Time's POV

When we entered Zora's Domain, we did not expect to enter a battle.

"We need to get to the Divine Beasts!" Warriors shouted. He had smoothly shifted back into Captain mode. It gave me flashbacks of when I would watch him fight, taking down monsters without breaking a sweat and smoothly ordering his troops forward.

I'm pretty sure the transition has brought back flashbacks for Warriors as well. But I have a feeling they weren't ones of awe and adoration.

A Zora Captain ran up. "Sir! The way to Divine Beast Rudania has been blocked by a stream of lava!"

Warriors nodded. "In that case, we need to get to Mipha in Ruta. Hopefully she'll be capable of stemming that lava with her rain."

That's another reason why I had always looked up to Warriors and would go to him for help first: he was flexible. When faced with a problem, he always found a way around it to get to his ultimate goal. Wind had agreed with me.

We ran in the general direction of Vah Ruta. But we were quickly stopped by a pool of Malice. It wrapped around the edges of the lake Ruta was in.

"Aw shit." Wild said simply. I didn't scold her. That pretty much defined our lives perfectly up to this moment.

I couldn't count on two hands how many 'Aw shit' moments I've had during my first quest. Much less my second one, the War Across the Ages, this current quest, and now this second war.

I turned to Wild. "Champion, you're the most experienced out of all of us with Malice. How do we clear it?"

"Malice Eyes." Wild said. "Shooting them with an arrow would be enough to get rid of them. But I'm pretty sure there'll be more than one on a pool this big."

Warriors nodded. "Okay, look for and get rid of the Malice Eyes. I'm assuming we'll know them when we see them?"

Wild nodded. "They don't really know the definition of 'inconspicuous'."

"Okay." Warriors said. "Wild, you, and Time'll look for one, got it? Good. Next we'll have Sky and Hyrule, and finally Legend and me, okay?"

A chorus of agreement rose us. Warriors didn't seem to be in the mood to disagree either way.

"Then let's go."

Wild and I continued along the path with Sky and Hyrule. Legend and Warriors broke off for a path leading up and over.

We swiftly took a keep for our forces. The less monsters we have to encounter, the better in my opinion.

But we came to a boxed off area just off the path. We sent Sky and Hyrule ahead and entered.

A Malice Eye, glowing purple and orange stared out at us from within a pool.

Wild didn't waste any time in shooting a arrow at it.

The eye convulsed. Malice spewed out like blood where the arrow had punctured it. It consumed the arrow as it grew smaller then it exploded, Malice flying pitifully as the Malice pools disappeared.

"Yes!" I cheered too soon.

A black Moblin came in they way we did. It squealed and charged, wielding a pathetic spear.

Wild groaned as we dove to the sides. She backed up and nocked another arrow. I knew what she was doing, I just needed to give her time to aim at the constantly moving figure.

The Moblin charged again. I caught its spear with my sword and planted my feet in the ground. Keeping us from moving too much.

A whistle accompanied with a sickening crack! signaled the arrow flying through the air and into the Moblin's skull.

It slumped to the ground, dead.

I jumped out of the way. Good timing too, as it fell right where I had been standing.

I shivered as Wild walked up. "I'm glad I moved."

"Understandable." The Champion said. Now, let's head back to the lake, hopefully some of the Malice's been cleared.

Sky's POV

Wild and Time stopped at the first Malice Eye, leaving the Traveler and I to continue further down the path.

We took one last keep before reaching the end.

"This seems too easy." I said, getting out my bow and an arrow.

Hyrule glanced backward, groaning. "Really Sky? You just had to jinx it, didn't ya?"

I spun around. A black Moblin and a Moblin with electricity tracing along its hide. "I really hate whoever's bright idea it was to superpower already difficult monsters with elements and black blood."

"Yeah." Hyrule hummed, spinning his bejeweled sword in his hand. "When all this is over, I'm'na give Wild a trophy for dealing with this shit."

"Language." I mumbled in protest. I threw my bow to the side, along with the arrow. I'll use it later, I thought as I unsheathed Fi. She hummed in greeting.

The Moblins bellowed and attacked.

Hyrule blocked and deflected the black Moblin's claymore. I jumped to the side and dodged the electric Moblin with the spear.

The Moblin I was fighting was slow to turn and all but ran into the fence behind me.

It would've been sad if I was in a frame of mind to accept that. But now I'm tired, I'm hurt and in pain, and I just want to go back to Skyloft, to Zelda and I want this to end so I did not care to acknowledge basic human emotions as I stabbed the monster in the back.

It screeched and twisted around.

Fi left it's back, but the surprise motion and its arm made me drop her. The Moblin reached down and picked her up before I could.

I was a little surprised that it could, until a purple flame starting at its hand, trailed down its body and reducing it to a pile of ashes.

Fi dropped elegantly onto the pile.

I stood in shock, my hands were still in the position they were when Fi was ripped from them.

"Ohk-ayyy…." I sank down and picked up Fi. Shaking her to try and brush off the Moblin's ashes. I held her away from me still. "That was scary."

"Tell me about it." I heard Hyrule say.

I turned to face him.

His Moblin lay under his boot… and speared by his sword… and in the bushes… and in the Malice pool.

