~*~

Link wasn't sure why he was so shocked that his plan had worked. It was how he had originally made it into Gerudo Town in the first place. Looking around, it truly amazed Link how little the town had changed, it looked nearly identical to how it might look like 100 years in the future. ' How strange to be in a world I'm not even a part of. The job of a hero sure is confusing sometimes.'

Before he could request an audience with the chief, Link had to make sure that he had all his talking points straight. He needed to make sure to be clear and as open and honest as he could be with the proud Gerudo chief without saying too much.

'I just need her to be the one to deliver the message to the royal family. It'll warn everyone while enabling me to keepmy freedom to make a plan on matters with the Triforce.' He knew it wouldn't last forever, but he wanted every second he could spare doing things his way and on his own terms.

He made his way into the bar and ordered a Noble Pursuit. "My, aren't you a little young for one?" The beautiful vai behind the bar looked at Link with a raised brow. He may be a few years older but he supposed he still looked young.

"I'm old enough." Link replied in a quiet tone, looking directly at the vai.

Clicking her tongue, the Gerudo vai smiled and began preparing the drink. After a few moments, the exotic and refreshing drink was put in front of Link. "Don't drink it too fast." The vai winked at Link. He just nodded and smiled. 'The less I say, the better.' He thought to himself while enjoying his drink. ' Damn that's good! Goddess knows I needed this.'

After a few minutes, Link finished his drink, he nodded his thanks and went to find a place in the plaza with shade. He was thankful that the vai had given him a virgin Noble Pursuit.

"So what are you going to tell the Gerudo chief?" The little fairy's voice echoed in his head.

'The truth, but only as much as she needs to hear.' Link thought back while sitting at the base of a tree. When had he gotten used to this? He let out a sigh.

He supposed he started trusting the little fairy when it had been a shock to them both about the future of this Hyrule. "I just knew I had to find a hero. It just turned out to be you." Link recalled what the pipsqueak had told him after the shocking truth the Deku Tree had unleashed. It was then that he had realized that the little fairy was just desperate to save its home from total destruction.

Knowing how many people were relying on him, Link stood up and headed towards the grand stairs he had just gone up the other day to see Riju. The nervous, pent up energy in his system gave him the last push to meet with Urbosa.

He could admit to himself he was scared to come face to face with a friend he had lost. 'What a way to confront my failures.' Link mused.

"Hey! Focus!" The little fairy's twinkling voice echoed in his head, annoyed. Link just scoffed.

Once inside, Link bowed to the tall Gerudo chief who was lounging in her throne. 'Must be a chief thing.' He thought to himself, remembering the similar lounging pose Riju had.

"What do we have here? What business brings you all the way out here Hylian vai?" The proud Gerudo got straight to the point. Link stood straight up to speak but found himself unable to.

Her long red hair, her dark skin, the golden jewelry, and bright colored clothing were truly a sight to behold. Not to mention her killer abs.

Link faltered a little when he looked over his long lost friend.

Memories of the strong chief rushed through Link's head. All the advice, support, and care Urbosa had given was the glue that kept their little family of champions together.

"Chief, I come here to ask you a favor." Link choked out. Seeing her alive and well made him want nothing more than to embrace her. It almost made him laugh when he wondered what the proud Gerudo would do if he did that.

Urbosa raised an eyebrow at the "vai", signaling for Link to continue.

"The Korok forest is dying, something insidious is happening. The Hyrule Royal Court needs to be informed immediately. I was hoping you could help me by using your influence and informing them." Link's blue steely gaze bore into her emerald green eyes. ' Please, Urbosa.' Link silently begged.

Suddenly a Scimitar was thrown in his direction from the right. As soon as he caught it, he heard footsteps rushing toward him from Urbosa's direction. The clang of steel echoed throughout the open space of the throne room. 'HOLY GODDESS!'

Link immediately backed away. He noticed his veil had been cut off.

"You enter Gerudo Town under disguise, then babble nonsense, and expect a favor from me?" The chief asked, her voice dripping with displeasure. 'Oh shit, this isn't good.'

