers from every corner of the camp surround the tower. They were completely blocked off.

"Your doom is right upon you, rebel scum," The tied guard mocked. "Vaati is much smarter than you give him cre-." The guard didn't finish his sentence as Zelda used her bow to knock him out.

"He was done."

"Too bad he doesn't know that we also have a trick up our sleeves," Link said.

"I hope the next part of your plan works, Link," Sheik said.

"Believe me, I hope so too."

Vaati soon joined up with the soldiers wanting to see the commotion. He went over to his captain. "What's the situation, Captain?"

"It would seem that the Watchtower has been infiltrated, sir."

"By who? No bandits would be bold enough to sneak in."

"They didn't look like bandits. I think it's more likely members of The Resistance."

The purple-clad man did not respond as he glanced at the tower. Ganondorf had warned him of the possibility that The Resistance would try to liberate his camp as they did to others. Vaati didn't believe they would be bold enough to do such a thing considering the geography here, nor with small numbers, which he found odd. Nonetheless, he hopes to deal with the situation as swiftly as possible.

"Is the tower surrounded?"

"Yes, warden." The captain noticed Vaati's curious look on his face. "Is there something you have in mind?

"Bring out the latest in the line of cannons."

"Are you sure that's necessary?"

"Intimidation is how you get one to submit. Even if the rebels don't comply, they stand no chance against my creations."

It was about several minutes before one of the cannons was brought over to the tower's location. Vaati then decided to make his presence known to the intruders.

"I know you're in there, rebels!" Vaati's voice bellowed throughout the region. "Did you think you could sneak in here without me knowing? Truly, I had expected better, but that does not matter now. Normally I don't do this, but I'm in a generous mood. I'm giving you rebels two choices. Your first choice is to surrender, and you'll be granted a trial. If you don't, my friends here care for you themselves."

Silence loomed in the air as Vaati waited for a response or movement from the other side. He's prepared for the outcome, both easy and hard. Though he had hoped more for the latter. Finally, two people emerged from the barricade and walked several feet toward him.

"Ready your weapons, troops!"

The soldiers did as they were told and steadied their cannons and weapons. Vaati observed the pair of rebels walking to them. One was a blonde man dressed in a green tunic, wearing a mask of the same color around his eyes. Next to him was a brown-haired woman dressed in a blue suit wearing a mask covering the lower half of her face.

The man in green is what interested the camp warden the most. Over the past several weeks, Vaati had heard rumors of a man dressed in green that was robbing soldiers. He had never really believed in them, seeing that no one could describe him well other than that he wore green. Seeing that the man approaching appeared to have some traits convinced him otherwise. Then, a wicked smirk grew on Vaati's lips.

"It appears that the rumors of the green man were true. And I have him in my grasp. I bring him in, and King Ganondorf will be most definitely pleased. This day just keeps getting better and better."

Although they appeared calm, Link & Zelda were nervous. There was a whole line of soldiers that made them feel both small. Nonetheless, they did not back down nor show any fear.

"No turning back now," Zelda stated uncertainly.

"Just get your bow ready. This will work." Link promised

Link moved a few feet ahead. Along the line of soldiers, he spotted Vaati in the dead center.

"Are you Vaati?"

"That I am. Have you accepted your surrender?"

"No, but I am offering this ultimatum: Drop your weapons, free the slaves, let us all leave, and we can end this peacefully."

Vaati only gave an astonished silence, quickly replaced by loud laughter. Some of his soldiers joined in as well. Link was not fazed by it. The laughter continued for several moments until Vaati calmed himself down.

"I don't think you understand the position you're in. I'm giving you the chance to let you all keep your lives. Because if you don't, my weapon here..." Vaati pointed towards the cannon. "...Will be your parting gift. In that, it will part you. Part of you here, part of you there, and part of you way over there staining the ground..."

"How do we know you're not bluffing?"

"Rest assured, this can do a significant amount of damage. Why just a few months ago, I used it to take care of a 'pest problem' in the Ordon province. Thanks to my creation, those who conspire against the king who inhabited there were terminated."

Zelda let out a small gasp. They were facing the driving force of Ordon's destruction. Quickly getting over her own shock, she brings her attention to Link. Rage had risen within him at Vaati's confession of being the one to carry out the Ordon Attack. Despite maintaining his composure, his anger did not hold back.

"You and I both know damn well that's not the truth!"

