Getting back down the mountain wasn't as easy as Izuku would have liked. Novar was able to pop his arm back into its socket, which was almost more painful than breaking it would have been, but they still had to take it slow. To be honest, he wasn't sure how they got back down the mountain, as he was far more distracted with Ashido's revelation.

She liked him!

A girl liked him! And he had no idea what to do with that! No one had ever expressed interest in him before; was he supposed to take her out? Was she supposed to do that? He wasn't even sure if he liked her that way. Yeah, she was attractive, but he didn't want to start dating her only because he thought she was pretty; there had to be something more.

If only he could call his dad. They hadn't talked in a while—international calls to government nuclear facilities were expensive—but this was the kind of thing that he'd have saved up for.

'I wonder how he and Mom started dating. I wish I'd asked.'

He was brought back to the present by Novar's voice. "Here we are, Midoriya. I hope the Current was not too rough on your arm."

He started and gave himself a mental shake as the Zora lowered him to the ground. "No, it wasn't bad at all. It actually felt pretty good since you popped it back into place."

"You should still have priest Kapson examine you to be safe; we're going into battle and you'll need his strongest potions. We'll go with Ashido to deliver the shock arrows."

As much as he wanted to argue that he felt fine, he'd broken enough bones to respect medical professionals to respect their advice. Especially since he didn't want to mess his arms up more than he had. "All right, I'll go. D-do you know where I can find him?"

"If he follows his habits, you will find him by the communal pool, below the throne room."

Izuku nodded his thanks and, with another sigh, jogged off in that direction, his mind drifting back to Ashido.

It didn't take him long to find the pool, though from what he gathered from the Zora he saw and heard on his way, it may have been more like a communal bed than anything else. The belief solidified when he noticed several children floating near each other, clearly napping.

After a few moments of searching, he finally located Kapson. The old Zora, gray and rail thin, was standing near the edge of the pool, looking out over the lake below the Domain. Next to the vibrant, crystalline blue of the water, his scales seemed gray and lifeless. Even the bag hanging by his side seemed worn and aged, covered in patches and stitches.

The priest glanced over as Izuku approached and smiled. "Ah, young traveler. I see you survived your encounter with the lynel."

Izuku glanced down at his arm. "Yes sir. We beat it, but it hit back. Novar said you should look at my arm before the attack."

The Zora's smile twisted. "I see. Novar's one of the king's men, isn't he? If he recommended I look at it, I'd better. Roll up your sleeve, please. How did your pink friend fare?"

"Really well, I think." Izuku winced as the Zora prodded his shoulder. "Ouch!"

"Forgive me. I believe you will be fine, but I would like to apply a salve and supplication on your behalf as well. May I?" Izuku nodded, but the old priest was already pawing through the contents of his bag, from which he extracted a small, red jar. He watched with interest as Kapson uncorked it, only to recoil as the foul stench of whatever was inside reached him.

"What is that?" he gagged.

"Delightful, isn't it?" Kapson said, completely misinterpreting "Hold still while I apply this."

Izuku sucked in a breath, but could still feel his eyes watering as Kapson slathered a thin paste on his shoulder and upper arm. It was surprisingly warm and seemed almost to seep into his muscles, soothing and relaxing them. The soothing feeling intensified as Kapson began to murmur something under his breath, and his hands began to glow.

After a few moments, the old Zora finished speaking. The glow faded away, and when Izuku looked at his arm, he was surprised to see that the bruises that had started forming had vanished along with the salve, though the warm, soothing feeling remained. He carefully flexed his arm; to his shock, all of the residual soreness and pain was gone.

"What d-did you do, sir?" Izuku asked. His arm felt better than ever, like it had the first time Recovery Girl had healed it.

Kapson rubbed his hands together and packed away the salve. "That salve I applied has healing properties, but is slow acting as far as healing salves go. It would have healed your most recent injury, but not before the battle. I also detected past harms that hadn't healed fairly. So, I petitioned the great spirits on your behalf. It seems they heard my request and sped up the process."

"O-oh." That kind of made sense. He'd heard about spirit healing on Earth, though never any that were quite so effective. "Well, thanks!"

"My pleasure."

The old Zora turned to look back out over the lake. Izuku started to leave, his mind already drifting back to his current dilemma. 'Maybe I can just go for it? But what do I do? We can't exactly go out for a movie. Do I just ki-ki-kis—nononono, can't do that yet. Maybe we could get dinner after the battle? No, that's stupid; who asks a girl out to eat after a fight? Kacchan, maybe, but—'

"Are you all right, my boy?"