"Tell me why I shouldn't end you where you stand." It wasn't a question or request.

'Damnit, I'm going to have to reveal who I am.' Link's heart began to pound. He knew the second anyone found out who he was, his life was no longer his own. With no other good options left, he removed the top he was wearing to show off the mark over his heart.

"Urbosa, we are meant to walk the same path to defeat the evil that will ravage the land of Hyrule soon. However… I still need time. If the Hyrule Royal Court knew of me, they'd force me to become Princess Zelda's personal knight. I… need the freedom that anonymity will give me in order to prepare for this fight." Link spoke with conviction.

The tall chief looked on at Link as if he had lost his mind, with disbelief and pity. "So you're telling me that you are the hero of legend."

"Here, this will convince you." Link stated as he unsheathed the rusty sword.

"Is that rusty thing supposed to be the legendary sword? How are you going to 'seal the darkness away' with that?" Urbosa asked.

"Yes! You have her attention now!" The fairy's twinkling voice echoed throughout his head.

"That's why I still need time." Link replied simply to Urbosa's question. He couldn't get excited just yet.

"Hm. Very well, young voe, I will be convinced you are the knight of legend if you manage to best me in a fight." Urbosa stated with a smirk on her face.

She motioned Link to follow her into the training grounds. "Let's see if I can use my full power against you."

' Could she mean her lightning?' Link thought back to how her power had been crucial to his journey while following behind her. He'd never forget the awesome power of having lightning at his fingertips. With that in mind, he took on a fighting stance, the scimitar in his left hand.

"You misunderstood me, voe, you must use your sword." She pointed at the sheathed sword on his hip.

"Very well, Chief Urbosa." Link stated with a smirk, sweat gathering at his temples. ' I shouldn't expect any less from her.' He sighed to himself as he set down the Scimitar and unsheathed the nearly useless Master Sword.

Link's heart rate picked up as Urbosa took on her fighting stance.

She quickly rushed towards him, and he noticed that she purposefully left her left side open. 'Like I'd fall for that!' Link stood his ground.

CLANG! He could feel the vibrations running up and down his sword from the clash.

Urbosa was relentless, never letting up on her attacks. However, Link was equally relentless in parrying her strikes. Her offense was ruthless.

She suddenly backed off. "I'm glad to see you can wield a sword. However, that alone won't be good enough!" Urbosa came towards Link once more.

Her movements had gotten faster and she swung her sword harder. ' Damnit! This rusty, old thing is going to give out if I don't end this soon.' As Link kept parrying her strikes, he noticed the Master Sword began to chip.

With zero options left, Link suddenly leaned into her attack, putting all his weight onto her arm. The swords strained against each other. He suddenly rolled in the opposite direction, forcing the chief to either lose her balance or to be the one on the defensive now. She chose the latter.

Link swung the rusty sword with all his might, taking advantage of being on the offensive now. With every step he took forward, Urbosa had no choice but to step back. He prayed to the goddess for the rusty sword to not shatter.

With a yell, Link put all his power into one swing. CLANG! The swords trembled under the strain once again.

Link kept applying pressure, willing his sword to chip Urbosa's.

CLINK!

'It worked!' Link thought to himself, happy but reaching his limit. He also noted his rusty sword was starting to chip even more. Link nonetheless stared into Urbosa's green eyes and smirked. That's when he noticed she was smirking as well.

'Oh SHIT!' Link backed away immediately, instinctively dropping his rusty sword.

While Link retreated, he saw Urbosa lifting her left hand high above her head. That's when he heard it. Snap!

Green, cackling lightning suddenly flashed and hit the spot he was standing not even a second ago, only leaving behind a scorch mark in the sand. It was completely silent for a couple of moments as the sand settled.

"Very well, young voe, I will go speak to the Royal Court on your behalf." Urbosa called out to him with a playful smirk, breaking the silence.