"How would you know? It's not like you were there. Regardless, my prototype alone wiped out the threat. Imagine what my fully operational canon could do to your little group."

"Then you give us no choice." Link gestured for Zelda to move up.

Vaati kept his eyes on Zelda as she walked right next to Link. He could not help but admit that the bow she carried was elegantly carved. Vaati's observation of the girl continued as she pulled out an unusually bright color arrow, an odd design choice he had told himself. Vaati watched the girl aim the hand at his cannon.

"Last chance!" Link yells out.

"You think one small piece of wood can take down my weapon? You rebels never fail to amuse me. Tell you what, I'll indulge in this little game of yours. I'll let your friend take her shot. Then we'll see if you both can escape the lines of my arrows." The front line of soldiers pointed their crossbows at the pair. It was evident that Vaati was serious about his threat. "Go ahead. Shoot."

Link stepped out of Zelda's view. The line of cannons was clear. She aimed her arrow right toward them. She could see Vaati's smug look on his face. He clearly expected the hand to fail to destroy the cannons. Zelda closes her eyes momentarily, taking several breaths as she recalls when Farore explained the Light Arrows' capability of taking down objects regular arrows cannot.

For a moment, she hesitated until a voice whispered in her head.

Let go...

Zelda released her fingers from the string, and out came the arrow. Time seems to run slowly for the two friends and the rebels as the arrow flies to its destination. When it hit its target, the outcome was something both sides never imagined.

The cannon that the arrow had hit erupted in a fiery explosion. Those near the cannons were killed instantly, while the explosion wave knocked the rest backward. Link & Zelda, we're just far enough to only fall back from the impact. The same was said for Vaati. For a moment, the soldiers that weren't knocked over were in shock.

It took nearly a moment for the friends to snap out of their shock and resume their plan. Link quickly got to his feet and helped Zelda up, making a run back to their group.

"Blow the signal!"

Sheik pulled out a small horn bugle and gave a decisive blow into it. On the high rock walls surrounding the camp, another group, led by Makos, lay hidden until he heard the horn.

"That's the signal! Archers form up!" The Zora commanded.

Everyone with a bow or crossbow lined up at the edge of the cliffs. Among the archers is Ilia herself. Like Makos promised, he put her in a position where she would not have to engage in close combat but decided to put her crossbow skills to work. Truth be told, she was feeling a bit nervous about this.

"Don't stress yourself," Makos attempted to calm her nerves. "We should be fine up here but do not lose your guard. Just shoot at anyone that's attacking our people or us. And try not to get shot."

The teen took aim at the dazed soldiers. Her heart beat faster, but she could not fathom why. This is what she wanted, right? Why was she nervous then?

"Take aim!" Makos's voice seized her thoughts. "FIRE!"

With that, Ilia, along with the other archers, fired their arrows. Most arrows landed at their target, which was the soldiers. Many of the soldiers dropped to the ground like flies. So many arrows were fired that Ilia didn't know if she had hit someone or not, and she didn't know if that was good or bad.

"Don't stop now. Keep firing!" Makos commanded with more urgency.

Ilia continued to follow his orders. Whatever doubts she has, she would have to cast aside for now.

The soldiers on the ground were scattered, scrambling to cover themselves from the waves of arrows launching at them. Several of the archers above started to swing down to the floor on ropes to give ground support. What the soldiers didn't know was that it was only the beginning.

The sounds of horses running came from the entrance of the camp. A wave of people on horseback was charging towards the soldiers. They were led by Impa, naginata in her hand, with Auru by her side. The soldiers barely had enough time to get whatever weapons they could before the rebels clashed with them.

Near the watchtower, Link & Zelda manage to get back with their group before the start of the battle.

"Are you two alright?" Ashei asked.

"We just faced a madman with cannons and a dozen soldiers pointing crossbows at us. We're doing just dandy," Zelda replied with sarcasm.

"But at least it worked. Vaati fell right into our trap," Link expressed.

It had been a simple plan. The rebels knew they couldn't waltz into the camp while risking the lives of their fighters. The goal was to lure Vaati out, thinking it was a small group of rebels sneaking in. Once he had that false sense of security, The Resistance would take him by surprise with an attack from the ground and the high ground.

"Looks like phase two is already set in motion," Sheik noted as he looked at the battle. "Ashei, Shad, get over to those cannons and blow them up!"