Izuku jumped. Kapson was staring at him in concern. "Um, y-yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking—out loud, apparently."

A slight smile tugged at the wrinkled edges of the old Zora's mouth. "Well, would you like an outside opinion? I am a priest; this is a portion of my duties."

He hesitated. On the one hand, he didn't know the Zora all that well, and he didn't really want to dump his problems on him. But on the other, having someone to bounce ideas off of would be nice.

He nodded to himself. "Okay. There's this girl, you see—"

Kapson's smile blossomed into a full grin, and he leaned forward excitedly. "Oh? Have you found someone you wish to tie yourself to? I would be quite happy to perform the ceremony!"

Izuku's flushed deep red, and he quickly waved his hands in front of him. "Nononono, not like that! W-well, maybe a l-little. There's… someone who likes me, and I think I like her too. But I don't know if it's only 'cause I think she's cute, and if it is, then that isn't super fair to her, and I want to make sure she's not gonna get hurt, and—"

"Slow down there, youngster," Kapson laughed. "So you're attracted to your pink friend, eh? Don't look so surprised; it was fairly obvious to me when I was treating her. Your concern is admirable; however, I do not believe it is warranted."

"Really?"

"Really. Consider: you know that you share an attraction with this girl. You also are concerned about treating her properly, that your affection goes deeper than her physical form. Given that, I do not see that physical attraction alone would be cause for concern; in fact, courtship is often based on such while we learn more about our potential mate."

The Zora smiled at him. "Don't doubt yourself, young Hylian. You have the time to learn about whether you and your friend will make suitable mates. You just need to take the first step."

Face still red, Izuku nodded. "I th-think I get it. Thanks, sir."

"Don't mention it. Though if you two do decide to marry, please let me know. I would be happy to perform the ceremony for you." Izuku's eyes widened, and Kapson laughed again. "You've time enough to consider that later; for the moment, you've more pressing matters to attend to."

Izuku turned to look in the direction the priest was pointing and noticed a guard speaking urgently with one of the elderly Zora by the exit. "Unless I'm mistaken," Kapson said, "the king seeks your aid. May the spirits and Goddess guide you, young traveler."

To Izuku's surprise, the guard, Umuto, didn't take him up to the throne room. Instead, she led him back through the city, which now seemed strangely empty. He only caught sight of a few people outside, and most were armed. Occasionally, a lone Zora or a pair would flit in and out of view, but that was it.

'Where did everyone go?'

Umuto glanced back at him, and he cursed to himself as he realized his mouth had gotten ahead of his brain again. "Many of them are up at the reservoir already," she said. "Prince Sidon has marshaled our available forces in preparation for the assault. King Dorephan has ordered the residue to leave the city in case evacuation to the outposts is required."

'That's probably what she was telling the old Zora,' he realized. 'Relaying the orders to evacuate.'

Within a few minutes, they had left the city and were jogging back along the bridge toward the dam. Made from the same silvery stone as the rest of the city, the dam towered over even the ornate fish statue that crowned the Domain. The stairwell was covered by a series of sculpted arches, and the walls of the dam behind it were carved into giant scallop patterns.

The entire scene would have been picturesque if it weren't for the fact that a war was going on. Even from the foot of the stairs, Izuku could hear shrieks and clashing metal punctuated occasionally by resoundingly loud cracks.

"Tides, they've already engaged," Umuto cursed. "Hurry, Hylian; we're needed."

Before Izuku could protest, Umuto had taken off, bounding up the stairs in a way that was reminiscent of salmon climbing a waterfall. He watched her for a moment before sighing and activating Full Cowling. Power coursed through him as he launched himself up the stairs after her. He chuckled to himself at the look of surprise on her face as he zipped by, but it died down once he reached the top.

The causeway atop the dam formed a T, with the leg jutting out into the reservoir. Bodies, mostly the smoking remains of monsters, covered the far end of the walkway, where a group of Zora were finishing off a bokoblin band. Nearby, another squad of Zora were clustered around a table with Yaoyorozu, who was gesturing at it and speaking to the group.

Crack!