Link couldn't help the big, teeth-showing grin he gave her. "Call me Link."

\~/

With a fresh pair of Gerudo vai clothes, Link was gobbling down all the food he could get his hands on without miraculously staining - or eating - his viel. He could feel the eyes of the women on him and he sheepishly slowed down.

He couldn't help it! It had been a good while since he last had a great sparring session and now he was starved!

As Link exited the dining hall, he noticed the sunset and felt the refreshing breeze. ' It's strange that a horrible evil is upon us.' He mused to himself. If he hadn't been a witness to the Korok forest's decline or the Great Deku Tree's words, he wouldn't have believed it either.

He made his way back up the grand stairs that led to the throne room. " Come visit me when you finish resting." Link recalled the words Urbosa said to him before retreating to her quarters. It was silly, but he felt more nervous now that the Gerudo chief wanted to speak to him.

Once inside the throne room again, Link made his way to Urbosa.

She offered him a smile. "Link! Hm I must say, ever since I learned your name, I can't shake this feeling of deja vu. I wonder why that is." Urbosa mused out loud.

Link gulped.

Her emerald green eyes missed nothing. "Tell me why that is, young voe. I have a feeling you know." Her body and facial expressions seemed relaxed, but her voice sounded diplomatic. It was clear to Link that she wanted answers.

"... I was brought here from another timeline by a fairy in order to defeat the evil that will arise here." Link started slowly. "You played a very important role in keeping evil at bay in my timeline." He could feel his hands trembling. ' What a strange conversation.'

"... But most importantly… you were part of my family, along with others reigning from different parts of Hyrule. It pains me deeply to say that you... perished… fighting the Calamity." To Link's dismay, his voice began to shake. He felt this terrible need to beg her forgiveness for letting her… die. 'Being a hero of legend sure sucks.'

"... I see…" Urbosa looked upon Link with concern. It was clear that she had not intended to bring him hurt or discomfort, her caring nature shining through. 'I'm glad to see some things won't change.'

"It seems like no matter where we are, fate will find a way to bring us together." Link said with a small smile, trying to alleviate the heavy mood.

"It seems like our hero of legend is a capable man. I'm glad." Urbosa said, returning Link's smile. "And you won't have to worry, I'll keep your secret and your identity safe until you wish to let the world know of your existence."

"Urbosa you do not know how happy it makes me to see you alive and as strong as ever. I missed you." Link said quietly. He didn't want to cry.

"It may be strange to say, but I missed you too. It's like there is a place in my heart designated just for you, young hero."

It was unbelievable how quickly she took these truths and feelings in stride. 'A true leader, through and through.'

He gave a big smile even though his eyes were watery. "That's fate for you."

\~/

Link lay on a bed in the Oasis Inn, courtesy of Urbosa. Even though he was tired he couldn't sleep. He was filled with too many emotions to fully relax. 'I have Urbosa back…' The thought was elating but terrifying. What if he lost her again? His heart would not be able to withstand it.

Then a horrible thought crossed through his mind, uninvited. ' What would you do if you lost Mipha again?' The memory of him dying in the rain, crying over Mipha's death played on a loop. His heart felt frozen.

Should he… let her go? He flinched. ' No way am I that noble.' Mipha was tied to him by fate just like all the other champions, her role irreplaceable. He wasn't sure why he clung to her the way he did. Link hardly even remembered her… but what he could remember made his heart expand with a feeling he didn't want to name. He wasn't sure how he'd act when he would finally be reunited with the Zora. 'I better not act like a damned fool.'

He sighed. Link had already made up his mind to make the trek to Zora's Domain to fetch the spear-wielding princess. It would take several days to make it to The Domain but he would use that time to find as much information as he could.

With his heart and mind in agreement, he could feel sleep begin to creep over him.

'I'm going to get my family back. One down, four more to go.' The loneliness he had felt suddenly didn't feel as soul crushing.

The sun began to rise. Link sat up to close the curtain and noticed that the early morning rays made it seem like the sky was on fire.

~*~