"We're on it!" Ashei declared.

"Right behind you!" Shad stated as they both ran in the direction of the cannons.

"What about us?" Link asks.

"We do what everyone else is doing: Fight in battle, and don't get killed." Sheik pulled out his long blade sword, charging out into battle.

"We have to help them!" Link exclaimed.

"Link, wait!"

At that moment, an arrowhead flew by Link's head, barely missing him by several inches. This prompted him & Zelda to duck into their hiding spot.

All pair did was watch the battle go on from their hiding spot. This battle is something they have never been through before in their lives. Everyone from both sides fought each other. They had learned about battles from the wars that Hyrule had taken part in throughout the kingdom's history. They expected something like this to happen but didn't realize how bloody this battle had turned out. Fighting monsters was nothing compared to this.

Vaati had hidden behind a crate as the battle went on. In just moments, he was having the best moment of his life, one of the worst. His troops were dropping like flies. Soon, the rebels would make their way and destroy all the weapons that took days, if not weeks, to create. Just then, he recalled that his blueprints were still in his tent. He can run with the plans if he can't escape with the cannons.

"Warden Vaati! What do we do?" A guard spoke to him.

"Gather anyone nearby who hasn't been slain and get me to my tent!"

"By the other soldiers-"

"Are doing their duty! Now do your job and protect me!"

The guard nodded and started calling for those available. In all honesty, Vaati didn't care what happened to the soldiers. It was their job to do anyways. Dying just came with it. The warden didn't hesitate as he ran to his tent.

Not too far, Link had spotted him. The word 'Coward' is what Link could say about Vaati right now.

"He boasts about fighting, yet when it comes, he runs."

Link noticed the directions Vaati was heading. He watches the warden run into a large tent, which Link assumes he resides, escorted by at least five guards. Link knew the man intended to avoid sticking to the battle's end.

"Not if I have something to say about it."

Link was about to start heading in the other direction, away from the cover, until he felt something grab his arm.

"What are you doing?" Zelda tugged Link's arm.

"Vaati is trying to escape! We have to stop him!"

"With just the two of us? He's surrounded by guards!"

"He's not planning to stick around. Look at how he's making a beeline for the tent rather than a horse or staying and fighting. My rupee's bet that he may have something valuable in there. Maybe some sort of plan for these weapons. If he escapes with them, he'll create more cannons and destroy more villages."

"It's not going to be easy getting through the battlefield."

"We're the goddesses chosen ones. I think we can do it."

Despite bloodbaths from left to right, Ashei & Shad manage to get to the cannon yard as quickly as they did. They were hiding behind a wagon when they noticed several soldiers stationed in front of the yard in an attempt to protect them.

"Think we can take them with just two of us?" Shad wondered.

"Definitely yes," Ashei said with complete confidence. "But how do we approach?"

Shad glances around the area when he finds a metal shield lying on the ground. Ashei looked at him and the shield before realizing what he had in mind.

Shad got the shield while Ashei dashed several feet away from the wagon. The scholar placed himself back near the wagon with the shield facing Ashei. He gave the signal for Ashei to run. Armed with a bow and three arrows, Ashei ran straight towards him, placing her foot on the shield as Shad lifted it as hard as he did. Ashei soared in the air, aiming at the soldiers and shooting the three arrows, all of which hit their mark.

Once Ashei landed, she immediately engaged in combat with the remaining soldiers. Shad took that moment to dash towards the cannon yard. A soldier that was noticeably bigger than the others appeared, blocking Shad's path.

The Big Soldier sneered down at him. "This is what the Resistance sends against me. HA! I'll snap you like a twig."

"Stay back. I'm armed and will defend myself If needed." Shad pointed his dagger at the big soldier.

"Well then, let's see how you can handle this."

Big Soldier pulled out his giant sword and swung it at Shad. Dodging was easy, thanks to his smaller size, but the scholar knew he could only rely on it briefly. Another swing came for Big Soldier, and Shad used his dagger to block it. He pushed back against the soldier's sword as hard as possible, but his opponent was much more robust. The soldier then goes against him so hard that it knocks Shad down. The soldier then grabbed Shad by his throat and lifted him. With his free hand clenching the soldier's hands on his throat, Shad attempts to strike him with his dagger, only for that hand to be caught.

"To think someone as scrawny as you thought you could stand against me is pathetic."