He jumped at the sudden sudden sound and jerked around, searching for its source. Towering out of the center of the reservoir was a giant, stylized mechanical elephant. Armored plates covered its trunks and sides, and its eyes had been replaced with a glowing lattice of Malice-red light. Some kind of armored hump rose up out of its back, flanked on each shoulder by four generators humming with energy. From

The cracking sound had come from the swarm of ice blocks that were bombarding something moving very quickly across the surface of the lake. As he watched, whatever it was disappeared beneath one of the waterfalls falling from the generators. After a moment, it reappeared in the air above the generator, and several streaks of electric yellow zipped down into the generators. The water flow stuttered, and the Divine Beast roared.

The thunderous trumpet filled the basin. Izuku winced and clapped his hands over his ears as the causeway shook beneath him. Still, it wasn't awful; It was loud, but it wasn't as bad as some of Mic's attacks. When it stopped, his ears rang from the sheer volume, but he could still hear.

"Jabu, I'd forgotten how loud Ruta is," Umuto cursed as she stepped up beside him. "Still, it seems the prince and your Champion have her well in hand."

'The prince and the Champion? Oh! That was Link!' It made sense that the two would have teamed up; they both had a lot riding on this and had the most information about the Divine Beast between them. "Should we help them?"

"They appear to have things well in hand," she repeated shortly as Link and Sidon weaved around more of the ice blocks. "We're to report to the command group for assignment. They'll know where we're needed most."

That made sense, especially with how capable the two were. Izuku nodded and let Umuto lead him over to the table with the other Zora and Yaoyorozu. The soldiers surrounding it parted to let them pass, tapping their chests and bowing their heads as they woman admitted them to the table, which was covered in a map of the area.

Umuto came to a stop in front of the table and slapped a closed fist across her chest. "Shoal leader Umuto reporting with Hylian Midoriya Izuku, as requested."

Izuku's eyes flickered to the woman in surprise. Shoal lead? Was that like a squad leader or something? He glanced over her and the other Zora. Their 'uniforms' weren't much more than a narrow breastplate modeled after scales and gills, pauldrons, and shin and arm guards. After a moment, he noticed that the number of "gills" on the breastplate differed; most of those present had two on each side, while Umuto and a couple others had three, and two of the large green Zora at the table had four.

Yaoyorozu's voice pulled his attention back to the table. "Oh good, you have arrived. Midoriya, how are you feeling? Ashido mentioned that you had been injured on the peak."

"I'm okay. Mr. Kapson fixed me up pretty good."

"Excellent." Yaoyorozu breathed a sigh of relief. "I was concerned when I heard that the injuries had been to your arm."

"Kapson's good at what he does," Umuto stated bluntly. "Which is good, because we're here to work and not idly chatter. What's the situation, Commander?"

Izuku recoiled slightly at the cool tone of her voice, but didn't say anything as one of the big Zora gestured at the map. "It was as the Champion said it would be. The enemy has amassed forces on the eastern side of the reservoir, both monsters and the Sheikah traitors. They have been preparing rafts for launch, presumably to take the other platforms."

"We believe that they intend to take the Divine Beast themselves," Yaoyorozu added. "Right now, it is something of a loose cannon. If they have someone with them capable of controlling it, it could prove a powerful weapon for the League."

That caught Izuku's attention. "The League's here?"

She nodded. "There is no other explanation for how such a large force of monsters could appear so close to Zora territory unnoticed. Further, some of the reports we've received have identified two individuals who stand out—a masked magician that causes obstacles to vanish and a humanoid lizard wielding a variety of blades. We've yet to spot Kurogiri."

Ah, those two. Izuku's mind flashed back to his last encounters with the two. The lizard—Spinner—had been one of two to attack the Pussy Cats. And the magician—Compress, he thought—was the one who had managed to capture Kacchan.

Crack!

Izuku jumped at the sound and blushed. He'd slipped into his thoughts a little too readily. "Th-they could be a problem. Where are they now, um, sir?"

The Zora commander chuckled. "They and several of their minions have run afoul of the talus that dwells in the eastern valley. We've several shoals harrying them; should they make any progress, we shall know of it."

"Is that where you need us, ser?" Umuto asked. Izuku glanced at her; while her voice had been even, she was leaning forward, and he noticed her gills seemed to be… gasping? Flapping? Opening and closing more rapidly. Did that mean she was excited?