Black blood washed the scene and the poor Hero of Hyrule. "I'd beg to disagree." I said, gesturing. "I'm really glad my back was turned."

Hyrule looked at the mess. He shrugged. "Yeah. You should be."

He braced his foot against a detached arm and pulled out his sword. Black and red blood covered it's hilt and blade.

I went over to where I had discarded my bow.

I let my head slump forward as I groaned. The bow string had snapped when it landed on a particularly sharp rock, aligned with the years of stress and times I had used it.

"Well that's a pain." I sighed. "I'll have to ask Wild for help."

"Yeah," Hyrule chuckled. "but don't worry, I've got this."

He held up his sword. I saw his eyes narrow ever so slightly in concentration. He slashed his sword in the air. Blood flew off. And a fire mirror of his sword flew toward the Malice Eye.

Killing it and clearing the Malice pool. Leaving behind nothing but a eroding acid-burned Moblin head.

"Really?" I asked. "Was that necessary?"

"No." Hyrule admitted, helping me up. I put away my bow and arrow. "But it was fun." He grinned.

I rolled my eyes lightly, chuckling.

"But it did it's job." Hyrule said. "We should reunite with Wild and the others. Hopefully we cleared a entrance."

"Yeah." I said. "We need to save Mipha. Well… Wild'll most likely so in without awaiting a plan. But I understand."

Hyrule smiled. A mischievous glint in his dull yellow eyes. "That's why he's my friend."

"Y'all can't be together for two minutes without trying to run off and cause some sort of problem."

Legend's POV

Warriors was acting different.

I had gotten somewhat used to it after most of the war going by. At least, I hoped most of the war was behind us.

We took the path up and over.

The Captain cut through monsters without a second glance. He took a keep swiftly and kept moving. I saw his eyes searching for the Malice Eye as he didn't stop.

I could barely keep up.

"I'm gonna tie a ball and chain to his ankles if he doesn't slow the hell down." I grumbled, sprinting down the path. "But even that won't promise he'll slow down."

"Captain!" I shouted. Warriors came to a screeching halt, turning back to me. I pointed inside a structure just off the path. "It's in here! Just to the right, it's easy to miss!"

He jogged back. I turned inside the little structure.

"Fuck!" Warriors cried. I whipped around, sword out long before I saw the Ice Lynel.

Warriors had a thin layer of frost covering his body. He shivered as he backed up to me. "These things are more annoying than King Dodongo."

"I thought Time fought it?" I asked, remembering the story he told did of one of his first bosses ever.

"Long story, involving a obsessive sorceress being manipulated by Ganondorf." Warriors shrugged. "And apparently, that gave her the power to bring it back to life. Over and over and over and over again." He sighed.

We dove to either side as a ice beam thing came flying toward us. I landed in a roll and came out wielding my fire rod.

I whipped it around. Fire burst from the top and curled around the Lynel. It cried out as it burned before finally dying.

"Wow." Warriors said as I let my fire rod cool off. "That was morbid."

I shrugged. "Based on Wild's stories, I was sorta expecting for it to disintegrate in a pile of snow the second the fire touched it. It was a stubborn bastard."

Warriors wiped the black blood off his sword. "General Impa'll say the same about me." He sheathed his sword and I put away my fire rod. Wars pulled out a bow and arrow and we walked inside.

The Captain fired a arrow into the Malice Eye.

It squelched disgustingly. Malice seeped out as it shrank in size. "Gross." I said as the Malice pool vanished all at once.

"At least we can hopefully get through to the Divine Beast." Warriors said, walking over to where it dropped down over the second path.

We started running back to the rendezvous point.

We ran into Time and Wild on our way back. Only reuniting with Sky and Hyrule when we came to a halt before the entrance to the Divine Beast.

The Malice tunneled away, giving us a way up to the giant machine.

"Okay," Warriors started. "so, we need to—Wild!"

Said hero had sprinted ahead without a single thought. "I'ma kill that gremlin if whatever's in that Divine Beast doesn't first." I protested, following behind.

"Legend!" Time called.

"What?" I shouted over my shoulder. "He'll need backup!"

I heard the Old Man's sigh even as I jumped up into the Divine Beast. A few seconds after Wild's dark blue cloak disappeared through the entrance.

I darted through the beast, following Wild's figure. She veered into a room on the right.

I ran in after her. I didn't even flinch as the entrance was sealed shut after us.

I couldn't count on nine pairs of hands how many times I've been locked into a room.

"Shit." I sighed.

The monster before us was like nothing I've ever seen before.

It floated a good foot off the ground. It seemed to be made out of Malice. Although, according to Wild, so was Ganon. Sheikah technology helped form. Forming its spear and face, complete with a hypnotic blue eye.

Ice magic twisted along its form. A ice mace in one hand.

"Well, that's new." Wild said, gesturing to the mace. "And that's unexpected." She said, pointing to the second figure.

"Oh, you've come at least!" Sidon said.

Wild nodded numbly as Mipha glanced back. She smiled and we all turned back to face the monster.

"What's that thing called exactly?" I asked.

"Mipha called it Waterblight Ganon." Wild said, keeping her sights on it. "I understand the confusion, it can't exactly talk other than gross screeches."

"Fun."