"I-I may n-not be s-strong..." Shad released his dagger from his grip, using his free hand to catch it as it fell, and shoved it up the soldier's throat. "But I'm s-smarter."

The grip around Shad's throat loosened, and he dropped onto the ground, coughing in air. Big Soldier made gurgling noises, desperately holding on to his wound before landing face first and succumbing to them. A puddle of blood slowly formed around the deceased body while Shad watched.

"Shad! Are you alright?" Ashei ran up to him.

"I've been through worse." With Ashei's help, Shad slowly got on his feet. His eyes went back to the body of Big Soldier. "After five years, I should've gotten used to this, yet I still despise doing it…."

"You did what you had to do. It was-."

"Either me or him, I know," Shad interjected. "Come on. I can't fret over this. We got a job to do."

Both quickly dash towards the cannon yard. There were rows of lines of cannons. Every one of them appears to be ready for battle.

"That's a lot of them. How are we gonna blow all those cannons?" Ashei examined the many weapons

Something caught red in the corner of Shad's eye. There were several red barrels with skulls on them. Everyone in Hyrule knew if there was a red barrel, it was filled with explosive powder.

"Those red barrels should help us. We'll use the powder to create a chain reaction." Shad ran up to one and picked one up. "Help me with them."

From her position, Ilia could see the battle playing out before her eyes. She and the other archers had continued to give air support. The longer the battle went on, the more Ilia believed that she should've listened to Zelda. Every shot she made at the enemy soldiers made her stomach uneasy. Ilia had read stories of battles of Hyrule's past wars. They always talked about the honor & glory the soldiers had to seek. They never mention the violence & death that came along.

Despite spilling blood, she still keeps her cool to help her allies. Everyone is counting on her to play her part. She'll worry about the consequences later. Whenever no one was shooting at them, Ilia tried to look for Zelda and/or Link, but every attempt failed to locate them. The next time she looked around, she managed to spot Impa & Sheik fighting.

The two sheikah fought against their foes flawlessly. Impa used her naginata to strike down opponents with no issue. The soldiers fighting against Sheik barely had the chance to fight before being struck down by the younger sheikah. At one point, Impa lifted Sheik high enough for him to spin and threw out small needle weapons, all of which hit their targets. One of the things Impa learned from her training was that teamwork being the best strategy. No matter the numbers, good cooperation can lead to victory. It's a belief that she was taught and passed down to her apprentice. The mere soldiers stood no chance against years of their training.

The Master & Apprentice took down the last of their attackers when they heard shouting. Several Resistance fighters were being overwhelmed by the soldiers. They were about to go help them when they heard more shouting. More soldiers armed with shields and spears were charging toward them.

"Go help them. I got these guys," Sheik insisted.

"Are you certain?"

"I am. Go."

"Goddesses protect you."

Impa ran in the other direction, leaving Sheik to deal with his attackers. She helped her allies take out the soldiers within minutes. Unknown to her, another soldier charged her in a sneak attack attempt from behind. When she turned to defend herself, Auru appeared and struck down the soldier.

"Don't mind me. Figure you could use some help." Auru said nonchalantly

"Your help is always appreciated." Impa retorted before she and Auru continued to face more soldiers

The mere soldiers stood no chance against Sheik. Just after he took down the last soldier, three more armed with spears & shields charged toward him. He stood his ground as the soldiers got close enough to stop. Each of the three shouted at him.

"Surrender now, Sheikah traitor!"

"Well, take you down, rebel scum!"

"We outnumber you! We can take you down easy."

"Then, by all means, bring it on." Sheik sheathed his sword and made a 'come here' gesture with his hand.

The three soldiers momentarily look at each other in confusion before running towards Sheik, spears sticking out. As they ran, Sheik put his hands together meditatively, closing his eyes. Deep breaths escaped through his nostrils as he stood, not even flinching when the men got closer. Then just as the soldiers were about to strike him down, a small puff of black smoke surrounded Sheik before he seemingly disappeared. Before the soldiers realized what just occurred, a strong force struck from behind them. Their eyes rolled to the back of their heads as all three fell forward simultaneously. Standing behind them is Sheik with his long blade in his hand.

Unbeknownst to him that Ilia had seen the entire thing unfold from her spot. She was so memorized that she forgot to keep on firing. A soldier below armed himself with a bow aimed at her and launched an arrow. By the time Ilia saw the arrow, it had narrowly missed her head, but its tip was close enough to graze her cheek, which knocked her down.