"No; the situation on the eastern front is currently in hand." Yaoyorozu tapped a point on the western edge of the reservoir, between their dock and the westernmost. "Instead, we need you to secure this side of the reservoir. Yneira took Redfin shoal when the battle first started, but they have not reported in, and we fear something has happened. Ashido and Pinkcoral shoal went to investigate, but they may not be enough."

Umuto looked at the map for a moment before turning to her superior. "Ser?"

The man's face hardened. "You heard the lady. You, Midoriya, and your shoal are to assist shoal leader Erela. Was something in those instructions unclear, shoal leader?"

The woman stiffened. "Ser, no ser!"

"I thought not. One more thing; Midoriya and his companions are to be treated as an allied force outside of our command structure; they know their own abilities far better than we do, but likewise do not know the details of military work. You are dismissed."

"Ser!" Umuto spun on her heel and addressed the gathered Zora. "You heard the commander! Grayscale Shoal, form up and march!"

As the Zora started hurrying away, the Zora commander stepped around the table to stand directly in front of Izuku. "Please forgive Umuto; she lost her mother to Hylian bandits years ago and still carries some of her anger."

The woman's cold attitude suddenly made a lot more sense. Izuku nodded. "I understand, sir."

"I thought you might. Now, it has come to my attention that you are weaponless due to your encounter with the lynel. Please, take these."

Oman gestured, and a guard stepped forward holding a sheathed sword and shiny kite shield with silver ornamentation. "I understand that you may not need these, but I would not send anyone into battle unarmed."

Izuku stared at the weapons for a moment before carefully taking them. "Thank you, sir. I'll put them to good use."

"I know that you will." As Izuku threaded the sheathe onto his belt, the commander's voice dropped. "And Midoriya? Keep your senses sharp. Your companion, Yneira, and the shoal that accompanied her were too skilled to be taken by surprise. I suspect the enemy has a secret or two waiting for you there."

'Don't they always?' Izuku swallowed and nodded. "I will. Keep Yaoyorozu safe for us, okay?"

He grinned a shark-toothed grin. "That I can do. Now go, and may the Current be with you!"

"Good luck to you too." As Izuku hurried off after Grayscale shoal, he couldn't help but wonder: what was waiting for him up on that plateau that could give Yneira a hard time?

Yneira scowled down at the Divine Beast from her cliffside vantage point. It had been easy to give her Zora escorts the slip—child's play, even. The poor fools were so focused on watching for outer threats that they never paid any attention to the one in their midst.

She could have killed them all; they wouldn't have even realized they were under attack. It would have been easy, but something about that route hadn't sat well with her, so she'd opted on completing her mission.

Her mission, though, wasn't as clear as it had once been. Her frown deepened as she watched the Hylian Champion unleash another wave of shock arrows on the machine's power sources—generators, Yaoyoruzu had called them—which flashed before turning a steady blue. The Beast bellowed again, shaking the very crags she hid on, before going still. As Link drifted down to a platform in the Vah Ruta's side, she felt her indecision deepen. She should be out there, trying to stop him. Sands, she'd had plenty of time on the road to put an end to him, and yet…

There was something about this Hylian who was barely a man that intrigued her. It wasn't attraction; she'd had a long, deep conversation with herself, and was relieved that that wasn't the problem. Nor was it the bonds they'd forged; she'd gone undercover more than once to eliminate a target, and that often required opening herself up.

No, it wasn't that. It was that he was sincere. He genuinely believed that the Dark Lord had to be stopped. And given the destruction she'd seen since, she had to admit that he might have a point.

Her only problem with that was that she had proof that Ganon could be benevolent. The Yiga had flourished under the Calamity's guidance. They had established a land for themselves and were a refuge for those yoked under the thrall of the Hylian royal family.

A royal family that, for all intents and purposes, had been dead for a century.

"When the time comes, you will know what to do, Yneira."

She laughed bitterly and ran a hand through her hair. "Fine advice, Champion. And yet, I find myself no closer to a decision now than when I first joined forces with you. Sands, but this is a mess."

Click… Clack click…

Yneira spun into a crouch, sickles raised as she scanned the ridge. Someone was up here with her. That shouldn't be possible; she'd scouted her spot out and had been careful to not reveal herself to any of the search parties. The only ones on the battlefield who should have been able to find her were…

"You must be deep in thought, to not notice my approach, Arbiter."