"Kid!" Makos quickly went to her side and was relieved to see her alive. He knew the gash of blood slowly going down her cheek. "Are you okay?"

"I think an arrow grazed me." Ilia slowly sat up, stroking her fingers against her cut.

"Judging by that gash, I say it was a close call. Another inch, and you'd be dead."

Ilia did not respond to that statement as she stared at the blood on her fingers.

"Hey, boss, the soldiers are falling back! We're winning this thing!" One of the archers shouted.

"Good. Our friends down below should be able to handle the rest then." Makos brought his attention back to Ilia. "Come, let's get that cut taken care of. Hopefully, you won't need stitches."

After getting through the battlefield, Link & Zelda were close to Vaati's tent. They hid behind a huge crate. They could look around the tent better with a much closer view. At least about ten soldiers were standing outside the large tent. Half are armed with crossbows, while the other half have swords. Also, by their side is one of Vaati's canons.

Zelda moved from her hiding spot to shoot an arrow into the shoulder of a guard with a sword, which got the other's attention as they saw Link jump out from his hiding spot.

"It-its them!" One of them shouted.

"Don't stand there! Kill them!"

The guards with the crossbows took charge and fired their bolts. They did not count on Link's quick reflexes to dodge them. Within minutes, he knocked those guards out. The guard close to the canon lit the fuse, which caused the weapon to fire. At the range they were at, Zelda was only quick enough to fire a light arrow at a flying cannonball. It didn't have the same effect earlier, but it knocked some soldiers down. Link quickly went over to the cannon and sliced it into two with the Master Sword.

Some of the soldiers that weren't knocked over fled the scene. Now that was left were the soldiers with swords. A couple of them went towards the pair. Link fights at ease with them, though the same couldn't be said about Zelda. Zelda isn't very experienced with close combat. Fortunately, her training with Impa was enough to at least defend herself.

"You!" Zelda heard right after she took down another opponent. She turned to the voice's origin to see a soldier, sword in hand, with an angry look on his face, nearby. "Some of my friends are now dead because of you! I shall avenge them by spilling your blood!"

The soldier gave several quick swings toward Zelda. Each time was getting faster, so much so that Zelda could barely get out of the way. One swing from it gave an extended cut on her upper arm. She let out a small shriek of pain before giving another louder one as the soldier kicked her down, causing her to fall hard on the side of her cut arm. The soldier swung his sword at Zelda, who lifted her arms in a last-ditch effort to defend herself. Much to her, and the soldier's surprise, her red wrist cuffs had enough force to stop the killing blow. Nonetheless, Zelda could feel the pressure from him pushing against her.

Not too far, Link defeated his opponent. He turned and saw Zelda barely holding against her opponent. The man kicked Zelda again, leaving her in a daze. Link knew he had to decide, or else Zelda was done for.

"And now you shall die, bitch!" The soldier went to make the final blow. Instead, he gave out a grunt, and the grip on his sword was now gone. The front end of a blade was sticking out in the middle of his chest. The blade pulled out, leaving the guard to clutch his wound as he fell to the ground. The one who killed him is Link.

Link and Zelda stared at each other momentarily, piecing together what had just transpired. Then Link looked down at the corpse. A sick feeling churned in his stomach as he looked. That was pushed aside as he was more concerned with Zelda.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's just a cut," Zelda stood up, clutching her wound. "What about you?"

"Y-yes, I-I'm fine," Link stuttered before straightening himself up. "Come one. We need to stop Vaati."

Getting over the shock, they made their way to the tent. When they got close, they noticed that it was too quiet. This made Link suspicious.

"I'll go in. You go around, but be quiet."

Zelda gave an acknowledging nod. Both friends split up, being quiet enough to not alert Vaati. Link slowly entered the tent, sword & shield up in case Vaati planned a sneak attack. The inside of the tent was spacious, even more so than Impa's back at the base. Diagrams hung on its walls while papers were scattered all over the ground, most likely ideas for more weapons Vaati had planned. A box appeared to be hastily opened on a desk that had recently been moved around. Link soon noticed the other end of the tent had a flap open that looked to be carelessly left open. Link quickly went in that direction, not preparing for the scene.

Vaati was standing a few feet in front of him. In his arms is a terrified young girl who appeared to be around Ilia's age and had a knife pointed at her neck.

"Come closer, and she dies." Vaati pressed the blade tip hard on the girl's neck, enough to draw blood.

"Stop this madness! This is over!" Link demanded.

"Over for you but not for her. It would be a shame to spill this beauty's blood before I have a chance with her." Link tried to contain his rage over Vaati's disgusting words. "Now you and your little rebels will let me and lovely girl leave this establishment. I know you rebels have no issues killing my men, but you won't risk an innocent life."

"You're right. We wouldn't do that. But there's also something else." An arrow struck Vaati's leg, which caused him to release the girl as he fell to the ground in pain. Standing in the direction, the arrow came from is Zelda. "We don't do things alone either."

Shad and Ashei emptied the last powder in the cannon yard in the red barrels. With a combination of that plus Shad's bombs, it would make one massive explosion. He urged Ashei to move away from the area if the blast radius was more prominent than he intended. Shad pulled out a matchstick and lit it. Quickly surveyed the room, ensuring everything was in place before releasing the match from his fingers. The scholar ran like a madman, yelling as loud as his voice to warn everyone.

"EVERYONE GET BACK!"

Giant balls of flames brighten up the battlefield, with loud booms soon following. Vaati could only look in disbelief as he watched his creations burn away. All his soldiers were either dead or long gone. No weapons, no troops, and injured he truly had lost. Link points the tip of The Master Sword towards Vaati, with Zelda by his side with her bow pointed at the man in case he tries to pull something.

"You're operations here, and the torment of these people is over," Zelda proclaimed.

"Please. Have mercy on me!" Vaati begged

Link pressed the blade closer to his throat. "Mercy? Did you show mercy to that man you killed yesterday? Or to my friend's mother when she begged you to stop whipping her son? Or to the village who did NOTHING to deserve the destruction you caused?!"

"Enough!" Impa approaches the group.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me…."

"It's fine." Impa turns her attention to Vaati. She pulls down her face mask, giving the coldest stern expression.

"Impa…" Vaati muttered the name with such poison. "Of course, a traitor like you would be behind this.

The Sheikah didn't respond, showing that she was unfazed. Link remembers the lone box he saw back in Vaati's tent.

"We need to search him. He might have something important on him. Why else would he come here and not fight alongside his men, aside from running away."

Impa lifted Vaati from behind by his arms. Link felt around Vaati's clothes, ignoring the shouting and thrashing from him. Link pulled out a folded piece of paper. Unfolding it revealed schematics for the cannons. Impa dropped Vaati, and a yelp escaped him. The older woman examined the schematics for several moments before folding them back and hiding them in her clothes.

"You won't be needing this anymore."

Vaati let out a huff. "You think destroying my weapons and taking my plans will stop King Ganondorf. With each victory you accomplish, you're only delaying your inevitable demise."

"Look around you, Vaati. You have an arrow in your leg. Your troops have abandoned you. Your weapons and your control of this camp are gone. If we can stop the likes of you, my group will be fine.

"Then go ahead, do it. Kill me."

"Enough blood has been shed at this Lake."

"Then what are you going to do with me?"

"We're gonna send a message to Ganondorf." Impa gave him a triumphed smirk.

A substantial wooden building lies on the island in the middle of the lake. A product of Vaati's genius, it was large enough to house the slaves but stable enough to keep afloat in the large lake. In it are the slaves that lived there. They were awoken by shouting, cannon fire, and an explosion. They were awake, waiting to see or hear what had happened.

Eventually, the man-made building shifted, and everyone could feel slow movement. Once they stopped moving, the large doors opened up. The early morning sunlight came in, and most winced for a moment. Once their vision becomes clear, they see a man dressed in a green tunic standing at the entrance.

Link looks at all the individuals in the building. There were perhaps maybe over a hundred people crammed in here. He could see the looks of despair and hopelessness on their faces. Now they no longer will face those days.

"Who are you?" A man walked up to Link.

"Someone who has freed you."

Well...A lot has happened in the world since the I uploaded the last chapter hasn't it. Things have really gone to hell with this pandemic and protests in my country (I live in the USA if you don't get what I mean).

Anyways this chapter took me a while. I never wrote battle scenes so this was challenging. I use some influence to help me such as the scene from the Wonder Woman film where the Amazons fight the Germans (even threw some references in here just for fun). I hope you guys enjoy the final result.

Favs, Follows, and Reviews are appreciated.