The shadows cast by the jagged crags deepened and twisted into a monstrous shape that slowly stalked into the light. Yneira couldn't help but recoil as she registered the creature's too-long arms and legs, the hunched-over, slightly twisted figure that had once been feminine but had lost all such definition, and the tattered cloaks and pieces of Yiga armor that seemed to ripple and flex with every movement. Worst, however, was the face; while half the face was obscured by the Yiga eye, the other half was that of her lieutenant.

"Van, is… is that you?" Yneira asked hesitantly.

The monstrosity bowed her head. "At your service, Arbiter."

Yneira's weapons dropped, and she stared at her lieutenant in shock, almost missing the quiet notes of mockery in her tone. "What in Calamity happened to you? Where are the others?" She narrowed her eyes. "What did you find in the castle?"

Van didn't answer immediately. She glanced back toward where Yneira had left her squad, and a sedate smile crept across her face. "I will admit that I found it odd that you had let those abominations live, but then, you might be undercover. Do not worry, Arbiter; I have eliminated them for you."

Eliminated. Such a tidy word for what Yneira was sure had been an absolute slaughter. She repressed a shudder and tried to make her voice more stern. "I don't believe I asked for your observations. Report, soldier!"

That seemed to do the trick. Van's smile vanished, but she nodded and said, "When we arrived at the castle, we found it in the control of a group of unusual foreigners with strange powers. While they do not serve Ganon, their interests seem to align with his. They have managed to rally many of the scattered bokoblin and moblin tribes, and their leader, a faceless man named All for One, seems to hold grand ambitions, though he claims he has no interest in interfering with the Dark Lord's return. As for myself and the others, we are fine. Better, in fact; this All for One rediscovered the process for creating Darknuts. After observing the process, I volunteered to try it myself."

Van took a long, rattling breath. "You cannot imagine the power it brings, Arbiter. I can feel Ganon's might coursing through my veins. I can hear the whispers of his voice in my mind; I have become an instrument of his will."

Was this really the best way to serve the Calamity? By surrendering her humanity? As she thought, realized something else. "You observed the process?"

"Affirmative. All for One had captured some Hylian peasant and used her as a rat for the ritual. The woman was doused in purified Malice and bonded to a set of armor. She serves willingly now; in fact, I believe she is engaged in the fighting on the eastern front."

Yneira recoiled. This wasn't just a surrender of the humanity; it was a surrender of the self. In all their fighting against the Hylian royal family, their cause had been championed by individuals who had believed in it. Calamity, some had defected over the years because they had lost that belief. There was even a former Yiga in Kakariko, if she remembered correctly.

No, this was wrong. The idea caused her very soul to shake. Van seemed like her old self, but Yneira was willing to bet that her former lieutenant would do things that not even Master Kohga would order.

She had to test her theory. "Lieutenant, a question: what will you do here, when the Zora surrender? We have them outnumbered; it is only a matter of time before we overrun them like so much sand in the wind. How will you accept their surrender?"

A slow smirk crept across the visible half of her face, stretching far wider than any human mouth should allow. "Surrender? Oh, I wouldn't accept their surrender. They have not pledged themselves to Lord Ganon; all such are to be harvested or disposed."

"And those who do accept surrender? You and I, we cannot be everywhere."

The grin stretched even wider, revealing the jagged teeth of a predator. "They will have proven their unfaithfulness. The Dark Lord… ooh, yes, he has uses for such."

The wanton hunger in her voice removed any traces of doubt from Yneira's mind. She took a half step back and crouched, weapons raised. "I thought as much. I don't know what happened to Van, but you are not her. Not anymore. The Van I knew had a modicum of compassion, even for the enemy. You are evil."

"I am an extension of the Calamity itself, Arbiter!" the monster hissed. "We remember compassion, but none had any for us; why should we extend it to our enemies?"

"I don't know, because they're people? Who will Ganon rule over if they are all destroyed?"

"The Calamity has no interest in ruling; only in the absolute destruction of Hyrule."

Behind them on the lake, the Divine Beast bellowed again, though this time it sounded less angry. From somewhere amongst the folds of her garments, her former lieutenant drew a wicked-looking sword with a wavy, serrated blade. As she brandished it in front of her, the blade darkened. Bits of darkness dripped from the blade onto the rock, and even over the distant sound of combat and the rain, Yneira could still hear the hiss as those drops disappeared into the rock.

"I've wanted to test myself against you for a long time, Arbiter," Van said hungrily. "Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would get to do so while executing you for treason. Now die!"